[CLosed to Jethro] Wanted Dead or Alive: Ellkith Drune.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

For some time, Humphrey had been in Ettermire.

The city was a clock-work machine and he was uncomfortable there. The air was not clean, and the scent was rusty. It played Haidia with his senses. The kitsune carefully walked through the crowds of people. Some were sick from the recent malady affecting the land. The water system in Ettermire had been corrupted with some sort of chemical mess, matters of science that were beyond Humphrey. He was one of the few of his kind in Ettermire. An Akashiman bourne and bred, Humphrey was there to assist the people of Ettermimre in their time of need. As he stood there, in front of the Job Office, the Demon Slayer carefully considered. He had been taking odd jobs here and there, hunting the creatures in the sewers that had developed from the wastes. But there was a posting on the large board that caught his eye. Rarely do they post such bounties. I wonder if this is a serious matter? Humphrey saw serveral Adventurers looking at the Job board, in front of the government building. The Job board was where various citizens and officials of Ettermire posted jobs.

Humphrey studied the job post for a moment. A criminal was named on the parchment that was wanted for attacking caravans heading outside of Ettermire to other parts of Alerar proper. Humphrey studied the parchment and decided he would take the job. He removed the parchment from the job board and entered the office building. Inside, there were several self-important Dark Elves that were likely local officials of this or that sort. And many people applying for work and other such matters. Humphrey walked towards the nearest of the officials.

"You seem a capable lad." The Dark Elf said to Humphrey. "I see you have the Listing that was posted this morning. Interested in that bounty?" The man asked.

"What do I need to know?" Humphrey had a deep Akashiman accent. Further, his voice was already gruff by his kitsune nature.

"The bandit's name is Ellkith Drune." The official said, with his air of self importance. "Robbed several caravans and killed a few folks." The official raised an eyebrow. "The reports state he's armed with some sort of an enchanted weapon." The official stopped.

[b]"Very well. I shall return. Does the mark need to be alive or dead?" Humphrey asked.

"Either, but you'll be paid more on successful capture. Though I doubt you'll be able to get him. IF you can get him, I'll throw in something extra." The official was snide and rude, but he was a business man first. "Also, you're allowed help for your hunt. Good luck, and may the Goddess watch over you."

Humphrey nodded. "I'll return. With the mark captured." Humphrey promised.

He stepped outside and there were already a large group of Adventurers gathered. Humphrey began looking around to see if anybody wanted to do the job with him. There were already folks looking at the crazy Kitsune and whispering. Humphrey did not mind. Fortune favors the bold. Humphrey thought to himself as his eyes scanned the group of the gathered...he just needed one extra hand.

[^Enter here.]

[Jethro]

As with any other adventurer Jethro was there for a job. There were many mercenaries, bounty hunters and bandits wanting to sell out other bandits. All of these were at about the same level of skill and over the top bravado as one would expect mostly men and women who mostly did not care about humanity as a whole and just wanted a quick coin.

He looked over the wanted posters and listened to the impromptu interview given by the walking fox. There was only one he was really interested in and it was taken by the Kit almost right away. No matter, there was an idea that had been understood since the dawn of time and that was ~strength in numbers.~

He let the Kit pass after his confident statement. Jethro then took up his spear and stepped out through the same open door and waited till they got passed the crowd.


"You know, it would be easier to bring in this Ellkith Drune alive with some help." This was not a let me come with you request this was purely a statement of fact. There was a slight smile to Jethro's face as the cap of his spear clicked on the ground as he kept up with the fox. "By the way, I'm Jethro" he said as he passed one of the many stencil stamped red brick buildings which more than likely had sterile white washed walls.

He watched as people some of which seemed to be mutating from the pollution being dumped in the water and air. There was definitely a particular smell to the city. Not just the smell of rusty pipes but the smell of sweat mixed with grease and of course every manner of waste. The city was disgusting from the average citizen working on the promise of a big pay check that never comes to the the politicians on both sides of the fence manipulating the stupid and taking advantage of the weak for their own goals.

It seemed the same where ever large groups of sentient's gathered. It was time to get out of the city for a little while at-least.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

Humphrey saw the bold spear arm step forward.

He's skilled...he will be useful. Spears were weapons that required a lot of finesse and technical training. Humphrey himself didn't have knowledge with the spear, his skill capacity dealt more with blades and swords. Humphrey looked at the man named Jehtro. He will do. He is a cut above the rest. He considered the man's proposal. Saves me the trouble of looking for more help. And he volunteered. Humphrey was deep in thought as he looked at Jethro, and finally nodded.

"We are in agreement, friend. I am called Humphrey." The kitsune had an unusual name for an Akashiman. Though his dress, attire, and mannerisms clearly show cased that he was from Akashima. He looked at Jethro. "We should begin right away, on our hunt." He said calmly. Then he moved towards the man, and offered to shake his hand in agreement.

***

A short time later they were outside of the rotting city of Ettermire.

The air was still tainted with the smell of industrial pollution, and Humphrey would never get used to it. The city of Ettermire was a huge fortress, and the land outside was being choked by it's expansion and science. The ground was darkened with soot and other chemicals seeping into the soil. Humphrey looked at the dark, scorched earth and felt pity for the citizens of Ettermire. They have sealed their own fate. Humphrey thought to himself as he walked alongside his newfound ally. Humphrey looked at Jethro calmly and nodded with respect.

"We should talk with one of the outpost guards first to get a bead on our mark." Humphrey said calmly. They would have information on the target that he needed. He walked forward, knowing that Jethro would accompany him. There was an outpost with a small group of armoured guards up ahead. Humphrey walked towards the outpost and saluted them.

"Greetings, we are here about the mark: Drune. I would appreciate any information on where me and my companion can find the mark." Humphrey said casually.

The guard nodded towards the two. "Here take his parchment, it will explain everything." He handed Humphrey a small sealed envelope. "If you capture him bring him back here. His followers don't matter." The man said coldly.

"Understood." Humphrey said and then turned toward Jethro. "If you are in agreement, we split the prize money fifty-fifty. I believe we can get this hunt done together." Humphrey said.

[Jethro]

Once again Jethro remained silent and listened, he wasn't what one thought of as a strong silent type as in he he wasn't grumpy and walked around with a grimace on his face while he rarely spoke. More rather he was observant and kept half a smile on his face while he listened to the conservation. He saw the exchange of the envelope of information, and was slightly dissatisfied at the answers the guard gave.

"If you will excuse me." Jethro said with out much in the way of fan fare and made his way to the nearest tavern. He looked around a moment and proceeded to the bar proper. "A bottle of whiskey?!" He shouted across the din of half drunk patrons. Upon receiving it he filled up a shot glass and set it down in front of the gentleman next to him. "Drink" he offered and the man took the shot and Jethro refilled the shot glass.

The man took the next shot and in full voice asked "What do you want!?"

Jethro filled the shot glass again and said in just as full of a voice "I need some information about a guy who goes by the name of Drune!" As the pair or more precisely the guy drunk Jethro watched the tavern casually. Not covertly but just a casual observer as soon as he said Drune a patron at a gambling table snapped his head up.

Bingo! But to confirm Jethro filled up the shot glass again when the guy asked "What do you want to know?!"

Jethro replied "Where is that ugly, foul smelling piece of worm ridden filth?"

The man at the gambling table began to glare at Jethro, confirmed that was the mark he was looking for. The guy who was next to him passed out on the last drink smashing the shot glass with his face. Not a pretty site, soon after the man at the gambling table passed through a side door near the fire place.

Jethro stepped out of the front door killing the bottle of whiskey on his way out. "You have a deal, fifty, fifty. By the way if we move now we could get a lead." With that Jethro gave a description of the man at the gambling table.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

A bit perplexed at the situation, Humphrey did not want to know where Jethro had gone in the time he got the information.

Humphrey simply decided to run with it...

He listened to the man's words and nodded. "We should discuss that out of ear-shot. Too many unfriendly listeners are about." Humphrey said. He motioned where they were going to head and he knew the area outside of Ettermire fairly well at that point. The field was dry earth, and overhead was a dark grey sky. Rain sometimes came to Ettermire, but it didn't seem likely just yet. The clouds overhead were pregnant, and threatened to release their contents to the planet below. Humphrey looked ahead. Once they were a safe distance from the Ettermire gates, Humphrey looked at his companion.

"Okay we can talk now." Humphrey knew that the natives had sharp senses and he would have to consider the information at hand very very carefully. He prided himself on being careful and would fight for his friends. The Kitsune looked about to be certain they were alone. Then, he broke the seal of the envelope. After unfolding the parchment, he read the notes to Jethro very quietly, loud enough for the man to hear him alone. "Does that sound about accurate to you?" Humphrey didn't want to have to deal with conflicting information. But he trusted Jethro over the guards that were present, some of them were generally really shady.

Humphrey read the parchment's notes again a few more times and thought about what was being said.

If he's a mere bandit, why haven't they sent patrols after him yet? To be fair, Humphrey understood the situation at Ettermire. People were getting sick and dying from a mysterious source, and that made the local government and military quite paranoid. The note also said that the bandit was armed with a magical weapon of some sort. "He's dangerous if the dossier is correct. He has some sort of a magical weapon. We're going to have to work hard for this mark." Humphrey read the last part. "They are at a camp. But the parchment doesn't state the direction of the camp, what have you found out, Jethro?" Humphrey asked and looked at Jethro the whole time. He put the parchment back in it's envelope and placed the item in his own packs.

Humphrey was a serious man, and he wanted to be certain the job was completed to all specs.

[Jethro]

There was a the sound of a horse trotting off and while Jethro was listening to the fox he kept an eye on the direction the horse was disappearing towards. "The gambler I told you about has been flushed. With the way he was acting as I said disparaging words about Drune combined with his intimidate exit after my announcement that I am looking for him; one can only assume that he is under the employ of Drune and that he is currently galloping off to warn him of the imminent arrival of a bounty hunter."

Jethro indicated the direction he was watching the horse speed towards with his head "Does that correspond with your information?" With a reply the affirmative Jethro began moving at a smooth if not persistent pace. "Now, you may be thinking that what I did could be a major tactical error and that is a possibility but I don't think so. Having our quarry keyed up leaves with three basic options. First option is he runs that would mean that he will soon be scrambling to collect the items most valuable to him and running meaning he won't be thinking clearly just on his survival and treasure. The second option is he'll hole up in or near his camp and get ready for a fight, most likely since he thinks he has an advantage with his weapon, and lastly he might try and attack though it's easier to defend than attack."

Jethro paused a moment in his thoughts to reorganize and then continued "If he holes up we can patiently wear his people down while he runs low on resources and loyalty. If he attacks he and his men will be that much more fatigued from the journey. But he doesn't know that we're partners. He'll think I'm out numbered more than we are and have his guard down for the first moments of his attack.

He kept his pace up as he pushed through to the deer trail that the horse had recently galloped through.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

"Agreed." Humphrey saw the horse speeding off when Jethro pointed it out. "That is an adequate place to start, let's go." Humphrey, was the speedy and acrobatic type. He readied his leg muscles and prepared to dash after the lone horse rider. The fact that the rider was already acting in Ettermire upset Humphrey quite a bit. [i]The guards may be in on this, we must be very careful. Not all of them are bad, but desperation breeds insanity. "We should keep an adequate distance behind the rider."

Humphrey knew that Jethro would follow, and sprinted off at medium speed towards the direction of the rider. Humphrey carefully kept a distance behind the rider. He did not want to give their position away.

As Humphrey ran, he could feel the wind in his fur.

His calve muscles pounded the ground of Alerar as he ran, more that capable of following the horse.

The horse head trotted at a full speed, but Humphrey was able to keep up and watched the trajectory of the man's sprint. Humphrey had an idea at that point. "Jethro, we will fall back and assault their camp once we arrive. Let him reach his master, that will reveal the correct place we need to head to." Humphrey said as he ran alongside his new friend.

The camp was located in the field to the North East of Ettermire herself.

Several tents were present, and a campfire, and some other structures that were needed for raiding. Humphrey spotted the heavy duty equipment before he decided to enter the camp. He signalled to Jehtro that they would enter from the western portion of the camp. There were roughly six tents present at the camp and Humphrey noticed a statue. It glowed. That was located at the center of the camp...

That is my target... Humphrey thought to himself. Hatred immediately filling his heart. He didn't like many of the more pagan fetishes that were paramount to Althanas. Though he tolerated them, the darker religions were against everything he believed in. This man we are hunting, Drune, might be a cultist. Humphrey ran a little bit further, and stopped. They were a few feet away from the camp and he noticed the rider enter the camp and raise a commotion...

Humphrey turned towards Jethro. "There might be a problem." He pointed towards the fetish statue in the center of the enemy camp. "They might be drawing power from that fetish." Humphrey explained. They needed to come up with a plan b to shut their operation down.

[Jethro]

Jethro scratched his chin looking at the situation "Then take it out of the equation. If that thing is as important to them as you seem to think it is than it's their weakness. Target it, put it in danger make them worry about it. Me I'll go right for Drune it he's concentrating on me he wont be able to give orders properly."

The theory was sound enough the execution looked a lot more difficult. Jethro and his companion were out numbered at least three to one. That wasn't accounting for what ever the totem did nor if there were any reinforcements that may be coming. "Right, if you have any other ideas I'm ready to hear them." He said once the full weight of the idea began to roll through his mind.

During the pair's short time together Jethro neglected to mention that he did have a few advantages that would shortly come into play. As Jethro watched the totem and those around it his scarabs began to grow excited and swarmed under his skin. He grinned predatoraly at the group. "We need to hit them quick, the longer they're confused the better it is for us so don't let up." he stated as he worked out what else must be done or what might happen.

Looking the area over one more time Jethro spotted a bottle of booze and he got an idea. "When ever you're ready" Jethro stated.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

He is a sound partner. This should go well, though we are vastly outnumbered...

Humphrey nodded. "I'll provide the distraction you need. I got an idea as well. Begin your assault a bit after I do." Humphrey suggested. Then he ran towards the camp. Drawing his steel katana, the kitsune prepared hi assault of the camp. The wind passed through his hair as he ran forward. His eyes keeping track of how many there were. Twenty armed men all together plus the fetish. Humphrey noticed the two camp guards react to his approach.

"Intruder!" One of them managed to yell.

The kitsune grinned. That's all I needed... He prepared his weapon as he ran. Steel reflecting the harsh afternoon sun. As he prepared himself mentally, the Akashiman began to count backwards from one hundred seconds. He was counting out loud mostly to keep himself calm and focused, but also...to annoy and distract his enemies. "One-Hundred, Ninety-Nine..." Humphrey began the counting sequence. He was already upon the first guard.

"Ninety-Seven...Ninety-Six...Ninety-Five..." Humphrey was stating each number with crystal clarity, in the common tongue. He said it with such fervor and seriousness that it was almost a mantra. His sword swung through the air in an attempt to cut the first guard. Humphrey's eyes were already spotting the second guard coming at him.

His blade left a streaking flash of light, an effect of the ward symbol on the weapon. The enchanted blade cut through the first man's stomach. He was armoured, but lightly. Wearing some kind of hide or leather armour. The man clutched at his stomach in disbelief.

His intestines were already pouring out on the ground as he desperately clutched at them...

There was a disgusting sploshing sound as the man's organs landed on the ground and he cried and screamed in anguish as he died.

The second man rushed at Humphrey...

Humphrey was already acting. "Eighty-seven...eighty-six...eighty-five..." The count down continued. With a flick of the wrist, Humphrey dispatched the second man with his weapon. The man's head rolled down the hill effectively detached from the body...

Humphrey dashed into the camp. More men were already attempting to intercept him. "Seventy-six...Seventy-five...Seventy-four..." Three more fellows were cut down by the kitsune's elegant blade style. "Seventy-three...seventy-two...seventy-one..." And there it was. There were shouts and screams of anger as the entirety of the camp attempted to come down on Humphrey as he found the deadly fetish. That was his sole mission...to destroy the fetish.

It was a mysterious totem of unknown origins. It was completely black and had grotesque imagery of various pagan deities. Humphrey cut down two more men. At that point, they had realized the target was their fetish. More yelling and harsh screams. Men dying and crying out for help. Humphrey readied his warder arts. He was a warder at heart. Once his chi began to flow in the air around his body, the assault on Humphrey hesitated the briefest of moments. Humphrey whispered in the warder language, and his free hand moved in an elegant gesture. Glowing light was traced in the air. "By the light be cleansed." Humphrey said calmly and opened his eyes.

Suddenly, the horrible fetish statue exploded...

[Jethro]

When the fox darted into the fray Jethro waited patiently taking in a slow count of five. All eyes were on the orange colored anthropomorphic fox and then Jethro charged in.

Drune was busy shouting orders mostly along the lines of "kill the intruder!" right up to the moment Jethro met him.

Jethro took things slow circling around Drune as Drune circled around him each sizing the other up, he knew that Drune was a dangerous person and he needed to know how dangerous. Just a moment later Drune reached for a double bit axe.

Just as soon as Drune reached for his axe Jethro thrust his spear aiming at Drune's center mass.

Drune gripped the axe in one hand and pivoted on his heel lifting it off the ground and swinging cutting the cloth of Jethro's duster and taking the tip of Jethros spear across his chest and into his shoulder.

Stepping forward and twisting his body Jethro followed through with his trust with an end cap strike towards Drune's face.

Drune caught the bitter end of the strike and powered through grabbed Jethro's spear wrenched it from his hands and drove it into the ground.

Jethro lurched forward when the spear was pulled from his hand then took another step, grabbed the bottle of booze he spied pivioted on his toe and swung the bottle again aiming for Drune's face. This time his attack connected and the bottle shattered.

Drune's nose was busted and he staggered back grabbed a hand full of camp fire ash and threw it into Jetheo's face before driving forward giving the axe a full over head swing before he was met with Jethro's duster.

Jethro was temporarily blinded he knew enough to know he was about to have an axe driven into his skull. Thinking on his feet he ripped his duster off and threw it in the direction he last saw Drune.

The duster tangled Drune's axe throwing it off its intended target. Drune roared in rage as Jethro grabbed his spear and was about to thrust when Baff! Boom! Wallop! the totem erupted in a bright explosion.

The fight was paused for a very fast moment.