Behind the Veil

[Izvilvin]

((Continuation of Homecoming (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=18461&highlight=izvilvin). All the dialogue in this quest is in drow unless stated otherwise.))

Izvilvin's first steps into Ettermire were heavy ones, his boots weighed down by emotions he hadn't felt in years. The city was bustling even at dusk, dense with people with things to do and homes to get to, but Izvilvin stared ahead and stuck to the shadows when possible. Though he moved quickly he did so without drawing attention to himself, sliding around corners like a liquid and making not a sound.

He had a goal - to go see Bron, Alydia's informant who was at a place next to the Dirty Mug, whatever that was. Izvilvin had a feeling that after he saw the man, he'd not have an opportunity to rest for some time; so he decided to take this night to recuperate from their train adventure and his fight with Aubrey the serial killer, who'd bested him atop the steam-powered transport.

He'd come away winded and with a large cut in his arm - one that Alydia bandaged securely - but Aubrey received a brick tunnel in return.

Izvilvin wandered without any real aim until he finally came across what looked like a commercial street. The buildings were universally brown but their signs were colorful, designed to draw attention and attract customers. He approached one that, conveniently, had a first-aid sign.

The inside of the shop was filled with medical supplies - drugs, bandages, blankets, syringes. Across from the door was a glass case with a strongbox on top of it and an older, wrinkled drow who must have been centuries old. Izvilvin wondered if he'd spent his entire life running this shop, if he'd seen even half the things Izvilvin had seen in his short life.

"Welcome," called the Alerian in a tentative tone. Izvilvin, after all, was bleeding from the arm and had weapons covering his entire torso and legs.

The younger drow raised his good hand and, grudgingly, realized how he must have looked. "Bandage and alcohol to clean my wound, that's all."

The older nodded in understanding and searched such things out, while Izvilvin sat exhausted on a waiting bench made of some kind of straw, examining his wound. A dull red light over the entrance made his skin and blood appear the same color.

They made the trade, a mere few gold out of Izvilvin's pouch, and the drow changed his bandage right there. He winced as he removed the blanket fabric from the inside of the wound, relieved to see that an infection had not yet begun. The proprietor brought him a basin-like tin bowl, and with that held below his arm, Izvilvin washed out the wound.

"The way this city works these days," the older drow said, "with soldiers of all sorts wandering about, I shouldn't keep getting surprised to see people like you wandering in here."

Izvilvin didn't immediately respond, focused on the task at hand. He certainly wasn't going to admit that he was in Ettermire for the first time in a century. When his wound was re-bandaged with a clean white fabric, he rose and nodded. "Aye," he said, and was off.

The inn was easy to find, as it was one of the larger buildings in the immediate area and a clear sign was hung. Entering and getting a room was a simple matter, and Izvilvin's first night in Ettermire was comfortable. He awoke to a bright morning sun and felt refreshed.


He had a quick breakfast downstairs, blending into the crowd in a way he never remembered doing. Everyone in the inn's mess hall was a drow, and none looked any less conspicuous than he. Izvilvin was beginning to think blending in was not going to be a problem.

Feeling strong for the first time in days, Izvilvin followed Alydia's intricate instructions. He recalled her directions perfectly and soon found himself in front of a building called the Dirty Mug. The next building was the one he wanted, advertising antiques and statues. He entered.

The entire main room was filled with knick-knacks and small items of interest. A man nodded to him as he entered, welcoming the warrior into the store. Izvilvin nodded back and immediately headed to the back of the store, finding and looking directly at a small statue; he wasn't sure if he was supposed to look at a particular one, but it didn't matter as the man working the floor approached.

"Ah, you have fine tas-"

"This is nice," Izvilvin interrupted, clear anxiousness in his voice. If this man really had information on Step, he was at least as dangerous as the organization itself.

The man smiled, exhaled a short breath. "Well, wonderful!"

Izvilvin didn't let a pause occur. "The red song thief is hard to find."

The man, Bron, assumed a different posture then. He stood straight and his face hardened. "If that's the one you're after, you should talk to her yourself," he said, and began to walk across the room, beckoning Izvilvin to follow.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Bron's home wasn't far from the shop, something of a matter of necessity since it was where most of the people he gathered information from came to trade that most dangerous ware: knowledge. It was the sort of knowledge that could get a man killed: the real identity of the Queen's murderer, what Step was and did, who had REALLY awakened Xem'zund and what they hoped to get out of it, plots of the followers of N'Jal to bring the dark goddess back. And oh, what a mess the world would be with her, Denebriel, AND Xem'zund vying for power at the same time. Especially with Step inserting its dark hand into the mix.

Most of what he knew he wouldn't be willing to tell the red-coated woman who seemed to come and go wherever she went as she pleased, the one who could be caught, but not kept. Alydia was smart and quick, but she was weak still, and for her own good...there was much she could not know. There were things if she knew existed she would go tearing after recklessly, and she would be killed. Despite being rarely present for any of them, despite planning to obtain stupid things just for the thrill of the hunt, Alydia was easy to care for, easy to want to protect. He and her other information gatherers were in regular contact, and they were all in agreement. There were some things Aly just could not know if they wanted to keep providing her with entertaining things to do into the next few centuries.

And Izvilvin Kazizzrym, who could not have hoped to keep his identity or whereabouts secret from Retla, had come to him asking for Alydia. The only ones who knew that passcode were the ones she'd told personally, which meant he'd met her somehow, and his plot, more probably plight, against Step had intrigued her. Step was dangerous. He wanted to keep Alydia out of their affairs...and having Kazizzrym before him meant that he might not be able to do that anymore. He doubted it especially since she had asked him the night before if the lavender eyed warrior had come to him.

Aly would insist on knowing, and he would have to tell...and that was probably the worst thing in the world for her.

He opened the door to his small house, holding up a newspaper in his hand as he preceded Izvilvin through the rough wooden door. He opened his mouth to chastise her, but thought better of it, introducing Izvilvin first, and administering the final test. "There's someone here to see you."

"If his eyes are lavender or he has a brown trench coat, let him in." Alydia's voice floated from deeper in the tiny house, smooth as silk with a sultry curl. "If not, send him on his way."

Bron led Izvilvin into the living room, then tossed the newspaper down onto the coffee table in front of Aly, letting it land with a sharp smack! She looked up into his mahogany eyes and chiseled face from beneath the brim of her newly-clean hat, lifted a cup of tea to her lips, then looked down at the newspaper. "Why so irritated, Bron? They brought in a -"

"YOU brought him in after I specifically told you to forget about him. I told you that he got much stronger during his time in Haide and Istraloth, and that you needed to lay off him. If he had caught you -"

Aly laughed. It started out as a chuckle, but then she really started and it turned into a giggle - a surprisingly feminine sound. "Bron, you're so cute. I love you. It's fine. Aubry is in jail at long last, and I'm sitting here before you, only a little bruised and scratched up for wear. Now...the only reason I did make it, more than likely, is because of the other beat up person in the room." She rested her chin on her hands, tilting her head and smiling that unreasonable, irritating smile that would never listen to reason. "So, I think it's reasonable to hear what he wants." Bron hated that smile.

Trouble...she's always been trouble... Bron Retla held in an exasperated sigh and sat down, running his fingers through his short white hair and looking over at Izvilvin. "After a year lying quiet, what have you stepped out of the land of the Draconians for, Izvilvin Kazizzrym?"

Couldn't hurt to let Izvilvin know that he knew all about him. What it could help, he didn't know. But it couldn't hurt.

[Izvilvin]

Bron's home was about as cozy an atmosphere Izvilvin could imagine in this city. Unlit except for the morning light seeping in, Bron's furniture looked functional but comfortable - mostly brown and burgundy. A short archway took them from the porch to the living room, where Alydia appeared settled in an easy chair, a glass table in front of her.

Izvilvin took a few moments to examine his surroundings, considering carefully the type of people he was beginning to associate with. It was a compact place with not much room to move, carpeted from front to back with lush orange/brown fabric, a far cry from the Corone homes Izvilvin had been in, which favored hardwood. Perhaps it was just Bron's personal taste.

He watched with passive interest as the pair exchanged greetings, if that's what they were. Choosing to remain standing, Izvilvin crossed his arms as Bron sat down and spoke to him. The fact that the drow knew Izvilvin's recent history irritated the warrior, mostly because he'd worked so hard to remain invisible after he left the Bandit Brotherhood.

"I left to destroy Step," he said simply. "Not doing their bidding anymore has not been enough. Ever since I left them, there has been an assassin waiting at every corner."

He exhaled slowly.

"I do not want to hide in the swamps until I die of old age. This is not living."

This goal was getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. Sitting before him was a man who could, supposedly, provide information that would change Izvilvin's life - that would give him purpose.

"One morning I discovered a note telling me to go to Ankhas, tied around the hilt of my sword." Izvilvin reached under his breastplate to retrieve the crumpled piece of paper, but found nothing there. He looked to Alydia, seeking some kind of answer, but he found none. It was gone.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Bron looked at Izvilvin, then at Alydia, who shrugged. "I didn't take it," she told her information gatherer. "Maybe...well, whatever." She leaned forward, looking into his face with the intense expression which her customary blithe smile belied. When she got that look on her face, if someone didn't give her the information she was after, she'd find it herself. And she really wasn't equipped to find this out without painting a big target on herself.

"Bron...what do you know about Step and Ankhas?" That single blue eye pierced him from under her red fedora; somewhere along the road it had become important to her, too. Maybe she was just seeking the thrill of hunting out a new puzzle, maybe the fact that Izvilvin had helped her meant she needed to ensure his own success, but she wasn't going to take silence as an answer.

"There is a restricted area underneath Ankhas where it's said only the curator and a few others may go. These people are shrouded in so much secret that I don't even know their races. In that area there are a few tomes of exceedingly high value. One of those is rumored to have the spell which will open a portal straight to Step's headquarters...if the reader has managed to correctly decrypt it."

A mad light shone in Aly's eye. Breaking into a high security secret area with books of potentially limitless value? If Bron knew Aly - and he did - that would be the toy store to her inner child.

"Alydia." Bron's voice took a sharper tone, he needed her attention, because he needed to keep her from deciding to tag along after the heist was done. He'd also rather Izvilvin not be privy to what was said, so he dredged up what he knew of the Raiaeran language.

"Manka ro qualmuva, ar' ro nauva, ron caeluva n'uma maskale ten' lle. Lle anta il karna gothra en'Step. Lle anta kel Alerar n'ala ron san ta."

"IF that is what they are planning, then it is ever more important that he succeed. I'll go, too." Alydia firmly brought the conversation back to Drow, the language Izvilvin spoke. It didn't suit her needs at the moment for him to be out of the loop.

"You must not if you want -"

"Bron. If they take down Alerar...Raiaera and Salvar are already crumbling. If Alerar falls, the only stable world power will be Corone. I don't need to tell you what will happen should all the force of might rest in the hands of one country. One country that has only recently ended its own civil war. A country that will be wanting to unite its factions, and how better to do that than conquest? I will not sit idly and watch them destroy my home."

Bron sighed. Try to appeal to a criminal's sense of self preservation, and all of a sudden she becomes heroic. Why did this just figure for her? "Then let me round up -"

"No. I'm not going to risk their lives as well. I'll need you at Ankhas, because you're the best decryptionist I know, but I'm not risking any more lives than necessary on what may very well be a fool's errand."

She stood up and looked from Bron to Izvilvin, and her serious expression melted away. "Let's go! I haven't been to the library in so long."


~*~*~

Shynt Aubrey caught his breath for a moment, leaning against a wall not far from Ankhas. Getting out of prison had been child's play, and it had felt good to slit the throats of the fools who dared bind him. Now he rested and watched, holding up the scrap of paper he'd found just after his fall from the train. Ankhas, it said. Either Ettermire or her traveling companion needed to get to the library. He wasn't going to let them. He was going to kill whichever one came, and then hunt the other down.

They couldn't be rid of him so easily.

(("If he dies, and he will, they will have no mercy on you. You must not make enemies of Step. You must leave Alerar before they topple it."))

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin wasn't comfortable with Bron's shift in language, and a disapproving grunt from deep in his throat made it known. His lavender eyes danced between the two drow and an illuminating beam of sunlight that separated them, shining brightly against the glass table. Their conversation went from curious to informative, and Izvilvin was soon nodding with satisfaction.

These people, whomever they were, must have had resources at their disposal which rivaled an entire region's spies. Izvilvin was getting progressively less comfortable being around Bron.

He wasn't sure about bringing Alydia along to investigate Step. The kind of assassins he'd had to deal with were on par with him, and he'd beaten them only because he had dozens of years of experience in battle.

As the conversation ended, however, it appeared Alydia could not be deterred. "If you know the danger and are still willing, then we'll go together. But we must separate when we find our way inside."

It was on that note that they left. Izvilvin didn't mention to Alydia that he was willing to die in order to destroy Step.

Their walk to Ankhas was not a long one, taking less than ten minutes. Ettermire's streets were immensely more impressive in the daylight, the dark stone and brick theme greatly complimented by the sun. The feel of the city hadn't changed, though; there was strife here and it was obvious in the way the citizens moved. Eyes were too curious and afraid, and everybody who walked the streets was carefully watched by their peers, either obviously or through peripheral vision. The city was on edge.

The civil discord in the city centralized around the military. The Kyorl, the Old Aleran Army... Multiple factions branching out from the remains of the Queen's assassination. Armed soldiers walked through the streets, each wearing an emblem to signify their affiliation. Izvilvin avoided their eyes.

Ankhas greeted them with a long, wide cobblestone walkway flanked by rows of green trees. A silver fence separated the manmade from the nature, and at the end of the walkway was a staircase leading up to a massive, inviting wooden door which Izvilvin imagined took a dozen men to shut. Long columns rose along the sheer walls, an alternating purple shade reminding him of an ancient church in Salvar.

He suddenly remembered to breathe. It was impressive.

"We can separate inside to save some time," Bron said. It was clear by his tone that he wasn't completely comfortable with what they were doing. "Alydia, head downstairs to the easternmost vault on the bottom floor. There may be security there. Inside you should find a bookcase with only a few tomes on it, the one with the cover with two circles on it is the one we want. A circle within a circle."

Izvilvin and Bron exchanged a knowing glance. That was Step's symbol, after all. Izvilvin swallowed.

"We'll head to the roof of the library via a restricted staircase in the northeast corner of the main floor. Meet us up there and I'll decrypt the book and open the portal. And Alydia," he said quickly, "consider exactly what it is you're doing."

"Let's go," Izvilvin said, leading the way.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Aly shot Bron a look when he told her to consider. Under the right conditions, that lit up eye and devil-may-care grin made his pulse race; it meant she was going to do something worthy of the image she was trying to sculpt and at least one of the members in her carefully established network had made sure she wasn't going to get killed in the process. Times like these, when she was being a rogue, it gave him a tension headache. It meant she was taking an unacceptably high risk for unacceptably low glory, and there wasn't a thing he could do to stop her.

That was why he hadn't told her about Step. Who had...he wanted to bet it was Deagh Uair, in Dheathain. Get that scrawny little Fae drunk and he'd tell you anything. He couldn't imagine that Paige in Corone would have told her; Paige Turner knew more about Step than anyone and how much trouble Alydia would be in if she tried to mess with it. But what would Deagh know about Step? Did Aly have more sources he wasn't aware of?

Trouble...she's so much trouble...

Bron led Izvilvin through the library, up the marble steps and through the massive teak bookcases stuffed with centuries' worth of information. The grandeur of Ankhas failed to resonate in him; like many information dealers that actually survived in his business, he tended to shun public places. The things he did for that minx...hopefully that damn tome would have something for him to give her...a game. If she didn't have a goal other than just to help Izvilvin take Step down, she would die.


Shynt didn't see the red-coated detective making her way toward the hidden underbelly of the library, but he did see the man who had stabbed his leg during the battle on top of the train. The man he'd blooded, but not marked. A seething anger brought up bile in the back of the murderer's throat. Never before had anyone had the gall to face him and live.

So this is the one whose destination was Ankhas...

Aubrey's hands tightened around his daggers. He could feel the chill of the unused metal flush out at his touch, feel them burn suddenly hot. The murder of the worthless guards that morning hadn't even been worth their time. Like him, his blades lusted for a real kill.

Like a hound, he tracked his quarry through the library. Hopefully, he and his scrawny companion would be headed somewhere secluded. Somewhere he could do as he would with them, where he could smell their terror and watch the blood flow from their veins.


On his way up the final flight of stairs to the roof, Bron glanced up at the reflective surface that decorated the library's ceiling like snaking mirrors. While seething about how foolish Alydia was, he'd forgotten to keep up his guard, and now he could see a cloaked man tailing them. He bit back a curse; this could be bad.

"Don't look back, don't look any way but straight ahead," he muttered to Izvilvin. "We are being followed."

And there was nowhere to go now but up onto the roof...

[Izvilvin]

Ankhas was a place unlike any Izvilvin had ever experienced, filled from top to bottom with information, articles, artifacts and all manner of ways to spend time learning. It was a building which appealed to the curious and the seekers of knowledge, an institution designed specifically to unfurl secrets and project Alerar's gathered information.

He could hardly wrap his head around such a place. It was the opposite of what his world had been for so many years. Ankhas had its own secrets, of course, as evidenced of the mission Alydia had gone off to accomplish.

They passed the central area before breaking off towards where the staircase was. Izvilvin examined the desk as they passed, admiring it for the purpose it served.

There was an ulterior motive to his examining his surroundings, of course. It gave him the opportunity to search the area for a tail, anything suspicious or unusual. He found it in Aubrey who was following as a distance. He did a good job to seem casual, but Izvilvin had worked as an assassin and a hunter for too long to let the criminal go unnoticed.

He felt his arms tense and his instincts react in an almost tangible sense, tied to his blood pressure. Izvilvin knew Aubrey was a challenge, and the drow owed him for their previous encounter on the train, when the criminal knocked Izvilvin down from a car's roof.

Izvilvin didn't answer Bron when he mentioned the follower, merely let the mention of it spur him on. When they reached the final floor, which presented them with nothing but a door to the roof, Izvilvin led the way outside and immediately turned back toward the closing door, removing his gray cloak and throwing it aside.

The roof of Ankhas was hot from the sun, as if the tarred roof had been cooking steadily in preparation for them. Aside from a rising growth where the door to the stairs was, the roof was flat and bare.

Bron took a step or two forward before realizing Izvilvin wasn't with him, but was waiting only a meter or so beyond the portal. He wanted to try and deter the warrior from initiating a fight, but knew it would be a futile attempt.

Instead, he let a slow breath escape through his teeth. Of all the allies to make, Alydia had to pick a killer's bullseye.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Alydia, completely unaware that Shynt wasn't rotting away in prison, had made her way to the "secret" vault and peeked in carefully to see what sort of security was guarding the hidden lore of Ankhas. It was just two men playing cards. They were armed with simple truncheons and looked bored out of their minds. Getting past them would be...very easy, actually.

Opening the vault without being heard, and then getting out...well, that would be difficult.

Instead of risking a direct confrontation, Aly left the library. Her first stop was a local apothecary's. It was a tiny little shop, neat and clean, and had all manner of useful medicinal powders and liquids. A look at the shop keeper told her everything she needed to know about the competence of the apothecary; she was an old woman with fingers calloused from thousands of hours grinding herbs and mixing solutions, she knew what she was doing.

"I don't sell love potions, child," the old voice creaked out when the red-coated thief bent down to inspect some of the wares. Aly smiled, standing up.

"Oh, I have someone. That's why I'm here, actually. Lately he's had difficulty falling asleep, so I was hoping for something that would help him rest for a few hours. It would have to act quickly and not leave him groggy upon awakening, though."

The old crone pulled out a small pouch of powder. "A little of this will do the trick. It isn't cheap, though. This has ten doses and will run you fifty."

Aly looked at the little pouch. It would probably go best sprinkled on food or mixed into a drink...yes, that was how she would play it. She nodded. "This will be fine. Oh...and we've run out of astringent, for when he comes home scratched up from work...do you have anything, maybe, that would help clean wounds and encourage a quick healing?"

This time a little vial was produced. "Run you thirty, but it'll do more than just encourage the wound to heal. Two doses in it, drink it straight."

"Fair enough, I'll take it." Aly took her vial and pouch after handing over the money to the apothecary, then walked across the street to a little bake shop, buying two sweetbreads and going back to the library, dosing each with a little of the sleep aid.

When she got back to the tiny corridor with the vault at the end, she walked down with a grin on her face...only to drop it when she saw who was really there.

"This area is off limits, miss," spoke one. "You should return to the library."

"But...but...my lover said he worked here...that he was working today...right now." Aly blinked her eyes rapidly and looked around helplessly. "I...look! I brought his favorite cake to share! ...if he isn't here...then...oh...that...that..." Her face crunched in the sort of betrayed agony only a woman could fake, and the guards looked at each other awkwardly.

"Listen...miss...you should confront him about it when you see him. But you really can't be here right now."

Alydia nodded. "Oh...of course. I'm sorry. Here, please have these. They're best when they're still hot, and I've lost my taste for cake."

The guards gratefully took the cake, and Alydia walked back out. She browsed the library for a few minutes, and then went back to check on the guards. According to plan, they were fast asleep. They each had a set of keys, presumably to the vault, so she took them.

Getting into the vault with the unique tomes wasn't a challenge. It really was as simple as using a key from each set and opening the door. Aly found the lack of challenge boring, but it wasn't going to ruin her day. She had other things that would prove a challenge in the day ahead, so it was best to just be thankful for the lack of a hurdle here.

There weren't many tomes in the carefully maintained subterranean fortress, and contrary to expectation, she wasn't interested in most of them. Who cared about what the battle plans were among nations should Haide have ever declared war?

"Useless." She shook her head. So much for things worth protecting.

Perusal done, Aly found a book with Liviol covers, bound in dragon hide. Stamped into it was a simple emblem - a circle within a circle. Aly opened the pages, flipping through the book. She didn't want to know what the vellum had come from, and she thought gold lettering was a bit silly for a book no one was ever supposed to see...but some evil dictators took pleasure where they could. Secret evil dictators, especially.

Carefully she lifted the tome, expecting something to go horribly wrong at that point...but it didn't. She sighed. So much for maximum security. If anyone could just walk in and take it...maybe the book wasn't so useful.

Aly walked out, shutting the door behind her and dropping the keys next to the guards' still-sleeping forms. Now all that was left to do would be to find Bron and Izvilvin.

[Izvilvin]

The door flew open wildly, smashing against the wall beside it and shattering the window. Aubrey stepped forth from beyond it, his forehead covered by the midnight hood he'd drawn over his head. Izvilvin could see a fiendish, yellow grin painted on the killer's wide jaw.

"Expecting me, I see," Aubrey growled, pulling back the hood of his cloak and stepping into the sunlight. Izvilvin stepped back to give him room.

Aubrey, too, removed his cloak, throwing it against the charred surface of the roof. He was covered in a black, leathery armor that protected parts of him with patches held together by thick hide. He had knives everywhere of varying shapes and sizes; regardless of his position Aubrey would have access to some kind of blade. He was broad and full of muscle uncharacteristic of an elf.

"I owe you one for my leg," he said, pointing out the wound on his thigh where Izvilvin had stabbed him the previous day. Sneering, the criminal pointed at Izvilvin's bandaged arm with a crooked finger. "Don't go thinking that's all you're going to get as punishment."

Bron approached, but remained a few feet behind Izvilvin, who stood ready and waiting, poising himself. He was at relative ease, considering his earlier frustration at Alydia's involvement with the criminal. Alydia wasn't in danger currently, after all, and if Aubrey was with them now, he could not get to her.

"Shynt Aubrey. Ettermire's prison wasn't able to hold you, then," a breeze stirred the drow's short, white hair.

Izvilvin spoke before either of the two could continue. "We settle our score now," he said, his enchanted breastplate rippling as if it were made of cloth. "You've killed your last."

He drew Mjolnir and Icicle, the former crackling as it hit the oxygenated air. He knew not to underestimate the killer, who had bested him in their previous battle. Aubrey drew a jagged glowing dagger from his breast and a longer, normal one from his leg. No more words needed, the criminal charged.

An initial flurry of slashes, grunts and near-hits had them dancing around each other, ducking and dodging blows with equal speed and elegance. Bron watched, transfixed, as the two stood within a foot of each other but made no contact at all.

Izvilvin made to move left, but pivoted at the last moment into a backhanded slash with Mjolnir. It lacked strength but was on mark, until Aubrey's glowing blade stopped it. The warrior expected to get some leverage off of the strike due to the weight difference, but the dagger appeared to be enchanted somehow, and Aubrey's limb did not so much as budge.

The criminal's other knife struck in an upward slash. Izvilvin pulled back and made distance between them, back-stepping as Aubrey stepped forward. They neared the center of the roof, so Bron backed away to keep a continued watch.

Aubrey licked his lips, hardly tired in the slightest and willing to keep the pace up. Izvilvin wasn't even breathing hard, but knew Aubrey wouldn't slow anytime soon. "You're going to make a mistake and you know it, you'll slip. You know that as soon as I kill you, kill him and wait just a bit, I'm gonna have that bitch to myself. And she won't die quickly."

Izvilvin waited until Aubrey sped up, then broke forward in a sudden burst. He caught the criminal off-balance and slashed repeatedly in short, measured strikes. Aubrey was on the defensive, parrying Mjolnir with the enchanted dagger and deflecting Icicle expertly with his other weapon. Unable to mount a counterattack, the criminal sneered and retreated a step. Izvilvin pressed on.

A sudden, daring change in momentum had Aubrey charging forward, catching the attacking warrior off guard. The criminal's head smashed hard into Izvilvin's face, knocking him back a step and drawing blood from his nose. Aubrey pressed on immediately with two quick cross-slashes with his daggers, but Izvilvin fell back into a roll that had him back on his feet quickly.

"Too much pressure!" the killer repeated. "When her blood's pouring over my fingers, I'm going to remind her of how she thought you protected her on that train. You just brought us to a more secluded place where I can enjoy myself more."

Bron, Izvilvin noticed in his peripheral vision, headed toward the stairs. Likely in an attempt to intercept Alydia. It spurred the warrior on, and he drove into Aubrey like a hurricane.

He came in with wide slashes, forcing Aubrey to parry rather than deflect. It was more tiring than short strikes, but he hoped it would wear on the criminal. All it did, it appeared, was give Aubrey more of a chance to counterattack. Each of those, however, Izvilvin batted aside with fierce strength.

Aubrey kicked forward suddenly, but Izvilvin saw it coming. It had worked twice, now, but the huff of breath in the criminal's chest betrayed him. As the boot came forward, Izvilvin slid nimbly to the side, dropped Mjolnir to grab Icicle's handle with both hands, and slashed upward with enough force to sever Aubrey's leg at the knee.

The killer's eyes shot open as the dead limb fell to the ground. Miraculously, he balanced himself for a moment. He didn't bleed, as the wound had been frozen over almost as soon as Icicle made it.

Izvilvin didn't wait for him to fall. With a decisive, dismissive movement, he drove Icicle through Aubrey's abdomen with enough force to poke it out of his back. As quickly as it had entered, Izvilvin pulled it back and Aubrey collapsed onto his back, the wounds and the blood inside already frozen.

Izvilvin exhaled, loudly. It had been several seconds since he'd done so.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Bron intercepted Alydia just as she started making her way up the stairs, and he grabbed her by the arm, pulling her insistently from the steps and off to the side, out of sight from the other people scattered across the library. She looked up at him, confused, but before she could speak he put a hand over her mouth. Two words crossed his lips, and two words only, but at the mention of them Aly's pupils widened farther than he'd ever seen from her before.

Abruptly, she broke away from him, starting to hurry up the staircase, but he grabbed her again. "Slowly, Alydia."

"Bron..." She pulled on her arm, trying to free herself from his grip, but he kept his hold, looking at her sternly.

"Slowly." The information dealer let the thief go when she stopped pulling, and followed a mere step behind her on their way back up to the roof.

"Did you get it?"

"Of course, it was a boring heist, it's a boring room. That doesn't matter. How did he get out? I watched him get carted off. Bron, after all the abuse from yesterday he shouldn't even be walking...Iz -"

"He was weakened yesterday, your acquaintance should be able to deal with him. I doubt he'll be able to take on his other errands today, though." Meaning that as soon as Step had dealt with Izvilvin, it would come crashing down on Aly. He was going to have to keep her in Alerar, somehow.

"He'll be fine." She held up the vial of medicine she'd bought before tucking it back into a hidden pocket. "If Shynt is out...the Chief?"

Her concern for someone on the other side of the law was both aggravating and typical. Alydia didn't form bonds with many people; as far as he knew, she had eight teams across the world of three members each that were her family. There was nothing she wouldn't do for them; if she wasn't determined to go with Izvilvin into Step, she'd be planning an entrance into Raiaera to look for the team there that had fallen off the map. Aside from her team, the only person she'd bonded so strongly to was Ettermire's Chief of Police. Despite the fact he'd arrest her if he caught her, she was still devoted to him, which annoyed Bron to no end.

Then, of course, was the figure Kazzizrym, who she'd barely known four days and was already willing to risk her neck to help. For the "good of Alerar" his black ass.

"Bron." Aly turned to look him in the eye, interrupting his train of thought. "Do you know about the Chief?"

"Alydia, you know as well as I do that if something had happened to him, Ettermire would be screaming it at the top of its lungs. He's been the Chief for a century and a half; there'd be utter anarchy if he'd been taken out. Besides. Aubrey seemed to be focused more on you than anyone else. You gave him reason, remember?"

Aly nodded, not entirely convinced, but it would do for now.

Bron preceded the thief through the door at Ankhas, hand going to a knife at his belt just in case Aubrey had succeeded in slaying Izvilvin...although the silence suggested otherwise. It didn't take anyone particularly sharp sighted to spot Aubrey's carcass, and Izvilvin's relaxed stance nearby told both of them that the murderer was probably dead. Bron still drew his knife, making his way across the hot tar to the murderer.

Aly hung back, looking on the body without the morbid fascination of the masses. It was just another body. "Is he...?"

Bron knelt, grabbing Aubrey by his matted, dingy hair and slitting his throat. Rather than being greeted with a violent spray, a sticky, black ooze seeped out of the wound. "Dead." Bron wiped his blade on the murderer's armor, tucking it back into its sheath.

"Now, give me the book and I'll get to work."

The scarlet-coated thief lifted her hand, and the invaluable tome fell out of thin air to land in her outstretched palm. Bron reached out and took it, then shook his head. It was amazing how she managed, sometimes. It must have been easier than he'd thought to get access into the vault, although now that they'd been robbed once, security would be tighter the next time, if he ever needed her to get in again.

With a stifled sigh, he cracked open the book and sat down, starting to work.

Alydia went over to Izvilvin while Bron got to work. "Let me look at you." She gave the warrior a quick once-over, seeing if there were any serious new wounds, and then turned her attention to his bloodied nose, checking to see if it was broken.

"You're fine. Here." She plucked the vial out of its place in her breast pocket. "Drink half now, save half for later. It'll help with yesterday's wounds."

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin's blood dripped from his nose, down to his lip and into his mouth. The taste of it was lost to him, as he stared intently at the body of the murderer. Ending the threat of Aubrey presented a very real reality to Izvilvin - he was going to face Step, and the time was fast approaching. He realized that he had little to no idea of how to deal with such an entity, and was certain he couldn't confront it the same way he'd confronted the killer.

He snapped out of the trance at Alydia's beckoning, and he felt relief at seeing her. "For good this time," he muttered, "no more close calls."

Of course he was talking about Aubrey, but wasn't sure how to express just how he'd felt about the killer. Izvilvin recalled the first time he'd seen him, observing a dialogue between he and Alydia. Aubrey had an aura of filth, a kind of musky feeling that surrounded him which the warrior had picked up on. And yet they were oddly similar - Izvilvin, even, had probably killed more people in his lifetime.

Step was the reason for a lot of those deaths. He found himself wishing he'd been stronger, sooner, to resist the organization's demands.

Bron stepped toward the center of the roof to begin the process of decoding the book. Meanwhile, Izvilvin took Alydia's offered potion and drank half of it as instructed. He winced at the bitter flavor, but instantly felt a tightening in his nose and a lack of new blood.

"Good news," called Bron as he flipped through the thin tome. "This shouldn't take much time to decrypt. As a matter of fact, I've seen patterns like this multiple times. Five minutes, tops."

Izvilvin approached, heard Bron speaking to himself, saw him scribble on a sheet of paper. He was too anxious, too curious, too nervous to speak to either of them. Meeting Alydia was a catalyst to the biggest struggle of his life, and it had all happened so fast.

In no time at all, Bron spoke a series of words and the air around them changed. Before their very eyes opened a black portal surrounded by a blue mist, beckoning them forward with an oddly alluring, black abyss.

"This is it. This will take you to Step's headquarters, wherever it may be," said Bron.

Izvilvin stared into it for a solid ten seconds. "Thank you," he said simply, before turning to face Alydia. A moment passed before he spoke again. "I'll see you on the other side, if you still decide that you want to come."

He gave Bron another glance, then stepped through the portal.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Alydia looked toward the portal, but she wavered for a moment. Bron watched, breath bated, to see if she'd take the smart option and step down. He could see the doubt in her face, but her foot finally went forward, toward the portal.

"Alydia." Bron's voice was both soft and firm, and it kept her in her spot. "You know that if you go, you will have to kill them. Or they will kill you." Bron had never heard of her raising her hand to actively kill anyone. But rather than the revulsion he thought he'd see on her face, rather than the step back he knew she'd take...she just lowered her head.

"I know, Bron." A thick layer of remorse subdued her tone. "And it...won't be the first time. I don't believe in murder. I don't believe in killing anyone - or anything - without good reason. You know that. But sometimes, Bron...rarely...to save the lives of innocents, guilty lives must be taken. They told us on the force to never kill unless there wasn't a choice." Alydia's head came back up, and she stepped toward the portal once more. "I don't see a choice here. He won't make it on his own."

Bron sighed. Why did she always have to be so much trouble? Still...it was his job to do what he could to keep her informed and protected. He couldn't go along with her, she'd already flatly rejected bringing other members of her own team. Instead, he just offered what he could: a map and a delyn dagger.

"The map was in the back of the book. It's a map of Step's interior." He tapped a room in the map. "There's supposed to be a 'true' history of the world in this room. According to legend -" He didn't need to finish. He could see the gleam in her eye; she got that same look every time she was about to go on a heist.

"According to legend," she finished for him, "the person who can understand the subtle realities of history...will be able to explore it themselves. Oh what grand adventure."

Bron almost sighed. Still, he'd made it a game for her, which boosted her chances immensely. "Take the knife as well. Everyone, no matter who, needs a sharp knife. I'll deal with the body."

Aly scowled at the knife, but took it and started back to the portal.

"Your coat and hat. You stick out like a dwarf in a Coronian bar. Reverse them."

Alydia rolled her eyes, but reversed her trademark scarlet trench coat and fedora to their black sides, then turned to Bron, holding out her arms after tugging the brim down over her left eye. "May I go out to play now, mother?"

Bron raised an eyebrow at the sardonic tone in her voice, but nodded. "I don't recommend you going. But if you must...you're as fit as you're going to be."

She vanished through the portal, which he closed after her. Then he looked around at the skyline. He remembered the days it had been bold and proud. Now it huddled under a cloak of fear: fear of its own military, fear of the threats that the undead would spill over from Raiaera. It wasn't right.

Then he looked down at the corpse of Shynt Aubrey. He remembered the city living under fear of him. And now he was dead. The information dealer ran a hand through his hair and then went down the stairs to leave the magnificent scene that was Ankhas. Within the hour, the Ettermire police would be on the site.

Stay safe, Aly.

Spoils request: Simple Delyn dagger, sharp edge, serrated at the base of the blade on one side, no enchantments.

((OOC: The exciting conclusion in To the Bitter End (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=143751#post143751).))

[Taskmienster]

Behind the Veil


((This is being used as a test judgment, so my commentary may be a little more in-depth than previous judgments for this series))


STORY (16.5/30)

~ Continuity ~ 6.5
Having read the previous threads, I knew what was going on. But all in all it was still pretty well set up. I could have used more background instead of a link to a thread, had I been a new mod just coming to judge this instead of one going from thread to thread. I also knew what your goals were, though they were rushed, and you accomplished them well throughout the thread.

~ Setting ~ 6
All in all the setting was well described at the opening of each new place, but wasn’t really used or expounded upon after it was originally set up. I would suggest incorporating more into it, even if it’s just subtle little additions here and there.

~ Pacing ~ 4
WitW: Your pacing was slowed, in my opinion, by the considerably long sentences that were prevalent. They aren’t normally a bad thing, or anything to note, however in this thread they seemed out of place at times. Some clauses could have stood alone with the addition of a few other words, and worked just as well. The ellipses I mention in the technique section are part of the flow issues as well.

Izzy: Your pacing in the 7th post, with noticing Aubrey and into that post was really sudden and felt a bit rushed. Not just the pacing, but the post itself. Also, not just in that post, but you have a lot of separated ‘paragraphs’ that are little more than a sentence. Those could easily be expanded upon, or have the previous or following paragraph tied into them instead of them standing alone as often as they did. It cut the flow an awful lot.

“it had all happened so fast.” [11] ~ This is what I thought about the thread… heh. It was happening so fast. As if both of you just wanted to get through this last bit and be done with it.


CHARACTER (19/30)

~ Dialogue ~ 7
Well done, nothing really to comment here… Perhaps if you had shown more character and emotion through the way things were said. You both did it from time to time, but not enough to make it something common.

~ Action~ 5.5
It was rushed, hurried like all hell. The fight between Izvilvin and Aubrey was so quick and over with, as opposed to something more that I would have expected. He’s supposed to be an amazing fighter, and taking the view of someone who did not read the fight on the train, I would have still expected more. I understand it was actually, probably, a really intense and wicked fight. But it wasn’t written that way at all…

Also, the drugging of the guards and the scene that came just before it wasn’t really realistic. If there are two guards, in charge of watching something so secretive and supposedly important, why would they just willingly accept something from a stranger? Being in that position, in a realistic opinion, would probably mean they are going to get fucked up if they fail. So it wasn’t very realistic.

~ Persona ~ 6.5
I, rather unfortunately, got far more persona in regards to Brom’s character from both of you than I did from your own characters. There was a good deal in there by both of you, but nothing outstanding, or anything that made the characters feel less flat. I would suggest throwing a little bit more in regards to how the character felt, rather than just what they felt and why. Show, don’t tell. It’s key to writing well.



WRITING STYLE (20.5/30)

~ Technique ~ 6.5
There really wasn’t anything outstanding or profound that stood out, nor was there the advanced technique that I know both of you can excel at if you put your mind to it. Again, I attribute a lot of that to the fact that the thread seemed extremely rushed.

WitW: You use A LOT of ellipses. Perhaps I had missed in previous threads, or perhaps you just wrote a lot more into this thread than normal. Whatever the case, it throws off the technique and what your writing style is normally.

~ Mechanics ~ 7
Other than what’s noted below, it was just a simple comma usage that stood out the most.

“like a liquid and making not a sound.” [1] ~ “Like a liquid…” what? You missed a word.

“lush orange/brown fabric” [3] ~ instead of the back slash you could put ‘and’ to make it more of a storytelling fashion of writing instead of a quick post. Just a little thing.

“He bit back a curse; this could be bad.”[6] ~ ‘this’ seems out of place as a tense agreement issue. Could have replaced ‘this’ with ‘the situation could [get] bad’.

~ Clarity ~ 7
“And Izvilvin Kazizzrym, who could not have hoped to keep his identity or whereabouts secret from Retla, had come to him asking for Alydia.” [2] ~ You say Retla as if it’s expected of the reader to know who he is, if I hadn’t read the previous threads I wouldn’t have known that Brom’s last name was Retla. You explain it a little further on, but it’s just something that should be clarified before condensing the name.

WitW: The cut between Shynt and Alydia, with just a double space, made it somewhat hard to follow at times.


WILD CARD!!! 6



TOTAL

(62/100)


GAINS/REWARDS!

Where in the World?: 1171 exp |40 gold (minus the expenses and the dagger you get)

Izvilvin: 2210 exp | 150 gold

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added