Southwest Gate - Thallius

[Charlie Wallace]

Dustin raised his hands to the sky. He said, "Not just a thunderstorm, but a horrific display of streaking bolts of light. Raindrops as big as goose eggs and clouds so dark the sky appeared to be falling down."

Wally said, "We ran blindly until we stumbled onto a rise. A small light was visible. We covered the ground to the Hillcrest Tavern. Inside, the barkeep and the few travelers taking their sup were not concerned at all. They hadn't heard the thunder and were curious as to why we were wet. We looked about and noticed the ground outside the tavern was dry."

Dustin said, "It was the crocodile that caused the storm. Almost like a personal attack on us."

[Thallius Eventide]

"Aye?" Devlin said thoughtfully as he listened to the story. "Hmmm.... odd, indeed. If ye don't mind my askin', where're ye fellahs from? Ye do anythin' else besides load silk here at the docks?"

He continued loading his own bundles of silk, quite curious now of the outcome - and the reasonings - of this story, real or not as it may have been. "I hear stuff about spirits, too," Devlin continued, "doin' stuff like that. Dunno if I believe in spirits, myself, but... ye never know..."

[Charlie Wallace]

Dustin told the halfling about their trip down from Abestat. In search of steady work, he and Wally had found working in the salt air good for their lungs and their muscles. They liked the constant source of crowns and cheap places to spend them.

Wally said, "Truth being...I ain't had much desire to travel north again on the road. If I ever return to Abestat, it will be by ship. I ain't passing that area of woods near the Hillcrest Tavern if I can help it.

[Thallius Eventide]

Devlin and Thallius looked at each other uncertainly after the story was finished, now rethinking their ideas of heading out through the gates of Portshire toward the general area of Abestat. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Devlin offered the men a light smile, as though he were trying to reassure the two. Maybe he was trying to distract himself from the way the story was causing him to think. Surely there was not a stone crocodile?

"Well we thank ye for what we'll take as a warnin'," the halfling said to them, tossing another bundle in with the others. "Dunno if I wanna be stuck in the situation, myself, so it's nice to know, fer sure."

[Charlie Wallace]

Dustin loaded the last bale before darkening. The conversation had remained cordial, but no more words about the thunderous stone crocodile were mentioned. At the end of the day, crowns were dispersed. Dustin and Wally collected theirs from Amanda. They headed directly for the Boarhouse. Dinner and rum were on their minds.

Amanda held out the wage for Devlin and Thallius. The twenty-five crowns would hardly compensate for the back-breaking work, but there were plenty of idle hands who thought twenty-five crowns for twelve hours work was good earnings.

[Thallius Eventide]

Devlin was discontent with his pay but hardly breathed a word to the hand that fed them. Thallius was equally as quiet, but wasn't eager to press himself at such work for such pay again. The two put the crowns away to pay for another meal they would surely need, and then made their way in the direction of the boarhouse in order to converse amongst themselves.

The two were back in the boarhouse for the evening and simply relaxed there, Devlin paying careful attention in hopes of catching some interesting gossip. Thallius rested against his chair half asleep as his companion did his usual routine, his awareness reaching all about him but fading all the same.

[Charlie Wallace]

The noise of the barrrom didn't keep Thallius from resting from the day's hard labor.

Devlin kept aware of the surrounding din, trying to pick up small bits of information being whispered or argued at various tables. Devlin's hearing was good. Distinct senses filtered the unimportant from the important. A hushed phrase from the table directly behind the halfling mentioned a hidden moor. There was more to the sentence, but a fight had started at the table to Devlin's left. He could hear no more.

ooc: It was twenty-five crowns for each. CW.

[Thallius Eventide]

A hidden moor, eh?

Well that was certainly interesting. Yet before long a few drunken men disrupted Devlin's eavesdropping, and stirred Thallius from his stupor. The two lept up and vacated the scene before any authorities happened upon the occurance, and travelled Portshire's streets through the lingering light.

Devlin discussed quietly the news of a hidden moor. Thallius of course was used to such stories and knew Devlin to be tantalized with random promises of treasures. Anything that was hidden or mysterious in location gave Devlin an unspoken promise of loot to be found.

Still, the two were tired. They happened upon a warehouse that was quiet and empty, obviously unused, and remained there warily for the night. If they were allowed to sleep uninterrupted, they would depart from it the next day, and then think about other courses of action during their visit to the city of Portshire.

Devlin continued his musings on the location of the moor. He wanted to hear more about it so that maybe their search would not be in complete vain. It could have been a local myth or a dangerous home to unfavorable creatures, so Thallius wanted some convincing stories before they bothered with anything.

The returned to the boarhouse and Devlin looked for the familiar face of the manager, then offered the man a light smile and a wave, hoping for his attention.

"What's this speak of some hidden moor?" the halfling asked the man casually if he were to approach them. "I've been hearin' stuff about it since we arrived here."

More or less, anyway.

Ooc: Thank you, I'll change my CIR accordingly.

[Charlie Wallace]

Jeridith's eyes were red. His blotched face seemed drawn and haggard. He said, "It's up north, or so it's rumored. It's also called the lair of the swamp king or the unknowable swamp. I think it's just swallowed up so many adventurers, they romanticized it into a magical place. The hidden moor sounds so much more gutsy than bog."

[Thallius Eventide]

Devlin seemed disappointed. He nodded his head, sighed a bit, and then stretched his smaller limbs. He motioned for Thallius to accompany him as he stood from his tavern seat. He thanked Jeredith with a friendly smile.

Thallius stood, running his hands through his hair, and took note of the growing hair on his face, ready to shave it by now. The two left the boarhouse quietly, not the sort to plunge headlong into what was obviously danger beyond them. Especially if they were merely myths.

...ooc: Timestamp, third cycle of Junctior, Era XIV Post Fractum

It was a cycle or two before they decided their chances for legal work were exausted. And beings as they were unwilling to go hunting for employers in watering holes they didn't frequent, the two decided they would work with their own intuition and take another risk.

They picked a rather important-looking shop within Portshire, Madam Louisa's Bridal, nearing the South gates where they seemed more in value than those nearer the docks. They observed its apparent schedule from the outside for a few brightenings, but given that they were unable to see everything, it was left up to Thallius to risk getting caught.

One evening, when shop closed up and things grew a great deal more still, Thallius stepped as lightly as possible on the smooth streets and searched for any back entrances. He moved along the length of the building, his hands trailing for anything small, but he highly doubted that a shop of any kind would have special entrances to miss.

Devlin never accompanied him on trips such as these. The halfling knew nothing about the procedures. He simply waited anxiously in the warehouse, not sleeping, and hoping for a productive night.

[Charlie Wallace]

ooc: Thallius, I right with you on the robbery, but I need you to pick a shop. Here is a link to the map and the properties in Old City. CW.

[Charlie Wallace]

Straight in from the gate in the Wall of Division, the wooden shop was perched on the fringe of the merchant district of Old City. The rows of fine houses across the street were home to the wealthy class of Portshire.

The Bridal Shoppe stood within sight of the Thanal Manor. As were the neighborhoods of Old City and the docks, the area Thallius reconnoitered was patrolled by squads of Sapphire Guardsmen. The frequency was sporadic and the surveillance dutiful.

The proprietor, a tall, black-haired girl dressed in a formal gown, locked and left the shop an hour before darkening.

[Thallius Eventide]

The patrol was sporadic, so Thallius could only hope that he would be able to sift around the movements in a way he would not be detected right away. He moved along the buildings, doing his best to use them as cover from the watchful eyes of the patrollment, peaking over a corner every now and then in nervous wariness of his position.

If he reached the bridal, he would watch it from around another building, waiting for the woman to lock up shop and make her way home for the night. He then glanced around himself in hopes that he was not yet detected, and moved his way to the building and hid there for a moment.

If there was no back door, he would wait for it to get darker. He then placed his hood over his head and sifted around quietly with gloved hands for his lockpicks, hoping for a time of quiet or peace to use them on the door.

He then made his way as quietly and as quickly as he could to the lock, and began to work at it methodically and as efficiently as possible. Even the slightest noise made him glance around, yet even in times of quiet he would keep his eyes on the area about him. If any movements were heard, he would have to try and slip back into complete shadows again.

[Charlie Wallace]

The back door faced the lawn. It was quieter off the road, and Thallius was diligent to listen for every sound. His picks made almost inaudible scraping sounds inside the old lock. The lock snapped open. The click of the warded lock was familiar to Thallius.

The lock had been simple. So far Thallius had not heard any of the noises associated with a patrol. A dog barked in the next street, but the noise was unrelated to the thief's work.

[Thallius Eventide]

Thallius was relieved to hear the sound of the lock. At first he tested the door a tiny bit to see if it would open without making any loud noises. If it didn't, he'd slip through as quickly as he could and close the door quietly behind him. If there was anything like a bell on the inside, he'd try to hold the ball within it in order to keep it from clanging as it was pulled.

In the darkness, he'd let his eyes adjust to the new environment of the room, glancing about himself at anything that might obstruct him or cause noise of hit or stepped over. He then proceeded to look about himself for anything of apparent value, as well as the condition in which these things were kept. Anything too bulky, large, or heavy would have to be left behind, but he had a loot bag that would serve to hold older things.