Chapter 1
I crouched in the shadows of the alley, hidden from all but the most experienced of eyes. The city was dark, but no where near quiet. There were people moving to and fro all over the place. At least to someone who lived on these streets they were busy. Most people stayed off the streets at night, which was when all the 'bad people' came out, as I heard one lady call us. Whatever floats their boat. Solo and I were planning for a big lift at a really nice house. Hence why I was lurking in the shadows.
There was an ever so slight swish of cloth behind me. I whirled, knives coming up into a defensive position.
"Duo." Solo said. That one word, just my name, that's all. I grinned at him, relaxing instantly, the knives disappearing as fast as they had appeared; seeming to vanish into thin air. At the ripe old age of fourteen and fifteen, Solo and I were renowned for our fighting skills. "Maxwell's Demons" were what the locals called us, after the kind priest who had taken us in and helped us. We couldn't live at the church; neither of us could stand being taken care of after being on our own for a year and a half. And the fact that we couldn't bring ourselves to push ourselves upon the kind priest and his assistant. Even though they insisted that it wasn't a problem, we had seen how poor they were, the church could not afford to feed one much less two rapidly growing boys, especially with their destructive nature.
"There's a party goin' on." Solo reported, coming to crouch in the shadows with me. Quickly he described the layout of the building and the land. Sounded simple enough.
"There isn't that much security for such a large party...don't ya think?" I asked the hair on the back of my neck starting to rise; something wasn't right. I knew it.
"That concerned me as well. There weren't any dogs that I saw, nor did the charms pick up any magical energies." Solo said, looking at me. Instantly I knew he felt it too. It was an instinct, born from living on our own for so long; we knew the feel of danger. And that house seemed like a trap.
"We don't really have a choice. We need that lift. That stone will give us enough to live on, as well as give some to the church. They won't be here after this..."
"I know, I know." I said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm myself. We had done over a hundred lifts since coming to the city. We were the best....
"I still don't like it." I muttered, as I jumped noiselessly to the ground.
"Nor do I" Solo whispered in reply, following my lead. We crept across the grounds, two silent shadows. Ducking into an alley between to of the main building, Solo and I pressed ourselves to the wall.
'Go in from the window? Or get into the room by the inside?'I asked Solo, using the hand signs we had developed.
'Go inside, window is too high to get into, also it's spelled' Was the reply. I nodded, and slipped into the serving quarters. Luckily all the servants were busy in the kitchen. The trip up to the room was simple, if not tedious. They passed almost no one on the way up. There were no near missed, no guards, there weren't even servants wandering about! A common thief would allow such luck to go to his head and become over confident....Solo and I were not common thieves. Nor did we believe that this was luck. The entire thing stunk of TRAP!! Yet there was nothing they could do about it. This is what the thief lords had told them to do, thus this is what had to be done. They didn't want to know the consequences of failure.
They stood in front of the door that held the Stone. It was a large oak door covered in complex intricate designs. The hair on my arms stood on end. "It's magic isn't it?" I whispered, softly. Solo held out their pendent to detect magic, it didn't react. "Guess not." Solo replied, looking at the door uncertainly. I was no fool, I don't care what any stupid trinket said; I KNEW magic when I saw it, and that door was magiked. Solo stepped forward, and began to pick the lock. Oddly enough, the lock clicked fairly quickly, and swung open on silent hinges. Absently I began to finger my knives. Something was definitely NOT right. Slowly we edged into the room. TH very air in there was tense. There sitting on a silk cushion in a glass case, was the stone we were supposed to lift. Slowly, we crept closer; I stepped forward, gently lifting the glass covering from the stone. I reached into my side bag and wrapped my fingers around a second Stone, a copy so that the owners wouldn't notice it was gone. At the same time, I wrapped my fingers around the true Stone. Suddenly the door slammed and torches flared to life.
"Well, well, what have we here mates?" Droned the captain of the guard, Raoul. "A couple of thieves, it seems." His second in command said in a smug growl. I don't know who moved first, them or us. They lunged; both Solo and I dove for the window. Solo leapt out, I followed. Pain flared in my head.
"Where do you think you're going lassie." One of the guards growled. The bastard had ahold of my braid! I snarled, and did the only thing I could. I drew my dagger, and sliced through my braid. I plummeted to the ground; I hit and rolled, absorbing some of the impact, then I was on my feet and running. Solo and I didn't look behind us, though we heard the baying of the hounds; nor did we slow down until we reached Stormwing Forest. Even then, we were deep in the forest before we slowed. We rested next to a large twisted oak tree; we were next to a lake. The water reflected the pale orange gleam of the moon like a mirror. This was our safe house of sorts; we came here to get away from city life, and to hide from the authorities.
"Well that didn't go well." Solo growled, "The Stone will be twice as hard to grab next time." I laughed. "What's so funny? Have you gone daft? Or forgotten what is at stake?!"
"We don't need to go back into the place, bro." I said still snickering, I opened the fist that I had had clenched tight the entire way. The Stone glowed a dull red against my pale skin.
"Duo, you are magnificent!" Solo cried.
"Now we wait for things to cool down, and give that damnedable stone to the lords." I said, smiling.
"No."
"Say again?" I asked, giving him a puzzling look.
"No" He repeated, "Especially not since they sicced the guard on us."
"What are you goin' on 'bout?" I asked; what the hell was he talking about?
"Think back, the small guy standing next to Raoul in the shadows. It was Quinten, I'm sure of it. I would know that slug anywhere." Now that I thought about it. He was right; Quinten HAD been standing behind Raoul, hidden by the shadows. I growled, "The bastards!"
We stayed in the forest for five days, the hunt nearly finding us several time. And there seemed to be no end of them. Around the fifth day, Solo had an epiphany. "Duo, do you still have that fake stone?"
"Yeah." I said, fishing the copy out of my bag. He grinned; then sobered. "You know they will eventually find us." He stated. I nodded; I knew this. There was no avoiding it. "So let's cause some serious mischief before we leave, what do you say?"
There was a dangerous glint in Solo's eye, one I knew well; I was the look he got right before he did something evil and outrageous; and normally incredibly stupid. I felt myself grinning in reply. Quickly Solo outlined the details of his plan, I laughed a loud. It was perfect! Solo proposed that we hide the true Stone deep in Stormwing forest, where only we would know; then we would go face their fate, it was inevitable. We would meet the Thief Lords and hand over the false stone, and if our predictions were correct, the city guards would be waiting for them. It was a wonderfully stupid plan; but equally mischievous. The Thief Lord would be furious! There was no way out of Sanc; we were going to be eventually caught. At least this way, we would be going out our way.
Everything was set, on the morning of the sixth day. They returned to the city.
We waited until night fall to actually slip into the tunnels under the city. As we moved past, I could hear the occasional rustle of cloth; indicating that the scouts we're reporting to the thief lord. Most likely, when we arrived, it would be much like the nobles Stone room; the guards would jump us from behind.
WE made good time to the Lord's Throne room; the other thieves cleared a path for us, scurrying out of our way as we breezed by. An arrogant person might think that they feared us; while that is true to a certain extent; that was not the reason they moved. We were dead men walking. They all knew it, and not a damned one of them warned us. How utterly predictable.
The Thief Lords throne room was a large sewer tunnel; his throne was a large pipe that stuck out of the side of the wall. The Lord himself was dressed in royal green; a handsome creature to be sure. Until you look at his cold dead grey eyes. I forced up my normal cheerful smile.
"Mornin' Lordy." I said, cheerfully. The tall youth narrowed his eyes at me. The room was dark except for the few torches that flickered around the throne.
"Do you have it?" The Lord asked his voice as cold and flat as a stone slab.
"Yeah, we have it." Solo said, grinning like a fool. "It was easier then we thought; though there were a bunch of guards there waitin'....."
"You seem unscathed." The Lord commented. "Now give me the artifact."
Solo pulled out the false stone I had created; he tossed it into the air. "What this thing?" Solo asked and evil glint in his golden eyes. "With all the trouble we went through to get it, Lord; the price as tripled." The Thief Lord glared at Solo, grey eyes flashing with anger. Any fool could see that we were treading on thin ice; but then again, we were dead men, so what did it matter?
"Fine." The Lord growled, "Now hand it over." Solo shrugged and tossed the Stone to the Thief Lord. The Lord looked at the Stone for a couple seconds then began laughing; it was a dark evil laugh that made a chill run up my spine. "SEIZE THEM!" The Lord commanded. Light filled the room, revealing the Guard that had been in the Nobles house a week ago. Damn, I hate being right! I thought. Solo and I smiled pleasantly at the men.
"I always wondered how long it would take you to win over this dog..." Solo purred to the Thief Lord. I laughed; "I always knew you was a sell out Lordy..."
The guards seized us. WE tried to fight; but it was thirty against two. So we didn't make much head way. Not a big surprise really. Though we did leave our mark on them; that's for damned sure.
"Damned mongrels" the Captain growled. "I know exactly where I'm gonna put the two of you....maybe you'll even be able to keep your hands...since the buyer I have doesn't much care for damaged goods."
Property? Damaged goods? I looked at Solo...Uh oh...
~*~
Alright folks that's all I have so far.....should I continue? Did anyone like?? REVIEW!! REVIEW!! Please.
I crouched in the shadows of the alley, hidden from all but the most experienced of eyes. The city was dark, but no where near quiet. There were people moving to and fro all over the place. At least to someone who lived on these streets they were busy. Most people stayed off the streets at night, which was when all the 'bad people' came out, as I heard one lady call us. Whatever floats their boat. Solo and I were planning for a big lift at a really nice house. Hence why I was lurking in the shadows.
There was an ever so slight swish of cloth behind me. I whirled, knives coming up into a defensive position.
"Duo." Solo said. That one word, just my name, that's all. I grinned at him, relaxing instantly, the knives disappearing as fast as they had appeared; seeming to vanish into thin air. At the ripe old age of fourteen and fifteen, Solo and I were renowned for our fighting skills. "Maxwell's Demons" were what the locals called us, after the kind priest who had taken us in and helped us. We couldn't live at the church; neither of us could stand being taken care of after being on our own for a year and a half. And the fact that we couldn't bring ourselves to push ourselves upon the kind priest and his assistant. Even though they insisted that it wasn't a problem, we had seen how poor they were, the church could not afford to feed one much less two rapidly growing boys, especially with their destructive nature.
"There's a party goin' on." Solo reported, coming to crouch in the shadows with me. Quickly he described the layout of the building and the land. Sounded simple enough.
"There isn't that much security for such a large party...don't ya think?" I asked the hair on the back of my neck starting to rise; something wasn't right. I knew it.
"That concerned me as well. There weren't any dogs that I saw, nor did the charms pick up any magical energies." Solo said, looking at me. Instantly I knew he felt it too. It was an instinct, born from living on our own for so long; we knew the feel of danger. And that house seemed like a trap.
"We don't really have a choice. We need that lift. That stone will give us enough to live on, as well as give some to the church. They won't be here after this..."
"I know, I know." I said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm myself. We had done over a hundred lifts since coming to the city. We were the best....
"I still don't like it." I muttered, as I jumped noiselessly to the ground.
"Nor do I" Solo whispered in reply, following my lead. We crept across the grounds, two silent shadows. Ducking into an alley between to of the main building, Solo and I pressed ourselves to the wall.
'Go in from the window? Or get into the room by the inside?'I asked Solo, using the hand signs we had developed.
'Go inside, window is too high to get into, also it's spelled' Was the reply. I nodded, and slipped into the serving quarters. Luckily all the servants were busy in the kitchen. The trip up to the room was simple, if not tedious. They passed almost no one on the way up. There were no near missed, no guards, there weren't even servants wandering about! A common thief would allow such luck to go to his head and become over confident....Solo and I were not common thieves. Nor did we believe that this was luck. The entire thing stunk of TRAP!! Yet there was nothing they could do about it. This is what the thief lords had told them to do, thus this is what had to be done. They didn't want to know the consequences of failure.
They stood in front of the door that held the Stone. It was a large oak door covered in complex intricate designs. The hair on my arms stood on end. "It's magic isn't it?" I whispered, softly. Solo held out their pendent to detect magic, it didn't react. "Guess not." Solo replied, looking at the door uncertainly. I was no fool, I don't care what any stupid trinket said; I KNEW magic when I saw it, and that door was magiked. Solo stepped forward, and began to pick the lock. Oddly enough, the lock clicked fairly quickly, and swung open on silent hinges. Absently I began to finger my knives. Something was definitely NOT right. Slowly we edged into the room. TH very air in there was tense. There sitting on a silk cushion in a glass case, was the stone we were supposed to lift. Slowly, we crept closer; I stepped forward, gently lifting the glass covering from the stone. I reached into my side bag and wrapped my fingers around a second Stone, a copy so that the owners wouldn't notice it was gone. At the same time, I wrapped my fingers around the true Stone. Suddenly the door slammed and torches flared to life.
"Well, well, what have we here mates?" Droned the captain of the guard, Raoul. "A couple of thieves, it seems." His second in command said in a smug growl. I don't know who moved first, them or us. They lunged; both Solo and I dove for the window. Solo leapt out, I followed. Pain flared in my head.
"Where do you think you're going lassie." One of the guards growled. The bastard had ahold of my braid! I snarled, and did the only thing I could. I drew my dagger, and sliced through my braid. I plummeted to the ground; I hit and rolled, absorbing some of the impact, then I was on my feet and running. Solo and I didn't look behind us, though we heard the baying of the hounds; nor did we slow down until we reached Stormwing Forest. Even then, we were deep in the forest before we slowed. We rested next to a large twisted oak tree; we were next to a lake. The water reflected the pale orange gleam of the moon like a mirror. This was our safe house of sorts; we came here to get away from city life, and to hide from the authorities.
"Well that didn't go well." Solo growled, "The Stone will be twice as hard to grab next time." I laughed. "What's so funny? Have you gone daft? Or forgotten what is at stake?!"
"We don't need to go back into the place, bro." I said still snickering, I opened the fist that I had had clenched tight the entire way. The Stone glowed a dull red against my pale skin.
"Duo, you are magnificent!" Solo cried.
"Now we wait for things to cool down, and give that damnedable stone to the lords." I said, smiling.
"No."
"Say again?" I asked, giving him a puzzling look.
"No" He repeated, "Especially not since they sicced the guard on us."
"What are you goin' on 'bout?" I asked; what the hell was he talking about?
"Think back, the small guy standing next to Raoul in the shadows. It was Quinten, I'm sure of it. I would know that slug anywhere." Now that I thought about it. He was right; Quinten HAD been standing behind Raoul, hidden by the shadows. I growled, "The bastards!"
We stayed in the forest for five days, the hunt nearly finding us several time. And there seemed to be no end of them. Around the fifth day, Solo had an epiphany. "Duo, do you still have that fake stone?"
"Yeah." I said, fishing the copy out of my bag. He grinned; then sobered. "You know they will eventually find us." He stated. I nodded; I knew this. There was no avoiding it. "So let's cause some serious mischief before we leave, what do you say?"
There was a dangerous glint in Solo's eye, one I knew well; I was the look he got right before he did something evil and outrageous; and normally incredibly stupid. I felt myself grinning in reply. Quickly Solo outlined the details of his plan, I laughed a loud. It was perfect! Solo proposed that we hide the true Stone deep in Stormwing forest, where only we would know; then we would go face their fate, it was inevitable. We would meet the Thief Lords and hand over the false stone, and if our predictions were correct, the city guards would be waiting for them. It was a wonderfully stupid plan; but equally mischievous. The Thief Lord would be furious! There was no way out of Sanc; we were going to be eventually caught. At least this way, we would be going out our way.
Everything was set, on the morning of the sixth day. They returned to the city.
We waited until night fall to actually slip into the tunnels under the city. As we moved past, I could hear the occasional rustle of cloth; indicating that the scouts we're reporting to the thief lord. Most likely, when we arrived, it would be much like the nobles Stone room; the guards would jump us from behind.
WE made good time to the Lord's Throne room; the other thieves cleared a path for us, scurrying out of our way as we breezed by. An arrogant person might think that they feared us; while that is true to a certain extent; that was not the reason they moved. We were dead men walking. They all knew it, and not a damned one of them warned us. How utterly predictable.
The Thief Lords throne room was a large sewer tunnel; his throne was a large pipe that stuck out of the side of the wall. The Lord himself was dressed in royal green; a handsome creature to be sure. Until you look at his cold dead grey eyes. I forced up my normal cheerful smile.
"Mornin' Lordy." I said, cheerfully. The tall youth narrowed his eyes at me. The room was dark except for the few torches that flickered around the throne.
"Do you have it?" The Lord asked his voice as cold and flat as a stone slab.
"Yeah, we have it." Solo said, grinning like a fool. "It was easier then we thought; though there were a bunch of guards there waitin'....."
"You seem unscathed." The Lord commented. "Now give me the artifact."
Solo pulled out the false stone I had created; he tossed it into the air. "What this thing?" Solo asked and evil glint in his golden eyes. "With all the trouble we went through to get it, Lord; the price as tripled." The Thief Lord glared at Solo, grey eyes flashing with anger. Any fool could see that we were treading on thin ice; but then again, we were dead men, so what did it matter?
"Fine." The Lord growled, "Now hand it over." Solo shrugged and tossed the Stone to the Thief Lord. The Lord looked at the Stone for a couple seconds then began laughing; it was a dark evil laugh that made a chill run up my spine. "SEIZE THEM!" The Lord commanded. Light filled the room, revealing the Guard that had been in the Nobles house a week ago. Damn, I hate being right! I thought. Solo and I smiled pleasantly at the men.
"I always wondered how long it would take you to win over this dog..." Solo purred to the Thief Lord. I laughed; "I always knew you was a sell out Lordy..."
The guards seized us. WE tried to fight; but it was thirty against two. So we didn't make much head way. Not a big surprise really. Though we did leave our mark on them; that's for damned sure.
"Damned mongrels" the Captain growled. "I know exactly where I'm gonna put the two of you....maybe you'll even be able to keep your hands...since the buyer I have doesn't much care for damaged goods."
Property? Damaged goods? I looked at Solo...Uh oh...
~*~
Alright folks that's all I have so far.....should I continue? Did anyone like?? REVIEW!! REVIEW!! Please.