Crow and Cryptkeep break into castle, Stephanio awakes and kills Cryptkeep. Skytracer astounded and pleased
Chapter 9 - The Heist
Crowsfeet had easily made it into the Skygarde castle before, his job was a bit more difficult this time because the clumsy Cryptkeep was about as stealthy as a raging bull. The reason Cryptkeep was even in the Syndicate was because he could pick any lock imaginable and was a useful asset to the thieves. The unfortunate part about the gnome was that he usually got caught mid-lockpick and got thrown in jail. The very fortunate thing is that there is no jail with a door Cryptkeep cannot break out of. The night of the heist was abnormally windy, which highly benefited the thieves; as the wind howling kept their footsteps muffled. The moon was only a sliver and the lighting was perfect, the darkness enveloped the dark clothes of Crowsfeet and Cryptkeep. The contract Tamara had given them was for the king's greatsword, an artifact that had been in the royal family since the age of man began. The two thieves stood at the end of the hallway leading into the king's chambers, all that was in the hall was a trophy case right outside the final room, some paintings on the wall and a storage closet just before the king's room. The two crept along wall making no noise, Cryptkeep stopped and checked out the locked trophy case. Inside was a unique blade with a jagged-edged and orange and purple ribbons threaded around the handle. Crowsfeet whispered at the gnome.
"What are you doing? That's not what we are here for, just stay on target." Crowsfeet was annoyed at his greedy cohert.
"Come on Crowsfeet, you gotta stray from the plan a bit, have a little fun ya know? " Cryptkeep quietly joked at Crowsfeet as the expert locksmith fiddled with the trophy case.
Click. Cryptkeep easily opened the case.
"Listen gnome, it's not in the contract and I'm not getting caught for your stupidity." Crowsfeet backed up against the wall to let Cryptkeep finish his extra thieving.
"We're not gonna get caught, do all featherblood's whine this much?" Cryptkeep mumbled as he delicately picked up the blade. He twirled it around triumphantly. Almost like it was a gurantee, the clumsy gnome dropped the knife. Crowsfeet stretched his winged arms and lept towards Cryptkeep, pushing off the wall to start his glide. The avian thief outstretched his arm and grabbed the dagger just before it hit the ground, with a quick push from his wings Crowsfeet was upright and face to face with Cryptkeep. Both were silent as Crowsfeet stared intently at the clumsy fool, holding the blade to Crypkeep's neck. After a few moments of Crowsfeet deciding if he wanted to stab the gnome or not, the featherblood flicked his wrist and quickly spun the blade; expertly catching the bladed end without cutting himself.
"Put it back." Crowsfeet shoved the handle of the knife at Cryptkeep's chest. The gnome had nothing to say.
"Idiot." Crowsfeet said as he leaned against the wall, the gnome said nothing back and took the insult. Cryptkeep gently put the knife back and turned towards the door, he began trying to pick the king's lock.
Stephanio awoke abruptly from his sleep, he somehow knew that someone had touch the knife just outside his room. Stephanio's chamber was just beside the king's, it was origanally a storage closet but King Skytracer had it converted into a small bedroom for his court jester.
Cryptkeep had just about finished with the lock as Crowsfeet saw the storage closet doorknob slowly being turned, he was not close enough to warn his partner. Crowsfeet sank into the darkness just as Cryptkeep had entered the room closing the door behind him. Stephanio quietly stepped out of the room, peeked his head out from inside, then entered the hallway very alert. The clown looked left and right and paced towards where Crowsfeet was hiding. Stephanio stopped, slowly turning his head towards the trophy case. Crowsfeet saw a maniacal smile spread across the court jester's face. Stephanio crouched down and investigated the lock which had remained opened. With a small squeak, the jester opened the trophy case and gripped the dagger, he looked relieved that he could finally hold the blade that taunted him everyday. With a quick gesture, Stephanio tossed the blade into the air and caught it by balancing the jagged knife on one finger. Stephanio seemed to have an odd mastery of this locked away dagger. With one final motion, Stephanio sheathed the blade and looked down the hall. He seemed to be looking directly at Crowsfeet. Was the expert thief shadowy hiding place not as dark as he thought? Crowsfeet's heart was working hard and it felt as though the beating could be heard echoing through the entire castle. Stephanio continued to stare at Crowsfeet, keeping eye contact. The maniacal grin spread even farther across the clown's face and his eyes looked unnatural; wide open and piercing towards Crowsfeet.
"Naughty, naughty thief." The clown talked in a dark, scratchy voice.
Stephanio shook his head in disregard as he backed away from Crowsfeet; eye contact was never broken as the jester moved towards the king's room. Stephanio turned and quietly opened the door, Crowsfeet finally breathed as he sat in the shadows. The clown entered the room to see the back of a small, frail gnome rummaging through King Skytracer's chest. The king was rolling around in his bed, he was having trouble sleeping. Cryptkeep had finally pulled the greatsword out of the chest but a loud gust of wind spooked him, he dropped the sword. The clanking was heard by Crowsfeet outside the room, he mumbled to himself "Poor clumsy fool", Crowsfeet started to eave the hallway. The loud noise awoke the king, but before his eyes could adjust he felt something heavy fall onto his feet, soaking the blanket in blood. Skytracer turned and lit his bedside candle to see Stephanio standing there over the dead body of a gnome holding the royal greatsword. Stephanio had slit the thief's neck from behind, Cryptkeep never even saw it coming. Stephanio turned to his master, the menacing smile had dissapeared.
"Sorry about the mess my lord, this bad man was standing over your body with a sword, he was about to stab you while you slept." Stephanio's voice did not have a dark tone to it anymore, it sounded like his normal, childish self.
"Stephanio, you saved me, this assassin was so close to ending my life and you killed him. Thank you Stephanio!" The king stood and shook his servant's hand.
"You're a hero, my friend!" King Skytracer walked Stephanio out of his room and the two of them went down towards the main hall. Crowsfeet had found a better hiding spot in an actual storage closet, he peeked through the lock to watch the King and Stephanio walk past the door. For an instant, Stephanio looked away from his king and glanced towards the closet, Crowsfeet felt the clown's gaze and for a brief second, the thief saw the twisted look Stephanio had before going to kill Cryptkeep. The featherblood thief accepted that he was not going to complete this contract. Crowsfeet is good at what he does but not good enough to deal with a murderous, psychotic clown who has multiple personalities.
