The Young Rogue (Closed Promotion Thread)

[Ralph Meglane]

With his new duds, Ralph was able to get out of Pherae undetected. It pained him to leave his home for what could be a long time.

Ralph wasn't even sure what direction he was headed in. He hadn't seen Caecus since he arrived in Pherae, so the falcon was probably hunting or sleeping, depending on the time of day.

Ralph still didn't know the time of day. It made him feel sorry for himself. At least the road leading away from Pherae was quiet, giving him time to think. Oddly, the one thing he couldn't get out of his mind was Jya. Why did she run away? Was there a reason why she had to be an assassin?

The questions continued, but there were no answers in sight (Metaphorically).

[Ralph Meglane]

"Hey you there, young man." Came a voice from off of the road.

"Yes?" Ralph replied, not recognizing this voice. He sounded like an older man, but Ralph wasn't sure.

"Do you know who I am, young man? Do you remember me?"

"Remember? I am sorry, but I can't see you sir, I'm blind. Also, I don't remember much of my past." The older man's voice was completely unrecognizable. Ralph was sure that he had never heard the voice before.

"You are Ralph, am I right? It has been almost 7 years now. If you don't remember me, then you don't remember your training do you?"

"What? Yes, I am Ralph, but what are you talking about? I have to admit that there is little I remember from before five years ago." Apparently this man was someone Ralph had known as a kid. Perhaps he could actually tell Ralph something about his past. "Sir, if you do know me, can you tell me about my past?"

"You don't remember? Then how come you're a wanted man? Someone taught you how to steal, yeah?"

"Well, I guess? I don't really know, I'm just so used to it that I don't even think about it." His thievery thus far had been entirely reflexive, but he never noticed it until this man had suddenly brought it up. Just who was he?

[Ralph Meglane]

"You've changed a lot, Ralph. And yet you haven't changed at all. I remember you carrying a red blanket around all the time. You were an orphan after all, just like the rest of us."

Red blanket? Was that the cloak Ralph wore as a kid? He remembered having it when he woke up, but it eventually he grew too big for it. Ralph had forgotten that he cut a piece of it off to wear as his blindfold. The smell of his mother that once permeated off of it had long since faded.

"Did you know my parents?"

"Nope. I found you on the streets, covered with ash. My guess was that you had escaped from a fire. I took you under my wing and raised you to be a thief, Ralph."

"I can't even remember why I would want something like that..." His memory loss was the worst of all of what had happened to him. It felt like some part of him was lost forever.

"Well, that was in Bern of course. A child living on the streets? Nobody had time to care about where you were going to get food. You were just a faceless mass to the public. So without a way for you to get food, nobody to care for you, I taught you how to take care of yourself. Picking locks, stealing food. You were the best out of all the orphans I taught."

"So why are you here? Why not stay in Bern, continuing to teach the next generation of outlaws." Ralph said, with some agitation in his voice.

"Why so hostile, Ralph? Is the law above the lives of humans? I taught you for our mutual survival at that time. Now I am here to teach you the ways of the master. No more words about morals. You learn from me once again, and you can decide what to do with your abilities."

Ralph was unsure, but if this person really was his old thievery master, there was no reason for him to say no. "First, may I have your name, master?"

"Tallous." he said plainly, and from what Ralph could hear, began to set up some kind of contraption.

[Ralph Meglane]

Eventually the noises stopped and Tallous spoke again. "Alright Ralph, what I've got here is a chest. The lock is very sensitive. If a lockpick is used on it, the chest ignites from a trap inside of it. Inside of this chest is the secret to being a master thief. Good luck!" Ralph heard Tallous get sit next to a tree, probably to watch him work.

Ralph approached the chest. Not being able to use lock picks was one thing, and not even being able to see the lock was another. First Ralph moved his hand over the lock, feeling its shape. It was intricate, a skull-shaped keyhole. From what Ralph could tell, there was nothing out of the ordinary about it.

Ralph thought for a long time about how to approach the lock. This wasn't something he could rush into, or else it would be destroyed. But, thievery was all about speed and skill, so what good would this test do?

Ralph continued to think, but just couldn't figure out how to open it.

[Ralph Meglane]

"Master Tallous, is this chest possible to open?" Ralph asked, uncertain of himself.

"Oh yes, everything is possible to open one way or another." Ralph thought what Tallous meant by that for a second. A barred gate was possible to open, wasn't it? Even though a barred gate had no lock, just apply force and it would open. Ralph ran his hand over the chest, finding that it was made of wooden planks. He jammed his slim sword in between the planks and gave it a good tug. The chest replied with a nice pop, and the plank fell to the ground.

Tallous said nothing as he walked over to the chest and lifted the lid. "Well, that's one way I guess... You were supposed to notice that the chest was unlocked, but that's fine too. I'll let it slide on account of you being blind. The test was meant for people who only see what's ahead of them. They see the lock and spend days looking for the correct places to apply pressure to the lock and such. When that lock itself is a fake, and the box is not latched by it at all."

"Well then, what's inside of it?"Ralph asked, wondering what could possibly be the secret of it all.

"A single pick. With this, you won't need any of your other lockpicks. Sure you've got a bunch for different kinds of locks, but this pick is special. Custom made by only higher-ups in elusive Thieves Guilds. It's a highly kept secret. No nobles, no lawmen know about this. They say it's made of a top secret alloy recipe from zinc and aluminum, and those metals are very hard to find anywhere but the Western Isles. It's as strong as steel, and malleable as copper wire. With this, you'll never need another pick again!"

Ralph couldn't help but think that there was a catch. There was always a catch.

[Ralph Meglane]

"So what's the catch." Ralph said plainly.

"Well, you won't be needing those other lockpicks of yours. I'll take those off your hands and give it to my next pupil. I also want a favor." Ralph could hear Tallous unraveling a parchment of some kind. "You can have the pick if you sign this paper. It is not anything legally-binding. The paper is magical and holds you to its promise no matter what. I'm bound by the "Fell Contract," as they call it, too. I can't hide anything from you about the Contract. It just says that you owe me one favor that I can redeem whenever I want. So, do we have a deal? Just a bit of blood on the paper is enough for the magic to work."

Ralph thought about his deal briefly. A pick like that would be useful to him. Ralph didn't know if he could trust this man, but something in his heart made him want to believe the man's story. Ralph bit his thumb, letting the blood run down his hand. "Alright Tallous, we have a deal." he said, wiping his thumb across the parchment.

Tallous handed the pick to Ralph, "With this in hand, you'll be a much better Rogue than I. That pick was mine, by the way, back when I was active. Take good care of it, alright?"

Ralph listened as Tallous walked away, wondering when he would have to uphold his end of the deal.