Dantorel

"Hey, Manon, it's alright. We're downwind and they won't look for us. They're gathering their loot." Hroth smirked as he said this. "Anyways, I've got a plan."

Hrothulf whistled, ever so softly, and then he murmurred, "Remember that skill I was talking to you about a few nights ago? You know, the one you saw."
 
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(Last night? I thought you said getting to the castle would take a few days.)

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Manon felt her face heat up. "The skull was watching me, wasn't it." She really wanted to hit that thing.

"So what's the plan?" She deflected the conversation quickly. Hopefully it came into effect quickly. They'd been walking for days.
 
(yep, you're right, screwed that one up)

"This is the plan" Hroth snapped his fingers, and the flaming goblin skull immediately popped up between the pair. Apparently the soul residing in it was female as it continued to give Manon the stink eye. "Go," whispered Hroth, and off the skull went, laughing maniacally.

It went all the way to the Orcs, flew around them, broke them up, and generally scared the living shit out of a few of them. The Orcs became frenzied as they tried to hit the nimble skull, but they couldn't. Instead, they ended up hitting each other.

As the lesser orcs were fooling around (even though one them was already dead), their leader turned towards where the skull came from and caught sight of the pair, off in the distance.

"There you go, that's the plan." Hroth nudged Manon's shoulder before pulling out his own, broken blade. Hroth, with a grim smile on his face, stepped forward to meet the Orcs challenge.
 
"That was straightforward." Manon drew her own sword. Now they had six angry orcs coming at them. Fucking quests.

The woman took off running, dodging the first orc's swing and stabbing her blade right into its neck. Another one went down in much the same way, and she dodged the third orc's swing, managing to get it about halfway through the stomach before she had to retreat from the enemies, who had managed to group up and were watching both her and Hrothulf warily. The one she'd stabbed in the stomach was bleeding out, probably from the internal organ she seemed to have punctured. Maybe the luck enchantment did work.
 
Hrothulf walked towards the Orc's leader. His right hand found its way over his left shoulder, pulling at the wrappings. Just a little, just enough. The thoughts kept running through Hroth's mind.

The pain was intense, but he bit down and swallowed it. A small pool of shadow appeared in his left eye, but it was weak, barely noticeable. Then Hroth kicked.

He ran, closing the distance before the orc could respond. For this innattention, it lost its right hand. The fleshy attachment fell to the ground, making a dull thud. Hroth, spinning on his heels, drove the shard-like edge of his fractured sword into the orc's back, breaking through its spine. The great orc fell, much like its hand a moment before, with a great thud.

Hroth Turned to watch as Manon dodged away from an orc's swing. There were three more. Hroth stepped forward, blocking the third orc's swing. Suddenly, the flaming skull flew into the faces of the other two, distracting them.
 
Quickly there was a sword skewered through one of the orcs' necks, right in the centre. Manon darted out of the skull's way as it swept past the one she killed, eyes on the one Hrothulf wasn't fighting. It noticed her and managed to clip her in the shoulder. The woman grimaced and quickly switched the sword to her next hand, making a clumsy strike to its unprotected belly. It was enough, and the orc fell.

Manon cursed, feeling the dark bruise on her shoulder. It would probably last a few days before she could use her proper hand to fight again. The sword and maybe her armour would require a few more luck enchantments when they were done here.
 
As the last orc fell, the gray, shadowy pool dissipated from Hroth's left eye. Slumping to the ground, Hroth was forced to catch his breath. "Ehh, well, wasn't that fun?" He laughed just a bit as the words escaped his lips.

After catching his breath, Hroth searched through the orcs' belongings. There were 15 sc, one potion of minor healing, and a roughly drawn map.
 
Standing near the entrance of the shop Durza ponders,
(If I steal for him that should be the last of it)Durza thinks, (but if i get caught everything up till now would be for nothing. Screw it.) Durza enters Crassus' shop. The first thing he notices is the smell, the shop smells like some killed an elk and left its body to rot in the sun for a week. Durza's eyes started to water and almost leaves when he hears a booming voice.
"GREETINGS Stranger!" it was the shop owner himself, Crassus. "Is there anything in particular you were looking for, do you need assistance?" The giant Body of Crassus looms over him like an ocean of fat.
Struggling to keep a straight face Durza replies "no i think i'm good. just looking around." Crassus responds as he turns around and squeezes through the door frame to the backroom "well i hope you find what you are looking for"
(i have to move fast, just not as fast as i thought i would need to.) durza thinks to himself
Durza looks around in the shop listening to the rumbling of what he assumes is Crassus sleeping, until he saw it, a small wooden chest with gold trimming. It was lock and he didn't know what was in it but i must have been expensive. Durza had come to see it one or two time before and "acquired" a box of similar size and look. Slip the small bag from his shoulders he removes the real box and replace it with the fake one. Just as Durza leaves he hears Crassus stir and he picks up speed. Durza is about two yards from the shop when he hears a shout of rage and Crassus breaks through his door screaming bloody murder. "GUARDS STOP THAT BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "SHIT!" Durza takes off sprinting where he rounds the corner and runs straight into a young girl singing
 
Kalli's job for the day was to drum up some business for the Blue Lion. The inn was a mid-level establishment she'd worked for before, and they were giving her the usual deal of a few hour's entertainment for a good bed and good food. They liked her so they gave her decent fare, and she liked working with them. It was also helpful having a base so central to the town, for several reasons.

Her lute was on her back, but her flute was off her belt and at her lips. There was a decent sized crowd of passersby interested in what she was doing-she had this down to a fine art now. She was winding down now with a few little ditties, weaving the Blue Lion's name into the well-known songs and getting some laughs.
Dancing a little jig, she earned herself a few laughs and cheers as she played. There was a scuffle over around the corner and Kalli felt an alarm bell ringing in her head. She had to keep everyone's attention. She might have to go for a big finish instead of a wind down then.
She blew a few sharp notes and drastically changed her style, throwing her hips from side to side. Dropping her flute back onto her belt and sang out a long, high note. Immediately, her crowd grew. Everyone in the street turned towards her and men's eyes snapped to her hips and stayed there.
She started swaying to her beat, keeping the men interested. They were her main audience after all. The song was about how all the men wanted to be with her but she would only be with the ones that came to the Blue Lion, where her heart was. It was cheeky and teasing, and good fun.
A young boy thumped into her at speed. She flew backwards, her mind working at full pelt. She'd heard the call for the guards, and the streetrat pelting his way around the corner with a panicked expression was a pretty obvious culprit. She made a split second decision to help him-had to defend her own after all. As she flew backwards she turned her momentum into a spin and grabbed the boy's hand. She spun under it in a dance and pulled him close, giving him a peck on the cheek and whispering in his ear, "Second alley after the inn, rafters on the left."
Old habits died hard.
The crowd laughed and she booped the boy's nose and spun him out into her now sizeable audience, rejecting him with her song. Should be enough people for him to hide in.
She moved on to someone else, sashaying around the front of her crowd, men and women alike, trailing fingers over cheeks and squeezing flexed muscles and dancing under arms.
She kept an eye out as she sang for the guards who were staring out over the crowd, unable to see where the boy had gone or able to push through.
She grinned.

After her song ended, she accepted the praise and coins she got from the crowd and made her way back to the Blue Lion. She ducked into the second alley and looked up at the rafters to the hidey hole buried up there. It was a good spot-narrow enough that only kids could fit up there, decent view of the street.
"You ok kid?" she yelled up.
 
"Well that was embarrassing" Durza thinks to himself, "I try to steal one little box and next thing i know a girl saves me, with a kiss!" Durza turns crimson thinking about the girl that saved him, then pulls his bag off and takes the box out.
Hiding in the alleyway he starts to work the lock, with one of the pins that was in the girls hair, he can still hear the cheering of the crowd and just faintly the heavy boots of the guard as they searched for him.
Durza smiles to himself as the chest clicks open."YES!" he exclaims with a grin across his face, the chest is full of gold coins, gold trinkets, a new silver hair pin, a few vials of a strange liquid, a dagger with a gem encrusted handle, and a few scrolls, Durza pockets the, slightly mangled, hair pin and pulls out the silver one from the chest.
"Well she did just save my dumbass, so i guess i'll give it to her. I don't know maybe she won't know it's missing"
Durza hears a loud cheer and the crowd seems to be move on, he can now hears lone footsteps coming down the alley. Out of habit, and for caution, Durza pulls out one of his daggers and starts to climb further up the rafter to stay out of the line of sight. He sees a lone figure walking down the middle, weight down by a lute, flute, the only difference between how she looks now and how she looked then is now her money pouch is a little more.
"You ok Kid?" She yelled up, reluctantly Durza climbs down the rafter, and drops down the wall and walks up to her.
Clearing his throat (and clearly flustered) he says to her"Yeah um thanks for you know, the help. I probably would have gotten caught if it hadn't been for you."; extending his hand for hand shake durza says "My names Durza and if there's any way i can pay you back don't hesitate to ask. And your names is?"
 
Kalli grinned as the kid climbed warily out of the rafters. He looked a bit sheepish, but not too worse for wear. He also looked significantly richer than he had been ten minutes ago.
Obviously, flustered, he made his introductions. He intrigued Kalli-the way he spoke, even the fact that he had come down and spoken to her at all, made her think that someone had at one point in his life has taken the time to tell him off for poor manners. Sbe wondered where he was from. Maybe he was a streetrat like her now, but she doubted that was what he had always been. Or maybe she had just been an extra paranoid urchin who wouldn't dare talk to strangers. But it was certainly good of him to thank her.
Grinning, she shook his hand. "Kalli! Good to meet you Durza. And don't worry about it-we gotta have esch other's backs, right? I've been in your role in that situation plenty of times."
She winked at him. "Sorry I had to kiss you. You were an excellent prop though." She laughed, a light, tinkling sound. Despite being a bard now, she was still hestant to get too noisy in an alley. Besides, the kid-Durza-probably wouldn’t appreciate it if she brought some curious guards down on them after that narrow escape.
"Was whatever it was you filched worth it?"
She wouldn't bother asking what he'd stolen, but she was a little curious.
 
Laughing softly durza replied "Well I probably would have been thrown in jail had it not been for you quick thinking and quicker lips"
The question she posed was a simple one, but one Durza didn't take lightly, However she was like him after all, a streetrat, Durza knew this not because he trusted her but he had seen her performing on corners before. In fact when ever he saw her playing Durza would squeeze into the tight crowd, because people would be less suspicious when they felt someone touching them making it easier for him to slip his hand into their purse. That and the guards did come out of the dark to grab him, so he relax a little, and took a breath.
"Well to be honest I don't know, I just open it up and there is a lot of things in here that I don't know what they are. Seems as you saved me and you helped me open it up in your own way I might as while tell you what I hope to be able to do with it." Durza slowly slings the sack off of his shoulders and pulls out the box again. "I just needed a little more money to get out of this place so I watch Carssus' shop and look to see if there was anything he might have of value, So today I went in and stole this." Popping open the chest again with her mangled hair pin Durza Shows her the contents "Hopefully this is the last of the money I need to get out of this god forsaken village." Slipping his hand into his pocket Durza takes out the Silver pin and gives it to her, "That is for the other pin I mangled to open the box" showing her the old pin.
 
Kalli nodded. That sounded familiar. Taking whatever you could get. This kid was even upgrading himself to a proper thief. Once he managed to do it without getting spotted, he'd be doing well for himself. It was rare to find, but occasionally ambition served you well on the streets. She hoped for his sake there was plenty in there. She was fine now. Happy as she was to live hand to mouth, she could even put a little bit of her earnings away at the end of a week so she could afford instrument repairs or yummy foods or good hats. She travelled as she wanted though-no town had ever held her down. "You've never been out of town then? Well I'm leaving here tomorrow anyway for a few towns over if you wanted to spend all your riches that soon."
She took the hairpin with a laugh. "Thanks! I usually use these to dramatically let my hair down in some songs, but I guess you did it for me."
 
Durza shrugs "Well I guess I'm glad I could help and I don't need a hair pin and crassus definitely was not using it" Durza packing up the chest, putting it at the very bottom. "and if you were being serious about wanting to travel together it be nice to have company" Durza pulls out a very old and very stale loaf of bread, it's starting to get moldy. More sad than disgusted, he says "Well I don't know about spending all of my money, but maybe get a hot meal for once before we get going. As much as I would like to leave as soon as possible, it's getting late and I don't know how far the next town is." Turning around walk to the end of the alley and looks to see if the guards are still looking for him. As he looks around Durza think to himself(Well they appear to be looking else where, so I guess I'll just stay here to be safe wouldn't want to risk all my hard work just to be caught trying to get to a different alley, alough there's is that abandoned, run down building at the edge of town.) "Hey we could head over to the old building and stay there the night, "
 
Putting the hairpin in her pocket for now-she didn’t really want to be caught with stolen goods-Kalli let Durza pack himself up and scope the place out. She was glad he had said yes to company. To be honest she was mostly just an extrovert at heart and she liked having someone to chat to. And besides, she might be able to get an ally out of this kid-it never hurt to have more eyes and ears on the street of any town.
"I didn't just do all that work for no reason-I have food and board for tonight at the Blue Lion. It's only around the corner, and it's cheap. Come back there with me for your hot meal and I'm sure you'll be able to find a bed. They have a very warm kitchen if all else fails."
She started making for the head of the alley. She glanced out, souble checking that all guards and curious onlookers were looking the other way. "Come on then."
 
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Durza had no objection to this course of action, "Well better to sleep in a 'nice' bed than spend the night in and old smelly abandoned house" Durza slowly follows her form and behind her. The short walk from the alley to the Blue Lion seemed to him the longest and most dangerous thing that he could have done. when they entered the Tavern Durza felt as if he was immersed into a foreign world, the tight crowd, the cheerful uproars of the over crowded tavern was almost too much for him. Durza's head started spinning as and a roar filled his ears, his vision started to turn red. Durza puts his hand on his ears as he tries to clear his mind. When his vision returns Durza he looks frantically around for Kalli and almost calls her name but before he can she's right there in front of his leading him further in and to her room.
 
Kalli was glad to have made it into the tavern. She wasn't about to tell Durza but it had been a nerve wracking walk from the alley. While she was fairly certain the guards didn’t associate her with Durza, she didn't know how well they knew him. There was every chance she'd just thrown in her lot with a wanted criminal, but instinct told her otherwise. It was a tense walk, but they made it.
The Blue Lion was busy tonight. Kalli grinned. She was good. The busier it was when she arrived, the happier the innkeep was to see her, and that meant she had a far better chance of getting a good meal for two tonight.
Slipping through the crowd and letting Durza get used to the noise, she made it to the bar. It took a few coy smiles, but she managed to negotiate herself two meals, a room, and a few free drinks. She turned back to find Durza.
He was still standing where she had left him with wide eyes and his hands over his ears. She put a light hand on his shoulder, expecting his flinch and taking it in her stride. He probably hadn't ever had much reason to be in a tavern before. The noise around her, the sea of raucous laughter and rattling dice, of drinks on tables and flirting bar wenches, it had been her life for so long now she barely even heard it.
But she remembered that first time, when she'd gone from watching at a window to slipping through through storm of noise. She'd known that was where she belonged then, and she'd never left. She gussed not everyone had that experience though. Grinning, she grabbed Durza's wtist, pulling it away from his ear and leading him up the stairs at the back of the inn and to her room. "I've asked for some more bedding so you can stay in here with me tonight. And we can go down and get dinner whenever we want."
 
"Sorry back there i just got overwhelmed although you didn't seem surprised, i'm guessing that the same happened to you your first time in a tavern" slinging his bag from his shoulders he placed it on the ground and dusted himself off. Before heading down he decides to rest for a little bit, "You go ahead I need to lie down for a minute let me get use to this new surroundings" Durza shoos her away before lying down on the bed, he slips into a dream he can't move and is forced to watch. He Jolts up in the bed shaking from a nightmare, he could still hear the screams. Trying to focus he stands up he takes a shaky breath to calm down and put his relaxed demeanor back on. Durza thinks out loud to himself "well i should be all better now, man i'm starving let's go get something to eat." He enters the tavern, relieved that now he could actually function, makes his way slowly over to Kalli. He passes the bar where someone grabs his arm and pulls him in close, the women is dressed in a green dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. "Honey a young man such as yourself shouldn't be by himself, you never know what kind of creep is lurking around here, the names Belissa pleased to meet your acquaintance" Durza burst out laughing which seems to anger her and the numerous men around her, "What do you thinks is so funny?" Durza gets surrounded by her 'friends' durza trying to not laugh again says "I'm not alone and how old do you think i am Geez get someone closer to your age." one of the younger men come up to him and throws the first punch.
 
The first punch surprised Durza and he managed to land a blow, He staggers back and gets turned around before sitting down hard in an empty chair, the young man who hit him is very pleased with himself and stands up straight. A laugh ripples through the crowd and the tavern gets quieter as Durza Stands up and continues to laugh he slowly walks to the man who punched him who is backpedaling so fast he trips over his friends and has to scramble to get off the floor his friends quickly help him up and they regain their composure and they all rush him. Durza watches as multiple people try to hit him at once he grins and put his hands in his pocket and dodges all of the oncoming attacks. bobbing and weaving the men are unable to land a hit they go to draw their weapons but the bartender shots them a stare that could have killed, instead those who had bought a drink picked up their bottles or glasses and rushed into help. One person, who must have been very confident hi his aim took the bottle and threw it with all his might. Durza, like all the other attack, evades it but only just as it sails passes him and exploding in the head of a now very angry and very wet large Behemoth of a man. The commotion dies down completely as the beast rises from his seat.
 
Thriin usually stayed at taverns. When he came of the age of 24, he left his homeland in search of honor and glory in his family's name. He knew nothing of the lands, and he hadn't focused on training his mind all those long, hard years. He merely did physical training. However, it was obvious to him that taverns were meeting places for the people of the land he now found himself in. That, and they were always supplied with much drink. Whenever Thriin stopped by one, he always ordered a keg for his travels with the money he inherited from his parents' conquests. Surprisingly, he almost never saw a fight within one. However, one tavern was different. He had walked into this one, and for once, the whole room didn't seem to notice his arrival. He calmly walked through the crowd and sat at a seat in the corner of the room. A woman came to him shortly after, offering him her body, but he declined as politely as he could, as he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he felt she was a little rash for loving him so soon (he knew near nothing of how this land was, and thus didn't know what a prostitute was). He declined, and waved over a waitress. He ordered his usual drink, 4 mugs of pure beer. After the usual look of shock from the waitress that Thriin was used to, she left. Moments later, a fight was seeming to break out behind him. He heard yelling and blows being traded, many of which were missing their target or targets. He decided to stay out of it, as it was likely a battle between two warriors who had a dispute. However, when a bottle hit the
back of his head, he decided it was going to be his very first challenge in this new land. He stood, a slight grin on his lips as he turned to face his challengers. He saw upwards of 10 men trying to fight one, that is, until they had seen him stand up. He decided he would only use his fists for these surprisingly small men. He placed his axe, Grimmfang, on the table behind him, confident that it wouldn't be stolen. In a slight moment, he chose to help the one scrawny man fight the others. When he first swung, it was at the man who looked like the leader of the men. The man was taken aback by how fast Thriin's fist moved, and didn't even try to move. He flew back into the bar, cracking it. Thriin groaned. He was no longer enjoying this fight, and it had just begun! His opponents were weak, and had no combat training at all! He proceeded to break the bodies of the other men for not facing the scrawny man in honorable duels of spirit and strength. When he was done, he turned to the scrawny man. "They were weak men! But even worse, they are cowards for not fighting honorably and using numbers against one smaller than them! You are welcome little man!" Thriin boomed at the scrawny man.
 
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