[OPEN] A Crowded Street

In the Traveler's Encampment, dusk had finally descended on the crowded city. The street, filled to the brim with hustling figures rushing to and fro, was bathed in soft moonlight. Vendors endorsed their sales to the shifting masses, desperate to sell their wares before the work day was done. The market was filled with a variety of races, including orcs, goblins and humans of all varying sizes. The sheer variety of people here was not something you could find in one of the countries, and it was part of the strange draw of the Freelands. Lurking near the entrance of a nearby alley, a few orcs watched the populace move past, scanning faces as they moved. "Hm. No one stands out." One of the orcs, with the air of a leader, grunted to his followers. "We should scout a different position." He was tall, even taller than typical orcs, and his face was scarred from countless battles on Abraxas. He wore dark clothes, typical of slavers such as himself, and his followers were dressed similarly. On his back was a large great-axe, tempered with pure steel, glinting in the moonlight. His mouth was peeled in a snarl, fangs

"Looking for someone?" A small, feminine voice echoed from the alley behind them, causing all five to turn around. There, they were faced with a young woman, long blonde hair hidden under a black hat with a flowing black dress. She was completely dwarfed by them, and yet, she was standing casually, arms crossed across her chest. Her green eyes seemed to glow in the moonlight, and her gaze passed over each of the five slavers before landing on the leader. As she looked him up and down, she grinned fiercely. "I'd be more than willing to help you guys out."

The Orc to the immediate right of the leader glanced between the woman and her boss, teeth bared in a terrifying smile. "Hey Boss, this one could make some decent cash. Some people are into the 'cute and innocent' type." She grunted, desperate to prove herself as a second-in-command."Better than anything we've picked up all day." Without his permission, she began to move towards the girl, who seemed completely unfazed by the lieutenant's mutterings. The boss, however, was wary. Something about the girl's even voice and the confident look in her eyes. Nodding to the rest of his company, he watched from a distance as they approached the woman alongside the second-in-command.

"Oh my. Looks like I'm a little outmatched." She exclaimed, her face demonstrating a look of mock terror as she took a slight step back from the approaching slavers. Her hand twitched slightly at her side, and her face turned from terror to a menacing grin. "Of course, you all were foolish to approach me so quickly." Immediately, she struck before anyone could react. The sword, black as midnight, materialized in her hand and was imbedded in the female orc's throat before she could even say a word. Ripping the sword from the second-in-command with a spray of blood, she watched as the Orc fell to the ground, before flashing a melancholic grin towards the rest. Darting past the stunned orcs as the drew their weapons, she made a mad dash towards the street. "Help! Help! These guys are attacking me!" She screamed into the street as she ran, not expecting to receive help, but hoping to sow uncertainty in the orcs. While not explicitly true, she decided it was worth it to lie in order to nail these assholes. Grinning at the orcs behind her, she suddenly felt herself hit steel, getting knocked to the ground. Looking up, she saw the large steel axe, held by one angry Orc.

'Oh yeah. The big guy.' She thought to herself, gripping the sword weakly. 'Shit.'

The burning lights of the Encampment flickered to life one by one as the residents of this out of the way city continued pushing through the streets. Some bartered for goods while others hurried to find a room in one of the many inns. The Assassins own purpose in the Encampment was just as arbitrary as everyone else. He wasn't even there for himself. The Chef had needed some supplies and Takai was capable of getting to the encampment and back far faster than anyone else. He'd only been back a few days and figured that it was the least he could do so that the rest of the Household wouldn't have to bother. 'Yes lets run some errands for some lowly Dragonborn, because we have nothing better to do. 'I'm starting to think that the only reason you keep mentioning it is because you like to have something to complain about, Takai responded to the immortal avatar of Death that lived within him, 'you know just as well as I that there wasn't any useful information in the documents that would give us a lead. So coming to the encampment to get some supplies would be a good way we can ask around to see if there is any gossip here that might help us. The being within the Assassin stirred but remained silent, knowing full well that there was no point in arguing any further, Takai was right after all. "Let see about this list," Takai said aloud, reading off the list given to him, "Sea Salt, Sanrin Snake Venom, Dragon Heart Fruit..... Half the things on this list I have no idea what they are." The Assassin sighed, looking around the Market of the Encampment, "maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have me do the shopping." Dev replied within his mind in an almost sing song voice 'I told you so.'

Takai sighed again and began looking for a merchant that could tell him what half the stuff on the list was. Out of the corner of his eye though, a gleam of metal just enough to draw ones attention. Being an Assassin, Takai had to be paranoid of someone trying to kill him. Immediately he turned his head, muscles tensing in case he had to react fast. The tension in his body quickly subsided though when he realized it was just Orc Slavers. It wasn't uncommon on Abraxas, especially in the Freelands, for slavers to capture free folk and enslave them to be sold off. However, The Traveler's Encampment had very strict rules when it came to Enslavement of that sort. While there was no official Government in the Freelands, including to no form of Law Enforcement, the citizens themselves tend to hand their justice on their own. To be scouting for flesh here was just foolish of them. It was he duty as a Citizen of the Freelands to stop this before it led to a more serious crime. It was a small blonde girl though that reached them first, maybe to ask for directions or just out of general curiosity, Takai wasn't sure. What ever it was though, the situation quickly escalated when she slashed the throat of one of the Orcs. The biggest of the Orcs, immediate struck out with the back of his Ax as the girl cried out for help.

It was tempting to just leave the girl to her fate, after all she was the one to strike first, the orc wouldn't have dared to actually take her. Not with so many witnesses around. As much as she may have deserved it, Takai wasn't about to let the girl just get slaughtered by the huge Orc. Pushing off the earth with as much force as he could muster, Takai charged through the crowd, knocking people over so he could get to the girl in time. The giant Orc raised his axe and brought it down with as much force as he could. Striking out with his right hand, Takai hit the side of the axe with just enough force to veer it off it's course. The blade buried itself deep into the earth inches away from the girls thigh, the axe nearly as big as the girl's entire leg. A roar of frustration rang out from the Orc. The bellowing cry silenced the street and everyone that hadn't already been looking their way quickly turned to see what the ruckus was about. "YOU HAD NO RIGHT," he bellowed, releasing the axe and attempting to back hand Takai with his monstrous limb, "SHE WAS MY MATE!!! Takai knew that he wasn't strong enough to block the attack, but strength wasn't what made him dangerous. Ducking under the strong but clumsy blow, Takai moved into the Orc's reach and clasped his throat, clenching down on the wind pipe just enough to make him gag.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Takai said softly, his voice only carrying loud enough for those within a few feet to hear. The Orc had frozen in place, eyes and cheeks wet with tears as he tried not to move feeling that this human could crush his wind pipe. "I'm going to let you go, but this will be handled the right way. Nod if you agree." The rest of the Orcs all stood back, hands on their weapons but refusing to make a move. The large Orc slowly nodded and Takai removed his hand from his throat, taking a few steps back. Breathing heavily, the Orc just let himself cry for a few seconds before reaching to yank his axe out of the soft earth. "I... demand the... Sentō-dō," the Orc muttered out between sobs, "at.... dawn."

With the wind knocked out of her, Nox was relatively helpless to stop the large axe blade from swinging down towards her. Weakly, she attempted to parry the attack with her blade, but could barely lift the onyx sword from the ground. Her breath quickened as she saw the axe fall towards her, and she closed her eyes, preparing for the blow. Suddenly, a small tink echoed above her, and she heard blade hit stone a few inches away from her leg. Recovering her breath, she quickly stood up and darted backward observing the scene in front of her. A strange man, hair as dark as her blade, had knocked the blade backwards. "YOU HAD NO RIGHT," the Orc yowled at her, attempting to dislodge his axe from the ground. Some of his spit flew off his lip, conveying his fury. "SHE WAS MY MATE!" The orc attempted to hit the man, who dodged out of the way and gripped him by the throat.

Nox drew her blade up slightly, watching the two of them talk it out. She noticed the crowds gathering near the alleyway, and her unceasing smile turned into a slight frown. 'Damn, this was supposed to be an easy assassination.' She thought momentarily, her eyes scanning for a retreat. 'Just BAM, BAM, out. But noooooo.' She glanced down at her sword, remembering she had a few options of retreat if she needed too. She hadn't Drawn recently, meaning her natural magic was out of the question, but Corvus could help. She felt it heating up in her hands, desperate for more action.

Years ago...

"You have cheated death. Therefore, you shall become death."

The girl knelt in front of the statue, her eyes closed in meditation, her blonde hair frazzled from days of this. This torture. The words echoed in her mind, constantly weaving through her thoughts.

"In order to become death, you must face your own death, Fatetouched."

The floor lit with flame again, burning her legs. She withstood it. She had always withstood it. That didn't mean she did not weep each time she felt the flames lick her legs. The book sat in the fire with her, though it did not burn. It watched. She felt its gaze on her at all times, though it had no eyes. It was testing her. Watching her react to the pain just as its, no, their mistress did. To see if she was worth. Leliana hoped she was worthy.

"YOU ARE NOT LELIANA! LELIANA IS DEAD. LELIANA DIED WHEN SHE WAS BURNED AT THE STAKE. YOU SURVIVED. YOU ARE NOX. HER SHADOW."

The voice screeched through her mind, and Nox felt the pain intensify on her legs. She screamed, falling to the floor. She watched her hair get singed, before crackling to dust. As she began to black out, she felt the book's gaze on her one more time.

"She's ready."

Back to the present...

She blinked, realizing she had zoned out, and looked up to see the Orc moving away from the man, rubbing his throat. "I... demand the... Sentō-dō... at dawn." The Orc muttered, and Nox raised her eyebrow in confusion. Sentō-dō? She'd never heard that term. Lowering her weapon, she saw the large Orc glance towards the dark-haired man, looking for a reaction, before grunting something to the rest of the slavers. They all shuffled past Nox, one carrying the female Orc, giving her looks of disgust. Nox sighed slightly, glancing at the gathered crowd. She had completely botched that. The smartest thing to do would be to remove herself from the situation before she was identified, and yet...

She was curious about this man, the one who intervened for her. He didn't seem like one to intervene, and yet he did. Nox hadn't had the most social childhood, and people always seemed to surprise her. Feeling as though the danger was over, Nox muttered a brief prayer to the Raven Queen, watching the sword in her hand transform into a black leather book with a worn spine. "Well... I suppose I should thank you!" She exclaimed, grinning as she spoke loud enough for all the surrounding townsfolk to hear. "Those guys just attacked me out of no where, I would have been dead if it weren't for you. My hero!" She walked over, stopping directly in front of him. "How much did you see, and how much do I have to pay you to lie?" Though her face was smiling, her words were whispered in a hushed tone. "Oh, and what the hell does Sentō-dō mean?"

The black liquid metal swirled just below the skin of Takai's right hand, ready to burst forth in case one of the orcs decided they didn't want to wait till dawn. There was no incident though. The Orcs solemnly lifted their dead from the ground and carried her away. People parted before the procession, all quiet and still till the group passed and were out of sight. Takai finally relaxed his muscles and let his hold on the being within him to move about his body as he wished. "That could have gone worst," he muttered to himself, "I was sure he was still going to attack her the moment I let him go." His own mention of the girl that had almost foolishly gotten herself killed reminded him of her existence. His cold eyes found the small blonde haired girl as she approached him, spouting some grateful nonsense. Opening his mouth to scold her for her carelessness, she began to whisper towards him, obviously not wanting any of the people nearby to hear. "How much did you see, and how much do I have to pay you to lie? Oh, and what the hell does Sentō-dō mean?" Takai both wanted to laugh out loud and smack the girl across the face.

"To answer your questions first," he said through gritted teeth in an attempt to control his temper, "I saw enough to know what really happened, you couldn't afford my rate to keep silent and the Sentō-dō is a Trail by combat that you will have to show or you will be wanted for murder." Before speaking any further, Takai grabbed the small blonde girl by the scruff of her shirt and pulled her into the alley, away from the majority of spying eyes. He looked back at, fire in his eyes, the muscles in his jaw tensed as he once again soothed his own anger before speaking. "Now you tell me what the hell you thought you were doing? Trying to assassinate someone in plain view of hundreds of people and then pass it off as self defense? I saw enough to know what actually happened, who knows how many others saw as well. Then comes to the fact that you killed someone with their friends right behind them. Had to be one of the most foolish acts of stupidity I've ever witness. Tell me Girl, who was your intended target? Just the girl, all five of them, did you even get your target yet?"

'Ugh. I hate it when they're smarter than they look.' The girl thought to herself, glaring at him as she pulled away from his grasp. Brushing herself off, she narrowed her eyes. "Hey, watch it!" She grunted, taking a slight pace back from him. "First of all, it was dark and I expected to be done quickly. Second, I don't think that's any of your business. Third, those dicks deserved it! Just the other day, an 11 year old girl was sold into slavery because of those assholes." Nox's calm demeanor was cracking as she spoke, growing more and more frustrated at the thought of the slavers getting away. "And her life, her vengeance, that's on you. You let those jerks get away!" She could only imagine the punishment that would be waiting for her when she arrived home. Glancing to the side, she saw a small raven perched on a post, staring at her with a look that could only be called disappointment. 'Wait, I can fix this.' She thought, taking another look at the man in front of her. 'They can't have gone far.'

She glanced left and right without moving her head, surveying her options. While the alleyway had been a nice cover for assassination, it also left her with very few exit points. There was pushing past him, obviously, but somehow she got the sense that she wouldn't get far. She could always run backwards, deeper into the alleyway, but it could very well lead to a dead end. Lastly, she could use her Airstep techniques to go upwards, but they were still clunky for her to use, and running constantly left her exhausted, fast. Corvus burned in her hands, eager to get into a fight, as always. Her best bet was probably the alley, as facing head-to-head against this guy seemed like a bad idea. Quietly, she motioned with her hand, and felt the light from the moon dim for a moment. [Charges: 10/10]

"Listen, this... Sentō-whatever, that doesn't really fly with me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm barely as dense as a twig." She mentioned, before motioning to her small stature slightly. "Doesn't seem like a fair fight. So... I'm just gonna head out, now." She grinned, taking another step back. Corvus pulsed slightly in her grip. "Thanks for the help, though!" With that, she communed with Corvus, melting into the shadows and disappearing from sight. She turned tail and ran, fleeing into the dark alleyway. After a moment, she turned briefly to check if he was following her.

It was almost cute watching the young girl getting all frustrated, ranting at Takai about her failed assassination attempt. If he hadn't been so irritated by her horrible attempt, he might have just laughed and ruffled her hair. As it was, he was irritated and wasn't about to just let her just shift the blame to him. "And her life, her vengeance, that's on you. You let those jerks get away!" Her accusation made him want to back hand her across the face. Takai glared down at the tiny girl, his temper beginning to rise. About to respond, he stopped immediately upon the sensing of power being drawn to the little girl. His eyes moved about and he could see the smallest tendrils of light slipping into her skin. This had to be a power of some kind. There didn't seem like any immediate threat, the girl just prepping her power, he wasn't about to be caught off guard. He called forth Dev to his hands, placing both hands behind his back to hide his intentions, the liquid metal forming into sharp inch long claws. If he had to defend himself he wanted to cause slight damage but not kill her, after all she does have the Sentō-dō in a few hours. "Listen, this... Sentō-whatever, that doesn't really fly with me. In case you haven't noticed, I'm barely as dense as a twig. Doesn't seem like a fair fight. So... I'm just gonna head out, now." "The Sentō-dō is not up for Debate," his own eyes subtly darkening though it was hard to tell in the moonlit night, [/b]"you will be going. This is your mess and........ and you just took off."[/b]

A fury built within him. It was alright that she had screwed up and nearly got herself killed. Amateurs assassins were like that and if they survived their first few years they'd become better. There was suppose to be Honor that went with it. While Takai knew not ever assassin held to his same code of Honor he wasn't about to let his little girl skip out after he saved her life. His darkened eyes began to glow red in his anger and spikes began to grow on his knees and feet. The trick to hide using magic was a good one, if a bit cliche, and would have worked normally. This wasn't a normal situation and Takai wasn't so easily to escape from. He was able to see her, even with her magical cloak that would hide her from anyone else, which mean he could easily follow her. Muscles bunched and Takai jumped up onto the side of the building, using his claws and spikes to reach the top in under a second. From the top of the building it was easy to follow her down the alley, her veil of shadows still enveloping her small frame. The be shrouded so did give one an edge in a fight and Takai himself had an ability that did something quite similar. It wasn't something that made him invisible but it did shroud him with an essence of the void. A black mist flowed from his body, shrouding his features in its darkness, the blood red glow piercing through the darkness to give him a demonic look.

The chase went on for just a moment longer when the girl stopped. Takai took the opportunity and jumped from the top roof to the alleyway below. With her head turned away, Takai landed in the path she was taking, his feet striking the earth with a thud. The mist filled the immediate area, its dark tendril climbing the walls and swirling around her legs. There was a deep red within the mist, a menacing presence that was hard to pin point, but one could not look at the mist without feeling it. The mist flowed endlessly from Takai's body, his tall form standing back to his full height, glowing red eyes staring at the girl from within the mist. "You've made three mistakes with that move," he said in his deep angry voice, "the first being that you tried to use invisibility to run, but didn't look at the ground you were walking on. It's soft here. You might not leave a deep print, especially with your size, but it is enough of a mark that anyone with basic tracking could have followed you. Second, you stopped running. If you're trying to flee you don't stop running till you've done all you can to lose them. You didn't even wait till you got out of the alleyway before you stopped to look back. Then lastly, your biggest mistake, you pissed me off."" His arm shot out to his side, the claws long since gone but something else forming in it's place. The liquid metal flowed and twirled around itself until it form an exact replica for the blade in her own hand. "You are going to the Sentō-dō, one way or another."

As she turned around, she noticed that the man had disappeared. 'Great, just great. Fan-freaking-tastic.' She thought, frustrated, before turning and continuing to dash farther into the alley. She wasn't entirely sure what sort of magic he was using to cloak himself, but she had to prepare to parry any incoming attacks. An ambush could be devastating. She quickly muttered a quiet prayer to the Raven Queen, and felt the book in her hand transform into the small black shortsword. Corvus growled, desperate for a fight. Suddenly, she heard a slam from above her. Glancing up, she followed the form as it landed in front of her, and her eyes grew wide in surprise. There was no fear there, only because she had seen much worst, but still, the sudden change in appearance was worrisome.

The first thing that popped into her head was the word 'monster'. The man, who had a seemingly normal, if over-the-top appearance before, was now shrouded entirely in some form of mist-like substance, his form obscured, with only the red of his eyes glimmering through the black fog. The fog extended, swirling throughout the alleyway, up the walls and past the invisible champion. Only now was Nox noticing the disparity between their heights. Channeling the Raven Queen, she began hovering, stepping back and forth in order to avoid the rolling mist. She manuevered herself to be roughly eye-height, though stayed as far away from the mist as possible. It was only as she was determining a plan of attack that she heard him speak, much to her surprise.

"You've made three mistakes with that move, the first being that you tried to use invisibility to run, but didn't look at the ground you were walking on. It's soft here. You might not leave a deep print, especially with your size, but it is enough of a mark that anyone with basic tracking could have followed you. Second, you stopped running. If you're trying to flee you don't stop running till you've done all you can to lose them. You didn't even wait till you got out of the alleyway before you stopped to look back. Then lastly, your biggest mistake, you pissed me off." He growled at her, before reaching towards his side. She had attempted to remain as motionless as possible, while pacing slightly, as she listened to him outline the flaws in her escape. While he seemed like a huge jerk, he also seemed reasonably knowledgeable on the subject of assassinating. As he reached the last one, she snorted slightly.

"Geez, act tough much?" She taunted, letting it echo across the alleyway in order to prevent giving away her position in the air. She was quieted as soon as she saw him reveal his sword, which appeared to be a direct copy of her own. After a moment of thought, she grinned wildly. Such a tiny sword would be unwieldy in the hands of a large man such as him. "If you aren't going to move, then I'll make you move." She exclaimed and gripped Corvus, taking a deep breath. Summoning a large ball of light in her left hand, she launched it quickly towards him [CHARGES: 8/10], before darting higher to avoid any incoming attacks.

This little pipsqueak was quite the handful. Bratty, annoying and has no real sense of responsibility, she was like the little sister that Takai never wanted to have. Normally he wouldn't care whether or not someone like her went through with the Orc's challenge, it was no skin off his teeth whether they were made into fugitives or not. This particular girl though, as much of a pain in the ass as she was, she was made his responsibility when he saved her from the Orc. While they may not know who he was, after all a true assassin keeps his identity hidden at all cost, his own honor required him to make sure that she fulfilled her obligations. 'This would all be so much easier if she wasn't such a pain in the ass,' his eyes constantly followed her movement as he thought to himself, 'just need to figure out how to get her to the Sentō-dō without causing her too much harm.' "If you aren't going to move, then I'll make you move." The feel of magic building wasn't like it was before and she wasn't about to do something that would assist in an escape, she planned on attacking him.

Takai's eyes suddenly cooled, the glowing red orbs suddenly vanishing leaving only the vague outline of a man within the mist. The orb of light shot forth and Takai replied only with his left hand out stretched to receive it. The two collided but instead of some kind of clash of forces, the orb struck and simply dissipated into thousands of tiny sparks of light. The swirl of smoke flew into the air before the last of the sparks finally winked out into the black of night. Onto one wall of the alley way and then to the other, Takai's obscure form move, every jump carrying him farther up the wall until he was level with the girl once more. Smoke rose up and swirled. This time its vortex wasn't centered around Takai's smokey visage but around the girl still hiding within her cloak of shadows. The smoke swirled in a loose formation all around the girl, still thin enough to see through but there was something tangible about it, as if it could close in and grab her.

"You won't be getting rid of me that easily," the low growl in the voice a threat as he clung to the wall with his left hand, black claws gripping the rock wall. The short blade designed after the girl's own grew in size until it was the perfect for Takai, his right hand out stretch, sword tip pointed at the girl. With the speed at which he could move, the entire motion of destroying her spell and leaping to his spot on the wall all had happened in a blur to the normal human eye. While this girl most likely wasn't a normal human, it was still fast. "Now you're going to that trail even if I have to tie you up and carry you myself."

Nox felt the dark shroud disappear from her form, leaving her open to attack. Darting to the wall, she watched as the man reached out and smacked her magic, and instead of it inflicting damage, it merely disappeared. She blinked, surprised, as the man darted from the mist, climbing up the wall opposite of her with an extraordinary speed. Her breath quickened, eyes dilated in fear as she got her first good look at him, hands formed into strange black claws, gripping a mimicry of her own sword. 'Well, I'm fucked.' She thought to herself, her pulse quickening as she weighed her options. Gripping the side of the wall with her non-dominant hand, she felt the magic keeping her aloft drop, and she hung from the wall, pointing her sword at the foe.

Corvus was burning so hot in her hand, it felt like someone had set it on fire. It wasn't about to go down without a fight, and neither was Nox. "Listen, monster-dude, I don't know who you think you are, but you aren't some sort of vigilante hero." She scoffed, attempting to distract him as she formulated a plan. "In fact, your obsession of this trial nonsense is actually kinda creepy." She chuckled, her eyes wandering the current situation. He was currently in a pretty compromising situation, just as she was.

Seemingly opening her mouth to talk, she leapt off the wall, feeling the wind catch her and hold her up, and leapt across the alleyway. Using her left hand, she summoned Flash, and sent a large pulse of light directly towards his eyes, intending to stun him. Without checking to see if it hit, she used her right hand to slash at one of his claws, hoping to knock him to the ground.