| Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
06-18-2015, 11:12 PM
Styrm hissed quietly through his teeth. He upturned his mug, draining the rest of his ale, and thanked the barman. He glanced around--don't run, boy--and began to make his way to his left, toward the boy, toward Brindle.
Don't run. 
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
06-19-2015, 01:24 PM
They'd been yammering together, the roe and the barman, and Brindle hadn't been able to hear or see. The crowd was as good as it was bad, and it had him on edge. He was hunched over the bar: shoulders curled protectively inwards, and hands wrapped around his drink. He was staring down on it, straining to hear (the moving mass of people making any attempts to see even more impossible). There was some disappointment when the barman moved away, innocuous, because if anyone had words worth sharing...
Brindle could wait awhile, even so. He was good at that. The best. That was why Zhi relied on him. That was why he couldn't let her down.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
06-20-2015, 12:04 AM
It didn't seem as though the boy paid him much heed as he moved towards him. He thanked the Twelve, almost unironically, as he darted into an empty seat.
"Ye'll be Brindle then, aye?" he said with a sidelong glance. "What say we talk 'bout Kink?"
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-01-2015, 01:16 PM
Caught flatfooted, as Zhi'd say, but it didn't take Brindle long to react. He slipped off the stool, bounced off another patron clamoring for booze, and reeled away from the stranger. In a few seconds, he'd only gone a few fulms, and it just wasn't good enough. Still, he had to try, even in the too-packed crowd.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-02-2015, 10:51 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-06-2015, 02:29 PM by Goodfellow.)
Styrm didn't think. He didn't think of who might be caught in the middle, of what may happen after, of anything other than the next link in that night's godsforsaken chain of information slipping away from him.
Another big roegadyn grabbed the boy's shirt in irritation. Styrm acted. In one fluid motion he stood, pulled up his seat, and with a great, heavy overhanded arc he slung it at the darting figure.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-02-2015, 03:27 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-10-2015, 07:58 PM by Zhavi.)
He was moving forward, until he wasn't. With the fear of getting caught fresh on his mind, Brindle lifted his arms and dropped his weight, slipping out of the shirt the big roe was holding. Escape. His weight was on the balls of his feet, and without thinking he dove left, between the legs of another patron. The angle was poor, and he misjudged the gap. Alcohol splashed down on him, and he spend several precious seconds kicking himself free, ignoring the outrage the owner of the drink was pouring down on him.
He got his feet under him, dodging the cuff the man aimed at him, and chanced a look back. It was a mistake. He caught a faceful of chair and went down hard.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-05-2015, 11:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-06-2015, 02:30 PM by Goodfellow.)
Styrm initially registered the impact with relief, followed closely by concern, then a dawning awareness of the suddenly charged atmosphere in the room. "'At'll be all th'hurtin' I'm lookin' t'do tonight," he said to the agitated crowd as he walked over to the boy clutching his face on the floor. The roegadyn clutching the boy's torn shirt stepped between the two. "Ye'll not be wantin' t'fight me jus' now, laddie," Styrm intoned. "Any other night we'll scuffle friendly, but this night I've no more time fer breakin' bones."
The other roegadyn stepped aside. Styrm stooped to grab the boy and lifted him to his feet. Huge hands grasping him half for support, half for containment, he helped the disoriented Brindle stumble outside and around the corner. He sat him down against barrels and boxes and proffered him a rag. "I've no stomach fer hurtin' young'uns, but yer enviable quick an' I've hasty need o' yer knowin'," he spoke, half an apology dangling from his words. "Now," he repeated, "what say we talk 'bout Kink?"
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-10-2015, 08:02 PM
Bruises atop bruises. It hurt in that pinched-up way that made focusing on anything difficult, the least of which was walking and the worst of which was the roegadyn who currently had a good grip on him. Brindle didn't care much about the pain, but the worry gnawing at his insides he could've done without.
"Who?" Not his best act, aye, but he wasn't about to cave without trying.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-10-2015, 11:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-10-2015, 11:07 PM by Goodfellow.)
The boy hadn't taken the rag, so Styrm dabbed it on his face, wiping away some of the blood and grime. "C'mon now, laddie," he groaned. "We both o' us know th'chair didn't 'it ye quite so hard. Kink, Joz, the lass wi' th'busted tail, moves jus' like ye. I'm short time an' gil an' she's like t'be shorter still, so help 'er out an' tell ol' Styrm where she lies low." He almost shook the boy.
"Please an' quick."
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-14-2015, 12:49 PM
Shoulders hunched against the possibility of a fist or worse, Brindle turned his face away from the rag and clenched his teeth together. Through them, he hissed, "ye ain't tryin' t'help, an' gods'll strike ye flat afore I tell ye nothin'."
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-14-2015, 05:32 PM
Styrm's brow furrowed, deep ripples like canyons forming across the expanse of his forehead. "Styrm's no liar, lad. None too delicate, either. Made whole heaps o' noise this night," he said with a wave of the rag. "Much an' more around yer person. That in mind, we both know I ain't th'one an' only lookin' after yer Kink, so if ye don't wanna help th'lass, help yerself. Styrm can protect ye--th'both o' ye--jus' so long as I got ye with me."Â
A wan smile painted itself across his face, goofy stretched across his huge features, but his tired eyes plead with the boy and with whatever gods were watching.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-14-2015, 10:30 PM
Brindle scoffed. "What, th'beatin' didn't work so now ye's gone all chumsy? Ye might well have a ship and a whole net o' lads t'back ye, but that ain't scarin' me. I dusted th'last ones an' I'll dust ye too!"
He folded his arms and glared for all he was worth.
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-15-2015, 03:10 PM
The big roe snorted at the boy. "Hnk! Th'beatin' worked jus' fine; I've got ye! Didn't dus' me, now did ye?" Then, his eyes narrowed and he breathed in, a long, deep draw.Â
"Whaddaya mean "th'last ones," eh?
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-16-2015, 11:20 AM
"The ones what came afore yerself, scrag!" Brindle screwed up his face and spat, followed by a muttered, "yet."
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RE: Innocence and Avarice [closed] |
07-16-2015, 02:12 PM
Through gritted teeth a low growl issued. "Ye'll be makin' me drag each an' e'ery godsdamned word outta yer mouth then, will ye? Suits me jus' fine. The Highness was first on th'list; we'll sniff 'round 'er other spots an' if th'last ones are lookin' fer ye, well, they'll find me too an' that's jus' fine." He hoisted the boy effortlessly under his arm and began to walk in the direction of the next location Solitaire had given him. "Aye, jus' fine."
A small crowd leaked out of the tavern behind them. Some were curious, some were concerned, most had to piss. Styrm and the boy did not leave unnoticed.
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