Bit Of Trouble (Ricky)

by **Erekez** on April 29th, 2013, 6:01 pm

Luck was not on his side. The guard was asking all the questions that Erekez would've preferred not to answer in rapid succession of one another. It must've come with experience on the job, and it was beginning to unnerve him. He was being asked questions about as quickly as he could decide what he was going to say next. He had expected a question about his arm, but it didn't mean he had an answer prepared.

Luck had never been on his side. Erekez wasn't sure why he had turned to it so suddenly in such a situation. Perhaps it was trying something new, seeing if it had any real world uses. For others, maybe. For him, it was a resounding 'no'.

Why feel the need to try something new, when the old had never let you down before? Luck didn't bow to him. Neither had he ever prayed for it to. Knowledge was, and he knew facial expressions betrayed thoughts easier than words. Erekez was sticking with what he knew, but applying it in a different way. Instead of masking emotions, why not read them on others?

There was so many things that wasn't perfect about this plan.

Eyris guide me.

"I had a run-in with a thief earlier on this morning." Erekez said, steeling himself and his gaze, watching the guard's face. "The guy pulled a dagger on me, hoping it would be enough to persuade me. Suffice to say, it didn't. He took a slash at me a couple of times. Didn't do much damage until he got this hit across my arm. Somebody must've heard the commotion as we were found before they, I assume, ran off for the guard. I took the distraction as a chance to escape. I don't know anything more after that."

It wasn't a lie. That was what had happened. Erekez had just decided to leave out the details in between, such as fighting back, killing and the distraction being over a dead body, as opposed to opposite a thief with a dagger.

It was risky, but he had no choice. The guard must've been pretty sure that Erekez was the man he was looking for. He wouldn't have spent so long questioning him if he wasn't. From this point, all he would need to do was ask Erekez to come back to the crime scene. He'd shown enough skill in his job for Erekez to know he'd notice the cloth was the same as the shirt on the thief.

With the information he had just given, the guard should decide he was the killer. If he was convicted, he had nothing to lose now. His life was already on the line. All Erekez was hoping to see was if this guard believed there was never a time when killing was acceptable, or if it was only under extenuating circumstances.

He moved his cloak enough that it wouldn't prevent getting to his dagger, knowing full well it was stupidity to attempt a fight with a dagger against a Wave Guard with a longsword. He didn't want a fight. Just a chance to get away.

This was his confession, as well as the guards test.

by **Ricky Maze** on May 1st, 2013, 8:13 pm

Ricky's eyebrows raised a bit as he listened to the story, his eyes couldn't see any signs of a lie on the suspects face. Yet there was something that didn't add up, something that was missing from his story. Something Ricky would have to figure out by bringing it to light. Sure enough the story was believable, but when it didn't make sense because something didn't add up you had to wonder; which is exactly what Ricky did. 'He says he ran away but there's one thing that leaves a big o' hole, and that's how the would be thief died so quickly after he left.' Ricky used this detail to test the man's story further, and see just how solid it was.

"Ya managed to get away? When the would be thief was alive?" He inquired with a curious look, and waited to hear his reply. He would have to bring the man back to the scene of crime where the other guards were gathering now since he said he was there. Ricky wanted to see what all there was to the story, and he would pry to the best of his abilities if possible. However time was short in this case, so he would have no choice after he heard the answer. If he didn't fall into the suspect criteria anymore then he was at least another witness, and furthermore would be required to aid the investigation a bit.

by **Erekez** on May 31st, 2013, 10:43 am

OOCSorry for the delay on this one.

A person raising their eyebrows was usually either shock or surprise, but at what? Was the guard surprised about what had happened in the story? Or was he surprised that Erekez had actually given him one to begin with?

This wasn't helping. Holes had been found in his story, where he had left details out, and they had been blown up, taking everything else with it. If he managed to somehow get out of this one, Erekez decided he needed to work on his deception and storytelling skills. For now, there wasn't really anything else he could do expect put his faith in one of two things. Zeltivan justice would hear his side and not condemn him, or the Wave Guard would sympathise with his position in this situation.

He didn't like trusting either of them, but he didn't really have a choice.

"I don't know." He almost snapped, "He came at me with a dagger, and I fought back as hard as he was trying to fight me. He managed to land a few strikes on me, but I got a lot more on him before I managed to drop him on the ground. It was self-defence, and I won. You've seen what I'm wearing, it doesn't exactly shout 'harmless', and when we were seen, I was standing over his body in such a way that anyone would think I was the criminal. I panicked and ran, hoping to get away and hide for a while. Unfortunately, you were faster. I'll give you credit though, you're good at what you do to single me out so quickly."

"Honestly, I don't really care if he did or didn't die. If he didn't, he should face the Wave Guard alongside whatever punishment I'm going to receive for defending myself. If he did, good riddance. If it wasn't me this time, then it would've been somebody else, and they might not have been as lucky as I was to get away."

Erekez finished and clamped his mouth shut tight, breathing heavily as he felt the blood rush to his face. He had spoke, almost shouted, with a lot more aggression than would actually help him.

Taking a deep breath and running his hand down his face, Erekez started pacing in front of the guard. Short of saying, 'I struck him in the stomach with my own dagger.', Erekez had given away a lot more information than he had originally intended. Being vague hadn't helped in the slightest. The guard was probably use to potential criminals avoiding giving actual answers.

He stepped from one foot to the next, running his hand through his hair and taking another deep breath, before he let them drop to hang loosely at his sides.

"Look, I'm sorry." Erekez turned to face the guard. "I didn't mean to start a fight. I just don't find it fair that anyone would have to lose their own life just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And to then find someone else who places the value of any kind of object above that person's life? I just don't understand it, and don't react well to it."

For the first time, running away from what could be considered a danger had worse consequences than facing it head on. It made Erekez feel uneasy knowing that he had to rely on others to see if he could get out of this alive.

"I'm Erekez, by the way. I get the feeling you might need to know that at some point. So, what now?"

by **Ricky Maze** on June 2nd, 2013, 8:16 am

The way Erekez snapped at him suggested a defense or desperate manner, something that surprised Ricky well enough for the guard to step back once. The man seemed to pull out his story in what seemed like one final attempt at sharing his honest story with Ricky, almost as if he were pleading to him in some sort of way to pull at the strings in the guarda heart. Yet while Ricky listened to the story Erekez gave him, he felt as though the man had finally broken down. That he actually decided to go with the whole story in a sense, and see if he could convince Ricky that he clearly came across as misunderstood.

Ricky stood there with his hands at his waist, eyes fully focused and sharp on Erekez as he listened to the man. The story being pieced together in his mind as be visualized the murdered man pulling the dagger, the moment where the woman had seen the two of them and thought she witnessed a crime, when it could even be self defense considering she only saw the body and Erekez. The timing would've been off by then but then again maybe she did see a murder that happened, and Erekez thought he could use speculation to get his way out of trouble. 'No...' Ricky crossed his arms as he thought hard about it, the puzzle that laid before him started to create its image, however there were still several important pieces missing. 'This guy is tellin' the truth, otherwise he'd been lyin' through his teeth the other few times. He looks to be crackin' under the pressure finally, and I can see it in 'is eyes that he really stands behind 'is story.' He seemed pretty sure Erekez wouldn't be lying to him now, a feeling in his gut told him that while he had caught the culprit, it was a culprit who became deemed wrong for a simple mistake.

The man had given him the full story now, admitting that his crime would've only been that of running away from the scene had he defended himself. Ricky gave the well put story a deep consideration as to what the truth really could be, simply put it fell to a fifty-fifty chance that the story was honestly true or not. Ricky however felt that it was rather true, after all what did Erekez have to hide now that he had been caught. "Ye shouldn't 'ave run mate, would've been better on yer part if ya didn't." He expressed his concern well enough with a sigh, a sincere expression now filled his vacant one.

"Well Erekez ye can call me Ricky, and for now we gotta head back to the scene of the incident. After we do a thorough investigation we'll see what we can do to prove ya innocent." A few other guard members were down the street from him now, all threw noticed Ricky talking to Erekez and began to make their way to the two. "Listen to me though," Ricky brought his tone lower so only Erekez would hear, "I will help ya prove yer innocent, but ya have to cooperate with me completely. Ya understand? We need to prove yer innocent with more than just yer story alone." He explained to the man before him, the other guards were halfway there now. It was only a short matter of time before they would arrive, then it would fall upon Ricky to prove Erekez innocent. This would be a challenge for the two of them, but when it would end Ricky would make sure Erekez walked away. Things were about to get tough, were the both of them ready for the investigation?

by **Erekez** on June 18th, 2013, 6:25 pm

"Logic never really comes into it when you panic."

What Ricky had said was correct though. Running had only made him look guilty. Nothing to hide, no reason to hide. It was a costly mistake, but Ricky seemed to genuinely believe him. It didn't sound like he was trying to sound sincere just to get Erekez to cooperate, but it didn't matter if he believed him or not anymore. Erekez had been back into a corner, with the guard as his only chance for getting away.

Erekez's nerves only tightened as other guards approached. He didn't fancy the chances of taking Ricky on one-on-one, but at least he might have had a chance to run for it, if he could. Now, both were non-existent. You could guarantee that at least one of them was going to be watching him at all times.

He turned back to Ricky as he saw him move in closer, lowering in his voice. His words did little to reassure him. Given the decision between backing up his fellow guards, or risk some consequence for backing up a criminal, Erekez was interested to know how far he would go. He didn't expect very far.

Erekez lowered his voice to match Ricky's. "You help me get out of this, and I'll owe you a great debt." Erekez cared very little for words, but if Ricky could do what he said, then Erekez planned to repay him one way or another. It was the least he could do, but only if Ricky could back up his promise.

Erekez turned back to the approaching guards.

"Morning Ricky." The guard looked Erekez over, "Do we have a witness, informant or suspect?"

Great, I'm already going to get stuck with a label.

by **Abstract** on June 30th, 2013, 2:14 pm

Loot, Lore, and Skills!

Ricky :

Erekez :

This was a really interesting thread guys! I really enjoyed it... and if felt sort of appropriate to stop here. I liked Erekez's lying, and the awkwardness of the situation. Please PM me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments!

Closed Bit Of Trouble (Ricky)