[Location: Tarsin's Boarding House] Ravok's Vermin [Solo]

[Syndre]

Day 61, Winter 510 AV

His room was small, smaller than most in the Inn and almost

claustrophobic. There was enough space to retain a poorly kept bed and a decent sized chest to hold his belongings. The pealing walls were marked and battered from previous unruly guests, adding to the overall disapeal. There was no window in any wall, so no natural light was allowed into his chambers. This was definately a room offered to those who had little coin, or to those that like to keep unnoticed. Syndre fit into both categories.

He was one of the city's numerous thieves, but not just a simple

pick pocket. If one were to consider each and every unlawful act he performed, he would be thought more of a rogue. Though talented in a variety of crimes, Syndre was still but a Novice and had plenty of seasons ahead of him to perfect his skills. He was raised in Ravok and had a very good understanding of its teaming Underworld. When you are looked upon as Ravok's vermin, knowledge of city's intricacies aided in your survival.

All was quiet this evening and Syndre had woken up from a

tormented sleep just moments ago. He slowly sat up atop the uncomfortable bed and ran leather adorned hands through the disheveled spikes of his hair. Upon reaching his ears, his gloved thumbs hooked beneath a pair of thin black braids. The spiraling length of each braid worked gently against either palm before slipping from his grasp and falling against his shoulders. A lingering yawn escaped as he stretched stiffened muscle in the darkness.

The city had dropped in tempurature with the arrival of Winter

and sleeping with his clothing had become a habit to keep warm. Clearing his mind of a breaking dream, Syndre consentrated instead on lighting an overly used candle. The darkness scattered instantly from the small flame, but continued to dance about in the form of flickering shadows. A common tobacco pipe was then lifted to his lips and the unique odor of it's contents struck his nose in a pleasing manner. The diminishing candle was lifted upward and a slight tilt of his head allowed the slanted pipe to pass into the flame.

A quick puff set the pungent herb afire. He deliberately inhaled

and the thick smoke raced into his expanding lungs. Light blue eyes shut softly as his head tilted back and a plume of smoke rushed from his nostrils. A short cough released the last of the intoxicating smoke into the air. Crystalline pools reopened, their enlarging pupils taking in the hypnotic dance of shadows that played against the ruined walls. A tingling fog began to cloud his thoughts as a satisfied smile crept upon his handsome features. That was better, much better.

Syndre was filled with a resurgence of life. His limber frame rose

quickly off the bed with either sinew graced arm reaching for the ceiling in a final stretch. His appendages tensed briefly before lowering back to his sides. The evening was probably young, but there was no telling until making the effort to investigate. He would now begin the lengthy process of arming his person. There were many delightful tricks this cunning rogue had picked up on over the years and when cornered or chased, this so called vermin played with all his toys. Few were deadly, but most were only evasive and unpleasant for those that didn't know what they had gotten themselves into. Fight or Flight? Depends on the situation at hand, but for Syndre both were effective.

Every piece was carefully tucked and hidden with precision.

The only two items he kept in view of fellow citizens were: a thin coiled whip tied with a black ribbon upon his hip and his valued cold iron dagger sheathed on the outer edge of a buckled boot. Teethed gauntlets were strapped tightly to his forearms as he made his way to the door, ready to venture out onto the streets and begin his familiar rounds. The candle he had set on the floor offered a few more moments of luminance before quivering and then dying, just as the door to his humble chambers closed behind his exit. A heavy "click" echoed lightly as his personal lock secured the room. Let the fun begin...

[Syndre]

After securing the door to his current safe house, Syndre had made his way through the lengthy hall of low class rooms to the outer arches of the Boarding House. He lived on the lowest level of the structure, so he had easy access to one of Ravok's largest canals. He blinked and squinted his dilated eyes at the searing light of the sun. When he woke up he thought it to be perhaps the early stages of the evening, but in fact it was hours before the sun would set on the city. Gloved knuckles worked gently against his eyelids in an effort to clear the stinging sensation. Upon opening his eyes, he saw a Ferrier slowly paddling a sleek boat down the water way.

"Hey! Hey you over here!," the rogue demanded in an audible call.

The Ferrier lightly maneuvered the craft toward Tarsin's Inn, his grizzled hands slowly working a lengthy paddle through the cold water. The boat was long and aged, just like the features of the man who brought it closer. That wrinkled face quickly became panicked as Syndre hopped into the rickety transport before it even touched the edge of the walk way. Buckled boots landed heavily and the boat groaned in protest, tilting unevenly in the canal.

Quick for his age, the older man grabbed on to the decorative curvature of his leaning craft while Syndre tensed and crouched to keep a skillful balance. There was but a smile's worth of time that passed before the rogue violently redirected the tilt of the boat in the opposite direction. The Ferrier cried out in surprise, his grip failed and his robed form was awkwardly tossed aside. There was a mild splash, then a watery struggle as elderly gentleman did all he could to stay afloat in the canal. An intoxicated chuckle followed the pathetic display.

"For your troubles...," Syndre whispered under his breath as he retrieved a single silver rimmed coin and flicked it toward the flailing Ferrier.

The silver Miza, of course, hit the water nowhere near the helpless man and slipped away from sight. The amused thief recovered the floating paddle and rose from his crouching position. The craft was steady now and with a few firm strokes, he began floating away from the unwanted commotion. He guided the elongated boat back to the center of the wide canal with a series of paddles on either side of the vessel. It looked as if the Ferrier had finally managed to get to the base of the Boarding House, but Syndre was far away enough, and dazed enough, not to really care if the man had made it to safety.

[Location: The Bazaar][Southern Trading Post]

A single boot, decorated with multiple straps, nudged the unmanned transport forcefully away from the dock. There was always a tinge of satisfaction after taking what did not belong to him. Where most thieves stole for the sole purpose of survival, Syndre stole because he could. He was getting better, and with each success his confidence slowly inflated. Or was that arrogance? Did it matter? Whichever it was, he enjoyed feeling of empowerment. There were different types of power. Many citizens' idea of power was obtaining riches and forcing others to do their bidding. Syndre's idea of power was more like: Oh was this yours? No... No I'm pretty sure it's mine... now.

His spirits were still lifted from the pleasing herbs and his ego was soaring. He always performed his rounds more brazenly about the city when he felt good about himself. There was still a constant level of caution that kept him from doing anything too ridiculous, this was Ravok after all and he didn't enjoy dealings with the Ebonstryfe. His encounters with the Black Sun sect were few and far between, and he liked to keep it that way. He had a strong belief that his activities were under their radar, but one never knows who they keep tabs on.

He turned upon a booted heel and moved from the dock toward the small make-shift village of merchant tents outside the city. It was hell getting into Ravok if your purpose was selling goods. Inspections were thorough, the city guard was impolite, and the wait to get in if you weren't well known was exhausting. Syndre had the luxury of being a citizen and could come and go as he pleased, and he did this frequently for many different reasons. He would first have to pass the stone tower that served as the main check point for anyone entering or leaving Ravok. There were no issues today, a routine exchange of information with the guards gave him access to the Southern Trading Post.

After proving his residency, Syndre walked into the tent village and headed directly toward the bustling Bazaar. Here the various scents assaulted his nose. The majority of temporary stands displayed all kinds of foods that were to be sold now rather than later. The wait was so long for these merchants that half their goods would spoil before they were allowed into the city. He took the aromas in as he passed each stand, patting some familiar aquantances on the back or shoulder and making small talk with them. He didn't linger though, today wasn't going to be spent sharing rumors.

Calculating eyes flitted from person to person as he began to work. You see, the first step of today's deed was to scout the crowd. His ocean blue gaze moved over each merchant and wandering visitor. The gears of his mind began to wind. Six guards in the tower keeping watch and four more performing inspections, three familiar faces that he did business with on a regular basis, thirty-two stands: twenty-one had already been there for a week and ten had arrived the day before, and... what was this? A fresh merchant setting up shop? Perhaps this was worthy of some investigation.

[Syndre]

The merchant stand was new to the collection of others that had

gathered in the Bazaar. Made of wood and poorly built, it was smaller
than the others on display. A thin white cloth fluttered gently with
the wind, the words "Tobacco for Sale" were scribbled onto the material.
A haggard woman was positioned behind the stand, her dirty attire
suggested she either had little coin or had just arrived from a long travel.

Syndre approached in a nonchalant manner as the merchant

wrestled with some supplies. His soft blue eyes shifted about as
he took mental notes of the area. Inspection guards, fellow
merchants, curious visitors, all were accounted for within a brief
moment. Arriving in front of the tobacco stand, the determined rogue
placed a leather shrouded hand upon the counter. He leaned forward
and cast his gaze over the various bags of ground tobacco, taking
inventory over the surprisingly large inventory.

Tobacco wasn't really his vice, but she did have something

displayed that peaked his interest. Laying beside her bundles were
about a dozen carefully crafted pipes. Each piece was carved from
a very light hued wood, almost white, with different shapes and
unique designs. One stood out to him more than the others. It was
longer than the rest and had a dark brown stem that led up to a
wide mouth piece. The lower half of the stem melded into the ivory
colored base, which was beautifully carved into a menacing claw
grasping the detailed head of an unknown beast.

"How much for the pipe?," his voice startled the merchant

who was bent over behind the stand.

She gave him an angry stare as her nerves reacted from his

sudden appearance and responded," Shyte boy! Don't be sneaking up
on people like that..."

"How much for the pipe?," he asked again as a mischievous

smile crept over his lips.

"Aren't you a little young to be puff'n boy?," her eyes

slightly narrowed as she inspected his youthful features.

"Aren't you a little old to be traveling the roads by

yourself lady?," he retorted while keeping that harmful smile.

"Ha... we do what we need ta do ya know," she said in a

lowering tone. She didn't seem too happy with her way of life,
but many humans were in a state of struggle these days. Her head
tilted down to hide a faint show of emotion and turned her
attention to the collection of pipes. She quickly regained her
composure a waved a wrinkled hand over her display. "So which one
were you interested in?," she asked.

He ceased to lean against the stand and moved closer to

the goods. Crystal-like voids swept the crowded Bazaar once more
before returning to the array of carved wood. The inspection
guards were on the move, each armed soldier done harassing their
current merchant and targeting another. Syndre needed to hurry,
but he still had a little time since the tobacco display was
located at the end of tent swarmed village.

"I really like the one...," a gloved hand reached out in

mid-sentence with a little more force than needed. Made to look
like an careless accident, the rogue knocked over three of the
pipes that rested near the edge of the counter. The woman's earlier
distress quickly boiled into anger as she immediately bent down
to retrieve her fallen product, cussing at him while she did.

With only a brief moment to react to the situation, the

novice thief worked swiftly. The two coiling braids that swung
gently beside his ears were quickly tucked underneath a knitted
black hat that now covered the top of his head. Quietly and with
a flash of black, his leather coated fingers swiped the actual
pipe he had been admiring when he first arrived. The talon and
beast headed pipe was tucked into the ebon sash around his waist
while his slender frame turned to face the crowd.

His adrenaline was pumping, heightening his senses and

sweetly mixing with the high he was already on. Seconds had passed
since knocking over the pipes and he was already melding into
the chaotic crowd. The rolled sleeves of his silken shirt were now
pushed down to cover the length of his arms, concealing the teethed
gauntlets that hugged his forearms. She had only seen the upper half
of his body from behind the stand, so slight changes to that region
would throw her off when she rose. The disguise wasn't much, but the
merchant would be looking for a young man with short hair, two long
braids, rolled sleeves, and leather gauntlets. There would be no
such man in this ever shifting gathering.

[Seth]

Syndre: +1 Disguise XP +1 Boating XP +1 Observation OR Investigation XP +1 Mathmatics XP +1 Acrobatics XP +2 Larceny XP Lores: Getting High, Feeling REALLY Good, Stealing a Boat, Stealing a Pipe, Being a Clever Trickster, Ravok Canals, Ravok Bazaar, How to Change Appearances (Basic). Loot: You are most welcome to keep the pipe and add it to your character sheet. Very good job on describing it. I rather enjoyed reading about you tricking the poor lady. The Method behind my Madness : The points in Larceny were given because you used it twice, and you used it rather well, in my humble opinion. Acrobatics was given for your jump and balancing act into the boat. Mathmatics was given as requested, for counting the crowd. You may also put a point into Investigation or Observation for studying the crowd; whichever one you wish. Boating for stealing the boat and piloting it, and then then Disguise for your rather simple yet nice method of blending in with the crowd. I honestly don't have much to say about your writing, other than you are a really good writer. I enjoyed reading this, and I definitely enjoyed your character. I really look forward to grading more of your threads, as your writing is some of the best I have enjoyed here in Ravok. You followed the rules to a T, and you wrote elegantly and skillfully. I have no tips at all to give you, sir. <3