If you wanted an easy place to pick some pockets, you'd probably head down to Stokbon, preying on the snotty nobles that were always too-good-for-you. Ben liked a little bit of challenge though. And he found that in Dunnstads. Just enough wariness of travelling wanderers to keep him on his toes, but not enough trigger-happiness to make it a death wish like at Druuk Island. A perfect balance. He smiled as he crawled through the coastal market, admiring wares and lifting a gold piece or two from whatever unfortunate pockets came within his range. "Wow! That food smells amazing, did you make it yourself?" He haggled prices, buying goods with his stolen coins. Using his rogue talents, even at this low level, it was easy to steal from the citizens. How would it be when he maxed it out? Became a true thief? Visions of older games, like that one remake of Elder Scrolls, flashed in his minds' eye. Yes, just like that, but better. He was in full control, each twitch guided by the game but put into motion through his body. Because of his hard work, his talent, he'd be rich in no time. Ben jiggled his rucksack, beaming at the weight of his purchases straining against the fabric. How many hours had passed in his... activities? He moved to slip away into the shadows, only pausing because of the figure standing right over there. He could've sworn he'd seen them other times, over the course of his day. Their eyes met.
Ozwen had been wandering the market streets since he had been paid well his last voyage. Though unfortunately he couldn't manage to land a permanent place on a crew. At first he was simply wandering around trying foods he never had before and flirting with an occasional pretty face at the stalls. However after a while he heard someone complain about some of their money being missing. This itself didn't really garner his attention. However over a couple hours he began catching more confused complaints about missing money. Not only was there a pickpocket in the area... for some reason they weren't moving on... Ozwen smiled a bit of a mischievous glint in his eyes. Someone seemed rather confident in themselves... This seemed more fun than drinking alone at a tavern. The mischievous glint in his eyes soon became the light yellow glow of his investigation mode as he began to make use of the few hunting mastery skills he had. For the first thirty minutes or so it wasn't much, but eventually his improved hearing caught a few more cases of lighter than expected purses. About at the hour mark though he finally thought he caught sight of the perpetrator in the act. They began moving away from the market into the shadows as Ozwen pushed a bit through the crowd to cut them off. He moved a bit faster and almost lost sight of them for a moment... Then their eyes met, Ozwen's still in the light yellow glow of his investigation mode. He looked down for a moment and saw that this fellow had a rather heavy looking rucksack that he was pretty sure he heard quite the jingle coming from, before going back to exchanging gazes with who he was almost certain was the naughty thief who had been having fun in the market. Ozwen had quite the excited grin on his face as he slowly began strolling towards the man ahead of him, not breaking the gaze again himself. There was an obvious aggressiveness to his gait, his sailor's coat swaying a bit behind him giving him the overall appearance of a cat giving the mouse a chance to run to increase its sport. If they stayed in place he would be a bit disappointed but would bring himself almost nose to nose with the thief and wait for them to speak... If they ran though~ Well he had an aeromancy spell waiting to dance off his tongue to increase his mobility and begin the chase he was hoping to get.
Time seemed to freeze as the two stared each other down, glowing yellow eyes giving an eerie advantage to the white-haired fellow. But as @Ozwin Ahab approached, a cat-like predatory grin on his face, Ben's own smile grew. He counted down each step, watched every movement like a hawk, taking in what details he could. And then he turned around and, instead of slipping into the shadows like he'd originally intended, made a break for the crowd of market-wanderers. He weaved around people with the grace his dancing had trained into him. Without having to focus on pockets to pick and subtlety, Ben could get away with pushing more power into his legs, picking up a little bit of speed. He leaped over a child crying in the middle of the streets, bag thumping against his back rhythmically. One would think the plethora of accessories coiled around his body would jingle with each movement, but they seemed oddly quiet in light of his eccentric parkour. Ben kicked into another direction, abruptly sweeping to the left to cut through another alley into the next packed market street. But when he looked over his shoulder to check on his pursuer, he was stunned to find them still on his tail. "You know," he shouted, knocking over a stack of crates as he passed them, "I'm usually flattered to find somebody so determined to be with me!"
Ah dammit, don't head towards the crowd! Ozwin's smile lessened for just a moment as he began chanting his Gale's Grace spell, making currents of wind begin dancing around his legs and increasing his speed and jumping power... unfortunately the crowd prevented him from... doing much at all honestly. He couldn't charge straight at this fellow without the risk of really harming the NPC around him and the trident was currently out of the question, he thought as he began hopping from stall top to stall top allowing him to make more use of his speed at the cost of not being able to chase the thief in a straight line. He went into another alley! This was Ozwin's chance as he was allowed to burst forward in a straight line again without fear for the bystanders... Dammit another market ahead! ... Though despite this he was only beginning to have more fun than he thought he would. He jumped off a wall to clear the boxes without missing a step."I normally only put in this much effort chasing women, but I suppose I have always appreciated a pretty face. I'll promise to not put a scratch on yours when I catch you." Can't say anything about the rest of your body though. He made another chant to refresh his movement spell though he knew he only had enough energy for so many of these. He had to reach them before they reentered a crowd or who knows when his next real chance would be! He dived forward, hands outstretched trying to tackle the fellow in front of him. Even if he missed he felt confident he could catch back up... but this magic would wear himself down more quickly than the other guy.
The comment startled him enough to earn a laugh, the grin on Ben's face stretching even wider. "You mean if you catch me!" His joy was short-lived. For some reason unbeknownst to him, the other dived at him with a sudden burst of speed. Goosebumps tracked along his body, and the man threw himself down to the ground, allowing the other to sail over him. While it had stopped @Ozwin Ahab from being able to tackle him into the ground, it had killed all the momentum Ben had managed to build up in their cat-mouse game of chase. He scrambled to his feet, but the fellow chasing him was blocking his new route, and when he turned around to run back where he came from, crates had been knocked over, cutting him off. What dick would knock over a bunch of cra–oh wait, that dick would be him. So a great dick. Resigning himself to his fate, Ben slowly and dramatically turned around, finally taking in the appearance of the other. They were both a bit sweaty and dirty. "So," Ben winked at the other man, "where did you want me to sign?" He fired a few finger guns with his free hand at him. "I love it when my fans are so eager to meet me."
Okay... that hurt more than he expected. Ozwin thought as he scrambled to his feet. But while not in the way he had expected, he had managed to corner the thief... Was it possible to crack a rib in this game? It sure felt like he had. But Ozwin stood tall and confident if a bit of it was a facade and laughed when he saw the finger guns. "I suppose that is one way to announce you are a player character," Ozwin grinned as he returned with a finger gun of his own. He approached the other man un-aggressively, though prepared for another chase if he made a run for it again. "I don't need you to sign anything, I'm obviously no guard. Rather all the good guards are in the nicer parts of town if you haven't noticed. But I don't like people causing trouble near the docks, particularly picking on the hard working NPC around here." Ozwin pointed at the bag of coins. "Since returning all of that to the rightful owners is basically impossible, and the law around here is basically useless, you and I are gonna take that to an inn I know where you will be 'generously' paying for the meals of the dock urchins and have the pleasure of buying me a drink and a bite to eat. You should have enough left to prepare yourself to be a pain for the guards in the rich part of town." For the love of all, please don't start running again.
Oh, he actually liked this guy a bit! He didn't seem too bad a lad, except for chasing him down without explanation. Speaking of... "Nice tricks earlier. A lil' magic boost pushing your speed?" He laughed, pushing back his hair. Being chased was exhausting. Honestly, Ben should be used to that, what with his devilishly good looks, but it couldn't hurt to dream of some peace and quiet, right? (The idea of Peace and Quiet made him inwardly shudder, but let's just ignore that.) Yes, running away was tiring. Being targetted without explanation was frustrating. But all in all... this @Ozwin Ahab seemed alright. And then he had to go and ruin it by talking about the NPCs like they actually mattered. "Wow, the hard working NPCs. How unfortunate. Much sad, very tears," he waved his hands around, exasperated "They're here to benefit us PCs! I don't see why me taking advantage of that is a problem." Ben offered a thin smile to the naive player, head shaking. Maybe this guy actually felt guilty? Got his rocks off on playing the good guy to a bunch of programmed bits of code? Ben wasn't here to judge, but he sure as hell didn't like the feeling of being judged himself. "Y'see, if I did what you suggested, people might actually think I'm a good guy." He kept a firm grip on his sack of goods, taking a step closer to the other. He had noticed the way the other had initially flinched on landing, hand flying to his ribs. Must've been dumb enough to play on realistic settings. "Can't go around ruining my reputation, can we?" It was a rhetorical question, but as Ben flipped the dagger around and butted the handle of his blade at Ozwin's ribs, he decided to answer anyway. "No, no we can't." If his attack didn't land, it was no biggy to him. He could outrun this guy. And if he couldn't be faster, he could at least last longer. And that was what every girl preferred anyways, right? Some good ol' stamina.
"Indeed," Ozwin laughed in reply. "Aeromancy has a number of neat tricks for people who want to be on the move." Initially it seemed there was a pretty good mood, but then it quickly soured... Seemed he wasn't going to get that drink so easily. Of course Ozwin caught the fact this guy was suddenly turning aggressive as he came closer, he was basically announcing his intent and Ozwin wasn't a idiot. Goodness it was one thing when he thought this guy a harmless prankster but now he was noting some... more jackass-ish elements to their character. While Ozwin himself wasn't out there saying that NPC are real people, the fact it was very difficult for him to tell the difference at times was enough for him to be more than a little sympathetic. Ozwin was already beginning to feel tired as he grabbed and pushed the other man's wrist to where the handle of the knife struck him in the gut rather than at his sore rib. While it still hurt, it wasn't enough to make him do more than wince, then he returned the favor by pulling the other man towards him and making to headbutt him in the nose. This guy just had to go and make Ozwin a liar. He held the one wrist as tight as he could and struggled with the other man to grab the other, if they managed to escape his grip he probably wouldn't be able to catch them again. He started a Aeromancy chant in order to try and tase the thief before he decided to use the sharp end of that knife, "Aero Voltus Inceptus- "
He felt the blood trickling down his face before he really registered the pain, and at that point, Ben realized the other had broken his promise. That hadn't bothered him as much as the fact that he'd have to go and set his nose after this and wipe away all the nasty blood. That made his blood boil. It lit a fire inside of him that told him to destroy, rather than to play. Struggling against the grip @Ozwin Ahab had on his wrist, the rogue threw a full on show of twisting this way and that. He would've continued if not for the low murmurs of incantation. "Oh. No. You," Ozwin had forgotten to trap his legs, so Ben chanced throwing himself off balance to knee Ozwin's crotch, "Don't!" He hoped that was enough to disrupt the spell, and started writhing with all his might, making it as difficult as possible for Ozwin to hold on. Maybe the other saw the smirk, maybe he didn't, but Ben knew this place like he knew reality. There would be some guy trying to play hero, just like Ozwin. He cried out. "HELP! Please, somebody save me!" Tears leaked from his eyes as his voice caught the attention of somebody in the market not too far away. He'd dropped his bag of loot at the crates, and all he needed to do was pin the other as the assaulter. With barely a hiss, Ben drove his other hand through the blade of his dagger, then let go of it. He was truly a sight to behold; tears streaming down his bloodied face, a dagger sliced straight through his hand, and his clothes ruffled and torn. If Ozwin showed even a moment of hesitation, Ben would make a break for it. He'd had enough time to consider how to jump over those crates and sweep up his bag (he'd have to use a different hand but that wasn't a problem), and then he could hide away - lick his wounds. Then he'd get his revenge. It just wouldn't be today.
Ozwin's incantation fell short as the only thing that manage to come out of his mouth as @Ben Dover kneed him in the groin was a angry groan and a display of grit teeth. The act Ben started putting on as Ozwin lost his grip on the other man seemed to send a flare up Ozwin's spine. He didn't try to capture Ben again. His patience was past that now. Instead his hands now moved with the purpose of pointing the sharp end of his trident through Ben's chest. Luckily for Ozwin Ben had laid out his path a bit, dropping that purse to the ground to make it look like he himself was the thief. That was where Ozwin would focus his movements... If Ben wanted to take that bag when he ran off he would have to pay a very, very dear price for it if Ozwin had his say. It must not have occurred to Ben yet that the main reason Ozwin had not been too violent to begin with was because he was generally a free spirited as demonstrated by his reluctance to have any real punishment come on Ben through the law, the fact he was having a good time, and he was cautious that Ben might be an NPC, thus susceptible to permanent death. Ozwin didn't really care if the guards he himself called useless showed up, his patience had run thin now that he was no longer having fun, and there was no real reason to hesitate over killing Ben since his death wouldn't be permanent anyway... Rather at this point even if Ben was an NPC he wouldn't involve the guards and simply remove the problem himself. It was less that Ozwin was a particularly good guy and more that he didn't like anyone stomping around and causing trouble in his backyard, the NPC on the docks being like the flowers and vegetables of his garden. He liked watching them grow and speaking to them but he wouldn't hesitate to removing a blighted plant himself before it damaged the others.
Ben hissed as the pointy end of the trident shot forward, stumbling backward to dodge it. "Hey!" he snarled, eyes dipping to glance at the pouch Ozwin now protected. Why had he dropped the damn thing? He glared at the trident. "Watch where you point that thing – I don't like unexpected tips!" Even in this heated moment, the tension between them thick enough to cut through, Ben had times to insinuate something dirty. Were it not for the blade through his palm, he'd pat himself on the back. Instead, Ben backed up, putting some more space between them. His eyes kept flicking down to the pouch half-hidden behind Ozwin's leg, teeth gritting as he considered his options. Leave the bag. Escape without any further combat. Go for the bag. Risk more combat with this asshole. Wait for the guards. Let them see this 'villain', escape with the pouch in the chaos. Clenching his teeth, he ripped the dagger free from his hand, ignoring the blood flowing freely. His health dropped rapidly as he had nothing to stem the bleeding. It was now or never. Lurching forward, Ben dove for the bag, squeezing the dagger in his non-injured hand. His fingers curled around the burlap sack. Without hesitation, he continued with his motion, unfortunately turning his back to the other. It was a risk he'd have to take. Thrown die: 97
This damn thief was actually going for it! Gritting his teeth at the challenge Ozwin began a flurry of stabs to meet this madman. Who would risk death over a few coins like this... A player character who thinks little of death, someone who was a touch too greedy, someone with too much pride?! Likely a combination... Regardless Ozwin had his own pride. He set up this challenge and he would die himself before he backed down. Though from what he had seen the thief was physically more agile than him without his magic increasing his speed and the fact he rushed for the gold anyway caught Ozwin off guard. The theif had momentum and surprise on his side... Would Ozwin's trident stab at air or would he make swiss out of the thief? Find out next time on TerraSphere Z! Thrown die: 52
Ben cackled wildly as he made off with the bag, the trident barely passing over his head as he ducked last minute. With a hip and a hop and a good ol' roll, he was out of the alley, fading away into the crowd. Gods! That felt good! Despite the looks passer-bys shot him, whether because of his ravaged palm or his maniacal giggles, Ben enjoyed himself. He looked at his health bar and blanched. Whoops. That was getting uncomfortably low! He should leave now... He looked around him one last time for that white-haired pesk. Satisfied that the nosey man was nowhere in sight, Ben twirled around a corner and made his escape. It wasn't long before he'd completely disappeared from this part of Dunnstads. Wherever he'd gone, he had made it out with a good lot of cash and his wounds finally healed. It would be a while before he came back to haunt this place. Sure - he'd made it out alive, but even Ben knew that it was a close one. When he was stronger... then he'd teach that asshat a lesson. [ FIN ]
