The Back Alleys

Ben and his would-be guide Chance warily walked down a secluded alley. "I am Benjamin Jabari. I used to be a pirate but now I am a mere wanderer. My knowledge of the world is mostly confined to the high seas." He gestured to the dog that padded silently next to them "this here is Finbar. We go back a while."

As they walked Ben noticed shadows in the various nooks and crannies that lined the alley. A perfect spot to ambush visitors. Ben was used to rough neighbourhoods though and kept his cool. He turned to the kid again, "Have you lived here your whole life?"

Benjamin Jabari and Chance were being watched! Should their eyes happen to linger on the roof of a nearby building they would notice only a dark flash. Before reaching the Feral Cat the pair would wind through a narrow part of the street where the buildings on either side grew much taller. An ex-pirate might see this narrow alley as a perfect place for an ambush.

(Roll a D3: 1=nothing, 2=easy, 3=hard)

The alley way had a corner in it so that the other side could not be seen. Two windows looked onto the alley. A drainage pipe came down in the corner of the alley. Somewhere there is shouting but it could be completely unrelated. There was always the option to take find another way.

Cruel beauty. Such a combination made the young man consider a life on the sea. "Is it really easier to control your destiny out there?" The young man had thought very little about his own destiny.

"The tavern is just through here." The kid headed I to the narrow part of the alley.

"It is possible to control your own destinies - in so far that is joined with that of your brethren. Working, fighting, looting side by side until one day the sea will decide that your time is up. What you do in that time though, is yours to decide." Ben's expression turned grave as he remembered the fate of the ship he'd sailed on since he was a boy. "My time is yet to come, though."

As they turned down into yet another back-alley, Ben noticed a flash of black fur descend from somewhere above him. It landed on Finbar with a hiss. It turned out to be a mangy black cat who had clawed at the dog's back, drawing a speck of blood. Though rather large in size, the hound was mostly bone, having not eaten a proper meal for weeks. The cat would only have gotten a mouthful of salty fur from its attack on him. For his part, Finbar looked at the wretched thing with an expression of bored amusement. Having faced down many men and sea-beasts aboard the rolling deck of his ill-fated ship, this cat posed him little threat. He swung a half-hearted paw in the general direction of the cat's head.

Ben stood with Chance to one side, watching the two creatures. Having witnessed Finbar in full blood-lust before, he didn't feel the need to intervene.

"Phew," The young man sighed. He had been attacked by the same cat before and was glad that it was not him this time. He was also glad that Finbar had not killed the cat.  Boris would have been very upset. "The tavern is here," The trio went around the corner and exited the alley way, "That cat sort of "guards" the place.  You might see her again. She holds grudges."

<Enter The Feral Cat>

"You trying to talk to moi?" Said a fisherman as he walked from a door step. The salty man threw a knife back and forth between his hands. Another man dipped out of the shadows of an alley behind Asger .