"Although you have stolen from my family many times," the man continued, as Emily desperately searched for a way out, "I am not here to arrest you. I am here to offer you a job, in fact."
"I usually don't take jobs from people pointing weapons at me," she snarks back, with more trembles in her voice than she would like to.
"And I usually don't offer jobs to people that should be locked up in a dungeon. If you want to keep your freedom, you must be willing to negotiate."
"Fine," she gave in, since she found herself without an alternative. "What's the job?"
"I suppose you are not familiar with this country," he asked, or, rather, stated.
Emily shook her head.
"This castle is called Giant's Foot, because, from the planes of Kaggsmalleth, these mountains look like a sleeping giant, with this hill as the foot. To the northwest, there is another castle, the Giant's Head. In the olden times, that castle was the place of my family. In the greatest defeat of my grandfather, he was driven from that hold, and had to move his place here. I would like to reclaim it, with your help."
Emily started to put together what was happening. By all chance, the man she was speaking to was Robbert Modray, son of Lord Donchan Modray. If gossip can be believed, Lord Robbert had a twin sister, Lady Lissen, who was named the successor of Lord Donchan in keeping Giant's Foot and enjoying the family wealth. This obviously sat wrongly with Lord Robbert, who, no doubt, longed for this act of heroism to prove him worthy of successorship.
"What do you need a thief for," she ventured to ask, "if you want to take a castle?" Apt she was with a knife in close quarters, Emily was of no use in a siege.
"Because it is no army that took it," said Lord Robbert. "It was but one creature, but one creature powerful enough that my grandfather's army could not stop it, and neither could mine. That is why I need you; you can infiltrate the castle. Once you've gotten inside, you need not take but one thing. Because, if legend can be believed, that creature keeps on ornate box, and inside of it, its heart. If someone holds the heart, they can bound the creature to their will. Your task is to bring me back that box. And, lest you think of running away once you're free, if you return here, I will buy that box from you, for ten thousand florins no less."
Ten thousand! That was price enough for a village or two, and there would be more than half left still! Ten thousand florins! But if the price is that high, then the task is, nevertheless, that hard, to warrant such a reward.
"What type of creature guards the castle?" Emily asked, afraid of what she might here.
Lord Robbert answered.
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