Clad in many pockets, a dark cloak, and a hood covering all bit a wisp of short red hair, the faint outline of a young woman appeared in the partially open doorway. Treyna Karsh, #3 on the Principality of Geralin’s Most Wanted list, crept noiselessly past the threshold, making sure she stuck to the shadows cast throughout the sparsely lit main floor of the shop. Though it was her first time inside, she was hardly unfamiliar with it, having scoped out the building for weeks. She had determined it was the most popular shop in town—hence, the most well-endowed with coin—based on the volume of foot traffic, but she also knew most of that traffic did not show up until late morning, especially on particularly cold days like today. This left her the perfect window of time to graciously relieve the poor wizard of his burdensome gold.
Keeping a close eye and ear on every door, Treyna tiptoed up to the front counter and slipped behind it, smiling expectantly as she spotted the many drawers lining its backside. One by one, she slowly inched each drawer open and peered inside. Though she had her trusty lockpicking tools at the ready, the thief became more and more surprised at not needing to use them. It soon became painfully apparent why as every single compartment was revealed to be empty.
Unbeknownst to her, Rizzik had relocated the gold he usually kept behind the counter to his safe in his office upstairs earlier that morning. His tills had already gotten quite full from the generous partial payment left to him by the Lady Ravenwind last week and he wanted to make sure he had it available in its entirety in case the worst came to pass and he had to provide her a refund.
Treyna slumped to the ground in disgust. Her stop in this small, backwater town, all her surveillance work on this surprisingly enticing target—all of it had been for naught. Just then, to add to her woes, she heard footsteps beginning to descend the stairs from the top floor. Jolting to her feet, she glanced begrudgingly in the direction of the sound. “I’ll be damned if I came all this way for nothing,” she vowed to herself.
Her gaze swept across the room and was immediately caught by a soft glow on a nearby workbench: a potion of some kind, though unlike any she had ever seen. It took no time at all to make her decision as she swooped over, snatched the vial, stuck it in a belt pocket, and slithered back through the front door. Her movements were fluid and unbroken throughout, a testament to her immense talent as a burglar.
Ambling furtively down the road away from the shop while making sure to maintain a balance of haste and anonymity, Treyna paused and glanced behind her, confirming her escape was clean. With a sigh, she straightened up in relief and turned back to continue, but froze in her tracks as she was suddenly surrounded by a circle of armor. Each guard brandished sharp metal in her direction, causing her to raise her hands away from her body and eye them warily. “Well, if it isn’t Treyna Karsh,” a voice familiar to her rose from behind the wall of bodies. Through it stepped Dara Quin, Captain of the Geralinean Guard. Her tall, well-built stature, gleaming breastplate with dark-red sash, and blonde hair tied smartly in a bun made her an imposing presence to most any criminal, but to Treyna, the extensive cat-and-mouse game they had long played had worn off some of that sheen.
“Really, Dara?” Treyna inclined her head wryly. “You chase me all the way out here, for what, a few scraps of food off a merchant cart?”
“And the Duchess’s pearl earrings, and Sir Worthington’s prized horse...” Dara replied, holding up her fingers in succession. “I could go on, but I’d rather start our journey back to the Onyx City dungeons before the solstice next month.”
Her barb caused a light chuckle throughout her rank of guards. Treyna’s eyebrows lifted in mock surprise. “Wow, did the Crown raise your wages recently? Sounds like you finally earn enough to pay your troops to think you’re funny.”
Dara shot back a half-smirk. “Honest pay, to clean the filth off the streets. Now...” she unsheathed her own sword and held it low but ready at her side, all feigned warmth gone from her face. “Come along. No need to make a scene, especially not a gruesome one.”
Treyna’s eyes darted to each other pair locked on her. Cursing herself for her lapse in awareness that lead to this position, her mind raced with the options now pressing upon her: fight, flee, or...feint?
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