Reqium of Mana (IC)

[Storyboy]

"Friend?" Joseph said in a low tone. He thought to say, "I don't have a friend with me." But he had been in situations like this before and knew what tone she was using hinted at. He knew if someone was near them with intent to hurt them, that he needed to plan his next move carefully. Then again Joseph wasn't the most careful of men.

"Get on the horse." He said quietly. "I'm going to come to you and jump on I want you to ride back to my cart." He gestured his head towards the other side of the lake. If he could make it to his mech, whomever was after them didn't stand a chance.

He took a breath. 'Ready.' He got ready to run, "GO!" He yelled at the girl as he ran and jumped onto the back of the horse. If he had known she was blind he would have lead the horse himself but her eyes were hidden away.

[dreamingflowers]

The fact she was in possession of a horse did not mean she had the ability to ride one. Ever since she was traveling by herself after the mutilation she had a horse with her but only to guide her movements. The animal would be her eyes and it faithfully walked the roads created by the travelers of Syzuk. It was beyond her skills to ride a horse. Walking beside one kept her largely in control of the animal but if she mounted it the horse would have all the control. For someone like her that would be dangerous. It was impossible to tell where the animal would take her and she couldn’t afford to place her trust in a horse or anyone else beside herself for that matter. Ever since she had escaped from the prison of the Baratheon’s she never let down her guard. He was determined to punish her for a crime she did not commit. Taking away her sight had not satisfied the sadistic bastards they wanted her dead. People could not handle the truth. The young noble who had come to see her this morning reacted like they all did. Enraged and crazed. He could also have sent someone after her.
Her profession was a dangerous one, ungrateful but necessary. Great Kings and queens would request for a seer or an oracle to come and predict the course of a great battle. While her clients were no kings or queens she did much the same. Of course no one liked to hear his wife was cheating on him or that his child would be a still born. All she knew was that she wasn’t done living.

She got onto her horse with effort the young man sitting behind her. His plan was foolish but he truly seemed to want to help her. If it meant she was going to survive then so be it. But he wasn’t going to get any favors from her because of it. He wanted to be a knight in shining armor fine but she was no damsel in distress. Before she lost her sight she was quite a feisty combatant. Aside from her fortune telling talents the marksmen of the Lescanzi taught her a simple yet effective style of hand to hand combat. It used the strength of the opponent against them and almost any object could be used as an improvised weapon. They sat on the horse for a few seconds listening to the sounds around them.
Her hearing had grown sharper as had her other senses and when she divined her eyes were usually closed. Katerina carefully handed the reins to the young man behind her.
“I can’t ride……”
She didn’t know how far his cart would be or what was inside it. If there was truly an assassin after her she doubted the both of them stood a chance. She might be able to predict the future but that did not mean she had the power to change it.

[Storyboy]

"I can't ride." Joseph was shocked by this and he paused in his moment of rushing. "Can't ride? Why d you have a...Never mind just hold on." He wrapped his arms around the girl and took hold the rope, hoping the girl wouldn't use that dagger on him for being so close. Hugh! He ordered the horse forward. They went fast but without the girls guidance they went right in the direction of the assassin.

[Elyk]

If his senses were tingling before, they were like lightning now. Instinctively, Angel withdrew into the shadows as soon as he heard the horse coming his way. Concealing himself behind one of the trees he strained his eyes to try and understand what was going on. The shape of the horse was starting to be more visible, and with the moon's glow two figures could be seen as it's riders.

A man and woman, that was for certain, but he was trained to take painstaking inventory at whatever he was focused on. He remained still as a stone, his breath shallow and low, low enough for what he thought was just him to be able to hear it. The horse drew closer, and finally a better view was available. The man, young, perhaps middle class, looked to be an engineer, like the ones who worked on those fighting machines. The woman however really caught his attention. Most notably her garments, they looked something cultural, a wanderer or a perhaps a gypsy.

Now he understood what was going on...the garments, the faint descriptions of her features, and most importantly the cloth covering her eyes...His train of thought was momentarily broken as he heard the flutter of wings above him. He looked up to see a raven, a raven he knew had come from the Brotherhood Guildhall, he was being observed! Either Fate or pure luck had brought his prey to him and now he was being watched to make sure he was doing his job.

He hadn't prepared, for this, and the Guild knew it and set this up, it truly was a test and he was rapidly about to fail. Armed only with his standard dagger he placed one hand onto the hilt and quickly set into motion to get ahead of the horse before his one chance was gone for good. He began to weave between the thick trees looking for an opening. Although not completely silent he knew his steps could not have possibly been heard by any normal ears.

[dreamingflowers]

Whoever was after them had learned to be silent as the night. It was definitely a hired hand. The one who wanted her killed did not spare any expense and had hired a killer from the most notorious organization in Syzuk. She had met her share of assassins and killers during her travels and her reputation served as a protection. Back then she wasn´t as vunerable as she was today but she was nowhere near capable of killing a hired hand. The infamous reputation her people had build up did have its advantages especially when confronted by someone from the underground of Syzuk. It was a mistake to return to the United Empire, she should have stayed on the road. The Baratheons were still looking for her and they had put a bounty on her head. She had made great effort to conceal her identity and the Baratheons had made sure most of her beauty got taken when they cut out her eyes. The portrait they had of her was one where she did not conceal her face and she was dressed in noble garments. It was a difference of day and night with her current appearance. It had helped to set the bounty hunters and other scum on the wrong track.

“Stop…”
She suddenly pulled on the reins and turned the horse around so their backs were facing the forest behind them. Without another word she started to slide her hand in one of the folds of her skirts retrieving a small bottle wrapped in a cloth. She felt around for the lid and opened it. She handled the contents of the bottle with great care. Careful not to touch anything with it. she dipped her dagger into it.
It took her some time to hide everything again and she used the silence to whisper some quiet words.
“You’re going to let me fall off the horse and you need to ride to your cart and not stop”
If this assassin was going to kill her he would need to dispose of the evidence. Knowing the Baratheons they would want evidence of her death preferably her head. She handed the reigns back to him and took a deep breath before she let herself tumble off the horse. The fall wasn’t painful and the grass muffled the impact. It looked like she had fainted and the young man quickly rode to his cart to try and find something to regain her consciousness. She remained still on the grass even when the breeze uncovered her veil, the dagger clutched in her left hand.

[Storyboy]

The girl fell from the horse. 'What the hell?!' He leaned over in attempt to pull her back up he knew he was wasting time, They wer halfway to the cart and if he could just make it..."Damnit." Though it took great effort not to jump off the horse and defend the girl with his sword, he did what she said and rode off.

He kept his eyes looking back making sure she was still in the clear. Then he arrived at his cart. He quickly dismounted and walked up to his collapsed mech. Then with a gentle touch with his gauntlet a blue light glew from an orb on the back of the hand. "This woman is going to owe me a new cart." The mech's legs kicked out, on folding from the body. Then the arms did the same. The cart was destroyed by the large mech and as the weight became unbalance the wheels broke off the cart. The canopy of the mech opened as it hit the ground and the man layed in it. "Oh well this is a pain." A mech on it's back was much like that of a turtle, a pain to get on it's feet. Joseph took control of the arms as the power flowed through him. He pushed on the ground feeling the stress the mech went through with his own arms. He pushed himself up only to fall back. It took three more tries before he was back on his feet. "Well so much for coming back quietly." He said to himself and then ran towards the girl not knowing what he'd see there.

[Elyk]

Angel quickly stopped short as he saw the woman fall from the horse. The fall alone should not have killed her, but it's possible she was wounded. But then again he needed to be aware of that man, perhaps he was hired protection? So she had foreseen this, just as Angel feared, he needed to do this fast before anything serious happened. He was used to quick and deadly strikes and then slowly melting into the shadows, he was not equipped for any full scale battles.

He drew his dagger and proceeded with caution, with this kind of target, he needed to make sure his guard was up at all times. Stepping quietly yet swiftly he made his way to the still body. He was within a few yards when he heard a rumbling, he passed it off as thunder, regardless there was not a cloud in sight. He couldn't break his focus on his target, that was a rookie mistake that could get him killed.

He stopped for but a brief moment to ready himself, he knew something was up, his sense were ablaze, he steadied his breath to be able to control his movement, and he poised himself as he reached out to grab her and move her body into an easier killing position.

[dreamingflowers]

Katerina tightened her grip around the dagger when she heard someone approaching. It was hard to make out any kind of sound through the booming noise of in the distance. The young man had managed to reach his cart and from the sounds of it something large had been resting on it. She wasn’t sure what it sounded like but it was heavy because she felt the ground shake underneath her body. That wasn’t what mattered to her, instead she focused on the sounds and movements around her. Someone was making his way over to her and she could hear footsteps trained to be silent crushing the grass. The fall had her face down in the grass and she had not moved an inch. If she was going to strike she only had one chance and could not afford to miss it. Whatever this assassin was planning she would not give up without a fight.

The footsteps stopped and she held in her breath her heart starting to beat faster.
Was he going to strike?
Suddenly she felt a gloved hand brush against her arm trying to move her. She did not hesitate and rolled over onto his arm trying to get him on the ground. He was strong and her weight could not push him down all the way but she knew where he had to be standing. A quick strike with her dagger and she felt the blade connect. If it was skin she did not know but he hauled back so she could not strike again. Katerina was back on her feet and holding the dagger close to her ready to strike again if she felt him approaching.

[Storyboy]

Joseph showed up just in time to see the girl strike the assailant and he backed off. But Joseph knew this would only last a moment before the assassin would strike. So Joseph came to a sliding halt by the girl and put his mechanical hands on the ground in front of her forming a barrier between her and the attacker. "Are you okay?" He asked and his voice came out through the small air vents he had built in the mech. His approach was far from quiet and he knew he may have surprised both the girl and their attacker. But quiet was never his style, nor did it matter when you had an inch of thick metal for protection.

[Elyk]

Angel didn't see the quick movement from his target until it was too late. She rolled onto his arm knocking him off balance just enough to allow a knife to swing through the air and puncture his skin straight into his side causing him to reel back in pain. Gah son of a-!!" was all he could cry out before a running metal monstrosity shielded the Lescanzi from any further assault. It seemed to have known the soothsayer asking for a damage assessment. Yet again the worst case scenario came true. She had found protection and with this he had no way of fighting it. He needed a rifle of some sort. Why had the Brotherhood allowed this?!

The wound began to burn, this was quickly turning out to be a tragedy and a battle he had no hope in winning, he knew he was injected with some toxin. He swore under his breath as he began to back up trying to assess the situation and trying to figure out if this mission was still salvagable, after all he just needed to kill her and be done. He knew he was being watched but would his brothers and sisters help him now?