mindcracklove | Blood and Gold: Chapter 3

Slightly delayed bc of the marathon (which I enjoyed very much <3)

“Stop!”
Zisteau freezes, and straightens his back. His large ears direct him to the two men reclining against a nearby oak.
“Saw you comin’ from a mile off, ugly,” the taller one says. He has suntanned skin and a smirk on his face.
“No need to be hostile,” Zisteau says. “I’m new to this area, and was looking around to see if anyone else lives here. Apparently, they do.”
“Whatcha doing sneakin’ around, then?”
The other man giggles. He is shorter, with blond hair and a nervous smile.
“I prefer to make less noise than more when I move around,” Zisteau says. “If you follow the same code I do, you know why that is.”
The other man’s smirk falters a little. “What makes you think I follow any damn code?”
Zisteau grins. “You know I’m a thief. I know you’re a thief. Please, let’s cut to the chase. I’m new to this area, and I was just trying to get a feel for the forest and see who else calls these parts home. Maybe we can get along.”
“Fine,” the blond man says, speaking at last. “What’s your name?”
Zisteau pauses. “Favern.”
“Alright Favern,” the blond man says. “I’m Guude.” He sticks out a hand and Zisteau shakes it.
“BdoubleO to you,” the other man says. Zisteau shakes his hand as well.

“So,” Zisteau says. “Are you locals?”
The two men glance at each other. Guude nods. “We’ve lived here for years. Where are you from? You’re obviously new.”
Zisteau nods. “Yes, I’m from the north. From Mes.”
Guude looks at him, surprised. “You crossed the desert? All by yourself?”
“It was a long journey, but worth it to come to Corax. I expect you get many like me around here.”
“There haven’t been many recently, but they do come. Usually in groups, though,” Guude says.
“I see,” Zisteau says. “Well, I best be on my way. One more thing.”
He quietly takes out his small dagger and plays with it idly, slipping the carved bone handle between his forefingers. “I’ll respect you two if you respect me, understand?”
He sees BdoubleO gulp, and nod.
“Understood,” Guude says curtly.
Zisteau knows they will try to find his hideout, so he takes a long detour on a winding path between the trees, making sure he leaves no footsteps in the undergrowth, before looping back around to the place marked by the boulder. He will try to find other groups later, but for now, he returns to the hideout.

There is tension in the air, Zisteau can feel it when he re-enters the hideout. Maybe he shouldn’t have picked Nebris. There is something about him, a sort of cocky air that grates with the rest of Naziv.
“Vechs, I’m just saying,” Aurey is saying, but her voice dies off as Zisteau steps off the ladder.
“I’m back.”
The three turn to look at him.
“I hope you’re not arguing, not in front of the new guy,” Zisteau says. He goes and sits on a stool. “How much progress did you make on this map?”
“We’re not arguing, we’re just…” Vechs sighs. “We’re discussing when would be the best time to try and crack the palace.”
“And?”
“I thought it would be a good idea to try soon,” Nebris says helpfully. “So our faces don’t get recognised.”
“Nebris,” Aurey says. “That’s a good idea, but listen. We need to get to know every inch of the city, especially around the palace before we can even attempt a break in. We have disguises, anyway.”
“So what are you two arguing about?” Zisteau sets a firm eye on Vechs.
“Something. Let’s talk about it later.”

“Fine. Anyway, want to know who I met?” Zisteau looks at the map and the minimal annotations the three have made on it.
“Who?” Nebris asks.
“Turns out there are local groups around here. Well, they were a pair. Sweaty, nervous looking blonde guy and a cocky, loudmouthed brunet. Quite a pair. They seemed not to mind too much that I’m here.”
“Wow,” Aurey says. “I guess they’re used to other groups coming to Corax then.”
“Well,” Zisteau chuckles, “they don’t exactly know about you three. I gave them a false name, and said I was from Mes, in the north. I’m not sure if they realised I’m part Grax, but if they heard I’d come from the south and that I was with a group, they might remember that they have heard of me.”
Vechs nods. “Right. So we should also give false names and locations if we meet them.”
“Why would they have heard of you?” Nebris says, sounding confused.
“Uh, we’re kind of well-known among thieves. For… some things. Someone might tell you sometime,” Aurey says.
Nebris nods, but Vechs wonders how long it will be until he’s annoyed about all the things people aren’t telling him.
“I should get food,” Vechs says. “We’re running low. We ate too much on our trip here.”
Aurey nods. “Want me to come?”
“I think I’ll take Nebris out. For his first real experience, you know?”
Aurey glances at Zisteau.
“Are you sure you’re the best person for that?” Zisteau asks. Nebris looks at him in confusion.
“It’s fine, guys,” Vechs says, laughing. “I’ll be careful. We won’t do anything risky. Or, anything riskier than normal.”
“It’s not really that,” Aurey says, then stops and sighs. “Whatever. Just… don’t…. don’t do anything stupid.”
Vechs nods distractedly.
“Fine,” Zisteau concedes. “But, yeah. What Aurey said.”

The sky is dimming as Vechs replaces the rock over the ladder well. He’s covered his red shirt with a black jacket and exchanged his grey pants for black ones, and Nebris wears a similar outfit. He’s taken off his helmet, but his goggles still cover his eyes.
Vechs has a mental map of where Aurey said the tree branch was, and is directing Nebris towards the place.
“So I hear you’re a good pickpocket?” he asks as they walk slowly towards the Corax wall.
“Correct. I had to learn stuff when I was poor. Or – before I met you guys. I don’t know if we’re poor.”
“We’re rich, Nebris. We can have anything we want,” Vechs chuckles. He looks up at the lavender sky through the leaves.
“Richer than the prince up in his palace there?” Nebris says, pointing up at the spires of the palace piercing the sky.
“Sure. We just have to work for what we want,” Vechs says. “No harm in that though. Plus, it’s fun.” He stops, and points to a tree. The sturdy oak has a large branch that reaches close to the palace wall. Nebris laughs.
“It’s like they don’t even care about who gets in.”

Vechs giggles. “You think you can climb that?”
“Sure.” He puts his foot in the crook of the tree and heaves himself up with a grunt, gripping the bark. He climbs onto the branch and inches along it and drops onto the wall, carefully avoiding the iron spikes across the top.
“Excellent,” Vechs says approvingly. He hauls himself up the tree in a similar fashion to Nebris. Aurey might be more elegant at this, but he’s strong and that makes up for any lack of grace. When they are both standing on top of the wall, Vechs surveys the street inside the city. The tree branch is at a perfect location; it lets them in to a back street, rather than a main road. The houses here don’t look too wealthy; Vechs remembers that Aurey said the wealthier districts are up the hill, closer to the palace.
“Do you want to burgle a house, or look around for any markets or shops?”
“Look for markets.” Nebris is more confident in crowds.
“Ok. I think I saw a marketplace on the map. Now, can you drop down there without impaling yourself?”
“Sure.” Nebris carefully manoeuvres between the spikes, and drops down into the street. “Det!”
“You okay?” Vechs asks after he has dropped heavily beside Nebris.
“Yeah, just… I’m not used to that,” Nebris says, rubbing his back. “Okay, where we going?”
“Up this street. Act normal, but if you see someone don’t be obvious.”

It’s getting dark as Nebris follows Vechs up the narrow street. Vechs turns frequently, following a path he seems to know already. It takes the pair down smelly laneways between the taller buildings and behind shops until Vechs stops on the corner of a well-lit, better kept street.
“Take off your jacket,” he instructs Nebris, who does so, revealing a less-suspicious grey shirt. Vechs takes off his own jacket to reveal his red shirt and stuffs the jacket in his bag. His goggles follow, and Nebris does his best not to look at Vechs’ face, but his eyes keep darting towards it.
“It’s okay,” Vechs says. “You can look.”
Nebris is surprised at how normal Vechs looks without the goggles. Maybe it’s because he was expecting something weird, something kept hidden – a blinded eye, perhaps, or scars or something – but all he sees is a pair of sparkling blue eyes, utterly normal.
“I don’t know what I expected,” he says at last.
“Come on,” Vechs says. “You can stop gazing in my eyes now. We have pockets to pick.”
Nebris laughs, and follows Vechs in a confident walk up towards the market. It’s bustling, and bright lights line the marketplace. The sun is well and truly down now, and there’s an excited vibe hanging in the air.
“It’s Saturday night,” Vechs says. “Market night. I’m going to watch you do your thing, see what that’s like.”
“Okay,” Nebris says. He’s nervous. He’s never stolen inside city walls before – all his previous exploits took place in the small towns orbiting Lyren. Plus, they were usually in small crowds, much smaller than this. The excitement of the atmosphere pumps adrenaline into his blood, and he searches around for a target. Vechs leans against a wall, watching.

A wealthy-looking man stands at a stall, inspecting the wares of a potter. He picks up a ceramic cup and turns it close to his eye. Perfect. As the man begins asking the stallholder questions, Nebris walks up beside him and picks up a bowl, pretending to inspect it. His right hand strays towards the man’s back pocket.
“These are very beautiful wares,” Nebris says to the potter.
“Thank you, sir.”
“There’s a flaw in this one,” the other man grumbles. He holds the cup towards Nebris. “See? Look at that.”
Nebris pretends to care about the tiny chip in the glaze as his fingers find the man’s purse. “Oh dear. Well, it’s not too bad of a flaw.” He nods towards the potter as a silent apology. The potter smiles back as Nebris slides the man’s purse out of his pocket and slips it in his bag. Without changing his expression or tone, he asks,
“How much is this bowl?”
“Oh, that’s 10 gallam,” the potter says. Nebris raises his eyebrows.
“I think I might come back later,” Nebris says. “You see, I’m looking for a gift for my mother’s birthday. I don’t know exactly what she wants. I have to guess.”
The potter nods, knowing he won’t come back. The other man continues complaining about flaws in the potter’s wares as Nebris leaves. Neither of them seemed to notice anything. He walks back to where Vechs is standing.
“We better go before that man realises his wallet is missing,” he says. He and Vechs duck into an alleyway and Nebris shows him the wallet. Vechs glances in the small bag.
“I’d say that’s about fifty gallam,” he says. “Good job. I don’t think either of them noticed.”
Nebris beams. “I’ve never stolen that much before. Usually it’s loose change I grab, couple of kye here and there.”
“Very good,” Vechs says. “I’m going to grab something for dinner. Watch me.”

Nebris watches apprehensively as Vechs goes against the flow of people down the hill. He targets a small store selling poultry. A woman strides up to the stall and begins talking the stallholder in a loud voice. Vechs sneaks out of the crowd to the back of the stall. Nebris wonders how nobody has noticed yet. As the stallholder deals with the woman out front, Vechs takes two chickens from where they hang. Nebris gapes, and waits for Vechs to come back to him, but he clearly isn’t finished yet. He darts to other stalls, taking various things, and at some point Nebris loses sight of him.
Nebris almost considers wandering off to do some more pickpocketing, but decides against it. He doesn’t want to encounter the man he stole from before.
After a while, Vechs comes back. His bag is clearly bulging with pilfered food.
“Let’s get out of here,” he hisses at Nebris, and they retreat quickly down the alleyway. Vechs follows the same path he did on the way up, and when they get to the wall he takes a rope out of his bag.
“I assume you can climb a rope?” he says as he ties a large hook to the end of it.
Nebris half-nods, half-shrugs. “I’ve never done it before.”
“Watch me.” Vechs swings the rope a few times and throws it at the branch, which is just visible on the other side of the wall. The weight of the hook carries the rope around the branch several times, wrapping it up until the hook catches on the rope. Vechs tugs it a couple of times and it holds tight. With his gloved hands he grips the rope tightly and uses it to pull himself up the wall. His feet take slow steps up the wall until he reaches the top, where he carefully dodges the spikes and grabs the tree branch, dropping down into the forest.

“You think you can do that?” he calls.
“Sure,” Nebris says from the other side of the wall. There is some grunting and heavy breathing, and soon Nebris’ face appears at the top of the wall.
“Unwrap the rope and chuck it down to me,” Vechs instructs. Nebris does so, falling to the ground soon after the rope.
“Well done,” Vechs says, stuffing the rope in his bag. “You did great. You’re an asset to the group.”
“Thanks,” Nebris says. They walk back to the hideout slowly.
“I’ve just got to be careful,” Vechs mutters at the ground.
“Hm?”
“Oh, nothing,” Vechs says. He puts his goggles back on.
They reach the rock and Vechs hauls it aside. Nebris descends and Vechs follows, pulling the rock back over the entrance.