A Love Story with Cannons

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

What did it say about me that I cared more for the underground arms deal than I did about the familial blood feud? That I wasn't a hopeless romantic, perhaps, or that I was attracted to the more illicit activities to be found here in Almund. More than likely both. It was unfortunate that if I wanted to experience the one, I'd have to deal with the other in the process. But that was life, I had come to learn, so it was best to learn to multi-task.

Thus, the two lovers would have my aid, limited as it was. A discussion was had on where to go to next once they successfully escaped from the bazaar. I wasn't too keen on the idea of seeking the aid of a priest, especially one who was a proponent of double suicides, but there wasn't a good way of expressing this beyond a firm shake of the head when the Sage of the Seasons was brought up. If the flour-covered woman insisted on it, I wouldn't put up a fight yet, but I'd much prefer an alternative. A private room at The Sapphire or even my cottage would be a suitable enough spot to lie low until the next trial. Still, I'd let the other three lead for now and provide my own input if it felt in necessary while we were in transit.

First, however, we needed to make our exit. Stepping through the gap first, I gestured to Julius to fall in behind me. I had a significant size advantage on the kid and could hide his frame behind me if we maintained the same pace. Still, it was awkward, and I was forced to crab walk out into the street while the boy crouched in my shadow, but thankfully no one seemed to notice. It helped that I was still largely unknown on the island as well.

It would be interesting to see how the two women would sneak out after us, but we were hopeful nevertheless. After that, it was off to safety, which was a relative term in a place like Almund.

[Rynata]

Rynata made a vaguely disapproving noise and tilted her head thoughtfully at the mention of the underground auction. She hardly approved of the black market. Still, this was Almund, and from having her own stall in the bazaar, she knew just how shady dealings thrived on these pirate infested shores. What was more, she was also in the market for a gun or two. It was a practical matter of defense on the seas, after all. Would it be so wrong to snag herself a deal?

Ignoring Rynata’s caution, Romera tore open the back of the tent and turned back toward them expectantly. Rynata sheathed her dagger once more with a wry smile, watching the stranger and Julius perform a fairly comical shuffle out of the tent and across the street. Once they were safely across it was just the two of them.

“I’m a bit too short for us to try that, and you’re the one we need to hide...” Rynata muttered, looking around the tent. Batting the flour out of her hair and clothing, she crossed the small, enclosed space over to a frying pan and baking sign.

Rynata handed the frying pan to Romera and gave an example as to what she should do by placing the sign (which read: Apricot Strudels, 1gn) in front of her own face. Just like that, with the improvised masks, the two of them ducked out of the safety of the tent, catching up to the other two.

“We should head over to O'Rourkes,” Rynata whispered to them. “It’s not too far from here. And I know the staff. I trust them not to go blabbing about you two,” she nodded at the young couple. “They might even be able to help us come up with a plan.”

Once the fighting settled, and perhaps once it had gotten dark, they could steal away to her ship to await the auction next morning. However, what they would do about that auction was the real problem. Wondering what could bring this senseless feud to a halt, Rynata hurried along the streets toward the familiar tavern, checking to see if the others were with her. Once there, they would need to consider the best course of action for the love birds and their families.

[Tio Silver]

A Love Story with Cannons

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Julius looked highly uncomfortable about having to crouch behind a crab-walking Mute in order to reach safety, but valiantly held his tongue and put up with the embarrassment for the sake of reaching safety. Romera, by contrast, didn't seem to give a rat's ass about using the frying pan as a mask. In what must have been the strangest escape ever the party shuffled and sneaked through the sea of tents, heading in the direction of O'Rourke's tavern.


Whilst the chaos of the riot raged below a figure perched atop the roof of the administrative office, scanning the area through a spyglass. He was dressed entirely in plain black robes, with all the loose ends tucked neatly away and a black sash across one shoulder to hold a sleek, nondescript sword. Due to the black bandanna concealing the lower half of his face and the black hood that cast shadows over the top half only his eyes were visible; icy blue orbs possessed by a ruthless focus. He was perhaps the picture perfect definition of a ninja, except for one little detail:

His square chin.

This wasn't the slightly square shaped sort of chin you'd normally think of. It was, in a very literal sense, completely square shaped. Beneath his bandana it looked as if a brick had been stuck to the bottom of his lip. It was a mighty example of a chin; strong and protruding in all the right ways, and utterly put to waste concealed behind his mask.

As he scanned the warzone beneath, the man in black spotted unusual movement passing by the back of the tents. There was a man shuffling across the place like a crab, a woman covered head-to-toe in in white powder holding a sign in front of her face, and another woman wearing a frying pan for a mask with a...

A low growl escaped his lips, and the man in black focused in on the mace strapped to her back. There could be no mistaking that weapon, there was only one woman on the island who could lug around such a beast effortlessly.

The figure tucked the spyglass away into his robes and jumped down into the crowd below, vanishing into the crowds like a shadow.


O'Roukes tavern was quiet that early in the morning, probably because many of the regular customers had gone to the Bake-off that trial. The Cat was in a sleepy mood and had only cast them all a quick look as they walked in before returning to its slumber, and a cheerful server called Dunha had been quick to take their orders. Julius kindly offered to buy everyone a drink of their choice, and when everyone had one in their hands they turned back to the matter of what to do about their problem.

"Maybe we could get everyone drunk? Like completely S**tfaced! They can't fight each other if they're all passed out." Romera suggested halfheartedly, obviously clasping at straws for ideas.

Julius frowned. "Hard-headed knaves they may be, but our kin can handle their drink. I fear it shall do naught but add fuel to the fire. Perhaps something else shall serve us greater in alcohol's stead? Many a mad mystery can be bought amidst the streets of Almund."

Off Topic

I would appreciate it if you could post before November 3rd. I'll get the next post up a couple of days after you both have.

Your challenge this round is to order the most outlandish drink possible to sip on during the discussion.

[Mute]

"Silence Reigns . . ."

The odds were heavily against us, yet our company of four crossed the road without any apparent alarm or recognition. We were utterly and truly lucky given our laughable attempts at stealth and I couldn't shake the fear that we would get caught in transit until we stepped through the doors of O'Rourkes. It wasn't my usual haunt, but it seemed a solid enough choice by the flour-covered woman. The crowd was small and no one acknowledged our arrival beyond the cursory glance over their mugs. We could work with this.

The ever-generous Julius offered us a drink on his tab, so I glanced across the way to see if there were any house specials offered in the early morning. One mixed drink caught my eye: fermented mare's milk and coffee imported from Hiladrith. Intrigued by the combination and more than willing to take advantage of the boy's offered, I ordered it from the server by pointing at the sign. It didn't take long for me to try the concoction when it arrived a few bits later.

Hmm, creamy.

I listened to the two lovers' thoughts on how to proceed later that night while I sipped on the beverage. To be honest, I had little to offer on the matter besides the fact that neither seemed feasible enough. It wasn't likely that the two families would be the only ones at the auction, so it would be difficult to control who ingested the chosen drug. Plus, we'd need a large quantity for the amount of people caught up in this blood feud. If only nuclear families got into these sorts of rivalries; it would make the suppression of them easier, or at the very least they wouldn't last long at all.

Hopefully the other woman had better ideas than these kids. She had suggested O'Rourkes, so she had had good ones up her sleeve already. Perhaps she'd find it at the bottom of her own drink. I myself was kinda scared to know what was at the bottom of mine . . .