Flashback Trickery on the other side of the Maw (Crypt Insatem)

[Adnaj]

Adnaj stood there, feeling quite silly with the broom in his hand. He wasn't quite sure how he had found himself in this situation but he knew that the man was right. If he was going to survive this little plot, then he would need at least some kind of basic combat skills. Besides, they were going after dangerous criminals, Adnaj welcomed the possibility of protecting himself.

The only problem was that he had never wielded a weapon with any serious intent. Now, he found himself at that mutual starting point of all reluctant newcomers to any skill: he wanted to succeed at longsword training but he didn't want to actually start for fear of looking silly when he inevitably got it wrong.

The result was the sloppy, half-hearted whir of a broom slowly moving toward Crypt's sheathed longsword. As silly as Adnaj had felt at first, he slowly grew more ambitious. After the initial hesitance and discomfort of jumping into his new skill, beginner's failure was becoming familiar enough that he could excuse his poor swordmanship without too much embarrassment.

He earnestly tried, over the next twenty minutes, to make some kind of contact with Crypt. He knew, quite plainly, that he wasn't even going to come close but these twenty minutes helped him to grow a bit more "comfortable" wielding his makeshift weapon. Once his mind and body were both a bit more pliable and ready to train, he finally asked for more in-depth advice.

"Alright, I've been inefficiently dancing around you for long enough. What do I need to improve in order to stand a fair chance out there?"

[Crypt]

“Faster!” Crypt barked as he slammed down the broom mercilessly and effortlessly. Crypt continued to observe every movement of the broom, Adnaj's posture and the positions of his other limbs. After twenty minutes, Adnaj stopped of his own accord and requested that Crypt give more information. “Dancing around me? Inefficiently? I'd say no. You've been extremely sloppy in your movements, not to mention sluggish, you're still standing in that one spot, you're doing nothing with your other limbs. I said just now, try to land a hit on me with that broom of yours. You used only that broom. And that will not do. Everything - well, most things - can be used as a weapon or distraction. Your legs? Trip me up and whack me with that broom. That bottle of ink? Throw the ink into my eyes, that'll blind me for a few seconds. Enough to give me a few well-placed blows. That wooden chair? Any young male could lift it up; throw it at me, attack me as I defend myself against it. Never stick to one course of action.” Crypt replaced his longsword in his scabbard, then continued his lecture. “But still, it's to be expected from someone who hasn't participated in combat before. You've never exercised regularly - your body is too slow, too weak. I could barely feel the hits. Now, I'm not training you to use a longsword. Any idiot can swing around a sword and, with some luck, decapitate some fool's head. The proper Art I have insufficient experience to pass down to you. You'll have to use one of the more primative tools: a simple wooden club. Not a large, bulky one, but a club similar to a walking cane, since you won't be able to lift it. I believe a few people call it a shillelagh. We'll stop the lesson here for now. Avone, stay here and rest. Adnaj, present the gifts to whoever is receiving it. I trust that you know not to ask for directions. Just wander about. Eventually you'll find him. I'll be going off to the Bizarre to get you that club, but you'll have to pay me for that later.” Crypt attached the scabbard to his side, then moved over to the door. Before exiting the room, he turned. “Oh, and try not to get lost here.”

[Adnaj]

Adnaj couldn't help but feel silly trying to assault his trainer with a broom handle. As he listened to Crypt read off the list of reasons that Adnaj wouldn't make a fameous warrior, he felt a certain sense of resignation. Adnaj knew all of this. He had never practiced any combat skills. It wasn't what he cared to do so he couldn't rouse much disappointment at his failures.

Later, while trying to wander the confusing streets of Alvadas, he quickly realized that he wasn't ready for how tricky this city could be. Sure, he had heard stories of this place but he had always assumed that it amounted to an amusing little inconvenience. He had no idea that he could ever get so deeply lost inside of a fortified city.

After about two hours of pointlessly wandering around, he stumbled across the address that he had been told to seek out.

The address was a private residence. The home was massive, almost a mansion and it was very carefully decorated. The gardens were colorful and lively. The entire estate was protected behind thick iron-wrought gates. Most notably, however, were the glaring mercenaries and unsavory characters which surrounded the home. This place was well protected. Against what, Adnaj had no hint.

He was only allowed passage when he, as instructed, revealed a specific seal to the three guards at the gate's entryway. He was escorted into the main hall where the recipient was waiting. This place looked more like a church than a home. Crimson rugs with exotic and ornate patterns warmed not only he floors but many walls as well. A number of huge landscape paintings and portraits hung along the walkway in the hall. Despite the fact that Adnaj could only see one resident there were a number of intricately carven wooden chairs. What, in the hall, wasn't carved from ivory seemed to be cast with gold. It soon became clear that this hall was meant for much more than living space. This place was meant to impress someone. Or perhaps it was meant to intimidate them.

The head of the home was a tall human with black hair and a thick moustache. His attire was as ornate and as carefully chosen as the decor of his home. He wore dyed purple and crimson robes lined with satin and in a select few places, pure white fur.

He offered the messenger before him a cold, necessary greeting but did not dare to speak of his business in front of the lowly Nuit. Two more guards came to collect the payment and Adnaj was again shown the door. For all of the time that Adnaj had spent trying to find this place, it was an incredibly short stay. Even more frustrating was the fact that Adnaj once again found himself on the streets of Alvadas.

The trip home was a bit more merciful. It had only taken him another hour to find his way back to the inn. Adnaj started to wonder how anyone got used to this city. Once he had made his way through the inn and to his room, he dropped down onto his bed, laying on his back and resting as he stared up at the ceiling.

[Crypt]

12th of Spring, 508 AV OOCTimeskip! “Here's your shillelagh. It costs 1 gold miza, so just pay me back after this little adventure.” Tossing the wooden stick over to Adnaj, Crypt turned to Avone, who was looking decidedly more cheerful than when they first met each other. “You're still unfit for battle, so you won't be going on this little expedition of mine. Stay here and rest. We'll be back with the money if all goes well. Now then, Avone, do you remember where you were ambushed?” The injured courier frowned for a moment, scratching his head before responding. “Down the main road methinks. Aye, we were waylaid o'er there. I remember hearing one of me other companions saying it was about a few bells to Alvadas before we were attacked. Can't tell you where them bandits went; a right bunch of bastards they are, careless and all brawn and no brains. It was too confusing, so ah can't tell ya where they went.” Crypt sighed as he made a final check of his backpack's contents, especially the rations. It would never do to starve out there. “Another problem. I suppose I could try to track them. We'll know the site of the assault when we see it, since Avone was traveling in a caravan. Hopefully the bandits aren't clever enough to hide their tracks, or this venture will be a failure. Adnaj, do you have anything else to say?”

[Adnaj]

Adnaj held the light weapon in his hand. It was the first time that he had ever really held a weapon, the first time that he had ever held one with intent, for sure. He swung it around a few times. It wasn't a masterful show but at least the swings had bore some semblance of his training over the last two days.

Adnaj had felt uncoordinated and inefficient with the club but after two days of training...After two days of training he felt uncoordinated, inefficient and frightened with the club. Had his skills seen some improvement after nearly 40 straight hours of practice? Of course. Was he battle ready? Not exactly.

And so, for obvious reasons, he was somewhat nervous, this would certainly be a new direction for him. The Nuit had no choice, though. If he wanted to fund his clinic, this would have to be the way. Sure, if he knew that this simple delivery mission would end in a clash with armed thugs he might have changed his mind but it was too late for that now. Adnaj had been working for the better part of 3 years now and really wanted to speed up the process of getting his clinic ready. A great deal of money was at stake here, more money than he could stand to pass up.

Avone didn't seem particularly helpful in locating the bandits and Adnaj sure didn't know anything about tracking or hunting. The Nuit hoped that Crypt would prove an adept guide because otherwise they would just be wandering around in the Unforgiving.

"Nope, nothing from me." Adnaj held up his new club. "I'm ready when you are. Just waiting for you to lead the way!" And with that, his faith was firmly placed in this relative stranger.

[Crypt]

"Aye. We shall go now. May luck be on our side." Avone waved a farewell to the duo. "May the Gods be with you, Crypt and Adnaj." As the duo departed from the Cubacious Inn, setting out for the hidden paths and trails that led to Sultros which traders travelling between Alvadas and Sultros frequently used, Avone collapsed onto the bed, muttering to himself. "Not much hope of getting all that gold and mizas, eh, Avone? May as well give them a larger share since they're doing more work than I've ever done. Bah, I don't like this business. Too risky. Why the petch did I even accept this job?" _______________________________________________________________ Some hours later. The stench of putrefying bodies was almost unbearable. Lifting a piece of cloth to his nose, Crypt fought the urge to vomit. Glancing around the small clearing, Crypt observed the remains of the caravan with no small amount of disgust. "These bandits are the worst kind - torturers and rapists. No quick deaths for the men and women here; only the lucky ones were killed early in the ambush." Squatting next to a partially dismembered body, Crypt contemplated the current situation for a few chimes, silently gazing at each corpse. He shook his head slowly, too overwhelmed by the dreadful sight, by the cold, harsh evidence that sadism and cruelty existed in abundance among men, to speak. Standing up slowly, he bowed low to them as a sign of respect. Mastering his emotions, Crypt's visage now held a calm, undisturbed expression. Casting an analytical eye around the clearing, Crypt began to trace the events that had occurred. "They were travelling in a small group... About fifteen people in total, including Avone. Three guards were hired for protection - all armored with leather armor and scimitars. The scimitars are still there, but one appears to be missing. The others were merchants and porters, and perhaps one or two women their wives or daughters. They were travelling under this rock overhang when the bandits ambushed them - the bushes on top were clearly hacked away by some sharp object, and judging by the large rocks lying on the two guards, the bandits either threw or rolled them off the overhang such that they crushed the guards. More men emerged from the undergrowth - the shrubs appear to be pushed aside, judging from the crushed leaves and broken branches. And then they commenced the slaughter, taking everything of value once they were done. But where did they retreat to?" Moving around the clearing slowly, Crypt's gaze landed on a small crate thrown to the side. "They used these crates to carry their goods. The bandits presumably took them with them. If I could just find a trail... Ah. Good thing it rained. The ground was muddy a few days back when this happened. You can see the tracks. Looks like they aren't really smart. Come, Adnaj." Keeping his head lowered, with the sun behind him, which allowed the shadows of the deep impressions in the ground to be more prominent, Crypt started to follow the trail.

[Adnaj]

Mastering his stomach against the site of mutilated corpses was easy. Adnaj was quite used to all sorts of displays of anatomy but even more importantly, he was used to pathology. Pathology could mean ugly things like severe infection and mortal injury. None of this was new to Adnaj.

Much harder was mastering his emotions at the crime scene of a brutal attack. Adnaj was used to the concept of such cruelty. Plots like these were common among the overgiven and obsessive wizards of Sahova. However Adnaj didn't much care for these kinds of studies and he never really sought out this sort of work. Therefore, he wasn't used to the danger of following murderous bandits and he wasn't jaded to this kind of dark cruelty.
"Why bother?" Adnaj mused allowed with only a slight hint of his deeper distaste for these sorts of motivations. He wasn't a fool, he understood the value of taking the possessions of someone else. This wasn't what he meant.

"Why bother of going through the extra trouble of all the violence? Why waste the time on it?" He wondered.

It seemed, to him, pointless and dull to continue the attack. Sure, the fight would have been necessary to obtain the actual gold but the Nuit just couldn't understand the inclination to continue the attack after the Mizas had been secured. He likened it to washing a floor that was already clean. It just seemed like the repetition of an unnecessary step.

He soon realized that Crypt was onto their trail and followed in his direction.

[Crypt]

Some hours later... Crypt resisted the urge to groan; he settled for a frown and a sigh. Tracking the bandits down had been easy at first, where the ground was soft enough that deep impressions could be seen for a thousand yards ahead. After roughly a kilometre? The ground hardened as Crypt, Adnaj and Maras continued on, rising even higher above sea level with each step. The footprints became fainter, and hence harder to spot. Already the small group had to stop and backtrack several times - over a hundred yards once - and attempt to continue on the men's trail. Two or three times on their journey, hankerchiefs made of fine silk and woolen gloves of medium quality (it could have been super-fine for all Crypt knew, as he wasn't a connoiseur of cloth) were thrown to one side, presumably when the raiders had rummaged through a few crates to find out their contents. That had helped the Drykas only a little, but for the most part it was crouching near the ground, head lowered as Crypt attempted to discover something; anything that would lead them further. But now, they were stumped. Crypt had stumbled what appeared to be a meeting-place of sorts - the ground was flattened by numerous bootprints, and they led to three different directions. Obviously, one would lead to the hiding place where the bandits stored their ill-gotten gains, but which one was it? "Gods, are they one of Yshul's favoured? Take a look, Adnaj. See if you can figure out this... this... puzzle? This damned enigma." Brushing some dirt off a conveniently-located rock, Crypt sat down with another sigh - this time one of relief. It had been a hard day already - even though it was only a few days after Winter ended, having parts of his body exposed to the rays of the Sun continuously was starting to take its toll on him. Luxuriating in the shade the forested area they had just entered provided, Crypt allowed himself to relax for a few chimes.

[Adnaj]

This didn't bode well for Adnaj. If Crypt didn't know where he was going, surely a healer would have no clue. Still, he wanted to help so he stooped downward over the area where Crypt had previously stood. He stared downward, not really sure what he was looking for in the dirt.

This was exasperating, he dug through some top layers of dirt as if he had some sort of purpose and then slumped to a sitting position.

At least this trip hadn't been as dangerous as Adnaj feared. He wasn't really sure if he was disappointed or relieved at the prospect that they might not be able to catch up with the bandits. During the quiet walking, Adnaj had nothing to do but to ponder his appropriateness in coming out here and chasing down thugs. I mean, what was he going to do if he found them? Crypt would be alright but would Adnaj even know what to do? He could barely pronounce the name of his weapon let alone use it proficiently.

"I'm stumped too," he looked up toward his traveling companion. "So what do we do?"

Without waiting for an answer, his head dropped back down toward the ground where something had caught his eye. It was a clump of dirt that was stuck together almost like a very small rock. Curiously, Adnaj picked up this clump in order to better inspect it. Upon being lifted, it immediately crumbled revealing coagulated blood to have been the adhesive.

"Wait a minute," Adnaj quietly mumbled. He continued looking around and noticed that the dirt had been sloppily pushed aside. He wondered if these were the tracks of someone weakly dragging their feet.

"Crypt," Adnaj suddenly shouted. One of them was bleeding! He pointed to the roughened spot in the dirt. "Is that the kind of stuff that you try to follow?" Adnaj wondered if maybe the tracks that Crypt had been following disappeared because this man began to stumble or maybe even had to be carried due to his wound.

[Crypt]

"Bleeding? Interesting." Crypt leant closer towards Adnaj, his eyes turning towards the coagulated blood. Picking some up himself, Crypt felt it between his fingers before throwing it to one side, brushing off the dirt from his fingers after doing so. "You have a good eye, Adnaj. But I fear it is not enough. We need to know where they have taken the goods. Wherever they have placed them, there should also be the gold and mizas they have taken from our friend Avone. That is the most likely scenario, and our best bet at retrieving it." Casting an eye over the ground, Crypt's eyes widened fractionally before he smirked. "I see now which tracks belong to the men that have taken the goods. There is one significant difference between their bootprints and the other men's bootprints. Can you see it, Adnaj?"