White Shadows (Closed)

[Hysteria]

Talen ducked low and ran lightly across the roof tiles. The youth slowed as he reached the edge and peered over the side for any way-ward onlookers. Safe from sight the youth took two steps and leapt across the gap between buildings. With only the slightest rustled he caught the gutter of the building and pulled himself up onto the roof. The youth paused and scanned the skyline for any signs of movement. The boy’s blue eyes were barely visible behind a white mask, framed by shaggy black air. The rest of his body was clad in tight fitting black.

The youth was on a mission, a grim action that was unlikely to end without at least some bloodshed. The boy moved slowly across the roof top on all fours. Hand, foot, hand foot, moving with the utmost care. The boy paused above a section of titles. His fingers moved slowly over the gaps between the stone, pushing the still we mortar aside and easing the large tiles from their place. A few minutes work and three large tiles were dislodged and placed carefully aside. With the same care as crawling on the roof the youth climbed down into the cavity below the roof and into the dark space below.

Thin rays of light shone up through gaps in the slats below the youth and covered him in white lines. The youth peered through the wood and down into the room below. A murmured conversation rose up from two men sitting in what appeared to be a lounge room.

“…ment arrived in two days in the port, it will be a big one.”

“Good, and no mistakes this time… or else it will be your head that gets given to him.”

“That won’t happen. Have you secured more guards?”

“Yes, two working here tonight in fact. Not sure about the white one, seems a bit..”

Talen crawled away from the room, slithering like a snake between wood beams. Below him the rooms changed. A woman listening at the door to the conversation of the two men, possibly a wife. The kitchen, two servants cleaned plates from a late dinner. Talen turned sharply and headed towards the edge of the house. The room changed again this time a young girl was dressing for bed. She was young, seventeen or there abouts with fiery red hair and purest white skin. The youth stopped still, watching as the girl removed her day cloths and slipped into a night gown. Talen waited and watched, glorious minutes past until the girl turned off her light and settled into bed. Talen pulled out a small knife and began teasing up the nails from the boards.

[Harbinger]

Rak pulled his coat tighter around himself to ward off the night air. The tall white warrior stepped side to side in annoyance as he looked around idly. The warrior was wearing a thick fur leather coat and pants. Rak was a Seeker, a peculiar species with unique skin tones and not a single hair interrupting their smooth skin. The downside that Rak had learned was that he got cold extremely easily. A dim sound emanated from above and the warrior turned and looked up at the roof of the house he had been hired to guard. There was only darkness and silence and Rak turned and started a slow walk of the house.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” A woman’s scream echoed through the building.

Rak’s normally calm face twisted in surprise and he ripped his sword from his back and ran up around the building to the front. Two other guards appeared seconds later and the three of them stared at the building. Although they were hired to guard the mysterious merchant’s house, he had forbidden them from entering while he had company. Rak turned to the other guards, a skinny man who looked like he was made from anger and sinew and an elf that managed to look drunk no matter the time of day.

“Do we go in?” The Elf asked.

“Fucked if I know…” Said the human.

A huge smash interrupted the guards as a window hit the ground. The trio charged around the corner as a dark shadow leapt from the destroyed window and landed on the street. The black shape held the still body of the Merchant’s daughter in his arms.

“A kidnapper is it? Looks like you are out of luck midget!” The elf lifted his weapon and charged forwards and the human lifted his sword and followed.

Rak’s feet were firmly planted on the ground. The small shape liked more like a child than a kidnapper, but he couldn’t shake a sinking feeling of dread that seemed to emanate from the figure.

[Hysteria]

Talen lifted his eyes to the three men in the street. The youth cursed his luck at the girl’s light sleep and resulting scream. Only a few seconds more and she would have been gagged and Talen would have been able to escape without a peep. Talen had been forced to escape the house but found himself face to face with three guards that had been outside.

The youth lifted his foot and slammed it down hard on the road sending a pool of black liquid flowing towards the man and elf. The two hired thugs charged across the stone paved street and onto the youth’s trap. Like a comedy act the pair instantly lost their footing on the slippery stones and crashed to the ground. Talen lifted the girl up and draped her over his left shoulder to free one of his arms. The boy felt a slight rush of exhilaration as he dropped to one knee and held up a finger tipped with a flame. Without given the two guards the chance to escape the oily slick the youth dropped his finger into the mess. The flames licked across the surface and spread over the two guards. Howls of pain and the smell of burnt cloths and flesh filled the air. The youth stood back up and bowed slightly to the third guard standing on the other side of the flames and lucky enough to be caught within them. The youth pivoted on the spot and started running down the street with the unconscious girl on his shoulder.

The youth’s mind worked overtime as he considered his options. The boy had a myriad of back up plans, options and fall backs. The boy darted down an alley as the cries of shock and alarm rang through the night air behind him. There were more than the house guards now to attend with. The youth could practically feel people waking from their sleep and spreading the alarm. Soon there would be the city watch, and burning a few hired goons was far from attacking a city guard. Talen had to be careful or he would bring the entire city down upon him.

The youth ducked down another alley and slowed to a walk. His echoing footsteps amid the stone jungle would do more to alert people of his whereabouts than gained from a slightly quicker speed. The girl was also surprisingly heavy, even for Talen’s magically enchanted strength he would not be able to run while carrying her.

[Harbinger]

The Seeker stumbled backwards as fire ripped over his fellow guards. The warrior had seen many things in his travels across Althanas, but a small child like figure with a mask who was unhesitant to set fire to people and with such ease was not one of them. The warrior dropped his sword and pulled off his coat as he dashed forwards to the closer of the guards, the elf, and flung it over his writhing form. As fast as his hands would allow him he patted down the flames and jumped from the elf to the human guard did the same. Around the flames others ran forwards and even more appeared out of windows of the houses lining the street. Buckets of water appeared in less than a minute and were thrown by onlookers across the remaining patches of fire and the two burned men.

“Step aside sonny,” said a voice.

Rak did as he was told and the man held his hands over the burnt guard. His hands started to glow, trails of magic arching from his hands to the man’s burns. The voice belonged to one of the owners of the houses along the street, a doctor.

“What the hell are you doing!? Where is my daughter?” screamed Rak’s employer appearing from out of the house. The man shoved him hard, “GO FIND MY FUCKING DAUGHTER!”

Rak nodded absently and turned to run off in the direction of the masked kidnapper. The warrior paused for a second and held out his hand. His green sword he had dropped to the street lifted into the air and shot towards Rak, who caught it with the ease of hundreds of time before. Sword in hand Rak pushed himself into a run.

“And someone call the bloody watch!” said the kidnapped girl’s father to the slowly growing crowd.

Rak turned the same corner the masked man had and slowed to a walk. The only sounds the warrior could hear were coming from the scene behind him. The warrior scanned the dull grey stone surrounds of the houses and streets but could not see anything to hint as to where the daughter had been taken.

“psssst”

The warrior turned his eyes upwards to an old woman sticking her head out of one of the houses. She soundlessly worded ‘that way’ and pointed down another street. Rak nodded and jogged to the corner made by the street the woman had pointed too and his. Slowly he inched along the wall and peered around the corner. As the woman had indicated; a small black from was slowly making its way down the street carrying the girl. If not for the white night dress of the girl Rak probably would not have seen the figure at all.

Rak nearly ran around the corner but paused, he did not know if he was going to be any more effective than the two other guards if he just charged in. The warrior’s saving grace came in the sound of running feet. The city watch came from behind Rak, shouting and generally being noisy. The Seeker waved his hands to get their attention and pointed down the street.

“With me men!” shouted the Watch Captain and ran past Rak and down the street towards the shadowy figure.

“Stay out of this civilian.” Said one of the Watch as the men went past.

[Hysteria]

Talen paused as the sound of running echoed around him. A glance behind and the youth could see several city watch running towards him. The youth swore the watch were never normally so attentive that they would be able to find him or anyone for that matter on such short notice. The little warrior cast the thought from his head as the watch got closer. He had other things to attend to.

Talen waved his right hand in front of him backward and forwards like he was painting. Each movement left a trail of shadows. The youth pulled his hand back from the large black mess and punched forwards into his own shadowy creation. The darkness exploded outwards, spreading out in thin lines towards the watch. The men slowed their advance but it was too late. The tendrils of shadows hardened as they moved forwards and fell upon them as a large metal net. Shouts of surprise and anger echoed through the street as man and net struck. The rashness of the watch drove them into the net before they could react and man and net became entangled. The youth smirked at the sight of the watch struggling; tangled in the chain and each other.

Without so much as a second longer Talen turned and broke into a run down the street. The little thief had caught a glimpse of the white guard from the house back down the street but the city watch would not take long to untangle themselves. Talen turned another corner; he was slowly making his way to the less affluent part of city, where the watch would have to take more care following his steps. Of course, he would also have to be careful. A rich man’s daughter was a valuable commodity in ransom.

[Harbinger]

Rak couldn’t believe the ineptitude of the watch. They faired only slightly better than the two guards and again the little kid napper had escaped. The warrior jogged towards the trapped men. The sound of shouting and curses illustrated the potential guttural mouth of the town watch. The Seeker sheathed his sword and grabbed a length of the chain net. The black metal felt odd under his hands, somehow powdery or flaky, although no marks were left on his hand. The warrior pulled the chain up and one of the watchmen crawled out. The man swore and for a second made to run in the direction of the kidnapper’s escape.

Rak dropped the net, stepped over to the man and wacked him across the head. The watchmen stumbled sideways in shock before turning and throwing a roundhouse punch at Rak. The seeker lifted his arm and caught the blow with his forearm, following up with a right jab to the man’s jaw. The watchmen’s head snapped back and he staggered backwards and collapsed to the ground.

“You go after him by yourself, you’d die before throwing your first punch you idiot.”

Rak shook his head at the watchmen’s stupidity and grabbed the corner of the chain net again. The warrior need not have as the net dissolved between his very hands. The watchmen stopped struggling, frozen for a second on the ground left looking like fools as they fought to lift an invisible chain.

“You bastard!”

The watchmen Rak had knocked to the ground pushed himself up.

“Stop Constable.” The Sargent stood up brushed himself off, “He probably saved your life.”

“Sargent, what should we do?” asked one of the watch.

“Little shit… we need to get more men.” The Sargent, rubbing his hand through his hair.

“But Sargent..”

“You fool” said the Sargent cutting off the watchmen, “He used fire on those guards back at the house and whatever that chain was on us. He kept us alive because he knew what would happen if he started killing watchmen. He is not just some thuggish kidnapper.”

“and you….” The Sargent pointed at Rak.

The Seeker pointed at himself with feigned a look of confusion.

“You are coming with us.”

[Hysteria]

Talen moved swiftly down a dark street. The silence was only broken by the sound of his footfalls on the paved stone. The youth slowed to a walk and finally stopped; the dim echoes of his feed fading from the air and leaving silence. The boy looked around himself slowly, swinging the girls dead weight on his shoulder around as he did. The street was one of the more neglected parts of the city. Most of the houses were boarded up, some falling apart with the passage of time. The boy found no one and walked down between a gap in two houses in the street to an old wooden door set into the side of a house. It probably served as storage for wood at some time in the past. The youth placed his free hand on the door and pushed it open and swung the girl in and entered.

The room was pitch black when Talen entered. He lifted his hand up to a candle mounted on the on the wall near the door as a flame leapt to his finger and lit it. Flicking light filled the small room, no bigger than three metres each way. In the corners of the room were strewn rubbish and a single chair sitting in the middle. Across the floor was smeared blood forming a large intricate pattern. Sitting just inside the door was a ceramic bowl with three mutilated rats and some left over blood drying slowly in the cool night air.

Talen picked up the rope and dropped the girl into the sea and used the rope to fasten her arms behind her back and to the chair. The walked around the girl and lifted her face up into the flicking light. A slight murmur escaped from the girl’s lips.

“You awake enough to talk yet?”

The girl managed another murmur. The youth let go of her head and it bobbed forwards. Talen sighed, he had hoped to talk to the girl, but there was not enough time to wait for her to wake fully and engage in his twisted game before doing what he needed to do. The boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box marked with the sign of N’jal. The youth smiled; his teeth oddly white in the light. He grabbed the girls head and pulled it back and held the bow in front of her face. With a finger he pushed a button on the front and it clicked as the clasp was released.

[Harbinger]

Rak shifted his backside to a slightly more comfortable position on the hard wooden seat. He was sitting in a room filled by city watch and hired guards. Grim faces were the dress of choice, many setting on unshaven faces in a silent protest against the early wake. A dim chatter filled the air, a few choice words lifted above the rest; ‘kidnapped’, ‘useless guards’ and ‘burns’ to name a few. The door swung open and a sudden quiet settled on the room. The Watch Captain entered. Rak straightened in his seat without even realising. The Captain was of average height, even a little short, with brown hair and a stubbily chin. It was the way he carried himself that seemed to command respect, even from the tired and grumpy watchmen and guards in the room.

“Alright.” The Captain paused as the last few sounds in the room dropped off, “Thankyou for coming. We have a mage, and a tricky one at that causing havoc. He broke into the Rodder’s house around midnight last night.”

A sound of grunts and muffled curses escaped the men at the name of Rak’s employer.

“Last night through a hole in the roof that had been fixed earlier that day.” Continued the Captain loudly, “From there he climbed into the roof space and broke through into the room of the Rodder’s daughter. She screamed and he grabbed her and jumped out the window.”

The Captain paused again and scanned the room before continuing.

“We haven’t received a ransom but this mage seems extremely resourceful and this was well planned and executed. He is either trying to get out of the city so he can control where the exchange is made, or he is hold up someone trying to figure out what to do. Either way, we need to be quick. We have stationed extra men along the town wall and gates, and as we speak patrols are heading in a search pattern across the city. You men are going to join them. We are going door to door till we find this guy.”

Rak shifted uncomfortably in his seat, he had been grilled by the Captain on all he had seen during the night. The Captain had even gone so far as to accuse Rak of being an inside man. The warrior had suspected that he being ordered to help the search was probably just so Rak couldn’t slip out of the city. All the while the Seeker had a nagging feeling at the back of his head. He knew that his boss had been a crook. Why the city would go to such lengths to search for the child of a smuggler was anyone’s guess, and the Seeker didn’t like it. The response was too big and too quick, something stunk.

“Now, this midget, or whatever he is... we don’t know. From reports he could be a child, an elf or even a skinny dwarf with a shaved beard. It is unlikely but it could also be a goblin, assuming it is tall and lean. Our best chance is to focus on If you find him, or suspect someone is him, you will not engage him by yourselves. You will retreat, call for help and then we will get him. Do I make myself clear?”

There were nods and murmurs around the room.

[Hysteria]

Talen peered through a tiny gap in the wooden door onto the street. The light of day had slowly risen and chased away the heavy darkness of night. The ordeal had stretched into its fifth hour, the dredge of stress and adrenaline tiring the youth somewhat. Talen pushed away his desire for sleep, filling his mind with the purpose and pushing himself onwards.

The youth had briefly left the small room nearly an hour ago and had snuck back towards the more populated parts of the city. Search parties had started looking for him, moving quickly, albeit nosily through the streets. The youth had sworn and crept back to his small hideaway. Time was running out faster than he had hoped. The youth turned back to the limp form sitting in the chair in the middle of the room. Her pale, slightly bruised skin seemed even blotchier than before, with trails of red spreading like a spider web across her skin.

The sound of shouting echoed down the street and Talen’s eyes flashed back to the small piece of street her could see. Although the youth had expected a reaction from the Watch, the speed that they had organised search parties was troubling. Talen didn’t know much about the girl or her family, but something didn’t smell right.

"Just a little longer" Talen mumbled.

The youth took a deep breath and lifted his hand to his face, white shadows lifted from his palm and spread across his face. The shadows hardened leaving his white mask. The youth shook his body, his back cloths breaking and reforming into a tight long sleeved shirt and pants. The boy lifted his arms up, trails of shadows stretching across his out stretched limbs forming a gauntlet on each arm. Across his back settled two large swords.

The youth pushed open the door and walked back towards the street, his feet clicking on the stones as he made to face the watchmen. The boy felt a familiar calm settle across his body, the calm before the storm. He couldn’t help but let a smile spread across his mouth under his mask.