Fable - Ask A Killer’s Penance

[Diyah]

She crouched low in the bushes beside the road, waiting for her prey to pass. An elven necromancer she had been told he was. And in need of a serving of justice, so she was paid to bring her clients his head, paid upon delivery. So she waited, patiently, for him to pass. She was silent, careful. Watchful. The woman, not human, not orc, not elf, not dwarf. Nothing familiar to most. Her thick but smooth skin was of a dark grey color, much of which was painted with a red dye. In her right hand was a short, curved sword of steel, and in her left was a dagger nearly identical, and shooting forth from her elbows were curved spurs, not unlike a snake's venomous fangs in function. She was barefoot and barely clad in anything. Her hair was long, black and held in thick dreadlocks.

He came, and she waited.

 

[Shade]

The elven mage known as Shade walked down said road. He wore a black, high necked tunic over a pair of dark blue pants tucked into calf high brown boots. He had a dagger on his right hip, and various pouches around his waist on a separate belt. In his right hand was a simple staff made of a dark wood with a tight grain structure.

As he walked, he seemed to almost be whistling, his lips moving though no sound came through.

Ahead of him by a few miles was a hill on which rested an odd henge of stone, where he had been asked to meet by one of his agents in the area. The only message he had heard from the agent said he needed a meeting about topics that couldn't be put to writing.

Not entirely unusual.

As he entered this stretch of forest, his brow quirked. The trees came closer to the road, with underbrush that was not well tended this far from any major settlement. He slowed a bit, looking around for a few moments, before resuming his pace.

 

[Diyah]

It was time. She waited for him to get close, then her trap was sprung. She moved fast and she didn’t wait for anything. She let her sword flash towards his neck, her dagger ready to follow up. If her first strike was blocked or evaded she would thrust with her dagger. If that too was evaded, she would roll out of her dive to slash again with her sword.

 

[Shade]

The smirk on the Elfs face widened as the blade came near. He made no move to block the blade, nor any move to evade. As the blade made contact, his head bowed and what had been an image rippled and faded from sight.

As the image faded, so to did the see me not effect the Elf had been hiding behind. The blade wielding assassin could now see him exactly as he had been, only still standing where he had seemed to slow. In his hand he held a compact crossbow, loaded and cocked, and aimed at the assassin.

"Dear me...that looked like it would have hurt." His voice flowed melodiously with mirth. "Whatever would cause you to assault a traveler so? Coins?" He chuckled. "I am no mere merchant, stranger. I'd suggest you walk away from this encounter while able." As he spoke, his unoccupied hand made small, intricate gestures.

 

[Diyah]

She made no reply as she rolled to her feet and dashed right at him, intent on ending him. He would not be given an answer to his question, nor would she dignify him with a response from her. He was her target, and he must die.

She wasn’t an idiot though, and she saw his fingers moving. Magic. She had to press him hard so that his focus would do nothing. She cut the bolt down the middle as it flew at her, and kept running, until she was close enough to slash at him.

 

[Shade]

'As I thought, not a highwayman.' Rythal thought to himself. A flare of annoyance flashed through his mind. 'A hired killer then...knowing I'd be coming along this track.' He'd have to deal with his contact once this was through.

His left hand tightened, sending the bolt at the woman. She promptly cut it down and kept coming at him. He'd have nodded appreciatively if he had the time, but at the moment he didn't. His right hand pulled into a fist, then flashed out, the ground at his feet began to liquify. He slid himself back and dropped the handbow. His hands moved to the small of his back and remained there. He wasn't moving back as fast as she was coming forward, and even if the ground becoming quicksand between them did slow her, she'd be upon him quickly. For that eventuality, he kept his hands behind his back, waiting for the right moment.

 

[Diyah]

Quicksand, unexpected but ultimately futile. She leapt across the distance with her powerful legs, and let her blades flash towards him. She noticed his hands behind him, and kept an eye on it so that she might react in time to counter whatever he did. She was however in the air, so what she could do to counter was relatively limited. She could use him directly to redirect her momentum, but that was risky. She could always try to be faster than him, but that was also risky, but still the most likely to succeed. So she committed to hitting first, and she’d have to go through with it or suffer the consequences of failure.

 

[Shade]

Ebon flames ignited in his eyes as he brought both hands forward. His right held a now expanding staff made of a seemingly liquid metal that shimmered silver. It grew to be about a meter and a half from end to end, and adorned in sweeping swirls of lines that could be stylized runes, or just decoration. His left hand came forward bathed in the same ebon flame that occluded his eyes.

"Ungo Runya!" He shouted as his left hand splayed. The ebon flames shot at the oncoming assassin. Rythal took a step sideways and back, coming off line of the incoming attack so as to be able to bring his staff fully to bear on his defenses.

(The flames are "shadow flames" which would feel either so hot as to feel cold or so cold as to feel hot to bare flesh it touched, though only touch would betray any feeling as it gives off no heat outside itself. Could cause numbness to the flesh it touches, but would not spread beyond that patch of flesh.)

 

[Diyah]

Okay, so difficult to dodge but not impossible. She twisted in the air to let the ball of ebon fire to pass her by, closely but still doing no harm. She was however hit by his staff as it shot forth, which caught her in the gut, halting her motion, and trying to force the air from her lungs. But she was trained to take hits, and it didn’t quite knock the wind out of her.

She landed with her feet on the ground, and while she wasn’t knocked out of breath, she was briefly stunned. If he did not follow up quickly, he’d have very sharp swords trying to kill him very soon.

 

[Shade]

Needing to act faster than any of the spellcraft he had prepared just yet, he let his left hand touch the staff and bring the end opposite of the one that his her previously around in a tight arc. He aimed for the side of her head, hoping for a clean knock out. With the strike he turned his hips and squatted into his stance to bring as much power to the blow as he could.

 

[Diyah]

She brought her dagger up to block the staff. It succeeded in keeping her conscious but the power behind it threw the dagger out of her hand. She continued to attack him, but he hadn’t bought himself enough precious seconds to avoid the furious onslaught from happening too soon for him to survive. Now he had a chance, all he needed to do was land another stunning blow and the match was his.

But he would need to beware of the long spurs protruding from her elbows.

 

[Shade]

The knife flew away as the staff hit it, and Rythal paid it no more mind. His focus was on the creature before him who had come closer to killing him than any in a long while.

He let out an explosive grunt as he reversed the direction the end of his staff was going, aiming a backhand blow to her head. Unable to turn his body into the strike, he was planted in the wrong direction, he instead twisted so both knees were facing the creature, which would add some power, though not nearly as much as the previous blow.

Whether the blow landed or not, the elven mage pushed himself backwards after, intending to roll to gain space from the assassin, not knowing anything about her resilience or techniques.

 

[Diyah]

The blow was weaker than the previous one. So she was able to deflect it without further difficulty. He did however manage to leap back far enough to regain his footing and avoid her venomous spurs at her elbows. She kept coming at him, never once stopping for breath or thought, she would kill him or she would fail, two options, and she’d try for the former, but she could accept the latter.

 

[Shade]

'She's kept coming, good...' He thought to himself, then suddenly reversed his motion. He planted his staff in the road, holding with both hands. He aimed the staff like a set spear, aiming down the center line of the oncoming assassin. He began to whisper beneath his breath, and faint traces of light appeared in the air around him, flickering further into life with each whispered syllable.

His hope was that the assassin would strike herself on the staff and either be stunned or worse. He would be perfectly happy, though, if the assassin simply stopped attacking for a moment. Either would give him time to complete the casting he was working on.

 

[Diyah]

She was in the air and too close to properly adjust or counter. The staff also happened to be perfectly aimed, so that it was just above her abdomen and just below her sternum. No bone was there to absorb the impact, neither was there muscle. So the staff hit her in one of the many soft spots of most bipedal bodies.

The wind was shocked from her lungs and she'd have difficulty breathing for a moment. Not only that but it knocked her to her knees as she struggled to breathe and her weapon fell from her hand. She had failed.

Now he was going to finish her off, or take advantage of her weakness and bind her so that he might interrogate her later. Either way, she was done for.

 

[Shade]

"Elena ar ambal, ar ebon cemen, neuma i tavári ore ar hrondo." He intoned, moving the staff in a quick jab at the woman. The staff did not strike, but a spike of shadow leapt from the staff, aimed at her face. The spell was intended to ensnare the mind, allowing them to think and talk, but only move as he bade her.

 

[Diyah]

She looked up just as the black shadow shot into her head. Searing pain struck her, a migraine the likes of which was unprecedented in her life. Her mind was a strong one, much like her body, but she had never prepared for direct assault on her mind. She resisted, and well for several moments, but it was a loosing battle. Her mind, while remaining her own, was now prisoner to his will. A thrall.

She screamed, the first sound she had made that wasn’t a grunt. After the pain had gone, and his spell ended, she lay there, her elbows keeping her chest and head out of the dirt. She was breathing heavily, panting as she slowly recovered from the ordeal.

 

[Shade]

Rythal collapsed his staff and replaced it in the pocket at the small of his back. His hands lit with ebon flames, though he didn't attack again. He crouched there, just out of reach of the assassin. His lips quirked in a slight smile as his head tilted.

"Perhaps, when you've recovered somewhat, you will me more willing to answer my questions." He paused for a moment, eyeing the woman. "I have lived long and been many places, and yet I have never seen your likeness. New things intrigue me."

He stood and stepped back, letting the ebon flames flicker out.

"We should get walking. We have someone we need to see. Stand and follow me." He started walking along the road, the same direction he had been going.

 

[Diyah]

"We should get walking. We have someone we need to see. Stand and follow me." He started walking along the road, the same direction he had been going.

Despite willing herself to disobey, to attack, to stay down, anything but what he had told her to. But she found that while she could slow her obedience, she couldn’t stop it. She stood, her legs shaking with resistance, and began to walk with him. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t stop herself.

 

[Shade]

Rythal spoke over his shoulder as they walked.

"It will be far less tiresome for you if you do not fight it. That ensnarement should last us to sunrise, and I'll reset it before then unless I have reason not to."

On they walked through the forest, the path more or less straight with the trees coming only as close as a few meters to the road once they left the portion she had ambushed him in. After a bit of walking, they came to a fork in the road, the right hand path led deeper into the forest, while the left hand path went up a hill. The trees shrank back the further up the hill the road climbed, though plants grew up on the seldom used path.

Without pausing, Rythal turned up the leftward path.

 

[Diyah]

Rythal spoke over his shoulder as they walked.

"It will be far less tiresome for you if you do not fight it. That ensnarement should last us to sunrise, and I'll reset it before then unless I have reason not to."

So she might break the ensnarement if she strained it far enough. His words weren't dismissed as useless, but she had no intention of willingly obeying him, so she fought all the harder to resist, in order to exhaust the ensnarement rather than escape it immediately.

So she was made to follow him up the hill, and her entire frame shook visibly as she resisted his influence.

 

[Shade]

Rythal grinned to himself as he gained the top of the hill. A stone circle was laid into the ground, old and of indeterminate construction. He nodded as he stepped into the circle and walked to the far side that looked over a sharper incline down into a ravine through the forest.

"Well, I should say I am not surprised Tylir is not here. He would not want to be around should my assassination go awry." He turned and looked at the enthralled assassin. "You are quite strong willed, though I am certain you knew that. I would say that you probably take great pride in you strength of will and other abilities." He sat on a low stone within the circle. "You may sit if you would like, take your ease."

He pulled a bit of waybread from a pouch and broke a piece off before popping it into his mouth. He then offered the waybread to the assassin silently.

 

[Diyah]

Rythal grinned to himself as he gained the top of the hill. A stone circle was laid into the ground, old and of indeterminate construction. He nodded as he stepped into the circle and walked to the far side that looked over a sharper incline down into a ravine through the forest.

By the time they got there, her resistance had already put her a fair distance away from him, not so far as she’d have liked, but much farther than he’d have intended, and it took almost two full minutes for her to finally catch up. And by that time he would already have sat down.

"Well, I should say I am not surprised Tylir is not here. He would not want to be around should my assassination go awry." He turned and looked at the enthralled assassin. "You are quite strong willed, though I am certain you knew that. I would say that you probably take great pride in you strength of will and other abilities." He sat on a low stone within the circle. "You may sit if you would like, take your ease."

She only grunted in response, not dignifying him with words. All she did was cross her arms.

He pulled a bit of waybread from a pouch and broke a piece off before popping it into his mouth. He then offered the waybread to the assassin silently.

She made no move to take anything.

 

[Shade]

Rythal shrugged and put the waybread away. After he finished chewing the piece he had taken he looked at her, all mirth dropped from his face.

"Would you have me kill a skilled warrior such as yourself?" He asked, his tone curious, but his face passive. "I'd rather not snuff out the life of such an artist. You attempted to kill me, and you failed. I know not what code you live by, though I know in some that means your life is forfeit. In others it means your life is mine. And I am sure there are some that do not care a single whit for failure, and would allow you to continue without any thought to the mar of not killing me. I'd like to know which of these it is that you live by."

 

[Diyah]

"Would you have me kill a skilled warrior such as yourself?" He asked, his tone curious, but his face passive. "I'd rather not snuff out the life of such an artist. You attempted to kill me, and you failed. I know not what code you live by, though I know in some that means your life is forfeit. In others it means your life is mine. And I am sure there are some that do not care a single whit for failure, and would allow you to continue without any thought to the mar of not killing me. I'd like to know which of these it is that you live by."

"I have nothing to say to you." She told him.

That would be the only words to voluntarily leave her lips. Her people, as he was interested in knowing of, were of the second type he had inquired after. She was, as his failed assassin, his to kill or keep alive as he saw fit. And while she was allowed to resist, and fight him in order to try to complete her mission, as far as her people were concerned she was weak, and the weak were either killed, or kept.

Her people were very primitive in their views, if you were strong, you fought for what you had, and what you took by force was at your mercy. So as far as this situation was concerned she was something he had taken by force, and therefor at his mercy completely. Her life was his as he had inquired after. And the enthrallment spell he had cast on her would not be looked down on in any way, as far as her people were concerned he owned her.

Of course, she'd never say this willingly.