Dextros ‘Dex’ Willingham, the bank robber, stole silently into the bedroom in which Gaius kept his favorite spoils of war. The room had once belonged to Mayor Sackary’s chief of house staff, Mr. Peregrine. Peregrine had refused to submit to Gaius’ will, and was now kept in the town of Acorn’s barroom jail. His life had been spared on account of the bravery he had shown when he confronted his master’s enemies unarmed, but he would not be released until he agreed to fight for his freedom - to the death. Mr. Peregrine was a poor warrior, and he would never concede to the gladiatorial execution Gaius wished upon him. Imprisoned and humiliated, Peregrine had been happy to provide Dextros with the keys to his master’s town. He had kept only one piece of information from Dextros, in case the bank robber was caught. This secret would be his final act of defiance.

Dextros slithered under a curtain rod of solid gold, and over a set of spilt cutlery with emerald and ruby inlays. He scooted past a stack of Mr. Peregrine’s carelessly discarded paintings and tapestries, and carefully lifted a diamond studded riding saddle from his path. The moonlight streaming through the bedroom’s only window sparkled off of a gown of glassed silk. He rolled the paper thin garment into a coil the size no larger than the cigar he carried in his back pocket. Dextros resisted the urge to pocket a number of bejeweled necklaces and rings, reminding himself of how they would jingle about in his pockets. He could not afford to make any sound, for two of Gaius’ most vicious men stood guard just one floor below.

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The object Dextros was looking for was an oracular compass called ‘Newman’s Eye’. Newman’s Eye had belonged to the deceased, disgraced, Archwarden Sainai Pilagius. On the day of his death, all of Sainai’s belongings had been confiscated by the new Archwarden, Anatasia Delana. She claimed that Sainai’s artifacts might harbor an arcana capable of resurrecting the deceased villain, and sentenced anyone who dared to traffic these belongings to a life of imprisonment. Such had been the nature of Dextros’ fate.