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The halfling knew he had been cheated, the dry leather sack he'd wedged his hand into was only half-full, and it was sand, not gold dust as was promised. The diminutive rogue strode out of his loft and into the night air of Starport, the human capitol here on the east coast. The scent of sea foam rushed into his nostrils as Mouse pulled the cloak tight around his body, the black of the cloak fading into the night shadows that played about him. The only thought in his mind was the Inn of the Harrowed Maiden, and how he would get into its lower levels to the Keep of the Black Hand, the Thieves' Guild that now owed him the name of the rogue who had wronged him. This was the law here, no rogue wrongs another, especially another of the Black Hand which Mouse was a proud member of. Now the inn stood tall before him, three stories of rabble, rowdiness, and debauchery. Mouse let the hood of his cloak fall back as he entered the inn, moving through the mixed race crowd heading straight for the bar. Pulling up a stool and half leaping up to it, Mouse called to the barkeep "One blacken ale for me and save one for my comrade." The barkeep hearing the code for a member of the Black Hand quickly moved over to the halfling and whispered to him "Tis three knocks soft and one light tonight." Mouse nodded and paid for the ale, heaving it down his throat. The blacken ale was a smooth concoction that went down far too easy... Over to the kitchen he went, and through to the back to a small door hidden between two large wine kegs ::three soft knocks followed by one loud one:: The door swings open and the darkness seemed to be the only thing speaking "You should have left it be Mouse..." The tall human strode out of the doorway, his dagger coated with blood. Now visible behind him was the doorguard, dead, stabbed in the back... "Now halfling you will die." The human lunged forward with the dagger, mouse ducked the blow and returned with a short sword to the gut for the ill-fated thief... "I may be small, but I am not easily disposed of, boy. Now stand there and bleed like the stuck pig you are." The amazed look on the human's face still shone on Mouse's imagination that night as he remembered the fool dying on the dirty kitchen floor. Mouse chuckled to himself as he played with his newly acquired bag of gold dust, "A mage will pay heftily for this little item." Mouse tucked the bag 'neath his pillow and rested comfortably in his loft until early the next afternoon.
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