Active [Ryke - The City of Azuran] - Shady Characters

[Irihi]

[Ryke - The City of Azuran] - Shady Characters

Conditions: Late Summer - Warm days and cool nights. Fair dry weather just before the harvest.

RP Details:
Duration estimate: 1 in-rp night. <1 IRL month
Posting frequency: Daily-ish
Goals: Introduce OC's to one-another and set up a subsequent training RP.

The Also-Ran Tavern, a play on the name of it’s host city--Azuran, lives two different lives. Located on the edge of one of Azuran’s bustling commercial districts, the Tavern serves the upstanding citizenry and merchants during the day and into the hours of the eventide meal. After dark, however, the Also-Ran plays host to the seedier denizens of the Azuran underworld. While it is not a gathering place for hardened criminals, the nighttime crowds are certainly edgier than the daytime clientele. Dining and drinking gives way to card sharking and drinking, the kitchen closes and the evening waitstaff are much less welcoming and much more on-guard than the daytime employees.

Miiya Aether

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Miiya was having a great night--or she had been having a great night, at least. The afternoon crowd of the Also-Ran had been reasonably large and generous. They’d laughed at her comedy bits, applauded when she finished her sets, and tossed a decent amount of coin her way.


By the end of the supper rush, Miiya had been ready to call it a night, but the shift change at the bar had poured her a hard cider, the tips had been getting better as the night deepened, and she ended up doing a whole ‘nother set as she nursed the drink. The Aerial girl was a lightweight, and even the weak spike to the cider had put her a little off her guard.


Now she was in it. After her last set, the performer had been closing up her Erhu case and gathering her things, when a chorus of protests erupted around her. A group of local heavies had been on a hot streak as gambling and drinking replaced dining with the rougher evening crowd. They had convinced themselves that the youthful musician was the key to their good fortune, and had “encouraged” her to stick around.


Miiya had the distinct impression it was not an offer she could refuse.


”Now blow on ‘em, girl!” Miiya grimaced and looked at the florid faces gathered around the table where the game of craps was underway. Hesitantly, she leaned forward and blew on the ham fist holding the dice. Ugh. Is this really fun for them? She thought to herself as she shrank back while the two gangs roared at the rolling dice. Thinking to use the distraction as her chance to finally duck out, she found her way blocked by another one of the large men in cheap suits.


“Here, gotcha a drink, missy!” As the mafioso shoved a tankard in her direction, the table behind exploded with whoops and groans. The group that had adopted Miiya as their good luck charm had won yet another roll and were celebrating, while their rivals sat around silently glowering at the traitorous dice.


“Yeah, no, I’m good.” Miiya declined the drink and turned away from the blocked escape route. “Woa!” She deftly dodged the winner of the last round as he stumbled toward her, looking like he wanted to put her “tip” from the winnings somewhere that was not simply in her hand. She snatched the Rykes from him with a curt word of “thanks.” and wove her way around to the other side of the winning crew, making a mental note to steer clear of that guy.


This wasn’t Miiya’s first rodeo in a seedy tavern, but she was no cocktail hostess, nor was she comfortable playing the part. I mean, it’s a LOT of money, she thought to herself, checking the pile of coin in her instrument case. When people got drunk and started gambling, the Rykes flowed like water. She’d made more in an hour of basically just standing around than she had in a whole afternoon of performing.


Maybe on a different night in a different place with a different crowd, she might have been more willing to stick around. Tonight, though, she was tired, worried, and really just wanted to call it quits. She didn’t know the Also-Ran well enough to be sure of herself here. The little voice in her head warning her it was time to fly had been getting more and more strident. Ever since she had been separated from Cahron in Otenzel, she’d been careful to listen to that voice. She might have made a bit less coin from being overcautious, but she’d also not run afoul of other buskers, the authorities, or any criminal elements thanks to it.


Until tonight, that was. But it’s okay. I’m okay. She told herself. There’s a lot of people around. Most of these guys are just friendly. No need to panic. Don’t make a scene. Just wait them out, she told herself. This crew of mafioso--or whatever they were--weren’t really interested in her. Once they were a few more drinks down, or on the next big win, she’d be able to slip away, she was sure.


She stuffed the Rykes in her Erhu case and managed, this time, to get the strap around her shoulders. All she needed now was a good distraction, and she’d make her escape.

Summary;

Miiya is trapped as a “good luck charm” for the winners in a game of craps between members of two gangs. She is waiting for an opportunity to quietly duck out.

Tension between the winners and losers in the gambling game are rising, fueled by alcohol and feelings of being cheated out of their money.

Metty

 

[Irihi]

Miiya Aether

The Aerial girl wasn’t able to dodge the mafioso for long. While the others were more-or-less ambivalent to her presence, Mister Winner--as she derisively thought of him--was uncomfortably focused on her; insisting that she be “tipped” for every game that went their way, whether it was he or his friends throwing the dice. Earlier in the night, Miiya had been kinda enthusiastic about the money and the edgy fun of hanging around the shady characters. However, now she was just creeped out, and feeling hands on her feathers didn’t improve her disposition.

“Dude, I told you! Don’t touch the wings! she growled, whirling, as Mister Winner tapped her on the radiale. “Look, I’m outta here.” She finally decided.

”Aw, don’t be like that, birdie! I’m up again in a minute, and I’ma need my good-luck charm on my arm!” He replied, trying to put an arm around Miiya.
“Frett no! Miiya said, ducking away and bumping into another of the man’s friends. “Sorry.” She mumbled, darkly.

”Ah, leave the girl alone, Fonny.” The mafioso said. ”She wants ta leave; let her go.” He waved a dismissive hand.

Mister Winner’s expression darkened, but--looking at his buddies, he could see that their patience with his pursuit of the Aerial was wearing thin. ”Fine… but first--” Abruptly he grabbed Miiya’s wrist. ”Thassa lotta tips I gave ya.” His expression turned ugly. ”You kin leave, Birdie, after you gimme one of them feathers… fer luck.”

Miiya’s face went white as Mister Winner managed to catch her wrist. It wasn’t the first time she’d been asked for a feather. Grounders often thought they were like hairs; easily plucked out. The truth was that they--especially the primaries--were more like fingernails. Pulling one out was not just excruciatingly painful--it also had deeper meaning in Aerial culture. Miiya decided to give Mister Winner an abridged explanation of all this.

“I’ll have that drink, now.” Miiya said, snatching one--likely not the same one that had been offered to her earlier--with her free hand. In one smooth motion, she dashed the contents in “Fonny’s” face and with a “Frett yew! wrenched her hand free from the sputtering man’s grasp, and rabbited for the door.

Miiya didn’t look back. She could tell from the yell of outrage and roars of laughter that Mister Winner was not nearly as amused at her response as were his friends.

For his part, Fonny stumbled back, tripped over a chair, and ended up sprawled on the floor, coughing and sputtering with soggy impotent fury. His friends helped him up, gave him a handful of napkins with which to dry off, and convinced him not to go chasing after the girl and embarrassing himself further.

In the upset no one noticed the three men that quietly slipped away from the craps table.
OutsideMiiya burst through the door and into the nighttime streets of Azuran. She headed away from the tavern at a trot, hurrying, but not wanting to look like she was hurrying. She wanted to put enough space between herself and the tavern that she could take flight if Fonny decided to give chase. Miiya wasn’t willing to risk taking off if she didn’t have to. While the eagle-eyed Aerial’s vision was excellent in daylight, her low-light vision was very poor. Nighttime flights over empty lands were hazardous. Flying in the city at night was a sure way to break a wing or worse; clipping a guywire or other invisible obstacle.

MuggersThe three men who had left the gambling table, at the same time as Miiya, slipped out a side-door of the Also-Ran. Marking their target’s direction, they jogged down a side-alley that ran parallel to the main street, picking up a fourth shadowy figure as they moved. The group held a hushed conversation as they followed the Aerial, splitting up and moving down side-streets to set a trap for their quarry.

As Miiya rounded a bend in the street, she came into a poorly-lit area bracketed by taller buildings pressing close to the narrowed road. Ahead, behind, and to each side of her, shadowy figures emerged from dark alleyways. “Yew made some good coin tonight, huh, girlie?” The person in front of her said with a humorless chuckle. “Got lucky at our expense,” they said. ”Now hand it over, nice and quiet!”

The person standing in front of Miiya pulled something from his cloak; a short blade gleamed in the dimness. ”Don’t think about tryin’ ta fly off, neither. We’ve got a bow trained on yeh; I’d hate ta see yeh lose a wing over a few Rykes.” They warned.

It would be difficult to tell in the darkness, but it did seem like the person in the alleway to Miiya’s left held something larger than a club or a blade--it could have been a small crossbow. The muggers behind and to her right, if they were armed, had not displayed any weapons, but considering how outnumbered the Aerial was, it seemed there was no need.

Summary;
Miiya leaves the tavern. She is followed by patrons who lost money at the craps table. They are attempting to rob her to make up for some of their losses.

Details: The muggers are 3 men and a woman. The woman is 20 feet to Miiya’s left, and is aiming a crossbow at her. The men behind and to Miiya’s right are about 10 feet from her and are not visibly armed. The leader demanding money is in front of Miiya, about six feet away, and is displaying a knife.

Metty

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker was enjoying some time to herself after her recent adventure and getting tortured. She had wandered around Ryke in the hopes of at least getting some rest after multiple days of walking. Thankfully she had managed to get rid of the stain that covered her scarf and armor for the time being. What she didn't expect was more trouble, the hero had enough of that lately because of the last ordeal. She walked down the alleyways, dodging the local bars and others at this time of night.

She walked down, noticing a nearby tavern, what she didn't expect was a group of 4 people looking like their mugging someone. Great. Just my luck. My shitty luck always finds people in need. Not that's an issue, just talk about timing. At least nobody will have to die again. I hope. She walked up right behind the crossbow lady, noticing how she was continuing to aim the crossbow at the girl.

Stormbreaker surrounded her left fist in fire, using [Napalm Explosion: Fist Impact], and threw it directly at the crossbow's woman's jaw, hoping to knock her out in 1 punch and intimidate the others in the process. She took one glance at the other two and activated [Intimidation Tactics], glaring at them directly.

"I'm Stormbreaker. I suggest you give up before I break your arms and body and send you into the ground for harassing innocents. Leave her alone." Came the booming voice of her, she was pissed.

Spoiler: Skills

• Napalm Explosion: Fist Impact | [Explosive Fire Affinity F], [Magic Affinity E], [Natural Weaponry [Fists] | E Grade | 1 Post Cooldown
  • The user launches explosive fire directly punching the foe.
• [Intimidation Tactics] | [Perception F], [Intimidation F], [Interrogation F] | F Grade | 0 Post Cooldown
  • The user intimidates the foe and interrogates them.

Irihi

 

[Irihi]

Miiya Aether
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“Frett!” Miiya squeaked, surprised by the sudden appearance of four shadowy figures. She considered, and then quickly dismissed the idea of screaming for help, taking off, or running. This was not a great part of town, it was unlikely the guard would be nearby--and she had a mistrust of city guardsmen ever since Otenzel. She was surrounded, and the leader was too close to be sure she could loft without him catching her. Also crossbows and guywires in the dark.

“Oh, so instead of robbing the gang that took your money, you come after me, huh?” She said, bitterly. “The easy target. Big man, yew are.” She meant it to come out biting, but instead her voice cracked. She was so upset, and not just because she was being mugged. “Yfrett this!” Miiya said as she pulled out her coin purse.

This was so unfair! She’d been poked and pinched all yfretting evening; had her wings touched, her feathers yanked. She just kept making wrong decisions; she should have left with the dinner crowd. She should have thought more about her surroundings ahead and thought less about those arflines back at the bar. She shouldn’t be crying; she should be tougher. She should be able to hold it together.

But she was and she wasn’t. She couldn’t. Things had been going so well since Cahron was blown away, she had just gotten her confidence back--and now this night happened. And I just crumble. She thought, teeth gritted.

Her tears, her distress, they were not at all fake.

Unlike the jingling “coins” in the purse she tossed at the knifeman’s feet. Those were fake. They were a decoy. He was supposed to bend over and grab them.

And get a knee to the face as Miiya rushed him with a combo attack. Someone was screaming, but they were too far away for Miiya to care. The tears were gone now--or at least they had been squeezed out by anger. She grabbed for the man’s hair, trying to yank his face down to meet her rising knee. If she’d been feeling charitable, she would have linked smashing his nose with something other than a kick to the groin.

But she wasn’t feeling charitable.

Muggers
The crossbow-wielding woman attempted to block Stormbreaker’s attack with her weapon, but she was badly outmatched by the powerful fighter. Her crossbow exploded into flames and was knocked away as Stormbreaker’s explosive fiery fist blasted right through her defenses and she fell to the ground, knocked senseless.

The knife-wielding leader did not fall off the turnip cart yesterday. He’d seen the decoy trick before, but having a jinging bag of possible money land precisely on your feet and spill its gold-painted contents across them would be enough to distract almost anyone. He looked down, just for a split-second, but that was enough to catch a knee to the face. The light armor under his cloak, and a speedy reaction, saved him from debilitating injury.

Or, at least, it would have if a powerful kick to the nethers had not taken the rest of the fight right out of him.
…

Had the Aerial girl been alone, the tide might have turned. One-on-one without surprise, Miiya was well outmatched by the robbers. She was small, unarmored, and unlikely to win an [un]fair fight with any of the three remaining thugs. Except there were now only two still capable of fighting.

And Miiya wasn’t alone. There was a monstrous dark figure beating the robber’s ranged backup to the ground. The two other thugs, thinking their leader to have the little bird well in-hand, rushed at Stormbreaker, to aid their beleaguered colleague. The shouted intimidation didn’t work at range, but--close up--both thugs noticed just how big, angry, and dragonesque this erstwile hero was.

Rather than a combined attack, as one, the two robbers skidded to a stop and reversed course, fleeing the roaring dragon lady.

Spoiler: actions

OOC: This will be quasi-narrative with reference to advanced rules, because I need the practice. Please point out my mistakes spoilered here or on the discord discussion.

Stormbreaker: HP 5/5, Heavy Armor? 1/1? (Just repeating for my own clarification)
Action1: Natural Weapons F, Napalm Explosion E, Strength B (1+2+5=8)
Action 2: Intimidate F - Character Grade D

Crossbow Woman: HP 2/2, no armor.
Crossbow Action1: Counter Stormbreaker: Crossbow E, Snapshot Ability E, Precision E (2+2+2=6v8)
Crossbow Action 2&3: KO’d
HP 0/2 (KO’d)

Miiya: HP 2/2, no armor
Action1: Fake Coin Toss to Kifeman: Precision C - Character Grade E
Action2: Attack Knifeman: Natural Weapons F, Combo Attack F, Strength E (1+1+2=3)
Action 2: Linked +1, total 4
Natural Weapons 1/1, HP 2/2

Leader (Knifeman): HP 2/2 Armor E 2/2
Leader Action 1: Resist Fake Coin Toss - Street Sense E - Character Grade E (Failed)
Leader Action 2: Surprise Attacked - KO
Leader Action 3: (KO’d)
HP 0/2 Armor 0/2 (Damage from nutcracker Surprise Attack) (KO’d)

Thug2: HP ?? Armor ??
Action1: Run F at Stormbreaker
Action 2: Resist Intimidation F - Street Sense F (Failed)
Action 3: Run F from Stormbreaker

Thug3: HP ?? Armor ??
Action1: Run F at Stormbreaker
Action 2: Resist Intimidation F - St
reet Sense F (Failed)
Action 2: Run F from Stormbreaker

Metty

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker's attack did more than enough or so she thought. Her strength alone knocked the crossbow woman to the ground, her collapsing as she failed to block the attack. Stormbreaker was amused on how her attack did that much damage as she had a great deal of strength. One down. Got to deal with the rest. She looked over at how the bird girl was dealing with the other three, surprised at how she dealt with one of them easily. The other two however... decided to run directly at her, trying to attack her straight on. It wasn't until she used her intimidation that she scared the crap out of them and they ran.

That... was disappointing. I've faced villains with more confidence and they didn't even run. She thought to herself, as she glanced as they ran off. Stormbreaker went to go and approach the bird lady, hoping she was okay after it all. "Are you alright? I'm sorry about back there, I don't like seeing people being harassed like that." She asked.

Irihi

 

[Irihi]

Miiya Aether

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Miiya felt a jag of vindictive joy as knifeman went down. She was more than a little shocked she had pulled off that surprise attack, but there were more robbers around, and she was pretty sure she was about to get pincushioned by a crossbow. “YAH! Take THAT, arfline!!” She crowed. Might as well savor her victory while she could.

It still wasn’t safe to fly, but taking out knife guy had at least given Miiya an escape route. She was just about to make a run for it when she noticed there were fewer shadowy figures coming for her than she expected. In fact, there was only one, and while she was large and intimidating, she didn’t act, or talk, like a robber.

Miiya backed up as Stormbreaker approached, but she lowered her guard as the tall dragonet apologized. “Um… that’s okay?” She said, confused. Now that she had a second to take it all in, Miiya noticed the prone figure of the crossbow-wielder and her smoldering weapon, as well as the other two fleeing muggers. “Th-thanks for yer help,” she decided. This large helmed woman in heavy armor must be an ally. Miiya was relieved, and her relief made her talkative.

“I don’t think I could’ve fought them all off, alone,” she opined. “But I sure got the…” she paused a moment to give knifeman another kick, to encourage him to stay down. “...drop on this arfline!” Miiya couldn’t help the note of pride that crept into her voice. “How’d yew beat those other three so fast? Who are yew? Why’d yew help me?” Stormbreaker had already answered that last question, but it seemed appropriate to ask--in case she expected a reward or somesuch.

“I’m Miiya; Miiya Aether.” The Aerial girl introduced herself, sticking out a hand. Whether Stormbreaker shook it or not, she would continue her somewhat stream-of-consciousness chatter. “I was headed home when these guys tried to jump me--gosh, I’m lucky you were around!”

“D’ya wanna come with me--doubt I’ll get mugged twice in one night, but I am sure I won’t with yew around.” She grinned. “Oh, yeah, what should we do about these two? I guess I should talk to the guard, but… I’m not a big fan of cops.” She rattled on, eyeing knifeman and considering if giving him another kick would be as satisfying as the first two she’d given him.

She decided against it. This big crusader woman was right there and Miiya probably ought to suppress her mean streak and petty vindictiveness when trying to make friends.

Muggers
The two remaining robbers ducked around a corner and slowed their panicked flight since it seemed like the armored woman wasn’t giving chase. They held a hushed conference about what to do about their fallen compatriots. One wanted to forget the whole affair and leave their friends to the mercy of the birdgirl and her unexpected ally. There was no way she was carrying enough coin to justify getting backup and attacking her again.

The other would-be mugger argued that they ought to go get the rest of the gang, or at least enough of them to run the two women off. ”If we leave em and they call the city guard, it’ll be our necks on the line as well!”

Summary;
Miiya cautiously greets Stormbreaker but quickly warms up to her and starts peppering her with questions.
The Muggers decide if they should get help for their fallen comrades.
Dice: 1-2: They slink off and hope for the best.
3-6: They rally the gang and return.

 

[Irihi]

Muggers

Deciding that they couldn’t leave their fellows to the mercy of their erstwhile victim and her unexpected savior, the two men dashed back to the Also-Ran, where four of their dissatisfied compatriots were hanging about, grumbling about the losses they had taken rolling bones in the tavern. “Help us, lads! Rory an’ Mitch been beaten by a couple of nasty slags--they’re down just up the alleyway there! C’mon!”


The exhortations of the two men were enough to motivate the four to join them and the group jogged back toward the scene of the aborted mugging. “One of ‘em’s huge--and she’s in full armor with a helm; t’other’s got wings and she’s a sneaky little bitch so watch yourselves!” One of the original muggers related, when asked how they were beaten by just two people.


The six men were armed with clubs, saps, and truncheons. If they had blades on them, they were not openly evident. They were not trying to be stealthy. Miiya and Stormbreaker would have plenty of warning as the sound of angry voices and heavy footfalls reached them.

Summary;

A gang of six men are approaching Miiya and Stormbreaker.

 

[Metty]

Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker gave a sigh of relief as she realized the bird woman was fine at the very least. It was a good thing she was, otherwise there would been more getting people getting beaten up. She should of chased after the goons and given them a beating though. She had a feeling they'd be like the criminals she had dealt with in her previous life and ran away to get backup, a pain that she easily dealt with usually within two seconds using her fire quirk.

"I'm Stormbreaker. I'm a hero. At least I was in my previous life, but that doesn't matter too much here." She said. "I just punched the shit out that crossbow woman. Nice to meet you." She folded her arms. "If you'd like me to protect you I could do that. I don't think they'd be stupid enough after I intimidated them."

"We could tie them up and talk to the guard later about it, but I'm not too concerned about these two. We should maybe steal their stuff so they don't wake up back up again." She says as she went to check their bodies. "Let's see if they have anything useful on them that we could use." She checks them over and activates [Danger Sense] to same sure anything is out of the blue.

Her danger sense does activate when she hears angry voices and footsteps walking down the alleyway and she turns around, pulling out her sword and getting in a fighting stance. "We've got trouble."

Spoiler: Abilities

[Danger Sense] | [Sixth Sense F - Danger] | F Grade | 0 Post Cooldown
The user activates their intuition to make sure everything is alright and nothing is out of the blue.

Irihi