The Triple Cross
by David Pontier
Artemis Entreri walked into the Silver Coin and couldn't help but notice the difference between this establishment and the normal taverns and gaming houses he was used to visiting. This building was clean and quiet. Though relatively full, the patrons kept their voices down and ate their meals with utensils instead of their hands. The serving girls dressed modestly and more often closer to forty years of age than twenty.
Since he and Jarlaxle had begun their lives as bounty hunters, they had held many meetings with potential clients, and they had all taken place in the darkest and smokiest tavern in the area.
That area had never been Silverymoon.
Entreri didn't like being this far north. He hadn't been in this area since he had parted ways with Drizzt and Catti-brie after leaving the underdark some ten years ago. He hadn't wanted to come back. He enjoyed the lands he and Jarlaxle had been living in for the past several months.
There, they could live in relative anonymity. The assassin was unknown and drow were little more than a myth. They were able to operate without much hindrance. They received a summons or responded to a bounty, carried out their task, and received payment. It was a comfortable and rarely dull existence. The last summons they had received Entreri had wanted to refuse, but Jarlaxle wouldn't hear of it. It promised more money and excitement than their average assignment. It also required the odd pair to make the trip to Silverymoon, something Entreri did not want to do. That, the assassin was sure, was probably the reason Jarlaxle was so keen on accepting the assignment.
Entreri had enemies in this city, and thus, on the two-week trek it took to get to Silverymoon, Entreri had allowed his goatee to grow into a full beard. He wore the clothes of a merchant, not a rogue, and he had been practicing an eastern accent. He had made it through the streets of the city without incident and now walked unhindered through the Silver Coin without drawing a glance. He had spotted the pair he was there to meet as soon as he had entered.
The summons had said that two men, one dressed in red, the other in blue, would be waiting at the Silver Coin. It gave the time frame in which they would wait, and the phrase that should be used to great them. It also came written in golden letters on a black scroll, that upon reading, erased itself and burst into flames.
"My, you two look lovely," Entreri said in a monotone voice once he reached the table. "Would either of you be willing to dance later?" Jarlaxle had several reasons for not accompanying Entreri in person to this meeting, but the human was sure the biggest was so Entreri would be forced to speak the required phrase.
"Of course," one of the men smiled, standing up partially to nod at his visitor, "but first let us talk business."
The two men were seated beside each other on a bench along the wall of the tavern. Entreri pulled back a chair on the opposite side of the table and sat down, waiving off the woman who came by with a bottle of wine.
"Nonsense," the second man cried out in response to Entreri's refusal. "You simple must try the port here. It is absolutely fabulous."
The bearded guest sighed inaudibly and smiled through gritted teeth. He would play along for now. He moved his glass toward the server who had halted her retreat at the second man's call, and she filled it up.
"Thank you, dear," the first man spoke for Entreri. "And do please bring us some more of this bread," he lifted an empty basket, "and some of those breaded chicken pieces we saw on the menu." She smiled at them and left. The two men smiled back and then turned to their visitor.
The man in red spoke first. "Mr. Entreri, it is very good that you came, but we were expecting two."
"Yes," the one in blue replied, "I had very much wanted to meat Mr. Jarlaxle."
Without a word, Entreri reached into his vest and pulled out a palm-sized crystal. The two men looked on in interest as their guest placed it on the table in front of them. "Good afternoon gentlemen," the crystal spoke. It flashed with an inner light at each syllable. "I do regret not being able to join with you today, but I hope it is not too inconvenient for you. I know Mr. Entreri lacks in the social graces, but we did not think it wise for one of my hue to walk openly in Silverymoon. Perhaps if you had chosen a more out of the way locale, we could have met in person."
"Drow have been known to walk about in this city," the man in blue challenged.
"A drow," the crystal flashed, "and I am not he. But I assure you, I can hear you and you can hear me, so there was no reason to risk the privacy of this meeting by meeting in person. I might not have been arrested, but I would have been watched, and I do not think you would want out conversation to be observed."
Both men nodded understanding the reasoning. As if Jarlaxle could see their response, he continued. "Good, now if y-" Entreri quickly put his hand over the crystal as the serving woman returned. Casting the gem into darkness canceled the enchantment, and Jarlaxle's disembodied voice was silenced for now. The woman hadn't noticed anything and placed the bread and chicken down in front of the men. The three of them smiled at her, and she left.
Entreri waited a few seconds and then uncovered the crystal. "-troductions," Jarlaxle finished, giving no indication if he knew his whole opening hadn't been heard. From the last word, everyone figured what had been said anyway.
"Of course," the man in red replied. "I am Mr. Henricks and my associate is Mr. Fignes. We have heard of your reputation . . ."
Entreri tuned out the flattery as he focused on their names. Allenby Henricks and Warren Fignes were wanted men down south. As bounty hunters, Entreri and Jarlaxle had reviewed all of the larger outstanding warrants and Henricks and Fignes had been one of them. When they had asked around, no one had heard of any activity by the two men in over a year. The common consensus was that they had left the area. The consensus had been right.
Henricks and Fignes were known as conmen. Reports of their activities ranged from theft to murder, but it always involved large sums of money, and the conniving pair always got away. Entreri had no way to impart this information to Jarlaxle and hoped the drow remembered the names.
"So the job we have for you is very challenging." Entreri rejoined the conversation after the praise had ended. Fignes was talking. The two of them traded off phrases, often finishing each other's thoughts like an old married couple. Entreri was of the opinion that they were as gay as the north was cold, but he could dwell on that later. "Have you ever seen one of these?"
Fignes tossed a large coin on the table. As it settled next to the crystal he realized that Jarlaxle had no way to see it. "It is mithril."
"We have seen mithril," Jarlaxle replied. "It is a fabulous metal." He used the same lilting tone of voice that the conmen used.
"Not like this," Entreri corrected, inwardly groaning at the drow's antics. He picked up the piece for a closer look. On one side was the profile of a man's head while on the other an intricate carving on the city of Silverymoon. Entreri spent several quiet moments analyzing the coin, forgetting that his partner could not see.
"Well, what is it?" Jarlaxle finally asked.
"It is a new form of currency that is being rolled out in the north," Henricks said. "It is a mithril coin that has been given a value of 250 gold pieces. The actual value of the material is slightly less than that, protecting against the possibility that someone would collect them only to melt them down."
"If you recall," Fignes added, "when they first began producing the standard gold coin, many jewelers and blacksmiths melted them down and crafted them into valuable objects to sell at a profit. It was very difficult to keep any volume of coin in circulation."
"They did not make the same mistake this time," Fignes continued. "If you want to work with mithril, it would be cheaper to buy it in its raw state."
Entreri nodded, understanding what they were saying, but caring very little. They obviously had a passion for money to know its history so well. The standard gold coin had been in use for hundreds of years. "How does this have anything to do with us?"
"The man's head that you see on the coin," Henricks pointed to Entreri's hand, "is Thorin Gallentry. He is the one commissioning the dwarves to make the coins. He went before the finance officials of Silverymoon and convinced them to approve the use of the coin within this city."
"As goes Silverymoon, so goes the rest of the north," Fignes threw in.
"So far, by our reports Gallentry has accumulated over 5,000 of these coins. He has began to circulate them in limited quantities throughout the city, trying to create a buzz, and we think he will unleash them in massive quantities shortly."
"You want us to steal these coins," Entreri cut to the chase.
"Do you know what a bank is?" Henricks asked. Entreri had heard of several failed banking ventures over the past twenty years. In his opinion, a bank was a place where people could put their money so the thieves didn't have to hunt for it. If his assessment of what these two men were going to ask for as accurate, his definition seemed appropriate. Still, Entreri shook his head to get a better idea.
"Gallentry started a bank here in Silverymoon. He funded it with his own money to start, and began handing out loans to businessmen and builders who wanted to expand within the city. He offered attractive interest rates to anyone who gave him their money, and then quadrupled that rate when he gave out loans."
"With safety a major concern, Gallentry hired a wizard, two Thunderblade paladins, and has a couple golems to guard his vault. He quickly built a good reputation in the city and people flocked to him, handing him all their money without a second thought."
"Meanwhile he is exchanging that money for these coins as well as handing it out to investors and charging them huge interest rates."
"He is getting filthy rich without doing any work at all!"
"It's the biggest scheme we've ever seen!"
Entreri smiled for the first time during the meeting. He knew jealousy when he saw it. These two conmen were just upset they hadn't thought of it first. The two men calmed down somewhat, and Fignes produced a scroll and handed it across the table. "Here is the layout of the bank and a description of all the defenses Gallentry has put in place."
"We are offering you ten percent if you remove at least 4,000 coins from the bank."
"Eighty percent," Jarlaxle spoke up before Entreri could say no. The assassin frowned at the crystal.
The two other men did the same. "Impossible!"
"We will be doing one hundred percent of the work," Jarlaxle argued. "Getting us for only eighty percent is a steal."
"Without us there would be no job," Henricks said, careful not to talk too loudly and draw attention to their table.
"We did all the background work and research. You should feel privileged we are bringing you in at all." Fignes glanced at Henricks before continuing. "We can go as high as fifteen percent."
"We can go as low as eighty," Jarlaxle countered.
"You bastard son of a matron whore! You can shove that-"
"We'll do it for twenty-five," Entreri cut them off, reaching for the scroll. He didn't want to do the job at all, but he wanted to sit here and listen to these three argue even less. He looked each of the two men across the table straight in the eye, letting them know that twenty-five was the final price. They both nodded.
"Twenty-five it is," Entreri said aloud for Jarlaxle's benefit. "I am assuming he keeps these coins in bags, probably one hundred per bag," Entreri hefted the coin in his hand. Though mithril was valued for its lightness, it was still a big coin. "How are we going to carry forty bags out of that bank unnoticed?"
"It's only about 250 pounds," Fignes argued.
"I'm concerned about the bulk, not the weight," Entreri clarified.
"The bags are this big," Henricks argued, holding an imaginary bag in one hand over the table.
"And my friend and I have only four hands between us. Can you hold ten in one hand?"
"Then you get some burlap and you-"
Entreri cut Henricks off. "I am not going to rob the richest and most heavily guarded building in all the realms armed with burlap." The assassin looked directly at Fignes now. "I want the bag."
A few moments ago Fignes had pulled the scroll that held all the information on the bank out of his vest. Entreri now held that scroll and could feel how stiff it was. It was over a foot long and several inches in diameter. It should have made a clear bulge under Fignes blue vest, but it hadn't.
Fignes nodded reluctantly. He reached into his vest and pulled out a flat, unremarkable pouch. It was nine inches square with a drawstring on the top. Entreri picked it up and slipped the foot long scroll inside. The pouch remained perfectly flat. "This will do," Entreri said. "Now, where shall we meet you once the deed is done?"
"We will be waiting in the basement of Hell's Kitchen," Fignes said.
"How appropriate," chirped the crystal.
Henricks frowned at it. "It's on the south side of the city. We won't wait long."
"Give us a couple days," Entreri said.
The table was quiet for a while. "Are they still there?" Jarlaxle asked.
Entreri put his hand over the crystal again, and looked up at Henricks and Fignes. "If you don't mind . . ."
The two men grumbled under their breath but got up and left the tavern. Entreri took his hand off the crystal when he knew they were gone. "It is clear now."
"Good," the crystal flashed in response.
Entreri waited a few moments. "Well, are you coming over?"
A few seconds later a cloaked figure slipped into the booth across the table. Entreri peered into the cowl but saw only a blurred complexion of a face. Jarlaxle dropped the spell and showed his partner a big grin. "That went well."
"Why do I have to be the good one?"
Jarlaxle reached for the chicken that no one had touched and pulled Entreri's untasted glass of wine over to his side of the table. "I think they liked you."
"You better not be implying what I think you are," Entreri narrowed his eyes.
"I couldn't see everything from where I was sitting, but I think they were quite taken with you. The beard makes you look very handsome." Jarlaxle paused from his eating for a moment to look up. "For a human anyway."
If it was anyone else . . . Entreri thought, but he let the topic go. "What did you really think of them?"
The summons they had received had some very interesting magical signatures on it, and both Entreri and Jarlaxle feared that their potential employers might have a few tricks up their sleeves. They had thought it best if Jarlaxle scried them from a distance to see if they were packing a magical punch.
"Just a few magical trinkets," Jarlaxle replied. "They be able to cast a fireball or turn themselves invisible, but I'd say most of their power comes from scribing. As long as we stay away from wards and enchantments, we should be fine."
Entreri expected as much, he hadn't thought too much of them either. They had intellect, but not much innate power.
"So was this worth our troubles?" the human slid the coin across the table.
Jarlaxle put the chicken aside and whipped the grease of his fingers before he picked up the coin. "Very nice." Jarlaxle turned the coin in his hand. "It's a start. A thousand more just like it will make it worth our troubles."
"You aren't serious about taking this job, are you?"
"Of course. It sounds exciting. Maybe we can take our payment and go start our own bank. Who would dare rob Artemis Entreri?"
Entreri rolled his eyes and reached for a piece of chicken.
Jarlaxle didn't want to drop it just yet. "Why did you take the bag if you didn't want to do the job?"
Entreri picked up the magical pouch. "I've always wanted one." He stowed it in his vest.
"I have two," Jarlaxle replied. "All you had to do was ask. No, you have a plan, I know it."
Entreri didn't say anything right away but kept eating chicken.
"So," Jarlaxle pried, "what is it? How do we rob the richest person in the richest city in the north?"
"We ask nicely," Entreri replied.
"Huh?"
The Silverymoon Bank was built on the northeast edge of the city up against the mammoth wall that surrounded the capitol of the north. The outside of the building looked like it was built to the same dimensions as the wall and was probably part of a garrison at one point. It would be impossible to get through the wall without alerting the whole city. Jarlaxle had used a portable hole to get out of several tight spots before, but the drow had told Entreri that it didn't work very well if the wall was more than a foot thick. These walls looked like they were nothing shy of three feet.
The only way in was through the front door. Right now it was daytime, and the door was thrown wide for the public to come in and out freely, but the sharp tips of the portcullis that guarded the door at night could be seen just above the arched entry. The steel bars were as thick as a human leg, and any blacksmith would tell you that you would have better luck getting through the wall.
Once inside, the foyer was filled with plush furniture and several desks spread across the open room where people could come for financial advice. The front of the bank had a long counter where three tellers met the needs of ninety percent of the customers that came in on a daily basis. Behind the counter was another thick steel gate that opened only when access to the vault was necessary.
Twenty feet beyond the gate was the steel vault door. It was guarded on either side by two mammoth adamantium golems. They stood perfectly still and would remain motionless forever unless someone unauthorized approached. When that happened the two very stiff looking statues would become suddenly limber and deal death to everyone within reach.
Jarlaxle and Entreri took all this in as they walked into the bank. They knew what to expect from looking at the specs Henricks and Fignes had given them, but it was still very impressive to see first hand.
Entreri walked up to an open desk in the foyer. The women behind the desk gave Jarlaxle some strange glances, but she still smiled and shook their hands as they took a seat before her. Jarlaxle, always aware but never showing it, noticed that the two armed guards in the bank kept their eyes glued to him at all times. He didn't mind. They weren't here to rob the bank . . . yet.
"Is there something I can help you with?" the woman asked Entreri.
"We would like to speak with Mr. Gallentry," Entreri said, not wasting any time.
"I'm afraid he is only available by appointment these days," she replied.
"I think he is going to want to talk with us," Entreri argued. "Can you please ask?"
The woman nodded, throwing nerves glances toward Jarlaxle who only smiled back and tipped his wide brimmed hat. Entreri watched as the woman moved quickly to the rear office. A moment later a middle-aged man poked his head out of the room. He took one look at the pair sitting patiently, nodded to the woman, and then motioned to the guards.
The woman came back to her desk. "He seems to have some available time after all. You may step into his office."
"Thank you," Entreri replied.
The two guards (Thunderblade Paladins if Henricks and Fignes had been right) were standing at attention on either side of Gallentry when Jarlaxle came into the room. They closed the door and sat down in two available seats.
"What can I do for you gentlemen?"
Entreri paused before answering. His plan had developed over the past hour, and this was the only part he was unsure of. He thought it best to start from the top. "An hour ago my associate and I were hired to rob your bank."
As the two guards stiffened and began to reach for their broadswords, Gallentry only laughed. "Really? Well, you aren't being very sneaky about it."
"You don't seem concerned," Jarlaxle spoke up.
"Have you seen my bank?" the man asked.
"Yes, and-"
Entreri held up his hand, cutting the drow off. They would come to that, but not right now. "We are bounty hunters, sir, not thieves. The two men who hired us have bounties on their heads further south, and possibly up here, perhaps under different names. Do you collect bounties?"
"I haven't yet, but I suppose I could, for a fee of course, and for some assurance that what you are saying is accurate. I'm not about to take two criminals into custody, have them transported south only to hear that the authorities down there have never heard of them."
"I assure you, they have," Entreri said. "The last I saw, the bounties were at 25,000 a piece."
"Fifty grand doesn't mean as much to me as it used to," Gallentry smiled.
"No," Entreri said, "I suppose it doesn't. However, I was thinking of a way to make it a lot higher and perhaps make us both a lot richer."
Entreri watched the man think before continuing. There had to be a reason besides money that Henricks and Fignes wanted to rob this bank. They had sounded very jealous at this man's success, and that was probably due to them once being competitors. If Gallentry had once been a conman, he wouldn't pass up a chance to make another swindle.
"Men," he turned to the guards beside him. "I don't think there is any danger here. You can wait outside."
The two paladins grudgingly left the room and closed the door behind them. Entreri waited for it to click before continuing. "How much would the bounty be on someone who robbed this bank?"
"We are back to that again," Gallentry said, a bit disappointed. "It won't happen."
"If it did . . ."
"If it did," Gallentry humored him, "it would be the end of me. It might even be the end of the city. The people and businesses have put a lot of trust into this institution, and if I should fail, the city might well fail as well."
"Is that your way of saying the bounty would be high?" Entreri asked.
"Astronomical," Gallentry replied. "Five hundred grand is not out of the question. The city would pay anything necessary to restore financial order."
Entreri paused for a while, letting the moneyman figure out the next part of the story for himself. It didn't take long. "You want me to let you rob this bank, and after you hand the money off to your employers, you'll tell me where they are, and I can turn them in for a huge bounty."
"Almost," Entreri said.
"Not going to happen," Gallentry didn't care which parts he got wrong. "I can't have this bank robbed. It would ruin me. All faith in my ability to keep the city's money safe would be lost. Even if I got back every copper piece, I would still be ruined."
Entreri was shaking his head. "Down south we have jousting matches. They are incredibly popular, and betting on them is how fortunes are made, usually by the people collecting the bets. Except when Sir Forium rides. He never loses. Everyone bets on him. He always wins, they always win, and everyone is happy.
"About three months ago, a stranger entered the tournament. No one knew anything about him. He was big and his horse was a monster, but no one was worried. Everyone bet on Sir Forium, but this time he lost. People lost thousands, and the betting houses finally cleaned up. Sir Forium was ridiculed and shamed. The once proud hero was now no better than a dog.
"What did he do? He challenged the newcomer to a rematch the very next day. On the first pass Sir Forium blasted this other knight so hard that he actually flipped the horse over backwards. The knight flew thirty feet back, spent two weeks in the healers hut, and to my knowledge still hasn't regained the ability to walk.
"Sir Forium, like your bank, was untested. No one saw a chink in his armor, but no one is perfect. To find those chinks, one has to be defeated. Forium realized that he could not take victory for granted. Now everyone bets on him again, but now they bet twice as much as before.
"There are hundreds of wealthy people in this city who look at your bank as a fad. They know their history and they know that ventures like yours have tried to start all over the realms and up and down the Sword Coast. They have all failed. They were all tested, they all failed, and they never recovered.
"My friend and I are giving you the opportunity to be tested for free. You will gain the respect of the community through this. Yes, a few smaller investors might see your bank as too risky, but the wealthy, which is whom you should be concerned about, will see your establishment as one that has been tested and passed."
Gallentry soaked up Entreri's speech. He liked what he heard and was nodding throughout the last part of the story. But in the end, he was shaking his head. "What you say may be true, but it still won't work. I can't let you rob this bank. I can't turn the Golems off. The doors are magically sealed. You can't do it."
"We never asked you to 'let' us rob you. If that happened, when the city officials investigated the situation, they would see evidence that it was an inside job and the bounty would be placed on your head. No, we will do this on our own. We'll even let you watch, but you can't interfere. We will show you where the weaknesses are in your system and you will then be able to fix those problems and make the security even stronger."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Gallentry could hardly believe what he was hearing.
Entreri turned to Jarlaxle. "What do you think, four . . ."
"I was thinking three and a half, but four is okay."
Entreri turned back to Gallentry. "We can rob your bank in about four minutes."
"When you say rob . . ."
Jarlaxle spoke up before Entreri could. "We mean enter your vault and remove 3,000 of these." Jarlaxle flipped him the mithril coin Fignes had given Entreri. Entreri gave a questioning glance at Jarlaxle, wondering about the amount he had just told the banker.
"That's a lot of money to be gambling with," Gallentry sounded hesitant, but Entreri knew he was leaning toward them.
"Not much of a gamble at all, sir," Entreri stated. "You can watch us get past your security measures in person tonight and make sure we take no more than we promise. Then you will show up at the basement of Hell's Kitchen tomorrow night, catch the real thieves, and turn them in for a huge bounty. And the two most valuable services we will be providing will come to you at no cost at all, that being the testing of your security setup, and the respect of the cities wealthier investors."
"All this just to catch a couple of crooks?" Gallentry asked.
"Well, sir, in order to double cross them, we first have to cross you."
"I suppose." He was still hesitant. "How do I know you two won't just run off with the money?"
"If that's what we wanted, we wouldn't be sitting here telling you what we were going to do; we would just do it. Second, if we do run, you can place the bounty on our heads and we will see how long me and my flamboyant friend here can stay hidden."
"Very well," Gallentry agreed. "I will be waiting inside for you tonight. I still don't see how you plan to do this."
"You will," Entreri said, rising to leave.
"One thing," Jarlaxle added before they left. "Would you happen to have a spare bag with which you use to store the coins in the vault? For size estimations, you see."
The man opened his desk drawer and tossed the drow a simple gray cloth pouch with a string on the top. "It holds 100 coins," Gallentry said and flipped the mithril coin back to Jarlaxle.
"Thank you."
The two bounty hunters walked out of the office and proceeded straight back into the city streets. "What are you scheming, drow?" Entreri asked. "You know we were commissioned to steal 4,000 of those coins."
Jarlaxle chuckled at the assassin's cautious nature. "You worry about the double cross; I'm taking care of the triple cross."
"If you put a bounty on our heads, so help me Lloth, I will turn you in myself."
"Yes," Jarlaxle continued to chuckle, "I suppose you would."
The moon shone brightly on the late spring night. The air was still warm from the daytime sun, but a cool breeze brought forth memories of the winter just past and was enough make an unconscious man pull a blanket over his shoulder just a bit tighter. For those who had not yet turned in for the night, a cloak was necessary to ward off the breeze. And for those who planned on robbing the richest building in the city, the cloak also worked to secure them in the shadows.
Silverymoon was a city that glowed in the daytime. Its primary building material was white stone, sometimes bleached to an unnatural brightness. In the light of a full moon, the city was no less brilliant. Entreri and Jarlaxle hid in the shadows, observing the bank building from a distance, waiting for the foot traffic in the area to diminish.
The two had parted ways after they had left the bank earlier that day. They each had plans they needed to work on and trusted each other enough not to pry. Though they trusted each other, they were still curious. While Entreri worried that Jarlaxle's triple cross might get them in trouble, he knew the drow had a good plan to get out of it, and at the worst, it would only give them a bit of excitement. That was the reason the human hung out with his extravagant partner to begin with.
Jarlaxle too trusted Entreri, but he honestly wondered how they were going to pull off the heist. He could see ways to rob this bank, but they would all take extreme magic that he would have to borrow from his friends back in Menzoberranzan. He knew Entreri had no access to that kind of magic, and was looking forward to how this plan would work.
He looked over at his human partner and had to blink several times, finally switching over to infravision before he saw him. The assassin was only three feet away, but he had practically disappeared in the shadows. Ever since he had killed that shade, his ability to blend into the darkness was becoming unnaturally good.
"It looks like a fortress," Jarlaxle said when the last pedestrian had walked away.
Entreri didn't say anything for a while, appreciating the comment. It did indeed. The walls were twenty feet tall and sheer. They were unscalable. The parapet at the top was rounded, giving no purchase for a grappling hook to latch on. There was no point in analyzing the walls, they were fat too thick, and the only door was magically sealed.
"Do you have your hole with you?" Entreri asked.
Jarlaxle still wore his large black hat, though he had been smart enough to remove the bright yellow diatryma feather. He reached up to the top and pulled out a small black disk of stretchable fabric that had a wire rim sewn into the circumference. "You might have asked before we left our room." Entreri just shrugged. "Either way," Jarlaxle continued, "it won't get us through that wall."
"It won't need to," Entreri said. "There weren't any support pillars in the foyer, the roof can't be much more than a few inches thick."
"And how shall we get up there?"
Entreri nodded toward the city wall. The bank was built into the city wall, and while mortar had been added between the huge rocks that made up the wall to smooth it out, it wasn't smooth enough. The two bounty hunters looked around once more for any witnesses and then dashed from the shadows. They barely broke stride as they hit the wall. Entreri allowed the lighter and more nimble drow to go first, though the human stayed right on his heels, and the two leaped from the wall to the roof of the bank one after the other.
They stayed low as the four-foot parapet gave them good cover. Jarlaxle held his hole out at the ready, but waited for Entreri's signal. The assassin walked to the front of the building, standing directly over doorway. He then retraced his steps from that afternoon. He walked first to the attendant's desk, and then back at an angle to Gallentry's office. Jarlaxle appreciated the fact that Entreri had obviously counted his steps earlier that day. Jarlaxle also saw that his partner did not need his hole. There was a stout chimney from the fireplace in Gallentry's office. It wouldn't have taken too much work with a mallet and chisel to open the top of it.
Jarlaxle tossed his black disk on the gravelly rooftop and it spun to a diameter of six feet. They were looking straight down on the chairs they had sat in ten hours ago. Entreri prepared to drop down when Jarlaxle caught him by the shoulder. "Would you mind telling me the plan before we go up against the golems?"
Entreri smiled back at him. "I thought you'd never ask."
Five minutes later Jarlaxle was smiling too and they both dropped down into the banker's office. Gallentry was sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up waiting for them. After several moments without response, they noticed that the man was snoring. A few pieces of gravel had come down with them when Jarlaxle had grabbed the hole from the roof and Entreri picked up a couple and tossed them at the sleeping banker.
Gallentry came awake instantly, his legs falling off his desk, and then his body out of the chair. He screamed a bit as he rolled on the floor, but then got to his knees and peered over his desk at the visitors. "It's you."
"But of course," Jarlaxle said a bit too loudly, spreading his arms out expressively. "Who were you expecting?"
Gallentry woke up quickly, coming to his sense and remembering what they were here for. "How did you . . ." he started, looking around the room for some point of entry.
"Your walls are impenetrable; your roof is not," Entreri said plainly. "There are several spells for transporting one through a relatively thin barrier. Or one could simple come down your chimney."
"But how did you get to the roof?"
"Again your walls are very well made, and almost unscalable without magic, but the city walls are not."
"You couldn't have climbed those."
"We did, and I can give you the names of a dozen other thieves who could as well."
"Not too mention any elf ever born," Jarlaxle added.
"Or if need be, one could repel down from the top of the city wall."
"Fine, fine," Gallentry said, waiving his hands at the two to shut up. He could admit that his exterior needed work. "But you still are no closer to my mithril."
Entreri and Jarlaxle smiled back at him. "We've only just started."
The two went to the office door and moved into the foyer. It was dark inside, but the light from the office added a slight glow, which was more than enough for the two thieves. Before them was the long counter where the tellers worked and behind that, the heavy steel gate.
"The gate is magically locked and you can't-"
Jarlaxle turned to him with his fingers over his lips. "Shhh! Watch, you can ask questions afterwards."
Gallentry shut up and did as he was told. The adamantium golems shimmered in the hallway beyond the gate, and Jarlaxle and Entreri did their best to stay out of the statues' field of vision. Gallentry need not worry about the golems. They were enchanted to ignore him completely. Though the majority of the wealth was locked up in the vault behind the golems, there were silver and gold coins kept below the teller's counter for everyday exchanges. The golems were enchanted to guard both.
Entreri and Jarlaxle stayed low, walking right up to the front of the long counter. Nodding quickly at each other, they both popped up over the counter and reached over the top toward the drawers on the other side. They locked eyes with the golems through the gate, and then quickly dropped back down behind the counter.
As the golems activated and a haste spell was cast over them, Entreri and Jarlaxle moved around the long counter in opposite directions. The golems raced up to the closed gate, and just as Gallentry realized what was going to happen, the golems willed the gate open. He had gotten a local mage to enchant the golems, and now realized they would have to have the power to open and close the gate in order to guard the entire bank. He figured they could probably open the safe as well, but the bank owner couldn't imagine how the two clever bounty hunters would trick the golems into doing that.
Jarlaxle and Entreri had raced around the counter to the other side and then flattened themselves against the back wall on either side of the gate. The golems came rushing through the archway, and as soon as there was the slimmest of gaps, Entreri and Jarlaxle slipped in behind them and raced down the open hallway. The golems turned at once and gave chase. The hallway was wide enough for Gallentry to see past the golems as the two thieves ran straight at the dead end that was the massive vault door. What were they going to do now?
As they approached the door, Entreri and Jarlaxle seemingly never broke stride. They ran right up to the steel wall and then disappeared. Gallentry nearly fell over in shock. Had they just ran right through his vault door! There might be several thieves in the city who could have gotten into his bank through the ceiling, but he didn't think any of them could do this.
The golems were stunned as well. They were well programmed, and walked slowly up to the vault door, examining it for any signs of penetration. Seeing nothing obvious, they had only one course of action. They were programmed to destroy any and all intruders. Right now all evidence said they were inside the vault. With another shimmer of magic, the vault door opened with a hiss and swung wide. The two golems went inside and came back out shortly. The vault, other than filled with sacks of coins, bars of gold, and countless gems, was empty.
The golems took up their post again. One stood in the open vault door, allowing no room to move around him while the other stood at the open archway looking back into the bank foyer. They were both on high alert.
Gallentry had no idea where the two thieves had gone and nearly cried out when Entreri's voice came from behind him. "An invisibility spell is very easy to come across."
He turned around, but of course the assassin wasn't visible. Gallentry nodded, realizing what the clever pair had down. They had run right up to the door and then cast an invisibility spell on them, making it look like they had run through the door.
"I assume your friend is in my vault right now."
"Yes he is."
"The golem will hear the commotion of coins being thrown in a sack."
"No he won't," Entreri argued. "Jarlaxle has many charms on him that will silence any potential sounds. Again, not that uncommon a spell for a thief."
"Then the golem will see bags disappearing."
"Your vault door swings inward, as it should," Entreri explained. "Standing where the golem is, half of the vault is obscured by the open door."
"But he won't be able to get past both golems with out alerting them."
Entreri sighed. "Have you no faith yet?" The assassin left the banker's side and rushed back to the counter. He released the invisibility spell and was standing on top of the counter in clear sight of the outer golem. The other golem was magically signaled and came rushing out of the vault area. Entreri waited until they were almost upon him and then vanished from sight again.
It was clear that he was using an invisibility spell this time, and the golems knew it. As the magical creatures shimmered through another spell, Gallentry felt Entreri rush past him and into the study just as the golems finished the casting for true sight. Entreri became instantly visible, but he was also out of sight in the office. The golems looked about frantically when the sound of coins scattering across the vault floor brought them to attention. They spun around and Gallentry followed their gaze into the vault. There were two cloaked figures hunkered over in front of a tray of gems.
The golems finally had their prey cornered and raced back down the hallway to the vault. Gallentry looked back in the office. Wasn't the human in there? Then he remembered that when Entreri had appeared on top of the counter, he had not been wearing his cloak. The golems rushed into the vault and pounded the cloaked figures. The bags of coins the cloaks were draped over broke apart, and gold sprayed all over the vault.
In the confusion, Jarlaxle dropped down from above the vault door where he had been perched and ran out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind him. The golems turned, but the door sealed shut before they could give chase. The gate began to close as well, but the agile drow dove forward, just ahead of the steel spikes as they slammed to the floor.
Entreri walked out of the office and Jarlaxle walked around the counter and they both stepped up to the stunned banker. "Where is my money?"
Jarlaxle held up the small pouch Entreri had taken from Fignes. It was still perfectly flat, but Jarlaxle reached in and pulled out a bulging bag of coins just to let him know.
"You can't open the vault door from the inside, can you?" Entreri asked. The sound of muffled pounding came from the direction of the vault.
Gallentry shook his head. "I need to go open it before they break it down."
"Wait," Entreri said, grabbing the man by the arm. "There is one more thing we need to take care of.
"What?" the banker said anxiously, the pounding getting louder by the second.
"Does anyone know you are here?"
"Who . . ."
"Do you have a wife?"
"Huh?"
"A mistress?"
"Well . . ."
"Did anyone see you leave today after the bank closed?"
Gallentry stopped making useless sounds. "Why?"
"Because when an investigation is done, and the city officials find out that you were here the whole time, the bounty will go on your head, not ours."
Gallentry fell silent as he realized he had no alibi and had in fact canceled several other appointments so he could be here tonight.
"Don't worry," Entreri said when he saw the worried look on the man's face. "We can fix it."
"How?" he looked up at the assassin.
Entreri's arm moved like a viper, pulling Charon's Claw from his hip and lashing out at the stunned man. The hilt of the powerful weapon smacked him cleanly across the temple and the man crumpled like a sack of potatoes. Jarlaxle looked down at the motionless man and laughed and the assassin's sense of humor.
"Let's get gone before our friends make it through that door." The two of them cast a look over their shoulder and saw that dents were forming on the outside of the vault. They didn't waste any more time and ran into the office to leave the way they had come.
Hell's Kitchen was as loud an establishment as one was apt to find in the civilized city of Silverymoon. As one entered they instantly understood how it had gotten its name. At the front of the tavern, where a bar normally stood, was a fire pit thirty feet long. Behind it stood half a dozen cooks monitoring various cuts of meat in front of them. Every five or ten seconds a piece of meat was flipped, and, as the juices ran out, flames shot into the air.
A patron would walk up to the grill, order his meat from a wide selection of ribs, chops, or steaks, and then found himself a table. To add to the experience, the cooks seasoned the meat with an assortment of peppers and sauces to give the food a real kick. Occasionally a flame spurt would get out of control, and there were buckets of water to protect the mostly wooden building. Even more often, a customer would find his selection too powerful, and there were buxom girls with mugs of ale to dose those flames.
Hell's Kitchen was very popular during the winter months.
Jarlaxle stood entranced as he and Entreri entered. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry," Entreri replied. "You can eat after we've taken care of our business."
Jarlaxle grudgingly accepted. The two moved through the crowded collection of tables, working their way to the front corner of the room. Entreri kept an ear open to the conversations amongst the tables. Most were talking about the bank heist that had happened the previous night. Reports varied quite a bit with exaggerated details about how many people had been left dead, how much was stolen, and especially about the size of the bounty on the thieves if they were ever to be caught. Right now, there were no clues.
The pair, carrying a million worth in gold, walked as unassumingly as possible to the back of the tavern and a door marked for employees. They pushed past it, and after wandering through some stock shelves came to a staircase leading down.
The basement was not what the two bounty hunters were expecting. Henricks and Fignes had done some remodeling. Instead of foodstuffs and shelves full of supplies, there was a lavish living area. Rugs covered the floor, while white walls hung with paintings divided the previously open area into very accommodating living quarters. The large room through the doorway at the bottom of the stairs held a leather couch, a couple chairs, and some end tables with decorative lamps. Henricks and Fignes were waiting for them.
"I like what you've done with the place," Jarlaxle said.
"Thanks," Henricks responded. "Please take a seat." He and Fignes were practically giddy with excitement knowing that their money was very close at hand.
"You've caused quite a commotion in this city," Fignes said as Entreri and Jarlaxle sat next to each other on the couch. Their hosts were sitting in the two chairs on either side of the couch. "We were worried you wouldn't show up."
"What ever are you talking about?" Jarlaxle responded, again using the same lilting tone of voice as their employers.
"Why the bank of course," Henricks responded obviously.
"That wasn't us," Jarlaxle explained. "Someone got there before we did."
"What!" Henricks cried.
Entreri thought the same thing, giving his partner an odd look. Was this his plan?
"Who could have-" Henricks started, but Fignes saw the look Entreri was giving the drow and figured out it was a joke.
"Very funny, Mr. Jarlaxle," Fignes interrupted his partner. "We would like to see our money now."
Jarlaxle shrugged his shoulders and pulled out the magical pouch. One by one he reached inside and pulled out the bags. He set them down on the rug in front of the couch. Each bag hit the floor with a "chink," and Henricks and Fignes slid further and further out of their chairs toward the floor and the collection of bags. When Jarlaxle got to thirty, he stopped.
"Where is the rest of it?" Fignes asked desperately.
"The rest is our twenty-five percent," Jarlaxle explained.
"But I want to see it," Fignes pleaded.
Again, Jarlaxle shrugged and proceeded to pull out ten more bags. With each additional bag Entreri wondered how his friend planned on explaining the discrepancy to Gallentry, since the drow had said they would only steal thirty bags. Entreri tried not worry about it and instead turned his attention to Fignes' and Henricks' growing fascination with the money before them. The assassin half expected the next words from Henricks.
"That is a marvelous sight. I'm afraid we are going to have to keep it all."
Entreri and Jarlaxle didn't flinch as Henricks brought forward a loaded crossbow and Fignes held out his right hand with a small globe flame poised in his palm. The two targets exchanged looks with each other and then at the two men poised to attack them.
"Did you do any research on us before you called us up here?" Entreri asked. "Do you think a crossbow bolt and a fireball will scare us?"
"Maybe we should just kill them and take the money for ourselves," Jarlaxle said, keeping the same calm expression.
"Shut up, you two!" Henricks cried.
Fignes stood up slowly, understanding the need to move carefully around these two. His right hand still held a small flame, and he extended his left as well, sparks jumping from his fingertips. At a moment's notice he could release a lightening bolt and a fireball. "Get up slowly," he said. "No sudden movements."
Entreri cast a glance at Jarlaxle for guidance. It was the assassin's job to plan the robbery, but the drow was taking the show from here. Entreri knew he had some further scheme cooking and he would follow Jarlaxle's lead. Jarlaxle stood up slowly. Entreri did likewise.
"Toss the pouch on the floor." Jarlaxle obeyed. "Now move to the end of the hall."
The living room was at the base of the stairs and a hallway with a couple doors on either side extended in front of them. Jarlaxle started down the hallway and Entreri followed. "The last door on your right," Fignes instructed from behind them. Even further back, they could hear Henricks frantically loading the mithril bags back into the magical pouch.
Jarlaxle opened the door at the end of the hall and the two bounty hunters walked in. Fignes came up quickly behind them and shut it. There was a bolt on the outside, and he locked it in place.
"What are we doing?" Entreri asked. "How is this part of your plan?"
"We are waiting," Jarlaxle said, moving away from the door and into the room. It was a bedroom with a large bed against one wall, a hefty chest at the foot of the bed, a desk against one wall, and two tall dressers against each of the other walls.
Entreri turned back to the door and began looking for wards or other traps. "I'd step away from the door," Jarlaxle said as he began looking through the drawers of one of the dressers. "It'll be opened in a minute or two."
"How?" Entreri dared to ask. As he did, he heard raised voices from the living room. Soon afterwards the sound of steel on steel, shouts of pain, and other sorts of adio violence came through the door. Gallentry had arrived. Entreri wisely moved away from the door, his hands on the hilts of his weapons.
Jarlaxle seemed not to notice. Getting to the bottom drawer, he finally found something interesting. Entreri turned as he heard the sound of coins. Jarlaxle was pulling bags from out of a secret compartment in the dresser. "You are robbing them?" Entreri asked incredulously. "This is your plan?"
"This is nothing to frown at," the drow replied, pulling out one of his own magical bags of holding. "There is several thousand here."
"And there is several hundred thousand out there," Entreri argued.
Jarlaxle didn't reply but moved to the chest next. Outside the battle was growing fierce, and several explosions shook the walls. After a considerably large one, Jarlaxle looked up. Entreri expected his attention to turn back to their situation, but that wasn't it. "Hey, how come there is only one bed in here? Aren't there two of them?"
Entreri didn't bother with a response, nor did he have time, for the door suddenly exploded inward. The knob and hinges sparked with electricity as a wave of fire carried the door across the room.
"Weapons," Jarlaxle stated calmly.
Entreri pulled them and leaped toward the door as Henricks came running through. He held a short rapier, and managed to get it up when he saw Entreri coming at him. He parried the first two strikes, but only because they were meant to bring the blade up and wide. Entreri's dagger sliced under the hilt and nearly took off a finger. Henricks dropped the weapon with a cry of pain, and then stood still as Charon's Claw was placed at his neck. Entreri was careful not to let the volatile blade touch the man's skin, but Henricks could feel the heat and energy just below his chin and knew well enough not to move.
"The pouch," Jarlaxle said.
Again Entreri complied, his dagger reaching into the captive man's vest and cutting free the magical pouch. Entreri flipped the item to Jarlaxle without taking his eyes of Henricks. The drow caught the pouch and quickly transferred ten sacks of gold to his own magical pouch. Entreri shifted his stance so Henricks couldn't see past him.
A moment later, one of Gallentry's paladins came rushing into the room. He paused when he saw Henricks was immobile. He recognized Entreri and Jarlaxle from the other day, though Gallentry hadn't explained everything to him. Entreri released Henricks and the large paladin grabbed him by the shirt. They both moved out of the doorway as Gallentry came in followed by his other paladin who had Fignes secured.
"You two!" the banker said as soon as he saw Entreri and Jarlaxle. "This is all your fault!"
"Excuse me?" Jarlaxle said. Entreri decided to let the drow handle this.
"Listening to you was the worst idea I've ever had! I don't know how I could have thought that letting my bank get . . . Where is my money!"
Jarlaxle tossed him the pouch. Gallentry quickly relayed it to one of his paladins. "Count it." The confused man opened the seemingly empty bag slowly and reached his hand inside. Once his arm went in to his elbow, he realized there was more to this bag than it seemed, and began sorting though the bags of coins inside.
"My life has been hell these past twelve hours. My bank is ruined. The whole town wants to lynch me. Plus, those blasted golems broke down my vault door. Do you know how much it is going to cost to replace that?"
"It's all here, sir," the paladin replied. "Thirty bags total."
"I can't get this back in my vault soon enough." He turned to leave but Jarlaxle stopped him.
"Uh, sir, aren't you forgetting something. What about our payment?"
"You must be joking," Gallentry replied. "I should be turning you in for the bounty."
"Whatever for?"
"You know precisely what for, you foolish drow. You are the one's who stole the money."
"On what grounds do you make such an outrageous claim?"
"I saw you do it!"
"You mean you watched the bank get robbed and did nothing to stop it?" Jarlaxle asked sarcastically. "As far as I can tell, when you came down here, the money was in the hands of these two gentlemen. One of whom we apprehended. I believe we are then entitled to half the bounty."
Gallentry was fuming. He could not accuse them of robbing the bank. Everything Jarlaxle said was true. Their claim to half the bounty, as ironic as it might be, was valid. "Give them two bags," he grunted at the paladin with the magical pouch. The big man did as he was told.
"Only 50,000?" Jarlaxle pressed. "I would have thought the bounty on these two would be much higher."
"Don't push your luck, drow," Gallentry said.
Jarlaxle picked up the bags and stowed them in his vest. "Very well. It was a pleasure doing business with you." He and Entreri moved toward the door. "Oh," he added when he walked passed the group at the door, "you might want look in those drawers. There are some leather items, that, if not illegal, are at least very disturbing." With that, the bounty hunters left the room.
Three hours later, despite the time of day, Entreri and Jarlaxle were riding away from Silverymoon back to the south. Entreri was brooding while Jarlaxle was busy trying to get the last bits of spicy sauce out from under his fingernails.
"Explain to me why we are not being chased by the city guard of Silverymoon," Entreri said at last, finally confidant that they indeed were not being followed.
"Why? Did you feel my tip to our lovely wench was insufficient?"
Far from it. Jarlaxle had actually left her one of their mithril coins. "You know full well of what I'm talking about. We have ten bags of mithril coins that should be in Gallentry's vault."
"Twelve actually," Jarlaxle corrected, counting the two bags he had given them for the bounty. Entreri didn't justify the comment with a response, still waiting for his answer. Jarlaxle flipped him a mithril coin. "What do you think of this?"
Entreri held the coin for a few seconds before responding. "It's fake. This coin is too heavy." The imprinting was the same and it was the right color, but it wasn't mithril.
"What about this one, or this one, or this one?" Jarlaxle kept flipping coins at the assassin. Entreri stopped catching them long enough to see where they were coming from. The coins were falling out of the mercenary's sleeve.
Entreri had seen Jarlaxle produce gold coins from his sleeves several times in the past, and only now realized they had never been real. Jarlaxle smiled when he saw the realization cross his partner's face. "I'm a magician, not an alchemist. If I could produce real gold coins like that, why do you think I argue over prices?"
"Because you're an ass," Entreri replied, not satisfied with their situation yet. "If you placed ten bags in Gallentry's vault with these coins, he is going to notice they are too heavy."
"That's why I only put 75 coins in each bag." Jarlaxle tossed the empty coin pouch he had taken from Gallentry during their first meeting. "I had a seamstress in town make them for me. He'll never see the difference."
"He will eventually find out," Entreri said.
"And that will be several months from now," Jarlaxle said, "after he has received a few more shipments from the dwarves. They will be accused of swindling him, not us. What is more believable, the dwarves making the fake coins, or me pulling them out of my sleeve?"
Entreri finally began to smile. He even managed a chuckle as he thought of Gallentry accusing clan Battlehammer of cheating him. Jarlaxle definitely made life more interesting.
The END