A Birthday Surprise

[Breaker]

((Open.))

"I don't see how you can drink that stuff."

Joshua stared in mild disgust across a mug of ale at his friend, Shard. The shorter man was in the middle of pouring the entirety of a large goblet of wine down his throat. The bladeslinger's adam's apple bobbed rhythmically as he swallowed one mouthful after the next, until at last the goblet was empty. Sighing with evident satisfaction, Shard set the goblet upon the table between them, and sprawled back in his chair.

"It's fine human made wine, Josh. Doesn't hold a candle to the elven brand, of course, but buying enough elf wine to get me properly drunk would break anyone's bank... so seeing as how you're buying tonight, you should be happy with me."

Josh rolled his eyes and moved them to scan around the interior of the pub. Immediately upon entering, he had selected a table at the back of the room, and sat with his back to the wall. It was an old habit; he always liked to be able to see the entire room, in case a fight broke out. "Luckily, shouldn't be much risk of that here." As the thought crossed his mind, the Peaceful Promenade's front door opened, and two humans stepped in, bringing the overall population of the establishment to about 20. Glancing around, Josh decided it could easily hold at least three times that number, but somehow the bustling energy of the waitresses and the friendly chatter of conversation kept it from seeming empty.

For the second time in the past minute, Joshua flicked his eyes lazily across the bar, scrutinizing each patron carefully but quickly. Halfway across, however, his gaze stopped. A man who had been sitting alone at a small table at suddenly taken his hood down, revealing smooth handsome skin and slightly pointed ears. Recalling Shard's comment about elf wine, Josh decided that this must be one of the illustrious elves which had been described to him. It certainly had all the characteristics; a look of aglesness, pointed ears, and a haughty self-confident demeanor. Thinking of elf wine brought Josh back to the conversation at hand. Allowing himself one last look at the premises, he returned his attention to Shard.

"So then why drink it at all? Ale is cheaper, and much better. Honestly, if I threw back a glass of that stuff the way you just did, I 'd probably spew my innards all over the floor, and NOT because of the alcohol content." Grinning with self-appreciation at his little speech, Josh took another sip of his ale.

The ale was very coarse, not like the stuff Josh had ordered in bars back on earth. However, it carried a heavier kick, which he liked, and had a more highly defined flavor which the Agent couldn't quite put his finger on. All in all, he liked the stuff very much. Glancing up at a sudden movement, Josh saw that Shard had twisted around in his chair to look at the pub's door. Reading his intention, Josh said with a grin;

"Relax, Shard. Ash will be here soon. After all, it's hardly even dark out. The night is still young." Caught in the act of staring at the door, Shard twisted back around.
"Listen, Mr. Special Agent 012578-whatever... Joshua... I just want Ash to get here before I'm so drunk I don't recognize her, alright? And as for the wine, why don't you prove to me that your ale is better?" Josh chuckled slightly, then was struck by an idea. With a dangerous grin, he stared at Shard.
"Alright, then. Let's go outside and have a knife fight. If I win, the ale is better. If you do, the wine is. That's how things work around here, right?" Shard grinned and nodded. Although a duel would (hopefully) never be fought over something as stupid as good ale and bad wine, such was the method which many Althanians used to settle their differences.
"Alright." Josh said, "Give me one of your little letter openers." With an elaborate flourish, Shard slipped a dagger from his sleeve, giving the illusion that it had appeared in his hand from thin air. A passing waitress gasped at this and staggered nearly dropping her tray. She regained her balance, though, and continued on, tossing a dirty look at them over her shoulder. Grinning sheepishly, Shard slid the knife across the table to Josh, then produced another, evidenty his favourite.
"All right." He said, "Let's do this."

Smiling, Josh made as if to get up, then sat down again. As he did so, he masked the action of reaching into one of his trenchcoat's deep pockets with his body.
"Hey Shard," he said with mock concern, "Something is wrong with your knife." He reached across the table and, with a deft movement, wound a few quick layers of surgical tape around Shard's hand, enclosing it on the dagger. Shard's eyes bulged momentarily, then he broke out laughing. Josh joined his friend in the laughter, sliding the borrowed knife into a slot in his utility belt out of habit. As he did so, Shard pulled a third dagger from under his coat, and deftly cut the tape away from his hand.

Josh's joke had been a fairly elaborate one; Shard could throw knives with incredible speed and accuracy, making him the swift victor of any duel he had ever been in. Josh, however, posessed a far greater knowledge of closed-quarters combat, and was the more powerful of the two. With the knife taped into Shard's hand, he would have won easily, and the both knew it. Reaching up a hand, Josh halted the waitress whom Shard had frightened as she made her way back to the bar.

"Bring my friend here a mug, and bring us a pitcher of ale please. And hurry... after all, it is his birthday."


((The excellence of this thread will be uplifted if each character has a definite purpose for being in the pub. ~~Faites vos jeux.~~))

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The carriage ride solicited boredom.

His journey started several weeks ago after his parents’ received invitation from a locale delegate to Corone's Government. The delegate seemed to be an Uncle from Alberdyne's large family. His uncle's employ lay with a certain wing of the Corone Government, a faction responsible for the safe upkeep of Scara Brae and the Peaceful Promenade. All of these matters of politics did not concern Alberdyne Cormyr as much as his companions in the carriage did.

Reeves, an older man in the employ of Alberdyne's Father, served as the boy's personal butler. Reeves' physique often reminded Alberdyne of a thin branch, delicate yet well-worn. Reeves' defined skull crowned utterly by a mane of silver hair, a notable receding hairline outlines his forehead. The gentleman's facial decor a wide nose peaking with a twist at the top portion, bushy yet kempt eyebrows, and an intense violet gaze. Wire frame glasses lurked upon his nose leaning precariously close to the nose's tip. Reeves' gaze observed the bottom of the carriage now.

In order, Alberdyne noticed that in his section of the elaborate carriage, four persons occupied space.

To his left sat his best friend, a human girl named Jessa Cromelly. Jessa's family served in the Cormyr Household. Jessa's physical characteristics revealed a demure, but athletic frame. The Cormyr household insisted that all employees that worked on the property maintained peak physical condition. Alberdyne wasn't an exception to this strict rule. Jessa's hair color resembled the greenest of emeralds. Her eyes, light brown often reminding Alberdyne of a cup of hazel nut coffee. Passion lurked in those eyes, a vibration that oft attracted the boy to her presence.

His Mother and Father sat next to one another, parallel to Alberdyne and Jessa. Reeves sat on the same side of the carriage as they did.

Gallen Cormyr worked his entire life to obtain a certain amount of reputation, respect, but somehow still remained largely overlooked by the greater body of the Corone Government. Corrupt nobles oft took credit for the work of the honest ones. In this day and age of Althanas' history--none of that would matter in the long run, it never did. Gallen's fierce gaze seemed to be distant, no doubt upon matters beyond Alberdyne's knowledge of the situation. His eyes, icy blue, resembled crystal-like structures. His head topped by flowing locks of silver hair. Gallen's physique gave him the composure of someone tall and regal. The man stood easily at 8 heads in height, a massive physique only topped by his bulging muscles. A garment forged of Vlince proudly surrounded Gallen’s person.

A cloak rested at the man's side. Gallen's arm of choice, an enchanted Mythril long sword acquired ages back in his youth, rested also at his side, sheathed in an elegant blade. The craftsmanship of the weapon clearly revealed the aesthetics of Elven sword-crafting. Gallen by all remarks appeared to be a handsome man of nobility.

To his right side sat Alberdyne's mother, Alma Cormyr. Alma, a human woman of incredible beauty, showed all of the characteristics of a prime Coronian female. Alma's heritage clearly reflected in her defined cheekbones, high brow, and rosy cheeks. Alma's locks of hair reminded people of a purely shining inferno often reflected light intensely. Her hair ended at the small of her back. Her eyes reminded people often, of the color of amber.

She broke the long silence. An assignment given by the Monks kept Alberdyne’s attention locked into a book.

"Jessa my dear how is your family on these latest moons?" Alma asked the girl.

Jessa immediately perked up, looking at the beautiful elder woman.

"Milady, all is well. Employ under your household has proven a great blessing to us. We were able to cure my aunt's sickness last summer." Jessa said referring to an event that occurred the year before.

Alma nodded.

"Very good my dear I can certainly appreciate that.” Alma said.

She then turned towards Alberdyne's person. The boy could feel her gaze upon him.

"Put that odious book down my son. You are becoming a bore to look at."

She said calmly. Alberdyne ignored her at first, but only at first. A moment's passage of time later, Alberdyne slowly closed the book and put it down.

"I am studying for an Exam Mother. The Monks are trying to make sure that my training is completed so I can enter Vara Moire University next semester. I have already recieved great recommendations for the school's Dean."

The boy only thought about improving himself--constantly. Alberdyne's hunger for knowledge was furious, lacking any rationale bounds. He read many books daily, this latest tome was given to him a week earlier by the Monks working within The Citadel.

The subject matter, one of Alberdyne's favorite discussions, revealed historical data of early Althanas, this one, a discussion of the Thayne Totem as it was currently believed to be accepted.

Alberdyne did not believe in the Thaynes. Yet, there were plenty of those on Althanas who did. Alma's response did not come quickly, she waited.

Alberdyne knew this game well--his mother was toying with him. Part of the boy's education focused almost entirely on combat training and ethics. He could tell that his Mother, as an opponent on a battlefield, planned her reprisal.

"Now boy that is some moves but you should have been in the Vara Moire University TWO semesters ago. I honestly do not understand why you have to spend so much time with those ghastly Monks." Alma paused. She looked at her husband for a moment, and then returned her gaze to Alberdyne. "It is necessary to learn how to defend yourself but you seem to be spending too much time focusing on that."

"I just want to be able to protect the people I heard about. There are great heroes out there like the sheriff of Corone, Letho Ravenheart, and Damon Kaosi. They were able to achieve many great things. I simply want to be the first to take our Household out of the shadows of more unworthy Households. I want to see my own fame and fortune." Alberdyne said calmly. He knew though that this seemed to be a common idea held by most young Adventurers on Althanas.

Alberdyne would be no different.

His mother shook her head.

"There is no need to chase such silly dreams when you have everything at your feet that matters already." Alma said.

"What I have? This is the life my FATHER built, not my own. How am I supposed to be a great leader if I am not allowed to explore and understand the world we live on?" Alberdyne's voice raised a few decibels.

His mother was surprised by this.

"You must use the resources at your disposal. You can't be a legendary hero like the thief Yari Rafanas as odious as he was. He was a thief living out of the Concordia Forest, is that who you want to become like?"

Alberdyne shook his head, knowing in advance she would pull that card.

"Enough!" Gallen finally said interrupting the verbal duel. Gallen turned his gaze to Alma who smiled seductively. "Alma, leave the boy alone. He is only trying to pursue what his heart says to him. In all of the classes we've given to him he's excelled at the top of the curve every single time. So if his heart lies with the arts of warfare and not diplomacy that is his decision to make--not ours."

A voice from outside called. "My Lords, we have arrived at the Peaceful Promenade."

"I have already secured a room at the Peaceful Promenade for you all. Reeves, make sure you escort the boy into the Promenade, and ensure that he stays out of trouble."

Duke Gallen Cormyr shot his son a sly, knowing look.

This was one of the first times as a young adult Alberdyne would be on his own for an extended period of time.

"Of course, Sir." Followed Reeves' heavily accented response.

*************

Outside, the air's characteristic was chilly. Alberdyne blinked a few times, Jessa by his side, Reeves at the front of the group. Listening to the direction of the wind the boy could tell it was coming in from the South. To confirm this he looked at a few wind totems lurking upon nearby buildings, the wind influenced them to move from the South just as Alberdyne thought.

This caused the boy to pull his cloak a little bit closer to him. It usually isn’t ever this cold this time of year.

Alberdyne eyed the massive building of the Peaceful Promenade, whistling to himself calmly. He looked over to Jessa’s direction who also wore a grin.

“I can’t ever get enough of this place Jessa. Father comes here all the time; he has a bit of land near here someplace.” Alberdyne said.

His Father gave Reeves the necessary Peaceful Promenade information earlier, they continued on their way to Scara Brae without the trio. Alberdyne looked from Jessa, to Reeves. Making sure no eyes strayed their way, Gallen handed Reeves an extra package meant for the Peaceful Promenade’s current proprietor. Gallen whispered instructions to Reeves and the elder man nodded after a minute more. Hand signs exchanged between the two in conformity to the secret code used by Alberdyne’s family. Reeves turned towards Alberdyne and Jessa, the pair situated themselves several paces away.

Underneath them, ancient cobblestone was the material for the roads that lead into and out of Underwood. All the roads in Concordia connected to Underwood eventually, with Scara Brae on the way to it. The Peaceful Promenade was one of the largest buildings in the town. All around the trio, crowds of workers (Mostly Elves that labored in the forest) moved about like one sentient organism, eerily reflecting the gigantic Concordia Forest around them. Alberdyne even noticed the totems of some deities that were unique to the Wood Elves of Concordia.

I always did admire Elven society. He saw Jessa looking at some of the pretty dresses that the Elven women wore, passing by in the endlessly moving crowd.

Reeves, quiet for only a moment, finally spoke out to the two. Father’s carriage continued started the journey to Scara Brae anew heading back South along the road that they came on. All of the major cities in Corone were connected to one another by a complex network of roads and highways built ages ago.

"Let's go to the Promenade now young masters." Reeves suggested.

Reeves walked briskly ahead of the two, certain impatience in the man’s movements that were uncharacteristic of him. According to what Alberdyne knew of the butler anyway.

"Why not?" Alberdyne asked. With a smile on his face, he proceeded to follow Reaves into the grand structure noting the activity of the people all around them. Alberdyne’s eyes shifted in every direction as they entered the beautiful building, influences of Elven architecture lurking within its very foundations.

People from every walk of life busily handled errands in a thriving, collective.

Alberdyne could not help but whistle again at the impressive structure and architecture of the Peaceful Promenade. The massive archways of the hotel's structure lurked overhead as they entered. Alberdyne's face adorned with a grin, Jessa nudged him. Elven symbols and motifs lurked everywhere as a reminder of the craft responsible for this place. From Alberdyne’s study of Corone History, the boy k new that long ago Men, Dwarves, and Elves helped built all the cities of Corone in a combined effort.

"What are you excited about?" Jessa asked, she was looking at him strangely.

"The Corone architecture is truly amazing. It is a hybrid collection of three fantastic races."

The boy said, she simply shook her head. Alberdyne shook his head for a moment, fixing his eye glasses. His eyes moved from sight to sight, observing the mannerisms of the Elves in attendance as well as the human workers. He even noticed that there were some Dwarves sitting in the dining area closest to them drinking from various colored jugs. I heard they liked mead a lot. A thick scent of smoke and liquor hung in the air fragrances which tickled Alberdyne’s nostrils. He never could get used to walking into any sort of tavern; the scents were often too strong.

Reeves stood waiting patently in a line to the counter so he could finalize registration in the hotel’s establishment.

Tomorrow they would go on a tour of Underwood, one of Alberdyne’s favorite pass-times. Jessa kept eyeing the main dining area making the boy realize that her mind probably lurked on one thing right now, food.

"We get to go the bar Alberdyne, what do you think about that?" Jessa asked with a grin on her face.

"It doesn't bother me at all, I don't drink liquor of any sort, and you shouldn't either." The boy said, making fun of her.

Reeves moved immediately to the Front Desk area, securing his credentials with the Receptionist. The long line moved surprisingly quickly thanks to the various employees working at the reception desk. A short human lad attended Reeves’ the moment he arrived at the desk. Reeves wait took approximately ten other costumers.

Alberdyne and Jessa both looked into the busy Tavern area. Alberdyne only now realized how hungry he was from the long journey. A deep growl bothered the boy for only a moment, he shrugged it off even whilst Jessa stared at him. Alberdyne simply shook his head and turning towards Reeves’ person. That was quite a long line he had to go through.

"Hey Reeves, when you get the chance we should go get something to eat!"

Alberdyne called to the butler, waiting for his reply.

[Breaker]

The waitress returned in good time and considerably better graces. She placed the pitcher in the centre of the table, and a large empty mug in front of Shard. She smiled entreatingly at the two of them, as if to say "Will there be anything else?" Then turned and hurried back toward the kitchen. "Probably trying to rescue her chances on a good tip." Josh thought, and smiled. He made a mental note to leave the girl a few extra gold pieces. For effort.

"So, what's keeping Ash? You two cook up some big birthday surprise for me?" Shard grinned as he poured himself a mug of ale, then stopped his dialogue abruptly as he began to pour it down his throat. Josh flicked a curious glance of his own toward the door, but seeing it unmoving, trailed his eyes across the room once more. Shard was partially right, and partially wrong. The Agent and Ash had prepared something fairly special for Shard's birthday. On the other hand, though, Josh had no idea where Ash was, or why she was late for the engagement.

"I don't really know, Shard. I'm not sure where Ash is, or whether she did something special for your birthday. I know I didn't, though." The shorter man pulled a wry face at his companion around an enormous mouthful of ale. With a heroic gulp, he emptied the mug and slammed it down. The old oak table shook slightly from the force of the blow, causing Josh to shift uneasily, hoping that the chairs were a little more solid. It was as he concentrated on his own safety that Ash entered the room, sweeping through the tavern's front door with hardly a sound. She deposited herself on the third chair at their table, causing Josh to look up, startled. The sorceress smiled at her two friends and mimed a quick hand signal to the waitress, holding up a single finger. The serving girl nodded and, as she next passed the table, left a third mug sitting in front of Ash. Josh hefted the pitcher and poured for her, as she spoke to him.

"Well, I'm glad to see you two made it on time. I was still tying up a few loose ends on our little project, Josh. I trust Shard's gift arrived safely?"

Josh checked his eyes as they tried to glance involuntarily toward the front desk. Shard's gift was safe alright. In fact, it was in a safe. The Peaceful Promenade's safe, to be exact, which patrons could pay to leave their valuables in. The gift was certainly valuable enough, but hardly the kind of thing which one would normally leave in a safe. It carried great sentimental value to both Ash and Josh already, due to the incredible difficulty they had gone through to get ahold of it. Instead of looking towards where the gift lay, Josh rolled his eyes in an exagerated manner and smiled.

"It arrived safe enough, Ash. And Shard... You'd damn wel better appreciate it..."

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Reeves eyed the employees behind the counter for the briefest of moment. A native born Althanian, Reeves' characteristics revealed the countenance of a human warrior in his elder age. Once, Reeves might've been a great hero but now he served as an employee of the Cormyr Household. Most importantly, Gallen Cormyr decreed the task of protecting the heir to the Cormyr household squarely upon his shoulders.

A task that Reeves did not take lightly. Certain promises could never be unbroken once a pact was made.

Secret traditions handed down from generation to generation kept the mysteries of the Cormyr household alive. One of the biggest secrets, a network of a businessmen and allegiances that kept the household into the times--an asset when one lived in the Concordia Forest isolated from society. Gallen tasked Reeves with a special mission that day, one that not even his charge Alberdyne knew about.

Looking upon the single attendant waiting for his services, Reeves shot the lad several hand gestures too quick for the eye to see alone. Nodding for a moment the man responded with his own series of hand gestures.

"Collin has been expecting you Sir Reeves." Reeves nodded to this.

Collin was the current proprieter for the Peaceful Promenade's INN establishment and a well known freedom fighter. (In the underground)

"I trust you have Collin's package?" The man asked in a matter-of-factly sort of way. He was well aware of how Reeves did business.

Producing a small well wrapped bundle, Reeves shot his eyes from side to side to ensure himself that the surrounds were in fact safe. Almost at the same time that Reeves took out his package, the doors of the Promenade swung open. A mysterious air tingled into the room allowing a new patron into the building, out the corners of his eyes (Small bunny of Shard bro) Reeves saw a pretty girl. The most noteable feature of the girl was an air of manna-energy that swirled about her in the tell-tale sign of a Sorceress, or Magus of some sort. She is probably trained by the Elves or something else. Reeves eyed her for a moment feeling his chest tighten up at the sudden surge of energy.

Sorcery always made Reeves uncomfortable, even in his youth. It is not natural. Reeves thought feeling his hands tensed as well around the package in them, he took a deep breath when she was no longer in his presence disappearing into the bar area.

Reeves handed the object to the boy.

"That is very valuable and is a gift from my Master to Lord Collin. It concerns that matter, do you understand?" Reeves said coldly.

The man nodded, ushering the package off to the safe keeping box--the same storage unit holding the Agents' gifts as well.

Fate would entertwine several destinies that night.

******************

Alberdyne saw the pretty girl as she entered, something mysterous about her person drawing the boys' intrepid eyes to her person. Jessa immediately noticed the staring, nudged the boy's rib cage unexpectedly.

"HEY! What was that for you oaf?"

Alberdyne asked the girl, a long time friend since youth. He knew that she got jealous of Alberdyne quite swiftly, swifter then Lady Y'edda's whims to travel. Alberdyne always called her random mood swings revealing of a shifty, unstable nature. To this, Jessa would often reply with violence.

"I saw you staring at that girl, I can't keep my eyes off you for one moment can I? You're practically throwing yourself at every waif that comes your way."

Jessa said proudly revealing a new vulgar word she picked up from the soldiers working at his Father's fort.

"Something about her caught my eye that's all. Anyway you didn't have to hit me!"

Alberdyne complained, though in reality he's faced considerably worse challenges than Jessa could ever be. Though he never once underestimated the girl's combat prowess, she'd been a quick learner from the first moment her family entered the emply of his Father. The boy knew that he harbored feelings for the girl in secret as well. Looking towards the direction of the old butler, Alberdyne wondered what kept the man. Reeves is never late and he always listens to me--I wonder what he's up to? I wonder if it has to do with Father?

Alberdyne noticed an exchange occur between Reeves and the lad who was taking care of the business transactions. Little knowing that other eyes observed the group as well. Alberdyne ignored Jessa for a brief moment while she went on some diatribe about how Alberdyne didn't respect her enough.

Once she noticed that not a single word landed upon the boy's ears, she hit him again, harder this time.

"OOF! Will you stop that!?"

Alberdyne's voice went up a considerable ammount of decibels drawing the attention of several nearby patrons. A few laughed at the children.

"Now you've gone and embarrassed yourself--serves you right Alberdyne Cormyr!"

Great now she's trying to act like my mother again. The boy shot her a look shaking his head, when Reeves finally showed up. His person easily towering several heads about him--tall and thin, yet somehow graceful at the same time.

"Young Masters we can go get food now." Reeves said. To this Alberdyne nodded rubbing the fresh sore on his shoulder, they made their way to the bar area.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard." Alberdyne said with a grimace.

"Oh don't be such a baby." Jessa replied.

A waitress showed up quiclky and within moments they were seated. Causing his skin to tingle, Alberdyne felt the same mysterious vibration he felt earlier from the girl. He turned to see the table that Shard sat at with two other fellows he never saw before. He noticed that Reeves was looking at that table also with a hawk-like gaze.

"Do you sense it too Master Alberdyne?" Reeves whispered to the boy.

"Yes I do." Alberdyne responded.

"Then you've been keeping up with your training." Reeves smiled.

Alberdyne saw the clueless look on Jessa's face and shook his head.

The waitress interrupted the exchange.

"What will you have to eat?"

They ordered, but Alberdyne never stopped looking at the strange face Reeves made whenever he looked at that pretty girl. I dont think I've ever seen Reeves looking so serious. The boy thought as he looked at the menu before him deciding on what he wanted to eat. He saw that Jessa ordered her favorite dish as always.

She never tries anything new.

[Breaker]

Josh sat back in his chair, having deemed it stable, and resumed watching the door and the rest of the tavern while contently sipping from his mug. It seemed that for every sip he took, Shard drained an entire mug. At the rate he was going, the pitcher would soon be empty.

"If you're not careful, you won't even be able to REMEMBER your birthday, Shard."

Josh commented absently. He wasn't certain whether either Ash or Shard heard the comment, and did not really care. The two were engaged in a heated debate, as they often were, and Josh made no attempt to follow it. Most likely it was about politics or something similar, and the constant references to the Barons and Baronesses of Corone and Scara Brae tended to confuse him. In addition, Shard's consumption of alcohol was causing his responses to be slightly slurred, and it was entirely possible that the sentences, correctly annunciated, would not have made any sense anyways. "Ash is probably just humoring him at this point... oh well, it is his birthday." The Martial Artist chuckled quietly. That phrase was becoming second nature to him this evening. "I wonder if we should tell him how hard it was to get his present." As his eyes roved tirelessly yet again across the room, Josh felt his consciousness falling into the events which had taken place earlier that day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi."
"Hi."
"Where's Shard?"
"Nursing a hangover. He got pretty wasted last night... called it his pre-birthday drinking ritual."
Ash smiled and laughed prettily. She and Joshua were standing on the outskirts of the Radasanth Bazaar district, just outside of a pub labeled the "Shocked Stallion", their designated meeting spot. The bar's doorway looked out onto the twisting cobblestone streets and wooden buildings which made up the first row of shops. The sky was a shocking blue, without a single cloud, and a cool breeze swept a thin layer of dust up to ankle height, like so many tiny insects flying too near the ground. For a moment, the pair stood still, Ash standing with her weight shifted on to one leg, as women often do, and Josh leaning casually against the oaken tiles of the tavern's wall. Two men exited a building nearby and passed quite close to Ash, heading for the tavern. Josh tilted his head back, enjoying the sun on his face while keeping watch on the men out of the corner of his eye. Once they had entered the Shocked Stallion, Ash glanced toward the Bazaar and gestured with one hand.
"Well... shall we?"

They strolled for some time together, completely at random, window shopping while they discussed their reason for being there. They planned to find something to give to Shard for his birthday, which was being celebrated by the three of them that night.
"What were you thinking we should get him? You've known him longer... sort of." Josh inquired, hoping Ash would have a decent idea.
"Oh no you don't, Special Agent." She shot back, "You spend much more time with him. You tell me what you think we should get him, then I'll tell you what I've come up with."
"Okay, a dagger."
"Dagger. Me too. Well, at least we won't be arguing." They both cracked up, laughing mostly at how single-minded Shard's interests were, then continued their search.

It was a pleasant morning, and they had walked for nearly an hour when Ash pointed a place out. The store had a messy sign overtop of the door, which said quite simply "Weaponry Surplus". Josh thought it looked a little seedy, but they went in anyway.

Inside the shop was much cleaner than the outside, and different kinds of weapons, shields, armor and combat accessories were stacked everywhere, on shelves and in large barrels. It was fairly messy, but there was a distinct order, with like kinds of weapons grouped together.
"Hey... this is my kind of place!" Josh exclaimed, and began examining a heavy studded mace. Ash rolled her eyes, muttered the word "boys" and headed to the front desk where the clerk and apparent owner stood waiting. He was a middle aged man with short brown hair, wearing a light purple shirt that proclaimed in blue letters that it was made from hemp. He grinned welcomingly at Ash with an earnest demeanor. Deciding he was not a threat, Josh returned to studying the mace he had selected.

"Hi there. I'm Ash... we're looking for a dagger."
"Nice to meet you Ash, I'm Brian. Um... anything specific? I have lots of daggers." He gestured toward a nearby barrel which, Ash saw, was quite literally filled with daggers of various designs, makes, and metals. Ash sighed, realizing that she did not know nearly enough about daggers to make the purchase alone.
"Well," she said, "My friend, Josh, knows MUCH MORE than I do about weapons, and if he would just KINDLY come over here for a minute, perhaps we could pick something." Josh heard the warning tones in her voice, and set the mace down carefully before joining her at the counter. He shook hands with Brian. The man had a firm but friendly grip, and Josh took an instant liking to him. Thinking for a moment, Josh figured out what to say.
"We're buying for our friend... he has a tendency to throw his knives, so a balanced blade might be the best idea. You know what a balanced knife is, right?"
"Of course, friend. Of course I know what it is." Brian answered with an earnest grin. For a second Josh considered asking him if he knew what reefer was, but decided against it. He had no idea what kind of narcotics Althanas contained, or whether any of them were legal.
“Well, now you know what we’re looking for… can you help us?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A sudden bang snapped Josh suddenly from his reverie. Shard had once again, in signature style, slammed his empty mug down on the table. Josh glanced over, astonished. The pitcher was empty, and his friend’s eyes carried a misty gaze which showed he had consumed most of it. Ash too was giggling as though she might be a bit tipsy, but that was hardly surprising. Being short and slight as she was, her limit was about two drinks. Josh shook his head in despair. “I should hire a keeper for those two.” After one last quick glance around the tavern, he was about to join them, when something caught his notice. After a certain amount of experience looking for spies, a person begins to recognize a certain tint of color. It is the way the whites of someone’s eyes flair up when they are looking at you from across a lit room. Out of the corner of his gaze, Josh saw four eyes perpetrating this exact tint. They belonged to two men- one older and very upright, the other hardly more than a boy. Both were well dressed, and seemed to be staring at Ash. Attempting to act like he had not noticed, Josh slid his vision past the pair as though he had merely been glancing at them for a second. He continued watching them from the corner of his eye, however, and saw that they continued to watch Ash for some time, occasionally conversing in a hushed manner. Moments later, the pair and the young woman accompanying them sat down to order. Deciding that they probably posed very little threat, Josh rejoined the conversation with his two friends. There would be no more drinking for him that night, however; the strange stares from the two men had unsettled him.

[Makira]

The Peaceful Promenade… What a quaint little name for an inn. Of course, it was usually the Silent Hand’s purpose to break the peace into a thousand little pieces. Makira walked into the establishment by herself, followed a few moments afterward by the other two she had brought with her in order to make the heist a very powerful success. The motto of the Silent Hand, ever since it was created by the legendary Nightmare Thief, Maera Makia, had always been “Planning things is only the beginning. In case the plan gets killed, always be ready to improvise.”

Makira was the best improviser of the Silent Hand, but she had a fatal weakness. She was frightened more than anything else of arrows. Of course, she would never openly admit to that, but she was deathly scared of the things. Her brother, Terrus, had been killed at the hands of a noble’s archers. It should have been Makira who died that day, but her brother had reluctantly taken on her mission after a fight they had that night. Makira still regretted that her last words to him were, “Fine, if you want to prove to yourself you can be a better me than I am, then go ahead.”

It still burned her conscience, and watching her little brother being killed by the arrows was what had given her the undying fear that she harbored deeply in her heart to this very day. Makira walked to the front desk of the inn, and decided that it was finally time for them to pull the job that they were preparing to pull of. Today was the day the Peaceful Promenade would lose more than it could handle. The entirety of the treasures that this pathetic little inn had would be taken by the Silent Hand, directly from the safe.

As Makira talked with the man at the front desk, and requested that a small parcel she held be kept in the safe, the others, her Shadows, as they called themselves, snuck behind the man, preparing themselves to follow him to the safe. Thankfully enough, they were skilled at hiding in the shadows, and could even use Darkness magic, the likes of which Makira used, to completely hide themselves from the view of anyone who would look for them in those shadows.

They would take the combination for the safe and make away with whatever valuables were hidden in this pathetic place, and then the Peaceful Promenade would become a laughingstock for having lost everything it had in its safe to a group of thieves that were currently without a true leader. Of course, no newspapers really knew that the Silent Hand’s leader was missing, but it could be said that there had been a large decrease in theft over the last few months since Maera had disappeared.

Makira could feel herself being watched by Maera every now and again, as though the Nightmare Thief were testing her, to see if Makira had what it took to go it alone, to become the most powerful thief in the Silent Hand by herself, without Maera there to guide her on the path to becoming a legendary thief. This time, Makira’s plans would go through without fail, no matter what the cost. “I’ll win this one for you, Maera. Life is like a game of chess, where you manipulate everything from the background.” Makira said, intending to include herself with her fellow thieves only when they had brought off the heist successfully. She’d take the valuables and run with them, but only once they were free of that safe.

In the meantime, Makira walked into the dining area of the inn, and ordered some pasta with a tankard of ale. Of course, she had no intention of finishing it. For when her thieves were done, she’d skip the tab and run for her sweet life, alongside her Shadows, in order to keep the theft a success.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Experience defined the characteristics of the elderly man in charged of Alberdyne's personal safety. Noticing the reactions of the gentleman flanking the mysterious Magus, Reeves took that information to heart. Turning his gaze away for the briefest of moments he made sure that Alberdyne caught the details of the wind, the crackle of the woman's aura. The boy has been training, the Monks will make a fine warrior out of him. Reeves thought carefully as he sipped from a mug of apple cider.

His favorite--the one drink he allowed himself to indulge. Alberdyne ordered a pitcher of Berry Berry Juice for himself and the girl, Jessa. It was the same pitcher of fruit juice that was always ordered. Reeves knew Alberdyne's Father strictly forbade the lad from drinking any sort of alcohol--with good reason.

The Berry Berry Juice was a drink quite popular amongst local youth. A mixture of local wild berries picked the Elves that liked to work in Concordia Forest. Each groupings of the berries were ripened to perfection and then specially formulated to give the maximum output of vitamins and minerals. As a drink, it was quite healthy for growing youth.

Reeves felt a cold wind suddenly penetrate the tavern and looked sharply towards the entrance area. His skill allowed him to see what only veteran warriors could see. Training his eye, he locked upon the latest group of patrons to enter the Peaceful Promenade. A distinctly evil air surrounded the trio and Reeves deduced that they were up to no good. His sharp eyes saw the play of shadow-magicks in the works around two of the newcomers. A woman, She is clearly the leader, Reeves thought, entered the dining area.

Reeves eyed this woman with great concern. They are up to something, something bad I can smell it. Local security seemed light so Reeves decided that action was immediately necessary. He motioned for the waitress to come by keeping his eyes on Makira the entire time.

***

Alberdyne watched Reeves eyes quite closely. Jessa wouldn't know what's going on. Its a trick the Monks taught me. How to read the people around you, glimmer information from them. Alberdyne's current training prevented him from picking up the details that Reeves' could pick up, but he was more interested in the Mage woman anyway. She sure does act really strange. Are all Mages that--eccentric? Alberdyne wondered to himself.

The lone mug of Berry Berry Juice sat untouched in front of the boy. He noticed that Jessa went through her second and third servings of the mug quite easily. Their meals arrived earlier, Alberdyne ordering steak from locale Coronian Cattle. Rice was grown on the fields of Corone deep within valleys and rice patches. Alberdyne's appetite usually in great shape, the boy noticed that it suddenly was absent. Did it have to do with the girl? The boy would never really know the answer to that one.

Jessa look of concern mirored his own. She placed a hand upon his shoulder, gently squeezing it.

"Are you okay?" She was talking while she chewed huge servings of whatever dish it was she ordered.

Alberdyne simply nodded. Then, he saw that Reeves ordered the waitress to come by again, this causing a knotted sensation in his stomach. Alberdyne saw that Reeves was staring at a new patron in the dining area. He stole a glance in Makira's direction. She looks interesting, though I don't see why Reeves is so worked up about her. The boy thought, turning his gaze back to his untouched food. He observed the conversation between Reeves and the waitress noticing that both now stared nervously at Makira's direction.

After a brief moment, the waitress turned, nodding politely to Reeves and made her way to local Tavern security.

Something was about to go down.

Alberdyne nervouse observed the waitress talking with several shadowy guards in the other end of the room. I hope this doesn't turn out bad.

He took a sip from his juice.

[Breaker]

As the minutes slid by, Josh sipped sparingly from his mug, participating in the conversation at his table only when prompted. He was busy watching Alberdyne and Reeves. He noted Makira’s entrance, but thought little of it. “Just another single woman spending the night at the local pub.” He thought. His focus shifted to her, however, when he saw the two men begin staring at her in a similar fashion to the way they had been staring at Ash before. “What are those two up to?” He wondered, “And where does that girl sitting with them fit in?” Confused, he watched Makira for awhile, trying to figure out why they were staring at her. As with Ash, he could not find any logical reason for the strange attention. “Well, if they’re thieves or something of that sort, they’ll find themselves in a lot of trouble if they come after Ash.”

It was a true mark of the Martial Artist’s training that he noticed what happened next. The older man signaled a waitress over, and after a brief exchange, the girl made her way to a security guard and started a whispered conversation with him. For a moment, Josh wondered if bouncers back on Earth would be more successful if they took a leaf out of the guard’s book and started carrying cudgels with them at all times. Discarding the notion, Josh leaned back and tried to puzzle out the situation. No answer was forthcoming, but he comforted himself with his ability to adapt. Casually, he laid a hand on the hilt of the dagger in his belt, borrowed earlier from Shard. He cast another quick glance in the direction of Alberdyne’s table. “If those two start anything, they’d better hope the guard gets to them before I do.”

[Makira]

Makira felt herself being watched by two or three people, and found that her Shadows, the ones following the man into the safe room, would have to be quite fast, because something bad was going to happen to them. As her pasta was brought to her, Makira felt certain that this plan was going to be a failure unless she somehow intervened in the events. She looked, without the slightest bit of concern on her face, over to the people who were watching her. She made a quick registry of their features as her head swept left to right, seeming to take in the entire scene, but only seeing those who had looked at her.

A young noble and his butler; they were the ones she would need to watch out for. Makira doubted the other would be any significant threat. Her Shadows were going to have to hurry with the release of their prize, or they would have to leave them behind and make a quick escape. Damn that wretched fool… was all Makira could think as she saw the server talking with one of the guardsmen on duty in the inn.

Makira, a little desperate this time, didn’t let her nonchalant mask drop at any time. Infiltrating the Peaceful Promenade had been planned for months, and they could not fail now, not that they were already in the place. Well, here goes nothing… Makira thought as she stood up, extended her wings for a few seconds, and then walked back to the front desk, and then beyond it. Her eyes narrowed slightly, knowing that if someone followed her, that someone was going to be killed.

She had her daggers in her hands the next second, waiting for her Shadows to come forth and give the all-clear, which would mean their plan was a success, and all they needed do now was leave the premises as soon as possible.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

(I hope you don't mind this Alex, this was just too good to pass up)

Bleep, bleep, bleep!

Hidden by obstructive light fixtures in the registration area, security relics donated from Serenti self-activated. Detecting the signatures of elemental energy once thought to originate from Alerar, (Though some suspect it origanted from Haidia) the security feed within the cameras began to record irregular activity behind the front-desk area. Somewhere in the Peaceful Promenade, a security station bustled with activity and trained guards worked within.

One particular guard was paid to watch a screen of monitors day in day out. A burly man of Corone descent, blinked after one of the monitors became alive with scanning activity. The monitor was labeled "Reception Area" in Common-Tongue causing the man to become alert. Activity in the room suddenly livened when the man pointed it out.

"Sir I think we got an anamoly here. Take a look at this." The man said to his Superior Officer who was listening to a sound-feed from earlier.

He responded to the sound feed and after a moment went to look at the monitor his man was viewing.

"Yeah I see it. Right there right?"

The Superior Officer pointed to the irregularities as the scanning equipment was getting logical read-outs. After approximately five minutes of scanning time, the elemental read-out reported the anamoly was Darkness-based. A grouping of images on the screen revealed two humanoids attempting to crack the safe.

Security was put immediately on high alert.

**************

Collin was busy looking at records that would be shipped to the Corone Government concering incomes and profit gains at the Peaceful Promenade, they were in the green. Ten straight quarters of net gain under my leadership, that's gonna guarantee my promotion into the Corone Government and I can leave this back-water job behind. Now I gotta attend to these damned delegates, but after all it was all meant for my higher goals.

Earlier, strict orders to his staff ensured that the man's privacy remain undisturbed unless absolutely necessary. The urgent knock on the door made his eyes twitch.

"What do you want?" He yelled at the door, not bothering to respond.

The head of security responded with a cocerned tone.

"Sir! We have a problem and with delegates at the Promenade tonight, this could be a disasterous situation for us."

Collins shook his head. Blasted Thaynes, what mess do they torment me with NOW? Collin stood up, slowly walking towards the door, extended his hand, and opened it.

"This better be good." He said.

***********

After recieving the initial report the guards in the dining area nodded to the waitress. One of them shot a respectful glance towards Reeves acknowledging what the man just did. Seeing that the sudden attention put upon the suspect woman (Makira) caused a reaction, the two burly guards started making their ways after the Philosophical Thief before she could escape the grounds. At the current juncture, there was no reason to suspect the girl, but the information they were recieving was coming in quickly.

A detachment of Security Guards came into the Reception Area from deeper in the Peaceful Promenade. Four total, all armed to the teeth, all of them bearing Alerar Decent. The men were drawing silver colored pistols, gleaming in the light of the Peaceful Promenade.

One of the security guards walked up behind Makira.

"M'am Can I see some I.D." Came the thick Alerarian accent.

The remaining guards came around the Front Desk, clearing those who would cooperate and pointing their weapons at the thieves.

"FREEZE!" The leader abruptly yelled.

************

What Reeves suspected immediately became reality. Damn I hate being right all the time. A knotted feeling did a kung-fu kick on his stomach and that strange thing happened whenever he felt danger around him. Then, the situation changed once burly men in suits started acting up. We got the drop on your accursed thieves THIS TIME! Reeves shot a glance towards Makira's back almost tempted to try to take her on himself. He saw one of the men moving right behind the girl, that was the mark of a novice.

NO! Don't be so quick to rush your opponent! Reeves felt frustration building up in his heart, and moved quickly to stand up, loudly pushing his chair aside.

In his youth he would have done something rash, but now, Alberdyne was in his care--Alberdyne always came first. Reeves took a long look at the boy, sadness in his eyes. I wonder how much the boy knows now?

****

Alberdyne doubted that he would ever forget the look Reeves shot him that day. Still chewing on a bit of food he just placed into his mouth, the boy became completely stiff. Ash no longer caught his interest since Reeves kept his trained eye on Makira's person. Though admittedly, he felt that he would much rather spend his time observing Ash--she seemed more interesting.

Everything seemed to slow down now to the boy as fear pumped itself through his body. The stare that Reeves gave him made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. What the heck is he gonna do? Alberdyne forced himself to swallow his food even as he felt his muscles tensing into knots.

A tension now hung in the air as he saw several big men in suits approach the strange woman.

[Breaker]

For several minutes, tension had been building in the atmosphere, and quite suddenly it all exploded.

The final escalation was delivered in the form of two large men in official-looking suits approaching the woman who Alberdyne and Reeves had most recently been staring at. A moment after they arrived, speaking softly to her, a violent yell rent the air.

“FREEZE!”

There was an immediate reaction from everyone in the pub. Heads whipped around on shoulders, and everyone saw four well muscled soldiers standing in classic shooting stances, their pistols aimed somewhere beyond the front desk.

“Guns?”

Josh had never seen a firearm on Althanas before, and had long since assumed that such weapons did not exist on this planet. He had taken this fairly well in stride, reasoning that since he was better than most at fighting with his hands, the lack of guns would actually be an advantage to him, despite his training in their use. It took him a full two seconds to recover from the shock, and even then, his first thought was a stupid one;
“I sure could use one of those…” The idea was ludicrous. Josh sincerely doubted that any of the guards would be willing to give up his sidearm, or that they would fancy his stealing one. “You’ll have to get on using your hands and feet, same as always.” He told himself. As he pondered the futuristic weapons, Josh found his eyes scanning seemingly empty space. He couldn’t see what the security guards were aiming their guns at. Unseen foes were something Josh hated in particular, owing to the fact that before coming to Althanas, he had always been the unseen one, with his training in ninjitsu and stealth technique. In this world, however, he seemed to meet a new kind of magic every time he went around the corner. Now, it seemed he was up against some kind of invisible enemy.

The only thing Josh could see to do was ensure the safety of his friends. Rising as unobtrusively as possible, he maneuvered quietly around the table, trying to simultaneously watch Makira, Reeves, and the group of guards by the desk. Trying to act casual while remaining ready for action, he leaned back on the table, resting one hand on his hip near the hilt of his borrowed knife. The Agent’s body had become tensed like a coiled spring as he prepared to leap in any direction.

Meanwhile, Shard and Ash had finally given over on their amicable arguing, and were both staring at the pistol wielding guards, Shard with a silly half smile and his eyes slightly glazed, Ash looking quite alarmed. The enchantress was a pacifist, after all, but tried to keep herself close to combat so she could use her healing magic to lessen the casualties.

“I hope we don’t need her talents tonight.”

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Reeves' eyes darted to and fro taking in the unfolding scene. Reaching for the mark on the top of his hand, Reeves decided against any involvement. For a quick moment, he turned his gaze towards Joshua acknowledging the other fellow for a brief moment. Reeves' gaze showcasing a look of respect. The symbol on the gentleman's hand ached for the release of the power the old butler held. Not yet, I shan't allow the boy to put in danger. His Father granted me the authority to protect his life. On my honour I will do this task to the bitterest end.

Reeves moved towards one of the guards and started a conversation with him.

******

His heart racing, Alberdyne had no idea what to do next. The tension in the dining room was thick enough to be cut. Temporarily, he lost sight of Reeves after his body guard stood up. This solicited a sense of deep panic in the boy especially whence a hand pressed itself against his trapezius. Alberdyne felt his heart go still for the briefest of moment and he held back a yell.

Terrified as he was, he felt his epidermis growing cold. He could hear his heart beating in his ears. Slowly, he turned to face the individual who'd grabbed him in haste and sighed when he saw that it was Jessa's familiar visage before him.

Alberdyne shook his head momentarily.

"You scared the life out of me Jessa don't do that again okay!"

Jessa grinned at that.

"Was the young Master REALLY frightened?" She teased.

"Hey don't you start with that okay? I can't see Reeves anywhere and things are getting pretty tense. I think we should consider taking our leave."

***

Unbeknowest to them, one of the thieves eyed Alberdyne and Jess as potential hostages.

[Breaker]

The thieves within the Promenade were hardly alone.
Outside, three of their comrades waited impatiently. One sat atop the driver's seat of a two horse carriage, nervously fiddling with the reigns. The horse's themselves were removed from his anxious mood; they pawed at the hard packed road and exhaled heavily into the cool night air. A second thief sat half in and half out of the carriage's open doors. Glancing toward the Promenade's door for the umpteenth time, he finally voiced his distress.
"They've been in there for too long; we should head in and provide some cover, or else leave them to themselves. Either way, we need to exfiltrate now."
The third thief, the leader of the operation, leaned casually against the tavern's wall. He was calm and collected, or at least outwardly so. He shook his head in disdain and replied;
"They've had their training, and they're good enough to handle this situation. If it all goes to hell they'll just grab a hostage to seal the deal."
The man on the driver's seat dropped the reigns and turned to face his superior.
"No, he's right, they need help. At the very least, something to signal them out here."

The leader sighed. There was some value to what his underlings said, and he did not want thoughts of an uprising to start festering in their heads. He moved to the corner of the building, and flipped open a concealed panel. The Peaceful Promenade was lit by wall and ceiling mounted torches, all of which were kept alive by a constant flow of natural gas. The leader flipped a switch inside the panel, cutting off the flow of gas. Closing the panel, he returned to his previous position.
"There's their signal," he said, "If they're not out here soon, we're history."

~~~

Inside the Promenade, the lights went out.
One moment, the tense tableau had been lit by hundreds of flickering torches. Then, with a tiny sucking sound, each and every one of them was extinguished.

Josh reacted instantly. With darkness flooding the inn, either the suits or the thieves were sure to make a move, and he didn't want a stray bullet tagging him, or his friends. He dove beneath the table, reached out and grabbed ahold of Shard's ankle with one hand, and Ash's with the other. The Agent's skin took on a golden sheen as his strength doubled, lending him superhuman power. With a single yank he pulled both of his friends under the table, holding them flat to the floor with brute force. He could see nothing, but listened intently. Many of the patrons were screaming and flinging themselves around. Some had wisely hit the deck, while others had tried to make for the exit, tripping over bodies, chairs and tables. An instant later there were several muzzle flashes in the dark, gunshots ringing loudly, and shouts of pain from more than one man. Josh commanded himself to ignore the pandemonium and think. The probable scenario unraveled itself in his mind, and he picked a course of action accordingly.
"Stay down until it's safe, then help anyone who's hurt. I'll be back soon." He whispered to Ash, and then rose quickly from beneath the table.

Having been sitting with his back to a wall, Josh found an easy exit through one of the Promenade's windows. Pale moonlight illuminated the simple square frame, and Josh didn't hesitate in shattering the glass with a blow from his elbow. Grabbing the frame, he hoisted himself feet-first out into the night.

Outside, Josh had left the chaos of Underwood's most famous tavern behind. Stars twinkled brightly in a sky lit fractionally by a dim crescent moon. The Agent had reasoned that the two thieves would be making for the inn's front door for a quick escape. Stealthily, he approached the front corner of the inn and peered around.

The sight which met his eyes was as bad as it could be. The two thieves had both escaped unscathed, and Josh arrived just in time to see them hustle a woman with a sack tied over her head into a carriage. "Hostage." Josh winced. The situation had just become much more dangerous. A bag presumably carrying the contents of the Promenade's safe, followed the girl, and an accomplice of the two original thieves climbed in with her, slamming the doors. The carriage driver cracked the reigns, and the horses took off. Josh felt helpless, not sure how to stop he operation. The two thieves who had looted the inn followed the carriage at a run, gripping a ladder and read to jump on the back. Knowing he had to do something, Josh ran out at an angle and hit the two thieves with a headlong tackle.

The force of Josh's attack carried himself and both thieves away from the carriage. The Martial Artist slammed one in the side of the head with an elbow, hoping to stun him, then dropped into a mounted position atop the other. Laying an arm across the thief's throat, Josh pushed down, hard. The man began to gurgle, struggling feebly on his back. Suddenly, an arm encircled Josh's neck from behind, and tightened quickly into a rear naked choke. The Agent was forcefully hauled backwards off of his prey. "I guess I didn't hit him hard enough." The thief had a tight grip on Josh, and was plenty angry about the blow he had taken to the head. His comrade leapt up, and aimed a quick front kick which Josh deflected with his knee. The man steadied himself, then struck again. Josh ground his chin down hard, trying to protect his windpipe, and had to raise his right arm to block a straight jab headed for his jaw. This allowed the thief behind him to further tighten the stranglehold, and black flecks began to dance across Josh's vision. The warrior continued to struggle bravely, but could not free himself from the double attack. He needed help, and quickly.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Taking over the land, a shroud of darkness suddenly blanketed the Peaceful Promenade. Reeves' quick eyes darted to and fro as the torches went out one by one. Seeing the local guards preparing to use their weapons, the old butler ducked down quickly finding a way outside of the famous tavern. Knowing that he contradicted his masters' commands in leaving the youth, Alberdyne, on his own Reeves' old combat instincts guided him to the chaos. These soldiers are too green, too dependent on their fancy weapons. In the days of the Rangers no such technology existed. Blasted Alerarian imports! But those don't seem like run-of-the mill Alerar tech. Something is not right. They are too sleek, too advanced. I have to investigate this matter further. My gut tells me that they are black-market weapons. Seeing the clouds overhead Reeves took a moment to orient itself. Things outside seemed eerily calm compared to the chaos in-doors.

Reeves heard several shots fired off into the darkness of the tavern. I hope none of those fools hit the boy. There will be Hell to pay if that happens. Still thinking about the sudden chaos the man knew from experience that nothing happened without cause. Hearing a sound with his sharp ears, the old butler turned his gaze towards one of the many windows of the tavern. From within the bowels of the building escaped an individual directly in pursuit of a group of other individuals. Reeves observed the man trailing behind several men detaching themselves from the chaos. Suddenly, he observed a third individual with the escaping ruffians. The shapely outline of Alberdynes' young companion, Jessa! CONFOUND IT! THAT MEANS THAT ALBERDYNE IS ALONE OR DEAD! The old man's heart started racing suddenly as the weight of dire choice placed itself squarely on his shoulder.

The men wearing suits busied themselves with the tasks of damage-control attempting to regain some semblance of normality. With the hard-line cut that might take days or weeks! Seeing that the man went to single-handedly attempt to save the day, Reeves found himself at a loss. The thieves currently held Jessa as a potential hostage. To make matters worse he saw that an altercation with the thieves started. Quickly turning to the favor of the thieves, Reeves spit on the ground. Considering all of his options, the old butler thought about only one valid plan. Thinking about the mysterious power-markers etched all over his body. Those ancient symbols being the source of Reeves' powers. In his youth, the old man learned how to harness multiple power-markers at one time. Now in old age, the sudden surge of Chi-energy might cause a collapse of his heart.

Reeves considered the options carefully knowing that Jessa and the young lad needed his help. Finally coming up with a viable plan, Reeves whispered a quick mantra-chanting calling on his old Monks' training. Once trained by the Monks of the Old Order themselves, Reeves joined the Corone Rangers at an early age. Obtaining the power-markers from the Monks' training was a clear testament to the butlers' hidden power. Tapping his hand upon a certain power-marker, Reeves felt the surge of power once more. May the Bron guide my hand once again. Sir Alberdyne, forgive me! The air around the old butler suddenly flickered with a mysterious hue as the man's strength and speed increased about five times his normal capacity. With the surge of power still flowing this his veins, the old man tapped a symbol etched upon his left hand. A sudden archaic surge burst forward revealing the special marker lurking on the top part of his hand.

Reeves called forth the power of his enchanted weapon. Once long ago, Reeves worked to save the Wood Elves from a certain disaster. That's how he earned the power-marker called Thunder Reaver. A rapier flowing with energy extended itself from the symbol. Crackling with electricity, Reeaves held his weapon with defiant experience. His combat stance revealed the nature of his training with both the Monks and the Corone Rangers. Moving silently towards the carriage, and the location of the melee, Reeves covered the ground with supernatural speed. Approaching the carriage from the front side, Reeves spotted the lad's position. Leaping into the air towards the carriage, Reeves kept his lighting rapier in hand swinging at the nearest thief. Charging like a lightning rod sent from mighty Zeus himself.

*****************************************

Finding himself alone in the dark, Alberdyne hit the floor not knowing what else to do. Several shots fired themselves off into the shadow causing a few bursts of fiery light to erupt. Alberdyne sensed around the dark best he could, momentarily blinded. People panicked all around. Feeling his own heart racing with fear the boy remembered his daily training with the Elder Monks attempting to keep himself calm. Immediately, he noticed Jessa's person missing from his side. This caused a temporary increase in anxiety. Still, the young lord-ling kept his wits about himself even as the darkness kept him from seeing anything. Several heavy foot-falls made their ways around the tavern, none in his direction. Alberdyne heard screaming and shouting coming from almost every direction. The noise deafened him.

An intense ringing in his ears alarmed the boy further. Trying to keep himself steady, the rapid increase of decibels produced a piercing headache. A sharp pain hit his cerebral cortex all at once causing a nose bleed. Alberdyne tried to fight against the wave of nausea, but unfortunately, bile left his person and found its way to the floor beneath him. Grabbing some nearby napkins with tremendous difficulty, the boy cleaned himself best he could. With the noise level increasing to a fever pitch the headache became worse. Loud noises always made the boys' day miserable since they often had a paralyzing effect on him. Working against the noise and trying desperately to orient himself the boy felt without direction. The bleeding from his noise wouldn't stop making matters worse. Attempting to ascertain any clues about the current where abouts of Jessa's person--Alberdyne became more stressed by the moment.

Feeling the anxiety reach a fever pitch--the boy felt himself hit the floor hard, the only positive thing about the moment seeming the strange fact that he didn't land in his own vomit. The lord-ling's migraine head-ache forced him to a complete stand-still and he became vulnerable to the cruel outside world.

[Breaker]

Just as Josh began to feel that he truly could not fight any longer, a glowing electric sword sliced through the man who was about to land a haymaker on his face. The Agent heard the remaining attacker react in shock, and the thief's grip loosened enough for him to get a few quick breaths. Gripping the forearm across his throat, Josh sought out his enemy's hand, forced it open and broke the two smallest fingers. Rather than trying to bend them backwards, he simply wrenched the small, defenseless digits sideways. There was a pop and a crack, and suddenly the man let go of Josh's neck. Pivoting, the martial artist whipped his head forward, harnessing the powerful muscles in his back, stomach and thighs. The crown of his head struck the thief's nose, smashing it flat. Without a sound the shadow kin dropped to the ground, blood already oozing from his broken nose. Relieved at the sudden change in circumstances, Josh crouched down, rubbing his throat and panting.
"That," he told himself, "Was far too close."

Recovering quickly, Josh forced his aching body upright and raced to the centre of the road, gazing after the departing carriage. He was just in time to see the carriage slow, then turn onto a bridge. Across the street from the Peaceful Promenade, and down a sharp embankment, lay a wide river. Its waters were high and surging from recent runoff. Josh followed the carriage with his eyes as it crossed the bridge. In order to escape, the bandits would need to double back on the other side of the river. "If I could make it across the river," the Agent realized, "I might be able to intercept the carriage... but if it gets past me, it will be gone." Shaking his head, the young man forced all thoughts of failure from his mind. He had learned some time ago that imagining defeat could be as problematic as admitting to it. "Pump yourself up," He urged himself, "Don't even think about the possibility of anything but success." Josh had a plan, but with one fatal flaw; he could see no way of crossing the river swiftly enough to stop the kidnappers. "Even if I made it across, I'd be too exhausted from the swim to fight." His powerful mind ran on overdrive, and soon realized that for the second time that night, he needed someone else's help.

Turning to the older man who had perhaps saved his life, Josh spoke quickly but respectfully.
"Thank you for your help, Sir, I feel you may have arrived in the nick of time just now." Examining the older man, Josh began to feel as if power was radiating from the butler's every pore. Clearing his throat, the Agent continued.
"I'm sure that we're here for the same reason; that carriage must be stopped. I don't know what else they took, but they have an innocent young woman hostage. Is there any way you could... get me across the river?" Josh's understanding of Althanian magic was so limited that he had trouble wording the question. Hoping desperately for some sort of assistance, the martial artist turned again, and saw that the carriage had nearly finished crossing the bridge. "If I don't act soon," he thought, "They're going to get away with that girl!"

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Reeves bowed deeply to the younger warrior. The butler recognized talent when he saw it, the younger lad just needed refining. Thinking upon his own past, the warrior remembered a time when he too wore green around the ears. Considering a few suggestions for the lad's combat education, the butler pondered taking the agent under his wing. Unfortunately, the moment needed to wait for another hour. Plus, the current matter at hand required their immediate attention. Coming up with a spur-of-the moment plan, the butler's options presented themselves quickly. Thinking upon another of his hidden weapons, he quickly tapped a combination of power-symbols upon his person.

Once again that mysterious, phosphorous glow wrapped itself around the frame of the butler creating a mystical appearance. Feeling his eyesight burn with the sensation of power, the latent accuracy within those eyeballs awakened to a complete potential. Harnessing this accuracy, trails of blood already poured down from his nostrils sending small rivulets down to the earth. Drip, drip, drip. Across the eternity. Tapping the power from the second symbol, the butler sacrificed a significant amount of Chi to summon the new weapon. A mystical longbow comprised almost entirely of burning Chi manifested itself in the man's powerful hands. Adjusting his aim towards an area in front of the carriage, to the man's dismay, they'd already made significant progress across the bridge.

Already heading towards the far opposite bank. Calling forth an elemental of fire arrow, a glowing red arrow attached itself upon the longbow. Manifesting from out of thin air, a sudden heat flowed from the warrior. Taking careful, supernatural aim, the warrior let the fire-arrow fly off into the air. With a trail of streaking red energy, the arrow singed the air training itself upon the pre-chosen target. Soon, it hit an area of trees several feet in front of the carriage exploding powerfully on impact. Several large trees started falling down afore the carriage, spooking the horses.

Switching the elemental properties of the arrow now, Reeves called forth the power of ice. The plan needed precision, needed finesse. Or else they might loose Jessa forever! The butler couldn't allow that to happen since Jessa seemed like Alberdyne's best friend. The young Master lacked friends and that fact pained the old butler greatly considering his own best friend, Alberdyne's Father. Letting loose the ice-arrow, the old man watched carefully as his eyes tracked the arrow. Just as every other time he launched the weapon, the connection seemed almost flawless. Impacting an area of the river nearby to the carriage, a powerful burst of ice-based energy froze an area both above and below the surface, of roughly ten feet by ten feet. It froze the exact equivalent of space underneath the water as well freezing an equal mass and depth.

A cold vapor flowed from the archaic ice. Putting away the mystical longbow now, Reeves prepared his enhanced agility and speed symbol. The butler knew he greatly used his abilities at this point, but the situation called for it.
Moving quickly across the bridge, the butler nodded towards the younger warrior to proceed forward. The old man jumped from the top of the bridge landing on the ice and proceeding towards the carriage knowing full well the horses posed the largest threats. When facing sudden acts of archaic forces, the animals reacted in often dangerous, unpredictable ways. Reeves prepared himself for the worst even accepting the fact that he might die as well.

[Breaker]

Josh stood by, amazed as Reeves drew a glowing longbow from seemingly thin air. Two arrows flew from the bow, one chasing the other like elemental birds of prey. The second of the two struck the river at the near bank, and ice spread from where it fell, forming a crude but serviceable bridge. Josh was amazed. "For once, it's nice to see magic working for me, rather than against." The Agent's head snapped up drawn by a loud cracking sound. The fire arrow had met its mark.

The elemental arrow had struck home in a large oak tree, causing a small explosion which nearly ripped the trunk in half. The tree caught fire instantly, yielding to the intense heat of the butler's power. As the horse-drawn carriage raced onward, the tree began to fall. Josh found he was holding his breath, and stopped immediately. "You're a professional damn it!" he chided himself, "Start acting like one!" It was a race against time; the carriage thundered down the road, kicking up a small plume of dust which as visible by the light of the fire. The tree tilted, groaning like a wakened giant, and began to fall. For an instant, Josh worried that the tree might actually strike the carriage, and kill the girl inside. Then with a final popping of spent timber, the mighty oak crashed to the ground.

It was a near thing. The horses were only ten yards away from the tree when it fell, and spooked them terribly. Too close, and moving too fast to stop, the frightened creatures left the road, running down onto the riverbank to skirt the fallen oak. The carriage followed, the driver screaming useless commands. There was the unmistakable snap of breaking leather, and suddenly the horses were running free, back up to the road and onward away from the inferno. The carriage rolled along the bank at breakneck speed for a moment, then one of the axles broke, and it tumbled down into the swift moving river.

Joshua had followed the old butler onto the ice bridge, minding his steps carefully to avoid slipping. He saw the carriage fall, and glanced down into the river's depths. The water was dark as night, clearly quite deep. The carriage began to sink immediately, the submerged end slowing it down as the river tried to rush it downstream. Again Josh's mind flashed to the girl inside. Without hesitation, he dove headfirst into the water, pausing only to call out;

"You'll have to handle the kidnappers yourself Sir... I'm going to save that girl!"

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Meanwhile--

The residual chaos initially subsided once the men in the suits were able to assess the damage. Riot control came next. In the midst of this madness a young nobleman was missing his two best friends. Having subsided, the intense noise level of the events became somewhat duller now. The young noble sat up rubbing his temples where side-effects of the migraine headache still lurked. Trickles of blood dripped down from his nostrils in rivulets. By sheer instinct only, the young one rubbed his nostrils remembering the etiquette and protocol teachings of his family. It'll do no good for me to look like I'm in shambles especially because of my proud heritage. The boy thought to himself trying to gather himself. He'd suffered a few bruises in the chaos but nothing major.

Deciding it was best to simply stay put, the boy sat in a huddled corner. He saw several groups of people moving to and fro. A couple however stayed at their distinctive posts nearby a table seeming unusually calm considering the events of the day. In a lot of ways, this was the most fun that Alberdyne had in a long time. Still--a considerable worry for his companion Jessa, and the Butler, Reeves, filled his heart with a heavy weight. The boy stood up rubbing the shambles off his person. One of the two strangers kept staring at Alberdyne, the girl. Something strange about her eyes mesmerized the boy greatly. She was one of the prettiest women he'd seen so far in his youth.

The man was a drunkard. Even with all the commotion going on around them the man still worked at a large tankard of beer before him. Shaking his head with distaste the boy decided it was best not to form an opinion about the big man. Wasn't there a third warrior with that group? He vaguely remembered that strange fact. Now, the man was suspiciously no-where in sight. Looking down at the pool of his own vomit on the floor, the young noble sighed with personal chastisement. Damn that noise was too loud, really messed me up.

Moving towards his person with a calm expression on her face and a friendly smile, the woman named Ash greeting the young lord. Her eyes observed the mess he'd left and seemed to nod knowingly. She witnessed the young one rubbing some bruises on his arm. Seeing that he was hurt she asked him if he needed assistance.

"Do you need help there?"

Came her soothing voice. Alberdyne felt that it flowed like a waterfall almost. There was an enchanting quality about her voice, probably having to do with her Magus status. Though his injuries weren't serious, some healing probably might be preferable. Looking at the woman, he nodded calmly and rolled up the sleeves on his left arm. A serious bruise looked there but it was a surface wound, it didn't seem to be bleeding at all. Also, no fleshy piercings seemed present. "Oh my that looks serious!" The young noble saw that she had sincere concern for his safety. "Let me have a go at that, I know the healing arts well." The boy saw that her eyes went far away and she muttered a few words in a dialect that somehow sounded familiar to him.

He remembered reading about ancient dialects in his studies but never bothered to try to learn more languages than what was necessary to his education. He knew a few words in the main spoken tongues of Althanas but not enough to declare them as known languages. A glow like a nimbus corona flared up around the girl and she placed her warm hands to his bruise. Alberdyne felt there was something erotic about the whole process of healing. When she touched him it felt very good. A warmth welled up from deep within his stomach and filled his person with a tingling sensation. As a residual effect, his migraine head-ace went away completely. He saw her smile after that.

"I hope that's better little one. My name is Ash. The big guy over there is Shard. We're a group of Adventurers. I'd introduce you to our friend but he went to go take care of a matter."

"Excuse me Ash but have you been able to ascertain what the heck is going on?" He knew the guards would have no answers for him. "My name is Sir Alberdyne Cormyr." The young noble introduced himself after the question.

*********************************

Feeling intense pain at the use of so much natural Chi all at once, Reeves fought off the effects of fatigue. Lives hung in the balance. Following the agent into the battlefield now, Reeves leapt off the bridge holding his energy arrow in place still. At this point in his life, the Butler knew how to manifest a weapon almost indefinitely. He landed on the powerful block of ice watching the agent swim after the girl, Jessa.

"HER NAME IS JESSA GOOD SIR!" The butler screamed after the agent hoping that he might hear him.

Then the melee broke through. Several of the bandits from the wagon made their way on top of the incredibly sturdy ice block. They drew their weapons against the old man making their ways to him. The first bandit struck at Reeves and the old man, skillfully evaded sending a back-hand in the hood's general direction. With a satisfying crack of the skull, Reeves saw that the bandit grunted in pain and fell forward on his face. The blow knocked him out with great easy. Several more bandits made their way to Reeves position at the moment, and he prepared himself for combat. He put away his energy arrow, and quickly summoned the sword again. The sound of the humming weapon caused terror in the hearts of the bandits since it manifested seemingly from out of thin air.

[Breaker]

For an instant, Joshua found himself suspended above the flowing water, staring down into its dark depths. As his body seemed to float in the air, Reeves' voice rang out, reaching his ears through the noise of the shouting bandits and the rushing water.

"Her name is Jessa good sir!"

On the dying tone of this phrase, the Agent plunged into the water, his powerful athletic form cutting through the liquid like a shooting star across the night sky. Once again, Josh's body had begun to glow an eerie, golden color, signifying that he had unlocked his superhuman strength. The Martial Artist knew that if he was to resist the river's current and free the trapped prisoner, he would need all the power he could get.

The cold of the river bored into his body instantly, beginning to slowly sap his energy. The Agent had taken a large breath of fresh air before submerging, and clung to the oxygen doggedly, kicking his legs hard to keep adrenaline flowing to his muscles. Reaching the sinking carriage quickly, he grabbed a hold and began pulling himself hand over hand, downwards. Finally he reached the doors at the back of the carriage, and literally ripped them off of their hinges. The girl was still within, with her hands lashed behind her back and a sodden sack covering her head.

Boosting himself towards her, Josh wrapped one powerful arm around the girl's struggling form and used the other to haul them both upwards. A small air pocket remained at the top of the carriage, and they burst into it together; Josh gasping, the girl making retching noises. Reaching over, he tore the sack from her head. For a moment, her face scared him. It was unnaturally pale with blue tinges at the lips and cheeks. For a moment, Josh panicked, thinking he would be unable to save her. Then the girl coughed, water spurting from her mouth and nose, and kept coughing. Putting his mouth close to her ear, the Agent whispered;

"Stay here, breathe slow. I'll be right back."

Then gulped a breath of the fast-dwindling air and dove under again. It did not take long to find what he wanted; a large rucksack was the carriage's only possesion. Reaching into it as he swam back to the air pocket, the Agent's hand closed quickly around a slim metallic object. Surfacing in the rapidly shrinking pocket, Joshua opened the switchblade he had seized, and with one careful stroke severred the ropes which bound Jessa's wrists. Folding the knife and stuffing it back in the rucksack, Josh awkwardly put the pack on while speaking quickly to his new companion.

"We've only got enough time for a deep breath each, then we need to get out of here. Hold on to the pack, and keep kicking your feet until he break the surface."

Waiting only for a quick confused nod from the girl, Josh plunged again into the water.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

The full squad of bandits now surrounded the butler, six deep. One of them knocked on the ground. The rogue had a deep gash along the side of his head and the butler wore a smirk on his face. Holding his sword now he saw the hesitation created by the weapon. That was the primary effect of the calling of course, to make his enemies afraid. The weapon glowed with a deep red angry color sending its reflection off upon the mystical ice. A low humming sound was generated from the blade adding intensely to the moment. Right then, the butler appeared like some mighty god standing before the bandits. They hesitated not knowing how to proceed. One calling himself "The Boss" lead the pack of jackals while they attempted to communicate using hand signals. The Boss still had their prize in his possession, the package lifted from the safe back at the Peaceful Promenade. Several items of interest lurked inside that bundle that could potentially fetch a small fortune. Still though, the job was for The Syndicate and they couldn't attempt to keep the objects themselves--THE SPECIFIC objects The Syndicate wanted anyway.

There were two Artifacts of particular rarity. One seemed to be a ring of some power and the other was unknown. It seemed like a useless trinket but thats how all of these objects of great power seemed sometimes. Something so innocent often contained Hell within it. The destined true owners of the objects were both nearby and back at the Peaceful Promenade. Reeves kept his position several paces in front of the bandit calling himself The Boss. He gave an aggressive hand gesture signaling his cohorts to attack. The four other men and himself drew their available weapons. The Boss drew a sword made of plynt and the others drew swords of finely forged steel. They moved towards the old man like a group of vultures. When the first bandit struck, Reeves prepared himself for combat. The butler swung back moving skillfully across the ice that acted as a SOLID SURFACE as well. The ice wasn't slippery at all. But the butler knew how to control his body well and skidded across the surface with an amazing amount of grace to his movements. He swung his sword to capture the incoming attack and with a terrifying sound, the steel weapon burst asunder. Reeves saw the bandits' weapon being ripped apart and super-heated metal flung itself into the water leaving the Bandit terrified. The lad cursed in his native tongue and fled the battle having no other choice. The Boss looked at his fleeing comrades, and one by one they all became terrified and left.

Once they saw that the weapon could break steel they had no way to fight against the superior warrior. Finally it was just The Boss and Reeves.

"Your move." Reeves taunted.

*************************************

Ash gathered some information in the time that they were gone. It seemed that a group of bandits hijacked something from the safe in the building in a coordinated strike. They cut the hard-line in the process and that's why the Peaceful Promenade fell into complete darkness. Alberdyne sighed when he found out how easily they were able to commit such a heinous act. When word of a hostage touched his ears he immediately thought of Jessa and felt completely helpless. She was his best friend! In the noise-level that followed, the boy had passed out cause of his usual migraine head-aches. He couldn't tolerate loud noises growing up and he still had a hard time tolerating them now in his adult life. The boy still had residual effects of a head-ache but they were going away thanks to Ash's magic. He thanked her once more by hugging her. He looked up at her for a long moment deciding what to do next. Not only was Jessa missing but Reeves was missing also and that was no good. It meant that trouble was happening someplace because he knew of the old man's legendary skill.

"We should try to go find your friend Joshua Ash. He's missing too, thanks for telling me his name. I'm sure he went to go rescue Jessa. My friend, Reeves is probably helping. WE SHOULD GO TO! These guards are useless and are busy doing the clean-up job." Alberdyne suggested. Shard, immediately got up with a hardy grin. "I like this kid Ash. He's bossy like Joshua is. Let's go to work." Shard said. The trio ran outside to try to ascertain more details of the night's events. In the shroud of darkness where only a few lights were visible in the entire Peaceful Promenade. Somehow the effect was eerie and created a sea of darkness. Secondary lamps were only turning on now, hours later. The initial commotion of the night's events finally quieted down once the Corone Rangers involved themselves to keep the peace and call local people expert at repair jobs. Alberdyne's quick eyes spotted a battle nearby he saw Reeves' person. He ran with Ash and Shard ready behind them. Shard drew his main weapon with Ash preparing her archaic forces when she suddenly saw the tremendous block of ice and became terrified. She spotted the power source and was taken aback.

"Such power in that old man--" She whispered. Even from their distance they could see the glowing red sword.

[Breaker]

The swim to the bank was like a dream for Joshua. He kicked out mightily, pulling with the arm that wasn't looped around Jessa. The struggle against the pull of his sodden clothes and the terrified girl seemed futile, the bank never seeming nearer until at last his head broke the surface. With a mighty effort the Agent heaved the girl onto the bank and hauled himself up after. The golden glow faded from his skin immediately, and complete exhaustion blasted his bones to mush.

For several minutes they lay side by side, panting, the fact that they had made it out alive shimmering like a mirage before their conscious. Jessa continued to cough up small bursts of water, emptying her lungs of the dangerous fluid. Regaining a semblance of control over his breathing, Josh introduced himself.

"My name is Josh Cronen. I ran into a friend of yours while trying to stop the men who captured you. He helped me get across the river, and handled the bandits while I swam for the sinking carriage."

Josh was babbling only semi-coherently. It was important to keep the girl conscious, and talking to her was one way to help that. She nodded occasionally, not trying to speak over the constant fits of choked coughing. Suddenly it occurred to Josh to look for Reeves, but in the darkness he could barely see the opposite bank. Jessa had become nearly silent, her chest heaving up and down as she tried to make up for all the oxygen her body had been deprived of. Josh stood gingerly, finding his legs surprisingly stable. With one powerful arm he helped her to her feet, and together they made their way to the road, heading for the bridge which could take them back to the Promenade.

"First Aid 101" Josh recalled as they trudged side by side, "Keep her talking. It'll help regulate her breathing, and keep her cognisant."

"So Jessa..." he started, all awkwardness banished by sheer exhaustion, "Why were you at the Peaceful Promenade tonight?"

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Jessa fancied herself a strong woman. In a single moment all of that changed and she found herself relying on a complete strange. She wore a confused facial expression riddled with pain. It hurt to breathe. Her lungs felt extremely heavy. Jessa eyed Cronen for a long moment as they walked. She thought of the Peaceful Promenade and her companion, Alberdyne Cormyr, trapped somewhere in that mad-house. The thought made her angry. She knew that Alberdyne could survive on his own but the fact that he was alone made her angry. His Father had charged her with the boy's protection until he became a man. Jessa also had her feelings for the youth. She coughed up some more water.

"J-Joshua was it?" She started and then she saw a sight that she hadn't seen in a long time. Reeves was FIGHTiNG...

*****************

Reeves finished the ruffians off with some degree of difficulty. His Spirit Sword held the enemy at bay with a shining light. At some point in the confrontation, Reeves was able to over power the ruffians and take control of the situation. With the bodies of the bandits secure, he could focus on the next task at hand. The safety of Jessa Reyes. Reeves saw that Joshua rescued Jessa from the water and he nodded to himself calmly.

Taking the bodies of the bandits off the ice, Reeves dispelled the ice. There was nothing he could do for the horses. He stole a glance in their general direction and watched the frightened animals swim for freedom through the ice cold water. Reeves wished the animals well. He rubbed his hands together for a moment cleaning them of any dirt they accumulated. He walked towards Joshua and Jessa nodding towards them.

************************************************** *******

The power suddenly came back on. Someone figured out that the main power line was shut off and used magic to repair it. Alberdyne remained in the company of Joshua's allies knowing that he was safe. He only waited for some word, any word, from Reeves and Jessa. He hoped where ever they were that they were okay. The youth eyed his two new companions with a smile on his face. The woman had served to be a tremendous source of comfort for the youth. Alberdyne decided that he liked Shard a lot. She wasn't the same as Jessa, but she had her own powerful qualities.

Alberdyne had a thing for strong women. He ran his hand through his wild red hair. They were sitting around drinking now. In the Peaceful Promenade, several more incidents of people disturbing the peace occurred, but the men in black handled this situation quickly. It was the first time he'd seen guns from Alerar in any sort of action. Dyne took a sip of his Apple Cider as he talked with Shard and her companion. All they could do now was wait for Joshua, Reeves and Jessa to return.

[Breaker]

With Jessa leaning heavily on his arm, Joshua found it difficult enough to keep them both upright, and moving forwards. The girl went on at length about her arrival at the inn, and for the most part Josh did not hear her. In order to keep her talking he interjected with the occasional "really?" or interested grunt, but his focus remained on getting them to the inn. It was a mere twenty minute walk, but felt like ages, tired and sodden as he was. Finally the newly illuminated windows of the Peaceful Promenade met them, and with immense relief the pair staggered through the front doors.

Pushing the girl into the arms of the first person to rush over, Josh made his way to Reeves, handing the butler the large rucksack he had taken from the fleeing carriage.

"I don't know what's in that Sir, and I don't think I really want to know. Frankly, I'm just glad I made it through the night alive. It's been an honor to make your acquaintance."

Finally the exhausted Martial Artist found his way to the friends he had intended to spend the night with. Shard was lolling in his seat, barely conscious, while Ash watched him closely from the corner of her eye.

"Mother's milk, you look terrible Josh. Get some rest, and take Shard with you if you can. We'll talk in the morning."

Josh grinned at the enchantress thankfully; her level headed manner of thinking took a massive weight off his shoulders. Heaving Shard upright, he toted the bladeslinger along, assissting him in much the same fashion as he had to bring Jessa back.

The two friends made it up the inn's stairs and through the doorway of one of the two rooms they had leased for the night. Joshua dumped his comrade in one bed before collapsing on the other himself. They lay in silence for a few moments, the rooms single candle making dancing shadows on the walls. Finally, Josh spoke.

"Well, happy birthday. Sometime when you're sobre enough to remember, I'll tell you what I went through to get you this."

Josh tossed the knife onto his inert friends chest, then began to change into his bedclothes, which felt warm as a hot bath after the dripping wetness of his other garments. By the time the Agent had changed, Shard had managed to realize what he had been given. It was a finely crafted mythril switchblade which he popped open and shut several times, seemingly amused by the springloaded mechanism.

"Nice little piece, bet it cost you two a pretty penny. Thanksh... will you get the light?"

Josh had already begun to fall asleep, his body seeming to sink into the mattress.

"You get it," he groaned, "You're the best bladeslinger around, aren't you?"

Shard looked at the open blade in his hand, then with a somewhat careless gesture, threw it across the room. Even intoxicated beyond recognition, his aim was deadly. The blade clipped the candle's wick, neatly extinguishing it, dropping the room into absolute darkness.

[Alberdyne_Cormyr]

Reeves held the sack in his hand and nodded. The weight of their mission held in his heart. A part of him thought about keeping the objects for a moment since he could feel the power within the sack. He quickly dismissed that thought after a few moments passed. He was only glad that the Agent had acted so quickly on his feet, otherwise, Jessa might be dead or worse.

Reeves took the somewhat heavy sack in his arms and moved over to the nearest security guard. "What is it old man?" The goon asked in a rough sort of voice. Reeves, unmoved, handed the sack to him. "This stuff was stolen from the safe by the bandits. A friend and I retrieved it for you. You should return it to the proprietor of this place. Where it rightfully belongs." Reeves said with a twinkle in his eyes. "You retrieved this from the bandits?" Reeves nodded. "If you look over by the bridge you will find several tied up hooligans and a carriage. It's what they were going to use in order to pull the heist off."

"Did you find out anything about who they worked for?" The guard asked.

"I believe it was a Syndicate operation gone bad. Judging by their used methods and tactics. My gut instinct tells me it was the Syndicate as well."

"All right. I'll send some men to investigate this matter and take the bandits into custody. Take this for your troubles old man." The man handed Reeves a pouch filled with gold. Reeves nodded as he took the payment for his impromptu salvation of the Peaceful Promenade. Reeves knew it wouldn't have been the first time such a thing occurred. Reeves managed to take a few things from the bandits for Alberdyne.

************************************************** **

Alberdyne sat with Shard. He'd hugged Jessa tightly when she arrived. His friend was still very disoriented but she was able to recover from her near-drowning experience. She still shook from the cold which meant that Alberdyne held her closely in his arms, warming her up. He looked for Shard but the enchantress was nowhere to be found. Reeves moved over to Alberdyne's position and smiled at the young noble. "I have a present you for, think of it as a souvenir of this trip." The butler waved his hand and from its hiding place, appeared one of the many swords and weapons that the old man stole from the bandits to disarm them. He held a sheathed longsword in his hands and handed it over to Alberdyne. "That's for you to use in self defense. You should always be on guard from ruffians like the ones that tried to steal from the Promenade tonight. Remember that. There are evil men in this world." Reeves said calmly turning the experience into a proper lecture.

Alberdyne took the scabbard with its contents in his hand studying the intricate details of the handle. Judging by the quality of the weapon, Alberdyne guessed that it belonged to the leader of the bandits. "That you Reeves I appreciate this grand gift. I will study hard to use it well." Reeves nodded. With Jessa wrapped up in Alberdyne's Vlince cloak, the girl warmed up slowly but surely. Eventually she would recover from the ordeal. Reeves ordered some hot tea for everyone. He kept his reward to himself knowing that nobody else had any business at it. Secretly, the butler felt very exhausted but he kept his eyes on Alberdyne. The tea would help him regain his strength. And so, the great birthday event came to a close.

The End.

*************Spoils*****************

001--Masterwork Plynt Longsword. Acquired from the leader of the bandits, the sword is finely crafted and suitable for battle. It comes with an ornate Masterwork handle and scabbard. An ideal weapon for an aspiring Fencer. It cannot be sold.

[Witchblade]

Storyline

Continuity: - 4 Oh, where to begin. Pavel, your opening post was way too long. I well remember the days back on Tanthanas when you and I used to write a minimum of two pages per post, but over time you realize you don’t need to do that. The same thing can be said with fewer words and not dragging the reader on to the point where they just don’t care anymore. This was supposed to be a quest about Shard’s birthday, but somehow it always seemed more about your characters. You need to remember not to always be the centre and focus of attention in a quest, especially one you’re not the QM in.

On top of that, this was the oddest, strangest and one of the most ridiculous quests I’ve read and unfortunately most the ridiculousness came from you, Pavel. What was with the security system of monitors and cameras? The shiny guns I could have let slide, but monitors and cameras running off electricity in Althanas? Where is the sense in that? I particularly liked the gas valve that shut off all the torches… it made a great amount of sense. And Alex, I don’t think you can find shirts that have large letters spelling out hemp on them in Althanas.

Setting: - 4 Neither of you were terribly good at writing down the setting. Sometimes it was described and given to the reader and they had a semblance of what the world looked like around them, but other times there was nothing. Both of you need to work on describing things to the reader so they can see what’s going on around them, but don’t think you need to do it in one giant paragraph. Describe it as the character comes upon it, remember you’re looking through the characters eyes and they won’t notice everything at first.

Pacing: - 5 This was all over the place. Pavel, your posts contain so much information—repeating information—thought and contemplation from characters that the pacing just dies. Alex, you’re pacing is all right, but it would have been better if Pavel had given you more to work with. Pacing needs both of you writing at relatively the same level, but I didn’t get that. It was up and down and all over the place and Pavel controlling three different characters and breaking up his posts so much definitely did not help.

Character

Dialogue: - 5 Alex, you’re rather good at dialogue. It comes off realistic and true to the characters, especially when Ash, Josh and Shard are all interacting together. It’s very light-hearted and fun. Pavel, your dialogue comes off a little oddly, it’s neither bad nor really good, I think it just needs a bit more refining. There were times when Alberdyne and Jessa were interacting together that it came off nicely, then there were other times when it just sounded so flat. Especially when you started taking over Ash and Shard, you couldn’t grasp their personalities in my mind.

Action: - 4 Pavel, some of your character’s actions did not make very much sense in my mind. Reeves, a man whose sole purpose at the moment is to protect Alberdyne, leaves him alone in the middle of some kind of heist to go outside to see what’s going on. Then, in the midst of fighting—as if it really matters—yells out the name of Jessa to Josh so he can do what? He doesn’t need her name to save her. On top of that, you don’t need to explain in great detail just how Reeves got those abilities of him, he’s an NPC and the reader doesn’t need to know all that. It destroys the tension and makes them lose interest. They just want him to start kicking some thieving butt.

Alex, you’re action seemed true to all of your characters. The only time I ever questioned their actions was when Pavel started taking over Ash and Shard. The only thing that stuck out to me was after Josh saved Jessa, he starts looking around for Reeves and can’t find him, but the man has a giant glowing red sword in his hand, so I don’t understand how he couldn’t see him.

Persona: - 6 All of the characters involved appeared to stick very true to their personalities. I did notice a few times where Alberdyne just seemed to be thinking some odd things while his best friend Jessa was missing, though. Also, I would have figured Alberdyne as a trained warrior wouldn’t have done so little in the quest and his personality would have forced him to do something, even if he had a blinding headache, but perhaps not.

Writing Style

Mechanics: - 6 Re-read your posts! The two of you should be used to this by, but by the amount of spelling mistakes and the occasional grammatical ones, I started wondering towards the end if you even cared anymore.

Technique: - 5 Alex you seem to have a nicely defined technique for writing, one that allows a nice flow in your sentences and paragraphs. There are times when it gets a little bit bumpy, but that happens to all of us. Pavel, you really need to work on your technique. There are times when you’re just throwing facts out at the reader and it almost comes off a technically writing. ‘He did this, and then he grabbed that. After that he swung at them.’ And enough of the ‘unbeknownst to them’ stuff. You’re giving things away to the reader, you’re supposed to show them, not tell them. And what’s with CAPITOLIZING WORDS FOR NO REASON, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING AT THE READER.

Clarity: - 6 The words were written clearly enough, but there were times when I found myself reading the same paragraph by Pavel three or four times for no reason other than the matter-of-fact way in which actions were written was off putting.

Wild Card: - 4 I’m unsure what exactly to even put in this category, due to all the weird things that happened in this quest. You two could have had so much fun with it, though perhaps you did writing it, but it came off so strangely to the reader. Perhaps more communication between the two of you would have helped.

Total: 49

Rewards:

016573 receives 800 experience and 200 GP!
Alberdyne Cormyr receives 675 experience!
Makira receives 100 experience!

The sword that Reeves gave Alberdyne was misjudged in quality. It is, in fact, a Plynt sword made of ‘good’ quality and not masterwork quality.

[Letho]

EXP/GP added. The Numbers Dude, welcome to the next level.