Ripple Effect – 1

Everything felt different after freeing Erin from the primal, Garret mused. She'd gone into hiding after the incident, not contacting Basso or himself in anyway. In fact Basso had gone looking for her, but had come up empty handed. Garret had passed by her old hide-out once, but found it dusty and unused.

Concluding that she wanted to be left alone, Garret had ceased looking for her and suggested to Basso to do the same.

Garret had thrown himself at work after that, keeping both himself and Basso busy, but somehow the thievery and loot didn't feel like it did before. It failed to restore the situation to normal.

The euphoria of success of each successful heist seemed to grow paler for and Garret didn't like it. If he didn't have thieving to live for, he didn't know what would replace it.

The world seemed grey, even greyer than a rainy night usually was.

He tried to shake the feeling of, as he snuck over the rooftops towards a nobles town apartment in order to collect the painting Basso had ordered. The cold wet weather meant that most people has shut their windows and few were out in the street, making his job way too easy. On the other hand that usually meant that people lit more candles and bigger fires inside, he mused, almost looking forward to the challenge.

However, to his disappointment, the house was empty, the masters out and the servants gone to bed. All was dark and except for a creaky window he faced absolutely no difficulties. He got in, cut the painting out, and walked out. Clean and simple and fully covered in darkness. Boring.

Safely stashing the painting where Basso would find it in the morning, he set course toward the old chapel in Mourning Side. He didn't exactly know why, but that was where the shadows took him.

The Queen of Beggars sat at a chess table, nursing a steaming cup of tea in her hands. Her misty eyes looked far away at nothing in particular. Nonetheless Garret's presence was immediately detected.

"Master Thief, what brings you to the chapel at night? Come to share with those who are needing?" the old woman asked, her voice bouncing of the walls and made it sound stronger than it actually was.

Garret approached her and put down a purse of gold coins, without saying anything. Again he reminded himself that his stealing wasn't about the gold. She moved her face towards the sound of the purse distributing its weight on the table.

"Silent as ever, I see," The queen commented and a twist at the corner of her mouth betrayed that she was very aware about the pun. Garret sat down opposite her.

"Play with me," she ventured and gestured the chess game in front of them.

"No," he answered and for a while it seemed as though that was all she was going to get from him, but then he continued, "-that's Basso's game."

"What is your game?" the old woman asked and sipped on her tea.

"Thieving," he answered flatly. She smiled crookedly, successfully bringing even more wrinkles to her face.

"Well, I can't challenge you there. What do you want?"

Garret drew a breath, hesitating, "- is the balance restored?"

"Yes, it's returning to normal. The gloom is fading and all is well, but you are not, are you?"

"You said once that I bring change. What did you mean?" Garret asked, ignoring her question.

"That is what the energy shows me, Master Thief. It still shows me change, but it seems to be unclear whether it is with you or the city."

Garret stood up and looked away.

"Are you feeling well, Garret?" the old woman suddenly asked him with genuine concern that took him by surprise, making him face her again. He furrowed his brow and studied her with intent. He didn't find what he was looking for.

"Fine," he answered and disappeared into the shadows again.

When he awoke the following afternoon, he'd begun coughing. His throat was fine, but there was a strange tightness to his chest that he found unnerving, but dismissed it as a late effect of all the smoke he'd inhaled during the numerous escapes he'd performed through burning buildings after Erin's capture. Still, the old woman's words lay heavily on his mind.

Basso was seated in his usual spot in The Crippled Burrick, gulping down the last bit of pint and wiping his beard in his sleeve afterwards.

"Garret," he exclaimed merrily once he spotted the thief and produced a coin purse from one of his many deep pockets, "-for a job well done. It's a beauty." Garret swallowed down a scornful snort and sat down in the booth behind Basso, snatching the purse as he passed him. It was heavier than it should have been.

"I've have another couple of jobs, if you're interested," Basso offered.

"Sure," the thief replied with little interest and coughed into his fist. Basso suddenly began laughing.

"And one guy who wanted to hear if you were interested in an assassination job," Basso blurted again, barely able to contain himself. He was more drunk than he usually was, Garret noted.

"I'm not an assassin," Garret responded levelly.
"I told him as much," Basso chuckled, "Anyways, The Rose wants Xiao Xiao's pink diamond necklace. It's believed to be housed deep within The House of Blossoms. Maybe even in her own office."

Garret nodded, "-I'll do it."

"Good," Basso suddenly turned to a whisper, "-the other one is more precarious. Someone rich wants Thief-Taker Thadeus Harlan's ring. Already bought and paid for, this job. He used a messenger and all. Very hush hush."

Garret fought the urge to snarl at the mention of the Thief-Taker.

"It'll be a trap," Garret quickly concluded

"Most certainly," Basso agreed, "-hence the heavy purse. I'll go underground for a couple of weeks starting later tonight. The messenger will be here in this very spot in 10 days, awaiting the ring. She's a small brown haired little girl, maybe 8 years old, blue eyes, wearing a red bonnet. Whether you will give her the ring or the money back is your decision."

The thief nodded in approval of the plan, "-Good luck Basso."

Basso smiled and turned around and Garret was gone.

"Likewise, Master Thief," he whispered mostly to himself and ordered another beer. The next couple of weeks was not going to be a picnic, he knew.

The fact that it was raining cats and dogs that night combined with wind gust that tore roof tiles off made Garret retreat back to the clock tower and instead dedicated the night to the maintenance of the clock work, finding the concentration heavy and detail oriented work somehow soothing for the soul. He took some pride in keeping the old clock working when the many of the city's other clock towers fell into negligent decay.

He'd hoped that a full day's sleep would make him feel better, but the following afternoon, the world seemed just as grey as yesterday and the unwelcome tightness in his chest that made him cough was still there.

He cursed under his breath, when he saw that it was still raining. At least the wind had gone down.

He ate an apple while dressing in his tight leather outfit, making meticulously sure that everything was placed and tied correctly, knowing that his life could depend on it. He re-checked his supplies as the dusk gave way for night.

As he pulled the hood over his long black hair, he noticed that he'd only managed half the apple, but wasn't feeling particularly hungry. Thinking that that could not be right, he ate the rest, even though he wasn't feeling like it.

He made off over the roofs top, heading for the House of Blossoms, where he found a continuous traffic back and forth from. The girls were seemingly very busy tonight and that made it harder to get in and around while avoiding detection. Garret decided to wait outside for a while until the majority of the customer had been allocated into the private rooms and was more engaged in other activities than keeping a lookout for sneaking thieves.
The annoying cough suddenly bubbled to the surface, forcing him to retreat from the position he'd found where he had a good overlook to the entrance. He suppressed it until he was a couple of blocks away and well above ground level, where it ripped itself loose from his chest and he coughed for almost a full minute.

Then he heard voices in the uppermost apartment next to him.

"Father, there is a man outside our window," a boy announced followed by rustling. Garret cursed under his breath and retreated even further away from the House of Blossoms. He was forced to stop, when he started coughing again. He pressed himself against the nearest shadowy gable and made the cough as breathy as possible.

This was not going to work. Suffering a coughing attacked while deep in the House of Blossoms could prove fatal. Slowly he got his breathing under control and managed a couple of deep breaths before he moved again.

He waited until a couple of watch men, loudly chatting, passed underneath him and turned around a corner, before quickly forcing over a cross beam, when he suddenly slipped on the algae covered, water logged wood and he lost his balance.

In the same second it was clear that was falling down from the cross beam a full 20 foot above the cobble stone. He focussed and located another beam a good 12 feet to the left some 10-12 feet down and before he completely lost contact with the slippery beam he leapt for the other.

The take-off had not been good and even though he attempted to adjust his position is the air, he collided chest first with all his weight on the beam with nothing to soften the impact but his metal enforced leather armour. The beam cracked twice almost simultaneously and the wind was thoroughly knocked out of him. His legs, hitting nothing but air, swung underneath the beam, pulling the rest of him with them off the beam again.

He landed squarely on his back on the cobble stone. By some unfathomable stroke of luck, he didn't hit his head too badly. He heaved after air as he slowly got to his feet. His watchful eyes quickly scanned the area and luckily found it deserted. He doubled over as the pain of the impacts washed over him, stumbling on shaky legs to the nearest shadow. Garret sat down and regained his composure and breath. He coughed and winced as brought sharp pain to his chest. He then realized that it was not the beam that had cracked under his weight, but himself. Broken ribs.

He cursed and berated himself for making such a stupid mistake at such a critical time. It was an occupational hazard and it wasn't his first time, but still it reminded him that he was human and it bothered him.

The chatting alerted him to the fact that the guards were coming back around and he pressed himself deeper into the shadow. At this point he noticed that there was a slight wheeze to his breathing and had to make an effort not to curse again. Hopefully their mindless chatter would block it out.

"Thief!" someone shouted from above, successfully making the guards stop in mid track. Garret's heart skipped a beat.

"He's hiding on the corner behind the barrels," the voice shouted again, "-I saw him falling from the roof."

The shuffling of the guards boots, sent him springing into action, running down the nearest alley.

"Get him!" one of the guards shouted. The movement and increased breathing sent stars in front of Garret's eyes and his ribs felt they were being stabbed repeatedly, but he pushed on, trying to keep the speed up. The guards were gaining on him and he decided he needed to get above ground level. He scaled massive cargo box and leapt over a fence, using Erin's claw tool. When he landed on the other side he fell again, his knees suddenly grew weak, when the impact jarred his ribs. The guards couldn't follow his stunt and just studied him with angry expressions from the other side before running back where they came from.

Garret scrambled to his feet. They would find another way around and possibly even alert more guards on their way. He needed to disappear and fast.

He didn't trust his body enough to attempt the thieves' high way more tonight and settled for sneaking from shadow to shadow along the cobble stone streets, clinging to the walls for much needed support.

The guards he encountered were on high alert, but he managed to sneak past them. The guards multiplied in numbers the closer he got to the Stone Market, suggesting that they were probably aware that he layered there. He paused and realized he wasn't sure if he could scale the clock tower in his current condition and if he alerted any of the guards he wouldn't be able to escape.

Defeated he turned around and headed towards the old chapel, hoping that they would accept one more in need.

The queen was in the exact same spot as the day before yesterday, nursing the exact same cup. The chess board was gone. Instead she was playing cards with a what looked be a teenage boy with scruffy brownish hair and wearing rags. One of the needy, Garret guessed. He hadn't seen him around before.

"Garret, today I heard you before I sensed you," the Queen chuckled, somehow finding it funny. Garret stumbled, finding much needed support in the wall. The Queen was instantly on her feet, nearly knocking over the small tea table.

"Help him, Will. He's hurt," the Queen bid and witnessed the Master Thief crumble and collapse to the dirty floor before the boy could reach his side.