Gaiven raises an eyebrow, then shrugs.

"What do you mean, you don't know, you mute bastard! I told you three to be here at midnight. 'Don't be late,' I said. You don't have any idea where they're at?"

Throwing his hands into the air, Gaiven shakes his head.

Knowing that the gargoyle can't understand sign language, Gaiven begins to make a few simple gestures anyway at Zull's continued insistence.

Zuul dismisses him with a wave of his hand. "Oh, don't go twiddling your stubby little fingers at me." He exhales loudly. "Go lock that window and pull the drape."

Gaiven does, but when he turns around, there's two other people standing in a corner of the room as if they'd been there all along. The first is a middle-aged man in a fine yet well-worn business suit of a slightly outdated style. His gray-streaked black hair is parted in the middle and hangs to his shoulders.  Gaiven's seen him before around the Claw... Durgin.

The other is an average-looking young man dressed in simple clothes with brown hair that hangs in front of his eyes. That is, he would be average looking if his face weren't scarred as if it had been burned. Though they are of similar age, Gaiven's not sure he's ever seen him before. But, Rimuldar's a big city.

"Gaiven, this is Whisper," Durgin says in his scratchy, gravelly voice as if he's known Gaiven for years. "You two will have time to become acquainted later."

Briefly, Durgin congratulates Gaiven on acquisitioning the Dragon's Tooth. He then moves on to another subject.

"Normally, someone with more experience and seniority would get to take this, but it's your lucky night. There's a coach going through town tomorrow night that's carrying something of value. That is, something of value to the right people: a necklace. Whisper'll know it when he sees it.

"Of this I'm quite certain: it will pass under the hangman's tree at midnight tomorrow, coming from Brecconary. Now, common highwaymen would simply rob the coach at arrow point. I'm sure the four of you will have more finesse than that." Dugin smiles.

Gaiven nods to Whisper when he is presented, then quickly nods to Durgin.

Gaiven gives another nod, this one in thanks, as Durgin congratulations him on the tooth. Then listens as Zul explains the job.

Once the briefing is complete, Gaiven raises an eyebrow, and makes the universal trader's gesture for money.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:12, Wed 15 Oct 2008.

"Of course!" Durgin laughs. "I'm prepared to offer one hundred gold pieces for the necklace."

"Bah!" Zuul interjects. "Pearls to the swine!" He resumes his tinkering with a pocket watch.

Doing a quick bit of math within his head, Whisper nearly had his portion of the money spent before the job had even been accepted.  He sent a nod towards Gaiven and as he began his gesturing Whisper realized the reason behind the man's lack of speech.

"Do we know who has the necklace and who will be on the coach?"

Whisper began to take mental notes to help draw up a plan.

"Good questions, my young lad. Questions, for which, I'm afraid, I have no answer.

"We would appreciate the necklace being acquired without the knowledge of its current possessor, whomever he or she is. Think you lads and your friends can manage that?"

Gaiven simply scratches his nose in thought, offering no input.

"Just how long are we talking? The rest of their trip or for several days?"

"Long enough." Durgin says with a grin and a spread of his hands.

"I see," Whisper rubbed his hidden chin "Long enough so they dont realize it's gone."

"Well, I'm sure you boys have some preperations to make. Let Zuul know when you make your acquisition. If you'd like, I'm certain he'll be happy to hold it for you."

The next day is quite eventful. Gaiven and Whisper learn that the other two are in the stocks after being captured trying to steal a knife. Apparently, the merchant noticed Frank trying to filch it from his cart. The soldiers roughed the pair up quite a bit, but were seemingly unaware of their connection with the Upper Ward burglary.

At dusk, Iridia and Frank are released from their punishment. The four meet in a Lower Ward alley and discuss Durgin's proposal. It's decided that they should take a look at the Hangman's Tree outside town some distance. Only Whisper is unaware of it's location, not being a native of the city.

The Hangman's Tree is located beside a bricked road outside of town. The road is a major throughway running into and out of Rimuldar. Merchants traveling between the city and Brecconary most often take the road.

The forest was cleared away from the road by order of the city's last king before the empire arrived. The empire keeps the practice as a deterrent for brigands and highwaymen.

If it weren't standing alone beside the brick road, it would look like any other tree. Sometimes, someone will throw a noose over a branch, but none hangs there now. No one has been met their end here for a year or longer.

Grumpy and penniless, Iridia Silvermane walked down to the rendevous location to meet with Gaiven and another guy. She kept her distance from Frank, as for now, she did not feel like talking to him after messing up a simple filch. She has never been humiliated like this ever in her life, so it would take some time before she speaks to Frank again.

Once there, Iridia points at Gaiven, "Don't ask." Iridia blushed, it felt embarassing to be caught performing a simple act. She then eyed the new man, trying to measure his worth, and looks.

Frank was bobbing along a few feet behind Iridia. He knows who was at fault for the fine and the time, and his self-loathing only aggravates his temper. No words are necessary to convey that not a word is to be spoken about the ordeal.
"So, now what?"

At Iridia's "Don't Ask." Gaiven simply lifts an eyebrow. Then he turns to overlook the site again.

Frank tries to break the tense silence by putting some stress on Whisper.
"So who's de new goi? Hey Newbie, who are you, what do you do and why are we standing around like dis?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:56, Thu 16 Oct 2008.

Whisper ignored Frank as he paced around the tree getting his bearings, measuring the distance to the treeline.  Just before Frank got angry, Whisper spoke,

"You may call me Whisper. And we have a job to do."

Whisper squatted and looked at the bricks that paved the road, checking betweeen them at the ground below.

Standing again he continued, "Good money in it for all of us. Simple job too.  Are you in?"

'Who exactly is the novice here?!' Iridia thought Frank's bossy attitude was ridiculous for his skills as a thief.

"Okay, so what kind of job are we talking about? Can we have some details first, please?" Iridia asked the man.

Once Whisper explained what was said to him and Gaiven, Iridia took a few seconds to take it all in and then replied, "So, the client wants us to steal a necklace from a wagon without them knowing it happened. All for one hundred gold. Thats thirty three three ways... Oh sorry, twenty five four ways, didn't see you back there, Master Frank." Iridia said sarcasticly, "Sounds to me like this can be done in several ways. I can think of a few on the top of my mind. One, we can set a trap that will cripple the wagon, then move in, acting as travellers who want to help, and have one of us snatch it when they get the chance. Two, we can go in tough and rob them dry, highway men style. Three, we can arrange a little scene that could get me aboard the wagon. If we go with three, I am going to need to go back and fetch some fashionable clothes to complete the act. So what do you guys think?"

Iridia was currently in her working attire. Bermuda trousers and baggy belt on. It made her look more tough than damsel-in-distress.

After the fiasco, Frank had something to prove and quickly adds:
"Or we could jump down on dem fhom de tree."

It took but a few moments to inform the two latecomers of the job that had been offered them.

"People offering help at midnight seems a bit odd dont you think? I had thought of something a bit more..... "

Whisper's voice trailed off as he looked both directions down the road.

[Private to Stripe:
Secret Roll: Whisper rolled 9 using 3d6. Illusion spell.

If no one is visible, I will create an Illusion.

An image of a hanged man, his neck broken and the bones jutting out of his skin, standing between the three.  His skin is pale and drawn in, very much like a skeleton within a thin layer of tight skin.  It's mouth hangs open, showing his black tongue that wiggles in a lurid manner over his blackening teeth.]

Gaiven nods to Iridia, and holds up three fingers, then makes a nod towards Frank.

Suddenly, from out of the darkness beside the tree shambles a drunken man...

...No, not drunken...

...By the gods, the man's a grusome, walking corpse. His neck broken and the bones jutting out of his skin, the zombie lurks beside the three. It's mouth hangs open, revealing a black tongue that wiggles in a lurid manner over his rotten teeth. His skin is pale and drawn in, very much like a skeleton within a thin layer of tight skin.

---

OOC: Roll Fright Check and if failed, roll again and consult the table before making your next IC post.

Gaiven takes a hasty two steps back, but then stops. The shambling doesn't make the zombie very fast, and he'd like to think before he just runs away.

[Private to GM: Though Gaiven is ready to run head over heels, if the zombie is faster than he thinks.

This is also assuming that the zombie is a fair distance away. I'm assuming we aren't standing right next to the tree.]