In the early hours of the morning, a cloaked figure creeps from alleyway to alleyway, avoiding the lit lanterns of the street. He crept out from the alley, peering around the corner cautiously, before dashing down the street under the cover of dark and pressed flat against the stone wall of an impressive and well-guarded building. This was the Central Branch of the Royal Arcane Library. This was the single greastest repository of arcane knowledge in the entire kingdom of Eranthas. The figure creeping along its brickwork wall peered around the corner, then ducked back as a guard turned the corner.
"hmm..." he thought for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small peice of glass. He muttered a few well-chosen words and crushed the glass into a powder, pouring it onto the ground in a circle. After the circle closed, the figure faded from view and became totally invisible. The presently-transparent person was Conrad Declan, a sorcerer and less than model citizen, and he was planning to rob the Royal Arcane Library. He crept around the corner, barely slipping past the guard walking his rounds. The guard paused for a moment, looking around, before shrugging and continuing on his way. Conrad smiled softly and continued walking right up the steps to the massive bronze doors of the library. Conrad lightly ran his hands over the metal, feeling the smooth, cool texture of the doors, as well as something else: the subtle tingle of magic. Conrad smiled softly to himself and would've laughed outright, if his cover didn't depend on it, and reached once more into his cloak. He pulled out what appeared to be a stick of silver chalk, and proceeded to draw a strange pattern of symbols along the edges where the brass double doors met. He was creating a short lived anti-magic feild, nullifying the spell preventing him from breaking in by magical means. After he was finished, it was a simple matter of opening the large iron locks holding the doors shut, and slipping inside. Even so, he had to be careful; the guards may not be able to see him, but they would definitely notice the doors opening by themselves. He shut the doors behind him, relocking them for good measure, then walked down the corridor to the Main Chambers.
"Are we in yet?" a hissing voice whispered. Conrad panicked and reached into his cloak quickly, looking around hurriedly.
"What did I tell you about talking!?" he hissed. When he pulled his hand out of his cloak, it was wrapped around the scaly jaws of a miniature dragon, who was trying desperately to pull himself free. "You keep that up, you're going to get us both killed!" He calmed down slightly and sighed. "Now I'm going to let go, and you're going to keep quiet until we get home again, alright?" he let the dragonling's head go, and it nodded at him slowly before creeping back into a pocket in Conrad's robes. Conrad froze as a guard came out of the Main Chamber and walked by. As soon as he was far enough away though, Conrad edged along the wall to the Main Chamber, stopping briefly as he passed by a door leading to a side room. He looked at the metal plate set into the door and smiled slightly. The metal plate had the word 'Supplies' stamped into it, and conrad snuck inside quickly, looking around. The room was circualr, and the entire wall area was lined with shelves, each stocked with items more strange and unusual than the last. Conrad began taking things from their respective case, box or jar and stuffed them in the pockets of his robes. "Thank god" he muttered softly. "I was running low and I - hello... what's this?" his eye was cuaght by a collection of drawstring bags sitting apart from everything else in a small wooden chest. In each bag was a fine powder ground from precious stomes. "Score!" he said, stuffing the bags into his left sleeve. That particular sleeve was enchanted to act like a sort of magic 'pocket' to hold stolen items in emergencies. He crept back out of the supplies room and started heading back towards the Main Chamber, and swore as his invisibilty wore off suddenly. The guard standing outside the door to the Main Chamber was jarred from his  half-asleep state by Conrad's sudden appearance.
"Hey you!" he shouted suddenly, pointing his spear at him. Conrad eyed it briefly. That was something he wanted far away from his person, if at all possible. Conrad smiled and approached him calmly, hands in plain view.
"Hey there, calm down... You look kinda tired, perhaps you could use a Touch of Sleep" As he said those last three words, he put out his hand and caught the guard in the face. As soon as he made contact, the guard slumped back into his chair in a nearly-comatose sleep. "G'night handsome..." he said, walking past him and pushing the door open. In the Main Chamber of the library, there were rows upon rows of shelves of books, ranging from a few months old to before the dawn of creation. In the centre of the room though was a intricately-carved bookstand in a glass tube. In the glass tube was a crudely-cut hole roughly 3 feet across, and standing just to the side of it was a figure in tight-fitting black clothing. "Hey!" Conrad cried. The figure turned, clutching a iron-bound book the size of a pavement stone. "put that back! I need to steal it!" The figure's face was obscured by a black scarf, but the voice gave her away as a young woman, probably no older than Conrad himself.
"Tough luck, I need it more. I actually have plans for this, unlike you, you petty crook" she said, pulling off the scarf. She had startling eyes that seemed to change colors the longer you stared at them. Her skin was aple, but not unnaturally so, and she smiled slightly, muttering something. Soon the angry shouts of the guards could be heard nearby. "Oh dear, the guards seem to know we're here. Well it's been fun, but I gotta go" and with a few muttered words, she disappeared into the shadows. Conrad blinked, impressed for a brief moment. That particular teleport, a 'shadowgate' spell, was especially difficult, but the range on it was phenominal. His admiration was cut short as what must've been a full squadron of guards burst into the room, carrying various unpleasantly sharp weapons. Conrad reached into his cloak again, sighing. He hadn't wanted to waste his precious gemstone dust, especially this soon, but he was in even more of a pinch than usual. He pulled out a tiny pinch of diamond powder and cast it into the air, covering his face with his cloak as hhe muttered the word 'Scatterburst'. As he did, each grain emitted a tiny, but extremely brilliant flash, dazzling the guards. When their vision returned to them though, he was long gome, barrelling down the street under the cover of a new invisibilty spell, and he didn't stop running until he had reached home. He unlocked the door to his modest little potions shop and promptly collapsed into a chair. His familiar, the tiny dragon in his pocket, crept out of its nesting place and perched on his shoulder.
"So... what was that about huh?" he asked. Conrad shook his head.
"I don't know Drake. I've never been beaten to a job. Ever." Drake, his familiar, churred softly.
"What were you after?" he asked. Conrad smiled slightly.
"A book made by the Royal Archmages. The called it the Encyclopedia Arcana, and it's supposed to have every spell ever discovered in it, and it rewrites itself every time a new one is found." Drake pondered that for a moment.
"That'd have to contain the entire 'Practical Magic' section of all the branches of the library..." he said finally. "That must be some book boss..." he said. Conrad nodded.
"Oh it is Drake, and I'm going to get it back. As soon as I figure out how..."