Arganis could only watch in despair as Brenden dropped a chest in front of the assembled council. Judging from the gasps it elicited, they were well aware of what was contained with in. The ornate carvings and the three heavy and overcomplicated locks were all the evidence they needed.
Icthia, the leader of the Waverunners, leaned forward in her seat, arm hanging in midair as if she wanted to caress the box but wasn't quite able to bring herself to close the gap.
"Is that...Is that what I think it is?" She muttered, almost under her breath.
To answer her question, Brenden flicked the lid open and revealed a magnificent set of treasures.
First was an elaborate crown inlaid with all sorts of precious gemstones and enchanted to emit a continuous, soft, golden light. Next was a scepter, seemingly carved from a single piece of obsidian and etched with silver scrollwork, which glimmered faintly in the light of the room's torches. Finally, there was a crystal orb bearing the insignia of Almir, and encircled with bands of platinum. A cold, purple flame seemed to be frozen within its depths.
According to legend, these three items, the Crown Jewels of Almir, carried powerful enchantments that gave their rightful bearer the power to command the nation. What each of them did was not well known, but they were rumored to be Tier 4 magic items, at the very least. Any one of them would be worth hundreds of thousands of gold pieces to the right buyer, if not more.
Of course, Arganis had only intended to make use of them for purpose of the challenge. Selling any of them would have painted a target on his back so large, that he would be lucky to survive a week once the word got out. Which was why he'd always planned on making sure that Royal Palace wouldn't have even noticed that they had been stolen.
[How in the hell did he manage it?] He fumed to himself, furious that his carefully laid scheme had been upended so easily.
He'd originally intended to make use of connections in the Royal Palace. Connections that he'd been cultivating for years for this exact purpose. A few of the corrupt officials were placed highly enough to have access to the crown jewels, and could facilitate their removal with only moderate difficulty.
He'd even gone so far as to prepare replicas which superficially resembled the items. They would not have withstood close scrutiny, but they should have been sufficient to buy him the time necessary for winning the contest. Afterwards, he could simply swap them back, leaving none the wiser.
With decoys prepared, and a fortune in bribes spent, everything should have been laid out perfectly. It should have been an easy job.
Yet, how could he have anticipated Brenden getting the jump on him in the most unexpected way?
Somehow, the upstart got the royal family itself to move the jewels before Arganis had the chance to steal them. According to his contacts, the Royal Guard had received a tip that thieves were targeting the jewels, and they had taken charge of securing them. Part of this involved moving the chest containing them to an undisclosed location under the strictest security.
Arganis was still scrambling to find out where they had been relocated to, when word of this meeting had been announced. Somehow, Brenden had snagged the prize from the most dangerous guards in the country in a ridiculously short span of time.
It didn't make sense. Even the greatest of thieves would be hard pressed to bypass a dedicated force of Tier 3 fighters. Especially since it wasn't clear where they were moving the jewels to. Quite simply, it should have been impossible. Unless...unless this was all part of his plan.
[It couldn't be...could it?]
There was a well known tactic in the underworld, where a thief would warn their potential targets of their intentions, causing the victims to respond in a predictable way. The goal was to have them act in a manner that could be taken advantage of at the right time. It was a methodology used in circumstances where standard practices would be insufficient, but it had the downside of being extremely risky. After all, there was no guarantee that the victim would follow your script.
Not to mention the fact that such a strategy was rarely used against extremely high value targets, such as national treasures, due to the simple fact that they were usually too well protected for this method to do much more than increase the difficulty of stealing them.
In fact, Arganis had actually considered the strategy while planning his theft of the crown jewels. However, he'd quickly dismissed it as counter productive, instead focusing on the much more reasonable route of long-term corruption of palace officials.
[There were so many risk factors involved, so much uncertainty, it shouldn't have been doable. Ye, somehow he managed it. Even with short amount of time since the start of the challenge, he was able to plan and implement a strategy that had the royal family of Almir dancing in the palm of his hands.]
Arganis stared at the young beastman, feeling mixed emotions. This was the first time he'd been so completely upstaged, so sorely beaten in the area of his supposed expertise. The loss was so complete that he had a hard time even being upset about it. Indeed, a sense of admiration was quickly settling in his heart.
[I guess he really is the King of Thieves.]
If that was true, and he was quite certain of it now, then there was only one thing left to do.
-----------------------------------------------
"This is incredible! How did you do it?" Icthia asked excitedly. The leader of the Waverunners had been hovering around the chest, but had not yet touched it. She almost seemed afraid to come in contact with it.
[Well, I just used our connections with House Vamith to get an audience with Princess Andrea. From there it was simply a matter of convincing her that these jewels were critical to the war effort, and that I would make sure they were returned in short order.] Brenden thought to himself.
He was still surprised that this had worked, but it had proven quite easy. Simply mentioning that the jewels would help Mike in his efforts to defend the country had the princess jumping into action. In a matter of minutes, one of the Royal Guards was grudgingly handing him the chest, along with a sack meant to disguise it, and he was sent on his way with nothing more than a few admonitions about keeping the jewels safe.
Idly, he wondered if it might have been a bad idea to show them off in a room full of professional criminals, but didn't really see any other way to go about it.
[Well, if they end up stolen or damaged, I can just let Mike take the fall. Considering how the princess feels about him, I'm sure he'll be forgiven easily enough.]
Dismissing the thought, Brenden gave Icthia a cryptic smile. "I have my ways."
"Stingy!" Came the response, but anything else was cut off as a brown robed figure stood and motioned for silence.
"In light of these accomplishments, I believe it is time for us to make our decision. By my authority as the Abbot of the Brotherhood of the Ancient and Most Salubrious Art of Fishmongery, I move to recognize Brenden as the Shadow Ruler of Almirn. Additionally, I suggest we proclaim him as the official successor of the King of Thieves." The man announced in the bored tone of someone reading their grocery list.
"Seconded." Icthia commented with a raised hand.
"All in favor?"
Every gang leader raised their hands.
"All opposed?"
No one moved.
The brown robed man bowed to the table. "Then, by the ancient bylaws of this organization I humbly announce the ascension of King Brenden. Long and hidden may his reign be."
This statement was met with raucous cheering from everyone in attendance, which continued until the man motioned for silence once more. "Now, let us engage in the ceremonial feasting and knife fighting."
[Okay, this has gone on long enough.]
Brenden stood, and then jumped up onto the table. "There will be time for parties later. For now, we something more important to deal with."
He waited until silence had descended, and all eyes were turned towards him. "As you should all be aware, a massive army of the undead is threatening to destroy this country. A coalition force, drawn from all corners of the central continent, is currently opposing them, but they are badly outnumbered."
This elicited concerned muttering from the assembled thieves. Evidently, they had been somewhat aware of the circumstances, but not quite the extent of the issue.
Pitching his voice deeper, in what he hoped was a regal manner, Brenden continued, "I will not speak of duty or obligation, as we are criminals and such things mean little to us. Instead, I hope to draw your attention to the simple fact of survival. Those of you who have lived on the streets, and fought tooth and nail for something as simple as a crust of bread, will be aware of just how valuable life truly is. Yet, that life is now being threatened by a powerful enemy. One that will not stop until they have killed every living being in their path."
He paused for dramatic effect, and was gratified to see that every person in the room was hanging on his words. Raising his right hand as if to reach out towards the crowd, he spoke again, "Once this meeting is concluded, I intend to march in support of the coalition army, along with anyone that would follow me. With our combined might, we will crush the undead menace and safeguard the future of this country. More importantly, though, we will ensure the survival of the millions of men, women, and children that call this continent home!"
Sensing that the mood of the crowd had become more solemn, he felt it was time to try his luck. "Now, who will stand with me?"
For a long moment, only silence reigned, as the criminals in attendance looked at each other uncertainly.
[Crap, I think I miscalculated...]
It was to be expected, after all. This particular lifestyle didn't attract the kind of people who would voluntarily face an overwhelming enemy without a strong enough incentive. He was opening his mouth to add further encouragement, when a familiar pair of white rabbit ears broke through the crowd.
Elaine hopped up onto the table with an arm raised. "Count me in! I'll follow you anywhere, Your Highness!"
Brenden resisted the urge to smack the girl. The battlefield was no place for someone that had trouble with basic Arbitration matches. He was just about to tell her so, when another hand went up. This one belonging to another unlikely volunteer.
"I stand with you, King of Thieves." Arganis announced seriously, all hints of arrogance gone from his tone. In their place was a look of such profound respect that it actually unsettled Brenden a little. "I also pledge myself to your service. From this day onwards, I will do my utmost to follow your commands and bring glory to your house."
Before Brenden even had a chance to respond to this strange change of heart, other members of the council began stepping forward and announcing something similar. Pretty soon, everyone in the room was swearing to serve the new King of Thieves.
Once they were finished, silence reigned for a short moment before, as if by some unspoken signal, the various gang leaders began giving commands to their followers. From the sounds of it, all of them were preparing to gather their fighters and follow him out of the city.
[Hm, I can't tell if this is a good development or not.] He thought to himself while observing the chaos. [At least I got them moving, I guess.]
It was only after a few moments that he realized Elaine had taken the opportunity to escape while he was distracted. Resolving to give the girl a solid talking to when he found her again, Brenden stalked out of the room with the crown jewels slung under one arm.
Much to his chagrin, his path to the door was quickly lined with supplicating criminals.