Lore of Leyuna RPG (FRPG)

[The Kingpin]

"You'll live," teased the Wanderer with an amused chuckle. "If I ever go home I'll have to see about getting some fish done that way. Don't think I've ever seen it done quite like that before," he commented, pointing at the Guard Captain's plate with the end of his fork. It smelled appetising, possibly more so than his own dish, and the scent of something distinctly exotic about it gave him memories of the grand feasts they'd hold in Riverdale.

Feasts, he realised, like the Winter Solstice Festival and Feast that was bound to happen in a few days back home in Riverdale...Or was it a couple of weeks? Gods blast it, he'd been on the road and away from home for so long he'd lost track of time. It wasn't so much a certain day of a certain month of the year, and more 'colder than it was yesterday'. For the soldier-turned-trader, it was especially annoying. His successful business was probably gone and forgotten, or at the very least, the perishable items sold off on his behalf by his family, or his representatives. He had no idea what had become of his Crestvale warehouse, or the shops in Riverdale and Tremaine. On the bright side, at least those flowers he bought in Germania would've been tended to; the family's Crestvale gardener would've made sure to follow instructions. But the thought that all he had left of his bustling business were a bunch of lousy flowers was aggravating to put it mildly.

[C S]

The simple tendencies of the wanderer's old friend did battle with Matthias' frustrations, as they used to many years ago. No matter how bad things were even then, the man who would become a figurehead of the city on the plains always had a way with words, or a quirk in how he carried himself, that took the sting out of even the most harrowing times.

"I'll see to it that they welcome you 'ome with open arms, Morgan." Urlox dipped the other half of the fish, then crunched his way through it as well. "I just ask that the cooks lay off the coconuts when they do tackle this one," he added, before glancing around to make sure that he hadn't offended anyone's sensibilities.

He saw people at other tables having their own conversations. No eyes on the two of them. No one cared. Just as it should have been.

[The Kingpin]

"I'm not so sure about that, Sparrow...I'm tempted to include the coconuts. Well, assuming the sauce is salty, sour and a bit on the thick side. Perhaps something made with cream, parsley, some salt and some lime to give it some tang. And perhaps we could include some powdered Syravoran Firefruit to give it a bit of a bite, too," responded Matthias, getting thoughtful about the dish, humouring the idea of actually taking it home. After all, if he was going to go for something exotic, there was no sense doing so half-heartedly.

[C S]

Urlox waved a hand dismissively. He wasn't the nobleman in the pair. "Mm, it's good to see that your time on the road 'asn't dulled the edge of your refined tastes," he responded with while he got to work breaking apart another fried fish. "As long as it does taste good, I see little reason for me to complain." Despite this, Urlox could not help the longing for a simple Daaven steak meal, be it breakfast, lunch or supper.

[The Kingpin]

"One of the only perks of mingling with those whose primary occupation is to be fancier than their peers," responded the Wanderer off-handedly. It was clear that though he enjoyed the lifestyle, the same could not be said for the company he was forced to keep as a result; a trait shared and most likely inherited by Andruil.

[C S]

"A cut above looking for imaginary birds," Urlox jabbed. After another few mouthfuls of his food, he added, "Some people 'ave told me that it was the bird that saved Diandahn from flowers a while back, though, not just timely rain. If true, I 'ave to give it thanks for some of the better fortunes in my life." The burly, bearded man chuckled to himself.

[The Kingpin]

"Flowers?" asked Matthias, confused by the implication that plants, of all things, would require the intervention of a legendary elemental bird...

[C S]

"Of a magical sort," Urlox started to say, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. His eyes went from Matthias to the stout figure off to his side behind him. It was one of the fifteen dwarves that had been at the bar. "Ah, 'ello then," Urlox greeted him. He held a hand up and gave a small wave. The dwarf's steel-stern expression did not lighten. The guard captain raised a brow.

"Get a load of this one, Morgan," he commented to his comrade, and right after the dwarf reached into his overcoat and produced a crest. It was a gold plated badge, the central design of an outreaching oak surrounded by engravings of a vine pattern. A division of the Royal Arms.

Urlox spied movement from a few tables away. Apparently, the agents had used the ongoing celebration at the bar to mask their entrance, and there were only fourteen dwarves out to celebrate with their bartending brother.

"Ah. I should 'ave been watching your drinking a little more closely." Urlox's demeanor, on the other hand, betrayed nothing. "Something the matter, uh... officer?" he asked naturally. It almost wasn't an act. If he and Matthias were found out, he at least wanted to know how the Royal Arms did it.

"Drop the act, comply with directions, and you may get a forgiving dungeon sentencing," the dwarf replied as three cloaked shapes surrounded the table the two men were seated at. Tall and thin. Their deep blue robes covered much of their bodies, and their faces were underneath flat, featureless white masks. Their long ears, obviously elven, were made to look like horns, protruding from the back of the masks as they were.

They did not enter the restaurant dressed like this, that much was for certain.

Likewise, these were not any regular forces. Somehow, the Royal Arms had gotten wise to their schemes. Just how much did they know about them? Urlox turned away from the elf slowly, holding his arms up as if in surrender. He looked at Matthias and bowed his head.

[The Kingpin]

"Damn," muttered Matthias as he set down his fork, having just eaten the last bite of his venison, thankful for that much, if nothing else. "Who knew stealing clothes like these could get you in trouble with such high ranking authorities? I was expecting a city guard at most..." he stated as he rose to his feet, hands raising in apparent surrender. With their surroundings as cramped as they were, he couldn't risk engaging them without collateral damage, and the fact he was unarmed meant that an outright fight was ill-advised, even with his Klaeddhur training. For now, at least, they had to comply...

[C S]

"On the floor," ordered the Royal Arms dwarf.

"Pardon the slight, but I wouldn't 'ave thought you'd be the mouthpiece for your long-eared friends," Urlox said with his forehead practically set on the table. "Really, though, I thought dwarves stayed in their cave-forts, thinking they were better than everyone else. Kind of like elves, in a way, but with the consideration to do it where no one else can see."

"Shut your mouth, get up and get on the floor!" the dwarf ordered with a gruff force behind his voice.

"A bit counterintuitive isn't it, Morgan? Standing up to get on the floor?"

The dwarf took the man by his red hair, pulled him upright, then slammed his head against the table again with a strength that made it, and Matthias' vacant chair, jump.

[The Kingpin]

"You'll have to forgive me if I refuse to pay the clean up fee for that, master Dwarf," stated Matthias, his hat hiding the cringe the gesture had incurred. His knuckles itched, and it was all he could do to refrain from feeding it to the bearded pygmy. In due time, he assured himself.

[C S]

The dwarf clicked his tongue and made a swiping motion with his hand to one of the elves. The robed agent stepped up to Matthias as another took his arms and pulled them behind his back. The former pulled a leg up to knee the wanderer in the stomach, but stopped at the sharp crack that went through the scene. It was punctuated by silence, as the players on the stage had stopped after the guard captain was slammed down, and the arrest became more obvious to the onlookers.

Urlox threw himself against the back of his chair, one of the table legs ripped clean from below in his hand like a club, a bundle of nails and splinters on the end. His head was red with a defined mark denoting where his face hit the edge of the table, and he wore a wild grin on his face. It was one way to excuse his hands leaving the sights of the officers without them pulling their weapons on him on the spot.

And the dwarf did just that, throwing his coat open and whipping out a long dagger. Urlox shoved his improvised club into the strike, the deadly edge lodging into the wood. He then drove his shoulder into the short man, knocking him to the ground. The dwarf managed to pull his dagger from the table leg as he fell, but lost it when he hit the ground, the knife clattering across to Matthias' boots.

[The Kingpin]

The chaos that ensued distracted the elves restraining the Wanderer, his head swinging back and smashing into one Royal Arms agent's face with enough force to break his nose. In almost the same instant, Matthias's boot pressed down on the edge of the dagger's pommel, causing it to tip vertically and fall flat across the boot's surface. A flick of his foot later and the blade was airborne, a newly freed hand snatching it out of the air and lodging it in the second elf's neck as he braced for engagement and a hasty retreat.

[C S]

"On the floor!" Urlox roared over the ensuing screaming after shooting out of his chair. Bar patrons and lunchtime diners alike were rushing away from the conflict in a panic, chairs screeching over the hardwood panels, glasses spilling and a few plates hitting the floor in a noisy cacophony as bodies sped into motion. It was bliss for him, this familiar chaos.

He had swung the leg about over the table, and just as he finished his declaration, its ragged edge batted into the third agent. The elf's hands were reaching for Matthias' neck while the other fell, and the last clutched their mask in reeling pain. The head of the "club" landed with a heavy impact on the elf's undefended midsection, thudding against flesh and muscle, nails and broken wood ripping up fabric and skin.

The elf collapsed upon their self as Urlox pulled the leg back, propping it up over his shoulder and looking down at the dwarf.

[The Kingpin]

"I'm afraid I won't be paying the clean up fee for this either, master Dwarf," said Matthias nonchalantly as he plucked his hat off the floor, flipping the dagger in hand before wiping it off with a napkin on the tilted table. "Shall we leave, Sparrow?" he asked, though it was more a suggestion than a question.

[C S]

"There will be more on the outside. They won't be making any effort to take us alive," Urlox replied.

"E-Elias?" grunted the dwarf.

Urlox glanced over to Matthias, then back to the agent. "Let's be quick about it then, Elias," he said. He titled his head towards the rear of the restaurant. Out of the back entrance, into the alleys. They would be covered by officers, but the two had a better chance of getting out alive than being out in the open streets to catch a volley of arrows through their backs.

[The Kingpin]

The Wanderer nodded, rushing through the mess of furniture, food and scattered dishes on his way to the kitchen. He expected a dozen agents to be waiting for him. Perhaps a bit much for just the two of them, but it was better to consider possibilities. As he barged through the door to the kitchen, he sidestepped the screaming cooks, instead homing in on and grabbing one of the larger, more dangerous looking kitchen knives on his way to the back door. At least now he could afford to lose one in the fight to come.

[C S]

Urlox vaulted over a counter himself, choosing to take one of the meat cleavers in his free hand as he slid over the top and out of the door after Matthias. "Lay off the coconuts!" were his departing words before the door slammed shut behind him, leaving a bunch of elves in white garb staring, disturbed and concerned.

The passageway in between buildings was filled with crates, some empty, some not, all shipments of ingredients to the restaurants. Urlox skidded to a stop just before he passed a stack of the boxes, seizing the moment to send a spinning kick into it and toppling the crates into the alley just past the exit. The wood broke open and a torrent of grains spilled out over the brick-tiled ground, a true mess of an obstacle for any pursuers to pass through.

[The Kingpin]

Matthias left the distractions and obstacles to Urlox, instead focusing on the path ahead and trying to avoid being taken by surprise; not an easy feat in a narrow alley filled with all sorts of crates and clutter that would make for excellent hiding spots for those who would lie in wait.

Thankfully, it seemed no one was present to make the most of that advantage. More likely than not due to the fact that, in such narrow passageways, it would be impossible to ambush two fugitives without giving them the opportunity to double back. Unless they were waiting at an intersection in the alleyways...

[C S]

Sure enough, a corner was coming up, and with it was a chance for Matthias to verify his suspicions A side passage that connected the street to the path behind the line of shops. Urlox lagged behind him, causing a commotion that only ceased for a few seconds at a time it seemed. If it wasn't a box tumbling over and breaking, it was some other refuse left behind a building. Broken broom handles, a loose cupboard door, things of that sort. The guard captain was producing a blend between a haphazard labyrinth and a barricade in their wake.