The Instrument of Vengeance. (Open for one female - PM interest)

The Instrument of Vengeance. (Closed for hells_fury)

((OOC: Closed for hells_fury.))


Kale Serpenthelm. Hunter of Men, Stalker of Shadows and Bringer of Death. Kale had numerous titles associated with his name, depending on which tavern or dice table you frequented. None of his own creation and most mentioned amongst exaggerated tales that grew in scale nightly as the ale flowed freely. His truly earned title, Master Assassin of the Raven Thieves Guild, rolled off the tongue with far less dramatic flair. He was among the best assassins in the history of the lawless city of Kora, full of cutthroats, bandits and rogues, and ruled by Guilds such as the one that employed him. Assassins in Kora were treated with the same respect that a Knight would be in a lawful town, their skills compared in conversation as others might discuss tourney results. Only one other assassin was thought to approach Serpenthelm’s level of skill in all of Kora, The Scarlet Blade. Employed by a rival Thieves Guild, no one in the town had actually seen the Blade and lived to speak, some even thought Scarlet Blade to be no more than tavern tales. Kale had heard differently, that Scarlet Blade was certainly real, and certainly skilled.

Kale dipped his cupped hands into the water basin on his dresser, splashing water onto his face to wash away the sweat that had built on his brow. He was stripped to the waist, just having finished his morning physical routine, and wore only a simple pair of loose breeches and black slippers. He wasn’t a particularly large man, just over six feet in height, but every muscle in his body looked as if carved from stone. He was lean, not overly large and brutish, and had the developed physique of a warrior. When concealed beneath a cloak, nothing about his outward appearance would stick out in anyone’s memory, an important feature in a hired killer. He turned to look out over his small room, bare of decoration and color. His katana, his only valuable and highly prized possession, hung in its scabbard on a wooden stand built for that very purpose. A small chest of drawers contained his clothes and disguises, a small chest beside it to store his various other tools of the trade. Besides those things and a small bed, his room was empty. He settled into a seated position on the floor, rolling his shoulders to loosen his freshly exercised muscles and closing his eyes to settle into his afternoon meditation.

Several minutes passed of complete silence before the slow, steady rhythm of his breathing was interrupted by three loud knocks at the door. His sword had left its scabbard before the third knock was sounded, hilt and handle held in a two handed grip level with his right shoulder, his body crouched in a fighting stance. A slit in the center of the door was opened and a small wooden tube was slipped through, falling to the floor and rolling to stop a few feet away from him. Kale paused a few seconds before straightening and turning to return the sword to its scabbard. He bent to retrieve the wooden tube, turning it in his hands to scan it for traps before twisting it open and pulling the halves apart. This was the usual way the guild contacted him regarding his next target, the two pieces of parchment inside the tube would be the target’s description and whereabouts and a drawing of them if available. He tossed the open halves of the tube aside and unrolled the first parchment. He frowned as he read the first few lines. All written in code, his mind deciphered the secret language. “The Guild has declared war. Guildmaster’s son has been killed by the Scarlet Blade. You are the chosen instrument of vengeance.” According to this document the Scarlet Blade had fled the city, pursued by various bounty hunters and amateur hired killers in search of a reward. Last known location was in the foothills of the Heiron Mountains just south of Kora.

Kale felt anticipation building in the pit of his stomach. Finally he would be allowed to make an open move against the Blade and settle the question of who is the better warrior once and for all. He tossed the first parchment onto his bed and unrolled the second. His eyes widened as the rough coal drawn picture came into view. Surely this was a mistake. A joke. His hand crumbled the paper between his fingers as it closed into a fist. The Scarlet Blade was a woman?

Clio Augustine, hunter, killer, shadow, theses were a few of the things that she was good at. More people knew her as The Scarlet Blade. No one knew exactly who she was, or where she was at any given point in time. Her reputation kept the curious ones away and the fearful ones on the run. She had perfected her job and her body.

Clio's body was something she was proud of. Even being in as good as shape as she was she never lost her chest or her ass. Her hips were the perfect width apart giving her body that hour glass shape that she had worked so long to obtain. Her looks came in handy when she was dealing with men. It made it so much easier to get them alone when there was a sexual attraction lying there.

Her hair was as black as a ravens feather and her eyes as green as emeralds. She was a beauty and she knew it. Most who seen her on the street figured she was another woman, none knew her true identity. That was until a Guildmaster's sun was found murdered. Of course she was to blame. She was their rival and she was the best she was the only one who was as good as Kale.

She could also easily put on a woman's dress and cloak and blend in with the crowd. At all times she had two daggers placed around her thighs. They never really left that position until she used them.

Any other weapons were put into various places depending on her attire of that day or night.

Her reputation preceded her though. Which was what had gotten her into her current predicament. Being blamed for a kill she didn't do disgusted her, it have been done messy and sloppy. If she had done it no one would know and they probably would not of found the body. But that was where she was. She had been set up and was now on the run.

There was a price on her head, of course most of the ones who were after her would fail but she was aware of one, and only one who could complete the task or come close to completing the task. It was thrilling and exhausting all at once.

One of her best skills was being a shadow though. IF she did not want to be found chances were you were not going to find her. Finding a hidden cave in the forest she took shelter from the storm that was headed her way. Pulling her katana and garrote out she smiled proudly. Then pulling out her daggers she smiled. Theses were the reasons she had her nick name... On the ends of the daggers were two scarlet crystals. Checking to make sure they were still sharp she put them back in their place.

On her hip were a few throwing knives and stars. In her bag was mostly a little food some water and a few other miscellaneous weapons. Kneeling onto the ground it did not take long for her breathing to be in tune with her heart beat. Meditation was something every good warrior had perfected for themselves. It was a way to relax the mind body and soul and build on ones inner abilities.

Kale let the crumpled paper fall from his hand as he relaxed his grip, settling back onto the ground to continue his meditation. Just as he was an expert killer, the informants who gathered intelligence for the guild were pros. But how had they determined the Blade's identity so quickly? Something tugged at the back of his mind. You didn't survive on the streets long by acting carelessly, and you certainly didn't rise to Kale's level without a strict level of caution and discipline. Something the Blade would have had to practice religiously to rise to the level she had. Then to throw it all away just when you performed the greastest kill of your career? Maybe the Blade wasn't all she was rumored to be. Perhaps the figure depicted on the crumpled up paper was a rouse, set up by the real Blade to lure Serpenthelm out to a place of his choosing. Kale would have to be extra cautious on this one.

Kale settled his thoughts and banished them with the deep calm of meditation. A sudden image pushed it's way through the calm nothingness into the front of his mind's eye. The woman from the drawing. He felt a stir in his loins in response. His eyes shot open, scanning the room. Where had that image come from...and how had it broken his trance with such a base response from his body? Master Assassin or not he was still a man, but he had never interrupted his meditation with sexual cravings before. He stood, brushing off his breeches. He suddenly realized the answer to his own internal question. It wasn't the fact she was beautiful that had turned him on, it was the competition. The promise of an epic rival to test his skill. The fact that this rival was apparently a beautiful woman certainly didn't hurt.

Kale stripped off his breeches, moving to the wash basin and wetting a cotton square of cloth. He unceremoniously washed himself, his mind forming a checklist for the mission ahead while his body performed the task. He dropped the cloth beside the basin and opened a drawer in the dresser below. He dressed himself in a simple pair of black breeches and a similarly colored tight longsleeve shirt. He closed that drawer and opened another, pulling his armor from it and setting it atop the dresser. His suit consisted of a simple boiled leather breastplate with a high collar, an attached leather codpiece and iron bracers. His fingers worked the buckles on the armor with practiced movements, strapping them to his body. When the task was complete he moved to the small chest, pulling his assortment of gear from it. A pair of long curved daggers were slid into their sheaths sewn upside down on the back of his armor, a brace of throwing knives strapped to his right thigh. He sat at the edge of his bed and pulled on a pair of leather boots, fastening the straps that ran up the inside of each boot to secure them tightly to his feet. He stood and tested the draw of each weapon, ensuring a clean release from their sheaths, before tieing on a dark grey-green cloak. The color would blend well with brush or rock in the darkness of night. He grabbed his sword from it's stand, his preparations now complete, and stalked out of the door.

Kale pulled the reigns of his mount, stopping and turning the horse to look back at the city he was leaving behind. A pack with freshly acquired supplies was tied to the back of his saddle, the horse a loan that was trained to return to it's master once Kale released it. He would ride to the base of the mountains before releasing the horse, continuing the hunt on foot. Kale turned the horse back towards the mountains and nudged it into a gallop.

As Clio finished her ritual she sat there for a few moments relaxing. Her body completely relaxed as she sat there. She had to move soon, sleep was not an option for her now. The meditation would help her get through the night. It was better to move at night and she knew that. Not many would travel through these woods during the day and there were a select few that would at night. The one she knew would be coming was Kale and she knew she had to move now.

Packing up her supplies she slid into the breechers and her top. Strapping her weapons around her body, practicing pulling them out and replacing them. everything worked as it should. Tying her hair back with a string she stood up looking around the room. No fire was ever lit so there was nothing to cover up.

Leaving the cave she headed south, going further into the forest. The night was cool and a soft rain was poring down. That would make things better she told herself as she walked careful of where she stepped. The rain would wash away her foot prints. She could hear the howels of the wolves and the other animals and she knew she had to be careful.

Her body was cold as the water hit her skin, stopping for a moment she pulled out her cloak and pulled it on. Returning to her retreat she pushed on. This was not going to be easy but she was determined to clear her name of such a sloppy kill. She knew Kale would be trailing her and she knew he was as good as she was. So in theory if he stayed on her trail and she led him where she needed to she could clear her name. At least she was hoping for that out come.

Kale had sent the horse back in the direction of the town with a motivating slap on the rump, confident in the well-trained animal's ability to find it's way back to it's stables with little trouble. Wolves and other woodland predators rarely roamed out this far, and the gathering of dark clouds in the sky spoke of a storm that would keep them in their collective dens for the night. He watched the horse's progress for a moment as it galloped back towards Kora, finally turning to face the mouth of the forest that had been at his back. The Blade was in there somewhere, and he could almost feel some unseen force at his back, urging him forward into the trees to start the chase. The next few days would likely see him travel through the day and night in relentless pursuit of his quarry, and so he took a moment to breathe in and drink deeply of the fresh mountain air...the calm before the literal and figurative storm.

The moment of peace passed as quickly as it had came, and Kale knelt to prepare his equipment for the task at hand. He carried only a small pack, enough to hold a few days worth of light trail rations and a few waterskins. Cinched tightly, the pack would provide little in the way of a burden, and was carried in a manner so as to leave his right arm, his sword arm, unhindered. A short horn bow, complete with it's accompanying quiver, was tied to the outside of the pack, sealed so as to keep both the string and the the arrows dry. Given the current conditions he left it sealed, removing only a black-dyed oiled wool cloak before slinging the pack across his back. He slipped the cloak over his person, pack and all, and stood, taking a moment to ensure the hilt of his sword was left free for easy access. Satisfied with his state of readiness, Kale started forward into the treeline, his trained eyes already scanning for signs of prior passage ahead of him.

The clouds that he had seen gathering overhead before entering the forest eventually brought the rain they had heralded, a steady, cold drizzle that carried on through the night. Thankful for his oiled cloak that kept him mostly dry, Kale continued on. The passage of several uneventful hours saw him no closer to finding his target's trail than when he had first set foot in the woods. The occasional snapped twig or disturbed leaf could just have easily been the signs of an animal's passage, and if he was to follow all such signs to their end, he would probably starve before randomly stumbling upon the Blade's trail through the process of elimination. He needed a clear cut sign of human passage. He occasionally thought he saw the outline of a boot in the mud, or caught a brief scent of fresh sweat, but in both instances his was unable to generate anything that would give him a solid trail to follow for more than a few steps.

Kale had stopped for a moment of rest after hours of fruitless searching. He was crouched just inside the mouth of a small cave, shelter from both the elements and the potential eyes of his prey should she happen to pass. Who knows what manner of trap she might spring on him, to include doubling back to catch him by surprise. He chewed on a ration of dried meat and sipped from his waterskin as he stared out into the darkness of the forest. He was undeterred by his lack of progress, and had really not expected to catch up with her so soon to begin with. He knew that a chase between himself and the Blade would play out like a game of chess between two masters. The pace would be subtle and slow, seemingly uneventful, defenses impenetrable. And then one's guard would drop for a fraction of a second, one move made without calculating all of the possible outcomes, and the board would erupt in a violence of action. Kale's pursuit of the Blade, playing out as just such a match, would be decided at the time of their eventual meeting. His chase, her evades...all fleeting moments leading up to their inevitable confrontation. She chose the stage, the board, but he decided the pace. A pace he had kept swift throughout the night, and he had only just begun.

Kale stood, taking another sip from his waterskin before trotting off into the darkness between the trees to resume his pursuit of his as-of-yet unseen foe.

Clio continued her hike through the woods. She could not make trailing her to easy she knew that but she needed him to pick up on her trail if she ever wanted to clear her name. Finding a tree easy enough to climb with out leaving a trail behind herself she climbed up to as high as she could and still manage to sit comfortably on a branch.

Sitting there she closed her eyes and thought about her next move. She needed him to follow her but she was unsure at this point if that was at all even possible. Her mind raced with all the different possibilites if she left something for him to trail her with. She had no idea how much of a head start in front of him she truly had. Sitting there she sighed quietly unsure of what to do. Shaking her head she knew, if he was as good as his reputation was then he would find her. Slowly she made her way down the tree back to the floor of the forest.

Setting off again she paid close attention to everything around here. Making sure that she left no trail behind her. Continuing on to her journey the Kingdom she swallowed hard. This was a risk but she had to make it back to her only trainer she ever took. Licking her lips she realized quickly how parched she was. Pulling out her water can she sipped slowly from the holder making sure not to take to much and to leave enough for her journey. Water was important and she needed it to last as long as she could. Yes she could always find more but that would slow her down on her current journey.

Clio stood there looking around herself as she did. The birds were silent and the forest was to quiet for her liking. Setting up a snare as quickly as she could manage she shimmied back up the tree high up from the forest floor and sat watching and hidden to all eyes. Her heart pounding in her chest as she waited and waited to see what was coming her way.