Vali came to know Percy after a long night of carousing and a number of other nights in friendly gambling. Vali took Percy’s jabs in stride and cordially allowed his lady of the night to be taken for Percy’s work rather than the evening he’d promised her. In such ways are acquaintances formed among people who operate outside the normal boundaries of the law.

After some time Vali introduced Halda to the black market through Percy. One carries a blue lantern to the Sout and Troudine Warehouse, and thereby gains entrance to the famed market. Sometimes the signal changes, and sometimes even the location changes, but the market is a many-splendored thing. Many things can be bought and sold there that might otherwise be difficult to obtain. Sometimes magic items can be exchanged for comparable magic items with comparatively little cost for the middle man. So, for example, one might not have to sell that magical halberd of nose-picking for 50% of cost value, but instead, if one has patience and trusts in the black market, one might exchange it for a “charged” longsword with a modest 10-20% black market fee. As long as someone can be found who wants exactly what you’re offering – in this case, the magical halberd of nose-picking. You’d be surprised what good ole Percy can find out there on the strange and wonderful streets of Caliphas. He knows of all sorts of fetishes.

• artwork from Thief (by Edios-Montreal)