The Smuggler of Arms (Vincent/ Sonneilion) PM for entry

[Vincent]

Vincent woke sore in the morning. Ever since taking on a new training method and working jobs he was starting to feel tired. All the same the tavern was beginning to feel like home. They had been staying in the same room for quite some time and their corner table was available when they needed it,to the point of locals calling it their table now. The two were a good team fighting hard, training hard, and working hard. Vincent had sworn off alcohol due to his low resistance and his body was beginning to show muscle tone and strength. They hadn't failed in a job yet and he was overly confident. He felt invincible and many had already cautioned him but he paid them no mind.

He had developed his own style of fighting on his own and he hadn't lost a fight or failed an assignment yet. "Hah! Neil, it looks like I woke before you today." Naturally it had been the first time he had and he wasn't going to tell him it was due to a random nightmare.

Looking over a job roster they had taken Vincent found one that piqued his curiosity. "Here is one for us. It says here that a man is under suspicion of trading arms with the Bern rebels. He's been seen coming in with steel swords and blades and leaving with as much silver quality he can. A spy reported following him to the Bern border but he has fallen out of contact since."

Rolling up the paper he slid it into a small bag. "What do you think? Worth it? It ought to be interesting at the very least. Plus it sounds like a good step up for us."

[Sonneillon]

"Arms trading. A risky business, to be sure. Much like smuggling. We saw plenty of smugglers on the streets. They fight hard and dirty. This job could be tough, mate. I don't know. I mean, yeah, it sounds interesting and all that, but I don't wanna get killed. That would be a great way to ruin my day. But I mean, we're pretty good... Never failed a job, never failed to deliver. Maybe we could. I don't know. What's your gut feeling?"

This was interesting. His sense of adventure screamed at him to go, to take it on, to bring home the gold and the glory... But his wiser half told him to wait, to watch, to be cautious. Which side would triumph had yet to be seen. Neil's brow furrowed as he mused. This was an interesting situation, for sure.

[Vincent]

Vincent leaned back against the wall sinking into the sheets. What did his gut say? "Aside from being hungry?" he teased. He felt that this job was the one. The one to change the game. To change everything. When this job was over they would be different people. This would be the biggest risk they had taken since teaming up. With a slight nod of his head that was exactly what he told Neil.

"My gut tells me this is the job that will change things. Make us into something better than now. This man is a higher class criminal if what the report says is true. This would be the first time for us to take on a bounty." He remembered his earliest adventure. Bounty hunters were interesting characters, they were powerful, some kind, some cunning but they were all professionals who got the job done. If this would bring them to their level he had to do this.

"But, I'm sure you agree that the head's council must be taken into account. I feel we need to do some studying on this guy. Find out how he operates, fights, et cetra. It doesn't have a name here but... we'll find that out too if possible." He was getting excited and speaking faster and faster. He could feel that lightness in his chest from the anticipation. This is what he had been training for, but not what Neil necessarily wanted. "Hey Neil, if you don't want to do this we won't. This is what I've been working toward but not necessarily what you or we are going for."

[Sonneillon]

"If we can do it, I'm all for it... But I'm not sure. You've hit the nail on the head. We need more information. If we can get the details, we can hunt this mystery smuggler down and take him out. It'll be done like dinner."

Neil nodded, thinking for a second.

"We just have to get some dirt. What better way to find his habits than to try and act as if we need weapons? If we pretend to be clients, he might lower his guard, allowing us to get close and strike. We must find this man. Track his movements, gain his trust... and then strike."

[Vincent]

Vincent thought about the proposal. It seemed like a good idea but, it would be extremely risky. What if he found them out? What then? It wasn't like they were big names that everyone knew for bounty hunting. They'd be fine. Regardless they could take on a fighter two on one no matter who it is.

"Speaking of food we should eat light. We could end up in an all out chase." He didn't want to find themselves puking and losing the guy. That was not the ideal result of their mission. Heading down the ever creaking stairs into the bar area he thought more on the "interrogation."

"I think we should wear hoods but be very realistic. No ridiculous attempts to cover up our identities. Maybe a simple change of name but that should be good enough. The report states he is under suspicion of smuggling into Bern as well. Why they don't know but suspect to be to fuel the rebels. Is that a subject we should avoid or engage in?"

It would be a very touchy area to speak of but it would be necessary to learn of his guilt or innocence. "Hmm, so many variables."

[Sonneillon]

"This is a manhunt... We're acting as vigilante justice, aren't we? Nobody know if this guy is for real. Well... We're going to find out, I suppose. So, I say you've got a point. I'll go by the name of Verrine while we're searching for this guy.

So we find him, we try and milk some information out of him, and, once we're certain, we strike. I guess we'll have to play this by ear, won't we?"

This problem was interesting. Sonneillon smiled, a faint crackle of dark magic audible as he rubbed his hands together.

"I'm looking forward to this. Let's be efficient."

His power was growing. He could feel it. And he knew that he could always draw upon his power. He just had to be careful... He'd become unstoppable. His power would be boundless. He just had to keep nurturing it.

[Vincent]

"Okay, Verrine. Call me Victor. Yeah, by ear is all we can do for now. This is a test of adaptability, endurance, detective ability, and combat. It'll be a bit of everything." The more they talked about it the larger the task became in his mind. Was it like this for all bounty hunters? It must be a stressful job, but the pay and satisfaction of success must be enormous.

Vincent watched the dark energy forming like a light layer over Neil's skin. He wasn't anywhere near perfect but his skills had grown substantially. "Efficiency is our guarantee. Hey! We could market ourselves with that."

After a few blocks Vincent stopped dead in the street. "Any ideas on where to start looking for him? They say he has no known contacts and no one has actually seen his face." A mystery man through and through. "I imagine other dealers in the area could know a little something? What do you think?" There were at least a half a dozen places to purchase weaponry in the town. He must have been a client to at least one of them.

"Then there is the market place where all sorts of rumors float around. That could be a good place to go too." He sighed, too many options.

[Sonneillon]

"Hmph. This isn't a hunt, it's looking for a needle in a haystack. Well, I suppose we'll have to hit up the local places. Armories, shops, and the like. Heck, I might be able to pick up a tome too, if I've got enough coin. I suspect I might by now... But anyway, business."

The pupil thought through the scenario, nodding or shaking his head occasionally.

"We should probably start generic, just doing some general inquiries. Then, if we find that someone's got a little more than they're revealing, we can press it and use our cover to give a sense of validity. We'll have to be careful and move gingerly to avoid spooking our target. With any luck... We'll quickly find out if there's any hope of nailing this guy's location down more accurately. Sound good?"

[Dayan]

There were two ways to track a target.

The first was old detective work. Asking questions, poking around, seeking answers every place you could conceivably find them. The second was far safer, but much less reliable. Still, at times like this, it paid off.

Sometimes just listening was all the information you ever needed.

Dayan set down a small mug of water, overhearing the conversation from the two boys who fancied themselves bounty hunters. Well, it wouldn't do to underestimate their ability, but Dayan sincerely doubted they could take down a hardened smuggler. Similarly, Dayan didn't really care about the smuggler himself. Men like him were a dime a dozen. Kill one, and five new ones would spring up to take his place.

No. Something like this couldn't be done without the help of people with clout. Nobility abusing their positions to serve their own ends, the same as before. He doubted these children had any interest in the problem beyond the bounty, but perhaps if they got close to the truth he'd be able to follow the thread back to the puppeteer. Mmm, yes. These children might yet serve his ends, even if they did get in over their heads and wind up dead on the fields.

With a loud rap, Dayan placed his mug on the table, nodding to the innkeeper and heading out onto the streets. They'd said they were heading to the marketplace, so he would go first and establish his presence there.

People rarely assumed that the person following them was in front of them.

[Vincent]

"Sounds good," the boy agreed turning a snowy corner on a dime. He looked for anyone that would stand out among the crowd but they all sort of blended in. Maybe he should look to those that blended in more than others. Being conspicuous was a trait needed for a high risk operation.

Coming over to a man behind a fruit stand he decided on his first point of questioning. "Good morning sir," he began with a smile. It was quite refreshing to him how his shyness around strangers was quelled so easily. Had it been even 4 months ago he'd have let others do the talking, but now it was his turn. He'd learned how to take charge for himself at last.

"Morning. Interested in anything? Perhaps some avocados?" The seller inquired. Vincent humored the man and took a look at his wares. He was quickly repulsed to find it was all partially rotted.

"Uhh... No thanks." The fruit looked terrible. "I'm not big in avocados" he covered. "But my friend and I could use some new equipment." He drew his iron sword and showed the man. It had it's share of notches and cracks. It looked like it could fall apart in that moment. "Anywhere good?"

The vendor had a sharper eye than Vincent had been prepared for. "That is a well worn blade you have there. Yet the metal is newly forged. How much combat you must see. And still so young." The man sighed. Glancing at Neil Vincent shifted uncomfortably. "You're mercenaries no doubt. I tell you what though you can find some fine blades from a man off the northern road. Deals in all sorts of silver and steel."

Was this the man they were looking for? It would be too easy. But it is a lead, and one with strong potential to boot. "Thank you sir."

[Sonneillon]

"Ok, lead on."

Following his friend over to the vendor, Neil waited and watched as the swordsman talked to the vendor.

"I'll take a pear."

Buying the pear, Neil thanked the man and then moved off with Vincent, eating the pear, bruises and all. There were some partially decayed sections, but the pupil paid them no mind. He'd eaten much worse back in Laus.

"Ok, so... Let's investigate the armory in town, then. The north road? That's over there, then. C'mon, let's go."

Moving off, Neil led the way to the large armory on the northern road. Wait... Two armories? Which one to go into? Could this be a test? Maybe the man just forgot.

"Right... So... Which one do we try first?"

[Dayan]

Dayan had been browsing the stalls in the area while they'd been dealing with the fruit peddler. It was clear that man wasn't going to make much a profit with that food, so where was his money really coming from? He heard the directions easily, since nobody had bothered speaking in a hushed tone. This time, however, he wound up behind the children. There was no way to get in front of them without drawing too much attention to himself.

When they stopped and debated their options when presented with two shops, Dayan took his chance. If he stopped as well, they would probably notice that they were being followed. No, the best choice would be to pick a shop and see if he guessed right.

So he entered the shop on the left, looking around it's well stocked shelves. Blades, lances, axes, maces, arrows and all manner of other combat implements. Dayan wasn't really a weapon expert, and he had difficulty even telling silver from polished steel. He nodded to the man behind the counter without a word, and began silently looking through the weapon selection. He was listening to the sounds of the street, trying to hear what the children were talking about or which shop they were going to head to.

Even if it wasn't this one, he had a plan for making that work.

[Vincent]

"Mornin'," the owner greeted. "Anything I can interest you in?" The owner was sizing up Dayan as well as his gear. "You look well travel worn. A new blade? Or perhaps simply some tending and sharpening will do?"

Back outside Vincent looked at the two stores. "Why would rival businessmen build across the street from each other? That's just bad business sense. Well you take the one on the left and I'll hit the other one. Just remember our names and we don't need a false story. Not that anyone should even ask." Vincent headed for the door before looking back a moment. "Whoever finishes first can just head to the other."

Inside the shop it appeared to sell a myriad of products. All forms of weaponry and tomes even. Unable to resist Vincent began to peruse the selection and stopping over the exotic weaponry. Where would a man get all these? How far did he have to travel? He went to the front desk and waited for the owner. These weapons were nice but all he needed were his iron sword and in time Phoenix Heart.

He could tell the blade scoffed at his thought. However a blade scoffs? Odd indeed. The owner came from the back wiping his hands with a filthy rag. It had once been white as the snow but now it was ragged and stained. Well used.

"How can I help- ...?" The man asked a question that seemed to be cut short as he noticed something but he recovered himself and left it as though it were the whole inquiry.

"I'm looking to order a large number of silver and steel weapons. I was hoping you could assist me." Vincent gave a hard stare.

"If you've got the coin, sure."

[Sonneillon]

Nodding, Neil entered the left armory, letting the door close softly behind him. Releasing his grip on the doorknob, he moved over to the counter, his hood still up.

"I'm interested in ordering a large quantity of weapons. Silver or steel, depending on your rates. What would you charge? Also, if I may ask, do you have a discount for bulk ordering?"

Stepping back, Neil looked around at all of the wares, waiting for the shopkeeper to respond. Hopefully, these leads would help them out. Spotting another man standing around, Neil gave a cordial but curt nod before returning his attention to his business.

"Aeternis tenebris..." he murmured almost inaudibly. No sense in being unprepared.

[OOC: Vincent, did you want to control the shopkeepers?]

[Dayan]

Dayan turned only his head as the shopkeeper addressed him. "Nothing, for now." he said curtly. He returned his eyes to the wares on the shelf. They didn't seem like anything truly unique or outstanding, but he wasn't exactly the best judge of such things.

And then one of the two children walked into the shop. He moved with a purpose, making his desire known quickly. He was about as subtle as a runaway wagon. Dayan kept his ears open, taking the opportunity to listen to what was going on. Only one of the children had entered, which meant the other one likely choose the other shop, or perhaps was waiting outside.

Dayan may not have been a mage, but he knew a cloaked and slender man muttering odd words under his breath was rarely a good thing. Was he planning to start a fight right inside of the shop? These kids were even dumber than he thought. This one might not even make it out of the town before someone gutted him if things continued.

Dayan kept quiet, waiting to see how the shopkeeper would respond, if he noticed the hostile action. Dayan folded his arms over his chest as he looked over the weapons, as if debating on a purchase.

In truth, he'd moved his hand closer to his own blade. No sense in being unprepared.