James slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed in a small room. James sat up and looked at his surroundings. There was a candle on a nearby table providing a small amount of light to the room. "Is this where Scuttle lives?" James stood up and checked his wound. It was already scabbing and healing. James sighed, "I really fucked up last night. I don't know whether to say I was lucky or unlucky. I'm still 50 energy units short of what I need. I'm going to have to get Hood-Rat to get me that third key. I'll also need to buy more rope. I'll need it to scale the walls of the third target."
*Creak* A creaking sound echoed in the room. James turned to look at the door and saw Scuttle walk in. He spoke, "Come with me." Then he turned around and exited the room. James hurriedly followed him. "Hey, Scuttle. Where are we going?" Scuttle responded, "No questions. Just keep quiet and follow me."
James and Scuttle walked through several dark tunnels. Torches lined the walls. They arrived at a door and entered a large room. James looked around the room and saw a bunch of young kids between the ages of nine and fifteen. Some of the kids had their faces covered by cloaks or helmets. There were several shelves and desks in the room. The shelves had weapons, books, and other objects displayed on them. The desks were covered in papers and most were occupied by kids. James saw Hood-Rat sitting at one and he seemed to be extremely focused on the papers in front of him.
Scuttle led James across the room to another door. He knocked. A feminine voice yelled, "Come in!" James entered the room alone while Scuttle waited outside the closed door. A woman could be seen sitting behind a large desk. She wore a dark red magus robe that had black trim along the seams. She also wore a large metal helmet that matched the robes. Her hands and arms were completely covered by black gloves. The only visible part of her body were the glowing red eyes that could be seen through her helmet slit.
The woman spoke, "I am the head of the Sea Salt City Thieves Guild. You may call be me Boss." James didn't know why but he felt fear when he looked into the growing red eyes. He nodded, "Okay… Boss. Was there a reason you wanted to meet with me?" Boss crossed one leg over the other. Then she rested her helmet-covered head on her right hand. She spoke, "We searched your body. You had the two keys Hood-Rat sold to James Dawn. You also found Scuttle and told him your name was James before passing out. Additionally…" Boss lifted a sheet of parchment paper from the table and showed it to James, "A new wanted poster was issued last night."
James looked at the poster. It had both his current appearance and his Drake Kingdom common soldier uniform appearance on it. It read, "Wanted! James Dawn. Wanted alive for public indecency, burglary, and assault. He has the ability to change between the two appearances pictured above. Unknown if he has other appearances."
James sighed when he saw the poster, "My life is going to be a pain in the ass from now on. It's going to be much harder to pull off the next heist." James questioned Boss, "So what do you want by showing me all this?" Boss looked James in the eyes, "I might want to hire you." Boss's red eyes glowed even brighter, "Tell me the truth. Can you change your appearance into more than just the two shown on the wanted poser?"
James hesitated. He didn't want to expose his ability, but it was more or less already exposed for the entire city to know. James had friends in the Thieves Guild and had already acted as their customer previously. James closed his eyes and thought to himself, "I'm already exposed. I can't use my original appearance or common soldier uniform appearance again. I could make a new uniform, but I don't have much time before the academy begins recruitment. I don't want to wait another year. The Thieves Guild could help me get the funds I need for my system energy. They would also serve as a backer. The guild itself isn't very strong but clearly the woman in front of me is. Should I trust them?"
James opened his eyes. The red glow from Boss's eyes made him feel increasingly uncomfortable. He spoke, "I have the potential to take on other appearances but it's extremely expensive. Boss nodded and replied, "Can you disguise yourself as a Sea Salt City Academy student? If yes, then what would be the cost?" James eyes widened in surprise, "Eh? You want me to join the academy? I was already planning on doing that. What do you want from the academy?" Boss responded, "I have two reasons I want you to join. The first is intelligence. I have no people stationed there despite it being a valuable location for intel. The guild does more than buy and sell stolen goods. Information is extremely expensive, and nobles are willing to pay top gold for what they need. Unfortunately, all the guild members I've recruited so far failed the academy entrance exam. The second reason is that I need stronger subordinates. I've just started the guild and I've only managed to recruit young men and women of ordinary backgrounds. I could recruit older experts, but they wouldn't be trustworthy. So, as you can see, sending you to the academy is killing two birds with one stone."
James nodded. He thought to himself, "I might as well join. I have nothing to lose at this point. However, if I'm going to join then I'm going to take advantage of them! How can I call myself a thief if I don't squeeze as many benefits as I can out of this?!" James smiled and spoke, "I can disguise myself as an academy student and attempt to sneak in. However, I cannot guarantee they'll let me in. I'll look the part and have the uniform they wear, but I don't know how strictly they check people."
Boss nodded, "You should be fine then. Their academy uniforms act as a key and they only work for the uniform owner. It's impossible to enter the academy grounds without a uniform or a teacher leading you in. The mana barrier over the academy can block a 9th grade magus for a short period of time. It's unlikely anyone would suspect you once you make it inside. You're sure you can get your hands on a legit uniform? I've tried several times before and have had no success." James nodded, "I'm sure." Boss chuckled, "Good!" Her eyes glowed brightly again, and she spoke, "Now tell me what it would cost!"
James felt pressure every time Boss's eyes glowed. He almost responded with the honest answer but managed to stop himself from doing so. He spoke, "It will cost 1,500 gold coins. Give me that and I can get in. For the record, that is just your upfront cost. If you expect any intelligence reports or assign me any missions, then I expect compensation for those as well."
James was surprised to see Boss quickly nod in agreement. She didn't seem concerned about the price he named at all. Boss opened her drawer and grabbed a small pouch. She opened it and pointed a ring on her gloved finger at the pouch. A bunch of gold coins fell straight into the pouch, but it didn't get any bigger. Boss threw the pouch to James and spoke, "1,500 gold coins. The interdimensional pouch is a gift. It can only hold 1000 cubic feet of non-living objects. It should be worth around 10,000 gold."
(Note from author: 1,000 cubic feet is a box that is 10' x 10' x 10'! I had to look up how cubic feet work!)
James responded in shock, "10,000 gold!? Then how much would that ring you're wearing be worth?" Boss laughed, "My ring can hold 1,000,000 cubic feet. It can't be bought with just money." Boss pulled an object out of her other drawer. It was a round black stone. She passed it to James and spoke, "I'll need you to swear an oath on a beholder stone. Don't worry, the restrictions are very loose. Repeat after me."
James placed the stone up to his forehead and spoke, "I swear that I will not reveal the location of the thieves' guild to outsiders. Nor will I reveal the identities of any members." Black smoky tentacles and a big eye appeared on the stone. A tentacle reached into James forehead. A voice boomed, "The oath has been made! If ye break it then death awaits!" The eye slowly closed, and the tentacles disappeared. James was surprised. He could still vaguely feel the smoke in his head. It didn't really bother him but previously he had sworn oaths and the smoke immediately vanished afterwards.
Boss noticed James confused look and spoke, "Is it your first time taking a beholder oath? Once an oath is made the smoke stays in your head. If the oath is broken, then it will kill you. If your oath is ever completed, then the smoke will dissipate. In this case the oath has no conditions for expiration, so you'll just need to get used to it."
James realized the issue. Previously when he swore an oath all he did was swear that he did not do something. The 'oath' was finished immediately and so the smoke dissipated. James questioned Boss, "Why don't you just recruit strong experts and make them swear oaths that they can't betray the guild?" Boss laughed in response, "Most experts wouldn't agree to such an oath. People prefer loose oaths that don't restrict them like the one I just had you make. Besides, beholder oaths are not all-powerful. There are ways to break them. These methods are rare and expensive but plenty of organizations have met their downfall due to overconfidence in beholder oaths. That's why the oath I gave you and the other members is so simple. It wouldn't be worth the cost to break the oath. I also build loyalty by treating my members well."
James looked at the interdimensional pouch in his hand and nodded. It was true that she had been extremely generous. If she had wanted to then she could have easily forced him to swear an oath of loyalty. If he refused, then she could've torture him until he changed his mind or died. James thanked Boss and left the room.
James entered the big room from earlier. He looked inside his interdimensional pouch. He saw 1,500 gold coins. There was also a black cloak. James tried on the cloak and he could tell it was high-quality. Scuttle had been waiting outside the door and watched James try on the cloak. He spoke, "Since you have the cloak then I guess you've officially joined now. The cloak is our symbol so make sure not to lose it. We call this big room the central office. Follow me. I want to show you something."
Scuttle led James into another room. James looked around and saw they were now in the bathroom. James spoke, "Scuttle… I'm not into men. If you need to go to the bathroom, I'll just wait outside." Scuttle snorted, "Stop joking around and look in the mirror." James turned his head and saw his thin body. However, his face was completely blurred by a black shadow! James questioned, "What is this?" Scuttle smiled, "The cloak is an artifact. I'm not sure who makes them, but they use some type of dark spell to shroud the face. If you look closely you can see fragments of a dark magic-beast core embedded within the hood. James looked carefully and saw small triangular fragments embedded throughout the inner hood of the cloak. The fragments were connected together by some thin silver thread that made a strange symbol that looked like a swirl.
James took off the cloak and put it back in the pouch. Scuttle led James out of the bathroom and down a long hallway. At the end there were several rooms. They reached the very back and Scuttle opened a door. "This will be your room. It's up to you whether you choose to use it or not." Scuttle walked over to the back wall and pushed his hand against a blank spot on the wall. The wall shifted in and the stone wall slowly turned to reveal a passageway. "This is a hidden escape tunnel. Every room has one and they all join together leading towards a single exit. Remember where to press the wall just in case you ever need it. Anything else you need before I go?" James shook his head. Scuttle walked towards the door and laughed, "I was shocked when I learned you were the James I already knew. Everyone else knows about it as well, just so you know."
James left the room and headed for the central office. He saw Hood-Rat sitting at a desk. He was no longer buried in his work and was taking a break. James walked over and spoke, "Yo! Hood-Rat!" Hood-Rat turned to look at James and smiled, "James! My favorite customer! How am I going to make any money now that you've joined the guild as well?" James laughed, "Actually, I might have some big business for you, but I need you to swear an oath not to reveal it. Do you have access to a beholder stone?"
Hood-Rat stood up and walked over to a nearby shelf. He grabbed a black stone off it and walked back to James. "This beholder stone is available for all guild members. What do you need?" James nodded, "I need you to purchase some goods in bulk for me. I have three conditions. First, you will not reveal the goods you acquire or who you acquired them for to anyone. Second, if you figure out any of my secrets from the goods I need, then you will not reveal them to anyone. Third, you will not steal the funds I'm providing."
Hood-Rat questioned. "How much is the pay?" James shook his head, "I'll reveal it after you swear the oath. Worst case scenario is you quit the job and neither of us loses anything." Hood-Rat agreed and used the beholder stone to swear the oath. James then led Hood-Rat to his room, so they could discuss the issue in private. James took out his interdimensional storage pouch and dumped all 1,500 gold coins on the floor.
Hood-Rats eyes widened, "Where did you get so much gold? Is that an interdimensional pouch?! Holy crap! I've never seen one before!" James was surprised for a second. He thought to himself, "It would appear Boss doesn't treat everyone equally. It makes sense though. I have a particularly valuable skillset she needs." James rubbed his eyes and the system appeared. He used it to equip the Drake Kingdom common soldier uniform. James height grew, his hair turned red, and his skin got darker. He pointed to the chainmail uniform that appeared on his body, "I need 150 sets of armor equivalent to what I'm wearing now. Alternatively, you can get me 15 suits of better-quality platebody armor. In either case the set must include a helmet, chest armor, and leg armor. It also requires either a shield, a weapon, or armored boots and gloves. So, a helmet, chainmail, platelegs, and a sword would make up one set. Likewise, a helmet, platebody, platelegs, and armored boots and gloves would also make up one set. You can mix and match as well. For example, you could bring me 4 sets of better-quality platebody suits of armor with 110 sets of lower-quality chainmail armor.
Hood-Rat nodded, "I understand. I've never done a job this big before, but it should be fairly easy. All of that can be acquired without leaving the city. So, what's the pay?" James smiled, "The 1,500 gold coins is the pay. I don't care how you acquire the goods. Steal them. Buy them. Go graverobbing. Whatever is left of the gold at the end is yours to keep. The time-limit is four weeks."
Hood-Rat quickly agreed to the deal. Even if he bought everything the normal way he could earn a few gold coins. However, he would definitely use other sources as well! Stolen goods were usually sold at a large discount. A bulk buyer like James that offered full price was every thief's dream! Hood-Rat questioned James, "Can I borrow the interdimensional pouch as well? If I want to keep the goods I buy secret, then I'll need to handle everything personally. I need a way to carry the goods and the gold." James nodded, "That's fine but you'll need to swear an oath to return it in four weeks." Hood-Rat borrowed the beholder stone from the central office and swore the oath. Then he left with the interdimensional pouch and coins.
James used the system to revert to his original appearance. Then he laid down on his bed with his hands behind his head. He used his new guild cloak as a blanket. James muttered, "Four weeks until I join the academy. I'm going to have far more energy units than I originally planned on. I wonder what else I should buy?"