A Wizard, a Bear, and a Thief [Open]

[Armorend]

The sun beat down over the marketplace, despite the customary three hours having passed in Essyrn. The hustle, however, had returned to the area, with gold and other items for trading changing hands rapidly amidst the calls and sounds of negotiation.

Some of the tents and shacks erected to provide shade and shelter housed dancers, singers, and even people spinning pottery or painting, all viable ways of making money and entertaining those who hadn't already spent their hard-earned (In some parts of the world the legitimacy of that descriptor would be questioned based on the way it was acquired) money or who were looking to spend or browse even more.

Amidst the myriads of locals stood a foreigner, clad in a short-sleeved, light tunic, and pants which sat firmly on the waist but which were loose on the legs, allowing as much airflow as possible to avoid overheating. He appeared to be looking around, unsure of where to go, and had the locals avoiding him.

Of course part of the reason for not going near him may have been the furry, black monster that stood next to him; it was shorter and stouter than a bison, with black fur coating its frame. Despite its menacing look, it stayed next to the confounded old man harmlessly, albeit staring at those who walked by on occasion.

[ShadowRune]

Jintare Casseus Virnelis was wandering through the marketplace, taking in the sights and watching for any opportunities that may spring up. His coin purse was lighter than usual, and he would love to remedy that. Noticing a commotion further ahead, with the locals all avoiding a particular man, a foreigner from his looks and attire, accompanied by a great black beast. He looked lost, and distracted by all the ruckus of the marketplace, and his bear was currently facing away from Jintare. Taking advantage of this, he followed the crowd to its closest approach to the stranger, and taking a risk, took aim with a throwing dart, flicking it out towards the stranger, hoping no one had seen him throw it. His target was the foreigners left buttock, wanting to evoke a reaction and see how this newcomer would react.

[Armorend]

Melmac continued to look over the marketplace from his current position: Out of the main flow of traffic, instead standing off to the side. It wasn't the hottest day he had ever felt in Essyrn, he reflected on, as he saw people walking by, and wiped the sweat from his brow with a kerchief.

Suddenly, there was a pinch in his rear end, and he gasped and jumped a little, even letting out a small cry. "Ahh!" He looked behind himself and downward, spying the dart, which had fallen towards the ground after jabbing its target. He knew there were some rambunctious youths within Essyrn, and some others who picked on foreigners for fun, although this was the first time they had done this to him. He looked around, searching for whomever threw the dart to see if they were foolish enough to left themselves unconcealed.

[ShadowRune]

As the foreigner gazed around in the direction the dart had come from, Jintare had already worked his way around to the other side of him, keeping himself hidden among the flow of locals. Preparing his magic to muffle his footsteps, Jintare quietly sprinted towards the foreigner, his muffled footsteps barely registering a sound, dropping to the ground and sliding underneath the foreigner's beast reaching up in an attempt to snag the strange man's coin pouch while he was distracted. Without registering whether he had gotten it or not, he slid right through and over back into the crowd, dusting himself off and pretending to follow the flow of the crowd, while still remaining near the foreigner, he was curious about this one. As an added distraction, a guard nearby was hassling a merchant, who seemed, from the guard's anger, to have swindled the guard out of quite a lot of money. All of this caused a commotion even among the locals. Jintare hopes this would work to his advantage, as he all the while kept one eye on the foreigner.

[Armorend]

"My, my... Looks to be another case of questionable transactions within the village, eh?"

Melmac spoke to the bear somewhat-softly as an aside, before looking down to his furry companion, who had his eyes set on a particular part of the crowd. "Hmm?" He stooped down, listening to the bear.

"... Magic? Near us?" Melmac pondered for a second, looking at the dart and then back to the wary creature. He looked around once again, but the bear had his eyes set on a particular person in the crowd, who seemed to be looking back at them. He put a paw forward, and seemed to be ready to move, or indeed, charge.

To those who may have been watching, it simply seemed the old man with now-questionable sanity was conversing with a well-trained beast.

[ShadowRune]

Seeing him conversing with the beast, and getting the feeling that it was anything but an ordinary one, Jintare waved the heavy coinpurse to show the foreigner his prize, and nodded his head in a gesture meant to tell the foreigner to follow. Jintare wanted to talk more with this man, who seemed stranger and stranger the more he saw. Seeing the bear make a move forward, Jintare gestures that he didn't want any trouble, and mouthed to the foreigner that he would like to talk. Figuring the beast had enough of a sense of smell to follow him, Jintare ducked back into the crowd and led them through the marketplace just as the guard was placing the merchant in shackles.

[Armorend]

Melmac, having noted the young albeit tall male that had swiped his coinpurse without him knowing, moved towards him with the bear moving ahead just slightly, outspeeding the old man, who still seemed to be able to keep quite fairly-well; he had no staff or other standing support, but did keep one hand on the bear, primarily as a way to ensure they didn't lose one-another in the crowd.

Not that that was a problem, anyway, since anyone who saw the creature moved around it, people bending around the two as water would around an obstacle within its path of travel. They continued to follow the Essyrnian, unsure of where he was leading them.

"Played me for a fool, didn't he? These kids are getting smarter..." Melmac remarked, his charge moving slightly faster in front of him, as the two came close to meeting with the boy.

[ShadowRune]

Leading the foreigner and his bear down an alley, Jintare quickly made sure he memorized all escape routes, and laid out a plan in case things went south. That bear picked him out of the crowd fast, and he couldn't be sure whether it was because of his magic or his scent. While he waited for the old man to catch up to him, he pulled up a crate, sat down, and started counting out the coins from the pouch. Not too bad, 10 silver coins and a single gold. Not shabby. Sitting down and tossing the coin purse into the air before catching it again, Jintare waited patiently for the foreigner to show up.

[Armorend]

A gentle desert breeze coursed through the alley, cooling the area, before the bear and its partner in tow stepped into the shady alley.

The old man was sweating, and somewhat out of breath. The beast's form rose up and lowered down with his breaths, implying he was regaining his 'composure' as well, but seemed in better shape than the man currently.

The bear continued to stare down the boy until Melmac finally stood tall (Well, as tall as he could anyway, being noticeably shorter than the youth), and looked at the young man, stepping closer, ahead of the bear. "Thought you could pull a fast one on me, did you?" His face didn't show anger or any negative emotion, despite his mild jab.

[ShadowRune]

Entertained by the old man's jab, and not detecting a hint of emotion, Jintare tossed him his coin pouch, with all of the coins still inside. Looking over the man, and wondering what he felt that was so strange, he walked over, without showing any fear, and gave the large beast a pat on the head and a scratch behind the ear before speaking.
"No disrespect meant sir, but if I had wanted to pull a fast one I would be long gone. I was curious about you, and figured this would be a more fun, for me anyways, way to grab your attention. Besides, it's better k get your purse and drag you here than a thug gets ahold of you. You looked about as lost as any foreigner, and the thugs and other thieves around here feed on that." Wondering if he had gone too far, Jontare stepped back and waited for an answer.

[Armorend]

Melmac's face turned to a smile. "I was only going to say that you did pull a fast one on me! Were it not for my talented partner here, I would've known nothing was amiss." He reached into the coinpurse and pulled out two silver coins, handing them to him. "I wasn't prepared for someone, particularly not someone still in their youth, to be that handy with magic."

Feeling the need to clear the air as well, he continued. "And er... I wasn't lost, at least not in the way you'd think. I've been here multiple times throughout the generations, although I believe the layout of the market changed a while back. Indeed, the entire city seems to have changed on me!" Melmac chuckled a little at his own remark.

[ShadowRune]

If it has changed that much, this man surely couldn't have been here any time in recent history, the city has been this way as long as Jintare remembered and as far as he knew for a long time before he was even born. Jintare really wasn't that handy with magic, he only knows a few spells with Shadow magic and even what he can do with that is usually just him experimenting with the few things he does know, but half of his trade is misdirection of attention. And that he was good at. Noticing the foreigner handing him two of the silvers, he accepted them.
"Thank you, I'm Jintare Casseus Virnelis, and you are? I don't believe I've ever seen you around before, you can't have been here any time recently. And did you say generations? Just how old are you exactly?"

[Armorend]

"My name is Melmac. Melmac Equestrianos-De-Stefano-Liberace The-Magician. I did indeed say generations; I've been here, oh, at least seven or so times in the past 5000 years? Whichever way, I happen to be, as of this period in time, 9003 years old." He spoke plainly, his eyes meeting the young man's. A significant aspect of his physical appearance was that, despite his actual age, it appeared as if he stopped aging at 70, if not mid 60's; he did not appear decrepit or as if he was knocking on death's door, although he certainly did not appear athletic either.

The bear stood on his four paws, following the exchange in conversation as intently as anyone else, despite not being an open participant within it.

[ShadowRune]

Well damn, this man was ancient. He didn't look 9000 years old, that's for sure. Jintare would have placed him in his 60s, then again, he'd never met anyone older than that. Melmac was ancient, and that was an understatement. Placing the coins he had handed him in his satchel, Jintare kept an eye on the beast.
"And the beast, what's his name? I've never seen an animal like him so forgive the crassness. I'm 17 but I've lived most of my life surviving on the docks here in Essyrn. It's a rough neighborhood."

[Armorend]

Melmac looked to the bear and back to Jintare. "It's quite alright; no-one I've met knows everything. You are certainly not the first, and more than likely not the last, to inquire about my dear partner."

Melmac reached down and slowly ran his hand along the back of the black-furred animal. "Ah,  anyhow, this is my most faithful companion. He has never given me a name to refer to him by, but his the less-gifted of his kind are referred to as 'bears'. They prey on other creatures, preferably alive, but dead as well. This fellow here, however, is different from any other; gets quite irritating when those who are familiar with his kind treat him as if he is indistinguishable from all others in behavior."

[ShadowRune]

"Ah ok. He is a magnificent bear as you call him. He sniffed me out very easily and I wonder whether that is due to a keen sense of smell?" Jintare was a little offset by the bear's uncanny sense of him. He remembered Melmac had commented on his magic. "And as for my magic, I'm not too good with it, only know a few little tricks to help me hide my endeavors. But you must know something of magic to have lived as long you have."

[Armorend]

"Sense of smell? Well, he has that too. However, this fellow has some magic prowess of his own! Cannot cast spells, unfortunately but he can detect magic far better than I. He has proven himself so wonderfully helpful." Melmac spoke with an air of gratitude, providing sincerity to his words.

"Now, with regards to your own, I am sure you must have been told to practice by someone! If not, perhaps you should? You could turn it into something useful, as opposed to petty thievery."

As they were talking, another voice, a more gruff, yet only slightly-aged tone, spoke up from atop the building in the Essyrnian tongue. "So that's how it is, eh?" Melmac and the bear turned, but then realizing where it was coming from, looked up. It was a man in his mid-20's, a typical Essyrnian, although he certainly didn't look friendly; he possessed a light goatee and had a visible scar on his lower lip."You! The one who stole from me! I knew something was off about the money that went missing from my pocket..."

Melmac looked to Jintare. "I know only some of your language... Did you steal from him, or did he steal from you?"

[ShadowRune]

"Well shit, I had hoped not to see this bastard again."

Jintare only took about 5 seconds to think about the situation before reacting. "Well ya see, the other day I noticed this merchant has a particularly fat pocket. I followed him for a ways and..." At this point the man appeared to be near calling for the guards, and Jintare reacted accordingly. Calling on his magic he put a shadow around his throwing darts, causing them to become nothing more than a shimmer in the darkness of the alley. After this was prepared, he quickly threw three of them towards the man. Two were aimed for the flesh of his arms and the third was aimed for the back of his left knee, hoping to cripple the man without causing serious harm. After this, Jintare drew a shadow cloak around himself and attempted to hide Melmac and his companion as well.

"I'll explain the situation later, but right now we need to get out of here." At this, two of the throwing darts struck home, one lodging itself into the merchant's right arm, and the other missing it's mark but puncturing the merchant's shoulder. Taking the opportunity, Jintare quickly led Melmac further into the twisting alleyways of Essyrn...

[Armorend]

The merchant cried out in pain, reaching to the wounded area, grabbing it instinctively. "Aghh!!" Once he noticed the pair were no longer there, he cursed, before speaking through gritted teeth, once-again in Essyrnian. "You'll pay, boy! I'll have the guard on you soon-enough!"

Melmac was doing his best to keep up with Jintare, the bear acting as the middle entity that bridged the gap between the other two, ensuring everyone stayed together. "Was that really necessary? There's a difference between stealing from foreigners and stealing from your own people, you know! I could've just paid him off, instead of having you retaliating... Surely it makes little sense to attack those you see on a daily basis versus those you'll never see again?"

Melmac managed to keep up fairly well, although he eventually needed to rest, asking for Jintare to slow down, hoping the spry young male (whose tallness made his strides even harder to keep up with) would comply, or at least acknowledge the necessity of taking a breather.

[ShadowRune]

"Don't worry one of my hides is right down this alley. We can walk now." Leading Melmac and his companion about another 50 feet, he showed them into a small shack hidden behind a sliding panel built against the rear of a building. To anyone who doesn't know better, it would just look like a rear vestibule of said building. Inside were six bags of coin, mostly separated between the denominations, and a good portion of said bags were mostly low denomination coppers. These bags rested on a small table in one corner, and a bare bed with cotton sheets.

"Well, welcome to my cozy abode. It's not much, but it serves its purpose. Anyways, I promised you an explanation didn't I?"