A Bit of Skulduggery [Qu'dav]

[Kiras]

The man angrily grumbled as he smacked his cards down on the table, disappointed that he had not gotten the ones he needed to win this particular round. The chuckles of his companions rankled as they were amused by his latest loss. “Another win to you, elf…” The man spoke, his tone low, almost as if challenging. At this, the man’s comrades shifted their gazes back to the elf in question, wondering whenever the fair being would rise to the bait, as poorly set as it was.

Kiras, however, merely shrugged. “Ah, but what can I say to you, my good friend? Fortune has taken a liking to me, it seems.” The elf grinned as he pulled in his latest winnings, stacking them up with his nimble and quick fingers, taking care to keep an attentive eye on the humans. They had such sour tempers, he knew, especially the ones who were well into the drink. “The night’s young, though. I’m sure before the night’s over, you’ll be parading me out of this fine establishment, with nary a bit of cloth on my back!”

This, easily, brought a smile to the dour man’s face, washing away the angry grimace he had worn. “Aye, I’ll not let you leave until I’ve taken back me coins!”

Kiras grinned in response, a hand raising up into the hair and snapping, signaling for the barkeep to send over yet another round of alcohol for them. It wasn’t long before the serving lass brought their drinks over, setting the mugs down beside each men. “Here ye go, sirs.” The elf nodded his thanks as he slipped a golden coin into her hand, unseen by the men.

True, he did enjoy gambling. True, he did enjoy tempting fortune. But that certainly didn’t mean he would allow them to win back what they had lost so easily. And hence, he had already worked out a deal with the barkeep. The old man would keep his competitors deep in the snares of their liquor, while taking care to ensure that the mug meant for the elf was heavily watered down, barely enough to put a blush on those immaculate cheeks of his. It was a fine deal. Not only would the elf keep his rivals’ wits dulled with ale, but the bartender would be given a cut of the elf’s winnings as well. And there was not a single enterprising soul in the whole of the City of Commerce that would have said no to extra profit, especially when it came freely in exchange for virtually nothing.

The card game went on, late into the night, as the elf went back and forth between victory and defeat, losing bits of his winnings to the men. Despite losing more and more now, it only seemed as if his winnings were growing larger and larger. The trickery was simple now, truly, with the men so driven to their drinks and pleased as they won more often than not, that they did not even notice that they were actually losing far more.

Ah, such was the drawback of alcohol!

It was only after yet another loss that the elf finally stood up, waving off the men’s clamors for more rounds. “No, no, no. I’m afraid I must leave or I risk losing all to you fine gentlemen!” Kiras sighed sadly, even as he slipped his newfound fortune into his bag quickly, waving them farewell with a flourish.

It was then that he made his way to the bar, dropping off part of his winnings he had kept within his palm before gazing knowingly to the old man who returned it with a conspiratorial wink of his own. It was at this time, he knew, that he would have to get going, to meet with his employer. The elf made his way toward the stairs, making quick banter with other frequent guests of the tavern as he passed them by, along with flattering the serving girl from before with a kiss on her hand.

Quickly, Kiras stepped up the stairs, moving down the dim hall before knocking on the door farthest down.

“Enter.”

The single word rang out as the elf straightened his garb up before pushing the door open. Within, he saw a simple room, lit by a burning fire, the same as any other room at the establishment, part tavern, part inn. “I’ve come.” Kiras smiled as he settled down onto the comfortable couch, allowing him to relax now as he waited for his employer to speak. He had been told beforehand that there would be another working with him on this particular assignment, and it seemed plain that they would be awaiting for the second man.

Well, if it meant a bit of time spent in naught but relaxation, the elf wouldn’t complain.

[Torgar]

Thirteen Badgers was an absolutely filthy and deplorable place by almost anyone's standards. Cheap swill was served in unclean and cracked mugs, thugs and prostitutes cried out in agony (or sometimes ecstasy) as they writhed on the floor in piles of garbage and pools of their own blood (or other bodily fluids). Perhaps the worst feature of all was the tavern's owner: Lukso the Half-Orc.

Lukso had mottled skin of a mossy sort of colour, that seemed to be stretched like a tight (and unwashed) bodysuit over his bulky frame. He was always wearing little bones and trinkets in his long, greasy red hair, and his squinting piggish eyes gleamed darkly when he looked at you. However - as brutish, foul and all-around undesirable as he might look, Lukso was a cunning and well-connected man.

Therefore, it was Lukso himself who delivered a swift and unforgiving punch to the whiskery muzzle of a certain cat-burglar, who had curled up and fallen asleep in one of the tavern's many dirty corners.

Hissing loudly as his tail puffed up and the hair on his back stood on end, Qu'dav bounded to his feet and away from his attacker, extending his finger's claws and swiping wildly at the air. His eyes narrow, his ears flat against his dark-furred head, the feline beastman glared venomously at the half-orc who had violently woken him. Lukso glared right back.

A moment passed where they just glared at one another in mutual loathing.

Then, finally, Qu'dav couldn't take it any more. "Well? What, damnit!? I paid my tab, and I cleaned up after my pleasurable company!"

Lukso just chuckled, and held up a little piece of paper. Qu'dav, tentative but curious, crept closer to the half-orc. "What's this? It looks like scribbles..."

Lukso's fist swung again, this time knocking into the feline's stomach. Wheezing and doubling over, the burglar began to cough and retch, looking as if he might vomit... or at least, spit out a hairball.

"You've paid me. You haven't paid my boss. He wants his money, puddycat. Get it to him, or next time I see you, you'll be turning into a permanent resident," Lukso snarled. The hulking crossbreed backhanded Qu'dav across the face, knocking the feline off his feet at last, and then stomped out of the basement.

Qu'dav took a moment to just lie there, sulking. He didn't know who Lukso's mysterious 'boss' was, but he was quite sure he didn't owe this bastard any money. Sighing, he eventually got up and walked outside to the cistern. He was naked, but it was the middle of the night in an armpit part of town. Holding all the vanity of a groomed housecat, he washed the grime of the Thirteen Badgers out of his fur, using rainwater from the cistern. When he was done, he trekked back into the tavern and retrieved his equipment from its hiding place.

Once he was strapped in black leather armour and had his 'tool-belt' clasped around his slender hips, the cat burglar slunk out onto the streets of the Commerce Capital. It was a new moon tonight, with some clouds to hide the stars, so it was easy enough to avoid the patrols of guardsmen and make his way into one of the nicer areas of town. There was an inn there -- a real inn, not like the Badgers -- where Qu'dav had a potential employer to meet.

For the sake of making an impression, the feline had learned the layout of the inn, and memorized which window he had to climb through to get into the meeting. Easily scaling the wooden walls of the inn with his claws, Qu'dav then slipped in through the open window and made a graceful landing on the floor of the inn room.

Rising to his feet, the cat smiled and nodded at both other men in the room. "Salutations," he purred, sitting down on the couch with the elf and crossing his legs. He would look at the potential employer. "Let's skip the pleasantries, hm? What are we doing?"

[Kiras]

Kiras watched with no small interest as some furred individual slipped into the room through the open window, and privately, the elf had to wonder whenever his employer might have had foreseen that the newcomer might have had come this way. It certainly wasn’t impossible, considering what he knew of the man, from their dealings in the past. You could never put it past this particular one to consider such things.

In fact, it was one of the very first things he had ever said to the elf.

”My position entails that I consider everything, even that which is not worth considering. Only by being prepared can we become successful in any venture we undertake. To do otherwise is to invite destruction upon ourselves.”

His position, indeed.

The man hadn’t told him much. But from what he had heard, only rumors and snippets of information… This particular man was in fact a broker of knowledge. He trafficked information, supplied substances and narcotics, smuggled illegal things and people. More than that, he supposedly had a network of spies and informants that spread far and wide, along with a portfolio of contacts in every city and port across the continent, allowing him to tap into immeasurable resources and wealth.

If one could measure the value of one’s influence along with one’s wealth, then this man might as well be the wealthiest man in the City of Commerce, if not the entire land.

And naturally, such a man wasn’t someone you’d want to mess with. That much, Kiras instinctively knew. It was also a given that to be useful to such a man was far better than to be worthless, otherwise then he would have been just a loose end that needed to be tied up. And this was a fate the elf did not care to ponder much on.

The feline figure, on the other hand, looked quite the entertaining fellow. He had seen their kind now and then, but had never taken the opportunity to get to know one. Perhaps this would be a particularly interesting time for the two of them, if they were to work together. Nothing needed to be said at the moment, however.

The man finally spoke up, now that all the players were present.

“Salutations, Qu’dav S’varr.”

The man then lit a cigarette with a match, puffing on it softly before putting the tobacco down. “I am known by many names, but for now, you will acknowledge me as Guile.“

“Ah, right to the point, eh? A refreshing trait, is it not, D’aetheron?” The man at the desk smiled at the elf, a hand scratching the side of his beard. “Pleasantries aside, I’ve a job that needs doing, one that requires the talents of the two of you.”
He then slid forth a piece of parchment across the desk, with an address scribbled across it.

“The gentleman that occupies the residence at this address has been proving to be a constant thorn in the side of my contemporaries, a thorn that needs to be plucked as soon as possible. Oh, don’t think I’m asking you two to assassinate the man in question. No, that would be a waste of good material. He has resources that can be tapped into. What I require is something that will allow me to persuade him to see the value of collaborating with us. And of course, by persuade, I mean blackmail. I’ve received intelligence, quite reliable, from my spies that the nobleman has been engaged in some rather dubious business… Something that would look unfavorable if it were to be exposed, something he would prefer to keep concealed, regardless of the cost. Naturally, what I am requesting from you two is procurement. I want evidence of his activities, as discriminating as possible.”

The man smiled, without any warmth or sincerity.

“You two will be compensated, of course, for any expenses you incur in the process of retrieving the necessary papers. The reward will be generous, as always. The more damning the evidence, the better the reward, but don’t risk all. Greed is wonderful and all, yes, but I fear it has been the bane of many a thief. And I would hate to lose the service of capable individuals such as the two of you.”

With that, the man leaned back into his chair, seemingly satisfied with what he had divulged and clearly not caring much for any questions.

“I trust we’re all clear on what needs to be done. I have a carriage outside, waiting for the two of you. They’ll take you near the residence, but you’ll have to manage the rest of the trip once you’ve left the carriage. If anyone happens to catch sight of you or discovers what you’re up to… Well, the less people that knows, the better it’ll turn out. I dislike loose ends, gentlemen. Once you’ve finished, return to the tavern. I will have agents waiting for your return with further instructions.”

Finally, the man tapped his dwindling cigarette against the ashtray before him, putting it out quickly.

“Go.”

Kiras gave the man a brief nod and got up, knowing what was expected of him at this point. He had done few jobs for 'Guile' already, and knew just what the man wanted from him. To be dismissed like this, he clearly was waiting for someone else, or perhaps had somewhere else to go and did not want to be seen in the company of 'knaves' like them. Either way, the tone of his voice left no room for argument.

The elf then glanced down at the cat burglar before opening the door, slipping out the room as quickly as he could. It would be quite the night, Kiras gathered.

Outside, he waited for the feline. "Qu'dav, is it? My name is Kiras." The most charming rogue smiled as he held out a hand for a friendly shake, knowing it would be quite important to establish a cordial rapport between the two of them. The job seemed to demand more than Guile had let on and he expected that there would be complications.

But then again, that was what the bow was for.

[Torgar]

There was a bit of envy in the feline’s eyes, watching this ‘Guile’ smoking a cigarette. Such things were unheard of where he came from - dirty pipes with tobacco that had been cut with dry grass was the usual for Qu’dav, when he had a smoke. The smell of pure tobacco burning in a comfortable paper, the smooth way Guile breathed in it… Qu’dav knew what he was looking at.

Success. And he wanted it for himself.

He kept his ears perked throughout the mysterious employer’s speech, and nodded curtly when it was finished, rising to his feet and following the elf out the door.

Outside, he warmly shook his new partner’s hand, smiling at him toothily while checking him out. Kiras was gorgeous, as most elves were. Tough and slick, like a well-sharpened and oiled blade. And his voice was soft, but had a certain, subtle darkness to it. Qu’dav might compare it to the freshly-turned soil of a new grave. He made no effort to hide his attraction, even if he doubted it would be reciprocated. Most men, after all, preferred the fair sex’s company. Not to mention that Qu’dav’s and Kiras’ respective species were a far cry from one another...

Still, the cat would play. It was in his nature!

“A pleasure,” he replied flirtatiously, winking and flicking his tail in the elf’s direction as he turned about and boarded the carriage. This teasing was a strong change from his professional, straight-to-business demeanour in the meeting, but he was sure Kiras would understand the reasoning behind that. First impressions were everything, with an employer in this line of work, and Qu’dav couldn’t afford to look like his mind was on anything other then the job.

He waited for Kiras to join him in the carriage, and began chewing carefully on the claws of his own fingers, sharpening them with his teeth. One simply never knew when they would need to swipe or climb.