[Seaside Market] May the Best Thief Win (Solo)

Two thieves collide for the possession of a single treasure, and only one of them shall triumph in the end.

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[Seaside Market] May the Best Thief Win (Solo)

Postby Lievdarg Prustian on November 30th, 2011, 11:18 pm

Afternoon of the 90th of Fall, 511 AV.

"Another day in Sunberth. A beautiful day. Those should be enjoyed while they last, after all, winter is on the verge of arrival," the thoughts crossed Prustian's mind whilst observing the market and looking for his next victim. He had, after all, to put some food on the table and alcohol down his throat. "It's a beautiful day for pickpocketing. I can't wait to feel these pockets heavy with shiny metal." He was wearing his usual outfit, good enough to blend into the crowd and move swiftly at the same time. Both of those were a requirement for this job, at least with Lievdarg's limitations on his ability. He knew he was not perfect in his ability of a pickpocket, but he could work on improving it. Many had perfected this art before him, he could get there someday as well.

And a bustling day in the market it was, the stench of fish was strong in the air, shops were once again open after the fighting from a few days prior, and everything was back to usual. It was a perfect setting for his endeavors, easy to get away from the view if necessary. His eyes quickly spotted some potential victims: A man wearing a mantle with pockets standing in a corner, a woman in a not-so-fancy dress observing the goods in a stand and a taller man wearing rags walking amidst the crowd. "A mantle, the joy of winter came early this year! The more straps they wear, the easier it is to steal and not be noticed. But he's hard to reach, maybe I could wait for him to leave his spot. Or perhaps I could try stealing from that woman, she seems distracted enough. But this other man..." he silenced his thoughts and began observing the tall man and started to notice something curious about him, "He is always groping his right pocket." It's hard to get too good loot in Sunberth, as most people already expect to be stolen from anyways. There was true potential on carefully choosing a victim, this is something Lievdarg knew too well, and this man seemed promising to him, "He has something in there, I know he does! But still, he dresses so poorly. Maybe he believes that it's possible to draw away the attention from thieves by dressing poorly? That'd be folly." His feet swiftly moved among the passers-by to get closer to the man. He hoped he was right, as the other targets were clearly easier to steal from.

Reaching him was not quite easy still. Lievdarg had to dodge quite a few individuals before getting close enough, and that required some heavy footwork, something he still did quite poorly. It took him quite a while to get within the reach to grab his precious treasure from the man's pocket, but how would he do it? He needed some distraction, something to draw away the man's attention. He clearly seemed to be quite worried about the contents of his pocket, it would not be so easy to get him to focus somewhere else for a change. Lievdarg needed luck. Thieves need luck above all, there is always the chance something will go wrong, or perhaps the treasure turns out not to be so worthy of his efforts at all. Lievdarg was not master of larceny, he needed the distraction, and the sun shone on his favor that day.

Suddenly a whole pile of iron pans fell down on the floor from a stand to the west, making a horrible noise. The man got quite surprised. Lievdarg did not know what had happened, and nor did he care. All that he knew is that it was exactly what he needed to grab whatever was in that pocket and get away as soon as possible. His fingers moved swiftly and a pouch quickly slipped from the pocket into his hands. He then disappeared into the crowd, and could hear the man yelling about having lost his pouch just a few moments later. Gladly Lievdarg was out of view already, and by opening the pouch and tossing its contents on his palm he could feel the cold touch of coin. "There is nothing like the feeling of some heavy coin in the palm." After checking on the coins, he threw them back into the pouch and placed it into his own pocket. Maybe that would pay for his lunch and perhaps a few drinks in the tavern.

He kept on walking, looking for more victims. There were plenty indeed, and many drawing Lievdarg's attention. "Attention...isn't that what thieves seek? Distracted people, like I currently am." And while the whole idea crossed his mind he realized that sometimes the predator becomes the prey. His pocket was empty once more. But the thief stealing from his was not successful, at least not wholly, as he had been noticed by Lievdarg before getting away. He was running, not trying to hide. "What an amateur," Lievdarg thought, and he then remembered something about an old proverb his father once told him about those who steal from thieves. He could not quite remember how it was, and he certainly could not afford to spend time there daydreaming about it. His feet began moving, it was time to chase this thief and get what rightfully belonged to Liev back in his pockets.

Once more, watching the footwork, dodging people, "What a terrible location to be stolen from!" Wasn't that the whole reason Lievdarg had come there in the first place? He was foolish not to pay attention, but now he had to correct his mistake while it was still possible. The thief hardly expects to become the one stolen from, but in Sunberth all was possible. "What a terrific city," he thought, while running after the cutpurse. And after a couple minutes he was still running after the thief. Perhaps it would have been more profitable to stop and just keep looking for more people to steal from, but that's something his pride certainly would never allow. This was now a competition, between the two pickpockets. "May the best one win."
Last edited by Lievdarg Prustian on December 4th, 2011, 7:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Until the next saturday (12/16) I won't have much time to post, too much reading to do. Hence I will not be much active until then.
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Lievdarg Prustian
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[Seaside Market] May the Best Thief Win (Solo)

Postby Lievdarg Prustian on December 2nd, 2011, 8:46 pm

That thief was fast. Most certainly faster than Lievdarg was, as he was already on the verge of losing his breath while the cutpurse didn't seem to be slowing down his pace at all. A cold drop of sweat fell down through Lievdarg's face when he finally spotted a large building enclosing the path up ahead. It was a dead end for this thief, and as such Lievdarg immediately stopped running to catch some breath, as his body urged him to rest for a chime. The cutpurse turned back to face Lievdarg, and then back to the building once more, to deeply analyze the large obstacle that was blocking his path.

It was an unusual stone building, one Lievdarg hadn't ever noticed before. There were dark wooden windows forming three rows of three across the stone brick wall they were placed in. The bottom windows were far too tall to be reached from the floor, but few nearby barrels to the right side of this wall could perhaps be used to attempt such a feat. The two houses cornering the building were not nearly as tall as it was. Someone skilled at the arts of acrobatics could certainly jump to one of the side rooftops from one of the windows of the tall building. Lievdarg was no acrobat, and this thief surely could not have the necessary ability to escape by getting to one of those rooftops, or so Lievdarg thought.

Lievdarg could barely believe his eyes when the cutpurse managed to do exactly that with ease. He was stunned while the thief stared at him from the roof in a mocking manner, almost as if teasing Liev to attempt the feat himself. "Perhaps it's just not as hard as it seems," he thought, trying to ease his nerves for the dangerous action to follow. He was challenged, he could not stand back. Lievdarg rushed forward, and a few steps thereafter he projected his body into the air with both his legs. Gaining enough altitude, he landed his right foot on the barrel, with his knees slightly bended, and quickly stretched his leg to project himself into a jump at the direction of the window, after which he was keeping his whole body in the air with the sole strength of his hands and his arms, by grasping the window. There was just a single step left to reach the rooftop and the thief, who just stood there, teasing and awaiting patiently for Lievdarg's arrival, or his complete failure. He probably believed on the latter, and stood there for the amusement of Liev's demise.

Lievdarg clumsily climbed the bottom plank of the window, where he now stood. He could see the cutpurse awaiting with his beloved prize in the hands. Lievdarg swiftly stepped in the direction of the thief, and quickly jumped, launching his body forward at high speed. His arms were stretched onward while in mid air, his hands ready to grasp whatever they could to save himself from a terrible fall. The thief suddenly smiled, and Lievdarg's body began losing altitude. Perhaps it was already a lost cause, but he still had hope. His arms still seemed to be higher than the rooftops, slowly declining whilst his body was pushed forward by the momentum he had acquired. It still seemed very possible, until he increasingly began losing more and more altitude, at which point his hand were almost at the same level as the roof, yet just not close enough for him to hold it and save himself. At this moment his hopes were almost crushed, until the moment in which he could feel the texture and the cold temperature of the roof with his fingers.

But the cutpurse was still smiling. Something was definitely not right. It was only the tip of his fingers that had actually touched the top, they were hardly enough to hold all of Lievdarg's body. The merely touched the roof and slid down along with the rest of his body. He had failed. A terrible feeling could be felt in his stomach as the figure of the thief swiftly disappeared behind the wall of the right building and the unavoidable pain was about to arrive. But he would not give up on getting his treasure back, not that easily, he would go as far as his body allowed him to, he had to.

"Shyke!" he yelled as the barrel under him was being crushed as paper with the weight of his body, and the thief could be heard laughing loudly from the top of the house. The barrel was now destroyed, but it actually had relieved the impact of his fall in a way. He could feel some pain throughout his body, and he was still blinded by the feelings of excitement that usually keep humans from feeling the true pain. Still, no bones were broken as far as he could tell, and he had to get up quickly if he still wanted to chase down that thief who stole his beloved treasure.

Lievdarg stood up and saw the thief getting away again. "Right, the is no more of an spectacle to be seen here any longer," he thought while chuckling at his own disgraceful attempt of getting to the top of the house. It no longer mattered, the thief ended up jumping off at the other side of the building, and Lievdarg would now have to get around it by foot quickly if he did not want to lose the pickpocket at once. He did go around the long building, and at this point the thief was nothing but an ant-sized silhouette at the distance. Lievdarg kept on running, he still could not give it up, and the chase continued for a while longer, until the thief suddenly stopped in an empty alleyway. He turned to stare at Lievdarg in the eyes, and Liev finally got close and slowed his pace to catch some breath again. It seemed that the pickpocket had given up, or perhaps he wanted to talk.

The two of them stood there looking at each other for a moment, until the thief opened his mouth.

"You are an insistent little rat, aren't ya? Don't you know when to give up?"

Lievdarg smiled at the words, as if that were a compliment. At this point both of them probably understood that this meant more than just money. "That must have been why he stopped," he thought.

"I see that having this victory means a lot to you. But this is Sunberth, not Syliras. This doesn't belong to you, unless you can keep it to yourself. It is now mine."

Lievdarg felt challenged by the words, "Actually, I can, and I will take it back from you," he said confidently while pulling his dagger from behind. Combat was a folly risk, but one that he felt he had to take.

"Very well," the cutpurse replied, "We've already wasted too much time with this, time I could be using to make more money. I will send you back home crying, and the treasures of the market will all be mine." He pulled his own dagger, and the challenge was set.
Last edited by Lievdarg Prustian on December 2nd, 2011, 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Until the next saturday (12/16) I won't have much time to post, too much reading to do. Hence I will not be much active until then.
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Lievdarg Prustian
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[Seaside Market] May the Best Thief Win (Solo)

Postby Lievdarg Prustian on December 2nd, 2011, 11:34 pm

The two stood, facing each other. For once, Lievdarg actually got to analyze his foe. He was actually quite old, surprisingly, probably in his late thirties. He seemed pretty fit as well, which wasn't surprising, given his ease at acrobatics. His dark hair was a contrast to the light of the day, whilst Lievdarg's hair shone golden with the sun. They were both very different, and yet very similar. The same dirty activities in the same place. The same style, except that he did seem to do a sloppier work at pickpocketing, as he was actually noticed in the end, whilst Lievdarg was terrible at doing all of the stunts that this man seemed to be able to do. They both used the dagger for combat. It would turn out to be an interesting fight, that was certain in Lievdarg's mind. All that he cared about in that instant was the great feeling which he had, the one bringing uncertainty and excitement, making his heart race. Many people abhor it, but he loved it. His limbs couldn't wait for some action. What is the worst that could happen? Death? Lievdarg did not fear it, he was a fool.

In a moment, suddenly Lievdarg rushed forward. His dagger flew in his hands like a serpent attacking its prey. He was going for a straight stab on the man's guts holding the dagger with a front grip, but his fists were deflected by his left hand. His right hand, holding the dagger in a front grip as well, was flung forward, aiming for Lievdarg's skull, but he managed to stop it with his Elbow before it could reach its destination. They both retreated their arms and returned to the initial stance unharmed. The man attacked first this time, in an attempt to stab Lievdarg's right eye, but Lievdarg managed to move his head in time not to receive the awful blow, receiving a shallow slice on his cheek. He now had a slight moment of advantage he could make advantage of. He flung his dagger forward from below, slightly raising the angle whilst the dagger approached, as to pierce under the man's ribcage. The man blocked Lievdarg's left arm in due time, but his right fist was free, and Lievdarg launched a punch against him with it, hitting him right on between the eyes. They both got their distance once more.

"Not bad, I wasn't expecting that," he said while touching his forehead with his fingers to check the bruise.

At this point Lievdarg knew that this man was just at about his level on dagger combat, which means that he was a complete novice, or so it seemed. Perhaps he still had some tricks under his sleeves, but Lievdarg had quite a few as well.

They both rushed forward once more, staring at each other's eyes. Lievdarg's heart accelerated. The man was approaching quite quickly with his dagger aiming for Lievdarg's ribs. It was too fast, perhaps way too much for Lievdarg to catch his arm. The man was faster than Lievdarg, that's something that he already knew, but this would be a fatal blow. He had to do something.

A beam of light caught Lievdarg's eye among the shadows of the buildings in the alleyway. It shone bright, and it instilled fear. Lievdarg's ability with Hypnotism was pathetic, but he hoped that this weak feeling, unexpected by the man, would distract him for at least a second. The man did flinch slightly. Lievdarg then immediately raised his right arm, which got slashed by the cut, dropping blood on the ground, but he managed to take the man's dagger out of the way, giving him the oportunity to launch a thrust with the dagger on his left hand, and the man was slow to deflect. Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was Lievdarg's handedness. The upper part of the man's shoulder was pierced, and it began to bleed. Lievdarg smiled, singing victory in his mind.

"Dirty trick," the thief muttered, "Don't believe that I am defeated that easily."

He got distracted in his own excitement. The man, with the left hand, swiftly grabbed Liev's dagger hand, pulled it and then twisted it. A loud metallic noise echoed through the alleyways. His dagger was on the floor. His wrist was aching. Lievdarg had been disarmed, he was defeated.

"You lost focus. Fool."
Last edited by Lievdarg Prustian on December 4th, 2011, 11:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Until the next saturday (12/16) I won't have much time to post, too much reading to do. Hence I will not be much active until then.
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Lievdarg Prustian
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Posts: 17
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Joined roleplay: June 4th, 2011, 10:54 pm
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[Seaside Market] May the Best Thief Win (Solo)

Postby Lievdarg Prustian on December 4th, 2011, 7:41 pm

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Lievdarg smiled, but it was not a true smile. He didn't even try much to make it seem real. He had lost. He could not defend his possessions. The thief just smirked and looked at him in the eyes.

"You still have a lot to learn," he said, while stepping away, "You will have to improve a lot if you want to be as good at this as I am, that is, at surviving the streets of this city."

He then stepped into the shadows, disappearing. Lievdarg's treasure was no longer his own. There was nothing he could do but feel ashamed about his defeat. He pulled this dagger from the floor, with little energy on his fingers and looked into the direction of the silhouette that had disappeared. "How pathetic I am, I can't believe that I was defeated by such a fool!"

There was nothing else to be done. Lievdarg would have to find another way to pay for his lunch, and he would no longer afford getting drunk that day. All of that time chasing the thief had been wasted, all of the efforts, the fall, the wounds, all of it for nothing. And Lievdarg's confidence was scarred. The prideful man who called Sunberth his home now had some inner conflict. Perhaps he was not good enough for this place. Perhaps he yet had much to learn. There was a long way ahead of him, he still had much to grow to become the man he thought that he already was. Perhaps now he would find a goal to follow, instead of simply being a drunk vagrant who picked people's pockets.

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OOCSorry, this was a rather uninspired thread, and my first one. I will try to improve and get some better ideas for the future. I accept tips and suggestions! :)
Until the next saturday (12/16) I won't have much time to post, too much reading to do. Hence I will not be much active until then.
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Lievdarg Prustian
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Posts: 17
Words: 15675
Joined roleplay: June 4th, 2011, 10:54 pm
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[Seaside Market] May the Best Thief Win (Solo)

Postby Archelon on December 7th, 2011, 7:40 pm

Thread Award

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"..."


And the Results!!!!:



Lievdarg :
SkillName 1-5 How/why?
Running1
Larceny1
Weapon (Dagger)3
climbing2
Jumping1
Acrobatics1
Investigation1
Unarmed combat1
Hypnotism 1



Lores:
No honor amongst thieves



Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? :
Honest critique: Interesting base for character motivations: develop such things more. Work on your setting of the scenario and scene, doesn't have to be detailed but rather how it flows from one thing to the next. Read a few theads on hypnotism by other characters and see how that's applied. Overall, just keep having fun ^_^ If you have fun writing, you'll find these things tend to write themselves.
Thank you all for the privildege of moderating, unfortunately with deaths in the family and ailing health I am retiring. All thread grades I had on my pc have been forwarded to founders and paragon, so expect them posted soon.
It's been a mixed bag at times , but with all the good and the bad and mixed signals, I can honestly say: Thank you. Please support the next mods of sunberth as well as you have done me.
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