The Great Thief

The small village beside the town was his destination.

Along the empty village footpath, the traces of war had disappeared with time.

Without realising it, Lu Li had become fixated on the ruins of an old house. At that very moment, he felt like he was being held by the throat, unable to breathe.

Before meeting Pamilla, Lu Li thought she was a sweet and loving little girl.

She had pink cheeks, dimples and blonde hair as bright as the sun.

Although she didn’t come from a wealthy background, she was content with the beautiful hand-knit dress made by her mum and the love from her strong and reliable father.

She also had an older sister that constantly looked after her safety.

Seeing the current state of Darrowshire, Lu Li hoped that someone had rescued her and taken her away to safety. Perhaps a passing knight, or a powerful mage like Medivh.

Unfortunately, Lu Li found the person he was looking for.

She had the same blonde braids and adorable dimples, but her face was pale and almost transparent. Her eyes were filled with fear when she saw the oncoming stranger.

Lu Li walked over and daringly touched the little girl’s face.

She was unsure and backed off, but she didn’t feel like she was in danger or threatened by Lu Li because of his sincere gaze. She carefully approached Lu Li’s hands as he lightly stroked her cheeks.

Lu Li felt nothing!

She was dead!

This reminded the hard-working Lu Li of his younger sister.

He never imagined that Pamela would wind up like this in the quest.

This was a special quest from Ravenholdt Manor, rarely mentioned by the players of his past.

Lu Li thought that it would be a simple mission and had no idea it was so complicated.

”Big brother, are you a bad guy?” The little girl wasn’t creeped out by Lu Li because she was so young. She was quite small, even for a 4 or 5-year-old.

Before she even understood what death was, she had already crossed path with the Reaper.

”No, I’m a good guy.” Lu Li knelt down and stared into the helpless little girl’s eyes as he asked, ”What’s your name? Why are you here by yourself?”

”My name is Pamela. I’m waiting for my older sister. Do you know where Jessica is? She left when I was still a very, very young girl…” The little ghost hadn’t come across anyone in a long time, so she was very happy to talk to Lu Li. She was cheerful and light-hearted like any girl would be at her age.

Her voice was clear and delicate, and she was very proper, much like his own younger sister.

”When she left she was very sad and was crying. I didn’t know why she was crying. Maybe she stubbed her toe. When Jessica was still here, we’d often play together, dance together and pick flowers together. Sometimes, when daddy came home, we would hide and try to scare him,” the little girl recalled as tears began dripping down her face.

”Come back Jessica. If you come back, then daddy will be back too and we can play like the old times…”

”Your father… do you know where he went?” Lu Li held back his tears and remained composed.

He had developed a strong sense of hatred towards the man who had left his family and abandoned his daughter.

”Aunty Lane made me stay home while daddy went out to war. My daddy is the bravest man in the world, but I’ve been waiting here for a very long time for him to come back. Sometimes, bad people would come and talk to me, and I wish daddy would be here to chase them away…” The little girl’s voice became more and more gloomy.

Lu Li could picture the little girl, sitting out here by the front door, waiting days, weeks and months for her father to return.

The pain and sadness Lu Li had tried to supress over the years was resurfacing because of the little girl’s story. He remembered when his own parents had passed away and he couldn’t find anyone for shelter or help.

The financial allowance given by the government was often stolen by the local gangs. In order to survive and feed themselves, Lu Li resorted to begging from people.

When he left for the day, Lu Xin would sit by the front door just like Pamela. When he returned, she would still be in the exact same place waiting for her older brother. One time, he decided to observe his younger sister from afar and found her sitting at the same place for hours on end, waiting for her older brother to return home safely.

She would watch as her older brother left until he was out of sight, and would patiently wait until he returned.

”Sometimes, when it gets dark, I like to play with my doll, but I lost it when I was in town. Can you help me find it?” Pamela asked, as she looked up at Lu Li.

”Wait here. I’ll be back quickly with your doll.” Lu Li remembered seeing pieces of the doll lying around on his way to Darrowshire.

The little girl nodded and thought that Lu Li was the kindest person she had ever met.

With a heavy heart, Lu Li returned back to town and searched the ruins for a while. He finally found enough pieces of the doll to complete the quest.

”Ah! You found it! Tou found my doll…” The little girl saw the doll that Lu Li held in his hands and jumped up excitedly. ”Oh thank you! thank you! Yay! My doll will help me chase away the bad people.”

Lu Li handed over the doll but felt bad because it was in such terrible condition.

”Why is it like this?” The little girl began crying upon seeing her fragmented doll.

”Don’t be sad. I’ll sew it back up for you,” Lu Li comforted. He found some tools which could be used to sew the doll back up – an old rod in his bag that he had never used before.

The hook could be used as a sewing needle and the fishing line could be used as the thread.

Lu Li was very confident with his sewing skills. As someone who had raised his younger sister by himself, he was very used to sewing and patching up old clothes.

”Older brother, you’re so skilled at sewing,” Pamela said as she held her cheeks and looked at Lu Li admiringly.

”Pamilla, are you going to continue waiting here?” Lu Li forced a smile on his face. This was the most heart-breaking quest that he had ever attempted.

”Of course. I’m going to keep waiting. Otherwise, when daddy and Jessica come back, they’ll be worried because I would be missing,” the little girl said with a troubled face. ”But I feel so lonely. Aunty Lane told me to stay here and wait but she never returned. Older brother, do you think Aunty Lane knows where they are?”

The little girl had complete trust in Lu Li now, but he didn’t know how to reply to her naïve and innocent questions.

”Jessica once told me that Aunty Lane lived in a house near the south of Andorhal. Older brother, you’re my newest best friend. Can you go and help me find my Aunty?” Pamilla asked.

”Of course. I’ll go look for her for you. Look, I’ve patched up your doll,” Lu Li said as he handed the doll back to her.

”It’s beautiful again! This is my lovely doll and she’ll protect me from any danger. I’ll wait right here, but promise you’ll come back,” Pamilla squealed happily.