Thief+Dishonored Fics And Crossovers

Witch's Brew

A client has been feuding with a woman for months, so it was no surprise when the client's ring was (supposedly) stolen and spirited away to the Old Quarter where the woman is said to live.

That's where Garrett comes in. Although, he will admit, he took this job out of curiosity more than anything else. The client lives all the way in Dayport. How did he even find someone from the Old Quarter to have such a problem with? Garrett didn't realize people actually still lived there.

But the further he gets along the Thieves' Highway and into the district he realizes he was half right. There really aren't that many people still living here. Even the Watch presence here is lacking. It's more of a memorial to the old City. He can see pieces of it everywhere he looks.

The architecture here is older than most of the City today. There are symbols of the old gods on ruined crumbling buildings - what's left of the cathedrals after Northcrest got to them. Garrett thought they were all gone by now. Although, if they were going to survive anywhere, the Old Quarter would be it. No one pays it much attention anymore.

In the other districts, there are nearly always people out on the streets, even at night. The dockfrocks in Skinmarket are out day and night and the Siren's Rest tavern in South Quarter is always full. The Crippled Burrick in Stonemarket is the same way and beggars can be found everywhere throughout the City. Here? He sees two people roaming the dark streets. That's it.

He could have guessed the Old Quarter was hit pretty hard by the Gloom; it's one of the oldest and poorest districts. He heard practically nothing about it that whole summer. It was a given the district was hit pretty hard, maybe the worst out of all of them. But this is just eerie.

He finds the house as described – with innumerable plants outside. The client wasn't kidding. Potted plants of every size, shape and color line every available windowsill, except for a single window at the top of the house. His way in.

The attic is… strange. Several bird cages hang from the ceiling, all their little eyes watching him as he makes his way past their cages, unusually calm for birds. It reminds him of the Queen of Beggars' court. And the whole place smells like spices. Soon he sees why.

Against one wall is a table lit by a bunch of candles and littered with several types of flowers, their petals and leaves in little piles surrounding a knife. It gleams in the candlelight. More bunches of plants hang from tacks above the table. Someone went a little crazy with flowers after the Gloom.

Against another wall is one bookcase after another, full to bursting with books and still more are piled on the floor in front of them. Jars full of... Something sit among the shelves and break up the rows of books. He's not touching those.

Does the woman who lives here run an apothecary? He glances around the room again. Those birds are still watching him. But he has a job to do and it doesn't look like the ring is up here. Downstairs then. But if it isn't, he promises himself he's not going into any basements. The attic is bad enough.

The stairs creak as he goes. He pauses every time. But he never hears a thing. The owner must not be home. Only then does it occur to him that if the owner isn't home, she could be wearing the ring. Still, it can't hurt to be thorough.

The living room is small. The fireplace is lit though, which makes him pause and scan the room again. Empty. No rings either, but he does find an expensive pocket watch lying next to a vase. The bathroom holds nothing of value. The bedroom doesn't turn up much except for some rats in cages. They seem to watch him the same way the birds did. The bed is also empty.

What's he going to do if he can't find the ring? There's barely anything here worth taking. Not even a sign of a secret space behind a bookshelf or a hidden compartment in a drawer. There aren't even any paintings on the walls for him to check. What if she's out selling the ring right now? A noble's ring might be too dangerous to sell right away, especially if people are looking for it, but he has no other idea about where this thing could be. Maybe she just didn't want to wait for someone like him to come and snatch it. He sighs quietly and moves towards the kitchen. There's probably nothing there but he doesn't want to be lazy, on the off chance this woman hides her valuables with her groceries.

He freezes in the doorway.

A woman is in the kitchen, her back turned as she stands over the stove with several pots and bowls with varying ingredients on the counter beside it. Her gray hair is pinned up and out of her face. He catches sight of the ring on her finger as she sets a spoon down on the counter. Oval shaped and black, until the light hits it. Then it seems to have a green sheen to it. The longer he looks, the more it seems like there are things moving inside it. He can't even tell what kind of stone it is. Just as he's thinking of a way to get it off her, she clears her throat. Loudly.

"The smell of poppies gave you away," she says, her voice creaking with age.

She never turns back to look at him, which is good. He doesn't think he could have moved even if she came at him with a knife.

"I suppose that fool from Dayport sent you to take my own ring from me?" She scoffs. "Leave my home, little shadow, and I'll let you be. Tell your friends to stay away and I won't turn them into rats."

He thinks back to the cages in her room and up in the attic. He turns to go, but not before putting the pocket watch back where he found it.

He doesn't wait for Basso to notice him when he gets back to the Crippled Burrick. "Don't send anyone else on that job."

"Garrett!" He straightens up behind his desk, hands clutching at the edge of it. "I'm–" he exhales. "Gonna get you a bell."

"Basso, I'm serious."

He stares at him. "What job? The one you went on tonight?"

"Yes. Don't send anyone else out there."

"Why not?"

He can't tell him there's a witch living in the Old Quarter. He'll get laughed out of the office. "She stocked up on a lot of traps. I've never seen anything like these before. They're hard to disarm, and sensitive. They're too easy to set off."

He smirks like he thinks he's joking. "When's a trap ever stopped you before?"

"They're made to maim, Basso."

The smirk falls away. "Alright. If you're so worried, I'll spread the word. And I'll keep any thrill-seekers away from the place."

"Thank you."

It isn't quite a week later that one of Basso's contacts comes for a visit while Garrett is in the office with him. They talk shop, nothing that catches his attention. At one point, he mentions the noble who wanted the ring has gone missing.

"What do you mean missing?" Basso asks after he and Garrett exchange a look.

"He's just gone," the man says. "No one knows where."

"Maybe that feud he had goin' boiled over and he skipped town," Basso suggests.

The contact laughs. "Maybe she can help me with a few pests of my own."

While they laugh it off, all Garrett can think of are the cages she kept in her bedroom and attic, the way the rats and birds were so still while they watched him, the expensive pocket watch hidden away. He suppresses a shudder.