<strong>On the doorstep of the Point Respite Magna Sophia chapter house</strong><br/><br/>"I get your point, lady," the boy mumbled, his head slightly downturned, now. He didn't want to meet her eyes, anymore. But then again, who could blame him? "And queen's grace, no. Damn near everyone in this city takes orders from the crown, one way or 'nother. Even pretending to be part of a gang will get you a day or two in with the penals. I'm an apprentice bricklayer. My master's an … amenable sort, particularly when he's been drinking. He'd have played his role, knowingly or not."<br/><br/>"So, as much as I'd li-" The sentence died in his throat as she pulled out the silver. His eyes tracked it as he swallowed visibly, licked his lips, and tried again. "I definitely do<em>not</em>know about any suspicious activity around here and I will<em>not</em>contact you as soon as possible. That will<em>not</em>be two or three days from now, minimum. And obviously, I don't get the risks I'd be takin' by double-crossin' you, since I have no brain or ability to feel fear." He spoke tonelessly, still looking away from her. However, the moment that it was clear that she had said her piece, he was off like a shot. Clearly, he didn't want to spend any more time around these dangerous women than he absolutely had to.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"> Even with your earlier successes, risking his neck against both the army and whatever Guild elements exist in the city is a Great challenge. Sure, you have both greed and fear working for you, but you're a lot easier to escape, as far as he knows. You tied on your roll to Overcome it, so while the boy will definitely do your bidding, this time, but he gets a boost due to the tie. He now has <em>I must escape the crazy woman!</em> which will work against your next social roll with him.<br/><br/>You are also down to your last two fate points, having spent one.</div></div><br/><strong>On the streets of Point Respite: the hungry princess</strong><br/><br/>Initially, Lazerette's pursuit went unnoticed by the odd trio. The man and one of the dwarves were deep in conversation, while the other dwarf was apparently too occupied with carrying his enormous load. Whatever filled the rucksacks didn't look very soft or terribly light, at least from the way that the leather stretched and strained around the odd shapes underneath it.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, the obliviousness of her targets won't likely last, as it appeared that they were heading for the edge of town. From where the sun was beginning to rise in the east, they were likely heading for a northeasterly exit or outlying establishment of some sort or another. As the crowds of both on- and off-duty soldiers, penal labor gangs, and the occasional civilian began to thin, it would take a<strong>fair</strong>effort to avoid detection. Still, she at least knew generally where they were headed. Perhaps that'd be enough to find them later? Or maybe she could even speak to them directly. They hadn't been particularly social on the boat, but they hadn't picked any fights, either, like some of the passengers.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"> Evading the Curious Trio will require a fair (+2) or better result, using stealth. Unless, of course you can make a good case for another skill. You can use any social skill if you just leap straight in, of course, but it'll likely be a Good-to-Superb challenge, depending on how you approach it.</div></div><br/><strong>From the Point Respite practice fields to the chapter house: the giantess</strong><br/><br/>Only a few other former passengers joined Erianthe in following the soldiers and Lieutenant Graft. A group of serious-looking and well-armed human men, likely forward scouts from some martial order or another hoping to establish a presence in the new land, made up the majority. However, a few women and non-humans dotted the loose pack, meaning that she didn't stick out quite as much as she otherwise might. In either case, the soldiers kept well away from the rag-tag bunch following them, as though keeping careful pace with their unpleasant commanding officer would prevent any trouble from breaking out.<br/><br/>While he worded it a bit more forcefully, the Lieutenant made it quite clear that no mingling was to go on between the 'mercenaries' and the soldiers. However, if anyone wanted to "beat the piss out of each other" under his watchful eye, this was the place to do it. A few of the men, as well as a heavily scarred elven woman, all offered to spar against her, but the result was fairly predictable. The giantess's superior reach, combined with her prodigious skill, made any mock combat incredibly one-sided.<br/><br/>All the while, the Lieutenant kept watch, true to his word. If anything, he seemed to be sizing up the contenders with a somewhat less than friendly expression. Then again, he always looked unfriendly. It'd take a<strong>good</strong>eye to notice that something might be up.<br/><br/>The trip through town was fairly uneventful, as anything could be, for the cloud walker. The soldiers here didn't react as actively as most human did, but she got more than her fair share of raised eyebrows and shocked expressions. Still, people got out of her way, at least.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"> Sparring is basically just competing Overcome rolls with Fighting as the skill. None of the other combatants are a serious challenge: assume Fair (+2) if you really want to roll. Otherwise don't worry too much about it.<br/><br/>Lieutenant Graft is a Good (+3) challenge, as noted above. Empathy or notice might be useful in picking out his unusual attention.</div></div>