Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Chapter One: Break Out!

The icy wind blew as a sturdy sled was pulled by a strong team of horses toward a tower in the middle of Icewind Dale.

Eight human guards stood outside the entrance, watching from their ice-caked helmets as the carriage came closer. The crossbows in their hands were held at the ready, but they didn't fire.

"It's them," one guard said to his allies. The carriage then pulled up to the gates. "Get ready. Two more prisoners coming in!"

"Prepare for docking!" another guard said as they locked the carriage to the ice with a special mechanism.

"In position!" a third shouted. The carriage was then pulled to the gates by chains. The guards aimed their crossbows at the open walls of the carriage in case any of the prisoners tried to make a run for it.

The gates opened as the carriage released a prisoner. Looking up, one of the guards saw the ugliest half-orc he had ever laid eyes on. The half-orc stepped forward as multiple guards latched a chain to his belt. The chain was connected to a moving device on the ground so he could only go forward.

"Prisoner walking!" a guard said as he and another grabbed the prisoner's arms and guided him to his cell. The tower's hundreds of levels were lined with different cells to the open ceiling, holding different prisoners. They all did something to earn their punishment.

After walking forever, the half-orc arrived at his cell. The guards loosed the chains and let him in, only for him to find three cellmates were already inside, all humans, and all appeared to be very different from each other.

One was a man. He leaned up against his stone bed like he was some kind of lord, knitting a pair of mittens. He had wavy brown hair and a graying beard. He was handsome, by human standards.

On the bunk above the man laid a bored boy, no older than nineteen years. His untidy dark blonde hair was almost a light brown, and he looked up at the ceiling with blue eyes. The boy just absentmindedly tossed a rock in his hand as if he were trying to juggle it.

The last human was female, with black hair and tanned skin. She just sat on the bottom bunk of the second bunkbed and ate a potato.

"Oh, great," the boy said sarcastically. "A new cellmate." He then looked at the barred door and shouted to the guards, "It's cramped in here! We don't have any more room!"

"No offense, pal," the man said. "You seem lovely. Don't mind him. He's just a little cranky.

"Uh..." the man continued. "Let's show you around. Get you situated here. This is the bucket where our pee freezes. And, um... Yeah, that's it."

The half-orc paid no attention to the man. It was clear he and the boy were both idiots. He was more drawn to the woman.

"What's your name, lass?" he asked.

"Uh, that's Holga," the man answered as the woman continued to munch her potato. "I'm Edgin. And above me is Drordask. And you are?"

"I've been in a lot of cells," the half-orc said to Holga, paying no attention to the morons as she looked up at him. "Never shared one with a female. Think I'm gonna like it."

"Uh, word of advice," Drordask said as he continued to toss and catch his rock, "Holga hates being disturbed while she's eating potatoes. You might wanna wait to make a move when she's finished."

"Yeah, her potatoes are kind of the highlight of her day," Edgin agreed.

"Shut up, you two!" the half-orc growled.

"Sure thing," Edgin agreed. "Have at it."

"Little shy, eh?" the half-orc asked Holga as she continued to eat her potato. "I'm not so bad once you get to know me."