The city gates stood open well after the sun was set. Truth be told, they almost were never closed. There hadn't been a war in this area of the world for years and it was too profitable for the city to close out merchant traffic which tended to start well before dawn and end well after sunset. The guards at these gates were perfectly willing to ignore most of the traffic going in and out. That is, unless the traffic is a single cloaked figure entering the city shortly before mid-night. That did tend to make them a little jumpy.
"What is your business in the city?" one particularly large guard asked while standing directly in her path.
Pushing back her hood enough for her face to be revealed, being careful to keep her nails covered, she smirked seductively up at the guard and said, "I am hear at the request of my Lord."
This was her usual line and it had it's desired effect on the guards. They all relaxed instantly and leered at her.
"How long you think you are going to be in the city, honey?" one hopeful called out.
"No more than a week, I think." she replied.
"I doubt that your lord will be tired of you after only o week, beautiful." another voice called after her.
"Who said anything about him getting tired of me." she called back, gaining her hoots of appreciative laughter as she pulled her hood back over her face and entered the city.
Taro had once told her she was the most dangerous of liars, the kind that never lied. And it was true. She avoided out right lies at all cost preferring to do as she had done at the gate and simple allow people to make their own assumptions.
Once inside of the city she glanced around, debating momentarily between heading to the slums where the thieves of the city most likely lived or to head towards the entertainment centers where they were out in number, working. Finally, with a small sigh, she turned towards the slums, deciding her beer would have to wait until she tracked down the local head of thieves, the Rogue of the city. If Taro was right and there was a war going on here on the streets, it needed to be fixed as soon as possible. Wars killed thieves and hurt profits. Taro wanted this one to stop before it spilled out and gained the guard's attention.
So her order of priorities were meet the local Rogue, stop war, and then get her beer. She glanced up at the sky momentarily, shaking her head. What I put up for you Taro...
The slums weren't hard to find even though she had never been to Caunith before. Most cities were designed similarly. Once one got oriented there was a natural flow from the richer sections to the poorer. Those with money wanted as much space possible between them and those without. But what was surprising about Caunith was the sheer size of it's slums. She knew that during the last war that swept through this area the city had gotten a new set of owners but she hadn't realized until she was there that huge chunks of the of population had been forced into the slums. That explained why things were so heated here though. With so much competition, the thieves must be feeling pretty desperate. And nothing reduced overcrowding like wars, plague, pestilence and famine. Since nothing natural was taking care of the problem, the people were taking the initiative.
What a pain.
Suddenly she smiled. She was being followed. It was always nice when the people with information came to her. She glanced down a dead end alley and decided it was time to introduce herself. She walked down the alley and turned around at the end, waiting patiently for her pursuers to catch up, praying they didn't just pass her by.
Luck was with her. The two grimy street thugs came into the alley and began to advance on her. She almost laughed at their antics as they approached her, trying to intimidate her by waving their rather rusty daggers in the air in front of them. She was sure that it was quite terrifying to someone who had no clue how to use a dagger but to someone who had actually learned how to fight with such a weapon, their display only went to show just how much big of amateurs these two were.
"Give us your purse!" one growled out at her.
"No." she said calmly, knowing full well the effect it would have one this pair.
And once again, they didn't disappoint her.
"No? Bloody hell, I'll gut you like a fish!" the talkative one yelled, diving at her. She casually stepped to the side, allowing him to rush right past her, almost hitting the wall behind her.
'Damn, I was giving him 5 to 1 odds on actually knocking himself out.'
He growled again and lunged at her a second time and this time she grabbed his wrist, twisting it behind his back, causing him to drop his dagger, and unceremoniously pushed him to his knees. At this point his friend took one look at the situation and decided there were easier marks and fled.
"Now that that is over with, I have a question for you." she said.
The man at her feet started at her voice and struggled a little but she knew how to apply pressure to keep him down, "You're a fucking woman?"
"Yes, yes. I thought I was the one with a question. Now, where might I find the local Rogue?" she asked, growing impatient.
"I'm not telling you jack!" the man said, spitting on the ground.
"Hmm...guess that means you are too low on the scale of things to know." she mused aloud.
"I do too know. But I ain't no squealer."
With a small sigh, Alex pulled out two gold coins a placed them in front of the man's face, watching as his eyes lit up at the site if that much money.
"Two gold. One for the Rogue's name and one for where he can be found."
That got his attention. "You don't know his name? But then you can't be one of Stanzi's people. Why are you looking for the Rogue?"
This man was smarter than he looked.
"No, I don't know any Stanzi and as for why I am here, that is between me and your Rogue for right now." She watched as he thought about it for a second before adding persuasively, "Surely you are not going to turn down my money for information everyone knows anyway. I'm not asking for his hideout, just where he does business at night."
That decided him, "Ask for Marc at the Golden Hind. Down on Bognen street."
"Now, was that so bad?" she asked, letting him up and tossing the two coins at him and walking away.
She loved doing that. Now, by this time next week the rumors mill on the streets will be making her out to be one of the biggest hard cases on the streets. If the situation wasn't so urgent, she would have allowed a day or two to pass so that rumor of her would reach the Rogue before she did. It gave her credibility that she was otherwise lacking. As it was she was tempted to make arrangements for herself before she decided to meet with the Rogue tonight. She needed a safe place to spend the days. It was just not safe for a leopard to be seen wandering the streets of any city. it tended to make people nervous.
She nodded to herself.
Tonight she would get herself settled in the city. Things were urgent here but she still had time to do things right. Tonight she would find a place for her to spend the day and begin collecting the necessary information about the city. She already knew the two names that were at the head of her problem. Marc and Stanzi. And if Marc was the Rogue that meant that this Stanzi fellow was the one causing all the problems. And that meant that Stanzi was her new best friend for getting her dragged out here.
After an hour or so of searching, and discouraging two other would-be muggers, she found a house that would suit her perfectly. It was probably some country lord's city home and as such was impeccably furnished. And judging by the thin layer of dust over most things, the locals who were supposed to be cleaning were no expecting the owner any time soon. As for food, she would re-supply tomorrow night. For during the day she had a loaf of bread and some dried meat that would hold her over until she was human and able to go out again.
She had also found out where the Golden Hind was and Bognen street, having gone looking once she had made suitable arrangements for herself. But dawn had been close and she didn't want to start anything when she knew she would have to be making a mad dash for shelter soon. So she had merely taken note of it's location and reasonable popularity before moving on. She also took note of which streets were more likely to have guards on them and were the guard house was, along with several other interesting building that might be worth "exploring" later on. She had been hanging out with thieves too long not to have that particular itch.
She watched as the sun rise slowly over the hills, trying not to tense up as her body anticipated the pain that was mere moments away in her new "home". And then it hit her. She no longer screamed as her body writhed upon the ground, as her bones were broken and reformed into new shapes, grinding against one another as they moved. She was no longer horrified as she watched her hands curl into paws and saw thick fur grow all over her. But it still took her a moment afterwards. A moment to catch her breath and still her pounding heart. A moment to reorient herself and become accustomed once again to the shaper sight, sound and smells all around her.
During the day she lounged around, laying in front of one of the big windows in the house, soaking up the warm summer sun. Even though she was still herself in the leopard's body, there were certain things that she enjoyed that were associated purely with the cat. Naps, sun bathing, purring and growling were the most common but there were times on the road when she had given into her hunter's instincts. The first time that she had used her own teeth and claws to rip out the throat of a deer, when she had become human again, she had been sick. But it had been many years since then and these days she just accepted that as a part of her, another part of Alex that made her different from Alexia.
But she didn't hunt in cities. There was too little game and most of it even the cat in her found disgusting. And it was dangerous. There were too many people in the city for her to feel comfortable. Too many people that would see her and decide that a leopard fur rug was just what their home needed. So. No hunting inside of the cities.
And then the sun set and the pain came again. And she no longer snarled as cat became woman. as paws became hands, and claws became nails.
She stood, dressing swiftly in a long tunic and loose pants, making sure both of her daggers were easily drawn before sweeping her cloak around her once more.
