Pebbles of the Avalanche (Storyline, Open)

[Kender Bard]

Sprawled in front of the storefront for the Thieves' Guild was a grisly sight; one of the thieves had been brutally murdered. His body perfectly captured every wound; deep punctures in his chest and long, raking wounds on his back and face. The thief was called Sander, though he had been affectionately called 'Taunt'. He had a growing reputation for baiting the guards, and not just the Ilyamen ones, then leading them off on a merry chase into some unfortunate circumstance. His last caper had been to lead away some guards of Humontis into a carefully crafted mudpool that sank them up to their chins.

And now he was dead, perfectly preserved in his last moments of life from the thick layer of hoarfrost that covered him. A slip of icy-covered parchment was pinned into his body. It read: 'The guards of the Crystalands do not care to be toyed with.'

[Northen Light36]

Shock, then grief, then rage spread quickly through the Guild when the body is discovered and brought inside. "The flithy bastards," Mat snarls to Acqua before stepping forward to take charge of the situation. "Everyone!" he calls, his voice echoing through the guild as the babble of angry voices dies down. "I assure you, we won't let this insult go unanswered. But first..." Mat swallows for a minute to get his own grief back under control. "But first, we have a friend to bury, and he deserves a better farewell then our anger. My friends, let us gather at the mountain's base in two hours, so we can lay Taunt to rest with the love, and diginity he deserves.

Standing in the back of the room with Talon, Acqua's holding Faith and sobbing into the uncomplaining cat's fur. "Taunt never deserved this," she whispers to her brother, still sniffing. "He was a good man. Everyone loved him."

[Kender Bard]

Talon wrapped an arm around Acqua gently, stroking her hair and feeling distantly sad; he didn't know the young thief, but the sea of sorrow and anger was affecting him and he felt his own throat constricting, eyes misting. "Do you think it was that guy that's been hounding the thieves?" he asks.

[Northen Light36]

"It's possible," Acqua murmurs, leaning into her brother's embrace and watching as the body is taken away to be prepared for burial. Mat walks over, looking as though a great weight is on his shoulders. "Mat, is this the same killer?" Acqua asks flatly.

"It could be," Mat replies. "The note claims the Khelek Guards are responsible and I wouldn't put it past any of the guards to be hunting us down." Mat glances at Talon and adds, "Sorry you have to see this, Talon. But at least you can understand why we hate the guards so much."

[Kender Bard]

"Yeah," Talon mutters. On one hand, he respects the guards and the work that they do. On the other, he doesn't think any guards should try to hunt down an individual out of rage. That wasn't 'guarding' that was murder. "It's okay. I'm sorry you lost a friend."

[Northen Light36]

"We lost more then a friend," Mat mutters. "We lost another member of our family." Sighing, Mat adds, "I'll have to report this to Echo after the funeral. Talon, if you have your letter ready by then, I'll pass it on to your family. Kit, I hate to ask but..."

"I'll try and keep things calm here until we hear from Echo," Acqua replies, predicting the request.

[Kender Bard]

Talon nodded hurriedly. He'd started his letter, but it was only half done. "I'll finish my letter really quickly." Looking at Acqua, he added, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Northen Light36]

"Watch my back when things turn nasty," Acqua says flatly. Mat nods in grim agreement.

"She's right," he mutters. "Some of Taunt's friends are hotheads." With that warning, Mat leaves the siblings alone to deal with his own grief and the funeral arrangements.

---

Though brief, the funeral is a touching, almost cheerful affair, with everyone who knew Taunt sharing amusing and sweet stories about him. Even Acqua has one or two stories to share, since she and Taunt had something of a friendly rivally when it came to pranks on the Ilyamen guards.

When it's over though, Mat collects Talon's letter and leaves quickly. Things stay quiet at the guild throughout the night, but by morning it's clear that anger is overpowering the grief. During lunch a group of thieves, those closest to Taunt, are muttering angrily to each other.

"Here's trouble," Acqua murmurs to Talon as the group gets up. Getting out of her own chair, Acqua moves to block the stairway. "Where are you going?"

"To settle the score, Kit," one of the group replies. "Move."

"We wait for word from Echo," Acqua says firmly. "This isn't a time for you to go running off in a rage." The man's expression darkens.

"I'm not sitting here that long," he growls. "Now, get out of our way, Kit, or I will move you." To back up his threat, the muscular, tall man steps closer to Acqua.

[Kender Bard]

Talon was swift to interpose himself between Acqua and the man, drawing his knives as he does so. "No touching my sister," Talon warns. "If you leave now, your boss will probably flay the skin from your bones for running off willy nilly. Everyone is sad, but if you just lumber forth, you'll probably waltz into some sort of trap. Do you want to endanger everyone else here for a little personal vengeance?"

[Northen Light36]

"Talon and Kit are right," a new voice adds. Acqua turns slightly and smiles to see Amy walking over. Serveral others of the guild are also moving to break up the fight before it starts.

"We do not fight amongst ourselves, Karlin," Amy tells the leader of the group of Taunt's friends. "Get back to your seat before we decide something more then to much to drink and sorrow are behind this."

Scowling, but now outnumbered, the unhappy group of Taunt's friends retreat into a bedroom, slamming the door behind them. "You two all right?" Amy asks Talon and Acqua.

[Kender Bard]

"Perfectly fine," Talon remarks with a cheerful lilt as he sheathes his knives. "Acqua half expected it, and when she mentioned it, so did I. I'm just glad you guys backed us up, and I'm even more glad that my interference didn't make things worse."

[Northen Light36]

Amy chuckles and says simply, "You fit in so well here it's hard to remember you're not one of us."

Acqua grins and takes Talon's hand. "He is my brother," she says proudly. Amy laughs and nods.

"It shows," she says, then gives Acqua a gentle shove. "Get yourself out of the drafty stairway and back to the fire before you catch your death and give it to the rest of us." Laughing, Acqua nods and all too willingly leads Talon back to the fireside.

---

A little over a week later, Echo and her children arrive at Humontis, assisted by one of the few Guild Mind-types. The guild instantly swams their leader, but the annoucement that follows isn't a surprise to anyone. The guild will head to Khelek and make the guards there pay for their actions.

While the guild is abuzz with angry excitement and preparing for the march to Khelek, Echo pulls Acqua and Talon aside. "Kitten," Echo begins flatly. "You're not coming with us."

Acqua couldn't look more shocked if Echo had slapped her, nearly dropping Bas in her surprise. "What? Why?"

"Partly because I love you and want you safe," Echo replies, then looks at both Talon and Acqua. "And partly because I need to ask a favour of both of you."

[Kender Bard]

Talon frowns slightly but there's a curious gleam in his eyes. "And what favor would that be?"

[Northen Light36]

"My children," Echo replies, shifting Pas slightly as the toddler squirms in her arms. "I can't not go with the rest of the guild for this, and I certainly can't take Bastet and Pasht to Khelek with me." Echo gives Talon and Acqua a fairly desperate look. "I'll give you some money, of course, they won't be a burden on you, but would you be prepared to look after the twins until I come for them?"

[Kender Bard]

Talon looked at the children and his face split into a grin. "If you don't mind them playing with my own children, I would be happy to take care of them!" he exclaimed in delight. "I adore children." He moved closer and smiled at Pas. "Hello there, little one. I'm Talon." He recalled a vague memory of Alethia informing him that the children might have played with the two little thief-kids once. "Do you remember my children, Spice and Crentha?"