Xer observes Silas' crew for a day or so, and confident in her abilities, devises a brazen plan.  During the day, an eagle eyed half elf with a bow mans the mission's bell tower, but at night he is replaced by a lack witted thug who spends most of his shift drinking or sleeping.  So that night, Xer stealthily makes her way to the back of the building and climbs onto the roof, the old pitted brickwork making the task a simple one.  She steals across the tiled roof without a sound and slips into the bell tower.  Sure enough, the sentry is passed out, and a quick blow to the back of the head ensures he stays that way.

Then she pauses to cement her exit strategy.  Her favorite instructor, Li Kao, had lectured on the need to plan many paths to success, and as she slung a line between the tower and the adjoining building she smirked inwardly.  "Probably not really what he had envisioned, but no less true," she thought.

Her escape route seen to, Xer descended the tower and entered the mission.

* * *

Li Kao couldn't help but giggle a little as he watched the eight Night Scales thugs jog across the street and surround the mission.  Of course they had bought his story completely; sub-mentals like these were so predictable.  He had even been able to talk them into sending eight men to exact their revenge instead of the original four they had proposed.  The only hitch had been when they insisted that he acompany them on their little errand.  Of course it had been relatively easy to convince them to leave him here in the ally once it became clear that he had no talent for stealthy approaches. Now all that was left was to locate his student and watch the fun.  As the Night Scales slipped into the mission Li Kao gazed about, and spotted a rope connecting the mission to its nieghbor.  "Ah clever girl!"

The monk strolled casually across the street as screams and sounds of fighting errupted into the night.

* * *

Xer shrank back in horror from the scene in front of her.  She had been able to locate Silas' bedroom fairly easily, taking out another gang member along the way.  She expected a tough fight from the pauper king, and hoped she could catch him asleep, but she was completely unprepared for what waited for her beyond that door.  There was Silas Kruer, naked and tied spread eagle to his blood soaked bed.  A great seven pointed star had been carved into his chest.  His mouth was stuffed with a rag and his dead eyes stared up at the ceiling. 

Before she could recover from her shock, the sound of fighting and shattering glass came from below.  Turning from the grisley scene she rushed to the balcony and saw men in dark cloaks fighting with Silas' crew.  Both sides were also slashing indiscriminantly at any mission guests and bystanders that got too close.  One of the black cloaked men saw Xer standing there and charged up the stairs, blade slashing.  She bobbed to the side and kicked out hard, sending her attacker rolling down the stairs.  She saw more of them coming, and smelled bunring - someone had dropped a lantern.  "Time to go,"  she though, and sprinted back towards the bell tower.

Back in the night air Xer looked out over the street and swore.  The street in front of the mission was swarming with militia.  At least a dozen blue-clad guardsmen had arrived on the scene, truncheons and torches in hand, and were trying to push their way into the burning building.  She marvelled a momment at the chaos below as the three sides battled each other while beggars and homeless wailed and ran every which way.  "Really time to go."  She swung up and onto her rope and shimmied across it as fast as she could.

She had almost crossed the full distance before a guardsmen called out from below,"  There, up above!"  A crossbow bolt whizzed by, and Xer just managed to pulled herself onto the roof of the next building in time to avoid the next shot.

She lay there panting for a momment before a voice too close startled her.  "Well, its about time you got here."  She opened her eyes to see the lined face of her instructor Li Kao beaming down at her."

"What the..."

"Now, now, no time for that."  He interrupted, obviously quite pleased with himself.  "Its really past time we be leaving, don't you think?  I've got a donkey waiting."  and with that he turned and strolled for the exit, humming as he went. 

Xer stood up, shook her head in disbelief, and jogged after him.