Wild Streets - Spring/Summer 510(ALL Beggars, Thieves, Etc)

by **Dusk** on June 13th, 2010, 2:47 pm

OOC Explanation

We've had several beggars and thieves created in the last few weeks who are roaming the streets of Syliras doing what you do best, and it's time for you to face the music.

This thread will be run much like the Shop threads, in that each person will post their scene with a timestamp and I will reply to your post individually. If you'd like to do these scenes together with another person, please arrange it before any of you post, and have the first person put an OOC note saying who will be included in your scene. This is NOT a mass scene, this will NOT be just everyone replying to everyone else's scenes.

I am creating this scene to reflect the level of law and order that exists in Syliras, and the fact that Knights are all over the place and will, eventually, take notice of your antics. That is not to say that this is a thread in which I will automatically punish you - you can absolutely get away without so much as a checkmark on your reputation, but you'll need to RP it. Going forward I will be doing this on the 1st Day of each season to account for that season. And yes, I will be doing this with MY thief character, so I don't get out of it either.

This is mandatory for everyone who's used Larceny, Begging, or any kind of unsanctioned violence or illegal activity in Syliras. If you do not do a scene in this thread, I will send you a PM encouraging you to do so. If you still do not, I will interrupt the next thread in which you do something illegal and have the Knights haul you away.

So what I need you to do is post a scene of you just doing whatever it is you do. Make sure you play to your skill level. Don't worry about the Knights, act as you normally would, and I'll mod the Knights. I have done one for Murdoch below, which I'll be having Harle mod for me, as an example of what I need you to do. (Note that because Doc's not in Syliras this season, I'm doing it as a flashback, but all of you should have yours timestamped for Summer.) As a helpful little thing, please post a note at the bottom with your relevent skill levels so I don't have to go look at each person's character sheet when you post. And don't panic, as this should be a good bit of fun for all you dirty criminals out there!

by **Murdoch** on June 13th, 2010, 2:48 pm

45th Day of WInter, 509 AV

Doc was in one of his favorite spots today - the Great Bazaar. It was the best place in the city to lift a few purses, for everyone had their money at hand to spend and the crush of the crowd kept things more anonymous than usual.

Muddy eyes wandered the crowd as he pretended to peruse a table of silks and linens, and after a few minutes he found the perfect mark. A young woman, arms full of wares and obviously looking for one more thing before she headed out for the day. While that meant a lighter purse for all that she'd spent, it also meant easier pickings.

He waited until she went to pass behind him, and then suddenly stepped back and slammed into her. Everything in her arms went flying to the ground as she yelped, and Murdoch had to pinwheel his arms to pretend to keep his balance.

"Ah! Sorry, dammit, so sorry m'lady," he said quickly, the picture of handsome regret, and he quickly bent to help her retrieve all her purchases. "I'm not quite used to the press of the crowds yet, my apologies. Here, let me help you," he said, gathering up a few things and handing them to her. And as he did, and her hands got more and more full, he slipped the coinpurse from her belt with deft fingers and slid it inside his shirt. "There you are, so sorry again," he said, giving her his most charming and apologetic smile in an attempt to distract her.

SkillsLarceny: 28pts
Seduction: 9pts
Flirtation: 1pt

by **Ash'eny** on June 13th, 2010, 10:25 pm

Day 27 of Summer, AV 510

OOCThis is so exciting!

The Great Bazaar, the pride and joy of the city of Syliras. Well, maybe not, but it was always popular. Stalls were set up everywhere, small time crafters were competing with the big dogs, the shops, and others who had their own building from which to sell their own merchandise. Stores were difficult to steal from in the middle of the day, there were so many complications, confined spaces, people could easily block the entrance, it was too dangerous. They were notorious for holding their items overnight though, and typically people didn't live inside their own shops. The Bazaar though, back to the target, was where Ash'eny was. His cloak, as usual, was inside-out, which held the veneer of patches, scratches, and faded wear. He would look, as expected, to be homeless, or at the very least incredibly poor, not to mention he hadn't bathed in three days, so he even smelled the part somewhat.

Ash'eny had set himself up not far from a particular stall, one which was doing fairly well that day selling (what he assumed to be fake) jewelry that was said to be 'Blessed by the Gods'. Apparently people suffering with hardship seemed likely to turn to the Gods out of desperation. The beaded jewelry was not his target though, they surely couldn't be worth a few copper mizas, at most one silver, but that was stretching it. It was the customers though that Ash'eny was visually assaulting. The ones tossing coins onto the stall, asking for the biggest, best, most favored objects they could afford, the people who probably needed extreme forgiveness or truly had something they wanted, but didn't have the ability to obtain. Who else but the Gods could grant love and fortune and happiness?

The plan was simple yet, Ash'eny believed, was effective. Approach a target, once found, cut his or her purse from his or her belt, then disappear in the rather large and loud crowd. Short, sweet, simple. And there, that was his target.

Ash'eny peered from under his large brown hood, and underneath his cloak his hand slowly gripped around his dagger. The man was older, frail, and had a young girl, fourteen years old at best, supporting him by his arm. On one side was the child, the other, the man's purse, just as he was looking for. The purse was large too, Ash'eny was just a little careless and instantly assumed it was money. Chances were, however, that it was. The man had engaged conversation with the 'God Bead Jewelry' Salesman, much opposed to the younger one's wishes, and dropped several gold Mizas onto the tabletop as he muttered something and chuckled, the words were lost in the afternoon crowd's chatter.

Ash'eny stood up quickly and began to weave through the crowds like a shark through water, slipping by here and there, and as he passed the old man, his right hand reached out from the cloak, swiping at and separating the purse from his person, and in his four-fingered left hand, caught the sack. Ash'eny would then retract both hands into his cloak, replace the dagger, and reach out to place his right hand, which was now empty on the old man's shoulder as he continued pass. "Excuse me." That was all that Ash'eny muttered as he stepped by, trying to act as smooth and normally as if he really was just passing by. There was now only one more step to his plan.

To disappear...

SkillsLarceny: 26
Stealth: 8

I decided to work more towards the thief half rather than the 'Begging' half of Ash'eny.

by **Harlequill** on June 15th, 2010, 4:53 pm

Murdoch...

The crowded Bazaar might be considered by some to be the most difficult place in all of Syliras to police. So many sounds, smells, sights, and people crammed into a bustling bazaar. Even an astute guard has trouble keeping up with everything going on around him, and the area is large enough that many guards are necessary.

That being said, of course, the guards were no ordinary guards. Each Knight of Syliras was a member of the elite, and if they could not have protected the merchants of the bazaar from the majority of threats then the place would have closed down by now. One such guard, a young man named Thomas, noted Murdoch's collision with the young woman.

Thomas' armor clanked and clinked as he began to step forward to help the woman. When Murdoch knelt down to ahead of him, the young man gave the thief a smile and a nod of approval. It was good to know that there were still men who would offer a hand to someone that had fallen. Thomas turned to walk back to his post as Murdoch's hand dipped beneath the parcels and retrieved the young woman's coin purse.

"Thank you so much. I am sorry, I am just so clumsy." The woman apologized as she blushed prettily and gave Murdoch a chaste kiss on the cheek. His charming smile had done its job quite well. "I must be so distracted lately..." Standing there with her arms full of parcels she gave him a shy look. Awkward silence somehow descended on the bazaar.

by **Dusk** on June 15th, 2010, 9:02 pm

Ash'eny

The old man just huffed and nodded an acknowledgment of the apology, and didn't seem to notice anything wrong with it. Ash'eny was, after all, quite well versed in picking pockets and cutting purses.

Now he just had to disappear, and there was a crowd full of people to help it along.

by **Murdoch** on June 15th, 2010, 10:39 pm

He ducked his head when she pressed a kiss to his cheek, an almost bashful response, but his smile turned a little more friendly. "Ah, no, that was all me. I should have been watching where I was going." Hazel eyes swept over her, and then he held out his hands. "Can I help you carry those somewhere? Wouldn't want you stumbling again. Next guy might not be nice enough to catch you," he chuckled.

by **Zane Felix** on June 15th, 2010, 10:51 pm

Timestamp: Summer 5th, 510 AV
Location: Syliras, busy marketplace
Time of day: late afternoon

Zane was walking through a large group of people, watching for his mark. The easiest way to get in and out with fat pockets was to know what to do and when to do it, after all.

He heard a quick yelp from the left, turning his peripheral vision to the woman who had been knocked down. Now he looked at the man who was the cause, who turned to apologize, and he took his chance.

Ain't ya got any manners, ya bloody yank?!

The man was taken aback, not sure what to say than a muffled 'sorry' as Zane stepped forward and threw a harsh haymaker into his jaw with his right hand, bringing his left across to strike at the man's gut and rip his wallet off in the same motion, hoping the violence would hide the act.

Scumbags like you, knockin' down ladies and the like... always makin' this city worse to live in!

Zane backed up, stowing the wallet quickly away as he put his hands up in a fighting stance and backed away, acting like the honorable hero when in reality he was the thief.

Secret :

by **Ash'eny** on June 16th, 2010, 12:00 am

With his back facing the old man, Ash'eny grinned. His fingers squeezed around the bag as he he poked and prodded. It didn't feel quite as plump with currency as he originally thought it appeared, but it was for free. Ash'eny was in his final phase of his exceedingly simple plan. Disappear and escape. As Ash'eny moved through the crowd, weaving in and out, between people, shoppers, people stopped to chat. His speed was slow though, casual. It was particularly stealthy, at least not for any midnight break-in or an attempt to sneak up behind a guard, but to blend into the crowd and to vanish as if he was never there, it was another sort of stealth: simply fitting in.

As Ash'eny moved farther from the old man, he felt a steadily growing desire for two extremely conflicting actions. The first being to return and actually hand the money back to the old geezer. It was unwise though, he would be admitting his crime, and be placing himself at the mercy of the man, or his younger female companion. His second urge was to make another attempt, but as he walked, he noticed the sound of the coins jingling faintly in the sack, and to attempt to muffle the sounds, he gripped it tighter, wrapping the fingers around it to do his best to keep them from colliding. Such a sound could draw attention if they were looking for a thief.

by **Eris** on June 16th, 2010, 2:30 am

1st Day of Summer, 510 A.V.

Eris knelt down next to the door, her ear pressed to the lock as she jiggled a bent hairpin in the keyhole. This was a rather crude way of entering a house. At another time, Eris would have preferred something more creative – such as actually getting invited inside. Not only would it make her job easier, it would add a certain…flair…to the endeavor. She twisted the pin to the left, holding her breath as she listened for a click. The satisfying sound came a minute later as the rusty mechanisms of the old lock sprang open. Eris dropped the pin into the satchel hanging by her side and straightened. It was a good thing that this particular house looked out onto an alley. If it was a wider street, she would surely be noticed.

Eris nudged the door with her shoulder and slipped inside, closing it quietly behind her. The woman scanned the modest sitting room that spread out in front of her. She couldn’t make out much in the darkness, except for a set of stairs that lead upward. Holding her arms out in front of her so as not to trip over anything, she moved toward the staircase. One. Two. Three. Four. Eris cursed under her breath as the fifth step creaked under her weight. She hadn’t placed her foot on it lightly enough. Getting careless, are you? She could almost hear Joel’s jeering voice in her mind.

Once she was safely upstairs, Eris ducked into the first door to her left. Just as her employer had told her, she found herself in a room that resembled a study. A beam of light shone from a gap in the shutters, illuminating the dark surroundings. Eris moved over to the desk, well aware that any sound could lead to discovery. The owner of the hose would be sleeping in the next room over and she’d hate to have to kill him.

Eris plunged her hand into her satchel and drew it out, holding the key given to her by her employer. The man knew all there was to know about the job – where the office was, where the documents were kept, how to get to the documents… The man could’ve done the job himself if he weren’t such a coward. Eris twisted the key in the second drawer from the top and pulled it open.

She grabbed a few papers and held them up to the light coming from the window.

CLOTH – 50 GM
LEATHER – 100 GM
.
.

A further list of bought goods followed. Satisfied that this was indeed the document she had come here for, Eris carefully put into her bag along with the key and closed the drawer.

She made her way back downstairs and out the front door, exhaling a bushel of air. She walked a little way up the alley and stepped out onto the main street, the night air weaving itself around her like an old blanket.

Skills :

by **Dusk** on July 11th, 2010, 5:53 pm

Ash'eny

As Ash'eny struggled with his demons and debated whether to return the coins or gather more, a set of ice-blue eyes watched his progress. The thief had just enough stealth to blend into the crowd, but the one watching him had more than enough to continue unseen.

Each action Ash took was noted - every hesitation, the way his eyes glanced back at the old man, how his fingers tightened around the coins. Strange, but then they'd been watching this particular man for some time, and it was his very strangeness that had kept him from being booted out of the city for begging and stealing. No, that strangeness had attracted another kind of attention altogether, and so the Knights had been surprisingly unconcerned with Ash'eny's actions. The man might have though it simply his skill and luck, but nothing was ever so simple in Syliras.

Today, the watcher decided, and slipped forward on silent feet to follow behind the thief and see where he went to count his coin.

Zane Felix

Zane's actions drew gasps from the crowd, and more than a few angry shouts at the blatent and uncalled-for violence. The woman who'd been bumped had her hands over her mouth in shock, and the man he'd punched lay sprawled and dazed in the middle of the floor of the basement marketplace.

If he thought citizen violence was the way to act the "honorable hero" in Syliras, he was dead wrong. The people around him backed away, leaving him exposed in a little circle of the crowd with his victim at his feet. Which made it very easy for the Knights on watch to figure out where the trouble was coming from. There was a clank of metal as the first guard broke through the circle, the people around making room and a few of them pointing straight at Zane.

Eris - I am disregarding the final paragraph in order to further the scene, hope you don't mind!

The drawer slide closed with a small click! and the next sound to reach Eris' ears was the sizzling strike of a match.

Light flared behind her, illuminating a man's face and bright green eyes - though they were half-closed as he lit the end of a cigar with the match, leaving a cloud of smoke around him as he dipped the nearly-burnt match to the fat candle on the table beside him. The soft light showed more details: the scruffy beard that covered his cheeks, the mouth that seemed made for smiling though it did no such thing at the moment. The eyes again - a clearer green than Eris' but no less deep, and frighteningly clever when they finally turned up to her.

"We finally meet," he said around the cigar, watching her to see if she'd bolt or see how it played out. She hadn't seemed like the type to flee like a terrified rabbit - which was why it'd been a pair of eyes that greeted her tonight instead of the end of a sword. "Please, sit," he said, waving to another armchair next to his, angled for comfortable conversation. His voice was rough as if he'd spent years with his cigars and the occasional bottle of whiskey, but there was something underneath his words that was infinitely sarcastic, as if every word were a joke to him, every action in life disappointingly predictable. "You've been quite busy in Syliras as of late, haven't you?"