Iron Kingdoms: Tides of War

[Hotfoot]

Rogan managed to suppress any additional cracks at Malkamar's expense, simply waiting and watching for anything he could use as ammunition later against the paladin.

For now, the search took priority. He kept his mouth shut and his eyes open. Searching for tracks would only get them so far, there would be certain people who could help, they just needed to find them. Wordlessly, Rogan looked for the tell-tale signs of the destitute, the most likely victims, and witnesses, to the rampaging mechanikal lich.

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Not prepared no. later I may be able to scry him, provided I could find a piece of the soul cage, and perhaps a likeness. However that spell can be resisted relatively easily, and any competent lich has spells to block scrying. We will have to use conventional means"

[Cynical Cat]

The streets leading off the alley contained low rent shops and industrial housing. Older men and younger women are in evidence, wearing patched or worn clothing and going about their daily business. Going further, the streets end at the bridges crossing the river and the shops lining the riverside.

A pack of teenagers lottering at the far end of the street caught Rogan's attention. They were all dressed in grey longcoats, reinforced with dark brown leather. They talked with each other as they passed around a bottle of cheap wine.

[Hotfoot]

Rogan saw the teenagers and tapped Teghe's shoulder, motioning that he would be back in a minute, "I'll catch up, mate. Tell the rest not to follow." With that, he started walking towards the gang of drinkers. Each step became a little more erratic, his eyes widening in preparation for the act to come. By the time he got close enough to the gang to be noticed, he had worked himself into a frightful mess. His breathing shallow, his movement twitchy, and his voice dry and shaking when he opened his mouth.

"'Oy, mates, spare a swig for a poor bastard what seen things no man should?" He motioned to the bottle, a pitiful look on his face.

[Cynical Cat]

The five teenagers looked over at the bedraggled man. A skinny red head snickered at him. The man with the bottle, a big dark haired young man with a scar on his left cheek, smiled cruelly. He passed the bottle. "Alright," he said, half sneering the word.

[Charon]

Akina watched as Rogan walked off and spotted the pack of teenagers shortly after. She grinned under her helmet again and stayed where she was for now though she kept an eye on Rogan. If things went well, then all the better. If they didn't she would step in.

[Hotfoot]

Rogan made a hasty motion to swig down some of the booze, careful to only swallow a small amount of the alcohol. He coughed and took in a deep breath, as though to calm his nerves. "Thanks mate, you're a bloody saint. Fuck me," He handed the bottle back, his hand still clearly shaking. "All my life working with steamos and clankers and I ain't never seen nothing like that. Never feared for my life more than when that damned thing came stomping by," He looked at the largest one, the one with the scar, and gave him a troubled look. "It was massive, ten feet high if it was a foot. It glowed the sickest green from all about, and it carried a staff that was dripping with blood and gore. If you'd seen it, well, I don't wish that on no one, I'll tell you. Yer good folk, and I wouldn't want your dreams troubled with that sight haunting them. I doubt any man could see that and not want to crawl into a hole and die..."

Teenagers always had something to prove, especially to their elders. Gangs in particular had to maintain a certain sense of bravado...with luck, this simple challenge would give them the excuse they needed to brag of their heroic and superhuman efforts.

[rhoenix]

Still looking around for any clues as to the lich's presence or whereabouts, Rogans' departure to speak with the bunch of teenagers did not escape his notice. He kept the safety on his rifle, though quite prepared to change that if necessary. Zedrin smirked at Rogan's plan though, having seen him change his walk, and his expression as he neared the teenagers.

In the meantime though, he got on one knee to study the footprints more closely; examining the imprint from up close, and smelling them carefully, trying to detect differences between them.

[LadyTevar]

Teghe looked up and down the street carefully. Where would the Lich have ran... "Hey, anyone know where those bridges lead to?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Really?" said the cruel man with a smile. "Sounds pretty rough." He yanked the bottle back. His cronies laughed. "Maybe you should lay off the hard stuff." The laughed again obediently. "I mean you have to be pretty fucking drunk to get that worked up over a steam 'jack, am I right?"

[Hotfoot]

Rogan's eyes narrowed, shaking his finger, "First drink I've had since breakfast, mates, Morrow as my witness," Not technically a lie, he shouldn't get in too much trouble with Malkamar for that one. "If you'd seen this thing, you'd be singing a different tune, mates."

[Cynical Cat]

The punk with sandy brown hair moved a bit to circle around Rogan's left. "Yeah, yeah sure," said Cruel Smile. "Big scary steam 'jack of doom." His buddies chuckled. "And you're the only one in the city that saw him. Sure you're sober." They are close enough for Rogen to get a look at the musket pistols, blades, and clubs they are carrying inside their coats as well as the vests of boiled leather they are wearing as armour.

[Hotfoot]

"When one of you lot don't get seen tomorrow, you'll think different, mark my words. Those explosions not too long ago, those were from that damned 'jack! I saw it tear apart a carriage, people and all!" His voice changed to a quiet, deadly calm as he looked the leader in the eyes. "It had undead with it too, foul smelling bastards. I weren't the only one to see it neither," He motioned to the rest of the group off in the distance. "Them sorry lot did too. But they're a bunch of uptight prigs, mate, not like you and your lot. Fucking Paladins and Clerics, won't even spare a swig of swill, much less good stuff like what you done give me. 'Course they don't know where the fuck that thing went, so I'm worried it went 'round my house and they won't tell me shit. Sure, they're all about law and order when they catch some fuck stealin' a coinpurse, but when a mate's life is in danger? They're worried about their own arses more than ours." They key phrases were subtle, but hopefully the teenagers picked up on them, if not, chances are they'd go home with a few bumps for their troubles.

[Cynical Cat]

Cruel Smile's gaze met Sandy Hair's and Cruel Smile nodded slightly. "You're crazy. There was no damn steam 'jacks involved with that mess. Me and the boys were right here when it happened. Big booms and then nothin'. Nothin' but a shimmer came out of that damn alley. Some kind of witch, hidin' herself not some damn 'jack. Now, are you going to pay what you owe?" Cruel Smile smiled very broadly.

[Hotfoot]

Rogan allowed himself a mental smile, something had finally struck. "I know how it works, mate. Tell ya what, I'll give ya what I've got in my pouch if'n ye tell me which way it went so I don't run across it, fair?" He picked the obvious coinpurse from his belt, it was filled with a modest amount of small denominations, enough to likely sate these thugs without hurting his own overall collection. At worst, well, he had other ways of making money, as Teghe well knew...

[Cynical Cat]

Cruel Smile cought the purse. "Lasted just a moment. Was heading that way." He pointed towards the river.

[Hotfoot]

Rogan smiled at the young man and nodded, "Thanks mate, stay safe! Things could get louder 'fore this day is done!" He walked off, careful to listen for any of the teenagers trying to sneak up on him. He knew the tricks of the trade. If these lads were greedy, they'd try to come for more. If they were smart, they'd pick up that there was a paladin with a rifle within line of sight.

When he got the chance, he disappeared around a corner, taking a slightly more roundabout route back to the group, keeping an eye to the river to see if anything out of the ordinary cropped up. Hopefully, before long, he would be back with the others, but that depended on the delinquents.

[rhoenix]

Having not discovered anything of interest in the footprints or their source, Zedrin had stood gracefully, and dusted his hands. He had noticed Rogan walking in a roundabout way back to the rest of this band of misfits, and smiled grimly.

"Here he comes - let us hope he's discovered something interesting," he said quietly to the rest.

[LadyTevar]

Teghe snorted. "Just make sure he's not being followed by something we have to save him from," the young gunmage told Zedrin.

[rhoenix]

Teghe snorted. "Just make sure he's not being followed by something we have to save him from," the young gunmage told Zedrin.

As the back of his rifle rested on his shoulder with the barrel conscientiously pointed toward the sky behind him, Zedrin chuckled. "One would hope we don't need to save him from rabid teenagers, but you never know. If they do, and he looks to be in trouble, I'll quite happily change the odds for him."

[Hotfoot]

Rogan slipped back into earshot of the group and smirked to himself. At least they were aware of the situation. As he quietly made his way back to the group, he just gave a knowing smile. "If you can't appeal to their better natures, appeal to their baser instincts. Some prefer pride, some prefer profits, and some prefer pleasure. The trick is finding the right one at the right time, and people will give you whatever you want in payment. The lich hid itself somehow and headed to the river. I appreciate your concern, by the way. It's sweet, and if I didn't know better, I'd think you were worried about me and not the chances you could win some of your money back," he winked at Teghe with a wide grin.

[Charon]

Akina nodded to Rogan. "And hyu'r certain dey ver not simply tellink you a story to get access to hyur money?" Akina glanced to Teghe. "Or perhaps I sho'ld be sayink hyur money?" She chuckled under the helmet, a deep, almost frighteningly inhuman sound when muffled by the armor.

[rhoenix]

Zedrin smirked at Rogan's remarks. "Well, touching and teary-eyed reunions aside, shall we check near and across the river, then?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Aye, that would be the idea. Good work Rogan." He was good... Corey would have preferred to force such trash to give the information he needed, but there was a place for manipulation and subtlety.

[Hotfoot]

Rogan shrugged at Akina, "It's possible, but that's the chance you take. Still, they didn't have much reason to lie, they got what they wanted, and it wasn't much to give. If it turned out they lied, well, the game is played in many ways," He nodded to Corey and started moving in the direction of the river. "So, how many of the tracks follow where we're going?"