[closed]

[sylphid]

Who: Fie Claussell, Shinjiro Aragaki, Louis... the deer
When: Septeril 21
Where: Black Market
What: Infiltration and Mayhem
Warnings: Slavery

[Almost three weeks-- that's how long Fie's been staking out the black market. One week to learn how to gain access, then close to two more observe the auction site. Watching it without intervening is a challenge, but she well knows her patience will be rewarded in the end. Action planned through surveillance is better than a half assed rush job.

The bracer is careful not to adjust her appearance too much. Semi-nice clothes here and here, the occasional skirt. Today, it's a hooded cape over a dress with stockings and boots to her mid-calf. Her cape conceals her gunswords and bonus magical ammunition (thanks Elliot), while the cut of her skirt allows her to include a few more items in case of an emergency.

Before this trip to the auction, Fie informs Louis and Shinjiro of what she's planning and acquires a temporary bond with each of them-- a precaution if something goes amiss. Part of her wanted to ask them to accompany her, but she knows it's not their style, even though she's positive they'd bail her out if she needs it. She doesn't plan to need it.

So here she is, half an hour into her stay, eating lunch she's purchased and waiting for the inevitable shift change of the auction staff before making her move.]

Comments

[rightfoot]

[ They weren't going to go, at first. But, there was something about the entire situation that unsettled him. He knew that it could go bad. So after only a few minutes of discussion, it was decided that they should probably go follow her. It would be the best, right? Louis realized that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if something happened to Fie when they weren't there.

It was annoying.

So, there he is. Dressed head to toe in a suit. He had to move about like he was meant to be here. He had been to markets similar to this many times before. He was born into the Back Alley Market back home. He controlled it with his Shishigumi.

It should be a breeze. It was almost too easy for him to get back into this role. Apparently leading a mafia family was like riding a bike. He hadn't heard about any commotion, so it seems like they made it in time. ]

I wonder where she'd go first.

[ There's a couple options. ]

[hoboagogo]

[While Louis has run these sorts of seedy underbelly, Shinjiro has breathed them. Lived in dark outskirts and peripheral to all sorts of shit-- from junkies shooting up in an alley, to Strega using the Dark Hour to acts as hired killers. He's never had power over it like Louis had, but that's probably for the best for the scene the two cut together. After all, a leader needed a follower, not someone as an equal.

He doesn't bat an eye at the objects for sale in the twisting depths of the sewer. (How Fie managed to find this place and map it out, he's still not sure-- hell, he'd been half-ready to argue her crazy plan until she mentioned needing and relying on them, wanting to forge a temporary bond so that there was no chance she'd go quietly into the absolute darkness. At least someone would know.) Small jars full of black sludge, managing to gleam almost like an oil slick, cleaned and bleached skulls lined up alongside candles mixed with the same infectious drip.

When he'd first arrived, he'd gone out of the city once and learned just a little about it. Cwyld. And the little he'd heard was enough to know it wasn't something they'd want to mess with.

As Louis speaks, he's distracted from his thoughts, lifting his head, as though to catch the words.]

Mm? Knowing her? She'd start with scoping it out, then find something to snack on.

[At least, that's been his usual experience with her. But it may be biased, seeing as he's... usually the one cooking.

He stuffs his hands in his pockets as he walks, eyes glazing over one shady area to the next line of tunnels.]

I don't think she'll go too far from the merch she wants, though. [At least he knows better than to say anything out loud. Especially when in uncharted territory like this. They're new faces, and he's sure the majority of the people here are regular customers. So the more they blend in and act natural, the better.]

[sylphid]

[With her current position, her back is to them, but thanks to her already excellent hears and boosted turnskin senses, she can make out their words and location clear as day. Luckily for the three of them, Fie's already finishing up her lunch. If her observations of the schedules are accurate (she's fairly certain they are), the shift change still has another fifteen minutes. Plenty of time to go over anything with these two.

She lets out an audible sigh and stands, leaving her trash on the bench. It's a black market, people to bad things. Like littering. Fie makes her way over to a stand, passing right through the edge of their vision, confident they'll spot her. There she starts up idle conversation with the shop owner and haggling over what seems to be a piece of unicorn horn. Soon enough, she pretends to relent and pays the merchant a higher price than it's clearly worth for being fake. Still, good will is worth what you make of it. It's slid into her bag.

Now she passed by them again, certain they'll get the hint to follow at a distance. Soon enough, she enters an alcove, one free of observation magic, and waits.]

Funny running into you two here.

[She doesn't sound surprised at all.]

[rightfoot]

[ Louis catches her out of the corner of his eye, but he knows. He's keeping tabs on her, the temporary bond makes this a little easier. A combination of that and having already spotted her helps. ]

Looks like you were right.

[ As she shops, he steals a few looks at some of the booths. This place reminds him of the Back Alley Market in some ways. And, it doesn't surprise him at all that it does. Places need a sordid underbelly to function it seems like. It wasn't like he loves it, of course. But if they had to exist, they might as well be neat and organized.

But auctions? Selling people?

That crossed a line.

Finally, Fie crosses their path again. And he follows her towards the alcove. He shrugs when she speaks.]

We figured it'd be better if we came along after all.

[hoboagogo]

[He pauses as Louis pretends to window shop, scuffing a hoof on the damp stone underfoot as though bored. Really, he's surprised at the near openness of the place. Sure, everything looks like it could be packed up in an instant, and the absolute maze of disgusting underground aqueducts leading every which way and steadily down means he's sure that every merchant could wrap up and escape in mere moments. But despite their wariness, their wares are still out to tempt people in.

Vials of blood, all labelled with species and age and genders and potion suggestions, a man with fabric drawn over his lower face like some sort of gas mask, calling out and offering sachets of powders for Louis's antlers-- everything feels like the same sort of market as aboveground, just-- darker. And the fact that there were apparently slave markets makes him wonder if those still waiting to be sold were some of the donors for the monster parts and witch blood on display.

After the brief pause, they move on, and honestly, he's a bit relieved to meet up with Fie, farther down from the edge of the bazaar. Everything about this place puts him on edge.]

Figured you could use backup. Or a distraction. Whichever.

[...Let's be real, Fie could manage an in-and-out by herself. But taking frightened people with her would be harder- especially since he doubts they're in the best shape, or even ready and willing to make an immediate break for it. Combined with captors likely being armed...

Well. Better to have options open.]

So just let us know where to be, Cap'n.

[sylphid]

That took less time than I thought. I knew you cared. [About the auction and possibly about her too. Fie's tone a little smug, but who can really blame her. Though she'll never admit it, she wasn't completely certain that they'd show up, but now that they're here, she feel better about this whole endeavor.]

Actually a distraction is gonna be part of it. I already had a three man team plan in place. You know, as a back up.

[Fie shifts and subtly points to the auction stage.]

In about ten minutes, they're going to start announcing the beginning of the sale. Today's the big one, so there's most of the... merchandise [her tone sours a little at that word] in the back. I'm going to need you two to keep focus out there and draw as much security out as you can. [She lifts the edge of her skirt up and pulls out a small packet of a couple dozen papers, each about one inch by one inch with a small sigil on them. She pulls out a smaller portion for herself, then offers the rest to Shinjiro.]

Make your way through the crowd once it's sizable enough and put these on their persons. In hoods, bags, pockets, boots, whatever. Try not to have them touching skin, I don't want anyone seriously hurt. Not everyone, mind, but a good number of people.

[She looks at Louis.] You're going to take a spot at the front left of the stage, watching the auction. When I signal you, make a scene. Complain about the wares, question the quality of what's being offered. Demand a demonstration, I don't care. Just make yourself the focus. Dial it back if you feel unsafe, but that'll give Shinjiro time to start his movements towards you as well as let me sneak into the back.

[Her small bundle of papers is slipped back under her skirt as her hands go back inside her cape.] Once I'm back there, give it another five minutes. I'm hoping that'll be enough time to have everything in place. Then start another scene. I'll hear that and set off the sigils. Each one will spark, then slowly ignite whatever it's against. All things where they should be, it'll cause enough of a scene for me to get the captives out. That's when you two make your exit, too.

[rightfoot]

[ Louis listens, attentive. He knows how it works. He knows the things that he has to say exactly when everything tarts. It's all things he'd heard when he was much smaller. 'Too Small', 'Do you even feed them?', 'What's wrong with them? It's no fun if they have no fight.' Anything he had heard when he was small would work here. It's just parroting things he already knows from experience in his home's Back Alley. He never thought, after leaving the Shishigumi, that he would get an opportunity like this. He never though the'd help take part in freeing people being sold. Him being rid of his own curse meant that he could help others with their own.

He's come a long way.

He nods, making sure she knows that he understands everything. It seems straightforward, simple. But effective. She really had created a plan that would work for the three of them. She knew, believed, they would show up, even though she could handle it on her own. ]

Easy enough.

[ Following direction, taking orders? That's easy. ]

[hoboagogo]

[He carefully takes the papers as they're offered to him, frowning and looking down at them. Just slips of paper, small and easily concealed, each with a small glyph on them that he doesn't understand. Something from a witch, he assumes. And while he does look wary at the caution of not putting them against skin, at the potential for actual serious hurt, he carefully nods at the instructions.

Suddenly, all of this feels more real. There's such a difference between wandering down here and joking about Fie getting into things, and in getting down here and hearing the plan for discord and chaos. Sure, none of these people are good or innocent-- they're here to buy people as slaves, after all. But he still has to take a moment and stare down at the sigils in his hand as she describes them.

They'll spark. Potentially ignite. On people, on their clothing. And while there's ample disgusting sewage water here in the alleys and tunnels under the city for them to roll in and put themselves out, it still feels excessive.

The two of them can likely feel the sheer torn hesitation he has at it, and he makes no attempt to hide it. After all, whether they no or not, he'd still lost a huge portion of his past to fire, and all of his future to having harmed people. A low sigh-- but he concedes.]

Alright. I'll place them around.

[And he's already forming a plan in his mind. Despite Fie's words, maybe not randomly on people. Maybe on a line of them, the ones right up front, the ones the most interested and spending the most money, separating the crowd from the stage. It would drive people away from the escape and into the aqueducts forming the maze of the city's sewers... right?]

Just-- you got an escape plan? They'll be bound up, probably weak, and these guys'll probably kill 'em before letting 'em get out and talking. And we don't know this place nearly as well as the ones that work here.

[sylphid]

Don't deviate. [Her words are sharp and directed at Shinjiro. That hesitation is there, not something they have the luxury of at all. Fie's eyes bore into him, as if she's daring him to not follow the plan.] The fire is magical and set to not spread past a set area. Clothes will burn, flesh won't enough to harm them. If people get hurt, it won't be because of something you did.

I don't know what you're thinking, but I can take a shot. Dispersement needs to be random, no set pattern. If it's not obvious, people panic, and the chaos is what we need. Get the ones in the back to move inward, you're trying to trap them all there for a reason. Separate them from the stage, it's obvious the target is the goods. Move them in from the sides, you need access to important areas from that direction. Any certain way of doing it narrows down the options of "why" too quickly for us to manage to do anything productive. I came here to do something, and I've been working on it for as long as I can. This is what I came up with. I can manage it on my own if I have to, so make up your mind now.

[Fie's continued explanation is for the faun, but the last few thoughts are directed at both of her temporary bonds. Going unsaid is that once this is started, there's no getting out. All casual and laid back nuances to her person are gone. This is her element, and she means business. Either jaeger or bracer, Fie takes her work seriously. This instance is no exception.]

Yes, I've got a way to get them out. On my own. There's no working around that one. Like I said, once the sigils ignite, you two get out, back the way you came in. I need the other side of things for my own work.

[She's mapped her own way through the tunnels, enough to get the prisoners out through a few different ways, most leading too near the coven for the captors to try anything. Traps of her own are laid in case they're followed. When she sees the captives, she'll break them up accordingly. That's not something she can plan ahead of time, but there's only so much possible with one of her and a newer system to work with.]

[rightfoot]

[ Louis listens carefully to each and every one of Fie's words. He knows that there's hesitation, too. And Fie's words only further prove that he noticed the right thing. Louis is here because he wants to be here. He likes the idea of tearing apart something like this. He would never get to do this at home, unless he amassed more power than he had as the Shishigumi's leader.

But here, he'd get the chance to do this.

It almost, almost feels like he's getting revenge for his friends from when he was small. Can he call them friends? If he thinks about it - no. ]

If you're worried, I can put out magical fires with magic myself. [ Maybe. Probably. He's not really even sure. But he definitely sounds totally confident. He also feels confident, and is careful with his emotions because he knows that the bonds cross that boundary. He'll say that he has to. ]

Not that buyers are any better than people selling, but I get it. We don't want to go out of our way to hurt them.

[ He shifts, glancing around, he'll map out his way out as soon as he gets in. Probably take the same way both in and out. ]

[hoboagogo]

[Even with the bond, he can't be sure how much he's simple being placated, and how much is meant in earnest. It's difficult to know, when the both of them are so wholly committed to this, their confidence and planning and knowledge in the inherent justice of it overwriting anything more subtle and nuanced. But he can tell when he's being slightly chastised, intentions easily read into, and he holds up his hands in surrender.]

Alright. Okay. By your plan exactly.

[He's careful to use those specific words, if only so there's no doubt to him. He'll go with it, because it's more dangerous if he doesn't, or if they feel they have to watch or monitor him. As much as it itches him in some way to be trusted like this, it's necessary.

He rifles through the papers again, before tucking them easily into one of the pockets of his coat. Easy to reach and move as needed, enough to keep him busy and occupied while the others set into work. Randomly disperse, without calling attention to his movements through the crowd. Fine. And maybe after this he'll have time to try and convince himself that even getting involved is the right thing.]

Get in, place them, get ready to bail. Got it. [It's so much heavier than anything back home, but he shoves those feelings down, instead looks out towards the mouth of the narrow side-tunnel they're in.] Anything else we gotta know?