Solo Another Day

[Kelmar Hedos]

3rd of Winter, 512 AV Kelmar stuck to the shadows as he followed his target, occasionally breaking from cover as he moved from place to place. The moon may have been bright, but even so the murky shadows were able to at least obscure the dark-cloaked snoop if not outright hide him, and sometimes just being obscure was enough. He worked better in crowds though, easier to hide and easier to be mistaken for someone else. The stretched muscles of his feet coupled with his soft shoes dampened his footsteps considerably. He was by no means silent, but Kelmar’s target was far enough away that unless he was actively listening for any sound whatsoever he would not notice anyone following him. Most of the time Kelmar’s movement was quite slow, further aiding the quieting of his steps, so as to keep to the shadows of the buildings, only speeding up slightly to move from shade to shade. It was a practiced technique, one that took years to perfect and implement in various situations, but worth it for the benefits it allowed the snoop. As for his target, he really did not look the type for Kelmar to be spying on. Mostly he dealt with wealthy merchants who wanted to stunt the growth of other wealthy merchants from becoming wealthier, but here he found himself in a unique case and one that he had not done before. His task was to simply follow and find a location, then once he had it pass it on to his employer. The nature of the task wasn’t altogether too different than some missions he had in the past, merchants who wanted to know where his rivals met so that he might surprise him or arrange an accident among his own agents, but this time the reason for Kelmar’s mission was much different. The target was a scruffy man, wearing simple weathered clothes that looked as if they could do with a slight repair but nonetheless presentable for the most part. He was wiry but moderately strong-seeming, his shaved head almost shining with its near-reflective surface. Judging by the choice of dress and the fact that he had shaved hinted that he was a practical person, liked doing things himself and with efficiency. His strides were long and forceful, and he carried himself not with haughtiness but confidence, not paying too much attention to anything around him as he considered himself competent enough to handle it. At his side was a long dagger, not long enough to be a sword but large enough to be a considerable weapon, the blade glinting in the moonlight. However, that was not always the case. According to Kelmar’s employer, that blade was stained red with blood a couple days ago, blood that had belonged to the employer’s daughter. In an emotional hurricane, he hired Kelmar to follow his daughter’s killer and find out where he lived and then pass on the information. The revenge would be enacted upon the offender by the victim’s father, all Kelmar had to do was find out where and share it. Details were provided, along with a heart-wrenching speech from the father, but Kelmar did not pay attention to any of it. He had his task, a clear-cut objective and a way to achieve it simply and quickly. The personal stakes of those involved did not concern the snoop, only the job and that he did it while learning as much as he could. It seemed as if the target was also not a trusting man, as thus far he had refused to take a ravosala any leg of the journey, despite having many opportunities to. To Kelmar, this was an incredible help, as there was no way he could follow someone on a boat and not get noticed. That was the one problem living in the city of canals; there was always the chance that a target could make pursuit near impossible. So far his luck had held out though, and those that had taken ravosalas he was able to keep up by running alongside other rushers through the city that he kept the boat in sight. This job was much easier than that though, as the target had relied entirely on walkways and bridges which allowed Kelmar to follow without need for exertion so far, and his blind confidence only made it easier. A corner was turned by the shaved man, and the snoop softly padded up to the corner, keeping his feet tight and his breathing quiet. Cautiously, he leaned his head around the corner, just in time to see the offender step into one of the small residences beside the canal. That was too easy. It was targets like these that made easy pickings for the skilled agent, and though it might not be much of a challenge it was certainly an easy way to gain a few mizas. The snoop made a gesture with his hand. Footsteps were coming up behind him, and Kelmar’s head whirled around to see who it was. His employer came up beside him, as he had expected, and stopped by the entrance to the walkway that the target of his righteous anger had just gone down. The employer had been following Kelmar who had been following the target, the grieving father demanding his vengeance as soon as possible and so letting his hired eyes do the sneaking while he hung back a safe distance. Now the need for that was over, and Kelmar looked into the man’s seething eyes and saw nothing but raw emotion. How inconvenient it must be to feel such things as emotions, to be influenced and even controlled by them. At least the emotion of others put mizas in his pocket. “Where?” was all the man asked, returning Kelmar’s stare. The snoop didn’t need to point. “Third door,” he answered. “I didn’t hear a lock, though I could be wrong and you may still need to bust it down.” That was all that was needed to be said. Nodding in gratitude, the employer placed a small purse in Kelmar’s hand before moving around his hired agent and towards the door he’d just pointed out. The snoop began walking away as he heard a loud crack resound from behind him, followed by urgent footsteps. No doubt that the grieving father was set about getting his justice. Thoughts can come from the strangest places, and this one came out of nowhere. It just struck the snoop that today was the third of Winter, which, among other things, happened to be his birthday. Should he celebrate? Xerin used to throw a small dinner party between Kelmar and Heldora and himself, sometimes inviting other Galatos agents to the occasion, but that was while he was still employed and he doubted that either remembered this year. Not that it was too important to him, as it was just another day as far as he was concerned. It used to mean something more when he was younger, but now the only people that cared – or seemed to – were those around him. He resumed walking away, and this time a blood-curdling scream from behind bid him farewell. ~~~ The door was not locked when he came home. Stretching the muscles in his feet again, he slowly and quietly made his way up the stairs, careful to avoid the well-memorized noisy spots on the wooden steps. Upon reaching the top and scanning the room, he saw nothing that shouldn’t have been there and no one waiting for him. He didn’t have much to steal, so he wasn’t too worried about that. He returned down the stairs quickly just to close and lock the door again, and then came back up to check his trunk just in case anything had indeed been stolen. Everything was still there however, which led Kelmar to wonder why anyone had bothered breaking in. Just before he was about to head to bed, he noticed a little note on his table, missed in his previous scans. Picking it up, he read it by the moonlight shining through his window. There were only four words, though apparently that was enough to convey the message. He wasn’t quite sure whether he felt emotion or not, but it was the closest he’d come in five years. Happy birthday Kelmar, Heldora

[Verilian]

. . Thread Award . . Kelmar Hedos +3 Stealth You Question My Logic? : If you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Lores: Happy Birthday Kelmar Loot: Purse with 40 Gold Mizas, 1 Note from Heldora Notes: A well written thread, with a bit of a twist at the end. Good job, and keep on writing! Notice As per the request of the Founders, threads cannot be graded unless your CS is up to date. This means you need to add threads to your thread list when you make new threads, keep your skills up to date, ledger, living expenses, ect. If you aren't up to date, you'll get a PM from me before i grade your thread. If you are up to date, disregard this notice.