Private Tales Waters Deep

[Khai]

Without any words coming on his mind to say, Khai only nodded in response to Zara's. That sudden whirlwind of emotions was fairly new to him, and something he hadn't experienced in a very long time, being heightened by the siren's mystical beauty and the powers connected to it. Still, he felt positive coming out of it, as he smiled shortly before continuing his walk, eventually reaching the hole in the cave's ceiling that gave opening to look at the wonderful starry sky that night. With a short burst of dark smoke, Khai disappeared from sight and appeared atop the cave, taking in the freezing breeze as the winds howled at him.

In the distance, on the other side of the bay, he could still see the buildings burning up in flames as the smoke went up, a huge dark cloud forming atop the once peaceful village, now reduced to bloodied ashes. Disappointed in himself, Khai took a seat in the grass, near the rocks next to the hole. As time began to become a mere formality, Khai took comfort in the calm breeze to rest both his mind and body, both going numb as he closed his eyes, his power over the Shadows taking his subconscious elsewhere.

A image was formed on his mind, a ancient and grand temple on top of a hill surrounded by a equally mystical forest. Even the sky on that place felt different, as people came and went around him, taken by their training and their labors. A man, his attire much similar to Khai's, appeared in front of him, his eyes closed in meditation as well.

"You feel guilty, hawk", a rough voice sounded off from deep within his mind.

"I messed up, Master. I killed the wrong person, and the village...", Khai carried heavy guilt and sadness in his tone. In the illusion, his head fell down in shame.

"Your haste has always been your greatest hurdle, Khai. But you'll learn from this. Balance has claimed many lives this night, and yet there is still one you must take before this is over", the man in front of Khai said, his arms reaching out to pat Khai's shoulders, prompting him to lift his head and look on, surprised.

"I'll make this right, i swear", the young assassin said, confidence returning to him.

"I know you will. I trained you for that, after all", he disappeared with a small smile, the illusion breaking down in smoke before Khai returned to himself, opening his eyes to look at the beautiful sky above. Even distant, he knew they were watching him, hopeful. He would not fail, not again. Khai nodded at the skies in response.

A few moments later, he was back at the cave, watching the siren in her peaceful sleep after the eventful night. Khai opened a short smile before seating in the sand a few paces away from her, in the same way he was meditating minutes ago. He closed his eyes and prepared his body to rest, always watchful, as he intended to protect that woman even in his sleep.

 

[MJK]

Zara fell asleep despite her best intentions not to. The rush of adrenaline she had been running on all night had faded once she had arrived at the cavern. Although her sleep was not deep enough to dream it was enough for her to recover, the female waking the next morning feeling rested. With the rising sun came a sliver of yellow rays shining through the exit in the cavern's walls. With time the rays shifted, eventually coming to rest just over Zara's eyes to light up her closed eyelids a warm orange.

The warmth on her skin stirred her awake, the female opening her eyes slowly only to blink them shut again at the light aimed directly at her. She shifted, wanting to move over out of the lights way but sucked in a breath instead, pain emanating from her cold, stiff muscles but mostly from her feet. The siren pushed herself into a sitting position, maneuvering her feet so that she could get a closer look at them upon. Upon inspecting the soles she tutted irritably, the sight of cuts, scrapes and even fragments of glass marring the skin the obvious causes of her discomfort.

Closing her eyes the female gave a long sigh, using the wall to help her stand as she moved herself over to the water's edge. There, with help from the growing light, she removed any debris that had managed to wedge itself in her flesh until only the cuts and scrapes were left behind. Once that was done she carefully lowered her feet into the water, hissing as the salt cleansed the wounds and allowed her to rub away at any dried blood. Once it all was clear she closed her eyes, concentrating on her feet and trying to lose all other distractions. Where the saltwater touched her feet, the skin knit itself back together again, not wholly healing her but at least making it tolerable to bear her weight on her feet again.

Once the process was complete she checked the results, grinning to herself at the faintly pink lines which were evidence of her minor healing. "Might cost me some energy, but it won't work for me to be limping along while on the run." She stood carefully, testing out her hand work while being carefully not to wet her dress again in the shallow water. Turning she was greeted with the sight of Khai's carefully watching eyes, the female inclining her head towards him. "Good morning. Glad that we both made it through the night without some mercenaries stopping in on us. Do you have any plans about where we go from here?"

 

[Khai]

Khai's night wasn't the best at first, in fact, it was starting to look like one of the worst nights he had in a long time. Absent rest, only nightmares and guilt occupied his mind as he tried to sleep, his eyes trembling many times through the night as he tried to comfort himself when the freezing breeze passed through. Images of the burning village and the dead girl and her silver coin echoed through his head, hitting at his very soul as the guilt and feeling of failure started to break him away.

Through his own meditation, Khai was able to confront those illusions and get solace in the fact that they were nothing but ruse from his mind, after having failed his mission. He took comfort in the fact that he was still alive, well and breathing, anxious for the opportunity to fulfill his duty.

When the first bits of sunshine came filling the dark cove, being made welcome along with its warm gaze, Khai slowly opened his eyes, feeling his body properly rested after managing to control his emotions in the night before. He felt his heart relieved to see they were both well, with no surprise attempts on their lives as they slept, and watched in silence as the woman used her magic along with her dominion over water to heal her feet, cut and bloodied as they escaped the village in the night before.

As the woman noticed his waking presence, Khai stood up with a small smile, his lower clothing painted with sallow sand. He took a few moments to stretch as Zara made known her doubts about the lack of clues to follow, but in doing so, she prompted Khai's mind to come up with a quick plan, fruition from night of meditation.

Turning to take a few steps away from her, with his eyes gazing upon the ceiling as the sunlight came in, Khai's sharp voice sounded on, insightful and somewhat confident, but in a low tone, almost as if he was whispering to himself.

"When the eyes fail, the mind reaches forth..."

He turned his head to the side, glimpsing sideways at Zara with his usual cheeky smile. "It's an old saying back at the Shadow Temple, part of our initiation training."

The young assassin retook his steps, coming closer to the siren. "We need to go back to the village. If the mercenaries already left, they must've left something behind."

 

[MJK]

He rose from where he had been lying, sand sticking to his clothing and skin. Seeing the sight. Zara was prompted to dust off her own coating of the fine but damp dirt that covered her. Her hands moved quickly but carefully, the female sending a cloud of the white particles crumbling to the floor as she shook off her clothes. She listened to his response as to what they should do next, the female's stature freezing as he informed her about his plan.

"You want to go back there?" Her tone was one of disbelief, the female's eyes narrowing as she searched his eyes for some sign of comic humor or facetiousness. When she found none she cocked her head to the side curiously, somewhat confused by his suggestion. "I doubt there will be anything at all, considering the flames that continued well into the night. Besides, I..." She paused, unsure about whether or not she should what was on the tip of her tongue. The female continued speaking anyway, saying "I'm not sure about what sort of carnage we might see. The experience might be haunting to say the least."

Running her fingers through her hair and chewing on her lower lip (a force of habit when she was anxious about something but didn't want to show it), Valerie left the waters edge and stepped back onto the dry sand. After a quick sigh she nodded her head, placing her hands on her hips before shrugging. "I guess it's as good an option as any. Perhaps we might be lucky and find something useful." She headed out the impromptu door leading onto the beach of the next bay, looking around for he path that would lead up onto the cliff and back towards the village they had escaped from the night before.

While walking she pulled her cloak hood back up over her head, using it to keep some of the still chilly morning breeze from reddening her ears and nose. The sun had risen fully by then, but it still had a while to go before it started warming up the young day. There was a question burning in her mind as she walked, the female clearing her throat and speaking up as they walked. She needed to raise her voice slightly in order to be heard above the cliff winds. "Last night, when you found out what I was...how come you didn't react? Most humans don't take kindly to knowing there's a siren in their midsts."

 

[Khai]

Khai quickly followed the woman outside, the sunlight piercing his pale skin and seemingly sapping his strength as he curled back to the cave walls, to where the shadows still nestled. For a moment, the assassin had forgot that it was morning and the sun was in full swing, causing his Shadow Magic to be affected by its light. But seeing that they had no other way but to travel in that instant, Khai forced his inner powers as a dark hood was materialized over his head, giving him at least a glimpse of darkness to shelter him from the light.

He walked back to the side of that woman as they continued their walk, noticing her puzzled expression as she asked him a most confusing question. One that Khai spent a few moments in silence, reflecting upon possible answers. For one, she didn't look exactly like the monsters the stories talked about, and she hadn't threatened his life, not even when they were deep underwater, in what seemed to be her most natural habitat.

With a short smile beneath his hood, Khai perked his head up a bit. "Why should i? You're a person just like me."

After a few more minutes, they entered the outer forests that surrounded the outskirts of the bay, with Khai relieved in using the trees to hide himself from the sunlight at least for the shortest moments. He glanced a few times at the woman, almost laughing at how surprised she looked that he didn't just cut her down after she revealed her true self. Khai looked human for all aspects, but he was a different kind of monster as well. If his profession was any indicator, he wasn't exactly normal by the common standards.

"You know, i'm not really normal too. I 'died', several years ago. My friends and i were taken by slavers - pirates and mercenaries like the ones back at the village. I could've sworn i had passed to the next life when i woke up in... i don't know, another world?", he said, his tone a bit confused as Khai looked for the best words to explain all that messy past of his.

"They call it the Shadowrealm, the monks that rescued me. They said the Shadows are the only thing keeping me alive now, and i owe them eternal service, as they owe the Balance, or the whole universe could collapse. That is the way of life, my life now too, i suppose."

Half an hour later and the pair paused atop a cliff overlooking the village, the last of the flames ceasing to burn as the morning gulfs of wind roared at them along with the chilly sea breeze. The whole place crumbled, reduced to ashes and debris, with not a thing left intact except for a few sturdy buildings that weren't fully destroyed. One of them, for their luck, was the tavern in the distance. If they had any clues to discover, that would certainly be the place.

"Be careful, this could be an ambush", Khai said before taking a few steps forward and jumping, soaring through the air as his long scarf followed his light fall, eventually landing near a few bushes, dirt and sand rising up along with him, his cold blue eyes gazing upon the eerie horizon of the haunted place.

 

[MJK]

His response was decent enough, yet also too simplistic for her liking. She furrowed her brows as she mulled over what he had to say, looking up again when she spoke of how he wasn't exactly supposed to be standing there at all. She listened more intently as he spoke of how he had passed on after an unfortunate run in with pirates, only to wake again in a place very unlike the one they were in now. It was rather bewildering to her, eyes going wide at the thought. "Hmm. So you're technically dead then? Or are you reborn? It's a rather puzzling concept to wrap my head around. I'm guessing this Shadowrealm place is what allows you to disappear into the darkness like a mist?"

She waited for his response, keeping her ears and eyes peeled as the trod through the dense forest. The thickness of the trees allowed in only speckled sunlight to the woodland floor, the trunks looking as if they were many legs on one giant creature with how their canopies overlapped one another.

Once they were near enough to the village, Zara could feel her heart begin to quicken. The devastation and damage seemed only more apparent in the daylight, but had lost some of it's foreboding nature. Instead now the village just looked sad to her, a mere shell and meager remnants of what it once was. Some smoke still curled it's way defiantly against the blue of the sky, making it's role in the misery the fire had brought well known. The village was a blackened scar against the coastline, an ugly blemish on the otherwise pristine surroundings of white beach, green forest and blue sea.

Her taking in of the sight was interrupted by a warning from Khai, right before he plummeted off the edge of the cliff they stood on. Zara let out a long sigh, wondering how he expected her to repeat such a feat. She might be able to swim underwater, but in no way did she have wings or the aid of shadows to help her down. Seeing no other path or route she could take the female pulled her dagger to her hand, using it like a crampon/axe as she nimbly hung herself over the edge and clambered down as quickly as she could. It took far more time than Khai's ascent had, but she was still living at the end which she wouldn't have been had she copied his methods.

She sheathed her dagger once she was back on the ground, dusting off her hands and dress before joining his side. Her ocean-hued eyes scanned the area around them, nerves on edge as she kept a look out for any sign of a waiting trap. "I wonder if there were any survivors..." her whisper was more to herself than to the male, the siren inching forward and stepping onto the main street. It seemed a stark contrast to be back here now, the female reflecting on how different the scene looked with black streaking just about everything in sight.

The pair picked their way through the entrails of buildings, Zara watching her step to ensure she did not cut her feet open again, before they reached the skeletal remains of the tavern. The structure looked shaky at best, the wood still standing leaning in a precarious angle off to one side. "Basement or ground floor?" She asked Khai, peering down a hole that had been burnt into the floor to expose the underground levels of the building.

 

[Khai]

The pair managed to safely trek through the maze of burnt down wood, piles of bodies and debris that was once the peaceful fishing village, home to honest people and shelter of many travelers. Seeing no signs of traps or ambush in dark corners, Khai and Zara entered what remained of the tavern, the main place of gathering before it all came down. Khai's eyes fell down in disappointment and grief, having realized that he played a part in the ill fate that befell upon that place, and the lives lost because of it. And now only one life stood to be put in scales so that wrong could be righted.

The assassin felt an eerie feel as they crossed the torn walls of that place, a feeling that led his thoughts towards the betrayer. He was sure that they were close to something that could help them in their search, but that something was still very much unclear.

So lost in his thoughts, Khai noticed he never answered Zara's questions about him. Crouching down upon a pile of rubble and broken glass, his cold tone slowly gave away the answers. "Something like that, i guess. All i know is what the monks told me, that this dark magic sustains and binds me at the same time. There can be no life for me without taking others -- from people who deserve to be killed. They said that for every Shadow Assassin it's the same."

A part of the bar's counter was still partially intact, with only a few noticeable burns and many cuts all over it, no doubt from the fighting the customers put up against the mercenaries. He glanced at the blood at the edges, the signs that their bravery was soon overwhelmed by the cutthroats sheer number and brutality. There were no fighters in that village, only people desperate for their lives.

"The Shadowrealm is my home now. There's a magical being at its core, beneath the Shadow Temple, locked away for eternity. The monks said it goes back to the beginning of this world, and its power is what gives us these skills and mark us as Shadowtouched."

Before Khai could indulge himself in all the stories concerning the Order of Shadows, his talk was cut short by the tumbling sounds of wood and rubble falling down below, alerting the duo who quickly put themselves at ready for any surprises. Khai signaled the siren to stay behind him in silence as he drew one of his dagger, keeping it just above his jawline as they went down the hole they noticed upon inspecting the tavern's wrecks.

More strange sounds started echoing through the darkness as they remembered that hollow place as the underground hall beneath the tavern's floor, access to the deposits and the place where they first met, where the tragedy commenced after Khai killed the betrayer's decoy.

A broken down door stood in their way, and seeing other alternatives, Khai viciously kicked it down, the dirt quickly going ahead of them inside the still intact room. No doubt the tavern's foundations were strong enough to endure the raging fires, but whoever was inside it didn't seem so lucky, considering the fallen pieces of rock and wood all over the place. From under such debris, a man started to crawl out, his body battered and bloodied as he leaned against a huge boulder, a cut in the side of his neck as he pleaded for water.

"He-Help..."

 

[MJK]

The tavern was a mess, but much of it was left intact relative to the other buildings nearby which were far less fortunate. Walking through, Valerie pulled at pieces of wood or moved aside furniture, trying to find anything that might be of importance to them. The smell was outrageous though, the scent of burned flesh, fine ash and smoke clogging up Zara's nose and making it difficult to breath with her acute sense of smell. Her thoughts reflected on what he had said about the Shadowrealm as she searched, the siren's curious nature getting the better of her.

How do shadows keep one alive? Is he even here at all or rather just a solidified form of the shadows he's made of? Her thoughts were interrupted by the faintest of creaks coming from below their feet, the siren away just a little sooner than it happened of the collapsing piece of building. Thus, by the time the structure had fallen through her dagger was already drawn in much the same way as Khai, the female stifling the need to roll her eyes as he jumped in front of her. She figured the action had been one borne of wanting to keep her safe, but she was more than just some fragile human female.

The pair found the source of the collapse: a small space somewhere below them off from the hole that had been burned into the floor. They each dropped down to the lower level, strange sounds prompting them to explore the area further. A broken door stood as an obstacle to their path, but was quickly removed with a swift kick from the male leading in front. His action though sent more ash and dust flying, the female waving her hand in front of her face before pulling her cloak over her nose and mouth to prevent her inhaling the floating particles.

The sight that met her eyes when she made her way over the wreck of the door made her heart quicken, the female pulling her cloak aside quickly before taking a few rapid steps forward. She felt an innate need to help the injured man, but with warning bells and Khai's voiced worry of an ambush ringing in her mind she paused in her bee line for the injured individual. "Is it safe?" She asked him, not turning to look at Khai as she spoke and instead scanned the area around the hurt man. The female bounced on the balls of her feet, fighting the need to finish her path forward.

Her mind was already focusing on any water sources nearby, eager to tap into them and call them forward so she could provide the soot-covered man with some relief.

 

[Khai]

After a quick scan of the area, and realizing that there were no ambush lurking at the shadows waiting for them, Khai joined the siren in aiding the wounded man, crouching next to them. With a quick glance, the assassin noticed several cuts over his body, the gravest being the one at his neck, which made him quite lucky to have survived such an injury for so long without proper aid. The man was of age, grizzly beard covering his face and the furrow of a man who had seen much of the world, and didn't like the journey. But given his condition, Khai feared that he wouldn't last much longer.

"Can you help him?", he inquired towards the woman, worried. By her own look, the man's situation was indeed very grave. While they were in the comfort of a hidden cove with plenty of water and time to care for their wounds and rest, that unfortunate man had been almost crushed by the rubble, after barely escaping his fight with the mercenaries. His sword arm was a loss too, judging by the crimson gash across it, probably from a blade cut as well, much like the wound on his neck.

"Th-They're co-coming...", with much struggle, the wounded man managed to mutter a few words over gasps and coughs, pain increasing all over his battered body. Khai slowly put his hand on the man's shoulder, almost begging him to stay put while Zara tried to work her magic, at least to give him comfort before his passing. But by his squirms, the man had another idea on his mind.

"You... It's you...", the man spoke while pointing towards the Zara, earning Khai's puzzled look. Before he could get his answers, loud creaks were heard coming from the top floor, soon followed by imperative shouts, orders being barked by someone. In that very same moment, Khai knew they had walked straight into the mercenaries' trap. They didn't leave at all, it seemed they had hid, waiting for just the right moment to grab them, like fish in the net.

Before Khai could draw his katana, the wounded man took hold of his arm, a melancholic look on his eyes as he stared the young assassin. "Run... Sa-Save yourselves...", more loud bangs were heard, each time getting closer and closer, as if the mercenaries already found the hole from which Khai and Zara came to the lower floor. The assassin looked at Zara, hoping she could accept that their only alternative was to slip from danger while they could.

Khai grabbed the man's sword nearby, leaving the blade on his hands as he sought to make a last stand. Nodding farewell, he took Zara's hand and they headed towards the exit they used to escape from the tavern the other night, the assassin relieved that it was still standing. Before long, screams and more bangs were heard and the rest of the tavern collapsed, the final memory of that haunted night finally going to ground, to join with the rest of the ashes and rubble.

As the pair looked towards the shores, a ship was seen in the distance, sailing away after the failed coup to try and capture Khai and Zara, but leaving them as clueless as they were before. Or so he thought, because not along after dwelling upon their repeated failure at getting answers, more shouts were heard nearby. One of the mercenaries, left behind by the rest, waving at the ship as it disappeared into the horizon, his misfortune about to be turned into Khai's luck.

Disappearing from the siren's side in a burst of wind, the assassin swiftly reached the forgotten ruffian, throwing him on his back with a quick move of his feet, a dagger now inches away from his neck. With eyes taken by fury and a look that could be easily taken as devilish, Khai demanded answers from the man, who surprisingly started spouting everything, and making almost no sense in doing so.

"Wait, wait! Don't kill me! I'm not a mercenary, i swear!", his desperate words peaked Khai's curiosity, making him stay his blade from the man's flesh, as he waited for Zara to catch up and aid in the interrogation.

 

[MJK]

With Khai's indication that the coast was clear, Zara rushed forward to try and help the injured man. She tried to assess his injuries, looking at both his exterior and to what extent the damage was that he had taken, but she also looked at his aura. With many people, even if their injuries was grave, a fighting spirit might just be enough to pull them through. Zara could hardly help someone who didn't want to help themselves. Closing her eyes and putting a hand to his shoulder with the gentlest of touches, the siren tried to figure out how she could help the male. She gave Khai a grave look once she opened her eyes, enough to let him know just how much serious trouble the man was in from his injuries.

The siren pulled what fresh water she could sense in the area towards her, manipulating it into pooling and collecting in the cupped palm of her hands pushed together. The water seem to form there as if by magic, when instead it was just solidifying into a more watery phase when it previously had been but a few particles in the air. Gently leaning down she brought the water to the man's mouth, urging him to drink so he could talk easier. That way, he might be able to communicate with them better about how they could help.

He squirmed though, making it impossible for Zara to complete even that simple task. Bringing up a bloodied and pointed finger he indicated in her direction. He made reference to her individually, the siren's face taking on a puzzled expression. However, the sudden sounds of shouting which seemed all too familiar stopped her from even dwelling on the injured man's strange remarks for too long. She kicked into overdrive when recognizing the shouts as belonging to the mercenaries, the female's first thought being to flee until she remembered almost instantly the man still trapped before her. The siren moved, wanting to try and move the rubble aside to free him, even as the doomed man urged Khai to run. In the midst of her struggling to move the first, heavy beam almost as thick as she that lay on top of the pile Khai took her hand, pulling her away even as she tried to help.

She wanted to resist, help the injured man escape, but one look at the assassin convinced her of what she already knew deep down: the man was a lost cause, and them sticking around to assist him would only end in their lives being forfeit too. They ran from the tavern, the sound of the final bits of the structure collapsing making the sirens heart sink. She whispered a blessing similar to the one she had said the night before, wishing the man's soul an easy journey to wherever it was headed. Looking up from her muttered words, the siren spotted a sight she had not been expecting. A man, dressed similar to a mercenary, stood on the docks trying to wave down the ship disappearing out the bay. Without saying a word Khai left her side, her hand grasping empty air in a matter of seconds.

The assassin reappeared at the man's side, pushing him to the ground and keeping him there with the threat of his glinting blade. Zara increased her speed to meet him, hoping that he would not act as brashly with this man as he had with the first mercenary the night before. With gasping breath she caught up, needing to heave in mouthfuls of air before she could speak. Once she had recovered, the female bent over with her hands on her knees, Zara felt she might have to use her ability for the first time since arriving on land.

With her breathing slowing as well as her heart rate the girl straightened, walking the rest of the distance to where the man lay on his back where she knelt down beside him. Clearing her throat she closed her eyes, unlocking the part of herself she kept under careful control. Her voice, smooth as velvet and sweet as honey, would seem to echo in the man's mind as she spoke. Even Khai himself, though trained by assassins and not the intended target of her vocal manipulations, might have found himself more inclined to listen to what she was saying.

"Slow down and tell us your exact purpose for being here as well as why you are trying to get the attention of that mercenary ship."

 

[Khai]

Frustrated, Khai began to slowly push his dagger towards the lying man as he begged for mercy, the steel touching him ever slightly as he closed his eyes, still crying out in plea and blabbering about not being 'one of them'. But before Khai could work his own methods of torture to extract the answers from that man, the siren finally approached them, putting herself next to the man while looking down on Khai, her stare firm and intense, surely upset with the way he was trying to take things forward. In the battle of eyes, Khai succumbed to the woman's superiority in the way she carried forth her emotions through her simple glances, making the assassin fall back from his impulsive and violent stance towards the man, his dagger now far removed from his neck.

The man sighed in relief only moments before Zara put herself in a totally different state than usual, the traits around her body shinning once again as her sparkling eyes opened to reveal a bit of her true nature, like before when they were underwater. And then she spoke, a most mesmerizing and enticing tune as Khai felt himself slipping from control, inching closer as if to pay more attention to the woman, his hands slowly releasing the grip on his short blade as it fell to the sand. Her words were well spoken and at the same time, mystical beyond understanding, like she was putting both their minds in a spell, one that Khai was grateful to be put in.

It didn't take long for the man to open his mouth and give voice the answers the duo were after, now in a much calmer way than before. "I-I'm not a mercenary... I'm a relic hunter. I was... I was told we were going on a search for ancient underwater treasures when they approached me back in Cerak. He promised me, that's all i know!"

Once the word 'Cerak' came forth, Khai did his best to control his own emotions, rising up with a messy mix of anger and sadness as the memories starting going back and forth in his mind, hand grasping at the dagger on the ground once again, before he was broken out by more of Zara's words, instantly calming the assassin down and making his heart beat a bit slower. He nodded at her, a small showing of gratitude for such tiny and yet meaningful gesture to him, as she seemed to know that Khai's past wasn't a bright one.

"Cerak At'Thul? That's where they're at?", Khai began his round of questioning again, with Zara carefully touching the man's cheeks in a attempt to entice him with her powers and make the truth flow out again. Dizzy, the man responded.

"Y-Yes! I mean, no... They never told anything to me, only about the treasures. But they wouldn't stay at Cerak, it'd be stupid to stay in that place with talks of treasure hunts. But i don't know where they truly live, i promise!"

Disappointed once again, Khai put his head down, sighing heavily. But then came more interesting clues, when the man continued after a short break, his words now stinging Zara in turn.

"But i overhead they saying something about the relics. Said they were ancient stuff, and something about sirens! You know, those sea monsters from the books", Khai looked at Zara, noticing her discomfort with that man's words and his apparent slowness to realize what was the person in front of him. "That's everything. I'm telling the truth, please have mercy!"

Khai nodded, the blade in his hand now falling from sight as if in step of magic, disappearing like the fleeting wind and leaving behind only a short gulf of dark smoke. The assassin slowly got up, walking away from the scene to have a few moments for himself and his planning for what they'd do now. Joined by the siren only a minute later, Khai lost himself for a while when looking at her before speaking, his tongue wailing with confidence and excitement for a somewhat dangerous yet good plan, at least by his own standards. All he needed now was to be sure that the woman trusted him to see that journey to the end.

"We need to get to Cerak. He might not be there, but some of those pirates will. We can get more information there, but it can be too risky for you", Khai's words were heavy with worry, and the motives behind it were certainly already known to the woman, as the land notorious for its sailors was sure to have heavy disaffections towards sea creatures like her. And once they went there, even Khai's blades couldn't guarantee her safety.

"Also, what just happened? You know, with the man and your... magical words? It's like you were controlling our minds or something."

 

[MJK]

Although she kept her concentration on maintaining her powers, Zara couldn't help but notice a slight flicker of negative emotions at the man's mention of the word "Cerak". He seemed to be quite careful at guarding his emotions, so the sudden display of what Zara thought to be dread crossing his features did not bode well for whatever else the spell-driven man was going to say. "Stay calm." She said slowly, not just to the subdued man, but aiming some of her abilities at Khai as well. Her words seemed to do the trick, the female receiving a grateful look for her efforts.

She continued on, keeping the man talking and drawing out as much information as she could. However, with the next flood of clues came her turn to freeze at what he had to say. Underwater treasure? Something to do with my race? Perplexity came over her features, the female's throat going much drier than before at the thought. What do the landdwellers know of sirenian treasures? None of them have seen us willingly for centuries. Unless...they've forced the information from one of my kind by force. The thought made her skin crawl, the female filling with dread at the thought of going to Cerak to try and figure out what was going on. The city was infamous to her people, known for it's negative attitude towards sirens and the eagerness to sell any of their parts they could get their hands on. Zara had heard stories of sirens tortured for days, forced to transform back and forth between their siren and human form to cut off small bits of scales, fins and toes or fingers. Apparently, parts of sea creatures could be purchased for a high price in the black market run off the docks of Cerak At'Thul.

Once the man was finished she released him from her abilities hold, gritting her teeth together in confusion and fear. She quickly joined Khai from where he had walked, mumbling to the man before leaving, "Leave. Now. Go find something helpful and useful to do with your petty life that helps instead of hinders other people." He scurried off, eager to do her bidding with the magic she had embedded into her words.

When Khai relayed his plan, goosebumps prickled across her skin. As much as it terrified her to be going there, she had little choice. The murderer would be hiding amongst the sailors and ships, the only person who could clear her name and allow her to return home. Zara let out a frustrated sigh, but nodded her head in agreement. "I see no other option but to go there. I'll just have to refrain from transforming or using any of my abilities in a way that will bring notice to me. I might also need to keep my gills covered. As for the abilities....that's part of what makes my species, especially the females, so deadly. Controlling his mind is exactly what I was doing...I could have searched through his mind myself, but that's more difficult and takes more energy. Making someone speak doesn't always work if they're strong willed, but it sure is easier to get information at as little a cost as possible. I'm sorry if it affected you too, merely listening to my voice if I'm not controlling it properly might caught unintended casualties to my powers."

 

[Khai]

Khai could scarcely understand a word that Zara was saying in her pretty and elegant description of her powers, but he did know that it was a powerful spell, one that could sway even him, so trained in the ways of mental fortitude like he was. She wasn't someone to be taken lightly, even if her petite constitution said otherwise. Lost at looking at her eyes once again, Khai opened a short smile before diverging his attention to the beach, his cheeks red once again as he tried to wave away his little emotional display, finally resorting to his old playful persona again.

"That's a neat trick! Even better than my shadows! My life's pretty boring you know, you wouldn't like to use that on me. No dirty secrets or anything", he crossed his arms, staring away at the horizon while having a bit of a laugh. He wasn't expecting to have company in this mission, not that he never thought of needing it, since he was supposed to be heading back to the Shadowrealm with news of yet another successful kill, but he was actually enjoying the wonders of staying next to the siren. She was intriguing, not only by her mystique but also the dubious with which she carried herself, especially since Khai didn't know much about her. A fair thing, given that she didn't know much about him as well.

They were quite mysterious pair - one in search of answers for who knows what questions, the other thinking that those answers were defined by blood, flowing in the gutters next to the corpse of his victim, drops of it falling from his blade and Cassaegrin well satisfied after having taken another soul to the afterlife, balancing the scales of the universe. Such was a Shadow Assassin's job, to preserve the Balance, but with means not really amicable for the common folk. Khai used to question it, when he started his training, but as time went by and with the things he saw in the world, without even taking account of what happened to him that drove him to such a life in first place, he understood that it was a necessary job.

Still, he knew how much that quest meant to the woman next to him. He wouldn't let her down, not again, and he was determined to see it done, by her own means now. Khai just hoped this brief wind of change that took over him wouldn't come back to haunt them later. They were dealing with an assassin like him, trained in the Order's ways and corrupted by the world and its many haunting beauties, like the smell of coin and luxury, the enciting and venomous web that seizes every man as he falls from grace to the embrace of a rotten tomb. Once Zara had her answers, Khai would have payback of his own, and that rotten tomb would be the betrayer's grave.

After returning from his wayward thoughts, Khai looked on surprised as he lost track of the 'mercenary' they were just interrogating, only just remembering Zara's command for him to go away and search for something better to do besides annoying other people and joining up with dangerous thugs. Such action raised concern for the young assassin, seeing that they were still short of a way to get themselves over to Cerak At'Thul, with the village and its port destroyed and no other ships in the horizon. With his fingers wobbling about his chin, Khai tried to come up with a plan only to be interrupted by the sneak appearance of the mercenary once again, still dazzled by Zara's spell but with a strong enough will to even dare show his face around them again.

"Erm... There's no ship!", he had trouble getting his tongue to move at first, but then came up with the words he was trying to speak out. Khai viciously looked at him, so obvious was his statement that only harbored more of Khai's frustrations towards him. Yes, he knew they didn't have a ship and they certainly wouldn't be able to just fly over to Cerak!

Before Khai could have his own word, the man spoke again. "There's another port just a couple days from here! A friend of mine, he... owes me a favor, yes? He can get us to Cerak, and i'll just stay around there and try not to bother you!"

After a few moments of carefully thinking over the man's suggestion, Khai walked over to him opening a short smile before patting his arm, his sudden change of demeanor enough to scare the living hell out of that man, who thought the assassin was closing in for another kill. "Good man!", Khai spoke before heading out towards the main road out of the razed village, a full dark cloak materializing from thin air as dark smoke rose from it, quickly vanishing to the winds.

Now he looked the part of a traveler - a tad dangerous and homicidal one.

 

[MJK]

He enthused over her powers, Zara frowning deeply at the chipper attitude he seemed to have over her abilities. "I wouldn't ever use my powers without there being a real need to. It's deeply betraying to have someone go through your thoughts when you don't want them too. Everyone has their own secrets, even if most of them aren't bad enough to worry over for other people. Besides, using my abilities is costly. It drains me of energy and how much depends on what I do and how intensely I do it."

They were soon interrupted by the return of the treasure-hunter, Zara groaning irritably and clenching her jaw at his insistence that there wasn't a ship for him to leave on. Well, that's an obvious one you fool. You sided with the men that left on the only vessel for miles of coastline after destroying any that we might use...."I would suggest swimming, but even sirens don't swim all the way to Cerak. None of us except for the mad ones are foolish enough to try and tempt the fates with such a feat. Of course though, swimming will be pointless when my companion is not like myself..." Her tone was rather causal instead of chastising, Zara half turning back to stare out into the ocean instead when the man spoke up again quickly.

This time, he actually offered useful advice, but Zara let out an exasperated sigh at his idiocy to not have led with the fact that he could procure a boat in the first place. The siren spun back around, her face softening to a barely-there smile as she nodded encouragingly to the man. "That would actually be helpful then. Guess we'll be heading to whatever port your 'friend' is based in. Will also give us a chance to stock up on supplies and get a good night sleep."

Looking off to the side, she noticed that Khai had already materialized his own travelers coat from thin air. Zara chuckled to herself, joining him at his side as she adjusted her own coat. Tugging at the one corner of his coat she teased him, saying in a slightly sarcastic tone, "So you can make clothes appear out of thin air and you think my ability is a 'neat trick'? I think you are mistaken there." However, despite his cloak, Khai still had the demeanor of being more than what he appeared. He didn't walk with the light-hearted, care-free approach of the nomadic people roaming the roads and countrysides. There was the evident darkness, not just literally in the clothing and materialized cloak but even some other figurative darkness that clung to his being like an intangible shadow.

However, he seemed to have his moments. Whenever he was not fixated on causing death or getting out of imminent danger he had a completely different side to him. It made Zara curious, the female wandering just what she would discover is she tried to pry more into that part of his personality. Perhaps, even, she might be able to find out the even more intricate hidden side she had barely glimpsed when the topic of Cerak had been brought up. Baby steps. I'll found out what I can bit by bit. Trying to force a clam open will only make it shut tighter....I'll need to let him open-up on his own terms.

 

[Khai]

Lost in his own thoughts, Khai barely noticed the siren's presence at his side, not before she peached a bit of his cloak in order to try and get his attention, earning his puzzled gaze as she started talking, in a surprisingly cheerful way for the first time in a long time of seriousness due to the imminent danger they were always dragging themselves into. Unable to help himself, Khai let out a small laugh after Zara's remarks about his very useful powers regarding... clothes. Well, that was always Khai's favorite part about his so called dark magic, aside from moving so fast through the shadows that it felt like teleportation.

The old monks at the Shadowrealm always spoke about the hardships of an assassin's training, especially regarding their shadow magic. No magic was powerful enough to bend time and space in Arethil, with the rare people that tried such venture always ending up like a vegetable or simply reduced to dust, but their mastery of shadows, pure and simple darkness, along with the natural agility and speed required of a silent killer, they could 'trick' this rule. But the part about clothes always brought up Khai's childish side, he was a sucker for gloves and cloaks ever since he was a kid, and he spent a lot of time trying to control his shadow powers to materialize into a form dense enough to be turned into fabric, then appearing as actual clothes.

"Well, we all have our toys, right? I wish i could breathe underwater, though... Would make some of my missions much easier", the young man said back with his usual smile, eyes caught up on Zara's figure as they walked the small road, the treasure hunter a few steps behind them, still praying to all the gods that his life wasn't taken.

After a whole day full of walking with no signs of population, the small group reached a cliffside region much similar to the bay they spent the last night in, with the forest clearing surrounding everything up until the oceans in the horizon. With the change in scenery, Khai thought they were getting close to the port village that the treasure hunter spoke of, but a break to rest that night wouldn't hurt anyone. He signaled them, telling the hunter to try and make a small fire as he searched the surroundings, eyes open for any signs of predators or other evil minded individuals.

Khai returned to see the fire well lit and the hunter warming himself due to the arrival of the late night's cold winds, howling between trees as the leaves soared through the air, the moonlight beautifully providing enough light for them, along with the fire, to see the beautiful landscape around. Khai reached for a small piece of rock nearby, taking a seat as he looked at the fire, his thoughts travelling to the blazes that took over the village. Painful memories that would take a long time for him to put aside.

"W-Why are you two after them? The mercenaries, i mean", the familiar and annoying voice broke the silence between them, Khai instantly glancing towards the treasure hunter as he looked to them, gaze switching hastily between the assassin and the siren as if expecting one of them to pounce towards him, his eyes still reeking of fear. Before he could think of a answer, Khai looked over to the woman, remembering that much about her was yet undisclosed, even though he had no mind to pry such secrets from her.

She just seemed to have endured much pain, recent and still lingering through the features in her face, such things that made her will even stronger. He knew that she would endure even more if it meant getting the answers she wanted so badly, and maybe them she could open up about herself. Khai still felt curious though, but he would wait for the woman to talk on her own terms. He had already learned the consequences of acting too hastily.

"A contract, for their leader", Khai answered, noticing the change in the man's eyes, from simple fear for his life to utter desperation, swallowing his words before looking at Khai.

"H-Him?!"

"And what do you know about him?", the assassin asked, genuinely intrigued about the hunter's reaction. The man paused a moment, eyes fixed on the wood burning nearby as his voice sounded, colder than ever before, the terror still evident upon every word.

"They say he doesn't have a name. Say he just appeared like out of the shadows, took Cerak At'Thul by storm before forming a crew to venture in the sea. Ghost, they called him, since he had no name. Said he wasn't interested in the power struggles of the slavers' bay, only that he was searching for something, or just escaping from other terrible people. Guess he angered some big fish too, hah!"

Khai could feel the anger stirring up as he clenched his fist, crushing a leaf between his fingers. "I'm one of the terrible people after him. He betrayed his people, and killed his own friends."

"He betrayed and killed a lot of people, then. He has enemies all over the dark coast, but they never seem to grab a hold of him, anywhere. He just... disappears. It's like he's really a ghost!", one of the wooden logs broke, raising the fire a bit as Khai thought about what the hunter was saying. There was still one topic that just didn't fit.

"You said he was searching for something", the assassin asked, with the man slowly drifting his attention towards the siren. The hunter seemed smart enough to notice that Khai was after blood alone, but Zara was something entirely different. She was searching for something too, that much was clear, and it put her right at the center of the betrayer's plans, what started this whole ordeal. Khai looked at her, carefully waiting for her to say something, to shed some light on this darkness full of question marks and secrets.

 

[MJK]

After a long day of walking, Khai finally signaled for them to stop and make camp. Zara eased down onto the cleared piece of ground, one of the few places where they could set up a fire where there wasn't trees taking up too much space. Their tag-along got a blaze going, Zara inching as close as she dared without setting herself alight. She had seen the destructive powers of fire the night before, but here with the small, contained fire before it seemed to be a different creature altogether.

Now that she had time to properly examine it, her mind not otherwise occupied with trying to escape without being killed or maimed, she found the flames fascinating. Turning her head this way and that she watched it, looking almost like a curious bird as her eyes narrowed with intent focus. Her thoughts flitted between her father and the enchanting flickering flames, the female pondering what he would make of the anomaly. After all, they did not have fire below the sea. However, when the treasure hunter spoke she was interrupted in her wondering of whether the embers were as hot as the books she had read had made them out to be.

His shrew voice was like a loud knock to her senses, the female looking irritably in his direction when he insisted on questioning them about their motive for hunting their target down. She did not feel inclined to answer, but was luckily saved by Khai satiating the man's curiosity. The assassins answer only seem to make the treasure hunter more chatty, providing intriguing information about the man Zara now had a name for: Ghost. Khai seemed to care very little to the frightening tone held in the meek males voice when she spoke of Ghost, Zara's focus turning to the fire once more when a log cracked and sent embers spewing into the air.

Although she wished to remain quiet, let the men do all the talking so she could be left alone with her thoughts, it was all but impossible to ignore the penetrating stare that the hunter cast her way at Khai's mention of Ghost searching for something. "If he's hired you and went through the trouble of murdering my clan's leader, then I could only guess the nefarious intentions he has. I could take a guess as to what he's after, but there are numerous siren items that would fit someone as heartless and cruel as this Ghost seems to be." She did not mention that the clan's leader was in fact her father, choosing to keep that specific detail to herself. The siren had trusted the two men enough to follow them, but did not see how them knowing who exactly she was would change what their mission was.

Pulling her cloak tighter around her she spoke again, this time raising her chin off from where it had been resting against the knees pressed up to her chest. "There's some casual items like siren lore books or clan jewelry which has been passed on for generations. Then there's the more....guarded collection. Things such as the Reaper, a legendary dagger used by an ancient ocean deity to subdue sea monsters and thus allow the wielder of the weapon to call them to his aid at sea. Then there's siren tears, which take the form of pearls which can be consumed by anyone wishing to appear more alluring so that they can get other's to follow their commands or to heal minor sicknesses and injury. Maybe he's even after the Helm-Gem, which according to myth was created with the love of a female siren and a sailor to allow him to roam the seas to find her without ever fearing a sea-storm."

 

[Khai]

The blazes started rising up, little snips of fire eventually disappearing along with the howling winds carried with the cold breeze of the coast, the oceans still quite close to the group. Another creaking sound of logs burning as the group stood in pause, both Khai and the treasure hoarder taking in what Zara said about her treasures. No doubt that the image of near endless purses bursting with coin filled the head of that poor man, but Khai was fixed on something else entirely. He stared at the fire, images of his blade cutting through flesh and merging full of blood as life escaped the fleeting eyes of the betrayer misteriously called Ghost.

Until more words were spoken, carried with the sharp and somewhat scared tone of the treasure hunter, his meak features highlighted by the light made by the fire amid the dark corners of their impromptu encampment. He glanced at both Khai and Zara before speaking, his eyes now filled with something other than fear, but still as deadly. Greed.

"I-I heard they talk once, about those relics. They said it's a secret amongst creatures living deep in the ocean, that not many surfacers heard about it. I think he said... it would be a... bath?", Khai stood confused, the face he made being almost funny considering the situation. Until something clicked inside his head, and he started putting the pieces together, the hunter's words along with Zara's.

"A bath's purpose is to cleanse. If he means to steal these relics, he wants to purge something, maybe even entire regions", his eyes widened as the picture was made ever clearer on his head, before his eyes fell to the ground, his voice coming out as low as a whisper.

"From shadows we came, to shadows we'll return..."

Khai raised his head, his eyes filled with clarity and his tone confident. "I know what he'll do, but it means he went insane", as serious as that sounded, the treasure hunter couldn't help but burst with laughter after a few moments of seriousness, having be made obvious the fact that that entire situation was far from 'normal'. The fact that a trio of a relic hoarder, a inhuman assassin and a surface walking siren were travelling to the one of the most dangerous places in Arethil told as much.

The night passed rather quickly after the words exchanged by the group, having made a few attempts of rational planning to get to Cerak and survive there. Zara surely attracted a lot of attention due to her state, but Khai wasn't exactly the most friendly of sights. The people of Cerak hated assassins, with the same level of hatred that they had for authorities. Assassins were cold and ruthless, with no other tastes but their mission and no amount of petty bribes could put them off a target, especially when the killer was being paid fortunes to take lives. Khai received no coin or gratitude for his deeds, but he was as focused on his target as the next assassin, and such serious attitude didn't sit well with the cutthroats of Cerak. They liked putting coin on the line, because going through someone's back was always the fun way to conduct businesses.

After a few more hours of walking, with the moon hanging high in the skies, the group arrived at the port village. The relic hunter opened a large smile, from cheek to cheek, as he breathed in the familiar scent of the streets and the cold air coming from the seas at night. Khai couldn't help but notice Zara's disposition as well, clearly at ease for being close to water again. They walked the streets until they arrived at the nearest tavern, with the relic hunter signaling them to go inside.

"My friend owns this tavern! He can get us a bed to rest before the journey, and i can get us on the first ship to the dark bay!", he spoke before opening the door to reveal a house full of customers, drinking and playing and barely noticing their presence. The hunter's friend and tavern owner rushed from one of the tables to greet the new arrivals, already presenting his old acquaintance with a cup full of rum.

"Nestor, it's been so long! Come come, tell me of your latest treasures and adventures!", the old and chubby man said, taking the relic hunter called Nestor under his open arm, as he struggled to get out of the forced embrace.

"Err, in a minute, old friend! These lively people next to me need a room to rest the night! I'll also ask you for another favor later!", his request was dismissed with a smile and a few nods from the owner, muttering words of consent before raising his voice above the customers' chattering and the music that filled the ambience.

"Lia! Get over here!", a few seconds later, one of the servant girls arrived, shy and meak as she stood a bit curved, a few paces away from Zara, her eyes shinning as they captured the measure of the siren's notorious and sparkly beauty, going as far as not even notice Khai's bleak presence. As the brown haired girl motioned them towards the stairs, her sleeve fell down only slightly and for a short moment, but time enough for Khai's trained eyes to notice swollen marks all over it. He also noticed more darkening gazes towards them ever since they arrived at that place.

Still, he had no other choice but to try and rest for the night, before his first sea voyage in a long, long time. And yet, the heavy feeling on his gut tried to warn him of a different worry altogether. As they reached the upper floor, with Khai being the last one, behind Zara and Lia, the hooded assassin looked back, towards the music and the cheers below. Something there didn't sit well with him.

 

[MJK]

After a short musing from the treasure hunter, something seemed to click within Khai. There was muttering over the meaning of bathing and cleansing, the strange conversation making the female feel more tired than she was. Khai uttered something of a mantra, words which seemed somewhat familiar to Zara considering that shadows he spoke so frequently of were at the core of the saying. The assassin spoke the words with intention and understanding, which frightened the female more than any mumblings the treasure hunter had said about this Ghost. Khai proclaimed that he knew what the the ex-assassin was after, but then said no more despite Zara's lingering anticipation to hear what his thoughts were.

He must be intending to tell me at a later stage when we are not within hearing distance of the treasure hunter...if he even has any intentions on telling me at all. Perhaps it is something I will need to pry out of him. If that is the case then it is something I don't look forward to. Despite the treasure hunters cackling at what Khai had said, the siren couldn't help but feel that a tension had creeped into the air now that Khai had come to some sort of conclusion.

Eventually the trio continued on their walk, reaching the small port town that the treasure hunter had promised to them. Despite the looks they got as they walked through, the prickling sensation of salted air on Zara's skin and the promise of nearby ocean calmed her nerves after the previous talk by the campfire. Before long they were all making their way into a tavern, the rowdiness and noise a stark contrast to the peacefulness of the forest.

Zara was all too keen to get off her aching feet, having never walked that far for that long before since she had swum to places most of her life. She was exhausted after having traveled through most of the night with no sleep, especially considering the less than pleasant slumber she had had in the cave the night before. Thus, when the tavern owner called over someone to get them to a room she was grateful - despite the unnecessary tone he used to summon her. Zara might have written it off, too tired to deal with his brutish behaviour, until she saw the purple blossoms of bruising that patched the girls arm when exposed by the slipping of her sleeve.

The sight made Zara's blood boil, the girl's hands curling into fists at her side. Don't react just yet. Bide your time, find the right opportunity. After all, you need to make sure that the bruises ...which seem to be perfectly spaced to fit that brutes fingers....were actually caused by him before making a scene. To top it off, making a scene if necessary will only be done properly after some rest. Her thoughts helped calm her, the female instead following the other girl and Khai up to the room. Upon reaching it she smiled and thanked her, entering inside the small, isolated space.

The female closed the door once they were both inside, slumping against the nearest wall and letting out an exhausted sigh. After letting a moment of silence lapse between them, she spoke. "We need to rest and then get going. The sooner we can reach Cerak, the sooner I can fix things back home. This is taking longer than I thought it would. However, before we rest, I need to know what you think it is that this Ghost is after with the sirenian treasures." Zara wouldn't make mention of the scouts that were surely tracking her by now and the fact that getting on a ship would be the best thing to lose them.

 

[Khai]

Khai slowly crept into the room, his careful steps slightly echoing around the small place before the door closed behind him, the short sobs coming from the hallway almost getting lost in the air as they grew ever more distant. Angered, Khai clenched his fist and let the rage slowly take over his mind for a moment, before Zara's voice brought him back from the brink of storming out of that room and killing every single person downstairs, except for the clearly innocent girls being forced into unjust servitude and rough work in that stinking place.

"Strangely, i can't remember his name now, like Ghost was all he's ever been. But his name doesn't matter now, only his purpose. The same purpose of our Order", Khai replied to Zara without even daring to look at her, knowing the shock his words would bring to her. Surely she would think that Khai could've been in league with the betrayer for all this time, elluding her perfectly before closing out every loose end so they could simply walk away with their prizes, but the truth of the matter was that Ghost was doing the Order's work, only twisted into unending bloodbath and slaughter.

The first consequences already seemed to start, with the sacking and destruction of that fishing village and whatever seemed to push Zara to a surface adventure in order to reclaim her holding and prove her innocence, which meant that the sea clans were already involved in the whole plot as well. Khai paced through the small room, with barely enough distance between them as his long cloak began to dissipate in dark fog just as Khai took a seat in the nearby bed. It wasn't exactly very comfortable and barely had space for the two of them, which would make their sleep even more awkward than at the cave.

Seeing himself spacing out again, Khai decided to shake the childish thoughts from his mind and focus. Taking a deep breath, Khai managed to gather himself and look at Zara and her puzzled and somewhat frustrated gaze, almost like a volcano just waiting to erupt and spit its fires at him. "It's an old tenet of the Order, that speaks of a prophecy that the world would be cleansed by death and shadows and returned to the dark depths of creation, to be reborn anew once evil reaches its pinnacle. Only that this Ghost is actually trying to turn this prophecy into reality, and he'll begin with whatever magic stuff he managed to get from your people."

Khai stood up again, walking to a nearby counter and playing with a burning candle that provided some light to the place, along with a few others placed all over the room. His fingers, covered in dark cloth and small, sharp tips resembling claws, kept swaying over the small fire like it was water, remembering one of Khai's worth lessons from his training. The Fire Crucible, the marks he earned from it to be carried to the end of his life. A gruesome regime to provide endurance to fatigue and pain, with fire as the catalyst to the young assassins trying to prove themselves as trainees of the Order, as well as to fuel their rage into one place.

And that's what Khai was doing as his thoughts travelled to far beyond the room, his mind communing with the shadows all over the tavern so he could feel all the presences in that building. He could sense it all. The fear, the anger, the lust and heated passions from the drunken gamblers and whores, as well as the horror of the maidens as the tavern owner screamed and howled at them between gullible remarks with the relic hunter over a few drinks. And yet, something didn't add up.

A presence that he felt the moment he crossed the threshold of that tavern. A presence that seemed to be everywhere and yet close to him, its eyes creeping upon Khai and Zara as they walked through the front door along with the relic hunter. Its motives and purpose were unknown like its origin, but the young assassin definitely felt that something very interesting was in the air.

"We can't go to Cerak, not now. The relic hunter was lying, our ship isn't coming soon. I sensed the lies in his words as he tried to fool us into thinking he had all the answers. He and his friend, the owner, the people in this tavern... something's not right. I couldn't quite grasp it before, but i felt something different ever since you worked your magic on him."

Khai walked over to the other side of the room, opening a small window to the sea, its beauty hidden away in darkness as the waves hit against the rocks and the cold, almost stinging breeze filled the room, messing up his hair as the young man closed his eyes and let the winds cool him off. As he turned his head to look at the siren, Khai's eyes opened to reveal a red tone taking over his usual blue eyes and his face falling into a sense of seriousness and severity that she never once took notice from him.

"There's something very wrong here, and my gut tells me that it's connected to the man we're hunting."

 

[MJK]

He explained about what he thought the ex-assassin was over, his words bringing goosebumps rising on Zara's flesh and a sense of dread dropping in her stomach. If he's following the tenet of the same Order that Khai belongs to, then what does that say about him? Is he secretly working with him? Am I just getting strung along to a possible trap which ends with me dead and a priceless treasure in the grasp of a madman?

An anxiety was building in her, one which when combined with her fatigue was not healthy. She was being pushed to the brink as it is, needing to keep herself together while constantly watching her back. The siren wanted more than anything to trust that Khai was on her side, but the words of men held little credit in the eyes of sirens which had been hunted by some humans for centuries.

He got up, playing with a nearby flame which illuminated the room. It set the whole small space into an orange glow, making the shadows on the wall stretch long. He had a weird connection to the flame, thoughts flickering across the assassins face much like the fire which frayed too and fro beneath his hand. It was a transfixing sight, but one which Zara had to wake herself up from to keep focused. With her being tired she was easily slipping into a state of dulled thinking and that she knew was when she was vulnerable. Stay focused, stay sharp. Don't keep letting your guard down. Trusting him only needs to be done in small amounts, but wholly having faith that he isn't just working with this ghost would be an idiotic thing to do.

A quiet sob sounded from behind a doorway a few doors down, catching Zara's attention. She listened more closely, wanting to try and track the sound again but she was met with silence. Sucking in an irritated breath she instead listened to what Khai had to say about travelling to Cerak. Zara stood, hissing at the pain that shot up from her heels. After walking barefoot all day, the skin there was pained and starting to blister. That wasn't something she could fix now though, not unless there was some large tub of water outside. However, she was not all too eager to walk out of the room in an attempt to find one. She looked up after limping over to the bed, seeing his eyes transform to a much more sinister hue.

"I can sense it too. Sirens are supposed to be masters of manipulation. Lying to my face is about as obvious as punching me. That tavern owner didn't exactly say anything that wasn't true, but he's definitely hiding something. The girl's around here are terrified. Not just of him either. There' something about this place that makes them weak and vulnerable. I can't tell like you whether it might be connected to Ghost since I have no connection with your Order or the shadows that he too commands. All I know is that I'm beginning to feel as if I've walked into a cage and that the gate out is closing."

 

[Khai]

"Doesn't matter, we'll get to the bottom of this", Khai said, his eyes still bright red as crimson bits gleamed at the moonlit dark, flowing inside the coy room by the window opened just moments before by the assassin. The pair of bloodlust circles glared at Zara, speaking of Khai's relentless resolve after something clicked inside his head in light of seeing the situation inside that tavern. Innocent and young girls, taken for slaves and made to serve at their nasty and fat masters' whims for a couple of coins and a beating at night's end. He assumed that would be absurd for the siren as well, having picked up on her force-of-nature will and strength. Sometimes, it takes a woman to understand another woman's suffering and Khai knew that this surely was the case.

Besides, there were dark forces at work nearby, Khai could feel as much. His own darkness, his shadows, spoke to him of great peril and surprises hanging about, but their words were fuzzy at best, spacing out amid his troubled mind.

Unable to cook up any plans, Khai and Zara decided to just wait and use that precious time to rest before the next day, looking forward to the hoarder's excuses when no ship arrives at the docks to take them to Cerak. The shadows whispered to Khai of that man's lies after they reached the city, no doubt the goal that he was looking for when they first began that travel, after the relic hunter escaped from death's clutches and Khai's obnoxious interrogation.

The hours passed and the dead of night arrived, with the silence taking over the air as Khai sensed the people getting out of the tavern, some groups strolling back home and others falling through the narrow streets, vomiting at the gutters and hidden corners, no doubt in fear of returning to their wives and families after such night, hands filled with booze and undesirable women. And yet, Khai was unable to close his eyes even for the slight second.

Now returned to their common blue color, they paced through the worn out walls, seeing the bugs walking around, back and forth from their tiny holes. A single tumbling sound caught Khai's attention, and he moved from his bed with nary a sound made, his body seemingly like a weightless feather as it reached the door, opening with care for Zara as she looked to be enjoying her night of rest and the assassin moving downstairs, a small and sharp blade already dancing through his fingers.

The tavern was dark and empty, with only the howling wind as company to him, or so Khai thought. As he reached further inside the hall, he started hearing muffled cries, starting strong and lowering down as Khai carefully took his steps forward. He heard a knock, two and then a third, beginning to close in on the sound's origin when he unveiled a trap door, hidden beneath half open crates of wine and rum at the back of the tavern.

As he got closer, Khai could see pools of blood around, his breathing now seemingly deepening and his eyes widening in shock as he discovered a body, stab wounds all over it and his clothes soaked with red. Kneeling beside him, Khai turned the man over and cursed to himself when he realized it was the relic hunter, now relieved from his stress and suffering and enjoying the peace of the grave. Khai closed the dead man's eyes and whispered a small prayer, words from his rituals back at the Order.

"Do not fear death, but embrace it and move on. May the Shadow Lords walk beside you, the Lady of the River awaits."

The short moment of silence and reflection was broken, with more knocks heard coming over from across the room. Khai dashed, pushing aside the barrels and opened the door to witness several girls, including the waitress from earlier, crying in despair and packed thin inside that hole. This wasn't just slavery, it was something so monstrous that Khai failed to grasp any words. Before late, Khai felt the presence from earlier sneaking up on him, with the young assassin throwing his dagger straight at it, and seeing the weapon fall short of reaching the intended target.

The presence, now revealed to be a man, in clothing much similar to him and his face concealed by both a hood and the ambient dark, took a few steps towards the shocked Khai. Fearing his attack, Khai started to unsheath his katana, but stopped midway when the man put two fingers in the air, a signal known to Khai as the sign of surrender, used in the sparring matches back at the Shadowrealm.

Not long after that, the rough voiced echoed through the room, filling Khai's heart with both relief as well as confusion.

"I walk on your water...", said the mysterious man, a smile appearing on his face as he sensed the siren approaching. Khai signaled caution to Zara, having realized that the man in front of them was an ally, in the most surprising of places.

The phrase, used by the Shadow Assassins as greeting amongst them, so comrades could know they were one and the same, even in the most unreacheable places.

"Siren, the Order requires your urgent help", the man said as he turned to face Zara, raising even more doubts in Khai's mind as to how he had noticed her and even knew her for who she truly was.

 

[MJK]

Zara eventually lay down across the bed as he spoke his last reply to her, the female drifting off out of sheer exhaustion. Her sleep was restless and light enough to be woken by the man suddenly leaving the room, the shifting of his weight off the bed being the thing to wake her rather than any sound he made. Suddenly awake, her senses not dulled by any sort of drowsiness, she watched him leave. Where is he going at this hour? She thought curiously, lifting her head from where she lay only when he had disappeared from the doorway. If he's planning to betray me then this seems like the good way to do it - disappearing in the night. Unfortunately for him, I don't intend to be taken by surprise ever again after my father's death.

Her thoughts spurred her forward, the female careful to remain soundless as she followed him. Zara kept at a distance and without drawing her weapon, knowing that doing so would awaken whatever shadows fell under his command to warn him of the siren trailing his steps. All she could see of him as she watched from the top of the staircase was the glint of the small blade he fidgeted with, the female's eyes narrowing at the sight. What are you up to Khai? She continued to follow, hiding behind a nearby wall and simply listening as he uncovered the trap door. The opening of the wooden shutter allowed the sounds of frightened girls from below to meet Zara's ears, some of her distrust of him melting away only for her to force it back into place. Is he helping them? Or is he in business with the man who owns this place? Perhaps he intends to hand me over to the man as some sort of trade. Her thoughts were running wild, the female waiting until he disappeared into the crevice below the tavern before moving away from her hiding place.

Listening closely she approached the hole, needing to cover her nose at the sudden stench of coagulated blood that flooded up from below. By the sounds of things, Khai had already uncovered the body and moved on to where there was whimpering from deeper within the hidden space. Kneeling down and grabbing a hold of the ledge where the trap door would normally sit the siren swung down silently, withdrawing her blade when she heard the familiar slick sound of one of Khai's blade being tossed through the air. Ducking immediately she held her breath, listening and waiting for whatever would come next. The silence that met her confused Zara greatly, the girl rising to stare into the blackness.

Adjusting her vision so that it was finer and better equipped to gaze into the darkness she moved forward, lifting her dagger up in a ready position as she suddenly saw a man much like Khai standing before him. What in the name of Kiva is going on here? She mused, muscles tensing to attack except a sudden indication from Khai for her not to do so made her pause. So he's not down here to try and betray me...that's good to know. Zara allowed her dagger to fall back to her side, approaching from the side but stiffening as the other assassin made known that he knew what she was.

"How is it you know what I am?" Zara said angrily, seeing no point in keeping her luminescence at bay when the man clearly knew what she was. A slight blue-green glow filled the room as she allowed the swirling patterns on her skin to light up once more, taking on a more natural state for her rather than mentally needing to keep the light subdued.

 

[Khai]

Without bothering to even glance at the woman standing a few steps away from them, her face a mix of confusion and shock, the hooded and dark shrouded man started to laugh, growing in size as he got up from one of his knees and stood up in his entirety between Khai and Zara. The ever growing feeling nestled deep in Khai spoke volumes of how suspicious and careful he was about the man, and yet his body was almost moving on its own towards bits of trustfulness that hanged about, especially with the way the mysterious man presented himself.

He had raised no arm seeking to harm them, and spoke words that only assassins from the Order would know. But before Khai could take a step forward and press the answers out of him by his own brutish methods, the hooded man's deep and rough voice sounded out again, bringing Khai to a halt as the blade that just slipped to between his fingers was now held tight, just waiting for whatever window of opportunity.

"The better question would be... who doesn't know who you are? The innkeeper surely did", he replied, now looking towards the woman. The young assassin could feel the sting of those words, the frustration and anger mixed as he sought someone to blame in all that mess. He knew, because Khai was doing the same ever since the destruction of that fishing village, that young girl's blood still on his hands, as he carried with him the small token that would serve as her living memory from that day on.

"Both of you. You think you're going out in this adventure, kill some bad people and be done with it? No... You have barely scratched the surface of this whole thing and it's almost too late to turn back now... You're being hunted."

Khai bit his lip, words failing to fall from his mouth as he grew restless. "And who are you?! The hunter?! That would explain that corpse and these women locked away like animals!", the assassin stepped forward, sharp blade in hand and ready to be used unless that man could provide him with the first enlightening answers since that whole thing started. He could see that Zara was as frustrated as him, and starting to seem like she was more and more distrustful of Khai with all this smoke and mirrors. Heck, he thought she was probably thinking that he was in league with this lunatic to begin with.

But Khai's thoughts were interrupted as his hand was seized by the hooded man, his small blade falling from fingers and the steel clashing against the cold ground, the tumbling noise echoing aloud in the dark and closed ambience. "The Order used to train elite killers, masters of the ways of death, not angry puppies like you, boy!"

Khai's eyes widened and fury began to seize his heart, but before he could strike against the man, he had vanished in the shadows, so fast that he didn't even notice him doing so in the first place. He reappeared a few paces behind Zara, his back turned to them and he began to slowly stroll towards the only light nearby, the candles in the main hall of the empty tavern.

The pair followed him, Khai still burstling with anger as he drew two more daggers, ready to face the man down and hoping that Zara could have his back, because he knew that the enemy was no mere bandit this time. But they stopped short of following through with the plan, as the man lowered his hood to reveal his face, a huge cut in the middle of his face, going from the tip of his eyebrows to a few inches next to his mouth, and his eyes as white as snow, lifeless and sightless. The man was bald and looked like he endured more lifetimes than any common man should, and yet he felt as sturdy and healthy as Khai and Zara.

"Your people, siren... They're in as much danger as we, poor surfacers. The man who orchestrated your near demise, the man sought by the Order for betrayal and murder... He is my son."

Yet again, words failed to appear as Khai looked as lost as ever, lacking his usual frantic and childish remarks and angry replies. Not only for that revelation, but for the fact that the man seemed to know much more than both of them did, and they thought they were actually onto something before this.

"I am-- was... an Assassin from the Order, just like Khai. But for my own crimes, i was blinded and stripped of my power and rank, left to live the remainder of my lowly life rotting away as a common man. And now my son has followed in my footsteps, but his hubris is even greater than my own. As my last request, i beg you, sea daughter, to help us in taking him down, and... killing him."

Khai could feel the man's sadness in every word, reaching a pinnacle when he went down on his knees next to Zara, tears falling from his blind eyes as desperation seized him, the fear of letting his own flesh and blood to be so lost in dark and wrong ways that he would be forced to be put down. Khai looked to Zara in search for help in this matter, even if death was his trade. He could never imagine he would be dragged into such a mess when this mission was assigned to him, and going back never looked like an alternative, even more so now, but after all this, Khai was at a loss of words and plans to move forward.

 

[MJK]

The giant man suddenly rose to his full height, making Zara feel like her throat was much drier than before. His words were serious, taunting even, as he turned the questions she asked right back around on them both. His smugness and cocky attitude filled her within even more distrust, Valerie's grip on her dagger strengthening until her hands were digging into the leather bound around the grip. What was his intention behind bringing up the innkeeper? Surely he knew that that would only worsen their view of them?

He went a step further, proceeding to scold them as if they were children over the basic outlines of their plan. The way the man put it made their efforts seems meek and pointless. Like a child trying to change the course of a river by throwing stones into it's depths. However, his ending statement is what truly sent Valerie over the edge. "I am not unfamiliar with being hunted assassin. My people have been hunted for centuries. Have you seen us disappear into the abyss? The answer is no. We have still persevered and will continue to do so because of the determination towards ensuring our survival. That same determination runs through me now, driving me towards what needs to be done. This is not some light-hearted quest for justice. My clan's existence is hanging in the balance and I would appreciate you taking that a little more seriously."

Khai spoke after her, reacting angrily to the man. He was dealt with swiftly, his weapons coming clattering to the ground in what seemed like seconds just before the older man scolded him once more. This time, going as far as to belittle the training that had been given to Khai.

He disappeared into the shadows and reappeared behind her. Suddenly popping into existence behind a riled up individual never bode well, Zara immediately taking the action as some sort of offensive action on the older assassins part. She turned around within the blink of an eye, ready to defend herself with blades raised. Surprisingly, the man did nothing, instead approaching the light to reveal his features as well as a poignant tidbit of information. Finding out that the Ghost was the man's son was enough to make Zara's jaw drop, only to have her teeth clack back together loudly as her jaw shut when he begged for her help.

The man collapsed in a heap, clearly bereft by the information he had shared and his plea for help. Zara placed a cautious hand on the man's shoulder. It was both a sign of empathy towards the man's situation and his obvious grief but also a useful tool for her to get physical contact with him. The touch was enough for her to ascertain that the man was indeed not lying.

"He's...telling the truth." She said simply turning to Khai with a confused look. What do we do? Do we trust this man? Will he truly turn his back on his own son and assist us in achieving his death? It seemed that the night had brought more questions than answers, all of these circling in the sirens head and giving her a headache.