Death, Doom, and Distraction

[Kyon]

The familiar smell was uncomfortably close, the sharp pain in Mikhail's leg had not subsided and he had not eaten in hours. If this man that was following him truly was with Liberatus they would have no trouble killing him. Desperately hoping his last moments weren't upon him he heard a window under him slide open. Here we go, he thought. What happened next he did not expect. A plate of food came up to his side. A small arm accompanying it.

"The food is for you, if you want it. My name is Anarawad Gaelish." he called out, "If you see fit, eat and tell me yours."

Then he heard something else, once again embarrassed that he hadn't picked up the familiar scent.

”So your name is Anarawad Gaelish, nice to know” Christof said levelling his sword at Anarawad, ”shall we have a chat while we wait for whoever your leaving that food there for, I have a few questions to ask you.”

Mikhail perked up. He sat up straight and shoved the raw fish from the plate into his mouth and started chewing through the bone. He then jumped down and through the window. He saw his companion from the Justice Hall with his sword pointed toward the small man they'd ran over at the bar.

“It's the inquisitor!” Mikhail exclaimed happily. “And the little man.” He turned his attention to the one who provided him with his recent nourishment. He bent down and looked the man in the eye with his scariest glance. “Given your hospitality I assume you're not trying to kill me or the fish I just ate was poison. I'd have been dead either way in my state, so I'll take the risk of dying with a full belly. Know this, though, young one: I do not like being followed. I ate the last man that I caught following me.” He quickly shifted his teeth into his bear teeth hoping that there was blood left over enough from the fish to make him look extra hostile. Then he stood back up to his full height and grinned. “Nonetheless, I thank you for the food. I am Mikhail Haugan, pleased to meet you.”

He turned toward the other man in the room. “Put your weapon down, Inquisitor. You have nothing to fear here.” He then turned back, poked out of the window and grabbed the plate he'd left on the roof. He leaned against the windowsill and began eating.

[Anarawad]

He had been threatened twice within seconds. Obviously, the struggle of life his father had spoke of on his death bed was finally upon him. His gaze drifted back and forth between the two strange men shoved into the cramped room. Without knowing why, he smiled at his stress.

"Pleased to meet you, Mikhail Haugan. Actually, I wasn't trying to follow you, at first. I was trying to follow that one." Anarawad pointed to the inquisitor, "See, I'm a fellow gun wielder."

He nodded toward the long black powder gun leaning against the opposite wall. He had removed it in a hurry before he sat on the bed and was accosted by the two. Well, at least they aren't in a hurry to kill me. he thought.

"I wanted to learn more about them, so I was going to talk to you after you came back out of the hall. I'm from a tiny village in Pretana, there aren't many gnomish weapons there. Yet, I got distracted by three battlemages that were coming to arrest you two, or worse. I stalled them as much as I could, and sent two on a wild goose chase to the industrial district. I couldn't hold up the third from the bar. You," Anarawad looked up at Mikhail, "I just happened to be near when you scaled the building. I decided that you seemed like you were in trouble, and came to help. You're a shifter, I'd guess. I've never met one of your kind, ever. All of this was just a coincidence of curiosity. I mean neither of you harm."

He looked at both of them in turn. Mikhail was eating voraciously as though he never had eaten in his entire life. The inquisitor seemed more alert. If he was the kind of inquisitor he'd heard of, he was probably trying to gauge if Anarawad had any magical abilities. Hopefully, the lack of skill and magnitude of his magic didn't make it obvious.

"Now, we're going to have to figure out what to do. You've both disrespected a battlemage twice, so I doubt they'll let you live. After the other two I sent away figure out I had lied, it can be assumed that they'll figure that I'm with you, so I'm in trouble as well. We probably need to get away from the city. I'm sure that they have the gates locked down. The way I see it, we need to work together to get out of here or we'll all be put to death. May I suggest Ofriyu Mar? Perhaps we can let it take us south out of the city. We'd have to submerge quite a bit, only surfacing to take a breath. But, I think that's our best route."

Anarawad felt accomplished. It had to be a good suggestion, assuming both could swim. Every other way out of the city was most likely being watched. Maybe even the river was, as well, though if they could keep below its fast flow, they would be swept downstream quickly enough to escape persecution.

He felt a new adventure brewing inside him.

[Christof]

The situation couldn’t have been more convenient for Christof, not only was the man from earlier here but that blasted shifter was as well. I might as well give them my name, I’ll be dammed if they think I’m the least civilized one in this room. Christof thought taking another bite out of the apple.

” Well the both of you have been cordial enough to give your names, so I guess I must give mine as well” he said half begrudgingly. ”I am Grand Inquisitor Christof Von Haustanzer of the Theogian Inquisition, though you may call me Christof he said with a bow. ”Well than, now that the pleasantries are over, my I suggest we work on this plan, Anarawad was it?, came up with.”

Christof sheathed his rapier and walked over to the chest and began to drag it into the middle of the room. Luckily, nothing was in it, or whatever was contained in it was light, so he had little trouble moving it.After the chest was in place, Christof began to pat himself down, in a somewhat feverish manner, after a few moments of this he looked at the other two in the room and said.

”I have a map here somewhere, never hurts to have one, I learned my lesson on not having a map several years ago when I was out sailing,” he began while still searching for the map, ”we, that was me and the crew, were on a routine patrol off the coast of Corezo, you do know where that is right? It’s about a three month journey west of here on foot, lovely in the summer time, though it can be dry at times, AH! Here it is!” He exclaimed mid ramble, pulling out a folded piece of paper that looked like it had seen better days. Unfolding the map Christof laid it on chest so the others could see.

”From what I gather were at this inn here” Christof said pointing to one of the buildings on the map, ”now if we follow your plan Anarawad, the only problem I foresee is getting past the guards. As I see it we’ll most likely have to pass their headquarters here”.He said pointing to another building. Taking another bite out of the apple he mulled over the situation for a second before saying ”Unless we can find a way to go by there undetected, then again if we were undetectable we could just waltz out of the city. Perhaps if we hid in some barrels or something we could just be shipped out.”

The idea of being shipped out of danger hidden in a pickle barrel amused Christof a bit and he let out a slight chuckle thinking of the idea. Letting the idea sink in, Christof walked over to the weapon Anarawad had pointed out earlier to get a closer look at it. Not as well-crafted as my own, but it is decent enough I guess, too big for my taste though he thought as he began to examine it.

”I haven’t seen one like this in a while, I may not be one of the instructors at the tower but I may be able to help you learn a little, granted if we get out of this place alive first” Christof said, while still examining the gun.

As he set the rifle back down, Christof was reminded again of the bolt wound in his arm via another sharp pain. Curse this thing, where’s an apothecary when you need one, I guess some minor first aid will do until I can get it properly looked at. Christof then walked over to the bed and tore a strip out of one of the sheets and tied it around the wound as a makeshift bandage. Not the greatest, but it will do he thought and leaned up against the wall taking another bite out of the apple.

”So Mikhail, what’s your input on the situation? Or were you too busy gorging yourself to pay attention?”

[Anarawad]

Grand Inquisitor, was it? Narrow minded fools. Anarawad thought. He had gathered that Christof was from the Theogian Inquisition, but he wanted to believe it wasn't true. Alas, the man was a sworn enemy to the magic user, no matter how small.

Anarawad could barely listen to the man's plan, he just sat and stared at the old hardened inquisitor. A few words caught him, like headquarters and barrels, so he gathered the basic idea of what the man wanted. The tiny Anarawad could easily do it, that wasn't the problem. Trusting this man not to kill him and gaining his trust back were first on his mind. Then, his thought was broken as Christof picked up his gun.

”I haven’t seen one like this in a while, I may not be one of the instructors at the tower but I may be able to help you learn a little, granted if we get out of this place alive first” Christof said, while still examining the gun.

As he set the gun back down, Christof's expression changed. He strode over to the bed and tore the sheet, wrapping it around his arm. Anarawad hadn't noticed the man was hurt, but perhaps he could be of some use to the inquisitor after all.

As the inquisitor asked Mikhail for his opinion, Anarawad shed his bag and started rustling through the various herbs. He found the one he wanted after some searching. It would be a lot better if I had the equipment to make a salve out of it, but crushing it with a fork and plate should do. he reasoned.

So, Anarawad listened while preparing a medicine out of what may have looked like a pretty exotic herb to anyone else, but they were all too common in his homeland. Hopefully he could gain the trust of these men, after all. Perhaps this was the beginning of a good friendship. His first, really. Or, more accurately, the first one since Aileen had died.

For a second, Anarawad thought he was going to lose it. Practicing with his gun and striving to become a man fit to be called Kynon's son had pushed her to the back of his mind. He hadn't thought of her for more than a year. He shook his head, and regained his composure.

He looked at Mikhail, noting that his stance seemed awkward. He thought of asking the shifter if he was injured, too. But, he chalked it up to Mikhail being just that, a shifter. Maybe, being both human and animal, it was hard to complete the transition. If he needed assistance, he'd ask. Anarawad reasoned.

[Kyon]

”So Mikhail, what’s your input on the situation? Or were you too busy gorging yourself to pay attention?”

Mikhail looked up from the plate he was practically shoving into his mouth. He quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and cleared his throat. “My apologies, Inquisitor. I got lost in your ramblings. You two can do whatever you wish. I can't leave here just yet.” He took a long breath in as he prepared to give his story. “twenty-five years ago I joined a small band of thieves and murderers known as Liberatus. I was unaware at the time exactly what I had gotten myself into. I robbed and killed for what I thought was a good cause.” Mikhail shifted his weight to give his bad leg a little more room. “It was silly on my part to have been deceived that long. Anyway, after I'd realized what I had done I killed their leader, Nikias. For the past year I have hunted down the remaining members of Liberatus. There are only three left, and they are all here. I've learned that they are using the underground resistance bands to attempt starting up Liberatus once more. I cannot let this happen. I don't intend to die in this horrible city, but I'll give my life to make up for what I've done. After what's happened this night neither the Inquisitor or myself will be able to enter this city again, so I'm going to take my chances. You will have a much easier time escaping without me anyway.”

[Christof]

”I as well have some unfinished tasks in this city, so I may tag along with you Mikhail, as much as I hate to say so it seems we have a common goal of sorts.” Christof said looking at the floor, still throwing ideas around in his head, ”I shall go with you to kill these Liberatus types, chances are they may have info on my quest as well.”

Christof looked at Anarawad as he tossed his apple core onto Mikhail’s plate, ”You have helped us out so far little man, and for that I thank you, however this next leg of our journey shall be a bit more dangerous than outrunning guards, and I am not sure how you will fair if it comes to combat.” Christof said taking out his pistol and snapped open the revolver checking the ammo Five shots, wonderful, as long as it doesn’t explode I should be fine Snapping the revolver back into place Christof looked at Anarawad who looked like he was playing with his food. ” So what say you, care for a little excitement?”

[Kyon]

“Inquisitor, you and I may be great friends yet,” Mikhail joked. “Still, I am not sure that bringing this boy along would be the best thing for us.” He turned to Anarawad. “We will be dealing with some very dangerous people, Anarawad. These people kill without hesitation. They do not bat an eye at running a sword straight through your belly. There is a chance that Christof and I will fall. If you wish, we could help you flee now and deal with our business ourselves. The decision is yours.”

[Anarawad]

Anarawad looked down at the defiled plate of herbs. The moisture of the apple had already begun soaking the herbs to an unusable state. He sighed heavily, putting it aside.

"Those were for your arm." he said to Christof, "They are herbs from my homeland. They would have helped, but they're ruined now. As for the fight, there's no way that I'm going to miss it."

Anarawad got up and picked up the long gun. He pulled a paper cartridge from his belt, ripping off an end and pouring the powder within down the barrel. Seconds later, a ball was loaded with wadding, and he packed the bundle down. He looked around quickly, searching for something, then decided the already torn sheet would be fine. He tore off a small square and set it between the hammer and flash pan. He had to keep the contact cushioned, even when not cocked the gun had a tendency to fire if the hammer wasn't blocked.

"I admit that I'm no fighter, but I'm resourceful. Besides, if someone wants to run a sword through me," he shook his gun, "they have to get close enough first. With you two on the front lines outrunning guards and battlemages, I'm sure I'll be fine. We'll just say I'll watch your backs."

He flipped the cloak back over his shoulders and began awkwardly tying the gun to his armor with the well practiced slip knot. It was always a difficult procedure with his deformed arm trying to do most of the work, but this wasn't the part that needed to be quick.

Anarawad replaced his cloak confidently and looked at the men in turn with a wry smile. This was the excitement his father had spoken of. Even the peaceful had to know a bit of violence to survive here.

"Shall we?"

[Christof]

”That’s the sprit lad!” Christof said holstering his pistol and giving Anarawad a hearty slap on the back. ”That’s just what I like to hear, into the fray and screw the odds!”

Christof gave whole hearted laugh as he thought of the fun ahead, also at the boy’s enthusiasm he reminds me of myself at his age He thought. Though Christof was excited at the idea of going and slaughtering evil in the name of good but one thought suddenly came to mind,

”Mikhail” he began ”do you have any idea on where to find this Liberatus gang, I mean I don’t think we can just go asking around, and were not exactly on friendly terms with the guards either so they won’t be of any help.”

Christof than sat on the chest in the middle of the room so he was facing the other two, his cheery mood suddenly vanished as his face went from beaming to serious. Christof removed his hat and ran his fingers along the brim while stairing at the floor and said ”I only have one request, when we find their leader I need to have a personal chat with him regarding one of my friends, after that I do with him as you wish ”

[Kyon]

Mikhail mulled over what Christof had said. “Interrogate as you wish, Christof. As for finding these people, anywhere else on this planet I could sniff out Liberatus. Unfortunately this city is so full of people and pollution that I can't really grab a sense of anyone unless they're relatively close by. Luckily for us the men we're looking for are running with the current underground revolution movement, and we've already labeled ourselves as enemies of the city. Our wanted posters will be plastered all over the city by tomorrow. Everyone will know who we are. If we're lucky they will find us if we poke around enough. Anarawad, your crimes are the least of this cities problems. You seem to have a natural talent to blend in. If you would, I think you should start asking around the city. Start with the innkeeper, then go to sections of the city away from the downtown district. You'll be less recognized away from all the ruckus that Christof and I started today. This is an important and dangerous mission. If you get recognized by the guard you will more than likely be killed on the spot. If you don't play it right with the underground sympathizers they'll probably kill you as well. As for you and me, Inquisitor, our role will be to sit tight until Anarawad comes back. So, are we up for it?”

[Anarawad]

"Consider it done." Anarawad was already rushing out the door excitedly.

Now, not only did he get to see some action, but he got to play mole. Infiltrating an organization in which the enemy was hiding was sounding all too much like fun.

"Miss," he beckoned the inn keeper who was heading to bed, "can I ask you a question?"

"Is it as perverted as your last?" she shot back.

"No," Anarawad chuckled, "see, I noticed that you didn't raise an alarm when my friend burst through your door. I want to know why such a curtesy was bestowed upon us."

"It's all a good samaritan can do."

"So, you know who he was?" Anarawad reckoned.

"No, just what he did. Its not everyday a battlemage is embarrassed, even within their first week in the position. Damn magical savages deserve it." she smiled.

Perfect, she was sympathetic to them. He chatted her up for a little while, politely nudging her toward speaking of more radical people. It hadn't taken long for her to warm up to him. They were trading the occasional flirt and small jokes about Marn's blasted government. Then, Anarawad mentioned needing a way out of the city.

"You know, the resistance would probably help you out. They have some way to pass in and out of the city. They use it to smuggle things in without it being noticed."

"Where can I find them?" the young man smiled.

"The historical district would be a good place to start. That's where most of their troublemaking comes from, anyway. I'd be careful, though. That's Criminal City."

The historical district would be hard to get to unnoticed. Luckily the night was becoming late and not too many people were on the streets. Sneaking around would be easier, which he would have to do to get past the guards' headquarters. A few times, he had to duck into alleys and jump off the main streets. Within a quarter of an hour, though, he was standing before it. The historical district, "Criminal City", the place where Anarawad's adventure would begin.

[Christof]

As Anarawad flew out the door and headed straight to the inn keeper, Christof looked at Mikhail and said ”He sure is the eager type isn’t he? Hope he’s eager for the right thing though”

Christof leaned out the door and eavesdropped on the conversation Anarawad and the inn keeper were having. At least he’s not asking to share a bed later, he may be of use yet, as long as he doesn’t die that is Christof thought returning back to the room. As he plopped himself down on the bed, he started to rummage through his little library looking for a book to kill time. After a good five minutes of searching he finally found one to start reading, an old dusty tome written in what appeared to be a northern language of some sort, though it didn’t seem to bother Christof much. Christof moved his eye patch to the side, allowing him a better view of his book, without looking up he gestured to his small library and told Mikhail he was welcome to read a few of the books if he wanted, granted he could read he added with as a casual jest.

Several hours passed and Christof had managed to find a chess board and was in the middle of game three out of five with Mikhail.

”The boys been gone a long while, do you think we should go look for him, or his corpse whatever comes up first that is” he said moving his rook,” And I believe that’s checkmate. Best six out of ten?”

[Kyon]

Mikhail watched the rook slide into it's deadly position and sighed. I need to play this game more often.

“Not just yet,” he replied as he began resetting his side of the board. “If the boy is not back by midday then we should take it into our own hands, but for now I still trust that he will get it done. I wouldn't have sent him out there if I wasn't positive he could do it.” He set out his bishop without much thought. “As long as he doesn't walk around spouting out that he's looking for the gang he should have little trouble finding them. They want to find more members to join them. I don't imagine they're the smartest bunch. Liberatus had Nikias' brains to lead it. The rest of them were little more than your average street thug. That's why I haven't had any trouble hunting them down,” he sighed at the current situation. “Until now. Changers blast this town and all the poor souls in it.”

[Anarawad]

He was very aware that someone had been watching him. Anarawad was trying to act nonchalant and do menial tasks. He found something to eat, finally, and had cheerily chatted with a poor family. As much as it pained him, he gave them a few bishani. He was running quite low, but he knew that if the man following him was from this underground resistance, he was seeing what kind of man the small human was.

Guards had been posting posters, as Mikhail said they would. Anarawad stopped to look at one, almost catching a laugh. The drawings were crude and had a tiny bit of likeness, at best. The only name they had on it was Mikhail's which they had probably found from the Justice Hall record he must have filled out. The portrait of Anarawad looked like a woman, which the little man was used to. Most believed he was just that from behind.

"Defying a uniformed battlemage, resisting arrest, filing a false police report...You've got a lot to worry about." a voice came from behind.

"Only if you're a guard." Anarawad shot back smartly without turning to see.

"I am, in a sense, though, not of the law. I guard these people, the poor and downtrodden. Those that must live a life of shame because of some magic use or past crimes. Those that are harassed by the vile battlemages and stand trial before a corrupt system of government and judges. People like you, like me, like your friends on that poster. I am a true guard."

"How noble of you." Anarawad said, finally turning.

The man wasn't as impressive looking as expected. He was adorned with plain clothes, had nappy light hair, and smears of dirt all over. When he smiled, the teeth were trying to jump from his head claiming abuse. The man nodded.

"We'd like to invite you and your friends there to a meeting of the minds. Just south of here, there's a wide grassy opening in these ruins. Be there by midday. Welcome to the revolution."

The man disappeared behind a crumbling column of some sort. As Anarawad peeked around it, the man seemed to have vanished. He began the trek back, no longer worried that anyone but the battlemages that had talked with him would recognize him. The sun was rising, painting the city in a strange hue of orange. Yet, Anarawad wasn't admiring the scenery.

He had completed his task, but something didn't feel right. Although it took hours, it was too easy. He hadn't even asked about the group or anything. Yet, they had come to him. It should have been much harder than that to infiltrate it.

Mikhail Haugen. The name on the poster, that had to be it. His enemies from Liberatus must have seen them and recognized the name instantly. They were setting a trap. This would be an interesting story to give to the men back at the inn.

[Christof]

Christof slowly opened his eyes as the sun started to filter in through the open window, his hand eminently went to his head as a sudden pain shot through it. As he stood up the sound of clanking bottles aggravated his headache even more. Need to remember to stop drinking after five bottles, he thought as he stumbled up the stairs. As Christof threw open the door into the room he heard a groan from downstairs followed by more clinking bottles. Well one of the other two must be up.

Christof looked around the room, and bits and pieces of the night before came back to his memory. He then slipped on a wine bottle, landing on his chest and saw a black rook in front of his face. As he pushed himself up he saw the chess board thrown against the wall and the rest of the pieces were scattered around the room. Christof let out a chuckle thinking to himself, If I recall it was thirty four out of fifty one in my favor. He sat up with his back against the bed and grabbed the closest chess piece to him. The piece was a knight made out of what appeared to be walnut, it wasn’t the most detailed piece but it wasn’t half shabby and judging from the wear it had been around for a long while.

After a few minutes upstairs and a quick splash of water to freshen himself up, he returned downstairs to see the damage that had been wrought after the night of drinking. The scene was the same as he last remembered it: Mikhail was passed out in the far corner of the room surrounded by several bottles, one still in his hand. Across from him was where Christof and the inn keeper had been drinking, she was still there along with half a bottle of something she called “whiskey” sitting in front of her along with several other bottles. Christof picked up the bottle and took a swig, letting the liquid wake him up a bit and try to soothe his headache. Christof turned hearing the small bell on the door ring. Christof turned around and leaned on the counter,

”Well good morning, Anarawad, sorry you missed out on the festivities last night,” Christof said pouring two shots and handing one to Anarawad. ”So what did you find?”

As Christof waited to hear what Anarawad had to say, he raised his glass as to say “cheers” and downed it in one gulp.