Of course my day is far from over. I don''t really expect it to be to begin with, but when Wiktor mentions our next stop, I''m a little surprised anyway. No, I really shouldn''t be. He just mentioned that I''ll have a job to do. It is only to be expected that I have to prepare for it. I decide to inquire anyway.


    “The upstream waterfront? What are we doing there? I mean, I know some decent shops there, but that is about it.”


    He grins, as he leads the way.


    “That''s just the thing. You need to get to know the neighborhood. There are some people you need to get to know too. And they need to know your face as well. So, we''ll make some introductions. We might look into getting you some more training too.”


    He eyes me up as we reenter the labyrinth of houses outside the city wall.


    “You know how to knock around some idiots and you don''t get pushed around easily yourself. On top you have a way with words and you are a half decent sneak. There is still room for improvement though. Especially regarding the latter points.”


    He weaves through the narrow dirt road in between houses, dodging people left and right. I follow him, always half a step behind, as he only hums the same happy tune as earlier. Eventually he speaks up again.


    “You can''t always intimidate people into seeing things your way. Sometimes you have to honey your words instead. And, correct me if I''m wrong, but I think you have no experience as a pickpocket at all. Those are the things we''ll try to work on. Maybe we''ll even make some progress. Who knows? Anyway, we are here!”


    As he speaks those last words he points at the shop in front of which we have stopped. The sign above the door shows some animal paws, although I''m uncertain of which animal exactly, and some coins, pennies mostly by the looks of them.


    I''m not sure what to make of the sign, but I memorize it anyway. My confusion must be clearly evident on my face. Or at least it is evident enough for Wiktor to pick up on it.


    “This is the Paws & Pawn, a pawnshop. We have a decent, professional working relationship with the owner. Please do try to keep it that way, yes?”


    What can I say to that? Well, even if he doesn''t say it out loud, I have a good idea what kind of professional relationship a thieves guild might have with a pawnshop owner. I doubt this is the only fence they use though. Well, it is good to know one at least in case I need to move some ill gotten goods.


    Without any further delay we enter, since we wouldn''t want to draw undue attention here of all places.


    The interior is not unlike the other shop I have seen around here already. It is cluttered and a not lit very well for the better part. It doesn''t help that the few windows of the place are rather narrow. The sturdy bars in the windows don''t exactly help either.


    Curiously enough very few of the things on display are secured in any way. Yes, only a few of the more expensive items are chained to the rather sturdy shelves. Is it because the shop has a reputation? Or because any thief worth considering will be part of the outfit conducting business through this front?


    From somewhere deeper in the shop I can hear coins shifting. Yes, I''m almost certain that I hear the sound of shifting coin. How curious.


    As we move through the cluttered shelves, which are arranged about as labyrinthine as the buildings of this district in general, I can finally catch a glimpse of the counter.


    So far the entirety of the building has been taken up by a single room. The counter and the thick iron bars extending all the way to the ceiling above though separate part of it off. And for good reason too.


    As Wiktor slinks up to the counter I stop and stare. I have a little trouble believing what I see. I rub my eyes, but nothing changes. This is real.


    There, behind the counter and its iron bars is a little dragon, rolling around on a pile of coins, mostly pennies, but I can seen silver and gold coins too, almost like a cat on catnip. With his mostly shimmering black scales he looks a little like a cat too. The almost white scales on the dragon''s feet only serve to reinforce the image. Yes, he very much looks like an oversized, scaly tuxedo cat.


    Wiktor walks up to the counter as if it is the most natural sight. He doesn''t even slow down in the slightest. Finally he knocks on the counter.


    “Hey, Beldrogar! Got a moment for us?”


    The little dragon lets out a sound that is somewhere between a sigh and a hiss. It doesn''t seem all that pleased by the interruption.


    No, wait, I really shouldn''t think of the dragon as an it. The name sounds decidedly male and if Wiktor treats him like a person I should too. Is this why Wiktor felt it necessary to mention the guild''s professional working relationship with the shop owner before we entered?Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Slightly annoyed that we interrupted his quality time, Beldrogar gets up and saunters over to the counter too. His voice sounds curious, maybe a raspy little like sandpaper or rustling leaves? I''m not quite sure, but I have no trouble understanding him anyway, which is what really matters.


    “Wiktor, what''s up? Why do you interrupt my coin bath? You aren''t here to peddle something to me, are you?”


    My human companion waves the little dragon off.


    “No, nothing boring like that.”


    He motions for me to step closer.


    “I want to introduce a new face. Beldrogar, this is Viviona, Jerzy''s new apprentice. Viviona, this is Beldrogar, the owner of this magnificent shop, a master at moving goods and a connoisseur of fine coins.”


    I lower my head slightly.


    “It''s a pleasure making your acquaintance.”


    Somehow Beldrogar seems a little excited. Is it the way his long, slightly serpentine body moves left and right? He certainly takes a moment to eye me up.


    “Oh yes! A pleasure for sure!”


    What exactly does he mean by that? His choice of words is curious. Does he mean that it''s a pleasure to meet me? Or that it certainly has to be a pleasure for me to get to meet him? Whatever, I don''t get to dwell on it for long, as Wiktor speaks up again.


    “Anyway, now that we have taken care of the pleasantries, can we use the room upstairs for a little? Our fresh little hatchling still needs a little training.”


    The dragon''s head swivels about briefly, from me to Wiktor and then back to me.


    “Fine, under one condition.”


    This time I beat Wiktor to it.


    “What do you have in mind?”


    Beldrogar puffs up his chest, before he answers.


    “Well, since you interrupted my coin bath, I could use a little help polishing my scales. It is so hard to give them a proper shine!”


    I can''t help it. He appears like a cat begging to be groomed to me right now. Then an idea strikes me. So far he and Wiktor have been negotiating this deal without my input after all. It is time to change that.


    “Fine. I don''t mind. There is another thing I want out of this though.”


    Now both the human and the dragon at the counter perk up.


    “Oh?”


    I pull my lucky penny out of my pocket.


    “It''s nothing much. I just want a piece of string for my lucky penny, so I can wear it like a necklace.”


    [*Ding!* Your skill Haggling has leveled up to level 2!]


    This is a divine whisper I can very much appreciate. Wiktor in turn looks a little surprised at my request. I''m not sure about the dragon on the other hand. I''m no expert on dragon body language after all. I can see the dragon''s gaze refocusing on the coin I''m holding though.


    “Oh! A real lucky penny! Well, alright. I can accommodate a fellow connoisseur of rare coins. We have a deal!”


    The dragon''s gaze shifts slightly, as does his focus. I can tell he is looking past me now, at something on the shelves taking up so much of the room. A moment later a thin leather cord floats over my shoulder, only to land in my hand as I open it.


    “There you go!”


    then Beldrogar turns to face Wiktor once more.


    “You have a key and you know the way up. Have fun!”


    Then his attention shifts to me once more.


    “I''ll see you afterwards!”


    I don''t protest. The dragon already lived up to his part of the bargain after all. Instead I do as he suggested. I tie my lucky penny up with the thin leather cord, and slip it around my neck afterwards, so I won''t lose it by accident. I slip the coin under my blouse too, just to make sure. I don''t need to tempt fate, or any other pickpockets, after all.


    Then I follow Wiktor, who waits at the bottom of a narrow flight of stairs. The stairs squeak quite a bit. Or at least the first few do, until I start to place my steps with greater care. An action that, casual as it may be, earns me another partial increase of my [Stealth] skill.


    As we reach the top, Wiktor pulls out a key to unlock the door waiting for us there. Once we are through he locks the door behind us once more.


    The upper floor is a single large room too. In some ways it is much like the shop below. For one it is quite cluttered. In every other way it is as different as it possibly can be.


    This room incorporates the attic of the building as well and it isn''t cluttered with random things. No, not at all. Instead the recreation of one of the local streets takes up all the space from one end to the other. There are shopfronts and carts, banners and signs. The most astonishing though are the countless fancy mannequins, all dressed up different. The whole setup looks very much like a street scene frozen in time.


    This is important, and as a result [Streetwise] earns partial increase too.


    At the same time I, as I keep taking in more details, I can''t help but notice a few more differences. There is for one, of course, no mud on the ground. No, it is the wooden floor one would expect inside a building. And, all the fancy and not so fancy outfits on the mannequins come with numerous bells.


    It may seem like a small observation at first, but it really is an important detail. And thus it earns me one more divine whisper informing me of a skill leveling up.


    [*Ding!* Your skill Perception has leveled up to level 7!]


    A maniacal grin spreads across my face as I realize what this is. My voice comes out as an awed whisper.


    “A training parkour. A real honest training parkour.”


    Wiktor seems to share my enthusiasm.


    “Why don''t you give it a try? The lady in red at the shop of the cloth merchant. Try to get the content of her purse without ringing any bells.”


    I nod. I don''t exactly have high hopes for my first try, but I have to try! I certainly won''t improve if I don''t.


    There is another surprise waiting for me though. One Wiktor springs on me the moment I step into the recreated city street. The moment I do, the mannequins start moving. It''s surprisingly lifelike, except it''s incredibly eerie at the same time. It is Eerie, because they all move in utter silence.