Solo Seeing in the Dark

[Enna Malark]

4th Day of Winter, 517AV The cold chill of night had settled over Sunberth. Buildings were lit from inside by the warmth of the hearth if they were lucky. Spots of light moved among the streets, torches held high to ward away the shadows. Nervous glances intro the darkness, hurried movement from one pool of light to the next. The taverns were still full of noise and light. Music could be heard coming from inside most of them as various performs did their acts. Enna reached down pulled up a broken floorboard beneath her bed. She slid them it to one side and reach in. Scraping away at the dirt a few moments, she pulled out a small purse of coins. She may need a few for tonight. She slid a couple of miza into the purse she concealed on her person and replaced the purse, covering it back up in their hiding place beneath the dirt, floor and bed. She moved round to the chest and took off the dirty gown she’d been wearing. She loved how unassuming it was, she just blended into the background with it. But tonight, she was going out on the town. Tonight, she was going to do something she hadn’t in a while. She opened her chest and pulled out the leather armour and coat within. With a shiver of excitement, she pulled the armour over her head and began to tighten the various straps that held it in place. The black leather let her blend in to the darkness, but she happened to think she looked pretty good in black. The contrast between her scarlet locks, lightly tanned skin and the black gave her a slimmer figure. She swept her black coat around her and pushed her hair back into the hood. It was like settling into the warm embrace of a lover. She felt safe and secure within the armour, this was her true self still. No masks to hide behind. She pulled the hood over her head, pulled on her gloves and finally grabbed the finely wrought ‘Reap’ from the table. It was the blade Riardon had given her before their first and only job together. She had carried it ever since. She checked herself over one last time. Adjusted the straps on her boots, armour and belt for luck more than anything. The fire in the hearth was already burning to embers, it was time to go. She left her rundown cottage in the Sunset Quarter, closing and locking the door behind her. The street was quiet. No movement right now. She could see the light of fire in some windows, but she was alone out here. She placed a hand on the scabbard of Reap and turned to head deeper into the city. Enna began making her way north, winding her way through the city streets. She knew them well, certainly around these parts where she travelled more frequently. As she came to the end of an alley, she caught the slight glow of torchlight and stopped. She pressed herself against the side of the building and crouched down, making her form as small as possible. Her free hand resting on the hilt of Reap. She listened. One set of footsteps. No two. She could hear them talking. She closed her eyes a moment and began to slow her breathing, trying to make herself as quiet as possible. “…Says to her, I ain’t got time for this crock. She spat at me and then tried to shiv me, the wench!” “I bet you stuck her right back!” “You bet I did. Ain’t no way you can mess with a Daggerhand like that.” They passed the alley without so much as a glance in her direction. Her hand tightened around the hilt. If they were Daggerhand, she could send them for a dirt nap and nobody would bat an eyelash. But this was still the Sunset Quarter. It was almost an unspoken rule not to get involved in gang activities here. She waited a few more moments until she couldn’t hear them before continuing. She moved faster now, leaving the relative safety of the Quarter could cause you all sorts of problems. She couldn’t to stick to the shadows, avoiding anything that might cause any extra noise. The rustle of leaves, debris from various scuffles. She made for a straighter path now. Still turning at odd intersections to throw off any would-be pursuers. Finally, she reached the Night Eyes rumoured territory. She’d heard a rumour. She wanted answers. But most of all, she wanted something to give her focus again. A small pen of crows lay in this area. That was how she’d contact them. It didn’t take her too long to find it now she knew where to look. She stopped in alleyway just across from the pen. Sure enough, there was the woman, still tending the pen. Enna waited. She wanted to be sure she wasn’t being tailed. Nothing happened. Satisfied, she made her way into the light and approached the woman. She looked up at Enna, almost as if she had been expecting her. Had she seen her already? Was this some elaborate ruse? No, she was nobody in this city still. She’d made sure to keep it that way. “Can you let them know,” Enna spoke softly and quietly. Though the woman didn’t seem concerned. “I want in.” The woman simply nodded and continued about her business. Enna back up into the safety of the shadows once more. She made her way home quickly, happier to take a more direct, better lit route home. It might be a quiet night.

[Regime]

The old woman wasn't accustomed to visitors. However, more and more of them had been coming to her in recent days, typically because people needed something from the Night Eyes. There were many people who wanted to be in their good graces because it meant power, wealth, and ambition. And in Sunberth, the ambition to do as you pleased was the ultimate freedom. And wasn't freedom what the Night Eye's fought for?

In time, maybe Enna Malark would come to find out the answer. But for now, she'd learn that to call upon the ever watchful gaze of the Night Eyes was not something done lightly.

7th Day of Winter, 517A.V.

Three days passed without a word...

As the red haired woman slept in her apartment in the Sunset Quarter. Her mind overtaken by the whims of her own dreaming, there was an imperceptible stir within the the room. To many Daggerhands, there was nothing good about what was coming to visit, and as a person clad in a hooded cloak stood at the woman’s bedside. The man watched Enna as she slept. His every move was silent, careful. The loudest noise he made being the softest ruffle of the fabric made by his clothing.

From behind the first hooded figure, a second hooded figured approached the first to whisper softly into his ear from over his shoulder. “Is she worth it.” The secretive tone of a woman second said to the hooded male. “We shall see.” The man replied, absently lifting up a steel short sword to examine its edge. "She said she wanted in, so lets see if she can handle it." He whispered as he laid Enna's own short sword along side her while she slept.

He used the hilt of the sword as a paper weight to hold the sealed envelop beneath it in place. The symbol of the Night Eyes was pressed into the purple wax that held it closed.

“Chances are she’ll fail.”

“Chances are she'll pass.”

The two spoke, exiting the woman’s home as she slept and locking the door behind them as if they were never there.

OOC Information :

Within, the envelop Enna will find two items. The first is a golden ring set with a ruby. The second is a message with a task on it, or maybe a test, given to her by the Night Eyes.

The message states, the ring is a replica made of fools gold and glass. Steal the real one, you'll find it at Deu's Vestments, he removes it when he's sewing, then return the real ring to the woman at the bird pens.

The message then tells her to burn the message after reading it.

You may do this task as a solo thread or with a partner. There is no time limit to do the task. Its perfectly challenging for a novice, so play to your skill level an enjoy.