Private Tales Robbing the...Rich?

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Val

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Oban - Surrounding Forests

Val sat inside of the carriage taking him to his families summer home, a frown pulling at his lips as he leaned with his face in his palm. Fingers drummed on his cheek, eyes closing as he let out a yawn. "How much longer, John?"

The young noble called out to the driver.

"Hour or so yet, Val."​

A sigh escaped him. He always hated these carriage rides. They were terribly boring and the books he brought never really managed to hold his attention for all that long. He would have preferred riding his own horse, but that of course would not be proper 'decorum' for a man of his station. At least that was what his father said every time he brought it up.

Of course, that whole argument didn't make any sense anyway since he was now being sent into exile. After his latest 'stunt' with the Queen's niece things were rather tense in Oban, and his fathers had decided it would be better to see him sent off into the countryside.

Another sigh escaped him, head shaking.

"Nothing to do but wait." He groaned quietly as the carriage continued down the road.
 
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Guilt is for insecure people.

Keep telling yourself that, she thought, and ruffled her hypothetical feathers. The merchants of Oban were wealthy, but keen-eared and the thief’s swift hands and distracting eyes were no match for them; she had to find a more unsuspecting victim.

Because of this, Rania spent days scouting the surrounding area and somewhere amidst the woodlands the rogue had gotten lucky. A beautiful estate, without a doubt home to many riches and a prim and proper noblewoman. Still, Rania wasn’t suicidal and until she could be certain that the walls were hosting only that and nothing else of particular danger, she would stay far away from it.

And so the thief was lying in wait by the road leading up to it instead.

Sooner or later Rania expected a pretty carriage to roll up and break its wheel inside one of the many traps she’d prepared. The Lady of the house would be both in shock and entirely incapable of protecting her belongings and Rania would have a field day with whatever fine goods she traveled with.

Her seismic sense alerted her of the presence of said carriage long before it dropped into vision and Rania swiftly climbed up a tree and prepared a poisonous arrow. She wasn’t a murderer – not until she had to be – and the tip of her arrow was dipped into a solution that would put the driver asleep for a long time, but not forever.

And once the wheel broke and the carriage came to a halt, Rania’s arrow pierced through the driver’s right upper arm. Perfect aim. She smiled. That one wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Rania flung herself off the tree and landed swiftly on the carriage’s roof.

And now for the Lady.
 
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There was a thump. Then another louder one.

Any other noble would have been scared. Any other noble would have demanded answers or asked his driver what was going on, but not Val. He knew what those sounds meant, he knew what was going on above him. He knew because he did the exact same thing.

He knew because the tactic was tried and true.

Fingers quickly reached and grasped the hilt of his sword. The blade swung free from it's scabbard within half a second, and without even hesitating for a moment Val simply reached up and stabbed the blade directly up and through the roof of the carriage.

The second thump was his guide, the place where the person who was attacking him having likely landed there. The blade would pierce the thin wood of the roof, hopefully impaling the person before they could get down and into the carriage itself.

Val didn't particularly care who it was.

Not yet anyway. He wouldn't have put it past some of the other nobles to try to assassinate him, get him killed. It didn't matter.

Right now he just had to survive. The rest he could figure out later.
 
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His sword pierced through the wooden roof and found flesh. Rania screamed in pain and awkwardly tumbled down the carriage. She didn’t expect a counterattack, but that hadn’t been her first mistake.

Her first mistake had been to expect a woman – a helpless one – instead of leaving all possibilities open and she immediately regretted her reckless actions. “Shit,” she cursed under her breath and carefully examined her right leg. A clean cut, touching at the base of her ankle and running all the way up to her knee, now disgraced the slender limb and Rania bit down on her lower lip.

Her mistake, a rookie one on top of that, but she wasn’t willing to die for it – not yet. Rania had fallen off the side of the carriage that didn’t have a door, and she used that extra time to pull herself up on the nearest tree and quickly grabbed her bow and an arrow.

The bottle of anaesthetics however, had fallen out of her pocket when she fell from the roof. The small, purple vial had rolled under the carriage and realizing that this was her best bet at ending this potential fight quickly, Rania let go of her bow, unsheathed her dagger instead and dauntlessly made a dive for it.
 
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Val kicked open the door to the carriage still holding the bloodied sword.

His eyes immediately searched wildly around the forest and ground, spotting Rania sliding towards him with reckless abandon. A curse escaped his lips as she moved towards him. It was a dangerous, stupid move, but...well once again he found he would have done exactly the same.

He clocked the dagger in her hand, and with a quick dash Val jumped down towards the woman.

The Noble kicked out his leg, aiming to stomp on the woman's foot and pin her hand to the ground before she would reach the carriage. At the same time his sword swept low, not aiming to cut, but instead stopping at her throat.

If she didn't move out of the way of him and break off from the carriage.
 
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Rania caught a glimpse of the person inside the carriage and sucked in a sharp breath. He towered over her, and her blood dripped from the blade he swung with terrifying precision. Her luck had abandoned her, but Rania wasn’t having any of it.

When her dagger clashed against his steel, she knew that she couldn’t win against him, not in a battle of strength and not while she was wounded. Agonizing pain shot through her leg and brought tears to her eyes, but none of this stopped her from looking at him like a wild animal.

Her eyes pierced through him with every glance and while she knew she couldn’t run, Rania still avoided his deadly weapon and attacks by tumbling backwards, still nimble but clearly limping.

With her back up against a tree, the fearless woman never broke eye-contact and sized the stranger up. “What kind of swordsman takes a carriage like a princess?” Her voice was stable, in spite of her being out of breath and with a few steps of distance between them she felt confident that she could avoid and counter any further incoming attacks.

“Do you not know how to ride a horse?” She mocked.
 
Val wasn't much a swordsmen, at least not compared to the Gryphon Knights back in Oban or some of the Soldiers that served his fighters. He did well enough in tournaments, but he knew his limits.

His chosen weapon was the bow, something he hadn't had time to string, much less use when in the carriage. His fingers tightened for a moment around the hilt of the sword, watching as the girl tumbled back and pulled herself against a tree. "Oh trust me, I can ride with the best of them."

He smirked.

"Just so happened you picked the wrong carriage." Val shrugged his shoulders, looking the girl up and down.

He was almost certain that she wasn't from around Oban. Her garb was strange and the dagger she held in her hand was not of local make. Lips thinned for a moment. Foreign assassin? He wouldn't have guessed it from what she said, but that meant little.

His head turned, glancing at the driver limp in his seat.

"Did you kill him?" Val asked. "Cause if you did, love, I'm going to have to do the same to you."

He took a step forward.
 
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“I don’t believe it.” Rania scoffed. Her hand slid down to her thigh and unraveled a second dagger. It could be used to block his sword from reaching her, or she could throw it – the woman hadn’t decided yet. His smirk rubbed her the wrong way, and she grimaced in response.

His comment on the poor choice she had made caught her off-guard, and when Rania’s lips parted to counter his remark, she was left speechless instead. His appearance didn’t make sense, neither did the manner in which he travelled or the things he’d said.

But the thing that surprised her the most was his apparent concern for his driver. Rich people weren’t like that – she knew this to be a fact – and if he could ride regardless, what did it matter to him? The horse was still there.

“Why don’t you go and take a look.” The raven haired taunted. Maybe he would fall for it, maybe she would have to fight her way out of this after all. Rania’s eyes were partially on the horse, but there was something urging her to take him out and see what precious treasures he was hiding in his carriage.

There had to be something – what else would he need a goddamn carriage for?
 
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"Well." He glanced one more time. He Liked John, really did. The man had always been decent to him, one of those that didn't just cow to whatever his father had to say in the heat of the moment. There was absolutely no way he could let his killer get away.

If he was dead anyway. "Once you're unconscious."

The words came as he suddenly darted forward.

There was no doubt in his mind that the woman could still fight, that she might even be able to beat him in a quick skirmish, but she was wounded. The cut on her leg would slow her down, and that was enough for him to bring this to an end.

His sword sliced towards her torso, the blade brandishing forward in an ostentatious manner to gather her attention.

Then as she moved to block Val would kick out, his leg sweeping towards hers to hopefully get her on the ground.
 
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He moved suddenly, although that was to be expected. To catch her off-guard, in the heat of the moment of their conversation, and even though Rania saw it coming there was nothing else she could do about it.

The thief lifted her daggers, blocking the sword blow to her best ability, but it was his weight against hers and when he kicked his leg forward, Rania was swept off her feet and gracelessly fell to the cold, hard ground.

The wound had bled through her clothing and stained her skin red. Some of it smeared along her healthy leg and she could feel the aching pain creeping all the way up her spine. Rania was certain she bruised something when falling off the carriage and even though she knew she had lost this fight, the woman with the emerald eyes kept her gaze fixated on him.

Not once did her glare show a sign of defeat, not even when her head hit the earth and knocked her out at last.
 
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"Told you, love." Val said as he took a step over the unconscious girl, reaching down to tear a long strip from his shirt. "Wrong Carriage."

He knew that the carriage didn't have much of anything for rope or the like, and there was absolutely no way that he was going to leave her unbound. His feet kicked away the daggers, eyes glancing over towards the driver as he grasped Rania's hands and pulled them behind her back.

Usually he was tying up nobles during his own little capers, but it seemed now he was tying up the robbers too.

A small chuckle escaped him as he finished tying up the girl, pulling her up against the tree and frowning for a moment. A sigh escaped him, and he tore another strip of cloth from his shirt. The garment's bottom was now all but ragged, though he hardly cared.

With the same deft hands he bound Rania's wound, then went to check on John.

When she awoke, the girl would find herself bound and leaning against a tree. The Carriage was still in the road, John now sitting in the back comfortably snoozing off the poison she had used. Val himself was squatting in front of Rania, leaning on the hilt of his sword with his bow and quiver now on his back. "Mornin, Sunshine."

He said with a smile.
 
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Dizzy. Her vision became blurry. Rania groaned and opened her eyes, searching for a moment until she found what she was looking for. He crouched down in front of her, leaning against his sword with his bow and quiver equipped to his back. Rania rolled her eyes and exhaled sharply.

Her hands were bound, so was her wound, but her legs were still free. If it weren’t for his bow, Rania would have kicked that stupid smile off his face, but she was in no condition to run from an archer and the thief was done being reckless – for the day.

“What are you so fucking happy about?” She snarled. Rania arched her neck to take a glimpse at the driver’s seat of the carriage, but it was empty. It appeared he’d taken care of that after all. With her hands bound behind her back, the rogue carefully started reaching for the end of her braid.

Her hair was wonderfully long, and filled with one or two emergency pins and needles for situations just like this.
 
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"I'm always happy." Val intoned with a shrug. "I'm rich and handsome."

Two points that really improved his life.

"Plus, I figured out that you didn't kill John, and that was a nice little surprise." Of course, now he wanted to know why. If she was an assassin there would have been no point in letting his driver live, which likely meant that she had ulterior motives.

It could also have been a kidnapping, but anyone smart would have brought a dozen or more men to take someone like him. If only because it would have been much easier on whoever was doing the actual taking.

A lesson he'd learned as well.

Ransoms always went wrong. "Hence why you're still alive."

He gestured to her.

"So what are you? Assassin?" Val mused. "Thief?"
 
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Apparently Val was a comedian too. He was pleased that she hadn’t killed the driver, and although Rania felt nothing towards that man she was still human – and saw no need for unnecessary bloodshed.

In a way, she was just trying to survive. Well, maybe a little more than that considering that she took a liking to luxury goods and pretty things, but girls will be girls.

“I don’t believe you,” she boldly gave back and nodded at the carriage. “When you are rich and handsome, and somehow it’s still the driver who’s your best friend, there must be something else wrong with you.” Now, Rania wasn’t from these lands, but she’d worked in a line of questionable businesses for long enough to learn a thing or two about rich people. That, and she had keen eyes.

Interestingly, it didn’t matter where they were from. More often than not they were all the same, but maybe she would have reason to believe that this one was different. Somehow more unfortunate than the rest of the bunch.

“If I were here to assassinate you I would have used a different kind of poison.” The girl arched a brow. Wasn’t it obvious? Still, he seemed rather concerned about that – maybe she was onto something.

“What? Are you that unpopular?”

Throughout all of this, Rania kept fiddling around with the needle and her ropes. From the corner of her eye she could see her weapon, but they were too far away. Perhaps she’d have to knock him out the old-fashioned way: a hefty kick to his jewels.
 
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Val stood, Thief then. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. He himself stole from the Rich, though not for his own profit.

Still, he supposed that he would have to respect the...trade of it all. Couldn't very well turn over a Thief to the Knights if it meant that he himself was still thieving. Could he? That was really the true Debate. A frown touched his features for a moment. "I wouldn't call John my best friend."

Val said with a shrug.

"But he's a loyal old goat." There were a few others he trusted far more, but that was really only natural. "For someone in your position you seem kind mouthy."

He watched her a bit more closely. "But I get it. Talk at me, distract me, try to get free then run away."

Val waved his hand dismissively.

"I bound that wound but it could still get infected, You'd be dead inside a week and the City Watch would come looking for you." A shrug rolled over his shoulders. "Tell me what you're doing here and I might take you to a doctor."
 
“Well, yes.” Rania hated to admit it, but he had pushed her into a corner and with her back up against a wall, the clever thief saw no way of escape – yet. Her leg hurt, very much so, but she didn’t think it that bad. But then again, who knew what had been on his blade before it sliced through her skin. She still felt a little dizzy, but sitting down and resting did a lot for her already.

The girl gave an unhappy pout and averted her gaze. The ropes were almost loose, but she left them on for the time being in case there would be a better situation to escape during, in the nearest future. Although somehow she doubted that.

“I was expecting–,” she corrected herself then, “..hoping for someone..who wears my clothing size.” Rania gave him a weak smile. She was being sincere with him, the thief didn’t have any reason to hide her petty plans. So instead, she nodded her head up the road where the carriage would have gone before she interrupted their little journey.

“I don’t know what else to tell you.” She frowned. “There’s a mansion up ahead, although it’s still a bit of a journey. Is that where you’re headed?”

Maybe, if he weren’t the owner of that pretty house, she could simply wait here for the real ones to arrive and repeat her scheme.
 
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"Yep." He answered, glancing down at her for a moment with no small amount of suspicion.

She was doing exactly what he would do in her situation, and that made him about as uneasy as he could be. Lips thinned for a moment, and he slowly slid his sword back into it's scabbard, adjusting the bow on his back so that it's weight was more comfortable.

"I'm afraid you'll find no one of your size there." He told her as he walked towards her. "My father has ensured the place will be completely abandoned save for John and myself."

Part of his punishment.

It was hard to go carousing when there was no one to carouse with. "Tell you what. Don't stab me and I'll see to it you don't die, eh?"

Fair deal really. Probably fairer than she deserved.
 
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The girl let out a dramatic sigh. He confirmed her suspicions; she would find no pretty gowns and diamonds here, but perhaps there was something else. Rania’s ears perked up when he mentioned his father, and she lifted her head to assess his features.

Val didn’t look particularly rich, nor did he carry himself with the grace and elegance of a noble. Regardless of his snobby comment earlier, he didn’t strike her as arrogant either.

“That sounds like the opposite of a problem to me.” Rania shrugged. If there was enough food, she would find a way to entertain herself – and her company, if she had to.

“I won’t die from a cut to my leg,” she gave back with a bark, but showed no intentions of moving from her spot.

“Fine, I promise.”
 
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Could one trust the promise of a thief? No was the answer to that question every day of the week. Val knew that, better than most people, but on this occasion at least he would still go along with her word.

If only to gain some sort of amusement.

Without this little incident he would have been stuck at the house all by himself with only his own mind and a few books to keep him company. Reading was all well and good, but, well it didn't really hold his attention all that much. Especially when there was nothing else to do.

A strange converse fact really. "Come on then."

Val reached the girl, though he was still careful as he grabbed her gently beneath the arm and tried to pull her to her feet.

Even now he was still half expecting to get stabbed.

Women were treacherous little creatures at times, and he imagined that someone who would shoot a driver with a poisoned arrow would have no issue with stabbing someone like him. Even if they were wounded. He would have done the same, in truth. At least of the Watch ever caught him, he wasn't so sure if the situation was reversed.
 
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He was a strange one, he really was. Val looked at Rania with an intensity in his eyes that the woman only knew from the mirror – and the sense of familiarity she felt when she looked at him put her at ease. She didn’t like that, not one bit, as there was nothing trustworthy about a useless noble wielding a poorly smithed sword who spent his days being chauffeured around the bloody countryside for his own amusement.

Still, she needed his help.

Rania’s expertise had been lost on her the moment she had gotten hurt. Injuries interfered with everything the thief was good at: combat, stealth and the ability to get out of every situation unharmed. Knowing that he had ruined her day so effortlessly after all the work she had put in to get her irked her, but Rania knew she had no one to blame but herself.

When Val reached for her arm Rania popped her ropes open and grabbed his with force, but not enough to hurt him. “If you try anything funny I’ll break your neck.” She gave him an unapologetic smile. If he allowed, she would pull herself up on him and look at the broken carriage and then the two horses that had been pulling it. Those two would do, she decided.

Then, Rania pointed at her two daggers and her bow. “Can you bring them, please? I’ve had them almost my entire life, they have sentimental value to me.” Her voice, again, showed sincerity and she was speaking the truth. Those shiny little tools were her best friends and she wasn’t going to abandon them here.
 
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Val considered snapping her neck, but after half a second of thought he allowed her to clamber up his body and to her feet.

He grunted quietly, ignoring her own comment about snapping necks and deciding that the thought was just a coincidence. He turned as she spoke of the daggers, his lips thinning for a brief moment as he nodded his head.

"I aim to serve, love." There was no small amount of sarcasm in his voice.

Val sauntered over towards the daggers, reaching down and quickly gathering them up. They were quickly sheathed into quiver on his back, mostly so that he could keep them away from her. Then he made his way over towards the carriage.

"If they're sentimental I'll be hanging on to them till there's a bit more trust between us." There was no way he was leaving John behind, and he didn't trust her to have him on the same horse as her. "I'll be taking him."

He said with a grunt, hefting the large driver and carrying him towards the stallion.
 
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He agreed to collect her armory, but it seemed that Rania would have to wait for a chance to retrieve her items. His response brought an amused smile to her lips and the woman watched with keen interest as he walked over and bent over.

“I think I could get used to this,” she chirped.

The manor didn’t lie far from here, but she expected the ride to be long, awkward and unbearable regardless of that. Rania wasn’t too interested in spending even a day at his home, although the size and sheer luxury of it had her wondering just how rich Val actually was.

At this time, the thief was hoping to heal quickly, assess the situation while still considered wounded and maybe – if she got lucky – snatch a few precious treasures before departing during the night, when he was fast asleep. He probably didn’t expect his vacation to be spent watching a rowdy rogue and Rania assumed that Val, much like herself, couldn’t wait to separate again.

She gave the horse a gentle pat on the snout before mounting it.

“Why’s the place abandoned?” That part sounded suspicious to her and she didn’t buy it. “What’s the point of being rich if you don’t have any servants to grant your every wish?” Unless he had servants, but didn’t consider them worth being mentioned. Her stomach turned at that possibility, but she quickly dismissed it when she saw him pick up John and carry him over to his horse.
 
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"There's a difference between abandoned and emptied out." Val said it with more than a small frown on his face. It was hard to tell if that was because of John's weight on his shoulders or because he was upset about the subject.

After a few seconds he hefted the heavy man over the saddle of his horse, clambering onto the mount just after him and stroking the side of his neck for a moment to calm him.

Val hadn't lied when he said he was an excellent rider. It was one of the few things Nobles did that he actually rather enjoyed. Three years running he had won the Oban Racing tournament, beating out even some of the Gryffon Knights. Though they had claimed it was because a horse was so different than a Gryffon.

Smarmy bastards.

"My father is punishing me." He said with a roll of his eyes. "No servants, alone time. It's basically a prison."

At least that was what dear old dad intended. "He doesn't like some of the things I do."

Val told her as he set off down the road.
 
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The inside of Rania’s leg rubbed against the saddle, causing the girl terrible discomfort. After just a moment, she swung her wounded leg over and sat sideways on the horse to offer herself more comfort and a little less pain.

Val seemed in a situation of similar hardship and for a moment Rania caught herself regretting ruining the carriage. “He let you have one servant,” she pointed out and eyed the unconscious John. He wouldn’t remember much, although Rania suspected him to wake up with a headache.

“But I suppose that one backfired as well.”

His annoyance with the subject wasn’t lost on her, and the thief let out a hearty laughter when he rolled his eyes. “It’s not a prison if you can leave anytime,” she remarked. “And why don’t you? Unless I’m completely mistaken, you seem of age and no longer in need of your parents approval.” Rania didn’t understand these things, because she didn’t remember having parents. From her point of view, everything was simple.

“Wait–, you said you would take me to a Doctor!” She shrieked. “If no one’s home then who will be tending to my wounds? He?” She stared down at John first, then turned to Val. “You?!”

Oh, the horrors.
 
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He looked over at Rania with a shrug. "John was a Medic in the army."

Val decided that it was probably the most important thing to answer that first and assuage any of her fears before they continued along. He was confident that the wound in her leg wasn't that big of a deal, probably. Even he could have seen to it.

He patted the carriage driver on his back.

"Took care of me after more than one scrape, didn't ya John?" The man's only answer was a loud snoring snort. Val cracked into a chuckling laughter, looking over at Rania as if she should have shared in the joy.

A second later he shook his head, addressing her earlier words. "If I run, then I don't have money. If I don't have money, I don't have money I don't get to enjoy my life."

That was of course not entirely true.

Val had thought about simply leaving more than once. He had thought about going, coming out as a thief and anti-noble, but...well it would have been foolish. Living with his father, working with him, allowed him a peek into Oban's nobility like nothing else.

He knew how the wealthy moved, what roads they used to transport their goods, how the treasury secured it's caravans. If he ran away all of that knowledge would become guess work.

That was a chance he couldn't take. Not when he had done so much good.

"I mean I know I'm handsome." He looked at her. "But It's much easier to get women to go home with you after a few cups of wine."
 
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