| Disclaimer: I don`t own them. I have no idea where this story is going, so I cant really give you any summary. Chapter 2: Thief She sighed deeply; it was Jaheira, Minsc, Nalia and a bard named Haer`Dalis. She had kept her eyes on them; their actions and knew they were working with the Shadow Thieves. She had had a few run-ins with the guild, which ended in blood. Jaheira's head turned in her direction. For a minute their eyes locked, and she saw the amount of repulse and disappointment that was in the druid’s eyes. She looked away and felt an unfamiliar twig in her heart. Guilt. She always seemed to disappoint everybody; no matter how hard she tried to make everybody happy. That was why she had stopped caring and ditched her so-called friends. One night, she had exclaimed that they had to go separate ways and had given a long speech about making her own choices… Jaheira had protested, Minsc had as well, and they had followed her for days. She had to use her claws and sharp tongue to try to drive them away, but still they were loyal to her, begging her to tell them what was wrong. Nevertheless, the feelings she had inside; she could not name, grew stronger. She needed to strike out and avenge all the bad things that had happened in her life, it did not matter if the ones she unleashed her anger on was innocent. When she killed an innocent man, because he was begging, they left. She heard the sound of metal, moving, and the knight walked past her and towards them. “Ekko,” she turned around by the mentioning of her name and saw Jaheira and her group watching her intensely as her body tensed. “What?” she answered, annoyed, and put the ring in her backpack with her cat. “I….I wish to talk to you” Jaheira said, and Ekko wondered if it was the first time she had heard the druid stutter. “You, or the Harpers?” Ekko replied, then smiled with satisfaction when she saw the twitch in Jaheira`s eyes. The Harpers had been following her for some time now; she had been forced to kill some of their members. She waited for the druid's reply but there were none and finally she rolled her eyes, sighed deeply and started to walk towards the exit. Her plans of spending the night here had suddenly changed, she could not be in the same house as the others. “Ekko!” Jaheira called once more, sharper this time, more like the Jaheira she had known. “What?” she growled back and sent them the most infuriating glare she could manage. Just then, the sound of a woman screaming pierced the murmurs in the tavern and everybody looked in her direction. “I have been robbed!” she exclaimed loudly. All around her people started to check their pockets as well and more angry and surprised shouts were heard around in the tavern as Yoshimo`s work was finally discovered. The knight searched his pockets as well and suddenly all the color drained from his face. “My…my sister…. sister’s ring it is gone” Ekko felt another twitch in her heart and she could actually feel the ring burn in her pocket. Haer`Dalis and Minsc had already drawn their weapons, and no doubt justice was about to be served. “Where is the thief, somebody find him!” Ekko furrowed her eyebrows and looked around in the tavern searching for an escape goat, but found none. “Well, it seems like there is a job for you” Ekko said slowly, and started to walk towards the door, when Jaheira grabbed her arm, and sent her that famous I- know-you –did-it look. “Empty your pockets, Ekko” she said slowly. “What? You think I robbed these people, please I would get more money from killing one of the snobs in the Government District!” she snapped and saw the little twig in Minsc eyes; no doubt he had to consult his hamster soon. “If you have nothing to hide, then empty your pockets,” Jaheira said again. Ekko sighed deeply and stared into the knight’s brown eyes, the ring was perhaps worth more then she thought. “Very well,” she said, and slowly she emptied her belongings on the table. A few gold coins, and old piece of parchment and some dried meat that was all. “Happy now?” she asked and Jaheira shook her head. “Your back pack as well!” she ordered, the people in the tavern were starting to notice them, and a small half circle gathered around the group. Ekko bit her lower lip and hoped that Sages had read her mind and knew what was going on. If that cat had any intelligence at all, it would remove the ring. If not…well she wondered if she would be able to talk her self out of this one. She opened her backpack and handed it to Jaheira. Slowly she picked up the cat, which hissed angrily and lashed at the druid with its claws. It struck her over her cheek and small streaks of blood streamed down. Ekko hid her smile as she made a mental note to herself to give the cat an award. Jaheira pretended nothing had happened and emptied the bag on the table. Out rolled her scroll case a small bag filled with diamonds she had not yet been able to sell. A small, red like, sword, a couple of arrows, an old and tattered robe, a cloak, some spare clothes, some bottles of liquid, some money, and a necklace. She breathed loudly when she saw that ring was nowhere. “Happy now? Done your little Harper deed for the day?” Ekko asked as Jaheira slowly put the items back in the bag, not saying a word. “So did she have it?” a voice from the crowd asked and Jaheira shook her head. “No she did not.” “Well then, I must say good bye and hope I never see you again” she snapped and angrily grabbed the bag out from Jaheira`s hands, and made sure to `accidentally` bump into the knight before she walked outside. As soon as she felt the night wind wash over her face she breathed heavily and turned around to see Sages walking towards her, slowly wagging its tail. “Good work,” she murmured and petted its head. “I just hope you remember that you own me a favor.” he replied dryly and she nodded. “What did you do with the ring?” “I placed it on some poor sucker, there is no doubt they are going to search every person in the tavern.” “I feel sorry for the person with the ring,” Ekko muttered and her cat chuckled. “I like being with you mistress, we do such…. evil things.” |