Greed is Good (IC)

[The Orange Zergling]

Thorus doesn't necessarily mind the exaggerated story; if anything, it made his exploits seem more impressive. He smiled on the inside.

Deciding that, while at some point he would have to swallow his immense pride and simply ask somebody for instructions on bartering, right now didn't have to be the time and, as such, he could afford to go poking around a little bit.

He strides over to a villager he selected at random and inclines his head a fraction of an inch in greeting. "'scuse me, but I don't suppose ya could tell me what that buildin' is over there?" He indicates the sturdy brick structure. "Just outta curiosity."

[Blarghy]

To the glare, Alec responds with his usual smile, which might not look that comforting anyway given that he helped kill all the bandit's friends. But he isn't here to socialize; he unbinds the prisoner enough to walk, if his legs were tied or if he was attached to a wagon, and points past Tallhelm to the jail.

"This is your stop. Let's go."

If that doesn't work, some prodding from Alec's sword might, but he'd prefer to be civil about the affair. He'd also like to keep a somewhat slow pace so Tallhelm might see them coming and be able to point out the last bandit as the conclusion to his story. Like Thorus, Alec is considering asking for merchant tips later, so it pays to stay in their leader's good graces. At least until Alec robs or cheats him, but that's probably well in the future.

[Destro_Yersul]

Glaffin

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Out here, of course, wood was much easier to find than coal. As he stoked the fire, the human blacksmith answered his questions. "Only one dwarf around here, and I'm not sure you'd have much fun talking to him. Romnir runs the inn, and he's a grumpy old bastard at the best of times. You're welcome to try and get him to open up if you like, but don't go saying I didn't warn you."

Turning to grin at Glaffin, the man picked up his tongs, and went to pull a bit of heated metal out of the forge. From the looks of things, he was making a horseshoe. "As for my tools, well, you can have a look. I dunno how well you'd be able to upgrade them without making new ones, though. These were my father's, but nothing compared to Dwarfcraft, I'm sure. My name's Axel, by the way."

He wasn't boasting of their quality, at least. Glaffin could see from a look that these were servicable only. They were solidly made, and not likely to fall apart any time soon, but they wouldn't be winning any awards for crafstmanship, either.

"Well, miss..." The young man said to Laelaer, looking up at her. "We hadn't seen an elf like you before. Um. D'you... d'you have anything to sell? You're with the caravan." He seemed, she thought, a little put off by the somewhat short response.

Thorus, on the other hand, got a better response. Turning to look at him, the woman he'd selected smiled and nodded. "That's Iskandar's lab, sir. I guess you could call him our resident mad alchemist, though, he's nice enough. For an elf," she added, as an afterthought. Then everyone's attention was captured by Tallhelm again, as the merchant loudly pointed out Alec and the bandit.

"There he is now, in fact. The lucky bandit, who helped us scour their camp out of the vicinity of your lovely town. Say hello to the good people of Seabreak, my friend!" It seemed, perhaps, a little vindictive on Tallhelm's part to call him out like that, but the impression by now was that the merchant had some sort of special dislike for banditry. He had to keep up appearances.

"Now that you've all had living proof that the roads are, if a little safer now, never completely safe, perhaps I could interest you in a little protection? We have fine weapons, that we do, and many other things besides!"

The jail, as it turned out, was empty of prisoners, and only had two cells besides. The jailor was a stocky man in his late twenties, his jacket buttons carefully polished. He was, Alec noted, wearing the uniform of the King's Army Auxiliaries. Seabreak wouldn't have warranted a full detachment, nor been able to support it if it had one. Between the two of them they got the bandit into his cell, the jailor locking the door with a click and hanging the keyring off his belt. "Sir," he said, nodding his thanks to Alec and walking over to his chair. "Got to hand it to you lot, we've been having trouble with these for the past month, or so. I'd been waiting for Stormgate to send a unit or two, clean them out. Guess I can tell 'em it won't be necessary, now."

[Blarghy]

Alec prefers to let the bandit soak up all the attention when they pass through the crowd; he doesn't duck away or hide, but he's also glad Tallhelm doesn't mention him by name, or make a big deal about his involvement. Best to keep a relatively low profile for now.

He's more open in the jail, though. First he watches this soldier work, trying to judge his experience and enthusiasm from this relatively minor task, futile though that might be. He'll probably learn more through conversation: it's time to make a friend.

"I'm glad we could help. 'Though, I'd think that even a small town like this could use a few protectors. You must be overworked if you're the only candle in the darkness, so to speak."

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Alec is fishing for a little information about Seabreak's defenses and troubles, setting up the guard to tell him about what goes on here crime-wise. He's also hoping to make a friendly first impression.

Diplomacy: (1d20+5)[22]

At the same time (and prior to talking), he's looking around to judge the security of both the jail and the jailor, looking for strengths, weaknesses, and anything unusual.

Spot: (1d20+4)[22]

Let's see if my failure with spot checks continues. =P

[Artemis97]

"I do not personally have anything to sell." Laelaer says to the young man. "I was hired to guard the caravan. However, I know there to be some fine things in this wagon here." She nods to Indrys' wagon. "Some lovely silks, for instance." She then leans closer to the biy, as if telling a bit of a secret. "I say it is better to buy from us here, now, whilst everyone is crowded around the other wagon."

[Slii Arhem]

Glaffin

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Out here, of course, wood was much easier to find than coal. As he stoked the fire, the human blacksmith answered his questions. "Only one dwarf around here, and I'm not sure you'd have much fun talking to him. Romnir runs the inn, and he's a grumpy old bastard at the best of times. You're welcome to try and get him to open up if you like, but don't go saying I didn't warn you."

Turning to grin at Glaffin, the man picked up his tongs, and went to pull a bit of heated metal out of the forge. From the looks of things, he was making a horseshoe. "As for my tools, well, you can have a look. I dunno how well you'd be able to upgrade them without making new ones, though. These were my father's, but nothing compared to Dwarfcraft, I'm sure. My name's Axel, by the way."

He wasn't boasting of their quality, at least. Glaffin could see from a look that these were servicable only. They were solidly made, and not likely to fall apart any time soon, but they wouldn't be winning any awards for crafstmanship, either.

Glaffin

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"I don't think either of us could afford to fund something of Dwarvencraft, although it's not idle boasting that such a thing is within my capabilities. No, I was thinking about some more simply crafted tools that might serve you better than your current set, but that needn't last nine generations worth of dwarven lords and take on a history of their own as an artifact of a great and noble clan of smiths. A set like my own is what I'm prepared to make." So saying, Glaffin reaches into his pack and pulls out the oiled leather roll of smithing tools he carries and cherishes. Untying the strip of leather that bundles it together, he spreads them out on the table for inspection. Each one gleams through the sheen of oil he keeps on them to ward away rust and abrasive road dust that might make its way into his pack and spoil their lustrously polished surfaces. Every chisel ground to the perfect angle, every hammer weighted to the perfect heft. The centerpiece was a row of files in every imaginable size, shape, and grain to fit every possible application.

"What I ask is that you supply the materials for what I make you, and if the result is up to your standards and better than what you have, we discuss price. If not, I'll pay for the materials I've used, and you can sell them to someone, or hand them off to an apprentice. Does that sound like a deal?" Glaffin doesn't mention the dwarf again. He's not exactly here to wine and dine the old sot, just offer him something he may not have seen in a long time. That's assuming he's even from a mountainhome and wasn't born here. If the latter is the case, trying to sell him some hearthfire will waste a few minutes and a bit of Glaffin's patience, no more.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Alright." The young man nodded, turning to look at Indrys' wagon. "I'll have a look, then. Thank you, miss."

Leaving Laelaer to watch the rest of the crowd on her horse, he made his way over to the group's wagon, a girl that was presumably his sister trailing behind him.

Alec

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"Well," the soldier replied, stroking his chin as Alec looked around. "I'm not the only one, as such, just the best trained. The Seabreak Militia keeps the town safe, if we need it, but it's not rightly fair to go asking people to leave their homes and strike out on a wild snipe hunt for bandits, if you know what I mean."

The jail was solidly constructed, the cell doors made of thick wood with stout iron bracing. The locks looked well made, and Alec had an eye for that sort of thing. It wouldn't be easy to pick those open with his tools. Stealing the keys might be easier, but he'd have to watch himself. The old soldier seemed friendly enough, but the pirate could tell he was a sharp one.

Glaffin

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"Well now," Axel whistled appreciatively. "I can see you appreciatetake your craft seriously, friend." Reaching for the tools, he picked up one of the hammers, testing its weight in his hand.

"These are nice, certainly. Can't say as I know I could afford them, but I've got the materials and a little money besides. If you'd like to make me a set, I won't say no. How long are you going to be in town?"

[Slii Arhem]

Glaffin

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Glaffin scratches his chin, "Well, as much as I'd like to help you for free, you'd think me a fool for doing what would be at least a day's work for nothing out of the goodness of my own heart. If you can pay me what you can without risking your own livelihood, I'll consider the debt settled if you let me have a hand at your forge whenever the caravan passes back through Seabreak. It would be nice to have a place that will welcome me when I have a project in mind that requires more than cold forging can accomplish. I could even make a few things each time we stop for you to sell, to help pay for my use of the forge after I've used up what you would owe me from the tools." It may seem to the simpler smith that constructing such a fine set of tools, especially the calipers and other precise measuring devices, would take more than a day for anyone that wanted to do a proper job of it, but Glaffin seems to be unnaturally confident in his skill.

"As for when we're leaving, I know we'll need to stock up on food and supplies even if what we have to sell goes quickly today, and some merchants will want to buy some things to sell in the next town from craftsmen and the like. It will be at least two days, three if Tallhelm isn't a fool, which means I can spend all of tomorrow working on the tools if we have a deal."

[Blarghy]

The Jail

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Maybe the soldier will have an unfortunate accident during the bandit's escape. Such things have happened before.

Then again, this man may be one of the only tested, capable people in Seabreak. Is it right for Alec to kill him just to put this highwayman back on the road? The highwayman who quickly fell in battle and couldn't escape on his own? Alec isn't sure. He'll have to think on this. He needs to decide how far he'll go in regards to the jailor before he puts a plan into motion; he should expect to get caught even if he'll go to great lengths not to.

"I see your point." He rocks on his heels for a bit before finding a nice spot on the wall to lean against. "...I hope we didn't put you out of work; this seems like a peaceful place aside from the trouble we met on the way in."

Manipulating conversations is tricky, but Alec got off to such a good start already that he has high hopes: if he's careful and patient, hopefully he can get this man to point him in the direction of local criminals. He might not even need the bandit if he can turn a few sparks of trouble into a roaring fire.

[Gullara]

Over by the wagon belonging to the party, Cecily is setting up shop. She sets out the cubes of hearthfire in little rows. Now how is she going to draw the attentions of potential customers? While she ponders that, she looks toward where she can see Indrys. She'd been meaning to talk to him, best to get it done before she gets too busy.

The bard gestures for Indrys to join her, supplementing the gesture with words should he be close enough.

[Destro_Yersul]

Glaffin

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"We do, aye. You're welcome to borrow my forge, long as you don't lock me out of it when you do. I've got my own work, and it's big enough for us both in here." Axel was probably joking, or had at least inflected the remark that way.

"Plus," he added, "I wouldn't mind watching you work."

Alec

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The soldier gestured at the lone occupant of the cells. "Not a good deal of work here for you to put me out of. Sure, you get the occassional brigand, but usually nothing like the numbers you dealt with."

Alec noticed, suddenly, that the man wasn't wearing his weapon. He had to have one... the pirate spotted it, then, hanging near the door. It was a battered longsword, the leather grip worn from use.

Cecily didn't have to do much to attract customers, it seemed. The half elves that had been speaking with Laelaer had drifted over to see their goods, and a few others had begun wandering in her direction. The square wasn't very big, and nearly everyone in the town seemed to have turned out to browse. They probably didn't have much in the way of excitement around here...

[Slii Arhem]

Glaffin

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"Then I'll be back bright and early tomorrow to get to work. For today, I've got things to sell to the rest of the folks out there, so I'd best get to it. Take care." And off he goes after packing up his roll of tools, heading outside.

Glaffin shows up once again after working out his deal with the local smith, and his eyes light on the two half-elf youths poking around their wagon. No sign of Cecily anywhere near the two, so it's likely up to the dwarf to peddle those wares for the time being.

He walks over to the two with a half-smile on his face, coughing to get their attention, "See anything that interests you fellows? I can tell you how some of the more finicky bits and pieces work on anything from this wagon." He won't direct them to the cubes of mysterious substance Cecily laid out just yet, since he doesn't want to push business away from the others who have equipment to sell on the wagon.

[Blarghy]

The Jail

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Now that is an irritating sight, and not only because he doesn't at least have a backup knife. No one should leave their weapon by the door where an intruder can walk in and quickly grab it. No proper soldier should just have one weapon to begin with.

Alec almost gives the man his own knife as a gesture of friendship and to spread word around town about the weapons they have for sale, but he stops himself. No, this is a lesson that should be learned properly, so it sinks in. He won't be playing teacher today, but before he leaves Seabreak, this jailor is going to know to keep a blade on him when he's at work, if not at all times.

"I was right, then: a nice, quiet town, this. Personally, I need a little more excitement, but maybe in twenty years you'll see me again when I look for a place to settle down and retire."

He comes closer and holds out his hand to shake the soldier's. "I'd best be getting back; there's work to be done. If you can, stop by the inn later and I'll buy you a drink for whatever stories you've heard of the road to Stormgate; I'd like to know what I've got ahead of me. You might meet the rest of the team, too, since you're missing the show now. As for me, I'm Alec."

[Sophistemon]

Alec

"That's a project you'll need to handle largely on your own, but if you can make it work, then more power to you. The priest surely has his talents. My only concern is how he's likely to feel about our goals, not to mention our methods. If you can keep him happy, and more importantly keep him from interfering, I won't complain."

Indrys looks up at Alec and stares him in the eyes. "Our goals are noble, Alec, and our methods, no matter how underhanded they may seem, are justified. What was done to my people was a sin so black that anything we do to rectify it is saintly in comparison. Glaffin will see that, I am sure of it." He looks away and taps a slender finger on the surface of the table. "But you're right; it wouldn't do to scare him off with a complete revelation of our various machinations." He shakes his head. "No. No, leave it to me. I'll speak to him shortly, and bring him into an outer circle. Depending on how he responds, that will dictate how much he learns and how involved he becomes in our proceedings. But I believe that Glaffin will side with us, when he learns of our intentions. How often does a person get the chance to change history forever?" He smiles. "No, don't worry, Alec. I am sure that it will work out."

Seabreak
This was not a town. This was not even a suburb. This was little more than a glorified rest stop with a sadly extraneous pier bolted to the side. To Indrys, who had grown to maturity in tremendously opulent surroundings and received his magical tutelage in one of the grander cities known to the civilized world, Seabreak is less than impressive. It is cramped, dirty, unaesthetic, and full to bursting with common rabble. Worse still were the clip-eared half elves wandering about in small groups. When he sees two of them approach Laelaer his upper lip curls away from his teeth. That she would deign to speak with half-breeds was startlingly uncharacteristic of her. Hopefully she was putting them in their place with a few choice jabs about their parentage and the lack of intellect pertaining thereof. He looks away from them as quickly as he can, to spare himself further agitation. Maybe, if he pays them no attention, they will disappear? Stranger things have happened. He does enjoy Tallhelm's recount of the battle, and silently thanks the man for leaving out the gray elf's injuries and resulting flight from the field. That was kind of him, and Indrys' regard for the caravaneer increased as a result of it.

Cecily

Over by the wagon belonging to the party, Cecily is setting up shop. She sets out the cubes of hearthfire in little rows. Now how is she going to draw the attentions of potential customers? While she ponders that, she looks toward where she can see Indrys. She'd been meaning to talk to him, best to get it done before she gets too busy. The bard gestures for Indrys to join her, supplementing the gesture with words should he be close enough.

While he muses, Indrys becomes aware of of Cecily's beckoning motions and, with a smile, strides towards her. They hadn't had much chance to talk during their journey, but there was something about the bard that attracted him. Not physically, mind, as she was human, but there was a sort of kindred spiritual bond that he felt for her, perhaps as a result of the similarity of their magical pursuits. There was nothing wrong with friendship between species, just so long as they knew better than to... pollute the gene pool. Cape and coat billowing behind him, he approaches and nods his head to acknowledge her. "A good day to you, Cecily. I see that you've already set yourself up; very good work." He eyes the wagon and grins. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

[Destro_Yersul]

Alec

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"Captain Danvers." The soldier took Alec's hand in his own, grasping it firmly for a moment. "I might join you, but no promises. There's our friend here needs watching, after all. Road to Stormgate itself is usually clear enough, for what that's worth."

Out by the wagons, the first customers were circulating, many of them picking other wagons. Food, Glaffin noticed, was getting plenty of attention, which made sense. They hadn't seen a lot of variety in the farms they'd passed on the way in, and a varied diet was likely to be appreciated when it was available.

"Well, sir," said the young male half elf, his sister choosing to remain quiet for now. "I don't have a whole lot of money... the lady recommended the silk?"

The silk wasn't what he was looking at, though. Following his gaze, it seemed he'd taken an interest in their small collection of swords.

[Blarghy]

The Jail

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It sounds like the captain all but lives here; Alec wonders if there's another jailor at all. He'll have to find an answer to that question, of course, but not today. He's asked enough. Too much digging is suspicious.

"Well, that's good news." Clear enough isn't fully comforting, but it's better than perilously overrun. If the trip passed without a test, he'd be disappointed anyway. "Good day to you, then. I'm off."

He steps for the door without a final look at the prisoner. They'll see one another again, and it'd be in poor taste to taunt him even subtly.

The Night Before

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Noble goals. Yes. They can agree on that, if for deeply different reasons.

"I'm glad to hear you're so confident. I wish you luck, then, with arranging for our public speaker."

And Back Outside

Alec comes back out into the heat and the bustle, such that it is; he's more accustomed to towns of this size than he is of metropolises, to be honest, if less familiar with either than medium port cities. Still, the crowd is a little...underwhelming. He'll feel much more at home in Stormgate. On the bright side, sparse numbers lets him pick out his friends after some staring. He starts to go back to their wagon, hoping to sell something and doubly hoping to meet people. Glaffin and Cecily are already hard at work. Then, though, he sees less occupied members of the caravan. Alec can't say he's surprised; Thorus and Laelaer don't seem to fit in here. With no trouble to stop and not many opportunities for starting it either, he assumes they're bored. He can sympathize even if he's got more to work with here (or maybe he's just more easily entertained).

...An idea comes to him, jokingly at first until he decides he actually likes it. It's indulgently flashy (which could please the crowd), entertaining (which could please Laelaer, Thorus, and possibly others), maybe profitable (which'll definitely please Tallhelm), and smooths the way for Alec's existing ideas (which naturally pleases the pirate very much). There's no reason not to try, other than looking foolish, and Alec thinks that's a poor excuse to back down from anything.

With a flourish, he draws his sword--and points it at Thorus. "You!" he shouts, hoping to echo his voice off the buildings of the square. "The killer of a dozen noble highwaymen! I've come to do justice for the innocent bandits you cut down to protect your sinister merchants, and I'll have my revenge!"

His other hand pulls his knife--the one he took from his own victim on the road, ironically--free and aims it towards Laelaer. "And you're no better! Today we'll see if you're as good against one enemy as you are against seven or ei..." Alec drifts off and puts on a comically frightened expression as though what he's said has just caught up to him. Then, seemingly undeterred, he waves his dagger in the air and continues, "Regardless! Justice will be done!"

If there's room to move through the crowd, he comes closer, but he won't force a path for himself. No one should have a reason to actually take him seriously.

[Slii Arhem]

Glaffin nods, "The silk is fine enough if you happen to be a tailor, but there's not much your average fellow could do with it that'd be worth buying such a fine material, except perhaps resell it at a profit. Now, if you do, in fact, happen to be a tailor then I can tell you that whatever you make from this silk will certainly eclipse most garments I've seen on the road, and we've got a fair selection of colours to choose from, but..." Glaffin leans in conspiratorially, turning his head slightly so his line of vision is pointed towards where the youth is looking, "If you've got your eye on something, take a closer look. You know best what you want, and we can work something out if price is an issue, alright?" Glaffin reaches out to pat the lad on the shoulder comfortingly. and leans back to stand behind the tray with the cubes, waiting for the kid to look around and decide for himself.

He gets an entirely bewildered look on his face when Alec leaps into action and screams bloody justice at his fellow merchants, but soon relaxes back into a relaxed position. From their late-night talk, he knew the sailor's motivations too well to be fooled by what was clearly a ruse, and was now just wondering what his goal in all this could be. Maybe he's just trying to stir up some entertainment or trouble.

And of course, maybe not. On the very off chance that the sailor means to trick Laelaer or Thorus into a mock duel and "slip up" to eliminate one share of their wagon worth of goods, Glaffin begins humming a wordless litany under his breath. Funny how preparing spells for combat, even a few hours out from a city, got you itchy to use them.

[The Orange Zergling]

Thorus nods in response to the townsperson. Not exactly what he was hoping for, but maybe...

His thoughts are interrupted by Alec's outburst. His warrior instincts kick in and, without thinking, he reflexively grips his morningstar and unslings his shield, readying them both. By the time he realizes what's going on, it's too late - he's socially committed now. If he stopped, he would just look even sillier. "I got yer justice right here." he says loud enough to hear but too quiet for any theater, and brandishing his weapon. It lacked the dramatic shiiing! of an unsheathed blade, or the clinking of a flail's chain, but it looked spiky and threatening, at least.

[Artemis97]

Laeler's blade, on the other hand, did have the satisfying sound of steel rasping against steel as she drew it after dismounting her horse. Her footsteps were light, but she had deliberately amplified that intimidating sound. Boldly striding towards Alec, she held her sword low and to the side, a duelist's stance. The drowess had participated in quite a few duels and was used to being called out to fight for one reason or another. Usually her aim was to kill her opponent as quickly as possible, but often she drew out the fight, making a show of it. She could do the same here, but she would have to be careful not to kill Alec. That is, unless he meant to kill her. Thorus might be aiding in that as well. She would have to be cautious not to fall victim to an 'accident.'

"Any who threaten this caravan, or this town," Laelaer adds for the benefit of their current audience, "will fall to my blade."

[Destro_Yersul]

At the sound of Alec's shouting, the crowd turned. Tallhelm looked confused, and a little put-off that his stage had been usurped so handily. He started to say something, but was stopped by Mayor Martin's hand on his shoulder.

"Now, Willam, you wouldn't want to go and ruin the show, would you?"

The merchant subsided after that, letting the crowd form up in a circle around his caravan. Alec found he had center stage, and while a few of the townsfolk were giving him funny looks, nobody had tried to run away yet and most of them seemed to have heard the mayor and keyed into his real purpose.

Over at the group's wagon, the fight seemed to have attracted the attention of the two young half-elves, as well. They turned away from the goods, after murmuring something about not knowing any tailors, to have a look at Alec's theatrics. "Does he actually mean all that?" One of them asked Glaffin.

[Blarghy]

With a pretty good reception so far, Alec feels inwardly pleased but keeps his forced war-face. "We'll see about that!" he shouts to both Laelaer and Thorus. He raps his sword and dagger together twice, spins them, and then tosses both into the air, intending to let them flip several times and catch them in opposite hands from where they started.

It...doesn't work so well. The dagger cuts his thumb when he reaches for it, and that distracts him enough to let the short sword land (thankfully pommel-first) on the top of his head. Both clatter to the ground as Alec fumbles for them. He can't help but laugh once, a good-natured bark at his own expense. He then bends down quickly, snatches up his weapons, and stands with an I-meant-to-do-that expression.

Since Laelaer is already coming to meet him and closer than Thorus, Alec crosses the distance to her and stabs his short sword towards a point just over her shoulder. The motion is quick enough to look decently realistic but slow enough that she, both a better and nimbler fighter than him, won't have a problem knocking his sword aside unless she isn't paying attention at all.

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Here's a roll to try to get a laugh out of the crowd for Alec's fumble; he's playing the villain here, so I'm actually kind of glad I rolled poorly. Hopefully I'll do better this time around.

Diplomacy: (1d20+5)[23]

And I'm setting Laelaer up for her to use Destro's nonlethal sundering rules, to clarify. I'll go ahead and do my opposing roll for that to save time; luckily, light weapons take a -4 penalty, so even with Laelaer's nonlethal penalty she'll still have a higher bonus than him. Although this means my rolls are going to take a terrible penalty when I return the favor, all throughout the fight. ^_^" It's a good thing Alec is supposed to look bad here.

Anti-Sunder: (1d20-2)[8]

Naturally, he won't be taking his attack of opportunity.

[Gullara]

While he muses, Indrys becomes aware of of Cecily's beckoning motions and, with a smile, strides towards her. They hadn't had much chance to talk during their journey, but there was something about the bard that attracted him. Not physically, mind, as she was human, but there was a sort of kindred spiritual bond that he felt for her, perhaps as a result of the similarity of their magical pursuits. There was nothing wrong with friendship between species, just so long as they knew better than to... pollute the gene pool. Cape and coat billowing behind him, he approaches and nods his head to acknowledge her. "A good day to you, Cecily. I see that you've already set yourself up; very good work." He eyes the wagon and grins. "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

Cecily glances past Indrys, briefly distracted by the sudden show. It's only a second before she chuckles to herself and gives the mage her full attention. "There is actually." Her hand goes to her belt, where she retrieves the wand found at the bandit camp. "I was hoping you'd be able to help me with this. I was able to detect it has a faint divination aura about it, but what the spell is is escaping me. I doubt it'd be any trouble for a skilled practitioner such as yourself."

[Artemis97]

Laelaer quickly bats Alec's sword aside, the move hardly connecting, as she pulls it short, perhaps being too cautious. The drowess circles to her right, withdrawing a step before responding with a lunge aimed just past Alec's right side. The angle, she hoped, would look convincing, and the man should be able to parry simply by dropping his blade.

[Blarghy]

He does just that, although the size and weight difference in their weapons means that it doesn't look as real as he'd like when he manages to push hers down, regardless of their respective strength. Alec starts to half-grin a little, unable to hold it back; his sense of humor doesn't stop just because the joke's on him. Still, this place can't see that many duels. Hopefully the townspeople won't be very judgmental.

With Laelaer's sword out of the way, Alec dances around her with quick, smooth, sweeping steps in a half-circle. He puts his back to their wagon and faces the jail; now, he holds his short sword in a diagonal defensive pose in font of him, his knife down by his side. He looks like he's ready to let Laelaer push him backwards; she may get the impression that he wants to eventually end up near Glaffin and Cecily, and clever as she is, she'll also probably guess why.

[Slii Arhem]

At the sound of Alec's shouting, the crowd turned. Tallhelm looked confused, and a little put-off that his stage had been usurped so handily. He started to say something, but was stopped by Mayor Martin's hand on his shoulder.

"Now, Willam, you wouldn't want to go and ruin the show, would you?"

The merchant subsided after that, letting the crowd form up in a circle around his caravan. Alec found he had center stage, and while a few of the townsfolk were giving him funny looks, nobody had tried to run away yet and most of them seemed to have heard the mayor and keyed into his real purpose.

Over at the group's wagon, the fight seemed to have attracted the attention of the two young half-elves, as well. They turned away from the goods, after murmuring something about not knowing any tailors, to have a look at Alec's theatrics. "Does he actually mean all that?" One of them asked Glaffin.

Glaffin shakes his head, "Don't mind his showboating. He's one of the fellows who signed on to protect the caravan, and is getting a cut of what we sell besides that. He's just bored and looking to have a bit of fun at a playfight." Glaffin says to the elf in low, hushed tones, interrupting his humming for the moment to pass on the information.

"Just step well back and enjoy the show. The wares will still be there once it's finished, and you can browse anytime. You won't see this kind of buffoonery every day." He nods and winks as he imparts that wisdom, gesturing with a hand for the youths to move off and find a better place to watch from. With Alec angling towards him, he's not sure how he'll be incorporated into this act just yet, but he wants his customers out of harms way so they'll be more inclined to buy after it's all over.

[The Orange Zergling]

Thorus hurries to close the gap. In this situation, he would normally try to flank Alec and incapacitate him with a strike in the back or the head. However, he doesn't think it would be a good idea to kill him (though, if he gets Thorus caught in any more shenanigans, the soldier might reconsider), so instead he makes sure to step into Alec's visual arc. He swings his morningstar in such a way as to whack him (gently) with the pommel, intending to convey that he should be staggered.

Spoiler

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Flynning: (1d20-2)[14]

[Destro_Yersul]

Alec and Laelaer hadn't quite hit their stride yet, and it showed. Alec's mis-step drew a laugh, and the people milling around were still watching, but didn't seem quite sure how to take the rest of the show. The mayor was chuckling to himself, mostly at Tallhelm's expense, but at least they still had an audience.

One that included the two half-elves by the wagon. Looking relieved that there wasn't an actual fight, the man turned back to Glaffin, while the girl went to find a better vantage point. Now that he knew it was a playfight, he was full of questions, and Glaffin happened to be close enough to ask. "D'you know him, then? We don't get a lot of shows around here. Will there be magic? Dad says what he does isn't real magic, and Father Gilbert won't show me any."

[Blarghy]

Alec may very well be actually staggered, moving backwards and taken somewhat by surprise as he is, although he doesn't mind. He pivots at the waist to absorb the morningstar with his short sword; using his knife seems like a bad idea, given how easy it'd be for Thorus to crush the hand that's holding it if he isn't very careful. From there, Alec stumbles--either intentionally or because Thorus overpowered him despite his caution--back further to let both the other man and Laelaer get in front of him. He essentially just aims his weapons at their torsos and jabs a bit, leaving the pair to knock aside the blades in whatever fashion they like; he isn't trained to fight with two at once, so being more fancy about it is probably out of the question.

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Reacting to Thorus:

Flynning: (1d20-6)[7]

And to save time so you two don't have to wait on my counter-rolls, here's the set for "next" round, such that it applies to the play fight:
Short sword (aimed at Thorus): (1d20-10)[-1]
Knife (aimed at Laelaer): (1d20-14)[-7] (Good Lord that's the worst penalty I've ever seen, let alone rolled)

Prepare for the above set to be horrible. =D

[Artemis97]

When Alec jabs with his knife, Laelaer begins a parry, then steps forward, twisting her wrist to bind the shorter blade against the hilt of her scimitar. The drowess pulls sharply up, pulling the knife from his hand and sending it flying through the air. She jumps back and deftly catches it, dropping into and en garde stance, the knife held high and her scimitar aimed low.

[The Orange Zergling]

Thorus takes a step backward to avoid the stab. It isn't particularly showy, but the hulking soldier could move his mass faster than one would expect. While Alec is overextended, he takes the opportunity to clip the pirate's wrist with a solid thwack of his shield. Thorus takes care not to hit hard enough to break anything, but it still probably isn't pleasant - or easy to maintain a grip afterward. Besides, bruises built character.

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Flynning: (1d20-2)[10]