Chapter 71: The Chase Preparing the skewers took longer than Riven thought it would, as every minute that the shopkeeper took extra in grilling the meat, made Riven more and more restless.
’Please do it faster....’
He thought internally, his focus fully locked on the shopkeeper’s hands, when suddenly, disaster struck!
One of the customers standing beside him suddenly stumbled forward.
"Oh, watch it!"
The man barked, as he crashed shoulder first into Riven, causing the young boy to lose his balance for a brief moment while the bouquet of roses nearly slipped from his hands.
"I-I’m sorry..."
Riven apologized instinctively, as he hurried to steady himself, his attention completely occupied by the unexpected collision.
It lasted no more than a heartbeat.
However, that single heartbeat was all the second man needed.
His fingers moved with practiced precision.
One quick slice across the worn leather strap.
One smooth pull.
And Riven’s satchel silently disappeared into his hands before being passed to his partner in one seamless motion.
The exchange was so clean that, by the time Riven looked back up, the second man had already turned away as though nothing had happened, while his companion calmly walked toward the shop’s entrance with the satchel tucked beneath his cloak.
Three steps.
Four.
Five.
Then both men suddenly broke into a sprint.
Only then did Riven feel it.
The familiar weight hanging from his shoulder... was gone.
"What—?"
He blurted out in confusion, instinctively reaching toward his side, as his hand grasped nothing but empty air.
For a single frozen moment, his mind refused to accept what had happened.
Then it finally registered.
’My satchel!’
Inside it were the remaining silver ornaments he had stolen from Hagrid’s house.
The bronze coins the flower seller had just returned.
But more importantly...
His revenge diary.
"THIEF!"
Riven screamed at the top of his lungs, as he instinctively dropped the bouquet of roses onto the wooden floor before charging straight out of the stall without the slightest hesitation.
"THIEF! THEY STOLE MY BAG!"
Riven screamed, as not a small number of passersby immediately turned their heads toward the commotion, only to cast sympathetic looks in his direction once they realized what had happened.
"Poor boy..."
One woman muttered quietly.
"Should’ve held onto his belongings a little tighter."
An old merchant sighed.
"Are there any town guards nearby?"
Another passerby wondered aloud, as several people looked around expectantly.
However, despite the growing interest, nobody actually stepped forward to help.
"STOP! THE BAG HAS MY DIARY!"
Riven yelled desperately, as he chased after the fleeing thieves with everything he had, weaving recklessly between wagons, pedestrians, and merchants while refusing to let the satchel disappear from his sight.
Behind him, Dara tried his best to keep pace.
"Riven, let it go!"
He shouted between heavy breaths.
"We can’t afford to get lost here! If you take too many turns, we won’t even be able to find the inn again!"
However, Riven never even looked back.
His entire world had narrowed to one thing.
The satchel.