Scio Umbra was an accomplished thief, living off of whatever he could get his dexterous hands on since the age of 8. His parents were both lost to a dungeon when he was six. They had left him with a friend of theirs while they were away, uncle Garek. Garek took Scio in immediately to keep his promise to his friends. Two years after Scio’s parents died, Garek was arrested for striking a guard. Turns out, that guard was the son of a noble, and they poured forth false accusations upon Garek, until eventually Garek was hung for treason, and all his property appropriated.

Completely alone and living on the streets, Scio made his living pickpocketing from strangers and snatching vegetables and fruits from unwary stalls. Other street urchins, young and old began spreading rumors amongst themselves, about the boy that seemed to become one with the shadows. Those same rumors became more extravagant, claiming the boy was blessed by the goddess of darkness, Obscura, herself.

Those rumors drew the attention of a dangerous group of assassins called Sicarius. The Sicarius assassins found Scio, cornered him, and gave him two options: Join them or die. Scio, of course, chose the former. Thus Scio was inducted to Sicarius at the age of 10.

Five years later, at the age of 15, Scio’s training as an assassin was complete, and was preparing for his first mission. During his preparations, the Sicarius headquarters were abruptly raided by the imperial guard, the peacekeepers of their city. The assassins fought, but they were outnumbered and out-geared. As they were being slaughtered, Scio used the abilities he had carefully cultivated those five years to blend with the shadows and slip out in the midst of battle, suffering not a single wound nor shedding another’s blood.

No longer having an obligation to the now demolished Sicarius, Scio applied to the adventurer’s guild to ply his skill rather than returning to thievery. There begins his journey away from home, the merchant city located at the seas edge, the city called Fabrica.

“Looking for an experienced cartographer or explorer for a dungeon! Anyone ‘round here any good with that stuff?” A large man who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties called out in the expansive guild hall littered with tables and chairs.

‘Hmm, I got training in cartography from master Taven. He always made an emphasis on knowing my surroundings, so I could probably manage it… but how do I join?’ I pondered to myself. I never had many interactions with anyone other than my masters in Sicarius.

I hesitantly walked up to the man who was in the midst of repeating his sentence, my dark gray cloak loosely swaying in my wake.

“..Any ‘round- Oh! Hello there laddie, you think you can manage mapping a dungeon?” He asked me enthusiastically. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so I just nodded.

“…Right, so let’s go over the terms then…” The man introduced himself as Dane. He pulled out a small stack of papers and began reading terms off of them, such as pay, what to do in certain situations, and my expected job. I was to be paid 20% of our earnings from the exploration. My job was to simply stay behind the group’s formation and map out the dungeon accurately while we move through it.

“…That’s about it. Sign here to confirm the contract, and then we’ll be off ta’ introduce you to rest o’ the group.” I signed the contract eloquently. Sometimes an assassin’s job included forgery, and master Taven was a diligent teacher.

“Hah! Fancy one, aren’t cha’? That’s promisin’. Right-o, let’s be off to the rest o’ them then.” We left the adventurer’s guild and made for a nearby inn that primarily catered to adventurers. There I met the rest of our party. There was a man wearing a white robe, and he carried a beautifully crafted white-wood staff. He was introduced as Varnun. Next was a burly man, heavily armored, carrying a mace and tower shield. This man was introduced as Salek. Next, a women in a blue robe, carrying an ornate blue staff, was introduced as Yuma.

Lastly, was a woman who wore black leather, similar to what I am wearing under my cloak, and strapped at her waist were numerous knives of varying sizes and shapes for different purposes. There were numerous pouches sewn onto her belt which probably contained various poisons and antidotes, if she were of a similar disposition to me. Upon seeing her my heart skipped a beat. I had never viewed a woman so beautiful. She carried herself gracefully, her hair a pitch black, her eyes shining amethysts, and her skin a fair paleness. She was introduced as Aiko.

“And this is…” Dane gestured towards me expectantly. I stared at Aiko a few moments more before I came to my senses and spoke.

“I-I am Scio Umbra.” I bow with my introduction to the party. My voice, having barely been used since uncle Garek’s execution, came out as a whisper.

“Kyaaah! So cute!” Yuma shrieked, causing me to wince and take a step back.

“Don’t go scaring him, Yuma.” An angelic, soft-spoken voice from Aiko.

“Don’t worry, Scio, I’ll protect you from that madwoman.” The deep voice of Salek.

“Let us work well together.” Bowed Varnun.

“Right-o! Tonight, we will go over the formation, and tomorrow we set off for the dungeon Laqueum!”

I spent that night at the inn, listening to Dane go over the formation we would take, the potential circumstances that can occur during battle with monsters, and our countermeasures to them.

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