Day 3 Sir Mug's Apprentice

"You want me to break into a prison?"
"My friend, Lastat.  I am sure you, the thief of the Faith's Ruby-Emerald, the one who stole Queen Gladeral's knickers, the very man who tricked the moon into coming out in the middle of the day, the same person who..."
"I have got it, Volgrim.  Your flattery only goes so far.  The point is that you want me to break into a prison.  Do you understand that every person in there, prisoners too, would love to give my head to the King?"
"Which is why I know you will get the job done better then anyone else in the entire length of Holonaise."
"You are sure the reward is Ten Thousand gold pieces?"
"Have I ever lied to you before, Lastat? You are like... brother to Volgrim."
The man they called Lastat shuffled uncomfortably.  Ten thousand gold pieces would allow him to stop being a thief.  He could settle somewhere nice and maybe even take a wife and have children.  He could buy his own estate in the mountains of the backbone of the globe.
The thief tightened the leather bracer on his left arm until the laces were taunt, "I assume you have a map?"
"Yes... as a matter of fact..", the obese man reached into his grease covered tunic and pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment. "It is all yours, my... brother."  The fat man smiled gleefully as the thief took the map from his hands.  "I will see you at sundown in the park."  With that the fat man gave a laugh as he saluted and walked out of the back room of Mug's Tavern.

This was the biggest job in all of Lastat's career.  He was to break into the citadel prison;  all for a pocket watch.  One simple watch.  What in all of the six divines could be so important about this pocket watch that he had to break into the citadel prison?  The thought of the bath of gold he would take soon pushed all of these hesitating thoughts from his head.  The black leather clad man soon found himself following the fat man's foot steps and into the filth that was Mug's Tavern.  As soon as the wooden door closed behind him he was assaulted by a slew of tavern wenches all looking to bed and steal from any man they could lay eyes on.  He paid none of them attention and made his way to the entrance of the cesspool. 

The mid-day air was cool and refreshing after stepping out of what seemed like the sixth circle of the abyss.  He had at most a few hours to finish the job.  Sundown was close.  Lastat set off in the direction of the prison; weaving through the throng of common folk making their last errands of the day light and finding where exactly they were to lay their heads.  Lastat loved and hated every single one of them.  He loved them for not turning him in, and he hated them for all of their admiration.  Lastat did not want his life. 
The traffic of the market had cost him a good hour.  He was not expecting such life this late in the winter season.  The citadel prison loomed before him like a puzzle waiting to make anyone that tried it get up from the table in frustration with no mindset whatsoever to return to work on it.  Lastat over ever had a map of all the secret entrances and exits.
Lastat took out the crumple paper from the pocket of his cloak.  He smiled as he unfolded it.  The smile soon vanish as he realized he had been given a map alright, but the map was of the city of Holodaise.  The prison was circled with a crude smiling face drawn beside it.  The words "Good Luck" were written in the margin.  Lastat made a mental note to give one of his many hidden daggers a new home in the gut of the fat Volgrim.   Lastat was going to have to do this the old fashioned way.
It did not take him long at all to find the servant entrance.  This was going to be easier than he thought.  He made his way through the servant entrance pretending to be burdened by some heavy object hidden within his cloak.  The guard posted at the entrance did not even give him a second look.  It seemed that the guard even smiled at him. Why would the guard be wearing a smile when he worked the dirtiest and lowest paid entrance to the citadel?
No matter; Lastat only had an hour to complete his job.  The servant entrance lead to the kitchen, which Lastat soon found lead to the main hall of the entire citadel.  From here he could make his way to any cell block simply by turning down its corresponding labeled hallway.  He knew this only because he had broken out once when he first started his career as thief / assassin.  They had greatly augmented the security since then.
Lastat made his way down the correct cell block.  There were no guards whatsoever as far as he could see.  If he wanted he could have even come out of the many shadows and walked freely down the halls.  It seemed that he could have whistled a merry tune and skipped for all those that would try to stop him from reaching his goal.
He found the correct cell.  There was a man in the corner crying. 
"Darius.  I know you know why I am here."
"Lastat!?  Is that really you?  You can't.. Please.. Don't.  Whatever they told you.. It is not worth the world."
"I am about to be a very wealthy man, Darius.  I would like for this to go the easy way.. Seeing as you and your family were so kind to me all those years ago."
"Lastat... This is far beyond anything that you can comprehend.  Why do you think I got caught on purpose?"
"You always were a bad assassin, Darius."
"I killed my employer and then turned myself in."
"I don't care about your conscience.  I just want the watch."
"I can't do that.  This artifact could destroy you."
"You seem to be just fine, old friend."
"I am living in fear.  The only reason that the guards themselves don't kill me is because of the investigation that would go into it.  You have been framed.  If I die tonight you will be blamed and the investigation will not happen.  Why investigate a murder when you already know who is doing the killing?  Who cares about motive when you have a confession? There are those that want this item, but could never have it if the King found out about it, and the King cannot have it! Oh the things he would do... It must stay here with me. I am its keeper and it can fall into no hands but my own... You see this cell is the safest place for me. No guard or noble can touch me without there being a reason why. The king would find out about it... And you... Can't..." Tears, well renewed, streamed down the grown man's face.
Lastat was losing his patience. "Give me the watch, please."
"I can't do that."
"I tried, Darius." Lastat picked the lock of the cell door with one hand and punched it open with the other.  He drew a poison tipped dagger and pointed it at the prisoner. "Are you still going to resist?  You know this poison does not kill quickly.  You designed it for me."
"Lastat... No.  This watch is not what you think it is.  It controls time!"
"Oh, Darius.  All watches are the keepers of time.  I was hoping this would end better."  Lastat slipped the very tip of the dagger into Darius's chin.  The poison soon took effect shooting through his bloodstream and closing off his vocal chords.  No sound came out of the gaping prisoner's mouth.  His veins turned a dark color and protruded out of the skin as his collapsed twitching on the cold stone floor, a look of immense pain on his face. "A pity.  To think I used to look up to you."
Lastat soon found the watch clutched in the hand of his old friend.  Had the thought of ten thousand gold really lead him this far?  He pushed the thought of how he had hated Darius for all the years he had been his thief apprentice.  He took the watch and walked to the cell door; looking back at the body on last time before making his way back out into the shadows.  He found no resistance as he made his way out the way he had come in.
The sun was about to crest upon the hills in the distance.  Lastat was not used to being a late delivery boy.  He made his way swiftly to the park in the center of the town plaza. 
When he arrived his was surprised not to see the fat Volgrim waiting for him.  In fact there was only one man.  A man of nobility, for he was dressed in such the fashion.
"Ah, you must be Lastat! I know you have done well.  Here, I do not even need to see the watch to know it will soon be mine." The man threw a bulging bag of coins to the thief's feet. "I hope you don't mind, I had to get the gold in Platinum pieces.  Gold is awfully heavy." The man gave a chuckle.
"Well yes, I have it.  I was not expecting to meet the employer of my employer."
"Little surprises happen everyday. "
Lastat walked forward and gave the man the watch.  "Here I want nothing to do with this trinket."
He turned to collect his newly found fortune.
"Lastat, you miss the point.  This is no mere trinket.  It is an artifact of great power.  One that controls time and space at once.  Mass, life, validity; all at once."
The thief turned to the man.  He was pointing the face of the pocket watch at Lastat.  It was glowing a bright purple.  "You see.  If I wanted to... I could erase all of time that has to do with you.  Your fifth birthday, the first time you rode a horse, hell I could erase when you popped out of that bitch mother of yours!"
"What are you..?" Lastat could not speak anymore.  His entire life was flashing before him on the ground.  The watch was acting as an image projector of sorts. 
"Oh, I thought you should know. I am not going to let you die.  Good night, theif prince."

"Lastat!  Get that ale to table two!"
"Yes, sir, Sir Mug. You got it."

-Cameron Kilby
cameron.kilby@yahoo.com