Thief:
Shortie by Lone Wolf

	The corridor wasn't all too bright. The flickering torches provided 
only a dim light for the guards. They were forced to trudge onwards in near
darkness. They carried with them a bundle of wool. "What are we supposed to 
do with that thing?" one guard asked the other.
	"What? This?" The second guard unwrapped the bundle and brought to
the light a small orb. It was a small, glass orb. It's surface showed gas
swirling around inside. It also glowed an eerie green. "This mist orb is 
going into his majesty's storeroom until they can figure out what the hell
it is."
	The first guard chuckled. "Why not just break it open and see what
happens?"
	"Because there's the risk of this gas inside being poisonous. Remember
the last mage who used that philosophy."
	He nodded. "Too bad. He was a great poker player too."
	The first guard chuckled and wrapped the orb up again. "Come on. Let's
not waste any more time."

	In the shadows, two sets of eyes watched them. They followed the 
guards, keeping with their pace in order to keep out of the light. One of 
the figures accidentally kicked a rock. The guards spun aroun. "Who's 
there?" one of them called. All they saw was darkness. "Hmm...guess 
nothing's there." They continued their way.
	"You idiot!" one of the figures whispered to the other. "You almost 
got us caught!"
	"I'm sorry! Geeze!"
	"Never mind, let's keep following them." They continued watching the 
guards from a distance. They followed for a good five minutes more before 
the guards stopped. The two figures instantly scaled the wall and sat down 
on the rafters. One of the guards pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and
stepped inside. A few moments passed before he returned and locked the door.
	"Let's go." The two guards went back the way they came. As soon as 
they were sure they were safe, the figures jumped down. 
	"Pop out one of those stones you picked off that mage," one said. "I
can't see a bloody thing!" The other nodded and pulled from his pocket a 
small, black stone. He tapped it once with his finger and it started to glow
green.
	"Good," the first one said. The rat smiled and reached into her 
pocket. "Now I know what we're doing."
	Her companion, a raccoon, sighed and leaned against the wall. "Why are
we doing this again?"
	"Because an orb like that can be worth so much on the black market.
Especially if these morons don't know what the hell it is." She pulled from
her pocket a tiny saw. "This ought to do it!" She went over to the lock, put
the saw in between the door frame and the door handle, and began to work.
	"I'm telling you, this is bloody crazy." The door clicked open. He
blinked. "O...kay...."
	"Don't underestimate me hun." She winked playfully. He shook his head
and stepped in. He looked around for traps and held his hand out. "What is
it?"
	He pointed at the floor in between of two crates. "Pressure plate. 
Step around it." He pointed to the two crates. "There's a trip wire. Did you
bring my scissors?"
	"Right here." She handed him a pair of tiny, silver scissors. He 
smiled, stepped around the pressure plate, and snipped the trip wire.
	"All done." He looked ahead. Sitting there on a pedistal, all 
unwrapped, was the orb. It let go of a soft green glow. "All right. I'll 
look that over and tell you if it's safe to take."
	"Okay. I'll keep lookout." She stood in the doorway and listened 
intently. 
	He approached the pedistal. "If I were a royal guard, what would I do 
to this?" He examined the base. "It's not planted into the ground." He saw
that there was no holes in the ground. He moved up it. "Nothing wrong with 
the collumn." He looked at the base where the orb sat. "And I can't find
anything wrong with this. Odd. It's not like them to give up so easily." He
put on a pair of gloves and touched the orb. The pedistal began to vibrate.
"Shit!" He snatched the orb and stepped over the pressure plate. "Silent
alarm. Let's go!" They continued on their way down the hall, running as they 
went.
	"Where the hell did we put that emergency exit?!" the rat cried.
	"It's five more storerooms down this way, behind the statue." They
skidded to a halt in front of the door. 
	"I don't have enough time to screw the lock over."
	"Then step aside." She did so and he kicked the doorknob. It popped 
right open. "C'mon." They entered and shut the door behind them. They found
the statue, that of a royal looking lion, and slid it aside. There, 
underneath it, was a passageway. "You first, my dear." He handed her the orb
and kissed her cheek. "Don't get caught now." He winked playfully.
	"Oh you! See you on the outside." She slid down the tunnel. He planted 
a minor trap and followed shortly after, moving the statue over the hole.

	The rat peeked curiously over the bushes. The entire castle grounds 
were in disarray. She ducked back to her hiding place as a patrol passed by.
"Where is he?" He suddenly popped up. She nearly screamed. "Don't do that!"
	"Sorry." He crawled out of the tunnel. "What's the story?"
	"Patrols all over the place."
	"Oh." He peeked through the branches. There was nothing. He cautiously
peeked over the top. "Nothing's here. Let's go." He grabbed her hand and 
they made a b-line for the moat surrounding the castle. "Ready?"
	"As ever." She tucked the orb away safely. They took a deep breath, 
ran at the moat, and leaped over it. They landed safely on the other side 
and ran for the woods.
	"Hey!" one of the guards called. "There they go!" The air filled with
arrows. But at their distance, they were safe. They had gotten away with it.

****************************************************************************

	"Well, what do you think?" They had gotten back home and was letting
one of their "appraisers" look over the latest steal.
	"Not bad," the lynx said, looking at the orb through a jewler's 
eyepiece. "Looks to be in tip top condition. Who'd you yank this from?"
	"Those morons at the big castle on the other side of town," the 
raccoon said. "They didn't know we were there."
	"I see." The lynx took the eyepiece off and took out a bag of powder.
"Well, we'll see what's in here." He took a little of the powder and 
sprinkled it on the orb. Instantly, the powder turned to green smoke. "Ah, 
tis a pity. This is a poison orb."
	"So it's worth jack?"
	He laughed. "Nope! We can pass it off as an unknown." He pulled a bag
of silver out and placed it on the table. "This should cover what you went
through. And this..." He put another bag next to it. "Should cover the cost
of this orb."
	They each took a bag. "Thanks man. See ya next time." They waived as
they left the office. They would waste the money on room, board, and 
equipment. Then they would be off for the next job. Perhaps, they dreamed,
the next one would be the big one.