To A Thief - Chapter 4: Better Days, For Worse

Darkness.. emptiness.. loneliness.. sadness.. lifeless.. hopelessness.. regretfulness.. the void ceased to end. But..

The orc's club landed a devastating blow to Stiff's side, knocking the wind right out of him and sending the young hume flying towards an orcish wall, making it nearly tip over completely.

After that, Stiff knew darkness..

"..iff! ... Stiff...!"

He could hear a distant voice begin to fade away. It sounded like Moku until the echoes left his ears and nothing else was heard.

Stiff was enveloped by darkness, plunging slowly but surely into it.. deeper and deeper. He didn't know where he was or how he got there, but he wanted out.


The darkness was void of everything. There was no sound, no sight, no hope, nothing but the feeling of loneliness and emptiness. I continued to plunge into this darkness, deeper until I was sure I had plunged so deep that I wouldn't be able to return. It felt as if I had just drowned or something, and my body continued to sink down into this sea of black.

I feel so alone.. I don't want to be alone anymore. I need somebody here with me.. somebody please help me!

So empty..

I can't stop sinking.. this is what it must feel like to be dead.

Being stripped from all life; from all sounds; from all feeling.

If I am dead.. where is Altana? Have I sunk so low into this darkness that even she can't save my soul..?

The things I have done up until now.. they have been so miniscule. I haven't been able to accomplish anything in my pathetic life except lies to myself.

To think that I would become a great adventurer.. what a silly dream.

Is that really all I have been holding onto my whole life?

That's... sad.

This pathetic life had to end some time or another..

Deeper and deeper.. I had plunged so deep into this emptiness. No one's going to save me now.

I'm so stupid. Why did I do what I did? Why must I lose my head so every single time? I should have listened to Moku.  I should have snuck around and infiltrated like an actual thief would. What kind of thief charges straight into the enemy?

So stupid..

"Stiff..? Stiff!"

.. A voice? Is it Moku's..? No.. it isn't.

"Stiff!"

A woman's voice..

"Wake up!"

It sounds so familiar..

Of course! It's her..!

There was a small light in the distance of this darkness that greeted Stiff. It began to slowly expand over everything, washing away all of Stiff's bad feelings. As it continued to make nothing of the darkness, he felt a feeling of warmth surround him.

"Sister Eri...? Is that you?" He asked in a voice he did not recognize as his own at first. It was a child's voice. It was quite surprising.

Whatever trace of darkness there was had been all but extinguished. Stiff realized he had stopped sinking as well. He laid on a soft surface, looking up at a clear blue sky. It had been a while since he saw the sky so beautiful. He could hear birds chirping as well, and the distant sound of children's laughter and merriment. A strong feeling of remembrance filled him.

Lifting his head and looking down to see if he was really here, Stiff was even more surprised by the appearance of his body. It was a child's body, but it was definitely his body.

"What is this...?" He asked aloud before laying his head back on the soft grass he was lying on. Upon doing so, he met the eyes of a young, beautiful elvaan woman in her early twenties who knelt before him, looking down at him with a concerned look on her face. She wore a robe with a hood over her head; some of her golden hair poking through around her neck.

"Whoa!" Stiff exclaimed, sitting upright. "Sister Eri... you scared me!"


She just giggled at his reaction and let out a sigh of relief, putting a hand on her chest. "By Altana, you had me scared! What have I told you about wandering out here, Stiff? You must stay in the gates of the orphanage. It could be dangerous out here... you know that. This is no spot for a boy to nap."  

Stiff gave her a grumpy frown and crossed his arms. "I wasn't napping! I was training but I got beat up by a beastman. I need to train harder!" He exclaimed, suddenly bringing a hand to his side and closing his eyes tightly. "Ouch!" It felt like a bruise.

Sister Eri had been smiling at the boy's imagination. He sure had a strong will, even for a child. But her smile quickly faded into worry upon seeing him react to his side in pain. "What's wrong, Stiff? Did you hurt yourself?" She asked, bringing a gentle hand to his side where he had been holding. "Seems to be a bruise." She murmured, able to tell just by feeling that area of his body.

"He must have fallen down again," She thought to herself as her hand emitted a warm, soft blue glow. It began to heal the bruise on Stiff's side, vanquishing any and all pain in a matter of seconds. "All better?" She smiled.

Stiff always thought her white magicks tickled. He had gotten himself hurt a bit during his little escapades over time so her healing became quite routinely. But they made him feel so cool, like she was the white mage in his imaginative adventuring group who would come to his aid after battling monsters and beastmen.

"Nope, it was the beastman. He swatted me away like a fly. He didn't even break a sweat taking me out... I could have done a lot better if I had infiltrated the right way." He grumbled, looking off to the side in disappointment.

Sister Eri gave him a helpless smile, patting the top of his head. "Don't worry, Stiff. With every battle comes experience whether you win or lose. With every battle, you walk away stronger than you were before. To be honest, you're looking stronger to me already," She analyzed him, saying so mainly to comfort him.  

It's not like it wasn't true. Being the constantly growing child that he was, his body was growing little by little over time which in turn made him stronger.

"You think so?" Stiff asked with a hopeful smile as he looked up at her. "Do I really look stronger, Sister Eri?" She knew just how to make him feel better. It was just like her. "No time to stand around, then! I need to get even stronger. I'll get him next time."

Sister Eri just gave one of her signature smiles and nodded. "Of course."

"Now, where did I..." Stiff mumbled, patting his belt as he looked around.

Sister Eri stood up gently and saw his wooden toy blade beside her. Picking it up, she handed it over to him and put on a playful, knightly attitude. "No adventurer should be seen without his weapon! Take this blade, Sir Stiff, and do the orphanage proud."

As the two burst into laughter, Stiff took his wooden blade and grinned up at her, giving a nod. "Right!"

Taking her hand, he began to pull her back down the hill towards the little area by the orphanage where a bunch of trees stood. "Come on, Sister Eri! I wanna show you my training grounds!" He exclaimed.

They arrived at some childishly-designed training ground with makeshift targets. Sister Eri would just smile at his burning heart, admiring how he was really the only child in the orphanage who seemed driven by such things. All the other children only seemed to be focused on playing games and comparing who had the better parents before the war. Her smile washed away whenever she thought about that. She wished she could just bring all of their parents back. 

"Look! Over here," Stiff continued to drag her along.

But before they could proceed any further, Stiff felt himself suddenly fall straight through the solid ground. No, he hadn't simply fallen in. He felt like he was yanked physically and mentally into darkness once more. This time, rather than sinking slowly, he was falling. It wasn't long before he hit a hard surface.

"Oof!"

He could see his surroundings once more. Screams and sounds of panic filled his ears. They were coming from all the other orphans who were huddled around each other- Stiff himself among them.

It was so dark in the orphanage. All the torches had been put out, and countless howls and snorts filled the air outside the small building. The sisters of the orphanage were running around trying to barricade every entrance into the room they were all in. Fear began to fill every inch of Stiff's little body. Among the cries of the orphans he could hear:

"Please don't let the beastmen get us!!"

"They're all about to break in! There's so many of them!"

Loud banging thundered from the barricaded doors followed by frenzied growls. 

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Continued in Chapter 5: Live for Me

Author's Note

Comments and Reviews MUCH appreciated! :)