Jasmine's Crisis of Conscience

Jasmine Featherstone was bored.

That was the lie she told herself as she lay in bed and tried not to think too hard about how well her friends were treating her. It bothered her that she'd only met them not even a couple of weeks ago and she already thought of them as "friends." It bothered her that they were willing to sacrifice for her, to cast healing magic on her (repeatedly), and to buy her things that she didn't consider cheap. And it bothered her that she still couldn't figure out what their angle was.

The halfing rolled over and reached down to pet Puil, the giant badger she had befriended and was still working on taming. She felt she was making progress, since it had been days since he had nipped at her.

She finally gave up on getting any sleep for a while and decided to go for a little walk. She put on her dark, stealthy clothes and geared up for whatever took her fancy while she was out.

"Love you, Puil," she said in Halfling as she hugged his neck. "I'll be back soon." She gave him a piece of jerky before she opened the window and clambered onto the roof.

The badger looked at the window before he got up and wandered over to look out. He didn't see his human, and her scent was growing fainter. He chuffed, then turned to climb onto the bed and settled down to wait for her return.

The clouds did a good job of hiding the moonlight as Jasmine made her way to the street and darted from one shadow to another. She hadn't gone more than a few blocks when she heard voices ahead of her. Red-headed halfling women were in short supply in the city of Thane, as near as she could tell, so she touched the brim of her hat, and an elderly gnome man stood in her place. She started shuffling down the street and past the merry-makers, who gave her a quick drunken glance but continued on their way.

Once they were out of earshot, Jasmine straightened up and started checking the locks on the doors of the shops that lined the street. It didn't take long for her to find one that she liked. She looked around quickly, then drew her thieves' tools and went to work. It didn't take long for the lock to spring open. She took another quick look around, opened the door, slipped into the store, and gently closed the door behind her.

Jasmine took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She could tell by the smell that it was a bakery. She smiled and patted her belly. Looked like it would be double-score for her – something for her and something for her stomach.

The young halfling spent a few minutes looking for the lock-box where the shopkeep would keep their gold. She finally found it, behind a bag of flour in the kitchen. The lock looked even simpler than the one on the door, and took only a few seconds to pop open. She scooped up almost all the coins and poured them into her own purse, leaving only a handful of silver and copper pieces behind. Jasmine locked the box and put it back in its hiding place, then grabbed a couple small loaves of bread from a basket that she thought would be either tossed out or given to beggars in the morning.

After she locked the shop door behind her, Jasmine walked back toward the Violet Sign inn. She hadn't gone more than a couple blocks when she slowed. What are you doing? she asked herself. You have more than enough coin in your room, and a fortune on account at Dinklebow's. You don't have to do this.

She shook her head to try to ditch the intrusive thoughts. What would the others think if they saw you doing this? They would be so disappointed.

They don't know I'm a thief, she argued.

They have a pretty good suspicion, but they'll still be disappointed to find out they were right.

Jasmine grumbled as she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and tilting her head back.

"Okay, fine," she finally said. Jasmine thought for a couple of minutes and figured out where the nearest temple was. "But the others better not find out about this."

She kept to the shadows again as she made her way to the nearest temple. She didn't recognize the holy symbol engraved on the unlocked doors. Jasmine slowly opened the doors, still appearing to any who might see as an elderly gnome, and walked gingerly to the offering box. She thought for a moment, trying to remember how much she had in her purse when she left her room, before she finally shrugged and dumped all her coins into the box. She sneaked back into the street before anyone heard the coins clinking and came to investigate, and made her way quickly back to the inn. She removed the magical disguise before she climbed back up the wall and into her room.

She snuggled up next to the badger and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.