The Thief

Tales of Dee

By Alexander Brewer

 

Chapter 3

 

            Dee wondered why Tashia had been falling behind in their travels as of late. Bengask assumed that, as an elf, she just didn’t have the stamina for travel. They rested for the night on their way east to Silveran.

            “So where are we going?” Bengask asked while he stretched his arms. Tashia stopped setting up her tent then looked to Dee and wondered the same.

            “Where ever we end up I guess.” Dee answered. Tashia and Bengask were both confused by that.

            “So we don’t have a particular destination at all?” Tashia asked as she hoped to clarify what he meant.

            “Not until I find what I seek.” Dee answered cryptically which annoyed them then Dee leaned against a tree and tried to rest. Tashia finished setting up her tent and went to sleep for the night. Bengask stayed up for a while longer trying to make sure his weapons were ready for use at a moment’s notice.  After an hour or two someone crept through the woods up to their camp. She was very quiet then examined their belonging for anything to steal. She managed to slip an amulet from Tashia’s satchel and some gold plated pieces of armor from Bengask’s chest plate and some gems he carried in his backpack.

The thief then moved on to Dee and was curious about the elaborate mask he wore. It did seem valuable but she obviously couldn’t get it off without waking him up so she moved on to any belongings in his bag. She found only common tools and very little money. She did find a small portrait of a woman then put it with the rest of her goods and slipped away.

The next morning Bengask freaked out as his armor came apart when he stood up.

“What the hell?” He yelled out. “We’ve been robbed!” Tashia came out of her tent with surprise then looked through her things and noted the lost Amulet.

“No, I can’t lose that… It was our family crest!” She said as she panicked. Dee checked his things as well and found that the portrait was gone. He obviously seemed frustrated by this then looked around for footprints but this was near a commonly traveled road so this area was too battered for any to be left. The then thought about their plight and looked around.

“Whoever did this cannot be too far.” Dee said.

“Why’s that?” Bengask grumbled at him. “Anyone who did this could be miles from here by now and we don’t know which direction to look.” Dee knew he was right.

“Wait, wouldn’t the thief need a place to rest as well?” Tashia asked. “They must have their own camp nearby since there’s no town for days in either direction.” Bengask grudgingly agreed to her logic.

“Well then where’d you suggest we start looking?” Bengask asked annoyed while he tried to cope with the missing armor. Dee looked around then quickly climbed to the top of the tree he slept against during the night to get view of the area. He couldn’t see any smoke from any campfires. Tashia got her stuff packed then examined the bushes around their camp. Eventually she found a gold plated bolt on the ground. “That’s from my armor!” Bengask said annoyed snatching it from Tashia. “Thank ye miss she-…” He stopped from annoyance that she found it for him or that she found it in general.

“Dee! Down here.” Tashia called to Dee. Dee leapt down and landed right next to them. “I found a lucky break.” She pointed to Bengask screwing the bolt back into his armor to hold it together better.

“Alright.” Dee said then quickly gathered his things. Bengask packed his things quickly as well. They set on after the thief. Tashia led up the search since her elf eyes could see much better than Bengask but she wasn’t sure if they were better than Dee’s. She eventually found the footsteps of their thief.

“It’s a woman.” Tashia said examining the size of the steps. “She’s not wearing any shoes.”

“Is must have been a Halfling.” Bengask concluded.

“No, the imprints are too slender for that. There’s also a claw marks at the tips of the imprints.” Tashia clarified while looking for more clues. “It must be a Felis.”

“The cat people.” Dee said.

“I haven’t encountered one of them before.” Bengask said annoyed.

“They’re fast and very agile.” Tashia explained. “Even an elven runner can’t keep up with them.”

“Then how will we catch her?” Bengask exclaimed at her.

“I’m not sure yet.” Tashia said annoyed. Dee looked around and observed the tracks were heading straight then looked to see how dense the trees were.

“How far would do you think she managed to travel in a few hours?” Dee asked.

“Well these tracks aren’t deep so she only walked.” Tashia reasoned. Suddenly Dee picked up Tashia much to her surprise.

“What are you doing?!” She asked.

“Bengask, get on my back.” Dee commanded. Bengask was shocked by the request and insulted.

“There’s no way you can carry a dwarf like some pack of dried apples.” Bengask said in protest.

“Wait what?” Dee said confused at the comparison. “Just do it; we don’t have all the time in the world.” Bengask clenched his fist and swallowed his pride. He climbed onto Dee’s back and held on by his pack. “Just hold on.”

“So what are we doing any-…“ Bengask began and stopped as Dee suddenly leapt dozens of feet through then landed a good distance from where they were. Tashia and Bengask were utterly surprised by this feat. Dee repeated this for a while then stopped so Tashia could see the tracks to tell how far away they were from the thief.

“How did you do that?” Tashia asked while looking around for the tracks.

“I best prefer to keep that to myself.” Dee answered. Tashia quickly found the tracks.

“She’s not far.” Tashia explained. “These are fresh.” Bengask began running after the tracks.

“Sorry but I don’t want to be hauled around like a barrel of water again!” He said going after the tracks. Dee and Tashia quickly followed. Soon after they came upon a woman, with cat ears walking through the woods, who turned just in time to dodge Bengask’s axe.

“What the hell?!” the thief said in surprise. “There’s no way you could’ve caught up with me!”

“Thank our friend Dee for that!” Bengask said taunting her. “Now miss, give over the armor and I might spare you.”

The thief considered it for a moment but then said. “No thanks.” She grabbed a small black egg from her pack and through it at Bengask’s face. It shattered and glass dust flew out into his eyes. Bengask screamed in pain and rage. He tried to ignore the pain and charge but he couldn’t see. The thief pulled out a pair of daggers for the kill but Dee moved in and blocked her attack for Bengask, who in the confusion tackled Dee and knocked him back a bit. Dee was uninjured but surprised he was knocked over at all.

“Damn, sorry Dee.” Bengask apologized but tried to care for his shoulder and eyes. “What are you made of? rock? That felt like running into a stone wall” The thief took this opportunity to run but Tashia cut her off.

“You’re not going anywhere.” She said then charged. The thief avoided a sword slash from Tashia then tried to stab her in the back. However Tashia spun around and punched her in the face. The thief was surprised by this then decided to just run anyway since she was faster. Tashia threw a knife and struck the thief’s leg. The thief fell to the ground in pain. Tashia panted from the action. She seemed a bit sickly but she quickly regained herself and tried to ignore the pain in her gut. Dee moved in on the thief and quickly tied her up.

“Oh lovely…” The thief said indignantly from the pain in her leg but quickly cooled herself down. “You caught a lowly thief like me.”

“I’m going to do more than that miss cat lady.” Bengask said holding his axe up to her. Dee held him back then Tashia began checking through the thief’s bag for their things. She handed Bengask parts for his armor and retrieved her amulet then was surprised by the small picture.

“Who is this?” Tashia asked Dee who quickly took the picture and put it into his bag.

“Just a reminder.” Dee answered then looked to the thief. “We’ll take her to the local authorities. Let them deal with her.”

“Like that will do anything.” The thief said grinning at them.

“Why’s that?” Dee asked.

“Because you have your things back and there’s no evidence of me doing any other crimes.” The thief explained amused.

“We’re not near any large cities though which means you can’t weasel your way out of anything.” Dee said.

“Which means they also have terrible jails.” The thief laughed. “I will be out by tomorrow one way or another.”

“Then why don’t I put you out of your misery!” Bengask said holding his axe to her throat.

“Fun threat little dwarf, how are your eyes doing?” She said trying to provoke him. Dee managed to pull him back again.

“Why are you doing this?” Dee asked her. “Are you trying to get him to kill you?”

“Why would I worry with you holding his leash?” The thief jested. Tashia was irritated with this thief’s insults.

“Do you want us to kill you?” Tashia asked annoyed.

“Of course not, but it’s not like I’m in any danger.” The thief answered then suddenly the rope around his was cut. She stood up and showed her razor sharp claws. “It’s so easy to do that.” She then began to walk away.

“Hold it!” Dee said blocking her escape.

“What is this?” The thief said annoyed. “You got your stuff back, I think its fine. I obviously won’t try bothering you again.”

“Why do you even do this?” Dee asked confused.

“Perhaps I have a family and they need to money in order to live? Perhaps I have a lover in a high security prison and I need to pay for his freedom? Or perhaps it’s for the challenge? Or perhaps it’s just fun?” The thief said smiling then walked around him. “It doesn’t matter to me which you think is more likely.”

“You’re still not leaving.” Dee said blocking her with his sword.

“Again you can’t take me to any jails I can’t get out of.” The thief explained.

“Then we’ll just take you into our custody.” Dee explained.

“Keeping a cat girl as a prisoner?” The thief said sarcastically. “That won’t sound twisted.”

“What are you planning?” Tashia asked.

“I think I will accept your offer.” The thief answered. “I’ll surrender myself to you all. A sense of adventure might just liven up my day. And my gold pouch.”

“Wait what?” Bengask shouted. “We’re taking this wench with us?”

“Oh what’s wrong little dwarf?” She teased. “Can’t deal with a lady like me?” Bengask was insulted.

“Call me little again and you won’t live long enough to finish the sentence.” Bengask threatened. The thief was amused and accepted.

“What’s your name?” Dee asked.

“Oh yeah, Slikisia.” She answered. “Best thief in the world. Just call me Slik for short.”

“Fine… Slik.” Dee said annoyed but figured she might be useful in the city. “Let’s go.” They began walking back to the road and on with their journeys.

Reviews

[C. Rose]

"the(y) then"

What makes Tashia think that Dee might have better eyesight than she does?

I'm glad you are including a non-classic race as well.

"through it" should be "threw it"

"they need to money" cut 'to"

I am skeptical that Dee so quickly changed from "You can't come" to inviting two more companions in quick succession. Hopefully this can be made more believable with some dialogue adjustment.

On the whole I am enjoying the story and hope you write more.

[Alexander Brewer]

Who ever said these happened so quickly after one another? I never specified time in these.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very entertaining chapter. I like the thief. I like the colorful and strong characters in the story. Remember the basic rule of writing for every situation. The who, what, where, why and how to every scene. Make the character and places come alive. Please keep sending me read requests. Thank you for sharing the excellent story.
Coyote