Stephen & Lara help Sharon out, Sharon gets a cloak, the rifraff lose one, and they all
go in search of a ring.
⚠
Can't Think of Anything
Just like in any big city, the riff-raff came out at night, and the later it got the more dangerous it became. Patrons spilling out from brightly lit drinking houses, some stumbling from intoxication, and on to dark streets where they might be taken advantage of by unscrupulous types. Stephen walked beside Lara, the pair of them with their aquatic Gensai skin tones and simpel monk clothes, were not much of a target. Monks were notorious for not carrying a lot of possessions, therefore not worth the trouble to a thief or thug. They’d spent a good part of the day at their Water Genasi monastery in Harbor Town, looking through the records for clues that might help them find the magic items Mobius asked about , but since it was getting late they decided to head back to campus, walking to the nearest portal door that would take them there.
“I miss having the Cloak of Levitation and Sling Ring. We’d be there by now.” Passing by an alley, he stopped and turned his head, then asked Lara, “Did you hear that?”
The that in question was the sound of a brawl for lack of a better word for it. And shortly after Stephen’s question, the sound of a fist hitting bone, and somebody dumping over crates in the street, floated towards the two, followed more swiftly and less ephermally by Sharon Carter who was both being chased, and was annoyed.
She’d assumed that leaving the tavern quietly would allow her to circle back towards the campus, but apparently she’d waited too late, or someone had taken a look at her and assumed (incorrectly) that she’d be an easy target, but whatever the reason, she was being chased. And she wasn’t the easy target that they’d thought she would be, but at the same time, there were more of them, and there might be - some sort of magic at work. She was pretty certain of that, but hadn’t quite put her finger on the what of it.
As she sped towards them it took her a moment to realize that she knew the people in front of her, or at least she knew Strange and the woman looked familiar.
“Come to give a girl a hand?” She quipped, turning back round and turning a spell towards one of those in pursuit.
Lara had learned a lot about herself as a Monk, the one thing she did seemed surprised was understanding that even here, she was more like a hermit. It was just something she knew, like martial arts, the fact that she can breathe underwater, it was all part of her identity in this world. It bothered her, more than she cared to admit. Thankfully she didn’t have to stick to that trait, she knew who she really was, and she was still determined to work with others. So when she and Stephen talked about exploring the monastery, she was more than willing to push aside those worries about living in seclusion. Her primary focus was finding anything that could help the group.
“It’d be handy to have,” Lara agreed. “Though I can’t say I mind this, even if my gun and bow usually get the job done.” Lara herself was skilled in martial arts, but not quite like this, she felt incredibly more powerful than her normal self, and she couldn’t help but like it. She opened her mouth to say something else when Stephen’s question stopped her. “Yeah, I do.” Lara frowned until her eyes moved forward to see one of their fellow- Lara wasn’t quite sure what they were but she recognized the woman from campus.
Her reaction was immediate as she moved forward and swung her quarterstaff down hard on one of the individuals. She couldn’t help but grin. “I have a feeling keeping out of trouble isn’t going to be so easy here.”
Lara’s grin was infectious, and Stephen mirrored her expression. “Having fun?” he asked, then quickly turned his attention to the thugs. Gesturing with his hands reminiscent of the spells he usually cast, he then swung his arms in a pushing motion to create a burst of water to rush forward… not a huge tidal wave, but just strong enough to knock them off their feet.
“First bath they’ve had in years,” he joked, taking up his own quarterstaff. He then addressed the thugs, “Do you seriously want to pursue this? Here’s your last chance to back out.”
That was a handy trick, and Sharon wondered if it was something she could learn. But only briefly, because the truth was a week was just barely enough time to get a handle on everything she already knew, and she doubted any of this would pull over to another week. It was one of those things that she’d learn in time to lose.
So she pulled out one trusty spell she’d already figured out, a confusing charm that hit four of the group squarely, and left one still heading her direction, and she pulled out a dagger, not certain about her ability to cast another spell on top of another. Some skills sat in muscle memory - her own, and the warlock she seemed to have been cast as this week.
“Now’s a good time to back off.”
“A little.” Lara replied to Stephen with a shrug. It was hard not to be amused by new abilities and it was at least a little less depressing than their previous week.
She watched Stephen’s actions, impressed by the water magic he had displayed. This magic certainly did come in handy, even she had to admit that. Lara snorted at his joke and nodded in agreement.
Lara continued to be impressed by the magic the woman displayed, and caught sight of one that didn’t seem to be left in a confused state. “It would be best.” Lara agreed with the other two. She felt the energy within her, Ki, that’s what it was called, something she wouldn’t have known beforehand but somehow, she knew it here. When it didn’t seem like the lone aggressor was backing down, Lara channeled that energy and with a three hard strikes, knocked them unconscious to the ground.
Stephen was accustomed to using spells over physical weapons like his quarterstaff or Sharon’s dagger… not necessarily these water ones, but the idea was the same. He was glad that it was over quickly, the group had been subdued without shedding any blood. Now he could turn his attention to Sharon and ask, “Are you alright? Have you been hurt?” She didn’t look exceptionally wounded, but there could be something he missed in the darkness.
Another question he had was, “Do we just leave them here, or… call the city guard?” He wasn’t sure what ought to be done under these circumstances, or how the law worked in this place. Sticking around to help the local police file a report wasn’t on the top of his list of how he wanted to end the evening, but wanted to hear what the Sharon and Lara thought.
“I’m good,” Sharon told the other two, and she stood up, straightening her shoulders to look around for anyone else that might have been in the shadows. Convinced that there wasn't, she moved forward towards the man who seemed to have been the ringleader.
“I think they just thought I was an easy target as I was alone, and a woman,” Sharon sniffed her opinion as that, as she reached down to the man’s bag, to check it over. “They don’t seem to have much of value though, common bandits. Well, with a nice cloak.” She considered the dark green that the guy was wearing. “I think,” she fingered the fabric and stood up again. “I don't get the impression that the local law enforcement is going to spend a lot of time on this sort of clean-up and I don’t think they’re widely nefarious. I’m thinking of relieving him of his cloak, and leaving them knocked out, and maybe they’ll think twice next time?”
She turned to look at the two of them. “What are you both doing out here this time of the night?”
Lara stared over them, not making much movement. “Huh,” she said as Sharon looked over one of them with a cloak. “I think he could do without it.” Lara agreed. There wasn’t much else on the others that piqued Lara’s interest, so she ignored the rest and turned back to Sharon and Stephen.
“Checking things out mostly, there’s a lot of magical stuff in this world, as I’m sure you’ve seen.” Lara wasn’t someone that grinned easily, but here it definitely brought out that side of her. “Hoping to find anything that could be useful for us back at the campus.”
Taking somebody else’s possessions rubbed Stephen the wrong way, but they did attack them, so… just desserts? He wouldn’t do it himself, but he voiced his opinion to Sharon by casually saying, “Go for it. Hopefully it won’t bring upon us any quick repercussions.” But he did look around to make sure there weren’t any witnesses around to identify them. He was rather enjoying their stay in this city, and would hate to be run out by authorities the same way they’d been in the pirate-world.
“Specifically looking for the items Mobius wanted,” Stephen added to Lara’s reply. “We actually have a possible lead on the ring. I’d love to get into details, but not here. We were on our way back to campus, if you want to join us, Sharon, unless you have an alternative idea?”
There had been a time Sharon wouldn’t have snitched the cloak either, but that time had been before Madripool. They’d been planning on robbing her, at the least, and she wasn’t much bothered about turning the tables on them. She stood up, and wrapped the cloak around her.
“If you’ve got a lead on the ring, I’m in,” Sharon told them. “I’ve not had much luck with that one yet. Let’s head back, and you can fill me in on what you’ve heard and we can make a plan from there.