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"So let me get this straight before you begin. You're going to climb the outer wall, run across the courtyard and scale the wall of the house all to get at my fa... I mean Keenan's stash?" Shayna looked a little perplexed at Isis but she couldn't argue about the worth of the stash she had frequently seen her father hide away behind one of the book cases of the house. She had figured between the few magic items and the sack of coins she had watched him squirrel away they could both live high for quite some time. She had an urge to show Isis a finer side of life, one she had gotten used to in her forced servitude with Keenan. "If you get a chance my spell book is in the room lying on my vanity. There are spells in that book that aren't in the ones you gave me."

"Alright, if I get a chance I will. It's the least I can do for the charm you made me. It makes my life so much easier when it comes to breaking and entering." Isis flashed the small anklet at Shayna and smiled. "I should be back within a few hours, remember to stay here and lie low if you go down to get something from the taproom. There may still be people after you; the man that came in here the other day asking about you may not have gone far."

"No worries Isis, I have a spell prepared for just such an occasion. Better than any mundane disguise you could come up with." She gave Isis a wink and sat down at the desk to study her books more. "I'll be here when you get back."

"I'm holding you to that." Isis smiled and exited the door, rearming the trap for Shayna as she left the room. Shayna had become quite a valuable addition to her team, if you could call it that, over the last few weeks. The two of them combined had made another two takes that rivaled the goods she had gotten when she had 'liberated' Shayna. The girl was smart, very smart in fact. She had helped Isis refine her plans of attack and provided her with several magical charms that had been invaluable thus far. Isis touched the door and thought of bond that had been forming between the two of them before leaving the hallway.

**

"Alright, enough study time for me. It's time to go get some food Shayna." She stood up with grace stopping long enough to stretch before exiting the room. The trap at the door had become almost second nature to her during her short stay with Isis but even so it still disturbed her to know that if she forgot once or made a wrong move she would only have a few seconds to get to the antidote that Isis had stored in the room just for such an occasion. Before entering the main room she raised her hands and made a few gestures followed by a few arcane words then willed the power of her spell to give her the visage of a young elf woman, one that Merk was familiar with. She went downstairs and ordered a plate of food and a mug of water to wash it down. The bar maid would deliver it to her room because of the arrangements Isis had made with Merk.

As she climbed the stairs for the thousandth time she sighed and wondered how long she would have to stay cooped up in the room before Isis would call the coast clear and she could go out in public again. She was by no means a prisoner, Isis had made that clear, but she also was quite worried about her safety while Isis was not around. She cleared the trap and began shutting the door as a foot wedged itself between the jamb and the door itself. She yelped and jumped back from the door, raising her hands to cast a spell. She recognized the tall, lanky black-haired man as he stepped into the room and brandished a dagger menacingly at her.

She was going to parlay but she was sure that this man didn't want to talk about his chosen profession nor the fact that she had no desire to go back into a life of slavery. She immediately began wiggling her fingers and weaving a pattern in the air. The man's dagger slice missed her by a mere half an inch or less just as she sucked in her stomach and pointed a finger at the tall man. A grey mesh of webbing covered the entire room and tangled him up against the wall leaving her to walk freely through the neat hole she had been standing in. "What do you want?"

"You're a feisty lass aren't ye?" He struggled against his bonds and tried to angle his dagger to cut the strands which in turn got stuck as well. "I'll have ye for this ya wee elven harlot!"

She had a start for just a second as she realized he was just interested in accosting a comely elven lass, he had no idea who she was. She intended to keep it that way. Not wasting any further time she pulled a wand from her belt and lowered it at him before whispering the command word to activate it. A halo of red energy encircled his head and left him drooling like a doddering idiot within seconds. "That should last long enough for Isis to get back; as a matter of fact she should be here any moment now."

Shayna smiled with superiority before sitting down on the bed to watch her prisoner and wait for her new guardian to return from her work. She had a good look at the man and realized that he was still quite armed so she approached him cautiously to remove the weapons from his person. It took a bit of searching his body and belongings but she finally came up with six daggers, a short sword, a pouch of coins and a pouch full of oddities that she did not recognize. She also removed a signet ring from his hand and a pair of goggles from one of his pockets. "An assassin I would guess but why the hell is he after an elven girl?" She looked at the drooling, babbling man and giggled. "Well he won't tell us much like that."

**

Isis arched a brow as she attempted to open the door and found it stuck fast. She tugged several times and noticed a multitude of sticky filaments strung between the walls of the room. "Uh Shayna?"

"Isis?" She heard the familiar voice from inside the room and seconds later the webs began to unwind and fall to the floor and the door swung freely. Shayna was standing there in her elven disguise. Isis almost laughed as the assassin that had been looking for Shayna the day before as she watched him tumble to the ground and grin as he smacked his head face first into the wood. "What the hell did you do to him?" Amusement was evident in her voice and she stood watching the grinning fool for a moment before binding his hands and feet. Putting another rope around his waist she secured him to the leg of the bed and searched him quickly.

"Always remember one thing; an assassin's weapons may not be the most obvious things in view." Isis drew forth a slender stiletto from the back of the man's collar and pulled a leather-enshrouded razor from his mouth. Another check found a few small picks weaved into his hair. Isis did a third for good measure and didn't find anything else, she finished just as Shayna's disguise expired. "Alright, can you cancel the spell out?"

"Yeah, hold on a second." Shayna closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment. Once she opened them she had a look at the ugly human male and gave Isis a nod. "He should be fine, I don't understand."

"He's faking." Isis brought a foot up and attempted to bring it down upon his genitals but found a knee suddenly blocking them. "Clever little assassin, but not good enough." Isis smiled at him sweetly even as she watched his tongue feeling around for the razor. "I took the liberty of removing it already dear."

"The sand take you both, your kind is good for nothing but being pleasure slaves." He spat at Isis and was surprised to find that she had dodged his feeble attempt at an insult. "I'll tell you nothing."

"Don't be so sure, I haven't even started yet." Her She flexed her fingers and pulled a small dagger from her belt. Grabbing his hand she leaned in closer to his head and whispered sweetly to him. "I had this room shielded from noise quite a while ago, so scream all you like."

He was sweating worse than a monsoon would rain water down during the desert's storm season and Isis watched his eyes follower her hand, the armed one, down and toward his hand. She stuck the small blade underneath his fingernail and pushed just a hair, enough to let him know she meant business. "Shayna put your disguise back on and go tell Merk to prepare fresh bandages."

"Yes Isis." She followed the directions without question; she didn't want to be around to watch Isis torture the man. It was not as if she didn't think he deserved it but she wasn't fond of pain in any way, shape or form. Sitting at the bar she leaned in and motioned for the portly but friendly bartender. "Merk, Isis says she needs fresh bandages."

"Oh dear, wha'd she get herself into this time?" Reaching behind the bar Shayna watched him pull out a stack of bandages and a healing kit and hand it over. "It's not for her. It's for that guy that followed me up the stairs."

"What? I didn't see anyone go up." Merk scratched his head and tilted it to the side. Shayna scrutinized him for a moment then realized that he had to be telling the truth, she trusted the look in his eyes.

"He's really sneaky." Shayna left it at that and headed upstairs. Thinking better of just bursting in she waited a few minutes approaching the door. Before she got there it opened wide.

"Oh there you are." Isis took the bandages and shut the door behind Shayna. "I need these."

Shayna was surprised to find the odd human passed out still tied to the bed with his fingernails all pried up and bloody. She didn't bother to inspect him further; she trusted Isis had gathered what she needed. "What's his story?"

"As I suspected, he was sent here for you and decided to have a little fun with what he thought was a defenseless little elf girl." Isis sighed as she looked down at the man. She didn't want to take a life but she couldn't let this man live or he would come after them both in no time. After bandaging the man's hands and other various wounds so he wouldn't bleed all over Merk's floor she stood and swung around toward Shayna. "Shayna I have to go out again and I'm taking him with me. Stay here and don't leave the room."

"Alright, I have dinner coming if you want me to get you something." Shayna looked over at the man who was bound and bandaged and seemingly helpless then back to Isis. "What are you going to do?"

"I only have one option, or else he'll come back for us over and over again. I have to stop him now. I don't like doing this but we have no choice in the matter." Isis couldn't bear to look into Shayna's eyes. She knew the little cub would plead for the man's life if Isis gave her the chance. "I am going now, don't open the door again."

Shayna nodded as she watched Isis pick up the man and leave the room, heading for the back. Just as Isis creeped out of sight Mayna, one of the girls that worked for Merk walked up the stairs with a plate full of food. Shayna welcomed her into the room and was quite thankful Isis had cleaned up the blood that had been spilled. "Thanks May, I appreciate it."

"No problem darling." The sultry lass left the room in her usual saunter and headed down stairs. After closing and arming the door again Shayna turned to her dinner and smiled. "Finally a bit of reward for a hard day's work."

**

Isis struggled silently with her task, it had been nothing to slip into the sewers and walk down one of the many filth-ridden tunnels that ran throughout the city. She walked quite a way from Merk's tavern and dropped the would-be assassin down in the muck. Drawing her favorite dagger out she crouched over him and brought the blade to bear, the skin of his throat shredded like cheese under the sharp blade. Disgustedly she turned away and began heading back toward the tavern. Voices ahead caught her attention and she quickly pressed her body against the wall of the sewer tunnel. Her self-training included various ways of hiding herself from creatures that excelled in stalking the darkness. Only the brave, foolish, or powerful traveled the sewers at night.

The voices got louder as she stood completely still looking back the way she had come. A trio of humanoids turn the corner near her, causing her to press herself as deeply into her side-alcove as she could. The three were were-rats, a disgusting lycanthrope borne of an infected bite from another being. Their chatter was low but she listened as best she could.

"I don't know about this Gark, they sent Kardisan against the sneak-thief and the girl. I don't want to piss him off. He should be able to handle two little kittens like them without any trouble." The speaker was the smaller of the three, he seemed to be a halfling if it weren't for the rat-like features.

"You shut your mouth, the boss wants us to make sure he killed Isis and brings the little bitch back. Knowing him he's probably having a bit of 'fun' with the young one now." The largest of the three were-rats seemed to be the leader and the mention of her name made her curiosity peak just a bit. She knew these three from somewhere but she wasn't sure where. Obviously she had made a name for herself if someone was being sent to kill her. Mentally cursing her luck she pulled one of her many tricks from a pocket and stepped freely into the tunnel behind the rat men. "Boys, looking for me?"

"What? Isis! Get her boys!" The largest were-rat snarled and curled his lip up in a devilish smile. "Don't damage her too much; I could use a little company tonight."

"You're not my type." Isis grinned like a snake before the kill and pitched the bead in her hand at the approaching trio. She knew that the effect of the small object would be devastating so she jumped into the corresponding tunnel she had just been standing in and tucked herself into a ball, rolling right into the muck as a huge explosion rocked the corridor behind her. The squeals of the three rats made her smile just a bit; she rose up and peered around the corner to find three charred bodies awaiting her. Not taking any chances she pulled a silvered dagger out of her boot and wetted it on three vermin necks. "I hate were-rats."

With that business done Isis returned to the tavern as quickly as possible. It wasn't safe for them at Merk's tavern anymore and she didn't want to rain anymore trouble down on the kindly innkeeper. She hated moving as much as she hated were-rats but she had no choice, she was protecting two people now instead of just one. She was quite relieved, however that Shayna's disguising spells could work on her as well. That would make the process a little easier.

It didn't take long for her to retrace her steps back to the inn she had called home for the longest time. It had indeed been just that, she knew this place as a sort of home away from home. Wherever home may be, her memory loss saw to it that she had no clue where her real home was. Exiting the grate she shook some of the muck off of her clothing and out of her hair before entering the inn through the back. It was a quick enough process to remove her clothing and use a few jugs of water to clean herself up a bit. She went as far as to use a scented oil to negate what was left of the sewer smell. She would have never used such a thing if she knew that she was going on a job, smells alerted people just as quickly as movement.

As quietly as possible she snuck into the room and found Shayna sleeping on the bed. However much she longed to let the girl sleep she knew they had to leave the inn quickly. After thinking about it she figured that would possibly have to the city itself. The were-rat guild stretched throughout the undercity and beyond and Isis was afraid their influence would be hard to shake in the desert city. She sighed softly in her throat and put her back against the wall to think, she had never left the city once she had come here and a part of her didn't want to leave at all.

A knock on the door drew her from her thoughts. Isis had a dagger in her hand faster than an eye could follow. With caution she crept to the door and listened. For a long time other than heavy breathing she heard nothing.

"Isis, its Merk." The voice was familiar once she had associated the name so she quickly disabled her trap and opened the door just a crack. "Ye've got company below and I'd wager they're covering the back also."

"Thanks Merk, don't endanger yourself any further. I want to thank you for all you've done." Isis silently pulled a rather large gemstone out of one of the hidden pouches of her supple armor and handed it to Merk. "I need two horses or camels from your stable."

"This more than covers it kitten. Don't worry yourself a bit." He smiled and pocketed the gem then tottered down stairs and through the kitchen as if he had been there the whole time. She heard him bellow for one of the serving girls and rant about the quality of the food one of the guests had received, they all knew that was the signal to start a bit of a commotion.

"Shayna, get up!" Isis rocked her shoulder softly until the young girl opened her eyes and looked around blearily. "We have to go, quickly and quietly."

"What's wrong?"

"We've been had, someone wants to kill me and capture you." Isis pried one of the floorboards up and retrieved the last of her rather large stash. In her hands she put three beads, two like the first and one that would burst forth a flash of light as bright as the sun. After stowing the money, gems, and a few minor magical trinkets she turned to Shayna. "Do you have enough magic to disguise the both of us?"

"I'll do you one better." Shayna smiled devilishly and pulled a wand out of a holster at her boot.

**

"Merk, yer stallin' and I don't like it." The smelly, large man said as a spray of spittle and rank breath hit Merk's face from the proximity.

"I'm doin' n'such thing, I told ye she's upstairs and if ya want her ya have'ta get her yerself." Merk crossed his burly arms over his chest and stared the larger man in the eyes. "This tavern is neutral to the dealings in the city and I pay your masters a handsome sum for that. An' if ye damage anythin' it's comin' out of yer hide."

"Luck be with ye kitten." Merk smiled as the unkempt man huffed and began ascending the steps toward the second floor, he hoped he'd given Isis enough time to prepare. He felt someone kiss his cheek and almost yelped in fright until he caught the familiar scent of lavender and rosemary oil. His smile, he knew, wouldn't be lost on Isis.

Isis would have liked to thank the burly tavern keep in a better way but she had barely enough money to get the two of them safely out of the city and to the next. The contacts she had made throughout the years would finally come in handy it seemed. She couldn't see Shayna so she had ordered the girl to hold tightly onto her tunic and not to let go for anything. As they walked through the night-time streets she felt like all eyes were on them. Her voice was a whisper as she walked along. "Shayna, are you still back there?"

"Yeah, I'm right here. How far do we have to go, my spell won't last longer than a half an hour or so."

"We'll be out of the gate by then. I have a friend waiting outside with a couple of camels." Isis felt the girl shiver and smiled despite their situation. She knew that Shayna would not be keen on the idea of riding a camel but they were the best way to traverse the desert. Their journey would take a few days of riding without much food or water to spare. Once they reached the gate Isis spat a curse and ducked into an alley. The gate was being guarded by two more guards than usual and a wizard who was sitting nonchalantly on the wall.

"I see you little Maikari kittens, come out, come out wherever you are. I want to play." The purple-robed wizard called out from behind a scraggly brown beard.

"Damnit Isis, you just had to pick the gate that Larc is guarding." She looked out from her hiding place and found that the wizard was gone. Another curse left her lips and she shook her head softly, not sure what to do.

"Who is that?" Shayna asked quietly.

"He calls himself the Larc, his real name is Carl Winters. He still thinks that merely spelling his name backwards is a good gimmick for selling his services." She looked over at Shayna who had appeared suddenly and then looked down at her hands. "Well so much for that thought, what do you have prepared?"

"I have another web and a few more minor spells. Most of the stuff I have prepared is illusions." Shayna pulled a wand out of a tied to her wrist and then put it under the crook of her arm. "I have an idea."

**

Soaring over the houses slowly the Larc swept his eyes back and forth searching for his quarry. He had been able to see through their invisibility using a device he had gotten from his father, whom he had subsequently killed. He slowed his progress and began looking more thoroughly.

"Looking for me?" Isis called out loudly enough for him to hear from her position on one of the roofs below him. As he swung around he smiled and blew him a kiss, knowing he could see through her illusionary double standing not so far in front of her.

"I'll fry the fur from your hide!" He smiled; her illusion wouldn't work on him so he pretended like it was the real Isis when he could see the tip of her tail sticking out from behind the cooking chimney on the building she was standing on. His fingers began weaving in intricate gestures as he went through the motions of a complex spell, one he had just learned and ultimately his favorite. A series of cold, sharp pains shot up his back and along his spine, he turned to see Shayna standing on the ground not far from him. His protections had held against her feeble wand. "You'll have to do better than that little kitten!"

"How's this?" Isis said sweetly into his ear as she wetted her dagger on his neck and yanked his belt free of the robe he was wearing. She plummeted with the body until she was close to the ground and then stopped the levitation spell she had been using. "You're a genius now lets get out of here before more of these bounty hunting punks come calling."

"Let me search him." Shayna said as she knelt down in front of the dying wizard and held her hands out. She retracted them when Isis smacked them softly.

"Don't do that, he's not as addle-witted as he'd like everyone to think." She looked him over for a moment then grabbed one of the pouches from the belt she had pilfered. "Just as I thought, he still carries it with him."

"What?"

Isis smiled and pulled out a little gem about the size of a cat's paw and looked through it at the wizard's possessions. "Okay, take the robe and the ring on his finger but leave the boots and make sure you don't touch the buckle on his belt."

With a smile she dropped the individual pouches into her backpack and wound the belt around her hand. Looking around the corner for just a short peek she saw several of the rat-men coming toward them. "Shay, pick up the pace darling we have company."

Isis took the assassin's goggles from her Shayna's belt and put them on her head. To her surprise they were more than just keeping the sand from a person's eyes like the usual goggles and facial wear. They also allowed her to see in the dark like a dwarf, a black and white view that still held fine detailing. With a grin she picked up a handful of sand and turned back to Shayna. "Get ready with that web of yours, we're going to have to make a break for it."

"Okay." Shayna put the rest of the wizard's things in her own small pack and stood behind Isis. "What are you doing?"

"Fighting dirty." She grinned broadly and sprang out from her hiding place. Her left hand flung outward releasing a spray of sand into the lycanthrope's eyes. The unfortunate beast cried out in pain and fell backward into the sand writhing and wiggling trying to get the sand out. With her right hand she unfurled the belt and whipped it across the face of the next rat in line, after scoring a direct hit on his face she watched him recoil and let the makeshift weapon go.

Isis reached down and pulled her short sword from her belt and swiped it at the remaining two that were standing. They both split up and held their rusty swords at mid-chest level pointing directly at her. She watched one of them head toward he left flank and the other to her right. Choosing to face the largest she had her back to the alleyway that Shayna was standing in. She felt more than saw the were rat behind her thrust his weapon and with a quick dodge and roll she moved out of the way in time for him to almost score a hit on the larger one. "Now Shayna!"

Isis dove for the alleyway in time to watch a grey ball of matter fling outward and coat the cramped street and buildings in a thick series of webbings. She laughed loudly and patted Shayna on the back. "Well done, now we have to hit the gate quick and make a run for it. Stay close."

"I'm right behind you Isis!"