Interrupting Death [Owan]

[Jahssasyuri]

TIME STAMP -- 70th of Summer 512AV


The quiet skies that were filled with white puffy blankets, comforted those below as it was an hour or so before dawn. The workforce of Sunberth were slowly creeping their way out of beds, alleys and other avenues of hindrance to gain access to their stalls. Chimes, bells, other similar ringing could be head in the distance. The shopkeepers permeated the streets with small chatter and some with heads down, the hard work they performed daily sometimes was too much to recuperate in an 8 hour sleeping schedule.

There were other noises made by merchandise : The clanging of shield and sword, the rings of mail clinking rapidly with each moving step, the swishing of beer and water as the barrels rolled across the street or carried by a handy man. These things were brought out in the early dawn so that profit could be made in anyway possible during the day and sometimes into the late night. But its not without its disadvantages ; groggy movements, slow reaction time and dulled senses. Thieves roamed at this hour, first "rush hour" for the criminalistic if you want to call it that. This way, some stuff could be stolen without anyone noticing or a few carefully handled murders could be delivered, no bodies found till the late afternoon or later throughout the day.

The Inn and taverns were somewhat of an exception, in essence being up all hours of night while serving their patrons room and board. But nonetheless, vengeance was abundant in these recent times. So when someone wants a problem taken care of or don't have the guts do it themselves, a "mercenary" is called. They can perform any duty that is asked upon them, as long as the coffers are landing in their pockets. However, at the end of day it was the smaller "ruffian" gangs that held water when the big three syndicates were quarreling with each other.

"The Sun Protectors? A weird name considering they aren't any form of vigilante," thought the young snake to herself. With her pupil slits gazing on the streets below near the Pig's Foot tavern, the regular run of the mill racketeering on the minor stalls was gonna begin. However, the "protectors" thought it was cute to step on the people's turf. Only reason this side of town has no single "ruler" per say out of the three factions, the mobs are too dangerous. So a few people hired Yuri, waiting for the alleged middle man to make his rounds. Her balcony was a vantage point, as she watched the man with a bandana and a scarf on right arm starting walking. He was burly, but rough looking and seldom teeth.

Grasping a picture as she noted, "That is the one. I won't exactly be able to beat information out of in a mano to mano battle, so following and then executing them in a group should be the best approach..." It was merely self thinking. But to prevent evidence, Yuri took dirt from a potted plant on the balcony railing and smeared all over the picture. Smirking, her gaze was fixated on the entire street. Slight whistling sounds to make it seem like she was just passing the time, her target wandered off into the distance.

"Time to follow," Yuri said to herself in a low tone, disappearing into the shadows. She simply just used the cover of the low-light to conceal her movements. The dhani dropped down onto a ledge slowly, getting on one knee before turning around and placing her foot on said ledge. It was a slow process that took about 10 seconds, but she was on solid ground and ready to roll. By this time, daybreak had set in and the crowds would come storming onto the streets like locusts onto crops. She had to move, and fast.

[Owan Bardson]

Owan woke slowly, glaring up at the sun poking through the clouds. He hadn't slept much, and the little sleep he had managed to get had been...uncomfortable to say the least. The streets of Sunberth were unfriendly, and one either slept lightly or awoke to find themselves stripped of everything they owned. He stood from his spot and stretched; arms above his head adding to his already impressive height. He stifled a yawn with one hand and ran the other through his greasy hair. The bells in the distance seemed to be inside his head, making his teeth rattle and his eyes water. Their peals were grating on his freshly-awakened senses, and he wished he could find the petcher who was pulling the ropes and gut him like a fish. Maybe then he'd get a decent spot of shut-eye.

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, yawned again, and made his way into the early morning crowd. He jostled merchants and thieves alike, glaring down at those he rammed. His look would be enough to keep all but the bravest of pickpockets from sticking their grubby fingers into his cloak. His mouth was dry, and the rumbling in his stomach told him that it was time to find something to eat; maybe a glass of wine to go along with breakfast. The thought of a glass of wine before the day got under way brought a wry smile to his face; anything to get the dust of the streets out of his mouth. He'd kiss a crippled whore if that was what it took.

He shouldered a merchant aside roughly, not stopping to listen to the man's angry curses. An icy look over his shoulder was enough to silence him. Owan's smile widened as he watched the man's words die in his throat. Gods but he was in a bad humor. He continued to muscle his way through the crowds on their way to work -or, as was entirely possible in a city like Sunberth on their way back from work. He knew it well. Since he'd been in the city he'd had more than his fair share of late nights, doing whatever it was that needed done. His hands weren't the cleanest; covered as they were in the dirt and blood of others. Cowards that couldn't handle their own business would make him rich one day.

Somewhere in the city food was cooking. His stomach rumbled again and he muttered a curse; whether it was directed at his hunger or the inevitable swill he'd wolf down he couldn't be sure. He continued his walk, muscles finally loosening from his slumber in the dirt. Another deep breath and he could smell the masses rising from their beds. The sun was rising, slowly but surely, and soon the streets would be even more crowded than they were now. Up ahead he noticed a group of -for lack of a better word- ruffians, walking with what seemed to be a purpose. One of them, a rough fellow with a bandanna wrapped around his arm, seemed to be in charge. Behind them, Owan could barely make out a shape flitting between the early morning shadows. His smile turned into a sour grimace and he leaned against a nearby wall. Perhaps the morning would turn out to be exciting after all.

[Jahssasyuri]

The white bandana adjourned to the top of the man's head glistened in the wake of the sun's warmth, making it easier to follow something looking like a floating strobe-light. It had been about three minutes since Yuri had given chase at a leisurely pace, many a person crowding the lanes and field of vision. She slithered through the small openings provided, getting lost in the sea of people as she now looked like a regular passerby. Her cover hadn't been blown so far. Thankfully, it was even difficult for the bandana man to move through the crowd as he tried to force his way through most of the time. This was met with equal resistance, rebuffed by the other civilians.

"Brawn over brain types are always welcomed, easy to outwit," thought Yuri to herself as her skin was moist, but not from her own sweat. Brushing off of people's arms and bodies in general wasn't the most sanitary thing to do. She endured though, eyes fixed on her target with intense anticipation of battle. It excited her to a degree, but the element of surprise was her favorite part. The disoriented enemies with their futile attempts to regain senses as they lost limbs and buckets of blood, the art of performing said attacks was one of Yuri's forte. But that would come into fruition soon.

The Bandana Man sped up a bit now that the amount of people in the streets started to reduce, having left the Castle Commons. Their course was set for The Slums, or perhaps Tent City. Wherever the case, Yuri began to slow down as to look like she was just passing through. It was a long stretch of concrete to walk. This gave some rest time for Yuri since any attempt to take a "shortcut" would be seen by her. Yawning, she put on a ruse of boredom. A flick of her hair and licking her lips in a circular motion, a bored seductress was the appearance she attempted to pull off.

[Owan Bardson]

Who was she?

That was the question that made Owan leave his spot on the wall: to shoulder his way through the masses again instead of finding something to stop the rumbling in his stomach. Instead, he found himself in the press of humanity, one step behind the girl the entire way. Up ahead he could see the man in the bandanna, shouldering his way through the crowd, moving much the same way that Owan did. He moved with a violent confidence; he knew that no one would challenge him. In a way Owan felt a distant sense of camaraderie. They were both men of violence. It was obvious when you looked closely enough.

Owan normally would've lost interest by now. The similarities weren't enough to draw him in. It was the woman. He'd been lucky to spot her earlier. Had the crowd been as thick as it was now he would've missed her. Even now he had a hard time keeping his eyes fixed on her. She moved carefully, like she didn't want to be noticed by anyone. She just wanted to blend in. Owan would've bet the rest of the fingers on his left hand that she was following the man in the bandanna, just as he was following her. He smiled wryly, wondering just what her business with him was. Maybe she was a slighted whore, or a scorned love. The possibilities were endless.

He slowed down as she did, careful to keep himself out of her line of sight. He wouldn't want to spoil any of her plans, or clue her into the fact that she was being followed. That'd ruin the fun before it even got started. So he hung back, shortening his long strides and trying to blend in to the shrinking crowds. His height made it difficult, so he slouched a bit, dipping his head and bending his back. He watched as she flipped her hair and his wry smile widened.

What was her game?

[Jahssasyuri]

An old crone of short stature was handling the stall, with many a trinket. Some had rubies, emeralds, things like of that nature. Others were so intricately designed that no small crevice was large enough to fit any assortment of small, glittery minerals or stone. They were in numerous shapes and sizes, appealing to customers from all over Mizahar. Animals were abundant : Dogs, cats, snakes, rats, birds, etc. Then there were even really unique trinkets, seemingly to be an illustration of transforming Kelvics, gods in the act of talking to disciples or bestowing a Gnosis. Others were portraits of demigods/goddesses, heads with the detail of a fully painted picture. The quality and the attention to detail was surreal, taking the Dhani aback and almost forgetting she had someone to subdue moments later.

"Hyahaha! Another one that is in a trance--!" the old lady exclaimed with much content, evident that she was happy for a customer to be so enthralled in her work. The lady had all white hair, lots of it. It was put into three buns, in a type of triangular formation with 3 three elastic strands that was gold, purple and silver. Her nose was abnormally large, appearing to be out of proportion to her wrinkled face. Bubbles were scattered on her nose, blocked pores showing evidence of careless skin care or some other type of mishap. A blue dress with a beige belt spanning all around her waist, before the bottom half curved outward to make a dome-shaped bottom. The sheer wealth she freely displayed was staggering and did not make sense for Yuri, how this woman was still alive was well beyond her.

"This isn't the best of my work, but its to suffice for the day. You enj--" began the woman for a moment, before her eyes shifted its attention to the necklace around Yuri's neck. It was the best designed piece of "jewelry" that she had, but it didn't occur to her of its actual worth. She has no memory whatsoever of not having it, or even taking it off at any moment in the first place. If it held significance, how much could this lady tell ?

"I know you are busy on a mission," mentioned the woman quietly, lifting a trinket and cupped it in her hand. It beautifully depicted a monk praying, small in stature but the textures and excellent carving was evident in its creation. It was to be like a earring of sorts. Walking around the stall and motioning for Yuri to bend down a little bit, the old crone tinkered with her ear as she placed the metal ring into the soft earlobe of the snake. Her head would be facing away from anyone trailing Yuri, being very experienced in keeping secrets unknown apparently.

"You are being followed while you are following. This is a trinket rather years old, older than me and as young as you are. Take it to a friend of mine in Zeltiva to look at it," she whispered quite fast, still giving off the image of trying to get the earring on. After a few more "tries", the old crone cursed in spite before simply placing it in Yuri's hand. Loudly she stated, "Ahh bah! I can't get it on ! You'll have to do it yourself, so its free of charge!" Then she walked back to behind the stall, kneeling down to look in a cupboard. A piece of parchment that was folded thrice was taken out, placed under the earring in her palm. Giving it to Yuri, the dhani took it and made it look like only the earring was taken before putting in her pocket.

It was weird as fuck. But now she had realized time was lost, the contract had to be fulfilled!

OOCBasically, you can just go ahead of Yuri to maybe start with the bandits before she gets there. I did this for mostly character development for Yuri to lead to Zeltiva. Control the targets in however way you want, I like twists ^^. Just giving you the reins to make the story more interesting and such.

[Owan Bardson]

Owan wondered just what he'd stumbled upon when the girl was stopped by the crone. He watched them talk for a moment, fiddling with an earring and holding a whispered conversation. He saw the crone's eyes pick him out of the crowd and realized it was time to be about his business. He continued walking, coming within a few feet of the girl he'd been following and passing her by.

He was only a few feet away when he saw the man with the bandanna, accompanied now by two more gruff bastards, congregating in the center of the street. One of them was waving his arms, like he was trying to get someone's attention. Owan's eyes drifted around the square; his pace now leisurely, perhaps even languid. It wasn't until he saw the waver's arm come down in his direction that he realized something was amiss. Except the man's finger wasn't pointed at him; it was pointed at the girl. Owan's eyes moved faster, darting back and forth in his skull, trying to find out who he was signalling.

He saw it at the last second -sunlight glinting off the tip of an arrow, in the mouth of a shadowed alleyway- and reacted instinctively. He moved without thinking. He didn't know the girl, but he moved anyway. His long legs ate up the short distance between them, and he threw himself forward when he was close enough, sending the girl crashing to the ground. For a brief moment they were face to face, close enough to smell the sweat and adrenaline on one another. She was pretty. A wry grin stretched across his face and he stood up, ripping the axe from his belt and the shield from his back. Another arrow came flying through the air, bouncing harmlessly off of his shield.

The group of thugs were coming on quickly, hands clawing at their blades, all wanting to spill the first drop of blood.

"I don't know what ye've gotten me into girl. I've always been a sucker for a nice arse," Owan said. He spread his feet wide and waited for the onslaught. Hopefully the girl he'd saved would be worth the trouble.

[Jahssasyuri]

From the look of the crone's face before Yuri left, the man who trotted passed her was the culprit. Not that she much cared, but it was all too much to take in really. She'd be damned if she was going to go to Zeltiva because some random old lady gave her some jewelry and a piece of paper. She was going to pay the woman another visit whenever she got the chance, because a blind goose-chase wasn't in Yuri's plans. Then there was the "fortune-telling" or whatever the term may be.

The old lady was either in the divine's favor or had some sort of magical discipline to know about Yuri's movements and whereabouts. So even the origin of the trinket was to be a mystery, possibly an accursed item that was part of a bad malediction experiment or something. With the chances being too great, Yuri began to mess with the earring as she unfastened the hook, putting it back in her pocket as her chase ensued. Now trailing her previous pursuer with a good amount of distance between them, when Bandana Man came within sight Yuri upon instinct hugged the wall with all her might, almost slamming herself a little bit too hard. The hand movements and signals made no heads or tails for her, slipping a small piece of rope out of a knot. This allowed her to take out the short bow, pulling on the fine string with an armor piercing arrow at the ready.

Slowing creeping across the wall, the twang of an arrow being loose signalled combat had started. Along with a sudden battle cry from the goons and the sound of a weapon being bounced off a shield, time was of the essence for survival to be a possibility. Already pulled all the way back when brought to face level, one eye was closed to give Yuri the best chance of an accurate shot. In her vision, she noticed a girl was with the man that she was following. There was about a 20 feet of separation between the two groups, while Yuri herself was a good 30 feet from them both. Crouched, a deep inhaling of air was a ploy to calm her nerves and stop any sort of shaking of the hands, effecting her aim. Then, with her concentration unbroken, exhaling at the exact moment of releasing the arrow, a slight whistle sound emitted for a half-second. Thankfully, her target was moving in for the kill, unaware as a pain jolted into his rib. The arrow cut clean through his leather padding, lodging itself firmly in the right lung and maybe then some.

"Oof!" grunted the man, losing his footing as he toppled over to his left, laying on his side on the floor with Death having a nice floor mat set for him at the door. Expression showing the extruciating pain, nothing would ease his suffer other than a well-aimed cut to the jugular. At the sight of a wizzing arrow, confusion was the first reaction as Bandana Man and the other guy put their on a swivel trying to find the source. No thought was there to help the man, or heed attention to their prey except for the other man who wasn't too happy about his comrade being shot down. He rushed at the man shielding the girl from danger, as his plan was to an upward-diagonal slash, starting from the waist and following through until coming out from the shoulder. It was too wide for an actual fight, not seemingly practiced enough to avoid a parry or counter-attack.

Yuri fell back behind the corner, crouched with an arrow in her right hand. The sun's position was in the west from her relative position, a shadow was overhead and covering much of the street. It seemed like the heaven's were in her favor in this regard, as Bandana Man left his remaining goon to his devices before running towards Yuri's corner, not knowing she was waiting for the right moment to stuff his gut with a renewed vigor for blood.

"COME OUT WENCH!" echoed throughout the street, a taunt that held no water in these parts of Sunberth, instead letting Yuri somewhat guess the remaining distance needed to be covered for him to reach her. She was prepared accordingly, as his figure came right around with a sword raised, ready to bring down hell. Sadly for him, his stomach was pierced clean, the arrow exiting out through his back and making him look like a magic trick for a circus show. Feelings of hate and anger came before pain, kicking with the end of his boot as the snake-woman's face was ruined. Sent flying back into a stall, knocking it down before skidding off and landing behind it. A headache was banging on her head like a bell, while pain resonated throughout her upper chest as her fall was somewhat softened from a simple twist of the body.

She had also lost her own bow, now in the middle of the street 10 feet away. Eyes anticipating any sort of movement, she got up and limped at a speed still considered fast by humans due to being a Dhani. Yuri picked it up and turned around to prepare for another attack by either of them.

oocControl anyone and anything to forward the story !

[Archelon]

Thread Award "..." And the Results!!!!: Jahssasyuri : SkillName 1-5 How/why? unarmed Combat 3 tracking 2 observation 2 Shortbow 1 Lores: Blood in the streets. Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Interesting thread PM me on this item question. Any other comments,or concerns please feel free to send me a nice pm.