Becoming of Age

Mythe moved through the crowd like liquid. His form changed as he wove his way through the throng of people in the market square that morning. He loved being able to change into whoever he wanted. All his life he had been able to become others. When he was older his father had explained why they needed to be in human looking disguises to blend in. Their own visages were often terrifying to others and it was safer to hide than confront the mistreatment.

Waterdeep had always been his home. For a long time it was just him and his father in their little shack. Then his father got sick and died, leaving him all alone in the world. He lost his home soon after and was forced to live on the streets with the other orphan street urchins. Food was scarce and he stole when he could, changing his look as soon as he could to escape detection. Sometimes he would slip into a family for a short while and relish the affection until the real child returned and ended his temporary happiness. He loved being surrounded by people but there was always a feeling of being alone. Never having met another of his own kind except his father, his existence was a lonely one.

Eventually, he had begun grifting and stealing from the rich. He would gather their adoration and attention while taking their money. When the affection and money dried up he would leave, simply slipping into another look with the ease of breathing. What he didn’t know was that his activities had captured the attention of a particular group. They had been watching him for weeks, tracking his changes and learning his favorite haunts. When they had a good idea of who he was, they approached him with a job. When Mythe was told he was wanted by a thieves’ guild, he jumped at the chance. He barely cared who it was but when he saw who they were, he got even more excited. 

This particular thieve’s guild was made up almost entirely of male drow. He knew about this crew and even more so about the leader, Jarlaxle. The man was a bit of a legend in the underbelly of the city. The drow had assumed he was a doppelganger and he wasn’t about to correct them but the effect was the same. They wanted to recruit him and had a sort of audition job for him to show his skills and prove  he belonged in the guild. Having wanted company where he could be himself for a number of years, he readily agreed. He was handed a fake permit to Waterdeep. They explained that there was an uproar in the criminal underground of the city. A rare and important item had been stolen from the Xanatharian guild and whoever could get a hold of it could destroy the guild. Mythe was tasked with gaining entrance to a part of the sewers close to where the theft had taken place and track down the item. When he brought it back he would be admitted as a full member and given better jobs and gear. 

He set out at once, making his way to the sewer in question. He reached a home in a broken down street off the main road. At the back was a sewer opening. It was hidden by wild brambles that grew close by and a dead rosebush. He pried open the access door and lowered himself inside. He could see in the dark fairly well and was able to adjust to the darkness quickly. He made his way over to the area in question and after a careful search he followed a set of three footprints that led away from the scene. There had been other foot prints but these were smaller and stood out from the rest. He followed the tracks all the way to an alley in an even worse part of town. Here, the dingy streets were littered with trash and broken cobblestones. 

The alley was covered by several lines of laundry weighed down by drab old blankets. He slipped between the first two and changed his look. He used one of the urchin children from the docks he had seen begging. He tried to look as pitiful as possible and made his way further in. He could hear talking beyond the blankets and was sure he would find his quarry. It would be too easy getting his ticket into Jarlaxle’s crew.