The Debt that all men pay: Tua's price(levi)

[Antar]

6th of Fall, 511av.

Antar was a man that paid his debts. Hands down every time. It wasn't good business not to. Not in sunberth at least, where the idea of 'collections' was to have someone go break someone elses legs and take all their stuff for your own if they couldn't pay.

That was just the way it worked.

He owed a slight debt to Tua, nothing major for setting him up with a job, and unlike many a rogue in Sunberth's; he wasn't foolish enough to think that causing bad blood between himself and some of the more established personalities of the Berth was a good thing. To that end, on this day, he marched straight into Tua's, armed and ready for anything the man might ask and calmly sat at a table after relaying his wish to see the man. Maybe he could convince Tua he might do an odd job or two to help make up for certain things?

[Leviathan]

Tua had just finished summoning his guards to throw out a very large angry man as Antar stumbled inside. Tua, a man with a perfect memory of faces, looked at Noth, and a faint grin slowly curled across those lips. "It's good to see you. I was literally days away from sending someone to drag you in here. I have a problem, which is inconvenient for me. However, what's not inconvenient for me is that this problem is also your problem, so it's your inconvenience now. You owe me money, about four silver mizas a day since... sometime last spring. I'd have to check my ledger to know the certain date, but it's quite a sum now. However, I'm going to offer you a chance to pay it back without paying me a single copper stud. You get me?" Tua nodded slowly and pulled Antar to the side, out of earshot from the few others in the room, who were mostly his own hired protection. "Someone has decided to go around me. He used my information to find a job, and that son of a bitch gave him the job without consulting me." Tua paused for a moment before continuing. [color=tan]"Killroy has petched me over, so you are going to petch him back. First though, I want you to find this little Shyke. His name is Riley, and he's working for Killroy. I want you to find him and cut off his hand, bring it back to me. You can let him live, in fact I prefer it that way. As for Killroy, I want you to leave him a message. Slaughter a few animals, horses, dogs, his darling little employee Hannah, I don't care. Killroy is not to be harmed. Understand? Now go, you have two days to get this done.

[Antar]

Noth looked at the man in question in front of him and smiled. His smile was a bit wider then a grin for Tua's liking and the mask the former assassin wore slipped a little as he whispered just barely loud enough for Tua to hear him."Just like old times, I imagine. Heh heh, Two days? A little more cramped then a professional should have to get it done right. But... well, if Riley's one of the lil' shykes that goes out finding Killroy's 'stock' from others then a little ambush should be easy. As for Hannah... a little kidnapping would be much better. Especially if she was put on a boat for someplace else. I'll just deliver her to you for you to decide where she goes. The real problem will be to ensure it's not traced back to either of us. Yes... that might take an extra day of your own... manipulations. Normally, in the old life I wouldn't have accepted such a task for less then 200 mizas... so you'll be getting quite a steal."

The man looked at him for a moment, "You really think you're that good?"

Antar rose from the chair and offered his hand to shake Tua's as a small smile graced his features, "My friend , you should know better then to ask. Besides, you already know the really good ones will never admit to anything. I think a brief job on the side wouldn't hurt my 'retirement' any. Have your boys be ready on the docks to hold her, once I'm done with the delivery, I won't be sticking around."

The two men shook hands, sealing the deal. Without another word, Antar turned on his heel and left the establishment. When he entered the summer air drew his cloak tighter around him before he set off to have a bit of fun. Killroy had been an arse to him... so it was only proper that he get a bit of pain back. It wouldn't just teach him a lesson on dealing with Tua in the future, but also in just dealing with dangerous people in general.

Himself included...

[Antar]

In any operations, preparation and planning was key, so the very first thing he did was go shopping in the early morning light. He bought a few things he'd need. Bits of vellum, scrolls a few vials of ink... and a few bits of adhesive glue; just enough for what he wanted to know before venturing north of the Establishment to watch the kennels from afar at the edge of the north woods.

It was a matter of procedure you see, observation being the best way to gain intelligence... so he watched for two people meandering about down there. The first was Hannah, he remembered the girl even if he had been to killroy's only a few times to sell some spoils. The man was a downright pain in the arse... hell if he had known the man had crossed Tua sooner he might as well have done the job for free.

'Wait... he was doing this for free. Petching uncivilized to not get a bit of coin for a bit of work.'

As he watched he took out the quill and ink and began to prepare what he was making... several small glyphing circles. Each with the same purpose he could make. He took his time, taking breaks even after his hand began to ache from writing down the glyphs of the focus and the circle of symbols which would contain them.

Code: Select all

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Finally after marking down the scrolls as precisely as possible, spending about a bell on them in total he figured they were ready enough to be primed. Summoning his djed , he began to gather a ball of Res above his palm. Transmuting the outer edge to fire, he brought it towards the focus of the glyph before igniting the magic into a stream of fire centered towards the focus of the paper. Soon enough the spell was absorbed and the trigger word "Fire" was applied.

He duplicated this feat for all six scrolls, and set back to let the work dry as he considered what would pay back Killroy best for Tua. The obvious thing would be the stud stables... killroy's personal stock he didn't sell to anyone. So if he placed them at night, and ignited one with the shout of 'fire.' The responding workers' shouts would set off the rest of them, with him nowhere nearby... burning the thatch down roof of the stud stables. It would be the perfect means to commit the crime, he could simply fade back into the woods with impunity under the cover of night.

Moreover, the loss of a stud or two from the fires would have killroy send his 'boys' out to procure more stallions of good stock, and only the primest of horsemeat would sold to rather rich merchants. A very short list, he could merely watch and wait to see which one "Riley'' made a grab for, substitute himself, and his own horse into the queque and deal with him on the same job as a matter of 'defending himself.'

Cutting off thieves hands was common practice in sunberth, one he had always considered taking up and ... in regards to Killroy's and his problems in the past with him, he could frankly march right into the kennels the next day, with the injured Riley , throw him across the bastard's desk and go into a rant about how he'd kill the next stupid bastard which was sent after his horse.

Just the wrong person, in the right place at the right time... so where did that leave Hannah?

Well, he had been thinking on that as well: if he could take her today, maybe when she was traveling back through the warehouse district from the markets, then things would be right as rain. He could have Tua blame the kidnapping, and further grief to Killroy in a 'business letter' 'apprising' the man that merchant so and so, in response to his normal methods of business and theft of his horse had decided to take something worth more then the price of a horse to him: Hannah herself. Indeed, the merchant could be holding the girl on a ship for awhile in ransom for his horse back.

Which one, would be up to Killroy to decide... but it certainly would throw the man for a loop. Antar's tiger like smile grew a little larger as he waited, and waited until finally the flaxen hair of a woman named Hannah came into view in the far fields, making her way out of the kennels with a basket under her arm to head towards town. It was just his good fortune that two other hands seemed to follow her into town. One was a scruffy, inquisitively naive sort that spoke 'new' to sunberth, and the other seemed to know enough about the streets here, to tell where he was going. If he was a betting man, which he wasn't he'd bet one of the two was 'Riley' which made his fortune all the better.

He memorized both their features just in case, and would see if he could get a little closer for a positive identification of the newest mark to cross his arrow sights. As the trio moved into the warehouse District towards the markets, a silent shadow began to follow them...

[Leviathan]

So far, Antar's ingenious plan seemed to be flowing perfect. In theory, it was sound, but he was certainly pushing his luck with risking Hannah's life and bringing her to Tua, rather than killing her. Still, that was an angry Tua that spoke such things. The murder of Hannah would certainly start a war between the two, in which no doubt the syndicates would get involved in. War, there was always profit for somebody in war. Even now as Antar followed the trio, his plan felt wonderfully tactful. His glyph was set up and ready to burn down whoever was unlucky to be near it. Or so, you might think. It was a shame it went off so much earlier than he ever intended. The magic word (no, not please) was so easily uttered in casual conversation (fire wasn't too uncommon after all) that the poor employees never saw it coming. The volatile magic barrier erupted like a volcano with an immense amount of pressure just barely restrained. The fire may not have been much, but with such a shattering of magical barriers (his skills were less than expert of course), the burning was more of a small explosion, tossing one employee into a wall, and the building over the next few hours, would burn down. Yet, Antar and his prey were already in town, the market, and they were surrounded by enough people that any sounds from Killroy's Kennel were easily muffled into silence. Nevertheless, though it didn't go as intended, Tua would be pleased by the damage. One man, a tall muscular young man with common black hair and eyes that made him look insipid pointed off down the street. "This way?" Both Hannah and the other escort, who was was notably shorter and thinner (and even a few years younger), shook their heads slowly. "Raym, just let Riley show you where to go. I'm going to go to the market. I'll meet you back at Killroy's." The young man, Antar's target, Riley had a sudden look of worry on his face as Hannah walked away, leaving him the massive idiot, who didn't seem capable of worry, or understanding of what was going on. Still, they let Hannah walk off, deeper into the market place while they themselves set off in the other direction. Unfortunately for Antar, one man couldn't so easily trail two targets. He had to make his choice, who was more valuable. The damage to Killroy, or the revenge of Tua.

[Antar]

oocWell... in order to preserve continuity for Bob's thread; Antar has to choose Hanna

When persuing a target, choices always came to mind. Choices, belying the expectations of developed opportunity. Riley, his primary target for Tua's wrath was here, present; yet not in such guises of being secluded enough to be dealt with on a single basis. Riley's escort showing him way would probably keep him close, inducing another layered element to the ordeal. He might attack and take his hand at this juncture; but he would be seen.

No... though Riley was the primary on his target list; opportunity necessitated he go after the target which was singling itself out: Hannah.

He had told Tua's men to prepare a place where she might be confined for a time on the docks; such was an exceptional ruse; one designed to lure Killroy in in order for Tua to prophet from all sides of the encounter. In this fashion, he would hope Tua would be of sound mind enough to see that her life was not worth taking so long as the ruse could be maintained.

When the three split, Antar's steps began to follow Hannah, weaving inconspicuously through the crowds of the marketplace as the girl turned towards one area he had not figured she might go: the herbal shops. Perhaps it was for some womanly needs, or perhaps for an animal or two she wished to see tended correctly. Antar wouldn't know.

What he would do is idly buy a blanket, and a small thatch of straw from a stall merchant in view of the door there as he waited for the woman to come out of the store. Eventually he could see Hannah did, carrying a burlap bag brimming with different herbal remedies. He would follow her until she turned down a side alley which lead close to Stumble Alley. Where he would quicken his pace. She might be heading towards the majestic or up towards the library. She seemed to be a nice enough sort to want to read a book or two.

Shame she'd never get there.

Summoning a bit of urgency from his muscles, and scanning the area carefully, Antar's eyes watched as he prepared to make his move... all the while unwinding the heavy beads about his wrist. All it would take would be one moment of lapsed concentration for the girl, and he would be on her quickly, striking like a snake with his garotte to wrap about her neck from behind to choke her into unconsciousness... a quick, quiet, and efficient means to subdue he quickly without much injury.