THERE were no witnesses to the theft, but the young man had difficulty leaving the scene when the only way out had automatically secured itself. Something prevented the gate from opening, so the man found himself trapped inside a massive vault full of all the riches he could ever wish for in the world.
With the skill of a master the man produced a lock-picking toolkit and set himself to work on the gate’s many locks. After enough time had passed, he undid the last lock and pulled the heavy gate inwards. It moved. The thief slipped through the opening and proceeded to close the gate and relock the bolts with his toolkit.
While he busied himself with this task, the sound of thunder shattered his hearing and a powerful gust of wind swept him off his feet, knocking his tools from his grasp. He scuttled to save some of them and disposed them into deep pockets, only to look up to see a sight to behold.
The empty cavern before him was suddenly occupied by… a building. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a rest-house of sorts. Merry songs and sounds of laughter could be heard from within, and the smell of fine food and wine began to waft through the enclosed space.
Perhaps out of terror, the thief moved very slowly, hugging the walls of the cavern away from the building. His scattered tools lay forgotten as his thoughts rumbled chaotically in his head.
What… is… going on here?
A small parade exited one of the building’s entrances. The men marched in tandem and formation, brandishing standards and banners as though their affiliated organisation was the greatest in the world. They beat drums and blew trumpets as their passage took them away from the vault, the party completely ignoring the thief who even now was quaking in his boots.
A firework shot up from the tallest point of the building and hit the roof of the cavern, exploding into a million and one colours and shapes. The sparks then coalesced into the shape of a large portal against the stone roof, allowing a pair of large eyes to peer down from the ceiling onto the environment below.
The thief fainted.
* * *
There was coldness on his forehead, and he could guess that whoever rescued him had tried to lower his temperature. He was too afraid to open his eyes, yet he was too curious not too. He could hear the sounds being made by someone moving about in the room. Something was poured into some kind of container. Some light fell over his eyes, making his squint despite his eyes being closed. Must be moonlight, judging from how cold it felt.
“Open your eyes,” a woman’s voice said. “We both know you’re awake.”
“Mmmbph.”
“What?”
“Nnngh!”
After a moment of profound reasoning, the woman went to the bedridden man and tapped a pressure point, then quickly retreated to the centre of the room. The thief squealed some musical note before rolling over and falling face first onto the floor. There he stayed for a full minute.
“I didn’t kill you,” the woman said.
She occupied herself by sharpening her surgical tools, just so she had an excuse to hold them. The man was a stranger. There was no telling who he was and what he would do. She felt unsafe save the comfort obtained from having blades in her hands.
Then the man lifted an arm and crawled back into the bed. He grabbed at the sheets and pulled them over him.
“Why is it so cold?” he said. “It should be sweltering underground.” The woman needn’t answer for he remembered one special property of this building, and so he said, “We travelled to a different place already?”
She picked up a glass of drink for herself as she said, “You’re quick. I’m scared now.”
>Continued in part 2
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