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[Martin Willow]

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The fading light offered ample camouflage for the small figure, barely highlighted against the dirt bank of the river that ran through Trinsic. As the sun slowly settled beyond the horizon, Alastyr Wynchor, aspiring thief, crept up the riverbank so as to gain a better view of the brightly-clad men standing outside a certain building. Wearing the heavy ceremonial plate mail typical of honorary guard duty, the two men stood at rigid attention, despite the lax nature of their task; protecting a library, temporarily acting as a museum, was hardly a glorious assignment.

As quietly as she could, Alastyr unrolled a small parchment, which revealed itself as a detailed map of the building she was looking at. Embedded in the top right most corner were two gems, which after laying the map out flat, Alastyr removed from their niches. Holding them up to her eye in the dusk, Alastyr could still make out the small runic symbols engraved on each one. Still looking through the gem, Alastyr directed her sight to the closet paladin, and whispered “Remember….”. The runic symbols on the gem pulsed briefly, and then faded from sight. She repeated this process with the second gem, directing it toward the more distant paladin this time. Again the pulse, and again the symbols faded.
Replacing the gems in their niches, Alastyr looked intently at the map, where two small dots quickly appeared near what the map told her was the front door. She smiled, and rolled the map back up.

With the sun set and the evening darkness dominating the sky, Alastyr shed her casual clothing, a culmination of red items, hardly appropriate for sneaking. Their departure revealed a skin-tight black jumpsuit which unlike most such suits cut almost no figure at all, thanks to some crafty work by its tailor. Donning a likewise-made mask, Alastyr crept along the short sandstone wall toward the rear door to the building. The vegetation in the courtyard before the door offered concealment, but Alastyr still let out a relieved breath when she reached the door.

Pulling from her hip a small lock picking kit, Alastyr likewise laid out the map she had replaced, and opened it to her left. The two dots remained motionless by the front door, so Alastyr removed her tools from the kit and set to work. The outdoor lock was of fairly recent make, and it took an excruciating five minutes to finally get it open. After first greasing the hinges of the door, Alastyr slowly opened it wide, and looked inside.
Several bookshelves lined the wall, brimming with books both worn and new. More importantly, a display case lay at the end of the hall, the rising moon’s reflection glaring its contents, though Alastyr already knew what lay within. Beginning to rise and move inside, Alastyr froze. She had forgotten one thing.

Returning her lock picking kit to her hip, Alastyr brought out instead the wooden hilt of a lock pick. Instead of the usual pick on the end, a rune was carved into the wood. Extending her arm just beyond the door she had opened first, an ethereal pick materialized on the end of the wooden hilt. At the same moment, a gleam crossed the doorway. With minimal searching, Alastyr located the magical lock, and dispelled it with her pick. Pocking the pick again, Alastyr noticed that, according to her map, the paladins out front had begun making their patrol rounds, so she scooped up the map and darted inside, closing the door quietly behind her.

Now inside, the task was simpler, for the barriers only existed outside the library. Alastyr approached the glass case she had previously seen, removing a small device with a diamond tip on one end and a suction cup on the other. Glancing inside, she observed that one of her targets was indeed there. Setting the device on the glass, Alastyr spun it like a naval navigator’s tool as she read the plaque on the case: “Oliver’s Wizard’s Hat: Worn by the former Grand Paladin Oliver of the Trinsic Honor Guards. Oliver is known most for leading the Trinsic Honor Guard during the emergence of factions in the realm.” Removing the hat through the hole she had just created, Alastyr left in its place the chunk of glass.

Farther down stood a suit of armor on display. Alastyr approached it as she dropped the wizard’s hat into an enchanted bag she carried with her for just such special occasions as when she would be stealing more than were humanly possible to carry. The armor shown in the moonlight, despite its shadowy make, and at its feet Alastyr saw another plaque: “Servantes’ Rusted Armor: Worn by the first Minister of Trinsic and former Grand Paladin of the Trinsic Honor Guard. Upon Servantes’ departure, this armor was preserved so that it would never suffer from rust.” Before touching the armor, Alastyr removed the map once more from her bag and spread in out on a table next to her. The two dots had returned to their posts on either side of the front door.

Taking another deep breath, Alastyr removed the helmet from the dummy and placed it in her bag. Almost at once a shout was heard from outside, causing Alastyr to jump and jostle the suit of armor, nearly knocking the gorget from the dummy. Steadying the suit and herself, Alastyr listened as more shouting could be heard outside, suppressing a sudden urge to flee. The shouts had not started from the guards outside, and from what the map showed her, the two dots we moving slowly away from the building. They stopped, and she could hear words being exchanged outside. After a minute or so, the two dots took off and what only could be construed as a dead sprint, backed up by the loud banging of plate-armored feet running. Furrowing her brow, Alastyr quickly removed the rest of the armor from the dummy and placed it in her bag.

The sudden departure of the guards, while somewhat unsettling, was not unwelcome, and Alastyr hurried across the room to her next target. Another small glass case housed a tan bonnet, though only until Alastyr removed it just as she had the Wizard’s hat. Glancing at the plaque on this case, Alastyr read as far as “Gwendolyn’s Bonnet: Worn by the former Vice-Mayor and Mayor of Trinsic, of the Knights of Sosaria” before she moved on. Undoubtedly the guards would do a thorough look around of the library when they returned from whatever had taken them away.

A locked weapon’s chest stood along the wall, and it was Alastyr’s next target. The plaque along the top read “Turin’s Array: Each of the weapons within was wielded by the former Grand Paladin Turin, of the Trinsic Honor Guard. Notoriously indecisive as to his weapon preference, Turin kept a wide assortment of weapons handy.” The chest did indeed contain a broadsword, long spear, mace, and katana, though only for the two minutes it took Alastyr to break the lock.

With all her targets acquired, and the guards still not returned, Alastyr walked into the entry way, and then stopped. Sitting on a display in the center of the room was a chalice, uncovered or attended. Curious, Alastyr stepped around to the front and read the plaque: “Chalice of Arghan the Crusader: Used by Arghan the Crusader when he visited Trinsic during the wake of Hartham, Captain of the Guards and first Grand Paladin of Trinsic. Arghan was the first to make a call for Councils of Virtue, and thus his chalice, the symbol of Honor, sits here.”

Unable to pass up an opportunity, Alastyr dropped the chalice into her bag, and then silently slipped through the front door (far easier to exit than to enter), and out into the Trinsic night.

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“You mean to tell me I’ve been back for less than a week, and already misfortune befalls us!?” Martin Willow, the Grand Paladin of the Trinsic Honor Guard yelled at the unfortunate guardsman who had drawn the short straw in delivering the news.

“Yes, M’lord.” The guardsman stammered. Inching slowly toward the door, the man earnestly hoped the Grand Paladin would turn away slightly, so as to allow his escape.

“What was taken?” Martin asked, frowning as the guardsman listed the first four items, and grimacing at the last. Dismissing the guard, Martin sat at the dusty desk he had left behind some time ago, and thought. The items were irreplaceable, and would probably fetch a decent price somewhere. He’d have to organize a search…

Martin realized that, subconsciously, he’d pulled his binding bracelet from his pocket while thinking. Its charges had been dispelled while he was out researching, but he’d kept it with him the whole time. He stared at it for a time, thinking of another dilemma he faced.
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Grand Paladin of THG