• Closed • Evil is Live Spelled Backwards

[Cad Revel]

Timestamp: 30th of Zida, 721
Location: Peytr's Pots and Potions

"Mehehehehe."

Cad was trying to keep a low profile. His villainous costume, complete with what would one day become a trademarked mask, was a pretty ostentatious thing to wear around the middle of town, and as such he had to do his best not to draw too much attention to himself. That was why he was forced to reign in his evil laugh to more of an evil chuckle, much as it pained him to do so. Evil laughs were supposed to be loud and proud, not timid little mouse-squeaks.

The afternoon sun was starting to set on the horizon, casting a number of convenient shadows for Cad and his gang of miscreant minions to hide in as they made their way through the streets. A few nights ago the inspiration for a brilliant evil scheme had formed in Cad's head, and after a little bit of research he'd concluded that it was indeed possible for him to pull it off with his current budget and minions. The only little snag was that this plan required a special item that Cad was having trouble getting his hands on: a rare and expensive ingredient, that he discovered was in the possession of the owner of Peytr's Pots and Potions.

While he could have bit the bullet and just bought it outright, what was the point of being a villain if he didn't commit any crimes to get what he wanted? It was this line of thought that had led Cad and his gang to their current situation: ducking in an alleyway across the road from the target store. Mutiny, his new ever-present lieutenant, stood at his side as Cad addressed his small cohort of criminals.

"Remember the plan. Half of you guard the door outside, and the other half come inside with me and ransack the place. If you find a vial of dark blue liquid bring it to me immediately. Anything else you find is yours to keep."

The assembled criminals grinned wickedly in anticipation.

"Also don't forget to keep your masks on and to only address each other by codenames. Any questions?"

One of the criminals put his hands up.

"Yes Toby?" Cad asked.

"Why is my codename the same as my real name?" Toby asked.

"It's reverse psychology. Once they find out that we're all using codenames, they'll immediately assume that you can't be the masked criminal known only as Toby precisely because your real name is Toby. It's genius!"

The group murmed in approval at Cad's cunning. Cad didn't blame them. Sometimes he amazed himself with his own brilliance.

"Now then, let's get started. Minions! Attack!" Cad commanded, sweeping his hand dramatically towards the store.

Hold on!"

The group paused mid-charge, and turned to look at one of the men at the back of the group.

"I object to that term." The minion said. "Minions makes us sound like we're just your disposable servants."

"But you are my disposable servants." Cad replied sagely, then realised his mistake as the rest of the minions turned to glare at him. Quickly he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. What should I call you then?"

"How about henchmen?" Another of the criminals suggested.

"Excuse me, we're an equal opportunities group. I don't want to be referred to as a henchman." One of the women said.

"How about henchwomen then?"

"Can't we just use a gender neutral term? Like henchpeople?"

"Never! I insist that the word have a dramatic ring to it." Cad argued.

"How about employees then?" The woman from earlier asked.

No, because that would imply that he was paying them, which he wasn't. Besides it made him sound more like some strangely dressed bank manager rather than a villain. "How about thralls? Peons? Lackeys?" He suggested.

A chorus of boos soon let him know what they thought of that idea.

"Alright, alright, keep your hair on." Cad grumbled. He knew it was a bad idea holding that evil minions union meeting beforehand. "How about we make our own term then? I shall call you..." He flicked his cape back dramatically. "The Revellers!"

"But boss, won't that give away a clue as to your secret identity?" Toby asked.

"Quiet Toby! No it won't, for once again I am cunningly employing reverse psychology. Nobody would ever suspect that a supervillain would name his minions after his own secret identity, which is exactly why I will! It's hiding in audacity! Now enough of this foolishness! Cad turned around and pointed to Peytr's Pots and Potions once more. "Revellers! Attack!"

With an approving roar the Revellers charged forwards; ten taking threatening positions outside the store, while Mutiny and the remain ten followed Cad inside. They brandished their weapons, snarling and chuckling threateningly, while Cad strode forwards to the store owner and grinned wickedly beneath his mask.

"Good evening Mrs Lovan." He said with mock gentility. "We're here to make a purchase. And we'll be expecting a steep disocunt. Mwahahahahahaha!

Now that was how an evil laugh was supposed to be done.

Magic/Abilities/Items Used

None.

[Balthazar Black]

30 Zi'da 721

In Vhalar, Balthazar Black had been told by the Elements that his help was not needed when it came to the investigation into the disappearance of Petyr from his Pots and Potions store. He had done as they asked. He had left that investigation alone and instead tried to focus on other ones. However an abandoned building in Scalvoris often seemed to be the perfect place for criminals to act. He did not intend to be at the Pots and Potions store on the thirtieth of Zi'da, and yet while following a lead on a serial killer he'd been investigation he found himself coming to the store all the same. Balthazar had come to theorize that the killer used a sedative he got from Petyr to sedate his victims before he killed them. He wasn't quite sure how he would figure out if that was true or not with Petyr missing though so he figured the shop was the safest place to start.

He didn't expect to find much but he also didn't expect anyone else to be there. He thought maybe there would be Elements but he was not certain they were still actively watching the shop. He wasn't sure they were ever actively watching it. Balthazar reached the shop shortly after sundown and thought he would just pop in for a quick look around. If he didn't find anything he would have to go to the Elements and ask if they'd found anything to connect the two cases but almost immediately after arriving Balthazar was given something else to focus on.

There were people standing outside the shop and he could tell immediately that they were not Elements. Elements did not wear masks and Balthazar knew the faces of most of them by now. Balthazar was, unfortunately, not subtle about anything. He turned the corner and found himself out relatively in the open, staring across a small gap at Cad's minions who'd lingered outside to guard the store. So if not Elements, who was standing outside the store so diligently?A robbery? No, better- a robbery in progress. Balthazar was not wearing his orange cloak, he was wearing a black one. He was wearing a lot of black. He might even have looked like one of the robbers if not for the fact he didn't have a mask on.

What are you going to do? Fuego, the invisible burning rock that could speak telepathically with Balthazar, asked as he seemed to appear beside Balthazar.

Stop them in three steps. Balthazar replied telepathically to his Fire Forged diri. A moment later his other diri, a dark black crow who he'd named Crow, landed on a nearby building and cawed at the exterior guards. Yes, I know. Bad guys. Balthazar replied to the death spirit before taking a deep breath and approaching the guards outside the shop. His three steps were simple to him but the execution was where a lot could go wrong. Alert the Land Troops, disable the outer guard, trap the thieves inside. Well... that might not work if the co-owner was still inside. Then again taking a hostage wouldn't get them anywhere either.

There were ten guards outside the building and in a matter of bits there would be ten guards on the floor. The question in Balthazar's mind was exactly how harsh he was going to be in his attack. They were all armed, which only became more apparent as he approached them, but that wasn't necessarily a problem for him. It was the number of armed opponents that was. He could not go into the fight without an edge. His boots made him twice as fast as those he fought, which helped a little but would not be enough against ten opponents. He had the sword he'd taken from Faldrun's minion in the labyrinth as well which gave him a similar boost to his speed at the cost of his energy. He wasn't willing to burn out quickly in a battle that would likely rely on his endurance.

Then again... there was always the option to use magic.

As Balthazar approached the ten minions outside the Pots and Potions shop, Balthazar slid one hand onto the hilt of his sword while his other rested at his side. "What do we have here?" Balthazar asked in a friendly tone to the Revellers outside the shop. "You're all a little well armed for people who are shopping. So... anyone care to explain?"

[Cad Revel]

Timestamp: 30th of Zida, 721
Location: Peytr's Pots and Potions

Inside the shop, the sound of glass and wood smashing and cracking rang aloud as the revellers began turning the place inside out, pillaging whatever took their fancy. Bottle and vials were picked up, checked for colour, and then simple dropped on the floor, while anything shiny or expensive looking was stuffed down pockets. Perhaps the only thing left untouched was the books, which Cad's cronies avoided like the plague. Only Cad himself did not actively take part in the search. That's what minions were for after all.

Behind the counter Callie Lovan glared at him. If she was afraid she didn't show it, but clearly wasn't in a hurry to escalate an arguement with armed robbers. "I have a lot of vials of blue liquid." She hissed. "You could have just come in and bought what you needed like a regular person."

Cad chuckled darkly. "But where would be the fun in that? Besides, what I seek is something more that what you'd offer to any regular customer." Cad stepped forwards, a note of excitement entering his voice. "The serum of a rare blue flower, picked from a land the exists on no map. So rare in fact that only a handful of herbalists across the world possess the knoweldge to process it."

Callie's glare narrowed. "What you seek is a fairy tale."

"Good. I've built my life upon fairy tales."

"It's not here boss." One of the revellers called out.

"Shut up Toby!" Cad replied sharply. "Keep looking! Tear this shop apart if you have to! That vial will-..."

It was then that he noticed something strange outside. A man with brown hair had taken a stand before the minions he'd left outside, one hand resting on a sword as he stared down the ten grunts. Aha, a would-be hero was it? Perfect! Thwarting the attempts of naive do-gooders was part of a villains job description after all.

Cad strode over back to the front of the stop, staying firmly behind his wall of expendable minions yet close enough to catch the end of the hero's sentence. Was that banter he heard? Excellent! He'd always wanted to try his hand at pre-battle banter!

"Why, we are but humble sentinels, here to protect this store from and violent rifraff. Isn't that right friends?" Cad called with mock sincerity, eliciting a few low chuckles from his men. "But you wouldn't come here with violent intentions, now would you sir? Perhaps you'd better mind your own business before we get the wrong idea?

Magic/Abilities/Items Used

None.

[Balthazar Black]

30 Zi'da 721

The sounds that Balthazar could hear from the outside of the shop seemed to indicate that the men and women standing as sentries were lying, but Balthazar already had a pretty clear sense of that. Part of him wished he'd gone out with Robin or Pylos so he would have a second to disperse the rabble with him. Robin would have been better on that account but he could share his skills with Pylos through his mark long enough to win the battle that was coming. He could tell a fight was inevitable at this point. He heard too much destruction coming from the inside not to do something about it. A voice called out from behind the wall of revellers and Balthazar's eyes narrowed suspiciously at what he assumed was their leader.

Was he attempting to engage in banter? Balthazar's head tilted slightly to the side and he grinned. He sent a secret telepathic message to his invisible friend Fuego who moved to enter the building and scout out the thieves while Balthazar engaged the 'sentries' outside. It wouldn't do much but Fuego could tell him if anyone tried to slip out the back while the fight was happening. Balthazar wouldn't be able to do much about that while fighting but he'd be able to report it more accurately when he had to fill out all the paperwork later.

"I'd love to walk away and mind my own business only I just can't get to sleep over the sound of all that breaking glass. You're not doing the best job of protecting the store." Balthazar explained as a ball of orange flames manifest in his right hand. He seemed to turn it in his hand for a few trills as the banter continued but he did not comment on the ball of fire. He still had his other hand on the hilt of his sword. "Maybe it is time you all disperse and find new employment opportunities." Balthazar hurled the ball of flames into the air and by about (but not exactly) forty feet up, it had both dissipated and been seen by those Balthazar wanted it seen by.

Balthazar took his hand off the hilt of his sword and looked over the weapons that the sentries were armed with. Blades would be a problem that required either more defense or a more aggressive offense. Bludgeons weren't too bad. He could take hits from those all the time and keep going but blades... blades hurt. No one seemed armed with range which was good... somewhat. It also meant their numbers would be greater in close range. The next fireball would have to go towards one of them instead of the sky. A few tense trills later, Balthazar said, "Well, are we going to stand around all night?"

[Cad Revel]

Timestamp: 30th of Zida, 721
Location: Peytr's Pots and Potions

"NOOO! CURSES!" Cad shouted melodramatically as the interloper hurled a ball of bright orange fire into the sky. The Elements would not doubt see that signal and come along to investigate shortly! He tried to reach out and steal the fireball away with the power he'd stolen from Faldrun, but whoever this interloper was their grip over the flames was too strong. Was this man one of Faldrun's followers? Or perhaps another magician?

"You've interfered with my plans for the last time, whoever you are." Cad sneered darkly. He cast a hand out imperiously towards the man. "Revellers! Attack!"

"With pleasure, boss." One of his minions replied as they spread out to encircle the interloper. A couple of them had crude bats or cheap daggers, but the majority of them crackled their knuckles, betraying their intention to fight with their fists. "You're gonna regret that!" The minion said to Balthazar as he lunged forwards, aiming to deck him right in the nose.

As the fight outside began, Cad stepped back inside and addressed the rest of his minions. "Have you found it yet."

"I'm not sure boss. Come and take a look at this." Toby replied. Cad strode over to where a group of revellers were crowing around a bookcase. The books had been swept off the shelves, revealing a small but heavy-looking safe built into the wall behind it.

"Can't you open it?" Cad asked Toby.

"What? Me?" Toby replied. "No! Why would you think that?"

"Aren't you a criminal?"

"I'm a thug, not a safe cracker."

"Curses!" Cad muttered, before turning back and stomping over to the counter. "Miss Lovan! The combination to your safe, if you please!" He hissed threateningly.

But Callie just looked back at him with an infuriating smirk. "Combination? To what?"

"To the safe behind your bookcase of course!"

Callie tapped a finger against her chin, pretending to be in thought. "Oh, that safe! Well let's see... hmm... you know, it seems to have slipped my mind."

Cad conjured a ball of flames in his hand threateningly. "You are playing a dangerous game!"

"Well it helps that I'm playing against an idiot." Callie shot back. "Go ahead, do your worst. But you don't scare me."

"Gah!" Cad cried, turning back and storming over to the safe. "Out of my way!" he shouted, holding his palm out towards the safe and unleashing a jet of fire at it. "I'll just have to melt this safe open then!"

Mutiny raised an eyebrow "You sure that's a good idea, boss?"

"Of course it is!" Cad snapped. "Mutiny, you watch Miss Lovan. Make sure she doesn't do anything funny. The rest of you, see if that meddlesome man outside has been taken care of yet!"

A Note on the Revellers

You are more than welcome to control the revellers for any combat scenes. While a couple of them may use daggers or bludgeons, none of them possess any skill in using these effectively. They are high-end novice fist fighters.

Magic/Abilities/Items Used

Corona (Minor) - The Marked is able to cover their body in a sheath of flames for a break once a trial. The sheath is able to help regulate body temperature in cold climates, keeping the Marked warm. The sheath also has combat capabilities depending on how it is utilized by the Marked. The heat of these flames is determined by the Marked's Fire Manipulation ability.
Fire Fight - The Marked is able to condense their corona aura into their hands and feet, or project bursts of flame from their limbs or mouth. The power of both the aura and the projections are limited to the owners Corona and Elemental Manipulation abilities respectfully.

[Balthazar Black]

30 Zi'da 721

The man leading the band of brutes was quite dramatic but there was something to it that Balthazar could respect. He didn't feel that the man was mocking him as much as the man was devoted to his sense of... villainy? That was really the only word Balthazar could think to use. The crime was blatant in the extreme and the banter between them was almost comical. Balthazar felt he might read something like this out of one of the books Isabella used to read but he knew it wouldn't last. When the fighting started all illusion of banter and chivalry would disappear. Balthazar listened to the leader of the band with a small, amused smirk on his face that didn't fade- even when they began to surround him.

The leader seemed to retreat into the shop where he would be followed by the unseeable Fuego. Fuego would watch and report to Balthazar all that transpired inside when Balthazar was not occupied in combat. The perfect spy. Unfortunately Balthazar did not have the luxury on focusing on what his diri was doing. The revellers were ordered to attack and that was exactly what they moved in to do, successful or not. The first of the thugs through a relatively straight punch at Balthazar's face and the Flame Trooper bobbed his head backwards, out of the path of the strike. At the same time his arm shot out to catch the extended wrist of the thug, before turning and throwing him into two of his approaching allies.

They crashed into each other hard and fell down buying Balthazar a few trills where he only had to manage seven other fighters. These thugs, untrained as they might have been, moved in together to attack which made things difficult but not impossible. They were novices at what they were doing at best- even the ones with the weapons, but a dozen novices could still be a treat if you weren't tactical about how you dealt with them. It was like the Crucible at the Decked Halls... only this time they meant to actually hurt him.

Two moved in with clubs in high swings and Balthazar caught them before the clubs could come down with two sharp jabs into the raised armpit of his opponents. They recoiled in uncomfortable pain for a trill while another thug moved in from behind to try and seize Balthazar's arms. It didn't work either. As soon as he felt the thug slipping his arms around Balthazar, the mage stomped on the thugs foot and delivered a sharp elbow to the criminal's face which remarkably seemed to knock that one unconscious. Balthazar pushed on the offensive, sweeping low with his leg to cause all of the thugs to take a step back or be tripped. Those who were standing did manage to evade the sweep but it pushed them apart a little.

The first one to run back in attempted a fairly straight kick towards Balthazar who caught the man's leg under his left arm before striking the man in the throat with an open palm. While still holding onto the one thug's leg, another charged at Balthazar to try and tackle him- so Balthazar turned the man who's leg he was holding and caused them to crash into each other. A woman came at him from behind and she had a dagger in hand. She thrust it forward and Balthazar sidestepped her attack, catching her arm under his much like he had caught the man's leg. He jabbed her wrist to make her drop the blade and then threw an elbow to her face to knock her back. By this point, the revellers with clubs who had been struck in the armpit were coordinating with the only reveller who hadn't been hit yet. The trio charged and for the first time, really put Balthazar on the defensive.

The two with clubs kept swinging wildly and in the gaps where they wound up their attacks, the third criminal would kick or try to throw a punch that Balthazar had to block. So it went that he found himself backpedaling out of the way of various club strikes before blocking unarmed strikes with his own hands. Being on the defensive gave a few of the other revellers who'd been hurt a chance to rise again and when Balthazar realized that, his boots activated. He'd only recently been given the gift by the squire from Rynmere and he had never really experienced the different flow of time, but coupled with his skills and natural speed it felt like watching the world slow to a crawl.

He shifted from defense to offense and the revellers could not react fast enough to stop him. He showed little to no mercy. When the unarmed reveller threw a kick to buy the clubbers time to wind up another strike, Balthazar dropped, dodged the strike, and jabbed the man's inner thigh with paralytic force. When his leg came back and he tried to stand on it, he lost balance and fell to his knee. Balthazar pushed past him, unloading a flurry of hard but fast strikes into the chest of the first club wielding thug before sweeping his leg out from under him and turning to the next who had, admittedly, stumbled back a little in surprise at the speed Balthazar was moving with.

Surprise did not last. The club went up and Balthazar struck the reveller in the bicep, chest and throat before he could swing it down. Suddenly Balthazar felt something like a heat rising inside his chest. He recognized the call of fire immediately and turned his gaze towards the shop where he could sense the element. More revellers were beginning to emerge from the shop and in combination with the five who hadn't been completely knocked out from the original group, the number was beginning to seem a little daunting. Then again, the Elements were on the way.

"Last chance to just walk away." Balthazar offered to the new coming fighters and those who'd already seen what he could do to them without conjuring magic or drawing his sword. He raised his fists, ready for the next bout if none ran. If some did, if they were smart, they probably wouldn't make it far before crossing the inbound Land Troopers. Still, that might have been preferable for some of them when the other option was facing another beatdown. "Anyone going? No?" Balthazar conjured another ball of fire in his hand and hurled it at the crowd of revellers.

OOC Notes

Magic Used: Defiance (Calling) - To Feel Cad summoning flames to try and melt through the safe.
Fire Forged - Fireball (He has two left if I did my math right.)
Boots of Dasher - To increase his speed at points during the fight.
Capstones Used: Unarmed and Unafraid - Can go toe to toe with armed opponents
Paralyzing Strikes - Punches that briefly paralyze muscles
Flurry of Blows - Very fast punches

[Cad Revel]

Timestamp: 30th of Zida, 721
Location: Peytr's Pots and Potions

With a growing sense of concern, Cad noted that the sounds of brawling outside had yet to cease. The only way that was possible would be if someone else had joined the fight or, more disturbingly, if that one lone mage was able to engage ten attackers all by himself. Was this the depair that all notorious villains felt about the woeful incompetence of their minions? How vexing!

With his free hand, Cad waved at the rest of his revellers in a shooing motion. "Go, deal with the hero outside. I don't want want him or anybody else taking so much as a step inside this shop. Understood?"

The remaining revellers gave assorted noisies of approval as they charged off to reinforce the ones outside, leaving just Cad and Mutiny by the safe. The moment they were out of earshot, Cad cancelled the jet of flames spurting from his hand and turned to Mutiny. "Come on, we're leaving."

"Now?" Mutiny asked, eyeing the safe. "But you didn't get it open."

"Sadly not, but I sense a great mass of nervousness and concern heading this way. The Elements will be arriving soon. We have no time left to claim our objective."

Mutiny grunted gruffly. "Elements don't scare me. Say the word and I can hold them off, no problem."

Cad shook his head. "No Mutiny, you are too valuable a piece to risk loosing for this prize. One should never trade a rook to take out mere pawns. Besides, this is but the first step in my plan, and there are other ways to get what we need."

Leaving the half-melted safe behind, Cad strode away into the back room of the store. Now safely away from Miss Lovan's sight, Cad dug into his pockets and withdrew two items: a rusty black key and a tiny marionette doll. Upon being removed from Cad's pocket the doll came to life, standing up and hopping down from Cad's hand onto the floor. It gave a military style salute as it looked up at its master.

"Stay hidden within this shop, and watch the man who interfered with my plans and any Element soldiers who enter." Cad instructed. It might prove useful to know what they discovered if they chose to investigate the crime scene. "Return to me the moment you are spotted."

The doll waddled off on little legs to seek cover somewhere back among the mess Cad's revellers had made of the shop floor. Meanwhile Cad pressed the rusty key into the door of a nearby wardrobe, and when he opened it what awaited inside was not a collection of clothes, but a vortex of shadowy grey mist. He gestured for Mutiny to step inside first, and once his lumbering accomplice had vanished into the mist Cad himself stepped inside to follow.

"Mark my words mystery man, I will get you for this." Cad muttered to himself as he closed the doors behind him, disappearing into the mist without a trace.

A Note on the Revellers

You are more than welcome to control the revellers for any combat scenes. While a couple of them may use daggers or bludgeons, none of them possess any skill in using these effectively. They are high-end novice fist fighters.

Magic/Abilities/Items Used

Corona (Minor) - The Marked is able to cover their body in a sheath of flames for a break once a trial. The sheath is able to help regulate body temperature in cold climates, keeping the Marked warm. The sheath also has combat capabilities depending on how it is utilized by the Marked. The heat of these flames is determined by the Marked's Fire Manipulation ability.
Fire Fight - The Marked is able to condense their corona aura into their hands and feet, or project bursts of flame from their limbs or mouth. The power of both the aura and the projections are limited to the owners Corona and Elemental Manipulation abilities respectfully.
Sense the Troubled - The Marked are no stranger to conflict, and this ability allows them to prepare for it. Turmoil in others, indecisions, stress, nervousness is often unseen save to those of exceptional empathetic talent. This ability allows one of Faldrun’s favored to ‘sense’ the turmoil of people around them. Mostly this will manifest as a vague prickling sensation but if the marked concentrates on it, they can find the source and small snippets of clues as to what is causing it. They may feel a flash of fury or bloodthirsty glee to someone weighing whether they should attack or the heart wrenching indecision of a guard accepting a bribe. These are only clues that allow the marked to better understand the people they encounter and the thoughts that consume them.
Action Figure - Cad is granted a small marionette-type figure on a stand. It's the sort of thing that artists use to help them when drawing the human form. This one is able to be animated, three times a cycle, and can be placed or will walk to somewhere to sit and gather information for Cad. It is very useful for spying etc as it hears and "records" up to three breaks of information. It then teleports back to Cad and plays out the information in "real time" (so it takes three breaks to show him three breaks) in Cad's head. He must be touching it the whole time for the playback to work.
Ruin's Key - The Fallen Immortals all had their Emean Realms. Valtharn doesn't need them, she'll make her own, but she crafts a key for Cad. If he presses it against a door, any door, and turns it, that door will open into Kata's Realm. It probably needs a touch up since her death, but it's a better supervillain lair than almost any he could ask for.

[Balthazar Black]

30 Zi'da 721

The fireball splashed onto the ground before the revelers and Balthazar reached inward to his spark to take control of the flames from there. The blanket of flame shifted into a ring that surrounded and boxed in the revellers who were not unconscious on the floor already- however it did not box in the final group of revellers that emerged from the shop. The numbers really were turning against him... so he had to even the playing field a little. He called on the fire to rise so that the revellers trapped inside it would not feel bold enough to try to move through it while turning his attention to the new coming group of thieves. He switched the focus of his ether which caused the fire to lower a little but not enough to inspire confidence in the revellers that they could pass through it.

He held out his hand towards the newcomers and with a single, swift motion, he scratched at the air creating a loud roar like a portal refusing to open. It was easier than conjuring an actual portal because rather than cut space, he was just scratching at it. Hard. It might even have been a more effective alarm than the fireball given the volume of the roar that the rupturing spark produced. In the middle of the revellers where it was centered, a small whisper of smoke signaled that the spell had been cast.

He was not entirely immune to the noise himself, but he'd centered the attack near them so it did not discombobulate him as it had done to them. He switched sparks again, returning his focus to his defiance spark, and sent a strong, sweeping blast of wind to knock the dazed revellers off of their feet. It was about exactly then that the Land Troopers began to arrive and they immediately mistook the situation for Balthazar being the aggressor- well three of them did. A group of ten Land Troopers flooded around the shop from various alleys and streets where they'd seen the fireball ascend. Most of the military of Scalvoris was familiar with Balthazar either through reputation or through encounters that they'd had with him while he was working. The problem was that, even then, it appeared a lot like a mage was recklessly using their magic on a bunch of citizens.

As soon as he saw the Elements, he let the ring of fire diminish completely and he quickly pulled his badge out to show the Land Troopers who moved in to secure the scene.M eanwhile inside the shop, Balthazar's diri Fuego watched all of Cad's movements. The diri did not quite understand everything- specifically how Cad vanished into a closet but he watched and remembered.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~

It took about thirty breaks to really straighten everything out. Balthazar had to explain to the Elements several times- and write down, the events as they had transpired. So he did explain, several times, that he was walking near the shop when he was given reasonable suspicion to think it was being burglarized. He attempted to persuade the group to leave and was instead attacked. He alerted the Elements as quickly as possible and restrained as many of the revellers as he could while he waited for them to arrive. In the end only ten arrests were actually made. Most of the revellers scattered after the Elements arrived and Balthazar began hurling magic. He might have only been decent at intimidating others, but magic was magic and most people were not so brave as to risk burning alive for a little pay.

At the end of the thirty breaks, Balthazar found himself sitting on a bench inside of Miss Lovan's shop with his diri Fuego beside him delivering an after-action report which mostly consisted of the names that Cad had said aloud during the robbery. Fuego reported Cad's little marionette to Balthazar but Fuego did not know where it had gone. Once Cad left Miss Lovan's sight, Fuego had been unsure which group to follow- the criminals or the victims. He only ended up deciding to follow Cad when he realized that the owner wasn't doing anything nefarious in her own shop. Balthazar passed the names along to the Land Troopers who'd lead the investigation with an offer that he hoped didn't offend them.

"If you'd like, I could give the scene a look? It's what I do best." Balthazar offered to the Land Troopers who conferred among each other for a few trills before agreeing to let Balthazar look around- granted it came with a warning that he was not leading the charge, just helping them along. He was content with that because he only wanted an opportunity to look for the little doll Fuego had seen running along the floor before Cad disappeared. Where Fuego's detective skills failed, Balthazar hoped his would not. Unfortunately he had no idea how the little doll worked or what it looked like because he'd never encountered one before and Fuego was far from an artist in descriptions... and because the revellers had made quite the mess.

He began by examining the safe that Cad had put a decent amount of heat into. Balthazar was bold and even he wouldn't have thought to use fire to melt his way into the safe. Granted he was a etherist too so he could just cause it to melt under his hand if he wanted in. The conclusion he came to was that whoever had been burning into the safe was not a defiance mage. Their magic must have come from a more stable source or they must have been one the reckless ones. The second possibility put the option that they were dealing with a defier back on the table. Then again, Balthazar couldn't disregard that he had many mystical items of his own that did extraordinary things. What he'd overheard from Lovan's witness statement indicated that the leader of the criminals had conjured the fire with his hand, but if there had been a ring or some piece of jewelry she did not notice he could have very well gotten the power from it.

After examining the safe, he moved on to the general clutter that was left behind by the thieves. They'd knocked over just about everything under the sun but the bookshelves were left in some decent condition. They weren't looking for information, they were looking for an item. The Land Troopers who had questioned Miss Lovan probably knew that but it was news to Balthazar who'd just begun looking around. It was then, investigating the rubble and destruction, that Balthazar thought he might have spotted the marionette. Yet as soon as he seemed to really focus on it, he would have sworn the thing disappeared. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at where it had been and sent a mental note to Fuego to keep an eye out.

"The thief has access to magic of some form. A combination of magical items, sparks, or marks. That's how he was going to get into the vault but it clearly took too long. I'm sure you'll uncover what he was looking for by speaking with the owner but I'm not sure what he was after in the bigger picture. He brought a lot of manpower for what could have been a quiet robbery. He's theatrical. He likes to banter. If any of this sounds familiar, let me know." Balthazar explained to the troopers, "There is no way he escaped the shop without some magical item to assist him. If it were Rupturing I would have heard and recognized the sound of a portal opening. If he'd fled on foot, one of my diri would have seen him. I don't have much other than that but I'm sure if you questions the followers we detained you'll find something. They didn't seem a particularly... smart group- but their leader has charisma to make up for it and given that he is one of the few who didn't get hurt, he knows how to throw bodies in the way so he can escape." Not an admirable trait but certainly one that a criminal could respect.

Even then, after giving his initial report, Balthazar wasn't allowed to go back to his inn room for a few breaks that night. Maybe he should have just disappeared into the night? Then he might have avoided the paperwork.

OOC Notes

Magic Used: Defiance (Dancing) - To shape the fireball's fire into a ring around some of the revellers
Defiance (Dancing) - To knock revellers down with a wind blast
Rupturing (Roar) - To discombobulate the revellers.
Boots of Dasher - To increase his speed at points during the fight.
Capstones Used: The Exchange Principle - To investigate

[Jackalope]

]

Experience: +15 xp
Collaboration: Yes
Wealth Points No.

Balthazar

Skillplay: Appropriate to level.

Knowledge:
Unarmed Combat - Fighting while speed is magically enhanced
Unarmed Combat - Safely blocking attacks from armed opponents
Tactics - Fighting against far superior numbers
Tactics - When outnumbered, divide your enemy
Investigation - Signs of magic don't always indicate a mage
Investigation - What was left alone is as important as what was not


Renown +15, for stoppin a big heist by fighting 10+ Revellers single-handedly!
Loot None.
Injuries None.
Magic: Yes, up to 5 each for Defiance and Rupture.

Comments

It’s too bad Robin wasn’t available; then it could have been Balthman and Robin punching a bunch of minions! You struck a good balance between playing Balthazar in character while also playing along with the wacky premise of the thread. The description of the fight was exciting and (allowing for the fact that he’s basically a Jet Li character in terms of UA fighting skills) realistic. Shooting up the first fireball as a flare was clever.

You won this round, hero. But Cad Revel doesn’t give up that easily. He’ll be back, muwahaha!

Cad

Skillplay: Appropriate to level.

Knowledge:
Larceny x 4
Tactics x 4

Renown +15, for participating in a big heist.
Magic: Yes, for Necromancy.
Loot None.
Injuries None.

Comments

I just love how Cad Revel leans into living up to all the villlain tropes, even when they don’t conduce to a favorable outcome! And yes, the Revellers is a perfect name for his Minions of Mischief. The NPCs, including Callie, were well-portayed; I appreciate how Callie has some spunk and pushes back on the thugs trying to rob her store.

Consequence: ”I’m Incrediboy!” Mr. Incredible got a wannabe sidekick, so why not Cad Revel? A young boy who insists on calling himself “Iniquityke” stars following Cad Revel’s schemes, eager to take part and to show how great an arch-villain he can be, as well! Unfortunately, he has virtually no skills (100 xp total, only one skill at Competent; the rest at 25 or less, no combat or magic skills), but is very eager to show off his fake moustache, black hat and twirling cape! The evil laugh needs some work, too.

Be warned, though. Rejecting Iniquityke might lead to Cad one day facing a good guy arch-nemesis with a surprise reveal some trial. Submit the NPC details to the PSF!