"Morning Cecile, nice to meet you." Allyph shakes Cecile's hand. "If it's not too much of a bother, yes please. Is there anything I can do to help in the kitchen?"
"What are you reading, Baer?" Allyph walks over and takes a look at the page Baer's reading.
"Shall I make you some lunch?"
Baer accepts Cecile's hand in her own meaty half-orcish one.
"Nice to meet you Cecile. Are you one of the whelps who makes this den their home?" Baer asks friendlily. "I would love lunch. After the carnage of yesterday, food would be welcome."
Baer watches as Cecile works.
"Tell me Cecile...after you have clubbed the skull of your greatest foe and enemy into a bloody pulp, what would you do with your life?"
* * *
"What are you reading, Baer?"
Baer holds up her travel book, showing an unmarked black cover.
"This is one of two last remnants of my time at the Academae...my traveling spellbook. I have a larger one, but I use that one rarely. Someday, I hope to add to this...it was the only thing that Lamm could not take from me."
"I already said I will leave in the morning, sir. I object giving my pay to others, as that was never stated ahead of time. Thus, the 28 gold wasn't worth my risk and effort. I will leave now. Should your residence and tavern come under attack tonight, you will have to defend it yourself."
Kwoon gathers his things and walks out. Shouldn't be too hard to find employment, as I am sure bodyguards will be in demand after what I saw. Kwoon will go to the police building, figuring they might know the location of the orc named Baer and full of people who will find the police overwhelmed and in need of his services.
Cecile returns with two plates, both filled with toast, and several things to put onto it. "We don't have anything else, sorry."
She leaves again and returns with two cups of milk. "I'm... not sure... I've never been in such a situation...? Though I figure I'd try finding a new purpose, I guess? Is there something else you'd like to achieve?"
"You know," Cecile starts when she hears Baer mention 'the only thing Lamm could not take from me', "you could try climbing up again. Sounds like you lost a lot, but you never know what life gives you."
Once outside Kwoon notices the street have become even more crowded. It doesn't take long before he sees a small group of four men approach him. They look like dock workers and wear no armor. Each of them is armed though. Two with daggers, and two with short swords. There's 20 feet in between them and Kwoon, and one of them shouts at Kwoon: "You! What side are you on?!"
Hung Hei Kwoon laughs. "Side? I'm on my side. I'm always on my side. I was on my side yesterday, my side today, and I plan on being on my side tomorrow. It would be illogical and unwise to be on another side other than my own side." He pauses for a moment to see if that registers.
"I do hope those weapons I see you holding are for self defense only. As you can see, I am totally unarmed and if you must know, unemployed and without a place to sleep tonight. Lastly, if you are referring to political sides, I am a foreigner and unfamiliar with your politics and policies. I simply work hard to earn a living. Do you know where I might find lodging tonight? The tavern's owner over there," as he points to Jovalson's house "we had a disagreement over payment for services rendered for saving a variety of children this morning from an old man named Lamm, and now I no longer have lodging."
Hmmm, I have an idea.... "Perhaps you'll find answers at his tavern, which is filled with a variety of alcoholic beverages, a great place to discuss the various 'sides'. Since they neither have a bouncer nor a bodyguard at that particular tavern, your discussion would probably be uninterrupted. Good evening gentlemen and I wish you good fortune in your endeavours. And in case you missed it, it's that tavern over there." Hung Hei Kwoon, ever truthful, tells them the complete truth. Yes, well, bodyguard and bouncing services were not needed there, so I'm sure Jovalson's family will be just fine.
"As it seems it's not safe for anyone to travel alone this night, I will help escort you back home. Is it close to here?" Mavor says as he tightens his grip on his greataxe again, letting it rest on his shoulder.
"It's just for show. People tend to avoid you if you carry this around." He says smiling as he notices the woman eyeing the large axe.
Baer has nothing but compliments for the meal...it fits her biggest criteria perfectly: it's free and not made by her.
She muses on Cecile's words and the obviousness of them.
Do something else, but what? Climb again? To where?
Baer eats in silence, pondering the life's input from the waif who works at the orphanage.
* * *
Baer will help tidy up after brunch and say her goodbyes...sort of.
"Allyph...did we say we were going to meet up again? Or did you wish to come with me to sell the loot from Lamm? Maybe some of it should go back here to pay for Lamm's lot?"
"We should sell the loot together, and share the money. I think it'd be a great idea to ask the others if they want to donate some of their money. I sure will."
When finally done eating, Allyph packs her possessions and thanks Cecile for the hospitality. "Please thank Illya for me. Tell her I'll visit again soon."
Illya lets Baer and Allyph back out in the rowdy street, and worry crosses her face. "Take care," she says, and locks and bars the door again.
The street's a mess. There's a may lying on the ground of one of the alleys, his head smashed in and his pockets emptied. The people who move through the street down notice his, and most of them are still yelling things about the king or queen.
Kwoon's words are lost on the four men in front of him. Patience isn't their strong suit. One of the men charges at Kwoon, and attempts to stab the monk with a dagger. "Stop blabbering, just give us what you own!"
The man misses, but he seems eager to try again. His mates looks like they're about to join in.
The woman tells Mavor the location of her house, which is just a block removed from their current position. While walking Mavor notices she's in her early thirties. The woman has half long black hair, and wears a simply blue dress.
"My name's Blythe, by the way," the woman says half a street later. "Excuse me for not properly introducing myself earlier. It was... the moment..."
Allyph waves at Illya before the old woman quickly closes the door. When she and Baer walk off, Allyph notices the man in the alley. "Was this what Zellara told us about, the great evil?" she wonders out loud.
"No apologies needed Blythe. Circumstances like this numb our senses and courtesies, regardless of who you are."
He looks at her a bit puzzled when they near her home and asks her another question.
"So the word on the streets is the king has died and the queen has taken over. I hope you weren't on the street to voice your opinion as people seemed to want to bash each other's brains in just for a difference in opinion. If you were though, I don't need to know your preference, if you were not, why were you out in the streets during those protests?"
"But, I like what I own. And you shall not have it."
Time to trip this poor fellow.
"Was this what Zellara told us about, the great evil?"
Baer looks at the body and grunts.
"Hardly seems like great evil. It might be murder...or the jerk earned it like Lamm. It is hard to say. To me, great evil is wholesale thought into doing bad things...like what Lamm did to me. A single man dead might be a tragedy, or it just might be death. Or murder."
Baer looks around at the chaos around them.
"This is a spat over a king or queen. Hardly worth worrying about."
Baer walks with Allyph to sell the stuff and go to the meeting space.
Baer and Allyph are on their way to Zellara's home when a man approaches them. The man wears the guard's uniform, walks funny, and smells bad.
When the man's reaches Baer and Allyph he continues to walk next to Baer. He seems to have some trouble formulating coherent sentences: "Hey... *hiccup* Hey... whadayoudowaa... Uhhhh... Ya... *hiccup* whadaIsayaaaaa... Ugh... Yaknow... *hiccup* Yayado..."
Kwoon's trip attempt succeeds, and the man that attacked him is now on the ground. "Whoa! Guys, some help!"
The other men approach Kwoon and attack him head-on. Though they don't seem to understand the concept of flanking.
One of the three men attacking Kwoon hits the monk with his short sword. Meanwhile the man who's on the ground tries to stand up. Kwoon sees an opening.
Unless Kwoon knocks the man who's trying to stand up down, the man will attack Kwoon again.
Provided he gets his attack, the man misses Kwoon this time.
"I know it sounds foolish, but... my cat's at my home... I was worried..."
When Mavor and Blythe arrive at Blythe's house the woman sighs, happy to see the door and windows are still in place. Blythe quickly takes her key and unlocks the door. She then looks at Mavor. "Are you coming inside? It's still dangerous outside..."
Blythe opens the door and enters her house. She directly bends over to pick up a small kitten from the floor. The animal meows frantically, and Blythe pats its head as she moves inside her house. "Calm Pooky. Everything's alright, shhh."
Blythe holds the door open for Mavor, waiting for him to decide if he wants to enter. While waiting Blythe holds the kitten protectively.
She decides to quicken her pace, and motions for Baer to do the same.
What a creep!
Hung Hei Kwoon will kick the man's lower left floating ribs as he tries to get up.
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Realizing he didn't hit very hard, he tries to punch the man's ribs in a flurry. "Don't fight me, my stuff is mine."
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He might as well, if they haven't used his old room for something else.
Otherwise he'd sleep on a couch.
Is she just being kind and worried, does she think she needs to repay me or something else entirely.
To Mavor this sort of situations are a bit awkward, he hasn't had much experience with relationships in his time, so flirting is a bit beyond him.
He looks at Blythe and then back outside, listening in if he hears any more people fighting or in trouble.
"Alright, I accept. It's not like I live in a good neighbourhood myself, going back there now is asking for trouble." He walks in and gently pats the little kitten Pooky on its head, then takes a seat when Blythe offers it.
"I must decline miss Blythe, I think I hear someone else in trouble. People turning into rowdy criminals when they usually are not are the most dangerous. The normal criminals you know to avoid."
With that said, Mavor heads outside in the direction of the noise.
"What do we do?"
Baer stares at the guard, her mind racing about her new purpose, her new life, her new chance to turn over a new leaf.
She seems frozen...thinking.
The drunk guard focuses entirely on Baer, continuously calling her 'Neffi' and waving his arms about."Neffi... howalifebeen? *hiccup* Yatellame...tella... ya teeeeell... *hiccup* me... haha!"
The next morning Denario wakes up rested. There's some noise downstairs, but nothing alarming. Denario recognizes Emily's voice. The girl's chatting hyperactively, and there's an occasional 'hmm' from their father.
Kwoon kicks the man who's standing up, but the kick doesn't doesn't do anything to prevent the man from doing so. The man attacks Kwoon, but misses.
In a flurry of blows Kwoon hits the man he kicked earlier, punching him in his side. The punch doesn't hurt a lot.
All four men attack Kwoon again. Two of them with a dagger, and two of them with a short sword. None of them seems bright enough to try flank Kwoon.
Blythe quickly closes the door after Mavor's entered her house, and smiles when he pats Pooky. "Here, hold him for a moment," she says, and carefully places the kitten in Mavor's arms. Blythe locks her door and bars it, then takes Pooky back.
"Please take a seat." Blythe points at the couch next to the fireplace. Her house is very small and the room Mavor and Blythe are currently in, which is her living room, looks like it takes up most of the house's space. The couch is the only place to sit.
The living room is sparsely decorated, as if Blythe doesn't have a lot of money to spend on furniture. If Mavor were to take a closer look at Blythe's dress he could come to a similar conclusion. There's a single rug on the wooden floor, in front of the couch. A small table stands on the rug. The only other furniture in this room are a small table and a cabinet, both placed against the walls. There are two wooden doors, and Blythe walks to one of them.
"Want something to drink?" Blythe asks Mavor before she opens the door.
"Baer, do you know this man?" Allyph asks. "He... seems to recognize you...? Your name's actually Neffi?"
"Water or something else convenient is fine. I'm not a high class citizen myself, so whatever you're having will do."
Mavor continues to pet Pooky on the head and the kitten seems to enjoy the petting and the extra attention, to Mavor's surprise. His big hands are quite gentle with the little kitten and it curls up into a ball in them.
"Seems he's quite taken with me." He says as hescratches the kitten's head.
"I see you're just another soul scraping together a living in the city. Very sober interior decorating." Mavor says as he motions towards the rug and the rest of the room.
"Nothing wrong with that though."
"No, I don't know him, but I know the type," Baer says to Allyph as she turns to address the drunk.
"No, I'm not your Neffi...it is unlikely that she has the same beautiful smile that I do," Baer says with a big tusked smile, having been in this man's condition before.
"Neffi is probably waiting for you at home. Why don't we walk there to her? Show us the way."
Baer gently pushes the man to show them the way home.
"Hmm... nonono... *hiccup* Noho... nohoooo... No... *hiccup* home yet..." The man shakes his head violently.
All of a sudden, he gives in. "Yawego... followme!"
The man starts leading the way, but soon trips over his own feet. For a moment it looks like he's not getting up again, but after a few seconds he gets back on his feet. "Folloooow meeee!"
Kwoon successfully trips one of the men who holds a sword, but is attacked by the other three.
The three men who attack Kwoon are all unable to hit him.
"I don't make much as a waitress," Blythe says as she hands Mavor his glass, and sits down next to him and Pooky. "but it's enough to take care of Pooky and myself."
Blythe takes some sips from her glass and looks around her own room. "I've saved up a bit of money. It's for... well... I'd like be something else than waitress. Owning a shop, or perhaps starting with a market stand... I'd really like that."
"But enough about me!" Blythe says spontaneously. "What do you do for a living, Mavor?"
Allyph's quiet for some time, but can't keep her curiosity in. "You said... you've been in his position before... I mind mean to be rude by asking, but... was this after you were framed?"
"....you've been in his position before..."
Baer snorts out her snout nose, a harsh laugh.
"No, I mean 'drunk'! He's drunk and I've been there before...have you not?" Baer trails behind the drunkard, trying to keep him headed toward home and prevent him from falling into the muck or into a wall.
"Luckily for me, I just passed out in the tavern...no one disturbed me because, well, for whatever reason, no one likes to wake a sleeping half-orc. Haw!" Baer laughs again. The more astute would not that it was the first real laughter she had emitted since...since forever...
"I had people looking out for me then...and so I'm happy to guide this one home. Besides, he's a guard, he'll probably have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Baer continues to follow.
"Uhm.. well.. How do I put this..." He speaks up as he scratches his head with a free hand, the other is still busy petting Pooky.
"I'm what you might call a thief amongst thieves. I steal from the robbers and thugs that muscle out money from other people. If I come across them robbing I'll stomp them myself. I live on gratitude and stolen money, as it's basically the only talent I've known."
He looks to Blythe with a worried look and sighs.
"I don't steal from the poor or friendly, you've got nothing to worry about Blythe. I might be a ruffian or thug, but I have a sense of decency and honour. A weird sense perhaps." He concludes with a frowned look on his face.
"I'll leave if you ask it of me." Mavor takes a long sip of his drink and looks ready to stand up.
"But no, I've never been drunk. My mother and I fled our home town after my sorceress powers awakened. It was my fault we were kicked out of town, though I was just a kid back then. I accidentally zapped a bird with electricity when I pointed it out. The townspeople were scared to death."
Allyph smiles wryly as she continues to follow the drunk guard. "The Academae isn't very... fond... of sorcerers either. I couldn't risk doing something stupid. Not again. I'm still reluctant to show my powers in public, but there have been situations where I had no choice."
"Look! It's Watch Sergeant Soldado! He's returned to help us!" one of the guards yells, and points in the direction of Baer, Allyph, and the drunk guard.
"Hahaha!" the drunk guard responds, waving his hand at the guard who recognized him. "Watchadooooing? *hiccup*"
Watch Sergeant Soldado then collapses to the ground, and begins to snore.
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Blythe pulls up her legs, placing them on the couch as she wraps her arms around them. Her eyes move from Mavor's eyes to Pooky. "I can see you're a kind person, and your deed earlier confirms this."
She focuses her eyes on Mavor again. "It's true your lifestyle may be frowned upon by some, but I think you're not much different from the guards. You beat up bad people, and protect the innocent. Except you don't get a salary out of it, which is a shame."
She drags a dagger and looks at Baer, trying to get a grasp on what the other woman's thinking.
"Well, considering circumstances that was a good night sleep.
So sis....what's gotten you so riled up?
Yesterday's events?"
"Will you go to your friends now, Den?" Emily asks. Both mister and misses Vasquez freeze for a moment, and Denario sees his mother's eyes dart toward the door.
Outside the noise of battle continues. The occasional mob passes through the street with loud yells. Denario's parents stay awkwardly quiet, and even Emily seems aware of this. She looks up at her brother and back to her parents, not sure what to say or do.
Kwoon gets a bit angry, doing a double kick to the prone man he tripped (since he didn't get up).
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"We can end this peaceably if you leave me alone. Otherwise you will find yourself injured for no profit. Please leave me alone, I do not have much to steal anyway."
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He sighs as he puts Pooky back on the couch, scratching his ears.
"Part of that life has ended this night." He looks to Blythe with a curious look followed by a frown.
"I'm wondering though why I'm telling you all this. It's not like you'd ask for a lifestory of a thug."
Baer is not one to back down from a fight...and while she is not totally sure why the mob is attacking guards, she has a tendency (at least not when serving as judge, jury, and execution in her own revengeful tirade) toward order. If she fights, she knows it is with the guards.
She turns to Allyph.
"I'm going to go make sure the Sergeant's friends don't get too hurt," Baer says. "Watch my back."
Baer, with her staff in two hands, moves up...and speaks to the lower most guard.
"The Sergeant wanted me to help out. I'm on your side."
Baer readies to smack a mob if they come too close.
Readied Action:
to hit;
damage.
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"Your help's appreciated!" the guard who spoke earlier replies to Baer. He looks at the Watch Sergeant for a moment. "I hope he's alright..."
While Baer readies an attack, the guard again focuses on the enemies in front of him. He attacks with a strike of his short sword, and the other guards do the same.
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Three of the guards focus on the same enemy, and he goes down . Another enemy receives a nasty wound.
The man on the ground receives two kicks to his head. He tries to get up, and another kick hits him. "This man's nuts!" he yells, and steps back as the other three men continue to attack Kwoon.
One of the men stabs Kwoon in his shoulder with a dagger. The other two miss.
Overview
Man 1 (Dagger) -2HP
Man 2 (Dagger)
Man 3 (Short sword) -9HP & 5 feet out of reach
Man 4 (Short sword)
Blythe's quiet for a moment, but decides to ask another question: "Do you ever talk about this sort of thing with family or friends?"
They've taken one out already... please don't let them come too close...
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"Why you...!" The man Baer hit directly attacks her with his own sword. Some of the other men continue to attack the guards.
The man who attacks Baer misses, and so do two of the other men. One of them manages to hit a guard, but inflicts just a minor wound.
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It's then the guards who attack again, and one more enemy goes down.
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GM
Denario takes a quick think on the matter.
"Well i was going to stake it out after work and the academy said they're expecting something one of these days. I have no count of missing work days, i'll try to avoid as much of this ruckuss as possible. With a little luck people will be too busy to take note of me."
Baer slaps twice, her quarterstaff atwirl, at the Mob in front of her.
to hit;
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Mavor drinks the last bit of water out of his glass in one big gulp.
"Though I find I have much in common with most of the people struggling to scrape a living out there, you included Blythe."
Baer misses once, but her second attack knocks the man in front of her out.
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His father then walks up to him, and hands him the [s]broom with dagger[/i] makeshift spear. "Here, you should have something to protect yourself."
"Take the pitchfork too!" Emily says, and thrusts it in Denario's hands. "You should wield one in each hand! People will run away, because they'll be scared!"
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She lets go of Mavor and take Pooky, then brings the cat to a small basket. "It's sleepy time, you go to bed now," Blythe says to Pooky with a high voice.
Blythe disappears into another room and Mavor sees a small bed before the door closes. a moment later Blythe opens the door again, and brings several blankets to Mavor. "I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to go to bed now. If everything's calmed down tomorrow I'll have to work again. I'll be in my room if you need me. These blankets should keep you warm."
Before Blythe returns to her bedroom she gives Mavor an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I have only one bed. So you'll have to... well... sleep on the couch."
Allyph moves up next to Baer, and throws her dagger at the top left enemy.
The dagger hits the wall of the guard station, and Allyph turns pale.
Bad choice! He's going to kill me now!
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The man Allyph aimed for earlier turns toward her, and charges at her with his short sword high.
None of the guards is wounded by the mob's attack, but Allyph receives a deep cut in her shoulder.
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The wounded guard steps forward and slashes at the man who attacked Allyph. The attack hits the man in his arm.
The other three guards focus their attacks on one enemy, and take him down.
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Baer slugs the mob who charged Allyph.
to hit;
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"Be careful, Allyph! You might accidentally injure one of them."
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He puts down his weapons on the floor and removes his leather armour before he makes sure there's a blanket between the couch and him. He turns to Blythe with the second blanket in his hands and his armour off.
"Good night to you and thank you for this hospitality."
After that he tucks himself in and goes into a reasonable sleep, actually much better than at his own shack.