What seemed like a moment later the darkness was replaced by a brilliant off-white light. It faded and I could see clearly again. To my surprise, I stood in exactly the same spot as before and the man in black was still in front of me. Abruptly remembering the direction of the attack, I spun around and saw who had killed me.

He was a bald man with a craggy face, somewhere in his thirties if I had to guess, and he had so many scars it looked like he regularly bathed in a pile of daggers. He had a bored expression on his face. It was probably the single most terrifying expression I could think of seeing on someone who had just committed murder in cold blood. Not wanting anything to do with that, but still wanting to vent my righteous wrath on something, I turned back to the cloaked man.

“What the hell, man!?” I practically shouted at him.

Whatever I was expecting his reaction to be, it definitely wasn’t the relieved sigh he gave off as if a weight had lifted from his shoulders. My anger was further diffused when he pulled back his hood for the first time and the shadows that had seemed to cling to his face receded.

He had short-cropped salt and pepper hair with a neatly trimmed goatee. Lines and wrinkles marked hard experience on his weathered face. Piercing green eyes similar in color to my own looked back at me from amidst a sad expression.

“I’m sorry, James.” The man said softly. He did sound sincere as he continued, “I had to be sure you were really a Traveler. In my line of work, more than just my life is at stake.”

I wanted to rage at him for the injustice of it all, or at the loss of progress at least, but a couple messages I had missed at the bottom of my vision caught my eye.

You have been restored to life at your Bind Point.

As you are under level 4, you are immune to any Death Penalty.

The last of my anger drained away and I just sighed. I could understand the caution and even the need for it. But I was still left with a ton of unanswered questions.

“Alright, fine,” I muttered as graciously as I could. “But what exactly is your line of work?”

The man in black laughed and responded, “A fair question and one I will answer shortly. But first, perhaps I should introduce myself? My name is Marcus.”

As Marcus and I had talked the other man had moved around to face us both, much to my secret relief. Marcus nodded towards the other man and told me, “That’s Aaron.”

Aaron appeared annoyed that Marcus had given out his name and gave him a look that would have had me scrambling. I scratched the back of my neck, remembering what the scarred man was capable of. Marcus seemed completely unconcerned bit it, however.

“As to your question,” Marcus went on, “I am the Guildmaster of the Shadow Fangs. And I would like to formally extend to you an invitation to join us. No more tricks, no more traps, no more daggers in the back. If you accept you’ll be one of us and all that it entails.”

Notification: Guild Invitation

You have been invited to join the Shadow Fangs, an underground organization and a part of the Thieves Guild based in the capital city of Eston.

Accept Invitation? Yes/No

There were so many different things I wanted to ask I didn’t even know where to start. But in the end I knew it wouldn’t change my decision. It was a matter of trust. Not in the mysterious men in front of me or their mostly unknown Guild but in the goddess that placed me in their hands. I had to believe that Miris had a reason for putting me here. I only hoped it was more than just having a really deadly room full of traps. Before I could change my mind, I accepted the invite.

Marcus spread his arms out with a smile and said, “Welcome to the family.”

Aaron even gave me a friendly nod and I was relieved to see the sign of humanity from the taciturn killer.

Marcus went on, “I’m sure you have lots of questions and are eager to get started but you’ve had a long day already so I’ll show you to your room first.”

A yawn escaped me as I was about to object so I just nodded instead and followed the two out of the room. Before leaving I remembered to Bind to the altar again, however. The corridor was nothing like the rough stone I’d remembered from the Hall of Traps. It looked like the walls were some kind of off-white plaster and the floor and ceiling was made of polished wood boards.

“Oh, one more thing,” Marcus said over his shoulder as we walked through the corridor, around a corner, and up a set of stairs, “Don’t use our real names unless you’re sure we’re in private. You can just call me Guildmaster, or Sparrow, or whatever you want, really.”

Marcus nodded towards Aaron, “He’s… Well, I’ll let you decide.” Aaron gave Marcus a dirty look that seemed to bounce off of him.

“Alright. Bob and Joe it is,” I said looking at Marcus and Aaron. I really hated making up names and I was too tired to even make an attempt. Suddenly a bed sounded pretty good right about now.

Marcus just laughed and Aaron had a surprised look then rolled his eyes. We walked up another flight of stairs and ended up in front of a plain wooden door painted to match the walls with a brass plaque and the number nine painted on it.

“This is your room. We don’t have locks, because we can all pick them anyways, but nobody will steal your stuff. You’re free to go where-ever you like but please stay out of other people’s rooms unless invited, that’s all the top floors of the compound,” Marcus listed as if he’d said it countless times before.

Then he paused in thought for a moment and went on, “Tomorrow me and… Joe have to deal with a counterfeiting problem the Guild has been having. Seems our own experts have mysteriously disappeared to go along with an influx of fake gold recently. Anyways, it means I’ll be a bit busy in the morning, but I should be around to get your training started after that. I’d just recommend not spending any skill points until we go over it tomorrow.”

Aaron gave Marcus a dirty look and I tried not to smile. But then I remembered my ring and pulled it off my finger. I held it out to the two and asked, “Would this help with the problem?”

Marcus reached out as if to handle the ring but an invisible force seemed to push his fingers back, much to my amusement. He didn’t seem surprised though and they both made noises of interest after they had inspected the ring. Marcus said, “You are just full of surprises, aren’t you? That would definitely help save us some time. I’ll come find you in the morning. But for now, get some rest.”

The two both gave me a nod and left without another word. I opened the door to my room and was amazed by the size of it. A large, comfortable looking bed took up the far left corner complete with sheets and a fluffy white bedspread. The furniture was pretty simple but obviously well made out of polished and stained wood. There was a simple bedside table, a dresser next to it, and a desk under the window sill next to that with a chair. A couple closed doors on the right wall revealed themselves to be a closet and a bathroom.

It was all very clean, very well-made, and mostly empty. I figured I was supposed to provide my own decorations and furnishings and whatnot. Or maybe steal them. The thought brought a smile to my face. It had been a very long day but I’d made it through a deadly challenge and joined a Thieves Guild. I couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store.

I began to strip off one of my leather gloves when I realized there might be a better way. Unequip. It wasn’t long until I was able to collapse into the bed that was as comfortable as it looked and a dreamless sleep claimed me.