North strode down the streets of Hargeon, bottle of rum in hand and still dripping wet from his last misadventure. He was headed down to the docks looking for a pirate named Balthazar whom he had just been informed was looking for someone to do work for him. North didn't have anything else better to do after finishing his last job a few minutes ago, so he figured he'd go off to meet this Balthazar character. "I just wish it didn't mean I had to give up this rum." He thought to himself as he glanced into his hand with a look of longing and regret. North fancied himself a bit of a connoisseur of liquors, and to give up a rare and illegal bottle was not to his liking. Still, he thought that perhaps if he built up a good relationship with this Balthazar individual he might get even more chances to run across more rare liquors and perhaps taste some of the adventurous life of a pirate. So, North tried to forget his temptation to open the bottle and down a bit for himself by focusing solely on the clapping sound made as his bare feet padded along the cold grey cobblestone of the street. The rhythmic beat of his footsteps had an almost hypnotic effect that alleviated a bit of the tension North was feeling. To clear his mind and think of nothing but the gentle sound was almost like an exercise in meditation. North wasn't particularly good nor fond at meditation however, and he quickly grew bored of such an exercise. Instead, North tried to think up new song lyrics from his situation that might help him to form a new song for his would be band should he ever be able to form it. He even started singing them to himself to try to come up with a tune. "Dripping wet with a bottle a rum. Rose up from the sea and I'm feeling numb." He sang to himself as he walked up towards the docks. He didn't even realize that he had nearly walked into a large burly man right in front of him until the man spoke up. "That's not a bad tune you've got there. I like it." He said with a hearty laugh. North looked up to spot a towering man with a blond beard and heavy features surrounded by a group of equally burly yet far more disheveled looking men.

"Thank you. I made it up myself, and was just working out the kinks." North said, happy to hear someone give him a compliment on his new work. He hadn't forgotten his guild work though, and he thought to ask the man he'd just run into if he could help him. "By the way, you wouldn't know where to find a guy named Balthazar, would you?" North asked with a curious look on his face. The larger man's demeanor changed immediately and a far more grim expression fell over his face. "That's me. Now, who wants to know?" He asked in a serious and aggressive tone, causing North to get a little bit nervous. "Uh, ah, erm, I just have this for you. I'm North Rickley." North said, panicking a little bit at the sudden questioning and holding up the bottle as he hurriedly introduced himself.

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Balthazar snatched the bottle out of North's smaller hands and examined it for a moment before cracking it open. North stood by and watched as the larger man sniffed the contents of the bottle before taking a large swig of the spiced liquor. Seemingly satisfied, Balthazar set the bottle aside on top of a nearby stack of crates and turned back to North. "Thanks for that, boy. Seems you got acquainted with Raegan, so I'll overlook your lack of trousers. You got time to do something real quick for me?" He asked, looking down at North with a look that told the younger mage that "no" wasn't an acceptable answer. "Sure thing, captain." North said with a smile, finally having gotten over his nervousness in dealing with the rather intimidating pirate. Balthazar smiled and pulled out a small burlap sack from his coat pocket. "Good to hear, take this bag to a bloke named Maxwell on the outskirts of the docks." He said, handing the bag to North. Grasping the bag in his hand and looking Balthazar in the eye, North smiled and rose up his other hand in a thumbs up. "You can count on me to get the job done." He said, his eyes shining with confidence. North was a little disappointed with the lack of excitement the job would entail, but he figured he'd still show a little enthusiasm for his client despite the mundane nature of his task.

With a quick wave to Balthazar, North was off. He dashed off in the opposite direction so that he could get to the outskirts of the docks as quickly as possible but the crowded area was making it a bit more difficult than he would have liked. As North was running, he thought he heard a group of people running after him. At first he thought he must be hearing things, but after the sound persisted for a few more seconds he had to turn around and ascertain the cause. He immediately wished he hadn't. Behind him were about a dozen or so Rune Knights, all in full armor and with hands on their weapons. North certainly didn't like the look of that, and he picked up his pace quite a bit, now far more willing to push people aside than he had been before. The Rune Knights weren't afraid to trample over a few people either, and were still in hot pursuit of the naked man. "Geez, why are these guys chasing me? I didn't think I was being that suspicious today." North thought to himself as he continued his trek, thinking of recreating his trick from the other day in which he had leaped up to the roof of one of the nearby buildings. Unfortunately, most of the roofs in this area looked to be quite decrepit and if North happened to fall through one of them he would have far more injuries to deal with than those he would have been succumbed to at the hands of the rune knights.

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North continued to sprint forward, his breath growing haggard as the mass of rune knights continued to gain on him. He willed himself to push forward if not just a bit faster so that he might get just a little more distance between him and his group of pursuers. He just needed to find this guy named Maxwell and give him the bag so he could lose these guys for good. North turned the corner into an alley and jumped over a few barrels that were blocking passage through the small corridor. "That should slow 'em down for a tad." North thought to himself, continuing to run straight ahead and out of the alleyway. He scanned the area for any thuggish looking individuals who might be the man he was looking for, but North only saw shop vendors and burly dock workers, no one who looked like the hooligan which Balthazar had described to him. "I sure wish Balthazar had been more specific. The edge of the docks could mean anywhere in a huge ass port town like Hargeon." North muttered under his breath as he heard the rune knights starting to catch up to him. With no sign of Maxwell, North was starting to panic. Fortunately for him though, the panic and adrenaline only fueled him on and the naked man holding a burlap sack surged forward with renewed vigor. The thrill of almost being caught even caused North to start laughing as he ran, having a really good time actually.

As North went on, running further and further with a huge grin on his face, enjoying every burn and ache that began to surge through his body along with the adrenaline that pushed him on. The rune knights seemed to be losing a bit of their own vigor, and for the first time in a while North was actually starting to put some distance between them. He tried not to let his excitement get the better of him, and he continued to keep an eye out for Maxwell. There wasn't much sign of anyone this far out however, as North believed he had entered an older residential district and was certainly now a good distance from the outskirts of the dock. "I guess I got carried away with the running there." North thought to himself, kind of wondering how he could have wandered so far off. Now he had to deal with the dilemma of turning back around and getting past the rune knights he had just worked so hard to get a little bit further away from. There wasn't much he could do about it now though, so he made a hard pivot and started heading in the opposite direction; directly towards the pack of rune knights. He ran at them at a full spring, and surprised and slightly confused, they all raised their weapons and prepared to fight. North had no intention of fighting however, and he extended a fist towards one of the nearby light posts. A long vine of moss formed around his wrist and shot out at the metal pole, latching on and suddenly contracting and bringing North along with it. He flew right over the rune knights, much to their chagrin and anger, and they turned around to give chase once more as North dissipated his spell and with the momentum he'd gained from the propulsion, he launched himself even further forward and landed with a perfect form. He continued his full sprint with almost no landing lag, and laughed at the exhilaration he felt from pulling off such a ridiculous stunt.

The rune knights shouted as they ran, weapons drawn and breaths haggard. North too was starting to grow quite tired after his near marathon, but he was having so much fun that he didn't much care. He still had a bit to go to reach the outskirts of the dock, but North's stamina seemed to have reached into its second reserve. North had competed in many long distance endurance challenges, and as many marathon runners know there is a "wall" that one must overcome when your body aches and your lungs desperately try to provide enough oxygen to the brain and blood vessels, that once overcome allows the runner to continue when most inexperienced runners would collapse. If the naked mage could keep this up, he could perhaps force the rune knights into such a position.

North could see the docks in the distance, and continued on with deep breaths and long strides, burlap sack still held firmly in his left hand. Then, out of the left corner of his eye he saw a man with a blond tuft of hair atop his head waving out to him from a nearby alley. Looking back, he saw that he had about a minute before the rune knights would be upon him, so North figured he'd take a chance and assume that this was Maxwell. He dashed over as quick as he could. "Maxwell?"North asked, quite abrupt and out of breath. "Yeah, are y-" Maxwell started to say, but North cut him off. "Here ya go, bye." He said, handing him the sack and dashing off at a full sprint once more, just seconds before the rune knights were upon him. North didn't look back to see what had happened to Maxwell, but as far as he was concerned he'd finished the job he was hired to do. Now, he just had to lose his tail. North dove into the crowd as quickly as he could, stealing a hat off of a nearby man and donning it over his curly black hair. Some of the people in the crowd avoided him due to his less than clothed state, but he was now deep enough in the sea of faces that it would be difficult to discern from the outside. From there, North merely walked as quickly as he could to the other side of the docks where the ships were anchored, relatively certain he'd lost his pursuers. There, he met Balthazar and informed him that the mission had been completed. Balthazar praised him on how quickly he'd gotten back to him, and proceeded to provide him with the reward.

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