Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

He had taken a shortcut from the market district with the intention to reach the Four in Hand at some point in time, preferably soon since he had to make up for the time spent lost within that maze. Man if that wasn't an interesting situation he found himself caught up in though, needless to say the distraction from his current agenda wasn't very outrageous. He still had time to wrap up the preparations involved with prepping for his planned expedition, the final essentials being just some dried rations packaged for him by the butcher.

He had to pay at least a few nel just see to it he wound up with the good stuff, essentially a fortnight's worth of dried meat to keep himself going. Starving out in the wilderness wasn't something he was keen on doing, especially when it came to mountaineering the landscapes east of here. Yes. Patrick's latest intrigue was a rumor he felt invested in chasing, because he was essentially going after a mythical object lost within the peaks of Scalvoris somewhere. Where though? Hell if he knew! Last time he went there he found a cave and... well shit's never been the same quite honestly.

That was why chasing this rumor became a necessity, because what awaited him if it were actually a real object then he needed it. Especially if he wanted to take care of the loose end he left within that cavern, since it was pretty big and scary with all it's shadowy.... A shudder came at the recollection of the creature, and with it a grimace at his vivid memory of what transpired in that cave. Needless to say it'd left quite an impressive mark on him, one left behind by Chrien Her self when he made it out half alive.

Which was why now he needed to pursue this rumor, to confirm if the legend of this 'sword of light' really did exist. Maybe then he could use it against that beast, or maybe.... money was good too but honestly that wasn't an issue for him anymore. Thus with his travel sack filled with the packaged meat he took from the butcher in town, he moved along to roam down the street he deemed 'shortcut' towards the place he'd been staying at.

Yet it seemed something was afoot.

Dressed in with his green shirt and blue pants; he arrived at a commotion was going on as people clustered in the middle of the street, and ogled at what had to be a very brave or desperate lady. She seemed intent to hang out the window, and even called out to a fellow about as tall as Patrick since he stood the closest. But... why? What was this woman so intent to jump from a window? Was she in trouble with someone by chance? She held onto some kind of lockbox which could've very well been stolen property, but if she intended to jump into a stranger's arms... without the right push or turn in her form?

That's it... Patrick's jumped out of one window too many to know how to land or catch her properly! Needless to say he took it upon himself to find the moment to intervene, as the girl seemed to push off and flail herself into the air as she plummeted. The man she'd intended to have catch her seemed to hesitate and Patrick knew, quite well, such a thing wasn't going to end well for her otherwise in this instance. Thus his timely step to shove the man aside ended with him holding his arms out accordingly, so that when the woman fell into them he caught her by the knees and lower back.

People behind him gasped and seemed completely startled once they saw her land, and just as soon as Pat felt the impact of her fall he buckled his knees to reduce the force when he caught her. "Gotcha," He remarked with a grin as he looked at the face of the woman he caught, with actual surprise that he managed to catch her so calmly considering how last Bit the intervention was. "that was a close one!"

Sure enough the loud bangs were mixed with something heavy moving, and not long afterwards the guards of the Elements after this girl stopped to gaze out the window.... whoops. "Friends of yours?" He remarked as he lowered her so the lady could stand on her feet, she looked to be dressed as a sailor but definitely not one of the locals. Needless to say she was a very pretty woman, one Patrick couldn't help but smirk at when she finally stood on her own.

Patrick has seen and dealt with quite a lot throughout the past couple of decades, especially the past several arcs, and in doing so met a wide array of colorful people in that time. Out of the many he could easily remember in a instance only few seemed to actually stand out, when he filtered their memory with the similar attitude that this particular individual possessed. Freya an immediate one he easily reflected on, but even then she paled in comparison to the uppity attitude this stranger possessed. With the individual in question now in his arms Patrick realized what he couldn't help, which was the moment spent admiring her adorable features when she looked to see her rescuer.

True she had to be as astonished as she appeared when she realized it was him, and not the man she'd called out to earlier, who had stepped in to catch her at the last moment. Hues of gold seemed to decorate the hazel rims of of her irides when he looked into them, and in just that moment he quickly realized why she created such a faint reminder of Freya. This girl had to be Biqaj if her eyes held such rich unusual hues, he'd seen it enough to be able to deter that about the race well enough. But just to look at this girl overall... wow she was a fetching if not fine specimen of her race. In that very moment when he realized he'd stared at her, he realized he did so with a pause in his breath. That is until reality settled back in and his eyes followed the directions her's did also, back up to the window of the Element guard who pursued her.

She was a troublemaker evidently... The box in her arms confirmed this for him when he glanced down at it. When she seemed to recite rhetoric with his own however, he couldn't help but secretly chuckle at the response before letting her down. "Somebody likes her already." Ri'ku chimed within the confines of his noggin, which he mentally shrugged off with a 'pff' as a thought in response to her statement. The woman he'd helped out seemed to add in on the idea of fun, in which her opinion with cutting it close seemed to be highlight of it all. By the Gods if she weren't speaking his language already, somehow in just the sparse exchange of words; he felt he could relate to her easily with what he'd just heard.

"Some would disagree." He remarked with a shrug as though to avoid showing disinterest, but an obvious grin also spoke volumes with the alignment in their interest. Just a moment after he said that it seemed the owner of her lockbox seemed to arrive, intent on getting back what belonged to him as the lady he rescued determined it time to leave. "Don't have to tell me twice." Since he practically aided a wanted 'criminal' at this point with escape, he didn't want to discredit the chance he too would need to be on the move. Strange how this easily reminded him of old times, back when he had to outrun a couple lightning knights before Dom joined.

He started right behind her but weaved into another part of the crowd, quite unaware of the fact she'd been held up until he was past the gathered crowd. He heard a remark of course and associated with it, a cry of anguish as the man who attempted apprehension found that his more personal family jewels were assailed. Ouch. That was one thing Patrick never wanted to experience, even if he was all too well familiar with such pain a few times. They were too far and frequent for him to dare challenge another, and so when he saw the woman he saved finally split from the crowd he then moved onward. Was he really that amused by her performance though?

He must have been because a smile split his lips as he ran down the alley he ducked into, with heels hot to trot on on the cobblestone he ran over to put as much distance behind him. He made a left turn to find that an obstacle awaited him, which happened to be a personal fence that stood four feet tall, as he ran past the back area of some buildings. "Remind me again why you're heading this way?"

"Not sure," Patrick answered verbally as he focused more on the upcoming jump he'd make, when he stood at about five feet away from the the first section of the fence he bent his knees into a bounce. With the amount of momentum built into his sprint Patrick rose up to briefly soar over the first section of the fence, and hit the ground with the flat of his boots to resume the running towards the otherside. "Do me a favor though and keep up with her!" Right as he finished this statement he reached the next fencing to jump, only he proceeded to use his hands to help brace for a quick hop over it.

"Sure, already on it." She assured him as the invisible creature darted further ahead of him, a good call on his part since Ri'ku could essentially cover more ground faster than Patrick could. He continued running until he made a second turn, to the right this time, to resume the back alley run he started earlier with hopes of a shortcut. It was also the way he last saw Ri'ku soar before he lost her entirely, so he essentially was on his own from there without a bit of guidance. "Found her!"

"Directions would be great!"

"I took a left when I reached the street at the end." So she hit the street and then went left from there, good enough to considering they could've easily wound up somewhere else; Patrick especially. As he closed in near the alley's end however another obstacle presented itself, a farmer's horse strolled with a wagon full of hay in tow and the Rharnian had a very short window of time to react.

"Oh crap!" Were the words that slipped as he either would've collided straight into the wagon, thankfully he had just enough time to react in a different fashion in comparison. With the application of a tuck using his upper body Patrick fell onto his bum and a forearm, with legs pointed at a slight upward angle to allow him for a quick slide between the wagons wheels. Granted felt a brief moment of intense burning from the slide across the stone, he cleared the gap underneath the wagon with narrowly solid timing nonetheless. A few people saw this naturally and seemed to gasp in awe at the scene, while he pushed to his feet with a brush of his scraped hand against his pants. Which way again? Left?

"You okay?" Ri'ku checked as she seemed to pop up almost from nowhere.

"Definitely cutting it close." He remarked as he started to move once more, with eyes on the next entrance to the alleyway nearby once he started to move.

"Down two more, should be on your right!"

Patrick needn't utter a thanks as she could already hear it in his mind, although it sounded as ragged as his breathing as he ran. After covering the nearest alley he pushed harder, barely even glancing down the next one he passed as he merely had to count it as 'two' in this case. When he arrived at the next one considered his necessary stop, he slowed until he reached the corner where she had to be waiting somewhere. Only... he didn't spot her outright like he'd hoped. Had she gone further down to possibly outrun a pursuer? "Scuse me," he called out to one of the few sketchy beggars found here, "did a woman pass through here recently?"

The filth covered man looked at him with a slight shake of his head as Patrick drew near, and while the Rharnian almost bought the gesture something else nearly slipped the radar. He noticed the man seemed to focus on a storage bin just a couple feet behind Patrick, as though he were fixated on something out of the ordinary for some reason... Oh... Oh wait a moment. Patrick looked to the beggar suspectively and with a look back his shoulder he discovered the lady, sitting with knees tucked near her body as she sat out sight. "Well," was the first word that came out of his mouth, "you certainly have a knack for hide and seek." While his eyebrows were raised at discovering her there, they quickly fell when he looked to the beggar once more half serious. "Nothing to see here, go back to doing your thing."

Whatever that was. Patrick could've been so much horrible and tell them to go back to begging, but between his exhausted pants for air and the fact he had a woman to help out; he really didn't have time to waste on ostracizing the locals here with his own rhetoric.

It really proved interesting to see the sort of spunky attitude that this sailor had to possess, even when she had to be incredibly worn out she still put on a gambling face. Honestly Patrick had found himself rather intrigued with the girl, and it didn't help she had the looks to compliment her sass either. "Really now? You sound like quite the trouble maker then." He complimented with a smirk as he watched her move, a hint of curiosity in his hazel green eyes when he watched the lady curtsey out of nowhere.

A woman with etiquette it would seem. The longer he spent with her the quickly Patrick realized she had it all, from the looks to the wits and even the manners she projected. He honestly couldn't tell if it were simple humor or actual behavior ingrained in her mind, but nonetheless he chuckled with a brief bow accompanied by a nod. "Same to you Lorena, helping you was only a matter of luck honestly." Meaning when one considered it he could've very well taken a different route to his room, and then the lady certainly would've found herself stuck on the run alone; if she were lucky enough to be caught by her first gentleman to begin with.

"Patrick's the name though a lot of people here call me Rharnian, mostly because I'm still the foreigner they consider too rebellious when it comes to drinking." He mused to Lorena with a cross of his arms as Ri'ku fluttered around him.

"You know you could try flirting with her later, after you know the watch has given up on pursuing you two." She had a point there and Patrick checked back around the corner, half tempted to consider them still safe if not only for another fleeting moment. Sure enough the sound of footsteps clanking on stone alarmed them, and suddenly it seemed as though Lorena had an idea for escape. Yet she considered asking the beggars nearby for help, and while he didn't think it so wise... he had to observe just how she handled the situation.

Bribery? Just who in Idalos was Patrick associating with? One Bit she was a damsel in distress, the next a wanted fugitive, just a moment ago she was a proper lady, and now she was a negotiator with coin to bribe. He had to admit seeing this many sides of a stranger felt more than intriguing, it actually held his interest better than any game he played with another individual. The fine game of seduction was something he'd been far too involved with, and over the past couple seasons felt less interested in really. But now? All this sense of adventure he found in just one person, really he hadn't expected himself to be so pulled in by her mystique.

And her naivety also... For he listened closely and when he heard them say one thing in particular, he knew good and well that they were about to be duped by the two beggars. Thankfully she only gave them half now, which meant she did have a sense for business thankfully. But as far as Patrick knew; no such thing as tunnels or underground networks existed in Scalvoris town, otherwise he'd have found them not long after his arrival for dubious reasons. These men outnumbered the both of them, and if they weren't deeper into the alleys of the town they'd be well out of the Element's grasp; because they'd be found much later somewhere in the city as corpses due to lack of caution. No. He had to step in and determine the proper way to ditch both authority and danger, and it started with placing him between Lorena and these men.

"Sorry boys," Patrick called out with a wry grin on his face as they all stopped and stared blatantly, "Fooling a tourist with the suggestion of an underground tunnel might've worked; but I. Am calling. Your bluff." He then looked down to Lorena and then past her towards the wall of the building next to them, aware of the stones lined in their repetitive pattern as they created the wall. The buildings they stood in between weren't too tall, and with a bit of help they could both scale the side with the right amount of practice.

Unfortunately... he doubted Lorena possessed that sort of experience. However improvisation was something he proved good at and, with some quick thought, he moved to stand close to the wall to her right. "Lorena I want you to run towards me and try to hop on my hands, I'm going to hoist you up so that you can grab the edge of that roof."

"Are you daft?!"

"You clearly are daft." Ri'ku seemed to agree as she flew up to the spot Patrick mentioned, hardly convinced the plan would come together as he planned.

"Look pal you've got your ten nel, leave us and pretend you saw nothing; consider it on the house while we slip away." Patrick warned the beggars as they started to approach the two slowly.

"Piss off! We were promised more anyway!"

"Lorena," Patrick's tone deepened as he looked from them to her, "now's our only chance. Run!" Hopefully she understood what he meant, and would proceed to follow through with his idea. Daft as it was it was the next best plan he had, which was better than ending up dead by a band of homeless thugs in some dark alleyway.

She might've paused which was to be expected given the capacity to question his antics, but nonetheless once commanded to do so Lorena charged at him with all she had. The timing couldn't have been done at any better moment either seeing as how the others reacted, Patrick saw an object drawn but with the fast pace of things he hardly had time to register just what exactly. The distance between them was short but just enough to serve purpose, and thus when she reached him to bring a leg up a little higher; Patrick caught the underneath of her boot with knees bent for better support.

Come the moment he felt the rest of her weight fall into place he buckled just a little, and then with a firm grip found in his fingers he pushed against her with all his might. With just enough force she bounced from his hand and rose higher into the air, just enough so that she'd caught the edge of the roof as he planned. "That's it!" He encouraged when she seemed to have a handle, but then started to struggle and nearly slip off. For a moment he nearly panicked and forgot about the others there, that is until something quickly reminded him that trouble was merely a few feet away.

"Patrick!!"

A look to his left revealed the vulture of a beggar from before lunging with knife in hand, and thus Patrick reached out with his hands to grapple and hold the man at bay. Just in the knick of time too considering where that dagger would've gone, if his back had stayed towards the man he'd have had a blade to the shoulder for sure. The beggar found his arms useless now that they were held away so instead, he sent a knee upward to hit Patrick in the lower reaches of his gut. The Rharnian winced with a groan as he shifted from the pain of impact, which then resulted in his upper body strength waning just enough; for the beggar to push down hard enough for his dagger to plummet. Only by a few inches.

Patrick's forearm pressed against the forearm of the arm in possession of the weapon, and right when he felt the beggar's weight shift for another incoming kick; the Rharnian rocked his head back so that the forward motion which followed gained a bit of momentum. Impact followed and he felt his forehead crash into the nose of the criminal, who teetered just enough for Patrick to regain his footing away from the wall. Without any second chances to leave an opening Patirck brought an arm back, with a fist spiked at a downward angle to punch the man before him almost from above. In that time the beggar's friend had taken to throwing stones at Lorena, up until he realized that his pal happened to have his hands full at the moment.

"Nph!" The dagger wielder staggered back a few feet after the blow he just took at the side of his skull, while Patrick suddenly felt the aftershock of his headbutt when he stood still for a moment. That was all his friend needed apparently as the Rharnian soon found his arms ensnared, and then locked in a hold as the rock thrower held him at the elbows.

"Gah." Patrick growled as he struggled to attempt a break for freedom, but he found the movements useless without a bit more force. So out of defense he took to jabbing the man behind him, sending elbows into the ribs of his captor while the dagger wielder recollected himself. "Get off already!" He barked with a few more harsh shoves of his elbows, until at last he seemed to weak the man's grip around him just in time. The vulture ran to try and skewer him but Patrick had just enough leeway to break out, if only to struggle with his assailant once more if he did so... So what could the Rharnian do when he found himself still held in place? Quickly he bent his knees and did a short bounce to throw the rock tosser off, Patrick's upper body brought up so that his feet would rise just with him at just the right time.

With legs pulled in Patrick sprung them out into a kick that crashed into the dagger holder, and in turn caused his holder to fall with him on top of the man from the brief amount of force. All three men groaned loud as they could now that all of them were on the ground, with Patrick in a roll away from the one who held him; so that he could once more push himself onto his feet in earnest. How much time did he have left?! A look at the other friends associated with these two beggars, and then a glance at the alley's entrance showed that the window of time narrowed by the Trill. The Element guard had been accompanied with a friend or two from the looks of it, and they were intent to stop all this trouble which unfolded in their town.

Poor men. First they were merely chasing a woman and now they'd have to deal with homeless criminals. Fortunately for Pat that meant a chance to get away, since now seemed to be the best time to act on his impulses. Quick as he could Patrick ran towards the wall and bounced to where he'd caught the underside of his boot on it, as to provide a moment to snag the top of a window frame with his fingertips to start the climb. "There! Stop!" Too late Mr. Guard. By the time they started to run Patrick pulled himself up and threw arms above to grapple an arch beneath the roof, using that to help climb to the edge of the roof where Lorena awaited him as the Elements and the beggars all seemed to watch.

"Don't let 'em get away! Bastard's robbed me o' all my nel!!"

Patrick glanced from where he dangled at towards the blood-nosed beggar, with a scowl to boot, as he pulled himself further up to where the lady was. His hands found the same spot that Lorena did earlier, which made the rest of the climb easier as he heaved his body onto the roof with a grunt. "Asshole." Was all he could mutter in turn as he panted for a bit, with a look cast past Lorena towards the roof next to them. It was a bit of a jump but they'd be able to make it, especially if he went first this time around and sure enough; they'd be able to make their getaway from there hopefully.