Khas has taken to patrolling the market, in his own erratic style. Often he pauses to do press-ups, or sit and meditate, or jump to the roof for a bit of balancing. He is looking for all sorts of problems, not just the masked gang.

Khay is in the market, and Andrea grabs Glenmark and they hurry back.

The little prank with untying the chimney rope has yielded results!  It has delayed the gang, forced them to pause, examine the situation, and fasten a new rope, as the rope is essential to the plan.

There are five of them, and they are all dressed in the simple, plain tunics and pants used by the poor- the way they are dressed, they could disappear into a crowd, and never be seen.  They are wearing simple cloaks as well, with the hoods pulled up.  It's a common garment as well, although its a month or so past "hoods up" season.  Still, take those hoods down, and they can blend very quickly.

Very certainly, they are not adults.  Or if they are, not large ones.  They just don't have the size or the build.  But two of them, at least, are borderline. Maybe they could be petite adults.  And they seem to be in charge of the smaller ones, pointing things out.  They are keeping their voices low, though.

They quickly fasten a new rope, and one of them directs the others to continue.  They move down the rope quickly to the ground in front of the fruit and vegetable store in the back of the market.  The one directing stays on the roof as the ones on the ground make a run across the market, fanning out.  Two of them are headed for the glove maker's shop. The other two seem intent on random havoc.

Khay sees them fastening the rope, and decides that he will cut off their escape. He jumps up onto the marketplace roof and heads over. He cannot help but run, despite the precarious footing.

He stumbles and doesn't get very far.

21:50, Today: Khay Vass rolled 6 using 1d20+4.  acrobatics.
Probably end up face-first on the pavement.

Khay Vass rolled 20 using 1d20.  Second acrobatics.

This message was last edited by the player at 11:40, Mon 26 Apr 2021.

Hedge moves into place to see these little thieves.

Can I get a clear view of them? If so, how close are the five of them standing to one another?

Waiting patiently in her place of concealment atop the herbalists shop Andrea waits for the proper moment.

Things move quickly... that's how the gang operates.  While Khay is still balancing himself they are across the market to the glover's shop; with Glenmark having just returned from the Watch house, seeing them all the way.

They can also see the two "decoys" that have peeled off and are moving parallel, and the two that have run for the shop.  It's clear the decoys are aiming more for creating a ruckus than actually targeting and stealing. As they run they knock things from wagons, not even bothering to stuff them into pockets.

Until one does, grapping a beaded necklace from a The first use of the Eldritch Blast takes everyone by surprise- gang, shopkeepers, shopkeepers... there is a general reaction "Omigod WHAT WAS THAT?"

It takes a few moments before someone with a keen sense of the obvious shouts "It's a Wizard!".

No one can be sure exactly who shouted that.  Someone did.  But the general commotion has begun.

A few moments later Andrea shoots with thief with a second blast of magic.

And then there is chaos.  Unexpected blasts of magic make people nervous!

So where's everyone at in this situation in relation to one another? Can I cast Entangle on 2+ thieves and not have normal folks caught? How are the thieves reacting to having magic thrown at them? Did they flee? Scramble? Regroup? Prepare to fight?

Khay was expecting magical blasting, so he isn't as thrown. He makes his way, more carefully now, across the rooftops. "Now one of them will lose their nerve and try to escape. I'll cut them off!" he says to himself with bated breath. He limbers up his hands and takes his staff off his back.

07:51, Today: Khay Vass rolled 21 using 1d20+4.  acrobatics.

[OOC: Yes, even I'm a bit lost here. Where am I at as this is going on?]

And so we have... a map!  Aha!  Now we can all see where everyone is in the chaotic aftermath of Andrea's magical blast.

Civilians, that is, market shoppers and shopkeepers, are not shown on the map.  They are all over the place, and running at near random.  No one told them there would be wizard blasting going on!  The shoppers of course weren't expecting anything, and the shopkeepers were thinking more of a "Stop in the Name of the Law".  They've never seen a Watch in action before, but in stories some of them have heard, that's what happens.  It's never clear what the Law's Name is, but apparently it stops thieves.

Needless to say, the Panic-Confusion reaction holds for the thieves as well.  Since they were suspicious from the start, they left one on the roof over the fruit and vegetable store.  He is now telling the others to run.  The one hit by the magic blast is very down, and the others are hastily trying to decide which way they are going to run.  But running does seem to be the thing to do.  Fighting a wizard was not in their plan.

Theirastra has just arrived on scene, at the southeast corner of the market by the Herbalist shop, closest to the Watch house.  Khay is running along the tile roofs towards the fruit and vegetable market- he seems to have finally gotten the hang of roof running.

 

People were going crazy at the sight of magic being used, but the chaos left little room for anything else if they were going to deal with all of these thieves. He went with something a bit less flashy, pointing toward the two across the courtyard with two fingers on either hand then circling town and around with fingers pointed up as roots and vines popped out of the ground beneath them and wrapping around legs and ankles.

cast Entangle on the ones at I14 and H15, placing it so that I have as little of the effect inside those shops as possible. Merchant stalls will have to deal with it.

Taking both the unconscious thief, and the chaos that has disrupted the remaining thieves, to be an indication of success Andrea follows it up with another bolt of force that leaves a blast of warm air in its wake as it passes overhead until it reaches the last thief.

Khay stands at the top of the roofs. He wants to go fight the enemy, but he also wants to cut off any escape. He draws one of his darts and hurls it at the thief near Glenmark.

"There's more where that came from if you don't give up!" He shouts.

20:03, Today: Khay Vass rolled 19 using 1d20+4.  dart.
20:03, Today: Khay Vass rolled 4 using 1d4+2.  damage.

With her blade out Theirastra moved quickly into action, and in the blink of an eye (literally) she was clear across the marketplace and against the two at the otherside! "You two hold there in the name of the Constabulary! Surrender and you will not be harmed! On my honor as a bladesinger, I swear it!" She wasn't just a Constable, she was an elven elite!

[OOC: Move Action: Move to N20.
Bonus Action: Use Fey Step to I15.
Regular Action: Only if one of them moves will she attack, at that point she'll use the spell Green-Flame Blade, which requires me to make a melee attack with my weapon as part of the casting.]

The chaotic scene resolves itself very quickly, although with a little more chaos.  But in a blink of an eye, it's over.  It's how they expected things would work, given the speed strategy of the gang- either get them, or they get away.

And as it happens, only one gets away- the one who was already on the roof, saw the whole thing collapse, and although injured, ran for the far side (and possibly fell off) disappearing into the crowded Old Town.

But there are four left.  Two of them that were doing the decoy maneuver are both cut down by magic from Andrea.  On the other front, the Entangle spell has netted one... plus a very concerned glove maker... in front of the "Lure" store.

Theirastra Nailo was able to modify her destination when she saw the Entangle spell erupt, no point popping herself right into that.. and talk the last one into surrendering.

She can hear a panicky: "It's wizards, where did wizards come from!" from the one still struggling in the Entanglement.  (For 90% of the population, the definition of different kinds of magic user are unknown.  If you attack with magic they assume you are a wizard.)

 

Khay hops down and begins to run across the courtyard. He weaves between the stalls, trying to get to the gang member still standing.

Theirastra will move over to the one that surrendered to her. "Good choice. You will be taken into custody now."

Either lucky or well aimed, or perhaps a combination of both Andrea's next and likely last bolt of force reaches across the square, over the heads of the few merchants that haven't ducked out of the way, past the running constable, and slams into the leg of the only remaining free standing thief now that the rest are unconscious, ensnared, or gone.

[ooc: Shooting a surrendered thief? Let's make a BAD name for ourselves right off the bat. Sure you want to do that, even as Theira is talking to him?]

Andrea's last target is, of course, the one thief who had surrendered.  But Theirastra had started the round very close, and even before Andrea can let loose, it is clear she has no target- Theirastra is, as they say in watch, apprehending the suspect.

There are frantic calls for help from the Entanglement, and not all of them are from the thief stuck in it.  It also grabbed the glove maker, and a couple of stray shoppers.

The barber has made his way to one of the fallen thieves.

Tradition has long demanded that barbers learn some basic first aid and simple surgery, magical or not, as the supply of real healers often exceeds demand.  Perhaps tradition figured "well, they work with sharp object wielded carefully around the skin, so they really ought to study some healing, just in case."  For whatever the reason, the Guild of Barbers makes sure its practitioners are appropriately trained.

Reflexively, the barber starts stabilizing the injuries on the fallen thief.

Other onlookers are still stunned.   Probably much more stunned than they would have been from just another robbery/vandalism raid.  Most aren't sure yet whether its safe to move in the market.

The one captured thief is just about Theirastra's size, and once the hood is thrown back, is obviously a Human teen aged boy, and very scared.

"It's wizards!  We been here a hundred times and never seen wizards!  Don't blast me!  Don't turn me into anything or eat my soul, please!"

Hedge went to calm the folks stuck in the entangle spell, "You don't gotta worry about the roots. They just keep you still, yeah? Let us get this fellow locked up nice and tight like, and then I'll gets these plants off you."

"Khay, you got manacles for this one? I'd like to give the runners a chase."

"I will not eat your soul. Many of us that use magic, are not like that." She said softly as she put manacles on the boy. She was gentle with him, more to prove that she truly did  not mean him no lasting harm and wanted to alleviate his fears. "You will only face the standard charge for thievery, nothing more. What is your name young one?" She asked the boy softly.

Khay eagerly produces the restraints. He steps forward to apply them, careful not to pinch the culprit's skin. "Just hold still and this will be easier for both of us," He advises.

Hedge lets Khay take over securing the bandit, then hangs around only long enough for the manacles to be secure before he drops the spell and then takes off toward wall where he knows these kids are likely to flee.

As he gets to a spot that's out of sight for most people, and nearby the wall, he'll change to a form more suited for sneaking in and finding what they're up to.

I am back after some down time with life.  It is time to get things organized again, by reconvening in a new thread, to cover the aftermath of this operation.  And begin a new one?

The new thread:

Truth and Consequences