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Post by Tatalia on Aug 28, 2022 12:07:20 GMT -5
Money didn't exactly grow on trees, but that didn't stop Tatalia from acting like it did.
"I know you're still upset about the whole almost losing your ship thing," the goblin said with a chortle, "but I promise, we're going to pay you back! In fact, tomorrow we'll pay back at least half of what we owe you. It won't be a problem at all!"
"You sound awfully confident for such a small lass with such a large debt to juggle," rumbled Captain Yalgor. The dwarf glared at her from beneath his large, bushy eyebrows.
"Because I already have the money! My pockets just don't know it yet," retorted the goblin in a self-assured tone.
"So, what - you're going to steal it, then?"
"Of course I'm not going to steal it! Are you saying that because I'm a goblin?"
"I'm saying it because if money was that quick to make you'd have your own damned ship!" growled the old, salty dwarf, thumping his foot down upon the pier as he regarded the goblin sternly. "Whatever scheme you have in mind, don't you involve me or my crew."
"It's not a scheme! And don't worry about it, alright? It's just a side gig! Your money will be here tomorrow morning or my name isn't Tatalia the Explorer!"
The captain just rolled his eyes, then decided to focus on matters less likely to end in shenanigans; namely, the repairs of his ship. Barking a few orders to his crewmen, the dwarf left Tatalia to her own devices.
The goblin had left a letter with Cantio (in almost calligraphic writing) that explained she would be leaving at dawn. Truth be told, she wound up leaving about thirty minutes after dawn, but that was because Tatalia had been procuring a disguise. Namely, she'd "borrowed" some poor apprentice's spare robes hanging up to dry, and had taken a little time to resize them so they were only slightly too big for her. With her fancy magic gloves, a hood, her scarf, her goggles, and the robes, Tatalia's goblin nature would be well hidden, and nobody could say "Catch that goblin!" if she was caught in the midst of her scheme.
Yes, Tatalia did have a scheme in mind. She'd lied to Captain Yalgor, but it was just a white lie, really. After all, it wasn't really scheming if you weren't caught, and Tatalia was a master of not getting caught.
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Aug 28, 2022 13:41:08 GMT -5
"...we're going to pay you back! In fact, tomorrow we'll pay back at least half of what we owe you." Cantio had been behind Captain Yalgor leaning against the railing of the boat, leering warning daggers into Tatalia as she boasted about their ability to pay back half what they owed to Captain Yalgor by tomorrow. With his unfolded fan, he cuts a line in the air across his neck out of view of the Captain— trying to get her to stop talking— but she had continued, anyways. "It won't be a problem at all!" The minstrel had exhaled heavily; dropping his head in an overdramatic display of disdain while Tatalia bantered back and forth with Captain Yalgor about her not-scheme to retrieve half of what they owe him for the damages. Once he's gathered himself, he unfolds his fan— offering Captain Yalgor his default, charming smile as the captain storms back onto his boat from his interaction with the goblin. He stops at the top of the ramp, offering him a glance, and throwing a thumb over his shoulder at Tatalia. "Better hope she's got a real good plan." and then he's gone, to bark more orders at the crew. Cantio chuckles nervously, fanning himself idly before he slides past him to talk to Tatalia on the pier, but when he turns around— she's gone. For nearly the rest of that day, she was nigh impossible to find; and when he did manage to find her, every time he tried to bring up her conversation with the Captain or her previously announced side gig, she'd just flash him her trademark grin and assure him that she's got it all figured out. Don't worry about it, Cantio!
For all her emphasis that he shouldn't worry, he grows more worried with each passing hour that her plan goes left unexplained. He's involved in this, too, after all! And, what happens if Tatalia can't bring Captain Yalgor the payment? They haven't even gone over the terms of the debt yet. What happens if she gets herself in trouble; or if someone else gets her in trouble? How in the world does she expect to find that much money on Maazerik Island— a place full of primarily magical students, pretty architecture, knowledge, and ocean water?
And of course, any further pressing would result in Tatalia suddenly having something to do, or somewhere to go, or someone to talk to— and then she would vanish for an unpredictable amount of time. All of it goes unanswered. For all of her dislike of the ocean and its rolling waves, she's as slippery as an eel— and he just can't pinpoint his goblin companion for the rest of the night.
Until he wakes up the next morning to find a note left to him from said goblin, telling him that she had left at dawn.
He had sat up in his hammock in the cabin upon waking, deciphering her (very decorative and well written, but still hard to read after just waking up) calligraphy, with a tiny dragon coiled around his finger, crafted from light to be used as a light source. There's still no real explanation from her— just that she'll be back, and not to worry about it. She'll meet up with him and their traveling companion later.
He still worries, though; which is why he decides to look for the goblin, yet again, and hope that he can catch her unawares this time. The least she can do is let him help, anyways!
It's maybe an hour past dawn by the time Cantio leaves the ships cabins— the sun is peeking up over the horizon, hovering high in the pastel sky— as the early morning activities of Maazerik Island slowly starts to come to life. There's a couple of crewman on the deck of the boat as he steps out, and he offers them a wave as he hops off the side of the boat, joining a small gaggle of sailors on the opposing dock as they bustle about.
He unfurls his fan as his boots hit the pier, idly waving it while he weaves about the small bustle on the docks, heading towards the main island in search of Tatalia and whatever she claims is, 'just a side gig'.
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Post by Tatalia on Aug 28, 2022 16:26:03 GMT -5
Further inland on Maazerik Isle, a young illusionist from the academy was plying his trade and having a very, very bad day.
On most days, Theo's impressive reflexes, dexterity, and mastery of illusion made him the master of the Ball and Cup Game. No, no; he was more than its master, but its grandmaster. Anyone who challenged him to the game found themselves dazzled by his speed, his alacrity, and his panache, and yet they kept coming back to play more rounds against him. It was something of a local pastime to try and beat "Thinfingers Theo" at his favorite game.
Today, however, Theo wasn't just losing at his game. He was being demolished.
"It's... hmm... hmm..." The mysterious diminutive apprentice stared at the three cups on the table between herself and Theo, her red spectacles glinting underneath her hood. It was hard to see her expression thanks to the scarf she wore wrapped around her mouth, but Theo could feel the smirk. He knew it was there. He knew she already knew the answer. She was just toying with him, just trying to drag out the whole affair. Or... maybe she wouldn't guess right this time? Theo began to hope against hope that she would pick the wrong-
"It's the right cup, isn't it?" asked the little woman.
"It could be! Are you sure that's the cup you want?" Theo prayed she'd say no.
"Yes!" the woman said.
Theo sighed. He lifted the cup. Surprise, surprise; there was the ball.
The little apprentice clapped with glee, then laughed out, "I am so lucky today!"
Tatalia was on a hot streak. A crowd had gathered around her and the disguised little goblin was reveling in the whole affair. She was downright humiliating the man before her, but each round she won was another couple coins in her pocket. In truth, she was far better equipped to spot the ball than most. Her enchanted goggles let her not only block out the sunlight but also see through the cups. Not only that, but she was well versed enough in illusion herself to tell when the illusionist was up to some manner of obfuscating trickery; and if that wasn't enough, she had a keen sense of hearing to supplement her vision. In short, she had all the answers to all the poor mage's tricks.
Another three rounds went a similar way. The illusionist dazzled the audience as he interwove agile maneuvering of the cups with scintillating arrays of magical light. Yet each time, Tatalia was able to just point and find where the ball was hidden. Left cup, right cup, left cup.
"This is great fun! Let's play again!" cried the little woman as she scooped up the next pair of coins.
But Theo's patience had been stretched to its limits. He had a plan. Oh, yes, he had a plan indeed. It was a trick he used only rarely, a trick he brought to bear only when he was facing someone truly posing a threat to his business. So, the illusionist smiled at Tatalia and asked: "Since you're having so much fun, what do you say to double or nothing? Double your winnings, or I take it all back! All you have to do is find the ball one more time."
"Let's do it!" replied Tatalia without hesitation.
Theo smirked. He used his finest trick: making the ball invisible.
Theo was clever about the matter, of course. He didn't make it invisible immediately. A few cup transfers in, he veiled his ploy with some fancy illusory showmanship and tapped the ball, whispering a magical activation word. As it vanished, he let it roll slowly away from the cups, resting on the edge of the table invisibly. No matter which cup she declared it to be in, the strange little robed woman would never find-
Just then, the little woman snatched up the invisible ball.
"Found it!" Tatalia cried. As she rubbed her gloved fingers on it, the dirt and grim from those gloves actually coated it so it was visible again. "You must have dropped this during the game!"
The illusionist stared. The onlookers started to clap at first, but then realized suddenly that the illusionist had been cheating. Theo withered beneath their collective gaze, hastily gave Tatalia her money, and packed up his things.
Tatalia made off like a queen, smirking beneath her scarf. But little did she know she had made a terrible, terrible enemy...
And she still had a lot of money to make if she was going to pay back Yalgor! One more side gig wouldn't hurt, right?
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Aug 29, 2022 20:00:42 GMT -5
He's barely taken a step off the docks when he meets eyes with a student; a young human with unkempt brown hair, and wide round spectacles, who brightens and runs towards him. Cantio does not know this fellow— so he assumes he must be heading for someone behind him— but to his surprise, the sheer enthusiasm and speed of his run is in fact, for him. Cantio nearly stumbles into him when the student skids to a halt in front of him, making the Tiefling reel back in his surprise. "I'm sorry—" he starts, but he's cut off.
"Mister Lumen!" this guy is practically beaming, and Cantio is speechless that a complete stranger knows his name. He has never seen this man in his life; the student takes to ushering him in a random direction. Cantio complies, albeit somewhat unwillingly. "Class is this way, but I'm so glad you could finally make it! The professor was so worried you might've cancelled again—" "Hm? Huh?"
"— and the students are so excited to hear your guest lecture on Theory of Magic and Storytelling," "Wait—" "The outfit probably has something to do with that, right? I like the mask, by the way! Is it a unicorn?" "No, it's a dragon, but you—" "It's very eye-catching; I saw you right away! Is there a story behind it? " "Listen, kid—" "I know, I know— wait until the lecture, right? Don't worry, I won't press for any spoilers!" Gah, he can't get a word in!
He spends the rest of his walk just trying to interrupt the student, or get context on what's going on; but before he knows it, he's been chauffeured into one of the academy's classrooms. He freezes up as a group of young musicians— most huddled around the center of what looks like a music room gossiping— turn to look at him. There's a gaggle of girls off to the side that start giggling, someone points and whispers in someone else's ears, and a few of them look a bit starry-eyed. "Professor!" the student who wouldn't stop talking calls; he practically sprints across the front of the classroom to a neatly carved oak desk close to the wall, where a halfling is sitting. The older man looks up, adjusting his spectacles with a smile as the kid starts rambling, and points in his direction.
Cantio tries to take this opportunity to just leave, but as he turns his back to the classroom, the professor calls out. "Ah! Mister Lumen, you've made it." Dang it. How does everyone here know his name!?
Cantio turns back around on a heel, offering a lopsided smile to the professor. "... Hey, listen, I think—" "Safe travels, I assume? It must have been a long way getting here all the way from Darkveil." And, how does he know his fake backstory, exactly? "I've never been there myself, of course... but given how many times you've had to postpone with us, we were worried you might have fallen into some trouble, or had changed your mind about speaking with the students. We were hoping to have you lecture sometime last semester, but with your many cancellations, some of those students have graduated..." "Uh, sir, listen." The halfling trails off in mid-conversation, raising his brows behind his spectacles as he looks up at him; and finally, he's got his attention. "There's been some kind of misunderstanding—" His words are drowned out, and the Halfling shows no sign that he heard him, when the school's magical announcement system sets off and announces the start of the first class of the day. "Oh! I won't hold up your time any longer," the halfling claps his hands together, barking and rounding up the straggling idlers into their seats while Cantio stands stupified in the doorway. So much so that the spectacled student from earlier practically leads him onto the podium before hopping back to his seat like the teacher's pet he apparently is.
"Mister Valerio Lumen has come all the way from Darkveil, to give us a guest lecture," the halfling professor announces; and Cantio stares at the back of his thinning hair, utterly dumbfounded. Valerio Lumen? You're kidding! He's not sure who's ripping who off! The halfling has finished his little introduction by the time Cantio fades back into this twisted reality where everything is not right and nothing is making sense.
He's looking back at him, expectant, with a bright little smile behind his tiny spectacles, like he's supposed to say something.
He has no idea what else he said about this Valerio Lumen, but Cantio has never heard of him before— even when he visited Darkveil.
All eyes in the class have turned to him— some bored, some with anticipation, some with curiosity. He's most definitely sweating on the podium, and he can't find it in him to correct the professor with all eyes on him, waiting on some guest lecture that sounds like it's been a pain to schedule. Cantio tightens his grip on the sides of the podium and takes a deep breath; he clears his throat, summoning what courage he's got left, and unfolds his fan with a flourish. "Theory of Magic and Storytelling, was it?"
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Post by Tatalia on Sept 1, 2022 13:16:11 GMT -5
Tatalia was having a good day. She'd made a pretty good amount of money with her first little trick, and she knew she could make a lot more if she planned things right. And she had the perfect target in mind, too!
Maazerik Island was still part of Capital Landing, and as such had its own fair share of noble estates. One of these belonged to a name Tatalia recognized: Lady Greylark, a frequent visitor to Lord Armalane's estate. She was rich, pompous, and Armalane's equivalent in terms of vileness and disregard for the common folk. In other words, if the good Lady lost something of value, the only people that would be hurt would be people that deserved it.
The trouble was that even someone as masterful at sneaking around as Tatalia would be at a disadvantage trying to sneak into the estate alone. The hedges around the estate served as natural walls blocking entrance, and the guards in the courtyard were plentiful, as were gardeners and servants. There weren't many places to hide, either, and the estate itself was shaped like a tower, rising up high and out of reach. A little clever climbing on Tatalia's part would let her break in and steal whatever she pleased, but she needed someone to be a distraction, someone to pull attention away from the tower itself. Someone like...
"The bard!" Tatalia cried out, snapping her fingers. And as she did, she spotted (by sheer happenstance) exactly the man she was looking for: Cantio!
The bard looked a little different than usual, of course; he had a unicorn mask (probably to replace his old broken one) and a new set of clothes, but Tatalia didn't blame him for trying out a new outfit. It was definitely him, though, with the red tail and all. So, Tatalia rushed over to her friend and grabbed him by the hand.
"Just in time, Von Lumen! You always are, though!"
"Excuse me, what are-?"
"No time to explain! I just need you to talk to someone for me and-"
"I really don't know who y-"
"I said there was no time to explain!"
"Madam, really," insisted the tiefling, "I have somewhere I'm supposed to b-"
"Look, this is going to help us pay back our debts! Trust me, there's a lot of money riding on this."
"Money?" Cantio's eyes gleamed behind the mask. Tatalia didn't remember them being orange before; she thought they were more golden. But he seemed to calm down at the mention of money, and immediately became more agreeable. "Yes, I suppose my business can wait a moment. What do you need me to do?"
Tatalia supposed Cantio knew just how huge the debt to Yalgor was. That was a pretty good motivator for her, at least. The dwarf was scary.
"I just need you to talk to those guards," Tatalia explained, gesturing at the fellows before the estate, "and make the biggest fuss you possibly can. Throw a proper fit! That's all, okay?"
Tatalia expected Cantio to protest again, as what she was up to was clearly mischief, but she never had to bring her speech about trust to bear. He just went along with it. Huh. Maybe he had more criminal inclinations than Tatalia had originally thought.
As the unicorn-masked bard began making an absolute shitstorm in front of the guards, yelling about damages and indignities, attention shifted away from the grounds of the courtyard and toward the entrance to the estate. The poor bard was being shouted back at and told to leave, and nobody was the wiser when Tatalia darted across the courtyard and started scaling the tower walls.1
In and out, that was the trick! Tatalia didn't waste time trying to find the perfect place to rob. She just found a nice bedroom, carefully reshaped the wall around the window using her gloves,2 then gently slid the glass down so it didn't shatter or make any noise. After that, she grabbed some obviously valuable objects (a couple jewelry boxes, a golden candlestick, a particularly fine pillow stuffed with exotic feathers, a bottle of very, very well aged and expensive wine), then slipped right back on down the side of the wall and out of the courtyard the way she'd come. It wasn't Tatalia's first time conducting a little burglary.
By the time Tatalia had escaped, Cantio had been chased off by the guards and was waiting for her in the alley nearby. Tatalia approached him with a grin, and she showed off some of her loot.
"You see? We're gonna make a LOT of money off of this!" Tatalia whispered gleefully, barely containing her excitement.
Then Cantio said something unexpected: "You know, I know another place that has a dire problem with having too much stock and no place to put it. I bet we could help them with their problem, don't you?"
Tatalia really liked the new Cantio.
Abilities used: 1. Surface Scaling; 2. Miner's Friends
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Post by Cantio von Lumen on Sept 7, 2022 17:55:20 GMT -5
Cantio is not a teacher, nor is he a guest-lecturer, but he can fake it.
Fake it until you make it, right?
That's basically been his policy for the past four years, anyways.
But, at some point he finds himself quite enjoying his impromptu lesson; he gets carried away by genuine tangents, answers well-meaning questions from the students; and displays his light theatrics when he starts to lose the crowd. The students here can't be more than a few years younger than himself; but they look at him like what he has to say is actually valuable. Like he actually knows what he's talking about. He remembers, vividly, what learning music was like in his youth; it was miserable, stifling, and stressful... his musical opinions were worth about as much as a grain of sand to his teachers. His inspiration and love of song and viol wilted the more he messed up, asked questions, or simply obeyed stifling tradition. There was no way out from those one-on-one lessons; no way to escape the bland atmosphere of master musicians who took their art as seriously as breathing. No adjustments, no questions asked; in the end, it was one of many things that tainted his love of music; and he would have lost it had he stayed in Sol City. It's clear, though; the students here still have a sparkle in their eye; they have a passion that simply needs to be guided and explored. He might wonder what it would've been like to learn in an atmosphere like this— instead of the one back home— if he had the time to. As he wraps up his lesson, leaning leisurely against the podium and pointing out raised hands to respond to, someone notices him through the window.
Unbeknownst to him, a few guards had been asked to keep an eye out for a troublesome Tiefling in a mask... one who had caused quite the raucous outside of Lady Greylark's estate. Shortly after, something odd had been found in the wall of the Greylark Estate, followed by the discovery of a small robbery, and those few guards held quite the suspicion that the fussing Tiefling might have something to do with it. It's this event, one in which he has absolutely no connection with, that results in a guard interrupting the finale of his lesson with all the confidence of a rooster in a hen house. "You!"
Cantio jumps, taken off-beat by the sudden demand, and looks to the door; where a guard in Maazeric Island's colours and school crest, armed with an unsheathed sword and all, is staring him down like prey. He feels a dreadful spark of caution travel up his spine. All eyes turn to the door, then turn quizzically back at him, when the guard steps inside and makes a beeline towards him. "In here!" he calls back to someone else, but he doesn't see who. Instinctively, Cantio tries to pull back and away towards the window; but finds the guard snatches a harsh grip on his wrist, keeping him from doing so.
"Excuse me? What is this?"
His face is flushed in indignation beneath the mask; he's done nothing wrong!
( Aside from impersonating a professional, that is! But how could they know that so soon? )
"We're taking you in for questioning," is the answer he receives; and as he opens his mouth to object, the guard adds, "on the basis of your involvement of the robbery in the Greylark Estate."
"Robbery?" the old halfling man gets up from his seat, looking awfully quizzical.
"What!? How dare you— I've done no such thing!"
Cantio makes an attempt to wrench his arm away, but finds the guard only tightens his grip; he winces, thoroughly embarrassed by the claims. Which, are actually false! What does he mean involvement in a robbery? Perhaps luckily, the halfling interjects on his behalf and waves his hand dismissively. "You must be mistaken," he objects, "Mister Lumen has been here for.... well, nearly the past hour, teaching the class."
Something about that phrase seems to catch the guard oddly, because he furrows his brows. "What?"
The little halfling blinks a few times, then repeats himself. "He's been teaching the class for nearly the past hour."
Something about that seems to irritate the guard, "He couldn't have been," he objects, "He was at the scene. We were specifically told by a witness that he ran off with the perpetrator." To that, the halfling furrows his brows; and the two start to banter about the impossibility of him being, or not being, at the Greylark Estate. Cantio hovers there, puzzled— one wrist in a steadily-loosening vice grip as the argument between the guard and teacher intensifies, until... the guard releases his wrist, crossing his arms over his chest, and Cantio takes a slow step back. A couple of the students offer him a puzzled look, but the guard doesn't seem to notice— not until Cantio's got a foot out the door— and finds that there was another guard standing outside, who barks. "Hey!" and instantly blows his retreat.
It's sometimes said that an innocent man would not run; but Cantio is technically not an innocent man, in the case of fraudulent activity. Not robbery. So, he does run in the end— making a break into the crowd to lose the guards.
As if his unique appearance isn't already a beacon, it is near-impossible to shake them in a crowd; he doesn't exactly blend in— and so, Cantio ducks into a nearby shaded alleyway, looking frantically for— "Psst," a voice, hushed and nearly drowned out by the sound of his own beating heart, interrupts. He jumps, looking on further into a small off-shoot in the buildings, where someone is waving at him. "Over here!"
Cantio thinks better of it, and is about to turn around, when—
"I think he went this way!"
— promptly, he decides to take his chances with the weird alley-kid over getting tackled by the guards. He bolts farther into the alleyway and quickly slips into the narrower side-area where he'd been beckoned; and the kid, some guy in Maazeric Island's uniform, puts up an illusion. An impressive one, actually; the illusion of the continuation of the building's walls, in which the rushing guards fly past, until everything is quiet again. Cantio stifles a sigh of relief, leaning his back up against the wall as he tries to catch his breath.
Silence stretches between strangers for a moment, and then the illusion is taken down. The weird alley-kid looks at him, smug. "Real brave of you and your cheating little friend to rob the Greylark Estate like that in broad daylight, y'know? Where anyone could've seen you?" Cantio furrows his brows at the kid, chest still heaving from his run through the island. "I could call those guards back any moment to come and get you, but— I want your help."
"Listen... kid... I seriously don't know what you're talking about."
"Right, sure you don't; anyone could recognize you with that unicorn mask, even me."
"First, it's a dragon," Seriously, does his mask look that much like a unicorn? "Secondly—who are you, anyways?"
He offers a smug look to him, "You can call me Theo."
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Post by Tatalia on Oct 13, 2022 10:16:49 GMT -5
"You weren't kidding about this place having a lot of stuff for the taking!" whispered the goblin excitedly as she surveyed the dark room around her.
"I'm always true to my word," answered the masked bard dismissively.
Cantio had picked out a truly perfect target: a wizard's vault. It wasn't exactly the world's safest place to rob, of course; there were traps aplenty, both magical and mundane. But Tatalia was as skilled a burglar as she was an explorer, and her many skills were put to good use.
The first problem had been entering the vault. That part was solved easily enough: Cantio played a song that put the tower's guardians to sleep, then Tatalia carefully picked the lock into the tower open.1 The pair then descended down into the the tower's basement, for it went down as well as up, and at the bottom was where the vault was rumored to be.
Dealing with the traps and tricks down below the tower was less easy. The mechanical traps within the walls were spotted easily enough with Tatalia's magical goggles,2 but the arcane traps were a bit trickier for the pair. There were arcane runes on the walls that spat magic at anyone that got too close, and there was no obvious way to destroy them. They also couldn't just dig their way down through the floor since it was made of more than just stone. Ultimately, they circumvented the traps by shoving large, heavy objects in front of themselves, then pressing them in front of the warding sigils. It wasn't easy work, but with the tower's guardians sleeping above, nobody came to disturb the would-be robbers.
After solving a few similar problems, the pair of thieves made their way to the very lowest floor of the basement, grateful no one had noticed their deeds. And so they arrived before the vault door, picked it open, and stared at the strange treasures hidden within.
"I will certainly believe you from now on, Cantio," murmured Tatalia quietly in answer to her friend. For his part, Cantio stared at her oddly for a moment, then focused on the room's contents once again.
"We can only carry so much," the bard mused, opening a sack up. "So we had best take only the most valuable of items."
Tatalia didn't argue. It was good to see Cantio taking charge and initiative for once.
The looting went quickly. Tatalia had a knack for picking out both objects of historical value and those that would catch someone's eye most readily. The thieves bagged a couple wands, some magical jewelry, and other such trinkets. Tatalia also made sure to grab some books; she could use more reading material, and the selection seemed fairly rare. It was going to be a good haul.
But then there was commotion up above. There was shifting weight, the sound of heavy footsteps, and words of magic being chanted. The two thieves looked at each other. The bard started to panic, but Tatalia did not. She simply rushed to a shadowy corner of the room, pressed her hands against the wall, and started digging. Her magical gloves tore through the stone like butter.3
"Hide the exit!" the goblin whispered sharply behind her.
Cantio replied by dragging a small chest in front of the hole. Tatalia stared back at him.
"The spell!" the goblin hissed. "Use your magic!"
"What spell?" answered the bard angrily. "Nevermind! No time! Move, goblin!"
Tatalia didn't like that tone Cantio used. Actually, it rather stung. Nevertheless, she decided it would be better to argue with him after they escaped.
The pair tunneled their way to safety even as shouting rose in the air behind them. Tatalia started tunneling at an upward angle, which made the going more difficult, but it was worth it; before long they broke out of the cobblestone streets of the mage's isle on a moonlit night, and Tatalia helped yank her friend out from the tunnel.
"Whew!" Tatalia heaved out a heavy breath, then held her hand out to take the sack from Cantio. "Right! I'll find a good fence, and we'll have our debt paid off by the morning. We can have words after that."
The bard didn't hold the bag out to Tatalia, however. His expressionless mask showed no emotion as he spoke.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," he said sweetly. "You've done far too much already, haven't you?"
"What?" Sincere confusion spread across Tatalia's face. "Since when do you know any fences? Really, I should-"
The masked bard just held a single finger up in front of his masked mouth, then reached down and put his hand on Tatalia's shoulder. Slowly, his hand moved to her cheek, then up the side of her face. She was stricken still, surprised by the boldness, and not entirely comfortable with it. And then... the bard yanked the scarf she used to hide her identity away from her face.
"GOBLIN! There's a goblin attacking me!"
Tatalia stared up in shock. The bard smiled, drank a potion, and disappeared.
"What the Hell, Cantio?!" Tatalia cried out in frustration as the sound of angry feet came closer and closer.
Abilities used: 1) Lock Picking; 2) X-Ray Vision; 3) Miner's Friends
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