Ashan 41, Arc 706
Part 1
Part 2
Devin followed his new friends Harry and Lily through the streets of Andaris. His mind was still reeling from what they had told him. Apparently, they had discovered a way to make a lot of money that didn’t involve asking your parents for money or actually having to work. Of course, it was illegal, but Devin told himself that he would just participate until he had enough money to buy the lute that he wanted, and then he’d stop. Being a criminal wasn’t so bad if you only did it part-time and had a good reason, was it?
“I think this is a good spot”, Lily informed him. Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts quite abruptly. He took a look around. They were in a busy street with a lot of shops now. “Devin, I’ve already explained what we’ll do to you. Since you are new to this, you’ll spend the first couple of times keeping watch. Check if there are any guards. If you see one or more guards, try to distract them. Harry, do you have a target?”
Harry pointed at a woman that wore a nice dress with a floral pattern and carried a large basket with groceries – and a rather sizeable wallet. Lily eyed the woman for a moment, and then she casually strolled in her direction, as if she were just a young girl going for a walk and didn’t have any ulterior motives. Devin was impressed, against his will.
She was a really good actress!
While the young wannabe bard wondered how exactly he was supposed to distract the guards (would they believe him if he screamed that a house behind them was burning?), Lily who had almost reached the woman, suddenly stopped and rolled her eyes before – she just fell. A moment later, she was lying on the ground, and her arms and legs were thrashing wildly. The woman immediately dropped her basket and knelt down next to her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her concern obvious.
“Doctor!” she then screamed. “We need a doctor!”
A moment later, a small crowd had gathered around the woman and Lily who continued to have some sort of epileptic fit.
“My turn”, Harry casually remarked and quickly darted towards where the woman was, reached into the basket that nobody was paying attention to anymore, grabbed the wallet and raced back to where Devin was still keeping watch, half hidden around a corner.
“This was a really good one”, Harry whispered, smiling brightly, and removed a number of shiny golden nels from the wallet. “She had over twenty golden nels! Look!”
He let Devin take a peek into the wallet before he slipped it into a pocket of his jacket and focused on Lily and their victim again. Lily’s movements didn’t seem to be quite as uncoordinated anymore. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, and then she tried to sit up. The woman, still unaware of the fact that her wallet had been stolen, helped her and said something to her.
Lily shook her head though. The woman said something again. Lily shook her head more firmly. A few more words from the woman followed, and finally the crowd dispersed. Lily took a look around, and then she quickly made her way over to Harry and Devin.
“How was I?” she asked. She seemed to be a little out of breath, but she was grinning, nevertheless.
“Awesome!” Harry replied.
“Impressive!” Devin assured her because he had the feeling that he should say something, and because he was quite in awe.
“So”, Lily said and gestured for the boys to follow her. Devin remembered that she had told him that it was a good idea not to linger too long after a theft lest the victim realized what had happened. “How big is my share this time? Was it worth it, Harry?”
“Seven nels for each of us”, he said proudly – they always split the money they made evenly - and Lily let out a triumphant little sound before she remarked, “Tomorrow we’ll try the street where the bakery is. Good job keeping watch, by the way, Devin!” she complimented the newest member of her little gang.
Devin beamed at her, even though he’d just participated in the first crime of his life. He liked receiving compliments, and he also quite liked making money!
~~~
A few trials later, Devin, Lily and Harry were walking down another street, past a garden where a few big apple trees full of delicious red apples grew. While Lily and Harry walked on, Devin momentarily stopped, checked if anybody was watching and quickly plucked an apple from one of the lowest branches – and then another one and another one.
“Devin, what are you doing?” Lily who’d realized that the newest member of her gang wasn’t following her anymore asked. She sounded half confused and half amused.
“I’ve come up with a new trick!” Devin proclaimed proudly, expecting to be praised. Lily didn’t look impressed though. Instead, she glanced at the apples and rolled her eyes.
“Stealing apples is for beginners”, she informed him. “Even idiots can do it.”
“Except that I didn’t simply steal the apples”, Devin pointed out, pouting slightly. He’d spent most of the previous nights lying in bed, thinking about everything his new friends had taught him instead of sleeping (he’d slept in school instead because it was boring anyway). At first, he’d struggled to justify his stealing, but really, what was wrong with it?
Those people had too much money anyway while he was poor – and he absolutely hated being poor!
He deserved to be rich, just like them!
“I thought about how we could improve your trick, Lily!” he informed her. “Your epileptic fits would look so much better with a bit of fake vomit, and apple sauce looks almost like vomit. You just put it into your mouth and spit it out when it’s most convenient. It might give us more time to pick people’s pockets, too!”
Lily looked at Devin doubtfully for a few moments before she nodded reluctantly and informed him, “Sure. We can give it a try. But you’ll pretend to have a fit, this time. I think you are ready. Besides, I don’t want to take the risk in case your idea doesn’t work out.”
Devin didn’t reply immediately but thought about whether the risk would really be worth it. He had two trials before the man he had talked to would sell the lute he was interested in. They’d had a bit of a lucky streak – normally, Lily had told him, they made about twenty nels in seven trials before they had to stop stealing for a while lest people grew suspicious.
This time, each of them had gotten about fifteen nels though – which meant that he needed to make five nels -and fast.
“Sure”, he decided. “But I get to choose where we pick people’s pockets! I know just the place!”
~~~
Devin decided to amp things up a little. They were in a street where the families of Andaris usually went for a walk in the evening – it was pretty nice, with trees, flowerbeds and small cafes. His victim, he decided that his victim would be a woman that wore a long, flowing skirt.
He followed her for a few metres. He was just a little boy going for a walk after school. After a few bits, he momentarily stopped, clutched his chest and rolled his eyes before he walked on, a little faster. When he was directly next to the woman, he rolled his eyes again. He twitched for a moment, and then he abruptly reached out for her and held onto her.
The woman let out a scream and turned around, glaring daggers at him. A moment later, Devin was lying on the ground though, twitching even more and groaning. His groaning wasn’t even fake. He’d hurt himself a little when he had fallen, and his back was sore.
“Help!” the woman exclaimed, just like the first victim just as Devin opened his mouth in order to spit apple sauce all over the ground – and her beautiful skirt. The woman momentarily wrinkled her nose in disgust before her concern for his well-being took over. “Help!” she screamed again. “This little boy is sick! I think he might actually be dying!”
Devin twitched even more in order to convince her that he might indeed be dying while he secretly watched the people that rushed to his eyed with half-closed eyes. Once he had made sure that the crowd was large enough, he started to make all kinds of worrisome sounds. His heart was beating quite rapidly now because he was nervous, but another part of him was quite excited. This here was so much more fun than school!
He’d finally found something that his intelligence was not wasted on!
“Ohhh … ahhh …” he made. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that Lily reached into a man’s coat pocket and quickly raced away. Once she was out of sight, he tried to sit up.
“Careful, son”, a white-haired old man that stood next to the woman with the nice skirt said.
“It’s nothing”, Devin assured him. “I have those fits every now and then. The doctor said they are not dangerous, and I might grow out of them. I think I also ate something wrong.”
“My mother’s cooking sucks”, he claimed.
~~~
“So, how much did we make?” he asked Lily breathlessly. “Do we get five nels each? Please say that we get five nels each!” he pleaded. Lily opened the wallet she had stolen, and Devin’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t believe it. That … that might actually be enough!
“We’ll take a break for the remainder of the ten-trial”, Lily decided once the money had been distributed. “We don’t want to push our luck, besides, we need to plan our next steps. If we pretend to have epileptic fits and pick people’s pockets all the time, they will get suspicious, and we’ll eventually get caught. I was thinking that we could try to break into a shop for a change.”
“Or we could just claim that we are collecting money in order to donate it to an orphanage or something like that”, Devin suggested. “People pity orphans. Let me tell you more about what I have in mind …”
Part 2
Devin followed his new friends Harry and Lily through the streets of Andaris. His mind was still reeling from what they had told him. Apparently, they had discovered a way to make a lot of money that didn’t involve asking your parents for money or actually having to work. Of course, it was illegal, but Devin told himself that he would just participate until he had enough money to buy the lute that he wanted, and then he’d stop. Being a criminal wasn’t so bad if you only did it part-time and had a good reason, was it?
“I think this is a good spot”, Lily informed him. Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts quite abruptly. He took a look around. They were in a busy street with a lot of shops now. “Devin, I’ve already explained what we’ll do to you. Since you are new to this, you’ll spend the first couple of times keeping watch. Check if there are any guards. If you see one or more guards, try to distract them. Harry, do you have a target?”
Harry pointed at a woman that wore a nice dress with a floral pattern and carried a large basket with groceries – and a rather sizeable wallet. Lily eyed the woman for a moment, and then she casually strolled in her direction, as if she were just a young girl going for a walk and didn’t have any ulterior motives. Devin was impressed, against his will.
She was a really good actress!
While the young wannabe bard wondered how exactly he was supposed to distract the guards (would they believe him if he screamed that a house behind them was burning?), Lily who had almost reached the woman, suddenly stopped and rolled her eyes before – she just fell. A moment later, she was lying on the ground, and her arms and legs were thrashing wildly. The woman immediately dropped her basket and knelt down next to her. “What’s wrong?” she asked, her concern obvious.
“Doctor!” she then screamed. “We need a doctor!”
A moment later, a small crowd had gathered around the woman and Lily who continued to have some sort of epileptic fit.
“My turn”, Harry casually remarked and quickly darted towards where the woman was, reached into the basket that nobody was paying attention to anymore, grabbed the wallet and raced back to where Devin was still keeping watch, half hidden around a corner.
“This was a really good one”, Harry whispered, smiling brightly, and removed a number of shiny golden nels from the wallet. “She had over twenty golden nels! Look!”
He let Devin take a peek into the wallet before he slipped it into a pocket of his jacket and focused on Lily and their victim again. Lily’s movements didn’t seem to be quite as uncoordinated anymore. Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something, and then she tried to sit up. The woman, still unaware of the fact that her wallet had been stolen, helped her and said something to her.
Lily shook her head though. The woman said something again. Lily shook her head more firmly. A few more words from the woman followed, and finally the crowd dispersed. Lily took a look around, and then she quickly made her way over to Harry and Devin.
“How was I?” she asked. She seemed to be a little out of breath, but she was grinning, nevertheless.
“Awesome!” Harry replied.
“Impressive!” Devin assured her because he had the feeling that he should say something, and because he was quite in awe.
“So”, Lily said and gestured for the boys to follow her. Devin remembered that she had told him that it was a good idea not to linger too long after a theft lest the victim realized what had happened. “How big is my share this time? Was it worth it, Harry?”
“Seven nels for each of us”, he said proudly – they always split the money they made evenly - and Lily let out a triumphant little sound before she remarked, “Tomorrow we’ll try the street where the bakery is. Good job keeping watch, by the way, Devin!” she complimented the newest member of her little gang.
Devin beamed at her, even though he’d just participated in the first crime of his life. He liked receiving compliments, and he also quite liked making money!
~~~
A few trials later, Devin, Lily and Harry were walking down another street, past a garden where a few big apple trees full of delicious red apples grew. While Lily and Harry walked on, Devin momentarily stopped, checked if anybody was watching and quickly plucked an apple from one of the lowest branches – and then another one and another one.
“Devin, what are you doing?” Lily who’d realized that the newest member of her gang wasn’t following her anymore asked. She sounded half confused and half amused.
“I’ve come up with a new trick!” Devin proclaimed proudly, expecting to be praised. Lily didn’t look impressed though. Instead, she glanced at the apples and rolled her eyes.
“Stealing apples is for beginners”, she informed him. “Even idiots can do it.”
“Except that I didn’t simply steal the apples”, Devin pointed out, pouting slightly. He’d spent most of the previous nights lying in bed, thinking about everything his new friends had taught him instead of sleeping (he’d slept in school instead because it was boring anyway). At first, he’d struggled to justify his stealing, but really, what was wrong with it?
Those people had too much money anyway while he was poor – and he absolutely hated being poor!
He deserved to be rich, just like them!
“I thought about how we could improve your trick, Lily!” he informed her. “Your epileptic fits would look so much better with a bit of fake vomit, and apple sauce looks almost like vomit. You just put it into your mouth and spit it out when it’s most convenient. It might give us more time to pick people’s pockets, too!”
Lily looked at Devin doubtfully for a few moments before she nodded reluctantly and informed him, “Sure. We can give it a try. But you’ll pretend to have a fit, this time. I think you are ready. Besides, I don’t want to take the risk in case your idea doesn’t work out.”
Devin didn’t reply immediately but thought about whether the risk would really be worth it. He had two trials before the man he had talked to would sell the lute he was interested in. They’d had a bit of a lucky streak – normally, Lily had told him, they made about twenty nels in seven trials before they had to stop stealing for a while lest people grew suspicious.
This time, each of them had gotten about fifteen nels though – which meant that he needed to make five nels -and fast.
“Sure”, he decided. “But I get to choose where we pick people’s pockets! I know just the place!”
~~~
Devin decided to amp things up a little. They were in a street where the families of Andaris usually went for a walk in the evening – it was pretty nice, with trees, flowerbeds and small cafes. His victim, he decided that his victim would be a woman that wore a long, flowing skirt.
He followed her for a few metres. He was just a little boy going for a walk after school. After a few bits, he momentarily stopped, clutched his chest and rolled his eyes before he walked on, a little faster. When he was directly next to the woman, he rolled his eyes again. He twitched for a moment, and then he abruptly reached out for her and held onto her.
The woman let out a scream and turned around, glaring daggers at him. A moment later, Devin was lying on the ground though, twitching even more and groaning. His groaning wasn’t even fake. He’d hurt himself a little when he had fallen, and his back was sore.
“Help!” the woman exclaimed, just like the first victim just as Devin opened his mouth in order to spit apple sauce all over the ground – and her beautiful skirt. The woman momentarily wrinkled her nose in disgust before her concern for his well-being took over. “Help!” she screamed again. “This little boy is sick! I think he might actually be dying!”
Devin twitched even more in order to convince her that he might indeed be dying while he secretly watched the people that rushed to his eyed with half-closed eyes. Once he had made sure that the crowd was large enough, he started to make all kinds of worrisome sounds. His heart was beating quite rapidly now because he was nervous, but another part of him was quite excited. This here was so much more fun than school!
He’d finally found something that his intelligence was not wasted on!
“Ohhh … ahhh …” he made. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that Lily reached into a man’s coat pocket and quickly raced away. Once she was out of sight, he tried to sit up.
“Careful, son”, a white-haired old man that stood next to the woman with the nice skirt said.
“It’s nothing”, Devin assured him. “I have those fits every now and then. The doctor said they are not dangerous, and I might grow out of them. I think I also ate something wrong.”
“My mother’s cooking sucks”, he claimed.
~~~
“So, how much did we make?” he asked Lily breathlessly. “Do we get five nels each? Please say that we get five nels each!” he pleaded. Lily opened the wallet she had stolen, and Devin’s eyes lit up. He couldn’t believe it. That … that might actually be enough!
“We’ll take a break for the remainder of the ten-trial”, Lily decided once the money had been distributed. “We don’t want to push our luck, besides, we need to plan our next steps. If we pretend to have epileptic fits and pick people’s pockets all the time, they will get suspicious, and we’ll eventually get caught. I was thinking that we could try to break into a shop for a change.”
“Or we could just claim that we are collecting money in order to donate it to an orphanage or something like that”, Devin suggested. “People pity orphans. Let me tell you more about what I have in mind …”
