Following Little Thieves

I wandered through the streets and alleyways. There was so much about the world I did not understand. One of those things was on how to find a clue for my goal. I was looking for a man, but no one knew this man. I had asked around to some city folks, but no one had seen anyone matching his description. I mean, his pitch black hair would have stood out. But a single person had spotted him.

There was one place where I could find a clue, but it was not the kind of place I could go when I wanted to. A place where criminals hung out and also exchanged information. Usually, they referred to themselves as odd jobs workers. But really, they were a thieving band with many side operations.

I had to find someone that could lead me to their hideout first. And that proved to be incredibly difficult. I spent the whole day walking around the street. The people gave me weird looks as I held the black sword out in the open, but it wasn't like I had a choice. The sword was always in my hand. I couldn't retrieve it like other people or summon a sheath for it.

Time went by. Hour after hour until it was evening. And yet, I had not spotted a single thief. I had feared this would be the case. At this point, I felt an intense hunger and went to buy some food. Harin's face popped up in my head. I wondered if she was having a good time as I went to a food stall.

The food in the outer region was rather dull. The flavor was almost bland, but acceptable. I paid for the food as I received the food. And it was at that moment, I felt a gentle tug on my coin sack. I smiled and went on my way as if nothing happened.

The one who had stolen from me was a teenager. She appeared rather well dressed for the area. Any normal person would not suspect her as a thief. I followed closely behind her as she went into an alleyway. She met up with a few other teens. I watched them from above.

"I got a nice score just now, Lev!" said the girl who had taken my coin bag. She took out the pouch and held it in front of her friends. The others awed at the bag. "The stupid guy was flailing around a gold coin this morning. It was so easy to take his money from him." The girl laughed.

"Come on, Veli. Don't keep us waiting, open the bag already. I really want to see how much money is inside," said one of the other kids. He had a look of anticipation in his eyes, same as the other kids.

"Relax, J. It's not going anywhere." Although the girl named Veli said that, she too was eager to see what was inside. The four kids huddled together in a circle on the ground in squats. The coin sack was on the ground as Veli slowly reached out and opened it. Golden light beamed out as dozens of gold coins with some silver coins mixed in shone onto their faces. The group collectively gasped.

"It's...so much," said the kid named J.

"How much do you think is in there?" said another kid.

"I don't know. But it's more than enough to live a good life," said Veli. The kids stared at the gold coins with watering mouths.

"Argh! You're not thinking of taking all of it, are you?" said J.

"Maybe I should, since I'm the one who scored it," said Veli.

"Really, Veli? You're gonna leave little old me behind for the noble life?" said the other girl in the group.

"I'm just kidding, Lev. I'll bring you guys along, of course," said Veli. The kids smiled and they all chuckled. They appeared to be very close friends. Too bad I had to ruin their dreams. I had already silently walked up on them while they were busy admiring my wealth. They paid no attention to the outside world. I gently lowered my arm and swooped the coin bag back into my hands.

"What?! Who dares—" shouted Veli, but quickly stopped when she saw my face.

"Hello there, little thieves," I said calmly.

"Hey! That's ours!" J proudly claimed.

"Oh, is it now?" I said.

"Shh! J!" Veli quickly pulled J back.

"What's the matter, Veli?" asked J. The other two kids also looked at Veli.

"That...it's him," said Veli, trembling as she spoke. "He's the one I took the pouch from." Her trembling hand pointed at me, although she only raised it a bit.

"I think you meant to say stole," I said. The kids jumped as though I had said something frightening.

"W-w-we don't steal! We found it," said J.

"Oh really? And you can prove it?" I said, smiling.

"Well, yeah. Of course, I can!" J said. I could see his attempt to rob me again. With a knife in his head, he swung at me. I sighed internally. Why is everyone in the outer region so quick to resort to violence? I easily grabbed J's slow moving hand by the wrist.

"You were saying?" I squeezed. I held up my other arm, the one holding the sword. I was simply trying to scratch an itch on the back of my head, but I think it gave them the wrong impression.

J's face dropped. "P-please, sir. I...I'll do anything. Just don't kill me," he begged. I saw tears welling up on the side of his eyes. I was taken back. Why was I being treated like a bloodthirsty hunter? But this was also an opportunity.

"Alright, I'll let you live," I said, showing an evil grin. "If you provide me some information."

"A-anything, sir," said J.

I couldn't hold back my laughter. "Relax, kid. I'm not a bad person looking to hurt you. I just followed your friend here to get some information about Atena," I said.

"Really?" said Veli. "You followed me?"

"Tsk. Tsk. Did you really think you could steal my coin sack? Your hands were not nearly crafty enough to not alert me. You're lucky I'm not the type to take your mischief to heart. Someone else might have cut you down right then and there," I said.

"I...know," said Veli. What was up with these kids? Why did they live on the street stealing from others?

"As I said. I'll forgive you if you tell me where I can find Atena," I said.

"Atena? Those bunch of assholes that do anything for a price?" said Veli. Suddenly, she went from sad to angry.

"Umm, yes? I need them to find someone," I said.

"If you're looking for someone, then you don't need to find those bastards. We can help you find a person," proclaimed Veli. She sounded very confident. Was it her trust in her own skills or was it her hatred for Atena that gave her confidence.

"Oh? You'll find the person I'm looking for? With those sloppy skills of yours?" I said.

Veli was stunned. She had just been caught trying to steal from me. Suddenly, the girl besides her spoke up. "No, no. Not us. Our guild! We are part of a guild, too. We have many talented people who can find who you're looking for, mister," she said. Her name should be Lev.

"So you're what? A rival organization?" I asked her.

"You could say that. But we don't accept every task. We try to only do jobs that are within our morals," said Lev.

"That's hard to believe, considering I just caught you red-handed," I said. Veli blushed.

"That's because...our Mirror Guild is struggling right now. Atena has been doing stuff with the nobles and in the process they are making sure we don't get any commissions," said Lev.

"With the nobles?" My ears perked up. Why would nobles be working together with a ragtag group of criminals? But then again, that Ryker or whatever his name was, that guy was also working for nobles. Maybe he was also from a noble family himself, but I didn't have such information. If the nobles were really working with criminals such as these, then there was a serious rat infestation in the aristocracy of the grand city Catonieles.

"Yes. Atena has been working closely with the nobles as of late, sir. There's even rumors that—" Lev shut her mouth as she was talking.

"Rumors that what?" I asked.

"I can't speak more, mister," said Lev.

"Why? Just say it," I demanded.

"No, no. This could be real trouble for me if I speak, mister," she said. She violently shook her head.

"I'll pay you a gold coin if you spill it out," I said. These thieving kids would do anything for money.

"Fine. But don't tell anyone I told you this...please. There's a rumor that...even the royal house is in on it," she whispered. My eyes widened with shock. This rumor could not be correct. It simply had to be false.