[LPF] Fury Steps In

[GlassEye]

Expecting the young bravo to bolt Fury lets him go and touches tentative fingers to one of his wounds. Wincing and withdrawing bloody fingertips he hears the old man's plea to catch the youth. Recognizing the sound of desperation he steels himself and takes off running.

"Gods!" he mutters. "Does the right thing always have to be so painful?"

Taking off after the bravo Fury slips past Milo and into the alley. An abrupt and unexpected winding of the alley causes Fury to carom off one wall with a solid thud, a yell of irritation from the occupant on the other side, a slight tearing of one of Fury's wounds and a curse from Fury himself. He twists around but manages to keep his footing and keep going, barely keeping the youth in sight but closing a few feet on him.

As he runs Fury realizes that his wounds, and the bravo's relatively unwounded state, will likely prevent Fury from catching him and that he'll have to do something drastic, and soon, in order to catch the bravo. A moment later he skips across a narrow plank, not slowing, letting his momentum carry him across and not thinking about how one misplaced foot would dump him in the canal and let the young bravo escape. Since the bravo slowed a bit to cross Fury manages to close a few more feet.

Fury runs on. And when he sees the bravo dart aside to reach a narrow and rickety wooden bridge to cross a looming canal nearly 40 feet across Fury doesn't slow nor turn aside. If he can make it it would cut nearly two-thirds of the distance between them. The familiar jangle rises up and he puts on an extra burst of speed. He reaches the edge and leaps. Legs and arms windmill in the air and he lands hard; one foot slips out from under him and into the canal behind him but he throws himself forward into a desperate roll and manages to somehow not bathe in the murky water of Planks. Rolling to his feet he realizes his rapier is still in hand.

"Gods, I could have skewered myself!"

He laughs, feeling bruised and battered but alive; so alive. The bravo shocked and gaping after Fury's leap pauses only a moment before he is off again. This time Fury is ready and bolts after him...



[sblock=Actions/OOC]
Thanks! That was fun. Got a little dicey there for a bit and I was wondering how close of a shave it was going to get but it's turned out so far. Now for a bit of a run.

I'm not exactly sure how much you're expecting and how much leeway that I have in the particulars of the chase... but then, everything is editable if I do something out of bounds.

Acrobatics checks: 1d20+17=31, 1d20+17=34, 1d20+17=35; Totals: 31, 34, & 35.
Move: --
Standard: --[/sblock][sblock=MiniStats][size=+1]Fury[/size] Human Rogue 3 / Bard 2
Initiative: +7 Perception: +8

AC: 20 (15 touch; 15 flat-footed)
HP: 40 Current: 8
CMB: +5 CMD: 20 Fort: +2 Ref: +11 Will: +4

In Hand: rapier and sap

Spells Remaining: 1st: 2/2[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

[sblock=OOC]That was perfect, and considering you absolutely toasted my DC (which I knew was a definite possibility given Fury's Acrobatics skill, but still...), I'll consider you good on part 1, and move you onto part 2 (although funnily enough, its basically a repeat of your last bit in the previous post).[/sblock]
As the young man, shocked at the sight of Fury making a seemingly impossible leap, turns to run from the bridge into an adjacent alley, a small leather pouch looped into his belt catches a rusty nail from the wooden bridge; the man looks back, his dismay clear, as the pouch falls onto the planks where he had just been standing, but one look at Fury bearing down on him spurs him on. Without thinking, Fury leans down and manages to scoop up the pouch and pocket it without breaking stride.

This most recent alley is more of the same: a series of narrow planks, long neglected, some well along in their process of decomposition, others missing altogether. Even so, Fury manages to navigate the hazardous terrain easily enough, and although the young bravo is doing an admirable job of keeping up his pace, it's clear that Fury is gaining on him. And his object of pursuit knows it.

Suddenly, the young man hangs a hard right, heading back towards the canal Fury had only just vaulted across. As the pair emerge from the alley, Fury catches sight of the waterway once more, only this time, no bridges are in sight. Without looking back, the young man continues on in his stride, takes a final, emphatic push-off of the waterway edge, and sails over the expanse. As Fury approaches the edge himself, he sees the young man land on the other side with a sickening crack of his ankle: screaming in pain, he falls, clutching his leg. If Fury can only make this jump, he'll have him....

[sblock=OOC Pt.2]Right, so one more acrobatics roll, please. Make it a good one![/sblock]

 

[GlassEye]

Fury flinches at the very audible sound of the bravo's bones snapping but he doesn't stop his mad pursuit. At the last moment he makes his own push off from the edge of the canal. Again windmilling arms and legs he watches the opposite edge draw nearer in the slowed time of high adrenaline. With a preternatural clarity he can feel the arc of his leap and he gets a sinking feeling that it's not quite long enough...



[sblock=Actions/OOC]
Sorry, much shorter this time. Six am comes early and I started too late...

Acrobatics checks: 1d20+17=27; Totals: 27. Hopefully that's good enough.
Move: --
Standard: --[/sblock][sblock=MiniStats][size=+1]Fury[/size] Human Rogue 3 / Bard 2
Initiative: +7 Perception: +8

AC: 20 (15 touch; 15 flat-footed)
HP: 40 Current: 8
CMB: +5 CMD: 20 Fort: +2 Ref: +11 Will: +4

In Hand: rapier and sap

Spells Remaining: 1st: 2/2[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

Fortunately for Fury, his ability to infer the outcome of his acrobatics ability is less than his acrobatics ability itself.

As he closes in on the rapidly-approaching edge of the opposite side of the canal, Fury desperately stretches out his right leg; he's rewarded with the comforting feeling of solidity as his foot makes contact with the ledge. Tucking forward expertly, he is able to roll onto the platform just beside the prone form of the young bravo, who has now gone silent, although whether due to shock at Fury's ability to make such a leap (and a second time, no less), fear at his joining the now-helpless young man's side of the canal, or a mixture of both, is yet to be ascertained.

As Fury picks himself up off the ground, his already-injured body none the worse for wear due to either the chase or the leaps, the young man opens his mouth as if to speak, then, perhaps thinking better of it, shuts it again, instead meeting the man who provided a decidedly grim twist to his evening with silence.

[sblock=OOC]No worries; I appreciate you getting a post in. Just made it (DC was 27), so kudos to your dice-rolling abilities (it certainly provides some justification for all the resources you've devoted to Fury's acrobatics skill ).

Both the chase and the leap itself were each CR 1 skill challenges, so that's a net total of 800 XP (apparently when the XP comes, it comes in bunches...).

The YB is for all intents and purposes incapacitated, so feel free to take your time with him. He still has his weapon, of course, but it's sheathed, so he's not in a position to threaten Fury, especially since Fury still has his weapon drawn.[/sblock]

 

[GlassEye]

Fury grins as he picks himself up. And in one piece, more or less. He turns to the young bravo and the grin slips from his face. Holding his rapier loosely in one hand and with his other hand on his hip he realizes something.

"I lost my sap, Akutu curse it all."

He scowls at the youth and sheaths his rapier.

"We can do this one of two ways: One," he ticks off the point on one hand. "I can help you hobble back to our mutual friend, Milo, and we can see what this is all about because I get the sense there is something going on here beyond a simple mugging. Or, I can skewer you and drag your sorry carcass back there. Your choice. Speak up now or I'll make the choice and you've given me enough trouble for one night that you won't like my choice."



[sblock=Actions/OOC]
Fury wouldn't kill the guy when he is helpless like that despite the circumstances that he suspects. But he will try to Intimidate the bravo into believing that he would.

Intimidate check: 1d20=10; Total: 10. I'd rather it were Bluff since Fury is much better at it but this is clearly an Intimidate situation.
Move: --
Standard: --[/sblock][sblock=MiniStats][size=+1]Fury[/size] Human Rogue 3 / Bard 2
Initiative: +7 Perception: +8

AC: 20 (15 touch; 15 flat-footed)
HP: 40 Current: 8
CMB: +5 CMD: 20 Fort: +2 Ref: +11 Will: +4

In Hand: rapier and sap

Spells Remaining: 1st: 2/2[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

The young bravo returns Fury's threat with a defiant look. "Wot, you gonna run me through right here, like a coward, when I can't fight back, bum leg an' all that? Come on, mate, who you foolin'? Ye ain't the type to hurt a fellow when 'e's gone all lame, and I sure ain't gonna hop back all the ways we came to get bitched at by 'at old codge."

Whilst Fury can tell that the young man's bravado is mostly an act, it's nevertheless clear that he'll have to do better than that if he wants to get something useful out of the young bravo, be it information or obedience.

[sblock=OOC]I'm fine with you trying another tact (Bluff, Diplomacy, etc), but this check was a failure, which would bump the DC for a subsequent intimidate check up by 5 (not sure what that'd make it, but it'd be at least 17).

Just a few notes: they've run a fair ways, so a trek back to Milo whilst shouldering the bravo would be at least 15-20 minutes, roughly. Also, just wanted to remind you of the bag you caught that he dropped; I know I snuck that in there, so I wanted to make sure you remembered it.[/sblock]

 

[GlassEye]

Fury looks blankly at the youth, masking his irritation.

"You're right. I've learned a bit too much human decency from my betters. I won't beat up an old man or kill a defenseless boy. Even one who has sorely tested my patience."

Fury stares a bit longer then shakes his head at the unrepentant nature of the young bravo. How did he ever expect that he could make a difference here? He pulls out the pouch that he scooped up when running after the bravo, that's probably when he lost his sap, and starts to undo its ties to see what is inside. He will, however, keep one eye on the bravo to make sure he doesn't try something when Fury's attention is engaged elsewhere.



[sblock=Actions/OOC]
Thanks for the reminder. Fury will try another tack after he discovers what is in the pouch.

Move: --
Standard: --[/sblock][sblock=MiniStats][size=+1]Fury[/size] Human Rogue 3 / Bard 2
Initiative: +7 Perception: +8

AC: 20 (15 touch; 15 flat-footed)
HP: 40 Current: 8
CMB: +5 CMD: 20 Fort: +2 Ref: +11 Will: +4

In Hand: rapier and sap

Spells Remaining: 1st: 2/2[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

Peering into the pouch with one wary eye still on the bravo, Fury's eyebrows have the sudden urge to arch at the bag's contents: platinum coins. A lot of them.

A few shakes of the bag and a quick scan show that the bag contains about 40 coins, a veritable fortune for the citizens of the Planks. Perhaps Fury has just stumbled upon the most socially mobile bravo in history. Or perhaps the trio of thugs were amazingly lucky in their choice of target this afternoon. Or perhaps, one way or another, the target was anything but a random one. The presence of such a large sum of money suggests that the last of these is true.

The young man groans, cursing under his breath, when he sees that Fury has recovered the pouch he dropped during the chase. His earlier expression of defiance has been replaced by a combination of frustration and confusion: frustrated at the loss of such a sum of money, and confused as to what happens from here. Clearly, Fury's appearance was an unanticipated variable: in a setting such as Ranocchio, one usually doesn't have to consider the possibility of a randomly-appearing do-gooder when undertaking a crime. Reflection up this fact makes Fury realize that, while he may not be making a difference in the life of the young man on the ground before him any time soon, he certainly made a difference in someone else's life this evening.

[sblock=OOC]The pouch contains 400 gp worth of coins. The fact that Fury has it also gives him a little leverage (although exactly why and in what way remains to be discovered - I'm curious myself to see how much information you'll be able to glean, and when, about the entirety of the nature of the confrontation between Milo and the bravos).[/sblock]

 

[GlassEye]

Fury ties the pouch closed and hefts the weight of it in one hand before tucking it away out of sight. He looks at the young bravo a bit longer in silence. Without trying to influence the bravo further he speaks up:

"That's a lot of coin. It belong to the old man?"



[sblock=Actions/OOC]Move: --
Standard: --[/sblock][sblock=MiniStats][size=+1]Fury[/size] Human Rogue 3 / Bard 2
Initiative: +7 Perception: +8

AC: 20 (15 touch; 15 flat-footed)
HP: 40 Current: 8
CMB: +5 CMD: 20 Fort: +2 Ref: +11 Will: +4

In Hand: rapier and sap

Spells Remaining: 1st: 2/2[/sblock]

 

[Qik]

Glaring up at Fury from his position on the ground, the young man spits out, "Whattayou, kidding me? Milo with money like that..." before suddenly realizing that he actually intended to keep his mouth shut. So he shuts it, leaving only that sullen glare.

[sblock=OOC]Not trying to be difficult, but I can't see him talking without some kind of effort to influence his disposition. I see both Diplomacy and Bluff as being potentially viable tracks, with the kind of information you can glean depending on which angle you take.[/sblock]