"Of course, Satsuki-sama."
"Thirty? Are you sure?"
"I'm... not actually sure, sir... my mother gave it to me before she died... like I said, I just want enough so I can buy some bread."
He was a wealthy merchant. As she was posing as a poor girl, Emi blended intimidation and desperation together. When used at the same time, they sounded quite convincing. Now all she needed to do was wait for a response.
"Ha! A petty trifle like that isn't worth thirty," the merchant replied. He was middle-aged, a large man with a graying beard. "But since you're so poor... I suppose my generosity can be stretched. I'll give you a hundred."
"R-really?"
Feigned shock.
"Th-thank you, sir, thank you!"
Emi's expression was filled with disbelief, and utter thankfulness. She handed the ring over, and was in turn given just the amount of currency promised. She hurried off. Once she was sure she was out of the direct line of sight, Emi glanced back at the merchant. He was grinning smugly at his new purchase. The ring appeared to be gold, the diamond on it fairly sizable. Looking at it, you'd expect it to fetch several thousand. Clearly, that's what the merchant though too. He though he'd cheated some ignorant poor girl out of a sizable amount of money.
Little did he know that he'd paid a hundred for a worthless glass ring.
Emi grinned, then sprinted off into the crowd.
Her first successful con of the day. It was warm out, but the sun was by no means directly shining, letting her operate freely.
edited 16th Dec '11 9:28:54 PM by AnnoR
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."
"hnnnnggggggARMBAR!!!" El Jabali felt only the battle, the intensity of a friendly bout. The spirit of The Boar raged within him. His opponent was bigger, but El Jabali was faster. A second armbar followed by a leg sweep, and it was over. Pin, count to three, it's done. Close the show, receive payment, head out to spend payment.
After all, El Jabali didn't really need all that gold, so he was off to do his one daily good deed, whatever that would be. But no, El Jabali did not remove his mask upon leaving; that would remove the point of a good deed performed by El Jabali! Instead, he simply pulled on some leggings and a black jerkhin, then headed out to wander the streets, looking for good deeds to do. He brought a stick of charcoal with him, in case he needed to s—El Jabali reached over and signed a woman's playbill for his most recent bout.
Now, onto those good deeds...
Red-headed Smasher
"Daddy, where are you?" the young dragon girl said to herself, pulling the hat over head. She was attributed to the Light element yet she hated the sun light. It was too bright, her eyes were really sensitive and she just didn't like it!
"M Mmrmmm..." she closed her eyes as she wandered into a crowd nearby. She hit off of person to person, trying to make her way through the busy populace. "Aahhh! Sorry, sorry, excuse me!" she cried as she squeezed through one person after another. "Ah.. ah.. I'm sorry, so so so sorry!"
"Watch where you're going!" one woman called out, bumping into Wagner.
"Ahhh!" the girl, unable to keep her balance, falls to the ground. Out from her bag fell a long metal rod with a brilliant white diamond. The light of the sun reflected off of the precious gem stone, causing the entire rod to glow with a plethora of magical energy.
"No, no no!" unknowingly she had placed a lot more energy into the rod then she had realized. Normally it wouldn't react like that! The girl dived forward and cupped her hands around the rod, sighing in relief.
"Sometimes I think you're just not worth it..."
"Hey you! Nano-something or other!"
Oh. Well then. Turns out a good deed would be immediately presented! A young woman with wings, and a tail, and other animal characteristics, had dropped something! El Jabali tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me ma'am, do you need some help? I'm El Jabali, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Red-headed Smasher
"WAAA!?" the girl was completely caught off guard. Some strange orc thingy tapped her on the shoulder, which prompted her to turn around in surprise. "AAHHHH! STEP AWAY OR I'LL Ummm..." Wagner looked to the diamond of the white staff and then looked back up to the orc with a clueless expression. She didn't have any attack spells and she was in a public area.
After a moment she realized the strange man didn't mean any harm, "Oh.. um.. y-yes, I'm looking for my dad!" she said as she quickly tucked her tail under her dress. She folded her white wings as closely as she could to her back. She really disliked the darn things getting in the way!
"Hey you! Nano-something or other!"
"Well," said El Jabali, smiling past the mask as best he could, "El Jabali knows many people! Your father has a name, right?"
Red-headed Smasher
"My dad's name is Shallogell Renelia... he's an adventurer or a dragoon that goes out and ... basically adventures! He hasn't come home in quite sometime so I'm sort of worried." the girl said with a frown. She was worried, very worried about her old man. Was he killed? Was he already on his way home? This dragon girl didn't have any idea.
"O-oh, my name is Wagner Renelia! It's nice to meet you!" the white haired girl bowed in greeting.
"Hey you! Nano-something or other!"
Alex sighed as she moved through Hercine's great marketplace. The sun's rays obscured by the wide brim of her hat. She disliked having to dress up like this, or rather, the fact that dressing up like this meant she had a good reason to think she'd been seen during her last theft.
Still, it was nice to see that she'd managed to teach an old dog a new trick. Even if it was making that mage hire a guard. And she'd managed to get a couple of really old looking books from him before she was spotted. From what she'd managed to learn at the thieves association, they tended to be worth the most. Except when her ring made all the text disappear...that always dropped the selling price.
She approached a travelling merchant, a rather heavy framed man. He was probably wealthy enough to be able to pay a good amount for the books if the reasoning she'd learned held up. Maybe she'd be able to afford some gifts for her family with this. Alex shook her head, after that stuff up she'd have to be careful, so no gifts. Even if her dad's business had started picking back up recently.
"Hey mister!" she called out. The man turned his head. "My dad sent me to sell some of his books since they're just sitting there collecting dust."
He glanced down at the volumes, his eyes widening slightly as he read their covers. These belonged in a library. Or at the very least not in a commoner's house. He would do his duty as a man of taste and take them from this girl so they could be placed in the proper conditions. And if he were to make a slight profit in the process, where was the harm in that? That's how the merchant business worked after all.
"Ahem...well, I suppose I could take them off your hands. How does two hundred sound?"
The girl beamed at the trader. "That's wonderful! Thank you!"
She handed over the books and took her money. She continued on, intending to see how her father was doing when she spotted someone. The tiny figure, the black dress and hat.
"Emi!" she yelled. Waving as she ran towards her.
edited 16th Dec '11 10:10:17 PM by tachikaze
Burn up, hurricane of justice!
Detective Extroadinaire
Alack emerged from a nearby magic shop, having stayed the night in the loft upstairs. He didn't like wasting favors on places to sleep, but he disliked sleeping in the alley more.
He wandered into the main street, stretching and yawning. After another long night of evading the Royal Guard, he had given himself the blessing of sleeping in. He reasoned he should start putting in a real day's work now if he wants to sleep in a bed tonight.
He noticed a young boy calling to someone, and tried to gain their attention.
"Excuse me, boy, but you look a bit out of sorts!" He began, setting up the pitch. "Why, that's the perfect time for one of my time-tested family recipe good luck potions! Here, it's only seven silver a vial, and you'll be blessed all week..." He trailed off. "You look a bit familiar..."
edited 16th Dec '11 10:20:35 PM by Aniventerie
Need a tall, brawny fella to come by and inspect your pickle? Perhaps I may be this fella.
"Of course, Satsuki-sama."
Emi blinked, and paused. What were the odds of this? She looked up at the taller girl with a smile as she approached. She knew the other thief through, well... they did work in the same very illegal operation, albeit with different methods. Two thieves being familiar with each other was rather likely.
"Alex!" she called, "How are you?"
She raised and eyebrow when Alack appeared. To point out that the 'boy' was Alex and ruin her disguise... or not?
edited 16th Dec '11 10:19:21 PM by AnnoR
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."
Killian was walking through the market place, taking in all the sights after his earlier training with the arms master due to his father being absent.
All the shops were open and ready for business, and he decided to have a look around one of the magic shops, just to see if he could find someone able to tell him why he was unable to use his magic.
He happened to go by Alex and Emi, and he took a small glance at them before looking around the area for a good magic shop. Insofar, he had made a habit of doing this every so often, but nothing had ever happened.
He grasped the hilt of his father's blade to reassure himself. His father had told him that he should always keep Ascalon nearby, and had given it to him upon his adoption.
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Detective Extroadinaire
"Ah-h...No, I'm sorry young man, I must have mistook you for an acqaintance of mine." Alack said with a telling wink.
edited 16th Dec '11 10:37:10 PM by Aniventerie
Need a tall, brawny fella to come by and inspect your pickle? Perhaps I may be this fella.
About a dozen feet in the air above the market, unbeknownst to those below—at least for the moment—magical energies began swirling, crackling. The energy built up rapidly, and within moments, dark clouds gathered in the small area, spiraling into a vortex. There was a sudden crack, and a portal opened up, swirling with shades of yellow. From this portal, a winged form fell. The girl fell onto a cart, and then rolled off onto the street. And then, as suddenly as it appeared, the portal and disturbance that came with it vanished.
edited 16th Dec '11 11:17:51 PM by evilneko
Chronic Hero Syndrome burst into full effect.
Killian rushed off to help the girl who had fallen from the sky. As she fell into the street, he picked her up gently, deciding to make sure she was alright. She did fall out of the sky, after all.
"...Who are you? Are you alright?"
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Alex looked at Alack. She'd seen him at the thieves association a couple of times, although she'd never really gotten to know him as well as she had with Emi. After all, she was a young girl and he was a man in his twenties, there wasn't exactly much common ground besides their illegal activities, and even then there seemed to be a rather large difference in the way they went about their work.
"Huh? Oh, it's alright." she replied, smiling sweetly.
She turned back to Emi. "I'm great! I just sold some really old books I...um...found." the unnaturalness in her attempted lie was great enough that anyone unfamiliar with her would've found something wrong with it. Of course, anyone who knew her would see it as code for 'stole'. "How're you?"
She yelped and turned at the noise.
Burn up, hurricane of justice!
Detective Extroadinaire
Alack was just about to go search for another gullible "customer" when he heard the noise. He looked to see nothing less than a girl dropping from a portal in the sky.
"...Well then." He dusted off his robes and went on his way. There simply wasn't much that this city could surprise him with anymore.
"Good luck potions, cheapest in Hercine...!"
Need a tall, brawny fella to come by and inspect your pickle? Perhaps I may be this fella.
The girl appeared for all the world to be a dragon half, and anyone who could sense such things might indeed detect dragon in her. She had broad, leathery wings and a tail at least as long as she was tall. She was dirty, splotches of soot as if from an explosion marring her skin and clothes—what little she wore. Her clothes consisted of essentially a couple of lengths of cloth, one tied around her smallish bust and the other knotted at her hip.
Naturally, her dramatic entrance caused something of a stir in the market, especially in the poor merchant whose cart she had unknowingly smashed. Onlookers stared, some with less than pure thoughts no doubt. Killian rushed in to pick up the girl. Amairei groaned, stirring as she was lifted. She opened her green eyes, and suddenly screamed. She struggled and pulled away from Killian quickly, scrambling back several steps, her tail lashing blindly about.
Apparently, she was okay.
"Of course, Satsuki-sama."
"I sold a ring," Emi said cheerily. It was the truth, she had sold a ring. When Emi said she sold a ring, though, it usually meant "I sold a worthless glass ring as a gold ring for a much higher price then it was worth".
"It went pretty-" she was cut off by the sound of... something landing. Something loud. "Huh?"
edited 16th Dec '11 11:04:33 PM by AnnoR
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."
He looked at her and smiled, glad that she was okay, "...I am glad that you're okay. My name's Killian Reitter, what's yours?"
She had an odd look to her, to Killian. There was something magical about her, beyond the obvious. If he had to guess, she'd be a half dragon person.
edited 16th Dec '11 11:09:38 PM by NickTheSwing
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
The Grand Re-Vizier
"Divinations for sale! All truths revealed for just a small sum! A reasonable price for enlightenment, folks!"
The cry came from a mask with a perpetual smile on its face, it's blue base and white, wooden grin a picture of blank but insistent cheer. the body attached to it was concealed by a colorful patchwork cloak, it's vibrant clash of hastily sewn patches on top of what was essentially little more than a tattered rag adding to the figure's surrealist carnival feel.
It was a fitting facade for the Man of a Thousand Faces, the Great Thespian Lakan Ting. He played many roles from one moment to the next, and all the world was his stage. At the moment he was the shady and mysterious fortune teller. It was an old role, true but nothing delighted him more than seeing foolish and arrogant customers line up to hear a bit of mystical nonsense in exchange for a purse. He got a few coins and a little fun, and his clients got a boost in confidence or a little humbling, whichever they needed more.
"Just cross my palms with silver and-" He was cut off mid cry by the loud crash and scream from a nearby cart. He glanced over, ready to switch from psychic fraud to hero, though it didn't seem to be necessary. "Just cross my palms with silver and not but divine truth will tumble from my lips."
edited 16th Dec '11 11:13:25 PM by Dblade26
The man was still talking to her. Amairei closed her wings around herself defensively. She glanced around. Where was she? She wasn't sure. Suddenly, another male voice intruded, gaining Am's attention.
"Hey!" It was the merchant whose cart was wrecked. "My cart! What are you going to do about my cart!"
Am looked at the cart, then the merchant, then the cart again. "S-sorry..." She stammered out. She took another step back, and then started running, fleeing the market.
Killian glared at the man who had accosted her, and decided to go after her just to make sure that nobody took advantage of her.
He did think for a second that this might be the rumored Dulcinea Effect.
All the same, she seemed disoriented, scared and confused. He had to help her, on his honor as a knight.
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
Amairei ran. She wasn't sure quite where she was going, she just wanted to get away. As she ran, she managed not to bump into people, and in fact rather deftly dodged them. Her bare feet carried her quickly away. It hadn't yet occurred to her to use her wings, instead she kept them tightly around her body.
She glanced back, and her eyes widened. One of the men from the market was pursuing her. She quickly ducked down an alleyway.
Alex stared at the goings on, unsure how to react. Part of her wanted to chase after that girl to make sure she was alright, another part of her knew that if she wasn't alright it was probably because of that guy with the sword. And since she'd left her dagger and smoke bombs at home, she didn't exactly like her chances of escaping if he decided to go after her too. Of course, another part of her that had paid far too much attention to some stories she'd heard from other thieves wanted to take the distraction as a chance to take her books back.
"Umm, what should we do?" she asked, turning to face Emi again.
Burn up, hurricane of justice!
The wondrous city of Hircine... the time just an hour before noon. And as always, the populous city was filled with activity. The Airport was a controlled chaos as innumerable winged creatures arrived and took off, airships local and foreign secured themselves on the port bringing treasures from half the world around.
On the Great Swan Fountain children ran, laughed and swam all around it all under the carefree eyes of their parents as they enjoyed a day at the plaza.
Over at the Academy thing marched as they usually did. Apprentices hard at work in their classes, the old masters locked in their rooms experimenting, the noble Mage Knights in the courtyard practicing their skills.
The Entertainment District, meanwhile, was on its lazy hours which prompted it to be filled with artists and entertainers wandering about in their free time.
On Hercinia's Roost only forest a couple of bitter enemies found themselves locked in combat for the territory... only a a half an hour away from couple walking the plains of the city outskirts.
Somewhere on the noble quarter a middle aged man was having a horrible nerve crisis. The source of it was the rumor of the day which was circling all over the city. A young noble lady, a princess some said, had gone missing from her home.
Yup, life went on as always on this jewel of civilization. And all the while the Trailrunner ran all around the Roost, moving people from one side of the wonder to the other.
If I'm sure of something it's that I'm not sure of anything.