To Catch a Fox

The door opened slowly, in walked a short man, holding his head. Despite his slumped walking, a smile creased his lips. Heavy boots caused the floor boards to creak loudly, and he managed to cross the large area to a stool. Plopping down heavily, he sat up, looking up to meet the Bartender's gaze with a faded green eye, " G'Evening, Mack. " He muttered softly, before grabbing a napkin off the bar, dabbing at his swollen lip. Now that light touched his face, one would notice a busted lip, a swollen cheek, and a black eye, " Scotch, with Ice in a separate glass. "

The Bartender shook his head, grabbing two glasses, a bottle of scotch, and placing it down in front of him on the bar, " Aw man, Todd, you need to stop this. You're seriously going to end up dead in the Alley out back if you don't. " He spoke softly, so that only Todd could hear his words. He grabbed some ice from the freezer, plopping them in the second glass.

Chuckling to himself, he took two ice cubs from the full glass, and plopped them in the empty glass. Then he opened the Scotch, and poured it for himself. Sipping at it, he set it back down, before reaching in to the glass of ice, taking one cube, gently pressing it to his split lip with a small wince, " Yeah, maybe you're right... or maybe you shouldn't worry about me, old man. " A Faded green eye swirled a glimpse around the empty Tavern, " Slow day, I guess. I was looking forward to making some new friends. Preferably friends with benefits. " He chuckled to himself, before sipping his scotch again.

The Bartender, a round looking man, glanced up at the loud voice with a down turned mouth, he reached under the bar for his gun. However, he saw that it was only a woman with a big mouth. Slowly his hand shifted off the gun, sliding to a box beside it, grabbing a cigar from the box, he pulled it to his lips, lighting it before pulling it to the corner of his mouth to speak, " G'Evening, folks. " He muttered sloppily between the cigar tainted lips. He watched the Loud one jump up on a stool, barking at him about needing a drink. He didn't hesitate, going for a glass in the cabinet under the bar, plopping it in front of her, before grabbing a bottle of Whiskey from the shelf behind him. Pouring quickly, he popped the top back on, and put it back on the shelf, " There ya go. "

When the Taur sat at the bar, he didn't even hide a tipped brow look, " Now W'at in the hell... " He didn't mean to be rude, but this was the first creature he'd seen that actually startled him, " Look, We won't be giving things for free 'round here, got me? " He glared a bit, blue eyes sharply stabbing back.

At that moment, Todd's eye shot to the two others, a grin forming mischievously, but quickly falling back to a concerned frown, " Mack, ease up, can't you see they are new here? " Ignoring Mack, who murmered 'Yeah, everyone's new here', he swiveled his chair to face the two.

" G'Evening, Ladies, Sounds like you are in a bit of a pickle. By the looks of things, Either you were illegally stowing away on a ship, and got left here, or you got here legally, and things didn't go as planned. " He gave a small, comforting smile, the wolf in sheep's clothing played the concerned act well, " Mack here won't give you anything for free, he's been burned too many times in the past. But, I think I can remedy your problems... " He reached down on his belt, pulling a pouch of gold. He set it on the counter, pushing it towards Mack, " Here, this will cover their drinks, food, and rooms. " A Faded green eye fell back on the two, before he smiled again, " Ladies, please feel free to ignore me, but I could help you out, no matter how you got here. " His green eye twinkled a bit, his other eye sewn shut, " I know how you could get some money, and maybe even your own way out of here. But you might have to lower your... standards. " He sipped his scotch, the grin forming once more, waiting for a response.

Mack just rolled his eyes, " Light weight. " Taking the gold off the counter, he jammed it in his pocket, and started walking for the back, " We got two orders of Mama's Shepherd Pie! " He shouted loudly while stacking new clean glasses under the counter.

Todd stopped him before he walked off, " Mack, make it three. " He smiled sweetly, almost too sweet.

Mack rolled his eyes, before moving to the back door, and disappearing. In the back, one could clearly hear him shout, " Better make it Three. "

Turning back to the two, he now gave them his complete and undivided attention, " Oh? A Gambling man you say? Lost his SHIP you say? Oh, what sweet words to my ears. " He muttered under his breath before sipping his scotch again, " That is a shame to hear, sounds like you're down on your luck. " He grabbed his pouch of coins, taking out two and setting them on the counter for Mack. Putting the pouch away, he reached over the bar, grabbing the bottle of scotch he'd been poured from before. Filling his glass again, he listened to the two ramble between each other.

Hearing the Chakat redirect her words at him, he smiled, a twinkle in his eye again, " You see, I've got a job that needs fixing, but I can't do it on my own. There's a pest problem here in Libero City, it's probably the only thing keeping this place from hitting the maps in the Main land. " He started to dig through his pockets, until he pulled out something that looked like a jar, except it was black glass that one wouldn't be able to see through. " This here is a containment jar, I had a friend whip it up for me. You can't break it ... " He tapped it against the edge of the counter top, instead of it making the dangerous ting ting sound a normal jar would, it made a thud thud noise. " And it can't ever get hot, no matter what it's been sitting on, in, or... contains. " His smile faded, to a grim frown, " Listen here, I'm about to show you something that not even I can explain. " He unscrewed the cap, and a soft hissing sound escaped, as if the inside had been sealed up. Suddenly, from the jar came a bright red light, this light grew brighter as the lid was removed. He held it away from himself, to tip it to show the ladies. Inside, a creature emerged, flapping it's wings rapidly, it took off in to the air. This creature could only be explained as Moth, except it was larger then a full grown man's hand. It released an unearthly glow from its body, like it was actually a flame, it's little body glowed an intense red, like embers, and the wings were like flames themselves. It flew quickly around the room, immediately going toward any light it could find, which was candles on tables right now.

The strangest thing, it went directly for the fire, and landed on the candle stick. It's body erupted in to a ball of fire, before calming, and flying to the next table. It stole the fire from each candle until nothing was left, now it went toward the ceiling, going for the light bulbs. Landing on each one, it extinguished them, within two minutes the room was almost pitch black except for two bulbs. Todd quickly got up, chasing the moth down, before swatting it in to the jar with a gloved hand. Removing the glove, he winced at the burn he'd received, " As you can see, Ladies, this is no normal Moth. "

((I wrote out my whole response, and accidently clicked out of the box before posting it. *bangs head on desk*))

Todd tucked away the jar in to his pocket, sitting back down to finish off his scotch. He left only a sip in the very bottom of the glass, his ice cubes pretty much melting away. " These creatures, are pests, because like you said, they eat all manners of Light. I'm a Biomancer, I came here to Libero to study all the new creatures and plant life. Unfortunately, I've never come across anything like this, and I can see how they could quickly become a problem. I asked the locals, who've been here longer then myself, and they have affectionately named them "Lantern Eaters", or "Ignis Moths". At first this wasn't a problem, I followed them with mild curiosity, until I received a letter. " He pulled a letter from his pocket, setting it on the bar, " Feel free to read it, but pretty much it comes from an unknown source. They have told me that these Moths are a real problem here, for the fact they could ruin businesses by ridding them of light, leaving them exposed to Thieves. At night, supposedly they gobble up all the Lanterns that light the Bricks, leaving them vulnerable to Predators. "

He tapped his chin lightly, " They have requested I rid the Town of Lantern Eaters, and went so much as to tuck in some gold. A hundred pieces to be exact. They said A hundred to start, a hundred to stop them from taking their lights, and two hundred to find their weakness. A man in my position, wants to see what will be best for both sides of the coin. " He finished his scotch, and smiled over at the ladies, " So what will it be? Think you'd be interested in joining me, helping me with these Lantern Eaters. I'll split the payment, 50/50 with you. Of course, your 50 will be split between yourself, and your-- " He looked at the drunken woman with a nervous smile, " --companion. " Listening to Emberstorm, he nodded, " If she won't remember this, maybe it's best I take my leave. Sleep on it, you can find me at my Estate, it's south from here, called the Foxglove Estate, otherwise, I'll return here tomorrow at some time for your answer. " He stood up, pushing the gold he left for Mack toward the edge, " I bid you both a good night, and I will see you tomorrow. " Smiling sweetly, he moved for the door, before he was gone.

The bartender, now known as Mack, walked out from the back, holding three bowls of 'Mama's Shepherd Pie', seeing Todd gone, and the two women looking worn out, he frowned, dumping all three bowls in to the trash, giving a pissed off look, " Yeah, sure, whatever. " He went to the far end of the bar, away from them, to a board on the wall. Grabbing two keys off it, he walked back, tossing them in front of the Chakat, " Rooms five, and six. " He started to clear their glasses off the counter, pocketing the gold. He pushed the cigar to the corner of his mouth, before barking, " Sleep tight, hope the Lantern Eaters don't ignite. " Now he laughed to himself, cleaning the bar, and preparing to shut the Tavern up for the night.

The next morning a brown eyed gnome awoke in his bedroom above his shop. He had been up all the night before working on the mechanics of this new gadget he recently acquired and yet he couldn't figure it out. Before falling asleep on the damned thing, he set it aside and decided to get some rest and to attempt it in the morning with a fresh mind. He crawled sleepily out of his old and visibly work bed and to his washroom. He cleaned himself up and got dressed. While looking in his mirror he gave himself a pep talk to calm his mind and hopefully give him the confident boost he needed to work on his new gizmo. He walked down the creaky steps to his lab in the back of the store on the first floor. On the last step he tripped and landed on his face. Luckily he braced himself with his arms so the fall was not so bad.

"Con flabit! I must remember to fix that creaky step that's the 8th time I've fallen on my face due to it." he yelled at himself. It was still way to early to open so he knew no one heard him yell. He picked himself back up and continued to his lab. When he got there he noticed a problem. All of the gadget's inside gears where strewn about the table. He rolled his eyes and looked around. "Lyron." He said with a frustrated tone.

Out of the wall on the floor came a beige and white speckled rat. In it's teeth it held a golden gear. It's pristine glow reflecting the barely noticable morning light into Xan's eyes. Xan chuckled slightly as he knelt down and the rat crawled up his arm to his shoulder. When Xan's hand came up to the rat, the golden gear fell into his hand and the rat gave a slight lick to the gnome's ear. Smiling sweetly he set the rat on the table and said to him. "How many time's must I tell you. Items on my table are of great importance and you are not to touch them. I buy you all sorts of shining objects for your home. You need not touch mine." The rat seemed to look away saddened by the lecture it was receiving. Xan looked down and took pity on the beautiful rat. Lyron sat on his haunches and went to clean himself while under Xan's smiling face. Xan knew he could hold no grudge against such a beautiful creature.

Whispering he leaned next to the rat's head. "Are you hungry?" The ears on the rat perked up so fast it looked almost as if he jumped for joy. He scurried over and put both paws on Xan's face and kissed his cheek. As he did he stopped and then pawed repeatedly in the same spot. Xan stood up and went to a silver bowl on the edge of the table and picking the bowl up he asked. "What's wrong Lyron?" As he peered at his image he noticed a scratch and a fairly large bruise on the side of his cheek where he had fallen. "Well I can't rightly go out to eat looking as I do now." he said motioning with his fingers he chanted a few words and he disappeared from view. The rats eyes blinked and out of the air a voice came. "Come on Lyron, hop in!" The rat took a leap of faith off the table and from an onlooker would have disappeared from sight as he fell into a satchel Xan made especially for his furry companion.

Xan headed for the door and opened it and locked up leaving the closed sign still in the window. He then proceeded down the street towards the tavern.

((OOC: watcha think? lol))

Mack heard people coming in, and he hurriedly tied his apron on. He grabbed the needed things such as Milk, Orange Juice, and a pitcher of water. Opening the back door slowly with his boot, he walked out in his usual uniform. A small towel firmly placed over one shoulder, he walked up to the bar setting down the pitchers, before he moved to grab four glasses.

Setting them each up with a glass, one set in Xan's usual spot, figuring he was in the bathroom or something. He went back to grab the Milk pitcher to pour him a glass first, since Xan is a local. Spotting half a Lyron, he laughed to himself, " Good morning, Xan... Up late working on an experiment, I assume? " Chuckling, he turned away for a moment, calling to the back room, " We need one of Xan's usual! " In the back, the clear sound of a bell tap was heard. He reached under the bar, going in a jar for a cookie, he set the cookie on the bar, " ... And for you, Lyron, good morning. "

Moving to Todd, he shook his head, " Eh... Todd... you really need to quit this life style. " Hearing no response from Todd, he turned around, muttering, " Like hell you're gonna get gut rott, you stupid drunk. " Grabbing the pitcher of orange juice, he poured him a glass, " Good morning, Todd. " Seeing Ophelia laying beside him looking sad, he made a frown, " I'm sorry Ophelia, you know how he is... " He reached under the bar, grabbing another cookie, setting it in front of her, " Don't worry about him, he'll be fine. "

Moving to the two ladies, he shook his head, " Morning, Ladies. What will it be? " He pointed to the three pitchers, questioningly.

Mack blinked a little, the spotted elf was so... cheerful, and polite to top it all off. He smiled in return, pulling the smouldering cigar from his mouth before putting it out in an ash tray, " Of course, Miss. " He spoke softly to her, grabbing the pitcher of Milk, pouring it in to her glass gently, " Hope you slept well, afraid you'd look a lot like Todd today. " Laughing, he looked at the sleeping male, he poured a glass for Emberstorm, nodding all the while, " Aye, He'll be peachy. He's just had a rough time here in Libero, I imagine. He's in here every night before closing, and every morning right as I open, beat up. "

Todd didn't move, he just snored softly, face down on the counter, his arms forming a pillow.

From behind Todd, walked out Ophelia, her little defeated look being only uplifted by the fact she was carrying that cookie in her mouth. Looking at Emberstorm, she chirped a small squeak in hello, she knew the two Ladies from the day before, watching from Todd's pocket carefully. Sitting, she pulled a piece of cookie off, resting it on the counter in front of Todd's face, hoping he'd get up. She pulled off another piece, and set it in front of Emberstorm. Looking up with sad eyes, she hoped that she would take the peace offering, and not harm Todd in his vulnerable state.

Mack scratched his head, " I think Ophelia is afraid, she's with Todd all the time, so she probably sees all the people injuring him. Poor little thing. " He looked at Todd, smacking him in the head lightly with the towel, " If only he'd wise up. Aw well. With age, I guess he will. If you ladies need anything, just holler, I'll be back here finishing up breakfast. I'm sure you can wake him, or just wait. " He turned away, going in the back to order the rest of the food.

Mack just stopped in mid thought, paused, good thing he had put his cigar out, or it would have fell to the floor. He was lost for words, so he grabbed a glass, and set it in front of the new woman, " Uh.. Good morning, Miss, My name is Archie... I own this... establishment. " He scratched at his head, " Never heard that name before, however so many folks come in and out of Libero that I may have seen them and didn't know it. If I hear anything, you'll be the first to hear. " He motioned to the pitchers, " Milk, Orange Juice, or Water? We have stronger stuff, but I don't recommend it this early in the morning. " He wiped the bar, trying to keep his mind going, he was honestly completely thrown off by the woman.

He turned away, hearing two distinct bell taps, meaning the orders were done. Going to the window, he grabbed the four plates, turning back to the bar, he set a plate in front of Emberstorm, Mara, Todd, and Xan. Everyone had the same, but Todd and Xan had an extra piece of toast for their Rat companions, " Enjoy. " As he walked by, he wacked Todd in the head with the towel, " Oops. "

On cue, Todd jumped awake, " WHAT?! " He jumped up, knocking his glass over. Ophelia ran down the bar from his flailing, and Mack grabbed the glass before it spilled. He looked around, dark circles under his eyes, a night of drinking wasn't a good idea. He tried to calm down, seeing the food, he started to eat quietly, setting the extra toast aside for a shaken Ophelia. She sat, eating it now, a lot less scared.

Libero City's calm day slowly turned turbulent, a storm rolled in, thunder covered the land, soft at first. Rain followed, tapping on the wooden roof of the Tavern, oddly enough, it seemed to get louder as the new comer stepped on to the porch of the building. She removed her dripping black coat, hanging it up outside before pushing the double doors open. The first thing people would notice is the clattering of her hooves on the floor boards, then her size as she ducked under the doorway. Closing the doors behind her, she walked toward the bar, somewhere between Xan, and Todd. With a small smile, she greeted the Bartender, " Archie. Good morning, well, it was a good morning, until the storm. " She made a small face looking upward, almost in disgust of the storm, " My usual please. " She laid five gold pieces on the counter for him, before moving to stand beside Todd, " Oh, Virgil, you poor poor dear. "

Turning in horror, as he heard her, he tried to quickly finish his meal, but she almost manifested beside him too fast. Swallowing hard, he looked at her as she spoke, " Don't play cute with me, Hofo. " He glared, pushing his plate away, chugging his orange juice before wiping his mouth.

She smiled, something dark crossing her features, as she reached out, grabbing his face, she pulled him in with inhuman strength. Glancing over his injuries, she pushed on each of them with her thumb, " I see the Black eye, and Busted lip haven't stopped your darker activities. " Shoving him away from her, she looked over the patrons, " Let it be known, right now, this man, Virgil, is a lying, back stabbing, Thief. Whatever he tells you, is a lie. He will rob you blind before he feeds you to the wolves. Do not trust him, if you value your lives. "

Todd fell back in to his chair, grabbing the bar for support but failing. He fell off the stool, on to the floor with a loud clatter, he might fall on to someone's feet if they were close enough. Grabbing his face, he winced, the wounds he'd been babying were aggravated again. He reached under his clothing, grabbing for something, a dark look crossing his features now.

At that moment, Mack rushed around the bar, crouching beside Todd, he grabbed the hand reaching for something. Looking him in the eye, he frowned, " It's not worth it... Think about it. " Once he calmed him down, he stood up, taking the Captain's usual order, which was a large breakfast to go, and handed the box to her, " Your order, Captain. " He almost stuttered, he knew deep down Captain Hofo had enough power to shut him down if he looked at her the wrong way. He didn't want anymore trouble.

Laughing at Todd's subtle threat, she kicked some mud off her boots at him, " You're a cock roach. Crawling on the floor, under the feet of good people. You mind as well look the part, you dirty little insect. " Grabbing her box, she nodded to Mack, turning back to the door, and leaving in to the storm.

He laid there for a bit, wiping the mud off his clothes. Standing up slowly, he felt his heart beating in his ears, that woman was at his last nerves. She'd been having him tailed, and beaten for the last two weeks. He had made the mistake of letting one of his boys steal from one of her guards. Even though he went back groveling, giving back the money, with interest, she didn't see it was enough. He just listened to the silence, staring at the counter top unblinking, " Mack... something stronger, please. " He pulled out two gold pieces and laid them on the countertop.

Mack frowned, but nodded, moving back around the bar, getting him a bottle of scotch, and two glasses. One for ice, and one for his drink.

Mack shook his head at Mara's words, cleaning a glass, trying to remain cool, but he was obviously shaken, " No, Miss, That's not a good idea. That was Captain Hofo, she is the new Leader for the Templars of Light. Their compound is about a mile away. She comes here every morning, gets breakfast for herself, and her fellow guards, then heads back. " He set the glass on the shelf with the rest of the cleaned ones, " It's best to stay away from the ToL, there is no authority here in Libero, but the ToL is as close as possible. " He pulled out a new cigar, lighting it, his nerves needed this right now.

Todd just grumbled, pouring himself a glass, adding two ice cubes, he sipped his drink slowly. He grabbed an extra piece of ice to hold to his sore lip and eye. He didn't want to look at anyone, he was embarrassed, but under everyone's chatter, he could hear Emberstorm, " ... Yeah... I'm alright... Thanks. " He winced at the ice being put to his lip, it hurt, but he had to suck it up, " You know, everything she said is true, right? " He didn't bother to look at her, he knew what she was looking at, he sipped his drink, a very defeated look crossed his face.

((OOC Well last night i had like two pgs written up and a book randomly fell on my keyboard hitting backspace and deleting everything... i was so frustrated i just went to bed. -.-))

Xan smiled and thanked Mack as his food was set before him. Hew drank a gulp of his milk. Then he picked up his piece of toast and proceeded to smear jam over it then place some of his egg on top of that. With a grin he began to chow down.

Lyron greedily ran over to his meal and picked up his toast with a delighted squeek. As he munched on a corner of his toast he glanced around the bar. At the other end of the table he saw the most gorgeous rat he had ever seen in his life. He dropped his toast and started to run for the other side of thebar so he could introduce himself. As he was about halfway there the door to the bar swung open hard. Lyron froze mid step turned toward the door and as the stranger came in he ran back to Xan and resumed eating his toast. Needless to say Lyron is a bit of a scared rat. Which is not the best thing since Xan uses him to scout out unknown places. But he is a real good friend and close companion.

Xan turned from his food to look at the newcomer and noticed how tall and awkward she looked. She definately did not belong here and was new to the area. However, she had sort of an appeal to her. Xan still uninterested went back to his food. Perhaps after he was done he would walk over and introduce himself he thought. Only to be polite and possibly to get some new customers. He continued on his meal eager to finish and return to his work when all a sudden the door swung open harder then before. In walked a character that made Xan's blood boil each time he saw her. It was Hofo.

Lyron looked at Hofo and quick darted into his satchel. He knew she meant no good. As the happenings in the bar unfolded Xan felt his left hand clutch and glow with a hot flame as she toyed with Todd. Everyone who's anyone knows Todd is no good, but everyone also knows he doesn't deserve that. Hofo is just a bitch and someday she'll get what she deserves. But for now she goes around bullying everyone around her. As she left Xan stood up and made his way to Todd. "Are you alright man? She's a bitch and someday someone will make a statement of her. Perhaps a necromancer will disembowl her." He laughed at the thought, but his face quickly turned back to concern seeing Todd in pain.

As Hofo left, a sly character slide in after her. Quickly enough that the door didn't need to be opened again. She was as slender as an elf, but wore a black cloak to hide her features and a crimson outfit partially covered by her leather armor. She sat back in the corner table hidden by the shadows, yet slowly coming into view as the sun rose up.