Fishy

[Warden]

Tomwise quickly scanned the open area to his right before waving Hachiro in. Behind the counter was a rather frail looking elf, selling his small stock of flasks and recipes. He slid a dagger onto the counter-top then gazed into Hachiro's eyes with emptiness. The man looking back at him had taken a less subtle approach to Darktown, arriving with leather bound to his tasteless clothes and anger settled in his brow.

"Where is she?", Hachiro asked. His rough hand had collapsed Tomwise's against the blade.

With an alternate hand and index finger, Tomwise's frightened body jolted every two seconds as he pointed around the corner. "She, umm.. she tried to buy some of my poisons and told me that uh... she needed it for her swor--"

Hachiro departed, quickly snatching the dagger out from under Tomwise's hand. The footsteps were quick yet powerful as he descended down the small staircase and into the exposed room. He hadn't planted his foot for nearly two seconds as the three men before him readied their weapons: they knew who he was.

As the first guard began to unsheathe his sword, Hachiro cut the distance between them with a quick dash and slashed, diagonally, at the striking-arm of his opponent. The second man had already wielded his gigantic maul and swung upwards towards Hachiro's chin. While the impact wasn't directly in line with his jaw, he felt the metal as if it had infiltrated the tip of his chin and chipped off a bone fragment. His head was facing up from the minor blow and his eyes fixated on the momentum of the maul; as it was pulling back down, he let his off-hand guide the gigantic stub back to the ground as his dagger lunged into the crevice of the helmet his enemy wore. As the man's eyes locked with blood gushing from his neck and parted lips, the third opponent had no intention of receiving his finisher. While Hachiro decided to leave the dagger stuck in the man's neck and switch to the maul that he had recently acquired, an arrow tagged him in his leg.

The pain was nearly unbearable, stalling his immediate approach while his hands twirled the shaft of the maul around to it's proper position. Gaining a bit of momentum, Hachiro's feet slowly shuffled across the stone, still several inches away from where he needed to be in order to connect with the maul. Before he could get any closer, however, the first guard that he wounded had jumped on his back and initiated a choke-hold. The archer had his next arrow prepared, ready to release into the struggling man before Hachiro suddenly cleared the distance he needed and slammed the maul-head into the skull of his enemy (Scythe). Keeling over, Hachiro had the first guard flipped onto the ground, both of them trying to regain their footing before one could capitalize on the other's mistake. As expected, Hachiro used the bit of strength from one knee to practically snap the guard's neck into oblivion, horizontally.

Hachiro fell over one last time from the poison in his leg that seemed to be spreading as he lay upon the cold, dirty, grimy, stone floor. Veridium boots quickly turned the next corner and connected with his face, sending Hachiro into darkness.

[Warden]

With a quick slap to the face, Hachiro woke to a burly figure stretching her arms. The pain rushed to his cheek. The woman revealed a big blunt object, similar to that of a mace but made with darkened wood. His eyes wandered around the environment, Hachiro finding himself in a cellar of sorts.

The woman's voice was harsh and worn, masculine in pitch and tone but clearly a woman's. "You should have restrained yourself, Theo. The blade has inaugurated it's new proprietor. Tolerate it. Respect it. No other verdict is available to you."

Hachiro's eyes fell to the ground, then widened as he saw the veridium boots that connected with his face. It wasn't enough that this woman was the thief he was after, but to know that she was also the culprit of face kicking-- that was unforgivable in another aspect.

Feeling started to come back to Hachiro's body, which was around the same time he noticed that he had been bound to a sturdy wooden pole by abdomen, ankles, and wrists. His tongue jetted out to wet his dry lips but met the taste of seawater.

With short breaths, Hachiro began to speak.

"Plucked me away to the Docks, have you? Quite a stretch from Darktown, I suppose..."

The woman quietly turned her attention to the conscious man.

"You should be cognizant as to the recoil of those 'bound and dejected'. There will be bounteous blood spilled before tomorrow's actuality and it will not be my own that stains the floor."

The woman slammed the club into Hachiro's stomach, holding the weight of it against him as she landed a powerful fist into his jawbone. "Are you so feebleminded as to suspect that you are qualified to slip my clinch, Theo? I know of your past... I know what facilitates the fear in your heart..."

The woman leaned away from the grunting man, taking her leave as a slim, hooded figure dressed in all-black robes entered through the barred door (the only conventional entrance into the room). Before either of them could get a word out, there was a glow of red that outlined on the surface of the figure's face. Like a tattoo, it weaved in and out of other lines and completely mesmerized Hachiro as he practically turned to mental mush. The figure had assumed control. Hachiro slipped into the Fade.

::

In Lowtown, a dwarf openly challenges the beliefs of the Templars. He has drawn a crowd and will surely draw in more of the Templars he speaks of. He makes claims regarding the names of several dangerous blood mages that are living amongst the city, also saying that the Templars know of these mages but intend to allow them to do their worst to their enemies. He makes it clear that he doesn't agree with the supposed idea of letting blood mages perform petty crime until they catch them conspiring with others of their kind, if the idea holds any weight in truth at all.

This post has been edited by Warden on Apr 8 2011, 12:20 PM