"Come in. Mishkal! Good. How are you doing? Would you care for something to drink? Tea, perhaps?" Lord Tahnit said as I entered the room. I think, seeing him everyday, I never really noticed how his "business" was wearing on him, but now as I saw him, it was rather obvious. Not that he looked that bad, or older, just worn and tired. I had a hard time imagining what it was he was putting himself through, or why.

"Tea would be fine, thank you."

"Well, I'm sure you can guess why I summoned you. I have a bit of a job for you coming soon. In the meantime, I want to test you out a bit, make sure everything's in order as far as your training. I'll give you some background now, though, since there's time.

"There's some farmland to the east of The City, quite a bit of it actually. The man who originally owned it has recently passed away, which is most unfortunate. See, I had been negotiating a deal to buy the land from him. We had some common friends, and it was going to be a rather exclusive deal. With him gone, however, his survivors, mainly his widow and eldest son, are putting the land up for general sale. Although I can't blame them for wanting to get the best price, it still pains me to see a deal that was almost in ink go without a consideration; my bid will be weighed like any other."

"Is there something special about this land?"

"Ah. I was just going to get to that. Yes, there is. It is still quite fertile, not just fertile, but of the proper consistency for some of the more exotic crops that I normally have to ship in. In fact, I need only get a certain type of fertilizer to have the ground bursting with crops. Tobacco being the main one, plus a few others. And if I can grow this domestically, yet still charge only a little less than the imported variety... you see where this is going? I stand to make a killing. This is just the kind of thing I need. Thus all the wheeling and dealing."

"So where do I come in to this?"

"Well, like I said, there's competition for this deal. The largest competitor I have regarding the deal happens to be Lord Bafford. Right now his purse is a little fat, and he simply wants the land to grow more ordinary crops and make yet more money off of them. He has no clue what that soil is capable of. What I need you to do is break into his place, find out everything you can in there regarding him and that farm, especially the highest amount he's willing to pay. If you can find that out, I'll do quite well. Aside from that... it will be impossible to go through there without knocking out some people, and I don't want guards showing up the next day with sore necks, yet there's nothing stolen. Take as much as you can, make it look like an ordinary robbery. Put every paper you look at back exactly as you found it. I don't want him to even know whether or not his burglar can read. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. I've visited Bafford quite often, and will give you maps regarding the layout, as well as guard positions. I will tell you this. Garrett broke into his mansion a few years ago, and he has augmented his guard, mainly on the outside though. Once you're inside, you should have no problem."

"Garrett again?"

Lord Tahnit paused and furrowed his brow... "Yes.... I know he interests you, but this job needs your utmost attention now. When you finish that, I'll send you where you need to go to find out about him. Ah! I also have another gift for you. Wait one moment."

He then went back into his bedchambers and emerged with a long wooden box, black laquered and beautiful. He handed it over to me, and I opened it. Inside was a sword. It was exactly the same shape as my practice sword, which had struck me as odd before. It was not as thick as an ordinary sword, and rather than an ornate hand guard, there was a simple circle, followed by a long hilt wrapped in black leather. The sheath was the same exquisite black lacquer, only duller in its finish. Obviously so that it wouldn't shine. I set the box down, took the sword out of the box, and then drew the blade from its sheath. Even though it was a steel blade, it was only slightly heavier than my practice sword. The blade was rather thin both across and down, and it was edged on only one side.

"This is like no sword I've ever seen." I said.

"Well, yes and no. As far as real swords, no probably not. But your practice sword was modeled after it, and you are fully capable of handling that blade, I assure you. Chavat makes no mistake in praising your skills."

"Where did this come from? Do... do I fight differently altogether?" the thought occurring to me that my training was perhaps as ordinary as this sword.

"Why yes, in fact you do. This is yet another thing I've gathered from the gypsies... well, that's really a misnomer; a commoner's term, though the nobility here don't know any better either. Perhaps I could tell you about them for a little while. Then you're going to get to work. Sit down for now, this won't be short, I promise you."

We took our respective chairs once again. What struck me as strange right then, was that I already felt distant from that place, even though I'd only been away from it for a little less than three weeks. Overall, this was more of a sensation than a train of thought. The sword and what he was saying about the gypsies had my full attention at that moment. Lord Tahnit rubbed his face with his hands, sighed, and then began.

"Okay, I think I'll just begin at the beginning. There's a land south of here, one could get there by boat in about a month, and that's probably the best way. This land is mostly surrounded by desert, especially from the northern side. Well, about 500 years ago it was ruled by a group of people known as the B'nai. The B'nai was, well, is actually a full civilization comprised of seven different groups, or tribes, with a common ancestry. The tribes had originally been nomads of that region until they came together and took over the coastal region, slowly spreading their rule east. They were united by a religious revelation, the exact details of which I've never really bothered with, but the fact remains, it happened. Well, at this time, they had started to grow corrupt in their power, the people they lived with and ruled over rose against them, along with some of the people who's borders they were pushing, and the B'nai were stripped of power. Rather than endure this in their land, they split into about 12 groups and spread out over the world. One of the marvels of their civilization is that the nation of B'nai still exists, really. The groups keep in contact, and policy is still discussed between them. Well, with the advances that this city and the surrounding areas are making, the people who took over are getting worried, and are willing to share the land, and rule, with the B'nai, so long as it is maintained equally. The B'nai are excellent fighters, and have a solid understanding of leadership and technology, the natives understand that. So agreements have been met, and the B'nai have started their migration back home... actually, the migration is almost finished. Only one of the twelve groups has not yet returned. And that would be our gypsies.

"Although this is wonderful for them as a people, it has been hell for me, because it was their various outposts and communications that I used to run my trade routes. I often invested heavily in their shipments, and with their methods, rarely lost anything. Now, they are much concerned with other matters, and I've had to take what I learned from them, what at one point I simply bought from them, and give it a whirl on my own. Which I don't care for, because it's much more risky."

"Thus your desire to start producing goods domestically."

"Exactly. Again, I don't like it. They were merchants before there even was such a thing. How they sail, when, how much they invest on each trip and how much they set aside; these are their most closely guarded secrets that I've only begun to glean from them. For the most part, they prefer to take my money and hand me a very handsome cut of it rather than share what they know with me. Which, although not completely agreeable, was fine at the time. I still outsold every merchant in this city combined, drove some of the larger ones broke and bought them out."

"Why have they never done this themselves?"

"The Hammers fear them. They fear them almost as much as they did the Trickster. To take up large business here on their own would attract too much attention and would do them more harm than good. They actually are the most powerful group of people I've ever known. Everything they do they excel at. Business, music, dance, art, combat; they must have gotten extremely lazy to be driven out of their homeland."

"And when, may I ask, are the gypsies leaving for good?"

Lord Tahnit furrowed his brow at this and said, "Believe it or not, I know exactly why you'reasking that question, and I don't like it. Make no mistake, I think Hadassah's quite beautiful myself, and if I were your age, I'd probably be chasing after her too, but getting involved with a woman, while in your current line of work, is very dangerous. If someone decides they don't like you, she could be at risk... you could get killed or seriously injured, I won't spare you that possibility. You know, you've seen it. It's just not a good thing, plus... I don't know a lot about the B'nai's codes of conduct, but I'm very familiar with how little they trust strangers. Several of them know you now, and I have no doubt you could visit their little camp and be quite welcome, but to be accepted into their fold would be a very hard feat indeed. You aren't thinking of this sort of thing now, but perhaps you should. In short, there's no possible way that things could work out between the two of you, and a lot that could go very wrong in the meantime. I'm not going to stop you or anything. I was young myself once, and I know what it's like. I'm only warning you. Your skills and intellect are excellent, and you have a sense of perception that I couldn't even imagine. All the same, you have a lot of naivete to you as well. For all you see, it seems frighteningly easy to pull the rug out from under your feet and knock you on your proverbial ass. I was hoping that the streets would clear some of that up for you. Maybe they still shall... I don't know. I'm just telling you now; nothing good can come of this."

"And if it's just the passionate blood of youth?"

"Were it just that, I would be less concerned, but there's no such thing with you. Sorry, but you don't strike me as the type; you're much too loyal, which is something I like about you. I am dead serious here. Think about what you're doing. If not, then I want you to know now that I told you so."

"And to answer my question, regardless of the hidden meaning?"

"I simply don't know. A few months, a few years, I'm not sure. Certainly not longer than that."

"And what does all this have to do with this sword and how you had me trained?"

"Ah! Yes, I was supposed to wind up back on that subject wasn't I? Well, Chavat is from another group of the B'nai that settled in a different land. To be honest, I'm not sure where, or what it all entails, I simply saw him defend one of his own against some men with... bad intentions. He took on four of them at once and when he was done it would have been better for them if they were never born. I talked to him and asked him to train people, but the thieves were never really interested in combat and wanted to believe they could always avoid it, and the guards just found his practice too strange. You, however, were a clean slate, and this very afternoon, you are going to be a statement to the method's effectiveness."

"Really? Am I?" I replied, irritated and sarcastic.

"Oh come on, Mishkal. This is as much to test your ability against the common guard you may encounter as it is to prove any point of mine. Besides, you'll enjoy it. I know you will. You love all the things you're capable of, and don't think that I don't know that. In fact, come on. Let's get this out of the way."

He then led me outside to the courtyard behind the manor. On the way there I noticed that the servants were very busy. It struck me that they were preparing for something, most likely a party. I was willing to bet my new sword that Bafford had received and accepted his invitation. Perhaps not the best of distractions, but it would most certainly do the trick. I walked along wondering exactly what kind of a puppet I was going to be made out as. I had no idea exactly what he meant, though I was figuring some kind of sparring match. I think I would have felt a lot better about the whole thing if he would have simply asked me if I would do this for him, and I'm sure I would have agreed. His assumption that I would simply do as he said left me feeling degraded, and angry.

When we got to the courtyard there were a few guards standing around, a few other people that I did not recognize, and my teacher, Chavat. He approached Lord Tahnit as soon as he saw us, and whispered something to him, apparently wanting to talk to me in private, for after Lord Tahnit nodded, he approached me and led me aside.

"Tell me this is what I think it is." I said to him.

"What you're about to do is very new to you. You have never sparred against someone who fought with a more "conventional" style. I'd like to give you a few pointers before you begin."

"Why did you never do this before?"

"I'm not sure. I know I should have. Tahnit and I knew you were going to have to learn to face ordinary guards some day. Perhaps it is better this way. In your new line of work, preparing for the unexpected is an essential skill. As much as any form of stealth or swordplay. Okay, they're getting impatient. I'll tell you this. First, you don't know what they fight like, but they don't know you either. Having fought their way longer, they are less flexible, and could probably be thrown off easier. But the most important thing: stay calm, stay collected no matter what. One of them gets hit, he'll get angry and come at you harder. You could use this for his undoing. Anger is the greatest killer. Avoid it, control it, and the battle is won. Remember this always. Let him do what he wants, but find a way to use it against him. Stay detached and focused and your opportunity shall show itself. Good luck."

I wanted to ask him more, but the gathering was getting restless. I didn't know Lord Tahnit had them waiting on me, and I had no idea how long they had been there. I approached the marked off circle that they were standing around. I found my practice sword, but no padding or armor.

"Where's my armor?" I asked.

"You won't be needing it." Lord Tahnit said.

"What?" I said, incredulously. I looked from Lord Tahnit to Chavat, who shied away from my gaze.

"Oh please Mishkal, if he hits you I'll let you go and we'll call it a day. Now just relax and do your best." Lord Tahnit said.

"Lord Tahnit? You don't expect me to pummel this poor kid do you?" asked the guard nearest the circle.

"Oh... Just do what you feel is appropriate. You'll both be fine. There's no need for all this tension people, this is just a simple demonstration of a different fighting style, that's all. Please relax."

I had half a mind to beat Lord Tahnit with my practice sword and then deal with the guards, but decided against it, and entered my side of the ring. The guard entered his. I think we were both surprised somewhat as we took our stances. I was standing with most of my weight on my forward right foot, holding my sword directly in front of me with both hands. He was almost leaning back, holding his sword at an angle in front of him with his right hand. This was going to be interesting.

We spent some time slowly circling around each other, each one trying to guess how the other was going to approach. I glanced over at Lord Tahnit a couple of times, and he seemed very displeased that we were being so cautious. Then the guard tried with a slight side swing, which I quickly blocked on the inside of his swing and then came back to hit him in the forehead. He grunted and took a few steps back. I was elated. I had hit him! He then decided that he wasn't going to pull any punches for me. Tahnit's eyes lit up at the guard's anger. He was finally getting his wish.

The guard kept coming at me and each time I was able to either block or avoid and counter, either hitting him with my counter attack or else after a few exchanges. Finally he swung at my sword with all his might, trying to knock it from my hand or something, I'm not sure. He hit it, but I simply let my sword follow his swing rather than fight it, and continued turning with the swing, kicking him hard across the face as I went, then I changed direction and as I came back the other way, swung my sword with all my might to the other side of his face. He hit the ground after that hit as if there was not a bone in his body.

Lord Tahnit applauded. "This is but a minor demonstration of just how well a fighting style based upon detachment, flexibility and reflexes can work. Let's make things more interesting shall we? Let's wait until Gordon here wakes up and then we'll have all three guards face our dear Mishkal at once."

"Three?" I asked.

"You are still quite capable of handling this, I'm sure of it."

I grumbled to myself... "First this demonstration in the first place, then no armor, now three against one... if he pulls out a blindfold, I'm going home."

Gordon came around, was given some healing potion, and seemed as renewed as ever to beat my head in with his practice sword. I took my place in the center of the circle, the others standing at equal divisions around me. "Stay calm, focused, detached. Take each attack in turn." I said to myself. They too took their stances and started their advance.

The whole thing started feeling like some bizarre dance. I was very grateful for my lessons in tumbling, as well as seeing out of the corners of my eyes. The first one to come at me was more towards my back. I turned and parried his swing, then rolled left. Now I had all three guards in front of me. This was good. What was not so good was that my back was almost to the edge of the circle. I decided to try for the unexpected; to move with the very next swing and go after the guard in the rear, who was probably expecting to just wait his turn. One of the guards in front swung, followed quickly by the second. I dodged the first, blocked the second and spun forward where a quick swing to the guard in back caught him off balance. He blocked, but a second thrust to the head knocked him down, after which I rolled forward to avoid any swings that may have been coming to my back from the other guards. The one I had hit got up, and once again, it was three against one all in front of me. I decided this time that getting in the center of them might not be such a bad idea after all, I'd just have to watch my back. They crept a little bit closer, but mostly stayed their distance trying to see what I was going to do. I decided to pick on the one to my right then work my way in to the center of the group. I swung at him, but kept moving right, keeping him between me and the other two guards. He started to retreat, and the other two started to come around the sides; good. I was getting my wish. I first got in a good jab to his stomach, which chain mail or no had to hurt. Then a couple of swings to the head had him down and out. The other two guards had then reached their positions on either side of me, and I had to hit the dirt to avoid their swings. I then rolled backwards and tried to think of how I was going to handle two of them.

If anyone's curious, it is much easier to face three guards than two. With more of them there, it is easier to move in such a way so that they get in each other's way. For another long period of time, we just walked around in circles, occasional little thrusts on either side, but no real advances. I made a few thwarted attempts to get in between them again. Finally, one of them stepped in front, Gordon I believe, who then fell to the exact same attack that took him out the first time; though I could see in his eyes after I started turning that he realized he fell for the same combination again. He wasn't hit as hard this time and wasn't unconscious when he hit the ground, but was in no condition to pick up his sword again. Now it was down to me and the last guard.

This was the guard that I had seen the least of in this confrontation. He learned quite a bit from how the others went down and was the most prepared. He started leaning more towards my style of doing things; more straightforward in front and less to the side. We went back and forth through several exchanges, neither one really able to gain ground on the other. Then he was able to fake me out and I saw a swing coming to my head. I quickly dropped to the ground to avoid it and jabbed him in the stomach, which gave me some time to get away. He wasn't able to recover from the hit in time and quickly fell another set of exchanges.

Lord Tahnit again applauded and said "Mishkal here is but a novice in this art, and these are some of the best guards money can buy. Perhaps a bit time consuming of a confrontation, but still. One novice against three well trained guards. Think on this before you decide that the old ways are always the best. Good day, gentlemen. My loyal guards, see to my servants that your injuries are looked after, and then go home. You have the rest of the day off. Mishkal, come with me."

I then dropped the practice sword and picked up my box. I then followed Lord Tahnit back to his chambers. I noticed the servants again, and this time decided to ask Lord Tahnit about them.

"These servants are preparing something. A party perhaps? Something to occupy Lord Bafford?"

"You are very astute, Mishkal. Yes, a party. Yes, Lord Bafford will be here. A tried and true diversion."

"I have another question."

"Yes?"

"If I'm supposedly going to be a thief, then why all of this combat training?"

"A valid question. Here, let us go inside." He stopped and talked to a servant waiting outside his quarters and then proceeded inside, asking me to follow. We went inside, he poured some more tea and asked me to sit down again.

"I've ordered you some refreshment after your little ordeal. There was much to the whole thing. Those others that you saw there… two of them were B'nai leaders, the other was in charge of the house guard. They wanted to see what I was talking about with this new style, and since I needed to call you for a debriefing on the Bafford affair, I really couldn't think of a better time."

"I think I would have preferred it if you would have asked me to do it, or this job, rather than just assume that I follow you along wherever you say."

He gave me a rather amazed look. "Why, you're right. How rather rude of me, of course. You certainly could have refused either service. Again, it would make things very inconvenient for me… Mishkal, whenever I ask or "tell" you to do something, please remember that I do so because it is important to me. You are not some lowly servant of mine, you are my only hope of shaking off the muck of my previous, underground life. This is not some responsibility that I give lightly, nor should it be taken as such. If I wronged you, I am sorry, but your cooperation is imperative in this matter."

The servant then came, bearing a tray of meats, cheeses and breads, as well as a bottle of wine with a pair of glasses. Lord Tahnit asked him to set it down and leave. Once the servant left he said "Let's lunch shall we?"

"So about why I'm being so trained to fight…"

"Yes, yes, yes. I'm sorry, my mind seems to be getting away from me. Well," he said, starting to munch on the food the servants had brought. I didn't feel that hungry until I started eating, and then felt ravenous. I still kept my sense of restraint, and simply pecked at the food here and there. He continued "it is my personal belief that those who wish to avoid violence the most need to understand it the most. They need to know how to minimize it when/if it does arrive. You do not avoid bloody conflicts by putting your head in the sand and hoping they go away. You avoid them by knowing so much about them and how they start that you can thwart them before they begin, or should they begin, you must know how to end them quickly, with as little fuss as possible. That's one reason. The other is that you are extremely precious to my activities. I need you. Even if you should get caught somewhere, I want to rest assured that you will be able to fend for your own."

As we were finishing with the food, a servant knocked saying that Chavat wished to speak with me again. "Ah, poor Mishkal, getting shuffled this way and that. Well, begone with you. When Chavat is done with you, you are free to go. I want to see you here tomorrow at sundown. I am most proud of you today. You did well. Now please excuse me." He then got up, went over to his desk, and resumed going over his letters and papers. I was willing to believe him about his preoccupation being responsible for his neglect of common courtesy. Even still, if I were truly his "only hope" I would have expected to receive nothing but the utmost attention. Each man must have his faults I guess.

I then excused myself and left, heading over to the practice building. I started to think about this upcoming mission of mine. Looking back on it, I guess I was much less excited or worried than one would normally think. At that point, I didn't really care if I wound up in Bafford's manor or not, how I got there, whether or not I would be discovered, none of this really concerned me. I was just piecing together what I knew of Bafford's having seen it from the outside, and just wondering what the inside looked like. Lord Tahnit had a main receiving room where he conducted all of his official outside business. Would Bafford have the same thing? Where would he keep his important paperwork? These questions were among several that came to my mind as I approached the building where I had spent so much of the past year. Chavat was inside, relaxing after his lunch. He got up when he saw me and smiled as he approached.

"Congratulations, you did well." He said, shaking my hand. "There are a few things I'd like to point out to you though. You were nervous and you played it safe. This is fine and it saved you from getting hit, but it also took time. This is often a very expensive luxury; you need to work on disposing of opponents quicker. Another thing is that you have a tendency not to watch your back, especially when engaged with someone in front of you. This is very dangerous. Be aware of everything around you at all times. What if another guard came and approached you from behind? What would you do then? You need to work on that. The next thing, and I know you're not going to like this, is to go over your other weak spot. Stay there." He then walked over to a bow and arrow quiver. He took up the bow and pulled out a water arrow. "Ready your sword. Try to take out these arrows before they hit you. You've done this before, now let's just get some consistency with you." he said.

I was starting to decide that everyone in this manor had gone completely mad. I didn't do that bad the last time we went over this, so I figured I'd give it a shot. He fired the first few lightly, and after learning how to ward off his lightning fast sword attacks, the arrows just seemed to float in my direction, where I could pick them off at will. Then he started shooting harder and harder, and the arrows were much more difficult to ward off. A couple of them did nick me in the arms, one in the leg as well. Finally one hit me dead in the face.

"You were doing much better when you weren't thinking so much. Close your eyes, relax, just feel them coming to you. Just like sword swings; see them, hear them, feel them coming. Just stop them, that's all."

He then started firing soft leather tipped arrows. They wouldn't penetrate, but would leave quite a bruise. This put some fear in me, but I did as he said and did a much better job blocking them. If you're lucky and everything's quiet, you can hear the snap of the bowstring, so you know it's coming. You hear the arrow as much as you see it. You stay in the general area as you see the arrow, but only block in that split-second between when you hear the arrow and when it hits. Few things are more demanding than this, and I always hate doing it, but it's always a good skill to know.

"Very good." He said. "You still need work all around, but you are on to an excellent start. I am very pleased. Go as you wish. I will see you later."

I then took up my box and went back to Hadassah's apartment.

"Ah ha!" she said, tasting something she had on the stove as I walked in "I knew I wasn't going to be eating dinner alone. How'd it go at Tahnit's? I guess he has a job for you. What's in the box?"

"Yes he has a job for me. He had me spar against some of his house guard. Plus he gave me this sword."

"I feel sorry for the poor house guard."

"What? You think I won?"

"No, Mishkal, I know you won. There's something about you… you are just an unbeatable person. One would have to get up very early in the morning to gain victory over you. You are… hmmm… marked for success? Yes, that's it. The day you were born, failure said that he wasn't even going to try to taint your spirit. Here, taste this stew, tell me what you think."

We then settled down for dinner. After which we played and joked around some more, then got ready for bed. As we were going to sleep she started singing a song to me which has gone through my head many a time as I went out on my various thieving missions. Again, I'll supply a translated version:

Let us now walk quietly
Into the night disappear
As the town sleeps so peacefully
Let's not interfere

Here there dreams an older man
Of his younger years
And in his sleep they return to him
Full of strength, void of fears

Here now dreams a hungry child
He dreams of bread with butter
As he clings tight in his sleep
To his ailing mother

Here now dreams a dying man
Worried for his wife
And in their sleep she offers him
A cure to save his life

Sleep comes and frees them all
From lives filled with fear
Let us now walk quietly
Let's not interfere

So many times when I sat in some shadow of one manor, warehouse or another I would think of this song. Yes, everyone thinks everything's fine. Let's give them no reason to think otherwise. As it was that night, I was happy. I drifted off to sleep savoring the night and at the same time, anxious for what the day would bring.