It was a good plan. There was the right mix of chaos, both potential and actual. And despite a few hitches.. the extra day in the timeline, the general laziness of the dragons, only some of which properly rioted, the competence of the staff's reactions.. Overall, the chaos inducing portion of it deserved a good mark, if not an excellent one. There was enough chaos, a few of the dragons caused tons of boiling steam after they fell into the lake, and boy do they yowl when they get wet. Several hundred townsfolk got out and lined the shore, watching the action from a presumably-safe distance. The property damage was pretty moderate.
There were three key mistakes, though. The suborned guard got off the island, grabbed his share, and ran like the wind. That should have been sufficient warning, but Raucous, low level creature with bad stats he, underestimated the power and ability of his opponents.
Second problem was the town did have someone capable of besting the dragons through raw force. A guy with enough strength to toss them around, hold them back, pen them in, and challenge their biggest to battles of brute force. And it wasn't close. It was easy, just trivial for this guy to toss around muti-thousand pound lizards. This meant that the post-riot cleanup went fast, much faster than expected.
Third problem was.. well, someone had common sense. Yes, in this world of numbers and heroics and powers, someone is capable of using their brain. Another guy comes out of nowhere, starts giving orders to muscle guy and the owner guy, and everything just falls into place quickly and easily. The same guy notices the missing guard and interrogates Fancy Shirt, and all the witnesses, and nails down the missing jewelry fast. This is followed by more powers bullshit, as someone else is capable of locating lost objects just by touching other ones, using one ring to find all the other stashes around town. At this demonstration of unnatural capabilities, the bird buggers out. Who is to say that this person can't know he's the one guilty of taking it?
Another time the bird might try something audacious, tell a huge bluff, or outmaneuver the pursuers by finding a greater threat, real or imaginary, to point the investigators at. But this isn't the time for that. Raucous doesn't have nearly enough information to pull a scam that large, so this is the time to, quite literally, fly.
At least the job is done. Sala can't complain about it, even if I didn't do it with quite the amount of style I'm used to. And there are at least a few people in this world capable of thinking with things other than numbers.
Not many though. That was what, the fifth town I've visited and that's the first person I've seen take charge like that? Hmm. This deserves more thought.
And I do have this lovely ring. It is quite pretty.
Behind him, however..
"A dark shape it is", says the seer. "A dark shape, that flies on dark wings, that goes to place to place to spread horror and chaos." he says, an old man of perhaps seventy years, holding a piece of the stolen jewelry, using his power to bring forth visions of the thief. "But.. things aren't clear? I see children, also. And it brings gold and glory? A friend and an enemy both? A stranger" he says, seeing a vision of a black-clad vagabond alone on the road. "And a guest?" The next vision is a middle-aged aunt visiting her brother and his loving family.
"That sounds pretty confusing." says the mayor. Is anything certain?
"Yes. Whatever it is, it bring change and chaos with it. Behind everything there is the symbol of the turning wheel. Whatever caused all this means to bring a new age."
"Huh. I'd better send a letter to the capital, then. No way this is the only place it hit. I need to get a proper warning out."
It was a good plan. There was the right mix of chaos, both potential and actual. And despite a few hitches.. the extra day in the timeline, the general laziness of the dragons, only some of which properly rioted, the competence of the staff's reactions.. Overall, the chaos inducing portion of it deserved a good mark, if not an excellent one. There was enough chaos, a few of the dragons caused tons of boiling steam after they fell into the lake, and boy do they yowl when they get wet. Several hundred townsfolk got out and lined the shore, watching the action from a presumably-safe distance. The property damage was pretty moderate.
There were three key mistakes, though. The suborned guard got off the island, grabbed his share, and ran like the wind. That should have been sufficient warning, but Raucous, low level creature with bad stats he, underestimated the power and ability of his opponents.
Second problem was the town did have someone capable of besting the dragons through raw force. A guy with enough strength to toss them around, hold them back, pen them in, and challenge their biggest to battles of brute force. And it wasn't close. It was easy, just trivial for this guy to toss around muti-thousand pound lizards. This meant that the post-riot cleanup went fast, much faster than expected.
Third problem was.. well, someone had common sense. Yes, in this world of numbers and heroics and powers, someone is capable of using their brain. Another guy comes out of nowhere, starts giving orders to muscle guy and the owner guy, and everything just falls into place quickly and easily. The same guy notices the missing guard and interrogates Fancy Shirt, and all the witnesses, and nails down the missing jewelry fast. This is followed by more powers bullshit, as someone else is capable of locating lost objects just by touching other ones, using one ring to find all the other stashes around town. At this demonstration of unnatural capabilities, the bird buggers out. Who is to say that this person can't know he's the one guilty of taking it?
Another time the bird might try something audacious, tell a huge bluff, or outmaneuver the pursuers by finding a greater threat, real or imaginary, to point the investigators at. But this isn't the time for that. Raucous doesn't have nearly enough information to pull a scam that large, so this is the time to, quite literally, fly.
At least the job is done. Sala can't complain about it, even if I didn't do it with quite the amount of style I'm used to. And there are at least a few people in this world capable of thinking with things other than numbers.
Not many though. That was what, the fifth town I've visited and that's the first person I've seen take charge like that? Hmm. This deserves more thought.
And I do have this lovely ring. It is quite pretty.
Behind him, however..
"A dark shape it is", says the seer. "A dark shape, that flies on dark wings, that goes to place to place to spread horror and chaos." he says, an old man of perhaps seventy years, holding a piece of the stolen jewelry, using his power to bring forth visions of the thief. "But.. things aren't clear? I see children, also. And it brings gold and glory? A friend and an enemy both? A stranger" he says, seeing a vision of a black-clad vagabond alone on the road. "And a guest?" The next vision is a middle-aged aunt visiting her brother and his loving family.
"That sounds pretty confusing." says the mayor. Is anything certain?
"Yes. Whatever it is, it bring change and chaos with it. Behind everything there is the symbol of the turning wheel. Whatever caused all this means to bring a new age."
"Huh. I'd better send a letter to the capital, then. No way this is the only place it hit. I need to get a proper warning out."
