An unlikely partnership (Kamrynn)

[Nyahna Sasin]

Location: Just outside of Syliras

If you were quiet, and happened to be in the right place, at the right time, you'd probably hear nothing. If you waited a little more, however, you'd start to hear a voice. A very irritated voice. If you waited a little longer, you'd see the person the voice belonged to. And unless you happened to be extraordinarily brave or unflappable, you'd likely jump up and run screaming through the woods, and end up chased by an extremely angry Dhani. However, there was no one there at that time, so the voice, and the Dhani it belonged to, continued grumbling.

"Find this man, he said. He's just one human, he said. No one mentioned that he was part of a gang! I'm asking for extra on this contract. I was prepared for one human, not Siku knows how many humans and kelvic." Sasin was, basically, very, very pissed. He had spent the last hour trying to locate his target in the woods. The directions he had procured had been very vague, his victim having only been able to stammer out the most basic directions before dropping into a dead faint. Not one to pass up a meal, and very certain that he'd get nothing more, the dhani had promptly eaten him. He had then remembered just why he hated eating rat kevics. They tasted of where ever they'd been, and this one seemed to have been to some unpleasant places.

He was still ranting to himself when he caught a familiar scent, and shut up. Grinning like a loon, he silently slithered up to watch his unsuspecting target. The human was pacing, and had a sword at his side. So excited at his luck, Sasin didn't notice the scent of another human nearby. Slithering to the side, he waited for the human to turn his back, and sprang.

Read thisI'm assuming that this other human is you. PM me if you want me to change it.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

The woods suddenly came alive with the sound of rustling brush and cracking branches. The pacing man's head snapped up, and he looked on in horror and surprise as a Syliran knight burst from the woods, sword drawn and shield lowered.

"Bring me to the girl, fiend!" The knight demanded, lowering his sword challengingly. The man stopped his pacing and weighed his options. Apparently he didn't like his odds, because he turned and fled as fast as he could without so much as touching the hilt of his sword, and his speed was remarkable.

"Oh..." Kamrynn murmured, watching the man flee. He had not expected that reaction. "No matter, I'll just follow his tracks!" But of course, the knight hadn't the slightest inkling of how to do such a thing, it would require someone with a superhumanly keen sense of smell to follow the trail, now.

Meanwhile, the man would be warning his fellows about an impending attack, and they would be redoubling their defenses. Kamrynn looked around the woods at a loss, perhaps he had acted a little too brashly.

[Nyahna Sasin]

He was actually midair when his target ran. He let out a loud curse as he landed awkwardly. Furious, he turned to the knight who had just appeared. He made a terrifying sight, half man, half snake, fangs bared, hood flared, a pair of knives on a belt around his waist, unstrung bow and arrows in a quiver on his back.

Drawing himself up as high as he could without falling over, he glared at the knight. "I. Had. Him." He snarled, making each word into it's own sentence. "I had him right where I wanted him! And then you, you, you burst in and ruin everything! Now I have to find him again, and now he knows there are people after him!" He ranted furiously. "What in blazes made you think he'd just do what you asked? You idiot!" He didn't care that this was a complete stranger, that this was a knight. All he cared about was that this idiot human had ruined his ambush.

He finally saw who he had been yelling at. His eyes narrowed in recognition. "Wait.... You're that knight." He growled softly. This was all he needed. That idiot realizing that he lived inside the city.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

The springing snake sent Kamrynn spinning to face his new opponent.

Wow. Now this was a monster if ever he'd seen one; standing half again the knights height, with fangs bared and hood flaring, the Dhani looked ready to kill him in a moments notice. It didn't seem like much of a gesture, but he was used to fighting humans, not giant snake men, so he improvised the best he could.

Kamrynn grit his teeth and grinned, lowering his shield between himself and the snake's poisonous fangs and positioning his sword so that if it sprung, it would risk impaling itself in the process.

The Dhani launched into a litany of curses and insults, while Kamrynn stood unsure of what was going on. The creature seemed intent on talking, not killing. Finally the snake endied with, "Wait, you're that knight." That confused Kamrynn more than anything. Did the Dhani know him?

"I am a Knight, to be certain. Do you know of me?" Kamrynn was almost perplexed enough to lower his guard. Dhani, he knew little about them besides what was common knowledge, and all of that was typically negative.

It sounded as though the Viper were after the same men as he was, was it possible it was out to save Lady Perosii as well? It didn't seem likely, but if the creature was out to kill the very men that were holding her captive...

"Tell me, Viper," Kamrynn began, making no move to lower his weapon. "What do you know of Lady Perosii, and why are you after that man and his companions?"

[Nyahna Sasin]

(Ugh. Sorry bout the lateness. Homework is piling up.)

Although he showed nothing outside, he did a little dance in his head as he realized that the knight didn't recognize him. Still, he'd have to come up with a legitimate excuse as to why he remembered him. Perhaps he could play to the human's ego. Someone who had made such an idiotic move couldn't be smart. At all.

"Hmph. If you're the best knight the city has to offer, then I fear for it." He growled. He was already formulating his story in his head. As a way of explanation, he said "I was told that the Knights had sent their best man out here to capture him. I had expected someone with more of a strategy than "Jump out of the bushes and hope he is too scared to try something." "

"As to what I know of that man...... All you need to know is that he killed someone dear to me. And I intend to take my revenge. Lady Perosii...... I don't know anyone by that name, I'm afraid."

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

((No problemo))

The corner of Kamrynn's mouth twitched at the sound of the insult, but he didn't have the time or the resources to take anything personally. What had the creature heard about the situation at hand? He wasn't aware that anyone outside of the Syliran order knew what he was out here doing...

The only reason he wasn't with an entire contingency of knights was by dumb luck -He was the only one of the knights who had picked the right trail following the slaver's messenger as he sped from the arranged meeting place upon delivery of the ransom note.

Of course... He had lost track of the messenger shortly after entering the woods outside of the city; now the good Lady's life hung in the balance and he had no time to go back for reinforcements and no leads to go on. Well, except for possibly one.

The Dhani. He watched cautiously as the creature's forked tongue flicked from its human mouth. It was said that the predatory creatures had an incredible sense of smell. It was also said that the enemy of your enemy was your friend. It shouldn't be difficult for the creature to catch Lady Perosii's or the fleeing man's trail.

"Dhani." He addressed the creature, lowering his sword imperceptibly. "The man you're looking for, he doesn't happen to be Kevin Maelstrom, does he?" Kamrynn could tell by the creatures reaction that it was indeed, but he continued. "If so, then I think we are after the same person. You see, he holds the Fair Lady Perosii hostage. She's bound to be held in a well guarded facility -I fear I cannot manage her rescue alone, and though I do not doubt you are a formidable warrior, I do not think you can manage this man's assassination by yourself, either."

Kamrynn licked his lips, his heart was pounding, and he tried to forge an uneasy alliance. There was a saying against 'bedding a Viper.' "Kevin's life is forfeit. If we assist each other in our attack on his hideout, we can double our chances of success. So long as Lady Perosii comes to no harm, you can do as you wish to Kevin Maelstrom with my blessing."

Then the knight smiled then, tightening the grip on his sword. "What say you? I hate to die out here in the middle of nowhere while a pretty maiden is ripe for the rescue."

[Nyahna Sasin]

He grimaced. In all honesty, he had been hoping to "convince" the messenger to lure Maelstrom out. Now that that plan was scratched....He truly didn't have any other option. He didn't want to have to storm the building by himself. He was built for hit and run tactics, not charge and slaughter.

He was as apprehensive about a truce as the human himself was. He didn't trust humans, generally. And this was a knight he was talking about. He ran the risk of letting slip just what he did for a living. On the other hand, the human had a point. He had three rules for these kinds of situations. One. Complete the contract quickly and effectively. Two. Wring as much money as you can out of this. And three. Live long enough to get paid and spend the money. Teaming up with this knight would increase his chances of staying alive. But only if he didn't do anything stupid. Well, there was one way of making sure of that.

"Fine. I'll work with you. But we do this my way." He hissed.

With that, he turned, and started off in the direction the messenger had ran, following his scent.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn nodded slowly as the creature slithered away. This whole thing was unnerving to say the least, but if allying himself with the Dhani was what it took to rescue Lady Perosii... Well, he'd do anything it took. Kamrynn didn't have to trust the creature, he just needed it's help. He kept his sword in hand and his shield at the ready.

The Dhani moved fast, and Kamrynn was breathing pretty heavily by the time the creature slid to a halt. He stopped as well, careful to keep out of what he figured the creature's striking distance to be, and surveyed the situation, doing his best to quiet his breathing.

They were looking at a small encampment, several tents were set up in a makeshift clearing, with many men clutching swords and looking as menacing as possible. The man who's scent they had followed up had only just barely beat them there, and he was relaying the appearance of a Syliran knight to the man clearly in charge -Kevin Maelstrom.

Maelstrom was smaller than Kamrynn expected, standing only an inch or so taller than himself, Kevin was probably more of a schemer than a warrior. He had shock of graying black hair and cruel eyes. He wore blue nobleman's clothes, with a long knife hanging at his belt, but other than that, he seemed unarmed.

"So," Kamrynn whispered to the Dhani. "I assume the man in blue is who you're after, and you're welcome to him. I wont' ask any questions about your business here. I'm after Lady Perossi, and so long as you help me bring her home, I couldn't care less about the legality or morality of your intentions here. Sound fair?" Kamrynn tensed his muscles, he needed the Dhani's aid desperarely, so he did his best to make sure it knew he would turn a blind eye to the fact that it was obviously here to perform some kind of hit.

Attacking these men by himself would have been a suicide mission, hell, it probably still was even with the Dhani at his side, but Lady Perosii was tied up and held captive in one of those tents, terrified and alone -that thought made Kamrynn's blood boil. He'd save her or die trying.

"Let's not waste any time, got anything in mind or should we just jump in swinging?" He gathered himself to charge head long into the fray.

[Nyahna Sasin]

He narrowed his eyes at the camp, tasting the air. Humans and kelvics. Ugh.

There were some half dozen tents scattered around the area. Judging by number of combatants, each tent held a human and a kelvic, or two humans. He smelled fox, cat, and.....

"Not good. Not good at all. There's a bear kelvic around here." He muttered.

"Let's not waste any time, got anything in mind or should we just jump in swinging?"

He growled in frustration. "You know, that's exactly what lost us that messenger last time. No, we are not under any circumstances going to jump in swinging. In fact, we aren't even going to fight them right now. We wait until night time."

Grabbing the knight, he dragged him away from the camp. "And I'm not risking staying too close to the camp. They have kelvics."

When they were a decent distance from the camp, he let go of the knight. "Now, do you have flint? We'll be here until the sun sets, and then some more. It's going to get cold. "

He sat down. Or rather, he rested on his tail. "Now. Let me confirm something. Whatever I do, as long as Lady Perossi is safe and unharmed, you'll say nothing." He stated bluntly, a barest hint of a threat in his voice.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn went rigid when he felt Nyahna's hands upon him. Was the creature to betray him, after all? He whirled, expecting to see a pair of venomous fangs hurtling towards him.

He was so shocked when the creature simply began hauling him away from the edge of the camp that he said nothing. His heels dragged across the dirt for several feet before he even started walking.

When he was finally released, his senses had mostly returned. We'll be here until the sun sets, and then some more.[/b] That brought Kamrynn's heart into his throat. There wasn't that much time to waste, what would the poor Lady Perosii think of him if he sat idly by letting her suffer?

The Dhani continued, "Now. Let me confirm something. Whatever I do, as long as Lady Perossi is safe and unharmed, you'll say nothing." That made the troubled knight even sicker to his stomach. What was he getting himself into? Would the Syliran Order really agree with these methods?

He didn't have a choice, Syliras was more than a day away on foot, it would be 20 bells before he could get help back here,and they'd be 'round to collect the ransom in the morning... No, he had to trust the Dhani.

"That's... correct." Kamrynn said, feeling as if he was selling his soul. Was it alright to ally yourself with evil towards just ends? "I will speak nothing of who you are or what your business here is to a soul, nor will I make any move to interfere with your actions -so long as Lady Perosii is rescued unharmed." He emphasized his last two words.

Settling down a few dozen paces from his new 'companion', he did his best to make himself comfortable. Being cold blooded, it only made sense that the Dhani would want a fire, but Kamrynn had neither the tools nor the intentions. If Lady Perosii was suffering, so should they. Besides, a fire might give away their location. "Sorry, I haven't a flint."

He studied the snake from across the distance, making note the best he could of what it was like. The snake seemed vaguely familiar, but Kamrynn couldn't place from where. "If you don't mind," He broke the silence. "How should I address you? You can call me Kam, but it's probably best if we don't know each others names."