[The Rearing Stallion] You called me a what!? (Xelin)

[Xelin Sylaaf]

Xelin took a moment to catch his breath. "Somewhat," he answered. He was barely thinking coherently, his nerves were completely shot. He couldn't let himself go mad now, he thought, there was still some business left.

Xelin ran back to the bushes and retrieved his leather sack. He then moved back to the freshly made corpse and knelt by it. He reached for the knife protruding from the bastards chest and yanked it out. It was a tough pull, it was lodged somewhat through the ribcage. Xelin gulped back his stress, he was used to fights but rarely had acted so cold blooded. Hopefully, this would be over soon.

Sheathing his knife, he got up with his leather pouch and opened the top lid. He then began to liberally pour the unknown liquid on the body and on the earth around the body. He then capped the pouch and slung it over his shoulder. He then turned to Pain. "You need to lay low, somewhere close." He looked towards the dark forest, wondering when the back up was arriving. "Can you find a branch large enough for a decent torch?"

[Elhaym]

Pain nodded, letting Xelin take over. She turned and walked to the edge of the clearing, looking for a suitable tree limb. After tossing a few rejects, she found one of suitable thickness and length. Pain slipped her fingerless leather glove off, and lifted her bandaged right hand to her face. She bit into the cloth, jerking her head in a tearing motion and ripping the bandage free. With her bruised knuckles exposed, she carefully wrapped the cloth around the tip of the branch.

Pain walked back to Xelin, and handed off the crudely made torch. Without a word, she slipped back into Xelin's former hiding spot.

At that moment, the sounds of horses could be heard nearby. Pain knew that Gaar was close, and that they had little time to prepare. For the moment, she left everything up to Xelin and his plan.

[Xelin Sylaaf]

Gripping the torch, Xelin reached into his pocket and grabbed a piece of flint. Nervously he ignited the stone along the cloth end of the torch. A few harsh flicks and eventually he had a small flame. He moved towards the corpse, using it in front of himself and where he suspected the men to come forward.

The galloping of hooves grew louder, Xelin swallowed his nerves and steeled himself. No fear, he thought, too bad he couldn't just play a song.

From the thick of the trees two black horses reared out. The leading horse stopped a few paces, and it's rider dismounted. Gaar was a beast of a man, even worse than the one they'd slain before. Hugh, bulking shoulders and a face like granite. Xelin showed no emotion, but his mind was screaming for retreat. This plan had to work or else he wasn't sure what would happen next. Xelin could deal with a big guy, he wasn't sure if he could deal with a giant.

The second man who dismounted gave no comfort to Xelin either. He was another thundering beast, with a rather large club in his hands. In the dark he was harder to see but he suspected that he was not greeting Xelin with a smile.

Gaar approached Xelin, noting the corpse at his feet. "Who the hell are you?" The man asked.

"Xelin Sylaaf, I'm a bounty hunter."

Gaar gave a weezing and cruel laugh out. "A frail pretty boy like you? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I told you I'm a bounty hunter, I'm after the girl known as Pain."

Gaar paused, and noted the corpse again, "This is my man at your feet."

"She did this. But I know where she is?"

"That so?" Gaar raised an eyebrow but still was not entirely convinced about Xelin's ruse. "There where, I may ask, is she?"

Xelin motioned towards the bushes where Pain was hiding, "Over there, she's quite weak at this point. You shouldn't have any trouble getting her."

Gaar looked at Xelin curiously, "Why are you telling me this? If you're a bounty hunter, why help me?"

"Because my bounty is dead or alive, I figure you can have your way with her, and I take what's left and collect my reward. Just make sure she can be identifiable alright?"

Gaar chuckled a bit more, "Well, I guess this is going to be easier than I thought." And he began to turn.

"Hold on!" Xelin spouted, "Let's shake on it, just to make sure we're all on the same page." Xelin offered his free hand. Gaar smirked, like hell he would work with this pipsqueak. Kill the girl, and then the scrawny boy, he thought, then take the body to his employer. But if the imbecile thought a handshake could ensure a deal, why not humor him?

Gaar reached out and took Xelin's hand and squeezed tightly, making sure Xelin felt his full power. Xelin did, but then Xelin squeezed back. Gaar tried to let go but couldn't. Xelin held tightly and then with all his strength he tanked it back.

It was not enought to move Gaar much, but in that same motion Xelin's leg leapt up and kicked Gaar's most forward shin. As the old saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. But as Gaar fell face first into his dead comrade, surely it would not be enough to fell him. But that's when both Gaar and his companion became aware of the smell they couldn't quite make out but paid no attention to.

Oil, the corpse had been drenched in oil.

Xelin roared as he plunged his torched onto the earth and within a blink of an eye the body erupted into orange flame. It consumed Gaar's face and he howled out in horror and agony. His companion did not hesitate to break into a sprint towards Xelin.

The bard let go of Gaar and his torch and went for his leather pouch and knife. He skipped back as quickly as he could before shouting, "Backup! Now!" But the companion was now over the flames and right in Xelin's face. As quickly as he could Xelin sliced open his pouch and flung it at the giant, splashing him with oil. It did not hesitate him, and he swung his club into Xelin's side.

He flew across the field and rolled into a mud patch. His knife was out of his hand and nowhere to be seen. He could hear the footsteps of the man coming towards him to finished the job. At least he didn't bring his guitar, he thought, might've gotten smashed.

[Elhaym]

The agonizing screams Gaar continuously let out covered the sound of Pain's movement. Xelin's plan was brutal, to say the least, but fighting Gaar head on would have been suicide. Now, as she rapidly closed in on the remaining combatant, she knew if she could end this quickly, she would be saved.

Pain halted her momentum as she reached a distance of about five feet from her attacker, who was just beginning to turn and face her. She knew she would have only one shot like this when he would be totally unprepared. Her left foot was the lead foot, and she began her attack by turning it slightly to the left at a forty-five degree angle from her attacker. She pushed herself up, so that her balance was channeled directly onto the ball of her left foot, and began the quick and decisive maneuver. Her hips rotated the slightest bit as her right leg began to fly, rising rapidly and coming in a vicious arc that she assumed to hold enough power to take the man's head off. His hands reflexively came up to guard, but the large club he had been holding at his side stymied his natural defenses, and he vulnerable head was left exposed.

Pain's had learned long ago to make her lower shin the point of impact for a kick. It caused more damaged to the enemy and left less chance that she would injure her foot or toes. The sound of her shin impacting the left side of the man's neck was sickening, his head snapping back and a chorus of grating, cracking sounds erupting from his neck. As Pain's body followed through with the motion, she returned to her fighting stance as her would-be opponent fell. His body seemed to be made of jelly, and landed in an impossible position with a loud crunch. Pain didn't know if it was her kick or the fall, but his neck was broken for certain. She walked to Xelin, who lay haunched over and covered in mud.

"Xelin... you did well." she said, extending her hand and helping him to his feet. She thumbed behind her, to Gaar. He was no longer screaming, and the fires seemed to have burned their course. The damp grass and dirt had prevented the fire from spreading, and the oil had burned away. Only a whimpering sound and twitching movements proved that he was still alive.

"You've done enough... but I need to finish this." She said, patting her shoulder. She turned, walking briskly to a area towards the edge of the clearing. Ah, there! She had seen it glinting when she first stepped from her hiding spot. Xelin's knife. She picked up the blade, flipping it within her hands so that she held it upside down.

As she stood over Gaar, he made no attempt to defend himself. Pain was sure that if this mountain of a man could speak, he would beg for death. Well, she would not argue. This man was a villain, through and through. He had beaten her to near death for no reason other than spite, and had proven himself to be very troublesome to her over the past year. It ended now.

"You'll not be hurting me anymore Gaar. No longer." Pain said. Her voice was usually icy, but right now it was frozen. The dagger however, felt like it was on fire in her hand.

***

When the deed was done, she approached Xelin. Apparently she had wiped the blood away from the blade, because it's surface was spotless. With a deft flip, she caught the tip of the blade, and offered the handle to Xelin.

"You earned every Miza, Xelin."

[Xelin Sylaaf]

Slowly Xelin took his knife by the hilt and sheathed it. He was still trying to catch his breath, clutching his side tightly. He clenched his teeth as he breathed, he could feel that he might've broken some ribs. Through bloodied teeth he smiled, "Thanks," He chuckled before coughing up a bit of blood. Damn that guy could hit, thank god his neck wasn't as strong.

"Though, you did most of the heavy lifting," Xelin would've felt a tinge of embarassment letting a woman be the more agressive, but then again Pain was not an ordinary woman. Then again, most of Gaar's current state was on him. The sight sent a cold chill down Xelin's spine, he did not want to do something like this again. He looked back towards Pain, "So....what now?"

[Elhaym]

Pain breathing began to calm, and she turned to observe the three corpses. There was no way to conceal their deaths as an accident, so their only course of action would be to bury the bodies. Not only that, but somewhere outside the thicket were three horses tied, and they couldn't be left.

"We have to bury them. It doesn't have to be intricate or deep, just get them out of sight. If we leave them out, carrion birds could alert the Knight's that something happened, and they might investigate. I doubt they would be sympathetic to my case; murder is murder. Xelin, if you can bury these men, I will go tend to the horses."

She felt bad asking Xelin to do the gory work, but she needed to search their belongings. Pain wanted to make absolutely sure there was not a fourth player, and that the mercenaries didn't have an insurance policy waiting for Pain and Xelin back in Syliras.

Leaving Xelin with his gruesome task, she walked through the thicket until she found the site the horses had been left. The three of them were tied to trees, moving about anxiously at the sight of a stranger. Pain set to work, gently unstrapping their saddles and piling them up. A thorough search revealed nothing in the first two saddle's bags of value, but the third contained a piece of parchment that had been rolled and tied along the center. Pain undid the knot, stretching out the paper to read it's contents. It seemed to be a report on Pain herself, detailing her habits and routines, where she went and when she was alone. It also held information about her room in the castle. No doubt, the mercenaries had hired help to find her. Pain's heart sank into despair. When she reached the end of the letter, for a moment her heart plummeted even further.

The letter was signed D.B.V.

Those were her uncle's initials. He was a bounty hunter, so it would make sense that the mercenaries, who's only real talent lie in battle, would hire someone more skilled to track her movements. Though uneasy at first, Pain now felt an odd sense of relief. Though it was unnerving that her own uncle had been involved in all of this, she doubted he would go any further than what his employers had paid him to do. Judging from the complete lack of coin on the bodies or the bags, she guessed that he had come at a high price. Pain folded the letter, and stuffed it into the waistband of her cotton shorts. She set to work dragging the heavy saddles back to Xelin, knowing that they too would need to be buried.

***

As she tossed the last saddle onto the ground in the clearing, Pain's legs folded and she fell to the ground, exhausted. She looked to Xelin, who seemed focused but grim, and spoke softly.

"Once we've buried them, as well as these saddles, we can untie the horses and let them free. I'm sure a trader or a traveler will manage to coax them back to Syliras." she said in a low tone. She knew keeping the horses would only incriminate them, as the guards would wonder why she left on foot, and returned with three horses.

"Xelin... how are you holding up?"

[Xelin Sylaaf]

"Fine," Xelin's said disingenuinely, swiping a bit of sweat and dirt from his eyebrow. By now he'd made a moderately decent sized hole, but certainly not enough for three bodies. Still he continued on, his mind once again in complete shock over what he was doing. Burying bodies was not a activity he regularly participated in, but by now Xelin had resigned himself to accept that he was probably going to be asked to do a lot that wasn't his normal thing. Too bad, he thought, this would make a good folk song. However, he certainly wouldn't be wanting to sing his murder confession across Mizahar. Or would he? Crime did tend to add a certain mystique, and a murder did add danger.

And then he realized what he was considering and returned to the hole. With his mind on the subject, though, he had to ask Pain. "So, is this something you find yourself involved in alot? I mean, this." He motioned to the hole and the bodies.

[Elhaym]

Pain had dragged the saddle's to the growing pit, and know sat on her knees digging the earth with her bare hands to accelerate the process. The smell was awful, and the scenery was grotesque. She wanted this moment to be over as quickly as possible. Oddly, the act of the killing hadn't weighed on her too terribly. They had all intended to kill her, after all.

"So, is this something you find yourself involved in alot? I mean, this."

"No. I'm not a killer." She said bluntly. "You must think i'm one vengeful bitch, though." she added, with maybe the first hint of humor in her voice that Xelin had witnessed. She realized however, that joking around when they were doing something like this was probably not the best time to showcase her humor.

"Xelin, if you can't do this, I understand. You've done your part, more than I imagined. Honestly, I thought you would just take my money and run. I figured at the very least, i'd rather a thief have it than no one. I... was pretty sure I would die tonight. So, thank you." Pain rose, dusting her hands off and stepping towards Xelin.

"You can go, Xelin. I can finish this. Just know that for what you did, I consider you a friend... i'm in short supply of those. You can forget about me if you want, i'd understand. But... if you ever need anything from me, just ask." and with that, she moved to embrace him. It was a somewhat awkward motion, and not one born from sensuality or lust. Pain simply felt indebted to Xelin in a large way.

[Xelin Sylaaf]

The hug was....a but uncomfortable. It felt like a person who'd never touched a person before in their life. It was nice though, if a little disturbing what with the dead bodies all around. He gave a weak smile and looked at Pain. "Listen, I can finish this with you. I mean, hell, I'm already this far in right?" He smirked and resumed finishing the hole. He never thought he could be chipper under such grim conditions, but it seemed an entire childhood spent as a vagrant in Sunberth might've rub off some toughness to him.

"You know, Pain." He started, "You seem like an alright person, but I thought the first time I saw you. After all an artist can see an aritst in ways non-artists can't.....if that makes any sense." He paused, and remembered something. "I remember at the Rearing Stallion, your real name slipped your tongue but I didn't catch it. I figure I've earned enough to hear that little truth right?"

[Elhaym]

"I guess, if you want to look at it that way." Pain said, grunting as she tossed the last of the saddles into the growing pit.

"But just so you know, how I feel about it anyway. A name is just a name, you know, just a word. Most of the time you don't even get to choose, it's just a word that means you. My name is Pain. Some people think of hurting when they hear it, and they think I must be weird for choosing it. Well, maybe... but when I think of my name, I don't think of hurting. I think of myself, much like when you hear Xelin spoken out loud." Pain took a breath as as she paused, and briefly wondered what people's fascination was with obtaining someone's name if they felt they were using an alias.

"My parents named me Elhaym. If you want to call me that, go ahead. But that is not my name." she said, with a sense of finality in her statement.

The hole was complete, and all that was left to do was drag the bodies in and fill it over. Pain's muscles ached, and she hoped the whole ordeal would end without incident.