#theives

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As the sun sets, a party of adventurers parade through a small dirt road town, victorious from their last quest. The group barrels through anyone in their path, already drunk on their own egos. The largest of the group knocks over a little, raggedy peasant girl with dirt-filled pigtails, causing her to drop her toy.

“Eh?” says the brute as he picks up the toy. “The hells is this?” The toy resembles a baby dragon with bright red scales, a dark brown underbelly, small wings, and bright green eyes.

“My Babby!” yells the girl. She runs over to the brute and tries to get her toy back but barely jumps past the man’s knees. “Give me back my Babby!”

“You know wha?” The brute lifts the toy even higher into the air, putting it in better lighting. “This thing ain’t too shabby. Almost looks like the real thing. How bout it, Ankle Biter? Fancy a trade?”

“No!” yells the girl, “he’s my Babby! My momma made him only for me!” A man wearing a hooded cloak walks over and leans against the brute, glancing at the toy.

“Your momma’s got some gifted hands,” says the rouge, “maybe she can show me a thing or two?” The girl charges at the two men, who easily dodge her attempt. The girl then trips on herself and falls but is caught by a pillow of glowing blue water.

The girl looks up and sees a woman in a teal robe. Her face was shrouded in the shadow of her oversized hat save for one glowing blue eye that matched a gold, jewel-encrusted broach on the collar of her robe.

The light emanating from the witch’s eye quickly fades, dropping the girl into a mud puddle. The rest of the group laughs as they start to walk away, taking the dragon toy with them. As the girl picks her head up from the mud, she feels something hit her head. She wipes her face and looks down to see a moldy copper coin in front of her.

“Thanks for the souvenir, kid!” says the rouge. The girl watches, with tears in her eyes, as the group walks into a nearby tavern. The girl then calmly picks herself up, pulls a rag from her dress pocket, and cleans the rest of her face. She takes a deep breath, picks up the moldy coin, and walks away from the tavern.

“So far so good,” whispers the girl.

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A few hours later, the party drunkenly runs out of the bar, some with half-filled mugs in hand. The bartender follows them out the door, yelling at them as they escape. The group stumbles through the town, throwing the dragon toy between them until they barge into a rundown inn.

After finishing the last of their stolen drinks, the party’s room quickly falls silent, save for the snoring brute who snuggles with the toy dragon. Bodies scattered around the room like a crime scene, with the rouge taking the only bed.

After a few minutes, the toy dragon’s eyes blink. Using its long neck, the dragon slowly looks around the room, its emerald eyes illuminated in the darkness. Its head suddenly snaps toward a window.

…they…asleep…window…clear…

A hand lifts the window to the room open from the outside. A short, hooded figure crawls into the room, quietly landing on their feet. The dragon’s eyes focus on the figure.

…hurry…human…FREE…!

“Stop yelling! I’m working on it!” whispers the human. The figure slowly tip-toes through the room, avoiding any of the sleeping warriors. The dragon looks at the human, annoyed.

…what…doing…?

“Trying not to die,” whispers the human. “Shhhh!” The dragon glares at the human before letting out a high-pitched roar, slightly shaking some of the smaller items in the room. The human freezes and their eyes dart around the room, looking for whoever may be waking up first. However, barely anyone moves. The figure looks at the dragon. “What did ya do?” The dragon flicks its tail and small sparkles of orange energy fall from the tip.

…humans…weak…

The hooded figure removes their hood, revealing herself as the little girl with her hair tied back in a bun and her face smeared with black paint. The girl lets out a small laugh as she casually walks over the passed-out adventures toward the brute.

“Ya know,” says the girl, “if I had better morals, I’d probably have a problem with ya, essentially drugging a bunch of people.” The girl and dragon struggle but eventually get the brute's arm off the beast. The dragon leaps onto the floor, stretching its entire body. “All right, do ya thing, Babby.” The dragon lets out another tiny roar.

STOP!

The girl holds her head and crouches in the fetal position as the dragon’s booming voice echoes in her mind. She pulls a rag from her back pocket and covers her nose while the dragon walks around the room. The girl pulls the rag back, finding a small amount of blood.

“Jeez, Bambak, ya going to kill me if ya keep doing that,” says the girl.

…and…?

“And good luck getting anywhere without this adowable face, distracting city guards,” says the girl as she pickpockets the brute. Bambak claws its way up the side of the bed.

…was…face…

“Dragon society must not have hypocrisy,” says the girl as she continues to pickpocket everyone in the room. Bambak pokes its head under the rouge’s cloak until the girl stops him. “Must not have thieves either.”

The girl pulls out a pocket knife while feeling the rouge's arms. She then feels a thin wire attached to a gold ring on the rouge’s finger. The girl follows the wire underneath the rouge’s cloak, finding a device with two vials of yellow liquid on each side.

“A Midas Trap,” the girl cutting the wire. “Take the gold ring, trip the wire, and get sprayed with paralyzing toxins. This guy’s got deep pockets.” The girl starts going through the rouge’s pockets. “let’s see what ya got.” The girl rummages through the rouge’s many pockets, taking whatever she can fit in her own until she pulls out a perfectly square stone. Bambak focuses intensely on the stone.

…Miiiiiiiine…!

The girl rolls her eyes as she drops the stone before Bambak. The dragon quickly wraps its body around the stone and purrs.

“Do I need to leave the room?” asks the girl as she offers Bambak her hand. The dragon glares at her before putting the cube in its mouth and climbing up her arm onto her shoulder.

…disrespectful…

“Ya welcome, Bab,” says the girl.

ENOUGH!

The girl stumbles a bit but manages to stay on her feet. She’s halfway out the window when the girl looks back at the rouge and pulls the ring out of her pocket.

“This look like real gold to ya?” asks the girl, showing the ring to Bambak.

…no…

“Didn’t think so,” says the girl as she grins from ear to ear.

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As the sun begins to break past the horizon, the girl walks along the rooftops wearing a cloak that’s two sizes too big for her. She looks at Bambak, his cube still in his mouth, purring on her shoulder.

“You know, ya kinda cute when ya hoarding,” says the girl. Bambak stops purring and glares at her. “I know, I know, the Dragon King isn’t cute. Ya terror incarnate. Ya the strongest magical creature in this realm, ya breath dims the sun, and ya presence withers all life.”

…again…disrespectful…human…

“Imala,” says the girl. " My name’s Imala, not that ya were asking.” The two walk in silence for a few minutes. “Sooooo, the first job went pretty well. You got your rock, and I got paid big time. Guess this is the part where we lay low and figure out which artifact to go after next?”

…hmmmm…

Bambak, begins to smell the air around it and shivers, holding its cube tight.

…lot…rain…

Imala raises an eyebrow as she looks toward the empty sky, even doing a full twirl for insurance. The duo stops above an abandoned shop with a hole in the roof.

“Sure, whatever ya say,” says Imala as the two jump down.

Several feet back, the witch in the teal robes stands on the edge of another rooftop. Her one eye glows as storm clouds begin to float from underneath her hat, spreading across the area. A thick cloud floats just beyond the edge of the rooftop. The witch walks onto it and floats toward the abandoned shop.