forum Let's hope this stays alive (O/O)

Started June 03, 2025 by @Avhira-The-Eldritch-Horror group

tune

Irae nodded. "Alright. What should we do then?" She asked, stretching and adjusting her hood.

“I don't know. We have been shopping for maybe a couple of hours, at least… if not longer.” Charlie mused. “This is kinda the boring part of being an adventurer. Unless someone starts a fight or you overhear something exciting…” she shrugged.

Irae nodded. "Alright. So just… Walk around? Hang out?" She asked, tilting her head. "Or hang out in the room?"

"Sure." Charlie shrugged. "We can hang out in the room if you want some privacy. Otherwise, we can hang out in the tavern area of the inn… see if anything interesting happens."

Irae nodded. "Anything sounds good, I don't mind." She said, shrugging. "Keeping an eye out for anything interesting could give us an idea for where to head next."

"Exactly." Charlie smiled as they headed back towards the inn. "You can still drop off your stuff in the room first if you want."

Irae nodded. "Sounds good to me." She said, smiling slightly.

Charlie smiled softly back and helped Irae carry some of her purchases back to the inn, keeping an eye (and an ear) out for any signs of trouble or adventure.

Irae relied mostly on her hearing when they went back down to the tavern part of the inn, listening for anything that sounded even vaguely interesting. She focused on watching just the people immediately around them, watching for threats. She had equiped her sword around her waist, and felt better with a weapon, but focused mainly on not needing to fight, rather gathering information. (Any interesting information from the tavern-goers?)

Charlie led the way back to their room when she paused, nearly at the top of the stairs. The view she had from here covered most of the tavern below. “Rae… do you see that?” she almost whispered, her eyes darting from one side of the building to the other.

Irae looked down, scanned the room, and nodded. "The two people trying to seem like they aren't together, keeping an eye on the entire tavern? Yeah. Is that something to worry about?"

“Possibly. They're trying too hard while being too alert. Watching everything.” Charlie pointed out. “If you want to run and drop off your stuff, I’ll keep an eye on them and let you know if anything happens.” she said since their room wasn't too far away.

Irae nodded, moving quickly to their room, dropping the extra clothes and supplies, but keeping her sword on her and she quickly walked back to where she left Charlie.

Charlie smiled faintly when Irae returned. “They’re still there. But I think they’re watching someone.” she informed. “Could be thieves or mercenaries.”

Irae nodded. "That could cause trouble in town. So we should…" She prompted, not certain. "Follow them? Stop them here? Protect the target? Help them get the target?" She asked. "This would be a lot easier to decide if I could still see my scales-"

Charlie couldn't help but giggle a little at the thought of how helpful Irae’s scales could be in this situation. “Let's follow them. We can get more information about what’s going on with them then decide what to do.” she assured, already having her own suspicions. “How up for a fight are you? Just in case.”

Irae stretched and flicked her tail. "Not back at 100% yet, but not bad. Out of total recovery, I'd guess around 75%. And I could hold my own in a fight around 40%, maybe lower. So I'm up for a fight." She said. "Shall we?"

Charlie’s eyes flicked back to the table and nodded, seeing the two getting up to leave. “Let's go. Their target just walked out.” she informed, already heading down the stairs.

Irae followed quickly behind, not making much noise. She definitely wasn't the most stealthy, but she was decent, and she was being careful. She stayed close to Charlie, keeping her hood up and watching their surroundings in her perifrial (side vision, can't spell and spell check ain't helping) vision, keeping her eyes on their targets.

(Peripheral? I wouldn't be able to spell it either without autocorrect)

Charlie moved quickly and silently as she kept the two suspicious people in her sight. She didn't rush them, wanting to avoid scaring them off their target. She, and she suspected Irae, wanted to know what was going on before they got involved.

“Come on.” she whispered as the two caught up to their target and went into an alley.

Irae nodded, staying less than a foot behind Charlie, watching closely and listening intently. She stayed quiet, watching their targets, flicking her tail slightly in anticipation.

Charlie pressed herself up against the wall just before it turned into the alley, her tail flicking sharply as her fingers brushed the handle of her rapier.

The soft thud of a blow landing, followed by a groan easily reached Charlie and Irae’s ears.

“You had to drag me into this one-way tunnel just to beat me up?” a voice cracked with the familiar cadence of someone who’s been in this situation many times before.

“Just give us what we want and you’ll be able to walk out of here, meat.” another harsh voice rasped.

“Oh, sure that’s why you have Whisperblade with you, to let me go.” the first voice replied laced with heavy skepticism that one would equate with the owner rolling their eyes. “Besides, I already told you, Sskarn. I got nothing.”

Irae raised her eyebrows as if to ask. "Shall we intervene?" She had heard enough. Two thugs beating up someone who borrowed or stole something. Both parties in the wrong, but the thugs moreso in the moment. She put her hand on her sword, ready to draw it at a moments notice.

Charlie tilted her head slightly for a second before nodding, the soft ringing of her blade being pulled from it's sheath signaling her readiness.

"You were always a hen among crows, Elric." a third voice hissed.

"Whoa, hey, hang on, Echo." the first voice, Elric, raised slightly fearfully. "That whole thing was like sucking a lemon through a keyhole. There was nothing I could do." he rambled.

Charlie rolled her eyes and stepped into the mouth of the alley, her blade glinting. "Why don't the two of you go find a hole your size?" she purred dangerously as she flashed her fangs. Though she was thankful that her hood kept her surprise hidden as she saw the two thugs were a Lizardfolk and a Kenku.

Irae stepped out with Charlie, drawing her sword and raising her tail. She couldn't use it, as it was still injured, but it was still intimidating.

The cornered trio raised a collective brow at the sight of the two females. Echo, the kenku was holding a small sharp dagger against Elric's cheek below his eye.

"I thought I smelled some rats in the reeds," Sskarn, the lizardfolk, chuckled, fists clenching and unclenching in eager anticipation. "Didn't know it was just a couple of snail-eaters."

"Don't judge by the horns." Charlie quipped, knowing she was outing herself as a tiefling and let her tail snap around behind her. "Now, are we gonna go all in or just stand here staring?"

Taking the distraction as an opportunity, Elric kicked at Echo's leg followed by a second at the kenku's ribs. Echo let out a sharp squack, grip weakening just enough for Elric to slip out of the hold.

Sskarn hissed, lunging for Elric to keep him from escaping, apparently not interested in Charlie or Irae. Until, Charlie launched herself at Sskarn… despite being outmatched in strength.