/Assault on Arcturus the Artillery!

## Assault on Arcturus the Artillery!
**Previously, on Elona DW!
21:13 Lok Deshal does not hide his surprise, "Wimble, I know that name. By any chance are you related to Sebastian Wimble?" Oddly Deshal doesn't seem as creepy now, instead you feel quite at ease with him, as though you could tell him anything. Huh.
21:14  *** Lok is now known as Clarice
21:14 Clarice "Yes...Sebastian is my...late father."
21:14 Clarice Deshal gives her a pitying look, "I knew him, he was a good man, and a very talented mage..he could have made Magus himself if not for...." He grows quiet, "I am very sorry for your loss, you poor dear. If you ever want to know more about him you should join me for tea sometime."
21:15 Clarice Clarice forces a smile. "W-Well...actually...I'd love to hear about my father. But ...I think I'd be more comfortable if Hawk could join us. After all, my father is somewhat of a...sore topic for me."
21:16 Clarice Deshal chuckles merrily, "Oh but Devin has work to do, don't you son? That leaves you and me plenty of time to chat in private, if you'd like."
21:16 Clarice Deshal takes a startled looking Hawk by the arm and drags him out of the room.
21:16 Clarice ----
Hawk glares at his father, "I wasn't quite done speaking to my lady."
21:19 Hawk Deshal narrows his eyes, "I don't give a damn. You aren't here on vacation, you are her to do your job. Why did you even bother bringing a woman on a business trip?"
21:19 Hawk here*
21:20  Hawk growls, "Because I need to keep her safe."
21:20 Hawk Deshal laughs, "Oh and I'm safe now am I?"
21:23  Hawk fights back the urge to spit in his face, instead he grits his teeth and threatens, "If she comes to any harm while I'm away...I'll slit your throat in your sleep and pin it on that favorite son of yours."
21:28 Hawk Deshal's eyes widen betraying a hint of fear, but he smirks anyways, "Well that escalated rather quickly. Tell you what Devin my boy, I swear to it that no harm will come to your pretty blonde piece of ass, but you do this mission without pay."
21:28 Hawk "Deal?"
21:32  Hawk swiftly has him shoved against the wall at knifepoint, "I'm sick of being manipulated by you!" The blade draws a drop of blood, it slides along the knife's edge.
21:35 Hawk Deshal tries to use his voice to calm Hawk down, "Son, enough of this unseemly anger. I know you would /never/ kill  your own father."
21:37  Hawk stares into eyes that are nearly the same as his, "Perhaps not, but I could make you plead for death..your /friends/ taught me all the ways to torture a man."
21:39 Hawk Deshal plasters on a smile, "Is gold really worth more to you than your lass? You've changed boy."
21:44  Hawk presses the dagger harder, the blade now has small river of red running down it, "Swear a blood oath that she'll stay safe under your charge."
21:45 Hawk Deshal hesitates.
21:46  Hawk 's voice deepens, "Swear to me!!"
21:47 Hawk Deshal acts as though the words are venom, "I swear it," he spits out.
21:51  Hawk removes the blade and lets his father down, with practiced ease he slices the palm of his hand, mixing their blood and sealing the oath.
21:52 Hawk Deshal rubs his neck and coughs, "You better not brethren me ever again /boy/, I let it slide this time since it was for love, but I'll not be so forgiving next time."
21:53 Hawk threaten*
21:55  Hawk just grimaces and says, "Let's just get on with business so I can leave. And I don't love her." /Yet./
21:58 Hawk His father gives him a knowing look, "Could have fooled me boy, but fine, come along now I'll brief you about the mission in the basement."
21:59  Hawk follows.
22:07	Hawk	Once the two men are alone in the magically sealed room, Deshal begins to speak, "Your target is Arcturus Zaphiel. His nickname is "Artillery" for he has mastered the spell magic missile more so than any Evoker before him. You'll have to be wary of multiple shots at once, so do your best to stay hidden. Any questions?"
22:08		Hawk relies, "Only one, why do you need him dead?"
22:09	Hawk	Deshal frowns, "You know that is none of /your/ business. You are the blade, /not/ the brains. But if you must know he's merely a political rival."
22:12		Hawk nods. He opens a nearby chest and stocks up on some magebane poisons he figures he'll need. Normally Hawk's mind would be completely focused on the mission at this point...but he can't help but wonder what Clarice  is doing..and if she's alright..
22:13		Hawk closes the chest then realizes something, "Father...where exactly can I find this man? And how do you want me to dispose of him?"
22:17	Hawk	"Also how do I recognize him?"
22:21	Hawk	Deshal hands Hawk a sketch of a well-muscled man with a magnificent silver beard that goes all the way down to his chest, wearing an ornate blue robe. "He frequents the church, honestly you can't miss him, and if you are quick you can catch him before he gets there."
22:22		Hawk checks his supplies one last time then takes his leave.
22:23	Clarice	There are many building in Palmia. You don't visit this place for leisure purposes much, but you've gone on enough 'business' trips here to have the basic layout in your mind as you head for the church.
22:24	Clarice	Keeping this in mind, you decide it best to use the rooftops as your method of transportation, as to avoid rubbing shoulders with the snobby inhabitants of Palmia.
22:25	Clarice	...And the guards of course. I mean, you haven't done anything /wrong/ yet, per say, but you simply don't like them.
22:25	Clarice	But I digress, you take the roofs.
22:26	Clarice	Eventually, you gain a good vantage point on the church area from up above.
22:28	Clarice	There's a small line of people lining up outside the church.
22:28	Clarice	Each one with an offering of some sort in hand.
22:33	Clarice	In Tyris, Gods directly take offerings from various altars. Hawk follows Kumiromi of Harvest himself, who accepts offerings of corpses, vegetables, and seeds.
22:34	Clarice	It just so happens that Hawk has seeds on him, as he always does in case he needs to feed Syke, his pet hawk.
Normally, Hawk /would/ make an offering, so as to bless his mission before an attempt at assassination. However, public places are not his pot of tea in peculiar, so he decides to pass this time.
22:40  Hawk whistles for Syke, and waits for the bird to respond to their magical connection.
22:42 Hawk Soon the bird lands on his outstretched arm and gives him a pointed look. Hawk shows him the sketch and orders, "Seek out this man and let me know if you see him."
22:43 Hawk Syke nods and takes flight.
22:47 Clarice Mental picture in mind, Syke flies off into the distance, searching the proximity for the silver-bearded man his master has shown him.
22:48 Clarice Time passes by.
22:48 Clarice Syke continues to circle the skies of Palmia.
22:49 Clarice Suddenly, out of the corner his eye, Syke catches something of interest!
22:49 Clarice What was that?
22:49 Clarice A sliver of silver?
22:49 Clarice The hawk spreads its wings and glides in to take a closer look.
Clarice A bird can only be so smart, trained or not.
22:52 Clarice Nevertheless, it doesn't take much of a brain to spot a beard of this much magnificence.
22:53 Clarice Also, it's shiny. Birds like shiny things. This is widely accepted.
Hawk Syke decides that this is the target and catches an updraft to start back towards his master.
22:55  Hawk sees his bird gliding towards him and hold his arm aloft.
22:56 Hawk Syke lands and starts screeching about what he saw.
23:00  Hawk lifts up his black cowl mutters, "Lead the way, I'll follow as best I can."
23:03 Hawk The bird leads the way, and Hawk dashes across rooftops trying to keep pace.
23:04 Hawk Soon Syke starts circling the church, and by now Hawk has an eye on their target.
23:05 Clarice There he is, as clear as day. Arcturus "Artillery" Zaphiel.
23:06 Clarice And his beard is indeed magnificent.
23:06 Clarice He is making his way amongst the crowd of nobles to the local church.
23:07  Hawk begins heading for the churches roof, hopefully he can find a way to get inside from there.
23:08 Clarice As you hop from building to building, you eventually make it to the top of the Church's roof.
23:09 Clarice There is a bell tower right next to you. Perhaps you could sneak down the ladder.
23:09 Clarice Either that, or you can use the church as a vantage point to wait for Arcturus to leave,
23:10  Hawk decides to wait and see. He'd rather not kidnap a man on holy ground...just in case.
23:10 Clarice Time passes by.
23:10 Clarice It takes a while, but finally, you see Arcturus leave the church. Perhaps he's heading back to his abode.
23:11 Clarice Either way, now would be a good time to continue stalking him.
23:11  Hawk and Syke continue their stalking, Hawk makes sure to keep to the shadows on the rooftops..just in case.
23:13 Clarice Unfortunately, there are few shadows to find solstice in on the rooftops of Palmia, as the day is still somewhat relatively young. However, unlike Derphy, people usually don't take the rooftop express to get around Palmia, so it's fine either way.
23:13 Clarice As you continue to stalk Arcturus, you see him suddenly stop.
23:14  *** Clarice is now known as Arcturus
23:14  Arcturus turns around.
23:15  Hawk hides.
23:15  Arcturus strokes his magnificient beard as his eyes slowly shift around. "How peculiar..."
23:16  Arcturus shrugs. It was probably just the wind.
23:16 Arcturus He looks up and sees a hawk, circling the air.
23:17 Arcturus He turns around, and continues to make his way to his home.
Hawk peeks his head around the corner of the building, trying to see if his target is alone now.
23:21 Arcturus The streets of Palmia are as busy as ever. Unfortunately, he is not yet alone.
23:22  Hawk continues to follow him, though he hangs back a little more trusting Syke to not let the man out of sight.
23:23 Arcturus Time passes by, and eventually, he follows Arcturus all the way to his home.
23:23  Arcturus steps into his house, closing the door behind him.
23:24  Hawk sighs, if his father was the norm then a wizard was always most adept and prepared in his own home...
23:24 Hawk He'd need to be particularly careful.
23:26  Hawk takes a moment to coat a few arrows with oil of tagit, and a few more with magebane. He does the same to his main daggers.
23:27 Hawk Then Hawk leaps to the roof of the mage's house and searches for a way in.
23:28 Arcturus You can see three options:
23:29 Arcturus There's a chimney. Simple enough, though probably the least stealthy. Not to mention all that soot. Ugh.
23:29 Arcturus There's a hatch...but you'd need to lockpick it.
23:30 Arcturus You could go through one of the windows all silent like. Probably not as stealthy as the hatch, but definitely easier to lockpick since it's just a window.
23:30  Hawk grins when he sees the hatch, lockpicking isn't really that hard when you've got steady hands.
23:33 Hawk He digs out his kit and chooses a few picks then goes to work slowly slipping the pick and jimmying it around until he finds the sweet spot, then he applies the slightest pressure...
23:39 Arcturus Damnit! It appears this hatch was warded!
23:47 Arcturus The moment you unlock the lock with a 'click,' you sense immediate danger and take out your picks as fast as you can before the hatch lets out small force of energy!
23:48 Arcturus The energy makes a somewhat loud explosion as it pushes you back a bit. Thankfully, you weren't harmed...but Arcturus would have to be deaf not to hear that.
23:49 Hawk He thinks /Oh fuck...well there goes the stealthy approach/
23:50  Hawk realizes that this is what he gets when he neglects to pay the god of death's tax..
23:51  Hawk slips inside and tries to find a hiding place with utmost haste. Syke hops inside as well.
23:57 Arcturus You are in the attic of the house. There is a ladder nearby, and the attic is very dark. Perfect for hiding in.
23:58 Arcturus Suddenly, you hear loud footsteps going up the stairs.
00:02  Hawk looks for anything large to hide behind, he assumes the owner of the house will come to inspect.
00:03 Arcturus You decide to hide behind a multitude of boxes, probably full of mementos or various ornaments.
00:03  Arcturus makes his way to the second floor. He could've sworn he heard he heard an explosion. Perhaps his trap activated?
00:04  Arcturus climbs the attic ladder, and with a flick of his wrist, a small orb of light appears at the tip of his finger.
00:04 Arcturus He illuminates the attic, but cannot see anyone.
00:04  Arcturus looks up at his hatch, which is closed once more.
00:05 Arcturus He strokes his beard. "How peculiar..."
00:05 Arcturus He flicks his wrist once more, and the light goes out.
00:05  Arcturus makes his way back down the ladder.
00:05 Arcturus You can hear the footsteps grow softer.
00:07  Hawk sneaks over to the ladder, he lightly tests the step to see if it creaks at all.
00:09 Arcturus It does not creak.
00:10  Hawk steps on it and tests the next rung, he proceeds in this manner until he has enough footing to draw his bow and fire at the unsuspecting wizard.
00:11 Arcturus From this vantage point, you have a clear shot at the wizard.
00:11  Arcturus is about to step inside his room.
00:12  Hawk nocks an arrow coated with oil of tagit, aims for the old man's leg then lets it fly!
00:14 Arcturus The arrow flies through the air! A split second later, it hits its mark!
00:14  Arcturus cries out in pain. "Ack!"
00:16  Arcturus starts stumbling to the ground. He turns around and glares at Hawk.
00:17 Arcturus "D-Damnit! I was...careless!" His eyelids are getting heavy. It seems sleep will be inevitable...but not before he outstretches his hand, and unleashes a hail of magic missiles!
00:19  Hawk scrambles up the ladder to get away!
00:22 Arcturus You scramble up the ladder, which immediately gets incinerated by the multitude of magic missiles! Not expecting this, the ladder disintegrates from your hand, and you fall flat on your ass.
Arcturus With what little energy he has, Arcturus fires yet another volley of missiles at you before he collapses onto the ground!
20:24  Hawk contorts his body trying to dodge them!
20:24 Arcturus His vision starts to blur however, and two out of the three missiles cast from his hand veer off into another direction. But wait, one missile manages to dive straight at you!
20:28 Hawk The missile flies right between Hawk's legs as he does nearly does the splits midair...that was /far/ too close for comfort..
20:29  Arcturus is sprawled on the floor, now unconscious.
20:30  Hawk takes a 30 second breather then inspects the fallen mage...now was for the herd part../not/ killing him..
20:30 Hawk hard*
20:32  Hawk wasn't exactly an expert in taking people alive..
20:33 Hawk He digs a around for some fancy super strength rope and starts hog-tying the mage the same way he would a wild animal.
20:36  Hawk pulls out his magebane dagger then lightly slices certain points on the mage's body so that it will enter the bloodstream immediately.
20:36  Hawk then tries to carry the muscular man.
20:42 Arcturus Hawk lifts the man with great difficulty, only to stumble back down to the floor.
20:43 Arcturus At this rate, it looks like you're only able to drag the man.
20:43  Hawk doesn't know if this guy is just made of bricks or if his /age/ is finally catching up with him...but he cannot lift this man's dead weight properly..dragging it is then..unless he found something better..
20:45  Hawk knows he has at least a hour before the poison begins to wane..he looks around the attic for anything that can be used to help carry, or help disguise what he is dragging..
20:46 Arcturus There are big leather satchels in the attic, and boxes. Take your pick, because there isn't much else up here.
20:46 Arcturus As for the contents IN said items...well, it's too dark to see. You'll have to empty them out first.
20:47  Hawk is drawn the the satchels, but first he flips open the hatch to allow some light in.
20:48 Hawk to the*
20:49  Hawk cautiously peers into the satchels one at a time.
20:49 Arcturus Ornaments, decorations, filed papers...
20:50  Hawk dumps them out.
20:50 Hawk Or at least dumps out one of them.
20:50 Arcturus As you dump them out across the attic floor, you find nothing of interest. Perhaps he just uses the attic to store things of little use.
20:51 Arcturus On the other hand, you now have access to empty satchels and boxes.
20:51  Hawk takes one of the satchels and tries to estimate it's size.
20:51 Hawk Is it large enough for that behemoth of a mage?
20:53 Arcturus Yes.
20:54  Hawk happily takes it and shoves the man inside, though first he forces a bit more Oil of Tagit down the mage's throat.
20:55 Hawk Now that he's bought a bit more time, Hawk only has to find a way to transport this sack without being obvious. He drags his cargo as the tries to find wherever this man would store his cart..
20:56  Hawk wasn't sure if the man even had a cart..fuck.
21:02 Arcturus Time passes as you search the place. You lucked out...this man has a wheelbarrow in his backyard. Though...not sure what one would be doing with a wheelbarrow in the open streets of Palmia.
21:04  Hawk looks around for any gardening supplies.
21:05 Arcturus A hoe, a shovel...et cetera, et cetera.
21:05 Arcturus There are gardening supplies in the wheelbarrow itself.
21:06  Hawk empties the wheelbarrow of it's supplies, then does his best to load the heavy man into it.
21:07 Hawk He then grabs a shovel and starts digging up some dirt and putting it on top of the brown bag just enough so that the wheelbarrow looks full of dirt...but the mage can still breathe.
21:07  Hawk then looks around for some kind of gardeners hat or apron to complete the illusion.
21:08 Arcturus There is no such thing around.
21:08 Arcturus Perhaps he doesn't feel the need to have a gardener's outfit to tend to his garden.
21:09  Hawk looks around for a few small gardening instruments that he could add to his belt to maybe help his cause.
21:11 Arcturus You add said instruments to your belt.
21:13  Hawk smiles to himself and starts whistling a merry tune as he lays the shovel across the wheelbarrow and casually starts to push it out onto the streets ans towards his father's house.
21:19 Arcturus You are a wanted man in Palmia.
21:19 Arcturus You know this. The Palmian Guards know this.
21:19 Arcturus ...They just don't know what you look like.
21:20 Arcturus Such is the benefit of a flawless record in roguery.
21:20 Arcturus You can't help but chuckle at a poorly drawn wanted poster of you as you pass it by.
21:20 Arcturus But I digress.
21:21 Arcturus You successfully cart Arcturus to your father's house.
21:22  Hawk avoids the mansion's main entrance and instead heads for the cellar's secret passage.
21:23  Hawk uses his enchanted key to open it up without triggering the wards, and then drags the sack to the torture room his father oh so kindly set aside for these kinds of things.
21:33  Hawk opens up the sack and drags out his prey.
21:36 Hawk He locks the man's hands into the warded shackles on the wall, and tightly binds the man's legs together with the rope.
21:36  Hawk mentally prepares himself for this...a long time ago..torture was very hard for him.
21:38 Hawk Back then he /always/ felt guilty..he couldn't cause pain without empathizing with his victim..
21:39 Hawk It was different now.
21:41 Hawk Ever since he'd rescued Rey... ever since the moment he saw what that /monster/ did to her..torture had become easy. All he had to do was simply imagine he was slicing up that monster again..
21:42  Hawk honestly sometimes enjoyed hurting people now..it was nice to release every ounce of rage upon a /deserving/ target.
21:44  Hawk picked out a thin craving knife, injected more magebane into the man's veins then merely sat in the darkness waiting for his prey to awake.
21:46 Hawk He almost felt at home...
21:46 Arcturus Time passes by.
21:46 Arcturus Eventually, the powerful mage wakes from his slumber.
21:47 Arcturus His mind is fuzzy. His vision is still blurred. His strength is weak from the magebane coursing through his veins.
21:47 Arcturus "Where...where am I...?"
21:49  Hawk says in a deep almost scarred sounding voice, "Nowhere good. Cooperate and you may yet live." It was a lie but it rang as the purest truth.
21:51  Arcturus clenches his teeth. "Infidel! Have you the slightest idea of who I am!?"
21:52 Arcturus He outstretches his fingers, as if to cast a spell...but instead, this only serves to drain his strength further.
21:52  Hawk nods in the dim candlelight you can make out someone wearing a blood red mask. "Do not try to harm me..it will only make you worse."
21:53 Arcturus The shackles prevent him from casting any spell, as does the mage bane flowing through his blood.
21:53 Arcturus "D-Damn you..."
21:56  Hawk dryly says, "I am already damned." His carving knife gleams in the flickering light, "Do you have any idea how much agony I can cause with this little instrument?"
22:00 Arcturus His vision clears. The blood red mask is clear as day now...and it only serves to strike pure fear into his heart. The Bloody Hawk himself is here.
22:01  Arcturus narrows his eyes. "...What do you want from me?"
22:02  Hawk chuckles darkly, "Would you believe me if I just said information?"
22:03 Arcturus He would /like/ to believe it's as simple as that.
22:03  Arcturus frowns. "Sure...I suppose I'll play along."
22:06 Hawk "Wise choice." He then pulls out a vial with a needle on it's end and stabs it into a vein on the mage's neck. "Truth serum. Just to make things flow a bit faster."
22:08  Arcturus winces at the light sting of the needle.
22:09 Hawk "I need to know if an inquisition has been called recently."
22:09  Arcturus clenches his teeth. So the boy knows...
22:09 Arcturus "Y...Yes..."
22:10  Hawk leans in closer, the mask actually smells like dried blood.."Where?"
22:10 Arcturus "Der...phy..."
22:11 Hawk So it was just as they had feared.
22:12  Hawk growls, "Who ordered it? And how far along is it?"
22:14 Arcturus "I...don't know! Templars are in charge of that!"
22:15  Hawk takes the knife and starts carving away the skin of the man's pointer finger, the flesh peels off setting your nerves aflame!
22:16 Hawk "Wrong answer."
22:17  Arcturus howls in pain. "Gods! Stop! I beg of you! I'm telling the truth dammit! You said so yourself, you just injected me with a truth serum!"
22:19  Hawk pauses, "I know you didn't lie, but you failed to give me useful information. I now need to know where to find a Templar that might now the answers I seek. Do you have any /helpful/ ideas?"
22:20 Arcturus Sweat is pouring down his forehead.
22:20 Arcturus Off the top of his head...no. He did not have useful information.
22:22 Arcturus "Dammit, I'm a mage! I'll admit, whatever this is seems big enough for the Templars to require help from the mages AND the thieves guild for an inquisition, but I you won't find me socializing with the lot! You want to find a Templar? Go search Port Kapul!"
22:22 Arcturus You already knew you could search port kapul for a Templar...but wait a second, the /thieves/ guild is going to help with the inquisition?
22:24  Hawk realizes that means he has to deal with Noel and her gang...fuck..he'd be hoping to avoid another confrontation as long as possible..
22:25  Hawk slyly says, "The thieves guild eh? Explain their involvement, and do it fast, my blade likes the taste of your blood."
22:26  Arcturus widens his eyes. "I'm...a mage! You want information on the thieves' guild? Capture a thief! All I know is is that they have a squad of...assassins or something on the prowl!"
22:27 Hawk Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuckitty fuck fuck...how was he going to manage to keep Clarice safe in the midst of this shitstorm?!
22:29  Hawk forces himself to ask the final question, "Is this inquisition about the Black Mask?"
22:30 Hawk He adds, "Take your time, think hard and tell me every last detail about this inquisition."
22:31  Arcturus narrows his eyes.
22:32 Arcturus "...Yes...it's about the one you call the Black Mask."
22:32  Hawk asks, "And what do you call him..or her I suppose?"
22:34  Arcturus bares his teeth. With a burning hatred, he utters the name, "...The Heretic."
22:34 Hawk "Why?"
22:38 Arcturus His eyes flare open with anger. "Because he seeks to destroy every discipline Tyris has had for centuries! He seeks to spread his heretical knowledge to the world! We cannot allow this to stand!"
22:40  Hawk nods as if in agreement, "Now this Black Mask must have some know associates..who are they? Furthermore, who is the Black Mask? I cannot allow anyone to be threatening /my/ turf in Derphy."
22:44  Arcturus smirks. "Heh...Well, there's Beatrice, the necromancer. A whore of a witch really, but we put her down long ago."
22:44  Arcturus chuckles at the thought. A proud day for the mages guild.
22:45 Arcturus He continues.
22:47 Arcturus "...And of course, Lysander. The...'ingenious' infiltrator.' He scoffs. "The coward has been in hiding for a while now..."
22:49 Arcturus "Lydia and Clarissa...the Twin Towers. Templars who have forsaken their honor...and I believe that's all of them."
22:52  Hawk is relieved that Clarice and his father and not on that list, "Do you have any more useful information.." His voice drops to a very menacing tone, "Your very life depends on it."
22:54  Arcturus hesitates. "...What choice do I have? I'm under the influence of a truth serum...sooner or later, I'll spill everything you need to know...and then you'll dispose of me."
22:55  Hawk says, "Too slow." He scraps the craving knife against the mage's fingers once again.
22:55  Arcturus howls in pain.
22:55 Arcturus He is resisting the truth serum with every fiber of his being now...
22:57  Hawk is losing his patience and injects more...but he has none left after this..
22:57  Arcturus cries out in pain.
22:58 Arcturus Not from the truth serum...but from his willpower...slowly but surely crumbling down.
22:58 Hawk "Start talking if you want the pain to stop..or else I could see how this knife plays with something that points a bit lower on you."
23:01  Arcturus glares at Hawk. "...N-No...kill me. Torture me...I'm afraid this is all the information I'll be giving you today Bloody Hawk." Suddenly, he bites down on his tongue.../hard/. Muffled scream of pain can be heard from his insides, but he does not stop biting down. Blood spurts from his mouth...and then he spits something out at you. The object slides down
23:02 Arcturus Hawk's shirt. It's his tongue.
23:02 Arcturus Blood gushes from his mouth as he wheezes from the pain...smiling all the while.
23:03  Hawk sighs, and offers up a silent prayer to his god. Then his whips out his dagger and slices open the mage's throat.
23:04 Hawk The poor bastard hadn't even made it fun..
23:05 Arcturus A little choking here and there, bit of blood everywhere, and he dies promptly. Arcturus "Artillery" Zaphiel...is no more.
23:07  Hawk knows that his father will take care of the body, so he proceeds to loot the corpse before Deshal gets a chance to.
23:11 Arcturus There's a folded piece of paper in one of his pockets. Other than that, nothing else.
23:11  Hawk takes a look at it.
23:12 Arcturus The folded piece of paper has a little sticker on it. Do you remove the sticker and look at it's contents?
23:13  Hawk thinks if something like this could possibly be trapped...he decides to use grab the dead man's hands and try and use them to open it.
23:15 Arcturus Realistically, it's pretty hard to use a dead man's hand to remove something as small as a sticker without access to fine motor skills.
23:15 Arcturus In fact, it's near impossible, and you fail.
23:15 Arcturus Maybe you should think of something else.
23:16  Hawk holds the note facing away from himself and tries to pry the sticker off using his carving knife.
23:17  *** Arcturus is now known as SuperMechaDeathChrist
23:21 SuperMechaDeathChrist ...Realistically, it's really hard to peel off the sticker without /looking/ at the sticker. However, you eventually manage to scrape it off without cutting yourself. Future bards will sing tales of your paranoid sticker-peeling expertise.
23:23 Hawk (He can die happy now that his paranoia is know!  )
23:23  Hawk tries to read the note
23:26 SuperMechaDeathChrist It reads, "Whomever reads this note, know that you have been marked. With love, 'The Sanguine Devil.' "
23:26 SuperMechaDeathChrist The words flash for a split second, and then disappear.
23:27  Hawk wracks his brain for any information on this "Sanguine Devil".
23:27  Hawk also feels like he just really screwed himself over somehow..
23:31 SuperMechaDeathChrist Whispers of an extremely deadly assassin have traveled through the denizens of Derphy.
23:34 SuperMechaDeathChrist The Sanguine Devil...as deadly as she is beautiful.
23:34 SuperMechaDeathChrist And word on the street is...she is very.../very/...beautiful.
23:36 SuperMechaDeathChrist Although it is said that she is Noel's right hand, you recall a rumor that she could probably seize control of the Thieve's guild if she wanted to...
23:37  *** SuperMechaDeathChrist is now known as Arcturus
23:46  Hawk wonders if he ought to have a chat with this fellow assassin, after he find some Templar's to interrogate of course.
23:47 Hawk But first he ought to contact Gabe or Sebby and report what he did find out.
23:49  Hawk leaves the basement secretly and ponders how to best contact Mr. Mask..
00:01  *** Arcturus is now known as SanguineDevil
00:01 SanguineDevil Insurance.
00:02 SanguineDevil That's all she is right now.
00:02 SanguineDevil Insurance.
00:02  SanguineDevil lets out a heavy sigh.
00:02 SanguineDevil Seconds become minutes. Minutes become hours. Hours become days. Days become weeks.
00:02 SanguineDevil Bored. So very....very....bored.
00:03  SanguineDevil taps her finger on her knee.
00:04 SanguineDevil Sure, she's getting paid...but to do what?
00:04 SanguineDevil She's getting paid to wait.
00:05 SanguineDevil By now, she could've taken on at least 5 jobs...maybe even 10.
00:05 SanguineDevil Instead...she sits. And she waits.
00:05 SanguineDevil The doors burst open, and a young man rushes to his master's side.
00:06 SanguineDevil "M-My Lady! I bring urgent news!"
00:07  SanguineDevil rolls her eyes. "Define /urgent/ mage-ling. You've brought me plenty of 'urgent' news these past few days..."
00:07 SanguineDevil The young man is trembling. "S-Someone has...been marked!"
00:08 SanguineDevil In a flash, she has her knife against his neck, smiling seductively all the while...She's so close, that her crimson red hair is wafting over his face.
00:09 SanguineDevil "...If you're lying to me..."
00:11 SanguineDevil "N-no! P-p-please don't hurt me! It's not a false alarm this time, I swear!"
00:11 SanguineDevil Sheer and utter fear fills the young man's eyes.
00:11  SanguineDevil licks her lips, and grins. "...Then it's finally time for some fun..."
00:12  *** SanguineDevil is now known as Lysander
00:12 Lysander ...Lysander is sitting in his office, smoking a corn pipe and enjoying the company of his dearest Lydia.
00:13 Lysander Lydia is sitting in her chair, sharpening her blade with a whetstone.
00:13 Lysander It's another nice and quiet day until...
00:14 Lysander A knock is heard on his door.
00:14  Lysander looks up from the paper he was reading. "Come in."
00:15 Lysander A maid enters, and bows. "Master, I bring news."
00:16 Lysander Lydia looks up from her sword. News of her son...perhaps? Lok has been gone for so long now...
00:16  Lysander clears his throat. "Ah...yes. What is it?"
00:18 Lysander "Someone has been marked."
00:18  Lysander and Lydia widens their eyes.
00:18 Lysander Did Sebastian manage to get caught somehow?
00:19 Lysander The maid walks up to Lysander, and places an orb with the continent of Tyris on his desk.
00:20  Lysander sighs. He stares at a blinking dot on the orb. "...Dammit."
00:21 Lysander Lydia places her sword against the wall, and walks up to Lysander, stroking his back. "...Go. I will stay here in case Locke or Clarice comes back..."
00:21  Lysander looks at his wife with apologetic lives. "Please understand...I don't want to lose anymore friends..."
00:22 Lysander Lydia nods. "Of course dear...of course I understand. Don't worry, I'll be fine on my own."
00:22  Lysander frowns. "I...I don't want to leave you though..."
00:22 Lysander Lydia sighs, and glares at her husband. "Get your ass off of that chair!"
00:23  Lysander immediately stands up, his back is straight and stiff.
00:24 Lysander "Now MOVE! And don't come back without some good news, or I'll beat your ass down so hard, you'll be feeling it for WEEKS! You have a duty! I didn't marry some honorless coward! MOVE IT!"
00:25 Lysander "Y-Yes dear!" He kisses her on the cheek, and runs out the door to get his things. "Love you, bye!"
00:26 Lysander Lydia smiles gently as she watches Lysander scramble away. "...Love you too. Good luck my love." She sits back down, and continues to sharpen her blade. She arches an eyebrow at the maid.
00:26 Lysander The maid stiffens in terror.
00:26 Lysander Lydia stares at her for a bit. "...Well? Is that all?"
00:26 Lysander The maid bows. "Y-Yes milady! Apologies, I'll be leaving now!"
00:27 Lysander The maid quickly runs off.
00:28 Lysander Lydia chuckles. Then she sighs.
00:28 Lysander "All alone now..."
00:28 Lysander -SCENE-