Brendell: Rogue Thief

Hannis Bay

I held my breath and willed myself still as a tree when I heard the clicking sound come from somewhere. It was faint but clear as glass, and for the thousandth time I reconsidered why I was here. But there was no going back, not now. I pressed myself against the wooden wall, trying to disappear into it as I heard the sound again. Then I heard a scratching noise followed by a muted squeak and I slowly relaxed. It had to be a mouse.

Not what my nerves needed this evening, not when I was breaking into the Thief ' s Guild offices in Hannis Bay. Difficult enough climbing up to a third floor balcony and through a window, then creeping down the stairs while trusting the residents would remain asleep and unconcerned. Worrying about traps magical and mundane. Even a loose floorboard could be enough to ruin me. Slinking through an unfamiliar building at night with no light. Finally reaching the downstairs office. And now this.

Could it be a magical mouse, enhanced for sentry duty I wondered inanely, then chuckled. Don ' t be a fool Brendell. I strongly doubted the Guild would protect itself with magic, not when there were many more effective methods available. A contingent from the Assassin ' s Guild would suffice ...and be more dependable. But I was counting on the Guild ' s own reputation and confidence in its power; after all, who would dare steal from the Thief ' s Guild

They were going to find out. And it was all their fault for what they had done to

my family and me.

This had all started when I returned to Hannis Bay from my home in mistmourning to learn who had stolen from my father. It had to be a rogue thief, something my Guild would not tolerate.

The Guild Secretary proved me wrong. "It is a legitimate contract, Brendell," she had told me after I lodged my complaint. "We shall not interfere." Once I recovered from my shock, the rest of our meeting proceeded downhill at a rapid pace. I finally bid her leave and stomped out of her office. Later, over my campfire at my camp outside Hannis Bay, I stared at the flames. Only appropriate, since I saw my entire life being consumed by the fire. Throughout my career as an honored member of the Thief ' s Guild, I had obeyed their rules ...most of the time anyway. I had been taken advantage of more than once during my apprenticeship, so like a puppy eager to do the bidding of its master. But I had done everything they asked, fulfilled every contract they had often foisted upon me, to reach my goal of journeyman.

Journeyman. All my time, effort and hopes summed up in one word, in one document I used to carry proudly. I now knew beyond any doubt my Guild status meant next to nothing.

Nothing. I sighed as my small fire continued to consume my dreams. Someone had taken a contract out on me. With the Guild ' s blessing and approval. Someone had gone to my father ' s home and stolen everything I had sent him, money meant to help him enjoy the last few years of his life. And one of the few things I had learned at the Thief ' s Academy I still believed was this: you do not steal from a thief. Not without frightful retribution.

I tossed another limb on the fire and gnawed tastelessly on a haunch of hare. They had given me no recourse, I tried to reassure myself. And, for once, that was relatively easy. I had already broken Guild rules before. Now I planned to shatter them beyond recognition.

Soon I would go back to my father, help him get his home and affairs in order. Then I would complete my very personal contract on the Guild member who had taken a contract out one me. But first I had to learn who that was. Which meant a return trip to Hannis Bay, but this time at night when the Guild offices were closed.