[T] [Thief/Open] 2 – The Art of Thievery
ShadoWolf
[Mirro (Huard)]
He enjoyed this city of Montfort; there was so much contrast, colorful
adventure seekers living among drab cart peddlers, workers of manual
labor with workers of magic, comfort and danger combined. Underlying
it all, like rats in the sewers, the grubby little street urchins had
access to everything, possessing a form of non-magical invisibility,
hiding boldly in plain sight. Their kingdom was the cracks that few
cared to gaze into. Their kingdom had many kings, most much like the
others, none on their own seemed that special, but that ambiguity was
their power. The Kings of the Cracks were the ones who could remain
inconspicuous to the end, the ones who could slip away successfully,
unnoticed.
The art of thievery was in part the art of remaining undetected; the
magical art of illusion required essentially the same. Ambiguous
simplicity was the key. Always seeking to perfect his illusionary
art, Mirro Mist sought masters to learn from. Wearing the appearance
of a blue eyed orphan, as well as others, and at times no visible
appearance at all, he skulked about Montfort in study. However,
sometimes just watching and listening wasn’t enough, sometimes deep
immersion is required to truly understand an subject. It is also a
challenge and a test, two of Mirro’s favorite things in life.
Part of his self imposed task was to endear himself to this king
called “The Slip”, not to challenge him. Focusing on his bread loaf,
he altered it to appear as if a large portion was missing and added a
little dog saliva. Feigning what he calculated to be the proper
amount of timidity and boldness he stepped from the shadows and
approached the loading dock.
“ah, uhm, excuse me. My name’s Huard,” the boy stammered coming to a
halt a respectful distance from Renik, and then held up his partial
loaf of bread. “I was in the market just now, and, uhm, thanks to
you, I was able to get this, from one of the dogs. Uhm, well, I just
got in Montfort and I’m powerfully hungry. So I, … I was hopen that
you could show me how to get things. Of, … of course I will give most
back to you.”
[Admin] Mirro’s illusionary food will feel, smell, and taste normally,
but it will do nothing to satisfy hunger.
The Scythe
and ShadoWolf's start of [Thief] 2
[Renik The Slip and his urchins/Hanta the Houndmaster and his son]
Renik eyed the newcomer, Huard. He was doing all the right things...
that Renik had to *cultivate* in the other boys, sometimes with his
fists. Doing it on his own like this rubbed Renik the wrong way. And
the fact that Huard knew Renik caused the hound's mayhem irked him.
Not even his own guys were supposed to know that.
"Gimme," he said, snatching the bread from Huard's hand. Seeing the
hound-slobber on it, he tossed it to another boy.
There was something off about this new boy, he decided.
"So, you want to hang around? Better be ready to pay your way. And I
mean in pickings."
Renik shot a glance at Dake and Kant to check on their progress. He
watched Dame Mercene toss them what looked like coin, and that brought
a grin to his face. Any minute now they'd be back, and everyone would
eat well today
Dake and Kant picked up the tokens Dame Mercene had tossed at their
feet. They weren't coin, so they knew Renik would be mad. They
looked at each other, then back the way they'd come towards the
warehouse. They knew The Slip would be watching. They looked at each
other again in unspoken agreement.
They turned and ran off, full-tilt, down a completely different
direction, away from the warehouse and towards the Gilford Mission.
Back on the warehouse loading dock, Renik jumped to his feet.
"Those ingrates are running off with our money!" He yelled.
"After'em!" The boys leapt down, or ran down the steps and hit heels
to butts, tearing clods from the dirt as they ran. Renik put the
bread and apple back in his pockets and turned to Huard.
"You want to hang around? Catch them two!" he ordered, and took off
after the other boys.
Back in the market, other passersby finally started to lend a hand in
rounding up the hounds. Hanta and his son were free with apologies.
"Sorry about that, you know how young dogs can be," was the gist of
it. Finishing up the task, Hanta went to Lucc and gave a "My thanks."
Hanta's son went to Serun and Emphie.
"Thank you sir, miss. He's a nice one and I'm glad he didn't come to
harm. May I take him?" The boy paused seeing how Emphie like this
one, and a friendly, but salesman's smile came out.
"Maybe you'd like to give him a good home?" he said, looking to Dame
Mercene.
[Admin]
Dake and Kant have decided to seek greener pastures in the world of
good food and baskets of kittens. Nice touch, by the way, Cathy!
Feel free to put words in their mouths, ShadoWolf. They will show the
tokens, and maybe try to convince other boys to go with them. The
other boys will only hem them in, not fight them without Renik there.
My plan is for Renik to get mad that it's tokens and not money. He
wants independence and control over his crew a LOT more than a good
meal he can get for free, which he'll have to pay for by listening to
people preaching about changing his life, or going to the orphanage,
or whetever horrible fates they have in store there (or so he thinks).
Renik will be mad enough to fight and order the other boys to keep
them from going to the mission. All I was thinking of though, was to
have a quick, one-post scuffle,and then Dake and Kant get away (they
aren't runts of the litter in the group and the girls' description
made up their minds firmly).
So basically, Dame Mercene's gift will take away at least two of
Renik's kids pretty much permanently, and he's going to get angry
enough over it to head back to the market for a little revenge,
cutpurse style.
Feel free to take these ideas as far as you want, and modify them,
based on Mirro's decisions. Renik can get just as mad chasing the two
of them to the Mission as by tussling with them. At least one of the
boys will be there if/when Mirro catches up to the escapees unless he
takes action to prevent Renik finding out what he does at that point.
Robert
The Scythe
Dang, I forgot. I wanted Dake and Kant to show a little gratitude!
[Renik's former lads, Dake and Kant]
As they ran, Dake held up his hand and waved, and Kant yelled back
over his shoulder.
"Thank'e kindly mum!"
The Scythe
ShadoWolf
From the calm empty place behind curtains of illusion the gnome known
as Mirro Mist manipulated his creations like a conductor directing his
orchestra. The function of each piece blended with each other
supporting and creating a harmonic synergy like a music ensemble. The
bending of light and sound hid the caster while it formed and the
projected image of the blue eyed orphan. From his empty place the
illusionist was able to secretly touch Renik to obtain a physical
marker, a marker in which to help anchor and solidify his creation.
Montfort was his stage, he studied it for months; he knew the bends
and bumps of every street and the stench in every alley. Through
extensive study he became familiar with most of Montfort’s inhabitants
and their routines, and for the most part he could account for the
variables of the others. One such variable and potential hazard are
other magic adept for they tend to either see though optical
distortions or otherwise detect illusion within close proximity.
Mirro sensed that at least one magic user was in the market.
The Slip, his gang, and his illusionary shadow raced after Dake and
Kant even though they had a good head start with people, dogs, and
half the market in between. Complicating the situation further, Mirro
had to have Huard perform well enough to be of value to Renik, but not
too well, or risk being seen as a threat.
In his calm empty place Mirro invisibly jogged through the market,
steering clear of magic users and dogs with excellent noses, he
hoped. He waited until Dake and Kant left the market proper and ran
up a street on the far side. Just beyond the bend, ahead of the
runaway boys, three large angry dogs popped into existence.
The Slip was a fast boy and very agile, Huard kept pace close behind
him until they exited the market. With a quick burst of speed, Huard
inched past Renik as the dogs bore down on the runaways. Dake and
Kant slid to a terrified halt, torn between facing the dogs or Renik’s
gang.
“Don’t move!” commanded the blue eyed orphan as he sped past, stooping
to scoop up a broken pole that ‘happened’ to be lying in the gutter.
“Back, Back! Go away!” Huard yelled boldly, swinging the broken pole
wildly. After several near misses and two solid hits the three dogs
ran off with much yipping and whining. Like a valiant knight, Huard
turned to watch Renik deal with their captives.
The Scythe
[Renik and his urchins/Dake and Kant]
Renik didn't notice as Merro touched him to improve the illusions.
As for Dake and Kant, thinking they were well away from Renik
theyslowed to a walk and looked over their shoulders. They breathed
sighs of relief and congratulated each other, holding the tokens tight
in their fists.
Their reverie lasted about two minutes.
As they turned the corner to head towards the Gilford Mission, they
drew up short.
"Whoah," said Kant. Dake was speechless. Not one, or even two, but
three grizzled mutts lay in their path. As the boys tried to edge
around them, they started to growl, and the hackles on the backs of
their necks stood up. The boys backed up, and the dogs advanced one
slow step at a time.
At this point the other boys ran up and Huard sent the dogs running.
Renik watched, and then pushed his way past the other boys.
"Well, well, well. Not bad, new kid," He said to Huard. Then he
rounded on Dake and Kant. "What're you two little goblins thinking!
Eh? Running off with all the coin! No one EVER does that to me!" He
balled up his fist and took a step towards the two boys.
Dake shrank back, but Kant crouched, ready to fight. He kept one hand
pulled back in a fist but threw the other one out, holding the token
up so Renik could see it clearly.
"Drop it Ren!" he shouted. "It wasn't even coin anyhow. Look! Kant
and me're headed to The Mission." That took Renik aback. He paused.
So THAT was the lady's game. Seeing that he was about to lose Dake
and Kant for good, he changed tactics.
"Psh!" he exclaimed. "You think somebody's gonna just hand out food?
You know they'll just take you back to the orphanage. You know what
they do there." He said this despite the fact that a lot of 'the
horrible things that go on at the orphanage' were mainly exaggerations
that Renik himself had told them in the past.
Then Dake spoke up.
"It was the girls," he said. "The girls told us. We believe the
them. Right Kant?" he looked to the other boy for support.
"Right!" Kant said. "Outta the way Ren. We're going to the
Mission." Renik looked at all the other boys, behind Dake and Kant.
He saw indecision in their faces. Kant turned and saw it too "You
guys..." he started to say, should come too, but Renik shouted him
down.
"You're not going anywhere!" and launched himself at Kant. The two
boys grabbed at each other, punching and kicking. The other boys ran
up, some to throw punches of their own, others to try to drag them
apart. Dake threw himself into Renik, and knocked him aside. That
was long enough for the two of them to get away from the pack, and
they ran again.
As they came to Huard they both launched, full bore, into him to try
and get by and make their escape.
Renik got up and made to chase them again, but one of the boys grabbed
his shirt. Renik balled up his fist to swing, and the other boy did
the same.
"Easy Ren." the boy said. "It's Dake and Kant, ok? Easy. Let 'em
go." Renik relaxed, and the other boy did too. Renik looked around
and the boys. Seeing he'd reached the limit of his control over them,
he stood straight and dusted himself off.
"Pf," he said. "Those two were always dragging us down anyway. Good
riddance."
The other boys looked to Renik. He was still the leader. His
thoughts turned back to the market and the Noble Lady who'd gotten
Dake and Kant to go back to 'civilized' life. She had to be rich, the
do-gooder. And the rich always had pouches with coin.
"All right boys," he said. "Let's head back to the market and I'll
tell you how we're going to get our score for the day." As an
afterthought, he called to Huard.
"You can come too, New Kid. I've got a job for you."
[Admin] I left it open for however Mirro wants Huard to react to the
boys escaping. They're meant to get away, but however you want to
show it is fine.
Robert
AKA The Scythe
ShadoWolf
Dake and Kant charged straight at Huard and his broken pole.
In his private pocket of reality Mirro watched the events unfold and
studied the actions of the boys, and his boyish creation. Huard
didn’t have an ego or future protect, he wasn’t a boy with desires or
emotions; he was a tool, an illusionist’s construct. Applying
barriers linked to visible objects was an effective method to give an
illusion solidity, a method Mirro took pride in doing very well. The
problem was in calibration: Mirro could make is creation punch with
the power of an ogre, or touch as soft as a feather. How strong is a
10 year old human boy?
Huard swung his broken pole straight for Kant’s groin. The squishy
thud and the off center way Kant left the ground told Mirro he put a
little too much power behind the hit. The fallen boy could be
permanently injured, or worse. Mirro allowed his creation to be
pushed down when Dake shoved him hard. Grabbing Kant by the upper arm
Dake helped his friend hop hobble down the street with much profanity
and cursing.
Huard regained his feet, throwing back a few insults hurled his way.
Heeding Renik’s lead, he let the runaways go and waited The Slip’s
command. When he was invited to follow, follow he did.
The Scythe
[Renik and his urchins]
"Aw'right lads," Renik said with authority as he lead the group back
towards the marketplace. "We're gonna see the color of the coin that
noble lady and her peeples have on'em." He walked on, and the boys
murmed assent.
"Now, It's the Lady, the two girls, and the two guys what seem like
guards." Renik and the others hadn't realized Kit was part of the
group yet.
"We need a distraction, so Jevry, you whoop and holler like some
seller's beatin' the tar outta' you." The boy nodded, grinning.
"We need to keep the tough guys busy, so Kop and Tarey, you beg like
your life's dependin' on it, but to just one of them. If he gets away
from you, give him a dirt wollop. Got it?" Those two slapped hands
together and agreed.
"New Kid, you're gonna snatch the coin-pouch of the other tough, got
it? Let Misha "accidently" bump into the guy first, so he's not
lookin' your way."
"Got it?"
"Them girls need to stay out of it, and they may have coin too, so
next Maikal and Joe, you two step in with just a straight purse snatch
"Caman and Tem, you guys be on the lookout for any other trouble, like
Guards and such." Renik looked around at all the lads. They all had
a job now.
"Then I'll cut the lady's purse, and we'll beat feat," Renik
declared. "After, we'll meet back up at the storm drain."
In a few short minutes after, Renik and the lads reached the market.
He nodded at them all as they split up to come at Dame Mercene's group
from all different directions.
[Dake and Kant, Renik's former lads]
By this time, the deserters from Renik's little squad had reached the
mission. They paused a little down the street, checking things out.
They both wanted the free food, and a good place to sleep, but were
there really all those warnings Renik had said about the place? So
they hesitated.
Finally, an old woman passed them heading in, carrying a basket. Dake
caught up to her.
"Please Ma'm," he said. "Who do I give this to?" And held up Dame
Mercene's token. The old lady looked over both boys.
"Well, well." she said. "You boys look a bit worse for wear. Need
some lunch? There's potato soup today." She shooed them ahead of
her. "C'mon now, there's some good boys. We'll get you settled."
They went inside with her. Kant turned to her, just inside.
"The kittens. Can we see the kittens?" he said, looking up at her.
She chuckled.
"Of course, my boy. The kitchen"s over this way. They like it by the
stove, where it's always warm."
Dake and Kant - Fin
The Scythe
The Scythe
your character only shows up in a single post.
[Renik and his urchins]
The market was still bustling, and the boys spread out all through
it. Following Renik's orders, Jevry walked up to the leather seller's
cart. He had a reputation for rudeness and being free with a fist.
"Ay! Don't hit me! I didn't take anything!" He yelled, right behind
the man. As the leather worker turned with surprise, Jevry threw
himself to the ground and continued to squawk loudly. Some people
around them turned to look.
When they heard this, the boys Kop and Tarey walked up to the man Lucc
with their hands out.
"Spare a copper sir? A little help for an orphan sir?" they said,
trying to get his attention.
With their setup started, Renik looked over at Huard.
"Get in there, New Kid," he said.
ShadoWolf
even if your character only shows up in a single post.
[Mirro (Huard)]
Renik played his gang like a maestro, each member was a tool; he knew
what each could do and what he wanted them to do. It was almost like
watching an adolescent battlefield commander.
Mirro played his puppet to fill Renik’s expectations. It was quite
simple really, with the boys Kop and Tarey distracting the man Lucc,
all the gnome had to do was have illusionary Huard do what Mirro was
doing in fact. The most difficult aspect was to effect a little
bumbling on Huard’s part and to transfer the cut money bag into his
fictitious hand.
Feigning adequate competency, Huard cut the purse and nonchalantly
wandered off returning to Renik’s side by an indirect route. “Good
enough?” Huard asked discreetly offering the man’s coin pouch.
The Scythe
even if your character only shows up in a single post.
The setting is Montfort on a market day. Renik and his urchins are
trying to rob Dame Mercene and her group. See [Thief/Open] 1 for the
opening posts.
[Renik the Slip and his urchins]
Jevry, Kop, and Tarey were playing their parts. But the new kid was
trying to cut the wrong purse! Renik didn't wait to see if he was
successful or not. He moved closer to the noble lady, getting ready
for his turn.
The next boy, Misha, *accidently* ran into Serun, hopefully
distracting him.
From behind Dame Mercene's group, the two boys Maikal and Joe stepped
up looking for the purses or coin pouches of the two girls. They
intended to do a snatch and run if they had them, and simply bump into
them to distract them if they didn't have purses.
And with all the pieces in motion, Renik came at Dame Mercene from
between two vendor's carts. From a pocket he pulled a tiny remnant of
a broken knifeblade. It was just long enough to cut pouch strings.
Moving smoothly, and with the lightest fingers he'd ever posessed, he
made to slice her pouch strings. If successful he planned to spin on
a heel and head back the way he came.
The little battle of wills between Dame Mercene and Renik was joined.
She may've not realized, but Dake and Kant's leaving Renik had cut him
to the quick, and he wanted revenge.
[Admin - to Shadowolf]
Hey there, I forgot to have Misha bump into Serun to distract him for
Huard. Sorry about that. Let's chalk it up to Renik and Mirro not
knowing each other very well. Also, let's see if Cathy let's him get
away with stealing Lucc;s pouch.
[Admin - to Cathy] There are a lot of things going on at this point.
I'm bouncing about 10 tennis balls your way. I'm curious how Portia's
going to react to all this.
Robert
AKA The Scythe
The Scythe
storytlr
playing catch up. ;) Cathy]
[Portia/Others]
Emphie was just turning from Hanta's son with a hopeful question when
the group heard the shouting, and the young girl looked around
worriedly. Alisha moved nearer to her younger sister, and palmed the
medallion their Daddy had given them in case of problems.
A little further away Lucc found himself slightly beseiged by
beseeching urchins. He clamped his hand to his nearly empty pouch,
pretending to be protecting it as he felt the quick tug. Batista and
Renald had been adding to Serun's and his advanced security training -
and Batista's rule was never have your coin at risk. ::Kit, do you
mind?:: he sent to the adalin', ::You'll get back to them faster.::
::Happy to,:: came Kit's mental reply.
Lucc didn't begin a hue and cry about the missing pouch, but smiled at
the boys and said, "Your confederate has your passport to a hot
meal."
(Admi: More Gilford coins. <G>)
Between legs, under stalls, and over boxes went a russet, vulpine,
shadow.
She ignored the pup that had set up a bark as she trotted past, but
noted Serun working his way back towards the girls and Portia; though
the girls were still a bit away from their step-mother.
And it was the movement behind Portia that had the vixen's attention,
and with a quick dart she dodged around Portia's skirts, under the
carts, and when she came out from under the carts, and was behind the
cut purse, the fox became a russet-haired woman in a gray gown. Light
trickled from her fingers, and two strands danced up and out towards
the boy's hand; just touching lightly enough to tug at his hand, and
spoil his attempt.
"Not the best of manners," Kitrina said, with a touch of amusement in
her tone.
"Is someone trying to hurt Aunt Portia!?" Emphie cried out as she
realized that there was someone behind her step-mother.
Serun had already been heading towards his charges, but with Portia
tucked back he had not seen the thief, and in a quick stride he had
pushed the girls into a shop entrance. "Madam, to the shop."
Portia was more than a little aghast at developments, but obeyed;
moving out of the way so Serun could deal with the problem. Serun, who
was tall, and solidly built; with a stern face, framed by black hair.
He looked like an avenger as he moved towards the culprit.
The Scythe
single post.
The setting is Montfort on market day. Renik and his crew are trying
to steal from Dame Merrcene, and it's not going well.
[Admin - to Cathy] Darn, I forgot about Hanta and his son. I'll have
include them a bit
this time.
Here's what all the boys are doing;
Boys -
Jevry, distraction
Kop, Tarey, try to occupy or dirt wollop Lucc
Huard took Lucc's pouch
Misha to bump into Serun
Maikal and Joe - steal the girl's pouches
Caman, Tem, lookouts
Renik - Cut Portia's pouch
[Renik and his urchins / Hanta the houndmaster and his son]
Hanta had turned and headed back to the hound pen by the time this new
commotion started. His son was still holding the pup nearby the
Mercene daughters. Not being especially bright, he didn't notice the
group of dirty kids moving in.
Up the market a ways, Jevry continued to screech and yell like he was
being beaten within an inch of his life. The merchant closest to him
tried to reason with him and help him, but that only made it worse and
added to Jevry's ploy. It made it look more real.
Kop and Tarey had been prepared for Lucc to either pay, or more likely
turn away to help Dame Mercene once Renik stole her purse. In fact,
if he'd turned away they were ready to each dive into the back his
knees to knock Lucc to the dirt and jump on him to keep him there - a
nice dirt wollop. They were NOT prepared for him being so aware and
staring them down. They hemmed and hawed and shuffled their feet.
But the had his attention, so they shuffled a bit away, but stayed
close enough to charge in if he turned back towards Dame Mercene.
The boy Misha had been trying to get to Serun to bump into him, but
he'd been held up getting past tightly packed burlap sacks. So Serun
had been able to turn and help the wealthy lady. He followed Serun
back towards Dame Mercene.
Maikal and Joe had been coming up behind the girls when Serun appeared
and shooed them out of reach. Since the big man didn't seem to pay
them close attention, they decided not to press the issue. Instead
they headed back. But there was Hanta's son right there - a perfect
target since he was distracted by all the goings-on. Maikal knocked
into him, and Joe swiped the pouch right off the older boy's belt.
The houndsboy nearly dropped the pup, and yelled.
"Hey!" he called, but could do nothing to stop the two thieves as they
took off running.
Caman and Tem kept looking for any guards, ready to whistle a warning,
but none had shown up so far.
Renik had been right there! The noble lady's pouch had been just in
reach, and then shock! Strands of light pulled at his hand?! And
this fox-turned woman blocking him in from behind?! Renik had seen
only a little magic, mainly at town festivals for entertainment. So
Kitrina's change and light strands left him open mouthed and flat-
footed for just an instant. The advance of a big tough like Serun,
though, was old hat. He reacted from long practice, and in a flash
was scurrying under a cart, away from them both. Over bushels and
under table legs he hustled, finally startling a big merchant and
shooting between the man's legs. Halfway across the market in the
crowd, he tried a glance over his shoulder to see if they'd followed.
And there was Misha. He'd followed Serun as the big man passed Dame
Mercene. As she moved to the shop's doorway he tried one quick grab
at any purse or pouch in evidence. Successful or not, he turned away
quickly. There was no way he wanted to be around to face that big
guy's anger.
storytlr
[Admin: Time for the Guard.<G>]
[Mercene group/Guard]
As the boy dodged away from Serun Kitrina let the young thief go;
instead she caught sight (and scent) of the boy following the
boyguard, and <flicked> a thread at the second thief. This strand was
invisible, but had enough strength in the sending to possible make him
stumble.
"Serun, behind you?!" she called in a lovely, throaty, voice.
Portia huddled back in the shop with the girls; with a firm hand on
Emphie to keep her from trying to peer out.
A crowd had started to gather, and from down the aisle of stalls came
the clear, sharp, whistles of the Guard; the bystanders beginning to
part to let the patrol through.
Further away, Lucc had drawn his dagger, and while keeping an eye on
the boys, he began to back towards the trouble. His other hand was
resting now on his sword.