Can't we all just get along? Guess not.(closed to Hamnat, Kryos, and Bevel)

[Camella]

It was approaching midnight in the city of Radasanth when Camella arrived. As an assassin and a bounty hunter by trade, this was perfect for her. The streets were nearly devoid of people. They were all asleep in their beds at this time of night. Camelly changed her skin tone to black to make herself harder to notice, she was on an important bounty mission, and she wasn't about to take any risks, because she needed to get her man. The reward was 1000 gold. Her task was to find and assassinate a man known as Dervim Canondeme and while the man himself was dangerous, that was not main reason for his high bounty. The bigger reason was that he had committed enough crimes to earn himself a bad rap.

Camella was lucky enough to find out where the man lived by asking around the local tavern just yesterday. As was per usual at a tavern, the patrons were quite unruly, especially the drunk ones. at least twice Camella remembered having to knock people out for trying to feel her up. She hated taverns because of this, and yet she knew that when she needed information, the tavern was usually the best place to start. After forcing the information out of one of the drunken fools that seemed to recognize the name, Camella immediately left the place to head towards the city she was in now.

Arriving at the house she had been directed to, Camella took in the sights. The lights were out, and there was nothing special about it other than the fact that it was the smallest house on the block. The outside of the house was painted blue, and there was only a single window on it. Of course this was enough for Camella to use as an entryway. She dove through the window and got ready to fight anyone that came running after hearing the crash. The house, however, was completely devoid of life. Nobody came running because nobody was home. it looked almost as if nobody had lived there for quite a while. Cursing to herself, Camella made her way to Radasanth's local tavern, hoping to god that the folks in the capital city were less perverted when drunk.

[hamnat]

Shenjara had been in a constant state of anger for days. She'd finally gotten a book to help her from an abandoned shrine in Akashima, only to have it stolen right out of her hands by a man whose name was apparently Dervim Canondeme. She'd tracked him all the way back to Radasanth. She'd been there not too long before, as well, when she helped a man named Tranas' deal with a few problems. He'd pointed her to a ronin named Doji Ki, who told her of the book. They'd fought many strong monsters known as oni and grabbed the book.

All that work, for nothing. She was so angry. Arajnehs, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. Haha! I still can't believe you had everything you needed right in your hands, and you just...let him...take it away from you. What a stupid bitch you are! Shenjara's jaw tightened so much that her teeth creaked. Kishurin and Mac, her friends and traveling companions, were still somewhere in Akashima, probably on their way to Radasanth. "I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have. Just meet me in Radasanth, at the tavern we stayed at last time. When I'm done with him, I'll go there."

It was very late at night and Shenjara was headed to a tavern. It wasn't the same as the one she'd usually gone to, but it had more patrons likely to know Dervim's whereabouts. Her feet ached; the cobblestone road was not treating her bare feet kindly and her feet were very sore. She looked up from the road. There was a sign above the street. "The Lazy Tankard" It was the tavern she was looking for. She went in and her ears immediately met a sound of roaring laughter, drinking songs, and the occasional "Can I buy you a drink, miss?" She bypassed as many of them as she could, wondering why so many were still up at this time of night. When she got the bar, she asked for a mug of water and a room for the night.

One scruffy-looking man with a mug of white lager in his hand came up to her and drunkenly said, "'ello, elfy-miss. Ye wanna REAL drink? 'll get i' fer ya." She turned to him and politely refused, "I don't drink anything but water and tea. Sorry to disappoint you, sir." Thankfully, he left her alone with nothing but "Oh...sorry to bother yer, elfy-miss." The barkeeper slid her mug full of water down to her. It was clean, thankfully. She drank it slowly, refreshing her entire body with one simple drink. The water slid down her throat, cooling it and soothing the damage she'd done to it by screaming at the bastard who had stolen her book.

A few other cretins tried to make a pass, but she turned them all down, telling them she wasn't looking for company. One of them was more forceful about his request, but she straightened him out with a quick jab in the stomach. The barkeeper looked at her with disapproval, but she apologized and he let it go. Up the stairs she went, then around a bend to a hall of doors. "Fourth on the right!" the barkeeper yelled up.

Her room was cozy, with a well-made bed, a wash-basin, a table with a chair, and plenty of lighting. She washed her robe first, cleaning out the dust of travel, then bathed with a rag left by the wash-basin. She flopped her soaked robe over the back of the chair to dry, then slipped into the bed. It was soft and warm. She hadn't slept in a bed in a while, so it didn't take her long to fall peacefully asleep. Arajnehs couldn't get to her quickly enough to disturb her again. "Damn it..." She slept without interruption all night long. She dreamed of opening a book with nothing in it. She looked up and a man was running away, chanting in sing-song, "I stole all the words! I stole all the words!" She chased him and chased him but she couldn't catch him. The fool had stolen the words to her book. She would get him eventually.

[Bevel]

Bevel smiled inwardly. You've really done it this time, old boy, he thought, silently congratulating himself. Around him, the noises of the tavern reacted against each other with the same murmuring din they always did, a mix of slurred drinking songs, the clink of heavy mugs and faint sounds from the kitchen. The Lazy Tankard was to every one of the five senses a completely typical tavern, which made it perfect for the dark elf's purposes. He'd arrived early and staked out the perfect spot for attracting the types he needed for his little expedition.

For you see, Bevel Kessler had gotten himself a dark corner.

If there was nothing else that screamed "QUEST WITH ME!" like a drow in the dark corner of the tavern, Bevel honestly didn't know what. Made it a bit tough to read, but that was a small price to pay for such a magnetic power. Especially in this particular tavern, which sensually behaved like every other but situated itself on the main road up from the docks, which meant that most everyone passed through here at some point or another.

What the drow in question was looking for was an adventurer, the type that looked different from the vaguely-described riffraff hanging about the place. He unfolded a small sheet of parchment he'd brought, listing the names and brief descriptions of known adventurers and/or troublemakers in the areas of Corone and Scara Brae. A few stood out to him:

- "Shenjara:" green robes red hair pyromancer

Hmm. She sounded useful to have in a fight, though he hoped she wouldn't turn out like most fire mages, flying off the handle and blasting things at the drop of a hat. Bevel thought he'd seen such a person shoving lusty patrons out of the way a few minutes ago, but she seemed to have disappeared.

- "Camelle:" knives

Bevel remembered this one. That's all the information the parchment could supply about her: "knives." It didn't take a genius to piece the sparse evidence together; this "Camelle" was evidently quite good at two things, her knives -likely some kind of assassin or paid killer- and her subtlety - which would reinforce the former. This, unfortunately, left him with nowhere to look for her, but that's where the magnetic power of his dark corner came in.

- "Bevel Kessler:" fat wears leather jacket engineer

This one was struck out by another hand - the hand that carried the gun Bevel had acquired. Well, maybe "acquired" was a bit of an understatement...and come to think of it "gun" was rather an overstatement. The bloody thing had had a clockwork mechanism keeping it together, concealing a square of parchment Bevel hadn't opened yet. When he tried to reload it, the gun had just fallen apart in his hands.

- "Metamorphic sword Jik'Draisell:" valuable metamorphic device

Oh, that. This must have been the sword Bevel found on the dead guy in Scara Brae, the crazy one that wanted him to kill another guy for some reason. Now, it was in possession of some loopy kid running around Scara Brae being a hero. Bevel wanted as far from that as possible.

There were many more on the list, the one he'd taken from the bounty hunter that night he shot the man dead, but none of them seemed useful in any way. Realistically, his best bet was to continue doing what he did now: sit back, enjoy the ale and let the dark corner bring his prospects to him.

[Kryos]

Midnight had fallen. The moon, light occasionally piercing the grey clouds, reached the high of its journey. Yet the sparse light did manage to illuminate the quiet streets of Radasanth. The stone cobble ways shone a pale white and abandoned stalls lay empty on the side of the streets, left by the owners until daybreak.

Rushed footsteps whispered in the dark as a man hurried down one of the main streets, only to turn into a narrow alley. He disappeared into the darkness and once again the path returned to a quiet calm. A few minutes later, however, another form crept, following the path of the one before. His cloths were black in the night, ebon hair casting his face in shadow. Only his sword, strapped to his back, glinted in the night. That, as well as his glowing silver eyes. He ducked into the side street, leaning against the wall and waiting.

The stone beneath Kryos’ knees and against his back, hard and cold, caused him to shift slightly. His eyes scanned the dark corners, looking for anything amiss. The target hadn’t gotten too far ahead of him, so he should be able to pick him up with his Lumneye. He extended his senses, dismissing the patrons of the city sleeping in the houses around him that he picked up. There! Around two corners ahead of him, a figure stood. Another approached and opened a door and the man stepped in. Kryos smiled and let the glowing silver in his eyes recede to normal. He stood and, keeping to the shadows, followed the trail of his prey.

In no time, he found himself crouched against the side of the house. The windows held no light, but a sliver of light escaped from the bottom of the door. He slunk up next to it and placed his ear next to the wood. He could make out muffled voiced behind the wood and he concentrated on picking out words.

“. . .leaving tomorr. . .”

“. . . finished with th. . .”

“. . . now get. . .rest. . .”

The light disappeared from the gap underneath the door and Kryos leaned against the framework. He could act now, but fatigue worried him. He’d been tailing the man, Dervim Canondeme, all day. He couldn’t afford to screw up, not when he had such a lead. He rose into the dark street and walked away from the portal. He would be back in the morning to meet Dervim and obtain the information he sought. But until that time came, he would prepare himself. He navigated through the streets, heading toward his room at The Jack’s Trade. He would be ready.

[Camella]

Camella began looking around the tavern. There were a few oddball customers inside. Not that there weren't usually some oddballs in places like this, but there were some that were especially out of the ordinary. there was a gentleman with an Eyepatch over both eyes that gave Camella an odd chill. Sitting next to him was a man in a black coat that had ABC tattooed on his neck. The latter seemed to be eyeing her. On the other side of Eyepatch was a girl with angel wings who couldn't have been more than 10 years old. She looked to be the most serious of the three, though. They seemed to be there as a group. In another corner was a man who had what looked to be a hilt to a sword with no blade. None of the people looked to be in the know, so Camella approached the bartender.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for a man by the name of Dervim Canondeme, do you know where I might find him?" The bar got louder as people started talking to each other. Camella began looking around, trying to figure out why it suddenly became noisy when she mentioned Dervim's name. It was then that she noticed the oddball in the shady corner. nothing said information to her more than a stranger in a shady corner. Camella cautiously approached before she repeated her question.

"Hey, Mister dark corner guy, can you tell me anything about Dervim Canondeme?"

[Bevel]

The bar's patrons came and went. He'd been approached several times now by people looking for other people, ones he'd never heard of with names like "Carmichael Emonds" and "Zzzyawalk'ssyllk" (at least, that's what he thought the nice mantis had said, before he exercised his right to continued existence by not buying her a drink) and "Kryos" and the like. With the exception of the individual "Kryos," who just appeared as a footnote on his list with the unhelpful appellation four-eyes, he hadn't heard of a single one.

Bevel swished his ale around the tankard, watching the foam dissolve away into air. The beer here was disappointingly pale and he already missed the Scarabrian Stout from the forest caper.

Speaking of "capers," then - what walked up to his magic little corner of the tavern looked precisely like the jumping-off point for his next one. She walked with that jaunty little swagger of the human females, the one that involves a sort of half-twist of the hips presumably to display maximum backside real estate with each step to one viewing her from the front. In Alerar, they had a decidedly less polite name for this: the brothel step.

But before his covert eye caught this, it caught (somewhat more importantly) the very well-kept daggers fixed to those hips, the wiry frame suggesting the speed of a Coronese house lizard and distinctly...scaly features. These all together generated enough healthy respect for the female that his attention went raptly -politely- to her face and stayed there. Peripheral vision was a wonderful thing.

"Hey, Mister dark corner guy, can you tell me anything about Dervim Canondeme?"

Bevel grinned amiably. He was breaking the Mysterious Dark Corner Guy facade by doing so but frankly, he didn't care. His goldometer had rung at precisely the instant she'd mentioned Dervim Canondeme, one of the most interesting individuals he knew of. And also happened to be looking for.

But every good Mysterious Dark Corner Guy, no matter their opinions on the facade, knows that information can't just flow like water from an Alerian fire-engine; it should be portioned out to retain a matter of control over the situation.

Besides, it makes you look cool.

Bevel gazed mysteriously into the swirling foam in his mug of ale, while his other mug offered a polite smile. "Dervim Canondeme, esquire," he grinned, and took a pull on the ale. "I may know a bit."

"Sit on down," he offered, "and have an ale on me. Before business, names should be in order, yeah?" At this, he extended a calloused hand. "Bevel -just Bevel- at your service. And you'd be?"


OOC: A PM from one of you guys would be immensely helpful, as I've got no earthly idea who this Dervim guy is even though Bevel's supposed to. XD

[Camella]

I hope you don't mind if I bunny you a bit, Bevel

Camella normally didn't like giving out her name. It simply was something she needed to avoid doing in order to keep herself alive. Camella shook her head.

"Not here. I can't tell you who I am unless we are alone." Camella whispered, just before leading Bevel up to a room where they could be alone

Clutching a dagger on her side, in case Bevel got the wrong idea, she finally spoke up again.

"My name is Camella, and if you ever even think of telling other people my name, I will hunt you down. Now come on, I haven't got all day. What you got on Dervim?" Camella said, getting slightly impatient.

[Bevel]

Loath as the drow was to relinquish his Dark Corner, Bevel’s suspicion told him it had served his purpose – launching his next scheme. A burly drunken sort gave him a knowing grin as the girl led them into a private room – of course, the drow had no such intentions for this female. For one, she was (vaguely) human, and humans just weren’t the drow’s thing; they were all weirdly pink and smelly with those creepy round ears. This particular (vague) human had demonstrated that other irritating human virtue: she was jumpy. The way those hands flicked to the knives at any provocation told him her relationship experience had been gnomish at best: short, and unpleasant.

At any rate, it didn't take a Professor Ivesdon to figure out what the nice reptilian girl wanted with Canenderme - like as not she had a fat bounty waiting for her upon return of his head. Bevel didn't show it, but he'd certainly noticed her reliance on those daggers -knives if you will - and inwardly hoped he hadn't elicited the same sort of attention from her. Naturally, he played it off cool.

"It's awfully early for threats, m'dear," he replied in a low voice, scratching the stubble upon his large chin. "I'm sure you know what the man's wanted for, and the solid bounty upon his head. He's got a house 'round here, and rumor has it-" -at this, he took a pull on the ale, glancing covertly around for any unwanted attention- "-a second base of operations near our lovely capital."

Now to twitch the bait around a bit more. “O’course, you wouldn’t get anywhere near either place on your lonesome. He’s a paranoid sort an’ like as not his guards would cut you down before you got close.” He punctuated this with a swig of ale, glancing wistfully down into its foamy depths. Yep, definitely missed that stout. “Anyway. We’ll need more than we’ve got right now if you’re looking to get close to Canenderme.”

Another pull on the ale, nearly draining it. “Any ideas?”

[hamnat]

Shenjara had managed to cut the man off and was right behind him now. She tossed two Torches at him, but he dodged them deftly, laughing about how she couldn't hit the broad side of Brokenthorn Forest. But he tripped and fell to the ground. She caught up to him and reached down to grab him.

------------------------------

Shenjara woke up, furious that her dream had ended just before its consummation. She got out of the bed and went to wash her sweaty face. The cool water cleansed her skin, soothing and refreshing as it dripped back into the wash basin. She grabbed the cloth and dried her face with it. She was headed back to bed when she heard voices through the wall. She looked at the wall curiously for a moment, but then forgot about it and continued heading back to her bed. She slipped under the covers again, and instantly, the warmth hit her. She was about to fall asleep again when she heard them more clearly.

“Anyway. We’ll need... right now...close to Canenderme.”

Shenjara jumped out of bed. The mention of Dervim's name had made her entire body awake and angry again. She didn't waste time trying to listen to their conversation, but hastily clothed herself and went outside to the hallway. She quickly walked down to the next door and grabbed the doorknob. They forgot to lock the door....how fortunate.

She quickly slammed the door open, making her presence obvious to the two shady figures in the room. One was a reptilian-looking girl with knives on her hips, and the other was a fat dark-elf who looked like he needed a bath. Shenjara didn't waste anytime with introductions and went straight on the offensive. "Karanuscai Arelanta!" The fireball flared to life around her palm, illuminating the room, and crying for blood. "Tell me EVERYTHING you know about Dervim, or I will not hesitate to shove this fireball down your throat and rip out your vocal cords."

[Bevel]

One of these days, Bevel wanted to write a book on the physics of Althanas. It seemed that simply being in possession of information, grabbing a dark corner and styling oneself like some kind of criminal mastermind was all that one needed to bring every last interesting twit down around one like an avalanche. In this case: before Camella could react to his query, a singularly annoying young girl burst into the room yelling something about vocal cords, fireballs, and generally wrecking any pretense at subtlety the drow and his conspirator were enjoying. Furthermore, she lit up a fireball within possibly the most flammable building in town: old, creaky wood and alcohol everywhere.

Bevel wasted no time: exasperatedly, he quaffed the remaining ale, doused his meaty hand in water from his canteen and clamped it wholesale over the girl's fireball hand. Ksssshhh! went a puff of steam as the drow's own limited pyromancy met the fireball with a hearty dousing of water in between. Yes, the girl's fireball had hurt, but it wasn't anything he hadn't felt before.

The drow quirked an eyebrow. "Bad pyromancer. No biscuit."

The reason for his exasperation, oddly enough, wasn't anger or frustration. Rather, it was disappointment. Inwardly, he'd hoped that this girl -red hair green robes pyromancer- would turn out completely unlike the rest of her kind. This, however, had been too much to ask. Unsurprisingly, his hand remained clamped tightly around hers, while his heavy feet braced casually against the floor, in case the crazy little thing knew any martial arts.

"Right then," he said to both Camella and this lunatic girl, "We're going to have a nice, civil -civil means no fireballs incidentally- discussion here, and hope the rest of the bar didn't notice your little pyrotechnics display or we're liable to get kicked out of here on our collective arse."

He quaffed a small amount of water from his canteen, recalling the scrap of paper in his pocket. ""Shenjara," I presume?"

[Camella]

Camella turned around to face the pyromancer. How longhad she been listening in? She certainly knew the topic of the day. Camella stared the woman straight in the eye, almost daring her to make the first move, but Bevel ended up getting in the way. Camella suddenly remembered what bevel said about needing more people and looked the woman up and down. Bevel almost ordered the woman and Camella to sit and chat in a civil way, but just when things were about to be calm again, Bevel suddenly seemed to think he figured out the chick's name. This worried Camella.

"Alright, how exactly do you know this woman, is she an associate? A contact? You can't tell me you are just taking a wild guess, there has to be a reason way you guessed that her name was Shenjara, now out with it!" Camella said, pointing her dagger at Bevel. Suddenly her gaze moved back to Shenjara.

"You aren't excused either, missy. What business do you have barging in on a private conversation, and how much did you hear anyway?" She said, pointing a seperate dagger at Shenjara.

Camella moved to a corner, cautiously, and kept her knives pointed at the other two.

"You two have your civil conversation, I'll just listen from here. Oh, and by the way, Bevel, you never said Civil meant no daggers." Camella stated as she stood in her corner.

[hamnat]

Shenjara was utterly dumbfounded. He just...completely...how... She couldn't understand just how he'd put the most powerful form of her Torch out by simply grabbing her hand with his wet one. A sudden wave of repulsion passed through her. On that note... She wrenched her hand from his grasp and said, "First of all, don’t EVER grab my hand like that again. Second, don't EVER patronize me; I know what civil means. Third, how, by the Thaynes, do you know my name?" Suspicion filled her mind like smoke, overwhelming and suffocating everything else.

She kept herself between them and the doorway, blocking their escape so they wouldn’t try anything funny. She looked over at Camella, who brandishing her daggers and going into a tirade. Shenjara’s eyes narrowed and she said, “‘Dervim Canenderme.’ That’s all I needed to hear. Now are you going to answer my question or am I going to have to sear your throats into ash?”

Patience was not a virtue Shenjara had. Numerous bandit attacks, prejudiced comments to her half-bloodedness, and Arajnehs’ constantly making life miserable for her had all caused what virtues she had once shown to disappear. She was, in effect, losing her humanity, becoming a shadow of her former self. A shadow with nothing but constant suffering and the primal urge to kill.

[Bevel]

In retrospect, nobody could accuse Bevel LeChaudiere Kessler of being impolite or undiplomatic. He'd held out long enough against these two hooting lunatics. At this point, there wasn't much he could muster up but a disappointed harrumph. What was he reduced to working with - humans? Bunch of kids these were. Always they went on about the evils of drows, the haughtiness of elves, but frankly, nine tenths of the humans Bevel had met were hair-trigger lunatics, leaning on the crutches of magic or knives as their short lifespans wound down.

Racism went both ways.

"Because," he told the pyromancer, "you are approximately the least subtle person I have ever had the misfortune of meeting." He considered another ale, but he didn't want to spend any more of his evening with these two most atrocious drinking buddies around. "You want to know how I know your name? Bloody near everyone knows of you. I was hoping you'd be easier to work with than your reputation suggests, but you've gone and disappointed me again."

Bevel gave the lizard-human a similar look, brushing her dagger away with a flick of his gloved hand. To her idiotic comment about the knives, he added a simple: "Do grow up."

"Believe I'm done here," he offered, strangely nonchalant about the whole business. "Figured it might come to this - here. Here's your info; fight over it and waggle your fiery sharpened authority around at each other."

He tossed a folded parchment square onto the table where, in fine paper-football fashion, it came to rest squarely on the edge farthest from the two deranged humans. Muttering something about 'damage control,' the large dark elf disappeared into the crowd and was gone.

Okay, here's the gist of it: I have to leave for some weeks and I don't want to bog down the story. Thus, Bevel temporarily leaves - no fireballs or knives in his face because I won't be here to post for it :P

Anyway, that bit of paper is some information on Dervim. It's all true, just there isn't very much information on him, just some hobbies, where his mansion is located, general stuff like that. Bevel clearly knows something he didn't put on his backup sheet.

Camella, I think Dervim is your NPC, so you're in charge of what that sheet says.

[Camella]

Camella pounced on the sheet of paper left behind and read it out loud. It wasn't out loud for Shenjara to hear, as she could care less what happened to flame-girl. No, the reason she read it out loud was pure habit.

"Now, let's see here... Dervim Canondeme, wanted for multiple crimes, has two hideouts. while one is an abandoned house in Radasanth, this is more of a decoy than anything else. The other hideaway is somewhere on the outskirts of town, but... Interesting..." Camella read before finally deciding she didn't want the Flamey bitch to hear.

Camella read the rest to herself.

'...but only a few of his associates know the exact location. One associate, a woman by the name of Felnea Virago frequents a tavern known as 'The Jack's trade'.

There was more, but it seemed illegible. Camella had no clue what this Felnea chick looked like, but she knew where to look now and Shenjara didn't. Camella quickly rolled up the scroll and took off for The Jack's Trade, unaware that in doing so, she dropped all the clue that Shenjara would need to follow her. Stuck to the back of the parchment was a picture of a woman in front of The Jack's Trade. On the back of this picture was the following message: 'Felnea Virago, 26, visits Jack's Trade frequently, seems to have connections with D.C. Contact at your own risk, she will defend the secrets of Dervim with her life.

When Camella rolled up the scroll, it fell off. Camella never saw it fall in her haste to find The Jack's Trade, and therefore never read it.

It should be obvious, but D.C. is Dervim Canondeme.

[Kryos]

((Bunnies have been approved beforehand))

Sitting in a corner of The Jack’s Trade, he brooded over his drink. Steam rose from the amber liquid in swirling currents of delicious aromas. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the spicy scent of his hot cider. Both hands wrapped around the warm mug and took in the heat of the fluid. A smile crossed his downcast face. If the higher part of his face were not cast in shadow by his hair, one could see that the smile reached his eyes.

Kryos always felt peace at times like these. Alone and undisturbed, with nothing but a warm drink to keep him company. It reminded him of the good times of his life. The times when he still had his innocence. When he would practice his skills in the forests, or go on adventures in the mountains by his home. And his friend, Lorin.

He leaned back suddenly, pushing the thought from his mind, locking those memories away where they belonged. He couldn’t think about those times. Not now, not ever. Not after what had happened.

His eyes flicked up, looking over the common room of the tavern. As expected at this time of night, only two other patrons, one male and the other a woman, sat at the wooden tables and benches. The three of them were scattered throughout the room. The other two stared in random directions, caught up with their thoughts as he had. Behind the counter, a lone waiter reclined in his own chair, desperately trying to not fall asleep.

Grinning again at the calmness of the moment, Kryos drank from his mug, enjoying the feeling of warm apple cider caress his tongue and flow down his throat. His nose filled with the spicy scent of it and warm air brushed against his face. Replacing the mug to the table, his hand brushed over the wood. Smooth with use, it mirrored the other tables scattered across the room and the ones built into the walls of the establishment, the prime “booth” seating. The dim light coming from the lamps around the hall added to the cozy effect of the room, and a few decorations, lit up by the same glow of fire, could be seen hanging up on the walls. Feeling his head droop, he decided it would be best if he turned in. He had to obtain the information from his quarry tomorrow, so it would be wise to get some rest. He finished his drink and stood, grabbing his weapon from the seat behind him. Striding to the stairway on the right side of the counter, he placed one foot on the steps when the door opened behind him. He turned, interested in seeing who would still be about at this time of night, in this part of town.

A young woman, perhaps twenty or so, walked through the door. She appeared average looking, if not on the bit of the small side, being no taller that five-foot-two. Light clothes draped her slender frame and a belt wrapped around her waist. It was on this belt that two daggers were held. The woman’s hands seemed restless, as if she couldn’t wait to seize her weapons and fight, but it could just be Kryos’ imagination. But something felt wrong to him. Her skin seemed out of place, unnatural. Maybe it was the dim light that made her skin look that way, tan, but having almost a shade of gray overlap it.

But he shook his head and turned away. The girl didn’t concern him, and it was not his business anyway. Besides, his bed did call rather urgently. He climbed the steps and vanished from sight, intent on finding the rest his body craved.

[hamnat]

The lizard-woman left Shenjara seething in anger. I....hate....SCUM!!!! flashed through her mind as Camella quickly strolled out of the room without giving her any useful information. "That scum is after Canenderm's head for cash...I need to find him before her so I can get my book! Why must I find scum everywhere I go!?"

To Shenjara, Camella was no better than any thieves she'd burnt to a crisp, and probably worse because the bounty hunter was actively making her life difficult. Shenjara walked out of the room seething, but looked back in as she went out the door. Maybe I should see if they left anything useful behind... she thought suddenly. A quick glance found the picture that had fallen off the back of the scroll the fat drow had handed to the lizard-bitch. "Heh...what an idiot," she said as she picked the picture up and studied it, "it's amazing she's still alive."

The picture gave her everything she needed to know what step to take next. She headed out and went back to her room. Grabbing all her equipment, she picked up her staff and walked out of the inn. "I should probably ask someone where The Jack's Trade is," she said as she walked out the door. A burly looking guy passed by and she asked, "Hey, where can I find The Jack's Trade?"

The man's face was confused for a second. "The Jack's Trade? What would a pretty lass like yourself want with a place like that? Not many people go there that don't have some shady business..." he said, prying into Shenjara's affairs. Her eyes narrowed as she replied, "I have a certain person to find because of his 'shady business' with a certain book of mine. I need that book, so I need him."

The man relented and pointed down the street, saying, "Go down that way a few streets and keep looking to the right. It'll be down at the end of one of those side streets. Good luck keepin' your head, though, missy." He walked away quickly, clearly eager to be away from someone who he was sure was about to die a gruesome and possibly defiled death.

Shenjara followed his directions and finally came to the tavern spoken of. The place looked rather tame for the reputation it had. But she knew well that facades rarely matched their true colors. She went in carefully, ready to say the words to her spells in case she should be attacked. The patrons sat murmuring at their tables and sipping down spiced wine and mead.

Shenjara didn't see Camella or the woman from the picture, but she wasn't about to give up. She decided on a table and a mug of spiced wine, which was unusual for her, but I need it right now. This has been a long day, and I want a chance to find this woman before I go back to my room. She sat quietly and sipped her drink, enjoying the flavor that she tasted very rarely and observing the patrons carefully.

[Camella]

As she headed into the Jack's trade, the first thing Camella noticed was that it was filled with the type of people who you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley at night. Ruffians, strongmen, assassins, bounty hunters, and criminals all were gathered there. Most of the bounty hunters were all smart enough not to attempt to capture any criminals there, for fear that other criminals there would attack them, and most of the criminals didn't try to take on the bounty hunters for similar reasons. It was a perfect sanctuary for anyone who needed it, despite the type of people that hung out there, but, of course, Camella still could feel the intent to kill coming from everyone there.

You see, Camella was hated by almost everyone there. The reason was simple, she was a bounty hunter herself, and she had once killed a hundred innocents in order to lure one criminal out of hunting. It didn't make it any better that that criminal got away, but ever since then, she had been unable to enter Fallien because of the decent sized bounty on her head.

The hatred that Camella felt from that room was enough to make her sick. She felt she had to get away from there to keep her cool. Seeing her one escape, she rushed into the ladies room, where, to her unfortunate surprise, a bloody pile of bones sitting in the corner stood as a firm reminder to everyone who entered what would happen if they started a fight in the Jack's Trade.

She didn't feel comfortable staying in the bathroom long either, but at least she was away from the anger and hatred that was making her ill. After about ten minutes, she decided to leave the bathroom, but what she saw when she exited put her on edge more than anything else in the bar. Sitting at the bar was none other than the crazy flame bitch from earlier. Still, with how bad her own reputation was, Camella needed felt this might actually be a blessing in disguise if she was able to use the opportunity correctly.

Sitting on the left side of the Flame bitch, Camella kept both hands at her side, ready to draw her weapons at any given moment if the woman decided to start a fight with her. Her plan was simple, she just had to convince the woman that while at the Jack's trade, they needed to cover each other's backs.

"What the HELL are you doing here, you crazy bitch? You been stalking me or something? I don't have time to deal with you. Besides, we both know I'd beat you if we fought. Not that that's going to happen. I've been unfortunate enough to see the Ladies room of this place, and I can tell you right now that nobody in this bar would survive if they attacked another person, because everyone here likely has back-up. Except for us... God, I wish that there was a simple solution to that problem."

[hamnat]

Shenjara suddenly found the lizard woman sitting next to her at her table, speaking quickly and with a lot of presumption. It was mostly the comment about being able to win easily in a fight that got her most, though. Calmly, but firmly, she replied in almost monotone voice, poison seeping through her every word, "First of all, I've been in this city a while, I know what this place's reputation is. Second of all, I've cooked many thieves more skilled with a pair of daggers than you, and thirdly, I'd like to keep a low profile, so PLEASE don't bring everyone's attention to us like you've been doing."

With her last comment, she flicked her eyes to the rest of the patrons, all of whom were watching them intently. Apparently, Camella got the jist of her notion, because she settled down quickly. Continuing with her previous comments, Shenjara left the poison behind and murmered to her new reptilian forced-comrade, "Now. I'm pretty sure we're both after...a certain man...I happen to know that he's got a big price on his head that you'd kill many people to get...like that one criminal you didn't quite catch some time back."

Shenjara was sure that this information would show the lizard-girl just how serious she was about her current venture and added for good measure, "I'm sure that the fat drow's comments towards me jogged your memory enough to recognize who I am. And if not, I'm the herbalist who came and made a medicine for that lady struck by the Soot. That should let you know right away, if you've been here any longer than a week. Basically, we both know who each other is, and that we're after the same guy. Now, you just want coin, and I only want a certain...artifact...that he stole from me. Get my drift, Lizzy?"

[Camella]

Camella was disgusted with herself. She had been only wanting someone to have someone cover her back while inside the bar, and she had tried to tried to force the flame bitch into helping her. Problem was, the flamethrower had bigger plans, she wanted Camella to help help her hunt down Dervim Canondeme, and as much as Camella wanted to say no, there was something keeping her from doing so.

The woman obviously knew a lot about her. Too much, in fact. She was a big threat to Camella because of how much she knew. If she were to leak that information to anybody, Camella knew she would likely not survive. The only way to prevent this was to be with her every step of the way until there was an opening to silence her in a place where nobody would see. She had to endure the torture of teaming up with the woman in the meantime.

"Yeah, I get you, woman. You want help retrieving some piece of shit that for some reason is life or death to you. I'll help you out, but only as long as there is a reason for me to do so. As soon as the man is defeated, you are on your own."

After a bit of deep thought, Camella spoke up again.

"Just don't get in my way. If it comes down to a choice between my life and yours, you are on your own. I'm not going to go down to save a piece of shit like you. Understand?"

[hamnat]

Shenjara suddenly smiled widely, an affinity building for this over-confident bounty hunter. I think I like her...she's got fire. She leaned back in her seat, a madman's smile covering her face. "That is PERFECT for what I had in mind. We're after the same guy, so team up. But don't expect me to save your pretty scaled hips either if and when your dagger skills fail on you. I can only summon so many fireballs a day, you know."

A thought hit her, a thunderbolt of feeling that aroused her caution: She's wary of me...I'm not supposed to know about her. It struck her suddenly why she had found out information about the bounty hunter but had never found anyone who knew her name. The realization made Shenjara put a psychological aegis between them. Sheer seriousness invaded her visage, and she said, "You won't have to worry about me betraying your identity. There are several sources of information on you, but noone knows your name, not even me. I'm as good a leak as anyone else in this tavern as far as you're concerned." Shenjara was learning quickly what underworld life--or the easily-earned lack thereof-- was like. Caution was the strongest instinct among thieves and beggars, and now she felt the brew of awareness fill her.

Her ears pricked suddenly, and a draft of air passed through the tavern. A tall woman with short, black hair and tightly-fitting leather clothing walked in. She had an obvious swagger to her stride, likely gained from consorting with the higher-ups among the societal dregs. Shenjara suddenly looked at the picture she had found and then looked back at the woman. Suspicious words slipped from her lips, "Felnea Virago...I do believe you are aware of her, yes? If not, we need to grab her as quickly and quietly as we can. She just came in, and she's apparently rather close with our mark, and we can use her to get to him. I'm pretty sure you figured that all out by now, but I'm not taking the chance that you're as slow as you look."

[Camella]

Camella paused and Stared at the flame-bitch as if she had said something stupid, then smiled. It appeared as if the woman was on to her true reason for joining already, but before she could point out the stupidity of telling someone that you can't betray them because you don't know thier name, a woman came in, dressed in leather, that the flame bitch immediately was able to tell was Felnea Virago.

"Yeah, I know about her, but my sources tell me it isn't going to be easy to get her to talk. What's the plan? How are we supposed to get her alone?" Camella whispered to the bitch beside her, Suddenly she remembered overhearing the woman's name when they first met and gave a sinister smirk.

"Any ideas, Shenjara?" Camella said in a taunting fashion, showing the woman that she knew her name.

Without any warning, Felnea sat down right next to camella and gave an eerily similar smirk. Camella was quite uneasy about this, but things only got worse as Felnea began to talk to her.

"So, then you really do exist. When I saw your wanted poster in Fallien, I had assumed it was a joke. You see, I've heard the tales, but begging for your life to the bounty you hunted after killing 100 of his people? That has got to be the most pathetic thing I have ever heard of. In fact, I heard a rumor that the 100 you killed were already on thier deathbeds. I also heard a rumer that you have never caught any of the bounties you've gone after. You aren't a bounty hunter, miss Camella. You are nothing but a joke." Felnea said to Camella loud enough for everyone to hear.

Camella went silent. She had to keep her image up somehow, but the whole bar was staring at her. the only to words that went across her mind were 'Ah Crap' as she suddenly realized that if Shenjara had overheard, she would likely be less willing to see her as much more than extra baggage.

[hamnat]

Shenjara's eyebrows shot up as Felnea Virago came over and began conversing with Camella. Arajnehs, the hateful entity living inside her head piped up, Oh my..and she was threatening YOU. How did you see right through her? This suddenly hit Shenjara like a ton of bricks. I-I didn't...I had no idea she can't fight for anything; I was just taunting her. Not only that, but Shenjara realized the real reason everyone had been looking at them to begin with.

Shenjara was obviously shocked as she said hurriedly, "You have a bounty on your head? A bounty hunter with a bounty on your head? I think you and I need to have a talk outside." She promptly stood up, saying to Felnea, "You can come with us if you want."

Shenjara began to walk outside, hoping that Camella had picked up her hint. Arajnehs seemed to have picked it up, Oh! You do seem to have a inkling of sense after all. Bring her outside where you can bag her and interrogate her...very smart. You may be worth something to me after all. She stepped outside and waited for the other two women to follow. She chanted her spell silently as she waited, "Bremnoytricgo nmertocit ailutishca reckña..."

[shinigami_90]

Standing nearly an even 6'0, Zaith, dressed in his usual garbs, looking like a dark paladin with his armor and all. But the thing is, he is no paladin, he is a simple swordsman. Standing with the sun so it is at his back and eyes glowing bright green and hair blowing in the wind; sword on his back sheathed and battered from his fight with Destrudo.

As he stands there in the main pathway to the town of Radasanth, Zaith looks around for the local pub, he had been told by some passer-by to come here and to the pub known as the Jack's trade and seek out Shenjara, for she had a mission and needed some kind of assistance. So he walks around the town, looking left and right, not seeing anything that can help when all of a sudden he sees the pub, will all kinds of people, ruffians by the looks of them standing outside it and all around it.


"Just great, just my fricking luck to deal with scoundrels again" he says angrely as he slowy walks to the pub carefully not trying to get into any trouble this soon. So he pushes the doors open slowly and walks in slowly and looks around while pulling a picture from his pouch of this Shenjara and looks for that face; as he looks around he gets stared at back, like the black sheep out,he notices strange faces and the last face through a side window in the pub he sees is Shenjara, making her way to the side of the pub. So he walks back out and to the side pushing all out his way. So as he gets to the side he raises his hand and speaks "Shenjara?" he says trying not to get her mad or anything.....

[Camella]

Camella couldn't believe her luck. Shenjara had overheard Felnea talking to her and fallen for an obvious trap. Well, obvious to her, at least. Felnea had Recognized her as a bounty hunter with a bounty on her head, and Camella knew this. Camella knew that this Felnea woman was trying to reveal who she was with. Now that enough personal attacks were made, Shenjara called Camella be name.

Felnea walked towards Camella and Smirked. Her Smile spread wider and wider as she followed Camella outside of the bar, but as she made her way out, Camella suddenly got a bright idea.

After finding Shenjara outside, she began to make her move. Making sure Felnea was still behind her, Camella began to talk to Shenjara. "Look, I don't know who you think you are, but if you ever do something that stupid again, I will kill you myself! If you truly believe you can take her, feel free to try, in the meantime, I'm gonna go and..."
Camella said as she turned around, making a show of turning around and acting surprised to see that Felnea was there.

Camella tried not to crack a smile as she continued to set the trap for Felnea.

"Say, Shenjara, I trust you can get Canondeme's information from her yourself. In the meantime I have something I need to look into." Camella said, just before running aaround a nearby corner and turning invisible. Camella doubled back while in her invisible state and waited for a good opportunity to stab Felnea in the kneecaps with her daggers. Hoping to god that Shenjara could stay alive long enough to distract Felnea, after that, though, Camella really didn't give a damn what happened to Shenjara.

Suddenly Felnea heard somebody call out Shenjara's name.

"Looks like you have a fan, miss Shenjara, too bad your partner left you to die." Felnea said as she pulled out her weapon and prepared to attack Shenjara before any reinforcements arrived for, but just before she coud attack with her weapon, Felnea recieved a sharp pain in both kneecaps. Soon afterwords, Camella became visible again, revealing that she had dug her daggers squarely into Felnea's knees.

"Alright, now tell me, where is Dervim Canondeme!" Camella insisted of Felnea before. Unfortunately for Camella, Felnea wasn't in a good mood, and quickly grabbed Camella's neck, and slammed her to the ground , then began to strangle Camella while holding her against the ground. If nobody intervened, Camella was going to die of suffucation quite soon.

Despite what the thread name says, Shinigami did get the OK to join, he just joined partway through.

[hamnat]

Shenjara was just about to summon her fireball and burn the bitch to a crisp when suddenly she went down. Blood pooled slowly from her knees as knives with a scaly hand appeared. "It's a good thing you came when you did, bounty-girl. A second later and she'd have been too charred to say anything."

Unfortunately, things didn't go as they should be. Camella was suddenly on the ground in a stranglehold. Everything that had happened to her in the last month or so had gone wrong one way or another, and it was compounding into one ball of anger. Forgetting her spell, Shenjara slammed her staff into Felnea's back. The raven-haired woman dropped onto Camella, her death-grip loosened from the blow.

Camella pushed the woman off of her as Shenjara slammed the staff into her ribs. A crack like a shotgun sounded as two ribs shattered followed by a cry of pain. Shenjara finished her work with a quick rap to both bleeding knees. The battle was over with surprising finish. Wow...I never thought I'd see the day that you'd take down someone way better at fighting than you without a scratch or a fireball, Arajnehs commented. To be honest, neither did I, she replied in her head. Jabbing at Felnea's throat with the butt of her staff, Shenjara's face turned into a visage of rage. "I swear I will crush your throat and then burn every inch of your body to a living, scorching, SCREAMING crisp if you do not tell us where he is NOW!" She looked over at the shaken stranger who happened to have shown up at the perfectly wrong time and said, "Yes, that's me, now what do you want? I'm a little busy with the scum."

[shinigami_90]

Zaith's eyes widen as he sees what appears to be somewhat of an interrogation going on."Yeah I was told you got some kinda mission or something that you might need help with? I came to check that stuff out" he says quietly as he lowers his hand and places back on his side.

As he sees what is going on he slowly starts shaking with a bit of fear and thinks 'shit, note to self -- do not piss off Shenjara.' he slowly places his right hand on his blade as insurance and some kinda insurance. "So yeah would you like me to go inside like nothing is going on?" his eyes widen and looks around the alley taking a note of what is going on; trying not to get creeped out or freaked out.

As people around him talk about something he can't understand he does cathc a glimpse of a familiar name.... so he listens for a second and catch what is goin on....


"So have you heard about this new guy at the Citadel?" one passer-by says

"Who? What you mean new guy?" another denizen says

"I'm not sure but one thing for sure he is not a force to be reckoned with, standing over 7 feet tall and carries a scythe..."

Zaith's eyes widen and remembers where he is. 'ahh i found you father' is all on his mind now. "Shenjara, would you want me inside so I forget about this or shall we talk about this 'mission' when you aren't busy?" he says with a bit of a shake in his voice...

[Camella]

It was hard for Camella to believe that Shenjara had effortlessly beaten somebody that she hadn't. Having let her guard down was bad enough, but Shenjara finishing the woman off was worse. Yet, despite this, what happened next didn't make Camella feel any better about the situation, for as soon as Shenjara looked away, being distracted by this newcomer who somehow knew her name, Felnea made her move. Being too injured to do much else, Felnea reached out and grabbed the arm of the woman who was threatening to fry her. It wasn't so much a grab of desperation either, as there was a distinct purpose to it. As soon as she grabbed Shenjara, Felnea held on tight and began using Shenjara's lifeforce to heal her wounds. At first Camella didn't know what was going on, but as soon as she saw one of the stab wounds to the legs heal up, she ran in recklessly yet again, Mercilessly cutting off the hand that held on to Shenjara before it could do any real damage. Problem was that suddenly Camella's hand was caught by the one hand the woman had left, and she began to drain Camellas lifeforce while keeping an eye on Shenjara. As Camella began to grow weaker, she heard Felnea laugh at her actions.

"You truly are a pathetic excuse of individuals. Did you truly think that a few broken ribs would be enough to keep me down? Camella, I now you have nothing to lose, but I didn't think you were so stupid as to not realize that my other hand was free." Felnea mocked.

Camella nodded in agreement as she cut off the hand that was grasped tightly to her.

"You are right, I wasn't that stupid. I needed to make sure that you weren't going to bleed to death before giving us the information we want to know. now TALK!" Camella yelled back, only to her maniacal laughter from Felnea once again.

"What's so funny?" Camella asked, quite intrigued and confused by the woman's behaviour.

"You threaten to take my life unless I tell you where Canondeme is, but at the same time, I know you won't kill me, because if you do, you will never find out where he is."

Camella shook her head in disgust, the woman was right, but there was one thing she didn't realize, an Camella would be quick to point it out to her.

"You know, Shenjara may not kill you for that reason, but for a bounty hunter like myself, one head is as good as another. now, if you want me to spare your life, you'd better tell me where he is, otherwise I'll take your head instead of his!"

I don't want to run the whole show, so I'll let the next person who posts decide Felnea's answer. Also, I hope you don't mind the slight bunny I made, Hamnat. If you want me to change it, PM me.

[hamnat]

The sky overhead had been darkening steadily for some time as angry dark puffs blocked the moon from granting Radasanth her silver light. Thunder rumbled as rain began to fall, washing away red stains on one of Radasanth's many streets. Shenjara had officially reached her point of no return. Any more prodding would push her beyond, and there would be no coming back until people had to lift their trouser legs to avoid getting them stained red. "Camella, trust me. I'm so far-gone right now that I couldn't care less who I kill."

Shenjara gave Zaith a look of enraged contempt before saying, "Get inside, get a mug of spiced wine, and get out of my sight before you nearly cost me my life again." She finally looked back down at the fairly bloody mass beneath her before saying, "And if you ever try to drain my life force again, you will find soul-scorching fire accompanying it. And trust me on this: there is NO recovering from having your soul incinerated." Shenjara kicked Felnea in the stomach and then sat down on her forcefully. Felnea found her head jerked up and a red-haloed face in front of hers screaming, "TELL US WHERE HE IS OR I WILL ENSURE YOU SUFFER FOR ETERNITY!"

Apparently the message finally caught hold, because the cocky woman's voice was finally starting to break. Her eyes were wide and she gave in to the painful tortures that the two women had inflicted on her. She nearly blubbered, "OK, fine! You can find him in a small building on the end of Darkshot Row...it'll be next to a poison stall disguised as an apothecary! Please don't burn my soul!" Either tears or raindrops were streaming down her face, but blatant fear had broken through her cocky attitude and inflated self-image. Shenjara made no indication that she'd heard anything for a moment, her fists still clenched on Felnea's collar like her life depended on it.

Finally, she thrust Felnea into the mud and reached into her robe. "Thank you...this is the first thing to have gone right for me in quite some time. In repayment, I'm going to give you some herbs to heal those wounds." She pulled a pouch out of her robe as she continued, "Crush this in bowl and add a little water. Mix it up slowly until it becomes a paste, then cover your wounds with it. That should keep you from getting worse." Shenjara stood up and dropped the herb pouch on Felnea's bloody body. She began to walk back inside before calling back, "I'd hurry, before those herbs become useless from exposure to rain."

A moment later, Shenjara had found her table and was finishing her drink from earlier and explaining the situation to Zaith. "Look, Canonderm stole a rare book from me that I absolutely MUST have. But he also has a large bounty on his head that Camella would kill to get...and that's speaking mildly. I can promise that you will find proper payment when we catch him. But I need you to A) protect me from him. Despite my earlier performance, I can't fight to save my life. And B), I need you to protect me in case Camella turns on me...or you. She has no ties of allegiance to anyone and will kill just to remain anonymous. And you do best to follow any orders I give you, got it?"

Shenjara wasn't usually controlling, but the evening's events had gotten so out of control that she felt she had to rule something. Jeez...who are you, the Queen of Raieara? Arajnehs queried sarcastically. Shenjara quickly retorted, As far as you're concerned, I'm the Queen of Raieara, Scara Brae, Corone, and any other place I can think up. Shenjara could almost see Arajnehs rolling her eyes when the always irritating comment came up, Whatever, bitch...go find another fiance to burn.

[shinigami_90]

As Shenjara explains what Zaith must do he thinks to himself 'Ok so either I protect her or risk getting killed by her... not very good odds but hey the pay must be good I hope.' After she finishes explaining Zaith smirks and smiles "Ok so I have to protect you from this Camella person and from this Canonderm if I listened correctly?"


Zaith then picks up his mug of spiced wine that Shenjara told him to get outside and sips it before setting it back down and eyes Shenjara carefully. "Please trust me, I won't harm an employer or an employee, ever. It goes against who I am. So what is so special about this book that Canonderm has of yours?" he asks while looking around the room trying to keep his eyes off of her till she calms down.

Zaith slowly lifts his mug back upand sips on it; while slowly bringing his eyes to Shenjaras flaming red eyes. "Anyway, so I know now, What is the pay for me helping you here, both get the book and protect you?" Zaith says quietly so none of the other people in the room can hear him.

[Camella]

It was a relief to finally see Felnea give out some information on the man, but was it really the information they needed? It was hard to say. Sure, it sounded good, but was it the truth? Perhaps that was why Camella wasn't surprised at Shenjara's actions when she gave Felnea some herbs. Still, it made her chuckle, and Felnea's response just made her chuckle even more.

"And how the HELL am I supposed to do THAT with both my hands chopped off, you idiot!" Felnea yelled out, before Camella scared her again with a stern look.

"You should've thought of that BEFORE you tried to drain us." Came Camella's reply. Afterwards, as she made her way back to the bar, she heard somebody mention her name, and came inside just inside to hear the stranger who claimed he was helping Shenjara repeat what Shenjara said in order to confirm he heard correctly.

"So that's it, Huh? Can't say I'm surprised. First, this weird guy shows up, claiming to be here to help you. A guy you never even told me existed, mind you, and now I overhear your chat with him. Don't think I don't see what is going on, woman. You hired this street thug in order to help you kill me. That's why I never heard of him before. I wasn't supposed to know, was I?" Camella nearly yelled upon reentering the bar.

Afterwards, she stormed right back out of the bar and toward the back alley where Felnea's body was. Odd thing was, there was no body there anymore. 'The hell?' Camella thought to herself, 'I was only gone a few seconds'

[hamnat]

The sudden verbal assault surprised Shenjara. She had not expected sudden hostility on the lizard-girl's part. She finished her discussion hastily, "Your payment is a share in Canonderm's bounty plus a bonus from me for a total not less than 100 gold pieces unless circumstances otherwise dictate. I will pay no more than 75 and no less than 40. Now if we have a deal, let's go. I have an investment in that woman."

She quickly drained what was left of her drink and rushed out the door to find Camella still there. She was relieved that she could find her so quickly, and broke out in defense, "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was trying to betray you, but that was merely me protecting myself if you came to betray me. I will not lower myself to hiring assassins to do my work for me. If it comes to it, I will kill you myself, but until then, he's just an ace up my sleeve."

Shenjara hoped that her assurances would be enough to convince Camella that she was not plotting against her. Suddenly, she noticed that Felnea had disappeared more quickly than she had expected. "Camella...where is the bitch we just finished off? Did you dispose of her body or are we due for trouble?" She was hoping that Felnea hadn't found the strength to get to Canenderm before they did. If that happened, they might not find him again for months, if ever.

[Camella]

Camella stared out at the space where Felnea was in absolute confusion. She was worried about the exact same thing as Shenjara. She didn't really need to answer Shenjara. Silence would have given Shenjara the same answer as what she was about to say.

"I was sort of hoping you had burned the body, because I didn't move it. Maybe we should have cut off the legs. what confuses me most is that those herbs you gave the woman are still there. that and the fact that the woman is still alive." Camella said, then her face turned sour, and her attitude towards Shenjara went back to hatred.

"Which reminds me, who's side are you on, giving herbs to our enemy like that! If you try a stunt like that again, I swear I will kill you." With that, Camella stormed back into the tavern and paid for a room. Hopefully when she woke back up in the morning the Flame bitch would be gone from her life, but Camella knew better than to expect that. That woman had a bad habit of sticking around.

When Camella woke up the next morning, she immediately went back down to the tavern, but with a different attitude in mind. She actually hoped the flame bitch was still there, because as much as she hated the woman, if the woman wasn't there, it meant that she had a head start tracking down Canondeme, and she would much rather team up with Miss Flamey than have her reach Canondeme first.

[Kryos]

Kryos opened his eyes just as the faint rays of first light shone through his window.

The time had come.

He sat up in his bed, left hand moving across the simple sheets for balance. His eyes, cast in shadow, fluctuated in color as his powers shifted with the coming day. He breathed deeply, appreciating the morning calm; a sharp contrast to when he had arrived from the night’s tracking. The bar had been crowded with bandits and cutthroats alike. Kryos had not time for them. They were annoying inconveniences, nothing more.

Rolling his neck in circles to loosen his muscles, he swung his legs to the side of the bed and rose. The dark folds of his clothes lay in a neat pile next to his traveling pack, and he quickly dressed. Speed was of the essence, as he did not know the exact time when Canondeme would leave. He would return to the house that he had tracked Canodeme to the previous night, and wait. Wait, follow, hunt. And when the time was right, Kryos would make his move and bring the man under his mercy.

He slung his weapon over his shoulder, quickly followed by his pack. His eyes had finished changing, so his vision had returned, displaying the world in sharp definition. Taking one last glance at his room, he found nothing that belonged to him. He left without looking back, not bothering with making the bed and pausing only to grab the key that lay on the dresser next to the door.

He walked down the faintly lit hall, spinning the key and its ring around his finger. He was in a surprisingly good mood for only getting six hours of sleep. He would have liked more, but he was used to it by now. Besides, you can’t get information when you sleep, so it was beneficial to him to get a early start. He descended the stairway and into the main lobby, tables and chairs arranged and dusted from the previous night’s activity. The bar was relatively empty, with only a few patrons up at this early hour; a man in the corner, perhaps a dwarf that talked to the bartender, though Kryos couldn’t tell under the dark hood, and a nondescript woman who reclined in one of the booths. She, in her plainness, caught his eye. What was a person like her doing her. She didn’t even look like petty thief. Her straight, grayish-brown hair covered the sides of her face and her eyes were closed.

Still, Kryos dismissed the woman. He didn’t know her story, and probably never would. She was just like the rest of those who came to The Jack’s Trade, in that she didn’t, just as rouges were expected, conform to the usual norms of the government, or the way of the city in which they lived. The city rose with him, but the shady taverns slept. Still, all the better for him. Less people to worry about.

He strode up to the barkeep and laid his key upon the polished bar, nodding his thanks. The man, balding and with glasses, nodded in reply and extended his arm, clothed in a white shirt, out to him.

“Thank you for your stay.”

Kryos firmly grasped the hand and nodded. “You’re welcome.” With that, he turned and left the tavern.

The street outside was deserted, and a chill breeze played with Kryos’ black hair. A shiver ran down his spine. Ahead, the sun began to peek over the tops of the houses and buildings, spying on the doings of the city. Despite the chill, Kryos grinned. It was time for him to act, after the past few days of investigating. Taking a deep breath, he entered the labyrinth of streets and alleys toward a small, two story house where Dervim Canondeme peacefully slept, unaware of the plans Kryos had for him.

[hamnat]

Shenjara was sitting at a table drinking a mug of water, the empty tray of her breakfast laid bare. When Camella came down the stairs into the tavern, Shenjara waved her over to her table. "Not thinking about leaving without me, are you? Come over here, have a drink and something to eat before we depart."

Camella sat at the table with her, giving a gruff, "I was hoping you'd still be here. As much as I loathe you, you are still of use to me." She hastily consumed her meal and stood up. "Alright, fire-girl, let's get going. If we want to catch him, we'll have to move quickly."

Shenjara chuckled, "It's fire-devil, not fire-girl," before standing up and following her out the door.

Once on the street, they scoped out the little bit of city that they could see in the still dim morning light before walking through the myriad buildings that dotted Radasanth. Shenjara said to herself, "We will find this jackass and make him pay for everything. I just hope he hasn't pawned off my book to someone else."
Sorry it took me so long, guys...

[Camella]

Hamnat's bunny of Camella is approved

As Camella looked around outside, she began to give up hope of ever picking up the trail. In fact, she was about to pack it in when something on the ground caught her attention. It was a fresh puddle of blood, and, as Camella followed it to it's source, She spotted a familiar face in the crowd."

"Try to keep up, Flame-girl!" Camella yelled back as she raced through the crowds after the familiar face. It was Felnea, the woman they had so brutally beaten in combat just yesterday, and As Camella got closer, Felnea turned around and spotted her.

"You just don't know when t quit, do you?" Felnea yelled out before running off into the market. It was a smart move, for as Felnea weaved her way in and out of the crowd, she became increasingly more difficult to chase. Camella kept up with her for a bit as she dodged to the left and right of the oncoming crowds, but due to te speed she was running, Camella eventually ran head first into a fat guard, and she fell on her butt, rubbing her head.

"Ow... Sorry, sir. I'm late for a meeting" Camella said lying through her teeth as the guard helped her up.

Camella looked around. The trail was cold again. There was no sign of Felnea anywhere.

Camella began to swaer repeatedly to herself as she searched for a way to pick the trail up again.

[Kryos]

Sorry for the delay. Life will be life, after all.
How long was he going to have to wait?

He’d been leaning against this same patch of gray stone for a good half hour, waiting for Dervim to get his high and mighty carcass out of his safe-house. Hidden in the shadows cast by the midmorning sun, he slowly counted off the minutes. Down the alley, he could hear people walking by, kicking up small amounts of dust into the dry, warm air with their rhythmic steps. Their chatter was annoying, too. Still, he couldn’t let it get to him. He was here for a reason.

Long had he chased the phantoms of his past, heart set on revenge for what had been done to him. For what had been stolen. His loss demanded justice, and he would bring his fury and wrath upon those responsible. Lorin had a right to live. But because fate played with Kryos, his friend lived on only in his memories, and in the memories of his people.

His hand clenched into a fist as the memory of that night came to the front of his mind. The horrors that had stained that cave forever. He would find them. And he would make them regret their decision. All traitors to his people should be punished.

A metal lock slid open, and the brass doorknob twisted. He froze, not daring to make a sound, least he alert the one man who could help him of his presence. Wood banged on wood as the door shut, followed by three soft footsteps. Kryos leaned around the corner.

Dervim Canondeme stood, dark against the brightly lit streets and buildings of the main road. He tall frame was slender, but did not have the sharp edges that warned of danger. He wore dark brown pants, and a similar shirt inlaid with a simple pattern. He hesitated on the threshold of the alley, before walking into the sun. His golden locks shone, seemingly taunting Kryos to follow. Like Dervim knew he was there.

That was impossible. And to prove it, Kryos’ target strolled out of sight, moving to the left and up the street. Releasing his breath, he stood, stretching his cramped legs. He turned and slipped along the house. He neared the corner and took a quick look around it. Dervim was twenty paces ahead, weaving through the steady stream of people and carts, vendors and pavilions toward one of the larger squares in Radasanth, one with a large water fountain in the middle of it. Kryos would need to stay close until opportunity dictated that he should strike. Entering the well-traveled path, he crossed to the other side and began to shadow Canondeme, always keeping his distance. Until he entered the more heavily crowded square. Then, he was forced to move closer in order to keep his target within his grasp. He grinned, eyes flashing darkly, as he thought of the time of revenge that drew ever closer.

[hamnat]

Shenjara panted as she ran after the sprinting lizard-assassin. Apparently, Felnea was still interesting enough to Camella that she would rather bring her down than go straight to the location she had given them the night before. It didn't take long for her to run straight into a not so happy guard, falling to the ground with an excuse on the fly.

Shenjara caught up and caught her breath, the wind seeming to ignore her silent plea for an easy breath of air as she panted and wheezed. "I've got to exercise more...Why the hell did you decide to go after her so suddenly? We got D.C.'s location from her last night, we don't need her anymore!"

Camella, clearly annoyed, turned on her, the blood rising into her face, "Damn it, idiot! Don't you realize that she most likely lied to us so she could escape!? Use that damned head of yours! I thought mages where supposed to be smart! If we let her get away, she'll tell him we're onto his scent!"

Shenjara was enraged by Camella's sudden patronizing tirade, but caught herself. She sighed, "You're right, of course. I apologize for being so obtuse. I still think we should at least check to make sure, but then I've only been in the business of hunting people down since the bastard stole my book." Her rage built up again as she remembered it, Arajnehs not helping. "Hehe, you stupid bitch, you were so happy to finally get a lead, you let that chick escape! Wow, you're so fucking useless! HAHAHA!!"

Shenjara grabbed her head in both hands and almost broke her voice as she screamed, "Shut the hell up, and get out of my head you damned demon!"Several people looked at her with suspicious eyes, and more than one guard put his hand on his sword. Arajnehs taunted her, "Temper, temper..." She felt their peering eyes boring into her, judging and patronizing her in their minds. Her fury burned brightly, but she managed to temper it with a renewed resolve to find Canonderm and not only take back the book, but beat him into a barely-living, char-broiled pulp. She turned back to Camella, and with venom dripping from her voice, she said, "Come on, let's go before we attract anymore attention."

[Camella]

"Go? Go where? We have no leads, we can't just run off in a random direction and hope to..." Before Camella could even finish her sentence, Canondeme strolled by, almost as if he just wanted to prove her wrong. Camella didn't even wait to get Shenjara's approval before taking off after him, it was time to end this whole mess, but as she took off, so did Canondeme. As Camella raceed after Canondeme, she once again didn't watch where she was going, and ended up crashing right into a man, whom, though she didn't know it, was after Canondeme as well.

Cursing herself, she turned to the man. "Outta my way, Can't you see I'm in a hurry?"

Sorry, I know it isn't a long post, but I was writing through a bit of writer's block.

[Kryos]

Letting a curse fly from his tongue, Kryos rose to his feet, eyes cold and hard. The darkly-clad woman, after correcting him for her clumsiness, had vanished into the throng of the marketplace. Pushing her from his mind, he looked for his target. The crowd pushed against him, as if the tides of people entering the square just swelled . He shouldered past the citizens, attempting to head in the direction Canondeme was before he had escaped, however briefly, form his sight. He pushed past a stall selling fruit, the flitting sweetness tugging at his senses and desire, and he smoothly ran up a row of fruit boxes.

From the new vantage point, he beheld the square in its entirety. Customers poured into and out of the bazaar at sporadic whims, and messenger boys skillfully flowed through the hordes, leaving an empty trail in their wake. All around, bargains were made, commands issued, and the screams of children testified of the business that the city of Radasanth made. Only the grand fountain at the square’s center held an air of calm, its steadily flowing water a needed respite from the dry, hot morning. All that remained, was frustration.

“Dammit!” Kryos growled, jumping down from his perch.

The dwiilar had scanned the places closest to where the man had last been, but his efforts were in vein. He couldn’t find a single trace of his possible informer. Not only that, but the woman who crushed into him had vanished as well. Lucky for her. In his annoyance, he kicked the crate at his feet and apples rolled out over his leg. The noise of the market masked his outburst and he smiled, snatching an apple.

Biting into the perfectly ripe, smooth red flesh, he walked away from the fruit stand. That had been the only risk with this whole affair. The numerous streets of Corone’s capital made finding a lost person nigh impossible. That, in conjunction that Canondeme would only be exposed for a few minutes at best, left his performance the only factor of success. The chance run-in with that woman destroyed everything. He’d have to start over, yet again.

Licking juice from the corner of his lips, he took another bite to calm himself. As irritated as it was, Corone had been another dead end. Lately, it seemed as if fate was out to get him. And yet, he was loath to journey to Scare Brae after his recent voyage to Corone, although he had heard good things about the island nation. Rumor had it that the intelligence network in Scare Brae was one of the best. Isolated as it was, the constant trade brought news from far and wide. Not to mention the ease of making a fresh start.

Tossing the browning apple core over his shoulder, he redirected himself towards the outskirts of the city. As much as he would love to hunt down the impudent girl, he knew that would have no real reward. It would be better for him to leave this profitless city and begin anew. Perhaps the Golden Isle would favor him more.

Spoils: Frustration

Due to the events of my life, I will be gone from here for an extended time. As a courtesy to the other esteemed writers, I have written Kryos out of this quest.

Have at ‘em, guys! Good luck!