The Trymar Chronicles I: The Thief's Serenade [English Version]

In the beginning

Rat

It was the same routine scheme we had run many times before. Our objective was clear: to stealthily position ourselves in the woods surrounding the road, ready to pounce on the caravan and claim all valuables so we could sell them on the black market. I started running these schemes myself once I had grown too old to keep picking pockets on the city's market. Still, when I enlisted the help of Fergus, Aneeka, and Rudek, it became a very lucrative and heart-pounding enterprise.

Rudek had a great talent for building networks and collecting information. He had worked across Trymar, nursing a large net through which we learned of all the merchant caravans passing through the Winterlands and when they would pass. With this information, we began choosing those who would be the most profitable for us. On the other hand, Fergus provided the muscle we needed to attack swiftly and with the slightest opposition, along with Kroenen, who had only been with us for a few months. While Anneka, with her bow and arrow, provided the distractions that would drive out targets right where we wanted them to.

Yet my scheming had not turned us into a family, Fergus' sword, or Rudek's spies. It was Aneeka; she was the beating heart of our operation. She had organized our merry little band, always making sure that we did not get into too much trouble, and it was she who turned our gloomy and empty hideout into a home. She kept us sane, focused and united. Even then, before anything else had come to pass, our bond was more than just a criminal partnership; it was a deep and unbreakable connection.

Every time we completed a heist, we were always up somewhere where we got a clear view of the road and where she could get a clear shot. That day, we were perched atop a tree branch, hidden by the thick foliage, waiting for any sign of activity. But she was not in her usual upbeat attitude; her frowning betrayed the worry and uneasiness that plagued her heart, casting a shadow of doubt over our mission.

"Are you alright?" I asked, my worry for her state of mind palpable in my tone.

She did not reply straight away. Her eyes remained trained on the empty horizon as if the answer to my question lay there. The wind blew through the trees, gently rocking the branch we were standing on.

"I do not like this," she finally replied. "Something feels... off."

Instinctively, I reached for her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"We have done this a million times before, Nika."

"This is not a regular merchant's loot, Rat! This caravan is going to the fucking Elder, coming from the fucking King!" She forced herself to control her anger and lower her voice. "Royal guards will be protecting this caravan, and I feel this will end badly for us."

I could not argue with her logic. This heist was the riskiest we had ever attempted, so Aneeka and I strongly opposed the idea. But Fergus managed to bring Kroenen and Rudek to his side, and they outvoted us three to two. So there we were because we would not allow our friends to fall alone, even if we disagreed with their course of action.

I imagined the situation was all the more distressing for Aneeka, for Fergus was her partner. I could not begin to guess the anguish she must have been feeling to watch the man she loved facing mortal danger because I had never loved anyone in such a way, nor had anyone ever loved me. I had long accepted that the gods did not want such a thing for me; after all, who would find a nameless and penniless orphan appealing?

"It will be alright. I know it," I said, trying to assuage Aneeka's fears and convince myself.

She turned towards me and smiled softly, squeezing my hands. I know not why, but I had never noticed the endearing way the bridge of her nose wrinkled when she did.