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	Gummer vanishes with Natska's offering, disappearing into the shadows of a little alleyway. From up ahead, Jera and Natska can hear shouting and the sound of what seems to be a fight!		Gummer vanishes with Natska's offering, disappearing into the shadows of a little alleyway. From up ahead, Jera and Natska can hear shouting and the sound of what seems to be a fight!
−	A good samaritan, in this case a hulking rhino man, responds to the call for help, throwing himself bodily at Thelergramor!<br> <br>As the big friggin rhino throws himself at Thel, the wolf smirks, then rolls out of the way, a hand on his hat to keep it on. Chuckling at the rhino; "You caught me in a good mood, so I'll let you live." Running back up to the rhino, Thel tries to grab the rhino and stab the back of his knee. An attempt to disable him through injury.	+	A good samaritan, in this case a hulking rhino man, responds to the call for help, throwing himself bodily at Thelergramor!<br> <br>As the big friggin rhino throws himself at Thel, the wolf smirks, then rolls out of the way, a hand on his hat to keep it on. Chuckling at the rhino; "You caught me in a good mood, so I'll let you live." Running back up to the rhino, Thel tries to grab the rhino and stab the back of his knee. An attempt to disable him through injury.<br> <br>Cassidy takes a knee on the goat, pinning him as she stares down at him with that ever smiling mask. "You can count on it," she mutters coldly as she brings up her free, gloved hand and settles it on the goat's head. "You want to play with minds, I'll take the same liberty." With a spark, she fires off her point-blank thunderbolt, eager to see what reaction it has at such a close range...<br> <br>Natska perks her ears at the sound of conflict and looks over at Jera, then quickens her step as she heads towards the sound of the disturbance and attempts to find out what is going on.<br> <br>Jera heads back in only to see Thel attacking what looks like an innocent. Misunderstanding the situation altogether... "Fuck. I didn't want to do this but you made me. Attacking innocents..." The kit fox growls out and then takes aim. Lining up his signature shot with air magic loaded into the arrow. Aiming at a non-fatal part of Thel before blasting him with the shot, trying to knock him down.<br> <br>Cassidy's super charged, point-blank lightning bolt surges through the grinning goat, causing him to buck violently about before lying still on the cobblestones, acrid black smoke rising from his mouth and three eyes. A shriek rises from somewhere in the gathering crowd as angry beings, not controlled but honestly angry and afraid begin to call for the guards or to advance on Cassidy and Thelergramor. While most of the crowd has drawn away from Cassidy and her display of power, one gutsy panther leaps to try to take her down.
		+	Thelergramor, in the meantime, has found himself in more than a little trouble as the rhino's friends throw themselves at him! He manages to dodge the first, but then SOMETHING strikes him hard in the left knee with a stabbing pain and a sickening CRUNCH before he goes down under two more heavies who have come in swinging.
		+
		+	Jera's shot flies true, striking Thelergramor in the knee and dropping him beneath some attacking market folk.
		+	"What is happening!" cries the tapir shopkeeper, hiding behind Jera and Natska.<br> <br>As Thel stabs the first rhino through the back of the knee, he drags the blade through, disabling the leg and poisoning him. "When I said I'd let you live... You just got poisoned." He pulls back, knife coming with him as he is set upon by two more heavys. He dodges one, but as the crossbow bolt strikes his knee, and cracks the bone, the wolf goes down with a cry of pain. Dropping to the ground, the two heavies jump on him, pinning him beneath their weight. Thel, still holding his knife, tries to stab one of them. His expression a mix of pain, bloodlust and fury.<br> <br>Cassidy ducks around the panther, leaving the charred remains of the goat on the ground as she takes up her sword and kicks herself onto a roof. "Everybody cease and desist!" She hollars, a bit of simple air magic to help carry her voice as she withdraws the Lightbringer badge from her coat. "This goat was a caller of the old ones and a criminal, and this is Lightbringer business." She then turns and levels her sword at Thelergramor. "And I am taking this wolf being into custody for his crimes."<br> <br>"Enough!" Natska yells, starting forward to break up the fight in front of her - even if she couldn't really call it a fight any more, with two heavies against a wolf with an arrow through his knee. Cass' yell helps, though. "Stand down!" she orders the heavies, from within arms' reach, "House Solacious has this now."<br> <br>Jera keeps his bow, and stays low for a moment, pulling the tapir down with him for cover. "Stuff." He points to the uncovered goods, noting the candle holder shaped thing on the top of the pile. "Your stuff. Once this is all over."<br> <br>One of the heavies, this one an oversized raccoon, holding Thelergramor down cries out and clutches at his face, where the wolf's knife has sliced a vicious gash across the being's eye. The remaining assailant, a horse built like a hippo rears back and lands a fierce blow to Thelergramor's face, stunning the crazed wolf before he jumps away and tries to tend to his friends. The rest of the crowd backs away as Cassidy proclaims herself as a Lightbringer. Hard to say what kind of consequences this little fiasco will have on the Lightbringers' precarious standing in the city.
		+
		+	The tapir antique dealer crouches down with Jera, eyes wide. Despite everything else, though, he seems relieved that his goods have been found.<br> <br>Thelergramor is stunned for a few moments, then laughs. Probably going to jail. And coughs, some blood. Was hit pretty damn hard. Rising to a sitting position, he looks to the wounded that attacked him. "Heh, might want to get the poison taken care of. Don't want to kill you, but stay the fuck away from me." He then sheathes his knife. Reahcing down ith a gutteral growl, Thel tries to rip the bolt from his knee.<br> <br>Cassidy leaps down from the rooftop and stows her sword away, already reaching for the manacles hanging from her belt that she tends to take on assignments with her. She wasn't joking, it seems, when she comes up behind Thel and reaches out to try to lock his wrists up behind him. "Natska, help see to it that the crowd remains calm, and please make sure no one approaches the body." She glances around and calls out to the crowd, "Someone get these heavy folk a medic."<br> <br>Natska looks up to the roofs, and watches Cassidy as the fennec jumps down. She gets her orders, then gives the corporal a quick nod. "Don't rip it out," she growls at Thel as she passes, looking for 'the body', "you'll make it worse." As she approaches the charred goat, she raises her hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, do not be alarmed. We have been in pursuit of this dangerous criminal for several days, and everything is in hand. Please go about your business."<br> <br>"Come. Give me a moment to head to one of the side districts to pick up the dragon dedication and I'll help you move all of your stuff back to the shop. Good Guy Jera.<br> <br>The crowd seems cowed by Cassidy's air of authority and Natska's calm commands. Some sneak away or go on about their business while others stay to watch the spectacle. One little street urchin, a capuchin monkey, scampers up to look at the charred corpse on the ground before shrieking and scrambling away shouting, "Three eyes! Three eyes!" before Natska is able to reach the burned husk. The two heavies who had been injured trying to stop the 'assassins' are being tended to by their horse friend, who has managed to stop the bleeding, though it is apparent that both are still in critical condition. The rhino's days as a carrier in the market are certainly over, even without the effects of the poison, which are starting to manifest in both his and the raccoon's labored breathing.
		+
		+	Oblivious of the trouble that has happened here, the tapir claps Jera on the back. "Mighty good of you Mister!" he says, "Mighty good! Thank you!"<br> <br>Thelergramor calls out to Jera and the tapir: "Hey, be careful by the carts. Set a trap over there. Shouldn't be hard to see." He looks back at Cassidy, smile leaving his face. He speaks softly, nearly a whisper. 'Sorry about the uh, violence. thought they were going to kill me.' A penant look is given to her, then he sees the body. "Ha, got the bastard!" That was much more audible.<br> <br>Cassidy clasps the manacles around Thel's wrists and shakes her head disapprovingly, not being entirely too gentle as he calls out that last part. "Never let me catch you doing something like that again," she says as she starts to move, fully intent on dragging Thelergramor off towards the jail. "I want you to take some time to think about your actions."<br> <br>Natska shoos the child along on his way, her ear flicking, and takes a peek down at the goat herself. Or, the ex-goat. She shivers a moment and then looks away, back at the crowd, standing guard. The jaguar crosses her arms, fingers tapping, and waits to safely dispose of the corpse.<br> <br>Jera returns a moment later, in a dragon shape. Disarming the simple traps and then helping the merchant move his goods back. Seems like he's the only one who remembered the job~<br> <br>Not what one usually expects from a journey to the marketplace. But Cosmo the antiques dealer is overjoyed to have his wares back! Who can say what the strange cultist had planned for all this brik-a-brac. Or if he had even had a plan at all![[Category:RPLogs]]

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Latest revision as of 04:45, 31 July 2014

Participants

• Cassidy
• Fenris
• Jera
• Natska
• Sara
• Thelergramor

Date

30/7/477

Log

Bare walls and empty shelves greet our heroes as they enter the antique shop. The gold lettering on the window declares that this is Cosmo's Curios and in smaller letters: If You can Find it, We got it! Sitting forlornly on a little stool in the middle of the bare room is a very worried looking tapir. The old being looks like he might have been crying. He perks up just a little when the other beings arrive. "Are you here to help?" he croaks.

Wearing no coat again, and mostly unarmed, as his knife remains with him, Thelergramor walks into th shop. Nodding to the distraught looking tapir: "Yes, I'm here to help. So, everything is gone then?" He looks around the room. "Strange. Usually thieves'll only take the most valuable things..." He scratches his muzzle. "Any leads?"

Stopping at home only long enough to change into her usual attire, Cassidy quickly arrive on the scene, touching gently down outside of the shop and tucking her cane under her arm. Stepping into the buiding, she glances around and frowns. "My, they cleaned this place out... Are you okay, sir?"

Natska arrives moments after Cassidy, the jaguar pausing to adjust her hat brim. She walks into the shop and then freezes, looking around. "Oh, my. They... really did take everything?" she asks, having expected it to be an exaggeration; she glances at the tapir, then walks up to one of the store shelves, looking at the spot that should be occupied with wares.

Having already been in the marketplace at the time Sara notices a certainly decent sized crowd gather around a strangely empty shop. "Uh.. b-be right back, sir. Do hold onto that stuff for me. I will be back for it." she states to the merchant she had only just been haggling with before the incident, and walks on over to the crowd, passing around just in time to hear a few Freeswords she had known well enough speak of thievery Sara straightens herself out and walks inside, her crimson gaze turning to the empty shelves. "Wow.. what happened here?" she asks aloud, probably not really meant for anyone as the answer had been clear as day. "Uhm.. sir? Did you catch a glimpse of who had done this?"

Jera folds his hands across his chest as he studies the damage. "Man, thieves nowadays have no class. None at all." The kit fox grumbles to himself for a bit. He looks around at the empty walls, nodding his head softly at the tapir. "I think we...and the Guard both can afford to cover some of your lost shop value until we get it back. This is outrageous."

The Tapir shakes his head, as bewildered as he is distraught. "I don't know!" he moans, "It was all here, and then it was gone!" Looking the being over reveals that he is dressed simply in a pair of heavy trousers held up over his ample waist and yellow shirt with bright red suspenders. His countenance, obviously used to laughing seems haggard as he mops his brow with a white handkerchief. "I were minding the shop, just like I always do," he snuffles, "Then I went back to fetch some tea fer a customer and when I turn around, there's nothin' here but bare shelves!" He blows his trunk-like nose in his hanky, loudly. "Only other person in the shop were my customer," he moans, "Friendly fella. Though he were a priest or sommat."

A cursory examination reveals that the shelves are indeed as bare as they appear, though there are marks in the dust were knick-knacks and brik-a-brak recently rested.

Thelergramor blinks. "Uh, what? That shouldn't be possible... You said priest? Was he a goat, by any chance?" Mind instantly going back to the old one follower, who had mind controlled him not too long ago. Thel scratches his neck quickly, glancing at the others around him.

Cassidy gives a nod towards Natska before squinting at the shopkeeper. "A priest...? Do you recall what he looked like? That is very suspicious indeed, and I've got some thoughts. But I need more information, if you would."

Natska wipes a gloved finger through the dust on the now empy shelf, then turns her head at Thel's question. She rubs her fingers together to clean them off, then crosses her arms and rejoins the group, giving her friends a nod and a tight smile. "Yes. Tell us everything. Exact description, if he was asking questions, if he was interested in anything specific..." she frowns, then, and looks around. "What exactly do you sell?"

Figuring something had been wrong here Sara turns to the shelves mumbling to herself as if asking various questions to herself as she peruses the empty spaces where the curios had once been. A careful eye looking over the empty spots, "There is no way a single person would have carried all this out.." she finally mumbles to herself before turning to the tapir, her friends already asking the questions that she had on her mind.

"How long ago did you file this report? Right as your things got stolen?" Jera doesn't wait for an answer though. He decides not to interrogate the distraught tapir...especially with so many other questions being asked. "I'm going to scout the area for any suspicious carts." He heads out of the shop, undresses mostly, hastily, and then takes to the skies.

The tapir starts a bit and squints at Thelergramor. "Y'know, he were at that," he says, "You know this fella?" The shopkeeper looks hopefully to the gathered beings. "He were a white goat, about average height," he says, screwing up his face in concentration, "Talked real nice, and he had a fine, silver ring he were lookin' ta sell." The tapir looks sadly at Natska and then at the empty shelves. "I USED to sell little valuables," he snuffles, "Antiques and jewelry an' oddities and the like." His snuffle grows into a sobbing wail! "But now everythin' is GONE!" He falls to blubbering into his handkerchief. Maybe someone outside saw something?

Soaring over the marketplace in griffon form, Jera can see a plethora of wagons and carts, most of them decorated garishly to attract customers. There does seem to be a collection of small carts corralled in a narrow alleyway a few streets away from the curio shop. They are covered as if for long term storage, though.

Thelergramor grins. "Yep, that's the one... I think. Goat 'priest' is a dedicant to one of the Old Ones. Mind control. And considering how hard or long it would take to move all this stuff... You may have been, well, mind controlled or something." Not familiar with the powers a dedicant gets. "Are you sure this happened today? He could've mindfu..." No need to be vulgar in the presence of a distraught tapit. "I mean messed with your head, made you sleep and then took everything. Or something." A good guess, possibly. But, the wolf is grasping at straws here.

Cassidy narrows her eyes for a moment. "I see, I see." She wanders over towards one of the shelves and reaches out to poke her hand about where she imagined the supplies would be. For no particular reason. "You know, if all the thing I think that goat would do, I can't understand why he's try to rob someone blind."

Natska slowly nods her head, her tail swishing back and forth as she thinks. "Right. There had to have been something he wanted." She pauses, then shakes her head, looking around. "Unless he just wanted to make someone miserable. I think I am going to step outside, ask around, see if I can find out if anyone saw things."

Glancing to Thelergramor briefly, Sara lets him talk, apparently knowing far more than she had at that very juncture, and as such had let him talk while she herself had remained behind. "Probably to sell, figure you'll find a good deal of fences willing to offer a pretty nice bag of crown for stuff.. especially an entire store-worth." her voice kept low to the point that only her and Cassidy could hear, no reason to rile up the Tapir more than she already had. Looking to the tapir next Sara asks, "Have you.. recieved anything new? Anything that might've been considered.. 'mystical' in recent days? I'm not sure what this 'old one' is, and what helps this priest and his hypnotising, but you might have come into possesion of something that could empower him."

Jera does a quick scouting and only sees that of interest. He decides to head back to the shop, and though he has a set of extra clothing...he has no comfortable place to change so he stays in gryphon form for now, waiting outside the shop. "I think I saw where your merchandise might be. A few empty, unmanned carts in the marketplace."

Out in the open marketplace, it might be difficult to find someone who was both here to see the crime and willing to talk. Cosmo's Curios is on a dim, covered side street in the market. It looks like the only person who might have seen anything is the little shoe shop across the way where a clever folk porcupine sits stitching up an old boot. Taking a second look, Natska notices a pile of rags sitting on the corner. Could be a beggar who might have seen something!

The tapir looks up from his hanky, showing his tear-reddened eyes light up a bit at Jera's announcement. "Really?" he snuffles, "You think so?"

Thelergramor Looks back at Jera. "So the carts were empty? Doesn't explain how the stuff was taken but I had a theory." Turning back to the tapir. He scratches his chin, sighs. "Alright, I know you're upset, but I need to ask: Did you have anything strange in here? Old one type shit, or creator artifacts?" His tone is soft, inquisitive, but not forceful or intimidating.

Cassidy stares intently at the shelves from behind her mask, putting a finger to her chin and tapping upon the porcelain. "Let us know what you find out, Natska!" In the meantime, she turns and looks back towards the tapir, awaiting to hear his answer to the questions. She'd already ruled out potential kitsune trickery on the shelves.

Natska gives Jera a smile as the griffon lands, then goes back to considering the shoe shop. She crosses an arm over her stomach and scratches at her muzzle with a finger, then pauses. She tilts her head to the side. Then the jaguar smiles, and begins approaching the rag pile. Nobody sees the beggars. Nobody notices the beggars. But the beggars were always observant... "Good evening," she calls as she gets closer.

Turning to Jera as he walks in Sara tilts her head at he speaks of his findings and asks, "You mind showing me where those carts are? Whoever owned them might've left something behind." obviously paying little heed to the tapir, and her still unanswered question.

"I wouldn't get your hopes up if I were you, sir. It's but a lead, nothing more." The gryphon nods softly at Sara, closing his eyes for a moment to remember the route there on land...and then to remember detours from the direct route, in case they were being watched. "Anyone else coming with? The store is barren. This is our only lead."

The tapir's face falls when he hears Jera's cautioning. "Oh, well," he says, looking ready to sink back into his hanky, "Suppose you might look into it for me?" He looks at Sara. "Nothin' special, love," he says, "Stuff comes in and goes out all o' the time."

Natska's greeting is met with a grunt from beneath the rag pile. "Whazzat?" comes a rough voice.

Thelergramor shrugs, getting no useful answers out of the tapir. "Alright, Jera, show me where these carts are." He walks over to the door, waits to be lead to the wagons.

Cassidy rolls her shoulders and nods, frowning. "Right. Yeah, I'll go with you. Might as well." She gives her cane a little twirl before she turns and moves off after Jera, intent on seeing just what it is that he found.

Natska taps at her muzzle again, looking down at the sentient rag pile. Her ear flicks, and her tail slowly swishes back and forth. "Earlier someone cleared out Cosmo's." She nods her head towards the store across the street. "Did you see anything? Say, a lot of people carrying a lot of stuff out all at once?"

Ready to check these wagons out, and nothing terribly important gained from the tapir in regards to her question, Sara nods, offers her thanks for answering the questions, and walks out into the market once more, waiting for Jera to lead her to the carts in question, "Hopefully Miss Natska's having more luck than we are.." she mumbles before turning her crimson gaze to the various people passing by in a minimal search on whether or not she can see anyone that had matched both Thelergramor, and the shopkeepers description. White goat, priest, probably robes.. and follower of the old one, whatever that was. Yeah, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Jera finally leads Sara to the covered wagons, bowing his head softly. "These were the unmanned ones. I...I know I shouldn't have lied, but I thought giving the tapir too much hope would break him." The kit fox grunts softly. "That and it might have been a trap. We can hold our own."

Natska's ragpile may be sentient, but not especially forthcoming. "Din't see nuffink," it says in a harsh voice, glittering black eyes peering out from beneath the rags, "Go way." Judging from the being's tone, however, odds are good that they are just waiting for proper incentive to divulge what they know.

As Jera said, the wagons are not empty at all! Rather they seem to be carefully packed and carefully covered. And carefully hidden. If Jera had not flown above, there is no way he would have even seen the carts. Thanks to an oddity in the placement of merchant stalls and shops, the carts would not even be visible from the street. It is hard to say if these are the stolen goods or not at this point, though.

Thelergramor looks over the wagons Jera lead him to. "Huh. Are these they, then?" The wolf steps up to the nearest cart, keeping an eye out for traps as Jera mentioned the possibility. "We... should have asked the tapir for more specifics. These could just be someone elses carts. But with the way they're hidden, I doubt that."

Cassidy glances around at the carts and frowns, nodding at Jera. "That's understandable. Hopefully it's not a trap, but like you said. If it is, we can handle it. Well, should we start searching them, then? I don't know exactly what it was he was missing, but I'm figuring we'll know the look of a bunch of antiques if we see it."

Natska considers the voice from the rags for a moment, then fihses a high denomination coin from her bag. She begins playing with it, turning the coin over in her hand and rubbing her gloved thumb along it. "I tell you what," she says. "I'll go away if you tell me what you saw," she says, her tone sweet. "There was a goat, yea? Dressed up like a priest? Who else was there?" She pauses, then holds the coin between two fingers, extending it towards the rag-being.

As Jera begins to move, Sara turns her attention to the departing gryphon and begins to follow him down the winding streets. Eventually reaching the carts in question Sara stops close to Thelergramor and Cassidy and begins perusing the carts without actually touching either. "Huh.. it does seem rather suspicious.. bunch of full, and covered carts. You want to pull the cloth back, or are you looking for anything in particular?" the lizard woman asks both Cassidy as well as Thelergramor. "Can't really think of anything aside from an ambush, but really.. how useful are those when we already know one might happen.. right?"

Jera gives Sara a look for a moment. "You do it, alright? I'll head back and ask what exactly the merchant lost since...none of you seem to know." He makes the short flight back! Deciding to stop nearby for a change of clothes and to shift back into fox before going to the shop and asking the merchant. "Need to confirm what stocks you lost. Just name me a few items would do."

"Maybe I saw sumfink," the ragged beggar rasps, looking up at the proffered coin, "Maybe I seen somebody as was loadin' up carts willy nilly there." Then, just as suddenly as he spoke, the beggar clams up and hold out a gnarled claw, prompting munificent generosity for more information.

The tapir looks up from contemplating his hanky when Jera returns. "Why?" he asks, voice a little rough from distress, "Have you found something?" He looks about for a moment, then slumps again. "They even took my ledger!" he moans, "It's hard to remember what I have in stock sometimes. Things just come and go so fast." His round ears perk up a bit at a new thought. "But there is a set of silver candlesticks shaped like, ahem, nubile ladies, if you know what I mean," he says, "Could never manage to sell those." He thinks for a moment, "Also a rather poor bust of the Good King. Would that help?

The rest of the group finds that the carts are not trapped in any notable way, just tied down with tarps to keep of wind and rain and the dust of the market. It looks like they have not been here long.

Thelergramor pulls the knife from his belt, and not seeing any traps, steps up to the tarp. He uses his knife to cut the twine that is being uses to hold down the tarp, then drags the tarp off of the cart. "...See what we have here, then." He looks over the cart, not really knowing what to look for. Antiques, probably.

Cassidy squints as she notices the figure in the back trying to escape. She's not about to let him try, though, and snags up one of the throwing knives from her thigh holster before whirling around and whipping it at the hooded figure before he can make it out of sight. As soon as he stumbles and falls to the ground, she takes off after him. "Watch the cart!" She calls back, not wanting to leave it unguarded.

Natska drops the coin in the beggar's hand. Her ear twitches, and she nods. "Go on," she urges him. "Who? How many? I need to know every detail you can remember." She puts her hands on her hips and leans forward slightly, listening attentively.

Jera nods. "All the information I need, really. We found a caravan of hidden goods...wasn't sure if it was yours or not. I can take you there if you like. Not like you need to watch an empty store anyway." The kit fox shows the way on, smiling. He gets a bad, bad gut feeling about things and decides to keep a second soul gem on hand, swapping out on the way.

Thelergramor and the others are rewarded with the sight of a treasure trove of odds and ends. Old books and strange odds and ends fill the cart. By no coincidence, the group's eyes are drawn to a rather unique set of seven silver candlesticks depicting female beings in. . . interesting poses.

The being with Cassidy's knife in his leg scrambles back to his feet, tearing the knife away and shouting for help. His hood falls aside in his panic, revealing a very familiar goat. "Assassins!" he cries, pointing at the group in the alleyway, "Murderers! Help!" The surrounding crowd starts to take notice, turning dark glances toward Cassidy and her fellows.

The beggar makes the coin vanish like magic. "Goat," he says, "There was a goat in priest robes covered by a dark cloak." He looks around shiftily. "Goat goes to shoemaker," he rasps quietly, "Says, 'Help me load my carts,' and the porcupine does it. Others come, he says, 'help me load my carts,' and they does it too. Then he says, forget and go away, and they does!" The beggar seems rather frightened. "Didn't see me though," he says, a little proudly, "Nobody sees old Gummer if he don't want em to!"

"Truly?" the tapir says, bounding up from his chair, wringing at his hanky. "Lead the way then!" the round shopkeeper can barely contain his excitement.

Thelergramor scratches his head, letting Cassidy handle the runner. Turning his attention to the cart. The seven candlesticks catch his eye. For that reason, yes. "Ok, I'll just assume this is his crap." Then the man calls out 'assassins' and the crowd turns towards the alley. Thel, with knife in hand, leaves the carts, throwing the tarp back over them. He sets his claw trap near the cart, in case anyone tries to get too close to them. Which, may be a shitty idea. He walks up next to Cassidy. "This could be a problem." He whispers to her. 'Set a trap near the carts, I know you said to wait but...' Looking to the crowd, he wishes he brought more than his knife and trap with him today.

Cassidy narrows her eyes. "Back up, Thel." And with that, she kicks off far into the air, drawing her sword. The people aren't going to stop her. They aren't going to get in her way. She won't be stopped this time. From her height, she plunges down, rather like one large, air magic assisted leap, trying to pounce the goat to the ground with her sword.

Natska gives the begger a smile, and a thankful nod. "Yes. Thank you, Gummer, you have been very helpful." She considers the begger for a moment, then digs into her belt pouch and slips out several more large coins, passing them over. "May you have dry places to sleep, Gummer," she says, then turns to head back to the shop; as she spots Jera and the shopkeeper she picks up her pace and falls in step next to them. "The goat loaded it all himself," she tells Jera. "Ensorcelling whoever happened to wander by to load wagons... where are you going?"

"That same goat? We might've found the wagons already." Jera swaps out his soul pendant with two almost priceless gems and then takes his hand crossbow. "Damn. I only brought one shot with me." He grumbles, picking up the pace.

The crowds of the marketplace and an injured leg do not help the goat escape from Cassidy's aerial assault as she lands firmly on the fleeing being's back, dragging him to the ground. He flops nervelessly in Cassidy's grip before recovering his wits. He looks his captor in the eye, and she gets a front row seat as a third eye opens on his forehead, looking incredibly out of place. "Save me!" he calls out to the gathering crowd, before smirking at Cassidy. "Kill me," he says in even tones, raising his chin to expose his throat.

Gummer vanishes with Natska's offering, disappearing into the shadows of a little alleyway. From up ahead, Jera and Natska can hear shouting and the sound of what seems to be a fight!

A good samaritan, in this case a hulking rhino man, responds to the call for help, throwing himself bodily at Thelergramor!

As the big friggin rhino throws himself at Thel, the wolf smirks, then rolls out of the way, a hand on his hat to keep it on. Chuckling at the rhino; "You caught me in a good mood, so I'll let you live." Running back up to the rhino, Thel tries to grab the rhino and stab the back of his knee. An attempt to disable him through injury.

Cassidy takes a knee on the goat, pinning him as she stares down at him with that ever smiling mask. "You can count on it," she mutters coldly as she brings up her free, gloved hand and settles it on the goat's head. "You want to play with minds, I'll take the same liberty." With a spark, she fires off her point-blank thunderbolt, eager to see what reaction it has at such a close range...

Natska perks her ears at the sound of conflict and looks over at Jera, then quickens her step as she heads towards the sound of the disturbance and attempts to find out what is going on.

Jera heads back in only to see Thel attacking what looks like an innocent. Misunderstanding the situation altogether... "Fuck. I didn't want to do this but you made me. Attacking innocents..." The kit fox growls out and then takes aim. Lining up his signature shot with air magic loaded into the arrow. Aiming at a non-fatal part of Thel before blasting him with the shot, trying to knock him down.

Cassidy's super charged, point-blank lightning bolt surges through the grinning goat, causing him to buck violently about before lying still on the cobblestones, acrid black smoke rising from his mouth and three eyes. A shriek rises from somewhere in the gathering crowd as angry beings, not controlled but honestly angry and afraid begin to call for the guards or to advance on Cassidy and Thelergramor. While most of the crowd has drawn away from Cassidy and her display of power, one gutsy panther leaps to try to take her down. Thelergramor, in the meantime, has found himself in more than a little trouble as the rhino's friends throw themselves at him! He manages to dodge the first, but then SOMETHING strikes him hard in the left knee with a stabbing pain and a sickening CRUNCH before he goes down under two more heavies who have come in swinging.

Jera's shot flies true, striking Thelergramor in the knee and dropping him beneath some attacking market folk. "What is happening!" cries the tapir shopkeeper, hiding behind Jera and Natska.

As Thel stabs the first rhino through the back of the knee, he drags the blade through, disabling the leg and poisoning him. "When I said I'd let you live... You just got poisoned." He pulls back, knife coming with him as he is set upon by two more heavys. He dodges one, but as the crossbow bolt strikes his knee, and cracks the bone, the wolf goes down with a cry of pain. Dropping to the ground, the two heavies jump on him, pinning him beneath their weight. Thel, still holding his knife, tries to stab one of them. His expression a mix of pain, bloodlust and fury.

Cassidy ducks around the panther, leaving the charred remains of the goat on the ground as she takes up her sword and kicks herself onto a roof. "Everybody cease and desist!" She hollars, a bit of simple air magic to help carry her voice as she withdraws the Lightbringer badge from her coat. "This goat was a caller of the old ones and a criminal, and this is Lightbringer business." She then turns and levels her sword at Thelergramor. "And I am taking this wolf being into custody for his crimes."

"Enough!" Natska yells, starting forward to break up the fight in front of her - even if she couldn't really call it a fight any more, with two heavies against a wolf with an arrow through his knee. Cass' yell helps, though. "Stand down!" she orders the heavies, from within arms' reach, "House Solacious has this now."

Jera keeps his bow, and stays low for a moment, pulling the tapir down with him for cover. "Stuff." He points to the uncovered goods, noting the candle holder shaped thing on the top of the pile. "Your stuff. Once this is all over."

One of the heavies, this one an oversized raccoon, holding Thelergramor down cries out and clutches at his face, where the wolf's knife has sliced a vicious gash across the being's eye. The remaining assailant, a horse built like a hippo rears back and lands a fierce blow to Thelergramor's face, stunning the crazed wolf before he jumps away and tries to tend to his friends. The rest of the crowd backs away as Cassidy proclaims herself as a Lightbringer. Hard to say what kind of consequences this little fiasco will have on the Lightbringers' precarious standing in the city.

The tapir antique dealer crouches down with Jera, eyes wide. Despite everything else, though, he seems relieved that his goods have been found.

Thelergramor is stunned for a few moments, then laughs. Probably going to jail. And coughs, some blood. Was hit pretty damn hard. Rising to a sitting position, he looks to the wounded that attacked him. "Heh, might want to get the poison taken care of. Don't want to kill you, but stay the fuck away from me." He then sheathes his knife. Reahcing down ith a gutteral growl, Thel tries to rip the bolt from his knee.

Cassidy leaps down from the rooftop and stows her sword away, already reaching for the manacles hanging from her belt that she tends to take on assignments with her. She wasn't joking, it seems, when she comes up behind Thel and reaches out to try to lock his wrists up behind him. "Natska, help see to it that the crowd remains calm, and please make sure no one approaches the body." She glances around and calls out to the crowd, "Someone get these heavy folk a medic."

Natska looks up to the roofs, and watches Cassidy as the fennec jumps down. She gets her orders, then gives the corporal a quick nod. "Don't rip it out," she growls at Thel as she passes, looking for 'the body', "you'll make it worse." As she approaches the charred goat, she raises her hands. "Ladies and gentlemen, do not be alarmed. We have been in pursuit of this dangerous criminal for several days, and everything is in hand. Please go about your business."

"Come. Give me a moment to head to one of the side districts to pick up the dragon dedication and I'll help you move all of your stuff back to the shop. Good Guy Jera.

The crowd seems cowed by Cassidy's air of authority and Natska's calm commands. Some sneak away or go on about their business while others stay to watch the spectacle. One little street urchin, a capuchin monkey, scampers up to look at the charred corpse on the ground before shrieking and scrambling away shouting, "Three eyes! Three eyes!" before Natska is able to reach the burned husk. The two heavies who had been injured trying to stop the 'assassins' are being tended to by their horse friend, who has managed to stop the bleeding, though it is apparent that both are still in critical condition. The rhino's days as a carrier in the market are certainly over, even without the effects of the poison, which are starting to manifest in both his and the raccoon's labored breathing.

Oblivious of the trouble that has happened here, the tapir claps Jera on the back. "Mighty good of you Mister!" he says, "Mighty good! Thank you!"

Thelergramor calls out to Jera and the tapir: "Hey, be careful by the carts. Set a trap over there. Shouldn't be hard to see." He looks back at Cassidy, smile leaving his face. He speaks softly, nearly a whisper. 'Sorry about the uh, violence. thought they were going to kill me.' A penant look is given to her, then he sees the body. "Ha, got the bastard!" That was much more audible.

Cassidy clasps the manacles around Thel's wrists and shakes her head disapprovingly, not being entirely too gentle as he calls out that last part. "Never let me catch you doing something like that again," she says as she starts to move, fully intent on dragging Thelergramor off towards the jail. "I want you to take some time to think about your actions."

Natska shoos the child along on his way, her ear flicking, and takes a peek down at the goat herself. Or, the ex-goat. She shivers a moment and then looks away, back at the crowd, standing guard. The jaguar crosses her arms, fingers tapping, and waits to safely dispose of the corpse.

Jera returns a moment later, in a dragon shape. Disarming the simple traps and then helping the merchant move his goods back. Seems like he's the only one who remembered the job~

Not what one usually expects from a journey to the marketplace. But Cosmo the antiques dealer is overjoyed to have his wares back! Who can say what the strange cultist had planned for all this brik-a-brac. Or if he had even had a plan at all!