Then, his luck changed for the worse. He had stumbled into an inn that catered to wealthy patrons. This was almost routine, as he stole small amounts of money, a couple of pretty trinkets, and so forth, every few months...never took enough to be noticed, and he wasn''t there often enough to raise eyebrows.

So, he slipped in through a storage room window, unlocked the back door with the key that the innkeeper "lost" a year ago, a crept through the main room long after the inn keeper would have gone to bed.

Only one problem: somebody was in the main room.

That somebody was Loj Stylai, a royal explorer passing through the area. Jarkil, remaining calm, engaged him in discussion, until Loj made him an offer: serve him freely as a scout, and in return, he wouldn''t have his description in every guard tower in the city.

The two ended up enjoying their chance encounter. For a number of years, the small time thief bonded with his mentor and their crew of people too smart to be mere foot soldiers, learning the ways of the outcasts of the military, exploring new lands on the edge of several frontiers, and enjoying one another''s company.

Unfortunately, the crew fell apart. While in a new city, another thief struck. The crew was awakened by combat, only to find that the thief had fought and killed Loj. Enraged, they killed the thief as well.

What they hadn''t known was that the thief had been secretly employed by a wealthy merchant to take treasures that they were bringing back as evidence of a new land. Using his economic sway, the city rulers decreed that, for killing the man instead of capturing him, the crew would be placed in a prison until such a time that the crown sends word to release them. Knowing that the city would not, in fact, inform the crown of their capture, Jarkil escaped, and, unsure of how to free the others or to combat the powerful men of the city, left.