"Friends of yours?" Belial asked after she turned to see what had stolen his attention. When Dalthan didn't immediately respond, the Archpriestess' luscious lips puckered in a pout that would have melted a golem's heart. Her husky voice remained light and playful, but for the first time, there was a dangerous edge lurking beneath her silken tone, like a stiletto hidden within an elaborate hairstyle. "We've barely gotten to know each other and you're already bored with me, Dalthan?"

The sound of his name tumbling past her lips jerked his gaze away from the wizard’s crew to send it scurrying back toward the [Archpriestess]. As soon as he saw the unhappy cast of Belial’s ruby-red eyes, Dalthan immediately began cursing his lack of focus. Zaplixel was nothing more than a two-bit [Swindler]. The asshole had pulled one over on him, but it wasn’t the first time he’d been on the receiving end of a grift. There was a rule in the Handbook devoted to this very thing. Rule nine stated, ‘Give a fellow thief their due. Then take twice as much when they least expect it.’ Zap may have won round one but, ultimately, he was just another rat stealing a chunk of cheese from a fellow rodent.

Lady Belial, on the other hand, was an [Archpriestess] that seemed to have her finger close to the pulse of this entire extravagant scam. That it was a scam was never in doubt. Dal had seen enough Cartels to know their handiwork when he saw it. Someone was making coin, or what passed for it, off of everyone else’s hard work. Classic extortion racket. Dalthan may need to start as one of the hard workers at the bottom of this pyramid scheme, but he didn’t aim to stay there. Belial would make for an exquisitely satisfying ticket to the top.

“You wound me, Lady Belial. We both know that even a deaf man would hang on your every word. It merely surprised me to see someone familiar. That’s all.” Dalthan’s voice was smooth as ambrosia poured from a platinum cup. After dismissing the wizard’s group with a nonchalant wave of his hand, the rogue flashed Belial a rakish smile. Cool as a frost dragon’s scale, he leaned toward the voluptuous priestess. “Now, where were we?”

To Dalthan’s mounting horror, Belial barely gave his best smile a second glance as her eyes settled on the trio across the room. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about this ‘Zaplixel.’ Which one are they?”

“He’s an old wizard I met in the Mausoleum. No one to concern yourself with and certainly not someone I would consider a friend.” Dal tried to wrest control of this runaway wagon before it could wreck his chances with the [Archpriestess]. It seemed like an unmitigated disaster to put her within earshot of that prick Zap. Who knows what he might say? “I think you were about to tell me where to find my apartment. Perhaps you’d like to show me the way?”

Belial hummed while her sparkling eyes watched Zap’s group like a shark spying on a floundering swimmer. “Oh, Dalthan. I thought you wanted to handle business before pleasure. You did get fined on your way to the Well. Best to get that taken care of before we move on to more enjoyable pursuits.”

The woman paused then, tilting her head as if she were listening to a conversation Dalthan couldn’t hear. Heartbeats passed while Dal looked upon the powerful priestess with growing apprehension. Before the rogue could scour the Handbook for guidance, Belial’s sharp eyes settled upon him once again. A languid stride brought her to Dalthan’s side where she let one slender arm slither its way around his elbow. With a strength that seemed impossible for her supple frame, she drew him close as if they were a pair of courting nobles preparing for their first dance.

“My Lord has just given me the perfect chore for your first trip outside the city,” Lady Belial’s voice was smooth and casual, utterly unconcerned with the stares they were attracting as people scrambled out of the priestess’ path.

Dalthan couldn’t help but notice that their route across the floor would take them directly to Zaplixel’s group.

“Oh. Well, I’m flattered that Lord Balerik would take such a personal interest in my well-being.” Dalthan smiled like a bartender who’d been watering down the booze all night. He delicately tried to extract his arm as he continued. “I’d be honored to do this chore for him after I find my apartment and take a brief nap.” Lady Belial was strong. She never broke stride as he tugged more firmly to free his arm. “It’s been a long day. What with the whole dying thing and all.”

“Have faith in Lord Balierk, Dalthan. He would not put a challenge before you that could not be overcome.” She led him inexorably across the floor, like an executioner escorting a felon to a hangman’s noose. “Besides, for your first mission you’ll have the support of a team of experienced veterans. We just need to find you a group suited for you.”

“Do you see anyone that might serve our purpose?” The purr in Belial’s voice had seemed so tantalizing only moments ago. Now it sounded like the rumble of a dragon as it unfurled its wings. Like one of the great serpents of myth welcoming a naive paladin into its lair, the priestess raised an arm to gesture toward the nightmarish crowd arrayed before them.

A writhing mass of men and monsters in front of them churned like a sea of horrors come to life. A group of goblins, their skin green and covered in lesions, huddled together while a burly hobgoblin read from an unfurled scroll. While they argued in their guttural language, a group of faerie creatures swirled through the air above. The brief glimpses Dalthan caught of them gave him the impression of large, alien eyes and tiny, long-limbed bodies that were armed and armored for war. Further away, Dal could see a group of strange creatures that looked like tigers but walked like men. Dressed in finery fit for Wavecrest’s senators, the tiger people growled orders to the crowd like ringleaders directing a macabre circus. At their direction, some of the members of the crowd moved toward the wall to withdraw sealed scrolls from the small cubby holes cut into the back stone.

Those were only some of the scenes he made note of as his gaze slid across the controlled chaos unfolding on the bottom floor of The Well of Sins. Some creatures he recognized from stories and rumors he’d heard on the streets of Wavecrest. Others, like the man-sized bugs that chittered and clacked at one another, were beasts he’d have never conjured to his mind in his wildest dreams.

“This is a lot to take in, m’lady,” Dalthan said in a rare moment of complete honesty. Mindful of Zaplixel’s presence only a few feet away, Dal leaned closer to the priestess as his voice dropped to a quiet murmur. “I may need a bit of time to interview candidates. Recruiting help off the street rarely makes for good business sense. That’s almost as bad as going to an inn in search of companions for an epic quest.”

“Fortunately you have me to guide you, darling.” Belial’s switchblade smile sent a trill of danger ringing in his head a moment before she abruptly raised her voice. “And I think this party would be the perfect group to show you how Lord Balerik’s system works.” Mischief, raw and unapologetic, flashed in her red eyes as she pitched her voice loud enough to startle Zaplixel’s nearby group.

The rock creature turned toward them with no outward show of concern. Not that Dal was an expert on the body language of granite. The two humans, however, were far more expressive.

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“Holy shit!,” the woman said, her eyes immediately riveted to the [Archpriestess].

“What…,” Zaplixel began, his face an open display of complete confusion. That confusion only grew into a bug-eyed display of shock when he finally recognized the man at Lady Belial’s side. “...the fuck?!”

“Well, your friends are every bit as eloquent as I expected them to be,” Belial said in a sinfully smooth tone. “I saw you all catch Dalthan’s eye so I decided that I must introduce myself. I am Lady Belial Darkstar.” When the priestess gave Dal’s shoulder a light pat, there was a hint of a possessive touch, like a huntsman favoring a prized hound. “He’s told me so much about you all.”

The woman with the enormous bow slung across her back managed to stutter a response. “Da…Dalth…Dalthwho?” As her gray eyes tried to blink away the star-struck expression plastered across her face, she numbly turned her attention to the man dressed in solid white. “This dreg? This is the first time I’ve ever seen him.”

Zaplixel was much faster on the uptake. The old wizard’s bushy brows had narrowed the moment he recognized Dalthan. “I’m not sure what you were told, Lady Belial, but I only took my fair compensation as a Tutorial guide.”

“Oh?,” Belial turned her attention back to the rogue. “He didn’t mention retaining the services of a guide. That will make things much simpler. You see, Dalthan has incurred a bit of debt with the clergy and I must insist that he complete his punitive chore immediately.”

“How?!,” Zap groaned as he scrubbed an open palm across his bald head and then down his face. “How did your dumbass manage to end up with a fine on your first day?”

“Well,” Dal replied, his tone more defensive than he’d have liked, “maybe if someone hadn’t stolen all my fucking money I wouldn’t have gotten myself into this mess.”

“Zaplixel,” the archer said as her head slowly swiveled to face the mage. “What. Did. You. Do?”

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Zap snapped back like a lion with a thorn in its paw. “I’m a Swindler, Keysha. You know exactly what I did. Why else would I have been in the Mausoleum with the dregs? You and Shale seemed fine with it when I was using his coin to pay for our meal at Damn Delicious.”

As the two descended into a profanity-laced squabble, Dalthan took a moment to do something he should have done when he’d first seen Zap’s crew. He identified them.

Identify labeled the woman talking to Zap as a [Human Sharpshooter]. This came as little surprise considering the first thing the rogue had noticed about her was the unwieldy recurve bow strapped to her back. The woman, Keysha, had long black hair that had been bound into a no-fuss ponytail. Taller than Zap, but shorter than Dalthan, she had a set of stormy gray eyes that flashed like lightning while she poked the mage accusingly in the chest. Wearing gloves, breeches, and leather armor, not a single inch of her chocolate brown skin was exposed save for her sharply sculpted face.

The silent member of Zap’s trio was a [Stone Golem] according to Dal’s identify. The creature had a round body set upon strangely articulated legs. A set of long arms ended in three-fingered hands whose knuckles nearly touched the floor. Its entire body seemed rough-hewn as if it’d been carved by a lazy sculptor. The effect was most egregious on the pumpkin-sized rock that Dalthan assumed must be the golem’s head, though it lacked any discernible features.

Frustrated with the lack of intel provided by a skill that was literally named ‘identify’, Dalthan muttered to a bemused Lady Belial. “Does identify ever tell you anything that isn’t painfully obvious?”

Like a dog hearing a whistle, Zaplixel’s gaze shot up at the sound of Dalthan’s voice. “If you’d taken the time to ask Sylvia about shit like that, you’d already know the answer.”

“You remember that I died today, right? It’s been a lot to take in so excuse me if a few minor details slipped through the cracks.” Dal bit back. “And there was the minor inconvenience of some asshole stealing all my fucking money.”

“Who is Sylvia?” Lady Belial asked with the casual threat of a razor pressed against a waking man’s throat. While the question hung in the air like a guillotine, the priestess turned her attention fully to the rogue with an intensity that made him start to sweat.

“Oh? He didn’t mention Sylvia? I’m shocked. They seemed to get along very well.” Zaplixel’s glee reminded Dalthan of a cat’s excitement while it held a mouse trapped beneath its paw. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen someone at Experience and Levels be so accommodating to a dreg’s needs.”

“Zap’s just jealous because the only woman that ever paid attention to him called him ‘my favorite son’.” Dalthan sneered, enjoying the sense of petty triumph he felt when he saw Zaplixel’s spine stiffen.

“Mom jokes? Really?” Keysha muttered, glancing from Zaplixel to Dalthan with a shake of her head.

“Isn’t this fantastic? You’ve only known each other for a day and you’re already getting along so well. You seem to have a knack for getting along with people, Dalthan. I’ll have to find this Sylvia woman to make sure you didn’t get along with her too well.’ Belial’s voice was sweet as spring rain but sharp as jagged lightning. “She and I can compare notes while you’re gone.”

“Uhm,” Dalthan began, suddenly feeling hesitant beneath the weight of her smoldering gaze. “Where am I going?”

“Wherever the Archdemon wills,” Belial said, finally relinquishing his arm. A twist of her fingers filled the air with a sharp snap like the crack of sundering wood. A puff of black smoke erupted from her hand, filling the air with the acrid scent of brimstone. Once the black haze dissipated, Belial was left holding a rolled-up piece of yellow parchment.

“This is your first chore, darling,” the [Archpriestess] said as she offered the scroll to the rogue.

Refusing to be cowed, Dal accepted the scroll with a solemn nod. Deft fingers quickly unrolled the parchment so he could scan its contents. Within seconds he’d read the short missive and turned a bewildered expression toward the smiling priestess.

Quest The Archdemon Balerik has tasked you with selling three magic beans. By hook or by crook, you must find a buyer within five days. Asking price to be negotiated by quest bearer. Milestone 0/1

Not knowing quite where to start, the thief began with the most confusing part of the job.

“We’re supposed to sell three magic beans?”