Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal

Chapter 4 Around The Tree

 Somewhere set in the Kingdom of Wood, two figures dressed in dark hoods scurry around a town at night, close to the 'Great Tree of Sinnel', or so that was what Nico heard the other elves refer to the giant tree as. Along with Nico was Yvonne, who dressed in the same dark attire as him. Despite one of them being an elf, neither were welcomed in the kingdom they were in. Day and night, the two of them did everything they could to press on and survive, taking anything that would refresh them such as food, water, or shelter. Sometimes a day would go by when they would have none of those things. But that was the price they were both willing to pay for what they were after.

The two of them were laying low behind a couple of empty crates. Yvonne peered over one of the boxes to take a good look at the general bakery shop across the cobble road. Inside, she could see the lights were still on, suggesting that the owner hadn't left yet. "Come on. Leave already..." Yvonne whispered, set with a frustrated tone. Nico looked over to what she was seeing, being as frustrated as she was. "How long does one person need to stay in a bakery for?" Yvonne complained even further.

"It's possible that whoever's inside is making their next batch for tomorrow, getting things prepared." Nico explained. "They couldn't just do all that in the morning?" Yvonne said. "You ask too many pointless questions, look up there." Nico pointed to the second floor above the shop. "It's possible that the owner also lives there and has their living quarters on the second floor. If the lights go out and no one comes out, taking anything from them still won't be as easy." Nico said just as the lights began to flicker off.

"We shouldn't have to go inside anyway. You have your shadow magic to just grab things whenever you want." Yvonne said to him. "If I were to do that and someone sees my hand, all they would have to do is turn the lights back on and I'm as good as dead. It's better to have someone keep watch. I can just pull you back out or you can run out if anything goes wrong. Now go." Nico commanded Yvonne which prompted her to kick up dirt in his face when she stood up. "Asshole." Yvonne told him.

Nico used his magic to easily transfer Yvonne inside the bakery without having to pick a single lock. Using what she made from inside her toolbelt, Yvonne turned on a small light on a device that illuminated enough space for her to see but not so much light where it would be too noticeable. The first thing she noticed was a set of stairs to her right which confirmed Nico's suspicions about the owner's living space. But the second thing she saw was a basket full of bread on a glass counter with the bread itself laying on top of a decorated cloth at the bottom but the folds still peered over the side. She grabbed the basket and made her way over to the window to signal Nico with a simple hand gesture, though the gesture she used was just her middle finger. From there, Nico carefully held his hand up to a dark wall, ready for Yvonne to hand over whatever she had. Yvonne pushed the basket against a dark wall herself and the food was easily transferred to Nico's hands by his own shadow magic. Usually, the amount they currently had would have been enough, but Yvonne wanted to be greedy tonight.

Slowly walking over to the glass counter and peering over the other side were a set of muffins. Yvonne figured she could at least carry three or four with her. But she almost thought she had pushed her luck when she heard the ceiling creek above her, knowing fully well at that point that the owner was still awake. The sound made her head jerk upward and pan over to the stairs. But Yvonne was persistent in getting what she wanted. She walked behind the counter, grabbed each muffin one by one, and dropped them on the dark floor, hoping Nico's magic would be used right where her feet were. Sure enough, each muffin went through and they all fell out the other side into Nico's hands. Outside, Yvonne could see Nico place each on top of the crate they were using to hide behind. As soon as they were done, all Yvonne had to do was walk to the darkest corner of the room and Nico pulled her out from the other side. They didn't have as many nights that were as easy as this one but Yvonne was sure Nico would find something to complain about.