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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 505989" data-attributes="member: 1674">Eve of the Taurosphinx part 2Torn, who was close by, noticed the commotion and reacting fast, he too joined the pursuit. The rogue tried to shake the two by jumping over vendor's stalls and recklessly dashing through throngs of people, but in spite of the chaos he created by pushing over crates of fruit, he only made it to the end of the market square, where Niklas and Torn caught him.Once the half-orc got a hold of him, the thief stopped in his tracks, not bothering to try to get away anymore. His shoulders and his head was hanging, showing that he wasn't ready to fight. While Torn held him, Niklas checked his backpack, but to his surprise, there was nothing missing. Instead, it looked like the thief had even added something: rummaging through the pack, he found a small silver brooch in the shape of a horseshoe.Holding it up in front of the cutpurse's face, he barked: "What is this?"The thief shrugged:" Dunno.""We'll find out", said Torn. He lifted the skinny man from the ground, and together with their friends, who had just caught up with them, they went into a nearby alley.There, Torn took the cutpurse by the collar, and using only one arm, he raised him against one of the walls. "Now, you will tell us why you planted that brooch on my friend, or else...", he snarled, his rage barely contained.Seeing the halforc's face getting red with blood was enough for the man:" Allright, allright. I did put it into his backpack.".Still holding him up, Torn ordered: "Tell me your name and tell me why.""My name is Sangrus. Some merchant payed me to do it. He told me to wait in front of the Hall of Command for a group that consists of a halfling, an elf, a halforc and two humans and to plant that brooch on them before they leave. But I swear, I don't have the faintest idea why he wanted me to do that. All I know is that he payed me handsomely."That really seemed to be all Sangrus  knew. The friends questioned him for a while longer, but all he could do was describe what the merchant had looked like. Niklas wanted to bring him to the militia, so that the local authorities could deal with him, while Ben argues that they could rather use him as a bait to whoever had hired him in the first place. After all, they were all puzzled. Maybe the brooch was a sensor for their enemies, but Trepat checked it, and didn't seem to be magical. And who had wanted to plant it on them in? If it were the servants of Mormo, this could only mean, that they had either shadowed them all along, or  that they had an informer within the walls of the Vigil's Hall of Command itself...After a klot of arguing, they decided to split. Niklas and Torn would go to the Vigil's Hall of Command while the others would take him to a quiet room in an inn. After leaving the alley, Trepat Ben and Jan took their captive with them, but before they reached an inn, something unexpected happened. When they encountered a patrol of militia-guardsmen, their captive suddenly started screaming at the guards:" Hey! Arrest me! I'm a thief."The guards turned towards the small group, all of them obviously puzzled at a potential thief turning himself over, as Ben interjected:" Good day, sirs. Don't listen to him. Our friend Sangrus has had one too many, and when he's drunk, he likes to rattle some cages...""No, no, no, don't listen to them!", Sangrus interrupted:" I have proof that I was the burglar of the house at the corner of pilfer-street and cobblerroad last week! If you want to check, there is still some of the loot at my home!".The officer nodded, hiding his surprise:" Very well, then. You are arrested. And I must ask you, gentlemen, to come along as well."Jan raised his hand:" I don't think this is necessary. You know, I am a paladin of Corean, and so I am an authority figure myself. And I can assure you that we have everything under control"."Sir, I can see the emblems of Corean", the guard answered:" But here, in the city of Lave, you are first and foremost a guest. Please come along, sir.".Jan wanted to carry on, but before he could continue, Ben flashed him an angry look. After all, their work for the Vigilantes was supposed to stay a secret. They followed the guards back to the militia-headquarter, where they told them everything that had happened, except for the things that had happened in the hall of command.Then, they went to meet their friends. Torn and Niklas told them that the Vigilantes were taking the threat that the servants of Mormo posed very seriously and that they would investigate both their own organization and the background of Sangrus. However, there was little the heroes could do here, and so they decided to leave town and catch a boat to take them down the Hornswythe river.Still, they were puzzled. The whole episode with the brooch didn't make much sense. And quite clearly, Sangrus the thief feared the people who had ordered him to plant the object more than the group. And why was he so willing to go to jail?It all remained mysterious, so they sold the brooch, which neither the milita nor the Vigilantes had wanted, and then headed down to the gate. There were many people coming and going, and they had to stand in line since the guards were giving everyone who was coming and going at least a casual inspection.As they were standing in line and waiting among traders, peasants and other travellers, a sudden shout behind them made them turn around. "Stop! Thieves!", it sounded behind them, and they saw a fat middle aged merchant with a balding head and sweat-drenched clothes puffing his way towards them. As he reached them, he used his last strength to raise a finger at them:" They... stole... one of my... best pieces!".</blockquote>

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