Hookers and Guns... Also Alcohol

"Fetch me another drink, pinkskin." Akechetka reclined in a comfy leather chair. A half-eaten meal lay spead on the table in front of him. A human woman was refilling his mug, another was clearing his plates, and a third... well she was earning her tip.

"I could get used to this, Rod'rick." He stretched out, letting the wench under the table do her job while he downed his most recent mug of ale. After a few minutes she got up, wiped her mouth, and he handed her a few silver.

The two had been in town for nearly a week and had managed to do nothing more than squander the majority of the money they had conned out of travelers on the way to the city. "So, what's the plan when we run out of cash? There have got to be hundreds of conmen already operating in a city like this."

The young man shrugged, a soft puff of smoke slipping from his lips. "Well Spook, if cons don't work, we hire ourselves out as 'handymen' for specific problems." he replied, resting a hand on the back of the pale skinned elf's head. "Watch the teeth, sweet..." he said softly.

Returning his attention to his goblin accomplice, he grinned. "and if it really comes down to it, we'll remove some competition and take over their turf."

Akechetka smiled slowly, revealing his jagged, yellowed teeth. "I definitely like the sound of Plan C, double the loot far as I can tell." He pulled the laces on his pants tight again, and stood up. "I'm thinking we should scout this place out then. See where the good turf is, see where easy pickins are." He tightened his belt and headed to the door.

"Meet me outside in ten minutes. If she ain't done by then she ain't worth it." He grabbed his weapons from the nice lady at the door and stepped outside.

"You heard him, girlie, time for plan C." He said with a laugh, slipping his hands under her arms and pulling her up.

~~~~~~~~~ 20 Minutes Later ~~~~~~~~~

Stumbling out of the Brothel, the Redheaded Elf still hanging off his arm, Roderick retrieved his hat from her head and nodded to the girl, slipping a leather pouch into her hand. "Keep the shirt, honey-buns, I may be back for that."

Shuffling over to the Garruk'Ah, He pulled his pistol out and inspected it briefly. "So what did you have in mind?"

Akechetka stood outside, leaning up against the building with his tophat-headdress pulled low to block the sun out of his eyes. A dagger glinted maliciously in the sun as he cleaned his teeth. "Took you long enough."

He tilted his hat back. "I was thinking we start with the market. See if we can find some loose change. Then take to the roof tops for a better view."

"Sounds like a good plan, though I'd recommend we keep an eye out for a shell or card game. Those are good for a quick couple bucks. He said with a grin, the dessert winds kicking up his coat tails.

Looking down the road idly, he noticed a pair of guardsmen talking to a shopkeeper down the way. Between them, a sheet of paper was exchanged, and the clerk examined it. Pointing up the way, Roderick got a rather feint feeling cross over him, and then the memory of his recent time with the redheaded elf came into his head, and it wasn't quite as bad anymore.

"Uh... Spook, did you steal something while I was still with that elf, and her sister.... and that cute blond waitress...?"

"... Not that I can remember?" Akechetka spotted the guards, but was careful to play it straight. "I'm pretty sure they're looking at us, Rod'rick. Time for evasive actions, I'd say."

Akechetka stepped into the crowd and started moving towards an alley to get out of site from the guards.

As they slipped into the crowd one of the guards happened to spot the two men they had been diligently searching for.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" one of them yelled moving toward them through the crowded street.

"Damnit Spook, every damn time!" he growled, running into the crowd. It wasn't the first time the little man had done this.

Breaking into a dead run, he cursed his way through the crowed, shoving aside such amusingly cliche things as old women, small children, and the little cripple boy on his little broken crutch. It would have been heart retching if he didn't recognize the play for sympathy when he looked back.

"FOR THE BITCHES!" He yelled loudly, diving over a fruit cart, scattering the merchants wares everywhere and scoring himself an apple in the process.

Meanwhile, Akechetka had much more stealthily made his way into an alley and quickly scaled a ladder to a third floor landing. From his new vantage point he could see Roderick plowing through the crowd. "Well, so much for stealth." He peered around trying to spot the guards, "The should be after us by now..."

Meanwhile, in a window just behind Akechetka, an elvish woman was rather surprised to see a goblin on her balcony. A piercing shriek, all but scared the garruk'ah out of his skin. He fell forward, off the building, and barely caught hold of the ledge in time to leave himself hanging twenty feet above the bazaar.

"Well shit..."

"they are here guards men! we've found them over here!" The guards who had initially spotted them called out. Soon more guards began to enter the crowd searching for their targets. suddenly, from above the crowd, there was a shrill cry. Every ones attention was drawn to the goblin precariously hanging from the balcony, some three stories above.

"up there quickly before he falls!" the guards moved toward the building from which he dangled.

Waving his hand about, a series of gibberish spouted from his mouth for a moment as he slid to a stop and ran down an alleyway between streets.

< casting "Message" spell, Target = Akechetka, Duration 10 minutes/level, Target can reply >

Mouthing the words as he moved, Roderick's companion hears a breathy, mildly labored voice.

::Damnit Spook, next time warn me before you run off like that.::

Akechetka felt around with his feet, praying he'd find a window, or at least a ledge to stand on. Luck was on his side, he could feel the top of a window a bit to his left. He was edging that way when he suddenly heard Roderick's labored voice.

::I'm pretty sure I did warn you. I said evasive action, or does that not mean the same thing in gibbering human speak? And so you know, I found a window. Meet you at the brothel.::

Akechetka's anger and stress at his current situation was more than a little apparent in his voice. As soon as he centered himself over the window he dropped. His soft leather moccasins landed silently on the window ledge, and Akechetka tumbled into the empty living room without a sound. He moved across the room, silent as ever, and slipped out the door, smug in his unlikely success.

Only to be staring in the face of a multitude of guards.

::Shit::

the guards were not happy to say the least. then from the back of their group came a voice.

"out of the way damn it! let me through ye bastards." a young dwarf clad in the usual guard garb was pressing his way through them. Once he arrived at the front he opened the scroll he was carrying. "well Ill be damned so he is." he smiled looking over the parchment at the goblin before him. "your coming with us I trust that wont be a problem?"

::Got it, doubling back... whats going o-::

He had managed most of the sentence before a flash of metal streaked across his vision and her felt something hard and cold connect to his neck. Tumbling rather violently head over heals, Roderick found himself gasping for air, having lost the spell. coughing, he groped around in the dust for his hat, blurred vision showing what appeared to be a pair of guards.

"Well shit..."

"Rod'rick? ... Rod'rick? ... Shit... spell ended. Guess we'll rendezvous in prison."

Akechetka looked resigned, and raised his arms into the air.

"I'm sure we have some sort of misunderstanding..."