The Great Escape

(OOC: Jaxx, with all those logical holes maybe a good barrister can get Jack cleared of all charges? It's possible he (ironically enough) is being hunted for murders that he did not commit, which occurred a bit earlier than the ones that he did. That could come to light somehow. As for Kalena, I did shoehorn her into this story and she is only hunting Jack for the sheer sport of it. Other than being a sanctuary for magical beings, Dalen seems to otherwise be a harsh, morally impoverished kingdom, and Kalena probably feels right at home because of that. But she could get into some legal trouble too, I suppose. )

Kalena cast a glance over at Newt, who looked in some mild discomfort from the arrow protruding through his abdomen. “You should have that looked at,” she suggested, with a laugh.

Oru left the gold on the counter. "For your trouble," he simply said to Jocelynn, before following Kalena into the west hallway.

“You are so considerate,” she observed archly, smiling at the small act of courtesy the Inn Keeper might have viewed as an insulting gesture. “Perhaps she'll be able to afford a new dress.”

As they approached the hall, Oru stopped and spoke, the smirk gone from his face. "I don't trust her. All of the trouble she put us through before, why would she give up so easily all of a sudden? If the Keeper's still attempting to hide him and directed us to the wrong wing, then we'd better split up."

Kalena, who had initially misread Joceylnn, still found the woman hard to read, and she nodded at this. If they parted ways they would cover more ground faster, and improve their chances of preventing the elf from escaping. And with all the noise in the main foyer the fugitive might even now be about to bolt.

Oru said, "If we split, just a word of caution; he is quite the cunning little rabbit, I wouldn't be surprised if he's set something up. If I were you, I'd be careful."

“I'll be suitably wary of him, but I should think he'll find us more of a challenge than some pitiful slavers,” Kalena replied with a cool tone of voice. To her mind, institutional slavery was a perfectly normal way of life, and the elf might as well have slain some innocent farmers or fishmongers. There was no difference to her. “By the way, a word of caution to you as well, my friend. Remember this is a brothel; be prepared for what things you might glimpse behind some of these doors." She chuckled. "Listen, I'll go investigate the eastern side of the Inn. Be sure to holler if you see him. I may not have ears like yours, but this place isn't that big. If you're in trouble, I'll come running.”

Kalena carefully made her way back through the entrance area toward the other side of the Inn, and along the way encountered the large bearded man in the thick fur coat.

“Sorry Madam Jocelynn,” the man said, a look of concern on his broad face, “but this place is just too loud and violent. I'll be heading into town today.”

The former assassin immediately gave the man a very close look. The hair was the same colour as the elf's, black and messy, but otherwise he did not look like an elf, nor the way she at all pictured their quarry when Oruvand had described him to her. He had a cheap gunny sack slung over his shoulder, which she assumed was filled with clothes and other belongings. She for a moment wondered if it might be sizable enough to contain a person, but dismissed the thought of a man only a few inches shorter than Oruvand hiding in the sack.

“My apologies if we're driving away business,” Kalena said, turning to the Madam, and not sounding at all like she was sorry. “We'll be out of your hair soon enough. Believe me, I don't want to stay in this dump any longer than I have to.”

She absently looked out the window, watching for a moment as the departing man started off in the direction of Ragodast. When he was out of sight, she continued on toward the eastern wing, not having a clue that she had just made a huge mistake, causing the whole ordeal of the last half hour to be entirely worthless.

OOC: Since it was already a fait accompli, I couldn't have had her stop Jack even if I wanted, could I? She didn't know he could alter his appearance, but I could have had her be a little more suspicious, or wanting to question him about those he'd seen in the Inn. Sigh. Oh well. This whole thing had to end somehow, and I wouldn't say the escape is unearned. I can understand Jaxx being tired of it too.