Closed Contracted Killers (Inoadar, Wrenmae)

[Wrenmae]

Narrowing his eyes, Wren stalked past Inoadar and back to the guard he had kicked into silence. Kneeling, he surveyed the wounds. The man was injured badly, Kyo had done a number on him and he was bleeding out. In another bell or two, it would be too late.

"Counter-proposal," Wrenmae said, standing up and facing Inoadar, "First, I don't like the accusation in your tone. You suggest I've altered your mind, of which I find personally offensive. Watch your tongue and our arrangement can remain in place...perhaps even become more like friendship." He grinned without malice nor joy and turned on Kyo. "You work for me now, Dhani. I'll have your name and your first job. Take the injured guard to the infirmary. If he dies before he gets there, I'll skin you and make a new set of clothing out of your scaly hide...so do try to be gentle."

He wheeled on Inoadar, "If you were expected, another dead man dressed in your outfit will be all that is necessary to sniff out foul play. As I intend to be paid for this little adventure, I won't be jeopardizing that for the sake of your schemes." Wren paused, kneeling where the other guard had been slaughtered and pulled his side dagger and sheath off his belt, sliding it into his own. "My charge was to watch an object you say was never there. Nothing stolen and my job is complete...however..." He rubbed his chin, thinking.

"You say both of you were set up, which means neither of you were supposed to survive. I don't think I like the idea that someone has been keeping an eye on me and expected me to dispatch both of you."

Another pause, he wiped some blood form his lips and gingerly massaged the shoulder Kyo had hit.

"I'll offer my service to you as a mercenary, and all I'll charge you is another service in return...we can work out the details when we return to your shop."

Wren was exhausted, and stalked toward the house, past Inoadar.

"I'm getting my things from inside. When I return, I expect you, Dhani, to be on your way to the infirmary and Inoadar, I will speak to you personally about what you saw in the study."

Ordinarily, he'd have killed him...saved himself the trouble of someone knowing that particular secret, but his position in Ravok was not secure enough yet for him to go killing allies, especially potent ones like Inoadar.

Besides. He liked the man...damned good at what he did.

They could make things happen in the city.

[Kyodaija]

Kyo watched as the two men, obviously familiar with one another talked out just what the blazes had happened this night... Kyo was not the smartest man, and was smart enough to know that thinking was not his game. As intigueing as this whole scenario seemed, Kyo found himself simply gripping the deep wound in his side given to him by this man.

The conversation turned in the direction of the swordsman doing all the talking as apposed to the newcomer who had thankfully shut up the fool Kyo had been denied the pleasure of ending. Then it went somewhere Kyo did not appreciate at all... For him to demand his servitude now and expect that he would simply work for him? And not to mention aid the weakling that was unable to even stand after such a light trashing, whimpering on the ground like a babe?

Kyo moved to stand as the swordsman walked away into the house. "As you have defeated me in combat I will work for you for a time... not for free, and not forever." he barely had the energy to stand at that point but refused to fall again to his wounds.

"If you find thisss unacceptable then end thisss life the way of the warrior, it isss your right as victor, and my ssshame asss the lossser..." Kyo narrowed his eyes and said "But know thisss... A Sssnakess Fangsss never dull!" moving down to grab the whimpering mess of a man slinging him over his shoulder, despite his best efforts stumbling from fatigue..." He could feel blood coming out of his blind eye... more affects from overgiving.

He stoically ambled into the house deciding to leave their conversation at that, having nothing more to say to the man. Before entering he took note of the strange man whom spoke openly to the swordsman.

"The name'sss Kyodaija... murderer, mercenary, and apparent employee of the man I was recently locked in mortal combat with..."

Kyo cackled coughing up blood as he did so. Not knowing at this point if he would prefer death over the immeasurable pain he felt, or simply from the shame of losing. Either way he would die if the man did not choose to give him medical aid.

Perhaps he could find a way to make this benefit him after all?...

[Inoadar]

Inoadar fumed silently until Kyodaija, as he had named himself, entered the manor. He then copied Wrenmae's gesture, turning to face him directly, his voice low. "You don't give me orders. While I admit this is not the shop, letting that man live jeopardizes my plans to flush out the bastard that set this up. If he lives, there is a credible witness to counter the scenario I want in place. YOU are not affected by it, so what do you care? This isn't some pissing contest."

He paced a bit and turned back again, "And as for my "accusation", I didn't say you "altered" my mind, because it comes back to normal when you're gone, strangely enough." there was no attempt to hide the sarcasm in the last two words. "But you affect it, and you know it. Ever since we met, I've been more concerned with your concerns, agenda and reputation than my own! I damn near attacked that "Sullins" guy, just because he doesn't like Malediction. This is not like me."

He hurried his protest, fearing that the mage would wrap him in some falsely agreeable attitude any second. "When you're gone, I always think back on a half dozen ways I have not been myself while you were there. And it's always in ways that are in your interest! Now you can deny it all you want, but don't think for a chime that I don't find it "personally offensive" to have my perceptions bent to your priorities."

He grimaced, and limped on his cane as he went on. "And as for THIS situation, what I'm saying is a businessman named Barton wants me silenced and he connived to get me here so you'd kill me, but he needed that "Kyo"..guy...thing...what IS he anyway?...because I said I wouldn't do it without something to distract the guards. I don't see any reason why Barton would give two lumps of shyke about whether he dies or not."

He gestured in frustration. "I don't know what package you're supposed to be guarding. If it's a book, or if it's in the manor anywhere, or if it even DOES exist. I didn't take anything, and there's no reason for me to, so there's no reason for you not to be paid. I already said that! I'm not saying your boss is IN on it, but he MIGHT be. More likely though, I think Barton is trying to eliminate me AND discredit YOUR boss, as careless, at the same time. Reputation lost by one, is gained by another."

[Wrenmae]

Wrenmae did not respond to Inoadar till he had taken his poisoned dagger off the table in the room and picked up Zan, back in flask form. "We are agreed then," he said to Inoadar, "Neither of us has the right to give the other orders. I defer to you when in the shop, but outside I take orders from whoever is paying the coin to give me them."

He sheathed the blade and began wiping the Dhani's blood from his rapier. "Look, if someone wants you dead than any corpse bearing your uniform won't do. A smart employer will make sure of the deed and neither you nor I can make that bleeding guard look like the picture he had in hand. Rest assured, I can convince the guard that's taken to the infirmary to remain quiet as to what he saw...but if you wanted this entire ordeal to be under your own invention, you'd have to kill Kyodaja and the wounded guard both."

He looked out the window at what he hoped would be the retreating Dhani, scowling, "I have use of a brute like that, and his talents are wasted dead. To answer your question, he is a Dhani. They're a breed of shapeshifters with an affinity for snakes. That man can become a forty foot snake or a cross between the two whenever he chooses. Strong, predatory, dangerous, and useful."

Straightening the cloak round his shoulders, he started down the stairs. Paliman was somewhere in the house, no doubt cowering. But the sounds of combat had ended and it wouldn't be long before he ventured out.

"You'll have to plan a reverse trap for this Barton...and in the meantime, I'll have to dispose of the bodies before the Ebonstryfe come around asking questions." He flexed his hands, thinking of the Void and how useful it was that he had an empty nothingness to just toss them into.

"My report will reflect that I disposed of a thread that infiltrated the grounds and disposed of the body. That should give you enough time to turn something on your former employer. I'm offering my help, cheaply I might add, and if someone is smart enough to set all this up...I'd hate to see what they're capable of when they're no longer trying to be subtle."

He didn't address Inoadar's concerns about hypnotism. It wasn't his prerogative to convince the poisoner that his mind was his own. If things grew any worse he'd have to...

No. Still, eliminating Inoadar was not only something that needed to be handled with care and caution, but also something wholly unnecessary at the moment. Save for the beginnings of suspicion and annoyance, he was still a capable ally in a city of loyal fanatics.

[Kyodaija]

Kyo dropped the man on a bed in what he assumed to be the infirmary... He was losing it fast. Things had started to be a blur, the blacklash of his overgiving was starting to get worse and worse. He saw a small silver mirror on the table and picked it up to look at himself. What he saw was his face drained of blood and pale, with his eyes bleeding tears of blood. The wound in his arm was most certainly going to get infected. It already showed signs much sooner than he would have expected...

He had received many such wounds in the past but never had he seen one ail him quite as much as this one now did. He found some gauze tape in the cabinets after frantically searching for them a moment. Wrapping his arm as quickly as he could... In doing so he now recalled the wound on his side, which now only further pained him and also began to fester ever so slightly. Something that would normally have taken a day atleast...

Kyo was not coherent enough or knowledgeable to understand what was going on only that he needed to wrap himself before all the blood ran from his body. The man on the table seemed to be suffering no more, his eyes glazed over with the pale look of death...

If only someone was in this blasted infirmary maybe the boy could be saved. But with Kyo being his only possible savior, the boy lacked any luck it seemed. He continued to wrap his side, managing to full cover his gory wounds. Kyo then did his best to rap the boys injuries with the remaining gauze tape. What he lacked in skill, he hoped he would make up for in quantity.

Suddenly a convulsion tore through what felt like his very soul, causing him to fall to his knees from nausea while puking violently... He curled up on the ground shivering violently, soiled by his own blood covered puke. The pain was unbearable, just how much had he used his power? Their were blank spaces in his memory so he no longer remembered... Perhaps he simply used it the whole fight unknowingly? He had managed to bring an otherwise master swordsman to the flat of his back. A feat he knew was not possible simply with strength...

He began convulsing. His muscles racking with pain with every convulsion... At one point he swore he even heard his arm make the popping sound of a dislocated bone popping out and then snapping extremely painfully back into place, only to then convulse in agony once more...

Kyo screamed out a loud roar of pain loudly enough that no matter where in the the large manor it would be impossible not to hear him. Kicking over a table during his trashing causing it and it's contents to spill out all over the ground...

He crawled to a wall and leaned against it placing a nearby chunk of shattered wood into his mouth to hopefully avoid hurting himself anymore during the convulsions... pounding into the wall as soon as each one began.

It was going to be a long night, assuming he survived...

[Inoadar]

"A...'Dhani'?, You say? I had thought him some sort of kelvic freak. I made some enemies among the caged ranks at the research institute. I thought for an instance it was a trap of their construction. But I wasn't in disguise for that. it wasn't that kind of job." Inoadar made small talk, his real purpose being to sense for any uncharacteristic mood swings that might indicate Wrenmae trying to make him more obedient.

He actually found that he wished he did feel something. He knew he had no proof of his suspicion, and as a result, there was the uncertainty that made him hesitate to escalate his recriminations. He felt now that he might owe Clyde Sullins an apology, Marcus as well, maybe even Amolina. He hated the feeling of indebtedness and knew it would only fester if left to brooding.

"I truly do not want to be at odds with you, Wrenmae." Inoadar's tone now hinted at genuine regret. "Barton knows that I use disguises, so I figured him to be unsure of the reliability of his sketch regarding my appearance. I do not believe he knows whether he has seen my true face or not. But I can not discount the possibility...the likelihood..." he corrected himself, "...that he has run an agent through my shop to confirm my undisguised appearance. I would do the same."

He took a deep breath and exhaled in a frustrated huff. "I had assumed the...Dhani...would wish to collect his pay from his contractor and that was where I planned to start my surveillance. I also need to ask him what the fellow looked like, though I expect it will be the same man." His brow furrowed with a new thought. "By the way, if you wish to answer, I can not help but wonder, DID you have a book you were hired to guard? A pre-valterian book on ancient mystic sites, mystic energy, that sort of thing? That was what I was supposedly hired to steal."

Whether Wrenmae felt any inclination to answer the question or not was forgotten as a roar of pain and the sound of furniture being smashed to kindling echoed from inside the house. "Damn! You're sure you want that to work for you?" He grimaced a moment, but an idea occurred to him. "Look, I've still got some 'Pillowsap'. It will put him to sleep and then we can treat those wounds properly without him knocking the petching place apart. The fact is, I need him alive as well."

[Wrenmae]

"Then don't be at odds with me," the mage said simply, walking across the room with the unconscious servant to take a book shaped package from the corner of the room, unassuming, and hidden in the shadow. He held it up so that Inoadar could see it before placing the manuscript on the table. Pausing there, hand on the brown packaging, he almost challenged Inoadar with his eyes. Here is your prize, he seemed to say, take it if you dare.

After a moment, he removed his hand and walked around the table, trailing his finger along the finishing. "Should the Dhani survive, starting your surveillance there would be a good start. I can certainly help you...but with your suspicions..." He left it trailing and shrugged.

"I am no doctor. I've learned only to take life in my profession and I guarantee my presence will only make things worse. Give him something for the pain and encourage him to seek medical assistance at the actual clinic. Or...fix him up, I'm sure he'll be grateful enough not to eat you."

The tone of his voice left the meaning ambiguous on whether he meant it seriously or in jest.

"I will remain here to collect my pay when the employer arrives...and attempt to explain the damage. Likely it will be docked from my own pay but then..." he scowled at the door, "I have the Dhani to thank. It's a godsend for him that I may have use of his particular talents in the future...otherwise I'd have left him on the lawn and taken his head to make something of."

He laughed, suddenly and loudly, shaking his head.

"We were the unfortunate victims of a plot and I would be happy to pay the favor back in kind. Do tell me if you think you might have use of my particular talents."

[Inoadar]

'Easier said than done, with you inside my head.' Inoadar mused, betraying no expression. 'Of course I'm starting my surveillance with the Dhani' He didn't know exactly what Wrenmae meant about 'making things worse', but the package lying there gave him the seed of an idea.

His friend had not chosen to answer his question about the nature of the book, or if the description of its contents was accurate. But he expected that any attempt to open it would be viewed by Wrenmae as the opening tactic in an attempt to steal it. Inoadar thought back to the Sun Room downstairs where he had first gained entry. There were books there as well. And there were more than one of the same size.

Wrapped in the same brown paper, one of them would be indistinguishable from the target. But more important, the bastard that had hired the Dhani and he wouldn't know whether the book had been in the bookcase or not. Though he had no convincing way to fake a body as if it were his own, a different scenario began to develop in his mind.

The man in the white suit probably assumed that Wrenmae would kill the Dhani as well as he, and would save him the need to pay him. So what was he likely to think if the Dhani turned up days later, with a book, claiming to have stolen it from the dead thief hired to steal it? The thief he'd killed himself out of greed? The Dhani would obviously have legitimate wounds to lend credence to his claim. The man would recognize him as the one he'd hired for the distraction. And he'd had no contact with Wrenmae. Current contention or not, Inoadar trusted Wrenmae not to betray a plan he had no part in.

No, the man would get no information from Wrenmae. He would be curious and greedy to get his hands on a bonus by procuring the book as well as confirming Inoadar's death. He would have to come to the Dhani. And then they would have him.

Inoadar's eyes wandered the room, unfocused, as details began to take shape. Then all at once, he straightened and looked at Wrenmae directly. "I will be giving this Dhani the aid he currently needs, and I will need to be borrowing him from you for a short time. If I need you as well, I will certainly let you know. In the meantime, I trust you not to volunteer information about any OTHER books that you are asked about, assuming anyone even makes such a connection. There are no lies I will need you to tell anyone. The last you knew I was taking the Dhani with me, which is true. And the Dhani is very likely to kill me despite my efforts."

Inoadar was not sure just how true this last statement was when he would be owing Inoadar his life, but he knew he would have to deal with the monstrous fellow very delicately. With that said, he gave Wrenmae a short bow, turned and left the room. Downstairs he found some similar brown paper, located a similar sized book, and wrapped the one in the other. He got out his dose of Pillowsap, and went in search of the infirmary and the Dhani who would be joining him in making the perpetrator of this little charade regret it.

[Kyodaija]

Kyo woke somewhere unfamiliar. His head was killing him and his whole body ached with a dull pain. He was laying on a simple makeshift cot. While the strange man he had met the night before was fussing over some mushrooms and herbs and the like. Perhaps making medicine? Kyo did not know nor did he care.

He checked his left arm which was by far in the worse condition. It was bandaged up, and while peering under the bandage he noted some terrible smelling white substance was dressing the wound. Which despite some valiant efforts on the man's part, seemed to be quite infected.

Kyo looked over at the man, thinking to say something to him, perhaps a thank you or to question him as to where they were and who he was.

But The man looked over at Kyo then. Apparently having taken notice to the fact he was awake. Kyo asked in his usual tone, "who are you?"

Regardless of his answer Kyo could feel that he was most likely drugged with something. Slowly drifting off into unconsciousness again as the man introduced himself.

[Inoadar]

'Damn, he keeps coming out of it!' Inoadar cursed inwardly. He was not about to admit that he'd been concocting something to keep the Dhani weak. The Pillowsap should have kept him under long enough to finish cleaning the wounds. He wanted to be sure that he'd be able to deal with the...thing...if he reacted to the pain of additional cleaning.

"Don't peel those back, sir." he said when he saw the "patient" pulling on the bandages. He'd had to put them on himself. He'd been to the 'Healing Hand' and, for once, was glad his lower leg was showing no improvement. He didn't bother dragging the Dhani inside. He was not a citizen, there would have been no point. But, as a citizen himself, they extended HIM some Kromar Poultice, a numbing agent that increased natural healing. They instructed him to squeeze out a few drops, from a pinch of the thin paste, onto his leg to numb it. Then it would be easier to cut or scrape away the affected flesh.

He had no intent of using the stuff on himself. He'd stick with plain old boiling water, cutting and scraping the dead flesh, and wrapping, for his leg. He'd gotten it to use on the Dhani. It was strange to treat someone else' wounds for a change. He wanted the numbing agent to keep the Dhani still while he did his work.

He had already used his dagger to open the puncture wound from Wrenmae's rapier. It was the only way to gain access to the deeper sections of it. It was ironic that some of his fine, delicate implements for crafting poisons were being now employed to sterilize the damage. Boiling water, heating skewer-like pins, eye-droppers delivering squeezings from the poultice, his stiletto, cutting deep, thin layers of tissue, discolored by infection. Suction to clear the wound, so he could review and continue.

He'd used the entire 3 dose container of poultice on the Dhani's wounds, both to numb the wound first and then to seal it after he'd cleaned it. The more superficial surface wounds he dealt with the same way as he dealt with his leg. He couldn't account for the rapid infection of the Dhani's wounds. Maybe, for all their power, they had a vulnerability to such things. But he thought he'd cleaned it out pretty thoroughly.

Luckily, after coming around groggily for a chime or so, and asking Inoadar his name, the big brute lapsed back into the Pillowsap-induced sleep. The medics at the Healing Hand had said that rest greatly increased the benefits of the poultice. Inoadar had called himself by "Parnell", the name that was associated with him as the poisoner at InoVations. He'd thought of coming up with yet another pseudonym, but since the man who'd hired them hadn't asked, he probably had assumed the "Nolan Parnell" persona. When he was done, he sat back in the chair, exhausted.

Some time in the early bells of pre-dawn, he awoke to find that the Dhani was staggering to a chair. He flopped into it, facing Inoadar, either by design or coincidence. "Well, my friend. I understand you are named "Kyo". You seem to have inadvertently been dropped into my little arrangement with...the bodyguard. I have done what I could for your wounds. I feel somewhat responsible for you receiving them. This entire incident is due to someone having a grudge against me."

Inoadar shifted in his chair. "As for the bodyguard, he is quite a capable man, as you have now discovered. We do some work together now and then. I believe that this is the only reason you and I are alive. I do not think the bastard that hired both of us was aware that he and I know each other. I promise you that neither this bodyguard or myself intended for anyone else to get mixed up with us."

He leaned forward. "Now it seems you will be working for him. This may seem degrading to you at first, but let me tell you, you can learn a great deal from him and should take advantage. But for now, I believe we can flush out the man responsible for this outrage and...make him...see the error of his ways."

OOC - continues here.