Chapter 1: The Thief
The streets of Stonemarket were virtually deserted, apart from a few City Watch officers. A figure was slipping from one shadow to the next, unseen by the City Watch. It stopped in front of a door, glancing down the road to see if anyone was coming, before quickly entering without a sound. A balding man with a large, bushy mustache sat at a table, reading a book by candle light. He looked up as the hooded figure entered his home and grinned.
"Well, I haven't seen you in a while Lucian. How have you been?" he asked, setting down his book.
Lucian pulled back his hood, revealing his unkempt short black hair and silvery-blue eyes. "Horrible Uncle Gregory, I haven't had a decent meal in weeks. How about you?"
Gregory leaned on the table, a sad look in his eyes. "Did you hear about the slaughter at Connoly Manor a couple nights ago?"
"Yes, I can't believe it. Over two dozen people torn limb from limb... and they have no idea who did it or why. It's unthinkable..." Lucian said, crossing his arms.
"Well... my brother was there when it happened. He was working as a hired blade for the party since they didn't have many guards there. He..." Gregory trailed off, lost in thought.
"Uncle Leo is..." Lucian muttered, staring at Gregory. He couldn't believe his ears.
After a minute of silence, Gregory spoke. "We... can talk about it later... I have some information for you. It's about a job."
"You sure you want to..."
"Yes, yes... this is the best way for me to keep from getting too depressed... I have to keep my mind off it."
"Ok, so what is it?" Lucian asked, sitting down across the table from Gregory.
"It's actually something Leo told me. The real reason they hired extra guards at that mansion. Doesn't it seem a little odd that they would hire freelancers for a simple party?"
"That does seem unusual, but Jacob Connoly wasn't a person with much common sense."
"He had more than most people know. There was no party at all, that was just a lie spread to keep thieves away. They were actually holding a private auction with all sorts of valuable antiques."
"Then it wasn't just a random slaughter, someone was after the antiques?"
"That's what I thought, but after doing a little snooping of my own, I found out that only one thing had been taken. A golden axe called Lorin's Might. I don't know much about the background of it though, you'd be better off asking a scholar about that."
"I see... thank you Uncle, I'll look into it." Lucian said, getting up and walking toward the door.
"One more thing boy." Gregory said, turning to him.
Lucian gripped the door handle tightly, he hated being called boy, he was almost 17. Though with what had happened he didn't feel like complaining about it as he usually did. "Yes Uncle?"
"I also talked to someone that was passing by on the night it happened, they said a girl was lurking outside the mansion before the attack. She looked to be about 18 with long red hair."
"Sounds suspicious... I'll keep an eye out for her as well." Lucian said, pulling up his hood and opening the door. "Farewell." Lucian dashed out the door silently, into the shadows and back down the road.
Gregory sighed, picking up his book. "Lucian... don't do anything stupid. I don't want to lose anyone else."
Lucian stood in the shadows outside the Connoly manor. Peering through the barred gates he counted five guards, more than double what he saw last time he passed this way. He looked up and down the road, a few more large homes lined the street, but he couldn't exactly go around knocking on doors for information.
Lucian sighed and closed his eyes, wondering what to do. "Where would someone go after being thrown out?" He muttered, talking to himself. "A teenage girl... if she was a thief she might try to go back in... but it seems unlikely. What's down the road from here?" he leaned against the stone wall, glancing to his left. "That way would make sense, there are more buildings in that direction, including a pub. However... if she knew about something odd like that axe." he turned his attention to the right. "She could hang around that little building with those books..."
After thinking for a few moments he heard footsteps approaching from his left. A well-dressed couple were holding hands, walking in his direction. They stopped in front of the Connoly Manor, only a couple feet from Lucian.
"Poor Jacob..." The woman said sadly. "He was always such fun to be around."
"I know Caroline, such a tragic end. I pray they find the monsters responsible for it and execute them. I'd like to be the one to do it." The man said, a hint of anger in his voice.
"My dear Raymond, you and I both know you couldn't do such a thing. You faint at the mere thought of blood." Caroline said, smiling at him.
Raymond let out a sigh. "True... I'm just not able to hurt anyone... that's your job dearest." he chuckled slightly, smiling back at her.
Lucian tried not to choke, nobles and love were two of the few things that made him sick. He figured if these two knew Lord Connoly, maybe they knew something about the incident. "Excuse me." He said, stepping out of the shadows, but forgetting to lower his hood.
The couple jumped at his sudden appearance. "W-what do you want?" Raymond asked, taking a couple steps backwards. Caroline didn't move back, but her hand moved to the bag she was holding.
"Calm down... I'm not here to rob you." Lucian said, crossing his arms. "I want you to tell me anything you know about what happened here when... well, you know."
Caroline stared at Lucian suspiciously for a moment before answering him. "I only know what my friend Emelia told me. She said a woman with long red hair was sneaking around sometime before it happened."
"I know about that already. Did she see which way the girl ran after being thrown out?"
"She ran off in that direction." Caroline said, pointing behind Lucian.
"I see, thank you for your time." Lucian said, turning to leave.
"Are you trying to find out what happened?" Raymond spoke up, taking a step toward him.
"Yes." Lucian said, not turning back.
"Are you a member of the City Watch?"
"Do I look like one of those taffers?"
"Well... no, but if you're not, why are you trying to find out what happened?"
Lucian stood silently for a moment, then looked over his shoulder at them. "Revenge. Someone I cared about was a victim of that slaughter. I won't rest until I find out who did it and why, that's all."
"I see... best of luck to you."
"Thanks." Lucian said coldly, turning his attention to the road ahead. "What's your last name?"
"Berne, why?"
"Just curious. Farewell." Lucian said, before dashing down the street.
Lucian walked through the streets, staying in the shadows until a decrepit old building came into view. A lit candle sat on the windowsill, illuminating a woman's pale face inside the building. Lucian walked up to the door, it opened with a high pitched creak. The woman inside was reading something, not bothering to look up.
"I was wondering when you'd get here, what you wanted is on the table." she said with a yawn.
"I doubt it's something I'd want, I've never been here before." Lucian said, stepping into the building. A few bookshelves stood against the walls, each one covered in dust, with only a few books. Spider webs overtook the corners of the room, and there was a cool breeze coming from somewhere even though the door and windows were closed.
The woman looked up as he spoke. "Well, what are you doing here then?"
"I'm looking for someone, a girl with long red hair."
"What's her name?"
"If I knew that, finding her would be a lot easier."
"Well... the girl that's supposed to pick this book up has long red hair, maybe she's the one you're looking for." The door suddenly creaked open. "Well speak of the devil. Here she is now."
"Hi Abby, do you have what I asked for? Oh..." she stopped when she saw Lucian. "Who's this?"
Lucian stared at her silently from under his hood, she fit the vague description he was given.
"Seems he's been looking for you. The book you wanted is on the table." Abby said, gesturing to the dusty old book.
"Looking for me? If you're trying to set me up on a date I'm not interested Abby." the girl said, a bit irritated. She picked up the book, wiping some of the dust off it.
"I just want to know if you were the one that was thrown out of Connoly manor a few nights ago. You fit the description well." Lucian said, looking her over.
She walked over to one of the bookshelves, picking up another dusty book. "I don't know anything about that." she mumbled.
"You can't lie to me. You're the one aren't you?" Lucian asked.
"I'm..." she began, before spinning around and throwing the book she took from the shelf at Lucian. He was able to catch it but the impact caused dust from the book to scatter everywhere. Lucian choked on the dust as the girl charged out the door.
Lucian chased after her, she was as fast as he was, keeping her in sight was all he could do. She did everything she could trying to escape, from knocking over barrels behind her to yelling out for the City Watch. Although a few of the Watch tried to help, both Lucian and the girl were too fast for them to keep up with. Soon the girl had ducked into an alleyway, one Lucian knew was a dead end. He skidded to a halt in front of the alley.
"Caught you." Lucian panted, looking down the alleyway. "What the..." The alley was empty, apart from a couple barrels and some old liquor bottles. He walked slowly in, looking behind and inside the barrels. He knew he saw her go this way, how could she just vanish?
"Damn!" Lucian shouted, kicking one of the discarded bottles. He leaned against the wall, thinking. "So much for that..." he sighed, looking down. Then he noticed something odd about the bottle he kicked. The lower half looked like it was sticking out of the wall, but the bottle wasn't broken. He slowly walked over and gave it a light push with his foot, it spun a little, and the neck appeared out of the wall.
"What the..." Lucian muttered, wondering how a bottle could pass through solid stone. He put his hand out and tried to touch the stone wall. His hand disappeared into the stone, but he didn't feel anything, just air. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stepped forward into the stone, waiting for the cold, hard wall to strike his forehead. Nothing happened. He opened his eyes and found himself in a long, narrow passageway.
"A trick wall... how interesting." Lucian mumbled, looking back at the wall. From this side it looked like an archway. "Well then, lets see what you've got to hide." He grinned, walking cautiously down the dim passage.
Lucian walked for a while, wondering just how deep it went. Eventually he arrived at an archway, but couldn't see more than a few inches ahead. He slowly stepped into the darkness, drawing his dagger. There was a loud crash behind him as the passage behind him was blocked by a sliding stone door.
A girls voice echoed in the darkness. "Fool. No one can know of us. I cannot let you live."
"Who are you, and what are you talking about? I only wanted to ask you a few things." Lucian said, waiting for something to happen.
"You're going to die, so why go into details?" There was a burst of flame in every corner of the room as four large torches lit simultaneously, lighting up the entire room. The girl with long red hair was standing on the other side of the room, holding a broadsword. "My name is Mia, be thankful you at least know the name of your executioner!" She shouted, before charging at Lucian.