Private Tales For Great Justice

[The Magnificent Hawk]

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Alliria
The Outer City
Dusk
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It was almost nightfall when Clayton had wrapped up business for the day. The business man was of the mind that small local businesses should be given just as much a chance of flourishing as the bigger and more established brands that dominated the market these days. He was no fool when it came to investing, however, even if he was a little more than generous on occasion. Today was one such occasion. A young merchant approached him with a rather unique offering. Magic crystals that could absorb sound frequencies and replay them in an audible format. It was hard to believe, but the young merchant was eager to demonstrate this new product he had to offer. "It would revolutionize music and give talented bards the recognition they so deserve!" the merchant declared proudly.

Clayton was excited to see how this could work. The merchant explained that they worked best when used in a small, well-insulated booth that eliminated exterior noise so as to record only what the bard was playing and nothing else. "I used to use the outhouse at home," the merchant explained sheepishly. "But the insulation was rather poor so it was difficult to isolate the sounds I wanted. However, I bought a new shed which has been considerably more efficient!"

The merchant had brought Clayton around to show him his shed. On closing themselves inside, Clayton was surprised to hear that almost all outside noise was eliminated. "Obviously if there was a commotion outside, that noise would spill in," the merchant admitted. "I find that in the late hours of the night I get the best sound, but I'll give you a demonstration now anyway."

The merchant produced a fist-sized crystal and placed it on a pedestal in the middle of the shed. "You get the best acoustics when the crystal is positioned dead center of the booth," he explained as he picked up a violin. He placed a finger to his slips, gesturing for Clayton to remain silent, before touching the crystal and murmuring a soft incantation. The crystal lit up and the merchant started playing the violin; a popular folk tune that Clayton had heard in pubs throughout town. When he stopped playing, he touched the crystal once more and muttered another incantation. "Now, all you have to do is hold the crystal in the palm of your hand and breathe on it," he said.

Clayton did as instructed and was surprised to hear a close-to-life imitation of what the merchant had just played. The sound was somewhat tinny compared to the genuine thing, but it was still incredible to hear. "This is amazing!" Clayton gasped.

The merchant beamed. "I know, right?" he said with a grin. "I'm hoping to one day be able to use much smaller crystals, for extra portability, but for now this is the best I can do. I would like to record the most talented bards on these crystals so that I can sell them to the general public. Imagine being able to listen to such music in the comfort of your own home, without having to go to the pub all the time! The bards would get their fair share of the profits, of course, but if we partner up we could provide musical entertainment to every household in Arillia!"

Clayton needed no further persuading and immediately fronted the merchant enough money to purchase a more suitable recording environment and the materials to produce larger quantities of these crystals. A contract was drawn up for the conditions of their partnership, signed and sealed by the end of the day. It was a lucrative opportunity to gain better footing in the market by producing something that no other business had even thought of yet. "Make sure you tell no one of this until we secure a good head start," Clayton said.

"Promise," the merchant replied. And that was that, for now.

Clayton was still reliving those moment in his mind as he stepped into his home when he heard the smashing of glass and someone yelling. "Thieves! Stop!"

Clayton narrowed his eyes in the direction the commotion was coming from. It sounded like it was from the jewelers. "Sounds like it's time for The Magnificent Furious Hawk to dish out some justice!" he murmured to himself.

He quickly darted into his house, shutting and locking the door behind him. Running up the stairs while undressing himself, he entered his bedroom to change into his Hawkgear. Stopping for a moment to briefly admire himself in the mirror, he exited his room via the rooftop window he had installed in the property and leaped across the rooftops towards where the shouting was coming from. Leaping down from the rooftop and landing perfectly on one knee, he looked up to address the man who had cried for help. "What is the trouble, good sir?" he asked in a deep and powerful voice.

The man was taken aback by this odd display. "S-Some thieves broke into my shop and made off with hundreds of crowns worth of jewelry!" he uttered, pointing down the road.

"I'll find them," said The Magnificent Furious Hawk, standing up and striking a dramatic pose, one hand pointing in the air. "I'll see that they are apprehended... for Great Justice!"

He reached beneath his cape for his grappling hook, swung it around and launched it into the air, latching the hook onto the top of a nearby building and swung himself off in the direction the jeweler was pointing.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

The soft sounds of a violin being played filled the Outer City courtyard, the pleased murmurings of a gathering crowd and faint splashes of water from a fountain being its main companion. A masked figure was stood upon the fountain's rim, her feet dancing across the stone as he fingers grasped the violin and bow, wielding it to great effect. A rapier hung at her hip, ornately made and proudly displayed. The music continued to play, illusions of starlight and birds beginning to flow out as the performance hit its stride.

The crash of glass shattering and hitting the stone pavement brought the performance to an abrupt end. A dove taking off to soar from the violin immediately evaporated as the music faded, the bard turning to see the source of the noise. A jeweler's store's door hung wide open, shards of glass glinting in the moonlight leading out of the business and into the street. A closer look led Kalianna to see a few figures darting off, the presumed thieves.

Kalianna stood still for a moment, seemingly debating whether she should give chase. Suddenly, she leaped off of the fountain and into the gathering crowd. "I'm afraid I'll be cutting this performance short!" She called out to the crowd, escaping onto the street as she stowed her violin on her back. Skidding to a stop beside the jeweler as he stepped out of the store, she said: "Don't worry, I'll get back what they stole." Before he could answer, she took off once more after the thieves.

As she ran, she could have sworn she heard something fly past her. A quick turn of her head confirmed this, as what seemed to be... a man shaped hawk zoared past her on a grappling hawk. She blinked a few times, flashbacks to the many harpies that she's been attacked by surging back to her memory, before the relief set in that it was just a costumed man. Still strange, but she was wearing a mask as well, to be fair. "Hey!" She called out after him as she continued to run, "Who are you?"

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk was once more leaping from rooftop to rooftop, using his trusty grapple hook to swing across the wider gaps he couldn't quite reach. He glimpsed someone below as he zipped in the direction the jewel thieves were making off. "Hey!" he heard the person call out.

He stopped near the roof's edge and glanced back to see that the person was heading in the same direction. "Who are you?" the stranger asked.

On closer inspection he saw it was a lady wearing a mask. "Another masked crime fighter, perhaps?" he thought. He preferred to work alone, but on this occasion he was open to the idea of a team-up. The lady did look rather attractive, after all. Slender, with shoulder-length jet black hair, armed with a rapier and toting a musical instrument on her back suggesting she was both a fighter and musician. He made a mental note of the latter, eager to see if the budding music producer he struck a deal with earlier might know of this enigmatic lady and see if they could record some of her music. Realising he was staring at her a bit too long and hoping his mask hid the fact that he was in fact ogling her, he promptly cleared his throat and assumed his best heroic pose, positioning his arms in such a way that best complimented his bulging biceps. "I am The Magnificent Furious Hawk!" he said in his hero voice. "Fighter of crime and keeper of the peace! But you can call me Hawk, madame! And who might you be?"

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna raised a hidden eyebrow from behind her mask, first at the prolonged period of silence, during which she was fairly confident he was ogling her, and once more at the name he gave her. The Magnificent Furious Hawk didn't ring a bell, although she supposed so long as he being truthful about fighting crime and keeping peace, it didn't matter how unusual of a a name it was. "Hawk, got it. Nice costume," she said in response, slowing her pace to look up at the vigilante as she gestured over his apparel.

"The Masked Bard is fine." Kalianna gave a dramatic bow, one hand to her chest as the other lifted up towards the sky. Her mask slowly turned back towards the street in the direction of the runaway thieves. "Now," she began, righting herself, "I do believe there's some thieves on the run just over there. Care to help?" Her hand drifted over to the rapier at her belt, and her posture was such that she was ready to give chase once more, her gaze returning to Hawk to hear his reply beforehand.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk smiled confidently and returned the bow. "Well met, Masked Bard!" he said in reply to the lady's introduction, leaping down from the rooftop and once more landing beside her and directing his gaze in the same direction she was looking. On being asked to help track the thieves, The Hawk glanced sideways at the Masked Bard. "Of course," he replied, another smile spreading across his features as he pointed dramatically in the direction the thieves were headed. "Let's bring those thieves to justice!"

He set off at a sprint, his cape trailing behind him. Glancing to see if the Masked Bard was with him, he didn't notice the rubbish bin that someone had left out on the pavement. "Ugh!" he gasped, stumbling over and sending trash sprawling across the street. "Blast it." With gritted teeth, he got back to his feet. He hesitated a moment, thinking the right thing to do would be to tidy up the mess he had made but then deciding that chasing the thieves was obviously far more important.

"Apologies, Masked Bard," he said, brushing himself off and re-adjusting his helmet. "I am more accustomed to traversing the rooftops. Usually there are less obstacles."

He set off once more, this time being more mindful of the road ahead. "Let's go!" he declared.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna tried to stifle the light chuckle that arose from Hawk stumbling over the bin, managing to overtake him. "I'd imagine so," she commented back, slowing down her pace to ensure Hawk was coming once more, before speeding up. Her movements were graceful, dancer-like in a way that wasn't particularly surprising considering her profession, as she weaved between various misplaced bins and litter.

"Do you know what exactly was stolen from the store?" She asked, learning from his prior mistake and deciding to keep her eyes on the path ahead. "I'd imagine jewelry, but was there anything in particular they might have been trying to steal?" Her hand moved over to her pocket, slipping in to feel the Twin Dragon Coin and ensure it was still there. It would certainly come in handy in case the thieves prove to be slicker than anticipated and manage to escape.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk felt a thrill of excitement as he and The Masked Bard were running side by side down the street. Two masked crime fighters teaming up to apprehend the petty thieves who stole from the jeweler. "The thieves made off with hundreds of crowns worth of that merchant's jewelry," he explained when Masked Bard asked him what had been stolen. "I believe there is more to this then petty theft, however. If my hunch is correct, then this could be the work of a syndicate. I have only recently been operating in this area, but the last few thieves I have dealt with were branded with the same tattoo, and they are a cut above common thieves."

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Meanwhile,
at the Eastern Gate
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A horse and carriage, along with a ragtag group of thugs, six in total, were waiting impatiently. The guards were knocked out and tied up, and it would be a few hours before their relief would show up. "They should be here by now," said one of the thugs, a weaselly-looking human male armed with a pair of daggers.

"Relax," said another, a brutish looking half orc female. "This was an easy enough heist for them, and we have plenty of time before more guards turn up."

The group's leader, a female elf known only as Dirge, looked up as another group arrived. "Did you get the goods?" she asked.

"It was a good haul," said the other group's ring leader, grinning as he shook one of many sacks the group was carrying. "I'd say we'd get a good few hundred crowns for all this, maybe even more than a thousand."

Dirge smiled. "Excellent," she said. "The Boss will be pleased. Load it up into the wagon."

The thieves did as they were told and started to load the sacks onto the wagon. Suddenly, a voice from above, one of the criminals who was acting as lookout, called out. "Uh guys," he said, gesturing down the road. "There's a couple of people running in our direction."

Dirge narrowed her eyes in the direction the lookout had pointed. Sure enough, two individuals were running their way. The elf's keen vision allowed her to discern a man clad in a rather garish cape and cowl running alongside a masked female. "Could be trouble," she said to the others. "Take care of it."

The gang of criminals got their weapons at the ready.

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The Hawk gasped when he saw the gang of thieves ahead. A couple were still loading the heavy sacks of stolen goods onto a wagon, while another eight were preparing to confront the crime fighting duo. "Prepare yourself, Masked Bard!" he said to his companion before yelling at the thieves. "Stop right there, criminal scum!"

A crossbow bolt was loosed towards him in reply, which he managed to narrowly avoid by swiftly tilting his head to the side. The bolt grazed the skin of his cheek. Unfazed, he leaped into the air, latching his grappling hook onto a nearby rooftop and swinging himself up to gain more height. The moon just happened to be positioned perfectly in the night sky for him to be able to cast a dramatic silhouette as he prepared one of his trademark special moves. "Maaagnificent Kick!" he shouted in a deep and booming voice, sparks of electricity dancing around his outstretched leg as he delivered a flying kick straight to the sternum of the crossbow-wielding lookout on the roof.

The lookout gasped loudly before yelling as the force of the kick sent him flailing from the rooftop. The Hawk swiftly turned to better survey the scene from his new vantage point. The thieves who were loading the cart had stopped what they were doing in order to grab their weapons and join the fray. "I am The Magnificent Furious Hawk!" The Hawk declared proudly, striking a proud pose. "Scourge of injustice and defender of the innocent, I, along with my partner, The Masked Bard, will bring you scumbags to justice!"

 

[Kalianna Romane]

"A syndicate?" Kalianna repeated, nodding in understanding. "They do love their matching tattoos," she remarked.

She fell into silence, however, as the group of thieves came into sight. Her eyes darted from each figure from behind the mask, counting them up in her mind. Immediately, it seemed the fight was on. A crossbow bolt narrowly missed Hawk, embedding itself in the stone road as the vigilante took to the skies to deal with the lookout with an opportune kick.

The bard slowed her pace to a steady walk towards the group of thieves, eyeing the dagger-wielding weasely human. Utilizing a few auditory illusions, she asked in an almost ethereal, echoing voice "May I have this dance?" She bowed, and as she did so, another form appeared. An exact copy of Kalianna bowed with her, the illusion stepping to the side shortly after. Both unsheathed their rapiers, the movements mirrored and coordinated.

The thief took a step forward, brandishing both weapons. His eyes darted from Kalianna to her copy, switching to and fro in an attempt to identify the real one. "I'm not afraid of some violinist who wants to play hero, alone or not," he said defiantly, holding the daggers up. Suddenly, one of the bards surged forward, rapier pointed towards the thief with intent to strike. The man tried to parry with one of his blades, but as the weapons were about the make contact, the dagger flew through the illusion uninterrupted. "Wha-"

Distracted by the illusionary bard, the man fell victim to a swift sweep of the legs from the very much real Kalianna, landing on the ground with a grunt. Kali immediately twirled to point the rapier at the thief's neck, staring at him with the expressionless mask. He breathed heavily, his eyes trying to find the other bard, only to see thin air besides the one standing above him. "Wha- Who..."

The Masked Bard shifted her rapier to point at the daggers still held tightly in his hands, as she said, "I'd advise dropping those." He swiftly nodded his head, his eyes still focused squarely on the rapier that was being pointed at him. The clatter of metal against the street as he let go of the daggers sounded throughout the street. Kalianna kicked a dagger away, out of reach of the thief and any of his compatriots, and picked the other one off of the ground. Pointing the dagger at the other thieves, another two illusions stepped out from her. At once, her voice came from all three: "Anyone else care to join him on the ground?"

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

While the Hawk effectively took out the crossbow-wielding sharpshooter, the Masked Bard showed immense fighting prowess of her own. From what the Hawk could see, it seemed like the lady had some rather effective illusion power which she employed to give her an edge in battle. "Impressive, Masked Bard!" he called out to compliment the musician.

Eager to be back in the fray, he leaped down to where three of the criminals had grouped together. He landed on the one in the middle, the brutish orc woman, knees planted firmly on her chest as she buckled slightly from his fight. Raising his fist, he delivered three heavy blows to her face in rapid succession. The first merely dazed her, the second seemed to cause more pain and then on the third there was an audible 'Crack!' as her nose flattened from the impact. Pushing back off the orc with his legs, he sent her stumbling backwards. The other two thieves closed in on him, swinging wildly with their swords. The Hawk crouched and twirled around, allowing his cape to billow out as a brief form of distraction while he reached to each side of his waist and produced a pair of throwing knives from his utility belt.

Not wanting to kill the thieves, he aimed to incapacitate them. Throwing the blades swiftly and accurate towards both targets, he landed them in the foot of one of the thieves and in the knee of the other. They both crumpled to the floor, crying in agony and grasping their wounds.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the thieves, a female elf, had started to load the remaining sacks onto the wagon. "Stop!" he shouted, darting towards the elf, only to be slammed right in the gut by a gigantic club. He gasped in pain, feeling the air being knocked right out of his lungs as he was sent flying backwards from the impact. Managing to turn the momentum into a tumble, he skidded to a crouch near where Masked Bard was. Where three of them were, in fact, for she had used her powers to form more doppelgangers. He directed his gaze back to where his assailant had hit him from. It was the female orc, nose bleeding profusely but she seemed far too intent on killing him to do anything about it other than press her free palm against it to stem the flow a little. "You boke by gnose!" she snarled with a heavily muffled voice. "I'b gonga kill yagh!"

"Maybe you should surrender!" the Hawk retorted.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

"Nice work, Hawk," she complimented back as she watched him deftly incapacitate two of thieves, and leave one orcish lady with a broken nose, the voice coming from the three masked figures beside him. Her gaze drifted past the rather upset orc and towards the elf continuing to load the wagon in the midst of the fight. Unfortunately, it seemed she was in her way.

Kalianna twirled the dagger in her hand, the motion copied in unison by her doppelgangers. One of the Kali's began to run forward, the short knife held outwards to slash the orc along the way. The female orc grunted, "Donch think yough gonga get away!" The club sailed through the air, the illusion's abdomen quickly dispersing like mist before regathering. Quickly, another came rushing after her, sliding between the orc's legs as a club struck the ground a second after. The orc shook her head, dismayed at the miss, before turning her gaze upward in time to see one last of the bards darting towards her. Like a gymnast balancing on a beam, Kalianna raced up the lowered club, flipping over the orc and landing behind the brutish thief. As her feet touched the ground, she stabbed the orc in the back with the dagger, earning a yelp of pain.

She threw Hawk a thumbs up, turning around to handle the case of the female elf still stocking the wagon. As she turned, however, she saw the elf nowhere near the cart. Where had she gone? As the bard looked around to find the missing thief, she was quickly met with a swift and sudden kick to the face. Kalianna's hand flew to her mask, instantly checking to make sure it was still safely secured after the painful blow, stumbling a few steps back. Looking back to see the attacker, it was the elf standing before her, slinking back into a defensive stance. "What's a pretty bard like you doing out on the streets? Tavern kick you out?" She mocked, staring her down.

Kalianna let out a chuckle, readying the rapier. "I'm a lot more than just a pretty mask."

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk smirked as he saw The Masked Bard deal with the orc. He was immediately set upon by another three thugs, however. He looked annoyed as he was pressed back by the coordinated assault, ducking, weaving and using his armoured wrists to fend against the onslaught of sword and knife attacks that came his way. A split second opening in the trio's attack allowed the Hawk enough opportunity to counter with a quick palm strike to the chin of one of his attackers, sending them staggering back.

"Oi, help the boss!" he heard one of the other thugs cry out.

He glimpsed over to see another two thugs darting over to where the Masked Bard and the female elf were facing off. "Ugh!" he grunted, as the distraction resulted in him dropping his guard for the briefest moments, allowing one of his assailants to slice his upper arm with their knife. Fortunately the blade didn't cut deep, the fabric of his costume had offered minimal protection, but it still stung badly. He kicked at the knife wielding thug, knocking them back several paces while at the same time taking several steps back of his own. He gritted his teeth and brought a hand up to touch at his wound, gritting his teeth and seething. There was only a little blood, the wound far from being anything that would impede his ability to continue fighting. He spat on the ground and cracked his knuckles, as if only now he truly meant business. "Furious Punch!" he boomed as he threw a lightning-charged fist at the thug closest to him, striking them square in the chest and sending them hurtling back into a wall, where they cracked the back of their head and fell unconscious.

"Watch out, Masked Bard!" he called out, alerting her to the other two that were closing in on her.

He withdrew another two throwing knives, using one to parry the sword of one of his other assailants and shoving them back before throwing the other across to nail one of the two who were approaching the Masked Bard in the back of his shoulder. "Lightning Strike!" he said and, with a crack of thunder and blinding flash of light, he hurtled himself forward to the remaining two of his assailants, crashing through them with lightning speed and immense force.

The two were thrown off their feet from the impact and sent crashing to the floor, stunned and paralyzed. The Hawk swiftly darted to Masked Bard as a couple of the thugs that had been floored earlier in the fray had recovered enough to join the scuffle. Positioning himself back to back with the Masked Bard, the Hawk raised his fists, feet planted firmly shoulder-width apart, ready to meet the renewed assault from the thugs. Including their elf ring leader and, miraculously, in spite of the stab wound to her back and her broken nose, the orc, there were four thugs remaining. "Get them!" snarled the female elf.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna whipped her head around at the sound of the warning, spotting the two thugs coming for her. As they they did so, however, one fell to the ground as a knife revealed itself embedded in his back, no doubt from her partner. The new thug sliced down with his sword, meeting the blade of her dagger instead of skin. She pushed the sword away, thrusting the rapier into the thief's abdomen.

Placing her hand on his shoulder, she flipped over him, coming down with a swift slash behind the back. As she landed, she could see the ringleader come closer, along with the slowly recovering thieves. Glancing over at Hawk revealed him to be coming towards her, positioning himself back to back with the bard to defend against the wave of attackers. As the elf barked out her order, Kalliana remarked back, "Funny, I was going to say the same thing."

Kali tapped the ground with the point of her rapier, as mist suddenly billowed out from it, enveloping the duo in a white mist. It was illusionary, of course, but when it comes to obscuring vision, illusions did just fine. The mist began to spread outward, coming over the four thieves as well. The bard moved over to one of the thieves, a dark shape in the pale mist. Thickening the mist near her, she grasped the thug's head, pushing it down as she flipped over him. A surprised yelp rang out through the obscured street, followed by a quick thud as the bard sweeped his legs.

A voice came from an encroaching thief, trying to peer through the fog. "Hey, you alright, man?" He asked, only to be met by an elbow to the face. She circled him, creating a silhouette of herself to move to the other side of the thug in the most as well. The man whipped his head between the two shapes, trying to decide which was real and which was just a trick of the arcane. He pulled out two daggers, stabbing outwards towards the two figures.

Kalianna felt the cold sensation of metal brushing against her skin, followed by a stinging pain at the site. The thief turned towards her, realizing the illusion at play. Gritting her teeth, the bard slid under his legs, twirling back around to deliver a kick to his back. The thug was sent forward a few steps, dazed from the blow. Kali rushed forward, jumping up onto his back. Her weight and sudden impact caused him to fall to the ground, where a few punches to the face was added for good measure to ensure his unconsciousness.

Standing up, Kali looked around in the fog to try and pinpoint Hawk, in case he was in need of aid.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk met the renewed assault with steadfast calmness, confident in his ability and knowing they were on the verge of victory. Tonight, justice would prevail against the wicked, delivered by the hands, and sword, of The Magnificent Furious Hawk and The Masked Bard. The thugs seemed to know this as well, for their attacks seemed more desperate than anything. Their attacks had become far more predictable, easy for The Hawk to parry. As The Masked Bard created a billowing cloud of smoke, which engulfed the duo, it caused more aggravation for their assailants, who could no longer see the crime fighting team. The Hawk couldn't see so well either, but so he long as he knew The Masked Bard was behind him, he could freely attack whichever shadows came near him.

One such shadow was obviously the orc woman. The hulking shadow may have been intimidating to some, but The Hawk was eager to finally defeat this foe. Crouching down and feeling the air move erratically above him as the orc's club nearly took his head off, he looked up to see the orc's bloodied face through the gap she made in the smoke with her swing. He grinned wickedly as he charged his fist with lightning energy. "Furious Punch!" he declared, launching himself up at her and delivering the punch right to her face once more.

The orc flew backwards, crashing to the ground and The Hawk quickly followed, ready to attack again if needed but the orc had finally been rendered unconscious. "You were a worthy opponent!" he said with approval, standing triumphantly.

He turned to see if The Masked Bard had handled herself just as well, but his attention was immediately drawn by the crack of a whip and loud whinnying of horses, followed by wooden wheel trundling across the stone floor. "Blast!" he seethed through gritted teeth as he saw it was the thieves' wagon and, at the seat, the elf ring leader. She smirked and waved at them as the wagon exited through the gates and into the slums. "You're not getting away that easily!" the Hawk boomed, using his grappling hook to swing up onto the wall above the gate.

From his vantage point, he could see the wagon immediately veering to the east, presumably towards The Shallows, or even the docks. "Masked Bard," he called out, glancing back to the smoke to see if he could see his companion. The sounds of fighting had stopped, so he was confident that the bard had dealt with the remaining thugs. "The ring leader has slipped away with the wagon and is heading east!"

With that, he leaped down from the wall onto the roof of a house that was in a sorry state of disrepair. Fortunately, his footing remained secure and he was able to dart off in pursuit of the wagon. He found himself hating the gang's ring leader. Clearly there was no honour amongst thieves if the sneaky elf was happy to abandon her comrades in favour of riches.

----------------------------​

Dirge glanced back to see if she had, in fact, managed to get away. The smoke and confusion of the scuffle that had broken out had provided ample opportunity to retreat. Leaping onto the wagon, she whipped the horses and get them sprinting. She counted her lucky stars they had the gate open already. But those two masked... weirdos concerned her. Had Alliria attracted some new form of vigilantism? She guessed it was no surprise, considering the amount of crime that occurred and the lack of training these soft city guards had to deal with them. The Magnificent Furious Hawk and The Masked Bard. They made for an odd team, but they had come so close to thwarting the gang's heist.

"Uh-oh..." she murmured as she caught a glimpse of The Hawk coming after her in pursuit. Apparently her gang were unable to buy her that much time to get away. "Let them rot in prison then," she thought to herself, making a mental note to hire more competent help in the future. No doubt this Masked Bard would be following too. She didn't relish the thought of having to fight the two of them on her own tonight. She whipped her horses again to try and gain more speed. If only she could make it to the docks.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna's eyes widened as she heard Hawk, her head whipping through the mist to look at the runaway wagon. It looked like the ringleader didn't care much about her fellow thieves, leaving them to fight the duo while she ran off with their plundered riches. She waved her hand, the smoke being blown away as if by an invisible gust of wind, the illusion vanishing to reveal the unconscious bodies of their opponenets.

The Masked Bard sprinted after the cart, but even her nimble grace wasn't enough to catch up to the wagon's speed, especially with their head start. Kalianna extended a hand out, gesturing towards the retreating thief and horse. As she did so, one of the nearby trees shook and rattled, the leaves rustling loudly. A loud creaking sound emanated from the tree, as it slowly tilted over and crashed onto the road, sending the horse rearing in fright.

A slight smirk appeared behind the bard's mask as she began to run after once more. The ringleader might realize that the tree was merely an illusion, a trick of light and sound, but the horse would likely take a lot more convincing to move through the perceived barrier. It would buy her and Hawk some time to get there, and if she chose to abandon the horse and run, she'd be sacrificing most, if not all, of the goods in doing so. "Nowhere to run!" She called out.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk had managed to land on top of the wagon, having positioned his body in a more streamlined manner to catch up with it as he glided in from above. He glanced behind him, seeing Masked Bard sprinting in pursuit but slowly losing ground to the wagon. "End of the line," he said, reaching for his remaining two throwing knives.

The elf looked back at him, her eyes narrowed in a hateful glare. "You will regret messing with us, Hawk!" she spat vindictively as she pulled out a dagger of her own.

The Hawk's eyes widened as he suddenly saw a tree falling down in front of them. Coincidence? Or another of The Masked Bard's tricks? Whatever the case, it was enough to cause the horses to suddenly stop and rear up in panic. The Hawk was almost thrown forwards by the sudden stop, but planted a foot firmly in front of him to stop himself. The elf also managed to retain her balance, glancing at the tree in frustration.

"Nowhere to run!" the Masked Bard had called out.

"Hah, says you!" spat the elf, suddenly leaping onto the front-most horse and cutting it free of it's restraints. "I can see through your tricks now, you pest!"

She kicked the horses flanks and it shot off down the straight. "Stop!" the Hawk shouted futilely, throwing himself forwards and hurtling his grappling hook towards the elf. He missed by mere inches and found himself practically faceplanting the floor in comedic fashion as he landed unceremoniously on the ground. "Blast!" he seethed, listening to the elf howling in laughter as she made good her escape. "This won't be the last you'll see of me, Hawk and Masked Bard!" she taunted loudly.

Getting back to his feet and dusting himself off, the Hawk rubbed at his aching jaw while as he waited for the Masked Bard to catch up. "At least we got the jeweler's goods," he said to her. "We need to return these and make sure those guards back at the gate are okay. Are you okay, Masked Bard?"

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna shook her head as she saw the horse take off through the tree, the illusion dispersing like mist after a strong gust of wind. She got away. Luckily though, she couldn't take any of her ill-gotten goods with her during her escape. Seeing Hawk waiting for her, she caught up soon after, looking over the left behind wagon to ensure all was intact.

She nodded, hopping off the wagon as she confirmed it was all present. "Agreed, and make sure the thieves back there don't wake up in time to get away like she did. She can throw one hell of a kick, I have to admit," she responded, holding a hand up to her mask. At the site of where the kick had impacted, Hawk could see there was a slight crack present on it. "A few scrapes here and there, maybe a slight case of knifing too, but I'm alright. How about you?" Kalianna asked in return.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

"Good to hear you're okay," the Hawk said as he clambered onto the wagon and got the horses to turn it around to face the direction it had come from. "These bandits were indeed tough to beat."

He grinned and then poked at his ribs, wincing in pain slightly. "That orc woman especially hit me really good," he said sheepishly, aware that he was going to develop some severe bruising and be suffering some severe aches. For now, however, he was fine. "We can ride this wagon back to the gates, check in on the guards and tie up those other thugs so they can be taken to prison."

He gestured at the wagon with his thumb. "Fancy a ride?" he asked.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

"Sounds better than running all the way back there," she answered with a grin. Kalianna sat on the wagon, grabbing the reigns for the remaining horses as she waited for Hawk to get on as well. Once he did so, she turned the wagon around and started the horses back towards the gate.

"So," the bard began as they rode back, "how long have you been the Magnificent Furious Hawk?" She glanced over to Hawk in curiosity as she asked the question before turning her attention back towards the road.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk shuffled over to make more room for Masked Bard to take control of the reigns. The horses maintained a steady pace as they made their way back towards the gate. "How long have you been the Magnificent Furious Hawk?" Masked Bard had asked, breaking the silence between the two.

The Hawk stared off into the distance, recalling the first time he donned the cape and cowl. "About a year," he replied, dropping his 'hero voice' and speaking like his regular self. He pondered how much of his story he should be open about. "Between you and me, I was in over my depth the first time I put on this cape and cowl and I bit off more than I could chew on my first outing."

He let out an awkward laugh. "It was silly really," he continued. "I was out looking for trouble when I happened across a group of thugs assaulting some young man. It was an unfair fight and I couldn't stand by and watch them kicking the beast out of the lad, so I went to defend him. I got beaten up really badly too. After a few weeks in the hospital being treated for broken bones, followed by a couple of months of recovery, I got back to training a bit more seriously and eventually plucked up the courage to get back into action a little less than a month ago."

He glanced back at Masked Bard. "What about you?" he asked.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

Kalianna let out a small laugh, nodding as he told her his story. She noted the shift in his voice, going from the confident and heroic tone she had been used to from the vigilante to one that seemed more reminiscent of a regular person. "Nothing too silly about that. I'm sure that man is happy you defended him. Alliria could do with more people like that, being willing to help out the little guys regardless of what might happen to them."

When Hawk asked about her time as the Masked Bard, there was a brief silence as she tried to figure out her answer. "I'd say... A grand total of one hour." She laughed, explaining, "If I'm going to be honest, I'm much more of a standard musical bard than a masked vigilante. I was doing a performance, you see, when the jewelry store was broken into. When I saw that, I decided in the spur of the moment to chase after them. The, I met you, and the rest is history. Hour old history, but history nonetheless." She shrugged, a grin appearing behind her mask. "I have to say, though, it did feel nice to try and help, even if one got away that end."

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

Not that it could be seen beneath his cowl, but the Hawk raised his eyebrows in surprise at the Masked Bard's revelation of only being up to her masked crime fighter heroics for a mere one hour. "Wow, you handled yourself really well!" he exclaimed. "I was really impressed with your ability to cast those illusions the way you did. It really fooled those thugs!"

He looked forwards to see that they were drawing nearer the gate. "As for firsts," he continued. "This is my first time teaming up with someone. Going into this, I saw myself as fighting solo. But we sure made an excellent team!"

The Hawk's enthusiasm was blatantly obvious at this point. "I'm sure their ring leader is going to show her face again at some point," he said, bringing up a hand to rub his chin thoughtfully as he took a breath to compose himself. "She was a slippery one alright. I'll have to keep an eye out."

He looked at Masked Bard again. "You must be a talented musician then," he said, looking at the violin on her back. "How long have you been playing?"

 

[Kalianna Romane]

"I'm not a stranger to getting in a scrap or two," she replied with a slight laugh to his praise. She continued in, complimenting, "Same goes to you. That grappling hook of yours sure came in handy, and you're definitely no stranger to fighting either, considering your rather electrifying attacks and all."

She nodded, saying, "I'm guessing some of those thieves are going to think twice before joining up with her again. It's a shame she got away, but at least she didn't manage to steal all of this jewelry." She gestured behind her towards the bags of stolen goods stacked on the wagon. Kalianna continued, "Hey, if you catch wind of her, feel free to come find me."

Despite the mask obscuring her face, there was a clear excitement that arose in her tone of voice as she was asked about her music, answering, "Ever since I was a little girl. I taught myself how to play for a few years by watching street performers and just trying tunes out to see which sounded decent. Eventually the bards noticed me watching them every time they showed up and decided to teach me what they knew." Those sessions between her and the bards always brought on a bit of nostalgia whenever she remembered them. She looked forward to every day they were able to tutor her, sneaking out from her bedroom window to visit them at the Bard's College for lessons, until there was simply nothing else for them to teach her. "I've been coming to the Outer City for a few years, performing for the people out here."

The horses skidded to a stop as they passed the gate, just in time as Kali finished spinning her tale. "Alright, let's tie up the thugs and make sure the guards are alright." Hopping off the wagon and grabbing some rope from the back, she walked over to the unconscious thieves and began to tie their hands together behind their backs, taking away the miscellaneous swords and daggers they had nearby.

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

The Hawk watched and listened intently as the Masked Bard recounted her tales of learning the fine art of music. It was clear she was very passionate by the way she spoke and the way her eyes lit up from behind her mask. "I'd love to hear you play some time," he said with a smile.

The horses came to a halt, putting an end to their conversation. The Hawk followed suit as the Masked Bard hopped off the wagon and began tying up the unconscious thieves. There was plenty enough rope spare from what had been used to secure the stolen goods to the wagon. With a grunt of effort, he hauled the unconscious bodies together, all of whom now had their hands tied behind their backs. For extra good measure, he looped the remainder of the rope around the lot of them several times before tying it off in a secure knot.

He went to check on the guards that had been knocked out. A closer inspection revealed that they were actually sound asleep. No doubt the work of some sleeping concoction or possibly gases or some other kind of sorcery. "They'll be fine," the Hawk called over to Masked Bard. "They'll come to soon enough, I reckon. Their relief should be coming to take over soon as well."

He hopped back onto the wagon. "Just need to take the goods back to their rightful owner and job done!" he said with a grin.

 

[Kalianna Romane]

"Glad to hear it," she replied, placing the thieves' weapons tied together near the apprehended thieves and currently sleeping guards. Satisfied that the criminals were sufficiently incapacitated and immobile, she dusted her hands and climbed back onto the wagon beside the Hawk. Putting her hands on the reins, the horses steadily began to ride forward once more.

The jeweler's, after a few minutes of riding down the streets, came into view. The shattered glass from the break-in had since been swept aside, the pile of shards reflecting the rising moonlight. The wagon slowed to a stop in front of the store, as Kalianna turned around in her seat to hop off and call out, "Well, sir, I think you'll be happy to hear that your jewels are safe and returned!"

 

[The Magnificent Hawk]

Whilst The Hawk and The Masked Bard were off fighting the criminals who had broken into the jewelry store, the jeweler had taken to cleaning up the mess the thieves had left behind. He was still pondering at the absurdity of the caped and cowled individual who had landed before him a couple of hours ago, promising to bring the thieves to justice for their crimes. He doubted the strange man ever would return with his goods. And so it came as a great surprise that the weird man in fact did return, accompanied by a lady in a mask.

"Well, sir, I think you'll be happy to hear that your jewels are safe and returned!" the lady declared after hopping out of her seat.

The Hawk followed suit and immediately began unloading the wagon of the sacks of stolen jewels. "As promised, we have dealt with that criminal scum and returned with your belongings!" he said, speaking in his hero voice again.

The jeweler looked in disbelief as The Hawk dropped the sacks of jewels at his feet. "We believe that is all of them," The Hawk said with a smile, placing his hands on his hips and standing proudly.

"By the gods!" the jeweler gasped. "It certainly looks like that's everything they took!"

The jeweler glanced from the Hawk to the Masked Bard. "How can I repay you both?"

"No need to repay me," the Hawk said. "But you can repay Masked Bard if she wishes."

The jeweler unhooked a pouch from his belt. "Here," he said, holding the pouch out to Masked Bard. "Fair bit of Crowns in there, ample compensation for the good deed."