Blackblood

Chapter one: The Thief.

In a small building that looked like an inn not far from the town square, thieves hide from the law or relax after a day of dishonest work. That inn was the home base of the local thieves' guild in Alfort. Inside, people drink, eat and gamble with each other- that's what most people see but the truth is always more complex. A network of spies, fighters trained in forms of combat most people would deem dirty, low or unfair, and even treasure hunters or wilderness guides- it's not as simple as picking a pocket or breaking a locked chest anymore.

The door suddenly opened from the outside. From the looks of it, quite a storm had brewed since the witch was burned. The winds crashed violently towards the stone walls and rain poured down like there was no tomorrow. From the maelstrom outside enters a hooded man wet from the rain. He closed the door behind him and removed his hood. Under the cover was a young man. He had black hair messed up by the rain yet the messy look suited him. The lighting from the lamp revealed that his eyes were emerald green. His expression was calm even after being caught in the middle of a storm outside and an air of superiority surrounded him as he walked towards the bar. The bartender was cleaning glasses but as soon as he saw the young man approach him, he greeted him with a silent nod to which the young man replied the same way. The bartender pointed with his eyes the back door meaning someone, probably another client, is waiting for him.

 He entered a hidden door at the back of the inn. There. he was greeted by an old man with short gray hair and beard and the crusader from earlier. The old man was called Bernard Cross- he leader of the thieves' guild. When he was young, people called him "Blinding Cross" because of his speed. He had earned the gray beard and now leads and teaches young men how to survive the urban jungle.

"I like you to meet one of my best operatives, Kain'lass Blackblood." the old man said

"A pleasure to meet you, messere. I am Armad Saintfire, crusader of the holy cross." says the crusader as he extends his hand to Kain for a handshake.

The holy cross are paladins of the church. Unlike the hired sword everywhere else, these crusaders were trained for a single purpose- to eliminate the threats and enemies of god be they man or not. Most people just call them priests with swords as a joke.

"So we are working for the church now?" Kain asked Bernard blandly expressing his distaste. His voice was low yet smooth- maybe a symbol that even in his young age, his experience within his life is great. He didn't shake Armad's hand and after a few seconds, Armad withdrew hi hand and scratched his head instead.

"Gold is gold, Kain." was Old man Cross' reply and laughed. "You have never questioned a job before, what makes this one so different?"

"Nothing special." Kain said. "I just find it strange taking a job from some crusader." he then turned to Armad. "Are you sure that you don't require someone with a little more... "faith"?"

"Hmph. I need someone with great skill, not great faith." Armad replied sarcastically. "If i needed someone with great faith then I would have went to a church, not a thieves' guild."

Kain laughed at the crusader's statement and gave a nod of approval. "Well then, If that is the case- Kain'lass Blackblood at your service." he said as he bowed down to Armad courteously. "By the way, you will have a hard time finding someone devoted to God in the church. They are all devoted to that priest, Rodrigo."

"So I have noticed" said Armad.

"Well then, now that we are all acquainted, shall we get to work?" interrupts the old man. The two young men both nod.

"Just remember, this subject requires great discretion, no one outside this room must know about it." said Armad.

"Do not worry crusader. You can't be a good thief if you always tell that you stole something from someone, right?" replied Kain.

Bernard cleared his throat. "As you may have witnessed earlier, we had an execution- but not just any execution, we burned a witch.Moments after the execution Sir Armad appeared in front of our door asking me if this was the home of the thieves' guild. Of course, I didn't entertain him until he said the magic word."

"I'll give you gold?" said Kain to Bernard and they have a laugh.

"At any case, he needs our help to find the witch's conspirators. There is a lot of money to be made in this job, all he asks is we take down a bunch of cultists in our midst." Bernard continued.

"First we need to track down these cultists. Me and my men have no idea who and where they are. All we have is a suspicion. This is where we need your help. I need you to tail the priest, Rodrigo, tonight to confirm the suspicion that he may be consorting with witches. Or even worse- a part of the damned cult." Armad said.

"I could do that."said Kain. "But it sounds too easy. There must be catch."

"The catch is we have no idea who, where and how many they are in this town. After you follow the priest, you may have a fight on your hands or worse, an ambush. My presence in Alfort isn't appreciated by the cultists and they may strengthen themselves while I'm here." replies Armad. "When I was about to burn the witch, she said something about her master's work being nearly complete. So you have to find that out too."

"There has been a case of kidnapping that has been going on in Alfort for three months- all victims are young women not reaching the age of twenty-five.There had been a total of twelve girls missing  " Says Bernard. "I don't know if the are connected but it wouldn't hurt to find out. You will report to Sir Saintfire and myself concerning this mission."

"Fine, I accept the conditions and the mission." Kain said. "So I'll be going in alone?"

"No. you will be accompanied by your friend, Arthur, in this mission. He will provide assistance and had been told the details of the mission before you got here." Bernard said.

"Well, I shall be on my way back to our camp. If my men found anything else, I shall let Sir Bernard know. Until then, farewell." said Armad and he left the inn and braved the storm outside.

"So you send in your son with me." says Kain to Bernard as soon as the coast was clear of the crusader. "He is a good friend of mine but I will not lie, if things get ugly, I cannot babysit him in a fight."

"He has earned his place among us but I still worry." replied Bernard.

"You know he intends to get married in a few days with his lover, the baker's daughter, Lucia. Let him get married first before you send him in a mission. Who knows what might happen tonight."

"I know. My child is strong and stubborn like his old man. I am not rich enough to buy gifts the baker might like and Arthur knows that. He didn't ask me a single coin to spend for his marriage and I feel a little ashamed. So that is the reason he is coming with you. The guild's share of the money earned will be given to my son as an indirect gift. Maybe after that I can finally sleep peacefully at night."

"I find it amusing that no matter how amny lives you have taken, money you have stolen and throats you have cut, the only thing that haunts you is the thought of not bearing gifts to your son's wedding. I cannot understand it."

Bernard laughed and said. "Neither do I."

Kain stood up and redied himself to leave. as he was about to leave the room, Bernard said. "You had been a good man, Kain. Your father would be so proud."

He put on his hood and Bernard didn't see the expression on his face. He didn't not know the smile on the young man's face as he left the room and entered the stormy outdoors.

TO BE CONTINUED.