@Patches@Nashie
Kordan just grinned. Oh, this was the part of these fights he lived for. Cracking his fingers, his eyes burned with inner fire, his own unique ability coming to light. With a low whistle, he did his best to cover Yoshimi as he pointed his finger imperiously at the guard. Like a kill command, two lithe cat-like apparitions made of smoke and living flame manifested. Sending them after the guard to distract him from Yoshimi, he figured this was how they'd stay stealthy. If there was nobody left to notice, then technically nobody noticed.

"Alrighty then. Little less stealthy than you all wanted. Fuck it, let's play. Johnnie, get off that grate, it might shock the shit out of you here in a moment." He said, his steps beginning to leave steaming puddles of boiling water in his wake as he stepped through the muck. One of his hands waited, pointing at the door the guards had shouted from.

@Afro Samurai
Lucy smiled warmly at the strange man, a hint of intent visible in her eyes. She was excited to meet this strange new arrival, and knew that whatever happened, it'd probably be interesting. Standing up, Lucy walks over to the dark-skinned man, sitting beside him and leaving her half-drunk coffee and half-eaten bagel on the table behind her.

"Can't help but stare, but I'm sure you understand. Walked in here with a purpose, don't take too keen of an eye to see that. Bit of a foreigner too, by the looks of it. And when ya single me out like that, well, I can't help but come an say hi."

She smiles sweetly at the man, invoking a young child excited to meet a new friend, but keeping enough edge in her eyes to let the stranger know that trying to take advantage of her would end poorly.

"Lucille Barlow, pleasure to meet'cha. What do they call you?"

@Patches
@Nashie
Astrid drew her bow and knocked an arrow as she helped cover Yoshimi. It was probably better that the one with a bit more physical strength dealt with the guard who now knew they were there. "Paska," she swore upon hearing the muffled shouts from above. Did the cowboy get himself too deep? "You two can handle him," she said to Yoshimi and Kordan, "I will go to help dhe cowboy." Without turning, she faded into mist and floated rapidly up the cistern behind her colleagues to find Johnny hiding behind a door with a cheap looking blade in his hands. Reforming, she nodded at him.

Silently, she alighted and drew the moisture in the air around her into a veil that she hid in, crouched against the far wall with her bow out. Hopefully, with the darkness of the room and her shroud of mist, she'd be well hidden. Knocking an arrow to her bow string, she drew back on the compound weapon, double checking the type of arrow she had drawn. Razor, by the looks of the Liquid Rune etched carefully into the head. Well, hopefully the guards were going to enter single file... a well placed shot might take out more than one of them if they weren't prepared for combat.

"Mazone Tetu. Most people pronounce it muh-zone. Pleased to meet you, my lady." Another soothing ear-to-ear grin which he often employed to show off his nigh-impeccable white teeth, a sign of wealth in his own country--though he wasn't sure how one displayed her status here.

He let some silence creep into the exchange before he drew up another batch of words.

"'Lucille', hm? Means 'light' in my native language. Why did your parents name you that?" He had picked up on the edge in her eyes easier than he picked up on her glaring stare. His own sleek hazel eyes met hers with their own disguised intentions, every second that lingered after the end of the pleasantries swelled this guise further. He couldn't quite read her, though. She certainly was elusive. It sounded like she came from a lower part of the country, or maybe he had some of his own prejudices he hadn't checked lately.

Either way, there had to be something more to this woman. After all, a woman doesn't approach a man without wanting to gain something from him. He learned that the hard way. Now, he would just have to play into her hands, and maybe she'd slip.

@Yomojo

@Afro Samurai
Lucy notices the intentional pauses, the distinct and purposeful creation of tension. She lets him have it, for a second, and then smirks, twirling around with a surprisingly playful flourish, taking one of the coffees that Mazone had ordered. Without looking at him, she continues the conversation.

"Eh, just a common name from some common parents livin' in a common place. Nothin' exciting. You, on the other hand." She turns her head slightly, looking at him out of the corner of one eye, "You look like somethin' exciting. So, what brings ya to this fair city?" She then turns her head back to the coffee, taking a sip.

@Patches

Good eyes~ Be right back.

@Ember Storm

>With her target in sight, she starts to work her way through the crowd, being careful not to keep her eyes on him for too long, as well as avoiding making a beeline straight to him. As she approaches, she spots the ticket peaking out of his pocket. For the moment being, she pauses, appearing to simply take in the sights as she works out how best to approach this. It's a pretty different situation than she's used to. Crowded, yes, but no one is focused on going anywhere... The best she can manage is her usual method, a classic slight-of-hand brush-by.

>She takes a moment, looking around to make sure no one is focused on her, before moving in, doing her best not to draw attention as she passes by, the mans back between her and the rest of the crowd as she slips the ticket from the man's pocket with a single, smooth, practically unnoticeable motion. Now comes the luck part. Pray that no one noticed as she makes her way back around through the crowd.

"Depends on what kind of story you want to hear, love. Should I begin with how remarkable I am with a blade? How no man can out-maneuver me in a waltz? Or should I begin with how I am the rugged wanderer type who just wants to prey on the weak?"

His intonation marked his play. There was no air of urgency in his voice, no trail of secrecy either. He was giving her a hint of truth with words spoken, but curtaining them beneath the shrill of mystery. The act may run dry soon, but for now, he just wanted to see how many strings he could pull. Pulling strings was always fun, though he figure he'd better move this whole meet and greet along somehow. But first he would see what she had to say, to see how long he could hold her interest--it would help him get a handle on how easy it was to keep her dependent on half-truths, and should the time come--lies.

@Yomojo

@Afro Samurai
"Nah, just what brings ya to New Wickborough. Y'seem like a stranger in a strange place, was just wonderin' if ya needed a friendly local to point ya where y'wanted to go. You're walkin' around with an air of intention, so ya must want somethin'." Lucy responds simply, and casually glances over to Mazone with a plain expression, apparently bored of the subtle back-and-forth they've been having.

The sudden directness of his tone, no matter how casual he wanted it to seem, surprised her. She wasn't really sure what to take of his words, either. Was there boastful truthfulness in there? Was he being sarcastically self-deprecating? Or was he just making fun of her? Nothing showed outwardly, of course, but Lucy began to re-think her image of the man beside her.

All his prying was futile, a trivial pursuit he liked to engage in with strangers just to see if he could really trust him. Lucy's growing boredom fenced his judgement of her as such: she had the veneer of someone who thought herself mysterious, but all it took was a bit of dragging to get her to come right out with things.

Or maybe Mazone wasn't that intuitive.

He quite needed help, lest he spend the rest of his days wandering this large land without any aim. He had been a wandering bladesman for too long, hired out too the gamut of smugglers, priestesses, noble lords, and peasants. He was rather sick of wandering, and he wanted some fixation, some purpose--just like everyone else he supposed. His hazel eyes fell on Lucy again.

"Love, where can a man like myself find work in a place like this? I want romance; I want to fall in love; I want to leave a ma--" he had almost broken into song before he caught himself. A clearing of the throat and an adjustment of his coat brought him back to reality. He was already wearing a long bright coat, he wasn't going to let people think he had bad fashion and a questionable singing voice.

"I'm looking for work. I want to know who you know."

@Yomojo

@Afro Samurai
Letting out a snort of laughter at his near outburst, Lucy comes to a conclusion of what she thinks about this man. She turns to fully face Mazone and chuckles.

"Well, if ya lookin' for work, and you're as good a bladesman as ya claim, there's a couple options. Police force is always lookin' for more recruits, if you're a square. Could also look into the Universal Machine, if you're looking to be one of them weird tech-folk. But my main suggestion would be to ask 'round for a group called the Golden Boys. Mercs for hire type'a deal. Somethin' tells me you'd fit in with 'em."

The plain tone of her previous offer transitions smoothly into a tone of casual conversation, Lucy relaxing somewhat around Mazone. After all, a man so ridiculous probably wasn't much of a threat. Or at least, not immediately.

"'The Golden Boys?'" the name rang comic in his ears. He couldn't help but scoff and chuckle at the childish name. How could any respectable company of bladesman call themselves "Golden Boys?" Part of Mazone wondered how many "golden shower" puns their adversaries had thrown their way over the years.

But he was in need of work, and he didn't have many other skills--damned military fathers. Of course... maybe? He'd try it, there was no harm in asking. Besides, she'd appeared to loosen up around him from what he could read, which is generally where he wants people to be when around him. He never worked well with someone who really was a dark and brooding type.

"What about you, love? Do you have anything for a man like myself? Hell, we could form our own mercenary company..." another one of those intentional and stoccato beats.

"...put our gifts to good use." A knowing ring hung in the air alongside his words; it had a weight that indicated its heaviness, a weight that made it apparent he had been waiting to out her for some time.

@Yomojo

@Afro Samurai
It was Lucy's turn to scoff now. "Our gifts? You mean as casters? You know that ain't a rare thing around here, right? I mean, you must've had to register yourself when ya came in here. Wouldn't be a registry if it was a secret or anythin'. Also, why'd ya scoff at the Golden Boys? I know a couple'a Goldies, tend to be decent fellas. Mosta them's casters too, far as I know."

She didn't feel the need to mention yet that she already had a job. Not that it was the only reason she put down his offer. ~What kinda guy just comes out and says that to a gal he's just met?~ she thought, giving an internal laugh at how ridiculous this man continued to be. She was glad she had come over for the chat, these light spots of comedy were always nice to come by.

That twang in her voice threw him off. He was so used to the prim and elegant forced dialects of the upper nobility from his own home. It was nice to have a chat with one of the commonfolk. Register? Good thing she mentioned it, or he wouldn't have known he had to; now, he wasn't going to. Maybe it'd add some spice to his life, being a rogue caster wasn't the worst thing that could happen--although it was probably time to invest in, no, steal some gloves.

"Must be a working lady, huh?" He was ignorant to the double entendre such a phrase may imply. He thought she was just playing up the whole 'I'm an innocent belle' trick. He'd never met an innocent belle and didn't believe they existed. If she did have a job, he wondered what it was. He'd bet if he asked her and she was hush about it, she'd have lied right to his face--and if not? Well, there goes his dream of having his very own partner in crime.

@Yomojo

@Afro Samurai
"It'd be hard to've been here so long if I didn't provide for myself. Especially since I'm not the kinda gal to just stay at home, lettin' some sugar daddy take care'a me."

Lucy was glad that the conversation was going as it was. As fun as it would have been to mess with the kind of person she had first assumed this man to be, she could always appreciate just having a simple conversation. She wasn't sure where his previous question was going though. She sure didn't look like a street bum, she knew that. He probably wasn't saying everything that was on his mind, but then again, who did? Not that she'd be one to judge, anyways.

"What is it that you do?" He may as well come right out with it, he thought. She seemed comfortable around him enough that he could ask such a quasi-personal question. The best thing he could do right now is make an ally--maybe a friend or two. Those always come in handy in the future, he figured. Besides, he'd probably need some money some day and thought he may as well amass a blacklist of people he could mooch a few bucks from.

His interest returned to the conversation and away from his solipsistic wondering. Of the few remaining questions he had, one had to do with the kind of rune she got, though he thought the question trivial as 'what's your favorite movie' or anything in that vein of speed-date questionnaire format. His rapier snugged against his coat and he jiggled the large handle, his attention remained focused on Lucy while he fiddled. In the back of his mind he wondered if anything interesting would happen any time soon.

@Yomojo

@Afro Samurai
"Work at a place called The Grapevine. Lovely little place for brands like you an' I to hang out and have a good time. Great people, great drinks, and even some pretty decent music once in a while. Should swing by some time, I guarantee you'll love it. Besides, can't just sling claims'a bein the best Waltzer in town 'round without bein' able to back it up."

She had been taught that the easiest way to hide the truth was by telling a different truth, and she does in fact work at The Grapevine. Waitresses once in a while. Besides, she couldn't just come right out and tell every stranger that approached her that she was part of a criminal group. It was supposed to be a semi-secretive faction, after all.

"Who knows, might even be able t'indroduce ya to a Goldie. There's a coupla regulars that're a part of the Boys."

"Sounds good to me." He replied. This is the most he heard her talk all night. Gradually, his guard began to wane--maybe it was because he had started to consider her a real ally, maybe it was because the dull boredom of conversation was rising in the back of his mind. He couldn't stand the smell of coffee beans and tactless perfume bombarding his nose any longer, so he grabbed the train of his trenchcoat with a hand and rose from his seat.

He fixed his coat, keeping sure that his Estoc and his Rapier were as hidden as possible in the trenchcoat. This was quite a foolish idea, the Rapier blade extended far past the length of the trenchcoat. No matter, it wasn't like anyone could take it off him by snatching the blade anyway--he'd have their head for it, literally. He adjusted the suspenders that held the sheaths to his dagger and his arming sword fully concealed from sight beneath the trenchcoat's insides. He had to be able to walk normal if he was going to be dancing all night.

"Let's get out of here; I'll show you I'm a man of my word and the finest Waltzer in town, love." Mazone smirked, devilish.

@Yomojo

@Ember Storm
Gishka? Gregor rubbed his chin, If anything, he's talking about someone from the Gishka Empire. They're a country near Xiao. They still have a emperor ruling them, I've heard. Think the U.M. has a few members from there. Stone Magic is there specialty... That much I know.

@MercuryNH
As she would make her way back, her little pickpocket would go unnoticed... Then, a guard would approach her. A large, beastkin man, rough, rhino like skin covering his exposed arms.

As Mercury would make her way back to the 3 guys, he walked in front of her, cutting off her path. "Excuse me, miss... A moment of your time?" As he stood in front of her, there was a slight sway to his stance, the scent of alcohol on him. Not quite drunk, but slightly inebriated. A slight smile was on his face, as if the charm the woman "Can you, uh... Come with me?"

@hefewy@Ember Storm
"Shit... Our pickpocket is in a bit of trouble." Gregor said, biting his lip, trying to act casual, hoping she wasn't seen. He waited to see things play out, not blowing his cover yet Guys, we need to come up with a plan B here if this gets worse.

As the three would watch, another situation was approaching the three. The owner of the villa, Gustrag, as well as a guard, was steadily approaching the three.

---

@Nashie
As Johnny got ready, two guards burst in through the room, weapons ready. One of them fired off a burst of stone rune based ammo at him; not waiting to shout things at him or tell him to halt.

@Ember Storm
...And with Astrid to suddenly join him, the guards didn't look all too unprepared. Tough looking gear, dangerous looking rifles fitted with state of the art runes, three in total entered the room. One laying surpressing fire on Johnny, the other two taking aim at Astrid as she entered the room.

Despite all their gear, one of their most distinguishing features was the emblem over their hearts, one that the guards at the party lacked; the symbol of a skull with a crown, the symbol of the Children of Kodo'Yim.

@Blizzardofoz123
Thanks Kordan! Yoshimi said as she made her way over to the remaining guard, ready to take him out. With the cat creatures distracting him, she hit him with a solid punch to the ribs, staggering him and sending him stumbling away, coughing. Grabbing the man, she held him down.

Yoshimi had never seen magic like that before. Was it some form of Mist Rune? No way... It was too free formed. It had to be from an Amalgamate of sorts.

Kordan! She shouted, not wanting to be the only one beating answers out of a man Forget about them, Johnny and the lady have it! Help me out here.

@Patches
Duff's hand went to the sabre strapped to his hip. "Lad looks a touch drunk. Not sure how he's allowed t'be drinkin' on th'job, but it doesn't look like anyone cares at this point. 'Sides... we've got some issues at six o'clock ourselves... should I've loaded Voidtips? 'M really thinkin' I should've loaded Voidtips." Without obviously looking behind them, Duff had caught a glimpse of a very rotound man approaching the group, another guard in tow. His CO in the army had always been on about "Constant vigilance!" and "Situational awareness!" and it had stuck, because it was especially important for a marksman like Duff. Now, Duff was no Buck Frobisher, but he could aim well enough and loved his gun like a man would love a woman... hopefully that amount of care would see him through what could be an inevitable confrontation if Gregor wasn't playing the talking game well enough tonight.

If need be and they were forced to leave... well... There were plenty of nice little sniper spots outside the manor to shoot from, and no magical protection in the world could stop Duff's custom Voidstone rounds.

@Patches

>Yeesh, that touch of alcohol on his breath is definitely noticeable. He may not be plastered, but there's no way he's sober, which means Mercury can figure out what this guy's going for with relative ease. She tucks the ticket she'd nabbed into her hand wraps at her palm with subtle motions of the fingers, addressing the tipsy guard at the same time.

Come with you, huh? Any particular reason? As far as I can tell, there's no reason for you to be detaining me.

>She puts on a playful smirk, trying to lead into a gentle let-down for the guard. It's a little difficult, though, now that she's spotted Gustrag himself heading for the rest of her team. This may be a problem...