The Lead Crown: Ch 1a, Flintlocked and Loaded (pt 3)
Tranquil Waters: The Lead Crown Ch 1-3, Flintlocked and Loaded
Sanmer kept to the rooftops, feeling far more comfortable amidst the barren ceramic tile wasteland than down below on the pedestrian-filled streets. His path was interrupted only by the occasional alleyway but those were not much of an obstacle; a well placed push-off against one of the roof top storm walls sent him sailing across the distance to land on the adjacent row of buildings. Although the fox had plenty of experience trailing all sorts of quarry, his current mark wasn't of the traditional variety.
Tobias Severna was a scholar at the UPU. Even though the prong horn had a solid amount of coin, Sanmer realized by the end of the day that the antelope would barely have two copper marks to rub together. On the few occasions when the rogue had dealings with the scholar they had been professional, and resulted in far more coin than the fox's services had required... and, for better or for worse, his jobs had always been legal. No... he wasn't following the scholar exactly... it was Tobias' companion that caught Sanmer's attention.
The prong horn traveled with Kesst, a young dragon surrounded by an air of mystery. Sanmer knew all too well the story of how curiosity killed the cat but, he reminded himself, he was not a feline. The dragon had the look of a traveler about him, and one who was not used to having any significant amount of wealth... which was quite an interesting dilemma considering the fact that Kesst had somewhere close to 400 gold crowns on him.
That kind of money was enough to perk the fox's ears but he was more interested in the story behind it-- people like Kesst didn't have that much coin without some juicy secret just waiting to be revealed. Sometimes... just sometimes... learning that kind of secret was worth more than the actual money. Of course, Sanmer reasoned, obtaining both would be especially appealing. Unless, of course, the dragon had an incredibly good story behind how he came by it... in which case sharing wasn't unreasonable.
The day, unfortunately, wasn't destined to be a casual stroll across the roof tops. Part way through the afternoon Sanmer had the great misfortune to observe an altercation upon the docks. Although he was no sailor, he knew enough about Wyra and Ilyse to see a storm quickly forming. Tobias and his young protege were getting far too close to the escalating trouble. The fox reached for a throwing dagger as he saw the two of them approached by a particularly burly-looking sailor, but he quickly stowed it when he realized the man meant them no trouble and, in fact, was leading them away from the scene.
Sanmer sprang from the roof of a two story building across to the raised roof of a pier-side shop, going into a crouch as he landed and rolling forward along his calf, shin, hip, then the side of his body to soften the impact and not alert the occupants beneath him. He pushed off with his shoulder and returned to his feet, using the momentum to bring him back to a standing position. One more building forward and the rogue was forced to take cover.
He ducked down low as the group beneath him were encountered by a group of fast-response guards. Sanmer knew their kind well: high-strung irregulars, poorly outfitted and poorly trained walking around like they have something to prove. Fortunately, the fox noticed, they were led by a veteran captain, which meant that he would hopefully be able to keep them in check. If not... the rogue reached for a wooden cudgel he kept in his belt.
Sprinters, as they were called had half-helms, which meant they could be put out of commission by a swift rap to the back of their head. They also had leather leggings, which meant one or two solid strikes to their knees or instep would hobble them enough that they couldn't give chase. There were eight Sprinters in total, plus their captain, and it wasn't a fight that Sanmer would have chosen if he'd had an alternate method, but he knew for certain that getting away from the docks QUICKLY was the best course of action.
In the end, however, the guards let them pass without any real grief, but Sanmer caught the obvious sign that Kesst was far more relieved than any normal traveler would have the reason to show. "More and more interesting..." the fox murmured to himself, and continued shadowing the party. The three on the street below him continued their discussion, especially the sailor and the dragon, and, although the fox couldn't hear the topic, he knew he'd want to know more, so he sprang carefully down onto a lower roof and drew closer as the sailor indicated an alley.
"Through here." the burly human suggested, "Two streets over and we should have a clear path to the main road." The group followed him into the alley as Sanmer carefully padded his way across the rooftop, not five feet above their heads. The rogue came to a halt at the exact moment the young dragon beneath him gave out a wordless cry of alarm.
"Well whadda ya know? Looks like I found ya 'gain, Tourist." noted a rat, sliding out from behind the cover of a doorway, "We just keep runnin' inta each other, don't we?"
The sailor at the head of the group came to a halt and Kesst moved behind the imposing human. At the rear of the party, Sanmer watched as a large elephant stepped into the alley along with a raccoon and a mongrel dog. A coyote and an alley cat likewise joined the rat at the front, bringing the total to six... against three. Sanmer did not particularly like those odds.
"Seems like ya got somethin' a mine there, sailor-boy." the rat pointed a dirty, crooked claw at Kesst.
Nicholas glanced over his shoulder at the dragon then back to the rat, "I don't see your name on him." he stated flatly, and crossed his arms over his massive chest.
"He's caused us quite a bit of trouble t'day." the rat continued, "And we're fine if ya plan on bringin' more... cuz at this point we're not ready t'give him up." the rat poked the sailor in his chest with an outstretched wooden stick. The cat and the coyote took a step forward as the elephant, coon, and mongrel closed ranks from behind.
"Last time a man talked to me that way I snapped his neck and tossed him overboard." the human responded casually, reaching out and grabbing the piece of timber directly from the rat's grasp.
Gripping it with either hand, the sailor broke it in half with little effort. The coyote balked at that. "There're guards all over the street, Grange." the coyote noted to the rat, "Maybe we should--"
"Maybe y'should stow it, ya ball-less cunt." the rat scowled, "If a wave rider, a desk driver, and an outta-town lizard're too much for ya then yer welcome t'bail."
The coyote bared his teeth at the rat, "I'm not goin' back to th' hot box over a bit a coin." and he quickly made his escape.
"Told ya 'e's a pussy." the elephant spoke up from behind the party, causing Tobias to spin around and face them. The sailor also glanced over his shoulder, and that's when the rat chose the time to strike.
Grange's lunge for Kesst was quick, and he latched onto the dragon's traveling cloak, grabbing a solid hold. The dragon let out a surprised snort and delivered two quick strikes to either side of the rat's ribs-- kidney punches, Sanmer realized, though he wasn't in a very good position to get in any real striking force. Sanmer would have suggested to Kesst to use his claws, or to bite... but using natural weaponry wasn't considered civilized... which was quite the pity in Sanmer's mind.
The alley cat quickly stepped into the fray just as the sailor turned back around at Kesst's shout "Nicholas!". The human spun just in time to see the cat's club descend toward his head. He attempted to sidestep and managed to pull his head out of the way just in time, though he took the full force of the wooden board right on his shoulder. Sanmer continued to watch, biding his time.
The mongrel dog, some kind of long-furred breed, stepped in toward Tobias, and swung his club in a clumsy overhead chop. Although Sanmer had occasional reasons to work with and for the prong horn, he had no idea that Tobias was capable of fighting. The scholar had mentioned that he studied the tribals, but the fox didn't realize that his scholastics also applied to their ferocious combat style. With all the focus of a predator, Tobias tilted his head to the side, using his horns to disarm the dog, and then stepped in, delivering a powerful, straight-arm jab of the metal tip of his cane into his attacker's throat.
The dog fell to his knees, clutching his neck, and the prong horn followed up with a measured blow to the back of his head, knocking him out cold. Tobias stepped away as the mongrel fell to the ground, unconscious, and very much out of the fight. The scholar turned around just in time to see the elephant step up to him, a large, metal rubbish bin held aloft for ease of crushing.
Sanmer realized that his time as an observer was over, and he quite literally jumped into action... landing atop the trash can. The added weight on the heavy container off-balanced the elephant. He stumbled to the side and bounced off the cinder block wall of a building, but the rogue was already using that to his advantage. Gripping one of the handles of the bin, Sanmer kicked off of the wall and threw all of his weight onto the side of the metal container, overpowering the elephant's tentative grip on it, and bringing it down straight onto his head. The opening of the can lowered first, effectively engulfing the elephant down to his elbows, and leaving the bruiser, for all intents and purposes, out of the combat.
"Sanmer?" Tobias inquired, turning to face the fox.
"So it would seem." the rogue replied, "We can discuss the matter of my payment for this heroic rescue as soon as--" his witty banter was interrupted most unceremoniously by the raccoon, who charged him with a small knife leading the way. Sanmer quickly spun back and away from the precision strike, feeling the soft caress of the blade's tip scrape its way through his tunic and the icy kiss of it's tip part his flesh; he was bleeding, but he knew it wasn't serious. The wound didn't concern him as much as when he heard a shout off in the distance calling for the guards.
"Damn it!" Kesst's attacker growled, still wrestling with him, "Hurry it up! Someone heard us!" and with that, the rat renewed his attempt to snatch hold of the dragon's coin pouch. Kesst was apparently well-aware of what the rat was after, and he defended it far too well. In his eagerness to protect his wealth, however, the young dragon attempted to kick at the rat and, in so-doing, he overbalanced, and went falling to the street.
Although everyone else was far too busy dealing with the other attackers, Sanmer caught sight of something just then that reaffirmed his entire day: as Kesst fell, his cloak billowed open for just a split second, and the fox caught sight of it-- wings. It was something that even Grange the rat wouldn't have seen, face covered by the flapping cloak... but Sanmer had seen it... and that little secret was far better than anything else he would have expected. Unfortunately he didn't have a chance to dwell on it, as the raccoon rushed him again, blade leading the way.
With a quick sidestep, Sanmer reached a paw into one of the many pouches at his hip. In a single, fluid motion, the rogue had his arm up, fingers open, and a thick puff of sawdust was released right into the coon's face. A half-second later Tobias' cane came crashing down, knocking the weapon from the highway man's grasp. The fox heard the sound of a continued scuffle behind him, and turned in time to see Nicholas block the alley-cat's club with his left hand, and hook-punched the feline upside the head, knocking him clean out.
"STOP!" came a very commanding shout... the kind that Sanmer had grown far too familiar with over the years.
"Guards." the fox groaned, and heard the same word spoken tone-perfect from Kesst. Despite himself the fox grinned-- he was liking the enigmatic dragon more and more. Sanmer's usual inclination was to quickly elude capture, but once the guards' eyes settled on Kesst, he realized it would be possible that he'd have to forgo his normal modus operandi.
Sighing, the fox stepped between the men and the dragon before they could see the traveler clearly, "I haven't done anything wrong. You can't arrest me." It was the single phrase the fox promised himself would never come out of his muzzle because it guaranteed, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the guards would find a reason to haul you in. He was not particularly far off on his assessment. Despite the entire party's arguments, and the objections from the rat Grange and his followers, the guards rounded up everyone and tossed them into a barred transport wagon.
The ride to the prison was not a very long one-- scarcely four blocks, in fact. The going, however, was slow; a large number of people had gathered in a nearby square to watch some great new reveal the University had planned. The guards continued to push their way through the crowd, leading the wagon up to the back doors of the prison before opening it up and ushering everyone out. Right about that time the raccoon attempted to bolt; it wasn't entirely unexpected that someone would try, but the guards' response was shocking: two of them drew their muskets and fired.
Sanmer's tail puffed up in surprise, and everyone else around him froze... until the guards began pushing them into their respective cells. At the back of the group, the fox caught sight of the guards trussing up the screaming, bleeding raccoon before dragging him off... somewhere else. Wherever it was, Sanmer was increasing pleased that he hadn't tried to escape. He willingly surrendered his equipment along with everyone else though he didn't bother telling anyone about a few choice picks he kept in reserve... and the guards didn't bother to check for them.
"That... isn't normal, is it, Nicholas?" Kesst asked of the sailor beside him as the two were led into a cell, "The gun shots, I mean?"
"No... it's not normal at all." the human confirmed, and went silent again as Tobias and Sanmer joined them. The fox frowned when he realized that the rat, the elephant, cat, and the mongrel were put in the cell next to them. Despite Sanmer's first thought to chide their attackers, he thought better of it... especially when he realized that the guards men who had arrested them were NOT wearing Newport uniforms.
"They're mercenaries." the fox murmured under his breath.
"What?" the sailor asked, turning to face him, "And who are you anyway? What are--"
"He's with me." Tobias spoke up, moving to stand beside the human, "It's a long story... but he's right."
"Mercenaries?" Kesst inquired, moving to join the small circle of quiet discussion, "Who are mercenaries?"
"The guards." Sanmer noted, motioning subtly with his head, "And apparently pretty good ones too... if a bit ruthless."
"It makes sense." Tobias rubbed his chin in thought, glancing through the bars to where his silver-tipped walking stick lay on a table, "Most of Newport's guards are dealing with the university's unveiling today."
"So are there guards or mercenaries handling the trouble at the docks?" Sanmer inquired, suddenly very curious as to how horribly some shoot-first-ask-questions-later sell-swords would handle such a delicate situation. Nicholas' expression told him all he needed to know, "Well that's not good." the fox acknowledged. That turned out to be, of course, an understatement.