An Opportune Encounter

[Kade Underbough]

This quest begins right where my history ends, so my profile link is here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=5199).

((closed to Orion. Slight bunnying approved))

Kade dragged himself back home, to the small gang of thieves that had sent him and his brother on such a dangerous mission. In the waking hours of morning, everyone focused groggy eyes on the single thief out of a group of four that had been sent to retrieve the magical medallion. In fact, the only other person fully awake was Jared, one of the most skilled thieves of the troupe, and the one that had kept Kade from charging back into the Radasanthian guards.

The man, nearing his forties, was the closest thing anyone would consider the leader of the small group of approximately twenty men and women. Though the group lost three valuable members, Jared showed little emotion on the subject. He understood that thieves came by the hundreds… no, thousands in Corone, and three imprisoned could be easily replaced. Kade, having lost his entire family because of this small faction, felt differently.

“So Kade, did you come back with the prize?” whispered one thief. Another added, “Do you see his face Miredel? Does it look like he accomplished what he was sent to do, because I don't think it does?”

“Shut the hell up Daron! Yeah I got the "prize" Miredel, but the damn thing is worthless,” Kade fumed and turned toward Jared. “We tried to use the medallion to escape, but I didn’t turn invisible like you said would happen. Nothing happened!” Losing his temper, he tried to throw the piece of jewelry past Jared, down the hill, but the experienced thief pulled it out of the air, a stern face glaring into the youngster.

“You foolish boy. Of course you couldn’t use it. You haven’t been trained.”

“And you have?” Kade spat.

“I will soon. I just need you to accomplish one more task.”

“You expect me to do even more for you? What the hell am I getting out of this! I lost my brother because of your impossible task, and I bet that’s why my parents were imprisoned too! Send another one of your lackeys, cause I’m done with all of you.” Kade stormed past Jared, knowing that had he not been in possession of the medallion that night, the selfish thief would have let him run right into the clutches of Radasanth’s guards.

“Where do you possibly think you can go?” Jared laughed and several thieves joined in. “We raised you, built you into what you are today, and now you plan to forsake everything we have done. If we hadn’t taken you in, you and your brother would have died within a week of your parents capture.”

“Yeah, and I was grateful until today. Now I realize it was for your own profit. From now on, I’ll be working solo.” The boy continued up the hill, back toward Radasanth, refusing to turn his head or slow his pace.

Jared glared at the thankless child and muttered to Daron, “Follow him and make sure he fails on his own. He’s too talented, if inexperienced, for us to give up without a fight and we want him to know that he can’t survive without us.” Turning to the crowd behind him, “Now, who here IS willing to complete the mission…”

[Orion]

The thief stood silently, leaning against a wall just inches away from an open door. He was inside a building of the Radasanth Guard. He came to see if he could recover any valuable items which had been confiscated by the guards. Orion was listening to the conversation between three men on the other side of the wall. From what he had overheard, the man doing most of the talking had just been promoted to the rank of Captain. He had received a new sword from the Commander, which he was showing off to his friends. The man was obviously very proud of his achievement. Orion slowly leaned over, and glanced around the wall to get a better look at the men.

Orion saw the three men gathered around a table. One man placed a light gray colored blade onto the table. It was about the same length as Orion's own sword. The thief raised an eyebrow in admiration of the fine blade. "Damascus," the thief noted. He mused, "A very fine sword, Captain. One I would be very pleased to wield myself." A devious grin spread across the thief's face. He had found the treasure he had come in search of.

Orion moved from the door, quietly making his way to the exit. He reached for the door handle to pull it open, but it burst open accompanied by the booming voice of a huge man clad in a Radasanth Guard uniform. Orion had only a half second or less to react before the guard would. He quickly threw a closed fist into the large man's nose. The guard, completely befuddled, fell back out into the street. The man behind him quickly whipped out a small sword in the defense of his fallen friend. Orion leapt into the air, and in one sweeping motion unsheathed the katana and bore it down with all his weight toward the armed guard. The man threw up his own blade to block Orion's attack, and staggered back as the two steel blades collided.

Orion had no interest in a fight, and knew that he had to leave immediately, and that other guards were surely about to arrive. He saw his opportunity to escape in the man's stumble. He dashed back and ran down the street. He looked back and saw that the two men he had assaulted were accompanied by three more men clad in the same uniform. He shouted back to the men chasing him, "It's been real, Fellas, but now I'll take my leave." The thief smiled widely. He pushed himself to run, sprinting at top speed. His strides increased, and his muscles tensed as he quickly and easily pulled away from the buffoons chasing him. "And I'll be back for that sword later, Captain." He saluted mockingly and continued sprinting away widening the gap between the guards and himself.

[Kade Underbough]

To his relief, Kade found himself inside Radasanth with little difficulty. As it had been dark that previous night, the young thief’s wager that he wouldn’t be recognized was successful. Still angry at Jared’s lack of remorse, a new set of problems joined in with the old. On top of rescuing his brother, Kade was going to have to find somewhere to live. Ramis would most certainly be an outlaw upon his escape, leaving them no choice but to leave the city. Where they would go, he had no idea, and doubted that the older brother would know either. Neither of them had ever ventured out of Radasanth’s sight, and the rest of the world seemed like a stranger’s home, foreign and uninviting.

“Finding a way to get Ramis out of there is my first priority. The rest can wait.”

Kade knew the city fairly well, and headed toward its jail just to get an idea of what he was up against. He could only imagine what was going on at the other side of the city, where the home he had robbed the night before was. Jared was more than likely to have ordered the teenager to kidnap the owner of the medallion, so that he might steal the secrets of how to use it. Now, whoever he sent would most likely find a small army of guards defending the richer district.

Yells and screams from the right. Kade turned only in time to see a young man, barely older than himself, charging straight toward him. With a quick sidestep, he was seemingly out of the man’s way, but as he passed, something smashed into his shin. The fool ran right through Kade’s leg, knocking both to the ground.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Can you not see that there are people on the road?”

That was just enough time for the slower pursuers to catch up to their prey. The pursuers, each with a feather and sword crossed over a scarlet squared background, were obviously a few of Radasanth’s finest, come to take away another petty offender.

“Hey, I recognize that other kid,” one of the guards exclaimed. “He’s the one that escaped from Harlan Sequa’s house last night. Lets grab ‘em both.”

“God damn,” swore Kade, who immediately pushed himself into the air. “I don’t know who you are, but looks like we’re in this together.” Then he ran, urging his new found comrade and mocking the guards in one statement. “Follow me!”

Of all things that Kade could do well, weaving in and out of the city streets was the best thing he could do as a first step to losing the guards.

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Not far off was Daron, watching the idiot kid barely move from his position, getting himself first knocked over and then recognized. I don’t think being put into jail is what Jared had in mind when he said he wanted this kid to fail. Looks like I’m gonna have to help him out… if he can’t do it himself.

[Orion]

Orion charged forward still, and thought it best to round a corner and try to blend in with a group of civilians, or possibly escape into the fortress of a local tavern or bar. The thought that the guards could actually catch him, never crossed the cocky thief's mind. "Pathetic," Orion thought, almost letting out a chuckle, "I wonder if those idiots ever catch people this way." He looked around and saw a bar up ahead that he thought would prove to be a good hideout. "But I better get them off my tail first," Orion figured.

He started to round buildings, run through back alleys, and hop a few fences before turning back to the bar. When the building was again in sight, and he thought he had adequately evaded his followers, Orion began the dash to the bar's door. He glanced back one last time to assure himself he was no longer being tailed. Seeing no one behind him adorned in those tacky, scarlet uniforms, he was satisfied to go enter the bar. He turned back toward the bar, but he had accidentally run up to another man. He tried to dodge quickly to one side to get out of the way, but the boy moved in the same direction. Orion leg collided with the boy's throwing the other man to the ground, and tripping the thief, sending him down as well. Orion could only groan, "Shit." He sat up slowly, trying to regain his breath.

The other young man said something in anger, but Orion did not take in what was said. The guards, having time to catch up, spotted the thief and made their way toward him. One of them recognized the man Orion had ran into, and screamed to take them both. Orion jumped up as did the other boy. "Looks like we're in this together." As the young man's words reached Orion's ears, he immediately thought the statement foolish.

"I guess we're best pals now, since we're both running from the law." He thought, sarcastically.

The young man spoke again, "Follow me." He turned and ran.

Orion dashed after the young man. His first instinct was to run off in a different direction. He figured maybe half of the guards would follow the other boy, increasing his chances of escape. Also, he had no idea if this boy had any idea of where he was going, or if he was just running blindly. "Well," The arrogant thief thought, "He might know something. I should stick with him for the moment, just in case he can be of some use here." Orion caught up to the boy and followed closely behind. He turned and saw that the guards were falling behind slowly. He turned back and said to the boy, "At least you aren't too slow."

[Kade Underbough]

Kade inaudibly laughed at the hooded man as he continued to run the confusing maze route that would quickly get them out of eyesight of their pursuers. “Well, to be in my line of work, you need to be fast. The name’s Kade by the way.” I bet this guy could blow past me though, if he really wanted too.

Keeping the idea that this new companion could ditch him without warning in the back of his head, Kade found himself in another crowded street. A few people stared at the two young men, most likely due to the shrill whistling from guards, now a couple hundred yards away. The young thief wasn’t worried about these civilians however, as only the most pompous people were willing to endanger themselves and go after fugitives without a promised bounty of some sort.

Melting into the crowd, he took a sharp turn into a dark alley with a dead end. Without a moment’s hesitation, he ran right next to the dead end and kicked up the collective dirt and trash, revealing a loose grate leading to the city’s sewers. “It may not be the cleanest place in the world, but if you want to hide out until the coast is clear, there is no better place in Radasanth. Even if they were to find us, there are infinite paths we could take to escape.”

With one last glance to make sure no one else was watching, Kade dropped to the grimy floor below, almost losing his footing. It was dark under the city, but there was just enough light from grates so that a person could navigate if they new the layout of the sewers. The bandit knew there was a dry spot close by, being shown by Jared two years ago.

“We climbed down from between Gal’s butchery and that traveling gear shop, which means the spot is this way…” he mumbled to himself, taking a passage to the right.

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Daron laughed. “Naturally everything he does, he learned from Jared. What a fool to leave.” The man, almost thirty years old, a limp in his left leg, and still half drunk from the night before, still kept up with the collection of thieves and guards, making sure that the latter lost track of the former before entering the sewers from a different area nearby.

I bet he’s heading to the closest safe spot we have set up, if he doesn’t get lost. Making his way straight for the spot, he stopped just out of a torch’s range, leaned against the wall, and prepared himself for another boring day of surveillance. It’s what I’ve always been best at, but I wish I could do some of the fun jobs, like NOT sitting in a mangy sewer all day.

[Orion]

"Well, to be in my line of work, you need to be fast. The name’s Kade by the way.” The boy spoke in response to Orion's remark.

The thief grunted, "Orion." He kept close to the boy, while periodically looking back to make sure they were still in the clear. For the first time, Orion noticed that the boy looked surprisingly much like himself. He was almost the same height as Orion, maybe an inch at most shorter. He had about the same build, and Orion guessed he was the same weight. Both men were tanned and had brown hair, but Orion's was fairly lighter than Kade's. He noticed that the boy carried a longbow made of what looked like yew. He also had a quiver with about fifteen to twenty arrows in it.

The boy led them to a pile of trash and rubble in some alley, and began started kicking it all up. After a moment, a grate came into view, which Kade lifted, exclaiming, "The city sewers." He seemed quite happy with himself, and hopped down into the hole. After scanning the area around him one last time, Orion followed his example and hopped down after him. The sewers were damp and quite devoid of light, save for the recurring grates every twenty or so yards.

Kade mumbled something inaudibly, deciding that the correct path was to their right. Orion could only shrug and follow obediently. This was admittedly his first trip to this morose side of the normally beautiful Radasanth. "So you're a marksman eh? That's a nice little bow you've got yourself there." Orion spoke to Kade, for the first time, as if they were comrades. He looked around. "Yeah, he's right, there are countless turns and possible escapes down here. I should drop down more often, this place could really be useful as a hideout." Orion tailed behind Kade, watching his surrounding and wondering where he was being led.

[Kade Underbough]

“Well I’m a thief by trade, hence the running from guards, but yeah, I’m a marksman too.” Kade felt and spoke with more ease now that he knew they were safe for the moment.

A loud squeak came from below and upon looking down, the boy found his leather boot crushing a rat’s tail. He freed the small creature and turned his attention back to the path. Now that the chase was over, everything seemed to be slowing down. His breaths returned to regular intervals rather than gasps. Muscles relaxed.

He also began to notice other things, such as the sewer water running through his cheap leather boots, chilling and dampening his ill-protected feet. They were good boots for sneaking around though; light and quiet. “Its not like attackers go after your feet in a battle,” Jared once said. The man was brilliant in what he did, but Kade couldn’t work with someone who cared so little for his own comrades.

After only five minutes of traversing the foul place they came across the hideout. It was a bit rundown, but was well lighted from two torches that passing thieves lit whenever they needed a safe place. “Guess someone used this place not too long ago, but I wouldn’t worry. No one gets into another party’s business down here, since we’re all here for pretty much the same reason.”

Against one of the walls and at a slightly elevated area of the sewers was a table with two wooden chairs. The elevation meant they could rest in a dry spot since the sewer water would run down the stone surface, and Kade’s pickled toes rejoiced as he sat down.

Under the torch light he recognized many of the same similarities that the older one had noticed. I bet he’s some sort of bandit too. He’s too small to be a warrior, even with that katana strapped to his back. “So what exactly are you running all over Radasanth for?”

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Daron silently slipped farther into the darkness once the two passed into the safe spot. Watching Kade sit down and start a conversation, he sighed to himself. [I]And now they’re gonna talk for God knows how long.

[Orion]

"Hmmm, so he calls himself a thief also," Orion thought as he conversed with his young traveling mate. Orion kept a lot to himself. He didn't like to broadcast himself, and although he was, for the moment, not opposed to talking to the young man, he was far from trusting him. He considered him more an associate at the time. It wasn't long before the young man had led him to a small hideout, better lit than the murky corridors that led up to it. The place was not much to speak of, only a pair of chairs, sloppily placed beside a table. Two burning torches hung on opposite sides of the room. It wasn’t much, but it would do for the time being, after all they only needed a place to catch their breath and wait until the streets above them cooled down.

Kade took a seat in one of the chairs, and Orion took the other. The younger man began to speak, inquiring about Orion’s purpose for being in Radasanth or something of that nature. He was hardly paying attention, though. He had heard a strange noise coming from a dark corner of the room. It sounded oddly almost like a sigh. He thought, "What the hell was that?" Orion stood quickly and made his way over to the corner. It was rare for the thief to dismiss a suspicion. He turned to grab one of the torches on the wall of the room. He moved it in the direction of the dark corner where he had thought the noise came from. He unsheathed his katana and held it in his right hand, the torch burning in his left. He tossed the torch to the ground into the corner.

Almost simultaneously with the sound of the torch landing, there was a yelping sound, and a man jumped up out of the darkness of the corner. Orion quickly leaped over to the him, slashing quickly with his blade. The man, threw up his arm to block the attack. His wrist caught the serrated edge of the steel. The man’s hand fell to the ground. A piercing scream burst through the air. Remorselessly, Orion held his blade ready for another strike. He was just about to end the man’s life, but the objecting shout of his younger companion steadied his hand. He said that he knew who this man was, and that Orion should not kill him. The man was strewn about the ground, clutching his left arm with his right hand. He whimpered quietly, and was looking up at Orion. The thief was still gripping his blade tightly, pointing it toward the intruder. He spoke bluntly to the stranger. “You should consider yourself lucky.”

Orion backed away from the man, but kept his eyes on him. He was going to let his comrade talk to the man, since he apparently had something to say to him.

[Kade Underbough]

“You know Orion, you can talk a little more if you want. I know we just met and all, but I’m thinking we might help each other.”

As Orion got up, Kade could see that the man wasn’t interested in conversing with strangers, which was understandable. The rushed movement quickly revealed that something was amiss and the seventeen year old stood up slowly. He watched the man grab a torch and throw it into a dark corner, lighting it up instantly. At the same time, someone cried sharply and jumped right in front of Orion. Now Kade saw the familiar face, but it was too late. Orion’s quick reflexes cost Daron his left hand. The injured man collapsed in agony, with Orion towering over him, katana poised for a final blow to end the intruder’s life.

As if acting on cue, Kade yelled, “No! Don’t kill him!” He looked at Daron, pitying the man writhing on the ground in pain. “I’ve known him almost all my life. Let him live.”

Orion added his verbal comment, topping off the display of complete power over the man laying on the ground, before backing off. Daron’s eyes revealed a glimmer of hope as they fell upon the runaway. Suddenly, Kade felt as if he was looking at a young child, not a man significantly older. With a less than perfect leg, and a bloody wrist missing its hand, Daron was as helpless as a baby whimpering for a mother’s attention.

Regardless of the man’s weak state however, Kade knew that this meeting wasn’t an accident, and refused to feel sorry for someone spying on him. “Ok Daron. Now you are going to tell me what you’re doing here, or this guy,” he pointed at Orion, “will finish the job.”

Without hesitation, Daron cried out, “Jared sent me to follow you. He thinks you have potential and wanted me to make sure you came back to us. I was sent to keep you out of trouble and at the same time get you to fail in your endeavors. Please let me live. I helped raise you, remember? You’ve known me since you were a child.”

Kade shrugged. “Just get out of here and tell Jared that I’m not coming back.”

Daron gasped as he got up, and then ran down the nearest tunnel, seemingly forgetting his limp. The man would be next to worthless now, one of Jared’s expendables. “Well, I’m thinking we’ve spent enough time down here.” Kade knew that he would now be viewed as an enemy and competition with his ex-thieves troupe. One could only anger them so much before becoming a target for elimination. “I know you don’t really trust me, since I’m a stranger, wanted by the city’s guards, and followed by a group I used to be a part of, but I would like to work with you, if only for a short while. You see, I need to break my brother out of prison. I’ll help you with anything you want if you help me.”

[Orion]

Orion watched the crippled man rush through the sewer corridor, making more noise than a thief should, and splashing murky water everywhere. He wondered, "How useful could a one-legged bandit be?" He turned back to Kade, thinking, "What type of organization is this that they allow into their ranks young boys and old, crippled men who will reveal their full intentions without the slightest hint of resistance." He let out a small grunt of a laugh. He wondered, "What type of leader do these young boys and men follow? He hasn't trained them mentally very well."

The young man standing opposite him had asked Orion to help break his brother out of prison. "Partners," Orion thought. It had been quite a while since his last partnership. "And he's already got a job lined up; breaking his brother out of prison no less. He did say he would help me with whatever I need. Perhaps I could get my hands on that pretty little sword of the Captain's while we're there." The thief grinned. "It's gonna get a bit sticky trying to break your brother out of prison, but you've got yourself a partner, Partner." Orion extended his arm and shook the young man's hand, formally accepting his proposal.

"You're right, we've spent enough time down here. I'm sure the guards have cooled off a bit. We should be able to move around without any trouble. So, have you thought about how you'd like to go about getting your brother out? I'm usually all for blasting in, swords raised, but I think we'd better have some strategy, seeing as how we're up against a prison full of guards." Orion didn't bother asking what his brother was in prison for, he really didn't care. He was always up for screwing with the law. More than that, though, he actually wanted to help Kade out. After all, he understood what it was like to care for someone. He thought briefly of his late uncle, but shook the thought out of his head before he let it get to him.

"So you gonna tell me what plans you have or not? If you have any, that is." Orion cocked his eyebrow, hoping that the young man had at least thought of something before just then.

[Kade Underbough]

Orion seemed to be in deliberation. He laughed, but in a demeaning way. This guy is pretty cocky. Anyone could tell that he thinks he’s better than me, but he will still be a valuable partner.

After only a few moments, Orion’s mouth split into a grin and he approved of a temporary partnership. Shaking hands, the man asked Kade what the plan was.

“Well, I was actually trying to make a plan when we tripped over each other out there. I was heading over there to see how many guards are on duty at any given time and such, but I do know the layout a bit. The prison is a few stories high, four I think, but my brother won’t be in one of the upper floors. The prisoners are put into one of the four floors according to their crimes, and those imprisoned for thievery are usually on the ground floor. This is all information that I‘ve gathered from the men and women I know who have been caught for petty thefts. They get caught, learn everything they can about the jail, and are released knowing every weakness the building has.”

“I don’t know exactly how many guards there are, but from what I’ve heard, there are the same amount day and night. Maneuvering inside will be tricky, but it will be easier to actually get inside unnoticed at night. Roughly a third of the building is made up of offices containing the files of past and present criminals and petty offenders, studies for higher ranking officers and a few rooms containing bunk beds for the guards to sleep while on break or if they don’t feel like going home. We can get inside from here, going through a side window to an unoccupied room. Then, we will need to make our way to the opposite side of the building, a windowless complex filled with nothing but cell after cell. This means that we will have to make our way back to the office side in order to get out.”

Kade sighed. Repeating all the facts about the prison made him more aware of the fact that he wasn’t ready for something this difficult. Ramis would most likely rot in his cell for having struck that guard to save his younger brother. It was now the younger’s duty to risk everything for the older brother. Anyways, I bet Orion here will attack any guard that might catch us.

Keeping those feelings locked up in his head, he smiled and continued to speak to his future shield. “So, Orion, what do you think? It’s a plan right?”

[Orion]

Orion listened to Kade's description of the prison building, and to his farfetched if not implausible plan. The two men were to sneak up to the prison, sneak into a window, hoping it was one of the empty dormitories that housed the guards, make their way across the entire prison to the other side without being seen, break open a cell, grab one of the prisoners, and get all the way back to the other side and out another window. Orion shifted. His arms were crossed. He stuck his tongue into his cheek, poking it outward as he thought. "I'm not seeing the possibility of me getting that sword out of this. Maybe I shouldn't go. This sounds like a weak plan that is bound to get us both caught." Orion opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped himself. "Why does it have to be his brother...Damn. I do hate it when my conscience starts prodding me."

"I can't think of any other way for this to happen. We'll have to do it as quickly as possible. I've been to the prisons myself, not in jail, just checking it out. There are shift changes at ten every night. We should do it just before the change. The guards will be dead tired from the twelve hour day, and we could probably even get away with making a little noise while breaking the cell open. We have to do it very fast, though. If we get caught up, and the next line of guards arrives...we're done. The guards walk through each of the cell halls and counts off the prisoners at each shift change, once in the morning, and once at night."

"I don't know if you have any ideas about actually getting into the cell. I can't pick a lock very well, and it would take me too long to get it done in time. The only thing I can think of is to pry off the door, which could prove difficult. We would need some metal bar, and we should be able the pry the door off its hinges. Other than that, I think we should be find for everything else."

Orion crossed his arms again. He yawned widely. "It's getting late." He figured it was nearing two in the morning. "We should sleep, and get up tomorrow and get whatever we are going to need. I think we actually might be able to pull this off." Orion looked around the room. "There anywhere to sleep around here?"

[Kade Underbough]

So he’s already useful. I can’t believe I didn’t think about a shift change. Kade nodded. “Ok, so we’ll break in at ten tomorrow night… err, tonight. Wow, we’ve been down here a long time.” Kade looked up at the now lightless grates. Time flew by when in hiding. There was no longer the sound of a bustling, rich city. At night, it became a completely different place to live. Beggars left the matted rags forming their beds, searching the daily garbage for food. Other nightlife roamed the darkened streets as well, most harmless.

Suddenly a faint scream came from the direction of the city dump. Kade shuddered, with an idea of what might have caused it. “I don’t really live inside the city, but I agree we should get some sleep. These sewers are safe in the day, but at night, well that’s a different story.”

The young thief rushed back the way they had came, and he pushed the grate away from the hole climbing back to the alley. Looking out into the street, he saw a beggar dashing away from his possible food source. I bet something attacked one of those poor souls.

Since he had been a child, Kade was told stories by his older instructors about terrible and unnatural things that could happen to the unwary at night. Amongst these were horror stories about vampires that plagued the homeless. The teenager had never seen one of these creatures personally, but he was reminded of their existence every time he heard one of those muffled cries, cut short by an unquenchable, bloodthirsty hunger.

“I say we find an inn and stay for a while.” Kade walked straight to the closest building, with a loosely hanging sign naming the place, blandly, “The Traveler’s Inn.” Inside was a popular design for first floor of normal inns, a bar. A bored barkeep stood behind the counter, scrubbing a mug with a cloth that couldn’t have been dirtier if he had soaked it in oil.

“So, what can I do for you two fellas? It’s a bit late to be wandering around town.”

Kade stepped up to the counter. “Can we have two rooms please?” Turning to Orion, he said, “Don’t worry, the room’s on me. See it as an early thank you.”

The innkeeper/ barkeep continued, uninterested in the side conversation between the two young men. “Its five gold per room, so why don’t you just hand me the ten gold boy, and you two can talk all you want once we’re done with the transaction.”

Kade turned back to the middle-aged, potbellied man. “Ok, ok, just hold on a second,” he fiddled with his pouch of coins, counted out the amount and put the coins on the counter. “There you go.”

“Ok, here are your keys. The numbers on the keys match the numbers to your rooms. Have a pleasant stay and give the keys back once you leave.”

“Yeah, good night to you too.” Kade made his way up the stairs, found his room and went to bed.

[Orion]

"Yeah, tonight just before ten it'll be." Orion repeated Kade's words. He thought, very unenthusiastically, "Well now, we've agreed on a time. How wonderful." A brief and desperate cry broke the silence. Orion didn't think much of it, but by the look which appeared on Kade's face, the sound troubled him greatly. After a moment the younger man suggested going to an inn. Orion nodded in agreement, and the two men quickly left the hideout and ventured back out of the sewers and once again into the dark, quiet streets of the city streets.

Before long they were walking through the door or a nearby inn. Kade exchanged quick words with the owner, who handed them keys to two rooms. Kade offered one of the keys to Orion, which he took gratefully and turned to room number 3, the number which had been marked on the key. Orion quickly slid inside the room and fell onto the bed, falling asleep without much trouble.

Orion woke to an intense beam of light shining through the poorly covered window directly into his face. The thief rolled over, stretched his arms, and yawned. He slid off the side of the bed, feet touching the cold floor. He slipped his shoes on and walked over to and out the door. Locking the door when he left, Orion pocketed his key and made his way downstairs. He pulled out his key and tossed it to the innkeeper, who was gazing at the thief. The man's dirty look was very unbecoming, compared with the usual friendly demeanor of most owners.

Orion squinted as he walked outside into the bright, bustling city. He looked up at the sun. "It's around noon. I've got some time to kill before the job tonight. Let's see if I can find something to pass the time." Orion walked down the stone-paved street and out of sight of the inn.

[Kade Underbough]

The rest of the night went by with no disturbances, allowing Kade to make up for not sleeping the night before. He slept well into the later hours of morning, finally waking up some time early in the afternoon. He lethargically picked up his bow and quiver of arrows from the side of the bed, then tied his leather pouch of coins to his belt before placing it in his pants pocket. He didn’t even need to get dressed as he had collapsed immediately into bed. Splashing his face with some water from a basin placed on the table next to the bed, he left the room and walked downstairs, figuring that Orion would most likely be waiting impatiently in the bar.

With a scan around the room however, Kade found no one but an older man, missing a leg and drinking with a fury. The innkeeper came from behind the bar, serving the drunk, crippled man another pint of cheap ale.

Kade decided to ask about Orion. “Excuse me, but have you seen the man I came here with last night?” The alcoholic turned, stared at Kade, and broke out into laughter. Within seconds, he clumsily slipped out of his chair and rolled on the floor breaking his gleeful amusement only to catch his breath. The innkeeper only scowled at the two customers, one who spent ever day wasting away in the bar and the other blatantly asking about his man friend.

“Yeah, he turned in his key and left about two hours ago. So, you guys have your fun and then go into your separate rooms? I normally don’t care what people do here as long as they pay and don’t break or steal anything, but flaming people like you and that other guy give my place a bad name.”

Kade was dumbfounded. “You think I like men? I mean like, like? Well I don’t know what gave you that impression but, its far from the truth. Me and him are just working together on… something.” The teenager stopped, almost giving himself up just to prove his sexual orientation to this man. “Ok, you can think whatever you want, but did he happen to say where he was going?”

“Nah, he just left. Didn’t say anything at all as a matter of fact. Maybe you should go on and look for him?”

Kade sighed. “Alright, I can take a hint. Here’s your key and I won’t come back to bother you.”

The thief handed the key to its owner, who grunted in approval. He then left the inn, hearing the drunken man’s exuberant laughter even as the door closed behind him. Did he ditch me? Kade knew that his companion wasn’t that attached to the idea of a partnership, but he didn’t think Orion would have left without a word of explanation. I’ll stick to the plan tonight, but until then I guess I’ll just look for him. He could have just gotten bored.

Walking down a random street, he started paying attention to every person in sight. Anytime someone Orion’s size entered the corner of his eye, turned, only to find that it was just another city dweller going about their business. The only times he stopped looking around were when a city guard walked by, which would cause Kade lower his head and merge with the crowd. I might not be at the top of the wanted list, but all I need is for someone to recognize me as a thief and chances are, this time I’ll be caught.

[Kade Underbough]

((Ok, my brother, Orion, isn’t going to finish up this quest, so I’m going to continue on as a solo.))

“He’s gone.” Kade shook his head disappointedly. “And I even paid for his room.” Night was already upon the city, and he had yet to catch even a glimpse of Orion. He had even returned to the inn to see if the deserter had come back there, but the innkeeper’s negative answer was enough to make the young thief understand that not all men in the world operated honorably. He would continue with the plan to rescue his brother as a solo mission. If anything, he might find it easier to sneak around without an extra body tagging along. So, it was with mild remorse for wasted time that he forgot about his temporary companion completely, focused only on the task at hand.

Once he started thinking again about what he was up against, anxiety and nervousness began to creep up his spine. He was about to break into Radasanth’s prison! “I have to do it,” he muttered, fighting those feelings that made him think otherwise.

He made his way to the prison uninterrupted, with hardly any other people on the road. The city was going to sleep. The burglar found his way to the left side of the building, home to the offices and guard’s quarters, climbing through overgrown bushes that leeched off of the wall. He began trying to open the windows, avoiding the few that had an inhabitant, reading or writing documents. He finally reached the last one, but it was locked just like all the rest. He was going to have to try the upper floors to get in, which meant a bit of athleticism.

Studying the side of the wall, he found that there were a few grooves along the wall at a primitive attempt to design the building. He could use them to travel from window to window, if he could only find a way up there. Searching for possible ways, he realized that there was a tree large enough to reach the first three floors. Thank God they never cut down all the trees in this city.

The oak tree was easy to climb, using various branches that easily supported his weight. It seemed that the thought of an intruder never crossed the mind of whoever designed the prison, but instead tried to keep some natural beauty in the bustling city. Now, he was at the top of the tree, looking down at the second and third floor window sills and grooves across the wall. From where he was perched, the distance between the tree and the building seemed to have grown in distance from each other, and it would be impossible for him to reach the third floor. Even the second would be difficult to reach, but he refused to give up hope. Standing against the trunk, he gained as much balance as possible on the shaky branch beneath his feet. Then, without looking down, he charged across the branch and leaped into the air. His body soared for only a few seconds before colliding into the wall, which he barely managed to grab a hold of with one hand. His breath was knocked out, but at the same time he felt rather good about the daring feat he had just accomplished.

Regaining some composure, the young bandit began his quest for an unlocked window once again, but it didn’t last long. The first attempt was a success.

[Kade Underbough]

Kade easily pulled himself inside the prison and closed the window behind him. With a sigh of relief, he looked around at the room, noticing that it was most likely an office.

The place was simple in design. A stubby desk made of fine oak wood, possibly made from the very trees that once lived with those now outside, sat in place against the wall adjacent to the window side. One drawer was cracked open, a loose sheet of paper hanging out. The chair was pushed to the side. It was obvious that whoever owned the desk had left in quite a hurry. A tall, thin bookshelf, the only other piece of furniture, was against the opposite wall. The books were neatly set up, but the teenager didn’t pay much attention to them. He wasn’t interested in literary works.

“What a cramped, little space to work in. I couldn’t live like this.” He shook his head as he imagined a shy, little man, working impeccably on whatever he needed to do, without a moment of excitement the entire day. Thoughts like these were what drove people away from simple, safe jobs. “People need some excitement every now and again.”

Kade’s thoughts of excitement brought his attention back to the task at hand. He looked toward the door, noticing that there was no way to see if anyone would be on the other side. I guess I’ll just have to take it slow and hope for the best. He knew the stupidity of what he was about to do, but turning back was not an option. He would have to take a chance or lose his brother to the prison system.

Resting one hand on the door knob, he took a deep breath and unlocked the door with the other hand. Slowly, he opened the solid door and it moved inwardly without the slightest creak. Poking his head out, he saw absolutely nothing but an empty hallway. “Thank you,” he whispered to no one in particular.

Leaving it unlocked so that he could escape later, he closed the door behind him and crept down the hall. Now that he was inside, he didn’t know exactly where to go. The hall turned right, in the direction of the prison cells, but he needed to get to the ground floor first. He wandered the halls for nearly ten minutes without any problems. He had expected the place to be filled to the rim with bloodthirsty guards just waiting for someone to try something foolish. Now he wondered if the city was just a bit egotistical, thinking that no one would try to break into or out of Radasanth’s prison. His thoughts carried him to a door that cut the hall off. He could only guess that the cells were on the other side.

Once again, he was on the proper side to unlock the door without having to pick any sort of lock. He turned it quietly and slowly, just like the last door.

Unlike the last door, the present one groaned from the slight movement and a voice from inside bellowed through the tiny crack. “Who’s that?”

[Kade Underbough]

Kade closed the door out of reflex, stunned and fearful of that unexpected voice. His momentary pause was enough for the guard on the other side to open the door and see exactly what he was dealing with.

“Intruder!” yelled the guard as he quickly drew his sword.

Kade spun around to escape the way he came, but a tough, calloused hand clasped firmly on his shoulder. With a yelp, he was thrown to the ground, where he remained with a sword pointed directly over his neck. From several now opening doors, more prison employees joined the two, asking the attacking guard for information, even though they knew about the same as him.

“What’s this kid doing in here and how’d he get here?” someone exclaimed amongst the thickening crowd.

“I don’t know who he is, but he’s obviously breaking the law and he’s going to rot in a cell for daring to break in here.” This statement brought the most positive affirmations.

Kade, knowing he was done for, decided to throw caution to the wind. “I’m here for my brother Ramis!”

This just brought out laughter from the guards and one promptly clunked the young thief in the head with the handle of a sword. Kade quickly fell into unconsciousness.

The two brothers would be reunited behind bars.

---------

Ramis had berated Kade endlessly for his foolish catastrophe, reminding him of how he had willingly gotten captured to keep his younger brother free from the law. Every day for two months, he had to relive his failed attempt through his brother’s harsh words.

The constant routine of prison life, consisting primarily of wasting away in their cells, was seemingly coming to an odd end. Civil War in Corone was leaving the Corone Empire strapped for soldiers and the two brothers were amongst the able bodied prisoners being conscripted into the army. While Kade was excited at the idea of leaving his cell behind, it was made perfectly clear that no prisoners would be operating together on any task for the army. No chances could be allowed for the criminals to work together to escape or undermine the empire’s goals. This meant he and Ramis would be parting, for as long as the war would continue, unless they could both escape.

Kade was to be sent to a task force of a few proud soldiers and a stern captain who would make a point to make the criminal soldier wish he could return to his cell. Escape was unlikely.

((Kade gains... imprisonment and conscription into the Corone Empires army!))

[Taskmienster]

An Opportune Encounter: I was asked for minimal commentary, to none at all. Since this is older, I’m going to just make a few small notes. All in all this wasn’t a bad thread, but was just a bit slow till Orion dropped out when I felt it jumped forward at almost double the speed it should have. Other than that, there was a good bit missing in the way of setting (all 5 senses) and the action was somewhat sudden and unrealistic at times on Orion’s part.


Continuity 4

Setting 4.5

Pacing 4.5

Dialogue 5

Action 5

Persona 5

Technique 6

Mechanics 8

Clarity 7

Wild Card 5

Score:

54!

Rewards:

Kade: 525 exp | 165 gold

Orion: 460 exp | 130 gold

[Taskmienster]

Exp and Gp added.