Myhm looks down the alley where the entire group ran down, then looks around at the remaining children still wandering about - equally confused and dubious why playing chase was so important at the moment and wondered if he was ‘It’. He looks down at Xerexis whose shrug only deepen his frown. Stay? or Go? One thing for certain that was preventing clearing think were these urchin… ”Everybody move!” Myhm bellows with swatting arms, then barrels down the tiny ally like a loose mammoth.
Shanee slips past the fence and catches up with Teena in melee with a wet pair of pantaloons.
Myhm roars at the children, parting them like a hot knife through butter as he stomps down the street. Xerexis tries to follow, but is quickly swarmed again.
Stroud and Troxell make for the window, but only Stroud makes it through, diving through, and in one smooth motion, rolls to his feet, draws his sword, and slashes the thief across the back.
The thief cries out in pain and looks back at Stroud in surprise and terror. "Aeii!Here! Take it!" He calls out and throws the pouch away before making for the stairs.
The pouch the thief tossed doesn't look like the one he stole.
Obstacle 1 - A crowd of urchins
Swarmed by begging street urchins, you must get clear of them before you can give chase.
Obstacle 2 - A blind ally
The thief has turned into a dead end ally, but slipped through a broken slat in a wooden fence.
Obstacle 3 - Laundry
A back ally is filled with hanging laundry, obscuring sight and hindering pursuit.
Obstacle 4 - Through a window
An open window on the second floor of a building provides an avenue of escape from the area.
Obstacle 5 - Up to the roof
Stairs lead to the rooftops.
Obstacle 6 - Cross the gap
An open window on the second floor of a building provides an avenue of escape from the area.
Obstacle 7 - A locked hatch
Seeing figures approaching across the rooftops, a citizen locks a hatch leading back down.
Obstacle 8 - Guards!
A small group of guards await below.
"Ha! I used to do that kind of stuff when I was your age boy!"
Stroud sees the opportunity, and swings on the thief again!
,
Stroud is on the boy's heels immediately!
Not immediately aware that the miniature thief returned the pouch, Troxell tries to speed his progress through the window by attempting both acrobatic and escape artist maneuvers.
Teena was getting quite frustrated with all this damned laundry, but she wasn't a quitter. She kept trying to get through.
Acrobatics
Acrobatics
Myhm sees the hanging laundry and drops to almost a low crawling gait to avoid the sheets.
Myhm sets to hurdle through one of the windows,... the grace of a bear. ::foomp!::
Escape Artist
Shanee falls off he fence. Twice.
Teena pushes her way through the laundry and climbs through the window. Myhm is just behind her.
Stroud matches the Thief's agility, staying right on his heels as both leap across a gap between buildings. Below, Troxell spots them cross the gap above him and takes a shortcut, dashing into another building and up to the rooftops just as they arrive!
Finding himself outnumbered, The thief desperately grabs a trapdoor and tries to yank it open, but finds it locked tight! Raising his hands, he surrenders.
"Ok, ok! You got me!"
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Teena was breathing too hard to admonish the thief. She bent over hands on knees, in a most unladylike position. She had become used to her Fly magic, and the exertion was almost too much for her.
"Why are you stealing from us, punk?!"
Troxell calmly approaches Stroud and the urchin and chooses to let his Roguish companion handle the situation until Shanee arrives.
"Empty your pockets of any weapons, answer some of our questions, and give us back our companions belongings and I will make it worth your while boy."
Stroud produces A small gem in his palm for the boy to see.
The boy looks at the gem and does as commanded, emptying his pockets and returning the real pouch he stole from Shanee. His personal possessions consist of two daggers, flint and steel, a short length of silk rope, some dried fruit and nuts, 8 silver, 6 copper, and a potion of some kind.
"You... You're Stroud Zayiin!" He stammers, seemingly recognizing a fellow rogue from Marascar. "Word passed through that a bounty on you was collected in the Feralwood. People think you are dead."
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"Typical," Stroud says as he rolls his eyes. "Who collected the bounty on me my young friend?"
Stroud pulls out 3 gold pieces and places them in his palm alongside the gem.
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Wearing a window frame around his waist, Myhm catches up to the end of the chase.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I..." The thief looks at he gold, obviously interested in obtaining more. "I don't know, but if you really want to find out I could help you, my friend!" He adds quickly. "For 25 pieces of gold!"
"You drive a hard bargain boy." Stroud says as he reaches into his pouch. "This better be worth it ... or I'll ask for a refund."
Stroud's demeanor is a subtle yet obvious warning of the consequences for the boy, should there be betrayal of any sort.
"I'll give you 5 pieces of gold, and let you leave with your head intact, if you tell us the truth. If not, I'll be taking my gold back from what's left of you."
Intimidate
"...or you can deal with my friend here boy. Up to you." Stroud's eyes show that he really has no idea how far Teena might go.
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Shanee comes stumbling up after falling several times and getting lost.
"Ahh finally found you all. Did this lad hand over my stuff?"
Looking to the boy he adds "You have quick hands boy and seem to know your way around. I might want to employ your services if your interested but know this if you betray me or my friends....
"Give me a day, master, and I will get the information. I am called Ibn Kulba. Where might I find you upon my success?"
The thief seems very eager to help, especially after being offered gold and spoken to by Shanee.
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"Well now that seems to be a good question since we never made it into the city. Perhaps you could show us a....more....discrete way in that is less watched and tell us where we can find you. After that we can let you know where we have found accommodations tomorrow . In the meantime maybe you can clue us in on the local gossip while we make our way."
Ruffeling the kids hare Shanee whispers to him. "Be good to us son and you can make some good coin understand." and gives him wink.
"I'll just change into a bird to avoid any issues, but Shanee's silver tongue should be sufficient to bypass any obstacles for the rest of the group if the boy doesn't know another way inside." Troxell opines.
Myhm raises his brow, apprehensive of his own admittance to the town. Surely the usual "We are but poor, lost circus performers." should suffice.
Stroud listens to the boy intently trying to discern his intent.
Still uncertain and knowing Marascari ways, Stroud says, "I don't trust him. We've offered a lot, but maybe a 'charm' of some kind would help." Stroud winks to the magic users of the group.
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"I don't really have any Charm magics available. That's not my strong suit. But I can fry the little scamp if he tries to betray us...," she threatens.
"If you are asking if I know any ways to secret you past the walls, then yes, I know a couple, but I do not think you would like either. One way is very wet, the other is through a small sewage outlet."
Responding to Stroud's suggestion of a charm and Teena's threat of electrocution, Ibn Kulba raises his hands and offers his most innocent face. "You are offering me my hands, filled with gold! I will not betray you."
Ibn Kulba offers all he knows about local news. One thing of note is that the current Council of Merchants is being pressured by Commander Irovetti into collecting more taxes to expand the city guard and raise a new army for Marascar, to be lead by a former champion of the gladiatorial arena - a Wildlander named River.
You make arrangements with Ibn Kulba to meet you inside the city the next day at noon at the remnants of an old burned pier, not far from the southern gates.
Transforming himself into the shape of a bird once again, Troxell takes to the air and crosses the wall. Meanwhile, the rest of the party approaches the gates once more. There the city guards speak with Shanee, and it seems as though he will get you through easy ehough, but one of the guards stares suspiciously at Stroud for a long moment.
"Wait here." He says, then steps away through a door in the wall.
Teena doesn't speak, looking out of the corner her eyes at the others. What is this guy up to, she thinks as she waits for his return.
The guard returns shortly with a small book of papers held together by a metal ring. Flipping through them you notice they bear drawn faces upon them. The guard goes through the stack, then double checks it. With a shrug he gestures to the other guards.
"Move along."
Passing through the wall you find yourselves on a street that stretches off to the north, curving out of sight to the west as it follows the natural circle made by the bay that protects the harbor. The city is bowl-shaped, with piers, warehouses, shops, taverns, and the notorious slave markets down near the waterline. The most central areas are home to wealthy merchants and slavers, as well as the gladiatorial arenas that the city is known for. Poorer districts are higher, crowding up against the city walls. A large keep can be seen in the north, once a barracks to Kor Legions, now converted to a city barracks. To the west a peninsula rises a couple hundred feet above the water. Atop it perches a prominent temple of white stone, built by the Kor Empire as a site for its monks and disciples in times past. The most wealthy and powerful merchants claimed it upon the Empire's departure, but it is now home to Commander Irovetti and his Company of the Star.
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Looking upon the sweeping face of the city from this corner of the bay, Myhm is reminded of the grand castle in the first world where he found and lost Brue on its parapets. Casting his gaze back down, Myhm notices the mass of people surrounding him, more than he's ever encountered in one place. Most of his life was in the Feralwood, raised by trees and animals. The endless sea of human faces suddenly made him nervous. He reminds Troxell and Teena as he taps on the glass grimoire in his pack, "Must find Dovan", then looks ovver at Xerexis for any reaction.
"I suppose we could always go to a tavern and ask some questions. That's usually effective in finding people."
Still in bird form, Troxell lands on Myhm's shoulder. "Stroud is from this city, yes? Perhaps he might have a idea of where to start."
"An associate of mine named Aiman Noor owes me big. Let's go see him."
Stroud waits for any objections.
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"I dont know Sir Stroud but it seems to me you might want to keep a low profile around here." Shanee shrugs
"I just mean the little miscreant did say someone collected on a bounty on you.....and the guards Were looking at you funny."
Shanee waits a few seconds and then adds. "Trust me on this one i have been...how do you say... on the receiving end of situations like this in the past so you should probably let us in on what it is you did."
Looking Stroud up and down Shanee asks "Did you sleep with someones wife/daughter? Was it someone important? Come come do tell."
Looking around at the rest of his companions Shanee almost pleeds "I say we rent the biggest place we can in the middle of town and throw the biggest party we can afford and see who shows up"
Stroud, thoroughly enjoying the game of his swashbuckling life, shrugs, smiles, and says, "Sounds good to me!"
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"That does not sound like a good idea to me. We want to keep a low profile until we can figure out what is going on. Advertising ourselves is only going to court disaster. I'll not be attending any party, in any event, nor will I pay for any part of it." Bird Troxell offers as his opinion. "It would be better to ask around to gather the information we need, especially when you are so incredibly charismatic, Shanee."
"That sounds good too!"
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"Yes but a nice party will hopefully gather the movers and shakers into one place and with plenty libations a little at ease. Couple that with a few well thought out disguises for you ladies and gents to let you mingle about and VOILA. We can get the feel of the city and possibly make some friends in the process. I have no problem going as myself and billing it as a public relations ball for Kragis Ayr. Not to mention it would be just plane FUN. You have to know what that is like right.
"Besides if anyone is watching us already it just looks like I'm planing a party for the next few days which would not be out of character for me I might add and probably bore them to death. Which could give us a chance to catch them watching us before we start asking any questions. Which brings me to another question why are we here other than to find some fellow named Dovan?
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"We need to find Dovan and get Teena's memories back. We have no time for frivolity!" Troxell retorts, squawking like a bird more than he intends. "I find cities in general detestable and this one more so in particular."
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"I don't think I mind cities, in general, but yes, I'm in a bit of a hurry to gain my memories. The sooner we could accomplish that, much the better as I'm concerned!"
Stroud turns to Shanee, having snapped out of his momentary confusion, and answers, "Agree with you on laying low profile friend Shanee. What I did is simple. I was offered large sum of gold to deliver magic staff to woman named Hedera near the town of Cairlen's Crossing. I did it, but instead of paying me, the woman cast spell that put me to sleep. I woke up in dungeon and was tortured by goat man. That when you find me, and rescue me."
"It was odd job, and I think person who gave it to me may have set me up."
"It was Aiman Noor. He smells like humus and lots of onions. He told me he injured in accident and couldn't make journey. He offer me a lot of gold to take it instead."
"I thought Aiman was faking injury at time, but just thought he was afraid of journey to the Feralwood. Aiman knows more people than I do, so I think you all come with me, and we ask him about everything together."
Having explained his situation, Stroud looks to the group trying to understand their dilemma fully.
"Does this Dovan have last name? Maybe I know him. I can ask Aiman myself, and find out if he know your Dovan. Just so I understand your need, may I ask? How did Dovan steal Lady Teena's memories? Even more important, why?"
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