The currency system is the same across the world to provide efficient trade with equal currency conversion rates. It consists of ten coppers that go into ten silvers that go into ten gold which then go into ten platinum.

Normal logic would dictate that each higher denomination would be more valuable than the one under, but due to the availability of the mines of each, this is not the case in every country. The value instead lies in the belief of the populace and the government goes along with this belief to foster trade.

-Currencies of the world

The sun beat down on the docks of Fairvale, the great fiery orb had risen, shining bright and strong in a clear blue sky. The heat soaked me in sweat as I ran through the twisting alleyways of the docks. Rushing past the stinking fisheries and through the teeming shipyards, where the bones of great sea monsters were recycled into the frames of the huge seven-mast warships that were the pride of the Fontaran Navy. I leapt over a smelly puddle of unidentifiable filth, my coat streaming out behind me, and made my way deeper into the warren of buildings that covered the docks. A couple of random loops later and I was certain that I hadn’t been followed. One more loop for Luck’s sake and I ducked down a dark alleyway and dove through a window half hidden with weeds, landing in a cool, deep pool a dozen feet down.

I sighed in pleasure as the coolness enveloped me, washing away the dust, sweat and grime of the nights work, and the subsequent chase that followed. I swum to the side and pulled myself dripping onto the side of the marble pool. I blinked as my eyes adjusted to the darkness after the brightness of sun. As I stepped forward, the cool, enchanted marble somehow emitting a feeling of home, welcomed me. I ran a hand through long messy hair, shaking it out from under the cloth cap as the marble did its work and evaporated the water from my body and clothes. I took the wrapping from round my breasts off, and replaced it with something more comfortable. The only reason I wore it was because they got in the way otherwise, and at times it let me pass as a boy, which is always useful in my line of work, and dealing with the people I have to deal with.

I stepped through the network of passageways that connected the hidden chambers of what I liked to think of as the family lair. It was only me now, though, Mother having tired of the thieving and skulking around had, after passing the coat down to me, boarded a ship off to explore the far reaches of the ocean when I was nine. Grandpa had looked after me for a while, but passed away soon afterwards leaving me alone in the underground warren.

The space wasn’t extensive, containing seven medium sized rooms, but was far more than most had. My stomach growled, leading me through the passageway running through the den with the back ‘entrance’ on one end and a small library on the other, and into the kitchen. The kitchen was the largest room in the underground den, just slightly bigger than the library, and looked rather homey with exposed wooden beams and brick walls. Most of the space was dedicated to storing food, with a large workspace for preparing food in the middle which also doubled as a table with stools arranged around it. I had some leftover stew sitting over the fire, which still burned merrily in the large enchanted fireplace, which I hurriedly spooned into an exquisitely carved (stolen, obviously) wooden bowl and scoffed it down till my stomach sighed in satisfaction. I threw the bowl and spoon into the enchanted cleaning cupboard, pulling out a wineskin of elven wine and pouring it into a copper cup. I pulled out the object I had been hired to steal, taking a sip of the refreshing wine. It was a small, jade figurine of high quality depicting a priestess of some sort, with a pair of lions lolling at her feet. I flipped it around in my hands, liking the weight, judged it somewhat expensive, possibly some sort of collector’s item, but otherwise useless and placed it onto the table.

It had been a decent night, all things considered. I would get a tidy sum for the figurine and a bunch more from the things I had filched on the way in and out. The only thing marring it was that the lord of the manor I had visited had hired a dromithian guard, who, unlike humans, check upwards every so often. This had resulted in a fairly long chase, with the local guard getting involved, but I had managed to lose them in the winding alleys.

Fun chase, though.

I took out the rest of the things I had stolen and piled them up in order of what could be easily sold, what I wanted to keep and anything that would be difficult to sell without arousing undue suspicion. The first pile would be given to a local contact who would discreetly sell things for me after taking a small percentage. I lost a bit of money, of course, but it was convenient, and who doesn't like convenience. The last pile would be melted down and sold to the dwarves at a low price to keep me in their good graces. Dwarven craftsmanship was the finest in all things to do with creating things out of the Earths bounties. As such, I only bought the tools of my trade from them, as well as purchasing the best of their locks to practice upon. I quickly put everything in the right pockets, and wrapped up the statue, leaving the face for last. Gazing into the priestesses face I noticed that upon closer inspection she appeared to have fangs. I shuddered slightly in horrified fascinations as vague stories of blood sucking demons who took on human form came to mind. I wondered if this was some proof that they existed, but after looking at it a while more, I put it away, covering her face.

I yawned deeply, stretching the kinks out of my back and stretched, touching my toes and stretching my legs which were still aching pleasantly from my flight. I grinned remembering the feeling of the chase. The fatigue hit me out of the blue, the adrenalin finally leaving my body and I tiredly made my way to the bedroom. I had filled my bed with the softest cushions, rugs and furs I could steal. Taking off my clothes, I threw them on the floor and jumped into bed with only my underclothes on, thanking that one ancestor of mine that had hated cleaning so much that he had paid (yes, paid - I know!) to get the marble enchanted to clean everything above it, including as it happened, people. But I loved warm baths way too much. The feeling of washing away the dust and grime just gives me too much contentment to use the enchantments. But, I didn't mind it cleaning everything else. I snuggled deeper into my little cocoon and wrapped myself in a luxurious, silken fur wrap, the soft silk caressing my bare skin as I let the dreams take me.

---

I woke again sometime late in the afternoon, the sun was shining straight through to my face from the carefully hidden skylight placed straight above my bed. I stretched luxuriously, burrowing slightly into the pile of fur, my muscles aching pleasantly from the excitement of last night, or more accurately, this morning. I grinned again, thinking I should have chases more often. I slowly woke up, getting the sleep out of my system, feeling safe in my little base. I sighed heavily, as I realised I only had a few hours to get ready for the drop off for the statue. I got up and did my morning business, having a quick soak in the pool after, and then padded barefoot to the kitchen, enjoying the cool marble on my feet. I had read somewhere that your feet contained lots of nerves and needed to be regularly stimulated to be healthy. I wasn't sure I believed that, but it sure did feel good sometimes.

I had a leisurely little snack of bread and honey washing it down with some milk, just getting my mind into a relaxed state, trying to keep my mind blank. I quickly looked at the sky and got ready for my meeting to drop off the statue. I pulled on my enchanted boots, wriggling my toes in the silky fur. I had stolen the boots off a woman that had gone back on a deal we’d made. She was a trader in magical fur, and I'd found these beauties in her rooms. They were made of gryphon fur, which magically kept my feet the perfect temperature, and the bottom sole was made from the pad of one of the whisper cats up North. This gave the boots incredible grip as well as keeping my steps quieter than a whisper. And they were cute. I twisted my foot, admiring the curve of the arch, once more. I snatched a pair of fingerless leather gloves from a table near the entrance, pulling them on.

I slipped on a pair of tattered leather trousers, a dark shirt that went to my knees and of course, my coat. I held up the coat, and forced my will into it, ordering it to change into an ordinary, dull grey coat. The only thing out of the ordinary was the multitude of pockets and the owners name under the collar. A golden thread spelled out my name in a beautiful cursive, "Artemis".

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

It wasn't my real name, of course, Artemis being my taken name. Names have power, true names more so. The true names are hidden, and it is rumoured that some monks have perfected a method to draw out their real names through searching of the soul or some other such nonsense and get the power that way. The story I prefer are some berserkers who enjoy life to the limit and find it in that way, unfortunately, this only seems to occur when they are almost dead in battle and they gain a massive surge of power for their last few hours of life. My taken name also has power, but it is power that comes to me due to the fact that Artemis was the name of an ancient goddess of the night, but most people don't know about taken names. The real Artemis hasn't given me any reason to think she cares, but it gives me a little deeper affinity to the night shadows. For the majority of the people, the name given to them by their parents is protection enough. I like being special, though.

As I made my way to the tavern we were to meet at, The Hanging Flower, on the east side of the city, where the city gave way to the sheer cliffs that lined the coast away from the bay, I went over what I knew about my customer. He called himself "The gentleman" when he contacted me, but my contacts say that he has a bunch of names that he uses. It is not well known, well, as far as I know only me and grandpa, know of this, but the taken names and what people call you has a lot more effect than people realise. Oh, they know that names have power, but most are ignorant of just how much. A thief doesn't really need to have the knowledge of a scholar, but you never know when something may help, was what grandpa always used to say. So, take for example some guy had a face that vaguely looked like a rat, and everyone called him rat face, eventually his face would look more like a rat. Apparently, that's why the nobility make people call them 'My Lord' 'My Lady' and stuff, it gives them power, though the original reason has been lost in the mists of time.

According to Silver, my grandads contact with the Thieves Guild, the gentlemen appeared to be a broker for a secret sect of priestesses, and considering how many gods and religions there were in this city, it wasn’t very surprising. Considering the statue was of a priestess, I assumed that the priestesses wanted the statue because it had some sort of religious connotations.

As I got to the tavern I started paying more attention. The tavern was a two story structure made of big white stone blocks. The roof hung over the walls creating a little shelter from the rain around the building and was mounted on a timber frame which came down to bracket the corners and the doorway as thick wooden pillars. It was a fairly large structure and from my initial scouting, I knew that it opened up to a rather large common area with a kitchen at the back and a couple of private rooms on the top floor, where I was meant to be meeting the gentleman. The sign hanging above the door depicted a small white flower hanging from the side of an otherwise empty hanging basket. The building was worn, but clean. It was a middle to low end establishment that had good food and drink, but nothing more than one type of stew and a handful of regular drinks. All in all, entirely average.

I wandered around the street seeing if there was anything going on that would be a problem. I walked past a food stall, snatching a hot honey bun while the man was distracted with packing up, and disappeared round a corner. Mmm, delicious. I licked my fingers clean, grinning. Stolen food just tasted so much nicer. Maybe it was the adrenalin, or the thrill, that added the extra something, I mused.

The rest of the vendors in the street were also packing up as the street got darker, a chill descending upon the city. The streets got quieter as people started heading home and the lamp lighters started walking down the streets lighting up the darkness. In this part of the city, there wasn't enough money to place mage lights everywhere unlike the noble district.

As the time got closer to the time when I was due to meet the gentleman, I found a spot on the roof of a nearby tailor’s shop where I could keep an eye on the door, waiting for the gentleman. As the light finally disappeared, and I still hadn't seen the gentleman, I began to wonder if he had stood me up? Or was he already waiting for me way before I got here. I waited as a bunch of dock workers lumbered in after a long day, probably looking for a nice meal and a not so quick drink, before slipping down the roof into the alley next to it.

I made my way to the back of the tavern, made sure there was no one else that could see me and quickly shimmied up one of the timber pillars that came down on all sides of the building. I had picked a window that didn't have a light lit, but I still cautiously peeked in for a minute, looking for any hint of movement. Not seeing anything, I shimmied the latch open by sticking a piece of thin bark in the gap between the window and the frame. quietly slipping in, I pulled the window shut, leaving a gap at the bottom, so I could slip my fingers in and slide the window up quickly in a hurry if need be.

I pulled out a dark green scarf from a pocket and wrapped it around my face, at the same time willing my coat to turn into a black leather coat with a hood, effectively concealing my identity. The room I had landed in was pretty bare. It had three small beds, each with a low table next to it with an unlit lamp on top, and a tiny fireplace in the corner. Probably sharing the chimney of an oven on the floor underneath. The room was a little bit barer than I would have expected, and considering the room was tucked in a corner, I realised it was a room where they probably stuck the drunks that had passed out from a heavy nights drinking but still had money in their purses.

I made my way to the only door in the room, my boots whispering over the bare floorboards. I waited a while at the door, listening quietly to make sure there wasn't anyone on the other side. After enough time had passed to make me certain, I brought out my roll of lock picks and rolled it out on the floor. A quick examination of the door showed a basic lock, and a single pick, a half dozen heartbeats and a click later indicated the door was open. I rolled my picks back up and placed them in their pocket. I pulled out a little dripper full of oil from my back pocket and dripped a drop on the two hinges, and on the handle. A moment more for the oil to spread out and I pulled the door smoothly open.

I stepped out into the corridor, realising that my assessment of the outside had been wrong, or at least, not entirely correct. It was a little nicer than I had expected. The hallway was tastefully decorated with light wooden panelling, some cheap mage lights dotted sparingly along the corridor. Perhaps only the rich came up here, apart from the room I just came through which didn't match the rest of what I could see.

I had been told that I was to go to the room with the fish on the door. I glanced at the door across mine which had a horse painted on it. The room I had just come out of was plain white with a sign that said 'staff only'. I snuck down the corridor, passing a room with a falcon, a bear and then stopping in front of the door with a curled up blue dagger-fish. I waited to see if I could hear anything inside, but it was completely quiet. I sniffed, smelling something strange, but it was quite a bit later than the agreed time, so I rapped three times.

The door swung open immediately, as if he had been standing on the other side the entire time, revealing the tall 'gentleman' wearing a tall hat with a feather stuck through it, topping off an outfit of a dark green shirt and brown silk trousers which flared out at the bottom covering his shoes, which I suspected were just as ridiculous. "Ah, thief!" he pronounced loudly, as if introducing me to a roomful of snobby nobles, "Please, come in" he said with a flourish. I looked around him to see an empty room and stepped gingerly in. The room was well appointed, decorated with a variety of warm brown tapestries with a large fireplace, comfy looking chairs dotted around it, one of which had along woollen coat draped over the back of it, and a large white rug in the centre with a low, marble table on top. The gentleman closed the door and walked past me, going to a low table in the corner. He picked up a letter and turned around to face me, "Sorry, but my employers want to meet you in person" he said with a slimy smile. "Of course, we will compensate you for the trouble" before I could even think of refusing, he pulled out a massive gold coin, the size of his palm, and the thickness of his little finger. He flipped it towards me and I caught it automatically, having to fight the instinctive urge to squirrel it away into one of my pockets. I inspected it, the coin was real, it's ancient surface covered in runic scribbles, slightly faded by time. I could feel something in the coin, something whispering to me, and something within me was responding.

"Well, I assume you agree to my terms?" he asked with that annoying smile again. I nodded, still confused to my reaction to the coin, and stuck it in my pocket. "Well, if you would follow me, please, and I will take you to my employers, or do you want to go back out of the window" he grinned at me obviously waiting for my reaction. I kept my face carefully blank whilst wondering frantically how he knew. I had made extra sure that no one saw me climb up, and even if someone did it was impossible to have told him and left before I got here. Ugh, magic, I knew I’d smelt something weird. I hated dealing with mages. His smile dropped a little at my lack of reaction, and led the way out of the door, taking the long woollen coat with him as he went.