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It wasn't his first kill. He was a thief, death was unavoidable. He'd been forced to kill a few times during his career. A job that went south, a guard that was too persistent on stopping him, and that mess of an invasion from a few years ago. He shook his head; no, he had murdered before. This though, this was different. Those previous deaths were just part of the job. What he was planning tonight, this was the first time that death was the job.

Panth Shadowclaw stood from where he was crouched on top of the western watchtower of the city of Soulun. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds for a moment, illuminating his face from under the hood of his cloak. To the casual observer they would see a young man, no more than 25, with blue eyes and brown hair. The only thing that stood out as out of place was the leather breastplate adorning his chest. But to those that paid close attention, something wouldn't be quite right. The blue eyes would shift to yellow, the normally round pupils changing to slits. If that person continued to look, the illusion of the shadows would fall away, revealing the truth beneath. Instead of the young, unassuming young man, a distinctly feline muzzle covered in black fur would be revealed.

Panth brought a black-furred hand to his muzzle, stroking the whiskers that protruded from it. He protracted a claw to briefly scratch an itch on his cheek before looking left and right. The wall patrols were still a few minutes out, so there wasn't a need to invoke the shadows to hide himself yet. He would be on his way before they arrived hopefully. He stretched his legs, revealing black fur and paws beneath his cloak. He returned to a crouched position before pulling out a spyglass and directing his attention to the world below.

The first thing in his view was the manor. The target, a Lord Robert Gestlin, would be home by now. From what he understood, the man spent his days negotiating trade deals with the countries to the west. His nights were spent in his manor usually, going over trade manifests and ledgers. Panth focused the spyglass on a third-story window. He saw a shadow walking across Lord Geslin's study. A smirk formed on his muzzle; he'd found his target.

He shifted the glass to look at the surrounding streets. As expected, there were occasional city guard patrols. They couldn't be bothered with the rest of the city, but this was Noble's district. Panth snorted in disgust, he almost wished he'd get a few more jobs like this. Getting rid of a few more of these fat-assed rich nobles would do this city some good. He exhaled heavily and then focused back through the spyglass. His sweep continued from the streets to the surrounding buildings. Lord Gestlin's manor was the norm in this part of the city. Similar two and three story houses lined the streets, usually ringed with a small garden. Both Lord Gestlin's manor and a smaller nearby building also had a small group of hired mercenaries guarding the structures. That also was common. As the Nobles got richer, their need to guard both themselves and their valuables also increased. Panth counted three mercenaries at the nearby building and five more surrounding Lord Gestlin's manor.

Panth was about to head out when a thought entered his mind. Looking back to the manor, he directed the spyglass to the roof. There, one man standing on the northern roof with a bow. A second was walking a balcony that ran along the western part of the third floor, also armed with a bow. Something was wrong; seven guards for night watch on a noble's manor was too much. Someone had tipped Lord Geslin off_._ Panth knew he'd need to take out the two on the roof in order for this to work. He had caught arrows before but it was risky. He rubbed a spot on his shoulder in imaginary discomfort, he'd also missed before.

He continued to survey the area for another minute before stowing the spyglass back in its pouch. He'd have to take out the archers out quietly. Having half a district's worth of guards after him wasn't a pleasant thought. He checked his gear then flipped over the side of tower, holding onto the edge of the roof. His claws dug into the sere wood and began his decent down the side of the tower, the guards inside oblivious to him.

It didn't take him long to reach the ground below. He'd been climbing buildings since he was a child on the streets, a skill that had served him well over the years. Before he'd met The Shadow, many guards had cursed him as he clambered over a roof. Smiling at the memory, he gave a furtive glance around the area looking for patrols. At this time of night, he'd be stopped and questioned on sight. Hells, they'd probably try to jail him just for being out. He pulled his cloak a little lower over his head and grabbed the sides of the garment as the wind picked up slightly.

Giving one more glance, he started toward the manor. Experience taught him each street's twists and turns, and also the best spots to hide. It was a shame there was no safe house nearby. Killing one of the richest nobles in the capital was sure to stir up trouble. He continued his journey across the district as quietly as his namesake, his padded paws softening his steps on the hard stone.

It didn't take him long though before he ran into a patrol. Two city guardsmen had turned a corner a slight way down the street he was on and he'd missed their approach. He turned a corner into a small alley, trying to appear as casual about it as possible. The only things in the alley were doorways set a few inches back from the walls. They weren't enough to hide in normally, but he was far from normal. He shimmied back first into one of the doorways, trying to stand as flush to the worn wood of the door as possible. He calmed his breathing, and then pulled the shadows around himself. The small patrol turned the corner, stopping in their tracks.

“Huh? Not here-“ The first guardsman scratched his bearded face as he studied the apparently empty alleyway.

The other guardsman gave it a quick glance, “You drinking before shift again?"

The first guardsman turned and gave the second a nasty look, “No, never have. I'd really like to find out who started that little rumor." Both guards backed out of the alley and continued down the street.

Panth exhaled the breath he'd been holding and dropped the cloak of shadows. He silently thanked The Shadow for the gifts he'd be given. He never relied on them completely, but there were definitely times when they made life easier. Peering around the corner revealed the two-man patrol rounding a corner further down the street. He quickly made his way across and further into the heart of the district.

After two more encounters, Panth found himself looking at Lord Gestlin's manor. He nestled himself behind a trio of water barrels while he studied the structure up close. It was a typical structure for Soulun, the first floor built of stone with wood comprising the upper floors. He gazed through the night, his feline eyes cutting the darkness, and counted out the guards again. Still seven unfortunately, and they all seemed rather professional. Their eyes kept searching the night for anything out of the ordinary, and they had set up torches along the fences. Panth watched as one of the guard mercenaries replaced a torch that had burned out. This was going to be a pain.

Panth crouched there for a few more minutes pondering the situation. He had to get past the guards without alerting them. His normal bag of tricks was out of the question. Smoke bombs and poppers would let them know something was amiss immediately. Not to mention the smoke wouldn't do much good against the sentinels on the roof. He looked around the nearby buildings, looking for anything that might help. His eyes settled on a storehouse owned by another lord of Soulun as an idea settled into his mind.

He made his way to the storehouse and pulled a vial of lamp oil from his belt along with a piece of flint. It wasn't long until small flames began creeping up the side of the doomed storehouse, a trickle of smoke rising into the air. The building was removed enough from other houses that this shouldn't be a disaster, but it would definitely cause a panic. Panth removed himself from the area and relocated back to the barrels. The smell of smoke tickled his sensitive nose as he waited for the ensuing blaze to take. He didn't have to wait long. It couldn't have been more than a couple minutes before the first of the mercenaries noticed the blaze.

“Fire!"

Three of the mercenary guards ran from their post and headed towards the flaming building. The first guard motioned to the others as they quickly found buckets. The well was far enough away that they'd be busy for a while. Panth looked to each of the other four, their gazes locked on the developing blaze. He crept out of his hiding spot and vaulted over the fence. He ducked and rolled as he landed, ending up against the wall of the manor. The guards' attention was on the fire, and he hadn't seen or heard any indication that he'd been revealed. So far, so good.

Panth once again extended his claws and climbed up the side of the building. He pulled himself up onto the roof, careful once again to not make any sound. The guard standing there was still distracted by the developing fire. With little more than a whisper, he brought the dagger around the front of the guard and drew the blade across the unsuspecting man's neck. There was a soft gurgle as the man brought his hand up to his neck, but it was already too late. Crimson erupted out the front of the man's armor, coating the roof. Panth grabbed the man as he fell, careful to set him down softly.

Once the man stopped moving, Panth moved on to the roof over the balcony. He was about to move down when the balcony guard spoke up.

“Hey, Jone! Did you see anything?" Panth quickly made his way to the left, knowing the man would look to the right for the now dead guard. “Jone?"

Just as he suspected, the guard turned to his right looking for his companion. The man opened his mouth to catch his breath but instead found a dagger protruding from his neck. Panth lowered his arm after throwing the dagger and hopped down to the balcony. Like the first, he gently lowered the man to the ground. Reclaiming the dagger, he stood and looked towards the street. A small crowd had gathered, commotion spreading along with the flames. Various servants and guards had begun to fight the fire, heaping on dirt and splashing buckets of water. The flames were starting to die down, not much time left.

Panth turned to the door for the balcony. He reached to open it, but was surprised when it started opening of its own volition.

“Kentel, what's going on out-“ The man stopped mid-sentence, looking first to the dead man then to Panth. Panth put a finger up to his lips as he approached Lord Geslin, his dagger dripping blood onto the wood floor. “W-What's going on here."

“Let's go inside and we'll discuss." Panth motioned to the now open doorway, noting that the man was starting to shake. He was still partially dressed in his normal work clothing. The neckties so popular among the elite of Soulun hung loosely around his neck and his silk jacket hung unbuttoned. Beneath the jacket, Panth was surprised to find some amount of muscle. Most of the nobles could do little more than order others around. Lord Geslin was no chiseled statue, but he'd done at least a few honest days' work. Panth sized up the study as he walked in. His first instinct was to identify anything valuable in the study, both monetary value and personal. There was a small flower made of copper lying in a stand over the hearth. This would be something he'd grab If he'd been here for any other reason. It probably held significant personal value to the man in front of him.

Lord Geslin stopped and turned around. The man looked at him briefly, then to his desk. From the lack of shock on his face, he guessed his disguise had held up. “I know you, you're with the Thieves' Guild, am I right?" Panth held a neutral look but the man already knew. “I don't know what you've come here to steal, but I can pay you a great deal if you turn around and walk out of this house right now."

“If you know of the Guild, then you know we work on contract. I was commissioned to steal something from you tonight, something quite valuable to you." Panth eyed the flower again, but then made his way to the table. He glanced down and there, on the table, were ledgers of recent transactions along with a glass of brandy. A brief glance told him much about the man's dealings, Lord Geslin knew how to run a business. However, something caught his attention. Immediately he clenched his fists; Lord Geslin didn't trade in goods, he traded in people. His upper lip tightened and an animalistic snarl formed on his face. Now he understood why there was such a price on this man's head, he was a damned slaver.

“And what, by chance, would you be stealing from me that's so valuable? My riches aren't kept in this house." the man asked, a confused look on his face. “You want gold? I told you, I'll give you plenty if you leave now," Lord Geslin was trying very hard not to look at the flower.

Panth turned to face the slaver, his pupils thin slivers of rage. There were few things in this world that truly angered him. Living as a street orphan left him hardened to many of the darker aspects of life, but slavery was one of the few things he couldn't stand. He drew his cloak back and made a single step forward before disappearing. Lord Geslin didn't get the chance to utter a sound of shock as Panth reappeared in the man's own shadow, plunging the dagger into the man's heart. In a voice that was both the loudest shout and silent whisper, “I'm here to steal your life!"

Lord Geslin uttered a gasp as he tried to step away from his assailant. Panth withdrew the dagger, then sliced across the man's neck. The blade sunk deep; eviscerating the man's neck leaving everything, including Panth, covered in blood. Panth spat on the lifeless corpse and gathered the ledgers. Hopefully the Guild could find his partners and dispose of them too. Panth strode out the door, the wind causing his cape to billow out behind him.

He took once last glance inside, looking over the scene that he had created. He'd assassinated a man. Killed him simply because another had willed it. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face as he came to a decision. He would only take a life if the owner deserved to lose it. Panth jumped off the balcony and disappeared into the night, leaving the blood and chaos behind.