Closed A Storm of Svefra (Rhov, Garland)

[Rhov]

Rhov

"Aye," Rhov agreed with his cloaked companion. When his cohort's voice trailed off with a slight crack, the Chaktawe moved forward to explain the reasoning behind his support.

"If this man is truly a merchant, than he has connections. Connections that will see us at the Ironworks, see us asking to many questions for common citizens. If we don't go to him now, we may lose the chance to confront him. Either we go after him immediately, or we risk losing him in the woodwork. I say we confront him; cut the head off the serpent as it were."

As he finished, Rhov wondered if this was how so many criminals managed to distance themselves the city of Syliras and its vaunted protectors.With such a large population, it was no doubt difficult keeping track of every discrepancy reported to the Order; a process probably hindered by the aforementioned paperwork his fellow investigator mentioned. This slowed system gave criminals time. Time to prepare, time to pack, and time to run. Rhov supposed he should be, in some twisted way, thankful for these cracks in the way the Knights carry out justice, for without them, he would be out of a job. Somehow, the thought left him less than comforted.

The disguised member of his party turned to him, the features of his face now fully visible in the light of day. His features were, well, chiseled. Light skin of a city-dwelling pared with chocolate brown hair which wisped lightly across face in the salty sea-breeze. Rhov supposed that this was the kind of man who women found attractive, and it was a pity that he has to suffer that unfortunate cracking which creeped into his gravelly voice every now and then.

At his question, Rhov raised a single, black eyebrow. "Do I look like mage?" he responded, his tone brisk and cutting. The bounty hunter's social graces, or whatever meager ones existed before, vanished in light of the new information. Rhov had an objective now, a target, and his mind made the steady shift into a hunter's focus. Anything not necessary to this hunt ceased to matter him, courtesy and conversation included.

Sliding the elegant blade into his belt, he turned briefly back to his fellow investigators before continuing onward to the Bazaar. His onyx eyes shown bright with excitement, and the devil-may-care smirk he wore whispered of feral intent. The words which next knifed off his tongue were more of a threat to their collective quarry than an actual request of his companions.

"Come on now, we have something of Nosar's. Let's go see if he wants it back."

OOCYou can leave it Sayana, I don't mind.

[Sayana]

“You’re right. Skip the Ironworks and find him right away.” Sayana agreed with Rhov. If he was a tracker or hunter then he probably had a good idea of what he was doing. Though when Garland mentioned that the dagger could be magecrafted Sayana scoffed. Even though she didn’t know much about magecrafting she was sure it would be bloody expensive to get one’s hands on something like that. “Gar, it wouldn’t be magecrafted. Why the petch would he leave it if it was? It was left to send a message not to be loot or a gift for some Svefra.” Only after she had spoken did she realize she had accidentally let on to the squire’s name. Whoops. Perhaps Rhov wouldn’t notice or simply not care.

As the tracker led the way to the Bazaar Sayana spoke up quite firmly, “We’re not going to kill him. Or I’m out right now. I’m not going to weed myself out of the knight’s so-called legal system. But I’m happy to scare him plenty so he doesn’t think to try this again. Or scare him enough to confess to the knights.” As they continued onwards the Eypharian began to think of various circumstances. Would the merchant be alone? Would he have bodyguards? With all the ruckus of the svefra she suspected the latter. Would the three of them really want to take him on in the middle of the Bazaar with bodyguards for all to see?

“I’d suggest we lure him away from any friends or bodyguards he has. Make it sound like we’re offering a great deal. Then once we’re on the streets or in a corridor we can get some real answers. And if he runs, Rhov you’ll be right on it. Sounds like a plan?”

As they arrived at the markets, Sayana scanned the various stalls looking for said ‘Baldy’. It was oddly less busy than usual with some booths completely bare. It made for an odd appearance but she presumed that this was the result of the svefra trying to put a stop to the crimes against their race. Her eyes alighted on a tall man whose head was nearly all shaven but he seemed to be purchasing goods. With another glance her eyes finally fell on someone shorter, plumper and looking far more like a merchant. “There,” Sayana said simply with a point of her finger.

She led the way towards the man knowing that she was the one to make the first steps. “Ahh, just the person I’ve been looking for,” she spoke with a light friendly air to her voice. “Norsar?” She asked as she extended a mid hand to shake his. “That I am,” the merchant replied and returned the hand shake. With a quick glance she noticed that there were indeed a few bulkier men about his stall, but she couldn’t tell if they were friends, hired men or mere customers. “I’ve been looking for some… less than savory products, if you know what I mean,” she spoke in a hushed tone as she leaned in to his ear. “I’m not into that line of business anymore,” he stated rather firmly. “Oh?” Sayana pressed with mock surprise. “Not even for something a little less conventional in return?” She ran a delicate hand over his cheek and a slow lick of her lips. With an exaggerated sigh she said, “I suppose I’ll have to find someone else a little more… enticing.”

“Wait. Perhaps we could work something out.” He spoke quickly, not really wanting to pass up a deal. “You do have mizas yes?” “Plenty, and it won’t be some small deal either. My two friends are quite interested in this product.” Sayana replied to give him a reason for the extra company. She began leading the way out from the Bazaar and for a moment the merchant was confused as to whether to follow. “Come along, it’ll only be a short chat,” Sayana spoke with as much persuasion as she could and a beckoning hand. At last Norsar made up his mind to follow them with only a quick glance back at his hired men.

[Garland]

Garland simply stayed quiet, there was no point in arguing his point, these two seem their mind made up. He sighed, he didn't react when Sayana had spoken his name, it would be best not to react at all unless he wanted to cast suspicion to his persona.

They were going to the bazaar, which was always crowded, but today, the merchandise mostly consist of food and crops from the land instead of the sea, with the Sverfa in protest, the fish were in short supply and any goods overseas traders bring in have been severely limited.

The bazaar itself was almost a ghost town compared to other days, there were still people here, but not a huge crowd that needed several knights to patrol it which the bazaar was infamous for.

“I’d suggest we lure him away from any friends or bodyguards he has. Make it sound like we’re offering a great deal. Then once we’re on the streets or in a corridor we can get some real answers. And if he runs, Rhov you’ll be right on it. Sounds like a plan?”

Garland watched Sayana, it seemed that she had a plan after all, though after they lured him into the alley, what then? They'll figure it out as they went along. "A good a plan as any." He walked off to way by the entrance of the alley way.

He leaned against the wall with a look of distrust, this guy they were after was a merchant, a known dealer of words and barter, he can lie through his teeth, having a knife that supposedly belonged to him was not enough, he would deny it.

Having some form of solid proof would have been nice, but Sayana and Rhov had the dagger and chose to come here. He was thinking too much like a knight, they were suppose to be dealing out some street justice, having evidence might be nice but ultimately it was not needed.

He would wait here and let Sayana or Rhov do the talking, he might be recognized, he'll just block the way in case he decided to run. If they were caught, he would have, his bodyguards and the knight's support behind him. They would have no solid proof and he could claim harassment.

"Rhov, wait in the alley, I'd rather not talk to this guy, I'll wait by the entrance and block it off in case he tries to escape."

He saw Sayana with their target in tow. Garland lowered his hood and covered his face in a cough to hide his identity. It looks like Sayana's plan might work. Now it's time to listen in and take down some mental notes.

[Rhov]

Rhov found himself intrigued and amused by Sayana's ardent refusal to slay Norsar. He had not intended to in the first place, as there was no reason to antagonize the knights when the information could be so easily removed from their target without resorting to lethal means. All the same, the Chaktawe found himself chuckling slightly at her intense dismissal of such violent means. To assume that any of them would cross that line in the midst of the Order's sphere of influence? It showed a cautious lack of trust bordering on the excessive that Rhov found humorous, feeling that the warning was more directed at him rather than at this 'Gar.'

"Of course," he snorted in agreement. "Can't interrogate a corpse, now can we?"

Sayana continued her diatribe, outlining a strategy which Rhov thought fair as far as plans went. She's a clever one. Keeps a calm mind and knows her strengths as an individual and our strengths as a group. And with that silver tongue of hers? I don't doubt that she'll have Norsar trailing after her like the dog he is. Nodding to show his approval, he peeled off into a nearby ally with his cloaked companion.

Onyx eyes bored curiously into the man who lay across from him, this "Gar" apparently also pondering their current situation. Though he knew little about this man, one who seemed intent to keep him in the dark, Rhov did not doubt that he and Sayana shared a connection. It's importance and relevance to their current situation, Rhov did not know. However, the youth did know that he was quickly growing tired of this game of whispers and shadows. In his endeavors, Rhov typically preferred more direct attempts at solving problems. These subtle methods slowly began to grind at the bounty hunter's all-too short patience, and though irritation began to bite and snap at the back of his mind, Rhov made a conscious effort to reign in his reckless nature.

His attention snapping to Gar's request, Rhov gave a short, curt nod in acknowledgement. "As you wish."

Chaktawe senses flaring in recognition of two more people entering the near-empty alley, he readied himself for this next confrontation. Rhov ghosted behind the cover of a small pallet bearing a stack of boxes. He wanted his entrance to serve two purposes. One, he wanted to surprise his prey with his sudden appearance, and two, he wanted to block off the only other avenue of escape that Norsar would have opportunity to use. Rhov forced his breath to quiet itself as the merchant edged ever closer, led by the satin-soft words of Sayana.

Rhov drifted out of his hiding place with an easy air about him, bare feet gliding across the cobble-stone flooring as silent as he could manage. A step landing heavier on the ground than he expected alerted Norsar of his presence earlier than he had intended. Covering his mistake with a smile, Rhov stuck his hand in greeting, imploring the merchant to shake.

"Norsar I assume? Nice to finally meet you," he greeted in as friendly a tone he could manage. As the bald man's hand slid hesitantly into Rhov's, the friendly smile which graced the Chaktawe's lips twisted into a savage visage of cruelty.

Using their point of mutual contact, Rhov pulled the man towards him in an unexpected burst of strength. As Norsar tumbled forward, the Chaktawe crashed his forehead against the merchant's, sending the larger man sprawling backwards against the wall. The pain from the blow registered briefly in his mind, but he pushed it aside as he rushed Norsar once again. His enemy still reeling from the headbutt, Rhov's hand shot forward to grip Norsar's meaty neck and pin him against the wall of the alleyway. The bald man struggled in vain against the force of Rhov's assault, his voice reduced to guttural utterances as he attempted to scream for help. Such sounds ceased as the elegant point of the knife Sayana found buried itself mere inches left of Norsar's face.

"Now, let's talk business," Rhov growled, voice reverberating with an undercurrent of danger. "Look to your left. Does this knife look familar?"

The merchant shook his head vigorously in denial. Rolling his solid-black eyes, Rhov's fingers clamped down harder on Norsar's thick neck. "I don't like liars, Norsar. Let's try that again. Is this knife yours?" In truth, Rhov had no idea if Norsar was lying or telling the truth, but he had no intention on letting the merchant know that fact. As far as he figured, as long as he remained confident in his assertion, Norsar would crack under the pressure if he was truly guilty.

Norsar's eyes darted between Rhov and Sayana for a moment, shooting a pleading look towards the Ephyrian. At Rhov's continued pressure, the bald men gave a slow nod in recognition. At his admittance, Rhov lessened his grip slightly, just enough to allow breath to return to the merchant's undoubtedly screaming lungs.

"Good. Now, since you were honest and since I'm feeling nice, I'm going to let you talk to my friend here," Rhov gestured his head over towards where Sayana was standing. "She's much gentler than I am. However, if you move to escape, attempt to scream, or lie to her, you'll have to 'talk' to me again. Understand?" Once again, the merchant's nod insinuated his understanding. Releasing his grip, Rhov let Norsar slide to the ground with a solid thud. As the man's heavy, choked breaths filled the silence in the alley, Rhov turned to Sayana expectantly.

[Sayana]

Once Sayana led the merchant to the alleyway, she was rather pleased with how Rhov dealt with him. Two parts strength, one part deception. She drew a pair of small throwing daggers and spun them in her high hands as she watched the tracker carry out his interrogation. So Norsar did admit to the dagger being his… A smile curled on her face. It seemed as though they were getting somewhere. And yet, it couldn’t have been just one man to have enraged so many svefra.

At Rhov’s invitation and gesture, the Eypharian’s smile broadened and she approached the merchant. He was now back on his feet and no longer pinned against the wall. “Yes, I am quite a bit nicer,” Sayana affirmed but with a look that might be too nice. Still with her two throwing daggers in her high hands, she leaned in as if to whisper in Norsar’s ear but instead gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Now will you be nice to me?” Surprise and confusion flooded his face at her unexpected behaviour and she simply carried on.

“Why do you hate the svefra?” “I don’t. I just…” Sayana brought one of her throwing daggers to his throat while she held his shoulders with her mid hands. “You ‘just’ what?” She continued to press, literally with her dagger and figuratively with her words. The merchant gave a quick look at the dagger as he felt the cold steel against his skin and then began to speak quickly. “They come in waves, literally. They flood the market, they mess with the prices, the steal business of true Syliran merchants.” “So you don’t like competition,” Sayana spat.

“So who helped you? Who did you hire? There was far too much damage to be done by one person.” Sayana hadn’t actually seen the extent of the damage but if there were that many svefra riled up and based on the accounts of the first man with his boat, there had to have been a lot of damage. “No one. It was just me.” Norsar replied stubbornly. Sayana was tempted to wave in Rhov but she quickly thought of an alternative.

“So you vandalized the ships and busted the hole in one boat that caused two children and their father to drown?” Sayana retorted back harshly. Two truths and a lie, and she hoped he wouldn’t realize the lie. “He wasn’t supposed to do that big a hole,” Norsar said clearly agitated. “People weren’t supposed to die…” The Eypharian quickly pressed a finger to his lips. “Who is ‘he’? Who are you working with? I want names.”

It was then that the merchant realized the trap he had been led into. He tightened his lips, not wanting to talk any further. His eyes darted around as if looking for an escape and then they settled on a place to her right. His slow smile caught her off guard and she chanced a look over her shoulder. There were three men heading into the alley, large and likely armed. Her moment of distraction was enough for him to hit away her arms and slip past her running directly for the men, his men.

“Petching hai!” Sayana shouted in frustration as she watched as Norsar get away, past the hired men and beyond. Clearly they had taken too long trying to get answers from him and his men had gotten worried. But then she remembered that Garland lurked somewhere near the entrance. Or at least he said he would. She was about to simply get into a defensive stance thinking that Garland would handle things but she realized how easy it might be for the hired men to then impede the squire’s work.

“Rhov! We have to go after him!” She shouted trying to be convincing in her delivery. She lunged forwards at the hired men with her small blades flashing. She didn’t aim for lethal strikes and soon had a third dagger out to block whatever blows they might try. Left, right… left left right. Her smaller blades were not the most coordinated but they kept up a good ruse for danger as her mid right hand carefully blocked a strike to her chest and one to her side. When she had a spare tick she tried to give a wink to the tracker and prayed that the knights wouldn’t suddenly show up.

OOCI don't think they'll actually get the names of the others (given their skillset combined). But I'm thinking they'll get enough evidence for the knights to further interrogate Norsar and thus the knights will be able to mend things with the svefra (off-screen of course, not in this thread).

[Garland]

He had been listening in the two. It seemed that this was going quite well. Garland looked over to the bodyguards, it seemed that they were getting very suspicious about Sayana's supposed deal.

He watched as the three bodyguards started making their way to the alley. He would have warned Sayana but that would indicated that he was in leagues with Sayana and alert the body guards.

Garland held off for a while until the guards were in the alleyway. "Boss, you alright?" One of the guards asked and walked into the alleyway with the other two in tow. They saw Sayana holding Noshar by the neck with a dagger near his flesh.

Noshar had made a run for it, pushing off Sayana and running pass his guards and was making his way to his stall. Garland sprang into action and grabbed a bodyguard by the back of his shirt, and pulled him down to his level. He then wrapped his right arm around the man's meaty neck and pulled back, and using his other arm to lock the man's neck in place, slowly choking him out.

Garland pulled harder but the man had reached Garland's head and poked his eyes, making his release the man. Garland recoiled back in pain, and rubbed his eyes, while the bodyguard reeled forward and coughed for air.

Garland had recovered, but the other bodyguard took the chance to help his friend. The other bodyguard went and grabbed Garland by the neck and pinned him to the wall.

The disguised squire struggled a bit, and gripped the man's hands, trying to pry them off. Garland's vision was beginning to blur, his lungs screamed for air and his arms were feeling weak.

In a last ditch effort, he raised up his legs and prepared to kick. He pushed both of his legs off the man and pushed him back, giving him a bit of a breather. Garland looked up to see Sayana had begun fighting as well.

The short squire got up and raised his fists, ready to combat the two guards that were on him right now. Rhov could either help him fight or run after their prey, though the knights might join in and that would be very very bad if they saw a strange man chasing down a known member of the community.

[Sayana]

When Garland joined the fray, she cursed inwardly. He had been completely open when the merchant had dashed. Sayana’s intimidating strikes with her blades held off the third bodyguard for a short while but he soon realized she didn’t mean to strike. He then charged at her and she had to quickly flip her long dagger around to slam the hilt into his shoulder as she tried to jump to the side. It wasn’t completely successful and she stumbled, bracing her fall with a free hand and quickly getting back up.

By then Garland was readying himself against the other two. “Garland, get Norsar! Get the knights! Arrest him! We have enough information.” She called out to him and partway through she lunged forwards to the two men in front of Garland and grabbed an arm each with her two low arms. Swiftly she brought her two throwing daggers to each of their necks. However, despite the intimidating gesture Sayana had to look from one man to the next, quickly darting her eyes to keep track of them both. It was only a matter of time before one man slammed his fist into the side of her head and she staggered back as she released them both. Damn… that hurt like a motherpetcher.

The world seemed to spin and she got another strong punch to the stomach before she staggered to the ground. And then they seemed to be gone. Good. But… that must mean… They were now headed after Garland and even though Sayana had managed to stall two of them substantially, she hadn’t been keeping track of the third one. Rhov… where was Rhov?

Her head was spinning more and she wanted to puke. Please gods let Garland have found the man or at least alerted the knights. Better yet, let him have arrested the bastard. She would… she would sit tight till at least her head stopped spinning. It had been more than enough adventure and investigating for one day.

OOCAlrighty Garland, time to be a hero and finish things off. =)

[Garland]

Garland looked over the two bodyguards on him, the two of them thought that one of them could take him, and the other one went over and quickly attacked Rhov.

It was a surprise attack and knocked Rhov to the ground. He couldn't give chase now. Garland attacked the bodyguard that was on him, throwing a few hard punches to the man's face, trying to wear him down. Garland's attacks were hard and heavy, pushing the much larger man back with his blow. Garland was relentless with his assault, making the man completely cover his face just to protect himself from the much smaller man's attacks.

Garland raised up his leg and stomped down on the man's foot, crushing the bones of his toes and foot. Garland threw a heavy punch to the man's gut making him recoil forward, giving Garland a clear shot to his jaw, the young squire threw a huge uppercut, sending the man to the ground in a haze.

Garland turned his attention to the running man now. He was a decent runner, but he didn't know if he could catch him or not. Though he would try to catch the man.

Norsar ran fast, and had a headstart, but Garland gave chase to the man, the squire wasn't impaired by armor right now, so he should be able to chase the merchant and eventually catch him. Though it seemed that he didn't need to.

The merchant was stupid enough to actually go to the knights about this. Of course the knights would believe the somewhat respected member of the community rather than some random mercenary, hopefully whoever he runs into is someone Garland knows.

As Garland reached the pair of patrolling knights, it seemed that Norsar was hiding behind them, and the knights had drawn their swords. Syliras was a peaceful city, not because the people were nice and friendly, it was because the knights put them in line and anyone who steps out of line are either killed on the spot or sent to the mines.

Garland dodged a shoddy slash from one of the knights, well... a squire, no knight would do such a bad attack. Garland pulled back his hood and quickly grabbed Norsar by the arm and neck. "I'm Garland, squire of Sera Catherine Ashe and this man is under arrest for crimes against the Sverfa!" He said, the held the man by the neck.

The squire was suspicious of Garland and was still in a combat stance, ready to pounce if needed, but luckily the squire's partner, which was most likely his patron, recognized Garland.

"What in blazes are you doing boy!?" The knight yelled and sheathed his sword, and signaled the squire to lower his sword. "What has this man done?"

"Ser, I was investigating the recent attacks and harassment to the Sverfa people in the docks by order of my patron." Garland said and tied up Norsar. "Excuse me ser, but I need a few more hands to help me with a few thugs attacking two upstanding citizens in an alley close to here."

The knight sighed and looked at his squire. "Sera Catherine is a wildcard, but she does get the job done. Give the man here and lead the way boy." Garland threw Norsar to the knight and held him while they all returned back to the alley way.

"Sayana!" Garland yelled and ran to his friend's aid.

"Stop! You thugs, or you'll taste our steel!" The knight yelled and his squire draw his sword. The bodyguards looked at each other and gave up. "Good, I hate shedding blood on the city floor."

[Ball]

And the grades come rolling in.

 

Overall Comments

Kinda wished that everyone was able to finish it, this looked like an amazing thread. I loved it guys!

And As Always, please mark your grade submission as graded

 

Sayana

Experience Points.

Investigation	+3
Intelligence	+2
Intimidation	+2
Persuasion	+2
Seduction	+1
Tactics	+1
Leadership	+1
Weapon: Dagger	+1
Dual Wield	+1
Unarmed Combat	+1

Lores.

• Gar: Garland in Disguise
• “Ser Baldy”: Norsar Wilton
• Rhov: Mercenary

 

Garland

Experience Points.

Socialization	+2
Disguise	+1
Brawling	+1

Sheild Points.

+1	for Training (I am giving you this for the disguise stuff)
+2	Helping the City

Lores.

• Require Information Prior to Action
• Swords aren’t useful in tight quarters
• Knowing Foreign Cultures is Important in Disguising
• “Ser Baldy”: Norsar Wilton
• Rhov: Mercenary

 

Rhov

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