Turn 31B -- Kre Uncovered

After sharing the noon meal and several tankards of ale with Ras, Kre finally spotted enough patrons in the Inn to ply his trade and decided to settle on a rather spirited dice game in a corner. There are perhaps ten or so men gathered around a dice table throwing the dice and making wagers as Kre joins them.

"Care for another?" asks Kre as he shakes his money pouch.

"'Course not," says a rather large man who appears to be a local farmer.

Kre eases between two average-sized men, one who is wearing a longsword at his hip and a dagger protuding above his boot; the other another local merchant wagering his days earnings.

For the next hour, Kre wagers normally, his luck holding out so that he is currently even. He doesn't want to make his dice switch too early and arouse suspicion. As he is passing the dice to the sword-carrying fellow to his left, he notices a movement out of his right eye. Looking across the table he sees two men who are eyeing him rather strangely. The one to the left of Kre across the table is a rather skinny, weasly looking man with slick hair and beady little eyes. he is wearing dark shirt and pants and has a dark cloak on as well. He smiles at Kre as his companion nods Kre's way.

The other fellow is a very large man, about 6'4", 300 lbs who has an eyepatch covering his left eye with a long pink scar running from above and under the patch below his chin. The man has a familiar look to his face but Kre is unable to place him. As he nods at Kre, his fingers begin to move in a strange form of Thieve's can. Kre is able to translate the message though, as much as he'd rather he didn't...'We see you Novablade...We know you.'

As his companion finishes the message to Kre, the rat-faced little man slides a dagger in and out of its sheath on his left hip. The stone in the hilt of the dagger shows the sign of teh Zhentarim on it!

Visibly shaken by being uncovered by the two Zhentarim thieves, Kre recovers quickly. As the next wager comes he bets a moderate amount of money on a longshot to purposefully lose, mumbling all the while, "... stupid bet, why'd I do it, now I'm out..."

"If you gentlemen will excuse me, I'm tapped out!" says Kre to the gamblers as he excuses himself from the game. As he steps away from the gaming table he looks around the Inn for any sign of his companions. As the hour is late, he sees none of his friends and decides to take matters into his own hands and talk with the Zhentarim agents.

Staying in plain sight of the patrons, Kre begins chit-chatting with the rat-faced man, his fingers doing his real talking, "Know me for what? I am just a poor footpad..nothing compared to your mighty skills."

The man answers him with his mouth, "Coming from the west, travelling with an overland merchant company," his hands saying something quite different, "You cannot fool us, Novablade. Everyone knows about the price on your head."

"How many have you sent to, lets say this nicely, remove me?" asks Kre in Thieve's cant, "Just you two, maybe four? or maybe eight? Yeah that sounds right. You are so afraid of me you'd send ten, nay twenty of your best warriors. What do you want with me?" As Kre finishes, he looks around to see that no one is paying any attention to their conversation. He also sees that there are perhaps five people or so between himself and the door to the kitchen and the back exit; perhaps fifteen or so patrons between himself and the front door. As he has been speaking, the large fellow has come behind Kre to place his left hand on Kre's right shoulder, pushing down and giving a none too gentle squeeze on Kre's shoulder.

"You cannot escape us," says the little man, "Come with us now and we might give you a quick death. Fight and you die slowly."

With the rat-faced man threatening his life and the large man now trying to take up a position to surround him, Kre decides to take the opportunity to attempt an escape.

"I'd like to make it easy for you fellas, but I just can't..." He then quickly turns and plants a boot to the back of the knee of the larger fella holding him, causing his left knee to buckle and toppling him over headfirst into his companion. As the two men attempt to untangle themselves, Kre takes the opening and heads for the front door. On his way out he tips the chair out from under one drunken fellow leaning back in it, causing him to crash heavily to the floor and he turns over a talbe in the path of his now-advancing would-be killers.

"BAR FIGHT!!!" he yells as he turns toward the door.

"STOP THAT!!! yells Barthelew in answer to the destruction and havoc Kre is causing.

A cheer erupts from several of the patrons as Kre reaches the door, his attackers a few steps behind.

Kre reaches the front door and bursts through to the cold night air. He immediately turns to his right and starts heading toward the nearest building, pulling out two daggers as he runs. As he steps off the front porch of the Baron of Mutton, a club swings out toward his forehead, catching the young thief unaware. Stars explode before his eyes as a deep pain erupts in his head. Darkness falls as he is dragged around to the side of the Inn, blows raining down on his back and ribs from his unseen attacker.

As consciousness finally slips away from Kre he thinks, "They did have men outside......."