text: [Themes: fantasy, anti-hero]
  
  Year 22
  
  "And when you're done robbing everyone at the gladiator frat house, you get the fuck outta there. What you don't fucking do is stick around to drink, party and compete in a dick sucking contest!" you exclaim.
  
  Flameflower and Sunshine both roll their eyes in unison.
  
  "It was hardly a competition. I easily beat all the other girls there that night." Flameflower remarks.
  "What? I would have beaten you had you not spiked my drink with lotus! My technique was all fucked up thanks to that!" Sunshine says.
  "Look, nevermind all that! You wanna go suck dick, go suck it on your own time! But when you're on a job at the university you're on MY time and you will stick to the damn program! Otherwise you can go take your asses back to Jake and continue risking life and limb on whatever crazy heist he attempts to implement."
  "Ugh! I dunno why you're getting so mad for, we managed to pick even more pockets by sticking around for the extended festivities. Whatever. You're just like how your uptight dad was."
  
  Flameflower and her sister take their leave of you and then one of them turns her head to look at you briefly and then giggling follows between the pair of them.
  
  "I honestly don't know why I bother with those two." You say.
  "Because elves are easy on the eyes, even if they are half breeds." Zal remarks.
  "Well it certainly works in their favor at the university. Hard to believe they were ever organized enough to work for my father's inn at one time. That was surprising to learn when they first approached to work with me. Do elves age at all?"
  "Not like we do. Those halfbreed bitches are older than me and they still look like fucking teenagers. Oh speaking of unnatural things, I think the magic college is more doable than you thought."
  "What? You actually went in there?"
  "I told you I was."
  "You told me you were thinking about it and I distinctly told you to stay away from that place. Too risky fucking around with potential magic security."
  "Have you ever even been there?"
  "No."
  "Well then what would you even know about it? And for your information, it isn't the magic fortress that you seemed to think it was anyway. I walked in and walked out with this!"
  
  Zalmora reveals a blue gemstone of some sort. It gives off a faint blue glow, but nothing else.
  
  "What...what is that?" you ask.
  "I dunno, something magical I imagine. Maybe it provides light so you don't need a torch or lantern." Zal remarks.
  "Or maybe it captures souls! How did you even get this?"
  "I told you, I walked into the college and wandered around until I found something that caught my eye. Don't worry, I didn't attract any attention, well other than maybe a few love sick apprentices who didn't look like they got out much."
  "This wasn't protected or anything?"
  "Nope, I just found it in a bowl on a shelf in an empty classroom of some sort. Would have taken more items, but I figured I'd stick to mostly casing the place first. I told you, the place isn't any better protected than any place else it seems. Your ideas that the place is protected by magic traps and living statues are unfounded."
  "I'm not convinced and I think you just got lucky."
  "Well either way, I'm heading there again in a few days and hauling out more shit. I know a few people that would be more than willing to buy stuff like this."
  "And maybe you better not. I'm telling you, this is not a good idea and all its going to do create trouble for all of us. The university is huge, you can easily make a lot of coin without the extra danger of fucking around with magic."
  
  Now Zalmora rolls her eyes.
  
  "Y'know those two halfbreed bitches might be whores in thieves clothing, but at least they're having fun with all this. You know, the only reason why I wanted to be transferred here instead of sticking with Jake is because I thought this might be a nice change of pace to work around a subtler thief. It's one thing to be professional, but by the fucking gods, you've managed to suck out ALL the fun out of this. If it were up to you, you'd still be meekly sneaking around the campus all by yourself and never maximizing the full potential of what is here!" Zalmora says.
  "Yeah, and I'd be perfectly fine with that. This was all Tom's idea for me to play mentor, not mine." You remark.
  "Hah! I don't need a damn mentor. I've been thieving before you were even thought about! And I don't need your damn permission either to go rob the magic college. Maybe you can intimidate the rest of the unskilled Talons into acting the way you want, but I'm doing what the hell I want."
  "Yeah? And I can go report you to Tom and have you transferred back. You're ONLY here because I said it was okay in the first place!"
  "Fine. Go tattle on me like a fucking bitch then. Always knew you had a stick up your ass, but I didn't realize you were a snitch too."
  "Oh don't give me that snitch shit. Tom's the boss, he told me I had independent jurisdiction here of who was obeying my way of doing things and who wasn't. So if I don't like the way you're doing shit, guess what? You don't get to stay and that's it!"
  "I see. You're not a snitch, you're a pretender to the throne."
  "What?"
  "You're a pretender to the throne. You're acting like you're the boss of the Crimson Talons. The only thing that's stopping you totally is the fact that Tom is officially in charge. But if he's allowing you this much leniency and is basically doing what you say anyway then maybe you need to just cut the pretending and take over completely. I'd certainly be more likely to respect AND listen to your orders if that was the case. But then I always preferred men who take what they want...guess that's why I never minded Jake, even if he is an idiot most of the time. See you around."
  
  Zalmora at this point takes her leave of you.
  
  You've been working with Zalmora directly only for a few months, but now you're starting to see why Tom thinks she's manipulative. She basically just suggested that you go kill him and take over.
  
  For what purpose though you can't say. If she really doesn't like Tom, why doesn't she just do it? Though you suppose keeping her own hands clean and being a puppet master is more her thing. After all if you were in charge, you'd catch the blame if things didn't go well.
  
  You suppose it's an idea to consider, but again even if you wanted the hassle, you're still not really someone that wants to just kill someone without a good reason. Tom's been okay with you too, more than okay actually. He is a bit of a weak leader though. You do sort of wonder how he hasn't caught a knife in the back yet, or the front for that matter.
  
  And Zalmora might be right, might be time to take more risks. The thieves under your "command" listen to you, but the actual respect is probably minimal. It might be worth while to keep your options open to become more of a true leader just in case, you wanted to reconsider being head of the Crimson Talons one day.
  
  > keep things simple
  You're not falling for Zal's manipulation. Tom can keep the headaches because you've got enough of it just dealing with the ones that you're trying to teach here. So things are going to remain the same and no unnecessary risks. You've managed to keep things together and not call attention to yourself with that rule and you're not changing it.
  
  And you don't give a shit what Zal calls you, you'll be letting Tom know the situation. Given how he feels about her, you've no doubt that he'll side with you.
  
  Later you report to Tom just as you planned and also stress that you don't want to see Zal anywhere near the university since she's made it clear that she's going to do her own thing regardless of what you say. Tom thanks you for telling him this information and says he'll make sure that the university district is off limits to her and if he finds out otherwise, there will be severe consequences.
  
  Honestly, you don't have too much hope that Tom is going to really enforce that last rule. Over the course of the next few months your attention is partially directed towards thinking Zal is going to perform her activities to the university district anyway, but either she obeys the rules or she's more adept at keeping a low profile than you thought.
  
  Either way, there isn't some alarm raised on campus that is causing militia to start cracking down on the place. The rest of the Talons working under you don't give you any trouble, save for Sunshine and Flameflower on occasion and even they aren't that bad and eventually you do become somewhat lenient with them since it would seem they are more than capable of balancing their business with pleasure. You sort of wonder why they didn't just become prostitutes though seeing as they're doing as much fucking as they are stealing.
  
  As for the rest of the Crimson Talons, things are business as usual elsewhere in the city, but then what do you really care? You're mostly divorced from those operations. Your slice of the pie is all you ever wanted and you still got that.
  
  Year 23
  
  You hear a knock at your door. You really hope that isn't Virgil, you're not in the mood for his begging today. Elana makes her usual hostile squeaks until you tell her to calm down.
  
  "What!? It's too fucking early to be banging on my door like this! The sun's not even setting!" you yell.
  "Yeah well it's important. The boss man wants to see you." Zalmora remarks.
  "Wha...(sigh) hold on."
  
  You didn't expect this.
  
  You get dressed as quickly as you can and open the door. Zal walks in and looks at Elana who is under a dresser and still giving the occasional angry squeak.
  
  "Ugh, that ugly thing still has way too many teeth." Zalmora says.
  "What the hell does Tom want and why would he send you of all people to come get me?" you ask.
  "How should I know? He never tells me anything as you well know. And he probably sent me because it pleases him to send me on menial tasks like this. So you coming or what?"
  "Yeah, yeah, just give me a few more moments."
  
  You finish getting your gear and leave with Zalmora though you don't know why she's walking with you. You haven't directly interacted with her since last year.
  
  "Zal, you are aware that I know how to get to the Talon hideout right? You don't need to escort me." You say.
  "I know, but I sort of felt like we should talk along the way." Zal says.
  "I don't really feel like arguing."
  "Who said anything about arguing? I said talk. I feel like we drifted apart after the incident at the university."
  "Did we? I didn't know we were so close."
  "Okay, maybe we weren't, but I still feel like we sort of took a wrong turn somewhere."
  "Yeah, it was when you weren't obeying my orders, accusing me of being a snitch, and then trying to manipulate me into killing Tom."
  "...okay...I can see where you might have some feelings about that. And I didn't say you had to kill Tom, I mean I think you might have been able to convince him into stepping down. That would have been just as good."
  "Sure, either way you would have been leading from the shadows."
  "I'm not sure why you're so against taking lead of the Crimson Talons. I mean yeah I get that you don't have any interest in leading and you like to play things safe and low key. I think that's not living up to your potential BUT I get it. Let me point out though, whether you intended to or not, you're actually a leader now. All those thieves that work directly with or under you? They speak highly of you, you know. I mean you have to know this right?"
  "Get to point Zal."
  "My point is, you're already half way there! Why not take the lead? The Crimson Talons could do better under you. I mean you'd at least eliminate all this talk about possibly getting into the drug trade again."
  "Drugs?"
  "Yeah, Jake and a few others want to get back into selling Yellow Devil. I'm pretty against the idea obviously, but I can't deny that there wouldn't be benefits to the organization."
  "Well what's Tom say?"
  "Dunno, that might be what he wants to talk to you about. But again if he's asking you for advice on this matter, I think it would just be better if you were in charge to make the final decision on it."
  
  Obviously Zalmora is still pushing for you to take control of the Crimson Talons and to you it's weird that she would still be attempting it. Even if you did, she has to know that you're aware of her agenda and wouldn't be a puppet.
  
  Unless it's something deeper than that, but...no. She's teasingly flirted a few times, but it isn't like you and her have actually ever had anything together.
  
  You and her are silent for a while until you're in the sewers and nearly to the hideout.
  
  "So...you really don't want to be head of the Crimson Talons?" Zalmora asks.
  "Not really, and if you lot are getting into drugs, I'm thinking I might be gone altogether." You say.
  "That's why I said you should just take power and shape this organization how you want it to be."
  "Zal, I'm not your damn puppet. You want Tom gone, you do it yourself, then YOU could shape it how YOU want. Now just stop pushing me, because I'm not interested." You snap.
  "I see. My apologies for bothering you. I can see my advice was never desired or needed. I suppose I'll take my leave."
  
  Zalmora then nods to you and begins walking back the way you came. You watch her walk off and just shake your head wondering why you even joined this crazy organization in the first place. Though you're also wondering if you won't be leaving it soon.
  
  You don't have to wonder for long as something else happens that you didn't expect.
  
  Before you even reach the hideout door, it opens and several Talon members come rushing out at you with weapons in hand. You're taken off guard and they soon knock you to the sewer muck and after kicking you around a bit, Jake comes out with a big axe in hand.
  
  "Ah, and now to deal with the second threat to the new regime. Pfft. Never liked you anyway. Always thought you were better than all of us, getting your own little section of the city to yourself, getting special treatment from Tom. Well that ends today." Jake remarks.
  "Wha...where the hell is Tom?" you utter while spitting up blood.
  "Geez, thought Zal said you were smart. Then again you followed her here, guess you weren't too smart. Haven't you figured it out yet? He's fucking dead! Just like you soon will be. I'm sure all those that worked with you will fall in line quick when they see your bloody head hanging on the wall."
  
  Jake laughs a bit with the men loyal to him and doesn't waste any more words on you. He's here to kill you and that's what he's going to do and you're not going to stop him.
  
  The last thing you see is the blade of an axe coming straight at your face.