Rune,

I've used every source at my disposal and I still can't find a trace of your parents. Whoever they are, they've completely erased themselves from history. This is quite a feat considering the quality of my sources. If I come up with anything else, I'll be certain to contact you.

Athel Newberry

The letter began to float down to the table, until it was pinned by a crashing forehead and covered by a mop of brown hair. A groan escaped from under the mop, barely audible over the laughter and swearing of the inn. Across the letter, an iron tankard in an iron grip gently sloshed some ale. The woman holding it frowned at the liquid going down the sides.

"Stop with the dramatics Rune, it's not the first dead end you hit; but I can guarantee it'll be the last if you spill anymore of my drink."

The mop of hair groaned again, followed quickly by a curse as the woman's other hand smacked the top of the mop. His hair fell to the sides of his face as he sat up, hand massaging his scalp. The hair belonged to a face more handsome than dirty, but only just. His hair moved with a stiffness that spoke of infrequent washes. It framed a wide forehead freshly smudged with ink, cheeks spotted with dirt, and a jaw covered in stubble. He gave a crooked grin despite his wretched mood. His smile fell as he gave her his full attention.

"This time was different, Saff. I've been stashing away my cut for a year to hire this guy, and all I get is some ravings about history. I could have gotten more answers by paying the lunatics down in the Ratways to have a guess. Pfft." Rune flicked the paper in her direction. She took a drink of her ale and pretended to ignore it, but Rune knew better. Even upside down, all she needed was a glance to scrape all the important info out of that page.

She placed the mug down and covered her mouth to give a quick cough. So smooth that it looked like she was only adjusting her sleeve, she pulled out a small mirror and took stock of the inn behind her. Two doors at either ends of a long wall each pointed at the bar, which formed the peak of the triangular shape of the inn. Between the doors, stairs led up to the rooms on the second floor and down to the basement below. The middle of the bar was filled with dinged tables, wobbly chairs, and an eclectic crowd. Fishers, shop keeps, brewers, and even nobility rub shoulders at the Bee & the Barb. Except for the Black-Briars. They still came in for a drink every so often, Keerava made the best damn specials in all of Skyrim. It's just that the rabble generally valued their lives enough give Maven Black-Briars family a wide berth. Confident that the closest patrons were deep in their cups, Sapphire leaned in.

"Was this Delvyn's last tip? I thought you were smarter than that Rune. I don't care how mysterious he likes to act, he doesn't know everything. Mercer might be able to get some of your gold back, after he's done calling you an idiot, but you know he'll keep a cut for the Guild. Tssk. Delvyn shouldn't be swindling from members."

Rune knew that this was as much empathy as he could expect, at least on the outside. With straight long hair as dark as night, high cheekbones and a delicate chin, Sapphire should have been attracting admirers all over Riften. She definitely put the stereotype of broad Nordic women to rest. But her eyes told a different story. Blue as a- well as a Sapphire, and sharp as a knife, she could cut through bravado in a second and out-scowl a Dunmer. Any drunks brave enough to approach her sobered up right quick, and most of the sober were smart enough to leave her alone. Except for Rune. He followed her lead and glanced around before leaning in, much easier to do with his back to the wall.

"This wasn't just another crazy tip from Delvyn. Last thing he suggested was to bribe that old Jarl high on swamp gas in Morthal, you know the one with the visions? Yeah, safe to say that I've drained that barrel dry. I found this guy on my own. He works at the University of Gwylim Central over in Cyrodiil. Rumored to have a network that puts even Delvyn's to shame. Some kind of expert at tracking down info no matter what side of the law its hiding in. He's not just good, he's supposed to be the best. Damn well charged like it, at least." Rune got more and more upset as his frustration boiled over. "Molag' s balls! I blew every septim I had on this fraud and all I got to show for it is this useless drivel!" He smacked a hand on the letter and balled it in his a fist.

She leaned back and arched a single eyebrow into an unamused expression. "Every septim? So I take it that you weren't being literal then when you invited me up here for a drink then."

With a laugh he let go of the ball of parchment. She always seemed to know how to cut right through his moods. He brushed his hair back as he responded, "Well no, technically speaking you're drinking the last couple septims I owned. Just don't expect the next one to be on me…or any other for a while."

Sapphire sighed and slid the ale over to him. "Sounds like you need a drink more than I do, you can get me the next one. What did you expect Rune? Let's see," she raised a hand and began to count on her fingers as she went along, "sending good gold for info on a brown haired, brown eyed, medium-built Imperial with some sort of tie to Solitude, the most Imperial populated city and the seat of the gods damned Empire in Skyrim. Not exactly the darkest pebble in a snowstorm to track down. Tssk." She shot him a look that left no doubt as to what she thought of his financial planning.

"You're right," he sighed out, "but I guess if you think about it, it really could be worse." He tapped a finger against his chin and schooled his expression into one of fake concern, "I mean I could've been a Nord instead. Just think about it," He raised his own fingers as he made his points. "Then I'd look like every other lackwit here, have a poorly hidden fetish for dressing up in fur, be able to hold enough liquor to kill a horse, and worst of all: I'd be a stinking Nord!"

His joke cost him another slap over the head, but he laughed regardless.

They were interrupted by what can only be described as a reptile in the form of a man. From what could be seen around his clothing he was completely covered in dark green scales in place of skin, with an orange discoloration on his neck. His face looked like a fusion between a man and an alligator. Where hair would be he had a series of feathers that almost looked like leaves, and a row of off-white horns lined his impressively thick jaw. His eyes sat far apart on his face, a vibrant yellow and perfectly circular.

Two sets of lids blinked at them. He opened his mouth, or snout more accurately, lined with far too many sharp teeth, and asked in a raspy, growly voice, "Anything else I can get you two, or can I clear this table once you're finished sharing that one ale?"

"Oh I don't know Rune," said Sapphire, keeping her eyes trained on Rune and adopting an overly sweet tone, "does anything in this wonderful establishment catch your attention?"

Having played this act before, Rune jumped into his role. "Hmmmm, well I do find it interesting that our good friend Talen-Jei here is so eager to see his tables filled. The Bee and the Barb must be raking in the septims if it hurts them so to see a spot so underutilized. I have to congratulate my Argonian friends, business must be booming! Can you think of anyone who would be interested to hear about that Sapphire?"

"I'm sure I could think of one or two people who would like to know, or maybe" said Sapphire, before glaring up at the Argonian and switching to her more natural, intimidating tone, "we might forget all about this once the nosy lizard leaves us to our drink."

Talen-Jei's expression didn't change, not that it could. Argonians can barely move their faces at all. But he did cross his arms over his chest. For a tense second he met her stare dead on, tapping the claws of his hand against the scales of his forearm. Then another Argonian spoke up from behind the bar.

"Leave them be, it's not worth the hassle." she said, with a slightly higher pitched rasp, "They'll be out of here soon enough. You know they have their own bar to loiter in." She filled up another tankard with ale and sent it sliding down the bar, stopping just behind Rune. "Just have your drinks and leave, no need to be spreading tales."

The female behind the bar had a rim of horns and lacked the feathers of Talen-Jei. Her scales were a shade of light brown dotted with darker spots. The red of her eyes were so dark that they bordered on black.

Sapphire turned and smiled at the other Argonian, eyes never losing their steely edge. "Why thank you, Keevara," she said, "I never thought that I would receive the honor of two ales on the house. I think we've forgotten all about whatever this was, haven't we Rune?" Turning back to Talen-Jei, "You can go. As you can see we're busy with out drinks."

Keevara let out a noise somewhere between a hiss and a grunt. She obviously didn't appreciae being swindled out of two drinks but seemed to know better than to argue. Instead she went back to wiping down the silver cups that the nobles seemed to prefer for their drinks. Talen-Jei kept his arms crossed for a half a second longer before turning around. Somehow his thick tail seemed to 'accidentally' bump into Sapphire's chair.

Once they had some privacy Rune shot her an annoyed look. "You know I hate doing that Saff. They're good people. Keep to themselves and run the only half decent inn in this skeeverhole of a city. I could have at least covered the first ale."

Sapphire shot back an annoyed look of her own. "Oh I'm sorry," she replied, her tone suggesting anything but apology, "did I or did I not just get us another drink and let you keep some gold in your pocket?" She waved him off with a lazy hand and spoke over him as he went to argue. "Aaaand speaking of your pockets, what in Oblivion made you choose to empty your coffers now?" She continued talking as she half got up and reached for the ale behind Rune. "You know as well as I do that jobs are becoming rarer and rarer around here, and your pickiness isn't helping either. With Maven protecting half the nobles the money has to come from somewhere, and it sure ain't coming from me." She brought the ale up to her lips but stopped short, giving him a squint over the top of the tankard. "Don't think that you're going to guilt some of my cut away from me, you know that none of us can afford that."

Rune shook his head and made sure to hide the smile growing on his lips as she took a long pull from the tankard. She never said she wouldn't share, only that she couldn't afford to. It was the little things like that that proved she wasn't as bad as the reputation she had built. Like when she gave up the better view of the inn under the pretense of practicing her mirror skills. She was more than skilled enough to keep tabs with the mirror, but there she wouldn't have trusted just anybody to watch her back.

"I'm not after your money, and you know I think we're too damn dependent on Maven anyways. However," said Rune, as he leaned in over the table again, "there is another reason why I wanted to talk to you up here, away from the Guild." Sapphire used her mirror to make sure there wouldn't be any more interruptions inbound and leaned in, face all business. "This source wasn't the only info I found in my digging. Rumor has it that Gwylim's relic hunting division in Solitude is looking to expand. They're hiring anyone who can get their hands on fancy relics, wherever they might be hiding. They don't seem to be particularly concerned with fancy pedigree. They're more concerned with results than questionable methods, as long as you don't advertise your methods." Rune let an infectiously crooked grin split his stubble. "And we can get those results. What do you say Saff, try your hand at working a semi-honest job? Give life among some more spoiled Imperials a go?"

Sapphire's face turned to stone. His smile fell quick as thought as he wondered what he had said wrong. Her face revealed so little she could give Talen-Jei a run for his money. His concern grew by the moment as she stared him down.

With a tone so neutral it could only be forced she asked, "You want to leave the Guild? Just leave us all behind?"

Rune's couldn't look more confused if he tried. "Well, yeah Saff- it's like you said, the jobs are drying up around here faster than a mudcrab in the desert, and I'm not exactly a fan of what we're becoming. I'm not just asking you for travel money, if that's what you're worried about. It'll take me a bit to save enough from my cuts to pay for passage across Skyrim." His elbows found the table as he leaned in to convince her, "All in all it ain't a bad life. Probably won't be any big scores but at least it's stable. It's not that different from what we do now, if you think about it. We'd just answer to some fancy bookworms instead of being Maven's pets." Rune tilted his head to the side, giving her a questioning look. "Besides, I'm not leaving everyone behind. I'm inviting you aren't I?"

For the first time since he'd known her, her eyes lost their intensity. They didn't pin him in place, cut him down, or stare right through him. She just…stared at him, the blue in her eyes dancing in the candlelight. Then in one move, she kicked her seat back, got up, and downed the rest of her tankard.

"I have to go," she said, putting the tankard down. "I've got business going down soon..." She turned around and made her way through the tables to the left-most door, walking right through the unlucky patrons that got in her way.

Rune was left staring at the tankard, dumb-struck and confused. "Just when I think I finally get her." he said, shaking his head and looking around. There was no talking to her when she clammed up like that. Best he could do would be to head down to the Cistern and talk to her in the morning. Not really in the mood for more drinking, Rune shoved the ball of paper in his pocket and stood up to leave. He put the empty tankards on the bar, along with what little gold he had left, and made his way over to the same left-most door. If Keevara was surprised by the payment she didn't show it, or even turn around. But she stopped her wiping at the clink of the coins.

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Rune weaved his way past the patrons at the inn and shouldered the door open, stepping out into the Riften night.

---

Secunda and Masser were both full and overhead, not a cloud in the night sky. Morr than enough moons light to see, even without the torches spread throughout the city. Good night for a stroll, terrible one for a thief.

'No way does Saff have business tonight. Guess I really did piss her off.' Rune thought, as he walked over to the stairs that lead to the lower city.

Riften was a city of two sides and two levels. A canal carved an arc right through it, both ends connected to Lake Honrich to the west. The canal ran deep enough that an entire floor of the city also existed along its sides. Wooden slats bordered the water on either side and shallow boats provided transport down the water. A plethora of bridges connected the West Arc and the East of the city.

The Bee and the Barb that Rune had left was inside the West Arc, close to the northern end of the canal. He walked along the wooden road of the lower walkway, leaving the north end of the waterway behind him. The water was still enough to reflect the night sky, a river of starlight cutting through a broken city. It was a good thing his feet knew where to take him, as he was too busy thinking of how to patch things over with Sapphire.

'She's always been fond of a good gem or two, but how do I get my hands on one of those? It'll be tough enough to recoup enough for passage to the capital, and I'm trough doing jobs on the West Arc.' He sighed and glanced up and to the right, where the lights coming from the stone buildings cast a glow of muted yellow and orange.

'Rich bastards even get to see better than the rest of us. The East is where the money's at, with the jewels and septims of the nobles and politicians. I don't care how Mercer spins it, being at Maven's beck and call just doesn't feel right. Especially when she's protecting her rich friends. The West Arc is filled with good folk who work hard for their living. Like ma and pa. The last thing they need is to lose even more theft. But with Maven protecting her buddies there aren't exactly many options left.'

The West Arc was home to the merchants, the barkeeps, the blacksmiths, and the rest of the commoners lucky enough to have a way to earn a living. It stretched all the way to the shore of the lake, and partly over it. Wooden stilts supported the westernmost half of the west side, morphing into a dock where the fisherman would offload their produce. The Black-Briar Meadery could also be found there, rolling their barrels of mead to the boats and carriages waiting to shuttle them across the province. The East was where the Jarl, the nobles, the priests, and the finer society in general lived. Farther away from the shores of Lake Honrich, the high society could construct larger and sturdier buildings. That was where the attention of the Jarl seemed to focus. The guards acted like glorified security for the rich, rarely crossing over to the west and downright ignoring the beggars of the lower canals.

Deep in thoughts that had nagged him for years, Rune was surprised to see that he had stopped walking. He was near the middle of the canal's arc, in the shadow of one of the many bridges overhead. He stood between two abandoned basement doors that led nowhere. Riften was filled with odd quirks like that. Most of the city was destroyed after the Great Fire 70 years ago. They rebuilt, but the city never truly recoveered. There were plenty of oddly placed doors and caved in rooms to misdirect the unwary visitor. The new construction also resulted in a confusing maze of a sewer system underneath the city.

Rune knelt down as if to pick something up and ran a hand over the stonework of the lower canal walls. Feeling the familiar engraving of the shadowmark, he pried his finger between two of the stones. A section of the wall swung inward, revealing a small tunnel at around half height. With a practiced ease Rune quickly rolled over his shoulder into the tunnel and pushed the door closed behind him, the seams so fine that they became practically invisible from the outside. He continued forward at a crouch through the pitch black tunnel. After a couple of forks the tunnel became large enough to walk through comfortably, and a small oil lamp hidden in an alcove gave Rune some light. After a couple of minutes of meandering through the tunnels, Rune dropped through a broken grate, slid down a small slide, and came out on his feet in a large cavern. He put his lamp next to a collection of others on a rickety table and looked around.

A man made cavern greeted him, large enough to fit a hundred people or so. The walls surrounding it were made of an older, higher quality stone construction than the rest of the city. They stretched high around the cavern and eventually sloped inwards to form a large dome overhead. At the center of the dome was a circular opening, casting faint moonlight on a deep pool of water several dozen meters across. The space around the pool was an eclectic collection of cots and half functional furniture. Various doors, holes, grates and tunnels peppered the perimeter of the walls. The Cistern, home of the Thieves Guild. Hidden just out of sight underneath the city well.

Rune knew that one of those doors lead to the Ragged Flagon, a bar for those looking for cheaper ale or more questionable business. The Flagon was a bit of an open secret in Riften. Getting to it involved going down the official entrance to the old sewer system, or the Ratways as the locals called it. If you could brave the smell, and knew how to avoid the crazier tenants who called those tunnels home, it was relatively simple to find the bar. The existence of the Cistern, however, was only known to a select few. A passage connected the two, hidden behind a fake cabinet in a storeroom behind the bar. Once initiated, a member of the Guild learned of other, more discreet methods of reaching the Cistern from various parts of the city.

'Pretty empty right now. Well, emptier than usual.' Rune thought as he made his way around the pool to his favorite cot. 'I guess Maven offloaded some more of her bad batches to the Flagon.'

Rune kicked his boots off and laid down on his cot, one hand behind his head, staring at the sloping ceiling. He had little need for other furniture, he was wearing what little he owned anyways.

'Three years I've been living down here, stealing for the Guild and using my cut for info,' He reached for his chest with his other hand, feeling the stone he kept in a sling around his neck, 'and I'm no closer to knowing what this is or who I am.' Rune turned to face the wall, back to the Cistern, and fished out the stone that had plagued him all his life. An oval of dark rock, it would be easy to mistake for a common river rock if it weren't for the tiny symbols carved over it in a dizzying pattern. Always the same symbol, repeated endlessly. Rune ran his fingers over the grooves.

'I'll speak with Brynjolf in the morning and let him know my plans.' He thought. 'Mercer will be upset but at least I'm giving him a heads up. Plenty of folk have come and gone, more going than coming. Not my problem. Someone else can fix the Guild. I need an answer, and I'm not going to find it down here. I'll just grab some fancy goods to fence from the lords and ladies and be on my way Solitude.'

He sighed and put the stone back in its sling and under his shirt. 'I've always been a lousy liar, even to myself. Jobs in the East are gone thanks to Maven's influence. I'm going to have to hit the West Arc. Sorry pa, I'll make it up to them one day.' With a yawn Rune settled in for a night's rest.

'I hope I can convince Saff to come...gotta get some gems...or maybe a good set of lockpicks...' and with that last tired thought, he fell asleep.

---

Rune awoke to a hand over his mouth. Eyes wide he looked wildly around for the owner. A voice that smelled of alcohol whispered in his ear.

"Shut up Rune, we need to talk."

'... Sapphire?' Rune thought, beating heart calming as his eyes found her crouching above his head. He gave a nod and she retrieved her hand. The dozen or so other members that slept out on the Cistern were all in their cots. It was still dark, probably close to sunrise. He wasn't quite sure. She gestured her head over to a door a couple of cots down.

He got up as quietly as he could and carefully put his boots on, alert to the breathing of Niruin in the closest cot. The wood elf's hearing was frightening good. It was a testament to Sapphire's skill that she could sneak past him, even drunk apparently. As he shuffled past him he thought he saw a faint smile on his face.

'Well so much for that. Damn Bosmer. He'll be needling me for hours about this come morn.' Rune thought, stepping through the door that Sapphire had quietly opened.

Sapphire lead the way through the dark twists and turns, faint candle in hand. They reached a dead end with a raggedy fabric nailed to the wall. Moving the fabric aside, she stepped through a hidden door and into a room. A low chest of drawers in the middle held another candle, still burning low. There was a cot on the wall opposite the door. A cracked floor mirror leaned on the right back corner.

'Huh, well I'll be a daedra's uncle. Never thought she'd show me where she sleeps. Shit, I guess I win. Vipir better pay up.' Rune thought, rubbing the last of the sleep from his eyes and adjusting to the candlelight.

Sapphire never slept out in the Cistern, and only the higher ups like Vex or Delvin knew where to find her. The rest of the members had theories ranging from being the secret daughter of an East side noble to an aquatic vampire that lived under the lake. Vipir provided that last one, unfortunately a bit too loudly. He gave credence his name-sake of Vipir the Fleet when he ran all over the Ratways to escape Saff's wrath. He returned black and blue, promising a hefty sum of gold to the first to find out where she sleeps. Quietly, of course, and out of Sapphire's earshot. Not that the bet did any good. She could tail someone better than anyone in the Guild and always knew when she was being followed. Rune knew that she had her reasons for sleeping away from the others and never pressed her.

Focusing on the matter at hand, he took in Sapphire, who looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. Her normally tense face was a bit more relaxed and slightly pink, her tell for when she had too much to drink. Her eyes still pinned him down though, and let him know that she was serious about something.

"What's up Saff? Everything OK? Look I'm sorry about what I said up in the Barb, whatever it was- hey I never thanked you for that ale- I just thought-" Rune said in a quick jumble, stopping only when Sapphire raised her hand. Her eyes bored into his and he had to look away, trying his best to appear casual.

"You're not sorry Rune, and that's OK." She said in a calm tone. Rune let go of the breath he was holding. She walked over to the cot and gestured for Rune to sit next to her.

"I get it, really. I do." Sapphire said. "You have a good heart, you've always had a good heart. It's why you're different. The rest of the crew down here? They're OK stealing from anyone who can rub two septims together. Only Brynjolf, Delvin, and Vex ever really brought up the code of the Gray Fox, and at the end of the day they respect Mercer's orders more. But not you. No you never shut up about it, talking my ear off. Instead of easy money you think of the work they put into gathering it. When I see a mark, you only see your folks. Well, not your parents, but you know, your folks. They did right by you. They didn't have to take you in. Guess they had good hearts too."

She leaned forwards and put her head between her hands, hair falling over her face.

"Shit look at me, blabbing like a teenager after a couple of drinks." Sapphire said.

"To be honest Saff, I'm beginning to think you might have had more than a couple." Rune said, bumping her shoulder with his elbow. She gave a quick chuckle but didn't raise her head.

"You're the only one I talk to like this Rune…Hell look at us. Any of the other idiot would have made a move on me by now…You didn't let the blue eyed bitch scare you away…you're the only one I've told about my past…about the bandits…"

Rune looked at her, face serious and concerned. It took two years to earn her trust enough before she would talk about her past. He was one of the few in the Guild who even knew that Sapphire was her real name instead of a nickname. Even thinking about her childhood, what she'd been through, made his blood boil. She wouldn't appreciate a hand on the back right now, so he just stayed quiet and kept listening.

"I don't have a good heart Rune." Sapphire continues. "I'm a survivor. I'll do- hell I have done, whatever it takes to get by. And I don't just mean slitting all of those bandits throats…If my dad would have grown a pair and stuck around instead of leaving us behind…who knows, maybe I'd be some smiling farmer's daughter you know? Picking flowers out there… Delvin rescued me from a darker path, and the Guild took me in despite…they took me in on Delvin's word. I owe it to them, to him, to stay."

Sapphire let go of her head and reached under the cot. She sat back up with a pouch in her hands.

"The rich folk have wizened up that Maven runs this town and they're dancing to her tune. Your picky days are over. Mercer's been told to extort the West Arc, bleed 'em dry until the only place to turn is to borrow money from the guild. Money that's coming from and going to Maven. By the time you get enough to leave, you'd change Rune." Sapphire said. She got up from the court and walked over to the candle, crossing her arms and giving him her back. The pouch stayed on the cot. "Don't change. Grab the gold and go. I'll smooth things over with Mercer and the others. You'll still be in the Guilds good graces. Just…go."

Rune lifted the pouch, feeling how heavy it was, and stood up immediately. "No way Saff, this is too much. I can't take this. What about you?" Rune said. Sapphire started laughing under breath, dropping her head. She turned around, one hand on her waist.

"Here's a tip," she said, "when the pretty lass gives you money, you shut up and take it. It won't happen every day you. Besides," A smirk grew on her face and her eyes turned mischievous, "it's not all mine. Heard a rumor about a little wager going on about me. I…convinced Vipir that the prize was better off in my hands. To give to the lucky winner, of course. Congratulations. You can thank him for a little less than half of that." Dropping the smirk she gave him another hard look. "But if I find out you told anyone where I rest my head Rune, I'll nail your damn manhood to that door."

Rune laughed and shook his head. He couldn't believe it. Well, the threat he could believe. But he couldn't believe that the Sapphire that he had come to know these past years, the hard ass with the little cracks of loyalty, would ever go this far for someone. He only had one question.

"Saff I don't know what to…Why?"

She didn't answer immediately. Just like before, her eyes lost their intensity and just took him in for a long while.

"I thought that I would never feel again after…everything. You're the only person that stuck around, no matter what I did." She took a step closer to him, blue eyes never leaving his. "I don't know if there's coming back from that…but you got me close." Softly, she reached out and put something into his palm.

Suddenly, raven black hair whipped him in the face as she walked away. She opened the door and stopped, still facing away from him.

"There's a caravan leaving at sunrise from the north city gate. You can catch it if you move your ass. Take three lefts and climb the ladder, you'll pop up behind a gravestone at the cemetery. You'll be watching your own back from now on…good luck." And with that she closed the door behind her, leaving a thoroughly confused Rune with a pouch in one hand, a mystery object in the other, and an absolutely dumbfounded expression on his face.

Rune opened his palm to see what she had given him. It was a leather bracelet, with a small mirror attached.

---

As the sun started to rise over the horizon, a man could be seen jogging up to a caravan readying for departure. After a quick conversation with the leader of the caravan, and some gold exchanged, the man found himself sitting in a wagon. He looked back at the open city gates, seeing the people of the city getting ready to begin their day. He couldn't find who he was looking for, but he was sure that he was being watched anyways. He waved a hand goodbye. Somewhere in the city black hair whipped away down a hidden passage.