Fantasy Assassin's Pledge: Whispers Of Myth

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

The knight felt a little ashamed after seeing Dr. Almna's reaction to some of the last few questions. He went to reach out a hand and apologize, but all that came out was a horrible half-gargling half-choking noise that made him cough and retch a little. The nature of the poison, he still didn't understand, but its effects still made any type of sensible speech painful and unintelligible. It's not like he actually needed to say anything to her anyway though, it would've just been more questions that he could find answers to at whatever this Hunter's Lair place is.

With a deep sigh, he nodded to the guards in the room and quickly found his way down the stairs, back out onto the streets of the city. They said the bounty hunter's guild should be on the far eastern edge of town, clearly labeled. Unmissable. As much as he trusted that information from the guards of a city they were probably born and lived in, he did not trust himself to actually find the damn place. He hated going by compass directions since he could never get his east and west straight, and he never had any real reason to learn it. A commander doesn't order his rearguard to defend the eastern flank, he points and tells them to protect Sargent Galio's company from getting hit from behind. He figured that he'd choose a direction and walk into the first building that vaguely resembles the description of the Hunter's Lair. After all, if the news of the deaths spread all around the city, then he could still get answers regardless.

Looking up and down the street, Turin decided that he would march to the left, and wouldn't stop until he found a building that satisfied enough of the requirements to be a guild-related building of some sort, or whatever passed for one in Cre'Est.

After ten minutes of determined walking, a tavern-looking building with shady characters entering and exiting caught his eye. Did it have a bounty board outside? No. Was it on the east side of the city? Probably not. Was it even named Hunter's Lair? No, it was clearly called the Sellsword's Respite, but Turin didn't care. Though the bounty hunter's guild would or would not have the contract to kill the two men he inspected earlier, he would have to check every other guild in the city anyway, this would be a decent start.

As he entered, a particularly bumbling drunkard of a man bumped into him, lost in some sort of thought about an easy contract, typical mercenary nonsense. The man bounced off the immovable knight and stumbled backward, nearly spilling his ale on his shirt as he did.

"What the fuck's your problem, tin can?" The man spat, dropping his ale mug and reaching for his knife.

Wordlessly, Turin took one step forward, crushing the wooden flagon underneath his foot. The mercenary took two steps back and put his knife back in his sheath, scowling as he ran off past the knight. The room stared at him as he slowly sauntered over to an open stool at the bar, next to what looked like a simple peasant boy, a farming scythe resting on the ground next to his seat. Turin laid down eight pieces of gold and pointed at one of the bottles on the top shelf, Scorpion's Kiss Whiskey. The bartender gave a simple response as he went to go fetch the drink, making eye contact with the boy one last time before preparing the drink.

Turin had decided to make use of the brief time he had between the pour and when he got his drink to begin scribbling down some questions pertaining to whether or not the murder was a guild job or not.

foresigh

 

[GojiBean]

Following her exit from the scene of the crime and entering the streets, Lorraine looked up at the early-afternoon sun and heaved a sigh. Looking back down at the ground ahead of her and the people meandering about she felt a little bit of a weight in her heart for having to lie about who might have done this. Shaking her head and gathering her resolve, she made her way towards her clinic where, much to her surprise, more guards were waiting for her.

"Good afternoon gentlemen. How can I help you?"

The guards turned around and one of them immediately blushed and tried to hide it behind his helmet by raising its face covering.

"Greetings Doctor. We have a situation that requires your analysis."

"May I ask why it has to be me?"

"Because there was another killing in an alley not far from here with a kill stroke similar to those in the two you reported on this morning."

Her heart skipped a beat thinking about the implications of another killing so soon. If it was him...

"Very well."

She followed the guards through the streets until they reached the alleyway. And as soon as her eyes fell on Inka and the man with the knife in his neck they widened. She wasted no time and dashed ahead and knelt down slowly next to Inka's body and felt her pulse.

"Slower than I'd like, but not life-threatening... Bruising around the throat. Traces of blood on the ground near the head and shoulders." She glanced up at the wall and saw a few red smears just above where Inka fell before returning her eyes to the girl. "No immediate signs of extraneous cranial injury. No lacerations or other signs of blade entry. No other signs of physical trauma."

"Doctor?... Um, what about the guy?"

"Dead." She replied flatly.

The two guards glanced to each other before looking back at Lorraine.

With incredible grace and tenderness, she lifted Inka's head and shoulders and used her fingertips to feel around.

"Confirmed cuts from sudden impact to a rough surface." She muttered.

"What's that mean?"

"She was shoved against the wall." She said while pointing towards the tiny red smears on the wall above Inka.

"You sure you're not a detective, Doctor?"

"Only when it comes to injury or illness. Now please, be silent." She said in a slightly harsher tone.

Gently she set Inka down and gave her shoulder a shake.

"Inka? Can you hear me?" She asked in a gentle, semi-hushed tone.

"Sorry to butt in, Doctor. But can you examine the dead body now?"

"He's not going anywhere. I need to confirm Inka's okay. Please be patient." She said as she gave Inka another gentle shake.

kakemha

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve’ Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

Inka felt like she was shaking, or maybe it was someone shaking her. Her eyes slowly started to open, but they were still a bit heavy. She groaned slightly, as an indicator that she was indeed awake, since she wasn't sure if anyone could see if her eyes were open. When she first opened her eyes, everything was slightly blurry, but it wasn't long before her vision started to comeback to her. She saw Lorraine gently shaking her.

"L=Lorraine" Inka said with a hoarse voice.

Her body felt really heavy and painful. She could feel the cuts on her back and her throat was still also hurting so she couldn't really move or talk much. She started to look around without moving her head and her eyes landed on the man. She saw the scene she created, and was shocked. She never actually thought she was able to kill him. And it also showed that her poison had worked. But she knew that there were guards behind Lorraine, they should be, Inka had created a murder scene.

GojiBean

 

[foresigh]

Luther Xa'Hearthstone​

"A recruiting process? Well... I think-" The bartender's words were cut as a new customer entered the establishment. A heavily armored man with a dangerous-looking mace on his side. Luther recognized the person. He saw him earlier, the same menacingly aura and all.

As the armored man walked to the counter and sat next to him, the bartender's attention shitted from Luther to the newcomer. Oddly enough, instead of speaking his order, the metal man just pointed at one of the bottles. The person behind the counter seemed to be confused for a second but proceeded to serve the drink. Then the armored man wrote something on a piece of paper and extended it to the bartender

"Oh? Is this some secret stuff?" Luther couldn't help but take a peek at what was written. He wasn't able to fully read the paper, he didn't want to have trouble with this kind of people, but Luther caught certain words "the, was, to, '?', 'in', 'at'". Luther tried to keep these words in his mind, and then figure out the meaning of all that. What if this man knew something about the recruitment?

Then, something clicked in Luther's mind. All this time, he wasn't able to get any information about the recruitment. So, what if this what some secret operation? He was just asking out loud, and maybe this was a test to prove one's capabilities to collect information. Yeah, it all makes sense!

Luther reached to his backpack, took a piece of paper and something to write on it, thinking quickly what a secret code would be, he wrote his words and showed it to the armored man. The paper said:

"The crows quacked enough,
time to dance in the pond,
yo yo, We bring the bread
yo yo, They get the hug?"​

"What the heck rhythms with bread?!" Luther didn't have much time to think of something catchy. He just gave the paper and made a pose, his right hand covering open covering part of his face, showing his eye between fingers, and his left arms crossed.

archur

 

[archur]

The bartender placed the glass just in front of Turin, who made no movement to even acknowledge it. His fingers worked vigorously to get the last few words out before the bartender opened his mouth, ripping a page out of the journal and slapping onto the alcohol-stained counter.

"I am Turin, I have questions.

- Were the killings last night related to any mercenary work?
- Is anyone else in this establishment investigating this?
- Where is the Hunter's Lair at? Landmarks please."

Suddenly, the boy next to him slapped down his own piece of paper and gave him some sort of...gang symbol? Was he trying to signal him for something? Did he enter the wrong side of town? Cautiously, he pulled the hastily scrawled message closer to him.

"The crows quacked enough,
time to dance in the pound,
yo yo, We bring the bread
yo yo, They get the hug?"

What did he just walk into?

He looked up to the bartender, then back to the boy, then back to the bartender, then to the boy, then to the 'message'. Unsure of what exactly do to, he simply wrote "Are you sound of mind?" to the kid and passed him back the paper.

foresigh

 

[foresigh]

Luther Xa'Hearthstone​

Luther read the metal man's response on the paper. He stopped posing and put his hand on his chin thinking.

"Sound of mind? The mind doesn't do sounds... or does it?" For some reason, Luther imagined himself wearing glasses, his beard growing and being bald, as a piece of catchy music sounded in the background. He dismissed the thought and continued his inner monologue "Thinking about it from a different point, the act of thinking was an inner speech and recreation of sounds in the mind. Those sounds weren't felt by the ear, but by the mind. The man before me didn't talk a single word but communicated to the bartender his desire for a drink. His speech was inside his mind! And by asking me this he should be wondering if I am one of his people! This has to be the right person!"

It was so obvious, the recruitment for a team to face the bandits was a top-secret operation, no word must be spoken. Luther then turned his sight to the metal man, smiled, stared directly at him, and gave an affirmative nod, putting a face of understatement and agreement, enough to express his intentions to take down the bandits that attacked his village: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

archur

 

[nh1]

It took some time, but over the next few hours, he continued to investigate. Asking around, he had talked with a variety of civilians trying to figure out information or leads about the crime. Nothing much had surfaced other than the civilians were somewhat scared and nervous about the entire affair and wanted either more protection from the local guards or to be left alone.

It was all very disconcerting as he walked slowly down a particular street. It hadn't been the most productive as he had yet to find any information about the killer or the case much.

"Well Bathomare, it appears we will have to just keep looking. We can't give up now..."

He was just about to continue before a criminal jumped in front of him and pulled him towards a dark alleyway off of the main street. Hands pulling him by the shirt, the man began to speak.

"Listen here. You need to stop asking questions about this incident. I've heard that you've been going all around town asking about it but this stops here. And you better stop asking, or else."

At that the man let out a growl, and shifted his weight to allow the handle of his dagger to show from the side of his belt. The man continued making these threats in his face but the knight tried to move slowly with one hand to reach behind his cloak to get his own dagger. This wasn't the first time he had been threatened in an alleyway and he had quite a few blades of different types for just these kinds of encounters on him. Thankfully, the man hadn;t searched him before starting in on his threats. However, just as he was about to make a move. A shadowy figure jumped down behind the criminal. Scaring him senseless, due to the overwhelming aura of death and destruction that came from the man, the criminal gave a scream before running out of the alleyway as fast as he could.

Keeping his hand on his dagger, he glanced over at the person in front of him. He had encountered many killers before but none before had seemed so professional and cold in their body language. He seemed at ease though all of his facial and bodily features were hidden behind a cloak which shadowed his face. This combined with the already dark alleyway would normally make such a person unseen but years of searching through such places made the person stick out like a sore thumb. Though it helped that he was standing right in front of him.

"Who are you?"

A simple question to figure out this predicament. He kept his hand on his back dagger regardless though he remained calm. A deep breath and he was ready for whatever this stranger would say or do.

GojiBean

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

As he stared the boy down, who apparently began to rest his chin on his hand as if in thought, he made the mistake of looking away from him to the bartender, who seemed almost as confused as he. The man opened his mouth as if to ask a question, then decided that it wasn't his problem as another patron sat down the order a drink.

Great. Now, he didn't get the information he wanted but also had to deal with whatever this lunatic was trying to get through to him. The faintest glimmer of hope sparked in his chest, that maybe, just possibly, this kid could have any relevant info for the killings, but Turin knew just from looking at him he didn't know that a scythe was a farming tool and not a weapon.

His attention rested back on the farmer boy who had begun to nod at him in agreement that he was sound of mind. Turin did not agree with this. Maybe he was slow, dense, or just drunk. He took the paper back and began to pen something, but began to consider that he may not have enough time in the day to humor this stranger. Further consideration lead him to believe that there was a chance that this fool would probably follow him out and cause him problems, so he made sure to finish quickly.

"Looking for person behind murders in town. Important work. Cannot speak. Tell me your last name, and we can begin talking about how you might help me- if you're interested."

He penned this quickly, frustratedly, but came up with the last line as the thought that he may be simply slow crossed his mind. One particularly large fellow came to mind; a man by the name of Nork Dja'Carllsson. Nork wasn't exactly the brightest, though his height and muscular nature made up for that. In fact, that wasn't even the reason why people liked the fellow. A strong, angry oaf wasn't exactly pleasant to be around. Rather, it was his simple, jovial attitude to him. Turin considered him to be a good friend since he always knew that he would tell the truth and speak his mind, regardless of much of anything, really. It pained him to remember how he was cut down in battle, like an axeman to a tree, and he figured that if this boy needed the guidance, he would give it to him freely. It was the least he could pass on before the poison took more than his voice from him, or whatever else killed him sooner.

foresigh

 

[nh1]

The Wandering Knight
(written w/ gojibean)​

The cloaked figure remained motionless with arms and legs hidden behind the stilled fabric. There was barely an inch of space between the folds of fabric around his boots to even indicate the cloak was able to part.

The one thing the cloak couldn't hide was how broad his shoulders were. Though obviously not built for bulk, they were nevertheless much broader than one would expect of someone whose life was obviously lived in the dark belly of the criminal underworld.

"Do you know who he was?" The man asked in a deep, hushed voice.

The knight looked forward to the man holding his stance. "No, I didn't find that out. He got away before I could question him. I'm sure you heard him threatening me. If I might repeat myself, who are you?"

The figure slowly lifted his chin, and a red glow began to appear from beneath the cowl just before the eyes became fully visible.

The knight kept his stand solid. Though he was very surprised at the glowing red eyes. He had seen many thing about never that. However it would do him no good to loose his cool now. He stood still and tried to appear calm.

The cloaked figure glanced past the Knight in the direction of the man who'd fled earlier before returning his gaze forward.

"He's from the same group as the two who were killed. They're running damage control."

"You seem to know a fair bit about this case. Would you mind answering a few questions then? I'm trying to find the murderer."

He stared back in silence, but there was a very subtle tilt of his head. Almost as if he was silently asking "do you really not know?"

The knight sighed. "Listen, I can't say that I know much my good fellow. I've been questioning various citizens all day trying to get a lead. I remain clueless other than some clues that a big player ordered the deed done. I know of nothing else. I would of course appreciate your help in this. If you have any information."

The silence became deafening. If a feather dropped into a pit of sand you'd hear it. Until...

"I wouldn't call it "murder." I would call it a preemptive strike to protect someone who doesn't deserve to die." He replied coldly.

The cloak finally opened revealing his garb beneath. A set of deep brown and well-worn boots rising to just below the knees with criss-cross laces. Black pants loose to his frame with a single dagger sitting in a sheath tied to his thighs on either side. A red sash around his waist with a few small pouches attached. And a black tunic with a subtle V-cut at the collar.

Festive? Not at all. But practical for any with an eye for such a thing.

The dagger at his right hip was slowly unsheathed, and as it came up to be put on display it was flipped so the flat of the blade was facing the Knight giving him a good long look at the material.

It was translucent with a subtle green hue. The core of the blade was a deep black and had an appearance similar to oil frozen in time as it slipped and slid through water... Orichalcum. The rarest and most durable metal on the planet. And topping off the display was a clear look at the edges of each dagger where subtle yet wicked serrations were fully visible.

(If you need a better idea of what the blades look like, take another look at Kyero's profile on the profile page. The artwork was updated not long ago, though it's black and white.)

"This is what I used."

The knight raised an eyebrow at the words the man spoke. Now his hands were firmly gripping the dagger behind his back. He scowled though. A normal blade wouldn't be much of a threat to an orichalcum blade. Analyzing the statements he made, it was clear he had murdered the man. Maybe he came to murder more.

"You may need to explain your deeds sir. I may not have the greatest of equipment, but I will resist you terrorizing this fair city during it's time of celebration. But I will here your side knave. I would not have it said that I give out justice without hearing a word from the accused."

The dagger was sheathed, and the Red-Eyed Demon stared him down calmy.

"These people are conspiring to murder the Angel of Cre' Est, Lorraine Xe' Almna. And they're trying to go through her brother to do it. He's been getting mixed up with the wrong people of late because he's young and easily fooled by kind and generous words."

He half-turned away, keeping his eyes on the Knight.

"Find the boy. And find Lorraine. They will need protection until this problem is dealt with."

With that the Demon waited for no reply. He leaped up and grabbed the base of an overhanging balcony and hoisted himself up before leaping to the next and disappearing onto the rooftops.

The knight watched him go as he slowly removed his hand from his blade. His face set into a firm look. He would find Lorraine and he would find the boy. First, he needed to find Lorraine. At least to ensure that nothing had happened to her thus far.

He strode out the alleyway with speed as he saddled up his horse. "I appreciate you waiting with patience Bathomare. It appears our services are needed. Let us be off!"

His horse whinnied before galloping swiftly down the city streets. It took him a few minutes and a number of questions before he was able to ascertain Lorraine's current locations from some guardsmen. He rode up to see Lorraine helping a young woman to her senses. He dismounted and walked up to the group. Turning to Lorraine, the doctor obviously helping the young woman he began to speak.

"Is there any assistance needed here ma'am?"

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine Xe' Almna​

Lorraine smiled as Inka slowly began coming to.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay, Inka. You're safe. Just lay down and relax. You've been through quite a lot." She cooed while stroking the girl's hair.

"Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"The body?"

"Not yet."

She turned her head and looked at one of the two guards.

"I need supplies to tend her wounds. One of you please go to my clinic and ask the girl at the front desk to retrieve my medical bag from my office."

The guards looked at each other before playing rock, paper, scissors to decide who went. Lorraine rolled her eyes and the loser of the game jogged off to retrieve her belongings. Luckily it wasn't far, so it shouldn't have taken long.

"Doctor, may I ask why you refuse to see to the body?"

"I said before he's dead. He's not going anywhere. I have plenty of time to examine him before any deterioration sets in. So while I have time I'm going to tend to the living victim of this attack."

"You sure she's the victim?"

Lorraine's head snapped around, her eyes wide and brow furrowed as she flared her teeth at the man.

"Excuse me?!" She growled.

The man snapped upright at the sight of her expression. Never had he seen someone so known for benevolence look so angry before. Wrath of a woman scorned indeed, he thought to himself as he cleared his throat.

"Well, look at where the blade is." He said, pointing to the body.

Lorraine looked over and her eyes softened slightly as her brows went up.

"That knife is in the exact same place as the wounds from those two we found this morning at the inn. And I don't know about you doc, but I don't believe in coincidence."

Lorraine's mind was sent into a frenzy as she stared unblinkingly with wide eyes at the man's wound and the knife protruding from his neck.

"That... Doesn't prove any connection." She whispered.

"Hm? Well, maybe not. But still. You have to admit this is a little too similar for convenience."

Lorraine swallowed a lump in her throat.

No, no. This is going to get out of hand if I can't stop it quickly. She thought.

She looked back to Inka as the girl struggled to gain and retain consciousness and glanced once more at the body.

"Remove the blade, please."

The guard did as asked and showed it to Lorraine who sighed in relief.

"She's not the killer."

"How do you know?"

"The wounds on the bodies we found this morning had uneven lacerations around the point of entry. That suggests either a major struggle, or a serrated edge. Check his wound. Clean or jagged?"

The guard approached the body and knelt down to take a nice close look.

"Clean." He called over his shoulder.

Lorraine nodded.

"I thought so. This knife she used is too small to be the murder weapon anyway. Given the subtle hints of blood on the wall, It's my guess she was shoved up against it as women often are in such attacks and she stabbed at him in a panic."

"Hmm." The guard mumbled as he stood right by her. "Maybe. Still, once she's fully conscious I'm gonna have to question her about this."

"Fine. But I insist on being here for the questions."

"As you wish."

Just then, another man began to approach. A Knight if Lorraine had ever seen one. Sitting atop a beautiful stallion he stepped down and approached with back straight, head up, and a voice exuding calm confidence. It made Lorraine's heart skip a beat for but the briefest of moments.

"Is there any assistance needed here ma'am?"

"Ah-I-..."

It was like a fairy tale. A Knight atop a gallant steed approaching to offer his assistance to those in need.

"The situation's under control. We're just waiting on the doctor's medical gear to be delivered so she can tend to the girl there. Then she's going to help examine the body." He said, pointing to the man lying on the ground.

kakemha nh1

 

[NemuiTeru]

The clinking of glasses, ceramic plates and sweeping sounds went about around her as she played around with her now empty plate. She had finished her meal ten minutes ago and still no solid clues about the incident that had happened, just pointless rumors floating about. She was about to leave and look elsewhere for information when she caught bits and pieces of whispered conversation between two young men who were making their way down the stairs behind the bar located right behind her.

“-on - way - mortuary - done professionally.” The leaner of the two whispered.
“- true aim -- if - even one.” The chubbier one replied in ponder.

Finally, with her new location in mind, Mayumi exited the inn. Just as she exited the establishment, she spots a burrow covered with cloth being wheeled away via an alley by two men in what seemed to be a secretive manner. She tailed them and as she did, she spotted a cloaked figure on the opposite side of the inn, moving in a way that was suspiciously similar to a person she once knew. However, it can’t be him since he was no longer in this world. Thus she ignored the tingling of memories in her mind and continued on tailing the poorly hidden burrow. After a few twists and turns, tucked away in a quaint corner of the city, there laid the mortuary. While the bodies were wheeled inside, the small archer waited patiently until everyone had finished their business with the place. Once they left, she slipped inside with a quick pick of the rusty lock and closed the door behind her.

Upon entering, she was hit with dank air and the smell of rotting flesh. Thankfully it was a scene she was used to, carrying a bag of heads back to whomever hired her for proof. Not far from the door of the mortuary, the bodies had been laid out on two separate tables and were covered in white cloth. Flipping the cloth off one of the bodies, Mayumi inspected the wounds. Shocking grey eyes widened for a split second before rationality took over. She leaped over the table to the other corpse and flipped the cloth down as well.

‘How?’

The wounds were indubitably caused by his blades and were unmistakably executed in the same way he would. One strike in a spot that both cripples and kills thus no signs of struggle.
For her to mistake these inflicted wounds from the way they were executed to the way the blades cut no matter how similar was impossible.

Returning the positioning of the clothes on the corpses, Mayumi left the mortuary in a hurry, not bothering to lock the door again. She backtracked to where she had seen that suspiciously cloaked figure, but as she did subtle shifts in the shadows casted on the ground made her back up quickly into the nearest shadows to hide herself from view.

It was THEM.

This was bad news. They would ‘visit’ her every few months and it was about time that they visited her again, but with what was happening here and what she had just seen, maybe they weren’t here for her this time. However, if they were not here for her then they could only be after information on what had happened. If her conclusion was right, it would not be a good thing should they find out it was HIM. The prospects of what ifs made Mayumi hurry along, a spark of adrenaline begins to grow within her.

Deciding to look for possible whereabouts of that person, she scoured the city from the rooftops for more clues picking up a long black haired wig to hide her silver head should THEY spot her.

GojiBean

 

[kakemha]

Inka Ve' Lie​

Date: Year 754, 14th Day, 1st Laetal Moon

Inka was going in and out of consciousness, but she was able to determine some things. She heard the guard say that she was going to be brought in for questioning, which slightly scared her. She had never been in trouble with the law before, but looks like her first run in would be a major offence. She had also heard another voice join in the conversation, which she wasn't quite able to identify. Inka was starting to regain her consciousness fully, and her strength was returning slightly. She had remembered that she had used her poison, she wondered if she should tell Lorraine.

"Lorraine," She said softly while tugging at the fabric of her skirt. "Poison," She said this quietly as well, so only she could hear.

She didn't know how she was going to react, or if she even got what Inka was trying to tell her. When she told her, she realised that they were gonna find out eventually that she had used it, whether it be through questioning her or examining the body. All she could do now as she waited for Lorraine's response.

GojiBean nh1

 

[foresigh]

Luther Xa'Hearthstone​

"Oh boy, it actually worked!" Luther thought as he read the paper handed by the metal man. He realized that his quick thinking paid off as his improvised silent speech seemed to be enough for this man to trust him with such a thing. Now, this wasn't exactly what he expected, but if this was a super-secret top-tier hidden organization for justice, their first job wouldn't be the boss fight. Luther wrote a response on his own paper to the metal man.

"Hello! My name is Luther Xa'Hearthstone, great meeting you Mr. Metal Man.
I'm new to this town (hehe), but I've already heard about the case >:-(
I don't have any clues on who might be behind this :/,
but we're in a good place to collect information. Leave it to me ;-)"
​

Without waiting for his response and sweating excitement, Luther got up from his seat, picked up his scythe from the floor, and approached the board at the other end of the building. Several parchments and notes with contact information, prices, and details about targets were hanging on the board. Luther scanned the parchments, the merchant told him that two people were killed last night, so he was searching for anything containing two targets in it.

Scratching his head, Luther turned his head to the metal man and yelled at him across the establishment "We're looking for the murders from this morning, right? The people from the tavern? I don't see a job like that listed here" Luther then walked to the nearest table with people in it, wanting to ask if they knew if the job was taken from here.

archur

 

[nh1]

The Wandering Knight
​

As the situation played out in front of him, he could only raise an eyebrow as the young woman whispered something to Lorraine. Whatever was going on he was sure, Lorraine would have it handled with the patient. From what he could gather, Lorraine was a very effective doctor.

As he dismounted, he approached Lorraine steadily and with calmness. It certainly wouldn't help to startle anyone or to scare anyone. Hopefully, he wanted to be able to protect Lorraine and that would mean sticking with her for some time before he went to find her brother.

He patted Bathomare's head before walking steadily towards the group. "Thank you for your help good guardsmen. Your help is greatly appreciated. My task it seems would align with your own. I have been tasked to protect Ms. Lorraine with all strength. I hope my mission does not impede your own good sir."

At this he gave a good look to the guardsman, daring him to refuse. His mission was of the utmost importance. He knew that to desert her in this time would be tantamount to having his hand in her death himself. Such an act would weigh on his conscience heavily. He could hardly bear the thought.

He turned to Lorraine and gave a slight bow. Protocol must be followed.

"My good doctor, I apologize for imposing myself upon your humble self. I have recently heard of these most terrible murders and have been tasked to guarantee your protection. I am sure you could protect yourself well madam but these times require every help possible. I hope you will accept my gift of help. I am sure that I could make myself and my good steed Bathomare useful in whatever capacity you may require. I would not have it said that I will keep my comforts to myself and not help those in need. Once more, I apologize for intruding. I will allow you to work your good skills on this woman and stand aside until such time as you might have a moment to speak and talk...."

With that he gave another slight bow before walking back to stand near his mare. He would have liked to have a more in depth discussion about the warning he had been given but he understood the circumstances. In his investigations, he had often come across those needing medical attention and the needs of the patients must come first to any discussion. Human dignity demanded it.

Instead, he rested his hand on his broadsword, looking around in all directions, keeping a look out for any attackers. His body remained tense, ready for any swift move that may emerge. From the way the warning was given, an attack could be liable to happen at any time and he would not fail in his duty to protect the fair lady, patient, and guard.

kakemha , GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine Xe' Almna​

Lorraine leaned down as Inka beckoned her. And at the mention of the word poison, Lorraine's heart skipped a beat.

She glanced slowly over to the dead body and sat upright. Eyes locked on the entry wound left behind by the knife. Even from here she could see the discoloration beginning to spread through the affected surface area and subtly nodded to herself making a mental note to do a full inspection of that wound.

She looked back to Inka and gave her a reassuring smile and gently used her fingertips to urge her to close her eyes.

"Rest, Inka. We'll address that later." She whispered.

She glanced up at the new Knight as he spoke to her and give a nod of her head when he finished speaking.

Tasked to guarantee my protection... Who would make such a request? And why? She wondered.

What did this have to do with her?

Question for later.

She stood up and made her way to the body and knelt down to inspect it more closely. Leaning in to get a good look, the use of poison was most certainly clear. His veins were darkened and discolored, as was the flesh around the point of entry. It was faint. But there was some yellowing in the flesh along with rapid swelling of the muscle and soft tissues beneath.

"What do you make of it Doctor?" The guard asked.

"The wound is shallow and there's evidence of it being pulled on before it was released. The folds in the skin here," she said while pointing to the chest-side of the injury. "They indicate a pulling motion in the knife. Subtle. But it's there. This tells me she was probably trying to use it for balancing herself before she passed out and let go."

"So you still don't think she's the one we're looking for with regards to the other killings?"

"I'm certain she's not."

The guard nodded, but still seemed unconvinced.

Meanwhile, Lorraine glanced to the Knight.

"Good Knight, if I may?" She asked while standing up and dusting off her dress. "May I inquire as to who tasked you with protecting me?"

nh1 kakemha

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

So, he wasn't dumb, just dense. The same feeling he felt when he was first assigned to Lucerina rose up in him as he clenched his fists in frustration after he had read the paper. Did he take the time to write smiley faces at the end of each of his sentences? The day wanes with every second and that's what he chose to waste his time on? Really?

He couldn't do anything about it. If he had a voice, he'd set him straight within an instant, but until he either had his voice back or somebody else to do his job for him, there wasn't going to be any stopping the fool. Only warnings beforehand and written scoldings afterward if this "Luther" proved himself to be not a complete waste of time. He crumpled the note and tossed it at the barkeep to get his attention, pushing forwards the stained note that was nearly discarded earlier.

"I am Turin, I have questions.

- Were the killings last night related to any mercenary work?
- Is anyone else in this establishment investigating this?
- Where is the Hunter's Lair at? Landmarks please."

Annoyed, the man came back and saw the whiskey he poured was still untouched. Expensive stuff too. Pointedly, Turin tapped the note as the man scanned the knight for the reason as to why he was so rudely called over. He scanned over the paper quickly and got to spilling answers as quickly as he could.

"The killings? As far as I know, nobody here knows anything, myself included, and unless we get a name besides 'Night-Killer', there's not going to be a contract out for them. Do you want to order anything else, or actually drink your drink?"

Once more, Turin tapped the bottom of the note.

"The Hunter's Lair is on the other side of town past the Mortuary. Go out the door, take a right at the Llama salesman, you'll know him when you see him and keep going straight. If you pass the post office, you're too far."

Satisfied, he fished out a few more gold pieces and left them on the counter, swiveling on his chair as he heard Luther shout at him across the room about how he couldn't find any listings about any contracts fulfilled like the one last night. 'Of course not' he thought, but then slowly came to realize that the Hunter's Lair probably wouldn't have it either. If it were a contract, it wouldn't be listed, and considering the nature of how public the murders were last night, if the guild master gave a shit, they probably wouldn't give away their bounty hunter's name without very good reason. If it weren't a contract, then whomever he went to ask would still have nothing worthwhile to say to him. As much as he thought that it would be foolish, it'd be better to check anyway. It was his only real lead.

He stood up and began to walk out, not gesturing to Luther whatsoever as he did, not even turning his head to acknowledge him. If he wanted to come along, so be it. It may be useful to have a second pair of eyes, but as he saw it, the boy was too busy in his own head to be of real use during the investigation.

foresigh

 

[nh1]

The Wandering Knight
​

Glancing around, he took note of the guard before turning his back to him. He tried to whisper somewhat as he began speaking to the doctor.

"I'm not sure if your comfortable speaking about such things openly as the information I've recieved is somewhat dangerous so I will speak of as much of it as I can my fair lady..."

Once again he glanced around. "Quite simply my lady, I've been working to find the criminals responsible for the murder and was able, by pure chance, to find the person responsible. He was able to escape, and I wasn't able to identify them. But I can say that the murders were ordered by someone with a fair amount of resources as I have it on good authority that they hired people to attack yourself and your brother.

I do not yet know their motives but there is no doubt in my mind that even if one of their number is caught, another will be sent to again attempt to attack yourselves.

I understand that I can only provide myself as proof, but I beg you my lady, to please at least for the sake of your brother to accept my protection. I give you my solemn word that all that I have said is true. I can also promise that should you accept my protection, I will do my utmost to ensure you and your brothers safety."

With that, he waited for her reply. If she were to turn him away, he would comply. He hoped at that point maybe he could convince her brother. However, he hoped that she would accept his help.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Lorraine was slightly wary as he moved in closer to whisper to her about the so-called "dangerous" information. Dangerous information usually came with a price for those who heard it via word of mouth. The ears of the underworld were everywhere. Even places you'd never suspect.

However...

The instant the Knight said she encountered the person responsible Lorraine's blood ran cold. Had it not been for the immediate phrasing of "He was able to escape," Lorraine feared she would break into a cold sweat. Thankfully the Knight continued... At least she was thankful until she heard the news about herself and her brother being targets. Once again her blood ran cold. And this time she couldn't get her heartrate under control quickly enough to prevent a bead of sweat from dripping down her temple and chin before it dripped onto the fabric of her shirt above her breasts.

"I see." She replied somewhat breathlessly.

She turned away from him as her mind wandered to thoughts of her brother. Where was he? He was only just coming of age at sixteen. So he was not yet done with school. He took on an apprenticeship after school with a jeweler as he had an interest in-

Lorraine's eyes widened in a thousand-yard stare for several seconds before she managed to blink it off and catch her breath.

"You have my thanks, good sir Knight." She said somewhat absent-mindedly.

Turning around to face him once more, another bead of sweat dripped from her chin to the fabric of her shirt. And try as she might, she couldn't stop her eyes from staying slightly wider than she wanted them to be beneath a softly upturned and furrowed brow.

"Please, see to my brother. He attends Gracemar Academy of the Arts near the North end of the city and he should be getting out soon for the day. His name is Rikkard Almna. And aside from being slightly taller with more masculine features and short hair, he looks almost exactly like me. If you tell him "a solemn hand guides our fates," he'll know to trust you and will do as you say. Once you've found him please bring him to my clinic. I'll meet you both there and we can discuss the matter further."

nh1

 

[foresigh]

Luther Xa'Hearthstone​

Luther saw the metal man turn his head and write something to the barkeeper. Was the barkeeper part of the secret squad? The metal man wrote in the paper that he couldn't talk, but was that because he was revealing secret information or because he wasn't able to speak at this time? Maybe he misunderstood the situation.

Around him, Luther noticed how the people at the tables looked directly at him, most of them confused and others with a certain feeling of distrust. One of the people closest to him whispered. "I don't think it's very smart to ask for a murderer in the damn mercenary guild," A man with his face hidden under a cloak and a beer over in his hand spoke to him "these people here are all scumbags and assholes, but also very protective of one another, most of the time anyway. There are rules that keep some sort of balance with jobs like this"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't think about that" Luther sat in one of the chairs beside the mysterious figure. "It's just that I'm trying to capture someone who's been on a killing spree lately"

"You speak about the bloodfest in the tavern? Yeah, I heard about that. Are you part of the army?"

"No"

"Oh? So the victims were your family or friends? Are you looking for revenge?"

"Oh, no, I just got here in the Valkyrom"

"Eh?" The cloaked man turned a bit his head to Luther. "So why the hell are you trying to capture the assassin?"

"A metal man asked me to join his special force. He's over there" Luther pointed at the bar, but only the barkeeper was there. "Oh? I guess he left to search for more clues"

"Let me get this straight. A random 'metal man' asked you to find a very dangerous person who has just killed two people in the span of 12 hours, and you said yes?"

"The only random thing was the encounter, the metal man and I part of a super-secret organization that fights bandits. We even spoke in secret language" Luther said as he made hand signs. Someone could argue that these signs looked like a horse, a dog, a dragon, and a bear.

"Right... Why don't you try to jump over the roofs and tree branches?" The mysterious figure said as he apart himself from Luther a couple of inches. This was a piece of legit advice, as many assassins choose to go in the roofs to avoid being seen, normally people don't look up during their daily activities, and a lot of things went unnoticed by just being over their heads. But the cloaked figure had a second goal with this advice: Get this weirdo away from him and hope he from the roofs, maybe that could fix his head.

"You're right! I'll be able to cover a lot of terrain from high ground. Thanks, Mr. Cloak"

Luther left the table and ran to the second floor of the tavern, leaving the mysterious figure behind. He kept running around the second floor trying to find stairs to an attic or third floor. With no luck, Luther decided to just go through one of the windows and climb up to the roof. For Luther, climbing was like breathing, he climbed and jump countless amounts of trees, mountains, and rocks during his adventures in the wild. The urban jungle wasn't that big of a difference, as barely three seconds later he was running and jumping over the buildings, doing random backflips, and just enjoying the rush of adrenaline.

He forgot to look for the assassin.

 

[GojiBean]

Turin Tya'Velis​

Beyond the doors of the tavern lay the open expanse of the streets of Valkyom. With the Highland Flower Festival now in full bloom with everyone gathering in greater and greater numbers to share in the festivities and the merriment, it was all but standing room only along the main street. The best places for relatively smooth movement had now become right next to building walls and through side streets and non dead-end alleys which could help one who knew the routes to cut through and around the masses to their destination.

As Turin emerged from the tavern three children nearly ran into him. It was a little girl chasing two boys who'd stolen one of the flowers from her flower crown she'd made with her mother. Turin's emergence caused the boys to falter just long enough for them to run into a solid wall of bodies in the crowd and now unable to escape as the girl caught up to them and demanded her flower back while miming a punch to her open palm. The boys hastily threw the flower back at her and ran off while the girl put the flower back in her crown and pulled her lower eyelid down while sticking her tongue out at them as they ran.

Just off to Turin's right in the crowd were more than a few unsavory faces. A few audible gasps and shouts from women who were being fondled in the mass gathering could just barely be heard above the roar of the crowd. And one or two fights began breaking out in the crowds as well who somehow managed to move in near perfect sync to create a circle around the action and either ignore or observe until it reached a conclusion. Several guards, who were already spread thin, had to get in and break up some of them while others reached a conclusion with one person going down and/or retreating while the crowd resumed its activities around them. One face in particular belonged to a man with a frightening series of scars along the right side of his face. If the grayed out pupil of his eye was anything to go by he was blind on that side. And while he wasn't doing anything wrong on paper his silent, almost robotic scanning of the crowd wasn't exactly normal.

Not far away on Turn's left side near a side street were two young men wearing rags for clothing. Vagrants, most likely. Barely enough copper to buy an apple let alone a decent pair of shoes. And given that they wore little cloth wraps as footwear, it wasn't hard to imagine they hadn't worked in some time. However, these young men seemed healthy and strong despite their poor status and stood with straight backs and engaged each other as any other pair of respectable young gentlemen would. Perhaps they had only just lost everything. It wouldn't be too surprising. Sons of a newly murdered noble who'd had their assets frozen and their families evicted pending investigations into unscrupulous dealings of the now departed master of the house wasn't all that uncommon around these parts due to the wealth of the nation. A noble falling from grace here or there was nothing new. A moment later another older vagrant rushed up to them and motioned them away, and the trio took off on a brisk jog down the side road with the young men running on the balls of their feet rather than heel-to-toe as most others would.

Further ahead of Turn along the edges of the crowd could be observed a pair of men wearing average and non-festive clothing who seemed engaged in a private discussion despite the public locale as they were leaning in close to hear one another's speech. Eventually one of them got sick of the noise and motioned for them to go into a nearby alley to speak, and they disappeared around the corner.

So much activity. So many faces. So little time.

archur

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

As the knight stepped forth from the mercenary guild's doors, he took in everything. The children who nearly scraped themselves against the angular nature of his armor, the swirling, howling crowd, the fights that broke out as they were bound to happen with such a compact of people, and all of the faces that appeared during such events. He stood watched as the sea of people milled about aimlessly, randomly, discerning patterns that cropped up at these crowds with a trained eye. First, it was the culprits of the various fights, invisible robberies, and other misdemeanors as they silently slinked into alleyways on the edges of the crowd. Then, he watched the guards fruitlessly chase those minor criminals, their eyes frantically scanning possible exits and secret entrances. One particular individual caught his attention as they too watched the crowd with the same meticulousness as Turin did himself. Individuals like that could be one of a few things: a plain-clothes guardsman, a bounty hunter finding a mark, another individual simply looking for clues like himself, or something more nefarious. He did not know, but the scars on his face implied he was more than meets the eye. A potential ally or foe to be sure, but Turin wouldn't be able to verbally communicate with him unless he completely stopped him and pulled him aside from whatever work he was doing, which could be a good or bad thing. This would have to be addressed later.

His eyes skirted back towards the edges of the crowd as he put himself atop a large crate. Instantly his eyes began to follow figures that isolated themselves from the festivities and stalls. Vagrants who seemed to have never worked a day in their lives waited restlessly. It appeared as if those men wore the clothes of the vagrant, and were not truly vagrants themselves. If they were rich turned poor, they would not magically have tattered clothing and ragged footwear. They would wear whatever they had on their back until it simply ripped itself apart from wear. The holes in his meager possessions proved this. One simply doesn't wear rags on their feet if they had access to shoes, even if their shoes were tearing apart at the seams. As they were chased off by a third, older man, Turin took note of the direction they went in. Those men had dealings that were not wholesome, that was for certain.

Another isolated pair of loners talked at the edge of the crowd, leaning in to whisper secrets, or simply to be heard over the constant roar of feet and voices prying for attention. As they moved into a nearby alley, Turin's attention shifted away from them. Nobody talks in the open about dark dealings, especially with this many guards about during the morning after a broadly spoken about murder. Many people have a reason to not want to mix in the crowd and hold a private conversation, Turin was not going to waste his time with those two.

Moving with haste, he put a hand on his mace so he wouldn't lose it, and put his other hand out to push those too foolish to move out of the way of the fully plated knight as he rushed towards the way where the 'vagrants' had slipped away to. In his armor, he wouldn't have a choice of stealth, but he would have to try anyways once he got closer.

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Turin Tya'Velis​

Jogging through the streets the 'vagrants' kept a decent pace with one another. The older gentlemen, due to his age, had trouble keeping up. Every so often he'd lag behind as they turned corners or reached more open stretches where the younger fella's would have the urge to open into a sprint.

"Let's move it old man!" Shouted one of the young men.

He was tall, around 6' even, with a slender frame sporting dirty-blonde hair, a pretty-boy face, and piercing blue eyes.

"Yeah! We can't waste time! We have to get back to the others!" Shouted the other.

This one was a little shorter, though still a respectable 5' 8" or so with a slightly more muscular physique. His hands were a bit more worn. Manual labor? Maybe general sports activities using the hands? Whatever it was, he was fit. But like the others he bore no weapons on his person.

"Just-huff-... Just keep the pace we had before... You know my back can't keep up with you when you run." The elder man barked through his deep breaths.

"You've said that for the last six years. Come on!" The blonde snapped back.

The elder 'vagrant' grunted in displeasure and slightly elevated his pace as he kept pace with the younger men as they moved through the streets towards the North end of the city. Dodging the crowds and slipping in and through the smaller gatherings of people while keeping as much forward momentum as they could, they gave no quarter. And for all his complaints, the elder kept pace.

Finally, they reached the North Gate leading out into the grasslands and light forests beyond. As they approached they slowed and spoke to the guards for a moment in hushed voices before being allowed to pass through and exit the city to the dirt roads leading North and Northwest.

archur

 

[archur]

Turin Tya'Velis​

As he chased the men, Turin found himself mobbed from the throngs of people that cluttered the streets. His eyes were trained on the fleeing figures as they skirted down the streets, pushing through the thinning crowds.

The knight tried his best to stay as far back as possible as he pursued in silence, stalking some distance away while the sun beat his gleaming armor. His hand didn't leave his mace as he slowed and watched from afar. Apparently, they had silver-tongued the gate guards and left the city entirely. If he went to pursue, there wouldn't be any coming back for those other leads for a while. He sighed, and stomped forwards, prewriting a sentence before he approached the guards.

"Who are those men that left? I am investigating the murder from last night and those men are suspects."

GojiBean

 

[nh1]

The Wandering Knight
​

Even as the doctor made the request, he could only frown slightly as he thought about what she was truly asking of him.

Even though, it seemed reasonable to immediately warn her brother of the danger, that left a much larger problem in its wake. Namely, leaving this poor woman alone. He couldn't bear that happening. He looked directly at her.

"Ma'am, I know you are concerned about your brother. Trust me. I would be worried for my brother to. But these streets aren't safe. I can't guarantee your safety unless you are in a secure location. I'm not sure where we would go to find such a place but I can promise you. Your safety is my foremost duty. Once your safety is secured, I would be happy to search for your brother. But I would first like to secure yourself."

He hoped she would be willing to secure herself. Dealing with family members of those in danger was and continues to be hard from the first days as a royal guard until now. It would never get any easier....

GojiBean

 

[GojiBean]

Turin Tya'Velis​

The guards checked his paper and gave Turin a questioning glance.

"I heard about those murders. But these were just some homeless asking if we'd seen their little wandering horde come through. Sure as shit, we did see 'em bout an hour ago. They came through here with some lady what looked a lot like Doctor Almna. Just older with shorter hair. Probably her mom or somethin'."

The other guard laughed.

"Anyway, we just pointed 'em to the Northwest road where the others were heading. Chances of them havin' something to do with the murders is basically nil. So if you're gonna investigate it's probably better to turn around and go back to the scenes of the crime. That, or visit the mortuary. Whatever you want."

The other guard approached and gave Turin a nod.

"Word of advice, don't bother with homeless in this city. It's always an meaningless headache you'll regret giving yourself."

archur

Lorraine's eyes remained slightly widened as she subtly swallowed a lump in her throat and glanced back to Inka. She hesitated on a move towards the girl, but halted and glanced towards the other guardsman who had wandered to the edge of the alleyway to keep an eye out for his compatriot. She then glanced back to the Knight and walked up close, leaning forward onto her tip toes to whisper near his ear.

"Thank you, but-"

Too late.

The guard at the entrance to the alleyway was suddenly attacked by a figure who dropped from the roof. Lorraine gasped as the attack brought both men to the ground and a scuffle for control began while two more figures, both armed with wickedly spiked maces, dashed at the Knight and the Doctor from the other end of the alley.

nh1