1/6 Written to explain some backstory for my D&D character, Calliope (aka Calli by the group).

First off, she was cold. It had started to snow in this bustling town and Calliope wasn't dressed appropriately for this kind of weather. Honestly, she'd never even seen snow before, but as pretty as it was, she didn't like it.

Second, she was hungry. The constant churning and bubbling of her stomach was a testament to that.

When was the last time she had eaten? Was it that apple she'd stolen while the merchant wasn't looking? Or that loaf of bread she'd taken from that woman's bag? Calliope couldn't remember.

A violent shiver forced the petite half-elf to stop in her tracks. She needed a new set of clothes, something warmer for this weather. She needed a warm place to sit and a hot meal for once.

That was the third thing; Calliope had no money.

Without money, Calliope couldn't get anything she needed, not without doing something risking out in the open. She didn't want to get caught by the guards.

The smell of something hearty and a warm breeze washed over Calliope for all of a second, and as she looked around, she saw a man entering a tavern that was so crowded he could barely make it through the door.

Ideal picking grounds for a thief.

Without even really thinking about it, Calliope made a beeline for the door and ducked in as quick as she could without anyone noticing.

As soon as she entered, even with the cold wind at her back as the door closed behind her, Calliope was blissfully warm. Just to the side of the door, she paused, rubbing her fingers together, trying to make sure that her fingertips wouldn't hurt too much from the rapid temperature change.

Scanning the room carefully Calliope looked for an easy target, hoping to catch someone off their guard. Someone who wouldn't notice her walking their direction while on the way to the counter. Someone who would either be too distracted or inebriated to notice their coin purse gone until it was too late.

Carefully, Calliope made her way towards the bar where an empty stool was available. As she passed a man who was clearly losing at a drinking game, her hand found his coin purse and lifted in easily away from him without any indication that he noticed.

As fast as she had palmed it, she had slipped the purse into the pouch at her side. So when she was suddenly pushed into the man standing next to him, she didn't need to panic about the coin purse being seen as her hand landed on the man's arms.

Calliope looked up at the man and smiled prettily, muttering something about being clumsy before she giggled and headed back towards the bar, giving him one backwards glance before shaking her head. At the very least, this threw off the scent and Calliope wasn't considered as anything other than a pretty half-elf.

When she reached the empty stool at the end of the bar, Calliope casually pulled her ponytail over one shoulder and leaned forward on the bar, waiting for attention.

A minute later, a bartender came over to her and smiled.

"What can I get for you, miss?" He asked casually.

"A glass of whisky and some warm stew, ideally," she answered. "How much would that cost me?"

"A silver and two coppers."

Casually, Calliope pulled the purse out of her pocket and breathed a soft sigh of relief. There was enough in here for her meal and maybe a warmer coat if she really haggled.

Soon three coins met the man's palm and he walked off to get her order.

Without meaning too, Calliope began scanning the tavern again, looking for another potential target.

There were plenty of people who fit the bill, mostly men who were too drunk and a few women who were extremely distracted. In the corner, Calliope noticed a dwarf with his tongue stuck down a Halflings throat and she nearly gagged at the sight of such… passionate kissing, but looking away sufficed.

As her drink was placed in front of her, Calliope's eyes casually landed on the man sitting directly across from her. He was a human with black, swept back hair, an easy, welcoming smile, and cool eyes that she could tell were a silvery blue, even from this far away. His clothes looked expensive, if not for the fact that they were a bit worn in places, but overall, he appeared a handsome, sophisticated young man.

He was making flirty eyes with the woman a few seats down from her.

Calliope rolled her eyes in disgust at their obvious display. He wasn't exactly what she would call subtle.

As she went back to her drink, Calliope carefully watched the two of them out of the corner of her eyes. If they were still making eyes at each other when she was done eating, she'd probably steal the woman's money before heading out.

They went on for a while, long enough that they were still flirting from a far when Calliope's stew arrived.

As soon as the food was placed in front of her, the half-elf's stomach rumbled expectantly. It smelled savory and sweet and the rich dark color made her mouth water.

The first spoonful had Calliope enraptured for a few moments. It was the first food she'd had in days. She'd merely shoveled a heap of meat and vegetables into her mouth, and normally the food wouldn't be that good, but because of her empty belly, Calliope had to close her eyes and hold back tears for a second.

After a moment, Calliope opened her eyes again and found them meeting the confused eyes of the black-haired man across the bar. She froze for a moment, their gaze locked, but Calliope broke it and focused on her stew again, savoring each bite.

When Calliope was halfway down the bowl, just as she had put a spoonful of meat and broth into her mouth, a voice from next to her spoke.

"Can I ask your advice?" said the woman next to her.

Startled, Calliope looked over at the woman, spoon still in her mouth.

It was the woman that had been making eyes at the man across the bar. She was a pretty thing with long blond hair that hung loose, only pulled back out of her face by a few well-placed braids. Her warm eyes were the color of the bark of an old fir tree Calliope's father had shown her once.

Slowly Calliope nodded, spoon still in her mouth.

"See that man across the bar," the woman said, indicating with a small, sideways nod, biting her lip. "I think he's interested in me. From one woman to another, do you think I should go over there? I mean, he's so handsome and he seems interested… what do you think?"

Calliope looked over at the man across the bar in time to see him smile and shake his head into his drink. As she looked, twisting her face like she was thinking it over, her hand subtly found it's way to the coin purse at the woman's belt and gently took it from her without her even noticing.

The half-elf looked back at the woman and eyed her up and down once more, acting like she was considering things.

"I think the whole bar knows he's been eying you up for a while," said Calliope, a hint of humor in her voice. "He's definitely interested. I don't have a lot of experience with men, but even I know that a man does not show that much attention to a woman unless he's attracted to her. If I were you, I'd go over there before someone else catches his fancy."

The woman grinned happily, light sparkling in her eyes. She quickly thanked Calliope and made her way over to the silver-eyed man.

Watching them out of the corner of her eye, Calliope continued to eat her soup. Something about this whole situation didn't seem right, but Calliope couldn't quite put her finger on why.

[D&D]

Derris had noticed the half-elf from across the bar when she'd taken a bite of the taverns stew. It wasn't the most appetizing meal, but it certainly filled you and made you feel warm.

She had long auburn hair that fell just below her shoulders tied back in a low ponytail. Her ears were too long and pointed for her to be human, but too short and round to be an elf.

The first glimpse he'd had of her was her savoring her food like it was the best thing she'd ever eaten. She looked so… what was the word… consumed by the moment that she didn't seem to notice when her face visibly relaxed.

The man had never seen anyone act like that over such mediocre food, but he understood the feeling all too well. A decent meal after a few days without anything was always an experience.

She wasn't just pretty, Derris could see that she had the potential to be very beautiful if she wore her hair just right and wore the right colors, but she didn't seem like a good target.

If the intriguing scar on her cheek was anything to go by, she was a fighter and wouldn't give up easily.

When she opened her eyes again, they locked with his and he discovered a pair forest green iris' that seemed to shift colors like the leaves of a tree in the wind and sunlight. They remained frozen for a second before she dropped her eyes down to her food again.

Clearly, she was uncomfortable and didn't look up again.

Derris turned his attention back to his real target. The blonde a few seats down from the half-elf.

The woman was clearly entranced by his good looks and all he really had to do was smile and continue to watch her as she steadily drank more, trying to work up the nerve. Derris could easily see that she was shy and unsure of herself from the way that she kept breaking eye contact and biting her lip. She wanted to come over and flirt, possibly more.

Against his better nature, whenever his target broke eye contact, he would allow himself another glimpse at this half-elf girl. Something about her caught his interest, but he couldn't place the feeling.

Just as Derris was starting to get impatient over the wait, the woman scooted over a few seats to the half-elf girl and started talking to her,

The man had to bring his drink to his lips to hide a laugh. The woman was so insecure that she had to ask the nearest woman for advice. It was astounding, but when he looked up from his drink again, he saw the half-elf talking to the woman before the woman smiled broadly and started making her way over to him.

Just before she reached him, he took one final glance at the half-elf. Whoever she was, she was watching them from the corner of her eye. Perhaps she knew what he was up to, but Derris didn't dare risk getting up and leaving.

The woman introduced herself as Anura. She was delicate and bashful, and she blushed at the slightest compliment, but Derris knew exactly how to play a woman like her. Charm and compliments worked best. And always insisting each compliment was true and providing examples whenever she denied or dismissed them.

Eventually, Derris put his hand lightly on her waist and brought her closer to him, making his move and trying to detach her coin purse from her and pocket it for himself.

Derris only just managed to hide his shock to find that she wasn't carrying a coin purse. It was gone. Derris knew she'd had one; he'd seen it on her hip when she'd entered the tavern and again when she'd taken coins out to pay the barkeep, but there was no sign of it now.

As he chatted casually with Anura, his mind raced. Who else in here would have taken her coin purse? Then it struck him.

When Anura looked down, Derris turned his head slightly to view the half-elf once more. She was finishing off her meal and watching patrons with a trained eye that he recognized. He had worked with many people and knew that look. She was searching for a target.

The half-elf suddenly stood and up and started making a beeline for the door, effortlessly slipping through the crowd in a way that only her small stature would allow.

Turning his attention back to Anura, he saw that she was much too intoxicated to get anything useful or interesting out of. She looked at him with confused, glazed eyes, and Derris just smiled at her.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," said Derris politely. "Would you like to meet here again tomorrow?"

Anura smiled and nodded.

Just before he left her, Derris planted a quick kiss on the woman's lips, gave her one last smile, and started through the crowd after the half-elf.

She was small and fast, he had to give her that, but Derris managed to keep track of her as she headed towards the door.

The girl was remarkably composed as she exited the tavern, but he doubted that she had left without taking at least one more coin purse.

Derris managed to step into the frozen air in time to see the half-elf's boots disappear behind a corner. He pursued.

The human could tell from her age, her face, and the way that she had watched the crowd that she had started down this path when she was young. Despite her youth, she was undoubtedly skilled, and Derris knew that if they worked together, they could earn a great deal of money.

[D&D]

Calliope knew he was following her. He'd left the bar shortly after her. She managed to swipe one more coin purse as she left, weaving and dodging through the crowd as quickly as possible.

She didn't know who he was, but she had a bad feeling that he was coming after her. She'd seen his surprise when his hand went to the woman's waist. She knew he'd been after her money. She suspected that he'd figured out what she'd done.

As she darted out into the cold wind again, she knew he was hot on her heels and quickly moved towards the closest alley way, intending to hide behind it, and if he followed her, press her knife to his throat.

Breathing hard, Calliope waited in shadow, not noticing the cold anymore. Her pulse jumped persistently in her neck.

The crunching of snow came closer to her, the gait smooth, almost like someone was just going about their business, but the second he rounded the corner, their eyes met and Calliope moved.

The man's arm shot out grabbing her wrist and grappling with her for a moment. They struggled, but before Calliope knew what was going on, the man had overpowered her, spun her so her back was against his chest, and slammed them both against the wall she had been previously pressed again.

A gloved hand clamped over her mouth before she could protest and one of his legs hooked around hers so that she couldn't get away.

Behind them, Calliope heard the sounds of armor rattling, shouting, and people running through the snow.

"Did you have to cast a fireball spell in the middle of their freaking church?! By Ehlonna's mane! You set their effigy on fire!"

"I didn't mean to! The damn Harpy moved!"

"Áva quetë ar' noro! (Be quiet and run!)"

"At least it was easier to kill than that Wyvern!"

"SHUT UP, HARRIS!"

The voices faded away, leaving Calliope thoroughly confused and distracted.

If the sound of the length of their strides were anything to go on, there were two humans, an elf (really, she identified him by the eloquent Elvish he'd spoken, even if he was on the run), and a Halfling. What they were arguing about seemed ridiculous as well. Why were they fighting a harpy in a church?

A few moments' later, more armored people came running past shouting for the party to stop and surrender. Probably guards.

"Adventurer's," the man holding her muttered under his breath. "They cause trouble wherever they go, don't they?"

Calliope began to struggle against the man again, trying to maneuver her head in such a way that she could bite the hand over her mouth.

"Calm down, I just want to talk to you!" the man hissed, trying to keep his voice down. "If the guards hear you I highly doubt they'll be so nice if they find at least four coin purses on you, don't you think?!"

Calliope stilled in his grasp. He was right. The last thing she wanted right now was any attention from the guards. But how did he know she had multiple coin purses on her? Did he know she'd just snagged his as well?

"I just want to offer you a proposition," the man said, his grip tight on her. "If I remove my hand from you mouth, will you hear me out?"

Calliope hesitated, but nodded. She didn't have much choice, did she?

Slowly, the man removed his hand from her mouth, but just as soon as he did that, he snaked his arm around her waist to make sure she didn't slip away.

"What do you want?!" she demanded, keeping her voice low.

"You're good," the man said, a strange tint of admiration in his voice. "Really good. You took that woman's money while she was looking directly at you and she didn't even notice."

"Get to the point!" Calliope hissed.

"I'm offering you an in on a job," said the man. "I distract the target, you break into his house, steal whatever looks the most valuable, then get out. We split the profits 50/50. Deal?"

"What makes you think I'm trustworthy?"

"Because you're probably just like me."

"A creep who attacks girls in alley's?"

"An orphan who had to start stealing and doing bad things to survive."

Calliope twisted in his grip to look at his face.

He smirked down at her.

"I'm good at reading people."

Calliope narrowed her eyes, studying him.

"Fine," she said. "Now let go of me."

To her surprise, the man complied.

"I'm Derris," the man said, offering a friendly smile and her knife back.

"Calliope. So when are we executing this little plan of yours?"

"Tomorrow night. I have a room at an inn nearby; we can talk more there. Also, I'd like my money back."

Calliope narrowed her eyes at this man – Derris, he claimed his name was – as she dug her hand into the pouch at her hip.

"I'm not going to enjoy working with you," she stated, throwing the purse at him.

"Really? Because I think I'm going to love it."

Just to be clear, Derris is a conman. And apparently, a character I originally only created for dramatic effect in my characters backstory, is going to be used in game... yeah, this one's gonna hurt. Anyone who actually reads this is going to understand when I finish the sixth and final chapter... yeah...