The Heist

Stavnus’ heart was pounding, his hands sweat as he peeked out from the alley toward the doors of the bank. Two high elves stood their watch outside as the rain poured heavily around them. He pulled up the collar of his trenchcoat that matched the watchmen and pulled his cloth cap over his head to try and hide his human ears. One more deep breath and made his way across the street.

As he neared the doors, the watchmen locked eyes with him. He smiled politely and tugged at his hat as a salute. The watchman on his left touched her hat back as they opened the doors for him.

“Welcome, freshie,” she said with a chuckle.

“Thank you. I presume Watch Leader Thorin is inside?” Stavnus responded with his horribly-practiced accent. Hopefully, it would pass.

“You presume correctly. He’ll be waiting for you.” She replied as the door shut behind Stavnus.

He surveyed the lobby, bustling with wealthy merchants making their daily deposits. It was the perfect time to strike. Stavnus made his way through the lobby and to the hallways in the rear, exchanging salutations with a few more watchmen on his way to find Watch Leader Thorin. Luckily Thorin was in his office, and Stavnus had no intention of going up the stairs to meet him.

Stavnus found an empty storage closet and ducked inside to change into the checkered black, red, and yellow suit of a vault runner. He reached inside the vest pocket to inspect the forged withdrawal slip he had proudly created the night before and held onto it tightly. He continued out of the closet and down the stairs to the bank’s elaborate vault.

He had heard it was one of the sturdiest vaults ever to be built, and no one had successfully robbed it. Hopefully, he would change that statistic soon. At the vault window, Stavnus waited his turn for the monocle-faced gnome to greet him.

“How typical,” Stavnus said quietly to himself as he stepped up to the gated window.

“What’s that, boy?” The gnome replied.

“Oh, nothing….” Stavnus muttered, slightly embarrassed. “I got a slip here for a Mr. Horrice Gratsworth.”

The gnome snatched the ticket from his hand and inspected.

“Ten bars! The lad wants ten bars?” The gnome asked with a huff.

“I guess so. I wish I had a problem like that.” Stavnus said, attempting to crack a joke and ease his nervousness.

“Don’t we all.” The gnome replied as he disappeared below the counter.

Stavnus couldn’t stop fidgeting while he waited impatiently. He could hear the gnome bark orders to those inside the vault. Finally, he reappeared at the counter and pulled a lever that opened a small gate to his left. Inside was a sack full of ten gold bars.

“Careful now; it’s heavy.” The gnome replied.

Stavnus grabbed the sack and threw it over his shoulder with a grunt as the ten bars slammed into his back. The gnome scoffed, clearly judging Stavnus as a weakling.

He made his way back up the stairs and into the closet, where he switched back into his watchman uniform. As he opened the sack, the bars reflected in the dim light.

“I can’t believe this worked!” Stavnus whispered as he stuffed the contents of the sack into his backpack.

He opened the closet door and made his way toward the nearest exit. As he started to open the exit door, another watchman hurried around the corner.

“Hey, there you are. Thorin is looking for you. He only remembers requesting one new watchman and would like to see your papers.” The watchman snapped.

“Oh, yes, sorry! I just realized I’m at the wrong bank. I’m supposed to be on the other end of town.” Stavnus replied.

“Well, he still wants to see you. Come on.” The watchman demanded as he turned his back to Stavnus.

Stavnus bolted out the door and never looked back. He started running down the alley toward his planned escape route. He could hear yelling in the bank, and the alarm bells started clanging just seconds later. Watchmen starting pouring out into the street and gave chase. As he turned the corner, he jumped up the ladder to access some nearby rooftops, or what he liked to call the road of thieves. He frantically climbed to the top and grabbed a hatchet he strategically placed there before. He gave a couple of heavy wacks to the ladder’s anchors, but the watchmen were almost to the top. He needed to keep going.

“This is pointless,” Stavnus said to himself as he sheathed the hatchet and started running across the rooftops.

“Stop now, or we'll fire!” One of the watchmen yelled out of breath as he readied his bow. Stavnus kept on running and jumped across to the next building as an arrow tore through his shirt sleeve. They were really going to kill him!

Had that one watchman not turned the corner, this would’ve been flawless. It didn’t matter now, though; he needed to lose them. Up ahead, the rooftop split into a crossroads. This was his chance. He reached into one of his backpack pockets and threw down some marbles, hoping it would trip up a few of them as another arrow raced past his ear. They were getting better at shooting, he thought to himself. At least it wasn’t a wood elf behind that bow.

He went to turn left and swiftly jumped down into the courtyards. As he fell, he grabbed the roof’s cross-beam to redirect his fall and began running in the opposite direction. He could hear the watchmen yelling in frustration as he had vanished from their sight. He slowed to a jog and made his way out of the courtyard.

The sound of more watchmen coming could be heard around the corner, and he needed someplace to hide. Conveniently, a wagon carrying hay was a few feet away, and he jumped inside. It was wet, dark, and itchy, and he did his best to not sneeze as he heard the watchmen checking all around the area. After several minutes, the scent of lavender started to grow more robust, and Stavnus found himself growing tired.

He awoke to the sound of the wagon wheels creaking against the axles as they rattled over the cobblestone roads. His head pounding heavily. He peeked through the hay and saw a young high elf girl driving the wagon.

“Good evening.” She said to his surprise.

Stavnus kept silent, confident she had to be talking to someone else.

“I can hear you rustling in the hay. Come on up; it’s safe.” She said again as she lit a lantern next to her. “Sorry I put you to sleep, but you would’ve never made it out alive otherwise.”

Dusk was setting in fast, and it would be dark in no time. Stavnus got up and fumbled his way to the seat next to her. He saw her face in the light and was confused when he realized she was the watchman that opened the bank door for him.

“Where are you taking me?” He asked as he verified he still had ten bars in his backpack.

“To meet an acquaintance, she’ll be very pleased with your skills.” She said with a smile as she offered him a cask of water.

“An acquaintance?” He responded curiously.

“Oh, my apologies. I’m Adakah Noel, a member of the Dreadnaught Thieves Guild, the finest in the Hynrose Kingdom, and you managed to hit a bank by yourself that we’ve been interested in for over a year now.” She said with a smile and a slight bow.

Stavnus couldn’t believe it. He had finally met one of the legendary Dreadnaught Thieves, and they were on their way to meet the lady that started it all.

“Well, thank you!” He replied with excitement as he returned the gesture. “I am Stavnus Evermore, a member of the forsaken Evermore family that was wrongly stripped of its nobility.”

“Well, Stavnus Evermore, our den is a few miles down the highway here, so make yourself at home. We’ve got a lot to talk about.” Adakah said as she handed him a piece of bread.