drewccapp

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon's brow twitched with irritation when attention was put more on the massive warrior and the book than the mission they all came out here for. The mission mattered more to him than this bit of drama. Then he heard Anrak state about his lack of sleep and his irritation grew. As powerful as he was to tear off a piece of flesh from the wyrm any lack of self care could jeopardize any warrior's safety. Any deviation in reaction time could result in death.

Allanon stepped between Anrak and the other two briefly facing Anrak. "I do hope that lack of sleep doesn't become a liability in this mission. As powerful as you appear to be you have limits. Perhaps, it would be best for you to have stayed back at the inn." He turned to Eduard and Kistal. "This man volunteered to risk his life to find and raid a Calabris' operation and help rescue complete strangers. Regardless of how he came across that bible he has chosen to do an honorable thing. He certainly deserves better than to be threatened with a blade. Red Saints have done much to bring light into this world do not tarnish their good name by threatening to draw blood."

If Anrak had indeed stolen the book justice could be served, however, it did not need to be served by payment with blood. That was not what Marissa would have wanted.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon relaxed only slightly after the beast had been defeated. He heard a belch behind him as Kistal commented about his work done well before accosting Anrak. He wondered exactly what had the beastman done? Taking a moment to consider he knew there were many varieties of spell casting. In many ways the most insidious spells could not been seen.

There were two spell casters on his former team: one used healing, and the other used curses. The curse user was a large reason their missions often went without a hitch. Her in combination with his wife, their scout, often had enough to make their operations very smooth. The effects of the curse user were never clear unless pointed out. She preferred being called a "control mage". Unfortunately, she was no longer alive.

Of the six of his team, only the healer, stealth assassin, and himself were still alive after all these years. While he did not miss working as the Calabris' slave, Allanon did miss the team that had become his family. Perhaps he could recapture that feeling before old age or a Calabris agent took his life.

Allanon faced the folks on board. "I think we should make clear what we are capable of so we can best come up with a plan of attack. Not many will be better with the sword than myself, so I'll be best as a front-lines fighter."

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon had never fought a sand wyrm before, and gripped the handle of his sword and drew it calmly preparing himself to engage into combat when the opportunity arrived. He stepped up to the edge of the skiff the wyrm was closing in on ready to leap onto the beast at the first opportunity. He wondered, when was the last time he had fought a large beast such as this? Occasionally the Calabris family had sent his team out to slay the rare large beast and harvest their parts, but even when he worked for them his work focused more around the various people of the world.

Often times he was simply the distraction while the powerhouses did their damage. There was only so much a swordmaster could do to a monstrous beast such as this. The real MVPs of this battle would be the magic-users.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon watched with interested as the skiff drove into the desert. This was an interesting perspective for viewing the desert he had traveled on foot before. He was fairly aware of the wildlife through his own studies, however, this was his first time seeing a sand wolf. He was quite fascinated about this new sight. The way Chihiro spoke was quite off-putting. Before he could question it out loud, he heard Bidzil's comments about the Calabris family and his ignorance about them.

He took serious issue with the lack of knowledge in regards to the Calabris family. After all, they had their hands in everything everywhere. The fact that they were unknown outside of Portea only went to show how effective their covert operations were.

He faced Bidzil with a serious expression. "The Calabris are not a person, they are a family. They are a business. They are a corrupt organization representing the worst in humanity. They are everywhere, and where ever they are they should be cut out with precision. They are the most powerful family of the Big Three in Portea, and they are greedy monsters. The fact that they are so little known outside of Portea is a worrying thing."

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon had gotten onto the skiff without a word. The variety of races present without any clear discomfort between their peers was astounding. In Portea everyone just wanted to mind their own business, and they were often close minded in regards to other races. The strangeness and difference between them simply made most of them stay within their cliques. Perhaps it was simply the difference between environments that made this so? The odds were the difference in size between the cities had a large effect as well.

The last time Allanon came here he had seen the skiffs, however, he never once got a chance to use one. His old squad were here on a mission in the town on orders of the Calabris family. It was a kidnapping. The irony of his current mission was not lost on him. He hoped he would succeed in rescuing all the kidnapping victims.

The only other human on board the skiff spoke up as they headed out. He wore a Trantis guard's coat. Curious considering how Trantis was wiped out. He either was a survivor or left before.

He nodded in greeting toward Bidzil before responding with a professional tone. "Allanon."

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon nearly smiled at Chihiro's response to his, however, the Calabris were not worthy of such a reaction even in regards to speaking poorly of them. The only thing that would get him to smile over them would be for justice to be brought down on their evil actions and for their punishment to bring them to obscurity and beyond. The last thing she said caught him off guard. It was almost as if she knew Krogan. If that was the case, she definitely was not human.

After he spoke to Valia about escorting her someone she appeared to be familiar with approached and told her about her available room. It seemed his words were wasted. "I see you will be fine. You have an incredible community here, Madame Valia. Portea would learn much from Kalla." If Portea's community was half as supportive as Kalla would Allanon have the Sword of Damocles hanging over him today?

He smile a short farewell smile before turning and heading toward the volunteer squad. "I'll volunteer. Call me Allanon."

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon had noticed the onlooking guards much like Sahale, however, he had no choice but to admit his solution would have been much less smooth. Killing in such a rehearsed fashion was clear sign of a skilled assassin. Probably the best that he had ever met aside from his old team in their prime. Allanon was no stranger to dealing with opponents strong in techniques of feinting, however, one as skilled as Sahale would be a great challenge to overcome if he were an active opponent.

He caught the token and glowered at it. "Well... this just a lot bigger than a simple rescue." His tone made it clear he did not like the implications of this mission.

Allanon felt like he hardly got any information from Sahale. Certainly not enough to warrant a payment of any kind. However, he already agreed to the conditions set by the man, and he would not be one to go back on his word. Sure, he was given a lot of random information, vague words, and veiled threats, but essentially this all boiled down to go to the volunteer force. Entirely worthless. He would have likely joined or at the very least followed the voluntary force. Whatever he learned from there he would have dealt with as appropriate. At the very least the assassin could have given an exact location, after all he probably knew.

As Sahale and the beastman went to deal with their errands, Allanon turned to Valia. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Who do you trust that can keep you safe? I'll escort you to them. I'll be joining the volunteer expedition afterwards."

Allanon turned to face Chihiro as she introduced herself. He scanned her cautiously. Inquisitor was not a human title he was familiar with, however, he knew of a few humans that have earned an honorable title among beastman tribes. "Greetings, Chihiro, I am Allanon. I do indeed intend to join the volunteer troop as soon as Madame Valia is somewhere safe. Calabris spies and assassins could be anywhere, and until their operation is dealt with she is still at risk. Money is all they care about, so as soon as their ventures here become too costly they should leave."

He would not tell much else considering how little he truly knew about their operation here.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon remained unflinching as Sahale explained how his bounty for taking him in alive was the reason he was not dead. This assassin seemed to be quite confident in his ability to kill Allanon, however, Allanon was quite familiar with the ways of an assassin. After all, he was himself an assassin. There was no way that the Calabris family would want him captured alive. He knew them too well. His existence was too much of a threat for them, which meant someone else wanted him alive for some reason. It made sense that they would keep such a bounty low profile then.

He considered the counter-offer presented by Sahale and nodded. "Fine, that is acceptable." He would trust him for now, but the veiled threats put him as far on edge as he could imagine. The instant Allanon got an inkling that Sahale was after his life there would be quite the fight. While the extra numbers would help in a search, Allanon had a hard time believing that an volunteer force would know where to go.

When a beastman approached and offered his assistance, Allanon's gaze settled on the giant satyr. "An enemy of the Calabris Family is a friend of mine. Glad to have you on board." Working with a beastman again reminded Allanon of his time with his team, and his wife.

In his time as a vigilante, Allanon took a bit more time to be in-the-know of current events and history. Before, he had very little interest in it, however, ever since he was freed from his contract with the Calabris family he took care to pay more attention to those things as such knowledge could lead to unexpected opportunities. The name was definitely a familiar one. "Krogan was a hero of Varuk, right?" Allanon had a bad feeling about Calabris' intentions in this regard.

The Vanishing Kingdom

As he caught the robe and moved it aside, Allanon started to draw his sword prepared for a surprise attack. He had no reason to trust the disguised man. When no attack came after, he relaxed slightly. From what he could tell from the stranger's posture he knew how to fight and kill. Allanon made it a habit to never underestimate a potential opponent. He did not remove his hand from his sword though, instead he had a grip on its pommel. He was prepared to use the cloak to his advantage if this scenario came down to a fight after all much of his fighting technique used his environment to his advantage just as much as his own body.

Allanon stood up straight from his combat posture as he slowly evaluated what kind of person was before him. He clearly valued his subordinates, but he certainly valued business as well. Respectable. "Alright. I will not remove my hand from what very likely may be protecting my life right now. You clearly know who I am, so you know what I am capable of." He paused as he considered his next statement. "If you can tell me where the Calabris operation is in Kalla you can extract whatever fee you please from the bodies of their mercenaries as well as the site itself, so long as it doesn't cause harm to innocents. Since, trust is a factor to worry about, you can send her with me to keep an eye on me and extract said fee."

Calabris' mercenaries were among the only people he had little hesitation to kill. They had sold their souls to the devil and many of them knew it. Even so, every life he took weighed on him. It was also possible that the operation site had plenty of valuables to exchange for money. The last one he raided had enough that it helped him get by until now.

The Vanishing Kingdom

Allanon's hand went immediately to his sword's handle when the suspicious stranger approached them. He had no idea who this stranger was and for all he knew she was going to lead them into danger. If she knew who he was then that meant she was aware of the bounty on his head. Money was a different problem altogether. Even if what she was saying was the truth there was no way he would be able to pay. He hardly had enough money to cover food if he did not have other means to acquire it.

He glowered at the stranger and questioned her. "Why should we trust you? For all we know you're an assassin working to lead us into a trap. No, if you know someone that can help us get information bring them here otherwise begone." He had no taste for killing, so if he could simply get a potential threat to back off on his reputation alone that would be good enough. It was unlikely that a third party mercenary would know the whereabouts of the Calabris operation.

In all of his years, Allanon learned patience serves well in dangerous situations. This would be no different than any other time.