I am my father's daughter, after all [Act I: Solo Flashback]

[Elhaym]

18th Day of Spring, 510 AV The chime of the 11th Bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain sat motionless, wrapped in a filthy cloak that was meant for a man twice her size. Her back pressed against the stone surface of the wall behind her, and the boots of strangers continually kicked her outstretched feet out of their path. She was dressed as if a beggar, but that wasn't far from the truth these days. Her entire savings were gone... spent on physicians, and a healer of the more mystical kind. She had taken a beating unlike any other in her life, and to be honest she felt lucky to have gotten away with only losing Mizas out of the deal. She was back in true form, for the most part. Her arms were still a little rubbery... but that was fine. For now. It wasn't her arms that she needed today, only her vision. A pair of brown eyes followed the man through the crowd, taking in the details of his physique and habits. Pain gritted her teeth, trying to burn the facts she was gathering into her brain. She couldn't tell his exact height from the distance, but he looked to be well above six foot. Pain's right hand slithered to her side, where a piece of wrinkled vellum lay casually on the ground. Without taking her eyes off the man, she clutched a piece of sharpened graphite that lay beside it and scribbled in shorthand on the vellum. She was making a list. six ft (Six feet tall) hvy (heavy build) bald (Bald, no facial hair) mrk on L shldr - lines (Some sort of tattoo on his left shoulder, with intricate linework) Her gaze settled on his frame as he approached two other men, who seemed to be leaning against a wall about two dozen or so yards down the wide corridor. She couldn't make out any details of those men, as the light was sparse. The majority of Syliras was within the castle, which had it's definite drawbacks. During the day, only minimal light would slip in through small slots that were very high, and was augmented by sporadically placed torches and small fire pits. She could see the haze up near the ceiling, where the thin smoke produced by the man made fire made it's way to what Pain imagined must be an incredible ventilation system. "Dammit." Pain muttered, cursing her attention span. She had lost sight of them men as she gazed at the ceiling. She couldn't get up to look for them, not now. The man's lingering gaze had fallen upon her as he had walked by, and beggars typically didn't move much throughout the day. Pain herself had observed the beggars for a day or two to get an idea of their habits, after all. Instead, she resorted to calmly scanning the area without moving about much. She looked the part; dirty, caked with mud, filthy clothes, and keeping her head lowered as though she were ashamed. Occasionally she would even stretch her arm out with an open palm to passerbys to further solidify the act. She did just that, extending her arm and turning her palm up. Her sleeve was dirty, though it wasn't the long accumulated filthy of a typical beggar. She had taken the clothes she wore at the moment outside the city gates and simply pushed them through dirt and mud, wiping off the excess and smearing it into the fabrics. Her own hair was ever dirty, and much longer than normal. Three months rehabbing those injuries, and she hadn't bothered to have it cut for months before that. Matted black hair curled about her cheeks and down her neckline, probably the only immediate indicator that she was in fact a woman. Focusing too hard on the act. She had forgotten about the men... a group of three. And they were right on top of her. Pain's heart nearly skipped a beat. "Hey, look... a woman beggar. Hey honey, you need a place to stay? I got a bed for two, y'know." Spoke a man whom Pain vaguely recognized as one of the two her mark had conferred with a moment ago. Pain lowered her head further, and squeezed her eyes shut. Gods help her, she had drawn their attention somehow. She prayed that the big man, her mark, wouldn't see her. "Cut it out, Dez. You want to hit on that vagik when we're ten minutes away from the Soothing Waters? Get your fill there, boy. You ain't makin' me late for this appointment... she's my favorite." So close. Salvation, oddly enough, came in the form of her past aggressor's commanding tone. The one who had spoken to her seemed to concede to his advice, and hurried along behind him. With their backs to her, Pain flipped up the hood that had shrouded her face to get a look. Her hand instinctively found her stray pencil, and she went to her notes again. 3 (Three men in the "group") skny, short one = Dez (The man who had spoken to her was the skinniest and shortest of the three, who's name or nickname was apparently Dez) other med bld, med ht, red hair (The other man she hadn't seen much of, but he seemed of medium height and build and had a fiery red beard and hair) Soothing Waters??? Pain wrote the last entry more carefully, peering at the paper and examining what she knew so far. More importantly, she knew where they were going. All three seemed to be on their way to the Soothing Waters. Pain got to her feet, clutching the vellum note and pencil in her hand. How could she use this information? How could she turn such a worthless scribble into something valuable? And then, in a rare moment of calculation and plotting... a lopsided smile crept across Pain's lips.

[Elhaym]

The sound of the 12th Bell is heard throughout Syliras... Pain approached the Soothing Waters in the last stages of a walk before it became a job. Her hair was bouncing to and fro, stray strands clinging to her eyelashes and lips. "Damn, i'm gonna have to do something bout' that..." Pain thought, sliding her sweating hands across her face to rid it of the nuisance. This version of Pain was quite different than the one who had sat in the busy corridors of Syliras as a beggar only a bell ago. The mud was wiped from her face, and her clothes change. The filthy cotton garments and putrid smelling cloak had been replaced by a long sleeved white blouse, and a pair of long blue pants with a pair of brown leather sandals under he feet. To complete the change, she wore a floppy brown hat that sagged on her head, with the majority of her hair pulled up underneath it. Not exactly a professional disguise, but it was different enough from her normal attire that one wouldn't recognize her at first glance. That was enough. Under her arm was a loose group of papers, each with almost illegible handwriting scrawled across their surface. As a matter of fact, it was illegible. The letters themselves contained nothing but gibberish. Pain steeled herself, going over the lines she had rehearsed in her head. "Why hello, and welcome to the Soothing Waters. How may we be of service to you this fine day?" A female voice. Warm, and inviting. She'd crossed the threshold of the bathouse without much though, and the greeting had taken Pain aback. Her head snapped towards the source of the noise, and for a moment all the rehearsals were lost. "Don't just stand there like an idiot, speak!" Pain's subconscious screamed. "Oh, hello there. Actually, I have a favor to ask of you, you see." Pain said in a slightly higher than normal tone. She tried to accent her words and annunciate them clearly, a sharp contrast to her typical lethargic speech patterns. The woman nodded, and Pain approached her with a smile. It took some effort, but Pain actually managed to smile with both sides of her face. "Well, I was walking down the main corridor right outside a moment ago, on my way to the Bazaar too... oh, well look at me. You don't need all those details! Anyhow, as I walked, a few gentlemen in front of me had a bit of a collision with a group of children whom seemed to be intent on playing "Knights and Bandits" in the middle of the pathway. One of those men dropped this bundle of papers, and before I could alert them they were on their way." Pain said, pausing to take a breath. It was difficult to put on a voice like this, and she was trying to choose her words and make it believable without any awkward pauses. The woman whom she spoke simply tilted her head, as if to say... So? "Yes, of course. I saw the last of them come inside here, a fellow with a bright red beard? I would have come in right away, but I was supposed to meet someone and I was already late. So you see, I was wondering if they were still here? I'd like to give them these papers." "How thoughtful of you, maam. I'm so sorry, but we don't disturb our visitors whilst they are inside the bathhouse... it's a matter of extreme importance to us here at the Soothing Waters that our clients have a very relaxing, rewarding experience. If the matter were perhaps a bit more urgent..." But Pain had known this. The woman's answer was as she had expected. She was not wealthy by any means, but she had sampled the tastes of a finer life at the Waters a few times herself. One of the things they seemed very concerned with was client privacy and overall relaxation. This was going according to plan... now, Pain had to take a chance. "Well, I suppose I could leave them with you then!" Pain said with a beaming smile, to which her host's frown grew ever larger. Perfect. "Oh, i'm so sorry... how rude of me. I'm sure you have much more important things to tend to, like your clients. I'm sorry for wasting your time. Oh, well... you know. I suppose if you could give me at least one of their names, I could see to it that these documents were delivered to them. That wouldn't be too intrusive, now would it?" Pain saw a literal weight lifted off the woman's shoulders. No one liked extra work, and Pain also knew that guests didn't always leave via the front entrance. This employee would have had her hands full trying to track down these particular guests and see to it that they received the fake letters... and despite giving someone's name not exactly being normal procedure, surely she would break the rules just this once to get out of a little extra work. You could always count on laziness. "But of course, maam. That would be for the best, I believe." The woman said, the smile returning to her face. She sauntered to a front counter, which contained a thick book that seemed to contain appointment dates and times, matched with other employees who would most likely be serving the needs of the customer. After a few page flips and sighs, finally she firmly planted her finger onto one of the pages. "Ah, here we are. There is only one name listed, but the appointment was booked for all three guests. The name is Mr. Gaar Ravara." The woman said with a firm nod. "Oh, thank you so much. I would feel awful if losing these documents caused them any misfortune. Thank you maam, you have a nice day now!" Pain said, making a show of folding the letters into a third their size and sounding out the name as if to memorize it. She bid her farewell to the relieved employee, and left the bathhouse. "Gaar Ravara huh... got you, you son of a bitch." Pain said, tossing the bundle of papers over her shoulder. The multiple sheets fluttered in the air, raining down upon an old beggar who just happened to be crouched in their trajectory. He flailed wildly, batting the pages away as they fell upon him as if they were the claws of an incoming Zith. "I tell ya! I TELL YA! No respect! You hear me?! I used tah' BE SOMETHIN!" The man yelled, waving his fist at Pain's disappearing form. "Stupid bitch. Try walkin' in my shoes for a day..."

[Elhaym]

23rd Day of Spring, 510 AV She had his name... but in many ways, that had made everything more difficult. Pain wasn't exactly the brightest little thing in Syliras, but she did have a bit of common sense when it came to these things. Wandering around and dropping someone's name all over town was a one way ticket to be being made. She didn't want Gaar Ravara to know that she was looking for him, watching him... hunting him. She preferred to be nothing more to him than a memory, or perhaps a drunken story at a bar between other such villainous characters. She sat alone in her room, in total darkness. Her beggar get up was worthless at this point. Syliras was big, but not so big... already, civilians and other drifters alike had noticed her more than once, and tried to talk to her. It was too risky at this point, and Pain assumed that she'd have to go about this in a different manner. Maybe she could ask her old boss for help... but what could he do? He was just a pub owner. Thinking about her old job got Pain thinking about what started this whole mess... She had been working as a barmaid in a seedy little pub in the far corner of Syliras. The place didn't get much business, but the business they did get the owner tended to want to keep. As it happened, those that frquented the bar were perhaps some of the less... wholesome characters in Syliras. Now, Syliras isn't exactly a safe haven for the budding criminal, but as in every civilized area there did exist those few who made their living beyond the parameters of the law. They were successful because they were careful, and they chose this pub because it was on the fringe and seldom bothered with by the Knights. After all, there was hardly any business. So, Pain worked there... she filled drinks, kept men company. It wasn't the ideal job for her, because she wasn't exactly outgoing and if the men weren't too drunk to care, the awkward silences often annoyed them. Being a pub, with alcohol, and men... well, things did sometimes get out of hand. The owner didn't like. The regulars, as he called his seedy customers, especially did not like that. Pain handled these altercations of sorts, usually one of two ways. Her job was to approach anyone who was getting out line, and attempt to subdue them peacefully with her body. If the troublemaker was too drunk or mad to care for a woman's touch, well, that's when things got interesting. It usually ended with a man passed out in an alleyway behind the pub, slumped against a wall. Of course, a passerby might think it was because of the booze. Much to the owner of the pub's delight, her fists were never suspected. But, all good things must come to an end. Pain wasn't sure who it was, or how it got started. In any case, she apparently roughed up the wrong guy. He was either friends with, or paid this Gaar fellow for a bit of revenge. That didn't matter, what mattered was what had happened to her. "How to do this...?" Pain said aloud. It had been relatively easy to come up with the beggar disguise and drift about Syliras. She had wandered for weeks, until a stroke of luck had the man walk right by her. She had isolated his typical stomping grounds so to say, and had watched him quite a bit. Acquiring his name had been an even greater stroke of luck, as that hair brained scheme could have backfired any number of ways. "Guess i'll just have to put more on the line." She vocalized once again to the darkness. It was true. She would have to follow him, try to separate him from his friends... and pay him back for his treachery. She had thought about killing him, but that wasn't realistic. If she murdered him in Syliras, the Knights would investigate the matter. Very thoroughly. However, if a man was simply found severely beaten, well... that probably wouldn't draw quite as much attention. "I'll follow you... wait until you're alone, away from your friends. Some sort of distraction, to grab the attention of any nearby Knights... something flashy, and loud. Then... I move on you, give you the same treatment you gave me. After that... I disappear. How does that sound, Ravara?" Pain sat alone, thinking for several more hours. It would take a lot of planning, and a lot more luck... but she would pull this off.

[Elhaym]

Accidentally double posted... uh, bathroom break!?

[Elhaym]

27th Day of Spring, 510 AV It happened very quickly, and Pain had only a moment to formulate her words. Standing near a street vendor who was offering up meat and vegetables skewered on sticks, she'd heard something. A man speaking about his work. He was burly, fully bearded and thick with a protective layer of muscle and healthy fat. He was a few people ahead of her, talking to a smaller man who seemed to be quite interested in his exploits. The burly man was apparently a mercenary. He spoke of a job he'd just taken, traveling with a Caravan to Zeltiva as a guard in exchange for Mizas and of course, a safer method of travel for himself as well. As the man bid farewell to his apparent young fan, Pain broke free from the line. Hunger be damned, she had an idea. Gaar and his buddies carried an aura about them similar to the one Pain saw this man held. She hurried behind him until she met his stride, confidently turning her head towards him. "Hey." His brisk walk slowed, and he turned his head to look at the nuisance. A scowl framed in a graying black beard was all that Pain received for her greeting. "I heard you talking about being a mercenary back there, working with caravans and such. I'm going to be traveling soon too, y'know. I was just, uh... wondering if there were any more guys around like you that do this sort of thing. You know. Protection, and all that." The mercenary stopped, and turned to face Pain. He looked her up and down, though not in a sexual manner. He noted her scarred knuckles, the bulk of her thighs and the firm muscles in her forearms. Perhaps he could tell that she wasn't so helpless, but whatever the reason for his continued attention evaded Pain's grasp. "You want a bodyguard? Forget it. Ain't no way two people alone, hell, even three or four gonna make it alone. Not on the main roads, anyhow. You gotta hook up with a bigger outfit, lady. Traders are good, usually lots of them. They have lots of money too, which means lots of guys like me go with them. You get two or three dozen people involved, bandits ain't so brave." "Oh... well, that's what I was wanting to do, really. I mean, I didn't plan to go alone. I was just wondering if you knew of anyone else around here that did that sort of thing." "Hmm... well, between you and me... I know for certain that theres a guy named Ezra in town, he's very good. Pricey, for a personal guard sort of thing... but he'd do it if you had the Mizas and were with a large group. Uh, who else... oh, Fergoccio and Rodom, those are brothers. Goofy named twits, but they're honest men and they can hold their own. Ahhh... well, theres always that scumbag... nah, forget them. That's asking for trouble." "Petching jackpot." Pain thought, biting down hard on her tongue to suppress a sly grin. She bit a bit harder than expected, and actually yelped out in Pain. The burly mercenary tilted his head, and gave her an odd look. "Err, sorry. Stubbed my toe, I really gotta start wearin' shoes... anyhow, those last guys? What's so bad about them? I thought all you merc types were honorable, or else the Knights would end up on your backs." Pain said quickly, trying to squeeze any information she could out of this man. She was positive he was speaking about Gaar and his companions, and the excitement of this discovery had her heart pounding. "Eh, well. There's a guy named Gaar in town, Ravara's his last name. He's got a couple friends, they do body guarding stuff too... though between you and me, they aren't the most savory types. We try to cross our t's and dot the i's, you know? So long as we do our jobs and keep ourselves out of trouble in the city, the Knights pay us no mind. But these guys... last two caravan sthey wont out with got ravaged, and all three of them made it back safely both times. Filthy. Stinkin. Rich. They've been hanging around Syliras a couple months now from what I hear, living the good life. Sounds to me like they set those caravans up. Don't go anywhere near them, unless you have to. I guess I could be wrong about them, but..." Pain thanked the man for his advice, and asked him to tell her where she could find the three potential bodyguards she had spoken to him about. She quickly jotted down their preferred stomping grounds within Syliras according to him, and thanked him for his time. Of course, she needed no bodyguard. They needed bodyguards. It was a stroke of luck, pure luck... but she now had two exact locations where Gaar was known to frequent, and in the far corner of Syliras to boot. She'd gotten the information without having to spread his name around like a moron, which was a good thing indeed. However, things would get even more difficult now. Now, she had no excuse but to plan the final act of her vengeance.

[Nisaba]

Grade Complete: XP Award! Name: Pain   XP Award Acting- 2 XP Disguise- 2 XP Intelligence- 2 XP Investigation- 2 XP Pain dressed up as a beggar, putting mud and such all over her clothing and body, which earned her a disguise point, and her costume change earned her another. Her previous recon to discover the behaviors of the beggars earned her an intelligence point, as did her observation of the men and taking notes on their looks and behavior. While pretending to be a beggar, she actually learned their habits, ducked her head in “shame,” and reached out her hand for coin, which (haha) earned her a begging skill point. Jusssssst kidding. It actually earned her an acting point, which she increased to two points when she raised her voice’s pitch and pretended to be a concerned citizen trying to return lost property. She also got an investigation point for her plotting and eventual discovery of the man’s name at the Soothing Waters. She got a second investigation point for her plotting and eventual discovery of Gaar’s most frequented areas by asking about bodyguards. As always, if I missed anything please just let me know.   Lore Award Begging as a Profession Getting Propositioned- Dirty, Smelly Clothes and All Laziness has its Advantages Subduing Drunk Men Talking to Myself Helps Me Think   Ledger 1 disgusting cloak (just in case) You never know when it might come in handy... Additional Note: It…just ended. Just like that. But why? Why would you do that to me? Aren’t we friends? Don’t I give you the points you want? PAAAIIIIN! *cough* Anyways, it was very good. I liked Pain’s approach to getting background details on a man she’d never formally met, and I must admit I giggled at the beggar’s reaction when Pain tossed her papers in his direction, especially the last line. Clever. Oh, and for your Christmas present, I let Pain keep the gross, smelly cloak that she used to beg! That is, if she wants it. It’s okay- you don’t have to thank me.