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

[InkBlot Royalist]

Borta glanced up insuprise as the she-wolf Keidran he vaguely remembered from the other night dropped something onto the table. He half turned to question her, but as she continued moving, he guessed she didn't really want to converse about...whatever was going on. The old wolf loooked at the folded, slightly yellowed paper for a long moment then picked it up and unfolded it, before reading the hastily scrawled note inside.
It took him rather longer than he would have liked, but his aging eyes weren't as accustomed to the written word as his tongue to the spoken.

After deciphering the jist of the note, he grinned up at his human companion opposite

"We seem to have been propositioned!" he chuckled, passing the note to the human to read. While Borta really didn't need the money, working for the city guard on what seemed to be a secretive mission was a pretty good start for a glorious tale.

Or and end to a rather dull one, he corrected hiself.

"I'm certainly interested, we go?"

 

[Grim327]

Chris watched the cloaked keidran drop off a note. "Well that's interesting." Chris said as Borta picked up the letter and read it. We seem to have been propositioned! Chris's curiosity was piqued at that line and he read the note after Borta passed it to him. Good, some money would be nice right now, and this just might be fun. Chris thought.

I'm certainly interested, we go? "Let's do it." Chris replied as he finished the last of his breakfast and wiped himself off. " Hold on a sec though, I need to go get my bow and quiver from my room. " After a minute or two, Chris grabbed his equipment, and was back at the table ready to go, "OK, now I'm ready."

 

[Lambi]

Arryn didn't care whether she looked 'fine' or not. She didn't want to wear her clothes and that was that. But she didn't want to bother arguing, especially on an empty stomach, so she would just have to deal with it this time. "[People in the city are just weird. There's nothing to hide. Urgh...]"

When Victor asked her what she wanted to eat, she didn't need much thought, immediately saying "[Meat. Lots of it.]" Her stomach growled, indicating that she wanted the food right now. She held it with one paw to try and keep it down. "[Just hope that not everyone wants to be given this 'gold' that man yesterday wanted. Food should be available for the hungry, not the greedy.]" It was a pretty stupid concept to her. Why would anything other than your hard work towards hunting the prey be needed for food? It was just crazy and dumb.

 

[InkBlot Royalist]

Spoiler: A brief absence

Just to let you guys know, I'm not going to be able to update for a couple of days, wi-fi is a tad tempramental on long-hall flights, so anyone who needs to is more than welcome to auto my character. Hopefully I'll be back soon, but I just thought I'd let you know!

Borta followed Chris up the stairs then went to his own room and rummaged around in the scattered bedsheets, nightshirts and pages of music and verse until he found his travel bag. He quickly strapped on his vambrace and chainmail, then pulled on his battered coat and boots. His belt clicked into position on his hips and he felt the reassuring weight of his old mace in his palm. He spun the heft weapon in his hand a few times before dropping it into its houlder in his belt, just next to his recently filled bag of coins.

Borta stuffed a few strips of dried meat and two bottles of water into his pack, along with a blanket and another random piece of cloth (another shirt maybe?) into the back of his pack, so he would at least have something soft between his spine and his other equipment. He wasn't sure what else he'd need, so he left everything else scattered around his room. He doubted this would be much of a long trek, so he'd just ask the innkeeper to hold his room for him.

Borta delacately ran his hand along the strings of his beloved lute, debating for the hundredth time whether or not to bring him along. The lute stared back at him with its chipped frame and soft curves, the frayed string ends dangling down its neck like Borta's own greying mane...You just aren't cut out for the road any more.

Neither are you, but we both know thats never stopped either of us it seemed to chuckle back

"[Ah my old friend,]" Borta sighed, raising it onto his shoulders beside his pack with the delicacy of a father "[once again, you make a good arguement.]"

Borta walked over to the door and, at the last moment, scooped his floppy hat from the bedstead, then lowered it firmly over his head. The old wolf grinned at the back of the door for a moment, rolled his shoulders to a cacophony of satisfying clicks, then stepped outside to meet Chris back by their table.

He nodded to his new companion "Lets not keep the guards waiting then! Lead on!"

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor shrugged, obviously realizing that Arryn had not a single thought other than eating some more meat. Probably would be better off going to a place which just served up recently hunted animals. He stepped out, knowing that Arryn would likely be following, stomach growling, and probably still complaining about how they would need to pay for food. He had no problem buying a particularly large amount of meat for the pair of them to eat on the go. He wanted to go check out that intriguing deal which the guards had offered before. It was a chance to make up some of this coin that he was spending, and also something different for himself to attempt.

As the pair proceeded out of the inn, Victor largely ignored some of the other shops, despite some of the bacon and other meats that were offered. It was no the main meal of those places, meaning that the few strips of meat that they would get would be somewhat unsuitable for her....particularly vicious appetite. As they continued onward, he finally found the place he had noted before in their exploration last evening. Lots of meats and stuff on sale here, and it seemed they were getting for a big day of sales with some larger bits of meat already roasting over some fires. The owner, a human male, looked him over quickly and seeing that he was at least looking somewhat better than Arryn standing next to him, it meant that he had some coin on him.

["Before grabbing something....what looks appealing, I'll get it for you."] Victor said, placing a hand on her shoulder as a slight precaution. He couldn't have her jumping into trouble this early in the day.

 

[Baldrek]

After a bit of aimless wandering about followed by asking a local patrol for directions, Katja finally arrived at the eastern market square. Here merchants of goods from far and wide peddled their wares, everything from fish, vegetables and produce to spices, jewelery and fine garments. The amount of goods on display and the traffic around the square initially made Katja feel dumbfounded, but she soon remembered what she was here for and began to make her way across the square towards an area where she could spot some blue banners emblazoned with the symbol of the guard, a silver key and halberd crossed.

Walking through the stands Katja smelled the scent of food and spices from afar, the sweet scent of honey, and the slight sour waft of pickled greens. It was a market truly befitting of the description, and still it was not the largest in Wreathwood. But it was a small wonder really, Wreathwood was by far the largest trade port into the Republic and many roads converged here before heading further west to the capital, or north and east to the Arctic Republic and the Border Nations. She stopped for a moment to look at a small stall selling candies and pastries baked from a recipe originating in the north. It wasn't that she herself had a sweet tooth, indeed she doubted she could even stomach them as a Keidran, but she recognized their shape from when she had traveled with her mentor. He had always seemed to try and take in as much of the land and people's customs as he could, and he had been in no way adverse to trying out their cooking either. And well, sometimes a particular taste just had to be experience again she reckoned.

Pulling her gaze away from the stand again she kept walking, passing by an assortment of goods on her way and mentally marking those that she might head back to once she had some more coin to spend. There was this particular merchant that insisted he had weapons of Basitin craftsmanship that she would have to take a look at later. She could need a new bow one of these days, the old one had some signs that it might begin to splinter. Then again... She again found herself looking in the direction of a different merchant. Maybe she just needed some good oil to protect it against the weather? It had been shaped further north after all, and it was considerably cheaper than a new bow.

Deciding that it was, ultimately, a question better suited for a different day, one preferably with a slightly heavier purse, she closed her mind to the market and the noise of the vendors and merchants. She would forgive herself from being distracted such today, but she still had to remember that there was work on the line. Work that she was certain would help uphold the law in the long run.

Making her way over to the guard post, which turned out to be a small building at the south exit of the square housing what appeared to be an office for a superior and his clerks, as well as a small barracks. Walking up to the door she nodded at one of the guards standing outside keeping a lookout for any trouble in the marketplace. "I am here about work." She told the female Keidran before being waved towards the door. "[Go ahead, the Sergeant's been expecting mercenaries.]" She told Katja in the Keidran tongue, seeing as she was speaking to one she reckoned knew the language. Katja, of course, had no idea what had been said, but the hand gesture had been pretty unmistakeable and as such she chose not to make the guard repeat herself. After all, if she was unlucky it would lead to naught but a lengthy discussion about why she didn't speak Keidran, and she felt like she'd had enough of them to last a lifetime already.

Heading inside the front office she was greeted by a somewhat familiar Basitin in a guard uniform, sans armor, behind a desk apparently busy logging events into a large book that she guessed would be the post's ledger. At Katja's arrival however she looked up from the paperwork and put aside the quill that she had been using for writing. "I was wondering when a few of you were going to show up." She began as she rose from her chair and walked forward to have closer look at Katja. "Hmm... You're that Keidran from yesterday, the one from outside the inn. Good, we'll likely need you and a fair few others as well if we're going to pull this off. I'm Sergeant Rifka Crespo, and I'll be your direct superior while you're working with the guard. Keep in mind that this does not make you a guard yourself, and you still have to abide the laws like any other citizen while working with us, got that?" Rifka asked rhetorically as she once again headed behind her desk and dipped her quill in ink. "Now, your name please." At this point Katja had already assumed a stance that belied an upbringing by Basitin standards as she was faced with proper official authority, to her at least. And she responded by promptly giving her name to Rifka.

"Good, now to tell you a little bit more about what we need help with." Rifka started a little bit unsure if the Keidran in front of her was earnest about her apparent discipline, or if this was just her way of trying to endear herself towards a Basitin superior. "We have suspicions that there's a slave smuggling ring operating out of the city, Keidran and Basitin trafficking and kidnapping, you might have heard of the type. Most likely they're hiding out somewhere around the docks and harbor area, but us guards can't go around ransacking every house and warehouse in the district to root them out. Or so I am told." The Basitin Sergeant explained with an exasperated sigh. "To top it off it seems impossible to send people down to keep an eye on the district, it seems like they know just who to look out for to avoid being caught, the slimy bastards."

"And that's where you and the other sell-swords come in. It'll take them, whoever they are, at least a little while to piece together just who's working for us or not. Hopefully long enough for you to be able to bring back something useful when it comes to their location for us to act on." Katja nodded in acknowledgement to her temporary boss, indicating that she understood the details so far, leading to the female Basitin to open a pouch on her desk and withdrawing a series of coins before handing them over. "Here's your advance payment, you'll get more coins the more information we get, and you'll all get a bonus if we manage to stop the traffickers. Understood?" Again Katja nodded. "Good, but before you go there's another small detail. The dock and harbor guards are not to be informed about your mission for us, not even their superiors, under any circumstances whatsoever, avoid them if at all possible. Is that crystal clear?"

Here Katja hesitated for a moment, the other orders she had no problems with, but this seemed a little odd. In the end she did nod however, they probably had their reasons, most likely that the smugglers would be tipped off if she or any of the others had contact with the guards she guessed.

"Excellent. Now go and do something useful for that money would you? And remember that although disappearances of Keidran and Basitin have been... Less frequent after we started searching for these people they have not stopped. Don't get caught off guard." And with that last message Katja once again found herself out on the street, her coin purse a little heavier, but with a small niggle of a doubt asking if this really had been a smart choice. Still, it wasn't like she could go back on an accepted job. Figuring that she might as well get a feel for the harbor if she was going to be working there she found her feet start off in that direction, hopefully others would take up the work as well, she was fairly certain that this wasn't something she wanted to be alone in.



Darrel was busy helping load the cargo off the Mist of the Isles, the human owned, but Basitin run ship that he currently served as a sailor on. Apparently the owner had found a Basitin crew to his liking due to their punctuality and work ethic, and Darrel couldn't blame him. People like him from back on the isles were made of sterner stuff than the average Human or Keidran after all, they just didn't have it in them for proper hard labor. And seeing as the ship was staffed exclusively with Eastern Basitin they didn't have much in the way of internal conflict either, chain of command was chain of command after all.

Once the ship was cleared of cargo he was sure that the crew would be gifted their usual period of shore leave. Life was predictable that way, and he was sure that while everyone would much rather spend their leave back home it was leave none the less, and appreciated for what it was. He knew that he would like to have a few days of solid ground beneath his feet before they had to load up the vessel once more for the next journey. If they were lucky it would even be a trip home.

Still there was much more work to be done before such things could be properly considered, and they didn't have all day. Besides, both they and the captain had a reputation to keep.

 

[CounterAttack]

Eventually Hazel found her way to the park, having cut through the markets just in case someone had something new for sale that she could use. A few minutes of quick browsing yielded nothing in particular that caught her eye, so she simply moved on. The park was rather quiet, save for the light rustling of leaves and other plants brushing up against one another. Hazel found herself a rather large tree in a clearing, and sat down in the grass to sort out her possessions.

First on the agenda was to unload everything from her pack and categorise it. Valuables: money, quills, stoppered inkwells, Hazel's book on her studies of magic, her flint and steel, and her short sword went into that pile. Clothing: roughly a week's worth if she reused multiple items. It was all simple stuff, save for her cloak which had a little bit of fine detail. Foodstuffs: all of it non-perishable and wrapped up in packages.

"I really need a new bag... or something with more pockets," Hazel mused aloud to herself as she repacked her bag. All the clothing went in first, then her food supplies, and lastly her valuables with the cloak covering them in case someone had a poke around. Her sheathed sword returned to its usual place on her hip once she had stood up and settled the pack on her shoulders. The whole process hadn't taken all that much time.

"What next, Ms Katriana." Hazel's musing continued as she began to wander the park. Maybe something or someone would find her, rather than the other way around.

 

[RBMidknight]

Jarrod awoke with the sound of birds and the smell of freshly turned earth. At least until his senses cleared and the true smell of wood smoke and people filtered in. His ears twitched in annoyance at the sounds of arguing adults and fussing children coming through the walls. His neighbors, Jarrod assumed, were unhappy about something. They must have arrived after he'd already gone to sleep the previous night. Mum's Tavern had been the closest choice of places to sleep when it came time to turn in for the night.

With a yawn Jarrod reluctantly rose out of bed and shambled to the window. He pushed open the old wooden shutters to peer outside. Crowd noise filtered upwards from the ground level, with bits of laughter coming from a particularly vocal group of human females. Jarrod could see the tops of the docked ships at the harbor and trees if he leaned just a bit out of the window. The fresh air was cool and felt good. Jarrod drew in a deep breath and recalled the smells of the park and his own home garden. His stomach rumbled impatiently, a reminder that it was past time to eat. Jarrod turned to survey his room. Now that it was fully lit he could see more of it.

The room he'd paid for was small but functional with a single person sized bed, a small table, a wobbling chair and even a standing closet though its paint had long since been worn off by careless travelers. Jarrod clothed himself and slowly made his way downstairs. One of the servers gave him a fresh plate of meat for breakfast but to Jarrod's surprise he didn't actually see Mum. He thanked the server politely in the human tongue when he was finished and retreated back to his room for a brief period.

His normal morning routine helped set Jarrod at ease. First he cleaned his axe and hatchet - more out of habit then necessity - and secured the hatchet to his belt along with his dagger. Next came the checking of his seed bags and mana stones to make sure he still had enough of them. Jarrod chose to leave his axe in the battered closet, covering it with his spare shirt. Though the tenants here were noisy he didn't sense any thieves in the crowd. The locked door and closed second story window were protection enough for one of his prized possessions.

Jarrod set a hand on the door to debate about where he would go next. He really enjoyed seeing the park but was disappointed by being denied entrance to the gardens. The Academy was a large, intimidating, and well designed building. It looked majestic even from the outside which had to mean the gardens were just as awe inspiring. Jarrod wasn't sure that he'd be able to speak as easily or as much to the guards as Dusty had. He wasn't as comfortable with them. It would be better if he could find his...acquaintance again. But this was a good sized city. Maybe the park would be okay for the time being. Some place where he could clear his head for a bit. And get away from the people.

His destination still not completely decided Jarrod left the tavern and eased his way into the crowd of the streets.

 

[Tortilla the Hun]

Alistair hurried down the wooden stairs of the inn, looking to finish what business need be. While people sat at the bar and tables, eating their breakfasts, getting their morning doses of hard stuff and the like, the mage flitted through the dining hall and made his way out of the inn. Meandering through the dusty roadways of the city, he was making his way towards the markets, mulling over the guard's offer the night before. While the mage detested the density of the city's population, he was too preoccupied to concern himself with whomever he happened to be slipping past in the crowded streets nearer his destination. That is, of course, until someone carelessly turned their head to let loose a rather powerful sneeze in a direction they'd likely assumed to be clear of passersby. Obviously that wasn't the case, for Alistair was unfortunate enough to have caught the brunt of the sudden outburst.

"Excuse me, my apologies," was all the man had to say as he and his companion continued on down the road. Meanwhile, the mage appeared to be frozen in time, both physically and mentally, as he was in utter shock that he'd been violated in such a manner. Although it took some time to finally sink in that what had occurred had, in fact, occurred, he fumbled through his pack, panicky and stricken with a great sense of urgency. He was desperately searching for his vial of antiseptic solution, hyperventilating and hoping whatever diseases that man may be carrying daren't infect him. Alistair may have devolved into hysterics had he not managed to locate his vial in the time he had, but he held together as well as he could. Frantically, he covered his hands in the solution and applied it rather liberally on every surface of his face that he could. The stinging he felt around his eyes was unavoidable, at least for him it was, because he had to ensure absolutely none of that man's filth remained. Warranting several strange and curious looks from the surrounding pedestrians, Alistair simply payed no mind to what the others around must have thought of the whole sight and quickly stowed the bottle in his bag. With bloodshot eyes, bright-red eyelids, and a bitter taste on his lips, he pulled his hood over his head, holding it shut so the only thing even remotely visible were his burning eyes, and hurriedly strode on down the road.

 

[Lambi]

Arryn followed Victor close by as they walked out of the inn, nothing really noteworthy as they did so, neither inside the inn nor outside it. She took in more of the sights of the town, even though that's what she'd been doing for most of the time now anyway. It did look rather pretty, although it looked better from above, arguably, as she had found out during hers and Victor's rooftop stroll last night.

It wasn't long until the smell of meat filled Arryn's nose and senses, making her mouth water and her stomach growl a little. She had to restrain herself so she wouldn't get in trouble again like she had the last time she took a piece of meat without paying. Ugh, paying for food. So stupid, so she would have to let Victor handle it.

She probably looked like she was ready to jump onto wherever the meat was and just chow down, because Victor placed a hand on her as he asked her for what she wanted. She wasn't really thinking straight. All she could think about right now was eating, and eating a lot. "[You can pick. I'll be patient right here. For now. But please hurry up, I'm really, really hungry. If I have to pick something, just find something big and filling.]" She placed a paw over her stomach as it growled again.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor noted the....behavior of Arryn and looked over the selection rather quickly. She would probably consume plenty more than himself, meaning some more coin might be needed...but perhaps wouldn't need the best cuts of meat. As he quickly scanned the selection, the merchant was smiling rather widely as if he could smell the sale coming. However, a quick glare from Victor took care of whatever thoughts he might have had on trying to cheat him. Victor had no patience for this kind of nonsense, and he doubted that Arryn would sit nicely by with this 'foolish' behavior. He finally chose a particularly large flank of meat. It was a reasonable cut from what he saw, which meant a more....reasonable price. And the reasonable size meant that Arryn would be satisfied for a while. Hopefully, at least.

"That one. And that one." Victor said, pointing out each one to the merchant. The one he had chosen was somewhat smaller than the one Arryn had selected. But that was fine for Victor, as he didn't want to burn through too much more cash at the moment, and wasn't all that need of food this morning. Just didn't seem to strike him as necessary. The merchant happily accepted the pair of silver coins that he tossed to the man, which was probably some small amount more than the two, but Victor really couldn't be bothered, and took the bits of meat in the wrapping and handed the much larger one to Arryn.

["Here. This good?"] Victor asked, figuring he already knew the answer but asked anyways to be polite.

 

[Lambi]

It certainly was a large piece of meat that Victor handed over to Arryn. She didn't even care anymore if she was drooling, she was going to eat a lot now. "[Yes!]" was all she could say to Victor before biting down into the meat, tasting the sweet flavor of it as she licked it and chewed on a bite she took off it. So sweet to sate her hunger. She chowed on the meat bit by bit, going through it maybe a little too fast.

Once she had sated at least a bit of her hunger, she stopped for a moment to ask Victor. "[What are we to do now? Did you have anywhere in mind to go?]" Then she started nomming on the meat again, savoring each and every bite she took.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor nodded, taking a bite of the meat he had gotten as well as he began to walk along. He was going to try out that particular job that they were offered earlier. While he was still very suspicious, he felt that such a...unique job offering was possibly a lucrative deal. And perhaps it would be far easier with his set of skills as well as his unique travelling friend.

["To guards. Find out job."] Victor said, already making his way towards the area they had been directed to the other evening. He didn't plan on holding his breath or anything, but at least it was something to do, and perhaps give his skills a bit of exercise.

As the pair ventured through the crowds, Victor gave some thought to this particular problem that he was approaching. They would likely want information from him. Name, location, and things of that nature as guards tend to want. He already was devising a name for himself, though giving Arryn a name to call herself as probably would not go that well. So, for the moment he chose out another name, and decided that it was close enough to his original for it to possibly be a translation problem more than his actual name. As they arrived, he gave a quick look around. Defended, of course, but it wasn't exactly a fortress, just being a small place apparently at the south entrance, with guards at the entrance and...well, it looks like lots of business and paperwork. He nodded to the guards, and decided that rather than barge in he should at least show a small amount of politeness.

["I'm here..."] Victor paused, realizing that he was now have the opposite problem, and shifted his tone once more. "I'm here about work that I was invited to. Said it dealt with my particular set of skills, and I would like to see if that is true for me and my companion here."

 

[Baldrek]

Shaded from the early morning sun by the foliage overhead and occasionally cooled by the soft breeze rustling the leaves around her, she had almost slipped into a nap where she lay, her right arm under her chin to support it and her tail hanging limply down from the branch she was resting on. Dusty had been waiting for quite a while now, and being who she was she had gotten comfortable during the time that had passed, lazing on a branch up in the tree. One could only keep constant vigilance in such a peaceful environment for so long after all.

She shifted a bit as she stifled a yawn, as peaceful and relaxing as this was she wished that something would happen soon, she couldn't spend the entire morning nearly asleep in a tree after all. If her new friends weren't in the park she would have to go look for them somewhere else, and the market would be her next stop in that case, followed by the harbor. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea to her, just... just a few more minutes of keeping watch here first though, she kinda had a hunch they would show up. Or maybe she just liked to take it slow once in a while, have some real peace and quiet without having to worry about people or animals sneaking up on her like outside the walls.

But just as she was about to close her eyes and give up on the personal illusion that she was still keeping an eye out for Hazel and Jarrod she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Something that stood out against the background of grass and the darker bark of the nearby trees. Mustering the willpower to have a closer look at what or who it was, she pushed back the lethargy that had slowly been permeating her mind and got up to a sitting position. And would you know, seemed like her hunch had been right after all, this time at least, as even though she had just met the smaller woman once before she had no problem recognizing her.

Stretching her arms skywards she pushed the last of the laziness from her skull as she kept an eye on the woman below. She didn't seem like she had any specific goal, just milling around here and there, perhaps Dusty wasn't the only one looking for people today. Thinking that and smiling to herself, she started waving down to Hazel as she called out to her. "[Hey, Hazel! Up here!]" Seeing that it was a bit difficult to hold a conversation with someone up a tree however she started climbing down as soon as she found a suitable handhold. Using her clawed feet to get her down quicker, though being careful not to get any splinters in her toes in the process, she was down in no time.

Down on the soft grass that by now had gotten rid of its morning dew, Dusty once again started up a conversation with Hazel. "[Hello again, I've been looking around for you and thought you might go back to the park eventually. Yesterday was entertaining, if a bit brief, so I wondered if it would be alright if I tagged along with you today.]" She started saying shifting her shoulder to keep her bow from sliding down her arm after her hasty climb.

"[It's rare I meet such nice and welcoming people when I visit cities so I'd love to spend more time with you and Jarrod, if he's still around somewhere. I, uhm... Hope you don't mind?]" She stopped talking as she let the young mage get her bearings when it came to what she had said, suddenly switching to a different language sometimes took a few moments after all. If Dusty had been a bit more considerate she'd have just spoken the human tongue, but since they'd been talking Keidran most of the time yesterday it had felt like the natural thing to do for her.

While she was waiting for Hazel to respond though she noticed yet another familiar figure walking into the park from the closest gate, and even from a distance one could plainly recognize Jarrod from his fur and his frame. Though it seemed like he had left his axe behind today, as the large logging instrument was missing from his back, made Dusty herself feel a little silly for bringing her bow today.

*****​

The harbor certainly wasn't quiet this time of day, that was the first lesson that Katja learned in her quest to get to know her surroundings. There were large and smaller sized trading ships unloading their cargo with dockworkers and sailors working like ants to get everything done as quickly as possible. It wasn't as busy as the city's main thoroughfare and markets, but it was a bustle of activity, at least to Katja who had more experience out on the road and in small villages and roadside establishments than real cities.

Even though the activity and amount of people had been slightly intimidating to her, she had set about her task of getting to know the area, walking around the many piers and warehouses to get her bearings. She found it unlikely that the criminals she was looking for information about would act while the docks were in full use, and less so due to the daylight, so for now just looking and seeing would have to suffice.

Stopping at the dockside she looked up at a weather-beaten vessel, a cog she believed they were called, a square sailed merchants vessel by the name of 'The Hawk'. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to sail out on one of these ships, to her knowledge her master had used one to reach mainland Mekkan from the Isles back in the day, but she herself had never let her feet leave dry land. Letting the sea breeze brush past her, bringing with it the smell of brine and seaweed she almost felt like she could imagine the journey from her master's old tale as she closed her eyes. It was like she was watching from above as the scene played out in her head.

Opening her eyes again she shook her head at her silly display, she had a job that needed doing, and daydreaming wouldn't get it done sooner. She still had to find some likely place to gather information about the activities in the area, but she didn't want to blow her cover and get herself pegged as someone working for the guards. Come to think of it, the sailors likely wouldn't know much about the smugglers if they were just visiting, but the dockworkers might. She'd have to check around with some of them once most of them got off work.

*****​

Rifka was busy logging the latest report into the guard posts ledger when she heard the door open and Isa's voice welcome someone inside. "Go ahead, the Sergeant's expecting you." The people who entered together with her Keidran subordinate were a tiger Keidran and a grey furred Basitin who was a bit on the tall side. Getting up from her chair she approached the two strangers as she nodded to her subordinate, resulting in a sharp salute and Isa exiting the building, no one could accuse the guards in her part of the city to be lacking in discipline.

As soon as the door closed behind Isa, Rifka nodded in greeting to the two people before her, focusing on the Basitin since he seemed to be the 'Leader' of the two. "So you're here about the job?" She asked rhetorically as she tried to place the two of them, she could recall the Basitin from the incident at the inn, or at least the backroom where she had presented the job. The Keidran however, she didn't recall, but it was of little consequence to her, two bodies were better than one for this sort of operation. Without waiting for a reply from the two of them she walked behind her desk again and dipped the quill in ink. "Your names please."

Receiving two set of names, both from the Basitin, with the Keidran looking up at him and then back at her when her name was called, she wrote them down in her ledger next to the first Keidran's name. Just three so far, she hoped that more would come, but at this point she'd take whoever she could get from the lot collected in that backroom. "Good, then Vittor and Arryn, I'm guessing you'd like to hear some details about the job that you're getting into?" She asked, receiving a nod from Vittor and a belated nod from Arryn as she looked at her, was she even paying attention? No matter, Vittor could repeat whatever she needed to know later, at least he was paying proper attention.

"First of all, I'm Sergeant Rifka Crespo, I'll be your superior for the duration of the job. And under no circumstances are you to contact or divulge information to other guard employees until it's done. Now, there are reports of smugglers down at the docks and harbor district, slave traders by the sound of it. And we want them removed from the city." She began, looking at Arryn as she asked Vittor something that Rifka couldn't quite make out, with Vittor replying with a few words of his own in the Keidran tongue. She wasn't that fluent in the Keidran language herself, which was why Isa would normally translate for her, but the fewer guards involved in this the better, even if it was Isa.

"The problem is that they seem to know what we're doing to stop them, always one step ahead of us in any raids or conveniently disappearing whenever we're close. I want information to bring them in and bring their operations in Wreathwood to a halt, reliable information to act on." She told the two prospective hires in front of her, the tiger Keidran didn't carry herself like she had much martial experience, though it was often hard to tell with Keidran. The Basitin however, didn't strike her as inexperienced in such matters, yet he didn't carry the stance of a soldier. Self taught perhaps? It was increasingly common among Basitin raised away from the Isles after all. Basitin like her, born and raised on the Isles were slowly becoming the minority among their own race here on the mainland.

"That is why we're hiring people like you two, people with the skills to do what needs to be done and no direct affiliation with the guard to blow your cover. Keep in mind that you still have to abide by the common law like any good citizen while on the job though. It would only make rooting them out harder if we started getting bogged down by the city council involving themselves in this mess." A frown spread across her features as she thought about those people, too busy with covering their own hind ends and keeping up a stagnant policy to do anything useful in her eyes. Had this been the Isles they would have been replaced with more competent people in a heartbeat.

"That's it. You'll receive an advance on your payment once you've accepted the job or not, with extra payment for any information you bring us, as well as a bonus when we manage to shut them down and lock them up." She finished as she opened a drawer in her desk and withdrew two small pouches with a carefully counted amount of money in each, before placing them on the desk in front of her. "Your advance."

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor watched the Sergeant closely, noting most of all her eyes. He had figured the name would only go so far in covering what he was, but it got the job done easily enough, and any checks that she might think of doing would turn up nothing on him. Though, while the Sergeant was explaining, Arryn wanted a grasp on the situation, and Victor replied quickly that they were fine, and that this work involved doing something he figured she might like. Hunting.

As the Sergeant finished, Victor collected both bags, hefting them both to get a measure of the weight. Noting that they were surprisingly even, he handed one to Arryn so as to not seem like he was going to be taking both of them. The situation was likely as odd as it was.

"Consider the job accepted, Sergeant. We'll find this ring no time at all. And don't worry about any law problems. We'll play nice." As Victor turned to leave and made his way to the door, he couldn't help but pause as a thought crossed his mind.

"By the way...can we expect others to join us on this hunt, or are we all going to be doing this independently? Just out of curiosity, of course." Victor asked half a step away from leaving, deciding to instead let Arryn step out first, with her bag that she hopefully wouldn't just toss around. While it wasn't a lot of coin, it was some amount to make up for what he had been spending on her.

And this will tell me if those other characters from the inn will be showing up. Be nice to know if I got that reckless fellow running about announcing he's going to be taking down a slave ring so I can stay FAR away from him.

 

[Baldrek]

Rifka was about to go back to her logbook when Vittor stopped just short of the exit to ask her a question. "By the way...can we expect others to join us on this hunt, or are we all going to be doing this independently? Just out of curiosity, of course."

"How you choose to go about your assignments is none of our business, as long as you follow the law and get us the information we need. You can work independently, as teams, or however you like." Rifka told him as she looked at Arryn exiting her office. "But yes, there are, and will be..." Hopefully "... other hires to help us, possibly you, in this endeavor." Looking back down at the ledger in front of her she read the name of the first mercenary in silence as she pondered whether to tell Vittor about her or not.

In the end she decided that she would rather have a small team working together if they were willing than have them all run about with no results to show for it, and decided to divulge the name. "For example, we also have a Keidran from yesterday working for us, a female canine, light sandy fur and a grey cloak. Goes by Katja." She told him, noting that the ink had started to dry in her ledger and making a mental note to put it away once it did. "I cannot be sure she'd work with you two, but if you can come to some agreement then it might serve our interest."

Thinking for a moment she asked Vittor a single question before he left her office. "I can also direct other applicants to you if you'd like to coordinate some of them, if they seem inclined towards a more... Collective approach. If that is what you had in mind?"

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor paused a moment, giving a small amount of thought to the idea of working with others in this particular assignment. Would probably make his job a lot easier, and perhaps help him find out other things if he needed to. He nodded simply, figuring that perhaps this was the best way to go about this work, meaning that chances were someone else could help figure this whole mess out without him having to go diving into a mess of slavers or organized mob.

"It is a good thought, of course. You can direct them much you direct me to...Katja, you said?" Victor said, noting the name. "Thanks for the idea. Now, we need to be going. Not going to be very...discreet if we stay here chatting all day." With that Victor made his way back outside and began walking away from the guard post, quickly remembering to ask Arryn for her bag.

["You want me to carry that?"] Victor asked, wondering if she even knew what it was, or how it would be used. It was a start of something at least. Though, it was slightly interesting with her having no idea what she was doing.

 

[Lambi]

Arryn wasn't sure what to do while this unknown person in front of her and Victor was talking. It was starting to annoy her whenever someone didn't talk in Keidran due to that she couldn't understand what she was saying. So she asked Victor what she was talking about, and he told her that it was about hunting. Hunting for what, Arryn wondered. While she might appear naive at times, she was clever enough to figure that whatever they were hunting wasn't anything normal if it had to be discussed in secret like this.

She took her bag when Victor handed it to her, noting the contents of the bag as being these coins everyone seemed to need, and walked out before him, then stopped when she saw he wasn't close behind her. She waited for a bit until he came out and walked in front of her, with her following him before he turned to her to ask her a question.

"[No, it's alright. I can carry it myself.]" Perhaps now she could buy her own meat. Bah, needing to buy meat. She was still miffed about it, but at least now she had means to get it while inside the city. And it wasn't like they didn't have any meat right now, but Arryn had sated her hunger for now. She had a question of her own to ask Victor. She slightly lowered her voice, but not quite to whispering levels of low. "[If I'm going to be any help, I need to know what we're hunting for.]" she told him after placing the bag inside her knapsack.

 

[UnusualStranger]

Victor nodded as Arryn seemed to want to hold on to the bag, even though it was abundantly clear that she didn't like the idea behind the bag of coins. However, she was taking a step to prepare for some kind of living in this odd land, and that was a start. Perhaps she could learn some Basitin. It would be an interesting ability to have with her, especially....

Especially if this becomes a more long term....thing. Whatever this is.

"[We hunt slavers. Those who would take both you and me, and chain them.]" Victor spoke flatly. While his understanding of the language was growing, it was well enough to put meaning behind that particular last sentence. "[By the water they are. We find them, and stop them. Or let the guards know. A simple task.]"

Victor quickly made sure they were a reasonable distance away from the guards, which they indeed were, and then took to looking about to see if he could find any...potential marketers. After travelling about for so long, sometimes you learned a few signs of a slaver, or those willing to take 'lesser creatures' for profit. However, with the crowds as they were, there were no signs, and he went back to watching about themselves.

"[Ready to look? Or hungry or curious?]" Victor asked, wanting to make sure that Arryn wouldn't get...distracted during their hunting. He imagined this was something that she might like doing, as long as it didn't get too much into the public eye.

Then it would get unpleasant for me and her, and probably the guard. Damned problems.

 

[CounterAttack]

"[Hey, Hazel! Up here!]" A voice rang out from above Hazel as she meandered about the park. It sounded rather familiar, despite it being in the Keidran tongue. She looked up to find Dusty climbing down from a tree nearby: Hazel gave the Keidran a wave as she watched her clambering down to ground level.

"[Hello again, I've been looking around for you and thought you might go back to the park eventually. Yesterday was entertaining, if a bit brief, so I wondered if it would be alright if I tagged along with you today. It's rare I meet such nice and welcoming people when I visit cities, so I'd love to spend more time with you and Jarrod, if he's still around somewhere. I, uhm... Hope you don't mind?]"

"[Ah, good morning, Dusty,]" Hazel answered the Keidran in her own tongue. "[I guess I'm alright with you... uh, tagged along, as long as there's no trouble.]" She didn't know the right spin on the phrase 'tag along', so she simply used the same phrasing Dusty had said.

"[I don't have any plans, though, so I'm wandering, mostly,]" she added, not really sure of what her acquaintance expected to be happening.