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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 16, 2023 17:38:38 GMT -5
As night descended in Zeinav City, the absence of the sun bringing a level of chill and cold to the arid land that could be just as deadly as a snow covered field, a tall, lanky shape breaks the line of the buildings along the docks at a casual saunter. A small ember illuminated the halo of smoke that twirled around her twisted horns as it rises skyward as a long drag was taken on the cigar held between large, nimble fingers. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, she gets to the rendezvous point and adjusts the little name tag on her lapel. She loved a good hall-pass.
The warehouse was still a little ways up, which was good, because this area was nice and quiet at this time of night. Dock workers and sailors were either to bed, at a tavern, or on their own personal patrols. That should make this little heist go off without a hitch. Stealing from rich jerks to distribute their goods to the poor was exactly the amount of system endorsed chaos that Izzy so, so loved to partake in. As did her partner for this little adventure, as she recalled.
The clouds above shift slightly, a slant of pale moonlight striking her bone-white skin. She glances down at her hand with the cigar wedged between her teeth, and then takes a few steps back into the shadows. Quiet as it was, it wouldn't do to give away her position just yet. She could be a distraction later, if it called for it.
She does glance up again at the sky, though, getting a general idea for the time. They should be here soon. Question was how were they gonna sneak up on her THIS time? Izzy waits, taking another drag on the cigar.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 16, 2023 18:00:14 GMT -5
Fish had already taken some time to scout out the warehouse and get an idea for the guard work. Seeing as they have little mind for anything but the job and who they are working with, Fish knew to get the groundwork before hand. They didn't have the moral objection to fuel their desire to steal, they just enjoyed it and working with Izzy. A job with Izzy meant fish did not have to worry about being outed or deal with scolding. Chaos reigns, baby.
The kenku waited in a barrel for Izzy, having taken a best guess on where she would end up based on her patterns. When the tiefling settled near a barrel, Fish waited a moment before poking a beak out of a hole to peck her tail. The kenku clambers out of the barrel while she is startled looking as smug as a bird can.
They fluff out their feathers a moment before both of them settle in. "Lazy guard work. Typical two by two pattern switching at the top of every hour. No watch on the roof, Fish thinks entrance in a side window will be best, only a few guards inside as well."
Fish looks up to the roofs of the buildings around them, then to Izzy. Fish could certainly climb them easily enough, but it was fun to pretend to be an actual bird from time to time. They climb onto the shoulder of the monstrously tall tiefling to begin their adventure.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 17, 2023 0:49:37 GMT -5
She smokes casually for a few seconds, mind wandering aimlessly as she waits before the subtlest shift in the barrel catches her attention.
"B'GUHSSSSSHHHHhhhh...," Izzy staggers after initally recoiling, then hissing herself quiet before the noise becomes a faint titter. Her grin widens as Fish climbs out of the barrel, and she shakes her cigar at them in a faux tsk, tsk. "Ah, Fish, ya little scamp. Got me again." Izzy comes back to the wall, leaning to finish her cigar. She follows the signs from their little hands, familiar with the cant of pattern among the underbelly of Zeinav she grew up in.
The little bird had impressed her, a while back, on their evasive capabilities and genuine knack for the lifestyle of surviving in the streets here. They were quite audacious, and Izzy could certainly relate to the kind of fuckery that Fish seemed to enjoy getting up to. Of course, it had been too bad that they had crossed a minor crime lord, who had hired Izzy to pursue the little miscreant. But, the longer the chase went on, the more amused she had become. And, once she had figured out just about how old the Kenku was... well, Izzy's loyalty to others was, shall we say, flexible. To herself and her own principles though (however scant those were), she was much more reliable. She knew there was a better ally in Fish than there was in this small-time crime lord who sneered up at her, and she was not about to hurt a child for some coin. Izzy had some scruples.
So, she cut Fish in on the deal, they faked the results her employer wanted, and the Kenku got fifty percent for their trouble. Since then, the little Kenku and the big tiefling had been friends. And what was a friendlier way of spending the holiday season than with your friend robbing people blind? It was for a good cause!
"Oooh, you don't say?" Her grin widens over sharp teeth, the smoke leaking from her nostrils and the corners of her mouth. She snuffs the cigar on the side of the building, and tucks it back within her pouch. "Great work, as usual~. Been checking the perimeter, not a lot of bodies out and about right now. Might be some freight loaders come around the docks 'round midnight and complicate things, but we should be long gone by then, hey?" Izzy winks, confident as ever.
As she pushes off the wall, she catches the look Fish gives her. Without thinking too much about it, Izzy braces herself for the little kenku to clamber up her arm and perch on her shoulder. If she was scary before, she must look quite a sight with a many-dagger-weilding gigantic raven on her arm. Like some demon that people whispered about in hushed corners. She snickere under her breath as Fish settled into place, and then gets moving, slipping from shadow to shadow to clear the short distance to the warehouse.
As they arrive, Izzy pauses across the street, waiting for the guards rotation to begin. She gives Fish a light tap, gesturing swiftly to the window, and the action of her providing a boost. Then, she points to herself with a little shrug; could distract the relief guard before or after they arrived with some fancy footwork, or, she could go in with them and try and grab as much as they could before making a stealthy exit.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 17, 2023 15:54:28 GMT -5
Fish is remarkably stable as Izzy climbs up to the roof, staying perfectly balanced on her shoulder as they go. They don't dismount from the tiefling until they are both on the roof top. Fish takes one last look at the guards waiting a beat before they nod. "Fish has plan."
The kenku takes out a bundle of rope handing one end to Izzy before backing up. Fish hits a dead sprint before launching off the building with the other end of the rope. Their cloak seems to catch the air and slow their descent[1] as Fish silently hits the other rooftop. They secure the rope on the other side with a piton, finishing their end of the rope bridge.
This plan isn't over for the little thief, they dangle off the edge, deftly slipping a lock pick into their hand to work the window open. In a flash the window is open and the bird launches themselves into the warehouse. Izzy should be able to create a tight rope to get across now, or just swing. Either way the window is open for the tiefling to come join the waiting kenku.
Fish looks behind them for a moment as they wait. A couple of guards inside, but they don't look any more dangerous than the others. So long as nothing went wrong this should be easy.
1.Free Flowing Scarf
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 18, 2023 21:21:19 GMT -5
After pulling herself up onto the roof, once Fish jumps down, Izzy tries her hand at a couple of cursory stretches. She arches a brow at the little hand signs about a plan, a sly grin creeping over her face. Izzy stayed silent; too much heat below, but she waggles her brows at the little bird; I'm listeningggg~
Wordlessly accepting the rope, Izzy watched. Did she know what was going on? No, absolutely not, but she was here to commit to whatever plan Fish had come up with. Planning wasn't so much her style, not really her thing, her vibe. Still, even she has to reevaluate that for a moment as she watches Fish sprint to the edge of the roof and leap off. Did they suddenly sprout a pair of wings she didn't know about? That would be very like them. She holds fast to the rope, curling it around her fist as, in fact, she watches Fish begin to glide.
In completely silent pantomine, Izzy loses her shit, doing a little hop, gesticulating wildly with glee, miming a scarf and then throwing her arms toward Fish in delighted disbelief. She mouths THAT WAS SO COOL, WHAT?
--Then, she is back on task. As Fish makes their way into the warehouse, Izzy wraps the rope a bit more securely around her arm. Ah, now this reminded her of the good ol' days. Last week.
She opts for the swing, faster and with less easily findable evidence between both buildings. Fearlessly, she sails across the gap, using her lanky legs to brace for the wall so she can hit it as quietly as possible. She manuveres her way across the wall toward the window, and quickly pulls herself up and through.
Landing is a bit less quiet than Fish, but hey, she weighs about a hundred of them (what was Fish, about 2 pounds soaking wet?) Still, she doesn't wait for a curious gaze to slant her way, instead slipping behind a shelf before they can give the window a cursory glance, much taller than any interference they might be looking for. Hopefully. Looking down at Fish, she snaps-- without actually snapping-- finger guns at the kenku, and winks. Nailed it.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 18, 2023 21:43:34 GMT -5
There is a quick confused grunt from the men below, but Fish and Izzy are quick enough to have already found hiding spots. At this point it is all silent handsigns for the both of them, Fish skipping words and simply going for intent. The kenku signals for Izzy to go around and flank.
Fish hops off the railing and from light to light until they get to the other side. The kenku had some plans on how to distract the group below. Quietly the bird waits for Izzy to give the signal from across the way that they are ready before unleashing their plan.
When ready, a satchel is tossed into the air. It drifts down towards the middle of the group in a slow arc. Drifting....drifting....the moment Fish hears a confused 'huh?' a knife is thrown with absolute precision slicing the bottom of the satchel and sinking into the chest of one of the guys.
The detritus inside the satchel explodes out, dust and reflexive material that catches the light and blinds the men below.[1] As they cough and rub their eyes, Izzy had her opening. It would be up to the tiefling to complete her half of the shenanigans.
1. Cheap trick
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 21, 2023 3:05:11 GMT -5
Catching and picking up the instruction easily, and trusting Fish knowing they had cased the joint in advance, Izzy flashes them her customary, sinister grin of assent. Wordlessly, she slips between the shelves, her wiry and gangly frame of little notice among the strange shapes these shadows took, the warehouse so full as it was with odds and ends across the perimeter of the room. For a woman as large as she was, Izzy was surprisingly light on her feet, and even harder to pick up if one did not know what they were looking for. Whether it was because most folks weren't looking for someone her height, and so were looking in the wrong places for her outline, or whether she was just that damn good, it didn't matter so much to Izzy; only that the thing got done and that she got off scott free.
Across and flanking the two men, Izzy quietly draws her rapier. She tips the blade back and forth twice, catching the moonlight streaming through the window in a glint that Fish would be able to catch; a signal.
She watched the satchel from wherever Fish was hiding sail through the air and the guards look up. Bending her knees slightly, a feral smile pressing her face into a wide caricature of predatory delight, she waited for the bag to burst. And it did, with a spectacular shimmer of the glitteru stubsance, one of the guards staggering back with a tight gasp as something impacted his chest.
Izzy wasn't thinking about that, though; the moment the bag tore, she was moving, an ambush predator falling on her unsuspecting prey. Before the second guard could raise the alarm, she was on them, a wraith with burning eyes surrounded by a halo of blood, the pommel of her rapier striking at their temple and casually flicking one of their feet out from under them. The guard tumbled like a sack of bricks. Not wasting the opportunity, Izzy gave the one she had knocked a quick pat down, slipping a set of keys and a couple of solars into her pockets.
Bouncing to her feet, she looked for Fish with a wide grin, clearly delighted with their work. Izzy gave them a thumbs up; All good on her side! She unwound the sacks she had tied across her torso in a sash, preparing to start gathering as much as they could as soon as they could, unless Fish was having an issue with the person they had tossed a knife into, in which case, she would help them handle it first.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 21, 2023 10:28:55 GMT -5
The man with the throwing knife in his chest had pulled himself to his feet during Izzy's scrum and tried to drag himself out to get help. As the tiefling turns to potentially go after the man she hears a soft thwimp....a pause....SHUNK...a last breath pushed out from the lungs before the sounds of someone crashing into crates. If she took a look, the man now had a bolt lodged in his back likely piercing his lungs.
By the time the tiefling turns around again Fish has already descended to the ground floor without a sound. They look over the three guards....likely not much worth anything on these guards. A couple of coins to split with Izzy sure, but nothing exciting.
The kenku retrieves a crowbar from their bag, offering it to Izzy who was significantly stronger. "We should at least see what is in the crates. The guards were not good, but it was important enough to be guarded which means it can be fenced for good amounts."
Fish was curious as to why they would get a tip about a place like this if it was this poorly guarded. They were a little worried about something being off about this whole thing, but they were already here. Izzy and Fish could worry about being double-crossed when they got out of here.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 22, 2023 14:02:52 GMT -5
Izzy looked over as Fish calmly dispatched the one guard with the knife in his chest. On one hand, that was probably a mercy; they would have likely died from the initial injury anyway, help or no help. On the other, Izzy was still cognizant that Fish was a kid, and the practiced ease at which they took to their skills always poked at what little thread of conscience Izzy possessed. Still, she knew they knew what they were doing. Zeinav City had a tendency to raise kids who grew up much too fast. She was one of them, after all. But, she'd had an older sister who at least forestalled her dissolution of childhood, growing up. To her knowledge, Fish had no such benefit.
BUT that's what Izz was for. She splits the coins she grabs from the guards with Fish and gladly takes the crowbar, replacing her rapier in its sheath. "Yeah, they kinda sucked, huh?" She whispers. Izzy clicks her tongue to look side-long at the guards. It was odd... but best not to look a gift guard in the mouth. They tended to have bad breath anyway.
Tossing the empty sacks for them to load their goods into, Izzy walked over to one of the crates and began prying up the edges, at least enough to see what was inside. If she couldn't get a good look, the whole thing was popping open, so they could get an idea of what they were snatching from the warehouse.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 22, 2023 19:38:53 GMT -5
Fish grumbles at was essentially a pittance from the guards. The coin is still stuffed away into a pocket, they weren't going to turn it down even it was offensively little. While Izzy pries the crate open, Fish does do one more pat down of the closest most boss looking guard. Any secrets? .....No. Bummer.
The kenku scrambles up a few crates to peer over and see into the crate. The lid creaks and groans before eventually popping off. The two thieves would see bars of gold with the stamp of the Zeinavian Treasury on each one. It seemed they had stumbled into the latest batch of currency for the city. By weight alone this would be a lot of coin for the both of them, though they would both immediately know this is a very *hot* item and could be hard to fence.
Still, the way it glistens in the bird's eye means they are intent on taking it. As Fish is packing away one bar, the ringing of alarm bells starts to echo down the street. This was a set up!
Fish motions for Izzy to grab what they can, Fish quickly tucking a second bar away before clamboring up the crates. "Outside, window, split, Fish left, Izzy right. Rendevous point."
They sign down to Izzy, taking the rope dangling outside the window and quickly tying it to the railing and down to Izzy. Fish jumped out the window sailing down with their scarf. There was no time to wait and see if Izzy was making it out. Fish trusted the tiefling implicity to escape like she'd done every time before.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 25, 2023 17:30:25 GMT -5
Izzy's ember-like eyes widen and flash as she spies the little glimmers of gold. Ohh, hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo~! That was a bigger jackpot than she was expecting. Way bigger. Too big. What in the world were government issued gold ingots doing in a podunk little warehouse by the harbor with a skeleton crew of a guard to watch it? This tickled the hairs on the back of her neck in a bad way that pushed against the greed pooling in her belly. Part of walking the fine line here in Zeinav was knowing when to push and when to back away from something. If it was too good to be true, it was. It always was.
But, before Izzy can advise caution, an ingot is already in the hands of the little kenku and a sharp sound of a bell starts to ring. Welp. In for a penny, in for a few pounds of gold. She shovels a few ingots into the bag. They can worry about what to do with it later, for now, Fish was right, they needed to get out of here. "Meet ya there," She winks up at Fish. She hauls herself up the rope after them, pleased they slipped out and away. She huffs her way up to the rafters, ties the sack across her body, and slips out the window, making sure to take the rope with her. She did as they said to, immediately heading right. And then pausing in the shadows. The thunder of footsteps of the guard reached her ears, and Izzy chose that moment to break cover and dash across the road they were approaching from.
She knew these back streets better than anyone. Her intent was to lead the guard on a wild goose chase, to take as much heat off of Fish as possible. Someone had to look out for the little bird.
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