Masquerade Part 2: Army of Darkness

[Vestige]

"Well met Sonia. Don't let it trouble you too much, once we get into Felson proper, I'm sure you'll have a chance to go around and meet everyone if you want," he said. She's usually pretty quiet isn't she? I feel like this is the first time I've even heard her speak. It was understandable though, not everyone felt so comfortably around this many people, and some people were just shy all the time.

Raith shrugged when Sonia mentioned his small act of charity not being "common", "Well, I'm not from around these parts so I'm not sure how it goes here, but back in Bau Berg, my mother always used to say, 'do good to others, and others will do good to you'. Believing in that principle has gotten me pretty far actually, I'd say, so I'm feeling pretty keen on continuing, y'know?"

[riariadne]

As they walked on in relative quiet, Valha began scanning the area with paranoia, especially after Raith's show of generosity. It's nice of him 'n all, but it's dangerous to be nice here... I'm sure anyone who caught a glimpse of that will think he's easy prey, and the rest of us by extension. She looked to Lanos, who seemed just as contemplative of their return as she was. "It's so strange to be back, isn't it? We never totally fit in before 'n I never really felt comfortable or safe, but now it's more than that. I don't feel welcome here... even though it wasn't a great home, I could at least call it that. Now it's just the big city, Felson, 'n it feels... unnervin'."

[Nanami Touko]

Long Walk

The walk through the slums felt longer than walking along the plains, to Makin. Getting stared at-- or at worst, eyed up --by whatever scum or scared person stayed there was an awful feeling. She felt herself glaring at almost every pair of eyes that got close to meeting hers, huffing and slithering herself along more quickly. "Come on. Let's just get out of here." She almost heard someone laugh in her direction, hissing to herself. This was the worst.

Surprise

Ingverd jumped a bit as the centaur managed to sneak his way up to him, despite being half horse. You think he'd have heard him! "W-Well! You never know. With how desperate some of the people here look, we might get jumped at any moment. And I don't think I've seen a guard since we walked in..." The situation wasn't helping with Ingverd's paranoia, and as he looked over his shoulder, he swore he saw someone dart behind an alleyway. "Just get me out of here," he said, starting to match Makin's pace. "If you're looking for an armory and a weapon that won't fall apart, then wait until we get to the Upper Rung. Probably a good shop, or five, there."

Paranoia

Perhaps Ingverd and Makin had been right to be paranoid. The figure darting about had been watching the mercs since they arrived in town, and had especially been eying the large sack strapped around Makin's waist. They'd seen the lance man giving some gold away, so perhaps there was more where that came from. In the blink of an eye, a small body ran in between everyone, snatched the gold sack right off of Makin's waist, and ran off down an alleyway!

"Wh-What!? Hey! Hey, stop!" She knew that losing her gold would mean losing a good night's sleep, and she wasn't about to put up with that, but this person was fast! "Quick, someone, grab 'im!" She knew she wouldn't be quick enough to catch that thief, maybe someone else would be!

Ingverd made a swipe at the figure, glad he'd trusted his paranoia, but his arm twinged in pain as he reached out, causing him to miss. "Shit...!" He knew as well that this would mean no good place to sleep, and he wasn't about to have that. He shot off after the figure.

"Ugh..." groaned Makin, planting her face squarely in her palm. "I do not need this right now. WE do not need this, right now. Listen, anyone who wants to run off with Ingverd, please, catch that thief, or else we're sleeping on the streets tonight. I'm going to head to the inn and see if my old friend is still around. Maybe if no one manages to find my gold, I can strike up a deal, or something... Gods, dammit..." She slithered away, up towards the Upper Rung, cursing under her breath.

Vriska and Isabelle, both of them staying near the back of the group, simply watched in amusement, Vriska laughing to herself and Isabelle smirking. It was nice to see something happen to the person that kept yelling at them. Though, Vriska stopped laughing as she realized this meant no gold for her, and pulled her tome out, ready to launch a spell. Isabelle had plenty of gold; she almost started laughing, herself.

[scorri]

The whole trip to Felson, Kadin had been lost in thought. He was endangering the group by being with them. He risked bringing down the wrath of his old enemies on every one of them if they found out about him. Finally, he shook his head. He couldn't do this to them. In the chaos caused by the thief, he slipped away, sparing one last glance at Maija. He hoped someone would look out for her.

[riariadne]

Valha's eyes darted to the little thief. See, never can be too paranoid here... "Hey, I'm goin' after him," she spoke quickly to Lanos, chasing after Ingverd and the figure as quick as she could. "You're messin' with the wrong people!" she hissed, weaving through the alleys swiftly.

[algae]

"I wish more people had the chance to think like that around here. It feels like the only reason we haven't been robbed is that we're all armed or-" She only saw the figure out of the corner of her eye, but heard the order clearly enough. "Damn it. No time to lose" she grunted, running off after the thief.

[Oersted]

Lanos noticed Valha start scanning the area rather than just walk on. He couldn't blame her, openly nice people generally didn't last long in the slums unless they were one of the few doctors that stuck around. He could easily recall times when he saw travelers do what Raith had done and the next time he'd seen them they were either a new addition to the slums or collecting flies. He felt a chill go down his spine but it quickly passed. "Yeah, it wasn't the best home in the world but it was still home to us. Now that we're back and much better off than before it feels... off. Like we don't belong here. I guess we know how all those travelers felt now, huh?"

It seemed he wouldn't get his answer to that as shortly after Lanos asked his question someone went and snatched Makin's gold pouch right in front of them, Valha giving chase. While Lanos wouldn't have normally minded the thought of sleeping on the streets, he'd done that for the first sixteen years of his life, the current feel he got from Felson made him think otherwise. Not to mention everyone else would be there too and he doubted they'd all fit into one of his and Valha's old spots. "Hey, don't just take off without me!" Lanos called after Valha as he started after her, Ingverd and the thief. He knew the area better than everyone save Valha so he'd probably be able to contribute something even if he wasn't the fastest of the group.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Oersted

[Vestige]

"Wha--Hey!" Raith called out, as Sonia darted off through an intersecting alleyway. "Damn it," he said, cursing under his breath. It was one boy, but in the event that he happened to have a couple more "friends" or something of the sort, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have strength in numbers. Talk about timing. Without a second thought, he rushed after Sonia and the rest.

[Nanami Touko]

Anger

Makin looked back, as four other people rushed after Ingverd and her thief. That was enough, so she waved for everyone else to follow after her. She was still plenty mad, and anyone who dared to look at her like before was not spared a paltry glance, but received full ire from her stare. She'd stab the next person who tried something like that.

Chase!

The thief looked back, and yelped, as Ingverd had shown up right behind them. He made another grab with his good arm, but the thief ducked as soon as he did, causing him to stumble over. "Dammit!" he shouted, catching himself in a roll. Valha and Sonia ran past him, and he looked back to see Lanos and Raith coming up on them. "Get a good hold! This one's slippery!" He got back on his feet and started running after them again, the thief darting and weaving around every corner that came up on them. Whoever they were, they knew this part of town incredibly well.

Edited September 19, 2014 by I have opinions

[riariadne]

The thief was persistent to not make any concessions given that five people were chasing them, but Valha quickly had enough of useless chasing. Taking to the sky, she flew up above the alleys to narrow down escape paths, landing not too far ahead of the thief. "Think you're clever, huh?" she asked, baring her claws. "Quit while you still can."

[Vestige]

With the thief having been blocked off by Valha, Raith was able to catch up, and he was quick to come up from behind and make sure the thief was effectively, blocked. He brandished his lance, and kept himself at a bit of a distance, "Alright, let's just make this an easy matter for everyone involved. That money isn't yours, so give it back," he said flatly.

[algae]

Sonia was so focused on the thief that she failed to pay close attention to her surroundings, and slipped on a piece of garbage as she turned a corner. Though lucky enough to avoid injury, she ended up arriving moments after Raith did. Seeing that the others had the thief cornered, she kept an eye out for any friends he might have in the area. How far are we from the others, anyway?

[Oersted]

With Valha and Raith having blocked the thief off and Sonia arriving ahead of him, Lanos decided to perch himself on the nearest roof to get an aerial view of the area. It was the ideal position in his mind. If things went sour he'd be down there in a flash and if the thief somehow managed to evade Valha and Raith he'd at least see where the thief went.

[Nanami Touko]

Desperate

The little thief, robed and covered, stopped as his route was cut off by Valha. He turned to run the other way, but Raith and Sonia showed up, and cut him off there as well. There were no alleyways he could get to if he darted; he'd certainly be caught, then. He had one choice. He tore off his robe, threw it at Valha, and rushed at her. Tearing off the robes revealed one thing: their thief was a little harpy, and as he rushed at her, he flapped, jumped, and pushed himself off of her shoulders, trying to get past her.

[riariadne]

"Hey!" Momentarily caught up by his distraction, Valha swatted the robe out of the way, a bit surprised to see the target in question was a harpy. Why... didn't he just fly in the first place? She grabbed at the thief, dragging him out of the skies and tackling him, both landing with a thud. Composing herself as quickly as possible, she pinned the harpy to the ground. "Nice try... you picked the wrong people to miss with. Y'know, if you just flew from the start, I bet you could've gotten away with it way more easily..."

[algae]

Seeing that things were under control, Sonia took Makin's pouch from the harpy, leaving him with a few coins from her own. It might not last him long, but it's better than nothing, she reasoned. Let's see if Raith is right.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Alg

[Oersted]

Lanos was relieved that Valha had caught the thieving harpy as, despite how stupid it would've been, he had prepared himself to tackle the thief in midair if it was needed. Lanos wasn't going to come down from the roof just yet though, perhaps getting caught was part of the thief's plan. He'd definitely do something like that if he was playing for keeps. He did congratulate Valha though, it wasn't like his position had to be kept secret. "Nice catch."

[Nanami Touko]

Inn Times Ahead

Despite Makin's attitude, the inns of the Upper Rung remained a spectacle to behold. Not only were they more than twice as large as the one they'd stayed at in Ward, they boasted multiples rooms for multiples types of enjoyment. The main foyer that everyone (aside from the chasers) was residing in was about as large as the inn in Ward, and raucous laughter and arguments could be heard coming from multiple rooms aside from it, all lead into by other doors, down hallways. It felt almost like a miniature castle, let alone an inn.

Unfortunately for Makin and her mood, the person she knew no longer worked there, as the woman at the counter didn't resonate at all with her memory. Karol was the name of the man she'd known that worked there, and he was nowhere in sight. Might as well ask... "Excuse me. Does Karol work here, anymore?"

"Karol? No, sorry. He left a few years back, went on some soul searching, or something. Anything else I can help you with? I'm Sara."

Makin sighed. "Sorry, Sara. Nothing you can help with, unless I get my money back. Can we wait here, at least, for a bit? I realize it's loitering, but..."

"What, did someone swipe your money on your way in?" Sara asked, with a bit of a sympathetic look. "Sure, for a bit. We aren't expecting anyone, so you and your companions won't be getting in the way, hanging around the foyer. Hope you can find your money."

Makin sighed. "I hope my mercenaries can, too." That dealt with, she sat herself as best as she could on one of the foyer couches, lazily looking over at everyone else. "Alright, make yourselves comfortable and get ready for a bit of a wait. I'm sure the others can find our thief, but there's no telling how long it'll take them to get back. Any questions, feel free to ask..." Makin continued to sigh.

Relax Again

Vriska plopped herself next to Makin and began reading once again. Fire was dangerous, and more studying was never a bad idea.

Isabelle walked on over to Sara and produced enough gold for a room. "Just for me, please."

"Uh, but weren't you with..." Sara was rather confused.

"I am, but I'm not waiting for the snake to get her money back before I get to relax on a nice bed. So take this, and give me a key." Isabelle obviously felt little sympathy for Makin. If she didn't want this problem to happen, she should've been more careful with her gold.

"Alright..." Sara said, obviously a bit put off by this attitude, but snarky or not, her gold was still worth it's own weight. She handed the elf a key.

"Thank you~ I'll be upstairs, resting." And off she went, smirking herself up the stairs.

Thief Work Squared

Ingverd came up behind everyone else, having recovered from his stumble. "And I guess that's the end of that! Geez, I was right to be paranoid. That damn Ferdinand, telling me to just act calm. Look what that got us." He sighed, and threw his head back, catching his breath. A small sound made him pull his sword, though. And this, as well, wasn't a bought of paranoia. Shit...

"Lemme go! Lemme go, you whore!" came the small thief's voice, as he struggled to get himself out from under the grasp of the far stronger woman. He obviously didn't care for the small gold donation. "Help! Heeeelp!" He shouted, to no avail. Or at least, to what he thought was no avail. A few men, and some woman, both harpies and humans, came out of the shadows behind the group. They drew worn, but still dangerous weapons. "Hand over the sack. We all need that gold more'n you do. Walk along and there won't be any trouble," one of them said, probably the leader of this little ambush. The thief continued to struggle, before calming himself down, and glaring up at Valha. But something was wrong. He took a look at these folks, and his glare turned to worry. For certain, he had no idea who these people were, and this was not part of his plan. He started to glance between his captor and the ambushers, wondering what was about to happen.

"Just try it," Ingverd said, no fear in his voice. He could take a few of them himself, and between the five of them there, this wouldn't be a problem. That's what he thought, at least.

Edited September 20, 2014 by I have opinions

[Vestige]

Raith smirked a bit at the thief's choice of language. It was rather rude, but coming from a kid like him made it seem kinda funny. Though, the smile faded when the boy's "friends" showed up. Raith took a few steps back making some distance and assess the situation at hand. "Howzzabout a compromise? You let us keep the gold, and I'll buy you guys some drinks, eh?" he joked, though it didn't seem like anyone was keen on actually taking him up on his offer. He shrugged, and drew his lance, holding it out in front of him. "Guess not then, a shame. Money's ours though boys," he sneered, "you'd best try your luck with a different lot of travelers."

[riariadne]

"What'd you call me, little punk?" Valha asked venomously, her previous somewhat sympathetic tone vanishing in an instant, pushing him harder as he tried to escape. She was sort of impressed that backup actually came for the kid, but refused to back down anyway. "Why should we give you the gold? Everyone needs it, everyone's gotta get money somehow, you're not suddenly entitled to what's ours. I stole too, but I also backed down when I messed up 'n tried to steal from people tougher than me. If you're smart, you'll do the same. We're all trained 'n armed 'n there's at least ten more of us not far from here. Fetchin' any of 'em would be no problem. If you still think it's worth tryin' to take from us, go for it, but if you all back off, I'll let him go, no problem, nothin' will have changed, day goes on as normal." She smirked. Three years, but it's all still the same... Edited September 20, 2014 by Reinfleche

[Oersted]

Well, that escalated quickly. Lanos thought to himself, almost sorry for the younger harpy, as he watched everything go down, apparently unnoticed. He'd have to remember to look up constantly whenever he took his little walk. That aside, being unnoticed was actually a big boon to him. As silently as he could he positioned himself behind the ambushers. At Valha's mention of the rest of the group an idea sprang to mind. He jumped down from his perch hopefully still unnoticed. "She's right you know. Everyone else is already on their way here and will be here shortly." Just in case his bluff didn't work he had was already in his fighting stance.

Edited September 20, 2014 by Oersted

[algae]

We're going with threats? "I'm sure we can all agree that gold isn't worth getting hurt over, either." Sonia said with what little confidence as she could muster, keeping a hand close to her tome. "Combat isn't exactly quiet, and even if you won, could you guarantee that nobody else would try to take their chances with you?"

[charlie_]

Angus was glad to finally reach the Upper Rung, even if the circumstances weren't great. Ever since Makin's money had been snatched, he'd had his lance at the ready in case anyone of the other slums dwellers had the same idea. The inn seemed pretty nice, so he was pretty pleased with that he could finally get a good night's rest tonight. All they had to do was wait for the others to get back and... wait.

"Hey, boss?" A thought just occurred to him. "Do the others actually know where this inn is? If not, we're probably gonna be waiting around here for a while..."

[MRDRHAWK]

Kendeall, meanwhile, had been mostly quiet during the trip, attempting to figure out just what the hell was with that ice cave he'd been told about in his fortune. All he thought to do was to just wait until they got near a place like it and use his Fire tome, but... "Gah... dammit." He muttered angrily to himself as he sat down in the main lobby of the Upper Rung. "Wish I could figure this out better..."

[Nanami Touko]

Directions

"Of course they do, Ingverd is with... Oh, shit..." Makin groaned again as she realized Ingverd had never actually been to Felson. He showed up to the group far after they'd visited the city, and it was just another problem on her-- "Oh! Oh, never mind. Valha and Lanos are with them, and they're from Felson. They should know their way around the city. Thank Gods... You scared me for a moment there, Angus." Makin laughed nervously, calming herself down. She'd almost gotten herself riled back up again, and she definitely did not need that after losing all of her gold.

Magical Practice

"Having trouble?" Vriska asked Kendeall, as she'd snuck herself off of the couch and over to him, almost laughing at his struggling to use the tome. "If you want to spar, I can show you what I know, and it might help. I mean, I know I'm just a little girl, but if I can use this tome better than you, well..." She smirked. "Maybe it'd be worth something?"

Big Trouble in Little Felson

The man leading the ambush visibly shrunk back against the threats, and the thoughts. So did most of the harpies in this attacking group, wondering if this really was worth their lives. The humans in the group still looked ready to fight though, keeping a strong grip on their swords and axes.

The boy that Valha had been holding down took the chance she'd been distracted by to raise his legs up, and kick her hard in the stomach, slipping himself out from under her and around a corner. He made sure to take the gold that Sonia had tossed at him as he did. "Later, lady!"

The ambush leader then heard Lanos land behind him, and this idea of his seemed like it had fallen through. He was about to give the order to have everyone back off, when one of the humans, who had been glancing about nervously, rushed himself at Raith, screaming, sword raised. The rest of the humans charged their respective targets as well, Lanos, Ingverd, Valha, even Sonia, as the harpies in the group struggled with the choice of risking their lives or living without all of that gold. The anguish over the decision was extremely apparent on their faces.

Ingverd sighed, and easily parried the sword swing, before raising his own up to the man's neck, holding it there. "Bad idea. Very, very bad idea." He shot a look over to their leader, hoping he'd speak up before anyone got seriously hurt.

The man remained silent.