Traitor in the Ranks

[Negative]

Ok sorry to make you guys wait I had to take care of some stuff for my college class. Im open to taking one, two people at max. Im hoping to draw this out as long as possible without it becoming unrealistic. Just try to work with me on this ok guys? oh and just in advance to the mod who judges this Im not to up to date on who might be informants within Scourge so please forgive me.

Dark and dank just like home used to be. The aley ways of Scara Brae reminded Shui of the common roads of his under world home. Since his "froced" departure four years ago Shui'Qil had taken to the streets looking for odd jobs to keep gold in his pocket. He had never opened himself to anything big like The Scourge. THE largest crime syndacate in Scara Brae. Shui almost always found himself working small caravan guard duties or just doing plain thug work. Shui was ready for a real job and he knew that the only people that would truly trust a Drow mage were those that followed the same path as he does. Those that follow the darker aspect of life. Shui didnt care either he actually enjoyed the evil that life had to offer. He just didnt enjoy the thought of working for a large group of people. Large organized crime groups usually attracted crowds and crowds made it hard to work. Shui had used some of his persuasive nature to spread word around the slums that there was a drow mage looking for work. He was willing to work for the humans, but he wouldnt enjoy it. He despised them and their weakness. Really he despised everyone who wasnt a Drow, but Shui was smart he had figured out that in order to survive on the surface world he would have to deal with it.

Shui decided to stick near an over crowded tavern this night. He had waited four ays with no response from anyone with a job offer. He figured if he waited somewhere where the crowd would draw away the attraction of him and another perosn discussing" business" he would hear from a contact. He was sitting in the alley way taking on the apearence of a drunk down on his luck. His royal purple cloak was pulled over his face and his dagger laid across his lap covered by a corner of his cloak. He noticed the profile of a smaller creature, probalby a halfling, meandering in his direction. The small creature woblled by him and took up a spot not two feet down on the other buildings wall.

"Word on the street is that there might be a drow mage looking for work stranger...you heard about that?"

"I might have...I also heard that he doesnt like being toyed with...especially when dealing with sakphul..."

The last was the high drow word for halfling. Shui hoped that the litle one had understood his implication. If not he would have to kill him.

"I see...we have a hob for you Drow...a rather easy one by your kins standards. All we need you to do is track down and kill a spy. She has some "vital" information that The Scourge would like to have returned. She is heading for the nearest outpost. You can intercept her and take her out quietly. Failure will result in death...I hope you understand this."

"Right I understand...anything else?"

"Yes we need you to take at least one other person with you so as to ensure the job gets done. Can you handle that Shui'Qil?"

Shui faltered for a fraction of a second. He was in a little bit of a shocked state after being given his name by a sakphul. This was quite a shocker here, but not enough to let his guard down. Shui nodded and let his head sink to his chest.

"Good you are running short on time and speed is of the essence here. If she is not found by tonight your body will hang in the town square before the morning."

"Understood. Just have my money ready."

Shui took his leave of the halfling sure that it had taken an alternate route to seperate itself from the drow mage. Shui looked at the sky and thought for a moment about the brightness. It was getting late in the night and he needed to hurry. He heard a noise behind him and turned quivkly dagger drawn...

"You there reveal yourself."

Ok I just made an opening for one person so the other one is going to have to sort of fit his or her way in on their own.

[DarkStrike]

Because I love Negative (S) so much, and because I need the exp and gold, and practice (above all), I'm going to crash your party here, Negative.

As usual, night found Nenal sitting in yet another tavern, although this one was not quite as homely as the last. It was made of damp, slimy stone, which gave the impression of a dungeon rather than an inn. The 6'6" angel, cloaked and completely hidden in a stark white robe, with two blades, made of bone, sheathed in soft velvet of the same color, sat watching the disgusting patrons of the tavern move about, with indifference.

Nenal, was reminiscing, as was usual for him, when he noticed a change in the atmosphere. Looking over towards the bar, Nenal saw two men arguing heatedly over something. Probably over a woman, Nenal thought. Standing up quickly Nenal decided to exit the tavern.

Nenal had been going to taverns for well over 200 years, so generally after a certain amount of time, sensing the mood of the tavern became second nature, and Nenal could see a brawl well on its way. Just as he reached the door and opened it, he heard a crash, shouting, and instinctively he ducked, and a chair went sailing over his head, crashing down onto the street, nearly taking out a few pedestrians in the process.

Knowing that the guard would soon be here, and would detain everyone inside, Nenal turned to the left and began striding down the alley, his boots making a dull tapping sound on the damp cobblestone streets. He noticed a person, what someone might call a halfling sitting against the wall pretending to be drunk.

Nenal shook his head, the halfling would have been believable had he not looked at Nenal as he passed, for his eyes were bright and alert. Whistles blew in the distance and Nenal decided to step up his pace.

Hurrying along the dark alleys thinking, he had only gone about 50 yards when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"You there reveal yourself."

Nenal saw a short Drow, dagger in hand, who appeared to be a little on edge. Nenal thought quickly, it wouldn't do to have a fight in the middle of a dark alley, especially if they had connections to the Scourge, which, according to the snooping Nenal had done earlier that week, was the largest criminal organization around.

Nenal knew that a job offer had arisen from the Scourge, and he could probably bluff his way out of this, using that as a base. No one would mess with someone who intended to take a job from the Scourge.

Nenal then spoke, afraid that he might have taken too long to respond, "My name is Nenal, and I come to answer the job offer from the Scourge."

Looking at the Drow, Nenal continued, "Perhaps you could point me in the right direction, so that I may answer this request to the proper person."

Nenal was starting to get anxious since the whistles were getting louder, and Nenal knew there would be a lockdown on this block. He merely prayed that the Drow would answer quickly.

hope this is good enough for you Neg.

[Negative]

"My name is Nenal, and I come to answer the job offer from the Scourge."

How does he know of the job offer...something like that isn't spread around willy nilly...maybe that blasted sakphul didnt trust me to find help...how could you not trust a drow?

The ringing of the bells brought Shui back from his little mental chuckle. It was odd that the halfling had sent him help instead of letting Shui choose his own, but no matter they had to move quickly lest they be caught by the city guard.

"Perhaps you could point me in the right direction, so that I may answer this request to the proper person."

"You are are you? Well you've found me...the bells...quickly let us be off. I dont want to loose this one and have my head taken as a result. I kind of need it to live. Quickly now don't fall behind I wont come back for you."

Shui raced off down the alley in the direction he had been coming from, his cloak trailing like a specter chasing its prey in the night. Ahead of them was a dead end, but to the right was another back alley way with many doors lining the walls. Most of which lead into the back of some shop or a peasants home. Shui hooked the sharp right loosing little speed. He didn't check to see if the other creature was following. He couldn't tell what it was he had been talking to really. The one thing he did notice was that the thing towered over him by close to a foot.

Shui had let his thoughts wander, something he rarely allowed to happen, and almost ran straight into another wall. This one was different though. It wasn't like the others. This one was only seven feet high as opposed to the others that ran the course of the other bulidings to abou twenty feet high. Shui took the few seconds he had left to calculate how hard he would have to force his body up and at the last second launched himself straight up. His momentum carried him the rest of the way to the wall and Shui caught half of his body on the top ledge of the wall. He took a moment to straighten himself then swung both of his legs over the wall and down to the ground on the other side.

"Come we have much ground to cover iblith"

[DarkStrike]

The whistles and bells in the distance continued to grow, and Nenal began to worry about whether or not the drow was going to answer him in a reasonable time. Taking a deep breath Nenal was about to speak but the Drow spoke first.

"You are are you? Well you've found me...the bells...quickly let us be off. I dont want to loose this one and have my head taken as a result. I kind of need it to live. Quickly now don't fall behind I wont come back for you."

With that being said, the Drow took off, and Nenal not bothering to think twice hurried after, keeping up with little trouble. The Drow moved fast, but Nenal had trained much of his life in speed and agility drills. Racing through the allies in the night, looking like ghosts, Nenal especially with his white robe.

Suddenly the Drow took a sharp right and Nenal slid around the corner with no trouble at all, actually gaining on the speeding creature. They were fast approaching a wall and Nenal wondered if the small being was going to run into it.

Nenal didn't have to worry, the Drow mad a flying leap, caught himself on the wall and levered himself over with little trouble. Nenal didn't have to do anything special to get himself over, being almost as tall as the wall itself.

Leaping straight up, he nearly vaulted over the wall entirely, which would have resulted in a few broken bones, but Nenal caught himself and swung his long legs over and landed just behind the Drow as he said, "Come we have much ground to cover iblith."

Nenal waited for the short, maroon haired being...no specter, to continue.

[Negative]

Shui continued moving when he heard the dull thump of a body hitting the ground. He turned and looked back confirming that it was Nenal and not some unlikely assassin. He nodded and offered a short grunt as he got to his feet and took of again. Shui had noticed that Nenal didn’t really have much trouble keeping up so he guessed that he would be able to keep him close enough to talk to him while they ran for the nearest outpost. The bells of the city guard could still be heard and shots from the guards could be heard floating over the walls and dispersed into the dark night. Glares from torches could be seen against the buildings where there were low sections of wall. Shadows of men distorted and elongated to resemble horrors of the night flowed through the city each running away from the general direction of the bar they had just left. Shui saw an opening in the woods near the town and made for the trail leading into the woods. He hoped that they would be able to get to far enough in to the woods that they would be able to catch the woman before she made it out into the clearing in plain sight of the guard post. Shui took a moment to consider the time and how far they had come by now. Close to two miles out of the city. He slowed his pace and stopped by a large oak tree. Shui took a moment to brush his snow white hair from his eyes and waited for Nenal to stop near him so that he would not have to speak to loud.

“We are nearing the cities northern most guard post. That is where out target is headed. She is a human woman who goes by Jillian. She carries information about each and every member of the Scourge and wishes to turn it into the guards. There is also information on standard operating reports and much more like informants and allies and such. We were enlisted to eliminate Jillian. No quarter for the traitor, I hope that is understood.”

Shui turned his attention from Nenal and focused his eyes into the heat spectrum so tht he could get a better view of the landscape around them. He looked around in full circle, but could not see any major heat sources yet.

“The first tower must be close. I’d say we’ve got about a mile before we reach it. Once we get there we should do well to not speak or make any noises until we are at least another mile out from the tower. Like I said this woman is to be eliminated at all costs. The reward will be most generous when we return with the body. So Nenal are you ready or are there questions you wish to have answered first?”

Just trying to make some small talk before we continue. Im hoping to try and improve on Shui's people skills.

[DarkStrike]

ok, sorry about the wait, and I take it by small talk, you merely want some description, but make the next few posts mainly dialogue posts before continuing, if this is wrong, or you don't like what I give you, leave me a pm and I'll change accordingly.

Nenal watched as the Drow looked around, as though trying to find an escape route. It only took a minute, because the small creature moved forward in such a way, that discovery was not an option. Nenal followed close behind with little trouble, and together the he sprinted along behind the drow, apparently making their way to a small forest trail, that led away from the small bustling town.

Entering the woods, Nenal and the specter-like creature moved away from the bells and whistles of the city constabalry, and probably, the guards and soldiers from the near by garrison. Looking back quickly, Nenal saw that a simple barroom brawl, had apparently turned into a full scale riot. Shaking his head, he followed the Drow ever inwards.

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

A long while had passed, and Nenal judged that they had moved about 2 miles in from the town. The time had passed slowly, and they had traveled in silence. A breeze picked up as Nenal followed silently behind his new employer, and he could see the trees thinning, which meant one thing:

Civilization was ahead.

The Drow spoke, and it startled Nenal, but not so much as to alert his companion to his surprise.

“The first tower must be close. I’d say we’ve got about a mile before we reach it. Once we get there we should do well to not speak or make any noises until we are at least another mile out from the tower. Like I said this woman is to be eliminated at all costs. The reward will be most generous when we return with the body. So Nenal are you ready or are there questions you wish to have answered first?”

Nenal thought before answering, "Yes, I have two questions.

"First, I wish to know your name, as we have not been properly introduced, and secondly, it is in my experience that 'eliminate' does not necessarily mean kill or destroy, but sometimes just means to remove the item of annoyance from the picture by perhaps... capturing and then shipping them off to some deserted island. So the question is: Are we trying to kill her, or capture her if possible?"

[Negative]

"First, I wish to know your name, as we have not been properly introduced, and secondly, it is in my experience that 'eliminate' does not necessarily mean kill or destroy, but sometimes just means to remove the item of annoyance from the picture by perhaps... capturing and then shipping them off to some deserted island. So the question is: Are we trying to kill her, or capture her if possible?"

“I guess it wouldn’t be a bad thing to give you something to call me by. You may call me Shui for now. It is not often I hear someone care enough to want to know my name during a job. As for the second part…that is a little different. When I said eliminate I most definitely meant eliminate as in to terminate, or to cause the expiration of, or to be rid of. This woman will die tonight. She has offered city officials all the information they would ever need to take down The Scourge and they are not pleased by this. Treason is a crime punishable by death and there is no possibility of redemption should you be accused and found guilty of such acts. Either we kill her or we get killed it’s as easy as that.”

Shui switched into his night vision spectrum and made a second scan of the area and found nothing other than himself and Nenal in the area. They were still doing well on time, but they would have to move out soon if they wanted to catch this woman quietly. The later it got the more alert the guards would be.

“Sorry to cut you off, but we need to move if we want to get by the guards without having to worry too much. I’m going to ask that you keep quiet till we get a little ways from here.”

Shui pulled the frost dagger from his side and kept the blade pointed back towards Nenal so that he could bring it up in a quick slash should the need arise. He made off towards the first guard tower hoping to catch the end of this shift. Shui chose to leave his vision in the heat spectrum so as to give him an upper hand on any would be attackers. Shui slowed his pace softening his foot falls to prevent the alarming of anyone or anything. It didn’t take three minutes for them to come upon the tower and the small shack. He could see the warmth of the fire inside through the wall and there were two guards sleeping. Up in the tower there were two dim torches and two guards each sitting on the floor of the elevated tower. Shui decided to take a round about path so as to not draw the attention of the guards.

Finally they were far enough out of sight and sound of the post and in a good position for an ambush. The woman had to be coming this way. There was no doubt about it, but the one thing there as something to worry about was if she was alone.

“We need to set up a trap here. This is the way that the woman is supposed to come and we don’t know if she’s alone or not. Any ideas?”

[DarkStrike]

“I guess it wouldn’t be a bad thing to give you something to call me by. You may call me Shui for now. It is not often I hear someone care enough to want to know my name during a job. As for the second part…that is a little different. When I said eliminate I most definitely meant eliminate as in to terminate, or to cause the expiration of, or to be rid of. This woman will die tonight. She has offered city officials all the information they would ever need to take down The Scourge and they are not pleased by this. Treason is a crime punishable by death and there is no possibility of redemption should you be accused and found guilty of such acts. Either we kill her or we get killed it’s as easy as that.”

Nenal didn't like the sound of that. He had no illusions over his power, although his race alone might allow him to survive, since it typically scared the wits out of his enemies. Still, this news put Nenal on edge, he was calm, but alert... very alert.

His employer, Shui, looked around, appearing to look for something suspicious. Apparently finding nothing, Shui spoke again, “Sorry to cut you off, but we need to move if we want to get by the guards without having to worry too much. I’m going to ask that you keep quiet till we get a little ways from here.”

Shui then pulled an odd looking knife, or dagger, Nenal wasn't sure which, and then turned and made quickly for the guard tower. In less than 5 minutes, Shui began to slow, treading carefully, obviously trying not to alert anybody to their presence.

Shui seemed to hesitate, and then seemed to move off around the tower. Nenal would have preferred to have made a more direct route, but followed without complaint. Walking swiftly, with great purpose, the wind was pulling swiftly at their cloaks, as though urging them along.

Nenal tended to be in tune to the elements, and they seemed to share the same sense of urgency that the two companions did, for this was a do or die mission, and Nenal intended to achieve the "do."

Finally they happened upon a wide path that was flanked by trees, but two in particular hung out over the path, with strong sturdy branches, that would conceal a man if they stood there.

“We need to set up a trap here. This is the way that the woman is supposed to come and we don’t know if she’s alone or not. Any ideas?”

"Yes," Nenal said, "Look at these trees," Nenal gestured to the two overhanging branches, "To make a long plan short, one of us on each branch, jump the target, eliminate her, no matter what kind of numbers, and then leave anyone else to me."

Nenal was pleased with the plan, he would of course scare his opponents by transforming. Looking at Shui for confirmation, he merely stared off down the path, where he assumed the target would come, and hoped that there weren't any truely brave souls with her, but Nenal doubted it. Traitors tended to commit treason because they were afraid of something, whether it be capture or a particular person, and any who flanked a traitor would probably be low cowardly cut throats.

Yes, Nenal was quite pleased with his plan.

[Negative]

College sucks...dont go if you want a life.

"Yes," Nenal said, "Look at these trees," Nenal gestured to the two overhanging branches, "To make a long plan short, one of us on each branch, jump the target, eliminate her, no matter what kind of numbers, and then leave anyone else to me."

"Not bad...Im impressed, but your plan leaves for loop holes that I might have worried about if this were someone other than a simple woman, but since it is not I will not complain. If there are more than two men with the woman, and thats asuming that she thought through enough to briing protection with her, then I have spells prepared to knock down a group and give you time to re orgnaize yourself. Dont over exert yourself and dont hesitate to call me."

I imagine he is already over his head so I will have to be ready to save him. I will have to be quick to eliminate the woman. Im not going to cary his carcass anywhere so he needs to come out alive.

"Ok Ill take left you take the one on the right. Like I said I dont expect her to have protection, but humans always find a way to be quite resourceful so be ready for anything. I want you to jump from the tree first and as quietly as possible eliminate anyone that is not the woman. I will come down on her with whatI will hope to be the killing blow so that she does not have a chance to scream out for help. We are still somewhat close to the guards so anything above our own whispers might alert anyone who hasnt been in that tower all day."

Shui motioned for Nenal to take to his tree. He on the other hand focused on the small magical energy emenating from the house insignia of his former family. The small little emenations allowed him to levitate off the ground when he focused on the enchantment. Shui slowly floated into the branch and stood in the branch perfectly still. He looked aorund again once in the normal spectrum and again in the heat spectrum common among his race. Still there was no sign of the defector. Shui went into a crouching position and waited for nenal to arive on his branch so that he could confirm that he was ready.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.