Closed A Contract Complete, the Ghost is a Bonus

[Daniel Connor]

49th, 513 av Daniel took a sip of his beer and sighed. Mid season ment a new round of contracts for the mercenary folk to snap up at their leisure. He took the one with the most gold at the bottom of the page, of course, as that is what it all came down to. He removed a slip of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. It was a highly detailed sketch of the man he was supposed to kill, though he did not often take assassination jobs. Flipping it over was his whereabouts in Syliras. From the looks of things, he was a nobody. No family, no wife to come home to. No one to miss him if he was gone. Probably his drug use had scared anyone from getting close to him, but why would he care, he only wanted his daily fix. His first mistake was taking out loans from the wrong people, the second was refusing to pay them back. That was where he came in. Daniel set his Blade Gauntlets on the table and proceeded to check the blade for any damage. There was a bit of dried blood on the side, which he slowly cleaned with a napkin at his table. The blade was still razor sharp though, luckily, as he did not have the skill to repair a dented blade. He checked to make sure the dart launching mechanism was still working, and it looked to be okay. He dry fired it a few times, producing small clicks. He nodded approvingly at the device, setting the gauntlets aside. He produced a set of 8 darts and a bottle of poison. He opened the bottle and dipped the darts in, swishing them around so that they absorbed the poison fully. That seemed to do the job, he thought, putting the darts back into their case. The bottle of poison was now empty and he frowned, another thing he would have to buy later. Leaving a few coins on the table, Daniel left the tavern, heading towards the address on the back of the note. The man would likely be an easy kill. Drug users usually treated their drugs better than themselves, so he did not think he would have a problem. When he arrived at the door, he flicked the blade in and out of the gauntlets, testing the spring mechanism one last time. Satisfied, knocked on the door loudly. He heard a groan from inside, but not foot falls. Why did they have to make this more difficult than it had to be? He gave the door a swift kick right next to the lock, the metal latch easily breaking through the door frame. The flat was a mess. Rotting food and dirty clothes littered the floor, such a stench it made, making Daniel grimace. Quietly, he padded towards the source of the groaning; an open bedroom door. The man in his picture was laying on the bed, tossing and turning. He walked up to him and gave him a swift kick in the chest. The man sat up, gasping for breath. Daniel grabbed him by the his shirt and lifted him up, saying, “You should have paid your debts. Though, drugs will kill you in a worse way than I.” With a click, the knife sprung out of the gauntlet, which the then jabbed through the man’s neck, severing his spinal cord. He withdrew, his blade red with blood which was now pouring onto the ground. Grim work took a grim man. He sighed, then stiffened, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He felt something, something there, but also...also...not there. He slowly turned around, what he saw surprised him.

[Shiyami]

Shiyami had floated into the bar via fazing through the wall, looking for a random person to socialize. He was absolutely bored out of his mind, and exploring the Bronze Woods had not helped alleviate that boredom even the slightest. He settled down at a table, his fingers would be drumming a beat, if they were substantial. However, it seemed today was a lucky day for him, as he heard a clink of something that was neither a mug nor coin. Shifting his right eye, he carefully observed a man who seems to be in his late twenties or early thirties, bring out a strange weapon. A bladed gauntlet? Now that is a weapon that hasn't seen direct combat in the last decade or so., he thought to himself, noting the man clean the dried blood off the blades, and testing the firing mechanisms. 

"Reckless...", the ghost muttered in dismay, as the man proceeded to bring out a bottle of poison in public, and dipping darts into said poison. Shiyami sighed, muttering darkly about the incompetent nature of the current generation, and how they do not seem to check their surroundings. The man had placed a few coins on the table, before walking out of the tavern. What else would someone be doing coating darts with poison? Sing songs?, and with that thought, Shiyami quickly followed, tailing the man silently, with the purpose of seeing who this man was killing.

The man seemed to stop at a door, and check his equipment one last time -Smart.-, before knocking on the door. Having no answer, the man proceeded to open the door in a rather flashy a noisy method -I take back what I said. Stupid and reckless...- and quietly walked in. Shiyami followed silently, and watched as the man give a few lines to the victim, before cutting the jugular. 

The man seemed to have noticed his presence, and turned around. The moment the man's attention was on him, Shiyami finally spoke. "Useless. You bring out weapons, clean blood off said weapons, and poison the darts, all in public view. Then, you proceed to destroy the door in a rather noisy manner, but choose to walk in silently? Absolutely incompetent, hatchling!", he scolded. His view of the living has clearly dropped, at least when observing mercenaries or assassins.

Shiyami

[Daniel Connor]

Hatchling? This ghost must have been old. Daniel observed the shadowy figure, seeing the fearsome form he had chosen to take in the afterlife. The ghost had criticized his methods, and he was right, he was quite flashy. “It does not matter how much noise I make if I am gone before the guards come,” he retorted, moving to exit the building, “Come. I wish to continue talking to you. You seem to know a bit more about this than I.” Daniel pulled his hood over his eyes and ducked into a nearby alley. “Also, I am not really one for stealth, merely efficiency. Tell me, who are you to know much about this line of work?” This ghost was interesting. He must have followed him for a while, as he had been careful to wind his way through Syliras’ labyrinth of alleyways.

OOCSorry for the short post, had a bit of writer’s block. Maybe poke the thread in a direction you want it to go?

[Shiyami]

This man...is he serious?, Shiyami's thought with an incredulous tone, although he did not let it show on his face. "Best to not leave and trails, human.", he warned, as he followed the man out and away from the place of murder.

Floating around and sometimes halfway through the walls, as he failed the man who seemed to enjoy taking long, winding detours. Not that it wasn't a bad thing, especially for someone in this man's line of work. "I have seen quite a few of the living that has taken somewhat similar of an occupation.", he said, before adding "However, in this city, one must take more care then usual, lest you find yourself in the vice grip of the iron gauntlet.", with a hard whisper. He kept flitting back and forth through any obstructions.

Shiyami

[Daniel Connor]

Daniel took the ghost’s advice to heart, maybe he had been a bit careless as of late. Though his work was only illegal on occasion, when he did, he tried to work as different than normal as possible, so as to throw off anyone who was trying to track him. “Hmm, I wonder wonder, who were you in your life?” he asked, his eyes tuning a shade of light green, akin to leaves after a rain. Indeed, care was not really his specialty, he left the clean up to his employers. They had not failed him yet, and they showed no signs of wavering. He led the ghost to his home, twisting in turning down a route he knew well, but made sure to take a different way every other time or so. Creatures of habit can be killed easily. “My employers are very good at making things like iron gauntlets disappear. Besides, I have friends in the guard,” he excused, hoping the ghost would stop his criticisms, though he was thankful for the advice.

[Shiyami]

Shiyami followed the man home, where he 'walked' toward a seat, and 'sat' down on it. "Rather cozy.", he muttered under his breath, while surveying the surroundings. His attention was drawn by a question he was hoping not to hear, one that questions his past, during his time alive. He stayed silent for half a chime, before speaking. "During my short time in life, I was a child, who was unluckily brought into the world, within a dangerous environment.", were the words that were spoken in an empty tone of voice, his eye seemed almost darker then usual, but that was probably the angle of the light. "After death, was when I learnt many things, most by watching the living behave and interact.", he added quietly.

The ghost shrugged, as the man seemed to be covering his mistakes, and had a solution for every scenario. "Well, seems like you have things under control.", he muttered, mentally brushing aside the petty criticisms he had, as the man would probably answer that he had a way around it.

Shiyami

[Daniel Connor]

Daniel chuckled at the ghost, as him saying the word ‘cozy’ seemed as foreign as a baby giving pick-a-back to a goat. “A hard job takes a comfortable home,” he said, mirth evident in his lyrical accent. As the ghost told him his story, his eyes turn a shade of deep blue, saddened by the tale. The ghost’s eyes also appeared to darken a little, maybe a bit of ghosty-wispy-goop or whatever it was called. “It must get lonely, just watching the world fall and rise up again around you. Not taking part in it, but still being present. It would drive me mad!” he mused, pondering what that sort of life would bring. He was a man of action, of strong emotion, he always seemed to have to do something! Maybe that would change if he died and became a ghost. ”Tichi! Bond of my heart, would you like to meet our guest? He is quite the character!” Daniel called to his bond. At one time she might have been terrified of the ghost man, but he had rubbed a little of his fearlessness off on her. He wrapped his arm around her waist when she entered the room, giving him a kiss on the cheek. She whispered something in his ear, then gave her greetings to the ghost, looking down at her feet as she did so. She then left the flat with a goodbye in Vani, a parcel tucked under her arm. “Tichi had to go make a delivery, but she will come around later. She is a bit shy around strangers, especially ghosty ones,” he explained, the pink that had entered his eyes fading to a leaf green. He continued, back on the topic at hand, “I can only control what I come into contact with, my employers handle the other stuff. Unfortunately, that includes my paycheck, so I should not question their methods.”

OOCI will RP for my bond, as I do not think she will pay a major role in this, she is just going to be here to introduce herself.

[Shiyami]

Shiyami nodded, as the mercenary gave his opinion upon living, no wait, enduring, for years on end. "Aye, it is horrible at times, with madness creeping over your eyes like a veil, if one isn't careful. Though it isn't so lonely when you have a fellow ethereal to take care of.", he remarked, with a small smile on his face.

Giving the smile a gracious host should have, and tilting his head in the woman's direction Asa way of greeting, when the mercenary called her in. Bondmates...love...how does that love feel, when two equals are together...?, Shiyami trivially pondered, as he watched the couple kiss, before the female departed to complete some sort of delivery. If it was one thing no one can learn, even after four hundred years, is how an emotion actually feels like.

"Hm, well, there is nothing wrong with attempting to weasel out a few extra coin from ones employer, no?", the ghost asked in response to the man's perspective of his employers, a joking and carefree tone audible in his words. He thought for a moment, before wondering about this man's ability to fight, in the worst case scenario. "Take no offense in this, but I would like to see how well your capabilities in combat would be. Care to take a little trial, or test?", he asked, in a curious tone. He was curious, but the main thing that will come out of this test, would be a relief from his ever persistent boredom.

Shiyami

[Shiyami]

This thread is officially cancelled, due to absence of threaders.

SHIYAMI