Benj woke up with a startle. His head pounded from the drinking. He vaguely remembered leaving the bar, and he had a feeling that there was something he had forgotten. He wasn't in his room. He panicked as it all came back to him. His wrists were raw from the ropes, but all his fingers and toes were still there, and he was no longer tied up. He got on his feet, and the room swirled around him. He was still drunk.

The door opened, and Priest came in with bread, dried fruit, and two drinks on a tray.

Benj sat up slowly in bed, confused, "What happened last night?"

"After you eat something and get your head straight, you'll be better for a conversation," Priest said warmly.

"Where are we?" Benj asked.

"The Cellar Inn. It's just down the street from the cathedral. It is a safe place." He set down the tray. "Here, drink this. It'll help with your head."

Priest handed him a large cup of salty, bitter-tasting tea and encouraged him to finish all of it. "Make sure you eat something before you come out. If you have to throw up, do it in here," he said, sliding a pot over with his foot.

"I don't get it,' Benj said, "Why am I here?"

Priest sighed. "It was your initiation. Everyone does it, even me."

He left the room while Benj ate small bites of bread and drank water. The bitter drink had made his head bearable, but he still felt awful. After a while, he opened the door and made his way to a staircase that led down into the common room. There, sitting around tables, eating, and drinking was the entire team. Everyone cheered.

"Let's see it!" Draiden yelled from the crowd.

"See what?"

"Open your shirt!"

Benj lifted up his shirt and found a raw tattoo of a black bird holding a three-prong crown over his heart. There was a star under the left crown spike. He was bewildered.

The crowd cheered for him as he made his way to the tables and sat down.

"Here's the little baby now," Draiden chided, "You should have seen yourself blubber when they said they were going to cut off your precious little toes!"

"As I recall," Priest lifted an eyebrow, "You pissed yourself all over the table and cried for your mother."

"Congratulations, Bird," Reese said with a smile, "You're official now, but you'll probably want to sleep it off for the rest of the day."

Everything was too much for Benj to take in. The sound hurt his ears, the light hurt his eyes, and the drumming in the back of his head kept him from getting upset and throwing chairs." Yeah, I think some sleep would be good."

"I'll walk with you," Lucia offered and escorted him out.

Reese watched Benj and Lucia as they walked out and then spoke, "You mean to tell me he didn't say anything?"

"Not a single word," The tall man said from across the table. His name was Archer, and he was the man who purchased the stolen goods from each job and redistributed them among the city's jewelers, merchants, and weapons dealers. He also had connections with every alchemist in Royal City.

"He seems trustworthy," Archer said, "He defended you when I called you Lar-" He caught himself, "Well, you know. Pretty impressive. Kept to his story, and then he threw up all over the place."

"Thanks, what do I owe you?" Reese asked.

"I owe your brother enough to call this one a favor," Archer said, lifting the lid off a box. "Let me see these wares. Maybe you can cut me a deal."

Reese redirected his attention to Bones. "That was probably one of your best works of art."

Bones nodded gratefully. There was almost a smile, but not quite.

Reese whistled, and everyone began arranging the tables into a semicircle. Items were then taken out of wooden crates and set on the tables. He and Archer walked around, stopping at each table and negotiating a price. After a price was agreed upon, Archer would pay Reese, and the items were placed back into crates and taken away.

By the time Archer left, Reese ended up making slightly less than he tallied the first night. He had a council meeting later, and the anticipation of it distracted him. He still had Priest's bottle of spirits, which gave him hope for a better turn-out.

"Priest, what are you doing about that bottle?" He asked.

He held up empty hands and gestured around the room. "Carmello hasn't shown up yet, and he should have been here an hour ago. So I guess you could say I'm resisting the temptation to open it."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"He's late?"

"Yes, but not unexpectedly. We'll give him another hour before we send someone."

"I'm putting you in charge of that," Reese said and stood. "I have a council meeting to go to."

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Lucia had helped Benj to his room and laid him on the bed. He had thrown up everything in his stomach, but she put a pot next to his bed just in case.

"It's part of the initiation. It happens to everyone."

"Even you?"

"Kind of," She hesitated. "Because I'm not really here out of my own free will, Reese told me what was going to happen and assured me the men would respect me when they tied me up."

"He really is a good man, isn't he?" Benj asked.

"I think so," She said noncomittally, "Do you want to see?"

"See what?"

Lucia pulled her shirt down around her left shoulder, revealing the Crownsmith tattoo.

"He asked me where I wanted to put it; I told him here." She pointed at her shoulder.

"It looks good on you," he managed before dry heaving into the bucket next to the bed.

"You really are a charmer," she said, lying down next to him on the bed.

"This is nothing," He said, eyelids hanging heavy. "You should have seen the mess I made last night."

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At the Celler Inn, a man in his thirties entered. He had long brown hair tied meticulously back behind handsome features. He wore a blue jacket with matching blue trousers and spoke with an air of pretension.

"Hello?" He called out. "Did I miss the festivities?"

"Carmello, you pompous old prick, you're as late as a skeleton with an antidote," Priest greeted him.

"I was held up in court or some such thing," he excused himself. "So sue me."

"No need to involve the law. What can you tell me about this?" Priest set down the crystal bottle in front of him.

"Ohhh, what is this indeed?" He squeaked with pleasure as he picked the bottle up to inspect it. "Elden Spirits, if I'm not mistaken, at least fifty years old. This is quite the find."

"It was a gift from an old friend."

"You don't have to lie to me, old chap," Carmello held the bottle protectively. "No one would give the likes of you a bottle of this quality. I would say this bottle is worth at least two royals and fifteen."

"I'll pay that much right now and drink it myself," Priest countered, recognizing the start of the negotiations.

Carmello looked affronted, "Fine. I'll give you three royals of the selling price, but that's because I'm certain I can find a buyer."

Priest held out his hand, "I'll do it."

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Reese walked into the Crownsmith Cathedral and approached the large round table in the center. The gold skull sitting in the middle of the table reflected the stained-glass windows and shined radiant colors on Kahl Stau, Tannus Reginald, and Darius Balat. By the time Reese sat down, a single bell rang out in the distance, designating the thirteenth hour.

"Glad you could make it," Darius said, folding his fingers across the table. "Let us begin. The first order of business is from last night's reports. Reese?"

Reese stood up, "We just got a new member; his name is Benjos Bird. He worked with Gallows before coming to us. He led this last operation as a point, and it was a success. We were running a skeleton crew there for a while after the recent deaths of my other members. Bash continues to be valuable to the team. I plan on keeping her. The total estimated earnings from last night come to forty-eight royals and just over five talents. After the sales with Archer, it came out to a little less. There will be one or two royals after Priest sells the last of the wares through Carmello. There were no casualties. There were three robbers in the house when we got there. Odd, but not unheard of. Bird found them and led them to Jafa and Pots, who took care of them."

"The money?" Darius held out his hand.

Reese set the heavy bag of coins on the table and slid it over to Darius, who separated the coins into four piles and slid the smaller stack toward Reese. He then slid two of the larger stacks towards Kahl and Tannus.

"You can keep your last royal pending the sale," Darius said, and then, before Reese could protest, added, "Have you done nothing to find your brother?"

"I am many things," Reese said dispassionately, "My brother's butler is not one of them."

"I see," Darius said solemnly. "Anything else, Reese?"

"No."

"Kahl, do you have anything to report?" Darius asked the leader of the assassins.

Kahl Stau rose from his chair, "I have arranged our next target; our assassins are drawing up the plans as we speak. They should be ready within the next few days. I have nothing further to report."

Tannus slammed his fists on the table and raised his voice angrily. "What do you mean you've arranged our next target? The only thing the assassins should be arranging is their collection of knives while the overseers do the planning. What are you arranging?"

"I am familiar with the rules, Chancellor. We are allowed to conduct inside jobs without the involvement of the overseers in special cases, but I will consider your argument." Darius made brief eye contact with Kahl before continuing. "Is there anything else you would like to report?"

Tannus stood and took a deep breath. "The overseers and I are concerned about the state of the area surrounding Canal Street. The brothels, smoke dens, and money lenders have been turning what used to be a nice area of town into a garbage pit. Homeless gather in the street, and trash and waste have gathered to a ghastly degree. We have decided that hosting such establishments is no longer viable for our community."

"I understand your concern, chancellor," Darius stated grimly. "But those establishments have become our primary source of income. The overseers haven't drawn up any plans as of late, and that is costing us. So, we have been taking contracts."

"We haven't drawn any plans because there are no plans to draw. The king has no open opposition, so the kingdom is now our primary mission. That means Royal City, and that means getting rid of the refuse." Tannus insisted. "Furthermore, I don't appreciate you going off and conducting assassinations without consulting the Overseers. We are here for a reason, and you cannot continue taking contracts out on our citizens for revenue!"

"Do you enjoy your little payments, Tannus?" Darius asked, gesturing towards the stack of coins in front of him. "It appears as if you are unhappy with your cut."

"This isn't about money," Tannus said, pushing the coins away. "You can keep it. This is about preserving our king and preserving our people. If you neglect your responsibilities, you will not enjoy the outcome."

"Then I will look into cleaning up Canal Street," Darius said. "Is that all?"

"Yes." Tannus took his seat.

Darius composed himself in his chair. "It appears we all have some challenges ahead of us. Kahl, I want you to cancel your plans for now; we have to rid ourselves of some refuse first."

"Yes, lord," Kahl acknowledged without a hint of irritation. This brought a satisfied look from Tannus.

"Reese, I want you to go to Thannon tomorrow and find your brother," Darius ordered

"That will take over two weeks!" Reese exclaimed.

"I believe I was telling you to go to Thannon, not asking how long you felt it would take," Darius said, staring at Reese with a level eye.

Reese bit his tongue. "I will go tomorrow."

"Excellent. I don't care who you put in charge while you're gone. We will arrange our next meeting upon your return. You are all dismissed."