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Sarnai had gotten word from Viltre that his sister was due to give birth any day so she had come and set up shop close by. Each night, since she couldn't predict when the poor lady's water would break, she checked to make sure there was no note from her contact that she was needed. So of course when she checked again this time and learned that Viltre's sister had indeed gone into labor that morning she moved quickly to get everything in order.

That meant that the cart that was to transport her and the child was left nearby hidden by some trees. Thankfully the beast she had it tethered to was a picky one and loyal to Sarnai.

She was under the impression that Viltre would notify his sister's lover of things so she didn't even bother trying to send word to him. Instead she was focused on approaching the meet up point. Previously they'd agreed that Viltre would meet her with his sister and her baby in tow before going on to the cart stashed away for transport. From there she would take them to a safe house so that 'Kamal' could then smuggle them out to wherever in Matori that the lady was going.

The shifter let out a sigh as she reached the place they'd agreed upon and scanned the area to see if anything was amiss. Now she only needed to wait.

As soon as this whole operation had kicked off, Viltre got to work. A note had been sent off to Sarnai, that she and her crew could get to work in a timely manner. If they were still on, anyway. As soon as they'd herd a cry, the secondboy had clapped Finley on the shoulder and passed him a goblet of brandy to celebrate. His brother-in-law, being fond of strong drink to begin with, saw little reason not to accept. Merle herself had claimed the young man trustworthy. Incorrectly, in this case. He'd not hidden his pouring a glass of his own from the same bottle, so they were drinking the same thing. Luckily, they weren't drinking from the same vessel. That goblet had been lined with a good del of terribly strong laxative. Were this any weaker a brew, the father-to-be might have noticed something off. But this was the midwife's own brew. It often pulled double duty as an anesthetic and wound-cleaner. Within minutes, Finley was running for the privy, which he was too busy to hear lock behind him.

Viltre, tall and tawny, poured the rest of his cup out over the balcony. Setting it down, he wiped his hands and got to work. Terrwyn was still in the process of giving birth. There was time, but not much of it. Quiet instructions saw the doors barred, and a runner to see the route made ready. This was the biggest operation he'd ever pulled with his own crew, and nothing would go far wrong. A quick look inside told him all that he needed to know. Two babies so far, with one on the way. Both wore blue, either in hide or plastered hair. Three. She'll hike the price. Best bring thr whole thing, just in case. Seilurg was just outside, there to haul a new mother and children to the meeting point. Spirits knew it'd take too long if Vltre tried!

There was also the matter of her lover, who was likely nearby. Having Kise leave his principal's location was too risky, gave too much away. He'd had to tell another Friend Thal's location, and give him a token from Terr to keep the messenger alive. Better an upfront risk than later backstabbing for Viltre's Friends. It contained a meeting point, and instructions to do whatever a shifter fortune teller said once he arrived. In point of fact, the man was just cresting a hill, trying to spot anything blue. He'd been told to look for a Matoran or a huge blue reptile. And there it was...

The messenger handed Thal a claw when he appeared. So Thal didn't murder him. It would be bad form after all. He understood the message, tipped the man..with eggs, that was what he had..food was always a win.

Heart hammering he mounted up and traveled to the meeting point. He dismounted when he saw the shifter who must be the fortune teller.

"I would like my fortunes told please." He handed her the claw to verify his identity.

This was the most high stakes thing he had done since he tamed a snaptrotter way too young.

Only this time it was not only his life at risk, but lives more precious than he. He hoped fervently that Terr was okay. He would give anything to be there for there for her to help her through labour. But alas circumstances prevented that.

Viltre had concocted this, Kise had said. Many working parts, he prayed it all went smoothly and he worried about where Terr's husband was, he was the biggest threat to Terr and her baby.

Myr rumbled behind him, trying to sooth his master who was never this nervous, not even when his head was at risk of being snapped off by wild beasts. Must be a female involved. Maybe that female he liked so much in the desert.

Her quiet thoughts were interrupted when she noticed someone coming closer to her. Of course they had a nice snaptrotter with them. A beast that she eyed carefully before looking back at the man. Since Sarnai had no real idea of what Viltre's sister's lover looked like she was only on the look out for a Matorian. Though this man wasn't a pureblood he did fit the bill a bit. His identity confirmed when he handed over the token needed to identify him.

The shifter eyed it a bit and only gave a small nod. "Fortune says a new light will be seen this night." Sarnai smirked at him.

Her eyes moved to face the direction she knew Viltre to be coming from and she fell into silence once more to wait. There wasn't much else to do until she had the goods to be moved.

This had been a wide operation. For a specific length of time, he'd all but cleared a whole route, alleys, streets and ramps, all to get where he needed to go as quickly and efficiently as possible. Viltre had spread favors all along their path, from having debts delayed to someone lending a hand with something heavy to something funny happening to a rival later on. Any number of things, really, but few specific people actually got paid, so little money changed hands and could be directly traced.

As before, Lurg handled the cart and the new-minted uncle the box. Both babies and mother were shrouded, very carefully not smothered. The only other cargo in either vessel was pillows or padding. At a brisk pace, they were about halfway down when someone came to the meeting point, a huge reptile in tow. Behind the pair, traffic resumed, business continued, and the city forgot the string of coincidences that had held a thin strip of it still.

Still, being about as strong as a weaving of reeds, Viltre came to the meeting point in a good sweat. Three new nephews had been more than he expected to carry for nearly a mile and a half. Luckily they'd had some rope on hand to rig the harness, or he'd have had to pass the triplets to Lurg. He paused a moment to catch his breath, recovering quickly. While about as strong as woven reeds he was also as proverbially tough, and sprang back to readiness in a blink. With more than Sarnai around, his charming mask slipped on seamlessly. "Hoo... Evenin'. Sorry about the delay, unexpected developments." A hand rose to lift the cloth on the box, revealing two tan faces and a deep blue, the eyes of each still closed. "Don't suppose the deal's still on?"

Thal swallowed. Three, Terr had had three babies and they were definitely his. He rode the surge of satisfaction at this knowlegde. Her evil husband had been thwarted and Thal was going to steal his wife. Fool should never have hit her. He cane out the richer for it. No on would ever hit Terr again, if they did he would see to it that they lost whichever hand they touched her with. His eyes glinted. Everything had changed. He wanted to take the babies but didnt want to disturb the flow either. He acknowledged Sar’s congratulatory remark. “Thank you, I’m very proud.”

He peeked in the cart and gave Terr’s hand a quick squeeze. “I have them now Terrwyn, Ill protect you all.” She appeared to be sleeping. One baby was alot especially the first. Three was a marathon. He smiled thinking of his own triplet siblings. Evidently 3s ran in the family.

He nodded at Sarnai. He shook Viltres hand. Now his work began.

Sarnai took the box of babies and spared a glance in to see their little faces. The shifter made a face then adjusted so that she could hold the babies in a secure way for walking. Her eyes looked at Thal and then at Viltre before she motioned for them to follow along. They needed to make it to her cart so they could get things situated. "Well at least you brought that payment, good thinking ahead. Unless you suspected she carried more than one and neglected to tell me." The fortune teller shot a side glance toward the leafling.

It was far too late for her to be upset or mad about being deceived or tricked so she simply would have to go with it. Not to mention, now that she held the babies it was too real for her to let them go back to whatever family situation awaited them with their mother's husband. A sigh left the shifter and she looked toward Lurg with a bit of a narrowed gaze. "Pick up the pace, we're short on time. Already behind schedule." And if everyone here thought she was supposed to meet the smuggler elsewhere then hopefully they wouldn't argue with her.

"Sadly, ain't a healer myself. Anything I'd have passed on was hearsay an' speculation at best. Running this tight? Not gonna bother you without evidence." The maths for Terrwyn's dimensions hadn't added up, but the midwife had sternly waved him off whenever he found a good moment to ask anything informative. The medical texts had been kept under lock and key. Nothing he couldn't pick, to be sure, but there had been so much to arrange that the young thief hadn't found time to spare them. Rushing a job for curiosity wouldn't do anyway. Not at delicate stages. That his geometry had concluded Terrwyn's lover to be uncommonly fertile or a giant was something it didn't seem appropriate to share then, or even at the moment.

Charming as his mask was, he didn't say very much unless directly addressed. Every so often, Viltre would produce something from his sash. Never anything large. A few coins, a lump of clay wrapped in waxpaper, a small bag smelling of herbs, another of ash, a pouch of seeds. Something stashable. He'd plop them down seemingly at random as they passed a stall or a windowsill. Even at the mouth of a particular alley. Were one to look back, however, and look closely, they'd see the packets disappearing one by one. A hand took them, a foot kicked one out of sight, some clean fell off whatever they'd rested upon. Small, specifically arranged payments for small favors. And there had been a lot of small favors today. Little things all added up, and evidence disappeared with the re-emergence of the crowds in their wake.

The career tough glanced to Viltre, who immediately gave a little nod. 'Lurg, used to doing what he was told, took a longer stride and a quicker step. He wasn't all that good a talker, but his instincts got him through most situations. Viltre was a friend, not the boss; he'd been very insistent to that. Boss was whoever was running the gig. The younger man just ran a lot of the gigs. Right now, shifter gal was the boss; they were on her part of the job.