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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 25, 2023 19:00:17 GMT -5
Should a child be in a casino? More importantly, should the child be in the seedy backroom of a casino? The answer to both of these is obviously no, but yet Fish remains. They scrambled into said backroom through a window, falling and flopping down into a cushioned lounging chair. It was not Fish's preferred meeting place, but it was Izzy's. Tactically it made sense, it was a busy place which made it easy to lose people in a crowd and often attracted criminal types so quick hand offs could be made.
Fish just didn't like the noise because it made it hard to pick out any dangerous noises or just secrets in general. As the kenku sat in this cushioned chair, they pulled their backpack to the front and hugged the bag of gold to their chest. This was a good haul for such an easy job. There were plenty of things Fish could buy with such coin, maybe they could finally start up their own little business/apothecary/criminal front.
They idly kicked their little leggies as they waited for Izzy to make it back to their set meeting point. The two were about the same speed, Fish could skitter at pretty good speeds but Izzy had them legs to make big strides.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 25, 2023 20:51:54 GMT -5
It doesn't take Izzy long to find her way back, once she has led the guard on a long enough of a chase (which was way harder work than usual, they were intent this time, and very thorough), she eventually winds her way through the streets to the casino, rather than making a bee-line straight there. She'd tangled with the law enough times throughout her life to know the steps, the old routines. She knew Fish would make it back, though, of that much she was absolutely confident.
And sure enough, after jimmying the lock in the back room and quietly drifting in, and locking it behind her, Izzy spots them. Safe as houses, sitting on one of the plush couches. She grins, a sincere smile of gladness, and shambles over, tossing her sack of gold next to the couch as she plops down on it beside Fish, giving them a little lift-off into the air. She holds out her closed fist for them to bump their own hand against. "Good work back there. You make it back alright?"[/b] She starts to pat herself down for her cigar, intent on having a light smoke now that they were safe. At least, for now. "Now we gotta find a way to offload our get as fast as possible, yeah? That seems like it was a bit of a.... hmm." Izzy ponders how to put this, "A too good to be true kind of situation. Someone wanted that lifted. The sooner we get it sold off, the better. Know anyone who can melt it down into smaller pieces?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 25, 2023 21:17:19 GMT -5
When Izzy enters the room, Fish looks out a window to check the position of the moon. "Izzy is 2 minutes and 34 seconds slower than usual." The grip on the bag loosens just a bit now that Izzy is here and they don't need to make as quick a getaway as they would alone.
They straighten up a little bit into business bird routine once the tiefling sits down, handing a box of matches over to Izzy. Why does the bird have matches? Wouldn't you like to know weather boy. They are content to give Izzy a moment to relax and decompress before they slam themselves into the next part of their heist.
"Fish has some contacts, but Fish is worried.....This job was too easy, Fish thinks this gold may be too hot to move in Zeinav City. Does Izzy have contacts outside of Zeinav City? Fish has not traveled much.....and Fish believes the one contact they have outside Zeinav would not appreciate this being the first favor that Fish asks of them."
They look up to the tiefling, curious to hear her ideas. They knew she was much more well traveled than Fish and much more personable, but they were never fully sure just how invested in the criminal life Izzy was. She was always down to help on a job, but Fish realizes they never talked much about what and who Izzy knows. Fish is beginning to learn, especially after the Zarius job, that they should start to learn more about the people they work with.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 26, 2023 17:06:11 GMT -5
Izzy snorts, "Yeaaah, I stopped to snag an apple off a cart, here," grinning, she passes Fish an apple in reasonable condition. Which of course, while not a lie, was not technically true, either, but the sharp-eyed little kenku had definitely noticed. She shrugs, "Guard gave me a little trouble. They were pretty well mobilized."
Popping the cigar between her lips, she takes the box of matches with a twitch of her smile, "Always prepared, eh? Thanks." In a fluid motion, a match is struck off her bracer to a guttering flame, and swiftly placed against the burnt stub of the cigar to ignite it with a plume of sweet, musky smoke. Izzy exhales a stream, watching Fish's hands move. She tips her head from side to side in agreement; the gold was too hot to move, and Izzy wasn't sure that even burying it in the sand dunes for twenty years could make that heat go away.
"Hmmm," she clicks her tongue, and rolls the cigar lazily between her fingers. "Not for anything like this, no. Any of the folks I know are the wrong kind of seedy; they'd sooner dime us out than actually help, even if it would benefit them. My sister is in the area, she travels now and then... she might know a jeweler who could melt some down..." There's a long pause as Izzy thinks it over, then waves her hand dismissively, trailing smoke in ribbons in front of them. "Nah, too much gold to try that, same risk, more middle men. Who's your contact outside of Zeinav?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 26, 2023 17:37:57 GMT -5
Fish does not believe the lie, but there is no business sense in pressing it further. There was really no purpose at looking backwards, it had already happened and now they where here. Fish's expression is one of mild annoyance when Izzy jokes if they are always prepared, of course Fish is. They are a professional.
"Fish may have to reach out then.....Does Izzy mind traveling to Darkveil?" They tilt their head looking up to the tiefling.
As they talk and hash out the details, the main hall of the casino has gone quiet. A large orc man dressed in guard gear, a large medal affixing his cloak to his shoulder, was flanked by several other guards. His heavy footsteps shook the roulette tables as he walked, thick brow furrowed to scan the crowd. He carried a wicked looking cudgel at his side, the head of it as thick as the kenku themselves.
"Right then....we are looking for a few fugitives who made off with a bit of the sultan's gold. We know most of you are good folk, so just tell us if you've seen a small bird or a large gangly tiefling woman."
He paced up and down the middle of the casino as guards started to flank and filter through the crowd. The silence hung heavy, the clinking of gold and dice now dead as everyone held a nervous breath. The two thieves had some time to think in the backrooms. Would they fight or run to protect the hideout?
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 27, 2023 2:43:39 GMT -5
"I'm bein' sinceeere," Izzy tried to press, seeing Fish's slightly disgruntled expression. "I know I always sound sarcastic by default, but it's true! I'm commending you." She grins, and taps ash off to the side, in an ashtray for a change, like someone civilized. Lifting her brows, she turns her gaze to Fish. Now who in the hell did they know from Darkveil? She lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug, the smile widening. "Not a bit, lil Fish! I can make the time for my favourite feathered friend."
Twirling her cigar through her fingers, she thinks. Now, how in the hell were they going to transport this out of the city to get to Darkveil safely? She knew a way through the wall that was, ah, less than standard, but desperate times and all that. "We still gotta drop things off for the whole night of the Red Rogue thing too. We can do that real fast tomorrow night and then split. How's that sound?"
Her head suddenly snaps around, sitting up straight, as she hears a sudden quiet, punctuated only by the tromping of boots. Her cop senses were tingling. "How did they bloody see us?" she hisses, a scowl appearing on her face, for once. That was a huge no-no. She had been sure she had lost them fully and that she had stayed mainly out of view throughout the chase. The fact that they had seen both her and Fish, though, was alarming. "Hideout is compromised," grumbling, she looks to Fish. "We have a side exit outta here if we need it, no sense in giving them what they want with a fight in the back room. Might be better if we just were never here, you feel me?" But she looks to the door. These people knew what they looked like, and further investigation could reveal their names, potential other aliases, and have a ripple effect of bringing down not just them, but the very people in this casino who paid her to do things.
Standing, she picks up the sack of gold and ties it around her bandolier style again. A little hard line of steel flashes down her spine; "I also don't like witnesses." She mutters to Fish, looking down at them to see what they thought.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 27, 2023 16:19:34 GMT -5
"Ya ain't doing nothing, but wastin our time and time wasted is money wasted. Sultan don't like wastin money."
As the gruff voice tries to coax them out of hiding, Fish looks over their haul to try and figure out what happened. If they knew how they were found they could make a plan. The kenku scours over their things while the footsteps get closer and closer.
Where? Where? Where? There! Fish notices two small holes in the bags each of them used to carry the gold off. "They must have hidden something inside of the bags that escaped and led them back here." Fish scans the room again to try and figure out a plan.
They hand over their bag of goods to Izzy. "Izzy is bigger, can carry more. Guards probably have building surrounding...Fish has plan. Operation Sunsmoke." Fish withdrew two potions from their pockets with a flourish like drawing guns, one held a dark and inky potion while the other was bright and luminescent.
Izzy will have seen these before, the Flash Flask could blind the guards while the Smoke Flask would further blind and disorient them. It did require Izzy to temporarily pretend she is getting arrested, but Fish could get to the rafters and onto the roof more easily than the tiefling could. Plus, this plan was just more chaotic in general.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 29, 2023 3:12:06 GMT -5
Izzy mocks the guards on the other side of the door with a silent 'mleh mleh mleh'. But she looks to Fish and down at the bags with a frown. Well, that was troubling. They would have to ditch the bags as soon as possible, but what if the implant was in the gold itself?
Still angry about the guards, Izzy stamps out her cigar and takes the bag with a grunt-- sure she was bigger and stronger, of course, duh, that was her whole shtick, but gold was also heavy. Good thing she had a lot of surface area to distrubute the weight with. She wraps the other bag the other way around, and tucks her cloak over and around the sacks so they have a little more reinforcement, and protection, from whatever Fish has in store. Though she doesn't have to wait long to find out exactly what that is.
Her smile grows dark and a little tittle settles into her throat, low and gravelly. "Ohhh, we're doing this one again? I loooove where your head's at," She purposefully shifts herself to a more visible position of the door, and holds her unlit cigar in her hand, for added effect. "Let's make 'em sorry."
The doorknob rattles, but it is, of course, locked. There's a rapid and hard knocking and Izzy calls out. "Occupadoooo~"
The door bursts open and the guard start to enter, a little surpressed by the choke point of the door. Crossbows are levelled at the tiefling. "Get on your knees! Hands on your head!"
Izzy lifts up her hands lazily, looking politely bewildered-- and amused. "Whoaaa, slow down, what's this all about?"
"Do it NOW!"
"Sure man, you got the wrong statuesque red-head, but I mean, if this is your way of meeting people, I have a lawyer who would be SUPER interested to hear aaaall about this egregious little display of abuse of power," Slowly, to allow Fish enough time to get into position, Izzy shifts off the couch to set on her knees, slowly raising her hands to place them behind her head.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 29, 2023 11:39:48 GMT -5
Fish scrambles quickly around Izzy and up into the rafters as the focus is on Izzy first. Given the disparity in their heights it was very hard to keep eyes on her and a bird, plus it was a dangerous thing to look down and take your eyes off someone like that.
"Well well, look at yous having a bit of sense. Get'er in chains, we'll find the other around here somewhere." The burly half-orc captain grins with the assumption he's won. Like every good bad cop he haughtily thinks he has scared and overwhelmed them, there could be no foul play here.
A pair of guards come around to slap a pair of manacles on the tiefling before yanking her to stand up. They two seem similarly smug, Izzy had a bit of a reputation so taking her in was certain to lead to promotions or at least a Winter's Crown bonus.
"Let this be a lesson to ye all!" The captain bellowed out as he led the group back out to the middle of the casino. "Ye can't escape the guards, fer we are ever vigi-"
The captain's speech is cut off by the sound of shattering glass and an explosion of light. While everyone hisses and groans there's a second sound of crashing glass and smoke begins to fill the immediate area. Fish drops down from the rafters behind Izzy, unlocking her manacles.[1]
"SO LONG JERKWADS" The sound of Izzy's voice seems to come from the back of the smoke accompanied by some footsteps[2] but Fish takes off towards the front entrance to scurry out the door and into the street.
1. Lock Pick 2. Sound Throwing
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Jan 30, 2023 16:39:37 GMT -5
"Sense, yes, solars too, if you're nasty," Izzy quips, irreverence being her default setting. It went hand in hand with being annoying as all get out, something that would help keep eyes on her and off of Fish. "Nobody in here but me anyway, just minding my own business, havin' a little smoke and drink, you know, me time, when you lot come in and crash the vibe! The vibe is atrocious now." She feels the manacles clamp over her hands and a flash of a grimace lands on her face before it evaporates. She trusted Fish. They wouldn't let her get properly arrested and take the fall. She holds herself back from trying to escape, and exercises a rare modicum of patience.
"Whupsiedaisy." Izzy mutters as she's pulled upright. She looks out at the room full of people in the casino, and shrugs. Cops, right? As the Captain starts yammering on, Izzy yawns, a perfect amoung of time to have her eyes closed for Fish to step in. And thank the gods they do.
The flash of light and smoke quickly cause a round of terrified screaming from patrons and the guards. Feeling her hands get loose, Izzy immediately hops back a pace, feeling Fish brush past her leg. The guards lurch in the smoke, coughing and gasping. "AFTER HER!"
Izzy pins herself against the wall as the guards stumble into the room, letting them rush right by her. Once they're in, she pulls the door closed and locks it from the outside, trapping the guard in there with the majority of the smoke and an empty room. Everyone else was turned away from the bright light and smoke, struggling to recover from teh spots in her eyes. Tittering to herself, Izzy picks up the manacles from the ground ("Mine now,") and saunters through the smoke from the back room to the kitchen entrance, dropping a few solars in a nice stack on the floor boss' desk by way of an apology. Niceties taken care of, Izzy makes a quick exit back out into the streets, on the way to the next rendezvous point.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Jan 30, 2023 18:28:07 GMT -5
The Dusty Refuge had now devolved into pure and absolute chaos. Guards stumbled over each other, patrons fled en masse, trampeling some of the guards underfoot. The captain of the guard did his best to gain control of the situation. Even in the screaming his loud voice bellowed as clearly as a rusty bell over everyone, but it mattered little.
Fish saw a flash of white dart across an alley before some of the guards surrounding the building started to converge. "DOCKS DOCKS" Fish barked out the mimicked words before sliding underneath the legs of a guard and starting to scramble up the roof.
Of course, through their jobs together Izzy would know whatever destination was called out meant go to an opposite destination. It wasn't a particularly clever cipher, but it always worked as panicked guards only heard about 2 or 3 words at a time. So, the kenku worked on losing the guards, heading towards the dock to start.
As they popped down into an alley, they stopped moving, hiding behind some barrels as they ran past. With quiet steps[1] Fish would double back and start moving towards the city stables. Fish would rendevous with Izzy there. One stolen horse later and the two of them would be out of the city.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 1, 2023 2:27:18 GMT -5
With all this weight across her body, Izzy wasted no time in getting to the rendezvous point-- the proper one-- as they split off. The fact that the building had been more surrounded than they had let on was a problem, and that she had only narrowly dodged the onslaught of the guard as they moved in on the casino was a bit of serendipity that she would not take for granted. No messing about this time, straight to the point. Still, avoiding the guard that sweeps the side streets, hunting for them, is labourous. Hiding in dark places, slipping between carts, and taking shortcuts through peoples 'unlocked' doors, all quickly get her to the stables.
By the time Fish arrives, Izzy has coaxed a horse out of the stables with one of her stolen apples and put on its saddle and tack. Silently beckoning to Fish, she pulls herself up and astride the large draft horse, and lifts Fish up with her. Taking as many backroads as they could to wend their way out of the city would take some extra time, but before long, hooves were beating a rhythm against the sand, carrying Fish and Izzy away under the cold moonlight.
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