Brendell: Apprentice Thief

Introduction

Finding a character you want to write about again and again is always a thrill for me. I say ' finding ' rather than ' creating ' because when such a character emerges on the page, he (or she) slowly reveals his personality, strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes. He matures and develops like a child, over time enriching the experience of both the writer and the reader. He almost has as much input into his stories as the writer, until it nearly becomes a situation where the writer turns into a secretary, merely taking down dictation from the character.

For me, Brendell has become such a character. I have always been fan of such fantasy authors as deCamp, Pratt, Leiber and others from the late 50 ' s to early 70 ' s, and I believe Brendell would have felt quite at home with the Gray Mouser. But while there are precedents for rogue characters in fantasy or science fiction (Laumer ' s Retief and Harrison ' s Stainless Steel Rat for example), his immediate spiritual ancestor is not from fantasy at all. When I was first investigating the Brendell character, the fictional template that came to mind was Jonathan Gash ' s Lovejoy, the antiques dealer/detective who has become so beloved by mystery fans. If Lovejoy were placed in a more primitive world, what would he have become I believe you will soon read the answer.

Brendell is an apprentice thief to the Thief ' s Guild, and as such he is often taken advantage of ...by his Guild and by his clients. One loyal reader complained that, after the first four stories appeared, Brendell had not yet become a journeyman, the next logical goal for anyone involved in a trade union. I know people in trade unions and their apprenticeship can be a long and arduous process. And while Brendell lives in a fantasy world, it is a world that has its own rules which must be adhered to, a world that has slowly become exposed and developed from one episode to the next. Does Brendell finally earn his long-desired journeyman ' s card That will be revealed later in this book.

Many of these adventures have appeared earlier in various e-zines. Brendell made his maiden journey in the pages of the late, lamented Eternity On-Line. His presence in the premiere issue is an honor I take some pride in. It is not often that a beginning writer is published in the first issue of any magazine, and while I had placed a few stories previously, it was the first e-zine story I received any compensation for. Before Eternity closed its web site, five different Brendell stories appeared there; in order ' Slipped Disc, ' ' Contract Flaw, ' ' Rites of Tenure, ' ' Thief of Hearts, ' and ' Scepter Fidelis. ' None of these stories is still available on the ' net (at least not to my knowledge and certainly not legally). Three other Brendell adventures have appeared elsewhere; ' Guardian Angle ' (in Tavern Wench Journal) ' Statue of Limitations ' (in The Wandering Troll) and ' Tiny Losses ' (in Twilight Times). Except for some middling ' tightening up ' to which I and most other writers are prone, I have left the previously published stories as they originally appeared. The other stories are new for this anthology.