Days of the Dead Book 1: The Thief's End

Chapter 3: The idiots in the cave

Kit
I fall backward onto the cave floor. It stinks of torches and stale urine. Honestly it's been several days. They should have found a way out of the cave by now. They really should have. And yet. Here we are.
"Oh, look who decided to turn back up!"
"Yeah, our helpful wizard, don't suppose you could magic all of us out of here?"
"I'm not leaving without the gold, Kit, so ignore them," the only bitch in this family that I respect, says. He helps me to my feet.
Where are we?
A goddamn cave. We are here because there's treasure in here. We found the treasure, and got stuck.
Who are these people?
Don't fully know. I don't think one of them is straight, though. They run around having adventures across like, endless countryside. They're all dressed like knights, and like have swords and all, and cars and telephones aren't a thing, so it's like, basically an endless game of dungeons and dragons, but that's these dude's lives. So they're clearly like, fun, but we've been trapped in this cave for a while. Obviously, I can personally leave. This does not help anyone but me as when I do the thing with the amulets, I can't take anything major with me, small bits of food, and you know, stolen treasure, but only like a few coins or a jewelry item.
Who is in charge of these people?
Who ever yells the loudest. Just kidding. There is a leader.
And let me introduce you to:
Okay I don't actually know his name. But here he is.
He steps forward, away from the door. Looming over me, just past six feet, lean like a tiger, with strawberry blonde hair and very pretty soft blue eyes they look violet in dim lights, of like, I don't know, A CAVE. There's a cruelty to his face, but he reserves it for the enemy. Usually clean shaven now his beard is ragged from the last few days in the, I may have brought this up, cave we are trapped in. His name is either MyLord, what his men call him to his face, or Oc-e-Non, which is some sort of in joke, like they intentionally do not call him that to his face. I call him Ocenon in my head, not like I speak anyway.
"Well?" Ocenon asks. It's rare to get more than two words out of him. It's not cruel, just to the point. He'll silence his men's bickering with a look, rarely needing his voice. It took me a while to guess why, but he stutters, with longer sentences. I've heard him speak at length a couple of us and he did. So I suspect that's why he keeps his language brief.
I shake my head in response, gesturing that I can do nothing. I have tried to use magic on the door but to no avail. And I can't bring anything to help. Honestly I was figured they'd all have gotten out, or eaten each other by now. It's not a bad cave, or series of caverns. We're just rapidly running out of fuel and food. and at the back is an ancient treasure chest and some really cool treasure. That said I can't exactly disappear with it at the moment.
I toss him a box of tinder and flint. I'm shocked I've held onto that through my travels. It's about all I can offer.
Ocenon catches it, nodding a bit in thanks then handing it to one of the men.
"Here, come and see, we think we uncovered some sort of lock," the aforementioned only person in this family I respect. Kidding. He just feeds me and talks in complete sentences. A bull dog of a man, biceps for days. A bow is his weapon of choice and he has ones of different sizes. He has black hair and eyes and tans easily from our days in the sun. The men call him Rob or Robbie or a host of other nick-names. Rob suits him, he and I are usually the burglars of the party.
I follow him over to the door. Ocenon points to where there's an indentation in the door. I kneel down, frowning as I look at it. It does clearly fit something. But I don't know what it is, like some sort of key? It's round?
"I think I recognize it," another man, Sam I think, says, leaning close.
Ocenon looks at him.
"See that design there? It looks familiar," Sam says.
I shake my head. It doesn't look like anything to me but I spend my days stealing, just so much stuff, so much passes through my sticky little gay fingers that like, I don't, have any bearing on if I might have seen it.
"Sicily," Ocenon says, tapping it, "In Sicily."
"You're right!" Sam says, triumphantly, "It was—it was one of their coins, or something."
"You think you can manage that?" Rob asks me.
I nod, a little, shrugging. It looks familiar now that they say that but like, I don't know where Sicily is—? Like how am I supposed to figure—oh. Oh I do remember this now. We were like, we got kicked out. We were doing a thing, like, occupying or something? And we got thrown out, and like those coins were in the church. Thing. Church place. And anyway. I know because I stole some for my master who was not impressed but kept them anyway. So how do I get back there? I've not got an amulet for there.
I make a motion, for writing. I'm coming up with a plan but it isn't good. Well. None of my plans are.
"Draw it?" Ocenon confirms. He snaps his fingers. One of the men comes forward with paper.
I nod quickly.
"See if you can get one," Rob, who knows damn well I stole seven.
Sam fetches the paper and brings it to me. I kneel down in front of the seal on the door, carefully, to trace the symbol.
Sam slumps down next to me, tired. Ocenon reaches out and puts a hand through his hair, idly. This is not unusual behavior, see above when I said I'd be shocked if any of these people are straight. I've been running with them since I first started collecting amulets. That is, since I was ten. And fun, fact, that's how I found I'm gay. I was like, 'oh wow, it's a thing to only like boys?' That's my thing then. That was my gay awakening. Watching our fearless leader kissing our most temperamental bowmen on the mouth, with tongue, and thinking to myself 'God I wish that were me'. It was like good in a way, back home nobody is gay and nobody talks about being gay, these guys may have forgotten straight people exist. It's very relaxing. Other than the part where we're trapped in a cave.
I sigh, looking at the paper.
"You know where that is?" Rob asks, but it's not a question.
"What, you think he has it?" Lionel, one of the burly spearmen, comes up.
"No, I think he stole one at one point," Rob growls. Rob is the most temperamental bowman who Ocenon was doing mouth to mouth with, by the way, for my gay awakening, in case you hadn't realized that yet. Yeah. The men do not seem to care, whichever one is in his favor at the moment graces his tent or the like, and the others pair off as required. I'm the youngest though a few are near my age. They don't speak to me much because I don't speak at all and I'm a wizard, so, you know, whatever. I'm always the freak.
"Why?" Sam asks.
"He steals everything he touches?" Rob asks.
"And you don't?" Like three men scoff.
"Takes one to know one—Kit, as we're dying would you mind confirming you have or have not stolen one of these?" Rob asks, tapping the door.
I nod, weakly.
"Bring it," Ocenon says, frowning a little.
I dust my hands.
"He's not got it anymore—okay but you're gonna get it back, yeah you better," Rob growls.
I bar my teeth back.
"Quickly," Ocenon gestures generally to his men, who are clearly dying.
I nod, taking a breath. I don't fully know how I'm going to get it back, though. I assume my master still has it? I can hardly ask, not without anything to offer up. I'll have to trade for it?
Oh well. Nothing for it. Time to try my new adventure.