Game 5: A change of Pace – 11/15/2023
Four days of fairly quiet stakeouts in preparation for the move on the Grinners had quickly changed into a fairly frantic 24 hours. Since the Heels hadn’t come knocking on their door, it seemed like they hadn’t been immediately pegged as the perpetrators. The blood and soot of the evening’s doings had been washed off or at least covered up by the dust and grime of the streets. The children they had set free had gone off to their homes or been set up with some accommodations in the short term if they didn’t have a place to go. The fire had been corralled and hadn’t spread to any other buildings. Pavel had been paid. Old Jake had come through on his end with coin. They had added two new persons to their crew. And they had lost a member too.
There hadn’t been much time to really let Furlong’s passing sink in. None of the group truly new each other well, and Furlong had been with them for a shorter time overall. But, it was never easy when someone passed who had been part of the community. The Grinners played for keeps, and Kolbus would have to remember that should they cross paths again. Jockeying for territory could result in some black eyes and broken knuckles, but impacting a gang’s take quickly brought things to bricks and blades. He’d have to make sure the group kept their heads down and mouths shut or find a suitable crew to ally with in case things went sideways. Kolbus had let a few words slip to people about seeing a robed figure, maybe a part of the church, around the building as he was helping put out the fire. Maybe that would throw the scent off of them for a while.
Cory had pulled a few bits of information out of one of the urchins they had rescued. It sounded like the Grinners had had some backing from at least one person of higher status. He’d have to keep an eye out for larger ladies with feathers in their hats. It wasn’t likely a unique description, but it was a good tidbit to keep in mind. The letter he had been given was yet another thing rattling around his skull too. It requested he dig into some matters that were potentially monumental when compared to the daily dealing they had been focused on. Yet another thing to watch out for. He was quickly running out of eyes. Maybe he’d touch base with the Book Keepers and see what they’d be willing to share. That might give him a good start. No need to turn over the same stones someone else had already looked under.
But no time to think much on all that. The big day was here. The Rat Lighting was moments away from commencing and the group had already started participating in the festivities. It seemed Old Jake was more than just a notable person at the Rusty Tankard. He appeared to be the unofficial mayor of the Rust or at least the master of ceremonies for the Lighting festival. They still needed to get that introduction to the Clippers, but that would need to wait till after the coming chaos. The group had thrown their hats in the ring for a few of the events, trying to out eat, out pipe, out shoot, and out climb the locals in games of skill and mayhem. They’d manage to pull out a win from the events. Kolbus ran his hand over the surprisingly well crafted limbs of a short bow he now carried. He’d gotten pretty lucky on some longer shots after duffing the first few in a game of archery. It was a nice prize to claim.
Things were likely to get a little bit hectic here in a moment when the pile was lit up and everyone started jostling to catch a few rats. Maybe they’d get lucky again and catch a few or find a big one.