Flashback Enemies Closer (Jasmyn Cooper)

[Arlo Berakailen]

20th of Summer 506 Information retained is Information gained. Arlo Berakailen was a good information broker. Or at least that's what he told himself as he strolled aimlessly down the market street, looking for oppurtunities that didn't seem to exist. He sighed despite himself. He knew that he was supposed to exude a sense of invincibility, of conviction, of confidence. But he just wasn't feeling it. The emotions just wouldn't come. Sunberth had a habit of doing this to people, Arlo noted, as he saw a few children scurrying by. He thought that, by becoming an information broker, he'd no longer be ignorant, that he wouldn't be held to the whims of the mobs or the syndicates. But it was just the opposite. Before, he was ignored. Now he was hounded. It wasn't that there was a lack of work. Oh no, in a city like Sunberth, information brokers can always make a living. There were always shady deals going down in dark alleyways at night, always a knife in the night ready to plunge into some poor unfortunate's back, always someone screwing someone over. There was always dirt to dig up if you knew where to go, and who to talk to. But rumors and hearsay were one thing. Actionable intelligence was another. And while Arlo had always had more than enough of the former, he found himself with a dearth of the latter. Keeping an ear to the ground just wasn't doing it anymore. It wasn't a case of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or even being beaten out by other information brokers. I need to take a more proactive approach, Arlo realized. It was the only way. Arlo suspected that he always knew, somewhere deep inside, that this day would come. That he would one day be no longer able to rely on sitting in bars, ears propped open for a tidbit here and a tidbit there. That he'd need to beat the streets of Sunberth, and make information come to him. The problem was, Arlo had no idea how to go about doing this. Arlo sighed as he ran a hand down his face. No, he took it back. He wasn't a good information broker. A good information broker would know where to go, what to do, what to say when he got there ... All he had to go on was that there was a potential lead in the Drunken Fish. Something about a shipment of weapons that had gone missing. It was hardly actionable intelligence, more a rumor, really, and it needed to be confirmed. But the weapons were supposed to have come in by boat, and the boat never arrived. If anyone might know what was going on, the Sailors at the Drunken Fish would be a good place to look for them. At the very least, it would give him something to do. Coming to a decision, Arlo strode perposefully to the Drunken Fish and stepped inside, briefly holding his breath so as not to be overwhelmed by the smell of cheap ale and fish guts. He'd never been a particularly big fan of this place, and although the sailors on occasion had some pretty juicy intelligence, for the most part they were full of hot air and tall tales. It wasn't that Arlo didn't enjoy a good yarn now and then, but as an information broker any intelligence that was not actionable was a waste of his time, and he really didn't want to hear about another sea monster whose size was probably exaggerated for effect. Motioning for a drink, Arlo sat down at one of the available bar stools and sighed. Time to get to work.

[Jasmyn Cooper]

“Get back here yer blasted thief!” This wasn’t exactly how she planned it would go. In her head the plan had been simple. Easy. Her target –a tall lanky man anyone could smell from several steps away—had been occupied with getting an eyeful of a pair of prostitutes across the busy street. While her target was distracted she would carefully approach, snatch the small purse hanging from his belt and disappear before the guy even knew what happened. Once she was clear she would take her prize back to her mother’s apartment. She didn’t expect anything to go wrong. Didn’t think for a moment that she wasn’t nearly as good of a thief she thought she was. The fantasy plan lasted all the way to the point where her fingers had wrapped themselves around the rather less than impressive purse. The purse barely held anything in it. Only a few coins max. Most likely copper too. She didn’t get a chance to inspect her take as the man’s attention left the pair of prostitutes and turned to land upon Jasmyn. Her grey eyes met her target’s immediately spotting the anger that seeped into his unremarkable eyes in that silent moment. And then his eyes narrowed, his mouth opened in a roar and Jasmyn yanked on the purse, ripping it free and taking off in a mad sprint down a narrow street. She only managed to get a few feet at full speed before she began bumping into people, receiving nasty looks from each person in turn. The sound of the man’s pursuing footsteps pushed her onwards, ignoring the stares at the curses thrown her way. She needed to find a way to lose the man before she ended up beaten or worse. And Jasmyn knew it could easily be much worse. She continued to run as fast as she could, bumping into strangers as she made her way down the narrow street. Just as she was about to turn the corner down a wider road her hand clutching the man’s purse bumped into stomach of a stranger, causing the purse to slip from her fingers to the ground. Two rushed steps later and Jasmyn realized her mistake, stumbling to an ungraceful halt. She glanced back at the purse. The man was gaining ground quickly and she knew going back for the purse would end up with her facing her target in a match she wasn’t certain she could win. But leaving the purse…it would all be pointless. “That purse is mine, thief!” Too much time wasted on thought. It was fight or flight time. Turning her back on the purse Jasmyn ran around the corner, bumping into more people as she tried to put as much space between her and her former target as possible. No longer hearing the man’s pursuing footsteps or his shouts, Jasmyn began to slow. Spotting a familiar sign a few feet ahead she made her way towards the Drunken Fish. Pushing the door open, Jasmyn stumbled inside the tavern, out of breath from her run. Her none too graceful entrance immediately caught the attention of the tables closest to the door. She met a few of their gazes, getting a whiff of stale ale, unhygienic men and women and fish. None of the patrons mentioned a word which Jasmyn was thankful for. Looking away from the patrons Jasmyn headed over to the bar stools, taking a seat three stools down from another stranger. She didn’t motion for any drink. She just sat there, trying to catch her breath, thinking about that purse she had left behind. Pointless.

[Arlo Berakailen]

It all started so well. Of course, that's how everything begins, doesn't it. Nobody in the world ever thinks things start badly. Well, maybe those mopey Wizards that Arlo's heard so much about. Maybe they do. Who knows? Arlo had been eavesdropping on a few of the sailors, trying to find an "in". Finding an in wasn't too difficult, you just needed confidence and a reason to talk to them. If you didn't have a reason, a lie would suffice just fine. Just any excuse to insert yourself into the conversation and get people's attention. Try to trade up; semi-useless information for useful information, useful information for crucial information. It was a delicate game, and it all began with finding just the right moment to... All conversation ceased. It was, of course, a natural thing to have happen when a young girl, disheveled and breathing heavily, stumbles into the tavern without any preamble. Arlo had, of course, heard the commotion outside, but had paid it little attention as being irrelevant to what he was trying to accomplish. Of course now, it was very relevant since the train of conversation that the sailors had embarked on was well and dead. It would probably take a few more hours of pointless stories about busty tavern wenches before they'd get back on topic, by which point the heat from outside would get nigh unbearable. He sighed quietly, rolling his drink about the glass but not drinking from it. The glass was for show. Arlo knew better than to get drunk trying to gather information, that never ended well. All eyes close to the door immediately turned to the newcomer. Arlo observed her out the corner of his eye. His mind, young as it was, had already begun to form the analytical machine it was going to become. Almost unconsciously he began to analyse, his thoughts ticking off each observation and filing it away. She's young, he observed immediately. Girl her age running away from something. Could mean she's a prostitute running from an overly-jealous "client". But if that were true, where's the client? In those situations the client would not stop until they caught their prey. Also not dressed like a prostitute. Too conservative, not showing enough. If she were a fighter of some sort, she'd not be running. Or even if she were, she'd have a lot more bruises. And there'd be no reason for a beggar girl to be running like that, if people are giving them money, they're doing so willingly. Thief then. Arlo puffed up his chest a bit, proud of his bit of deduction. It really wasn't all that impressive, but Arlo figured every little bit counted. So why would a thief bother coming in here? Arlo wracked his mind, but nothing came forth. He could not come up with a feasible line of reasoning that might explain the girl's presence in the Drunken Fish. One thing was for sure, the forlorn look on her face did not seem to be that of a thief that had won her prize. Clearly, whatever it was she was trying to accomplish, she didn't succeed. Perhaps they could help each other. Sliding his drink over to the girl, Arlo gave her his most calming smile, hoping it would deflect any distrust she'd undoubtedly have of him. "Having a tough day?"

[Jasmyn Cooper]

Eventually Jasmyn was able to catch her breath. Her heart quit pounding against her chest and all that was left was the memory of her recent failure. All that time and energy…wasted. She had spent too much time thinking. Wasted those few precious seconds she had. Too much thinking. Too much fear of actually confronting the foul smelling man. Now chances were slim of returning to her mother’s apartment with extra coin. A barmaid eventually approached Jasmyn but she shook her head. She wasn’t in the mood to drink or eat. Hell, she didn’t even have that kind of coin to just throw away. Not after turning a simple snatch and run into one giant unproductive mess. The barmaid left her alone, content not to bother the teen. Jasmyn kept her focus on the counter, replaying her recent failure over and over again in her head. Four years doing this…and I’m still a terrible thief. Jasmyn heard the sound of a cup sliding against the counter top, drawing her attention over to the young man she had spotted earlier when she arrived at the Drunken Fish. She caught sight of his smile before looking down at his drink. It looked untouched. And then he spoke, making Jasmyn wish she hadn’t entered the tavern. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to some stranger about her failure of a day. It was hot. She was a horrible thief and the stranger had to think her a fool to accept a stranger’s untouched drink. She pushed the cup back towards the young man. “Thanks but I don’t need your special poison brew.” She looked away for a few moments, hoping the young man would take the hint and leave her be. She looked back over at the stranger, finding him still there. “The conversation is over.” With that she got up and moved down one bar stool to make her point again.

[Arlo Berakailen]

Arlo arched an eyebrow. Definately having a bad day he thought to himself. Doesn't take an analytical genius to see that. Maintaining his smile, he reached over to the glass, picked it up, and took a swig. "See? not poison." he said to the girl. When she moved down a stool, his smile faltered. "Suit yourself," he muttered, half to himself as he drained the rest of the glass. The truth was he wasn't in any better mood. He hadn't acquired any intelligence worthy of the term, just more hot air about sea serpent this, and prostitute bosom that. This girl was the first interesting person to walk into the place, and she didn't even want to talk! Arlo sighed as he tried a different tact. It was probably a waste of time, but then again this whole endeavor was looking like a waste of time, so he figured might as well. "You know," he began, digging deep into his store of admittedly limited knowledge, "Over by the harbor there's a merchant just set up, but his inventory's been delayed. Meaning, probably he'd be keeping most of his liquid assets ... well ... liquid, in case he needed to pay for, shall we say, expedited shipping?" Which he hoped the girl would understand to mean the merchant was having trouble getting product into the city because he didn't pay a bribe. Which meant he was gathering raw coinage to do just that. What he failed to mention were two things. First, that he had attempted to penetrate that merchant's establishment twice before in the last week, believing his import business to be the most likely location to confirm the missing shipment of weapons. After all, he was an arms dealer, and arms were missing. It just fit, but he'd been rebuffed both times and couldn't confirm. Eventually, he'd given up. Now, if this girl could lift their ledger as well as the gold... The second being, of course, that the compound was guarded. Meaning if they got caught, things could get ... interesting. Still, life itself was risk, and you didn't get useable intelligence (or in this case, blackmail material) without a little risk. He was hoping that she'd see this as an opportunity. She was far more likely to succeed with a confederate. And he might finally be able to get his first piece of real intelligence in weeks.

[Jasmyn Cooper]

She thought for sure the stranger would have left her alone. That he would have gone off on his business. Instead she caught sight of his hand out of the corner of her eye, pulling her attention back upon the stranger as he took a swig of his drink. She said nothing as the stranger commented about the absent poison. She only stared at him for a moment longer before looking away again. She figured that if she just ignored him long enough he would go away. Besides, why would a stranger be so interested in having a conversation with her? She wasn’t anyone special. She was just another girl trying to survive in Sunberth. She was part of the scenery. He’ll get bored. Just give it time. Then he’ll leave. She listened to the sounds of the tavern, picking up tidbits of various different stories. A guy that had just scored big. Another who had just spent the night with the finest prostitutes in all of Sunberth. A man with hopes that a tavern wench would soften up to him. Another with- The stranger spoke again, surprising and annoying Jasmyn with his persistence. Could the guy not figure it out? She didn’t want his offered drink. She didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want anything to do with him. She just wanted to be left alone. She just wanted to be a good thief and not bothered by some stranger in a tavern. She could do little else besides listen to the young man as he went on in carefully selected words about delayed inventory. She could only assume the guy was some kind of shady business man. That was really the only kind of business that went on in Sunberth. She finally looked back over at the stranger once he was done talking. “Am I supposed to feel bad about this merchant?” she asked. “I don’t care about some merchant’s inventory. I’m also not interested in anything that doesn’t have a reward. So unless you know where I could find some extra coin this conversation is over.”

[Arlo Berakailen]

Arlo took a few breaths to calm himself. Calm down, he told himself. None of this is personal, it's all just business. It wasn't that he didn't feel for the girl. But Arlo had always felt that you shouldn't let emotions get in the way of a good business proposition. Well, he wasn't one to talk. Truth was, he still let his emotions get the better of him. Like this stupid wench who couldn't ... Arlo took another breath, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. The alcohol, while a welcome distraction, was beginning to affect him. Too many emotions roiling about in his stomach, not enough of his logical, analytical, rational mind. The mind that had kept him safe for many years. The mind that could, and did, find ways to turn bad situations into winning ones. Focus, Arlo. Focus. Deciding to abandon the "I'm you're friend" routine entirely (he really did need to work on that some more), he decided with the straight approach. Holding up his hands to show he meant no harm, he slid a few more stools down. What he was about to say was not something he wanted overheard. In a muted tone that carried only a few feet, Arlo decided to lay his cards on the table. It was a gamble, sure, but then again, it seems the girl didn't pick up on what he was trying to say. "Not sure who you think I am, or what I do," he started, "But I can promise you I don't particularly like the merchant I spoke of any more than you do. It's just that, well, he might just have a few coins lying around. You know, out in the open. Put it this way, a merchant who kind of needs to pay a bribe in a hurry is going to want that money somewhere he can access it quickly. So for the foreseeable future, he's probably going to have it in his office. Which I've been in. Twice." Arlo shrugged. "Now, obviously you don't trust me. That's good. Trust implies a certain degree of faith, that what I tell you is true, even with no evidence to back it up. And in this town, anyone who tells you to trust them either has a knife to your back, or a hand in your pocket. So I tell you what. The merchant's located just off the second-to-last pier. Large brown building. Big wooden doors, painted red. Can't miss it. Go ahead and case it. Check it out. You decide if what I'm saying is true." A breath. Arlo tried to catch the girl's eyes. Usually, if he could look people in the eye, he could determine whether or not they believed him. It wasn't a surefire thing, but avoiding eye contact was usually not a very good sign. And the girl didn't seem to want to meet his gaze. Sighing slightly, he decided to provide a bit more information. This was dangerous; as an information broker his instincts told him he couldn't just throw this out there. But the meals weren't coming in. He needed this job. "You might wonder why I'd tell you all this. Truth is, I've been watching you." That was a lie. He'd never seen her in his life. He was treading on thin ground here. "You've obviously hit a rough patch. Guess honor among thieves is just a saying, huh." This was Arlo's biggest gamble. If the girl wasn't a thief, the jig was up. He'd be caught red-handed and it would take all his skill to recover from a mistake like that. "In my line of work, it's crucial to stay informed. You could say I'm a thief too, but I steal ideas, not coins. Unfortunately, that particular merchant is a bit harder to hit than I thought. Like I said, I've been in his office twice now. Three would be pushing it and four would be impossible. I can get you access. You can get me information." Here, Arlo paused. How he phrased this was very important. "You say you want a job that pays. An arms merchant figures to pay plenty for docking bribes. So there it is. You go ahead and confirm. To be honest, I'd think you a fool if you didn't. But if you decide you want this job, you know where I'll be." Having said his piece, Arlo slid back to his original stool. He stared morosely at his empty glass and realized, at the moment he didn't even have enough coin on him to afford to re-fill it. Great, he thought to himself. I'm betting it all on some strange girl I'd never met who hates me. Well, I guess that's what I get for living in interesting times.

[Jasmyn Cooper]

Jasmyn felt a small bit of pride rush through her as the stranger didn’t respond right away. Good she had driven him away. Now she could resume being alone and a failure on this annoyingly hot day. The barmaid returned again to ask if she needed anything. Jasmyn shook her head and the barmaid left. She planned to just sit here for a bit more until she was sure the street outside the tavern were calm and her former target was long gone. The foul smelling man had his purse back so Jasmyn figured he would have carried on instead of looking for her. The young man suddenly moved a few bar stools over towards her, immediately destroying the pride that she had felt only moments ago. She let out an irritated sigh, wondering if this guy would ever let up. She had definitely stumbled into the wrong tavern. The stranger began speaking again and Jasmyn felt the urge to wrap her fingers around his throat and squeeze until the guy finally shut up. “I don’t care who you ar-” Jasmyn was cut off as the stranger continued talking. She was forced to sit and listen. At first she hardly paid attention until the guy started talking about coin lying around. She didn’t meet the stranger’s gaze but listened more closely. Merchant on the second to last pier. Large brown building. Big red wooden doors. Jasmyn had a vague idea of what place the stranger was referring to. Apparently there was coin just lying around in the building he described. Coin that Jasmyn could put to good use. Of course Jasmyn had seen no real evidence from the stranger. Only words. Still, the idea was enticing. If what the young man said was true perhaps she won’t be returning to her mother’s apartment empty-handed. Or maybe this was all a trap. Too many possibilities. Her gaze immediately snapped back over to the stranger as he spoke of watching her. Her eyes narrowed as the urge to choke the stranger flooded through her again. “You’re wasting your time watching me and you better stop it before I do it for you.” The urge began to fade as the stranger went back to talking about the coin lying around. Even as the guy finished Jasmyn was left with no solid evidence that there was coin in the building. This could all still be one big trap and after losing her latest catch Jasmyn wasn’t in the mood for games. But if she walked away from this chance…what would she be walking away from? She thought back to earlier when she had lost her hold on the purse. Wasting all the time she had on pointless fears and thoughts. It had cost her the purse. What if what the stranger said was true? There was only one way to find out. The stranger had returned to his original seat as Jasmyn looked back over towards him. “You should probably know that I’m not very good at my profession,” Jasmyn began. “But I’ll bite since you mentioned the coin. But only because you mentioned the coin. And if we get there and there’s no coin you can bet your annoyingly watchful eyes that I’m out.” She rose from her seat. “You wanna lead the way?”

[Arlo Berakailen]

Arlo grinned on the inside. It had worked! He didn't think it would work, if he were being honest with himself. Laying all the cards on the table was a risky play, because if it was rejected, he wouldn't have any other cards left. And in his position, that can be a tricky situation. But no time to celebrate. She had claimed not to be a good thief. In Arlo's opinion, if she was able to run faster than him (and judging from the display of her running into the tavern, she was), that definitely put her one up on him, anyway. Arlo excelled best when he could put his analytical mind to work, sorting through details and coming up with plans to put that information to best use. He was not a physical powerhouse, nor was he an acrobat. He left that kind of work to people with more physical gifts than he possessed. "Good to see you're at least willing to try it," Arlo smiled. "Now I should probably tell you that while the coins themselves are not under lock and key, the building itself, is. Meaning, well, if we get detected we might have to move fast." "I can understand your earlier hesitation, but think about it like this," Arlo said. "If this were a trap, I'd be caught in it too. You said it yourself, that you're not the best thief. So, no offense, but if I wanted to trap somebody, why would I pick you? Anyway, let's get moving." Arlo quietly got up and dropped the few coins he had left to the bar maid to pay for the one drink he had. He had hoped the girl would choose to case the joint first, to take a look and see that, indeed, there really was a merchant where he said there would be one. In his line of work, simply accepting a stranger's word without personally verifying it first was nigh-on suicidal. Still, maybe she already knew there was a merchant there. Or perhaps she was just naively trusting, but that was unlikely; people that trusting didn't last long in Sunberth. Deciding that it wasn't worth his time to figure out which one it was, Arlo opted instead to stride purposefully out of the Drunken Fish, carefully scanning the area every few moments and observing people and patterns. One never knew when someone might be following them. He deliberately didn't look back. Either the girl decides to follow, or she didn't. At this point, the time for words had ended. As the structure slowly came into view, Arlo let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. As far as his limited observational skills could tell him, they hadn't been followed. Good. Without turning around, he began talking softly. "When we go inside," he said, "My name will be Gavor Trask. From now until the time we exit the building you will address me as such. If you don't ... let's just say that things won't go so well. For either of us. Since I doubt this merchant knows who you are, I suppose you can use your real name. Or come up with a fake one, I don't care, as long as your remember what that fake name is. Now, I figure you're going to have a few questions. Such as what is the layout of the building, how many guards are in there, and my best guesses as to how their patrol routes go. I'll try to answer as best I can, and I have a pretty good memory, but keep in mind my last two trips did not take me throughout the building. If you find yourself in a room I've never been in, you're on your own." Arlo hoped desperately the girl was still behind him. He turned around. "Any questions?"

[Jasmyn Cooper]

It was no surprise that something was under lock and key. People didn’t just leave things out in the open for people to just take. Not in Sunberth anyways. But Jasmyn expected some kind of challenge from this little job. Otherwise why would the guy need her? Of course it could all still be some kind of trap regardless of what the guy said. Why anyone would want a bad thief was something Jasmyn couldn’t quite understand, but she had sixteen years of experience to know not to just assume that everyone around her had pure intentions. She didn’t respond to the stranger, instead concluding that she would keep her guard up from now until this job was over. If there was coin to be made she would take it and leave. And if there was no coin and all this talk ended up being just talk she would leave. And whether or not Jasmyn walked home with coin or not she prayed that the stranger would then leave her alone. She had no time to waste with mindless chatter. The only way to survive in this world was with coin. Strangers and…and friends all just get in the way of that. Jasmyn watched as the young man rose from his seat, paying first for his drink before leaving the tavern. As she watched him go she realized that if she truly wanted to get away from this guy now would be the time. Ditch him and run. She was confident that she would be able to lose him along the busy streets and make it back to her mother’s apartment safely. Empty handed though. Turning her back on the barmaid who was collecting the man’s coin, she followed the stranger out of the Drunken Fish and back out into the busy streets. While the stranger continued onwards, not once looking back, Jasmyn hesitated near the doors to the tavern. Her eyes roamed the busy street, checking as many faces as she could. She could not spot her former target and nobody was giving her strange looks. It seemed that her assumption had been right. Her former target had gone off with his purse. Her attention shifted back onto the stranger, catching up to him rather easily. She said not a word as she followed up through a few busy streets until they came to the building he had described earlier. The breeze that rolled through off the water felt good against her skin. The heat from the sun was already causing Jasmyn to sweat. Suddenly the stranger began to speak, going over details of his plan. Jasmyn listened while looking about to make sure there was nobody lurking around nearby. She rolled her eyes at the stranger’s fake name. Gavor Trask? Since when were they on any kind of name basis? He was a stranger with knowledge of coin just lying around. She was a bad thief. End of story. Absolutely no need for names. Finally the stranger looked back over towards her. “Only one actually. Why are we just standing out in the heat? C’mon Gavor.” With that she walked past the young man, heading towards the building so she could get a better look at it. “Wanna try to bloody some guards or do this quietly?”