First time along the promenade [Open]

[Sage]

Scara Brae was proving to be, different.

It wasn’t the endless wheat fields like back home, nor was the air sweet with the scent of grapes and wine. The Scara Brae docks actually had a rather foul smell, like old wet wood and fresh livestock smothered with a thick layer of tobacco on the wind. Sage wasn’t disappointed per say, it was after all his idea to accompany his father on one of his business ventures, a few weeks away from the estate would do him some good. At least that is what he kept telling himself each time he tried to reach for a book.

Stepping back onto solid ground after a week’s voyage at sea however was utter bliss, his first venture at sea was now just a bad memory and he was eager to find a library as soon as possible. Sage was quick to spot his father amongst the crowd as he was making his way towards him, he had always been tall, and his face stern and cross in a seemingly endless frown.

“Are you going to be ok?” he asked as he stood beside his son.
“I’ll be fine, father, there must be a bookstore around here somewhere” Sage answered eager to find such an establishment as soon as possible.His father just frowned a little more. “I meant are you going to be ok on your own?”

“Were staying at the Fox and Hounds inn along the docks, so I shouldn’t get lost that easily” He answered, picking out the inn in question further along the road, the Inn was run by an old friend of his fathers who he had met once when he had last visited Crossroads.
“Run by Coren Seith if I remember correctly” he enquired.

His father nodded in reply “I want you back by sundown, no later understand?” he spoke sternly.

“By sundown, no later” Sage affirmed with a bright smile, brushing a long lock of his hair behind his shoulder. His father grumbled in response, it was as good as a dismissal as any and Sage turned to go but stopped when he saw the worry in his father’s eyes.This wasn’t Crossroads, Sage was well aware of that, if there was any kind of trouble he would not be within running distance of the estate, and truthfully, sage was unaccustomed to the larger cities without his father’s guidance.

“I’ll be fine” Sage said warmly.

[The Mongrel]

No Unfoundling travels to Scara Brae on official business. We'd had some trouble with the Scourge as a nascent group, and only in recent decades had come to an agreement: we stay off their island, they stay off ours. Both sides break the truce from time to time, and it's always a cause for bloodshed when it's discovered.

I hadn't come on business. Not Unfounded-related, anyway. My friend Paige had a friend here, and he had agreed to give me shelter until the Day of Burning blew over and people forgot about me. Forgot... would anyone I knew be alive when the humans forgot? I wouldn't be alive when the elves forgot; that, at least, was a certainty. But I don't live among the elves. We'll say the reasons are obvious.

I shook myself to clear the pessimism. Human memories are far shorter than their lives; I might be able to return to my own in as little as a year or two. A year or two of missing everything. Why had I gone to Raiaera, again? My homeland only ever brought me trouble.

It was afternoon when my boat docked, and I'd been told to seek out my contact no later than two hours after dawn. I had hours of daylight to kill, and the nights were growing ever longer. Minutes don't pass any more quickly for elves than humans, when they're standing between us and what we want.

Still, I had some coin. I probably needed a new shirt or vest. At the very least, I could get a drink. Among the throngs of people, with their smells of commerce and worry, I could move unhindered, almost unseen. Everyone wrapped themselves in their own lives, their own concerns, and it took something special to drag them from it. I'd be invisible.

Just so long as I keep my hood up and my head down.

Strangers are rarely kind to halfbreeds, and regardless of what I'd done in Raiaera, that's all I wanted to be in Scara Brae. Just an ordinary mongrel cur.

[Vendredi]

Here’s the first rule of thieving: Don’t get caught.

Fii strolled down the streets of Scara Brae with his hands in his pockets. He was whistling a dirty ditty. Occasionally, he would stop at a store to chat. He fit in. His rough tunic and leggings were worn, but clean. His hair was neat, and he shaved earlier in the morning. He looked like a fine, upstanding citizen of the land.

He did not look like a thieving bastard from a nomadic band of mercenaries and whores, and that was just as well. If Fii looked like what people called him behind his back, the city guards would have already thrown him into the gaols.

Here’s the second rule of thieving: Pick easy targets.

The streets of Scara Brae were full of people. A few of them looked sketchy with hooded faces and trembling hands. Most looked the way Fii did -- simple, clean, regular citizens going about their daily businesses. A few of them, however, looked new to the city. Simple country-boys and dangerous foreigners alike milled down the well worn paths.

Fii had been trailing one of the country lads for the past ten minutes, and and the man--boy?--had not picked up on Fii’s presence at all. That was a good sign. That meant an easy target. Fii liked easy targets. They were less trouble.

His target passed by a fruit vendor. Fii followed unhurriedly behind, and swiped two apples on his way past. He bit into them. Crunchy. They were twisting and turning deeper into the city. Soon, they were in front of a tavern. His target paused, as though considering something. Around them, the greyish faces of the milling masses were packed so tightly that one could not tell where one face ended and another began.

Here’s the third rule of thieving: Strike as soon as you have a chance.

Fii moved forward, and pushing through the crowd like an eel in the river. It took mere moments before he reached his pondering target, and only a second more before he pushed past. Through the tangled ocean of limbs, one could barely tell who had hit whom, and where.

In the end, it had taken only a single quick cut of a razor to drop the man’s purse from where it hang. Too easy, Fii smirked unwittingly, as he eked his way out of the crowd and into the tavern.

[Sage]

The bookstore was a precious find, tucked away in some alley as though it was meant to be hidden, and it wasn’t just a normal bookstore either, it was a magical bookstore. Sage had to withhold an un-manly squeal of delight as he cast his eyes over the titles of the books. “The art of Magic” he had read back home, “Pyromancy for beginners” a fire mage amongst a wheat field? Yikes! Ancient tomes galore and not a single one within his price range either. Sage cast an eye towards the shop keeper as though the man could sense how much Sage currently had on him, probably could too, there was a spell for that he could imagine, popular amongst thieves and shopkeepers.

Nah.

“May I help you-huh?! The shopkeeper asked, confused as he looked his way, surprisingly it was a look sage was not unfamiliar with. There had been plenty of times back home when merchants passing through would confuse him for a girl, “It happens” he thought with acceptance, the first time had been horrifying, and the second had been equally jarring.

But he had been mistaken for a girl enough times to no longer be jarred by the apparent confusion it caused.

“A boy” he supplied with an easy smile, and considered the ice broken as it were. “I was wondering what other books you had for beginners” The shop keeper adopted a brief frown upon his wizened face, though it was quickly replaced by the prospect of a potential customer.
“A book on Water manipulation to your right, and wind manipulation further along” he answered without missing a beat, “Thank you” the apparent- boy replied, though the shopkeeper was seemingly rather doubtful about that.
“It happens” he repeated to himself as he turned and traced his finger along the spine of a book called “Light and shadow.” All some kind of elemental manipulation it seemed, perhaps he didn’t have any stock on cantrips and incantations. Gosh he could spend hours here alone if they did.

Still it was a wonderful little treasure trove, he would have to return as soon as possible with the rest of his gold that was within his father’s care, “20 gold Pieces is enough for any book” he had stated before they had even gotten off the ship, and while any book would be hard pressed to cost more than 20 pieces of gold, a magical tome was so much more. Not that he was impatient eit-oh who was he kidding, he was practically slavering all over the tomes.

“I’ll be right back sir” he called to the shopkeeper as he exited the store and back onto the docks. He hadn’t gotten too far from the fox and the Hound Inn, just further down the docks.
He looked up towards the next establishment along “The peaceful promenade, a bit of an oxymoron considering the amount of noise within” he thought bemused and was about to set off back towards his father when he saw two people seemingly collide with one another.

Though Collide wasn’t quite the right word to use, slither seemed accurate enough, even as he saw a glint of metal and the parting of the boys’ purse. Sage continued to look on even as the other broke away and entered the tavern without breaking his stride. Sage continued to Gawk some more.
“A thief, seriously?”

That isn’t right, no one should take something from another, especially in such a, deceitful method. Sage felt his stomach tense at the sheer wrongness at what he had just seen, and was at a loss as to what to do. He had been warned about possible thieves before they had even set off, though he had been more concerned about bandits along the road to Radasanth, and from there pirates along the ocean to Scara Brae.
But here and now, after watching it happen, just in front of him?

Sage acted before he could think it through, moving forwards to open the taverns door before it could fully close and grabbed for the thieves wrist even faster.
“Give it Back!” he cried as sternly as he possibly could, though at that moment his actions had registered in his mind and he had suddenly realised that he was quite possibly in over his head and causing some rather unnecessary trouble.

“oh”

[Vendredi]

Fii heard the yell behind him, but he did not realize that he was the one being yelled until the thin fingers clenched around his wrist. At that moment, the noisy discords of the nearby crowd seemed to have hushed, and curious faces were drawing into a circle around him.

Fii’s first reaction was: Ah, shit.

His second reaction was: How did I get caught?

He pulled his wrist out of the grip, and turned to face his accuser. At the same time, his other hand slipped the tiny purse into the back pocket of a half-drunk man who had the misfortune of passing by at that unfortunate moment.

Pity, Fii thought, as he parted with the coins. Never let it be said that Firelis Tvy’ern was a petty thief. He was a generous one. Removing the evidence of a crime was another part of this trade, as was knowing when to give up. The greedy ones never knew when to give up. That was why the greedy ones rotted in prison.

When Fii had finally turned around, he had both hands held up, and his palms were empty.

“Give what back?” he asked with the easy grin of an untrustworthy man, feigning innocence.

[The Mongrel]

It's not my business. It's not my concern. Young thieves get caught sometimes, it's how they learn they need to improve. I'm just in here to drink.

But damn if I don't have a soft spot for little thieves. After all... I was one, once.

I'd also spent half of my life finding promising young criminals that could be taken in and trained up. I'd watched literal generations of them learn, grow, live, and die back at home. I didn't really want to have one mis-timed cut see a child off to the gaol.

I stepped up beside the two males, soft as a shadow. If either of them were adults, it was only just. The pick-pocket was only just learning his trade, and was just smart enough to let his prize go when called on it, like a fox fleeing at a raven's caw so he doesn't run afoul of wolves. The other was shorter, better dressed, better fed. He could almost have been mistaken for a human female at first glance. Almost. He looked more surprised than the boy he'd called out, like a rabbit who had just kicked a mastiff in the face.

Boys, boys.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen? Because you might want to get it resolved before the Watch comes. I hear they're not terribly genial in these parts."

[Sage]

“Give what back?” Sage repeated in disbelief, giving the copper haired boy his best frown, righteous indignation flaring at the sheer dishonesty.

“The Purse you stole the one that is in your, hand?” Sage suddenly found himself lacking for words, the boys hand was empty of the purse he had just witnessed him pilfer. Sage narrowed his eyes, more than suspecting some sort of sleight of hand, but unable to figure out exactly what he had done with the purse.

“I saw you take it, I know you did.” He declared rather heatedly in a hushed whisper. And he had, the Copper hair was rather distinct amongst the dark browns and light blondes hues around them. Hushed whispers began to grow louder and sage glanced back to see several people beginning to stare. Oh- OH dear, Sage reflected that this was probably the single most stupid thing he had ever done, repressing the panic beginning to rise, sage once again made a grab for the boys wrist with a tighter grip than before.

Sucking in a deep breath to calm down and hopefully restore rational thinking over the rising anxiety he was feeling from causing a stir. Sage turned his attention back to the thief taking the moment to really look at him.

“Young, probably as old as I am” and looking far too mischievous for his liking either, he wondered where his parents were, or if he even had them, a street urchin maybe, he appeared a little too tall and lean for that though.
The question remained what had he done with the purse, on moment it had been in his hand, newly pilfered, and the next it was gone, vanished into thin air. Sleight of hand was the obvious answer, but how.

“How did you do that?” Sage asked with a tone of curiosity that he could not keep out, while at the same time he gave the re-acquired wrist an extra squeeze, hoping convey the message that anything but a satisfactory answer would not be tolerated.

Then a new voice spoke up and Sage felt his stomach literally drop and tighten like a noose. Then he turned to the owner of the voice and felt that vice grip on his stomach tighten some more. She looked like war itself, battle hardened and experienced, Sage hadn’t even noticed her approach and neither did he miss the pointed ‘Gentlemen’ it felt utterly bizarre for someone to correctly guess he was a male right off the bat for once.

“Well doesn’t that beat all?” he pondered to himself as he forced himself to again reassess the situation he had thrown himself into.

“No miss. No problem, my …um” friend? No, not good enough.
Thinking quickly he could only think of a single wonderfully terrible idea, his instincts insisted it was not a bright idea, nor a clever one, but it stuck nonetheless.

“My boyfriend!” And under the proverbial gender wagon sage threw the thief.

“My boyfriend, uh took my uh … Favourite ribbon, I use too tie my hair, he is being very mean!” And thus sage had cemented the single most stupid thing he had ever done in the history of, ever. He had once read a similar situation in a book once, though the role his was playing was actually a female in that. But he was often confused for a girl often enough that people around would buy the flimsy excuse right while the woman … well she would see right through it for sure, though she didn’t look the type to press it either, right?

[Vendredi]

Ah, but you can’t prove it.

The thought was petty, but the pettiness made Fii feel vindicated and amused. Fii was the type to take his little pleasures where he could, even against pretty little things like this accuser, and she was a pretty little thing, albeit dressed a little too boyishly.

“Do what?” he repeated, head cocked to one side, continuing his act of innocence even as she gripped his wrist again. He let her. It amused him to.

Around them, the gathering crowd of curious onlookers grew larger. The crowd could soon be large enough to draw the attention of the law keepers, especially since they were standing on the doorsteps of one of the most prominent taverns in the city. Fii thought he could see the bronze tan of their armour out of the corners of his eyes.

Strangely, however, he was not worried. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, missus.”

She had no proof. Therefore, if he pretended ignorance long enough, the problem would go away. That was the way the world worked, even if the City Watch came right now.

“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” came a voice from beside them. It was a woman’s voice.

Fii did not look to the sides. The voice continued to speak, but Fii’s attention were fixated on the last word in that sentence. Gentlemen?

Never let it be said that Firelis Tvy’ern was not quick to learn. Now that his mind was on it, he could see that his accuser might not be a young missus at all. The height was there, but the curves were not. Then there was the set of the shoulders, and the knob on the neck -- Oh, Fii thought. A man.

A man who was soon claiming that Fii was his… boyfriend. Heh. How quaint. This was a first. Oh boy, his family would be horrified if this got back to them, but Fii found it absolutely hilarious.

The grin on Fii’s face grew wider as he listened, and a strange light lit in his eyes. The gauntlet had been thrown, and Fii could not resist the urge to play along. He had always been a mischievous little blight. This seemed too delightful a beartrap to jump over, and so he stepped into it with a cheery grin and eyes wide open.

“Very mean,” Fii nodded in agreement.

Then he moved closer towards the other boy, so close that his lips almost touched the other’s ear. He had to bend down slightly. Imitating the husky whispers of the acting troupes playing romance, he said, “But I can make it up to you, love.”

Something in him giggled like a little girl.

[The Mongrel]

One little rule-abider, so terrified of maybe getting into trouble and making a scene that he was pretending to be involved with a stranger just so another stranger wouldn't scold him. He was also aware enough of just how androgynous he looked to other humans to try and pass himself off as a girl when it suited him. One little rule-breaker, so ready to see how mad the world was that he'd go along with it. He was also aware enough of just how much trouble he could find himself in if he didn't.

Humans are funny little creatures. In a moment, they might decide that one thing is a good idea, however bad it might be. Then they'll go and stick it through to the end. I've seen many marriages happen that way.

I was aware of law enforcement in the room. One highly visible in armor, another drinking just after his shift, still wearing a tabard. A third sat in a dim corner, intent on not being noticed. He was probably only here to monitor dealings between known members of the Scara Scourge and their associates. I was aware of a few young adventurers in the room, all watching the dealing between these two boys and this hooded elf who openly wore a sword. They all wondered if there was a way they could capitalize off of it in either reputation or wealth.

Neither of these groups concerned me.

The Scourge might be small time compared to other organizations known to the world, but they don't like other criminals in their favored dens. Such as the tavern we were all standing in now, these little lying boys and me. Those eyes - the half-elf behind the bar, the smoker by the door who seemed too drunk to notice anything, the muscular human who was purposely losing a card game to some other brand of lowlife - those bothered me.

"Excellent. So you boys go along and have fun on your date, and take care to not get yourselves in trouble." I stepped so they both could see me and offered a stiff, humorless grin.

"The world can be dangerous for the uninitiated."

Silently, I turned, starting from the nearly-lit front of the tavern to a dusky table at the back.

I was only there to drink, after all.

[Sage]

Sage held his breath even as the moment passed, and continued to do so even as the copper haired boy stepped easily into the deception with that mischievous grin. That would have been fine on its own, but then the boy spoke huskily into his ear, causing sage to squirm under the close proximity and the ticklish sensations that ran down his neck. He somehow managed not to squeal in a womanly fashion.

The woman in the hood seemed to turn her attention to something else for a single brief moment, and then she turned back to them, not pushing the situation any more than it needed to and so saved Sage from further embarrassment. Then she gave the most puzzling statement sage had ever heard.

“Dangerous?” Sage balked, what was it in the world that could possibly make it dangerous, the monsters, the People? The Dumb luck it took for a person like him to witness something by chance, to react without thinking. Possible, life was after all in constant flux so friction would be bound to occur every so often. “And that would spiral into this, into making a public spectacle of myself?”

The thought was most unappealing.

Then she was gone, making her way towards the poorly lit side of the tavern. With her hood still up, no less sage observed, wondering if that meant she was some sort of mysterious protagonist. Well either way it would probably be best if he and the copper haired boy vacated the entrance to the tavern.

“Oh, sorry” he said out loud to a patron as he squeezed by, he didn’t think he could possibly get any more embarrassed not even with his so called fake ‘boyfreind’ draped all over him. Oh he was never going to live that one down if either of his sisters found out, no he affirmed to himself, what happens in Scara Brae, stays in Scara Brae. Still he flushed with embarrassment, looking back towards the thief who appeared far to amused for his own liking, he wanted to throttle him but he was far too thankful at that moment to really give it a go.

“Thank you” he said in earnest, and then proceeded to elbow the boy in his side.

“But if you really want to make it up to me, love." he hissed "Then you will give back that ‘ribbon’ so I can … huh, oh where did he go?” he trailed off silently when he saw that the owner of the purse the thief had purloined from was no longer anywhere to be seen.Was he to the Left? No nothing. To the right maybe, not there either, had the boy even stopped, Had he not even noticed he had just been robbed? Sage could only stare at the crowd for just a moment more.

Gone

“Fine, I give up, I don’t care anymore” he groused dejectedly

[Vendredi]

Fii pulled his wrist away for the second time today, and massaged it with his other hand. Well then. The response he had received was a little less exciting than he had hoped for. He was hoping for something a little more explosive. The scene just now was practically demure.

Well then. He had his fun, but lost the coins. All in all, it was not a terrible day.

Outside, the crowd had started to scatter. The show was over, and it was clear that there would be no bloody conflict coming soon. Most people lose interest if there was no blood. Most crowds were composed of sharp-nosed bloodhounds after their pound of flesh.

Although… Who was the woman who had just spoke? Fii stared at her retreating back. He did not catch all her features earlier, and had been too intent on performing well for that little show. Now that the show was over, he was curious. There was something about her that sparked the memory of a recent rumour…

Curious.

“Make it up to you later, lover.” he said with a shrug and that same easy grin. Then he turned his back and stalked into the tavern, following the woman who was just here.

When he got to where she had chosen to sit, he dropped himself onto an opposite bench, and sat down in a boneless sprawl. He was still smiling. The shadows here were dark, and her hood made her seem ominous. Yet, Fii had never been the type to let sleeping dogs lie, and he was young and reckless enough to tickle a sleeping dragon.

“So. What’s underneath that hood, lady?” he asked.

[The Mongrel]

A brash young fox he was; smart enough to drop his mouse before a wolf could get it... not smart enough to not poke at a snake in his path. He was only human, and so very young, but he would not live to be old if that was how he went through life. I'd seen stories like his play off so similarly, so often. A cocksure young human, so certain that death and tragedy were things that only happened to other people, went around, doing what he wanted. He thought he was so smart, so fast, so invulnerable. Then he made one wrong move, couldn't recover, and that was that. Another body at the end of the executioner's noose or floating out to sea with the tide.

Oh, little one. This was not smart.

There were eyes on us, though I doubted he saw them. Too young, this little fox. Too young. He couldn't possibly know that darkness reveals more than it ever could hide.

"If you want to see another day, you'll forget you asked that question and forget to ask it of anyone ever again." My words were soft, carefully articulated to reach his ears and not an inch further. "Do not think me your friend, child, simply because I spared you a scene. But you have a lot to learn if you intend to see next week."

I lifted my mug to my lips, taking a sip of the sour ale. I was sure I'd rather not know what the House put into their brew, because it tasted exactly like the docks smelled. I missed Underwood and its own special brand of rotgut. It wasn't much better, but at least it was my brand of rotgut.

"My face is none of your concern. And aren't you supposed to be making something up to your so-called boyfriend?" My eyes sliced through the darkness of the tavern to the androgynous little man the fox had abandoned. "Calling off the act in front of so many people is highly suspect and callous."

[Sage]

He breathed in deeply, and pressed a hand to his face so that he could peek out between his fingers to see that he was now being mostly ignored. Even the copper haired boy seemed content with his amusement and with one last promise of recompense, turned to wander into the tavern proper.

“Is he getting a drink? I could do with one, though they probably don’t have any Crossroad wine here”

He felt like an idiot how could he have been so stupid, it was one thing to act with a sense of justice to correct a wrong, but it was another to do so unarmed and untrained. He wondered if the Boy had been of a different sort, would he have attacked him as soon as he had grabbed his wrist.

The world can be dangerous for the uninitiated indeed.

If it hadn’t been for the woman in the hood he probably would have handled it, well, a lot better than he did actually. He had frozen because he hadn’t known if he had put his own life in danger, and had become flustered when the proof of the crime was nowhere to be seen. At worst, the watch would have found no proof to his accusation and would have sent him on his way with a warning to not do such a thing again. Instead he had panicked and failed to think it through rationally.

“Another lesson to be had then, Keep calm and don’t panic”

Wondering what the thief was no up to, sage found him across the room, talking with the woman in the hood. “Giving his thanks I suppose or … oh? Ah-ha, my sisters would be so disappointed that I was not able to keep a paramour for more than a minute” he thought with a wry smile. “My poor broken heart”

Curiously he reached for his own purse and its paltry sum of gold, it was still there, and still jingled with its contents, but he could foresee the rest of his stay in Scara Brae was going to be a paranoid one after today. Still, it was more than adequate for a single drink he now thirsted for. Slipping between the patrons as easy enough and no one sought to step in his way, he saw a curious glance or two that came his way but was otherwise content to be mostly ignored. The man behind the bar was a half elf, who was making himself idle by cleaning a mug while he scanned the room. His attention turned to sage as soon as he had seated himself upon the stool

“What will it be?”

“Um, an ale please”

The mug of ale was quickly delivered and sage instantly regretted his choice, “This, This is ale?” By the smell alone he could swear he was back outside. He gave the bartender a polite smile in thanks but by then he was back to being ignored. Sage sighed as he placed a hand against his cheek, feeling relieved now that the farce was over with. A look to his side and he saw a pair of mercenaries, one laughing as the other was telling some mirthful tale about an outhouse. The man behind them was also similarly dressed in rough leather and iron plates though he had kept his cloak on and seemed content to mind his own business.

"Well don’t I just look like a fish out of the water."

The man by the door smoking a pipe was an elderly looking man with one too many empty mugs on his table and appeared rather drunk despite the keen eye he was keeping on the corner of the room. Sage tilted his head and brushed a lock of his hair behind his ear sure he was seeing things correct, even slouched as the man was, his eyes remained focused and alert on the dark little corner of the tavern. “No, not drunk at all, he’s watching something in that corner. Her?”

Sage tilted his head back and payed the oddity no more attention. But the man wasn’t the only one keeping a keen eye on that corner, the man playing a card game was not focused on his game at all. Instead he appeared distracted and kept on diverting his eyes towards the corner of the tavern as well.

The world can be dangerous for the uninitiated.

“Hmm”

Unsure of what to consider he turned back to his ale, wondering if he should even try to stomach such a thing. Feeling brave for just a sip he brought the mug of ale to his lips, and looked up to see the bartender also staring towards the corner as well. “Him too” he silently observed as he gently placed the mug back on the table. He could feel a different sense of unease begin to rise within the pit of his stomach.

“She kept her hood up, despite the fact that we are inside” what was she trying to hide “Her identity?” Her watchers seem to been able to see right through it, “which means they know her and are being weary about her presence here, or they are sizing her up like some kind of prey, maybe even a little of both.” Sage looked towards the corner again, towards the thief. If it was the latter of his suspicions, then the thief had just boldly stepped into a very serious line of fire.

Oh dear.

[Vendredi]

He leaned back against the air and drummed his fingers on the wooden table top. The warning in her voice was clear, and yet at that moment he itched to know, consequences and all be damned. There was an niggling worm in the back of his mind that could not be scratched otherwise, and he was quite willing to bend over backwards to scratch it. When Fii had a target in mind, his focus was absolute.

Some men were drawn to danger the way bears were to honey. Sometimes, Firelis Tvy'ern thought he might be one of them.

He considered her. He considered himself. He considered the likelihood of dying in a tavern full of people. Unlikely. Maybe. Her warning was clear. He was playing with lightning and playing with thorns, playing with danger on tipped toes, and the thought of it made him shiver with exhilaration. Hopefully unlikely.

“I’m not a good boyfriend. I’m more interested in you,” Fii said at last. Then he made a wry face, because that sounded foolish. “Who’re you?”

He licked his lips. He leaned forward. With the feeling that he was about to do something monumentally foolish, he lifted his hands towards her hood.

[The Mongrel]

When the kid leaned forward, I palmed the knives at my hips. Rethink it, kid.

He didn't.

When he reached forward, I moved, grabbing hold of his thumbs with serpentine speed and twisting his arms. The edges of my weapons dug into the skin of his imprisoned digits, a warning before the cut.

"Do you want to see my face badly enough to lose these, child? Because that's the next step. Make your choice, and make it wiser."

The card player came over. His "job" at the tavern may well have been "keeper of the peace." We all knew what that meant. Keep certain interests out, keep other interests safe. I wouldn't have expected this little upset to get any official attention... but of course I'd already been pegged, somehow. Did any of these ugly asses look familiar? Had I taken one of their thumbs for encroaching in Corone? If I had, this was going to get ugly.

But it won't get ugly in here.

"There a prob'em here?" the big man mumbled, glaring down at me and the fox with one good eye... and one that was obviously glass. I remembered him. He'd have been better off if I'd caught him straight a few years back; he'd have only hurt for a moment. I wondered how quickly I could get out to Valeena Lake. I had friends of friends out there; it'd be good enough for a night.

"Nothing serious," I answered.

"Good." He leaned down, staring into the depths of my hood. "Because I think you sons of bitches got lost. An' if thar's trouble in here, ain't no friends or gods what'll save you."

Lost and misbegotten, friendless and faithless. Yes, yes, I understand; you've marked me. Bastard.

"Forget it... Blighter." My lips carved the word like a master carpenter shapes furniture. Just to let him know I'd marked him, too. "No trouble here."

The tension held for a long moment, and to prevent the fox from doing anything else stupid, I held onto his thumbs. Finally, the big man stood, giving me one last glare and walking back into the better-lit part of the tavern, where his card game awaited.

I released the redheaded rapscallion and turned to look at him. "Okay, little fox. This is what's going to happen, and if it doesn't happen, you and the little rabbit are going to die, because you've been seen at my table and he's been seen with you. Congratulations, you've shoved your foot into the outhouse hole without even noticing you were in one. You're going to take him to the tavern down the street. The one in good repair, where there are lots of members of the Watch. And you're going to stay there until whoever is responsible for you comes, and if you haven't got someone, you're going to get out of town before last light. If you really don't want to die, you'll be heading out on a boat, instead of further inland. Do you understand?"

[Sage]

He had thought fingers would fly. One moment the thief had reached for the Woman’s hood, and the next she had a knife to his fingers. Sage watched wide eyed, a hand halfway to stifle a scream that hadn’t come, his weight poised to fly off the stool and across the room in an instant. She had stopped, a warning, and was hissing something to the boy clearly unimpressed at his trespass.
Then the card player was up and walking over, but the man by the door had stayed in his place. Sage turned to see what the bartender was doing, and was unnerved to find that he was watching him, their eyes met for but a few moments before sage turned away to face the corner once more.

“That cannot be good”

Sage watched a little longer, unable to put together any kind of coherent thought, just watch and observe as the woman told the card player something, seemingly appeasing him. For the moment at least
“No, nothing is going to happen here, if this was going to turn into a bar room brawl already if it was, this is something else entirely” He was not safe here, that uneasy sickly feeling burbled upwards into his throat, making him forcefully swallow it back down.

“Stay calm and don’t panic, didn’t you just learn that?”

Sage gave his own mug of ale another glance looking at his own distorted reflection in the dim light. Another deep breath later and he felt light, more at ease despite the minor trembling in his hand, good enough he supposed and placed the mug back on the counter and made his way towards the thief.
He felt like everyone in the entire room had their eyes on him, and his steps may as well have been treading over glass. But he didn’t falter, and even managed to keep his pace as natural as he could as he approached the thief from behind. Gently he and placed a hand on his shoulder as he stepped to the thief’s side, and leaned forward to peer at his face.

“Are you ok?”

The woman in the hood looked dead serious, if she was worried about the attention the men were giving her she didn’t show it, more like she was resigned to it. “What kind of life is that, does she live like this all the time?” It was nothing like his, sheltered away from the harshness of the world beyond his own little town.

He really had been blind.

“I’m, so sorry for troubling you” He apologised “I- I’ll make sure he does not disturb you again” He tried to smile, his apology was earnest but he was far too worried about what kind of trouble the woman was in to make it a genuine heartfelt smile.

[Vendredi]

All of a sudden, he was looking at the wood grains on the table top.

Fii groaned when his chin hit the table, and groaned when he was released again. He lifted his shoulders and massaged it gingerly, trying to feel something other than the sore ache that had seared through his muscles and tendons, exacerbated by a drum of adrenaline when she pushed him down. His fingers were tender and felt strangely not his own at the moment, and he was almost surprised that they were still attached.

I’m not dead, some faint part of his mind supplied unhelpfully, with all the tact of a drunken horse. Not maimed, either.

Well then. He hadn’t really lost anything other than his pride, and hadn’t even been bruised much. All in all, it was not a terrible day.

For a moment, he was almost pleased. Then, he was horribly embarrassed by that little display. Especially the bit where she threatened him.

So it was with a little but of sullen defiance that Fii nodded at the woman’s words, and he only nodded because those words and that man from just now hinted at a first whiff of something greater happening here, swirling around them like an unseen fog. Suddenly, danger was no longer a thrilling, forbidden friend. Danger was a dangerous cut throat killer, creeping in the shadows. Despite the fool that he had seemed today, Fii had always been practical when it came to staying alive.

“Alright,” he muttered.

His boyfriend was coming, now. He eyed the other boy. Then, without another word, he grabbed the other boy’s wrists, and began dragging his new companion out the door.

[The Mongrel]

I watched the boys leave. I watched the eyes on them. I felt the eyes on me. Those children were unknown, clumsy. The Scourge would know that if I'd brought little Unfoundlings with me to their island, I hadn't brought anyone important. I doubted they'd be intelligent enough to know I wouldn't bring any of my own little ones out of the safety of our territory to invade an enemy land if they weren't incredibly competent. I doubted they'd be trusting enough. I knew what I'd do to anyone I caught cavorting with a known member of the Scourge if I found them at the docks in Serenti or Radasanth. It wasn't pretty.

I hope the rabbit has some sense, because the fox is woefully lacking.

A minute passed from their departure, then two. The drunkard left. A skinny man walked into the bar, spoke to the tender for a moment, then had a shot and left. I set my mostly full mug on the cracked and grimy table, took out a small container, then removed the green lenses that sat in my eyes to disguise the tell-tale silver. A bit of saltwater followed the contacts, then I sealed the jar. The last thing I wanted was to have shards of glass in my eyes during a fight.

I stood, moving through the noise and crowd like a ghost. The only ones who marked my passing were the two who were interested in seeing me along to the next life, and just as well. I flipped a coin to the bartender on my way out; a bronze piece that I'd scored a trio of marks into the back of. It was an insult, a challenge. I'd stared a would-be goddess in the eyes and ran her through; whatever the Scourge was going to throw, I wanted it focused on me. It's the privilege of children to be stupid. It's the burden of adults to protect them from the worst of their consequences.

If this works, you boys will never know how lucky you are.

The afternoon was waning, turning the sky from blue to peach. People swarmed the streets of Scara City, thick as midges and filthy as swine. I moved through them unhindered; I'd lived in worse for longer than most of the people around me had been alive. A younger, brasher me would have assumed that she was untrackable in the crowd. I knew better. I could feel them tracking me, though I didn't look for them. At least three, moving deftly through their native streets to keep up. Perhaps more.

I walked until the crowds thinned and I passed into a poorer residential neighborhood. Fewer of my enemies would dare show their faces here, at least at the same time, because if they threatened enough of the mostly-innocent populace, there would be repercussions. So they had to deal with me while maintaining their dance with the law. I hoped it would give me enough time to dispatch a few and be on my way.

But it's not staying out of trouble, which was the whole purpose of this trip.

I took a deep breath. I don't like fighting alone against one person, let alone groups. It lets them keep their eyes on me and thus guard themselves against the deadliest of my strikes. But it wasn't like I had much choice; I had no friends on these streets. But at least I could try to stack the deck. That meant the dark, where most or all of them would be less able to see. It also meant I had to be quick.

This isn't going to be fun.

I stepped into a dead-end alley, challenging my pursuers outright. A pair of small, skinny humans jumped down from the shingled roofs to haphazardly stacked crates, then to the ground, which was more covered with litter than a forest floor was with leaves. Heavier treads behind me told me two more had followed me in. The ones I saw were young, hungry, ambitious. But the voice behind me was older, harder.

"You gotta lotta gall c'ming here, Unfounded dog."

"So you decided to see if the bitch had bite?" I reached up slowly, brushing back my hood for the first time since arriving on the backwater island nation. My hand grasped the handle of my sickle-sword, the legendary blade that had replaced my trusty mythril shortsword and killed Pode. What little light kissed the alley floor glinted sharply off the white prevalida; Elendethoa was ready for blood.

"I am lost and misbegotten, friendless, faithless, and forgotten. I am alone and outnumbered, cornered, crowded, and accursed." A grim smile touched my lips, and I slashed the air brutally, skin prickling at the cold, clean note that trailed in its wake. "But still I stand among the living, unbound, unbroken, and unforgiving."

[Sage]

No answer, from either of them. The thief had merely taken a hold of his wrist and led him past the tavern patrons and back outside where he could once again feel the oceans stiff breeze. Sage said nothing as the Taverns door closed behind him, and he didn’t say anything when the thief continued to pull him by his wrist further alone the docks.

“He sure has been grabbed a lot today, hasn’t he?” Sage observed as he looked towards the boys hand around his own wrist. He hadn’t said a word either, instead of the smile sage had not seen him without he appeared rather, sober.

“I’d imagine nearly losing your fingers would cause that”

It was getting close to sundown too. Was it really getting that late already? If he didn’t get back soon his father would start to worry where he was, and then he would begin to worry that his father worried.
But his father was safe, and that woman was not. He didn’t even know her, and she looked quite capable of looking after herself, so why did he fear for her life, fear for fates far worse than death. He found continuing to walk unbearable, so he took the boys hand in his and pulled him to a stop in the middle of the docks.

He frowned when he didn’t know what he wanted to say or do, just the feeling that he had to do something.

“T-there were three men in that tavern, all of them were staring at her” he quietly told the thief, unable to shake the worry from his tone.

“I think they wanted her dead, or worse!”

[Vendredi]

He hadn’t noticed the men in the tavern. He had missed them right up until the moment one had gone up to the table, and even then he had thought there was only one. Not good enough for a thief. A sense of unease was snaking its way through Fii, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the men, or because of her, or if it was for her or for himself.

“I don’t care,” Fii said, petulantly, except maybe he did.

At the very least, he cared about keeping himself alive, and that sense of curiosity that had gotten him into trouble in the first place did not fully die with his pride. It wasn’t clear to Fii if he had a greater chance of staying alive if the men gutted that woman, or if she gutted them instead. She seemed dangerous enough. Better would be if they both gutted each other, so no one would bring up this fiasco ever again.

He bit his lips. He frowned. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. The ocean wind brought the smell of salt and fish. The sun was hurting his eyes. The boy beside him looked too harmless to do anything, really, and it wasn’t as though Fii could do anything, right?

Oh, fuck it.

“Let’s go,” he said, throwing caution to the wind. Time to play this by the ear. Motioning for the other boy to follow, Fii took off at a sprint.

[Sage]

He didn’t care

Of cause he wouldn’t, why should he care? The boy was a thief, self-centred individuals who took what they wanted and didn’t care about the repercussions, there was no honour to be had among thieves so why would one care that someone he didn’t even know was in trouble.

To be honest, Sage didn’t feel he had any right to ask him for his help either, they had only just met, and not under good circumstances and it was only due to some hastily regrettable lie that the two had even interacted beyond him catching him stealing from another. But that was fine, he would square he shoulders and move on, say good bye and figure something out, Alert to watch maybe, draw their attention at the right moment. He didn’t know, it was a fleeting idea that was being kept aside for other more ludicrous plans.

But the thief’s demeanour changed like the wind

“He changed his mind?” Sage wondered, and began to smile sincerely for his change of heart. And then watched in surprise as the thief turned was now sprinting away, slipping past the more casual dock workers and other pedestrians content to mind their own business.

Wait, was he supposed to keep up with-

-He took off after the thief, running as fast as fast as he could to try and keep up. His effort to try and catch up was quickly rewarded by nearly running straight into a stranger, though the man did leap out of the way at the last moment allowing sage to keep up unhindered save for a stream of curses that followed.

“Sorry” he called back.

Unable to catch up to the boy, he began to focus on just keeping up and following the path the boy seemed able to carve through the crowds. He would weave left when the boy in front of him would weave left, slip around another when they crossed his path just to keep that patch of copper hair within his line of sight.

He thought to call out to him to slow down, even as he had to dodge to the left instead of the right, losing his line of sight for a brief second. The pace seemed to be fine however, though he was sure he had nearly run straight into twice as many people than the boy did. “Where are we going anyway?” back to the tavern, or somewhere else? Scara Brae may as well have been a labyrinth to him save for the docks. He just hoped that his companion knew where they were going!

[Vendredi]

He sprinted like the wind, legs whipping across the land with ferocious power. He dove through little-known alleys and curved around the main roads full of people. He did not look back to see if his companion would follow. Before long, they were back outside the tavern. There, hands on his knees, Fii paused and wheezed to catch his breath.

Moments later, he peeked in the front door. No one here. The woman and that man who had interrupted so graciously just now were both gone. Dead end.

Fii, however, was not the type to give up so easily. Without another word, he took off again, this time going deeper into the city, into the shadows, into the dark places where good men feared to tread. Did he knew where he was going? No, not entirely. But Fii knew enough of the shape of the city, and he had some friends on the streets. There was always a sense of camaraderie amongst the poor and the struggling, and no one paid attention to the beggars and the thieves. You saw things, sometimes, when you’re one of the silent and ignored ones.

The sun was setting, and an orange hue was coloring the streets. Fii ran on, occasionally pausing to murmur at a whore or a beggar that he was friendly with, dropping a copper coin or two as he did. That way, they sometimes said. I don’t know, they said at other times.

In the end, Fii wasn’t sure if it was because of the directions they’ve received (or not received), or just pure dumb luck that they found the dead-end alley in the middle of nowhere. His heartbeat was loud enough to echo at that point, and his limbs were sore with tension. He was ready to drop where he stood, and then he looked up and saw --

Oh.

[The Mongrel]

I was surrounded in that narrow, cluttered alley. Two knife-wielding urchins stood to the front of me, both young enough to still believe in their own invincibility. A brass knuckler behind me, big enough to think he could crush me with one mighty blow. And finally, a swordsman at the mouth of the alley, old enough to know that death comes to everyone. Sheer brick walls to either side. I wasn't terribly pleased with my situation; if I'm in an unfair fight, I prefer the odds stacked in my favor. Who doesn't, right?

They had the advantage of territory and thought they had the advantage of numbers. I was quicker, more agile, and only really worried about the final swordsman. There were enough of the others that I could be unpredictable, I could be Qulgurtha, the Wind of Death. That didn't mean this would be a pretty fight.

One of the knifers made a move, more an eager twitch than an actual attack. It was a mistake.

I bounded up the wall, gripping briefly with my boots and one hand, crashing into the debris behind the scraggly youth. Before he could turn, I pulled a dagger from my belt and jabbed it into his neck. A vicious spurt of red erupted as he went down, painting my face and the wall across. Typical human; he couldn't even die neatly.

Terror blossomed on his companion’s face; he was realizing the depth of mortality with twice the impact of his foolish twin. His clumsy human feet scrambled - for me, away. To retaliate or to run? The knuckler didn’t hesitate, barreling toward me with all the speed and power he could muster, great arms swinging like a boar’s head.

Too slow.

I dropped to a crouch amidst the fetid rubbish, launching myself into the air when the big brute reached three strides of me. I flew, spinning over his head and bringing Elendethoa down in a brutal hack. The curved edge hacked remorselessly through skin, muscle, and spine, dropping the knuckler into a heap that wheezed once, hollowly, and didn’t inhale.

I didn’t pay attention to him; he was just another piece of refuse in the filthy alley.

“Move, yurr asshole! Take ‘er dahn!”

The knifer, motivated by his superior’s shout, lurched forward. His poor face was pale and clammy, his skin taut with terror. Two of his fellows were dead in less than five seconds, and he’d only begun to process that. His fear made him clumsy and foolish. All I had to do was bat his puny stiletto aside and drive the same dagger that had killed his brother into his belly. It worked almost as well as I’d hoped; agony burned across my cheek as he brought his weapon back around for an otherwise futile swipe.

And then there was one.

I turned to the swordman, dripping blood from weapons and clothing. He regarded me impassively, my stance, my slick red dagger, the legendary weapon that was equal parts sword and axe. Then he leveled his sword at me.

“Yurr furr the slow ones, the ones who can’t read a fight. Not furr any who knows his way around a weapon, I’d bet.”

“You have bet. Everything you carry, everything they carry, you’ve bet.”

He closed, stabbing expertly at me with his steel longsword, forcing me to dodge or parry while I learned to read him, while he tried to learn to read me. He was strong, he was canny, he knew how a swordfight worked. Our swords clashed and clanged, sending tinny, inelegant notes echoing through the street.

I made my swings purposely wide, let myself slip and scramble in some foul-smelling liquid - likely the last excretion of the knuckler - let him corner me. When he raised his sword for the final blow, I let him see fear.

Then I stabbed my khopesh up, through his broad jaw and into his brain. Too easy. If they’d wanted to kill an elf, the Scourge should have sent elves, not the short-lived, stunted-eared, inobservant excuses for sapient beings that called themselves human.

I struggled to dislodge my sword from its victim, gave my blades a quick wipe on the swordsman’s filthy shirt, then picked up anything I thought might be valuable - some coin, a map. Then I left the alley, reaching up for my hood.

Pounding footsteps caught my attention, and a pair of human boys - the fox and the rabbit - reached the place where my battleground and the open street met. I looked at them, out of breath and covered in sweat. Then I looked behind them, to what had followed behind.

“I gave you boys instructions. You should have listened. Good luck.” With that I turned and walked away. Boys their age who don’t listen to wisdom deserve to experience the consequences of their actions.

[Sage]

The boy lead him back to the tavern, around the corner and down a side street, stopping for only moments to ask a beggar if he had seen someone who fit the woman’s description. The conversation was brief, knowledge traded for a single coin for thanks and then they were running off at a sprint again.

Sage didn’t need to ask what it could accomplish, Scara Brae had a thousand eyes and ears, ask the right person if they had seen someone and you would come across someone who had. But did they really have enough time to ask over a thousand people if they had seen a woman wearing a cloak? Did they have enough time to ask over a thousand people if they had seen the woman they were looking for?
The constant sprinting was also taking its toll too, his body demanded oxygen, and sucking in as much of Scara brae’s air wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience either. The boy came to a stop once again and took off mere moments later, weaving through the crowd while he followed.

It soon all came to a stop, the boy panting for breath and sage was equally exhausted. He hadn’t run quite like that before, never had too, it was just a feat in and of itself that he had not only managed to keep up with the boy, but was able to run as long as he had.

His heart was racing in his chest, his lungs burning with the need for air and his body still shaking with the adrenalin. He was quite proud of himself by keeping up with the boy; there had been a real fear that he would have simply lost him within the crowd, and then what would he have done then? Without the thief he wouldn’t have known where to start looking, would have gotten himself lost and never would have found the woman to see if she was ok. Ok granted, without the thief he never would have met the woman at all and would have continued on his merry way blissfully ignorant.
Then he looked up towards the approaching footsteps, it was her! She was ok; she was covered in- oh. Sage froze, and looked further into the alley behind the woman were the remains of a major disagreement that lay very, very still.

“They’re dead”

…

The woman looked like war, even with the eyes of predators upon her she had walked away without even a scratch. She had not needed their help, never did, and when push comes to shove sage was starting to doubt that they could have even given the woman any kind of aid, more like they would have severely hindered the woman.

“I gave you boys instructions. You should have listened. Good luck.” She told them coldly while only slightly out of breath.

Instructions?

Goodluck?

Had he missed something? Because he was feeling like he had missed something really important. Doubt began to gnaw on his heels and his good intentions stuttered for just a moment as he focused solely on the woman, ignoring the pile of … in the alley for his own sanity for just a moment.

“I’m sorry, this is my entire fault, but I couldn’t leave you alone without knowing you were going to be …” Sage stalled when the woman just turned and walked away, leaving him mid-sentence and gasping for air.

“…Safe” he finished his sentence quietly, still breathing in deeply after sprinting all around the docks like a pair of madmen for nothing it would seem. The woman was safe she had dealt with the danger that had loomed around her alone.

“She looked like war and I was worried about her” it sounded ironic he noted dismally, but that hadn’t stopped him from just wanting to just want to help. He sighed and fell backwards against the wall, brushing his long hair back behind his shoulder as he did.

Today was, well, he would be glad to see the entire week through, go home back to the vineyard, and never go anywhere ever again. No need to worry about strangers, no need to react out to some sense of justice, and definitely no strange thief’s he could declare his boyfriend. No, today would be buried within the furthest recesses of his mind, probably in that blank area that should have been his earliest childhood.

He didn’t pay any attention to the sound of footsteps approaching, at least not until they stopped and a gruff voice called out

“Well boys, what do we ave ere?”

Sage, very wearily looked up, four men, scruffy, dirty and very much armed, while the fifth one over to the side looked almost like. Sage chocked, “The one that was by the door!”

“Oh no, no, no, no, nononononono” Sage quietly whispered, feeling like a nose had just been wrapped around his neck.

[Vendredi]

Oh, Fii thought, almost mildly.

Oh encapsulated nearly half a dozen thoughts, including her back looks bloody and fuck, dead bodies and the hell did I come for, along with Gods save me and shit, I’m tired, but mostly shit, I’m tired.

And he bloody well was. The woman had turned and walked out of the alley, leaving the boys with a string of corpses to deal with, and Fii did not want to be here when someone chanced upon these bodies. He had no interest in being mistaken for a murderer.

Then, of course, people chanced upon them. Given his luck, Fii could not even be surprised.

There were five of them. Armed. The friendliest-looking of the five looked as friendly as a mad dog in the dark. Oh. Fii thought, and groaned out loud.

He had no interest in being mistaken for a murderer, but he had even less interest in joining the corpses. The five men were blocking the alley’s exit. One had drawn a knife. Was this a simple case of mugging? Or was it something else? Why had none of them reacted to the bodies deep in the alley…?

Fii backed away, moving towards the wall and the shadows it offered, cursing himself for being a fool the whole way through. He should make a run for it. He would make a run for it if there as an opening. Maybe if he stayed still enough, no one would notice him..

[The Mongrel]

Instead of fleeing the scene, I walked into the next alley over and clambered up the rough brick wall. Fifty feet away from the fight and thirty feet above it, I was well out of combat. I could check my own status and serve as final witness to the little fools who had followed me against my explicit instructions.

If they'd simply listened, simply obeyed, they would be enjoying food or drink and - importantly - safety. It was a gift I had tried to give them, a gift they had spurned. Instead, they had followed that so-human need to seek out the forbidden.

I pulled out a small mirror to examine the only real injury I'd suffered in the fight against four. It was still trickling blood; I could feel warm rivulets running from the corner of my nose all the way across my cheek to my hairline. The entire right side of my face felt like it was rolling in thorns at every dainty sea breeze. I could taste copper and salt on my tongue from both that gash and the first, messy kill.

I'd need stitches, I'd need to wash. Both would easily be obtained in Valeena Lake. The road to the town was half a day's walk for a normal person, which meant I could be there in an hour. The sun had only just set; Vim's kids would be in bed and I could explain my situation without fear.

I turned my eyes back to the fight between the Scourge rats and the children who had followed me. The ignoble fox cowered in a hole, hoping he could just keep his head down long enough to survive. The high-strung rabbit was panicking.

Poor kids. You really should have listened to me.

[Sage]

Every step forward the men took was matched by an equal step backwards. But the alley was a dead end and littered with fresh corpses, one more step back and he placed the heel of his boot in something decisively wet. One of them men chuckled at his brief expression of panic, but ultimately the fresh cadavers were perhaps the least of his worries at this time, a fleeting glance look towards the thief slinking closer to the shadows told him he was on his own, and the first chance he got he would flee like any sane person would.

“So where is the elf, Girly?” The fifth man asked, the drunken visage he had within the tavern was replaced with an aloof stare, clearly he didn’t think sage and the boy were any kind of threat and four armed thugs was clearly overkill. Thoughts and plans raced through his mind, each one examined adjusted and tweaked within seconds before being discarded for a potential new angle on how to approach the situation. Sadly, his top plan at the moment consisted of charging, grabbing a weapon that littered the floor and fighting them off by tearing ligaments and breaking limbs. An impossible feat as he had neither to skill or the strength to carry out such a plan, and he didn’t think they would be courteous enough to allow him to pick them off one by one.

So he focused on another avenue that had opened to him.

“Elf?” Sage repeated needlessly, he didn’t know any elves, not any local ones at least, so who was the …

“Wait, do you mean the woman in the hood?”

“Yes, the woman in the hood, where is she?” The leader grumbled, giving him a flat glare. Sage took a glance towards the pool of blood by his heel and the walls that surrounded him. “Stay calm, let’s see how much they like to talk” Sage breathed through his nose, ignoring the ripe smell around them and stood up a little straighter.

“I think you just missed her” he answered honestly, eyeing one of the bodies still twitching.

“I can’t say that I knew she was an elf however”

“Didn’t you now” The man gave a disgusted snort of contempt; leisurely he unsheathed the dagger at his belt and gently running a gloved finger along its length, his brows falling into a frown.

“She just killed four of our men, on our turf no less, so the question is, how much do you know?”

“Less than you it would appear” Sage quietly admitted. Perhaps now he would actually take up his father’s offer to show him how to use a dagger instead of putting it off in favour for the next chapter in a murder mystery. “I need to be able to live through this first”

The man gave a swift not his direction, and the tall lanky man on the left began to move towards him clambering over the body of a fallen comrade as he did, Sage looked for the thief from where he had last seen him, but couldn’t catch any sight of him before the thug was almost on top of him with a hand reaching for the collar of his tunic.

Fight or flight?

He was going to let them take him, he couldn’t fight his way out, he couldn’t talk his way out and he couldn’t run either. It would be less painful this way right? But at the moment where those fingers were wrapping around his collar, he felt cold, a freezing biting chill emanating from the man’s skin like the presence of death itself.

“No!”

He batted the intruding arm away with the back of his hand, and ducked under the outstretched arm and shaved the lanky man with all of his might. Unbalanced and unprepared for the amount of strength sage could actually put behind actually pushing someone, the man stumbled backwards, and then tripped over the fallen body he had just stepped over and fell backwards onto the cold hard floor with a sickening crack.

“Gail!”

“Fucking little Bitch!”

The man he had pushed didn’t move, didn’t groan, he just lay there still and silent, no different from the others currently collapsed in the alley.

"What did I …Did I just kill?"

“Oh gods… I’m sorry, I am so, so sorry. I didn’t mean”

“Sorry ain’t good enough you little bitch!” The leader spat out in anger, gripping the dagger in his hand even more tightly

“He ok?” he ordered one of the others to check.

“He’s breathin but he ain’t movin boss”

The leader just paused at that moment, turning his eyes to the man on the floor and then to the rest of the dead by sages Feet. His free hand clenched and unclenched and his face began to distort into a grotesque sneer as he turned his attention back to sage.

“Were going to gut you, you know what that right? we are going to fucking spill all of your guts all across the fucking alley, were going to cut off all your fingers and all your fucking toes, and were going to make you eat them along with your own fucking teeth!” the leader roared.

Sage physically recoiled at the threat, no, at the promise that the leader had just declared, it sent a chill down his spine and bile in his stomach to rise. He gritted his teeth, swallowing hard to keep it down and focused, thinking so hard, each plan, each idea discarded every time he looked up into the mad eyes of their leader, the hulking muscles on the man on the right, “I don’t know”

“Stay away from me!” Sage ordered stepping backwards to increase the distance.

“Or what, the only reason your even in one piece right now is because I need you to be able to fucking talk!”

“But you don’t need your fingers to talk now do ya?” he crowed, pointing his knife towards Sage.

They took another step forward.

Sage took another step back, frightened and scared and feeling utterly lost and alone. This wasn’t how he expected his first day in Scara brae to be, he just wanted a book, and then to help out a stranger who he had thought needed it, not to cause any trouble, nothing like this.

[Vendredi]

It hadn’t been a bad day until bare moments ago, when all of a sudden it became a terrible day.

Let him deal with them, Fii thought, almost savagely, as he eyed the situation for the slightest opening. The shadows covered him, where he was unseen, and the attention of the men were drawn entirely towards the other boy. Good. That meant he was safe for the moment. That meant he could observe. That meant he had the freedom to wait before he acted.

Fii planned on high-tailing out of here, consequences be damned.

But the alley was blocked tight, and the four men remaining were advancing upon his companion. I don’t even know his name. The wall against his back felt jagged and rough, and the stone was cold even through the fabric of his shirt. For a moment there, Fii wasn’t sure if he was at fault for causing all of this, or if the other boy was the one who had dragged him into this whole mess.

If the men continued advancing deeper into the alley, even the shadows would not be able to protect him. Fii knew this. They would chance upon him eventually, by luck if nothing else. The dread of that certainty sent a shiver down his spine, and his fingers twitched for the hilts of his daggers. Yet, he did not move, for if he did, they might be able catch a glimpse of the metal.

Four left standing. Fii didn’t like the odds. He really didn’t. His companion could take another one down -- and then what? That still left three. Fii could wait for them to take his companion down, but then what? Hope that they forgot about him?

If he was lucky, going by the way they were ganging up on his companion, maybe they already did. Yet, somehow, Fii doubted it..

They were advancing closer now. Deeper into the alley, and the last of them stood almost in line with Fii, so close that Fii could almost hear the other man breathing. Fii held his own breath. His fingers itched. His back was cold and rough. He could hear the drumbeats of his own heart and feel the heat of the thugs’ flesh. His eyes were wide open. I can run now, he thought. He could run and pray that they would not react fast enough to follow--

Fuck. Except he did not. In one swift motion, his hands drew the daggers hidden in his sleeves. Metal gleamed. Without hesitation, and almost without thought, he plunged one deep into the sides of the man closest to him.

[The Mongrel]

Those boys were going to die. They were young, clumsy, and foolish. Against superior numbers who were better armed and more experienced, who weren't panicked and disorganized, there was only one outcome. But it wasn't my problem.

You're watching a couple of innocent idiots get slaughtered by your enemies of half a century, and it's not your problem.

It really isn't. I told them to get to safety.

You told the fox. He's obviously the less sensible of the two.

I am not certain of that. The rabbit admitted to having the idea to follow.

Come on. You've already killed four today. What's a few more?

It's not my problem.

So it's theirs? They're only in trouble because of you, you know. And how are they supposed to learn anything if they die. Kill your enemies, or watch children die. Those are your choices. Because you didn't walk away.

I sighed. That voice in my head wouldn't shut up if I didn't do something. Those boys had earned the fatal lesson, but if they didn't survive it, they wouldn't take anything from it. They would just be dead; two more corpses in the pile. Between the two of them, they might manage to kill one, but it was only one.

Fine. Because they're too young to find their own asses with both hands yet. But don't expect me to hold the hands of stupid human children if they aren't my stupid human children ever again.

I give my Unfoundlings way too much leniency.

Reluctantly, I unslung my bow and pulled a few arrows from my hip quiver. Let me say now, not all stereotypes are accurate. For instance, a dwarf is actually less likely to be an alcoholic than a human is. An orc can be incredibly intelligent, if given enough time to think. Graceful humans do exist.

But if you find yourself in the aim of an elven archer, your best bet is to find a place to hide and pray they didn't find it first.

My bow creaked softly at the end of my pull. The string bit into the callouses in my fingers. The arrow trembled, eager to fly. My targets all glowed in the darkness, yellow-ish orange with exertion, while they boys were whitish-yellow with fear. The one on the fox was just about to plunge a dagger into him, the ones on the rabbit were circling around.

The arrow sang, hit with a satisfying thud, and then there was the soft crumple of a body that knew when to quit. Perfect shot.

The battle stopped, but I didn't. Another dropped, shot through the lung, before the two remaining figured out they were under attack. The faux-drunk from the tavern started to scramble, barking an order to his remaining subordinate, but I put an arrow through that one's skull, and he toppled. The man from the tavern hadn't yet made it out of the alley, so I shot the unconscious one for good measure.

When the leader made it into the open night air, I let loose another arrow, purposely shooting my target through the calf. He screamed, spinning around to land belly up, brown eyes probing the sky. I walked up to where he could see me, fitting a final arrow to my bowstring. His temperature spiked - he now knew the mortal fear he'd put those boys through.

And then goose feathers rested in his right eye socket.

Nine lives. I'd taken nine lives that day. Scourge lives weren't worth anything more than roach lives, but still. What a mess.

The two boys were looking up at me, jaws slack.

"They were breathing too loud," I grumbled. "Go home."

With that, I walked away. Hopefully the boys would learn better for next time, because the world will rarely be kind enough to send someone to protect them. Especially not with them on the cusp of adulthood.

[Sage]

Being surrounded by men who wanted to parade his guts around an alley was enough to make sage freeze in fright, to lock every single muscle like a deer staring down a predator. He had already dealt with his own fight or flight instinct that still screamed at him to move.

He looked up towards the thugs surrounding him, towards the leader who was furious, and towards the shadow that was now moving with such crystal clear clarity. The thief was melting from the shadow a dagger in hand, too close for the fourth thug to react, too fast for him to see anything before it was too late. His cream of pain made the others turn towards him as the thief’s dagger slid deeper into his side. And in that single moment of distraction, when their murderous glares were no longer upon him, the fear disappeared, and everything just seemed to just flow.

He didn’t think as he ducked down, scooping up a dagger resting in the pool of blood at his feet, all he knew was that these men wanted to take his life, steal it away from him because he talked to the wrong person. he was not about to let that happen, he couldn’t, he would fight and he would struggle, but he was no longer going to just stand there and cower in fear. He steeled himself, ready to charge the closest with the dagger in his hand.
Then the Arrows rained down.

They hit flesh with a solid “Thunk” and the men just began to drop with an arrows shaft buried within them. One two, four down, including the one he had managed to knock unconscious. It was her, the woman in the hood, the elf, she stood with an arrow knocked for just a moment to allow him to see where she had been and released the arrow, killing the leader of the thugs.

“You came back?” Sage said wholly bewildered that she was there; he had thought she had left, that she was long gone by now, how, why, the only reason Sage could think of why she would even still be here was if…
Her comment that they were breathing to loud for her taste very nearly threw sage into hysterics, both because it sounded so absurd that she was, in some way trying to say that she didn’t care about them, and because there was a sense of giddiness that came he felt when the sudden pressure bearing down on him had just vanished and he could just breathe easy again.

“You came back” he repeated as she left again for what he was sure was for real this time, he couldn’t help but chuckle as he stood back up. Then he looked down to the dagger he had taken off the floor, it was just a simple iron dagger, nothing special, though the handle was wet with the blood it had been laying in staining his palm and fingers red. The sight of the blood on his hands shattered the clarity he had found, the mirth he had enjoyed at that one moment was flooded by the same wave of emotion that had all but paralyzed him moments ago.

He was about to die, he probably should have died, spared only by the good grace of a stranger whose name he didn’t know. Would this happen again, could it, yes, yes it could, the world was dangerous, he inherently knew that, he had always known it, after all he had been lost once, alone, with no memory of who he was or where he came from, it wasn’t until his father found that he.

His father?

It was way past sundown, the last glimmer of light quickly fading to darker blue hues in the sky and the shine of the stars not quite visible. It was long past due getting back before sundown, he ran his hand down the length of his hair as he shifted from one foot to the other, while the thought of his father angry wasn’t an appealing prospect, it was still a far cry from what he had felt just moments ago.

He turned to the thief, and moved to say something but paused unsure of what to say. They weren’t friends, just another kid like him who got caught up in someone else’s problems.

“I… I better go. Um, I think it would be for the best if we just left”

“You know, in case more people come looking and, um, stuff…” He added lamely though too emotionally taxed to really care all that much. It was best to get away, before they find themselves trapped into another corner again, maybe get on the next ship back home to Corone, back to Crossroads.

[Vendredi]

He watched her back for the second time that day, dagger slack in his hands, blood dripping from his fingertips. He was half-bathed in shadows and breathing heavily, whether from adrenaline or nerves he could not tell. The action had happened in the span of what felt like a second. Before he could react, all the men were down.

Oh.

This time oh meant oh, you’re dangerous. It meant oh, you’re merciless. It meant oh, you helped us.

He wanted to speak something profound, but words were stuck in his throat like ants in an abyss. Instead, he watched her back, her fingers, her bowstring, and the blood beneath her feet. He stared at her with eyes wide open and alert, and watched her leave. Oh.

His breath slowed to a regular beat, and he slid the daggers back into the sheaths in his sleeves. He threw his companion a glance. She was gone now, and her departure signaled something. The atmosphere of danger and peril disappeared, dissipated into an aftermath of cool nothingness with her last footstep. Fii wondered what he had seen here, today. He wondered who he had seen. He knew neither their names, but there was a greater power holding down upon his tongue.

“I’m leaving,” he said, acknowledging his companion’s words. This was not a place to remain for long. This city might not welcome them for much longer, and it would be wise to sidle back into the shadows before another curious pair of unfortunate eyes chanced by.

Without another word, he faded back into the dark, and ran.

[Sage]

Sage watched the boy leave for only a moment before turning his head towards the last place he had seen the woman. He was on his own again, alone in an alley with a bunch of corpses with a dagger in his hand. Leaving was a very good idea.

He considered the dagger he had in his hand, wanting nothing more than to just throw it away in disgust, but again the thoughts of something like this happening again echoed within his mind, and the idea of repeating these events without some kind of defence did not sit well with him. “Time to go” He thought as he hid the dagger within his loose tunic, out of sight and cautiously peeked around the corner to see if anyone was nearby. The last thing he wanted at that moment was for the watch to find him like this.

Coast clear he shifted from the entrance of the alley towards where he had thought the docks would be and rounded the corner to see the thinning crowds up ahead. The sight almost made him whimper for the normalcy that only a crowd of people could bring, normal people just going about their lives, unaware of the ongoing of some shady little alleyway.

Sage shivered, and not due to the cold breeze either. An eager eye tried to catch sight of the woman and the boy one final time, but they were long gone by now. He slipped into the crowd, blending in as he gently wove his way down the road in the general direction of where he thought the Fox and Hounds Inn would be.

Then a hand came upon his shoulder, like a jumpy rabbit sage snapped, spinning around to deflect the hand from his shoulder while the other discreetly reached for the dagger he had only just so recently claimed. Was it one of the other patrons from the bar, the Bartender or someone else he hadn’t seen? Wait, he knew that voice, he knew that face, the swept back brown hair, the short trimmed beard and reading glasses covering a stern gaze. He froze, just as he had deflected his father’s arm from his shoulder

“Hmm, did something happen?

“Father?” Seeing his father, after thinking he would never see him again was more than enough to overwhelm the emotional blocks sage had hastily erected to stay calm, he flung himself forwards, wrapping his arms and began to sob earnestly.

“Sage?” his father asked in concern, having never seen the boy appear quite so distraught, something had happened, he was sure of that, his old mage instincts were kicking in telling him he was missing something. “Something enough to send the boy running all over the docks at any rate” he deduced suddenly glad of the simply tracking spell he had placed on the boy, he had been just on his way to see what he was up to when the boy had started to make his own way back.

Owen Ainsworth sighed and put his hand back on his sons shoulders, the boy would talk when he was in a much more stable mood, if not a more stable environment.

When he was good and ready

---
Spoil: Simple Iron dagger.

[Philomel]

Workshop submission
Name of thread: First Time Along The Promenade (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?30035-First-time-along-the-promenade-Open/page4)

Rewards:

The Mongrel (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?17739-The-Mongrel) receives:
1100 EXP
120 EXP
Spoils: Map approved.

Vendredi receives: (http://www.althanas.com/world/member.php?17657-Vendredi)
1240 EXP
145 GP

Sage receives: (www.althanas.com/world/member.php?18432-Sage)
1040 EXP
120 GP
Spoil: Iron dagger approved

[Lye]

EXP & GP Added!