Have you ever felt a wave of relief so strong it felt like your whole body was melting? Well, that was me. All that pent-up fear swept away as the beast charged after my comrades and vanished around the corner into another street. It’s probably wrong that I could feel this way when my friends were in danger but it's not like a had a choice.

I lay in my hiding spot for a long time as my breathing settled. I listened for any other signs of danger but aside from a strong breeze sweeping between the buildings, there was nothing. I crept from my hiding place and leaned against the cart, trying to kickstart my mush of a brain into coming up with some ideas.

“Very good hiding, Pickpocket.”

I yelped and spun, drawing my weapons and aiming them at the strange man sitting crisscrossed on top of the cart. I’d not seen him before and I don’t know how. He was tall but lithe, wearing solid black leather from neck to heeled boot. His hair was as black as his armor and his eyes were a brilliant shade of blue that didn’t look real. In his lap was a small orange fox curled into a ball. The strange man was petting the thing like it was a cat.

“Who are you?”

The man smiled revealing rows of too-bright teeth. “Why, I’m your new handler, Pickpocket. You can call me Master if you like.”

I took a step back, keeping my blades aimed directly at the man's chest. “Go to hell.”

“How rude. Can you believe this boy's gall, Captain Fluffers?” The fox yawned and repositioned itself, covering its eyes with its paw. “Now look what you’ve done. He won’t even look at you.”

“Right. Well, I’m going to leave now. Goodbye.”

I backed away, not willing to turn my back on the weird man. I had to get back to the inn. The others would find me there.

“Wait, Pickpocket. I have a little present for you.” He dipped his fingers into a pocket on his chest and pulled out a crumpled not. He placed it on the cart beside him and beamed. “I’ll be highly offended if you turn down my invitation.”

“Invitation?”

The man chuckled. “I don’t offer this gift to every man stamped with the thieves mark. Keep that in mind when you read it. Now, I best be off. Don’t want to anger any of the beasties roaming this foul place, now do I?”

A thick black smoke like the one that had surrounded Vincent Voss obscured my view of the man. The strong breeze swept it away and the man and his little fox pet were gone.

I hesitated for a second before rushing forward and snatching up the note. I unfolded the thing a read the message written in a very flamboyant script.

Welcome little sneak thief, we have a wonderful offer for you.

You’ve proven yourself worthy of joining our little group. If you want to learn all the skills of your trade and earn a little gold in the process, come find us in the Scarlett Room at Lucinda’s Dance House at midnight.

Come alone and tell no one about this note. Our secrets are our own as yours are to you.

See you soon!

Love and kisses, Master.

I yelped as the note burned in my hand, the scraps of ash flying away in the breeze. Words flashed up in my field of view.

New Quest: Shadow Walkers

Description: The Master has invited you to join his little group. If you want to bend a knee and earn some extra coin, head on over to the Scarlett Room at Lucinda’s Dance House at midnight. Don’t be late. They frown upon tardiness.

I opened up my menu to check my minimap and sure enough, there was a little marker on the edge of Stanthorpe, guiding me to my clandestine meeting.

I really didn’t want to go, if only to piss off the Master. Who could say no to learning new skills and making some money though? I knew I couldn’t. I’d just have to convince Nora to stay here for a few extra days. That’s what I had wanted to do anyway.

I turned around and weaved my way through the streets. Now, every once in a while I would see a hideyhole marked by silver sparkles. I don’t know if they’d always been there and I’d just never noticed or if something had changed.

The inn came into view within the hour and despite the hours of daylight remaining I marched inside. There was no point trying to find the others. Stanthorpe was too big. They’d come back here eventually. They had to.

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Phlegm greeted me. When he saw the look on my face he filled a mug with beer and slid it my way before disappearing into a back room. A sat on a hard stool and drank the thing

Waiting is excruciated. I couldn’t even eat so instead I just sat there drinking one beer after another until my head felt a little fuzzy and some of the worries I felt dampened. The sky outside had begun to turn orange and red when a familiar bark had me launching off my stool and charging through the door.

Stella came bounding up to me, her muzzle covered in blood that was not her own. Her tail was a blur and I had to hold her tight so she wouldn’t lick my face with her fouled mouth. Sob snorted and trotted past us, heading around the building to the safety of his stable.

“I’m glad you’re alive,” I called after him as if he could understand me. I turned back to Stella. “But I’m especially glad you are, girl.”

Nora stomped up to me, Jacob trailing behind her like a lovesick puppy. “What about us?”

I smiled and before I could stop myself, I launched to my feet and tugged her into a fierce hug. She stiffened in my hands. “Are you both alright?” I asked.

Nora gently pushed me away. “We’re fine. The croc never caught us. But we ran into another one of snake friends on the way back here.”

Jacob stuck his head around Nora. “It was enormous. Nora cut its head off.”

“I’m sure she did,” I said with a smile. “Now come on inside. It’s time for dinner and some well-deserved rest.”

Nora lifted a brow at my words but didn’t say anything as she marched past me and pushed through the door, Jacob trotted after her, and I followed suit, Stella on my heels.

Nora stopped by the bar, eyeing the collection of mugs I’d stacked there. “Now I understand,” she muttered. “Phlegm, what smells so good?”

The rotund goblin came barreling from the kitchen, a big smile on his green face. “Nora! So good to see you again. I’ve made a scrumptious local dish called ‘vegemite chicken’. Have you heard of it?”

Nora blinked, her face staying passively indifferent which was a vast improvement on my look of shock. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t. I normally have my vegemite on toast.”

“You’ll love it. I promise. Go sit yourselves down and I’ll bring you each a serving.”

We all sat and apprehensively waited for the meal. I’m not sure why he’d chosen such a strange combination when garlic prawns, a meat pie or sausage rolls would have been a more interesting choice. Hell, I’d even be happy with a simple sausage on bread. Add a little barbequed onion and tomato sauce and that might as well have been a gourmet dish in these parts.

All my apprehension was for nothing though. The meal was just as delicious as everything the goblin had ever served. The drumsticks were sticky and sweet and served with rice and broccoli. Even Mrs. Percott had never made something as adventurous as this.

The other tottered off to bed shortly after the meal but I pulled out my book and pretended to read the thing in front of the fire. I was too nervous to actually read the words though. I tried but I ended up reading the same passage over and over until I slammed the thing shut and looked at the time on my cracked watch.

It was time to go. I stood and made my way to the door. Stella trotted after me but I told her to stay. She sat near the bar and looked after me with sad eyes as I quietly left the building. I had to go alone.

The night was fairly cool which was a nice change. I drew my swords and walked in the shadows as I followed the marker across town. The crocs were out in hordes, making it very difficult to navigate without losing precious time. The silver sparkles were more apparent to me at night, I took advantage of them as often as I could to avoid changing course.

I checked my watch as a faint red glow lit up the street in front of me. Elven fifty-five. I’d made it just in time. I stood by the wall, peeking out around it to eye the street. I listened as my eyes swept the barren street, trying to pick out anything that screamed danger. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anything.

I hurried around the corner and approached the door of the garish two-story house. A red lantern hung by the door. A small plaque on the other side of the door read ‘Lucinda’s Dance House’. Perfect. I’d made it.

I pushed through the door, flinching as the little tinkle of a bell sounded out. Loud piano music was playing inside but it wasn’t enough to dull the sound of laughter and uproarious pleasure from above. The room I stood in was full of golden statues and ornaments and red tasseled cushions littering the floor and long lounges alike. It didn’t look like any dance house I’d ever been in before.

A woman wearing a transparent red body suit approached me. Her face was painted with so much makeup she could have put a gaggle of teenage girls to shame. Her pale blonde hair was piled up in an odd style atop her head which made me think of beehives hanging in a tree.

“Welcome, I’m Mistress Lucinda,” she said. “What service can we offer you this fine evening, sir.”

I cleared the tightness in my throat as I forced myself to keep my eyes on hers. “I’d like to see the Scarlett Room, please.”

Her face changed from fun and flirty to dour in a split second. She turned with a huff and said over her shoulder, “come with me.”

I followed her through the mess of cushions and happy canoodling couples. I couldn’t tell if the others were players like me or just NPCs used to fill the space. With some of the stuff I was seeing I’m not sure I wanted to know.

Mistress Lucinda led me up a staircase and around the upper balcony to a red and gold door. She tapped an odd tune on the door then nodded at me and walked away.

The door opened and the man who’d wanted me to call him Master stood facing me with a smile. “You’re right on time, Pickpocket. Come, make yourself at home.”

I stepped through the doorway trying not to flinch when the door slammed shut behind me. The walls in this room were covered by heavy red curtains and the floor was scattered with the same cushions they had down below. The room was dimly lit but I could still make out the forms of three other people dressed exactly like the blue-eyed man was.

The man placed a hard hand on my shoulder and swept the room with his other arm. “Welcome to the Guild of Shadow Walkers, Pickpocket. This is your new home.”