An Unplanned Series of Events (Nai'shee & Anselm)

[Anselm]

An Unplanned Series of Events The 4th of Summer, 512 A.V. Zeltiva Secret : This is an entirely unscripted story. A Casinor emerged from the darkness and swept silently into the harbor. A tight 180 degree turn brought it up into the wind next to an empty dock. A dark figure leaped on to the dock and secured the boat while a second figure brought the sails down quickly and efficiently. Together they followed the dock ashore where a third figure stepped out of the shadows in front of them. A brief exchange of inaudible words took place followed by laughter. Then the three of them left the docks and walked into town. The old Nuit watched from the shadows where he had waited for the last two bells, nearly invisible in his customary long black cloak and hood. He followed them, keeping to the shadows. Then he froze. Another shadow was also moving to follow the small party, and was now between Anselm and his quarry. Who might that be? He wondered.

[Nai'shee]

Nai'shee was out hunting tonight. She wanted to find some rich tourist to rob. Her pockets became much lighter during the storm and she was working hard to get them to the previous state. Both by studying and working. Her schedule was pretty busy and she wasn't sure how will she keep this up. However, few persons who just arrived to the city would be perfect targets. When she noticed them arriving she was on the rooftop of a building, observing the whole place. It was unusually quiet. She knew the reason to it: most people, except sleeping, were spending their night at World's End Grotto. Since they were able to put The Storm into past and finally move on, facing old-styled Docks and University, completely fixed from any damage, along with old expenses for food Zeltivans started celebrating. When people realized what could have happen they wanted to stop wasting their lives, so they began hanging in a bar. She hated that logic. While people were exiting their Casinor, Nai'shee slowly got down back at the road. Her shoes weren't the best choice for adventure on rooftops, since she would make too much noise, but it wouldn't stop her from following those. By the time she was on her new observation place, deep in shadows of one side street, behind a box. She had no idea what it contained, but she was sure it's owner would hear if she tried to take it, since he wouldn't leave it lying around otherwise. People passing were armed. She was pretty sure one of them had some kind of long dagger, while she couldn't identify weapons on silhouettes. Three persons seemed pretty cheerful for a group who just left their Casinor unprotected. Did they have fourth crewmate? After they made acceptable distance she moved a bit forward, still hiding behind different obstacles. This little adventure reminded her to buy some spying gear, since her noisy steps and blue-white clothes didn't help one bit. She had to run one bigger distance before next hideout and when she turned to check behind her she noticed another shadow moving in the dark. It was pretty short and it moved a bit clumsily, so she knew it wasn't a guard, and she didn't do anything forbidden just yet, anyways. The figure seemed to be male, but she couldn't be completely sure. But the other possibility scared her more than guards. To the person behind her it was pretty obvious now that she followed the gang. What if he was one of them? Fighting four skilled armored man while she currently had only her razors and knife supposed to assist a sword wouldn't be good plan. She had no choice but to wait for that person. The fact that he didn't shout for others gave her hope that he might not be their friend. However, that could mean that he was afraid of her, as well. She wasn't afraid of him, by himself, she could try taking him out by surprise with assistance of Flux and she could run away if she fails. It wasn't the same as if four of them surrounded her. Few seconds passed and she dared to peek out, afraid that her prey might escape if she just sits there. Looking at the silhouette again she noticed something familiar in it, but she still couldn't identify the person in the dark. Still, maybe the person saw her face now. She turned to the other side. Three mans were still having conversation. They seemed familiar with the city, as if they were regular visitors or ex residents. They were far enough not to hear echoing footsteps, but she still carefully run to the next side street. They were probably about to do the same, since they were surely directed towards some place to sleep and she doubted any of them had house in the main street, no matter how confident they appeared.

[Anselm]

Anselm hesitated. Old man, he thought. This is not a good situation. There are people in this city who would do you harm if they found you alone in a dark alley. But he had seen the the book with his own eyes and held it in his own hands. It was an exquisite copy of a book written by a renowned pre-Valterrian philosopher and Anselm wanted it. “The book is yours,” his employer had said. “In exchange for the map.” One of the two men who had arrived on the Casinor was carrying the map. Anselm just had to figure out how to get it. Old man, you should turn around right now and go home. You are not cut out for this sort of thing. The book is not worth risking your life. Then he had an idea. The fourth man had turned down a side street. Anselm moved quickly and reached the side street in time to see him standing at the next corner. He studied the man. The edges of the surrounding buildings wavered and blurred as they shifted into pastel shades of blue and green. The man he was studying had an orangish-yellow aura that stood out in bright contrast against the background of the other auras. He channeled more Djed into synchronizing his auristic vision with the other person's aura. The figure resolved into a recognizably human body. A woman! He thought. What is a woman doing sneaking around the docks at night? He moved down the side street toward her. His foot found a stone, which went skittering noisily out from under his foot. He froze.

[Nai'shee]

She was close enough to hear what people were saying now. "The book is yours", someone said, "in exchange for the map". She couldn't tell apart their voices yet, so she assumed someone joined them. They came for a job? Map? Nai'shee was suddenly excited about this. Once she stole a map and it was leading her to great adventure now. Good maps were recently very expensive, and this one seemed really good, since there would be no other reason to do this in the middle of the night. She continued cursing herself for not trying harder to fade into shadows this time. She had to have that map. She hoped someone would buy her time. "Hey, hey, we didn't agree to do it like that, we arranged-" Suddenly a sound interrupted them. She already forgot about silhouette behind her and suddenly it was closer than she would have guessed. And the person also kicked little stone besides her. It wouldn't be a problem, but the sound echoed in empty, hollow street. "Anselm!", she whispered in panic, recognizing the figure. She froze for a moment, thinking. She didn't see the way to help the old man escape, but neither the reason for them to suspect him. She hoped he would be able to play his role, when she turned, caught the edge of the roof of house besides her and Flux-jumped to the roof, staying there in shadows. She made some noise jumping, but she hoped they would assume the source was the same. She felt a little bad for leaving Anselm, but she was pretty sure he would find escape from this situation. "Who's there?", someone asked.

[Anselm]

Well, now you've put your foot in it, haven't you old man. The woman has run off and left you holding the bag. You crossed … he decided two metaphors were more than enough to describe the predicament into which he had gotten himself. It was time to do something. He let himself fall to the ground against the side of a clapboard building and waited. A man came around the corner. Anselm moaned. The man stopped and looked around and then approached him. “Lemme alone,” growled Anselm. “Unless you got somethin's worth drinkin'. Then yer welcome ta join me.” He slumped over and lay still. The man gave him a kick in the ribs but got no response. He returned to his companions. “A drunk. Let's take this inside.” Even as the man kicked him, Anselm was concentrating on bringing the his aura into focus. The figure shimmered and then sharpened into a bright blue man-shaped blur. Anselm could now follow the man – and presumably his companions – from a safe distance, since he did not need a direct line of sight to track his aura. As long as he stayed reasonably close. He got to his feet and peered around the corner. The men were standing in the open doorway of a narrow two-story house, one in a row of similar houses stretching down that side of the street. Light from inside the house illuminated the four men until they disappeared inside and the door closed behind them. He released his focus on the man's aura since they weren't likely to be going anywhere anytime soon. Anselm hadn't actually had a plan for procuring the map when he had come to the docks. His intention had been to observe the two men when they arrived by boat and hope for an opportune moment when he might somehow get hold of it. But now he was faced with four men, not two. And perhaps even more inside the house. Things had gotten complicated and no clear plan of attack was presenting itself. Then he remembered the woman. Nai'shee, he recalled. A professional thief who had proven her skill by relieving a man of a dagger that was now safely tucked away in Anselm's chest at home. Her escape from the alley had been impressive. She had scrambled up the side of the building like she was a Symenestran. He tilted his head back and scanned the rooftops surrounding the narrow alley. Even if she was still nearby, he doubted he would be able to see her. He said in a low, gravelly voice, “My dear Nai'shee. If you are still here, I may have a business proposition for you.”

[Nai'shee]

Back on the roof Nai'shee was pressing her whole body to warm tiles, not daring to peek or try to escape. After mention of the map she didn't even want to escape, no matter what. However, as she heard approaching footsteps she got more and more afraid. People usually don't look up to roofs, but if they did they would immediately find her. Luckily, Anselm pulled out perfect disguise, as she assumed before. A proud smile escaped her when man turned back to his allies, even nor she done nothing to help that up. She crawled to the edge of the roof and dared to look, since gentleman decided to remove themselves from streets. Man led them to two-story house. He probably owned one part. It was nothing to admire, but it's location said enough. Open doorway gave her glimpse of candle-lighted little hall and doorway leading to one of the rooms, but she couldn't see anything else from this height before the door closed. There was only one window on this side of the house, and she honestly hoped they won't decide for that room to hold their conversation in. She would need to go around half of the city to ensure she wasn't seen approaching. Anselm's voice filled the air around her again, making her reflexively move a bit. He probably couldn't detect her in darkness. She wasn't sure if that meant her hideout was good enough or his eyesight was poor. Or maybe he wasn't even looking. She couldn't see him either, but she could determine his location by direction voice came from. He was just besides the house, pretty much at the point she was standing few chimes ago. "We might aim at the same thing, my friend", she responded in low voice which echoed around them. She wanted to say something else, but she figured letting him tell her his aim first might get her some advantage or opportunity for negotiation. She still didn't want to get down, since she had nice sight at the window from here and she could see if those choose the room she wanted them not to. She had no idea about Anselm's Auristics ability, so she didn't think about relying on it.

[Anselm]

“I want the map,” he whispered. “Your talents are better suited to this sort of thing than mine. I will pay you 20 gold mizas for your assistance. Or, if it suits you better, we can arrange to have a copy of the map made. But I must have the original.” Across the street the door opened again and two men left the house, heading toward the alley. Anselm once again collapsed against the back of a building and lay still. The two sailors ignored him as they walked by. A few minutes later another man left the house and walked down the street in the other direction. Anselm remained where he was and stared at the house. He imagined his Djed flowing out of his eyes and across the street to the house. He changed his focus and multiple auras appeared, each representing a different part of the front of the building. It was subtle. He wasn't really focusing on any particular aura yet. He moved the focal point of his gaze through the door and saw a confusing dance of shifting shades of color. He called on more Djed and a hallway took shape. Directly ahead was a steep staircase. To the left was a door to the room with a window. The door was ajar. There was no light coming from there. To the right was another door. This one was open and was illuminated by an oil lamp on a table next to a stuffed chair in which sat a man dressed in a suit, looking as though he had just come from a ball or from a formal dinner. His aura glowed brightly, outshining the lamp. He was studying a piece of paper he held in his hand. Anselm conjured up more Djed and focused on the paper. It was a map, although he could not make out enough detail at this distance to determine what it was a map of. He was beginning to feel the strain of using so much Djed, so mentally “tagged” the map and reduced his expenditure of Djed to the least amount he could while still keeping the map “tagged”. Then he waited.

[Nai'shee]

She glanced at the street even nor she couldn't see the old man. This piece was probably too much for her to chew, but that doesn't mean his assistance is necessarily a good thing. Who could guarantee he won't betray her? He just showed his skills in pretending to be helpless old man, and even with the fact she kept her job secret, Nai'shee was a thief. Who would people believe? Little did she know about existence of Nuits and paranoia people looked at undead with. She was just about to go back down and try to make some deal, when retinue exited the house, leaving their customer (or employer?) with a map. Under the light of an oil lamp Nai'shee saw figure holding piece of paper, but she couldn't see his face. The job was done quickly, they were probably working together for a while or the matter wasn't worth negotiating. Map lured her curiosity more and more. She wanted to know if it was something worth investigation, or just rare and expensive piece of paper showing the whole region. She subtly slipped towards Anselm, but still staying on the roof, afraid of noise she might make jumping off now. The man suspiciously scanned the street and closed the door, probably concluding it was a cat. Besides all those Kelvics even cats were dangerous today. Her sight gone back at two man who were, supposedly, leaving. They turned to a side street as soon as there was no one to see them from the doorway. "It seems that we're not the only ones chasing after the map", said Nai'shee. It was most of a comment she could make at the silly situation. She wasn't sure that it was a trick, but the fact meeting was done in the middle of the night told her they would depart as soon as possible, but instead... They could have stolen the book, but they arranged exchange and aimed to get back map. It was fine plan to wash out suspiciousness. But the fact they didn't notice Nai'shee by now told her they weren't really experienced thieves. Maybe they hired someone? She looked at the old man, seemingly drunk, frowning. Is he using her. "You're a collector, right? That's why you want the map?", she asked, failing to hide the fact she didn't trust him one bit. She would work with him if he answered positively, but she would demand to take the map and arrange making a copy herself. Accidentally, she knew that Trente was quiet skilled in cartography... alright, she knew only that he was studying cartography at Uni for a while, but that would make him skilled. Or at least that would mean he had a skilled friend. Considering that, she would demand her twenty mizas too. Or ten, for the compromise. Making decision in her head, she slowly slipped off the edge of the roof and jumped to the ground, cleaning dust from her clothes. "Without behind intentions?", she demanded, looking im directly in the eyes which were focused at something else, as if she was able to determine if he was lying. She was sorry that she couldn't observe the house from the ground, since door were long closed and probably locked up by now. Man wasn't at the window in the room looking at the street. That one, obviously, wasn't private room. He probably brought guests there to make sure they would be afraid of witnesses if they wanted to try any harm. It was arranged similar to the living room, but it probably didn't serve that purpose. "And what can you offer me? In this matter? Why would I team up?", she would ask after she heard Anselm's reply. She was colder than she intended, but she really wanted that map and old man didn't show any interest whatsoever in more than professional relationship. From that angle, this would be what he demanded. He seemed good at reading people, and wise too, but his main weapon in convincing was money and this map was worth hundreds in girl's mind.

[Anselm]

“Wait,” he hissed. A few minutes passed and then a light appeared in a room on the second floor. A little later, the light went out and the house was left in darkness. “There is only one man in the house,” said Anselm without turning his gaze away from the house. “He has gone upstairs to sleep." He turned to face Nai'shee. “The map is under a loose floorboard under a bookcase in the first-floor room that does not have a window." He knew this because he had used his auristic vision to watch the man move the bookcase and place the map in its hiding place. "I propose that you gain entrance to the house, retrieve the map and bring it back to me. I imagine you know people who are skilled at copying such things. If you get a copy made, you may keep it for yourself. I will pay you 20 gold mizas for the original.” Nai'shee : Here's your chance to show off your skills as a thief .

[Nai'shee]

"Fine", the girl agreed, provided information she needed the most. "But I'll need some assistance. I have to pick the lock, he locked the door upon entering and I don't have any tools." While she was talking she untied her shoes, deciding they made too much noise for her to enter in them. This was different than her usual approach, this was a race. Map is going to be stolen tonight, by her or by someone else. She usually didn't break into houses while somebody was inside, but this was really important, both to her and the old man - judging by price he allowed her to sell her service for. "I never tried this, but I think I can open it without them. However, I need you to check for passengers and guards and protect me from being seen. Also, can you see if there's any carpetThere's no carpet.XD?" Upon asking the question she checked if her knife was in place in it's scabbard after jumping around on roofs. It was there.

When they finished discussing she would go crouch besides the door. As she suspected, lock was a bit more advanced than common ones you'd see on houses these days. However, she broke into some shops, so she already faced those. She run off searching for little piece of wood that would act like a key when she solves the puzzle in lock. It wasn't hard to find one, provided Zeltiva was pretty green city. She came back and stuck it into the lock, turning it as one would turn the key. It didn't work, of course, it just slightly moved the lock inside which was her aim from the beginning. Getting the pins inside the lock stuck, she glanced upon her fingers. Imagining known feeling of Djed exiting her hands and turning into substance called Res by wizards she generated it inside the lock, praying pressure of water would be enough. She frowned, generating more Res than it was needed, trying to get desired pressure. Soon she couldn't hold it much longer and she turned it to water, trying to turn the stick at the same. Water started spilling on the door, but it gave her a moment in which pins weren't in their holes and she managed to unlock the door. She smiled, giving Anselm sign that she succeed.

She slowly opened the door and got in quickly, leaving them slightly opened, so she could exit when she gets the map. Looking left and right she recalled windows positions she memorized earlier. First room on her left was the one conversation was held in, while the room on her right was the one Anselm talked about. She approached. It wasn't locked. She managed to simply get in, her eyes scanning trough dark for a bookcase. She laid besides it, stroking her hand over the wood until she noticed one outstanding. She struggled to move it for a while because her nails were short. After she did it was easy to get the map, put it in her bad, close the hole it up and exit the room.

But that's where her mistake showed up. On the front door stood two sailorsI guess you had to pretend to be drunk or was off convincing someone shortcut is right.XD from before, waiting for her.

"You don't want to make a mess. Hand over the map or we'll make noise and say we saw a thief and tried to stop her."

"Petch", she said for herself, her mind struggling to think of a plan.

"3", one started to count down after a few moments. But if they told on her they would never get a map... But she would end up in jail. They might not be wishing to get a map badly enough to negotiate. And one copy was already trouble enough, after all.

"2", he said, staring at her violently.

"Alright", she muttered in anger, opening her bag, without looking at it, looking at them in case they attack. She found the map by touching and took it out. Luckily, it was the right one. In fact, it wasn't the only map she carried. She left the map on the floor behind her. "Whoops. Let me exit first. You could tell on me anyways." They both moved to the sides, letting her pass to the street. She closed the door behind her, as if it was a habit, but the next moment she turned back and locked them up by the stick which still laid there. How foolish of them to leave it stuck like that. Maybe they planned to lock the doors themselves when they exit.

She would blackmail them to give her the map by unthreading it below the door and then leave them locked up anyways, but at first she turned searching for Anselm, giving them time to realize they were locked up.