Skingrad City Market

[Lan]

Staring after the guard for a few seconds, he turned and walked toward the nearest smithy.

He was curious about the goings on in the town but decided against getting involved. Stepping into the shop to the tingling of metal chimes, he noticed an old man working on a sword near some bellows. He glanced up long enough to nod a greeting and say, "Feel free to look around adventurer.

lan nodded curtly at the man and began to browse the shop's goods. The man's items were of great quality, no doubt the product of a lifetime of practicing the trade. He fingered some arrows and decided on a quiver of arrows, the tips jet black. He picked up 48, enough for two quivers and placed them on he table, along with an extra quiver to hold the excess arrows.
After purchasing the arrows and strapping the extra quiver to his back he pushed open the doors and into the daylight, pulling his cowl lower over his head.

His sight told him there were at least thirty people in the opening, all bustling about in a hurried manner, as if trying to get the shopping done quickly and go on their way. His gaze missed nothing, and he immediately saw a pickpocket maneuvering about through the crowd, plucking gold out of the satchels at the waists of most patrons. Right before the shout came up from several people that noticed their money pouches bare, the pickpocket expertly dissolved into the shadows. Lan decided, instead of taken him down then and there, he would follow him and perhaps bring down the whole organization, earning a hefty sum from the count , of course.

The pickpocket stealthily made his way around the junk discarded in the alleyway. Lan, his soft leather boots making no sound, quietly followed the pickpocket. He stopped in front of an abandoned house and turned a lock in the door. It swung open quickly, shutting just as fast after the thief made his way through.

Lan made his way to the door, and, after counting silently to fifty, turned the lever. The door swung open and Lan peered inside. It was a narrow passage lined with torches. He stealthily made his way down the passage, until he came to another door.
He peered through a crack in the door and saw it opened to clearing in the woods. He quickly opened the door and walked into the clearing. He heard voices not too far off and crouched behind a bush just in time.

Two men walked into the clearing, both dressed in leather armor covering cloth clothes. One clearly held a pink bottle in his hand and was swaggering. Lan sniffed the air and recognized the smell. Skooma. It was a popular illegal drug secretly drunk by citizens with too much to bear. The other carried himself like a man of importance, and kept glancing reproachfully at the other man, as if he would rather be anywhere else in the world right then. The drunk man swooned and sat heavily on a rock, hiccuping slightly.

Lan stayed hidden in the folds of his cloak and listened in on the talk. "*hic* Good thing we gotsh that neew bishnus, eh *hic* Rath?" The drunk man said to the other. After looking loathfully at the drunk Rath replied, "It certainly has been good to our coffers."
The drunk man laughed at slapped the other on the back. "That is has, Rath, that it *hic* has!" Rath said. "Please try to compose yourself, Slygor, the interviewer will be here any minute."

Slygor took a draft on the bottle and drained the last drop of the drug. He stared sadly at the empty bottle and tossed it into the forest, right next to Lan. Rath fingered a dagger for a moment then cocked his head, as if hearing something.

"He's coming, Slygor, try to look less like a raving drunk and more capable!"

[Psy]

[[ I see. Sorry 'bout that. ]]

Trevor

"It's good to know that you're actually on time this time," a redguard garbed in black leather armor spoke. Sniffing the air, he commented,"I smell skooma. I hope you two haven't been drinking it. Our customers would be very disappointed if they found out that we drank the shipment, hm?"

He paused, as if he felt Lan's presence. Taking a step towards the bush, he stopped short, and shrugged. It was almost common knowledge that there was a crime ring somewhere in the city, and the likelyhood of someone actually hiding in there was close to zero. He had full confidence in his skills that he wasn't followed, and so, he turned back to the two men. He looked at the two up and down. I wonder if we actually have a use for them, he thought to himself, tilting his head to one side. Lan sees a longsword hanging from one belt. It looked to be one of great craftsmanship.

"Well then. I've got someone waiting on me, so I'll make this quick," Trevor's hand never strayed from the hilt of his longsword.
"Just tell ush whash to do!" Slygor said in an attempt to be coherent.
He almost succeeded. Instead, he led Trevor to believe that he had some sort of speech problem. The redguard frowned at the pair. Right now, they seemed they'd be able to do more harm than good.
"Uh. Well, yes," he paused," But it isn't my job to hand you your task, y'see."
"They why're we here?" Rath piped up. He was quickly silenced with a warning glance from Trevor.
"I'm here to appraise you," he started," Right now, you don't look like you'd even make good errand boys. But considering you've found out about how to contact us, I will assume for now that you are competent enough to do something like that."
"'Ey!" Slygor was still drunk, no matter how hard he tried not to be," Look! You're recruitin, yea? Well, we're your new recruits, no questions asked!"
"We don't recruit incompetent members, Slygot."
Trevor's right hand tightened around the hilt of his longsword. Both of the men noticed that movement, and adopted defensive positions of their own. If this was going to degenerate into a fight, it was obvious who was going to win.
"Look," Trevor started again," Since you found out about us, I'll give you directions as to how to contact us. In the market district, seek out someone called Telvanders. She's a dark elf, and she'll know what to do with you. I don't."

Without any rebuffs from Slygor or Rath, Trevor spun on his heels and moved to leave, with one last warning glance. Suddenly, he seemed to change his mind as curiosity got the better of him. It was just a hunch, but he moved over to check the bushes.

Raj'hent
"This one... dislikes waiting."
The Kajiht sat in what looked to be a meeting place several others of the Syndicate were there too. Trevor had left a note saying that he'd be a little late due to an interview, and other than that, he left no sign of himself. Raj'hent hissed as he drunk a mug of cyrodilic ale, a discarded scroll next to him. Used to constant activity, the waiting made Raj'hent fidgety. Resorting to reading was no use - despite the fact that he was literate, he never found much interest in books after he had learned their secret.

[Aeric Ecrai]

"Well that was odd." Jaster's brow furrows after taking in the seeming rapid-fire events.
"I hope they caught that theif..."
Realising he has more important things to discuss, he turned back to Kaina, for he had been facing the direction of the theif's egress.
"I suppose we should find Wygar...or we could see where that theif got off to. Which sounds better to you?"

[Sienna Cross]

"Wygar."she said decisively.Kaina walked off to some of the different food stands hoping to find her beloved pet.

[Aeric Ecrai]

"Hehe, all right." Jaster moved to a sword cart, admiring the finely crafted blades. Some were claymores, but Jaster prefered the lighter, thinner blades. Shortswords, rapiers, or just regular longswords were his favorite. Nothing too flashy, of course, but a strong blade would be just fine. His old sword was trusty, of course, but he desperatley needed a new one. He looked over his shoulder to see if Kaina was looking. He didn't want to her to see him buying a sword when he should be looking for her pet. She was watching him, of course. He could feel his face reddening. Why was he thinking of a new sword when he should be thinking of Kaina. It's not like they were going to get attacked any time soon, or be in danger..

[Sienna Cross]

...yes Jaster... Wygar will be hiding in a sword hilt...she thought sarcastically.She turned to walk farther along when behind her she heard a scream.She turned instinctively and saw that Wygar had been hiding in someone's cake.....sleeping...She sighed as she saw the very messy Wygar run to her and scurried up on her shoulder, frightened.

[Aeric Ecrai]

Jaster looked over his shoulder again, this time seeing a very cake-like Wygar perched on Kaina's shoulder, the remains of an actualy cake, and one very angry looking woman who had apparently wanted to eat the cake.
Maybe I should just stay here...the swords look nice..
Jaster was about to turn around to go help Kaina when the vendor finally got back. The vendor was a short, pudgy man, obviously not the person who had made these fine weapons.
"Heya, you look like the kind of guy who needs a good blade! Made 'em myself, I did. So, whattaya say? Huh? Hrrrm?"
Jaster shurgged and ran one hand through his hair.
"Well sir, you see, there's this girl who I have to-"
"-a girl? I gots rings, I do. Jewlrey, clothes, in my other cart. Wanna buy your sweetheart somethin' you better be askin' me."
Jaster mentally sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get to Kaina anytime soon.
Sorry Kaina...maybe this buffoon will sell me something nice that you'll like..

[Sienna Cross]

((Xd spelled jewelry wrong =PP))
Kaina sighed as she listened to the lady yell and she started to walk away."Hey!Get back here!I'm not done!"she yelled after her.Kaina petted Wygar and went over to Jaster."Can I go get something to wash him off with?"she asked curiously indicating a small wyrm licking cake off his feet and out from between his toes.

[Aeric Ecrai]

The merchant eyed her.
"This ya sweetheart, boy? I'm a sword merchant, not a cloth sella'. Go talk to someone else to get ya lizard cleaned off."
Kaina cocked an eyebrow at Jaster.
"Sweetheart?" She asked, a hint of humor in her voice.
Jaster rolled his eyes again.
"I'll tell you all about it after we get something to clean Wygar off with.."
"Sure Jaster...I can imagine." Kaina chuckles to herself as they both attempt to find a towel or cloth merchant in the crowded square. Not watching where he was going, Jaster bumped into a taller, well built man in a fancy blue coat, who had close-cut dirty blonde hair.
"Need a cloth for your Wyrm? Here you are..."
Reaching into the front pocket of his dark blue coat, the man pulls out what seems to be some sort of kerchief.
Kaina politley thanks the man, takes the cloth, and begins to wipe Wygar off.
"Sir, how did you know it was a Wyrm?" She asked curiously, "everyone else seems to think it's some kind of lizard."
The man laughed, "Well, I'm not like most of the people here. I'm just visiting. I was invited to the Count's Ball, you see. The good Count is inviting the majority of the community to his court to dance, and wanted me to come as well. Come to think of it, you two are probably invited as well."
Kaina's eye's widened. "Ooh, a ball. Sounds fun.."
The man chuckled wistfully, then turned around.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I must go. See you at the ball, I guess."
As he walked away, Jaster couldn't help noticing him pick up a rather ornate, fancily ingraved scythe from a wall nearby, then move over to converse with a few other inidividuals. Jaster couldn't tell their races from the distance away he was.
"Well, I hope we're invited, Kaina. And it's a good thing Wygar got cleaned up. Just don't bring him to the ball..I can't imagine what trouble he would get into.."

[Lan]

Lan strode across the square, bumping into Jaster as he back away from a cart.
He held his gaze for a moment then nodded, and moved on.
(when I say "gaze", it means as good od a gaze he can have being blind. But from now on whenever I saw gaze, or looked or peered, you'll know what I mean.)

[Aeolus]

wow the world has completely changed since I hybernated
Aeolus thought to himself, as he walked around looking for a weapon.

What is a wyrm doing with those people. They stand out like a sore thumb.

(( the way yall rp has changed so ill be slow for now....))

[Lan]

Lan made his way through the crowd, stepping into the soft grass at the edge of the paved clearing. There was a smal pond with an island in the middle, and behind that was the count's hall. He walked around the pond and apprached the gilded doorway to the hall. He rapped on it twice and waited.
A small man with a large nose peered at him from inside. "Do you have an appointment?" The man said in an annoyingly nasaly voice. Lan stared at him from beneath his hood before saying, "No appointment, but I think your count will want to see me." The small man snorted.
"No appointment, no hearing with the count! If you want to see him you'll have to file the paper wor...wor...work." The small man finished the sentence with a gulp. Lan had pulled out a dagger and was using it to sharped one on his arrows. "I wouldn't want your count to miss this, and im sure you'll allow me at least twenty minutes?"
The small man hesitated for a second then stepped back. "Right this way, Sir."
The small man led him through a large opening and to a small door. He opened it with a key he produced from a pocket and moved away. "Here you are sir."

Lan strode through the door and found himself looking up at a man that definately had a regal air about him, but seemed bored in his delecate throne. "Why have you come here without an appointment?" He said after a moment of silent surveying.
"I think you will like my proposition." Lan said to the man.
"Oh, and pray tell, what is that?" The man said with a roll of his eyes.
"I wish to be employed as a...law enforcer so to speak." Lan said.
"Your guards caught a man pinned to a tree by arrows...that was me."
The count straightened a little in his chair and glanced curiously at Lan.

"So you say, but how do I know I can rely on your skills?"
Lan thought for a moment then drew his bow and strung it in one quick moment, pivoting on the heel if his foot, and shot the arrow. It came to a thud, a surprised yelp coming from the other side of the room. The small steward, who had been spying on them the whole time found himself nailed to the floor as an arrow shot through his boot and into the soft stone below. Amazingly, the arrow hadn't hit the man's foot.

Lan put his bow back and turned to the count, waiting.

[Sienna Cross]

Kaina cuddled with the now clean wyrm and looked up at Jaster."We have a problem though....or I do at least...I have nothing to wear......besides really muddy healer robes and this."Sh told him quietly.Wygar jumped over to Jaster's shoulder and nuzzled against his neck purring in a way only a dragon could.

[Aeric Ecrai]

Jaster's eyes flashed, and he reached into his pocket, producing a small pouch of gold.
"Well then, we should probably go shopping, shouldn't we? Heheh..I'm sure we can find you something..."

[Sienna Cross]

She smiled and gave him a hug."...but what about Wygar.....He'll destroy the kitchen again if we're not careful....."Kaina stroked the creature's head and it purred affectionatly.