August, 2008
Teen Quest[3]
The Thief's Request
Teen Quest[3]
The Thief's Request
Blackfell fell with a loud thud on his back on rocky ground, sparsely covered in grass that barely cushioned his fall.
Groaning, he slowly sat up, rubbing his back where several small rocks had dug in after his fall. Wincing, he flipped his wings back and forth a little, shaking the dust from them while taking a look around him.
Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore... The words from the old movie echoed in his head as he studied his surroundings. Where ever he was, it certainly wasn't Barton Town Park. No iron bench, no walking paths, even. Lots of really old trees, surrounding him on all sides, though there was one spot that was thinner, and he could see fading daylight between the trunks. Or maybe it was the sunrise, ever so slowly, if he went by the colors weaving through the clouds in the sky, and...
Frowning, the boy stood up with a creak, wincing at the pain in his back. Readjusting the messenger bag, he wove slowly through the trees, till he came to the end of them.
A smoke stack. Not one from a factory though, it looked more like one from a... Burning building? He thought, his muscles going slack from surprise. "Walker actually did it?" Blackfell said, not realizing he was thinking out loud until he heard voices shouting from the forest.
He immediately crouched down, mentally hitting himself for not checking his people-sens, while going into a quick, bent over run towards the large column of smoke circling into the sky. I've got the feeling that they won't have the kindest feelings towards me, if there's still smoke in the sky. Darksong got away, so they're probably looking for them. Can't be the best idea to run into them... Blackfell thought as he advanced towards the remains of the hideout.
He heard a shout from the trees, unintelligible, and spared a moment to look back over his shoulder.
"Fudgemonkies." He'd been spotted. In a flash, he dropped his bag, tugging the thief kit out and stuffing it in one of his pockets, before taking off running; besides the kit, there wasn't anything specific he'd really need, now that he was where he wanted to be. Where ever here was.
Taking off running towards the smoke, he was confident he was faster then what he assumed were the Guardsmen. From the dream, he was hazarding a guess that they were loaded down with armor, so would be significantly slower then him unless they were on horses. And the fact they were hunting in the trees showed they didn't have hooves on hand.
The smoking building was fast approaching, and there were getting to be ditches scattered here and there, from what exactly Blackfell couldn't tell. What he did know was that they would be effective hiding spots.
Jumping forward, he curled his body into a ball as he hit the ground again, rolling along the ground before dropping into a particularly deep ditch, an old tree right above, it's curling roots coming through the dirt walls.
The moment he hit ground, Blackfell froze, holding his breath. He heard the Guardsmen thunder above him, leaping across the ditch amidst confused shouts.
Releasing his breath, he quickly tore his shirt off; the white would only stand out in the dim light of dawn. As it was, he was surprised the Guardsmen hadn't seen him by the fabric before. Not that he was really complaining, but still.
Slowly, he peered above the edge of the ditch, watching the remains of the hideout. There weren't too many Guardsmen around what was left of the hideout, at least not too many to sneak past. Creeping out of the ditch, he stretched out on his belly, crawling forward, ever so slowly, on his elbows.
It took too long to keep track of to get close to the ruined walls, but when he did, he was up and over in a flash, his people-sense showing none of the Guards were within eye shot. Dropping into a crouch, he took a look around. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, probably just anything that had survived the blast.
His hands, feet and chest were tingling, but he ignored the feeling and crept on his hands and knees towards the wall that seemed most familiar; there were the remains of a small cot near it, so it seemed the best bet to search first.
Digging his hands down into the blasted floor(So much of it was mere rubble and soil now, it wasn't too hard to do), he felt through the dirt and broken bits, feeling for anything solid. His fingers brushed across several objects, all of which he pulled up to study for the briefest of moments before stuffing them in his pants pockets; he could see them in greater detail later.
He slowly made his way around the perimeter, stopping whenever he felt a Guardsmen approach. There were a couple items he'd found that he had decided to keep; others he put back in the ground, careful to make the ground look undisturbed.
The ones still in his pockets were several rings, and a charred metal(silver?) necklace with blackened gems set inside curled wiring, and fancy danglies hanging from the middle. It had made his fingers tingle when he held it, so he had decided it might be good to keep ahold of.
After his pockets were loaded enough to be a good haul, but not too much to be too noisy, he carefully stood up, feeling around for Guards.
None nearby. Good. Blackfell thought silently, nimbly hopping over the wall. There were significantly less guards this time then before, so it wasn't too difficult to make a hunched over sprint towards the woods, hoping the portal would be somewhere in there. Seeing as that's where Walker dumped him, it was only logical...
Indeed, it was there. Same place where he had fallen; maybe he'd just been too distracted to notice it before. Walker had made it sound like it would be hard to find, but Blackfell wasn't going to ask questions at the moment. Act now, think later. Generally worked well enough. Always easier to ask forgiveness then permission.
That was his last thought as he dove headfirst into the portal that hung there in the air, the uncomfortable feeling of falling besetting him, just as the memory of Chrysallis came into his head as well...
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