A large metal key clicked in the lock and only a single thought flew through Kard's mind: "Oh shit." He did not count on the possibility that the resident of the house would return so early. However, despite the bleakness of his situation, it wasn't the first time he had to think on the spot. Along with the second turn of the key, he shut the safe, the sound masked by the noise of unlocking. The thief quickly leaned back, lay down on the ground, and kicked himself off with his feet. Without any problem, he slid down under the bed, where he wormed his way into a more comfortable position.

The merchant stepped inside. At first glance, he couldn't notice anything. Kard was anything but careless when it came to his profession. Or so he believed. He considered himself a true professional.

The man lay down and the bed and closed his eyes. Sleeping in the hotel in New Phoenix was about as unpleasant of an experience as one could have. If it were possible for an establishment to have negative stars, this one would surely obtain at least minus three. Other than the lighting, which, although magical, could only work on the "dim" setting, there was also the issue with the mattress, which could at this point be relabelled to a hive, due to the number of unwanted roommates of the insect species that inhabited it. Nevertheless, the merchant couldn't complain. If one wanted a place where scamming people was pretty much a sport, then he was at the right address. Therefore, he found the need to withstand some downsides understandable.

Although his fatigue was great, sleep was avoiding him. The constant noise of the drunkards outside of his window was even worse than the endless crescendo of cicadas that other hotels frequently offered.

The man groaned and turned to the side, wanting to grab a book from his nightstand with the hope that its contents would lull him to sleep. He opened his eyes and was just about to extend his hand when he met the emerald gaze of a pale redhead with unkept hair, who was currently exiting the space beneath his bed.

Kard froze. He was skilled. Nobody could ever say anything against that. However, it seemed that his life was in constant danger due to some unspoken curse. He was unlucky. Which, for a thief, would be the death sentence. Fortunately for him, his skills would often help offset his fate just enough to, as the locals say, "keep the reaper on the neighbour's doorstep." That evening, his timing was simply unlucky. After all, how could he know that trying to slip away would get him noticed? How could he know, that waiting for the man to fall asleep would've been the safest option?

The door of the hallway flew open as Kard's big boot kicked through it. If anyone in the hotel was sleeping, they were wide awake now, even before the merchant could call out "Thief! Thief!" Those few who did have their peace and quiet interrupted then thought "Ah, it's only a thief," and went back to bed.

A single window sat in the slanted roof, right above the staircase. Kard eyed it immediately when he left the room. He knew it wouldn't exactly be a pleasant experience, but what option was there other than to use it to escape? With speed picked up in the hallway, he briefly ran along the wall, as far as gravity allowed him, before leaping right through the window.

There wasn't a day in New Phoenix when glass wouldn't be shattered. So many professions out there required windows that would break easily, and so the glassworkers lived off of the countless bribes they'd get in exchange for making the windows as fragile as possible.

Kard dug his feet into the roof tiles, slowing down his slide. A few parts of his body hurt, but he didn't feel the glass cut too deep, which was good news.

As soon as he reached the edge of the building, he began swiftly climbing down. The facade was banged up and battered, revealing numerous naked bricks, which served as perfect points for Kard's grip. The people in the hotel did their best to ignore the man dressed in brown who was moving just outside their window on the fifth floor. After all, knowledge would often mean trouble.

Kard smiled when he saw the colourful canopy above the outdoor seats of a coffee shop, which was considered a part of the hotel. In his mind, he would land on the soft cloth, slide down, break his fall with a roll, and keep on running. This wasn't arrogance. He was indeed skilled enough to pull such moves off. However, not even for a second did it occur to him that a cheap canopy could never withstand the weight of a thirty-five-year-old man.

The fabric tore open with a horrifying "shrrrrpt!" Kard barely had time to think. He fell feet-first through the cloth, which, unfortunately, meant that he couldn't see, up until the last second, what was below him.

Misfortune was a cruel mistress. Especially towards Kard, whose miscalculation caused him to fall not onto a chair, pavement, or a table, but right into the sign protruding out of the wall right above the entrance to the coffee shop. While his body avoided it, his chin hit it almost perfectly.

The thief soon found himself lying on the ground, not battered enough to fully lose consciousness, but just dazed enough to barely be able to get up. The entire affliction lasted only a few moments, but that was enough for the hotel staff to quickly surround him.

"You know the drill, boys," the owner muttered to the employees without even taking the cigar out of his mouth.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The men listened and before Kard could even bring himself to react, they were already dragging him through the dirty streets and no amount of kicking and squirming seemed to be able to set him free. Not to mention that should he squirm too much, the men wouldn't give a second thought about resorting to physical violence. A punch to the stomach was a classic, which Kard learned to deal with back when he was still a teenager, but the elbow to the temple was simply something he couldn't just walk off. There were limits to what his body could withstand without consequences.

People on the street parted to make way for the procession and then watched with sadistic smiles when they imagined what fate would await the thief. The only law in New Phoenix was that of revenge. If you're stolen from, you have the right to punish the thief in any way you desire. Naturally, taking the life of such a parasite would be the easiest, but murder would always ignite the flames of revenge. Should Kard die, his friends wouldn't be far behind to avenge him, then someone would most likely try to kill them in retaliation, and before one could even realize it, they would have a blood war on their hands. These never ended well. No side was ever willing to simply leave it be, and so the queen would often have to step in, personally slaughtering all those who wouldn't bow down and end the fights.

They dragged Kard far away to the northern wall. He already expected what would happen. These people loved to dirty their hands but couldn't stand an audience, so they looked for a place where they could work in some relative peace.

The thief knew what would come. They tossed him to the ground and circled around him. All he hoped for was that he would be able to go home on his own that night.

They took turns. Each had a few seconds of punches and strikes, while the others would kick Kard into any exposed body part. The thief tried his best to curl up to protect himself, but one of the men would always hold him down, taking his guard away.

Each of the men had two turns before they realized it was most likely enough. Kard's consciousness was barely present and any more hits might put his life at risk. They wiped their bloodied knuckles into their coats and kicked the thief down a slope leading into the sewage trench. His senses were so jumbled he barely realized which areas hurt the most. Everything was painful. From the arms, which one of the men kept twisting behind his back, to his face, which suffered the most blows.

Kard lay there for a few moments, gathering his strength. He felt the blood running from his nose slowly drying while he breathed in the stench emanating from the sewers. He blinked a few times. One of his eyes was swelling up, that much he could tell. As for the bruising, that was something only the mirror would show and his wife would most likely be concerned about.

Minutes later, he slowly sat up. Considering it wasn't his first time working in the hotel, he found his punishment to still be relatively mild. He moved his fingers and arms around. Though they ached, nothing was broken, and he did not suffer any lacerations or stab wounds. It wasn't the best outcome, but still a decent one.

With breathing sounding like an exhausted horse, he wobbled his way out of the trench. He wiped the few remaining droplets of blood from under his nose and reached into his pocket. Seventeen beautiful golden coins found themselves sitting on the palm of his glove, recently rescued from their previous owners. Kard smiled. At least struggling against his captors wasn't in vain. Their anger worked better than a blindfold. None of them even noticed they had a part of their salary missing.

"Idiots," Kard muttered to himself and slowly swayed through the streets.

New Phoenix was one of those places where everything was so gloomy and dirty that it looked dark even during the brightest of days. Not like there would be that many anyway. The island where the city stood was known for perpetually cloudy weather, frequent rains, and an overabundance of fog. After the sundown, however, the place lit up. Not literally, of course. The few lamps here and there still weren't enough to properly brighten the area. No, the light was symbolic, seen mostly in the hearts of the people and how much livelier the place suddenly got. This was, however, also a downside, since it meant that people far worse than Kard would open their businesses.

Kard wearily opened the door to the Donkey's Horn. Outside of his house, it was probably his most famous place in the whole of New Phoenix. In the lawless city of thieves, murderers, and scoundrels, no business was as profitable as one that would include food, alcohol, and women of questionable morals and cheap prices.

"Well, you look roughed up," the bartender called out to him. As soon as he brought attention to Kard, the entire pub seemed to notice him. They waved, cheered, and mocked his slowly-forming bruises.

Kard's eyes slid across the people. He knew them all. Most of them had been around ever since he was a child. Unlike the majority of people, who came to the city to hide from authorities, Kard was born and raised here. His parents were well-respected people in the city, and although they were long gone, the admiration they once had slightly transferred over to their son.

"Gimme a pint," Kard told the bartender after he took his usual spot at the bar.

"Oi, Kard! A round of dice?" a man called to him from one of the tables.

"I'll rob you blind, Fig. Don't forget to save up something for your funeral." Everyone laughed. One profession that was not prospering in this town would be an undertaker. Bodies were burned and that was it. No coffin, no ceremony. Saving up for a funeral would be pointless. In fact, saving up altogether was seen as simply asking the thieves to rob you. Life here was often short and therefore usually spent in revelry.

Kard's eyes slid over to the silent young man next to him. He wore a hood even inside. He was the single person who did not laugh at the thief's joke. However, the most upsetting thing was that Kard didn't recognize him.

"A newcomer?" He wanted to ask, but someone else was faster.

The door to the establishment flew open. The woman standing inside them instantly stole all the cheer and joy away. Out of everyone there, she was the best dressed, even though in New Phoenix, that didn't mean much. Her fair but dirty hair was tied up into a ponytail, but it seemed so wild and unkept that she would probably need a beartrap to keep it from going everywhere.

Her face lit up as soon as he saw the person sitting at the bar. Everyone else began bowing the moment she stepped inside. Everyone but Kard and the unknown man.

"Heard we had a nice face in town," she growled at him. "Where are your manners, milk-drinker? You don't bow to the queen?"