Neb landed on the stone floor with a soft thump. It was dark and musty inside the church, reminding him of his childhood home. The flashes of lightning revealed his surroundings. Looking around, he saw that he was in a small room packed with crates and barrels. To his best guess, it must have been a storage room.

  A stinging sensation came from his right foot. Lifting it up, Neb felt a fresh cut, going straight through his rugged boot and into his foot. He had landed right on the glass shards from the window he had broken just moments ago. Neb growled under his breath. He was beginning to wonder if he was under a curse. Or was it this land that was cursed? I never should have tried to start a smuggling ring here.

  His gut told him that it wasn’t too late to turn back and make a run for it. But where would he go? He needed the coin to pay for passage off these shores. Every highway and port in the kingdom was sealed off, isolating the realm from the rest of the world. Making Driftport, an outlaw town to the south, his only way out. But he needed more coin to pay those pirates to ferry him away.

  No, he had no choice but to keep going.

  Neb reached for the next door and eased it open. The door creaked as he poked his head through, half expecting someone to be standing just on the other side waiting for him. He sighed with relief to find an empty hallway. There was not a sound in that church. Neb slipped into the hallway—his long ears stood alert, listening for the slightest creak or dropping of a pin. Nothing is going to get the jump on me, he thought as he made his way up the hall.

  To his left, it opened up to a much larger room filled with pews and an altar at the far side, but up ahead led to an open doorway. Passing through, Neb entered yet another hall, leading to a closed door at the far end. Just beyond that must be where the treasure is kept, thought Neb. Gold and silver plates and cups, along with a chest or two filled with coin.

  Neb crossed the next hall and reached for the door. It was unlocked. Surprised, Neb slowly opened it and entered. Inside was a small room. An old desk stood before him, with a large window perched behind it. On either side of it loomed two great bookshelves filled with worn tomes and scrolls. And to his delight, a small chest nestled in the corner.

  A wide grin spread across Neb’s face. “Finally, some results,” he murmured to himself. He strolled over to the chest and tried opening it. Locked. Of course, the chest would be locked! Any thief would have expected this.

  He tapped his foot as he thought on what to do. And then his eyes widened, remembering the key he threw away. “That key must have been for the chest!” Neb blurted out, letting out a groan over his foolishness in casting it aside.

  The flickering of a light reflected in the window caught Neb’s attention. His ears perked up. Voices were coming from outside. He peeked through and saw at least a dozen city watchmen standing at the ready just outside the church doors. And there, within the crowd of armed men, was the church’s caretaker, sifting through his keys. Moments later, he found the key he was looking for and marched up towards the church doors.

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  A lump formed in Neb’s stomach and the hairs on his neck stuck up. His eyes shot back at the chest. He didn’t have time to go back for the key. Not wanting to leave empty-handed, he hauled the chest onto his shoulder and darted out the room and through the halls.

  Halfway through the second hall, a loud, clear click echoed through the entire church, followed by a heavy THUD as the twin oak doors flew open. Shouting came next, spurring Neb ever faster; he was not going to die here. He had the treasure. He could feel the jangling of coin and other precious valuables within. Its noise comforted his heart, despite it beating two hundred times per minute.

  Neb made it back to the small storage room. Heavy boots echoed throughout the entire church. There was still time to escape. He rushed towards the window and pushed the chest up through it. Letting it dangle on the other side for a second, he dropped it as gently as he could. Neb then went crawling through after it and landed next to the chest, giving it a tight hug while smiling.

  He had done it!

  A bolt of lightning dashed overhead, revealing four tall, armored men standing around him. They glared down with eyes of malice at the goblin, who was still clinging to the chest. Neb let out a yelp and jumped to his feet. One watchman lunged at him. Neb scampered to his left, evading him entirely. There was an opening now. He took it. Grasping the chest tightly, he sprinted down the alley as it whipped behind him.

  The watchmen shouted and called out to the others. Returning cries came from the other side of the church. Horns sounded. The quiet night erupted into a chaotic choir of yells, howls, and blaring horns—and all of which was closing in on Neb.

  Neb dashed down the next alley. Two armored men stood in his way.

  “There he is! Get him!” came a familiar gruff voice. The second watchman dove for the goblin. Neb sidestepped to the right, dodging the watchman, but the young man fell on the chest and latched onto it. The older watchmen cheered, “That’s the way to do it, lad! Now it’s time to haul this one in!”

  Neb heaved the chest as hard as he could to get it free, but it did no good. The other watchman charged. Neb finally abandoned the treasure. Letting go, he went below the oncoming watchman and slipped through his legs.

  He felt a tug and fell on his back. The watchman had grabbed hold of his fur coat, pulling the goblin towards him. Neb fought back, but he was losing inches by the second. When just within reach, he pulled his arms out of the sleeves and skittered out of the coat and away from the two watchmen.

  He sped out of the alley and into an open street. It was empty—no sign of the city watch. He scanned his surroundings, trying to figure out where he was. He needed to get out of the city. But its gates were shut tight for the night—not that the guardsmen would let him walk through anyway. But where else could he go? There had to be another way out.

  Shouting came from behind. And just when he thought he couldn’t get any more attention, a huge bell rang out, bellowing overhead for miles. The city had awoken. One by one, the sleepy windows lit up. Startled faces poked out to see what was going on. Some had even stepped outside. Within seconds, the empty street was crowded with scores of people.

  Watchmen poured into the street from every direction. The goblin was boxed in. Neb frantically looked for an escape route, and to his luck—or misfortune—he found a latrine that was still within reach. There was no time to rethink his options. He bolted towards the building. Upon entering, he spotted the seats and climbed into the nearest one. He crawled down the chute, being just small enough to squeeze through, and landed in a shallow pool of water—at least that was what he was calling it.

  He was out of harm’s way—for now that is—and he was happy enough about that. But Neb knew that it was only a matter of time before the watch tracked him down. And so, he started his search for an exit. This was the sewer, and its “contents” had to lead somewhere out of the city. That was his hope anyway.