The city of Gamulur

Baruman walked down to the docks and leant against one of the wooden buildings used as a port office, watching as another new boat sailed towards the shore to join several already there. They were increasingly frequent, and the local gossip that surrounded them had many both scared and excited. Stories of strange monsters and great wealth that could change your life.

Normally he would be on the shoreline looking to make a little coin loading and unloading the boats, but right now, he just wanted to watch the spectacle of these strangers from many races, several of which he had never seen before. Many wore battered armour and carried fearsome weapons, their eyes continuously monitoring all that was around them.

He daydreamed of the distant shores that they had seen, and the adventures they had, and wondered if he would ever have the courage to do the same. His grumbling stomach brought him back to reality. Well, he thought, they're rich, and they need things carried, at least I can earn some money from them. With that, he strode towards the dock .

Baruman strode towards the dock, heading towards Hakeack, hoping to pick up some work. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of the human that he's seem hanging around the dock before, talking to the strange adventurers and directing them to various locations to carry out work.

The daydreams of the adventurers still lingered in his mind.

I can't just scrounge for the same work every day, or my life will never change, but these adventurers have travelled the lands and faced all types of foe. How could a tiny fool like me ever do that? I can't just walk up to them and ask for work, those humans look really tough! I have no idea what it involves, they would probably laugh in my face!

He paused, uncertain of what to do, then with a rush of adrenaline started after the human clerk. The clerk and humans were heading towards one of the larger piers, jutting out into the river. This jetty was used by many boats every day, and had crates and barrels stacked up along it's edges, being loaded and unloaded from the boats along it's side. Baruman bent low and moved swiftly, darting between the cargo to remain hidden. If he could get close enough, he might be able hear their conversation and establish what type of work they were doing.

Baruman ponders what he has overheard. If these experienced, capable, strong humans aren't getting the adventurous work they want, then why would anybody give a job to a tiny young lad like him? How could he prove that he could be of use to them?

He looks into the freezing cold river running by the pier. The light sparkles on the top of the waves crashing against the wooden jetty, hypnotising him as he struggles to come to a decision. The crash of a chest being thrown out of a nearby boat shocks him out of his reverie. Well, if it comes to it, he's been booted into the icy water more than once before and come out of it OK.

Moving as fast as he can without drawing attention to himself, he scuttles after the clerk, ducking for cover when necessary as before. moving more confidently now, his eyes follow the swaying movement of the clerks pockets, trying to determine which might contain an item of value. The left pocket definitely hangs lower, and sways wider of the clerk's hip as he walks. Hoping this means it contains a purse, Baruman dips into it with his nimble fingers.

Baruman backed out of range of the human's grasp , furious at himself and thinks quickly to see if he can talk himself out of this.

"Innept? There's none faster and stealthier than me, I was just letting you know I'm here! I'm hardly about to steal from my future boss now am I? That's right, I know you're looking to employ a little one, and there aren't many littler than me. You won't find anybody nippier and nimbler than me, and I know how to look after myself, so, What's the job?"

His heart beating fast in his chest, the terrified Baruman tries to look the clerk confidently in his eyes.

Baruman looked back over the shore of the town, still bustling with activity. The old fishing shacks where he had earned coin using his nimble fingers to fix the snagged nets. Hakeack organising the unloading of a newly arrived boat. The streets full of people carrying on with their lives as if they didn't understand that he was about to fundamentally change his life. This was all that he had ever known, but 10 Gold. There was no decision now, he had never come near to having such a large regular income.

"Count me in then. You won't regret it. I get the first 10 in advance yeah?"

He took the quill and carefully scratched out the letters of his name as he knew them.

With the money burning a hole in his pocket, Baruman heads straight to the bakers and buys a meat pie. He devours it quickly, the gravy dripping down his chin, more used to scrounging the stale bread from the previous week that was about to be binned.

Hanks's words still reverberated in his mind. What on earth had he got himself into? What was he going to need to survive outside of the town? Realising that time was passing, and desperate not to miss the boat, he runs around the shops and buys:

New Clothes: strong boots, a warm hat with holes for his ears to poke out of, hard wearing top and trousers with a hidden pocket and a travelling cloak.
A backpack
A bedroll
Rations
Rope
A cosh, hidden in his secret pocket
Lantern
Oil for lantern
Lock picks to replace his worn ones
Small crowbar
Small mirror on a handle
Pliers
Scissors

Baruman looked over his newly purchased items. He had never in his life spent so much money one go! Moving quickly through the streets he heads back towards the boat the he saw Hank heading to.

Athria shifts the pack across her back and tugs at the hem of her cloak. The urge to drop to all fours and scurry along to find a discreet way inside suddenly looms as her tail swishes in anticipation. Her throat flexes, letting the green frills across her jaw and head flare upwards for a moment as a stark contrast to her smooth black scales. But the fear of being seen, of a heavy hand striking her for being seen or failing to provide adequate loot was her old life, and she cut those people loose. She sees the men and dwarfs, their soft vulnerable flesh and their hair; a breeding ground for all sorts of parasites no doubt. They have no claws, those stumpy fingers seem literally pointless. Athria always grudgingly admitted the achievements of these soft-skins in war and materials, but physically she always pitied them. They had work, they had the gold lust and that's what she needed them for. Gamulur seemed a mighty big place, and Athria wanted to start feeling it out.

Every open door is an invitation 'Ria. Save shadow-walking for later

Athria straightens herself up, to her full 5 feet and pulls down the hood as she approaches the guards. She knows how these humans smile but mimicking it with her needle like teeth never seems to convey the right attitude so she keeps her mouth pursed and gives a short bow. She reaches behind to her pack, where a small tree like a bonsai rests in a clothand rope bundle, leaves and branches twining upward. She plucks a fruit and with a flick of her claws cuts it in two. She offers the halves to the guards, while her head is to the side.

"Good Morrow my Fellows. Please, accept a token from the open road. I seek passage to seek work regarding your noble 'Expedition'. Pray who makes decisions about such things?"

Athria's speech is rather smooth thanks to her human upbringing, yet she can't entirely mask her mouth's natural inclination, and there's a couple of clicks and hisses that escape.

Athria's plan seems to be to get inside the city and do some spying on this Corwin. She'll gauge whether he'd be receptive to her joining without money for passage. If not, she'll try and stow away on the next ship

"Corwin? Most helpful good sirs. And as for keeping the peace, it's my intention you don't even know I'm here"

Athria steps forward only to interrupted by the human with the clipboard. Her mouth opens and for a second the human gets to see the dark red of her mouth and the rows of teeth. Her tongue flicks out and she picks up the scents on the air, particularly the sweat of so many humans in close proximity. Her new found freedom makes her urges for fight or flight a little harder to quell but Athria's determined to be counted as worthwhile, especially if she can do so atop riches and finery.

I am Athria. Couldn't tell you where I'm from, I'm something of a former slave. I intend only to be here long enough to move on for good fortunes. And I'm acquainted with Deaf Charlie on Blinker Street

Her last phrase seems a little odd, having pulled it from her former employer. In thieving circles, going to see "Deaf Chatterbox Charlie on Blinker Street" was code for See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, a promise not get in the way of another's plans. Athria doesn't expect any present to recognize the phrase, and if they do then they certainly should be inclined to let her be long enough for any local crime boss to give her a shakedown of the rules. The Lizardfolk looks to the Men and Dwarves, waiting to see if she's done enough to warrant getting inside, and ready to run if not.

The open spaces and clean look of the market makes Athria nervous, she feels exposed. She does take a moment to sniff deeply and try to ascertain the various spices from the food vendors, but decides to make her way for the docks, where she'll be a lot more in her natural element, and will hopefully be closer to this Colwin and the Expedition that promises fortune and glory.

The bustle is easier to be inconspicuous, and Athria keeps her cloak tight around her. The jostling, the smells are more familiar here and she keeps her wits about her, knowing there'll be some elements here that care not for settling things via the city watch.

The places where people gather to eat and drink are perfect for listening in, and a few choice drinks to the right person can cause loose lips. She starts off asking about Colwin and the current news about the Expedition, but she's also interested if there are other parties keen to get their hands on the artefacts and spoils coming from it's labours. Just because Colwin heads the Expedition doesn't mean he'll offer the best price...

Best to take the indirect direct approach

Athria slips out of the tavern after getting her answers and steps onto the docks. With the pirates and smugglers thirsty for Expedition spoils, there might be an opportunity to make a good impression. Athria heads further onto the piers, hatching a plan to slip into the shadows and find when the next attempt to steal from the Expedition will strike. And when she comes to their aid she can provide an example of her skills without needing to plead or boast. She looks for a spot that will be prime eavesdropping territory as the small boats and the men that crew them continue their work

The odd pair seems to be the best source of finding out more about Colwin and what's around

Flattening down her head crest and squinting her eyes, Athria tries to diminish any sources of colour on her and drops down low. With deliberate movements she blends into the shadowed recesses of the docks and follows the pair Colwin spoke to, interested in just what things he's up to and if it leads to an advantage for her to get to the Expedition

Athria smiles to herself, getting a better sense of Colwin's associates and a familiarity of their methods, at least to her own preconceptions. She sees the lock and is confident in her abilities, but it seems too obvious, too human. The alley and the wall is much more her style: it would give her vantage points without having to commit to going through a door that she has no knowledge of what lies beyond. With a quick check of her surroundings and the security of her things she drops to all fours and scurries through the the alley, before finding a secure grip on the wall. She heads for the window, intending to look through and decide whether to enter through it, or continue to the roof...

Athria seems convinced there is definitely something going on. A space like this should be a prime place for good or business, being so dusty and abandoned would make no sense unless the real money was being made somewhere else. Trying to assuage herself against her previous noise she wraps the cloak around tightly and begins to move between shadows, looking for footprints or scratches that indicate a passage through this space and where they might be.

Of the opinion that paper and goods can be picked up any time, but a conversation can't be heard after the fact, Athria tries to slip unnoticed downstairs to where the muffled voices can be heard. All this clandestine effort gives her a rush of excitement like the old days and she struggles not to let her head crest flare in anticipation

OOC: No this is fine for me, though a big twist right out the gate is fun!

Reptilian eyes going wide, Athria does her best to evade detection and head back upstairs. She knows there's prisoners and though this Expedition promises riches, she can't let innocent people get sacrificed to some dark deity. And living escapees may be able to create dissention and call Colwin into question, something she certainly isn't ready to do herself yet.

She thinks back to what she's seen so far and wonders where the best place for the prisoners to be kept might be, remembering the conversation about them being upstairs

Without much time to hang around, Athria's sword comes free of her sheath to slice through the ropes and release the prisoners. The sound of the hinges already gives her pause that this has become a desperate escape and she hisses quietly to them both.

"Gather your strength and follow if you want to live"

Nodding with appreciation of the resolute man and his endurance in these circumstances, she keeps her sword ready and opens the door. With these humans in tow any acrobatics to the windows or roof is out, she'll need to find a door on this level and see if it can be opened. With careful steps she moves out of the room and glances quickly in both directions.

Athria sees the skeletons and curses. Men, with their limited senses and prejudices she knows, she can confuse or distract. The dead she can't deceive or hide, there's merely hard bone against scales, and she prefers a situation that gives her every advantage. But there's nothing for it, she's not going to abandon these prisoners, unless her own life is in danger so she raises her sword as they charge. She drops low, using her mass and her tail to knock one to a stumble before hitting it with a strong blow of her sword. After that she keeps low and circles them to keep them at bay...

"If you have any experience in fighting, now's a good time. Or else just find a way out of here!"

OOC; Since they're charging I assume I don't need a move action, so I'll Attack and Evade

Cursing the turn of events, Athria takes a number of wide sweeps with her sword as she sidesteps to get between the skeleton and the window, before literally turning tail and running for the escape

OOC: Noted on the lack of mastery. I'll try one last attack then moving for the window

With the adrenaline pumping after the narrow escape, Athria tears into the offered food with gusto. She nods her appreciation to Bjorne and nods her head at his statement.

"Of course you want safety after what happened, and this place seems dangerous to you. I was investigating a man I was to seek employment from, and took to following some men he was talking to."

Athria thinks back to the words of the men before her impromptu rescue attempt.

"Do you remember them talking about their plans? Who they were looking to sacrifice you to?"

Athria shakes her head

"It's smart I guess, picking off the people in dangerous work, who no one expects to come home anyway. Won't be easy to take them down

Taking a sip of her drink, Athria looks over to Bjorne and clinks their mugs.

"Hope you have somewhere to go home to, or work far away from here. I don't think it'll be safe for anyone who can point the finger at them. I think I'll stick around, and find the perfect place to sink a knife into their back."

The most inconvenient thing about humans is that they all are look completely identical. Those flat round faces, devoid of individuality, covered in bare skin and tufts of fur in random places, almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. Forthemore, the lack of a tail and inexpressive body language doom attempts to read their emotions to failure. All these facts definitely made the task more difficult, but the difficulties did not frighten Aashas. If Uallas did that, I can do it too - she thinks, - and if my friend needs me, I'll find out how to help.
In general, there are not many creatures who she could call her friends, so she did not think twice when Uallas invited her to join the Expedition. Besides, she had heard something about it, and the opportunity to explore something new was attractive in itself.

Anyway, two cities were behind, and this one should be where she would finally find a way to join the Expedition. The hardest part is done - now she knows the name of the recruiter. Of course, she needs to find him and somehow distinguish him from other people, but this is not a big deal now. Remembering what Uallas told about politics she decided to talk less and listen more until she figured out how things work, and the tavern was a good place to gather some information first.

Another lizardfolk entering in the company of a human (probably male, but she couldn't say for sure) immediately caught her attention. It was impossible to determine what they were talking about, but for Aashas far more important was the opportunity to meet to someone of her kind here. Not wanting to interfere with the conversation, she waited until the human left.

Shhh, - she says, moving quickly towards the other lizard once the human is far enough away. Perhaps she should have started with an introduction, or at least a greeting, but she forgot how communication actually works - Don't think I've been stalking you, just a couple of questions. How long have you been in this city?

Athria pockets the coin and lets the man go on his way, trying to remember the face and his instructions should she want some safer work. She must be slipping a little for she didn't notice the other lizardfolk enter, and unlike the humans there was no obvious scent to alert her. When Aashas sits down there's a moment of surprise and a flaring of her crest, bright green against her black scales. Her mouth opens for a moment but she gets control of her reaction and shakes her head a little, calming herself. She takes a moment to observe the newcomer, staying completely still. She's a little unsure of what to think. Her egg having been found and sold off, her only experiences with her own kind were her clutchmates, and they were dispersed fairly early on in her life. She doesn't know if she should feel kinship or caution, but decides to be wary until she knows more, especially with the secrets she's just discovered.

"If stalking you were, I must admit you do it well. I arrived today. I've been finding my feet you might say."

She doesn't know the custom but offers a clawed hand in the human manner.

"I am Athria"

OOC:

What's an acceptable length of time to allow for a response?

OOC: No that sounds fine thank you