Shealanar & the Dragon's Eye

         “Shealanar Stoneflinger, you little sprite, I’m surprised you had the courage to return,” a low voice called out from a shadowed corner of the tavern. The owner of the voice concealed by the darkness. It was a harsh voice from the halfling’s past, one he would have preferred forgotten. He didn’t need to see the man’s face, he knew it to be that of his former employer.

         “Have you returned to pay your debt to me? You owe me and I intend on collecting one way or another.” The man paused briefly, then continued. “Please Shea, have a seat. You look like you could do with a good meal and a rest. We can discuss business at a later time. You’ll have time to repay what’s due me.”

         Shealanar seated himself with great care. His small hand rested on the hilt of his dagger, ready for the slightest hint of danger. Throughout the evening, the two dined and drank in silence. After finishing his meal, the man rose from his seat with an elegance known only to the elves and broke the silence. “Shea, it has been good seeing you again, we must do this again soon,” the man said in a soothing, yet deceptive voice. “Real soon,” he added, in a commanding tone. “Have no fear, we’ll be discussing your repayment.” And with his last statement, he vanished into the night, the halfling left staring at the mead he had been drinking. Cursing Lady Fortune for his tragic luck, Shea called for a servant girl to clean his table.

         Once in his room, Shea settled into his old routine, casually fingering through the room, always keeping a keen eye out for interesting trinkets. He then laid down to rest for a few hours to make sure that his senses were keyed up for his work ahead. The extra few hours would ensure that any would-be witnesses were well asleep by the time he began.

         Night-time air flowed around Shea as he slept. Dreams filled his mind. Shea was standing on a ledge waiting for the signal to begin. Poised in the shadows, his diminutive frame ready for the slightest sound. A cat cried out from the streets below, Puck’s signal for Shea to begin. He crept down from the ledge, searching for foot- and hand-holds where he could. A loose brick every few feet was all he needed. Shea wasted no time reaching the window and slid out of sight at first chance. He knew the job would not be this easy, so he kept his guard up. Fearing what punishment failure might bring more from his employer than from the hangman’s noose.

         As Shea moved through the shadowed halls, his movements became more fluid. His mind drifted freely to the future and to the cruelties he had to endure at the hands of his employer. “One day I will be free of my bonds to this human. One day!” This thought churned in his mind until at last, rounding the next corner, Shea realized that he had reached his destination. A single red gem, the Dragon’s Eye, lay in a display case before him. He knew the easy part was over.

         Seeing no guards upon his entrance to this chamber, he knew that the magical wards on this trinket would be too numerous to count. Removing them was out of the question. Being a simple sneak thief and not a master thief, he knew his only advantage would be to snatch the gem and use his size to elude any guardsmen that might be alerted.

         One snatch and he was off, ducking under tables and behind statues every few feet. His mind cluttered by the sirens that had been set off by the theft. Eight guardsmen ran by and then all was silent, now was the time to move. Emerging from behind a suit of dragon scale armour, he dashed for the window he had entered through. Ducking into the room he thought to be the exit, he realized it had no windows. Room after room, all had the same dark, windowless walls. “Trapped,” he cursed to himself. He realized the reason for his ease of entry, the magical wards set off a trigger that closed all exits and trapped everyone inside. Upon rounding the next corner, his world turned in on itself as he saw a mage performing the last gestures to a spell. All went black.

         With a start, Shealanar awoke. No hope of resting tonight, he gathered his equipment and finished preparing for his nightly occupation. What could the dream have meant? Why are the nightmares beginning again? “Work will have to wait. It is time to confront Marston.”

         Shealanar left the small inn to search out his former mentor. The city wasn’t big, but to a halfling, it could be quite overwhelming. Lucky for Shea, he was no ordinary halfling. He knew the setting that Marston frequented and it proved no challenge at all for Shea to locate Marston.

         As Shea had suspected, looking for the dirtiest, most vile dive in the city would lead a trail straight to Marston. He was up to his usual tricks, conning some poor fool into a riveting game of Trilaarian Darts. He was a master of the game and found the drunk bastards were more than willing to hand over their daily earnings to him. Shea pulled up a bar stool closest to the game and drank in silence until the game was concluded.

         It ended, Marston the victor as Shea had anticipated. Marston would have it no other way. He turned slowly to acknowledge Shealanar’s presence. “You’re late. Any longer and I’d have had to come for you myself.”

         “What is it you want from me? I would have thought my pain and suffering at the hands of the High Clerics would have been enough for you.”

         “Pain, you say! Suffering?” Marston became enraged. “You weren’t tortured by those monsters.” Tearing open his shirt, Marston revealed several deep scars upon his chest and throat. “I was beaten , then hung. And when that didn’t kill me, I was forced to flee for my life as the towns people threw stones at me. I have been in hiding for the last five years from those so-called High Clerics. If it weren’t for the elves in Duathuan, I’d have been dead long ago.” Marston paused for an instant, then grabbing Shealanar with both hands, shouted, “You! You worked for them for a short time, then escaped to the hills of Keln where you have been residing ever since. I, however, was their prize, to torment and display to the people of this village at their amusement. You know nothing about suffering!” Marston relaxed his hold on Shealanar and slumped into the closest chair. His face in his hands, Marston pleaded with Shealanar for help. “You have to help me make them pay. You must.”

         Shealanar, taken by surprise, found he had no more words to say. He sat in silence and gently laid his hand on Marston’s head. He would help, for both their sakes.

         The remainder of the evening was spent planning out their attack. They decided what supplies they would need, when they would begin, everything. Timing was essential. “Then it’s settled. We begin at high moon on the east corner of the building this evening,” Marston stated, rising from his seat. “Until later then, Sprite,” he called out as he left the tavern.

         The day crept by slowly as Shealanar prepared himself for this long awaited confrontation. Standing in the shadows, he waited for Marston to arrive. “Why, exactly, are we here again?” Shea whispered as Marston appeared.

         “We’re going to finish what began so long ago,” was the answer Shealanar received. “You remember the plan?”

         “Yes, I remember the plan.”

         “Okay then, let’s begin.”

         Shea did as he was ordered and shinnied up the side of the building, while Marston remained in the shadows, deep in concentration. As usual, Shealanar had no problem entering the building, he rarely did. When he crawled through the window this time, he paused long enough to place a ring on the sill as Marston had told him to do. He found it rather unusual, but he never could find the courage to question Marston’s motives.

         That completed, he crept through the hallways leading to the inner chamber. His movements came more slowly as he moved further. Remembering his last experience in this place, he had to push himself to continue on. Twenty feet from the chamber, he caught sight of two guards walking his way. Ducking into the closest room he could, Shealanar would wait until he could no longer hear their footsteps before continuing any further.

         Twenty more seconds, Shealanar thought to himself. He peered into the hallway, it was empty once again. He stepped out and slid along the wall leading to the Dragon’s Eye. Slowly, he scanned the inner chamber. His gaze fixed onto his goal. Slipping in and concealing himself behind the many tapestries hanging in decoration around the inner chamber, he made his way over to the display case. Poking his head out from behind the tapestry, he checked the room for visitors. Feeling safe for the moment, he reached into his backpack to retrieve the diamond-studded mace Marston had given him. Being cautious, Shea stepped in front of the case and, steadying his grip on the mace, brought it down in a fierce blow against the Dragon’s Eye. The building rumbled as the gem shattered into a thousand shards. Sirens wailed from the magic wards that the were tripped.
Shealanar had to move quickly.

         Mace in hand, to possibly sell later, he headed for the hallway he had entered from. He ran around a corner head first into the chest of an oncoming guard. With a thud, he fell back onto the floor, the stunned guard looming over him. Acting quickly, Shealanar thrust his heel into the large man’s groin, successfully doubling him over. In the perfect position for an attack, Shealanar swung the mace with all his might and connected with the guard’s face. His face smashed, the guard fell unconscious.

         A second guard seized Shealanar and was beginning to drag him down the hall. Shealanar delivered a crippling blow to his knee and broke free from his grip, leaving the guard crying out in agony. Glancing back down the hall, Shealanar noticed the destruction that had begun. The ceiling and walls were crumbling to the floor. The floor was cracking as well and beginning to fall away. Shealanar had to move and move fast.

         Fifty feet. Thirty feet. Ten. He found the room he had entered through. Once inside, where he had expected to see a windowless wall, he found instead a large hole in the shape of a ring. Not wanting to stick around, Shealanar stuck his head out of the hole.

         From the street, he heard Marston exclaim, “Hurry up and get out here! I can’t keep this up much longer.”

         Shealanar crawled through the hole and scaled down the side of the building just in time. Marston lost all strength and the hole closed up. The building shuddered for a moment and then began to collapse. No one inside ever had a chance.

         They made their way back to the tavern where Marston explained that the Dragon’s Eye was the magical force that bound the High Cleric’s sanctuary together. He went on to describe the years spent learning the magical arts from the elves, along with the enlargement spell which he used on the ring. Then Marston stated, “your debt to me is paid in full,” as he rose from his chair. “We will see each other again. Next time , as equals,” he stated as he again vanished into the night.

         Shealanar remained seated. A calm, restful feeling overcame his thoughts. It was truly over.