Flight of the Nightingale

Part 4 of the Nightingale Saga

Again, I am basing this on the character from the game “Evony; The King’s Return” by Top Games, one of the Royal Thieves that keep popping up.  All the lore I created is based on what I’ve noticed in the game and drawn from my own imagination, but the original character belongs to Top Games.

Nightingale stayed quiet for a moment, watching the guard carefully.  It had been about a thousand years, as far as she could tell, since the three of them got together, stealing what they could and giving much of it to the downtrodden.

But this was the first time, in all that time, they’d ever gotten caught.

Well, two of them anyway. Nell and Duke were both masters at thieving now, just like she was a master at swordplay and fencing.  She’d learned the art of manipulation and of seduction, using them as often as she needed to in order to get what she wanted, but she tried never to use them for just herself.

And then they decided to rob Duke June, of the Showers kingdom.  They’d studied the patterns, memorizing the layout and the possible safety holes, as well as the guard rotations.

Duke would go forward, as usual, vying for someone to pay attention while Nell and Nightingale slipped into the house.

But how was she supposed to know there were extra guards already patrolling?  They never advertised what they were up to, never indicated who they were planning to rob, but June seemed to know, already, that they were coming.

Nightingale thought quickly, trying to form a plan.  They stuck to the shadows, quietly, moving as silently as they could.

But then one of them tripped.

It was an accident, pure accident, but it was enough.  Even though Nell tried to land as softly as he could, the guards took notice of the noise and came running.

Nightingale managed to slip out, hoping Nell was going to follow, but she heard the alert being given and saw that Duke was already in custody.

So here she was, knowing that the two of them would be very mad at her for getting out, knowing that they didn’t secure their prize, but they didn’t know she was already there, watching and waiting outside the dungeon cells.

The guard stood, ramrod straight, as if he was certain someone would try and approach.  Sure, she thought, she could just wait until they were executed and meet at the rendezvous, but then she learned they didn’t actually execute thieves in this kingdom, just locked them away.

That would take too long, so Nightingale decided what she had to do.

As silently as she ever moved, she snuck up to the guard.  She knew what she’d have to do if the guard spotted her, just smile coquettishly and suggest something seductive before he moved her off, but he didn’t.  As she approached, she noticed the large ring of keys on a hook that he was standing in front of and had to smile for real.

It only took a couple of minutes, knocking him over the head as hard as she could and moving his unconscious form into an unlocked cell before locking him in.

Then she moved to the other one, the one with her friends, and heard them cursing her out before she unlocked the door.  Duke looked up. “Gale, we thought you’d abandoned us.”

Nightingale smiled.  Only they were allowed to call her that. ‘Why would I want to do that?”

Nell looked around her. “How did you get past that guard?  He was so devoted to duty…”

Nightingale gave a suggestive smile. “Oh, a woman has her ways.”

Duke’s jaw hit the floor. “You didn’t.”

Nightingale laughed. “He’s unconscious in the next cell.  Now, what do you say…”

She pulled out the large key ring. “…we have the run of the whole royal palace here.  Let’s really make a dent of it.”

The three of them got to work, moving from locked room to locked room, helping themselves to trinkets that seemed expensive, trinkets that could easily be sold for gold.  They didn’t have much to carry them with, but they kept going, filling whatever pockets they could until they found themselves in a room that practically sparkled.

Nightingale gasped at what was in the center.  She’d heard of it, of course, but didn’t ever think she’d actually see it.

About two feet long, seemingly made of gold, but, at one end, wrapped in expensive looking jewels, an emerald about the size of her fist sat, sparkling up at her.

The scepter was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, something she’d never expected in all her centuries of life.  She reached out, but Nell grabbed her hand. “No, we can’t.  Not the Royal Scepter.”

Nightingale gave him a look that clearly said what she thought of his suggestion, but Nell went on. “Where’d we sell it?  Who’d we give it to?”

She made up her mind, grabbing it. “I’ll keep it.”

Nell sighed, defeated, as she shoved it in her leather skirt.  Duke called out, “Okay, let’s go.”

As the three of them moved along the ancient wall, they spotted a guard who seemed to be turned right towards them.  As soon as he saw what Nightingale was carrying, he sent up the alarm, calling for everyone to come and capture them.

But, of course, they were too quick, moving out and into the shadows of the night.

As soon as they were clear, the three of them put on their disguises, heading towards their carriage. They had to be out of there soon.

The alert went up, though. A band of three thieves had robbed a Royal Palace, stealing a priceless jeweled scepter.

Nightingale realized she couldn’t actually keep it intact.  No, she had to do something with it, so she and the other two melted the scepter, compressing the liquid gold into lumps they could easily spend or give away.

But she kept the jewels. They’d add a nice accent to her clothes, but she knew she could pretend they were fake if asked.  After all, nobody would think twice about a supposed commoner carrying royal jewels.

But, still, their reputation started to go out, far and wide.  The rewards they posted, at first, caused them all amusement, the reward for the Royal Thieves.