[PP-F1] The Hunting Thieves Saga - The Shadow of Death - Part 2 - Complete

[Aster 0]

Previously - Part 1

After barreling down an abandoned alleyway, Aster had just attempted to confront what she previously thought was a simple poet attending and performing at a town festival. Having her materials pack stolen by a thief among the crowd, she followed the shady poet and his pursuer down a winding alley rather than helping her knightly acquaintance retrieve her belongings. Curiosity getting the better or her, she gave no thought to chasing after the man and attempting to stop him. To both her surprise and dismay, the old poet not only got away, but she now found herself with a frustrated young man who seemed to have been following the man in the shadows.

"Wh-what?" The girl stammered in disbelief, still out of breath from running. The old man had just disappeared behind...a fake wall? A secret passage like those in storybook mysteries? And now a new threat stood before her: a confusing man who was quite angry with her. She was taken aback and a bit sheepish after his outburst. "I, I'm sorry! I thought--" She practically bit her tongue to stop herself from the half-intelligent train of thought that would be her explanation for her actions. She looked around her a bit nervously, only now realizing the situation she'd put herself in.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Asteria

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz slammed his fist into the wall, but it just popped up with a note explaining that it was considered an Immortal Object. He grunted in frustration as he tried again, and again, the same note popping up over and over. Ugh, this is getting Raz nowhere, but if it weren't for this dumb girl... Raz thought to himself, before turning on the girl who was stammering an apology. "Sorry doesn't fix this!" Raz said angrily, before walking up to her, "Raz was trying to capture that man for information on a thieves guild he's a part of. Raz is trying to pay a debt to someone. Raz can't do that if people like you keep screwing up his life!" Raz fumed, huffing as he stared at the woman in his anger, boring a hole into her eyes with his own gaze.

[Aster 0]

Aster was now aware that she was suddenly very alone with a very mad individual. The man's odd-colored eyes threw daggers at her, and the girl shrunk back a bit in reaction. His onslaught had stopped, and she felt the words start sinking in. "I-I..." She felt herself inwardly panic with the realization that she hadn't the slightest idea what she had just done setting in. Any bravery or courage she might have had minutes ago slipped away from her as she felt the red-head towering over her. She tried so hard to retaliate, to find a fire inside of her that could stand up to him. Try as she might, she was at a loss for words. She had put herself somewhere she didn't belong; interfered in something that wasn't her business, and she couldn't deny that. She swallowed hard enough to stomach her pride, feeling moisture welling up at the corners of her eyes. "Well, you won't have to worry about me screwing up your life anymore!" She tried to match his volume, eyebrows narrowed, but the words left her considerably weaker than she had wanted. She took a small step backwards, putting a little distance between them. Forcing the rest of her body to move, she turned sharply, facing away from him and marching herself back the way she came. The only thing on her mind was to find her way back to her shop and stay in there for a very long time.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz narrowed his eyes at the girl standing in front of him, who seemed to suddenly turn into a wilting flower. That only served to frustrate Raz more as his frown deepened and his fists clenched at this girl's sudden wimpy actions. And then she shouted and turned tail, prompting Raz to growl in response to her words, "I didn't need you to ruin my life to begin with!" Raz shouted after the girl as she got farther and farther away, "At least Raz is man enough to stay and fix his mistakes! If you're going to screw up someone's life, at least have the courage to stand up to them and make up for it!" Raz had begun to wave his fist at the girl in anger as he shouted at her, before lowering it and folding his arms over his chest, watching the girl from behind.

Where had she even come from anyway? And why would she follow Raz? the young man asked himself as he considered his next moves.

[Aster 0]

As she walked away, Aster's expression was a mixture of defeat and regret. The tears in her eyes grew larger until they overflowed down her cheeks. All she wanted to do was hide somewhere and never come out. As she distanced herself from the man, he didn't take long to continue shouting after her. When he finished speaking, calling her out for her cowardice, she stopped dead in her tracks. She felt her fingers curling into fists, tightening as a spark ignited in her chest. She could feel her blood pump faster, and as she grit her teeth she turned sharply to face him again. She hadn't gone more than 20 paces, but she still shouted back at him. A shaky "Fine!" was all she could muster.

She took a few hesitant steps in his direction, completely unsure of her actions now. She seemed to be waiting for instruction, mentally piecing herself back together in the meantime.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz hadn't actually expected the girl to turn around. She just seemed like a wilting flower, but evidently had more fight in her than he had anticipated. Raz gave a chuckle, "So, if you're going to not going to leave, Raz should actually know your name!" The boy had a bit of a wicked grin, now a bit curious how he could use this girl and what talents she had. "Also, Raz really doesn't want to shout through this alleyway, come closer! My name is Razum-dar! Raz is a thief, and as I told you Raz was hunting a poet until you rudely interrupted and made me lose him! Now we need to figure out how to get into this secret passageway before it's too late!"

Raz shook his head and began to walk back towards the fake wall, hopeful that the girl would follow at this point.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Razum-dar

[Aster 0]

'Raz?' She thought quizzically, bringing the back of her hand up to her face to wipe her eyes and cheeks. She had calmed a bit, and at his request she walked closer until the gap between them was more normal. She tilted her head at his words, wondering what this man's plan was. "Oh. My name is Aster." She responded, almost forgetting his opening was an introduction.

"If that shady man is a member of a thieves' guild, he was an odd target for another thief such as yourself, no?" She tried to recall his previous explanation correctly, eyeing Raz suspiciously as he claimed to be a thief himself. If it weren't for her biting guilt she wouldn't be having herself in a back alleyway alone with a self-proclaimed thief.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz ran a hand along the wall, searching for something that would indicate a way to open the wall, but it seemed smooth and there was nothing that even showed it was fake from what Raz could tell. No switch, no cracks, nothing. "Must only open from the other side..." Raz said to himself, before looking to Aster. "Raz was hired, you could say. By a knight." Raz shrugged, wondering how much he should actually tell this girl. Deciding to change the subject, Raz eyed her and said, "So what are you good at anyway?" and then looked to her puffy eyes and wet cheeks before saying, "Raz is sorry he made you cry. I guess. Just don't make a habit of messing with Raz." He rolled his eyes and looked away, waiting for her answer to his question.

Edited April 22, 2016 by Razum-dar

[Aster 0]

 

The orange-haired girl frowned at his lack-luster explanation. She was still curious, but knew better than to push her luck right now. She watched the curious man inspect the stone wall, trying to unearth its secrets to no avail. Her expression persisted as he shot back with another question. She pondered it for a minute, remembering how much she hated these types of questions. What was she good at? Does reading count? No, everyone knows how to do that. He spoke one last time, drawing her attention out of her thoughts with an unexpected apology. He didn't seem the type to be overly-sincere, so she accepted his word with a softened expression. Shifting back to his question, she seemed more outwardly calm as she placed a thoughtful finger to her chin. "Hmm... Well I can't swipe anyone's purse," She started jokingly, "but I guess I have a pretty good memory?" She sounded unsure of even that, unable to come up with a more suitable answer.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz frowned at the girl, his eyes making their way between her and the wall, and then back again. "That... wasn't really what Raz meant," he said simply, crossing his arms. He huffed, and then began to mess with the wall again, unsure of what exactly to do with this girl. He put his ear against the wall, listening for any sound on the other side, but it seemed futile. It just sounded like a wall. And by that, Raz figured it sounded like nothing. He sighed and his eyes made their way back to the girl with a more curious expression, "Raz meant game-wise. Remembering things isn't a skill. What skills does Aster have? What can she do in SAO? What can she do for Raz?"

[Aster 0]

She watched patiently as Raz continued inspecting the wall, examining it from all angles. His efforts proved fruitless, which prompted her curiosity to grow. She wondered further as to who the old poet was, why he was here, and what his plans were. Perhaps her imagination was spinning a more impressive tale than what was the truth, but she wouldn't know for sure until they got to the button of things. "Oh! Um," Pulled from her speculations, the girl grew a bit embarrassed again when Raz had to further explain his question. His way of speaking was odd, but she almost felt it was fitting. His mannerisms seemed to compliment the quirkiness, in a way. At this moment, she felt nervous, realizing she had a single skill to her name, with no combat experience to speak of. "Well, I know the First Aid skill." She said simply, hoping that would suffice and he wouldn't press further.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz continued to listen to the wall for quite some time, before feeling like there wasn't even another person on the other side. Either that or it was just that thick of a wall. Raz really couldn't tell. He gave a knock on the wall, but it did nothing except hurt his hand. Raz rubbed his knuckled where he had knocked, and sighed, "Feels like real bricks to Raz. I suppose if you're going to make a fake wall, make it seem real with real things. Makes sense." Having well and truly given up on the wall for a moment, Raz turned back to Aster, "So you're a healer? Now that's what Raz is talking about! You know, Raz hasn't met any of those yet. Is it difficult? Does that mean you don't do any combat at all? Raz feels like that would be a useless skill if nobody was hurt. Does that happen often?"

Suddenly Raz was a torrent of questions, but he quickly caught himself as he then suddenly looked to the side and crossed his arms again. "Not that Raz would need a healer for anything. That knight seems more than capable of tanking anything, and there hasn't been a point where Raz has been alone... really until now."

[Aster 0]

'Urk!' Aster wasn't expecting his onslaught of questions after such a simple line. He seemed to know nothing about the skill, which put them on an even playing field for now. "Oh, not really." She said calmly, referring to his question about the difficulty of healing. "Since I focus on healing others I certainly stay in the back! I don't attack anything unless I need to, since being in the front would be dangerous." She was speaking matter-of-factly at this point, practically buying into her own bluff. Although with the simple points she made, it's not like she was really wrong, so she at least had that going for her. His last question would have tripped her up, and she hesitated, but luckily he shifted his train of thought and gave her something more open-ended to talk about. 'That knight again...' She thought curiously. He had mentioned a knight that he worked with several times now, but she still thought it better to ignore her own burning questions to avoid prodding the already secretive man. "Then think of it as insurance." Aster tried to sound convincing. She was presented with too many mysteries to let pass her by, and if Raz was as forgiving as he already had been, maybe she could get on his good side. "With a healer it makes a very well-balanced team, no? Even if you have a strong friend, if one of you gets hurt too badly it would suddenly be extremely worth it to have me around!" She spoke with the same matter-of-fact tone again, smiling widely as she expected her words to win him over. 

Edited April 24, 2016 by Asteria

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz eyed the girl as she responded with her answers. Raz had honestly forgotten First Aid was a skill. Raz can see how it is useful, provided this girl is telling the truth. Though her not being combat capable makes her feel just so... useless, if nobody is hurt. Insurance or not. Raz kept these thoughts to himself, though, as he considered her saying that it's worth it to have her around. "You speak as if Raz actively wishes to have you party with him past this one little mess up of yours!" He frowned and narrowed his eyes, but before being able to elaborate any further on the minute intricacies of their immediate social debt, Raz heard a brick slide out of the wall next to him. He blinked and turned around to see a pair of gray eyes staring at him from the hole in the wall. "Oy. I 'eard some noise. Wot's da password?"

[Aster 0]

Aster grew nervous as Raz's facial expression changed. Being nonchalant was so far better than timidness, but he wasn't so immediately swayed to have her as an ally.  She honestly wasn't so sure that was the best idea for her either, but this man seemed to have knowledge of social networks far beyond what she imagined existed. "Well, I just--" Aster opened her mouth to speak, but quickly jumped with surprise and brought a hand up to her mouth to silence herself. Another voice sounded immediately after, mumbling something about a password. Wide-eyed, the girl looked back to Raz inquisitively, as if to ask if he had the slightest idea what this was about. She only assumed it had something to do with the mysterious poet who slipped away through a hidden door, but she couldn't recall him speaking any password. If fact, he seemed to have opened the passageway all on his own. She remained silent, daring not to intervene as she hoped Raz would be able to handle the situation.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz looked to the voice, leaning over to the wall and looking into the hole in the wall to meet eyes with the gray eyes peering through. Raz narrowed his eyes and then looked back to Aster. "There's only one word the poet spoke before disappearing." Raz turned back to the hole in the wall and said, "Fools." The gray eyes blinked in response, and grunted, but the wall didn't move, or begin to open. "Dat's not da password." Raz frowned and the gray eyes blinked. Raz narrowed his eyes and the gray eyes narrowed in return. "If ya know da password. Ya know it changes ev'ry 'our. Dat was last hour. Gimme the right password."

[Aster 0]

As Raz appeared to figure out the password, she waited eagerly for the door to open. When it didn't, Raz frowned, she frowned, and the man with the heavy accent behind the wall corrected him. Aster immediately grew nervous, "It changed already...?" She spoke under her breath, and her eyes traced the ground as she appeared to be wracking her brain for some sort of clue. "I... I don't know!" She admitted in a whisper, looking back to Raz. She couldn't think of any hints, nothing the old poet did or said that would give away any kind of changing password. She hadn't even been close enough to catch the words of his performance at the time. She bit down on her lip, "I don't want to say the wrong thing..." She brought a hand up to ruffle her bangs as she pressed a palm to her forehead, trying her hardest to think.

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz looked over to the girl who was frantically trying to think of what would get them through the wall. Raz waved a hand at her and said, "Calm! Calm!" But when Raz looked back over, the brick had been replaced and the eyes were gone. Raz stared at the wall incredulously for a moment, a bit in disbelief that the person who worked the wall was gone so quickly. Or at all. Raz frowned and tapped on the wall, hoping that the man with the gray eyes would come back, but it appears that they weren't fast enough to give the password. Their hesitation, and wrong answer, appeared to have cost them. Raz gave a grunt and kicked the wall in frustration. "Well, so much for that idea. We were so close!"

[Aster 0]

Aster hesitated, also shocked that the mystery man had vanished. They didn't seem to have much patience, but she couldn't say it didn't make sense. If it was a thieves' guild they were talking about, security was surely their highest priority. The girl bit her lip again, bringing her hand down to rest over her mouth in heavy thought. She exhaled deeply through her nose, shaking her head with a disappointed look. "Not the slightest clue..." She mumbled, annoyed that she wasn't able to solve the riddle. Despite the riddle being more of a pre-determined password, the encounter still irked her.

Seeing that the man behind the wall wasn't going to be coming back for a second chance, she crossed her arms, feeling at a loss. "Now what? If he was your only lead..." She tried again to wrack her brain, thinking more of the layout of the city. She hadn't frequented the back alleys, and certainly wasn't aware of any secret walls or passageways. She was most familiar with the shopping districts, and those were actually a ways east of here...

[Razum-dar 0]

Raz watched the girl's reaction for a bit, weighing their options. "The only other option is to wait for the poet to come back out again. But that could take ages. Thieves don't let themselves make the same mistake twice, and he was almost caught. He'd wait until either I was forced to move on or forgot about him entirely and then make his move. Or use another thief in his place. There are many ways this could go." But then, before Raz could get any further into that thought, he heard the brick sliding out of place again, and turned to see a pair of emerald green eyes in place of the gray ones previous, as he heard the voice say, "Oy. Wot's da password?" Raz looked to Aster a bit uncertainly, "Do they... do they work in shifts maybe?"

Edited April 24, 2016 by Razum-dar