"Adrian."
"Guildmaster."
The thug was now sitting in a grimy warehouse dimly lit by several torches. Adrian was seated upon a plain wooden stool, quite contrasting to the lavish golden seat and desk the hooded man at the other end sat on. One look would have plainly told anyone that the desk and seat were obviously not in their rightful place. The Guildmaster's clothing was almost identical to Adrian's contact - who was sitting between them - if it were not for a peaked hood and a maroon lizard emblazoned upon his back.
"I understand that you have just assassinated Merchant-lord Rufus Zaneth, a prominent trader who however used dirty charlatan tricks to acquire quite a bit of his wealth."
Adrian grinned. The mission certainly had been successful.
"But I have also learned from Rat over there-" He indicated Adrian's contact, "-that you started quite a tavern brawl at the Crossroads Inn. Rat was forced to murder two of Zaneth's men, earning you quite a high profile among the common folk and most probably the authorities."
Adrian's smile dissipated.
"I, however, have given you a chance to redeem yourself. I've got another job for you. The reward is the usual bounty doubled and information."
"What kind of information, Guildmaster?"
"About your mother."
Adrian stiffened. How had they acquired such information? How did they even know his mother was alive? How did they-
"So, what do I need to do?"
"Adrian, have you heard of this... this thing called the Taggerung?"
"What's that?"
The Guildmaster did not appear as confident anymore. His voice sank to a whisper and he drew Adrian in closer.
"It's this monster, a feral beast that stalks this land. It's horrible. Few people dare call it by its real name - Cain."
At the last word, time seemed to stop.
"Our sages have studied this monster for a long time. We think that we might be able to... to train it. If we manage to get hold of it, our guild could triumph above all others. Now, I'm pretty sure that you'll need a few extra bodies, so I'm entrusting to you the aid of six crossbowmen, a shadowmage squad, four beastmasters, and of course Rat himself."
A ghost of a smile manifested itself upon Rat's face.
"The boys are out enjoying themselves, but they'll be summoned immediately. While waiting for them, you can relax in that new sofa we pinched over there."