They always say that there's no honor amongst thieves. A shifting wind in the ever-changing world can be the only thing an arrow needs to reach its target. The ability to take someone's life was never called a gift even after it was given to you.
Can you kill someone?
It's the kind of question you only ask yourself because you know you'll never have to answer it. Or perhaps you've already answered yourself and can't turn back. A shifting wind is all it takes; a change in the world that can illuminate the path at your feet.
I felt a large and heavy item slam against my chest as my heavy eyes slowly adapted to the light shining in through the broken window above me. It felt almost like the body of a person being thrown against me. My arms seized the object only to be dismissed as a large bag of unknown supplies.
"Let's do it." Tristan said with a confident smile and a firm hand placed on the strap of his own bag.
He was acting strange again. I couldn't have been sleeping for more than 3 hours, or so it felt. My eyes were still heavy; my back sore from the previous day. Though I complied and hoisted myself from the ground, my mind was exhausted alike.
Tristan appeared in the doorway once again while I was brushing myself off and fastening my equipment to my body, "Are you sure you want to do this? I could just go alone so you can sleep a little longer."
I fastened the last leather strip extra firm to the sound of his words, "No. You can forget about that."
Tristan smiled, "You know, Aiden. It's not as if I'm going to leave you behind."
Throwing the bag over my right shoulder, I made my way through the doorway, brushing past him lightly. I could feel his grin.
Tristan caught up to me moments later with a slight jog and began walking me through what exactly my role consisted of in this event.
Using his hands for maximum visualization, he explained, "So the three guards are stationed here. They'll not likely move from their post seeing as how the chamberlain is probably giving them good coin to stay there no matter what. You'll have to be on your toes for this one unless you have a way to make them leave. Think you can handle it?"
A simple nod sufficed as he continued, "Good. If you can get inside this chamber unnoticed, I'll most likely already be inside the guest hall waiting for you to unlock the door from the other side in this section of the hold. There are more guards inside than out, so you'll have to be quick and let me in as fast as possible before I'm noticed. Got it?"
"Got it," I mumbled as he came to a halt and began examining the roofs.
Tristan slowly started rubbing his chin with his thumb and pointer finger before I asked him, "What are you looking for?"
A short smile crept across his face before he unexpectedly leaped backwards and grabbed the edge of the roof behind him and pulled himself up to the top, standing on the edge and looking down at me, "Wanna race?"
A smile of my own found its way out of hiding behind the serious mission talk as I returned his challenge, "Sure…. But only if you can keep up."
With blistering speed, Tristan bolted along the edge of the roof, agilely leaping over to the next roof and not looking back for a moment. With all of my speed I made a quick burst down the alley in front of me and quickly clambered up a pile of crates on the side of the city inn.
Our destination was clear in the distance. With sharp and adventurous eyes I scanned the entire terrain for the quickest route to beat Tristan. He always won. Part of me accepted that he was faster and smarter, but the rest of me burned to beat him at least once. Upon making a mental trail to the finish, I immediately started leaping from the inn's roof to the next building unseen by the public. Tristan was out of sight. Just when I thought he had lost me and claimed the race, my eyes caught the faint flicker of a black swordsman's mantle descending into a crowd of people. I smiled in realization that he wasn't far and victory was still achievable. I took off once more with all of the speed in my legs. My bow seemed unusually heavy on my back, or maybe it was just the weight of a freshly filled quiver of arrows. The sword against my tail bone was hidden away beneath my cloak. It's a strange place to keep a sword; upon the back of your waist rather than against your hip. But it was easier to conceal this way.
After an agile leap onto the last roof before the ocean of civilians, my mind wandered for an instant too long and I was spotted by a guard.
"Hey! You! Get down from there!" I heard him yell as he began stumbling towards me.
The people of this city were well-fed and prosperous, but spoiled nonetheless. Even the guards were overweight and could never hope to catch either of us in their current condition. This being the truth, our loot would be that much easier if bad came to worse.
While I was still scanning the area from the roof for Tristan, the guard somehow made it to the base of the building before I escaped. He was panting out of breath and it looked almost as if he was going to fall over from exhaustion.
"*Pant*… *Pant*… Get…. Down…. *Pant*…. Now! You're not allowed up there!"
I raised an eyebrow as he continued panting with his hands planted upon his knees for support. A stream of sweat ran down his face. The armor of the guards in this area of Gransys was heavier than that of the capital city Gran Soren or other northern cities like the Bluemoon Tower. But it was thicker and more protective.
Each moment that I waited here and questioned the guard's ability to stop me Tristan grew closer and closer to the finish. My eyes shot back up towards the enormous building in the distance.
"Dammit." I grunted.
The guard's expression became puzzled as I leaped clear over him and into the enormous current of civilians. Without being rude I ran directly through the current and reached the other side in seconds. The guard did not even attempt to follow.
Our destination was near and large ahead of me. I picked up speed and made a final burst towards the building just hoping that Tristan hadn't gotten there first. After clearing the last set of houses in front of the hold I kept running; the hold getting closer and closer now. Tristan was nowhere in sight and the race was clearly mine.
A feeling of relief and accomplishment settled in my stomach, but only for a moment. Upon running past the final set of houses, a pair of arms reached out from against the face of the last house on my right side and seized me. When my mind finally caught up with my eyes, I was being held firmly against the house by Tristan. His eyes were gawking, "How does it feel to lose?" and his smile was even worse. When he still hadn't let go of my gambeson, I became confused. I raised my hands up and grabbed his to try and pry his grip from me. His smile dissipated and his eyes shifted back to the ally way from where he grabbed me. The sound of footsteps approached. Many footsteps and they were hustling. He still held my gambeson tightly in his grip and kept me pinned against the wall. A group of guards came running by without noticing us.
"I think he went this way!" One of them shouted as they kept running past the ally way and towards the center of the city.
Tristan's eyes shifted back to my own. His expression was very disappointed. His grip melted off of my gambeson and he was no longer keeping me pinned against the wall.
"Next time someone spots you, just forget about the damn race and do what you can to evade them. Otherwise you risk losing the objective because of your carelessness."
He easily convinced me that he was completely serious. But it took only moments for him to start smiling again.
"Sorry…." I mumbled as he threw his arm over my shoulder.
"Hey. It's no big deal. At least we're not in jail right now, and who knows? Maybe someday you'll beat me." He said while leading me towards the hold.
By the time he stopped walking, we were standing in front of an enormous structure that looked fit to withstand the onslaught of an entire legion. It was much larger up close. Our eyes scaled the hold from the ground up.
"Still think you can handle this?" He said with complete confidence in his own performance.
"Without a doubt." I said back with equal confidence.
We were planning a huge loot in the house that was owned by a terrifyingly powerful man; the Chamberlain of Aernst Castle, one of the most heavily populated and royal cities in Gransys. The chamberlain was a man that goes by the name of Ganden Westwood; a scum of man that deserved far worse than being robbed. Though we didn't fancy murder in our way of living, it would always present itself here and there regardless. There's naught you can do against it. The life of thievery is what we had chosen and that's how it would remain forevermore. Tristan and I had been stealing for a living since we were boys. Now nearing the age of twenty-two, my abilities were sharpened from years of survival in the line of thieves. Tristan was twenty-five currently. We were like brothers, he and I. Though not related by blood or faithful matrimony between families, the brotherhood was still ever present. We had been roaming Gransys together for fifteen years now; stealing and surviving by our own means. No cities, capitals, villages or holds were home to us. Not for the risk of being wanted, but for the sake of staying free and eradicating any ties to a single location. Tristan and I feared the day that we would abandon our way of life after finding a comfortable and peaceful home to remain in. For us, that was just something that couldn't happen. So we ran. We ran forever and we will keep running forever until the Maker strikes us down himself. But Tristan has been acting different lately. All of these years he has included me in every heist and not left my side for even a moment. But it has been very different as of late. He chooses to loot his own locations and sometimes doesn't return for an entire day. He's been very secretive for a while now.
Tristan led me over to a small ally way on the west side of the Chamberlain's house to discuss the plan with me once more. I was to get past the three guards patrolling south entrance of the hold so I could let Tristan inside from the door leading to the guest hall, where we would begin the main event.
Now was the best time to begin. The goal was fresh inside my mind.
"Hey," Tristan said after lightly nudging me with his elbow, "This is going to be our best loot yet if everything goes accordingly. Just stay focused and we'll be able to afford food and rest when it's all over."
I nodded my head in confirmation, but something felt wrong. Looting wealthy manners and stealing from the high and mighty is what we do. But the feeling in my stomach told me that there was more in store for me. Something huge was about to happen. But my stubbornness and loyalty would blind me to the end.
After ascending a small, sturdy ladder with ease onto the roof of a building near the Chamberlain's location, I had now gained sight of my target. Sure enough, three obese, slouching, lazy guards stood outside the back entrance to the hold. There was a large traffic of people flowing past the entrance in all directions. My eyes wandered all around the building on each level only to see guards even patrolling the roofs. This was not going to be easy. This approach would have to be taken from the ground where their defenses were most crippled.
With a quick motion of the arm, I pulled the hood of my tattered, red mantle over my head and leaped into the ocean of civilians below to walk amongst them unseen. The sun was at its highest point in the sky and the day was busiest now more than ever. A few ideas here and there phased my mind but the key plan of action wasn't established yet.
Perhaps an easy way to make the guards abandon their post would be an "incident" near the door. Surely they would react to a citizen's dire needs? Or rather, maybe they're being promised handsome payment to ignore all means aside of watching the entrance. No matter. Finding a way inside was my easiest task at the moment. Getting inside would prove to be the difficult part.