The Games We Play [FlashBack Solo Complete]

[Clandestine Duplais]

Summer 13th 502 AV The sun had just risen over the cool stone buildings of Ravok. The city was slow to wake as all manners of life began to stretch their bodies and begin to work. The merchants had all gone to set up shop, the docks busy with the ships that might have arrived from distant lands over night, the dock hands busy with the off load. Some, like the two twins had awaken earlier then most to begin their daily studies, a common goal shared among the two as they sat in the modest home. Vermsinthe, their father who worked hard and early, had already left for the day. Clandestine read through the word covered parchment of a war book while Gallo busily studied a book about codes. Gallo read and learned about the use of symbols and complex math formulas to created confusing codes. The first chapter of the book started with the basic history of Cryptography and its use in clandestine operations during times of war. He read and learned about how to translate the alphabet into numbers and its use in basic coding. The book told the basic rules of thumb, reflecting words so they read backwards, reflecting entire documents so that they are to be read from bottom up and right to left, write sentences backwards and the use of patterns to further encode documents. Gallo looked up from his book and to his desk. A blank journal and a map of the city laid quietly on the wooden surface as a flame flickered to light the room. His eyes brightened a bit as he reached over and grabbed the journal after he set down the book, pages side down to hold his spot. “Sis, what are you reading?” Gallo sat back in his chair and looked over at Clandestine sat her desk. “Tactics of torture used in the practice of interrogation,” she briefly looked up from her book, then let her eyes drift back to the book, “Why?” “I was wondering, instead of doing the usual practice of combat and body manipulation for combat purposes--” “You mean Flux.” “Right, Flux. Why don’t we play a little game of hide and seek?” Clandestine cringed with a grunt, “That’s for kids, we are here to study and train so that we can at least bring a bit of recognition to our family.” Clandestine seemed to shift her body language into an, end of discussion, sort of posture. Gallo noted this and sat back in his chair. The gears in his head began to work, at least he had planted the idea into her head. That was always step one with his sister. He turned his attention back to the book and began to read again. Soon he finished the chapter and began to write something in the journal. It took him a while but once done he tore out the page and began to write something else down in the journal. He also reached for the map and unfolded it. All the noise caused by the paper perked Clandestine’s attention, though she’d never let Gallo know that. Her bi-colored eyes watched Gallo as he busily studied the map and began to write in the journal. The two sat in silence as Gallo’s quill busily fluttered back and forth. Clandestine brought her hand up to fix a braid around her ear and Gallo took the opportunity to press the proposition of a game further, “What if I challenged you and put up my week’s allowance on the line?” Gallo looked up at Clandestine with a smirk, she had set down her book and Gallo knew he had hooked her or at least made the fish nibble at the bait. “It wouldn’t change my mind about the game being for children. But I am willing to hear what you have to say.” “Well, its a game of hide and seek as you know already, however it will be a city city wide game.” Clandestine smirked. “Impossible, even if I started to search for you now it would take all day.” Clandestine reached for her book again and began to read once more. Gallo returned to his studies and continued to write in the journal. The ink had dried while the two spoke so he flipped the page and continued to write on the next page. Gallo returned to his book after a moment and read the next chapter as it discussed the subject of riddles and the construction of them. “What if I give you clues to were I’m going to be? Would that help?” Gallo broke the silence before he blew out the candle next to his desk. “Yeah what if you do?” Clandestine set down her book. She had started the book that morning and seemed to be almost finished with it. “Well your complaint was that it would take all day to search the city for me.” Gallo set down his quill and stood up after he folded the map and slipped it into his pocket. The sun had risen above the horizon and began to shine brightly through the window. The rays where illuminated and seemed to pierce the darkness between them as it caught the glint of the dust and smoke in the air. “You seem to almost be done with your book. I’m going to leave you with this journal, within it a list of hints of locations in Ravok. At each location you will find a silver coin. My weeks allowance is only six silver so five of the locations will have a piece of silver hidden somewhere.” “Five pieces? What about the sixth? You bet your entire weeks allowance.” Clandestine crooked a brow at Gallo as he began to wrap his wrist and hands with cloth as if to ready for combat. “The sixth piece will be on my person, once you find me you will have to fight me and make me forfeit or submit to you. You win the game when you find me, but you will win the bet if you complete the last task.” He grinned and slid off his shirt. His fair skin was exposed to the cool air, warmed lightly from the sun light. Clandestine could make out the young man’s features, though still a boy he had began to develop muscles earlier then most. Their father pushed them hard at a young age, Clandestine had learned to read at the age of three and began to read above average literature by four. Gallo followed close behind her, but Clandestine knew that her knowledge did not compare to his combat skills. As Clandestine continued to size up her brother, she could see the scars from previous spars the two participated in almost weekly. The slashes from her bladed gauntlets, were truly deadly, yet his body seemed scarred more then her own. Perhaps he always held back in fights and let her hit him instead of causing harm to her. Whatever the reason was, her thought was interrupted as the sound of metal filled the air in sharp, quick, jolts. He had slid on the armor which at the moment reached his forearm but they both knew he’d grow into them. “If I do initiate combat, I will fight you as if you were my enemy. I will not hold back brother.” Gallo smirked again as he slid back on his shirt. The sleeves covered his weapons of choice perfectly, he knew that weapons weren’t banned to have out in public, but he didn’t feel like bring to much attention to himself. The spikes that lined his knuckles were the only real give away that what he wore was not really just armor. Gallo walked into the stream of light and held out a hand to Clandestine. The back of the gauntlet could be seen in the light. A crude design was carved into the metal, which depicted a design similar to the Windoak of the Sylirian knights only it appeared to be withered and surrounded by flame. On the other gauntlet was the symbol of the Black Sun, each there as a reminder to what they lived for and aspired for. “I’d be insulted if you held back sis do you accept my challenge?” Clandestine eyed the hand before her own hand shot out to greet the held out palm. “Its a deal. You’d better bring it or I will kill you today brother.” She grinned and hid if she was being serious or not. After the shake and acceptance, Gallo turned toward the door. He looked over his shoulder and took note of Clandestine’s candle. The shaft almost had melted down to the pedestal it called home. “Give me until the candle has run down, then you may begin your journey in finding me.” With that said, Gallo walked out the door. The game had begun and the hunt was on. Gallo stepped out into the sun and reached for the map he kept on his person. He began to walk down the road as he unfurled part of the map and found the mark he made to mark his current location. He knew he had to make haste, the candle had been close to the plate and time was short before his sister would be after him. They lived close to the southern trading post and his first location was almost completely across town. He studied the map and remembered the route to his first spot to leave a silver coin. “Lets see, seven streets down once I enter into the market district, turn right across the bridge and find the fountain. Right I got this!” Gallo had begun to jog at an even pace up the road and toward the main city. He began to concentrate on his body’s movements as he ran. He began to focus on directing his energy to his legs, they would need every bit of help they can get to maintain stability when the game has ended and the real game begins. After a few moments of running he began to feel a bit of strain on his muscles, his focus of redirecting his strength had little effect but it was then he remembered what he and his sister had done to help train the body better. They assigned parts of their body to verses of Rhysol’s Ravok. “There’s a sweet young girl with bold black locks,” he chanted and slipped into a more focused jog, “ and eyes so bright and pretty good rack...” Gallo ran through the same verse of the song and soon the burn of his muscles faded and was replaced with calmness as he entered into the cobblestone alley of the market district. The buildings, made of stone, carved excellently to show off the beauty of the city. It really was a beautiful place to live, Gallo couldn’t think of any place better to live. He dodged people as they walked through the streets at leisure, but Gallo had a mission. He ignored the confused looks as he turned a corner suddenly and began to ascend the gradual, slopped curve of one of the many bridges over a canal. Clandestine had finished her book and picked up the journal. The candle had almost burned down and soon it would be time to hunt for her brother. She had already slipped on her gauntlets, which were exposed to the world. She didn’t have the luxury of wearing something to cover them, the razor sharp edge along the outer edge of them cut through her garments like butter. She had ruined many clothes with her weapons. Like her brother, she had the same markings as his scratched into the metallic surface, though not as well as his. Gallo lacked a steady hand and was frankly quite sloppy when it came to writing or even drawing. But still she held much pride in her gauntlets marked by her brother. The candle neared its final legs just as she opened the journal and began to look over it. “Tsks numbers, I don’t even need the key for this one.” She eyed the sloppy, hand written number four with an equal sign to the letter D. “Lets see here, 13, 25,” She thought for a moment, “My. 6, 9,” another pause, “F, I, 18 R. My first,” she deduced without deciphering the rest. “12, 15, 3, 1, 20, 9, 15, 14. My first location,” She paused when she reached two number close together and deduced it probably read is, “My first location is, 6 9 22 5 2 12 15 3 11 19 9 14 5. 18 9 7 8 20 1 14 20 15 23 1 18 4 23 1 20 5 18.” Clandestine stared at the numbers for a long moment. She finished and knew where to head off toward first, just as the candle flame grew smaller and smaller until nothing. The thin stream of white smoke was disturbed as the door quickly flew open and shut with a thud and click. She began to run along the same path as Gallo did awhile ago. Gallo had already deposited all five of the silver in different locations of the city, he took the back routes and placed them out of order to what was written in the journal. He didn’t want to chance an encounter with Clandestine prematurely. His legs burned as he stopped and rested in the shadows of the buildings. The walkways had begun to fill with people and was sure to make Clandestine’s travels that much more difficult. After a short break he began to walk casually through an alley. He had planned his route so that when he left the last silver hidden all he had to do was turn the corner and he’d be back where he had first started. He composed himself and turned the corner and blended in with the crowd. He ducked out of the relatively busy street and watched for Clandestine and almost as if on cue Gallo observed a Clandestine as she ducked and attempted to fight through the flow of people. She did so with a pardon me, excuse me almost every step, if she wasn’t tired by the end of this her jaw surely would. Gallo snickered and stepped back into the crowd of nobles and common folk alike and casually tailed her through the tight walk way. He was slow and didn’t draw attention to himself as he tip toed through the constant moving maze of people. Finally he rounded a corner and found Clandestine as she stood next to the rail of the bridge. Her head hung over the railing as she searched for the coin. Gallo quickly ducked into a stoop and concealed himself just as Clandestine began to walk toward his location. She stopped at the start of the bridge and began to scan the entire bridge slowly. Each step she took, Gallo crept closer. He didn’t care if he looked suspicious, he had a genuine excuse to his shifty play he was merely playing a game with his sister. Clandestine neared the end of the bridge and sighed. She scanned again to the sides and then behind her. Her brow crooked as she saw Gallo as he stood near the center of the bridge with a grin. People walked around the two as they stood still, “Gallo you arse! You didn’t even leave the coins anywhere didn’t you? You said go till you find water, there is water all around us. Where is the coin?” Gallo laughed loudly, “I did not deceive you sister. But perhaps I was to vague in my hints. True you found the water below, but that would be to obvious.” Clandestine growled lowly, which only fueled Gallo’s chuckles. Gallo composed himself and soon pointed forward, “This is your one piece of help! Look forward and tell me what you see?” Clandestine turned around and scanned the street in front of her. It took her a moment but she soon spotted a fountain made of what appeared to be marble. Several people decorated its bowl as they sat and rested. She turned to look back over her shadow, but found that Gallo had vanished. Into the crowd he went and began to head off to his final destination. He began to walk to the Southern Trading post again. He looked at the sun, which only had completed its first quarter on its plane. He had plenty of time and new that Clandestine would have no trouble with the rest of the codes. Even though he scrambled some of the words, the code was more of a way to bide time. Simple yet time consuming due to the lateral way one had to think. Gallo soon left the main city and made it toward the lake-shore areas. It was less crowded there and would likely be less threatening to the citizens when the two meet with fists clenched. He wasn’t aware of the many guards that might have been on patrol in the area but it really didn’t matter to him. He was determined to win against his sister in the match. Hopefully, the journey had tired her out some. He waited patiently within the narrow, deserted, stone, walk way right before he took off his shirt. He rolled the piece of clothing up and tossed it to the side, he didn’t want to ruin the article of clothing it was his favorite. None to long after that the sounds of shoes as they ran across stone began to echo through the roofless cave of stone buildings. Gallo readied himself in a fighting stance just as Clandestine ran around the curve. “Gallo! That game was horrible!” She spoke while her hands busily removed the short cloak from around her neck. Gallo and Clandestine’s space between them soon closed the fight was about to begin. Clandestine tossed the cloak toward Gallo and momentarily blinded him. But such trickery was to be expected as he waited for the first punch to cut through the thin fabric. The moment came and Gallo moved his hands up to block the bladed armor in it’s tracks. The sound of the metal as it slammed together made their ears ring. Gallo began to chant the same verse from the song he used earlier in his travels and jumped backward and away from Clandestine. He only had moments to recover before he had to block a crushing blow aimed for his head. Gallo looked at her sister’s eyes, fire glowed behind the bi colored eyes, “It seems you didn’t quite enjoy the adventure through the city.” Gallo was quick as he ducked low and delivered an open palmed blow to Clandestine’s side. He didn’t want to strike with fists in fear that he might hurt her with the short, but deadly spikes. Clandestine was quick to recover, she really wanted to beat the crap out of her brother today. She brought a knee up while she chanted a verse from the song as well. The knee was swift as she focused her body movements into that one knee. What a hard blow it was. Gallo grunted and found himself knocked off balance and landed on his tail bone. It was a painful fall but he didn’t let him loose focus. He wiped his face as the taste of blood filled his mouth. The hard blow to the bottom of his chin caused him to bite the side of his mouth. He only growled with a smirk, “Guess that is a no. Very well.” His foot came up swiftly and struck Clandestine’s inner thigh. It threw her off balance enough for him to get back on his feet. He quickly threw a punch, fist clenched, but was caught by the blade of Clandestine’s gauntlet. The two threw numerous punches at each other, it was clear the two were evenly matched as they fought. The metal clinked and sparked off each other and created almost a rhythmic beat that filled the alleyway. “I’m going to get that last piece of silver!” Clandestine growled much like her brother as she brought a foot up in a hard kick. Gallo evaded the kick and began to move his leg in the same motion. “ There’s an old boatman,” He began to say to himself through strained teeth. His foot had been aimed for Clandestine’s side and when he noticed her blade as it moved to catch his foot he continued to chant, “Down tween the docks!” He forced the last line out and managed to retract the bottom portion of his leg and avoid the slash from the dangerous gauntlet. Instead he strained his muscles and lifted his leg higher and brought the kick to the side of her face. Both Clandestine and Gallo fell to the ground, Clandestine on her side and Gallo on his chest. Clandestine laid still on the ground as Gallo stood back up. He walked over to Clandestine to check on her, the concerned look on his face turned into a twist look of agony. Clandestine had shot upward swiftly, she took advantage of the situation and waited to strike when Gallo leased expected it much like a snake. Her arm was extended, while her hand gripped a palm full of Gallo’s crotch. She squeezed tightly and crushed Gallo’s manhood to great effect. Gallo cringed and felt the pain in the pit of his stomach. He stood still not wanting to make the pain even worse. “Ha! Man’s true weakness their genitalia. Always getting in the way and getting them in trouble!” Clandestine yanked down and mad Gallo collapse with a pained squeal. “Do you give!” She added more pressure. Gallo stiff as a rock nodded slowly just before falling to his side and clutching his aching crotch. His body twisted in painful agony, huddled over in a fetal position. Clandestine, stood up and over Gallo and straightened herself out. She fixed her hair casually and made herself, pretty and presentable again. “Now I’m going home to get ready to head out to the temple. I’ll let you walk that off and Gallo, next time we play this game, you’re it.” She humphed and began to walk back to home. A limp could be seen in her step, it would be certain that the two would feel this workout for a long while, some in different places then the other.

[Lazybones]

Thread Complete! Notes: This was a fun read. ^_^ I love that he uses the rhythm of Rhysol's Ravok! Great way to tie in some lore to your character. There are a few important things though! Remember that Ravok is situated in the center of Lake Ravok, not on the shore. You might want to give the The Southern Trading Post's location another read, as it's located on the shore of the lake and away from the city. This post in Gillar's scrapbook entailing one man's entrance to Ravok gives you a good idea of the Trading Post's location and its distance to the actual city. Also, please put your Character Sheet in your profile so I don't have to go hunting for it next time! ^_^ Gallo Award : Skills: Cryptography +4, Flux +2, Running +2, Unarmed Combat +2, Stealth +1, Weapon: Gauntlet +1 Lore: Ravokian Hide and Seek, Ravokian Hiding Places, Writing Coded Messages

[Clandestine Duplais]

Thank you much!