Just Like Always... (Hatter, Open)

[Benalder]

Ben scowled at the other man. Obviously Karis was after something, a child would have been able to figure that out. And likely they were not the only two that left the tavern interested. Ben was curious if the box he found was it. He had palmed it as best he could and slipped it into his pocket, then left a hand there to protect it. Pickpockets were rife in the city, especially in crowded areas. Like the Commons. The scoundrel looked at Paltra after the man spoke of a neutrality agreement of sorts. He grunted. "I suppose so." He left it at that, not specifying if he was agreeing to work with the man. It was better that way. If it turned out he needed the man, he hadn't decided against it, but if he had to cross him, he wasn't a turn cloak. Ben hated turn cloaks.

The commons were packed, as was to be expected. What Ben hadn't been expecting was the scene on the front of the temple. Karis and the Warden. Both were dangerous individuals. People you wanted on your side if at all possible. The duo wasn't going through the front door, that much was plain. It was looking more and more like he was going to have to team up with this Paltra fellow, if that was even his real name. "Two IS better than one," he scowled again. "Cross me, and I'll kill you. Slowly." He looked back at the temple to evaluate. Climbing was like their best option. A lot of places weren't built to keep climbers out, and the temple was probably no exception. "Fancy a climb? There's some holes in the roof, but we'll have to ascend somewhere shady, so as not to be seen." Ben quirked an eyebrow. "Unless you have a better plan?"

[Paltra Immuran]

Well… it’s not a no… Paltra thought to himself, following the man through the Commons, actively alert to both the man’s presence at his side, and the presence of potential pick-pocketers on the prowl. Already he could pick up the subtle movements of others through the crowd, their eyes scanning quickly, about as quickly as their hands. The motion of a Sunberth crowd was different to a Syliran Bazaar crowd. Where the Syliran citizens seemed to be more gentle in their motions, moving through and against each other with rarely a harsh elbow. But the Sunberth crowd was as the Bering sea in comparison, ignorant to one another and abiding by only their own direction of motion.

However, that wasn’t a problem, just as everything else in Sunberth, Paltra had grown up with it. Didn’t make it easier, of course, but it was still certainly something that was of no surprise. On the other hand, when the view of the temple--a foreboding structure that inspired feeling of dark awe and perhaps an idea of the law of chaos--and the face-off of some of the most well-known and feared people in Sunberth. He figured it was no surprise… but it was good to know that Karis didn’t have what he was after…

"Two IS better than one," the man, Jared, spoke, drawing Paltra‘s attention slightly more to him. "Cross me, and I'll kill you. Slowly."

You could try. Paltra bit back the retort, smirking instead and looking at the man briefly before returning his gaze to the temple. “Wouldn’t expect anything less, Jared.”

"Fancy a climb? There's some holes in the roof, but we'll have to ascend somewhere shady, so as not to be seen." Jared raised a brow, suggesting the idea to Paltra. "Unless you have a better plan?"

He glared at the roof, the distance seeming to put the idea firmly out of grasp. His eyes going back to the front door and then around the crowd, especially to the back of the temple where he’d personally seen a back-door too on many occasions. Paltra looked to Jared out of the corner of his eye, a wry smirk on his face as he began to speak.

“Fancy it? Not in the least. But since I’d rather not try the front door, and the back-door might have guards watching it, it seems to be the only option… Mind doin’ me a favor though?” Paltra spoke turning to the man, “if I fall to my death, say you kicked me off as a distraction, not because I lost my grip, fair enough?” Paltra chuckled, hoping sincerely that it didn’t come to that.

He moved forward, walking along the outskirts of the crowd and using them to block the line of sight to the escalating situation at the maw of the temple. It was then, as he neared the temple, that he truly felt the magnitude of the climb. It wouldn’t be easy, but at least the sun had already passed beyond the apex of noon so the shadows would be plentiful on this side of the Temple… but the fact that he’d never climbed much more than a wall or a gate in his life would make this very, very interesting…

But the idea of the prize ahead… now that was quite the driving force…

“If you would be so kind?” Paltra gestured to Jared, wanting him to go first, hopefully to find the hand-holds that Paltra wasn’t experienced enough to find…