Chapter 24: The Niard’s Drinking Problem

A while before the dramatic entrance, the Niard was staring forlornly at his drink in the Spinning Gem Top. It had happened again.

The job he had been commissioned for had been so easy he could have done it asleep, so after he had done it, he was quite bored, thus he had decided to despoil a gambling den or two. It was thirsty work fleecing the dens, so naturally enough he bought a drink.

It was then that it happened.

He accidentally dropped the genie gem in his drink. He quickly fished it out of course, but by then it had lost its sheen and gone ominously dull.

He decided to raid all of the gambling dens in hopes of finding a gem comparable to the Goldie genie gem. The fact that this allowed him to strip more gambling dens was in no way connected with why he went with that course of action. No way at all.

So, in these dens he got thirsty and bought drinks.

He managed to accidentally drop the Goldie genie gem into each and every drink he bought.

Something that most denizens of Elcon do not know, is that the Niard is actually a total klutz. If he could trip over a thing or have something slip from his fingers, well it probably would. How is it then, that such a clumsy person can be a master thief of such a level that people will blame the loss of almost any missing object on him?

It is simple the Niard is such a good thief that his skill surpasses his clumsiness.

So, the Niard was in the Spinning Gem Top, minding his own business, beating the owner at a card game, staring at his drink and the genie gem inside it. He was taking a sip when Golbassy arrived and started talking.

He slipped away before things got really out of control, fishing the gem out of his drink.

He spent some time forlornly wandering the street and winding alleys, idly checking through the pockets and pouches of everyone he passed by. Eventually after walking into at least three brooms, getting caught in a barrel and rolling down an alley in said barrel, he found himself before the Goldie Mansion.

Climbing out of the barrel he considered the mansion and its gilded gargoyles. The Niard had encountered a lot of tasteless buildings in his time, so he didn’t find the mansion that bad, besides it was actually pretty good work if you ignored how gaudy it was.

He remembered the Shewpog at the Spinning Gem Top. He took the gem out. Then he put it away in his cloak again, he had pulled out the wrong one, he didn’t want to look at the gem top. After pulling seven different gems out, he managed to get the Goldie genie gem out. It was looking quite like a lump of coloured glass at this point.

He sighed. He was actually a bit tired of always being blamed for thefts he didn’t commit, and then there was the odd few determined individuals that managed to find him, he couldn’t exactly give them something that he didn’t have could he. He ignored the fact that in the case of Golbassy, he could indeed have given the genie gem back.

The Niard made a choice, and began stealthy making his way up the front wall of the mansion, well he did accidentally knock one of the gargoyles into another gargoyle, thus causing a chain reaction of falling gargoyles, but it wasn’t like the gargoyles noticed him.

He listened carefully, stealing sound so as to better hear what was going on in the mansion. It didn’t take him long to figure out who he wanted to appear before. Clambering his way to the right window, he crashed through. A few moments later he crawled back out and went over to what was actually the right window.

He crashed through it, rolling to a stop.

He dramatically swirled up to his feet.

“I am the Niard, and it was I who stole your gem, behold!” he cried to his shocked audience.

Then he pulled the genie gem from his cloak and held it aloft.

It flashed crimson and shone brightly.

The Niard hadn’t been expecting that, but was quite delighted, it wasn’t that surprising though, considering that magic in many dimensions reacts well to dramatics.

His stunned audience regained their composure when Gildenstan Goldie just simply shouted out

“I can’t believe he is real! GET HIM!”

An aggressive twirl of his cloak made the shewpogs, ginger-bread man and fox advancing on him pause, and with that he dived out of the window, then using his cloak as a parachute, floated away laughing as Gildenstan Goldie shook his fist impotently.

This was how the Niard started on the path to becoming a phantom thief, one who always announces their intent to steal beforehand, and obeys a particular code of conduct, that however is a story that takes place over a much longer amount of time and now, this story is at its end.

The End

Epilogue: What they said

“I’m sending you to the hard north, Gail, live or die there, but you will never again be welcome in my house or my shops, do not think to take revenge, as I will take away what mercy I have offered to you”

“Pretty nice to actually get paid for once, eh Mistah Snaps?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, say, I wonder what if I caught the Niard?”

“…”

“Don’t look at me like that, it was only a stray thought”

“You sure about this Golba?”

“Yes I’ll do it, I’ll found it. The first library of Elcon”

“Wait, what am I even doing here still, why haven’t I run away?”

“Silence minion!”

*Woof* *Woof*

“That’s right Madog, you get the special sausage! Good Dudette!”

*Snap* *Snap* *Snap*

“Settle down! stupid disco orbs!”

*Neiiiigh*

“You can’t do this, we can’t split the gang up!”

“Me and Mobby are going to become warrior comedians!”

“I’m going to become the Doublebat’s apprentice! When next we meet, I’ll be your enemy an ally of justice!”

“Me and Hood, we’re thinking we should just set up a shop, give up the kidnapping biz”

“I’m going to follow Mobby and B2T, should be amusing”

“Took me a while to track you down Last Sight Ramaros, but it was worth it, I’ll take you down, you disgrace to hunters!”

[Well, that is that, now if you wish, here is a character popularity poll! You can vote for however many you want, if I have done it right. VOTE HERE! ]