A Letter from the Thief
Jaheed has honed his skills as a thief for years when he finally decides to expand his scope to more profitable valuables. The decision leads to trouble for him as he is forced to decide between his own safety and the safety of an entire city.
The sound of the propellers chopping through the air beat at the same pace as his throbbing headache. Jaheed was finally relaxing a little after having to abscond from the city he had come to enjoy. His adrenalin induced high began to fade, leaving him jittery and suddenly tired. Touching a paw to his breast, he could feel the faint outline of the letter on the inside pocket of his heavy coat. It was a curse and one that he was sure would bring him more trouble than it was worth. Though, depending on the contents of the letter, he might be able to make quite a bit out of this blunder. Taking a moment to lean against the wall in the small room, he let out a long sigh and ran through the events that had brought him to this point.Realistically, there was no nice way to give voice to his life long occupation. He was a thief, nothing more and nothing less. And not half a day earlier, Jaheed had made a decision to become more than just a thief by stealing information in between robbing the overtly rich citizens of Rhosal. It was a logical progression in his mind, he had lived and stolen from the city of Rhosal long enough to know how things worked. The minor lords in the city constantly fought each other through exposing dirty secrets. Information thieves made a lot of money in Rhosal and Jaheed felt it was time for him to cash in on that as well. His first target was from one such minor lord, one that he knew was currently rising in influence throughout the city. This meant that any illicit information on him would sell for much more than normal. The courier Jaheed had chosen to follow was an Ivvaskan, like himself. The short brown fur, the long narrow muzzle and long hairless tail all reminded him of himself when he was younger. And this courier was hardly more than a child from the look of him. The little guy was already spooked and paranoid as he ran through the city toward the docks. It was easy for Jaheed to carefully scare the courier into taking a wrong turn. The dead end alley would prove to be the pup's undoing as Jaheed cornered him and took the satchel the he was carrying. Even as Jaheed was walking away, the little ball of brown fur had begged not to be killed. Jaheed had no intention of killing the courier unless he was forced to defend himself, so he left the the alley with the stolen satchel and left the cowering courier behind.Jaheed was barely away when the screams started. He thought for sure it was because he had been found out, but no one was looking at him. Instead all eyes stared at the dead Ivvaskan boy, the same one he had just robbed. Jaheed was no expert on the subject, but it was clear to him as he approached to get a look for himself that the courier had been assassinated. The little body had folded up and fallen forward in the street with a barely noticeable wound on the back of the neck. Whoever had done it had severed the spine with a quick, sharp thrust and instantly killed the young courier. He took an extra second to look for any face that might seem out of place among the crowd. Finding none, Jaheed took off with the satchel still hidden inside his cloak. Out of breath and worried that the assassin may have seen him, Jaheed found a bolthole to hide in while he quickly sorted through the bag he had snatched. There were only a few letters inside, but one stood out from all the others. A carefully sealed letter displayed the crest of the Rasnomi. The Rasnomi name was known everywhere he had ever been. Their bloodline ruled not just cities, but entire worlds. Jaheed debated opening the letter, deciding it would be best to do so since he had come this far. His choice to do so, however, was wasted as he opened the letter to find it written in a language he couldn't read.Regardless of the contents, the Rasnomi seal and the fact that the courier had been assassinated proved that this letter was important. And going back to his original reason for being in this mess, he had decided to find a buyer for the letter. Rhosal did not have any Rasnomi presence however and the nearest city with any was Itaria. Jaheed had grown up in Itaria and he knew that at least one person would still be there from his childhood. It had been some time since he had visited Itaria however and he was concerned that his friend might not even be there anymore. He didn't have much choice though, so he packed the letter into his coat and set off to find a ship to get him there. Itaria was a marvel of a city by any standards. The Rasnomi had the city constructed near a large gateway range to act as a trade hub for all the connected worlds. Their first attempts had been in vain as the world around the mountainous gateway range was a singular thick, untamed jungle. Heavy rains and the overwhelming humidity on the surface of the world proved too much for the traditional building styles used on other worlds. After the first attempt to build and maintain the city in the dense jungle, the Rasnomi chose to take a new approach and abandoned the city. In the traditional show of power the Rasnomi loved to display, they had decided to build a city like no other. Itaria was suspended above the world it resided on using the same methods that allowed the airships to fly, only on a massive scale. Their wealth and power built that city along with nearly twenty thousand slaves.Since Itaria could only be reached by airship, he sought to find one that would take him directly there from Rhosal. Though Rhosal didn't have a massive dock like Itaria, finding an airship proved to be easier than he thought. A large cargo vessel had been moored to the dock while the bovine cargo was loaded into the bloated belly of the ship. Jaheed moved quickly to board the ship unseen, using one of the massive mooring lines to gain access to an open portal on the side of the ship. He had found ample hiding space in a closed room that housed one of the large bovine beasts bound for Itaria. As he rested in that stall now, he glanced at the unmoving creature that he shared a room with hoping it wouldn't suddenly decide to rebel at his presence. Jaheed waited until he could feel the ship begin to move before he relaxed completely and piled up some of the loose straw on the ground. The trip would be short, but he could use the rest to clear his head.
Jaheed woke with a worse headache than before. The short rest he had taken left him feeling more exhausted, his limbs protested as he sat up slowly to try and shake off the sleep. The hard wood floor of the stall left much to be desired compared to a nice soft bed. He worked the knots out of his joints as he stood up and took stock of his few belongings. The large bovine he shared the room with still stood near the door as if patiently waiting for him to leave. Jaheed briefly checked the pocket the letter was stashed in and made sure none of his other things had fallen off during his sleep. He kept a short dagger in a well concealed sheath on his belt along with a few other smaller knives made for throwing. Lastly, he patted down his sleeves to ensure his hidden vials were safely intact. The vials contained several different concoctions from flesh eating acids to debilitating poisons. He very rarely had to use such methods, but in his trade it was best to be prepared for anything. There was no perfect way for him to know how close they were to Itaria, but judging by the way he could feel the ship gaining altitude he figured they were close. He picked off the loose straws from his clothing before setting out to leave. Jaheed peaked out of the stall to make sure the hallway was clear before stepping out. With any luck most of the crew would be on the upper decks preparing for their arrival at Itaria. He crept carefully along the floor, not willing to risk an accidental encounter with one of the crew. The periodic hiss of steam release valves could be heard through the walls as the ship adjusted its speed and altitude. He could hear heavy foot falls on the deck above him as he continued toward the rear of the ship.A sudden lurch and the silencing of the airships propellers meant that the ship was now coasting toward its destination; he couldn't have timed things better. His head was feeling better already now that it was free from the insistent bassy chops of the propellers. As he neared the end of the hall it broke off in two directions, each had a companionway leading to the decks above and below. Taking the stairs to the right, he descended to the lowest level to the porthole he had entered through. Most airships were designed to also float on water like a traditional ship, thankfully though this one was not one of them. The lowest deck had large portholes designed to let fresh air into the lower decks where the livestock was kept, it didn't help much as far as he was concerned. The ship shuddered with the force of a small earthquake as it hit the dock bumpers to arrest its speed. Noise from the irritated bovine cargo made it hard to hear if anyone was coming down the companionways as he waited for the mooring lines to be secured. Peeking out the porthole occasionally as he kept an eye on the stairs, he watched as one of the dock workers secured the line to the bollard and moved to busy themselves preparing to unload the ship's cargo. Once the worker was away, Jaheed opened the window and crawled out.The predawn light was far too weak to give away his slow, careful climb up the side of the ship. He didn't dare look down as the ship idly sat in the berth, defying the world below that threatened to kill him if he lost his grip. There was dangerously little for him to grab on to, his small claws fought desperately to hold on to the few grips he could find. He reflected on how easy it was to work his way down compared to the struggle to get back up to the mooring line. Though, he was lucky enough to have a body well built for the job of scaling difficult surfaces like this. Just below the line, he lowered a little and sprang off the side of the ship to grab the thick rope over him. With practiced ease he gripped the rope in both paws and pulled his lower body up to it, wrapping his agile tail around it as he quickly pulled himself along the rope toward the bollard. He made rolled himself onto the sturdy wooden dock and made a hasty scan of the area to make sure he wasn't seen. The docks weren't all that crowded this early in the morning. Though, the docks were still busy with ships either loading or unloading their cargo. The city guards kept watch for overt attempts to steal cargo as it was being moved. Jaheed smiled as a pair of guards dressed in their traditional red vests over loose cream colored silks. He knew from his childhood that despite the look of their clothing they wore close fitted chest guards under their tunics. The Itarian guards were also paid very well to not take bribes from merchants and thieves alike. And if that wasn't enough to scare them, any caught doing so were executed with little or no chance to prove their innocence. This forced loyalty, as well as most of the guard's natural loyalty to the Rasnomi was why he left Itaria to begin with.Overall, the docks had not changed much. Airships of all shapes and sizes filled the docking berths. The larger of them filled wide berths and unloaded cargo by overhead gantries. The area surrounding the the docks was empty except for the large crates or barrels being brought into the city. The buildings nearest the dock were mostly trade guild houses, providing direction or even a place to rest to visiting members. Jaheed made his way passed all of it as he moved to the only place people like him could feel almost at home. Beyond the docks the streets were nearly empty. Most of the city still slept as the sun slowly crept toward the horizon. The slums, or the Topaz District as it was formally known as, was the first section of the city to be completed. This part of the city had been the initial home of the slave laborers who build a majority of the city. Ever since those days long ago it had served as the only safe area a thief could stay and be among their own kind. The slums that he had grown up in were something completely different now as he entered the outskirts of the Topaz District. The buildings and even the streets had been cleaned up and now looked as neat and clean as the rest of the city. He began to fear that his only friend in the city might have been removed when they renovated the area.As he approached the corner he realized the tavern that used to fill the corner was replaced by a new one. 'The Rat Hole', as it had been cleverly titled, was now the 'Topaz Tavern'. Jaheed took a few moments to make sure he had not gotten lost due to the revitalized district. Accepting the fact that he may have been out of touch for too long with his friend here, he opened the door and entered the tavern. All the chairs stood on the tables and the smell of scented candles assailed his senses as soon as he entered. The door closed more loudly than he intended as he looked tentatively around the empty room. The sound of the door slamming was almost deafening compared to the eerie silence inside. The layout was nearly the same as he recalled, but just like the surrounding city it was much cleaner inside than it had been. "Unless you need a room, we are closed." A weary female voice called out from a room behind the bar. Jaheed walked into the room, approaching the bar which was occupied with holding all the bar stools. Taking one of the stools from the bar, he set it on the floor and sat down."I'm actually here to find a friend," he said to the unseen woman."No friends here at this early hour, jus' some empty rooms and myself. If ya come back later there're usually some friends to be found." The woman walked around the corner to look at him. The woman's short white fur had slowly begun to go gray with age. Her whip thin hairless tail dexterously held a rag up near her petite paw clutched around the handle of a mug. She narrowed her ice blue eyes, staring intently at him before her expression changed. A grin crossed her narrow muzzle, "I don't think there will ever be any friends here for the likes of you."He couldn't help but smile a little in return, "Come now, I think we might be able to find at least one." She moved to stand across from him at the bar. Her paw still clutched the mug as her other paw took up the rag from her tail and began to wipe the inside of the mug out. Setting the solid mug down on the bar she pulled another from under the bar along with a sealed bottle. "I suppose that all depends. Exactly what kind of friend are you looking for?" Uncorking the bottle she poured the thick amber liquid into the two mugs evenly, setting the bottle back under the bar when she finished."You might have seen her around. She has a beautiful body clad in fine white hair. The most stunning blue eyes matched only by her ability to stun a man with her rapturous beauty." He took up the mug placed directly in front of him."Only one here like that is an old Ivvaskan woman. She used to run a little place in this very spot before I renovated the place and changed the name." She took up the other mug on the bar and at the same time they drank the contents, dropping the mugs heavily onto the bar when they were finished."How've you been Nahtama?"Her smile widened at the mention of her name, "I am living the dream Jaheed." She paused, taking the bottle out once again to pour more of the amber spirit into the cups. "How is... What you do?" "Could be better, though it could be a lot worse." Naht had never cared for his choice career. While they were younger, they had been close friends growing up on the streets of Itaria. They constantly played games together, making themselves the honorable thieves who saved the city from certain doom. As they grew older their friendship grew into love and made for some interesting games of their own. Slowly over time however, their interests grew apart. Jaheed had never outgrown the idea of being a renown thief, destined to show how great he truly was.Nahtama had longed for a more practical life. She worked with her father, who owned this very location before passing it on to his daughter. Naht had always enjoyed the fruits of honest labor, choosing to run a legitimate establishment instead of trying to pursue their childhood dreams. No matter how divergent their morals had been, they remained friends through it all. It had been a difficult choice for Jaheed to leave her when he felt the call to make his own dream happen. "Still trying to save the city then?""I am ever the portrait of a hero," he raised the mug before drinking the contents. The rich honey flavored drink was a specialty in the city. Ingredients harvested from the surface of the world gave it the savory sweet taste while quietly knocking you out with its potency. He missed the drink almost as much as he realized he missed seeing Nahtama.Her expression changed slightly to reflect a more dour mood, "I assume then, that you aren't here jus' to say hello to an old friend." Her small paws toyed with the edges of her mug as she spoke."Afraid not entirely," he suddenly regretted going through with his plans. "I need a little help with this." He slipped the letter out from his coat and slid it across the bar to her.She didn't even touch it yet, but he could see she was shocked by the seal displayed on the top. "This isn't something you should be messing with Jaheed. A thief, or whatever you consider yourself, does not deal in secrets." Concern for his wellbeing was thick in her voice. He hadn't expected for her to care for him this much still. In fact, he expected her to just throw him out after so long. "This was an opportunity I couldn't pass on. It seems I should have though. The courier I robbed was assassinated right after I took this from him."She looked back up at him, "assassinated? Are you sure?" He nodded. "Then why did you bring this thing here?" Jaheed could tell she was becoming agitated by the burden of what he brought to her."I can't read it for one. And I need to know who would want this and how much they are willing to pay for it." Her eyes narrowed on him at the last part."Jaheed! This is a letter addressed to Rigel Rasnomi, the ruling lord of their bloodline in case you have completely lost your mind!" She was yelling at him now, her voice carrying more loudly than normal in the empty room. "You would be lucky to live if you just gave this over to them for free!"The thought had occurred to him, but he had assumed Nahtama would still have some connections to help him get this to someone less extreme. "Please, keep it down. I know what I have and I know who the Rasnomi are. I didn't exactly plan to walk into the capital building and demand a reward. I don't even know what this letter says yet which is where I had hoped you could help at least." He paused as he watched her stare at the letter again. She seemed to dread touching it as it sat there on the bar. "Nahtama, I know I am horrible for coming to you suddenly with this. I almost dropped the whole thing when that courier was killed. But I am here now and no worse off for seeing this through yet. If you don't want to help me sell it then I can understand. You have done very well from the looks of this place. All I ask is that you read it for me so I know exactly what I have."He waited a moment as she stood there, still staring at the letter. "Please Naht, I can't trust anyone else to read this. Especially if it is something important." She let out a long sigh before finally looking back at him."I don't know why I am so good to you," she gave a faint smile as she moved a paw to pick up the letter. Jaheed returned her smile before she opened the letter to read it. He watched as her eyes scanned the letter, her expression remained the same as she read. Her left ear twitched a little, the small chunk that had been lost during a childhood adventure together still easy to spot. Without taking his eyes off Nahtama, he slowly reached into coat to grab the cool metal ring on his belt. In a flash, Jaheed dropped off the stool as two blades impacted the front of the bar while he returned with one of his own. The gray and black blur moved behind a short wall as he threw his own blade at the silent intruder. Silent doesn't begin to describe it however, the form moved with no sound at all as his blade impacted the wall where the shape had been. Without waiting for another shower of blades to come at him, he dove over the counter to Nahtama who was already working a hatch on the floor.Nahtama had always had a way with body language, she would have been an excellent partner to work with. He slipped down the narrow hatch with Nahtama and quickly closed it behind them as they slid down the short ladder. The crawl space a remnant of the old city, stories tell of them being used to allow slaves some freedom of moment while they were housed in the district. Now however, it was to allow them to escape the shadowy assassin. He took a brief second to see that Nahtama had the letter in her paw still, thankful that she didn't drop it in the rush to leave. "Stupid, stupid," She muttered to herself as she crawled quickly ahead of him. Whether she meant he was stupid for having the letter or that she allowed him to drag her into this was unclear. She took a left as the tunnel broke off in two new directions and he followed, glancing back quickly to make sure they weren't being followed. The absolute darkness was easy for them to see in, Ivvask were well adjusted to travelling in dark areas such as this. Though he didn't know his way around the tunnels, he felt safe in the way Nahtama seemed to expertly turn down new paths as they opened up. He followed close to her as they fled, avoiding her tail as it whipped around during their escape. After a final turn, she disappeared up a ladder and opened another hatch. Faint light spilled into the tunnel below as he climbed up after her. The room they entered was dimly lit by a candle and he looked around to see if someone else was in the room before closing the hatch. "Where are we?" he asked quietly, as if the assassin might find them if he spoke too loudly."A safe place." She was out of breath, but struggled to make it look like she wasn't. She waited a moment longer before taking the candle and moving slowly down the only short hallway leading out of the chamber. Again he followed, taking another look back expecting to see the silent assassin on top of him. The small hallway had a heavy looking cloth hanging over the exit. Nahtama blew out the candle before reaching it and moving passed it into the room beyond. As he crawled out into the room behind her, he found himself in the living area of a home. The layout of the building wasn't familiar to him and was sure it wasn't Nahtama's home. "Is this some kind of hide out?" Jaheed looked around the room more thoroughly as he asked. Pillows rested on the hard mud packed ground to give people a place to rest comfortably. There was a single ladder leading down to the ground floor of the building. Two tall, narrow windows allowed the dawn light to peak through. Nahtama moved to close the curtains over the windows and close the small door to cover the ground entrance."You fool!" She yelled in a hushed tone. "This letter is bigger than you! You should never have brought this here, or even kept it!" It was clear that she wasn't exaggerating as she spoke. He could easily see the mixture of panic and fear in here eyes."Naht, I'm sorry.""Sorry?" she took a few deep breaths to calm herself a bit more before continuing. "Jaheed, this letter is about an insurrection that is going to take place here in Itaria." She took a moment to let the weight of it sink into him. "This letter names names. And not just disgruntled citizens and slaves, it names members of the Rasnomi controlled government here that are going to assist and all the people they are using to get this revolt ready." He took a moment to think about the depth of his situation. The letter likely would start the revolt if it was seen by the wrong person. Even if the Rasnomi got the letter, if it named enough people within their own ranks they would probably kill anyone even suspected of assisting. Still, it bothered him that the letter even existed and why it was found in Rhosal."Why would someone in Rhosal have a letter about this?" He tried to put the scattered pieces together in his head, "Rhosal isn't even Rasnomi controlled.""Does it matter? Somehow, someone there knew what was being planned and sent the letter that you stupidly intercepted." She glanced back at the letter, scanning over the words once again. "If you were smart you would walk away from this and let me just destroy this thing. Trying to sell this will only get you hurt, or worse." She looked at him, concern replacing the fear in her eyes."How can I just drop this now? And besides, whatever that was that just tried to kill us will assume I still have the letter anyhow. If someone knows I have it, they aren't going to stop if I just get rid of it." He almost failed to consider the fact that Nahtama had been seen as well. "They saw you too Naht. I don't think this is going to end if we just burn the letter or even toss it." He could see that she knew his mind was made up to see this through. He wasn't even entirely sure it was for the money anymore. Old feelings for Nahtama were dredged up at the thought of her being in danger, "I have to finish this now. If for no other reason than to keep you safe." Jaheed felt a little stupid for saying the last part. The words, while honest, sounded fake even to him as he looked at her for the first time in years only moments ago.Nahtama let out a soft sigh in deference to his words, "Then what do we do now?""I was hoping you might know," he gave a weak smile. "You read the letter, who do we take this to?" She looked over the letter carefully, as if the answer could be found by reading it again. As the silence set in, voices could be heard in the streets outside. The city was waking as the day had finally begun for them. Jaheed listened intently for any sounds that might seem out of place, but everything seemed as normal as it should be. He glanced back at the covered entrance they arrived through, feeling exposed as the curtain hid the narrow hall. "I might know someone. Not directly, but I think I might be able to get us a meeting with one of the council members." She lowered the letter to look back at him, "We will have to do some leg work though. It might be safer if you wait here.""Safer how? They saw both of us with the letter, Naht." His words sounded far more sincere now as they both looked at each other, "I can't let you do this alone."
The contact she had in mind worked a small shop in the market. He had never met the man, but then he had been out of the city for a long time. As they entered the market area Jaheed felt his body tense up involuntarily. The irony of their current situation not lost on his subconscious. He recalled how not even a day ago he had cornered the courier in an alley of the Rhosal markets. Jaheed found himself constantly looking behind him and even up at the tops of the buildings. He was that little courier now, paranoid and nervous. Even if he saw the assassin coming, he probably wouldn't know it. The assassin had been so quick he barely registered the shadowy blur in the tavern. Even the courier back in Rhosal didn't see it coming in the crowded market. He silently hoped that he was much better prepared than the little Ivvaskan courier. "Jaheed, hurry up would you." Nahtama's words came out as a command rather than request as he glanced behind himself again."I'm coming."The main street was becoming clogged by the thriving commerce of Itaria. Carts were set up in lines on both sides of the route, blocking everything off except for the occasional doorway leading a shop that was inside an actual building. Most of the street stalls were littered with fresh fruits, warm breads or meats. The sheer amount of stuff brought into the city by airships amazed him still. The Rasnomi line may be nothing except vile tyrants and villains, but they knew how to flaunt the extent of their power through the thriving cities and worlds they controlled. Guards patrolled in small groups as people went between the stalls. Things had really changed since he had been here last. Before he left he might have been able to steal from any one of these stalls, but now the guard presence alone might threaten to catch him in the act. It almost seemed unusual to him that there were so many, but then again the city had become larger than he remembered. "Does this city allow for any crime now?" He meant it jokingly, but Nahtama didn't so much as turn to look at him. Jaheed tried desperately not to keep looking behind him. Every face he saw look back at him could have been the assassin. All the people who looked busy were the ones that scared him more however, they were more likely the ones hiding the blade that would kill Nahtama and him. They continued down the main street a while longer before turning off into an alley. Before following Nahtama, he gave another look back and was sure he could see the same gray and black figure in his peripheral. He shook it off as he followed her, his couldn't allow himself to be so easily spooked.Nahtama stopped in front of an unmarked door and waited for him to catch up. "This is it. Jaheed, you should wait out here while I talk with him. He doesn't like people doesn't know."He was reluctant to let her go in by herself, but nodded anyhow. Jaheed turned to stand next to the door as Nahtama walked inside. "Don't be too long," He said, more concerned about being stuck out in the open than anything. This time she nodded and disappeared inside, closing the door behind her. The side street wasn't used much from the looks of it. While he could still see the crowded market main street, he couldn't help feeling like he was trapped. Looking down the other way he could see a few people walking a cart away from the markets, but the street was otherwise empty. He tried not to consider how exposed he was while standing next to the shop door. There wasn't much to occupy his mind with as he waited there. His mind rolling through the events that had happened up until this point, trying to figure out the pieces that he knew he was missing. The assassin targeted the courier, he could probably assume that the same assassin was trying to kill him now. Which obviously meant that the people who hired the assassin didn't want the Rasnomi to find it. At this point he wasn't even sure if he cared about getting the letter to the Rasnomi loyalists. He didn't particularly care about whatever revolt was being planned, or why it was being planned in the first place. Jaheed never had cared much about politics unless it directly effected him.His mind wandered back to what he had said to Nahtama earlier though, about being the portrait of a hero. He knew that it was a false accolade that he jokingly labeled himself with, but what if he could be this one time. Nahtama always valued honest labor over his own ideas on making a quick fortune. He didn't have much of a fortune, sure he was well off but it was always at the expense of someone else's hard work. Maybe this was that one moment, the one where someone could change what they were and become something better for it. Seeing Nahtama again had made him realize rather quickly that he should have never left Itaria. While she had been busy keeping a quality business going, he had done nothing but try and make a name for himself through robbing others. He longingly thought back to the days when he used to play the hero, risking his life to save the city. Realizing now that he would have done it all just to save Nahtama. This would be his chance to show her that he could do the right thing, even if this letter got him killed. He stared at the ground in quiet contemplation. Jaheed felt a rush as he came the decision, he would do the right thing. If this revolt happened, lives would be lost and one of those lives could very well be Nahtama's. He would deliver this letter to the Rasnomi no matter what. Jaheed looked to the clear blue sky above as he silently made the vow to himself. As he brought his gaze back to the market a chill ran down his spine as he saw the red vests of the city guards paused near the street. Casually looking down the other way, he spotted another group idly standing at the next empty intersection. He could almost smell the trap as the guards stood, likely waiting for the rest to arrive before storming the place. Looking ahead, he pushed a paw up his sleeve to pull one of the corked vials hidden there. Casually he turned to enter the building behind him, as he turned to shut the door he emptied the contents of the vial onto the door's handle and avoided touching the clear liquid as he closed and locked the latch. "Jaheed! I said you need to wait outside," Nahtama was annoyed at his intrusion but he hardly cared as he moved to her."We have to go, Rasnomi guards are blocking the streets off out there and they don't exactly look like they are in the mood for talking." Jaheed looked at the other man standing there in the room. The human was middle aged with dark brown hair, but his eyes were drawn to the slave collar sealed around the human's neck. "Naht, we need to leave. Is there another way out?""There's a back door, goes to the next building and then to the next street." The human pointed to the only other doorway leading out of the room. "I will stay here and try to stall them.""Owen, you can't they will kill you just for being here.""Lady Nahtama, you can not be seen. They will take you away if you are seen here with me," Owen's concern for Nahtama's life seemed abnormal for a slave, but he didn't bother dwelling on it since they needed to hurry."Naht, we need to go," He moved to gently grab Nahtama's arm and bring her with him to the back. She stopped him briefly to look back and nod at the human. With a short nod, the human turned to face the other door as they fled through the back. "Don't suppose this trip wasn't wasted?" "There wasn't enough time to work something out," Jaheed released Nahtama's arm as they walked down the hallway that led to the connected building in the rear of the shop. A narrow set of stairs went up to another part of the building on their left as they continued to the next room. Jaheed took his dagger in paw as they moved, if the guards blocked one side it would be safe to assume they would block this one as well. At the end of the hallway he caught the smell of something foul, putrid in fact. The dim room was lit just well enough to see the red cloth of the dead guard's vest before Jaheed dove back into the hallway, knocking Nahtama to the ground. The sound of metal on stone rang out above him as he rolled to see a shadowed figure blocking the end of the hall. He jumped to his feet in an instant, but was almost too slow as a flash of metal swung to the spot he had just been. Nahtama had thankfully gotten up just as quickly and was backing up the way they came as he slowly stepped back from the dark figure. The hall way was too dark to see the shrouded face of the assassin. Though the assassin wore a hooded coat almost like his, he could see that the slender figure was taller than him even while crouched slightly. The long blade in the assassin's odd looking paw would give him the advantage in the small hallway, but the speed of this shadowy demon forced him to consider his next move carefully. An agonized scream came from behind them, muffled by the closed door he had trapped. The assassin lunged in with the long blade, aimed to pierce at his chest forcing him to drop below the thrust and parry with his dagger as the blade quickly turned to cut down at him.Jaheed rolled backwards, thankfully not into Nahtama. He saw Nahtama make her way up the stairs as he righted himself in time to side step another lunge. Shoving the assassin's sword arm against the wall of the tight hallway, he struck out with his own blade. With the assassin's weapon out of the way he had a clear path to plunge his dagger into his attacker's stomach. Jaheed reeled suddenly as the assassin drew a second blade hidden beneath its coat. He was too slow and unable to pull back his arm he felt the hard metal smash into his wrist. The assassin's speed was too much for him to compete with and the sudden realization that he would die set in as he looked up at his attacker. The angle provided him a rough profile of his attacker as small beady eyes reflected his own horrified face. The small muzzle of some short furred creature looked down on him for what felt like an eternity. In that same instant Jaheed's eyes looked to the blade that he was sure severed his arm at the wrist. The other weapon wasn't sharp at all, just a shorter flat edged sword had smashed his wrist holding his dagger, effectively disarming him."No!" Nahtama's shrill scream shook him back into action as the assassin seemed to hesitate long enough for him to roll backwards again. Nahtama pulled him up and almost dragged him up the stairs as the assassin moved to close the distance. He got to his feet and ran up the stairs, pushing Nahtama with his paw and feeling sharp pain shoot down his arm as he did so. The blow to his wrist had almost certainly broken his arm. He glanced back to find the assassin gone from his sight. He didn't wait to find out where the assassin was going and kept going.They entered the second floor room as the sound of screaming came up the stairs. Neither of them waited for the assassin to come up the stairs as they fled toward the open window. The window opened up to the crowded market street below, "Jump!" Jaheed was already jumping out of the window as he said it. He landed hard on top of a canvas topped cart, breaking the heavy cover of the cart and crashing to the ground half wrapped up in the cloth. He had just enough time to stand up before Nahtama jumped out of the window after him and Jaheed moved to catch her. The broken arm protesting as her lighter body landed on him hard, knocking him to the ground again. "Sorry," she said right away as they both got to their feet. More guards were already moving to intercept them as they started to shove their way through the crowd. "Where is that assassin?" She wildly looked around as Jaheed pulled her along with him.He fought to shove people out of the way using his injured arm, "I don't know!" He yelled back to her as he scanned the crowd and surrounding buildings trying to find an escape route they could take. The shouting of the guards behind them grew louder as he shoved another person to the ground to clear his path. Seeing an open door between two street stalls, Jaheed pulled Nahtama into the building behind him and slammed the door shut. The shop owner protested as they stormed through the room to the back door. Jaheed shoved a worker out of the way as he moved into the back room, quickly looking for an exit. Stairs led down, likely to a store room while another door led back out to another street. He pulled Nahtama to the door leading to an alleyway, finding that the alley was blocked off on one side he went toward the open end that led back to the main street. "Jaheed, over here!" Nahtama pulled on him to follow her. Without asking, he followed her as she crawled through a small open window that dropped into a basement floor across from the building they just exited. The pitch black room had a single stair well going back to the ground level. Taking a moment to catch their breath, they waited and listened for the guards as they entered the alley. Jaheed pulled Nahtama close and turned her toward a corner of the dark chamber, concealing her under neath him and his dark coat. They were both breathing heavily as they looked into each others eyes, waiting for the guards to leave the alley. The sound of at least one guard could be heard as he examined the basement chamber they had taken refuge in.Jaheed's heart pounded in his chest as he quietly willed the guard to leave and not see them. After a long moment, heavy footsteps could be heard leaving the alley at a quick pace. He held Nahtama for a bit longer to make sure there wasn't any other guards waiting of them. Glancing back, he found the window clear of prying eyes and slowly let go of Nahtama. The brief moment gave him a second to think about their flight through the market and his second encounter with the assassin. Jaheed slammed his paw against the stone wall of the chamber, sucking in a breath as he felt pain shoot through the broken limb. Nahtama came close and gently took his arm to examine it. "Jaheed," she began while keeping her voice a whisper. He closed his eyes tightly as she felt around his arm for the break, "I don't think it's too bad.""It is, it's worse than I thought." His eyes were still shut as he tried to picture the flat blade the assassin had used. The thin, flat edged blade had symbols marked on the wide end. Symbols that gave him chills as he simply tried to recall what they looked like. "The assassin, I think it was a Kavi." He opened his eyes knowing that Nahtama knew what that would mean."That's impossible, we would be dead already then." That statement made him reconsider what he just said. Kavi assassins were extremely rare and for good reason, they were the best at it. The Kavi were an old race that very rarely left their own world unless it was to make good on their talent for murder. He had never seen one in person, but knew some of the ways to identify one. The parrying blades used by Kavi assassins were unique and after having his arm broken by one he was sure that is what it was. It was true they should have been dead, perhaps he was just better than he thought. He almost laughed at his inflated ego letting him think that was the case."I'm certain it was. The symbols on the blade are unique to them. I don't know why this one wants us dead or why it also killed the city guards though." His head swam as the dull throbbing pain of his arm threatened to distract him."Jaheed," Nahtama tenderly stroked his injured arm. "I think you should just let me take care of this letter. I can get it to the right people and this might all just disappear.""I think we are beyond that. And if anyone is turning this letter into the Rasnomi, it's going to be me." Nahtama tore off a piece of her clothing to make a sling for his arm. "Nahtama," He hung his head as he began, "I want to be that hero for you, if just this once." She knotted the cloth and hung it around his neck as he spoke.Once his arm was set in the sling she finally looked at him, "how do you know this is the right thing? Turning it into the Rasnomi will kill dozens, if not hundreds when they clean out the traitors." "Because, if this revolt happens then more will die when the city goes to war." Jaheed thought the choice was obvious enough. He would walk it right to the capital building himself if he had to. "I always played the hero as a pup, it's time that I finally do the right thing. If for no other reason that to save you." He put his good arm around her, hugging her close to him.As she pulled away slightly she could see the letter in his paw, "They'll kill you." Her words were so definite he almost felt wounded by them."They'll have to catch me first, my dear Nahtama." That had been the line he used every time when they played together as the heroes. Now he would be one for real.
Jaheed kept his hood up as he walked down the crowded street near the capital. The capital district was in far better condition than any other part of the city. The buildings were decorated with hanging plants while open windows displayed potted flowers hanging just outside from them. There were a few covered stalls near the circle just before the capital building. Each sold quality cooked meats or desserts for passersby. A majority of those in the area clung to the large shadow cast by the massive tree that dominated the center of the circle. The large tree branched out and covered most of the street that circled it, falling just short of touching the buildings nearby. It had nearly broken Nahtama's heart when he refused to let her come with him. She had begged him not to go through with it and to again just let her get rid of the letter. Without any good reason as to why that would solve their problem, he had set off and left her behind. There was no reason for them both to go off and get themselves killed over this letter. And while he didn't relish the thought of dying over this letter or the corrupt Rasnomi conspirators, he knew in his heart that this was the only right thing to do. Maybe if he lived through this he could even settle down and enjoy the hard life of earning his take with Nahtama.He carefully picked his way around groups of people, trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. That seemed all but impossible as he was the only one who looked like a beggar. The guard presence near the capital building would make it all but impossible for him to get in without drawing them away from the entrance. Even with his injured arm he could out fight a couple guards at once. He stopped near the edge of a building while continued to examine the steps to the capital building. A loud boom sounded from just behind some buildings surrounding the circle and drew the attention of everyone around him. Even the guards at the capital entrance took notice and began to move in the direction of the sound. Only the two city guards nearest the entrance remained as the others ran down to investigate the explosion. The circle had gone from a gentle cacophony of conversations to hushed whispers. Many of the people had left, going in directions away from the sound while a few groups remained to see exactly what was happening. Jaheed took the opportunity he created for himself and walked at a brisk pace toward the capital building. He kept the hood over his face until he was right on top of the guards."Step away, you miscreant!" The guards both stepped forward, both keeping their hands on their weapons as they approached. Jaheed unclenched his fist hiding the small throwing knife he poisoned and charged the guard on his right. Shoving his shoulder into the guard as he drove the small knife between the solid plates protecting the guard's stomach. The other drew a sword and came at him as he shoved the wounded guard off the knife and dodged a clumsy swing by the other. Jaheed threw the dagger in his paw at the guard, making him flinch as the blade harmlessly hit the concealed armor. Before the guard could completely recover Jaheed drew another knife and drove it between the plates just as he had done to the other guard. The first guard was already unconscious from the strong sedative laced on his knives while the second was unable to stand back up. Jaheed didn't waste time as he moved inside the building, the crowd still in the circle had no doubt seen what just transpired on the steps. The capital building was almost empty as he pushed his hood back to quickly look around. Not seeing anyone trying to stop him he quickly made his way up the steps leading to the public assembly hall.One of the Rasnomi brothers would be in the hall, just like every day, hearing complaints or grievances from the free population of Itaria. Jaheed knew that if he could get into the hall he would be able to hand the letter directly to one of them and finally put an end to this. If things had not changed, the less maniacal of the two Rasnomi would be placating the masses as usual. This was his best bet to not only unload the letter but perhaps even survive to see Nahtama again.The nails on his bare feet clicked off the marble floor, echoing off the walls as he ran through the large door leading to the chamber. He couldn't stop himself fast enough as he entered to find a single person standing at the opposite side of the hall. Heavy doors slammed behind him as two human slaves closed the large set of doors to the assembly hall. "What is this?!" He tried to sound intimidating, but knew that the surprise in his voice couldn't be hidden so easily. No answer came as the figure walked toward him slowly. The tapping of a cane echoed off the solid stone walls as the man came closer. "Jaheed, I believe you have something for me." The voice was undoubtably old, but still had all its strength behind it. He knew the slaves behind him would be easy enough to deal with, but knew the trap wouldn't be so easy to get out of. His best bet was to try and talk and get more information before deciding which way to run. Jaheed held one of his knives still as he waited for the figure to come closer."I have nothing for you. I have a letter for the Rasnomi family and you are not one of them." Finally speaking with the intimidating voice he intended."As a member of the council I am able to take that letter directly to them. There is no need for you to bother them with such trivial nonsense." The old Rahqall stopped a few paces away. His golden fur was grayed evenly over the visible parts of his body. The Rahqall had the typical facial features of their people. The aging Rahqall had a long grayed canid muzzle that still held on to the original amber hue of his fur along the top. Large pointed ears were perked on the top of his head as he waited for an answer from Jaheed. "I will only give this letter to a member of the Rasnomi family. Please either take me to one of them or I will force my way to them." A familiar chill ran down his spine as he took a step toward the old Rahqall standing before him. The imminent violence made his pulse rise a bit in anticipation."I am councilman Dorran and I'm afraid I will be the only one taking that letter from this room now." Dorran shifted his stance slightly as Jaheed took another step closer. "Nahtama will not be pleased that you refused to surrender that letter to me." The mention of Naht's name stopped his advance."What have you done with her!" Anger filled him as he pictured her chained up in a dungeon somewhere. His anger fueled him as he lunged at the old Rahqall. Dorran moved quick to dodge the rage filled strike and used his cane to trip Jaheed as he moved passed. Falling flat on the ground he could feel his anger rise at the humiliation."Nothing at all. But you should have let her have the letter." Dorran stood over him as he struggled with the pain in his arm. "Let me have the letter and this can all be over with." The outstretched paw waited over him as he lay dumbfounded and angry by the trap he had walked in to. Would Nahtama have given him up so quickly? He took hold of the Rahqall's paw and pulled himself up with Dorran's help. If this man really was a council member, then he would make a great hostage until he could get to the Rasnomi. And he was willing to bet this councilman was one of the names in the letter by how hard the old man was trying to get ahold of it. "The letter, please." Dorran held on to Jaheed's paw while he demanded the letter once again. Suppressing a grimace, he pulled is remaining knife from his belt. Simultaneously pulling Dorran into him and stepping to the side so that he held the old man's arm behind his back, Jaheed brought his injured arm up to press the point of the blade to Dorran's neck. The cane clattered to the ground as Jaheed looked behind to make sure the two slaves had not moved. Satisfied that they had not, he looked back to Dorran who was smiling."Still rather quick despite the broken arm. It's sad that you chose now to be a... Hero." Dorran emphasized the last word, lacing it with a sarcastic tone. Why would he have called him that, of all things? "You are certain you won't give it up then?"Jaheed dug deep to find the conviction inside him to finish what he vowed to do, "I will die before I let some revolt burn this city down."Dorran's smile faded as he let out a sigh, "Then you shall."They were the last words Jaheed heard before cool steel bit into him. There was no pain he realized quickly and the sensation of the blade could barely be felt as it rested through his heart. The world moved in slow motion as a three fingered paw came to wrap over his shoulder. The off white fur on his killer's paw was all he could focus on as he was laid gently on the ground to look up at the woman who had just killed him. A set of long ears hung down from the expressionless fur covered face. Sweeping horns jutted back from her brow, curling gradually to point forward. He knew it was a Kavi. The world became a blur as everything around him lost focus and felt distant. A paw reached into his coat to pull the letter from his body as the world was absorbed into an oblivion of darkness.
Dorran watched as the eyes of the Ivvaskan thief stopped to stare at something beyond him. He gently closed the eyelids of the young man before standing back up with the letter. "A pity, really. Had we more time I think we could have used him." Dorran tucked the letter into a pocket before signalling to the two humans standing by the door. "Make sure he is given back to Nahtama, I promised her I would if this happened. And be sure to send someone else in here to clean this mess before the Rasnomi fools see it," Dorran indicated the blood on the floor before the slaves took the body and left through a side hallway."On to the next matter," Dorran turned to the Kavi who stood silently waiting. "There is a small slave camp on the surface that I need you to go to. I need you to retrieve a child from this camp. When you reach Eranta Landing I will have someone give you more details." The Kavi nodded before turning to leave. "And Tana," She turned to Dorran once again. "She must live, no matter what."
Nahtama idly cleaned the same spot of the bar as she tried to keep her thoughts from what Jaheed was doing. She kept the tavern closed for the day as she waited to hear back from him, knowing that she wasn't likely to speak to him again. Dorran had been insistent that there was no time to vet new members for the revolt. And Jaheed would have been dead long before that had the assassin not seen her with Jaheed. She had rushed to meet with Dorran before Jaheed could get to the capital and she had been fortunate that Dorran could see her right away. She fought desperately with Dorran to allow Jaheed to live, he didn't know the extent or the good the revolt would do for people. Jaheed had a way of sticking to his convictions once his mind was made up.If only she hadn't told him what the letter had was, but she had been so shocked by it she let it slip out. The fact that someone had pieced together all of the information was astounding. The names she read in the letter had listed almost everyone she knew and worked with. No one had been left off the list, not even her name which was near the top of the list. A knock on the front door drew her attention as she watched the old councilman enter. It was clear from his dour expression that what she had expected did in fact occur. Jaheed was dead. Regardless of how prepared for the news she was, she couldn't help tear up as he approached the counter. Her ears pressed flat against her head as she shook it in disbelief. "No," was all she managed to say as Dorran took her paw into his."My dear Nahtama, I gave him too many chances to end his foolish crusade of his." Dorran's tone was sympathetic, but she knew him well enough to know that it was a front for his persistently stoic disposition. Dorran was an old soldier, beyond that she knew little else except that he would make the most sound decisions when given a scenario. None of it made her feel any better about his decision to deal with Jaheed the only way he knew how."And his body?""As promised my dear, it will be delivered to you for final rights. I'm sorry Nahtama." He withdrew his paw and began to walk away. He may have been an unemotional bastard, but he knew not to overextend his false grieving. "You will continue to help us, won't you?"Nahtama gave a nod to the old man, "I will." Dorran exited the tavern, leaving Nahtama alone. She had decided earlier that regardless of how this all ended, she would still help to smuggle the slaves through the city. She would have loved having another to help her with the task, but it would seem that was no longer an option. Jaheed, that fool, had to pick now to become the hero he always wanted to be. Though he may not have known the full extent of what he was doing, she still thought of him as a hero for intercepting the letter from the start.