Emanon sat in the bar and listened to the assassins talking about the elf. He thought it was strange that they’d be talking about their work out in the open like this, but the bar, the Crippled Griffon seemed like the kind of seedy place where assassins and thieves could operate in the open. It was probably a front for the thieves’ guild anyway. Or the assassin’s guild. Or both.

Emanon wasn’t really interested in the elf. He was an elf himself, and he’d never really found it to be that interesting. He was drow though, and that tended to make things more difficult for him in most of the civilized kingdoms. This other elf didn’t sound like a drow. Though he did sound like a good assassin.

The assassins at the table didn’t seem to notice or care that he was listening to them anyway. They were half drunk and smoking something that was making Emanon’s head spin from contact with the smoke. They probably didn’t know where they were. But they were focused on the elf.

“Six kills in two weeks.” One of them, a half-orc with mostly human features said.

“And two from the gold list.” This assassin a human, with long blonde hair and a thick neck that looked to Emanon like a tree stump.

“No one else in the guild has more than one kill from the gold list.” Another human, though this one short and stocky with short brown hair and a short beard.

The last assassin at the table, who hadn’t spoken that Emanon noticed since he started listening to them was a dwarf. And possibly, Emanon thought, a female, though it was hard to tell with dwarves. They all had beards. The dwarf was smoking a large pipe filled with whatever they were twisting their minds with and blowing large rings of red smoke in the air over the table.

Emanon half wondered what the gold list was, then decided it was probably a list the assassin’s guild kept of high profile targets that were difficult to take on as an assignment, but that had standing offers on their heads. Probably not kings or government officials. In Emanon’s experience government officials, especially leaders like kings, princes, dukes, or governors were actually fairly easy to kill. Too many people around them all the time and too many places for them to be seen in public. No, the gold list probably consisted of mages, merchants, and warlords. Emanon had known assassins in his time, and these were always the hardest to work, according to those who spoke freely of their chosen lifestyle.

Wizards were probably the worst of the three, though a merchant or warlord who was paranoid enough would go to great lengths to make sure they were protected at all times. But often for a merchant or warlord this meant hiring a wizard to protect them. Which made wizards by far the worst of targets.

Emanon nursed a cool glass of beer that tasted like honey, water, and vinegar, but which appeased his throat and gave him something to do while he listened. He was interested despite himself, and wondering how long before one of the assassins passed out.

As a general rule he didn’t steal from assassins or thieves. Nobody took revenge more seriously. But he was considering marking one of these assassins if only because none of them were likely to remember anything that happened tonight when they woke up this morning.