Temple of the Divine Dwarf, part 2

[Graybeard]

(St)Eve had only been following the man for three or four minutes when something very peculiar happened.

He was walking with a tentative, mincing gait, as though unsure of himself -- and also as though he had a physical problem that prevented a healthy, strong stride. His steps carried him to another apartment building closer to the outskirts of Tsuiraku, and in front of its door, he stopped short. Taking a quick glance around to make sure he wasn't observed too closely (had he noticed the two Silver Hands people? Apparently not; they were good at using concealment, after all), he took a deep breath. Magic flowed around him ...

... And with a sparkle of a Dispel spell going off, the man's illusionary form was replaced by that of a slender, teenaged girl.

The girl stepped into the building and was lost from sight.

-----------

Meanwhile, Layla was getting close enough to the window to hear noises within ... or at least one particular noise that she'd heard before. Quite recently, in fact.

Coming from inside the apartment was what could only be the squalling of a too-suddenly-awakened infant.

Crap, Layla swore to herself. So Torou and his wife, if that's who they are, are parents of a baby too ... a baby about the age of Zachary, from the sound of it.

Can I go through with this?

[Jack Rothwell]

The Silver Hands mercenary stood staring, unbelieving, for a moment. It occurred to Eve that gender swapping seemed to be the running theme of the day, but that was secondary to the fact that his/her quarry was clearly up to something and bore investigation.

"Screw it."

(St)Eve thumbed back the trigger of his/her revolver and followed the woman inside.

[Graybeard]

As (St)Eve entered the apartment building, the girl was going up a flight of stairs to her second-floor flat. Magic flared as she activated the lock, then opened the door. "Mom? Are you awake? I'm home from baby-sitting at the Torous'..." she said from the doorway.

And then she became aware that she was being watched.

Magic flared again.

[Jack Rothwell]

Eve saw the brief pulse of the flare giving edges to the shadows of the corridor and dropped into a crouch. S/he leveled the gun at the top of the flight of stairs and crept forward as quietly as her new, heavier form would allow.

'If it's a magic user...' (St)Eve thought. '...take no chances... one wrong move... aim for the chest.'

A reasonable approach, all things considered. Eve had nearly been torn to pieces by a giant magic dog, stuck with a flying scalpel and, been forced to jump backwards out a second story window over the last couple of days thanks to that aggravating, arcane practice. She reached the top of the stairs and stole a glance around the corner to take a look at the flat she'd heard open.

[Graybeard]

The door shut with a click, and the flare of magic subsided partially, leaving only a very obvious Ward around the door jamb. However, the magic had done its job. Only moments later, a pair of Tsuirakuans materialized in the lobby of the building as though from nowhere, incongruously dressed in robes that had large security badges on them.

"You there!" one said in (St)Eve's general direction, his voice curiously hollow. "Some identification, please."

-----------

Can I go through with this? Layla asked herself. The realization that their mark was a young mother, like herself, was jarring. Could they really separate a mother from her child for the sake of a prisoner exchange? But then she remembered that another mother had been separated from her child, and her grandchild ...

Well, we'll just have to bag the kid too.

"Let's plan this," she said to Joe and the old man-woman-whatever.

[Jack Rothwell]

Eve didn't bother replying, s/he turned, fired twice at the officers and ran for the nearest window without looking back.

..............

"She went where?"

"Up the street." Bert replied, wiping a handkerchief across his brow. "She insisted on going alone."

Jade slapped a palm against her forehead and shot to her feet so rapidly the chair behind fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Which way?"

"I don't think..."

"WHICH WAY?"

Bert opened and closed his mouth. He walked to the doorway of the tavern and pointed a finger in the direction the missing Silver Hand had headed off in. Jade and Leo started to run, but the Blacksmith called a sudden halt. She disappeared into the alley next to the inn. Returning a minute later with a leather wrapped bundle under her arms and a grim set to her jawline.

"It's going to get noisy." She muttered. The crack of pistol shots rung in the air as if in agreement, the group's eyes widened in recognition.


OOC Are the windows warded?/OOC

[Graybeard]

[OOC:

OOC Are the windows warded?/OOC

Dunno -- are they? A reasonable answer would be that they're warded on the outside, to keep people from breaking in, but not on the inside, so they could be used as an emergency exit. So, a small occurrence, then back to you:]

The bullets zinged through the bodies of the two "security forces" as though they weren't there, and embedded themselves in the wall ... just moments before the two men grew shimmery around the edges and blinked into nothingness.

A door opened upstairs.

[Jack Rothwell]

Steve skidded to a halt just as s/he reached the window and her/his brain finally caught up with her ears. There were no sounds of gun shot men calling weakly from downstairs, no sounds of angry officers protected by magic barriers and hungry for rich and creamy justice, just the creaking sound of the door behind her easing open as though the opener was eager not to be heard.

Magic. Bloody magic. Again.

St/eve cursed and turned around with smoking revolver still in hand. Through gritted teeth she stalked towards the portal, eyes wide for the next move of her quarry.

[Graybeard]

Two men stepped out onto the second-floor stairwell landing, looking exactly like the two who'd disappeared when the bullets passed through them. They might have had a faint magical glow around them; they might not.

"You!" one said, gesturing toward Eve. "Drop your weapon immediately!"

------------

"Wonder what happened to your people?" Layla asked Rufus. "I'm getting worried about how long this is taking."

[Jack Rothwell]

"This is the place?"

Leo nodded at Jade, not bothering to stop his run but rather carrying straight into the building without regard for stealth. He tried to ignore the tightening sensation in his chest and the feeling that Eve had put herself in danger again. The pair were closer than their banter often let on; the older man considered her with the distracted affection of an older brother doting on a bratty sister.

He just hoped he'd still have the chance after the night was through.

...........

(St)Eve, now facing what appeared to be clones of the gentlemen s/he'd unloaded upon only seconds before, kept her pistol leveled at the officers with a snarl on his/her that spoke of near psychotic anger.

"Yeah? Or what? Think you're quick enough to get a shot off... think you....you're..."

If there a had been a worse time for the enchantment the mercenary had suffered earlier in the day to wear off Eve certainly couldn't think of one. Before the astonished eyes of the Tsuirakuans the man threw back his head and roared in what might've been agony or elation as a pale green nimbus surrounded him. The glow seemed to contort the man's body at unnatural angles, shrinking it, buckling it as the scream of the man rose higher than male acoustics should've allowed.

Eve, back to her normal, skinnier self collapsed with her eyes rolled so only the whites showed. Her now oversized clothes billowed around her as she hit the corridor floor.