[Closed Quest SRP] Spread Thin

[ELYPOP]

Zen'tiri attempted to stay near Noxvari at all times, since she was apparently meant to lead them. Although, throughout the journey, he looked upon Ulay, in a slight perculiar fashion at times. It was as if he had seen the individual before, but he did not come across him as a Darkspear. Shrugging slightly, he continued with the rest into Bilgewater Harbor.

[Sal the Shieldhog]

Thedelion yawned and sat up to stretch. the morning sunlight shone off of his golden locks, his hood having fallen off during the night. Sighing contentedly, he sat back against the tree and gazed at the forest around him, while reaching into his bags for a small breakfast of Darnassian nuts and spring water. Feeling rejuvenated, he walked out carefully to the edge of the branch and, Atrition in hand, he leaped out, shifting into phoenix form as he went.

He found an updraft and soared upwards with it, gazing down at the world far below him. With his sharp eyes, he saw Samus boarding Ryan's boat down in Ratchet. Feeling restless, he decided to land a few miles outside of town. He shifted from his phoenix into his lynx form and set off at a tight pace, keeping to the shadows, silent, with the grace of a predator.

He came into Ratchet soon after, starting many of the Ratchet bruisers. Growling at those that lifted their guns at him, he shifted back into his natural elven form and headed towards the docks, where he looked for Ryan and the others. He found them soon after and, nodding to Ryan, he stalked on board and sat near the front, gazing out over the waters.

[The Madgod]

Archilios stood at the docks of Bilgewater harbor as he waited for the rest of the Horde party to arrive. He had been there for a couple hours, and as he said in Ratchet, had indeed been faster. Almost like a statue, the paladin had barely moved since he arrived at the port.

A ship came up to the docks, with several horde members of multiple races. Perhaps this was them.

[Nonfictionless]

Bodde appeared sitting on the edge of the boat, as Ryan spotted him out of the corner of his eye. "Well then, that's everyone. Lets set sail Captain." The scruffy looking captain nodded and shouted down below deck for the remaining members of his crew and within a few minutes they had left the port. "Now one last item for each of you." Ryan picked up a bag and opened it to reveal a few sets of goggles. "These are for detecting the new plague. With my limited time in assembling this group and preparing for this mission however, they are not quiet as accurate as you could hope for." Ryan handed them to each of his companions in turn. "They will serve you no other function than to detect the plague but they do have a habit of picking up other powerful potions and elixirs but still I believe they will be quiet useful and I suggest whenever they pick something up you investigate it." Alexandra picked out a vial filled with a slightly luminescent light green liquid. "You all may not of met me yet but my name is Alexandra and I will be our resident alchemy expert for this mission." She stood up in a very take charge fashion and held the vial up for everyone to see. "This is a potion of Illusion. One we will most likely be expecting to find along side the plague. Ryan has concluded that the Forsook have no human agents and this will be their method of getting into any human cities." She walked over to Larthian and uncapped the vial and took a small sip. Slowly right before their eyes her form started to change and grow until she matched the exact appearance of Larthian, clothes and all. Continuing in her own voice, "Go ahead and put on your goggles so you can see what it is likely to look like in case they are already using them." Within a minute though she was back to her normal self. Ryan spoke up, "Right now it is only a guess that they will be using these potions as disguises. So I wouldn't suggest relying on these goggles more than your own eyes. A quicker way, in my opinion, to spot them using these potions would be to look for people who look alike as removing to many humans would raise suspicion." Ryan finished by taking a seat and pulling out a book. "We will be there by nightfall so prepare as needed. Any of us," He pointed to himself and then motioned to the rest of his fellow Blitz, "will be more than happy to assist you."

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Within a few short hours the Goblin ship was already arriving at the docks of Menethil. Meanwhile under deck Leo had passed out a bottle to each of the Forsook members as a terrified goblin lay bound and gagged in the middle of them. "Now just to be safe drink half of the bottle and put on the extra clothes properly. I don't want any mistakes." They each took in turn drinking the potion and morphing into the struggling goblin. Horror struck his eyes as Leo drew his sword and dragged the goblin to the back, all the while looking like him. "Sorry but time for you to die. You can rest assured the captain always hated you though. Your presence won't be missed." He let out a quiet laugh as he slit the goblin's throat and took a moment to watch him bleed but dropping a heavy box in front of him and pushing both into the wall. "Well men lets sell some wares." Leo and his group of 10 picked up their crates and walked them silently out to the ships deck and then off onto the docks. The crew didn't notice as they were moving their own valuable items off and setting them up to sell and the numerous guards didn't think they weren't apart of the ship. Leo was last on top and smiled as he saw his men off to the side. He pulled a small bomb from his pocket and lit it. He casually dropped it back down the stairs he came up from and walked to his men. The little bomb clunked down the stairs and rolled straight back and stopped against a box with a danger label stuck to it, more explosives. The ship exploded in a glorious fashion and blinded all those around to the 11 little goblins with crates hopping into the water. They sank and walked ashore just down the way and heard the shouting of men to help get the fire spreading onto the dock put out. "Ok Langston, you know what to do." One of the Forsook shed their goblin disguise and vanished before their eyes as he walked off to the town. A few minuted later a small human child came around the bend to them leading 2 horses pulling a covered wagon. "Good work Langston. Did you dispose of the boy neatly?" Langston nodded. "Good and the parents are in the back I assume." Langston nodded again and held up three fingers. "Excellent a third will work even better," Leo said as he walked around to the back of the covered wagon and opened it to reveal the dead boy's mother and father and what appeared to be a stable hand. "Well then come on men, pick one each." They picked mostly the two males and only two of them chose to be the female. After they did that Leo assigned two of his men, disguised as the father and mother to get another covered wagon. The rest loaded half of the plage into the first wagon, while Leo and Langston grabbed the humans and dragged them towards the marsh, killed them and then rolled their bodies into the muddy water. The second covered wagon arrived with no trouble and then finished loading and then set off towards Dun Algaz.

[Synaxis]

The ship arrived at the port shortly after the task had been set. In that time, Nox had disappeared below deck again to organize what papers and scrolls and maps and whatnot she had with her, so she could unceremoniously stuff them into a pair of saddlebags. These saddlebags, and the saddle which they attached to, would then be tossed onto the back of her trusty steed who had spent the entirety of the voyage loosely tied in a makeshift stall on the lower deck. Once her mount was ready, the death knight again went back above into the balmy midday sun with a fair-sized sack full of coins: payment for the goblin captain who had gotten them from Ratchet to Bilgewater. The ship had hardly been properly moored when Nox dropped the sack of gold into the goblin's greedy hands and gestured off the boat, saying, "If they were here, it will have been noted for official records.. All sea traffic is. The forsaken have sent no ships here recently, so it shouldn't be terribly difficult to figure out when they were here and if they were indeed heading off from here to the Crossroads, if we have records to go off, or witnesses, even.. Just find something out for me, and try not to kill anybody in the process. Go." After a moment's pause, she added to Thorn - silently, of course, for only her mind - something very simple: "You too."

With that, she gestured off the boat again and disappeared below deck again to retrieve her mount, who was carefully ridden down onto the dock. Here, the steed stopped and looked straight inland at the mass of buildings and smoke and small green people that was Bilgewater Harbor, and he gave every indication that he wanted nothing to do with this mess. Nox, who felt rather similarly, gave Valor a sympathetic pat on the neck but heeled him forward anyway, and he hesitantly took off down the dock. It was only then that Nox noticed Archilios standing around, but she paid him no real mind. After all, she had an objective, and the faster she completed it, the happier she'd be. Socializing with blood elf paladins was not part of this objective, so she did the only sensible thing.. She ignored him, save for a single scrutinizing glance that lifted off him almost as soon as she offered it. If not hailed, she'd likely simply pass right by him on her way to do some investigation.

[The Madgod]

The paladin overheard what the undead had said, and inwardly smiled. She obviously didn't know much. As the other members of the horde left the vessel, he nodded at each. When the undead re-emerged from the ship, she rode past him as if he was a ghost. Just after she passed him, he said. "I overheard your orders. I suggest you find the rest of the party and regroup. Your search will be in vain."

[Synaxis]

If Noxvari were any less aware of everything in her surroundings, she may well have missed Archilios addressing her as she passed him. As it stands, however, she did not miss him - she heard exactly what he said and knew immediately that he was addressing her. With a rather pronounced twinge of annoyance, the death knight halted and spun her trusty steed, who bobbed his head a bit in impatience but complied willingly. Striding back over to him, she addressed him with a much more studious look now, taking careful note of everything - his size, his apparent age, his armor, his tabard.. Perhaps going so far as to size him up, almost, something very normal for her.. With an expression on that feigned concern, she twisted in the saddle to give him a final glance over before speaking - but her voice did not at all match the expression of concern; nay, it oozed arrogance..

"Oh? You know something that is both relevant to my purpose and useful?" she inquired, raising both brows and maintaining Valor's position, though he impatiently fidgeted and shifted in place. "Well, let's hear it, then."

[The Madgod]

Inwardly sighing, Archilios kept a calm demeanor, seemingly ignoring the insulting tone of the woman before him.

"If you are one of those that the Blitz Mercenaries hired for this mission, then you must know that we are facing a splinter cell of the Forsaken, trying to keep low before they strike at our leaders. Why, then, would they keep to legal channels? The cell could have bribed the goblins, not a hard thing to do, and there could very well be no records at all. You are disgracing your command and doing a disservice to those underneath you by not thinking of all possibilities and therefore leaving a gap through which these Forsook can and will slip through, something that I and the rest of the Horde will NOT tolerate."

The last he spoke with his brow furrowed, in an authoritative tone; one that brooked no argument. One that many a soldier had heard while he was reprimanded by the Grandmaster, while they tried not to cower before the man. Of course, this undead was not likely to do anything but question who he was and why he would talk like such, the arrogant trollip.

[Synaxis]

"Are you aware of the nature of port security?" she said abruptly as soon as Archilios finished speaking, voice quite level - even casual. His words had failed to penetrate her arrogant shell; she heard a challenge, not an insult, and having no connection to him at all, she did not genuinely care if he was insulting her. After all, she was not in this for the purpose of stopping the Forsook from nuking Orgrimmar - she didn't care if they did. She was in this for the purpose of killing traitors. What the rest of the Horde felt was of no concern to her. "One or two or three goblins can be bribed, but the entire port cannot. If they were here there will be evidence of it, be it in the form of witness account or written records. You must remember that these are chemists we are talking about, of the very same stock that believed they could stage a coup and actually get away with it for the long-term. These are not world-class strategists or wealthy nobles gone rogue. To suggest that taking advantage of local ignorance is beneath them is downright idiotic. Most of these dockworkers would not recognize the plague from the tonic that treats mild seasickness, and yet, you reject the possibility that they may have played innocent and done things properly, taking advantage of the unfortunate ineptitude of the locals? You will never find any answers if you do not keep your mind open to all the possibilities, even the most painfully obvious."

Her tone when she replied was firm and authoritative, but also oozing with arrogance. It couldn't have been more clear, no matter how calmly she spoke to him, that she thought nothing of him. So little did she think of him that she didn't even immediately question who he was - that was an afterthought that vaguely registered and was hardly interesting to her; she had an objective to reach, and this man was doing nothing but getting in the way so far. As far as she was concerned, too, he was a fool - when pursuing a criminal, all things must be considered, not only the obscure.. While it is important to never underestimate one's quarry (something Noxvari herself was quick to forget - the god complex, sometimes) it is equally important not to overestimate them. Fixing Archilios with a commanding stare, she turned her horse about without ever taking her eyes off him, sitting now so that Valor faced the city. The stallion immediately began to shift and dance with renewed vigor, but Noxvari continued to simply ignore her steed. "Now then," she began again, straightening slightly in the saddle. "If you have anything of genuine importance, now would be the time to say it. Otherwise, I have very little time to be sitting around, arguing the merits of pursuing every lead with somebody that is so arrogant as claim to speak for the entirety of the Horde."

[The Madgod]

Archilios eyed the woman with an exaspirated look. A pretty rant, for such an ignorant woman. "I'll assume you have maggots in your ears, since you apparently didn't understand me when I said 'all possibilities'. When did I say to only search illigitimate sites of entry? When did I say to not check with the port authorities? I said think of all possibilities."

The paladin gestured at the port surrounding the pair. "Take a look around yourself, what do you see? Boats in the hundreds. Do you possibly think that the port is THAT organized to detect bribery in just a couple goblins? Their entire political system is based on bribery and thievery. I have reports from agents come in almost daily of smugglers we catch in this port that successfully bribe the port workers. Were it not for outside parties, they would never be caught."

"We do not know whether or not they entered the port through legal means or not, and for you to give the command to ignore the other possibility is, again, disgraceful. As for me being the voice of the horde, I do not claim to be such. However, if you cause our leaders to fall because you failed to look at both possibilities, don't expect the people of the Horde to be merciful, pat you on the back, and tell you it's alright and if you want a nice cup of hot cocoa."

[Synaxis]

"Oh, you're adorable," she said sleekly with a smirk, her arrogance once again shielding her from becoming insulted or angry about this stranger's words, tone, or demeanor. A soft giggle actually escaped the woman to emphasize the humor that only she apparently saw in the situation. This one, this guy here - this random stranger seemed to think quite a lot of himself.

"I see we agree that all possibilities should be considered. Since I already told you my stance, I would've thought it was quite clear that I am not ignoring anything," she said smoothly, though still grinning like the conversation was truly funny. There is sooo something wrong with her. "Did you hear all of the conversation on the ship, both upon arrival and while we were far off yet? Do you know the thoughts in my mind? No. No you did not, and no you do not. Why would you make an assumption - given what I just told you - that I am ignoring other possibilities? I have no idea why you would do something silly like that. But I'll tell you what - since you seem to like the bribery theory, you can get a start on figuring out whether that is what happened or not, and more importantly than how, when they got here or left, and if they are indeed heading for the Crossroads. I, on the other hand, will be heading that way to find out the exact same thing. Seek me out if you find something of note, I am a fairly conspicuous figure. Good luck to you."

And with a borderline mocking half-bow, she rode off. That was it: she had enough of the argument and needed to get to business. Immediately upon exiting the docks, she took a left and headed east, toward where the ferry-barges shuttled people and goods from Bilgewater Harbor to the mainland. Truth be told, she was not aware that this was where the ferries left and arrived from and had not headed there intentionally. In the distance, she could see a large, steel-hulled cargo ship coming to port at the easternmost dock, but it was carrying no cargo. Thoughtfully, she slowed her steed to an ambling walk and observed from afar as a small orcish convoy boarded the ship, followed immediately by a couple of siege engines that looked freshly repaired and several individuals on mounts. Narrowing her eyes slightly at the sight, she got a sudden idea..

...was Thorn nearby? The construct couldn't have gone far. Nox reached out for her with her mind, seeking the familiar cold and dead touch of another undead, and there. There it was. There was Thorn. "Where are you? I have a task for you," she said thoughtfully to the mute construct, "There is currently a barge at the easternmost dock. I need you to go down there and tell me what you see, what you hear - ships like that ordinarily carry boxed freight but I just saw a supply caravan and several mounted civilians get on board. I'm curious. I could use a pair of eyes and ears down there, find out what you can - where it's going, when it's leaving.."

A sudden fluttering movement at the bottom of her vision caused Nox to look down over her horse's shoulder and watch a silky, sea blue flower roll across the pier. The death knight knew what it was from a distance, but she dismounted and caught it anyway. The petals were incredibly smooth and soft, almost sheer - they had a semitransparent quality to them, rather reminiscent to a veil - Azshara's Veil. A fairly rare flower, used in fairly few concoctions, one of which was the Potion of Illusion the Forsaken splinter group were believed to be investing in.. The flower had not yet wilted or begun to die, as it does rather quickly when out of the proper conditions to preserve freshness. She could not say for certain where the flower came from, only that it recently escaped from its enclosure. A rapid glance up along the row of piers was not helpful - there were a number of ships at port, though not all of them were currently being worked on. There were no Forsaken ships currently moored - but that is not to say that there wasn't one earlier in the day.

[The Madgod]

Archilios scoffed at the death knight as she passed. If she was the leader of the group, and she unfortunately most likely was, there was going to be problems. Her argument was childish, hiding her mistake in a web of false accusations and stolen arguments. She had the appearance of one in command, nothing more. He would have to do something about this before long, if she continued to make mistakes. He couldn't let the mission fail.

Sighing, a rare outburst of emotion for him, the paladin took off from the docks to begin his search. Perhaps the seedier taverns would hold some secrets, likely in the form of a goblin who's tongue was loosened by ale from his 'bonuses'.

[Deleted]

There was nothing in this place, absolutely nothing. Thorn had been sneaking around, listening for rumors and staying in the shadows. The closest thing to valueable information she had gotten, was about a wife being strangely ill after having worked on the docks. That however, could be anything from a regular sickness to something else entirely. The tiny undead had moved away from the docks, now situating herself atop a tree. Having closed her eyes, Thorn had raised her legs, laid back, let out a low yawn, gotten comfy, and started taking a nap. Entering a dreamless sleep, Thorn had probably gotten five or ten minutes time, when she was abruptly woken by Noxvari's voice. "Where are you? I have a task for you,"
Blinking a couple of times, Thorn stretched her body before leaping down the tree. Looking around, it took Thorn but a second to figure out which direction she was headed. Moving through the bushlines, Thorn was quickly in position to scout out the position of the barge, and how best to approach. "I have a visual, commander. Will be moving through the waterline to get a closer look. I believe I can enter the barge from below"

With the message sent, Thorn moved to the waterline and jumped in. Taking a deep breath, the undead was soon after submerged in the cold sea, heading for the speedbarge completely unseen. As Thorn reached the underside of the speedbarge, she slowly started to ascend the side. As far as she could tell, she would be able to crawl up and hide behind a bunch of barrels. Once there, a true investigation could commense of the barge.

[Nonfictionless]

Groll stepped off his barge in a huff. His last fair, a bunch of know it all forsakens, tested his tolerance to the limit and now he had to meet Ogra at the shift change. He loathed Orga. Already twice they have been caught fighting and close to losing their jobs. It took everything he had not to fight with Ogra. They passed bumping shoulders, hard, when he got off and Ogra got on. Groll decided go drown himself in some nice bourbon. Ogra on the other hand started readying the barge for her shift. She welcomed her new customers as they brought a wagon and several horses on board.

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Just as the port town was coming into view, billows of smoke was rising from it. Damn they have already passed here. He turned to Tim and nodded to him. Understanding completely, Tim hopped overboard and started sprinting over the water towards the docks and vanishing halfway there but his splashes could still be discerned on the water's top. "It seems the Forsook have passed here recently, or may be still here. Either way look for them and missing people." After a few more minutes the ship pulled close enough to the second dock to allow for everyone to get off. Ryan hopped off first and headed straight for the local inn. The twins and Alexandra headed off next to examine and help with the still burning docks.

[Vadoor]

Samus shrugged off his cloak and his full plate armor shone in the night light. The Gilnean was armed from head to toe in armor, more so that the average set of plate mail, and the plate had been polished so that it gleaned in the night. He then turned and looked towards the moon.

Shape shifting, while at first difficult, now came naturally to the Worgen. He changed into his worgen form as easily as one puts on a shirt. As he came into his worgen form he let out a tremendous roar the echoed through the night sky. In his Worgen form he seemed almost a foot larger, and much thicker. His fur was a dark brown with a single silver stream running down his head and disappearing into his armor. He then donned his helm specially made for a worgen and stepped off the boat. He followed after Ryan, making his way towards the inn.

[Sal the Shieldhog]

Larthian gazed out across the water at the destruction before his eyes. The whole town was burning, razing itself to the ground.

His eye's shed a single tear for the senseless loss of life that had occurred here, then snapped to the task at hand. He had a job to do.

Still shivering with sadness, his body shook involuntarily as he shed his elven form for his phoenix form. With a single snap of his wings, he was off the ground, high above the ground, looking for any clues or survivors.

The smoke and flames had no effect on him, and he dived to get a closer look. Searching for anything that would help his comrades, he barely noticed as the others spread out.

[Khorianas]

Ulay was frustrated. He got nowhere in the port and he was itching to fight again. But he was hired to follow hints for now. The Troll was mainly interested in keeping the Horde from a huge incident, and he was interested in this new plague, but he was really annoyed now. He was up on the beach when he saw something moving in the water. Thorn. She wouldn't take a swim just for fun. Ulay didn't let anyone of the people surrounding him catch a hint that his heartbeat was speeding up. He casually walked between two of the small boathouses and slid into the water. Damba followed behind her master and the Troll followed Thorn. he kept as low as possible, trying not to make anyone aware to is presence.

[Synaxis]

The barge was of the same make as the one that had earlier carried the Forsook across to the mainland of Azshara. It was wide and flat, perfectly suited to the transport of vehicles, boxed cargo, livestock, and large numbers of mounted passengers. A small group of orcs was gathered in front of the barge, inspecting each of the people and things seeking to get aboard the ship. They had notes in hand and would occasionally write something down when speaking to travelers and inspecting goods, but conversations were usually only long enough for an exchange of vital information like names, destinations, and explanations of goods and cargo. Once a satisfactory inspection had been completed, the orcs would allow one onto the ship. These, of course, were the very same orcs that had earlier allowed the Forsook to pass through onto the earlier barge, unknowingly enabling a rogue group of psychopaths to continue onward in their travels.


For Thorn, though, there was much to see on the ship. Lone crates and barrels of goods and materials were stacked both on deck and below it; animals were kept loosely tied in surprisingly roomy stalls bedded with straw on a lower level, but all of the vehicles (and whatever cargo they carried) were secured to the expansive deck with thick cables by a mixed crew of goblins and orcs who scurried about, making sure there was no chance anything could fall overboard. Lost goods were lost money, after all. Should Thorn (and now Ulay) manage to get on the ship, they'd be rewarded only with the vague conversations of passengers and crew. Most of it was light-hearted banter; after all, it was just another day at Bilgewater Harbor, and they were all blissfully unaware that only hours previously, a hostile band of Forsaken had gotten through the security checkpoint onto a ship very much like this one. Thus, most of it was of no use to any investigators. However, if Thorn and Ulay were patient they'd be rewarded with a pair of goblins briskly walking not five feet from the barrels behind which they hid, talking loudly.

"I can't wait to get back to Azshara," said one to the other, "I had enough dealing with these people and their animals. Wish they'd just hurry up with the security checking." The two goblins stopped and the first one leaned down to tie the laces back up on his leather boots. The second one looked over to where another small caravan was boarding. "What do they think is gonna get through?" the second goblin inquired skeptically. "Really, and not only that, do they even know what they're looking for?" The first goblin straightened up and shook his head. "Doubt it," he said gruffly, and the pair began marching away again. "But they better hurry up, I'm ready to go home."

The port was busy besides that last dock; at each pier, a goblin or an orc could be found with what amounted to the Azerothian equivalent of the clipboard, making note of the ships that came in and left - their names, their captain's names, where they came from and the time of their arrival, and their destination with time of departure in addition to important information regarding their cargo. Before loading or unloading anything, the goods and cargo were inspected carefully and as thoroughly as one could do with whatever knowledge they happened to have. When these inspections were finished and the notes were done being taken, these note-takers would scurry over to a goblin woman sitting in a raised building with a large glass window, overlooking the port. Here, they turned their notes in, and she copied the absolute essentials into a large book.. And she stowed the full-length notes away. The process repeated itself over and over as each ship - large or small - came and went.

( Sorry for long wait. Writer's block. No action for Nox, but whatever. )

[Nonfictionless]

((Well was waiting for Aramore. Still not sure where he is o.O but I'm gonna GM his character off the boat so we can continue this and not leave him behind. So pumping some life back into this. Next time I won't wait so long =\ ))

Bodde sunk into the shadows as he departed the boat muttering something about a shop. Meanwhile the twins had already jumped in the line helping carry buckets of dirt to cover the fire. Alexandra was rummaging through her back taking out a few vials filled with different liquids and lastly putting on her goggles. Ryan had arrived in the Inn and started chatting up the barkeep. "So dangerous times." The barkeep grunted in agreement. "Always told them damn knights not to deal with those goblins. Bunch of backstabbin little things. Soon as there is better profit they'll gladly cut your throat." Ryan's eyes darted around the room. "Indeed so do they usually come here during this time of the year." Picking up a dirty glass, and rag, he started cleaning it. "Nah that's just the thing. I told that dock manager Wilson that he shouldn't let them in. Should of been another month atleast before them green midgets show up. Like to wait for the crop to go out see. Then pick hard workin men's pockets with their bad deals." Ryan set down a few coins. "Thanks. Keep that bit to yourself." Sliding the coins off the counter and pocketing them, he smiled and said, "Already forgot what we were talkin bout."

Ryan turned and saw two men sitting at a table for four. Large calluses on their hands, workers, and hints of old rope burns on the thenar spaces of their hands, stable workers. Another richer looking man sat across the bar, drinking out of his own glass. Silk gloves covering his hands and rather new looking boots on his feet but almost no mud on them. Only get that way without walking anywhere in this part of the world. Two larger men with long blades sat not far away, watching the rich man and the rest of the bar, body guards perhaps. And a lone young boy, no more than nine, watching out the window, but not at the fire. Children were always easier to get information out of, and tended to notice things adults missed simply because they didn't find them interesting. Ryan walked up to him. "Looking for someone?" The boy startled and looked up at Ryan with confusion and worry on his face. "My friend hasn't come to play yet. He usually comes here after his dad is done working." Ryan too looked out the window. "Ah I am sorry to here that. Where does your friend live perhaps I can see why he is late." The boy still looked nervous but grateful. Apparently his friend was very late for him to trust a stranger. "Thanks mister. They live just on the other side of the castle across from their horses." Ryan smiled and lied to the boy, "I'll be back in a bit." Leaving the bar he thought to himself. Sorry kid but I don't think your friend will be playing with you again.