Hundreds of years ago, the city of Kaskar was a very different place. Today it was a bustling commercial center, ruled by a great baron reigning under a distant King. Into the city came agricultural product - apples, carrots, potatoes, cabbages, honey, butchered cattle, sheep and goat, cheese - from both goats and cows - grapes, millet, wheat, bread butter, flour, and more. And other things came in to feed the appetites of the city - wood, iron, stone, clay, hides, leather, rope and more. Imports from distant lands could even find their way to the markets, though more rarely - olive oil, silks, jewels, spices and even exotic birds, brightly colored and capable of repeating back words, as if mimicing talking.

But in the days of the old Vilarian Empire, Kaskar was wholly different. Not a city dedicated to the consumption of raw materials and the production of finished goods. Not just a place for the buying and selling of goods. No, the city that was once here was dedicated to philosophy, theology and the theory of magic. The towering edifices of Goriavus had been a center of learning for hundreds, if not thousands of miles.

Of course, then General Delitid Kaskar had to come along and sack it, and for all their learning, the Vilarians couldn't hold him or his allies back. And so now Delitid's descendents run the place.

Julian Syrus was not a native of the city, but he'd given it extensive study before he'd come to it. Being born the nephew of the Guildmaster of the Thieves' Guild of the city of Torelos had given him wealth and training that few others would get. Starting just as a look out and then rising to pickpocket and eventually being able to pull his own jobs, Julian had spent his spare time in the study of history. He'd been curious about just why the Vilarian artifacts that he'd stolen from various wealthy collectors would sell for so much to the Guild's network of fences, which had led to his interest.

Finally though, he'd managed to get a real payoff, which was why he was here in Kaskar with a letter of introduction from his uncle to the head of the Guild here. The various Guilds in each city of the Kingdom were all distinct and independent of one another, but they all stayed in contact, plugged into the same black market that carried their stolen goods from thief to buyer.

Ducking down a side-alley, Julian looked carefully for the building he'd been told to look for. Finally, he found what looked like a run-down storage warehouse, at least three beggars (a least one of which had to be a guild lookout) within sight. At the west wall, Julian found, then tapped the stone his Uncle had mentioned, and slowly, the wall slid inward, revealing the flight of stairs that took him down into the headquarters of the Kaskar Thieves Guild, which doubled as a tavern in the front end for thieves to hang out in between jobs.

Felicia Windrose had holed up in a corner of the headquarters room. She had out a map and a few written notes from some sources that would normally have made for the perfect job for her. They were quick in and out jobs that would have given decent pay with the items listed, however Felicia had an urge for something more. She had never really given herself the opportunity to push her talents, which she had been told by her mentor many times that she had a natural talent for thieving thanks to her elven blood that made her both light footed and sure footed meaning that she was a naturally quick person and could disappear silently into the shadows when needed. The jobs that she was looking at though were just standard to her and provided no room to test her skills. She desired more of a challenge.

Giving a slightly aggravated groan, Felicia looked up from her notes her brows furrowed in frustration. Her hazel colored eyes flickered quickly to the entrance stairs as she watched an unknown man walk down the stairs. Rather than frustration now her face was filled with curiosity as her brows rose. She wasn't the only one, most members of the Guild were wary of new people especially if they arrived on their own. She wouldn't be surprised if he was met with some hostility, especially with some of the drinkers around here. Felicia herself wasn't as wary of new people as the others, but she did have reservations.

Tucking her notes away in a leather traveling bag, Felicia stood to her feet and moved quickly across the room before one of the others had a chance to get to the man. Coming to a stop in front of Julian she tipped her head slightly in greeting a slight smirk on her features. "Are you looking for someone sir?" She asked in a calm voice crossing her arms over her chest as she looked at him, thankfully she carried a rather calm aura and hoped that she wouldn't come off as hostile. Her eyes flickered briefly over to the others whose eyes remained on the stranger as well as herself now. Felicia didn't command much respect here, if fact some thieves still had their reservations about her, but she was at least known here. She hoped that if she approached it would lessen the hostilities since she was known for having strangers visit her to drop off things in the guild.

"I'm looking for the Guildmaster." Julian said, looking the woman over. It wasn't hard to tell that she was a half-elf - the look was telltale, even if Julian had never met a half-elf before, it wasn't that hard to tell. "I'm from the Torelos Guild." Reaching into his belt-pouch, he retrieved the letter of introduction. "I don't suppose you could tell me where I could find him?" Obviously he'd have to let someone other than the guildmaster actually open and read the letter before he actually got into a meeting with the Guildmaster, though he hoped it wouldn't be this person. She didn't seem like she was the kind of person to be a Guild Second or Third, at least not at the moment. Thieves certainly could change. But then, she might be the official greeting party, since she had come up and came to talk to him immediately, without any hesitation to do so. "I have a letter of introduction."

Felicia's eyes flickered to the letter curiously and then back to the man's face. Giving a slight nod she gestured for him to follow her. "I'll show you to the master's quarters, the high thieves will take care of you from there." She explained in a low tone to keep the attention at a minimum.

Felicia led the man to a short hallway that branched off a couple times on each side. Her right hand never visibly left the hilt of her dagger and her sharp ears listened intently in case the man had the intention of attacking her from behind, she also said nothing as they went. Turning down the last corridor on the left, Felicia came to a stop in front of a decorated oak wood door. She glanced back at Julian and gave a slight grin. "Here you are. Knock on the door and state your name and business, if they are expecting you then you should have no problems." With that she turned and walked back past him. Once out in the main hall again she pressed herself against the wall and listened carefully just in case the guy was a spy or assassin.

As Julian entered, he held up a hand in a nonthreatening position, and then retrieved the letter again, holding it out to them. There was no rule saying he had to come by here, except that there were two practical considerations. For one, this was beyond a doubt a two person job, so this was the best place to get help. Secondly, it was just good manners. Poaching from another Guild's turf was a surefire way to start problems. If you came, made the proper respects and promised them their due 3% cut of any take and then left after the job was done - or switched your status to being a member of the local guild - then things balanced out fairly well, at the end of the day.

One of the high thieves approached Julian as he entered. Looking to the letter, he took it and carefully read it over. Upon reading the signature of the man's uncle, the high thief bowed his head slightly as he recognized the last name. "Forgive the wait, we will see you in in just a moment." He said before his partner knocked on a second oak door that lead to another room and entered with the letter. It was only a minute longer before Julian was allowed to enter. Inside the room stood an older man reading over the letter, his midnight black hair was highlighted with just a hint of grey near the temples. He was of average height and as most of the older thieves he was in good physical condition from years of physical training. His clothing was that of an average thief as well a basic long sleeved undershirt with a fabric vest like shirt over it and a pair of black fabric pants. Over his clothing he wore a cloak that concealed his weapons of choice from view. His steel gray eyes calmly looked up to his visitor.
"Greetings Mr. Syrus. To what do I owe this visit?" The man asked calmly in a deep rumbling tone. The letter had a brief explanation but the Guildmaster required more information on the man's part. While he respected Julian's uncle he was still a cautious man.

---

Once Felicia heard no signs of a struggle or fight she decided that she was being overly cautious and moved back out to the tavern. Once back outside she sat down at a nearby table and put her face gently in her palm closing her eyes tiredly. It had been a long day of looking over plans and searching through notes to no avail.

"Well, I'm here for a singular job." Julian considered not telling them the target, but there really wasn't a point in not. As long as he didn't tell them how he planned to get inside, they could know all they wanted.

"I'm here on contract to steal the Baron Kaskar's statuette of Empress Kristina V." Which was in a way, true. The legendary platinium, gem-studded, exquisitely carved (and magically enchanted) statuette had been something people had been hiring the guilds to try and steal for over a century, but the Baron's defenss against theft were formidable. The contract had been kept on the books, even after the Guilds had largely given up on trying to get it, mostly as an object lesson to the newer thieves that there were some things they could not take. "Obviously, It would be poor form for me to not pay my respects to the local Guildmaster before starting. And of course, now you know you can hold me to receiving your cut of the take."

He knew that they would find him either mad or insanely arrogant, but he really didn't care. He could handle the baron's castle, now that he knew what he knew.

The Guildmaster raised a brow and the man as he spoke of his target. Every thief in Kaskar knew that the Baron's statuette was a fools mission, some of those who tried didn't come back alive either, but it was no business of his to interfere with Julian's plans and if the man wished to waste his time so be it. "I have no reason to look forward to that cut. I assume you know the history of the place or you have truly come here on a fool's mission. I will hold you to your word however if you can manage to do what none before you have, but you're pretty low on a long list of attempts Mr. Syrus." He looked at Julian sharply with his steel gray eyes as if to make a point that he had no reason to expect the man to return with the statuette. "Regardless feel free to use what resources you need here, just don't cause any unnecessary conflict if you can help it. Is there anything else you need of me?" the Guildmaster was a man who got straight to the point, he normally didn't have time for most pleasantries nor would he have normally met with anyone of another Guild he would have just passed the message on through his High Thieves, but Julian's uncle did command some respect from the Guildmaster of Kaskar.

"No, nothing." Julian gave a respectful nod and left the room, taking the letter back, in case anyone demanded to know who he was and what he was doing here. He put the letter into his pocket. He could tell the Guildmaster and his fellow High Thieves thought he was mad, or arrogant. And arrogant he was, yes, but mad, no. There was more to the world than the standard views of thievery. Vilar's legacy was not just artifacts and ruins above the ground, and Julian aimed to make use of that.

In the meantime, though, he was going to need some kind of accomplice. He ordered a beer and a sandwich, then sat down at a table, scoping the room out.

Felicia had repositioned herself at a different table within the tavern. She had debated scattering the scraps and quickly scrawled messages out again but decided against it since she was about done looking at them for the day. None of the leads and requests were what she was looking for really, they didn't fill her with that sense of excitement that she was yearning for, that similar rush that came from receiving your very first job and then completing it successfully. Her desire wasn't for fortune or money but to relive that thrill that seemed so long ago.

Glancing up the woman noticed Julian leave from the Guildmaster's room. Tilting her head slightly she was curious about the strange man and what he was doing here. Felicia debated approaching him since he seemed to have been welcomed by the master. Standing to her feet she stretched upwards before approaching the bartender, placing some gold on the table she ordered a shot of Dragon's Milk and downed it in a quick gulp. She slowly made her way over to Julian and sat down near him giving him a slight grin. "Are you staying in Kaskar for a bit now?" Felicia asked curiously as her gaze drifted around the room as well.

"That's the idea, yes." Julian replied to the half-elf that sat down nearby. Perhaps she wasn't an official 'greeter' (as it were), but just nosy. Or maybe she was keeping an eye on him for the Guildmaster. Both were possible, though he didn't think the latter was likely. Possibly just standard policy to keep an eye on visiting thieves - not a bad idea, all said and done, even given that he had a letter of introduction. The guilds may have worked together, largely, but there's no one to rob a thief like another thief. It had happened before, though usually only with thieves unaffiliated with any of the city-based guilds (something that did exist, despite the best efforts of all the guilds).

"Julian Syrus. You?"

She tipped her head in greeting as he offered up his name. She recognized the last name from somewhere but wasn't quite sure where or when she heard it. "Felicia Windrose. 'Tis a pleasure." she spoke in a neutral and non hostile tone. Really she was just curious about the man, not too many thieves visited their guild from outside of the city. Casting a glance back over to him, the woman observed him briefly before looking back around the room. Her favorite thing was to observe others because you could learn quite a bit from their body language, The man seemed to be looking around, as if he was observing others himself. However the faint narrowing of his eyes as he focused in on particular people before glancing around again hinted that perhaps he was looking for someone.
"You seem to be a people watcher. Is there anyone in particular that you're looking for? I don't know everyone but I might be able to point you in the right direction if you're looking for someone specific." she offered trying to be helpful despite not knowing much about Julian.

"Just looking around at the moment." Julian replied. Nosy indeed. "Is there a reason you care? I mean what, are you the official welcoming committee, or just some kind of really nosy person? I mean, nosiness and being a thief don't exactly go together, though they're not completely exclusive. Why does it matter to you what I'm up to? How about I turn the question back on you? What the heck are you up to? Protective of your own job that you're work on? Trust me, I have no interest in whatever small fry you're working on. Or what, are you trying to figure out what I'm up to so you can take my job - you have no chance of doing the job I'm working on, so just give up."

She issued a smirk and looked at the man as a chuckle escaped her. "Please, if I was even remotely concerned about you being interested in a target of mine I wouldn't have bothered talking to you. Of course just like most people here I prefer knowing what's going on in the area, so I have interest in you and possibly what ever "fantastic" job you may have." the word fantastic was laced with sarcasm as she arched her brow at the man. "Honestly though," Felicia stood up now and stared at him coolly, "I doubt whatever you're here for is worth my time anyways. I'm looking for real work, not some little kid's pretend thief game." and with that she turned on her heel and walked out of the tavern showing no more interest in the man.

Julian sat in the tavern that night, deep in thought. Two person jobs, needed two people. Finding a second person, though, was proving to be more difficult than he thought. Everyone he'd talked to hadn't been interested - he'd been vague, giving just an outline of the job, since he wouldn't tell anyone the specifics until they were on board...but everyone had said no. But several had reccomended someone. A certain, very annoying, Half-Elf.

Good Gods, the universe hates me.

(Sorry its short. In a rush IRL, but didn't want to keep you waiting even longer)

(It's no problem. Take the time that you need, I know I normally am not quick at responding myself ^.^; but sometimes the extra time for thought helps)

That night, once she had returned to her home Felicia swirled a small tumbler glass of whiskey as she sat in thought. She was still a bit irritated with Julian but let the feeling pass. Most people weren't use to a thief trying to be helpful, but Felicia had always been different in that regard. She smirked a bit as she sipped the drink, recalling that how her thieving life started had been a bit different as well. "Ah well, I can't let a temperamental man bother me, I need to focus on finding work and worrying about stupid things like that later. I doubt I'll run into him again anyway, he seemed pretty focused on his work, kind of how I should be." She commented to herself as she stood and stretched her back as it cracked slightly before downing the rest of her drink and deciding that she needed a good nights sleep for a change of pace.

After her morning routine the woman made her way back to the Thieves Guild, she was hoping that by some miracle someone had posted something on the wanted board requesting a second person. It was well beyond time for Felicia to step up her game and she needed to find someone to work with that could help her with that, not to mention she just didn't feel the same rush she had before when stealing making her think that maybe she had gotten into a routine. Entering the tavern from the back entry way, Felicia walked to the board and let her hazel colored gaze flicker over the few notes that were on the board. Most of them were requests for certain items needed for jobs but nothing of interest to her. Felicia sighed in mild irritation as she turned away from the board.

Julian was back in the tavern, wondering if he should go and apologize to her, or just go straight in. He took a sip of his water, watching the room. When Felicia entered, looking at the board, he rolled his eyes. From what everyone said, she was looking for some big score. Which was exactly what he had in mind, and on offer, but well, how was that going to go. Frankly, he was hoping that someone else would end up talking to her about his inquiries, so he wouldn't have to make the approach. He still maintained that she shouldn't have been so bloody nosy up front...

Regardless of that though, the entire situation was now somewhat unhelpfully screwy. Hey, yea, sorry about snapping at you yesterday...but I need your help. yes, that was totally going to help. He rolled his eyes and returned to his breakfast, looking around the room once more. leaving a leading note about a haul could work, but that would be pretty suspicious too....

Felicia gave a small sigh as she stepped away from the board. Her eyes flickered around before settling on a close friend who hadn't been back to the guild for a couple months. A grin crossed her face as she made her way over to the man, sitting down next to him she winked at him. "Hawk, it's been a while." She commented to the man.
"It has been a while sweetheart. Are you saying you missed me while I was gone?" Hawk asked smirking at her slightly with a knowing gaze.
"Heh, miss you? I would never miss you." Felicia responded with a grin at the man. Of course he knew she had missed him at least a little bit. Hawk gave a slight chuckle as he took a sip of his water growing quiet for a minute before leaning forward closer to Felicia.
"So sweetheart what are you up to? I hear that you're looking for bigger fish to fry for your next job." He murmured in a low tone to Felicia. She gave a small frown as he questioned her.
"Yeah... I'm looking for something bigger than what my normal jobs have been. I feel like things are getting a little stale for me so I'm looking to change it up, I'm looking for something...bigger." She murmured glancing at Hawk who nodded his head slightly in understanding.
"There was someone... an outsider who is looking for someone to work with. He's approached me and a few others about the job, but without knowing more about what I would be getting myself into and not to mention just getting back here I turned him down although..." Hawk smirked a bit as he gave a faint chuckle, his chocolate brown gaze looking directly at Felicia now, "I did mention you since you are a competent accomplice... heh you should have seen the look this guy gave me when I told him your name after I said I knew someone who would be interested. He murmured something along the lines of 'why of all people...what ridiculous luck' under his breath." A slight grin lifted the corner of his mouth as he chuckled again. Hawk had come to the conclusion that the man had already met Felicia but maybe not under good terms.
Felicia blinked her eyes as a wide smirk crossed her face and a mischievous look entered her gaze. She could really only think of one person who she had pissed off recently that was as Hawk put it an "outsider". Her eyes trailed across the room now, and when they found her target she gazed pointedly at Julian who was eating something at the moment. "Oh Hawk, what a friend you are. I owe ya a drink when I come back." She glanced at the man who blinked at her and shrugged slightly.
"Good luck sweetheart. Just remember that drink when you come back." He nodded his head as Felicia stood now.

The half-elf debated with herself as she moved across the room, she wondered if she should approach the man or just wait him out and make him approach her. She'd rather not loose the opportunity for work she was looking for but... being her normal self she liked to toy with guys occasionally. "Work first, games later... you need to keep making a living somehow." she mentally reminded herself as she walked past his table and sat down at one just off to his left giving him space since he seemed to dislike her curiosity last night, and this way if either of them wasn't interested it would be a quick escape from a conversation that might escalate. "I hope you don't plan on accusing me of being nosy again. I hear you're looking for a partner for this... job of yours." She spoke in a tone just loud enough for him to hear trying not to sound smug about his situation. Felicia didn't bother looking at the man as she spoke to him, drumming her fingers slightly impatiently on the wood table she sat at.

(I don't have any good excuse for my delay beyond the usual RL and no e-mail notifications [which wears thin :P ], so I'm just going to apologize and move on.)

Julian saw her talking to one of the men he'd approached, and returned to the notes he'd made on the underground tunnels that would get him - and probably, it was looking like, Felicia as well - into the Baron's manor. Well, not exactly into. They'd need to knock down a bit of wall to actually get into the man's basement. Whoever had built the manor had had the brains to wall off the old tunnel network, even if now a days no one seemed to remember its existence. The next hat trick would be getting inside. There were three possible entrances that he'd been able to find. One, the sewers, would be the most direct, but it would require going down through three levels of sewer to get there, and he very much didn't want to spend hours on end smelling like shit. Call him vain, but he just didn't find the concept particularly appealing.

The second option was through one of the old aqueducts, dating back to the old Empire. Unfortunately, the old aqueducts were pretty public, and getting up into one and then climbing down within one into the undertunnels was not something that could be done at night, and if done at day, would draw far too much attention. That undermined everything he was trying to achieve, so that was out.

What that left was a lovely little detour through the Mausoleum of Tyrants. In the oldest days, even before the Empire had ruled here, the local city had been ruled by a series of military tyrants, all of them buied in that ancient mausoleum. Near as he could tell, that was the best access point into the under tunnels. Unfortuantely, the place was rumored to be haunted, and by all accounts, actually was. The walking or haunting dead within couldn't come out of there, due to the nature of the Mausoleum's construction and ancient wards built into the site, but that wouldn't make things any more fun traveling through it.

Julian looked up at Felicia, frowning in annoyance as she spoke. He forced himself to drop the frown, his expression professional and businesslike. "Its a two person job. Its always been a two person job. So yes, I'm looking for someone else."

((Heh no problem. I like to rp, so pretty much if you get around to making a reply I'm fairly happy. Also I'm sorry the reply isn't that long.))
Felicia didn't notice his look of annoyance, mostly because she still hadn't bothered to make eye contact with the man. While she could see him out of the corner of her eye she simply listened to his explanation which was came in a rather professional sounding tone. Sighing slightly Felicia was still debating with herself about the man, while he hadn't gotten under her skin the last time they spoke she wondered just how well they could work together. "So let's say that I'm interested in the job. Would you just let me help you, or do I need to do something to prove that I would be a good fit for this job?" She finally decided to make eye contact now as she spoke, showing that she was indeed at least interested. Now the real question was did Julian want her assistance. Felicia wouldn't apologize for her personality that had apparently irritated the man yesterday, she wasn't going to apologize for acting like herself and if he couldn't accept that then it probably wouldn't work out between the two.