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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 2125998" data-attributes="member: 15043">Yeah... that was a big typo... its since been fixed <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Xianfung... and Felonca the Hero?“Well... I’m sure those villagers might have enjoyed that,” Yari Ai gave a satisfied smile as the rustling in the trees died away.  She then turned to Nayu and Felonca, and the smile became a huge grin.  “First you two drive off the giants, then the bandits along the road towards Xianfung... what next?  Oh... I know...” she smirked.“It was two bandits, and they ran off before I even lifted a finger,” Nayu replied, spurring his horse to a trot.  “Besides, I think Felonca’s growl did more than any batch of peasants could’ve done.”  “Hah!” the rogue laughed.  The bandits had jumped from the trees along the road some five days from the village, fully expecting easy prey.  Instead, they ran into a still grumpy panther hengeyokai, who had a feral look in her eyes that morning.  One sharp growl later, and two bandits had run off into the woods, leaving behind their bows and two dull daggers.  “Though I still think some of the people from the village might have been even more helpful!”“You know why I didn’t want them coming along,” Nayu said, suddenly sounding slightly cross.“Yeah yeah...” Felonca waved off his anger at the memory of what she did three days earlier.  Scaring off two bandits had put her in a very good mood.  “Blurting that we were off to kill the governor might not have been discreet, but I think those villagers could’ve been helpful.”“Pitchforks aren’t helpful against trained soldiers,” Meiji jumped in.  As Felonca was about to open her mouth in protest, the bard turned back to their fifth member.  “So, Master Ling... how do we get into this capital that will shortly be yours?”“I...well, I am too well known within the city, and I might attract undue attention to you,” Ling said slowly, bringing his horse up alongside the others.  “I will need a disguise of some sort... but sadly, my age does not mean I am versed in such things.”“Oh, don’t worry,” Felonca raised her eyebrow in appraisal, before letting out a giggle, “I think I can get some makeup on you just fine!”  The giggle turned to loud guffaws when she saw Ling shrink away slightly at the comment.“Um... thank you, Mistress Wa-Feng,” Ling replied guardedly, as Felonca calmed back down.  “I’m...um... sure that your... expertise... might be... useful?”“That will secure you, Master Ling,” Felonca managed to keep any further giggles suppressed, “Now... what about the rest of us?  Do you have any... um...” she searched for a discrete word to use for the organization she had in mind, “...’friends’ in Xianfung we could talk to?”“Friends?” The old man looked confused by the secretiveness in Felonca’s voice.  “Of course... I know my son-in-law, whose a captain on the City Watch, and...”“No...I mean... friends,” this time Felonca made “quotes” with her hands, and Ling let out a grunt of understanding.“Yes, I know people in the Thieves Guild,” the scholar replied matter-of-factly.  He ignored Felonca’s groan at the Guild’s name being mentioned aloud, and the looks of confusion coming from Yari Ai and Meiji.   “When I was advisor, we had an agreement with the guild; they would restrain from outright banditry, while we would give them a short leash to operate on... or even direct them towards targeting other, less savory people who were not affiliated with them.”“You are more cunning than you look, Master Ling,” Nayu smiled.  Felonca saw something else in Nayu’s eyes beyond approval... perhaps appraisal?“Being an advisor for twenty years leads one to make arrangements of mutual convenience, in many cases,” the old man said.  Felonca watched as Nayu nodded intently, his ears seeming to soak up anything that the older man described about ruling and governing the province...“There,” Felonca set the hat on Ling’s head, and then walked around, looking him over from every angle, before giving a nod of approval.  The shadows from the walls of Xianfung obscured Ling’s face partially... but that again was the reason they sat here, just outside the gate.  No good in letting someone see the transformation right off the bat...“I... look as if forty years were pealed from my face,” Ling commented in amazement as Felonca shifted her hat of disguise one again, till it was set on the now apparently young man’s head perfectly.  Ling’s aged eyes now looked at her with a new clarity, as he gave her a smile of thanks.“Now you should be able to visit your daughter,” the rogue smiled.  “You remember how to activate and deactivate the hat?”  When Ling nodded, Nayu spoke up.“Good.  Now, remember, we need you to persuade your son-in-law to help us out.  If we are going to make this province a better place, we are going to need the City Watch... and funds.  If you can handle the former, I can handle the latter by selling some of these.”  The sorcerer opened his saddlebags slightly, just enough that the party could see the carved ivory idols of the Life Goddess that had been pilfered from the destroyed Wang Liang village.  “And Yari Ai and Meiji shall accompany you, to make sure you remain safe,” Felonca added.  “As for me, I’m going to see if some friends might be able to help us out in someway...”An hour later, Felonca walked through the streets of Xianfung alone.  On all sides throngs of people pressed to their destinations, as street vendors hawked their wares, neighborhood shamans called out prayers, and children skirted in and amongst the traffic.  Carefully, the rogue followed the directions Ling had left for her, her eyes searching for a carpenter’s shop that had the characters for “vice,” and “finesse” scrawled on their inner doorway.“There,” she whispered to herself, as she slipped next to the doorway of a rather dingy-looking carpenter’s shop.  The requisite words were scratched in tiny letters on the doorpost.  Inside, she saw to rather shabbily dressed men looking at her with almost predatory grins.  I’ve been through this before... I might as well ask if they know of what happened in Mingzhong...“Good day, ma’am,” one of the greasy men gave a slight, almost mocking bow.  “What can we do for you?”  His eyes weren’t looking at her face at all.“I come from the Mingzhong Thieves’ Guild, and I need escort to the headquarters of your Guild, sirs,” she replied rather coldly.  Her tone and words put to rest any darker intentions the young man might have had for her, as his eyes widened a bit.“You... you are a hengeyokai?  A panther hengeyokai?  From.... Mingzhong,” the man said quietly, before looking at his neighbor, who mirrored his look of disbelief.  There’s only one panther hengeyokai in the Mingzhong Thieves’ Guild, Felonca smiled smugly. Apparently, my name has spread among these circles...“Are you deaf and dumb, or did you two here my request?” the rogue boldly snapped, jarring the two thieves from their looks of shock and awe.“Um... yes ma’am... right away Miss Wa-Feng!” the two of them said hurriedly, and rather quickly Felonca found herself traveling down a secret passage from the rear of the store.  Like the Mingzhong headquarters, the passage went down, deep underground, twisting and turning.  All along the way, she heard muttered, hushed whispers from her two stunned guides.I wonder what they’re saying about me? she smirked, before listening carefully.  As soon as she even partially attuned her hearing, she heard mutterings carefully recounting a tale of her deeds in Mingzhong, and how that now that she was in Xianfung, “...we’ll all be rich if she steals even one gilt sword!”If I’m going to be worshipped... I need to milk this situation for all its worth...“Ahem,” she politely cleared her throat, and her two erstwhile guides stopped their forward trek, and looked towards her, eyes wide that such a renowned thief would speak to them.  By their looks, she could tell they were eagerly awaiting a pearl of wisdom, a piece of advice from someone who, in their eyes, had pulled off one of the greatest heists in recent memory.“I know you have heard stories of what happened in Mingzhong,” she said, managing to keep her voice even and diplomatic, despite the rising urge to giggle uncontrollably, “and I appreciate the esteem you hold me in, but it will not do for you to continually gossip about my deeds.  Such are how exaggerations and rumors begin.”“Yes ma’am... sorry ma’am.”  Felonca was glad that it was too dark for her to see the undoubtedly reddened faces of the two men.  If she had, she knew she would’ve broken into fits of laughter.Only a few minutes later, her suspicion that the events in Mingzhong were at least known of amongst the thieves in Xianfung proved true.  As her escorts took her to the bottom of the earthen stairway, and into a wood-paneled room lit by candlelight, she could see many faces looking at her, staring.  Others dashed off, coming back with yet more people.This is even funnier than I thought, she smirked, realizing her celebrity status.“Who here is the guildmaster?  I urgently need to speak to the guildmaster,” she said, inflecting command into her voice when she really wanted to laugh even more.  Finally, a rather short man stepped forward, his face bedecked in the whiskers of a rat hengeyokai.  Nervousness and awe danced in his eyes, as he gave a deep bow.“Mistress Wa-Feng, I am Shi Shuen, chief of the thieves of Xianfung.  I do not know what words can express my honor at greeting such a skilled and resourceful person as yourself!  Tales of your splendid deed in Mingzhong have preceded you!”Now I’m really intrigued... let’s see who knows what about me... And some more fun wouldn’t hurt...  Felonca allowed herself a smirk.  “What sorts of tales, Master Shuen?  What do they say about the incidents in Mingzhong?”“They say,” the man clasped his hands and bowed politely yet again, “that you managed to steal five golden swords from the body of Prince Hu Lun during the midst of his funeral, as two hundred unsuspecting guests watched!  Such skills are unrivalled, and we all humbly bow in the presence of an expert in our field.”As the other thieves enacted varying forms of bows at the guildmaster’s statement, Felonca gave a grin.  Five swords, is it?  And they know nothing of Nayu, Liu, Li or Chou...  Hmm... why not spin them a yarn...  impress them, so that they’ll take my orders for a bit......Nayu would find that helpful, wouldn’t he?  I’m sure all the thieves of the city could prove most useful in causing some unrest to get rid of the governor!  “That’s completely inaccurate!” Felonca waved her hand dismissively. “It was?”“Was it ten swords?”“Was it from the Prince as he was still alive?”This is so easy... she smirked, and began her long yarn of a tale...“...and after the harem girls carefully removed the blades from their skimpy bodices, I presented them to the chief of the Mingzhong Thieves Guild,” she grinned.  Before her, all of the upper members of the Xianfung Guild, it seemed, were sitting, intently listening, their hearts hanging on every word of her manufactured story, their breaths held tight for the end of her tale.Nayu probably wishes that nine harem girls were involved, and I’m sure the Mingzhong Guildmaster wouldn’t have minded if I’d returned with ten swords... and besides, it makes a good story!  She looked at the group, still staring intently at her, and gave a smirk.  I think the harem girls got the men, at least.  “What?  All I did after that was free the harem girls by stealing a palace guard uniform, tying my breasts together so I looked like a man, dressing as a guard, and then stealing the keys from the room where the Empress Dowager slept!  Nothing much!” she gave a mocking shrug.“Amazing...” one of the thieves, an older human, finally breathed out.“Unbelievable!  They... you... I mean...” the guildmaster stammered, “how did you hide the swords in dancer’s bodices that showed... um... that much?  H...how?”“Very carefully,” Felonca gave the guildmaster a wink, and a few “ahs” went around the room, as heads nodded rather dumbly in agreement.  Inside, the rogue was now even more giddy.  No matter how outlandish her tale had become, it looked as if the men of the guild were still hanging onto her every word as if a thundering voice from Heaven was issuing instruction.“Why... why do you come here, great one,” a younger thief said with reverence from the back, “when you could easily be in the Jade City, pilfering the Emperor’s jewels?”“Ah,” Felonca held up a finger, and smiled.  Why not administer a lesson too?  “But you see, young man, there is more to life than just stealing!  You must know who to steal from, and when!  It does no one any good if thieves rob all the poor, or hurt the poor, now does it?”A rumble of agreement went around the room, with many of the older thieves grumbling that stealing from the poor didn’t gain much, and only caused resentment.  Lately, it seemed, the pressure from the governor had grown so great that the guild had to release its members to the poorer quarters of the city to search for targets, despite the meager earnings and great harm such moves created.“True words,” the guildmaster replied, attempting to look wise next to his percieved superior.  “The guildmaster that preceded me spoke of when we did not have to rob the poor, of when the city and the thieves had an arrangement, long ago...  It is too bad that Master Yi, the governor’s advisor, ended those arrangements.”  A few of the oldest thieves sighed.  “That is why I’m here!” Felonca jumped in quickly, and excitedly.  That opening was big enough for me to put a tower in!  “I take it you do not like the governor, or his advisor?”  A loud muttering went through the room, as she gave another smirk.  “What thief in their right mind would?”“When Advisor Ling was here, long ago, his agreements allowed the guild to prey on rich, illegal smugglers!  Our purses grew fat, and the city watch was freed to deal with other issues!” one of the oldest thieves, a wizened crone, called from the back.  “We need someone like him back!  He realized we were useful, instead of persecuting us and driving us to rob from those who have nothing, just so we can eat!”Felonca raised her hand as a murmur of assent came from the assembled crowd.“As I said, this situation is why I am here.  I am in need of help on a major endeavor... the overthrow of Governor Hu and his advisor, Master Yi, and I am in need of your...um,” she stammered slightly as the thieves began to cheer in approval, some shouting that if the “most gifted thief in twenty years,” was helping, that they couldn’t possibly fail.“My friends!” the guildmaster raised his own hands, and after a few moments, the group quieted down.  “What Mistress Wa-Feng speaks of is highly dangerous,” the hengeyokai said quietly, somberly, before grinning like a myrrcat.  “It is also highly profitable!  I say we begin to contact other dissidents, and start to plan!”“My sentiments exactly,” Felonca smiled as the thieves laughed and cheered in assent.  “I already have a friend speaking to representatives of the City Watch.  With them on our side, things shouldn’t be too difficult... even if the governor has a pet army from the north!”= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Yeah, if you can’t tell, the fricking Thieves Guild rolled horrible on their Sense Motives when Felonca started to spin her little tale.  Felonca’s player had fun spinning up that little explanation of how ten golden swords were seized and smuggled out of the palace. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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