"Patrick Welch - Brendell RogueThief" - читать интересную книгу автора (Welch Patrick)

stairs while trusting the residents would remain asleep and unconcerned. Worrying about traps magical
and mundane. Even a loose floorboard could be enough to ruin me. Slinking through an unfamiliar
building at night with no light. Finally reaching the downstairs office. And now this.

Could it be a magical mouse, enhanced for sentry duty? I wondered inanely, then chuckled. Don't be a
fool Brendell. I strongly doubted the Guild would protect itself with magic, not when there were many
more effective methods available. A contingent from the Assassin's Guild would suffice ... and be more
dependable. But I was counting on the Guild's own reputation and confidence in its power; after all, who
would dare steal from the Thief's Guild?

They were going to find out. And it was all their fault for what they had done to my family and me.

This had all started when I returned to Hannis Bay from my home in Mistmourning to learn who had
stolen from my father. It had to be a rogue thief, something my Guild would not tolerate.

The Guild Secretary proved me wrong. тАЬIt is a legitimate contract, Brendell,тАЭ she had told me after I
lodged my complaint. тАЬWe shall not interfere.тАЭ Once I recovered from my shock, the rest of our meeting
proceeded downhill at a rapid pace. I finally bid her leave and stomped out of her office. Later, over my
campfire at my camp outside Hannis Bay, I stared at the flames. Only appropriate, since I saw my entire
life being consumed by the fire. Throughout my career as an honored member of the Thief's Guild, I had
obeyed their rules ... most of the time anyway. I had been taken advantage of more than once during my
apprenticeship, so like a puppy eager to do the bidding of its master. But I had done everything they
asked, fulfilled every contract they had often foisted upon me, to reach my goal of journeyman.

Journeyman. All my time, effort and hopes summed up in one word, in one document I used to carry
proudly. I now knew beyond any doubt my Guild status meant next to nothing.

Nothing. I sighed as my small fire continued to consume my dreams. Someone had taken a contract out
on me. With the Guild's blessing and approval. Someone had gone to my father's home and stolen
everything I had sent him, money meant to help him enjoy the last few years of his life. And one of the
few things I had learned at the Thief's Academy I still believed was this: you do not steal from a thief. Not
without frightful retribution.

I tossed another limb on the fire and gnawed tastelessly on a haunch of hare. They had given me no
recourse, I tried to reassure myself. And, for once, that was relatively easy. I had already broken Guild
rules before. Now I planned to shatter them beyond recognition.

Soon I would go back to my father, help him get his home and affairs in order. Then I would complete
my very personal contract on the Guild member who had taken a contract out one me. But first I had to
learn who that was. Which meant a return trip to Hannis Bay, but this time at night when the Guild offices
were closed.
So now here I was, breaking my code of honor by stealing from my own Guild. Still my caution was
mixed with regret as I began to search the office. Nearly ten years ago I had left my family and
Mistmourning to attend the Thief's Academy. I had believedтАФthenтАФin everything they had taught me
about my chosen profession. We were committed to serving our clients and fulfilling our contracts. Upon
graduation, we were to become honored members of the Thief's Guild, following their rules and
regulations religiously as we advanced the honor and stature of thievery. We would respect our
membership and merit respect from them. If we were successful, we would move from apprentice to
journeyman and, eventually, to the most valued of titles: Master Thief. I had been trained to embrace
those ideals just as thoroughly as I had been trained in picking locks, counterfeiting documents and other