Several feet of black stretched in front of her eyes, blacker than ebony cloth it was unfathomable and thick as molasses. A cold chill ran down her spine and made her shiver, yet there shouldn't have been any wind here at all, she was too far down. It was impossible. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had ended up down here, it was more than an hour, less than a day at least. Her wrists hurt from where the shackles chaffed and rubbed at her thin skin, and her throat was parched and dry from lack of water. She licked her dry, cracked lips and sighed, her breath rattling through her chest like a wind through a dry desert. Her stomach complained about being empty, but she silenced it with a short growl.
It wouldn't be long now.
She could hear the scratching of small claws all around her, yet the vermin left her alone, for even though she was where she was, she could still blend with the shadows easily. The cold stone floor beneath her felt solid and damp, and the air smelled of mildew and urine with the faintest smell of brine. That was all she needed to know.
It wouldn't be long now.
She soon heard a faint sound ahead and to her right. It was high up and metallic and sounded much like hundreds of little tiny keys clinking and jingling together, which was what they were. There was the sound of keys being shoved into a lock and the lock turning with a click, before a door opened and light flooded the chamber before her from a solid, fixed point. The torchlight flickered from above, the outline of a figure appeared down the stairs and across the floor beside her cell. She could hear frantic steps rushing down the stairs and a lithe figure appeared in front of her cell, the bars dividing up his figure as he approached.
"Really boss? The dungeons as a meeting place? You really enjoy theatrics too much," said the voice of the figure, he was a small man wearing dark leather armor and soft boots. A hood covered his face, but she already knew him just by the way he moved.
She rose and the shackles fell away, "They really think I'm some petty thief, it's quite funny actually,"
"Then you got it?" the man asked excitedly.
She laughed huskily as the man opened the cell door and she stepped out, moving like a cat, "Honestly, you question my abilities?" she held up a scroll in her hand, in the dim light it was decorated with jagged runes that seemed incomprehensible to a normal eye. "Like taking candy from a baby,"
"Yeah well let's get out of here before that baby wakes up and starts wailing," he motioned for her to follow him.
She blinked, "He hasn't figured out what I stole yet? It's been forever!" the both of them chuckled as they left the dungeon.
"You're only the best, come now, can't give your faithful any credit?" he laughed as they both left, creeping along the hallways and up into the torch lit castle above. They left the barracks and snuck out through the window onto a balcony, all the guards were either dead or knocked unconscious, mainly the latter. The two moved, silent as death, across the balcony and the woman glanced over the side and down to the road below. Underneath them was a thick ivy cluster snaking all the way down to the bushes underneath them, two horses stood in the shadows, quietly waiting for the two of them.
"Ah, I can always count on you Alrik, you always have a quick getaway planned," she smirked and he bowed mockingly as they climbed down the side of the wall and into the bushes. She looked across the road before leaping into the saddle, her companion doing the same. They reined in their mounts and galloped into the night, both smiling in exhilaration.
Their victory only lasted a few moments, before they rounded a corner and spotted a large squad of men on horseback with torches stretched across the road. Their imperial armor glinting in the firelight, along with their drawn swords, axes and bows, and their obnoxious smirks.
"Going somewhere, thieves?" said the captain, smirking as he spurred his horse forward, "Get them!"
The two thieves doubled back, their horses whinnying in protest and turning about to race the other way. Yet they only got a little ways before they were met with a second squad of archers, firing arrows at them on the other side of the road.
The woman's horse reared, screaming in surprise and her companion turned about, panic on his face as he glanced at her. "Run! Get off and run!" Just as he was swinging off, an arrow whistled through the air and landed in his chest, piercing his leather armor with the impact and landing with a dull thud. He stared at it in shock, before doubling over with a gasp.
Swinging down, the female ran to him, "Alrik!"
"Don't—ah! Don't you dare! G-get out! Go!" he gasped, drawing his sword as two more arrows landed in his leg, making him scream in pain.
"Run them down! Run them down!" shouted the captain as the other squad of swordsmen rode around the corner.
"Go! You make sure you spend some of that treasure for me!" Alrik smirked as he pushed the woman aside and into the bushes, running at the squad of men. She stumbled back as an arrow pierced her side and she fell down the side of the mountain, the thick bushes hiding her in shadow as she fell.
The last thing she remembered was Alrik, trampled and beaten on the road, stuck full with three more arrows, one protruding from his throat and causing thick blood to ooze terribly through the wound. That was the last she remembered, before the world fell away, and so did she.