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Isirion

The Bloodline of Torch

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As Isirion screamed Sappo woke with a jerk. As the man dropped Sappo managed to jump aside the only way possible - at Alzira's chest, which in return brought her to her senses immediately. She gasped for breath, trying take in the scene: A flustered Pygmy already breathing his red flame and thusly illuminating a still bleeding dead man right next to her and a wellknown, fear inducing shadow at the border of her vision. Sappo was already taking his place on her shoulder when she managed to form a question: "What is going on here? Who is... was that man and what's wrong with you?" This last question wasn't aimed at Isirion's ability to kill but his changed posture. During her series of questions her sight had improved and she had noticed something - a knife - sticking out his shoulder.

Edited by Alzira

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Before answering, Isirion pulled the knife out of his shoulder and inspected it in the light of the Pygmy's flame. It looked very well crafted and definitely not something a common thief would carry. Also the way the man had almost immediately noticed his presence and fought without hesitation suggested training in a very narrow field of work. Coming to that conclusion Isirion wondered if he just had been poisoned for the second time this night and inspected the knife again. As far as he could tell there was no poisonous coating or residue of any substance except his own blood. To be sure he also picked up the knife he had managed to deflect and inspected it as well. The blade was matted to reflect less light but otherwise it was just another well crafted knife. Finally content Isirion put both knifes away and focused on answering Alzira's questions: "On my return here I surprised this man crouching next to Hal and Cal. I believe he was searching for somebody because he was checking their faces. Judging from his weapons and fighting skills I am fairly certain I know what he would have done if he had found the one he had been looking for unaware - the same I did to him."

 

 

In the mean-time at the edge of the big city

 

Sodger, Ale and the Guardian had called their dragons the second the distraction had started. Even from afar a Royal Crimson in full flight disrupting the Nebulas' patrol routes by it's mere presence was a sight to behold. Not so high and mighty anymore they had trouble swaying out of the way to avoid being crushed against or spiked on their own towers. After a minute or so it was even getting worse because now the Crimson was swaying out of the way too just to be extra 'helpful' thus scattering the Nebs even more. Somehow she always ended up on the path that caused the most confusion, one time her 'helpful' wingbeats to avoid a collision even ended up with two Nebulas colliding instead because their wings suddenly had no air left to carry them. By that time Relantia's eyes had a gleeful gleam that rivalled the glow of the stricken Nebulas' wing patterns.

 

Ale and especially the Guardian couldn't get enough of the Neb's well deserved distress but their captain had his eyes solely on their target - so to speak. He ordered them to fly in close formation until a change in the wind told him he was flying once again over the desert and he hissed: "A Royal Blue never forgets his debts. You filthy air bandits will get what you deserve. My apprentice will see to that." Alarmed by the pure hatred in his captain's voice the Guardian interjected: "You can't be serious using him as your personal assassin again. Killing off some thugs and thieves that tried to extort and kill you is one thing, but sending him to attack a well-organized and armed group of desert bandits fighting alongside their dragons is almost as stupid as sending him to kill those Nebs that held me prisoner. What do you think would have happened if I didn't stop him from assassinating them? Every guard in the whole city would be hellbent on revenge and thirsting for our blood. Seeing as your apprentice made three of them most likely kill each other for possession of one Leetle leaf instead, they still might. And now you want to make enemies of the air-bandits too? You know I always speak the truth and with all due respect my old captain, you have lost sight of what is important. We Royal Blues protect like the dragons that gave us our name. We don't go on killing sprees or let other people do our own dirty work - even if it is someone as willing as Isirion. I owe him my life and thus I won't let you waste his by sending him into this gigantic Hooktalon-sized hornet's nest."

 

A long silence followed the Guardian's words until Sodger finally spoke again: "I already gave him the order while you were imprisoned. It was postponed for the attack on the mansion but it still stands and I don't intend to change it." The Guardian inhaled deeply to say a lot more, but Aseto calmly interrupted him: "If sending Isirion means my master isn't going in even more blindly than usual into the bandits' den it is fine for me. As you said we Royal Blues protect. Besides before attacking the bandits he still has to fulfill his promise to Pride. Both he and I have to pretend to fight each other in the arena tomorrow to repay the owner for his hospitality. This is called a performance and instead of arguing we better hurry up rescuing Eyes so he can see it too."

Edited by Isirion

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Alzira gasped, who of their little group was important enough to be a danger to anyone? Isirion, the Guardian, Drake,... yes, those were dangerous people, but Hal, Cal and herself? She said:"It's just us, we are harmless. I don't believe he was looking for us. Maybe he expected someone else to be here, someone who has been here the last few days but not tonight," she concluded and shuddered. This deduction didn't help her feeling more secure. In fact it meant that they were being watched, but by whom? "Nevertheless," she went on " We should find out who their target is. This should tell us the reason behind this attack. Furthermore we should check the assassin, maybe this will tell us something about the attackers as well." Alzira didn't like where her reasoning led her. She was not used to this violence around her and she didn't want to get accustomed to it.

 

All this commotion had woken Susurro as well. He raised with his scales rustling and closed in, keeping his focus on Isirion. He noticed Sappo, the source of light, sitting at his usual place, keeping watch over Alzira. The White dragon relaxed a bit, but nevertheless he was still tense - the presence of Isirion could do that to a dragon.

Edited by Alzira

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Isirion had thought about who had been the assassin's target as well and Jack's final words resurfaced in his mind. He sure as hell hadn't seen the Fever poison coming and running into a highly trained assassin right afterwards couldn't have been a coincidence either. There was only one logical explanation and Isirion voiced it: "This is payback for the thugs and thieves we killed during their assault on Sodger's hut. Before I killed him tonight, the thieves guild master must have hired some assassins to get revenge. It is very likely that everyone else who was present at the hut is on their list too - even you. You might only be alive because the assassin hadn't had the chance to check your face. His death bought us only a little time before they notice that this attempt has failed. We need to come up with a plan in the meantime and it certainly would help if your dragon could heal me to my full fighting capability while we do so."

Edited by Isirion

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This certainly came as a shock to Alzira. To be true she didn't know what to do so she concentrated on Isirions request: Healing. She had already considered offering Susurro's help. The situation was dire and Isirion's fighting skills and experience were essential for their well-being, at least for the moment. Luckily Susurro was already awake and heard most of their conversation. She turned towards her dragon "Would you kindly?" Susurro thought about it for a moment and although Isirion's presence made him tense he agreed. He moved closer to him touched him slightly with a wing and concentrated. He had expected simple knife wounds but there was more. He loudly breathed in and concentrated again, locating all the wounds that needed treatment. There was the stab wound from the most recent fight but burns as well and he noticed something else - some remains of poison were there too. Susurro concentrated on closing the wounds first so that the bleeding would stop. The next step was removing what was left of the poison. At last Susurro took care of the burns, which seemed oddly familiar. He finished the healing process easily with his magic and afterwards suggested: "Isirion, you need to let Alzira bandage your burns, otherwise the freshly healed skin will suffer infection at the first chafing."

Alzira was surprised to hear Isirion had more severe wounds but she took out some make-shift bandages - she kept those around thanks to Sappo's little mishaps - and said: "I'm sorry, I have no idea what we should do now, but first things first. Please remove your cloak so I can do my work."

Edited by Alzira

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Isirion agreed and took off his cloak. The whole shoulder looked as good as new and the only thing burnt were the remains of the black-dyed linen shirt that hung loosely from his other shoulder. Setting your skin on fire to burn out poison could do that to your clothes. Isirion smiled at the Pygmy who's fire he had used and was once again impressed with the power of it's fire. It was constantly flaming to light up the area for minutes now and it didn't look the least bit exhausted. They same was true for the White Dragon who had healed him so effortlessly. Even though he had stolen some of it's healing power during the healing process that dragon looked as vigorous and alert as before. Speaking of alert - it was high-time to focus his attention on the problem at hand and he said while Alzira was working: "My master and the Guardian are most likely on their way to rescue the Gatherer by now so they shouldn't be in any immediate danger. Drake actually helped Jack escape, so she shouldn't be on the list. Also I don't fully trust her. That leaves you and me. I suggest we bait the next assassin and capture him or her alive. If we tell them that their employer is already dead, they might leave us alone - if not we can always use their body to send the rest of them the message that we are more trouble than we are worth. I admit this didn't work so well with the thieves guild or we wouldn't be in this position but assassins are supposed to be smarter. What do you think?"

 

In the meantime on the rooftop opposite the arena

 

Nightfeather was getting anxious. Her partner hadn't returned from what was supposed to be just a little scouting mission. Nightblade had warned them to be cautious but her partner had still gone in alone. The assassin moved her limbs a bit so they wouldn't get sore but her gaze stayed glued on the entrance. Nothing came in, nothing came out. If Trueshot didn't come back in the next fifteen minutes, she had to assume the worst...

Edited by Isirion

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Alzira thought about that for a moment, fed Sappo a cricket who just stopped his flame to swallow the snack, then she said: "I assume these assassins have some kind of creed they go by, so hopefully a dead employer is enough to stop them. Furthermore, how many do you expect? Do you want to dress in the dead man's clothes and beckon the others in?" she wondered..., "So frankly speaking, what's your plan to lure them out or maybe in?"

 

Susurro had watched Alzira taking care of his patient and then decided to lie down again, it was still in the middle of the night. Nevertheless he kept his senses sharp and listened to their conversation. If need be, he'd be there.

 

Sappo in the mean time got bored and reduced his flame to a gentler light and smacked his lips. This last snack had been delicious, there seemed to be a few grasshopers between the crickets and maybe he had the chance to get one more if his keeper noticed him eating that noisily.

 

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Isirion smiled again at the Pygmy that indirectly had saved his life and now tried to manipulate it's keeper into giving it more crickets and he said 'Give him a treat for me too', before he answered Alzira's question: "I thought about posing as the assassin too, but I only saw him sneaking for a short time. If I get it wrong, it could spook whomever is out there waiting for him for good and the only thing we'll ever see of the assassin's guild again is the tip of their arrows. Instead we should use your Pygmy to scout out their numbers and positions. Messenger Pygmies are abundant in this city and so he wouldn't arouse suspicion - if they could even see him in the dark. I will climb up behind the canvas and watch. All the arena entrances face roughly the same way so whoever is watching them is most likely doing it from one or more buildings on the opposite side of the arena. Once we know for sure how many more assassins we are dealing with we use the weapons we pilfered from their comrade to send them our message. You can start writing and drawing while your Pygmy is out scouting."

Edited by Isirion

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Alzira agreed, they had to find out where and how many assassins there were and Sappo was their best chance. She didn't like to put the little dragon in harm's way but he had already proven is abilities and invisibility as messenger dragon so he should be up to this task. She gave the pygmy another cricket as Isirion had proposed and explained his new task to him. He seemed eager to get on the move and just before he went out he quit his flame and flew out silently, climbing high and far enough to circle back, his eyes checking every roof, window and balcony offering a good view of the arena.

 

Alzira lit a candle and felt obliged to remind Isirion about her lack of fighthing abilities: "I don't know how exactly I can help you. If you want me to draw and write I will aide you but I don't have any more offensive skills as you know. So what do you need ?"

 

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Isirion watched the Pygmy happily embrace his new mission, smiled again and then wondered when the hell had he developed the habit of smiling constantly. After frowning on purpose he convinced himself that it had to be an after-effect of the White Dragon's healing and not a sign that he had actually come to like the little one. His keeper was also more useful than she gave herself credit for - just not for stealth or hand-to-hand-combat. Pulling his cloak back over the shoulder that Alzira had bandaged perfectly he said: "Draw that assassin's face and inform them politely of his death. Draw the thieves guild master too, but without his moustache and add that he is already dead and his remains are to be found in Hassleborough's mansion. Ask them to shoot an arrow at the dragon side of the canvas outside if they are willing to cease their attempts because their employer is dead. If on the other side they want to risk more assassins' lives instead they are free to aim at the black side." Isirion pulled out the blood-free knife, placed it next to the green-haired lady and added with his usual ice-cold voice: "Spear the message on the knife after you are finished and bring it behind the canvas. I will hide there and watch like I said. Once your Pygmy has fulfilled his mission I will deliver our message personally. From that time on you better stay inside and nowhere near the canvas. I believe the assassins will choose the first option but if they don't I need to add some more bodies to our message to convince them..." Having said what he had to say, Isirion crept away to find a good hiding spot behind said canvas.

Edited by Isirion

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Alzira winced at the mention of possible further dead bodies, but she had agreed and so she concentrated on her task. First she took a sheet of paper out of her bag and started sketching the faces and tried to make them as accurate as possible in the short time she had. Then she added the request as Isirion had asked. Right after she finished it, she speared the message on the knife and went after Isirion. She had trouble finding him behind the black canvas but once she did, she quickly handed over the knife and tried to spot her brave little Pygmy. Sappo, almost invisible in the moonlight was nonchalantly gliding over a rooftop right opposite the arena where a suspicious woman that was dressed just like the dead man that had awoken him so rudely, lie in wait. After a few more minutes he was sure he had earned another crunchy reward and returned to Alzira. Glad that Sappo had returned savely and completed his task marvellously, she fed him another cricket and one of his favourites - a grasshopper. Sappo jumped on her shoulder and chewed it happily as she said to Isirion: "I hope this works out fine. I'll wait inside at Susurro's side." She slipped inside, occasionally patting the Pygmy that was much braver than herself and prayed that this imminent danger would be over soon.

 

Edited by Alzira

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After concentrating on the rooftop the Pygmy had pointed out for some time, Isirion finally spotted the assassin. Even though he could see in the dark - that one was blending in very well. Without the Pygmy's support from the air, he doubted he would have found his target without giving himself away. If you didn't already know he or she was hiding there and blending in with the structure, you could have wasted an hour staring at that particular spot and still not notice anything suspicious. Isirion checked the other rooftops for similar hiding spots, but either the assassins there were concealed even better than the first, or, more likely, the Pygmy's scouting had been thorough and there was only the one. Knowing that, the problem of getting to that assassin without being spotted himself still remained. Isirion decided it would be best to climb down the arena somewhere far away from an entrance and from there circle behind the assassin. It would take some time, but it was still a better option than getting an arrow in the face if he exited from somewhere the assassin was expecting. While climbing down, Isirion tried to put most of his weight on his left shoulder to prevent the bandaged one from chafing. That made the descent slower, but on the other hand gave him some time to wonder what Drake and her curious band of helpers were really up to and more importantly what they were doing right now while the arena and the people within had been targeted by assassins.

Edited by Isirion

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To put it simply, Leon was lost. He'd yet to see a single creature or person with a pulse, and decided it'd be best to just get out of the mansion. All he had to do was turn back, to the right- no, that'd put him deeper in. He'd come from the left- right? No, no, the first way was correct, it was clear now. With that settled, he remembered that, to get to his current location, he'd come from... from...

Alright, so retracing his steps wouldn't work.

So be it, he'd just look for a window instead and either get out that way or try to figure out where he (relatively) was. It took more turns and a plethora of second guessing, but he managed to find an unlocked window. He looked outside first, catching glimpse of a Fever Wyvern who just as quickly saw him. Spienz hovered in front of the window, backing up when Leon gestured for her to so he could open the window the dragon had left a clear sign of her breath on. He crawled through and jumped to the saddle that'd been turned to him. Patting the wyvern's neck and keeping his hand there after, Leon asked, "Any instructions from Drake?" Instead of the head motion he expected, Spienz replied with what he could only make out as a shrug. He couldn't get much from that and instead asked, "Do you have any idea of what to do?" A more comforting nod met Leon's hand this time. "Just do... that, then." Spienz took this as permission to fly back to Drake, but upon discovering the woman and her dragon gone decided to look for her akin to how she had for Leon before, circling the area.

 

Drake planned out her further actions while she was stuck waiting. Her first thought was, after this was over, to just abandon the whole situation with her victory. But time to think let Drake remember the orders Isirion had been given before and his promise to 'disable' dragons. Those orders wouldn't fall just because Isirion did, would they? Surely they'd be transferred to someone, and she couldn't just flee with that threat in mind. She'd have to go back to the arena and explain what had happened to Isirion to everybody. She had time to think of a solid lie, so that wasn't a big deal. Going to the arena probably wouldn't compromise anything either- it was as good an alibi as any as to why the claw marks in Lord Hassleborough's throat couldn't have possibly been from her weapons. As for Pride's arena losing its next human star Drake probably couldn't do much. Offering herself up again was an option, being she knew what the arena entailed now; but that wouldn't satisfy Pride's ideas of a blade-wielding "Death." She could just offer to pay for Pride's losses as well as she could, though that probably meant leaving herself penniless. Oh well, why cross that bridge prematurely?

She hadn't been too keen on staying in one place once she was done thinking everything over, but seeing the others seem to lose their need for Wallet gave her an excuse to act. She told Taellonn to hide himself wherever he could, and ran off to Wallet. He knew too much to just be free, after all, and the only thing holding him back now was a gag he could pull off. But Drake didn't bother to check if it was still in place as she grabbed Wallet's arm, pinning it up and behind his back, not enough to do any real damage but enough to hopefully keep him from trying to struggle out. "Stay quiet, your interrogation isn't over yet. You're going to follow the same yes/no structure as before, either nodding or shaking your head." She paused for a few seconds and her voice became quieter, albeit more hostile. "This question is not a test of your usefulness, but rather a prelude to the rest of my questions. Which means any lie will be caught. Now listen carefully. If I were to let you speak, would you be able to provide me with any and all information on 'suppliers' or anyone you've traded with that could be useful to me- as in whereabouts, intentions, names, methods of contact?"

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Wallet did the only thing he could think of - the one thing that had saved his life tonight more than once. He nodded and hoped he could remember enough names from the trades he had done and recorded on the scrolls back at his own mansion. He abhorred the thought of ending up like the owner of the last mansion he had visited even more than ending up like his ex guild master. At least Jack's death had been clean and swift, but what Drake had done to Hassleborough looked like the carnage a raging mad dragon would leave behind. Why had his bodyguard been so mad at someone she apparently had met for the first time? And what about that omnious exchange she had had with that Fever Wyvern riding fellow? It almost sounded like she was backstabbing her comrades by ordering him to kill one of them, but from the description he had heard, it sounded like she had picked the worst possible target. Wallet was almost glad he was still gagged, otherwise he would have whimpered.

Edited by Isirion

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Drake was glad Wallet had information. The only thing was, she had too much else to focus on to remember anything Wallet would tell her. But, anticipating this, Drake had a plan arranged. She moved one hand to Wallet's shoulder and kept his arm pinned up with the other. "The rest of your questions won't come from me. So- you'll have time to recollect." She began walking Wallet over to where she'd left Taellonn, finding that the dragon was instantly rushing towards her. His eyes were locked on Wallet, only shifting focus to Drake when he said, "I have a tolerance level that's only so high, and, while I fear this question is going to push me much farther over, what exactly are you hoping to do with this man?" Drake's self-debate of whether to give Taellonn a vague answer or a legitimate answer that'd probably stress out Wallet more was ended abruptly by the landing of a wyvern and her rider. Drake welcomed the help by pushing Wallet in their direction as Leon dismounted. Leon didn't know exactly what to make of it- but willingly accepted Drake's orders as she began to deliver them. "Keep him here. When Ezra's done with his distraction tell him that Wallet here has information on trades of interest to us and should be questioned accordingly. Tell him I can send more clarification on that if he needs. Oh, and say it's non-debatable; after all Relantia's big enough to transport someone and these are orders directly from me-" She thought of an almost inevitable 'Ezra-knows-best' situation that'd surely kill Wallet if unchecked. "-And tell Ezra if I find out he didn't follow through I'll have his head myself." Leon could tell the non-literal connotations behind that final statement and hoped that hostage was clear-headed enough to understand it too. He really didn't want to deal with keeping a full-flight-mode prisoner from running, since there was nothing but a physical disadvantage and surely lethal knife advantage for Leon. He tried to smoothly accept the trading over of Wallet, and felt an odd mix of comfort and fear as Spienz's tail crept around into both Leon and Wallet's vision, quietly threatening the fat man's leg and life if he so much as attempted to struggle. Leon looked to Drake, now getting on Taellonn's back (who was more bewildered than anything now.) "What about afterwards?" First instructing Wallet to cover his ears, Drake then quickly described the arena she'd be going to and the area around it. "I don't know how welcome you'll be there but you're free to come near so I can at least tell you- I'm mainly going to need you as a witness for... I don't know what you know, but can your wyvern actually describe things to you? Beyond questions, I mean." Spienz's nostrils flared in annoyance, but Leon nodded in her place. "Good then. She'll fill you in on a certain someone's status and why I might need a witness." With a quick nod goodbye Drake and Taellonn set off for the arena, making sure to use all the distractions around to their advantage.

Leon and Spienz directed Wallet to the much more hidden area Taellonn had used where Leon told him he was free to sit, though the Fever Wyvern's tail still threatened him without pause. Leon trusted that would keep the man in place and stopped holding onto his arms the way Drake had. He still stood nearby, one hand holding a knife even as he spoke to the hostage. "I'm sorry about the complications in this process, it's really more trouble than any of us would like. But my dragon and I have no real intentions of killing you. This is all precautionary, and I'm sure you can understand why caution is always important. Which means the worst case scenario for you-" he glanced at Spienz's tail and pointed to it with his knife, "-will only arise if necessary."

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Wallet continued to be on his best behaviour. He only moved when he absolutely had too and of course he didn't utter even one syllable. Even though the man guarding him now looked and acted less threatening than Drake he had absolutely no intention of trying anything hostile. That had been Jack's alley not his. He usually bargained himself out of tight spots and if he played his cards right his chance of getting out of this alive was steadily rising with every former trading partner he remembered.

 

In the meantime near Pride's arena

 

Nightfeather had had enough. Her body complained from being forced for what felt like hours into that uncomfortable position that enabled her to overview the arena without being spotted and still there had been no sign of her target or her partner. Shifting into a more comfortable position she mentally prepared her report to the Shadow leader when suddenly all her senses screamed in alarm. The smell of blood, the sound of a cloak fluttering and a split second later the touch of a sharp blade against her jugular vein told her without doubt that instead of finding their target - their target had found her. Adrenaline run rampant in her body urging her to break free and fight for her life, but her mind insisted that she had much better chances if she stayed calm and reached slowly and carefully for her hidden dagger while distracting her assailant with a few well-chosen words: "Congratulations. You passed the first test. Now let me see if you can dodge half a dozen arrows." Normally this would have caused an attacker to jump back and run for cover but not this time. Her target just moved his blade and drove it with one lighting fast motion into her right hand that had been grabbing for the dagger. Only then Nightfeather noticed that the blade now sticking out of her hand was one of Trueshot's knives and that it had a piece of paper attached. Her assassination-trained mind and body both ignored the paper and appreciated the weapon. Using her left hand Nightfeather pulled out the knife and spun around in order to gut her target but she hit only empty air. The blood she could smell now was her own and the only fluttering sound came from the piece of paper still speared on the knife...

 

Having wasted not even a single second after delivering his message as planned, Isirion had immediately withdrawn into the shadows and was now retracing his steps back to the arena.

Edited by Isirion

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A familiar yet frightening smell of blood served as a prelude to the glimpse of the apparent ghost that Taellonn couldn't help but do a double-take at the sight of. Of course the confirmation he got that, no, his eyes were not deceiving him, came from Drake rather than his double-take as she pushed forward and almost slid off Taellonn's saddle. The only things that seemed to stop her from falling off was a heel caught under Taellonn's tense left wing and her tight grips that seemed to be loosening in favor of pushing away.

She's... She's trying to get off! What kind of insanity has to possess someone to rush out into the night like that... Forget it, I'm fleeing with her sliding off! Taellonn thought as he darted off, desperate for a new location. He recalled Drake's meeting with Ezra earlier. There, he could go there, after all it was hidden away and maybe he could try to calm her down or at least keep her from doing something self-destructive. Sprinting off-balance was no comfortable task but stopping relieved the burden as Drake fell and became a red-faced, cursing, and kicking mass on the floor. For his own good Taellonn backed up before Drake's feet could actually make solid contact with the ground and help her stand. "What kind of incompetence does a perfectly capable Fever Wyvern have to suffer from where they can't kill someone!? I had one damn request and the only results I got were a lie!" Taellonn choked on his breath. "Pl- Please, we don't want to be caught here... It's not the end of the world, we'll have more opportunities, surely..." He recoiled as Drake groped at the air violently. "I knew better than to trust some stranger; yet I doubted myself like some sort of idiot and now look! I was right! Who's to say this wasn't on purpose!?" Drake hadn't even turned to look at Taellonn this whole time and it was becoming depressingly clear she wasn't talking to him at all. Well, he still had to try to get through to her. "Drake, you're being ridiculous! We've no evidence or reason to think that this was intentional at all. And that target of yours has proven to be nothing but difficult and dangerous, the latter which you've said yourself. You couldn't have simply assumed it'd be this easy, right?" At last Drake turned with a look that made Taellonn wish she hadn't. "I could deal with him being alive. I wouldn't like it. I would hate it even, but I could deal with it. No, you're missing the fact that I was TOLD he was DEAD. And guess what! He's alive!" Taellonn recoiled further. "Well we can't fix that now, can we? And... And I won't let you try to! I say we wait, I look out for Leon and Spienz, and we- I ask what happened. Then we can act accordingly. And even after that we can figure out what Isirion is doing, since he wasn't just stationary in the arena. Just... Try to calm down, please... Does that sound fine?"

Drake turned around and paced forward, running her fingers through her hair as smoothly as she could while avoiding scraping her head with her claw weapons. Taellonn awaited a response, only to see Drake to sit on the ground loosely cross-legged (though she was clearly upset about doing so.) "Fine! Fine. I'll try and let you do whatever you are, but I don't want to be lying by telling you I'm gonna be calm or something. Cause there is no way in hell I'm going to stay 'calm' for those two sorry rats when they get here." Hostility hadn't left her voice, and any passive aggressiveness Drake had intended lost all passiveness. Taellonn sighed. At least she was trying to calm down for now, right?

 

Leon tried to stop himself from becoming impatient whenever the feeling set in. He wasn't really too sure how long Relantia's distraction was supposed to last, especially now that he'd lost track of time with no signs of it passing. Huge stealthy attacks weren't necessarily lively, he supposed; his time with the corpses in the mansion already proved that. He remembered tricks to keep track of time that he'd picked up over time, but that'd probably make him more impatient if he actually knew how long it'd been since Drake handed off Wallet to him.

Leon's prayers for a quick hand off were answered, though a bit too late to actually satisfy him. Realizing that Relantia couldn't fit in this area and had landed elsewhere anyways, Leon told Wallet to follow him as Spienz kept guarding the prisoner. The first thing noticable at the scene (besides the Royal Crimson who seemed all too pleased with something) was Ezra dismounted, with his sword fully drawn and at the ready. "Leon! Where's Rox-" His eyes shifted to the prisoner being closely guarded. "-What the hell is this?" Relantia laughed. "You must be blind to see that's not a man. All gagged and smelling like tears- a regular hostage if I've ever met one!" Leon nodded at the dragon's statement. "Drake said to hand him over to you. He has information on 'trades of interest' to us- she can offer clarification if you need. Relantia should be enough to haul him off and it's all non-debat-" Ezra dismissed him. "I'm not taking some random prisoner when I'm supposed to be protecting her." Relantia shuffled forward. "Oh, shut up and listen to the orders, will you? Drake can manage herself and this is as great a plan as any, using me to transport a prisoner. And if you won't do it for her at least do it for me." Ezra sheathed his sword and turned to face her. "What's that supposed to mean?" A gnarled smile formed on the Royal Crimson's face. "I have been waiting longer than your life to be in an attack again and you know that. Not to mention there is full truth in saying you're the second reason I haven't been able to participate in one! Let me have fun for once, will you? You've been nothing but tense all this time- as if I would fail you!" Ezra grumbled as he failed to find an excuse. Saying no to the dragon wasn't much of an option, and it wasn't like he could blame anyone but himself for inviting along a dragon he knew had been so desperately itching to get back out as a first-line defender of the Draikenflaeme cause. He reluctantly had Leon and Spienz turn over the hostage and directed him to Relantia's saddle, climbing on after. He looked down at Leon. "Where are you two going?" Leon had already climbed on Spienz's back. "To Drake." Ezra grumbled again, discontent seemingly replacing any urgency or anger from before. "Of course."

Relantia didn't leave until she'd seen Leon and Spienz had. She recalled a location other members of the cause were using as a small base in the city both to deliver messages and simply use as a resting spot and decided to head there. She'd always seen bad strategy in having pygmies all over the city seem to know about the base, but when they were spoiled like cats fed cream by most of the people within there didn't seem to be much threat of the pygmies being bribed by anyone else to be guides straight there. Thinking over her future actions provided a realization- she'd probably have to leave Ezra and this prisoner there and head home. There wasn't much room to hide a Royal Crimson, and it wasn't like hiding in plain sight was an option when the Nebs were sure to get suspicious after all of the night's events. Relantia couldn't feel guilty, though; she could do nothing about her species. And really, nothing all that bad could happen if she left. Ezra would better deal with being dragonless if he was surrounded by support anyways...

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Oblivious to the fact that he had just scared off a certain Royal Blue, Isirion arrived back at the arena. He didn't bother to climb back up, but used the entrance for human challengers since he was fairly sure the assassin couldn't take a shot at him with the hand he had just stabbed and instead had gone to lick her wounds and deliver the message to a superior. Inside the first thing that greeted him was a growling Golden Wyvern that had awoken from the fresh stench of blood he had brought with him. Mythy lashed through the bars of his cage with his tail and hissed: "I warned you to get out of my sight, dragon killer!" Isirion spun around, his blade ready to cut off any further aggression and he hissed back: "Get out of your cage and into the arena if you want to fight me. Otherwise save your breath for the next assassin that sneaks in and tries to kill one of us!" The wyvern looked puzzled as it repeated: "Assassin?" "Yes, assassin. One dead in the sleeping quarters, one outside wounded and probably more somewhere in the city waiting for their chance", Isirion replied calmly and lowered his blade. Instead of relaxing, the wyvern's stance grew even more aggressive as it growled: "No doubt that is your fault dragon killer. I can smell human blood on you too and not too little. I hope you get what you deserve!" To emphasize his words, Mythy unleashed his famous Golden Tail finisher against the man he loathed, but instead of smashing him against the next wall, he only hit empty air. Isirion had easily avoided the not-really-a-surprise attack and weaved through the bars an instant later, dodged the wing-claws and pierced the wyvern's s breast scales strong enough to hurt and wound it, but not deep enough to kill it. Mythy froze and Isirion hissed, his voice as cold as his temper was hot: "I will spare your life once, but only because there are more pressing matters to deal with than the insolence of a pampered dragon that doesn't even understand the meaning of a real fight." The wyvern looked more hurt by the words than the blade as it retreated a step and snapped back: "I am rather a pampered dragon than a human that only knows how to kill. Acting out Pride's vision has given my life meaning because I know my performances affect the audience for the better. Every time children see how glorious and magnificent a dragon can be when it is not forced to fight to the death or just used as a tool for execution, I believe because of me none of them will turn into one of those disgusting collectors in the future but instead improve the lives of the dragons around them. That is why I give everything in my fights even though they are not real. I will not attack you again, I only ask that you too give everything to make that performance a success tomorrow." Listening to the wyvern pouring out the heart that he almost had stabbed, calmed Isirion down and he sounded even understanding as he replied: "So that is why Pride does not want this performance to end with the death of the dragon, calling it the Death and the Dragon instead." Mythy finally relaxed a bit and confirmed: "Not that a dragon killer like you would really understand, but yes. Even though Pride has an unhealthy obsession with the mythical Death he values life so much more." Isirion, not letting the wyvern provoke him again, finally sheathed his blade and retorted: "If you value the lives of the rest of the people here, you should really keep an eye out for those assassins."

 

With that warning, Isirion left the cage and went back to the sleeping quarters to inform the green-haired lady about the successful delivery of their message and organize further sentries: "We can't let our guard down, even though we sent them a message. The people we rescued from the arena are too exhausted to be of any help, they even slept through the whole ruckus, so it is up to us to keep guard. Let your dragon block one entry to the sleeping quarters with his body so any intruders are forced to use another way. You should stay with him and practise your knife-skills just in case. I will watch the other way in and your Pygmy can act as a messenger if anything comes up. Any complaints or questions?"

Edited by Isirion

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Alzira was curious to meet Isirion again. Hopefully he had good news and the assassination attempts were over, but to be true she didn't expect that to happen so easily. She knew it was naive to hope but that's what she did. She shrugged and huddled against Susurro who sheltered her under his wing and where she felt safe. Sappo was sitting on Susurro's back eying the room with slit eyes. The little dragon still felt a bit guilty that he hadn't noticed the assassin's attack and he was eager to improve his skills. When Isirion finally arrived Alzira was glad he was alright although he had semi-good news: The message was delivered but the outcome was still unsure... Well, she had to agree, these things needed time and so she and Susurro acted on Isirion's suggestions and blocked one entrance. At least she had a knife to train with. She asked him: "Would you show me one or two simple knife moves I could train?" Sappo had moved with them, he wouldn't let his keeper out of his sight soon.

 

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Isirion was pleased that for once someone actually followed his suggestions and produced the remaining of the assassin's knives. He showed the green-haired lady how to hold it correctly and explained: "It is less about the moves and more about hitting the correct spot. Based on your previous reactions I can guess that you just want to disarm or disable your opponents instead of killing them. In that case I suggest that you practise to sidestep an attack so that you can slash away at their exposed wrist at your leisure without fearing an immediate counterattack. This also works if you see a chance to get into your opponent's blindspot. In that case it is just like Drake's claw attack back at Sodger's hut only that it will work much better because unlike me assassins don't usually wear dragon-skin cloaks. If your opponent holds his weapon in his right hand you should attack from slightly behind his right shoulder because that makes it harder for him to block or parry your attack with that weapon in time. Be careful though, he could still kick like a Horse Dragon or try to topple you. Practise putting your strength into a slash at wrist height right after a hasty step back. For the sneak attack from behind you should aim at the lower back. Even if you don't manage to sever the spine and the blade slips to the right or left, you will still hit a vital point. Getting the angle right is a bit tricky so you should probably change the grip on the knife like this before trying." Isirion demonstrated the move a few times and pointed out the particular spot to aim for, then he added: "Your skills as a painter should help you as I can see a lot of similarity between applying just the right amount of paint on the tip of a brush onto a very small, predefined area of canvas and aiming for a precise spot with a knife. I remember you introducing yourself as someone wanting to sketch the dragons outside my master's hut. Being able to adjust your focus fast enough to do that will certainly enable you to adapt to a moving human target. Just don't be afraid to miss or it will slow you down." Having said everything he could contribute on that topic, Isirion gave Alzira, Susurro and Sappo an encouraging nod and left to find a good spot to ambush an ambusher on 'his' side of the sleeping quarters...

Edited by Isirion

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Alzira was glad she had something to do, although she was a bit taken by surprise that Isirion thought her painting skills could be useful to hurt people. She was mulling that over in "her" corner. Generally she didn't like to harm someone else but disarming seemed a useful skill, and knowing an attack movement could prepare her to dodge better. She would never be as good as someone who had trained since youth but maybe she could really use some of her other experiences? After a while she and Susurro started practicing together. The White Dragon had watched Isirion intently so he would know what he should keep an eye out for. It disturbed him that Alzira wanted to learn how to hurt other people but he had to admit that she needed to protect herself. He couldn't always be there and neither could Sappo. He told her about his doubts and she agreed: "That was my line of thought as well" , and they went on training. Sometimes Alzira would stop and stare off in no particular direction, visualizing one particular move and comparing it with a well known painting stroke and giving it a special edge using her experience. She was used to working with both her arms, small and wide movements were used in her paintings and she tried to put all that into her efforts. She was surprisingly quick capturing moving targets like Sappo as well, long years of sketching practise had indeed helped with that too - Isirion had flattered her by remembering that. Susurro helped out too, he even started to feign attacks at her with his wings immitating stabs and swings and she used her quick eye to sidestep and fake a slash.

Edited by Alzira

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Taellonn only became more tense as Drake did- clearly giving her time to mull over the situation was making her more angry than clear-headed, but that should have been expected. Really the only thing that surprised Taellonn was that Drake had stayed put when he spotted Leon and Spienz and flew to fetch them. Still, he kept his distance when landing and tried to quickly explain why the two were going to be treated like conspirators against and traitors to the cause the moment Drake got a word in. Unfortunately, before he could fully explain, Drake had rushed up to Leon and gotten a word in. "Your next words better be the absolute best reason I'm apparently seeing a corpse up and walking, or else-" One of Spienz's wing claws scraped against Drake's foot as she pulled herself closer with a noticeably dry sounding, uneven growl-hiss while Leon stumbled backwards into the wyvern's protection and out of Drake's range. The only thought that came into Drake's mind was Coward, but even in this state instincts told her not to risk anything against a fever wyvern (even though this one was apparently lacking in lethal ability.) Leon's hands were white-knuckled gripping knives before he could even manage a response, giving him nothing but a few seconds of painful silence. "Corpse? Walking? Please, I don't know what you're talking about, just expl-" Drake's feet stayed locked to the floor even as she leaned towards and violently gestured to him. "I'm talking about the target I assigned that your wyvern said she'd killed! He's alive and well and I expect a reason why!" One of Leon's hands went to rest against Spienz as he recalled being filled in on Isirion's status, though his other hand was still at the ready. "Well you won't be getting one from me! Believe me I probably know everything you do- Spienz promised she'd killed him, honest..." He spared a few glances at his wyvern. "...You hit him, didn't you? Felt the sting and all?" She nodded. "And you're sure it was our target?" Another nod, though somewhat delayed as she remembered everything. Leon stopped glancing over. "There's some explanation, I swear. If I had any information I'd have told you... We can't be jumping to conclusions like this anyways, Spienz would never lie to me! Perhaps this man is even more of a threat than you first told me... I'd be lying if I said I'd heard of stranger cases than someone surviving a Fever Wyvern attack for no reason but that just proves the absurdity of it all. No one knows what happened so it's best we solve it now or when there's actual evidence for something... Right?" None of this sit well with Drake but she was still being threatened by the Fever Wyvern and wasn't about to try to fight an answer out of Leon with those stakes. Not to mention, he sounded scared but sure enough in his words so he probably wasn't lying, which made the situation all the more odd. "Right-" Leon could swear Drake said that with clenched teeth but didn't bother to do anything besides listen, "-But all this shows me is that you and your wyvern probably aren't gonna be any help with this since I don't need any alibi regarding him now. So go somewhere you aren't gonna get caught and, I don't know, I'll tell you to come back if I have to." Leon mirrored Spienz and nodded as he put his knives away and climbed onto the wyvern's back. He had an idea of a small base in the city to go to and try to wrap his head around the situation. Spienz really wouldn't have just lied to him like that, after all...
Drake wasn't absolutely livid anymore but she was still too upset for Taellonn's liking. If she hadn't already started to head towards the arena Taellonn would have advised she stay and try to calm down more, but of course it was too late for that. Still, he tried to reason with her. "How exactly are we supposed to solve all this... We have no starting points-" Drake stopped. "Well that's the first place you're wrong. We have people all around who know him and who really have no reason to be suspicious of us. If we can get even clues about him we get closer to learning why that attack failed, or at least how to make sure a second one succeeds." She kept going as Taellonn followed, droopy-winged. "Of course, because no one will get suspicious about your curiosity regarding him." "Is it so wrong to be curious?" she replied almost passive-aggressively. "He doesn't seem the sociable type, after all-" "You're no butterfly either, Drake," he scoffed. Drake stopped again and turned to him with a purposely fake smile. "Even more reason as to why I wouldn't talk to him one on one. Look, I can build up more trust with the others. I know what I'm doing." Taellonn sighed and starting muttering under his breath before noticing Drake was headed on the path towards the human challenger entrance of the arena. "There's a better way to get in, unless you mean to get something from that dragon..." Drake took a few moments before she shrugged. "It couldn't hurt." Taellonn's confused expression was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "You're just more comfortable first entering where there's no people, aren't you?" He didn't get a response. "I should have known. We're never solving this thing." Drake sharply shushed him. "I'm going to use every resource available to me, alright? And Golden Myth happens to count. I'm going to ask him what he thinks of Isirion thus far... Maybe ask if there's anything suspicious about him beyond... Well, you know...the blood." There wasn't much arguing with that, no matter how much of an excuse it seemed to be. And of course Drake wouldn't listen to any of Taellonn's protesting anyways, so he stayed quiet as they entered the arena. Drake, demeanor purposely changed to at least seem calm, accepted Taellonn's silence and went to greet Mythy and ask him about Isirion... 

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Despite it still being the middle of the night, the wyvern was up and alert. Only when he recognized Drake, his stance relaxed a bit and he listened to her question. To answer it, he stuck out his chest so the pierced scale right over his heart was on prominent display and growled: "Well, I certainly know he is not carrying that blade of his just for show and I would love chatting to you about his skill and speed, but there are assassins on the loose. At least that's what he told me to watch out for when he came in carrying the scent of fresh human blood. Maybe you should ask him yourself, he can't be far from here."

 

At the same time at the Shadow guild

 

Nightblade read the bloodstained message Nightfeather had delivered to him over and over again, daring it to disappear but the words stayed on the paper just like the wound on the messenger's hand. The weapon that had caused it, he had already turned over dozens of time and it still refused to be anything else but one of Trueshot's knives. The shadow leader finally thrust the knife into the table and folded up the message, then he said: "Get your hand bandaged up and get some sleep. First thing in the morning, we'll talk about this again. Not a word to anybody else - yet." Nightfeather nodded her agreement, but in her heart she knew, she wouldn't be able to sleep until she paid that black-clad creep back what she owed him.

Edited by Isirion

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Assassins? This city is nothing but death at every turn... And as if I needed something else to watch out for! Taellonn thought. Looking to Drake as if she'd look equally as exhausted by this news as he was only revealed her looking between Mythy's wound and any random direction. She backed up, arms crossed. I shouldn't be too surprised with this type of company and recent events to have assassins about... It just begs the question who they're after. Well, I'm not threatening myself or Taellonn just to find out. Time has got to tell me after a while... Unless I just do ask Isirion... Ugh. That's just what I need, isn't it!? To have to look that insufferable killer in the eyes when they should have been glazed over by now... Drake's fingers twitched with thoughts of digging straight into those eyes, claws parallel and deep enough to measure the full depth of the housing sockets. A much more satisfying sight than any realistic encounter, she thought. Drake noticed her mind wandering and interrupted herself, looking to Golden Myth. "May-" Noticing a hostility starting up in her voice she took a moment to compose herself and her thoughts. "Maybe I will ask. Thank you."
Expecting Taellonn to follow along Drake had started towards the sleeping quarters. The entrance she'd chosen/discovered was closer than the more obvious main one, and it was clear she was hesitating the closer she got. There was no way she'd go unnoticed entering unless that room was empty, and even if it was she would be there in the room and there to be discovered and- it was going to be horrible no matter what. Both Drake and Taellonn were thinking it; someone, if not everyone, was going to notice how absolutely on edge Drake was. And of course seeing Isirion wasn't going to help that, so she needed some sort of excuse. Apparently Drake had thought of something before Taellonn did because, as per usual, she'd entered first with no warning and left him to scramble behind. Inspecting the area as she walked further in showed her a mess of sleeping masses she didn't pay much mind to, the green-haired woman Drake had only gotten glances of in one part of the room, and Isirion in another. Now of course neither choice seemed that great; one person was a stranger and she wanted to rip the other's throat out, but the latter with his apparent knowledge of assassins provided a cover-up for her anger (not to mention it'd keep her out of the dark about the whole situation.) Though Drake hadn't really realized until afterwards, Isirion had seen her basically bloodthirsty in the mansion, so surely he could believe she was riled up over the assassins and not his non-death. Now, he wasn't standing around doing nothing- he did look like he had some sort of purpose so Drake was going to approach him with that it mind. Mostly that meant not unintentionally sneaking up on him, though that really wasn't much effort and she was still a fair distance from him when she spoke up. "Are you busy right now?" she began, not so much as to really ask but to demand attention. "Because Mythy back there warned me about assassins... Which, according to him, gives me questions for you. One, to what degree should I be wary of this, and two, do you have any idea who they're looking for or what exactly they're doing?" 

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Being stuck at the impossible task of choosing the least horrible ambushing spot between the mountains of absolutely ridiculous things that seemed to go cling or bling just from looking at them, Isirion's mood had been degrading rapidly. Pacing between a ribbon-covered breastpiece apparently made for Golden Myth and a shield that fit the wyvern's size and colouring, Isirion was close to shoving the whole thing on the next best person, assassin or not. Thus, Drake's rather inquisitive questions, despite being delivered in quite the bloodthirsty demeanor, were a welcome distraction. Coming up with answers that were every bit as concise and vague as Drake's in a similar situation, restored his mood and he replied with a grin: "One, you are most likely not a target because two, they are looking for everyone who was at Sodger's hut and not on Jack's side."

 

In the mean-time at the Shadow guild

 

After dismissing Nightfeather, the shadow leader had withdrawn to the archery training ground that was deserted at that time of night. His fingers traced every bullseye Trueshot had hit on the wooden targets despite himself watching and teasing him to stop aiming for his heart. Trueshot had been his most trusted advisor, his best ranged assassin, second only to Nightfeather and more importantly the target of his affection. He had made him stay at his side at every meeting, made him prove his skill every week just so he could watch those well-defined arm muscles flex and release. Trueshot would always fire his shots with that aloof, confident smile on his face that told the world he could hit any target. Nightblade didn't know if it was kindness or cruelty but the ghost of that smile had been captured in the sketch on the message Nightfeather had delivered. He unfolded it again and carassed the lips he had never touched in life. Regret welled up inside his heart, like an Undine Dragon unleashed. Countless times he had bravely faced any danger that came with his profession, but how come he had never found the courage to tell Trueshot exactly what was in his heart? Had he really been so afraid of 'no' as an answer that he didn't even dare to believe himself it could have been a 'yes' if he just had asked? Now, constant regret would be his companion instead of Trueshot and he still wouldn't know...

Edited by Isirion

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