Closed [Job Thread] Tears and Tussles

[Yuri Lehrer]

10th Day of Summer 514 A.V.
Location: Zeltiva

Yuri was looking for some work, because of late his coin purse had been getting lighter and lighter until there was barely enough for him to get by over the course of the coming season, as he made his way down the various streets of Zeltiva he paused for a couple of ticks to reflect on the current status of his work life Well, there haven’t really been that many openings for mercenaries of late, but I suppose that I might not be looking hard enough either… I must find some work soon or I mightn’t be able to pay my expenses for this season After he had finished his session of meaningful thought, Yuri continued to walk around the city asking various passersby whether they required his services, most either turned him away because they claimed they wouldn’t be able to pay him, or that he was simply too young to be in the line of work he was pursuing, some even jibed that the sword he wore was for show and nothing else, it hurt his feelings as the sword he carried was his family’s sword, which had been passed down over the generations until it had ended up in his hands, Yuri refused to let the ones who jeer at him have a reaction and simply ignored them, moving on as he did so.

After a couple of chimes Yuri found himself in a relatively familiar area, one of the side streets near the World’s End Grotto, when an unknown individual pushed his way past him calling out in a rather unfriendly tone “Get out of my way, you piece of shyke.” The push had caused Yuri to lose his footing for a moment and he spun, using the momentum of the push to regain his footing, faced in the direction the man was heading, trying to take in as much information about the person as he was able, the most noticeable was that it was a Male, going by the voice, the second was that he was tall, and obviously strong, but because he hadn’t been looking up when the Man pushed past him, Yuri failed to gather any information on what the man’s face looked like, he did however get a good look at the clothes he wore, a red half cape was draped over his right shoulder, the clothes underneath were a nondescript brown and appeared to be somewhat baggy. When the figure of the Man was no longer visible to him, Yuri turned to face the direction he was originally heading, muttering a question to himself as he went “I wonder what that was all about?”

It was a short time later, however, that Yuri noticed the sound of someone crying, he picked up his pace to try to get to wherever the sound was coming from when he accidentally walked into someone, both Yuri and the other person were knocked over, picking himself up he asked the other person “Do you know where that sound would be coming from?” before he offered his hand to the other person, to help them up. After he had done this and had been told that there was a young child crying down the street the other person had just come from, Yuri set off in that direction, wondering what could have caused this disturbance. Before long Yuri was quite near to the origin of the crying, when he heard the sounds of an older, female voice, trying to comfort the child, when he rounded a corner onto something of a main street, he found himself face to face with a young girl who still had tears running down her cheeks and was blubbering slightly, and an older woman, probably the girls mother, successfully comforting her.

As he walked towards the pair he caught snippets of what was being said “Doll… back… another.” As he slowed his pace until he was standing near to the pair he cleared his voice, getting the older woman’s attention she looked at him with something like a glare on her face at him before asking in a raised voice “What do you want? Huh, haven’t you caused my poor little girl enough trouble?!” Yuri had a look of puzzlement on his face when the woman had said this and began to speak in a placating, friendly tone “I don’t know what you’re talking about ma’am, but I heard your child crying and thought I would come to investigate, could you please tell me what happened?” The woman was taken aback at Yuri’s tone, wondering if it was a trick of some sort she spoke in a lower voice, wariness dripping off of her tone “I don’t know who you are, but… it was kind of you to come here…” She paused to draw breath. “What happened was, my little Katie was happily playing on the street just over there…” She gestured towards the street Yuri had emerged from moments ago. “I looked away for a moment, happy with how she was doing, when this great hulking mountain of a man walked up to her and took her toy doll, just snatched it clean out of her hands, and began running away from here. I have no idea where he went.”

Yuri thought about what the woman had said, and wondered if it was the same man he had crossed paths with a short while ago He certainly had the right build to be when the woman began speaking again, rambling on a bit “He was as big as a house he was, I swear it, he also had a short red cape on his shoulder… I’d be willing to pay someone to get it back as well…” She trailed off when she saw the look of concentration on his face If it was the man I ran across earlier, then it would mean that he is most likely still in the area, but why steal a child’s toy? When he finished Yuri looked up at the woman and asked what she had said, and to repeat it word for word “I said, that he was as big as a house, and had a little red cape over his shoulder… and that I’d be wiling to pay someone to get it back.” Yuri nodded his head at these last few words before he spoke “Convenient then, that I happen to be a mercenary, we can discuss payment after I have completed the job, because every second we waste chatting is a second that felon could be using to escape.” The woman nodded and spoke “When you are done, go to the World’s End Grotto, I’ll pay you there.” Yuri nodded and began his pursuit of the Hulking House Man Doll Thief, or the Man, for short.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Rykanis by habit was a spy. Gathering information, intelligence, listening in on conversations and situations. It was how he lived. He had a natural curiosity, and a true need to ferret out secrets, and learn the truth of matters. As it was he was walking along minding his own business down a street, when he came upon a odd situation. A child crying, a woman becoming angry at a man, and the man in turn becoming confused and trying to talk to her. He hadn't seen what had happened, though the most obvious conclusion was that the man had done something to the child. Of course, that wouldn't explain the confusion on the mans face, nor as his other side pointed out, the fact that he was still there. If he'd been rude to the child, he'd have fled, not stuck around. So that seemed less than likely. Attempting to walk a bit slower, while keeping out of notice, he listened in on the end of the conversation. The woman implied the man had attacked for no reason, some bear of a man, taking a toy from the child. She repeated this several times, and said it more or less in the same way. This gave Rykanis an inkling that she might be being less than truthful. More like she was making up a story, and sticking to it, repeating it when questioned. If nothing else, something was amiss, and she was hiding something. He could almost taste the secret, the lies, the thing being hidden in a deception by the woman. But the only way he could find out what, was to involve himself into the situation. He was further intrigued to hear the man mention he was a mercenary, and would seek out the child's toy for a fee. Stepping forward before the man could scurry off, Rykanis made himself known, before he had made more than a few steps. It was far enough away to not be right in front of the woman, and perhaps out of earshot, but still close enough to see her. "Indeed, why did the man take the doll... That is the question." Rykanis would follow with the man, either walking along at his side if he continued walking when Rykanis spoke, or stopping and talking to him there if he did not. Either way, he would then offer his services. "Ah, I am Rykanis, by the way, and I could not help overhearing the situation. I would like to offer my assistance in the endeavor of regaining the child's toy, and puzzling out this situation. After all, how could I pass up such a noble quest?" With a small grin on his face, his dark violet skin that was a shade brighter than jet black, his unusual height, and the pair of blades at his waist, he came across as a formidable fighter. Pressing on before the man had a chance to reply, Rykanis asked another question. "So, you have a description of the man, but do you know where he might be, or where he might have gone?"

[Yuri Lehrer]

Before he had gone too far, Yuri felt as though something was wrong, like he was being watched, before he could turn to confirm his suspicions another person’s voice rang out "Indeed, why did the man take the doll... That is the question." This specific statement, which Yuri had been thinking but mere moments ago, got a rather large reaction from the mercenary, he turned towards the source of the voice with an surprised look on his face as well as his hand on the hilt of his sword, he faltered for a moment when he saw who… or rather what stood there, one of the Akalak, tall with dark skin. After a moment Yuri regained his composure and stood in a more relaxed stance, hand still near the hilt of his sword before talking to the Akalak “I’m sorry, you surprised me there… I had just been thinking the same thing…” When he spoke, Yuri wondered why the Akalak had chosen to use that specific phrase I don’t recall anyone being around while I spoke to the woman but… I wasn’t paying too much attention to anything else… “Anyway… Who are you and just what are you doing here… um… what’s your name?”

It was almost as though the man could truly read Yuri’s mind, or intentions, when he spoke next "Ah, I am Rykanis, by the way, and I could not help overhearing the situation. I would like to offer my assistance in the endeavor of regaining the child's toy, and puzzling out this situation. After all, how could I pass up such a noble quest?" Yuri nodded when he heard the man’s, Rykanis’s, name and reason for being in this place, even though it was rather… vague and almost too coincidental, it seemed to Yuri, but he shook the doubt from his mind as the man had said that this job of his was ‘noble’, a quality Yuri found agreeable We might get along quite well, it would seem… Yuri thought to himself while he formulated what he would say and most likely do if anything more was said, if not then he would be on his way.

It seemed that the day would certainly get more interesting however, when Rykanis spoke next "So, you have a description of the man, but do you know where he might be, or where he might have gone?" Yuri nodded to confirm his thoughts were being reigned in, though they were somewhat scattered at this point, looking up at Rykanis’s face Yuri spoke “It would appear that we both have a common goal, it would probably be beneficial if we teamed up, and to answer your questions both asked and yet to be, I have a description of the man, yes, but I’m also sure you do as well, as for where the man was headed, I have a vague idea… He pushed past me when I entered this area and seemed to be headed in the direction of the World’s End Grotto, also, my name is Yuri Lehrer, it is nice to have a comrade, if only for a single mission.” Closing his eyes for a moment as he recalled something he said to one of his childhood friends, Yuri smiled then continued talking “As much fun as it would be to keep talking, it would probably be best if we started after this person, hmm? I’d hate to lose the trail, as faint as it is.” When he finished speaking Yuri began walking at a brisk pace towards where he had last seen The Man, assuming that Rykanis had fallen into step behind him.