Solo Newcomers Beware

[Kynier]

Timestamp: 18th of Spring 518 AV

Before stepping out for the day Kynier stopped for one last check of himself. In his pocket were three gold and ten silver mizzas which he expected to be more than enough for the day, and hopefully enough to avoid unwanted attention. Next his short sword, firmly strapped to his belt. Good. Because the only real way to avoid trouble in Sunberth was to stay home. To supplement, his assassin's dagger he got last session. Also attached to his belt but on his back and out of sight underneath his cloak. Tucked away in his pocket was his linen mask, incase he managed to catch a break. All set.

Kynier stepped outside and locked the decrepit door. With a quick examination he was pretty sure that the door would be compromised before the lock was. The wood was old, beaten, and warped. The lock wasn't much better but he was sure the rust would be the second thing to give.

"You worry over nothing. If the gangs leave the slums alone, why would anyone bother it?

"Yeah, I know," he said to himself. "Doesn't change my feelings though." Kynier was tired of the poor living quality here. Tired of food, the buildings, and all the lawlessness. For nearly three years he's endured just barely. Thankfully he learned about No Man's Land tavern and the job board. Since then he's been able to regularly afford food and slowly increase his quality of living. But it was still slow. Real slow. This morning he was going to have breakfast at the tavern. He wasn't in the mood for preserved dried meat today.

It was early enough that he beat the regular crowds. Hammer was finishing his set up and Lana was already tending to some patrons. The large man bid him a good morning as he walked in then was back to his work. Kynier took a table near the other customers and was just settling when Lana walked over.

"How're you this morning?" She asked nicely. Kynier could not help but smile when she talked. Unlike a few others he had never given her any problems so she treated him with some courtesy, which was nice to have.
"I will be great," he said as he carefully pulled out five silver mizzas to set on the table before her, "once I've had a warm breakfast. No ale please." She gave him a smile and took his money before leaving. Kynier leaned back in his chair and just started observing. One man by himself was also waiting for food, while closer were three men sitting together sharing some drinks. Kynier looked off at a random point of the far wall and listened to their conversation.

"... and I swear, he broke his nose in two places in that fight. How else would he be bleedin' that much?"
"Nobody can break Javier, let alone twice inna match. But when he spat his blood in'is eyes, haha! I love th' dirty tactics."
"Shut it ya shyke. That spit lost me a hundred mizza!"
"Ya really 'spect him ta beat Javier at ten-na-one? There's a term fer that: sure win."
"Javier getting old, and he'll lose big, you see. But I'mma go back tonight and get my money back. You'll see!"

And on they went. Nothing really informative was ever said, except who not to bet against at Tall Johnny's. Though it has been close, Kynier has never had to resort to that. Both gambling and fighting. Gambling always seemed like something you should do when you have money to lose, not when you need to make it fast. A few more people trickled in. By then Lana had brought him water, hot sausage, and carrots. The smell seemed to mute all the other senses, the way his stomach rumbled expectedly.
"Thank you," he said to Lana and before slowly eating the sausage.

As he ate he started watching the others. Hammer exchanging a few jokes with the regulars, Lana smiling while she handled the crowd. But the loner that came in before him had his attention. The guy was looking at the J.B. and seemed to me looking carefully. He wasn't quickly looking from one flier to the next, but thoroughly reading each one. Curious. Kynier chewed on a carrot as he watched. Eventually the man took down a flier and quickly left. By then Kynier had nearly finished except for a few pieces of carrot. He finished his water and took the carrots with him to the board.

"Hammer, who was that guy that just left a moment ago?" The big man shrugged.
"Just some guy that paid for his meal and took a job." Kynier started looking at the board for something. Quite a selection was available. Most of it was call for extra guard work, but that wasn't his strong suit. Explore for treasure, Delivery, and some information seeking. One that caught his eye was a "Request for Reconnaissance" in the northern part of Baroque Bay. Payment: one hundred gold mizzas! Kynier nearly exclaimed out loud. This is what he needed! One information gathering task for this payout could really help. He took the flier from the board. With a side glance he saw Hammer looking at the flier then at him, and the big man shook his head.
"I dont' think that's a good idea man," he said skeptically. Kynier asked him what he meant by that. "I said what I think. Do I need to say anymore?" His tone was now abrasive. Kynier turned for the door while rereading the job description.

Evaluation of developments in North Baroque Bay need. Discretion of utmost importance. Meet outside Baker's Butchery and Bake Shop. Ask fo Tanner.

Heading outside, Kynier couldn't help but smirk a little. Today was the day that things would change. He could feel it.

[Kynier]

For twenty chimes Kynier has been standing outside The Commons, watching the shop lying at its edge. While several people had gone inside the establishment there was a group of four sitting outside playing a game of dice. Every couple of chimes Kynier would move to a different vantage point to avoid being noticed by those men. One of them was probably the Tanner he needed to talk to. But he wanted to be sure that they were waiting for someone to approach them. Each time somebody walked into or out of the bakery and butchery shop one of them would glance up. It almost looked like each one had a select field of view. He hadn't seen one of them look around, just up. No money had been exchanged between them after any dice roll. One of them must be Tanner.

"Why are there four of them for one man's job? That bartender was right."

"Perhaps. But the money's too good." Kynier walked across the street towards the men. As he approached he noticed two of them had daggers hidden under their vests. The hilts were protruding out and he only noticed because the sun had glimmered off a pommel. Kynier tugged just a little on his cloak to obscure his shortsword from sight. At ten feet away he was noticed by the one who notified the others. Their chatter died and the dice forgotten, Kynier had their undivided attention. That didn't settle well with him. Kynier looked at each man in turn.

"I'm looking for Tanner." One of them stood up. The man was taller, burly, and had a small scar on his cheek from a cut.
"You here for the job?" Kynier nodded. Tanner glanced down the road in both directions. "Not here, it's too open. Pack it up fellas" he said quietly. The others quickly collected the dice and stood. None of them were as tall as Tanner, but were almost as muscular. "Follow me," Tanner muttered before heading north. The shorter bearded fellow took a few quick steps to walk next to Tanner, and the other two walked behind Kynier. No said anything as they walked the path that would take them through Robern's Reaches. Kynier felt uneasy about the situation now. Being surrounded ang guided like this, something was amiss. He thought about reading Tanner's aura, but if he was right the reading would drain his needed strength.

Tanner did not take them far into Robern's Reaches but led the way to an side alley next to Bregga's House of Happy Endings. The river rested at the alley's end. Between the water and the events inside of Bregga's house no one was likely to hear them. Tanner stopped and turned around, hands on his hips. "How discrete can you be?" he asked. Kynier let the question linger for a few seconds.

"I was observing your dice games for half a bell." Kynier pointed at the beared guy, "You were having the worst luck." Tanner looked to the short man with the beard.
"Did you see him before he walked up Lorne?" Lorne shook his head. "Sven, Baen, did you guys see him?" Kynier looked over his shoulder. One was shaking his head. The other studied Kynier's face for a moment before shaking his head. As Kynier turned back to Tanner something stuck him hard in the face. He staggered to the wall before feeling more punches to his body from all four men. Kynier hunched and held his arms in front of him to guard below his ribs. They did not slow down but fewer attacks were really painful. Their fists were glancing off his forearms and ribs. Kynier twisted and bobbed to make his head harder to hit. Had they stopped Kynier was sure his hands would be shaking from how sore his arms were.

Sven drew his dagger which left a small opening. Kynier made a diving roll through the space he wasn't being attack from. As he stood up he heard the rest of them draw their blades. When he turned to face them he realized his back was to the river and the four of them made a line to prevent his escape. Kynier drew his short sword and held it out in front of him. The four of them paused for an instant before Tanner started laughing.

"So you do have some fight in you? That'll make this more interesting." As though they had rehearsed they all slowly advanced at the same time. Lorne menacing flourished his dagger with a chuckle, Sven and Baen did not look as assured after seeing the cold iron blade drawn. Kynier shifted the point of his blade from person to person to keep them from coming too fast. He needed a plan, something!

"The only way out, is through."

If he was to die, then he would die using every skill he had. Kynier held up his other hand and willed his Djed to form his res. A glob of slime with a hint of purple formed with a more viscous texture than he anticipated.
"What is that?" Lorne said. Thinking of a hot fire in his mind he willed the image to appear and ignite. The slime wiggled slightly but did not ignite. Kynier released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. No time for a second attempt! He threw the glob of res at Lorne and it covered him from the chest up. As Lorne started sputtering Kynier directed his attention to Sven who was at the opposite end of the line as Tanner and still looking at Lorne. Kynier lunged with his blade but Sven's attention came back in time to deflect.

[Kynier]

Baen stepped around and hacked downward. Kynier was still recovering and used his disbalance to roll to the side. But his roll was pooer and made getting to his feet a struggle. Tanner came in with a quick cut that Kynier had to essentially fall backwards from to avoid. As Kynier made contact with the ground he kicked his feet over his head to roll backward and quickly stood. Tanner came again with a sideways slash. Kynier cut down at the man's dagger arm. His longer blade was the deciding facter as he cut Tanner below the wrist. Tanner recoiled and cradled his wound. Lorne came next, his face gleaming with res, snarling loudly with his dagger prepped for a downward stab. Kynier side stepped and focused heavily on the res as Lorne brushed by. Reaching out with the image of fire in his mind he willed it to ignite.

This time the res turned to fire and Lorne howled in pain. Kynier took two quick steps and attacked with a wild diagonal swing at Sven. Fear rested in Sven's eyes and slowed his reaction. His guard came up late and Kynier's blade came down across his chest. Sven's agonizing cry excited Kynier. His breathing was rapid and his blood pounded through his veins. More fire! And that would be the end of th...

His concentration was cut at the same time as his body. Baen had slashed his left forearm. Kynier backed away and held his sword up warningly. Lorne's screams were drawing near as he blindly thrashed toward Kynier. Leaping out of the way Lorne continued until he ran into the wall. Baen closed the distance with a thrust. Kynier parried it to the side as Tanner came to cut at his exposed side. Ducking down low the dagger instead cut Baen across his back. As Kynier stood he stabbed up aiming below Tanner's exposed ribs. But his aim was off, and while he managed to stab the taller man the blade hit the ribs causing Kynier's grip to slip.

His short sword fell from his hand and Tanner fell to a knee. Baen and Sven both took the opportunity presented to them. Kynier held his forearms up to cover his throat and felt two cuts. One on the forearm and the other closer to the other elbow. Kynier stepped back, but was out of room. Two more steps and he'd be in the river. He drew his assassin's dagger and held the thin blade out before him. He had lost the only advantage he had.

"Aim for killing points! There's no luxury for wild attacks you fool!"

Kynier glanced back and forth between the two. Baen on the right and Sven on the left. Tanner still was still on his knee inspecting how bad the wound was. Lorne had finally fallen silent on the ground. Baen had more ferocity in his eyes. I can't turn my back on him again. Or any of them for that matter. Baen came in with a downward cut. Kynier side-stepped towards Baen's backside to avoid and stabbed from the hip. Baen groaned painfully but Kynier just kept pulling the blade out and stabbing again. After the third Baen fell to his knees and Kynier kicked him down the rest of the way.

Sven was backpeddling. The panic stretching his eyes wide. Kynier knew that he was going to run by the way Sven's dagger hand shook. Before that could happen Kynier charged him. As Sven turned to run Kynier tackled him to the ground. He heard Sven's breath get knocked out of him and Kynier lost his dagger when he hit the ground. He scrambled to his knees and backed away, but Sven wasn't moving. Tanner had gotten to his feet and was holding Kynier's short blade. His clothes were wet and red at his abdomen and breathing looked to be uncomfortable for him.

[Kynier]

"Well fought. But it's over now," he snarled.
"I doubt it." Kynier touched his fingers together to make a ballish shape with his hands and concentrated on his Djed to make a gas between them. But he was getting light headed and his vision was blurring. Tanner was stepping forward and ready to stab. Kynier nearly forgot to think about the ignition but thrust his hands forward with his wrists together willing the fire to life and away from him. But the fire barely larger than the palm of his hand when it struck Tanner in the chest. His clothes did not catch fire but it stopped him in his tracks and he dropped Kynier's blade. Kynier dove for it and missed the hilt.

Tanner held his dagger in his uninjured hand and stabbed down putting his weight behind it. Kynier managed to roll away in time. Tanner stabbed the ground up to the hilt and struggled for a moment to get it free with his off hand. Kynier was not sure what motivated him to get up to a knee and punch upward. His fist caught Tanner on the underside of the jaw and turned the man away. But wow it had hurt. Enough that Kynier grimaced aloud and gave his hand a shake. As Tanner recovered Kynier grabbed the hilt of his blade with a weak grip and stabbed blindly. The tip of the blade buried itself three inches into Tanner's chest. Tanner's eye popped open. Kynier snarled fiercly and he pushed on the hilt with both hand. Tanner fell backwards and Kynier went with him. With a grunt Kynier's chest and bodyweight fell on the hilt, driving it deep.

Kynier rolled off Tanner with a groan. After a few heavy breaths he looked to see Tanner's dead gaze focused on the sky. Slowly Kynier got to his feet then searched for his dagger. It lay on the ground by Sven. Kynier approached it cautiously and picked it up, keeping his gave on Sven. After a few seconds he kicked the man in the ribs. But there was no response. Next, Baen. He had propped himself up against the wall with a blood trail smeared across the ground. Baen was breathing shallow, but his eyes steadily rolled to Kynier. For a chime Kynier stood there catching his breath. Both arms stung from cuts, his ribs felt bruised, and his face felt slightly puffed.

Stepping around Baen he searched for a weapon. One of Baen's hand rested in his lap, and the other had been cradling his back where he had been stabled before falling from a lack of strength. Kynier took a step forward and grabbed Baen by the hair to tilt his head back before driving the dagger into his throat. Baen made a disgusting gurgle before coughing twice. After that there was nothing. With some effort Kynier pulled his dagger out, nearly falling again once it came free.

Kynier returned to Sven and struggled to roll him over onto his back. Sven's own knife had slipped under his ribs when they fell. Then Kynier looked at Lorne who was still silent and the flames on his face nearly burned out.

"Through some sheer stroke of luck you managed to survive. But that was pathetic!"

"Shut up." Kynier leaned against a wall and slide to the ground. He took a long deep breath, and the air had never smelled sweeter.

[Kynier]

As he sat against the wall Kynier rolled up his sleeves to inspect his wounds. Pain limited the use of his hands making it a slow process. But once they were up he could see that the cuts were bad. The cuts on his left arm varied. One near the elbow where very little rested under the skin and above the bone, the other was on the top where the muscles were. That was the worst cut, and it was bleeding a lot. His right arm didn't look bad by comparison. The dagger had glanced off the bone and hadn't damaged too many ligaments, but that was better than getting his throat cut.

Kynier stood up, groaning the whole way. He needed something to clot the wound on his left arm. From Baen's sleeve he ripped off a long strip of cloth before walking over to the edge of the river. The wound needed to be cleaned, or at least cleaner. He took a few rapid, shallow breaths before dipping his arm into the water. A sharp sting rang through him and he groaned loudly. He slowly moved his arm under the surface for a few seconds, and a small red ribbon formed in the water as his blood ran downstream. When he pulled out his arm he could clearly see the sheered muscles under his skin, but it hadn't gotten to the bone. He sat down and struggled to wrap the would with the cloth. Restricted to his right hand and teeth, he was able to tie it off, but it would probably wouldn't last for long.

After repeating the process to the other two cuts he felt very dizzy. The pain was getting to him in culmination to the use of Reimancy. After a pause to regain his bearings he commenced with searching the possessions of his attackers. From Baen he found two gold mizzas, eight silver mizzas, a pair of gloves, some sort of tobacco, and a sack. Kynier added the money to his own and placed the unsoiled gloves in the sack. Also he unstrapped the sheath to Baen's dagger and retrieved the blade from the ground nearby. Kynier wiped the blood off on Baen's body before sheathing it and adding it to the sack.

Sven had one gold mizza, ten silver mizzas, a deck of cards, dice, and a small pouch of something he didn't recognize in vials. Drugs probably. There was also the scabbard and dagger buried in his abdomen. Kynier forced it out and cleaned the blade before putting it in the sack. Kynier took the money and left everything else. The flames on Lorne had finally died out. His face was unrecognizable and nearly burnt down to the bone. All he had were three gold mizzas, twelve silver mizzas, more of the vials that Sven had, and his dagger. It wasn't proving to be too much but he would at least have money for some decent food at this point.

Last was the big man, Tanner. Kynier tried to pull his short sword out of the man's chest, but the whole body lurched with it. He had to use both hands, brace a foot against the corpse and lift with his whole body to get it out. But it came out so suddenly he fell backwards and had the wind knocked out of him.

"Unless you improve and quickly, your time here will be a farce."

Kynier got up and cleaned the cold iron blade. It was still cool despite stripping the warmth from Tanner's life. Like a cold kiss of death. Tanner had one gold mizza, nineteen silver mizzas, dagger and scabbard, comb, deck of cards, and a waterskin. As Kynier took the scabbard out from under Tanner's velt he felt and unusual buldge in the fabric. After a chime of rolling Tanner around to strip the vest off he was able to find the opening to the hidden pocket. Inside were some skeleton keys, long metal picks, ten gold mizzas, and a note. Kynier unfolded the parchment and read it.

Stiletto is not pleased with your performance. If you don't move the Eagle Eyes as expected then you better find out something good for Merv, or your next bed will be in the Dust.

[Kynier]

"Shyke!" He cursed quietly. "Shyke! Shyke! Shyke!" Kynier paced in a panic as he swore. He had just killed some of The Daggerhand. And he wasn't part of any gang that could protect him at the moment. He stopped and bent over feeling sick.

"This is good. Read it again and think!"

Kynier took a breath and read the note. He realized that he had just found out a few things. Stiletto, whoever that was, was important. The Daggerhand were selling Eagle Eyes, Merv was someone the thugs reported to. It was something to start with. At least now he could begin to ask the right questions around the city for some useful information. He folded the note and put it in his pocket, along with the money and the metal picks. Looking around at the corpses it would be best to hide them somehow. His best chance was probably the river.

Kynier began dragging and rolling the bodies to the river's edge one at a time. He was exhausted and ready to collapse at any time, but had to finish before anyone else came down the alley. One by one he rolled the corpses into the river with a gentle splash. Lorne was last. As he was about to roll him in Kynier had an idea. He took out one of the drug vials and put it in his pocket. It maybe useful at some point. With a gentle push Lorne entered the water and floated away. Kynier watched it for a second, praying that Akajia would keep their corpses a mystery for a little while at least.

Seventeen gold and 49 silvers richer, with some new gloves, extra daggers, and useful information in tow, Kynier decided it was past time to leave. If he never ended up in this alley again he couldn't be happier. Odds were that he would have more similar experience to come, he had no disillusions about that. Kynier pulled the brim of his hood down low to cover his bruised face as best he could before walking out on the main road. Half the day still remained to be used, but that was going to be spent giving his wounds more proper care. In order to do that he needed the right supplies, so he was off to the Storage Houses in the Commons.

During his approach the commotion of the masses grew louder. It was the middle of the day and many people were out for supplies. Kynier hunched slightly and kept his hood low to avoid being picked out from the crowd. Several people brushed against his him. Each time he had to stifle his pain. Eventually he found the warehouse with medicinal supplies and went inside. Now he stood up straighter and allowed his face to be seen. There were many guards inside and trying hide himself would only get their attention faster. Kynier approached an employee of the warehouse.

"I'm in need of some medical equipment. In particular to treating cuts and bruises." The merchant gave a dry laugh.
"Those are our best sellers. We have yards of cloth for bandaging, as well as Ramie cloth. Ramie cloth is effective for preventing infection. We also have needles, thread, and scissors. For cuts we have Vyfox to prevent infection and Belltor to help wounds close and reduce scarring."
"Alright. How much for each?"
"Cloth is five silvers per square yard, Ramie is eight silvers and seventy five coppers per square yard. Needles, thread, and scissors come in a kit for twelve gold mizzas. Vyfox is five coppers for a leaf or a tenth of an ounce, and Belltor is ten coppers per oz of leaves or one gold for an ounce of premade tincture."

Kynier was silent for a few chimes thinking about it. He needed the kit and the cloth. Vyfox and Belltor would be good to have. But Ramie was unnecessary. He took out his coin purse and set the money on stacks, doing the math for what he wanted as he went. "Two golds for four yards of regular cloth. Twelve more for the kit. Three more for tinctures, and three silvers for three ounces of Vyfox leaves." Kynier took a moment to add it all up. Seventeen gold mizzas and three silvers. That left him with a gain of fourty-six silvers for the day. Looks like only seven days worth of food. But the merchant was pleased and took the money quickly. After a few more chimes he had assembled the order.

Kynier realized he didn't have enough sack space to carry it all. "Do you have any sack for me to carry it in?"
"I do for a silver for each sack." Kynier groaned inwardly and asked for two. he placed the Belltor and Vyfox in one, the kit in the other, and bundled the cloth into his loot sack to help muffle the daggers and picks from clinking. Though he was disappointed it was good that he had the supplies now. He would need them again in the future for sure.

[Kynier]

Kynier walked through the masses to the Slums. He wondered how many of them would be dead at the end of the day. Never had he considered it before. Today at least four were dead, instead of him. Strange how everyone stayed in this city when things like that happened. He got back to his flimsy door and decrepite home. He stepped inside and removed the city map from his table and took out the Vyfox, Belltor, a needle and thread. Before taking the scrap cloth off his wounds he sniffed them first. The looked soaked and smelled horrible. Kynier grabbed his bucket to get water for his wash basin. After a few trips there was sufficient water for his purposes, he supposed. Never having done this before he wasn't sure how much of anything was needed. But he didn't have the money to see a professional, so here he was.

He removed each improvised bandage and tossed them aside. The deep wound on his left was starting to smell. He washed that one first before going to the table. Ripped off a section of white cloth from his recent purchase and set it down. Then he prepped the needle and thread. It took several tries to get it through the eye of the needle, but then he tied it off. With that he tried to steady his breath before beginning. He placed a few drops of the tincture into the wound and wasn't prepared for the pain. It was just like burning his hand with fire. He slammed a fist with a groan then shook his head to remove the pain from his mind. Now to begin threading. He tried to make each stitch even but it wasn't. After what felt like a few bells of stabbing himself and agitating the wound further he managed to sew it closed. He took a leaf of Vyfox and placed it on top before wrapping it with a bandage.

His face felt flushed and he was sweeting hard. His other wounds were not so bad, so he crushed a Vyfox leaf and sprinkled it over both of them before wrapping them in white cloths as well. Afterwards he emptied the wash basin and bundled all the blood soaked fabrics together on the floor. He stood a few feet away looking at the bundle. Raising his hand in front of him he started a Void incantation. He struggled to concentrate on the floor beneath the bundle for the portal. HIs body swayed forwards and back as he muttered the words. After a chime a portal finally opened, a little off from where he intended. His eyesight was blurring and his head began to hurt, but he focused his djed to make a gentle pull on the bundle. Slowly it scooted over until it ultimately fell in the void. As soon as it did Kynier released the magic. The portal lingered for a few seconds as Kynier collapsed onto his bed.

"This was an interesting day. I do hope that there're more like it soon."

Kynier couldn't form a thought to responde. Nor could he keep his eyes open. He was just so exhausted, all he... wanted to do... was...

[Kynier]

Grades!

Skill Rewards

• Acrobatics +4
• Detection +2
• Endurance +2
• Intelligence +2
• Mathematics +1
• Medicine +3
• Observation +5
• Reimancy +2
• Stealth +1
• Tactics +1
• Unarmed Combat +1
• Voiding +1
• Weapon: Dagger +2
• Weapon: Short Sword +5

Lores Learned

• Location: No Man’s Land Tavern
• Location: Bregga’s House of Happy Endings
• Tall Johnny’s: A place to gamble
• Tall Johnny’s: Hosts Blood Fights
• No Man’s Land Tavern: Some Job advertisements are traps!
• Short Sword: Can get stuck in a torso.
• Drugs: Eagle Eye is sold by Daggerhands
• Daggerhand: Stiletto is someone important
• Daggerhand: Merv is someone important
• Medicine: Vyfox prevents infection
• Medicine: Belltor helps healing and scar prevention
• Medicine: Belltor stings
• Reimancy: Res can be used for distraction

Penalties

• Sever but to left forearm: 75 days to heal. Limited use of left had during that time.