[The Pig's Foot] Two paths can meet [Amora]

[Aider Silander]

1st, Winter 514AV
It was an average day for the Nykian, cold and stupid. Food was already in short supply and it was getting worse by the minute. No one was interested in the information he would normally have. Most people only cared about food now a days and where to get it. Aider was having trouble selling the information and if he couldn't sell then he couldn't make money. He knew he needed help and needed it fast. He wanted to expand his little franchise and get the books from the stores and any other logs that could be useful to him. But the man was no where near skilled enough to do so himself. It was a pain to have to involve someone else. But the Nykian had no choice at this point.

His journey had brought him to the Pig's Foot the place where rumors begin and end, a place he had visited multiple times last season. The man shook his head today was not about drinking or eyeing up some woman. Today he was here for serious business. "Hey Merv seen anyone worth while today?" he asked the old man behind the bar. Merv replied with a shake of his head. "Can't say I have. You still looking for a particular person? The thief?" he asked as he cleaned out one of the glasses that had been used earlier. The old mans eyes did not rise to meet his, instead they remained on the glass. "More or less" Aider said looking over his shoulder. The Tavern was not as full as it had been the night before but it was still left in a mess.

Tables tipped over and glasses remained, Aider would have offered to help. But instead he ignored it and continued with his idle conversation with the bar keeper. He listened for the door to open or the loud burst of a crowd coming in. His fingers tapping along the bar as he waited. "I need someone who is willing to sneak in and get out without being noticed and doesn't ask to many questions. Someone who is not interested in what I do with the items they take and only cares about the money would be ideal. But, as hard as it is in this city, I would like someone with a decent mind. Anyone can hire a thug and just bust into a place but I need someone with a stronger skill set."

[Amora Jade]

The changing of the season forced an immediate change in Amora’s attitude towards the outdoors. She absolutely hated winter. Already it was making it’s presence known by blanketing everything in a thin white sheet of the putrid snow. The thief’s boots kicked up the powder with each angry step she took. Her arms stayed crossed against her chest and her heavy hood was pulled securely around her thick hair. Not only did the burn of the icy air infiltrating her lungs irritate her, but the thought that the season wouldn’t be at all profitable for her did too.

Winter made it difficult for someone like her to survive. She didn’t know how to hunt, nor did she want to, and she definitely did not want to spend a ridiculous amount of coin on food. It made her resort to just stealing her way through nearly every day in order to be fed. The thieving part wasn’t the problem, it was the safely guarded food and mizas that was. Especially after the last season when the people of Sunberth had to go twenty days without a secure food supply.

Luckily it was still just beginning, she could get an early start on it all. She knew she had to. Before she got to work though, she needed something to warm her up from the inside out. There was nothing better than ale to do the trick, and that’s what she had her heart set on. With only enough coin in her pocket to pay for two mugs she made her way through the snow-covered streets to Pig’s Foot.

Once she arrived she couldn’t keep back a small smile. The sight of it’s doors always greeted her like home. Her frozen hand pushed open the door; its creaking sound seemed louder than usual due to the strangely quiet crowd that resided inside. Well, quieter than normal anyway.

As she had done countless times before, Amora made her way up to the bar. She was sure to sit a few seats away from the only other person who sat at it- not wanting to get too close to a stranger she didn’t plan to rob, yet. The thief’s eyes trailed down the bar and met Merv’s, which had an odd look in them. As if he had found something. Instead of interrupting his conversation with the man three stools down, she waited. Of course the old man already knew what she wanted and started on filling a mug with the bitter ale she desired so often. She laid the appropriate coin down on the wood of the bar and waited for her drink to be poured and delivered.

Receipt-4cm: Ale


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[Aider Silander]

The man sighed, he had originally thought that it would not be so hard to find an able thief in the city of crime and punishment. The gold would be enough to attract most but that was not information that he was willing to let free until he knew if there person was the right one. He knew that there was a lot that you could tell just from talking to a person, the way they talked or the movement of their eyes was enough to justify if they were trustworthy. His fingers tapped rapidly against the wood as he looked at Merv before he heard the creaking of the door and looked over his shoulder. The one who had pushed the door open was female and noticeably shorter then he was. Her hair was as black as the nights sky and the small glimpse of her eyes rivaled his own in a color of earthy brown. He features were soft and her skin light, she was attractive and held Aider's attention for more then a few ticks.

She was small, but obviously fit and she had certain step in her walk that showed she was proud of something. Aider's eyes followed her until she sat down at the bar until his eyes caught Mervs as the bartender looked at her. He noticed a certain look, a different type of look that Merv had thought of something that the man did not know and he was looking at the girl that came in. He turned his attention to the girl again. He nodded at Merv, a sign that he could fill her drink and give her whatever else she wanted. He sat up and stretched before he decided to take a seat. The small exchange that had just taken place was enough to peak his interest and he sat there with his hand on his chin looking straight forward almost as if he was in a daze. His ears focused on Merv and the woman hoping that he would have been able to catch anything the two said.

He nibbled on his thumb, rubbing the skin against his teeth as he waited for Merv to return. "So no one at all? Small, able to sneak through a window and get out without being noticed. That's all I really need" he said loud enough for the girl to hear. It was a long shot but one had to take risks to get rewards and he knew that better then most. He had taken the biggest risk of his life with a Myrian, talking to her could have gotten him killed by her or the city he once lived in. But that did not matter now. He shook his head and sighed."Decent pay and for more then a season if they can prove that they are worth it. It doesn't take much, most of the jobs would be easy" he mumbled trying to act like he was purposely trying to hide it from her. His eyes moved to watch the girl, to see if he had caught her attention with his words.

[Amora Jade]

Large eyes trailed over to the old man as he walked Amora’s mug of ale over to her. Something so simple gave her the feeling of joy. The stress of trying to find food for the season was drifting away as she wrapped her right hand around the cold mug and brought it to her lips for a drink. The liquid had barely touched her tongue when the man at the bar began talking loud enough for her to hear. The thief glanced over at him for half a tick before returning her gaze to Merv, then back down to her mug.

At first the young girl didn’t pay any mind to what the man was saying, she had no interest in helping out someone who was a potential victim of hers. The only thing she cared about was what might be lying in his pockets, and she knew she would take the opportunity to find out if he wasn’t careful. When he mentioned decent pay, however, she sat still and began to listen with slight interest. It never hurt to be paid to do the things she enjoyed doing anyway, right? And he was promising a job for more than a season.

The old man could tell that his words were beginning to peak an interest in the young thief, “I might know of someone.”

The dark-haired girl shifted in her seat and leaned forward onto the bar top to get a little closer to the old man in an attempt to keep their conversation out of any curious ears’ reach. “What is going on about?”

“I guess he plans to pay someone to get something for him.”

Amora sighed and sat up straight again, resting her elbows on the bar. She brought the cold glass to her lips again and took a long drink before looking behind her to see the other patrons of the tavern. A few of them seemed to be curious about the money the man was offering as well, and she knew that if they got to him first they’d beat it out of him. Then there would be none left for her.

Her eyes trailed over to the man once more to see he was looking right back at her. The girl’s face twisted into a confused expression as to why he was looking at her. Had he been passively talking about her the whole time? How could he possibly have known her… ‘occupation’?

Amora took a deep breath and another small drink of ale before shifting herself onto her feet to stand. With the glass mug in hand she neared the one who was looking for help, but still kept at a slight distance. “What exactly are you looking to… obtain?”

The thief knew that he could he be lying and trying to set her up, but she was still curious either way. Usually she could tell by a person’s tone if they were a con-artist or actually being genuine. She hoped she’d be able to tell before letting herself fall into a trap she couldn’t get out of. Anyone that offered good pay during winter was worth checking out. Besides, Merv didn’t seem suspicious of him and that counted for something.. right?

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[Aider Silander]

Aider smiled and nodded at the old mans word." If you do. You should let them know." he said. He could feel the eyes of the few others in the bar and his hand slipped into his pocket. The brutish weapon of a knuckleduster awaited inside, his finger ran down the inside of the leather strap. He leaned against the bar and closed his eyes with a sigh. If any of them attacked him, all he would have to do was dodge and pull the leather around his fist. From there it would just be a fist fight.

Aider's eyes wandered away from the girl for a moment before she spoke to him. "Logs. Books or papers that detail what certain businesses sell and to whom" he said. "It's easy if you can get in and keep quiet. Though it could be dangerous if you get caught. There is no guarantee for the person's safety." he said. He turned his body to face her before speaking again. "But you seem pretty quick and you have silent footsteps. It should be easy for you and the pay is decent. If you are interested we can work that out some other time." He paused to judge her reaction, he would have to take in any slight movement or twitch. He needed to see if she understood and was actually capable of thinking for herself.

His eyes studying her and waited for her reaction before he would speak again. "Do you have any problem with potentially ruining someones life?" His voice was hushed so that only her and possibly Merv could hear. He leaned forward to minimize the space between them. "Because doing this could do that. Do you only look after yourself or do you care about the other people of this city?" His questions might strike her as odd, but it was true. Stealing the logs could effectively ruin someones job and life, if not get them killed in the first place. A blacksmiths log handed over to a rival gang, showing that the smith supported and supplied another gang with weapons could end with the smith being killed and the place being torched. But so was the way of the world in the city of chaos. Fueling the fire that tore at the city was Aider's job and he was not willing to bring someone in who might care to much. "I only need to know if you can do it, that you want to do it and something I can call you." he said quickly. There would be no relationship between the two, no fostered friendship or caring for one another. It would be an exchange of information for pay and nothing more.

[Amora Jade]

The thief listened as the man explained to her what he needed to be done. Stealing logs from a business was never something she had done before, but was sure it’d be easy enough to pull off. She knew the only reason anyone would want possession of such a thing would be to drive the business into the ground or frame someone. Two things she really didn’t care about. It was not like she had any personal ties to the people and it wasn’t like she was putting her own blade to their throats. Though it did kind of put a bad feeling in her gut. If she were to find out if lives were lost because of her actions it would eat at the little bit of conscious she still had. Then again, she was only doing it to have money to survive on. Amora was positive that the people she’d be stealing from would do the same thing to her if the situation was reversed.

At the mention that she had silent footsteps a small smirk formed on her lips. It wasn’t something she had really noticed before, but it would definitely be useful knowledge from there on out. She guessed the reason for her quietness would be from all the nights she had to sneak home- not wanting to attract the attention of large gang members that might be stalking the alleyways during the dark bells. When the man mentioned pay her eyes darted towards the other patrons of the tavern, being sure no one heard him again. He wasn’t talking particularly loud and none of them reacted much to it so she looked back at him and gave a slight nod, thinking to herself she’d need the payment up front- or at least half.

Amora wasn’t one to take the risk of believing every word someone spoke to her, especially if they were mentioning paying her for something. What if she put her life on the line just for him to kill her and take the books? It wasn’t something she was willing to risk, but she also knew they couldn’t discuss such a thing in a public place. It seemed that in a matter of ticks the population of the tavern had nearly doubled. The amount of people was a good thing- considering the amount of noise they made it helped to reduce the echoing of their voices in the empty space.

Then came his questions. They were something she mowed over in her own mind for a few ticks when he first started to explain what he was looking for her to do. Amora knew that she had to do it; she had to take the risk so that she and her mother could survive to see spring again.

The thief took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before meeting his eyes with her own to answer his queries, “If they can’t defend themselves they shouldn’t be running a business.” Her tone was a bit harsh, but it was true to her. Running a business in Sunberth was dangerous work no matter what kind it was. Just about everyone in the city was a thief, part of a gang, or just plainly a murderer. If you put your name out there in an attempt to get money from the more innocent of patrons you were bound to attract the more dangerous of ones.

“It doesn’t sound like the most difficult things to pull off, so I’m sure I can. And I will, as long as I can get a bit of pay up front as well as after. It’s the only way I can be sure I’m actually going to get paid,” she said. Of course the plan wasn’t foolproof. He could still just kill her and take the information along with the money, but usually someone who would go through the trouble of finding a thief and offering them pay wouldn’t be that dishonest. Usually. Amora knew she’d still have to be on her guard when she would return with the logs.

“And my name is Jade,” she finished quickly before taking another long drink of her ale. Her surname, the only thing strangers knew her by had sort-of become her identifier to anyone who wasn’t an immediate threat to her or offered to pay her.

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[Aider Silander]

It was all fair game in his opinion, stealing and beatings. It was all the same depending on how you want to put it. War was war, intelligence was a key part in fighting a battle and winning. Undermining someone was just one of the easiest ways to go about it. She had a fair enough point, if they couldn't defend themselves then it was their own problem. He should care and neither should she, which she apparently didn't.

She agreed to it which meant the hard part was out of the way, their discussion on the actual fact of what she was getting and about pay would need to come later. But for now knowing that she was okay with doing it brought a small smile on his face. He nodded his head at the mention of her wanting some pay up front, "We can talk about that somewhere more secure. It was dangerous enough to even bring the rumors to this place. But it should be possible, I could give you a base pay then a finders fee and maybe a bonus if the information is really worth it." Her request was simple enough and he probably would have done the same thing. At least asked about it or tried to make sure there was some kind of insurance that he would be able to get paid for it.

The bars patrons were growing in numbers and the multiple ears did not make Aider happy in one bit. Someone hearing of his plan could make his life so much harder, that person could easily go around and warn potential marks. That was not something he wanted to deal with and putting her in danger because of it wasn't something he was to keen on doing. "Well Ms Jade we should talk about everything else where. Having this many people around us could put both of us in danger." He looked over his shoulder at the few peering eyes that remained locked on the both of them before looking back at Merv. "You can refer to me as Sai or you which ever you prefer really."Names were not really important to him unless they were the names of his marks. Knowing hers did not change the fact that the two could work together. He could have referred to her by a number of names if he so chose to. It was polite of course that she had given him something to call her by.

[Amora Jade]

Sai. She repeated the name in her thoughts once it was spoken; she’d at least know how to address him if she were to actually take the job. Amora’s fingers traced over the mug’s rim as he spoke, she could feel the stares of the nosy people who wanted in on the money. There was no way she would dare put herself at risk by going somewhere alone with the stranger, but a different area would definitely prove useful after his carelessness caught the attention of a few patrons.

“Just follow me.. won’t be anywhere too special but it’ll do,” she said. The thief wrapped her fingers around the mug and brought it to her lips to finish off the last bit of the ale inside. It sent a wave of heat and satisfaction through her body- nothing else like it in the world to her.

Amora set the mug back on the counter and pushed it in towards one of the waitresses for her to handle it, then she immediately deposited her hands into her pockets. The last thing she wanted was to let her curiosity get the best of her and allow herself to try and infiltrate the man’s pockets. Sure, it would be simpler than doing a job for him and waiting for the money, but it would also be a lot more dangerous. He looked like he could handle himself, and Amora couldn’t do any damage if her life depended on it. It wouldn’t be the smartest idea in the world to take that chance.

The thief walked towards the tavern’s exit, sure not to make eye contact with any of the people who overheard their conversation, then pushed open the door and headed outside. She didn’t bother to see if he was behind her or not, if he really needed a thief he would. Her eyes scanned the streets, thinking of a good place for the two to speak that wouldn’t be either deserted nor filled with prying ears and eyes.

What better place than somewhere she could pick up another mug of ale? The Simpering Seacow it was. The place was open, so their voices wouldn’t echo off anything and there would be plenty of people making noise and such so their presence wouldn’t be noted by anyone unless either of them were to be recognized.

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