Hidden Shadows (1x1 with Boomsickle)

[Gobbo]

It was a typical night in Greywald, cold and raining. The clock tower in the center of the city rang midnight, the bells cutting through the silence like a knife. Ethan stood on one of the rooftops, hood pulled low over his head. The leathers he was wearing was enough to protect from the rain, but the wind would still cut through his clothing. He resisted a shiver and glanced down at the odd piece of parchment he had received earlier that night. It had an odd symbol on the wax seal, one he had seen before but couldn't really place where he had seen it. The note told him to wait at the courtyard he was overlooking, and said nothing more. He didn't know why he was given it, or who sent it, but on a night like this it wasn't like he had anything better to do. Nearly everyone in the town had shut their houses up tight, so it wasn't really possible for him to make any extra money tonight. With a small sigh he tucked the note into a pouch on his belt, and carefully made his way down to street level.


He landed silently in an adjacent alley, pulling his cloak tighter around himself. The alleyways around here had a nasty habit of funneling the wind into invisible blades, and more than a few people had succumbed to hypothermia by sleeping there. He shivered and made his way to the courtyard, making sure he had a good look around before emerging from the dark of the alley. There was nobody there... He frowned a bit and took a seat on the driest bench he could find, up against the wall. He sat and pulled his hood further over his face, enough to hide his features but still keep an eye on the entire courtyard.

 

[Boomsickle]

It was a little bit after dinner when Kim managed to get Cynthia to bed. Like many of the other nights it was left to Kim to watch over her sister while her mother worked the local brothel and on this night her sister had fallen ill. Working at the brothel wasn't a glamorous job and at times it was embarrassing to Kim. She knew that a good portion of the men living near her have visited her mom and on occasion would give both her and her sister a gift on the side. Most of the men probably expected he to end up in the same job as her mom and as she grew up they'd give her more and more gifts as to persuade her. This was one thing she dreaded about her life and something she'd fight against till her last breathe. She wanted to set a good example for her little sister who was now beginning to question where her mother went everyday. It was just like any other day when a strange man came up to kim and handed her a small bag of sweet bread and a piece of parchment. She opened the parchment and noted it had an address. It seemed like her mothers suitors were getting bolder and bolder. She knew she couldn't fall down to her mothers level but with her sister being ill and both money and medicine being scarce she had to do something for her sister. After setting her sister to bed she headed towards the location on the parchment through a back alleyway making way to a courtyard.

 

[Gobbo]

Ethan could have sworn that he heard footsteps. He tilted his head just enough to see where the sound was coming from, drawing a dagger from under his cloak. He kept it out of sight for now, narrowing his eyes a bit when he saw a girl emerge from the alley. Was she the one that sent him that letter? He could have sworn he recognized her from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place it. Scooting back on the bench he rested his back against the wall, watching her carefully.


After a few moments he let out a sharp whistle, his eyes locked on her. He didn't know if she was the one that sent him the note, but he would find out. He held up his bit of parchment but didn't say a word, his grip tightening on the hilt of the dagger under his cloak.

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim had entered the courtyard ahead of her and looked around to find the man from earlier. It was dark and raining which made it hard to spot anyone. She noted a few good exits as she did when ever she entered an unfamiliar place. She also noticed a small apple tree growing in the center. It seemed small enough for Cynthia to climb on and it would probably produce apples soon. It didn't appear that anyone was near and she began to question why she even came in the first place. As she was making her way to turn she heard a faint whistle through the rain. She turned towards the sound and noted a cloaked man sitting on a bench by the far wall.


It must be him she thought. Kim didn't want to continue with her original plan of meeting some stranger but she needed to help her sister at all costs. Turning towards the man she trudged to him stopping a few feet away. Close enough to hear him through the rain she called out "How much?" The hooded man was now clearly visible to her. She knew it wasn't the man from earlier and was instantly frightened. Was she tricked? Is this what she had heard the townsfolk talk about, when a girl is lured away than beaten by multiple men into submission. She couldn't let this happen. Not to her and not to her sister. She needed to be there for her. she needed to get out. She took a step back and began to head towards the nearest exit.

 

[Gobbo]

"Where do you think you're going, Kim?" a voice would suddenly say from the exit she was headed towards. The unexpected voice caused Ethan to stand quickly, pulling the dagger from his cloak. Either this third person was the one who sent him the letter, or someone worse.


"Who are you?" Ethan asked, taking a few steps towards the two of them. "Did you send me this letter?" he asked, holding up the parchment. He didn't know what the girl had meant when she said 'How much', but now was not the time to figure that out.


The man behind her laughed at that. "Easy there, Ethan. Yes, I was the one who sent those letters to the both of you. I have a business opportunity that I'm sure the both of you will be interested in." he said, moving so he was no longer blocking the exit. The man was huge, six and a half feet tall at least. He pulled his hood back, revealing a face that had obviously seen a lot. The man was probably in his late forties, with long greying hair and a face that was more scar tissue than flesh. Ethan frowned a bit, but put his knife away for now.


"Kim, I know about where you work. And your sister. I can offer you a way out of your money troubles, and provide your sister with plenty of medicine. Ethan, you..." he paused, causing Ethan's eyes to narrow. He had a feeling he wasn't about to like what this mysterious figure was about to say. "Ethan, to be honest, you have potential. The Guild doesn't like the carelessness you exhibit when you do your work, however. We can train you properly, and make you rich beyond your wildest dreams." he continued, bowing low. "I am Garris. It's a pleasure to meet you both on this beautiful summer's eve." he joked, chuckling lightly to himself. "Now, you have a choice. You can either return to your homes and forget you ever had this meeting, or you can follow me." he said, turning to make his way down a nearby alley.


Ethan frowned. He didn't like the situation, and he certainly didn't like being called out for being careless. He hadn't been caught yet, so how careless could he really be? He let out a small growl and pulled his cloak tight, following the man.

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim wasn't sure about the current situation. She went from knowing what she was doing by attempting to meet with a "client" to potentially following an older man who seemed to know a little too much about her and a young boy who looked like a trouble maker from top to bottom. It would of been her first time if she had actually met a "client" and it would of surely led to a life she didn't want. The choices left to her were simple. Either go home and succumb to the expectations around her or follow the man who could be making false promises. She chuckled at herself "I already planned on selling my soul" and followed towards the man who called himself Garris and the trouble maker who he called Ethan.

 

[Gobbo]

Ethan suppressed a shiver, following the man. "So, you gonna tell us exactly what the hell is going on?" he asked sharply, glaring up at the back of the man's head. Garris only laughed, glancing back at him. "You'll see soon enough." was all he said, causing Ethan to grit his teeth. He -hated- being lead on like this. He glanced over at Kim, frowning a bit. "So, what's your deal? Were you propositioning me earlier?" he asked, occasionally glancing over at Garris. He didn't like this situation already, so he didn't want to take his eyes off the man for too long. Just in case.


Garris lead them through a winding network of alleys, flanked on either side by tall buildings. There were a few windows that were lit, but for the most part everyone was already asleep. This is normally when Ethan would prowl around the city, looking for any unlocked doors or windows. Ethan would curse under his breath, this guy was making him waste valuable time. Because he wasn't out stealing, there was a good chance that he wouldn't be able to eat tomorrow. The trek seemed to take forever, constantly turning and twisting through parts of the city he couldn't even recognize.

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim had noted Ethan's question but a little embarrassed that he had figured out exactly what she was doing left her wanting to not answer. Unlike Ethan she wasn't fidgeting around while they followed Garris she already knew that he wouldn't answer any question of where they were going or how long it'd take them to get there so she just followed silently, observing her surrounding. She had memorized the path they took to get here and already mapped out three exit points if she needed them.

 

[Gobbo]

After what seemed like hours, Garris came to a sudden stop. Ethan stopped quickly, taking two steps back. "What, are we here? I mean, wherever 'here' is." he said, looking around. What was odd about this alley was there were no windows on any of the surrounding buildings, and only a single lone door that Garris stood in front of. The door looked normal, except for a small insignia burned into the center. It matched the one on the parchment that the both of them were sent. "We're here." he said, turning to them. "Now, I'm not just being generous in offering the two of you a chance at a better life. You'll have to work for it. This door will lead to the Guild... Ethan, I'm assuming you have your tools on you?" he asked, looking to Ethan.


Ethan nodded, digging around in a leather pouch on his belt. "Good. Your first task is to open this door." Garris said, making his way down the alley. "I'll see you two inside." he added, before disappearing around a corner. Ethan sighed, pulling out his lockpicks. "That guy gives me the creeps." he mumbled, dropping down to one knee to look into the lock. It was too dark to see what was on the other side, but the one thing he could see was the lock in front of him was extremely complex. He sighed, glancing up at her. "You don't talk much, do you?" he asked, starting on the lock.

 

[Boomsickle]

Still reluctant to answer him she kept quiet for a few moments as he fiddled with the lock. It was clear that he was chosen for a reason and it seemed that the reason was thievery. Kim was still unaware why the man targeted her for this but so far Garris appeared as if he wanted to help with her situation. "I still dont understand what's going on here so i think it's best if we keep conversation to a minimum" He didn't seem to like Kim's response as he kept fiddling with the lock. That wasn't really her problem and she could care less what he thought of her.

 

[Gobbo]

Ethan felt a click as one of the many pins got settled into place. This was going to take a while. "Alright, if you say so. I just like to know who exactly is standing behind me if I have to drop my guard for something like this." he said sharply, glancing up at her with narrowed eyes. He stared at her for a moment, before turning his attention back to the lock. "I've heard about this guy." he said, setting another pin. "Leader of the local branch of the Guild. They specialize in theft and assassination." he continued, working at the next pin. It clicked into place without much trouble. "Now, you're obviously not a thief, so you must have some experience with murder. So, that being said, if I find a knife in my spine before I'm done with this, I'll kill you." he said, going quiet. Sure, she didn't really want to talk, but he was going to make sure she knew where he stood on this whole situation.

 

[Boomsickle]

She could feel a slight menacing tone in his voice though his appearance made him look like a street thug who had never actually stabbed flesh with his knife. She knew she should let him have his moment and didn't bother replying to him. "It's probably for the best that he think of me as a murdered" she thought. She noted that the lock had been opened but it would be careless to simply push the door open without knowing what waited beyond it. "Go ahead" she said to Ethan.

 

[Gobbo]

He stared at her for a moment, frowning. "So, you're not a murderer." he said, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged a bit, putting his tools away. Pushing the door open slightly he pulled out a mirror, using it to check inside. "The room's empty." he said, starting to push the door open. He suddenly stopped, hearing what sounded like a quiet 'twang'. He froze, listening carefully. "The door's trapped." he said, looking around the frame. Sure enough, there was a small bit of wire attached to the door, leading somewhere into the room. Luckily, he hadn't tripped it. With a small sigh he pulled out what looked like a small clip, which he attached to the wire. "When I do this, you might want to stand back. I'm not sure if this is going to work." he said, pulling out his knife. He took a deep breath and cut the wire, pushing open the door at the same time. Instead of going inside, however, he scooted back against the wall and waited.

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim was a little impressed at his resourcefulness and listened to him by stepping two feet back unsure of what was going to happen. She simply waited for his next move.

 

[Gobbo]

After a few long moments, nothing happened. He had successfully disarmed the trap. He let out a long sigh and walked inside, looking around. It was literally just an empty room, save for a few chairs, a table, and a bookshelf. He looked up, and saw what the trap was; a wall of spikes that would swing down if anyone opened the door. He winced a bit, noticing that the spikes had some dried blood on them. Apparently someone else had tried to get in, and never noticed the wire. "That... would have been bad." he said, moving out of the way. He looked around, frowning. "Really? This is it?" he asked, sighing. "Kind of a let down. Are we supposed to just wait here?"

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim entered the room following Ethan after he had been a test dummy. The room was near empty with only a few things that were noteworthy. This still smelled like a trap and needed to be taken seriously.

 

[Gobbo]

Ethan frowned, looking around the room. "Weird... This has to be another test." he said, inspecting the chairs and table. Nothing weird with them. "This can't be it. I mean, what sort of hidden organization has just a single trap guarding it?" he asked, looking up. Nothing up there but the spike wall. He then turned his attention to the bookshelf. It was the only thing left in the room. It was loaded with books, and he was sure that one of them must open a trap door or an entrance of some kind. If not, then this was pretty disappointing. "Hey, you have a sister, right? Does she have any stories she likes to hear?" he asked, glancing over at her.

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim was taken back by this question. It'd be pretty far fetched that the secret entrance could be switched by pulling out the story that she reads to her own sister. She walked over to the bookcase to examine the books placed on the shelved. There was nothing of note besides a few books on maps and terrain but she did notice that there was a surprising amount of children's literature. From the corner of her eye she noticed the book 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' There was no way that they would know that this was the exact book that she used to read to her sister every night before bed time. She was even more taken back by Ethan's intuition. It almost seemed like he was on the brink of figuring something out. "This is the one" She pointed at 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' "Should i pull it out?"

 

[Gobbo]

"The way I look at it, if the first test was for me, then this one's for you. It's not just me, an experienced thief, getting tested here." he said, smirking a bit. He always loved making himself sound important. "Go ahead. I mean, the worst that could happen is it's rigged with an explosive that would kill us both." he said, shrugging. "I highly doubt that, though. It's not like Garris would go through the trouble of tracking us both down just to kill us." he added, taking a step back just in case. "If my hunch is right, it should open another door."

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim agreed and tugged on the book. It seemed like Ethan was right about the test being for her though it bothered her that he had figured it out before her. A trap door sprung up under the table. It became clear that Ethan wasn't going to cause any danger to her so she insisted on being the first one to go down the stair case trying to take the situation back into her hands.

 

[Gobbo]

Ethan grinned. "Thought so." he said, following her down. The staircase was narrow, with inset torches every few feet. It was well lit, and surprisingly dry for leading into what looked like catacombs. "Be careful, keep an eye out on the floor for anything that might look like a pressure plate or a wire." he said, running his hand along the wall as they descended. It didn't take them long to reach the bottom, the staircase opening up to a huge room lined with torches. In the center was Garris.


"So, you two made it down here in one piece! That's good." he said, holding his arms out with a bellowing laugh. Ethan tilted his head a bit, watching him. "Now, if you'll just follow me, I'll show you to your new home away from home." he said, turning and walking to a nearby wall. The wall was blank, except for that same symbol they had seen before. Garris pushed on it, a section of the wall next to it opening with a low rumble. "C'mon, no time to waste." he said, walking through. Ethan followed Garris into a huge room, with tunnels leading off in all directions. The room had quite a few people in it, most of them gathered around tables in what looked like a small, makeshift tavern. There were others at the opposite side of the room, practicing their lockpicking skills on locks set into the wall, and a few practicing archery and combat further down. "Holy hell, this place is huge..." Ethan said with wonder, his eyes lighting up.

 

[Boomsickle]

Kim was kind of let down that there went other tests for her to make up for letting Ethan figure out the last one. It appeared that Ethan was growing fonder of what we they had gotten themselves into while Kim sighed at her discontent for what they had found. It seemed that now Garris would be willing to explain all of this to them. "So what was all this about? she said with an annoyed tone.

 

[Gobbo]

Garris turned to her, smiling. "Well, to be honest, we need your help. The town guard has been going crazy as of late, tracking down and killing a large number of us. Now, we've been watching the both of you for some time now. Ethan." he said, turning to him. "You've been robbing houses and pickpocketing for a long time. Now, normally we would just have you killed for doing that sort of work, but we can't afford to lose someone who already has the needed skill set." he said, shrugging. He then turned to Kim. "Kim, we've noticed that you're quite gifted at picking up skills and information quickly. Seeing as you also have connections to the brothel, we will need to use you to keep tabs on certain individuals. For both of your services, we will pay you well. Very well." he said, smiling.


Ethan smiled, looking around. "Well, I guess this beats getting assassinated. Count me in."

 

[Boomsickle]

This was an outcome Kim wasn't expecting. She wasn't too sure what this new job would lead to but at the moment she needed something like this. A chance to make some quick cash to support her family. "I doubt I'd find anything better" she said to herself. "Alright count me in as well." Kim knew that to do this job properly she'd be expected to work at the brothel and that made her worried but she needed the money. Perhaps she could just find a job there waiting tables was her first thought.

 

[Gobbo]

"Good to hear it." Garris said, smiling. "Now, these are for you." he said, tossing Ethan a pouch that clanked when he caught it. "Twenty gold, to get you started. Though, for an experienced thief such as yourself, that must be pocket change." he teased, chuckling. He then turned to Kim, handing her a small pouch of coins and a vial. "Here's some money to start you out, and about a month's worth of medicine for your sister. Now, I think it goes without saying, but neither of you know anything about this operation." he said, glancing at the both of them. Ethan nodded, counting out the coins. "Good. I have some work to attend to, but I'll be back with you two shortly. Stick around until I get back."


Ethan nodded and headed over to where the bar was set up, laying down a coin. "This'll cover my drinks. And hers." he said, nodding over to Kim.