Back again, and in under a week this time. I just fired out a few short chapters detailing some plot points I wanted to quickly get out of the way before moving on. Little else to say. On with the story.
The thief sat on an old wooden dresser, back against the cobblestone wall, counting his blessings that he was wearing leather pants; had he not he'd doubtless be spending the rest of the night picking splinters from his rear.
He was quite familiar with how these arrangements usually played out; his employer would pick a seldom-traveled location to conduct their shady business and somehow always, ALWAYS, manage to show up inexplicably late, forcing him to wait around, bored out of his mind in the most dreary locations possible.
He was not nervous, he dealt with people like this all the time. But still, likely as habit by this point, he made sure to take in every detail of the surrounding, plotting every possible escape route or weapon.
Though honestly, there wasn't much to see. He was in a dimly lit room enclosed by stone walls, the only light coming through the cracks in the boards over the windows. The room was circular, and sparsely furnished. It was clearly old and disused, cobwebs and dust littered the room.
'Really though, a stone windmill? Who even comes up with these things?' The thief thought, questioning the rather odd locale his employer had chosen for their meeting. He'd been waiting at least twenty minutes past the agreed meeting time. He was used to this happening, but that didn't keep him from becoming annoyed; he was a busy man too after all.
As he tapped his knuckles against the old wood of the dresser he was using as an impromptu seat, his eyes looked once more to the thick, wooden door separating the interior from the elements. He idly rubbed his jaw, still sore from the beating he had suffered a few days ago. Finally, it seemed, whatever deity that counted thieves among their domain decided to smile upon the man, and the door slowly creaked open.
A sinister looking figure, concealed head to toe in a dark cloak, came in through the door. With the exterior light at his back, his form was completely hidden in shadow, but even when the door was sealed and the light returned to its previous levels, the cloak hid nearly any defining feature. Still, it was obvious to the thief that this was the man he was to meet; and the whole "mysterious overlord" shtick was nothing new to him.
"Do you have it?" The new figure spoke in a very business-like manner, not mincing words. It was clear he desired to conduct their business as quickly as possible and be gone.
The thief replied in kind, "Yes, I have it. Of course, there's still the matter of the agreed upon payment, as well as the bonus for all my… pain and suffering." The thief saw the cloak of the man shift about, as though he were pulling at things from within. He finally extended an unhealthily gray-blue hand out from the cloak, clutching a velvet purse the size of a grapefruit.
He tossed the bag over to the thief, practiced hands easily snatching it out of the air. The thief opened the purse and peered inside. It was filled completely with small gold bars. The thief took one out and bit it. The bar yielded easily, proving its authenticity.
Satisfied, the thief closed the purse and placed it within his own satchel. He shoved himself off of the dresser and onto the floor. From a small, concealed pocket hidden by his sleeve, the thief produced the long black strand of hair he had gone through so much trouble to get. He walked the short distance to his employer and handed him the hair.
The cloaked figure deftly plucked the strand from the thief's fingers and held it close to the opening to his hood. The thief could hear the man sniff the strand, which rightfully creeped him out a bit.
Of course, to the man's credit, he had to be sure that he was given the correct item he'd paid so handsomely for. 'It's hers alright.' He was certain he had the correct follicle, he could never forget her scent.
Having gotten what he came for, and with no other reason to stay, the man turned and left without another word. Greener men might have been shaken by the inarguably sketchy ordeal, but the thief had been at this game for a long time. He'd seen stranger men than this one, and he actually paid without attempting to weasel his way to a lower price.
All in all, this turned out to be extremely lucrative for the thief. He'd be able to live out the rest of his life in comfort with the gold he'd just acquired. He never felt remorse for his targets, those he stole from or those he hurt; and he certainly held no concern for the young woman whose hair he just sold to some faceless man.
He'd figured the man to just be some stalker who happened to have a lot of expendable capital to further his obsession. Still, he couldn't help but feel some sort of… cold sensation coming from the man. A sensation that called to question the man's real motives behind the exchange. 'Oh well. Not like it's my problem.'
Jake stared up at the massive, dying tree, strangely situated in the middle of an otherwise barren plain. You could barely make it out from a distance, but up close you could see wooden walls and structures haphazardly built into and on the tree.
This had been the dog's home for the last several years. To most people who had a comfortable amount of resources, the place would appear to be a dump, but when Jake had found the deserted structure he felt as though he had inherited a palace.
If nothing else, the place was large, easily equivalent to a six story building. Its massive branches extended out from the hulking trunk. Sickly pale green leaves gave the tree an almost dome shape. The leaves themselves apparently had hardened into a single solid structure, forming the main walls.
A ramshackle shack had been built at the base, actually connecting to the trunk. This contained the main door through which Jake entered. The entire inside of the tree was hollow. Many, many rooms had been carved into the wood or added on as external structures.
The place was fully furnished when Jake had moved in. It was evident that someone, long ago, had lovingly crafted this place to be a very intricate home, but by the time he had found the place had fallen into severe disrepair.
Dust had been caked onto nearly every surface. Whole rooms had been sealed because their walls were rotted almost paper thin. The old furnishings were beat up and torn. The tree had been fitted with an electrical system, powered by a subterranean generator. It had been broken when Jake first moved it, but he did eventually manage to fix it and restore power to his little fort.
"Home sweet home." Jake said, closing the door behind him. The entry room was totally empty, save for a ladder at the far end that allowed entry to the rest of the house. Curiously, the house had been built largely without stairs. Ladders and catwalks provided the main means of getting around.
Jake climbed the ladder which led him to the main floor. From there, he continued to ascend to the top floor, where he made his home in the master bedroom. Jake had left the tree largely the same as the way he had found it, removing almost no items and leaving most everything where it had originally been.
The only exception was the bedroom, which he had furnished with several personal items. Coming into his room, he immediately walked to the far wall, against which was a large treasure chest, the brim of which almost came to his eye level. He opened the chest and peered inside.
What else did one expect to find in a treasure chest except treasure? The chest was over halfway filled with pieces of gold and silver, coins from every kingdom in Ooo, gems and fine jewelry, intricate statues and all manner of prized possessions, all gleaming brilliantly. The sight could blind a miser.
Obviously a person's surroundings were by no means a clear indication of their wealth. After all, Jake was a master thief. From his back, he produced the loot he and Finn had acquired in the Sky Kingdom, and tossed it into the bin, uttering a sad sigh as he did so.
With his haul safely stored, he closed the bin and went to his bed. It was a rugged affair, twin size, but blanketed by the pelts of vicious animals. Jake had always figured the previous owner to be a hunter of some sort. The myriad of animal parts and trophies around the house would support that claim.
He sat on the edge of the bed and looked to his nightstand. Placed atop it was an old, faded photograph tucked inside of a simple black frame. A crack spiderwebbed out from the top right corner, but did not do much to detract from the actual picture.
The photo itself depicted a family of dogs similar to Jake himself on a bright and sunny day. The largest stood on the back left. He almost appeared identical to Jake as he was now, save for the fact that he wore a gray fedora. He had his arm around a similar looking figure, though this one was clearly a female who also wore a decorative wide-brimmed hat and fine earrings.
Pictured in front of them was duo of pups, nearly identical to the larger dog, but only coming up to half of his height. They appeared to be locked together as though in a scrap, but each had a large smile plastered over their face as though laughing.
All in all, it appeared as a completely average family photo, save for one odd point. A strange figure could be seen behind the female dog, clutching at her and just peeking out from the side.
This figure did not at all seem to fit in with the photo. He was no dog, but appeared extremely humanoid. He wore a light blue shirt, but his lower body was mostly hidden behind the woman. He appeared to be hunched over slightly, and appeared to be slightly shorter than the two dog children. His bright blond hair framed his face which was held in a shy smile.
Jake simply sat and looked at the picture in silence for some time, quietly basking in the few precious memories he had of the times before… that night. Back when he had no worries, and he spent his days in the company of his family; his mother and father, and his two brothers.
That seemed so, so long ago now. Two of those people were dead. One, he'd not seen in many years. And the last was… beyond his reach. Jake gave another sad sigh before turning away and laying down on top of the furs.
He was tired and needed rest, it had been a long day of travel. But as he lie there in his last waking moments, he refused to let his thoughts wander from Finn, the brother he'd thought he'd lost for good, and even when he had found him he couldn't just take him back.
'I swear Finn, I'll make you remember. I won't lose you again, I'll always be there when you need me from now on. I'll… find some way….'