The Not-So-Great Egg Heist
Chapter 1
They sat on the side of a roof, as they had many times before. Nathxena sighed, staring up at Selûne and its Tears.
"The night sky never gets any less beautiful," she remarked.
Sariel nuzzled her head into Nathxena's neck. "Not as beautiful as you."
For all of Sariel's ways with words, her compliments to her girlfriend somehow always managed to be corny. Still, that was part of her charm.
Nathxena ran her hand up Sariel's back, letting her girlfriend's auburn hair run through her fingers. Sariel smiled softly. However, as much as they wanted to do nothing but spend time alone together, they were here on business.
"So, what did that guy say?" asked Nathxena, her hand returning to her lap.
Sariel sat back up, kicking her feet back and forth. "Oh, not much. No magical defences, and the back gate has one guard."
She paused for a moment, then smiled coyly at Nathxena. "I heard he's kind of cute."
Chapter 2
A guard stopped her at the gate. "Halt! Who goes there!?" He demanded.
"Emilia Leveva. I have business with Jharel Amberfeather." She succinctly responded.
"Ah, Lady Leveva. The master is expecting you." Said the guard, his demeanour shifting to courteous upon hearing Emilia's name.
He opened the gate for her, and she strode through. A second guard waiting at the front door opened it for her. Inside was warm, dry, and bright, though besides the lighting that changed little from outside. Emilia stepped into the familiar and lavish entryway. At the top of the stairs dominating the room was an even more familiar face.
"Emilia Dragomira Sergeyeva Leveva! It's been a while!" Jharel shouted cheerfully.
Emilia smiled back. "Jharel Telvinn Amberfeather! It has!"
Jharel walked down the stairs, his arms wide for a hug. Emilia awkwardly approached him and half-heartedly reciprocated - Jharel never was one for protocol.
"I do apologise," Emilia said to him sheepishly, "I'm still not much of a 'hugger'."
He laughed. "Seemly as ever, Emilia! I’ll be sure to give a more polite welcome next time!"
The two continued into the dining room, where a lavish banquet had been set.
Chapter 3
Just as her contact said, there was only a single guard at the rear gate. It looked to have a typical lock, but the guard seemed particularly attentive, and the wall was topped with spikes.
"One guard." Sariel whispered to Nathxena. "Your turn."
Nathxena raised an eyebrow. "Really? I thought I did the last guy."
Sariel smiled. "No, the guy in the tavern counts."
Rolling her eyes and smiling back, Nathxena capitulated. As she went to slide off the roof, Sariel stopped her.
"Hey, make sure you look the part." She said, undoing a number of buttons on Nathxena's dress.
Before Nathxena went on her way, she stopped one last time. She looked at Sariel and smiled coyly. "I'm not sure I'm feeling flirty enough..."
Sariel rolled her eyes, smiled, and gave Nathxena a passionate kiss. The two embraced for half a minute before withdrawing. Finally ready, Nathxena slid down from the roof into an alleyway. Sariel slid down on the other side of the roof, waiting for a clear moment to move through the fog and to the gate.
Closing her eyes and focusing, she could hear Nathxena's voice. She smiled as Nathxena started flirting with the guard. After a few moments, Nathxena dropped the codephrase for all clear in Thieves' Cant, and Sariel silently crept her way to the gate. With the guard just a few feet away in the thick fog, she quietly took out her tools and set to work. It was easy enough, and the lock didn't have any fancy tricks waiting for her. She made sure the gate wasn't squeaky, then slipped inside.
Chapter 4
Emilia finished her bite of fish before speaking. "I must say, the food is not nearly as good!"
Jharel laughed. "I doubt anything could match the foods of Suzail!"
"Quite right." Emilia agreed. She took another bite before continuing. "I've found employment with a group called the Arrowheads."
"I think I've heard of them. An adventuring company, correct?" Jharel inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Company is a strong word. There are five of us."
Smiling, Jharel continued. "Still, I'm glad to see you've continued as an adventuress. It must be terribly exciting!"
Emilia sighed slightly as she spoke. "Yes, I suppose it can be. I do my best to help people, and it’s certainly an improvement on Father’s plans for me."
"I’m sure it is!" Jharel cheerily concurred, laughing again. "Well, now that the main course is finished, would you like a tour of the manor?"
Emilia gladly accepted. While considerably smaller than her family's holding in the Storm Horns, the Amberfeather manor was far more extravagant – as manors in the capital tended to be. Display cases holding gems and other trinkets dotted the rooms, fine art dotted the walls, and suits of gold-trimmed armour lined the halls. However, there was one piece in the collection that particularly stood out to Emilia.
"Is that an Azoun-era longsword?" Emilia asked, failing to conceal her excitement.
Jharel opened the glass case and picked up the sword with a cloth. "I thought you’d like it. It's a masterwork longsword, dated from the Tuigan Horde around 1360 DR."
He handed the sword to her, and she tenderly inspected it. "This is a truly impressive piece! It must predate the Goblin War." She grinned. "It must predate my House!"
Emilia’s further inspection of the sword was quickly cut short by sounds of a commotion outside.
Chapter 5
"It's clear." She whispered to Sariel.
Sariel nodded, and slowly opened the window. It was unlocked, and slid open with ease. The two slipped inside, as quiet as a pair of mice. Nathxena could hear some talking coming from down the stairs, but no footsteps or noise from the floor they were on. Their boots of elvenkind kept them quiet as they slowly crept through the hallway, eventually arriving at the master bedroom.
The door was unlocked, and a check under the door with a mirror revealed there was nobody inside. Nathxena opened the door, and stepped inside, followed very closely by Sariel. At the end of the room, right next to a large bed, was a bejeweled egg in a glass case. It was about a foot high, and fairly wide.
The glass case wasn't a challenge for Nathxena, who quickly picked the lock and opened the cover. Excited at their imminent success, Sariel kissed Nathxena.
After Sariel withdrew, Nathxena whispered to her, smiling. "We should finish this before we start celebrating."
Sariel smiled softly in return and nodded. Nathxena carefully picked up the egg with a grunt.
"Ugh, it's heavier than I thought!" She whispered, a hint of anger in her voice.
All of a sudden, a noise from downstairs drew their attention.
Chapter 6
They had knocked out the guards outside - drow poison or something similar Emilia guessed - and had kicked in the front door. She had no idea what this egg they were talking about was, but she did know a thing or two about swordplay.
She drew her rapier in a flash, surprising the thieves. "You wanna do this the hard way, eh?" Their leader said after he regained his composure.
"No, this will be fairly simple." Emilia replied bluntly.
The four thieves drew their own weapons - saps, daggers, and shortswords.
The first thief - and bravest, apparently - charged right at Emilia with his dagger. He was somewhat larger than her, but not by much. She simply stepped to the side, swung her rapier in a smooth motion, and slashed at the man's legs. He screamed in pain, falling over flat on his face.
Two more thieves approached Emilia, more carefully than their unconscious fellow. Her rapier glistened with frost, its magical enchantment obvious as she awaited their move. She could see the hesitation in their faces, but one attacked all the same. She parried his sap with ease, then slashed at his hand. He too screamed in pain as he dropped his weapon. This distracted the third thief long enough for Emilia to put her blade right at his throat.
He looked surprised for a moment, and then confident. Emilia cocked her head. "Jharel?"
She heard the familiar sound of a wooden chair breaking as it smashed into the thief sneaking up behind her. She gave a slight smile, still looking at the thief. "Thank you, Jharel. I'm sure these men can reimburse you for the damages.
Chapter 7
"It's not 'ere! He said it would be right there!" One man shouted.
The other grunted loudly and tossed a bedside table over. "Fine, we'll check the other rooms!"
The two thieves left the room, having completely missed the two half-elves in the rafters. Sariel dropped down first, landing on her feet. Nathxena, who was hanging upside down from her legs, flipped in mid-air and also landed on her feet.
"Nice flip." Sariel said with a smirk. "Whoever taught you that must've been a pro."
Nathxena rolled her eyes and smiled. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
Sariel was out the window first, and the two carefully climbed down. It was especially tricky for Nathxena, would could only use one hand. Nevertheless, the two trained acrobats soon found themselves on solid ground, and out the gate. Sariel took a blanket from a nearby clothesline, and threw it over the egg to cover it.
"Hey, Xena, do you want me to carry that for a while? It looks pretty heavy." Sariel asked, noticing her girlfriend struggling to hold it.
Nathxena nearly sounded offended. "No, I can handle this stupid egg."
Sariel nodded in response. "Alright, we have to meet the guy at an old white shed to the north of town."
As soon as Sariel mentioned bringing the egg past the city walls, Nathxena groaned.
Chapter 8
"What egg?" Emilia replied as she slowed down from their dash to the third floor.
"An egg that my father acquired in Waterdeep. Oh, he's going to kill me..." Jharel said with despair.
As Emilia approached the master bedroom, she noticed another room's door slightly ajar. She approached it, only to be thrown back by two more thieves bursting out of the room. As soon as they saw her sword, they scrambled away in opposite directions, they split up. One dashed for the window, leapt out, then screamed as he fell three stories. The other took a more sensible route down the stairs. Sensible being relative, as he slid down the guardrail.
Emilia chased after him, shouting at Jharel. "I'll go after this one, you make sure the other one doesn't get away!"
Jharel poked his head from the window, looking down at the thief moaning in pain on the grass below. "I don't think he's going anywhere!"
The thief Emilia chased after was fast, but sluggish compared to Valna running at top speed – and Valna often expected her to keep up. Even if Emilia couldn't catch him immediately, she could tail him well enough. The thief moved north through the city, constantly checking over his shoulder. He never noticed Emilia, who took to hiding behind boxes, crates, and barrels as she followed him. Eventually, he stopped at an alleyway, where he met four hooded individuals. Emilia was about to confront them, but decided to stay out of sight and listen instead.
"Where's everyone else?" One of the men waiting in the alley asked.
The thief she had been pursuing struggled to catch his breath. "All gone," he answered, "some crazy chick sliced them up!" Emilia pursed her lips at that remark. "And Darri fell out of a window," the thief continued.
The first man crossed his arms. "So where's the egg?"
"No idea, boss. It was gone when we got there."
The first man, which Emilia presumed was their leader, spoke again. "Kerimm said two girls were asking around about the egg earlier tonight. We might have competition."
"Maybe the guy hired them too?" The thief speculated.
"You know, that's the first smart idea you've had all month." The leader replied. "We'll head to the dropoff point. If we're lucky, they'll be there."
"And if we aren't lucky?"
"Well it beats staying around when the watch arrives!"
Emilia watched as the group of thieves continued north, towards the city walls. Slowly and silently, she followed after them.
Chapter 9
"When's this guy supposed to show?" Nathxena asked, still glaring at the egg.
Sariel replied, still peeking out through a hole in the wall. "No idea. Just some time today."
Nathxena sighed in annoyance. "Can't we just leave this stupid thing here so he can pick it up?"
"I'd say that's a good idea, except I can see about five guys walking right towards us." Sariel said with some concern.
Nathxena was nonplussed. "Five? That's your job."
"I'm three. Four or more is both of us." Sariel replied, her voice dropping to a whisper.
The annoyance in Nathxena's voice was audible. She crawled over next to Sariel and looked through another hole in the wall. Five men in dark clothing and hoods were taking up positions around the shed. Nathxena opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, one of the men outside shouted.
"Oi, we know you're in there! Give us the egg, right now, and maybe we'll be gentle!" He shouted, a hint of anger in his voice.
Sariel turned to Nathxena. "On second thought, I don't feel like flirting."
Nathxena nodded her head in agreement, and looked around the shed for anything of value.
Outside, the men circled the shed, trying to find any way in. The windows were boarded up, and there weren't any holes large enough to crawl through. That left the door, which one thief started trying to force with his shoulder. As he heard some movement inside, he took a step back.
Without warning, Nathxena charged right through the door, wheelbarrow in hand, and rammed straight into the thief trying to break in. The thief tripped, falling right into the wheelbarrow, which continued on and smashed into a second man.
Sariel peeked out of the now-destroyed door, complimenting Nathxena. "Nice aim."
She quickly ducked back inside, narrowly dodging a thrown knife. A moment later, Nathxena stepped out with her own crossbow, and hit the man that threw the knife directly in the chest, sending him flying back. Now it was a fair fight. Nathxena drew her shortsword, and Sariel summoned her magical sword.
Nathxena had drawn the longer stick, and the thief she was fighting was about her size. However, he clearly hadn't been trained on how to use his sword. Nathxena rolled backwards under a swing, stepped to the side, and slashed him across the chest, causing him to reel backwards. She turned around to see Sariel kicking off from her own opponent, who flew backwards and crashed into a rock. There didn't seem to be any more foes in the mist, so they returned to the shed and picked up the egg.
"I wouldn't make any sudden movements if I were you. I want you to place the egg on the ground and step away from it. Slowly." A female voice called out from the mist.
It took a moment, but Nathxena realised who it was. "Emmy?"
"Nathxena?! Sariel?!"
Sariel smiled sheepishly as Emmy stepped through the mist into view. "Alright, we can explain!
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