4 • Bell Tower

Spheris leaped from rooftop to rooftop, dancing like a shadow through the silver night. Talon by his side, the wind blowing his long ponytail and scarf behind him as they navigated through the maze of buildings.

His mother's words rang in his head continuously. 'I don't want you to die doing this.'

It annoyed him whenever his mother brought up his father's death, insinuating over and over again that he could die if he continued to steal. But what other choice did he have? To become a slave? To work under those merciless, vile Gentlefolks and still die anyway?

No. Never.

Spheris wasn't only self-preserving, he was prideful as well. And that pride he had would never allow him to work for these Gentlefolks who he despised so much.

What did it matter anyway? If everything goes according to plan tonight, he wouldn't need to become a slave, or to keep stealing. Everything was going to change.

- ☯ -

"Ay! Dunnam!" One of the older thieves called the bounty hunter who was rapt in his smoking. "When is the kid gonna get here, huh? It's showtime already."

Dunnam turned slowly to the thief, an eyebrow raised in vexation. He hated that he had to work with stealers, but what irritated him the most was when they assumed that they were peers and had the right to question him. He took his sootspire out of his lips and sighed apathetically. "Whose heist is this, Acko?" he asked, taking two menacing steps towards the one-eyed thief.

Acko, realizing the mistake he had just made, gulped loudly, his eye fidgeting in sudden fear. "Your heist... sir."

"My heist," Dunnam repeated. "So that means I'm the one that decides when it's showtime, right?"

"R-Right," Acko replied, wondering why he had even opened his damned mouth in the first place. The other two thieves watched silently as the scene unfolded.

"Good, Acko. Good," Dunnam grinned, tapping Acko on the shoulder. "Now, if you dare question me again, I'll choke the worthless life out of you without even straining a muscle."

Everywhere fell silent, even the owl from far away had stopped hooting. Then Dunnam's grin reappeared and the hooting continued. "Besides, he's already here. Aren't you, Spheris?"

"What?" Acko frowned.

For a second, everyone stood still, waiting to know whether what Dunnam had said was indeed true. Was the boy thief actually here?

Slowly, as they waited, the shadows at the dark corner of the tower made way for Spheris's presence to be revealed. His face was emotionless, arms folded, mouth dry and straight. Talon was perched silently on his shoulder.

The thieves all gawked at him in shock and confusion, but Dunnam was the only one grinning proudly. "Ah, there he is."

"How did you know I was here?" Spheris asked, his voice colder and quieter than usual.

"I didn't," Dunnam beamed. "I only guessed knowing that it's something you would do. Hide in the shadows so you can listen in on our conversations and know if we plan to betray you."

"I gazed at that corner for minutes some time ago," the younger male thief said. "Never did I suspect that someone was there."

"Now you see why I had to get him in this team!" Dunnam laughed. "He's literally a ghost!"

Spheris turned his attention to the younger thief. Indeed, he remembered when the man was staring and Spheris was staring right back at him, wondering what his story was. He was much older than him, but he seemed young enough, strong as well and healthy. So why was he a thief?

It was something Spheris could never understand. A Gentlefolk? Stealing? If he had half the opportunities given to Gentlefolks, he knew he would never steal. Yet, this man stood there — wearing a tunic with silent colors, leather trousers and cascadean boots — a gentlefolk who stole.

It rankled Spheris. People like him, people like all of them were what made the reason he stole feel vain. Who cares if you're stealing to survive when people who have it all also steal as well?

"Ahoy! Feather legs!" Spheris blinked his eyes to Dunnam snapping his fingers on his face. "You seemed to have disappeared into another realm there for a second."

Spheris didn't respond to that. He cast a glance at Acko, who continued to stare at him as if he had sprouted seven heads. A sigh escaped him. "What is it?" he asked Dunnam.

"Come with me," Dunnam said. "Let me show you the stage where we're going to execute our little performance."

Spheris's gaze darted amongst the three thieves — the old man who had lost an eye, the young man on cascadean boots, and the quiet one that he had difficulty ascertaining whether they were male or female — then he sauntered towards Dunnam while they watched.

"There." Dunnam pointed when Spheris was close enough. The Bell Tower was the tallest building in the entire First Wing, even the bastion loomed below its loftiness. It was the only place one could stay and get a good look at the entire grandeur of the fort.

"That is why we're here tonight," Dunnam continued. "Hundreds of millions of different ranks of callisters, enough to make an entire generation rich, hidden beneath that bastion in a protected dungeon."

"Sounds too good to be true," Spheris remarked. At first, Dunnam shot him an ominous glare, but then it softened into a smile and a silent nod.

"You're right, it does sound too good to be true. All that money hidden in a dungeon and locked with nothing but man-made doors and locks." Dunnam grunted. "One would be a fool to think that's the case. The dungeon is protected by magic. Mage magic to be exact."

Spheris raised a brow. "Is there a difference?"

This question made Dunnam laugh. His suspicions were true — the boy didn't even know anything concerning magic. Spheris on the other hand, didn't enjoy being mocked.

"Did I say something funny?"

"You know I understand that it could be difficult for Heathians to know what's going on in the Continent, seeing that they are at the far ends of the world. But you... Spheris, you've spent a lot of time in townships, and yet you don't seem to have an idea of what is going on."

Spheris callously grunted, folding his arms. "It's not that. I just couldn't care less about any of it."

"Is that so?" Dunnam's laughter had now receded to a curious grin. "Well, whatever. Point is, we will not be able to get through that door with that Mage magic protecting it. But that's why we have Nephta. You might be our shadow walker, but she's our big gun."

Spheris turned to the last thief, so she was a girl after all. It was difficult for him to assimilate at first. Just like the other thief, she was also wearing a tunic, one that hung above her knees. Her trousers were tight and tucked into a pair of worn leather boots, scuffed and molded by the cobblestone.

But the hood she wore was what made it impossible to see her face. She had no frills, no feminine adornments, just simple boyish clothing that left Spheris wondering whether she was even a Gentlefolk.

However, that wasn't the main question that was in his mind. Who is she and why is she so special? That was all he could think of.

"You gaze a lot, Heathian," she said. Surprisingly to him, Spheris found her voice seductive, it was a subtle tease beneath the assertive, strong tone. He ignored her statement nonetheless, and turned back to Dunnam. One thing he was now sure of was that she was a Gentlefolk.

"Who is she?" he asked Dunnam.

"Open your eyes, kid!" Dunnam patted him on the back. "She's an Incarnate! An Adept level Bearer in my team."

Spheris remained silent, not wanting them to know that he had no idea what any of that meant.

An Incarnate? He gazed at Nephta with keen curiosity. He had heard the word before, he was sure of that. Maybe in an alehouse, or in the market? Somewhere. But he had never cared to listen to what any of it meant. Not that their conversations were any of his business.

Nephta took off her hood, showing off her flawlessly pristine brown skin and black braided hair. Her eyes were azure and she had a strange tattoo on her forehead. Spheris couldn't make out the symbol.

"You said the boy was smart. He doesn't even know what an Incarnate is," Nephta admonished.

"Well he's not bloody here to educate us on the entire Mystiqarium, Nephta," Dunnam boomed. "Who cares if he doesn't know what an Incarnate is? Everyone has their separate jobs. He's our shadow walker, Jion is the brains, you're the big gun and I'm the head of this operation."

"What about me?" Everyone turned to one-eyed Acko.

"Shut up, Acko," Dunnam simply ordered.

Spheris and his raven shared a glance, the same thought going through both their heads. Was this really the group of people he was about to work with in a dangerous heist?