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Thinking to the future

The giant ball of fire that was the midsummer sun beat down on the giant port city of Theljas without mercy.  Every smooth brown brick surface that stood in its path radiated heat like a blazing kiln.  Thick clouds of dry dust floated in the searing, windless air, kicked up by those who would dare to venture into the tortured streets.  Gulls, white and gleaming like alabaster, wheeled high above Theljas’ buildings filling the air with their mocking calls, apparently unaffected or uncaring of the heat.  The smell of fish and salt, combined with the oppressive heat, covered every surface and crept into every crack that wasn’t airtight.  There was always a hint of salt in the air of Theljas, but today the very walls seemed to reek of it.

            The air in and around Temlias Line, the main thoroughfare of Theljas, seemed especially stifling, perhaps because it was, as always, the most active part of the city.  Easily as wide as any three of Theljas’ other roads, Temlias was likely the most famous stretch of packed dirt on the entire continent of Adrasdane.  On any given day all the wonders of the known world, from Reichslav in the far north to Tyrr Cazar in the south to the grand Elvish kingdom of Abberwynn in the east, could be found here.  Every day thousands of feet from every part of the continent tramped on the rut-scarred Temlias, conducting business or just passing through.  Straight as an arrow, one could stand on the wall above the North Gate of Theljas and look down the Temlias all the way to the South Gate, if one had the eyes of an eagle.  Even on inclimate days, such as the one Theljas was now experiencing, the Temlias teemed with color, sound and motion.  No other road possessed a nickname more deserved: ‘The Crossroads of the World’.

            With a profound sigh of weary relief Ajedrel Caliaborne stepped out of the path of the intense noonday sun and into the shade of the large canvas awning of Castorwick's General Store.    Leaning against one of the smooth wooden poles that held the awning up the elf wiped his hand across his forehead and tried to remember a day that had been as hot as it was today.  Although over eighty years old, he could not remember any.  His throat was dry as a desert and it felt as if he had just recently swallowed a mouthful of sand.  Ajedrel looked longingly at a half full water barrel that stood just outside the door of Castorwick’s and then glanced at the two big men that stood in front of the barrel.  Sadly enough they looked pretty attentive, Ajedrel doubted he would be able to get at the water.  Ajedrel sighed again.  He could remember a time, before this accursed drought, where there was no big men standing guard over the water barrel, where any citizen could slake their thirst free of charge.  Now merchants like Castorwick paid mercenaries to guard their water.  Citizens could still drink, but now it was not free.   And it was against his nature to pay for something that might be obtained elsewhere without doing so. Ajedrel shrugged expansively and tried to forget about the heat and his thirst, but it wasn’t easy.  Even standing in the shade provided by the wide awning of the general store, Ajedrel felt as if he was wrapped in wet wool.  This was the type of heat that made each step a new fight to keep from being dragged to the ground by the sheer weight of the air.  Not for the first time he sorely regretted not purchasing one of those wide-brimmed hats that everyone else on the streets seemed to be wearing.  True, they looked ridiculous, but Ajedrel thought he would consider wearing a bright pink baby's bonnet if it would keep the sun from roasting his head.

            Looking back out onto the sprawling Temlias from which he had just fled, Ajedrel tried to figure out a reason why anybody at all would want to be out in this heat.  Despite the heat, the streets were no less crowded today than they were on any other day, which was to say they were extremely crowded.  But then 'The business of mercantry shall be stayed by neither weather nor war.', or so he had been told about a thousand times that day.  With a sigh the elf wiped his forehead again and began to think about business.  Mercantry wasn't the only profession not stayed by weather or war.

            Leaning casually against the pole the elf forgot about the heat and let his eyes wander through the tightly jammed streets of the Temlias.  His dark eyes scanned everything and everyone on those streets while at the same time appearing to notice nothing at all.  Throngs of pedestrians and merchants from hundreds of different cities all over the continent mingled and mixed to form a colorful tapestry of skin color, race and clothing style.  Brightly swathed jugglers stood on every other corner performing their acts without even seeming to notice the heat, while wagons of all shape and size rumbled through the streets, their drivers shouting curses to anyone who didn’t step out of the way fast enough to suit them.  All this Ajedrel noticed without interest, he had seen pretty much the same thing every day of his life for the past 83 years.  He wasn't sure what exactly he was searching for, he only knew that he'd recognize it when he saw it.  Then the elf's eyes suddenly focused on one particular individual across the street and about fifty yards down toward the center of town.  Anyone looking at the elf would not know anything was amiss.  All they would see was a man, leaning against a pole, gazing lazily out into space, chuckling softly to himself.  That is, of course, unless they could read minds.     

            The man who had drawn the elf's attention appeared generally unremarkable.  He was short and stocky with short brown hair sticking out from under his wide brimmed hat and a round, pasty face.  He wore well made, if plain, clothes and was carrying a small basket filled with apples.  The average person's eyes would have flitted right over the non-descript man and his apples.  The elf was not however what one would term average.  Sticking out of the man's pocket was what had first caught the Ajedrel's attention, a pair of purse strings.

            Pushing himself off the pole Ajedrel merged casually into the crowds and subtly maneuvered himself so that he and the man were walking towards each other.  His eyes wandered aimlessly through the streets, being careful not to linger on the non-descript man who was walking toward him.  To the casual observer he was just another elf out on a walk through the city.  Not that there were a lot of elves in Theljas, but the sight of one, especially on Temlias Line, would be nothing out of the ordinary.

            As the two passed each other Ajedrel deftly snaked his hand out, latched onto the purse strings and gave a quick jerk.  In the blink of an eye the purse leapt from the man's pocket and flew into the elf's pocket.  The man walked on, oblivious.

            Ajedrel upended the purse inside his right pocket and smiled broadly at the clinking sound of coin striking coin that came to his ears.  From his left pocket Ajedrel withdrew a handful of worthless steel slugs and poured them into the now empty purse.  He added a few extra slugs to get the weight to feel right, turned around and hurried to catch up with the man who he had just robbed.

            "Excuse me sir." the elf said, tapping the man on the shoulder and holding the purse out in front of him, "I believe you dropped this on the street back there."

            The man's eyes went wide as he saw the purse dangling from the elf's fingers.  He slapped a hand to his empty pocket and then, finding nothing there, snatched the purse out of the elf's hands.  The man shook it and smiled broadly as the steel slugs clinked together inside his purse.  "Thank you very much!  I can't believe that there are any honest folk left in this trash heap of a city!  Thank you!"

            Ajedrel nodded amiably and forced a smile.. “Honesty is a rare quality, surely.  Especially around here.  There are thieves everywhere.”

            "I know what you mean.” the man whispered solemnly, “Seems a man can’t go anywhere without having to worry whether his money is safe.  It must especially hard for you to put up with so much rampant lawlessness.   Given your race, I mean.”

            Ajedrel swallowed his sneer, barely.  “I manage.” he said coolly.

            “Yes, well, please allow me to give you a small reward..." the man said, fumbling with the strings on the purse.

            "No,  no." Ajedrel said, hastily laying a hand on the man's hand before he could open the purse.  "The only reward I require is your gratitude ... and maybe an apple or two."

            The man blinked and quickly jammed the purse back into his pocket.  "Of course!  Of course!  Here take them all.  I could buy many such baskets with the money you just returned to me." he said shoving the whole basket into the surprised elf's arms.

            Ajedrel accepted the basket and smiled." My pleasure." he said with a small bow.  The other man also bowed slightly and promptly spun on his heel and left Ajedrel behind.  Ajedrel watched the man walk off with a small half-smile on his face.  With a shake of his head and a chuckle he turned and melted back into the crowded streets of the Temlias.

The incident was quickly forgotten as he strolled down the street munching on an slightly mushy apple. After all, he had done similar things countless times in his life.  And that was hardly the worst of the things he had done..  Ajedrel assumed he'd be doing things like that until the day he died, which was fine by him.  He had never done anything else.  He didn't know how.  He didn't even want to know.  Life was pleasurable enough as it was.

            Ajedrel clinked the ill gotten coins together in his pocket and sighed contentedly.  He took real pride in the fact that he was probably one of the most despicable, devious and underhanded elves alive.  Elves, in general, revered law and order.  In elven societies, those who break the law are few and those caught breaking the law, are punished mercilessly.  Fortunately for Ajedrel he had never lived in an elven society.  Indeed, he had never been anywhere except the large port city of Theljas whose streets he now walked.  Many would consider this unusual, elves rarely ventured out of their forest sanctuaries, let alone established residence in an almost exclusively human city such as Theljas, but then Ajedrel did not consider himself an average elven specimen.  Nor did he particularly wish to be.

            Ajedrel had spent all his life in Theljas, a human city with a foster human parent and learning human customs and beliefs.  He had never known his real parents.  The closest thing he had to family was the human blacksmith who had raised him and who he considered his father, though that not much of one.  To some degree, he even looked human. Long wavy black hair covered the pointed ears that all full-blooded elves possess.  Years of hard labor as a child did much to hide the thin, bony frame that was a characteristic of most elves.  He was still tall and slender by human standards, but not noticeably so.  At first glance most people assumed he was a human youth around twenty years old.  True, no one who got a good look at him would ever mistake him as human but he blended well into a wide street  crowded with humans.  He even thought of himself as more human than elf and did everything in his power to hide his elven heritage.  Ajedrel was not at all proud of his race.  In fact, he thoroughly detested other elves, seeing them as spoiled, arrogant, misers who thought all other races were below them.  His elven parents, wherever they were, had abandoned him almost the day he was born.   Usually the mere thought of elves would cause the bile in his throat to rise.  Many were the nights where he cursed the starry sky above him for making him one. 

            Ajedrel shook his head and chuckled once more.  There were things in life that could not be helped… and anyway, the past didn't matter, it was the present that Ajedrel lived for.  And in the present he had money.

            Ajedrel drew his longsword from its sheath and gently felt the edges.  Yes perhaps now he could get his sword and daggers sharpened.  If he wanted, now he could replace his worn lockpicks and replace his worn cloak.  Now he could spend a few nights in an inn instead of on the streets.  If he wanted, he could even buy some of that precious water that Castorwick guarded so jealously, although he would much prefer to find some way to liberate it, without having to pay the fee.  He licked his dry lips and wiped sweat from his face.  At times like this, when he had money, Ajedrel felt that life just didn't get much better.  And he knew it would get even better.  Today was the day Krodel had said the ring would be ready.  All thoughts of his thirst fluttered away.  Now there was a scam worthy of his ambitions!

            "Hello Ajedrel."

            Ajedrel looked up as a man drew up alongside of him.  He  was tall and had flat blond hair that was pasted to the side of his head by the heat.  Several days worth of stubble covered his face and his eyes looked slightly bloodshot.  He too, was wearing one of those silly wide brimmed hats.  The man wore an easy smile, despite the slight limp in his step that caused him to flinch now and again. "Gryph." acknowledged Ajedrel. “What do you want?”  The man would never approach him like this, unless he wanted something.

            "Can you believe how hot it is today!?" Gryph exclaimed, "I mean it is really hot!  It's hot enough to set stone on fire.  Man, that is hot!"

            "Yes, I noticed the heat.  What do you want, why are you bothering me?"

            "I can't believe you're not wearing a hat.  Everyone I've seen today is wearing one.  Aren't you afraid of having your hair catch on fire?"

            Ajedrel shook his head. "I'll risk it."  Whatever it was that Gryph was after, he would get to it eventually.

            "It's your head, pal."  Said Gryph severely.  For a moment the two walked together in silence.

            "I saw what you did back there.” Gryph said casually, “Some nice work."

            Ajedrel shrugged. "I've had years to practice."

            “You know, that money you stole from that guy was probably his monthly salary or something. “

            Ajedrel just shrugged. “People that careless deserve what they get.  I did him a favor.  Next time he won’t be so careless.”

            Another long pause.  “You’re not even going to ask me about my ankle?” said Gryph, wincing for effect ”Aren’t you the ungrateful one?  If you must know, my ankle is fine, thank you.  I can almost walk again without limping.  It hurts a little still, but it’s getting so that I can run on it." 

“Glad to hear it.” Said Ajedrel impatiently, “ Now, would you please tell me why you are bothering me?”

“A little gratitude would be nice.  You’d be in the hands of the city guards if it wasn’t for me.” said Gryph as he reached over,  plucked an apple from Ajedrel's basket and began munching on it.

            "Have an apple Gryph." 

            Gryph grinned and swallowed a bite of apple. "If you insist."

            The incident Gryph had referred to happened to be a twenty minute chase through the city by the city’s night watchmen. Gryph had delusions that the watchmen would have caught Ajedrel if Gryph hadn’t drawn them away… and sprained his ankle in the process.  The idea was ludicrous.  It was, after all, Gryph’s fault that the night watchmen saw them climbing out of that window at all.  Gryph was decent enough a person but he was so damn clumsy!  Shamefully so, given the profession he had chosen.   Why the Order had stuck him with Gryph on that assignment at all was still a mystery to Ajedrel.  Perhaps they had wanted him to get caught.

            "Do you want something or did you just hunt me down to warn me about my hair catching on fire?" said Ajedrel with a sigh, shifting his basket of apples to his other arm so that Gryph could not nab any more.

            "Doommph gremph plaph argorf?" said Gryph trying to talk and chew his apple at the same time.

            "What?"

            Gryph chewed hastily and swallowed. “What, are you deaf?  I said, do you know a good place I can hide out for awhile?"

            Ajedrel raised his eyebrows. "Hide out?  What did you do now?"

            Gryph grinned sheepishly. "The other night I stole a couple things from Baron Craver.  Somehow he found out it was me and has put a price out on my head.  Can you believe that?  So, I need to lay low for awhile." 

            "A price?  For you?  How much?"

            "Fifty gold." said Gryph with a shrug.

            "Fifty?  I wouldn't pay five for your carcass."

            Gryph chuckled. "Thanks pal.  Now do you have a place for me to hide or not?"

            Ajedrel paused in the middle of the street and stared at Gryph with a frown.

            "What?  What?  Why are you frowning at me?" asked Gryph nervously.

            "Nothing." said Ajedrel with a shake of his head.

            "Well?  Do you have a place for me to hide or not?"

            Ajedrel sighed. “Yea, sure.  Follow me."

            "Thanks a lot buddy.  Hey, I'll make it up to you, I swear." said Gryph, a relieved look painted on his face.

            Ajedrel veered off the street and down an alley, leaving the baking main streets of Theljas behind.   Gryph followed him closely.  Ajedrel knew the back streets of Theljas better than he knew the main streets.  He knew where every alley led, knew every dead-end, every sewer drain, he had had years and years to learn it all.  He could probably navigate the streets of Theljas with a blindfold if he needed.  Gryph was not the first to come to Ajedrel looking for a place in the maze of back streets of Theljas to hide out.  Usually the information came at a cost.  Gryph would not be the exception..  In fact, the cost to Gryph would be higher than most. 

            Ajedrel made another left, and then a right, as he wound his way deep into the heart of Theljas.  Finally he turned onto a deserted alley and stopped in the middle of it.  Gryph stopped also.

            "Are we here?" asked Gryph looking around.

            "Yea, we're here." said Ajedrel setting down his basket of apples.

            "Great!  Now where is this hiding place of yours?  It had better be...”

            "I'm sorry Gryph."

            "Sorry?  Why? You do have a hiding place don't you?  If you..."

            Quick as a flash Ajedrel leapt at Gryph, arm flashing through the air.  Gryph's eyes went wide with shock as Ajedrel's dagger made a wide slash in his throat.  Gryph's hands frantically clutched his throat as blood pumped out, running down his arms and onto his shirt.  A veritable river of blood that Gryph's hands did nothing to stop.  His mouth worked silently and he stared in utter shock and horror at Ajedrel, who merely stared back silently.

            "I'm sorry Gryph.  But times are tough.  Got to think about the future." Ajedrel said.

            Gryph fell to his knees and with a final incoherent gurgle he pitched face first onto the ground.  A pool of blood slowly spread across the cobblestones beneath Gryph. 

            Ajedrel sighed again.  He had liked Gryph, as much as he did anyone at least, it really was a shame to have had to kill him.  But times were tough and fifty gold was just another step to insure his continued survival.  Fifty gold would buy a lot of bread.  Maybe someday, with enough Gryphs behind him, Ajedrel would have enough saved up that he wouldn’t have to take every undesirable opportunity that presented itself.  Survival first though, survival always came first. 

            Ajedrel sighed once more and bent to wipe the blood off his dagger on Gryph's pants.  He rolled the body over and began searching it, ignoring Gryph's wide unseeing eyes.  There was no use in leaving the man's possessions for any beggar to stumble across.  He found a handful of coins a good dagger and, thank the gods, a half full waterskin.  Ajedrel unscrewed the cap and hoisted the waterskin up into the air so that its contents could pour into his mouth.  The liquid hit his throat and Ajedrel gagged, spewing the stuff all over the street and Gryph’s body.  Dwarf spirits!  And of Gryph’s own making too, judging by the fact that it tasted akin to lamp oil.  Ajedrel tossed the waterskin over his shoulder and spit a couple of times for good measure.  Under normal circumstances dwarf spirits were the water that Ajedrel lived off of but Gryph’s own personal brew was something Ajedrel wouldn’t give to someone he intended to poison. 

            He stuffed everything else of value that he found into his pocket and began searching the body for some identifying mark to prove to Baron Craver that he had killed Gryph.  All he could find was a unique ring that was on Gryph's right hand.  Without a second thought Ajedrel cut the finger off and put that in his pocket too.  Finally he walked a few steps away to where Gryph's hat had landed, picked it up and placed it on his own head.  It was a little too big and smelled like Gryph, which was to say unpleasantly, but at least his hair wouldn't catch on fire.  Satisfied that he had gotten everything of value off Gryph, Ajedrel picked up his basket of apples and left the alley.

            It was probably better anyway, reflected Ajedrel as he picked his way through the side alleys back toward the Temlias, better that Gryph was dead.  The man was not overly young, he had learned everything he was going to learn about being a thief and a murderer and what he had learned simply wouldn’t have been enough.  He was far too trusting, relied on others far too much.  Sooner or later someone would have inevitably betrayed him, just as Ajedrel had.  Only with Ajedrel it was quick and relatively painless.  There were others who were much less merciful, Baron Craver for instance, who would have drawn out Gryph’s death as long as they could.  Eighty three was not very old for an elf but he had seen plenty in that time, and learned plenty.  He had seen the world as it really was, not the bright and self-centered fantasy world that others of his race were blinded by.  No one would watch out for you except you, no one could really truly be trusted except you.  If you thought otherwise, it was only a matter of time before the world would teach you differently.

            Ajedrel gave a slight smile and whistled softly.  He had already had his lessons, and he had learned them well.  He knew how to get the basic necessities, everything else was unimportant.  If everything else failed, Ajedrel would still survive.  That was all he asked for and all he expected.