A Thief's Way [Preview] | Companion-Story One of TALES OF THE AMULET |

Chapter 1 - Korath

"I know you will not agree–none of our kind have throughout the ages–but you must be convinced! Destroying it will ensure our Enemy never escapes his prison."

TWO MONTHS LATER

Tilthan was bored. He was tired of sailing. It wasn't that he hated sailing. He rather enjoyed it. The amount of sailing, however, was another matter. Tilthan was accustomed to traveling aboard swift vessels, like the White Duchess. Captain Kenard's ship was one of the fastest in the entire world, traveling almost twice as fast as any other vessel. Tilthan supposed tevisrals were responsible for the increased speed, but Kenard never revealed his secrets.

Smart man.

Tilthan sighed as he leaned over the portside rail of the Regalleon–one of the ferries that traversed the land-locked Sea of Korath.

They had traveled on three ships since leaving Soroth: Chernil's vessel, the ferry down the Gorbian River to the banks of the Sea of Korath, and now the ferry to Korath itself. There was a slight break in the sea travel, but it only lasted two days.

"Are we there yet?" he grumbled beneath his breath, dangling his head over the ferry's portside rail.

"I thought you would have asked that sooner," Nath chuckled. "Judging by the position of the sun, we're only halfway between Gorbian and Korath."

Tilthan turned toward his thieving companion, giving him a blank stare.

Nath had a wide grin on his face, his arms folded. He always enjoyed poking fun at Tilthan. Sure, Tilthan enjoyed the occasional fun-filled banter, but sometimes Nath could be downright annoying.

And right now was one of those times.

"I'm getting anxious, too," Nemral said with a sigh. "Two months of nothing..." He sat on the decking beside Tilthan, his head leaning against the rail.

Both Nath and Nemral were short men, like Tilthan. Their lack in height proved rather advantageous for their line of work. Tilthan couldn't count the number of times their smaller stature came in handy–well, him and Nath. Nemral was a little bigger, but he was no less agile.

"Just remember the gems," Nath said, his hazel eyes glancing between Tilthan and Nemral. He took in a deep breath and shook out his wavy light-brown hair. "I for one am enjoying the trip. I've never traveled this way to Korath."

Tilthan grumbled.

"It's been some time since I visited Korath," Nemral said. "I came with Ginalia."

"Wow, that was a long time ago," Nath remarked.

"Yeah," Nemral chuckled, "over ten years. I think maybe twelve or thirteen..." he looked skyward, recounting the past. "It was a good trip, the weather was nice. The beaches were crowded, though."