Narlissa Quickhands, half-elf and master thief, padded quietly across the flat roof of the tavern. A full moon cast long shadows and it was not as dark as she would have liked, but it was midnight and it wasn't going to get any darker. It was time to get started.
Passing the guards outside had been easy. She skirted the tavern behind its major wall, then nimbly climbed onto the roof. Now with a final look around she dropped down onto the flat balcony outside the merchant's bedroom. The window was slightly open and she listened carefully to make sure no one was awake. She could smell the sweat and stink of the room beyond.
All she could hear was snoring.
Slowly she eased the window open further and slipped in. The merchant was asleep on the large bed totally naked and Narlissa flinched away from the sight of his nasty fat body wobbling as he snored.
Her hand flickered to the pendant at her neck but she resisted the urge to use it. She knew it wasn't working properly and there was little point. It would only keep her invisible for a couple of seconds, which would be nowhere near long enough. She would have to do this the old fashioned way.
She crept further into the room making sure to use all of her ability to not make a sound. Scanning the room she finally laid eyes upon what it was she wanted. A small chest lay underneath a blanket.
However she knew that the room would almost certainly be warded and she spent a few seconds working out where the wards were. They had a very faint glow and she used her expertise to determine that there were five and exactly where they were. With that done, she made a move for the chest.
It did not take her long to have reached it and soon she was picking the lock. It opened with a small click, and she hurriedly looked back at the merchant to make sure he hadn't woken up. He hadn't.
Inside the chest were bags of gold and Narlissa delicately placed them one at a time into her own magical pack. The merchant had brought a lot of money with him. Clearly his business was a wealthy one and soon she had even more gold than she'd had in the aftermath of finding the warlock's treasure. She was grateful that her enchanted pack meant it would not weigh her down.
When she had fully emptied the chest she moved to shut the lid, then stopped herself. Normally she would do so in order to cover her tracks but in this case she wanted this merchant to know that he'd been robbed as soon as he woke up. This was revenge, after all.
She stood, padding back towards the window and avoiding the wards when something suddenly caught her eye. Lying next to the merchant on the bedstand was an ornate dagger and she crept closer to get a better look.
It was elven in design and beautiful, with a gold hilt and silvery metal that she realised suddenly was mithril. It was worth an absolute fortune, probably more than all the gold she had just stolen and she realised that if she really wanted to teach the merchant a lesson then she needed to take it. Besides, it was clearly of elven origin and therefore did not deserve to be sullied by his hands.
She neatly picked it up and dropped it in her pack with the gold, then smiled to herself and deftly turned around. Slipping back through the window she soon found herself back on the balcony and grinned as she realised that she had succeeded.
But suddenly just as she was about to climb onto the roof to make her escape she heard footsteps coming towards her over the rooftop. She realised she had no other choice but to duck back through the window into the merchant's room.
She waited, holding her breath, wondering who it could possibly have been. Suddenly a boot appeared through the window and Narlissa shrank back into the shadows, hiding herself in the folds of a curtain. This was most unexpected and was really messing with her plans. She should have been away over the rooftops by now.
A cloaked man stepped into the room and Narlissa suddenly realised that it was the thief from earlier. He looked around furtively and then crept further into the room. Narlissa watched him with growing nervousness as she realised that he was not particularly skilled at this. His steps were too heavy and he did not seem at all aware of the presence of the wards.
He tiptoed towards the open chest and Narlissa resisted the urge to call out. Doing so would surely wake the merchant so instead she waited for the thief to shuffle passed then quickly and silently climbed back out of the window.
Once again she found herself on the balcony with a clear route to escape but once again she paused. This time it was because she worried that the other thief would get caught so she peeped back through the open window.
The thief was nearer the chest now and Narlissa realised with horror that he was seconds away from stepping on a ward. She started to climb back through the window.
"No!" she hissed, loudly enough for the thief to hear but quietly enough that it would not wake the merchant.
The figure jumped in fright at the sound of her voice, whirling to face her. She could see his face beneath the hood, his eyes wide with fear. He was definitely new to this because a seasoned thief would not have been startled so easily.
Her heart skipped a beat as he took a frantic step backwards. There was a ward right there that he clearly knew nothing about.
And of course he stepped right on it.
A loud screech went up in the bedroom and the fat merchant asleep on the bed opened his eyes with a startled scream. The two guards Narlissa knew were stationed on the outside of the door burst in a second later and she swore under her breath and leapt for the window.
She vaulted onto the nearest rooftop and turned back to the balcony. The thief made it out just ahead of the guards and jumped after her, landing next to her and starting to run. The guards followed and Narlissa took off after the thief.
As he ran the thief's cloak caught on a weather vane, pulling it from him and revealing his appearance. From what she could see it was a man, probably about 5'9" in height with medium-length messy brown hair. He turned to her with a frantic look in his eyes.
Suddenly he stumbled, his boot slipping into a gutter and wedging there, and he collapsed with a pained cry. Narlissa ran right past him and jumped over to the next roof, leaving him to his fate. This was entirely his fault, after all. Behind her the guards were spilling out onto the street and those who had run into the bedroom had leapt onto the roof themselves and were giving chase.
She slowed, her conscience making her stop. She turned back as the guards scrambled over the nearest roof towards them. The other thief looked first at the guards then back at her with fear in his eyes.
Narlissa sighed, then jumped back across. She crouched down next to the man and grabbed his boot, starting to work it free from the gutter.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean for this. I... I just thought it would be fun."
Narlissa looked at him. "What do you mean?"
Now that she could see his face she could tell he wasn't much older than her, probably in his mid-twenties. His brown eyes were wide.
"I just wanted the thrill. To be a thief, like in the adventures. Oh gods, now I'm going to die!"
"Oh, shut up," Narlissa sighed, getting his boot free. She stood and dragged him to his feet. "I'll lead these guards on a merry chase, you just make sure you get out of here."
The guards had slipped onto the same roof now and were carefully picking their way across towards Narlissa and the thief.
"Thank you," the man said hurriedly. "I am Anard. There is an old warehouse on the edge of the village. Find me there when this is done."
"I will. Now run, you idiot!" Narlissa said, shoving him.
He stumbled, then looked back and nodded. He vaulted across to the far roof and immediately was running across the rooftops. Narlissa turned back to the guards.
They had almost reached her now and even more were congregating beneath her on the street. Some had climbed up onto the roof of the house behind her to cut off her route of escape. It seemed they were all focused on her, meaning that Anard would be able to get away safely.