"The Rose Thief"
by Micwolf Winterlorn

"Sit down and take a load off your feet. I have a humorous story about a thief," says Micwolf. He chortles to himself and then takes a swing of his grog. "Now you may have heard that I am a cleric in service to the God of Justice, Chadatru. I hold his tenets close to my heart. So while I find stealing to be despicable, I can not help but get a good laugh from this tale. It's a true story, you see. Though my mind is a bit foggy with grog, which may cause the tale to be a wee bit more flavorful in some areas." He smiles wryly and rubs the rim of his mug.

"This tale takes place not long ago in the city of the Crossing. Within the Cleric Guild to be exact. Now, if you have visited the guild before, you can understand the chaos that goes on there. Bodies are dragged in most often fresh from the kill. Empaths and Clerics working hand in hand to restore these poor souls to life. Others are just too busy to pay ya any mind unless you are leaking blood across the floor or repeatedly calling out for help. Yet, amidst the chaos one can often find a small piece of solitude. It was in this state that I was witness to this story as it unfolded."

"I sat in the far corner enjoying a drink as I am now. I had been tending the dead for quiet a while and needed to regain my strength and some small portion of sanity. As the room bustled about me, I saw a young couple nuzzling in the corner. The fella's name was Aaron and the lass was called Luranna."

He gazes thoughtfully at his mug. "Yes, Aaron and Luranna. Those names have a fine flavor of grog. Anyway, Aaron was dotting about his lady in a manner that let anyone with half a brain see that he was very much in love with her. Poor Luranna was knee deep in blood as she hurriedly tended a dead hunter. She was very wounded herself from taking the pains of others, yet she continued to work. She must have loved Aaron very deeply to not slug him for pestering her so much while she healed. Or perhaps it was just her warm kind empath heart that gave her so much patience. "

"Aaron was intent on getting her attention. Some say love can make fools out of the wisest men and reduce Kings to babbling children." Micwolf smiles slightly and takes another sip of his grog then continues. "He pulled out this lovely ring from his cloak and knelt before his love. And right there among the bodies surrounded by chaos, Aaron and Luranna found their own small piece of solitude. except for this cleric's prying eyes.

Aaron asked the lass to be his wife. She was very excited and lost to all but him as he slid the ring upon her finger. Next he pulled a Saemaus Kiss Rose from his pack and handed it to Luranna. She accepted, but before she could kiss the rose, an old dark friend called Death claimed her life."

"Fools out of the wisest", Micwolf said quietly. "You see, the lass had forgotten about the link she had forged with that poor dead hunter, and his wounds had continued to assault her body while she spoke with Aaron. Love must not only make you blind of sight, but blind to pain as well. For she collapsed to the ground, and the rose slipped from her hand."

"Such a sad sight to see. Arron was devastated. He held her in his arms and wept. I figured that must be a cue from my god to get back to work. So I set my grog aside and went to help the two lovebirds."

"I had begun to restore Luranna's memories when a shady fella snatched up the kiss rose. Greed was evident in his eyes and it was apparent to me that I had not been the only one to watch these two lovers. He sought to capitalize on the misfortunes of Aaron and Luranna. He quickly kissed the rose as to lay claim to it with the intention of giving it as a gift to his own lady. What this thief didn't know was that Aaron had already kissed the rose before he came to the guild to see Luranna."

"Some of you may not know the magic held with in the Kiss Rose, so let me explain. The rose is a very special gift from the god of Love, Seamaus. It contains the abilities to make your inner fires roar with passion for the one who kisses the rose with you. Your kisses will linger upon their lips longer. You will seem to snuggle your love in your arms more endearingly. It makes the fiercest of Barbarians mush in the sight of their mate. So when this thief kissed the rose, he bonded his heart to Aaron's. "

"Can you imagine the horror in both men's minds to feel those warm mushy huggy lovable sweetly-sick feelings of passion flare-up for each other. By gods! One's new fiancée lies dead at his feet. The others' girlfriend is who knows where. And there they stand, face to face with a heart pounding lust building up. I know it is a horrible situation for Aaron, but looking back now causes me to bust a gut with laughter."

"The thief realizing what he has done to himself turned white as a ghost in shock. Aaron just lost all his marbles and glanced back and forth from his dead fiancée to this thief. And poor Luranna's spirit was wailing in despair. I figured one problem at a time and continued to work on Luranna. Within minutes, by the power of Chadatru, I was able to restore life to her body. As I laid there exhausted, I couldn't help but poke a little fun at the thief." Micwolf smiles broadly.

"You do realize what you have done?" I asked. The thief just stared at me like a deer caught in the sights of a hunter's bow. "You will have to travel to Dirge and spend a few plat for a Be'ort Scission Blade to sunder the bond you just created." The thief blinked and mumbled that he only had a few gold to his name. I just laughed at him. "Well thief, over the next several months while you work to earn the coins, you can think of the pathetic thing you did. To try and capitalize on poor Aaron and Luranna's misfortunes is lower than most professional thieves would go. I'd say Phelim got a little righteous vengeance on your sorry hide and justice was served. Chadatru can be quite humorous at times." With that the thief glared and ran off into the streets.

As to Aaron's predicament. I took the couple to Dirge, gave Aaron the coin to purchase the blade and sundered him, releasing him of the bond. I then created another Saemaus rose for them. I felt it was the least I could do, for the humor Chadatru brought me."

Micwolf leans back against the wall and says with a grin, "Now that is a tale for the books. Several morals lie there in and humor to boot. Life can be the best storyteller of all. Next time you stand amongst the chaos, take a moment and watch what stories may unfold before you." With that spoken, he swigs down the last of his grog and sits his mug aside. Slowly he rises and leaves his little area of solitude to begin his work again.