Inside the tavern was dim, the only light coming from the fireplace and the candles inside the lanterns placed on each table. As Finn looked around he noticed the two pickpockets sitting with another customer in the corner.
In order to not draw suspicion, Finn approached the bar and order a drink. It was cheaper here, costing only 2 coppers. The bartender here was a halfling, so the floor behind the bar was raised and extra couple feet so he could reach things.
As he waited for his drink, Finn noticed there was a giant rat curled up near the fireplace. Not having had any good experiences with rats Finn asked the bartender about it.
It turned out it was the animal companion of one of the halflings who worked here. Finn nodded and pretended to listen to the story behind how this came to be, glancing over from time to time to see what the two thieves were doing.
Seeing the two stand up and leave in a relaxed manner, Finn thanked the bartender for the drink and story. After waiting until the two thieves had left, Finn got up and joined the stranger in the corner.
'Mind if I join you?' Said Finn as he sat down across from what he now could see was an elf.
'Yes, but you could fix that with a drink.' The elf suggested shamelessly, not even bothering to look at Finn.
Signaling to the bartender for another drink, Finn sat down and sipped his cheap ale. When the drink came, he handed over another 2 coppers to pay, before sliding the drink over to the elf.
'I'm looking for something.' Finn said casually about halfway through his drink.
'What's that got to do with me?' The elf replied cautiously, his left hand slowly moving to his waist.
Finn noticed the tension, but continued anyway. 'I'm looking for a place to sell some things I've found.'
The elf finally looked interested. Still wary, the elf asked why Finn had approached him specifically.
Finn, bored of beats my around the bush decided to just be blunt. Sliding over 5coppers discreetly, he mentioned following two pickpockets, and that he was looking for a fence. If the elf could help that would be great, if not, he would look for another person.
The elf finally seemed to let down his guard a little. Taking out a scrap of parchment, he wrote down an address and passed it to Finn. 'Go there tomorrow night, you'll find someone who can relieve you of your excess goods.' He whispered. 'Oh, and the location changes regularly so if you miss it you know where to find me.'
At this the elf stood up and went to the bar, it was obvious he wasn't interested in continuing the conversation. Finn finished he drink and left as well, he had gotten what he came for.
Heading back to the inn, Finn was excited for the next day to come. There was a training session with Pete. His mana would be back too, so he could try using mage hand again. If all went well tomorrow night, he would be a few coins richer and finally be rid of all the junk he had stolen.
Immersed in his thoughts, Finn didn't notice he was being followed. It was only when he was halfway through a narrow backstreet that he looked up to see the way ahead blocked by a silhouette.
'Nice armor you got there lad.' The silhouette said. 'It would be a shame if something were to happen to it. Why don't you leave it to me to look after?'
Finn paused and rested his hands on his daggers. Hearing someone snicker behind him, he turned to see another skinny figure blocking his escape.
The two figures approached slowly, and Finn noticed they were two humans. The thugs were dressed in what looked like rags underneath their heavy cloaks. The bigger one held a club while the skinny one had a rusty looking dagger, Finn almost felt bad for them.
'You guys seems like nice chaps, how about we continue this conversation some other time, I've had enough trouble for one day.' Finn tried.
'Sure, you leave all your belongings with us and we'll let you go on your way.' The skinny one suggested as he continued to approach with his knife held in front of him.
'That's too bad then.' Finn gave up being friendly. These scum should learn to choose their targets better. After beating that huge rat king, Finn had a newfound confidence in dealing with danger.
Noticing that the skinny figure was closest, Finn suddenly pulled out both daggers and charged him.
The thugs weren't ready for the sudden change in their target's behavior and it caused them to pause for a second.
Making the most of the pause, Finn got a few steps closer before leaping at the skinny thug knee first. With the combination of his armor and his experience of wounds healing quickly, Finn thought he should be fine as long as he protected his head.
The flying knee knocked the thug to the ground completely winded. The blunt knife in his hand had failed to even cause a scratch before being knocked aside.
Finn didn't like the idea of killing these thugs. He could easily do it, it's just that they probably had their own story of how they ended up so desperate. Remembering how he had struggled to survive on the streets, he pitied these two fools and decided to let them off.
'Find yourselves a better job. You're too weak, your next target might not let you off so easily.' Finn lectured them as he backed away. Putting his daggers away, he was about to turn around to leave.
'GET HIM!!!' The large one suddenly yelled angrily.
Three more thugs appeared from behind the large one and charged towards Finn brandishing their daggers.
Finn realized that he had underestimated the thugs, that large one seemed to be leading this small gang. Turning around and running, Finn tried to think of how to escape.
After running through a couple intersections, Finn looked back to see if he had lost them. What he saw caused him to speed up a little more. The group of thugs following him had increased to seven, and they were angry.
Remembering how he dealt with the rats Finn got an idea. He quickly jumped up on a nearby barrel and used it to scramble onto the nearby roof.
The thugs were really close now, and one even threw a rock at him. Finn dodged and ran along the roof. The houses in the city had all been built with strong roofs in order to support the weight of the heavy snow during the winter.
Finn was lightly built and dexterous so he managed to run along the roofs, leaping across narrow gaps from building to building. Looking back, he found out that so were some of the thugs.