The Road to Salaband

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"Fine. Forget it."

Jade had reached her limit on being groped by strange men for the evening, and certainly enough of negotiating with the increasingly irritating criminal whose rescue had proven likely unnecessary. She turned abruptly from Aden and marched on with a determined stride, whether to his relief or broken heart she couldn't care less. She called a final word over her shoulder as the dust kicked at her heels.

"...but you're sticking with me until I get my property back from those Ester-arseholes. Then I'll know you're on the level."
Alberich
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Alberich »

Aden wasn't feeling much of anything, really. He never got heartbroken when a girl said "no," and he always showed even less than he felt. He hadn't so much been chasing Jade as making himself available in case she'd set her cap at him.

"...but you're sticking with me until I get my property back from those Ester-arseholes. Then I'll know you're on the level."

"I'm sticking with you 'til I give you the gun back in town," said Aden. "After that you're on your own.

"See, if they didn't give your stuff to Tubby and it was valuable, that means they put it in the same lockup they had me in. And that makes sense 'cause they did put some bags of stuff in there in the afternoon, though I didn't see what was in 'em. I'm happy to travel along to town with ya, but I'm not goin' back in the dang lockup for anybody." There was no malice in his tone, but no compromise, either.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Jack Rothwell »

The blacksmith made no reply to Aden's contradiction. A snide thought passed through her mind, and that was all.

'We'll see about that.'

She'd play along until further developments. With the Black guard hunters falling behind them with every stride, any further problems would be easier to handle.

OOC I'm ok to fast forward bud./OOC
Alberich
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Alberich »

Eventually they found themselves in Ester, walking none to close and none too friendly. (Well, Aden had stayed amiable enough, but in a distant way.) The moon was setting and no one was about.

"Looks like about time," said Aden. Drawing Jade's pistol, he broke it open with practiced fingers and ejected the cartridges. "Catch," he said, tossing them her way -- and whether she caught them or let them fall to the ground, it was all one with him.

Then he snapped the pistol closed. His arm flashed out, flinging the weapon -- onto the roof of the nearest building, the stables at the Laughing Troll. "That's not bad," he said. "You'll get it down from there easy. But I'll be out of sight and out of range by the time you do. Adios." And he prepared to take his leave.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Road to Salaband

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"I don't think so." Jade said, drawing her sword with practised speed. The blacksmith was a good shot, true, but she was better, much better, with the sword she'd made. She twirled the long thin blade gracefully and pointed the end like an accusatory finger at the outlaw's chest. The expression on the woman's face was grim, it was barely contained fury at what she saw as an act of desecration.

"I'm done negotiating and I'm done being taken advantage of. Get your smug, disrespectful arse up to that roof and get me my father's gun back, then I'm patting you down and making sure you haven't stolen any further goods that belong to me, if you're clean, you go. These are my terms, accept them, or I run you through, and drag your corpse back to the lock-up with a story about escaped criminals and how I did my civic duty. Or if you want to run, you're a wanted man, it'll only take a call to the nearest pig-headed guard to get them after you. I broke you out, you owe me, so fucking cooperate."

OOC In case you're wondering, no, she's not bluffing./OOC
Alberich
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Alberich »

With a shrug and a smile, Aden jumped and vaulted himself up onto the roof of the Laughing Troll's stables. He ran along the roof 'til he found the pistol. He then flung the pistol onto the roof of the next highest structure -- the Laughing Troll Inn itself -- and made a run for it, intending to leap down on the other side of the stables and so make his escape both from town and from Jade. He was moving pretty fast.

Rightly or wrongly, he'd felt safer doing it this way - on the theory that Jade might just stab him, or even try to capture him at gunpoint, the moment she had her weapon back. Between his feet and her, he trusted his feet more right now. And freedom felt good. For sure it was worth running for.

[OOC: If she's chasing him, let's write some fun, dramatic chase scene stuff, not just "splortsch, she got him." Treat him as squirrelly but not superhuman, the kind who'd look for improvised weapons, use natural cover, etc. He doesn't have delicate tastes so he would without hesitation hide in a manure pile or other noisome places the more fastidious adventurer would say "no" to. He's skilled in armed and unarmed fighting but he has no magic, is not a PC, and isn't wearing much "plot armor" so he can definitely be hurt or even killed in fun and amusing ways. He should still be a challenge for Jade. If he does escape then he is still going to be very very catchable by Angrist & Udo...when and if Angrist comes back into play and tries to find him. If he doesn't escape, well, that'll make him even easier to catch, even if it requires a shovel...]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"Oh, that fucking... GUARDS! THIEF!" Jade cried, hurriedly sheathing her weapon and taking after the outlaw with a curse. In truth, the blacksmith had no idea if the oh-so-official Falkenrohr Patrols would heed the call and come running, but at least whoever was in earshot would have cause to believe she had justification for doing something drastic. She didn't plan to kill the man if it could be avoided, but wound him painfully and throw him back to the guards? That, she was ok with.

OOC Your move, spider-gah. :D /OOC
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Alberich »

The good people of Ester were in bed at this hour. And even the other people were passed out by now, mostly.

The nearest patrolman was in the ruined stump of a watchtower where Aden had been locked up - but his duty was to stay inside guarding, among other things, Jade's gear. There may've been other Patrolmen up at this hour, but they weren't nearby, and the same went for waking citizens. Jade was on her own for now.

A thump on the far side of the stables told her where Aden had come down - lucky for him, without twisting an ankle. He took off running. His legs were longer and he had plenty of stamina, but Jade was driven by rage and ready for some Aden-stabbing action. He was heading for the buildings on the south side of town, no doubt hoping to find some cover there. That was probably a mistake - Jade had lived here in her "Silverhands" days and he hadn't. With the right tactics she might gain on him here. She knew also that if he kept on this way, he'd run out of town soon enough, and into the few outlying farms.

[OOC: Aww, he ain't Spider-Gah. In fact, if you asked him his superhero identity, he'd probably say he was "Long Dong Phooey."]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Jack Rothwell »

The blacksmith flipped her blade against her arm with a hiss of parting air and took after the thief as fast as her legs would carry her. It was late, and weariness was on the horizon, but she had enough reserves of stamina to put on a quick burst after his initial drop and close the distance a little as Aden jinked across a main street and ducked into an alleyway. If Jade had been in a position to think about it she would have recalled the eerily similar memory of the first time she met her boyfriend in the very same town. That encounter has also resulted in a chase, followed by violence at it's conclusion. She doubted this situation would end nearly as amicably.

Aden was faster, that was clear, but the blacksmith just had to steer the bastard to a dead end and her swordsmanship would do the rest. The woman dipped briefly to seize an errant stone and pitch it at the thief's right shoulder, trying to get him to make a left turn.
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Re: The Road to Salaband

Post by Alberich »

With some kind of animal cunning, the squirrelly bastard dodged the stone - then broke to the right. The chase let her out of town to the broken ground to the south, where the land was used more for grazing than growing, and there were clumps of trees here and there. If he could get past the herdsmen's huts he might make himself damnably hard to catch. But he was feeling the strain of the run and the night himself, and while freedom was calling him, Jade's determination was a match for his own.

He made it over a stone fence and tried to steal a march on her by bending low and running behind it - hoping she wouldn't see which way he'd gone. But Jade was able to hold her breath long enough to hear the direction he'd taken -- a man that size couldn't move quietly at the speed he was making. So she ran at an angle and gained a little more on him. When Aden realized what was happening, he popped up -- but he had to duck a stone beanball full of Jade's rage, and that made him sprawl. She gained a little more. He took off across the enclosed part of the pasture. And awoke some of its denizens.

*Sneeze!* *Sneeze!* Baaaaaaaa!!!

A good priest would've tried to separate the sheep from the goats, but Aden wasn't very religious. He was trying to use the sheep or the goats (whichever they were) to separate him from Jade. Only it wasn't working very well. The problem was - some of these creatures were feeling panicked, and others were feeling aggressive. (Why? It was summer, not mating season.) And some were in a butting mood. Aden got butted in the butt. And hit the ground and rolled.

Jade was clever enough not to go straight through the awakening, panicked herd, and by taking the less direct route she gained on him considerably. He made it over another stone fence with Jade not twenty yards behind -- and just as he was making his break for freedom, got stopped by a stick. A male voice spoke sternly. "Hold on there. You're not stealing my sheep!"

"I know I'm not!" said Aden, flinging his hands up high. "See? No sheep."

A lantern was uncovered just as Jade made her arrival, blade in hand and fury on her face. There were two rustics in well-made clothes (well-made for their surroundings, not elegant or fashionable). The man was armed with a large staff. The woman had a dagger at her hip. It was she who'd uncovered the lamp, and saw Jade puffing up after Aden.

"Another lover's quarrel?" she asked.

"Really," said the man with the staff, blocking Jade's way. "Haven't you tried talkin' this over? There's better ways than cuttin' him up. And you two don't wanna be runnin' into them woods."
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