Jail Break Arundal

Spriga and crew head back to Silver Valley after a job well done only to find themselves with out a job and the Fat Dragon Saloon burned to the ground.

Spriga walks into the town of Silver Valley, having returned from paying the hunters with silver. What she discovers is a shocking sight. The tavern is gone, and there are several carcasses just laying on the ground, left behind. She holds her nose at the smell and says, "What happened? Where is the boss?"

Both vixens standing behind her and the lizard both stare in shock. Never have they seen the dirt roads of Silver Valley so deserted. The mines up north are clear of protesters and strikers. Every building is shut up tight and very few beasts can be seen walking out on the street. "Ah man, why does that happen to all my employers!" Elena whines. "All you're employers get their bases burned down?" Xia chastises. In responses Elena rubs at her eyes and hisses, "Yes...actually..."

Spriga looks around and tells the two foxes, "What we really need to do is learn where the boss went. I don't think he's in the burned down tavern, or at least I hope not. Lets look for him, before he gets mad at us."

The vixens both nod in unison. "We will cover more ground if split up. Find out what you can, try to stay out of trouble. We can meet back up at the Laughing Hare Tavern in Arundal in one hour." Xia says, ajusting the weight of her Helbard across her shoulder.

Spriga nods and heads up the way of the mines, "Elana, search Aurndal itself."

The arctic fox nods. The party disbands into three separate directions. Xia heading deeper into Silver Valley, Elena heading north along the with Spriga but keeping across the road and making a bee line for the path to Arundal. If their organization has been compromised the less they stick together the better.

The few other beasts on the streets move in a hurried rush from one place to the other. The taverns seem to be shut down as well as the gambling saloons. An air of tense fear rests on the town. Of the few beasts out on the street there is a small group of traveling stoats, a gold fox trying the door of a closed saloon, and a pole cat leaning against the side of a general store.

Spriga approaches the stoats that are passing through and asks them, "Have you seen a large lizard come this way?"

The family of stoats wears sack cloth clothing, and appear to be surfs. A father a mother and a small child. The former of the trio ushers them into the nearest building away from their fellow stoat with out answering her question.

Spriga frowns and says, "How very rude..." She continues towards the mines, trying to see some other beast who might answer her question. Seeing the small gold fox, she approaches him, "Hello again. Have you seen Siro anyhere?"

The gold furred fox looks worse for ware pulling on the handle of the saloon door, "Come on! Let me in! You got to open up sometime!" The beer belleid fox looks paniced and...surprisngly sober for a change. "S-siro?" He turns to look at the stoat, "W-why would you want to know about him?" The fox rubs at his arm nervously.

Spriga taps her footpaw on the ground, looking annoyed, "Because he is missing, and I need to find him soon."

The fox bites the bottom of his lip, looking around first he says in a hushed tone. "Listen. Every one is scared and they don't want to talk about it. But Edwin got himself some high and fancy new enforcer yesterday. She just marched down into Silver Valley with a bunch of woodlanders and burned down the Fat Dragon Saloon. They took him away...I...don't know if he is alive still or not." The fox sighs deeply, "If he is they have him in jail."

Spriga tells the fox, "Thank you very much." She turns tail and heads for the laughing hare to wait for the others and tell them the news. No need to waste any more time looking.

An hour passes. The laughing hare in is just as deserted as the city of Silver Valley, saving Spriga a few odd stares at being the only vermin in the woodlander bar. The taver itself has a very homely quality to it, well made, clean, with a patio out back where guests can eat and take in the sight of the valley far below. A very unjolly looking hare is wiping down the bar when Elena and Xia both come walking in at once.

Spriga tells the hare, "Table for three?"

The unjolly looking grey hare grunts as he leads the beasts out to the patio. There is a gental breeze to keep the air from getting too hot. "Choose yer poison." He says directing them to a table and asking for their order.

Spriga sits down and tells him, "Well, two stouts,one for each of us." She looks around, "Now, to wait for Elana to get back."

Both foxes take their seats. Xia kicks her feet up onto the table, resting her helbard against her chair, "That's good. Cause all I got from Silver Valley was a pocket full o nonsense. Some group of woodlanders burned down the bar but no one will tell me anything about it." Elena crosses her arms, "The same with the beasts up here. Woodlanders have always been skitterish here in Arundal...even more so. They seem, afraid for some reason.

Spriga explains to the foxes, "Well, my informant spilled the beans. Those woodlanders where Aurundal enforcers, and they came to arrest Srio. He's currently in jail."

Elena rubs at her snout, "I was afraid of that. The jail looks like it is actually staffed again." Xial groans. THe hare returns, placing the drinks on the table then leaving, "Well, there goes /that/ pay check." Xia says as she takes her feet off the table. "At least we have plenty of wood pigeon to last us for a while." Elena chuckles dryly.

Spriga says to the group, "How do you feel about us trying to spring him, before the defences get too good?"

The brown furred xia is the first to laugh, "He wasn't /that/ great of a boss lass." Elena shrugs, "I owe him no loyalty. I wouldn't want to leave him to die but..." Xia interupts, "I never liked the lizard to be honest. And now that he can't pay us for rescuin him, I don't see why I should risk my hide to bust him out."

Spriga points at them both, with one eye toward the hare, still waiting for the drinks she ordered, "Because if we don't, where is our next paycheck comin' from? And the one after that?"

There is an awkward silence after this as the hare finishes dropping off the rest of the drinks. Xia rubs the back of her neck, "Well...that, Elena?" The white furred vixen rests her head on the table, "Ugh, I hate looking for jobs. I only signed up with Siro because there was no where else to go." Taking a sip of her drink Xia replies, "Siro doesn't exactly have the coffers to pay us anymore it sounds like." She rubs her chin, "Although I would hate to see all the work we did with the smuggling routs to go to waste..."

The white furred fox picks up her head, "You basically /did/ his job. He's a small time smuggler, getting things people arn't allowed to own into and out of the city. Starting connections, finding routs around the guards. Siro just got good at letting others do it for him." The other vixen chuckles, "Sorry, are we talking about saving Siro or starting up our own gig using his resources cause...as long as it pays I'm up for either."

Spriga frowns a bit and bites the side of her mug, but then replies, "I am worried he will be executed if he is left in prison. I say we try to rescue him, and have me take over his position if we don't make it."

Elena crosses her arms again, "Then we need a plan. The jail is simple in design but pretty solid. I doubt the three of us will get far if we just launch an all out attack on it." Xia nods in agreement. "That and we need someplace to go after we rescue him."

Spriga looks around and says, "Is there some way into the mines from up here?" She peers at her allies, "And I would not be surprised if we could not pretend I'm turning you two landlubbers in."

"There is only one way into the mines, that is from Silver Valley. And pretending to capture us might be a good way to get into the jail." Elena replies, then Xia, "It will have to be Elena as the prisoner. I don't have a bounty on my head." She smiles at the look elena gives her, "Hey, one of us has to save your bacon if this goes sour!"

Spriga finishes her stout and asks, "Want a second one, all of yers, before we get started?"

Elena smiles as she says, "Oh of course. A plan like this is best not started sober." The drinks come, the drinks go and the three beasts set out to start their plan. It is noon when they leave the tavern...

_____________________________

The noon day sun bares down on the jail. A long tailed squirrel sits in a chair near the door cradling a large cross bow. The area around the jail is empty save for the occasional passerbye. Everynow and again a hare or otter will walk in or out of hte jail. ELena gulps at the sight, "You sure about this Spriga?" She says to the stoat. Her paws are losely bonded together by rope.

Spriga takes the lead. She had managed to find some spare Aurundal clothing in the trash, and both she and Xia where wearing it. Looking poised and guardlike, she dragged along Elena by her tied-up wrists. She says to the guard, "I caught her stealing from a citizen, I'm here to drop her off."

The fox growls struggling against the stoat and doing her best to give the impression that she is not here willingly, "It was just a couple of apples! A beast has to eat right?" The squirrel chuckles as he raises the tip of his wide brimmed hat with the point of his cross bow, "Look's like she ate more than a few apples, am I right?" He starts to gesture for the beasts to go in when he pauses and says, "Hey, are you with the guard? I don' remember the boss hiring any vermin..." The squirrel looks confused but doesn't motion that he is about to do something drastic.

Spriga shakes her head, "Nope, just a concerned citizen, sir. I was going to check with the head of the prision ter see if takin' her in was all right. And yer right, it was far more than a few apples."

The squirrel chuckles, "Concerned citizen eh? Riiiiiiight. I reconize bounty hunters when I sees one. Heh Heh. Right, head on in." Thank all that is holy for idiot guards, thinks Elena. Inwardly she makes a mental note to have a long talk with Spriga about fat jokes. But until then, "No! Please! I'm an innocent beast! This is harasment! Police brutality!" The fox wails loudly but makes very little effort at resisting if she is pulled forward.

Spriga heads inside the prision and starts looking for Siro's cell.

She is met by a small office setting. Between her and a large door on the far wall there are two desks once belonging to the sheriff and his deputies. They are now the desks of the guard. There is a burly brown hare here working on paperwork and a slender, lithe looking otter leaning next to the door. Both have green tunics and both appear to be armed with short swords. The hare looks up from his paper work, "Can I...help you?" He says simply.

Spriga nods and says, "Yes, please let us in with our prisoner. The head of the guard is paying us to pull in riffraff like this apple cart thief."

"An apple a day keeps the jailbeast away." The otter giggles. The hare's ears twitch and he suppress a sigh, remembering that while behind this desk he is not a mercinary that kills beasts for money. Something he looks like he regrets while being around the otter. "Sounds fun. Alright, Joker there can take the vixen for you." He gestures with his pen towards the lanky otter as he turns back to his paperwork.

Spriga nods to Xia as she hands Elena to the otter, "Keep an eye on her." She herself heads into the jail to look for Siro's cell.

"H-hey! You can't go in there!" The otter shouts as the stoat walks past him. The door opens, revealing a simple hallway filled with cells. Each cell is barren and empty. Siro is not here.

Spriga frowns, "So, then, where is he...." She turns and explains to Joker, "Sorry, my bad, she's supposed to be in the cell next to a notorios smuggler...Siro the monitor lizard."

The otter doesn't look too pleased, "The big fat reptile? Yeah, they took him down to the courthouse to execute him like, ten minutes ago. If you want to watch him get what's commin to him you better hurry." Elena sighs and says out loud, "This is not going towards the grand masterful plan." The fox breaks her bindings with out warning and wraps her paws around the otters muzzle, bringing him close before kneeing him in the gut. "Joker!" The hare shouts as the otter crumples. The remaining guard begins to draw his blade.

Spriga draws out her dagger and brings it close to the hare's throat, "We need to be taken down there yesterday!"

"L-lance!" The hare shouts, "Get in here already! We are-" the hare watches as the squirrel is tossed in, paws and feet bound together with his own tail. Xia holds her helbard over one shoulder, the cross bow over the other, "Trust me, he knows." The remaining guard whimpers, "Aw man...I am so getting fired for this..."