A religious zealot has been traveling through all the cities of Elyria and spreading fear and a warning. A great storm is coming, one even worse than then the one that destroyed much of their land. This one will kill the rest of the land, leading to their ultimate destruction. Warning them that if nothing is done they will all perish.
Is he right? Is there anything they can do to stop the storm? Or is he spreading fear in order to create chaos or even in an attempt to bring the people together as one as they work to survive?
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Post by Kassam Darral on Jun 5, 2015 19:19:31 GMT -5
Retirement was kind for Kassam Darral. Other than the odd job in his old life he had to take and some people frequenting the Dead Horse whose attitudes he needed to readjust, running a tavern had been more or less a permanent change of pace for him. Granted, he kept himself fit. Daily he would run, swim and exercise to keep his body strong. He kept his mind sharp with series of mental drills. He ensured his skills remained keen with his weapons of choice.
And in his room, behind the bar and next to the kitchen, there was an iron-banded chest. It was old and battered, but still solid enough that any man without the key would need an axe to try and open it. And any who should try to bypass the lock on the front would lose fingers when the spring-loaded blades concealed behind the dummy lock plate would spring out. Not that missing fingers would bother a man who'd just gotten enough of a toxin secreted by some mollusks in his system to kill two or three dozen men. In fact, the stuff was fast-acting enough that the victim would be dead even before hitting the floor. In that chest were the tools of his trade. The thick, tight silks, the reinforced leather armour, the throwing knives, his daggers, his ribless crossbow and so many other things a man who'd once been a master assassin should own. And they were all ready for use at a moment's notice. Not that they saw much these days save for practice and training and maintenance. He was, after all, mostly retired.
But there was one of his regulars whose presence on this day bothered him. Usually, she was content to sit in her corner, enjoy her food and drink and join in the occasional row or break the fingers the fingers of unwanted suitors of middling luck or pin the hand of less lucky ones to a piece of furniture or any wooden support she could easily reach. And she was watching him. Closely. Severine Storm. Or Sparkfyre if one wanted to be technical or suicidal. He had done a few independent jobs with her after he'd hung up his knives officially and whenever she wanted to approach him for something like this, she was behaving just like she was today...
Post by Severine Storm (Sparkfyre) on Jun 25, 2015 19:34:57 GMT -5
For once Severine was dressed darker than her sense of humor. She didn't don her assassin blacks much when she wasn't doing work, then again how often was that? Her clothes were of sleek black leather, sleeveless and with a velvet hood. Sometimes the girl stuck out like a sore thumb among assassins. She was slight and most thought she sat up just a little too straight and walked a little too carefully. Anyone that point it out wouldn't be walking very straight for a while though.
Most of the day was pretty normal. Then night fell and Severine found herself at one of her usual haunts, but for a different reason. She didn't order anything when she sat down, at least not from the barmaids. Kassam would have to come to her himself, he would eventually. Patience was a virtue Severine didn't always have, if she ever was patient it was because she was a leopard waiting to strike and sink her teeth into something. So there she sat, blue eyes trained on a certain ex-assassin.
Post by Kassam Darral on Jul 12, 2015 18:40:06 GMT -5
There was nothing to be done, really. Severine Storm would never come out and admit to anyone she needed another pair of hands for a job. Hell, whenever she needed him for something she'd give the serving staff dirty looks and wait until the publican himself would come to see her and he'd sit down with her. It was a good thing the Dead Horse did not attract members of the more shadowy professions as a rule, otherwise their little dance would be painfully obvious to any pair of trained eyes.
And it was with this in mind that the semi-retired master assassin crossed the room, two tankards held in one hand and a generous flagon of beer in the other. Sitting himself down across the blonde woman, he poured into both cup and pushed one across the table to her.
"You know, most people who want some help just come out and ask it, they don't make the one person they need a hand from actually come to them."
His voice was deep, and there was a grin to his face. Of course, a sense of humour was always an asset in this profession, it helped keep one grounded to the reality of things. "So, what is the job this time?"
Post by Severine Storm (Sparkfyre) on Jul 12, 2015 21:10:13 GMT -5
A knife and found it's way to Severine's fingers, typical if she sat still long enough. This was plenty long enough. It danced with her fingers, another thing that seemed to ward people away from her, whether she was trying or not. Then again, Savvy very often looked like she was looking for a fight. "Finally," Severine said when Kassam sat down. She immediately went for the beer. A meeting should always begin with a drink, or at least that was the blonde's belief. She looked up with the cup still raised to her lips."Last I checked I'm not most people either." A wink.
When the cup was back on the table, there was a bright smile left on Sevvy's lips, one that made most people feel uncomfortable. "I never said there was a job," she said, just shy of a laugh. The knife spun in the air before she snatched it back between her fingers. "And what? No how are you Sevvy or whatever warmness bartenders are supposed to have?"
Post by Kassam Darral on Jul 12, 2015 22:18:24 GMT -5
Severine's initial quip brought a smile to Kassam's face, his white teeth a startling slash into his dark skin. That woman ever had a way of doing things all right. In fact, a great many wanted absolutely nothing to do with her as they saw her as being a tad unbalanced if they felt in an understating mood. In fact, most who refused to work anywhere near her tended to be of a mind that she was utterly, unabashedly, absolutely batshit crazy.
However, to one as experienced as Kassam Darral, those quirks were just interesting factors in the equation of the task at hand and he had learned to work around them just as easily as he would be able to deal with any other hitch to a plan. Her second question, though, he answered directly. "Because you never come here and shoo off my waitresses unless you need to talk to me about something sensitive. And you never do it unless there's a job in play."
Yes, one might say that the retired assassin had come to learn the various ways of Severine Storm. Then, he reached across the table and deftly plucked the knife from between her fingers with a speed that most would think impossible for a man of his bulk and years. "So, how are you doing, Sevvy?"
Post by Severine Storm (Sparkfyre) on Jul 14, 2015 21:43:51 GMT -5
More beer, that was always required if Severine bothered to walk into a place of public drinking. Of course there were many a tavern owner that preferred she not be one of their patrons, especially if blood made them queasy. She watched him, head cocked like a delicate bird, even if the blonde was anything but delicate. Her chin rested elegantly on the top of her hand as she listened, blade hanging between her fingers.
Then the knife was plucked from her fingertips and there was a scowl until another one appeared in her other hand. "That's much better." she said with satisfaction. "I'm doing fine, a bit on the sober side I'd say," she chirped. She wasn't a phoenix though, she thought she'd be more of a hawk or something. Really she wasn't really a bird because she had no desire to fly or whatever. Severing fancied herself more of a panther.
"And I never said there was a job," the blonde scoffed. "I sit here because I'm pretty sure your wenches are scared of me anyways," she said with a shrug. Usually the girl playing with knives or fire was a bit of an intimidation. How she had managed to keep her late fiancé for so long baffled her sometimes. Then again, Eldric was just as crazy as she was most of the time.
"Plus, not like there's a paying client this round," she said, a much too casual tone to be talking of death. It didn't scare her. Once it did, but now it was her living and it had become her talent and skill.
Post by Kassam Darral on Jul 18, 2015 9:39:17 GMT -5
There were few times Severine Storm was actually serious. And this was not one of them. Beer and knives. For most people, those would be a dangerous combination; that is, for those people currently not sitting with this sometimes highly volatile assassin.
However, she did not wait long before her talk went to the reason she had come to see him. Of course she'd say something like she was scaring the staff. Thing is, the staff knew her and her moods and knew when not to approach her or what it meant when she shooed them away. And besides, with Kassam Darral in the building, his servers and barmaids knew they had absolutely nothing to fear from anyone for any reason. If he caught anyone mistreating his people, the guilty party was bound to be having a very bad day. If he heard of someone doing so where he could not see, he would pay them a visit and explain things even more forcefully. And if one took reprisals against his people after he'd spoken to them once, the result of the next meeting they would have with the publican would drive the point home with a degree of permanence that might even be lethal.
And no money this time? That certainly was different. Usually, Severine did not work for free so there had to be a really good reason she would take that particular task as her own. "And you need another pair of hands, I get it. So, what did you get us into this time?"
Post by Severine Storm (Sparkfyre) on Jul 19, 2015 10:54:43 GMT -5
Severine cocked her head the other way now, "What did I say I needed another pair of hands for again?" she never made things easy. Her eyes flitted to the ceiling for a moment. After all when she had made the original plan, she couldn't say that she was sober. While most people thought she was light hearted and nuts (at least light hearted for an assassin) Severine had a darkness about her that most people didn't see. This was some sort of vengeance in some way that only really made sense to her.
This was boring her, and Sevvy was never bored for very long. "It's more of an ongoing project really," she finally said before downing the rest of the beer in her cup. "Cesare's with me." she added. Two master assassins plus the odd one that most were wary of, that was quite a combination if she could say so herself. "One family a week, all at once."
Severine Storm was going to some dark places indeed this time.
Post by Kassam Darral on Jul 22, 2015 20:42:58 GMT -5
Patience was very much a necessary character trait for a successful assassin. Those who did not learn to wait tended to do something rash or stupid tended to have a very short career. And even patient assassins could slip up, which led to a dearth of members of this dread profession who lived long enough to retire. In fact, Kassam himself was an oddity in that regard.
But even if he was known for his ability to wait and wait and wait, even Severine could tax his nigh on saintly patience. And finally, she got to the point. Cesare was involved? Now that made this a very interesting notion. Getting one master assassin already meant things were serious. Getting two involved on the same task was nearly unprecedented! And whole families? That was something... else.
"You know how I do things. I don't kill children, Severine and women, well, they're on a case by case basis."
Post by Severine Storm (Sparkfyre) on Jul 27, 2015 15:25:16 GMT -5
There was an audible sigh from Severine, she had never killed a chid before, though Eldric had once. "The Barringtons' children are all grown, I'd hardly call them children," she said with an eye roll. The tough front was steadfast. "If if they are, the blood doesn't need to be on your hands if you don't want it to. It's mercy really considering what would happen to them if they were just left to the streets." Then again perhaps it would be more hell for the royals if those children were left to fester with anger at the family who was indirectly at fault for the events.
There was a shrug, this was going to get interesting. Severine and waited long enough for blood. Why the Barringtons to be the first family? Well it was their daughter that had cried for Eldric's head in the first place those years ago. Sev just never truly had a reason to justify that killing, which was odd since Severine usually claimed she didn't need to justify any of her actions.
Post by Kassam Darral on Aug 6, 2015 15:58:04 GMT -5
Considering he had no idea who the target was at first, that had been a valid question from Kassam. However, when he was told it was the Barringtons all reservations vanished. They were, to say the least, a fine example of noble decadence and they had hardly been worthy of the air they had been breathing as of late. Culling them, while it might rattle the peers of the Islands, would be a good thing in the long run. "All right. The Barringtons. Now the question is, what kind of a job do you want to pull off?"
That too was a very valid question. There were so many ways for an assassin to do his job. One could use a slow poison over time to make it look like a prolonged illness, or a more rapid one to make it look like the target's heart had given out. Other poisons, well, were very visible killed in rather violent ways. Or one could make it look like an accident in any number of ways, or fake a suicide.
And also, there was the way that could carry a message. And those, either by the surgical precision of an in-and-out operation that only left the victim touched, or a trail of bodies, varied in their application and desired effect. "If you need a third body for this, something tells me we're going to leave more than just the Barringtons in the ground, are we?"
