[Others can feel free to recount their tales in this thread as well, but it is meant to tell the whole experience. Not just the time of getting robbed. This will give those who weren't around a good look into what was happening. We can chronicle this event.]
The Robbery__________
Zandral~::...After carousing at the tavern for a long time and running into Izzabella and Orgonwukh, it was time for bed. Even if everyone else lost sleep because of the stupid Night Rogue thing, I sure wasn't. I headed upstairs to get some much deserved sleep. Wouldn't you know it, after I get to sleep good, someone goes yelling and causing a ruckus because they had been robbed... As if it had never happened in THIS city before.
I went back to sleep but ended up waking up earlier than I had expected. When I went downstairs it was still night. I crankily went back up stairs, laid back down, and went to sleep. Had I not been half crazy with sleep deprivation, I would have closed the door like a sane person... but I digress....
He came while I was sleeping. He slide a knife up to my throat and said, "Good morning miss. Don't say a word." I woke with a jump as I was sleeping deeply at the time. He made it clear I wasn't to try calling out or making a scene.
Curiously enough, at that moment someone had cried out from somewhere about being robbed. I knew there was supposed to be one rogue, but apparently, there were two since the one with me couldn't have been the one to rob the other person. He must have had friends and he somewhat confirmed it. Either way he wanted to know where my tria were. I told him "Under the bed."
I didn't expect the rogue to come into the tavern, since it was usually full of people, but I did take some precautions nevertheless. I had hid the tria under the bed early so that in the event that someone came for it, they would have to practically crawl under the bed to get it, and I would have time to react. The rogue was either too dumb or too smart for that to work.
He looked under the bed but kept the blade to my throat. I waited and eventually he became distracted enough for me to do something. I sniffed a bit and caught the scent of campfire. For those wondering why I sniffed instead of running instantly, I couldn't identify by sight however when you catch someone's scent you can identify them by that—especially races with duller senses since they often forget to mask their scent.
Didn't get much that way but it was worth a shot. I ran for the door in an attempt to at least get away with my life, but he cut me off before I got to the door. Going back to my earlier comment of him either being too dumb or too smart, he told me he couldn't find the tria and made me get it.
Getting irritated I told him he didn't look hard enough and that I don't make it easy to steal my money. All he had to say was "Good for you."
I approached the bed with my mind racing. My chances of getting out with my money were rapidly disappearing and I was running out of ideas. As I got to the bed, I saw the candle behind it and got a new idea. I picked up the candle and smiled while saying "Did you ever think of getting light to see under there?" I said this only as a pretense for grabbing the candle.
I bent down under the bed and got the tria sack out and stood there waiting for him to approach me. For once, he played into my hand, but unfortunately, it still didn't go the way I had planned. As he approached, I tried pushing the candle in his face hoping to burn or blind him. Honestly, both would have been good for me.
Although I didn't succeed in deterring him, I did get a closer look at him and realized that it was in fact a him. Just to look for the first time, you can't tell gender, race, true height, or anything.
Fortunately for me, he wasn't interested in killing me, but I think it was more a matter of morning coming and him being out of time. He said, "Surrender the bag love and I will be on my way, I have killed enough this night."
Now, I might have been crazy or delirious the reason I took a chance in being honest with the rogue, but I did it nonetheless. I told him "And I don't come by tria easy these days.... it'll do me as much good as you." I wasn't trying to lose my tria to the likes of him.
He seemed to disagree though that I needed my tria more. The nerve! "How you make your money is immaterial to me" is all he had to say on the matter. He put one of the daggers away, held out his hand, and insisted he needed to go.
I realized that he wasn't being smug but honest about needing to go. I saw an opportunity. I may not have had him over the barrel but so help me he didn't have me over one either. I figured if nothing else, I could waste his time and stall him. Maybe he would leave without my tria.
Of course, I turned on the charm... well as much as can be mustered under the circumstances and said, "How about a deal? I give you half and this never comes up again?" Now mind you, I wanted far more than half of MY tria, but I needed him to at least consider the offer.
He was winding up to turn down the offer; he said, "Are you crazy madam? The guards seek me right now. I need to get all I can." I was thinking at that moment that he should work for then like everyone else did (in one way or another) but I kept that to myself.
Knowing that I was losing my chance, I egged him on. "Yes, but a lead in the wrong direction would buy you time at least... Come now... I'm sure we can come to a mutually agreeable deal." Sure, I would have to something a little unscrupulous if I had to come through on my part of the deal, but it wouldn't have been anything big. Nothing at all if help ever came.
Funnily enough, he was going to turn down the offer and then started thinking about it. What a novel idea... He said "Please don't trifle with me, I have places to be . . .hmm. . .you raise a good point . . ."
He accepted the deal. "Alright, you have a deal, half and you tell them I smelled of the sewers. Sound fair?" he proposed. It was a minor price to pay for MY tria so I agreed. I poured out some of the tria on the table and handed over the rest. He took the tria and left out the door.
He said "A pleasure doing business with you love." and I just smiled at him. I had every intention of telling the guards about the sewer since it was minor and I had no idea if the rogue would hold me to it. BUT, I also had every intention of running into him again and finding out more about him.
I wanted to be the one to give the guards the information on who he was. I wanted to be the one to see him brought in before the guards. I wanted to be the one standing right in front of him at the gallows. I wanted to be there to whisper in his ear "Nobody puts a dagger to my neck and gets away with it..." moments before he did a wonderful imitation of meat hanging from a hook...
Sadly... this was not meant to be.
Gathering Intel_______________
Zandral~::...After being robbed, I decided it was long past due for me to start reading up on this rogue. I first went to the reports that were outside of Kada El's. If anything the first had accounts should give me some clue as to what is going on.
After reading the whole thing, I was convinced of some things. One, there was in fact more that one robber. Two, the other robber was a wizard of some sort. And three, he was very powerful... Only someone who was very powerful could sucessfully pull off a robbery in a group of people.
One report all spoke of one of the robbers looking like necromancer... That got me thinking, wasn't there some talk some time ago about necromancers and the like. As it so happens, that was my next point of inquiry.
I thought about asking the people at large about the matter, but decided that descretion was the better tact. More importantly I could simply ask allelia and get all the different versions of any story in one place. There is something to be said for saving time.
After talking with Allelia, I found that there was quite a bit about necromancers some time ago. Word was that some got release by some well meaning citizens. Another story painting some trying to gain back two brothers... And other was a probably drunken tale. Once you start mixing undead clackers, stealing alcohol, and grand battles involving thousands of undead creatures you should start to consider the source of the story...
Aside from that I, couldn't find anything else of any interest. It seemed I would just have to wait until the rogue turned up again.
Illysia~::...I didn't pay much attention to the Night Rogue hoopla in the beginning since I rarely had troubles with the rogues in the city. When I first came across his handy work, I didn't realize it was connected.
I was walking through Hydlaa, bored out of my mind, and out of inspiration for my poems. I went to the plaza looking for that illusive inspiration and found Orgonwukh standing around with a rather large gash on his neck.
I offered to heal the wound or clean it up if healing didn't work. I've come across enough wounds that don't heal by magic to know to expect it. This was one of those wounds. He seemed content to wait for his girlfriend to stitch it up. The though of sewing someone up made me queasy so I was more than happy to leave the matter to her. Out of that entire little encounter, the strength with which Orgonwukh was hit stayed with me.
Not long after that, a fenki was murdered behind me. Later another was killed. It wasn't the doing of the Night Rogue but I was starting to get the feeling that something very wrong was going on in the city. The Octarchal Crackdown was very necessary.
Later on—several days later in fact—I was sitting around in the tavern talking when the guards came in. One of the people I was talking with was a cub and when then guards came in, his comment almost made me laugh at the guards in front of the guards. He said, "Mister shiny pants over there seems to be looking for something. Who is he?" I did laugh, I admit. No offense to Major Aaxithyzle but it was a hilarious thought at the time... "Mister shiney pants..." It's still funny actually...
Anyway, I told the cub it was a guard and we watched to see what they wanted. Major Aaxithyzle asked, "Please if you have anything to report about the killer?" I felt bad as I had nothing to say on the matter. Maybe if my own sister had told me she had been robbed I would have had something to tell them... Oh well.
My two companions told what they knew, and I said what I could on the matter based on observations. The good Major took down everything we said and our names. After the guards left, the conversation went on as it had been before. But later the urge to either learn more or put an end to this madness grew.
Several more days later, I walked into the tavern to see my friend Gwinn Frawd and Orgonwukh standing at the bar. After the pleasantries, Gwinn tells me that she had just spoken to my sister, who had been robbed. How would you like that? You have to learn about what happened to your own family member secondhand.
We talked about the prior robberies and current information... It was then that I started plotting to find the camp. Every operation needs a base and supplies. I figured that finding the base of operations and disrupting the supplies might buy citizens a much needed advantage as he, the rogue, would be set back.
That day, I set out to look into a secluded little room in the Bronze Doors region to see if that might be a base. When I got there, I found it just as empty as always but pitch black, which was unusual. I ran before the other rogues in the area could get me but found I had mistimed my little trip. I got back in Hydlaa just after nightfall, but nothing happened.
Several days later, I again decided to attempt to find the base. I was well on my way before I remembered that no one would know where I was going. If I died no one would know to send others. So, I decided to head back to the tavern and tell Allelia. If nothing else the whole city would know after awhile.
I tried to get into the tavern but some trouble makers outside started casting fire spells and near about burned down the tavern just because they were bored. It took a long time for the guards to get around to responding to them, but they came eventually. Unfortunately for me, that had postponed my trip to too late in the day. I had to put it off until another day.
Next I heard of the Night Rouge, it was my friend Gwinn that had been attacked. She had been badly hurt and all because she was out late looking for her lost familiar. At this point, I was determined to find the camp and get some answers of some sort, but no one wanted to support me. I decided then to go on my own.
As I went, I was contemplating possible defenses against the rogue. I figured light must have been a weakness for him, so I needed lots of light. I contemplated the need to learn Healing Flash for that reason. This trip did nothing, as all I found was that I am clumsy as ever and falling produces broken limbs. After healing my leg, I returned to Hydlaa a bit defeated.
As I returned, night fell and as I came into the plaza, who should see but the guards and the night rogue...
Working with the Guards__________________________
Illysia~::...After getting into the city and watching the commotion with the Night Rogue, I was a bit tired of the whole concept. The Rogue got away as usual and the guards were walking off. I caught one, Sir Viloran, as he was turning and told him I had an idea. He told me we would speak in private and I was taken to the barracks to discuss the matter.
Sir Viloran invited me to have a seat and I did. He asked what my idea was and I told him. "After my sister was robbed, I stopped to read reports and I noticed a common theme. The rogue avoids light and it may hurt them. Torches aren't enough, what if a magical light source was used and mirrors used to amplify it. I don't think the rogue will expect mirrors to be of any threat."
I was hoping he would have picked up on what I was getting at but all he said was "Mirrors? And you think people with mirrors will stop him?" It was all I could do to keep from groaning... He wasn't following me but he was still a guard. So, instead of getting angry I tried to patiently explain what I meant.
I said, "The mirrors will amplify the light to a greater level. If you can stop him in his tracks, you stand a greater chance of catching him. Other wise he will disappear." I was hoping to remind the guard of the lack of keeping the rogue in one spot. Without that, any idea I had would have been just as affective as their other measures... but in all fairness, what they did do worked.
I continued my explanation a little longer and then he said to me "That it wasn't anything new." I was more than a little angry since I had had a very long day and night and it was starting to catch up with me. I was almost about to just get up and leave.
At that moment, he asked if I really wanted to help. I said I did. After all, that is what I was sitting in front of him for. He swore me to secrecy, and then told me of the guards providing decoys. He gave me 10 tria and told me it was important to give it to the Rogue.
Honestly, I looked at the measly tria and didn't think the rogue would take it. Who would go through all that trouble just for 10 tria? I told him that I hoped the tria were special because the rogue would have be mad I was sure to get so little.
Sir Viloran told me I could supplement at my own cost if I wanted and so I did. After I left the guards, I rested and prepared to play my part.
On the night I set out to set up the rogue, I left my valuables behind but still took plenty of things behind, as it is my custom. I sat in many places hoping the rogue would come, so I could be done with the matter and get some sleep.
After awhile of nothing, I recalled an account of someone being robbed behind the temple. Goodness knows there is a shadow back there at all times and with morning approaching I needed it. Once back there, I pretended to be working on my poetry and not waiting for the rogue. Fortunately, I could see well enough in the near absolute dark.
The Robbery____________
Illysia~::...As I looked at the page, I felt the blade slide under my neck. I sniffed the air and ended up sneezing. Sometimes the smell of smoke and fire makes me sneeze. He didn't waste time on pleasantries or smart remarks; he only said, "I will be taking your tria if you don't mind."
I admit, I was a little insulted. "If I don't MIND..." Bad enough he was stealing from me but using mock politeness was adding insult to injury. "I really wanted to say something smart, but since I had a goal to accomplish I let it go. I left it at "I do but I don't seem to have much of a choice..."
He dug the blade's edge deeper into my fur and said, "No, I should say not love." I slowly pulled out my tria sack so as not to seem too willing and gave it to him. It wasn't fast enough for his tastes so he started fussing at me.
I refused to just give up my tria without anything else, but I had a mission to report on and dying would get in the way. I was torn, so I said the most benign but meaningful thing to me that I could get away with. "Maybe I should write about you in my next poem." I was thinking of the poem I wrote of a Diaboli that I normally find rather irritating. I may not have been able to do anything at knife point but I can be as mean as I want in writing later.
At this point, he attempted to leave... It was rather pitiful at first. The staff fizzled of all things. He himself started coughing up blood. I took one look at the staff and said, "Take it to Levrus..." My patience with the matter was growing rapidly thinner. He sarcastically replied, "Oh, excuse me terribly." and banged the staff on the ground.
I couldn't hold off anymore I really had to comment on the latest turn of events. I said, "You know, maybe you should lay off on the robbing.... until you are well." and sneered. He was then able to leave. After that, I started shouting for the guards so I could make my report and get some rest.
Later on that night, I was resting quite soundly in my bed when I heard a knock at my door and my name being called. The maid even came in and woke me up to boot... No ignoring it... I quickly put on a robe and went to the door. Dr. Forita, I believe his name is, was at my door.
The queen wanted to hunt down the rogue... I groaned on the inside for several reasons. The most prominent being that the rogue wasn't going to like and neither were the guards. I offered to take them to the guards so they could help out in an acceptable way.
After getting dressed and heading for the Barracks, I find all the guards are busy. I was already tense about being out at night and then the trip was for nothing. As we turned to head back for home, who should we see but the Rogue himself... As the Doctor and the Queen wouldn't have known what he looked like, I called them back.
I expected to head for home but the Queen, being the adventurous sort that she is, made for the plaza to find the guards. I knew better, the rogue wouldn't stay near the library and wait for the guards to come. I had just hoped that the Queen didn't get killed in her fervor.
After much yelling and shouting for the guards, the nature of the shouts changed. The rogue himself had appeared. Fortunately for the lot of us, the guards did show up not far behind him. But the rogue took a hostage.
The Capture___________
Zandral~::...With all the shouting going on, I couldn't help but get up and investigate. I went downstairs and headed for the plaza cautiously, I figured I didn't have to worry about the rogue as it sounded as if he was occupied. I stayed in the shadows to go unnoticed, in case there were others to worry about, and slowly approached the edge of the buildings on the edge of the plaza.
I stayed in the shadows and watched as a very large crowd formed at the fountain and who of all people should be standing on Laanx's head but the Rogue. I watched as the guards and the rogue traded spells. It was quite the light show... Nevertheless, the guards were losing for some reason... It was at least two to one but they were losing. I think one even fell, probably died.
After awhile the rogue on Laanx's head started calling for other rogues. I remember the accounts of the rogue invasion of Oja and knew rogues could just start pouring out of nowhere at any moment. So, I did the prudent thing and made my way out of harms way. As in far, far away from the plaza.
Illysia~::...I followed the Queen around trying to keep the torch light on her just in case but with her moving around it was rather difficult. As the guards made their way to the fountain, the rogue floated himself to the top of the statue, right on top of Laanx’s head.
The guards surrounded the rogue and called for his surrender while telling the people gathered to stay back. They did, however, ask for people to help by healing the guards. Many stepped up to help, even I who had to get very close to do the healing.
Her Highness prayed to Talad to aid the guards, and all the while, the peoples were healing the guards. Sir Viloran rallied guards and concerted their effort to take down the rogue. Although the guards were hitting him hard, not only did he remain standing he remained defiant as well.
As the bolts flew from the staffs of the guards, the rogue grew weaker. He was coughing up blood and his clothing was shredded and raggedy… But still he remained defiant. As he started to lose, he called upon his last trick. His allies.
I do not know who these allies are and where they were most of the time. All I know is that there was much commotion and confusion. I’m sure more rogues took out bystanders than the other way around. Eventually though, they were run off. With his last hope gone, the rouge surrendered…
As the rouge was taken away to be locked up, some bayed for his blood, some screamed for justice, others pleaded for mercy, and still others were indifferent. Either way, it was over. The Night Rogue was caught.
