Den of Thieves

Feminine voices stir Carr from a lengthy slumber. Fighting to open his eyes, finds vision is badly blurred.

Trying to reach up to rub the eyes Carr’s arms feel as though they are tied down. Even finding rolling from side to side difficult. What’s going on? Am I tied down? To a wooden table with a blanket? What’s that smell? Carr sniffs the blankets that cover him. New born babies?

Smelling the blanket some more Carr’s hand touches his side. Oh, I’m not tied. Struggling to move any limb they feel as heavy as gold.

Vision starting to clear Carr can make out the shapes of the timbers in the ceiling and walls. I think I know this room. Managing to get an arm up to his face feels his chin. My whiskers are gone.

Turning his head to the side Carr notices a simple lantern on a small table. I’ve seen that before.

Outside the room two female voices can be heard but they are not loud enough to recognize or understand. Occasionally a male voice cuts in.

Like trying to push big rocks Carr struggles to remove the blanket.

Finding it easier to wriggle out from under them Carr flops face first on the wooden floor.

The sound of him landing on the floor alerts the others, they rush into the room. The room door is opened fast, slamming into the wall.

Looking at the floor Carr asks, “who’s there?” He feels a large, callous, hand firmly grab his shoulder and turn him over.

“Hey Carr It’s me Hal,” the tall half Elf smiles, “I see your, ah, about.” Chuckling he points to the doorway, “Your Ma is here too.”

“Oh yeah?” Still unsure where he is and can’t properly make out any faces Carr smiles, “Hi Ma. I love you Ma.”

Teary eyed his little mother pushes Hal aside to give Carr a big hug, “I love you too. Even if you are a stupid bastard.”

Being hugged a bit too tightly Carr struggles to speak, “Yeah Ma. I was a stupid bastard.”

Receiving a glare Hal stops chuckling, “Ah, Violetta sent word to have your mother brought here.”

“Oh, Violetta’s,” Carr figures out where he is and that he’s most likely in trouble. He makes out her lean, curvy silhouette in the doorway but can’t see her staring at him with a raised brow, “I’m sorry Violetta. I at least didn’t come knocking in the wee hours.”

“Not personally,” Violetta states, “Come on Hal. Give me a hand with him.”

“Sure, sure.” Hal inquires, “back to bed?”

“No. I’m tired of feeding him,” Violetta points out of the room, “Lets put him in the armed chair.”

“Feeding me?” Carr asks as they help him up, “How long have I been here?”

“Five and a half days,” Ma informs him, “you almost died you know.”

“Five days?” Carr mumbles while hobbling assisted into the kitchen, “What the hell happened?”

“You damn near got yourself killed!” Ma answers agitated with him. “That’s what happened. I wish you were healed so I could beat your ass.”

Violetta remarks. “Go right ahead.”

“Come now.” Carr’s seated in the chair. “Can’t even raise a hand here.”

Violetta tells them, “he’s only weak because he’s been asleep for so long.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I could even defend myself,” agrees Carr.

“Perfect,” Ma cuffs him across the back of the head.

Carr’s head jerks forward, “hey.”

Hal and Violetta control a laugh at him and a little more watching Ma feeling bad for doing so, but pushes his head back up hitting the back of the chair. She jerkily pushes the chair close to the table.

Cutting up some fruits and vegetables into bite sized pieces Violetta sprinkles some herbs on for strengthening.

Hal has to ask. “So, Carr do you remember your journey. The villagers say your fight was something else. And that there was a Bugbear too. Is it true?”

Looking at Hal, Carr tries to recount the events since they last met.

“Hal, don’t encourage him,” Violetta frowns at him, “He’ll want to go running off again.”

Ma threatens. “Before he’s strong enough to run, we should shackle him.”

Aware of all that’s happened and the past year Carr states, “no more.”

In disbelief Violetta rolls eyes in a shaking head.

Hoping he’ll stay true to that Ma kisses him, “Finally beat it into you eh?”

“What?” Hal doesn’t believe it either, “What about your palace?”

Carr tries to look towards Hal, “I found out, if I live underground, I don’t need heat.”

“Huh?” Bewildered Hal wonders if the boy’s mind is okay.

Usually eager to tell his tales Carr sighs unsure how to feel about it all. “It wasn’t a Bugbear. I fought something uglier, an Owlbear named Vis. And the job was a worthy one. It just went badly.”

Violetta points out the obvious, “we noticed.” She sets the bowl of food in front of him, “You got to eat it. And if you want to move properly again you got to get at that too.”

Surprising Violetta Carr lightly touches her hand and looks into her eyes and says with confidence, “I love you too Violetta. Not just because you saved my ass so many times. You’re a truly good person. Who has, taught me much in life.”

Unsure where Carr is going, Violetta queries, “You’re not going to purpose again are you?”

“What’s this?” Ma wonders what she’s just heard or if something has gone on between them.

Snickering about the thought Hal’s face shows disapproval in the idea.

“No,” with a bit of wit Carr continues, “not today. I promise you I’ll stay on the farm for now.”

Ma smiles widely, “Really Carr?”

Sensing sincerity in him Violetta is curious to what occurred but doesn’t show it. She sets Carr’s hand in the bowl, “Just eat would you.”

“Alright.” Carr picks up a piece to eat, “That’s right Ma. What’s worse than me almost dying is the number of deaths I’ve on my hands. This past year, and what happened out there.”

“Oh, my,” Ma doesn’t want to know, just has to, “Was it an ambush?”

Hal has too as well. “Was it? Or were you chased all over the country side?”

“Country side would have been nice,” Carr slowly picks away while explaining the latest venture in great detail. He tries to keep a few secrets.

All find the skunk encounter amusing getting a rare smile on Violetta’s face. As she now knows why he and his armor smell the way they do.

Hal becomes interested in the arrows Carr found, but there’s none left to show.

When Carr tells them who summoned him, he just says Jasmine was only a ranger with spell powers.

Cutting in Ma says, “I told you she was a ranger.”

Hal thinks aloud. “Pretty rare to hear about a ranger that uses magic.”

Violetta is skeptical, “maybe she’s a magic user in the guise of a ranger.”

Wanting to believe she was a ranger Ma shares her thought, “maybe, but she seemed such a genuine person and all she wore and how she carried herself, said to me a ranger for sure. What did she want from you?”

Telling them she wanted an anklet and whom it belonged to, all have their suspicions of what it could ultimately be.

Wildly thinking Hal toys with an idea that it might be something needed to open a secret door or locked object.

Knowing what it’s like to get back a token of a lost loved one Ma wants to think that’s all it is. She does think it could be an artifact.

Thinking the anklet might be magical Violetta asks for a description.

Barely recalling what it looked like Carr shows them the approximate size and carries on. No one likes where he had to go to get it.

Shaking her head disapprovingly Ma points a stern finger at Carr, “You shouldn’t have taken this job if you had to go there. I never liked it when your father went there. It’s full of assassins and thugs. You could’ve gotten killed just for trying to enter there.”

Hal agrees. “Yeah, of all the bad places to go you picked the worst one. I wouldn’t have gone there alone.”

Knowing it now Carr nods, “I didn’t think it through. I just about didn’t make it out either.”