One bite and these Ul'dahns flew into a panic. Yeah, the bugs were dangerous, but it was pretty obvious to K'ile that these Ul'dahns just didn't know how to deal with insects. The Brass Blade that had been standing watch in front of the store house failed and screamed and slammed himself against the wall, kicking the shards of K'hai's bug bottle all over the stone street. The man was trying to get the door open, likely to seek shelter, but couldn't get enough control over himself to work the lock.
All the other bystanders keeping their distance, K'ile jumped into action and dashed towards the man, "Give me the key! I'll get it!"
"Aaaaah!" The Brass Blade said as he threw a metal key at K'ile, spinning around three times and flailing his arms at the swarm of thumb-sized bugs, "Thal spare me! Thal spare me!"
As K'ile unlocked the door, he was stung by the bugs twice, each one burning with a lingering venom that did not quite distract him from his part in K'hai's stupid plan. He opened the door, pulled out the key, and stepped in. "I've got it!" He proclaimed.
"Thank Nald!" The Brass Blade said, but when the door closed and the lock clicked shut, leaving him outside, he cried out, "What! Why? Why do I deserve to die!?" And thew himself against the door, whimpering sadly as the bugs continued to sting him.
The store room was a shadowed building, a single room, light leaking in through thin windows near the ceilings. It was was piled with miscellaneous nothings, most of which K'ile could not identify. There was everything from piles of empty bottles to open crates of rotted foodstuffs -- hopefully not the fate of his tribe's feast -- to glass and metal ornaments, weapons and sack upon sack of some unlabeled powder. None of these things were what K'ile was looking for. If K'hai was right -- which meant, lucky beyond all reason -- what K'ile was looking for was a fully-loaded cart ready to be taken.
K'ile could smell Brass Blades in the building with him, hear them moving around. They seemed to be idling off behind the numerous piles of crates somewhere, and K'ile kept himself well aware of their position as he crept about the storage area, staying low and close to larger items. If the other Blades had heard him enter, they seemed to have assumed he was one of their own.
The Tia found what he was looking for towards the back of the building, and he was surprised that he did. The cart was near what appeared to be a large door, so he guessed it had been wheeled in from some adjacent alleyway. Checking his surroundings first, K'ile crept towards the cart and hopped up upon it, the thing creaking with his weight, and poked at the crates that it still contained. He could smell the steely magic of the preserving enchantments still upon them. The spells were in place to keep the food fresh during transport, but all the Blades would likely be able to discern was that the load was enchanted. Maybe that was why all the food hadn't been eaten yet.
Sitting on one of the boxes, ears sticking straight up from his head to listen to the room around him in case someone came towards him, K'ile looked at the yoke on the front of the cart, where the chocobo would be bound to pull it. Of course there were no chocobo present. And the cart itself was large and heavy, barring enough food for dozens of people to gorge themselves upon. K'hai hadn't thought out that part, had he? Or was the man waiting in the street outside with a chocobo, expecting K'ile to just bring the cart out and hitch it up?
K'hai was big enough that he could probably just pull the damned cart all the way back to the Sagolii himself.
Well, the situation was what it was. K'ile stood and turned to the large door behind the cart, looking it up one side and down the other, seeing a complex system of chains, wheels, tracks that he figured would open it. Couldn't be too hard to work. The small Tia hopped down and kicked the blocks out from under the cart's wheels and found that he could move it some on his own, albeit with great effort. The cart groaned and rattled as it swayed back and forth in response to K'iles pushing. Once he got some momentum outside it would probably do better.
Having confirmed that much, K'ile walked over to the large door. Once more pausing, K'ile kicked at a few hinges, watched them click open, then pulled on a chain. It did not give. He turned a lever and kicked another hinge, then pulled on the chain. This time the door rattled and made a loud screeching sound, raised a bit off the floor but stopped before it was any higher than his boot. Tail shiver, K'ile listened to the Blades move in the storehouse behind him, curious at the sound, but maybe still lazy. He could smell the scent of filth, rust and sweat outside the door, but all that told him was that Ul'dahns were in Ul'dah. He watched the light that was coming from under the door, but didn't see any shadows.
Damn K'hai's stupid plan. It got him in, but how would it get him out?
K'ile searched for a moment, found another lever near the top of the door and pulled on it. The thing snapped into a new position with a great metallic clack, and this time when K'ile pulled on the chain, the door rose up along its tracks and bent to lay itself across the ceiling, opening the wall more than wide enough to allow the cart to exit. It also placed K'ile in front of four Brass Blades, all of whom turned to look at him at the same time, their gazes focusing first on his red hair as though he'd signaled them with fire, and then dropping to the dark face and muscular body beneath.
The Tia let go of the chain and self-consciously shifted the lance on his back. Instinctively, he narrowed his eyes and bent into a defensive posture; the intellectual prompt to try and appear unintimidating did not reach him until too late. Avoiding conflict with outsiders just wasn't in his blood, unfortunately. In response to his body language, two of the Brass Blades frowned. One looked confused.
But the fourth smiled, stepped forward, and closed the great door. It fell back in place with a loud, unpleasant hiss of steel-on-steel, the grind of rust and dirt. K'ile didn't try to stop it, or to get outside. He allowed himself to be shut inside with one Brass Blade instead of left outside with three.
The smiling Brass Blade leaned forward, "You aren't supposed to be here."
K'ile growled, "I'm just-"
"You're under arrest!" The man smiled a bit broader. Quick to the point, this one. K'ile was less than surprised; it made sense. Ul'dahns stole gil, stole food, so why not put him in a cage as well? It was the logical progression of things.
The Tia reached for his spear, taking it from his back and holding it forward, the metal head dark in the shadowed room.
"Oho," the Brass Blade took out his sword and shield. "Going to fight are you?"
"Yes," K'ile said, and put his spear aside, laying it across the food that belonged to his tribe. Hands free, K'ile dropped into a low stance and spread his arms, fingers flexing. "Like this."
A pleased hum shivered from under the Blade's hauberk, and he nodded. "Alright." Putting his sword and shield aside. "Hey boys! Come look at the tiny Miqo'te with the big balls!" In response to this latter shout, there was movement and voices elsewhere in the store room, surprised in response to the words.
"Come on!" K'ile jumped at the Blade.
The man didn't wait for K'ile to arrive. He stepped forward, his metal-clad hands balled into fists, to deliver the first punch. By the time the punch had arrived, K'ile had stopped short of colliding with the man, and the Tia had put his hands behind him, knitting his fingers together to keep them there. The Brass Blade lay a punch into K'ile's face, then another into his neck, a third into his gut. The much larger man, hands in metal, did not pause in his attacks or show any guilt in pummeling the Tia. And K'ile did absolutely nothing to stop him, just left his hands behind him.
"Hey, hit back!" The Brass Blade said, but he didn't stop punching. By this time the rusty knuckles of his gauntlets had torn gashes into the side of K'iles face, down his chest, and he was laying into K'iles gut unimpeded. "Dammit! The hells?" The Blade threw the Tia away from him.
K'ile collapsed to the ground, his back and head hitting the stone hard, purple welts already growing on much of his body. He panted, looking weak, defeated. He was laughing, "You win!"
"You little shit!" The Brass Blade fumed, gesturing angrily, "I should beat you to death?"
The other Blades that had populated the storage room arrived. Four of them. They gave the scene a shocked look, and then turned their gawking gazes on the man that had fought the Tia. One of them said, "What in Nald's name is going on?"
"It doesn't matter," the assailant spat, his scowl so much deeper than his smile had been. He still gestured angrily, "This miqo'te broke in! Get him a cell! he's under arrest."
All the other bystanders keeping their distance, K'ile jumped into action and dashed towards the man, "Give me the key! I'll get it!"
"Aaaaah!" The Brass Blade said as he threw a metal key at K'ile, spinning around three times and flailing his arms at the swarm of thumb-sized bugs, "Thal spare me! Thal spare me!"
As K'ile unlocked the door, he was stung by the bugs twice, each one burning with a lingering venom that did not quite distract him from his part in K'hai's stupid plan. He opened the door, pulled out the key, and stepped in. "I've got it!" He proclaimed.
"Thank Nald!" The Brass Blade said, but when the door closed and the lock clicked shut, leaving him outside, he cried out, "What! Why? Why do I deserve to die!?" And thew himself against the door, whimpering sadly as the bugs continued to sting him.
The store room was a shadowed building, a single room, light leaking in through thin windows near the ceilings. It was was piled with miscellaneous nothings, most of which K'ile could not identify. There was everything from piles of empty bottles to open crates of rotted foodstuffs -- hopefully not the fate of his tribe's feast -- to glass and metal ornaments, weapons and sack upon sack of some unlabeled powder. None of these things were what K'ile was looking for. If K'hai was right -- which meant, lucky beyond all reason -- what K'ile was looking for was a fully-loaded cart ready to be taken.
K'ile could smell Brass Blades in the building with him, hear them moving around. They seemed to be idling off behind the numerous piles of crates somewhere, and K'ile kept himself well aware of their position as he crept about the storage area, staying low and close to larger items. If the other Blades had heard him enter, they seemed to have assumed he was one of their own.
The Tia found what he was looking for towards the back of the building, and he was surprised that he did. The cart was near what appeared to be a large door, so he guessed it had been wheeled in from some adjacent alleyway. Checking his surroundings first, K'ile crept towards the cart and hopped up upon it, the thing creaking with his weight, and poked at the crates that it still contained. He could smell the steely magic of the preserving enchantments still upon them. The spells were in place to keep the food fresh during transport, but all the Blades would likely be able to discern was that the load was enchanted. Maybe that was why all the food hadn't been eaten yet.
Sitting on one of the boxes, ears sticking straight up from his head to listen to the room around him in case someone came towards him, K'ile looked at the yoke on the front of the cart, where the chocobo would be bound to pull it. Of course there were no chocobo present. And the cart itself was large and heavy, barring enough food for dozens of people to gorge themselves upon. K'hai hadn't thought out that part, had he? Or was the man waiting in the street outside with a chocobo, expecting K'ile to just bring the cart out and hitch it up?
K'hai was big enough that he could probably just pull the damned cart all the way back to the Sagolii himself.
Well, the situation was what it was. K'ile stood and turned to the large door behind the cart, looking it up one side and down the other, seeing a complex system of chains, wheels, tracks that he figured would open it. Couldn't be too hard to work. The small Tia hopped down and kicked the blocks out from under the cart's wheels and found that he could move it some on his own, albeit with great effort. The cart groaned and rattled as it swayed back and forth in response to K'iles pushing. Once he got some momentum outside it would probably do better.
Having confirmed that much, K'ile walked over to the large door. Once more pausing, K'ile kicked at a few hinges, watched them click open, then pulled on a chain. It did not give. He turned a lever and kicked another hinge, then pulled on the chain. This time the door rattled and made a loud screeching sound, raised a bit off the floor but stopped before it was any higher than his boot. Tail shiver, K'ile listened to the Blades move in the storehouse behind him, curious at the sound, but maybe still lazy. He could smell the scent of filth, rust and sweat outside the door, but all that told him was that Ul'dahns were in Ul'dah. He watched the light that was coming from under the door, but didn't see any shadows.
Damn K'hai's stupid plan. It got him in, but how would it get him out?
K'ile searched for a moment, found another lever near the top of the door and pulled on it. The thing snapped into a new position with a great metallic clack, and this time when K'ile pulled on the chain, the door rose up along its tracks and bent to lay itself across the ceiling, opening the wall more than wide enough to allow the cart to exit. It also placed K'ile in front of four Brass Blades, all of whom turned to look at him at the same time, their gazes focusing first on his red hair as though he'd signaled them with fire, and then dropping to the dark face and muscular body beneath.
The Tia let go of the chain and self-consciously shifted the lance on his back. Instinctively, he narrowed his eyes and bent into a defensive posture; the intellectual prompt to try and appear unintimidating did not reach him until too late. Avoiding conflict with outsiders just wasn't in his blood, unfortunately. In response to his body language, two of the Brass Blades frowned. One looked confused.
But the fourth smiled, stepped forward, and closed the great door. It fell back in place with a loud, unpleasant hiss of steel-on-steel, the grind of rust and dirt. K'ile didn't try to stop it, or to get outside. He allowed himself to be shut inside with one Brass Blade instead of left outside with three.
The smiling Brass Blade leaned forward, "You aren't supposed to be here."
K'ile growled, "I'm just-"
"You're under arrest!" The man smiled a bit broader. Quick to the point, this one. K'ile was less than surprised; it made sense. Ul'dahns stole gil, stole food, so why not put him in a cage as well? It was the logical progression of things.
The Tia reached for his spear, taking it from his back and holding it forward, the metal head dark in the shadowed room.
"Oho," the Brass Blade took out his sword and shield. "Going to fight are you?"
"Yes," K'ile said, and put his spear aside, laying it across the food that belonged to his tribe. Hands free, K'ile dropped into a low stance and spread his arms, fingers flexing. "Like this."
A pleased hum shivered from under the Blade's hauberk, and he nodded. "Alright." Putting his sword and shield aside. "Hey boys! Come look at the tiny Miqo'te with the big balls!" In response to this latter shout, there was movement and voices elsewhere in the store room, surprised in response to the words.
"Come on!" K'ile jumped at the Blade.
The man didn't wait for K'ile to arrive. He stepped forward, his metal-clad hands balled into fists, to deliver the first punch. By the time the punch had arrived, K'ile had stopped short of colliding with the man, and the Tia had put his hands behind him, knitting his fingers together to keep them there. The Brass Blade lay a punch into K'ile's face, then another into his neck, a third into his gut. The much larger man, hands in metal, did not pause in his attacks or show any guilt in pummeling the Tia. And K'ile did absolutely nothing to stop him, just left his hands behind him.
"Hey, hit back!" The Brass Blade said, but he didn't stop punching. By this time the rusty knuckles of his gauntlets had torn gashes into the side of K'iles face, down his chest, and he was laying into K'iles gut unimpeded. "Dammit! The hells?" The Blade threw the Tia away from him.
K'ile collapsed to the ground, his back and head hitting the stone hard, purple welts already growing on much of his body. He panted, looking weak, defeated. He was laughing, "You win!"
"You little shit!" The Brass Blade fumed, gesturing angrily, "I should beat you to death?"
The other Blades that had populated the storage room arrived. Four of them. They gave the scene a shocked look, and then turned their gawking gazes on the man that had fought the Tia. One of them said, "What in Nald's name is going on?"
"It doesn't matter," the assailant spat, his scowl so much deeper than his smile had been. He still gestured angrily, "This miqo'te broke in! Get him a cell! he's under arrest."
![[Image: Collage_banner.png]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/179079766/Collage_banner.png)
