Early Evening, 44 Fall, 501 AV,
Sliding the dagger back home, Kane made sure he didn't miss the weathered boot shaft as he did, having done such before and giving himself a nasty lick, one that he didn't recover from for quite some time. Glancing about at the scene, Kane saw he was leaving the house much as he’d came, everything (save for the residents) left as it was. Striding back the way he came, muffled movements and soft sobs were audible from whence he came as he straightened his appearance, tightening the leather belt which held a beige vest over a white cloth shirt another notch or two, and checking briefly that his calf high boots were in order he started towards the open door, purposely stepping over the blood spilt from the earlier struggle with the house owner, small drips here and there near the door, though the man lay in a pool of the stuff in the adjacent room, the struggle having migrated there after Kane had made his way inside, though he stopped as he approached the door, choosing instead to retrace his steps back a ways, stopping near the doorway opposite that of the one in which the man lay dead, the object of his attention being an iron shortsword. Stooping to a closer level, Kane crouched so that he could get a better look, his right hand reaching instinctively for the hilt. As he took up the blade he felt its weight, allowed the blade to find a home in his hand, its heavy iron blade counterbalancing the exaggerated cross guard, and it was as if it became an extension of his arm. Though he soon simply twirled the blade clockwise, his thumb wrapped around the hilt as to keep it in his hand, and carefully slid it between his belt and his vest, and with that, made his way for the door. He'd caused enough damage here, might be time to take up with the lads down at the drinking hole.
---
An Hour Earlier
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It started off quite simply; Ajagur had sent him to 'remind' a certain someone about some mizas they owed Mr. Ajagur, a first time reminder, no violence... Idiot that owned the place insisted on complicating the matter though, probably mistook Kane for someone else, slamming the door in his face after he'd knocked the first time, yellow light only emerging from the cracked door for a moment, and second only bothering to give him a very rude gesture before following the precedent he'd established earlier. Needless to say, Kane wasn't very keen on a repeat incident, and so after knocking a third time, Kane positioned himself as to thrust his weight against the door at the first sign of movement, which soon came as the man unlatched the door to warn off Kane a final time, wielding a shortsword as he did such. Kane, unknowingly, went through with his plan, forcing the door open, striking the man opposite of it quite violently in the face. Taking his time, thinking that he could finally speak with the man, Kane entered through the open doorway and was quite surprised to see a shortsword descending quite rapidly toward his face (of course, such a happening would surprise anyone) and Kane, not prepared for such a reaction, tackled the man before the sword descended far enough to prevent such a move. As the two men reached the floor, both found the wind knocked out of them, and Kane, seizing the opportunity, knocked the shortsword from of the man’s reach, only a few inches away from his fingers. Having already pushed himself up in his attempt to disarm the man, Kane left himself off balance and prone to being tipped over, which the man quickly went through with, pushing his assailant off of him, mistakenly towards the sword, and readied to strike again.
Landing with his back exposed, Kane had to think on his feet. Surely that wasn’t the only weapon the man owned, and Kane proved quite a tempting target at the moment, lying down like this… Quickly his hands found the shortsword under his weight, and tracing the blade back to its hilt, gripped the weapon in his right hand, the left being used to push himself off the floor. Turning about as quickly as his frame would allow, Kane brandished the blade low, about on the level with his waist, ready to parry should the need arise, though the other had not a weapon, already assuming a defensive position in response to Kane. Standing for a moment, assessing the situation, Kane realized finally that he had the advantage… he also realized that that could be exactly what his opponent wanted him to think. He’d seen how others had easily disarmed armed opponents in the ‘fights, and he was cautious to use this newfound advantage, approaching the other man slowly, blade still held low, and feinted an attack. The man took a quick step back, and Kane leaned in to drive home a true attack, though the man wasn’t as off balance as he’d hoped, and the small blade only barely sliced his side, spilling blood but failing to deal any but superficial damage. Quickly Kane looked to the man’s face, his own low from where he’d leaned in to attack, and the two both shared the same, alarmed expression, and for a brief moment the two did nothing, simply staring at each other. The first to act was the other man, making an effort to secure the blade that’d grazed his side, and Kane then reacted, slamming into the man with his left shoulder as he tried to throw the sword away, his effort being hindered by the man’s arms clutched around his torso, one of his hands having managed to secure his upper right arm. The two struggled for a handful of seconds before Kane had to be satisfied to toss the sword as far as his restricted arm would allow, the blade only landing but a foot or so away, but that foot was a foot out of the hands of the man he wrestled with.
In a desperate attempt to keep him from the sword, Kane slid his left hand into the man’s trouser belt, and gripping it tightly, put all his weight forward, sending the two though a dark doorway and into a separate room, what looked to be a spacious yet cluttered office, the only light in the room emanating from the doorway they'd just come from. Having twisted as they tumbled, Kane was below the other man as they landed, and quickly the latter set his hands about Kane’s throat, not hesitating to choke him. That’s probably what sent Kane over the edge, aside from the earlier attempts to kill him, and the two began to struggle, Kane’s hands on the other’s arms, at least until he could tell he wasn’t going to get them off… He only had a moment or two before the bastard crushed his windpipe… and thinking on instinct, Kane struck, a blow as hard as he could muster from his almost feral reserves of strength, fighting for what he believed now to be his life, sending a fist straight into the man’s groin. Kane knew he’d struck home as the man’s grip lessened and a pained groan sounded out, and soon after Kane, using his index and middle fingers, made several sharp jabs to the wound he’d inflicted earlier, causing the man to give Kane just enough leverage to lift him up, and from there turn the tables on him. Soon Kane sat on the man’s chest, left leg penning down his left arm, and his right knee pushing down on the man’s gut, in a position almost reflecting that which While he fought desperately with his right arm to keep Kane from choking him, he failed to notice as Kane reached for his boot, and produced a simple iron dagger, the blade having recently been cleaned, and quickly slid it into the man’s ribcage, his eyes widening as Kane did. Looking into his face, Kane took in the details for the first time, the low light from the hallway allowing a decent look at his face, Kane having not bothered earlier with looking him over. He wasn’t but a year or two older than Kane, his hair a lighter hue of blonde than his own, and much more unkempt. Kane's face began to split in a grin, wicked satisfaction beginning to set into his heart, and he almost began to taunt him as he noticed something, something odd...
The other was already doing such... his eyes displaying a spark of courage that Kane seemed to lack. A sort of determination, a feeling of purpose. His grin disappearing, Kane removed the dagger from his chest, and stabbed the man again, the sharp edge easily sliding into him, and he repeated the action until the man withdrew his stare, his face wrenched in pain, and Kane's mood began to improve, his smile beginning to return as he plunged the dagger into the man once again. His actions being rewarded with a waterlogged cough, blood spurting forth from the man's lungs, a spare drop or two breaking past his lips and dribbling down his face. Sighing as his opponent opened his eyes once more, Kane simply smiled in response, wiping the dagger on the man's already blood soaked cloth tunic, and stood, preparing to slide the weapon back into his boot when what seemed to sound as a rustle came from beyond the small hallway he'd just came from... Leaving the man to die where he lay, Kane explored the home further, leaving the darkness of the office for the pale candlelight of the hallway. Looking about the wooden floor, one could see where the blood and faint outlines of bootprints from the struggle, though Kane quickly looked for the abandoned sword from earlier, though it was no where to be found. Now he could worry... the man he'd killed wasn't the only one in the house, and he was obviously afraid of more than just Ajagur... he hadn't owed him money long enough to be afraid. There, simply, had to be more to his attack than met the eye. Kane wasn't as much of a fool as he appeared, and though he wasn't a terribly bright individual, he could see what was going on here; the man he'd just killed was hiding something... something
valuable hopefully. Though whether there was really anything valuable in the building was a moot point if Kane lay in a pool of his own blood, and so Kane was cautious, cautious to keep his back to the light as he stepped carefully to look into the dark doorway across from the room where he'd finished off the first assailant, it seemed to be a dining room, if possible with only a wood table and three chairs, and in the low light from the hallway, already partially obscured by Kane, one could make out clay-ware plates, eating utensils, even a goblet or two... recently used as well. Sighing as he examined the scene, were it not for his right shoulder resting briefly on the frame of the doorway, creating a soft rustle with his shirt on a rough knot in the wood, he would've never noticed the soft footsteps creeping up behind him, creating an eerily similar noise, save without Kane's shoulder brushing against the wooden frame.
Shoulders and legs tensing, Kane prepared to turn about on his new assailant, and as he did, spinning around, dagger held in his right hand, the shortsword's blade flew swiftly where his lower back would've dwelled only a moment earlier. Immediately he went to work, his left hand securing the single hand that gripped the sword whilst he thrust the small pommel of the weapon into their face, striking their nose as he did so. His other hand quickly started to squeeze the hand that gripped the weapon, such a small, delicate hand, and soon the weapon dropped to the floor with nerve-shattering clamor, and pushing away his new opponent, Kane got his first good glimpse of her-wait,
her? The one who'd just attempted to attack him was a woman, a young woman of average physique and skin tone it seemed, with swarthy hair fixed behind her head in a simple bun. She was clad in traveling clothes, a woolen cloak upon her shoulders, covering most of what lay under.
Could be a dagger. his conscience warned,
Could also be a fetching pair of bosoms. For a moment he debated what to do, weapon in hand, watching her as she placed herself against the opposite wall, edging her way back further into the building, trying to get enough of a start to outrun him. Stepping forward with a start, she made a bolt for the door she'd emerged from, one that lead back into the rear areas of the house, and Kane, not knowing what could lay back there, perhaps a blade, a shield, an escape route... anything really. All that mattered was that Kane leapt for her, managing enough of a handful of her cloak to slow her down to manage a better hand hold on her, his dagger soon finding its way perpendicular to her throat. Quickly he stripped her of her cloak, the possibility of a hidden weapon too great to risk, the heavy wool garment falling to the floor, rustling as it did such, revealing a form that, were Kane not already concerned with watching her for any sudden movements, he would've admired greatly even with the unflattering, masculine clothing. She wasn't slim, and nor was she large, placing probably somewhere in between the two, standing only an inch or two shorter than himself, Kane's thoughts were interrupted as she spoke, her voice strained under obvious duress, “I know what you're here for,
bastard.”
Perceiving that an opportunity had presented itself quite nicely, Kane curiously inquired soon after she'd finished, searching for the words as he did so, “So, just-eh... what is it I'm here for, then?” He probably seemed a bit less intimidating now, something of a fool, though the fool had a weapon... Pressing the dagger closer to her throat, he hoped she'd at least be courteous enough to tell him just where he might find the loot, or even something of value in the home. Already he needed to make up for the failure to even warn the man of Ajagur's delayed payment, not to mention probably failing(due to the man's death) to get the money at all, and Ajagur's wrath, much less his anger, wasn't something anyone was eager to face.
“You're here for me, aren't you?” The statement had struck Kane somewhat off guard, who was expecting something along the lines of 'You'll never find it.' or 'I'll dies before I tell you.' cliché'd, yes, though Kane as mentioned wasn't the brightest guy. The first thing that came though Kane's mind initially was,
Not really..., thinking that the man had died defending something of material worth, not a woman. Blinking as he thought over it for a moment, Kane considered this almost to be some sort of joke, though he could tell from her voice that no humor was meant in the statement. Surely this was a distraction from the real treasure hidden on the property... this girl certainly wouldn't have been cause for such a rude reception at the door, and moreso the man's attempts to slay Kane, though he had to admit, she was quite fetching... “That wasn't my... initial plan, though you're starting to win me over.” Turning her against the wall he soon pressed her against it, removing the blade from the young woman's neck, instead relocating it to her ribs, pressing the dagger close as he spoke, "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them, yes?"
Few bothered to even think of the cries, much less investigate. There were some who thought of looting the place, though they decided to wait until after Kane'd left before they bothered. But it was Sunberth, wasn't it?
---
The streets were busy, busy as they always were, though at times he got an odd stare or glance every now and then though they didn't bother him, at least not physically. Still, that's the kind of reputation one could garner from the Pitfights, a sort of intimidation factor where no one was overly eager to mug you, unless you were particularly drunk or outnumbered. The walk to the bar, though not long, seemed to take a bit more time than usual, perhaps it was the air... yes, did seem a bit more cold out than earlier.
Probably night setting on... Kane thought, putting an extra dash of vigor in his step, hurrying to the tavern where most of Ajagur's men spent their spare time,
the Outside Inn, the cold beginning to make his skin crawl.
