It was pitch black, except the moon that hung in the dark sky, and lanterns carried by people, but which looked as though they were floating through the darkness of their own accord.
Nobody knew that these people were being watched by the stealthiest group of people in the city. This group were on the run, running away from the city to get back to their hideout. They knew what the people carrying the lanterns were doing. The lantern bearers were known as the Guardians of the Government, and were searching for the thieves who stealth around the city in the dead of night committing crimes.
The Guardians of the Government wielded such weapons as swords, bows and arrows, but they couldn't stealth as they wore steel plate armour that made them go 'clank...clank...clank...clank...' Unlike the Guardians of the Government, the thieves only had daggers as weapons, which were quick, quiet and easy to use. They wore black robes and could therefore move swiftly and quietly, almost invisible in the darkness.
The thieves sneaked and jumped along the thatched house roofs right beside the Guardians, who were not aware of the thieves' presence.
There was a sudden whistle in the air and a yell.
"Ah!"
One of the thieves halted in his tracks, and turning around saw to his disbelief that one of his companions was stumbling towards the edge of the roof. He lunged towards his falling companion, his fingers slightly touched his companions hood, but his hand couldn't grasp it. As his companion fell off the side of the roof, he saw that he had an arrow in his back.
There was another sudden yell.
"There on the house roofs! Archers propel your arrows! Swordsmen surround them!" yelled one of the Guardians.
The thieves started sprinting. The thief who had tried to rescue his companion slowly got to his feet muttering a few good curse-words to himself. He drew his dagger from within his cloak, and started sprinting behind his other companions. He yelled orders to his companions as he tried to bypass them.
"Run faster TAL'S!" roared the thief. "Draw your weapons!"
"You expect us to fight, Mathalus?" yelled someone else.
"No, but to defend yourselves! And DO NOT EVER say my name, you dolt!" yelled Mathalus.
Once again, another arrow soared through the air just missing the side of Mathalus' head, and ripped the side of his hood. He sped on, passing all of his companions as he heard the clanking of the guardsmen. He heard the whistling of more arrows as hundreds of them soared over his head. Once again he quickened his pace.
Mathalus looked down and saw many of the guardsmen's helmets and the archers coifs running along beside him. He looked ahead, seeing that he was getting to the end of the roofs and would have to jump soon and sprint along the road.
"One hundred meters...seventy metres...forty metres...twenty metres..." Mathalus counted to himself. Ten metres away he thought he glimpsed something at the end of the roof tops...Guardians most likely.
Mathalus quickened his pace to his top-most sprinting speed and jumped - his cloak flying wildly behind him. As he looked down he saw archers ready to fire their arrows. They released -
Four years previously...
He was, as all humanity knows, an armed thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, and a master of stealth and agility. Actually he was moreover a frequent drunkard, and was an outrageous braggart. He had tanned skin, bright green eyes, was aged in his late-teens, and was about five foot tall.
The thief, who went by the name of Mathalus, had a cruel past. He grew up as an orphan, was a beggar on the street, having to steal to survive. He later joined a secret group of thieves called TAL, an acronym for Thieves Against Laws.
Mathalus had many tricks up his sleeve, such as getting people drunk and luring them somewhere where no one will see them, knocking them out, and stealing any valuables or money they happened to have on them. He would then steal their clothing and wear it as a disguise, so people would not recognise him as a thief.
Mathalus was one of TAL's best members as he was their smallest member, and could wriggle through small gaps in walls or go through pipes, which tall or stocky people couldn't do.
TAL members ignored the laws the government made. They robbed peoples houses and stalls, pick-pocketed from citizens, stealing valuables. They threatened, murdered, and eavesdropped on citizens to find out information, especially in pubs where the drunkards spoke about where the rich citizens lived, and where they hid their valuables. TAL highly like gold possessions, as they prefer gold coins, moreover than silver, brass or copper.
All of TAL's members wore the same clothing: black robes, a black hooded cloak, black leather boots and black leather gloves, and they all wielded bronze daggers as their weapons to defend and kill.
Many of the citizens hated these thieves, and so they complained to the government. The government then said that they were trying their best to capture the thieves, but that they did not know where the thieves' hideout was, or their store of the stolen possessions. The citizens were outraged that the Guardians of the Government had not yet found the thieves, and so decided to try and find them themselves.
The few of the citizens who had decided to try and find the thieves either died, got lost or got captured trying, and they never returned from their search.
Four years past, and the government had finally figured out a plan; a plan that would hopefully track down the thieves.
The government would get one hundred guardsmen and one hundred archers to patrol the city, and to do anything they can to capture the thieves.
It was now past midnight, and one of the government's archers had killed one of the thieves. The thieves were running on the roof tops, trying to get away. What they did not know was that the government had set up a barricade of archers at the end of the roof tops. When the thieves jumped down, the archers would fire their arrows at will and kill the thieves. If their arrow missed, they would capture the thief or, if they were lucky, the thieves.
Five minutes passed, as one of the thieves dodged every arrow he got closer to the end of the roof tops...ten metres away...he jumped...his cloak flapped behind him as he flew through the air...the archers fired their arrows...they missed the thief by inches. He swung his dagger left and right, trying to block the arrows...they hit his cloak...but the thief suddenly howled in rage...the archers noticed that he had an arrow sticking out from his forearm...
The thief touched back down to land, blood dripping from where the arrow had struck...howling in rage he extracted the arrow straight out from his forearm...blood spurted out...he heard the archers rushing towards him to try and capture him...but he would not give up. He stood up instantly and turned round, his dagger still grasped in his bloody hand ready to strike. He lunged for the closest archer, and stuck the blade straight into the archer's belly, who fell flat to the ground As the thief continued to fight, he counted each one as he went...three...four...five...the thief saw more of his companions jumping from the roof tops to help...
"Need some help, Mathalus?" one of his companions asked cheerfully. The thief, who was taking the archers all on by himself, was Mathalus.
Mathalus growled. "I thought I told you all to not call me by my name!"
Mathalus' companions joined in the fight and the archers began to flee. One by one they got killed as they tried to run away...the thieves searched around for the guardsmen and saw them fleeing as well. Mathalus covered his forearm in his cloak as the thieves turned their backs on the Guardians and sprinted back to base, thinking to themselves "we are thieves, we will continue to steal, but will not kill anymore, but just knock them out if things go wrong."
From that night forward, Mathalus lived and was known as a true Master of Stealth, Agility and Thieving; and of course, a Master Fighter with the Dagger. He was known as their greatest member of TAL, and was then commissioned leader of TAL.
