The Three Thieves' Inn has seen better days in the main room. Right now, there are only two 'thieves' on the wall, and a faded spot where the third head should be. Most of the tables are propped up on crates and barrels instead of legs. The front window is free of glass, with some heavy cloth covering the spot.

A foppish Fox sits at a table, his left arm in a cast, his head bandaged, his right leg in a splint, and a crutch leaning against the table. "Glad you could make it!" the Fox says cheerily. "My, what an adventure I had! If it weren't for my lucky charm, I'd have been a goner for sure! Anyway, now about that idea I had… " He leans forward to whisper conspiratorially to the Kitsune seated nearby. "… It's FOOLPROOF!"

A little Vartan kid patters over setting a tray up on the table. Yiffle meatballs are the special of the day. Extra cheap, served with blue tails as "garnishes".

Francisco leans with his elbows on the table, cradling his muzzle in his palms, and nods. "Foolproof, huh?" he says. "Go on."

The foppish Fox smiles widely. "Well, you see, we want to get even with a poodle. He flushed us. Since then, I've become an expert on the sewer system, as fate would have it … and YOU are well-connected in the Bazaar, with many friends." He waggles his eyebrows. "Why, you're even a household name!"

He drops his voice a bit. "I hope your … condition … is improving… "

The kitsune shifts in his seat a little. "Much better," he assures the fox, still quite embarrassed by that whole episode.

"As far as a household name goes, I'm still not sure if that's a good thing yet," he adds.

The foppish Fox leans casually back … then lets out an alarmed YELP as he sits on his tail the wrong way. With an embarrassed blush of his ears (or, at least, the one that isn't buried under bandages), he readjusts his tail to stick out to one side. "Well, no publicity is bad publicity, I always say!" the foppish Fox beams.

The Fox beams. "Especially when it's publicity that can humiliate a mutual 'friend' of ours." He winks mischievously.

And you certainly draw the publics' attention to yourself, Francisco muses to himself.

Francisco just grins in response to the fox.

"Now then," the foppish Fox says, "I have a plan. My plan is this: With the help of your friends in the Bazaar, we manage to get a 'secret message' to Eustace, purportedly from either Vindicta or Kelsey. And, if he's dubious, numerous merchants can verify that she, indeed, left the note. After all, they're all your friends, and would be willing to lie for a friend, certainly?"

The kitsune nods. "Perhaps. For some reason, they are quite receptive to me."

With a smug grin, the foppish Fox continues, "The note will direct him to a rendezvous outside of town, at a secret location for a 'very special surprise'. This secret location will be … Sewer Maintenance Access Number Four. It has a nice little clearing just outside. We ALSO invite Vindicta and Kelsey under similar pretenses, though from Eustace, of course… "

Francisco uh-huhs. "Are you sure though that he's not 'flushed' someone from there before? He might recognize it."

The foppish Fox pauses at that for a moment, saying, "Oh. Good point. Well … " He snaps his fingers – on his good hand, that is. "We allow him to SEE Vindicta and Kelsey approaching! We strategically position them so that he's pinned in with no way of escape. His only chance of hiding from the two of them would be to duck inside the conveniently-located door of the Access outbuilding." The foppish Fox smiles and tries to cross his arms, but this just prompts another yelp of pain.

Instead, the Fox pulls out a scrap of parchment with a bunch of scrawls on it. The effect is much like a Rube Goldberg cartoon. Perhaps the Fox has missed his calling…

The kitsune nods again, smiling, then tries to look at the paper. "What have you got there?" he asks.

"Okay … we direct Eustace HERE … and Vindicta HERE … and Kelsey HERE … and then I hide HERE and blow a whistle, causing Eustace to look this way, noticing Kelsey … and then the door is HERE, which, as you see, is his only route of escape short of making it clear to both of them that he's there and causing a REAL stink… " The foppish Fox points at various places on the scribbled map with his cast-encased arm. Okay, so art is NOT his calling, but the stick figures are recognizable enough in abstract.

Francisco leans across the table to inspect the map.

"Then … you pull the lever HERE," the foppish Fox points, "closing the door. Once Eustace realizes his predicament, he will start screaming like a baby, prompting Vindicta and Kelsey to come running, once they recognize his voice. Whereupon, we tell Eustace to confess his crimes of flushing us, or else we'll flush HIM. Whereupon he'll confess, and then we'll make him confess to double-timing the lady poodles. Whereupon they will hate him and love us for revealing the truth to them."

"Right… ," Francisco says. "Though, the only people who will see this are Kelsey, Vindicta, and ourselves?"

The foppish Fox shrugs. "That's only the basic plan. If you'd like, we could invite more. But, I figure, this would give us enough time to escape before Kelsey has time to finish a ritual to cause a large explosion. I mean, I'm sure they'll both do something violent to Eustace. Good thing mages are slow starters."

"So, what do you think?" says the foppish Fox. "Would you like to go see the site?"

Footsteps are heard at the door, and a black furred feline enters, looking puzzledly at a small piece of paper.

The foppish Fox looks up, and waves wildly with his plastered arm. "JYNX! Over here! You're just in time!"

An ear is perked in response to that. "Slow?" Francisco asks, but doesn't pursue that. "More people would be better, I would think. Public humiliation is always a lot better."

Jakka, the Vartan bartender, gives the black Khatta a wary glare. After all, his LAST visit wasn't under the most pleasant of circumstances…

Francisco looks around to who the fox called out to.

Jynx reads the paper aloud to himself, "Feli, meet me at the Three Thieves during lunch. Signed RF. Who's RF?" The answer becomes apparent as the cat looks up, "Oh no… "

The foppish Fox nods. "Good idea!" He rips off a scrap of paper off the edge of his map, and scribbles something on it. He waves down the little Vartan and hands the note to him, along with a shekel. "Could you take this to Loosetongue? If you do it quick, I'll give you another shekel when you get back!"

The little Vartan smiles, gazing happily at the shiny shekel, and then flutters off with the note, scrawking as he shoots out the front door.

Jynx gets in an almost defensive stance while looking at the fox, "Did You send this to me?"

The foppish Fox grins. "Certainly! I have a business proposition! Now, if we hurry, we can get out to the site before it gets dark… "

Francisco watches the fox and the black cat, wondering if he gets an introduction?

The Khatta blinks, "Business proposition?"

The Fox rolls his eyes. "Blackmail money, possibly. We'll see what develops. No time to explain." He hops up, and drops some shekels on the bar. "This is for the little'un when he gets back. And here's for the meal. Bye!"

"Blackmail money?" The Khatta usually doesn't have a clue as it is, but this time – with this fox – he really doesn't.

"Oops! Forgot my crutch." The foppish Fox remembers to limp this time, heading back for his crutch. He asides to Jynx, "I came into some shekels on the settlement. I can PAY you for your time now."

Teenage greed tugs upon Jynx's mind, Money!, but common sense and past experience with this certain vulpine tugs even harder, "What else do I get?" The Khatta crosses his arms.

The foppish Fox ponders. "The satisfaction of a job well done … and a noble brat flushed?"

Jynx blinks, "Noble brat? What difference does that make?"

"He's a poodle," the foppish Fox says, with a shrug. "Isn't that enough?"

Jynx blinks at the strange multi-tailed fox, but he's from a big city, so he never asks questions. "A poodle you say?" A mischievous grin comes upon the Khatta's face, canine humiliation practically pays for itself! "Okay, I'm in."

"Splendid!" exclaims the foppish Fox, and he limp-marches out the front door. "Onward to VICTORY!"

Some time later, and a few cheap coach rides across Rephidim and into the countryside, the two vulpines and the black Khatta arrive in a junky-looking part of the surrounding countryside, littered with ruins, dominated by a stone building marked "S… r Ac… N… 4." "Well!" says the foppish Fox. "Here we are at Sracn 4!"

There are several tall trees that grow about the place, leaving a small circular clearing right in front of the main entrance. There is a large sign that reads, "Vindicta, this way!" Another sign reads, "Kelsey, over here!"

Francisco points them out to the other fox. "Won't that kind of give things away?"

"Hmm," ponders the foppish Fox. "Good idea. We'd better take them down quick. Hide them in the building!"

Jynx scratches his head, "But won't that tip Eustace off then?"

The foppish Fox says, "Well, once he's in the building, we lock him in, so it won't matter then!" He rolls his eyes as if this were perfectly obvious, and grabs one of the signs, rushing for the door and disappearing inside. There is a startled yelp from inside.

The Khatta sighs, "Now what?"

"Hey!" echoes a voice from inside the building, "where's the free grub?"

"YAH!" comes another, a whinier voice. "I heard there was all-you-could-eat free munchies here!"

The kitsune sighs, and heads over to the building. "Are you alright in there?" he asks.

Jynx follows the multi-tailed fox, "With him? Probably not… "

The foppish Fox pokes his nose out of the door. "They're here EARLY! I'll just have to have a little talk with Loosetongue."

"Zsofi did not come here to be standing around!" A recognizable voice snarls in a recognizable fashion.

Jynx halts at the voice, ( Uh oh… )

The foppish Fox slips out of the door, back into the open. "Well, this is a frustration. Okay. Maybe if we can just hide everybody inside, this will still work. Hmm… "

"You surre this rrights place Aarron? Everryone herre kinea strrange, but no looks like secrret society neeting." A rough female voice asks.

The Fox sticks his head inside and says, "Okay, folks, you're just a bit early! You make yourselves comfortable, and the food'll be delivered in a jiffy!"

"Well, umm… why did YOU come here, Kelsey?" asks a slightly tremulous voice.

The foppish Fox's claim is greeted by various grumblings, but it seems like they're content to wait a little while longer for grub.

Jynx shakes his head, "I won't go in there for a multitude of reason, not the least being that's where we're doing the flushing!"

"Zsofi is not comfortable! Zsofi wants food now!" She snarls in response.

The foppish Fox looks up. "Ack! The other sign is still up! Somebody grab it!"

"Aaron, why are you here?" A poodlish voice crackles with anger, backed up by the sounds of a flickering flame, "Why is everyone else? This was supposed to be a private meeting!"

"What's that fox doing with that sign with my name on it?" The same voice quickly adds.

The foppish Fox grabs the second sign, and walks along. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees the poodle, and hides behind the "Kelsey, over here!" sign. "H-h-h-hello, madame! Uhm … can you walk just over that way? Eustace will be along in JUST a moment, I think."

The rabbit asks, "Eustace?! Then this IS where the Sixth Kadam is meeting??"

"I no thoughts you coule worrk nagic on Rrephiein… " an incredulous cougar says.

The foppish Fox says, "Uhm … YES! The SIXTH KADAM! That's exactly it! Say, could you hold this sign for me?" He thrusts the sign at Aaron, then bolts for cover.

A barely feminine voice growls, "Zsofi is getting tired of waiting!"

Jynx eyes the fox, "Just how many people did you let in on this little conspiracy?"

Kelsey leaves the outbuilding, her right hand holding a glowing ball of flame that flickers all the way up her arm. It burns with an angry fire that casts harsh shadows across her face. "I'm glad I showed up early, perhaps YOU can explain what's going on." The Jupani-esque poodle marches towards the foppish fox.

"Hey!" comes a voice from inside the outbuilding. "You took all the light with you!"

Jynx blinks at the poodle, and scoots FAR away from the foppish fox. "Uh, it was all his idea… "

The foppish Fox looks both ways for an escape route, and sees only one. "Uhm … there's a really good explanation. Here … I'll fetch someone who can explain it better… " He dashes for the other entry to the clearing … and smacks right into the robes of another poodle. THIS poodle is dressed in the robes of an Inquisitrix. She has a whip in one hand, and looks very annoyed.

"That's it! Zsofi leaving. She will use fur for shower scrub of first person who get in her way." Much stomping can be heard.

"I wonder how she makes her hooves spark like that?" asks the rabbit voice.

"Sparks!" someone cries out. "See if you can light a torch, eh?"

The foppish Fox gulps as he looks up at the Inquisitrix poodle. "Uhm … It's all HIS idea!" He points at the five-tailed Kitsune and shoots off in another direction.

"Zsofi is not a public lighter service! Zsofi is leaving!" The demoncat emerges from the outbuilding, and stomps away.

Jynx finds a nice grassy place to sit down, this oughtta be interesting…

The kitsune in question blinks and looks around, just in case the fox was pointing to someone else.

"Good riddance! How are we supposed to spy on demon worshippers with another demon being so noisy," the rabbit remarks at Zsofi's departure.

A whistled melody can be heard as a noble poodle strides down a worn path … and passes Zsofi. He looks a bit embarrassed, tipping his hat to the demoncat. "Ah … good day, miss. Would you happen to have seen … " His gaze drifts to the clearing. "Oh … Dagh… "

Kelsey can also follow a pointed finger. She yaps angrily at Francisco, "Would you like to explain, or blow up now?" The poodle brandishes her flaming hand.

Inside the building, a voice can be heard. "Hey! I found a wheelie-thing. I think this might turn on the lights. Can you help me crank this?"

There is a hissing sound from somewhere inside.

"Gah… what's that smell??" shrieks the rabbit.

Zsofi snarls at the poodle, and keeps on her way.

Francisco eyes the whip in the poodle's hand, and swallows. "What is it that you people have with blowing me up all the time?" he tries to ask. "And, also, I really don't know what you are talking about."

"Nove Aarron!" Another voice orders, followed by a Lapinish squeak.

The Inquisitrix glares at Francisco, slapping the rolled whip on her hip … then glances up, looking past Kelsey. Her eyes light up. "Oh! Excuse me. I have someone to … question." She adopts a cruel grin, and sway-walks toward Eustace.

Jynx puts his chin in his paws, canine-on-canine violence! This will be good!

{Oh boy. This is all happening now?} wonders the Kitsune as he spots his nemesis. Hoping that he's not been seen by him yet, he quickly ducks out of the way.

"WHOO-EEE!" comes a voice from inside. "All right, who's to blame? Yewgh! That's a whopper!"

"Stuck up Templar bi… " Kelsey mutters quietly, glaring after Vindicta before turning back to the Kitsune. "HEY! Don't try to… wait." The thoughts and recognition can almost be seen on her face, and she whips around to the Inquisitrix's intended 'victim', and shouts, "Eustace! What are you doing here?"

Eustace looks to one female poodle, then the other. His knees shake, then knock. "Ahhhh … excuse me. I think … uhm … I must have taken a wrong turn. Aheh." He smiles weakly … then notices the Kitsune. "YOU!" he yaps.

The foppish Fox looks up at Eustace. "ME?" he squeaks.

"No, not you – I – Where did he go?" yaps Eustace.

Sasta roughly drags Aaron from the Outbuilding, and over to someplace safe, "Ooo… sonething to watch."

Francisco is not far away, having ducked behind a nearby bush.

Aaron coughs into a handkerchief, looking a bit green…

"Waitaminute," says a voice from inside. "That smell … uhm … guys … "

{If I only had some Rughrat on a stick, then this'd be perfect!} Thinks the black Khatta.

A fuzzy-looking Exile wearing a leather headdress wanders into the clearing. "Yub yub!" he says, waving, then makes his way for the outbuilding, poking his head in curiously.

Kelsey glares, pausing to momentarily chant under her breath to maintain a hold on the spell that is about to go the way of her temper.

"GAS! CLEAR OUT!" comes a cry from inside the building. Several scuffling noises can be heard as the occupants fight to get out. A few Skreeks, a Vykarin, some scraggly Gallahs and a couple of Skeeks scamper out, holding their noses.

Jynx blinks, secret plan indeed!! The Khatta decides that it would be a smart move to move from so close to the building.

Aaron urps, hearing the cry of 'GAS' and seeing Kelsey winding up to pitch fire around… "Sasta, we need to hide behind something!"

Eustace stomps over to where he last saw Francisco, approaching the bush near the entrance to the outbuilding. "All right! Where did you go, you worthless mutant?"

"You're going to explain whats going on, RIGHT NOW!" Kelsey growls, advancing on the bush that Francisco is hiding behind. A bush located inconveniently close to the door of the outbuilding. The flames continue to flicker from the fireball held in her hand, but a new, blue flame suddenly appears, and flashes into the building.

"Look outs!" Sasta yowls, diving and knocking Aaron to the ground with her.

Jynx hits the dirt!

Eustace YELPS as the blue flame shoots past! He falls backward, falling into a stagnant pool of … water … near the entrance.

Francisco continues to cower behind the bush, too worried for his safety that he didn't notice what just happened to the poodle.

Kelsey sees her mistake and dives after Eustace; it seems better than being blown up… barely.

Inquisitrix Vindicta, in the middle of reaching for Eustace, is knocked off balance by the two diving poodles. "AUGH!" *SPLOT*

There is a bright flash of light that turns the world to white for anyone unfortunate enough to be looking at the outbuilding.

Jynx hides his eyes, he's had experience with sewer gas.

The methane gases ignite, exploding, sending a ball of flame that billows outward and upward, making a deafening roar. Barely heard is a cry of "YUB YAHHHHH!" before it is quickly silenced.

When the smoke clears and vision returns, a blackened circle is revealed around the remnants of the outbuilding. It still stands … but it has a couple of new entrances.

Jynx sneaks a peek up from the ground…

The bush is just a crispy skeleton, behind which "hides" a black five-tailed kitsune.

Francisco warily pokes his muzzle out from behind the once-was bush, chuckling to himself as he notices the poodles in the dirt, coughing a little with the ash that's in the air. And on his fur now too.

Gasping and choking noises come from a foul-looking pool. Three soggy poodles emerge … Eustace in the middle, Vindicta to one side, and Kelsey on the other.

Aaron pulls one of his ears aside ( he was holding them down over his face ) to see what's happening. "I think we're still alive, Sasta… "

Jynx sits back down, his tail twitching with feline delight at the sight of the poodles.

The cougaress sits up, rubbing at her ears and adjusting her eyepatch, "Yaaa… "

Eustace gets out of the pool, gasping and heaving. "Ah … I … Bye!" He dashes off down the trail.

There's no sign of the foppish Fox, though his charred crutch can be seen leaning against some of the rubble.

"You, Uhn!" Kelsey chooses between arguing with Vindicta, getting even with Francisco, or chasing Eustace. Eustace wins, and the soggy fire-mage takes off on his trail.

"STOP!" cries out Vindicta, and she snaps out with her whip … which catches Kelsey's leg. "That's MY Eustace!"

Aaron points out the five-tailed fox to Sasta, "That's Francisco. They were going to sacrifice him to Dagh when I first met him… "

The kitsune steps out from behind the remains of the bush, and watches them depart. "Nice, but still not enough for him," he muses out loud. He then proceeds to remove the rest of the ash from his shirt.

Amazingly, the ash sloughs off of the Kitsune's shirt, as if the gaudy colors were capable of repelling mere dirt and detritis.

Kelsey is tripped up, and falls flat on her face. *Slam* She rolls over and yaps, "YOUR Eustace?!"

"How k'n five tails attach to one backsiee?" The cougaress asks the rabbit, incredulously.

Vindicta crawls out of the icky liquid, gasping and coughing. "Yes! I don't know WHAT is crossing your mind right now, but I came here to see him, and I don't care how many conventions are here – trespassing on Temple property, I might add – but I'm going to see him now!"

Aaron blinks, "I don't know… I assumed they split off from a common root… "

"Your Eustace? Trespassing on Temple Property?" The soggy fire-mage snarls, "Is that what you call it? He came here to meet ME!"

"Don't mock me!" yaps the Inquisitrix, her heavy mascara running with sludge down her face-fur. "I received THIS message – " she flaps a soggy piece of parchment, " – instructing me to meet 'Snookums' here."

Aaron puts a hand over his muzzle to stifle the snicker illicited by the term 'Snookums'…

"Oh yeh? Well I received this message… " Kelsey yaps angrily, searching through her robes, and discarding a few foreign objects before finding her own soggy sheet of paper. "I received this message to meet my little HotPot right here."

Jynx, at this point, is rolling all over the grass in laughter (but not too loud… )

Francisco tries to keep control of his smirking, seeing as he's out in the open at the moment.

A soot-covered Skreek sniffs around the ruins. "Hey, what does this lever do?"

"I thinks you shoule gets out of herre beforre they eeciee to blane you." Sasta bumps Francisco meaningfully, pushing him for the nearest cover.

The nearest cover would appear to be the newly redecorated outbuilding.

The multi-tailed fox hmmms? at the eyepatched cat, and heads towards the building.

*CRANK*

*CLACK*

*CREAK*

"That's funny. Nothing happened!" remarks the Skreek.

*SHWOOP*

The floor of the outbuilding opens up. The Kitsune disappears.

A foppish Foxish voice can also be heard, shrieking, "AIEEEEEEEEEE!"