All Soul and no Heart Part One - RPLOG
Participants
Date
4/8/477
Log
The humidity of the recent thunderstorm hangs heavy in the air with all the heat, leaving plenty of soft earth, puddles, and enough muggy air to choke an elderly being. That aside, it was a fairly nice evening near the shanties, with a pair of ocelot men dressed in light platemail waiting near the road for the requested help to arrive. "You think this will all work out?" One asks to the other, getting a quiet shrug in reply. "I hope so."
Fenris saunters up, wearing his preferred Shanty Town guise as Amos Longtooth, the shabby, retired army engineer. Accompanying him tonight is a small minotaur golem. "What's the news, boys?" he rasps as he draws near, hands in the pockets of his tatty coat.
Angus walks up to the guards, a steel helmet held underneath his arm as he makes is way over wearing full plate mail for the first time in awhile. "Good evening, what seems to be the problem?" He asks as he turns his gaze over to Amos. He thought he had met the feline before, his ears flicking as he checks to make usre his saber is at his hip.
Selena makes her way through the sprawl of Shanty town, looking over pair of ocelots with a raised eyebrow. "I caught your message. What exactly have you got planned?" She asks, looking over to Angus for a few moments before averting her gaze to Not-Fenris. "Hello to you, as well."
Natska carefully makes her way through the streets of the shanty town, approaching the location from the notice she had picked up at the guild. She is wearing a serious expression, with a slight frown, and has her hat on to shield her face from any returning rain. Angus recieves a slight nod and she falls in place just behind the captain, giving a deeper not to the ocelot guards.
Having finished her drink at the inn, and having little to do elsewhere Sara leaves the building and makes her way to the job boards where she spots a certain posting that almost jumps off the board at her, "Mugging.. gifted.. attacked in Shanty Town?" she mumbles to herself as she looks over the request. After giving the posting a few good taps with her fingers Sara pulls the hood of her cloak over her head and makes her way to the city gates on her way to Shanty Town.
Once at the location the lizard woman makes her way to the two ocelots, and gifted and gives each a nod in greeting quickly following it with a quiet, "Hello. Are you the ones that had filed the request?" her crimson gaze looking the two over as she talks, trying to see if she could see any crest or insignia showing affiliation.
Thelergramor walks behind the rest of the group, but steps to the front after they stop to speak to the armored ocelots. No coat or hat with him. His beak shaped plague mask peers out from within the black scarf wrapped around his head. Only visible weapon is his knife. "Right, as they asked, what do you need?" Still sounds tired, voice muffled by his mask. He glances to the group, gives a nod.
Hood up, cloak loose for the humidity, Glein walks up to the scene, stopping next to Angus. "Sounds like a string of trouble happening here. Makes me wonder who the attack is, or what they want. Just what I'm hearing of the situation, makes it sound like this is a targeted deal." He says, glancing at teh guards and the golem nearby. "Thought I'd help. Afterall, I do need to pay you back for the, help, you provided me Lord Solacious."
Jera is in quite the strange outfit today! Travel worn leather with...pretty ribbons tied all around him. Looks like he's come fresh from a performance. "Good evening, friends. I rushed here as quick as I could." He bows his head politely and joins the crew.
One of the ocelots leans on his spear and looks over those arriving before looking to his companion. "This was quite a fortunate turn-out, brother!" The other adjusts the shield on his arm and nods. "To answer your questions, we've followed one of the muggers here. We staged an assault, and when one of them took the bait, my brother tracked him to one of the shanties over on Arson Street. We needed help because... Well, quite frankly, we do not know how many they have, and we'd rather not bite off more than we can chew."
Amos grins lopsidedly, revealing the single, oversized fang that gives him his name. "Sounds like my kind of fight, boys," he rasps, "But what's the plan?" He turns his good eye on the gathered beings, "Rather not waste good muscle on a bad plan," he says, "When we could round these rotters up quick." He spits in the dirt. "And I have no intention of carryin' my tail home in my hand." He gives a wink with his milky, blind eye to Angus.
Angus nods slowly as he lifts his helmet and puts it on. "So...You've been standing out here in plain sight for everyone to see, so they know we are coming then yes?" He asks as he crosses his arms over his chest and looks to the others. "Are we assault it through the front door, or have you found a secondary entrance?" His gaze switches to Amos as they wink, then over to the others around him before he looks back to the ocelots.
Natska's ears fold for a moment, and she eyes the street of buildings. "Who are we after? I'd rather not storm a building and place an innocent civillian under duress while the target slips out the back door." Her tail swishes. "Which building are they in?"
Selena shakes her head a little at Angus's comment. "It would make more sense if they were in... Well, less official uniform, but someone has to keep watch. I just hope they haven't taken a back entrance out." She replies to the fox, tapping a foot to the pavement and looking up into the air for a moment. "... It feels like forever since I've been here..." She notes, sighing quietly. "Well, Natska's asked a good question. Where are they?"
"Mm.. I see." Sara states as the two brothers give their response, "A good plan, I suppose. Strange though.." Sara mumbles as she taps a finger to her cheek, "Not sure how a bunch of lowlife thugs could manage to defeat a number of gifted though. Figure those that do pass through here are prepared for whatever they'd face." she shakes her head though and states, "Ah well.. it's all speculation." before looking to Selena and nodding, "You and me both.." in regards to her comment on 'it feeling like forever since she had been here'. Looking to the Ocelots later Sara asks, "Have either of you scouted out the area where you believe the attacks originate? If so, what can we expect from the place we're going to be assaulting, the size, possible entrances, windows, that sort of stuff."
Thelergramor crosses his arms, chuckles at the ocelots incompetence. "...Do you want them alive?" He looks to the others for their reactions. "Because it's harder to drag a group of prisoners instead of their leader, yes? And even then, easier just to bring the head." Another glance at the group, looking sidelong through the lenses of his mask.
Glein decides now is the best time to make sure his weapons are ready, just in case. Daggers? Easily reached, and loops holding them in quickly slipped off. Pistol? Strapped down, but easily drawn from the sash around his waist. "Give me directions, I might be able to slip in and get us an idea of what we're up against, as well as any possible 'back doors' they may have, literal or figurative. Whoever's doing this is calculated, precise, and chances are, not stupid." He states, looking to the ocelots, waiting their directions to work on going to the building in question. Information was a powerful commodity, and the use or lack of it could make or break this whole deal.
"Or, perhaps, you know. You could let someone in civilian dress talk them out for a bit. Who knows, they might even leave their doors open in exchange for a promise of a dance." Jera murmurs softly, offering his services. "If you'll back me up, of course."
The first ocelot turns and gestures vaguely into the shanty town. "We've figured we'd be safe enough here. They're on the other side of town, in a large shack. We scoped it out, but didn't linger long so as to avoid suspicion. Hopefully. And they don't mug people here. No, they've been mugging in the city itself, we just followed them back to their little hide-away. No windows, a single door that we were able to see. Like I said, we didn't exactly case the place. That would've looked rather queer." The second ocelot speaks up then. "And they don't really -fight- the gifted. They try to cause a surprise and a ruckus, take the soul gem, or the pendant itself, and flee. As for how they're dealt with... Look, we're not town guard. We should probably arrest them or something, yes, but if something else happens, it happens." An odd look is given to Jera, though. "Perhaps. How you deal with this is up to your group. If we felt confident doing it on our own, we would have. Now, we'll show you the way." They turn at once, beckoning the group to follow them before moving into the town itself.
Fenris gives Jera a look. "That's not a bad idea," he rasps, "Come with me a moment. I have a friend nearby who you should meet." The disguised Lightbringer takes Jera by the arm and leads him into a convenient alleyway. The old alley cat looks over Jera's dress and form then nods. "Wait here, kid," he says, then ducks into an abandoned building. A moment later, a lithe, young fox of similar build and costume to Jera steps out, wearing blue ribbons instead of red. "Call this one Denali," he says in a light, high tenor, "Amos thinks this one can be of service." Hard work getting all that changing done so fast, but maybe it would be worth it. "Denali" takes Jera by the hand and leads him back out of the alley to the group. The foxy dancer crosses his arms over his chest and bows to the group. "Amos sends his regards and me in his stead," he says, "Call this one Denali."
Angus gives a nod as he gets ready to move. "It seems odd they have been stealing soul gems, I am curious as to why they are doing this." He states as he looks to the ocelots, following after them as he turns finally to give Selena a soft smile before looking to the others in the group to finally give them a greeting.
Natska follows after the guards, although the sudden appearance of 'Denali' causes her to raise an eyebrow. However, she doesn't comment on the new person, giving them a small nod instead. "... yes. I would like to know, too. It is a terrible thing they are doing," she comments, following the ocelots. After a moment, she takes her own pendant a drops it inside her shirt, then slips her hands into her jacket's pockets.
Selena peers back at the 'new arrival' before shrugging a little to herself. The reaction from the pair of cats prompts a nod from her. "I'd like to think they're robbing from Firmament to give soulless children out here souls, but it IS also Shanty town." She replies to Natska, sighing quietly as she moves along with the group.
Having listened to the ocelots give their full report, and next to Jera as he offers up a plan of approach the ocelots getting the odd nod with each of their statements, while the lizard woman mentions, "I'm not sure whether that'd be safe or not. Might only give them a possible hostage to take, and a soul necklace to steal. But we'll see when we get there." With the ocelot's departure, Sara breathes a heavy sigh and nods before fishing the dragon-headed pistol out from the belt about her waist, though aside from a few brief checks, and a tedious loading, Sara keeps it partially hidden by the cloak encircling her form.
"No windows? Block the doors with wagons, set the shack on fire. Done." Thelergramor smirks behind his mask. "What? Too brutal? Don't need to say it, I know someone is about to object." He shrugs, starts following the ocelots. "So, we're sending them in? Unarmed. To do what? Dance at them? A group of thugs? I'm sure that will go great." Heavy sarcasm. "Maybe we need a better plan than that." As he moves, he stays closer to the front of the group, though a distance to the side. Staying in darkness to hide.
"Actually, sending them in is a good idea. Provides a distraction while WE case out the place, and learn what these, officers," Glein says, motioning to the Ocelots, "couldn't without raising suspecision as easily from those inside. And they could provide information about it's interior layout if they're allowed back out. If not, well, there is Lord Solacious in his..." Glein wanted to say tin can, but figured that'd be too much, "armor, and the rest of us are likely nimble and unfair fighters."
Jera smiles, bowing his head politely to Denali with his ears folded. "I'll be working with you then? Even better." The kit fox smiles, though his tail flicks annoyedly at Thelergramor's plan. "I don't want another riot in Shanty Town. Peaceful distraction solution first."
Before long, the ocelots stop the group near the edge of a street and gesture ahead. "The shack is around this corner. We don't know the purpose of their theft, but it needs to stop. It's dangerous, and people paid a lot for some of those." Around the corner, the street is fairly empty, save for a few beings milling abou after dark, one of which is sitting at the adjacent building, huddled in rags with a can next to him. The ocelots look at the two dancers and give a gentle nod. "If you two wish to try to bring about a peaceful resolution, you'll have our support as backup, should the need arise. Good luck to you, gentlemen."
Fenris as Denali nods, then takes Jera by the elbow, linking arms with the other dancing fox. "Come along then sweetheart," he says in a high, warm tenor, "Our audience is waiting."
Denali saches down the darkening street, swaying a bit as if he had had a few drinks and was trying to hide it. "Come on sweetie!" he says to Jera, "They'll love having a couple of beautiful dancers for a while." The dancer stops for a second at the sight of the beggar and drops a pair of coins in the can. "For good luck," he giggles, then rejoins Jera to simply knock on the front door, doing his best to look appealing. And even more, to look like a target, his soul gem glittering on a cuff earring.
Angus gives a nod as he looks to the beggar, taking a step back into the shadows to try and get out of sight. He grabs at the hilt of his Saber, checking it before he draws his cutdown musket to make sure it was loaded. Waiting until he is needed.
Natska hangs back with the group, waiting quietly for the others to make their approach. Her tail swishes, and she looks up and down the street, on alert for trouble.
Selena rubs her chin. "I'd be willing to offer assistance with their situation on behalf of the Ironsoul's Defenders if it turns out they're not just ppetty thugs and thieves - if they're supplying soul gems to beings here that can't otherwise afford, but need them." She comments, watching the others move along the street a little perplexedly. "That said, I can't see that going entirely as planned. Burning the house is not an option in Shanty town; particularly where thieves are concerned. We still don't know where a group from a while ago was holding stolen resources which included black powder among other things."
And after some of the more violent attacks on Shanty town being arson or bombings, I would suggest against drawing the attention of any of the beings here. Particularly as a freesword; consider what the people would think if yet another fire is set in Shanty town by well-off beings? It's exacerbating stereotypes that they have down here." She notes back to Thelergramor in a blunt, somewhat matter-of-fact tone, though she waits behind with the others.
After giving Thelergramor's 'idea' a soft growl of displeasure Sara gives him a shake of her head and tells him, "We will not use fire on any of these buildings." her voice harsh, but kept quiet, not willing to give away any plans to anyone listening in. "I'm not going to let innocent people burn because of a poorly contained fire, especially in an area where everything is a fire hazard, so trust me.. if I see any spark coming from your direction you can kiss your other knee goodbye." ending the idle threat with a flash of her pistols before moving on up towards the leaders of the group.
After reaching the destination, Sara looks around and spies a beggar who she walks on over to if only to place an index finger against her lips, and following it with a few crowns into the tin cup of theirs. With the request for silence given, and Jera and the other new dancer making their way to the doorway Sara chooses instead to make her way around the building, looking for any alternate entrances she could exploit, or at the very least block off, her choice of clothing, and hidden soul gem hopefully letting her blend in with the crowd.
Thelergramor shakes his head. Speaking softly, so only those near him can hear. He steps into the shadows with Angus. "For the record, I don't think this will work. I mean, what are the odds these thugs won't just throw them out because they're men? Wouldn't have worked on my old group..." He shrugs, leans against the nearest building. "I'm giving them five minutes. Then, I'm breaking the door down..." He yawns. Speaking to Selena and Sara: "Right, I'm not a 'well off being' though. And I couldn't care less what these jagoffs think. Still, we'll do it the clean way. Probably. No reason to upset them. Yet." He keeps a hand on his knife, the other in his pocket. The wolf shakes his head. "Man, you're all so... noble."
"Noble has nothing to do with this. Practicality does." Glein says, before he himself slipping into the shadows, moving in a different direction from Sara, and instead of going around the building, looking for a means to get atop it, and if so, climbing. By the look of most of the place around them, teh roofs might have slits in it's design from the imperfect boards put in place to help with keeping the rain out. And if he can get a look inside from above, he might have an idea of the inner workings. However, if no such way is found, then he'll move around hte building in the opposite direction as Sara, gratful for the years of experience and training he picked up in Cliffside doing similar work.
Jera follows along with Denali, nodding and putting on a broad smile, deciding to put a chunk of his earnings to the beggar as well. It would be hypocritical of him not to, after his peaceful suggestion. He tucks his own soul pendant under his shirt and then follows the fox to the front door. "We're not selling anything, promise!"
The beggar finds several crown deposited in his can and gives a nod of thanks. "Creators bless you." He peers into the object and gives it five gentle shakes, letting the crown rattle around in it before setting it back down next to him with a pleased look, before pulling his knees back up and watching the group at the building. Glein's attempt to scale the building gets him nowhere. The roof seems just a little too high, and the walls just a little too smooth to offer a way up. Back near the group that stayed behind, a husky being standing on what could be vaguely described as a porch shoots a sour look towards the beings and the mention of 'fires' before heading back into their hovel.
The door to the shack opens ever so slightly, a female fox peeking out from the other side. "What do you want? People are trying to sleep here. It's late, don't you know," she mumbles with a slight edge on her voice.
Denali gives his most winning smile. "Yes, it is late, lovely lady," he warbles, "We only thought that maybe there was a place for a pair of beautiful boys to dance for some supper!" He pulls Jera close so they stand hip to hip. "And if it is too late for a dance, or for supper," he says, "Perhaps a bed that needs warming." He let's the confident mask slip a bit and gestures at his and Jera's relative states of undress. "It looks like it may rain tonight."
Angus shrugs his shoulders a bit. "If it works, it works. If something goes wrong we will handle it. Jera knows how to handle himself and I don't think Denali would venture into this unless they knew what they were doing." He states as reaches underneath his helmet to scratch at his cheek. "Worse comes to worse I will break the door down and we can rush it." He states softly, watching the front door closely as he keeps his arms crossed.
Natska gives Selena a small nod, her ear flicking. "Yeaaa... except the Guild gives out cheap gems to Soulless in need. And the church." Some past memory causes Natska to scowl. "So I don't think they're stealing to provide them to other people." Her tail lashes back and forth, and then with a careful glance up and down the street to make sure nobody is watching, she uses a quick burst of air magic to leap up on top of the building they were hiding next to, then sneaks along the shanty roofs until she was directly across from the target building, getting off the street and crouching in wait.
Selena tsks quietly at Thelergramor's comment, shaking her head slowly. "I'm sorry to hear you say that." She replies - "We aren't here to make trouble, though. And Natska - you don't see many beings from the city out here, much less holding commodities. As I said before, I doubt it's what they're doing. But for once, I'd like to be wrong about assuming the worst to be going on." She replies, sighing quietly. "I've seen enough of Shanty town to know that the most likely scenario is theivery for their own use or sale to other beings in Shanty town to rope them into loan sharks or borderline slavery to cover their debts, or to prepare a group of beings for a gang war, or to prepare beings for less peaceful protests of the conditions in Shanty Town. But I would like to imagine that one day, someone here is going to prove those expectations wrong - and we don't just butcher people on hearsay for much the same reason." She notes, rubbing her forehead.
With her search around the building turning up nothing worthwhile, not even a decent crack to look through Sara scoffs at her luck and makes her way back to the main group and shakes her head, and walks past the two ocelots, whispering, "Looked around the place. Looks like the front door is the only entrance." as she passes by them. With the message delivered she continues walking down the road before letting a pair of hidden wings emerge from her cloak and uses them to carry herself to a nearby roof to spy on the thugs shanty.
Thelergramor yawns as his stomach growls. "I'm hungry...and now I have a headache." He grumbles something. Clearly in a bad mood, doesn't bode well for these thugs. "So, 4 minutes till we break down the door Angus? I'm not willing to leave them in there. No matter how well they're trained." His stomach groans again. "...Dammit." A hand comes up to rest on his masks beak. "Should've eaten..." The wolf slides down the wall, sits. "Front door it is then..."
Glein decides to head back, this time moving about like one of those who'd lived in a similar state before, calm, observant, a subtle threat hidden in the air around him... The first time in a while that he sought to exude some tiny fraction of his natural state of being as he heads back to the group, purposefully dampening his 'aura' if you will, before reaching the group. "Couldn't get a good above view. I've a few means we can use to subdue them inside, mostly peacefully... the issue about it is, frankly, the method is..." He pauses as he looks at Angus very specifically, knowing teh fox would know what he was about to suggest implied, "Indescriminate in who it affects. Not by choice, but by it's very nature." He said, mostly to help explain to those currently present.
"Mmh...we're from the Twin Pillows. /The/ establishment, you know. We've hooked up *giggle* with the authorities to give some of the residents of Shanty Town free performances and...services, if they wish it, of course." The kit fox smiles wide and honest, flashing his teeth. "Me and my companion. No costs or strings attached."
The vixen at the door narrows her eyes suspiciously between Denali and Jera. "We don't have any supper, either. And I'm bonded already." There's a gentle crash in the background, like a glass being dropped and shattered. The fox pulls back for a moment and looks over her shoulder. "Be quiet back there, dear. There are guests at the door. Don't you think you should go back to bed?" She pokes her head back out through the slip in the door and shakes her head. "No, sorry, perhaps you should go. It really is quite late." Her eyes do linger on Denali's soul gem, but she makes no other move.
Denali hangs his head. "Alright," he sighs heavily, then looks up with one last flicker of hope. "You sure you can't just spare a corner?" he looks around nervously, "I don't want to try to walk back to the Pillows in the dark." He holds out his bare, lithe arms at his side. "We won't take up much space," he says, "And I have a little coin." He prepares himself for trouble though. There was too much meaning in her simple speech. It must have been some kind of code. Maybe the soul pendant earring gamble had been worth it after all.
"It's alright! We can move to another house. There are many in the Shanty in need of entertainment that they normally can't afford." Jera takes out a small bundle of coin and then leaves it with the female, nodding politely and smiling wide again, taking his leave. "They're not innocent." He mumbles once he's outside the house.
Angus reaches in underneath his armor, pulling out a small piece of hardtack that he offers to Thelergramor. "No Glein, that would be a bad idea. I would really hate to have to test my blade against you." He states before looking down at Thele. "Take a deep breath, eat this. I don't think they will be moving soon, when those two get back and inform us of what happens then you can take the door down. If we need it." He states before standing up straight once more and crossing his arms again.
Natska continues watching the house from her perch, a patient huntress. She tries to remain fairly concealed - although not many people look up - and attentive, ready in case there is trouble.
Selena shakes her head, still watching on over the house with the others nearby - watching and waiting for some kind of signal from the others inside. Glein's comment prompts a raised eyebrow, and Angus's following comment prompts a chuckle. "I'd be curious to know how that pendant has been working out for you. They took a lot of research to make, and I don't know if there are any problems bdcause of how few beings such as yourself I've met."
With nothing to do but watch Jera and Denali from her perch, Sara drops down into a prone state atop the shanty house and pulls the musket from her back, holds it steady, and waits patiently.
"Thanks, Angus." Thel complies, breathing deeply behind his mask. The scent of herbs from within said mask is a calming influence, but, doesn't help when hungry. He takes the hardtack from Angus, lifts his mask, and puts the whole thing in his maw. Chews, swallows. "Hmm... Doesn't look like they're being let in..."
Glein looks to Selena, and quirks an eyebrow. "Well enough. It's nice not worrying about getting gutted walking in the street and accidently causing issues. And very well Angus. I doubt I'd survive your blade no matter the state of it. As it is, we need to be ready for incase things start going sideways. Which I think they might be." He says, turning to look at teh pair on the step. It's one thing to prepare for an attack. It's always another to act upon it. And his skills and talents, while capable in a fight... don't lend well to thick of it fighting. And it would be that kind if the only way in was through the door.
"Now if you'll excuse me...I need to get a higher perch. You guys can approach and I'll try to snipe anyone heading from the house." Jera pulls out his hand crossbow and with it, his two most valuable soulgems glittering on it. Looking for a good wall to sit on and keep sentry.
The vixen glances over her shoulder again, then back out. A moment of silence as she considers the two dancers before shaking her head. The whole situation was fishy, and they shouldn't risk it. "Thank you for your donation, but sorry we can't. My bondmate doesn't cherish the idea, I'm afraid. He's the jealous type, you know?" She ducks back into the shanty, the sound of a deadbolt being latched following shortly after. The beggar starts to stand, scooping up his can and shuffling off down the road when he rounds the corner to find the portion of the group that had remained behind. He falters for a moment before giving a nod and trying to continue on his way. "Don't be out too late," he warns. "Not a nice place to be at night." Or ever, really.
Fenris watches Jera take his perch, staying in Denali mode. He was hired on to get into that house and to dance. The youthful fox reaches up and fiddles a bit with his earring, looking about nervously. For all the world, it looks like the poor soul has been abandoned by his friend and left to walk the dark streets of Shanty Town on his own. It's sort of nice that it is such a warm night, with how little poor Denali is wearing. Someone would doubtless be along soon. He finds an exposed spot to rest, trusting his friends and his own reflexes to keep him safe.
Angus squints as he notices the beggar leaving, his ears flicking as he turns to Glein. "Grab him, keep it silent, don't hurt him." He states, before turning to Thelergramor. "Welp, think this is a good idea to try something. Come with me." He draws his shortened musket, cocking the hammer as he walks over to Denali and leans in to whisper something to them, before he turns, looks to Thele, before crouching and starting to move towards the building.
Natska lets herself relax as she settles into her perch, tail swishing once, getting ready to spend all night watching... although as Angus moves forward she raises her eyebrows, then draws her dagger, her personalized wind picking up again as she gets ready to step in on whatever ruckus the captain causes.
Selena stretches herself out and sighs a little as Angus moves forwards, shruggong slightly to Glein's comment. "I'm glad that you haven't had trouble with it, then." She replies to Glein with a smile, keeping a safe distance behind Angus. "I'm not particularly sure we should be worried about the beggar here. Given we haven't been very covert, I wouldn't be surprised if they just want some peace and quiet."
Noticing the beggar leave his perch Sara rises from her prone possition though remains crouched low enough that she would hopefully remain undetected as she trails the man to wherever it is he had decided to go.
Thelergramor stands, pulls his mask down, draws his knife. "Right, lets go then." He crouches, follows Angus. Using dark magic, he casts a shaded hex on Angus; wrapping him in shadow, making him look intimidating. Probably. "Angus, should be easier to scare them now. Plus, the shadow will disorient any who attack you."
Glein nodded, grabbing ahold of the begger quickly, and in the same motion, drawing his dagger, putting it's tip against the small of the being's back. His gloved hand clamped tight over his mouth. "Keep quiet, and you'll be unharmed. Cause trouble, and I won't be afraid to leave you in one of these alleys for scavangers to pick you over." He states, flat and emotionless. He wouldn't hurt the man, and as it was, if he did have to quiet him, it'd be with a swift blow from the pommel of his dagger against the being's neck. It'd knock him out, be sore as hell, but he'd live. How others in Shanty dealt with him would not be his concern.
Jera watches the group, having not much to add, though he continues watching Denali closely, assuming he, of the rest of the group, needs protection in case shit went down.
The beggar stops in his tracks as Glein assails him from behind. He clutches tight to his can, remaining silent. Anything he'd have to say would be muffled. But at least Sara didn't have to follow him very far!
Denali looks relieved when Angus comes out from hiding to address him followed by Thelergramor. His wide, vulpine ears flick at the Angus's whisper and he kneels at the military fox's feet. "Of course, Sir," he says, "Anything you like! This one seeks only to please!" The foxy dancer places his hands in the dirt and leans down to kiss Angus's boots, using the pretense to use a bit of earth magic to sound out the ground under the street and the little shanty house for a potential bolt hole. And to seal it if necessary. "Please," he whines subserviently, "Just be gentle to poor Denali!" He does his best to stay focused on Angus's boots, not trusting himself to be able to do this act while Thelergramor is in his sight.
Fenris finds what he was looking for and manages to seal it. This much becomes apparent when a chunk of earth between the shack and the one next to it collapses into itself, leaving a hole. Thankfully, the buildings are fine, and property value couldn't get much lower. The downside is that the pretense of stealth and subtlety was probably out the window, by now.
Angus gives Denali a nod, patting him on the shoulder before he feels the touch of dark magic. His fur stands on end as he turns his attention to Theler, before he gives him a thin smile when he realizes what he was doing. "Okay, grab anyone that comes out of the hole." He states aloud before he holds up his musket and walks over to the front door of the Shack. He takes a look at the door, wondering if he could even get through a dead bolt even with his armor before he stands back. "Welp, this should be fun." He states Before he lets his musket go, letting the strap keeping it from falling to the ground before he puts his arms up in front of his face, and charges directly at the wall to go right through it!
Selena looks over at not-fenris with a look partway between surprise and disapproval, though that's probably more to do with the sudden and probably unintentional hole in the ground. "Well. That isn't a good sign." She grumbles, looking into the pit as she approaches behind the fox - and their actions prompt a reaction that can only be described as one word: a facepalm. Thouh she does manage to throw up a shield of stone around the fox with earth magic before too much damage is done. "Could you be any more careless?" She asks flatly, though the wolfess doesn't seem to be expecting an answer as she approaches the fox with a surprisingly calm air.
Angus smashes body first into the wall and manages to break through the shoddy wood with a rain of splinters and a number of surprised faces on the other side. Of course, that shack isn't very sturdy, and his actions have compromised the stability of the structure. It starts to lean, before the wall splinters further, dropping the roof at an angle down towards the fox and anyone else too close. Thankfully, his support frame has taken the brunt of it, and Selena's quick thinking with the spell helps to mitigate the rest, but he might need help getting free, and he'll certainly be feeling it in the morning.
With the homeless man having been taken care of, and a good chunk of the shanty's surroundings caved in, Sara's priorities rapidly change as she turns quick enough to leave her stumbling for a moment and racing off ahead to the collapsed building. Once there she notices the havoc that had occured, and races over to the collapsed building and notices a few underneath the rubble. With her mind set, she begins pulling chunk after chunk of roof and wall off of those trapped, thug, and thief or no, she wasn't about to let them take too much damage.
Thelergramor looks at the hole. "Uh, noones coming out of that. It's filled in, more of a ditch than a hole..." He then watches Angus slam into the wall... He blinks under his mask. "And people say I'm reckless. Heh." And then the shack collapses. A dumbfounded look crosses his hidden face. Thel runs up to the rubble, notes one of the occupants standing around confused. He charges the finch, stepping over the buried, holding his knife reverse gripped and away from both his body and his target. Angles his body to drive his shoulder straight into his victims chest. Ignores Sara, too focused on the takedown.
Jera is watching Thel very, very closely, ready to pin him again in case he target an innocent. He spends far too much time fiddling with his soul gems to get his shot, looking at all the reactions of the neighbours and growling. "H-Hey. Stop. He runs to check on neighboring houses, yelling in case the tunnels went in deeper and other houses collapse, trying to wake people.
The beings trapped under the rubble groan as Sara works to free them, some of them coughing. A few broken bones, and plenty of bruises, but it's not likely any of them would die. The finch is slammed back into the remaining wall of the building by Thel's shoulder, having beent taken by surprise by the wolf. With the commotion, the ocelots run towards the scene themselves, and a number of beings step out of their houses, looking rather tired and befuddled as Jera rouses them from their sleep.
Denali quietly rises to his feet putting on a look of amazement as Angus plows through a wall and Thelergramor dives into the rubble of the shoddy house after him. He can't claim to be especially surprised when anything that Angus does results in the destruction of property. "What is all of this?" he cries, joining in the confusion of the locals, Angus was getting ALL the publicity for this one. The dancer fox runs up to take Jera by the arm, still wary of any surprises. "What is happening?" he asks, his gentle tenor sounding a bit higher in his worry.
Angus coughs up dust, groaning a little as his frame takes the brunt of the damage. And he is left stuck, holding up the rest of the roof as he looks around and watches Sara drag out the ones that were injured. "Well.....that went well." He states, coughing up a little more dust. "Get everyone out of here and then I'll try and get myself out."
Selena curses softly as the overzealous wolf charges in and tackles the being to the ground, looking around the wreckage and shaking her head. "This isn't going to be fun to search for evidence." She mutters. "Since there's already enough damage done."
The wolfess begins to move through the house, looking back over to Angus for a few moments. "Actually, you can stay there for a while while I get that hole stuck back together." The wolfess notes, beginning to pick up scraps of damaged materials to the ground to work with as she moves back to the 'new window'. "I'd rather reduce the risk of more collapses, thank you very much." With that, she begins using earth magic in conjunction with the broken slivers of wood and stone to get to work.
Heeding Angus' warnings Sara begins to drag those she had freed from the rubble to the road infront of the collapsed building and shouts, "I need a healer!" to the night sky, hoping one of these down on their luck people had been a doctor before winding up here. Looking to the injured afterwards she just grimaces and waits by each of the downed thieves.
Thelergramor shifts his position, getting right into the finches face. "Move, and I start cutting!" A hand grips the throat while his knife is pressed between the finches legs. His gaze focused purely on the man he has pinned against the wall. When Angus orders the removal of the thugs, Thel attempts to use his draining touch spell to knock out the finch.
Glein figured at this time, the begger didn't need to be kept waiting. So with a quick motion, he pounding the pommel of his dagger into the begger's neck, right where it met his torso, so the sudden impact tied with teh clamping of nose and mouth forced him to lose consciencness. Moving to man to the side, he lays him down, and walks over to the rest of the group. First step - get the 'victims' out of the rubble. Then they can prep them for questioning later.
Jera stops for a moment to squeeze Denali's hand in his, murmuring softly. "I'm just making sure that our party's mishap doesn't end up costing any lives. If the tunnels went all the way through like a network under Shanty town..." He draws a line across his neck. "Just trying to wake people in case their houses cave under."
The beggar is rendered unconscious by Glein's strike, while Sara manages to extract the wounded. Whatever their intentions were, they were certainly out of action and posed no immediate threat. A tired looking wolf in a sleeping gown heeds the lizard woman's call and arrives on the scene with a bag of medical supplies, doing her best to help. The finch simply glares at Thel. "You brutes are all the same," is the only thing he says before he succumbs to the dark magic. Selena's work helps get what is left of the building into a stable situation, though its certainly not going to be in any kind of livable condition again. The ocelot brothers set aside their weaponry for the time being, moving to help secure the downed thugs. "Thank you for your help, brave Freeswords. A bit unorthodox, but the results speak for themselves." The other glances around and speaks up. "She's not here. She must have gotten away." "Yes, and she'll be on the run now, but she knows that people are still coming for her. We'll find her in due time."
Denali accepts Jera's comforting gesture, then stays out of the way, watching as the Lightbringers and assorted Freeswords stomp about. The lithe dancer moves to join the ocelot brothers. "This one could not help but overhear," he says diffidently, "Who is this 'she' you speak of? It is not the fox woman at the door?" As he stands and listens, the tiger-turned-foxy-boy reaches out with his earth magic to make sure everything is stable. Things certainly could have gone worse, and he planned to make sure that Angus was seen walking home with a fawning fox boy on his arm tonight. That would make all this worthwhile.
Angus groans a little in relief when he is freed, rolling his shoulders as he takes off his helmet and looks to make sure there weren't many dents. "Well, so far it didn't go to badly." He mutters, eyeing the Finch before he is taken down. He was definitly going to feel sore later on, but as for now he walks over to the ocelots to speak with them. "Please inform me when you are interrogating this lot, I would like to be there." Before moving off to check on the wounded, before heading home.
With the criminals out of commission, and a medic seeing to their wounds, Sara nods her thanks to the wolf and looks to the ocelots, saying "If it's possible, I'd like to be there when they're interrogated." once she moves close to her employers. "But until then. Take care." with that out of the way, she again stretches her wings out wide and takes off into the skies, on her way back to the inn, and from there, home.
"Oh, you have no idea..." The words leave Thels mask as he speaks to an unconscious man. Fatigue leaves his body as the birds energy becomes his own. Thel lets him slide over, dropping him to the ground roughly. "Prick." The wolf looks back to the others, sheathes his knife. Noting that the only things left to do require skills he lacks: "If anyone needs me, well, don't need me till tomorrow afternoon." Leaving the rubble, the wolf heads... somewhere else, humming beneath his mask.
Selena shakes her head. "Didn't go badly? If this is anything less than borderline catastrophic you need to re-think your priorities, Mr. Solacious." She growls, giving the fox a withering glare - thankfully figurative. "If your plan of action is to ram through walls and virtually bring buildings down on suspects AND yourself, you're going to get killed or worse, kill half a dozen of innocent beings. Pull your head in."
The wolfess takes a step back from the fox. "And you two lynxes. Next time you bring people to investigate somewhere, I'd like something more substantial than 'the bad guys are here'. I expect you to find some good, solid evidence in this mess. There's enough stones turned here for you if your hunch was correct."
Seeing teh situation as it stood now, Glein decided now was teh best time to blend, and vanish once more amongst the people of the world, with teh goal of getting back to where he'd set up his bed, and finalize his planned new home. Afterall, he hadn't been here, what with how his clothing was. That brought a small grin to his face, realizing that he was becoming a shadow in this city, alongside being an actual Shadow. And he liked it. He could help in ways that few would see.
The ocelot pair stand and look between Denali and Selena. "Our apologies. We did not know how much we should say, as we are unfamiliar with your group, personally. I am Geoff, and this is my brother Claud," he says, gesturing to his spear-wielding counterpart. "We were hunting the ringleader and had followed them here. To answer your question, as well, Denali, the one we are seeking is a renegade Cliffside magician. She has a habit of stirring up trouble and pulling others to her cause. We will be more forthcoming with you in the future. We apologize again." They both dip into a bow before looking over the mess. "We will get things sorted here and record our findings. Each of you may expect a letter over the coming days detailing what we have uncovered, as you've proven that you are not working with her, yourselves." With that and another curt bow, one moves off to sift through the building, while the other stays with the injured.
