Chapter I

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He was dead.

Well, he was as good as dead at least. Ka'ryk couldn't believe his bad luck. His first real hit and it was sunk. Days of planning ruined! Time spent watching and observing wasted! It had been perfect! A keep meant to be empty, the wife out on business, the royal brat was out spending his father's money at the local brothel, and the lord of the keep; Lord Gyent, himself was out with the mistress. He had all the entrances located an escape points picked out. And it was all ruined. By a stray cat. 'A fucking stray of all things!' Ka'ryk thought as he ran through the streets. He let out a string of curses under his breath, particularly to the cat. He quickly glanced at his knapsack where said cat still lay. Its head still hung from under the flap and looked up at Ka'ryk and gave a small meow as if to say he shouldn't have gone in the house in the first place. A series of shouts made Ka'ryk quickly look back. Behind him he saw the lord he had robbed, and several guardsmen, all who were struggling to get through the crowded street after him. 'By the crown this is the worst day in all of Balzmader', he thought as he hurdled a random fish stall. He blamed himself; and the cat. Mostly the cat. Ka'ryk thought back wondering how it all had turned out like this. Blinded by the unbelievable good luck he had so far; and the assorted jeweled goods he had looted, he had decided to take his time and explore a little. Hell he even changed out of his old torn rag sheets into Lord Gyent's sons' clothes. Most of it was flashy but he managed to find a simple shirt and shorts vest outfit that fit and he felt wouldn't hinder him in his thieving. Once he was done he decided to just go out through the front door. The streets were busy with merchants and villagers alike so the thought of being caught left his mind. Ka'ryk had confidently strolled down through the gardens of the keep, avoiding the patrolling guards and even stopped to smell the flowers, continuing till he simply strolled out the gate. Not even before he had closed them he felt his knapsack suddenly grow increasingly heavy. Ka'ryk glanced at his side and to his horror, he watched as this small frail gray cat that showed up from nowhere; pushing his stolen trinkets from the sack an crawling inside to rest in the space it had made. At the same moment Lord Gyent had also made a sudden appearance with his mistress. As they glanced out of their carriage the lord had first thought it was his son, but it didn't take him or anyone close enough long to notice the boy who; surrounded by a bunch of expensive trinkets at his feet standing right outside an open gate, had no place being there. "THIEF!!" Lord Gyent cried out, stumbling to get out as he pushed his mistress aside and swing the door open. Ka'ryk was impressed at the sight even as he dashed into the crowd. The man certainly wasn't fit or close to the word but he had managed to get out of the carriage, and draw his ornamented sword all while immediately sprinting after Ka'ryk calling for guardsmen. "Stop him! He's stolen from me! Catch that thief!" the lord cried out. The guards certainly weren't slow to respond and were already in pursuit before Lord Gyent had even uttered his demand. The cat meowed, breaking Ka'ryk from his brief flashback and causing him to glare furiously at the gray feline. "When I get out of this mess I'm skinning you and turning you into a nice scarf!" Ka'ryk almost laughed at the idea, as he grabbed a stall post swinging himself around the corner of the market stall and into a busier section of the market square. "That is if they don't catch and skin ME first," He glanced back to see that they had fallen far back, the confused crowd blocking the path of most the pursuing Troup. He stopped to watch as Lord Gyent and a few guardsmen pushed some unlucky civilians down and ran over them; Lord Gyent even turned an quickly drove his gem encrusted boot into an older man's face. Rage flooded through Ka'ryk like the blood that burst from the man's nose and he clenched his hands tightly at the sight. Without a second thought he grabbed the closest thing his hand could hold and threw it at the lord.

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Now if anyone had been watching at this moment they would have curiously studied this strange lad, with his small stature of merely five feet, who carried himself like he stood taller than everyone in the market. They would have taken note of the clothes that spoke royalty but didn't match the dark tan of his skin that were marred with scars and healing bruises. Or they would gaze at his shockingly deep blue eyes that sparkled and were so clear; and his long hair that was unremarkably white; almost silver if one had to guess, that clashed with his eyes in a mesmerizing rare dance. They would have then marveled at the swiftness as he reached out suddenly, and with deadly accuracy; this increasingly curious boy's chosen weapon, (a watermelon of all things) found its way through the crowd of hundreds, to land squarely in the lords' face just as he turned back around. They would have smirked as they watched the Lord Gyent's round face flatten as his head snapped back and carry him ever so slightly off his feet into two unaware guards; his red and gold blazer flapping around him as he landed flat on his back, taking down the two men with him. They would have then turned their gaze back to the boy; whose eyes shone brightly at the satisfaction of hitting his mark, despite his tight grim face. As it would happen, in the shadow of the alleyway, two hooded figures watched in amusement the very scene that unfolded before them. "...And here I thought today would be another boring day," one mused to the other as they watched Ka'ryk duck under the reaching hand of one guard who had caught up to him, and without missing a beat threw his leg out, tripping the surprised guard. The other said nothing as they watched Ka'ryk grabbed the back of the falling man's uniform and; using the momentum, used it to pull himself up and throw himself back into the crowd just as a few more guards who had also caught up had reached for him. The two shadows watched the guards take off, Lord Gyent who had somewhat recovered, following just short of them. Stepping from the alley, one pulled the hood back revealing a woman with medium red hair that flowed slowly at the sudden gust of wind that blew by. She turned, placing gloved hands on her hips an settling her dark emerald eyes to her partner. "seems like things are finally getting interesting huh?"

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