Ch. 9 - A Plot is Discovered

The morning dawned as it usually did lately. I was high above the city, watching the magnificence of the sun rising from the spot that Willow had shown me. As I watched, the sun peeked over the horizon, showing the first hint of itself with a sliver of orange that quickly grew into a half-circle of golden fire. The clouds, already illuminated from under the horizon, lit up in glorious reds and oranges. I noticed that at about halfway through the sunrise, the sun began glinting off roofs and windows of the city below. It was like watching a many-eyed creature open it's eyes in the glow of a freshly lit torch. The beauty of it never tired me.

After the sun had risen, I lingered there on the rooftops, basking in the warmth of the sun's rays. I enjoyed closing my eyes and still being able to see the glow of the sun through my eyelids, and still feeling the warmth on my face.

Eventually, I got up and made my way down onto the street. I still had to meet Cutty about that last job in the library. I must say that I was feeling pretty satisfied with myself. After all, I had pulled off that last job without a hitch, or at least practically. The proprieters of the library had complained to the authorities, but the Hammerites could care less about a non-religious book. Without the Hammerites to stick their nose into things, the local constables had about a 1/100 chance of figuring it out.

I made my way through the side streets to Cutty's, taking care to avoid notice. I had spent a lot of time lately learning the back roads and had a pretty good feel for them now. I tried to stay away from the Teething and the busy roads around that area. My one attempt to pick a wealthy merchant's pocket had ended in disaster, and I had no desire to see the inside of a Hammerite prison again!

I walked by a small open air market, where a group of the local children spotted me and began to gather around me. A loud-mouthed child began chanting, "Feather, Feather!" Quickly I shushed him. It was still too risky as the Hammerites were still on the lookout for the "Feather Bandit" as they were calling the stealer of the Hammer of Krosus.

The reason the kids were so excited was that I had recently began performing for an hour or so each day in the small markets around the city. Garrett had told me that the authorities (namely, the Hammerites) were less suspicious of you in general if they knew that you had some form of lawful employment. Upon my asking him what he did, he smiled and said, "The Hammerites know what I do...and they know better than to try to stop me." He would say no more on the matter.

Anyway, my employment that I had found relied on my skills as an acrobat. For an hour or two each day, I flipped and jumped across the cobblestones. The simple flips and tricks I did served mainly as exercise for me, but the children liked it, and the parents were willing to pay a few coins for their kids' delight. These few coins served to buy food for me, which was nice since it seemed that regular employment as a thief was few and far between.

I finally extracted myself from the mobs of children, promising them that I would be back tomorrow, and continued on my way to Cutty's. On the way, I kept a lookout for Willow, as I had not seen her since that night before the library job.

I made it to Cutty's without incident and let myself in. I walked into Cutty's office and sat down. Cutty was bent over a scroll, and motioned me to wait. I noticed that he was sweating, which seemed odd since the room was quite well ventilated and cool. He seemed to be worrying over a scroll on his desk, which was quite short. He was reading it over and over, I saw as I looked more closely. What was this? My curiousity was heightened as he put the scroll into a desk drawer and wearily turned his gaze to me. Before he closed the drawer, I noticed the emblem of the Hammerites on the top of the page.

"What was that?" I asked. "What?" he guardedly replied. "That scroll. What was that all about that's gotten you so upset?"

"I'm not upset, just hot...and I suggest you keep yourself out of things that don't concern you. Now, shall we get down to business?" With that, he resumed rummaging around in his desk, finally finding what Cutty called his "job log." In it he kept records of all the jobs that he had people working on. I had wanted to catch a glimpse of it, but Cutty kept it on him wherever he went. I thought that the whole idea was a bad one, because if the Hammerites ever caught wind of it, nothing would save Cutty from the gallows.

"Alright. That library job went pretty well. You retrieved the right book, and you didn't kill anyone. That in itself is good. The Hammerites are not too concerned, and the collector who commissioned the job is pleased with getting the book. All in all, a successful mission, and a profitable one. Here is your cut." With that, he tossed me a small bag of gold.

I opened the bag and counted it....50....100.....200 gold. I looked up in surprise...I hadn't thought that the book I stole was worth that much. No matter. What I had here would keep me fed and clothed for a while. Besides, I had some of my own prospects that I was looking for. I resolved to go out later and look over a couple of places that might be ready for a visitor....

Later, I was walking down the street and I saw a familiar frame disappearing down a side street. "Willow!" I thought, and hurried after her. After many twists and turns, I finally caught up enough to see her at the end of an alley talking to someone I thought I recognized as a Hammer scout. He had blond, fine hair, with clothes that were intended to look scrappy but to a practiced eye were too well made to be the clothes of a thief or beggar. They seemed to be arguing, and I heard a raised cry of "You must give him more time!" from Willow before the Hammer scout turned and walked away. Willow stared after him for a few seconds, the dispair plain on her face, before turning around. Starting, she noticed me there. "What are you doing there?"

"I followed you. I wanted to see you, talk to you...." I mumbled off under the intensity of her glare. "I wasn't spying on you!"

"I know. Sorry, I'm just tense. A lot is going on and it seems like I can't control or stop any of it!"

"What is it? Can I help?" I wanted desperately to comfort her, because I couldn't stand to see her upset. I was, I realized, growing to love her. Savoring this realization, I missed her next words.

"What?"

"I said, why were you following me?" Willow looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. She looked great. Her shining red hair, with a hint of dust and spiderwebs on it. She was wearing her cloak, and I could see her tools hung underneath it. Her lithe body was toned, with tight trim muscles evident in the way she moved. I knew somehow that she was a great thief, better than me I was sure.

She endured my scrutiny probably for longer than was polite. Then she smiled and said, "What are you looking at?" "You." She smiled again and said, "Want to buy me a drink?" Of course, I said yes.

Several hours later I was walking back to my sleeping place, normally the roof over the training room until I could afford a private place of my own. I passed by Market Street, where most of the small-time merchants had their goods for sale every day. As usual, the kids begged me to put on a show, but I begged off and went on home. As I walked in the door, I made a mental note as usual to get a better lock for the door. I figured that one that I couldn't pick would be good enough, although I don't know why anyone would want to break into here anyway. I looked in the pantry: nothing. Of course, I hadn't bought food yet. Well, I had to eat, so I got ready to leave. First, I looked at my money store. Not much. Everything I had I had spent on equipment for my first solo job.

I figured that it was stupid for me to keep doing jobs where I took all the risk and only a percentage of the profits. I thought that if I did my own scouting, I would gain a lot more profit for a lot less risk. I resolved to go scouting for my next job that night, and gathered my equipment. Water arrows, moss arrows, a few broadheads (but only a few, since I didn't want to kill anyone tonight), my blackjack, and my notebook. I intended to write out a preliminary map of the place.

Sneaking around the house I picked out formy scouting session, I realized that this would be tougher than I thought. First, I had no rope arrows, which meant that the easy method of going in by the rooftops was out. Also, the house seemed well guarded, which inmymind, thatwas a good and badthing. Good, in that there was obviously something valuable inside that needed guarding. Bad, in that the risks were greatly increased for me.

I crouched in a dark corner across the street from the house, having managed to get there unseen. I observed the guard patrols, writing down routes and timing. I saw that there could be a window in coverage of a window on the east side of the house. I was just noting this in my notes when I heard footsteps moving my way. I looked up: a Hammerite sentry was patrolling the streets. He was carrying a lantern, and was shining it into every dark doorway and crevice. My thoughts raced furiously as he moved towards me. If he found me, he would surely raise the alarm, and I would have a slim chance of getting away.

If you have any feedback on this story e-mail it to Rich aka dragoman