Chapter 11 – Thieves Come Prepared

Alf’s eyebrows rise as he sees the silver token in my hand. Wasting no time, he jumps off the small box he is standing on and hurries past me. With efficient movements, he locks the front door, bolting it tight. Turning back towards me, he smiles.

“Now, how may tha’ Silver Saints assist ya, little Halfling?” He smiles as he calmly walks back to his counter. “I have all sortsa wares, what is ya profession?”

Slightly taken back by the changing atmosphere, I hesitate for a moment. “I’m a fresh Thief Lord, and I need some equipment for both me and my underlings.” I say, slightly skeptical of the obviously criminal shopkeeper.

“Ah, a Thief Lord, ya say? I have just tha’ thing for ya.” He says while crouching behind his counter, shuffling some unseen boxes around.

I lean forward, trying to get a glimpse of what the dwarf is doing. Alf quickly stands back up though, holding a set of basic leather armor in his hands.

[Shadowed Leather Armor Set. Common. +25% Physical Resistance, Per level gain: +1,5 Agility, +1 Perception, +1 Dexterity, +0,5 Constitution, +0,5 Strength. Requires: NPC, Rogue Classification.*]

Wow, that’s what I’m talking about! I grin as I read the item description. What I’m looking at is an item set, which is a little different than the gear normal players can wear. Villains aren’t the only class types that can recruit minions. In fact, everyone can. Normal players and guilds can recruit NPCs to function as personal servants, guards, or even form an entire NPC army. All these NPCs need to be individually equipped though, and since it would be an incredibly tiresome ordeal to buy, craft, or steal individual gear pieces like helmets, chest pieces, and gloves, the developers added NPC set items. These set items grant bonuses to the character as a whole while taking up every inventory slot. They scale with every level the NPCs gain, which makes it unnecessary to change them often. The sets can be upgraded though, and their appearances can be changed to include guild symbols, colors, or even style. Customization options are always nice.

To clarify: while any player can recruit NPCs to do their bidding, they will never be comparable to the minions of a Villain. Normal players, for example, do not have access to the same sort of powerful buffing abilities that Villains do, and they also have to pay regular upkeep to keep them employed. They are also required to feed their NPCs and give them a proper secure area to rest. This is why most players won’t ever bother recruiting NPCs, but guilds can hire and utilize them to do menial tasks. I’m certain that the Dark Pegasus guild, for example, will eventually replace their player guards at the city entrances with perception-based NPC minions at some point. That’s what I’m hoping for though, as it would make my Illusion spells a much more powerful asset.

“I’ll take it.” I grin. “Do you have more? I’ll buy as many as I can.”

Alf returns my grin, rubbing his hands together. “I do, little Halfling. Tha’ right there is just a taste of wha’ the Silver Saints can offer.” He walks into a backroom and starts rummaging around. I can hear the sounds of boxes bumping into one another and the crashing sound as a glass jar breaks against the floor. Cursing like a sailor, Alf quickly returns from the back carrying a heavy wooden crate. He lifts it onto the counter, giving me a glance of what is in there.

[Heavy Leather Armor Set. Common. +30% Physical Resistance, Per level gain: +1,5 Strength, +1,5 Endurance, +1 Agility, +0,5 Dexterity. Requires: NPC, Fighter Classification.*]

[Light Leather Armor Set. Common. +20% Physical Resistance, Per level gain: +1,5 Dexterity +1 Agility, +1 Perception, +0,5 Constitution, +0,5 Strength. Requires: NPC, Ranged Classification.*]

My eyes go wide as I reveal a toothy grin. This is excellent! “I’ll take one of each. How much is it?”

“Seven gold each normally…” He takes a moment to scratch his chin. “But with a special membership discount, I’ll let ya have them fer five gold n’ two silvers apiece.”

The air deflates from my lungs when I hear about the steep price. Even with the discount, that’s one hell of a price to pay to gear up a couple of level two underlings. For that price, I can actually only barely equip four underlings, not counting their weapons.

Checking my Inventory, I count my meager possessions. Twenty gold, eight silver, nine copper coins, and a painting. It’s not a bad haul, but it still stings to lose this much money this shortly after earning them. Oh well, easy come, easy go. I didn’t really work for most of this gold anyway.

“Yeah, only one of each…” I confirm. “I would also like a shortsword, a dagger, a set of throwing knives, and a crossbow. The best I can get for…” I do a few quick mental calculations. “Five gold, two silvers, and nine coppers, please.”

Smiling, Alf once more enters the backroom, rummaging around. The sounds of crates being knocked over and the occasional curse from Alf breaks through the silence once in a while. After a short moment, he returns to the counter and dumps the items in front of me.

[Blunted Iron Shortsword. Uncommon. 5-8 Slashing Damage, +1 Strength, +1 Agility. Requires: Strength 10, Level 2.*]

[Blunted Iron Dagger. Uncommon. 6-7 Piercing Damage, +2 Agility. Requires: Agility 10, Level 2.*]

[Chipped Iron Throwing Knives. Uncommon. 5-6 Piercing Damage, +2 Dexterity. Requires: Dexterity 10, Level 2.*]

[Aged Small Crossbow. Uncommon. 9-10 Piercing Damage, +2 Dexterity. Requires: Dexterity 10, Level 2.*]

They may not be the most awe-inspiring weapons, but they are all of uncommon rarity, which means they are a step above most weapons available to players below level five. Actually, I’m surprised he brought out these weapons, as I would have assumed they would be worth at least eight gold. Even with the discount, I doubt I’ll have enough.

“Ya look troubled, little Halfling. Something tha’ matter? These weapons ere’ are tha’ best ya can get. Don’ try any of tha’ hagglin’ with me.” Alf scowls.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Really? I get everything? “How much?” I ask a tad too quickly.

“Five gold, two silvers, and nine coppers.” He shrugs.

…

Well, that’s probably the most suspicious-sounding pricing I’ve ever heard. Am I being scammed here? Something is definitely wrong. No self-respecting criminal would ever give discounts this large, no matter the client.

“Why the low prices?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Customer discount.” He repeats with a deadpan voice.

“Bullshit. Why are they really this cheap?” I frown.

Eyeing me suspiciously, he leans in closer. I involuntarily flinch, not too eager to get an ugly dwarf this close to my face. “Let’s just say tha’ items didn’t come ere’ through tha’ regula’ channels. Okay?” He says in hushed tones.

“Oh…” My cheeks redden. Now it makes sense. The bastard is a fence! These items are all contraband. No wonder he kept them hidden. What a scam! If anyone with a semi-decent Analyze skill inspects these items, they’ll be notified that the items are stolen, which can be reported to the authorities and will lead to me being penalized. Luckily, it won’t matter much to me since I’m toast if I’m found out anyway, but I have to make sure I don’t flaunt this stuff when I’m walking around as Rynorn Stabberton, crafter extraordinaire.

Now that I look closer, I notice there’s a small asterisk at the end of all of the items’ names. Focusing on one of the symbols, the item’s status gets a small addition.

[Aged Small Crossbow. Uncommon. 9-10 Piercing Damage, +2 Dexterity. Requires: Dexterity 10, Level 2. *Contraband*]

Son of a… there it is. Damn. I should have seen it earlier. I never really ran into this problem as a Necromancer as I didn’t really get any many chances to kill and loot lawful NPCs. Not that I wouldn’t do it if given the chance, but there really just aren’t that many of them around deep inside the Tal’Shalg forest.

“I’ll take them.” I mutter, handing over all my money.

“Pleasure doin’ business with ya, little Halfling.” Alf chuckles as he shoos me out the door. “Tha’ Silver Saints appreciate ya patronage.”

A door slams shut behind me for the second time today, the same amount of times I’ve encountered the Silver Saints. Who the hell are these people? Merchants? Fences? Are they supposed to be a secret organization catering to Villains’ needs? How hasn’t this gone public yet?

Questions race through my mind as I can’t make heads or tails of them. What the hell though. This game is much deeper than I thought. When I played as a Necromancer, I never met anyone. And the ones I did meet, I murdered to gain crafting reagents for my undead. I wonder what else this game has in store for me as I progress. One of my main concerns when I started playing as a Villain was the lack of endgame content. Thinking more carefully about it now, I assume there has to be something. Could this be it? Doubtful, but it does seem like an interesting feature. I can’t wait to explore them as I go.

With a renewed sense of purpose, I hurry back towards the sewers where my underlings are waiting idly by. Night has truly fallen, and the streets are emptier than earlier. Since most of the NPCs have already gone to bed, there are no quests for the new players to partake in. Several people have already departed the noob district to go hunt outside of the city, while the remaining casual players have retreated inside the tavern and are currently busy spending their hard-earned money on whatever brew Joe is serving. There is a surprising amount of casual players hanging around in the noob district, probably because so many people only need a place to stay while their real-life bodies are sleeping.

Reaching the sewers, I carefully slip in and soon find myself in the same musky tunnels from earlier. Noticing my approach, my three combat underlings step out of the shadows, giving me respectful nods while they await my command. Handing out the armor and weapons, my underlings waste no time equipping it. My underlings aren’t supposed to be very talkative, but it still makes my eye twitch that they couldn’t even bother to thank me or at least make some sort of appreciative gesture or whatever.

Inwardly sulking, I still shrug it off. At least it technically wasn’t my money that paid for their stuff. Grabbing the crossbow I bought for myself, I carefully inspect it. It’s a solid piece of construction, where the wooden stock is slightly cracked but is still able to withstand the pressure from the two limbs and string. The small metal hook that holds the string back is slightly rusted, but its overall function hasn’t deteriorated. It’s solid craftsmanship, and the damage rating is high.

During my exploration of the sewers earlier, I found out that there are actually three entrances to the place. One is located behind the tavern to the northwest of the district, one at the outskirts of the residential area to the east, and one behind the church at the training grounds at the center of the district. Since the Davvins’ household is in the residential area, I see no reason not to use the closest exit.

Making our way through the sewers, we come across a couple more packs of sewer rats, wasting no time murdering them for the experience. I have to say, the combat capabilities of my underlings skyrocketed after gaining the new gear. I’m fairly certain they are at least at the same level as any regular player at the moment. Adding in our numerical superiority, I don’t envy whichever poor bastard we run across.

This actually annoys me a little. When I played as a Necromancer, I never really had the option of acquiring weapons and armor of this quality for my skeletons. Apart from a few sets of gear I got from doing some of the class-unique missions for Necromancers, the majority of my skeletons were practically naked. It makes me think: Did I overlook some sort of way to buy fenced goods as a Necromancer? Or maybe there was some other, hidden way to get some decent equipment. As it stands now, my Thief Lord underlings are vastly superior to any number of equivalently geared skeletons. Could I have prevailed against Anna’s party if I had the same option of gearing my minions? I’m not above using pay-to-win methods to get ahead, especially since winning makes me rich.

Ah, damn it. I guess I shouldn’t think about it too much. Going down that particular rabbit hole won’t do me any favors.

Reaching the sewer exit near the residential area, I decide to exit first. I’m not too afraid of being discovered as I doubt any player would realise I’m not who I say I am, but it wouldn’t be much of a stretch for people to connect the dots if a player suddenly emerges from a hole in the ground with a bunch of NPC criminals in tow. As I once again taste the fresh evening air, I have a look around, finding nothing of interest. The residential area is all but deserted since the NPCs should already be fast asleep. I open the sewers and signal for my underlings to follow, and the four of us are soon cowering in the shadows of a two-storey house.

I don’t yet dare put the Villain’s Mask on, as we still have a short way to go, so I order my underlings to keep a fair distance to me as to not raise any suspicions. It’s not far, and the trek goes smoothly without encountering anyone. We soon find ourselves in a denser part of the residential area, with several houses almost built on top of one another, hugging the exterior stone wall of the keep. I click my tongue as the architect of this place should be jailed for completely ignoring any and all fire safety regulations.

The Davvins’ household is located in the middle of a row of the buildings, with the only accessible entrance being a door and two windows at the very front. I was hoping I could slip in unnoticed from a back alley, but I guess this is the reason the job difficulty rating was rated at medium. The street is deserted enough, so I guess it won’t matter. I’m not comfortable with it though, so I need to take certain precautions.

Since the house should be empty, then I doubt I need to bring everyone in with me. Not only is there probably not that much room inside, but if a fight were to break out, then I doubt our superior numbers would give us a big advantage. Therefore, I need to select a minion to be a lookout. And who’s better at such a task than my Spotter?

Looking around, I spot a small one-storey house across the street that has a good vantage point of the Davvins’ household. I have my Hoodlum help my Spotter climb on top of it, which should give him a decent view of both the house and the street up front. With his height, as well as using his ‘Mark Target’ skill, he should be able to give us a timely warning if anyone approaches, while still keeping him hidden on top of the dark roof.

Content with the placement of my underlings, I take a deep breath. I don’t think there is any reason to postpone this heist, and the longer we linger out here, the greater the risk of being discovered. I can’t say that I’m completely comfortable with this, but this is something that I need to get used to. What sort of self-respecting Thief Lord is afraid of stealing things? This is what I signed up for, and I won’t back out now. This is necessary if I am to ever accomplish my dream.

Steeling my resolve, I order the Cutpurse to take point. The rogue is the only one with a lockpicking skill, making him essential if this plan is to stay covert. He soundlessly makes his way across the street and starts working on the lock. My skin starts to crawl as the anticipation is getting to me. My eyes dart from side to side, trying to spot any guards which I subconsciously know isn’t there. It feels like forever until my Cutpurse finally gives the all-clear signal, gesturing for the Hoodlum and me to follow. Slipping the mask on, we quickly cross the street. The adrenaline is finally kicking in.

“Let’s do this shit!”