THE SEVEN KINGDOMS (DISCONTINUED)

The thief

"Hey, that belongs to us!" Varian shouted angrily. He wasn't sure who this tall man was but he wasn't exactly thrilled to see him stealing what they had worked so hard to earn.

"Yeah, we earned it!" Yong defended Varian.

The blonde man smirked deviously. "Huh. Weird. Cause' I'm the one holding it... So I feel like that sort of mean that it belongs t--"

"NO WAY!" Varian angrily shouted. "We completed the trial! Not whoever you are. Hand over the totem!" Varian pointed his staff in the man's direction, threateningly

"I like your magic wand. S'pretty." This guy was really beginning to grind his gears.

Behind him, Yong quickly whipped out some fireworks, standing in a defensive stance, ready to fire.

"Oh! And some fireworks... How fun!" The man mused whilst shoving the totem into his bag. "Well, you two are adorable. But I'm on a schedule so..."

Before they knew what hit them, a large cloud of smoke exploded throughout the room sending the duo into a violent coughing fit. In the wake of the smoke, the blonde man was gone. Varian growled.

"He got away!" Yong shouted between coughs. "Yugh! The sulfur smell is really strong today."

"That's not sulfur." Varian corrected. "The smoke bomb he used was also a stink bomb."

"That's kinda genius."

Varian sighed. "I know."

________

The tall man dashed out of the building, hurrying back to his destination. He chuckled to himself. Getting to the room where the totem was was no easy feat, but stealing it? Like taking candy from a baby.

The man ran with a wicked smile, taking turns left and right before finally stopping when he came to a narrow alleyway with a tall woman that had gray hair standing intimidatingly. "You have the totem?" She raised a brow.

"Yes ma'am!" The blonde boy enthusiastically pulled it out of his bag, handing it over to the older woman.

"Yes... Yes this is good." She grinned. "Any difficulties you ran into?"

The blond shook his head. "Not exactly. There were these two guys, a kid and an older guy too. Kinda neigh high, stripe in hair. He had a staff too. Should've seen the look on his face when I called it a wand. Hilarious!"

"Hugo." The older lady addressed the man in a serious tone. "What were they doing there?"

"They said they completed the trial. They were there to collect the totem... Before, y'know, I oh-so cleverly took from right under their noses." Hugo puffed out his chest, proud. "They also had a book with them, it looked real old and torn. Kind of ugly if you ask me."

The old woman was not amused. "Get to them. Find them. Join them. If you work from the inside you can easily steal the totems from them without having to worry about them getting to it first. Gain their trust and betray them at the last minute. Got that?"

Hugo nodded.

"Oh and one more thing, Do. Not. Get. Attached." The woman said.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Please, me? Getting emotionally attached? I am hollowed out husk of a man, Donella. Frankly, I would be offended at your implication, but as I said, I am an emotionless husk."

Donella rolled her eyes, not finding the man's antics to be funny. "You got the plan?" Hugo nodded again. "And follow orders this time. You know how to do that. Am I clear?"