Avery The Sneak

Chapter 7: Challenging Heights

Two days later I sat in front of a shallow campfire in the middle of the woods. The sun had been gone for hours, and already the darkness of Milnir's pinelands was stretching around us. I fiddled with a lock using the lockpicks Ludwig had given me earlier that day.

"How did you manage to bring all this with you?" I asked Ludwig without looking up. I heard the curtness in my voice once the words were spoken. My first two days of freedom were already less comfortable than the prison wagon.

"A couple reasons. I paid off some of the higher ranking guards before we left. Plus, most of them knew me, or of me, beforehand. Keep pressure as you feel for the pins."

"Right, pins. You had a name for yourself in Halldon? Would I have heard of you?"

Ludwig grinned and stretched his arms wide, like he was trying to make himself bigger. "Most thieves have an alias or two before they're busted. I've been called the South Side Spider, The Callous Cutpurse of North Halldon, Baking and Entering."

"Baking and Entering?" I interrupted. I raised my hands to get him to stop. "There's a story here and I need to hear it."

Ludwig looked almost bashful. His cheeks were already red from the cold, but I detected a slight deepening in pigment as he averted his gaze.

"That was early in my career. I thought it might be funny to leave rolls at every place I hit. Eventually they tracked down the bakery I was buying the rolls from, and that's how I got nabbed my first time. Lesson is, don't leave a calling card. It's amateurish. If you're looking for fame then join a circus." He stared down at his hands then muttered, "they're surprisingly hard to steal from."

"So is fame a part of your line of work?" I felt like one of those students at the temple who would always ask a string of questions. I'd always found them annoying. Up until now thievery had only been a threat to my money. Soon I might be the threat.

"Yes and no. Fame tends to happen naturally if you're good enough at it, but since anonymity is so important to this line of work people will build a persona around you. Who you are when you aren't stealing should be just another face. Avoid drawing attention to yourself outside of work at all costs."

He called it work. How long has the old man been at this that he considers it a profession? Well, work is supposed to pay the bills and from what I know about Ludwig I couldn't imagine him doing anything else. An image of him in a chef's hat hacking a fish to pieces crossed my mind, and I suppressed a snicker.

The lock continued to resist my prodding and jimmying until I finally set it down in my lap and gave an exasperated sigh. "I get how useful this is but I'm hitting a wall here."

"No one's immediately good at anything. And if they are, people hate them for it."

"Is that so?"

"Sure is. You're a first time extortionist and now look where you are."

My turn to turn red. "Hey! You were right next to me in that cart! If you're so practiced how'd you even get nabbed in the first place?"

Ludwig chuckled. I felt like he was taking a bit too much joy in having a pupil. All his advice was long winded and all his speeches were corny. "Fine, you can take a break from lockpicking if you climb that tree." He pointed to an evergreen that dwarfs some of the church towers I've seen back home. Our puny fire shines orange light over the branches swaying against the black of the night sky. The only sound is rustling leaves as I stare at Ludwig.

"Have you finally gone senile? Is there a retirement home I'm supposed to drop you off at once we're done out here? I'm not climbing a tree in the middle of the night! I can't even see anything."

"Cities get dark once the sun goes down. Plus climbing is a staple in this business, you should think about starting to do pushups or something before you go to bed."

"Focus, you old codger. Besides, cities have torches. How am I supposed to climb a tree in the middle of the night? The moon isn't even out."

Ludwig stretched out on his back next to the fire. I was reminded of a sunbathing tom cat, which made me feel more annoyed.

"Just figure it out. Once you start in this business, you'll have to solve every problem on your own. I'm just giving you helpful tools."

This old windbag was going to sleep while I risked my neck. Fine, I would show him. I hoped he would roll right onto that campfire. I'd be too far up to help put him out.

As I approached the tree I reflected on how few options I had. It was to climb the tree, live in Milnir by myself, or be killed in Halldon.

Like all pine trees, the one I had been assigned by my attentive mentor was shaped like a cone. The lower branches flared out into a thick wall of needles while the top swayed precariously in the Northern wind. The scent of fresh sap was heavy in the crisp air.

"How high do I have to go?" I asked my reclining companion.

"Once you can see the Napleo," He answered without opening his eyes.

Alright.

I ducked under the lower branches and felt my way through the darkness toward the trunk. The firelight was much fainter on the other side of the branches so I was left to grasp my way to the center like a blind man. Once I reached the trunk I began the slow process of pulling myself onto a sturdy branch without hitting my head.

The climb itself wasn't that difficult at first. The branches were smooth and sturdy at the bottom, and I never felt at risk of one breaking on me. There were enough branches that I had my pick of handholds. The sap soon stained my hands and numerous small scratches appeared along my arms.

I paused to catch my breath around the halfway mark and looked out over the woods. From here I could make out the Tusks on the Eastern side of Wrencort. The tall mountains are a deep shade of black against the grey night sky set behind them. I continued to climb until the tree began to sway precariously under my weight. I clutched the trunk until my knuckles turned white as I twisted in the wind.

I checked my progress, hoping to be far enough where I can finally return to the ground. The Napleo cut a long swathe through the woods in a way that reminded me of a man I once met with a scar through his eyebrow. The faint sound of the water flowing reached me on my perch. Birds heading South glided effortlessly on the wind that now threatened to send me toppling from my lonely view.

I stayed like that for a moment just staring out at the expanse below me. Soon though, my arms began to ache and my eyelids drooped. I felt my way back down with my feet, and soon heard the crunch of dirt beneath me. I ducked out from under the tree to see that our campfire had nearly gone out. Finding branches is no issue and soon the blaze is large enough to last a few more hours into the night. Ludwig is curled up under his cloak like a drawstring pouch around coins. Soon I was wrapped up the same way.

"Ludwig, are you still awake?" I whispered to my teacher.

"Mhm. Did you make it to the top?" He mumbled.

"Yeah, it was scary, but also kind of calming to see everything from that high up."

"Try and get used to heights. Rooftops will be the syrup on your waffles."

I tried to imagine myself on a rooftop above a maze of alleyways. Hard to imagine all that tree climbing and lock fiddling could turn lucrative, but my decision was made at that point. Nothing much beyond that.

"Ludwig?"

"Uh?" he grunted, clearly exhausted.

"I'm glad I'm not out here on my own." I felt silly saying it out loud, but heights tended to put things into perspective.

"Me too," was his reply.

I smiled. The night air kissed my face as I gazed up at the grey sky looming above me. The shadowy trees twisted and swayed in front of the clouds. Soft rustling filled the air and I was drawn deeper into a feeling of freedom I hadn't felt before. For the very first time I was on a path that was entirely my own.