[h3][b][i][center][color=a36209]Saul Kent[/color][/center][/i][/b][/h3]
[center][b][color=a36209]Location:[/color][/b] A shadowy street corner then some rooftops over a popular alleyway.
[b][color=a36209]Interacting With:[/color][/b] A local urchin, three suspicious figures in a back alley. [/center]

The roads in town were Salarn were busier than the road to it, but that wasn't saying much. A few drunks who had made an early start on the festivities, street urchins who should be home, grumpy militia men on patrol.

He shuffled past an outfitters, now shuttered for the night. Replacing his missing pack would have to wait a while then, unless he wanted to break in. He stopped for a moment, glanced around to see if anyone was watching – then ran a finger down the door jamb feeling it out. Then called himself an idiot for seriously considering robbing some guys home and business just because he was having a bad day. There was no reason shopping couldn't wait until morning.

There were other matters to attend to, anyhow. The pressing matter of a tavern that he needed to locate before it was drunk dry by revellers for example. So he strode on through the streets, trying to ignore the growing ache in his leg from that recent wound.

He paused at a street corner, noticing the way the streetlights threw shadows here. A man could just stand there and be almost out of sight, if he felt the need to wait for someone. He paused a minute longer, weighing the advantages of an ambush in his mind vs his need to get to the tavern and dull the pain in his leg and his increasingly dry throat. Then he stepped into the shadows and started to wait.

He didn't have to wait as long as he had expected before an urchin came wandering by. Poor kid, ragged old shirt, ragged old trousers, and an equally ragged and torn wool blanket wrapped around him to keep out the night. No shoes. Every town had them, the orphans that luck and gods had left behind. The little guy nearly jumped out of his skin when Kent laid a hand on his shoulder from his hiding spot in the shadows.

[i]“Argh!”[/i]

[color=a36209]“It's ok.”[/color] The weathered dark haired figure spread his arms wide to show he wasn't armed and ment no harm. It didn't occur to him that the the stained tunic he wore was almost as scruffy as the urchin's own. [color=a36209]“Shouldn't you be home with your mamma?”[/color]

The kid spat on the street. Kent just looked at him, as that answer didn't tell him if the kid even had a home to go to. [i]“Mamma's drunk, better off out here.”[/i]

[color=a36209]“Wanna make some money?”[/color]

[i]“I told 'em, I ain't no thief.”[/i] Young boy stood maybe half as high as Kent did himself, and here he was trying his best to stand up before him. Granted, there were still enough people and witnesses around that Kent probably wasn't going to do anything here – but it took a bright kid to realise that. [i]“Might not have much mister, but I got my pride. I ain't gonna rob someone just cause you will beat me if I don't.”[/i]

[color=a36209]“I'm not looking for a thief.”[/color] Kent considered assuring the boy that he wasn't thieves guild either – his reply suggested he had been troubled by them already. [color=a36209]“I'm looking for an honest kid, can carry a message.”[/color]

[i]“Honest work?”[/i] The boy brightened up a bit at the thought.

[color=a36209]“Honest work.”[/color] He reached into his purse and pulled out a couple of coins. It was a bit too dark for the boy to see them clearly, but both were silver and of good size.

[i]“Awright.”[/i]

[color=a36209]“One is for the head priest at the temple. Tell him the constable would like to see him in an hour.”[/color] Kent held out both coins to the boy, whose eyes widened somewhat on seeing them. [color=a36209]“The other is yours for the trouble.”[/color]

[i]“Thas a lot of money mister. For me, I mean. Priests do like their silver.”[/i] He was almost reluctant to take the offered money, almost not believing his luck. But almost doesn't stop you when someone offers you a chance to buy a whole new set of less worn clothes in return for a brief errand.

[color=a36209]“You know there is a war on, yeah?”[/color] Kent answered as he started to walk away.[color=a36209] “I might die in a battle tomorrow. Figure I can at least buy a young boy some new breaches before I die.”[/color]

[i]“I'll see the priest gets your message sir.”[/i] Said the boy as the two parted ways in the night. [b][i]“An Thank ye!”[/i][/b]


[hr]
It wouldn't have taken him long to reach the Crossed Swords where promises of strong drink and song awaited him for the slightly less than an hour he had before his meeting with the constable and priest. But something happened. There he was, limping down the road and – for once – mostly minding his own business when he heard shouting from an alley. He couldn't make the words out, and he couldn't hear the distinctive sound of steel on steel on steel on flesh but it was late at night, and a warzone about to be destroyed by undead. Any form of back alley altercation was probably something he wanted to at least know about.

So he ran over there. It wasn't far away so didn't take long.

Two figures at the end of the alleyway.
One armed, the other a minstrel or entertainer or some kind.
A crusading priest – or a man pretending to be one – at his end, with his back to Kent.
And...something in the shadows right at the back.

Kent didn't break stride as he ran round the corner and almost straight past Sundos. He leapt for the bottom of the roof of the house on that side, coming up a little short because of the bad light and jumping a bit too soon. He hung here from his fingertips for a moment scrabbling before he managed to get a foothold and push himself up. He also didn't scream from putting all his weight on his injured leg doing it.

Then he sprinted across that roof, leapt onto the next from which he could finally see the critter hiding in the shadows. Which was a dire wolf, sitting on it's haunches looking somewhat bemused. Well, only about half a dire wolf actually – it must have been quite young.

He looked down at the three figures gathered in that alley.

[color=a36209]“Hi.”[/color] He tried to shrug nonchalantly. [color=a36209]“...Err, would someone mind filling me in on what whatever it was I clearly just missed?”[/color]