“Lilith! You better get out here!” Shouted a bear of a man from the street below. The man was so large and hairy that if he didn’t wear a coat, he’d probably have local guards call on him once a day. The man grunted, which was promptly followed by three successive knocks which shook the building.

“One second!” Retorted Lilith as she double-checked her throwing needle bracelet. Then, she patted her boots before snatching up a pair of sheathed daggers from her bed and sticking them in her boots. She threw her cloak around her shoulders and made sure it was as wrinkly as possible before buttoning it on.

“Still forest green,” Lilith whispered, puffing the fabric out.

“Are-are, are you going?” A small voice from the kitchen.

“Yes, yes, Mantis, I’m going. Don’t worry, though. I told Miss Potts to keep the racket down. I even told her what to do if you have another episode while I’m out. Okay?” Lilith answered. “I told her what to do.”

“But I don’t like Miss Potts. She smells like cats.” Mantis responded, tapping on the table twice before knocking on it, then tapping twice again. His eyes were downcast at his full bowl of potato soup.

“Well, too bad, you're going to be my big, strong brother who can stand up to the amazing Miss Potts and her stinky cats!” Lilith jovially talked between spoonfuls of soup. Then, getting a downward smile from Mantis, Lilith reached across the table and stopped Mantis’s rhythmic tapping.

“Hey, look at me. This game is already helping you. So if I have to spend more of my time to keep you here, that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.” Lilith smiled, looking into her brother's glazed eyes.

“But they’ll hurt you.”

“I know, but I’ll do it for you.”

“LILITH, GET OUT HERE!” The man snarled as the building shook again, dust raining down from the ceiling.

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Feeling butterflies, she ran around the table and hugged her brother before darting out the door. She took two steps at a time and exited the door before her boss pounded the building again.

“What is it, Carver? I thought I got the day off?” Lilith responded coldly, trying and failing to stare down at the giant man. Already feeling goosebumps run down her arms.

“Yes, I know you asked for the day off. But as your guild leader and landlord, I require someone with your specific thievery skills.” Carver uttered conspiratorially, his voice lowered to not draw any attention, as he leaned against the building he had punched not too long ago.

“Rumor has it that the mage’s college will ship out a warehouse full of magical artifacts tonight to help with the sudden Wolfman assault,” Carver whispered, checking the street for any guards.

“How do we know if this information is true?”

“It’s true because I’m the one who heard it. Are we going to have a problem with that?” Carver growled, sending a shiver down Lilith’s spine.

“No, I don’t think we will.”

“Yep, because that's your new problem to solve. I already did most of the leg work. Do you know what an orb of location does?”

“It probably helps you locate missing things like socks, treasure, your good looks, your girlfriend, missing keys, and stuff like that?” Lilith smiled as Carver's face reddened, watching him squeeze his fists before he had to calm himself down visibly.

“Close enough,” Carver grumbled. He calmed himself again before speaking.

“It can show the location of an object or person you are familiar with. Or know enough information about said object or person. So long as the thing you're looking for is within ten miles. But, wait, no, you're Canadian, as you are within sixteen kilometers.”

“So you want me to steal a magic ball so we can use it to spy on enemy guilds to get their locations? That sounds kind of lame.”

“Well, if we were going to use it for that purpose, I suppose it would be worthless to know every thief hideout in Ardania. This information would allow us to steal from the most infamous people in the underworld. Too bad we won’t be using it for that purpose.”

“Oh, what did you have in mind then?”

“Well, there is this other rumor going around.” Carver chuckled as Lilith leaned in.