M'Karo slipped off the trousers she had been wearing and stood somewhat self-consciously as an elder thief took out some lengths or rope.
"Calm yourself lass, you're beautiful but you're not my type," Madi teased the girl who couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"It's cold."
"I'll be done soon enough," she told M'Karo, using the lengths of rope to measure the girl, knotting it in various styles, signifying just what each rope meant to the armor's design.
"Do you want the color treatment or the standard design?"
"The deluxe," M'Karo said and the woman's eyes went wide. "Another five hundred pieces you know, right?"
M'Karo nodded. "I know."
"Did your grandfather say you could?" The color treatment was usually reserved for those who had reached a high rank in the guild but could be done by anyone in the guild who had stolen more than fifty thousand in one go. M'Karo had done that only the night before. For the fourth time.
"Yes."
She made a heart shaped knot then told M'Karo to dress. "Such firm breasts and thin waists are wasted on youth," she muttered teasingly and M'Karo flushed brightly. She still bound her breasts but now did it to create the look of deep cleavage as well as hold them down for her more acrobatic maneuvers.
"Do you want me to design the armor to show your cleavage, protect, or either as you choose? The third will compromise a bit but some extra boiled leather with lamellar can add some more strength."
"The third. I've got a design for the lamellar strips," she replied, somewhat shyly. She took out the design from her satchel and showed the woman then went back to dressing.
"Ah, lovely. No one shall suspect you're a thief with that design." It was the mark of Corellon Larethian and crossed fife and pan pipes. "Why him though?"
"Mother was a bard and this was her old symbol from her trainer."
She nodded and walked off as M'Karo pulled her tunic on and buttoned it up then walked out to the tavern and found her father sitting in front of the fire, examining a pile of gems. "Morning father."
"Sit. Tell me what you think of that orange gem?"
She held it up to the fire and blinked a few times. "Two occlusions. It needs to be recut."
"Worth?"
"Nine thousand now, ten when recut, set in a ninety piece chain, eleven thousand easily."
"Good girl," he said and pulled her over to kiss her quicklime-straightened hair. "I preferred the curls."
She rolled her eyes. Her curly silver-gold hair and a heavily made up look of hers was wanted in the Kelanon province. She had straightened and colored her hair to orange with black streaks, a look she quite liked. It reminded her of the Kelanon sabertooth, a large feline she had had a stuffed fetish of as a child that had been lost in a move.
"Still trying to find out who to bribe there. It'd be easier if we setup an outpost there."
"Our last two were killed, we'll figure out who did that, get revenge, then go back."
She pouted then put the gem back and went to get a mulled wine.
When she returned to the table, two of the novice thieves were waiting for her father's words. Finally, he set the final gem down and said, "You two were fighting in public and revealed your membership. You're to be sent to the Northern Province. Pack your gear, you leave tomorrow morning."
They looked like they wanted to argue but didn't. Instead they walked off, looking dejected.
He turned to his daughter and took a ticket from his pocket. "An invitation to Lady Salazar's. Case the place."
She grinned excitedly and took the invite then ran off to look through the fancy clothing she owned.
When she found nothing good for the season, she opened the hidden chest in her fireplace and found she had five hundred pieces of gold. M'Karo tucked them in to a purse and shoved it down her trousers then headed out.
At the best dressmaker in the town, she looked through the fabrics then turned and smiled at the owner. "Hello Kiora. Do you have anything in my size that'll look good at Lady Salazar's midseason party? I was invited and I don't really have anything."
Kiora held up her finger then turned around and opened a wardrobe behind her counter. She turned, holding a black brocade gown with a red and black corset design over a white brocade blouse, the skirt slit to almost the thigh. "You really think I'd look good in that?"
Kiora smiled brightly and nodded rapidly. She wasn't mute but rarely spoke.
"I'll try it on."
M'Karo undressed then Kiora helped her put it on, blowing on M'Karo's neck to tease her.
Dressed, M'Karo spun in it, feeling incredibly beautiful as she looked at herself. The color didn't really match her hair but she decided to use dye to darken her hair and 'borrow' a magic amulet to change eye color and the sharpness of her cheekbones.
"How much aunty?"
"For you? Ten pieces. The woman who ordered it passed away after paying for the material and labor." She turned around and took out a band of ivory with a black gem that gleamed red. "I'll lend you this." Kiora knew M'Karo was a thief, she had trained the girl but Kiora had left the order after her mother passed away and she was needed in the shop.
M'Karo changed her clothing back to her street clothes as Kiora packaged the gown and the band.
M'Karo left the money on the counter and hugged her friend again then left for her home, stopping to buy some kohl, rouge, and some powdered pearls in a faintly red lacquer. Her mother had taught her to use makeup but she rarely ever did due to not needing it.
When she arrived at the publicfront tavern, she found her mother standing behind the counter, slicing some bread. "Ahh, dear, where've you been?"
"I was with father then I went shopping for a dress, I'm going to a party."
"Ah, tonight?"
"No."
"Good, I need you to watch the inn, your father wants to walk out with me."
M'Karo grinned. "Aren't you two kinda old for that."
"I'll cut out that tongue little snip!" her mother teased back.
M'Karo kissed her mother's cheek then carried her items to her room then came back and took her mother's place.
As soon as her mother was gone, one of the patrons tried to flirt with her. M'Karo eyed him for a moment then rapidly flicked her wrists, making a pair of daggers jet downwards. She spun them and asked, "What did you need?"
"Another ale please!"
She pulled one for him and smiled as he went off to nurse it until the bad air left it and it was drinkable.
Two friends from the village came in and sat down at the counter. "Hi M'Karo," Amika said. "You're watching the tavern tonight? We were gonna invite you to the fight."
"I am. Who's fighting?"
"Dunno, I think they're owlbear-baiting tonight."
M'Karo shrugged. "Boring. Anything new?"
"Sarina and Dexon are pairbonding tomorrow."
"Really? They only walked out twice."
She set out three wood flagons and poured her favorite wine then took a muller from the fireplace and dipped it in a golden powder. It caramelized on the iron then she put it in Amika's flagon to heat and flavor the wine. She did the same for Oli's wine then did hers and they ended up spending the evening chatting, occasionally breaking up so she could service customers or take their pay or make change for the handful of escorts that plied their trade in the tavern.
"Have you ever for money?" Amika asked when Oli was outside relieving himself.
"No. In fact, I've only twice so far. Have you been with Oli?"
"We did for the first time a few days ago. It was okay."
"It gets better," M'Karo told her. "The first time wasn't that good but the second time I was with someone who had many times before and it was incredible. The sensation? I was on fire but it was in a good way, I felt like the skin around it was vibrating. It hurts but in an incredibly pleasurable way. Do you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, but only from doing it to myself."
M'Karo nodded at that. "I have a stone fetish I got from a Conni temple. Do you want to borrow it?"
Amika nodded then the conversation was changed abruptly as Oli returned.
As they left late that evening, she hugged her friends goodbye and whispered to Amika, "Come by tomorrow."
M'Karo handed the stone fetish to Amika and the young Xeph promised to take good care of it then kissed her friend goodbye and dashed out.
With no duties for the day, M'Karo decided to go to the training room.
She took the hidden doorwell in the storage area then arrived in the thieve's tavern and saw her grandfather snoozing by the fire. She went over and gave him a kiss on the forehead then continued on to the training area.
In the fourth training room—this section of the guild had been custom built over the decades to be big enough to house representative rooftops of the area—she waited her turn as other guildsmen practice running over the rooftops as silently as possible.
M'Karo's turn finally came and she stretched and tightened her top's laces on the side.
She shimmied up a wall then pulled herself up on to the roof, sticking to the edge. Thatched roofs weren't safe for walking on unless you knew exactly where the main beams were and the only definitive ones were the walls and the mid-beam at the peak of the roof and even it could be a beam that wouldn't maintain her weight though walls always would.
She leapt to the next roof and scrambled for purchase then pulled herself up and crawled across the roof, keeping to the shadows.
M'Karo was about to leap to the next tower when she heard her named called. She moved around the roof so she could see and saw Madi standing at the door. "Your armor is ready."
"So soon?"
"We only had to modify a few parts of a finished set. You're well shaped girl."
M'Karo jumped off the roof, doing a forward roll then let out a tiny giggle as she landed in the thick hay.
She wiped off all the hay and waved to the woman working the room who rushed over to refluff the hay so it had more height to it.
As they walked along the passageway, someone called out M'Karo's name and she turned to see another padfoot of the Blackguard calling her name.
She squealed in excitement as the human caught her up and spun her around as he hugged her.
When he set her down, she asked, "What are you doing here Drewan?!"
"Your grandfather recalled me last month, I just arrived." He kissed her then she pushed him back so she could catch her breath. "What are you up to?" he asked.
"I'm off to get my armor and tonight I'm casing a party. Be my escort!"
"Happily if your grandfather doesn't have plans for me."
Drewan kissed her again and took off to see the grandmaster of the guild.
"Are you two getting pairbonded?" Madi asked.
"No, his parents expect him to marry some cousin of his and father expects me to marry this kid in about ten years when he's sixteen. It'll cement the alliance between the Blackguards and the Lightfoot clan and end the war."
Madi nodded then opened the door to the leatherworks. Madi's husband smiled at them both. "Li'l one. Well, not so little anymore."
"Uncle," M'Karo said, smiling. "My armor is done?"
"Aye lass, head on back and put it on."
In the back room, M'Karo shed the light blouse and leather leggings then undid the bandage around her chest. The leather would work to keep her breasts in place better than the bandages ever could.
M'Karo admired the armor where it lay on the table. This set was designed to look like the boiled leather armor of a Northern Clan guard with a pair of matching lammelar spaulders since they knew she preferred dual weapon fighting. They would protect her shoulders but would also allow better movement unlike plate pauldrons.
When she pulled on the trousers of the armor, it began to tighten to her body and she bit her lip, enjoying the sensation as the leather warmed and molded to her, its straps magically tightening to perfection due to the inherent magic of the darkleaves the armor was crafted from.
When she pulled on the chestpiece, she admired the way the leather straps were crisscrossed and pressed her breasts up. M'Karo had come to accept her chest size finally and smiled at her reflection in the silvered glass. She put the bardic piece in place and laced up the sides of the top then smiled at Madi as she poked her head in. "How's it—ah, you got it on. How's the fit?"
"Perfect."
"Thought it would be, do a turn."
M'Karo turned and Madi nodded, feeling jealous for a moment at the young woman's backside caressed by the leather.
"Does it affect your knife devices?"
M'Karo tightened the laces at her wrists then did the motion to eject her blades. They shot out past her hands and buried themselves in the floor.
She grinned sheepishly and pulled the knives out, readjusted the mechanism, cursing herself silently for not checking it that morning—it often got misaligned and she had to check it daily to readjust—then reset and tried it again. The blades were in her hand and she spun them again. "Nice."
She pulled the thin tunic back on over the armor and looked at herself in the mirror and nodded.
Madi folded up the bandages and the trousers as she asked, "Are you the one casing the party tonight?"
"Yeah, is it your mission?" The Blackguards compartmentalized the aspects of a job. A scout found the job or was sent out to find the goal when the guild was hired, a padfoot cased the locale, then a padfoot or higher did the job. Any thief who helped with the planning stages after the casing received a small share while the caser and the scout got a slightly bigger share.
Many older thieves who could no longer thieve properly spent their days helping the young thieves plan their attacks and lived off the proceeds and their shares from their own youth. Others who had skills like the armoursmiths and weaponsmiths got a share of the guild's share of takes since they spent all their time crafting and had no time to ply their thieving skills.
"No, just heard your father and grandfather talking about it."
She headed back to her mother's tavern and put her day clothes away then took off her tunic and studied herself in the mirror. She traced her finger over the small gem inset in the collar then activated the magic.
The armor shifted from the dark grey color and became stripes of gray, black, and white pattern that looked like the stripes on a kelanon sabertooth. She pressed it again and it shifted to a mottled blue, black, and charcoal grey pattern that would blend in well in a city.
She thought blue as she pressed the gem and the armor became a beautiful gemstone blue color. M'Karo smiled. The armor had three settings done by pressing the gem to switch from the two multicolor designs and the armor's normal mottled charcoal grey color. A thought of a color or colors and a pattern it could take those on as well at the press of the gemstone on the collar.
She realized how late it was getting when she saw the sun touching the edge of her room's small fireplace. Jumping, she started undoing the laces that made the magic of the armor tighten to the body.
There was a knock at the door and before she could say anything, one of the consorts who worked the tavern pushed in with a basin filled with hot water and some thick rags. "Your mother asked me to bring this up. I heard you're going to the Lady's party tonight?"
"I am."
"Have a wonderful time, miss M'Karo."
M'Karo smiled then finished undressing once she was gone.
She sat on the edge of her bed and began washing herself.
There was another knock then her mother's voice said, "Do you want my depilation charm?"
M'Karo hesitated then said, "Yes please?"
Her mother came in and sighed. "I remember when my breasts were that firm. Then I had your brothers and you. Breast ruiner."
She blushed lightly and her mother snickered. "Here dear."
M'Karo took the stone then began running it over her legs. The magic in the stone made the roots of the hair die and when she used her washcloth, the hairs were easily pulled away from her body. Her legs were now as smooth as her backside though her natural haircolor and the thinness of the hair on her body it looked like she was hairless as is.
She ran a clean rag over herself one more time then used rose water and the makeup she had bought to prepare herself.
She smiled at herself in the mirror when she was done putting on the makeup then fitted the gown.
When she couldn't get the waist piece tightened properly, she looked out and saw one of the servant girls walking by. "Tariya, come here a moment."
"Yes Miss M'Karo," the young girl said.
"I need help lacing this up properly."
The girl smiled and happily helped her lace up the cincher and tied a pert little bow in the end, tucking the lace underneath the cincher when done.
The girl took the cooling water and cloths as M'Karo pulled on her white slippers with their hidden blades.
She stood in front of the small mirrors pasted to the back of the door, looking at herself, moving occasionally so she could see what the small mirrors couldn't show. She thought again about buying a full size mirror but nine gold pieces was just too much for it in her mind.
There was another knock at the door and her mother poked her head in. "Drewan is here with a driver and you look wonderful. Perk up your girls though, really show 'em off."
M'Karo blushed as her mother grabbed and lightly twisted her nipples, making them erect and push out at the thin semi-transparent fabric of the gown top. "See? You'll have all the men wanting and the women jealous."
"Mother!"
"Oh please. I'm just trying to help. Now, Take what you can: give nothing back!"
She kissed her mother after chuckling at the advice then went up the stairs to see Drewan waiting.
"Hello gorgeous."
"Shush you."
He winked at her and nodded at two thieves who were idly playing a card game and steadfastly avoiding looking at their grandmaster's granddaughter. Only Drewan had had the temerity to chase after the granddaughter of a man who had happily blinded a man for calling his daughter-in-law—someone he didn't particularly like—a strumpet.
Drewan helped her up on to the carriage and smiled as she unfolded her fan, waving it so the smell of the horse was directed away from her. While she owned a pair of ponies herself, this nag wasn't long for this world she could tell.
The ride wasn't long and soon they were at the gates. Drewan hadn't spoken much besides saying he had missed her. Instead, he had spent his time reading a scroll that he now tucked back in to his Northern Province style robes. She liked how they looked on him but decided to wait to ask why he wore something like that instead of Southern Kingdom wear.
At the Old Rumrunner's Manse, the man working the door examined their invite and asked for their names to properly introduce them.
She held out her hand, showing the ring of her father's design for his shop. "Amber Niello."
He nodded as Drewan said, "James Fletcher, journeyman."
He led them to the party and a pair of pipers played a sequence then the man said, "Lady Amber of the Niellos and Mister Fletcher!"
At the bottom of the stairwell, the Lady Salazar smiled. "Lady Amber, your father's goldwork is incredible. His people did the scrolling on my gown."
"My father did it himself," M'Karo lied. "I visit him often when not practicing my needlepoint or writing poetry and I remember him doing the work on this gown. I'm sure he wanted it to be flawless for you."
Salazar smiled at that and M'Karo said, "Oh, yes, I do apologize, my escort, an old family friend James Fletcher. He's just been made a journeyman fletcher, perhaps your Lord needs a new one?"
"Come, let me introduce you as I believe he does."
They met with the lord and Drewan was promised an audience later to show his skills as a fletcher—his job for the guild was as a bowyer and fletcher—then they began to mingle about the party, speaking with those they knew while M'Karo made note of jewelry, occasionally complimenting those who wore her father's or grandfather's works.
Late in the evening, she went to find a window to open.
The perfect window found, she used a small slip of metal to magically interfere with the lock so it wouldn't move except when she touched it, then she continued on.
At the end of the party, she and Drewan made their good evenings then they got in to the waiting carriage.
As it rode along, M'Karo hitched her skirt to the side and straddled Drewan's lap. "Well?"
"Your grandfather was very specific about tonight."
"What?"
"Do whatever you want."
She kissed him as hard as she could and wiggled when she felt what she wanted. He pushed her away enough and told the driver to take them to his shop.
M'Karo got her dress back on and slipped out the back of the shop, her red wrap held tightly around herself. So cold, she thought as she maneuvered through the fog-ridden lanes of the city.
When she walked in to the tavern her mother smirked. "Well?"
"I got the job almost done."
"That's not what I meant you little snip."
"Mother!"
She laughed and watched her daughter go down to her room then turned and smiled at the guest. "Yes my lord?"
Dressed in her armor, she took to the thieves tunnels and came out less than a kilometer from the target.
It took her nearly a hour, moving from shadow to shadow, avoiding the occasional dog or other nocturnal animal until she was within the grounds of the estate.
M'Karo scaled the walls, wincing when she lost a fingernail. Note to self, she thought. Spend the money on imbued sabertooth claws!
At the window, she stroked it and it obediently opened for her.
She waited, hanging from the sill, listening for the sounds of the mansion.
Pulling herself in, she stopped for a moment to wrap her finger then headed for the most likely point.
She came to a stop and slid back in to an alcove.
A maid walked past, barely dusting, just swiping her rag occasionally.
Annoyed by the human's work ethic, M'Karo followed her until the woman came to an alcove filled with wine bottles. She caught the woman in a hold that cut off the woman's oxygen. When she was out, M'Karo opened a bottle of wine, poured the majority of it in to a potted plant, dribbled some on her dress and in her mouth, then finished off the rest herself, leaving the empty bottle next to the girl.
M'Karo made a note of the wine and headed on.
At the area she wanted to explore, she froze. There had been movement. Then she saw it. A roving ioun stone. She untucked the rag she had borrowed from the maid and waited for the stone to move her way. When it did, she caught it in the rag, spun it rapidly, then threw it to the ground.
She felt bad about destroying the stone, they were incredibly expensive but she didn't know its function. It might've been a recording device or it might've been a combat stone.
M'Karo undid the catch on the door and let it open, scanning for the telltales of alarms and traps.
She listened then stepped inside and touched the wall in a specific pattern. One shouldn't reuse old systems, she thought as a hidden panel opened. She flicked the switches, shutting off the various traps in the room.
Taking a running start, she leapt over a rug, doing a forward roll, sliding under the door as it slowly rose up.
She smiled as she stood in the room. It was exactly where she thought it would be. She wished she could take it and run but didn't.
M'Karo walked out, reset the traps then headed for the window she had come in, grabbing the bit of metal and tucking it in to the sash she used as a belt.
When she arrived back at the guild, she spent two hours drawing up the plan of the estate, marking where she had discovered traps, and so on, then handed it over to her father and slumped in a corner with a bottle of mulled wine.
He came over after speaking with the thief the job was assigned to and played with her hair. "You did good princess. Very detailed."
She nodded and he asked, "Hungry?"
M'Karo nodded after a bit of thought. A few minutes later one of the tavern wenches brought over a plate with cheeses, fruits, and her favorite rye crisps on it.
As she ate, the thief whose job it was joined her.
"Anything else you think I should look for?"
"There's a wine there, called Brothers of Sylvain from 1455. Get all of that you can, it's delicious."
He laughed. "Good to know."
"You should also hit up the upstairs museum, the paintings in it might've been real, I couldn't really check during the party."
He nodded and patted her hand then left to let her eat.
"Here you go," M'Karo's father said.
She looked up from book she was reading. "Father?"
"Your pay for the job. Two percent, your cut is nineteen hundred fifty two pieces. Minus the cost of those gloves you wanted so your pay is twelve hundred pieces. I rounded up."
"Thank you," she said, smiling as she tried on the gloves. On the palm it had a half-dozen spikes, designed to help climb with, each imbued to rebuild the inert surfaces it was used against.
She slammed her hand in to the table then pulled away and watched the divots she had caused rebuild themselves before her eyes.
Her father rolled her eyes then said, "Coming back to the tavern? I thought we could all have dinner together."
She put her book away as she nodded. "Who hired us to clean out the Old Rumrunner's Manse?"
"Some people the Lady's parents ruined financially so they could steal their land. Took them twenty-five years to be able to afford this job. It's not just us in on it, mercs and a wizard are working on it as well. I'm thinking about purchasing the Manse when it's over."