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Eight Hundred Meters [FIN]; [P] [Mini-Topic]
Topic Started: Fri Sep 27, 2013 7:43 pm (236 Views)
Lady Eko
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Individuals remained indistinct. A herd. Two preteen children finished painting Eko's symbol on the side of an abandoned storefront right on the border between Ekonen and Keloken territory. Interlocking rings of stylized sound dripped with wet silver paint. Their giggles attracted the attention of the group: men and women in nice clothing, some armored. Sensing this change in the air, the kids dropped all their supplies and scrambled into the alleyways -- just as several bodyguards were raising hand crossbows. "Death to Lord Kelok!" Their voices echoed.

A few tensed to give chase. "Don't waste your ammunition." Lord Ventar Kelok was protected at the center: a tall, attractive-looking genasi with slicked blonde hair. The finery he wore contrasted the urban decay around him. His eyes lingered on the unsolicited graffiti of Eko Kinslayer's symbol, crude yet large enough to loom over them all. He had placed her in a cage of political and military setback, but her followers still had ways of showing defiance. She needed to die. With a simple gesture he regrouped his bodyguards and kept them moving.

His destination was the Taste of Istan restaurant. If one were to map out the spatial power dynamics of Balefire's Western Quarter, they would spot a strange pocket of no-man's-land smack dab on the border between Eko and Kelok's territory. That was the work of the stubborn independent Mele -- just Mele. She was an immigrant from the Istan Desert, rumored to be a grizzled army veteran who no one wanted to anger. Highly respected for being able to hold onto ownership of a small business without an "army."

They'd paid her a sizeable sum to rent out the Taste of Istan and stage a meeting. Lord Kelok wanted to speak to Eko in person before her inevitable annihilation. He had to admit that she was an interesting person, from what he could tell based on behavior, letters and rumors. Eko would make for interesting conversation over a good meal.

The whole area around the building was cordoned off to allow their temporary ceasefire to proceed smoothly. Ekonen bodyguards were already swarming the property -- not just the premises, but the roof as well. He spotted her seated outline through the window. Kelok's bodyguards acted insistent on getting him indoors, but he needed to get a good feel of the place first. The building was arranged at the center of a surprisingly large lot -- he suspected Mele had bought out all adjacent lots and replaced them with sheltered, park-like surroundings to give the restaurant a more tranquil feel. A darkplant garden was interspersed with black-leaved trees. The closest buildings all had low, sloping rooftops that would be difficult for snipers to set up a good shot. He thought this foreigner independent was a pretty clever girl, and hoped she was a nice sight to boot.

He narrowed his eyes at the dark outline of the Kloeten Airship Tower, one of Eko's holdings. It loomed above everything nearby, but was at least half a mile away. There was no way anyone could do anything from that distance. Finding the surroundings safe enough, Lord Kelok entered the Taste of Istan.

The Ekonen swarming the inside of the restaurant all had their weapons out. Ranged weapons were loaded or nocked, but not aimed. Kelok's cadre of bodyguards responded in kind. Mele, a middle-aged copper-skinned woman, was having none of this. "Just go to your seat."

Kelok's eyes flashed anger, which only made Eko smirk. That simple gesture could have been the only thing keeping him from killing the immigrant for using such an insulting tone to a Lord of Balefire's face.

She was seated at a window table, legs crossed, watching him. An expensive black coat with crimson fur trimming drew the eye to a body that, while small, wasn't scrawny and malnourished like he'd been told. Eko had keen eyes framed with obvious dark circles: a reassuring reminder that she was suffering from her ambitions. She sipped her cup of tea, waiting for him to approach. One of his bodyguards pulled out his seat for him.

Mele, wearing a thick apron, pushed through the crowd of bodyguards to take their order. "If either of you so much as breaks a dish..."

"Don't worry. Thank you for letting us do this, Ms. Mele." Eko bowed her head in the foreigner's direction. Kelok refused to perform such a subordinate gesture and merely glared at the Istani as she left. That old lady had no idea who she was dealing with. He could blow her stupid little restaurant off the face of the planet if she pissed him off enough.

The Lord of Balefire took a sharp breath through his nose and turned his attention back to Eko, who waited for him to initiate the talk. "I have to give it to you. You've shown me that even a street child can look halfway passable."

Eko didn't react. "Why the personal meeting, after all this time?"

"War is personal. I want to know who I'm about to annihilate."

She peered at him over the rim of her teacup, set it down gently on the table. "You sound sure of yourself."

A grin marred Kelok's face. The words just poured out. "It's you who's acting overconfident. I know full well how many Ekonen have died since my decree. Your people can barely move around the city without setting foot in my territory. Forced to sit on your hands, fighting a defensive war. No way out. It's a shock you even have subordinates remaining to protect you here. And yet you're still so calm, speaking to me like we're somehow on equal footing. As if we ever were on equal footing." The casualties were accurate. Weeks earlier, Kelok passed the decree that any Ekonen found in his territory was to be executed on the spot and their heads turned in for a status-dependent bounty. Many of Eko's basic business processes required they make the tricky journey through Kelok-controlled streets. Even in plainclothes, Keloken intelligence allowed several good people to be discovered and taken.

"You people waste a lot of ink and breath talking about how easily you can destroy me. I remain unimpressed." The fact she was still sitting here after a solid month of struggling to survive said a lot.

Kelok sipped his drink, leaving a palpable silence in the building. He broke it to shift the subject. "It's been almost four weeks, hasn't it? Since you took Kloeten and enraged Lady Nochesce. Longer since you started sabotaging me at every turn you could possibly muster. How's Mohdu Narang doing, by the way?" That operation had been what started everything, and Lord Kelok knew it. Eko, an unknown name at the time, had infiltrated Kelok Manor and rescued imprisoned Mohdu. In the short-term, the loss of Mohdu's Inn and Tavern was a setback in spreading to the Western Quarter. In the long-term, that holding was the stepping stone Eko needed to establish herself as a political upstart.

"His connections and strategic input have been critical in fending off enemies like you," Eko responded matter-of-factly. Her persistent calmness made Kelok burn with anger, but he tried to act cool as he led up to his heavy-hitter.

"Oh, I'm sure he's been indispensable. Kind of strange for a middle-class bartender to be that helpful. Cleverness and a few buddies only goes so far. Ever wondered why he's such an ace?"

Her eyebrow cocked, challenging him. "You sound like you're building up to something. If you want to give your enemy information, be my guest."

The Lord knew deep down that he'd managed to throw her off, even if just a little. This was something she wasn't expecting. "Eko, your top adviser is an Eye of Karstoff." Agents of the Marquise. Observational spies responsible for the ancient werewolf's incredible information network. Eko stared at him. "Not so loyal and trustworthy after all, huh? I wonder what 'Mohdu's' agenda is?"

"What proof do you have?"

"It's the reason I raided Mohdu's in the first place. I didn't want some Eye poking around in my business. But killing him would risk my skull getting split by the old wolf -- so I imprisoned him instead. Hell, ask him yourself. Ask him who 'Rhett Barlow' is." Kelok watched Eko's response carefully. He knew she was stoic and wouldn't register emotions easily, unless they were very strong. She just stared at him. Her eyes were a lot harder than before. Was it safe for him to consider that a towering rage?

Mele returned with Eko's meal first. The reason why became obvious: all she had ordered was dessert, a little bowl of rice pudding that she spent many seconds of silence eating. Kelok wasn't sure what to make of the response. It wasn't long before the bowl was empty and Eko had a napkin up to the corners of her mouth. She set down everything a little too hard. "Is that the best you have, Lord Kelok? Really? That's your big plan to stagger me, maybe throw me into despair?"

"I don't think you realize the implications of--"

"Oh, I realize it." Eko leaned forward, propping her chin on steepled fingers. "You wanted so badly to get to me. It didn't suit you to just kill my coworkers, my trusted allies, to put them in a cage like pit dogs. You didn't like how I was handling everything. And you tried so hard, put every single line of intelligence you had into digging up something, anything... and--" Eko smiled, of all things, and released a manic giggle, "You didn't find anything! Leave it to a Lord of Balefire to assume that the Marquise is an enemy and that an Eye is inherently a destructive mole. No, leave it to Lord Kelok to view every person as a means to an end. You think, 'which tools will I use and which will I discard?'"

Eko stood up as her lips pulled back even further, smile revealing teeth, disturbingly unnatural. "Mohdu Narang is indispensable -- because he's friendly and trustworthy and always looks out for me. If he's an Eye, then that's no problem. I expect he has passed years of good word to the old wolf. Do you realize the 'implications' of this?"

Lord Kelok laughed uneasily. "I've sure riled you up."

"No. My opinion of you hasn't changed." Eko, eyes narrowing dangerously, took a step back. "You're an absolute idiot coming here like this. Don't you understand, Lord Kelok? Pit dogs kept in cages get tense. Violent. Taunting them doesn't break their spirit -- it makes them scarier." She took another step back, completely clearing herself from the window.
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Kagiso
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The letter had arrived via the mercenary guild. Very rarely was Kagiso asked to issue an assassination, because her price was considered too high for a first time assassin. She had never wanted to do an assassination. She had killed, certainly, but always tried to avoid it if possible. This was to take a life without personal cause. For some reason, she was the only one who could do it, the letter claimed. A killing blow from eight hundred meters. Such a thing was a foreign concept to assassins. Magic rarely worked at that range without clever thinking. A bow was out of the question. A piece of siege equipment was capable, at least a military-grade one that was far too large to be subtle. That left SAKLOS. There was only one person who could do this. It was her.

A bit of looking into the players and Kagiso had realized it was more than just a simple assassination. She was ending a war, crowning a new Lord of Balefire. Kagiso Cha'ne could make a difference in the world. A real difference. She was tempted. And the job was in two months, she had time to prepare.

A week's worth of travel later and she was at home. She delicately picked across her sister's immaculate garden, across stone paths and up and over a little bridge across a new stream. Four years ago the garden had been a patch in front of their little house. Today, it was a veritable field. It was an endless variety of flowering plants, vegetables, herbs and spices. Her sister could make whatever food she wanted. Kagiso stepped into their little house, the door was never locked, and checked through the rooms before stepping out the back and into the workshop. Or workbarn, now, her sister had improved it. Kagiso grimaced as she past by the roving eyes of a golem's head and towards the woman bent over a hulking piece of golem machinery with dozens of delicate arms.

"Lin, I'm home." Kagiso said. There was a sudden squeak and a moment later a blur had struck her. Gentle golden eyes smiled at her from above a wide grin.

"You should come home more often! I've got new bits and bobs I need you to try, all sorts of exciting little gear works. And I've been lonely! Very lonely. It isn't very much fun, I still haven't made a golem that can speak." Lin explained. Her eyes darkened a bit as she watched Kagiso pull out a letter. "Business, eh?" Lin picked through the letter and her grin returned. "Oh, oh my! That's something. This Eko girl, she's offered a challenge worthy of our skills. We'll need to change a lot."

"A lot? Just don't change SAKLOS's grip. I like it now." Kagiso replied, summoning up her oft-forgotten voice once more. Lin smiled a little more widely as she took SAKLOS from Kagiso, but her eyes were on her remaining arm.

A little under two months later and Kagiso's airship rumbled into port. She tested her arms. The dark grey, black and navy blue metal flexed as her fingers actuated and golem musculature whirled to life. The crew blanched as a group of men rushed them away from the tower after they disembarked the rest of the passengers. Kagiso sat herself down at the end of the tower as a man walked up beside her. "Cha'ne, your target is the building with the Istani flag atop it. This tower will be closed for today and tomorrow. Tomorrow night you will make the shot, and there is only one chance." Without a word, Kagiso began unpacking her bags. She set up a cascadian spotting scope on a tripod and took a look through it. Her eyes glowed orange as she looked back up. A few minutes later she had found her target. A slight frown touched on her face as she glanced back at the details of the assassination's setup and back at the business. Eight hundred meters was the least of her worries.

Kagiso drew out a scroll from her extensive suitcases and pinned it to the ground with nails. On it was her sister's preliminary calculations, a series of immaculate graphs and equations with explanations to Kagiso on how to get the shot perfect. She drew out a little ink pot and steel quill and began her own mathematics. Her free arm pulled her cloak tighter around her. As what Balefirans considered the day faded she gave up her calculations and went back to observing their target and the random flags and banners between it. Through her Cascadian scope she could see the movement of the Taste of Istan's patrons. After giving a good guess at the height she plopped in those numbers and crawled into her sleeping bag. The Balefirans did not want her straying from the tower or being seen, as they feared that the target would know what was to come.

The next day she completed her calculations. She knew roughly the angle of the shot, the expected interference from the wind, the time to target on SAKLOS's new projectile, and that it would certainly be lethal, even at this range. Handily, in fact, she couldn't hit the skull without making the man unrecognizable. Which was good news as she wanted to aim at his chest anyways because it was a much easier target. She drew out a position template for her to follow and very precisely angled the Cascadian scope into the position she'd need to hold SAKLOS.

Now was only the final checks. Kagiso opened up the case that held her repeater(it was amongst her clothes) and assembled the smaller weapon. She gave it a quick check and put it aside. From another case, carrying a rather extensive set of coats, she removed the parts for SAKLOS. The black steel weapon went together more difficultly as she aligned the runic paths, sealed the parts together and checked her sister's clever little test system. If the little tiny blue crystal at the back lit up, it was fitted together properly. A little blue light greeted her and Kagiso produced the final two pieces of the puzzle. One was a simple hand crank for priming the weapon. That was best left to just before the shot. She looked at the black case that was nearly as long as her arm, sealed tightly by a pair of little clasps. Kagiso curled up in her cloak and nibbled on a hot meal that had just arrived from the Taste of Istan. It was quite well made Istani food, she could see why Eko picked that particular restaurant. A good meal and a good murder, hand in hand.

She was roused from her nap by a hand. Five minutes. Kagiso rammed the crank into the side of the weapon and spun it quickly. The mechanical whir turned into a series of quiet clicks. She delicately returned the crank to her case and planted the weapon down on its chin and handle. She opened the slender box. Within was a jet-black steel bolt. As she lifted it she felt the cylinder in the middle spin with some weight. It was crafted with precision unseen on Imythess before this. The way it moved through the air matched that of a bird. It was truly a revolutionary weapon, and Kagiso had strict orders to reclaim the bolt and return it after its flight. She opened SAKLOS's top and slotted it in as delicately as possible. The weapon closed with a satisfying click. Kagiso threw her cloak to the side, revealing a backless dress. The breeze rushed across her shoulderblades and she involuntarily shivered. Even after all these years, Kagiso hated the cold.

The mercenary laid down, and pressed the weapon's massive stock against her shoulder. The black, rectangular weapon extend to the horizon. A pair of little glowing dots rested at the end and she aligned the dot at back to the ones at the front. She closed her eyes and mentally activated the special feature of the new arms. Orange light spread from her spine and raced across slender paths to her arms, which lit up brightly. They released a hum as their inertia increased impossibly, giving her perfect stability. Heat spread across her body as well. The magic condenser's little foibles still hadn't been figured out.

Kagiso adjusted SAKLOS to the height of the scope. Her eyes brightened to full power, a thousand little gears worked in harmony to enhance her vision until she could see the Taste of Istan clearly. A dozen tiny figures stood around. Her eyes were fixated on the window, past SAKLOS. She waited for a minute before a tiny little form appeared within it. In a heartbeat she aligned herself behind SAKLOS and stared down the length of the hulking weapon. She took a final glance at her target. Her instincts forced the weapon up by a hair. Wind roared by, but her aim was untouched. Kagiso exhaled.

Her finger closed on the trigger. SAKLOS rocked backwards like an angry god had struck it. She rose from the tower's deck and in one smooth motion handed SAKLOS to one of Eko's men and grabbed the repeater from the ground. She hurled herself from the tower, the wind rushing past her. Wings unfolded from her back and turned her fall into a dive. She kept them close to her body, the little lanterns of balefire growing in size. Her wings snapped open as she neared the street. She soared just over the strings of lanterns, streaking across the city's streets. She darted across the roads she had painstakingly memorized from high above, shocking onlookers. She rocketed upwards just before the Taste of Istan, her wings arching and extending as far as they could. She fell and caught herself neatly, the skirts of her black dress flaring up as she landed. Bright orange eyes fell upon the tiny woman who she assumed was her employer. Without a second thought she walked past the corpse, ignoring the fist-sized hole through his heart. From amongst the bone, gore and blood on the ground she pulled a massive black bolt from the cracked masonry. She spun it in her hands, checking it over to make sure no little parts had fallen off before thrusting it in a hip bag.

Kagiso's eyes fell upon Eko's. They were emotionless and mechanical, but her face betrayed her mood. She could barely conceal her grin, even if it was a touch worried. She had never assassinated anyone before this. But the power to change the world intoxicated her. One bolt could change the lives of a thousand. Perhaps one could change the course of a nation. Kagiso Cha'ne held the powers of fate.

"This was Lord Kelok, correct?"
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Lady Eko
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Eko was the only one in the building that didn't flinch. An explosion cast a cloud of glass shards and droplets of blood. Hands resting in the pockets of her jacket, she watched the body fall, a blast-hole blossoming grotesquely out of Lord Kelok's chest. There were cries of surprise, sounds of scuffling boots across the floor. A couple panicked, clambered for cover. The only thing keeping several from outright cutting and running was the looming threat of a sniper outside. Every window was a hazard. Ekonen inside the Taste of Istan found countless weapons pointed in their directions, loaded, trigger fingers trembling. They got reactionary. And promptly, having anticipated this, Eko's small voice came up like the crack of a whip: "Stand down!"

It was meant for her people, but it made the Keloken stop too. Forced clarity into their skulls. Made them start thinking. Eko looked at them. Tiny droplets of blood had splattered over her face, the front of her jacket and shirt. The blast had wiped her grin clean, replaced it with overbearing gravity. "I know that none of you want to be here. You had to. The contracts, swindles, threats -- I know. So why do you still point your weapons at me?"

She gave them a few moments to let this sink in. The door to the Taste creaked open, killing the silence. Eko saw the wings, the mechanical whirring of the woman's unnaturally colored eyes and knew who this was. She bowed her head respectfully, allowing the assassin to snake through the tense crowd and retrieve her bolt. When Kagiso Cha'ne asked if this was the Lord Kelok she was tasked to bring down, Eko gave a nod. She gestured to encourage the woman to stick around. With that, she stepped forward.

One of the Keloken got nervous and pulled the trigger. Eko choked down a sound, feeling white-hot pain surge through her body. The quarrel, probably from a hand crossbow based on its size, embedded in her hip bone. She stopped walking, only making enough movements to insist her men not return fire. Her stance was confident, defiant, but heavily favored her uninjured side. "The bindings are broken. All I've done is returned to you a basic right: free will. If you want to run, run. Just keep in mind before you go, and tell all your friends that might still be loyal to my enemies..." she limped forward, against her good judgment, "Tell them to consider exactly why I'm called Kinslayer. Several reasons. It's because I think for myself, beyond my group or upbringing. It's because I do what's right, not what's good for public relations. And most importantly? When I make an enemy, no matter who they are, even if they're my sibling or father or a goddamned Lord of Balefire, even if they throw me in a cage or slaughter my men like animals, even if the only chance for freedom is an impossible shot from eight hundred meters away, I will never, ever stop until I destroy them."

Her breathing had quickened. Warm blood from her hip injury trickled down her thigh. Eko's head throbbed with a mixture of rage, pain and, most of all, exhilaration. But it wasn't enough to satiate her.

The Keloken stared at her in stunned silence.

Eko commanded her men to lower their weapons with a gesture. A curt explanation got a subset of her men to work cleaning up the restaurant and hauling Kelok's corpse outside to remove the head. She bid Kagiso Cha'ne a good night, offering to meet with her later if she was interested. "I would like to treat you to dinner. Perhaps tomorrow night, if you're interested." Then she limped toward the exit, ignoring Kelok's old guards. It was clear where she was headed next.

Unexpectedly, she saw weapons lower as she passed. Quarrels removed from crossbows. Swords sheathed.

"Lady Eko!"

Eko turned around, not letting her slight annoyance reflect on her face. She didn't like people calling her by a title she didn't hold. It was one of Kelok's guards, now turned to face her. A young lady, some sort of half-human. She ripped her armband off the sleeve of her jacket -- the one with Kelok's symbol, an intertwined pair of gold and silver snakes -- and threw it on the ground. Then she slumped to a kneel, pressing her fist against the ground. "Please let me join your forces!"

Her eyebrows raised in genuine surprise. Before she could respond, others followed. Some even set their weapons on the ground. "--Ah, err, please don't kneel--"

By the time she walked out of that building, her bodyguard had more than doubled in number. Eko paused to synch a cloth over her wound as they retrieved her carriage. The ex-Keloken asked her where she was going next. That made her smile a little. "All of us -- we're going to bring Kelok Manor to the ground." She had made a vacuum, and she intended to prevent anyone from filling it.

Something better would replace it.

If Eko had to build a sanctuary on top of a mountain of corpses, she'd do it.
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