Jaxel persisted in tossing about the sword as he walked, then raised an eyebrow. "Huh, really? Most of the people they grabbed were from around here, or had been passing through at the time. Where are you from?" That little surprise was enough to cause the man a rare moment of concentrated thought. If those people could grab Iron from somewhere else, it wasn't just a local operation. If it wasn't a local operation, odds were that the guy they were chasing now wasn't actually the head of things, and they might well spread a lot further than he'd been afraid of.
Well, they'd figure things out once they caught their quarry, for certain. If they had time to drill him for information before Iron punched his face in, that is. Quickening his pace, Jaxel saw the edge of the small town through the trees, and darted forward. The man was met with a mix of surprise, annoyance, and open-mouthed stares as he sprinted and flipped his way to the inn, flung open the door, and dashed up the stairs to his room.
Once there, he hastily grabbed his pack, buckled on his sword, and snatched up his blue cloak before leaping through the window and up onto the roof, for reasons only Jaxel himself might possibly know. There he fastened the cape, drew his sword, and gave a whoop. "Hah! That's much better. Was worried I'd not be getting these back."
Meanwhile, a number of the townspeople began to gather below, muttering among themselves. Some seemed bewildered, some seemed to have heard something of what had transpired (presumably from the escapees who passed that way), and some seemed simply curious. There was muttering, shouting for him to get down from there, and of course a few joking calls to jump.
