Job Link
The job had seemed simple enough in the beginning. Sayuri had been hired by a couple who had vacationed in Hargeon recently. It seemed that when they got home, they discovered that some jewelry had been missing. So before heading down there, she'd stopped by the couple's home and gotten a list from them of all the things they had done while they were here. She'd figured finding the jewelry would be a simple matter of visiting all those locations. Surely someone must have found it?
However, she'd retraced the couple's movements throughout the town, and no one at any of their stops recognized the description of the jewelry. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. They recognized the jewelry- it was custom-made and rather flashy- but they had only seen it on the woman. None of them had found it lying around.
She did, however, pick up one lead. Not a big one, but at least it was a lead. The couple remembered that at one point during the day they had stopped to play a game with some children on the street. Just a short one, no big deal. But the shopkeeper they'd visited immediately before that remembered the ring and bracelet in question. The one right after did not. She'd also heard that a lot of the street children around here were members of a couple of criminal gangs that operated in the area, and it made her wonder if one of the children had stolen the jewelry. It wasn't much to go on, but it was definitely something to check out.
She walked down the street, keeping an eye out for any of the aforementioned children. At first she saw nothing, but then something caught her eye. Down the street, next to the door of a store, a man was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette. As he did so, there was a young boy, nine at most, directly behind him, and it appeared that the boy was trying to pick the man's pocket.
Sayuri began crossing the street, moving toward the kid rapidly. She was only halfway there when the kid spotted her. The fact that she had a couple of swords belted to her waist probably tipped him off that she was not someone he wanted to mess with. A panicked look crossed his face, and he abandoned his current task and bolted on her. That was no good. She needed to get information out of him, so she bolted down the street after him.
It took a couple of blocks, but Sayuri finally managed to catch up to the kid. She grabbed him by the back of his collar, dragging to him to a stop. Then, not wanting to create a spectacle, she tugged him into a nearby side street. The look on his face was less than enthusiastic.
"Look, I didn't do anything, okay? Why are you chasing me?"
Sayuri sighed. She had a feeling that she needed to step in and assert her authority now, or she would never get a straight answer out of him.
"Look kid, cut the crap. I know exactly what you were doing. You were picking that man's pocket. That's a crime, you know."
"So you say. But you have no proof!"
Sayuri arched an eyebrow at him. "Perhaps not, but everyone around here knows you kids run with gangs. They're all suspicious of you. I, on the other hand, am a respected mage from a powerful guild. And I have no reason to lie. So who do you think they would believe- you, or me?"
The only response she got was an angry glare, which was fine with her. He wasn't trying to talk his way out of things anymore, which meant her point had hit home. He knew she was right, so she continued.
"Now, I could turn you over to the city guard and see what they'd like to do about you. They don't take kindly to thieves..."
Before she could finish, the noticed the boy's hand dropping slightly, toward his belt, and she spotted the faint outline of a knife. That got her attention real fast. With lightning-fast reflexes, she grabbed the hilt of her own sword, Ketsueki, and pointed the tip at the boy.
"Oh no, there will be none of that, you hear me! You grab that knife and I will cut you to ribbons!"
Her tone was suddenly very harsh, her words cutting like a blade. At the same time, the sword in her hands seemed to bring the kid back to his senses, and he quickly raised his hands, lest she think he was still going for the weapons. After a few moments of that, she lowered her sword point, although she still kept the weapon drawn, and her tone returned to its previous state- definitely unimpressed, somewhat menacing, yet somehow still calm.
"That's better. Now as I was saying, I could turn you over to the authorities, which you wouldn't like. But if you help me, I might be able to help you. I came here looking for some missing jewelry. Necklace, with rubies shaped like roses, and a ring that matches. Very distinctive. If you know anything about that, it would be in your best interests to tell me. And don't even think about lying to me. If you do, I will find out, and I will find you."
There was a long silence, and Sayuri thought she wasn't going to get an answer. Then the boy finally spoke.
"I... I've seen that jewelry before. There's a man, his name is Ferris, and he owns a pawn shop down by the docks. He has that jewelry out for sale. If you're looking for it, that's where you'd find it. But that's nice stuff-very expensive. And he's not someone you want to cross. You'd be best giving up on getting it back."
Sayuri smirked slightly. So little faith. She had no intention of buying the jewelry back from the man, nor was she intimidated. She was a mage- no common street thug scared her. She held the kid's gaze for a long moment, and while he did shift around uncomfortably, he managed to hold eye contact. That was a good sign- it meant he was probably telling the truth.
"Alright, I'll let you go- for now. But remember, if you're lying I will make sure you pay for it, understood?"
He hesitated, then nodded briefly and took off toward the main street like a startled rabbit. Sayuri let him go. She'd gotten her information from him, and she highly doubted he had lied to her. Now it was time for her to pay this Ferris a visit.
It didn't take Sayuri long to find the pawn shop the boy had described to her. It was, as he'd told her, down by the docks, right along the waterfront. It was a run-down little building, make out of stone with a tiled roof. It was also sporting a few scorch marks. The sign above the door read "Ferris' Find." She found that rather ironic, since she doubted any of his goods had simply been found...
She had sheathed her sword a while back, and she decided that there was no need to draw it again. That would be overly aggressive, and she didn't want to upset the owner until she found out if the kid's story had been true. Or even better yet, until she determined that he'd known the jewelry was stolen. If she could prove that, she could take this man down for good.
She pulled the door open, walking inside as though she was a normal customer. The man behind the counter peered up at her blearily. He was probably in his late forties, a bit overweight, and wore thick wire-rimmed glasses. Based on the couple of empty beer bottles she spotted littered behind the counter, he also had a propensity for alcohol.
"Can I help you? You looking for something in particular?"
Sayuri flashed the man a reassuring smile. "Oh, I'm just browsing right now. Although now that you mention it, I have this party tomorrow. I just picked up a new dress, and it might be nice to get some jewelry to go with it. You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"
The man's face lit up at the prospect of a pricey purchase. "Oh, I have plenty of jewelry! See, it's over here in this display. Let me know if anything strikes your fancy!"
She wandered over to the display case he had indicated, and had to fight hard to keep a triumphant smirk from forming on her face. There, right in the middle of the display case, was the jewelry she was looking for. She'd found what she'd come for. Now she just had to prove that it was stolen, and that the owner knew that.
"Oh- that's beautiful! It would go with the dress just perfectly! How much is it?"
she pointed at the jewelry in question as she spoke, and the man grinned.
"I see you have good taste, miss. That piece there is worth almost 200,000 jewels. But I'll knock it down to 180,000 for you if you'd like to buy it."
Sayuri didn't even have to fake the look of shock on her face. Good heavens that was some expensive jewelry! It was a mind-numbing number.
"I see. I'm sure the jewelry is worth that, but it's still a very high sum. Tell me, how did you come by this?"
"Oh, a man came down and sold it to us about two weeks ago. Said he'd bought it for his girlfriend, but she broke up with him before he had a chance to give it to her, so he sold it. Very pricey. High quality, and custom made. It's one of a kind- you'll never find anything else like it!His loss, your gain."
Jackpot! She didn't even try to hide the smirk that time. Two weeks ago, huh? How odd...
"Funny you should say that. Some of the local shopkeepers remembered a woman come through town two days ago wearing that exact same jewelry. Her husband hired me to find it, because after their trip it turned up missing. Or should I say stolen?"
The owner's face instantly clouded with anger. "Who are you, little girl, to come in and accuse me of theft? You're out of your mind! Not get out, before I have you thrown out."
Sayuri just smiled. "No."
"...No?"
The owner seemed baffled by her simple response, enough so that he was at an apparent loss for words, so she repeated herself.
"No. I'm not leaving. Not without the jewelry. Or without seeing you tossed into prison for selling stolen property."
The owner snarled in rage. "That's enough. Boys, show this brat who's boss!"
The backdoor of the small shop burst open, and people poured in. There were seven of them in total. Young men, mostly. Four were unarmed, but three wielded an assortment of metal pipes and two-by-fours. Then she realized the owner had retrieved a mace from behind the counter. Oh goodie.
Sayuri quickly drew her swords, both of them this time. Her shorter one, Chisai Ken, was nothing special, but the extra offense would definitely come in handy here. Then she added one more touch to even the odds.
"Kurai!"
The sudden gasps from around her told her that her spell was effective. Not that she had any doubts, of course. Still, seeing as how she couldn't actually see her own magic, it was always helpful to get that confirmation. Within such an enclosed space she knew the spell affected the entire area, making it seem pitch black inside the store. For everyone but her, that was. In the confusion, she stepped forward, swinging her swords at the nearest enemy, one of the armed men who had come in a few moments ago. He screamed out in pain, drawing the others' attention, and they rushed to his defense. Of course, they tripped over each other in the process, and one even hit one of his companions over the head with a pipe, knocking him out cold. Probably thought he was aiming for Sayuri. How wrong he was...
Still, that was two down, six to go. The other five charged in, but she made quick work of them in the dark before whirling to face the owner, who was almost on top of her now. His intent focus on her told her that her illusion had ended. No trouble there, though. He was alone now, and she saw the exact moment that that dawned on him. She didn't give him any time to ponder that. She just charged.
The man swung the mace at her, and she was too close to dodge it, so she didn't even bother. She took the hit, slashing at him with her sword. He didn't have time to use his weapon to block, or to get out of the way. Her second hit brought him down. Pathetic, really. Just as she'd thought- nothing but a run-of-the-mill street thug.
For obvious reasons, the very next thing she did was call the town guard, who very kindly cleaned up the mess for her, hauling the men off to their prison. Good riddance. She managed to talk the captain into letting her take the stolen jewelry as well, so she had it in her possession as she left town. Now all she had to do was return it to its owner. All in all, another job well done.
Word Count: 2,268
The job had seemed simple enough in the beginning. Sayuri had been hired by a couple who had vacationed in Hargeon recently. It seemed that when they got home, they discovered that some jewelry had been missing. So before heading down there, she'd stopped by the couple's home and gotten a list from them of all the things they had done while they were here. She'd figured finding the jewelry would be a simple matter of visiting all those locations. Surely someone must have found it?
However, she'd retraced the couple's movements throughout the town, and no one at any of their stops recognized the description of the jewelry. Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. They recognized the jewelry- it was custom-made and rather flashy- but they had only seen it on the woman. None of them had found it lying around.
She did, however, pick up one lead. Not a big one, but at least it was a lead. The couple remembered that at one point during the day they had stopped to play a game with some children on the street. Just a short one, no big deal. But the shopkeeper they'd visited immediately before that remembered the ring and bracelet in question. The one right after did not. She'd also heard that a lot of the street children around here were members of a couple of criminal gangs that operated in the area, and it made her wonder if one of the children had stolen the jewelry. It wasn't much to go on, but it was definitely something to check out.
She walked down the street, keeping an eye out for any of the aforementioned children. At first she saw nothing, but then something caught her eye. Down the street, next to the door of a store, a man was leaning against the wall, smoking a cigarette. As he did so, there was a young boy, nine at most, directly behind him, and it appeared that the boy was trying to pick the man's pocket.
Sayuri began crossing the street, moving toward the kid rapidly. She was only halfway there when the kid spotted her. The fact that she had a couple of swords belted to her waist probably tipped him off that she was not someone he wanted to mess with. A panicked look crossed his face, and he abandoned his current task and bolted on her. That was no good. She needed to get information out of him, so she bolted down the street after him.
It took a couple of blocks, but Sayuri finally managed to catch up to the kid. She grabbed him by the back of his collar, dragging to him to a stop. Then, not wanting to create a spectacle, she tugged him into a nearby side street. The look on his face was less than enthusiastic.
"Look, I didn't do anything, okay? Why are you chasing me?"
Sayuri sighed. She had a feeling that she needed to step in and assert her authority now, or she would never get a straight answer out of him.
"Look kid, cut the crap. I know exactly what you were doing. You were picking that man's pocket. That's a crime, you know."
"So you say. But you have no proof!"
Sayuri arched an eyebrow at him. "Perhaps not, but everyone around here knows you kids run with gangs. They're all suspicious of you. I, on the other hand, am a respected mage from a powerful guild. And I have no reason to lie. So who do you think they would believe- you, or me?"
The only response she got was an angry glare, which was fine with her. He wasn't trying to talk his way out of things anymore, which meant her point had hit home. He knew she was right, so she continued.
"Now, I could turn you over to the city guard and see what they'd like to do about you. They don't take kindly to thieves..."
Before she could finish, the noticed the boy's hand dropping slightly, toward his belt, and she spotted the faint outline of a knife. That got her attention real fast. With lightning-fast reflexes, she grabbed the hilt of her own sword, Ketsueki, and pointed the tip at the boy.
"Oh no, there will be none of that, you hear me! You grab that knife and I will cut you to ribbons!"
Her tone was suddenly very harsh, her words cutting like a blade. At the same time, the sword in her hands seemed to bring the kid back to his senses, and he quickly raised his hands, lest she think he was still going for the weapons. After a few moments of that, she lowered her sword point, although she still kept the weapon drawn, and her tone returned to its previous state- definitely unimpressed, somewhat menacing, yet somehow still calm.
"That's better. Now as I was saying, I could turn you over to the authorities, which you wouldn't like. But if you help me, I might be able to help you. I came here looking for some missing jewelry. Necklace, with rubies shaped like roses, and a ring that matches. Very distinctive. If you know anything about that, it would be in your best interests to tell me. And don't even think about lying to me. If you do, I will find out, and I will find you."
There was a long silence, and Sayuri thought she wasn't going to get an answer. Then the boy finally spoke.
"I... I've seen that jewelry before. There's a man, his name is Ferris, and he owns a pawn shop down by the docks. He has that jewelry out for sale. If you're looking for it, that's where you'd find it. But that's nice stuff-very expensive. And he's not someone you want to cross. You'd be best giving up on getting it back."
Sayuri smirked slightly. So little faith. She had no intention of buying the jewelry back from the man, nor was she intimidated. She was a mage- no common street thug scared her. She held the kid's gaze for a long moment, and while he did shift around uncomfortably, he managed to hold eye contact. That was a good sign- it meant he was probably telling the truth.
"Alright, I'll let you go- for now. But remember, if you're lying I will make sure you pay for it, understood?"
He hesitated, then nodded briefly and took off toward the main street like a startled rabbit. Sayuri let him go. She'd gotten her information from him, and she highly doubted he had lied to her. Now it was time for her to pay this Ferris a visit.
_______________________________________________________________
It didn't take Sayuri long to find the pawn shop the boy had described to her. It was, as he'd told her, down by the docks, right along the waterfront. It was a run-down little building, make out of stone with a tiled roof. It was also sporting a few scorch marks. The sign above the door read "Ferris' Find." She found that rather ironic, since she doubted any of his goods had simply been found...
She had sheathed her sword a while back, and she decided that there was no need to draw it again. That would be overly aggressive, and she didn't want to upset the owner until she found out if the kid's story had been true. Or even better yet, until she determined that he'd known the jewelry was stolen. If she could prove that, she could take this man down for good.
She pulled the door open, walking inside as though she was a normal customer. The man behind the counter peered up at her blearily. He was probably in his late forties, a bit overweight, and wore thick wire-rimmed glasses. Based on the couple of empty beer bottles she spotted littered behind the counter, he also had a propensity for alcohol.
"Can I help you? You looking for something in particular?"
Sayuri flashed the man a reassuring smile. "Oh, I'm just browsing right now. Although now that you mention it, I have this party tomorrow. I just picked up a new dress, and it might be nice to get some jewelry to go with it. You wouldn't happen to have any, would you?"
The man's face lit up at the prospect of a pricey purchase. "Oh, I have plenty of jewelry! See, it's over here in this display. Let me know if anything strikes your fancy!"
She wandered over to the display case he had indicated, and had to fight hard to keep a triumphant smirk from forming on her face. There, right in the middle of the display case, was the jewelry she was looking for. She'd found what she'd come for. Now she just had to prove that it was stolen, and that the owner knew that.
"Oh- that's beautiful! It would go with the dress just perfectly! How much is it?"
she pointed at the jewelry in question as she spoke, and the man grinned.
"I see you have good taste, miss. That piece there is worth almost 200,000 jewels. But I'll knock it down to 180,000 for you if you'd like to buy it."
Sayuri didn't even have to fake the look of shock on her face. Good heavens that was some expensive jewelry! It was a mind-numbing number.
"I see. I'm sure the jewelry is worth that, but it's still a very high sum. Tell me, how did you come by this?"
"Oh, a man came down and sold it to us about two weeks ago. Said he'd bought it for his girlfriend, but she broke up with him before he had a chance to give it to her, so he sold it. Very pricey. High quality, and custom made. It's one of a kind- you'll never find anything else like it!His loss, your gain."
Jackpot! She didn't even try to hide the smirk that time. Two weeks ago, huh? How odd...
"Funny you should say that. Some of the local shopkeepers remembered a woman come through town two days ago wearing that exact same jewelry. Her husband hired me to find it, because after their trip it turned up missing. Or should I say stolen?"
The owner's face instantly clouded with anger. "Who are you, little girl, to come in and accuse me of theft? You're out of your mind! Not get out, before I have you thrown out."
Sayuri just smiled. "No."
"...No?"
The owner seemed baffled by her simple response, enough so that he was at an apparent loss for words, so she repeated herself.
"No. I'm not leaving. Not without the jewelry. Or without seeing you tossed into prison for selling stolen property."
The owner snarled in rage. "That's enough. Boys, show this brat who's boss!"
The backdoor of the small shop burst open, and people poured in. There were seven of them in total. Young men, mostly. Four were unarmed, but three wielded an assortment of metal pipes and two-by-fours. Then she realized the owner had retrieved a mace from behind the counter. Oh goodie.
Sayuri quickly drew her swords, both of them this time. Her shorter one, Chisai Ken, was nothing special, but the extra offense would definitely come in handy here. Then she added one more touch to even the odds.
"Kurai!"
The sudden gasps from around her told her that her spell was effective. Not that she had any doubts, of course. Still, seeing as how she couldn't actually see her own magic, it was always helpful to get that confirmation. Within such an enclosed space she knew the spell affected the entire area, making it seem pitch black inside the store. For everyone but her, that was. In the confusion, she stepped forward, swinging her swords at the nearest enemy, one of the armed men who had come in a few moments ago. He screamed out in pain, drawing the others' attention, and they rushed to his defense. Of course, they tripped over each other in the process, and one even hit one of his companions over the head with a pipe, knocking him out cold. Probably thought he was aiming for Sayuri. How wrong he was...
Still, that was two down, six to go. The other five charged in, but she made quick work of them in the dark before whirling to face the owner, who was almost on top of her now. His intent focus on her told her that her illusion had ended. No trouble there, though. He was alone now, and she saw the exact moment that that dawned on him. She didn't give him any time to ponder that. She just charged.
The man swung the mace at her, and she was too close to dodge it, so she didn't even bother. She took the hit, slashing at him with her sword. He didn't have time to use his weapon to block, or to get out of the way. Her second hit brought him down. Pathetic, really. Just as she'd thought- nothing but a run-of-the-mill street thug.
For obvious reasons, the very next thing she did was call the town guard, who very kindly cleaned up the mess for her, hauling the men off to their prison. Good riddance. She managed to talk the captain into letting her take the stolen jewelry as well, so she had it in her possession as she left town. Now all she had to do was return it to its owner. All in all, another job well done.
Word Count: 2,268
