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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 1, 2023 16:35:09 GMT -5
Crime duo extraordinaire Izzy and The Bird had successfully pulled off one of the greatest crimes in Zeinavian history. 15 pounds of gold meant for the Sultan himself had suddenly gone missing. The fortune could change lives, but it came with a catch. Nearly no one was willing to buy it from them outright. The haul was just too hot to handle for anyone.
A discouraging update, but there were still some things they could do with it. Fish led Izzy to Capitol Landing, specifically the Gold Port. A place bustling with commerce, money, and more importantly for them contacts. Perhaps if no one was willing to take gold bars, they could reforge it into something else. They just had to go about finding a blacksmith willing to ignore the various red flags about this merchandise.
The tiny little kenku hopped through the streets, practically dancing between the hustle and bustle as it seemed to do little to slow their progress. They were very close to becoming one of the greatest thieves in all of Charon, nothing would stop them now. They though, confident that there would be no such shenanigans or dilly-dallying. This would be an in and out operation, just like this whole job started out as. Easy. No complications.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 2, 2023 23:08:30 GMT -5
No complications whatsoever. Though Izzy was riding the high of a job well done, albeit one that was unintended, dangerous, and had nearly gotten them bot captured, the burden of the gold itself was beginning to weigh on her. Literally and figuratively. It was impossible to fence, and it was dangerous to even inquire on some people. She was sure there was a pretty bounty on her head back home that she would have to pay off... or maybe write her legal representative and get them to drop the charges. That had to be some other rakish, incredibly tall tiefling that resisted arrest. At the very least, she was confident she could count on the indifference of the people who owned the casino-- and the little stack of solars she had left for them.
Fish, at least, seemed to be thriving. There was a spring in their little bird step as they made their way through the gold port. Izzy trudge on, tired, having been alert these past few days as much as she could to get them where they were going. Though they were far from home, Izzy made sure she was tightly wrapped up, so as to avoid any spies that might have pursued them, even going so far as to.... hunch slightly to change up her posture. "Are we theeere yeeeet." She half whined, half grinne at Fish, catching up to where they bounded along the cobblestones. She wove carefully through the crowd, careful not to let anyone touch the sacks she had wrapped around her torso beneath her cloak. "Do you know where to find this 'person' or are we shopping around?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 2, 2023 23:18:49 GMT -5
If Izzy was not the closest thing the bird considered to a best friend, they would stab them. They only stabbed Morrigan because Kvasir was usually near by. In any case, it does feel good to be a bit more relaxed. Fish was always cautious, but there was a bit more joy in their step as they no longer had guards breathing down their necks. Fish nodded up to Izzy at her question, seemingly to indicate they did have a plan.
It was deep into the dock area before they could hear the familiar and rythmic banging of a blacksmith's hammer. They would come to find the absolute thickest looking gnome anyone had ever seen. A thick bushy beard with burnt ends covered the bottom half of his face while the top was obscured by fuzzy thick brows. His hands were broad and calloused enough to be hammers themselves.
He raises his head as they approach, "Aye, ain't either of ya seamen so what ye need me fer?"
Fish makes a set of hand signs in a code even Izzy wouldn't understand. "Ye what?" More handsigns. "FIFT....fifteen pounds?" More handsigns and nodding.
The gnome sighs, one of those thick hands running down is face, pulling out a few beard hairs as he does. "Look what yer doin to me....Aye, fine, hand'em over, I'll see wut I can do wif'em but ya two are gonna owe me a favor. A right now kind o' favor."
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 3, 2023 15:42:13 GMT -5
"I figured you would," she grins. She knew better than to press more, and besides, she loved surprises. It was always a riot with Fish.
As they approach the blacksmith's, Izzy is frankly just happy to get this extra weight off her back. Fish weighed about as much as a couple of grapes, so carrying a whole fifteen pounds for days at a time was exhausting. "Good eye, I am neither sea nor man. Most people can't tell the difference." Izzy snickers. She gives the burly gnome a cheery wave, and starts unwinding the gold sacks from across her torso as Fish signs at the blacksmith, evidently explaining their situation. She snickers softly at his reaction. That was a lot to take in. She wondered how Fish knew this guy, exactly, or at least knew of him. She eyes the shop, looking to see if she could find anything that indicated that this guy was on the up and up.
She flicks her gaze back to the smith as he mentions a favour. Of course. Nothing was free. She clicks her tongue, and leans a hand on the counter. "As long as we have your, ah, assurance that our business here will be treated with the utmost discretion, I will sing any tune you like. Proverbially." Izzy adds. She wasn't much of a musician. "What's the favour, sailor?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 3, 2023 16:17:43 GMT -5
"Oh good a jokester, glad ya brought a partner with ya." The gnomish man waved Izzy off with a little annoyed "fheh" noise. He barely came up to her knee so it was much easier to just talk to Fish anyways.
Each bar of gold is carefully examined, tapped against the anvil, scraped at with a nail, and any other thing the man could do to test that it was real gold. As Izzy looked around, she could see that he primarily made things for ships. Nails, chains, an anchor rests in one corner of the shop, and lots and lots of barrel and crate parts. That could give Izzy a hint that this man is a smuggler of sorts, easy to hid things in stuff if you're the one building it all.
"Ya have my assurance cause I ain't toss ya out on your respectively scaly and feathery arses ya know."
Fish for their part has been just patiently waiting by. They had no interest or ability to participate in the back and forth.
A thick fuzzy brow is raised towards Izzy as the gnome looks up at her. "I need ya to bust me buddy Runnolf outta the animal control. They say he done bit some kid....and kicked a guard in the face....and gored a man dressed as a snowman, but I ain't never seen no man dressed as a snowman." The gnome does not refute the other two things happened. "Get'em free and this gold won't be any trouble to ya."
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 4, 2023 18:18:24 GMT -5
The shop itself seems to check out-- it was a decent place actually, had some of the rough and tumble types of fixing she preferred to see. No fancy noble-bait armor, nothing too flashy, mostly utilitarian. Crates from different locations... alright, this guy could hang.
Izzy leans herself against a load bearing pillar, ever so casually, to listen to the request. "....Runnolf?" She repeats, "From. Animal control. So, we're breaking an animal out of animal jail for you?" A grin stretches her face. "Sounds like Runnolf knows how to party. Alright, we're in. Point us in the right direction and we'll get him for ya. So," She starts ticking off her fingers. "Where is this.... animal control. And do you want us to bring Runnolf back here or to some other location? Or just set him loose for some vengeance?"[/b] That sounded fun either way.
Izzy looks down to Fish for their approval, and to see if there was anything they wanted to add. If there was nothing else, and they had gotten all the information they would need, Izzy would head out with Fish in the direction they needed to go, slipping into work mode. "Lot easier to work with all that weight off my shoulders. Alright, got an idea for how to play this? And how'd you hear about that guy anyway?" she jerks her thumb over her shoulder, back toward the blacksmith's.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 4, 2023 20:04:24 GMT -5
"Aye, he's a reindeer, you'll know its him, big bright vermillion nose. Just set'em free and come back 'ere, Runnolf will know what to do. Now go on git, yer attractin too much attention." The gnome shuffles them off, Fish following the command cause it meant this was over.
"Fish knows the way." This would only be the 45243rd time they've helped Runnolf get free after all. Fish doesn't seem all too concerned about hustling along. This was actually a pretty easy trade off given the task they just handed over to the gnome. The old man had always been soft and more than his fair share of generous.
"Fish caught them breaking into a house at the same time Fish was....They were leaving things behind though...Fish didn't quite understand, but Fish was also committing a crime, so it was a better arrangement to work together."
That truly was about the best information about the gnome that Fish could offer, Izzy would know it is the bird's preference to not really learn much about people. Getting close means getting personal which means potential attachments that can create weak spots to exploit. Fish did not like having those if at all possible.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 5, 2023 18:46:52 GMT -5
Still snickering at the idea of liberating a reindeer of all things, with a... oddly coloured nose, weird choice of words, she follows behind Fish with a spring in her gangly step. "Aahhh. I see. Yeah, good call. They seem a decent sort, got some cool shit around their shop. Think they'll make me a dagger made of gold?" She muses out loud, smiling at the idea. It would be functionally useless, but Pretty, so pretty. More than likely, she would wind up just using it to pick her teeth at some uppity dinner party, but first and foremost, that shit had to get brought to the good, peasant people of Zeinav, one way or another.
Ugh, that would also be heavy. That was fine, though. Once she had laid low long enough and the public embarrassment to the Zeinav guards getting so easily routed for what should have been an easy little entrapment case, she would be back to her usual shenanigans.
"Soooo, what's your idea, then?" Izzy prompts as they walk, stepping closer beside Fish so she could better watch their tiny hands. "And if you've done this before, how, uh, well guarded is it bound to be so they can prevent Runnolf from escaping and being a menace once more?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 5, 2023 19:02:36 GMT -5
"Should have asked before leaving, Fish doesn't know what his plan is for the gold." They keep heading down the markets near the port before ducking into an alley. Nice and quiet for planning seeing as you don't exactly plan breaking and entering's out in the open. Plus Izzy didn't have to adjust as much while walking.
They scramble up onto a barrel to attempt to get closer to Izzy's eye level. "Fish imagines they have Runnolf chained up pretty firmly....Having the time to undo all the locks will be the hardest part.....Runnolf should be outside though, they don't have jail cells for reindeer. The main thing to decide is who will do the lockpicking and who will be the distraction.
Fish obviously had their preference, but they did make Izzy have to get arrested so it was fair if she didn't want to be the face of the operation this time. Fish did have time to remake some of those potions they had, plus they had other poisons and party tricks to try out. Fish looked to Izzy to see her decision and if she might even have a plan of her own. This is a new attempt at *teamwork* for the bird.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 6, 2023 14:22:55 GMT -5
"Well why didn't you ask!" Izzy snickers, "He like you, he just things I'm a big ol' idiot. Which, to be fair, not inaccurate."
She folds her arms as Fish clambers the barrel, watching their hands attentively. On one hand, her being the distraction was always easiest; just look at her. She was made for distractions. But, with the recent incident in Zeinav, she worried that her visibility might tip off anyone still searching for them, who could potentially bring it back around to Fish's contact. It was better if she was never here. She gives Fish a wink, "I've been practicing on those manacles, so I think I can tackle the locks. And we don't want people to know they we were here, so probably best if I remain out of sight, yeah?" Her lips quirk in an amused little smirk.
Izzy worried, of course, of the potential heat it could bring to Fish, but she knew the kenku was resourceful and clever. At the very least, they could get out of here swiftly, and the faster the better. "Just point me in the right direction and I'll give you the signal once everything is said and done, yeah?"
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 6, 2023 15:18:31 GMT -5
Fish nods and accepts this arrangement. It was a strange little feeling as they hopped down from the barrel, usually they were insistent on being the planner. Fish liked knowing how things were going to go and counted on everything moving together, so to give that up to someone else was uncommon. Friendship was a long and slow process for the bird, but they were learning.
The impound lot was only about a half-mile from the docks. It was obvious this place wasn't intended to hold a reindeer at first look. There is a stable of horses with one pen closed with makeshift doors and angry rattling coming from behind said doors. A few guards stood out front with a few more likely inside. As they arrived, Fish would peel off to the right motioning for Izzy to go left. It would be a terrible distraction if they both went in the same direction.
Fish hunkered down in an alley to watch the crowd go by and think of a distraction. Unlike Izzy they lacked the size to intimidate people, so a direct confrontation was out. So was just knocking off the guards, murder is bad, murder in broad daylight is bad for business. So, what to do?
Fish has an idea.
From Izzy's perspective, the street seems normal until things quickly descend into chaos. The sounds of explosions, people screaming, and panicked horses echo through the street as the guards rush off to try and get a handle of the situation.
From Fish's perspective, they waited a moment for a passing carriage. They withdrew a throwing knife and waited for just the right time to whip it across the street, cutting the ropes that attached the horses to the cart. The moment those bonds were freed Fish mimicked the sound of a ship exploding, a personal touch to the last boat they exploded with Kamille.
The loud noise panicked the horses who reared back and ran off. The chaos of the horses knocked over the carriage as they fought to run as far as they could. People scrambled past each other thinking something had actually exploded. It was chaos.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 7, 2023 14:40:30 GMT -5
Izzy gives Fish a wide smile as they accept. She thought she might need to do a little more convincing; Izzy was very much a go-with-the-flow kind of person, and it was easy for her to pivot and adjust toward Fish's plans. She was a good improviser. With Fish taking on that role, and giving Izzy control over a part of the routine they normally liked, Izzy could see a little glimmer of trust. She gives them a little salute as they hop off the barrel. "I'll do ya proud, Fish."
At Fish's signal, she deviates to the left, around to the other side of the stables, creeping around to the left-hand side. This place was an absolute prison indeed. She could smell and hear the animals within their stables, but Izzy remained still, and out of side, waiting for whatever distraction Fish had prepared to unleash.
Suddenly, there was chaos. Izzy heard explosions and whinnying horses and yelling guards. As they thundered away and after the horses, Izzy swooped in, ghost-like, into the stables. One guard remained, a skeleton crew, while the other guards had taken off to deal with the mess. As he starts to turn to look at her, Izzy thrusts out her palm, smothering his face with her hand and covering his eyes. She drags him off to the back, looking through the stables to see which one was their little target.
She looks through the door that had been angrily rattling as the man in her hand thrashes against her grip. Angry, wild eyes, antlers and a vermillion nose. Izzy drops the guard on the ground, face down, and puts a foot on his back while she takes out her picks to undo the lock... locks. Plural. They really didn't want Runnolf taking off this time.
Once the last lock has been unlatched, Izzy steps to the side, dragging the guard with her foot so he wouldn't be trampled on by Runnolf. Once he's free, Izzy lifts the guard up by the belt and hauls him into the messy stall. She shuts the door behind him, and redoes one of the locks, so he can't easily get out.
Now, it's time to bounce. Runnolf is supposed to 'know what he must do', according to the blacksmith, so she just... gives the animal a nod. Then, she slips back out, never here, listening to the angry, muffled banging of the guard on the other side of the stall door where he was thrown. Around the corner, holding both hands to her mouth, she makes a weird, warbling trill sound that flutters with her fingers, to signal Fish.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 7, 2023 15:16:07 GMT -5
Runnolf does, in fact, know what he must do. He lets out a loud braying noise as he kicks free. As wild as the thrashing is, Izzy might notice he is careful enough not to hit her. What he does kick is some of the support beam of the stable to weaken in and startle the other horses. The reindeer trots off and clears the fence in a single bound before taking off.
The reindeer quickly gets out of sight as the scene on the street is still a work in progress. As Izzy is waiting in the alleyway, she would hear a loud clanging noises like manacles getting slapped onto someone before Fish drops down into sight. The day Fish does not sass Izzy is the day the bird is found dead.
"This went much easier than Zeinav....Fish thinks we should wait before going to check in." Fish sits down on a crate and pulls their bag forward to their chest. The little hand pulls out a slightly damaged handpie and offers it to Izzy. Fish has another one in their free hand. From their spot in the alley they do have a good view of the ongoing chaos of Fish's end of the scheme.
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Post by Issala 'Izzy' Arodre on Feb 7, 2023 16:42:45 GMT -5
Hearing the clank of manacles suddenly, Izzy damn near jumps out of her skin, wheeling with a look of startled fury on-- Fish. She practically collapses in on herself with relief, shoulders silently shaking in an embarrassed, yet amused, laugh as she puts her face in her palms. "Fiiiish what the heeeelll," she stage whispers, still laughing. "That was a good one. I thought I was gonna have to go all Runnolf on someone's ass." that reindeer was impressively filled with rage. Everyone was still running around trying to coral the horses, shouting at one another. The guard she had trapped could be heard every so often, with muffled pleas to be let out.
She takes a seat next to Fish, not on the crate but on the ground beside them, so they were more of a height. "Hhhgh. Yeah it did, because we knew what we were after. Still wonder what the hell happened back there anyway. Were they looking for people to entrap? I hope they're embarrassed as shit. Now they have no gold and no suspects. Heheheh." Izzy reaches up and gives Fish a light pat on their back, moving slow so they could see it coming. "Excellent work, Fish."
As Fish produces the pipes, Izzy lifts an eyebrow, taking one as she looks at Fish with a little smirk. "Now where'd you get these?" She queries, pulling out her own book of matches as she looks it over. Usually one had to stuff a pipe like this with whatever they were smoking. This looked like it still had a bit in there. She lights hers up and looks down at the spare pipe Fish had in their hand. "You suuuure you wanna try? you probably won't like it." She offers the still flickering match with a twinkle in her eye. This would be interesting, if they went for it; Fish didn't have any lips to be able to create suction, and if this was their first foray into having a smoke-- well, she couldn't think of a better way of turning someone off the habit, especially a kid, than reducing them to a coughing mass of regret.
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Post by Fish the Tinkerer on Feb 7, 2023 17:15:48 GMT -5
"Probably....this time of year apparently many people start to steal things and give them to others. It would make sense to give out an offer that seemed easy and try and lay a trap for anyone who would steal it. It's a good haul for what was a relatively soft target.....Had Fish and Izzy been bad thieves, we'd have some hideout in the woods they can just surround and corner us, they likely expected the thieves to just surrender."
They look up and tilt their head at Izzy with the offer. "Fish does not have lips, Fish therefore cannot use it. Fish would give this as a gift to the gnome."
Seeing as things were settling down and they both had a chance to reset their heart rates, Fish decides to lead them back to the docks. Might as well wrap this whole adventure up and call it good.
As the pair arrived, the gnome could not be found outside but lots of rustling could be heard churning inside. Clanging and murmurming billowing out from behind rickety wooden walls. Before either could check, a great set of double doors burst open on the south end of the building. Runnolf comes galloping out dragging behind him an old dirty sled with a recently cleaned gnome cackling deeply as the whole contraption starts to take flight, pulled by the reindeer.
"HEHEHE LITTLE FELLAS YA GOT YER WINTERS CROWN GIFTS INSIDE!!!!!!" His voice trails off as the man escapes into the distance, a sack full of gifts in his bag.
Inside the building there were two bags marked for Fish and Izzy with a good amount of solars in there, not quite 15 pounds worth, but Fish didn't seem to mind. A fee is only appropriate here, Fish would've done the same. Inside of Izzy's bag there is also one brand new dagger made of pure gold. What the pair didn't know, and might never find out, was the rest of the missing gold was gently tucked away in small pieces in the hundreds of boxes the gnome was about to deliver to needy families on Winter's Crown.
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