[QueenOfSpades]

The Desert - Now



Aglarond - Then

When something sounds too good to be true, chances are that you should be listening to the subtle hint of your subconscious screaming at you to walk away.

"I have it all figured out, trust me"

I don't know why I ignored the warning bells in my head when He said those last too words, I was going to walk away after this one, this was going to be the last job. We all had our parts, my only job was to open the strongbox without setting off the trap network intended to stop people helping themselves to it's contents.

Thay - Yesterday

That just proved that I had taken leave of my senses, no-one in their right mind goes there. He was the only one who knew the local language. And we all stick out like mummers in motley.

The Job - Last night

Four men, Two Marks, One Night. He had it all figured out all right, Val and Jarl had their own mark on the other side of town. A stash of precious stones secreted beneath the floorboards of a run down home, the hoarde of another thief who was never able to retrieve his ill gotten gains, especially if the rumour of his demise was true. Our mark was the contents of a strongbox belonging to someone important enough or paranoid enough to keep it locked away within a walled compound. It was easy, He knew the movements of the guards, that all within the compound would be asleep. The trap network was easily bypassed with his plans of the vault, stolen from the builder before he was supposedly buried alive beneath the compound walls, or so He said.. We were in and I had the strongbox open in moments. Hindsight told me that I should have been more suspicious when the key turned so smoothly in the lock. The so called duplicate offering none of the typical resistance of a freshly cut key, it's edges worn smooth with use. There was a single trinket inside, a gilded tube of ivory.

The Desert - Moments ago

We were supposed to meet the others just outside of town in a desert valley we'd scouted earlier. As we neared the final rise, I hoped to see Val on the other side. I'd worked with him before, knew how to find trouble and had a knack for worming his way out with sheer luck. The other, Jarl, I'd never worked with before but Val had, that put me at ease somewhat.

"Wait here, I'll scout ahead."

He disappeared for what seemed like an eternity, before returning over the dune, calling for me to join him. When I crested the rise, I looked down at the valley. Val and Jarl lay flat on the ground the sand beneath them stained with blood. I started to run, but before I could move I felt a hand come about by neck and a blade thrust into my chest.

"Nothing personal, my employers can't afford to have any loose ends. Your not cut out for this work, you know... you should have stuck to picking pockets in derlusk"

Everything began to fade to black, I felt cold.

The Desert - Now

I wake to the sharp stabbing pain in my chest, everything is blurred at first, but I remember the blade. I managed to stop the bleeding, but I can see movement in the distance to my left, jackals or worse. Wiling myself into action I made for the rocks to the left side of the valley, I think I can see a cave.

So much for honour among thieves...

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