Open [The Pig's Foot] Fractured Limbs, Broken Jaws

[Julia Tristal]

Date 20 Spring 13th Bell

The Pig's Foot was the most popular tavern in the city, and Julia does not see the appeal. The drinks were bad, the patrons even worse, and the mugging in the back and the stealing in the front made this place barely pass as an actual bar in any other place in Mizahar.

But it was right in the center of the busy section of Sunberth, right in the middle of the city, the food and drinks are cheap and there are plenty of people you can meet, and probably fight and maybe lighten the burden of their coin pouches as well.

Thieves that just look for a bit of extra gold are everywhere in the city, thieves who take thieving like hunting are masters of location and picking up their prey, and know where the best places to hunt are.

Julia was not exactly here for work, she just needed to unwind, as much fun as being in a gang would be in, establishing a foothold here would be just a tough as trying to make a gang in Syliras. If the three big gangs weren't at each other's throats all the time, they could snuff out any other minor gang before they can even set a proper area for their base.

She sat on the tall stool chair by the bar, watching people as they get drunk and gave off loud boisterous laughter. Usually Julia would go around, talk with people, get them to trust her so she could sneak in rob them blind when they'll eventually drink themselves under the table.

But today, she needed a drink, she was worried about Vince mostly. If they are going to make a small gang, then they will either target Vince or force him to join them, and both options are horrible.

"Merv! Some ale, please!" She called out to the owner of the tavern. The elderly man had almost a permanent scowl on his face, but he was happy to serve, happy might be too strong a word, but there it was, the mug of ale. She liked the somewhat sweet taste of it, though she wasn't much of a drinker.

She took small nursing sips from the mug, and looked around, drinking alone was always boring. Maybe she could find someone she knew, anyone would do. Well... Anyone that doesn't want to kill her anyway.

[Zoe Collins]

Another day in Sunberth. And yet another night in the Pig's Foot. The city's busiest tavern seemed to be getting more and more crowded each night, or maybe she was just imagining things. After all, for the crowd to increase, that had to be an increase in the visiting crowd to the city as well. Unlike Syliras or Zeltiva, Sunberth was no looker, and had very few redeeming qualities, if at all. Sure, it may have the greater freedom compared to the former two cities, but it also lacked most of the great qualities, the two bigger and more populated cities owned.

Thanks to its relatively central location in the heart of the Market district, it attracted all the thirsty and tired travellers in the area. Zoe loved nothing more than a cold tankard of ale after a long hot day in the streets.

The feeling of the icy cold beverage as it flowed down her throat was nothing short of euphoric. Opening the doors, and making her way through the rows of occupied tables and chairs to the bar, she pulled out an unoccupied bar stool, hopping on it as she took a seat. As she was here to unwind and relax, the first step towards that was to get herself a nice cold tankard of frothy ale.

Hailing the barkeeper, Merv who was also the owner of the establishment with a yell and a raised arm gesture, she ordered for her usual. She was a regular enough customer that Merv knew what she wanted, and it was simple enough to remember. Although she was here to relax today, she had learnt to take every opportunity when they presented themselves. She was not one to let it slip by. But she would prefer to enjoy herself if she could.

Working all the time tended to tire oneself out. Zoe took several sips of contented sips from her tankard, feeling the ale travel down her throat to her belly, providing a sense of warmth that came along with a little buzz of satisfaction. Taking the time to look around, she surveyed the groups of people around here. Apart from recognising some of the regulars, she saw quite a number of new faces she had not seen before. The tavern was alot more crowded tonight.

She thought it weird, but shrugged and decided to brush it off. After all, crowded or not, it was none of her business. Turning her attention to those seated at the bar, it was then that she noticed the familiar looking blonde woman seated a few stools away from her. She had met Julia quite some time back, near the beginning of spring. She had been with her friend, Vince as well as with the pycon Tubby. She could still remember how different Julia had been from everyone else she had ever met in Sunberth.

She was amazed that even within a city as dirty as this, she could still find a person a cheerful and bubbly as she. She had been such a stark contrast to her friend, Vince. Zoe was about to scoot over to talk to the girl, when she noticed a building commotion in the tavern.

Two gangs were angry with each other and were staring at each other, pointing with accusatory gestures and raising their voices towards one another. Members of each gang were forming up on opposite sides of the tavern, and rest of the patrons who were not in either, cleared the way, moving towards the back of the tavern.

She recognised one of the bigger groups to be the notorious gang, the Sun's Birth. Dragging her drink, she head over towards where Julia was seating at the bar, before making a remark. "Looks like something exiting is about to happen."

[Otaia]

Otaia wasn't an avid drinker, but the occasional sip of something to dull the senses was a pleasant relief. Not to mention, the tavern was always crowded, and it was easy to get away with theft. With any luck, the kelvic wouldn't have to pay for her own drink, and maybe even her own dinner. This happy thought rushed through her mind as she shoved the door open, stepping into the crowded bar. The din of drunken conversation flooded into her ears, and Otaia began to search for a target.

Seeing how many people were drunk, it was evident this would be an easy night. Their senses would be too dulled to notice a slim hand slipping in and out of a pocket. But it was also risky, because many Sunberthians were short-tempered, and this was only magnified with the effects of alcohol. If she was caught, Otaia could suffer a few bruises and cuts, at the least. She'd just have to wait for something to distract a potential victim.

Setting her thoughts of theft to the side, the kelvic approached the bar, winding her way through the crowded tables. She plopped down on one of the few empty stools, asking for a drink. "An ale, please," the woman said, in a far too respectful manner for such a rough-and-tumble place. Otaia did her best to lay low, and avoid unwanted attention. this often backfired, because a person who came across as respectful stood out in Sunberth.

Sitting next to Otaia was a tall woman, at least in comparison, with wavy blonde hair. Maybe she could afford to lose some Mizas? Although, this woman didn't seem like the type who would drink until she was half passed-out. The kelvic figured this woman wasn't a very reasonable target. But a bit of conversation was always good. Otaia was almost going to say something to the stranger, before her attention was directed elsewhere. The room had significantly quieted down, but the sound of people cheering on a potential fight replaced the endless, unwavering drone of solid conversation. Two groups seemed to be opposing each other. As far as the kelvic could tell, they were gangs, but she hadn't been in Sunberth long enough to be able to recognize rivaling groups.

Otaia took another sip of her drink, a bit entertained by the action. Not to mention, a fight would make stealing a lot easier. She began to scout out an unguarded pocket, not paying much attention to the dispute. A smirk adorned her face at the prospective thought of a few extra mizas.

[Julia Tristal]

Julia took a sip of her mug, and looked to her side, seeing a somewhat familiar face. Her sour, thoughtful mood was replaced by a large grin. "Zozo!" She wrapped her around the other blond girl's neck in a tight hug. "Fancy meeting you here~"

She looked over to the side and saw the growing tension between two groups. "Looks like a fun little brawl's about to happen. Do you want to join in or just hide and loot the unconscious or dead."

She looked over to her other side, a rather pretty looking girl had a small mischievous glint in her eyes. Julia grabbed the brunette's hand and gave her a wink. "I can see you're cooking up a little plan. Mind on filling me in? I'm Julia by the way. Pleasure to meet you." With their hands already together, she shook the girl's hand violently, and gave a warm smile. "What's you're name by the way?"

The tension was almost at the tipping point, thugs were grabbing bottles, some were grabbing chairs, much to Merv's annoyance, and some were grabbing what utensils were on the table.

"Ughh... I had it with these Shyke licking, sons of Vajik whores! Let's take them!" One of the men from the Sun's Birth side of the group yelled and threw a glass bottle into one of the younger members of the other group.

The glass shattered and sprayed the young man's face full of glass and alcohol. Surprisingly, the young man was quite strong and lifted an entire table, along with it's contents towards the large man that threw the first bottle.

Soon enough the fight had broken out, fists were thrown into the fray, along with bottles, chairs, and other makeshift weaponry. Some were already knocked out and some were bloody and were ready to dish out more than just glass bottles and chairs, some even pulled out knives and other small weaponry.

Julia saw a bottle come her way and caught it just in time, it was quite impressive, and she decided to play it cool and drink a bit from the bottle. "What's the plan, girls?" She asked with a smile and threw the bottle back into the crowd.

[Hwyn]

The pigs foot, a veritable cesspool for those who want to fight, get drunk or some combination of the two. Watching the people in the tavern Vayle was never quite sure if he was terrified or amused at just how ridiculous people could be. Human nature was quite confusing. In his home of black rock the people had been calm and sedate, but here they where violent and starved, as if the lack of a patron allowed for the utter insanity that was anarchy.

Watching the beginning of a fight Vayke had an idea that made a sarcastic grin practically spread across his face. Pulling out his violin, what would accompany this fight Vayle wondered.

Looking for a proper stage Vayle decided what better stage than the bar itself the only trick would be avoiding bottles and the bartender himself. Hopping onto the bar Vayle put his Violin to his chin and joined the fray with a rousing jig. Missing note about as often as teeth got knocked out the beat was fast and the tempo jagged but it all came together to for a proper set up for a fantastic jig, or fight as it were.

While playing Vayle tapped his foot to the rhythm and kept an eye open for any flying bottles, after all nothing ruins a perfomance like getting knocked out cold in the middle of it.

Looking at the bar Vayle was curious as to what his audience would be this evening and found himsfef facing three rather gorgeous women all at the bar. His grin Broadening Vayle focused on his performance, after all why not show off when you get the chance right?

What it sounds like. (think mildly less amazing and add an occasional missed note

[Zoe Collins]

Zoe was promptly hugged in the neck with the sound of her nickname. Almost choking on her drink, she turned around to see who the culprit was, although she had a pretty good idea of who it was. Julia. Typical, she thought to herself that was her Julia tended to greet people she knew. She was not a fan of hugs, especially by someone she had only met not long ago. Growing up in Sunberth tend to made people wary of one another. Julia then spoke up. "Looks like a fun little brawl's about to happen. Do you want to join in or just hide and loot the unconscious or dead? She replied to the other blonde, nonchalantly "I'm just her to relax, and have a good evening for once, I'm going to watch for the time-being and when it gets dangerous, I'm going to bolt."

Julia then looked over her to a new occupant of the seat beside her. Turning around to see who it was, she saw a young woman, somewhere around their age with chestnut brown wavy hair. Her hair was kept pinned up, away from her face. She promptly then proceeded to give the brunette a typical 'Julia' introduction.

The fight was getting to a tipping point, as things were starting to get violent, and one of the thugs in the group started throwing chairs at the opposing group. Soon, chaos followed. Items of all sort began flying all over the soon, accompanied by shouts and yells of all sorts. Merv began adding his yells to the crowd asking them to take their fight outside, but it was to no avail. Most of the people sitting near them had vacated their seats, and some had also fled the tavern, fearing for their safety. Insults flew everywhere, and bottles came flying away like they were thrown by catapults.

The chaos in the tavern, was only made stranger by a sudden appearance of a stranger who hopped on the bar, and started placing a musical instrument on his arms and shoulder and began playing a rousing upbeat jig. Merv clasped his head to face as he sighed "Oh for shyke's sake."

[Otaia]

Otaia was taken by surprise at the woman taking her hand, whilst directing a few questions to the kelvic. "I.. um, hi, Julia. It's, uh... Nice to meet you. I'm Otaia." She quickly slid he hand away, setting it in her own lap.

What is someone so friendly doing in such a place? Otaia thought to herself. But then she recalled what Julia had said to what seemed to be her friend a few moments ago. It was obvious she was cheerful, but had a mischievous, fun-loving streak too. The kelvic then realized the the woman had asked something else. It took her a moment, unsure if she should disclose her intentions. But it might be interesting to have a partner in crime, just this once. "As for my plan, a fight like this is a perfect distraction," Otaia grinned at the thought of such a convenience for theft. "Think of all the unguarded pockets. Just find someone drunk enough, and there you go."

The fight had gone from a slight conflict to a full-on brawl. Punches were thrown, and Merv seemed to be a bit angered by what was occurring. His precious tavern was being damaged. A vulgar phrase flew from the mouth of one of them, provoking the other side even more.

The sound of a violin resounded, and Otaia rolled her eyes, although she found herself tapping her foot to such an upbeat tune. A few notes were missed here and there, and the kelvic gave a glance to the person who was playing. It was a man, but he had an almost feminine air about him. His hair was long, and messy, reaching to at least his shoulders. The kelvic felt his gaze brush against her, as he continued to look at the three of them whilst he played. It was obvious he as showing off, and Otaia looked away, taking another sip of her ale.

Merv seemed annoyed, although if it was because of the fight, or the person playing the violin, Otaia couldn't tell.

Julia put on an interesting, cocky demonstration, luckily catching a bottle, and taking a swig. Otaia was surprised at this unpredictable, cocky stranger, and found herself liking Julia more and more.

"The plan?" The Kelvic searched the room, before her eyes reached the face of a worthy target a few feet away. "Look at him, about to pass out." She gestured to the man, who looked to be in his late forties. "Just hope he hasn't spent all his cash on drinks."

[Julia Tristal]

As the three lovely ladies devised a small looting plan, it seemed that someone decided to give a little more life to the party by adding a rather fitting musical jig to the brawl. "Hahaha! That's pretty good!" She said and tapped her feet to the beat.

She then looked over to Otaia with a tiny smirk. "Seems like a good mark. So wanna go in now or should we just... wait for them to tucker themselves out?" She asked and looked over to Zoe.

"Hmmm... Zozo, I can understand relaxing a bit, but this really doesn't seem like a good place to relax, the more unpopular bars would have been better Zozo, less people, less trouble." She said and looked over to the large brawl.

"Oh petch it, I'm going in, might come out with a few bruises but that'll be fine." She said and ran into the fray, she kept low and ducked whenever she saw anything coming her way.

She pulled out her hidden dagger from her sleeve and ran behind one of the big brutes in the fight, she noticed that his coin purse was hanging loosely from his side. It jiggled, full of coins, would it be gold, silver or copper?

She pulled the coin purse out and cut the rope from his belt. It looked someone noticed her and grabbed Julia's hand. She reacted quickly enough and sent her dagger to the man that was holding her hand's stomach several times before she stood up and ran her dagger up to his throat.

She kicked the man off and looked back over to the girls at the bar, and gave a little wave towards Zoe and Otaia, and a tiny smile to the violinist that was up on the bar.