The Journals of Morobunce, Page 70…
It seems strange to me.
The path my life has taken is not the one I had foreseen for myself. When I left Shallow Hills, I saw a life of freedom for myself. Instead, I found the World beyond Shallow Hills as an unforgiving place. Due to my height, most did not pay me any attention in a World that seemed dominated by the Race of Man. It was similar to the amount of attention I would give an ant. So small, so unnoticeable; so beneath one’s attention.
Perhaps there’s a lesson here to be learned. That even I should pay more attention to the little things in life. Things I never took notice of before.
Now in the city of Ancor I am a part of a Thief’s Guild. I left Shallow Hills because I felt like all the work we were doing with the crops we grew – was, for the most part – all handed over to the various Armies of the Six Draconians to keep their soldiers fed and healthy. It seemed little regard went into our own health and caring – once again, the bigger things not caring about the smaller things in life.
But here – now – I am hoping that I go unnoticed. You see, the Thief’s Guild has instructed me to break into this massive estate here in Ancor to retrieve a golden box. I was instructed – no, told – that no matter what, I am not to look inside the golden box. I was simply to break in, get it, and escape.
For the most part, it has been easy. I was informed that the owner of the estate possessed three dogs. A simple toxin within some raw meat put the three dogs down for an extended nap. They would awaken in several hours, none the wiser, save perhaps a massive headache.
The map of the estate I was given is accurate and up to date, so it lets me move across the lawn, and stay in the shadows and darkness, avoiding the constant flow of patrols that marched around the estate. An access panel on the right side of the house was easy enough to unlock and slide into. Of course, that put me in the basement.
The gold box was naturally located on the third floor.
I had hoped for some trees with lingering branches that might be able to grant me access to the second or third floor, to make this easier; but no such luck. Whoever owned this estate was well aware of this common trick that rogues used to break into higher areas of the home and had whacked off all the branches that were even remotely close to the home’s windows.
From the basement, I carefully made my way upstairs to the first floor, where it was near dinner time. The cooks were bustling about in a quick pace, going back and forth, yelling at one another – demanding this ingredient or that beverage. It was easy to slip by them in the confusion and slide under the serving table that had white sheet draped over it.
I sat in there, patiently waiting – as the cooks placed the food on top of the table until it was ready. I walked beneath the table, since there was nowhere to sit. We eventually got to a service elevator that went up to the second floor, where it got out and headed into the large dining room.
It was as I had overheard the night before; tonight the owner of the home was having a large party. This was optimal for me, because this would create an extra amount of confusion – both among the cooks, the guards, and the owner of the home.
I waited until everyone had been served, before I peeked from beneath the sheets and tumbled behind the couch. I was on the second floor and now, the majority of people were eating. They would be occupied. The cooks would be on the first floor, relaxed now that they were done serving. The guards should also be relaxed, thinking everyone was in the dining room eating.
When the moment was clear, I tumbled from the back of the couch to the chair, to slipping out the dining room door. In the long hall, I could see two guards speaking to one another about some female conquest down at the inn.
I went around the other way, where I found the laundry drop shaft. From here, they would clean their “master’s room” and drop the laundry down this shaft because the cleaning room was here on the second floor. This was my ticket to the third floor. I entered the drop shaft and made my way up slowly, only to hear the top open.
Laundry came tumbling down, nearly knocking me off balance. I barely managed to cling to the walls with various under garments clinging to me, as if they too were terrified to fall. I swore in that very moment that if any God of Goddess was seeing this and letting this happen, I would have my revenge upon them in the afterlife.
I shook off the undergarments and let them tumble down to their final destination and continued to the top where I slowly opened the door and saw the maid folding the estate’s owner’s sheets. She smiling contently, adjusted one of his paintings on his dresser, then left the room.
I climbed out of the laundry drop and tumbled into the room, swearing I could still smell dirty garments on me. Once inside the room I went to the north wall where I ran my fingers around the edge of the paneling until I found the latch. Before I popped it open I checked – and discovered – an alarm trap. I moved my dagger just inside and lifting the trigger, and gently eased it back into my fingers, so that it would not pull.
I opened the panel the rest of the way, and saw it. The golden box. Just as I was reaching for it – I stopped. There was a tumbler beneath the golden box. It would trigger an alarm, I could see going up behind the panel walls. It was triggered by weight.
This wasn’t good. I had no idea how much the gold box weighed or even what was in it. It could weigh next to nothing, or it could weigh several pounds.
There was no easy way to do this.
For that matter, there was only one way to do this.
I looked at the window. Open, to let in a cool breeze.
I took a deep breath and release the panel alarm, which instantly sounded. Then I grabbed the gold box, which triggered the second alarm. I grabbed it and immediately ran for the window. I grabbed the sheet the maid had just laid out and tied it to bed’s post. Then with the other end, I threw it out the window and quickly scampered out the window just as the guards had burst into the room.
Landing on the lawn, I could already hear the guards shouting my location. As quickly as I could I dove into the nearest bushes as a small brigade of guards ran up. I was no more than three feet away from twelve very armed soldiers; and they were standing there, looking around – puzzled that I had seemingly vanished.
Small things, unnoticed, I sighed.
The guard dispersed, splitting into four parties, all scattered about trying desperately to find me. The entire estate was on high alert. Getting out of the estate’s massive lawn was nowhere near as easy as it was getting into it.
As I moved through the shadows I listened to the guards with amusement. My “description” changed with each batch of guards I crossed paths with – some I overheard saying I was a human dressed in black; others said I was an elf mage dressed in crimson red; while others said I was an evil demon that used black magic – one thing never came up.
Not a single guard suspected a Halfling that was sitting next to them, listening.
It took several hours to finally make my way across the estate’s lawn safely; and just in time. Just as I was climbing the gate that I had originally used to come in – the three dogs were just starting to awaken.
That was two days ago.
Now we were summoned to the Magistrate’s Estate – and imagine the mixture of amusement and horror as I recognized the Estate. Inside the same dining room that I had originally hidden, the Magistrate explained to use that a large tribe of Kobolds had taken up residence in an old, abandoned Keep that he wanted cleared.
He went on to explain other “adventurers” had taken up the job of going to “clean out the keep” and never returned. Never a good omen, when others have gone and not returned. That means this is something more than Kobolds. We’ve had our share of Kobold problems in Shallow Hills – when they, like gophers, tunnel into our homes within the hills. Kobolds, by themselves, were never much of a problem.
The Magistrate then handed out “gifts” for each of us – more alarming that mine was in the same golden box that I had just stolen from him the night before. Within the golden box was a dagger with a slight glow of magic.
I looked at the Magistrate with a questioning gaze. He smiled and nodded to me, and presented the next gift to the next member. That’s when he also introduced us to yet another Tiefling – one by the name of Kairon Starcaller – and by the looks of him, a well-educated mage of some kind. Almost immediately, when the mage spoke, his droning voice nearly made me wish I had been caught during the theft, rather than hear his rambling.
They gave us one day to relax before we headed out; to gather supplies and the like. But instead, I went to the Thief’s Guild to speak to my “Teacher.” I kicked the door down and slammed my dagger on the table, “What’s the meaning of this?”
“It’s a dagger,” the Teacher replied, nonchalantly.
“It’s the dagger that was in the same golden box that you had me steal,” I shouted, losing my temper, “from the Magistrate, who just gave it to me as a ‘gift.’”
“You’re in the Thief’s Guild,” the Teacher shrugged. “We don’t just give things away. We needed to know you were up to the job ahead of you. We have been training you for the last five months for this. We needed to know you were ready.”
“What if I had been caught?” I growled.
“Then you would have failed,” the Teacher replied, “and rotted in jail for a very long time.”
After all this time with the Thief’s Guild, there was still no loyalty. No trust. No family. I shook my head, grabbed the dagger and stormed out of the room.
This wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
The following day, we were on our way to the Keep with Alek Redmont – the Human Ranger, Kalamatee Wolfsmoon – the Eladrin Cleric, Zerkorza Zaidai the Tiefling Warrior – and now, the chattering Tiefling Mage, Kairon Starcaller.
The first strange encounter was when a young bear cub burst through the camp, foaming at the mouth, frightened nearly to death. Two Orcs in hot pursuit also came into the camp – their eyes were just as crazed as the young cub’s. The Orcs fell quickly, just as the Dire Bear parents of the young cub entered the camp and “thanked” our Ranger for saving their young spawn by showing him the burial spot of several Orcs that they had killed.
As we continued, we reached the Bridge, where we spent the night. There was plenty of mischief to be had – as the guards were clearly glad to have new people to speak with. Zerkorza made a fool of the captain of the guard there, easily defeating him in a arm wrestling match. The human like many others, mistook her size as a sign that she was weaker – beneath him.
The Mage made some kind of barter with the guards, and I countered the barter behind the Mage’s back that he would not come back from the Keep alive. Not that I would do anything. I was sure his running mouth would be enough to endanger his life.
We made our way to the Keep on the following morning. We were just outside the Keep’s gate when night approached. We took shelter in a small cabin just outside the Keep. Within the cabin I spotted a trap within the fireplace. Stone hung above, waiting for it to be sprung. But why? I looked at the flooring of the fireplace and saw that it was a doorway. Another trap – an alarm. Clever. The Kobolds must be using this to come in and out. I rewired the trap so that the next time the panel opened, it would drop the stones on the unsuspecting Kobolds, as well as trigger the alarm to awaken us.
Sure enough, the alarm triggered in the middle of the night. Kobolds howled in pain as boulders tumbled into the passage, knocking them from the ladder and to the cold stone below. By the time they had climbed back to the surface, they were bloody, wounded and furious. But we were all on our feet and armed for a fight.
As we cut through the Kobolds, an Orc Priestess made her way out of the hole – furious that we had reversed her trap upon her. She immediately began casting dark magic. In this small, cramped area, this was perfect for me. While the others were having trouble moving around, I was able to slip and slide everywhere I needed to be. With the combined efforts of me and the blabbering Mage of our own, the Priestess was rapidly ushered to the embrace of whatever Death God she worshiped.
With the Kobolds slain and the Orc Priestess dead, we all gazed down the passage way beneath the small cabin and wondered what else waited for us…
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