Greed is Good (IC) - Page 14

The Orange Zergling · 10-03-2012, 02:21 AM

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 · 10-06-2012, 09:33 AM

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 · 10-06-2012, 12:38 PM

Glaffin

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"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 · 10-07-2012, 12:56 PM

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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Artemis97 · 10-07-2012, 10:11 PM

"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 · 10-08-2012, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Destro_Yersul

Glaffin

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Glaffin

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Destro_Yersul · 10-08-2012, 10:29 PM

"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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Glaffin

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Slii Arhem · 10-09-2012, 12:12 AM

Glaffin

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Blarghy · 10-09-2012, 09:22 PM

The Jail

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Gulaghar · 10-09-2012, 09:45 PM

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 · 10-10-2012, 02:12 PM

Glaffin

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Alec

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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 · 10-10-2012, 07:18 PM

Glaffin

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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 · 10-10-2012, 09:42 PM

The Jail

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Sophistemon · 10-11-2012, 03:03 PM

Alec

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blarghy

"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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gulaghar

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 · 10-11-2012, 04:17 PM

Alec

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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 · 10-11-2012, 07:24 PM

The Jail

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The Night Before

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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 · 10-11-2012, 08:41 PM

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 · 10-12-2012, 02:33 AM

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 · 10-12-2012, 12:58 PM

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 · 10-12-2012, 02:07 PM

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 · 10-12-2012, 02:37 PM

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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Gulaghar · 10-12-2012, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sophistemon

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 · 10-13-2012, 08:54 PM

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 · 10-14-2012, 09:50 AM

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 · 10-14-2012, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

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 · 10-14-2012, 01:19 PM

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.

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Destro_Yersul · 10-14-2012, 01:33 PM

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 · 10-14-2012, 01:46 PM

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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Artemis97 · 10-14-2012, 09:46 PM

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 · 10-16-2012, 03:59 AM

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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