[Private Trade Circle] The Many Guises of Opportunity (Laby, I think?)

[Strover Selthannin]

Timestamp: Aperitus 20, Summer of Era XIV PF

Strover Selthannin was not one generally given to brooding. The young half-elf tended to live his life from one moment to the next -- one had to, when there was a very real necessity of being able to run, fast, at any given moment.

For Strover was a pickpocket, and a fairly adept one. Hanging about in the Private Trade Circle was a good way to make a few quick crowns for a pickpocket with even a little bit of skill. The large crowds and all the bumping and jostling that took place entirely naturally made it completely unnecessary for Strover to accidentally-on-purpose run into people, and made his job almost too easy.

Strover was in a bit of a pensive mood this brightening, something to which he was not very accustomed. But it happened that he had a free moment to think -- as much, anyway, as one could think while scanning the crowds to find a promising purse. And the reflections running through his mind were not at all to his liking. He decided he had better take a bit of a break and track down what was bothering him, because bothered pickpockets get distracted, and distracted pickpockets get caught.

And caught was something Strover had no desire to be.

The young thief made his way to the outskirts of the Private Circle, delaying his musings and making sure to ply his trade on the way. Eventually, though, he could be seen leaning up against the corner of a building, bouncing one of his stolen purses in his hand and musing. Distractedly, he guessed from its weight and sound that it held something like a crown and a half in silver coins, and it was that estimation which brought him to the crux of the dilemma he faced. Picking pockets and cutting purses was getting to be too routine, too easy. He could guess with reasonable accuracy how much he had before ever he laid eyes on the spoils, and it was never quite enough. Strover wasn't starving, of course. He made a fairly decent living at what he did, and the opportunities were quite literally limitless. But he wanted something with a bit more challenge -- and a bit more profitability. Perhaps further development of his skills would be in order, but what he really wanted was to broaden his horizons into other areas. Some of the sneakthieves he was acquainted with brought home some very pretty trinkets with misleading regularity. If Strover could learn to transfer the ownership of some of those sorts of things, he could very quickly find himself making weekly what now took him an entire month to accumulate.

This would definitely bear some further exploration.

[Labyrinth]

“Catch much?”

Came the whisper from beside him, the young thief known to Strover as 'Light Fingered Kim' having emerged from the crowd, peeling an apple with his belt knife. The man was younger than Strover by a year or two, a human of growing talent who had, by luck alone, recently bagged a considerable sum from a wealthy visiting merchant.

As a result of this his esteem in the guild had risen and he'd been taking private jobs for the man Strover paid his share of the take to, Jeromiah.

This was not to say that Kim was arrogant as a result of his find, he in fact was modest and rather unimposing despite being a pick pocket and a thief, but then perhaps that was what got Jeromiah's eye and why he was good? Or maybe it had nothing to do with it at all. Either way the blue eyed lad with his wavy black hair, easy features and half-decent dress had never said anything bad to Strover and was one of the nicer lads who worked the Private Trade Circle. This, it seemed, was part of why he'd come to see Strover this brightening, they'd worked together before...but only handing off the take so that the guards didn't catch them with anything on them.

No, this seemed different though, there was a furtive look in Kim's eye that said his question wasn't even really meant to be answered as he gestured Strover deeper into the shadows and kept talking.

“Jeromiah's given me this job Strov.” He said quietly, whispering in Strover's ear. “Wants me to pick the pockets of some visiting diplomat, wants papers not money and says there's only once chance of it later this brightening when the man leaves the Aedile's...”

His lent back from Strover and looked him in the eyes, his voice possessed of its usual lilt but surprisingly tense.

“See though I think this is a test. Dunno what for but a test, I need your help Strov, the old one two. One of us distracts him, the other goes for the kill and then we leg it like we're being followed by an Imperial Legionnaire.”

Kim was clearly watching for Strover's reaction to all this as he laid out his plan and what he'd been told.

“We're to get told by Tilly what pocket he's got the documents in, she's apparently got a job in the Aediles, or knows one of Jeromiah's eyes and ears, you up for this? And if you are do you want to distract the guy or to the lift?”

By lift he meant the picking of the pockets.

[Strover Selthannin]

Strover made a small snort of derision at the whispered question, and that was answer enough. Especially since it seemed like Kim wasn't really curious about the answer. Following the younger thief deeper into the shadows of the alleyway, Strover automatically looked both ways -- and upwards, knowing that the roof is often the easiest place to hide -- to see if they were being overheard, and then listened to Light Fingered Kim's proposition.

Papers? A test of some kind? It was interesting, Strover thought, that the world seemed to provide just what he had been looking for, just when he had decided he wanted it. Interesting, fortuitous, and altogether quite an amazing coincidence.

But Strover Selthannin didn't believe in coincidences, especially fortunate ones, and it was perhaps partly due to this that he was still both alive and unincarcerated. Oh, he would try his hand at this test, to be sure, but he wouldn't hardly do it without a great deal of caution and suspicion. He said as much to Kim.

"A test, you say? And you don't know what it's for?" Strover pondered the question for a few minutes, then gave Kim a winning grin. "Count me in, mate. I owe you for helping me get rid of the take now and then, but even if I didn't, I like you enough and the job's interesting enough for me to want to help you out. Especially if it leads to something bigger and better than that." He indicated the Trade Circle almost contemptuously, motioning over his shoulder with his thumb.

"You want my help, Kim, it's yours. I'm not about to leave you hanging, but besides that, I was just this minute wishing for something a bit more challenging to do, and this is certainly that. I like your plan, too. Nice and simple. Tell you what, you're not named Light Fingered for nothing, and it is, after all, your job. But I've no idea at all how I'd distract the man long enough for you to make a clean swipe of these papers we're after, so I think if it's all right with you, I'd rather make the lift."

"I can try to distract him instead though, if you'd rather make the lift yourself. It's your job, so you're the boss. Where are we supposed to meet Tilly?"

"Oh, and one last thing," Strover added with a grin. "About running like we had a Legionnaire on our heels -- we'd better, mate. If this diplomat guy's as important as you say, we just might have one."

[Crimson]

"She said near the Aediles. We'll wait for her signal", Kim said with a slight grin, "meet me in two candlemarks. You better get ready too. Maybe dress like a girl?" He chuckled softly then shook his head. "I jest. But most diplomats are suppose to like saving little girls and the like." He shrugged before making a quick saluting gesturing with his forefinger and middle finger. "I'll see you there. 'Rale."

With that the lightfingered thief walked off in the opposite direction of the alley, alongside a few strangers. He ran into one, apologized, then casually walked off before darting into a nearby alley. Before long, one of the strangers, a middle aged woman who was carrying a fairly large purse suddenly panicked.

"By the gods!", she screamed then looked around to find Kim long gone, "that little urchin stole my visa! Guards, guards!"

That'd be a good cue for Strover to leave.

[Strover Selthannin]

Noticing the "accident," Strover started to grin, until the woman noticed her missing Visa. If the young thief knew anything, a missing Visa was the least of the poor woman's problems. Or at least she was poor now, having been another victim of Light-Fingered Kim. Trying very hard not to grin and succeeding admirably, Strover wandered off in the general direction of away from the loud middle-aged woman.

Two candlemarks near the Aedile's, Kim had said. That left just enough tim efor Strover to wash, change into something more presentable to fit in better with the people in that part of town, and make his way over to see exactly what he was getting himself into. Strover was so excited he almost forgot to steal another purse on his way home -- but one has to make a living after all, and the merchant he bumped into and relieved of a few crowns could afford a new one.

OOC: D'you want to start a new thread, or continue this one, or what? I'm excited to see where this will take me

[Crimson]

The well-dressed fellow cursed and scoffed when Stroven briefly ran into him. He wouldn't be too happy once he got home, no.

Walking to the Aedile's office, the aspiring thief noted that the cobblestones of Nexus were indeed a little less busy at that time in the afternoon. The Suns were descending from their thrones and had painted a crimson and purple streak in the skies above. A perfect picture for the perfect job, or test. One could never be sure which was which.

It didn't take long for Strover to notice Kim's lithe figure up ahead. He was dressed in the same set of clothes that rendered him near impossible to see in the dark, let alone pick out in the moving crowd. But nothing about the young thief screamed 'I'm going to rob you now!' That was the art of deceit. No one is suppose to know until the moment they were robbed, mugged, or worst.

"Ay glad to see you didn't fish flop", Kim grinned, "they should be outta there in a few minutes." He indicated the main door coming from the Aedile's offices. The structure was as official looking as its name. It employed a good amount of people during the brightening, scribes, clerks, assistants and the like. The Senior Aedile was suppose to be a kind female elf but Strover didn't know more than that.

"You remember the plan right?", Kim asked with a raise of his brow, "pick and go. Easy breezy. Then we run like Jalat's on our arses."