Introducing a new Chain Story

An explanation of what a Chain Story is can be found here: Introducing Chain Stories! Interactive Fiction Writing

This post kicks off a Chain Story between @zakludick and @GMuxx, each of which will be taking turns to write a part of the story. There is minimal planning as to regards to the handing off of the story which will make it interesting and a challenge.

As each of the writers makes their contributions their names will light up when it is their turn. Each of the parts in this series will be called a "Part".

Part 1

It was a perfect time. The streets were ripe for the picking.

A city as large as Misthaven never slept. There were bars and brothels, marketplaces and temples in the city central area that operated all hours of the day and night. Though some parts of the City did slumber through the earliest hours of the morning, after midnight, but before the sky began to pearl.

It was here that Owen plied the cobblestone pathways, seeking advantage.

He sneaked from a doorway to shadowed alcove. He moved along one wall and kept himself hidden beneath the windows of a large house. Nothing of interest to be found here. The windows of the house had all been barred up. The result of the previous break and enter incident.

A man swaggered into view around the corner of a bakery. Owen could smell the sour stench of cheap wine on the drunkard's breath. The man did not seem to have a good idea as to where he was going.

Owen held his breath and watched. The man was more than twice his size. He would not be able to beat a grown man in a battle of strength. His life on the street had taught him how bad it would be to get caught in such a man's grasp.

The drunkard stumbled and fell on to his face violently. He did not get up.

After a long few minutes, Owen stole across the open cobblestones and approached the body. The man smelled even worse close up. Owen wrinkled his nose and nudged the man with the toe of his moccasin. When the man did not stir, Owen knelt and began to search his pockets.

In the man's jacket pockets he managed to find a silver coin and three copper coins. The man could have had a few more drinks with these but had decided to go home or some other place. Perhaps he had meant to visit a brothel? Owen shook his head. The drunkard had been going the wrong way.

In the man's pants pockets, there were bits of string and buttons and some paper. Owen could not read so it did not interest him at all. He tossed the paper aside. He then found something unique.

The man had been carrying with him some sort of figurine. Owen turned it over in the dim light of a nearby streetlamp.

The lamps of Misthaven were lit by the City Watch every evening and extinguished again in the morning. The lamps contained oil which was worth a fairly good pay to the right fence. Yet it was difficult to get to and carried a lot of risks. If the City Watch caught you stealing lamp oil then they would take you to the City dungeons.

That's what had happened to Red Robbie. They never saw Robbie again. Some of the children said that Robbie had died, others said that he was still in the cells. Some of the dreamers made up stories about how Robbie had been adopted by a wealthy family and that he was now a young noble child.

Owen doubted that very much.

The figurine seemed to be made of some sort of stone. It had rough sides and smooth polished sides like it had not been completed somehow. Regardless, the figurine seemed to be of a horse or something similar. It almost worried Owen that the little figurine felt warm to the touch.

He shook his head to himself. It didn't matter. He would sell it before sunrise.

The drunkard made no sound, he merely lay there. There was the smell of blood from somewhere.

Nearby there was the pounding of boots on cobbles. Many of them. They were headed in his direction. Owen silently dove into the shadows on the other side of the street and sank down into the furthest corner away from the light cast by the streetlamps.

A half dozen uniformed men stormed down the side of the building where Owen hid, yet they could not see him.

"There!"

The troop stopped at the drunkard and two of them crouched down to investigate.

"Dead Sergeant." The man did not sound surprised nor emotional at the discovery.

"Finally Fichs did a good job." The reply came from an older man. Owen guessed that it must be the City Watch Sergeant. "Search the body."

A few moments passed.

"Nothing."

An angry growl was the only response.

"Perhaps he dropped it?"

"Find it! Bring the lanterns and sweep every inch of the God damn street from here back to the Vault.

Part 1 completed!

Now the keyboard is passed on to @GMuxx to add in Part 2 of the story!