With a triumphant chuckle Ed stood over his conquered opponent. It had been a close call, but in the end he had let muscle memory take over. The slipping, the sliding. The many blows he landed, while activating his strengthening magic too late. That last strike had been a work of genius, however. He had finally gotten the timing right, and vanquished the great beast. Exhausted, his face and head aching together in a dull throbbing competition against one another to gain his attention, he was just drained. He needed a hot bath, some cold wine and a number of young, athletic bodies to take his mind off of things.

With this thought in mind, he turned to face the girl to congratulate her on her quick thinking. Instead, he found himself looking directly into the eyes of the man with the giant nose, the thug's hands inches from clutching at him. Ed's eyes widened as he realised he was far too late to do anything to react, but trying to work out the best way to slip out of this.

As luck would have it, he didn't need to think too hard. Vines, springing up from under the mud, wrapped around his attacker. In seconds the man was covered from head to toe. Again, this brought back memories. Very fond memories. Despite the animosity the man had shown towards him, Ed truly hoped the gentleman would take this as an opportunity to explore new avenues. Glancing at the one called Burt, he wondered if there would be any way to ensnare him similarly. They would need both of them secured, so they would be unable to sound an alarm.

"Girl! Good job! I see a bonus in your future." He called out to her, while nudging the unconscious man with his bare toes. The man continued his heavy breathing, but did not show any other signs of stirring. They had some time. What to do with that time, however. Obviously their target was nearby, since there were these armed guards posted here. Even he and the girl were able to secure them, there would eventually be a change of shift. Which meant their timeline would need to be moved up. There was nothing else for it, he was going to need to find and break into the warehouse. If only they had listened to him, they would have the bear and the bees. The necessities! Instead they would be going in blind. This would make a perfect teaching example.

He hums to himself as he gathers his possessions, folding them neatly and setting them to the side. For the assault he would need his full suit, the clothing he was beginning to associate with committing crimes. Looking around, he found a clear patch of ground that was suitably free of mud, and knelt down next to it. While he had some skill with magics involving his own body, and with some minor telekinesis, for most other things he needed a focus. Using the dagger from the first thug, he begins scratching a small circle into the ground, filling it with a couple of symbols. Once complete, the knife tip already dulling, he set to work gathering the magic required. A flash of green light later, and he had his gear summoned in front of him. Perfect. With smaller items, he wouldn't have needed a focus, but he was summoning his clothes, rope and grappling hook. The things he needed.

His suit was a set of noble clothing, well made and obviously expensive. The materials were of the highest quality, and the workmanship an art. The colour scheme, on the other hand, was questionable. Not to Ed, however, who had chosen to have the brightest yellow fabric the tailor could find, trimmed with red. Unashamed, he slipped down completely and upended his canteen over his head, washing off the worst of the dirt. Then he was into his suit. Pants, boots, tunic, gloves, mask, cloak with the hood up. It all went on, and he began stowing weapons and equipment upon his person as he turned once more to face the girl who he had ignored throughout this process.

Shaking her head, Kamri found her footing. She mumbled something about getting killed or half naked men or whatnot.
She tried to scrape the mud from her clothes but couldn't do much. She would deal with that later. She was poised and proper! A little mud wouldn't deter her!
She crossed the muddy road to a stack of crates, piled high next to a low roofed building. 
She would worry about Captain later.  Right now she needed to get a clear idea of what they were dealing with.

Climbing the rooftop, she could see over the poor part of the city. The ocean wasn't far, filled with more ships and docks. There were some criminals scampering about and- and Captain was dressing in the middle of the street. Gods what was wrong with him? 
She placed her head in her hands. Right. No time to be distracted. 

Looking out just down the road, was the building marked with the silver fox symbols. 
It was a large, one story building that looked much worse for wear. The building was shaped like a 'T' and had a flat roof. From here it seemed the only entrance was from the front, unless one could shimmy their way through a boarded window. 
It had a few criminals wandering around the building itself but it seemed like they moved in a pattern. More guards. However unless Kamri and her captain decided to be needlessly dumb and go around the building, they would be no problem.
Furthermore, it seemed the building had messages scrawled all over its surface with paints and marks. Some more icons of the Silver fox, along with passages and warnings. 
Nothing that really stuck out. One did however mention something about how 'the good stuff' was underground. A pair of guards where furiously rubbing away the paint with water and solution. Maybe it wasn't meant for public eye…
She turned around, preparing to turn back and report what she had discovered.

Then her eyes landed on it. A small part of the building had a large doorway in its side, surrounded by a fence. 
No, not a fence. 
A cage. 
The cage wasn't empty. 

"The Deities are playing with me." She groaned, looking at it in full. She took a minute to just take in what she saw, wondering if she was hallucinating. She cursed a few more gods and had a small tantrum before deciding it was time to climb back down. 
She spotted Captain just down the street, now fully dressed in the ugliest garb she had ever seen.  She jogged down the road, instantly regretting it. Her shoulders and head twanged with pain from being thrown against the wall. After this was done she was going to go to bed and hopefully not die by morning.
She stuffed the pain aside for now. 
"I took a moment to look over the warehouse. It's probably a bit bigger than you expected."
She told him how it was built, and told him of the guards and anything else that stuck out. She quieted after giving the full description for a moment. Thinking.

"Oh and… oh Shiloh Kyrie, fine I'll say it. There's a cage. On the eastern side of the building. There's a big door that leads from the building to the cage. And… The cage houses a bear." 

You could see the moment in her eyes when she realized how ridiculous this was. How angry she felt that there was indeed a bear. 
She could imagine it now. Captain's face suddenly lightning up and exclaiming how he was right and how his plan before would work and how incompetent she was and this and that and that and this… She knew it was coming.
She looked back at the building. This was the easy part. The hard part was actually pulling off the heist.

Not much else to do now. Not until she was given further orders. She just hoped that their survival rate was higher than what she was calculating. She scraped off more mud from her clothes and cast yet another shadow spell, as the other had worn off. This one worked a bit better. She looked a bit more rugged and tough. She would be able to fulfill her role as a bodyguard. She just hoped Ed could fill his as a gambler. 
No, not a gambler.
A good gambler.
She prepared herself for his next rant as she asked, "So… What's the plan?" 

Ed's eyes lit up, a huge grin splitting his face as the girl reported what she had discovered. For the most part he had not been paying attention, focused more on straightening his clothes and getting everything to sit just so. Proper weight distribution was the key, the one thing guaranteed to ruin any plan was poor distribution of weight. It could throw off balance, reveal items meant to be hidden. Just generally make one uncomfortable in a number of minor, inconvenient ways. At the mention of a bear, however, his full attention went to the girl. What he said next was critical. While it was true, he was well within his rights to rub this in the girl's face, to really drive home the fact that as captain his word is law and should be followed as such. Instead, he remained silent. Let the girl draw her own conclusions. This was a teaching experience, and he was sure that allowing her to fully understand the errors of her way unassisted would mean more than if he was to crow about it. Oh, but how he wanted to crow about it. He would need to hold it in until later, when he would be able to deliver a full speech to Peabody. Ed was just glad the mask covered his face completely, the pure white broken only by the eye holes. It sure was hot underneath it, though.

What was the plan now, though. That really was the question. While he had a key part of his plan in place already, must have been Peabody getting thing's set up that wonderful man, he was missing the man himself! As well as the little stone mage and her hive of bees. The original plan just could not be completed in its original form. That did not mean it couldn't be modified, however, to fit their new circumstances. He rubbed the chin of the mask as he though, pacing back and forth. This building was most likely their target, judging by the bear and the guards. It was not what he had expected, not by far. It just seemed to ill kept and dingy. They would see this through to the end though. Which meant getting inside. Just past that door would see him face to face with people who would need to convince of his authenticity. He needed to get into the mindset of the character he would need to play. He took a few deep breaths, and set to work building a persona within his mind. He didn't have long, each second that passed was a second closer to the eventual discovery of this mess out front. Perhaps it would be better to kill the guards now, so they could not reveal their identities. That would be so messy though. No, they could be left where they were and Ed would just need to work fast.

Getting ideas and thoughts lined up inside his head, he finally looked the girl in the eyes.

"Listen, girl. We can still follow the basics of the plan if we hurry. We will bluff our way deep into the warehouse, you make a distraction and then we run with whatever we can carry. Perhaps the bear can be loosed to cover our escape. Yes, the bear…." His thoughts trail off to the bear. Maybe further inspiration would strike when they were actually inside.

So on with the plan! Striding confidently forwards, acting the part as if he was meant to be there, Ed reached for the door. Anyone inside he would tell that Burt had allowed him access. Knowing the name of the guard outside would be a powerful too. Opening the door, he had a moment to register a click before the floor dropped out from under him. He had the sense of his stomach lifting along with everything shooting past him on his way down.

His landing was soft, at least, and he found himself on his hands and knees. Perhaps this was a secret entrance, with a cushioned landing, the warehouse above a decoy. It would make a certain amount of sense, but then where were the people stationed here with lights to guide people further in? The ground beneath him, soft and giving, also seemed to be… Moving. Through the gloves he couldn't feel exactly what kind of material he was on, so he slipped one off. At the same time, while he reached down to touch the ground, he activated the magic that would allow him to see a little more detail in the dim light provided from the whole now far above him. A stinging sensation in his hand warned him at the same time as his brain made sense of what he was seeing. He was kneeling on top of thousands of worms. The stinging sensation became painful, and looking down at his hand, Ed could see blood dribbling down his hand, the points originated from a dozen of the worms that had attached themselves to his skin.

A scream that would not have been very manly at all was choked off in his throat, replaced with a retching cough. He could feel his gorge rising, and had to battle against it along with a rising sense of panic. He was beginning to sink into the mass of carnivorous worms, and right now the only thing protecting his body was a thin layer of clothing. He had no magic that could assist him. The only thing he could think to do, with hands shaking violently, was to pluck each worm from his hand while he struggled to stand. All this accomplished was to sink him further into the worms. He could almost hear them, crawling all over each other as they smelt his blood on the air. He managed to get his mask up just in time to empty his stomach everywhere.

Mask back in place, his brain kicked in. He could see no exit, save the one above him. Far, far above him. The girl was nowhere to be seen, he had no escape, but luckily he couldn't feel any of the worms inside his boots. Small victories. With the last of them removed from his hand, he replaced his glove and thought through the problem. He did have one choice left.

On his third attempt, aided heavily by telekinesis, he managed to send the grappling hook sailing out through the hole. He had gave it as long as he dared to settle, or for the girl to see it and anchor it, before he dared applying any weight to it. Small miracles, it held. The worms were now piled up around his boots, less from an inch from the top. His heart was racing, his grip on sanity slipping. He was about to panic. If he felt any of them spilling into his boots, he would be done for. The thought alone made him freeze for a precious few second before he attempted to pull himself up the rope.

The attempt was laughable. He managed a couple of hands up before he began slipping back down, his poor upper body strength giving out on him. He felt a whine building as he descended back towards the worms. A nagging sensation at the back of his head whispered something about magic. Magic? Yes! Magic! Strength filled his arms as he used magic to fortify them. With a weak cry of triumph, he made his way up the rope, towards the light.

As Ed emerged, scrabbling desperately over the side of the whole and back into daylight, he could feel the magic leaving him. Just in time. Taking a deep breath, he was thankful once more for the mask hiding his features as he turned to the girl. "I wouldn't go down there, if I were you. Terrible service." He managed weakly. He had lost track of time down there, but he didn't want to do anything to cause himself or the girl to panic. Instead, he got his game face back on somewhat shakily and looked into the warehouse. "Let's continue, shall we?"

Kamri waited for the Captain's mocking reply. 'Don't doubt me! I'm your captain! Of course there's a bear, you complete buffoon!' But looking up, it never came. She felt a surge of- relief? Gratitude? -Whatever she was she felt better realizing that if he had planned to make fun of her, he would have already done it. How odd; She would have jumped at the chance!
She couldn't see past the eerie mask, but his silence suggested he was calm and uninterested in the news.


She felt her shoulders relax a little. Well, at least he had some form of manners. 


She watched patiently as he looked off, thinking. Best not to disturb someone while they were planning. After all, for this infiltration to work, it had to work flawlessly. 


He turned to her a moment later, retelling the old plan with a renewed vigor. She followed along best she could. 
'Pretend to be his bodyguard, work their way into the warehouse, and then cause a magical distraction. In the confusion of it all, grab as much treasure or loot as you could carry and make it out alive.' 
Seemed simple enough. He said something about the bear but never finished the thought. This worried her. 


Per his usual, Captain proceeded towards the door without consulting Kamri at all. Sure, she wasn't captain of his ragtag gang, but she might have some valuable opinions! 
Then again, the opinion of a thug wasn't much to really care about. 
She shoved the thought from her mind. One day and she already thought herself some sort of brute. 


The sun sat just above the horizon now. The sky was a deeper orange and now had traces of purple. Night would come as they made their escape. Getting in seemed much easier. Getting out though she was sure proved to be a challenge. 


She head a crack and then the sound of something large dropping and hitting the ground. It seemed Captain had activated some sort of trap. Of course there would be something there! A sketchy guarded warehouse would have a few other things to be weary of! 
She jogged forward, checking to see if Captain was alright. She stood at the threshold of the warehouse, peering down into a hole that was at least nine feet down. At first, the lack of lighting in the warehouse made it hard to see. But having her eyes adjust, she was able to make out some movement- though what was moving she wasn't sure. 


She heard some sort of high pitched squeak. That couldn't have been the captain, right?
It wasn't his most masculine moment, no. 


She cupped her hands around her mouth. 
"Hey! Are- Ohogeez!" A grappling hook shot up and towards her face. Stumbling back, she felt the air push against her face from the hook's sudden shot upward. She inhaled sharply- scared half to death. That could have bludgeoned her! 
She realized however that this probably meant he wasn't able to get out by himself. Injured, perhaps?
She pushed herself back up and grasped the anchor. She already felt Captain's weight pull on the rope and assumed he needed out immediately.

Kamri looked around for a good anchor but couldn't find too much. She settled on a pillar holding up the roof, sturdy enough to at least take some abuse. 
She pulled on the rope, trying to pull him up; but physical strength wasn't her strong suit. He worked just fine getting himself up. 


He appeared from the pit, pushing himself up, huffing. 
She couldn't help but crack a smile as his comment of terrible service. 
Yes, traps tend to have that. 


She turned to look at the rest of the warehouse, which was dark and musty. Guards wouldn't be protecting such a dirty rundown building. Not unless something good was inside. 
There were walls, a roof, and a ceiling. No doors, save for the door leading outside. Not to mention the windows that all lead outside. 
Though, the building was much bigger, she could have sworn it!
"That wall." She pointed to the one directly opposite of the door. "It's the only one that doesn't have any windows or doors. There's something along it somewhere."  She stepped softly and carefully, avoiding any more traps. 
She spotted a few, warning Captain of them as she spotted them. 
'Loose board over there is probably a trigger. Wire stretched between those two pillars. Wall sags there…' minor, mediocre spottings. 


She got to the far wall and started to feel it. Nothing but cold stone. She pressed her ear to it. Nothing. She felt the bottom of the wall. No draft. 
She knocked a few times, but got nothing but solid rock. 
"Maybe… Maybe I was wrong?" 

Still shaky from his ordeal, he was unaware of the girl leaving him to continue on. Instead, enhancing his vision with magic, he looked back down into the pit. He could make out what was down there still, the sight of the worms making the wounds on his hand itch. Shuddering violently, he dragged his eyes up and into the building. The pit wasn't very far across, but he was a little more wary now. Looking around, he saw some large stones nearby and lifted them with telekinesis. One by one, he sent them skittering along the floor, starting on the far side of the hole, and finishing up against the wall at the back. Nothing seemed to be happening, but he didn't quite trust himself to make the jump quite yet. He busied himself instead with gathering up the rope and hook, returning them to their spots inside his cloak, taking longer than was necessary.

"Come on, Ed. You can do this. Nothing to worry about…"

A few deep breaths and he took off, leaping over the distance and clearing it by a few feet. He couldn't help but let out a whoop of joy, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he realised he wasn't falling into another pit full of disgusting creatures. Yet. The thought froze his blood in his veins, making him take things more seriously again. The warehouse was suspiciously empty. There were a few crates and barrels stacked here and there, but even for a warehouse designed to look run down and dingy, there should have been either a lot more product stored here or the stuff that was here should have been gone. Walking up to a barrel, he knocked against the side and his suspicions were confirmed. Hollow, empty. This was just a front. He tried to imagine the building from the outside, and compare it to the size of the interior. From what he had seen, though, he couldn't say for sure whether or not this was all there was to it.

He spent a little time looking over the floor, which was covered in a layer of dust. There were a few footprints from rats and other tiny critters, but the only steps marring the floor were his own. So this was definitely a front, and not one that they were particularly interested in making look like it was operational. It was sloppy work, a sign of an amateur or someone extremely confident with their own power. It gave him something to think about as he walked to the door, distracting him from the thought of the pit until he was on the other side once more. Warehouse scouted, he began searching for the girl.

He began his search down the side of the building and was immediately rewarded with the sight of her prodding and poking the wall further down, an intense look upon her scarred features. Shrugging to himself, he set off down the alley, confident that if there had been any traps then the girl would have warned him. His foot comes down on a board, sending a thick needle up through the toes of his boots, sliding up between his toes. He was unaware of this until there was a tug on his boat as he tried to take another step, then looked down to see what he believed to be a rusty nail sticking out of a board. That could have been painful. Shrugging the thought away, he continued on. Pure luck saw him step over the wire with his first step, but snagged it with the tip of his other boot. There was a small hiss and the smell of burning leather, but he barely noticed, his attention on a suspiciously sagging wall up ahead. The thing was an obvious trap. He couldn't see the trigger, and didn't want to risk it. With a surge of telekinesis, he tore at the wall, collapsing it into the alley with a crash.

Smiling to himself for disarming a trap that could have easily killed him and his companion, he waved the dust that was now filling the alley away from his face. He walked up to the girl, nodding to her.

She felt along the wall, hoping to find some sort of error in the consistency. She was blissfully unaware of how close to death her captain was, up until she heard the loud crash and echo of the ceiling breaking. 
She spun around. 
"Captain?!" He wandered around the corner a moment later. Her face relaxed a little, calming down. Once she knew he was alive, she turned back without another word to continue searching. 

She followed a few cracks and grooves in the wall with her fingers, but each time came up empty handed. She had started from the left side and was working her way to the right. 
She felt something. Some sort of vibration. It was slight and easily missed. But on this particular spot on the wall she felt a rhythm. 
It was a low, quiet rumble, lasting for about three seconds, stopping, carrying on for one, and then stopping before another three. 

She pressed her ear to the wall. She heard the rumble, accompanied by a few other, higher rhythms.

"There's something that's causing vibrations here. On the other side of this wall." 
It was only at this particular spot. She looked for grooves or an edge that would define a door, but found none. Maybe it was simply a weak spot on the wall. One thing was for sure, though. There was something there. 
She remembered the bear cage. It had a door that opened to the rest of the building. That door wasn't in this room. 
It was settled, it had to be behind here!

She began to search with more enthusiasm now, knowing a goal was within reach. 
Her eyes settled on the crates. It was so blatantly obvious! She placed her hands on one and pushed it to the side. It was a struggle, but she moved it mostly out of the way.
The other two heavier ones took a bit longer, requiring more effort. 
After pushing and pulling and moving crates, she finally had made enough room to squeeze through.
The wall was still just a wall. Huffing angrily, she felt around the bottom. Nothing!
She did however feel a slight draft from overhead. 
Looking up, she found a section of wall between two standing support beams. Normally this would be overlooked but they were out of place with every other support. The door was just six feet off the ground. They just had to get to it. 
She looked back at the crates. Seems that was their way up. 

"Hey, Cap, I found it." 
She began to move the crates around again, forming an impromptu staircase upwards. 
She did a final check on her appearance, making sure she looked a little rougher around the edges than she normally did. 
Captain looked like a badly dressed dealer man who was colorblind. 
He'd fit in.
She climbed the crates and took a deep breath. This was it. Once inside there was no turning back. She found a small panel that pushed in, opening the door. 

She was immediately flooded with rich golden light from the fireplace, and plush red carpets. 
She stood on top of a large red staircase, leading back down to floor level. 
Tables with players playing cards stood near the middle. Another table off to the side had men and women of a rough appearance arm wrestling. 

Some were at the bar, drinking. Others where in the corner seats, meeting with suspicious patrons.
Speaking of suspicious…
A man stood in the middle of the room, dressed in expensive- but gaudy attire. He had a golden cane and black long trousers. When spotting Kamri he flashed a smile, then continued to the bar and talked with some other customers. 

Kamri was yanked aside from the door by a doorman. 
"What's your name?" 
It took her a minute to recover from suddenly being yanked aside, but she slid out a name easily.  
"Mari Noxana. I'm a bodyguard for a man who will be joining shortly. I had to make sure there were no assassins at the door."
The man scoffed, looking at her. 
"I haven't seen a roughed up rat like you here before." 
"I'm new to these parts. I was told by…. A man with a peg leg to come here if I had some money to spend." 
The guard shook his head. "I told that scum Ralphie to keep his damn mouth shut… I'll send someone to go shut him up later. Fine, you can proceed." 

She turned back towards the warehouse, talking to Cap. "It's safe. Are you coming or what?" 
 

He stood where he was, hands on hip, striking an impressive pose as he waited for the girl to finish what she was doing. There really wasn't much else to do, she seemed to be attacking this challenge with such enthusiasm that he didn't want to disturb her. She scurried back and forth, ear plastered to the wall occasionally as she listened to… Voices in her head? Ah, no, vibrations coming from the other side. That would be noise, he supposed, coming from within their true target. Good, they were getting close now. Where would the pesky door be, that could remain hidden but still be easily accessed? 

Then the girl began moving crates from in front of the wall. Could it really be so simple as that, boxes stacked in front of the door? What a fire hazard. He shook his head at the sorry state of planning that had gone into this. If a fire broke out, the exit would be blocked! He took a step forwards, meaning to help the girl move crates that were quite obviously heavy. The little thing was soldiering on bravely, though, and he didn't want to steal her thunder. Better he wait here and maintain the appearance of someone rich and in charge. To his credit, he was at least half way there! After another desperate search by the girl, it seemed the door was not in fact behind the crates. The crates were their way to the door, however, which was set higher up in the wall. How interesting. Trying to think back, he couldn't remember whether the crates had been arranged to allow access up there from the very start. It would me mightily embarrassing if the girl had just gone through all that effort for nothing, especially as she was now moving them back to more or less the same place as before. Ed remained silent. He chose not to antagonise the girl. Better he do it later, after the heist was complete!

As soon as she was done placing the crates to her satisfaction, the girl headed up them towards the door. Ed shrugged, letting her take the lead. If there was another trap, he would be sure to react quickly to bring her up from it, if possible. He remained on solid ground until he saw the door open and heard voices, she was talking to someone. Well then, it was about time for him to enter and take control of the situation once more. Strutting up the crates, it was a particular skill of his that he could strut his way through, over and around any obstacle, he entered the warehouse.

Entering the secret area, he was immediately struck by the fact that this was not what he had been expecting at all. He had been expecting a functioning warehouse as a mask, with a small locked area somewhere where the kingpin arranging the gambling would be holed up with his riches. He was unsure why he hadn't expected something quite as grand as this. If this truly was his headquarters, then it was designed to be a casino for rich and noble patrons. The sheer quality of everything his eyes landed on told him that this was a place where the elite could come and throw away a working man's annual salary as if it was nothing. It was actually even better than he had been hoping. Such a place would require a lot of silver to keep running. He could almost see the mountain of silver already, enough of it to swim in. A little bit of drool escaped from his mouth, thankfully hidden by the mask.

Coming up behind the girl, he swung out one arm and swept her out of his way.

"Girl, you have done an adequate job." He says, polishing his voice with a noble accent. To the door man he intones, "Sorry if she was bothering you, her father was a trusted man of mine for years. When he died I felt it my duty to hire on his simple child." He heaves a dramatic sigh, shaking his head. "So tell me, where does a gentleman go to spend his coin?"

The doorman's eyebrow raises at this, as he takes in the man before him. His accent sounded posh, his clothes looked the part. Nice and clean, though the colour was a little… Bright. The boots were spattered with mud, something about this nagged at him, but he couldn't quite tell why. Shrugging it off, he looked pointedly at the man's dagger on his belt. "Weapons stay with me. Spend your coin at any table. If you think you have enough silver for a more… Competitive class, then go speak with Lenny in the back." He nods his head towards the back corner of the room.

Ed thinks this through, trying to calculate just how much he had on his person. Probably not enough. There were some golden opportunities down there to make more fast, however. A little luck, a little magic, a little bit of a con. His grin was bright as he made his way down the stairs.

She bit her tongue. Even as part of the ruse, his acting was a little too well done. 'Simple child.' How insincere.
She grumbled lowly, turning her attention towards the room instead. 
People dressed in fancy garb and moth eaten tunics all sat together, trying to cheat one another into giving away their coin. The room was loud with laughter and chatter. A band played just to the side of the stairs. 

She wondered how it was so well hidden with all the noise it produced. Magically enforced walls? Special material? She was unsure. 
Ed pushed past her, hurrying to join into the crowd. She rolled her eyes, making her way slowly down the stairs. 
A few nobility spotted her as well as Ed. The place probably got a lot of repeat customers, so new people were probably rare. 
Those who spotted Kamri looked at her in different ways. Some were merely curious to see someone new. Others weren't looking at her but, instead, her scars. 
Kamri looked away, brushing her hair to cover the largest burn on her face. All these ugly gamblers and snobby nobles and she still stuck out, attracting attention. People had no tact. 

She made her way to the small cubbies alongside the west wall. She sat down at a table, trying to listen to conversations. She might hear something useful. 
A woman walked up to her. She was orcish in appearance and had wide, muscular shoulders. 
"You don't sit if you don't drink." 
Kamri shook her head and pulled a few coins from her pocket. The Orc woman counted them with a single finger before slamming a stein of beer on the table.
After she left, Kamri pushed the stein away from her. She didn't feel like drinking. Needed to keep a clear head! She only hoped Ed would do the same. 
But, honestly, she was expecting him to already be on his third by now. 

She figured she would sit and listen for a while, gather any info she could. Ed would probably retrieve her once he was ready to start the next phase of the plan.
She drummed her fingers on the table, listening. Mostly she heard drunken comments about things that shouldn't be spoken in public. She heard a lot of gossip and lies, too. Nothing that would benefit them was said. At least, not yet. 

Through the strumming of instruments and clatter, a conversation sparked. It caught her attention. It was the tail end of one she had once glassed over but now held promise. 

"No, no. It's all kept in a heavy vault below. Last guy to try and crack it was killed. Forced to swallow glass." 
Kamri's stomach churned. 
"The code is only known by one man. He changes it every week. His name is Mraxic. Thing is, he's a gambler here. He told me he had the code the other week when he was drunk."
She listened more intently now, mentally pushing away the other sounds.
"I think if you got him drunk enough, and bet something valuable, he might give it to you. But you would have to be quick, since every Wednesday he goes and changes-"
A man walked up to the table where the chatter was coming from, whispering something to the man before leaving. 
The man stayed quiet for a moment. 
"…I must excuse myself. It seems I…crossed a boundary." 
When he stood up to talk away, Kamri noticed how pale and uncomfortable he looked. She couldn't help but wonder what the mysterious man had told him. He left in a hurry, avoiding looking anyone in the eye. 

She noticed a few other patrons listening in, who had suddenly gone quiet as they watched him leave. 
She scanned the room for Captain. He would want to know this. But giving him the info without causing any notice would be difficult. She pulled out the jornal from her pocket and began to read. With her other hand, she pulled out a folded piece of parchment from her robe and retrieved a pen. She carefully wrote down the information on the seat next to her, away from prying eyes. 

"Code with Mraxic…. Buy him drink to cloud judgement. Vault below." 

She folded up the parchment and stuck it back in her robe. She would discreetly pass it on to him later, after some time passed. For now, she abandoned her drink and went to the bar. Maybe something a little less intoxicating sat there waiting for her. 

Reaching into his cloak, Ed weighed the pouch with his coins thoughtfully. After this morning's run of bad luck, and had that really only been this morning that he had been playing cards in a dirty dockside bar, it was a little light. That was nothing to worry about, not for a professional such as himself. With a little luck… Which reminded him. He would need to say a quick prayer to the god of luck.

"Er…" He begins. Not a great start, but Ed had never really lived his lives by the deities. "Dear… Um…" he muttered under his breath, too low to be heard by others as he idly headed towards the bar. "Shy, er, Low Carry." Well that sounded about right. "Bless me in this venture and I'll… What is it you deities like, goats? Well next goat I see I'll pat on the head for you." 

That accomplished, he strode the rest of the way to the bar confidently. Before he could make money, he needed to wet his lips. He was feeling parched. Taking a few coins from his purse, he set two spinning on the bar and danced the third across his gloved fingers while waiting for the bartender to approach. The orc was there in a moment, and Ed's eyes had already traveled down from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and back again. Nice body, powerful. Maybe after he earned a little silver he could take a break, see what time she got off. The orc grunted at him and he smiled his most handsome smile from behind the mask, ordering wine and leaving the extra coin as a tip. The orc, staring at him with cold, unfeeling eyes, took the coins and slammed down a tankard of ale in front of him. Ed's heart skipped a beat. He might be in love.

"So," He started, as his mind drifted back to his rushed prayer. "That Carry broad, the luck one, she's the one with the" at this point he held his hands in front of his chest, making a gesture as if weighing two large melons, wiggling his eyebrows provocatively. The orc's beautiful, empty stare remained on him for one more wonderful second before she tutted with disgust and walked away. Oh, she would be his. He lifted the tankard to his lips and turned to take in the room, realising before it was too late that he couldn't feel the tankard. Ah, the mask. He was still wearing it. Well then, there was only one thing for it. Glancing suspiciously around the room, Ed turned back towards the bar, hunched over, and lifted the mask. The ale disappeared in one long pull and he smacked his lips with satisfaction. The mask went back into position, and Ed, feeling much better now, took off towards the nearest table.

They were playing cards here, not something he had any particular interest in. He sat down anyway though, he had an appearance to maintain. After watching a couple of hands, the orcish barkeep made her rounds, dropping off drinks for everyone at the table. She was like an angel, bringing water after a long trek through the desert. He attempted to tell her as much, but she was already moving on. With a shrug, he took out a handful of coins, buying his way into the game.

It took some effort, but he managed it. It took some fancy work with his hands, and a lot of guile on his part, but he managed it. That was the important thing. By holding the cards in front of his face with one hand, he was able to hide the bottom of his face while lifting the mask and lifting the tankard with the free hand. Perfect. He polished it off quickly, not wanted to have to make this move too many times. The others might assume it was some kind of tell. As for the game itself, he was not doing well. He had lost all but one of his silver pieces that he had set on the table, and that was currently being bet on his current hand. He had thought he understood the rules, but it seemed he had misjudged. No matter. There were other tables!

The trick to playing dice was to have telekinetic magic at your disposal, that was what Ed firmly believed. He had left the card game after losing half of his funds, and in return he had only received one more drink from the radiant barkeep. She was warming to him, he could tell. He had managed to win back his losses, as well as add a decent heft to his purse. The second trick to dice was to lose a roll here and there, which Ed had been doing a great job of. He had a pattern, you see. Lose the third roll, then the fourth after that, then rinse and repeat. The angel had brought him another ale while he had been here rolling dice, and a couple of tough looking gentlemen were now hovering around the table glaring at him. Jealous of his progress with the fine orc maiden, perhaps? Well, he would need to move on from here then. Perhaps come back after.

His next stop saw him arm wrestling. He watched the reigning champion take out opponents, one after another, with barely any effort. Perfect! That meant he would be getting cocky, and see someone of Ed's own slender build as an easy mark. Smiling, he approached, tossing all his silver onto the table as well as a number of rings and jewels he had picked up. "I challenge you!" he calls, dropping into the seat opposite the man. He looked human enough from here, but there was an odd shade to his skin. It was a little grey. Ed didn't much mind what race the gentleman was, he was going to lose. He had already activated his strength magic before even grasping the man's hand. He meant to make a show of it, but as soon as the countdown finished he found that he was slamming down the other man's hand onto the table. Strange. He gathered up his winnings, oblivious of the angry muttering surrounding him, and headed over to the bar. Where had the girl gotten to?

He had been at the bar for only a few moments before a tankard appeared in front of him. His angel was gone before he had even looked up. No worries, he could feel how close he was to the kill now. He drank the ale quickly as he counted the coin. There was quite the small fortune in front of him. He could take this back to his inn now and have all the wine and company he could possibly wish for for weeks! But no, there was a plan. A good plan. A plan with a bear! Ed's head swiveled around, searching for the bear. The girl had told him the bear would be here. Had they taught it to play cards? How marvelous! He wouldn't mind playing a hand or two with a bear. Perhaps they would even let him pet it. 

His gaze landed on the tough the doorman had pointed out earlier, and he brought his mind back to the job at hand. Yes, he needed to head downstairs. Make more silver. Then release the bear and steal everything! He remembered now. Standing up, swaying a little as he did, he headed over to the man.

"I have been told that through a hole in a wall, the men can see it all" he intones to the man, winking conspiratorially. The man, to his credit, remained straight faced.
"Is there something I can help you with… (a sigh) sir?"
With a chuckle, Ed shook his head. "Here, my good man." he said, holding out the large sack of silver he now possessed. "I was told that if I brought a fortune, I would be allowed access into the… More substantial area."
The guard thought this through. The man needed to sober up. But there was an opportunity here, an easy mark. He would do, if he could put up the right stakes.
"Sir, to play there you need a living currency, if you catch my drift."
Ed thought this through, carefully. Was the man saying what he thought he was saying? Enchanted coins? Why, that was fantastic! He wondered if they would sing. The guard, seeing that the Ed was not quite getting the drift, sighed again.
"Look, I believe you came in with someone? Why not let us take care of her for you while you go downstairs?"
Ed agreed immediately. Fabulous! Then made his way through the door the man held open for him. The man gestured for a thug to come over and gave him instructions to collect the girl and take her to the area with the others who were being held while their owners gambled with their lives.

Playing idly with a coin in one hand, Kamri had her fist propping up her cheek with the other; her lips where pressed in a bored frown. She was against this whole operation before but now she was just disappointed how boring it was. A heist was supposed to be exciting! But she was just sitting there, waiting.
She pressed down edgewise on the coin, shooting it across the counter and onto the floor. 
She took her foot out of her shoe and retrieved it with her toes, trying to create something to do. 
Where was Ed? It had been a while… Maybe she should go look for him. Give him the message. 
She stood up, one hand still on the Counter as she leaned against it. He wasn't by the card tables. She would have bet money on the arm wrestling tables but he wasn't there either. 
Did he leave without her? Should she leave?
There where so many faces. Similar masks, too. Was he one of the drunkards at the bar?
"You're the girl who came in with the bald masked man?" 

Kamri spun around to see a cloaked figure standing next to her. She felt unease at his sudden appearance. 
"And if I am?"
He turned his body towards the stairs.
"Yellow and red clothing, right? He went down to the second level. He asked me to find his bodyguard and escort you there." 
She stood up. "Oh! Well, then…I suppose we should go. Thanks for letting me know." 
She started to walk towards the bar. The man followed behind her, locking the bar door as they passed. The stairwell below looked musty and less refurbished. 
She paused at the stairway, getting a sudden surge of adrenaline. The sight of a creepy stairway going down just spooked her, that's all. 

She started down, not realizing how closely the guard was following behind her. She didn't notice he was blocking her only way out. 
Soon the walls turned from wood to stone, and the carpet stopped and was replaced by creaky old boards. 
She reached the bottom, feeling how much cooler the floor was through her slippers. 
"Thanks for escorting me. I'll be fine from here-"
"This way."
She looked into the room. Down at the other side, she could see Captain. 
"No, thank you. That's not necessary. He's right there."
The man grabbed both her hands behind her back and covered her mouth, leaning against her and pushing her quickly across the room and into the side hallway.

She tried to yell but he had a pretty good hold on her. She kicked out her legs but he was much stronger too; and without her hands free, she wasn't able to cast magic.
What was he doing? Where was he taking her? 
She watched Cap as she was carted away. Did he know? What was going on? Just turn around!
The man shouldered open a room to the side. Inside there three other people, all bound to keep them from escaping. 
He pushed her inside, and closed the door behind them. 
Hands now free, she turned around and began to cast a bolt of ice.
He would have to be better than that to-
He grabbed her hands again and forced them together. Her kicked the back of her knees and let her fall to the ground. 
She screamed at him, trying to get up and stand. By the time he stood up, her hands had been encased in some sort of iron bind. She tried to cast, but found she was unable to.
"What the hell is this?!" She demanded. 
The man turned, walking out of the room without a word, closing and locking the door behind him. 
The other three looked at her with pity in their eyes. One was a man with his leg shackled to a handlebar.
One was an old woman, hands tied but no other sort of restraint.
The third was a young woman who sat in the corner, arms and legs bound by some sort of twine. 

"Another one… How horrible." The elder wheezed. 
The man looked down, not saying anything. The woman had fire in her eyes.
"Disgusting…" She muttered.
Kamri looked at the three with bewilderment. "Who are you? Where are we?"
The man looked up solemnly. "You don't know? This is the second level. We're brought as bargaining chips."
Bargaining chips?  

The young woman spoke up. "My boyfriend is betting me for some fancy house. As soon as I'm out of here he's done for…"
The man slouched. "My wife bet me for medicine to cave my son." 
The old woman shuddered. "And I was placed here by my son, for money."
Kamri paled, realizing what had just happened. Captain was going to use her as a bargaining chip?
No, no they had a plan. This was a mistake. 
"C-Captain!!" She called. She wanted to break open the door or kick the wall. But the gloves encasing her hands where too heavy. She couldn't move from her spot.
"CAPTAIN! RETHINK THIS! PLEASE!?"

Silence.

"No… Shit! Shit! No! This wasn't the plan!"

The three stayed silent. They had all been placed here a while ago. They had screamed and cried and found it was indeed no use. They would wait for Kamri to finish before trying to calm her down.

She tried to cast some sort of spell again. 
Nothing.

Was this his plan? All along? It hadn't been a day and she had already started to follow him into one of the most dangerous places in the city. 
Why was she so foolish? She trusted him and now it had come back to bite her.
She called out over and over. Hoping maybe he would change his mind, or maybe he would break her out. But she knew better. She knew first hand that not everyone was kind. She knew she would probably be sold by the day's end.