It was just on dusk two days later when the three companions approached the townhouse where their mark was located. Their reconnaissance the previous afternoon had gone well and they now knew that Nathaniel Briggson was a tall, skinny man with a mop of brown hair and an unusually bouncy step when he walked. He was also a merchant and spent most of his time either at home or at the warehouse where his goods were stored. Terri had finally caught up on her sleep and was an eager participant in the night's activities. They waited down the street from their target as the remaining light slowly faded from the sky. Flem was anxious about doing a good job for his guild and insisted they go over the plan one more time.

"So, once it gets fully dark I'll move to the back of the house to keep watch there. Aggy you stay here and Terri will walk down to the other end of the street."

"How do we even know he's in there at the moment?" Aggy interrupted.

"You see the old man who looks like he's sleeping half way down the street?" Flem asked. Aggy nodded. "Well firstly, he's not an old man. Secondly, he's not asleep. And thirdly, he signalled to me that the mark was still inside as soon as he saw us arrive."

"Ok then," Aggy responded. "You rogues are a sneaky bunch, you know that right?"

"Of course," Flem answered, "that's kind of the point of being a rogue. Now, what's our plan if he leaves the house?"

This time it was Terri who answered, "If he goes out the back you'll follow him alone but if he comes out the front, one of us will follow him while the other one runs around the back to collect you."

"Excellent, and how will I be able to find out where he's going once I've been collected?"

"Whoever is following him will mark the corner of any building where he turns left or right with the appropriate rogue symbol that you probably shouldn't have taught us but it's too late now because you already have," Terri said in a rush.

"Exactly. And how will I be able to see those symbols in the dark of night?"

"Elves have excellent night vision and the crayon you gave to each of us is designed to reflect a kind of light that only elves can see," Aggy recited the last answer as if she was in school which brought a frown to Flem's face.

"This is serious Aggy, if we lose him we not only forfeit our tokens but also any chance of ever being offered any rogues' guild jobs in the future."

"Oh don't get your knickers in a twist lad," Aggy replied, patting Flem on the shoulder. "I was sneaking around the corridors of Dwarvenhome before you were even born. Don't worry lad, we won't let you down."

------------------

It was deep night when the door of the townhouse was stealthily opened. A gangly shadow slipped out through the small gap and then closed the door silently behind him. Nathaniel Briggson paused for a moment at the top of the four steps that would take him down to the street below. He then looked swiftly left and right. Satisfied that he was alone the tall figure moved down the steps, turned right, and began walking swiftly, and bouncily, away from his home.

Terri sprang into action at once. Leaving her hiding place she ran silently to the lane that ran along the rear of Briggson's townhouse. Flem heard her coming and together they retraced Terri's steps before following the path Nathaniel had taken down the street. It took them ten minutes to follow the signs and catch up to Aggy as the tall merchant was moving quickly and the path he was taking was anything but straight. In fact, it appeared that he was making it as convoluted as possible. He often doubled back to somewhere he'd been before but was also careful not to stray into any parts of the town that were actually dangerous at night.

Terri and Aggy were obeying Flem's instructions and following some distance behind the nimble elf while he handled the more difficult task of tailing Briggson without being seen. After almost an hour of apparently aimless wandering they saw Flem come to a halt at the doors of a large warehouse. Aggy couldn't resist a whispered comment when she arrived at the doors herself. "Three quarters of an hour's wandering just to come to his own warehouse? He's not the brightest flame in the fire is he?"

"Shush," Flem silenced her angrily. "This is no time for your flippant attitude Aggy. We need to get in there to see and hear what's going on without being seen ourselves. I'd leave the two of you outside but we need to be able to follow anyone he's meeting in there as well as Briggson, so make sure you follow my lead and above all be absolutely silent."

The door to the warehouse was open just wide enough for them to slip inside. Flem slowly led the way, allowing time for their eyes to adjust to the heavier darkness within the building. The interior of the warehouse consisted of a single large empty space, stacked high with wooden crates and barrels. A wall of these just inside the door blocked the way forward so they eased their way around to the right, looking for a path that would take them further inside. All the while the trio's ears were straining for any sound that would give them a clue to Briggson's location within the building. They didn't have to wait long. As Flem reached the end of the wall of crates and risked a quick look past its edge into the centre of the warehouse, they heard a male voice begin to speak.

"I'm glad you made it, I thought that you might have been captured, or killed."

Another male voice answered tersely, "Keep your voice down, you never know who might be listening."

"Of course, of course," Briggson replied in a quieter voice. "Anyway, the good news is that your spell worked. The bad news is that they're doppelgangers.....no!"

"What are you doing!" The second man’s voice rose in volume but any further words were drowned out by Briggson's scream of terror and pain. That was more than enough for Terri. Calling on Avandar to light her amulet she raced past Flem towards the empty space in the centre of the warehouse. Flem tried to grab the young cleric as she went past and Aggy cried out 'Terri, no!' but it was to no avail. The cry of someone being attacked was something the young devotee of Avandar couldn't ignore. Drawing the blacksmith's hammer at her waist Terri raced around the corner of the stack of crates while the slowly growing light of her amulet revealed the scene before them.

Briggson was dead, Terri was certain of that. The lanky merchant was lying on his back on the warehouse floor with a jewelled dagger embedded in his chest. Kneeling over him was his assailant, a man dressed in a black cloak with the hood pulled forward to hide his features. He looked up as Terri rounded the corner, revealing a face that showed a mixture of fear and determination. "This isn't what it looks like," he said while rising to his feet, hands held out defensively in front of him.

"Right," Terri replied as Flem and Aggy raced to her side. "In that case you'll be happy to come back with us to the rogues' guild to explain to them why you've killed this man."

"I didn't kill him, and I can't afford to be captured, there's too much at stake," the young man replied.

"And we can't afford to let you go," Terri answered, "which leaves us at a bit of an impasse."

As she said these words the young cleric saw Flem start moving off to her right while Aggy edged out to her left. The young man in black had noticed this too and started slowly backing away towards the rear of the warehouse. "I can't let you take me," he said, "I'm sorry."

His next words were in a language that Terri didn't understand but Aggy did. The dwarven mage's eyes went wide and she cried out 'Get down!' before launching herself towards the black cloaked mage. It wasn't enough. A bolt of silvery light sped from the young man’s hands and struck Terri squarely in the chest leaving a blackened, fist sized hole. The young cleric immediately collapsed to the ground and the warehouse was swallowed by blackness as the light of her amulet stuttered, faded, and then finally went out.