[Quest] A Dark Rendezvous (Anselm, Avari, Leigo)

by **Cascade** on June 3rd, 2012, 5:48 pm

Reminders.Order: Anselm > Avari > Leigo. Each player has a three day allowance to post. If these three days are up and you have not posted, the one next in line may post. If you miss your turn, feel free to post at any time to catch up, but the one next in line should take note that it is officially his/her turn. Thank you!

36th Summer 512 AV
Late Night, in an alley near the Zeltiva Docks

In a dark alley set off near the Zeltiva Docks, two people are scheduled to meet to conclude a deal. The alley was quiet and unpopulated. The only sources of light were from the scattered oil lamps that ran down sporadically on the sides of the street. It was an excellent location to converse in if your main goal was to not be heard by most.

If one walked towards one end of the alley, they would find that the path opened to the docks. While during the day the docks were busy, at this time of the night, it was almost completely still. The ships rocked slightly from the waves, and the sounds of water splashing against these ships were whispers in the dark. The crewmen of these boats were either asleep in the cabins or partying in the nearby Kelp Bar.

In contrast, if one walked to the alley's other end, one would be led to a web of similar narrow lanes with poor and shady houses and establishments on the sides of the road. At the dead of the night, those who lived in these houses were in their beds, oblivious to the world.

A Konti thief by the name of Avari was supposed to arrive at this time. Her employer, Anselm, a Nuit, would be waiting for her. The Nuit had tasked Avari with the job of acquiring, using her unique set of skills, an object for him. She would be there to hand it to him, and he was there to pay her. Unbeknownst to them, just like them, there were others who had business at that shadowy meeting place. It was not a popular place to be in because of its shadiness, but during this particular night, others would soon be present.

One of those who would soon disrupt this meeting, or perhaps he would stay in the shadows if he could, was a man named Leigo. He was on the search for something—the name of a location, or maybe even a person—even he didn't know at the moment. All he was told was that a group of strange people were coming, and these people would be in the interest of a certain individual he was looking for.

Aside from these three, another group was soon coming—a group that would prove to be the shadiest of all those present.

by **Anselm** on June 7th, 2012, 12:38 am

The sound of footsteps echoed down the narrow cobblestone street as Anselm approached the rendezvous location. When he stopped, the footsteps stopped. When he started walking again, the footsteps followed. They were, after all, his footsteps. So much for stealth, he thought. Then it started to rain again.

Anselm was not happy. This was not a safe part of town, especially for a Nuit. He had gotten lost twice in the maze of back streets and narrow alleys. The whole idea of a secret meeting in the middle night in a dark alley struck him as seriously overly melodramatic. But the woman had insisted.

He stopped at a corner that turned into the alley in which he and the Konti thief would complete their transaction. He carried the agreed-upon payment in a small cloth pouch hidden away in a pocket sewn inside of his cloak. He stared down the dark alley and focused on a trash can a short distance away. He shifted his vision to bring the can's aura into view. It shimmered for a moment and then produced a slight purplish glow. He studied it for a few moments and decided it was exactly what it appeared to be - a trash can. He let his auristic vision follow the stone wall down the side of the alley to the end where it turned a corner. Everything in his field of vision now shimmered and glowed with various pastel colors. The effect was as if the surfaces had lost their solidness and the edges their sharpness, and had gotten somehow blurred. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he let his vision follow the back walls of buildings back up the other side of the alley with the same result. Then he turned his attention back to the far end of the alley. Upon closer inspection he could see that the alley ended at a T-junction, with branches going off to the left and to the right. He thought he detected a flicker of a brighter, more intense color seeping out into the junction from the left. Then it was gone. It might have been something alive; maybe a person, maybe an animal. Or it might have been nothing at all.

He stepped out into the alley and made his way toward the far end, his stride made uneven by a limp. He used a sliver-handled black cane, which added its own unique contribution to his boots' brazen announcement of his approach. About half way down the alley he stopped against the back of a two-story brick building and waited. Rain dripped off the front of his cowl.

OOC :

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by **Avari** on June 8th, 2012, 4:25 pm

Avari padded as quietly as she could through the maze of narrow alleyways, poorly lit by scattered oil lamps and lined with shadows that flickered and wavered in an eerie dance. She froze, when the tip of her boot scraped against a trash bin as she took a cautious step forward, and listened hard, stilling her own breathing to better detect the sounds of anyone else who might have heard her. A small smile of relief crept across her face when she heard only the faint murmurs of the water and the soft rustle of rain in response. Of course, the Konti had chosen this specific time and place to meet precisely because almost no one else would be awake and prowling about, and the drizzling rain only helped ensure they would be alone. Still, it never hurt to be careful.

The smile on her face broadened as she listened for a moment to the sounds of the night and the bay and surveyed her surroundings. If truth be told, she liked the idea of meeting in the dark of night in an alleyway, and these particular alleys near the docks had been a safe haven for her several times in the past. Naturally, she'd gotten lost in these narrow, winding streets more than once, but she had also used them many times to flee from fellow thieves or marks and to seek refuge in a doorway or within a tiny passageway where no one could possibly sneak up on her unseen. Avari felt, if not quite at home in these alleys, certainly more comfortable here than any of her clients would, including the old fortune-teller whom she was meeting to deliver the goods.

Past the bait maker's workshop, she told herself, remembering the directions she had given the old man and pinching her nose shut as the stink of dead fish reached her nostrils. Then make a right turn and stop at the end of the alleyway.

She squinted through the silvery drizzle, peering into shadows to see if the old fortune-teller had already arrived. The Konti nodded in satisfaction, her smile hardening, when she noticed a gleam of silver and a vaguely man-shaped silhouette of deeper black poisted against a squat brick building. Rain dripped off the brim of her hat and down her cloak as she crept forward, careful to keep her boots from creaking or rasping against the alley's cobblestones. The closer she came, the more the vague silhouette resolved into the shape of a hunched figure swathed in a black cowl, clasping a silver-topped cane.

"Old man," she hissed, raising her voice just a little to be heard above the pattering rain. "I've brought what you asked for."

In her left hand, she held the ornate amulet he had pointed out to her. Nudging the folds of her cloak open, she gingerly extended her gloved hand to allow the old man to catch a glimpse of its golden gleam and the sparkle of its blood-red central jewel. Then Avari quickly retracted the amulet back beneath her cloak. As if for luck, her right hand hovered over the hilt of a throwing dagger, even though the flimsy weapon wouldn't be much use in these close quarters.

Still, if this was not the old man she was looking for, at least he would receive a sharp prick in the hand before she fled outright.

"If you brought my payment," she whispered, thinking of the mizas he'd promised for this remarkable and elegant amulet, "let us make the exchange. Hold out the money in your left hand, and I'll put the goods into your right at the same time. Then we can conclude our business tonight."

by **Leigo** on June 9th, 2012, 2:09 pm

The boy had gotten information some sort of a meeting was about to happen inside the narrow alleyway. It wasn’t quite specific nor was it by any means punctual. In truth, the boy was getting quite fed up with the whole concept of I know a guy who knows a friend of a guy who knows these two guys who were there when this third guy told them he knew this fourth guy who could perhaps contact who he was looking for, the fifth. This fifth guy was of course a dud since he couldn’t find the sixth – Lion. Leigo really tried, but information gathering was never his forte and therefore he just ended up chasing his own tail in indiscriminate loops. Onuo’s incredible sight was of no help at all, it was good ears and tongues he needed for such a mission. And it was exactly those he lacked.

Sitting by one of the houses, he could still feel his body trembling. The rain wasn’t anything fierce, but he hadn’t the time to dry off before walking into the night.
Without much care, Onuo’s natural form floated close to a roof as its thoughts transferred miscellaneous intelligence to Leigo whenever something changed. Like a Qamur, the familiar picked up even the slightest disturbances without any hesitation. The only thing Leigo would get from the familiar was a scruffy remark here and there about how this would have been much easier by day. The boy would just nod his head awkwardly and stare back at the ground, waiting for something to happen.

A female is about to pass us by. The Irylid seemed perfectly still, but Leigo knew full well that if all his eyes were visible they’d be spinning around in impossible angles with most focused on that newcomer. Finally he found time to add to the confusion. Does she look lost to you? Very briefly the creature was quiet, but then it spoke, releasing the numbness on boy’s freezing mind.

She appears to know where she’s going. But she’s moving very slow… almost like…She doesn’t want to be heard. Leigo finished for him before laying back down into the rubble that shielded from prying eyes. Just let me know when she passes us significantly, we’ll catch up soon after. Leigo said it with certainty, but his mind remained troubled. After all this, the woman’s presence could easily be just another false clue producing a real tail for him to chase. Sighing against his better judgement, the boy closed his eyes for what seemed a very long time, but it was barely a chime.

Get up, she has distance on us and I can’t see her any longer. It took the boy a while to hear familiar’s exact words – it was so cold. Once this was over, he would look forward to a fireplace and perhaps a hot bath if he was really lucky.
Getting up, he felt dirtier than usual. He had probably lain in some mud for a while; it was hard to tell with all his clothes so wet. Straightening himself out and stretching for a bit, the boy progressed after the girl nonchalantly confident he wouldn’t be discovered. She was much too consumed with trying to stay absolutely quiet after all.

This stranger might have kicked something because the sudden sound made Leigo pull quickly to the side and Onuo much closer to him. Seal yourself, Onuo. We might need to keep you a secret for now. Without much delay, the companion obeyed and soon the frozen jewel was once more in the boy’s hand. As they went on slowly, Leigo soon discovered his shelter would end. That hardly mattered since with his sneaking skills, thieves could hide with him and he’d only realize it once they were running away with his money. Deciding to step out of his shadowy cover, the blond made his way slowly after the girl until finally he could make another figure in distance. Pulling to the side quickly, he could hear Onuo.

It’s the old man! The one that you tried to play tricks on before.

Anselm – Leigo repeated the word to himself a couple of times as if to chase away a bad memory. Why did it have to be Anselm?

Deciding to get out of his cover, the boy tried to find cover closer to where the two were conversing but that was indeed a mission impossible. Swallowing a feeling that choked him, Leigo stepped out into the street again. He wasn’t cut out for any of this, but at least he could question the two if they were indeed the only ones showing up. Besides who were they to know just what his purpose was?

They would both notice him soon (if not immediately), but he didn’t stop. And he wouldn’t until they were all standing close together.

by **Anselm** on June 9th, 2012, 6:32 pm

He had not heard her approaching. One moment the alley was empty, the next she was standing next to him. The rain was coming down steadily now, creating a solid background noise as it drummed out its complex rhythm on uneven cobblestones. Anselm pulled his cloak more tightly around himself in response to the sudden drop in temperature that accompanied what was quickly becoming a down pour.

“Dear lady,” he said in his usual slow, gravelly voice. “So much cloak and dagger. It would have been much simpler to have met at my tent. Not to mention drier and warmer.” He reached under his cloak and withdrew a small bag, which he held out in his open left hand. He did not extended his right hand, which was occupied with his cane.

“Twenty gold mizas. You may count it.”

OOC :

by **Avari** on June 11th, 2012, 3:26 pm

Avari snorted derisively when the old man complained about the circumstances of their meeting. "The man who wears that heavy black shroud even in the heat of summer has objections to a little cloak and dagger? I thought a man like you would appreciate a little secrecy. As for the weather, I cannot help the rain. But..."

She tilted her face skyward and spread her arms slightly in a gesture that suggested embracing the rain and conditions. "It is nearly the middle of summer, hardly cold at all, and a little summer rain never hurt anyone. Only the weak and infirm should be longing for a fire or a hot bath at this time of year." The Konti paused for a moment, considering, and then looked him up and down wryly. "Well, I suppose you are not that young, come to think of it. My apologies, I had not thought of that when I chose this time and place."

As if to contradict her own words and justify his, Avari felt an unexpected shiver ripple through her as the temperature around them suddenly dropped and grew cold. She sighed and pulled her own cloak tighter, but then brightened when the man held out a small bag. With unabashed swiftness, she seized the bag and opened it to count out her payment. All twenty mizas were there, more than she could earn normally in several days of pickpocketing and thievery. This business of stealing for others was turning out to be surprisingly profitable.

Perhaps a more experienced thief would negotiate the payment and ask for more, but Avari was too new at this to attempt it. Now that she had the money in hand, the thought of running off into the rain and the darkness did cross her mind for a moment, tempting her with the pleasant possibility of keeping both the gold and the amulet, but she decided against it. The old man might not be able to catch up with her, but perhaps he had friends who could later. Shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, Avari dropped the golden, jeweled amulet into the man's open left hand.

"And here's what you asked for," she replied. "May you make good use of it."

Now that the deal was concluded, Avari felt slightly awkward standing here in the rain, with nothing more to say to the old fortune-teller and no further reason to linger here in the alley. She opened her mouth to say goodbye, and perhaps a polite phrase like, "It was good doing business with you." Just then, though, the Konti thought she heard a noise in the street behind them, a sound like footsteps. It was faint and blended well with the patter of the rain, but immediately her senses were on alert.

She swiveled her head to glance behind them, squinting through the shadows and the curtain of the rain. With her left hand occupied with the bag of mizas, her right hand groped for the feeble protection of a throwing dagger sheathed at her hip. So much for being left alone at the docks after midnight!

"Did you hear something out there?" she hissed to the old fortune-teller. "Were you expecting some company, perhaps?"

by **Leigo** on June 14th, 2012, 1:53 pm

Eyelids tightened in focus when he saw the woman’s silhouette shift for something at her hip. It was probably just one of those barbaric excuses for weapons people carried these days. They were effective, yes, but much too crude for his tastes. Perhaps having tastes wasn’t the smartest thing in the world when it came to judging tools, but the boy couldn’t help it. Deciding not to let the girl panic, he called out to them while some distance still existed.

“Good evening!” he exclaimed before raising his hands up in the air to show them he meant no harm.
And maybe they couldn’t spot it just yet, but Onuo still lay sealed in his right hand. Stepping forward with great caution, he was ready to throw the creature at them should they wish to harm him in any way. Besides, while the woman probably had no idea what was what, Anselm knew very well what the stone was. Perhaps it could even intimidate the old man?

Onuo rang in his head, as they went back and forth in order to establish a plan of sorts.

..So I’ll throw you at them and you can unseal yourself and hopefully do some damage before they get to scatter. Does this suit you? the familiar gave him one of those mhm sounds and they were back to the present.
As if to please his own desire, Leigo added oil to fire. If you really have to pick between them… go for the Nuit first.

Deciding to give the creature a rest for the moment, Leigo spoke again – this time to people in front of him.

“Are you the ones that could lead me to Lion?” straight to business, nice and simple.

Not quite next to them, Leigo could finally see the woman wasn’t human either. This unnerved the man. And the scales… petching scales only made Leigo want to kill the creature – kill it with fire! He had heard of Laviku’s daughters before, but after his recent mishaps at sea he was quite fed up with everything even remotely fishy.

by **Cascade** on June 15th, 2012, 11:21 am

The newcomer who went by the name of Leigo had gone straight to the point. His question would probably have brought surprise to the Konti. The name of which he spoke of referred to someone she had met in a past season, a person that was part of a group who moved in the shadows. While Anselm knew who Leigo was, Avari did not, and hence there was a large chance that suspicions would creep to the surface. Why would this person even be looking for Lion right at this place, at such a strange time?

The Konti had to choose her response carefully, is she were to respond at all.

However, even before anyone could speak any further, the sounds of footsteps filled the air. Boots splashed noisily on the wet streets as three, cloaked figures walked towards the dark alley. They had come from the direction of the docks. These three had arrived during the dead of the night, on a ship whom nobody knew was scheduled to dock.

Their faces were unseen and they were wrapped completely in darkness. They were at a fair distance from Anselm, Avari, and Leigo. However, their voices were clear as it pierced through the dark alley. They would have noticed the three other people in an instant if one of their own had not fallen to their knees. This caused the two other figures to lean down and focus their attention to the fallen person, giving the unnoticed people a chance to conceal themselves if they wished to. If the trio took even just a second to eavesdrop, they would find that the cloaked people were not supposed to be here for reasons unknown—and that concealment would save them a ruckus, if they would believe the words of these strange people.

"We must be quiet, do not call attention to us! Nobody must know we are here!" hissed one of the hooded figures. The voice was a woman's, but it was old and raspy. Her hooded face looked down at the fallen one.

"Oh, but who would be out here at such a time?" giggled the one she was speaking to. In contrast to the one who had spoken first, her voice was also a woman's but much younger, and she stumbled on the words that she spoke.

"I guess it does not matter. We will kill anyone who sees us," replied the old woman. "At this time of night, nobody from the city would hear their screams."

The fallen woman giggled and attempted to stand up in awkward, wobbly state. It would seem that this person had too much to drink. The third hooded person said nothing and chose to stay out of their conversation.

They helped the fallen girl to her feet, and were evidently going to start walking again. It was obvious they would soon notice the other trio if they had not hidden themselves by now. If they had stayed out in the open, they would be testing the words of the old woman, and would know if she truly meant her words when she said she would dispose of any witnesses.

by **Anselm** on June 16th, 2012, 6:32 pm

From Anselm's point of view, three events unfolded in such quick succession as to be almost simultaneous. First, the Konti thief gave him the amulet. This was what he had come for and he was disinclined to stand around in the rain chatting about it. Second, Leigo appeared. Well, he thought. This is unexpected. Third, three cloaked and hooded figures appeared at the other end of the alley and were walking toward them. Well, he thought. This is rather more than unexpected. That three parties should meet in the same dark alley on the same rainy night made for quite a coincidence and coincidences made Anselm nervous. His concerns were not in the least alleviated by the bits and pieces he could hear of their conversation.

Anselm was a proponent of non-violence. Not out of some moral or philosophical conviction, but as a matter of self-preservation. Nuits are fragile creatures and stand a good chance of getting the snot kicked out of them in a fight. Anselm preferred to keep his snot. Or he would if he had any. Without a word to Avari and Leigo, he turned and walked away in the opposite direction of the three mysterious visitors.

However, before he got to the end of the alley where he could vanish around a corner, his curiosity would most likely get the better of him.

by **Avari** on June 18th, 2012, 6:54 pm

If Avari had been startled to discover that she and the old fortune-teller were not alone in the dark, rainy alley, she was speechless when the young man who materialized out of the shadows dropped the name of a man she had met almost a year ago, the man calling himself Lion who had first introduced the Konti to the elusive, fascinating goddess of thieves. The hand that was reaching for a dagger froze as she stared open-mouthed at the youthful stranger with his hands in the air. Now that he was closer, Avari noticed that he seemed to be staring directly at the wide, drooping brim of her hat in an unnerving manner. Of all the people to pop up behind her in a dark alley with knowledge of Lion, she would not have expected him.

Before Avari could recover from her surprise, though, more voices rang out at the end of the alleyway behind them. Their boots splashed noisily across the wet cobblestones, and one person in the group slipped and fell to their knees, judging from the sounds they were making. Instantly, Avari ducked into the shadows and kept as still as she could manage, her heart pounding and her eyes as wide as they could go. Hurriedly, she pulled her hat even lower on her head, seeking to hide her distinctively pale skin and hair.

Who would be out here at such a time? Avari wondered, just as one of the intruders voiced that selfsame question. Pressing her back against the wall, she craned her head forward just a little to get a better view of the group of intruders. Silhouetted against the silvery rain, she saw three people wearing cloaks and hoods, suitable for such foul weather but somehow ominous as well.

Straining her eyes, Avari could just barely hear the last few words from one member of the group as they passed by. Spoken in a raspy old woman's voice, they sent a chill down her spine.

"We will kill anyone who sees us," the old woman declared. Through the patter of the rain, Avari heard her add, "Nobody from the city would hear their screams."

Suddenly alarmed, Avari pressed her back even more tightly against the wall and willed herself not to move, not to speak, not even to breathe too loudly if she could help it. She wished she could melt right into the wall itself to stay out of sight. Anyone who spoke so casually of killing frightened her. Yet, a perverse curiosity just as strong as the fear grew inside her heart, and she tried to listen closely as the group passed by the mouth of the alley. Who were these people, these casual killers? And what were they doing here in this alley, in this city?