Author: ShyStone, Posted: Wed Aug 8, 2018 2:07 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

End of Chapt 1: Heist. 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Wed Aug 8, 2018 9:59 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

The pleasant buzz that had been blanketing him was washed away as if he had been doused in icy water. What had he done? What had he done?! If he hadn't drank so much. If he had taken this thing more seriously. He had a commitment to the girl. However temporarily, she was a member of his crew, and he was her captain. He had betrayed her, in a way much worse than his own treacherous crew had done to him.

"I… I can pay. For the girl. I will buy her back." He looks desperately at the tiefling before him. All thoughts of lust are gone, his whole body numb from shock. "I'll buy her back right now. Here, take this silver. Take everything. How much is she worth?"
The tiefling looks at him sadly, the look genuine. It was one thing for a person to enter into this place and gamble while knowing the cost. How had this man come down here without that knowledge? Was he tricked? Was he simple? Was he truly that drunk? He had thought it was a ruse, designed to lower the guard of the other gamblers. "Sir, that is not how this works. The idea is that it is final, otherwise… Where would the risk be?" The look the man gave him was pure horror. "Look, they take them to Vilpomolan. Perhaps you can go there, approach Drien. Make him your offer. This house will not, however, accept any offers." He had perhaps said too much already, but he felt for the man.

The words fell on Ed's shoulders like weights. Vilpomolan? What would happen to the girl between here and there? He had had dealing with slavers in the past, and it made him shudder to think of what might happen to her on the way. He slipped the mask back into place as the gears in his mind began to turn. Perhaps he could take her, now, before they left with her. Instead of stealing the silver from this place, he would just be taking the girl. A minor change in the plan, but the plan could still work. All he would need was for her to make the distraction, then they could get up the stairs. Release a bear. Sow chaos. Get out of this warehouse, get out of this city. They could go anywhere, take the boat and see where they end up. Yes, that was it. He would rescue the girl.

Things began to make sense now as the haze cleared from his thoughts. The shouting, earlier. It had sounded familiar. It must have been her. She was nearby. He could do this. He began checking his weapons. The dagger had been left upstairs, but he had the throwing knives stowed away still, hidden. His fingers were still numb, he had consumed a little too much alcohol. Then there was the question of where his magic would become active again. He attempted to improve his sight, but nothing happened. Great. Perhaps a few more steps…

The girl was brought out of a room, being manhandled by a guard. Ed readied himself, to strike, then noticed the shackles. He couldn't imagine the sassy little simpleton just accepting this treatment if she could use magic to annoy them. Which meant there was a good chance her magic was being blocked. Well, he would just need to be quick, then. The girl noticed him, and began shouting to him. He wanted to reply, to reassure her, but didn't want to tip his hand. Not yet. He had knives in his hands, ready to attack the guard herding her along, when he suddenly realised he wasn't alone. On either side of him stood one of the guards, their hands on weapons, eyes fixed on him sternly. Letting go of the knives, he coughed nervously. "Sir, it is time for you to leave."

They kept him down there until the girl was gone, then bracketing him they led him up the stairs and to the exit. One of them was nice enough to hand him his sack of winnings. Then they made it very clear that he was to leave. Come back another time if he felt like trying his luck again. But today, he had to leave while emotions were high. The one who had made sure he had his sack of loot also was sure to give him his loyalty card, stamped and everything.

Ed stood back in the alley, on top of the crates, the door being shut firmly behind him. He was lost and confused. The girl. She was gone. Would they have taken her out of here already, or would they be keeping her inside the warehouse? He had no way of knowing. He needed time. He needed a clear head. He needed Peabody. Peabody would know what to do. Remembering the incapacitated guards out front, he also needed to get out of here fast.

Today had not been going the way Peabody had expected. He somehow found himself being sent to scout a location he had already scouted. He should have been more forceful, then he wouldn't be wasting his time here. Well, it wasn't a complete waste. The girl made of stone was still on the boat, still terrified stiff of the water around her. It wasn't a good situation for her, but it kept her hidden. Out of danger. Which was for the best, until they left the city. Upon stepping onto the boat, he rummaged around and poured a small glass of pear juice for her. Kneeling in front of her, he spent the next thirty minutes coaxing life into her. Reassuring her. She gave him a weak little smile as she sipped at the juice, then drew out her delicate obsidian wand.

Peabody set to work preparing the skiff for travel, and with the little mage's help they made great time, sailing quickly along the docks.They quickly reached the water in front of the warehouse in question, then lowered the sail and picked up the looking glass. He examined it for a while, not even sure why. He had been over the building before, using the rooftops to examine the building thoroughly from the outside, and his noble contacts to get him access to the inside. He knew that place well, and his plan would have been simple. He already had the code from the vault, getting it easily from a man who loved to drink. Reminded him a lot of the captain, in that regard. He hadn't expected it to be that easy to get the code. But there you go.

Time passed and Peabody had a pleasant picnic with the mage on the water. She had begun to relax, enjoying the silence and calm. Her smile was beautiful. It was hard to tell she was a creation made of stone. Picking up the looking glass again, Peabody was surprised to see the captain walking along the docks, alone, at a hurried pace. He could tell who it was immediately, just from the bright clothing. Where had the other mage got to? They were on their way again, pulling up alongside Ed.

As he reached the dock front again, Ed noticed a body hidden in a dark alley between two abandoned buildings. Man looked familiar, had he been in the warehouse casino? Moving to take a look, he discovered the man was dead, a stone placed upon his chest after the murder had taken place. Strange. He shrugged it off and continued on his way. He soon heard a familiar voice, and looked up to see his little boat, with his little crew, approaching. He sighed. Peabody would not be happy about this.

It didn't take long to explain what had happened. Twinkle seemed to be a little more lively, but after Ed had hopped into the boat, making it rock a little, she had retreated back into her pile of over sized robes. Peabody heaved a sigh but remained silent other than that. The silence stretched out for a few minutes before Ed took charge again.
"So we need to rescue the girl. Either buy her back, or take her by force. If we can we will grab her on the way to the city. If not, then we do whatever is necessary." Peabody was… Pleasantly surprised. The captain was taking responsibility for the girl. Thinking about the way he had jumped in to defend the stone girl, rescuing her from her previous life, maybe he shouldn't have been. There was definitely a better side to him, somewhere in there. It looked like they were heading to the pirate city, a place Peabody hadn't been for twenty years. He didn't have fond memories of that place.

Ralphie looked around, a tingling sensation going through the toes on his missing leg. Something bad was coming, he could feel it. There was a creak from behind him, the slightest sound. Then he was dead. When the innkeeper found him three days later, there was a stone on his chest.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Wed Aug 8, 2018 1:22 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Kamri sat for what seemed like hours, when in reality it was probably about twenty minutes. 
The young woman had her ear up against the wall. 
"…And that was the final roll. Sorry, girl. Sounds like your 'Captain' lost." 
Kamri flinched when she heard the news. "No. No you must have heard wrong."

The elder placed her head in her hands. "Oh my. It never gets easier to watch…I'm so sorry. Dearie." 
Kamri shook her head. No. It wasn't true. Any second now that door would open and Captain would be standing there ready to leave this awful place. 
She would go out to sea and find who she was looking for. She would become a better mage. She was going to! She had to.

"Some of us stay here a few days before our masters come to pick us up," The man droned. "I've seen some leave in a few minutes, others a few days. I should be going soon."
"Well," The girl rolled back against the wall, "I've been here two weeks. Nothing's happened to me yet."  

Kamri wondered how long she could stay in here before going mad. The thought of even one more person joining made her feel cramped. 
No. She wasn't staying. Captain didn't lose. 
It's a trick. She's fine. Everything was fine and she would get out soon. He would never bet another person without knowing he would win, right?
Then again she had only known him for a day. People where good at acting.

"Someone's coming." The elder reported. Throwing her from her thoughts, Kamri looked up at the door as the footsteps got closer. 
The door slid open, the same cloaked guard as before. He closed the door behind him, per usual, and knelt in front of Kamri and undid her confinements. 
"Get up."
Kamri sat, dumbfounded. 
"I said get up."
He grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet. The motion struck her from her stupor.
"No! I'm not going!" 
The guard didn't seem to appreciate her response, as he immediately slapped a pair of shackles on her wrists and tugged on them. 
"You're going to a man named Drien. He owns you and that's all you need to know." 
She couldn't cast, and any time she tried to pull back or fight she was out muscled. She was pulled into the hallway, though not without resistance. It was obvious the guard was getting annoyed with her attempts. He paid it no mind. It probably happened plenty of times before.  
"There's been a mistake. I never agreed to anything!" 
Kamri was dragged into the room, kicking and shoving all the way. 
A familiar mask caught the corner of her eye. She turned around and saw a bald man with a mask, wearing yellow and red. 
"H-Hey! You're going to help me out, right?" 

He didn't move. 

'Captain? Captain they're going to take me away and…Hey…'
…
Captain? 
…Ah.
'So…that's how it is. '

She bit her lip, trying to not to cry in the face of her condemner. The pieces fit into place rather nicely now, didn't they? 
She stopped resisting as much, going more at the pace of a slow crawl. She hung her head and let the guard take her to the exit. 
She glanced back for a moment. 


Kamri was never one to cause trouble.
She often watched her tongue and kept to herself. She was of the quiet sort, not wanting to draw much attention to herself.
So it was rather odd to see her in chains. 

 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Wed Aug 8, 2018 12:22 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Stepping through the door he finds himself at the top of some stairs, leading down. The stairs don't immediately scream expensive decadence. More like run down dungeon. His thoughts trail back to the front of the building, the old warehouse facade hiding the gambling den. The stairs were probably the last remaining fixture left from the original building when it was remodeled. Or perhaps the owner just like the aesthetics. Didn't really matter to Ed either way, he cared more about putting one foot in front of the other, tackling these stairs and making it all the way to the bottom and not in the fast way.

Wobbling from side to side with each step, he eventually reaches the bottom, touching down on wooden floor. The hallway split off here, but only one direction looked warm and inviting. That must be where the downstairs bar was. The high stakes game, too, which were a runner up in his priorities right now. Humming to himself, he entered the main lower gambling area. Everything down here seemed less… Gaudy. While the displays of wealth were less obvious, when you looked at things closely you could see the true value. Antiques, famous works of art thought lost, crystal glasses and the most expensive selection of alcoholic substances. There were guards standing in each corner, these too being of a much finer stock than the ones upstairs. Clean, fitted leather armor. Weapons at their sides. Discipline in their stances and watchful gazes. There was a door at the back, with another two guards posted by it. If there was going to be an office for the man in charge, Ed's money was it being in there. The question now was, how to get in there? Even if Ed won a fortune tonight at these tables down here, the target was there, and whatever was beyond that door would make anything he won tonight look insignificant.

He turned the question over in his mind as he arrived at the bar. A fine featured elf greeted him brightly, winking at him and telling him she would be more than willing to get him anything he needed. The inflection on her words made him realise that she truly meant anything was on offer down here. Looking her over, she did nothing for him and he instead just ordered a glass of wine. It was delivered in a crystal chalice, and as Ed touched it he could feel a slight chill. He examined it with curiosity. Magic, to keep the wine chilled to a perfect temperature. Absently, he tried a little of his own magic to swirl the wine around the glass, but nothing happened. Looking around the room, he wondered how they could manage to nullify magic down here. It would make sense, they wouldn't want anyone doing down here what he had done upstairs. This was problematic. It meant he would need to actually win fairly. May Shy Low Carry be on his side.

He was starting to get a little warm under the mask so slipped it off, sipping at the wine. It was delicious, cool on his tongue, and very strong. Perfection. He knew he should savor it, but then again, why savor something that was being given freely? The wine was gone and replaced in moments and Ed made his way over to the table nearest the door, taking a seat to watch the game. It was a complicated card game he couldn't quite follow no matter how hard he tried. It was definitely not going to be the game he would choose if he had a choice. From somewhere down the hall, he could hear an awful racket going on. Someone was shouting and screaming, quite ruining the mood. Frowning slightly, he was about to leave the table when it seemed the man currently playing lost. He had no idea what the man had done to lose, but as soon as he did he began to also make a ruckus. He started shouting and weeping, begging the dealer for another chance. Without hesitation a guard moved in, taking the man by an arm and leading him firmly out of the room. Strange, some people were just sore losers.

Ed moved on then, taking in the rest of the tables. None of them seemed like they would favor him, save the dice table. Ever since he had developed his telekinetic skills dice had always been his favorite. Easy to cheat. Down here though, that wouldn't be possible. He could only hope whichever deity favored dice would also favor him right now. He made his decision, sitting down at the table and putting down his sack of silver. The man behind the table, a very handsome tiefling fellow, smiled at him and brought out a fresh set of dice. Ed nodded to him, making a little small talk before they got down to business. Between this fellow down here and the lady upstairs, Ed was starting to believe he could turn this into a magical night.

The game was simple. Ed would call a number, the dealer would roll the dice. If he was correct, he would win. Fantastic! He was sure he could win this game. The odds were in his favor. He began to fish around in the bag to bring out stacks of coins when the tiefling interrupted him. "Sir, at these tables we play for everything. You win, you get to ask for anything. We win, we take your offering. Do you agree to the terms?" Ed looked down at the sack of silver and thought about this for a moment. It was called high stake gambling for a reason, it seemed. Well, no matter the cost. He still had his pouch of silver stashed away, so worst case he and the girl would just be leaving as poor as they came in. If they didn't work out how to get into the office, that is. He had quite forgotten about the two guards above who were bound and unconscious and knew who they were. They tiefling went on to explain that there would be seven rounds of dice rolling, best of seven to win. Ed shrugged, good to go.

The game lasted minutes. Ed lost. He stared at the tiefling and let out an explosive breath. Well, it seemed he would have to go find the girl and they could work out their next steps. He thanked the tiefling and turned to go, leaving the sack behind, when he was interrupted. "Please, sir, don't forget your money." Ed sat there confused. The tiefling, thankfully, realised this and looking around, leaned in close to Ed. "Sir, did they not tell you the stakes? We don't play for silver down here. We play for slaves."

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Tue Aug 7, 2018 10:12 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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.

Author: Goggle, Posted: Tue Aug 7, 2018 8:23 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Tue Aug 7, 2018 5:58 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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. 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Tue Aug 7, 2018 12:36 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Mon Aug 6, 2018 9:50 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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?" 
 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Mon Aug 6, 2018 8:09 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Mon Aug 6, 2018 5:58 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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?" 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Mon Aug 6, 2018 1:45 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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?"

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Sun Aug 5, 2018 11:15 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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?" 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Sat Aug 4, 2018 11:16 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

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.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Sat Aug 4, 2018 5:53 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Nose couldn't believe his eyes. A moment ago the bald man had been shot across the street by one of Burt's impressive punches. Nothing could measure up! Yet the man he had punched was now standing. and even more so, he was taking off all of his clothes!
Nose grew angry.
He wouldn't let him seduce Burt! What a low blow! To try and cater to the private feelings of someone else for an advantage! Nose would have none of that!

"What do ya think yer doin'?!" He bellowed, turning around and leaving Kamri in the mud. 
"I'll show you where that kind of behavior will get you!"
He stomped forward with malicious intent. He would rip the face of that one, he would!
He tried to hurry when he noticed just now much trouble Burt was facing, but only ended up slipping. Damn mud…
With a final blow, Burt had fallen, apparently losing consciousness. 
"You scum!" He reached forward, beefy hands poised to clasp around the captain's face. His teeth clenched as he imagined squeezing his skull and shattering the bone. 
Truly, he would pay!
He tilted forward, closing in for the attack! 

Something tugged on his ankle. 

Looking down, a small vine crept up his ankle and was rapidly growing up his leg. He looked back, seeing the mage girl sprawled out in the mud, fingers dug down into the sludge. 

—

Kamri noticed the sudden shift in her opponent's gaze. Was this her chance to run?
She followed his eyes and landed on her captain, who stood half naked and caked in mud. 
God. Today was such a bad day. 

"What do ya think yer doin'?!"
The burly guard turned and started to stomp off towards the two, leaving her on the ground. She tried to watch what was going on but every time she moved her eyes it seemed the world would tilt. Maybe she hit that wall a bit harder than she initially thought. 
She saw the other guard go down. She had to admit, it was impressive. Still, they were rather beat up and her opponent was still in fighting shape. She had to think fast. 
She thought about another ice bolt but her aim was terrible as it was. From this range she could easily shoot Ed. She needed something else. 
In the corner of her eye, she spotted something green.

Moss was growing between the cobblestones. Small weeds sprouted from one of the larger cracks. 
She pushed her shoulders up and back before thrusting her hands into the mud, searching through the stone crevices to find some sort of weed or plant. 
Her fingertips brushed up against a small vine. That would do. 
She felt the energy pulse from her chest and through her arms, sending it through and into the ground. 
She spotted bits of green and brown sprout up from the mud, pushing towards the sky. She had maybe two seconds left before Nose got to her ally. 
The street became alive with growth. She felt some of the vines latch onto her legs and curl up her waist and stomach. However, despite the drawback, she managed to reach her goal. 
Small roots and vines swirled around the guard's ankle and then started to climb up his calf. He looked back, shock entering his eyes for just a second before his gaze set on Kamri. His fear turned to spite and hate.
His jaw set, he looked one final time at the bald twat before the vines reached his neck. 
"You're alive now. But just you wait." 

The vines enclosed around his entire body, leaving him disabled. A few had curled around Cap's feet as well but Kamri was able to stop most of the plant life from spreading that far. 
She was relived they here alive. Surprised, too. She sat up, unable to currently stand. 
After everything that had just happened, a single, unnerving question lingered in the air. 

"Why are you half naked?" 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Fri Aug 3, 2018 11:34 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

One second he was standing, cursing his dumb luck. He was just too fast for magic to keep up, it seemed. The next second he was lying on his back in the street, a chunk of time missing. His head was ringing, he was seeing stars and his entire face was one large mass of pain. What the hell had he been drinking? Then, a flashback of a fist coming at him. Ah. He needed a moment, just a second to gather himself. Perhaps a nap would get his head sorted. Where was a healer when you needed one, anyway? Was the girl a healer? The girl. The girl who right now, while he was lying down and feeling sorry for himself, was being attacked by two men. Two men who could be doing anything to her. With a groan and a lot of effort, he managed to force himself into a sitting position. While swaying gently, he took in the scene once more, orienting himself as his thoughts moved sluggishly. He needed a plan. A better plan this time. The last one didn't seem to be working.

The girl was there, looking a little worse for wear and being hounded by the one with the Nose. Burt was approaching him, most likely to finish the job he had started. This could be a lot worse, he had to admit. All sorts of things could be going wrong. As it was, he and the girl were just severely out muscled and outmatched. But they had their wits! Brains would trump brawn! If only he could convince the world to stop it's gentle movements that were disorienting him so much.

"Hold on, just one moment, good sir." Ed managed, with minimum slurring, while holding up a hand. Hopefully this Burt fellow would be willing to talk, now.

Mud began flying through the air, covering everything, including the two brutes quite thoroughly. Well then. Maybe they wouldn't be talking their way out of this then. As luck would have it, though, this situation might finally be sliding back into Ed's control. A smile touched his lips, a smile that hurt incredibly and lasted only as long as it took to hurt him enough to cry out. Okay, so no smiling. If his head was a little clearer, then this would no longer be a contest. As it was, he would need to be fast and retake the element of surprise.

Burt heaved a sigh, weary to the bottom of his soul as he became caked in mud from head to toe. This was getting ridiculous now. For just a split second he had been taking these two seriously, but as time went by it was becoming more and more obvious that these two had no idea what they were doing. There was no cohesion, they were not acting together in any way. There was no sense, either. What was the point to this? He was now angry, dirty, and ready to crack a couple of skulls. Looking over at his own companion, also covered in muck, he could see that this was going to be over soon. These two were playing with magic, not wielding it. Were they a couple of students out on the town, messing around and trying to have some fun? Well, unlucky for them they chose the wrong part of town.

Taking a step towards the man, knife ready this time to put a stop to this insanity, Burt paused. The man was stripping down, slipping off his coat and throwing it to one side. This was quickly followed by his shirt, and boots. He shouldn't have given the fool the time to do all this, but the sheer madness was enough to stop him in his tracks. Was he about to have to kill a man who was stripping in the face of imminent death? Was the man hoping that if he was naked, he would be shown some mercy? Too late for that.

Stripped down to his pants alone, Ed dropped into a squat and quickly began to slather himself with the mud. It was the perfect consistency. Nice and slippery. As his thoughts began to sluggishly regain their former speed and cohesion, images came to mind. The mud, the wrestling, the tentacles. Good times. A favorite place. Skills learned, pleasures shared. Who would have thought that it would have prepared him to save his life, as well as that of his simple ward.

Stepping confidently through the mud, Ed approaches his opponent. He has to trust the girl will be able to stay safe for a while longer, she had been doing a great job so far so it wasn't a stretch to believe she could do it. He had left his dagger in his coat, as well as his throwing knives. All he had was his knuckle dusters and an iron will to survive this.

Burt raises his blade into a knife fighter's stance and lashes out. The near naked man, mud smothering his wiry frame, was no longer where he had been. A quick movement had him inside Burt's guard. That was fine. Dropping the knife in favor of getting a two handed grasp on the fool, he realised too late what the man's plan was. They were both covered in mud, and the man slipped out of his grasp and around behind him. Burt tried keeping up, grabbing desperately, but the man was like an eel. He just couldn't gain purchase. He could feel blows landing against his sides and face as the slippery bastard lashed out at him between the slipping and sliding. In a last ditch effort he tried calling for help, but a blow that was much more powerful than any of the others connected with the side of his head and suddenly everything went black.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Fri Aug 3, 2018 10:40 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

She moved just a bit too slow. As a result, the Captain went flying above her; high into the air. She felt the back of his heel brush the top of her head.
She watched him rise up, and then fall. She winced as he went. She turned back, readying another attack but was cut off by a large hand grabbing her face


"Dumb Oaf." Nose grumbled.

Kamri was picked up and tossed to the side, slamming into the wall of a nearby home before falling to the ground. 

She tried to stand up but was kicked back down by Nose, sputtering. 

“Should have stayed home.”

Nose raised his fist into the air, ready to deliver a killing blow. 

Kamri coughed weakly as she placed her palms on the ground, muttering something under her breath. Mud shot from her fingertips and caked the street. 

Nose yelled out as he slipped, no longer able to keep his balance and went tumbling to the ground next to her. Kamri wiped the mud from her face.

"Fighting wasn't exactly my first choice, Cap." She rose, hair caked with mud. She pushed off the wall and slid onto the dry portion of the street.


Spells, spells. What other spells did she have? 

Nose began to rise. He looked over to Burt and snorted. He was okay. Still fighting. He never stayed down for long.

He wiped the blood from his face and stood back up, facing the girl.

"Yer good. But yer also dead." He lunged forward and tried to grab Kamri again. She danced just out of his reach, feeling his thumb brush up against her ear. 

Hey. Beardy! Are you still alive?" She called. 

Kamri danced just out of reach of another attack, this time hitting him in the face with a mud ball. 

—

The girl kept moving just out of his reach. What was with her? She was a mage! Why was she so agile? Ranged combat was where they excelled. Was it a spell, perhaps? Either way, he needed her to stay still. He got hit in the mouth, mud streaming down his face. He scraped it off and back to the street. He growled, annoyed at how poorly this fight was doing. 

Finally, he caught onto some strands of hair and yanked her towards him. 

She reacted quickly, grabbing his arm to keep from sliding and bit his as hard as she could. He let go, grunting as he pushed her off. 

Maybe this target would be too difficult right now. He needed Burt’s help. Or maybe the other guy wouldn’t be so difficult. Besides if she was intent on protecting him, she would tire herself out too, right? 

“Burt, Yer still standin’ ain’t cha? What do ya say ‘bout takin’ one of them out?” 

—

Kamri paled. No, no that was bad. 

They had to run. Cap had to have the common since to run. He had to! 

But then again, common since wasn’t his strong suit. 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Fri Aug 3, 2018 9:33 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Everything happened fast, people moving and shouting around him. Between one breath and the next, Ed drew upon a small bit of magic to make himself more agile, better able to comprehend everything going on around him. Here he had been, trying to have a pleasant conversation, grease the wheels with a little silver to make this man's tongue loose. Now the man had a knife, well to call it a knife was an understatement, the man had some kind of short sword masquerading as a dagger in his meaty fist. A fist that was drawing back as if to strike at Ed. The girl was somewhere throwing around magic, good so she was actually a mage then, but attacking the other man with it. His eyes flicked in that direction in time to see the man's broom transforming into a spear. A neat trick, that. With his mind moving faster, Ed had time to ponder the idea of something similar, a sword within a cane perhaps. Or a parasol. Speaking of swords, though, perhaps it was time to draw his own and follow a previous captain's expert advice: Stick the pointy end in the other guy.

Ed's hand closed around emptiness, a place where his stomach dropped into as he remembered giving the sword to Peabody. True, Peabody knew how to use it and Ed was less able, but in a knife fight it would have been nice to have a little extra reach. At least his spell was holding, giving him an edge. He could practically prance over there with his own slender dagger and have the fiend at his mercy. It would take but a moment, and then he and the girl would make short work of the spearbroom wielding ruffian. Or at least, that would have been the plan, had the girl not chosen that moment to lay hands on him, spinning him around and breaking the small bit of concentration he found he needed to focus on maintaining that particular spell. Time sped up around him in time for him to understand the panic in the girl's voice as she questioned his intent. There was really only one way to deal with the situation, and that was to flee with all good haste. But that would call for him to slow these two down long enough for him and the girl to escape.

"We will of course fight! These two swine are unskilled louts! We will make short work of them, won't we?" He projects his voice theatrically, his intent to intimidate their opponents. Battles were fought first with the mind, and if he could make them doubt for even a second then they had already won. He tipped a wink to the girl to let her in on the plan, unfortunately not realising the gesture was hidden behind the eye patch he was wearing.

Time to fight, and he would need to make every movement count. Years of training he had mainly avoided, and battles he had directed his own men in had prepared him for this. To his left was the spear wielding, large nosed one. Ed still had the coins in his hand, and an idea formed. Thrusting out his hand, he made the gesture to throw them towards him, and with a push with his mind he shot them at the man, powered with bursts of telekinesis. Pay no attention towards him any more, his distraction was made and there was a more pressing matter ahead of him, Ed slipped his hand into his pocket and back out again quickly. Knuckle dusters firmly in place, he swung his fist at the man named Burt, drawing again on his magic to lend him strength for the blow. His fist hit it's mark, and then the magic activated after the impact.

Burt had no idea what was going on. Magic was flying, people were screaming, and his instincts were kicking in hard. They were mages, the pair of them. Mages, in this part of town, right outside the boss' headquarters. This was no longer a chance encounter. They were here for a reason, and he was the first line of defense. Fighting mages wasn't a task he would have chosen, but he had some tricks. The broom dropped from his hand, and he focused his attention solely on the man. He was bigger, but that didn't mean anything when it came to mages. But he was closer, well within striking distance. Burt's companion was struck with ice, the same ice that had caught his own leg moments before, and then he noticed some shining objects shooting out of the lead mage's hand. They weren't aimed at him, which would be the man's last mistake.

Before he could gut the mage, the idiot was swinging a fist at him. Power over the elements and the man chose his own hands. There would be a trick there, and Burt felt his body tensing for the impact, imagining the horror that was about to be unleashed upon his mortal frame. The wind was knocked out of him, almost completely, but the strike didn't have much heft behind it. Was this man truly a mage? Didn't bear thinking about. The man was dead now. Forgetting the knife momentarily, Burt instead strikes out with a punch of his own, lifting the man off his feet and sending him flying backwards.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Fri Aug 3, 2018 7:29 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Her face reddened.  Did he just tell her to hush?! Did he have any idea how rude he was being? 

She would have to teach him how to be civil and how to not talk to strangers. Was he four? Most four year old children knew this. It's rather simple!


She ran her fingers through her hair, her face falling into an irritated grimace. This was her ticket out. This man. And here they were, talking to two very dangerous guards and just hoping they felt a bit more merciful then they looked.

She tried to usher him out one last time. 

"Father is sick and you're standing here chatting up some very busy people. I'm sure they have work to do. So why don't we hurry back and deliver the medicine from the doctor's."
She turned to the man in front of them. 
"I'm terribly sorry. He gets lost easily. Might be a little bit different in the head. Doesn't know when to-"


A split second later, she saw the glint of the knife in his hands. She rolled her eyes and let loose a heavy sigh.

"Fuck it." 

Her breath grew cold as she stretched out her hand and sent an icy fog. It curled around the first guard's ankle, freezing it in place. She missed most the spell, and it would only buy them a couple seconds, but she would take it over a knife to her gut.

- - - 

Nose's eyes grew wide as the girl revealed herself to be a mage. His guard was too low. He had failed Burt. 
"Burt!" He howled, rushing forward. He slid his hand across the broomstick and popped the head of the broom off, revealing a metal tip. A spear. 

Those two probably had more tricks up their sleeve; he would need to be careful! The distance started to close between him and the two troublemakers. He would spear the mage through the ribs and then interrogate the other before snapping his neck. 
He had to protect the warehouse, himself, and Burt. Hell be released on his shoulders if anything happened to Burt. 

- - - 

Kamri spun around, taking the few precious seconds she had. She grabbed both of the sailor's shoulders tightly and turned him towards her. 

"Okay decide right now. Are we running or fighting? Which can you do better?"  
Panic edged in her voice. This was stupid. Stupid, stupid! Why did she come? Why did he drag her into this?
She turned to see the other guard approaching. The ice was already melting around the other one's ankle. As soon as he was free it was run or fight for your life. 

She could almost feel the footsteps of the angrier one approaching, thumping heavily behind her. 
She turned and sent another siege of frost, but it missed. She sent another, and A final one that clipped him and tripped him up slightly but not by nearly enough. 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Fri Aug 3, 2018 2:56 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Ed cringes as the smell of the second man's breath washes over him, the stench enough to make his eyes water. Someone definitely needed to have a conversation with the man about the dangers of gum disease, but at this moment in time, Ed was not going to be the one to do it. While the man was of a height with Ed, his nose was much larger, and his shoulders far wider across. Thick cords of muscle wrapped his arms, which were covered in scars. Obviously this gentleman had been through some rough experiences before finding himself this, a respectable and legal profession. The noble art of street cleaning was not to be sniffed at. Much like Nose's breath.

Ed turns his attention away from Nose, who while warning Ed about the dangerous quality of the street by informing him how many accidents there had been in these parts but also throwing the tired, overused slur of "Baldy", towards the other who was apparently named Burt. Honestly, why people thought being bald was something to sneer at was beyond him. There were plenty of bald and shaven headed people in the world, yet recently people seemed to think it was the only trait worth commenting on. From the stubble atop Burt's head, Ed could see that he was another like minded individual. Shaving one's head was the best way to keep cool, avoid lice and attract sexual partners.

"As I was saying, gentlemen" Ed sighs, exasperated, as his companion pushes her way in and starts rambling. Brother? Was the girl having some kind of fit? Did she truly not remember who he was? It was just his luck to have stumbled across an addled street urchin. Taking her in had been meant to improve his crew, but now it seemed like it had been an act of charity upon his part! He would need to hire on a nanny for her. Was she even truly a mage? Oh, so many questions to answer, and now the girl was muttering slurs about the appearance of these working fellows. She had obviously never been taught not to judge books by their covers! He would take this girl under his wing and see to it that she received a proper education!

"Hush, girl. I need to speak with these men." Ed says, turning his attention back to the one named Burt.

Burt looked to be a man getting on in years. A hard life was written clearly across his features. A scar upon his cheek, stubble along his jaw, a nose that had obviously been broken multiple times. He was just as thick across the shoulders as Nose, but a couple of inches shorter, making him look far bulkier. A number of tattoos on his arms gave him some character, and looking into his eyes, Ed could see the man was intelligent. Whether it was book smarts or street smarts didn't matter, this was obvious the brains of the pair. Perhaps the supervisor of the whole street cleaning crew! He would definitely be the one to negotiate with. Ed reaches out to attempt to take the man's hand, to slip the coins into it from his own.

The knife was in Burt's hand without a second thought. You acted fast around here, or you didn't wake up the next day to act at all. He had been keeping track of the conversation fairly well. The attractive man with the wonderful hairstyle and beard was a complete idiot, and the small girl with all the scars was trying to keep him out of trouble. But for them to be around here, and for her to be so obviously alarmed. There was something fishy going on. It would be better to need to dispose of two bodies than to take a risk by letting them continue on their way. From the looks of things, these two wouldn't be missed.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Thu Aug 2, 2018 6:23 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

"Help me find a way up here," Kamri whispered. She waited, but hear no footsteps behind her.

She turned around. 

"Hey are you coming or- and he's gone." Her shoulders drooped and she slouched. Where did he go? He was right there. 

Two seconds ago.

"Moron…" she looked up to the sky and placed her hands on her face, groaning.
 "Don't tell me you ran off."

She dragged her hands down her face, pulling down her skin, gaunt expression in her eyes.
Right, he couldn't have gone far. Best to search before too much time passed. Maybe he went around a different route?
Walking back onto the street. it was obvious where he had disappeared to. She heard his grating voice just down the street. Dear god. Please don't be dumb enough to go and talk to the guards. Don't be dumb enough. Don't be dumb enough! 
She turned around and looked at the scene before her in utter annoyance. 
Yes. Of course he would be talking to a guard! 


"The Hell does that idiot think he's doing?"  She pinched the bridge of her nose. She would have to dig him out of this. Maybe she could use some of her charm, or her quick wit? 
After all, she was rather smart and beautiful. At least, she thought so. 
She stepped out of the alleyway, walking towards the guards. She would have to lie or create some story and grab her newfound companion before things got rough. 

- - - 

"Ay! Who're ya talkin' to, Burt?"  The Second guard wiped his nose with his forearm and trudged on over.  "Who's baldy 'ere?" 

He stood rugged, a good six feet tall. His nose took up most of his features, and his brow was thick and protruded from the rest of his face.  He looked Ed up and down, brow half raised. "Get outta' ere. Scrawny people snap in these parts." He waved a hand to Ed, grumbling. "Come on, Burt. If we donts pretend we're sweeping, the boss gets a little iffy and we dun get our payment." 

He spied Kamri standing A little while back down the road. 
"Eurgh. What's with the charred looking Gal o'er there?" 


–


Kamri walked up, head held high and shoulders back. She walked up next to Ed. "Hey there…. Brother.  What… are you doing? Here? Next to these obviously dangerous men?"
She looked at them both. They could crush them both with their hands alone. Abnormally stocky, and not her first choice to fight. 
She spook through clenched teeth. 
"I sure hope you don't mean to cause these gentlemen some trouble and leave. Right now." 


"Baldy…." she looked up to the sky and placed her hands on her face, groaning. "Don't tell me you ran off."She dragged her hands down her face, pulling down her skin, gaunt expression in her eyes.

Author: Goggle, Posted: Wed Aug 1, 2018 11:06 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Burt sighs, sweeping the exact same patch of ground that has been occupying his attention for the last eight hours. The day shift was always the easiest, nobody ever came by during the day. Too well lit to be seen coming and going from a den of thieves and vagabonds, wasn't it? Which meant, every day for the last seventeen years he had been positioned on this same patch of street, sweeping this same imaginary dust, staring at the same door that nobody used. Wasn't even like they used it during the night, either. No, no, the boss was much too sneaky to use a regular door like a regular person for his business. Thing was a decoy. A trap. A ruse, designed to snare anyone foolish enough to risk the most powerful mid level criminal in the city. Was an enviable position. High up enough on the food chain to not be struggling, but also not too high up that everyone wanted a piece of you. Also meant for made men, much like Burt was, you could have the cushty jobs. The simple things. Meant to be a reward for hard work. Felt a lot like retirement to him. Wasn't meant to be on this duty for so long, was just meant to be a rest while his leg healed. But here he was, sweeping the same spot of ground, in front of the same false entrance. His partners cycled out. The new guy wasn't much of a talker. They weren't meant to talk, that was true, but there were ways to sneak in the odd word. Bond a little. Makes the day pass further. What else were they going to do, for eight hours a day, every day? Burt lets out an explosive sigh as he looks up and down the street, and freezes as he catches sight of an odd looking man coming his way.
Well this was a predicament. According to the man in the bar, a shady man in a bar known for disreputable clientele, this was meant to be where Ed would be finding himself a nice little sum to swipe out from under the nose of a local crime lord. He had expected the area to be run down, that was true. The breed of criminal he was targeting here couldn't exactly be seen to be doing business opposite a guard post. But where was the grandeur? The pride in one's own place of business? There was no way any of these buildings, run down and damaged as they were could possibly be his target. He was looking for someone with sway, with pull in the city. Someone who could afford to fix their windows when they were broken. To hire guards to protect their assets. It was the middle of the day, and the only people around were cleaning the street! No, this could not be his target, which meant he must have gotten himself turned around at some point. The question was, where?

Well luckily Ed was not too proud to ask for directions. If there was a building in the nearby area housing such a powerful criminal then the locals would know about it. In fact, they would probably be more than willing to talk about it. If not to just gossip to pass away the day, they might also be hoping for just this situation to come along. A dashing hero, come to steal from the corrupt and give to the needy! In this situation, Ed just happened to be that needy fellow. But another time, it could be these two street cleaners who would be benefiting from this heist! This in mind, he checks his eye patch is in place, pats down his coat to check for all his assorted bits and pieces, and heads towards them, walking tall and confident.

"Hello there! Gentlemen! A moment of your time if I may?" Smile in place, Ed approaches the street cleaners. He already knows how he is going to play this. He has a couple of silvers ready in his hand. Two simple working men would be more than happy to part with some information in exchange for a little coin to spend at the tavern. With jobs as common and boring as theirs, he could only imagine that trips to the tavern were the only thing keeping them from going quite mad.
The man approaching did not look intimidating, but there was definitely something off about him. Before his current posting Burt had worked the streets, and worked them well. No matter how long he spent as an ornament out here on this street, there were some instincts that would never die. There was just something about this man that made the backs of his eyes itch. He found himself gripping the broom, hard, with one hand. The other was already wrapping around a dagger tucked into the back of his belt.

"I was hoping you fine gentlemen could help me. I'm looking for a warehouse, full of unsavory character. It must be around here somewhere. Perhaps if you tell me where, I could be convinced to part with some silver."

What. The. Hell.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:48 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Maybe she was a little harsh. But if her life was at stake then it was understandable, right?


A bear. Really. How imaginative was this man? He was an adult, right? He sure didn't act like one!


She heard his hurried footsteps catch up to her. Maybe she should apologize. At least slow down so he had an easier time catching up. She cast a glance over her shoulder, opening her mouth to speak. Before she could get a single word out, he passed her by and started jabbering again. 
"I have decided that I shall listen to my crew. It is the mark of a good captain, being willing to do whatever is needed to lessen the fears of those under his command."


"Your crew, hu?" She muttered to herself, annoyed. She was about to snap back at him but his words did hold a certain something to them. Despite the anger that sparked when she thought about being stuck with this man and his group for a while, a phrase in there struck a chord with her. His talk about being a good captain gave her pause. 
This all seemed like some silly game to her. Something a child might do to pass the time. But the stakes where much more than winning or losing. 
To him however, this truly mattered. And more than that he really had a group he wanted to take along with him. 


She had just met the man, and was far from ever trusting him in the least bit. She still had the idea of maybe trying to take the boat later or slip out under the cover of darkness and find a new route; that would be a better plan.
But perhaps she should at least see where this goes. 


It was pathetic that her strongest tie to this whole adventure was curiosity. She should have better reasons but here she was, walking down the street to a warehouse to have a stakeout. 


The further down the street they got, the mustier the buildings became. The streets where quiet save for the quiet scratching of leaves and debris being blown across the cobbles. 
It was unsettling. Kamri herself lived on the other side of town, the nicer end. It had some nice buildings and gardens and stayed clean. This area however was farther from home and she wasn't familiar with it at all. 
Evening would fall soon. The sky was already turning into a murky orange. 
She cast a spell on herself. A shadow spell that would cause illusions and distractions. She used it to alter her appearance slightly. She added some tears to her robes and added some scars to her arms and face. Nothing too different. Her magic wasn't very polished but unless someone really stared at her, the fake scars and tears looked passable. 
She swirled her hand in the air which created a black and groggy mist. It swirled down to the street below them and added some minor scuffs to the Captain's shoes and made them both appear less cleanly. 
Well, it made Kamri appear like she was covered in a thin coat of dust. The bald oaf however didn't need much alteration. 


"I think we've arrived." She whispered. 


Down the street, a few blocks ahead, stood a large one story building. Its windows smashed but boarded up.
There were a few things that gave this building the impression it was what they were looking for. 
There were plenty of marks on the building for propaganda and the like. But among the jumbled letters and symbols, one type stood out. Two symbols, one on each wooden support beam in front of the door. It depicted the head of a fox with a coin in its mouth, all drawn in a dark red paint. 


Furthermore, two men stood a few yards from the door. They were sweeping the street, minding their own business, but hey always positioned themselves so the door was always in their eyesight. Besides, the fact that they were both much too muscular and intimidating to be mere cleaners in this part of the city was a dead giveaway. 


"We can't get too close without drawing their suspicion. We need to find another route."  She took a moment to look around. There was a rundown home just down the alleyway. It was close enough to the ground to have good chances to find a decent way up. She headed down that direction, stuffing her hands in her pockets and slouching- like what she assumed a thug or criminal would walk like. 

She wasn't entirely wrong but honestly she knew nothing of the ways of the thugs and gamblers and probably just looked grouchy. 


Reaching the alleyway she turned around to check to see if the captain was following her. "Help me find a way up here," She whispered. 

Author: Goggle, Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 12:28 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Ed lets out a gasp, absolutely shocked by the ignorance of this young child! Only a day on his crew and already she thought she knew better than his many years of experience. Just where exactly did she get off? He had laid out his plans, as was only right. He had drawn diagrams to make it easier to understand! What more did she want from him?! To top off the insult, she obviously had not been paying any attention to the plan, as her question was awful.

"Peadboy will be releasing the bear, a key part of this plan if it is to succeed. His role is crucial. Crucial!" Ed mutters under his breath, seething with anger.

But the girl was already leaving. Ed sighs, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to alleviate the growing tension building there. What happened to minions respecting their boss? Was it too much to ask for undying loyalty from underlings? Glancing at Peabody, he realises he has at least one crew member who is willing to do anything for him. Even though his question had started this small mutiny, the thought sends a sharp pain through Ed's heart, it was Peabody. So the question had been asked with the utmost respect for Ed and his position as captain. Perhaps it had been meant to highlight his plan, to show that it did not actually need any improvement. Then the girl had jumped in with her insubordination. Oh, there would be consequences! No victory celebrations for her once the job was done. Well, she could celebrate, but no wine. The depth of his wrath knew no bounds.

Speaking of Peabody, when Ed met his eyes, his manservant suddenly looked away as if embarrassed. Ah, so then this had not been his intent. Good. He nods to himself as he begins gathering things they might need from the Pride. If this was only to be a scouting mission, then he would not need much. A disguise would of course be needed. The last thing he needed was to be spotted nearby right before performing a heist. Basics. He slips on the eye patch, straightens up his coat and that does it. Perfect. Enough to get him back to his room at the Salty Barrel, where he would be able to don his actual disguise.

"Well, Peabody. You take the ship and scout the area from the water. Perhaps you and Twinkle will be able to find something handy from the there."

Without waiting for a response, or more accurately, knowing that Peabody would follow the order flawlessly and without question, Ed takes off after the girl. He hops over the side of the boat and onto the pier. She hasn't gone far, and it in a few of his longer, superior strides, he has caught up with and overtaken her.

"I have decided that I shall listen to my crew. It is the mark of a good captain, being willing to do whatever is needed to lessen the fears of those under his command." Perfect. Control of the situation was back in his hands.

Whistling a jaunty little tune, he continues at this pace, perhaps a little maliciously if he was to be honest with himself. The slip where he kept his own ship, small boat, wasn't in too bad of an area. The inns and taverns nearby were priced fairly, perhaps a little on the cheap side which wasn't a bad thing considering his depleted funds. But the guards patrolled, which meant petty crime happened less frequently. Brawls broke out between sailors on leave, but it was rare that anything led to serious injury or death. In all, it wasn't a high end area, but it could be much worse. Which was the direction he was heading in now. The overall quality of the buildings and people began to slide, and the general odor permeating the air was much less tasteful. This alone was almost enough to make him call the whole thing off now, perhaps instead see if they could hit a legitimate business on the other side of the docks. Then they would need to deal with guards, many more guards. No, this was the course he had set and he would follow it through to the end.

If his information was to be trusted, the warehouse in question should be just up ahead.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 2:02 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

The diagram grew more and more ridiculous as his ludicrous scheme was sketched out. Kamri followed along for the most part, but it did seem absolutely fantastical.  
"Well, I suppose I could cast an illusion spell to darken the room. Not to mention a better disguise then what I would assume you could scrounge up…" She looked Ed up and down. Yes. Her illusion magic would indeed be needed. 


He kept unraveling his plan, barreling on and on about the bear and the bees and something about a new airship. 
Was… Was he even sure that there was a bear? 
…Should she ask? 


Probably.


To her relief, it seemed that the solider suggested that they would do well to go take a look first. Kamri wondered just what she had gotten herself into. This 'flawless' plan was- well, flawed.  And she was right in the middle of it! Maybe it would have been better if she was skewered after all. 


"I think this gentleman here is right. If you don't know what it even looks like then it has 'failure' written all over it. And, just while I have your attention, my head is not that big!" She pointed to the smaller stick figure. "And what about him?"  She pointed to Peabody. "He seems like the most competent out of our entire team and you haven't given him a role."  


She glanced up from the paper. "I know of children who have more tact then this."  She sat back, folding her arms. 
This was suicidal, at best. Hell, a swift death might be the best case scenario. 
But, if she did get through this… 

The book lay heavy within her pocket. She needed to start sailing. And it just so happens that she is now in ties with a Sailor who hasn't killed her on sight. The predicament was rough but if it played out alright, she could very well come out a lot better than when she started. If she survived this, then maybe it could really work in her favor. 
The man seemed excited about his plan. More than that, he seemed rather childish. Maybe she should alter her phrasing so it didn't sound so harsh. She didn't want to discourage her one way out to sea, after all. 
Sure, it was for selfish reasons, but no one could really prove otherwise. 
"…It's a start. We'll go have a look at the building, and then just maybe alter it a little." 
She took a deep breath, trying to let her panic subside. 

"Now then. Is there anything we should be doing before we take a look? If we want to attack tonight we should probably get a move on."
She climbed out of the boat and onto the pier. 
She must have been insane to go along with this. She probably was. But what other choice did she have? 
Well, on the bright side, it had been a long time since she had been out on an adventure. It would be refreshing.

Author: Goggle, Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:51 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

The silence stretched, glass held out in the captain's head ready to toast, when he realised the new girl was getting flustered. For the life of him he just could not understand her hesitation. With one breath she had been offering anything and everything to him, and when the solution presented itself for her to clear herself of a terrible debt, she balks?! Her idea of leaving her behind to take the fall, while it had not crossed Ed's mind, did bear some thinking about. It would be an elegant solution to the matter. Gets him what he wants and punishes someone for daring to attempt to steal another of his ships. If he did that, though, it would make him no better than his own traitorous crew. No, it would not do. He had already inducted her, and now as her captain he had a duty to stand by her until she was no longer a member of his crew.

"What's the plan? What's the plan?!" Ed chuckles confidently, striking a pose, one foot on a bench, fists on his hips, staring off into the distance. The moment is ruined somewhat by a drunk vomiting noisily into the water behind the boat. Ignoring this, Ed leans in close to the girl and whispers to her conspiratorially, "Let me tell you what the plan is."

Paper and quill appear in his hands as if by magic, and he begins the process of illustrating his plans with diagrams, to make them easier to understand.

"Now, while I haven't had a chance to take a peek at the place myself yet, this is what I believe the building will look like." What follows is a crooked box, drawn messily. Next to the box is a wavy line with a crude picture of a boat drawn in it, helpfully labeled 'Water'. It is extremely unlikely, from the size of the boat, that this is drawn to scale.

"Wearing a disguise, I will talk my way past the guards," Two stick figure men, overly large and wearing comical scowls appear between the box and the 'Water', "I will claim to be a new criminal in town, looking to start a gambling racket and offering to pay my respects to the main man. You, girl, will accompany me as my bodyguard."

Ed begins muttering to himself as he adds a few more doodles to the paper. One is a stick figure that he has tried to make look handsome and cunning, how you would make a stick figure look like that only he knows, and the other is a tiny stick figure next to him.

"Once inside," he continues, "You will use your magic to cause darkness in the whole warehouse, throwing everyone into confusion. Peabody there will release a bear through the door we hope is located here" A quick arrow, stick man and a fairly decent depiction of a bear "and Twinkle will release a swarm of bees through this window!" Another arrow, a flattering stick Twinkle and a number of bees that have no right to be that big in this picture.

"During the darkness and panic caused by the bear and the bees, we shall use magic to see in the dark and then have the run of the place! It will be a simple matter at that point for us to find where he keeps all his money, load it up into bags and take off with it into the night. By this time tomorrow we could be far East of here in a new airship."

As Ed surveys his work of art and genius tactical mastery, he can't help but feel pride. It was just like old times with his old crew.

Peabody, on the other hand, can feel the beginnings of a migraine coming on. "Sir, perhaps we might benefit from a little scouting. Just to make sure everything is accurate, so that any revisions to the plan, if necessary, could be made ahead of time?" Truth be told. Peabody had swung by that area already, and had his own diagram and ideas drawn up. He had been meaning to present them to the captain earlier, but time had gotten away from them.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 2:14 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Kamri carefully took the glass of liquid. It wasn’t poisoned, she was sure. The solider gave some to his friend. Or captain? Probably some sort of underling. Too brash to be of much importance.

She took a sip, trying to calm down a bit. This was the stupidest thing she had ever attempted!She noticed the golem that sat, almost unmoving. It was small, but it looked rather interesting, made of a beautiful sort of stone. It seemed petrified, though; Its fear only increased when the boat suddenly started to rock. Kamri snapped back to look towards the bearded man, who was now standing in the boat. He didn’t seem too skilled in boating, judging by the sudden gesture. The man seemed excited, his face suddenly lighting up with hope. "Girl, to pay for your attempt to steal my boat, I'm conscripting you into my crew!"Kamri’s heart sank into the pit of her stomach. “W-Wait? What?!” He seemed to ignore her outburst, suddenly bubbling to life and explaining his daring plans and frivolous ideas. Once he got started, it seemed, he didn’t stop. She tried at multiple points to get a word in edgewise but he was too passionate about this new crime he was devising. Where were those guards when you needed them?  The plan at its core seemed simple. Break in, grab the money, and go. Saying it like that, it sounded easy. But taking a closer look, the more impossible it seemed to be. She knew nothing of this famous smuggler and as such didn’t know how powerful he was or if he had bodyguards. She didn’t know about the warehouse or if it was trapped. Were there people there? What does the headquarters look like? What kind of items do they need to bring? What’s their survival rate? The questions swam around inside her head. “Wait, wait, wait! Woah! Hey hold on!” She stood up too, instantly regretting it when she nearly lost balance, rocking the boat. She took a moment to steady herself against the pier’s support beam.“Don’t you think that’s a little hasty? Besides! I don’t even know your names! How do I know you’ll be honest enough to not leave me there for be picked off while you two run with the money?”Then again, what choice did she have? If he hurried, she was sure rather Beardy or the general could catch up to those guards. Hell! that was if they decided not to kill her and dump her body in the ocean. She had to rather become a quick criminal, or a dead criminal. Putting it like that, the choice seemed rather easy. She ran her fingers through her hair. “It’s just this one heist? Fine. What’s the plan?”

Author: Goggle, Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 7:27 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

For just one moment, the situation looked like it might be getting away from him. The guard looked for a second as if he might be doubting not only Ed's story, but Ed himself! This. This is why it always confused Ed when people had the deluded misconception that guards were actually people.

To the girl's credit, she recovered… Well, slowly. Then compounded this with a lie told in such an unbelievable fashion that he was cringing inside with embarrassment for her. Unless that was her plan. Play along with his story so that he would not strike at her, but in such a way as to convince the guards to strike at him! The sheer genius behind it… Remaining perfectly still, his eyes shot to her, narrowing with suspicion. Hopeless fool or devious mastermind? Which was she?

The question ended up being moot. The guard's interest in this whole interaction seemed to have been based solely on killing time, and anything that would require too much investigating was not worth it for him. Laziness in guards, the friend to all criminals. Ed swiveled slowly in place to turn his gaze to the girl once he was sure the guards were on their merry way. She certainly needed to make her explanation good. Otherwise… Well, how hard would it be, really, to tie something heavy to a child and throw them overboard?

He wasn't sure whether she was trying to convince herself or him that she wasn't a thief, but she was obviously intent on looking upset about the whole thing. His foot tapped as he waited for her to say her piece. His heart sped up for a moment at the mention of her being a mage. They could certainly do with one, what with the ship's current mage being so inept. And possibly broken. Could golems break down? That was a question for another time, as he heart sank again to it's usual miserable depths as the girl revealed through her words that she wasn't going to be much more help than Twinkle.

The girl seemed to run out of steam, deflating as she finished begging for her life. Ed let out an explosive breath that turned into a long, weary sigh, ending with him dropping onto a bench on the boat. While having a mage owe him a favor sounded useful, the mage in question did not. Examining her, his mind pushes through the haze of alcohol, speeding off on a dozen different trails.

Peabody steps down into the boat, clearing his throat to get the girl's attention.

"This might be a moment. Drink?"

Without waiting for a response, he begins digging through bags and heads over to check on the golem. He whispers encouragement to her in an attempt to coax her out of her catatonic state. A movement, ever so slight as it was, gives him cause to hope for her. He nods to himself and busies himself with preparing three glasses. His master would surely want wine, but instead Peabody chooses to serve a sweet pear juice he had purchased while Ed had been in the bar earlier. It would be refreshing, and more alcohol was not likely to him any good. One glass he sets before the golem, one beside his master and the third he holds out to the girl.

"A-ha!" Ed exclaims, shooting to his feet. The sudden motion elicits a squeak from Twinkle, but he misses it. A plan had formed, one in which this strange mage girl might come in handy.

As far as plans went, it really was a sign of how far Ed had fallen. It was time that he left this city, though, and to do that he would need some coin in his pocket. He had been considering a number of different enterprises that could accomplish this, from low income schemes like gambling to complex heists that would net him a major score. A part of him knew that he had been stagnating since losing his airship, but it was time to change that! A job, no matter how small, would be just the thing to dust off the cobwebs and get him back in the game. A lot would depend on the new mage's abilities, but he could adapt.

"Girl, to pay for your attempt to steal my boat, I'm conscripting you into my crew!"

He then begins to outline his plan to her. A simple smash and grab job, under cover of darkness. He knows of a dockside warehouse, the headquarters of an infamous gangster who runs all kinds of gambling rings within the city. Using her skills to conceal themselves and cause distractions they could sneak in, grab as much silver as they could carry and then flee into the night on the Pride. Foolproof.

Once he finishes sharing the details of his plan, he raises his glass.

"To our good fortune!" 

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 2:36 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

It took a second to notice that the Guards where looking at Kamri. Their gaze snapped Kamri’s attention to them, looking frozen and pale. 


The Guard lifted an eyebrow, growing more suspicious of Ed. He grabbed the hilt of the sword on his hip. “Miss if he’s giving you trouble-“ 


“No! No, no! It was… the Rat! Dreadful rodent. You should have seen it! It had massive teeth! And and… its claws! The size of the beast was… m..massive? Massive! I’m so glad our… good ol’ sword man here was there to scare it off!” 


Her fingers curled around her robes, clutching them nervously. The Guard surveyed the scene for a moment before letting his fingers unwrap from the hilt of the sword. It wasn’t a believable excuse by any means, but his shift would be over soon and he had just had to deal with a drunken gambler in a brawl. He just wanted to go home and have a nice drink.


“Well, then I suppose we’ll be on our way. Charles, let’s go finish our route.” He turned around and hopped back on his horse. The two guardsmen turned and started to trot away, chatting idly among themselves. 


Kamri let out a deep sigh, the color slowly returning to her face. She placed her face in her hands. 


“I’m not a thief. I’m not. What am I doing?” 


 She looked back up at Ed. “Thank you. Really, truly thank you. Any other person in their right mind would have turned me in.”
Ah, right. Her promised reward for keeping quiet. 

Yes, that.

Well. 

That was indeed an issue. 


Maybe they didn’t want money. Maybe it could be a favor done like helping repair this obviously damaged boat. Or maybe even a simple ‘I.O.U.’  


She brushed off her robes, trying to free the wrinkles from her nervous grasp. She thought of running. That might be good. After all, she didn’t know if they would spear her the moment those guards where completely out of sight. As a matter of fact, why was she even wasting time thinking? They might spear her in a second! 
‘Keep talking.’ She thought, ‘If you distract them, maybe they’ll forget about killing you for trying to steal their boat in broad daylight!’


“Well, I suppose if you spared me I should at least be honest with you. Again I don’t have too much money on my person but I have a small sum plus a few interesting gems. Or maybe you’re looking for some sort of item? I could maybe help with that. I’m a mage, too. So spells could also be on the table, granted I can figure them out and cast them correctly.” 


After a moment of silence, she deflated a little, hanging her head. “And, sorry… for stealing your boat…” 


Ah, right. Her promised reward for keeping quiet.
‘Keep talking.’ She thought, ‘If you distract them, maybe they’ll forget about killing you for trying to steal their boat in broad daylight!’

Author: Goggle, Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 7:06 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

As he approaches the boat, Ed spares a look at Peabody. While he himself had gone running down the docks like a madman, a feat that had left him embarrassingly short of breath at this moment, the older man had remained fully in control of the situation. Well, he supposed, that is what he was paying him for. It was really a credit to himself that his manservant was so adept. His ego thus stroked, he stands silently, face a stern mask as he attempts to slow his breathing and play it cool. Like Peabody.

The intruder turned out to be a human girl. Small, young, but not nearly hairy enough to be a dwarf. He had been hoping for a dwarf, no idea why, but seeing the human features was a little disappointing. That was a thought and feeling he did not want to explore any further. She began babbling, whether that was due to her being truly upset and scared or her feigning innocence to lure Ed and Peabody into a trap he could not immediately tell. He lets her continue, while he examines her. She is pale, with grey eyes that remind him of storm clouds. Long brown hair that could do with a lot more attention than it seemed to receive. A burn upon her cheek. He half expected her blue robes to be stained and messy, but it looked like she kept them well enough. All in all, she did not cut a very imposing figure, and did not look like the average thief to Ed.

Now he had his breathing under control, Ed could hear hooves approaching behind him. Nothing particularly special about there, plenty of horses in the area. The way the girl was growing more and more agitated, however, and mentioning the guards made it obvious to him who was coming up behind them. Now it was decision time. The girl was offering a lot, but then what exactly did she have to offer? She didn't exactly have the look about her of someone rich or influential. He didn't get a sense of any great power about her. Was there really any good reason not to hand her over to the guards? He scratches his beard, thinking this through as she asks her final question. Then realises what he is considering. Blasphemy!

Ed hops into the boat, glancing at the bundle of robes in back of the boat. From under the hood he can make out the gentle green glow of Twinkle's eyes, but he still hadn't noticed her make any movements. If she didn't spend so much of her time that way, he might be worried. He returns to ignoring his little mage and instead focuses on the approaching guards. He makes a move to place his hand on the human girl's shoulder but then thinks better of it, instead raising his hand to wave at the approaching guardsmen.

"Hello there, gentlemen!" He calls out to them. He can see from their bearing they were already heading this way, probably something to do with seeing Peabody with sword drawn at the edge of the boat. To his credit, Peabody had already returned the sword to his belt. He now stood at formal attention, turned to the side so he could keep his own eyes on the approaching guards. Such a professional.

One of the guards hands his reigns to his companion, then dismounts his horse and walks over to the boat. Ed sees him taking in the whole scene, slowly looking from Ed, to the human girl then Peabody. Finally, he lands back on Ed.

"What is going on her, son?" The guard asks. He has a common accent, with years of experience behind it. This wasn't some rookie guardsmen, it seemed.

"Ah, well, I spotted a large rat on my boat so I had to vacate it momentarily!" Ed begins to explain. "My man here was just about to skewer the thing when it jumped overboard. How strange!" Ed looked the guard dead in the eye throughout. He isn't trying especially hard to sell the story. There was nothing the guard could do, really, other than apprehend the criminal stood in the boat next to Ed.

The guard looks unconvinced, and turns his attention instead to the girl.  "Are you okay there lass? Everything okay?" He looks sincerely worried for her.

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:24 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Having a rapier pointed at her throat was not something Kamri thought would happen today. Then again, she also didn't think she would be stealing a boat. Against her better judgement though, here she was. Her eyes darted up to the man standing before her with the mustache. He looked rather stern and bold. Great, she wasn't getting out of this one.
She raised her hands defensively. “I was just- I was going to-!” She had been caught red handed. She didn’t expect the owners of the dingy boat to come outside in the thirty seconds it should have taken to set sail. She glanced down the street, as if watching for something. She turned her attention back to the cold grey man, standing in front of her. She felt her face turn red from embarrassment and guilt. She muttered something under her breath, hanging her head. “Don’t tell the guardsmen.” What a pathetic thing to ask. A thief caught red handed, asking for total freedom. “I have my reasons! I’m usually not a trouble maker! I just had a lapse in judgment. I don’t have much money and I need a way to get to the ocean.” Her argument wasn’t very strong, and she was openly admitted to being guilty.

“I really don’t have money on me but I’ll give what I have if you just keep quiet!” She recalled having six, maybe seven silver coins on her person.
Two men on horses came trotting down the path towards the docks. Their insignias obviously stated they were guardsmen. She looked up at the man with a beard, hoping he was a little less scary than his friend. “Money and… I’ll even throw in some gems I found on my way here.”
It wasn’t much. She was offering little more than the lint in her pocket. But as the guardsmen grew closer and the rapier stood unmoving from her neck, her hope began to diminish and panic started to set in.“Name the price, I’ll figure it out!”
Her eyes darted to the rope holding the boat to the dock. If worst came to worst, she could maybe untie it fast enough to get out. She had a few spells to help if she had to.The sounds of the hooves walking down the cobble street grew louder. She felt like it was ringing in her ears. “It’s even a crummy boat, I figured you wouldn’t miss it. I’m sorry. Just what do I have to do to keep you both from turning me in?” Her glance shifted from one to the other, trying to read their expressions. She quietly wished to herself to be unharmed by the end of the day. The man would probably cut her down without a single thought. 
Then again, she also didn't think she would be stealing a boat. Against her better judgement though, here she was. Her eyes darted up to the man standing before her w“I really don’t have money on me but I’ll give what I have if you just keep quiet!” She recalled having six, maybe seven silver coins on her person. ith the mustache. He looked rather stern and bold. Great, she wasn't getting out of this one.

Author: Goggle, Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:26 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

As Ed turned onto the docks he found himself colliding with another person. Instinct had his arms moving up to push the man away from him, while a few too many glasses of wine had him stumbling backwards. The combined effect had him backing up a step or two, waving his hands around in front of his body. It did not make for a very heroic display, but considering the way the man he had stumbled into was falling backwards too. Perfect. It would have been plain embarrassing to be the only one caught off guard. His hand drops to the hit of the knife at his belt, as he prepares himself.

The man is short, scruffy and clearly has missed out on the opportunity to bathe for the last… Well, it looked to be a while. His lank, greasy hair could probably pass for a dark blonde, and a scar on his cheek, starting at the corner of his mouth, tugs it up into a slight sneer. The man is wearing simple clothes, the tunic's showing off forearms thick with muscle. Ed takes note of the dagger held loosely in the man's hand, before also registering the fact he seemed to favor one leg. If they had run into each other while the man had been taking a step with the other foot, then the man would most likely have gone down hard. Finally, and worryingly, he seemed to have a group of followers. Two for sure, though a small crowd already seemed to be forming, following the man maybe?

Well, this could certainly have gone better. Weighing the situation as quickly as he could, which even while slightly addled turned out to be fast enough. He dropped his hand from the dagger and instead set about quickly straightening his overcoat, pulling it closer about himself in an attempt to hide his own cheap clothing that he is wearing. He had to hope his companion would be fast enough to play along, and that Peabody's own impeccable clothing would do to sell it.

"Peabody!" He exclaims, feigning outrage and raising his voice to carry across the crowd that is quickly picking up numbers. "This man," A pause for effect, along with his own sneer at the man across from him, "has struck me! I demand satisfaction!"

To his credit, Peabody did not miss a beat. Stepping in between Ed and the stranger, he had his glove off in the blink of an eye and was using it to strike the increasingly confused man across the face.

"Have your man leave word for mine at the Salty Barrel. I will see you at dawn!"

Without waiting for any kind of response, he continues on his way down the docks. The key to selling this would be confidence, something Ed plenty of. Enough to spare. Perhaps a little too much. No, never that. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Peabody catching up puling his glove back on, his face a mask of professionalism. That is when he caught sight of someone, a little someone, leaping into his boat.

"Peabody? Is that dwarf boarding our vessel?"

A pause. "I believe it to be a child, sir."

As ropes are loosened, the sail flaps absently.

"Peabody? Is that dwarf child trying to steal our vessel?"

Another pause. "I do believe so, sir."

The thought floats around his mind for a moment as he tries to understand why anyone would even try to steal the boat. But then he saw that it was beginning to move, ever so slightly. Eyes widening, Ed gives himself a small boost of agility using magic and takes off down the dock, doing a quick calculation to work out where the ship would be so he could leap in and take control of the situation. He tears past the ship, feet carrying him for seven more steps before he realises the boat has not moved any further. He stops, wondering what could possibly be going on as he spins in place to look back and see Peabody, rapier in hand, standing at the edge of the boat. The tip of the blade is hovering in pace, ready to strike. If only Ed could be that… Well, words failed him then. He makes his way back to the boat and looks at the would be thief.

"Now, dwarf child, I do believe you owe us an explanation. As do you." He turns a stern gaze to the mage bundled up in her robes at the back of the boat, still in the exact position he had left her in earlier. Was she going to let this child steal their boat, with her on it?!

Author: ShyStone, Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2018 10:48 AM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Kamri was never one to cause trouble. She often watched her tongue and kept to herself. She was of the quiet sort, not wanting to draw much attention to herself. So it was rather odd to see her bolting down the street with an angry gambler on her heels. He cursed at her, waving a dagger above his head in a theatric manner, drawing attention. Though his speech wasn’t one Kamri was familiar with, it was obvious he was livid. “I’m sorry! I don’t understand what you want from me!” Kamri called over her shoulder. She huffed as she began to feel tired. You would think a Street gambler with a bad leg would be slower, but you would be wrong; at least, assuming Kamri wasn’t horribly sluggish herself. She had been lured to a simple game. The gambler had previously explained the rules, but she was only able to pick out bits of the common tongue. The gathering crowd made her too nervous to walk away, and as such she bet some money. She was sure by their expressions that she had won whatever game it was- though when she took all the money she had ‘earned’ and left, she found she was being pursued a little while later. She would be an idiot to stop now! They wouldn’t let her go if she only gave back their money! They were thugs! Gamblers! Ruthless creatures!  She hurried down the street, desperately searching to try to find a way to lose the man. After the third turn, she heard him angrily pass her by when he turned down the wrong alleyway. She leaned against the wall, catching her breath. Lesson learned. Don’t try and bet money unless you understand the rules- it seemed obvious. Well, he was probably cheating anyway. It wasn’t completely her fault. Right? She shook her head, forgetting about the ordeal. Back to her original task at hand! She had a mission; a very important one! She pulled a book from her robes. It was black with a leather cover. A red seal in the middle depicted a feather standing vertically. The rim of the seal had intricate marks that swirled and curved. Removing the books’ band, she opened the book to a page near the beginning. The notes inside where scribbled quickly and were hard to decipher. “Where did you go? Hopefully somewhere to learn better handwriting…” She murmured to herself. All she knew was that she had to go out to sea. Her destination was unknown, but she was confident she could figure it out along the way. Besides, she didn’t really have the option to stick around too long. She walked back out onto the street, making her way into the docks. She placed her book back in her robe. She found her way to the docks without further issue. Some boats where clean and new, with enough room to fit a crew. Some were old and weather worn. Many where for sale, while others were merely parked as their owners went about town. She frowned as she reached into her pocket; she was near broke despite her recent- ah… ‘funds’. She turned around, she would have to find another way. It would have to wait. The journal felt heavy in her robe. She turned back to look at the boats, eyes landing on a small beat up skiff. Kamri was never one to cause trouble. She often watched her tongue and kept to herself. She was of the quiet sort, not wanting to draw much attention to herself. So it was rather odd to witness her stealing a boat.

Author: Goggle, Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 11:53 PM, Post Subject: [P, R] One Small Leap

Ed looks up from the cards, eyeing the other players as he takes another sip of his wine. It is his second glass, or fourth, hard to keep track at this point of the game. All he knows is, he feels pretty damn good right now. He might not be winning much, or anything, but he had these suckers right where he wanted them. For this little excursion he left his fine clothes behind, opting instead for the rough second hand clothes he had picked up recently. The dark pants, light tunic, sturdy boots. His overcoat lies draped over the back of his chair, along with the belt holding the rapier he still had no idea how to use. But he was trying for a certain look, to blend in with these people, and he needed to be armed for that. He let the hand play out, not caring too much about the outcome. It wasn't individual hands he was aiming for, he wanted to win the whole game.

Less than an hour later and he was stumbling out of the tavern, cursing under his breath. He thought he had had them that last time, but it seemed there was some cheating afoot! There went a sizable chunk of his funds, but he still had enough left in his pocket to see him through for a few more days. He needed to take a job, and soon, otherwise things might begin to look desperate. As he pulls on his overcoat, slipping the belt on and his dagger into place, he hears footsteps approaching from behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder confirms it is his manservant, Peabody, who takes the sword Ed holds out for him and attaches it to his own belt.

"Did the game go well, sir?" 

Peabody's voice is deep and rich, the upper class accent strong. Ed still cannot recall the exact circumstances that led to his hiring of Peabody, but recently he had become extremely valuable. Dedicated, professional, full of expert advice. The man had once been a sailor, a war hero decorated with many honors, able to retire with a healthy pension. Still, he chose to continue service in this way, even now. He was human, getting on in years though still looking strong and healthy. Of average height, he was thick across the shoulders and walked with a strangely rolling gait from his many years at sea. He kept his hair cropped short and his face cleanly shaven save for a stiff, steel grey mustache. Everything about him screamed professional soldier. Ed chose to ignore his comment and continue walking, also choosing to ignore the faint quiver at the corner of Peabody's mouth that on anyone else would have been considered the beginning of a smile. The manservant fell into step, just behind and to the side of the captain, keeping perfect step with him.

The stroll back to the docks took them past a number of stores and stalls, and Ed found himself getting distracted. During his time as captain of the Zephyr he had collected a lot of items he had considered necessities, and all those had been taken from him. He ran his hand over the stubble on his scalp and cursed quietly under his breath. The very next thing he would need to buy would be a grooming kit. It was essential. How would anyone take him seriously if his hair grew out much longer? Unthinkable. Inconceivable. He would die first! So the next thing on his shopping list? A high quality grooming kit. Until then he would need to make a quick stop and get himself cleaned up. Then back to the boat, into his clean clothes and back out into the city to find a mark. After losing that silver he would need to make it back fast.

Some time later and they were back on their way. Ed ran his hands over his nice, clean scalp and let out a sigh of relief.

"Better, sir?"

Ed laughed and turn to face Peabody, a grin plastered to his face and his eyes lighting up.

"Peabody, my friend, I have a fantastic feeling about today!"

He then turned and made his way onto the docks, his boat not far away.