“Long, long ago, before the Dusk elven empire and their wars, there was a province in the most northern parts of Bylyn: Fountainvale, built by the dwarves in ancient times, before they disappeared. Cities with giant steam-breathing pipes and giant gears that churned on the side of towers. Within the province was the city of Stewartsville. When the desert elves fled from the liches in the Atrium, long before we reclaimed it, this was our home. However, it wasn’t all peaceful…

  There were not only Desert elves living here, but Imperial humans who took residence in Stewartsville alongside us. Years later, it was re-founded into a city of multiple communities that fell under the ownership of greedy human nobles. They took all the gold and treasure for themselves and raised taxes so that its citizens were trapped in poverty… until the Three Legendary Thieves showed up.

  Put simply, the Three Legendary Thieves were… well, thieves. They stole from nobles and returned their wealth to the poor and helpless. They could only achieve this and avoid getting caught thanks to their collective skill-set. There was Yoko, a Fireborne from Bloodspike: witty, attentive and swift. It was thanks to him that they always made a timely escape.”

  “Then, there was the mastermind, or so he called himself: DEX-407, a rejected Cykx scientist. He built contraptions that could hoist the treasure from the vaults of the nobles and transport it to their own vault. His own kind may have rejected him, but it was thanks to his brilliance that they always got away with vast sums of loot. Lastly, there was their leader, a Desert Elf. He plotted the heists, used DEX’s technology to the group’s advantage and broke locks for his partners in crime. To this day, his name remains unknown, with only a black coat and a black bowler hat to identify him.

  “Like you do!” A little elven girl’s voice cut in. She was huddled up in bed while her father read her a book nested in his left hand. Kneeling at the bedside, he turned to her with a smile, adjusting his monocle. “Well, he didn't have a monocle, for one. Can’t say he had my sense of class.” She giggled in response, before he continued with the same expressive delivery, punctuated by hand gestures:

  “One thing he had over me, though: He was like a shadow in the cities he roamed, never granting guards more than the blink of an eye to identify him. He was never officially wanted, as he covered his tracks to the point where nobody could be sure how much he took or if all his work was even by the same hands. He was that skilled in the art of thievery.” The girl gazed at him in awe and laid on her side, listening keenly as her father continued the story.

  “They continued their bouts of organised theft, not stopping until balance had been restored. What they did not give away or use, they stored in a vault deep in a distant desert, guarded by a gargantuan monster. Everything went well until one day... they simply disappeared, leaving their deeds to decay into folklore. The nobles regained stability and the vault’s location fell into mystery, along with its treasures.”

  The girl’s father closed the book, setting it on the night drawer and laid back before continuing the tale. He set out how things stood today:

  “Many have set out to find it: tenacious Majolkkratt adventurers eager to take up the challenge; desperate Veer engineers scavenging for parts; crafty Half-Genie treasure hunters hungry for gold; brilliant Desert Elven technomancers driven mad by what technological marvels could be hidden away; Cykx researchers curious for the truth behind these strange rumours and famed dwarven archeologists seeking the expedition of a lifetime.”

  “Few ever returned and those that did never claimed to have found it… and that is where it stands. Treasure as far as the eye can see, lost to time and forgotten. All gave up eventually, all except a single one eyed man named-”

  “Does it exist?” The girl asked, laying back in the bed. The father tucked her in and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “I'm sure it does.”

  “You think anyone will ever find the vault?”

  “Who knows… but I have to get to work. I’ll be back by the morning, dear.” He rose and walked to the door of the room as the little girl yawned, before calling out to her father: “When I grow up, I’ll find it!” She lazily whined, before resting her head on the pillow. The father smiled with his eyes to the floor as he exited. “I'm sure you will…”

  He headed downstairs to a dilapidated yet homely bar of the sort where more of his kind lived: Criminals. The bar was filled to the brim with thieves, mercenaries, bandits and corrupt soldiers. His passing was greeted with respectful nods and the raising of glasses, his reputation as a skilled thief and a good friend preceding him in the noise of complementary chatter he heard.

  At the bar, an odd figure waited for him, not of a humanoid figure but rather that of a large red scorpion, its body roughly the size of a pillow. It had one claw that was fashioned into a wrench while his other claw has been replaced with a steam-powered bionic arm with 3 fingers. It was also wearing some sort of leather helmet with goggles as well as a small white lab coat that was custom made for him, in addition to a bow tie and a green shirt. The creature was fiddling with a small device it had created, but then let out an irritated grunt and set it down in front of him.

  The man walked to the bar and took a seat next to the scorpion. “Can't get it to work?” He asked the arthropod who responded by turning to him and giving him the device. “If you think you can do it, why don't you try and get this piece of junk to work, genius.” The scorpion had a thick accent with a raspy low voice. It was capable of speech through a device hanging over his fangs. The man scoffed and took the device to inspect it. “What is it supposed to be?” He asked. The scorpion rolled his eyes and crawled up onto his shoulder, picked it up and turned it around in his hand. “It’s an auto lockpick, stick it into a lock and we’re inside. Something we could certainly use with your reputation. The less time you spend on the street, the lower the chances of getting caught.”

  The man examined the auto-lockpick curiously. “But lockpicking is half the fun of my work...” He chuckled pleasantly. “It won't be fun when you get caught and that optically challenged lunatic in charge strings you up in a tree. You know what happens to thieves nowadays.” The scorpion snarled. “My luck never ran out on me before. You know that, Dexter. Speaking of which, it’s time to get to work. The new school year is starting soon and I want to enroll my kid. A bit of wrongdoing for the sake of who you love ain’t wrong, after all.”

  “That can sound really bad, you know?” Rahim chuckled and stood up with the scorpion still on his shoulder, before leaving the bar into the cold, grimy streets of Stewartsville. “You got a mark, Rahim?” The scorpion asked, continuing to fiddle with the auto lockpick. “Yes, actually. There’s a noble in the Whiteclouds district rumored to have a nasty habit of tax evasion. Sounds like a good way for us to cash in, don't you think?” The Scorpion nodded, before shuffling the auto lockpick into one of Rahim’s pockets.

  After a ten minute walk, they arrived at their target’s home. “That’s… quite the mark.” The scorpion uttered. It was grandiose in both size and style. There was a set of guards at the entrance and a few patrolling the premises. “It’ll be worth it, Dexter. I need the money, they don't.” Rahim frowned, scanning the area for a weak spot in its security. “I know that innovation is not free either, you know. If only the nobles realized that they don't need these riches as much.”

  “That’s what happens in the Imperial cities and you know how that works out...” Rahim grumbled, finding a gap in the barbed wire fence on top of the wall, then tossing a grappling hook over it. “The nobles there aren't as rich as these because they buy people.”

  Rahim lifted himself over the wall while the scorpion watched his back, making sure they remained undetected. Once over the wall, Rahim retrieved his grapple hook and stored it back into his trenchcoat before proceeding through the garden. The garden was large and well maintained, with a pleasant array of colourful flora, mainly roses and violets, decorating the way to the estate.

  Once there, Rahim knelt in front of the lock, refusing Dexter’s auto lockpick prototype. He tinkered around for a moment before unlocking the door, walking through and gently closing it behind him with a keen ear. Once inside, Rahim found the safe in under five minutes at the end of a hallway with gaudy decorations surrounding it. Having searched for a mere 5 minutes, he greeted the safe with wide eyed surprise, before cracking it even more swiftly, discovering the gemstones inside.

  Rahim took a large sum of the treasure and hid it away in a bag before clearing out, sneaking past one of the sleeping night guards in the hallway. Dexter snickered at the thought of them being fired the following day. Exiting the house went smoothly but the moment Rahim lifted himself over the wall to escape he heard shouting from inside the house. Apparently, the noble was the kind of wealth-obsessed maniac that marvelled at his capital gains at night and with his outburst, the guards inside took action. By the time they would check the gap in the barbed fence Rahim would be on the ground below, on the run. “Rahim, do you think they saw us?” Dexter asked him while Rahim ran away from the house. “I think not, but I'm not waiting around here until they do. We need to get back to the inn and fast.” He whispered lowly to Dexter as he ran through dark alleyways.

  Rahim went back the way he came, only to find that the gate in and out of the Whitemountains district back to Maplegrove had been closed down. It became evident that they didn't just rob some ordinary noble. There were guards everywhere patrolling the streets trying to find the burglars. The Whitemountains district was laid higher up in the city, which gave Rahim an absurd idea. Dexter vigilantly scanned his surroundings, keeping an eye out for authorities because, despite his thieving expertise, Rahim was in no shape to fight off a guard. He ran to one of the handrails at the edge of the Whitemountains. It was a long fall, easily a 9-kilometer drop to the closest roof nearby, and even then they wouldn't be back in Maplegrove, but in a district nearby: Marigold. Dexter looked down and then looked at Rahim. “No way... we’re not doing this.” He snapped, shooting Rahim a vexed expression. However, as Rahim wanted to turn back to find a safer option, some guards, still searching for him, suddenly came into view in the alleyway. Rahim was quickly cornered by the guards and backed off into the handrail. He glanced at the handrail again before giving Dexter an adventurous look.

  “I really hate you…” Dexter growled, his voice dripping with more venom than his glands could ever produce, before Rahim tipped his hat at the guards, and jumped over the handrail, leaving the guards behind as he and Dexter dropped down. Rahim, with a well-aimed throw, managed to cling his grappling hook onto one of the metal beams of a bridge and swung through the dark night sky before landing on top of the roof of a nearby fruit store. Not able to get his grapple hook back to the ground, Rahim let go of the rope and left it hanging. “Damn, now I need a new grapple hook... “ He smirked while Dexter clung onto his jacket with wide eyes, still in shock from the fall. “Dexter… you can let go now…”

  “One more stunt like that and you can find a new companion, you maniac!” Dexter threatened. Rahim simply chuckled and put another tally mark on a pad entitled: ‘Times Dexter threatened to quit.’ “I'm serious… Don't do that again.” Dexter snarled as he adjusted his coat and bowtie. It was a short walk to the inn in Maplegrove from Marigold and in about 30 minutes, Rahim had arrived home.

  “With a score like this, I don't think I’ll ever need to work again!” Rahim shouted in triumph as he entered the bar. Dexter, on the other hand, looked visibly shaken. “I hope for your sake that the therapist accepts diamonds…” They both went to one of the fences and exchanged the stones for gold. After dividing the loot between the two, both resumed their daily routines, but not before Dexter turned to Rahim. “Hey, watch your back out there. This could come back to bite us…” But it was quickly dismissed by Rahim. “I keep my face well hidden.” Dexter just rolled his eyes and returned to the bar to fiddle with his device while Rahim turned to the staircase. “You say that every time!” He added, walking up the stairs, checking on his still-asleep daughter, before returning to his own hired-out room.

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  The next morning, nothing of particular interest took place. Rahim woke up to the voice of his daughter. “Good morning! I already arranged breakfast myself!” Rahim raised an eyebrow and sat on the side of his bed, next to his Daughter. “Sweetheart… How did you manage to get food when you… You stole it didn't you…?” The girl looked at him with a big grin and nodded as if it was commonplace. “Yup! I'm going to be a thief like you when I grow up!”

  “No, you’re not. I don't want to risk you getting caught. I’ve been stealing all my life so I could give you the opportunity to make an honest living. You’re not going to just throw that away.” The little elf responded with slight disappointment, standing up and looking outside the window. “I don't want an honest living... I want to find the Legendary Thieves’ Vault! To get there you have to be a thief… right?” She was most impressionable, typical for an eight or nine-year-old.

  Rahim picked her up and put her on his lap. “Darling… I'm fairly sure the thieves vault is just a legend. No one knows whether it’s real or not. I don't want you to be a thief, especially if that legend is the only reason. I want you to be safe. You’re clever for your age, I certainly don't know anyone else at the age of nine that knows how to repair a clock valve, don't waste that skill just to be a criminal like me. A talent like that should be put to good use.”

  “You want me to become a mechanic? But…” Before she could finish her sentence Rahim hugged the young girl. “Yes, I do. Look around you... you live in a city that’s of gears and cogs.” The girl didn't look fully convinced yet. However… “Here… I’ve been keeping this for your birthday but if it helps you change your mind I’ll let you have it now.” Rahim rummaged through his coat and pulled out a small gilded wrench, decorated with gold and small gems and gave it to his daughter. “It’s the Kheylana wrench. It’s been a family heirloom among the Kheylana bloodline for generations. None of us were ever meant to be thieves, but you’ll be the first to break the cycle.”

  The girl looked curiously at the wrench, before gratefully receiving it and fixing it to her tool belt on her ragged outfit. While her dreams of thievery were quelled, her satisfaction with this heirloom was apparent, thus accepting her father’s wish. “So… I will be a mechanic, then…? But that means I'll never find the thieves vault...” Rahim smiled and put her down on the ground. “I didn't say that. Who knows? Maybe you’ll build a machine that takes you there, one that breaks the vault without even needing the keys!” That was all she wanted to hear. A few moments later, she rushed outside with Rahim, who followed at a more careful pace.

  Dexter sat at the bar, watching Rahim leave. Normally, Dexter wouldn't try to get involved with Rahim and his family. However, his worries about the night before drove him to follow them anyway. However, with his short scorpion legs, it took a considerable effort to keep up with them.

  By the time he finally had the chance to climb up Rahim’s coat, he was almost out of breath. To save a gruelling climb, Rahim picked him up and placed him on his shoulder the moment he felt a snatch on his coat. The little elf was already at the end of the street while Rahim was only halfway through the street, though ran back to him in her seemingly boundless energy.

  “Is that your kid?” Dexter asked as he saw her approach the two of them. “Yep, that’s Kat. She looks so much like her mother…”

  “Well, she has your beautiful purple eyes.” Dexter scoffed in a mocking tone. “So what’s the reason for your visit, Dexter? I don't get this very often.”

  “The job from yesterday is nagging me, I think we stirred up some real trouble this time. Might want to lay low for a while. Change our names and all that.” Rahim scoffed and looked at Dexter. “I just signed her up to a school under her real name. I'm not going to throw all that away and flee.”

  “Look, we’ve been detected before, but they never locked down an entire district just to catch us.”

  “Yes... but she needs to grow up properly, be the first Kheylana to be anything other than a thief.” Dexter hopped off his shoulder and made his way back to the inn. “Personally, I would listen to your scientist buddy and do exactly what I said, but you seem hell-bent on putting yourself at risk. Take care out there, Rahim.” By the time Dexter was gone, Kat had returned to Rahim and jumped up into his arms. “Look! Big red bug!” She yelled, pointing at Dexter. “That’s an arthropod, sweetheart.” He corrected, leaving the street with her in tow.

  Rahim took her to Marigold to buy groceries, taking Dexter’s advice at least a little by hiding his face from the patrolling guards, despite his face being covered the evening before. He also took her to see her new school, reasonably-sized with gears decorating the gate inside. Rahim stood in front of the gate, holding his daughter’s hand while admiring the building. “Tomorrow… you’ll be here, learning to be a mechanic.”

  “And then I’ll learn to build machines, right?” Rahim smiled and gave a warm glance to her. “Yes, you will….” He stood there quietly for a few moments before turning back to his daughter. “Do you realize you will be the first Kheylana that went to school? I'm jealous of you.” Kat looked at him wide-eyed. “Why didn't you go?”

  “Never had the chance… When I was your age I was already up to my neck in crime. But you’re not.”

  Kat gazed at the building before smiling fondly at it. “Maybe I’ll use this wrench to build that machine to find the vault!” Rahim picked her up with a bright smile. “You do that…” He turned around to walk away from the building. “I love you, dad.”

  “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  Rahim spent the rest of the day in Marigold with his daughter, getting her a set of chief engineer-grade mechanical tools, including a giant monkey wrench that the salesman was hesitant to sell at first, simply because its sheer size meant that it could serve as a weapon, a use that didn’t enter Kat’s mind. It was heist money well-spent, Rahim thought. In his mind, it would’ve just rotted away in the vault of that noble, otherwise.

  When the evening came, Rahim once more decided to take up on Dexter’s advice and instead of going to the usual inn he took her to a hotel in Marigold. With the money he made from that job, he’d be able to rent it out for quite some time. He got her a room, gave her more than her usual allowance and returned to the inn in Maplegrove, back to his friends to tell them he’s done with his life of crime.

  However… Upon entering the inn, Rahim would not find his friends sitting at the bar, but instead a battalion of soldiers arresting the inn-goers. Before he had a chance to turn around and run, a soldier outside shoved a spear to his face, preventing his escape. Mere minutes later, Rahim would be thrown in a cell with an animal carrier that was cursing in a familiar voice. “Rahim? Is that you?”

  “Yes, Dexter… it is.” Rahim sat down in the corner, slumped into a pitiful pile of elf. “Well first off: TOLD YOU SO! Secondly: GET ME OUT OF THIS ANIMAL CARRIER SO I CAN BEAT YOU! Third: I told you to lay low for a while! You should have known we were dead men walking, why did you even come to the inn?!” Rahim looked at Dexter in his animal carrier. “Dead men…?”

  “I warned you about Colonel Deadeye multiple times! That maniac is obsessed with finding that fairytale vault and is planning to question and kill every thief he can get his hands on!”

  “He what?!” Rahim shouted in panic. “What about my kid?!”

  “Yeah, you’d best hope she won’t be in Marigold. Our execution is public. You’re going to be losing your head tomorrow and I'm getting bug sprayed… they think that’s funny.” Rahim stood up, clearly in a panic. “I can’t let Kat become an orphan! I have to get out of here!”

  “Well did you by chance bring any explosives? If not, we’re pretty boned.” In Dexter’s continued cynicism, Rahim paced around the cell, desperate to find a way to escape. His hope faded with every passing second, but he did get an idea looking at the barred cell window.

  When night came again and the prison guards were asleep, Rahim finally released Dexter from his animal carrier, who promptly slapped him. “That is for never listening to me.” Rahim, however, ignored it and interrupted him. “Dexter, can you fit through these cell windows?” Dexter glanced over at the window and looked back to Rahim, having understood the implications of this. “I'm not just going to leave you here, Rahim, I have some integrity left.” Despite the answer, Rahim took it as confirmation and shoved him through the window bars. “You have to leave me here. Not to save yourself but to stand by Kat’s side, I can't let her grow up alone and you can't either. Consider it my dying wish.”

  “What do I even tell her?”

  “Don't tell her anything until you see that she’s ready for it. But most importantly: Keep her safe, she’s everything I ever had…” Dexter hesitated for a moment before departing, on his way to the hotel Kat resided in... leaving Rahim to be executed.

  With his compact size and ability to cling to walls Dexter managed to successfully escape the fortress but now he was all the way in Broadwater, a district far away from Marigold, where Kat currently was. Worst of all, he had to pass through Maplegrove again. It was a grisly scene, as many hideouts other than their own got raided. No one was safe from the guard anymore, not even in Maplegrove.

  What would normally be a thirty-minute walk for an adult man took Dexter well over an hour to do with his short scorpion legs. He travelled for roughly two hours, narrowly avoiding death multiple times in the early morning streets, where thousands commuted to work. Eventually, he reached the hotel… though not before running into a fierce argument with the desk clerk. Dexter was already not the biggest fan of children and despite promising Rahim he’d take care of Kat, he hoped to be rid of her as soon as possible.

  Once in her room, he attempted in vain to silently wake her up. Even with his heavily augmented scorpion body, he wasn’t strong enough make any sort of impression on her. He simply resorted to waiting. It was a fancy room, with plenty of mechanical items to deconstruct that kept Dexter busy... until Kat finally rose from her sleep. However, the first he heard of her was: “EEEEEEEEEEK, BIG BUG!” In response, Dexter turned around with a disgruntled look on his face. “Girl, scorpions are arthropo-” He was interrupted by Kat nearly crushing him with her wrench. “Kid! Wait up! I’m not here to- Kat! Stop it!” Dexter yelled as he dodged Kat’s wrench numerous times, eventually climbing on the ceiling, out of reach. She only stopped trying to reach him once Dexter yelled her name. “You… know my name?”

  “Well, you’re the first not to point out that I can ta-”

  “And you can talk?!” Dexter groaned and came down from the ceiling. “Yes, I know your name and yes I can talk. I used to work with your dea-... dad.”

  “My dad…? Where is he?!” Dexter looked at her, wanting to speak the truth, but stopping himself when he saw Kat almost tearing up. “Your dad has run into some trouble and is dea-... dead-set on escaping. He’s off to a special place… You know? That one.”

  “The Thieves’ Vault?”

  “Yeah sure, kid. The thieves' vault.” Upon hearing it, she jumped up and lifted Dexter, spinning around in joy. “It exists! We’re going to the thieves' vault!”

  After a few spins, nearly getting Dexter seasick, Kat ran out of the hotel with him on her shoulder. “So, where is it?”

  “Where is what?”

  “The thieves vault!” Dexter pondered for a moment. The situation was increasingly difficult for him to manage. “Well… It’s a dangerous journey and he… told me to get you out of here and prepare you for a journey to the vault, yes.” Kat held Dexter close to her, almost like a plush, much to his chagrin. “It’s not safe here? But I'm meant to go to school tomorrow!”

  “Listen, kid. Do you want your dad back or do you want to be a mechanic? Besides, I have like 7 PhDs, I can teach you better than those amateurs.” Kat, upon hearing it smiled and nodded at Dexter, taking the road out of Stewartsville and into Meckhagen.

  “So where should we go?”

  “There’s a harbor city called Meckhagen nearby. I think we’ll be safe there.”

  “Okay! And when will I be ready to go find the Thieves' Vault?”

  “When I say so.”

  “When’s that?”

  “Not yet.”

  “But when is it?”

  “When I tell you so…”

  “But when will you do that?”

  “Not yet.” And so, Kat moved to the nearby town of Meckhagen with Dexter, a man who, despite wanting to get rid of her, would be stuck with her for quite some time…