The young man let out a sigh of relief when Kard and Zelia finally tossed him onto their couch. Fortunately for the couple, their home once used to be a clinic, run by Kard's late mother, so there was plenty of room for an overnight guest. All he needed was a bowl of water and a rag, to wash off all the dirt and blood, and suddenly, he looked a lot more respectable. It was obvious, however, that he did not belong to the city, with his smoothly brushed golden hair and a face that lacked any scars, being only decorated with a couple of freckles and a large mole on his right cheek.

"So, mind telling me who you are why the hell you came to New Phoenix?" Kard asked.

"I'm M-Moric. And well... this place has no law against illusion magic so I thought–"

Kard and Zelia sighed. People like him were as common as they could get. The entire lawless part in the city description attracted those who thought that here, their actions wouldn't have consequences.

"Listen, pal, this is a bad idea. You cheat people too often and they'll kill you. Tonight, I didn't mind helping you, but we won't vouch for you forever. I suggest you get out of here and use your illusions for entertainment. It's a clean job. Many people have found success in that."

"But... Listen, I know what I did wrong in the pub. I didn't lose. If I make it seem like I'm losing some money too, I'll–"

"No! This is a bad idea. You have nobody to protect you. This mentality will get you placed on an assassin's hit list. And the only thing that can help you then would be if you can illusion your own death."

Zelia gently placed her hand on Kard's shoulder. His rough approach didn't seem to work, and so she intended to try out her sweet voice.

"Listen, stay here for the night. Then, as soon as the sun comes out, leave. People aren't very active in the morning. Sell your cloak to get some food for the road. After that, just forget about this place. Understood?"

The man nodded, much to Zelia and Kard's relief.

"Oh, and don't try to rob us, okay?" Kard pressed his face closer. "I've been living in this city my whole life. Born here, raised here. You cross us after we saved you and I will place the bounty on your head myself, understood?"

Another nod followed. Fortunately for the couple, Moric seemed to be too frightened by his beating to try any of his fancy tricks on them. Nevertheless, that night was not filled with ease and bright dreams. It took both Kard and Zelia several hours to finally fall asleep, and before that, they both kept on checking on the wizard sleeping downstairs, who seemed to welcome unconsciousness with open arms.

Unless the day was somehow special, neither Zelia nor Kard would get up early. After all, their professions were best carried out during the evening hours, so they used the opportunity to stay in bed and truly rest after the last day's events. However, there was something pulling them out. Both would prefer to remain in the relative softness of their duvet, but something was different.

"Kard? You smell that?" Zelia asked.

"I didn't fart," he muttered as a reply and turned to the other side, where his nose finally ran into that odd odour. He quickly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Is that... basil?"

"Something's cooking," Zelia said.

"Oh no, please don't tell me it's him."

It was him. The pair didn't even walk all the way down the stairs when the Moric's smiley face wished them good morning.

"I made you some breakfast. You didn't have much in here, but I found some eggs and herbs, plus this old pan, so tada! An omelette!"

"Why are you still in our house?" Kard replied.

"I wanted to thank you for yesterday."

"Didn't you hear what I said last night?" Zelia asked. "I told you to be gone by morning!"

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do!"

"People with your attitude end up in the crematorium and not as part-timers," Kard growled.

"Listen. You inspired me. What if I don't steal and just try to help people? I can cook really well. Plus I know the basics of magic. And then I can use my illusions just to fool thieves. That will not anger anyone, right?"

"Does it even matter if we agree or not?" Zelia pointed out the man's much-irritating stubbornness.

"Not really, no. Listen, I am really grateful for yesterday. So if you ever need help, I'm your man." He patted his chest with his fist a few times, which prompted Kard to roll his eyes.

After that, the couple couldn't bring themselves to do anything but watch as the man served the breakfast on the table, bid them a pleasant morning, and escorted himself out.

"Well, we've had worse guests," Zelia sighed and dug into her food.

"We've had better too."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"I'd like to remind you that it was your idea to save him."

"So? You want my apology for saving a man's life?"

"No. I want you to get us more eggs. How am I supposed to sell the spiked cookies if I can't make them?"

Kard disliked the noon in New Phoenix. The daylight revealed far too much of how dirty and pathetic the place really was. Beggars filled the streets. Some of them could've been even a bit younger than Moric. The thief disliked looking at them. Not because of their appearance but due to his own conscience. Should he give a coin to one, more would soon swarm him like hungry ducks. For that reason, he kept his hands in his pockets, firmly grasping his money pouch.

The bell of the general store rang as one of the residents walked inside. Kard had been waiting for a solid fifteen minutes for such an opportunity. He slipped inside alongside the old lady and very quickly disappeared out of everyone's sight before the owner could come and ask what were they looking for. The sound indicated that only one person came in.

Like a phantom, Kard flew from one aisle to the other. As soon as the cashier moved off his comfortable seat behind the table to help his customer out, the thief approached his target.

"Why the hell must the eggs be on a discount," he mumbled to himself. Usually, they would be in the front end of the store, but when something was on sale, the owner would situate it closer to his desk, from where he could better persuade the people to buy his goods.

Six and a half silver. On sale from previous eight silver. "Bastard. They cost this much before," Kard thought as he stuffed his pockets with a few. The trick was to only take those in the back so that the front side of the plates would still look full and therefore, the man wouldn't notice until it was too late.

Once his pouches were full, Kard quickly readjusted the containers to their previous position and turned around to leave. He listened to what the lady and the owner were talking about. It seemed as if small talk had transformed into juicy gossip. That was almost inviting. The thief's hand reached over the counter and pulled a fistful of coins out of the store chest.

"Should've locked it," Kard muttered and smiled.

Due to the bell above the door, the window was the only option the thief had left. Unlocking it would've been an easy task if it wasn't for the fact that the lock was all rusty and unkempt. It took Kard so long to finally move the little lever into the right place that in the end, he completely forgot to consider that perhaps the hinges of the window would need some oiling too.

"Creeeee!" the window snitched on Kard.

"Hey!" he heard the owner call from the far end of the store. Now was the time to run. The man knew he was being robbed, but he didn't know by who yet. Kard quickly pulled the hood over his head and leapt through the window.

He could hear the man calling after him. Unless he wanted to risk suffering his vengeance, he had to quickly get out of there.

As soon as he could, he took a turn into a narrow alley, with the man in tow. Once there, the thief quickly threw himself onto the metal fence and began climbing over it. His dexterity would certainly buy him some time, but it was not enough.

"You have nowhere to run!" he heard the man yell behind him as he was desperately trying to overcome the same hurdle.

Kard was as calm as he could be in such a situation. It wasn't the first time he had to run from trouble. With enough speed, he jumped and bounced off of one of the walls, then kicked himself off the other one before grabbing onto a windowsill high above the street. From there, it was a child's play as he found his way to the roof using the water drainage pipes. The yelling of the angry store owner behind him then felt like sweet music to his ears.

The view from the rooftops was beautiful. Kard always liked climbing up even back when he was younger. The two-story buildings to the north always made the city look much bigger than it actually was. The prettiest landmarks, however, were the three most important buildings in the city. Akara's palace was actually just a large mansion, but compared to everything else, it truly looked like the utmost royal household. The darkest and possibly scariest building of them all was the massive guild hall of the assassins. Those who lived there were rarely seen in public and if they were, death was not far behind. The final building was probably Kard's favourite—a large circular structure with so many lamps that it glowed even on the darkest nights. It was the local casino, the most profitable of businesses in New Phoenix.

Kard looked into his pocket. He managed to score himself quite a nice sum as a bonus. A mischievous smile slowly crept up onto his face.

"Well, a few games can't hurt," he muttered to himself and set forth on a quest to feed his addiction.

The place was massive. The first two floors were all dedicated to different sorts of games where players could lose, and occasionally even win, quite a fortune. Needless to say, Kard did not belong to the latter category.

He quickly scanned the entire room. Downpour was a popular card game, but it was too primitive and pub-like for his tastes. Roulette was a spectacle, but far too passive with nothing to do. Finally, he recalled a game he enjoyed. Without further ado, he turned the Cauldron tables, where his gaze stopped, staring at what he wished was only a phantasm. However, not even rubbing his eyes seemed to chase the image away.

"Mind if I join?" Kard said and took a seat as if he already knew the answer long before the croupier could nod in approval.

"What the fuck are you doing here," Kard muttered at a much-familiar opponent sitting to his right.

"Winning," Moric replied and pushed another heap of silver coins onto the table.

"Was the pub not enough, you snotnose?"

"It was. It showed me what I did wrong. I always need to lose a bit." He carefully pulled a small pebble out of his pocket and showed it to Kard under the table. Then, as he put it down, it had long turned into a beautiful gold piece.

Kard put his few coins on the table as well. "And how stable is this investment of yours? Will it last for months, or crumble before dusk?"

"Eh..."

"I take it as the dusk variant," Kard sighed. There were only three people nobody would dare to mess with. Firstly, Akara, the queen, with her supernatural strength and punches that could demolish stone walls. Then there was Fromule, the larger-than-life owner of the casino, whose chubby hands reached far and wide across the whole city. The third and final was...

The door to the casino flew open. Everyone went silent as their eyes turned to the new visitor. Even the croupiers suddenly found themselves unable to move even an inch.

Cold sweat dripped down Kard's face. He quickly whispered to Moric "Don't make a fucking sound!"

It wasn't a man who entered. It was death. Rumours said that when the skeleton came to New Phoenix for its first departed soul, he was sent away, for the place already had one grim reaper in the form of Ecniro. Now the reaper was no longer on the neighbour's doorstep. He was right there. If assassins were feared for their ruthlessness, then their guild master could certainly be among the three biggest threats in the city.

"I hope you don't mind if I join in?" the man said with a voice as sweet as honey as he sat down at Kard's table. His wonderfully maintained short black facial hair with a few stray hints of grey almost made him look like a merry grandpa.

"A few moments of fun are certainly welcome before I have to get to work." He said and lay down a black-bladed dagger on the table.