|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:52 am
Trachtail City is a land alive with chatter and commerce, being famous for its wide array of shops, bazaars, and booths. People are regularly moving about their streets.
In the daytime it's almost always cheerful and bustling with activity and life. Most shops are open, and customers are seen moving from one store to another. Fisherman and foreigners haul their goods in crates up and down the roads. Overall, its an active community of happy people.
During the nighttime, though, Trachtail can be rather dangerous if no public event is being held. If there is one, say, a festival or a bazaar, then its just as lively as it is in the daytime. Most of the time there isn't, though. Gangs roam the streets freely. Black Markets are a common thing. The shadier businesses flip their closed signs to open. It's not a pleasant place to be in if caught off-guard.
If you want to play it safe, head inside at nightfall. If you like the sketchier environment, then by all means stay out. See where you end up in the morning...
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:14 am
Narco was stuck.
During an early morning breakfast run, she had been scoping the baker's, hoping to swipe a bun or two. Any amateur thief knew the best time for nicking was early morning or evening, where shopkeepers were the most vulnerable having just woken up, or were weary from a long day. Narco snuck around the stand nicking pastries here and there. Just as she was about to make a run for it, the baker clambered up from the cellar. Out of instinct, she jumped into the nearest hiding spot she could find. Unfortunately, that spot was an empty barrel, and now Narco found it incredibly difficult to move. The baker was rummaging through cupboards, and setting things on counters for display. Her only chance of escape was if he went down to the cellar again. Narco prayed silently to herself, and nibbled on a cornish pastie. Suddenly, the baker knocked over a jar of flour and was distracted. Narco took this time to shimmy out of the barrel, and make her way to the window. Her leg was already out the window, when suddenly she spotted a shiny object on the floor. Of course. They always showed up at the most inoppurtune times. Narco rolled her eyes and knew she had to swipe that key. Making sure the baker was still distracted, she crept back in, and reached for the shiny treasure. A spark seemed to run up her arm as she clasped the tiny object in her grimy hand. The key was pocketed, and Narco resumed her escape. Unfortunately, the baker stood up to fetch the broom and spotted Narco. "Oi! What're yeh doin' here?! Git outta here ya filthy rat!" Narco yelped, and clambered out the window, an angry baker on her tail.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:25 pm
Rubi sighed. The only sound she heard came from her money pouch, which unfortunately was not very loud. Coco had stopped barking days ago, and Rat gave no annoying advice, since he was practically passed out on Coco's back. The trio had been starving for two days now since they were forced to bail Rubi out of jail. Again.
"I'm sorry guys..." said Rubi, for what must've been the 20th time.
"Don't keep apologizing, you'll just get more tired..." Rat reminded her for the 25th time.
All Coco did was pant. Two days ago Rubi had been a murder suspect in a town nearby. Someone had murdered the mayor, and she was near the crime scene when it happened and was armed... Not to mention her record wasn't all that clean... She was to be jailed for a year, but Rat had bailed her out, wasting all their hard earned money.
Well. She thought. At least those villagers are happier now with their evil mayor out of the way. Unconsciously, she pulled on her right strap, the one holding the katana over her shoulder.
She continued to walk the streets in vain, hoping to find some opportunity for cash. Suddenly she heard multiple sounds at once, someone running, and another cursing through the streets. She turned around and saw a girl being chased by a big, bald man in an apron with a broom.
She adjusted her position on the street and reached into her bag, pulling out a little bomb, marked "smoke" on the front.
"Do you mind, Rat?" She held the little bomb over her shoulder.
"I can't believe this..." Said the faerie disapprovingly as he spit out a small bolt to fire, lighting the bomb.
Leaning to the side of a wall, Rubi counted down. "Three, two.... One!" and threw the bomb out into the middle of the street, causing a mild explosion and a lot of smoke. She went into it and grabbed the girl's collar. She knew it was the girl and not the baker as she was a lot shorter and lighter. Making haste, she ran out of the smoke and down the streets, dragging the girl along, Rat and Coco trailing behind her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:30 pm
Narco had nearly lost the pursuing baker, when suddenly the air was filled with smoke. She staggered to a halt, and started coughing and wheezing. What was going on?
Suddenly, Narco felt herself being yanked against her neck out of the suffocating cloud, only to be dragged along the hard cobblestones. She stumbled along, trying to keep up but only succeed in tripping and scraping her knobby knees.
Finally, they stopped in a remote green field a few yards away from the main city. Narco glared up at her captor.
"What the <********> was that for? I could've saved myself just fine... what in the world possessed you to carry a bomb throughout the streets anyway?" she pulled herself up off the grass and brushed herself off. Her arms were covered in small bruises, and her throat felt as if it was clogged with a bundle of cotton. In an effort to feel better, Narco reached into a small leather pouch on her belt and pulled out her new treasure. The key was worn from use, but still had a glint of silver around the collar and the pin. The design on the bow seemed simple at a glance, but upon further study, a small band of metal had been woven around the main handle and met at the base where it melted into the stem. A truly remarkable piece of metal-work. Narco quickly stowed away her new treasure and scowled at the girl and her... odd companions. "Who are you anyway?" she spat.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:15 pm
Rubi twitched. Rude, much? She thought as Coco and Rat caught up with her. "Freelance blacksmith, name's Rubi Lights." She looked down at the girl with slight annoyance on her face. She chose to unconditionally save her life and this is all she got. "And that bomb?" She couldn't help but proudly pat her side pouch, "Lots more where that came from."
"Don't go doing sudden things like that!" ranted Rat from on top of Coco who was panting louder now after the running. "Do you know what would've happened if we'd gotten caught!?" He continued to lose his temper, which happened quite often, but never lasted long. While she half listened, half stared at the key the girl was holding, countless facts streamed through her mind. It's an iron key, means it must've been made a while ago, looks like it's expertly crafted, maybe even beyond my abilities... She continued examining it until Narco put it away. "Can i see that?" She held out her hand. "That key?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:32 am
Narco whipped around and stared at her with glowering eyes. "Key? MY key? The one I nearly got jailed for by that insensitive baker? No, I don't think so." She kept a hand on her pouch and started back towards the city. Being beyond the town borders was a tad unsettling.
She continued down the little knoll they had been on, only to be met with a thick grove of trees. That's not right... Narco blinked, and turned around, convinced that the town was the other way. She walked past Rubi and to the other side of the knoll. However all she could see was an endless plain of green stretching out into the unknown. Narco gulped and hurried to back to the knoll.
"Where... where are we?" She asked timidly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:46 am
﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉XXXXXXA life of adventure's the life for me...
But where do I begin?
From the safety of one of the rooftops, Claire watched the spectacle unfold. Her eyes followed Rubi as she pulled a reluctant Narco away from the insane baker. As the dust settled and the baker was left completely clueless as to what happened, Claire attempted to hold back a laugh. That was ridiculous! That whole scene was ridiculous! And where the bloody hell did that girl obtain bombs?
Claire wanted one. Hell, she wanted more than one bomb. They would come in handy so often, it'd put her at a major advantage. She blinked twice, then looked in the direction they headed off to, then realized something. With that whole disturbance, the bakery would be a gold mine of food to steal.
The bombs would have to wait.
She looked up at the sky; night was soon approaching. Claire assumed it was around 6:00 or 6:30. Tonight would be the quietest of all nights. Everyone was likely fast asleep, considering the fact that one of the biggest festivals of all time were going to happen the very next day. People want to catch up on their sleep. This meant the city was open for her to get some serious loot.
Tonight was going to be fun.
Claire grinned, then slid down a nearby pillar, diving into the shadows in hopes the baker wouldn't see her. Fortunately for her, this man was an imbecile. He went straight for the direction of his house, most likely trying to find reinforcements or something. "Idiot." She mumbled under her breath, stealthily running to the window that Narco opened. Claire leaped up and swung her legs through it. She was in the bakery using no effort at all.
She stared in awe at everything. All the pastries, breads, muffins, cookies. Claire would definitely be eating good for the next few days. Quickly, she opened her canvas bag and pulled out a wadded up burlap sack from it. It used to belong to the man that sold vegetables down the street. Well, until Claire took it.
Immediately she got to work, cramming every last bit of food she could find into the sack. There were muffins, cakes, bread galore, and all of it belonged to Claire now, much to her satisfaction.
With a smirk, she tied up the burlap sack with some string from her canvas bag, then climbed out the window once more and dove for the shadows. She peeked out, looking for Narco and Rubi. Offering them food might get Rubi to tell her where she found the bombs. With a sigh, she saw they weren't there. Claire decided then that she'd scout them out.
She began walking in the direction they escaped from, munching on a lemon tart along the way.
There's so much to gain, so much to steal... It's all for a good cause, don't worry. ﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:19 pm
Rubi looked up at the sky turning dark, then back to Narco. "I don't know." She said solidly, refusing to let her fear show. She had just found a town and now she's lost! Talk about bad luck...
She sighed and tried to retrace her steps, oh if only she looked at where she was running! She began to get frustrated wit herself, which was quite common, but as usual she took a deep breath and kept calm, "I think we're lost." She tried not to panic as she said this. She closed her eyes and counted; three, two, one...
"What do you MEAN we're lost!?" Said the bad-tempered faerie once again, "we finally found a decent town after starving for two days and you say we're lost?!" Rat was practically shivering with anger. He looked up at the night and spit a bolt of fire that looked a little like a firecracker, then took in a breath. "Well it's not totally dark yet..." He said, finally calming down.
"You're right." Rubi replied, drawing her crossbow. She looked back at Narco, "Coco," she pet the husky's head. "Stay with her okay? I'm going to go find food," Coco's tail wagged and he barked happily at the mention of food. She nodded at Rat to do the same as she headed off in a random direction.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:38 pm
﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉XXXXXXA life of adventure's the life for me...
But where do I begin?
Claire kept walking, in hopes she'd find the pair. Her eyes scanned all of the buildings she could potentially steal from. She had a couple more empty burlap sacks wadded up in her canvas bag; she definitely had the ability to carry that much. The only problem was finding a place to store it all. Maybe those two goons and I could pair up and we can scrounge up some sort of shelter. It gets me closer to the bombs, anyway.
She stopped next to an alleyway, dropping the burlap sack of goods from the bakery and taking off her backpack, opening it up and fishing out rope. Claire tied it extremely tightly around the burlap sack, then took the other end and tied it to one of the straps of her backpack. It'd be easier to travel this way.
Before she stood up, she pulled out her pan flute. Might as well cure some boredom along the way. Standing back up with her bags on her back and flute in hand, she continued walking down the road. Claire began to play a small tune she heard someone humming earlier that day.
There's so much to gain, so much to steal... It's all for a good cause, don't worry. ﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:47 pm
Rat looked at Narco and sighed. He flapped his wings aimlessly and pointed up to a tree above them. "Help me break some branches," he said looking up.
Meanwhile, Rubi readied her crossbow as she crouched behind some bushes; she'd seen a rabbit hop by to nibble on some clovers and didn't want to miss the chance to shoot it. Keeping silent, she could almost hear it's teeth chewing, making her even more hungry from her two day starve. She knew she'd had to starve longer before, but they were on a winning streak before they lost all that money, and yet in her condition she'd pulled that thief away from her rightful captor. She didn't really know what she was thinking at the time, starving and with enough problems of her own already, but she shook it off, reminding herself that unlike her, she wasn't a thief, she worked for what she earned and that even that money was rightfully given to bail her out. She knows she may have done some... bad things, but, she was good, good on the inside, she knew it.
Slowly she raised above the bushes and released her arrow, shooting clean into the Rabbit's eye. A small smile graced her face at the perfect aim as she walked over to pull the arrow out and take the rabbit by it's ears, heading back from where she came.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:58 am
﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉XXXXXXA life of adventure's the life for me...
But where do I begin?
"This is one of those times where I wish I used magic." Claire said aloud. If she did, it's possible she could use it to find out where they are or teleport there or something. Or maybe magic didn't work like that. She didn't know; she never used it.
Bombs, bombs, bombs a-plenty. Gonna blow up your... house? No, no. That doesn't rhyme. Claire'd decided to make some little tune along the way about what she now sought after. ... Not working out so well, not at all.
With a frown, she pushed on, finding herself on the outskirts of town. Still, the two were nowhere to be found. "Where'd they go?" She wondered, putting away her flute and putting her hands on her hips.
I could use some gin right about now. There's my magic.
There's so much to gain, so much to steal... It's all for a good cause, don't worry. ﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:52 pm
With three rabbits slung over her shoulder, Rubi walked through the leafless trees on the outskirts of town, half hoping that the thief would be gone when she got back, which meant more game for the three of them.
She didn't remember how long she'd been taking care of Rat and Coco, she just knew that for them, without her, they would have nowhere else to go. Her mind wandered with each step, until a melody brought her back to reality, a woodwind flute. It was lively and sweet. She stopped to listen and as sudden as it came, it stopped. Rubi whipped around, trying to find the source of the sound. She didn't find anyone but a girl standing by a tree stump, impulsively she called out, "Hey!" she yelled down to her. "Are you lost?" And there she went again, curiosity getting the better of her as she began to walk down to where she was standing.
"So...." started Rat in a desperate attempt to start conversation. "What do you do for a living?" He sat in the middle of the gathered firewood and set himself on fire, letting his flames burn the wood, giving them warmth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:33 am
Narco reluctantly helped break twigs with the faerie. "I steal to keep myself alive if that's what you mean." She muttered, throwing the twigs onto the fire so that sparks flew into the air. The sky was getting somewhat darker now, and Narco huddled closer to the fire. Normally at this time, she would be in the alley most street urchins her age congregated at, swapping copper coins for scraps of bread and vice versa. Exchanging stories about their day, and what plans were for tomorrow. Well I sure have an interesting story. I doubt anyone could compete with being dragged into the middle of nowhere after nearly suffocating on a smoke bomb. Suddenly, she heard Rubi calling out to someone. Narco left the safety of the fire to see what was up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:53 am
"I see." Rat said, not wanting to continue this conversation any longer. Rubi had always believed in working for every cent, and that everything you earn you must earn fairly, or she wouldn't spend it. Rat knew that his image of her was noble, but there was a dark side to Rubi, a very dark side.
He heard the sound too and walked off the fire and onto Coco. They followed the girl. I wonder if Rubi knows she's a thief? He thought. We should be careful of what little money we have left. Coco trotted on the grassy land, trying to keep up with the girl. Hearing his master's voice brought his ears to a slight twitch.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 8:00 am
﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉XXXXXXA life of adventure's the life for me...
But where do I begin?
Claire turned at the girl's calling. Bombs awayyyyyyy! She thought happily as she saw Rubi approaching her. Putting her hands on her hips, she pulled her lips into a half-smile. "Lost? Me? Please, I know this city like the back of my hand. We're on the outskirts of Trachtail. The city isn't far-off from here."
She came a few steps closer to Rubi, holding her hand out for her to shake, her other hand still on her hip. "Name's Claire. Claire Jensen. And you?"
Maybe she was being too friendly right from the start. Claire didn't know.
There's so much to gain, so much to steal... It's all for a good cause, don't worry. ﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉﹊﹉
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
