Apex 001 (Patreon)

The tavern was riddled with wood rot and seedy men. The wood had long lost its luster, and it had been years since any adventurer of note had ever stepped foot inside.

The stranger stepped into the tavern, drawing wary eyes towards him. The stranger shambled his way towards the tubby older man.

"What brings you this way," the barkeep asked, rubbing his mug with his rag as barkeeps tended to do.

"Just passing through," the stranger replied, placing down two copper pieces and a single silver piece.

The barkeep slipped the coinage down and then nodded towards the back table, for this was not just any old dingy bar. The Seven Snakes operated within this bar, and Richard had need of them.

Richard was an adventurer, well, a semi-retired adventurer. It was important to note the distinction, because it was rare that adventurers retired, and even rarer that they semi-retired. He had mostly given up his adventuring, those days long behind him, but remained on duty for special events that may occur. There were many days where one might need of him for a beast hoard, or a dragon sighting, or even dragon sitting.

He sat down onto the wooden chair, which creaked under his weight. He wasn't particularly bulky, though he did wear a heavy breast plate. This was his backup armour, as his main armour was currently being worked on in order to fix up some dings he had received against an orcbolet. He decided he should probably enchant it, the kind which reduced the intense heats of a fiery creature, like an orcbolet.

He unhooked his sword belt and placed his blade against the wall behind him, a courtesy for the Snakes. One did not see a Snake unless they were courteous after all. This blade was magical, though it was also a backup weapon. It's enchantments were minor, with a sprinkle of basic magic, as well as one charge of explosion magic, which would recharge at dawn.

"You're Richard, aren't you?" asked the Snake who appeared out of thin air. It wasn't that he was so silent that he had crept up to Paul, no, for Paul still had some magical accessories that allowed him to sense those around him, but rather the Snake had teleported from wherever to the spot near him.

The Snake was a nondescript fellow of average height and build, though no doubt their clothes helped in keeping that illusion up. Their voice was masculine though, whether or not they were actually male was uncertain and irrelevant. Well, Richard knew what they were, but he kept that to himself.

"I am," Richard said.

"Richard of the Banehearts?"

Richard smiled fondly at the name. "Formerly," he said. "I'm retired now. Mostly."

"Retired in the same way that I no longer steal from nobles," the Snake said. "Only under the right circumstances, isn't that right?"

"That's exactly it," he said, nodding his head.

"How may I be of service?" The Snake asked, ready to get down to business.

"There's a particular jewel I need, I was hoping that I could ask for your expertise in this matter."

"Which jewel is it?" the Snake asked. "We are well versed in such matters."

"The Jewel of Imotai," Richard said. "It's white, about this big, has the aura of the divine about it." He formed a circle with his index finger and thumb to show the Snake the jewel's size.

"I'm familiar," the Snake said. "Now that is quite the jewel. Lady I recall it was under the possession of a King Brevard."

"Can you do it?" Richard asked, knowing the answer.

"The question isn't if we can do it, but rather if you can afford it and how quickly you need it."

"I'm sure you know there's only one question," Richard said, chuckling. "And I'll need it by the end of the week, if it isn't a bother."

The Snake remained still for a moment. "By the end of next week?"

"That's right." Richard nodded.

"You want is to get the jewel, the Jewel of Imotai, which is currently in the hands of King Brevard, by the end of next week?"

"Exactly right, yes."

"You're crazy."

"So I've been told." Richard shrugged his shoulders. He had come to these thief guild in particular for a specific reason.

"That's impossible," the Snake said, shaking their head.

"Extremely difficult, I'm sure, isn't that why I'm paying you so much?"

"I can't accept that."

"I know you can't, that's why I'm not asking you in particular."

The Snake remained silent. Richard's lips grew into a small smile, and no doubt the Snake could see it through his helmet. The Seven Snakes were some of the best rogues around, they had stolen rings off of the Prince's fingers, coins out of a dragon's hoard, and divinity from an angel.

"I'd like to speak with Eight, if it's alright," Richard said.

The Snake disappeared from their seat, vanishing into nothingness. They retreated much quicker than he expected, but it wasn't a complete surprise. The existence of Eight was known to very few people and even Richard had come across it by chance.

The adventurer waited within the bar. Someone had tried to creep up close, but he leaned back and tapped the table in the code of thieves, letting them know that they would have a bad time. They had taken a moment to think about the situation before they slunk away to leave him in prace.

The barkeep brought over a mug of ale, the awful kind with the sour taste, as though it had been kept out for too long. Richard, being a man who was brought up with good manners, sipped it slowly.

From the darkness emerged a swaggering figure, who grabbed the chair, turned it about and sat against it in the way some people did, the chair resting against their front.

He was a man dressed in darkness, the shadows hugging his form. His face was covered by a cloth mask, one which he could see out of just fine, though his face was not for the world to see. At his sides were three daggers, formed out of the void.

"Richard Leonne," he said. "What do I owe the pleasure of meeting such a legendary adventurer?"

"I'm sure you heard what I told your little sister," Richard said, noting the man's lack of response. "Jewel of Imotai, a week."

"You're asking for a lot," Eight said. "I'm sure you have a decent payment?"

"My gratitude for one," Richard said, smiling. "Thought gratitude alone won't put food in your stomach, regardless of what politicians may say." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a dagger. It was made of diamond, and not just any diamond, but the diamond of a gem dragon.

The figure glanced at it for a moment. "What's it packing?"

"You've heard the tale of the sailor lost at sea?" Richard asked.

"I have."

"The Miclidian version?"

The shadowy figure whistled, leaning forward to see the going against the gem dagger. Even from this distance he could appraise it for its worth. "How did you manage that?"

"One of the last dungeons I conquered held a chest. Well, it was a mimic, but killing the mimic granted us a key to find another chest. It was also a mimic, but then it granted us a key and we found a secret room. In that secret room was a second secret room, and then a third, and in the fourth one we found this dagger. The fifth secret room had a sword, but I have that to someone else, sorry."

Eight nodded. "A jewel for a jewel?"

Richard slid the dagger over. "A jewel for a jewel."

"What's to stop me from taking this and running?" Eight asked, his eyes remaining fixated on the dagger.

Richard smiled and stood, finishing the last few gulps of his awful drink in one go. The dagger had disappeared from the table, no doubt lost within the shadows.

"There are certain perks to being married to the world's most powerful diviner," Richard said. He placed down a gold coin and then walked to the door. He turned to see fhe shadowy figure had disappeared, though the various items allowed him to see that they were merely in another realm.

"I'll be seeing you, Jakob." Richard turned and left, leaving Jakob, or Eight, stew on his thoughts.

The shadowy figure remained still, hidden within the darkness. Richard had known the shadowy figure's name, and the fact he had a little sister, who was his most trusted thief. Even now he could feel it, that feeling of being watched, even through all the protections he had spent top coin on.

He had heard stories of Richard's wife, one of the world's greatest diviners. She had been quite an issue for various empires, two of which had shattered due to her guidance to the dark lord.

'Guess I should be getting to work,' he thought.