Post by gummiarms on Jan 7, 2008 20:45:51 GMT 9.5
Breathing heavily, Alex passed between two large spires of rock, only to be confronted by a sheer cliff wall before her feet. The flickering shadow in the nighttime darkness that was her nearly tumbled over the edge, windmilled her arms to keep her balance, and then backed away from the edge of the abyss. She spun about, and faced the three mercenaries that were after her. They had already blocked off any chance of egress she might have, and closed in on her from three sides.
Alex drew one dagger in each hand, and set her jaw defiantly. "I'm impressed you managed to follow me this far. Who are you and what do you want?" Her voice echoed like a distant song on the winds, one which promised of death. She already guessed the answer, though.
Her latest employer had contracted her to kill a greedy wizard that liked to use his magic to swindle people. However, the man was well known around the area, so he probably didn't want people tracing the murder back to him, hence eliminating the only witness. It wouldn't be the first time a client had turned upon her. Or perhaps he simply hadn't wanted to pay her fee, when he could hire a few mercs at a fraction of the cost and still get what he wanted...
However, the Merc's answer surprised her. "Just give us the necklace, boy, and we don't have to uglify yer pretty face."
"Necklace?" But then she remembered. She had seen the trinket on her latest victim, and something about it made her want it. She wasn't sure what it was that had compelled her to take it after the wizard was disposed of. It was a beautiful thing, a black jewel mounted on a chain of silver. And something still made her irrationally want to cling to it. It was important in some way, she knew. And it had to be hers. "You mean this?"
All the while, she had been assessing the enemy. One to her right, a large, burly man wielding a spear with two hands, holding it horizontally at his side. Another human to her left, this one sickly looking, but holding a sword before him in a practiced fencing stance. The third was an Ildeminwith dog ears, even larger than the spearman, and armed with a club that might once have been the trunk of a small tree.
The Ildemin barked, "That's right, Wisp. Give it here, and we can be on our way."
Alex shook her head, "You can't have it. It is mine."
The Iledmin smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "I was hoping you'd say that!" Then he rushed forward with surprising speed, and brought his club down upon Alex's forehead with enough force to kill an ox! Alex crumpled to the ground...
... and then vanished in a poof of sand and dust. She had never been standing there in the first place. After all, she knew this part of the canyons quite well, and was well aware of the trap her hunters had been herding her towards. But her illusions had turned the tide once again, and now the hunters had become the hunted. The Ildemin shrieked at his companions, "Find him! Don't let him get away with our paycheck!"
Then he was taken aback when both of his companions collapsed to the ground, with daggers protruding from their necks. He roared in unspeakable anger, and whirled around just in time to see Alex drop down from above, right where his back would have been, her curved knife at the ready. But she hadn't expected him to turn around so sharply. Uh oh!
Alex did not relish the idea of tangling with an enraged Ildemin, especially not one of such size or brutality. Such was his rage that he did not eve bring his club around. Instead, he grabbed her face with his free hand, lifting her and squeezing her head with crushing force. He lifted her up off of the ground in that fashion, and then hurled her into one of the spires, knocking the wind from her. It was then that he brought his club up, ready to bring it down with substantial killing force.
[So yeah, a suitable display of bad-assery to begin the thread. My plans involve said necklace being somewhat magical and sought after, though not necessarily beneficial to the holder. As you can tell, its messing with Alex's head already. However, I don't have a strong idea where exactly I will take this quite yet, so feel free to add your own notions in here too.]
Alex drew one dagger in each hand, and set her jaw defiantly. "I'm impressed you managed to follow me this far. Who are you and what do you want?" Her voice echoed like a distant song on the winds, one which promised of death. She already guessed the answer, though.
Her latest employer had contracted her to kill a greedy wizard that liked to use his magic to swindle people. However, the man was well known around the area, so he probably didn't want people tracing the murder back to him, hence eliminating the only witness. It wouldn't be the first time a client had turned upon her. Or perhaps he simply hadn't wanted to pay her fee, when he could hire a few mercs at a fraction of the cost and still get what he wanted...
However, the Merc's answer surprised her. "Just give us the necklace, boy, and we don't have to uglify yer pretty face."
"Necklace?" But then she remembered. She had seen the trinket on her latest victim, and something about it made her want it. She wasn't sure what it was that had compelled her to take it after the wizard was disposed of. It was a beautiful thing, a black jewel mounted on a chain of silver. And something still made her irrationally want to cling to it. It was important in some way, she knew. And it had to be hers. "You mean this?"
All the while, she had been assessing the enemy. One to her right, a large, burly man wielding a spear with two hands, holding it horizontally at his side. Another human to her left, this one sickly looking, but holding a sword before him in a practiced fencing stance. The third was an Ildeminwith dog ears, even larger than the spearman, and armed with a club that might once have been the trunk of a small tree.
The Ildemin barked, "That's right, Wisp. Give it here, and we can be on our way."
Alex shook her head, "You can't have it. It is mine."
The Iledmin smiled, showing a mouth full of sharp teeth. "I was hoping you'd say that!" Then he rushed forward with surprising speed, and brought his club down upon Alex's forehead with enough force to kill an ox! Alex crumpled to the ground...
... and then vanished in a poof of sand and dust. She had never been standing there in the first place. After all, she knew this part of the canyons quite well, and was well aware of the trap her hunters had been herding her towards. But her illusions had turned the tide once again, and now the hunters had become the hunted. The Ildemin shrieked at his companions, "Find him! Don't let him get away with our paycheck!"
Then he was taken aback when both of his companions collapsed to the ground, with daggers protruding from their necks. He roared in unspeakable anger, and whirled around just in time to see Alex drop down from above, right where his back would have been, her curved knife at the ready. But she hadn't expected him to turn around so sharply. Uh oh!
Alex did not relish the idea of tangling with an enraged Ildemin, especially not one of such size or brutality. Such was his rage that he did not eve bring his club around. Instead, he grabbed her face with his free hand, lifting her and squeezing her head with crushing force. He lifted her up off of the ground in that fashion, and then hurled her into one of the spires, knocking the wind from her. It was then that he brought his club up, ready to bring it down with substantial killing force.
[So yeah, a suitable display of bad-assery to begin the thread. My plans involve said necklace being somewhat magical and sought after, though not necessarily beneficial to the holder. As you can tell, its messing with Alex's head already. However, I don't have a strong idea where exactly I will take this quite yet, so feel free to add your own notions in here too.]
