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Post by Vikram on Jan 28, 2023 18:30:08 GMT -5
The wind blew through Vikram's beard as he flew over the desert on his luxurious Flying Yak Marvin. It was that time of year again, the time of which Vikram found himself participating in an ancient and respected tradition of reappropriating belongings to the less fortunate, while also wearing red. A crimson wrap robe he saved for special occasions, as well as a bright red silk turban made him look like some of those tribal chieftains so prominent in these desert societies.
The sun sat low on the horizon as he approached the Oasis trading outpost, coming from the north. He had heard from Suilemann that there was a large secret shipment from the deep desert set to go to Zeinav City that was supposedly sitting here largely unprotected. If she was involved, the value must truly be impressive, and there were several communities of urchins and street-folk sitting in the city that could use it much more than some Speak Sapphire Merchants.
He made out the largest building in the small settlement surrounding the beautiful oasis. It was whitewashed stone with several colorful banners and awnings surrounding it. There were still plenty of local merchants perusing deals and shipments just lingering about. This would be pretty easy. He slowed Marvin down and touched on to the roof, stepping off with a loud thunk.
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jan 28, 2023 19:43:02 GMT -5
Zeinav City...now here was a place Leandros could enjoy a bit of heat without broiling in his armor like the Ash Lands. Don't get the knight wrong, it was still sweltering, but it was much more tolerable here. Through his families connections, he had made his way into the city and through the merchants square.
The knight found himself at the stables near the warehouse where Vikram had just landed. While not here to purchase anything, he was still more than happy to talk horses with anyone who had the time. Leandros looked over a few of the steeds here, a loving hand stroking their necks. You really could see the fine lineage of each horse in its flanks, he could see the stable hands here did a wonderful job.
"I think the mother to my steed actually comes from here, I believe the hope is that creating a line from Zeinavian horses will breed faster horses somewhat."
"Ah, and you're likely to get smarter horses as well." The stable hand quipped as they shared a laugh.
Leandros would continue to peruse the horses, getting to know each one as they walked. It was time to potentially consider raising some foals from Byrr's stock. Who knows? Maybe this would be a simple business trip with no funny business.
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Post by Vikram on Jan 28, 2023 21:08:03 GMT -5
He tied down the Yak to some random chunk of wood that happened to be sticking out from the roof. Patting it's side and giving him a carrot from his pocket, he turned to consider how this would all work out. The outpost had quite a few amenities for being out here in the middle of the desert. There was a full service bar with a kitchen that always had incredible kebabs, A small warehouse, and a well kept stable with several high quality horses and camels within. A good distraction could be useful... several expensive horses running around the desert would divert attention from the warehouse for a good amount of time.
It was decided then. He waddled over to the rear of the building, on the back corner of the stables. Pulling what little moisture from the air into two small ice hatchets, he clambered his way down the Whitewashed stucco to the ground. Within, there were some patrons and a stablehand, all seemingly distracted at the moment. He weighed one of the axes with a short toss, before lobbing it at the back wall of the stable near the middle.
Ducking back down before the inevitable chaos, he hid behind a small stall wall and waited a moment. The axe struck home, landing on a wooden pillar and exploding outwards into a million shards of ice. Small slivers went everywhere, cutting ropes and embedding in wood, as well as startling enough horses to cause a small stampede. Nice! That should keep them busy for a while.Art of the avalanche
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jan 28, 2023 21:42:16 GMT -5
Too engrossed in conversation, Leandros is not prepared for the sudden explosion of chaos. The explosion of icy slivers and panicked whinnying of horses and braying of camels does catch his attention. More than a few steeds pull free from their binds and break from their pens in the panic. All coversation stops as the stable hands run off to catch as many as they can before further chaos descends.
The knight takes the halberd from his back and starts to stalk the area. The soft sky blue eyes take a more piercing look as he prowls through the area like a lion on a hunt. He eventually comes to the axe, frowning as he looks it over, seeing the frost at its impact. This wasn't a random attack it seemed, a weapon like this wouldn't be in the hands of the average horse thief. This was also a lot of noise to send people away form the area.
"Come out villain! The sooner you make yourself known, the more friendly my attitude will be when taking you into the guards." He called out, his voice carrying a deeper and more intimidating tone than his natural speaking tone, he could at least hope that knowing someone else capable was their could dissuade whoever is here.
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Post by Vikram on Jan 28, 2023 21:58:50 GMT -5
The frost on the wall cracked and crinkled in the ambient heat of the area, part one complete. He could hear a a local adventurer calling out a challenge and died a little inside. Young men had the most interesting habit of becoming heroes at incredibly inconvenient times. No matter, as long as he was in and out, there should be no issue.
Staying crouched behind the small wall, he waddled softly back to the rear of the building where the warehouse was. The soft jingle of all of Vikrams ornaments certainly weren't the stealthiest option for this venture, but it was in fact drip or die in this desert. Outside was a thick palm wood door with a heavy iron lock leading into the rear storage room. Out of view, hopefully, he withdrew the second axe and brought it down with a loud bang and crunch into the lock, cracking it at the shackle. Discarding the remnants of the ice, he gave a solid kick to send the door inwards. Hopefully he would be able to locate the shipment before the hero had a chance to apprehend him.
"Shit" Art of the Avalanche 2/2
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jan 28, 2023 22:34:43 GMT -5
A second blast, there! Leandros notices where this one comes from and starts to sprint after it. His efforts are hampered by the nearby chaos, horses and people running past, camels cutting into his path, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. They knock against him and harry his steps over and over.
The knight eventually plows his way through the crowds just enough to get to door of the warehouse. He pants heavily as he takes a moment to collect himself. Leandros regrips his halberd and enters the warehouse. He can hear the faintest tingle of bells. Scanning the boxes and crates that line the warehouse give whoever is in here plenty of spaces to hide within. He would have to be exceptionally careful not to get himself caught or stuck in an ambush.
"You're cornered in here thief!" He grits his teeth as he steps into a prowl again. "You are only making things more troublesome in the end."
He pokes at some of the stacks of boxes occasionally, seeing if he can do something to scare the thief out of hiding. Thankfully for Vikram, Leandros was equally noisy in his armor which meant it would be easy to keep track of where he is.
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Post by Vikram on Jan 29, 2023 2:10:09 GMT -5
Shit, Shit shit. This guy was almost as tall as Shaa himself, and he actually had armour to boot. The crest adorning his cape looked fancy at least, what the hell was a Capitol Landing knight doing all the way out here?! Vikram's back was pressed against a large barrel with multicoloured linen piled atop it, his turban only just blending in by sheer happenstance. These noble men, was it possible perhaps to fool them? It was his only chance. Looking around, he found a small satchel with a Zeinavan name written on it. It would have to do, he just needed to fool him long enough to get a good look around the warehouse. Purposely, he knocked over a small box to make a bit of racket. Grabbing the satchel, he raised it high and laughed, his presence now made apparent. "Aha! There it is, I cannot believe that I had lost such a precious item... Oh! excuse me good sir, there must be a mistake. I am no thief! Only an old man who has lost his daughters Winter's Crown gift. The bag is here, but the gift must have came out when they put it back here!"
Brilliant! He chuckled slightly to himself, a master thief in disguise... no one would suspect a thing!
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jan 29, 2023 11:19:40 GMT -5
Leandros wheeled around at the sound of knocked over box. He hurried through the warehouse and eventually Vikram would find himself suddenly at the pointed end of a halberd, though Leandros was not uncouth enough to press it against the man, it was probably too close for comfort.
He looks over the man a moment, he man certainly could be a local given his dress. For a moment he relaxes a bit, halberd still pointed at him. "Why would you have a gift hidden back here? It would make more sense to keep it on your person would it not?"
Leandros was not the smartest of men, he would readily admit that, and given any other situation he might have let Vikram go and fully bit on the lie but the two axes had his suspicions raised. He tried to level his best discerning gaze at Vikram to see how he answers these questions. Depending on Vikram's preference he could still lie again, but there was just enough space between him and the halberd to make a break for it. A rookie mistake from a young adventurer with perhaps too soft a heart depending on who you ask.
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Post by Vikram on Jan 30, 2023 22:31:04 GMT -5
Hmm... A bit of questioning was not unheard of, it was quite the stretch of a story for thinking on his feet. He could run... But the goods needs still be taken. A bit of stalling... He chuckles gaily, and begins slowly walking about.
"Ha, of course. You see, it is my friends birthday next week. I had gotten him a crate of goods from the deep desert, and they were meant to pass through this outpost! When I had not received them, my inquiry discovered that it had been confiscated due to improper postage. You see? I am simply retrieving what is already mine due to a shipping mishap, not to worry!" He digs about in some loose cargo, before unearthing the package he had been looking for. It was a sturdy small crate, steel riveted supports and a large woodburn seal with a large S on the top. An attempt made to lift it found it's weight to be significant, as Vikram awkwardly waddled over to the door.
"Ah! Here....It is.... Dont.... Mind me....just gonna.... squeeze past!"
Sweat came down his forehead as he attempted to make it to the door. A struggling whistle called out to Magnificent Marven, whose snort from the roof confirmed his order.
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Post by Leandros Aurthurian on Jan 30, 2023 22:43:32 GMT -5
The piercing blue eyes of the knight remain trained on Vikram, but Leandros does slowly pull his halberd back to a resting position. The man doesn't seem to be offering much of a threat and if he was behind the axes well he'd already thrown both. Leandros would assume there's no way he could have a third.
Admittedly, being very far from here, Leandros did start to worry that this was some sort of custom of hiding gifts he didn't know about and this man just happened to pick the worst possible time to come retrieve. On top of that, he had no jurisdiction here....or anywhere really. He's a knight not a cop, but at least in Capitol Landing his word meant something. Here? Not so much.
He lets out a large and heavy sigh, "I apologize sir, I must admit in the midst of the calamity that happened outside I must have gotten a bit carried away. You seem to know what you are looking for. I will tell the guards to make sure nothing has been stolen, but you can leave. I can't do much to keep you here anyways." He gives a small laugh as he moves aside to naively let the thief go.
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Post by Vikram on Jan 31, 2023 5:16:00 GMT -5
He plopped the crate out beside Marvin, and also the three other loose horses that came when Vikram had whistled. Patting his loyal steed, he turned back to the remarkably naive young knight.
"I must thank you, young one. It's nice to meet someone from the younger generation with a little respect for their elders! Now, I must be off, best of luck to you and your calamity!" He hauled up a leg upon the yak, using the crate as a stepladder. It's creaks and groans evident of the weight of the man, and of the construction of the box. He leaned over almost 90 degrees and grabbed a handle on the back. Hefting it upon the rucksack saddle, and situating himself, he offered the young man a wave of farewell.
"ila al liqaa Knight, perhaps you yourself have some gifts I can help locate! You know, you Capitol Knights are quite the polite bunch, I'll have to make a visit to the landing soon!" Vikram kipped at the yak, and with a loud grunt that sent the surrounding horses scattering once more, sailed off into the sunset...
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