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Face Down; Formerly open
Topic Started: Mon Nov 25, 2013 5:27 pm (851 Views)
Nkiruka
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The deck bumped once, hard, or at least hard enough to bounce Nkiruka an inch off her bed. Her fingers balled around the sheets, officially making her reflexes faster than her conscious mind could wake up. She grumbled and shifted to her other side, trying to ignore the airship's turbulence. Something unusual registered just before her eyes were about to shut. That porthole in her room, the tiny glass window that was a common feature on this ship's lower decks... were they passing through an unusually dense cloud? Her sense of smell said no, not at all. That was smoke out there. The stink was coming in through the cracks from above -- or was it below? Nkiruka wasn't even totally awake when she was stumbling into her pant-legs and half-assedly pulling her belt through the buckle without actually buckling it.

They hit another bump, but unfortunately her bolted-down dresser was in the way of her fall. That was going to leave a bruise. Nkiruka spotted the edges of flames outside her porthole, cursed, and abandoned the search for her jacket. She needed to get above deck. Now.

She exploded from her cabin only to find the staircase above covered in collapsed beams that were on fire. The muffled screams of the crew rang higher above -- at least two floors higher.

The ground tilted. Nkiruka's back hit the stairwell wall. They were diving. Falling.

This was supposed to be a nonstop flight from Astrauka-en-Kalaar, a city in a remote Istani canyon, to Balefire. Highly secretive. And it was the middle of the night, for gods' sake. Not that Nkiruka had any time to think about any of these things more than in passing. She ripped her way through crumbling wood, holding back her gag reflex as the sickening smell of burning hair and flesh wafted into her sensitive nose. Nkiruka bashed the door in and found the next stretch of the way clear, or as clear as it ever would be. The smoke buildup ended up slowing her down more than the fires. She was coughing and her eyes were watering and she could barely breathe, and breathing through the crook of her elbow didn't help much.

If she could just get above deck, Nkiruka could sprout wings and abandon ship. Maybe even carry one or two people to safety. Assuming any of this tiny Istani airship's crew was still alive. Right now she had little evidence for or against that suspicion. Had that first "bump" actually been an explosion? Her memory was all fuzzy. She staggered around the corner just in time to see a wooden support beam collapse over the entrance to the next stairwell. Nkiruka tried to swallow, but her throat was dry and scratchy. The soldier thought she heard someone calling for help in a side-room, and she went off into that direction to search.

Not enough time. The airship crashed into the ground at full speed. Nkiruka's sight went dark.
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Tandorus
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Death. The one scent that Tand knew better than anything else, he was probably the greatest killer on Chaon... causing more death than any one person should have. He had simply been lucky, one of his agents had seen the ship crashing while they were heading back towards Istan, now there was an entire crashed Istani ship to investigate. Though what caused the accident... and whether or not there were survivors, were the only thing stopping him from asking why this ship was here, he usually kept tabs on every secret mission out there, especially if the army didn't want him to know about it.

Tand raised his hand and motioned for his troops to move in, nine other Black Bows rushed the scene, moving rubble and searching for survivors. Tand himself was wearing his Black Bowman garb, but he still wore his pink jacket beneath the long black cloak. Of course Tand spent most of his time telling what few onlookers to leave the site alone, until he had received an urgent shout. Tand turned and jogged over to the shouting Black Bow, looking down at the first survivor they had found... Nkiruka. Tand fell down to his knees to inspect her... she was hurt badly, alive but hurt. Tand gave a sharp whistle as he started to shout out commands, "I want Tess, Almaz, an' Larz healin' Nkiruka. Now!" With that three other Black Bows stopped their search to rush to Tand, and all four of them, including Tand, starting chanting the spell, "Healin' Winds, swirl 'round tha' injury." Of course his subordinates didn't have Tand's beloved fake accent, but four doses of a healing spell stitched up her wounds pretty well, sure she would probably be sore... but better sore than dead.

With that Tand told them to resume searching for survivors... while he would wait with a now rubble free Nkiruka. He waited until she began to stir, speaking only when she seemed a bit more focused, "Looks like this ol' raven can still save tha' young falcon. Ya had me scared fer a few minutes, yer wounds were pretty serious stuff, had ta' get three of my subordinates ta' cast healin' spells with me. Now... ya mind tellin' me why I haven't heard a single blasted thing about this little trip? Not ta' mention what in tha' abyss happened!? We've only found you alive an' a whole lotta corpses fer such a small ship." With that he saw a Black Bow walking towards him... dropping a non-military personnel at his feet, "An' not all of 'em are Army Of Istan."
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Nkiruka
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Nkiruka woke up roaring in pain. No matter how nice a healing spell might supposedly feel, the fact remained that bones snapping back into place was not a pleasant experience. She stared up at the faces looming above her and didn't recognize any of them -- at first. There was one who looked kind of familiar, but her vision was blurry and the world was gently swaying around her. She blinked twice and tried to focus on the sky instead. Dawn had arrived, and she was laying on the ground near some smoldering rubble. The air smelled overwhelmingly of smoke.

The voice of her old friend Tandorus hit her like a sack of bricks. She winced, feeling a slight ringing in her ears accompany his words. Nkiruka raised her hand, expecting Tandorus to take it and help her up into a sitting position. Then the first word out of her mouth was a harsh Istani curse. She was about to run her fingers through her hair and pinch the bridge of her nose, but saw to her horror that a wooden beam had crushed the part of the palm and last two fingers of her quicksilver mechanikal hand; they dangled from the joints by a thread, leaking mana. Dr. Fixitt was going to kill her. Her eyes went from her smashed-up prosthetic to Tandorus. A smile curled up one corner of her mouth, baring her sharp teeth. "Elderson, you old dog, what the hell are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining." A passing Bow offered her a blanket, which she accepted shamelessly, letting it drape over her shoulders and cover up the burns in her clothing.

"No one's supposed to see me here, Tand. Official papers say I'm on leave in the Istan Delta." She cursed again, struggled to her feet. "I can't say more. I've got to get out of here." Her next question was almost, "Where am I?" The soldier looked around, trying to get her bearings. They were in the Debon Plains, it seemed. The airship had the misfortune of crashing into the outskirts of a small town. She kicked rubble over a dirt road and turned north. Nothing but grass as far as she could see. Nkiruka wondered if she could fly faster than Tandorus and shake him off her trail if it came down to running.
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Ollie
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A figure clad in green and a gray cloak arced overhead and landed beside Tanderous and the injured woman. "I've found no other survivors, sir," Ollie said, giving a salute along with the formal address. This could arguably be his first official outing as a Black Bow, and the experience was surreal.

He'd become used to fighting with only Tanderous or on his own; to be surrounded by his peers made him self-conscience. However, the simple introduction by Tanderous as another Black Bow was all they needed to act as though he were one of their own. The discipline and trust they held in the original Black Bowman was astonishing. Granted, Ollie admitted to himself he felt the same.

"Hear no one, blackbird," confirmed a voice sounding in Tanderous's head. A scaly, golden head rose to stare at the Bowman, blinking cinnamon colored eyes. "No thoughts, no hearts. All quiet."

"I think she's it, sir," Ollie stared out over the wreakage, the great broken hull of the airship partially embedded in the dirt of the plains. It was amazing she'd made it through, he thought to himself. "What are your orders? I can call Justin to carry her, if need be."
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Tandorus
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Classified... nothing was supposed to be classified to Tanderous, nothing. He was about to glare at Nkiruka when Ollie landed near him, giving his report along with his fly dragon. Tand raised a hand and spoke, "Ollie, this is Commander Nkiruka Menai, salute an' then at ease, we're not that strict of a unit ya know."

He turned to Nkiruka, dropping any friendly demeanor as he spoke, dropping his accent, "I am Commander General Tanderous Elderson. I Order you to give me a full status report on your mission and a short briefing on what is currently happening. I repeat, this is an order Commander Menai, if you still refuse to speak it will be counted as insubordination, I will have you arrested, and I will take you back to Istan under suspicion. This is not out of malice, this is a basic procedure when the group supposedly in charge of our stealth and spy missions finds a completely unknown excursion without any reports to our division. Is that clear Commander Menai?"

Tand dropped his serious act for one last set of words, "I really don't wanna do this, but I gotta know, protocol an' all of that. If I broke my own rules my troops would do tha' same." He raised his hand and made a quick circling motion with his finger, telling his troops to spread out and keep perimeter. Tand gave Ollie a look and gave a single order through his thoughts to the fly dragon, 'Do not leave my side.'
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Nkiruka
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Nkiruka faced down her old friend. Mirroring his own gesture, all the friendliness the soldier might have shown was wiped clean, leaving only raw tension between them. She stepped up to close the distance. Even though she was barefoot, broken and considerably shorter than him, the rigidity of her stance and the hard look in her eyes did just as good a job of showing her nature as any uniform could do. Nkiruka considered his orders for a hot moment that felt like a lot longer. Options flew by. She thought about running. Flying away. But he would learn eventually. Nkiruka picked the option that would be the most advantageous at this very moment. Going back to Istan was quite simply not an option for her right now.

"You're putting me in a difficult position," she answered. "Either it's insubordination to you -- and therefore the Sultan -- or it's insubordination to the Manhunters regiment. But..." Nkiruka sighed and then flipped languages. Her briefing was not in Common, but rather in low, rapid-fire military Istani packed with specialized terminology and corner-cutting speech conventions. The dialect was designed for maximizing directness. "Targeted for death. Designated 'person of interest.' Old ties likely, history catching up to me, nothing good, more complex than letting on. Status: known only to high-clearance Manhunters and select personnel. Destination: Balefire. Origin of crash unknown."

She glanced sidelong at the Bow that Tanderous had kept alongside, introduced earlier as just 'Ollie.' Nkiruka at first seemed a little irritated that he was there, but visibly softened up a bit. She jerked a thumb in his direction, her previous grin returning a little. "This your boyfriend?" She forgot to snap a salute to the kid. Once they'd answered, she went right down to business with no transitions. "And now I've made another loose end, or two if he knows Istani. Maybe do me a favor and get out of my way, friend, so I can start walking to where I need to go." When that didn't look like it was going to work, she placed a rough hand on Tanderous' shoulder, eyes down and features looking genuinely pleading and a bit out of place in Nkiruka's usual suite of expressions. "Just let me disappear. Please. This isn't your fight."
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Ollie
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Tanderous circled his fingers. From what he'd learned, that meant they should circle the perimeter, keeping it secure.

"Not you," the dragon said in his mind. "Blackbird say stay."

And stay Ollie did, as Tanderous ordered this Commander to share her mission, and the Commander relented in sharing, up to a point. Ollie worked to learn Istani. It was a new daylight pastime, along with survival guides, knitting, and astronomy books, but the Istani she barked was rapid, grammatically eccentric, and completely over Ollie's head. She finally switched back to Common to give Ollie a long, appraising stare.

"This your boyfriend?" she asked. Ollie flushed and hoped his raised hood, protecting him from the sun's first rays, kept most of his features in shadow. He began to sputter and offer...he didn't know what sort of response, but his dragon lightly smacked his cheek with his hand.

"Let blackbird talk," it said simply, and Ollie forced himself to breath as the Commander continued, stating that Tanderous was a loose and and, so was, possibly, Ollie himself. She begged them to let her flee and vanish into the plains despite her injuries, despite her broken golem hand, despite everything. Ollie looked to Tanderous. He didn't know what the situation was fully. His dragon knew, but so far it considered the information irrelevant to Ollie's wellbeing and shared nothing. It'd be up to Tanderous what the Commander's fate would be.
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Tandorus
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Tand didn't blush when Inky made a crack about Ollie staying by his side, but the information she shared... made Tand grimace. He looked around as he spoke, "Yer asking me ta' let ya wander off an' possibly die. As fer tha' boyfriend crack, he's jus' my apprentice, trainin' him personally. Now as fer yer dilemma... how many people do I gotta murder? Tha' answer is every single one of 'em that comes within arrow range. I'm gonna go with ya along with Ollie, ain't lettin' ya die out there, no doubt there's gonna be more of'em."

He turned to Ollie, "I want ya ta' accompany us on this mission, keep tha' Commander as safe as possible. We will escort her until we get her to whatever safe house they got fer her in Balefire." With that he ditched his black cloak, tossed it to Nkiruka, and gave a sharp whistle, gathering his troops.

Tand gave out quick orders in common, "Commander Menai is gonna wear my cloak, I want basic illusion spells an' glamours ta' disguise some of our own ta' look like 'er. I want ya in a group of three an' a group of four. Tha' four will be goin' directly ta' Balefire, tha' three will be takin' a longer route through Norwood an' into tha' opposite side of tha' Gloomwood. We'll be takin' tha' middle road. Oh, an also take tha' forms of me an' Ollie, tha' extra... take any form ya want, just gotta through suspicion on ya. If ya enter battle, don't be a hero, jus' fight, retreat, an' hide. Survival first." With that the others cast their spells to take on Nkiruka, Ollie, and Tand's forms, after that only the Nkiruka disguised folks kept their cloaks, the others tossed them up as glamours took form, disguising even their clothes.

Tand looked to Nkiruka and nodded, "Lets go... I jus' made it my fight. Don't matter how many people I gotta kill... I am one of Old Istan's greatest heroes an' war criminals. Do ya think a rabble of terrorists or rebels will stand before me?" There was genuine anger in his eyes, his hand went to the bow on his back, and his right hand took out a single arrow, it was time to get moving.
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Nkiruka
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Nkiruka discarded the blanket so she could flourish the black cloak over her shoulders and tie it in place. She wasn't entirely keen on having these two follow her around, but kept an open mind to the plan regardless. The Black Bows would stop all their current missions in order to disguise themselves as people they weren't and lead potential aggressors on a wild goose chase while the real people of interest slipped unnoticed. She guessed they were going to leave damage control to the ensuing media hubbub and Kellen-based law enforcement. Serelle and her company of Manhunters would have to work overtime to cover up such a blatant disaster.

By the time everyone was scattering, Nkiruka was finished with preparations. She had looted a pair of boots from one of the dead bodies in the wreckage -- ill-fitting, but they were better than going barefoot. The first stretch of the walk was tense and silent. Nkiruka stayed at the front, leaving Tanderous and Ollie together if they so chose. After a while, she snuck a hooded glance over her shoulder, eagle's eyes leveled on the kid. "So. Why you? Never heard of the Black Bowman taking an apprentice before. You got special skills?"

She hoped the small talk would keep the subject of discussion away from her own situation. Nkiruka just didn't want to talk about the unique circumstances until she had to. While it was nice to have Tanderous blithely ready to kill some people, things were going to be a lot more delicate than that.



They stopped for lunch in a village that looked to get some decent tradeway traffic. It even had a restaurant. Keeping herself hooded and anonymous, she allowed the waiter to seat them near the corner and then ordered a generous helping of their special ale. She eyed Tandorus defensively, waiting for him to bring up the fact that this was the first time he'd seen her drink. Instead of saying out loud what her body language was conveying, Nkiruka mumbled something totally unrelated. "Don't look. The table on the other side of the floor... same northerner that's been following us the past half-hour." She sipped her drink, trying to look nonchalant. "What should we do?"
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Ollie
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"I couldn't tell you," Ollie said as he secured his hood against the sun, glad they were leaving the vicinity of the still burnt ship. The smell of seared flesh rose above the odors of charcoal and seared oil for him, and he grew sick of it quickly. Alongside his words, he began to think to the dragon, asking him to call Justin to them. Her limping stride hurt to watch.

"Nope," the dragon said. "She won't ride"

What? Dammit, he thought. If he stated that, then there'd be no winning the argument if it began, and he supposed one doppleganger group with a horse while the others walked would single them out. Have him follow then, at a distance. We might still need him.

"We met when I was at a...difficult period in my life, and I guess he saw some potential in me," Ollie said aloud to the commander. "He's helped me out a lot. I owe him much, so I'm pretty honored to be a Blackbow." He watched her limp some more. I bet she'd refuse you healing her more?

"Mebbe. Don't wanna get swatted."

So they walked, Ollie watching the commander in case her resolve began buckling and she showed how weak her body must be. That didn't occur, and they reached a town with an inn where they stopped and rested. The commander ordered the house ale, something she earned, and Ollie got the same. It was easier to get nothing to eat in an inn of he was nursing a beer. She seemed on edge, however, her heart thudding steady but fast. Her whispered words, worrying about another man in the tavern who'd been on the same road as them for a time, reflected that.

Ollie heard him behind them, and his calm steady heartbeat didn't make Ollie leery, but such calmness could come from a professional as well as an innocent bystander. He looked to the dragon around his shoulders, who preferred to sun himself over hiding in his cloak. The dragon glared.

"Don't like him," he said.

Why? Ollie asked.

"Can't hear him." Ollie rolled his eyes. The dragon read everyone's minds, and anyone he couldn't eavesdrop on meant they earned his instant distrust.

Tell Tand that you can't read him, then, and ALSO tell Tand that some people have natural resistance to mindreading, please, and it doesn't necessarily mean anything sinister.

"Fiiine," the dragon said, though it chose to parrot Ollie's thoughts exactly to Tand rather than paraphrase.

"Stay calm and enjoy your drink for now," Ollie said. "If need be, we can hold any assailants off and you can get away on my horse. Until he does something, though, it'd be best to stay low-key."
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Tandorus
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Tand concentrated on his surroundings, he didn't talk much, just let Ollie and Nkiruka speak. He kept quiet until they made it to the bar and only then did he speak after getting a telepathic message and Nkiruka's warning. Tand ordered a drink tailored to his... experienced liver. What came back was a mug the size of his head, it had to be a novelty of some sort... but it was filled with different liquids right in front of their eyes. A show for the man following them, it was a complete amateur mistake for any guard to get drunk, but Tand... Tand had been binge drinking for over six hundred years, most of his most vital operations were done while he was blind stinking drunk, and during at least two of those missions he was actually blinded by the amount of alcohol he drank.

Tand raised his glass and tipped it back, drinking heavily from it, using both hands to keep it up. He kept on going until it was empty, his cheeks were flushed, his words became slurred, and a whimsical smile decorated his face as he stood up. He raised his arms as he spoke, "An that'sh how I shaved tha' elven princhess! Now fer a shong!" Tand began singing an old Kellenite drinking song... and the rest of the people joined in. Tand kept on speeding up the tempo as per-usual for the drinking song... but he relayed a message to the little fly dragon, 'Jus' tell Nkiruka ta' leave out tha' back an' circle 'round. Whether or not tha' guy follows, tell Ollie ta' track 'er, keep 'er safe. If anyone tries ta' jump 'er... no hidin' his powers. If he can knock'em out, good, if not, kill 'em. When I come 'round ta' take Nkiruka away... raise tha' body an' make it walk out of town, if unconscious, bring'em to tha' room I plan on rentin'. Will interrogate then.' With that Tand jumped onto the bar and sped up his drunken singing even more so.
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Nkiruka
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Shortly after Ollie recommended they stay low-key, Tandorus broke into loud declarations and singing. Nkiruka downed another drink and winced. The other commander suggested she circle around back to try to flush the enemy out of hiding. A chance to get away from the goddamned noise? "Don't mind if I do. Come, my assistant!" She pushed herself away from the chair, stood up without too much difficulty and swerved to the door.

It was much nicer out here. The town was all homey, and the manly singing inside the tavern was muffled by the walls. Nkiruka yawned and stretched her interlaced fingers over her head. "You know what, Ollie? I decided that I like you. I wasn't sure what to think of you first. But you know, I think you've got it. You know. It." In a buddy-buddy gesture that was completely unbecoming of her personality, Nkiruka slapped Ollie's back and wrapped her arm over his shoulder, pulling him in so they were walking side-by-side. "But let me let you in on a military trade secret. Listen close, Ollie. If you want to make a name for yourself in this world, you gotta push the limits. Break some rules if it means getting the job done. And you know what? Us commanders, we're people too, and we make mistakes, so you gotta keep your mind present. Even Tanderous messes up sometimes. He did give me good romance advice though. Heh, I guess I have him partly to thank for my hot wife. Wait, were we supposed to be walking separately?" She'd totally forgot. Maybe she was more drunk than she thought.

She tried to salvage Tand's plan by letting Ollie go and venturing forth on her own, with him shadowing her. Nkiruka weaved through the various alleyways and back-streets behind all the main businesses, trying to look casual. At this point she was starting to think the plan was pretty dumb. No one in their right mind would try to follow her like this. And, looking around, she didn't see anyone either. Kind of a waste of time. She wanted more drinks. So she started rounding her way back through town.

The soldier's sensitive hearing picked up a little fwip sound, but her reaction time was badly lulled by the ale. Nkiruka felt a sharp pain on her neck, and her fingers instinctively went up to feel the cause. A dart with a needle-sharp tip was embedded in the vein there. She stopped on the street and plucked out the little poison-filled missile. Her body turned slowly to face the direction it came from. "Heh heh..." Two more darts struck her from two new angles. Steam rose from her right shoulder. She could feel the heat billowing from her tattoo on that side, the one designed to purge toxins from her blood. Her voice elevated to a shout. "Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?!"
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Ollie
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"What?" Ollie said, sitting still and slackjawed in his seat, watching Tanderous jump and prance about. He'd been caught attempting not to imagine the man shaving a princess, or where, when the Commander began to speak as though someone made a request of her, though Ollie was shocked and Tanderous now led the room in a drinking song. "Don't mind what?"

"No worry. Part of plan, Ollie," The dragon said, curving its neck upward to look Ollie in the eye. "Blackbird be silly, Madlady go out, you follow and see who follow. Good?" The actual shared information gave expanded beyond the simple words, with the parts and contingencies shared at the speed of thought alongside it. Ollie planned to keep any trailing them alive, or at least one, and between the two Black Bows, Ollie would be best at shadowing the Commander undetected.

Right now, however, he sprinted awkwardly toward the door, pulling his hood back overhead and extending his petal attire over his lower face and hands, and hoped the Commander didn't meander too far. Thankfully, she stood just outside, stretching her arms overhead. Wait, he was supposed to shadow her, correct? Then what was this "assistant" talk?

"You know what, Ollie?" She said as she stretched, staring up at the blue, sunny sky. "I decided that I like you. I wasn't sure what to think of you first. But you know, I think you've got it. You know. It."

"Not...Not really," Ollie said as she threw a scarred arm around him and began what he supposed was a somewhat tipsy peptalk as they sauntered, one that suggested plans for him such as pushing his limits, breaking rules, and making a name for himself. He'd survived thus far by finding and living within his limits, he constantly broke rules just surviving, and he'd be very happy remaining anonymous. He worked as a Black Bow, after all.

"Wait, were we supposed to be walking separately?" she said after beginning a gushing spiel about her wife.

"If you want to, ah, Ma'am," Ollie said, figuring he'd keep to his possible role as the Commander's assistant. "I'll wait here if you wish to go for a walk."

The Commander wandered off, and Ollie settled against a northern wall and drank from his flask. Within the darkness, a shadow separated from the shade surrounding Ollie, glided beside the wall, rose, and broke into sunlight, the shadow separating to reveal the dragon as he glided overhead. One of the nice things about groundbound creatures was their tendency to not look up. He shared his sight with Ollie as he trailed over Commander Menai.

Hear anyone? Ollie asked as Commander Menai wandered alone and unmolested.

"Nope, there-OLLIE! TAND! COME!" the dragon replied, flapping furiously as it worked to hover, and Ollie could see why. The Commander flinched and held a hand to her neck as though stung. Ollie climbed upward and crested the rooftops, raising a hand to momentarily shade his eyes before becoming little more than a dark streak in the sky. The Commander flinched again as more stings struck her, tiny darts, according to the dragon's information. They seeped poison within her, and Ollie muttered curses that the dragon could do nothing for that, though the flying lizard acted rather calm about this. However, there were still no sign of the attackers...

"Up, Ollie!" The dragon said, turning away from Commander Menai to a figure whose clothing left him almost camouflaged against the roof. With three attackers now after Menai, or at least two, Ollie felt no compunction to slow his speed as he dove downward, cloaking himself in shadow to prevent the new angle of sunlight burning his face as he clenched a fist to strike the face of the assailant with the force of a falling boulder.
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Tandorus
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Tand drank for a while... until the man left, taking the front exit probably to circle around, a wise more to make it look like you weren't following someone. Tand immediately 'passed' out and was dragged outside like other drunks, he waited a few moments until the voice of the fly dragon shot into his mind, he stood up and took flight, extending the wings from his back so he could catch up quickly. He saw Ollie dealing with a man on the roof, but in the darkness he wouldn't be able to see his foe... so he would just have to smell them. He tasted the scents in the air before taking out his bow and drawing an arrow... he turned and fired it directly into the chest of a man wielding two daggers. He stopped for a moment, trying to move on... but gave in and fell to the ground.

Tand turned and fired another arrow onto the roof, tasting the sweet smell of oranges from... probably a woman wearing perfume. Then the musky scent of sweat and blood met his tongue, he rushed to Nkiruka and fired an arrow behind her, slaying another assassin. Tand stood back to back with Nkiruka, "I can smell'em... move as I tell ya." He concentrated and tasted the air again, giving orders once everything was in his mind, "Four to tha' west, two to tha' north, another three from tha' south. An' one from tha' east. Some of 'em will be on rooftops... probably. Anyway, stay close an' keep facin' north east, I'll face south west an' take care of tha' others."

With that done he gave a mental shout to the fly dragon, 'Tell Ollie ta' kill any rooftop archers an' dart blowers, once done help Nkiruka.' With that he readied another arrow.
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Nkiruka
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Nkiruka clenched her teeth and heat surged into her blood. Steam billowed from her shoulder as one of her special tattoos worked to fry the poison away. Lucky for her, it didn't discriminate once it activated -- she felt less and less intoxicated with each passing moment. She grimaced at Tanderous. "I smell them too." It was her way of affirming. He'd been spot on in identifying their positions.

The assailant didn't take Ollie's fist to the face. He grabbed it, took Ollie's arm in the other hand, pivoted his body and attempted a skull-crushing throwdown that utilized the vampire's own momentum. When he could've pressed the attack, he didn't. Instead, he kept his guard up, trying to block any other attacks Ollie might throw at him. The other ambushers weren't so lucky. Nkiruka's acute sense of hearing picked up the fact that Tanderous' arrows hit their mark, but something was off. None of the bodies hit the floor. "They're not dead."

Footsteps from a side-street. Nkiruka was quick to face them, hand flying to the place where she normally kept her throwing knives. Unarmed. Damn. Instead, she sunk into an aggressive mandak stance, ready to take whatever they'd throw at her.

His hands were up. Surrender? Not quite. Upon reaching the intersection, he gave a signal that Nkiruka recognized. The ambushers held position. The ambusher approaching them was in a uniform she didn't recognize, a bow slung over his shoulder. Keeping one hand in the air, he slowly wrapped his fingers around the arrow shaft sticking out of his chest. There was no blood on his shirt. With a few strong tugs, he got the missile out of his body and tossed it aside like trash. The wound closed before their eyes.

The man stepped close enough for the shadows over his face to lift. A tanned old man, grey and silver tinging his hair and beard, scars on his face, burgundy eyes. Nkiruka paled. Then: "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Her arm shot defensively in front of Tanderous' chest. "I recognize him."

"Hey, Bower." The nostalgia that went along with her old last name -- her father's surname -- was almost painful. "We're not trying to kill you, you know. Calm down."

"What in the bloody hell are you doing here, Mugio? You old fossil, you should've died ten years ago." She looked over her shoulder and saw the guy from the tavern, weapon in hand, approach from a different escape route. Other uniformed assailants appeared at the edges of the rooftops, weapons in hand, refusing to give up their advantageous position like Mugio did. "Pasa. I've got plenty bigger questions where that came from."

"And I got no time to waste catching up. I'm on the clock and there's a job I gotta do. You gonna come with us or what?"

"Why on earth would I do that? You're not my superior anymore."

This was clearly starting to annoy the old archer. "Do I look like I'm going to just sit here explaining everything to you, with your sand-eater friends one breath away from killing me? You're wanted. Come with us. That's it."

"Of course I won't." She remembered Serelle, half-panicked, telling her to stay away from her pursuers at all costs. Even without that memory she wouldn't have done something so ridiculous as go with some guys from a group she didn't know, even if they were led by one of the only squadmates she had as a mercenary who she almost could tolerate.

Anticipating her answer, Mugio was already taking his bow off his shoulder and lazily drew a runic arrow from his hip quiver. "Can't say I didn't give you the opportunity to come quiet. I'm told you're a lot hardier than you look, so I don't mind having to [removed] you up a little to bring you in. Sorry, Bower. It's just business."
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