The Great Chase

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was still in Camelot. This city was constantly proving to hold many interests for Vaughn so he was not quite ready to leave yet. After all, a man with no destination or purpose in life, was in no rush to be anywhere. So why not take his time in this particular city. It was the middle of the afternoon and the streets were packed with people rushing about. The market place was at its peak of business at this time and so the large crowds made it difficult to walk without bumping into everyone. Even more so for Vaughn since he had his swords strapped to his back, as he never put them anywhere else.

He finally made his way to the well. There was a bit of a lineup, so he would have to do the only logical thing; eliminate those ahead of him. There were only two people; two men. Vaughn moved to the side when the one directly in front of him was not looking, and shoved the man in front of that one. The man, angrily turned around and accused the clueless stranger of starting a fight. Well, that solved that problem for not both men were at each others throats and no longer a problem for the nomadic knight.

He proudly stepped ahead and began to lower the bucket, looking around as crowd began to form around the two fighting men. Vaughn could care less. He just grinned proudly; enjoying the trail of chaos he left behind him. He took the bucket and placed it on the ledge. Before he dipped his hands in it, he removed two thick leather strap bracelets; wearing one on each wrist. The material was indeed expensive and there were small bits of silver and gold placed in it, making a very intricate design. It would be worth a pretty penny. He placed them on the side of the ledge near him, the crowd getting larger and larger. He dipped his hands in the bucket and began to splash some water on his face before taking a few sips. His head was half cocked to the side, trying to watch the fight unfold, which meant that his bracelets were left there, exposed in plain sight.

[[ Tag Tam Piper ]]

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocket
and the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

Tam was jubilant.
She sauntered through the market in boy's disguise, feeling rich and free. Her thieving fingers had found three purses, and though it was only halfway through the day she already had enough for food and a cheap room. Perhaps she would take a holiday...
Then the sound of fighting reached her ears. A slow smile spread across her face. Tam loved fights. Not that she ever actually watched the brawl itself - she watched those who watched because she knew they would not have eyes on their treasures. Then she would be away with them, and laughing!

Tam threaded her way towards that crowd like a thin brown shadow. Then something shining caught her eye. A knight stood by the wall - a great mountain of a man! - and seemed to be trying to drink and watch the fight at the same time. Placed on the ledge beside him were two leather bracelets, studded with silver and gold. Tam drew a sharp breath at the intricate design. And that knight had no eye on them at all! So careless, he was almost asking for them to be taken!

Silently, Tam was at his side. Out shot her delicate fingers, collected the bracelets and she turned to vanish away... but as she turned she caught the bucket with her elbow. It clattered to the ground, soaking both herself and the knight. Tam froze, horrified. Never in all her life had she been so careless!
But Tam gave the man no time to catch her, dancing away like a wild deer. She leapt over a market stall, ignoring the owner's protests as apples scattered everywhere. Tam was running now for her life!

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn really had no idea that his belongings were about to be stolen. He had not heard the thief approach for he had been too distracted by the fight and the high level of noise helped her be more sneak than Vaughn would have liked. It was not until the bucket unexpectedly fell that Vaughn quickly looked to the side. He was soaking wet, his bracelets were gone, and now the thief was running. While Vaughn did like the two leather items, he was not as desperate to catch the thief to retrieve them. It was more about the principle of the matter and Vaughn was not about let that boy get away with it. He was small, fast, and able to weave quickly through the crowds. Vaughn was taller, larger with all his armor, and had two swords protruding from his back.

This was going to be difficult. But not impossible.

He began to run through the crowds pushing people out of the way, some of them being caught off balance and falling over. He did not cry thief so that others could help stop the boy. No. He was going to catch him all on his own, and possibly, kill him. Vaughn was not able to run as fast as he wanted, it was more like a slow motion jog because every time he tried to move faster, he was caught behind a cart or someone who moved horribly slow. That was it! He pulled out his sword and cut the rope on one of the carts that was holding a collection of barrels. The barrels went tumbling down and he used this diversion to try and get a bit ahead so that he could catch the little sneak being!

[[ Haha. Your post was funny because for some reason, I pictured Tam being like a deer caught in headlights when she knocked over the bucket. ]]

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocket
and the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

From the terrible commotion behind her, Tam guessed that she was being followed. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw that mountain-man trying to chase her! He was pushing people over and somehow sent a whole load of barrels rolling through the market.
But Tam was not worried that he might catch her. He was big, and burdened with both armour and swords. She grinned like a demon and raced off again. She would lead him such a chase!

At first she had been worried that he might shout 'theif' and many hands would move to catch her. But he had not. Tam guessed that was his pride. Most knights had terrible pridefull feelings - lucky for her!
Tam dived under another stall that was in her way, scrambled to her feet and found she had reached the edge of the market place. She chose the nearest narrow alley and ran into the dark. Blinking hurried to get her eyes to agree with the gloom, Tam scrambled over a wall into someone's yard. Scattering chickens and making a lady scream, she was at the other wall in two strides and vaulted over. No lumbering knight would catch her!

[[Oh, that is good! I am glad because that is exsactly how I thought her to look also! But I could not say it, because I could not say 'headlights' in a medival role play... ]]

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Bloody Hell! The first thing Vaughn was going to do when he got his hands on this boy was chop his legs off. He was making him run far too much, but Vaughn being the stubborn man he was was not going to give up. He was not as agile as this boy and found himself pushing things out of the way instead of crawling under or over them. The table that he crawled under, Vaughn pushed it out of his way, knocking all of the things to the ground. He was then held back by the shop keeper who was yelling angrily at him. Good lord! Not only was the thief getting away, but he was making Vaughn deal with yelling people. Instead of apologizing or saying anything, Vaughn punched the man in the face and continued to run after the pick pocketer. He managed to just catch a glimpse of him climbing over into a woman's yard. How did he know the owner was a woman? Because he heard a high pitch shrill of a scream.

Damn boy!

Vaughn followed. He managed to climb over but jumping down from the wall, he nearly killed a chicken. The other chickens now saw him as a threat. A couple of them charged towards him, pecking at his feet while the others were in a complete commotion, running around frantically in his path. Vaughn was trying to kick them off of him, and kick them out of his way, but it was a lot more difficult than he initially thought it would be. On top of the squaking chickens, the woman was yelling and screaming, taking her broom and hitting Vaughn with it.

Damn woman!

She was slowing him down, but he kept pushing forward. He felt as if he was in some sort of bizarre circus, and he had just about enough. Finally, he stopped and turned to the woman. He grabbed her broom, snapped it in half, and began to beat away the chickens with it that were flocking about in front of him. It was working, but he soon heard the sobbing of the woman. Good lord! Now she was crying. She was not only crying, but she was screeching for back up. As if the chickens had not been enough. Vaughn managed to cross the yard, but he knew that the boy had a very good head start. He would not totally be discouraged. He would find this thief and teach him a lesson. If only he was had not been slowed down by the idiots, and animals, that occupying this city, then he would have been right on the boy's trail.

[[ HAHA Good point. Well you wrote it in such a way that I got the perfect mental image of Tam's expression. ]]

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocket
and the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

Tam paused in the narrow street, listening. That knight had followed her over into the yard, cetainly! She could hear the terrible noises, the screaming battle-cries of chickens and the woman first shrieking then sobbing and then yelling again.
Tam smiled. That mountain-man would not be out of there in a hurry! It would take him long enough to fight away such enemies. Laughing to herself, Tam began to trot slowly down that street. She no longer ran for her life, though the precious treasure was still hidden in her cloak. She believed she had got away. Which was a mistake.

Tam moved at the slow jog-trot, taking this twist and that turn but not bothering to be careful of tracks or to look over her shoulder. She was thinking that she would make her way out to the city wall and wait at the edges of the city until the market place had calmed down. Then she would go the secret ways and take the treasures to a man she knew. Best to get it off her hands as soon as posible.

[[ ]]

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

This was absolutely preposterous! This thief was not going to have the last laugh. After everything that Vaughn was going through, he was surely going to make the fiend suffer as much as was humanly possible. He was losing sight of him. Once he was over the fence, he brushed himself off, walking as his eyes scanned the streets for the boy. He had to ask a few passerbys if they saw a short boy with darker skin. Some gave vague directions, others had no idea what he was talking about. However, still dressed as a knight he was given the expected respect. Not that Vaughn cared. But if it got people to talk, then why not use it to his advantage.

THERE! Vaughn caught sight of a short little mop of hair. It was him. He began to push through the crowd again, not even bothering to say excuse me, or move. He was just frantically shoving them out of his path, locking his eyes on the target and trying not to lose sight of him.....again.

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocket
and the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

The maddened knight was almost on her before Tam realised. She swore and bolted like a frightened rabbit, running along side the city wall. How had he found her? She though she had left him well beaten with the chickens and the lady in the yard. She thought he would have slunk home licking his wounds. Yet here he was, still after her and for what? Those leather bracelet would fetch a pretty price on the market, but were they really worth so much to this knight who could just buy more?
Tam glanced over her shoulder and saw that he still followed. Curse him! She suddenly knew he would chase her all through the city until she was caught. That thought was not a pleasent one. She had to escape somehow...

And then she saw how. Some wonderful person had left an old barrel beside the wall. Tam sprinted for it, leaping like a cat to to balance on the lid. Then she lept again, fingers catching the top of the wall and feet scrabbling under her. It was a wild struggle but Tam managed to pull herself until she sat astride the wall.
She paused a moment to look down at the man. Her grin made her look like a little brown demon.
"So long, Sir Knight!" she called. "Thank you oh so for the gift!"
And she dropped down outside the wall. It was a long fall. Tam hit the ground and rolled the break the impact. Then she was up again and racing for the forest. She would spent the night in secret there and then return the next day to sell her pretty treasure.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

The thief's size was proving to be a great advantage. He could maneuver himself around carts and barrels apparently, as well as hopping fences and climbing walls. But Vaughn was a stubborn man and was not about to give up. It was not because the bracelets held some sort of great sentimental value. It was because he did not like the thought of accepting the fact that someone had taken them from him. Not without paying first. As if Vaughn could not get more angry at the boy, there he was, standing on the wall and the knight had caught up in just enough time to hear him, and see him. Flaunting, boasting, rubbing it in his face.

That was it. The game was on.

Vaughn sneered and as he had slowed his pace, he no longer had that adrenaline rush that could have allowed him to climb over the wall as quickly as the thief had. Still. He had to find a way because this was not the end. Vaughn would chase him to the ends of the earth if necessary. After all, he had no life. No purpose. If this became his purpose then so be it. Vaughn began to look around for something that would give him the necessary height and stability to be able to climb up on that wall. The barrel would not do. He needed some sort of stool. He ran into a near by house, ignoring the screams of the residents. He shoved a person who was in his way, seated on the stool, and grabbed it, knocking the person to the floor and angrily carrying the stool out side, near the wall. Damn! It was not high enough. This was where he would try to use the barrel. He placed it on top of the stool, and though it looked high imbalanced and unstable, he had no choice. He had to do it quickly.

He jumped up on it, and had he not grabbed onto the ledge of the wall as quickly as he had, he would have fallen for the barrel and stool went tumbling to the ground. Vaughn used all his strength to pull himself up, but it took longer than he liked. As he peeked over the ledge, he could see the brown boy running off. This enraged him and gave him the boost he needed; the incentive and motivation. He forced himself up, managed to throw himself over, and landing hard on his feet. It was painful but there would be a time to feel the effects of his injuries. Now was not that time. He ignored it and kept running, as fast as he possibly could. He was not about to yell out anything to the boy. He was saving his anger and rage for when he came face to face with him.

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocketand the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

Tam was in the forest now. Forced into being a nomad for the past two years, she knew enough forest-craft to survive but no more. She was a city thief by heart and skill. Her invisibility was in crowds, her speed was in scrambling over rooftops and dancing down shadow alleys. It was only because she felt she had no choice did she turn to the forest to escape the knight. She did not believe he would go so far as to chase her out the city.

Once again, she had under estimated his stubbornness. And this time there would be no second escape.
Tam had slowed to a walk and had not left the forest path. She had even started to whistle again, which meant that even if she had left the path she could have been followed.
Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. Thinking wild animal or perhaps another traveller she turned.... and it was that man again! Tam whirled on her toes, he was so close and her speed was the only thing she had over him! So panicked, she had not seen another danger.
Tam had not taken three steps when her foot caught in a tree-root. Her ankle twisted and she tumbled, smashing her shoulder into the hard ground.

((Sorry for that slight God-Moding of having you be so close to Tam. If you do not like it, I will change. But in your next post you have my permission to catch her and hold her a sword-point or whatever. ))

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

He was making his way into the woods now. Vaughn knew it was going to be more difficult to find him, since there would be no one there to direct him, nor would there be a trail of destruction behind him to follow. No. Now there would only be trees and so listening to every sound, every snap of a twig, was absolutely integral. Vaughn however was no expert tracker so this would be a bit difficult. Luckily he did not have to listen too carefully for as he stood still, he heard the sound of falling. Yes; the sound of falling could indeed be heard.

He quickly ran to the source and found the thief of the ground. Finally; he had caught a break as the boy's foot had caught a root. Vaughn swiftly pulled out both his swords and pointed the tips of them at the boy's throat. "Well, well. What do we have here. A boy lost in the woods." Vaughn had finally had his victory and now that he had control over the situation, he did not know what to do with it for there were so many possibilities.

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocket
and the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

Before Tam could scramble to her feet, she felt the touch of cold steel to her throat. The knight loomed over her like an armoured mountain, a sword in each hand. She did not like the expression in his eyes.
Tam was afraid. Of course she was afraid. One thrust of his hand and she would be paying for her wickedness in the next world.
But she knew better than to let him see that fear. Besides, if she had to die then she was not going to beg for her life and give him the satisfaction.

So she swore at him. And continued with every disgusting word that she knew, words that were never written down for fear they would burn the paper. She insulted his mother, his family and cursed him in seven different languages.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn looked at her as she began to swear at him. It was in a mumbled voice, but he could make out bits and pieces of what he was saying. Vaughn had no problem in someone cursing his family. Hell, had they not been dead to him emotionally then he would have joined in on the cursing. What the more curious thing was to Vaughn was that the boy was in fact cursing at him, when he was in this vulnerable position. It seemed as if he was trying to get every possible degrading comment out before Vaughn killed him.

Ironically, it was the cursing that prevented Vaughn from killing him right then and there. He was more amused by the unexpected words that escaped from the boy's mouth. The obvious reaction when in such a position was to beg for ones life, but clearly, this thief went against the norm. Though Vaughn changed his mind about killing him, he remained in the exact same position, not wanting the boy to know that he did not plan to kill him, yet. "What makes you so brave boy to say these things, when I clearly had the advantage and upper hand in this situation." They say that curiosity killed the cat, but right now, it saved the mouse.

[tam]

...with the hands of a pick-pocket
and the laughing tale of the fool
I'm the ranger of disorder
with my strange and simple rules...

Tam was surprised that she was not dead yet. She had expected him to slit her throat long before she reached cursing in Arabic. Now watched him with wary eyes, at last falling silent. Not because she had repented her words, but simply because she had run out of things to say. What kind of knight got so wild at the theft of his trickets that he chased her all through the city and then did not kill her when she insulted his mother?
Perhaps he is into torture... Tam paled a little. That chilled her heart and she wished she had not thought of it.

And when he spoke, his words told her exsactly nothing. He kept the swords close on her throat and his tone was unreadable. Tam did not know if he mocked her or if he was genuintly interested.
"I'm not going to beg and weep like some caitiff," she told him scornfully, almost spitting the words.
"So if you're going to kill me, you do it quick and clean. You're a knight so I know you can."
And hopefully he would do that and not think of torture. Tam did not hope that he would let her live - not after the wild way he had cased her.
Well, she reflected, still glaring up at him. Made it to seventeen, anyhow. There's street kids that don't even grow to teen years. And better to be killed for something I done then to die of cold or fever.