Quest To What Of A Knight..

[Arkale]

Arkale adjusted his faux dirty cloak and his fabricated-grime covered breastplate. He had left a majority of the armor behind, but took with his the breast plate and gauntlets, which would offer some moderate protection. The disguise was decent, and it would fool anyone not paying specific attention to the Knight.

His prey was on the move, obviously knowing that the will of Syliras was now moving against them. As the group of foul men moved away from the garden, Arkale whispered a few words and made a few strange gestures with his hands. Focusing on just one of the four men, Arkale was able to summon forth an image of his aura. He memorized the sape and colours of the aura, and let the aura fade a bit, though not fully. Just enough for him to see the aura, but not enough to distract him from the world around him.

"Follow me, but be wary...I feel this may be a Trap..."

[Richard Burke]

Richard nodded at his patron, as he silently tried emerge from cover, the branches snagged on his grimmy, and dirty chainmail hauberk, he had a belt around waist to help distribute the weight of the armor. He had left his cloak behind, it was marked with the windoak, and would immediately mark him as a knight. It was cold, but the gambeson he wore underneath did help a little. He struggled to pull his shield out of the bush

Richard followed closely behind Arkale, knowing not to get in front of a person tracking, though Richard wasnt sure how Arkale was doing it. The squire didnt notice his hand was resting on his sword out of habbit, and nervousness. "I have your back."

OOCArkale and I will be following the men to the spinning coin

[Accolade]

Once the men entered the warehouse building they would be met with the roar of the crowd and their eyes finding it hard to settle on any one thing. Off to their far left, the men would see a small area where people were standing around. The floor below their feet covered in stalk and hay and a small weak fence circling the area where two husky chickens pecked at each other. The people watching numbered in the few, all holdings wooden chips in their hands to account for the amount that they had bet.

To the far right of the men, there was an area taped off by cargo boxes to either side, with a small door-like opening set in the middle. Inside the small fortress were people numbering much more than those watching the chickens fight. In the center of the crowd was a long trunk-like wooden frame that held two slender women wrestling in mud. The obvious reason the chicken fight had so little participants.

The men that they followed had all separated and come into the building one by one and followed through the area and into a much larger room in the warehouse. Inside the bigger room, a large cage had been lowered onto a platform where two bulky men should on the inside. Even though both men were of considerable size, it was easy to see that it was a one sided fight. A man known only as Marc was the dominant fighter. A man that was big in size but with little muscle tone. His skin was darker than that of a Myrian and his long braided hair as black as the night itself.

The huge man easily handled the other fighter, as if he were just a child. The sound of the blows from his fist echoing off the walls and sound of his fury as he slammed and tossed the man about the cage vibrated across the floor. The men Arkale and Richard tracked headed through the area and over to the long outstretched bar that lined the far wall to the right of the cage. There were others seated, all seemingly a criminal in their own way.

The men moved to sit beside a hooded man who had empty seats to either side of him. Arkale and Richard would have to find a way to get close if they wanted to hear what the men were saying.

"I'll make this short and simple. Our contact will bring the cargo through the wild lands. It's a safer route and one that isn't heavily guarded by the Knights. Meet with him there, he'll be on horseback and carrying a wagon with it inside. You'll know him by the signature red snarf that he wares around his shoulder. Escort him back here with the cargo and I will take it from there."

[Arkale]

The Spinning Coin was nothing but a hive of villany and scum. Gambling was not an Act Arkale was fond of, and while a game of chance might appeal to a great many people, Arkale was leery of the politics that went into it. A game of dice was fine and will, but when the dice were loaded it became robbery. A crime in the eyes of Syliras and Justice. A stacked deck of cards could get a man killed, a fighting chicked feed the right mixture of herbs and potions could be undefeated and could cause the kidnapping of a poor girl from a man's family to ransom back the winnings of the cheating chicken fighter, and yet an enchanted pig could run fater than its mundane brethren and cause an uprising in the den that would spill into the streets and cause a riot... No. Gambling was a catalyst for even greater, more offensive crimes. If Arkale could have his way, he would shut down the whole operation and tell the people to find entertainment on the shelf of a library, or in the park with their family, maybe even in the field with a spade. This...this vile den of sin was not a place for a Knight...though being brave and just meant treading in areas and crossing over thresholds that we would otherwise avoid in fear or disgust. The call of the Knight was a call to rise above ourselves for the greater good, and cast aside our preconceptions in order to accomplish a task.

Arkale's current task was to infiltrate The Spinning Coin and learn the secrets these conspiritors held close to vest, and it was a task he was not going to fail. Thankful he had chosen to wear the dirty armor as a disguise, Arkale moved through the crowd, from game to game, watching the people bet, lose, and occasionally win.

"Stay near the door, but keep me in sight." The Knight commanded his Squire. It was a tacticle decision. If Arkale were somehow to lose the group in the bustle of the gambler's den, then they would still have to get passed the Squire to head back into the streets. Which would allow the duo to follow them and pry more information from them if need be.

Arkale settled on the fringe of a crowd that was watching the pig races. A group of men clutched tickets and shouted at the swine to run faster, as they each probably had quiet a bit of bacon bet on the running hams. Reaching in his pocket, Arkale tore off a scrap of paper from the scroll, which he carried with him in case he was stopped by another Knight, and held the make-shift ticket in his hand as though he was also a betting man. He leaned on the fence of the pig track, but tilted his head a bit and strainged to listen to the men through the shouting of the crowd.

With all the noise going on Arkale still managed to pull a bit of information from the men...though admittedly it was not a whole lot.

"..short and simp-[Run dammit!]...contact will...[Oh c'mon, move yer stubs!]..cargo through...wild land..[Move! If you lose I swear I will eat you and yer family!!]..safer route...avily guarded.[G'Dammit you sweaty little sausage! Run! RUN!]..Knights... Meet.[I have the enitre estate bet on you, you had best put your ham in the lead!]..there, he....horseback and...wagon with...inside....signature red scarf.[Oh for the love of it all! Someone gimme that swine! I'm gunna roast him for losin this!!]..round his should...scort him back...with the cargo...I...take it from there."

It was almost impossible to hear the men over the shouting of the pig watchers, but Arkale was able to pull a few pieces of information and for him that was enough. He took the fake ticket, looked at it in feign disgust, and tossed it on the ground where all the losers were tossing their trash and losing tickets. He turned his back on the men, and headed back towards the door, but tried to keep the conspiritors in sight.

[Richard Burke]

Richard had never been inside the Spinning Coin, he had been told that it was a den of vileness, and debauchery, and they were right. He had never been so overloaded with sounds, smells, and sights. The screech of animals, and drunks pounded against the squire’s ears. He surveyed the room, not from any sort of knightly duty, but because he had never seen such a hole in the city, it was like all of the waste of humanity had been washed down the street, and collected in this one spot, and it smelled like it too, the bodies of drunks pressing against each other collected, and multiplied. The smell was almost incapacitating.

The squire studied the mud wrestling, all for perfectly knightly reasons, he assured himself, and his head moved to the chicken fights, he could hear the sounds of something even more exciting happening, but he couldn’t see it, Arkale’s voice cut through the noise, giving him a simple order to say by the door. Richard looked for a place near the door where he could sit, so he didn’t look inconspicuous, but could still watch the door, and hand signals from his patron.

Richard watched Arkale, heads towards the crowd in the back, it seemed to be some sort of cage fight, but the squire was here to do a job, so he pushed the fight out of his attention. He could see his patron faking a bet on the fight, he watched carefully making sure no one would sneak up on either of the knights in hiding, this den of villains could be very dangerous, if one of the drunks decided to swing on a knight.

[Accolade]

There was a lot going on in the Spinning Coin and people all around having a good time. That was, except for Arkale and Richard who were in no man's land for a Knight. Perhaps they noticed, or they didn't, but both men received looks by many in the place but none spoke up. The two didn't fit in there, and even with their disguises they still stuck out amongst the rest. Something that the men may not have noticed, although they should have, is that much like with the crowd that hung with, these people also had theirs. It wasn't all about looking dirty and rough. These were still people in fact, and people had minds.

They knew a friend when they saw one, as well as a stranger who had never stepped foot in the place. Arkale and Richard were those strangers, and people noticed. Luckily the men they had followed wasn't among those that had. They were too busy trying to set up the pick up for the package that they hadn't noticed the Knights tailing them. Although Arkale hadn't been able to hear every word that the men said, he heard enough to know where to look.

Arkale had done well in his attempt to fit in and the men hadn't noticed him listening in on their conversation. However another had. Marc had just finished destroying his opponent and was looking for another. The man had a reputation for being a brute and quickly defeating any and all opponents that he faced. He also had a reputation for picking people from the crowd and daring them to enter the ring and face him. Like with everything in the place, it was for coin and Marc had a ready amount to toss out any time he wanted a challenge.

On this day, that challenge would come in the form of Arkale. Marc noticed the man looking to make an exist and imagined that he had bet on his opponent. What a fool he had to be, to think that any man could handle him. The hulk of a man stumped over to the side of the cage to where he could see him and called out.

"Hey you! Boy!"

"I like that armor, but you don't need it. You don't look like much of a fighter. I'll tell you know, I'll fight you for it?"

The crowd surrounding the ring fell into silence as they looked back and forth between the two men. Marc was their champion and Arkale was an unknown, and outsider. They narrowed their eyes towards him, while others chuckled and whispered among themselves. As Arkale looked around, he would notice that the men he had been following were also looking at him, waiting to see if the stranger would fight. Would the Knight except or would he attempt to leave?

Richard had is own troubles, every since the young squire had entered, he was being watched by rather skinny fellow seated against the wall closest to the door. He thought that the man looked familiar, but he couldn't figure out where he had seen him before. He watched the squire for chimes before he finally stood up and walked over to speak with him.

"Aye..don't I know you? I seen you wit one of em squires..you one of em?"

[Arkale]

The Knight froze in his tracks. He was afraid of this...getting roped into something way over his head. Luck was never a strong guiding force in Arkale's life. In fact, there were only a handful of times luck had actually fallen in his favor, but they were few and far between, and apparently it wasn't yet time for luck to smile upon him again. He took a deep breath and turned to face the challenger. He had to accept. To deny a fight would be to seperate himself further with this gambler's den and viper pit, and that could very well end up leading to him being fingered as a Knight. A situation that in no way could end well...So Arkale really had no choice, and a fight with this man was inevitable.

Arkale calmly removed his armor and placed it to the side where a man was taking bets. Naked from the waist up, the Knight climbed into the ring and assumed a fighting stance.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that looks can be decieving? Well...actually I guess yout mother wouldn't have had time to raise you. let alone time for much else, what with all the 'gentleman' callers she's had....yet again, rather, whom have had her." Arkale quipped with a rather smug tone. He knew this man was a fighter, but he also knew this man probably was not trained to control his anger, and insulting one's mother usually stoked within them a rage that blinded and cause to fight impulsivly. The Knights were a great teacher that calm and collected bested enraged and impulsive. With another deep breath, Arkale readied himself and prepare for the fight.

oocWhat does this fighter look like?