New Years fun

[Restless Soul]

The duchy of Entadaa was a quiet place. The politics of the island nation were mostly ignored, and the disgruntled undertones of Scara Brae proper did not reach across the well tilled flatlands to Olme. It was a city of peace, a place of comfort. Nestled against the outskirts of Brokenthorn, Olme had a reputation as a sleepy town filled with lazy citizens. Taking lumber from the forests was permitted only by decree of the Queen, and as such the allotment allowed was often a task that did not force the people to work very hard. There was always a laid back atmosphere, but that did not mean there was no action at all.

Olme was not well known for its yearly tradition, a tradition that had been ongoing for five years. It was a meeting of the nobility from across the island. Barons, countesses, earls, and even a scattering of older knights met with the Duchess in Olme. At the beginning of every year they gathered to celebrate the New Year, meeting in the demure home of Duchess Entadaa for a party. As they entered the village, grandeur displayed across their carriages and entourage, the city of Olme came to greet them. Amongst the crowd was the young Amras.

The elven youth was remaining in the backdrop, smiling as he watched the glittering of gold shimmer past him. It was a thief’s paradise. He leaned back against a sturdy post, gathering his arms across his chest to keep warm. Flakes of snow had fallen early in the day, leaving only a murky slush underfoot and hoof. A new year may have dawned, but the noble’s carriages slung slush at the peasants just like any other year.

“What’s the plan this year?” The snarky tone was spat quietly towards Amras. He barely let his purple eyes peer towards the older half-elf at his side. Harrison had been a close friend as long as Amras could remember. He had a streak to him that made it always fun to be around the guy, mainly because he had a bad habit of having quick fingers and a sharp tongue. “We’ve just watched and planned before, fiddled, but never taken advantage of anything. Old enough to get something done this year?”

“I’ve got a plan, my friend, but we’ve got to get someone to get us in.” Amras knew his father was the constable for the weekend, the only man above him within the Olme Watch was leading a mission against the Innari. It would be a tricky situation playing games with noble houses, trying to guise his humble background in order to infiltrate the party. Add that his father, Locien, would be at the entrance of the mansion and wandering about to keep up with the other guards would be another trick all it’s own.

“In?” Amras nodded, shrugged himself off the support beam and wandered into the almost empty tavern. The Shattered Blade would be the meeting ground for himself and his small gang of friends.

((Closed, mostly, just PM if you'd like to join in. Infiltrating noble party, stealing some noble stuff, going to be fun!))

[VietMyke]

The Shattered Blade was essentially empty. Aside from the few slackers, the majority of Olme's people still worked, and would work until long after the sun went down. That, and the fact that, The Shattered Blade was a small tavern, and didn't receive that many customers to begin with. It was a homely enough tavern, built of strong, dark, hardwood, and dimly lit, with smells of mead and ale permeating the atmosphere. The back of the tavern consisted of a large bar, where the barman stood, wiping absentmindedly at the glass that had been in his hands since noon. Small tables, some round, others square, were dispersed throughout the tavern. By the look of things, it had been a rather quiet day. Several chairs were still on top of the tables, and a couple were overturned, dropped and not bothered to be picked up. At one of the tables, a small rabble of young adults sat. more adolescent than they were adult, but able bodied young men nonetheless.

The little band numbered no more than a dozen, about 5 or 6 of them. They were mostly elves, save for the 3 humans in the group, and they all had a slightly dirty look about them, a rowdy, mischevious looking bunch. The group chatted amongst themselves, an excited, but hushed air circled about them, various members of the group occasionally poking his head out of the conversation to make sure they weren't being watched.

Atelar, one of the few humans in the band was leaning back in his chair, arms behind his head, legs extended out in front of him, stretching luxuriously. He leaned back into the huddle lazily and nudged Koda, a half-elf, who sat next to him.

"Hey Koda, who're we waiting on? The night's burning away and we're not gonna get anything done, or stolen, for that matter, sitting around here."

Koda laughed bemusedly, "We're waiting on Harrison and Armas," he replied. "Armas, you know, the leader of this merry band of ours," Koda continued, as he noticed Atelar didn't quite understand. "Besides, what do you mean the night's burning away? The sun is still setting right now!"

Atelar shrugged, "Every minute that little party of theirs' runs and we're not there, is a minute wasted to me."

"Oh come off it," Koda replied, "Not all the guests have arrived yet anyway, they being fashionably late and whatnot."

The sound of moving wood in the otherwise quiet tavern was heard almost instantly. All heads in the band turned to face the doors of the tavern as they opened. "Speaking of being fashionably late, here they are, deciding to show up at last!"

[Silence Sei]

"Lord Orlouge," a short, balding man spoke as he adjusted the bowtie on the 'Hero of Radasanth', "I very much appreciate your helping us out tonight. You never know what could go wrong on a day such as this."

"Mr. Fifke," a hand went towards the fiddling fingers of the man, "Need I remind you that I am only doing this to pay back my debt to Her Majesty? If Duffy had not attempted to pilfer off of so many guards, I would not be here." This statement of fact brought a sigh from the five-foot man, as well as a headshake. Duffy Bracken had made a habit of stealing for stealings sake, a kleptomaniac to the finest degree. His craft had brought him under arrest in his home town of Scara Brae, prompting Sei Orlouge into entering negotiations for the immortal rouge's release. He had definitely not expected 'bodyguard for a ball' to be one of the terms.

Trent Fifke was another one of the terms. The vertically challenged baron was assigned to make sure that Sei kept his promise to attend to new year celebration. The man stuck to his job thoroughly, forcing the orange haired Mystic into his tuxedo fitting (an event that took three hours thanks to the mute's constant fidgeting), his hair appointment (an event that took three hours thanks to the mute's fidgeting), and even a proper manicure (an event that took three hours so the mute could erase the fact he had a manicure from every persons mind in existence). Now, Sei Orlouge looked like a proper gentleman, the way the leader of a distinguished army should.

The Mystic stared at the person in the mirror before him. His form fitting tuxedo no longer seemed out of place now that his hair had been let down, and combed properly down to reach his shoulders. The red bow tie seemed to bring out the blue in the warriors eyes, and the black loafers were definitely an aesthetic improvement from the kung fu shoes typically worn by the Dragon of Drantrak. The Duchess Entadaa had been gracious enough to allow the two men to use her home to prepare the strategist for the party. Apparently, gray karate gi and torn matching pants were an eyesore compared to the high and mighty of Scara Brae.

"I look like someone who eats biscuits...."

"There's nothing wrong with---"

"....when it's not breakfast."

The comment was not meant to be an insult, but from the look in Trent Fifike's green eyes, he had obviously hurt the time keeper. Trent smiled politely and excused himself from the room for a moment, bringing himself back in after a few minutes of deep breathing. His cheeks had become red and flustered, resembling something not unlike a blowfish. The look caused the Mystic to crack a smile, and then a small chuckle. The laughter caught on quick, because Trent quickly began to chuckle as well, prompting the both of them to exchange knowing glances of apology and acceptance.

"Why does this thing even need a bodyguard, anyways? It is not as if Olme is a big town, or relatively known."

"Let me answer your question with a question, Lord Orlouge," Trent spoke softly, something odd from a man whose voice sounded so hoarse normally anyways, "if you are playing chess, do you ever leave your king unguarded?"

"Of course not," Sei blinked as part of his response, "that would be silly."

"Exactly, you should never leave anything to chance. With so many high ranking nobles here, there could be anything from a disgruntled extremist to opportunists waiting in the shadows."

"You mean thieves?" Sei found it hard to believe that anybody would be dumb enough to attempt to raid this town. Most of the nobles came with the best of their personal guard. It would have taken a genius on par with Sei himself in order to even get close enough to ogle any riches that the royalty could be wearing, let alone be able to steal it. Then again, if the Queen of Scara Brae had asked for the youngest Orlouge's help, there must have been rising reports or something on which to base the fears on.

"Okay, just so you are clear, Lord Orlouge," Trent stood straight up, his body paling in comparison to the average-height Sei, "you will mingle with the party guests. Enjoy yourself, have a cocktail or two, just make sure your senses are keen enough to detect anything out of the ordinary. I will be doing the same, noticing any inconsistencies in the formal wear. Together, we should be able to nip anything that comes up in the bud. Do you understand?" Sei nodded, though the mute did not feel completely comfortable having the plan reiterated to him as if he were a child. "Great!"

Trent turned on his heels and began to walk up the stairs leading towards the living room of the Entadaa estate. The man stopped at the top of the stairs to call out to the hero. "One more thing, Lord Orlouge. If someone can infiltrate as hard to break in as this event, you may want to tighten the defenses of Ixian Castle..."

[Restless Soul]

The early afternoon was left behind as Amras entered the small tavern. Cool from an untended fire barely even alive enough to consider embers anymore, the small common-room was quiet. When the door opened the chattering of the Bastards of Olme stopped, leaving the grunt of the bar-keep the only noise to welcome Amras. He smirked at the man, nodding to him as if an old friend. Balding, overweight, and sporting a set of bags under his eyes Mr. Dour looked like his name implied. It was to be expected though, running a tiny tavern in a very small city. With children his only patrons, he was sure to be annoyed and the day had just begun. It made Amras smile nonetheless.

“Boys,” he said with a smirk, “If you’re not privy to the plan you’re not in, sorry mates. Except you…” He pointed to the newcomer, Atelar, who he did not know. Word had passed to him about a new kid to the group, a human who knew Koda. Harrison had filled him in about what he knew, which was little more than a name and that he was not much different than any of the other boys in the Bastards. “You’re coming with, since you’re new and I need to run with you at least once before you can really sit with us.”

Grumbling and whispered complaints began immediately. Amras wanted to laugh. The oldest of the boys were his age, around nineteen, the youngest around thirteen. Three half-elves, five full blooded elves, and with the new human three of them; that rounded out all of the Bastards. It was a small group, intimate, except for the new addition. Amras gave a mock kick to the backside of the youngest elf as he reached out to pick the coin purse off his leader. “Get on you little shit,” Amras laughed.

Harrison stood at the door, not part of the plan but knowing that whatever the plan was he was going to need to know what was going on. It would be his responsibility to help out if anything bad happened, a task he was well known for in the past. The elf leader smiled to the keep, raising a couple fingers to sign for mugs of mead. “Now, newbie.” Amras walked to the small table and sat across from Atelar. “I know your name, that you’re supposedly a quick fingered kid, and that Koda likes you. I don’t mean to sound rude, but your past is just that. If you wanna have some fun and get out there, make a name for yourself like I’m going to, then we’re working together on this.”

Amras leaned back in his chair and took stock of the human. He looked like a human version of Amras, just as lithe but taller. His face was soft, shaven, and had a spring of youth that extended to his light brown eyes. Plain clothing, a sheath across his chest sporting a simple dagger, and a long blue cloak made him seem… almost a missing piece to the Bastards. The elf liked the way he looked, and he approved of the new addition.

[Amaretta]

Blue-grey eyes watched as Amras entered the tavern. Their owner, a pretty female elf, smiled as she took in the sight of the young man. She pushed a stray strand of silvery blonde hair behind her long ears and finished off her drink. She had only been in Olme a few days, hoping to find something entertaining and fun. Thus far however, she had been very disappointed. Once here she had heard about the Duchess’ party and seen a few of the nobles arrive. While such a party intrigued her, she did not currently have the funds to be able to fake her way in.

She had come to Scara Brae looking for a new adventure and had wandered out of the city. As it turned out she’d stopped in Olme just in time for some party being held by the Duchess. She had watched several carriages arrive already. Pickings at a party would be so easy a succubus on her first hunt would be able to get what she wanted. Amaretta’s first hunt was so many years ago she didn’t bother to count them anymore, but she couldn’t deny that even she liked to have an easy night every once in a while. Unlike most of her sisters though, she wasn’t interested in the life force of the men she shared a bed with. She only wanted the fun of sharing the bed. She had recently decided that lovemaking alone wasn’t always that entertaining. She wanted an adventure of some sort, legal or not, to spice up the day before a spicing up some handsome young man’s bed. A grand party would have been perfect, but since she was unable to get in on that, she had returned to her usual hunting grounds: an ordinary tavern.

Yet even that seemed to be having less than perfect results. She had been here all day and the only prospects for a fun time had been the boys sitting at a table together. She smiled to herself as she watched them. Clearly they thought themselves men for whatever it was they did, but they were much too young looking to be anything else. Not that she minded. She’d happily have quite a bit of fun with each of them under different circumstances. Lately though, such youth did not intrigue her. She watched as Amras took a seat and ordered the boys that had been sitting there to leave. She watched as the boys cleared out, leaving just three men.

Oooo, he must be the leader of these boys. Now what are they up to then? Business perhaps? What kind of business I wonder? Should be fun regardless…

Her curiosity peaked, she ordered a new drink then rose smoothly from her seat. Her three inch black stilettos (which gave her grand height of 5’3”) clicked on the floor as moved across the room. She took a seat beside the elf and smiled at him. “Hi, I’m kinda new around here. Could you tell me what the big deal is with all those carriages I keep seeing?”

When she sat, she crossed her legs at the knee, causing the short black dress she was wearing to climb a bit higher, revealing more of her smooth skin. The neckline of her dress scooped tantalizingly low. As she leaned forward to prop one elbow on the table, it gave a clear view of her cleavage. She smiled once more as she took a sip of her wine.

“Oh I suppose I should introduce myself,” she said with a bright smile, “I’m Amaretta.”

“Amaretta,” the boy stuttered. Obviously womanly charms were not often turned on him. “It is a pleasure… I am Amras, Amras Fletcher. If you’re new, and looking to get to know the place, you’ve come to the right man.” Emphasis on the word man was spat through an almost choked swallow. “What’s brought you to Olme?”

"Boredom, mostly. I've only been here a few days. I saw all those carriages... is there a party or something going on? I love parties."

"Party... ? Oh, yes indeed. It's an annual party for the Duchess, invitation only for the nobles around the area. We're just... well... considering our opportunities." Amras smirked at his turn of phrase, hoping that it would be preceived as a smug and witty reposte. "Atelar here," he said tossing a nonchalant thumb towards the newcomer, "is a new addition to my little group of friends. I was just about to ask him about his experiences with nobles and parties."

“Oh? And what experience do you have Mr. Atelar?” she asked, turning her smile on him now.

[VietMyke]

Koda gave Atelar a shrug as he walked off with the rest of the group, leaving Atelar on his own with the two ringleaders of the bunch, Harrison and Armas. Harrison walked off soon after, leaving their presence, but not the room. Atelar caught Armas' eyes for a moment, and a moment only. He knew what Armas was doing, Armas probably knew what he was doing too. They were both sitting/standing there, sizing eachother up. Looks, seeming strengths, weaknesses if any.

His hair was fairly light, a mix of blonde and brown, lighter than Atelar's by a considerable amount. The elven thief was also fairly pale as well. They were both considerably skinny, and Atelar was taller by a few inches maximum. Their getup was fairly different as well, the elf wore a entirely grey outfit, sweater and pants. Where Atelar had his single chest belt, with small pockets on its back, the elf had 3 belts, 2 of which sagged to opposite sides. Atelar didn't see any visible weaknesses. He liked that.

"A test? Alright, I'm game." Atelar said, grinning.

He stood up and did a rather lazy stretch. As he did, he heard the rather loud clack clack of heeled shoes, and out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed an elven girl, a rather attractive elven girl, one of Armas' friends perhaps? She wore a rather short black dress, with a plunging neckline that was way to deep to be innocent.

From the ensuing conversation, it was quite obvious that Armas did not know this exceptionally womanly woman, who called herself Armaretta. After a brief, almost stuttered conversation with Armas, the elven woman turned to him.

“Oh? And what experience do you have Mr. Atelar?”

Atelar gulped self-consciously and was silent for a moment. His eyes snapped slightly and he mentally slapped himself, and spent the next second in a rapid fire argument with his mind. No, control yourself Atelar, Remember Scara Brae, remember.((this is refering to one of the RP's in Atelar's not yet established canon)) Atelar grinned and met the elven girl's eyes with his own hazel ones, trying to keep his eyes from dropping any lower than they needed to. It was a rather futile undertaking, but he attempted to preserver nonetheless.

"Uhm, well, when I younger, me and my father would 'work' jobs at the castle, not this castle, mind you, but the one at home. Er, thats, my home."

Atelar shrugged as he continued, "I'm pretty good at pickpocketing, picked it up from watching my father, and running is no problem. I'm only decent when it comes to lockpicking, but I figure I don't really need to unlock a door, when I can just slip under it, you know?"

Atelar looked around, a bit awkwardly, a bit unsure what to do now. He had said what he needed to say, now what did they do? Were they going to go on Armas' test run, as he said, or..? Atelar glanced at Arametta, then to Armas, then to Arametta again, to Harrison, back to Armaretta, and finally back to Armas.

[Restless Soul]

Amras could barely keep himself from letting a stupid grin rise on his face. His thoughts were in other places, mainly wishing his sharp elven sight allowed him more privileges… such as peaking past clothing. Amaretta was a breath of fresh, perfumed air in the droll life of the young man. Whatever gods may have existed, however much he did not believe in them, Amras was thankful to them. Amethyst eyes slipped twice to her bosom and he forced them back to her slim lips as she spoke. In an instant, Atelar was finished with his response and the conversation was turned back to the elf.

“Amaretta,” he said turning on the woman. With shoulders back and chest puffed, Amras smiled. “I have an idea about getting into this party, maybe having some fun and…” He cut himself short as Mr. Dour’s steps began to grow louder. The man walked up to the table and placed two mugs down, spilling the contents over the edge. Before continuing, the elf took a gulp and immediately spat it out. “What is this!” Amras poured it out on the ground. “Water? We’re not children here, bring some mead or ale.”

Dour huffed and brought two mugs with ale in them, obviously uninterested in dealing with the youth at the table. “As I was saying, I’d like to get into the party, smooze with the nobles, and maybe get something out of it. I’ve watched them come to Olme year after year and haven’t ever done anything, but not this year. The nobles have been using the town and never give anything to the economy. Want to teach them a lesson.”

Amras was unsure as to whether the woman could be trusted, but her response would tell him all he needed to know. He took a slow pull from the mug and let the bitter taste of ale linger on his tongue. Atelar would either step up as well, or he would not be part of the Bastards or any future treasure making ventures.