CHAPTER 2
Under the City's Skin
Comes in a man full of hope,
Leaves the man with severed hands,
And the Underground Lords welcoming another to play
**********************************************
The door creaked slightly, allowing the minuscule amount of light to rip into the dark
hallway. Garrett looked through the thin opening with his reliable mechanized eye and saw the
large gathering of people in the room. There were mostly men who were gathered in a large
circle observing something in the middle of the platform. The room was quite moist from the
sewers nearby and the room was lighted by torches along the pillars.
"Number 67," announced someone within the circle. The crowd cheered suddenly as if
something had happened but there were too many people in the way and Garrett could see
nothing. Garrett had no problem entering the large room because all the attention was directed
towards one spot on the platform and everyone did not turn away from what was going on.
The clever thief crept along the wall behind a pillar and reached for his water arrow. If he
should extinguish the torch on the next pillar than he would have no trouble navigating about
many corners of the room without notice. Garrett retrieved his bow and placed the water arrow
on it. The water in the vial at the tip of the arrow swayed back and forth as he steadied himself
for the right trajectory. With a quick release, the water arrow silently meet its target; the fragile
water vial breaking onto the flames reduced the torch to a black hole that pulled in more shadows
into the room of the over hyped men. Garrett put away his bow and slowly snook towards a
better view of the excitement. To Garrett's dismay, it appeared as if no one had any valuables on
them. This angered Garrett who expected to easily pickpocket most of the observers but soon he
grew uneasy. It was not sensible for this many people to come with no money on them. Garrett
looked around the room and saw six guards standing in front of a large metal caldron. Piled to
the top of the pot was gold, jewels, and other valuables, enough money to support a family for a
year. Garrett's instinct told him that the people's gambling money was in the pot and if that was
the case than the true fortune was right there for the taking.
The six guards did not move from their spot like statues and Garrett saw little hope in
retrieving the wealth with ease. Garrett opened his mind to the possibilities surrounding him.
Six guards stood near the caldron but only one was paying any attention to it as the others were
watching the platform. The crowd gave another cheer and this time a ghastly scream was heard.
The scream was of a man who was in immense pain and his echo was deep with anguish. Even
the thief felt sorry for whomever it was who could scream with such ail. Out of the crowd a man
walked out grasping his mouth. The dark warm blood trickled ever so elegantly from his chin as
he moaned in pain. The amount of blood seemed quite excessive from any simple cut. Garrett
looked closely to the man and noticed his two front teeth were missing. Gaping bloody holes
spilt the blood carelessly onto the floor. The crowd moved slightly to let another man come out
of the crowd and he dropped two shinny pieces of gold in the shape of teeth into the pot. It
seemed the gambling that went on underground was quite extreme. The fool who lost his gold
teeth left the room, leaving his rust odor blood drying on the floor. Garrett looked back to the pot
and the six guards. Even though there was only one guard watching the caldron, it was all it took
to get caught. Garrett could not risk it because the room was much too small for that kind of
thievery. Garrett looked towards another torch that would kill all of the light near the caldron but
that would be all too dangerous because the path the water arrow would take would be right in
front of the guards view. Before Garrett could pull together the best possible solution he noticed
one of the viewers in the crowd leave the group as if he did not want to be noticed. Dressed all in
black and with a gleam in his eye familiar to Garrett, Garrett had a good feeling he was a thief as
well.
"I don't believe it, the bastard," Garrett muttered to himself. Another thief in the same room?
A thief has rules that are not written but are understood among all thieves and one important rule
was not to steal something another thief was planning to steal himself. The room became much
more small and one thief too many. Just seeing the thief glance at the caldron with a twinkle in
his eye made Garrett furious. Dealing with the guards and staying unnoticed was enough trouble
but to have competition among fellow thieves was just out of the question. Seeing a two front
battle brewing up, Garrett made sure he did not lose sight of the thief who did not want to be
seen. He stuck to the shadows much like Garrett and had enough skill to stay hidden from the
crowd but Garrett had little faith in him avoiding the notice of the guards who were ever so
watchful. As the thief hide in the shadow he looked towards Garrett. The thief, seeing a very
convenient dark corner, slowly crept towards where Garrett stood in wait. He crawled on all
fours in effort to reach the shadows created by Garrett earlier.
"I dare you go further," Garrett whispered to the thief who found a cold sharp blade resting
upon his neck. "Who " he began as Garrett applied a slight addition of force onto the blade.
"Speak softly unless you care for the guards to kill you instead," Garrett warned. The thief
corrected his manner for the unseen voice who pressed a sword onto his vulnerable neck.
"I am sorry, I did not see you," he said with much distaste in admitting his inferiority to
Garrett. "You are a thief as well, no?" he asked, trying to move up from the ground only to find
the blade staying exactly where it was. Garrett did not like the situation he faced. He could not
operate if another thief was in the same room trying to steal the same item. Garrett could see no
other option than to knock him out for the thief could easily get him caught. Taken by surprise,
the thief moved out from under the sword and scurried back to his original dark corner in of the
room in haste. Garrett commended the thief for his quick thinking and quick feet but his hate for
the thief who he did not know began to grow. Garrett looked back towards the guards who
remained still, but Garrett was all too experienced to fall for that. The guards had noticed the
thief scurry across to the other side of the room indeed and like the well trained guards that they
were, they remained still as if they did not notice. They looked one way but their gaze crept to
the corner of their eyes towards the spot where the thief was hiding. The thief was well hidden in
the shadow but the guards knew where he was. The foolish thief did not even notice the guards
discovery and instead put more of his gaze onto Garrett. The poor thief squinted towards Garrett
but Garrett knew from his distance he would not even see him. Garrett knew the guards would
make their move soon. Suddenly Garrett realized what an advantage he would have if all the
guards attacked the other thief. If they all went for him than Garrett would have the cauldron all
to himself. An unguarded objective was all too rare for Garrett and the opportunity was too good
to pass.
Garrett saw that the thief had a bow in his hand which made Garrett move slightly around
the
pillar to get out of the way of any potential arrows. Garrett saw the thief looking in the shadow
squinting, trying to find the strange voice who had been in the shadow with him earlier. The
guards did not go forward to the thief but instead one left the group and went in a door. Garrett
did not know why the guards did not move forward but the guard who left would soon return.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the door was kicked down and a fire arrow flied towards
the poor thief. The fire arrow snapped the thief's bow out of his hand and pierced it onto the
wood door. The flame from the arrow illuminated much of the room and Garrett quickly
adjusted to the sudden change of light.
"And who are you?" said the owner of the fire arrow to the thief who now stood weaponless
in the brightest spot in the room.
"I am nobody!" said the thief who held his hand which was cut from the arrow. "I have been
watching you ever since you departed the game you fool. You are a thief, a low life tafer," said
the man. The crowd looked at the thief, then to the man.
The thief just stood there, sweating and shaking. "I will give you to the count of three to run,
then I will kill you," he said ever so calmly. The thief gasped and looked at all the people who
just stared at him back.
"One,"
The thief, as nimble as he had proven, opened the wooden door, quickly closed it behind him
and his running footsteps were heard echoing down the hall.
"Two,"
The people in the crowd stared at the mysterious man who had his bow arched at the closed
door.
"Three," he said and just as the word was announced he released a metal arrow from his bow.
The arrow was so quick and straight that Garrett was amazed that an arrow made of metal could
move so flawlessly. The arrow exploded through the rotting wood of the door and a scream at
the end of the hall echoed back. Garret did not need to see behind the door to know that the thief
was dead. The man's aim was remarkable if not near impossible. The crowd of fools applauded
his skill but he put his hand up in the air to announce something.
"There is still one more thief in here, I am not done," he replied. Garrett's eyes widened.
How was it possible? How could it be? The crowd applauded again and Garrett was suddenly
found himself a target of a madman in a room too small to hide for much longer.
Under the City's Skin
Comes in a man full of hope,
Leaves the man with severed hands,
And the Underground Lords welcoming another to play
**********************************************
The door creaked slightly, allowing the minuscule amount of light to rip into the dark
hallway. Garrett looked through the thin opening with his reliable mechanized eye and saw the
large gathering of people in the room. There were mostly men who were gathered in a large
circle observing something in the middle of the platform. The room was quite moist from the
sewers nearby and the room was lighted by torches along the pillars.
"Number 67," announced someone within the circle. The crowd cheered suddenly as if
something had happened but there were too many people in the way and Garrett could see
nothing. Garrett had no problem entering the large room because all the attention was directed
towards one spot on the platform and everyone did not turn away from what was going on.
The clever thief crept along the wall behind a pillar and reached for his water arrow. If he
should extinguish the torch on the next pillar than he would have no trouble navigating about
many corners of the room without notice. Garrett retrieved his bow and placed the water arrow
on it. The water in the vial at the tip of the arrow swayed back and forth as he steadied himself
for the right trajectory. With a quick release, the water arrow silently meet its target; the fragile
water vial breaking onto the flames reduced the torch to a black hole that pulled in more shadows
into the room of the over hyped men. Garrett put away his bow and slowly snook towards a
better view of the excitement. To Garrett's dismay, it appeared as if no one had any valuables on
them. This angered Garrett who expected to easily pickpocket most of the observers but soon he
grew uneasy. It was not sensible for this many people to come with no money on them. Garrett
looked around the room and saw six guards standing in front of a large metal caldron. Piled to
the top of the pot was gold, jewels, and other valuables, enough money to support a family for a
year. Garrett's instinct told him that the people's gambling money was in the pot and if that was
the case than the true fortune was right there for the taking.
The six guards did not move from their spot like statues and Garrett saw little hope in
retrieving the wealth with ease. Garrett opened his mind to the possibilities surrounding him.
Six guards stood near the caldron but only one was paying any attention to it as the others were
watching the platform. The crowd gave another cheer and this time a ghastly scream was heard.
The scream was of a man who was in immense pain and his echo was deep with anguish. Even
the thief felt sorry for whomever it was who could scream with such ail. Out of the crowd a man
walked out grasping his mouth. The dark warm blood trickled ever so elegantly from his chin as
he moaned in pain. The amount of blood seemed quite excessive from any simple cut. Garrett
looked closely to the man and noticed his two front teeth were missing. Gaping bloody holes
spilt the blood carelessly onto the floor. The crowd moved slightly to let another man come out
of the crowd and he dropped two shinny pieces of gold in the shape of teeth into the pot. It
seemed the gambling that went on underground was quite extreme. The fool who lost his gold
teeth left the room, leaving his rust odor blood drying on the floor. Garrett looked back to the pot
and the six guards. Even though there was only one guard watching the caldron, it was all it took
to get caught. Garrett could not risk it because the room was much too small for that kind of
thievery. Garrett looked towards another torch that would kill all of the light near the caldron but
that would be all too dangerous because the path the water arrow would take would be right in
front of the guards view. Before Garrett could pull together the best possible solution he noticed
one of the viewers in the crowd leave the group as if he did not want to be noticed. Dressed all in
black and with a gleam in his eye familiar to Garrett, Garrett had a good feeling he was a thief as
well.
"I don't believe it, the bastard," Garrett muttered to himself. Another thief in the same room?
A thief has rules that are not written but are understood among all thieves and one important rule
was not to steal something another thief was planning to steal himself. The room became much
more small and one thief too many. Just seeing the thief glance at the caldron with a twinkle in
his eye made Garrett furious. Dealing with the guards and staying unnoticed was enough trouble
but to have competition among fellow thieves was just out of the question. Seeing a two front
battle brewing up, Garrett made sure he did not lose sight of the thief who did not want to be
seen. He stuck to the shadows much like Garrett and had enough skill to stay hidden from the
crowd but Garrett had little faith in him avoiding the notice of the guards who were ever so
watchful. As the thief hide in the shadow he looked towards Garrett. The thief, seeing a very
convenient dark corner, slowly crept towards where Garrett stood in wait. He crawled on all
fours in effort to reach the shadows created by Garrett earlier.
"I dare you go further," Garrett whispered to the thief who found a cold sharp blade resting
upon his neck. "Who " he began as Garrett applied a slight addition of force onto the blade.
"Speak softly unless you care for the guards to kill you instead," Garrett warned. The thief
corrected his manner for the unseen voice who pressed a sword onto his vulnerable neck.
"I am sorry, I did not see you," he said with much distaste in admitting his inferiority to
Garrett. "You are a thief as well, no?" he asked, trying to move up from the ground only to find
the blade staying exactly where it was. Garrett did not like the situation he faced. He could not
operate if another thief was in the same room trying to steal the same item. Garrett could see no
other option than to knock him out for the thief could easily get him caught. Taken by surprise,
the thief moved out from under the sword and scurried back to his original dark corner in of the
room in haste. Garrett commended the thief for his quick thinking and quick feet but his hate for
the thief who he did not know began to grow. Garrett looked back towards the guards who
remained still, but Garrett was all too experienced to fall for that. The guards had noticed the
thief scurry across to the other side of the room indeed and like the well trained guards that they
were, they remained still as if they did not notice. They looked one way but their gaze crept to
the corner of their eyes towards the spot where the thief was hiding. The thief was well hidden in
the shadow but the guards knew where he was. The foolish thief did not even notice the guards
discovery and instead put more of his gaze onto Garrett. The poor thief squinted towards Garrett
but Garrett knew from his distance he would not even see him. Garrett knew the guards would
make their move soon. Suddenly Garrett realized what an advantage he would have if all the
guards attacked the other thief. If they all went for him than Garrett would have the cauldron all
to himself. An unguarded objective was all too rare for Garrett and the opportunity was too good
to pass.
Garrett saw that the thief had a bow in his hand which made Garrett move slightly around
the
pillar to get out of the way of any potential arrows. Garrett saw the thief looking in the shadow
squinting, trying to find the strange voice who had been in the shadow with him earlier. The
guards did not go forward to the thief but instead one left the group and went in a door. Garrett
did not know why the guards did not move forward but the guard who left would soon return.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the door was kicked down and a fire arrow flied towards
the poor thief. The fire arrow snapped the thief's bow out of his hand and pierced it onto the
wood door. The flame from the arrow illuminated much of the room and Garrett quickly
adjusted to the sudden change of light.
"And who are you?" said the owner of the fire arrow to the thief who now stood weaponless
in the brightest spot in the room.
"I am nobody!" said the thief who held his hand which was cut from the arrow. "I have been
watching you ever since you departed the game you fool. You are a thief, a low life tafer," said
the man. The crowd looked at the thief, then to the man.
The thief just stood there, sweating and shaking. "I will give you to the count of three to run,
then I will kill you," he said ever so calmly. The thief gasped and looked at all the people who
just stared at him back.
"One,"
The thief, as nimble as he had proven, opened the wooden door, quickly closed it behind him
and his running footsteps were heard echoing down the hall.
"Two,"
The people in the crowd stared at the mysterious man who had his bow arched at the closed
door.
"Three," he said and just as the word was announced he released a metal arrow from his bow.
The arrow was so quick and straight that Garrett was amazed that an arrow made of metal could
move so flawlessly. The arrow exploded through the rotting wood of the door and a scream at
the end of the hall echoed back. Garret did not need to see behind the door to know that the thief
was dead. The man's aim was remarkable if not near impossible. The crowd of fools applauded
his skill but he put his hand up in the air to announce something.
"There is still one more thief in here, I am not done," he replied. Garrett's eyes widened.
How was it possible? How could it be? The crowd applauded again and Garrett was suddenly
found himself a target of a madman in a room too small to hide for much longer.