As Rykanis took his seat, he began to gather intelligence in one of the most common of methods. Listening. Or as it was more technically called in his trade, observation and analysis. All one did was sit and watch and observe what was going on, and piece all of the bits of information together into a cohesive web of information. Individual bits might not seem important, but once it built up to enough volume it could hit critical mass and could become useful. Of course since such passive things as this did not interest Rykanis, he let his control slip, and traded off to his other side.
As Rykanis knew it was not about any one bit of information, so he did not focus on any one thing. He sat, he listened, he expanded his senses, and continually shifted his attention and tried to take in everything.
First his focus slipped to the barmaid, walking about taking orders and delivering food and drinks. Considering she worked here she likely had ample access to conversations, and overheard many things in the regular course of her work. He pondered her for a moment, and then made a mental note to come back to her as she might be of use.
Next was the two rowdy bar goers, drunk by all appearances. Considering the bell it was a bit odd for someone to be drunk. Or perhaps they had been up all night getting drunk, and this was just the tail end of a long night of drinking.
Following their line of sight, it was clear to see they were ogling woman, including the barmaid he had made a note of earlier. He made a mental note that some trouble might arise from that direction, but at the moment they were being civil if obnoxious.
As he continued to assess the rest of the inhabitants of the lounge, mostly people eating breakfast as he himself intended to do once the server approached, he heard more words from the drunks aimed at the serving woman.
"Aye, lil' lady. What'd 'ya say ya hand those ta me? We sure could use 'nother beer, 'n maybe a bit more ..."
Instead the serving girl ignored them and continued to deliver the drinks to another. Considering their drunken state he agreed with her, they'd clearly had enough.
He did however notice the woman giving him darting glances, meeting his eyes and looking away... Perhaps she wanted to talk to him. Or perhaps it was her way of signalling she would get to him in a moment and was not ignoring him. She met his gaze without flinching, however she clearly could not lock eyes while attempting to wend her way through the tables.
As laughter broke out from the two drunks, there was a visible passage of information between two of the barmaids, perhaps some unspoken conversation or agreement between the two. Since the first barmaid then began to head towards the two drunks, he could only logically assume the unspoken conversation had been to do with them.
When the barmaid approached them and spoke, his assumption was found true.
"Ahem. I'm going to have to ask both I you to escort yourselves home. We are not the Kelp Bar, an won't stand for any more of your ass-ish laughter or shitty behavior. Time to go boys."
Staring at the exchange, it was clear things were not going to go well. First she insulted the men, called them boys, and cursed at them. On top of that they were drunk, and did not appear to be drunks that could handle themselves well or with excessive reason. It did not take a Konti to divine what would happen next.
Sure enough the actions and words of the men found the "prophecy" to be true as the drunks gotten overly hands-y and grabby and came on to the woman. The barmaid yelped in surprise to the sudden shift of positioning, nearly losing her balance and footing.
"Oy! I say you escort us outta 'ere, make a man happy, ey?"
"What'd ya say to dat, dolly?"
Her reaction was sudden and clear, as she struck the man holding her across the face. Considering their earlier actions, and their current loss of reason due to inebriation, it was clear that was not going to go over well. In fact he reasoned it would only make things worse.
Rykanis instantly grew angry, and wanted to charge over and deal with the situation. His other side however wanted to be a bit more reasonable, and as he was currently in control they did not instantly leap to the woman's aid.
Instead a short internal conversation was had between the two. Rykanis said to go know, and to charge in with a fist to the face of one. His other side knew that was a bad idea, since no fighting had yet occurred, and knew it would not be a good idea to be the first to throw a punch. However he also thought deeper about the situation, and the fact that he could possibly manipulate it and Rykanis to his advantage.
Rykanis wanted to come to the woman's aid. The woman worked at the bar, heard things, and so would likely be a useful contact for him to have. A good source of information and intel. If he did come to the woman's aid she would likely feel in his debt, which could be a easy method of him gaining her as a contact...
It seemed to him then that helping the woman was a wise move, as it would satisfy both Rykanis' urging to defend the woman, and gain her as a ally and possible source of information. Rising to his feet, he agreed to give back Rykanis control, but on the condition that he agreed to be calm and not throw the first punch.
However he would wait till he had made the approach before returning control, since he knew Rykanis would go in charging and ruin his manipulation of events. Since he promised to release control back to him in a moment, Rykanis did not fight and try to repress him, but he could feel him straining at the edges. If he did not move quick he would try to seize control.
Coming at the two drunks and barmaid from the side, he moved silently but quickly. Considering his size he was deft, using a combination of his training in acrobatics and stealth to move up on them. He moved forward swiftly, pushing forward off the toes of his feet and never totally planting his feet on the ground, instead only walking on the tips. It was not good for balance, and if someone had knocked into him from the side he would have easily been unseated, but if was much quieter a motion than his normal movement.
His stealth was also assisted by the drunken nature of his prey, the two men, who was distracted by manhandling the woman and the drink clouding their mind and senses. Since the barmaid was more than likely sober she'd have a much easier time of noticing him if she was looking in the right direction.
As he came to a stop behind the two men, Rykanis settled his feet and widened his stance, preparing for a fight if necessary. He then gave over control back to Rykanis, however yet again making him promise to be cool headed and to not throw the first punch.
Letting out a cough, Rykanis made his presence known right behind the two drunks. If his sneaking had been successful his sudden appearance would come as a surprise.
"Heh Hem!"
Rykanis placed his right hand on the shoulder of the man holding the barmaid, and place his left on the hilt of his lakan, ready to pull it should they draw on him. But he would not pull the lakan unless they took out weapons of their own. Otherwise, he would simply fight hand to hand should he need to defend himself.
"I believe the lady asked for you to leave, and made it quite clear that you are both unwelcome here. Perhaps you should take her advice and go. I am not one to stand idly by as someone harasses or manhandles a woman."
Considering that he towered at least a foot over the men, and was clearly far more difficult a fight than the woman, his words would likely prove more effective than the barmaids.
Of course considering their drink addled reasoning that might not be enough, and a show of force might be required to take care of it.
"Now, release the woman, and leave, or I am afraid things will become unpleasant for all involved."
Rykanis had a feeling that at least one of the men's response to his words would be a punch aimed at his head. For this reason Rykanis prepared himself, a slight bend of the knees to prepare himself for motion, a slight squeeze of the hand on the mans shoulder, and planting his feet a bit more firmly. |