Thieves' Guild: Deep Night

[Wolfsong]

I'm not sure what this is, I'm just writing for the heck of it. Hope you enjoy...

The Guard

The night roared with the crashing of lightning and the rumbling thunder. Rain poured down like a waterfall set free. On nights like these, people felt the gods were angry, and feared to venture from their homes. Any one with an inch of sanity stayed indoors tonight.
Only the insane...and others wandered out this night.
Two people, hardly adults, stood outside one of the grander houses. Two girls, one a good head taller than the other, covered the other, smaller one with her cloak. She surveyed the building before her, her bright red locks curling around her head. Her black eyes, black circles lining under them, studied the house with an experienced eye. The little one, her blonde hair falling into her face, whimpered. "I want out, Kara," she whispered.
Kara shook her head. "Can't. We don't get this, they won't let us in tonight." She considered her options, then said, "We'll go in through the front gate. The rich, while oftentimes selfish, are much more generous than the equally poor, if we play our cards right...."
She walked up to the door, her leg slowly curling into a position that to the normal person looked very painful. The little girl stuck her head out from under till she was fully drenched, then withdrew back under her cloak, sniffling. She had no need to make that up. Kara grimaced, preparing herself, then knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a man in uniform, a guard. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What business do you have in the Lord Madon's abode?"
"If it please you sir," she whimpered in a sickly voice. "Me and my sister...we beg you, please allow us some crumbs from the master's table. We have not eaten for days, and my poor sister is sick."
An eyebrow twitched, and he looked disdainfully at the little girl. "My lord has no will to allow such dirty beggars into his home! Begone!"
"Please mister!" she begged, going to her knees. "We've no eaten for days. I beg you, have mercy on us. The gods will reward you."
"Nonsense. Get away!"
"What goes on here?"
A pretty lady in silken blue appeared in view. Kara's hopes rose drastically. The guard turned to face the lady, bowing slightly. "My lady, I was about to turn these filthy peasants away. They were threatening to disturb our master's repose."
"I just want food for my sister," Kara whispered weakly. "Please..."
The woman studied her, then said gently, "Surely, my good man, allowing them some provisions from the kitchens would not be so terrible. Come, kindness to the poor is the duty of the fortunate."
He bowed again. "Of course, my lady." He turned to us, and with his face away from the lady, his anger became clear. "Come then," he said in a voice that was supposed to be kind. "You'd better take advantage of the Lady Madon's generosity."
"Oh thank you!" the little girl sniffed. She suddenly rushed forward, flinging her arms around the lady. Kara gasped.
"Lilia, no! You can't do that!" she rushed forward and pulled her sister away. She fell to her knees before the lady and lay her face to the ground. "I'm so sorry for my sister's impudence! Please, she meant no harm, she's just a little girl!"
"Quite alright," the lady Madon said, and her face beamed so nicely. Kara was surprised; the tales of the lady's goodness were true then? The mud from Lilia's hands totally ruined the gown, the stains would never come out...yet she smiled so nicely. "Its only a dress. Go feed yourselves, and may the goddess Anima bless you."
The guard quickly hustled them along, muttering some harsh words. The kitchen cook was no kinder, and shouted foul obscenities at them as they took a few pieces of fine loaves. Kara took Lilia's hands and fled the place quickly, making a mental note about it. The lady was good, the staff was terrible. She'd probably avoid this place in the future, she hated to rob those who were actually good people...
"Did you get it?" she asked Lilia when they were safely away.
Lilia nodded and pulled a sparkling diamond necklace from some hidden pocket in her dress. "Its pretty, isn't it?" she said.
Kara nodded. "Now Caster will have to let us in. This'll pay our dues for months." and the pair hurried off.

[drill]

Wolfsong, I haven't read any of your work thus far, but I have to say that I really enjoyed reading this!

Good work!

[uranium52081]

Hey, pretty awesome little story! ^_^

[ClaecElric4God]

Cool, Wolf! Sorry I didn't get to this sooner. I like it alot, and it's very interesting.

[Wolfsong]

Thanks Drill, Uranium and Claec! I'm really glad you liked it!

For One Night

"I don't want to do this..."
The two girls approached the large oak outside the town. Kara took a deep breath, laying her hand against its rough bark. She sighed, then knocked twice in rapid succession on it. After a few seconds, a small door in the side opened, revealing a heavy-set man who was quite bald. Lilia giggled to herself, and Kara hushed her with a sharp glance. "Is Caster in?" she asked.
"Aye," the man replied, eying her. "Your dues?"
"Got 'em," she replied shortly. He studied her a moment, then nodded. "I'll let 'em know."
Kara, in an unusual display of anger, reached out and grabbed him by the collar. "I'll do it myself," she hissed in his ear. He nodded and backed up, disappearing into the deep trunk. Kara helped Lilia get onto the ladder hidden inside, and they proceeded to climb into the darkness.
A few torches lined the walls here and there, for underneath the ground was a vast labyrinth. Kara's face became hard as she marched past the gate-man, looking as cold and hard as she could manage. These men gave nothing for the weak. To get by, you had to be hard. It hadn't been so bad when Dolmat was leader, but then he was murdered and authority passed to Caster. It was rumored Caster had killed him himself, but there was no proof behind it. He now led the Thieves' Guild, and the rules he imposed were harsh.
"I must be strong," Kara thought. "For Lilia's sake...we must claim refuge here. He must give us room." She pushed open the big door in front of her, opening up into a room as large as the palace's grand hall. It was still merely rock, but sound echoed here so that you could hear from one end to the other. The sounds reaching her ears were the sounds of merrymaking, and she could see the people just up ahead. Caster and his loyals were all seated in a circle together, eating and drinking and doing other things adults and men without morals find entertaining. Kara shuddered slightly, then straightened, spread her stance out a little, and threw her head back. "Caster!" she called.
One of the men, a scar going through his eye, glanced up, then stood. "Kara!" he shouted back. "You're looking good!"
She refrained from rolling her eyes. He was obviously drunk. Maybe she could squeeze by... "Better than you," she retorted.
He grinned, stumbling a little. "Come join us, little girls!" he called.
Kara shook her head. "No thank you. I've come to claim refuge."
His face turned shrewd, and with a sinking heart she realized he wasn't so drunk. "Not without pay, you don't. Whatcha got?"
Sighing, Kara nodded at Lilia. The little one reached into her ragged dress and pulled out the glittering diamond necklace. His eyes widened, and he gestured for them to come forward. Kara came slowly, looking around cautiously. "That should pay for at least a week," she said.
He reached for it, snatching it from Lilia's fingers. The little one cowered behind Kara, but he paid her no mind, studying the necklace. "One night," he said with a note of finality.
"What?!" Kara gasped. "but this thing is priceless! It should be worth ever so much more!" She started to feel angry. "Dolmat-"
"Is no longer with us," he replied. "One night. Take it or get out of here."
Kara grit her teeth, then said, "Fine. I'll get you for this Caster."
He smiled, reaching forward and patting her on the head. She slapped his hand away and he laughed. "Go get your room," he said. "If you're up for a frolic, just come to me." and he walked back to his friends.
Kara bit her lip to avoid answering, then dragged Lilia through one of the other doors. If she didn't get out of the room and away from their noise, she was going to tear his throat out, and now was not the time.

[uranium52081]

Suspenseful...

[Wolfsong]

This...took a surprisingly dark turn, so I wouldn't suggest reading this unless you have nothing against blood and stuff.


A Dark Truth

Kara woke in the darkness. The room she'd taken had gone cold in the night, and she could feel Lilia shivering beside her. She sat upright, then stood, letting her cloak fall from her shoulders and over the little girl. She stared down at Lilia, her face gentle and loving, before turning back to the door and walking through. She tread cautiously down the corridors, before finding the way they'd came. Caster and his friends were still there, some still partying strong, some comatose and all dead drunk.
She watched a while, then began to creep into the room, keeping to the walls.
"So," she heard one of Caster's goons saying. "What should we do about the warrant?"
"You have to ask? Jeez, you idiot, its a no-brainer!" and he laughingly emptied half a bottle on the guy's head.
"She's one of us," a different one, slightly more sober than the rest, said as he chewed on his lip. "Don't that change the odds somewhat? If we start turning our own in, you'll lose the support of the members."
"Pfft! She ain't one of us, the older witch is. The little brat only follows her sis around because she's good for nothing else."
Kara slipped around till she was behind them, her mind only partly processing the words they spoke, filing it back for later contemplation. Her left hand disappeared into her sleeve, and she began to slink forward.
"When?" another asked, leaning towards Caster, and almost landing on his face.
"When they're both fast asleep," he replied. "I know the little witch. She won't be asleep for a while yet. Always the untrustworthy monster, that one." He suddenly straightened like he'd suddenly sobered and began to look around. Kara leapt up, latching onto a wall, which suddenly opened up and she hid inside its shadows. Caster glanced around, then nodded to himself a took a long messy drink from the bottle he held. "To the brat, and the fortune her bounty will bring us!" he roared with drunken exuberance.
Kara watched awhile, then latched onto the wall and started climbing upwards, like a spider. Handholds seemed almost to form to her hand, and she was soon directly overhead. She licked her lips semi-nervously, then bit down hard and let go, dropping down. Her left hand suddenly appeared from her sleeve, the shiny blade of a knife now visible in her grasp.
None of them looked up, so none saw her coming. Suddenly, Caster cried out and collapsed, the back of his neck cut open and bleeding profusely. The other men stared in stupefied bemusement, as Kara wiped her knife on her trousers. "Thus," she said softly but loud enough to be heard. "Is Dolmat avenged." She glared at the men who were Caster's goons, who still seemed a little too drunk to get it. She walked up to them, one at a time, and slit their throats. Some began to respond at the third man, but she was moving quickly and mercilessly. When she was done, all that remained of Caster's immoral crew was their bodies and their blood.
Her entire body shook from the enormity of what she had done. Yet, in her eyes, there was a new spark. Her hand rose to the breast pocket of her coat, pressing against the pocket and the something within it. "I did it Dolmat," she whispered. "I fulfilled your last wish." Her body began to tremble violently, tears pouring down her face. The light in her eyes was beginning to die. "Dolmat, I will protect the guild, and Lilia. I won't let anyone hurt her. No one will use her. Ever. I swear it, on my blade...on my blood..." Speaking and moving as one repeating a long-practiced oath, she cut her hand open slightly, allowing a thin trickle of blood to drip down and mix with the blood on the floor. "The guilty will be punished. The innocent will be protected," she breathed. "This I swear, Dolmat of Fire...I...your little Angel of Justice." and her body stilled at those words. When she raised her head, her eyes were clear once more, though something was missing from her eyes, some spark of life. Turning, she marched back to their room after carefully making sure she was clean of blood. No need to unnecessarily scare Lilia, after all.
She would learn, though, eventually, Kara's true purpose in the guild. She would learn the oath eventually...and the truth about Dolmat, Kara, and herself. But not yet, not yet, she was not ready for the bloodbath to be shed over her yet.
"Dolmat, let your spirit guide me," she pleaded. "I don't know...how much longer I can do this."

[ClaecElric4God]

Sorry for not getting to this sooner, Wolf. You're right, it did take a darker turn. But it has a lot of depth, and I'm interested to see where this is going (if you're still doing it.)

[Wolfsong]

Yes, I'm still doing it, and thank you for reading Claec. I intend to keep going until I've completely lost hold of it XD

[Wolfsong]

Exhausted, Kra collapsed beside Lilia, staring almost lifelessly at the ceiling. She had burned her blood-stained clothes and had stolen a new tunic from the stores, if you could call it new; the left sleeve was missing and there was a hole in the shoulder, along with an uncomfortably-placed tear between the shoulder blades.
Her breathing was even, controlled. It was an improvement from the beginning when her body trembled as if it spasmed and she vomited till it was feared she'd severely hurt herself. She'd grown since then. Now just the enormity of what she'd done hung over her. Dolmat had been right, she was becoming an efficient killer.
She was grateful for Dolmat's care, yet sometimes she wondered if it had been worth the price. She became his assassin, in exchange for his protection. She'd been a terrible thief, always was, but she was good at working things out, planning, lying a blue streak and remembering them, and she was good with a knife. Publicly, she and Lilia had been seen as a sister-team who had taken refuge with the Guild. They were good, with Kara's head and Lilia's adept fingers, so it made sense. In the shadows...there was blood on her hands.
"Kara."
She was startled from her musings by Lilia's voice. At first, she thought the child had awoke, but then she realized Lilia was still asleep, stirring anxiously. "Kara, where are you?" she pleaded drowsily.
Kara gently reached over, taking her hand. "I'm right here, dear," she said softly. "No one will hurt you while I'm here." She glanced at the scar on her hand, and her fingers closed around it. A blood oath she'd taken, and one even Dolmat, knowledgeable as the man had been, couldn't fathom the depths of. "Ever...I will protect you forever." She smiled softly. "And once I've seen my vow to him kept...I'll find you a better place. I promise."

She was roughly shaken awake. A man leaned over her, and for a moment she tensed up. Then he started speaking in a low, urgent voice.
"Kara, wake up! Caster's dead and everyone's vying for position now."
"Jerome," she said, recognizing him. She sat up quickly. "Why are you here?"
"Someone cut Caster's throat in the night, along with his friends. Now everyone is trying to claim position." He gave her a direct look. "Couldn't you have waited till the bigger guys were gone?"
"Jerome, Dolmat, our last contact to them, was murdered. It was up to me, as Justice, to administer it. Besides...he made me promise to make sure the right person was at this Guild's head. I will continue."
"Well, not here. Believe it or not, some believe you were to be Dolmat's original successor, so they'll be after you." He thrust a pack into her hands. "I sent a bird to the Assasin's Guild, so you may claim sanctuary with our....friends...there until this blows over."
"I think you should lead," Lilia said suddenly. Both Kara and Jerome stared down at her in surprise as Lilia sat up, blinking sleepily. "You're good," she added, smiling at him.
Jerome said nothing, locking his serious gaze with Kara's. "Take care of her," he said quietly, the unspoken clear in his eyes.
Kara just nodded, her own eyes hard, as she stood. "Come Lilia," she said, throwing her coat over her shoulders. "Its time to go."