Elizabeth, or Liz, is widely considered the best thief in Alchester. If you have a high-stakes job you need done right, there’s no one better suited. Daring, smart, and skilled, Liz has a no-nonsense reputation as a contractor who delivers. As an expert thief, a master of disguise, and a skilled combatant, she brings a unique blend of talents, intellect, and charm to any job. Her success rate is unparalleled.
But Liz wasn’t always held in such high esteem by Alchester’s underworld. As a child growing up in the Shambles, Elizabeth suffered an absent father and a mother too high on Devil’s Tongue to care what trouble her daughter got herself into. Liz spent her adolescent years moving from one illegal escapade to another, becoming involved in petty thieving rings that specialized in filching pockets and stealing goods from market to perpetrating more elaborate schemes when her boss leader recognized her value. In time, her gang’s criminal antics attracted the wrong kind of attention from the city’s inspectors, who would have thrown Liz into a deep dark hole with all the rest if not for a benefactor named Thjorn Targalas. Liz owes much to Thjorn, namely her life and good fortune. Though the rabble-rousing barbarian isn’t always the best role model, Thjorn became the father she never had, providing the rails she needed to stay on track as she matured into adulthood.
Liz is a high-ranking member of Alchester’s thieves’ guild, though she often shirks her tedious administrative duties in favor of fieldwork, which she finds far more satisfying. She delights in danger, though she’s level-headed enough to know when she’s in over her head. Still, as a thrill seeker, she more often than not finds herself deeper in danger than is generally safe.
As a master thief, she possesses a repertoire of abilities that allow her to operate stealthily, outwit adversaries, and navigate treacherous situations. Agility and coordination, sleight of hand, silent movement, infiltration and disguise, and knowledge of cultures are just some of the skills she has adopted over the years.
Elizabeth is as sociable as they come, enjoying the company of others more than being alone. As such, she has an extensive network of associates and friends, both inside the guild and out. Given her trade, she would be unwise not to leverage these many relationships for information or favors as needed. Of her mother, Liz has not spoken to her in years, though she knows her mother still rattles around the Shambles, getting herself into trouble but always seeming to stay just enough ahead of it to stay alive. Elizabeth has not heard from her father for even longer.
For all her sociable tendencies, Elizabeth prefers to remain unattached. This is part of the reason for her on-again, off-again relationship with the Nameless Assassin. Anyone who refuses to use a name or tell her his real one has trust issues she isn’t ready to deal with on a full-time basis. That, and she has problems with his profession of choice. While she isn’t above killing when necessary, Liz isn’t a murderer, and she sometimes questions why she associates with someone who is.
Because even a thief must follow some rules, Elizabeth swore an oath to adhere to her guild’s strict code of ethics. She takes her promises and oaths seriously, so this is not something she made lightly.
SKILLS
Thieving is demanding, requiring peak stamina, skill, and mental sharpness at all times. Elizabeth is the best because she makes it a point to master all areas of her trade, including the basics such as sleight of hand and picking pockets, but also silent movement, blending into shadows, climbing (with or without a grapple and rope), and the ability to fight with a wide assortment of weapons, including bows, knives, staves, and others.
Sometimes, when a job dictates that she hide in plain sight, she utilizes her skills as a master of disguise. Wigs, makeup, and clothing specific to the commission all help her blend in physically, but she can also imitate almost any accent and has a deep familiarity with the nuances of many cultures. Her strategy is always to delight and impress, using her charm and beauty as a distraction so that no one ever suspects she is a master thief.
TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
Elizabeth makes use of a wide variety of tools and other equipment depending on the nature and complexity of a job. Essential thieving tools include lockpicks, skeleton keys, grapple and rope, alchemical smoke bombs or flash powder, drills and chisels, clay or beeswax (for making duplicates of items such as keys), a miniature spyglass with an alchemically enhanced night vision lens, and more.
When prowling the night, clothing must be dark and silent but also provide some level of protection, so she has commissioned specially designed attire, including well-oiled leather vests, cloaks, pants, soft boots, forearm bracers, and thigh guards, mixing and matching as needed.
FIRST APPEARANCE
Elizabeth first appears in The Assassin's Blade (Assassin Without a Name Book One).
