I wanted to do good, but something stayed with me that night, a darkness that would consume me. I travelled for many years after that night, stealing what I wanted when I wasn't taking various jobs, bounties or assassination contracts. At first I was paid mostly in coin, but I quickly came to find, that dealing in favours was much more lucrative. People owing me favors came in more handy than any coin they could offer, mainly because I could usually talk them into giving or doing more for me than the original coin cost of the contract. I had become used to the dance, like a well oiled machine, I would show up and initially waive the payment, and then ask for a favor in the future. Most people were always ecstatic to take me up on that offer, after all, what I could possibly ask for as a loner, then I'd do the job and bring the proof. They would smile and laugh, never knowing just what they had agreed to, but I would always come to collect and sometimes they would be reluctant until I revealed some truths that made it impossible to say no, or if they did, they'd pay the penalty. Missing fingers, toes, a tongue, loved ones, possessions, and that's if I was being generous.
I had taken a job like any other, steal some family heirlooms from the king and queen of the nearby nation, nothing I hadn't done before. Smooth was an understatement that night, I had slipped through security and disabled the alarms and traps before me, I was set to be in and out before midnight. Maybe if I had paid an ounce more attention, I would have noticed it was too easy; I hadn't seen a guard since I got through the gate and the traps were too easy to find, I thought it was a case of arrogant royalty, I had never been more wrong. I was slithering around the edge of the court yard when the ground opened up beneath me, I grabbed for something, anything to get me out of here, but my hands swam through the empty air around me as I fell. The fall turned into a slide as the greased walls left me accelerating further down into the darkness below. The uncontrollable slide came to an end after almost a full minute, how far had I fallen, it was impossible to tell with the twists and turns, thankfully the drop out of the tunnel above was only about thirty feet off the ground; I tucked an rolled as my feet touched the tiles beneath me, tumbling into a mound of flesh.
It took me a second to catch my bearings as I stumbled to my feet, eyes adjusting to the darkness, just in time to see the outline of a hulking behemoth of a creature just on the other side of the pile I slid into moments before. I stopped breathing and dropped to a crouching position, biding my time as I waited to see if my entry had stirred the creature. After forty five seconds of a still room, minus the sound of the creatures steady breathing, I slowly let the air from my lungs; casting spells would be impossible without waking the creature, so I began to softly maneuver my feet across the tiles. Silent as could be, I managed to make my way around to a metal door; I tried the handle just a smidge as it creaked lowly but didn't open. My head snapped around and found the giant beast still asleep. I couldn't afford that much noise again, I slipped my tools out of a leather case and quietly opened my grease bag, lathering the tools in just enough to soundlessly fiddle with the locking mechanism in the door. Less than fifteen seconds later and I had the lock open, but if the lock and handle had been this noisy, what about the door hinges, they were probably just as bad, so I greased them the best I could with the small amount left in the bag. I managed to shimmy the door open noiselessly, but then my senses were ambushed by the scent of hot seasonings; no sooner had my nostrils been assaulted and I wretched voiceless, than had the monster waken from it's sleep. It was quick, too quick for something its size, and it was on its feet barreling towards me in an instant. I stammered around the open door and had just reached the otherside when the door slammed me forward into the wall across the way. I sat up in the darkness and shook my head, gathering myself; I realised the monster was growling and barking on the other side of the vehemently shaking door. They had anticipated someone potentially escaping, what else could be awaiting me. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was cornered by something else that had heard the commotion happening down here. I jolted to my feet and sprinted down long corridors, I had no idea where I was headed, but it didn't matter, any direction that would put me as far from that thing as possible and hopefully I'd find a way out simultaneously. After hours of running and hiding, this dungeon had beaten me, I collapsed from exhaustion and just prayed I wouldn't be taken back there and turned into food.
Groggy, my eyes flitted open and closed several times before adjusting to the light of the room I now found myself in. Trying to lift myself from the ground, I snapped to my senses as the pain of handcuffs dug into my wrists and I threw my weight to sit up. Pushing myself into a nearby wall, I was in a circular room, about forty feet in diameter and a height of just over twelve feet. A small table, just big enough for one person on any given side, sat in the middle of the back half the room, a chandelier hanging dead center was the only light source. Allowing whomever sat closest to light to remain partially obscured. Two chairs on either side, one covered in dried blood with minute pieces of previous prisoners tissue still clinging to it in places. Opposite the table and chairs was a singular wooden door with arcane runes branded into it, I assumed this meant it was magically protected. Using the wall, I pushed to my feet and began to walk the perimeter of the room. I found places it looked like others had tried digging or blasting their way out, only to find steel about six inches into the earth.
After making two passes by the door, a low, silky voice rang out in the room, "Maybe you'd like to join me at the table so we can talk?" I nearly gave myself whiplash, I spun so fast, there standing next to the bloodied chair, a man stood, roughly six feet tall and dressed in all black, his hair grey. When had he entered, I didn't hear the door open or shut, and he definitely wasn't there when I woke up. I cautiously circled until I was opposite him at the table. He gave off an aura of confidence and malice I had seldom felt in my travels, but never quite like this; I spoke carefully as I took a seat, "What would you like to talk about?" The man touched the chair before him and the blood stains evaporated, then he sat and leaned over the table, his velvet voice filling my ears again, "Well Lucian, I'd like to offer you a way out of here." I flinched hearing my own name. Instinctively I opened my mouth to question where he had learned it, but a quick read of his face, told me two things, one, he'd never tell me, and two, right now, that was the last thing I should be worried about given our positions, so instead, attempting to lean back as best I could, I questioned, "What's your offer?" He smirks, it sends a weird shiver down my spine, as he begins, "Introduction first, my name is Damien. I've been watching you for some time and find myself in need of your particular set of abilities. The way you move through the shadows, with or without magic, and the ease with which you carry out the most heinous of crimes," he gives an unsettling grin, "it's just what I've been looking for." Damien waves his hand over the table and a contract appears before me, "The way I see it, you have two options here. Either sign the contract and agree to work for me, earning yourself unimaginable power and wealth, anything your heart desires, in exchange, you do any job I require of you and work with whomever I so choose, should I choose. No pay, no requests, no favors, just taking on the jobs I give you." I grit my teeth, holding down a growl in my throat as I hiss back, "Or?" Damien's grin turns into a awfully gleeful smile, "Or I leave you here and the royal guards will get to do as they please with you with no possible way for you to escape." As he finished his statement, voices came from beyond the door as the handle jiggled violently, "Hey, who locked this door? The key isn't working; quick, someone get the archmage down here immediately!" Damien had me, he knew it, I knew it, defeated I sighed, "Fine, if working for you means getting out of here, I'll do it." Damien threw a finger forward and a quill appeared before me as my restraints vanished and he continued, "Good, sign on the line at the bottom and we'll shake on it." I quickly sign and reach my hand out, gripping his, a surge of dark magic runs through me as a weird marking sears itself into me and we're swallowed by darkness.
Appearing near some woods, Damien lets my hand go and quickly turns to a group of people who had seemingly been waiting on us. "Gentlemen, this is Lucian Nailo. He'll be joining our group from here on out. Please make him feel welcome!" He motions towards me with one arm and quickly disapparates before us. The other three quickly give their names before giving me a rundown of today's mission; it seems they were all here on the same terms as me. My new path, a wrong one, one I had to find a way to deal with, but in the mean time, I'd have to come to rely on this team, no matter how little we each knew each other. Our first mission together, look into this monastery hidden deep within the forest.