The assassin gripped his medal tight. He was about to show his parents that he had finally achieved his goal. He made the second job advancement. Running down the streets of Ellinia he had a grin on his face as he sprinted towards his house.

He stopped dead in his tracks. On the spot where his house was supposed to be lay a smoldering ruin. His old house, once majestic and huge was all gone. What was left there was just bricks and rubble. My parents, my family, what happened, why…….

He squatted down and cried. Who would be so heartless to wipe out his whole family? From what he had learnt by asking the fairies around Ellinia, there was a fire two weeks ago which burnt the whole house down at night. That fire had raged for many days before it got extinguished. No one knew how the fire came about.

He slammed his fist against the ground. I ran away from home two years ago to train to be a thief, my dad was a luckless mage while my mum, a priest. I always wondered how my dad could stand being so inferior to my mum. My parents refused to let me become a thief, but I had always felt drawn to that particular job. I left them a letter promising to return the moment I advanced to the second job. But now, they are gone.

He stood up and walked towards the ruins. He could see that the area had been sealed off, due to the wishes of Grendel the Really Old who wanted it to remain like that till their child returned. Being his parents' only child, the whole burnt area was his. He looked around, hoping to find any belonging of his parents to keep with him, as a memento.

It was then did he see it. A dark pireta hat.