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Avice
A Thieve's Donation
My quest to regain my God-hood had led me to become a miner,
for mining seemed a profitable business. Although my skill was
not that of others, it was sufficient to buy me training in
weapons, as well as a golden suit of chainmail. I had found that
a generous guild had built a small smithy shack in front of
Britain’s Mines, and had allowed the public to use it.
During a particularly fruitful dig, I noticed another of my
profession (one who lightens the purses of others) causing a
serious disturbance among the miners. Doffing my closed helm (so
as to be more clearly heard), I asked one of them why they
didn’t simply kill the troublemaker. The response I received
was uniform: The thief was too quick. In addition, she would hide
behind the smithy shop when weak, and was thus protected against
the miners’ combined efforts. I strolled up to a group of
three that had pinned her.
“Good day, M’lords. Have you cornered your
quarry?” I asked.
“Aye, We’ve got ‘er now,” one answered.
A less sophisticated miner added, “Yea, we’re gonna
kick her A** when she tries to run this time.”
Intrigued, I put to them, “Gentlemen, what has she stolen
from you?”
A cacophony of voices gave items of all sizes and shapes that
had been taken by the wily thief. I addressed her, hiding behind
the building: “Madam, I see that your business thrives. I
wonder, how do you hope to escape this enraged mob?”
Her answer was quiet, like the rustling of a leaf across the
forest floor. “I will wait them out. In the meantime,
I’ll steal from any who come close to me.”
Realizing that this woman carried a hefty amount of loot, I
decided that she should like to donate it to me.
“M’lady, I should like you to give me the items you
stole.” My tone insinuated that I would be returning the
items to the miners, which made me an instant friend to them.
“Hand the items to me, and I will not kill thee.”
She laughed. It is a laugh that I still remember. It was as
cold as a January morning. “What makes you think you can
attack me when all these miners could not? You are no mage.
I’m perfectly safe.”
I sighed. To kill such a creature was to break a stain-glass
window. However, my immortality was more important that her,
these miners, and all the mortals of this realm combined. I
turned to the miners. “Observe.”
I walked into the house. Because of my uncanny eyesight, I
could now see her easily. Although I was looking directly at her
when I was behind the house, I needed to put a wall in between
her and myself before I could truly glimpse her visage. She was
not unbeautiful, but not particularly fetching in her white robe,
either. I took up a fighting stance, which caused so much chaos
inside the hut that, had I still the ability to feed on it, would
have sated me for a week. I then targeted the woman that I
spotted thru the wall. I’m sure that the others in the hut,
noticing me attacking someone, merely added to the hysteria that
was raging within. I quickly pushed past the raving fools and
circumnavigated the house. I then dashed to her position behind
the view-obstructing roof. The sound (and no doubt, feel) of my
sword hitting her body was more than enough to send her fleeing.
The miners, who, up till this point, were unsure of my motives,
instantly began pursuit. The woman died at the hands of a lynch
mob. Quickly taking the best items for myself, which included a
large pile of gold, some pieces of plate armor, and a bag. The
bag, just as I had hoped, previously belonged to a mage, and was
quite overflowing with the reagents I need to rid myself
of this amusingly frail mortal form. Gathering my gains, I
proceeded to Britain, where I made a large profit on my
accumulated loot and mining bounty.
Yes, today had been a healthy step in the right direction. If
I had more days such as this, God-hood would be mine sooner than
I had anticipated.
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Stratics Central
