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Post by Selena on Nov 22, 2012 18:17:10 GMT -6
OOC: Chapter 16 Gaiden. <.<
IC:
Selena inhaled deeply of the salty coast air. She had not been this far south in some time, but duty calls. She'd found something odd in that last bandit enclave. The remains of a crate, not odd in and of itself, but it bore the crest of a rather prosperous shipping company that operated out of Badon. Normally thieves would break open boxes that they got from raids, take the goods and leave everything else behind. This crate had been opened carefully, and placed aside without being wrecked and broken. It suggested, as loathe as Selena was to admit it, that the crate and whatever was inside of it had been supplied in some 'legitimate' means. Someone was sending supplies to the brigands. But why? It wasn't another bandit group, they never gave away loot. Couldn't be another Lycian nation, they would have no need to use ship transport. Well, that wasn't totally true. She supposed someone could be using the shipping company as a front to throw people off of their trail. But that would mean that the shipping company was in on it too, instead of being a pawn of someone else.
There were so many questions, and she hoped to find some answers at the source.
Her search was harder then she imagined though. The sight of her armor and demeanor had made intelligence gathering notoriously difficult. Nobody in a well known hang out of thieves, muggers and murderers was going to pass along any info to a soldier. Because nobody in this town was truly innocent. They made their living off of crime either directly or indirectly, the 'guards' made frequent rounds to collect payoffs for 'looking the other way'. She, though, she was a new face. And of course, she had no jurisdiction here. She could pretend to be a representative of Laus, she could probably pull of the ruse easy enough, but she had to be careful how much she did that. If she caused too much trouble, Laus might come looking. If that happened...she didn't wish to imagine the consequences.
On the third day of searching for any clues, she'd decided to check out the local bars again. She'd done it when she first arrived, after checking in at the shipping company of course, but to no avail. This time she left her plate back in her inn room, hidden of course. Walking the streets in her leathers, she felt like she was blending in more. Now she looked more like a serious sell sword then a serious knight.
It was incredible the world of difference that made.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2012 23:57:45 GMT -6
What an...odd town.
Well, Vivian never went to Badon before, as she had no reason to go to the port town. Though a mysterious rumor that a 'sorcerer' with strong magical powers that could summon beasts was last seen at this place. She had to almost hit herself upside the head to believe such a stupid rumor. Magic like that didn't even exist in this world. So really, she wasted her time coming to the place. She would turn right around and go exploring or something, but she was bored and maybe Badon had something interesting to see or maybe something cool will happen if she stuck around.
It was a bustling little port town to say that much. Though the people seemed really...well, she didn't want to say it.
While walking by, she accidentally bumped into a really tall man while not really paying too much attention. She nearly lost all her marbles when falling down and dropping her fire tome. She wondered what happened while looking at the man, who seemed furious.
"Hey! Watch where you're goin'! Just be lucky you're a little woman."
"...I just know he did not say that!"
If he wanted to rumble, then she would have participated willingly. But she hated when she'd be looked at her differently just for being a different gender...then he called her 'little' on top of that. She wanted to open her tome and blast him with a spell...but that wouldn't be 'lady-like' now would it?
So she just gave him a firm smile and a wave of the hand as she walked away quickly and sat down in front of a fountain. The man looked at her strangely, but mumbled something she couldn't make out with a mean look before turning his back and walking away slowly. Okay. So she didn't know what he said...but she didn't like it regardless. While she pretended to read her tome, she was really casting a small fire spell as she quickly shot it at the man's backside and dug her face into her book. No one seemed to see her.
It hit the man, seeing him freak out and fall over. He looked around, but nothing. When he turned his head in an opposite direction, she fired another puny fire ball at him just to tease him some more. It hit him in the same spot, as he tried to see where it came from again. He was really freaking out to where he started staring at people like he was insane. He soon after just ran off.
The Mage just giggled so much to herself after witnessing this, still faking like she's reading. "Hehe! Whooooops...!"
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Post by Artherus on Nov 24, 2012 12:42:25 GMT -6
What could he say about Badon that everyone else hadn't already said a dozen times in the past week? It was....well, it was a town.
That hadn't been said a dozen times yet. Mostly because everyone knew as much and didn't need to point it out. But it still remained valid. It was a town and it was....well, it was just Badon.
"Man I'm bad at this."
Looking disappointed, Artherus ran a hand through his thoroughly dishevelled hair. Even in his head he couldn't come up with an interesting way to describe a town that had all the best interestind descriptions nailed down by so many people it was hard to tell who had said what about it first. A good bet was on the original founders, though. They did tend to say things first.
"Bah....a town is a town, even if it just.....a town." He sighed inwardly at his lack of ability to properly articulate, and just let that train of thought drop. Pulling his cloak close about himself, he leaned forward into his signature brisk stride and started off on his way to no one knew where.
....though his destination most certainly wasn't the collision he narrowly averted with a rather tall gentleman. He practically danced aside to avoid getting steamrolled by the man, who looked like he was in quite a hurry. "Good grief, buddy, where's the fire?" he mumbled, shaking his head disapprovingly.
If he only knew.
Idly, he tossed the man's coin purse up and down in his hand, a mild grin on his face, having snatched it as he danced aside. "Good thing about paniced fleeing, though. Don't notice the small things." The grin quickly vanished, though, and turned into a grimace of disgust. "Or maybe he didn't notice because all he had in it was dust and lint." How he knew the contents without actually checking it was anyone's guess, but he just tossed it over one shoulder, shaking his head in disappointment.
"This is gonna be one of those days, I can just tell." He plopped himself down lazily on a bench, propping his head up on one arm and sighing dejectedly like he'd just narrowly missed some great prize.
It was tough being mediocre.
And in Badon.
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Post by Selena on Nov 24, 2012 20:16:35 GMT -6
Selena, it would seem, was the last stop in that big man's trio of misfortune. She saw the man, hurrying away from...something. A nimble...man? Woman? It was difficult to tell. A nimble person spun around the man, and then Selena saw him barreling towards her. He wasn't really watching where he was going, and he had at least a full head on her in height.
Not to mention probably fifty to a hundred pounds in weight. But she didn't move. She needed to draw the good kind of attention in a place like this, she believed they called it 'cred'. And as the man bowled into her, one would have expected the shorter woman to fall over flat. Instead the practiced knight planted her feet, and seemed to bounce the man off of her effortlessly. In truth, it did take a bit of effort, but it was all about the motion, not the brute strength. The man tumbled to the side, sanding flat on the stone ground, drawing a few surprised looks from those around at the petite girl who had just knocked him out of her way.
[blue]"Watch where you're going, fool."[/blue] She declared, continuing her walk down the street without as much as a second glance. She passed the...nimble one again, but said nothing as she analyzed him. He didn't look like anything special really.
And that, in itself, set her on edge. People like the lumbering ox, you knew what they were for. It was the people who looked harmless that proved themselves to be the most dangerous. Still, it was entirely possible he really was nothing special. Jumping to conclusions wouldn't help her any.
She was about to enter the pub she'd been scouting, when she saw something. Something was being delivered, not really an odd thing in and of itself, but it was from the company she was investigating. This could use some examination.
She sat down on a bench, the other side occupied by some girl with her nose in a book, and listened carefully to the group of workers moving the crates. Most taverns would receive food, drink or other such things. She was surprised, slightly, when one crate made a rather large metallic clanking when it was set down. She wouldn't have been surprised for some metal, bowls and utensils and such, but that was too much. It sounded more like...hmmm.
Thankfully she'd left her plate at home today, she could actually be stealthy.
She rose, and peered around the corner. The workers had started ferrying the crates inside, which meant there was nobody outside currently. She ducked around the corner into the alley, to get a better look at what they might be transporting.
No such luck though, the crates were still sealed. She hid in the alleyway, ducking behind some long discarded tables and other debris, waiting for her chance to strike. A brawl here would be bad, but she needed to find some sort of lead, and this was the first break she'd gotten since she got here.
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Post by Artherus on Nov 25, 2012 12:23:52 GMT -6
It would seem the good Sir Oxhead just had a regular string of bad luck. He was promptly knocked sprawling when he had a run-in with someone he was sure he'd just bowl right over. It was enough to draw a look of surprise, and an appraising glance from Artherus. Well, someone was tougher than they looked. When someone that large just bounced off of someone so much smaller like a javelin off a castle wall, well...that spoke a good volume or two. The hand he had his chin planted in curled lightly as he rubbed at his chin in thought.
Someone like that....now they might actually be worth something. He lowered his head slightly, as if overcome by a sudden thought, as little miss ox-bouncer passed him by. He was indeed caught by a sudden thought, but nonetheless his eyes swept after her, following where she was headed, mostly obscured by his hair, but a careful eye would have still caught where he was looking.
By the looks of it, she was headed for a nearby pub. Bland. He was about to go back to pondering his own mediocrity when he stopped short, flicking his gaze to what the other woman had stopped to look at. Looked like the pub was getting a shipment delivered. And whatever it was, it was....clanky. Didn't take a genius to figure out that whatever was in the crates was a bit more metal than the usual bill for a pub. Sure, a few basic weapons might occasionally be shipped, to help with certain...trouble, but that...that sounds like much more than a few.
He lifted his head up, sitting up more straight. Now his eyes flicked about more carefully. His interest had been piqued. The woman seemed to be investigating, if what he assumed was an attempt to get a look at the crates was what he took it for. Now, he wasn't the best thief out there -- far from it, in fact -- but it was a sad attempt in his book. The creates were bound to be nailed shut, or sealed in some other way. While it might not be inordinately difficult to break or pry one open, it would cause undue clamor and draw far too much attention.
Slowly, the hand under his cloak closed over the hilt of a short sword, curling loosely about it. He slowly brought his knees closer under him, as if he were merely shifting his posture on the bench. In truth, he was prepared to spring up and into an immediate dash and pounce.He was woefully horrid in a straight fight, but with the element of surprise on his side, he could do a fair amount of damage.
And he could practically smell the violence brewing. Lurking in an inconspicuous place, hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to pounce and strike...
It was a good plan, really. Especially if it worked half as well as the stories said it did.
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Carmichal
Brigand
Booze is always an acceptable form of payment in my book.
Posts: 41
Profession: Mercenary
Affinity: Wind
Profile: Profile
OoC Alias: Marc
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Post by Carmichal on Nov 25, 2012 13:53:22 GMT -6
It had been a good day for Carmichal. He had only recently arrived in Badon and it was everything he remembered it to be. Since he had arrived he had already won three brawls, drank as much alcohol as ten men could stomach, and told his fair share of pirate stories. Yet none of it fully satisfied him. He longed for adventure and retelling stories from his pirate days wasn't helping. Besides, there wasn't anything adventurous about getting outrageously drunk and beating someone's face in. He was turning into a regular bar oaf and it truly upset him.
As he was finishing off his current tankard of ale, the tavern owner approached to offer him another. Carmichal refused simply with a wave of the hand and deposited a few gold coins on the counter. He gave the owner a thankful nod and took his leave of the tavern. Walking out onto the street, Carmichal took a moment to enjoy the feel of the sun on his bare chest. His moment was disrupted, however, as some lumbering oaf barreled past him, shoving him aside. He almost tackled the man to teach him a lesson, but decided against it. He was done with brawls for today and, frankly, had better things to be doing. He kept moving down the street, not really sure where to look or what to do.
Frustrated, he sat down by a fountain to think. He knew that he could check the various inns in the town for people offering jobs, but most of that was simple mercenary work. Escort a farmer here, help protect a fort in the middle of nowhere, join a temporary militia, etc. None of it provided the thrill he was seeking. Carmichal's thoughts trailed off and he found himself staring into space. It was then that he noticed that the young woman on the bench next to him was paying a lot of attention to the tavern he had just left. Eventually, she got up and disappeared into an alleyway. Curious, Carmichal moved towards the tavern to see what the woman was up to.
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Post by Selena on Nov 25, 2012 16:39:25 GMT -6
Selena remained hidden as the men came out, grabbing another few crates, and moving inside with them. They had maybe one trip left. This many weapons being moved into a tavern...for what purpose could they be doing this? The security in this port was lax, but the crime syndicates ran things. Try to move things like this without paying them their due...and things got messy. And if you were paying them, you had no reason to hide it. Maybe, if she kept on the offensive, she could bluff them into revealing more then they intended.
Striking a smug pose, she removed herself from hiding and leaned against the side of the building, in plain view of the cart and it's remaining crates. She waited for the few men to come back out before she spoke, turning their heads.
[blue]"Being pretty sneaky with that shipment. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to pull a fast one on the Syndicate."[/blue] She said clearly, pushing herself off of the wall and standing up straight, as two out of the three men put their hands on their weapons.
[blue]"Oh yes, good idea. Attack someone in the middle of broad daylight right off a busy street. Weren't you trying to keep this subtle? All I have to do is crack open a crate, and everyone sees what you are really moving. I wonder how long it'll take before the Syndicate sends people here to...'settle accounts'?"[/blue] She spoke, with a good deal of confidence. The two who had gone for their weapons paused, and the third man stepped up.
He was large, like the other two, covered in scars, but had a menacing look in his eyes. He'd been doing this for a while. [red]"Let's not play games. Who do you represent?"[/red] He asked, not bothering to deny her accusations.
[blue]"I'm here for me, and that is all you need to know. Now, if you make it worth my while, I might be willing to forget I even saw this little trick of yours..."[/blue] She offered, keeping her senses sharp. Even if the man agreed, she didn't believe he would honor his bargain. He'd likely attack her to shut her up as soon as she turned around, but that was fine by her. Searching this would actually be much easier with these three dead. Though she'd prefer not having to do it outside.
[red]"A filthy sellsword, fine. The crates are open, take what ya want and get outta here so we can finish tha job."[/red]
Job, that implied that they were hired, which meant they likely didn't know anything. Now she had no reason to leave them alive, the weapons and the bartender would likely tell her all she needed to know.
[blue]"How generous of you..."[/blue] She said, moving into the back room of the bar, fully aware that the two minions were following her. She reached one of the crates, of which the top had been pried off, and looked as if she were about to bend over and inspect it...
When her coin purse 'slipped' from her belt and fell to the ground. Instantly, both men's eyes went from her to the purse, and one of them looked up in time to see a spinning elbow. She'd drawn her sword and went to pommel the other one, but he became aware and backed off quickly. The first one was down, but she'd missed her mark on the second. She had hoped to avoid a loud and prolonged fight, but now she'd have to work with what she had as the man before he drew a blade as well.
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Post by Artherus on Nov 25, 2012 18:20:22 GMT -6
For a moment, he stopped to wonder why he was even bothering to pay attention to these little goings-on. And for that matter, why he was actually considering joining the violence he was sure was about to come. It wasn't his problem. He hadn't anything to do with it. A fight was the last thing he needed. He should just get up and dart off, find some poor sap to rob blind, and get himself a a nice meal and tell another tale he'd make up on the spot.
Yeah....he really should.
But that had become a nigh-daily event, and it was growing old. This, on the other hand...well, it was different, if nothing else. It was different, it was something he hadn't looked for, but above all else, it would ease his great pain of being in Badon.
Why had he come here again...?
Oh right. Contact.
.....He needed better contacts.
Shaking his head in defeat at not finding a good justification for just running off, he slightly adjusted the hold on his blade, and watched carefully as little miss "bounce an ox away" made herself apparent in the boldest way imaginable given the situation. It was enough to earn a hearty roll of the eyes and amused shake of the head from Artherus. She was confident, that much was clear from her tone. But the delightful gentlemen carting the crates of weapons inside the bar -- he could only guess that someone had been too stupid to pad the box or some such to muffle all the clanking and clanging, making it a clear sight what was actually in the crates -- they were unimpressed.
He didn't catch every word that was said, but he got enough to get the general idea. Either she was very good at bluffing, she was telling the truth, or the fine scarred gentleman was a bit of a moron. He strongly suspected it might be some combination of the first and third options. Whatever the reasoning, it worked, and Artherus lost sight of her as she disappeared inside the bar.
He leaned forward slightly. He could practically sense the moment things would kick off. And in his head, he counted down the seconds, until....there it was. The distinct sound of a body hitting the floor. If he hadn't been specifically listening out for it, he'd probably have missed it. It was enough to get him up and moving, though. When he didn't hear a second falling body, he knew things hadn't quite gone perfectly. He was up and running, his sword drawn from its sheathe and immediately held ready for what he had planned.
He launched himself up and into a strong forward leap, sailing up to nearly head height on the one who was apparently "in charge" of the other two goons, and coming down with both feet firmly planted in his spine, driving him directly into the ground. His arm came down, carrying his momentum behind it, and he struck the man in the back of the head with the pommel of his sword. He was out like a torch thrown in a lake.
Skill didn't matter much when you completely blindsided someone and knocked them out cold before they knew you were even there, right? The only problem was that it still wasn't exactly quiet. It occurred to him he might have been better off simply putting his blade through the man's heart or throat since he already had the advantage of hitting him from behind as it was. It would have at least been quicker, and probably much quieter. But he didn't exactly have the luxury of sitting back and contemplating his life choices at the moment.
He was upright and ready again in just a moment, standing outside the doorway. He gave a vague salute with his blade to the woman he'd been watching, a light smirk playing at his features. "Don't mind me. Just happened to take an interest in the goings-on of your little investigation, thought I might lend a hand."
Had he honestly just told the truth? No, not all of it.
That would just be silly.
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Post by Nihlus on Nov 25, 2012 18:47:01 GMT -6
Yet again he found himself lost, despite just have gotten a map. Now where exactly was he? The young pupil examined the map in his hands to determine where he was. He was either headed toward Badon or to some volcano.......yeah he's headed toward Badon. Now Nihlus had never been here before but his older brother had. The only stories his brother ever told of this place was that he got into plenty of fights at the bars here. Nihlus was a bit under the impression that everyone in Badon were aggressive and fight happy, which probably wasn't true. The pupil had more than one issue other than getting lost and this one bothered him the most. He was hungry, beyond hungry, the boy was starving and if he didn't get some food soon he'd probably pass out. Any food he had packed for his trip before he left was now gone and he had to either hunt for it or buy it. He tried hunting the other day but that just ended with him failing each time. It got to the point where Nihlus got frustrated with it and decided just to eat some berries that he found and knew were safe to eat. Maybe if Inell was still around he could have taught Nihlus how to use his magic to help him hunt.
There was one point where he tried to use his magic to take out a rabbit he spotted. Despite trying his hardest all his magic did was blow up in his face when he tried to use it. Nihlus has begun to think that anytime he needs to use magic for an important task it always fails for some odd reason. Frankly it was getting a bit annoying to Nihlus and it made his goal of finding Master Inell even more important. The young boy found himself dragging his feet in Badon looking like a zombie. He placed his map away and began looking around the town to see if he could find a place to get some food. Instead of finding of food he watched as a lady managed to send a guy taller than her onto the ground. Nihlus couldn't help but laugh a bit at the man that just got knocked down, he must feel so embarrassed. Nihlus was a bit surprised she managed to do that seeing how she didn't appear to be that strong at first glance but then again don't judge a book by its cover right? As the lady began to walk off Nihlus wondered maybe if she would help him find some food. Before he could say anything to the lady she started to walk off and Nihlus was too weak to walk any faster than the slow pace he was already going. All he could do is watch as the lady then went off somewhere else. Well that was a bummer, the rose haired boy then started to look around and that's when he spotted something interesting.
There was a woman who had her nose in a book but it wasn't just some ordinary book it was a tome! By the looks of it probably a fire one at that but Nihlus wasn't exactly sure. Maybe he'd ask her if she had recently seen Inell. The possibility of her seeing him was probably low but why not ask right? As he started moving along again he noticed something. The woman that took care of that large man seemed to be interested in something. It looked like she was going to enter in a building but something else caught her eye. Nihlus thought it was a bit strange that she sat down on a bench instead of going inside the building, what was she up to? He looked over to see what the commotion was expecting to see something cool. All it was were some workers moving some crates but the lady still seemed interested in it. Nihlus watched as the lady was all sneaky like and waited by the crates. He then watched as the lady walked in with two men while another one stayed outside. The last man seemed to be moving more crates. Nihlus figured maybe he'd check out what was going on so now it was time to be all ninja like. The boy hunkered down and started moving toward the side of the tavern. He got up against the wall of the tavern before the alleyway. Nihlus then peered over to see what the last man was doing. It appeared that he was still messing with the crates outside. Before Nihlus could make another move a man zoomed straight down the alleyway.
Nihlus watched as the man took down the scarred man. To be honest Nihlus was a bit surprised that the cloaked man took down the scarred man so easily. Well this made it easier to see what was going on. Nihlus then swiftly and quietly made his way down the alleyway trying to make sure he wasn't spotted. The boy then hid behind a crate near the doorway were the cloaked man was now standing. To get a good look at was going on Nihlus poked his head up a bit so he could see what was going on. It seemed that the man was talking to someone but who? There was then the loud sound of Nihlus' stomach growling which probably blew his cover. He quickly dropped his head and remained hidden behind the crate hoping that no one heard his stomach.
(OOC: Hope you don't mind me joining)
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Post by Selena on Nov 25, 2012 19:18:11 GMT -6
Selena had readied herself for a fight when the crash from outside stole the attention of both her and her opponent. He turned his head, and Selena seized the distraction to slide her sword up and through. A quick and precise thrust, piercing the lung and leaving the dumbfounded man gurgling and sputtering on a mouth full of blood as he slumped to the floor.
[blue]"I didn't ask for any help."[/blue] She said to the agile one from before. [blue]"But I thank you for it anyway."[/blue] She moved up, grabbing the last mans arms and heaving him into the tavern. The alley was empty, and hopefully it had been quick enough that nobody had noticed....
In a town of thieves, murderers and smugglers. Yeah right. She backed into the tavern again, picking up her coin purse and looking back to see the man in the doorway. [blue]"Well? You're involved now, and I doubt you are the altruistic type, so get in here before someone sees you."[/blue] She shot back at him quietly.
The ruckus from the small fight had been too much for her to notice the new spy they had, as she looked around the crates and used her sword to pry one open. As expected, filled with weapons and armor. They appeared of standard make, mass produced iron armaments. Nothing exceptional, but enough to support her theory. Someone was moving gear through this town around the nose of the local crime lords. And this much was way beyond the normal amount. So now the question was simple. Who was the buyer, and the seller?
[blue]"I assume you're here for your own ends, so take what you want. Just don't try to put it in my back, and be ready to move. Someone will have noticed the noise."[/blue] She said simply, moving about the back room, scanning the area for signs that might point her in the right direction.
Little did she know she was standing on one.
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Post by Artherus on Nov 25, 2012 19:51:47 GMT -6
Well that was....nasty. A blade through the lung was probably a horrible way to go, if he was any judge at all in regards to bad ways to go out. "Helping is what I do." Admittedly, he mostly helped himself, but he did occasionally help others out of the goodness of his own heart...when it wasn't too much trouble, that is. He slowly returned his blade to its sheathe, and when the 'suggestion' was made for him to get in, he merely shrugged and took half a step forward before he halted. He peered about the alley for a moment, almost certain he'd heard or seen something. For a handful of heartbeats he stared suspiciously at a pile of crates, then let out a short, "Bah...seeing things." and continuing through the doorway and into the tavern.
He stepped lightly over to the crate that had been pried open and gave it a quick glance over. Blegch, just plain old iron arms and armor. Not the best of stuff, but it was cheap, reliable, and easy to make a lot of quickly. He shook his head in a mixture of amazement, disgust, and just plain disappointment. Not that a good sword wouldn't be a nice thing to have -- good being a relative term here -- but he just didn't really like how....heavy iron swords seemed. Maybe he'd gotten too used to the light blade he'd been using. He fished out one of the blades, weighing it in his hand as he paced a few steps away.
With his eyes already turned down at the blade in his hand, contemplating whether to keep it or toss it back in the pile, he noticed something rather odd. "Well, well...what have we here..." And he took three quick steps forward, kneeling down. He stared at the floorboards for a moment, carefully traving the fingers of one hand across them, looking both quite insane, and as if he were looking for something.
He stood up again and gave a quick stomp of his boot on the floor. It made the distint, firm thud of firmly planted, solid earth under the wood. He took half a step forward, onto the section of floor he had been messing with, and with another quick stomp....confirmed his theory. "Aha...." The hollow thud would give it away clear as day. Stepping back, he knelt down again. "There's a trapdoor or something under here....or I'm a fish." He set about for a handful of moments, and soon enough managed to get his hands in a gap in the floorboards, hauling up several of them not even secured. "Well now....that's some rather poor security. Especially in a town like this."
Standing up, he peered down through the hole in the floorboards, and immediately shook his head sadly. "An underground tunnel. Of course."
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Post by Selena on Nov 25, 2012 20:03:58 GMT -6
Selena had been busy searching the backroom, but keeping her eyes and ears open for treachery. Just because he'd helped her, didn't mean that she trusted him. She peered around the room, behind crates, under tables, everywhere she could, looking for something...anything.
And then a stomp on the floor made he wheel around. She spied the man pounding his boot on the floorboards, and she was about to lash out at him when he brought his boot down again, producing another sound. Even she could recognize it as hollow. She held back her reprimand, and swallowed her pride as she moved over to watch as he opened the floorboard.
[blue]"Well, it seems you are not a swimmer today. Good find."[/blue] She remarked, considering that perhaps he was not such a weight on her mission. He was, at the very least, familiar with this kind of work. What was the old saying, takes a thief to catch a thief?
[blue]"They make the shipments here, because nobody would find shipments going to a tavern odd, and then move them to another location through the tunnel. Clever."[/blue] She thought out loud, grabbing a sword from the crate before moving to a wall, and grabbing a small lantern hanging there. She didn't fancy the idea of navigating the small tunnel in the dark. She paused, moving over to the door they entered from, and moving one of the crates in front of it. It made a little noise, but it wouldn't do to be interrupted by someone and ambushed from behind.
She lowered herself into the tunnel, looking up at the other man. [blue]"If you stay or go, is fine. Either way, can you seal the entrance as you found it? I'd prefer to not be surrounded."[/blue] She spoke, waiting to see his decision.
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Post by Nihlus on Nov 25, 2012 20:38:22 GMT -6
Luckily for now Nihlus' ninja antics haven't been discovered yet. There were few times he thought the man was going to get him but guess not. After a bit and when Nihlus figured it was safe he peered his head over the crate again to see what was going on. It looked as if the two people were discussing something but Nihlus couldn't exactly tell what they were saying, he was never good at reading lips. The pupil hopped over the crate he was hiding behind and walked over to the doorway of the tavern. He kept his back up against the wall so the people on the inside couldn't see him. Nihlus looked over and watched as the man who took out the scarred guy was stomping around the room, weird. The other woman was looking around the room as well. Nihlus couldn't help but wonder what exactly the two were looking for.
Maybe they were treasure hunter and they were looking for some kind of untold treasure that would set them for life. Or they could possibly be thieves that killed the owners of this tavern to loot their treasure. Maybe they're both guards who are investigating some kind of smuggling or investigation whether or not there was some kind of criminal organization in the works. These kinds of thoughts ran through Nihlus' head as he watched them. Most of these thoughts came from books Nihlus had read, he was always found of books with action and suspense in them. Back to the people on the inside though. The man was still stomping around which was getting to be a bit strange to him. Then Nihlus heard the hollowness of the floor. That must have been why that guy was stomping around.
Nihlus watched as the man the revealed a trapdoor that lead to a secret passage way. "Awesome!" Nihlus exclaimed as he watched the man show the woman what he found. He quickly placed a hand over his mouth and moved his head from the doorway. As he was up against the wall he hoped that his little outburst didn't get him caught. He still wanted to know where the passage way lead and what was down there. If there was treasure down there Nihlus surely wanted in on it.
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Post by Artherus on Nov 25, 2012 20:53:57 GMT -6
"Not a swimmer, eh....good, good. Hate fish." He listened with something resembling amusement as she went over what had become very clear. To be honest, it was a rather clever plan. To anyone not paying careful attention, the deliveries to the tavern had probably seemed routine. And no one had actually found anything odd because only one room in the tavern had been involved. Things were becoming more and more interesting quite quickly.
He tossed the sword from hand to hand idly, looking as he was pondering over something or other in his head. When the crate was moved in front of the door, he could only grin lightly. So she wasn't completely hopeless after all. Good, good... His attention was caught by a sound from the doorway. He quietly slipped over and peered around the edge of the doorway. When he didn't immediately see anything, he disregarded it almost immediately. If anyone was out there, they'd need to get by the crate of gear -- not exactly light or easy to move.
Turning back around, he could only chuckle in something resembling mischief at what she had said to him. "I think I'll stick around. You seem to find interesting things." The fact that underground tunnels in which shady business was involved tended to have loot in them dicn't hurt his decision-making, either. And besides, if things got out of control, he could always cut and run and leave the lovely investigator to take his fall for him.
Classy.
"Seal it as I found it? Please." He waved a hand dismissively, as if it would be child's play. Which, in fact, it would. "Could do it with my eyes closed." That was where a bit of a boast came in. To put it back in place just so, exactly as it was....that he would need his eyes for. Casting one final suspicious look at the doorway, he shook his head and hopped down into the tunnel, landing lightly on his feet. The sword he'd taken from the crate, still in his hand, he stuck carefully in his belt, before reaching up and carefully pulling the moved floorboards back into place. A few seconds of careful adjusting and it was like they'd never even been moved.
"Well then. After you, milady." And he gestured down the tunnel.
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Post by Selena on Nov 25, 2012 21:34:37 GMT -6
Selena rolled her eyes at the man's comments, letting him work. True enough, he was as good as his word, and she couldn't even see light from above the floor boards after he was finished. [blue]"You're help is welcome. As long as you don't get any funny ideas."[/blue] She said, starting down the tunnel.
The tunnel was actually lit every short bit, and rather well supported. It seemed they had been using it for some time, which made it's presence here odd. Someone had gone to great lengths to keep the place secret and secure. This seemed like a lot more then just some black market trade route.
The path didn't go very far. They were at most a street or two away from where they started when the path started sloping upwards again. Finally she saw a small wooden ladder come into view. It wasn't against a wall, instead leading up to a wooden ceiling, likely another hatch. On this side, however, there was an alcove behind the ladder...a place they could hide possibly?
Sounds of voices above them could be heard, and Selena struggled to make out what they were saying.
[red]"...two more. Best business I ever did, they should by done loading em by now. Head down to pick em up 'fore anyone goes looking."[/red]
Some muffled comment, and then a slam.
[red]"Cause I said so, ya blighted scum sucker! Get down thar n' get tha goods for some damn serving wench or drunk finds em!"[/red]
The sounds of shuffling feet above them sent Selena into hiding, dousing her lantern and holding still against the dirt wall behind the ladder. Hopefully it would be dark enough that they wouldn't notice her. It wasn't like they would be facing in her direction.
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