The Heist at the Chocolate Factory.

      The smoke inside the Thieves’ Guild Hall floated slowly toward the ceiling beams of the old tavern. It hung there like a living thing, curling around the rusty lanterns, refusing to leave. In a corner in the shadows, a young Kougra with fur as dark as midnight was resting and quietly waiting. It was Thoren Sable, a thief with an ability to hear so perfectly that he could detect the heartbeat of another Neopet across the room.

     The hall was busy and noisy as one would expect at night. Across the room, around a battered wooden table, three small-time crooks leaned close together. Their voices were low, eager, and filled with the kind of excitement only greed can bring.

      “Hey, shaky paw,” a scar-faced Red Lupe whispered, tapping his claws against the table. His sharp eyes gleamed in the dim lantern lights. “It’s already that time of year again, isn’t it? You can even smell it in the air. The big event.”

      Across from him, a Green Techo with a few golden teeth grinned widely. He had the look of someone who could trick anyone with a single smile. “Annual Chocolate Ball? Indeed.. The whole Chocolate Factory is running day and night as we speak. Every bag I’ve picked from the fine ladies of Central Neopia lately has brought at least one limited-edition chocolate inside. This is the party where all the rich Neopians strut around, showing off their shiny gloves and jewels, right? Acting fancy, stuffing their mouths and stomachs with chocolate”

      A third accomplice, an Elderly Korbat with one broken wing and a scar across his face, let out a dry laugh. “That’s the one. But you haven’t heard the best part yet.” He leaned in, lowering his voice even more. “This year they’re bringing out something bigger than sweets. A treasure: a one in a kind purple cocoa from Kreludor…”

      “Purple cocoa? Kreludor?” The Techo startled. “I thought all the cocoa was coming from Geraptiku and Mystery Island”

      “That’s right, but this is not common chocolate” The Korbat replied while nodding proudly. “I overheard a chatty Pirate Grundo talking about it at the docks at Warf Wharf. This cocoa only shows up once every hundred years in a secluded part of Kreludor” the Korbat continued. “Even Dr. Sloth himself, with all his technology and funds, never managed to get his claws on it. It is well protected by the Space Faerie, what’s her name again? Mira?” he asked his associates. “And guess what? She will be delivering a piece to William Truffle, you know, the Kiko who runs the Chocolate Factory in Central Neopia. They will be making the special chocolate with it for the wealthiest elite this year.”

     “Can you imagine?” the Techo interrupted. “A chocolate rarer than gold? Rarer than a Super Attack Pea? If people managed to get their hands on a piece of it, they’d never need to steal again in their lives.” he ended, clearly extremely excited about the rumours.

     “Rumours say that this chocolate will be called The Royal Purple Asteroid.” the Korbat added in a giggling voice.

      The Lupe smirked and slid something onto the table interrupting the excitement of his fellow accomplices: a golden envelope. The light of the lanterns shimmered on its surface.

     “So this huge event, the great Annual Chocolate Ball…” he paused and stared at the thieves. “Guess what? I’m going in.” He continued, tapping the envelope with his paw. “This envelope? I snatched it from a White Weewoo flying over Central Neopia. It was supposed to be delivered to one of those lazy and boring millionaires from the Gourmet Club.” he laughed proudly under the stunned eyes of the other ruffians. “Honestly, I don’t know why the Neopian Times and the Neopian Post Office still trusts those silly little birds to carry something like this. This is a big score!”

      “No way! Let me see that, just for a second…” the Techo's eyes widened even more, but before he could reach it, the Korbat snatched the envelope, breaking the seal with a grin.

      “I’ll do the honours, boys.” The Korbat interrupted with hierarchy, and pulled the flap open. The envelope hissed. A thick cloud of red smoke exploded into the air. The smell of burning chocolate filled the room. The three thieves coughed and stumbled back. Their eyes watered, and their throats burned.

      “Ahh! It stings! It has the flavour of Carburnup Pepper,” the Lupe wheezed, swatting at the smoke with his paws. “This is some kind of trap!”

      “It’s a chocolate bomb! It’s too spicy, my tongue is on fire!” the Techo gagged.

      “That darn chocolatier… he’s smarter than we thought!” The Korbat choked, his wings flapping uselessly in the cloud. They struggled to breathe, choking and coughing, until the smoke finally thinned. The room fell quiet, broken only by their wheezing breaths.

      From his corner, Thoren Sable witnessed the whole scene and chuckled at the failure of the still coughing small-time thieves.

      “Fools…” he thought to himself. “The Chocolate Factory may look like a child's dream, but the most experienced thieves know it’s a maze. Every hallway hides a trap. Every recipe is guarded like a treasure. Did those ambitious and naive clowns really think William Truffle would let his secrets walk so easily out the door?”. His eyes lingered on the last curls of red pepper smoke while the crook trio departed the Thieves' Hall.

      “But if these rumours are true… There's more at stake this year,” he paused for a second while cunningly planning everything in his head. “And if what I discovered these past days is true, this is definitely a one-of-a-kind special job waiting for me tonight.”

      He pulled his hood tighter around his face as a memory surfaced. The strange, and almost torn note, found just days ago near his usual hideout cave near Neovia Forest, came to his mind. The scrap of parchment had been written in messy, hurried letters:

      If you want immeasurable fortune, meet me in the Haunted Woods. At midnight. Two nights before the Grand Chocolate Ball. Come alone and be prepared…

      The letter continued on to list other specific directions in finding the meeting spot, but it was the words themselves that continued to cycle through his mind as an almost obsessive thought. Thoren flipped the letter over in his hands as he lay in the firelight that evening, observing the piece of parchment for a clue… Anything that might indicate the implicated intention behind the message, and if it was truly intended for him to find. It was a promise that was too tempting to ignore, sure, but with an invitation so plain it was difficult to gauge the intention of the sender. These words became his main motivation to stake out the Thieves Hall for the next couple of nights, for he wasn’t keen on following a clue before taking adequate time to sit back and gather information. The last thing he needed was a tempting offer turned into yet another trap to lure in unsuspecting thieves and bounty hunters.

      As the days passed, no information related to the strange note ever came to light. And yet, at midnight, Thoren ultimately decided to take the bait and meet at the rendezvous spot. He found himself walking stealthily at a steady pace, deep in the heart of the forest of the Haunted Woods. The twisted trees loomed above him, with their bark shaped like crooked grins. The forest was dense and accompanied by the smell of damp earth, thick with illusions and an unearthly presence. After some time, he finally arrived at the meeting spot described in the note, stalling to take in his surroundings as he doubted if it was too late to double back on his original suspicion. As one of the best thieves, it was another day in the office: every sense alert, every muscle ready to react if needed.

      A rustle broke the silence of the night. Something was moving between the trees.

     ‘What was that?’ He thought, trying to maintain composure. Thoren had barely registered that noise, and that made him especially on edge since nobody had been able to hide from him in years.

     “I can't believe that something...no, rather someone is here, I would have noticed…” he continued his thoughts.

      Thoren stood up straight with his claws unsheathed and ready to attack, trying to determine where the noise came from. Anything to pinpoint the position of the potential threat that defied his sense of hearing, which he boasted was almost perfect.

      With his sharp gaze on the spot where the noise came from, he heard the frantic sound of a heartbeat rising within his ears. A silent shadow emerged from the darkness into the silvery moonlight.

      “Good evening, young Thoren. I'm glad you made it on time. I have been watching you for a while now.” These words travelled to Thoren’s ears, stunning him in place. This meeting had begun some time ago, unbeknownst to Thoren, who had not noticed the other presence join. He had been watched and followed all this time, this time by a being who easily surpassed his abilities…

To be continued…