Vitmori POV

I soon found myself surrounded, yet my pursuers didn't act just yet. From what I can tell with discrete looks and glances, I was being followed by a trio of hooded figures. Two of them were walking ahead of me, intermingling and doing their best to lose themselves in the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

The third trailed behind me, and I could feel their eyes traveling up and down my body as they repeatedly looked at my satchel before looking elsewhere. It was clear to me that they were looking for my possible valuables, though my satchel was the only clear target for them. It's only a shame for them that the only thing in my satchel was some rope and a couple of knives, my coin being safely stashed away in my storage the moment I pretended to put it in my satchel back at the pawnshop.

Seconds turned to minutes, and when I made it clear that I wasn't going to stop anywhere else in the near future, the trio made their move. The two in the front split up, one ducking in the next alleyway that was on my path; all while the other one kept walking ahead before suddenly turning around on their heel and walking up to me.

The next moment, I was shoulder-checked by a relatively thin man. While I could tell he was initially planning on putting on an act of pretending to be hurt; the fact that he slammed his shoulder into what was essentially a block of wood instead of someone made of meat really threw him for a loop as he actually ended up hurting himself. "What's the matter with you? Are you trying to break my arm? Eh?" The hooded man grunted out with a voice that sounded unnaturally rougher and gruffer than it should be.

I decided to play along, putting on my best 'startled' look as I raised my only arm in a placating manner. "N-no! I-I'm so sorry sir, my mind must have been elsewhere, I meant nothing by it. Truly!"

The man then grabbed me by my shirt, shaking me around with a surprising amount of confidence once I showed myself to be spineless against his initial bravado. While he shook me, the one who hid in the alleyway came up behind me before quickly cutting the strap to my satchel and running off with it.

However, the second hooded figure didn't keep it, instead passing it to the third hooded figure that had been following from behind as they tucked my satchel under their cloak and immediately took a side path off the main road; all while the second hooded figure kept running the same direction they had been going.

Once his partners were gone, the first hooded figure just shoved me against a wall before booking it down the street, going his own way as I was left to collect myself.

That was... So much fun! Going through the motions of getting robbed with none of the threat or the loss... They clearly had a plan, were coordinated, and were quick enough to get away with it. Sure they were rough around the edges and could definitely use some polish... But to meet some honest-to-goodness thieves who use misdirection and sleight of hand rather than just killing their victims like mindless beasts is such a breath of fresh air.

Well, as much fun as that may have been... Those three now owe me a new bag.

Krys POV/Foxkin Street Thief

Another smooth lift, another easy payday. While he did feel a little bad they targeted a crippled man today; their contractor only ever sends them after especially fat purses with lots of silvers.

He weaved through the familiar alleyways at a brisk pace, moving quickly but not running as he crossed street after street until he reached this week's meeting point. Stepping through an open window, he looked around at the burnt remains of what used to be someone's house.

Even though it's been a month since the fire, the smell of smoke still lingered in the air. He pointlessly brushed off a spot in what used to be a living room, sitting on the frame of what was once a nice-looking couch.

Krys eyed the bag in his arms curiously and was momentarily tempted to peek inside while he waited for the others to get here, but he remained patient for now as he simply set the bag to the side. It was a tradition by now to wait for the others to get here before they looked over their spoils and he would keep to it even now.

The seconds turned to minutes as Zax was the first to return, he was a half-orc who was taller than most others his age, though he was fairly lanky and thin. He simply flashed a charming smile as he spotted Krys while climbing through the window. "Nice to see ya made it without a hitch." He mused cheerfully enough while making his way into the kitchenette when he began digging through various cabinets before finding some dried meats he stashed a few days ago. "Want one?" He asked, walking over and holding a strip out to Krys while chewing on a strip that he ate in one bite.

Krys couldn't help but smile a bit, bobbing his head as he took up the strip. He sniffed the meat at first, savoring the smell of the salted meat before taking a bite.

As they ate, Krys' ears twitched as he heard a faint creaking of wood. He just smiled and spoke up, knowing by scent alone that the final member of their group had arrived. "Sera, can't you just announce when you arrive?" He mused, though didn't bother glancing back at her.

The petite human woman just huffed as she came up behind Krys and leaned into him, his head now against her stomach as she plucked the half-eaten strip of meat from his hands. "Why should I? It's too much fun seeing Zax get all startled when he hasn't noticed me yet." She mused casually before taking a bite.

Zax just scowled a bit, not appreciating her brand of humor before looking to Krys and perking up a bit. "Well, the gangs all here, let's get to splitting the loot." He enthused, rubbing his grey hands together as he watched expectantly.

Sera stayed where she was, content to watch from above as Krys nodded intently, his vulpine ears waggling with anticipation as he finally opened up the satchel and... And... "The hell is this?" Despite the weight of the satchel, all that was in there was a pair of admittedly good knives and a fifty-foot bundle of rope. "Now what? Did we screw up or did he send us after the wrong person?" Krys asked, looking between his two partners in crime while Zax collected the now empty satchel and started shaking it around and listening to see if they missed anything.

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Sera plucked up the knives, looking them over before stashing them away somewhere as she then messed with Krys' short ginger hair. "Well, we still have plenty of time before we have to meet up with him. Let's go do some freelance fishing and see if we still can't come out on top today."

Krys sighed heavily, leaning into her touch before bobbing his head. "Okay, come on. Let's get to it." He said as he stood, gesturing for the others to follow as he pulled up his hood, the others following suit as they made their way out the window.

Later in the evening

All in all, not a good haul, but certainly not a bad haul. In the last five hours, they managed to get a total of eight coin purses along with a few bracelets and even a necklace. In total, they got their hands on about eight silver pieces worth of copper and silver. It was chump change compared to what they were usually able to get after waiting around the pawnshop for a couple of days.

They could likely get something decent for the jewelry, but the local fence only opens once a week and Zax has a payment coming up.

Sera forfeited most of her share today, only taking a silver's worth of copper pieces for personal expenses.

As for Krys, he needed at least two silver for his own reasons, so he only took that much and left the rest to Zax.

Zax looked strained but remained stoic as he took the pouch with his share. "Thanks, you guys... I'll try to make it up to ya next week." He said, as he stashed the coin away and sighed softly.

Krys just smirked a bit, patting Zax's shoulder and shaking him a little bit. "No need, we look out for each other, it's only natural." He enthused kindly before looking between Sera and Zax. "Come on, it should be close to the meeting time. Let's see what he has to say."

The trio set off, making their way towards the pawnshop and stopping in an alleyway a couple minutes away from the pawnshop itself.

The evening crowd was still making its way around, filling the streets with activity once more. In the next few minutes, a goatkin man with curled horns and a gray goatee stepped into the alleyway, making his way down before stopping and looking around. He looked clearly excited, rubbing his hands in apparent anticipation.

Krys stepped out into the open first, lightly kicking a stray glass bottle to make himself known.

The noisy clinking drew the goatkin man's attention and while he was momentarily startled he quickly grinned as Krys approached. "I suppose this will be our last transaction together. It's a shame, but after a haul this big, I'm sure you'll have no more need for this partnership of ours. It was good while it lasted." He enthused.

"You're talking about the one-armed man, right?" Krys asked leadingly, wanting to confirm whether or not they even went after the right man.

The goatkin nodded with excitement. "Yeah, that's the one. The fattest purse to ever leave that place. Twenty-eight pieces of gold worth of gold and silver." He mused while rubbing his hands together again.

Krys' eyes widened with surprise, though his expression was hidden by the shadows of the alleyway and his hood. He glanced over to Sera who waited out of sight, trying to double check to see if there was any way they possibly missed that much coin on someone.

Sera merely shook her head, confirming there was no way the man could have hidden that much anywhere else on his body.

At that, Krys looked back to the goatkin and spoke out once more. "We took everything he had on him, and there was no coin whatsoever... Nothing at all." He said simply.

"W-what?! No way! I heard the coins in the pouch, Edgar paid the man from his personal safe. Are you sure you fools didn't screw up?" The goatkin man accused, narrowing his eyes as his square pupils glared Krys down.

Krys bared his teeth as a primal snarl started to rise from his throat. How dare he accuse his team of incompetence!

Though before he could get a word out, a voice spoke up from above them. "While they may have been a little sloppy... They did everything right. It's only their poor luck that they tried to steal from me."

Startled by the appearance of the stranger, Krys quickly looked up to see who was speaking, only to see stone and dirt being poured down from above before they were quickly formed into two massive walls that blocked off both ends of the alleyway; trapping him and his team along with the goatkin man.

The goatkin man let out a startled bleat as he looked around, stepping closer to Krys to get away from the walls that suddenly formed.

Zax and Sera stepped out from cover as well, forming up on Krys as they looked at him. "What do we do?" Zax asked quietly.

"What can we do?" Sera replied softly.

Before Krys could say anything, a cloaked figure dropped from the rooftop. Jumping down from three stories up and landing safely as they stood tall despite the drop. Krys caught a glint of green light from under the hood, his skin forming goosebumps as he felt some kind of sensation wash over him.

"Tell me... Why do you steal?" The cloaked figure asked while slowly approaching them.

"T-that voice... I-it's the one-armed man..." Zax whispered frantically, apparently recognizing the cloaked figure.

Krys felt his throat tighten, they were dealing with a very powerful man all of a sudden, a powerful man they wronged... His thoughts turned to his little sister as he wondered who would look after her if he didn't come home today. "W-what's it to you?" He spoke out, doing his best to put a sense of bravado into how he spoke, though it was ultimately ruined by his stutter.

The cloaked man flashed a toothy grin before chuckling a bit. "How cliche! How novel! You steal for the sake of family. That's not a bad reason at all." He mused, looking to Zax next. "Hmm... You steal because of a debt your parents left you with. Another good reason!" He then looked to Sera, tilting his head as if curiously examining her. "You steal for the fun of it... But you like Zax, and you really like Krys. So might as well steal for them, eh? Fair enough."

Krys was internally freaking out now, how did this man know about his sister? How does he know anything about anyone??

The man stepped closer, though his attention was now on the goatkin. "Tell me... Why do you steal from your boss's clients? Well... Not that you actually get your hands dirty... Why should you? Why take any risks when you can get some dumb kids to do it for you..." He said as he suddenly grabbed the goatkin man by his shirt collar.

"I-I need money too! I swear, I've got a sick mother I've been caring for. That bastard Edgar doesn't pay me enough, and I'm struggling to make ends meet, I swear!" He explained frantically, grabbing the man's arm as he tried to pull away and free himself.

The man stares the goatkin down, slowly tilting his head to the side before starting to chuckle and laugh with apparent amusement.

"W-what's so funny?" Krys asked, stepping away from the goatkin and the hooded man as a vague sinking feeling settled in his stomach.

"He is." The cloaked man says as he shakes the goatkin a bit. "All that was such a blatant lie that he must have been trying to tell a funny story." He said with a smile still on his face. "He's a real comedian... How else could he live with picking out who does or doesn't get robbed... You're the brain of this whole operation, after all, I saw what you did with the statuette when I left. What a clever little signal system, that's for sure." The cloaked man then hummed a bit as he stared deeply into the goatkin's eyes. "I don't mind thieves, not at all. After all, a man's gotta eat at the end of the day." He then lifted the goatkin up into the air, still holding him by his shirt collar. "What I don't like are cowards who don't even have the spine to get their own hands dirty. If you're going to take something, then own it. Do it right."

"Want me to get my hands dirty? Fine, how do you like this?!" The goatkin man shouted before leaning forward and suddenly chomping down on the cloaked man's arm before crying out in pain. "A-ah fuck! M-my tooth!!"

At a glance, Krys could see the goatkin now had a very bloody mouth, whereas the cloaked man didn't even flinch or react.

The cloaked man just smiles a little more before chuckling a bit. "At least you showed a little spine in the end. Tell me... Do you spend all the money you get or do you save some of it somewhere?"

"W-what? I'm not telling you anything!" The goatkin squirmed and shouted, actually spitting blood in the man's face out of spite.

The cloaked man just smiled, tilting his head a little more before softly speaking up. "Too late." He mused before chuckling a bit. "I suppose you'll make good practice... Do try to memorize what you're about to feel so I can study this later."

Krys watched as a green light emanated from the cloaked man's hand when suddenly the goatkin started to writhe and thrash. Grunting through clenched teeth, he slammed his fists against the cloaked man's face and chest, trying to wrench himself free. The goatkin soon began to gasp desperately, as if he couldn't breathe when he suddenly went limp before vanishing into thin air.

The cloaked man then looked to Krys and the others, Zax moving quickly to stand in front of Krys and Sera. Though the man simply smiled a little more as he spoke up. “You three owe me a new bag… But I’ll save that for later… How about you all come work for me?”

Krys blanched at that, not sure what to make of it all as he opened and closed his mouth a few times before hesitantly speaking up. “W-wait… What?”