I was kidnapped as an infant, a victim of life’s cruel circumstances, the point was to ransom me to my wealthy family for a huge sum of money. The problem is that when my kidnappers shoved me into the carriage of the man who hired them he discovered that I was not the right child. The gang that had been hired to do the kidnapping was called The Phantoms.
When the man discovered I was the wrong child he literally threw my bundled self out of the carriage window as it traveled through town. From the shadows of an alley being passed, a female cut-purse saw me being tossed away, and hoping I might be some prize or even food, she snatched me up off the street and took me to a quiet place to investigate. When she unwrapped my blanket from around me she discovered nothing more than a bright eyed halfling infant girl child who promptly threw up all over her and then giggled. Despite the rocky introduction something about me tugged at her heart and she decided to keep me. She took me to where her band of thieves resided in the sewers of the town.
NOw see, some people believe halflings are lucky and to have one near imparts that luck to others. I say lady luck is a joker who likes to play cruel tricks on a select few and I am one of the few. The very group that kidnapped me was the group Maybell belonged to. She took me out of the street where her people put me and brought me into their “home”.
At first the leader, Terrik, told her I could not stay, but some of the more superstitious members of the group insisted that throwing me away a second time would bring foul luck to them. So instead they kept me and treated me like a pet, taught me tricks to amuse them, and when they realized I was quick of foot and quick of mind they began training me. I was small, even for a halfling, I could fit places even children could not and that made me very useful.
The problem is that because of my size every single member of The Phantoms treated me like a child. I was never out of someone’s sight for long, and if I had to be they covered the exits so someone was there to “care” for me when I got out. In reality it meant they were there to ensure their meal ticket was always under thumb. The gang never kept it a secret from me how they acquired me, but they never had any information on where I came from. At first I thought it was because they were fearful I would want to go back, but as I grew into a young adult I came to believe it was because they had no clue and frankly didn’t care.
The Escape
I was crawling through the drainage pipe, it came to a T intersection and I leaned against the steel grate behind me as I faced the pipe I needed to enter. This pipe was so small that even I was going to be cramped in there, but the gang that “owned” me did not care, what did my pain matter to them. As I leaned there stretching my back and neck the grate behind me shifted and gave a groan. I immediately sat up and moved away from it, that was not the direction I needed to go after all. As I looked at the grate a breeze suddenly came from that direction that smelled like baked goods and I realized that way led out towards the marketplace.
Before I could even think it all the way through my fingers fumbled in my pouch and brought forth my thieves tools. Slipping a miniature pick looking object from the selection of odd tools I scrapped at the fastenings of the grate and the rock around it crumbled away. It took less than a minute and I had pried the grate free and open drainpipe lay before me. Freedom possibly laid before me even.
I scurried through the pipe to the end and peeked carefully out, staying to the shadows. I had been correct in my assumption that this led to the marketplace. In fact not 20 feet away was a wagon laden down with all sorts of items. I listened and determined who the wagon driver was and learned the wagon was part of a caravan leaving town within minutes.
I slipped out of the pipe and deeper into the shadows as I made my way closer to the wagon. There was an opening in the side and what looked like maybe furniture was stowed away under the tarp. I looked carefully around and timed my movement to not be detected as I scrambled up the wheel of the wagon and through the opening in the tarp. Within a few minutes the wagon began to rock slightly and the axles groaned as they began to move.
I found some clothing stored in a small chest and used it to make my hiding place more comfortable as we neared the gates. I used the chest the clothing had been in to hide myself from prying eyes as the wagon convoy was inspected and passed through the gates, away from the town that had been my prison. Once we cleared the gates I got out of the chest and made myself comfy in the little nest I had made. I settled down and soon was feeling sleepy from the rocking motion the wagon made. I decided a quick nap would do me good and clear my head and so I closed my eyes and pulled a cotton dress up over me for a blanket and drifted off to sleep.
