An Untitled Fantasy Story: Chapter 6

High atop a hill overlooking the great city of Sestern Alex stood looking up at the two moons dangerously close to each other, the next evening they would cross paths. Alex had pressed the stolen horses hard and went through three of them before he got to the city. Alex slowly and calmly walked down the hill heading towards the city, he could easily walk through the main gate but the home of his employer was closer to the south wall. Alex decided to scale the wall so he could more easily reach his employer. As he reached the wall he looked up at the battlements high above him, a pair of guards walked past nodding to each other as they went. Slowly and surely Alex began to scale the high wall, the old structure seemed likely to fall apart in the coming year as it afforded Alex many reachable handholds. Even so it took Alex half an hour to reach the top, each time the guards walked by above him he'd freeze and wait for their foot prints to fade before he continued on. As he reached the battlements Alex crouched low checking left and right he should have a few more moments to drop down to one of the closer rooftops as long as the guards kept up their pace. Alex leaped quickly and found that he had misjudged the distance luckily a window ledge came into view and more by luck than skill Alex grabbed hold of it saving the thief from a gruesome fall. Swinging himself to the side Alex grabbed onto a vine covered lattice and used that to climb down to the street level.

With a smile and a nod Alex was off dashing through the dimly lit streets. Vaulting off of a barrel Alex grabbed hold of a low hanging balcony and swung him self onto the railing. Using the railing to push himself even further Alex made his way onto the roof of the house and continued his run, hopping over the small alleys in between eth houses. As Alex came to the end of one of the block he leaped from the ledge of the last house and found himself on another balcony, this one belonging to The Frozen Giant, one of Sestern's seedier bars. Alex slid open the window and nodded to the whore who was busy pleasuring the man lying beneath her, "evening Solina."

"Welcome back Alex," Solina responded with glimmering smile, "I take it you'll be back for awhile."

"Got some business to take care of than I'll be back for a drink," Alex called over his shoulder as he opened the door.

"You come get me when you got some time than," Solina chided Alex playfully as he stepped out the door.

Alex slid his way past a couple of the rowdier patrons of the bar and slid down the stairway's banister, coming to a landing near the bar he smiled at Joseph Curan the bartender and tossed him a small pouch of coins, "for a room, a meal, and the rest is for Solina when I get back."

"Sure thing Alex," Joseph called after Alex as he dodged his way through the crowd and pushed out the door.

Alex was looking forward to spending some time at his adopted home but first he needed to rid himself of the gem.

~

The second story window was easy enough to get to and even easier to get in through. As he landed in a crouch inside the room he smiled and sat behind the desk, and waited for his employer. It took only a few minutes for the robed man to enter and he hid his surprise well at the sight of Alex leafing through one of the many books housed on the shelves lining the walls. "Ah you've arrived and right on time."

"Well could anything less be expected of Sestern's greatest thief?"

"Ah no I suppose not, you have the gem?"

Alex's only response was to place the blood red gem stone on the floor there it caught the candle light and seemed to soak it in not letting any of it reflect off of it's polished surface.

"Ah yes. Excellent," the man responded as he moved to a bookshelf. He removed a book and opening it he fished out a pouch of coins, "As promised one thousand. I hope you don't mind being paid in platinum?"

"My favorite," Alex responded as he took the bag and hid it under his cloak, "Well than I'll just be leaving you to your gem and your books."

"Yes, yes that would be just fine," the robed man said as he waved Alex away. Alex dropped from the window and came up in a roll smiling to himself he made his way back to The Frozen Giant.