Of Mages and Kings : A Twokinds RP (Open, PM sheet to GMs)

[Baldrek]

Still wandering around the harbor area looking for clues or establishments where she presumed that dockworkers would spend their off-duty hours, Katja didn't exactly have much to show for her efforts. It was a small comfort knowing that she had at least not blown her cover yet though. For now she was just another newcomer here, but when the docks started to settle down later in the evening she would have to be more careful to avoid suspicion.

Stopping at a street corner leading away from the harbor district, Katja pondered what to do next, but she seemed to come at the same conclusion as earlier, wait until people get off work and then ask around, discreetly. She didn't much like waiting when she could do something with her time though, her Master always did say that she was a bit too impatient when she had things to do. Thinking about the old Basitin did serve to set her more at ease in her current situation though, calming her down, letting herself try to compensate for her eagerness.

She just had to wait, wait and keep an eye on what was going on, that was as sound a plan as any at this point. Walking up to the wooden structure taking up the street corner, she leaned against the wall as she kept an eye out for anything of note, you never know after all, something might come to her instead.

It certainly didn't take too long for something interesting to meander into her field of view, someone she immediately pegged as a bit curious, if not even suspicious. A large Basitin and a tiger Keidran walking around looking a bit out of place, they certainly didn't look like dockworkers at any rate. However, come to think of it, neither did they look like slavers. Thinking back at what the guard sergeant had told her she concluded that these two might possibly be other mercenaries hired by the guard, which meant that they would be allies.

Stepping towards the two people she found herself looking up at both of the taller individuals, one a bit more so than the other, as she wondered how to ask them if they were working on the same assignment as she was. In the end she just decided to keep it simple and vague, if they were working on the same mission then they would probably understand.

"{What is your business here?}" She simply asked in the Basitin tongue, not adding anything about employers or anything, which was for the best if she was wrong.

*****​

The beast walking around the docks with no apparent destination in mind had served to attract his attention to the easy prey, but now it seemed like the beast he had been stalking might prove a bit more clever than he had first anticipated. One beast he was sure he could handle, armed or not, but three was pushing the limits of his abilities. He'd just have to hang back and wait until they split up again, either that or he'd have to find easier prey. He'd have to act fast though, the shipment was due soon and the empty cages would have to filled to make the most coin. He hoped some of the others had better luck with their marks.

*****​

The ship was unloaded and maintained, ready for another journey, shore leave had been granted, and to make things even better they had been informed that their next destination would be back home in Fenzloch in Eastern Basitin territory. Life in general was being good to both Darrel and the rest of the crew today.

As such this called for a little bit of celebration for their part, and a trip to "The King's Rest", one of the few Basitin run taverns round these parts, was the perfect way to achieve this. So with some good spirits and ale to wet their whistles and a few of the sailors challenging each other to a short brawl or two, it seemed like spirits where high, or at least as high as a Basitin with any respect for themselves would allow. And not even the hostile scowls that some of some of the human locals had shot them on their way here could do much to dampen their mood this day, poor sods were likely just sailors out of work after all.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

With Alistair's robes nearly suffocating him as he held the hood's opening tightly, near-completely concealing his face, he made a rather conspicuous figure as he exited the bustling markets. His seemingly endless mutterings of all he detested of city life certainly didn't make him any less noticeable. The mage had to pause at an intersection as he had to check his own mental map of Wreathwood. He should remember the way there seeing as he'd been taken to it at least once before when he'd accidentally knocked a woman unconscious with the scent of a rather potent fabric-mending formula he still has yet to perfect. In hindsight, it really was a terrible idea to hold the bottle directly beneath the unsuspecting Basitin's nose, but he needed a second opinion on whether or not it smelled strongly of ambergris and pine, which was entirely unexpected to begin with. Shaking the thought from his head, Alistair turned down the road in hopes he wouldn't be remembered by any of the guardsmen he had the pleasure of bring confronted by that day.

As the mage approached the guards on either side of the door, his appearance warranted curious looks from both of them. This came as no surprise, for all that one could see of the man was practically glowing red. Before the pair could attempt to stop him, Alistair was already passing through the doorway, stating his business with an impatient voice muffled by his clothes, "Excuse me, inquiring about a job, no need for the strange looks..."

Rifka looked up from her desk as her door opened again, a robed figure entering with his hood almost literally wrapped around his face. Immediately a little alarmed, she didn't relax much at the man's impatient demeanor. Her subordinate, Isa, also entered after the black robed man and seemed intent on removing him from her office before Rifka gestured for her to head back outside. Though a bit wary of the newly arrived man, she figured that she could handle anything he might do if he got violent within her own guard post.

"So, you are here about the job?" She asked as she looked closer at the man, remaining upright for now, not feeling enough at ease to sit back down. As she waited for the man to reply she tried to get a better look at his face, though what little she could see appeared an irritated red. His robes, however, told her a bit more, she was almost certain that he had been present at the inn yesterday, or at least another black robed figure had.

Willing to give him the benefit of doubt, for now, she again opened one of her ledgers and flipped the pages until she got to her little mercenary roster. "I'll need your name, sir. And please remove your hood, I have to know who it is I have working for me." While the last bit was true, mainly as an insurance that this wasn't some old 'acquaintance' of the guard that might sabotage their work, she doubted he would prove to be one of them. He seemed far to jittery and inexperienced to be some kind of spy.

Alistair hesitantly released his hold on his makeshift mask and pulled it back, letting it drop to his narrow shoulders. He looked frustrated and a bit flustered, but mostly irritated as was evident by red around his eyes. Straightening himself to be as presentable as possible, the mage cleared his throat and said, "My name is Alistair Thorngrave. I was in the inn when an altercation of some sort, the details of which are unimportant, but I was present when an injured fellow entered, effectively ruining any chance I had for a...a quiet evening. I did what I could to aid the man, but the process was interrupted by a physician I assume to be operating locally. Nevertheless, my involvement warranted an unexpected meeting with members of the guard and I was offered an opportunity for employment. Here I stand, prepared to accept any work need be completed in hopes that my previous...erm...offenses...may be overlooked. Forgotten even, if at all possible."

Rifka raised an eyebrow as the robed man removed his hood and revealed his face, though the skin was irritated and red his scraggly black beard and the blackened patch on the man's cheek seemed familiar to the guard sergeant. And upon getting his name she remembered him, Alistair Thorngrave... Though not exactly hostile he had a rather unfortunate relationship with the guards. Not that the man was actively dangerous, but he wasn't exactly a boon to public safety either, often getting innocent bystanders caught up in whatever crazy ideas he was testing out.

Usually she'd probably have him escorted out of her office at this point in time, a man of his reputation wouldn't do much good in her employ. However, in this particular case he could prove useful, the man was after all an alchemist of some sort, if not a mage. Weighing the pros against the cons of Alistair's employment she eventually decided to take the risk and wrote his name into her ledger. This was shortly followed by Rifka walking over to a shelf behind her desk and withdrawing another heavy book, also undoubtedly a ledger of some kind, which she opened and read in silence.

Minor crimes, disturbance of the peace, harassment of citizens... Nothing really of note in Alistair's criminal records, at least of those recorded at this post, mostly this and that caused by less than attentive behavior and some less than thought out ideas.

"Mr. Thorngrave?" Rifka asked Alistair as she closed the ledger again and put it back. "I believe we can come to an agreement regarding your... Less that blank slate. Provided you preform adequately at the tasks assigned. As long as you can remember that this mission I'm about to divulge more information about is to be carried out discreetly, and that working for us does not exempt you from the law, not now, and not later." She looked up at the man in front of her, Alistair standing a good four inches taller than her. "I will be able to help you with your past transgressions however, if that was what you had in mind?"

"Yes, yes, that's precisely what I had in mind," Alistair proclaimed with delight, clasping his hands before him and rocking forward on the balls of his feet. "Err, the whole incident with the bird pheromones in that bakery would be included, correct? Believe me, if I had known the cork was loose, I'd never have inadvertently attracted those gulls to the rack of loaves..."

The mage seemed to stare off into space for a moment before visibly shuddering at the horrific memory. "So many hungry, angry, terrifying...ahem, at any rate, I'm sure we can work out the details at another point and time, yes? As for the discretion of the job, I assure you, no one will hear word of this."

Choosing to not reply to Alistair's question regarding his earlier avian predicament, she instead used the time to again consider his employment, for a brief moment at least. His second question she did answer however. "Yes, the details will be discussed at another point in time, after the job has been completed." Rifka answered, keeping a mental 'if' to herself. "And I am... Content to hear that you will do your utmost to show discretion in this matter, and hope you live up to your assurances."

Walking back to her desk and retrieving a small pouch of coins similar to the ones she had given Vittor and Arryn, she started explaining the job to Alister. "First of all, I'm Sergeant Rifka Crespo, remember that I'm your direct superior in this endeavor, and do not involve any other guard personnel. Anything you manage to dig up will be brought directly to my personal attention, is that clear?" She asked rhetorically, not waiting for an answer from Alistair before continuing. "We have reason to believe that there are slavers operating out of the city, people dealing in Basitin and Keidran kidnapping and smuggling, and we want to put a stop to it. They seem to have their eyes on us guards however, so we've been forced to hire mercenaries like you to procure information about their operations so that we can act against them."

Setting the pouch down on her desk and pushing it towards Alistair, she continued her explanation. "From what little information we have they seem to be operating out of the docks and harbor district, which will probably be a good place to start looking. Also..." She took a closer look at the mage, she'd rather have someone she trusted to keep the operation under wraps keep an eye on him after all, and since none of her guardsmen were eligible for the task it currently only left those two. "I'd like for you to meet up with a Basitin also working for us, a tall individual with dark grey fur, goes by Vittor. He can likely be found alongside a tiger Keidran. He'll be able to coordinate your efforts a bit without involving more guard personnel."

"The money here is your advance for the assignment, there will be more coins for any information you bring us, as well as a bonus when the smuggling operations have been shut down. I hope that's understood?" Rifka told Alistair as she ended her explanation, waiting for him to accept the pouch of coins in front of her, and hopefully get going on the mission sooner rather than later.

"Ah, Vittor you say?" Alistair pondered as he scratched his beard, looking up towards the ceiling. "Funny that, I had actually run into a Basitin and tiger Keidran just yesterday, though his name...oh dear, look at me, prattling on when there's work to be done."

The mage made for a swift departure before hurriedly returning to the desk. Picking up the sack of coins he nearly left, he tittered nervously at his forgetfulness and headed out the door once more.

Spoiler: OOC

This short story was brought to you in part by your friendly neighborhood GM, Baldrek.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor looked at the odd Keidran who had approached them as they wandered into the docks. Brownish fur, plainly dressed, and most likely not just arriving here seeming as they were not only speaking Basitin, but also asking about their business. Victor didn't plan on scanning around for any problems yet. If they were jumped like this in daylight, then the entire dock was slavers, in which case the city had worse problems than he could even imagine.

"{Hunting, stranger. I imagine you are here doing much the same, unless my guesses are bad ones today.}" Victor replied wryly. "{Have you had any luck? I'm hoping that our prey is simple, so this town can be left behind.}"

While Victor had his suspicions about this odd approach, he couldn't be bothered to care much for if they properly understood him or not. He figured that Arryn would be somewhat annoyed with this conversation, so he paused to try and do his best as well to keep her busy.

"[See if others hunt us. Stealthy.]" Victor said to Arryn quietly, hoping that it made sense to her so that he could have a pair of eyes that could be more discreet than his own right now, especially when being approached by random Keidran wandering the docks.

Perhaps a baited trap? That would be...interesting. Springing surprises on surprises, and a chance for some possible fighting. Endorsed fighting, at that, and a possible chance to see Arryn fight.

Victor left his gaze on the Keidran, wondering if they would understand or answer, and slightly hoping that he would get to slam a fist into the face of someone thinking they could simply take him by having someone talk. That would possibly make this day worth staying in the city.

 

[Lambi]

"[I'm ready.]" Arryn said to Victor before she started to look around. She knew to try and not make herself look suspicious. It wouldn't be much different from hunting wild animals, just around the city there weren't a lot of places to hide, and hiding in the city was probably more suspicious than hiding out in the wild.

Not long after they started their hunt, a wolf Keidran approached them and spoke to them in Basitin. Which annoyed Arryn, but after her time in the city, she was starting to accept that perhaps not everyone could speak Keidran. Or would speak it all the time. Annoying nonetheless, but at least she had Victor with her, who answered her back in Basitin.

He whispered to her to look around for anyone else who might hunt for them, and she nodded to him before starting to look around as carefully as she could to not arouse suspicion from the wolf Keidran. She saw a lot of people, which didn't seem to be unusual for whatever part of the city this was, but it didn't look like anyone was hunting them. Then again, she wasn't entirely sure who or what to look for, but she looked around nevertheless.

 

[Baldrek]

Katja found herself nodding to the much larger Basitin as he talked about hunting, it seemed that she had indeed been correct in her assumptions about these two when she had first spotted them, they did seem to be part of the other mercenaries. She paused on answering the Basitin's question for now though, as he turned to talk to his Keidran... Partner she guessed? They seemed to be partners at least. It would have been easier to figure out if she knew what was being said between them, but seeing as the Keidran tongue was utterly foreign to her that wasn't an option.

"{My search has turned up nothing so far, merely that some of the regular workers may have spotted acts linked to the perpetrators. That is all.}" Katja replied to the two people she now assumed she would be working with, they seemed the capable sort, even if the Keidran seemed a little bit unfocused with her eyes wandering all over the place, but that wasn't uncommon for their... And her, kind.

"{If you feel like it would be a wise idea we can coordinate our efforts, otherwise I will continue my search.}" She stated to the grey furred Basitin as she looked him over, no weapons, how peculiar on such a mission. "{I am known as Katja, so that I am a stranger no longer, at least for this job.}"



This was getting tiresome, watching perfectly good quarry just stand there and chat when he was in a hurry, he couldn't afford to wait much longer. The leader's orders had been clear, the five empty cages were to be filled by sundown, or they wouldn't be getting their full share this time. All because one of the newer guys had been mistaken for a mugger and locked up, leaving them shorthanded this month, damn amateur.

He looked back at the three beasts from his hiding place, they still seemed blissfully unaware of his presence, maybe if he shadowed them he'd get an opportunity to catch all three unaware? Where they were talking was too exposed to his liking, striking there would be an invitation for the guard to meddle before he got even one of them back to the cages.

No, for now he'd wait, and then once the opportunity presented itself he'd strike and catch all three, they were only beasts after all, nothing a hunter like himself couldn't handle.



Dusty returned her attention to Hazel as she replied to her and wished her good morning in the Keidran tongue, she seemed to be quite good at speaking her language, even though she noticed a little bit of hesitation in her reply.

"[I don't have any plans, though, so I'm wandering, mostly,]"

"[Oh, that's fine.]" She replied, smiling at having her request to accompany Hazel received in good favor. "[I don't have any plans for today either, except meeting up with you and Jarrod, so I'm happy to just accompany you. Yesterday was fun so I bet today will turn out much the same.]"

Looking over Hazel's shoulder again she looked over at the seemingly calm figure of Jarrod down by the park entrance, hadn't he noticed the two of them yet? Figuring that she just needed to make him aware of their presence she waved her hand at him and spoke up, though not in such a loud voice as to bother Hazel. "[Hey, Jarrod! Over here!]"

 

[UnusualStranger]

"{No luck then. But you are correct that some coordination could lead to this being much...easier. A route in mind, or perhaps a trap of our own to spring on these individuals? Either would work in this situation...}" Victor paused for a moment, considering his situation once more with this stranger, and decided keeping a low profile was best.

"{You may call me Vittor, and my companion is called Arryn. Now, if we are going to discuss this...plan, I imagine being a less crowded spot would be somewhat more suitable for the topic. Unless, of course, you have an idea for how to catch these individuals already in mind with our help.}"

As he finished, his gaze then did a quick sweep among the crowded area around them. Sailors and workers were always somewhat suspicious to himself, largely because they tended to be filled with humans who were, more often than not, in positions that paid little and treated them less how they felt they should be. Meaning that they would usually do less than...reputable work on the side, which was likely the case here. Looking at Arryn as well as she did her own looking around, he couldn't help but let a small smile appear as she seemed to go into a more wilderness hunting mindset, which actually would prove quite useful here, even if it was not a forest.

"[Anything seen?]" Victor asked, wondering if those more attentive eyes had seen something that he didn't want to be looking for quite yet.