Xeik and Lewis both helped with the clean up, and once everything was done, they parted ways.  Xeik told Lewis to go ahead and gather any stragglers and have them meet up at the arranged location, leaving Xeik and the remaining boys to follow Danwe to the old tavern.  When they went in, though, they were taken aback at the person who met them.

Immediately Xeik's fight or flight response kicked in, the few hairs he had on his arms raising.  The half orc looked smart and dangerous, which was a deadly combination.  The other boys were intimidated as well, and seeing their new leader in such a way led them to believe they may have been tricked.  But as he spoke, Xeik noted the tone of his voice, and his guard lowered.  

Bat was his name, and as he broke into a smile, Xeik and the boys let out a collective sigh of relief.  Danwe introduced Xeik as the head of the newly formed guild, Heaven's Dawn, and Xeik stepped forward, giving a nod.  

"It's a pleasure, Bat, sir," Xeik said, holding out his hand.  "I hope we won't disappoint."  He looked around at the old tavern.  To him, it didn't matter the condition of the building, or even if it was a wreck.  What mattered was it was a place to call home.  "I'm…not too sure what needs to be done," he admitted.  "So….Bat, sir, if you could give us direction.  We're all ready to work."  He put on his brightest smile.  

Bat reached out and took the kid's hand and shook it firmly in his big beefy one. "Danwe's got a good eye for talent, Kid," he chuckled heartily. "I doubt you will," he said. He looked beyond at the group gathered. "You're a raggle taggle bunch," he commented. "No doubt you'll prove your salt before long. Well, first thing to be done is to patch up the roof. Can't call a place a home or guild house if it can't even keep the rain off," he said. "I got boards and nails. If you boys can set yourself to helping me get the roof in tip top shape, we should be in a good place to get started in general," Bat explained. 

"Now, since this here is my establishment. We have some ground rules to cover," Bat said. "One, I will not tolerate fighting inside the buiding. Two, everyone puts up a share to pay for food and bedding. You all will be responsible to each other, to keep each other safe," the half-orc explained. 

"I know Danwe has some ground rules as far as how she wants you to operate, but for now, let's get the guild hall fixed up a bit before we cross that there bridge," he said. "If any one has issues with that, speak up now."

The boys listened to Bat intently.  In all honesty, they had been expecting much worse than what they were given.  The rules, for the most part, seemed to be reasonable.  A few of them even shifted uncomfortably, as if anticipating the rug to be pulled out beneath them.  As Bat opened the floor to questions, one of the older boys stepped forward.  

"So, this is…great, and all," he said, "But how can we know that you won't be another Terrance.  How can we trust you?"  A few of the other children nodded in agreement.  They all had similar fears.  What if this was another lie?

Xeik stepped in front of Bat, and turned to his guild mates.  "The reality is, we can't know."  He glanced back to Bat, "Er…no offense, sir."  He turned back to his crew, and cleared his throat.  "We've been through a lot, but we've seen today that if we band together, we can really make a difference.  I'm sure…I'm sure if we ended up with another abusive leader, that we could oust him, just as we did Terrance.  Bat is willing to help us, but if this falls through…well, we can still make it on our own.  Having a base like this is a great plan, but we've made it work on the streets once before, we can do it again."  

The older boys seemed content with the answer, and stepped down.  "Any other questions?" Xeik asked.  No one spoke up.  "Okay.  Then you three, go ahead and start heading to the roof.  You two, start gathering the materials to repair it."  He looked back to Bat.  "Anything else?"

Bat shook his head. "The faster we all get that roof patched, the faster we can bed down for the night," he said and thumbed for everyone to head inside to get to work. 

As the other boys ran inside to get to work with Bat, Danwe hanged back to talk to Xeik. 

"I've got some tips if you want to hear them for how you could run this new guild of yours," she offered as she sat down on the stoop and looked up at the sky changed slightly with each step of the city. "It's a philosophy that I live by, as a thief. It would be a good way to help you guys keep a low profile and not draw unwanted attention to yourselves," she offered. "It would be a lot different than how Terrance had you working, but some of the others might appreciate it better," she said. 

"Never steal from one another. Steal only what you need from people who can afford to lose it. Keep hidey holes throughout the city so you are never caught with stolen goods on your person. Never steal something you can't put up your sleeve or in your pocket, and trust each other and watch each other's backs," she recited. "When you have a guild, that last bit can be easy. I didn't have a guild growing up. Just a brother for a while, and then Bat. He's helped me out of more trouble than I can to admit," she said. "You can trust him, I promise."

As Xeik watched the rest of the boys get to work with Bat, Danwe pulled him to the side, sitting him down.  At first, Xeik wondered if the other shoe was about to drop, and that he had lead his 'guild' into another hopeless situation, but his worries were lulled by Danwe's calm voice.  You can trust her.  She wouldn't have done all of this had she not been a good person.

"Any tips you have would be appreciated," Xeik said, eager to listen and learn.  As Danwe glanced up,he too looked up, watching as the sky moved and swayed with the great titan that the city was built on.  As Danwe spoke about her philosophy, Xeik took in every word.  To live by a code like this would be a huge change for all of them, and it would take some of the older boys some adjusting to change their idea of how it should be done.  But he knew the younger ones would enjoy the ideals that Danwe spoke of.  And, of course, if Bat was as trustworthy as Danwe said he was, he could always rely on Bat's backup if it came to that.

"Okay," Xeik said.  "So, I know Bat will help out here, but what do you plan on doing?  If Terrance really does have pull with the upper leagues of the city, he might come after you with backup…" 

"Me? I'll stick around here for a while to make sure things are going to run smoothly. After that, who knows. I might head to Karith or Kometeia… or I might even go back home to Zets'Ki. It's been a long time since I've been back that way," she answered as she looked skyward thinking about what she was going to do. At the mention of Terrance maybe seeking revenge on her, Danwe scoffed and shook her head slightly. 

"Terrance is all talk. If he has that kind of pull, I don't think he has the balls to try and get them to come after me," she said confidently. "I have a reputation that most don't like messing with. It hurts his reputation going to one of the bigger guilds to go after me than I think it might be worth for him. He'd be better off trying to start a new group."

Danwe looked skyward at the stars and how they shimmered and twinkled. "I like Hoja Mesto… the sky always look a little different every night," she said softly. After a few minutes of watching the sky, she patted Xeik on the shoulder and stood up. "Come on, let's go help the others."

By the time the sun rose the next morning, the new guild hall had a completely patched roof, a functioning kitchen, and even swept floors, and was complete with a horde of sleeping adolescent boys strewn about wherever they could find floor space. Bat was lounging on what once would have been called the bar, and Danwe had found a nice perch in the rafters above everyone. The sounds of snores filled the air as soft morning light filtered through the boarded up windows. 

The rest of the work in getting the tavern up and running seemed to fly by as everyone worked their hardest.  It had taken them most of the night to get everything done, and by the time it had happened, most of the boys had fallen asleep.  Even Bat and Danwe seemed to be exhausted, and were resting in their own individual areas; Bat was laid out at the bar, while Danwe had disappeared into the rafters.  Xeik had found himself a nice, near hidden spot in the back of the tavern, where normally the food stores would be.  The spot, for the moment, was perfect, but the young thief knew that at some point he would have to find a permanent place to call his.

Despite his exhaustion, though, he couldn't really sleep.  Instead, he pulled out a book that he had been given by Bat earlier in the night.  The book was a lot of generalized information on guild management, from the expenses incurred to basic leadership skills.  As he flipped through the pages, he was getting a small sense of just how much he had to do in order to merely start his guild.  The 'official' part was unneeded, due to the fact that a thieves guild was considered a 'black guild,' much like the assassins, so they could never truly be official. 

"That's not an issue," he said, moving to the next chapter.  The next part more or less told him of the supplies and costs of upkeep, which he grimaced at.  The tavern itself would bring in some minor profit, but it was only a front.  Xeik knew that they would need a fence, which was not an easy thing to find.  Furthermore, they'd have to come up with loot drops, as Danwe had explained earlier, as well as someone to come by and pick up those drops at a later time.  There was also training, which needed space and talent to do.  He let out a sigh.  So much…

By the time he finished the book, the sun had risen.  As he made his way back into the main hall, a few of the boys started to stir.  Xeik smiled, crossing his arms as he watched them all slowly stir awake.  I've got a lot to do.  But…it's definitely doable.  This is my family now…  

"Rise and shine, Heaven's Dawn," he said, clapping his hands.  "We've got work to do."