Private Tales The Stabby Thread

[Artemis]

It took her nearly a day to wake again. And the blood loss had left her feeling weak and drained like a youngling just weened from a mother's breast. And she hadn't expected to wake again at all.

The assassin stirred slowly, hazy-blue eyes cracking open. A pain like hot-fire shot up her leg. Eyes darted around the room, quickly falling on Talus, her Dreadlord target.

"Anirian Hell," she grunted quietly. Head lifted slightly, looking down her form, relieved to see she wasn't pinned to the floor by that sword anymore. Silvered-moon hair fanned out from her head, feathered along the floor as she shifted.

"You should've killed me," she whispered quietly, eyes locking onto his own.

 

[Talus]

Though she was recovered, Talus had taken careful measure to ensure she had no weapons on her person any more.

For good measure he'd tied her hands too, though her legs were left unbound. The wound itself would ensure that walking would be awkward for some time. He was still weary of her, much like a fox might be weary of a dead wolf.

"Probably." The Dreadlord said with a shrug. "But I don't like doing that anymore."

Had he ever? "Plus. I need to know who sent you."

It probably wouldn't help much, but turning her loose without knowing wasn't an option.

 

[Artemis]

She was on her side, pressure off her injured leg. Hands were tied behind her back. Fingers flexed, testing the restraints. And her clothing and armor were gone. Replaced by a robe.

Head tilted, catching a pile in the very far corner.

Her weapons. All of them. He must've done a very thorough search.

She was silent, lips pressed thin as she thought. And what she was about to say next had nothing to do with the vulnerable position she found herself in. It was simple duty. Her tribe of assassins followed a very strict honor code. And because Talus had spared her life, things had drastically changed.

"I can no longer fulfill my contract so I would not be breaking my honor oath to tell you now because you spared me, I owe you a life debt."

She sighed and pressed her eyes closed, wincing slightly as she shifted like a bound, wild animal on the floor.

"Have you heard of House Relek?"

 

[Talus]

House Relek.

They were a Northern House. Before he'd joined the Guard they had made a push to try and conquer large swaths of territory using foreign mercenaries. It had been their bid to become a Major House. It had fialed of course, mainly due to his interference and that of General Ilyena's.

It wasn't entirely surprising that they would try to kill him, in fact Talus couldn't help but feel a slight bit of relief at the fact.

With a sigh he slid a wooden chair away from the table, sitting himself down. "At least it's not one of the Greats."

He commented quietly, more to himself than her.

 

[Artemis]

Nice that one of them could get comfortable.

She knew it would be some time before she'd be able to walk again. Unless he had access to a healer. Or unless she could crawl away to a healer.

DAMNIT

It wasn't the weight of pain she felt now it was the weight of dishonor. She'd never failed a contract before. And it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"If you don't wipe them all out, they'll keep sending other to finish the job I couldn't do."

Not to mention, she imagined her own tribe might hunt her down. Killed by the assassin 'brothers' and 'sisters' she was trained and raised with.

 

[Talus]

Talus frowned. "I don't exactly have the authority to wipe out an entire House."

Even if this woman would offer to testify he didn't think the Courts would uphold any sort of Order. At least not unless one of the Great Houses supported the bid. The Guard wasn't powerful enough to handle it on it's own.

Not yet at least.

"Whats your name?" The Dreadlord asked with a frown. "I assume you have one."

 

[Artemis]

"Then we're both dead," she said simply and lowered her head back on the ground. It was a rather uncomfortable position. One time she'd spent an entire day in a hot-box on the beach as part of their training. At least this was marginally better than that.

Eyes closed.

"Artemis," she saw no harm in giving him her name at this point. "Now kindly bring over one of my daggers and plunge it into my heart."

 

[Talus]

Talus raised an eyebrow. "No."

Any other Dreadlord probably would have complied with the demand in half a second. Hell, he knew some that would have tortured her beforehand just for the fun of it, but he was not one of them. Not anymore at least.

"I don't kill unarmed prisoners." Or Assassins out to get him apparently. "Tell me more about where you're from."

He said. "If you're worried about House Relek, I can guarantee they won't come after you."

Talus wasn't entirely sure how he could do that, but he'd think of a way.

 

[Artemis]

She was quiet for a moment. Eyes remained closed. "Like hell you can," voice was quiet but as sharp as a knife. He was a dreadlord who'd made unconventional choices. She imagined a lot of folk wanted him dead. And not just the Releks.

Eye cracked open briefly.

"But I'm not worried about them. I'm worried about those I trained with. Once they find out the contract was left uncompleted, they'll send other to fill it. And if they find out I'm still alive? They'll finish what you couldn't. Finish you off too."

She paused.

"It is not dishonorable to fail at a contract if that results in death. It is very dishonorable to fail and be found alive."

 

[Talus]

Ah so she was part of some Assassin order.

He frowned briefly, a thought occurring to me. "How much do you care about your fellows?"

Talus did not have the authority to wipe out House Relek, and he likely didn't have the strength to do it anyway. Yet there was an opportunity here, a way to ensure both of them survived.

As long as she didn't care about the people she trained with anyway.

It would be difficult, but he had an idea to turn the Assassin's and House Relek against one another. The two would fight, and then exhaust their forces before he and the girl could sweep in and finish the rest. It was not exactly within the law but...well one had to solve problems in whatever way they could.

 

[Artemis]

"They are like family," she said simply. As close to family as she knew the term to be. Others would consider it fairly twisted.

She stared up at him, wrists shifting against those ropes. They wouldn't 'hold her for long.

"But if they moved against me I would defend myself." She would die fighting if she had to. That was an honorable death.

 

[Talus]

Nothing was ever easy. It seemed as though he just couldn't catch a break when it came to these things. His lips thinned for a moment as he pressed them together, hand coming to his head as he slowly shook it in consternation.

"Look." Talus said firmly. "I can't offer you your life unless I give up those others."

House Relek and the assassins had to die. It was the only way for both of them to actually come out of this alive. "It's you or them."

He said plainly.

 

[Artemis]

Silvered-blues traveled up to the man. She slow blinked, like a cat, in his direction.

"We both know you are not in the position to offer me anything."

He still had a contract out on him. And they would be coming for him within the next few weeks. They had two months to fulfill any contract. And if they failed to do so, the others would come to do the job.

"It's not that simple," she began and began slipping a wrist free from the suddenly unbound ropes. Palms pushed flat on the floor so she could at least sit up and look him more eye-to-eye, moving cautiously so he'd know she didn't mean any harm.

She couldn't even walk, so, not like she could do much.

"There are many. It would be impossible to take them all out." He still hadn't explained his plan, so she was trying to understand. "We are a big organization. The only way to guarantee both our lives would be to end the contract. Unless you can talk the Relek house out of killing you, we'd have to take them out ourselves."

She winced slightly as she shifted her leg.

"Do you have access to a healer? We only have about four weeks until some others in my order come for you. For us. I'm not much good to you like this." That sword had gone through tendons, muscle, and bones. Without a healer, she wondered if she'd even be able to walk again.

 

[Talus]

"If things go as I plan, then House Relek will be the greater enemy for your organization to fight." Talus said as he leaned back in his chair just a bit.

The question of a healer came up, and he had to give it some thought. There were a few fourth level Dreadlords that he knew, but all of them hated him. His mind wandered for a second, and then he remembered a contact he'd made through the guard.

She would do in a pinch. "I can get you healed."

Though it was clear he wasn't quite done.

"If House Relek moved against your organization, would they strike back at them?" He asked. "And would it invalidate the contract?"

 

[Artemis]

He didn't seem surprised by her sudden escape from the knotted ropes; that was interesting. Fingers rubbed lightly along her wrists, massaging the numbness the ropes had created away. Her good leg pulled in as she sat up, injured leg remained straight.

It was a strange feeling to only be wearing a robe and none of her weapons.

She felt as good as naked.

Couldn't help the flicker to the corner of the room where her weapons and armor were. They'd been trained to sleep in the stuff and in time, the weight quickly became a comfort. They'd learned to sleep aware. Those who didn't were the first to die as class-members, drills where the older students would come to murder the younger ones in the middle of the night or hours just before dawn.

"If house Relek made an open act of war against my tribe, then yes. I believe they would move against the house and count any contract as void." Anyone to make an open act of war against the Isle of Sorcha Assassins would be very foolish, indeed.

 

[Talus]

Talus was more than aware when she glanced at her weapons, but the moment she made a move towards them he wouldn't hesitate in cutting her down.

From what he understood she could very well still kill him and go back without a problem. That simply wasn't something that he could allow. Not when House Relek was still skulking around attempting to kill him.

"I have a plan." He told her slowly.

Part of him doubted that the assassin would want to join him, but there was always a chance of it at the end of the day.

"I believe I can make it appear as though House Relek attempted to attack your organization." Talus explained slowly. "The trick would involve you disclosing one of their facilities however."

It was a way out, though a complicated one.

 

[Artemis]

And she wouldn't make a move for her weapons because she meant what she'd told him earlier. She owed him a life debt. It was part of her very strict code. Something most outsiders wouldn't understand.

Facilities?

There was only the training grounds on the Isle of Sorcha. And that was too far. And she'd never betray her own like that. There might be one spot though...one of the houses where they received their contracts.

"We don't have facilities," Lips thinned, fingers running down the length of her leg slowly, brushing over the bandages across bare skin. "But there is one place by the portal stone where some of us receive our contracts. It might work," she winced as she shifted her leg.

Eyes as sharp as a shark's looked up.

"What are you planning?"

 

[Talus]

"I can make myself appear as a House Relek Dreadlord." That would not be too difficult with a little bit of College Magic.

The Guard had seized more than a few pieces of Relek armor, and using that plus if he shied away from his abilities...a False flag operation wouldn't exactly be difficult to pull off. As long as he could actually get there.

"You point me where to go. I attack, hurt some people..." He shrugged. "No one even needs to die."

They just had to think House Relek was behind it.

 

[Artemis]

She frowned, predatory gaze looking the man over.

Barefoot pulled closer into her body, fingers wrapping around her ankle as she thought. Toes wriggled. "There will likely be two assassins there. Don't take this the wrong way," hell, if he did, then he wasn't as wise as he seemed.

"But without your abilities, I don't think you would survive attacking them. I don't think you would've survived me. What's your plan for getting out of there alive?"

All that blood loss from earlier was making her sleepy and her throat was dry. Grey-blues tracked around the room. "What does a girl around here have to do to get some water?"

 

[Talus]

Talus smiled. "Not to take down your ego, but you realize that entire fight I was without my sword, right?"

Though his abilities were plenty strong, he'd not once managed to reach his sword. Most of his time at the Academy had been spent training with the blade. By the time he'd graduated most of the Proctors hadn't been able to best him in single combat.

Artemis had been good, and he had no doubt the fight would have been a challenge even with his sword, but he had other tricks up his sleeve.

From his bedroom Talus retrieved the bucket of water he'd earlier gathered from a nearby spring. Tossing her a cup as he placed it just out of her reach to ensure that she didn't jump on him. "I'll be alright."

He told her. "As long as you havent set me up."

 

[Artemis]

"You realize I kept you away from your sword for a reason, right?"

His comment made her feel marginally better, though. She owed him a life debt and if he went off on a hope of luck and a prayer to best potentially two assassins of her order, well, then she'd have dishonor for not trying to protect him. Or saving his life.

She hoped he'd be able to get that healer to call sooner rather than later.

She picked up the cup of water and brought it to her lips.

Goddess she was thirsty.

And tired.

Brow pinched in frustration. Cup lowered. She felt like a youngling welp.

"We are killers," she said slowly. "But we still have honor in our craft. We take contracts and fulfill them. We typically do not deceive. And we do not double cross. Usually, there is no need to. We fail a contract," eyes level on his own. "We die. You are the exception."

 

[Talus]

Talus shrugged. "That makes things easier for me."

He could understand the thoughts of honor, the ideals and hopes behind it, but he himself had none.

Dreadlords were weapons of war. Killers and warriors. Their entire lives they were taught that killing was killing. It didn't matter if you double crossed someone or faced them on the field of battle. Talus himself had developed see form of a code he supposed, but he still did not think of himself as vulnerable.

"My goal isn't to kill either of them." He assured her. "But I understand your concern. I will not be without magic, but if you were to be involved you must realize that one of these people might recognize you."

Talus pointed out. "If that happens I assume you would be marked for death all over again and half of this plan would be for nothing."

 

[Artemis]

She put the emptied water cup down.

"I do not need to come with you." She doubted she could on the time-table he wanted to anyway - even with a healer. And was she worried about him killing some of her own? No, she supposed she wasn't. They were highly trained, like her. They would follow the same code.

Fight to the death.

Unless Talus was able to incapacitate them - like he had her. And his plan hedged on there being at least one survivor. After all, had to tell the rest of the order what happened.

She leaned back, letting her back come to rest back on the ground of his home. Where he'd left her. Silvered-blue eyes looked at the ceiling, tracing imperfections there.

"When you go on this mission. Am I just to stay here on my own?"

 

[Talus]

That seemed like an absolutely terrible idea. This woman claimed she owed him some sort of life debt, but if someone found her here there would be all sorts of questions that he wouldn't exactly want to answer.

"No." Talus decided swiftly, giving a deep frown.

She would have to travel with him. Even if she couldn't walk after the healer was done with her she'd be able to ride a horse at least. Hopefully anyway.

"we'll keep you out of sight." He assured her. "But I can't leave you here. Too risky that someone might find you."

Or that another assassin would show up and finish her off. Talus didn't put it beyond House Relek to have hired a completely different organization just to make sure the job got done.

 

[Artemis]

"Oh?" Silvered brows rose with an amused expression on her face. Long legs shifted, followed by an audible wince. She was a tall girl.

"Are you worried about my safety? That's quaint."

Eyes closed to slits.

"Then I come with you. But you'd better get that healer here soon. Within the next day or so. Tell me how many strong is House Relek?"