“It’ll be great!” Tam exclaimed. “We’d almost be like brothers.” Tam rubbed at his brow and laughed. “If I was actually related to Frisha, I mean.”

Chapter 16

That night, after everyone else was abed, Rezkin slipped into the night wearing his dark clothing, black armor, and deep cowl. The criminal element in the city of Kaibain was strong, highly influential, and ruthless. Far more dangers resided in this city than just a few simple thieves’ guilds, and Rezkin intended to add as many of them as possible to his repertoire of resources.

First, he had to meet up with the personnel he sent separately from his own traveling party. They were supposed to have left Justain the day after he and his companions departed. The thieves would have encountered the riverboat returning to Justain with the bandit captives and learned of the change in plans. From there, the Diamond Claw members should have continued to Drennil to complete the task he had set for them. After Drennil, they would have continued on to Kaibain. A few experienced thieves would have had a relatively easy time of the rough travel and should have made it to Kaibain ahead of him. Of course, that was assuming everything went to plan, which rarely was reality.

The young warrior traveled the dark streets of the city with efficiency using the map he held in his mind. On occasion during his training, Rezkin had wondered why he was required to memorize so many maps and floor plans when he was never permitted to leave the immediate area of the fortress. At times he had been sent on longer treks into the forests and mountains of the north, but never had he ventured into civilization, so the knowledge seemed frivolous at best. Now that he knew he had a purpose and that purpose was to be undertaken in the outworld, the masters’ insistence on the memorization made more sense.

When he was halfway to the safe house for the Kaibainian branch of the Diamond Claw Guild where he would meet his contacts, Rezkin decided to change directions. He had made an instantaneous decision to completely overhaul his plans having realized that he would need the element of surprise to carry out his ambitions. Once he met with his people, news would spread, and the element would be lost. His masters’ and the strikers had always been pleased with his ability to think quickly and change tactics in an instant. Rezkin had learned to follow his instincts, and they had saved him innumerable times. This was one of those times when he just knew he had to adjust his strategy.

Rezkin did not know where his destination was, so he needed to find a guide. It would be a toss-up whether he ended up with the Razor Edges or the Crimson Blades, the city’s two other thieves’ guilds. While the Diamond Claws had branches in Justain and Kaibain, the Razor Edges could be found in Kaibain and Port Manai. The Crimson Blades were purely local, though, having been unable to gain a foothold in the other cities. Because the King’s Seat had their full attention, their influence within the city was slightly stronger than the other guilds.