All That Starts Well...

by **Brandon Blackwing** on January 10th, 2015, 8:22 pm

Day 61 of Winter 514AV

A new day had come and passed the baton to night, changes in appearance taking place both in the sky and in the city, the former getting darker, adorned with twinkling stars and the silver orb that was Leth, while the latter reflected these changes by growing darker also, as well as the skyglass’s glow becoming more like aquamarine in color and shine. People hurried to and fro as actively as during the day hours, not caring about the normal pace of the days. Well, this was normal in Lhavit, conventional hours for sleep were a foreign concept and the citizens stuck to the unique system the crystal city used.

Of course, there were a few oddballs to be found here and there; tourists who weren’t accustomed to the new rhythm of life yet, or stubborn people who clung to the rhythm that they believed suited them best. At least two such people in Lhavit could be named, two individuals Brandon knew did not follow the set hours of sleep; the bat himself and the Councilor Radiant Alses. The periods of time those two spent awake were the complete opposite of each other though; she favoring the shine of Syna while he preferred the steady glow of Leth and the darkness of the night. To make the contrast between them even greater, Alses and Brandon found themselves at opposite sides of the law, and now the bat had even been tasked with her assassination. Drastic measures, it wasn’t something he’d seen his ‘employer’ using at all since he had been forced to work for him. Kriegsfelt had always seemed calm and chose subtler measures than simply and straightforwardly ordering Brandon to kill her. Then again, as seasons had passed the man had grown more and more agitated and less at ease.

This appeared to be the result, and it wasn’t a good one, yet Brandon could not do anything else than obey. Or at least pretend to obey while plotting his escape from Kriegsfelt’s grasp. This order had been the push to set Brandon in motion, this was beyond what he was willing to put up with; he was a thief for Yshul’s sake, not a murderer or assassin! Well, a better chance than this one he wouldn’t get, letting this chance slip would be an insult to his own personality. Besides, if he did as asked there was no doubt the assignments would only get more extreme and unpleasant, getting away would be close to impossible –without the death of either himself or Engghaen that is. Or perhaps Kriegsfelt himself, though Brandon did not want to kill the man; he’d only get into more trouble. It was possible that if Brandon tried to kill him after Alses’s death –and failed- Kriegsfelt would put all blame on the bat. No one would believe him if he tried to tell the Shinya it was Kriegsfelt’s plan, that he had been set up. There was no denying that he was Incognito, that he had killed Alses. And Solomon Kriegsfelt was a respected merchant. What was the worth of a thief’s word? What was a thief’s honor worth? In the eyes of the guards it wasn’t even worth shyke. No, he’d only worsen his own situation, and Enggy would suffer the consequences too. There was no way he wanted that.

As such, the only option he had was to go along with the merchant’s plan, but instead of killing the Councilor Radiant he’d make a deal with her. Sure, it would take a while, but he doubted that the Councilor was an unreasonable person. Brandon believed he should be able to persuade her. Time, however, was his enemy in this plan, he needed as much of it as possible, and that’s why he had suggested to kidnap her. Maybe not the most logical approach, seeing as he could sneak in and talk to her there, yet it was simply not practical. There was no telling how long he’d need to convince the Eth, it could very well take several hours, maybe even after sunrise and that would be a problem. No wait, it would definitely be after sunrise, she drugged herself at night. When would she wake up? He had no idea, but logic told him the drug would probably be taken in in a dose that made it so she’d sleep all night and wake up in the morning. During the day she’d be at the Radiant Tower, and abducting her from there was just asking to be executed, no he had no choice to kidnap her and wait until she woke up. The downside was that people would immediately know there was something wrong if she did not show up… Damn, they’d go searching for her for sure.

Brandon bit his lip in thought, searching for other ways to counter it, to maybe start negotiations earlier, but it seemed not immediately possible. He sighed, this was bad. Somewhere deep inside he knew there was but one way this debacle Kriegsfelt had brought upon him could end.

Without a doubt, this situation would end with the thief’s hands shackled and his person escorted by the Shinya. There was but one place this situation would inevitably lead him to, and that place was jail.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

by **Brandon Blackwing** on January 11th, 2015, 8:47 pm

Brandon rubbed one side of his face with his palm, sighing deeply as he sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace. Staring in the flames, listening to the snapping of wood and enjoying the warmth it spread while trying to figure out ways to deal with this … corner… he’d been driven into. Yes, cornered was quite an appropriate word for this whole situation, it was how he felt and the way he desperately searched for a way out underlined it even more. Sure, there was an easy way out, a path stained with blood and with countless bodies in its wake no doubt. Two at least; Alses’ corpse and Enggy’s. That path was the one for someone willing to accept defeat and forfeit their honor to walk, not for him. He’d get out of there without bloodshed, without the death of innocent people. Kriegsfelt could be executed for all he cared, he had it coming, but Alses and Engghaen?

Still, the problem remained; the problem of transporting Alses to a place where they could talk for a while without being disturbed, maybe for a couple of bells. Ultimately though the Shinya would find them and would arrest the bat and while jail was a bad enough ending, the part that came after it made it seem like a great hotel. Devout of Dira or not, Brandon had no ambition to be led away from this life to his next by her just yet. There were still too many things for him to do, so many exciting, thrilling and potentially dangerous situations he had to face, so many places he had yet to visit and so many people he had yet to meet. No, he was not satisfied with his life so far yet, there was no way he’d just accept death right now. Maybe later, when he had fulfilled whatever he was meant to fulfill.

So, escaping jail would probably be impossible, yet he could escape execution, possibly. Alses could help him with that, she could probably lighten his punishment or even prevent it. Heh, in the end it all came back to making a deal with the Councilor, a task that would prove hard, though not impossible if he used the right… words and encouragements… Inflate things a little, maybe slip in a subtle threat here and there… He’d have to further his undermining of her mind in a way, make her feel uncomfortable, make her believe this was her only chance, that if no deal was made, that if she refused to listen to his words the events that had happened the past seasons would continue, probably increase in dangerousness. In a way he’d have to drive her paranoid enough she’d want to make a deal with him. The troublesome aspect of this was her skill in the field of Auristics.

The bat was no fool. Knowing your enemy was important, so he had talked to many people: wizards, clerks and other people working at the Radiant Tower who potentially knew the Councilor. There were many things they’d told with tongues loosened by ale and better judgment clouded by alcohol, but the most interesting one was the fact she possessed an almost unrivalled skill in the magic of Sight. Brandon had met a couple mages who could use it, but rumor had it Alses was something of a prodigy when it came to the use of it, and that was problematic. Not only had a Pycon told him –whether it had been bluff or not- auristics could be used to detect lies, a former employer of the thief had once used it too, and had been able to tell lots of minute details about the bat’s state of mind while it should have been impossible. However, Brandon could not shake the thought that he might not have to need to lie. Kriegsfelt wouldn’t stop if Brandon was arrested, no he’d just gain momentum, get more desperate and more drastic. Convincing her of the danger would maybe not as hard as initially thought… but Alses had also displayed stubbornness –or so clerks had let him know- and she was highly intelligent. It was obvious she’d twist the situation so that she’d be the one making the demands and not him, she probably wouldn’t bend until she got it her way.

That was quite a problem as well.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

by **Brandon Blackwing** on January 12th, 2015, 3:03 pm

Though not sounding all that great an situation, the bat had been resolved to employ any means necessary to escape Kriegsfelt's grasp, and making a deal with Alses was one way to go about it -perhaps even the only way. Well, opted the optimistic part of his mind, it won't be that bad I'm sure! The councilor isn't Rhysol -however stubborn and unwelcoming she'll be to such a proposal, I'm sure she'll be reasonable. Besides, she's not the enemy here, not like before. The roles have been reversed and the tables turned, Alses should be seen as an ally -a potentially annoying one, but an ally none the less- and Kriegsfelt is the foe, the monster that has to be defeated.

Of the last part, Brandon did not need to be convinced, he'd viewed Kriegsfelt always as a foe, some sort of entity that limited his options and freedom: an enemy. However, the whole of Lhavit did not see him that way, they probably just saw a merchant if they laid eyes upon the man. The councilor too would need convincing, maybe not on the part of there being someone out there in Lhavit who was prepared to kill her, but that it was not Brandon. That it was someone else, that he was not trying to talk himself out of it. The right words and whatnot would be found when he was negotiating, no doubt, there was no need for planning a speech. Besides, it would probably come across a lot more natural that way, not as if he'd been preparing it for days -something she could no doubt sense with her magic.

In a way, this whole operation was a gamble with high stakes; he'd either lose everything or win and meet with a less unfortunate fate. That however depended all on the Councilor Radiant.

Then the matter of actually transporting the Ethaefal came to mind, a matter which he had not put a lot of thought in yet. Obviously, night was the time to strike, the darkness would provide enough cover to sneak his way in and back out... There would be more guards, yes, but other than that? It all boiled down to timing; waiting for the right moment to infiltrate and escape the mansion. The butler would probably be rather easy to bypass, maybe he could even knock the man out. Yet, that would leave him with someone who was aware of what was going on, someone who could and would alarm the Shinya if he woke up. Tying him up would probably a good idea, dumping him in a closet or so he could lock from the outside was too. That way he could ensure the people only started missing Alses when the sun was up and it was time for work. Maybe with a little luck they would believe she had overslept or so and grant the bat a bell of extra time before the alarms were raised. If he was lucky.

Still how was he supposed to transport the Councilor from one place to another? He couldn't just throw her over his shoulder and calmly walk around like that, even if it was a rest period. She'd obstruct and limit his movements, forcing him not to take dead ends and the rooftops. Hiding would be harder and he would be slowed down considerably. Frustrated the thief bit his thumb, supporting his chin with a palm as he stared into the flickering flames. How was he supposed to bring Lhavit's Councilor of Magic and Foreign affairs, the person hailed as the Crystal City's Lady Magesmith to the safehouse? Wait... Yes, yes that could work! What a brilliant idea! However I'll need some help to set it up. Still, it's perfect and simple. There's no way it couldn't work! Nodding franticly, the thief rose to his feet, got dressed and opened the door. Standing in the doorframe he took a moment to glance at the burning fire and contemplate whether he should douse the flames or not, then decided against it. He'd be right back anyway.

***

As per usual, the Azure was crowded beyond compare; calling it akin to an ant's nest was a failed attempt to comprehend and describe the sheer number of people gathered. Brandon was sure that if he wanted to he could walk on the heads and if he slipped, he wouldn't reach the stones below but be carried away by the stream of people. Night time it may be, but it mattered little in Lhavit, even the one person the thief despised was present too, as were his guards. Upon seeing them, Brandon's slightly swollen face, sore nose and throat, as well as his intestines started throbbing slightly, aching and itching, calling out for revenge. The only pleasure he got from coming here was seeing the bandages around the various places where his daggers had stabbed and sliced, and Dragha's makeshift crutch at his side was just too satisfying. A grin could not be suppressed as the blue Akalak's took notice of his approach and their expression turned stormy. Kriegsfelt only raised an eyebrow and then returned to tend to the customers browsing his wares, signaling Brandon to wait and hold on until he was done.

It did not take all that long before the fat merchant turned his attention to the bat. “What is it you are here for?” he hissed tensely, eyes shifting to and fro as if he was expecting the Shinya to show up to listen in on what they were saying. “I need some things,” the bat started, ”A crate with Magecrafting reagents, and two other ones. One has to be large enough for a man to lay down in or so they can be put in in the same position a baby assumes in the womb of its mother. The other can be whatever you want, though if small I'd prefer multiple ones. They can contain whatever you want, though make sure to include one crate with high quality rope. Oh and I want a pulling cart too.” An eyebrow was raised when Brandon finished his list. “That's quite a lot, and expensive... especially the reagents... What do you need that all for?” Brandon smiled a thin smile. “Let's just say I will do some deliveries before finishing my business.” Kriegsfelt stared for a tick, forehead frowned in thought before his face displayed he had figured out what the bat was plotting. “A good plan indeed, though soooo expensive! Can't you think of something else? Something cheaper?”

“Hmpf. Aren't you a wealthy merchant? A request like that shouldn't bother you. Besides, don't you want that so badly? A little money shouldn't make your decision waver, now would it? Do you want me to succeed or not?
“Well, you're right about that, but still... Maybe you should drop the relocation..?” He received a dirty look from Brandon at that, the bat doing his best not to sound as if it was an important part of his plan. He didn't want the merchant to suspect anything, not now, not ever. “So you are saying I can't have a little fun on the job? It's not everyday I have such an opportunity, you know.” A false, though convincing -Brandon had put all his effort in it- sadistic grin flashed over his face and split his visage in two. The fat merchant winced, probably wondering what in the gods' names he had released upon the world by asking the bat to do his bidding. how in the world he had not been able to see that side of Brandon. The fact that said side did not exist was of course not know to Mr. Black. It was merely an act to get his way, one that proved to be rather successful.

“I suppose you can have your fun...” he stated reluctantly, hesitantly, perhaps afraid what he would unleash if he refused, especially since his guards were not in top condition anymore. “I'll get it all ready, though it may take a while, reagents for magecraft are not that easy to come by... Any reagent is fine, yes? Good, you can come pick it all up on my domain when you … need to make your deliveries.” A nod from the bat and the thief headed back home. His plan was complete, now all he had to do was wait and rehearse the order of the different elements it included.

This plan would succeed, there was no room for failure. Failure would result in at least one person wanting his head, no matter what stage of the scheme the failure occurred.

He had to be successful, he had to cut of these chains and reclaim his freedom once again.

And because of that, he would not fail. The bat could not allow it.

This situation would end in his victory, not Kriegsfelt's.

credit goes to Estrellir Konrath

by **Khara** on February 1st, 2015, 5:58 pm

.

Brandon Blackwing :

Please don't hesitate to PM me if you have any questions/comments regarding your grade. I'll be more than happy to take a second look if you think I've missed something!
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Also, please don't forget to edit your post as 'graded' in the request thread.

Solo All That Starts Well...