"Then there was the time someone tried to set me up," Jack said, starting another tale he enjoyed. "I was hired to find some relic for someone, and return it to them. I found it of course, but when I returned, he refused to pay the other half of my fee. I don't do discounts, so I took it with me when I left." It really was a mistake at the time, and, even though he cared nothing for the relic, Jack needed the money.
"So, a few days later, I get told about a big job where some guy is looking for a highly skilled mercenary. He had turned a lot of people down for the job. I thought I'd give it a try, so I took up the offer and went to where we were to be tested." This story was a bit off for this world, so he would leave out a few details.
"When I got there, a man was sitting in a room where he could see everyone who entered, and a guard was being handed messages from him. Everyone who walked up waited to hear what the message said, and each time it was denying them the job. Without any show of their skill, they were already being told they weren't good enough." Jack did not mention that the line was so long he needed to wait the better part of fifteen for his turn, but that many denials did not look good.
"When I got to the front of the line, the guard was handed a message, and motioned for me to enter the room he was blocking. Inside, I saw the man judging the candidates. He was looking through a glass window. From outside, the window looked like a mirror, meaning he could see out, but no one could see inside. I thought he looked familiar, but I was hurried forward to the other side of the room with three other mercenaries, so I just dismissed him as another guard."
"Inside, there were guards everywhere. I remember thinking that the job must have been of great importance, or maybe the client was someone important. I don't recall which one seemed more likely at the time. I do remember the wait though, about two hours of standing against a wall. I tried to occupy my time by studying my competition, hoping I could learn something to help me get the job over them. Of course, most of them were doing the exact same thing, so everyone had their guard up. I recognized quite a few of them, and every one of them was famous for one thing or another. After the two hours started turning into three, the guard outside came in, and closed the door behind him. A few minutes later, a door opened across from us, and every eye turned to watch a short, stumpy man limp into the room. I recognized him immediately as the man who tried to cheat me on my last job." This was when Jack decided to start for the door, but he would get to that in a minute.
"I tried not to look directly at him as he talked with one of the guards, but soon he was right in front of us, and looking right at me. I couldn't help but smirk at him as I took a step out of the line-up. Without a word, I was just going to walk to the door and leave." At this point, Jack should have suspected something, but he was more worried about being asked to work for half price again. "I hadn't taken more than a few steps towards the door than he began his proposal of paying the first person who could find a relic for him. I was half way to the door by the time he described it and was offering the amount he would pay. Quite a few of them were very pleased with the amount, considering it was only a quick errand in their minds. However, I was informed about the relic being deadly if you made direct physical contact with it, so of course I charged nearly five times what he was offering now. About the time I reached the door, he was saying how a low class mercenary had already retrieved it, but refused to give it up, making an easy errand even easier for them. He pointed at me and announced loudly that all they had to do was take it from me." Jack paused for a moment, as this part of the story required a certain bit of suspense. He would wait until Wren could not take it anymore before he told her what happened.
