When she reached the bottom of the ladder., Cas found herself in a darkened room. Warm light spilled out from under a door at the far end of the room, illuminating the large casks that lined the walls.

“Pardon me,” Dirk grunted as he arrived at the foot of the ladder. “As far as I can tell, they kept booze down here until they could find a buyer in the city. No sense in paying the gate duties if you didn’t have a buyer, you know?”

“Are the duties high?” Cas asked.

Dirk paused in surprise before replying. “They’re the highest on five continents. Every person, grain of wheat, drop of alcohol is taxed. You saw the queue on the way in, didn’t you?”

Cas nodded. “Fifteen shillings per person for entry is outrageous.”

“We are at the World’s Crossroads, after all,” Dirk said and shook his head. “The city’s founders cooked up a hell of a racket, let me tell you.”

“Which makes me all the more confused why you’ve set up outside the city,” Cas remarked.

In the dim like, Cas saw Dirk frown in confusion for a moment. Then, he broke into a sly smile. “Ah, you think my boys pay the toll every time they have to go in?”

Cas blinked. It sounded like a stupid question when he put it like that. “You have another way in?”

“Of course I do,” he grinned.

“Care to share?” she ventured.

Dirk took a moment to think it over before shrugging. “I suppose that depends on how our negotiations go.”

“Seeing her find her own way through the gate will be a good test of her skills,” Harvey offered as he climbed down the ladder.

“How strict of you,” Dirk grinned before turning back to Cas. “Let’s see how things play out, eh?”

“That sounds fair,” she conceded.

Dirk beamed at her before striding confidently towards the door, knocking on the casks playfully as he went. To Cas’ surprise, they were full. She arched an eyebrow as Dirk rapped his knuckles rhythmically against the door before pushing it open.

“Boss!” came cheers from the other side of the door.

Dirk turned around and flashed Cas his teeth. “Come on in, everyone is expecting you.”

Hesitantly, she stepped through the threshold and the room fell silent. Four men and two women were seated around a large mahogany table. Cas recognised Starkey, who glowered at her from his seat at the opposite of the table and nodded coolly at him.

“Now then, everyone’s here,” Dirk declared.

“She’s going to replace Starkey?” one of the women asked dubiously.

She was a middle aged woman who looked sorely out of place amongst her present company. She was dressed drably like the others, but there was an air of nobility about her as she sat at the table with her back perfectly straight. While the others had cups of alcohol in front of them, she only had a steaming cup of tea.

“She’s more than a pretty face, I assure you, Perdala,” Dirk replied smoothly. “She lifted a purse off Starkey here without him realizing it.”

Eyes went to the diminutive man who ground his teeth. “I noticed… I just got careless is all…”

“You didn’t tell us about that, Starkey,” a tall, barrel chested man sporting a thick, handlebar moustache laughed. “Don’t tell me this slip of a girl broke your wrist as well.”

“That she did,” Dirk said when Starkey didn’t answer and turned his eyes to the regal woman. “Does that satisfy you, madam?”

Perdala lidded her eyes and let out an imperceptible sigh. “I can see why you are so enthusiastic to hire this young lady. She certainly is pretty enough, but if this job is as important as you say, I think it’s worth waiting a month or two for Starkey’s wrist to heal.”

Dirk’s eyes hardened and his good humour vanished in a flash as he set his eyes on Starkey. “Starkey demonstrated precisely why he can’t be trusted with such an important job. What kind of idiot goes pinching wallets on the eve of a big job? You’re lucky you weren’t pinched.”

“Those Purple Cloaks would never…” he began to protest but fell silent when Dirk narrowed his eyes. “I’m sorry, boss. It won’t happen again.”

“Besides,” Dirk said, genial again. “Our client will not wait months. He’s antsy enough as it is.”

He then turned to Cas and gestured at an empty chair. “May I offer you a drink?”

“No, thank you, and I’d rather stand,” she replied.

Dirk looked at her for a moment before shrugging. “Suit yourself.”

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Cas leaned against the hardwood panelled wall close to the door and gestured for Dirk to begin. The lanky man scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat. “The job is quite simple… The first job is, anyway.”

Dirk gestured at a thin, bespectacled man sitting next to Starkey. “Show her, would you Staven?”

The man hefted a large leatherbound case onto the table and fiddled with the locks as Starkey watched with amusement. After a moment, they snapped open, and the diminutive man smirked. “Those locks are useless. You know I could have those open quicker than you fumbling with those tumblers?”

“I prefer to have them regardless, thank you very much,” the taller man replied.

“What a waste of effort,” Starkey scoffed.

Staven opened the case and held up a key that caused Cas to gasp. The key was made from bronze, but that was not what was remarkable about it. It was also encased in shimmering magic.

“An enchanted key?” she breathed. “That must have cost a small fortune.”

“That it did, young lady,” Staven replied gravely.

“We are to steal a key and replace it with this one,” Dirk said.

Cas arched an eyebrow. “Why not just sell this one?”

Dirk grinned toothily. “I like the way you think, but enchanted keys are worthless without an enchanted lock to open.”

Cas felt the blood drain from her face. “What on earth are you out to steal?”

“Just the key, for now,” Dirk replied. “A mage would be able to tell the difference between the two keys straight away, but a layperson probably won’t until they try to use it.”

“What does the key open?” Cas asked.

Dirk shrugged. “You’ll find that out after you’ve stolen the key.”

“Who does this key belong to?”

A sly smile crossed Dirk’s face. “I can only tell you that after you’ve agreed to join us.”

“She hasn’t agreed to come on board?” Perdala gasped. “Why on earth are you sharing so much with her?”

“Because we cannot complete this job without her,” Dirk replied simply before turning back to Cas. “And to answer your question, the key we are out to steal belongs to Count Darien Armagin.”

“I know of him,” Cas remarked.

A concerned look crossed Dirk’s face. “But does he know you?”

“I should hardly think so,” Cas replied. “He was a guest at my former mistress’ home on two occasions. I don’t think he ever saw me.”

“That’s good,” Dirk breathed. “At any rate, the Count keeps the key on his person at all times. You are to steal it and replace it with this one. Does that sound simple enough?”

Cas nodded. “What is the payout?”

“Four hundred after completion of the job,” Dirk replied.

Cas blinked. It was a lot of money to be sure. Her old job only paid her thirty shillings a year, but still, there were at least eight people for the money to be divided amongst, provided everyone got an equal share… Just under two year’s pay, not bad for a single job, she supposed.

“I’m afraid I wasn’t clear,” Dirk grinned when he saw the disappointment on Cas’ face. “The pay is four hundred crowns, split evenly after the completion of the second job.”

Cas couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping. A gold crown was worth twenty shillings… “You could buy a kingdom with that...”

“A modest fief, perhaps,” Perdala snorted. “But well worth a week or two’s labour, don’t you think?”

The lanky man continued to speak, but Cas didn’t hear. Her head was spinning from the amount of money involved. Why, with the proceeds from the first job alone, the church’s place in the city would be secured forever more, and Father Brendao and the orphans would never have to go hungry again. She then realized the room had fallen silent and that everyone was looking at her expectantly.

“I said, are you on board?” Dirk asked with an amused smile on his face.

Cas took a deep breath and nodded, and Dirk clapped his hands together before rubbing them with glee. “Excellent. If we play our cards right, our client has said there will be more jobs to come.”

“I hate to be a wet blanket,” the fourth man said. He looked closest in age to Perdala, and there was evidence that he had been well built once. He possessed broad shoulders and thick arms, but age and a sedentary lifestyle had caught up with him in the form of his ample belly. “But we won’t be doing anything that will harm the city, will we?”

“We’re just stealing a trinket from one noble family and framing another for it, Larmis,” Dirk grinned.

Cas blinked. “You didn’t say anything about that.”

“Slip of the tongue,” Dirk winked at her before turning his attention back to the older man. “Our employer is just out to set a cat amongst the pigeons as it were. Create a bit of chaos and watch the feathers fly.”

“I’m still troubled as to why would our benefactor pay so lavishly for that,” Larmis grunted.

“I don’t know about you,” Starkey paused to take a long sip from his drink that was just long enough to be insulting. “But I’m not in a position to turn down a four hundred crown payout.”

Cas inched towards the door when she saw the older man’s face turn crimson. She had no interest in getting involved in a fight between the two men. However, Dirk was quick to defuse the situation.

“The city is packed to the gills and even the nobles are feeling the strain, especially with war at some of their doorsteps,” he said sharply. “My read on the situation is that we’re being employed by a bored noble, or perhaps someone who has been slighted who wants to rock the boat a little and point and laugh if anyone falls out.”

“Seems like a high price to pay for a little entertainment,” Larmis frowned.

“Oh, my dear, if only you knew what the city’s ‘high society’ spends on settling scores and their own amusement,” Perdala chimed in. “Besides, who in this room would not want to see those snobs at each other’s throats over a petty slight?”

“But still,” Larmis began, unconvinced, but was quickly drowned out by cheers of approval.

“For what it’s worth, I met with our client, and my read on him is the same as the boss’,” The room fell silent when Harvey spoke for the first time since he arrived.

Larmis nodded slowly. “Well, if that’s what Harvey thinks, then I’m convinced.”

“Hey,” Dirk began.

“More importantly, we need to set our new plan into motion,” Harvey began, cutting his boss off. He then paused and looked at Larmis. “We will be meeting our client later to explain the delay. If you’d like, you can come along and assess him for yourself.”

Larmis shook his head quickly. “That won’t be necessary. I’m an awful judge of character and will trust your judgement.”

“And not mine?” Dirk asked, sounding hurt.

“You have other good traits, boss,” Larmis said without offering any.

“The rest of you have jobs to do,” Dirk began and then noticed Cas. “Oh, it seems we forgot to ask. Are you on board?”

Cas nodded.

“Good, the Count’s estate is hiring maids in anticipation of the upcoming ball. Verna here has arranged an interview for you tomorrow afternoon,” Dirk said as he gestured towards a young woman with pale blonde hair. Her hands had been crossed under her bosom, and she had been scowling for a while now.

At length, she glared at Dirk and said scathingly. “Do you know what lengths I had to go through to arrange that interview?” she demanded. “It would have been my neck had she not decided to come on board.”

Dirk flashed her a winning smile. “I knew she would because I’m such a good judge of character. Every bit as good as Harvey, if not better.”

Vernal rolled her eyes and walked over to Cas before tapping her on the elbow. “Come on, we have a lot to discuss.”