[RyanW]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

The burglar is an unusually sporting one and has left a riddle. Why in the world did they do that. I haven't the slightest idea, they always do that.

Possibilities: She is a Femme Fatale Classy Cat Burglar. She was hired by who-knows-who.
Maybe when she finds that the villain really is an Evil Mastermind instead of just your day to day black arts dealer she will ally with the heros.


Maybe Cardinal X is the real mastermind.

Ideas:

1. The Cardinal is using the artifact for his own purposes, and is pinning its disappearance on the thief. If, at the end of it, they don't recover it, there's a new clue as to where it wound up, keeping them forever looking for something that isn't missing.
2. The thief knows the Cardinal has nefarious plans, and steals the artifact to stall him. The riddle was a deliberate attempt to get caught so that she can have a chance to talk to the Cardinal's secret fixers, hoping to turn them against the Cardinal.
3. The thief has nefarious plans, and steals the artifact to put them into motion. The riddle was a deliberate attempt to get caught so that she can have a chance to talk to the Cardinal's secret fixers, hoping to turn them against the Cardinal.