Out of Character:
A special treat for those who were looking forward to seeing Tobias and I tear up the LCC!


Bad Company
Company, always on the run.
Destiny is the rising sun
Oh I was born six gun in my hand
Behind a gun I'll make my final stand...
Max Dirks stopped for a moment to wipe the sweat from his forehead and adjust his pack. Four weeks had passed since he set out from Exile's Overwatch into the Tular Plains and the heat of the volcanic wasteland was taking its toll. Favoring comfort over fashion, Dirks was clad only in a basic white tunic with khaki slacks. His guns were loaded in their shoulder holsters and his short swords were tucked into his bag, but even fully armed the criminal was a fraction of his former self. He'd only packed three weeks of provisions, and he was now living off the barren land.

Despite spending most of the time searching, Dirks had yet to find any sign of his target. He was starting accept that his mission was simply punishment for his sins in Eiskalt. Deep down though, he knew that all along. No respectable assassin would take an assignment to the Tular Plains on such flimsy information, regardless of his allegiance. There were thousands of square miles above ground to cover, and hundreds more underground with deep caves littering the landscape. His target could be anywhere. Then again, that was the point. Those who enter the Demon Hills voluntarily do so to never be seen again.

Dirks was no different. He joined the Crimson Hand to find renewed direction following the loss of Starlyn Sonar, his one love, but he never expected that agents of Hand, his allies, would destroy the island and poison its people. Filled with remorse, after the war Dirks pledged himself to Queen Ashla Icebreaker and to "peace at all expenses". His first assignment, naturally, was to assassinate Tobias Stalt, a ranking former lieutenant of the Crimson Hand. Queen Ashla's only lead on Tobias' whereabouts was that he had left the ice plains of Eiskalt for the fire plains of Tular. Thus, by accepting this mission with minimal information and no objections, Dirks had essentially exiled himself.

Ignoring his thirst and the hunger pains turning his stomach, Dirks knelt to the ground and put his hands in the dirt. He grabbed a handful of the ash with his right hand and made a fist. There would be no coming back from this mission. He would find and kill Tobias, absolve his sins, and die where no one would ever find his body. It was the only redemption for the most vain, arrogant villain on Althanas.