After serious consideration, Atomflail looked up from the small cave he was
resting in and said "Well, it's what I do best," and removed himself from the
cool of his small resting place and approached the thieves.  Upon seeing new
meat, they flashed their daggers out once again, and circled him, covering
all exits.  "They have no idea," said AtomFlail as he whipped out his
mysterious ball-and-chain weapon.  He flailed it upon the nearest thief,
then  spun around getting the ever-extensive chain lost into the trees.  He
pulled on it, sending himself through the wood.  After being pursued for a
while, he found that these were not the kind of bandits to be thrown off
trail easily.  So he swung back to the location where the young maiden was
still cowering, and told her that she would have no more trouble if she
hurried off to the nearest locations of one of his secret areas.  So with a
small pouch of gold in her hand in compensation of her lost supplies, she ran
off without another word.
         Atomflail then took to the trees, for they were hot on his trail.
 He swung past one, his small crossbow flashing out of his gauntlet, and a
shot from it was the end of THAT thief.  Another who was watching took fired
upon AtomFlail, but alas, he was 50 feet away and out of sight.  But next
moment, he was next to him, appearing in the place of his shadow, and was
assassinated.  Next, AtomFlail met another enemy.  He caused his weapon to
release hold of the tree, and the chain retracted until it became to be just
as a small mace.  Still falling, he met his opponent with the face of his
weapon, thus executing his atom blow.  But this was in the middle of the hole
ring of thieves, who instantly piled upon him.  After the last one was taken
care of, he thought,  "Master would be proud of me to see how I've progressed
with my shadow powers."
          Then, several members of the Den of Souls clan approached him...