A Dynasty of Thieves: CGZ, the King of Thieves

[Zoran]

[Zoran]

Dlanesi, Dagvna Tribe 124 BF

“Pearl necklaces! Get your pearl necklaces here!...Hand woven baskets! Some of the finest baskets from the Talutsa Tribe!”

These are some of the things that can be heard from the honest and hardworking traders, artisans, farmers, etc. in the commercial center of the city. Trade and hardwork are the lifeblood of people across Zoran, many people have special skills that they use to make an honest living. These people are able to afford a house for themselves while providing for their family and while this can be attributed to the majority of Zoranians, there is always the minority that are unable to provide for themselves.

In a dirty alley there is a boy of about 10 years of age wearing dirty and tattered rags that barely cover his body. He is just another child who lost their parents after the Pestilence of 119 BF. Yet it is a miracle that he is still alive as since he lost his parents at age 5 an anonymous Shaman has been leaving him food and water every day and night and occasionally leaving him a blanket for him to cover himself during especially cold nights. His name is Aranck Gulanowusa and while he has done nothing to improve his situation since he lost his parents, today was the day he turned his life around and a legendary thief was born.

 

I came out of the barrel that I sleep in to look for the food and water the shaman usually leaves for me only to find an empty space where the food usually is. I looked around to see if they put it in a different place than usual but I came out empty handed.

What am I going to do? The food is usually here by now, I know how to get water but what in the name of Adanvdo am I going to do to get food!?

I put my hand over my grumbling, nonexistent belly as I began to pace back and forth in the alley. I didn’t know what to do, I have never gotten food for myself before, I always had someone get me food whether it was my parents or the shaman. I didn’t have any money to buy food and I didn’t even know how to cook. These thoughts occupied my mind until I heard the rumbling of a carriage along with the clinking of chain mail coming from the road. I went to go see what it was and when I peered out from the alley I saw a carriage with an escort of chieftain guards come to a halt. I watched as the chieftain guards formed rows at the side of the carriage door and stood at attention as the Chief of the Dagvna tribe came out of the carriage, covered in jewelry.

“Chief, are you sure you don’t want any of us to accompany you as you browse the market stalls?” says a member of the guard,

“I am sure, I want to be with my people and don’t want them to fear me because I have guards with me. I am one of them after all.” answers the Chief. The guards didn’t looked too convinced but they couldn’t question an order,

“We shall await your return here sir.” says the guard again as the chief begins to walk into the busy commercial center of the city.

Wow, the chief sure is wealthy. He had so much jewelry and luxuries on him! I bet they are worth a lot of Zorallas! 

At that thought an idea crossed my mind that I have never considered doing in all my life, stealing. I have never stolen anything from anyone as it is an act frowned upon in Zoranian society and could lead to serious trouble should a thief be caught. But three things that people have said about me in the past is that I had great reflexes, I was quiet, and I was dexterous. These three talents would be ideal for a thief yet I never had the drive nor motive to actually steal something from someone.

But this isn’t just anyone, this is the White chief, the peacetime chief, a leader of our tribe. I would most certainly be sentenced to exile should I get caught. But then again, he doesn’t have his guards with him, maybe I can take a few pieces of jewelry off of him without being noticed or caught. The question that remains is how would I go about doing such a deed?

I debated this in my head for a few minutes before finally coming to the decision that I was going to steal from the White Chief, and I already had an idea as to what I was going to do. I left the alley and began to wander the commercial center to find the chief. I knew it wouldn’t be hard to find him despite the large crowd that was in the commercial center due to how he would stand out with the traditional clothing that a chieftain would wear. Due to the jewelry he wore I assumed he would be looking at the different jeweler stands which, as expected, is how I found him. I didn’t approach immediately, I simply observed for a little while to see what I might be able to steal from him easily. The first thing I noticed was the three medium sized coin purses he had attached to his belt under his full cloak made of feathers, I might be able to grab one of those without being noticed. The second thing was an elegant looking dagger that was next to his coin purses, it would be useful in self defense and I could use it when stealing a coin purse. The final item that caught my eye was a ring on his left hand that seemed to be a bit too big for his finger as it moved every once in a while whenever he moved his hand. It might be a bit trickier but I knew it was definitely possible if I did it right.

There is no time like the present, I must act quickly.

I ran towards the chief and when I got close I yelled,

“Father!”

When he turned in confusion, I went to hug his waist but as my arms went around his waist I grabbed his dagger’s handle, pulled it out of its scabbard, cut his belt, and dropped the dagger. Since I was running towards him when I went to hug him, he was put off balance a bit that distracted him from the feeling of the belt falling off. He looked down at me with confusion,

“I believe you have mistaken me for your father, young one.” He then put his left hand on my shoulder and gently pushed me away but I then grabbed his hand and began tugging it down playfully. He began to become impatient and pulled his hand up and away from me, but I managed to get the ring off of his finger.

“Child, I am not your father. While I am sure you are a lovely child I am not your father.” He said. I looked up at him with a fake look of embarrassment,

“Oh...I’m sorry mister.” I replied. He nodded and turned away, not realizing his belt was on the ground. The jeweler was too busy cutting a gem to notice me when I went down to pick up the dagger to put it back in its scabbard before I quickly picked up the belt to tie it around my waist. After that, I ran as fast as I could into the crowd so he couldn’t see me when he realized his belt was gone. I then ran into the alley that I call home and hid behind the barrel I normally sleep in to look at what I had stolen.

By the Spirit I did it! I stole everything I intended too and a bit more!

I untied the belt and started by looking at the coin purses and saw that they were filled with zorallas. I didn’t bother counting how many but I assumed that there were about 80 golden zorallas in each bag.

“240 golden zorallas!?!? I can’t believe I pulled it off!” I said in a hushed tone. I then turned my attention to the ring I stole, it was a ruby ring made of gold and might be alloyed with some silver for strength. I am not a jeweler so I can’t come up with a value until I sell it, but that would have to wait until after the chief leaves the city. In the meantime I have to hide this until he leaves as I bet he will be looking for it.

I began to think of places where I could hide it and I decided to hide it in the barrel I sleep in since I had no other place to really conceal it. It is a risk as they could easily search the barrel but I doubt they will due to the fact that the temple owns this barrel(as the alley I live in is in between another building and the temple and the barrel having the name of the temple burnt into it). But before I closed the barrel, I took a zoralla to buy a loaf of bread(a loaf of bread usually costs 2 or 3 copper zorallas, more commonly referred to as a zallen or zallence if there is more than one, 1 gold zoralla= 10 silver zorence = 100 copper zallence).

As I left the alley, I could hear the chief talking to his guards in the distance saying that he had lost his belt along with his dagger and coin purses, but he surprisingly didn’t acknowledge the ring. However, he did say that he believes a kid stole it and I knew that kid was me. So I quickly began to walk out of the alley in the opposite direction of the Chief and took the long way around to go to the commercial center to buy myself some bread. I had a big smile on my face when I put down the zoralla on the counter of the baker’s stall and bought myself a large loaf of bread and got 99 zallence in change. Thankfully the baker was kind enough to put all 99 zallence in a leather pouch for me to make it easier on me.

What is this feeling I have? I feel satisfied, thrilled, rewarded, exhilarated! I have never felt this way in my life! And to think all it took to have this sweet bread as well as a dagger, a ring, and 239 zorallas all because I decided to take a risk. Maybe being a thief isn’t so bad, I could get used to making a large amount of money quickly. Sure I will definitely need to work to become a better thief but I think it will be worth it. Now let me think, what would I need to learn to be a better thief…

I began to think of all the different things I need to learn to ensure I am a good thief, including things like pickpocketing, sneaking, climbing walls, lock picking, martial arts(sword fighting), etc. All of these ideas excited me and I knew that I had the ability to do it, all I have to do is start learning and honing my skills. When I arrived back at the alley I saw that the carriage had left, knowing that the Chief had given up in finding me by now. So I went into the alley and checked inside my barrel to find that everything I had stolen was still there. I began to laugh to myself as I began to start planning my future in hopes of becoming a master thief that will be known throughout history.