Hide-And-Seek With The Reaper
The moon shone high in the sky. A boy stared at it until a shadow suddenly appeared and descended toward him. He reached out his arm and waited for it to arrive. A flapping sound approached, and a hawk landed on his leather gauntlet.
“All right, looks like you got it,” the boy said. He tried to take the leather bag in one of the hawk’s talons.
“Stop right there,” someone said from behind him. Surprised, he turned around and saw the Reaper. He was a skeleton man in a black robe. His very presence was foreboding, and his eye sockets were dark and sunken.
“What?! Stay away!” the boy shouted. “I’m not ready to die yet! I’m not dying!”
A split second later, the boy fled like a rabbit. All around him were the alleyways of Maalt. They were intricately interconnected, so even your average city-dweller could get lost there for hours. The boy, however, was familiar with the place. He spent every day in the slums and knew all the hiding places. It was like his personal hunting ground. Together with his hawk, Tora, this was where he stole his daily food. Not even the Reaper could catch him here. Or so he thought.
“Give up,” the Reaper said as he appeared again at the first corner of the alleyway. There was another back alley just ahead, so the boy frantically turned and ran at full speed once again. But the Reaper was waiting at the next corner. He tried a few more times until he finally gave in and fell to the ground.
The Reaper peered down at him. “Well, you did all right for a kid. You’re Ett, and this is your hawk, Tora. Is that right?” he asked.
Wondering why the Reaper knew this, the boy gave him a suspicious look.
“I’m Rentt, an adventurer. Someone wanted you captured, and I’m the one who took the job. I hope you’re ready.”
It was a relief to know this was an adventurer and not, in fact, the Grim Reaper. But now the boy was confused as to why he was a target, a thought that left him in despair.
“You’re wanted for theft. Normally that’d come with a very severe penalty.”
“A p-penalty?” the boy stammered. That could mean a dozen whippings, a hundred canings, or even death in some cases. Ett thought he was doomed.
“But after a thorough investigation, it was found that you need money to buy medicine for your sick mother, so you’re using the hawk-taming skills your deceased father taught you in order to commit theft. The people of Maalt are lenient with kids like you. All the charges against you have been rescinded. But we had to do something about you, so here I am.”
Rentt handed Ett a bottle. “First, take this. That’s medicine for your mother. It’s effective enough that she should fully recover once she drinks it. In return, you’ll have to do community service around town for the next year. Got it?”
One bottle of medicine cost a crazy number of gold coins, from what the boy had heard. Now that he was given one so easily, Ett wept and accepted Rentt’s demands.
After he saw Ett back to his house, Lorraine appeared from the shadow. She was helping with the job, mostly by investigating Ett.
“Shouldn’t you have told him that you had to explain his situation to all the victims and that you urged they be understanding?” she asked.
“It’s fine. He felt bad enough already. Besides, if he does something again, I’ll hold myself responsible.”
His words sounded kind, but they were actually harsh. One day, the boy might learn about everything that happened and thank Rentt for it. If he instead begrudged Rentt and tried to get back at him, Rentt would show no mercy. But he wasn’t worried about that. He had faith the kind boy had a good future ahead of him.
“Should we go back home now, Lorraine?”
“Sounds like a plan, Rentt.”
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