30th of Spring, 512 AV
"This is boring" A young voice complained, distracting him from his watch of the empty alley way, and he turned to face the teenager whose voice still cracked with every other word. His look was one of impatience, but he suppressed his urge to throttle the child, and instead simply scowled and returned to his watch over the alley. Callik's brat had been following him for over a ten-day now after the man had made some lame claim about his own establishment not being safe for the kid anymore. He didn't believe a word of it, but he wasn't in position to argue with his boss, especially since the man had associates that would see his skin flayed from his body in the blink of an eye if he was ever to lay a hand on the man.
So there he found himself, looking for Callik's spy while keeping an eye on his kid, and needles to say his mood of late was of an grim nature indeed. Finally, at the end of the alley a slender figure appeared, and grabbing the boy by his collar, Darian dragged the kid down the alley as he offered a simple nod to the informant.
"Didn't figure you the settling down type, Craevan" The pale man chuckled, emerging from the shadows smiling the toothless grin of his. The fine gold trimmed cloak he wore, worn over ragged leather's marked him a member of one of the minor gangs running the streets of Sunberth, more particularly the one he was charged with spying on. It's name or numbers was knowledge not his to know, but he recognized the colors easily enough. The gangs of Sunberth's slums did their work in the shadow of the major syndicates, for of course they knew about every little gang that laid claim to territory they owned, and many of them where paid off well for what they could learn, used as pawns in the continuing rivalry of the syndicates. All of them had to pay their fair share to the powers that truly ran Sunberth for being allowed to operate on their territory, but the nature of Sunberth meant that the gangs had to still put effort to keep their dealing secret for if they were to obvious about it, the syndicates would be forced to act and deal with them appropriately.
To all of this Darian simply shook his head, not understanding or caring why people would like to ally themselves to such authority willingly. It was simply another thing to hate about the mindless masses.
"Hold your tongue and spill what you have to say. I don't like these parts, and if you knew whose kid this was you'd have already been done telling whats needing told and I'd be on my way back to our employeer" Darian growled, his hazel eyes narrowing as he took stock of the rat while the boy finally managed to wrest himself free of Darian's iron grip.
The man's eyes widened at that, and looking at the teen, he gulped down a breath of air before speaking. "Gang's been seeing some activity lately, name's been passed around. There's also talk of jumping territories, slaughtering some rival gang to get out from under the Night Eyes and into the fold of Sun's Birth" The man was visibly displaying his agitation now at the whole situation with the kid, and the supposedly burdening information he held.
"So what, they're a minor gang at best, their information was never reliable, and the Night Eyes hardly lack the means to get any information they might so desire. Sun's Birth can have em and be doing us a favor because of it. Perhaps now you can actually do something of worth now your free of them" Darian stated bluntly, making hardly an effort to keep his voice hushed as he kept his eyes leveled on the man. The teenager at his side moved closer to the opposite wall, his eyes wide with blind curiosity, and a trace of apprehension. He obviously didn't fully share the feeling both him and the rat felt keenly, further evidence of the boy's naivety and worthlessness. Perhaps that was why Callik shoved the boy upon him in hopes Darian might school the kid in a manner that would make him useful. Too bad for Callik that he wasn't in the mood to tutor the child.
Scratching his head and looking around nervously, he took a hesitant step closer to Darian, his voice hushed so that only Darian could hear him. "It's not only that. They're talking about striking at the Night Eyes tonight. I don't know who's the target, or how they plan to do it but word is it's going to happen at sunset"
Darian's hands flew up to calm the man, handling the fellows thin shoulders in his firm grip while he stared coldly in the rat's eyes. "As if they stood a chance, still you should have known better than to wait this long to tell me about this" His voice was not quiet like his companions, but instead was almost casual if it wasn't for the certain death his icy tone implied. Lifting up the man, he slammed the spy against the opposite wall of the alley, his blank look turning quickly into one of rage. "Here is what your going to do. Your got to find your balls, and then your going to go back to that pathetic little gang of yours and find out the details of what exactly they are planning. From there, you go straight to the boss, no exceptions" Darian stated with a cool certainty, releasing the man to stumble down the alley as fast as his feet could carry him.
"You see that boy, don't forget it" Darian spoke without looking at the teen, simply content for the moment to watch the man sprint down the alley clumsily. Suddenly the informant fell in his hurry to get away from Darian, and shaking his head disgustedly, Darian took a step forward, his hands coming to rest idly on his hips.
"Get up fool or I'll present your head to compliment the information" Darian barked, taking another step forward while looking at the collapsed man. Suddenly something punched into his right shoulder and sent him flying to the ground with a thud that knocked the breath out of him. Pain ripped through his shoulder with the impact, and rolling instinctually to the side, he spared a moment to glance at the arrow that had imbedded itself in his arm, but only a moment for a few heart beats later he was back on his feet and towards the way he had come in.
"Run boy" Was all Darian had the breath to bellow as he ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding a whistling black arrow. He was behind the teen now, shielding the youth as best he could from the attacks by the hidden archers while keeping an eye out for any blades or bowmen seeking to corner them inside the alley. Even with arrows whizzing past his head he heard the clink of mail just beyond to corner of the alley's entrance and grabbing the teen by his shirt, he shouldered through the hastily put up door on his left, the wooden portal unhinging from it's moorings on the wall with a crack as Darian rode it to the ground, rolling involuntarily afterwards. There was a loud snap to follow the dull thud the door made as the arrow shaft shattered and splintered deeper into his flesh, and cradling his head with his hands he managed to stumble to his feet and against a wall for a few moments, enough so that he could gather enough presence of mind to start barreling through the house to reach it's back door and out the other side as fast as his own legs would carry him.
Darian could hardly feel his arm now with all the painful throbbing coming from his mess of a shoulder, yet still he continued to barrel down the crowded street, slipping around clusters of people to avoid jolting his throbbing shoulder. He could still hear the boy breathing hard at his side, but keeping up none the less, but also he could faintly hear those that pursued them, for they were making no move to be quiet now. The occasional cry of fright, betrayed him just as much as it did them, and rounding upon a corner, he quickly doubled back into a alley, ducking low into the shadows while dragging the boy down into the muck with him. Conditioning kicked in then, and methodically he took stock of himself, noting grimly the lack of movement his right arm when he tried and tried again to clench his fist. He still had another good arm at least, but with their numbers, and his dominate arm next to useless it was clear that the held every advantage. His mind raced over everything he had witnessed, wondering were things had gone so wrong, what mistake could he could have possibly made, but nothing made itself apparent. He'd done things as he was asked, and no less, yet still he'd managed to walk right into a trap. The damn boy must have been causing him to miss signs.
Footsteps echoed from not too far away, the clink of iron echoing loudly in the streets, and in a flash of movement that sent another stab of pain radiating through his body he cupped his hand around the teen's mouth and pulled him deeper into the shadows, sinking below street level somewhat as he crawled down a shallow staircase. A few shadows flickered past as the noise got louder and then suddenly the sound of the heavy steps was fading, and Darian released his hold of the kid, allowing the boy his few gulps of breath before dragging him back up into the alley.
"We're going to head toward the Gated Community, follow closely" His cold voice leaving no room for debate
"Are you mad, they'll kill us on sight" The teen called in a hushed voice, his voice still cracking despite the change in volume.
"You'll hold your tongue and follow, or I'll have your tongue and drag you there" Darian replied curtly before turning around with a flourish of his cloak and darting down the alley.
"This is boring" A young voice complained, distracting him from his watch of the empty alley way, and he turned to face the teenager whose voice still cracked with every other word. His look was one of impatience, but he suppressed his urge to throttle the child, and instead simply scowled and returned to his watch over the alley. Callik's brat had been following him for over a ten-day now after the man had made some lame claim about his own establishment not being safe for the kid anymore. He didn't believe a word of it, but he wasn't in position to argue with his boss, especially since the man had associates that would see his skin flayed from his body in the blink of an eye if he was ever to lay a hand on the man.
So there he found himself, looking for Callik's spy while keeping an eye on his kid, and needles to say his mood of late was of an grim nature indeed. Finally, at the end of the alley a slender figure appeared, and grabbing the boy by his collar, Darian dragged the kid down the alley as he offered a simple nod to the informant.
"Didn't figure you the settling down type, Craevan" The pale man chuckled, emerging from the shadows smiling the toothless grin of his. The fine gold trimmed cloak he wore, worn over ragged leather's marked him a member of one of the minor gangs running the streets of Sunberth, more particularly the one he was charged with spying on. It's name or numbers was knowledge not his to know, but he recognized the colors easily enough. The gangs of Sunberth's slums did their work in the shadow of the major syndicates, for of course they knew about every little gang that laid claim to territory they owned, and many of them where paid off well for what they could learn, used as pawns in the continuing rivalry of the syndicates. All of them had to pay their fair share to the powers that truly ran Sunberth for being allowed to operate on their territory, but the nature of Sunberth meant that the gangs had to still put effort to keep their dealing secret for if they were to obvious about it, the syndicates would be forced to act and deal with them appropriately.
To all of this Darian simply shook his head, not understanding or caring why people would like to ally themselves to such authority willingly. It was simply another thing to hate about the mindless masses.
"Hold your tongue and spill what you have to say. I don't like these parts, and if you knew whose kid this was you'd have already been done telling whats needing told and I'd be on my way back to our employeer" Darian growled, his hazel eyes narrowing as he took stock of the rat while the boy finally managed to wrest himself free of Darian's iron grip.
The man's eyes widened at that, and looking at the teen, he gulped down a breath of air before speaking. "Gang's been seeing some activity lately, name's been passed around. There's also talk of jumping territories, slaughtering some rival gang to get out from under the Night Eyes and into the fold of Sun's Birth" The man was visibly displaying his agitation now at the whole situation with the kid, and the supposedly burdening information he held.
"So what, they're a minor gang at best, their information was never reliable, and the Night Eyes hardly lack the means to get any information they might so desire. Sun's Birth can have em and be doing us a favor because of it. Perhaps now you can actually do something of worth now your free of them" Darian stated bluntly, making hardly an effort to keep his voice hushed as he kept his eyes leveled on the man. The teenager at his side moved closer to the opposite wall, his eyes wide with blind curiosity, and a trace of apprehension. He obviously didn't fully share the feeling both him and the rat felt keenly, further evidence of the boy's naivety and worthlessness. Perhaps that was why Callik shoved the boy upon him in hopes Darian might school the kid in a manner that would make him useful. Too bad for Callik that he wasn't in the mood to tutor the child.
Scratching his head and looking around nervously, he took a hesitant step closer to Darian, his voice hushed so that only Darian could hear him. "It's not only that. They're talking about striking at the Night Eyes tonight. I don't know who's the target, or how they plan to do it but word is it's going to happen at sunset"
Darian's hands flew up to calm the man, handling the fellows thin shoulders in his firm grip while he stared coldly in the rat's eyes. "As if they stood a chance, still you should have known better than to wait this long to tell me about this" His voice was not quiet like his companions, but instead was almost casual if it wasn't for the certain death his icy tone implied. Lifting up the man, he slammed the spy against the opposite wall of the alley, his blank look turning quickly into one of rage. "Here is what your going to do. Your got to find your balls, and then your going to go back to that pathetic little gang of yours and find out the details of what exactly they are planning. From there, you go straight to the boss, no exceptions" Darian stated with a cool certainty, releasing the man to stumble down the alley as fast as his feet could carry him.
"You see that boy, don't forget it" Darian spoke without looking at the teen, simply content for the moment to watch the man sprint down the alley clumsily. Suddenly the informant fell in his hurry to get away from Darian, and shaking his head disgustedly, Darian took a step forward, his hands coming to rest idly on his hips.
"Get up fool or I'll present your head to compliment the information" Darian barked, taking another step forward while looking at the collapsed man. Suddenly something punched into his right shoulder and sent him flying to the ground with a thud that knocked the breath out of him. Pain ripped through his shoulder with the impact, and rolling instinctually to the side, he spared a moment to glance at the arrow that had imbedded itself in his arm, but only a moment for a few heart beats later he was back on his feet and towards the way he had come in.
"Run boy" Was all Darian had the breath to bellow as he ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding a whistling black arrow. He was behind the teen now, shielding the youth as best he could from the attacks by the hidden archers while keeping an eye out for any blades or bowmen seeking to corner them inside the alley. Even with arrows whizzing past his head he heard the clink of mail just beyond to corner of the alley's entrance and grabbing the teen by his shirt, he shouldered through the hastily put up door on his left, the wooden portal unhinging from it's moorings on the wall with a crack as Darian rode it to the ground, rolling involuntarily afterwards. There was a loud snap to follow the dull thud the door made as the arrow shaft shattered and splintered deeper into his flesh, and cradling his head with his hands he managed to stumble to his feet and against a wall for a few moments, enough so that he could gather enough presence of mind to start barreling through the house to reach it's back door and out the other side as fast as his own legs would carry him.
Darian could hardly feel his arm now with all the painful throbbing coming from his mess of a shoulder, yet still he continued to barrel down the crowded street, slipping around clusters of people to avoid jolting his throbbing shoulder. He could still hear the boy breathing hard at his side, but keeping up none the less, but also he could faintly hear those that pursued them, for they were making no move to be quiet now. The occasional cry of fright, betrayed him just as much as it did them, and rounding upon a corner, he quickly doubled back into a alley, ducking low into the shadows while dragging the boy down into the muck with him. Conditioning kicked in then, and methodically he took stock of himself, noting grimly the lack of movement his right arm when he tried and tried again to clench his fist. He still had another good arm at least, but with their numbers, and his dominate arm next to useless it was clear that the held every advantage. His mind raced over everything he had witnessed, wondering were things had gone so wrong, what mistake could he could have possibly made, but nothing made itself apparent. He'd done things as he was asked, and no less, yet still he'd managed to walk right into a trap. The damn boy must have been causing him to miss signs.
Footsteps echoed from not too far away, the clink of iron echoing loudly in the streets, and in a flash of movement that sent another stab of pain radiating through his body he cupped his hand around the teen's mouth and pulled him deeper into the shadows, sinking below street level somewhat as he crawled down a shallow staircase. A few shadows flickered past as the noise got louder and then suddenly the sound of the heavy steps was fading, and Darian released his hold of the kid, allowing the boy his few gulps of breath before dragging him back up into the alley.
"We're going to head toward the Gated Community, follow closely" His cold voice leaving no room for debate
"Are you mad, they'll kill us on sight" The teen called in a hushed voice, his voice still cracking despite the change in volume.
"You'll hold your tongue and follow, or I'll have your tongue and drag you there" Darian replied curtly before turning around with a flourish of his cloak and darting down the alley.
