The crowd remains festive as you all head out in search of Hagrin's Brew.

Taria looks around a bit trying to see who the man is talking to. When it becomes apparent that he is talking to her, she awkwardly makes hand gestures to confirm his attention. "Umm, I am not usually one for... I do not usually drin... I am here wor..." She pauses to collect herself. There is certainly surprise and unfamiliarity with such a question. Then with an exaggerated nod, the woman states, "Yes, depending on the refreshment, that would be lovely."

Alleycat nodded to the woman in recognition of her acceptance, but all of a sudden he seemed distracted, as his glance played over the milling crowd. He waved her closer, then motioned to Antru, Melody and Sora to also step nearer to him.

"There are thieves among us," he hissed in a low tone of voice when his new-found acquaintances were gathered 'round.

"Look to the most prosperous merchants' stalls hereabouts -- near to many of them you will see at least one person who is clearly much more serious and fidgety than most of the revelers in the crowd ."

"I'm not sure what scam they are running, or whether they are working in concert with one another. My guess is that it may be a combination of smash-and-grab, coupled with a nimble five-finger discount whenever a merchant is distracted by the commotion in a nearby stall."

"Do as you will, but I plan to confront at least one of these scoundrels."

It was not that Alleycat was a law-and-order man -- indeed, far from it. But he knew that bold thievery in broad daylight would poison the minds of both the visiting merchants and the locals, and make them all more suspicious of strangers. Thus, the robbery that was about to be attempted would make his job much more difficult -- especially if the bold thieves were successful in their efforts.

Plus, he did not know any of these would-be robbers, so it was not as if he were turning against friends and acquaintances. Indeed, in his experience it was not uncommon for there to be conflict between rival gangs and guilds, so he did not feel like he owed these bandits anything.

And last but certainly not least, he figured that helping out the merchants at the festival would most likely boost his standing in the eyes of merchants and locals alike -- which would certainly not be a bad thing, to his way of thinking.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:19, Thu 30 Dec 2021.

[Language unknown: "O linc ad adelol pril ivutsa t. Resnd ad ti eeome daysi ioiv temi tha eenicheen, ev fieralat ti but u ven hat."] Antru was about to say something more when Allycat brought his attention to the would be thieves. As they were close to one of the stalls that apparently was being targeted, Antru gives Allycat a wink and steps off to the stall. He takes the time to look at the wares as if he were a serious customer. Letting out a sigh he shakes his head and turns to rejoin the group. No sooner does he take a step then his eyes widen as if in surprise. "Wilfred?! Wilfred Rouge?!"(well fed rogue lol) He calls out as he approaches the fidgety man who seemed to be waiting. Antru made sure his call was loud enough to attract some attention from not only the general crowd, but also some of the other thieves. Keeping his voice louder than needed, he continues on not giving them man a chance to respond. "How long has it been? Captain Toshoo said you took a leave of absence in order to visit family. I was very sad to know you wouldn't get to see our next show. But as your hear, perhaps you'll be a gust of honor for us and help out in the show. I know how much you loved the show, and I would hate for you to miss out since you wont be there for the Royal Guards show."

Not sure what roll would be better for this. So I give you the two I thought would work best in the order I thought was best. I figure deception as I'm trying to deceive the other thieves in the area that I know this one and he is not on their side. Performance for the same reason, though maybe with a bit more flare for the crowd, and a chance to make the guy I'm talking to think I truly mistook him.


19:49, Today: Antru Mistseeker rolled 17 using 1d20-1.  deception.
19:50, Today: Antru Mistseeker rolled 4 using 1d20+1.  Performance.

Based on the rolls, hopefully deception is the one needed. lol


This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Thu 30 Dec 2021.

In a low and casual voice she facetiously replied, "No.  Say it ain't so."  She gave an exaggerated laugh as if Alleycat had just told an amusing joke to them before scanning the stalls to see if she could tell how many there were and if they seemed to be working together.

But her chances of doing this quietly was thrown out the window as Antru very loudly headed off towards one of them.  Or maybe it could help her spot them all.  Hmmmm.

OOC: The dice roller hates me.  It's confirmed.
22:01, Today: Melody rolled 9 using 1d20+4.  Investigation.
22:00, Today: Melody rolled 6 using 1d20+5.  Deception.

Stupified by the confrontation, "Wilfred" looks over his shoulder wondering if there is someone standing behind him. When he realizes Antru is speaking to him, he slightly exaggerates his befuddled expression and gapes at the approaching clown in a state of confusion.

The crowd laughs at the encounter, many of them having witnessed the juggling and surprises that Antru previously foisted on Alleycat. Some watched with amusement while others continued with their revelry. Everything goes back to normal. Any suspicious characters that noticed the encounter have melted back into the celebration.

Antru was trying to watch to see if any of the other thieves showed any interest, but kept his focus on "Wilfred." He was mainly trying to gauge if he had given them something to worry over more than their want to steal. "But I do say, I wont keep you. I'm sure your busy enough as it is. Do look me up though. We would simply love to have you in the show." With that, Antru gives the man a pat on the shoulder with a slight squeeze and walks off to rejoin the group. He seems to address Sora as he returns. [Language unknown: "Ncce icsaca uresa beeeacof manorekor inhou any wi miiewi. Unncis stadma kor e pr ave bleng ekom u whewilateder m catril."]

Alleycat gazed off into the crowd near to the man whom he had chosen to make his move against. He assumed that the fellow would be less likely to go on the alert if the Waterdehavian was not staring directly at him. This way, Mekkar knew, he could still watch the man reasonably well with his peripheral vision.

He heard Antru and another thief having a discussion a short ways away, and noticed some of the crowd directing their attention towards that twosome. ~~Probably wondering what sort of unexpected foolishness the Elf will spring upon the poor sod,~~ he reasoned. In truth, Alleycat was a little curious himself, but he kept his mind on the business of staying ready for when the thief whom he was keeping his eye on made his move.

Mekkar figured that the it would probably be either a smash-and-grab move or a hard-to-detect sleight of hand maneuver, after which the fellow would attempt to melt away into the crowd and be gone.

His plan was to step a little to the side and open up a convenient path through the crowd once the man had made his move and was turning away from the merchant's stall. Then, once the bandit moved to take advantage of the opening through the crowd, Mekkar would step over and close with him at the last moment, then simultaneously bump into the man hard enough to throw him off balance, and trip him.

Assuming that the fellow went down, it should be easy enough to assert control over him at that point. Well, in theory, any way. Of course, Alleycat knew the old saying about best-laid plans . . .

---

OOC: DM, I assume that you will want either an Athletics (Strength) or Acrobatics (Dexterity) Check from Alleycat. Just let me know your preference, and I'll make the die-roll. I would suggest that he should be able to act with Advantage, since he should (hopefully) be catching the bandit by surprise. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:45, Thu 30 Dec 2021.

In reply to Mike (msg # 58):

"Wilfred" says nothing, he just watches as Antru turns his back on him and goes back to continue his conversation with the beautiful Blonde elf.


As the group returns their attention to Antru "Wilfred" slips back into the crowd. SOme of the revellers who were expecting more of a show from the interaction scratch their heads and move on to some other form of entertainment.

Alleycat prepares to intercede on the plans of a second scoundrel, but the man never goes any closer to the stall. After noticing the interaction between Antru and "Wilfred" he makes some small talk with a couple passing by and walks away in their company.

Walking towards the stalls with various street food she got for free for a spectacular fight, is Catrina GreySky, masked wrestler who is now approaching Hagrin's cart,"Greetings dwarven cart man. I'm wondering if you've heard of a dwarf that makes the best brews around here. I think his name was Hamish, or maybe it's Hardwon Bitterstew." she says, munching on a tart.

Bross Tallcut looms his way through the crowd, as they move around him, in full pack and gear. (He figured he'd just keep Fairing until he was tired enough to sleep under a tree or something).

Then, he saw her.

He walks up, pleasant as springtime, and greets Catrina. "Well, then, Miz GreySky! D'you have time for a question?"

(This does not seem to be leading to something like "does your mother sew?" or any other traditional fight-starters.)
This message was last edited by the player at 00:14, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Sora, by Antru's side, simply nods as he notices something. The half elf narrows her eyes and clenched her fist as Antru starts talking to the man.

All the rension seems to drain from the woman as she watches the interaction, a slight smile drawing on her face.

As he returns, her look was a little less morose and impressed. "Not how I'd approach it, but impressive none the less "

She threads her arm into Antru's as they walked on. [Language unknown: "N ncwaun ear waus olerreas plnd pe m osaile p u whifo ntiuremanrat."] She pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she looked at Alleycat, melody and Tiara. "I believe these gentlemen promised us a drink ladies."

"Oh, Mr Tallcut, looks like your back up with a spring in your step. Almost like I never gave you a beating in the first place." Cat says, munching on a cob of corn,"Mmh, go ahead, ask me whatever."

"So, here's the thing..."

Without getting too involved, here Bross gives Catrina a rough outline of his situation: his family has the tradition of the older children going out after Harvest-time and returning in the Spring, so as not to overburden the house with extra mouths to feed, then chipping in any fortune they've made in the meantime. He's not clearly asking her for anything until:

"...and so, I'm looking to what's even out here, y'see. To do."

(pause)

"How's one even get into your line of work? I just can't picture how to roll up to a town and make people to pay me to beat them up... not without their Guard getting in on it."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Catrina nods as Bross explains his situation, the masked woman tries thinking on what he should do,"Hmm, so your interested in using your brawn to earn a profit in the most legal way possible. Well kid, you could always try gladiatorial arenas. But if your interested in what I do, join in with the street performers, folks like to see someone brawl and stuff. But that kind of requires some hefty fines, especially to those clerical folks, their a bit on the greedy side around here. If you don't pay, the guards would surely chase you out." she explains as she eats a kebab,"Theirs also the monster slaying profession, it's completely legal and doesn't really require any sort of license, and you can use that axe of yours to good use. I, as a GreySky, am prepared to fight monsters from time to time if I'm low on income."

In reply to Sora (msg # 64):

Antru shakes his head at Soras words. "I merely spoke to a man. Nothing impressive about that." As he speaks he slips the small pouch into a pocket to look at later. [Language unknown: "Ilfous ove whe stous der catron sadi lacall willl ng omthu."] Antru says to Sora before she address the group about drinks. "So it is and so it shall be. Let us to the stall of Master Bitterbrew and sample his finest." He gives a small nod to Ned in hopes that the man would finish taking them there.

~~Not a bad way for him to disengage,~~ Mekkar thought to himself as he watched his target stroll away in the company of the couple to whom the fellow had attached himself for the purpose of leaving the area.

Seemingly Antru had either spooked the bandits before they had taken any stolen property in hand, or perhaps their activities had merely been a reconnaissance -- a "dry run", during which they had never intended to do more than look over their marks and the fairgrounds. Alleycat decided that there was no way of knowing for certain, one way or the other.

Alleycat rejoined the group that was trailing along behind Ned. "My man left the area without making a move on the merchant," he remarked quietly, with a shrug.

As he walked along, he stayed alert to the possibility of other suspicious activity. To his way of thinking, there probably more than two would-be thieves working the crowd.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:45, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

Taria watched intently during the incident and wondered if this was a new sort of occurrence in town or if this man just knew a side of the town that was hidden to her before she left. "That was interesting to see, or watch, or to learn about. Definitely something to continue to watch and probe for the good of the community. Maybe even something to warn the local sheriff about. Before that happened, I do not believe I had the opportunity to introduce myself. I am Taria, formerly Taria of Beehill, occasionally Taria of Candlekeep, but most often Apprentice Taria."

In reply to Taria (msg # 70):

Remembering his Shadows training regarding mingling with people of more refined natures, Mekkar inclined his head in recognition of being favored with certain personal details by the woman -- Taria of this and that, it seemed. Candlekeep, he had at least heard of. Beehill? Not so much. No idea.

"As for myself," he replied, "I am just lately arrived from Waterdeep. I answer to 'Alleycat'."

After letting his introduction linger for what he felt to be an appropriate amount of time, he continued. "You mentioned being an apprentice. If you do not mind my saying so, you do not strike me as being . . . ah, as being a good 'fit', if you will, for the rougher trades."

"A scribe, perchance?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:53, Fri 31 Dec 2021.

The sun has set. Town guards set about warning folks to back away from the bonfire area and prepare to set the wooden tower ablaze. Greenest's Chamerlain, and local connoisseur of all things brewwed, Aleric Raos, approaches Hargrin's stall in his official capacity as the head judge for the festival's brewing contest. Most of his large family and a group of local revellers follow him closely. Abit of a crowd gathers around as he starts his announcement.



"GREETINGS HARGRIN and CONGRATULATIONS!

I have come to present you with this year's Gold Medal for Brewing Excellence!

Your entry this year is the finest I have tasted! No small compliment!



The crowd around him laughs and cheers for Hargrin's efforts.

Now if you could pour me another Pint we can get this Party Started!

He blows a horn, the gaurds light the fire and the musicians on the center stage open up with a Lively Reel.

Most of the crowd starts dancing around the center stage.

Taria shakes her head, "Ummm no, well, not really. Many of my tasks are similar to a scribe, but that is incidental. The same could be said of cook, cleaner, laundress, or my role here in the village to refill parts of the stockroom."

She pauses with the  fanfair of the announcement and then finally concludes, "But that is what often happens when you learn from a Master Wizard."

In reply to Taria (msg # 73):

Judging by what Mekkar could hear over his shoulder, it sounded like the jolly Dwarf had done quite well for himself. To the extent that he could, he was listening with one ear to all of the hubbub that was part and parcel of Hargrin winning his award, whilst still attending to what Taria was saying to him.

His eyes momentarily widened as she announced the nature of her apprenticeship, but he did his best to mask his surprise as he turned his full attention to her. He had had some dealings with magickers back in Waterdeep, and he was wary of them and their powers, which always (to his way of thinking, any way) seemed to be far beyond the powers of normal men and women.

There were no magickers who were members of his guild, insofar as he knew. No, The Shadows had always hired them as "consultants" when a job required their special sort of talents and expertise. And their services were almost always quite expensive, based upon what he had heard of Basoro's ill-tempered mutterings.

As best Alleycat remembered, there were different flavors of magickers -- meaning different sorts of specializations, just as he and his guild-mates specialized in different sorts of chicanery -- some did second-story work, some were cut-purses, some were strong-arm burglars, and so on and so forth.

"Most impressive," he replied, and in this instance, he meant what he said.

"Do you, ah . . . have you yet chosen the classification of magicks that you wish to specialize in?" he inquired.

"That is a complex question. So many different types of classifications. Personally, my talents erupted with fire. I have a talent there, but I don't know if that is where I want to invest, create, and develop."

Melody continued to follow along with the group, trying to keep an eye out for these possible troublemakers, but so far it had been quiet after Antru's tomfoolery with one of them.

"I could have been a wizard, but I was apprenticed to a Bard to repay a debt.  It's work out for me so far." she said nonchalantly.  "Melody is my name and my game."

Sora, looking at both Taria and Melody, couldn't help but smile. The two had talent in magic - different styles but with the same outcome. She had once met a gnome bard - a woman of hard headedness and skill. She had a reasonable voice, but when she played on her viol, all would stop and watch. She had also saw her music come to life as the magic of music flowed.

She had also met a wizard - a surly human who dealt with less savor able magic (What people called necromantic magic). She didn't like him much, but could not deny his power.

You too have power

She felt the whisper in her mind - subtle and seductive. She knew who it was...the mistress was reassuring that her gifts also granted such power.

...something she didn't like to share with people.

She seemed to snap out of her reprieve as people made introductions, and smiled. "My name is Sora. My home is...." her comment trailed off as she took on a distant look, between sorrow, pain and a cold detachment - only for a moment. She sighed, the look passing as quickly as it came, then smiled again. "I think it's time for that drink."