Dragon's Fire

Five years later...

A new name, her once short golden hair now waist-length and light brown, and her once gray eyes now bright green, she felt relatively safe visiting her home kingdom in some of the outer towns. The only identification she still carried from her old life was the signet ring her father had given her long ago, a symbol of her memory of him. The past five years had been spent wandering through many kingdoms, gaining a fortune and practicing her skills.

As she thought back to the adventures she had and the people she met, she smiled. It had been a fun couple of years, hadn't it? Going from town to town, kingdom to kingdom, she could do whatever she wanted, without much of anyone to stop her. Of course, the law generally disagreed with her views on property and ownership, but that was a minor nuisance. And she always had to check with the local thieves' guild to make sure she wasn't infringing onto their territory if she was doing anything more than simple thievery, but they were usually grateful to the help a skilled, seasoned rogue and assassin could provide. She remembered the first guild she had visited after leaving her home. That was where she received the name she carried now, Talon.

"You're like a hawk, the way you strike your marks. And those daggers of yours are like your talons," a local thief had told her in admiration. She liked the idea, and kept the name Talon, almost forgetting the name she went by before she left home.

Talon quickly became a very well-known name among thieves, assassins, and rogues, as well as with almost all law-enforcement officials. Sheriffs paled at the mention of her name in a town, and deputies panicked if there was a chance that she would be even passing through their village.

Once, while she was wandering through one of the western kingdoms, word got out that she was on her way to a small town. When she arrived, almost all the shops were closed, and the tavern/ inn was all but empty. Only three people were in the spacious common room: the tavern keeper, a big, burly man; a local deputy, who looked scared; and a curious-looking mage dressed in robes.

"We don't want any trouble here," the barkeep told her threateningly.

"Good." Talon smiled at the man. "All I want from your town is supplies, a good meal, and a warm bed. I was hoping to find the second two here tonight, and then get some supplies tomorrow before moving on."

"You'd best move on tonight," the deputy stammered. "We don't want your business here."

"I swear to you, I will move on without doing anything illegal in your town, if you will simply allow me to conduct some proper business." Talon kept her hands in plain sight, in a non-threatening position on the table in front of her.

"I told you to move on!"

"Fine! If you really want me to be gone, I'll leave." Talon started towards the door.

"Let's not be hasty, sir." Everyone looked toward the mage, sitting at a table in the corner. "Talon, if these gentlemen won't oblige you, I'll be glad to help."

"Thank you, sir, but that gentleman over there seems to feel that my very presence is a threat, and I wouldn't want to get you into trouble, too."

"She's right, mage!" the deputy stated. "If you help her, you'll be in jail right next to her."

Talon looked at the mage and shrugged, then looked back at the deputy. There was suddenly a crossbow in his hand, aimed directly at her, and she knew that even the most unskilled could hit and do serious damage at the range she was at, so she simply walked out the door, shaking her head. Later that night, there was a rash of break-ins around town, amounting to a total of over 500 gold worth of missing goods.

"That's what they get for having an ass for a deputy," Talon laughed as she left the town early the next morning.