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Food for thought.; Open, 1-2 people.
Topic Started: Mon Nov 22, 2010 11:36 am (839 Views)
redfiver
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Kaess noted that the halfling he was targeting had jumped down and ran inside a collection of strange roof tops. He was impressed with her daring at attempting such an escape. She had skill, but she had clearly tried some dangerous maneuvers there. ‘Talent and a lack of common sense, bad combo … Then again how much common sense do I have wandering into this run down place. Ah well time to get it over with.’

The new location was a good place for her to hide it seemed. It was hard to follow sounds or get a good bearing on things. Still he was committed to trying for a bit more. He had been in such places before and anything could happen there. His instinct confirmed that it was dangerous in there.

He unsheathed his clawed gauntlets and put them on in a smooth motion. He also bet down and released the blades on his boots. With his weapons out he could deal with any footpad or tough thrown at him. Still he would have to watch out for insidious traps too. He wasn’t invincible, but he was still very hard to kill.

This only took a brief moment his hands and body blurring with the speed. He then cautiously proceeded into the place. He watched for movements of any sort carefully keeping an eye out for his target. He decided that if she was probably watching him. If she wasn’t that his search was already pointless. She could disappear for days in such a place. Thus he tried to talk to her and end this silly chase. “Well now you are watching me now right and you certainly are leading me on a merry chase. I truly have to wonder at why someone would run away from an offer of a room for the night and a fresh meal, to run back to a place like this. Still if you are there maybe you will reconsider now and just talk with me a bit instead of running all over the place?”
Edited by redfiver, Mon Feb 7, 2011 1:58 am.
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Marissa Skeates
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Quietly, Marissa's bare feet plodded along through the shadows of a lean-to perhaps twenty feet from the half-dragon. She was on the side opposite him, hidden by a couple of barrels filled with junk and the canvas that shadowed her. She watched him through some tears in the fabric for a moment before moving on. Places like this made it easy to hide, but only for so long. It was important not to stay in one location for too long, lest one's location be discovered by a keen-eared pursuer. Across planks and broken crates did she flee, her silent steps carrying her even further from the man. He was still within her sight, but he did not know this place; that gave her the advantage, allowed her to hide in plain site almost indefinitely - and that was exactly what the halfling was counting on.

A place for the night, he said? Please. She had plenty of places around here to sleep; some of them were even quite comfortable and warm. Why would she sacrifice the known and the (mostly) safe (for her, at least) for the unknown, placing her life completely within the mercy of another? She had never submitted to another before (and there were many that would have gladly made a cute little halfling 'submit', the loose-eyed bastards) and she would not do so now. This man wanted something; everyone wanted something. If he wasn't offering something in return, then he was pretending to.

Needless to say, as Marissa caught her breath and moved about the rooftops, she wasn't feeling particularly friendly.

"What do you want from me, creature?" she called out, her voice bouncing off a dozen different walls and echoing in several directions.

If there was one place she knew better than anywhere else, it was this place. She knew where she could get the best echoes and where the best places to hide or to creep along unobserved were. That's what living in areas like this got you: quick and smart, or dead quick. Marissa was of the latter variety, having no will to share a mug of mead with Death any time soon, no matter how riveting the conversation.
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redfiver
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Kaess was impressed at the planning the thief had gone into choosing locations. The voice came at him from all angles. He couldn’t guess a location from sound it seemed. All there was to do was just wait and listen to what she said in response to him. If he got to know a bit of how she thought he might be able to guess her location. It hadn’t been his first time to deal with a cleaver opponent.

Kaess felt pleased that he was right, she was still in the area. Even though her response was a bit negative at least he had reached this point. He couldn’t help smiling a little and laugh at her comment. “Creature am I, well I suppose you can call me that, but my name is Kaess. If you will be willing to tell me your own name or at least something I can call you in a minute or two that would be nice. As for what I want from you….. well honestly it quite simple. I just wanted to talk with a thief and point that person in what could be a better direction for their life. Surely having a secure steady job would be better than constantly stealing and hiding from the law in places like this.

I certainly wasn't expecting this much difficulty. You have surprised me with the chase you lead me on. Not many can escape me when I want to catch them. So on that front I congratulate you. You have a lot of talent and you could put that talent to far better use than picking people’s pockets.”


He decided he had said enough at that point. It really depended on how this thief reacted. So many different reactions were possible. If he had any hope of convincing the person that there were other options in life he had to be careful. He feared that he had already said too much.
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Marissa Skeates
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((You have a comp error? Just letting you know...you double-posted your reply.))

"Ha!" echoed the halfling's response.

All this for a job offer? Really? That was his story? Wow. He was quite the fool if he thought that Marissa would be so easily manipulated. One did not chase a simple thief this far just to offer them a job, not when said thief wasn't that well-known. She was no Red-Cloak or Tommy the Sure-Footed. She was no master rogue intent on taking control of a massive criminal enterprise or expert assassin people came to when they'd exhausted all other avenues. No, she was just a simple thief trying to make her way in the world.

"Nice try, creature," she responded, purposefully trying to anger him.

Angry people did not do well in places like this. Their judgment became clouded and they forgot to check for things like traps, focusing instead on hurting the nearest source of irritation with as much force as possible. This one was clearly physically powerful or he would not have been able to keep up for this long (although, perhaps the wings and the crown had helped a bit).

No, she had not missed the presence of the crown on his head. It seemed that she was not the only one to receive a magical trinket for Winter Festival. At least she knew now that he had celebrated it, possibly even stalked her at a party somewhere - she'd crashed a couple of them, though without exposing herself too much.

"Tell me, creature," she continued, refusing to call him by his name or reveal her own, "when an entire society breaks you down until you must resort to thievery, and then condemns that thievery, what kind of world should you raise your daughter in? When an honest one will not welcome you and trust is no longer an option, what would you do out of desperation? Not all of us have such noble upbringings."

Working for thirty years only to be replaced by someone younger and stronger didn't make for much of a life, especially with a family to feed. You get too old and people think you should retire; you look too young and people won't hire you. And if you grow up in poverty, no one trusts you. What, then, was the point of trying to live honestly? Quite frankly, Marissa had never seen it.
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redfiver
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Kaess sighed at the response. He wasn’t angry, but he was a bit sad. Clearly this one had already lost her way farther than he had thought. It was too bad it was starting to look like it was a hopeless case. Still he would try a bit longer. Sometimes a person surprised you and he hopped this was the case.

He thought about what she said it was true that many led a tough life and when it wasn’t fair it could beat down even the best of people. He could understand the feeling to some extent. He had traveled for decades by himself and rarely had he any help in those times. Sometimes he barely made it to his next meal, but still he had worked hard and now his efforts had been rewarded with a good home and several friends.

“I am not a stranger to hardship. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I found my life in a more stable place. It wasn’t easy to get there either. I remember nearly starving on my travels several times. There were close calls with death too. I will not claim that life isn’t fair, but if you don’t make an effort to help it be better, then progress will not be made.

An honest life is not easy, but it comes with many benefits. It may seem slow, but the effort is worth it and does make a difference. You don’t have to run and you know where your next meal is coming from. True friends would be easier to find. Ones who won't leave you behind or stick a knife in your back. If you work hard enough you can raise you place in the world and become a source of hope for others. There is so many other things you can do with your life than be a thief. I simply want to offer an alternative to this life you lead now.

As you said the world isn’t fair, so I can’t help every single person, but I can at least try to help those I run across. If you think me an idealist and stupid that is fine, but do consider the offer. Don't let your talent go to waste. The choice is yours.”



He hopped she would consider his offer, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t. He prepared himself to leave soon. Still he waited for her answer.
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Marissa Skeates
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The halfling's derisive snort could not have been heard by any but those with the most sensitive of ears, and even they would have been hard-pressed not to pass it off as merely a rush of wind against a clothesline in this place. As her hairy feet carries her silently across a make-shift floor, careful not to disturb an even more carefully laid trap, she did indeed consider the creature's words. The half-dragon might very well have been right: perhaps a few 'true' friends and a steady stream of gold would have been a good thing - but it was not something Marissa was likely to experience in her lifetime. She would only live a century, after all. What was it the elves said - that friends of old live history rather than simply learn it? If she had to live as long as an elf to get that kind of loyalty and respect, it wasn't worth it even if she was somehow able to.

"You assume I have not tried, creature," Marissa's voice echoed. "Society is a melting pot filled with corrupted ideology and false compassion. You have become so self-righteous as to chase me halfway across the city, and now you excuse yourself by saying you want to help me. I trust you as much as I trust the bums in the streets below us."

Truth be told, she trusted this one even less. However, she was most definitely surprised and impressed by his resolve. If nothing else, he was certainly persistent. Whatever 'job' he gave her, however, would likely be one of submission. She would not live as a flea so that some fool with more money than sense could feel good about himself as he feasted on the gods only knew what. Of course, if he gave her a reason to trust him - and a damn good one at that - she might consider his offer of a job more seriously. But he was an inhuman monster claiming to be benevolent and she'd never seen or heard of him, so she presently had less reason to trust him than she had to trust a politician's bittersweet words.
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redfiver
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Kaess sighed at the response. He felt that this conversation would go nowhere for the moment, but perhaps he had planted a small seed here. He would give it time and maybe that seed would grow a bit.

“As I said life isn’t always fair and to be honest curiosity of what sort of person you would be kept me going in this chase as much as anything else. I am by no means a perfect person. Sill I see that you are already on your own path for the moment. I shall not bother you much longer. If you ever feel like exploring my offer more look up a pair of merchants in Istan. Their company is called the Twin Jackals.

Tell them my name and they will be able to give you direction to my monastery. It is on Therab, but it is a peaceful place. As long as you don't disturb the peace and if you are willing to work a bit you will be welcome there. I train many people there in the martial arts, so it is an active place as well. I suppose unless you have changed your mind I shall leave for now.”


He rummaged in his bag for a bit finding some items. He tossed out a small wrapped cured ham and small bag that clinked on the ground. The bag was very small, but contained a couple gold coins and several silver coins. It was most of the coin he had left over from shopping. Plus Kaess was well off these days with the treasures collected from his adventures and the occasional jobs he got from his merchant friend paid well enough if that supply ever ran low. However, he probably would have given this much away even if he wasn’t well off. It was just in his nature.

“That is a small gift to apologize for the inconvenience of me chasing you. I don’t know if it will help, but maybe you can steal a bit less for a little while.”

Kaess then proceeded to back away enough and make sure the thief collected the small gift before heading back outside to leave for home. It was late, but he felt a good flight into the late night would be a good thing right now. He doubted that the thief would stop him and take up his offer, but there was always a chance she would come in the future.
Edited by redfiver, Thu Feb 24, 2011 4:50 am.
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Marissa Skeates
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This half-dragon, if indeed half-dragon he was, either believed Marissa to be a fool or was so naive himself as to believe that his words actually held merit. He had the nerve to think himself so much better than her that he would invite her into his home, possibly some kind of trap? Did he think she would not suspect, or perhaps that she would come along willingly (if his so-called 'offer' was genuine) simply because he was trying to do right by her? She did not need his pity or his generosity, and she would not take it unless there was more than a bit of martial arts training to be had. Gold, for example, and perhaps a few nice magical items - things of true value in this world, not fighting ability she could get from almost anywhere else. If she wanted to learn to do what everyone else in the world did, she'd have joined the Cascadian Guard long ago.

Or the local mob, more like.

But to leave out something as a supposed 'gift' was another matter entirely, now wasn't it? Of course, she knew a trap when she saw one - but she saw no evidence of tampering. She slunk forward through the shadows, but she spoke as she did to give him one final piece of advice. He was clearly in dire need of some if he thought things were easy enough that one could simply go to a monastery to avoid their problems. If things were that easy, no one would have any bloody problems.

"Then I leave you with these final words, creature," she began. "Society is a cesspool. It is a churning pot of bubbling acid, a fetid swamp filled with people who would as soon turn on one another as look each other in the eye. Hands are shaken for false deals and the greater good is seen as anything that aids those who can pay for it. As I said, not everyone is so noble as you, creature." Her words were turning scornful here, but she asn't finished. "And when society falls, it is to us - the rogues, the bandits, the outlaws of society - to whom the hypocrites and cowards will turn. And some of us may show them pity. I will not. I am done dealing with the wretched fools that deign to think themselves above me, and if you had any sense, you'd turn against society, too.

"Nothing good can come of turning to people who would abandon you at the first sign of personal peril."

And with that, she was done talking. The half-dragon was nowhere near the food now, and if there were any traps upon it or upon the small pouch near it, the halfling would have found them already. What small piece of string remained from her earlier misadventure she now used as a lasso to reel in the coins. She inspected them, but there was nothing for it. she emptied the coins into her own pocket and threw the pouch back. She reeled in the food and inspected that as well, but there were no traps. She sneered, but said nothing, and slunk back into the shadows once more.

"Fare thee well, creature," she said in a very mocking tone.

Clearly, sincerity was mixed with cynicism where this one was concerned.

She watched the half-dragon as she slowly backed deeper into the maze...
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