A Thief's Gambit- A teaser

WARNING: This story contains fantasy worlds, with magic and stuff, and something to do with a lazy thief wanting to control the power of fear. May contain errors as this is my first so those with allergies should avoid contact. It's magical and Fancy pants

I am a thief by trade, or maybe that was what I was before becoming…whatever it is I am now. Apparently I was chosen by someone in some "secret council" for this transition, and I was "ever so important". I did pick up a few things while I was still in their care, like some stupid stuff about mediation and channeling the cosmos or life energies or some weird Zen mumbo jumbo garbage. But that was about all I gathered before getting the hell out of there. I mean last the last thing I remember when I was…"alive" was being slapped around by an ogre. Yeah thinking about it still makes my ears ring. That’s not to say I'm undead, trust me I am very much alive…but umm I don’t exactly age or get hungry either…yeah. Took me a while to get used to that one. Still hurts to get stabbed though…found that one out too.

Now one unfortunate trait I seem to have picked up is the rather bothersome disposition of being well…lazy. This is unfortunate because I still want to rob EVERYONE blind. I mean could I have gotten a worse combination? So what I need to do is find a way to get what I want with minimal effort. I mean training in acrobatics and stealth takes soooo much more…effort and time. Time I could spend getting rich.

Besides, if, when sneaking into some one's house, you are caught, they scream bloody murder and then you have to deal with THAT problem. Worse they might even scream your name, then you have to leave the area, avoid the guards and hope your reputation doesn’t spread. I mean talk about a pain in the butt!

However I was not left with absolutely no skills. I was able to bust a simple lock or two, grab some fruit, or bread, even managed to get a nice fish off the docks once. I have traveled for many moons now and everything changed when I stumbled into the town of Kavel.

According to the rumors, a revenant patrolled the local cliff sides that the town rested upon. A revenant is basically a zombie super powers apparently. A "monstrous creature" that radiated an aura of paralyzing fear, and any who survived their encounter were so terrified that they never spoke of it to anyone. It's kinda one of those things where no one talks about it yet everyone knows, because logic is bullshit.

I mean these were just common people so I'm pretty sure an overly agitated wild boar could scare them senseless. But this was an excellent opportunity, if I could just figure out how to harness this creatures power, I could totally scare the people into silence. Who would believe someone who got robbed by a guy who scared them just by saying "Boo!" I mean what could possibly go wrong?

Now, my first task was to find and approach the revenant for study. So I headed for the outskirts of town, and looked over the cliffs. You wanna know what I saw? The stupid monster! It was just standing out in the open down on the beach like an idiot! I mean seriously you would think it would be in a grotto or at least something difficult to get to. *sigh* Peasants. But to be completely honest, there was something very unnerving about it just standing there, and I didn’t like looking at it.

Now I'm not stupid. I mean, some people would tell you otherwise but that is on them and that alcohol was way more potent than I had expected. Anyway, as I was saying, I'm not stupid, I wasn’t going to just go climb down there and say hello. However I didn’t need to local population bugging me or asking what I was up to either.

Scanning the wall, I find a nice cave, big enough for me to fit in comfortably, and an outcropping to people can just look straight down at me. So I waited till nightfall, climbed down the cliff, and scrambled inside the hole. I quickly dispatched the Pigrat that had made its home in the back and set up camp.

The first few days were boring as hell, the only thing that kept me sane was the fact that during the day, the market was just above my head and I was able to listen in on their conversations. Most were generic business transactions, and small talk, a little flirting here and there. But I also got to catch bits and snippets of rumors, who had made big deals, where people lived, and the schedules of the inhabitants. All good stuff if I'm going to have effective operations within town.

But each night, my sleep became more and more disturbed. I would toss and turn, nightmares, which were once a rare occurrence were became more frequent. I would wake up, my teeth clenched so tight I had to wait a few minutes before I could open my mouth without my jaw cramping up.

I quickly realized there was no way I could maintain this for long without acting and so I had to do something I'm pretty sure my past self would have kicked me for even considering. I meditated…yeah sit in one spot and clear your mind or whatever. It took me a few days, to get it right, nightmares still plagued my sleep and I was still on edge but…it wasn’t getting significantly worse like it had been. After about a week I was actually starting to feel a lot better, hell I even smiled. I mean if this is what the Zenites meant by channeling the "cosmic energies around me" I am to totally ok with all of this.

After forcing away the night terrors, I continued to watch the creature, which I think had moved about 3 steps since I got here. I mean how is something that slow so "terrifyingly dangerous"?

Well at the end of the week I got my answer. I had heard, from the chatter above, that there was to be another mission to try to eliminate the monster. I would finally get to see what made this creature so dangerous.

It was about noon when I heard heavy footsteps march through the town square, a jingle of chain-mail and what sounded like spears and swords mostly. I listened and watched wondering how they planned to get down the sheer cliffs until the step faded off to my left, heading along the edge. Apparently there was a small path with switchbacks that lead down the cliff, not very stable ones but still usable. Poking my head out of the hole, I counted seven men, three had spears, one with a pitchfork, two had some rough swords, one of them carrying what looked to be a barrel lid for a shield and one dude all the way in the back carrying a cast-iron frying pan. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the pitiful display as they assembled at the base of the trail, a large pile of boulders, evidence of past rock slides, separating them from the creature. The ghoul. of course, hadn’t moved an inch.

The man in front was talking to them, and while I couldn’t hear a word of what he was saying it was probably something along the lines of "we have to do this for the good of the village" or "this monster has terrorize us for long enough and …" blah blah blah. Though it seemed one of the people there wasn’t having it and dropped his spear, scrambling up the hillside faster than I had ever seen anyone move in my life. His companions watched him go for a moment before returning to the task at hand,  lining up and advancing for the gap between the ocean and cliff side.

The moment the leader turned the corner, I saw the disgusting body of the creature, lurch, its shoulders slowly turning to face the intruders. I watched with anticipation, wondering what crazy spell was going to shoot out of the shambling corpse, or horde would come clawing its way out of the ground.

The effects of what really happened I saw before I felt. Like a wave, the party shook, and panic erupted. Four men turn tail and ran back the way they came, just as an overwhelming wave of the most pure terror I had ever experienced assault my psyche. Visions I can't even begin to describe, flickered across the back of my closed eyelids, and it takes every ounce of energy I can muster to not scream in panic. Voices of fear whisper doubts I never had in my ears, dark tendrils, entrapping my mind. Scrambling back from the edge, I squat down, and try to focus my energies, pushing out against the onslaught of nightmarish visions in an effort to salvage my sanity.

My heartbeat slows, my mind fighting within the chaos, until a small pinprick of light pierces the darkness. The apparitions flee like scavengerbugs to a torch as clarity returns. Focusing on that light, I draw it within myself, casting its glittering shafts in all directions.

I slowly open my eyes, feeling the calm inside me, not enough to force out all the fear, but enough. Approaching the edge again, I hear the screams and wails of the townsfolk above me, obviously still under the influence of the shockwave that radiated from the horror that resided below. Peeking out from my hole, my eyes were not prepared for what I saw next.

Far below, the body of the leader lay dead on the ground, blood covering his face and arms, his own spear thrust through his eye, the revenant standing before him. The skin of the man was bone white, his face or what was left of it contorted in terror, my body convulsed and my stomach heaved. I'm sure, had I eaten anything, it would have spilled down the cliff face. The only one left standing was the poor lad with his frying pan, even from this distance, I could tell he was shaking like a leaf. The kid, who couldn't be more than 20 years old, raised his frying pan, looking ready to charge, letting out a battlecry that would have made the Temic city Captain of the Guard proud.

However, with a sickening motion, the revenant's head turned nearly backwards, and locked eyes with the boy. He was done for. His once courageous cry turned into a bloodcurdling scream, his frying pan falling from his grip and onto the sand at his feet.

"NOOOOOOOO, STOP IT!" he wailed, his hands clutching at his face as the abomination turned and began to shuffle closer, "STOP IT! IT WASN’T MY FAULT! AAAAUGH!!"

I watched on in horror as he clawed at his ears and eyes, nails tearing into his flesh. By the time the revenant reached him, his face was a bloody mess, his figure curled up in a ball screaming and convulsing, frozen in place. With a single rotting hand, it reached out to him, boney finger brushing his mutilated face. In a final scream, the boy cried as though he had been run through, his body arched, all color draining from his face, until he finally collapsed, unmoving upon the sand.

Straitening, the corpse resumed its natural posture and ceased to move, staring off into the open waters. No amount of mediation today would keep me from sleeping poorly
___

It was several days before I was able to poke my head out of my hovel again. Above me the town was mostly silent. Small talk was minimal, I heard the occasional sob, a few threw rocks, but from such a great height their accuracy and luck were insufficient to hit the creature. That or they were too scared actually damage it as they would run away immediately, not bothering to see if the stone hit. A few landed close, the revenant slowly shuffling over to investigate. Once, it lifted its weather beaten head, looking up the cliff, forcing met to duck inside to avoid its gaze, my heart thundering in my chest.

Yet, despite what I had seen, I was undeterred by my mission, I mean I didn’t want people clawing their faces off in front of me. That would probably be scaring for more than just the victim, I mean it was bad enough watching from my perch in the cliff.

So I sat there for another week, this time meditating constantly. Though I'm pretty sure I ended up falling asleep on multiple occasions. It was, during these mediations that I found something I didn’t expect. There was a mass, like a barb, buried within my mind consisting of that same nightmarish energy that had been blasted outwards during the town's assault on the fiend's lair. I picked, prodded, pulled on it, tried to use my "universe energy" upon it, each having little to no effect.

Sometimes at night, when I slept, I dreamt of horrible terrors, the little black ball reaching out, infecting my mind. I would always awaken with a start, more than once smashing my head on the low roof of my cave, and biting my tongue to keep from cursing aloud. Each time I would look over the edge and see the revenant, unmoving from where it stood, rotting skin covered in blisters and scars. And each time I looked upon it, that overwhelming sense of uneasiness was lessened.
_____

A couple weeks passed and I could look down at it, freely and feel nothing, no fear. Now this is probably where you would begin to really call me stupid if you hadn't already, but I wanted to get closer. I knew there was one other sizable cave further down the cliff, the downside was it was just out of the revenants reach. I'm talking a meter at most.

So this was my plan! I needed a distraction that will last just long enough for me to get in the hole before the it spots me. I saw the kids throwing rocks earlier, so I'm pretty sure its hearing is better than its sight. I needed to throw rocks and lead it to the far side of the beach, make a quick decent by rope, dive inside the new cave, dispatch whatever is inside and hide. All I needed to do was, ugh…wait.

Fortunately lady luck was on my side, a storm was coming, with heavy rain which I could use to mask the sound of my decent. I began gathering up my materials in preparation for my move, rope and rocks. Genius I know.

With my plan set in order and the storm only a day away, I sat in my hole one last time and meditated. I focused all my energy, fortifying myself against the fear I might encounter if something goes wrong, but praying that it doesn't.
____

The next day, I am awakened by the flash of lighting, followed, almost immediately, by a cacophonous boom. Rain pours down in sheets, making the coastline nearly invisible.
Gathering myself together, I take a couple extra minutes to quiet my mind before scrambling up the cliff.

In seconds my cloak is soaked, along with everything else I own, but the town market is empty. In the distance the yellow light of small and large fires alike spills from the windows of the nearby homes. Shadowy figures move about inside, going about their day, some work, and others pleasure.

Today however, I do not have the luxury of contemplating the niceties of the lives these people lead, I must work quickly lest I am spotted by the population. A small tree grows near the cliff edge, just above where my new home sits, and I tie a rope around its base, pulling hard, testing its strength. Satisfied that my line is secure, I walk to the cliff edge, taking the first of my rocks in my hand, feeling its smooth surface, testing its weight.

Looking over the edge, I can barely make identify the outline of the figure below me and throw my first rock. I watch the object hurtle earthward, impacting the ground several feet from my target.

Just like I hopped, it turns its head, and shambles for the source of the sound. Now that I have its attention, I throw my second rock, then my third, fourth, fifth and so on. Each time, the shadowy form shambling forward. Throwing my last stone, it impacts the ground just before the stone outcropping that leads to the path. Without waiting for the ghoul to investigate, I rush to my rope, giving it a final tug before leaning backwards, repelling down the cliff.

Rain splatters my face, as I descend, my feet moving steadily down the rock wall, never taking my eyes off the threat at the other side of the beach. Each time my feet slide on the stone surface, I cringe, praying that the sound doesn’t carry, but so far so good.

About two thirds of the way down, the revenant reaches my last rock, its head bowing down, examining the smooth, grey object at its feet. Quickening my pace I, begin to drop greater and greater distances down the rope, unable to determine if it will turn immediately or continue to stand there, staring.

Only a few meters to go, and my rope give a jolt, and my heart stops. A series of steady vibrations reaches my grips and I glance up to the cliff's edge, a shadowy figure looking down. I must have been seen! I curse under my breath, which abruptly falters when another horrifying revelation hits me. Oh God they are cutting the ROPE!

I begin scrambling as fast as I can, the rope shuddering in my grip, the hole only a couple meters below me. I make a quick glance to the monstrosity in the distance, its back still turned to me.

Then. Falling…the rope cut free, my eyes wide in panic. Lunging for the wall, my fingers catch on a ledge, only momentarily halting my decent as half of it breaks away. My chest slams against the rough stone, nearly knocking the wind out of me, but my feet swing inwards. The Hole!

My relief, however, is short lived as the loud clatter of stones, that I just loosed from the wall, clatter on the stone below, my heart skipping a beat.

My eyes snap to the spindly figure in the distance, and in my horror, its head raises from the ground, leathery neck slowly twisting as my blood runs cold…

To be continued.