Haven - Part 1 - A Thief in the Night

Pavol ambled slowly down the winding cobblestone street the moons were slung low in the sky, causing eerie pools of light to spill out into the road whenever the clouds broke to reveal clear sky. This was only Pavols second week on patrol his fourth week in this city and already he was beginning to like the ease of being a night patrolman. Most of the crimes that happened in the Trade District took place during the day and it was the traders doing the theft. An occasional pick pocket or purse thief was the most fun a patrolman could have in a week. He stopped for a second to listen, it had sounded like someone was trying to chisel stone. It must have been the wind carrying the strange sounds, not my problem he thought. Pavols cousin Thomas had put a word in with his captain and gotten him this position on the night watch. Being on the night watch he was paid less for doing more patrolling. During the day most guards stayed near the marketplace but at night the rest of the district needed patrolling as well. So far all Pavol had seen was rats scurrying from stall to stall eating scraps left over from a day of brisk trade.
“EEEKK!” a shriek broke the silence followed by a woman’s voice, “Thief!”
Pavol spun in the direction of the voice and took off running. It sounded like it had come from only one street over. Whoever this thief thought he was, he picked the wrong time to strike with the district patrol so close at hand. He came skidding around the corner and almost tripped over an upturned cobblestone, looking up ahead Pavol barely had time to see which street the thief had disappeared down. Cloak flapping behind him and his boots pounding the street he followed with his hand fumbling to free his sword as he ran, the bells and chimes attached to the hilt made such a noise that he could alert other nearby patrolmen that he was chasing an assailant also preventing him from being mistaken for the thief in these dark streets. Pavol managed to stay within sight of the running figure and Jonas the other guard on duty had just joined in the chase actually turning down the street right on the heels of their quarry. Jonas was a veteran of the night watch and always said the best thefts happened at night. And so it would seem maybe Jonas wasn’t lying after all.
“Close the gates!” Jonas shouted ahead. Already in the light from the guardhouse up the street shadows could be seen moving inside. These gates led into the Arts district and out of his jurisdiction if the other guards would not let him through.
“Close that gate you fools!” Jonas yelled ahead of himself again.
The groan of metal creaking could be heard echoing down the street. The thief approached the gates at a run and cut quickly down a side alley as the gates slid closed in front of him. Just in time they had rolled the gates closed and trapped that bastard.
Pavol had caught up to Jonas now; they both peered into the dark alley looking for signs of the thief neither of them wanted to get a dagger in the gut. Squinting in the faint moon light both guards were unsure where he went. A ray of moon light cut down the alley, illuminating his hiding spot. Before Pavol had a chance to even raise his sword, the thief was pushing past him and Jonas. Jonas reached out and grabbed the thief by the arm and quickly paid the price by being slashed across the wrist. Still in motion the thief kept running up the other side of the alley. Knowing that the there were no other exits Pavol took his time in approaching the alley. To his surprise the thief was not slowing down at the approaching dead end but increasing their speed with ground eating strides. Just as they came up to the brick wall he took two great strides and looked like he was running right up the wall. At the top of his stride he kicked off and spun grabbing the edge of the adjacent wall. The thief pulled himself up and continued along the roof tops.
“Damn”, Pavol said standing there scratching his head., “ Maybe this isn’t such a safe job.” Jonas came to stand next to him.
“Welcome to the City of Haven kid”, Jonas had his wrist bandaged with a piece torn from his cloak. “The fun has just started.”