Short Stories

Adventure/action

The seas were rough that day, waves crashing and the wind tearing at the sails. Tana didn't mind though, she thrived on the stormy days, they often led her to the most unusual places. She was a traveller by heart, and sometimes when the situation called for it, a thief. No, she wasn't a thief as such, more of a preserver of items of historical value. Yes, that was a better term. She glanced to the storage compartment of the double-hulled canoe where her most recent stash lay; it was a beautiful large cloak left in a museum to rot, embroidered and designed so flawlessly it might as well have been a gift from the gods. It would have wanted to be worn anyway, not sat in a glass case to be stared at fancifully. 

The waves picked up suddenly, currents lifting from the water becoming more and more shallow. An island, and this one looked interesting. Tana had seen many islands before, preferring to skirt around the huge continents especially with the danger they posed, military-based authorities and all that, and a few had been covered in the dense vegetation this one had, all holding some hidden secret. To be honest, they were the perfect hiding place for anything of immense value, most of the terrain being too difficult to navigate or the wildlife was far too wily to be safe. Luckily for the sailor, she could scramble a tree like a squirrel from a dog, a skill that had saved her many a time. 

The smell hit her first, rich greenery giving off a rather pungent odour- so much vegetation meant a lot of plant rot. Before the canoe had even touched the white sands, Tana was off, digging her feet into the sand and taking in the great sights. It only took her a moment to secure her vessel and grab the necessities, before she was running into the thick jungle. By now she knew what she was looking for, avoiding the obvious animal nesting sights, staying away from the suspiciously large webs and keeping a close eye out for movement that might decide to digest first then talk. This place was huge! Leaves the size of a child and trunks at least six metres in diameter, the bracken and ferns were dense, so much so that Tana was beyond relieved that she wore her longer clothes, not the shorts- she probably would've ended up with a nasty few scratches. 

In her excitable state, her roaming eyes almost missed the crumbling archway. In fact, if it weren't for the vines tripping her feet in a way that would've made her ma scold her for being so careless, Tana would've flown past it in her flurry. It was a mess of yellowing stone riddled with cracks and smelled, frankly, very old and musty. The rest of the building was large beyond belief but all that was really visible was a silhouette from the rising sun lathered with ivy and everything green. 

Stepping into the corridor and ignoring the ominous bird calls behind her (they were always such a downer, and really, she was going to go in there anyway, why would some irritating feathers dissuade her advances?), it was like a routine she had participated in so many times she could see it with her eyes closed. Pick the lock into the first door and duck towards the second, there were always poisoned arrows there. The third corridor opened up into a large room with marbled tile floor slabs. Pressurised without a doubt. Sighing ever so gently, Tana reached into her backpack and drew out a handful of marbles. In a smooth motion, the thief threw the marbles onto the floor, most of them reaching the other side of the room and a few sinking with a plate, releasing another round of arrows, this time at both foot and head height. This was far too easy. What followed were a few classics Tana loved to tackle, like the spinning saws, moving blades, ooh and the bottomless pit, which was always a rush to swing across. 

The final room she ended up in had no defence, only symbols and whorls of ink depicting battle scenes, all centuries-old if the peeling paint was anything to go by. Tana wouldn't say she had no regard for historical art, rather she found it quite beautiful, but if it came down to it, everything would fade anyway wouldn't it? What was the point in falling in love with something that would just disappear into history? So she just strode straight for the pedestal at the end of the room and snatched the box off the top, pulling open the lid when nothing bad immediately happened and dropped her jaw. Inside was nestled two large jewels and a pendant threaded on a gold chain. Oh, of all the things Tana had ever stolen, this was probably the one of most value, and think, her ma could live forever on this without worrying how to pay for the next meal. If she ever found the wanderer.