*Chapter 11*
~Thieves Guild~
The skies above Paris darkened rapidly once the sun fell behind the horizon, the brilliant colors of the sunset swiftly bled away into the blue-gray of early evening. In the crowded city below most citizens were returning to their homes and families to enjoy some peace before they entered the land of dreams and nightmares. This was also the time that the criminals, drunks, and other shady characters were most active. When the normal markets closed the black ones opened and when the sun goes down the underworld Guilds begin their day.
A shadowed figure made his way from the nicer side of the city to the meaner one. He moved like a wraith just beyond the weak pools of light cast by lanterns, pulling his long, dark coat against the falling temperature. He seemed like any ordinary person you might meet on the streets of the city, but he wasn't. No normal man has red and black eyes; no one has eyes like he does. He is a thief by the name of Remy LeBeau, but he is no ordinary thief. He was a member of the Thieves Guild, a master thief known by many as Gambit the Cursed, or just Gambit for short. To those of the underworld he was a well-known figure; to any ordinary person he was only an anonymous shadow among thousands. But that didn't bother him; in fact he preferred it that way. If no one knew who he was then the law wouldn't find him. He quite enjoyed his hands and had no desire to lose them for his choice of lifestyle.
Remy made his way down the twisted narrow streets the way only a Paris native could, slipping through alleys and sliding around corners. He made his way over a stone bridge and entered one of the many red-light districts located in the city. He moved down the street, ignoring the many taverns and brothels that beckoned to any potential customers that passed by. Near the end of the dark street Gambit found what he was looking for. Sandwiched between two large buildings was a small, run-down tavern called the Red Rooster. The master thief entered and moved to a shadowed corner table and settled down to wait. It wasn't a long wait.
Barely ten minutes after Remy had seated himself at the table another regular patron entered and came to join him. He looked like any other ordinary man; nothing set him apart from the crowded streets of the French city. But he wasn't ordinary; he was Henri the Swift, another master thief of the Guild like Remy. His ordinary appearance was the perfect disguise, nothing really made him stand out from the masses that moved through Paris which made him difficult to find. And as his name suggested he was fast, few could keep up with him let alone catch him. Henri also happened to be the one who helped Remy enter the Guild in the first place making them closer than brothers in the Guild's eyes.
As Henri settled into his seat two more regulars entered the Red Rooster. To most observers the newcomers were a pimp and one of his whores stopping by for a quick break and maybe some spirits. But Remy and Henri knew better, the 'pimp' was Jean-Claude the Clever and the 'whore' was Alice the Black, both were members of the Guild. They were a brother and sister team who were especially skilled in gathering information as well as loot. They could play politicians and merchants for all their money and knowledge without breaking a sweat. Both found their image as the 'pimp and whore' useful as both kinds of people are not considered intelligent. In their case that assumption couldn't be further from the truth.
"[Good evening my friends.]" Henri greeted. "[Did we all have good days today?]" His question was met with nods all around. "[Good, very good. Jean-Claude, you wouldn't mind bringing us some wine would you?]"
"[Why don't you get it yourself Henri?]" Jean-Claude growled. Henri turned and gave a pleading look to the scowling man.
"[Jean-Claude you know I don't carry my money with me and I know that you do. Besides you are closer than I am.]" Henri begged. The two men entered into a sort of staring contest until Jean-Claude gave in. He stalked off to the barmaid to purchase to group some cheap wine looking quite irritated; he always had to buy the wine.
"[Now down to business.]" Henri began after Jean-Claude returned with the drinks. Henri relayed to his companions news from the Guild as well as any interesting rumors he had stumbled across since they last spoke. Once Henri had finished Remy took his turn sharing information though he left out the part about the probable foreigners he had stumbled upon earlier in the day. When Gambit had finished Black Alice and Jean-Claude took their turn. After they had finished Henri closed their business and opened the wine.
Now that the wine was flowing things between the four thieves began to lighten up. Jean-Claude began to brag about how he stole all the jewelry off a foolish politician and left the confused man in the slums after promising him a 'real good time with a real woman'. Then Alice began teasing her older brother about some silly event of their childhood that Jean-Claude found rather embarrassing. Henri jumped in the conversation with a story he heard of Serge the Large, a founding member of the Guild. Alice and Jean-Claude began to complain that this story had nothing to do with what they were talking about but Remy calmed them down, he wanted to hear about this.
Serge the Large was, as his name suggested, a rather large individual, but his size had no effect on his thieving skills. He formed powerful and deep friendships with several other highly talented thieves and together they were a force to be reckoned with. They formed a sort of secret society which over time evolved into the Thieves Guild. They developed a network that gathered information and sold stolen goods. By the time Serge and his friends 'retired' the Thieves Guild was a powerful force in the underworld of Paris, but despite this the Guild was nearly invisible to the government. The only group that had the size and power to challenge the Thieves Guild was a similar organization called the Assassins Guild, and, due to some incidents that few could remember, both groups were constantly at war with one another. There had been several attempts to form a lasting peace between the two but all had fallen through somehow or other.
This story about Serge the Large, however, was a somewhat silly one. It concerned Serge's legendary eating habits and his favorite meal. One of the other founders, Jean-Sebastian the Short, made a bet with Serge. He bet Serge that he couldn't steal a set of rare dishes during the mid-summer festival without stopping to sample some of the feast. Serge accepted the bet and prepared to steal the jewel encrusted dishes from under the nobles' noses as usual. The night of the feast Serge dressed in his best clothes and crashed the party. He passed himself off as some duke from a remote region of France and slowly worked his way to the room where the dishes were kept. The tables of food called out to him but because of the bet he passed on by until he spotted a basket of rich pastries. He was torn, 'liberate' these sweet pastries from the undeserving nobility and lose the bet, or pass them up and compete his mission.
For what seemed an eternity he stood indecisive as to what he should do, save the food or leave it? Then he had a brilliant idea on how to save the pastries and still keep up his part of the bet. Serge slid off to a side room and shed most of his fancy clothes, revealing servants attire that he wore beneath. He abandoned the fancy clothes; he could steal more when he needed them, and returned to the party as a common servant. He grabbed the large basket and continued his way to the treasure. True a few of the pastries were sacrificed to the noble scum but if he didn't let them take any he would be discovered. Serge slipped into the treasure room, took the dishes and buried them in the bottom of the basket, and headed back out to the kitchens. From the kitchens he slipped out through a back hallway and out of the building.
That night he met with Jean-Sebastian and delivered the expensive plates. When he learned of what Serge had done he was furious, Jean-Sebastian had been certain that he would win. But Jean-Sebastian kept his end of the deal and paid for all of Serge's meals for a week. Needless to say Jean-Sebastian had to do some extra thieving to pay for all of it. From that day on none of Serge friends ever doubted his word and never made a bet concerning food ever again.
At the conclusion of Henri's tale both Alice and Jean-Claude broke out in near hysterical and slightly drunken laughter. Remy smiled and applauded Henri who gave a half bow at the praise. Once the commotion died down Alice and Jean-Claude began to argue again as siblings tend to do and Henri watched the little show they put on. Remy appeared to be listening but he really was off in his own little world thinking of other things. He was mulling over the foreigners he had seen leaving the market and whether or not he should tell Henri about it.
Sometime around midnight Alice and Jean-Claude excused themselves and drunkenly staggered off the where ever they lived, leaving Remy and Henri alone. Gambit polished off his last glass of wine and made to leave as well but was stopped at a near invisible signal from Henri. His friend studied him for a long and tense moment before he spoke.
"[Alright Remy, something's bothering you, mind telling me what?]" Henri asked bluntly.
"[I think I saw some foreigners near the Bread Street market today.]" Gambit replied.
"[Why didn't you say something sooner?]" Henri inquired.
"[If I said something if front of Alice and Jean-Claude it would be all over the network in a matter of days and everyone would want to know about them, maybe even steal from them. Since I saw them first I hold priority and I'm very interested in them.]" Remy answered.
"[Yes, that's true, they would do that. Don't worry; I'll keep it to myself as much as I can. But I'm curious, besides the fact that they are foreigners, why do you find them so interesting?]" Henri asked.
"[I'm not quite sure what it is exactly, but something about them is different from everything I've ever seen. Who knows, they could even be Cursed like me. Whatever it is about them I want to know what it is.]" Remy explained
"[Go ahead then, just be careful alright?]" Henri warned.
"[Don't worry yourself about me Henri; I can take care of myself just fine. And if I find out anything interesting then you'll be the first to know.]" Gambit said with a smile to his friend and mentor.
The two men rose simultaneously and left the cozy tavern for their homes. They parted ways at the door, heading off in different directions. Henri was almost sober despite the wine and his step was sure and strong as he went off to the Guild headquarters. Remy made his way to his home a few streets down from the famous Notre Dame cathedral. As he entered his small room he wondered about those strange foreigners. Where had they come from? And what was their business here? Well he would find out soon enough, tomorrow he'd stake out the Black Fox and see what he could find out. And with that thought the Cursed master thief drifted off to sleep, haunted by dreams of his past.