Legends of Belariath
Amythyst
The Mission
Amythyst sat in the darkened booth, her vision not hampered by the dim light. The parchment held in her hands was quite unexpected and she had no idea what to make of it. Yes, she was a thief and had practiced her trade sporadically over the past several months, but it was not something she even openly admitted to. That was not to say no one has accused of being such, but those unproven accusations always fell to the wayside.
Her eyes slowly glided over the words once more as she took in their meaning:
Dear Miss Amythyst,
As a proven member of “The Company”, we require that you perform a small task for us. You are to gain entry to the merchants' guild in the next town and acquire the “Tome of Commerce”, then return it to us here at the Company Headquarters.
The instructions were to the point, yet lacked specifics. Amythyst supposed the methods she employed to carry out this task were left entirely up to her. She reclined in her chair and closed her eyes slowly. This job would take at least a day and night to carry out without being noticed.
* * * * *
Amythyst decided to get an early start, bidding Kalciane good-bye as she normally did in the morning before her Torian love left for work. She let Kalciane know that she was going to the next town to do some “shopping” for a client and that she would return the next day at the latest depending on how long it took her to locate and acquire the requested item. Amythyst packed lightly, just a satchel and her dagger along with a few mehrial to cover any unexpected occurrences.
It took her a good couple of hours to make the trip aided by her sporadic use of dimension door. She had her dress assume the guise of a merchant, simple tunic and matching breeches. A quick casting of her change self spell and she donned the guise of an elf, long blonde hair hiding her slightly pointed ears and steel blue eyes. Her first stop was what she believed to be a tavern close to the road leading into the town. She glanced around the room as she walked through the door finding things much as she expected. The smell of cheap swill and sweaty bodies filled the air and loud boisterous patrons milled about. Her eyes surveyed the room and searched for someone most likely a merchant in this town. A well-dressed human male at the bar caught her eye and Amythyst quietly maneuvered herself closer to him. She stopped a server and ordered a glass of red wine then continued on her way to the bar.
Setting her glass down, she brushed a bit of fallen hair out of her face and smiled at the gentleman, “Excuse me, sir. I'm new to town and have business opportunities that I need to discuss with the local merchants. Whom should I speak with?” The man turned and regarded Amythyst for a few moments, “I suppose I could help you. What sort of business opportunities?”
Amythyst smiled then put her hand lightly to her cheek, “Thank you, sir. Oh, but my manners. I haven't even introduced myself properly. My name is Cynthia... Cynthia Landre.”
The merchant bowed his head, “A pleasure to meet you, my dear, I am Gavin Nilrem. But, come, we should find a more appropriate place to conduct business.”
Gavin stood from his chair and left a small stack of coins on the bar. He started making his way through the rooms to an empty table off to the side. Amythyst glanced at the shiny mehrial for the briefest of moments before quickly moving to keep up with the human. The merchant gestured politely to a seat across from him as he sat which Amythyst gracefully slipped into.
”Now, then, what's this about business opportunities?”
”Yes, I have a missive from the merchant's guild of my town regarding the establishment of the trade of certain commodities. Do you have such an association in this town?” Gavin nodded as he spoke, “Why, yes, as a matter of fact, we do indeed. If you give me the message I will be more than happy to deliver it.”
Amythyst smiled and politely shook her head, “I'm sorry, sir, but I was instructed to deliver it personally. I hope you understand since it is an important document.”
”I see, well, shall we go, then?” said Gavin as he stood slowly and gestured towards the door, “I would be happy to escort you.”
Amythyst smiled and stood, bowing slightly, “Thank you, sir. You are most kind.”
Gavin made his way out of the room slowly, making sure Amythyst was following close behind him. The route they took was a relatively straight one, with a turn down a side street here and a turn down an alley there. Finally, after several minutes of walking, a rather impressive building came into sight. It had simple, yet intricate craftsmanship on the walls with life-like statues positioned around the building. The pair made their way up the short flight of steps to the doors. Gavin opened them and stepped inside with Amythyst close behind. The forward room was spacious with a desk or counter stretching from one wall to the other with a partition roughly three-quarters of the way along the length that could be lifted to allow people to pass into the back area. There were ornate decorations placed around the room with chairs along the wall, obviously for visitors to use while they waited. A closed door was visible behind the partition and a small sign sat on the countertop: “Back in 5 minutes”
”And here we have the Merchant's Association. Hmmm, unfortunately it would seem Master Tanis is out,” said Gavin looking around quickly.
”Would it be alright if I had a look around? Or do is an escort required?”
”I'm sure it would be alright if you looked around, just speak to Master Tanis when he returns. He usually sits behind the counter to help visitors and members.”
”Thank you for your help, sir. Perhaps I will see you again once the arrangements are made and trade begins?”
”I would like that, Madam Cynthia,” replied Gavin with a bow and without another word, stepped back out through the front doors.
Amythyst glanced around the room and lifted the partition to take a look behind the counter. She found the usual clerical items: pieces of parchment, ink and quill, curved slips of thin metal. She half wanted the Tome of Commerce to be behind the counter, but was relieved to discover that her task would be at least a little challenging.
The door was the next thing Amythyst examined and it, of course, was locked. She slipped her hand into her pocket and produced two metal slivers. She took a careful glance around and knelt, slipping the metal bits into the lock. In a mere few moments Amythyst heard the telltale click of the lock and she tried the handle again. The door swung open and she silently ducked inside after slipping the metal pieces away into her pocket.
The corridor beyond was dimly lit, but proved to be little trouble for Amythyst whose vision required only the tiniest amount of light. She closed the door behind her carefully and proceeded along the wall, slowly placing one foot in front of the other. There were doors all along the long hallway, but each unlocked one meant there was nothing valuable inside. A passage here and a corridor there led to more uninteresting rooms.
After several minutes of creeping and exploring, Amythyst saw the end of the passageway and a very solid looking metal door. She smiled and was about to dart over to try her hand at that lock when the faint sound of voices and footfalls reached her ears. Amythyst quickly looked around and scrambled upwards to perch in a darkened corner near the ceiling on one of the support beams.
The voices and footsteps grew louder and louder until a group of mixed races rounded the corner, coming out of one of the hallways she had not explored. Amythyst could only assume they were members of the Merchants' Guild by their conversation. They proceeded down the hallway at a leisurely pace towards the entrance, continuing their talking unawares as she silently watched from above. The moments passed slowly as Amythyst waited for the voices to fade away completely. She decided to remain hidden for an extra measure of time just to be sure no one was around. She let herself descend and crouched to cushion her landing. Her eyes darted around while she moved herself against the wall to slowly proceed down the hallway towards the door from which she entered.
”No, people are probably out there,” she thought, “I'd better find another way out.”
Amythyst began looking in the various unlocked rooms that she passed over previously to find any with a window. She finally located one that opened to the alley next to the building and carefully swung the pane outward. A quick look out was all she needed to see if anyone was close by. Her hand came to rest on the sill and she lifted herself up to perch for a moment before hopping out to the stone street. Amythyst stood quickly and smoothed out her clothing as she hurried out of the alleyway into the street, leaving the window cracked open just a bit.
There was little traffic to be seen as Amythyst emerged from between the buildings and she easily made her way across the street unobserved. She decided she would wait for nightfall before making a try for the book since there were enough people milling around to complicate her task should she attempt it now. The building across the way was vacant, fortunately, and Amythyst located a suitable room to wait for night to fall as well as keep an eye on the Guild's activity.
* * * * *
The full moon rose slowly above the horizon and Amythyst prepared herself to move in. She recast her change self spell, this time donning the appearance of a black haired, green-eyed human. Her clothing shifted as well, the tunic and breeches melding to her shape, forming a tight, black leather body suit.
With silent grace, Amythyst departed the vacant structure and quickly navigated the shadows to approach the Guild building unseen. Her first instinct was to check the window that she had left open previously on the off chance that no one bothered to close it.
As luck would have it, the window remained slightly ajar. Amythyst smiled at her good fortune and lifted herself onto the window frame. Her eyes surveyed the room carefully before she hopped inside, crouching low and ducking into the shadows.
”Too easy,” she thought as she made her way along the shadows towards the large metal door at the end of the main hallway.
The door was as she had left it, quite solid-looking and imposing. Her fingers hovered over the smooth surface as she closely examined it for anything out of the ordinary. Amythyst slipped out her metal slivers and was about to begin the task of unlocking the door when something caught her attention. Her head turned and she leaned to take a closer look at the lock and door. Amythyst paused to examine things carefully once more, thankful for her paranoia as she discovered a thin, almost invisible wire hidden within the lock and against the doorframe. She smirked to herself as she very meticulously worked to disarmed the trap.
A few moments later she had the lock picked as well, turning the handle and swinging the door open carefully. Amythyst left the door ajar just enough for her to slip into the room beyond, her eyes gliding from wall to wall slowly. She smiled as her gaze fell upon an oddly placed picture, the only one in the room. She darted over to the wall and slowly lifted it away from its peg. The smile on Amythyst's lips grew wider as she revealed the safe embedded in the wall.
The small metal door was smooth and free of markings. Amythyst peered around to see if there were any traps to be found. Her first search discovered nothing and the two slivers of metal appeared once more from her tunic to unlock the impeding safe door. The task proved more challenging, but the lock clicked after several minutes of work.
The safe door slowly swung open revealing a thick tome inside. Amythyst slipped her hands inside to lift the tome out of its place. Without warning a blaring sound filled the room and echoed down the hallways. “Gaea!” yelped Amythyst as she staggered away from the open safe.
Her eyes darted around the room as she quickly regained her bearings and senses. The sounds of alarm continued to buffet her ears as she quickly ran into the corridor.
”STOP RIGHT THERE!” came a shout from the opposite end of the hallway as Amythyst emerged from the room.
Amythyst turned her head for a moment to get a glimpse of the source of the voice. She smirked as she ignored the command, quickly moving back to the room from which she had entered. Multiple sets of rapid footsteps echoed along with the blaring alarm, but she easily kept her distance. It was a short jaunt back to the room from which she entered and she jammed the door to keep her pursuers at bay. She leapt gracefully through the window to land in the alley as the pounding on the door began. Amythyst had no trouble fading into the shadows and darkness of the night, eluding any attempts to track her down.
* * * * *
The next morning came early, the sun shining brightly in the cloudless sky. Amythyst assumed her normal appearance and meandered downstairs to a bustling common room ablaze with chatter about the break in and theft the previous night. She wordlessly departed the room, hoisting her satchel over her shoulder and made her way out of town.
The journey back was quite uneventful and Amythyst was in no real hurry. She dropped her guise as the town retreated from sight, the blonde strands melting into lavender, the steel blue of her eyes swirling to violet. Her clothing remained the loose-fitting tunic and breeches that she hand entered town with. She saw no reason to alter it back to her more comfortable attire just yet. With her satchel slung over her shoulder, Amythyst began to whistle, clasping her hands behind her head just below her pony tail.
Several hours later, Amythyst strolled into the offices of “The Company”. She identified herself to the “receptionist” and leisurely walked into the back. Another nondescript man greeted her as she stepped into the semi-darkened room. Amythyst slipped the tome from her satchel and held it out, “Just making a delivery. I hope everything is in order.”
The jovial man's face took on a more serious look as he opened the tome slowly. He skimmed through the first part before looking up at Amythyst and nodding.
”Yes, thank you, Amythyst. Good job.”
Amythyst bowed politely, “Thank you, sir.”
She turned and slipped out of the back room, greeting the receptionist before heading out the door. Amythyst glanced from side to side before leaving the building in a surreptitious manner, heading home to pounce Kalciane at the first opportunity.