Dear Little Pickpocket - RPLOG
Participants
Date
22/5/481
Log
It's early in the morning, and the marketplace is already awash with activity. Beings are moving to and fro, setting up stalls, and starting to barter about the price of various wares and even services.
There are several guards stationed around the marketplace, more than usual, though nothing that would arouse outright suspicion... Meanwhile, the Freeswords have been discreetly requested to gather at the nearby guard-outpost...
'Discrete' isn't something that Lidara would usually be particularly good with, but considering how crowded the marketplace is at the moment, even he would have trouble gathering too much attention while walking through it. The feline himself is adept at navigating through crowds too, so it doesn't take him long at all to find his way over to that outpost, a perky smile on his face and his head on a swivel even now. He is dressed up in his more practical outfit too, composed of a flowing robe and a pack on his back.
Fenris saunters along the street in his unassuming, working clothes. He tosses a small, apparently heavy pouch. "They pay pretty good for just walking around," he says with a grin, affixing the pouch carefully to his belt, "And on a market day! Best job I've had in weeks!" The big tiger makes his way toward the guard post, joining Lidara.
Once the two make their way into the guard-tower, they're quickly guided towards a small backroom, only dimly lit, and with a map of the market district splayed out on the table.
"Right. Lets get on with this, then... They sent just the two of you?" offers a rather old Solacious fox, a good few of the hairs of his fur already turning gray... The man must be at least fifty, if not older, gesturing for the two to gather around the table.
"I get the feeling we're going to be doing more than just walking around," Lidara offers to Fenris, that peppy smile of his still on his muzzle, "...But I wouldn't exactly complain if that is all we need to do." Regardless, they're soon enough being lead off into that tower, and once they're in that backroom, the feline is quick to start peering over that map... if only so that he can actually figure out what is where on it.
"It seems like it'll be the two of us, yeah. I'm sure that we'll be able to handle it, though!" he... does at least sound mostly confident about that, "What exactly do you need us to do?"
Fenris shrugs. "You know how the Freeswords are,? he says, "Not much glory in patrolling the market, and while the pay is good for the job, wrestling swamp serpents pays better." The tiger smirks and folds his arms across his broad chest. "But the kitty cat is right. We'll manage.?
"In this case, it'll be a little more than just a patrol. I assume you've been briefed by our liason at the Freeswords?" the fox offers, as he looks out the window for a short moment, before gesturing at the map, and placing a few pegs on the table. "While this is normally a case for the city guard, the number of thefts has been on the rise, with hot-spots here, here, and... Here. We've also had more complaints from saints square than usual, but in the market district, we've seen a roughly tenfold increase."
"Your job is to get to the bottom of this. Discreetly. We do not want beings to start panicing."
Lidara nods along with the with the explanation that they're given, his eyes flicking between the pegs on the map all the while. He'll... probably remember where those are. Probably. In any case, once their briefing has finished up, the feline only needs a short moment or two to think before speaking up, "I think... I have a couple of ideas that might be worth a try," he leans over that map a bit more as he continues, "If we were able to gather most of the crowd in one of those hot spots into a smaller area, it might be easier to spot and capture any would-be thieves. Alternatively -- and this option is a bit more risky -- we could... try using someone as bait. Either way, we'd probably be able to capture at least one suspect." The cat glances up to the fox, "If we were able to do that, do you think you'd be able to get the information you need out of them?"
Fenris gives a lazy salute. "Dibs on being bait!" the tiger grins, patting the heavy pouch on his belt, "Already got plans." He takes a quick glance at the map and nods, knowing the layout of the city quite well. For just a second, an odd look crosses his face while he considers the city map, but it passes quickly. "Max info, minimum panic," he says, "Got it."
The fox narrows his eyes for a moment, as he looks towards Lidara. "And how, exactly, do you plan to chorale all those beings towards the same area without causing a panic? It isn't like we can set up an event on such short notice... Not without people being confused, or even suspicious, at the very least," the fox offers.
"As for extracting information. Me and my men have dealt with spies from Cliffside in the past... I do not imagine a pickpocket will prove much trouble," he offers, coolly. Almost coldly.
"Bait could work... However, be adviced that none of the beings who have had their scepters stolen have noticed their pouches missing at the time."
"An impromptu concert, of course! It might not be as effective as someone that was planned or advertised, but a good street performer still gathers plenty of attention," Lidara gives with a grin. The cat, at least, seems pretty confident about such a plan working. In any case, with Fenris so quickly volunteering to act as bait, Lidara takes a step away from the map, his gaze instead flicking over to examine the tiger. "Dealing with pickpockets does complicate things a bit though, yeah.... Still. If we were to use one of us as bait, the other would obviously be watching from somewhere nearby.... Then the only issue would be hiding that it's a trap...," he glances up to meet the other feline's gaze, "What do you think? You're the one who'd be acting as bait, after all."
"Not a problem at all!" Fenris says easily, answering both beings and patting his full pouch secured to his belt, "No time like the present, right?" The tiger gives another lazy salute and starts to saunter out and back into the market place, should no one stop him.
A small, thin smile on the fox's lips, a nod as he watches the two. "I will leave you to it, in that case... I do highly suggest you return with one of the criminals, though... I've got a few questions to ask," he offers, as he looks back out the window.
"Your pay depends on it too, of course."
Lidara offers a nod to the fox, but with that, he darts forward to fall in line next to Fenris! Almost the moment they step out into the marketplace, he's starting to look around it once more. This time around, however, rather than searching for criminals, he's on the lookout for places where criminals would be likely to strike.... "Leaving you alone in an alleyway would be too obvious, wouldn't it? Sending you to a more sparsely populated part of the marketplace probably would be, too.... I don't want to lose track of you or who we're searching for in a crowd, though.... Hmm...," the feline muses out loud, his voice dropping to a soft, quiet murmur, of course.
Fenris laughs as if Lidara has just told him the most wonderful joke. "Of course you can!" he says jovially, "But with that payout, I don't plan to play any street corners until I've spent every last scepter!" He pats his heavy pouch, which jingles pleasantly. "I plan to get something frivalous and sparkly though, since it is artisan day. Why don't you come play around the stalls there? It will be nice to listen to someone else play for a change!"
The tiger leads the way into the heart of the market, for all eyes the image of a freesword flush on cash and loud about it. Probably even a drink or two in. And he isn't even one of the scary freeswords. In other words, a perfect mark.
There are a couple of turned heads, even some beings shaking theirs at Fenris's jovial nature, though it doesn't look like the duo is given much attention just yet, most beings simply going about their day. And even with the sun only hanging low in the sky, the marketplace is already quite busy, with various beings of all ages milling about, from the young to the elderly, while moving from stand to stand...
Lidara perks right up upon hearing that laughing, and for a moment there, Fenris just gets a... rather confused look from the feline, really. Thankfully, however, he catches on before he can say something that spoils the tiger's ruse! "Frivalous and sparkly? I'm sure that you'll be able to find something just like that somewhere around here," the kitty gives with a grin even while he swings his backpack off of his shoulder, taking a moment to dig around inside of it once it's in reach, "Do you have anything in particular in mind? A bit of jewelry, or maybe a new instrument? I'm sure I could recommend a few tailors too, if that's what you're looking for." By the time he's finished speaking, the feline has his pack on his back once more and his lyre in hand! He quickly begins plucking off a few notes, letting them fill the air and allowing everyone nearby to hear the sounds of a performance starting.
Fenris does not really stand out all that much, though he does seem to talk just a little too loud and laugh a little too easily for someone who is completely sober. And true to his word, he is quite free with his money.
The tiger purchases a long, yellow bandana, which he ties around his head and a hot, steaming pastie from a food vendor. Out here in the sunlight, it looks like the tiger has put on a few pounds lately. He is looking a little round in the face and a bit soft in the belly, like a cook who,has too often sampled his own wares.
After making his handful of purchases, he looks up to cheer on Lidara's streetside performance.
Lidara is gathering a slight crowd, while Fenris is gathering a slight lack of crowd right now. Beings are staring a little incredulously at the wealth he's throwing around, like a young buck who just earned his first paycheck and just -has- to spend it all. Still, eventually, the crowd does close up again, and Fenris's largely lost in the crowd, with beings slowly but surely starting to close that gap again... If he wants to spread his money around and spend it all in one go, more power to him, right?
Now comes the task of playing music while trying to keep an eye out for anything suspicious! Lidara's own playing... isn't quite as great as usual, really -- the pressure of the mission must be getting to him a bit -- but the crowd that gathers nonetheless manages to make him smile and even giggle a bit. He happily picks up the tune of his song a bit once there are people watching him play, the song itself growing quite a bit more... energetic, really. There are peaks of high, energetic notes followed by brief troughs of notes that are still high, but they're allowed to carry through the air for longer before he strums off the next one. All the while, he... at least tries to stay in a position where he can easily see Fenris -- though considering his height, that might not be particularly easy.
Fenris pats his heavy money pouch, which jingles as he reassures himself that it is still there and secure. He nods and hooks his free thumb into his belt, munching happily on his treat and tapping his toe to the beat of Lidara's music. The tiger even hums along a little bit, letting the crowd flow around him, obviously fuzzy and relaxed after the first flush of spending some of his discretionary cash.
Indeed, the crowd does a wonderful job of separating Fenris from Lidara's line of sight. And whoever the cutpurse is, it seems they've chosen this time to strike, as something snips the cord of Fenris's coinpurse, prepared to dash off... Only to find that it screeches like all hell, almost immediately dropping it, before dashing off into the crowd as quickly as possible...
And of course, the whole ordeal shakes up Lidara's performance a bit, with the collected being startling and turning around to face in Fenris's direction.
Lidara even goes as far as trying to stand on the tips of his toes to peek over the crowd at one point, but... it seems that he isn't intent on trying to make any movements that are more suspicious than that, since he simply turns his full attention to his performance afterwards.
Or, well. He does that right up until the point that his music is drowned out by screeching, anyways. That startles the feline just as much as it did his audience, and he very nearly even drops his instrument! However, he manages to keep his hold onto it and pull it close to his chest even while he tries to slink through the crowd, searching for signs of Fenris as well as any suspicious figures.... His free hand is busy even while he's moving, too. Specifically, he reaches back to grab something from a pocket on his pack, the cat quickly adjusting his collar before tucking away... whatever it was once more.
Fenris guffaws as he scoops up the noisy pouch, shrieking its off-key rendition of a popular folk song, deactivating it with a click. "Hey! Kid!" he shouts, "You dropped your toy! Good joke, though!" He looks around with a genuine smile, trying to catch sight of the little fellow he saw for that brief instant. "You folks see where he went?" he asks the crowd as he wades through, "That was hilarious!" He waves the silenced pouch around. "Hey, kid!" he calls, "Come back! This thing is too good to lose!"
'Course, the mystery thief is nowhere to be found rather quickly, hiding away in the crowd. And with their smaller statue, it's significantly easier for them to move through the crowd than it is for Fenris, even if some of the beings seem to be at least somewhat helpful, if inadvertently so... Given that Fenris sticks out above most in the crowd, he can at least see where people are stumbling... Lidara, on the other hand, has no such advantage, given his shorter stature, and will have to find Fenris, or the perpetrator without such hints...
It's times like these where Lidara really hates his height! He may not be able to see through the crowd, but he can still hear Fenris's shouting pretty easily, and really that... only serves to leave the feline further confused. Uncertain of whether or not that was actually a kid, he does waste a precious second standing around and debating whether or not he should pursue what could potentially be a criminal, but... it doesn't take any longer than that for him to decide which risk to take. So, without another moment of hesitance, the cat simply starts to move through the crowd once more, his gaze alert and his head on a swivel.... His own height does at least give him an advantage just like the criminal's, but the cat nonetheless offers 'Sorry's, 'Excuse me's and other such pleasantries where appropriate.
Fenris does his best to follow the eddies and swirls in the crowd, still laughing and smiling pleasantly. "Come on kid," he calls, "Nobody is mad! It was a good prank! Come back here and get your pouch. You can't leave without it!" Could it really be possible that the tiger thinks the pouch belongs to the little pick pocket?
If only there was some way for Fenris and Lidara to work together properly. As it stands, the tumbling people are getting further and further away from Fenris, while Lidara has no real idea of where to find the being he's chasing. The way it looks right now, the boy might get away, leaving the two empty-handed... And doubtlessly, whatever group he's associated with won't fall for the trap again...
It does, of course, become obvious to Lidara that what he's currently doing isn't actually working, and so he wracks his brain for a moment before... at least one lightbulb manages to switch on in his head! The feline surveys the nearby crowd for a moment, trying to spot Fenris, but he... at least doesn't waste too much time before trying something that... would inevitably attract attention, but hopefully it at least isn't too suspicious. "Fenris!" he calls out, "I can help you find them! If you put me on your shoulders, I'm sure I could find whoever you're looking for." The cat is even jumping up and down and waving an arm in the air to make it easier for the tiger to find him! Hopefully this actually works, even if it isn't very subtle....
It has become evident that the young pickpocket is not going to come back on his own. Which is a shame, because Fenris would really have liked to keep this as boring as possible. "No time!" he calls back with a laugh, "I'll lose my scared little friend! Try to head him off." With a flick of his hand, Fenris sends a little, glowing green ball shooting out over the heads of the crowd, following the stumbling crowd as he sees the little being's path and hopefully making it easy for Lidara to follow the same path. "Follow the bouncing ball!"
The big tiger keeps wading through the crowd as best he can, calling after the kid. "Hey! Deer-boy! Hold up!" he waves the pouch in his hand, making the coins jingle, "You lost your purse!"
Lidara does grow a bit antsy once he hears his partner's response but that glowing ball flying overhead is the guidance that he's needed, and once he hears the mention of his target being a deer boy in particular, the feline is off! He doesn't quite start to push through the crowd but his pace is at least a lot quicker than it had been before, and really his slender build and quick reflexes are the only things actually keeping him from running into the various other beings in the crowd. Even now he hugs his lyre close to his chest, helping to keep it out of the way even while he twists and turns between other beings, his gaze flicking between the glowing ball above and the path ahead.
Unlike Fenris, Lidara actually manages to make some progress, getting closer and closer to the deer-boy. Still, as much as the crowd might like to help, the startled young thing is slippery, and easily manages to maneuver himself around -and through- people's legs... And with Fenris serving as lookout, and Lidara serving as the one to chase the deer-boy, it won't be long now until he'd be caught.
Fenris continues to slog through the crowd, keeping up enough to guide his smaller partner along. "Come on, kid!" he calls, sounding winded, though he is anything but, "This is getting ridiculous!" The tiger continues to appeal to the crowd to help him out, or at LEAST to make way as he hurries along, keeping his glowing ball above his slippery quarry.
As much as Lidara would like to help Fenris through the crowd so that they could rejoin each other, such things simply weren't in the cards. After all, he's steadily getting closer to that glowing ball in the sky now, and the feline isn't about to slow down and risk letting the thief get away! In fact, eventually he even slings his backpack off of his shoulders with his free hand and sets it at one of the feet of one of the various beings in the crowd, offering them a smile and a quick, "Keep an eye on that for me, please!" before turning his attention forward once more. With that burden off of him, the feline should hopefully be able to close that last bit of distance even quicker than he otherwise would have.
And then, the Deer comes into view of Lidara, or at least a being that looks like a dear... They can't be much older than six or seven years, that's for sure, and soon enough, Lidara would be able to reach them and apprehend them, even with the young boy darting about and zig-zagging through the crowd.
Fenris, meanwhile, catches a break, as beings start to finally allow him to pass through more readily, even if there's still a decent crowd to wade through, he should now be able to actually run and try and catch up with Lidara and the deer.
Fenris nods his thanks as the crowd thins and he breaks into a run, racing to catch up to Lidara and their elusive pickpocket. "Hold up!" he calls!
Lidara does just that, too! Luckily the feline is intent on... at least partially playing along with Fenris's original ruse, and once he catches up with the child, he simply grabs their shoulder and tugs them to a stop rather than outright tackling them to the ground. "It's rather rude to run from people like that, you know," he gives as he turns the criminal to face towards the approaching Fenris, "My friend just wants to talk to you, alright? If you work with us and help everything go smoothly, you'll be fine." Though... the cat does set his lyre down by his feet so that he can grab onto both of the deer's shoulders now, and his gaze continuously flicks between them and where his pack was set down at -- assuming he can actually still see it.
Fenris puffs his way to where Lidara and the deer are waiting and smiles down at the little guy. "Hey kid," he says affably, "Sorry to scare you. Just wanted to talk." The tiger reaches down and lifts the kid gently to his shoulder.
"Please don't try to run off or stab me or anything," he says, just loud enough for the deer to hear him there on his shoulder, "I just want to talk." He passes the purse with its device and helping of coin to the little deer. "Got a minute?"
And then, as the cat places his hand on the deer-boy's shoulder, the poor thing breaks down into a wailing cry, still squirming lightly and trying to pull free... Doesn't seem like Fenris'll get much more information out of the boy right now, other than that he wants his mum...
Lidara visibly winces once he hears that crying start up, but... now that the child was in Fenris's grip rather than the cats own, he did have another matter to contend with! That being getting his pack back. The cat dashes over to where he had left it at, and... assuming that it's still there, he'd even offer the being who was watching it a few scepters for their trouble. Regardless of whether or not it's actually there, however, the feline simply runs back over to fall in line next to Fenris afterwards, offering a slightly sheepish smile and wave to the crowd they've left behind.
Fenris pats the little deer gently on the head. "Sure thing, kid," he says kindly, pouring on the teddy bear, "Bet you got all turned around on that run." He saunters slowly along the street toward where the kid had taken his pouch. "I'm not gonna lie, though," he says, a little quieter, "That was the best lift I have ever missed. Your momma teach you that?" He raises a hand to forestall any protest. "And again, I'm not mad. The pouch and everything in it is yours. My apology for this little dust-up, hmm?"
"I-I want my m-mom. I w-wanna go home and I want my mom," sobs the little deer, still sniffling softly, looking around and trying to find a way out of this mess he'd gotten himself into... And of course, he's not looking in Fenris's direction in the slightest.
Really there are a lot of questions running through Lidara's mind right now! Exactly what Fenris is planning, how he could help comfort the kid and other such things.... Eventually, however, when they're... at least mostly out of earshot of the crowd they had left behind, the cat does speak up once more, his own voice a whisper that only the tiger and child would likely be able to hear. "Are we not going to bring him to... you know...?" he gives a quick glance over his shoulder, shooting a cautious look to the... guards of all things, "What are we going to tell the one who hired us? I'm sure that he'll find out about what happened here, even if we're not the ones who tell him...." Even if the deer won't look at Fenris, Lidara does try to stay within his line of sight too, and he even offers a quick, "We can take you home, if you'd like. Nobody will give you any trouble if we're with you."
"Sure thing, kid," Fenris says amiably as they arrive back where they started, "You see your mom around here? I can walk you all the way home if you want." He lifts the little deer from his shoulder and sets him gently on the ground, keeping a strong hold on him as he kneels to look him in the eye. "Or maybe you can make it home on your own? Just remember, you got caught, and you OWE me, kid. Let your mom know that I wouldn't mind talking with her either. You can find me at the Freeswords' if you want to. Got it?" The tiger stands up and lets go of the fawn. "Nope," he says to Lidara, "That pickpocket was good. I didn't even notice my pouch was gone until it was too late. Guess the fox was right."
The boy shakes his head. "N-no. No strangers. Can't bring strangers home," the deer offers, before he runs off with the bag in hand, and makes sure to check that Fenris and Lidara aren't following him... At the same time, three other beings who weren't anywhere near the crowd cry out about their purses being stolen...
"Without your help, the kid certainly would've escaped from me, so... the fox was right, indeed," Lidara gives as the deer boy dashes off. Once he's out of sight, the cat's attention turns to Fenris... just in time for him to hear those various other shouts. The cat winces a bit, and that's followed by him giving the tiger a sheepish look. "Hopefully we do end up learning something from this, but... either way, thank you for not turning him in. I can't imagine they would've been easy on him just because he's a kid, and I wouldn't want to put him through that...." With that, however, he turns away and offers the tiger a quick wave, "I'm going to get out of here before the guards come looking for us, though. Be sure to find me and let me know if you're able to speak with that child or his mother."
"Mother, yeah," Fenris says distractedly, waving after Lidara. He looks thoughtfully around the square and makes a mental note to secure his possessions well. . . and high up for a while. Then he goes to give a disappointing report to a fox who will no doubt be furious.
