With clear blue skies, the sun smiled at the peaceful Kingdom of Soden. Ruled by the Egberts for centuries, it occupied most of the fertile southern lands of the Sunsimoon Region.
According to tavern stories and tales of old, Soden used to be a sanctuary of dragons where men and majestic beasts lived in harmony. However, at the dawn of a new age called End of Dragons, the legend got lost amidst the great panic of humanity in their grand chase of life.
...
In a five-hectare mansion loftily standing on the central district of Soden, the household of Misfeet Family was in complete disarray. The veins in Meister Piorquee Misfeet's forehead—the patriarch—were about to pop.
"You useless pieces of aargh! Find it at all costs!" Meister Piorquee said. Despite the supposedly tight security, the King's entrusted treasure in his room's vault was missing.
"S-Sir, the thief also ransacked your treasury in the basement," a guard said. "Some gold coins are missing."
"I don't give a damn about those coins! I need the artifact! Find it, or I'll have all your heads cut before dusk!"
The guards scrambled at the behest of Meister Piorquee while the other five stationed at his room snored. They slept in peace, not knowing that they'd wake up jobless and in prison—or headless.
Meanwhile, in the narrow alleys of Soden's slums known as Bunya, knights were in a frenzy. The shut, shabby stone houses linked to each other like tombs made their hunt tricky. They were after an infamous thief. The notorious man that has challenged the Kingdom's peace ever since he learned to run—Vance Valfern!
"Valfern! Stop or I'll shoot!" a knight with a bow and round belly said.
The hooded man in a black coat with a leather sack bag on his shoulder paused. With his left hand raised, he slowly turned around to face the familiar knight. "Come on, Rigert. I'll give you two silver coins this time."
"No! I won't compromise my honor!" Rigert said with his chin raised high, "I'll earn more if your arse is in prison!" With an arrow notched to his bow, he inched his way towards Valfern.
"Five silver coins then! That's my limit. Take it or..." Valfern's ears picked up the marching of feet—at least five pairs. He then darted away from where he stood.
"You're courting death!" Unwilling to let his target escape, Rigert haphazardly released the string.
The arrow swooshed to the side, far from the intended target. "Damn! Old age is getting into my nerves!" Rigert said.
A door suddenly opened, and a yawning child rubbing her eyes came out of it. Rigert's arrow pierced her on the left shoulder, barely missing her neck.
The girl wailed, and it echoed like the cry of poverty that even Valfern paused.
"Stupid Bunya brat! You're not supposed to come out if we're around!" Rigert said. His eyes darted between the distant figure of Valfern and the bleeding child in the doorway.
"I hate this part," Valfern said. He then turned around and dashed back to the child.
Rigert grinned.
"Reinforcements!" One of the five knights fully geared from helmet to sabaton said. They've finally arrived at the entrance of the alley behind Rigert.
Meanwhile, Rigert's confidence swelled, and he continued to fire arrows on the charging Valfern, ignoring the paling child.
Valfern zigzagged his way back to evade Rigert's attacks, but the number of arrows suddenly increased. Two of the reinforcements sniped with their crossbows while the three with swords and bucklers charged.
From his coat's inner pockets, Valfern took out three small, brown balls and locked each between his fingers. He then used his leather sack to swat some arrows.
He smashed the first ball on the floor, and it poofed with a cloud of brown smoke. It then swallowed the charging three knights.
Rigert and the other archers hesitated to fire as their visibility was in jeopardy.
"Did they get him?" Rigert thought. "Hey, are you-"
Rigert got his answer. Valfern dashed out of the smoke, throwing the remaining balls at them. Thick, brown smoke filled the alley, revealing their location.
When the other knights arrived, the smoke already dissipated. They squeezed their way through the passage, only to find six of their fellows snoring on the cold floor.
"Give way!" a knight in black armor said. Beside him was a voluptuous woman in a red coat.
The other knights cleared the way as the woman entered and examined the sleeping bodies. She opened their closed eyes, then nodded. "Same substance used in the Misfeet's mansion."
"And the ingredients? They're not that potent to induce a day of sleep, right?" the man in black said. He shook his head in disapproval.
The woman was about to open her mouth when a knight claimed about a trail of blood. "Follow it! Hurry!" she said. "Is there any healer in Bunya?"
"There's only one! Come!" the man in black said.
...
Valfern did not mind the blood trail anymore. The child's life was on the line.
At the end of a long dark alley that reeked with rubbish, he pounded on a wooden door. After his third knock, it opened.
"Valfern?" a lady in a white dress said. "You're not supposed to be here! Who's this?" Behind her was the ruckus of men drowned in booze.
"Can you do me a favor and take care of this child?"
"I-"
Valfern dashed out before the blushing lady could say no. He left her with a dying kid and five gold coins.
"Hey, Anri! More booze here!" a customer said.
With her dress drenched in blood, Anri slammed the backdoor shut. "Bunya Tavern is closed today! Get out of here, fools!"
...
Valfern stopped. He was about to leave the dark alley when the knights appeared at the entrance. There were at least fifty of them armed with swords, spears, and crossbows.
"Don't make any nasty move, Valfern! We know about your tricks!" one knight said. The others slowly filled the alley.
"Really? Have you not been told that a thief never runs out of tricks?" Valfern said. He stealthily dropped a small, red ball from the pocket of his cloak. It then rolled towards the enclosing knights.