Macee and the Marks

(Written with Renan)

Silver clouds covered the sky and a cold wind swept across Stormwind, the city living up to its name at last. From where she was standing beneath a particularly productive apple tree Macee could see the city bustling with midday activity.

Two small squads of city guards marched in rows around King Varian’s tomb. Shops and stalls along the canals were open, the vendors calling out to and chatting with the crowds of passersby. The sounds of hymns and church bells echoed out of the Cathedral District.

Every once in a while a new group would crest the final stairs that lead up from the docks and they were by far the most interesting. Injured soldiers, Kaldorei refuges, wanderers and adventurers...all manner of people.

A fresh apple falls free from its branch and just misses the end of her snoot.

Without a blink, catlike reflexes catch that falling apple in a clawed palm.  Oh, how she loved the bounty of Stormwind!  Free apples as far as the eye could see, a free dinner down by the Cathedral if one could make themselves look destitute enough and on occasion, a free purse of coin should a drunkard fail to make it to their destination.

Today, the latter freebie seemed to be on the horizon.  With a crunch to the apple, her gaze fell upon a rather rich looking Ren’dorei.  "Void elves..." she muttered quietly around the crunching of her apple.  It wasn't that she didn't like Ren'dorei, as a matter of fact she knew a few rather good ones.  But this one, he looked as arrogant as they came.  His nose in the air as he passed her, silken breeches giving that telltale swish that pompous finery had. What truly caught her attention was the jingle of the coin in his purse. From the sound, it was well over a thousand gold, give or take.

Rolling her back along the trunk of the tree, her form shimmered. Where once stood a tall Worgen was now a brown haired, violet eyed girl.  With a final bite of her apple, her quarry was followed.

The Ren’dorei strides through the crowds as though he himself had laid the foundations of the city. He is surrounded by a half dozen retainers.

Two purple and gold armored guards, their look clearly a spin on their Sin’dorei counterparts, large winged shields slung across their backs and ethereal blades at their hips.

Three servants, their clothes plain in comparison but clearly still made of the finest silks, hurry along behind toting all manner of baggage.

Finally, a single, impossibly pale Ren’dorei woman wrapped in gauzy, billowing finery. A thin black band of silk obscures her eyes but she looks around as though it were not there. Her bare feet float a few inches above the ground as she glides, not walks, behind her master.

The rich Ren’dorei begins barking commands in a sing-song voice, gesturing to a number of stalls. With a snap of his fingers the three servants pile the luggage neatly and dash off towards the market, leaving the noble and his guards at a bench overlooking the park.

Macee walks right past the noble and his guards, though she eyes the floating woman warily.  She'd never seen anything like that before and magics always made her uneasy.   The armored guards are also given a wide berth. Ethereal blades hurt more than regular ones, she knew that all too well.

Her new quarry was one of the three servants.

Following close behind one, she watches just what he's after at the stalls.

Her mark, a weary looking Sin’dorei wearing an Alliance branded collar, hurries towards the shops at the far end of the canals. Wine and cheese seem to draw his attention first, though he stops to make notes on anything rare or expensive. After a few minutes of browsing, and keenly aware of the eyes of Alliance citizens on him, he ducks around a tree to finish his notes.

Using the crowds as cover, Macee slips into stealth. Quietly, she creeps toward the Sin'dorei, standing behind him.  She looks over his shoulder to see what he's writing.

The list is mostly penned in Thalassian; although some of words had no direct translation, she was confident she knows what it says. It is an extensive list of fine goods, foodstuffs and fashion. Each has a bulk cost in gold pieces and some sort of quality ranking system based on stars. While the list is drawn from a number of different stores, the total investment at the bottom is clearly marked: 6000gp.

The servant seems to ponder the list as he finishes it, glancing around at some of the shops again as though running through them mentally.

What exactly was that rich Ren'dorei doing? Was he making a residence here in Stormwind? And why did he have Sin'dorei slaves? Perhaps finding out just who this Ren'dorei is was more important than his purse.

The servant, hearing the sing-song call of his master, scrambles to his feet and sets off at a run. From her hiding spot, Macee can see all three servants return and kneel at their master’s feet at the same time, each with a small roll of parchment held over their bowed heads. One of the guards, without being instructed, collects the lists and shows them one by one to the noble.

The Ren'dorei looks over the parchments over and nods slowly, making comments to the floating woman too quiet for Macee to hear at this distance. The woman nods once and raises her hands, her alabaster skin darkening as she taps into the Void. Before them, a small rift opens and a large chest materializes. Several nearby citizens cry out at the unexpected display but they are quickly ushered away by-passing city guards.

Hmm, so it's the woman who's the holder of all the money.  And in a void rift to boot. Getting at that would be harder than she thought.  Unless she didn't put it away.  Tapping a finger against her chin, Macee waits to see what would happen.

With the chest summoned the void rift flickers out of existence and the woman, her shoulders slightly slumped, floats back into place behind the noble. Looking up at the noble quickly one of the servants opens the chest and turns it to their master for approval. With a quick nod from the Ren'dorei the servants each grab several leather bags from the chest before running off again, each returning to the stores they had browsed.

The noble, clearly exhausted from the act of shopping, snaps his fingers again. This time the void rift produces a lavishly upholstered chair beneath a canopy of palm fronds. The noble sinks into his chair and sighs and  worry at one of his nails with a file. The woman floats just behind and to the left of the chair while the two guards remain on alert*; one next to the chest, the other flanking the noble on the other side of his chair.

*both guards look incredibly bored

Her violet gaze follows the servants and she notes which way they run.  It should be easy enough to sap each one, get the gold then be on her merry way.  She'd start with the closest one.

The first mark was a young Sin'dorei man. His clothing was the nicest of the three and he had a small leather cuff bearing the Alliance crest rather than a collar. He even had a fine silver chain around his neck, a level of personal affluence not on display with any other member of the noble’s entourage. He runs quickly across the bridge into the Mage District but slows as he rounds the first corner, the narrow streets and tiered greenways of the district confusing to even the most season tourist. He mumbles to himself in Thalassian as he slowly continues forward, his gaze drawn up to the signs of the passing stores and away from the ground before him.

Macee rushes forward, quickly overtaking him.  Rounding a corner, she leans against a wall and breaks her stealth.  When the Sin'dorei nears her, she speaks up.   "Ya look lost. Ya nee' 'elp findin' somethin'?"  She smiled, sweet as honey.  Hopefully, the man would accept her help.

The young man spins quickly, his fright fading to a cautious smile. "Ah, I'm afraid I've gotten myself turned around. All this human architecture looks the same you see. I mean...!" A look of dread contorts his face even as the words leave his mouth. "Not that there's anything wrong with human architecture!" He says quickly, any confidence in his voice now gone. Sin'dorei rarely sweat but he certainly looks flushed and out of sorts.

"Yeah...no' as pretty as elven buildin's."  Her smile stays sticky sweet. "So, wha' ya lookin' for? Maybe I coul' 'elp ya fin' it?"

He offers a timid smile before reaching into his cloak (revealing three pouches of gold tucked into the back of his belt) and producing a small bill advertising a curio vendor two blocks deeper into the district on a relatively quiet street. "I've been bidden by my master to procure a number of items from the artisan at this address." He leans in closer to her and lowers his voice. "I was there a scant few minutes ago but only found it thanks to a passing guard. Were it not for her I surely would die here in this warren of brown grass and roughhewn stone." His elf was beginning to show.

Macee leans in and pretends to look at the advertisement. "Oh yeah..I know righ' where tha's at.  C'mon, I'll show ya."   Macee really did know where that vendor was, honest she did.  But, she also knew that there was a storage building near there as well.  Guiding him around the Mage Quarter, backtracking and spinning him around to make sure he's good an confused, she leads him to the "vendor".

He follows the pretty young woman, eagerly at first, but that enthusiasm begins to wane as they pass a familiar storefront. Still, there is something odd about her. Something he's unaccustomed to sensing from humans. It, and the sun moving across the sky, motivate him to stay with her. "Will we be there soon? I shant think my master will wait patiently much longer..."

" 'e won' 'ave to. We're 'ere!"  She leads him into the storage building, holding the door open for him to enter, the smile still plastered on her face.

He stops, one foot on the doorstep to the unfamiliar building. He tries to peer into the dark structure before looking back into the street, his back to her for an instant...

Never losing her smile, Macee clobbers him on the back of the head with the hilt of her dagger. Sap in play!  Hands catch him under the arms before he hits the ground and she drags him into the confines of the storage building, closing the door behind her.

The young Sin'dorei makes a soft honking noise as the consciousness leave him, his dainty frame easily caught and moved by Macee. Once inside she easily finds the three pouches of gold as well as a brace of mana infused liquor, the silver chain she had noticed before and his leather cuff (which seems the thrum with a faint magical energy).

Quickly scanning the room, she finds a length of rope and quickly hog-ties the Sin'dorei. She also gags him with a piece of wool cloth that she's cut off a stored bolt. Can't have him screaming for help. He'd be found soon enough by the merchants.  The pouches of gold were the first things lifted and hooked to her own belt. They were what she was after anyway.  The liquor was lifted next. She held it up to her eyes for inspection. Eh, maybe Kan would like this. The silver chain found its new home around her neck. The leather cuff though...she could feel the energy around it. No, that would stay right on his wrist.  Sometimes magic items were more hassle than they were worth.  "No 'ard feelin's eh?"  She smooths her hand over his elven head then heads out to find the other two.

It only takes a few minutes of casual searching to find her second mark, a young elven woman...but she wasn't actually Sin'dorei. As Macee nears her in the crowd she gets a clearer image of her target. The woman is a half-elf and judging by the state of her she was clearly born in Silvermoon. Her clothes were the most mundane of the entire entourage, bordering on common. A heavy leather collar was fitted around her neck and a wrought silver and black silk mask obscured the lower half of her face. The most startling feature though was her eyes; a pale sapphire blue.

Macee finds her practically standing near a fabric stall on the edge of the Trade District, the busy merchants and customers paying the eccentric servant little mind as they sought to complete their errands. She can be seen stomping in frustration, unable to speak, before stalking off and sitting beneath a tree.

"Ya look a lit'le angry. Ya nee' 'elp wit somethin'?"  Macee appears sitting next to the girl, like she'd always been there. She rolls an apple in her hand before she takes a bite and grins at the half-elf.

The young woman jolts and scoots away from Macee, tears of frustration still glimmering in the corners of her eyes. Surrounded by the throng of people and amidst the noise of the market, she studies Macee for long moments...before lunging at her and pointing to her collar and mask. Her face looks as though she is speaking but nothing makes it through the mask.

Holding the apple between her teeth, Macee nods. She understood what the girl wanted.  First, she wipes the tears away from her eyes...a show of affection and trust...then she removes the mask. Fingers pause above the collar. Was it magical like the Sin'dorei's cuff?

The woman draws a deep, shuddering breath as the mask is removed, the light in her eyes growing just a little brighter. She nods as Macee touches the collar and mouths the word "please".

Macee can't help but feel.... sorry for this poor girl. Hands reach behind the girl's neck and she makes quick work of the buckle holding the collar on her slender throat. She lets the collar slip into the girl's lap, reaching up to remove the apple from her own mouth. "Better?"

"Yes..." Her voice is barely above a whisper and tears have returned to the corners of her eyes as she presses herself against Macee in a desperate, thankful hug. She stays like that for a few moments, careful not to impede Macee from eating her apple if she wished.

After a tender but awkward few minutes she pulls back and smiles. "Thank you." She says quietly before shoving a clinking and quite heavy satchel into Macee's lap.

Sure, it was awkward for anyone besides Kan to hug her, but she does pat the girl's back. She's surprised when the satchel is pushed into her lap. Looking from it to the girl, Macee sighs and against what her brain is screaming at her...she pushes the satchel back.  "Ya nee' it more than I do. Take it and get outta Stormwin'. Star' a new life fer yerself.  Go 'ome."  She points toward the flight master and suggests a route back to Silvermoon.

The woman smiles and hands the satchel back to the uncharacteristically selfless Worgen. "It's alright...I can get home." He eyes flare brightly and arcane runes begin to form on the ground nearby, runes she may recognize from Kan's portal summoning. The young half-elf also hands her the collar and mask. "Here, I don't want to see this again. Be careful tho: whoever you put it on will be unable to remove it and their magical ability will be suppressed." With that, the woman hugs Macee once more before disappearing through the portal.

Macee finishes eating her apple, examining the mask and collar. Folding the collar up in the mask she shoves it into the satchel. That might make a nice little gift for Jon. Light only knows what he'd do with it.

Now, off to find her last victim.

The last mark was her first. The young Sin'dorei man was pacing outside the closed sommelier shop and cursing in Thalassian. He runs his hands through his hair in frustration and curses at a passing woman and her child.

Macee walks up to the sommelier shop, pretending to be the proprietor.  She was picking the lock and hoping that the owner was out and not inside sleeping.  Glancing over her shoulder at the swearing Sin'dorei, she goes back to her lock picking.

"Ah! Finally! Do you know how long I've been waiting?!" He snarls as he turns to face her, narrowed eyes looking her up and down. "Well, to think such exquisite wine should be found here." He sneers and moves towards the door, pushing past her just as the lock pops open.

"Ah..I'm so verra sorry sir! Something required my utmost attention and I needed to go and take care of it."  Macee was pretty good at hiding her Gilnean accent when she needed to. Shutting..and locking carefully...the door behind her, she steps up to the counter. "What may I help you with sir? Perhaps some Dalaran Red? Junglevine wine? Maybe some Kal'dorei Ginger wine?" She was quickly reading labels on nearby bottles. She didn't know the first thing about wine.

The elf, temporarily free of his master, shifts from subservient to spiteful. He scoffs and knocks over a stand of wine in disgust, watching as the bottles smash across the polished wooden floor. "Were I to return to Lord Sunsinger with such swill I would rightfully be dismissed from his court!"

He strides the length of the store and lays his hands against a heavy wooden cabinet, within which a selection of very old and fancy looking bottles resided. "This, my simple friend, is what I am after..." She watches as he rests his hand brazenly on the pouch of gold...before it moves to the dagger beside it. "However, I think I shall be keeping my gold."

Her brow raised as she set her satchel down on the countertop. She was not phased by his display. She sighs and looks at the floor, the wine quickly staining the wooden floorboards. "Well, I'm gonna nee' ya ta clean tha' up. The owner a'this place ain' gonna be none too 'appy bout tha' mess." She looks at him long and hard. "Ya can star' righ' now."  She showed no emotion on her face as she waited for what she knew was coming next.

He laughs, a haughty, joyless laugh. "The owner? You're the..." The words rattle in his throat as a chill runs through him. In a flash, his dagger is drawn. "Filthy lowborn! What's the meaning of this?!" He demands, his eyes darting from her to the door and back.

"Tha' meanin' is tha' you're gonna clean up tha' mess. Then, yer gonna give me tha' pouch."  She points at the pouch on his hip. "Tha' is...iffin' ya wanna git outta 'ere."

The Sin'dorei begins to fidget in place, his weight rocking from his heels to the balls of his feet. With a shriek he dashes for the door, his arm swinging wildly and inaccurately as he tries to get around her. He curses again as he slips in the wine, the polished floor boards now as slippery as ice.

She shakes her head as his wild slashing display. Raising her arm, she swings it in an arc, quickly and sharply delivering a backhand to his cheek.  "Ya don' 'ave all night now. Clean that up!"  She points to the spilled wine.

Macee watches as her "attacker" crumples to the floor the instant her hand makes contact with his cheek. He spirals spectacularly, pirouetting on his toes before landing flat on his back in the pool of wine. As he lands his dagger flies from his hand and clatters across the floor. A soft snoring noise fills the suddenly silent store.

With a growl, Macee shifts forms and pounces on the elf, maw dangerously close to his face. She's grown suddenly angry.  Slavering, she presses down on the elf's chest. "I said you were gonna clean this up." Her voice low and dangerous. Gripping his chest, she uses the elf like a giant towel, dragging him back and forth through the spilled wine and glass.

Whether the elf is truly unconscious or just wise enough not to make things worse he is used to cleaning the spilled wine. After the floor is cleaner than it has any right to be (considering a person was used as a towel) the elf groans as he begins to rouse. He twists and flails weakly, his cloak tangling around his head and revealing his money pouch.

A clawed hand reaches down to yank the money pouch away, tucking it into her belt.  She looks at the elf and makes a decision. Grabbing his face in one hand, she smacks his head against the floor, trying to knock him out again.

With a bonk he is out once again, soft snoring filling the air. She now has all three bags of gold (and a strange magic dampening collar/mask) tucked into her satchel. Through the tinted window at the front of the shop she can see a blurry silhouette approaching the door and hear the quiet jingle of keys.

With a growl, she dives for her satchel on the counter. Stealthing herself, she kicks the dropped dagger toward the unconscious elf.  Her back pressed against the wall, satchel clutched to her chest to envelope it in her stealth, she waited for the door to open.

"What in the world is...oh. OH! Guar~~~ohh..." The proprietor of the wine shop, upon seeing the crumpled body SOAKED in red lying in the middle of her shop, promptly faints. She tips backward daintily, one hand held high above her head as she collapses. Within seconds a crowd begins to gather around the sommelier and the door to her shop but none step inside. As the throng of people blocks the door and windows, Macee notices light filtering into the dark shop from a door behind her.

Seeing the front door blocked, she nearly growls. How was she going to escape?? Violet eyes sweep the room....and there it was. A faint light from a door she hadn't noticed before. Slowly moving toward said door, she wonders how she's going to open it without flooding the entire room with light. She stands there and waits, hand upon the latch to quickly escape into what she hopes is the alley behind the shop when the opportunity presents itself.

A sudden blood curdling, bone-chilling shriek fills the room and echoes into the street as the prone elf rockets back to consciousness once again. The assembled onlookers scream in turn, the sight of a zombie in their fair city too much to bear. The crowd begins to flee in terror as the elf struggles to extricate himself from his wine-soaked cloak. Within seconds the only other soul in the shop was the wine zombie...but Macee knew that wouldn't last long.

Macee could hear the city guards yelling as the crowd ran screaming down the street. The wine zombie, having his head covered and flailing around, was the perfect distraction. Latch lifted and the door opened just wide enough to allow her body to slip through, she stepped out into the alley. She'd made sure to lock the door upon her exit, making it look like nobody could have come or gone from it. With a quickness, she bolted through the alleyway and out onto the street. She ran further down the row, only stopping when she reached the Cathedral.  Shifting from both Worgen and stealth, she headed into the city cemetery.

The instant she passes through the ivy wrapped arch at the entrance of the cemetery all the noise of the city seems to melt away. She can see quite a few people here today, most of whom are dressed for the overcast and blustery weather. A tomb guard gives her a pleasant smile and a nod as they pass each other.

Smiling at the guard, she makes her way to one of the little alcoves in the cemetery.  She wanted a quiet place to look over her spoils.

It doesn’t take too long to find a private spot away from prying eyes. Most people at the cemetery are polite enough to ignore one another after all. As she goes through her satchel she finds that each leather bags of gold have been marked with quantities, to total matching the list estimate of 6000gp.

Chuckling at herself and her newfound fortune, her smile slowly fades. How was she going to explain to Kan where the money came from? She shrugged, tied the satchel shut and decided to make her way back to the Den. She would just hide the money in her room.