Riss Cobalt, sorceress supreme, is hired to find a thief and retrieve a stolen item in this short adventure taking place before my novel, Kismet and Tell
This story just placed fourth in a contest held by OtherworldsScifi
“To Catch a Thief”
Night covers the town with its velvety black curtain of darkness. Pinpricks of starlight shine down, barely illuminating the now quiet community. Sensible people have long since retired into their homes for dinner and sleep. The only people out now are the lowlifes that lurk around corners - the thieves and cutthroats who bide their time waiting for a straggler to come by or for an unsuspecting, weary traveler looking for a place to stay for the night.
And then there’s me.
Hello! I’m Marissa Cobalt. If I had any friends, they’d call me Riss. I’m the pretty, blue-haired mercenary sorceress supreme and the bane of all evil everywhere. Though I’ve only been at that business for about a year now.
Normally I’d fall into the category of the sensible people who had gone indoors for food and rest. But not tonight. Tonight, I have other business to attend to. Hence the reason I’m out skulking about town in the middle of the night when I should be at a table in a nice, warm inn, enjoying a huge dinner before retiring upstairs for a good night’s rest in a nice, soft bed. But in my line of work, I don’t always get a chance to enjoy the simple comforts of life.
And why am I out here, sitting on this roof in the middle of the night, no better than a common thief, instead of getting my beauty rest like any normal fifteen-year-old girl? Well, you see, it all started at lunch today…
* * *
Something landed suddenly on the table, startling me so much that I cried out and fell back in my chair, landing on the floor with a loud CRASH that made the other patrons in the dining room laugh. I gave them a vicious glance, and they stopped. From my undignified position on the floor, I saw a dark-haired man in brown pants and white shirt standing beside the table. He looked to be about thirty years old or so. A low growl escaped my throat, and a look of terror crossed the man’s face. I debated how to punish him. A Fireball spell would cause too much damage to the table and my food. Maybe a Dagger Bolt Shock…. Before I could decide, my peripheral vision caught sight of the item that had hit the table. It was a small leather bag, like the one used to carry gold coins. It had landed in the middle of the table, barely missing landing in a plate full of mutton and almost knocking my tankard of ale over onto my plate of steak and potatoes (I admit it. I love food. Thankfully, I’m active enough to keep my slim, trim figure). Gold coins means he’s probably a prospective client, I thought. So I calmed myself down and picked myself up off the floor. It wouldn’t do for me to kill a client. It’s not good business.
“I…I’m sorry, Miss Marissa,” the man said as I set my chair upright and situated myself at the table. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He paused. “You ARE Marissa Cobalt, aren’t you?”
My face hit the table. Of all the stupid questions…. I lifted my face off the table and turned to him, my eyes glaring and my fists balling up. “Do you know of anyone else in the whole world of Andor who has cobalt blue hair?” I said through gritted teeth.
“Uh…no…”
Remembering that he was a prospective client, I restrained myself from hitting him and calmed myself down. “Then I guess I’m Marissa Cobalt,” I said. “Now, have a seat and tell me why you want to hire me.”
He sat in the chair across from me. “H…how did you know I wanted your services?”
“The bag of coins you tossed on the table gave it away. That’s why I didn’t get overly mad at your interruption and do something violent.”
“Ohhh. Well, Miss Marissa, this is why I’ve come to you.” While he explained his situation, I continued with my lunch. “You see, Miss Marissa, I know all about your reputation. According to rumor, you have a quick and violent temper, so most people stay away from you for fear of falling prey to it. Rumor also says that you fight for justice and are waging a one-woman war on bandits and the like. Though from the stories of your exploits, it sounds as if you’re really not much better than the evildoers you are fighting. Your methods and behavior are a bit…unscrupulous…to say the least.”
I smiled at his description. That was just the sort of “bad girl” reputation I wanted for myself, and it made me happy to once again see that I’d become notorious throughout the world in my single year of doing business.
The man continued on. “Rumor also says that you hunt lost treasures. And it also says that you help people solve their problems, but that you charge a fee for those services. So, Miss Marissa, in the bag on the table is my life’s savings. Will you help me solve my problem?”
I looked at him for a moment as I chewed and swallowed a bite of potato. “Perhaps,” I said. “What’s your problem? And how can I help? And who are you, anyway?”
“Oh, forgive me. My name is Jarek Marttin. I run a little jewelry store a few blocks to the west. And my problem is that a very rare piece of jewelry that I recently came into possession of has disappeared. I believe it was stolen by one of the local thieves. I want it found and returned. Actually, I NEED it found, and soon. I was only supposed to appraise the piece. The owner will be returning for it in a couple of days. And if I don’t have it…. Well, you can see my predicament.”
“Yes, I can. So, you want me to find the thief, steal the piece of jewelry back from him, and return it to you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And that’s all?”
“Yes.”
“No problem! I’ll have it back to you in no time.” I picked up the leather bag from the table, opened it, and took out only seven of the gold coins. I gave the bag back to Jarek. “And since this is such a simple job, I’ll only take this much as payment.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “That…that’s all you’ll take, Miss Marissa?”
I nodded .
“I was expecting that you’d charge much more. The rumors…”
“Don’t believe everything you hear. Though most of the rumors about me ARE true . You see, Master Jarek, my price scale is relative to the difficulty of the job I’m being asked to do. For such a simple job as what you’re asking, I don’t charge much.” I paused and gave him a small smile. “Besides, I’d NEVER charge someone their life’s savings. I may be a bad girl, but I’m not a monster.”
He gave me a small smile in return. “I…I understand. Thank you for agreeing to help me, Miss Marissa.”
“You’re welcome. Now, which sneak thief do you think took the piece of jewelry? And what exactly is the item I’m looking for?”
“I’m not sure who took it. There are so many thieves around. But the missing item is a large gold brooch encrusted with diamonds and rubies. I’ve dated it as to being a couple hundred years old. So it’s worth upwards of one thousand gold pieces.”
My big blue eyes widened and a low whistle escaped me. If I hadn’t been hired to return it to him, I would definitely have been tempted to steal it back and keep it for myself. I pulled myself together. “All right. I’ll have to do a little investigating. But I shouldn’t have any trouble. You’ll have the brooch back tomorrow. I promise.”
“Thank you, Miss Marissa. Thank you so much.”
I just nodded.
Jarek stood up, gave me a short bow, and took his leave. I returned to my lunch and finished it with a vengeance. Afterwards, I took a tour of the town, working off my lunch and getting my bearings in the labyrinthine complex so that I’d know where Jarek’s store was located and where the likely places would be that thieves might hang out. The people call this place a town, but it’s actually big enough and busy enough to be a small city.
After my tour, I returned to the inn, went to my upstairs room, undressed, and climbed into bed for a small nap. As twilight approached, I got myself ready to go to work. I brushed out my griffin leather pants and tunic and put the pants on. Then I put on a white cotton shirt and slipped the tunic on over it. My black dragon leather boots went on next, followed by my griffin leather gloves and my gold circlet with a single emerald in the center. Then I put my long blue hair into a single braid down my back. And after putting on my little brown cloak and strapping my short sword to my waist, I left my room. The innkeeper sat at a table that he had set up against the wall by the staircase and which he used as a desk. He was engrossed with his bookkeeping, so I treaded silently down the stairs and slipped out the back door of the inn, not wanting to disturb him or arouse his suspicions.
* * *
And so, here I am, perched atop the roof of Jarek’s little jewelry store like a vulture awaiting its prey. Which in a sense I am, I guess. My keen sight and hearing haven’t picked up any signs of any thieves, though, and I’ve been sitting up here like a gargoyle for a few hours now. Actually, it’s kind of odd that I haven’t seen or heard anything. I thought a criminal always returned to the scene of the crime. Hmmm. Maybe I was wrong. Well, I guess I should start thinking about moving to another spot to spy from.
I think my legs are getting stiff, anyway. I need to stretch. So, let me adjust my sitting position so that my legs hang down over the edge of the roof… Ahhhh…Much better. Now, back to work spying…
Something lands on my head with a flutter of wings.
“AHH!” I cry out. “GET OFF ME!” My hands instinctively wave at my head. The thing atop me squawks and flies off. I watch it fly away, and see that it had been a small owl that had used my head as its roost. “Stupid bird,” I mutter to myself. Oh, but I just yelled out loud at that owl, didn’t I? Oh, great. I probably just scared away the thief. Thanks, you dumb bird!!!!
Well, I guess that means that thief won’t be back here tonight, now, doesn’t it? So I guess it IS time to move on. Maybe I should check out some of those possible thieves’ haunts I found earlier. I may be able to find out something at one of them. Yeah, I think I’ll do that.
I safety drop from the edge of the roof to the ground, landing quietly on my feet, like a cat, in front of the jewelry store. I look to my left, then my right.
Good. No one saw me. Ok. So, where should I go first? Well, I suppose I should check the closest haunt first. That only makes logical sense, doesn’t it? Now, where was it…? Oh, yes. That way.
I walk off down the road to my right and turn left down an alley five blocks later. Halfway down the alley is a door. It’s closed. I watched this door for a while earlier when I was on my tour, and I saw a young man who looked the part of a thief go inside. However, I noticed that when a big, muscular, gruff-looking man – apparently the bouncer for the place - opened the door, the thief had to say a password to get in. I wasn’t close enough to hear the password, unfortunately, having been more worried at the time with not being noticed. But fortunately, I have something better than a password, heh heh heh. My lips curl up into a wicked grin, and I put the hood of my cloak up and walk up to the door. I knock.
The door opens, and the big man looks down at me. “Yeah?” he growls. “What do you want?”
“May I come in?”
“What’s the password?”
“Marissa Cobalt.”
“Sorry, miss. That’s not the right password.”
“I know. But it IS my name.”
I drop my cloak’s hood and reveal my blue hair and malicious grin.
“Ma…Ma…Marissa Cobalt!” he cries out. “No!” He slams the door shut in my face.
“Ohhhhh, no you don’t,” I say. “I’m coming in whether you like it or not, you big oaf!” Runes flash in my mind, and I chant quickly. I face the palm of my hand towards the door. “Wind Burst!” I call out, activating my spell. A blast of wind blows from my hand and knocks the door down. I stalk in over top the door…and the unconscious form of the big oaf, who got caught behind the door as it fell.
Torches line the walls of the room I find myself in, illuminating a scene that I’d been hoping for. Filling the room is a large group of men and women of various ages and dressed like thieves and bandits. That is, they have on leathers and cotton shirts not in the best of condition and sport swords and knives. The people are busy eating, drinking, talking, and laughing. And some of the men and women are busy physically enjoying each other’s company. Treasures of all sorts – gems, gold, silver, jewelry, etc. - cover the floor at the far end of the room. At the sound of my entrance, the revelry stops and they all turn to look at me.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” I say, waving a hand dismissively. “I’ll just take a look through your treasure and help myself to whatever I want. You go on and have your fun.”
“Oh, no!” one of the men says. “You’re not getting our treasure! We stole it fair and square! Let’s get her, guys!”
“B…b…but it’s Marissa Cobalt!” another man says.
“I KNOW that!” the first man says. “But there’re twenty of us and only one of her!”
“Oh…right! Ok! GET HER!!!”
Everyone charges at me.
I smile sadly and shake my head. They never learn. The runes flash in my mind and I chant. The emerald on my circlet glows, and I know my magic power is now amplified. A ball of swirling fire appears suspended in midair before me. I take hold of it and throw it at the group. “FIREBALL!” I call out. The ball of flame explodes, instantly taking out most of the thieves. The few remaining men and women stand in shock among the charred bodies. I start chanting another Fireball spell.
“No…no…please…” a woman begs me.
“Please don’t,” a man says. “Take our treasure. Take it all. Just don’t kill us, Marissa Cobalt.”
“Well…” I say, looking at the ball of fire in my hand.
“Pleeeeeeeease?” the woman says.
“Ummm. No. I don’t think so. Fireball!”
I throw the ball of fire at the group, and it explodes.
When the smoke clears, I make my way through the charred remains of the thieves and over to the treasure.
I spend about half an hour going through their stuff. While doing that, I put some of their coins and gems and jewelry in the magic pocket inside my cloak. But the brooch Jarek described is nowhere to be seen. Looks as if I blasted the wrong group of bandits. Oh, well. They were still bandits, and as such had to be killed. That was a given.
I leave the room and return to the main street. Time to check another possible haunt. But which one? The next closest one, I guess. Which would make it over there, three blocks over on the right.
I head over there and stop outside a dirty looking tavern. The wooden sign over the door says the name of the place is The Loaded Pocket. Not the most subtle of names for a place. Why don’t they just hang up a sign saying, “This is a thieves’ hangout”? Shrugging, I put my hood up and walk inside.
Unnoticed, I make my way over to the grimy bar and sit down on a ragged stool. I slam my palm down on the countertop and the greasy-looking barkeep steps up to me.
“What’ll you have?” he growls.
“An ale and some information.”
“Ale I can do. But I’m not in the information business.”
I pull an emerald out of my magic pocket and show it to him. “Not even for this?”
He eyes the gem greedily. “Uh…maybe…what do you want to know?”
“I’m looking for an item that was recently stolen. I want to know who pilfered it and where I can find him and the item.”
“What’s the item?”
“A gold brooch encrusted with diamonds and rubies. It was in the possession of the jeweler Jarek Marttin when it went missing.”
“Hmmm…a gold brooch with diamonds and rubies…” He stares off into the distance as he thinks for a minute, then shakes his head. “Nope. Sorry. Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
I put the emerald back in the magic pocket.
“Hey!” the barkeep cries. “What’s the deal? I told you what I know! Give me my payment!”
“Sorry, but your answer didn’t satisfy me. So I’m not paying for it.”
“Why you…”
The burly barkeep reaches across the counter, intending to grab me. But I jump back off my stool and throw my hood back. The torchlight reveals my blue hair and narrowed eyes. The barkeep freezes and stares in shock.
“Ma…Ma…Marissa Cobalt!” he stutters out.
“Right. And you just made a big mistake.” I point a finger at him.
“No…no…please…I’m sorry…”
“Too late. Dagger Bolt Shock!”
A bolt of lightning shaped like a dagger shoots from my finger and hits the man in the chest. He cries out and convulses, then falls across the counter. He’ll be out of it for a while, and wake up with a really bad headache, but otherwise he’ll live. He’s lucky I was feeling generous this time.
Chairs scrape along the floor behind me, and I turn around to see the angry patrons walking towards me with their swords drawn.
These guys won’t be as lucky as the barkeeper.
One of the thieves closest to me points his sword directly at me. “How dare you do that to Hitto! There was no call for it!”
“What?!” I say, stunned by their statement. “No call for it? He threatens me, just like you all are, and you say there’s no call for what I did? I know thieves and bandits are dumb, but this is ridiculous.”
“Dumb? You call us dumb? We’re the ones with the drawn swords, lady! You shouldn’t be calling us names!”
“Oh, you’re right. I’m sorry. You’re not dumb…”
“Thank you.”
“You’re not dumb, you’re just plain stupid! You’ve obviously forgotten whom it is you’re threatening. So let me refresh your memories…” The runes flash in my mind and I chant quickly. Then I draw a circle in the air with my finger, encompassing the group of patrons. “Raze Blast!” An explosion from beneath the group sends them flying up in the air to come crashing down to the ground. Some land on tables, breaking them with their hard falls.
I spend a few minutes going through their clothes, looking for the brooch. But I don’t find it. I do, however, end up with a fair amount of gold coins for my trouble. So this wasn’t a total waste of my time after all. I check the tavern itself, upstairs and down, turning the place inside out in case one of the thieves had hidden the brooch somewhere. But there’s no brooch.
Ok, then. Time to check the other haunt.
I return to the street and walk across town to the last place for me to check. By now it’s well after midnight. Dawn will rise shortly. And if I don’t find Jarek’s brooch…well, let’s just say neither of us will be happy. Jarek, because he won’t have his brooch. And me because it will be the first time I’d failed to keep a promise to a client. And that won’t do my reputation any good.
I head for a little, rundown shack on the outskirts of town. To get there, though, I have to pass another tavern. And as I pass the tavern, a couple of drunks swagger out. One man is tall and the other short. They see me. But I have my hood up, so they don’t recognize me. But they do recognize a young girl when they see one.
The tall one comes up to me. “Hey, you’re cute. How’s about giving me a kiss?”
I frown. I hate drunks. And this situation is exactly why. They don’t always realize who I am, and they make lewd suggestions to me. “A kiss?” I ask coyly.
“Yeah.”
“From me?”
“Yeah.”
I smile wryly. He doesn’t notice. At my side, my hand curls up into a fist. He doesn’t notice that, either. “Ok. Sure. Close your eyes and pucker up, big boy.”
He smiles lustfully and does as I say.
“Now, get ready and…” I swing my fist into his mouth. “KISS THIS!”
His eyes widen in surprise. Then he falls to the ground, unconscious.
His friend runs toward me. “Hey, you b-” He screeches to a halt and cuts off what he was going to say when I lower my hood, turn to him, and glare at him. His short statement is fine by me. I don’t like that word, anyway. “S…sorry, Miss Marissa,” the man says. “W...we didn’t know it was you.”
I growl and raise a fist. He turns and, after stumbling a couple of times, runs off down the road. I have a good, hearty laugh as I watch him. Then I hear the tall guy groan. I turn and see him wake up. He sits up. Then he sees me.
“Y…you?!” he asks. “It was you?”
I frown and nod.
He scrambles up. “I..I’m sorry. I…I didn’t know…”
“That’s what your friend said.”
He looks around for his friend. “Wh...where is he? D…did you…”
“No. He ran off. Which is what I suggest you do, before I do something more than just sucker punch you.”
“Y…yes ma’am!” And he runs off.
Laughing, I continue on my way to the final haunt.
The rickety shack that is my destination stands less than a quarter-mile outside the town limits. The perfect place for a group of thieves on the run with something valuable from the town to hide. I noticed it on my tour of the town fringes earlier.
I step up to the door and knock. No answer. I knock again. Still no answer. Shrugging, I carefully open the door. It still squeaks, though, and I cringe.
Peering inside, I see a dark room with no furnishings. I also see the forms of about a dozen men and women lying on the hard-packed dirt floor. My keen hearing picks up the sound of breathing, so I know the people are just sleeping. I tiptoe inside and silently cast a Sleeping spell on the group. I don’t want them waking up while I’m busy. While they sleep, I go through their clothes, taking their gold in my search. No brooch, though. I cast a Light spell and use the little ball of magic light to search the shack. Still no brooch.
I leave the shack and stand outside. These thieves don’t have the brooch. The thieves in the tavern didn’t have the brooch. The thieves in the room in the alley didn’t have it. So, WHERE IS IT?!!! I’ve searched everywhere I could find where thieves would hide out! And there were no thieves on the streets tonight. SO WHERE IN THE NAME OF DUMARH IS THAT BROOCH?????? I think for a while, and come up with no solution. Frustrated, I sit down on the ground and cry.
As dawn breaks, I get up and walk slowly back to the town. The rising sun paints streaks of red and orange in the blue sky. But I don’t enjoy the spectacle as I usually do. I’m too upset. I’ve broken my promise. I’ve failed to find the brooch. How will I ever live this down?
I make my way slowly down the streets to Jarek’s jewelry store. Jarek is inside his store now, getting it ready for the start of the business day. I stand across the street and watch his store for a while, trying to come up with some way to tell him that I failed him. After about an hour, I finally get up the nerve to go inside. I cross the street. The bell above the door dings as I open the door and go inside the store.
Jarek is standing on my right, behind a counter full of jewelry. A counter on the left also contains jewelry. Jarek turns at the sound of the bell. “AH! Miss Marissa! Welcome!”
I walk up to the counter and fight the urge to sneak a piece of jewelry into my pocket. “Master Jarek,” I say, ready to just tell him straight out that I couldn’t find the brooch. “I…”
Jarek interrupts me. “I have good news, Miss Marissa! I found the brooch!”
My eyes widen in surprise just before I drop to the floor with a loud THUD. I pick myself up. “WHAT?!” I cry out.
“I found the brooch. It wasn’t stolen after all. It had simply been misplaced. I was over there,” he points at the other counter, “inspecting the brooch, and my wife came in. I set the brooch down and went to talk with her. I forgot about the brooch, and never put it back in the safe. Then when I went to the safe to get the brooch and saw that it wasn’t there, I instantly jumped to the conclusion that it had been stolen. I had forgotten that I’d set it down on the counter. And when I came in this morning, I found the brooch on the counter where I’d left it. I’m sorry, Miss Marissa, for sending you on a wild goose chase.”
I just stare at him for a moment. Then I growl and punch him. He falls down behind the counter, unconscious. “And don’t expect a refund, either!” I yell.
Fuming, I stalk off out of the store and walk down the road with no particular destination in mind.
After a while, a scene brings me to a halt. I see a young couple, a boy and a girl not much older than me, walking hand in hand down the street, looking at each other with eyes full of love. A pang goes through me. Will I ever find a love like that? Then reality sets in and I scoff at my folly. Yeah, right! Like a guy will ever fall in love with me! My reputation certainly ruins any chance of that. Besides, I like my life as it is. I don’t need anyone else. And I don’t want anyone I become close to getting hurt because of me and my lifestyle. So I’d better stick with going it alone. Now, where do I want to go next?
My stomach rumbles.
Right! Breakfast!! And after that, who knows. I’ll decide that after I’ve eaten. Now, where’s a good place to get a decent breakfast?
I head off in search of food.
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