{"id":623,"date":"2012-04-27T07:43:07","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T12:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=623"},"modified":"2012-04-27T07:43:07","modified_gmt":"2012-04-27T12:43:07","slug":"honest-thieves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=623","title":{"rendered":"Honest Thieves"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the continuation of a story I’ve been working on for the Splintered Lands project. Previous entries can be found here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cN\u00e1hte, why is there a net on your head?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed a hat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cN\u00e1hte, it\u2019s a net. It lets the sun shine through. And doesn\u2019t keep off the mosquitoes either. Also, it smells of fish. Dead fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. I\u2019m hoping fish will jump into the net and I can eat them. I\u2019m hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butan just sighed.<\/p>\n

They\u2019d been in \u00c1t?san a week now, and had, for once in their lives, honest employment. Neither of them liked it very much.<\/p>\n

\u201cKagdor didn\u2019t bring any food, did he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe brought me more nets to wear. Draped them over my head when he left.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was probably because he doesn\u2019t like you. You cut up one of his nets and used it as a fishing line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t using it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cN\u00e1hte, we\u2019re supposed to be repairing the nets, not breaking them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, is that what this job is? I thought I was just a clothes rack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just might be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I get more money as a clothes rack?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, less.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I don\u2019t want to be a clothes rack.\u201d N\u00e1hte thought for a moment. It was a long moment. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be honest any more, Butan. Honesty is kind of dull.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean there\u2019s nobody shooting arrows at you? Or trying to sell you into slavery?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want people to shoot at you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so. I like the sound that arrows make as they whiz by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butan started crying.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I was bored of being honest as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is the Knights of the Broken Wheel mission. We can\u2019t join them, they\u2019re honest!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to join them, I want to rob them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t that mean they\u2019ll poke us with pointy things?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven everything else we\u2019ve met tried to do that, what\u2019s the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n

N\u00e1hte paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have bigger pointy things?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn that, you\u2019re probably right. Ready to go over the wall?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not swim up the little creek into their complex that no one ever guards?\u201d N\u00e1hte pointed.<\/p>\n

Butan clapped a hand over his eyes. \u201cN\u00e1hte, that\u2019s an open air sewer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, that means I\u2019ll smell foetid. I\u2019ll have all the pretty flowers again, and I can paint them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine. N\u00e1hte, you can swim in, and I\u2019ll climb over the wall.\u201d<\/p>\n

They went their separate ways.<\/p>\n

Butan dropped over the wall, huddled in the darkness behind a crate, and looked around. There wasn\u2019t any movement he could see, so he crept towards the storehouse against the back wall of the complex. A Knight stepped out from the barracks, heading to the outhouse, and Butan froze, posing himself like a tree. And then almost fell over. <\/p>\n

When the Knight had gone, he made it the rest of the way to the storehouse and slipped inside. Oddly, the door had been unlocked.<\/p>\n

\u201cButan, you\u2019re slow.\u201d N\u00e1hte was sitting on a chest, munching on some flatbread. <\/p>\n

\u201cHow in the name of all the gods did you get in here so quickly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI followed the stream. I knew it came here, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew the stream came straight into the storehouse, and you didn\u2019t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d swum in it before, Butan. I like swimming. Lets me be closer to the fish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the fish tried to bite your fingers and you didn\u2019t like them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on better terms now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butan shook his head, and started hunting through the stacks. Most of what was there was either sealed barrels of food, or military equipment that would be difficult to sell. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t suppose you\u2019ve worked out a perfect way to sneak stuff out of here, N\u00e1hte?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually swim with it in my shirt. It gets a bit smelly though. And damp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSelling urine-soaked bread is probably not going to go down well. Next idea?\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, we could weight a barrel down with some rocks so it floats just below the surface, push it along, and then pop it out of the stream when we\u2019re outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butan stared at his friend. \u201cDid you just have a smart idea?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure. What makes ideas smart?\u201d<\/p>\n

Butan puzzled on that one. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to ask a philosopher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA man who thinks about the big questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean like \u2018To surrender, or not to surrender\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, more like whether we perceive reality, or if what we perceive is only a shadow cast by the true reality.\u201d He stopped. \u201cIncidentally, why\u2019d you bring up surrender?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there\u2019s five Knights outside.\u201d<\/p>\n

They both dove for the open sewer.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The thieves came up spluttering, covered in foul smelling liquid. Unfortunately, the first thing they saw was a pair of boots. Followed by a sword tip, the rest of the sword, and a large angry man. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t suppose you\u2019d be willing to let us surrender?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sword swung.<\/p>\n

\u201cThought not. Knights aren\u2019t known for their mercy.\u201d<\/p>\n

N\u00e1hte ducked, and Butan grabbed a lump of, well, better not think about it and threw it into the Knight\u2019s face. <\/p>\n

With the Knight clawing at the adhesive filth, they ran. Well, Butan ran. N\u00e1hte charged into the Knight, knocked him to the ground, and stole his helmet. Then he ran.<\/p>\n

After they were a good safe distance away, inside the edge of the swamp, Butan looked at N\u00e1hte and gestured at the helmet. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI always wanted a Knight\u2019s helmet.\u201d He plopped it on his head. \u201cI look dashing in it, don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

A man in rags with the metal helmet of a Knight. Dashing wasn\u2019t exactly the word that sprang to Butan\u2019s mind. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou look exotic, N\u00e1hte.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, I like that even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I thought you might. That\u2019s why I said it. Now, what are we going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there\u2019s a nice sunset I could paint on the tree. With mud, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butan shoved N\u00e1hte into a puddle.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, N\u00e1hte, big picture what are we going to do next?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, hrmm. Die, probably. At least, I think that\u2019s what comes after living.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t helping. Especially not since I think those Knights are organizing a search party.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could flee?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like your thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

They fled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the continuation of a story I’ve been working on for the Splintered Lands project. Previous entries can be found here \u201cN\u00e1hte, why is there a net on your head?\u201d \u201cI needed a hat.\u201d \u201cN\u00e1hte, it\u2019s a net. It lets the sun shine through. And doesn\u2019t keep off the mosquitoes either. Also, it smells […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pRIK4-a3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":532,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=532","url_meta":{"origin":623,"position":0},"title":"Foetid Flowers","date":"July 18, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"For those of you who don't know, I've been part of a group working on a shared world fantasy anthology since Thanksgiving of last year called Splintered Lands. Each week, we post three flash stories, usually as part of an ongoing serial. My current tale is the story of two\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":402,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=402","url_meta":{"origin":623,"position":1},"title":"Reptilian Eye","date":"December 18, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"He looked and spied with a reptilian eye A frightening glance that passed me by I shivered and hid lest he spot me again For at that age I was tender, and all but ten I curled and I waited and looked all about Hiding within my stony redoubt A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Other Writing"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":638,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=638","url_meta":{"origin":623,"position":2},"title":"Burning Down the Barn","date":"November 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As before, this is an excerpt from my NaNoWriMo novel, so there are some spoilers lurking. They arrived at the edge of the docks to find them strangely empty, although there was one small boat beginning to row out into the harbour, and it was stuffed full of \u00c1\u00f0exe. Tarranau\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tarranau"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":651,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=651","url_meta":{"origin":623,"position":3},"title":"Fever Dreams","date":"April 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The sixth installment in a new short story, one of three from the upcoming Splintered Lands: Volume One. Weeks passed as Ellgis and Fryca hid in their hut, nursing their wounds. Ellgis had been struck in the meat of the shoulder as he lay on the skiff, and the impact\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Other Writing"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":289,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=289","url_meta":{"origin":623,"position":4},"title":"The \u00c1\u00f0exe","date":"September 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The \u00c1\u00f0exe are a clan oriented people. Even in the great cities that cover L\u00e6ccan, the \u00c1\u00f0exe huddle in family units, each living in a single dwelling made of many different houses merged together. Towns and cities are built up of clusters of these family units, with each family compound\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Tarranau"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":405,"url":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=405","url_meta":{"origin":623,"position":5},"title":"Breaking an Empire #13","date":"December 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The thirteenth installment of a 30k word short story set in The Four Part Land. It takes place 400 years in the past from the time of Tarranau and Chloddio, and details the collapse of Hymerodraeth Heula, the Empire of the Sun. \u201cWhat's got into him?\u201d Gwyth and Locsyn joined\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Four Part Land"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}