I woke up, and not surprisingly, my father wasn’t home yet. I could tell what time it was by the way the sun was shining through our thin curtain, casting an orange hue throughout the back of my shop.
I had been thinking about putting extra padding in my boots, and I had finally decided to put it in. As long as I had made the shoe right, there would be no problems.
Or so I thought.
My entire life I was short. I was not ‘tall for my age’ at any stage in my life. I was short. But as I slipped on those boots, I felt newfound confidence. I had to at least be three inches taller. At least. That morning, I decided to abandon the shop. I got up from my bed and didn’t open the curtain or flip the sign. It was the morning of a weekday, nobody was going to come to my shop. I was going to test them out.
I had to admit, walking in the sand with those boots took some getting used to. Sometimes I fumbled and had to reposition myself. The alley ways didn’t have stone roads like the main areas of town. It would be too expensive to stone all the paths, anyhow. And our town didn’t have enough money to pay for that.
On my way out, I saw an older woman with face paint and an odd sun-shield on her face walk down. Behind her she was carrying a wooden cart that kept changing directions on her.
“Good morning, child,” she stated kindly as I approached her. I guess she didn’t know who I was. I was so confused I repeated ‘good morning’ back like a question. Nobody treated Silent-Feet like that. Nobody treated Mercer like that. As she passed, I caught a whiff of something good. Is she a cook? I hoped so.
I continued to scout the area, and I got into the main area. Our town was called Dune’s End. In the middle was a giant well, so everybody could have water. It was basically a meeting place for all the locals, they’d get their water and end up meeting up with an old friend.
Around the well sat the main shops. The owners were dirty rich and the buyers were dirty rich. You couldn’t get a satchel for less than a hundred whils from those guys. Along with the well, those shops are the first thing an outsider sees. But one thing that isn’t there is a weapons shop. By the time they find where I am they’re annoyed and hot as spit.
Everybody noticed me, but at the same time, nobody noticed me. I’d get side-eyed to the sky, but nobody would care to face me directly. Either they’ve heard the stories or found a short teenager with long hair wearing black boots suspicious.
That day, I was looking for a peticular monster hunter. With green eyes and black hair, he was the bane of my existence. Almost every day he would come to my shop and ask for the craziest things made.
“I want a sword the size of you!”
“Make me arrows that explode on impact.”
It’s not that those things can’t be made, it’s that he doesn’t even need exploding arrows or a spittin’ sword. That man was dirty rich, and his fighting was mediocre. Maybe I wouldn’t have cared as much if I knew he was fighting off monsters close to our town, but the mere fact that he was a noble with nothing much better to do than flaunt crazy weapons around annoyed the spit out of me. And he lived in a dwelling the size of the chief’s. He probably has valuables just lying around in there.
His dwelling was in the north part of the town, where all the nobles or rich seasonals stay. Our town wasn’t grand, just beyond the well are steps leading to the north part. I knew which one was his, I had seen him walk out once while getting water out of the well. He himself would never get water, he’d always have servants make the trek. That’s one reason why I’d never steal from him. There’d always be servants in there who could rat me out in a second. That day I felt confident with those shoes.
But it was time for the infiltration, and I was not going to walk in through the front door.
I walked to the steps, but I wasn’t going to climb them, but go under them. Only people living in Dune’s End for a while would know that there’s many ways to get where you want to go. Under the north section are sometimes entire families. They would camp in there in the hot daytime and come back out at night. They’re for the homeless. Once I made it to the end of the Under North, I looked out beyond.
Nothing.
Beyond Dune’s End is exactly what is sounds like. Nothing. Only sand repositioning itself as the wind sweeps it back and forth. No sign of water or civilization for miles. Not even monsters have the courage to go there, as they’ve evolved to avoid the harsh sandstorms and tubes.
There’s been tales of rare treasure beyond Dune’s End. Tales of an ancient Chief who had once ruled half the sands supposedly had been buried in a tomb far out beyond Dune’s End. Along with her body was massive amounts of treasure.
Now, whoever wants to believe that old story goes out there and looks for it, to never return. Thus blooms a new tale: beyond Dune’s End are skeletons for miles, and all you’ll feel if you decide to make the trek is the blazing sun and the infinite torture of bones stabbing your feet.
Instead of going out, I was going up. Using the columns holding the North up, I dug my foot into an indent in the column and used that to climb up. I held onto the multiple indents and hauled myself up to the second floor. Hey, I wasn’t that scrawny. Give me some credit.
The first thing I saw was a window that could open if I forced it to. The window wasn’t clear, so I hoped to the sky that I wasn’t walking right into his main chamber. I got out a small knife and slowly cut through the rope that was holding the window in. I was used to being quiet.
I got the rope loose and pulled it out. I slowly creaked the window open, not sticking my head in but first trying to listen for footsteps. Then, I listened for people. Nothing. It was clear. I stuck my head inside, and I was in a hallway that led to a kitchen but also stairs.
I almost went inside, but I noticed a servant walking to the kitchen, setting plates on a table. I quickly recoiled back but making sure that the window didn’t hit the dwelling too hard. That was close. Looking back in, the servant was facing the opposite direction, so I took my chance.
I jumped in, and immediately went behind a fairly large column. I was hoping that nobody was just going to happen to walk down the stairs that time. The taps of the servant’s shoes signaled that she was leaving the kitchen, but not going back out. Instead, she was planning to climb up the stairs.
My heart was beating a thousand miles an hour. I stayed glued to the back of the column, my breaths shortening. If I timed it right, I could’ve easily gotten out of that situation. I just need to time it right.
When she approached near the column, I circled around it, positioning myself so that I was totally out of her view. When I thought she was going to the stairs, she had actually turned around, forgetting something.
She saw me.
She was about to scream, but out of pure adrenaline and panic, I rushed towards her and put my hands to her mouth, slamming her against the wall. I looked back and forth, then whispered to her, “Look, we both know I’m a thief. But the guy you’re serving is an idiot. Can you agree?”
She nodded rapidly.
“Yes. Thank you. So do me a favor and not scream like a hen with no head. Hey, I might even drop something for you on the way out. Got it?”
She nodded.
I backed away from her and shooed her back to the kitchen. She started putting the plates on the table, but her hands were shaking.
Frankly, I didn’t care. As long as I could get to the chamber with little worry, I was fine. Thanks to my shoes, I had no problem getting up the stairs. Once I was up, I could scout the entire area. There was an opening in the middle, looking down at the bottom floor.
I peered down and got a good understanding of where everybody was. Noted. Next, I was headed for the master chamber, but I did steal some tiny golden trinkets I found on the tables on the way there. I stashed them in my satchel as I continued creeping forward.
I got to the door in his chamber. To make sure nobody was there, I peeked through the keyhole. As far as I could tell, nobody was in there. I jiggled the handle ever-so-slightly, and to my surprise it was open.
I creeped inside, but I was dumbfounded. As far as I could see, everything in there costed more than me. The bed was lush, red, and fit for a king. There were drapes over head for privacy. The carpet was made out of some kind of exotic animal. The dresser was as tall as two grown men.
I had to start somewhere. My hands immediately went for the dressers. But before my hands touched the fine pottery, my eyes peered into the glass above. A mirror, framed in gold. I stared at myself. I hadn’t seen myself for years. I almost forgot what I looked like. My eyes were dark brown, and my face had definitely seen some definition. My hair needed some work.
I couldn’t stare at myself forever, so I continued stashing anything I could find. I searched the drawers, but I just saw folded clothing. And. . . woman’s clothing? Did he have a wife? I don’t even want to know.
As I continued to look through the drawers, I heard footsteps. I froze in place, wondering if they were headed towards this room. They were. I immediately looked for an exit. A window.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
My breathing quickened. I wasn’t done yet.
The door opened.
It was the servant I had run into before. Oh, good.
“Don’t say anything,” I whispered, my hand reached out towards her.
Quiet.
“Intruder! Augustus! There’s an intruder in the main chamber!” she screamed, finally. She pointed towards me. But I didn’t see anything after that because I was already out the window. I didn’t calculate how far the jump was. The chamber was on the second floor, and I landed with a thump, the impact stinging the bottom of my feet. But I was up and running again.
I heard a deep, male voice radiating from the window. He was there, and he would make
I dropped down from the North into the Under North and weaved through the homeless and the rubble. After, I got up into the main area, hoping I lost him. Looking behind me, I saw a big figure stomping down the steps.
“How in the sky?” I asked myself as I continued sprinting. He had a bow with him, something of my make of course. Like the sky he could use one or aim while running. That’s what I hoped.
I tripped, my face going headfirst into the sand. I tried to get up but failed.
I forgot to mention that those shoes not only hurt to run in but was also hard like spit to sprint in. I kept on tripping, probably wasting precious time. Some of the loot even fell out of my satchel as I ran.
Thwomp.
As I hit the ground an arrow almost pierced my leg. He was getting dangerously close. I couldn’t tell where he was. My only sense was to run. Survive. My life could’ve been on the line, and I kept spittin’ falling.
Thwomp.
Another arrow launched, this time hitting right in front of my face. Panting, I tried to get back up, but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. Nobody cares about me anyway. I imagined the sweet feeling of getting pierced in the heart. The pain was inviting.
“You spittin’ rat! Get back over here!”
His voice was getting louder and louder and all I could do was drag my limp body on the sand, the valuables feeling like an extra hundred pounds weighing me down.
The figure got closer and closer until his face was in view. He threw down his bow and got out a knife, the metal blinding me in the sun. “So it’s you. The little weapon maker,” he concluded, stepping on my hand. His other was just hovering over my neck.
I winced, finally tasting blood from biting my lip.
He lifted his knife up, and the last thing I saw was his face grinning a nasty one.
Thwomp.
“Ah! Holy spit! Ah!”
Opening my eyes again, I saw my attacker lying on the ground as I was, but with an arrow pierced in his shoulder. Wondering where that came from, I looked up, and saw a figure, wearing loose clothing in a mask. Before I could say anything, they retracted their bow and jumped down from the top of the building, leaving my view.
I looked back at the guy, and suddenly regained my strength to stand up again. “Here, you can have this back.” I detached my satchel and threw it on top of his face, making him howl once more.
I walked back, limping.
Who in the sky was that?
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