Bradwynne winced as a sword blade passed by his face, his youthful features being mirrored by its steel. He knew he had clearly dodged it by bending his body slightly backwards, but still he was thankful it did not end up hitting his neck where it was intended to hit.

This was a drag, literally. Bradwynne found himself being surrounded by five leather-armored men who was ready to take his life away from him. These were some of the bandits that were continuously harassing the merchants and passersby towards the entrance of Vintergard where Bradwynne made his home in, and Bradwynne knew the reason why they had set up an ambush for him right now. And he somehow regretted that he kept these people alive, now that he was being surrounded with these people, like they had no remorse in doing what they do to the poor folk traveling within this road. This particular problem was a couple of months in the making, and now it had escalated to this.

It started a couple of months ago when the capital was being rebuilt. Bradwynne, being quite active in healing the people affected during the late war, passed by some bandits pillaging a merchant who was just traveling along that road. Feeling that he needed to help the poor merchant, rushed to the scene, beat off the bandits with the back of his katana, and then returned the pillaged merchandise to the merchant. To make sure that these bandits would learn their lesson, he pillaged the extrinsic belongings of the bandits and kept them for himself. Every other day when he would return from his hunt he always see the same scenario, but different bandits, different victim. But he always ended it in the same fashion he ended the banditry from before. Time after time, he had beaten away the bandits and gave them a lesson for them not to do it again. But it seemed that the bandits were bent on doing their nefarious acts, and this time, they wanted to do away with the person who had humiliated them a number of times now. And so, as Bradwynne was returning from his hunt, it was his time to be ambushed by the bandits now, and this time they were prepared as they brought their armor with them, intimating that their target was a very dangerous person.

And dangerous was Bradwynne indeed, but not in their expectations. Unbeknownst to them, they had filled the cup of their sin, and Bradwynne had to empty it, permanently.

As he bent his body backwards to evade the slash of one of the bandits, his legs started a motion to spin. After the blade passed by his face, his body then spun with his legs, causing a one hundred eighty degree turn, and his sword-arm spun with his body, the katana creating an arc which ended up slashing one of the bandits in a kesa-giri fashion, the upper half cleanly sliding down the lower half. As he was almost finished spinning, one of the bandits tried to thrust his sword towards Bradwynne, but Bradwynne noticing the thrusting action of that bandit, spun away from the blade, and that thrust proved to be a fatal error as Bradwynne issued a disemboweling slash on the bandit, which bowed down in pain before going down. The three remaining bandits then tried to issue a downward slash with their blades towards Bradwynne, who shielded himself with his katana. But as he winced due to the mass of the three blades weighing down on his arm, he knew that he would not be able to last in that situation. So he kicked on one of the bandits, which should deal no damage but should be enough to keep his blade off him, and then, with his katana still locked in a block with the two swords of the bandits, he quickly spun around away from trouble as he retracted the katana making the two swords swing on only air. He managed to spin towards the back of one of the bandits, and with the momentum of the spin, he swung his katana towards the unprotected back of the bandit, which would remove him out of the equation. He then turned at the second bandit, who tried to issue a lateral slash, but Bradwynne managed to duck beneath the slash and countered with a slash of his own, cutting the abdomen of the bandit in twain. As he had finished with the second bandit, he saw the third bandit raising his blade. Using his momentum from the second bandit, he managed to close onto the third bandit and issue a thrust on his heart before the bandit could act. As the bandit's heart was pierced, he dropped the sword that he was about to use to slash, and then fell down dead. Bradwynne then flicked the blood from his katana and then sheathed it, not because the battle was over, but because the battle was just about to start, and he needed the sword sheathed to issue deadly techniques. He could not help but feel bad in killing these bandits, but the bandits refuse to end their murderous ways and there was no other way but to execute the needed justice for their deeds. And seemingly undeterred by what happened to their comrades, more bandits started to charge towards Bradwynne's direction.

This would be a long and bloody day, as Bradwynne thought.

 

Bandits. Blizzards. Rough terrain and not nearly enough taverns or booze. Why, oh why, oh why was Astorea a place, and Vintergard its capital? It apparently served as some sort of player-run kingdom, which explained the sorry state it was in, but why anybody chose to linger in the area was beyond Temperance's capacity to understand. The only times that she even visited it were for quests or when passing through, and it was certainly not met with fondness in her memories.

Still, it stood as a wall between Here and There, an obstacle to face each time she moved from the north to the south and vice versa. Typically she made short work of the trek by lounging in the back of carts that merchants took through, her skill at hiding such that she was almost never noticed by the traders. But with more and more bandit attacks in the area, the frequency of trade had dwindled. Her ability to mooch rides dried up, as did her wineskin as she drank her thirst away quickly on the long march through Astorea. A trail of emptied bottles littered the sides of the road, marking her passage through woods and down trails, the message in those bottles simple to understand: "the only way to stand this place is to slay sobriety."

But now she was out, her inventory's supply of alcohol run dry. As a result her temperament was hardly improved, now that she was reduced to drinking something as disgusting as... eugh... water. Everyone had their cross to bear, however. Everyone had their mountains to climb and dragons to slay. At the very least she didn't have to suffer withdrawal or a hangover, due to her healing abilities. What she did have to suffer was the six armed men who now closed in upon the dirt road, three before her and three behind. They had swords drawn, simple but functional things made for taking life. One among them, a man behind her, bore a shield with a Falderan heraldry upon it. An NPC from the war some time ago, that had fled battle and become a bandit? He, likely, was the most trained and experienced of them... the others had the tattered leathers of hunters and farmers who had taken to highway robbery out of greed or desperation.

Surprisingly they did not all wear cruel smiles, but rather looks of concern. Raiding a traveling merchant was one thing, but stopping a woman in red silks and walking with a tall oak staff was something quite different. One of the men seemed to shrink as Temperance's eyes glowered, focusing him down and reading him for weakness. The others, holding their ground, waited for their leader to direct them into action.

"Leave your belongings on the ground and be on your way, and you'll live this night..." the shielded man stated, raising his blade so that he could stare down its length towards the back of her head. Temperance, not even bothering to turn and face him, rolled her eyes and continued to move forward a few steps, until the bandits before her raised their weapons and closed in a few shuffled paces, ready to fight.
"I'll not be ignored," their leader grunted, his voice and face heavy with a frown that bespoke of wounded pride.
"I'll say again- leave your belongings on the ground, and be off. No harm will come to you if you oblige us to your wealth, traveler."

Smirking, Temperance turned to look the man in the eye, raising a hand to her chin so that she could push her neck side to side and crack it audibly.
"Buddy... you cannot imagine the amount of fuck ups you're stumbling into by doing this. All I want is to get to some place with a warm bed and a cold drink, and every moment you make my stay in these fucking woods any longer than it has to be is a moment I'm gonna make sure you regret." Her smile broadened as she lowered the tip of her staff towards him, its head glowing with bright purpose as a spell began to conjure forth.
The leader, understanding his mistake in allowing there to be distance between his men and a mage, reacted quickly and thrust his own sword into the ground, channeling magic into it. Though very weak, he had enough geomancy to create a ten-foot deep circular pit that Temperance was now at the bottom of. She cancelled her spell, glancing around, listening to the stomping of the men above her as they obviously prepared to strike down at her from above.
"Oh no, heeeeeeeeeelp..." she droned sarcastically, stepping back into the shadows at the bottom of the pit.
"I'm trapped in a sar-chasm..."

She activated her Incognito skill, hunkered down in the shade and vanishing from sight before any of the men reached the edge to look down.
"SHE'S GONE!" one of the bandits shouted in warning and surprise, looking around as if he might find her standing nearby or waiting in a close tree. She rolled her eyes and prepared for her next move, silent and invisible.

@Bradwynne

 

Vintergard was as decrepit as ever and even Alpha couldn't muster enough strength to willingly stay in a place that was still months into its reconstruction period. As nice as the rebuilding project was coming along, the lack of any fine entertainment or store of delectable sweets immediately brought Alpha's ill will and, within an hour of arriving to the capital city, she turned back and began to skip back along the trodden road. Falderen was a nation Alpha heavily disliked for obvious reasons but even she had to admit that Stokbon's Sweets Emporium was leagues better than rundown merchants who sold days-old sweets at a clearance price.

Hector lurked by her side and, though his presence comforted her, she couldn't help but regret bringing him along to her short jaunt throughout Astorea. The wolf had scarfed down her honey granola bars like a tractor devouring the dirt and grass along its way. Her rations hadn't stood a chance and Alpha didn't even have enough comfort food to mourn the loss. And so, Alpha departed with an empty stomach and heavy heart.

Briefly, she entertained the thought of cooking Hector for dinner. Hector had a strict exercise regime which consisted of hunting for food, consuming the food, and then going out to hunt for more food. That meant that the wolf would have very tender thighs and Alpha wondered what fried Hector drumsticks would taste like. Chicken? Wagyu beef? Hummus?

She blanched at the last thought, shaking her head at a breakneck speed, and banished those thoughts from her mind. She gagged. Hummus, ew.

It wasn't long until she stumbled upon an odd scene: some blonde guy slicing through a crowd of badly-dressed dudes like he was a competitor on Masterchef and all of his victims were various ingredients in a Shrimp Gumbo (she needed to stop making similes, dammit!). She paused, staring at the scene in the distance.

The silence was palpable (if one ignored the sounds of swords clashing and swinging into flesh). Alpha was lost in her thoughts, eyes blank, before she tossed a pair of finger guns in that general direction and turned around, using one of her legs as a vertex. "Ooookie dokie! We're definitely not going that way, right Hector?"

Hector stared at the scene hungrily, his lips slack. Alpha refrained from grimacing at the nasty mess of saliva that pooled beneath him. She pulled him by the scruff of his neck as his muscles tensed. "Uh, no! I'm so not fed enough for this! Let's get some cheese or something at least before we get into that!"

She jabbed her thumb into the general direction of the ruckus, pointedly sending a distasteful look at the bandits. "Like, fights are cool and stuff but I really, really want a double bacon cheeseburger by the time the day's over! I'm starving because of you!" she whined and, much to her disappointment, Hector seemed unmoved. If glares could kill, Hector would be buried in the Earth's molten crust with a thousand stab wounds with hummus crusted over his muzzle.

She tried a different approach.

"Okay, Hex!" she stressed the nickname, not even trying to hide her desperation in her attempts to dissuade the dog at this point. "C'mon, let's talk about this logically!" the irony of her words were lost on her. Hector, however, seemed to have stilled at the last word and sent her a dirty, accusing look. Alpha held up her hands sheepishly. "Okay, okay! So, I'm not the best person when it comes to talking stuff out but here're the facts! One, I'm hungry! Two, you ate all the food! Three, I'm not into cannibalism! Four, those guys don't have any...wait..."

Hector rolled his eyes. "Ruff ruff bark bork!"

Realization dawned on Alpha.

"Ooooh! You're a genius, Hector!" Alpha grinned, eyes shining bright as she took Hector into her arms, squeezing the life out of the gasping pup. By the time she put him down, she got a few scratches and nips for her troubles (as well as Hector's own indignant annoyance) but it seemed as if nothing could bring her down from the good mood she found herself in.

Bad clothes = Bandits

Bandits = Good food

Alpha kills bandits -> Alpha loots bandits' food -> Alpha is not hungry

She clapped the wolf on her back as she unsheathed her blade, her mouth now salivating just as much as Hector. "You go, boy! Okie dokie, on three! One...two..."

The both launched themselves forward into the fray. "Don't worry strange guy fighting the other strange guys! Your hero, Alphabet Chocolate the Great and Amazing, is here!"

"Ruff bark bork!" Hector howled, introducing himself with the charming action of sinking his teeth into one of the bandits.

@Bradwynne
@Temperance

 

As Bradwynne was about to draw his katana, he then noticed something. He had fully expected that they would move to kill him, but here they were clashing against each other. It was as if they forgotten their grudge against him and resumed on their original battle lines, and unfortunately, grudges against others' individual groups. There were more charging towards his direction, but after seeing the brawl within the first wave, started to fight against each other. There were a group of bandits ganging up on one guy, there were one-on-one fights, and there were those close to riots that he had seen on TV, except they are using blades and not guns. As he was seeing what was happening, he was feeling like an anime character showing a drip of sweat once they saw something shameful. What's more, a girl with her pet wolf, the girl presumably a player like him, started to battle the bandits that were being confounded with their own problems, and another player passing by was targeted by the rowdy mob. This was becoming a Royal Rumble match, and Bradwynne just stared at the idiocy of it all. But it should be wise to attack them while they are being confounded, and he moved towards the riot. But suddenly he was stopped by someone. By his looks and his armor, he was sure that he was facing the ringleader. And he was not fazed by all of the riot that was happening among his associates and members, as he faced Bradwynne with a lot of killing intent. Sensing this, Bradwynne readied his stance, his left hand grasping the saya of the hatana, the thumb near the tsuba to push it, the right hand about to grasp the handle. He was about to draw the katana and attack, and so was the ringleader when suddenly he heard the sound of a trumpet. He then remembered where they were at the moment.

They were very close to the capital Vintergard of Astorea, and it had seemed the guards nearby the city had noticed them. A whole battalion of guards were dispatched, surrounding the huge number of bandits and players that were in the area. Their leader, wearing a resplendent combination of gold and polished steel, drew his sword towards all of them, saying that they were all under arrest. Bradwynne was surprised that he was included in those who would be arrested together with these bandit scum, and so he tried to reason out with the guards.

"Hey, it's good that you are here, You know, these bandits were infesting this place, and I am having a hard time with them..."

But instantly he was arrested together with the rest of the people that were brawling it out, notwithstanding which side they were in. Instantly, something snapped within the mind of Bradwynne. He never thought that it would lead to this, that he was arrested together with these scum. He then flailed as he was being dragged towards the capital, shouting.

"DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHO YOU ARE ARRESTING?! I AM THE ONE THAT WAS SAVING YOU FROM THESE BANDITS, AND NOW YOU DARE TO ARREST ME?! THIS IS NOT FAIR! I KILLED FIVE BANDITS, AND THAT'S JUST IT! I AM NOT WITH THESE SCUM, YOU HEAR ME?!"

Convince Astorean guards of his innocence, except for the five killed bandits
Roll
10 + 5 = 15​

 

Whatever conflict the small group that had ambushed her expected to contend with, they were not prepared for the absolute chaos that came rushing in from all directions. As their attention was fixed on locating the white-haired woman, bandits of other groups swarmed in on the scene, apparently drawn by a nearby conflict and everything converging together. From her hidden place in the shadows of the pit they had made, she heard the shouting of men locked in combat and the cries and death throes of those cut down. A girl's voice and the baying of some hound filled the air as well. A regular ballroom blitz, this was...

She had no intention of climbing out of the hole just to be run through. The men who had meant to rob her were not cold blooded killers, yet had still meant her harm. These newcomers that swarmed down upon the scene were ruthless and cruel from what she could tell. The six that had originally intended to rob her became locked in combat with other more cutthroat curs that had come simply for the joys of fighting their rivals. She'd have felt sympathy for them if they weren't just ones and zeros in a computer program... but as NPCs in a game, they had little use beyond the amusement they brought her. And seeing as they had trapped her in a hole and intended her harm, she felt very unamused towards them. She listened as they fought back against others, generally keen to avoid that whole situation herself. No, she'd just... wait it out, then leave.

Well that HAD been her plan... until yet another armed force arrived on the scene. From the way they marched in unison it was likely they were more experienced and organized fighters. As the Captain's call rang out and announced that everyone was under arrest, she grinned and decided she didn't have to wait in the hole after all. She could climb out unseen amidst the confusion of arrests, and hide herself among the guard. Yes... Yes, that would do nicely. The guards themselves could march her to the capital, and from there she would just slip away and hitch a ride with a merchant caravan. After having a little fun, of course...

Yes. That sounded superb. AND she could stock up on alcohol again, so really, this was the best possible situation for her to be in. Climbing out of the pit as quietly and stealthily as possible, Temperance quickly rolled out of the middle of the road and into some nearby brush, hiding herself away using her heavily invested Incognito skill. She waited for one of the guards to near, making sure it was one whose face was covered by a full greathelm, and she deftly brushed her fingertips across his leg as he ran by. The man barely noticed, glancing at the bush over his shoulder as he continued running, assuming he'd merely hit one of its branches, and put his mind back to arrest bandits. Temperance waited until none were looking towards her particular bush and stepped out of it, Doppleganger'd as one of the helmeted guards. Now disguised as one of the arresting party, she moved through the violent scene to look for somebody to... well... arrest?

The blonde kid @Bradwynne with the katana was putting up a huge fuss and shouting loudly about how he had been killing bandits, and they were arresting the wrong person. Clearly he didn't understand the concept of "don't talk before you get a lawyer."
Wait. Did Astorea's law system allow for lawyer representation? Were there even civil rights? Huuuuuuuuuuuuh...
Yeah. It was definitely a good thing she'd disguised herself as one of the "good guys" to avoid any possible torture shenanigans. She'd heard about some sort of torture nonsense some players had gone through not long ago, and she wanted none of it for herself.

Pulling herself from her reverie, she focused on the task at hand: she needed to arrest something or someone, to appear guard-like. Her attention focused on the girl that had come and joined the battle for... whatever reason, and she knew precisely what she had to do. Approaching Alphabet, Temperance pulled some rope from her inventory- an item she always carried and was more than happy to explain over a drink or a soon to be broken bed frame- and she stooped to tie a quick knot to bind her suspect.
"STOP RIGHT THERE! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST, CRIMINAL SCUM!" she announced in the NPC guard's voice, or at least a close approximation to it. Doppleganger was never 100% in mimicking a person, which was actually useful when you wanted to pass for SIMILAR but not EXACT. Two identical figures would draw attention, but there should be enough differences between herself and the guard she was mimicking to avoid detection... she hoped. And, looking down, she had her suspect in custody.

@Alphabet Chocolate's dog. With a leash made of rope, to keep it from running off, so that it could be walked back to town as a suspect in what would doubtless be the greatest fake case of her false career as a pretend guard. At the very least, it would keep the NPCs from killing the dog if it tried to run off, or keep the girl from getting hurt if she felt her pet was about to be harmed. Or, that was Temperance's hope. Realistically she had no masteries to actually fight and arrest one of the bandits that were none too keen on being arrested and facing the noose.

OOC synopsis: Temp successfully (so far) disguised as a guard with Doppleganger and arrested Alphabet's dog using a leash made of rope.

 

The mental images horrified her.

Had you ever had a moment where you think about things you're pretty sure you're not supposed to? Or you've seen something that shouldn't ever exist? A level above eldritch abominations. Imagine seeing your great-grandpa in the nude after he gets out of the shower. Imagine seeing your childhood best friend in an illicit relationship. Imagine a sight so horrifically graphic that you'd want to claw your eyes out and devote the rest of your life to creating a form of usable brain bleach to purge yourself of the traumatizing experience regardless of the consequences. Imagine something so gruesome and terrifying that, as you step into the arch-doors of heaven, you can't take another step without crying tears of blood and pain.

She didn't know how she came onto the thought in the first place. Maybe it was because she was thinking of looting their precious gemstone-engraved swords. Maybe it was because of some various extraneous circumstance around her that provoked the brain-breaking idea. Regardless of whatever had caused it, the consequences were apparent and ready to destroy whatever ounce of sanity that Alpha had within her. By the time the guards were on them, all thoughts of taking their items were dashed as she covered her eyes and gave a shrill, deathly scream that would've befitted a banshee more than a four-foot girl.

"My eyes, my eyes!" she cried, oblivious as Hector was lasso'd. The guards quickly rounded them all up as she was splayed across the ground, rolling around in the dirt and muck as she attempted to banish these unearthly thoughts. "Please, my eyes! Ew, ew, ew!"

There was shouting around her, mostly from the blonde-haired boy that she had seen earlier but, as she was right now, none of that mattered. As the guards promptly put them under arrest, Alpha hands swiped the wind around them in a frenzied panic, eyes wide and unfocused.

Think happy, happy thoughts. Alpha tried, she really did. Puppies, daisies, rainbows, space whales...but nothing could purge what has been inscribed into her head. Just moments earlier, Alpha had thought of looting these guys; taking their valuable clothes and weapons and whatever she could fetch and sell them to the highest bidder so she could finally afford that chocolate syrup auction she had lost to Seigi (of all people!).

Unfortunately, as mental-Alpha had taken the mental-guards' items, there also came the thought of naked-mental-guards. Guys with...things. The things used in the bird and the bees. The things of pure nastiness and grossness. Impure, unholy things.

By the time Alpha opened her eyes, which had been clenched shut, she felt something heavy in her fists and clothes. She checked. A key? A pretty key. A very, very, very, very, very pretty key. It jangled.

"Oooh," she whispered, her plunder finally distracting her from those unhol—

OH GOD SHE WAS THINKING ABOUT IT AGAIN. CTRL+ALT+DEL, PLEASE!

Status: Alphabet Chocolate is currently incapacitated.

(Roll) The Bandits' Marked Man

OOC: Alpha loots the guards (Roll: 105).

 

Bradwynne could not still get over the situation. Before he was helping the city of Vintergard to be rid of the bandits, and now he was arrested with them. Were the guards that blind in seeing that he was not with these scum? By his looks they should know that he was a player. What, they were treating him as some sort of player that mercilessly kill the residents for money and loot? They should know that he was not that type of person! He had defended them from a lot of threats, and now they would repay everything by arresting him? This is not fair! Bradwynne was still fuming as those thoughts passed by him. But as he thought about it, maybe they are just doing their job in apprehending everything and everyone that was a threat to the society. Maybe it just so happened that he was with these scum fighting with them, and so he was arrested with them. And so he should applaud these people in serving justice that should be needed. For this time he should be calm in remonstrating his case so that he would avoid the dungeons and go free again. With a quick inhalation and exhalation, Bradwynne tried to let go of his anger and spoke again with the guards.

"You see, I am just there fighting off the bandits when you came. I tried to help you with the bandit problems that were going on within Vintergard..."

He was not finished speaking when he heard someone shout. From his looks he seemed to be one of the bandits that were about to charge at him, but was involved in a clash between other groups of bandits. As Bradwynne remembered their idiocy, a proverbial sweat formed on his forehead. the bandit shouted, "Hey boss, what are we going to do?" It was apparent that he was talking to Bradwynne, and since he looked at the source of the voice, one of the guards started to throw a mean look on him. As if the Fates were trying to insult Bradwynne, another of the bandits shouted, "Hey master, you have a plan to get us out of here, right?" And this did not stop as still another bandit shouted, "Hey my lord, when will you try to get us out of here?" As the guard heard all of those words, he glared at Bradwynne, saying, "So we got the leader of the bandits all along!"

And so Bradwynne snapped yet again. He then shouted, "DO YOU REALLY INTEND TO BELIEVE THOSE PEOPLE?! IT WAS EVIDENT THEY ARE LYING TO THEIR TEETH! I AM NOT THEIR LEADER! IN FACT, I WAS FIGHTING THEM WHEN YOU ARRIVED! YOU SEE THAT I AM FIGHTING THEM RIGHT?!" But the guard said, "As I see it, it was numerous groups of bandits fighting against each other. Maybe you are just trying to root out your rivals to get supremacy! Men, throw this man into the dungeon! I'll submit a report to the commander about this matter. That man is a bandit leader, so make sure that he does not escape!" The other guards immediately acceded to the order of that guard, and hurriedly escorted Bradwynne to the dungeon. He was thrown into a squalid cell within the dungeon, and as the steel door was being slammed, one of the guards said, "Have fun in here, you bandit leader!."

Being snapped yet again, Bradwynne shouted, "YOU DON'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M NOT A BANDIT LEADER! I AM INNOCENT!" But as if the Fates were mocking him yet again, apparently there were people within other cells that started to shout with these, "I'm also innocent!" "Yeah, I'm also innocent!" "Let me out, I am innocent!"

Convince Astorean guards of his innocence, except for the five killed bandits
Roll
11 + 5 = 16​

 

Alpha pocketed the key into her inventory just in time for the guards to push her into an open cell, slamming the door shut without a single glance or spitting word. She looked around to find that Hector was no where in sight. Ah, well. It wasn't as if the wolf couldn't take care of himself and it wasn't as if she was particularly attached to him by default. After Terry was gone, Alpha hadn't really formed a strong bond with any of her companions. Her mini-pets were locked up in her inventory from now until the end of time and Hector was, at most, just a barely tolerable wolf with questionable loyalties all around. At least, that's what Alpha tried to convince herself as her stomach churned and her hands began to fidget without her approval.

"Gah, who cares! It's not like we're gonna be in here longer than an hour, anyways," she reminded herself, slinking to the dirty white bed that was provided for her. She groaned, looking up at the cracked ceiling that dripped tiny droplets of water straight down onto a puddle of the floor. She kicked her shoes off. The guards weren't the brightest bunch—Alpha had her weapons, her shiny new key, and the unparalleled ability to log right out if she truly wanted to. Hector, for all his terrible qualities, wasn't as weak as Terry was either. The thought sobered her up and she reached into her pocket, felt the comforting warmth of the fragment which was her constant accompaniment, and sighed. "You guys are all losers!" Alpha screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping up and kicking her bedframe in frustration.

At her proclamation, a chorus of curses and shouts resounded from the nearby cells she was surrounded by. It seemed as if none of the other prisoners held no long lost love for the guards either and, from the distance, she could hear the echoes of a voice that sounded peculiarly familiar. It took a moment for her to place her finger on it. The boy that she'd seen earlier had sounded exactly like that and, although she hadn't interacted much with him, she could distinguish his youthful voice from the crowd of gruff bandits anytime.

"Hey, blonde-haired-guy!" Alpha shouted, hoping to catch his attention. "Name's Alphabet Chocolate! What's yours?"

She grinned as his spiel continued on; his attempts to proclaim his innocence warmed a part of Alpha and she found herself fully engrossed in whatever it was he was planning. Was he trying to gain their trust? Was he actually innocent? Was he a potato in disguise? The lack of clarity consumed her and she found herself immersed in this mystery. "Let's break out of here together! Well, I'll break you out! And then you can join my pirate crew!" she hollered, hoping he could hear her words.

The blonde boy, who was probably older than her so she shouldn't exactly call him a boy, was awfully good at sword-fighting. The thought of him joining the crew of the S.S. Kir'ree excited her more than it should and, in that moment of pure elation and glee, she had the dumbest thought she'd had that day.

She'd break through this prison, get Hector, recruit the blonde swordsman, and escape her with her fists. If Alonso and Zeus could do it, why couldn't she?! And, fully-confident in her own abilities, she braced herself. She felt all her strength fester in her right fist, she felt power surge through her.

Music began to play...

She felt a surge of courage and confidence flow through her. For a second, it was as if everything clicked. As if the secrets of the universe were revealed to her and she stood above the masses. If she looked hard enough, she could envision a glowing aura enveloping her closed fist.

And then she punched the wall. She heard something crack.

"Ow, ow, ow!" she cried, falling and landing atop her bed as her fist was now sporting red marks and bruises, the wall surprisingly sturdy in face of the run-down amenities of the correctional facility. She was never doing this again. Never again.

(Roll) The Bandits' Marked Man

 

Well, this couldn't have gone better if she'd actually expected it to work. And... she hadn't, really. But apparently there was a perfect storm of stupidity and chaos such that she was able to blend in with the guard, who had not bothered to count their own numbers. Marching the dog seriously back to the capital in order to jail it, Temperance followed the other guards and was escorted without incident past the fortifications. A man approached her disguised form, a stocky sort with leather padding on his arms and legs and a series of scars across his shoulders and face. Clearly he was a man experienced with vicious beasts, and he took the dog from her with a nod and escorted Hector off to a kennel to be kept.

That made sense; it wasn't like it'd get a jail cell or anything. They'd likely try to retrain the dog, or put it down, or release it with the girl if she could prove her innocence... Speaking of, she had better stay with the group and escort the prisoners down to keep an eye on them. Following the guards down into the prison, she glanced about at the squalor and suffering that the NPCs were in. It did not seem like the kind of place she'd want a real person to be for long, but... maybe for a few hours, just to watch them squirm? Maybe.

She watched as Bradwynne and Alphabet were placed in their respective cells, then took up a post nearby to keep an eye on them and "prevent any escape" or help to "enforce the peace" among prisoners. She smirked as the blonde kid kept shouting in a mania, making himself sound more and more dangerous and insane the longer he kept it up. The bandits had apparently wised up and decided to pin everything on him as their leader, which meant Blondie would hang if tradition was to be any source of insight. The girl, on the other hand, was... breaking her other hand?!

Temperance watched, confused, as @Alphabet Chocolate punched the wall and then began to groan in pain. That had been dumb as rocks. "HEY! ...Don't do that..." Temperance instructed, her voice booming like the deep timbre of a mountain-village guard, all business, expecting to be obeyed.
"We don't want you lot hurting yourselves before we can execute you. Especially you, Blondie, so pipe down and behave. You'll have plenty of time to shout and flail when you're in the noose." She grinned, the NPC-disguise she wore twisting its face up in a cruel smile as if delighted by that thought. Struck by an idea of how she could further torment the two, she began to pick at the dirt under fingernails with a dull dagger, and continued to speak.
"You know this reminds me of a song me ma taught me...

Sherry, Sherry, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?
With Silver Bells, and Cockleshells, and pretty Maidens in a row!"​

Again that cruel toothy smile came, and Temperance in disguise as the guard approached @Bradwynne's cell, tapping the bars with a lockpick.
"Pretty little rhyme innit? But what people don't like ta remember is that Silver Bells 'n Cockleshells was torture devices, right? And the Maidens? They're made of iron, innit. Magnificent Murderous Mad little Sherry... Absolutely delighted in torturing those that done her kingdom wrong. Makes me wonder what the king'll 'ave done to you lot. Or maybe... Maybe he doesn't even know you're here? Maybe he never does, and we just drag you into the dark to do with what we see fit. Maybe you can do something for me to make sure that don't happen to you, understand me wee boy?" And as if the brutish figure's smile and stare weren't enough, the bars shook as a single pelvic thrust hit them, to make it clear what was being asked for.
"You do right by me, and I do right by you... leave you this lockpick. Tell you when the guard'll change so you have a nice window to escape. Give you a sporting chance to break free. If you let me break you in."
Ooooooooooooooh, this was too much... Temperance wondered what the guy would say. The thoughts that must be going through his head!

 

As Bradwynne was shouting his head off that he was innocent of those charges laid upon him by those bandits, he heard some voice different from all the other shouting rabble, the voice of a girl. Maybe this was the girl who also started to attack the bandits before the guards came to arrest them. This should be a fortunate time, as she could prove his innocence from what those bandits heaped upon him. And so he would try to be more accommodating to this girl right here. As she was shouting as she introduced herself, he shouted in return, "The name is Bradwynne Lambert, Nice meeting you, Alphabet Chocolate." As she offered to break themselves free from the prison, he just sighed. He wanted to prove his innocence right here, but maybe all those other bandits arrested would try to aggravate his circumstances. Even get him hanged. And so, that offer made by the girl named Alphabet Chocolate - wait that sounds yummy - seemed to be very attractive. And so, neither agreeing nor rejecting her proposal, he just shouted back, "Pirate crew? Sounds like fun! But from whom will we pillage?" He was unsure about the girl's intentions in making a pirate crew, but he would just assume that it was for innocuous reasons befitting of a girl. He then waited with bated breath what would the girl do. He was expecting explosions of some sort, but what he had heard afterward was a whimpering shout of pain from the girl. That time he knew that the plan was a fail. Maybe he would just try to remonstrate his case with the arraigning body. Maybe that would work.

His thoughts were interrupted by a burly guard shouting in a deep-voiced manner. Apparently most of the shouting was directed at him, since he was shouting his head off for a long time within the dungeon. And apparently he was one of those guards who believed in the make-shift stories of the bandits. Damn those bandits, Bradwynne thought as he gritted his teeth at what those people had done to him. The burly guard then continued talking about some old folk song, that, apparently, was based off numerous torture devices that were being used to make the tortured person admit to the sin that they were accused of doing, and the Maiden struck Bradwynne in particular, as he knew what that was. It was an iron coffin shaped like a maiden, that had spikes inside of it. Being placed in such a coffin would hurt a lot, and Bradwynne dreaded that it might happen to him. An offer was made by the guard, though. He could bust him out of the dungeon if he would do a favor for him. By the words he was saying and his actions it meant... As Bradwynne thought about it, his face went red. No, no he would not do that. Even if that person was a woman. Much more so if he would need to do it on a man. He just said, suppressing his embarrassment, "Thank you for the offer, but no. I will just try to prove to the jury that I am innocent." As he said those words, some other guards arrived and took Bradwynne away for his arraignment.

When he came to be arraigned, Bradwynne explained, "I am a being from the other world, in our terms a player, and for a couple of months not I had been trying to teach a lesson to these bandits not to steal anymore by beating them up and taking their loot away from them. Just this day when you had arrested me, before that, I had fought off an ambuscade that was sprung by those bandits that were trying to pin me as their leader. I do not know what happened after that and why they had started to fight on their own before you had arrested us, but I say to you that I am in no ways connected to those bandits, much less a leader to them." As he had finished his sentence, the arraigning body had called some of the bandits that were arrested, but they all pointed to him as their leader. They even said some stories of how they accompanied him in pillaging the ways leading to the capital, and the stories seemed so well-knit that the arraigning body actually believed the bandits, and consequently, drew up a sentence against Bradwynne. Quite enraged at what was happening, he then shouted, "But I am a player! Do you really think a player in this player-controlled nation would dare pillage the residents for his own good disregarding the ordinances from King Astor?" But the presiding officer said, "There was a case when a player like you started to extort the residents for money, willingfully ignoring the king. The person is still at large. So don't dare me that a player in Astorea could only do good!" At that juncture Bradwynne fell silent. It had seemed that everything fell into the scheme of the bandits to eliminate him, and he had nothing to do. Fortunately for him, the arraigning body was still discussing whither what to do with this case of a player being convicted of being a bandit leader. And so the arraigning body motioned that he be sent back to his cell, to wait for the punishment that would be meted onto him. But as Bradwynne was about to be escorted back to his cell, he shouted, although with a more dignified manner, "Please reconsider my case! I think the bandits were trying to pin me down since they are angry at what I did to them! And I had not yet presented my witnesses!" Fortunately, as the presiding officer noticed, there were no one presented in the defense of the accused, and so, combined with the difficulty of punishing a player, he then said that the appeal for reconsideration would be decided upon by the jury. Satisfied, Bradwynne said nothing more as he was escorted back to his cell. And, from that time onwards, Bradwynne did not shout anymore in his cell as he awaited for the decision about the appeal.

((The appeal will be rolled later on.))

Convince the arraigning body of his innocence, except for the five killed bandits
Roll
31 + 5 = 36​

 

Temperance managed to keep a straight face as the boy blushed and declined the rather... un-generous offer she had presented to him in return for his freedom. Of course she wouldn't have gone through with anything. For one, the setting wasn't conducive to the mood. For two, there was the kid nearby and that certainly wasn't what put wind in her sails. And finally, she hadn't been serious in the first place. Just... cruelly enjoying messing with the head of the boy who seemed convinced he was innocent of any wrong-doing, and loudly shouting in protest against his incarceration. Honestly, she considered telling him to quiet down and have some dignity and he might fare better but... well, it was his sinking ship and she wasn't about to help him bail water.

Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and gave a hearty laugh as the boy refused the offer of escape, and she began to approach Alphabet's cell, glancing at the girl within.
"I'll be sure to let the Cap'n know you're recruiting pirates among these bandits. Certainly doing yourself no favors, admitting guilt as ye are..." Smirking, her brutish disguise smacked the bars of @Alphabet Chocolate's cell, "accidentally" dropping a lockpick into the straw on the floor for the girl to use to escape. She'd be able to use it to free herself and Bradwynne and they could... oh. Ooooh. Well, nevermind. It seemed as though guards had come and taken @Bradwynne off for an araignment of some sorts, which meant the girl was on her own.
"Yer dog's in the kennel, out in one of the courtyards. Make a FINE STEW later," Temperance announced with a wink, to try and anger Alphabet and get her to rush her escape. Because the faster the girl got away, the better off she'd be. And... the more chaos they made, the more ignored Temperance would be. And that suited her just fine.

Sneaking about was more than lurking in shadows. It was also blending into the environment, and acting like you belonged. And thanks to her Theatrics vocation and her Incognito skill's disguise function, blending them in with the Doppleganger allowed for her to swagger through the prison area and avoid any attention. Ignored was the greatest stealth one could ask for. To be treated as though she totally belonged, moving undetected by people who looked right at her, and then away, not even bothering to be curious. It was why she had chosen such a... strange build for the character, and it proved its value as she entered through some heavy doors into some sort of warehouse or evidence lock up, looking for something worthwhile to take.

Thrown die:
100​

 

Alpha blanched, her jaw slackening at Temperance's words. She shifted uncomfortably before deciding to ignore the woman's dirty words. "W-well," she stuttered, the white in her face slowly making way for a bright red flush. "Uh, it's a pirate crew. We're gonna explore and cook and sell curry and, uh, do whatever we want. I don't think I've planned that far yet," Alpha confessed, unable to look at Temperance in the eye as she stared at the wall which separated her and her new compatriot. At the boy's rejection of her offer, however, she felt a familiar sense of dejection fill her. She shrugged, although the action would never be seen by her conversational partner. "Ah, well! If you don't want me to break you out then I'll just go myself; you're still joining my crew, though!"

Confident that she had the last word in that brief exchange, she turned back towards Temperance (whom she still couldn't look at without remember that recent bit of inappropriate dialogue). As time went on, however, and she hadn't received any unwanted proposals or declarations of love, she felt herself regain that confidence that had defined her very character. "Bleh, Brad over there and me may be pirates but we're not interested in your booty!" Alpha exclaimed, her nose scrunching up and her tongue spitting out the edge of her lips to signify her distaste at the prospect of engaging in such an illicit affair. "Strictly no rated arRgh material!"

She was somewhat proud by her puns judging by her puffed up chest and increased height of self-importance. Unfortunately, her ego deflated somewhat at the mention of Hector. "W-w-wait what? Dog stew? Seriously?" her face twisted into a vile green color at the mention of Hector bathing in piping pot of vegetables. She sat silent, speechless, and with the memory of Temperance's wink, a roar of indignation and anger settled over that emptiness that enveloped her for a minute and a half. "Oh no they don't!" she growled, gritting her teeth.

She looked around. Temperance was gone, Brad was off to god knows where, and her dog was about to be cooked into a (probably delicious) soup. Oooooh, no one messed with Alphabet Chocolate. Alphabet Chocolate: the Great, the Amazing, the Savior, the Coolio Bro. Nope!

She got up to her feet, flexing her arm muscles...she'd show those guards! Brad and Temperance were the last things on her mind as she cracked her knuckles, the pain of her bruises forgotten in the rush of adrenaline that was coursing through her veins. As she moved closer to the cell doors, she stepped on the lockpick that Temperance had stealthily dropped in. The pick cracked under her heavy step and, as she grabbed the two bars from the cage that imprisoned her, she noticed a bit of rust coating the hollow material. She grinned.

"Grauahuhuhguhugh!" she shouted and twisted it open. "I. AM. THE. HULK!" she screamed as the aged metal bent and, with a hole barely big enough to fit someone of her stature through, she poked her head out. The other prisoners, all witnessing her daring escape, stared. She grinned and, with a breath and second to recompose herself, she looked over to her right and dashed forward...

"PRISON BREAKKKK!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she flung free. Prisoners began to bellow around her as she chased down the hall, hopefully to the Courtyard (where was that anyway?) just as Brad was being sent back to his cell. First, free the dog. Second, topple the government. Easy. Alpha could totally do that and, afterwards, kidnap Brad and enlist him into her pirate crew.

(Roll) The Bandits' Marked Man