Chapter 13: THIEF!

Kurgren and the thief stood still, his pistol pointing towards his chest.

The Halfling quickly throws his cloak causing Kurgren to fire on instinct, piercing through the cloak and shattering the window before briefly seeing the thief jumped out the window.

He quickly grabs the blanket and threw it on the window rim, as going down the stairs will give the thief enough time to escape, and vaults over the window and upon landing see the thief a few meters ahead and gives chase.

The thief bolts through the crowd, his size having an advantage, as Kurgren pushed through the crowd to reach him.

But as he began closing on him the thief quickly puts on a visor and throws a vial filled with silver liquid, shattering with a great burst of bright light, briefly blinding Kurgren and the crowd, and quickly climbs up to the caravans roof and run from there.

Kurgren quickly recover and chase the thief, who is now hopping between the roofs and moving faster.

Kurgren then begins to to feel fatigue setting in after a few meters, while he can capture the Halfing easily in an open field; the large crowd and the Halfing using his lighter weight to move between building meant he could outlast him in endurance.

Kurgren estimates a minute or two has passed as they began to reach the edge of town where he begins to smile. Soon he is going chase in an open field where he could get him, but the thief then throws a bundle of cloth towards his area, which burst open to reveal pieces of gold.

The crowd and some of the guards then began to run the area, jostling and blocking Kurgren; whose last vision was the Halfing getting down and running before getting squeezed by the amassing crowd.

Kurgren tries to push through, using only a small amount of his strength lest he kills one by accident; while Ardent and the rest quickly catch up, but at the rate he's going the thief would get away before an idea struck him.

"It might get me in trouble. But it's the only way." He then takes a deep breath and bellows a cragdeth, an Orc warcry, raising and swinging his fransica to the sky.

The effect was immediate as the crowd and guards shriek in terror and quickly disperse, giving him a path towards the thief who is now about two meters away, and he quickly dashes, hoping that the guards don't have time to aim at him.

He then begins to catch up to the thief, but as he nears the Halfing exhaustion begin to set in as his running slows down.

He then pulls out his darts, now having a clear shot, and throws it at the thief.

The dart flew like an arrow and pierce the thief's back below the ribs, with such power that only the fletching sticks out of his back, and he tumbled forward screaming.

Kurgren then catches up and grabs the thief by his neck and raise a dagger above his head.

The thief raised both his hand in mercy.

"Don't kill me! I was just hired to steal something!"

Kurgren inch his face closer.

"Who sent you and steal what?" And tighten his grip on his neck to emphasize.

"An orb and hi-hired by a-." He then briefly went silent before coughing and gasping for air.

Kurgren release the Halfing in shock before seeing him then place his hands on his throat as he repeatedly coughs and gasp before puking out bits of food as foam forms around his mouth, then looks up and stare at Kurgren with bloodshot eyes, and fall on his back gasping and choking in pain before writhing, and then silence.

Kurgren moved to the Halfing and place two fingers on his wrist, no pulse, before smelling a faint scent of bitter almonds from his mouth.

He then grabs the sack and look through for their items.

He found the gold they kept in the room and his mother's engagement ring. But the last item he found is the most unique.

It is a sword, or at least the hilt of one; the remaining blade extends half a foot long and half a foot wide from the handle before ending in a shattered tip, with embossed gold lining what remained, it's mirror-like shine and pale blue glow meant if was made of draqent, dragonforged silver only Humans can wield to full potential; alongside the remaining fragments in the sack, enough to make at least two swords, and the ten inch handle indicates that it's a greatsword.

But the intact handle is the most magnificent piece; with an amethyst orb inset it's pommel to it's handle wrapped in gold and silver metal strips, leather, and silk with a ruby, emerald, diamond and sapphire lining it from above the pommel to gold and silver lined guard, the gems representing the four elements, and by proxy the four firstborn of Orcs, Elves, Dwarves and Human.

"This could at least sell for thirty gold, and even more if it was intact!" Kurgren thought before being interrupted by a yell.

"FREEZE MURDERER!"

Kurgren looks up and see ten men with their muskets aimed at him and their uniform indicating the town guards.

"What do you mean?"

Kurgren saw the guard's agitation grew, their finger nearing the trigger.

"Don't act dumb you half-breed. We saw you holding that man at knifepoint, not to mention your roar."

Kurgren realized what they meant.

"It's not what it looks like. This man-"

"SHUT IT! I know your kind, depraved butchers ever since birth."

Kurgren felt his temper flare. Damn hypocrites.

"How dare you say that when your people-"

The thunder of fire silenced him. And he froze as the bullet fly, and missed him by a few inches. The guardsman purposely missed. The man then unholster his pistol.

"That is my last warning. Get down on the ground NOW!"

Kurgren, realizing they won't hear his side unless behind bars, raise his hands and kneel as four of the guards move behind with two of them going to the corpse and sack.

"Not again." He mentally groaned and cussed as the four behind pushes him while the two carry the corpse and sack.

While in boros three arrows Curtis scowls as the thief he hired failed, but reconcile himself with the confirmation that the half-Orc holds the Obrilon.

Fortunately for Kurgren he had only spent an hour before being release due to Ardent, who had used his diplomatic skills and his reputation of a knight, and the many witness, including guards further in the town who couldn't reach due to the crowd, and the autopsy showing the Halfling had died of poison.

Kurgren then went outside to meet the group with the sack of their stolen items.

"So, who's this?" He ask as he pulls out the sword handle.

Ardent quickly grabs the broken weapon in his hand "That is mine." He then quickly wraps the handle in velvet and leather, puts it in an oiled leather sack, and puts it in his bag.

When the group reach back to the in they quickly order dinner when Ardent speaks in a hush tone.

"When everyone is done meet me in my room." Before dinner came where they eat quickly, and after dinner Solaina and Louise follow the men back to their room.

"So, what's with the urgency?" Kurgren asked.

Ardent then chants a spell as a circle with symbols of magic forms on the floor before expanding to cover the room.

"I have blocked all noises from coming in or out of here, as a precaution."

He then sits on the bed and takes a deep breath.

"I was chosen to aid the watch with the autopsy, as I was the only knight currently here, to work and during the operation I found some interesting details."

"Upon opening the Halfing's stomach the mage and I found an arcane activation rune that will leak cyncadros, an enchanted cyanide, into the body to kill it's victim and another rune that allows it's caster to see the casted eyes and sense what's happening, and a note in one of his coat pockets."

He then pulls the note from his pocket and reads it to them.

"Find a hand sized black orb and bring it to the entrance of Leona where we will meet with a signal of the heron. There you will be handsomely handsomely paid in gold and jewellery. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING ELSE IF IT JEOPARDIZES THE MISSION!"

"So what does these means to us?" Erhardt ask.

"It means that someone wants the orb Kurgren found and is following us, those runes upon inspection shows more complex spells where we hypothesize that it was put in the Halfing food with a spell that will place the runes in his stomach upon reaching it. Meaning that his contractor had put a kill switch without his notice as a failsafe for the chance he gets caught and rats him."

He then tells them that they should sleep now and leave at dawn.

"What about Curtis? Should he know about this too." Louise ask Ardent as she move towards the door.

"I already told him to meet us at the inn entrance and tell the rest of it as we leave."

Solaina and Louise then leave to their room as the three began their poker to see who wins the bed.

This time Erhardt won andArdent cast the orison on the Dwarf head to silence his snores.