Iago would hear a high-pitched young cackle as he tumbled down from the rafters, a small hint to who had taken him down. While that had been fun, Shock wasn’t satisfied. She still had a pocketful of mischief to dish out, after all! A few tankards around the room would be pelted with stones and bone shards, particularly if they were being held by a patron about to take a drink. A particularly good hit managed to not only knock the tankard from a patron’s hand, but cover him from head to toe in beer. By now, a few had wisened up to not only that the stones were coming from above, but that a little purple figure caused the shifting light from the lanterns.

"A witch!" someone cried. "There's a witch!"

Esmeralda glanced up.

Well, that was the second one of them accounted for, at least. Figuring she couldn’t get to Shock right now, she continued her pursuit of Lock.

“Come back here, you little mischief maker!”

Gaston glowered at the Madame, but at least he could come back in once he took care of the thief. He barely felt the belt on his shoulder as he stormed out. Gaston quickly fixed his pants, then grabbed his blunderbuss with the intent of following Cassim.

He never noticed the missing wallet, to which Cassim would find he had a fair amount of silver and copper coins, with a few gold pieces for good measure.

Gaston didn’t see where Cassim went, but he barely spotted the soldier turn the corner when something hard and sharp landed on his head.

“AUGH!”

He quickly aimed his blunderbuss for the figure that dashed away. Gaston hardly had it in his sights when he took in the thin form, the round, white head...a [i]skull[/i]?!

[quote=Walking skeleton?][color=orange][b]"SOUL ROBBER!"[/b][/color][/quote]

The Soul Robber went straight through the figure. It looked up, and now Jack would see that what he [i]thought[/i] was Sally’s silhouette was actually a shadow. Holes in its face formed slanted eyes and a twisted, evil grin before it dispersed into thin air. Several other shadows came out of nooks and nearby alleys, then headed straight for the Pumpkin King.

Gaston watched the shadows come at the skeletal figure. He decided to leave him to his fate and prepare for anymore heading this way. And they [i]were[/i] coming. He took careful aim at a particularly nasty-lookng shadow and fired. It dispersed upon taking the shot. He quickly reloaded and aimed for a particularly large shadow coming from a second story pillar when something else caught his eye:

A twisted figure in the dark, with a billowing cloak behind it. It leaped from one roof to another, and disappeared.

Gaston grinned with a wicked glint in his eye. He knew [i]that[/i] form. A second shot took care of the shadow before it could get too close, but he knew where that third shot was going to go.

“It’s been a while, [i]Beast[/i],” he sneered.

He reloaded and watched the rooftops carefully for the figure to reappear.

More shadows made their way out from the alleys and towards Mulan and Cassim. They were close enough that sinister faces could be picked from their dark and twisted forms. Some looked humanoid, while others could only be described as demons.

Back inside, the tavern got back to its usual excitement now that Gaston and the strangers were gone. Madame Serpente, having heard the cheers from the drinking game, marched up to Merida to collect her due, then gently guided her to the front, as she assumed that strange foreign soldier was one of her companions. She could wait there until they sorted out whatever it was with Gaston. In the meantime, she heard some of her patrons yelling about a witch, and sure enough, there was one - albeit a child - up in her chandelier.

If it wasn't one thing, it was something else. Madame Serpente ordered a barmaid to lower the chandelier, while she carefully climbed on the table to intercept the little girl. The barmaid quickly ran to the stairs to get to the crank.


The [s]totally manly[/s] yelp from Pierre caused Lock to giggle. He tried to get Phoebus too, but the soft clink against one of his greaves meant protection from his fun. Oh well. There were more people to make miserable, and Esmeralda to avoid. He slipped under another table before she could spot him again...and unwittingly came out [i]right[/i] in her sight on the other side.

Thinking quickly, Lock poked a waitress and caused her to fumble, which forced Esmeralda to catch her before she fell, and allowed him a quick exit. By now, though, a few patrons had caught onto his game. The more sober of them tried to assist Esmeralda. Lock scurried under another table to avoid them.

What he didn't account for was something else being able to follow him. Now freed from Pierre's grasp, Djahli galloped after Lock, having seen the little red tail that Phoebus and Pierre missed. As Lock tried to slip away again, Djahli caught his tail in his teeth, and, only holding tight enough to keep the trickster from escaping, pulled him out from under the table.

"Ouch!" Lock cried. "Hey! Let go!"

He tried to smack Djahli with the fire poker, only for Esmeralda to swipe it first.

"That's [i]quite[/i] enough," she said.

Barrel happily munched on the tart, content enough with the food he already consumed, but the pastries in particular, he found appealing. He was mid-swallow when the cupboard doors suddenly burst open. A strange blond man with a stern look on his face peered in.

Uh-oh. Busted.

Barrel tried to jump down, but the man was quicker. He tried to bite the man's arm, and found himself with a mouthful of thick leather.

"Blech!"

Effectively trapped, Barrel simply finished the rest of the tart as the man carried him out of the kitchen. The man set him down, and with the crossed arms and stern look, Barrel was briefly reminded of Jack.

[Quote=Knight in shiny armor]"Young man, you are in a significant amount of trouble."[/quote]

Barrel looked properly guilty. He put his hands behind his back, and nudged the floor with one toe.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I was just hungry."

He gave the man his most innocent grin, and crossed his fingers behind his back.

"I won't do it agai--"

Zero's second howl came, louder this time. Any pretenses of guilt dropped as Barrel quickly scurried under the man's legs.

"Uh-oh, gotta go!"

Jack was calling for them, and if he and his siblings made him wait a [i]third[/i] time, it would mean trouble - and the kind of trouble they [i]didn’t[/i] like. Lock yanked his tail free from Djahli and headed for the front door, with Esmeralda on his heels. Shock felt the chandelier move, and glanced down to see Madame Serpente waiting for her. She stood up and held the rope that hooked the chandelier to the ceiling, then quickly shifted to the other side. After a quick calculation of her current height, Shock jumped down and landed safely on the table below her. She kicked plates and tankards out of her way, much to the startled surprise of the drunk patrons who hadn't expected her to simply [i]fall[/i]. A few angry patrons tried to grab her. Shock lifted her mask long enough to blow them a raspberry before she jumped off the edge of the table to join her brothers. Madame Serpente climbed down to join Esmeralda in giving chase.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel cackled as they ran out the front door. Their laughter died quickly when they saw the shadows, and Jack in the midst of them. Lock and Barrel quickly readied their slingshots while Shock ran for the stables to retrieve their bathtub.

Madame Serpente sensed danger too, and went back inside to protect her patrons. Esmeralda wielded the poker like a sword and stayed near the boys. Troublesome as they were, they were still children.

In his exploration of city, Kuzco and his troupe would find several shadows heading their way...and only one way to run. The shadows came from several directions, and herded the troupe toward the tavern, where they sensed others of interest as well.