#earthrunes

Zara is...enjoying herself.

The keyclub is a smaller hold, but in one quieter part of it, she is practicing , using lock picks on a complex lockbox

This one is a good challenge - nocker work is more complex than mortal locks, on average. It is good to keep in shape.

Indeed, it's not just unlocking one after the other, she has to do it in the right order, or it resets

Dalton grins but stays quiet. He's more socially adept than many nockers, but he does enjoy seeing his devices give someone a hard time

"Oh, clever..." Her black tongue sticks out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrates. Her picks are an elegant set - a gift from Ratchet, so many years ago.

"If you don't mind me furking drooling, that's a topshelf tools you got in there" Dalton admits

"They were a gift. I value them dearly."

"Some yahoo around here may try to haggle with you about them, tell you they'll pay you a fair price- Tell em to get bent. Selling good tools is like selling your fingers, you'll miss the hell out of them and anything you use to replace will feel sub par"

Simply. "They were a gift."

A nod and he quiets so she can focus fully- and she needs to... the timer varies between locks.

Zara is patient and clever, with lace-maker's hands used to delicate work.

Finally, click..switch, tick and... She beats it. That was quite refreshing! A combination of challenges for deftness as well as puzzle solving

A toothless smile!

"Not bad, you're in our top ten for solving that" Dalton grins

A tut. "Only ten? I must needs practice more."

"Yeah, you do. You've got the puzzle solving down pat, and your fingers are deft, but you need to work on the flow and intuition. It'll come to you"

Trust a nocker, even one of the more socially aware ones, to be blunt.

"Feh." She nods.

"Course, that's only a problem as you feel like competing ... if it's the puzzle lockbox itself? Then feh' He nods. //The door to this side room opens without much warning, an Eshu says "Dalton... ah, sorry to bother you but.. the salmon shipment is in"

"Oh.. oh, yeah, " A nod Dalton says "Be right there." Then to Zara "Enjoy these and other locks if you want. I Got to check on a shipment"

"Aye, aye..." Salmon? A murmur, and a spider scurries after Dalton.

"Yeah, Imbolc thing... big fish fry" And Dalton leaves.

But 1122 is on the case...

"Damn it, Kafyr," Dalton says "Salmon was the old code word. You know why we changed it? Because it was out of place and had people wondering"

Kafyr says "What do you want? I get behind. I travel. Sides, she won't know." This as they are safetly beyond even sluagh hearing (But then, nto beyond a spider)

Zara pokes idly at a new lock - concentrating more on messages from 1122.

"So what's the password for Norhwest now? " Kafyr says

"Later, what do you have on the sitch?" Dalton says

They enter into another small room three other kithian "I'll let Beck fill you in there. " Kafyr says

Beck, a boggan looks up "Six modernist protesters captured. Non violent...but they're on trumped up charges. Frame job by hoodlums the nobles hired to crash their protest. By Friday? They'll be mass geased or given a chance to swear Loyal Affirmation."

Dalton scowls "Damn it. David's return was supposed to put an end to the 'loyal affirmation' crap. Who do we have in the area?"

"That's just it, our man up there ... a woman by the way," Beck says "is one of the six. We got no one."

Dalton says "Well, we were going to rescue them anyway. Wait, is that Megara we're talking about?"

"Yup. " A nod. "You know how she is. Thinks getting into the crowd is the best way to determine the justice of a cause"

Dalton curses "I Furking WARNED her about that, work at the edges, I said. Great..well, we better see what we can do to get to that area and soon. I need schematics on the hold, "

"What we got ain't much" Beck says.

"But I have a few stories" The Eshu says

Dalton nods to Kafyr "Hit me with them. Better than nothing"

It would appear the key club is planning on helping these six escape and railroading them out.

And thanks to 1122, Zara gets their plans as they form.

Zara quietly judges - perhaps she can help?

It turns out one of the six is a sluagh

Oh, she will help.

Of course, the choice comes up to tell them they're getting help, or just tagging along without telling them?

Hm. A point to ponder.

Yes. Dalton seems a natural leader, a leader of a hold that's whole purpose is to break chains and defy tyrants while tolerating goodly nobles.

The glamour here is weaker than Earth Runes, but it certainly isn't clashing with Zara's

She waits for the nocker's return.

Dalton does return "How goes? " Good poker face "Get to the top 7?"