High up on the buildings was a dark figure that darted from roof to roof, his jet-black cloak billowing in the wind and melting within the shadows cast by the rising sun. Weaving through the various chimneys, the figure displays a speed and grace that far surpasses the realm of the ordinary.
“Stop running, you thief!”
Trailing far behind were several armored figures, attempting their very best to give chase.
“And he isn’t even using magic…” One of his pursuers stared ahead in astonishment, doing his best to keep sight of the blurry figure, constantly disappearing and reappearing.
“All of you! Keep your eyes on him! He cannot get away!” Commander Xenoth ordered.
He channeled his mana towards his right palm, the image of a metal disc surfaced in his mind. The next moment, it molded into existence as he proceeded to aim it towards the figure.
CRASH!
The metal disc was launched with frightening speed, and it curved slightly like some kind of murder Frisbee. A tilt of the head, however, was just enough for it to narrowly miss.
The commander performed a gesture and the metal disc stopped in mid-air, before executing a sharp curve and resuming its attack.
It punched a hole through the cloak of the dark figure, embedding itself onto one of the roofs. It vibrated intensely as Xenoth tried once again to manipulate it into resuming its attack, but the figure was one step ahead and stomped on it mercilessly. And now it was stuck.
“Tsk!” The commander couldn’t help but tut. A shimmery grey smoke wrapped around his shins as he empowered his legs with mana. The roof tiles exploded with the force of the kick as he launched himself towards the target, showering his forces with debris and smoke.
The dark figure cocked his head as if he was contemplating something, before leaping onto a taller building. As the figure sailed through the air, he performed a 180-degree turn before sending ten knives slicing through the air. The clanging of metal could be heard as Commander Xenoth deflected each and every knife with his steel buckler, forcing him to halt in his tracks.
“You… you better not think you can escape!” His voice was ragged and laced with desperation.
Although the Babylonian Museum had reported that seemingly nothing had been taken, he couldn’t bring himself to let the thief go. He had already gotten two strikes when he failed to stop the damned thief from breaking in twice before. This was his last chance to make up for his mistakes before getting demoted.
It was then that a burst of resounding laughter made its way to his ears.
“HAHAHA, HEED ME, WARDENS. I WILL BREAK IN EVERY DAY AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME!”
“Curses!” Xenoth’s face flushed with anger.
But there was nothing he could do. The figure had already disappeared from his view. Even if he saw the figure again, he doubted he could even corner him, much less capture him. It was over.
“Haha, don’t worry boss.” One of his subordinates consoled him as they finally caught up. “If you receive a demotion, we’ll hold a party to celebrate. That way it won’t be too upsetting, eh?” This prompted a laugh from his other subordinates.
Commander Xenoth glared at his grinning subordinate but didn’t say anything. He looked in the direction of where the figure disappeared, before shaking his head.
“Alright, everybody, pack up! We’re leaving!” He raised his voice.
Without sparing one last look, the group of wardens headed back to the museum.
***
“Where do you wish to go, sir?” A gruff voice asked a hooded figure.
“Adventurer’s guild. Go as fast as you can!” Came a reply.
The carriage driver gave the hooded figure a suspicious look, before reaching out his palm and saying,
“1 gold.”
The figure almost spat out blood.
‘One gold?! A goblin’s worth two copper! That’s fifty goblins just for a ride?’
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“Tsk! Here’s ten pieces, so make it quick.” The hooded figure dejectedly tossed the driver a pouch.
The driver caught the pouch and checked inside. Nodding his head in satisfaction, he flashed the figure a knowing grin as he stuffed the pouch into his pocket, before gesturing towards his carriage.
“Hyah!”
The horses neighed before beginning to trot onto the street. The drumming of hooves against gravel soon filled the air.
Inside of the carriage sat a hooded individual. His pitch-black cloak had a large tear, and on his face was a round black mask with white dots for eyes and a crooked line for a mouth. However, the mask faded into nothing, revealing a young man’s face.
As if it too was a mirage, the previously black cloak turned dark green, and his fancy outfit which consisted of a black overcoat and collared shirt was replaced with a commoner’s clothing.
His hair was a dirty brown color, which gave no hint to the type of magic he could use. Underneath the fringe laid two icy-blue eyes and he stood above 1.9 meters tall (6’3), making him look intimidating despite his young age.
‘All too easy! Illusion magic is the greatest!’
The man flicked a rock into the air with his thumb. The rock turned into a brilliant, shining silver, before falling back into his palm as your regular, old rock.
His name is Kayden, self-proclaimed king of thieves with an eye for treasure and glory. However, most people in this city know him for his alias, Shadow, and it seems the carriage driver had caught on. His terrible actions had caught up to bite him in the ass! Not! He could deal with this level of harassment.
Kayden was now on his way back to the adventurer’s guild, where a nice, warm bed was waiting for him.
“But before that…” Kayden rubbed his hands together and grinned greedily. From his pocket, he fished out an orb and rolled it between his fingers. His eyes formed into crescent moons as he eyed the orb from all angles.
A myriad of different colors swirled within the orb. It shone purple, blue, green, then red. Kayden drooled over the orb with undisguised fascination.
“A spell orb…”
Spell orbs were handy objects. They were essentially portable spell containers. Anyone could use them, and thus they were popular with those who could not cast certain types of magic.
Kayden recalled a certain story about the inventor of this item. The inventor had wanted to store contraception magic so that he could ‘do on the go’, it wasn’t until he was sixteen that he got the hidden meaning behind the words.
‘Useful things sure get invented for the weirdest of reasons.’
What was so special about this orb, however, was the several colors swirling within it. Normally, an orb had one color and it depended on what kind of spell it contained. Never had he heard that there was an orb with multiple colors!
“Heh, as expected of an inheritance from the God of Thieves.”
Indeed, it was an artifact from the legendary God of Thieves himself. He had gotten intel of this inheritance from his very own master. Even the museum didn’t know that such a rare object was hidden right under their noses. That was why those Wardens weren’t too hell-bent on capturing him.
Spell orbs work when it takes on a certain level of physical trauma. They are normally activated when thrown onto the ground or crushed within a person’s grip.
Another silly story he recalled about the creator of this item was that he was rendered infertile when every single one of his orbs blew up simultaneously as a result of him tripping over them. Since then, this story had became a cautionary tale for anyone with spell orbs.
Kayden placed it into his pocket with utmost caution.
He turned his head to gaze out of the carriage window. Looking at the amount of traffic, he estimated he had about three hours before he reached the Adventurer’s Guild, just enough time for some shut-eye. His eyes drooped wearily as the exhaustion from all that running took hold of him. Within minutes, soft snores could be heard from within the carriage.
“Hey! Wake up! We’ve reached the adventurer’s guild!”
Three loud consecutive knocks spooked Kayden awake as his eyes fluttered. After getting his bearings, he thanked the still-grinning driver as he stepped out of the carriage. Of course, knowing that he scammed this idiot brought a smile to his face.
Looming over him was a large building with wide double doors open to the public. Stone bricks lined up to form the walls of the building and a green wooden roof lay on top of it all. Hanging down between the doors was a sign that read: Adventurer’s Guild. It was already dark, but he could still see many armed people streaming in and out of the place. Some were laughing merrily in groups while others walked somberly alone. Indeed, these were adventurers, and Kayden was one of them.
‘Home sweet home.’
Kayden let out a breath. He pushed his way through the crowd and scanned the interior. As usual, there were rookies gazing with eyes filled with excitement at the quest board. The staff members seemed unusually busy today, rushing in and out of their offices carrying thick stacks of paper. Long queues formed at the front of the counter which extended all the way out of the hall.
‘It seems something happened while I was away.’
Kayden then turned his eyes to the tables further into the hall, where a miniature tavern was built. There were the usual sweaty men laughing and drinking together, the rookie parties gathering for a discussion, as well as your stereotypical suspicious hooded figure. You know, the one sitting suspiciously alone at a table in the far corner, thinking that he did a good job blending in with everyone else. Yeah, those guys.
Heck, sometimes that was him.
‘No sign of Master.’
Kayden figured she must have gone drinking at some other tavern and didn’t think too deeply about it. Although he had gotten some sleep on his journey here, he thought it didn’t hurt to sleep more.
Thinking this, he made his way upstairs, where the lodgings were provided. The staircase was as filthy as ever, with alcohol stains, sweat, and the occasional blood droplets. The entire guildhall didn’t smell too fresh, and the boisterous din lasted throughout the night.
Despite everything, however, this was home.
Kayden unlocked the door to his room with a rusty, bronze key. Once he opened the door, he immediately crashed onto his bed and fell asleep.
That night, Kayden was painfully oblivious to how much his life was going to change. In the dark interior of his room, an eerie glow emits from within his pocket.