7 January 2013
Time for another Tpek story I think...
CHAPTER 1
The search had been hard, but I had finally managed to track down the thief. He was good at hiding and covering his tracks, but everyone leaves clues, however skilled they are. And now I had reached his hiding spot - a small and dirty bar in the murkier area of the city of Rennar. A bit of a shabby place for a master thief, I thought to myself as I swung open the low door to The Beggar's Arms. It was nearly empty, and the few customers were almost silent, but occasionally discussed serious sounding topics in low voices. It was quite clean, as if the barman had little more to do than sweep up. In the corner was a narrow flight of stairs leading to the upstairs rooms. "Who are you?" The barman asked, looking up from his brushing of the floor. I wasn't really sure how to respond to his question, as I didn't know how he'd react to my real answer. I decided to go for the honest fact. "I'm looking for a thief. A thief by the name of Tpek."
Tpek. The man was the most infamous thief on this side of the world, and his reputation was, if anything, growing, despite the fact that there had been no sightings if him in three years.
"Ah," The barman said, his large face taking on a serious expression, "You'll be wanting to speak to Mr. Robinson then." - This was one of Tpek's most common aliases - "Over there in the corner." He pointed at a figure sitting half in shadows, so still that I hadn't noticed him. I walked over and sat down opposite him on his table. Now was the moment I'd been building up to. "Are you Tpek?" The man looked up, straight into my eyes, and in a voice cynical and calculating, said, "When it suits me." "Why are you hiding here?" I asked him. "Tell me why you're here, and I'll tell you why I am." He replied coolly. "Alright. I need your help with something, some thing very important. And there might be a lot of money involved." That was some of the truth, and I wasn't going to get too honest. I couldn't risk him finding out my real motives. "I'm interested." Tpek's face had lit up, and it was obvious he was excited at the prospect of my little proposal. "Aren't you going to tell me your story now?" I asked him. "No." He said. "Now about this idea of yours..."
Heart Of The Thief - 1 • Opuss № I