new story From Daggers to Diapers

[Little Writer]

                                                                                                                                        Author's Note

Hi this is my first story and I would appreciate your thoughts and any criticisms you might have! I'm going to start off slow so this first bit will be about world building and introductions. Later parts are sure to have the content you're looking for, so bear with me ?. I'm not sure how frequent I'll update this but I'll try my best to at least update once a week. I don't know what kind of content warnings are typical for stories like this. There will definitely be diapers and punishments but nothing explicitly sexual (like sex toys or mention of genitals).  My writing is a bit rusty, but I'm sure the more I update this the more I'll shake it off. Also I'm not sure what tags to use, so if anyone has any recommendations I'd appreciate it! Well I think that's all I have to say for now. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

 

                                                                                                                        Part 1: Welcome to Nikos

Emily hid in the shadows of the alley she had dashed into as the guards ran past. Smirking at having successfully carried out another job, she stayed close to the walls as she crept down the dark streets back towards her hideout. Emily Silverton hadn't asked for the life she had been given, but she didn't exactly regret it either. The world was harsh and cruel, only the strong survived. So she did what she had to in order to survive, even if it meant other people got hurt. The life of a rouge was lonely, and dangerous, but the rewards were well worth it. Sure she had to live a life steeped in secrecy and danger, but she was free.

True freedom wasn't easy to come by, at least not when you lived in the royal capital. Strict laws and heavy patrolling by the guards created a heavy atmosphere for the residents of Nikos, well the poor ones anyway. The guards always seemed to be looking for the slightest infraction so they could carry out what they saw as 'justice' to some poor person, simply because there was nothing else for them to do. Obviously Emily was proof that there were still criminals in the royal capital, so there was a justifiable reason for the presence of the guards, it was just that they were too good at what they did. Every time a crime took place the criminals were in and out in minutes, the trail long gone by the time the guards arrived. This drove the higher ranking members of society absolutely nuts.

Emily chuckled at the thought of the Captain of the Guards face going red with rage when his grunts told him how another rouge had managed to out maneuver them once again. He was a particularly nasty old man who seemed to have a heart of stone, carrying out the letter of the law no matter the circumstances. Emily had even heard of him throwing a child in the dungeon for forgetting to pay for an apple from a fruit stall. Of course it was probably just some myth, but Emily knew that there was always a grain of truth in myths and other tall tales. Pissing off cold-hearted bastards like the Captain was one of the benefits of her career, and one of things that made her love it so much. 

Checking to ensure she wasn't being followed or watched, Emily quickly made her way to the Sleeping Ogre. Opening the door Emily found the tavern to be empty as usual, save for the usual faces of her compatriots. The Sleeping Ogre was actually just a front for Emily and her crew. While they don't actually work on any jobs together, or particularly trust each other, they do share this little hideout. Living a life of crime in the royal capital was not an easy life, and the only way to live a long life this way was if you were careful. This motely crew had all had their fair share of close calls with the guards, and decided it would be better to band together. This way they could all sleep a little easier knowing they had someone keeping an eye out while they slept.  

"And what can I get for you young lady?" Erik asked as Emily sat down at the bar. Erik was the face for their hideout, he worked behind the bar and kept the place looking good. He was a bit taller then an average man and had shoulder length black hair and green eyes. His skin was dark brown and he always had a casual demeanor about him, and was a very good actor. 

"Oh whatever you recommend good sir." Emily answered with a laugh. They always liked to play this little act whenever completing a job, just incase there were some guards poking around. Erik chuckled as he set about getting some ale for her.

"You seem chipper." Boomed Groog from his table near the door. Groog was the strongest of the group, he played the role of security for the Sleeping Ogre and was the watchdog for the group. He was practically the exact opposite of Erik in everyway. Pale skin, blue eyes, short sandy hair, and a stout but muscular build. The two were an odd pair and tended to be enough to scare the townsfolk away from the establishment. 

"What can I say? Life is good." Emily responded as she took a swig of her drink. 

A loud yawn from one of the booths pierced the silence of the room as Pete 'woke up'. 

"Well I'd say naptimes over wouldn't you?" Pete said as he got up and stretched. This was his code phrase for 'the coast is clear' and the rest of the group relaxed into dropping their facades for the evening. Pete was the oldest of the group and he played the part of grouchy old drunk. He pretended to nap in the booth and would pretend to be an angry drunk old man in order to chase people out. The Sleeping Ogre was actually named by the locals because of Pete and the group decided to stick with the name. Within their group of criminals he was the resident forger, so he did most of his work at the tavern. He had a bald head, a silver beard, and a fitter then typical build for someone his age. 

"So how'd the job go?" Erik asked as he rested his chin in his hands and leaned on the bar. 

"Everything went off without a hitch, as usual. The client will be pleased." Emily responded as she drank more ale. Erik jokingly pouted at her lack of details, since it's what he expected and finished cleaning the bar for the night. Emily never shared anything that wasn't absolutely necessary with the group, to prevent two things. One was to prevent getting to close to them, she didn't like having bonds with other people in this line of work since they tended to live short lives. The other reason was to prevent any future backstabbing, Emily knew that no one here would ever betray each other intentionally, but she couldn't risk them slipping up or being coerced into giving information to the wrong people. 

"Hopefully the client pays soon, we're low on ale." Groog said as he finished his mug. The client was just their code word for the Night Stalkers, who are the leaders of Nikos's criminal underworld. They are the reason that criminals are able to thrive in the royal capital, no one knows their real identities, or where they're located. The Night Stalkers manage crime in the city, when a crime occurs they're there before the guards and typically recruit the criminal and help hide the evidence of their crime. There's a few rare occasions where they have been rumored to actually turn criminals in, and that's only for truly heinous crimes. They deal out jobs to experienced criminals like Emily and her crew and take a cut for themselves, while allowing one time thieves and smaller criminals to get away while demanding a cut or favor in return. It's a complicated system that no one outside of the Night Stalkers fully understands, but the intricacies didn't matter to Emily as long as she got paid and stayed out of the dungeons. 

"Well maybe we wouldn't be so low if you didn't drink it all up! I swear you drink it like you need it to live!" Pete responded as he drank his own mug. 

"Who wouldn't need ale to survive dealing with you all day long?" Groog responded as he sat back in his seat, knowing exactly how Pete would respond. 

"Oh what a comedian you are! We'll see if you're still laughing when I whoop you at poker again! Come on big guy lets go!" Pete huffed as he sat down in front of Groog with a deck of cards. 

"Humph how about we settle this with a game of strength for once? Are you afraid that I'd break your arm like a twig in an arm wrestling match old man?" Groog said as he watched Pete shuffle the cards. 

Emily stopped paying attention to the normal bickering of those two as she said goodnight to Erik. She had to go to her room and package the stolen goods she had nabbed tonight so she could send it to the Night Stalkers. She didn't know who had made the contract with them to steal the stuff, and she didn't care, as long as she got rid of it as soon as possible and got paid for it. Her room was in the basement of the tavern, hidden behind the storage crates they kept there. She preferred the seclusion of the basement, and it allowed for her to work on a secret exit for herself in case things went south. 

Closing the door behind her Emily pulled out the jewelry she had been tasked with stealing. While undoubtfully beautiful, the set was also the strangest she had ever seen. The necklace was a simple gold chain, but the clasp on the back was a small padlock. Once it was adjusted and put around someone's neck it could only be removed with the key. Hanging on the necklace was a giant ruby, she thought it was supposed to look like a heart but it had two holes, one on each side. She couldn't tell if it was intentional or just unfinished. Either way it didn't matter to her, finished or not she would still get paid. The earrings were also gold with strange locking mechanisms on the backs. They were shaped like baby bottles with little heart-shaped rubies in the center of them. 

"Man nobles sure are weird." Emily mumbled to herself as she shook her head. She wrapped the jewelry in some parchment and placed it in a little box that she then tied shut with some twine. Tomorrow she'd meet the carrier and she'd never see the strange jewelry again. 

[Felix_Lewis]

Hooo what a strong start!

I love the ambition, in fact, it's almost a shame that this setting has to get relegated to a diaper story, it's a really strong intro with a clearly well-developed premise, cobbled together from a few good ol' sets of RPG / Tolkienesque tropes. Well done! 

If you're after some actual criticism, as a reader, I'd have loved for a little more mystery to surround the characters and setting. Instead of an introductory paragraph, you could have hinted to each character's personality through their demeanors. 

ie, for Groog: 
" "You seem chipper." boomed Groog from the security table by the door. The meat-armed watchman followed Emily through the room with his sharp eye - usually reserved for spotting approaching troublemakers. "
 

I think from a description like that, and the perfect name of 'Groog', the reader would have a good idea of what Groog was about, without the more forward descriptions. 

I think the same mystery could be applied to these Night Watchers as well. They may have fared better as a 'show, don't tell' affair, where this named but undescribed threat looms in the background. And if they're not relevant to the story, then the background doesn't need to be necessarily explained. Whenever you tell the reader something, make sure you know it's relevant  

Anyway good person, this is a promising and fantastic piece of work. I look forward to seeing it develop! 
 

[kerry]

I agree with what Felix said. ?

Another thing: do you mean "rogue"?

[BabySofia]

Interesting start. Will be following to see where you go with it!