Underdark- Black Web Region

Kingdom of Zeren'gor Territory- City of Nythi Thalas

Inner City- House Bourne

Aaron wove his blades in a defensive weave in front of him as Natash launched a lightning-fast assault against him. He managed to deflect about half of the blows and avoid the others, but the pace was tiring and his Stamina was steadily draining away under the assault. Aaron moved backward and to the side to try and find some relief, but the First Sword kept after him waiting for an opening.

Aaron battered the man's blades to the side and dove around him and coming to his feet as he turned to face his opponent. Natash was already there and his blade was against his throat. "Never turn your back on an enemy. Take a minute to recover and we go again." the First Sword told him before backing off.

"Is there any way you can get me into House Ishala's estate?" Aaron asked the man as he took deep breaths to recover his Stamina and try to calm his nerves.

The First Sword frowned, "Why?" Natash asked.

Aaron chuckled, "I promise, I have no wish to steal anything, you have my word for what it is worth."

Natash nodded, "It is accepted. You need to build up your public face anyway now that you have inherited Jerimiah's position. The public knew him as a merchant that conducted business through intermediaries. You can be his heir to his business to the public, only a few people will know what you really inherited.' Natash told him and Aaron nodded in agreement. 'There is a party celebrating the city founding, I can get you in for that but it is tomorrow. Make sure you are prepared, your normal clothing and adventuring gear will not be suited for this part. Also, Corina will see your name on the list, she may try to remove it or let you play your hand. Fair warning." Natash told him and Aaron gave him a smile as he raised his bladed.

"It wouldn't be worth it if I could just walk in unopposed. I also have the proper clothing and will be ready. Meet you here or there?" Aaron asked in return as they started to circle one another.

"Meet me here, I must escort the Matron and her Heir too the party. All the Families of the City will be there present, so be on your guard and try to not get into any fights. I will not be able to protect you there." Natash told him before rushing forward his blades spinning in an intricate weave as Aaron met him head-on.

Underdark- Black Web Region

Kingdom of Zeren'gor Territory- City of Nythi Thalas

Broken Quarter- Peach Pit

Aaron rubbed his eyes as he read the reports, Jerimiah always made it look like everything was done so smoothly. Either he hid more than Aaron ever knew, or Jonas had let more then he had originally thought or had figured out slip through the cracks. A loud banging on the door made him look up from the ledgers with a growl he respond. "COME!!!" Aaron barked out.

Willy popped his head in, "Sorry Aaron, I know you are busy with catching up on paperwork, but a guy named Shifty is here from Bara'knas. Said you wanted to speak to him."

Aaron glared at him, "I swear, if Jonas was still alive, I would kill him again for leaving me all this paperwork. Send him back, please. Willy, can I get some food too when you get a chance." Will smiled and winked before closing the door. Jonas had sporadically kept the ledgers up to date. Aaron had no idea what was correct or where most of the accounted money was. It was madness even for a follower of Chaos. How did he pay for anything when he didn't even know where the money was.

The twitchy man known as 'Shifty' knocked and entered after Aaron responded. "Sir, I did as you commanded. We found four more within our group, we managed to track down and kill three of them but the last one got away. I brought the outdated payments with me.' the man said before placing small sackcloth on the table that clinked before taking a step back. 'Do you need me to do anything else, Viscount Sumner?"

Aaron studied the man and pulled one of the rings he had taken off the now dead Barons, out of his inventory. "Will you accept the position of Baron, Shifty? You are highly respected with the Thieves and Enforcers of Bara'knas. You have been honest with me as well. If you are willing, I want you in the position of Baron there to oversee the Thieves Guild operations there."

Shifty looked at the ring, then at him. He knew what would happen if he failed him and with a sort of reverence he grabbed the ring and put it on. "I won't fail you, Viscount, you can count on the Thieves of Bara'knas if you ever have need of us."

Aaron smiled at him as he stood and shook the man's hand. "I know Shifty, congratulations on the promotion. Feel free to spend the night here and I will pick up any tab you have. You have done a good job.' Aaron told him as he walked him to the door and looked at the man standing guard there. 'Can you ask Willy to come back here, I have a few questions for him." the guard nodded before moving off down the hallway.

Less than five minutes later and two more pages Willy knocked and entered again. "I forgot to ask, but do we still have any trustworthy accountants on the payroll? I mean real accountants that count coins and ledgers, not those who make cutbacks by slitting throats." Aaron asked the man.

"Jerimiah had three on the retainer, I do believe Jonas fired them all though. I can get you their names and addresses though, I can make no promises on if they will be willing to be rehired though." Willy responded and Aaron nodded.

"Send them an invitation to a meeting at the Last Chance, I will give them my pitch there. Hopefully, they will agree to be rehired, if they do not, I hope to get some recommendations. Tomorrow I will be going to the Inner City for my big debut as Heir to Jerimiah Long's heir to his business. So if anyone has any requests tomorrow it will have to wait." Aaron told Will who smiled and chuckled as he left the office while Aaron continued to grumble under his breath about looking pretty. He didn't mind looking good, he just wasn't a damned noble.

Underdark- Black Web Region

Kingdom of Zeren'gor Territory- City of Nythi Thalas

District of Pleasure- Last Chance

Aaron looked at the two men and woman that sat looking bored, "Thank you all for coming. I know your relationship with our organization was strained, but I appreciate your willingness to show." Aaron tried to give them a winning smile but two disgusted snorts and one rolling set of eyes made it difficult to keep plastered there.

"Jonas threatened to slit our throats, and kill out families, before terminating our contracts with no pay or references. We cannot exactly go to a Merchant and say we have been dealing with the Thieves Guild for a decade, can we?" the lead accountant Sam responded.

"I know you each got paid five silver a week. I will double it and pay you a bonus upon completion of balancing our current books. If you are unwilling to accept employment from us, would you be willing to point us to some Accountants that are trustworthy willing to work with our organization." Aaron responded and the others froze in surprise.

"You are willing to pay us one gold per week and a bonus upon balancing your current books. How bad is the current job?" Sam asked and the others sat back letting him take the lead. From what Aaron remembered, he was the lead accountant for Jerimiah, but Aaron had never really met them other than at passing.

"Yes, one gold per week. The current accounting of everything is...insane to say the least. It will be a hard job, but I will not expect you to kill yourselves too do it though. Ten hour days with time off for any emergencies when necessary until everything is caught up. Then back to regular eight hour days, with rotating shifts with one of you always on the job like you used to be." Aaron replied.

Bill and the others looked at each other and begrudgingly nodded their heads in agreement. "One gold per week with a bonus upon completion of the initial balancing. We cannot give you an estimate on a time frame for the initial job until we see all the paperwork." Bill told him and Aaron smiled and nodded as he offered them the rings that would identify them as Guild Friends when passing through their territory and to not touch them.

"Thank you all. When you can, go to the Peach Pit, you will receive your initial payment when you get there." Aaron told them before leaving them to their food and conversation.

Underdark- Black Web Region

Kingdom of Zeren'gor Territory- City of Nythi Thalas

Broken Quarter- Peach Pit

Aaron groaned as he looked at the Noble Thief Armor Set, he was inspecting it for any damages and frayed ends. If he was going to play at being a successful merchant and rich boy, he was going to look damned good at it. Everything was ready and Natash had messaged him earlier while he was getting the accountants settled in for their daunting task of digging the Thieves Guild out of the hole Jonas had put them in.

Aaron pulled the wrapped package out of his inventory and pulled the small note attached too it. It was in her flowing hand and made Aaron snort in amusement.

Aaron,

I acquired this for Jerimiah when he started making inquires about it and the other pieces. I noticed when I met you, that you had acquired two other pieces of the set. I wanted to give this to you, but only after we had finished our discussion. I did not want it to influence your decision in any way. Goodluck Viscount.

Cynthia Sterling

Princess of the Drow Thieves Guild.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Name: Hood of the Ghost (Unique Set 1 of 5)

Quality: Ancient Artifact (Scalable)

Armor Type: Light/Head

Armor Rating: +20

Properties: Increase Dexterity and Agility by (Level X.3)

Properties: Cannot be Blinded by Skills/Abilities

Properties: Increase Perception sub-Stat by 10

Properties: Increase Chance to Detect Traps by 10%

Properties: Increase Critical Hit Chance by 5%

Secondary Properties: Increase Physical/Magical/Poison Resistance by 5% per Set piece worn

Secondary Properties: +15% Decreased Chance of being Seen/Heard while Stealth is active (Requires 2 Pieces)

Secondary Properties: All Skill costs are Reduced by 25% (Requires 3 Pieces)

Secondary Properties: Increase the Chance that Pick Pocket/Lock Picking/Disarm Trap will Succeed by 10% (Requires 4 Pieces)

Secondary Properties: Increase Luck sub-Stat by 10 (Requires 5 Pieces)

Soulbound: Aaron Sumner

Requirement: Thief, Level 20, Dexterity and Agility 30

Durability: 500/500

Description: The Ghost was one of the most prolific Thieves in the history of Ithea, he stole from the Dwarves, Humans, Elves, Orcs, Drow, and some say even Dragons. He didn't care about the worth of the item, but the uniqueness of the item and the challenge in taking it.

Aaron chuckled as he looked at the hood. Like the cape, gold threading had been woven into the edge of the hood, but other then that and the odd coloring, it was rather plain-looking. Three out of five pieces of the set and the last two would be the most difficult pieces to acquire based on the hints given. Aaron added it to his wardrobe and too what he would be wearing to House Ishala's party tomorrow.