Welcome to Gaia! ::

Bronwyn paced back and forth through the market with a sigh, wondering what on earth she was waiting around for. It was nearly noon, and the market was full of screaming people and annoyed animals. She stopped by the well and listened in, hoping to get some news. Voices drifted in and out as people moved all around her.

"...was stolen yesterday." An elderly merchant was telling a grizzled old woman with three tots playing nearby. "No one saw anything of the thief, and mark my words, things are only going to get worse from here."

"But what about..."

"...and then the wagon wheel broke. Thank god the bandits didn't..."

"...get back here, you mangy cur! I'm gonna..."

"...what did she say?"

"Nothing. She disappeared right after stabbing him. Some sort of guild uprising, apparently..."

Bronwyn gave a sigh and opened her eyes again. Still no sign of the person she was waiting for. Inwardly, she cursed Marian and her shady contacts. With another sigh, she leaned against the well and waited. Marian had given the contact her description, so now all she had to do was wait...

Bronwyn glanced up at the sky and gave a sigh. The hell with this. She thought, standing up. What on earth would a storekeep know about the uprising anyway? She stepped away from the well and started heading out of the marketplace, looking for something cool to drink. She evaded a pickpocket with practiced ease and passed the meat pie seller without a second glance.

Unnoticed by the preoccupied woman, a pair of figures detached from a nearby shadow in pursuit. A glint of silver could be seen as the smaller of the two figures fingered a dagger.

Bronwyn, apparently unaware of the followers, strode around the corner of a nearby merchant's building and headed into the dark alleyway. The two figures paused briefly, exchanging a look before following.

[Multi-Location Post:Red Goblet+City Markets]

The back door of the Red Goblet clanked closed behind her savior, a wisp of smoke swirled out of the deep doorway and drooped to the ground, splashing out in a slow, overly dramatic fashion. May'a leaned against the wall a few feet from the splash, contemplating what to do. He seems safe she thought to herself And his kind might be able to help me she unconsciously rubbed over her arm where the lines had been before, strings of emerald green clung to her hand as she pulled it away, they snapped and fell back to her arm, she would need to find a wash room soon no matter what she did.

Someone turned down the far end of the ally, May'a snapped out of her thoughts and back the the world. Luckily a large trash bin hid her, and the door Mahna had passed through. Before she could consider what to do a pair followed the first into the ally and she started towards the door. Opening it as quietly as possible she slid inside and pulled it shut again.

Ebony flittered around the market looking for things small enough to carry home to the village when she noticed a girl dash into a back ally. Ebony's curiosity got the better of her and she chased the girl.

((sorry everyone this'll have to be my first and last post for today))

The spots in her vision started connecting, as Bronwyn's hand touched the heavy brass compass at her belt. She grabbed it and swung it at the man's head as he turned away from her for a moment, distracted by something farther down the alleyway. The glass over the front of the compass shattered on the man's skull, and the thug jerked, releasing her throat reflexively. Bronwyn dropped to the ground, landing hard on her hands and knees. Coughing, she grabbed her bootknife and stabbed the man's foot. He howled and reached down to pull the knife out of his foot. Bronwyn scrambled out from underneath him, and stood up shakily several feet away, still coughing and gasping. Twice, she tried to pull some magic out of the air for a offensive spell of some sort, and was interrupted by a bout of coughing both times.

With a roar, the thug pulled out the knife and turned rage-filled eyes toward Bronwyn, holding the bloody knife loose in one hand, as though he knew how to use it.

Bronwyn suddenly became aware of another person in the alleyway. A woman, it seemed, had come to her rescue. She glanced back at the man who had been choking her earlier as he moved forward, intending to charge her.

She stumbled back a step and took a deep breath. With a hoarse cry, she threw her hand forward towards the man. Her attacker flew backwards with the force of her spell to crash into his companion, who was about to attack the other woman. Bronwyn sagged against the wall again as her vision started to blacken once more. Dimly, she heard the two men scrambling and cursing. She took several deep breaths, fighting the ache in her body and the tiredness in her limbs that told her she shouldn't've cast that spell in the state she was in.

Bronwyn blinked a few times, trying to push away the comforting blackness and looked up at the owner of the voice.

"Loose change, probably." She said, her voice rough. Bracing herself against the wall, she slowly stood up, every muscle in her body aching. "I thank you for your help." She said when she finally regained her footing. "Normally I would be a fair match for them, but I was distracted." She leaned heavily against the wall to remain upright. "Gotta love Rinon." She muttered. Her eyes rested on the twisted piece of metal on the ground that had been her compass, and she felt a brief pang of loss at the instrument that had saved her life so many times. She gave a sigh and looked back at the woman, noticing for the first time she was not a human under the hood. She was a Korat.

"Where are you headed?"