Slow Night's Doorstep (Open)

[Dusty Dawson]

'It'd be dangerous, but well worth the trouble.' Dusty nodded her head, 'I say go for it, we could use the recon.'

Dusty took a look around as she searched out a good hiding spot. 'Meantime, me an' Greystreak'll camp out and wait for the word. We make our move after you check in.'

[Sablerose]

Calla nodded and stepped back from the others. She closed her eyes and concentrated. She didn't need to, as she had shown being able to shift on the run, but it helped focus when shifting to animals with drastically different scales of size.

The change was nearly instantaneous. One moment she stood there with her eyes closed, her staff tucked into the crook of one arm. The next, there was a rat in her place, fairly representative of the species in appearance. Her nose twitched and she stood on her hind legs.

At this size, it's going to take me a few minutes to find away inside. I'll let you know what I find as soon as I can.

With that, she scampered off and ran as fast as her new rodent legs could care her across the open street to the warehouse.

It did take her, as she had said, several minutes to find a good entrance. Some had been partially blocked for even her size by debris and trash. Others were actually too small for her. When she did find one, it was ironically on the roof, after she had climbed up a drainpipe. It would have been too small for an owl, however, so she at least felt somewhat mollified for that.

The entrance led to a wooden beam across the width of the roof and looked down over the warehouse as a whole. There was little light but that did not bother her too much. Her hearing, though not as sharp as Greystreak's, was now sharper as a rat. There were several bodies below, and now she could pick up the whiff of perfume that Grey had mentioned.

I'm inside, looking down. I can several people, at least three, but there might be more. Our perfumed prey is definitely here. I'm going to work my way down for a better look.

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty took a seat behind a covered wagon. Whatever horses had carried it this far, where now hitched up somewhere. It was good to get a quick rest in, before charging ahead into battle.

'Several, eh?' she thought, 'Well, that might prove a little trickier...'

After a few more moments, Dusty got back up and started picking through it's contents. Of which, there was very little. Whoever was in the warehouse had been busy unloading it. And probably others, too.

'So, we got three in one room. Maybe a couple more bummin' 'round in another...'

[Sablerose]

Let me move on a bit and I'll...

She paused as she heard something just below her, on a crisscrossing beam.

Well, I'll be...Grey, I think our original pursuer just managed to find away in.

A man, nondescript in just about every way possible, was making his way in, though an upper window. He crawled with surprising balance along a wooden support beam that passed under Calla.

Is he aware of you? Grey asked cautiously.

If he is, he's just seeing me as a rat, but he didn't look up when he entered.

What makes you think he's the man that I smell the first time?

It's only a guess, actually. Given that our perfumed assassin is already inside, and that it seems unlikely that someone in league with him or her would sneak in like this, and that someone was actively trailing us after we left the tavern, following Dusty, he's as likely a candidate as any.

Logical guess, I'll admit.

He's making his way around on the beam, just like me if only much larger. Damned quiet too.

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty paused in her rummaging as Calla checked in with another report. The night was growing more and more interesting.

'Ya don't say.' she thought, quite impressed with the Druid's deduction.

She remained crouched in the covered wagon as she thought a little bit more about what was going on inside. Her client's assassin was hanging around inside, out in the open. The man who had followed Calla and Greystreak in Night's Doorstep was sneaking about up above.

'Someone's up to somethin' here...' she thought, as she went back through the half-empty boxes, 'Maybe Mr. Rathbone was worried 'bout the wrong bunch.'

She popped out holding a few miscellaneous bottles and looked over to Greystreak, 'C'mon, we better get into position.' she thought towards the wolf, 'Cal, keep us posted on your friend up there. If he starts gettin' antsy we might find ourselves with a great opening!'

[Sablerose]

Will do. I'm going to try to get down closer. With luck, I might be able to hear something related to this mystery lady.

She scuttled along the beam, searching for away down. She had to admit that rats had a lot when it came to natural agility. They might seem to lose out to cats in popularity, but they did have their moments. Calla found a beam below her that wasn't connected to the one that the other observer was on. From there, she found a quick way to the floor, amongst all the various boxes, crates and barrels.

Curious, she took a whiff of several. The perfume we've been picking up is in some of these containers. Stronger concentration. Can't see what's inside, though. Bet out assassin helped pack these things or was otherwise exposed to what's inside.

Above, Calla could see that the bland man was still and silent. If she didn't know where to look, she would never have seen him. Would still love to know what the heck he's doing here. He's not moving. Just looking, maybe listening.

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty hovered around the front of the warehouse. Next to the large doors, she paced around in front and then walked to the corner. She peeked around and saw that there was very little in the way of an exit. A quick stroll down the other end revealed much of the same.

Dusty returned to the door and set down the bottles she had collected. A couple of them carried a scent very similar to perfume. Dusty quirked an eyebrow.

'Huh...now that's interestin'.' she thought.

[Sablerose]

Calla heard a slight creak from above. With a start, she realized that the man was moving. It was slow going. He was trying to move with the least amount of noise, but not being as light as a rat, he had to take time. When Calla realized that he was actually looking to drop to the ground, she ran for the nearest possible hidey-hole.

Our friend just dropped to the ground. Huh! He's actually making his way to the containers! I think he's going to try to take a look!

[Dusty Dawson]

So, he was on the move. That suited Dusty just fine. She would wait a few more minutes to see what he would do. Or, rather, until Calla could see what he would do. She had to make sure her timing was solid. Move to quickly and their fellow spy would be slipping out, unnoticed. Move to late and he may be on his way out, anywas. Hopefully, he would make a more volatile mood.

'Cal...if it looks like he's gonna leave early, make sure someone sees 'im.' she thought, 'The more we can confuse these guys, the better off we're gonna be.'

[Sablerose]

Right. I've already got something in mind if that turns out to be the case.

Calla watched as the spy slipped out a dagger and quietly pried open one of the barrels. He looked inside, but Calla could not see what was inside from her position. She did see him smile, though, as he put the lid back on and placed his blade in its sheath. Then, as she feared, he attempted to look for a way out.

Thus, the rat was now gone and a sizable cat was in its place. A cat that leaped from its previous hiding place and landed on a higher, slightly less stable box. With a loud howl, she let her weight tip the unsteady box, which immediately toppled over. The crash was loud, and immediately, the scent of the perfume was almost overwhelming.

That, however, was about to be the least of his concerns. He cursed at her, though in as close to a harsh whisper as he could manage. Regardless, the sounds of calls and the running of feet from the other end of the warehouse signaled Calla's success.

As she looked for another hiding spot, though, she just hoped that she had not sentenced an innocent man to a quick death.

[Dusty Dawson]

The crash and the shouting that followed was Dusty's cue to move. She popped the bottles open and mixed up the contents in each of them. In their glass containers, the liquids began to bubble in the most unstable of manners. There was a reason smuggling could be such a dangerous job.

Typically, the materials were not the most stable...and some had rather unpleasant effects when mixed together. Dusty took a boot to the front door. It didn't hold up well to the detective.

Inside, as the assassin and company went to investigate, they halted. Half-way between the first intruder and the front door, they had a brief moment to watch as the red-head charged in and tossed a few glass bottles into the warehouse.

A rather loud "BOOM!" echoed in warehouse. Now, there was confusion. And plenty of it. A pair of fires would require putting out...but first the warehouse's occupants had to divide their forces between the bland man and the detective. Not to mention Calla, who was still in the building...and, of course, Greystreak.

[Sablerose]

The aforementioned wolf Familiar was living up to his name. He was a blur as he shot across the open floor. The first person he went for was the perfumed assassin. He was fast, but not quite fast enough. He had his knife in his hand before Grey arrived, but Grey had latched onto his arm, clamping down hard enough to break a bone in his forearm. The scream he gave was satisfying to Calla's ears, if only because it meant that he was not as dangerous an opponent.

That did not mean that he was not dangerous at all. So, to keep her identity secret, she decide to keep with the animal forms as much as possible. It prevented spell-casting, but it meant that there was not as much chance that Princess Calla was going to be linked to this. At least for now.

There was roar from where the cat had jumped, and a number of containers exploded outward. In the place of the cat was a very angry grizzly bear. She roared a challenge and charged the group.

[Dusty Dawson]

A warehouse in the middle of the city had just turned into Wild Kingdom. The assassin's cohorts were appropriately shocked by the sudden appearance of the bear. After all, they were not typically found in warehouses.

They scattered, one running right into Dusty's path. This earned him a right hook, square in the jaw. He went down rather quickly as the blue flames from the Dusty's improvised demolition started to spread along the ground.

The other decided the bear was a bit much and was scrambling to find himself an exit. Meanwhile, Dusty was right over her own opponent, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, she hauled him back to his feet and socked him once more.

Elsewhere, the assassin struggled with Greystreak. A broken arm was not making the fight any easier. So far, he and his friends were not having a fun time.

[Sablerose]

The last man obviously had never tried to run from a grizzly bear. Despite their overall bulk, a male grizzly could cover over a hundred yards in less than ten seconds. Even the females were surprisingly fast.

Thus, the last man stood very little chance of getting away. Luckily, the two women needed him alive, so Calla more or less shoulder butted him off his feet. When he tried to rise, she placed a large paw with claws on his chest. A subsequent roar in his face ensured that he knew not to make any sudden moves.

Greystreak, though, was having a bit more trouble now with foe, who was now punching the wolf with his good hand. The punches were relatively feeble, though, fueled by anger and fear as a whole, Grey was having a hard time maintaining a grip on the assassin's arm.

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty looked up to see Greystreak and the assassin struggling. Another quick look found that Calla had the situation with the third man wrapped up pretty neatly.

So, deciding it best to help out her furry friend, Dusty crossed the distance between them and threw a punch right above the wolf and square on the jaw of the man he was currently latched to. The force, while it didn't knock him out, did one hell of a job of knocking him off-balance. And with the added weight of the wolf, he toppled over quite easily.

Now, for the spy. Something else was going on and Dusty was determined to find out what. However, the bland man had other ideas in mind. Namely escape through one of the windows. Dusty ran for the retreating fellow and grabbed at his feet. The struggle lasted for a few moments. With some pushing and pulling, it ended when he finally just stuffed his other foot into Dusty's face and pushed himself out.

Still. Three out of four wasn't all that bad. Dusty rubbed her jaw as she pulled herself back up to her feet. The small fires she had started didn't look like they were going to die out on their own. The smoke was starting to billow out of some busted windows and soon would be bringing City Watch along.

"Alright!" she called out to her two companions, "Let's move these jokers outside and get a few questions answered!"