Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Oct 19, 2014 20:24:58 GMT -6
Fortunately the road into the quarry was a easy, gradual descent, much unlike the narrow winding roads that characterized the rest of trip. It was a nice change of pace after a hard journey, and as the bishop's gold mine came into view, paused to observe the hustle and bustle. The recessed ground, carved from the blood and sweat of over a hundred men, was truly a feat of human endurance, but it was also a feat of human greed. The Etrurian had spat in the face of Locke's ungracious view of man and his relationship with gold, but there was an ounce of truth to it. It was a twisted irony that hundreds of orphans starving in Etrurian streets would barely get a fraction of the attention from a so-called man of Elimine that just one ounce of gold found in the mountain rock would garner. It was little more than greed, but Saturos stood by his assertion that, if not gold, men would find some other resource to lust after and squabble over. At least gold lacked mind and emotion, and cared not who handled or mishandled it.
"Don't stop now, we're almost there," came the rough growl of Garvan, who slapped Saturos on the back with a roguish smile on his face. Even the grumpy taskmaster's dour disposition was lightened by the fact that they had actually reached their destination. Saturos just smiled back and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Yes, you're right, I was just admiring the view," he replied, returning Garvan's good mood. The man just laughed. "This view? Ha! This is just a hole in the ground. Wait until we get inside the mine," the taskmaster said. He spread his arms out as he walked away from the teal haired operative in disguise. "It's the glitter inside the caves that's the real treat!" Garvan let out another loud chuckle then continued onward with the rest of the crew. Saturos adjusted his backpack then resumed his own march, moving in step with a man leading the one remaining wagon. It was a bit overstuffed, but that was to be expected given the circumstances back in the cave. It was either pack heavy or leave behind a good bit of supplies, and even then they'd needed to offset the rest of the extra-load onto the backs of willing miners. Saturos reflected on the fact that these men were a good bunch. A bit rough and uncouth maybe, but they knew a hard day's work, and they didn't shy away from hardship. It was admirable, but make no mistake, the Etrurian had no plans of permanently joining their ranks.
Saturos glanced over his shoulder, hoping to spot a certain blonde haired woman. He hadn't seen her yet today, and he was hoping to converse with her at least one more time before she went off and started on whatever secret work she had been hired to do. Saturos imagined that his secret work that he had been hired to do wouldn't have much overlap.
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 19, 2014 21:31:48 GMT -6
The past few days had been rough for the blonde-haired woman, to say the least. Bringing up the rear of the miners, stitches still holding together the healing gash on the bottom of her foot, Charlotte was likely the most thrilled to see the great, grand mines as they approached, as it meant she was oh so close to retrieving the package and getting the hell out of these mountains. After the pay she’d be getting for the dragonstone she was moving, Charlotte could afford to take a few weeks off to let her foot fully recover and get a few personal affairs in line.
For now, though, she’d been doing what she could to stay off of the injury. Lucky for her, there had been just enough space in the lone cart for her to wedge herself in on the travel-day after the cave in, allowing her to sleep through much of the pain and keep her foot elevated. She could walk on her own now without too much trouble, but she had to step gingerly and slowly. To help her keep up to the group’s pace, Gabe had generously offered to carry her on his back when she didn’t want to stay squeezed in the cart. So for the past few days, the pair had brought up the rear of the group, much like they were today, with Charlotte perched on Gabe’s back and Gabe holding her legs.
“Gabe,” Charlotte laughed, arms tightly draped around the man’s strong chest, “Don’t you dare drop me now!” The man had taken to teasing her, pretending his grip was weakening and feigning a drop to get a rise out of the playful woman. Even though she was fully aware he wouldn’t drop her, Charlotte still laughed and gasped, playing along with the joke as it kept Gabe’s spirits high as he carried her.
“But I’m so tired, Myscha,” Gabe teased, tensing his forearms as if he would drop her, causing Charlotte to tighten her grip on his chest.
“Well thank goodness we’re almost here then!” She smiled, placing her head on the man’s shoulder. Gabe’s neck tensed in the same spot, and Charlotte could feel his skin grow warm. She knew the man liked her, but of course nothing would come of it. Miners by and large weren’t interesting people to the woman: they had no worldly experiences, they weren’t very smart, and they did what they were told, no questions asked.
There was one teal-haired miner, though, who didn’t seem to fit the mold Charlotte had created for the mining troupe. Ryker perplexed the young woman, and she was still unsure of how he fit into the big picture. She was convinced he was lying about his whole “book binder” career - granted, something she tried not thinking about in conjunction with the stitches the man did for her. But why lie? What did he gain by lying to a woman he wouldn’t see again if he truly was just a miner coming to do the only thing he could to make ends meet? She wanted to talk to him more, try to figure him out, but her time was running short.
Lucky for her, Charlotte was able to spot the man in question ahead, with none other than the grumbling Garvan at his side. She’d seen him at the front of the group in passing throughout the day, but the blonde had preferred to keep her pace slow, still fairly tired from all the travel. But knowing she’d only have, at most, twenty minutes to interact with the man before leaving the mountains, Charlotte decided she was done being carried.
“Gabe, set me down here,” Charlotte suddenly prompted, wiggling a bit until Gabe gently set her down to the ground. “I need to ask Ryker something before we get there.”
What looked like jealousy flashed across Gabe’s eyes for a second before he smiled, trying to cover the break in his guise. Charlotte had seen it, though, but didn’t call the man out, instead letting him speak. “Alright, well, don’t be too long. I’d like to say goodbye before you go.”
“Don’t worry,” Charlotte said, her hand touching his shoulder momentarily, “I’ll come see you.” With that, she carefully but quickly stepped forward, doing her best to catch up with Ryker while not placing too much pressure on her foot. It took her a bit longer to reach him than she’d have liked, but she was walking with a limp, after all.
“Well, at least you’ll have the view to get you through the next few months,” Charlotte commented from just behind the Ryker, doing her best to walk as smoothly as possible as she tried to walk beside Ryker and match his pace. “Better than a mason’s stone yard, I’d guess.”
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Oct 23, 2014 14:56:29 GMT -6
"Unlike Garvan, I prefer the outdoors," replied Saturos, a wry smirk upon his face. “Though I guess I’ll always be able to go for walks before and after my shifts in the mine. Wake up to the chirping of birds. Get my daily dose of nature.” The tall man came to a halt as he turned to greet Myscha. His visage was cool and relaxed, as usual, but a couple stray beads of sweat had begun to glisten upon his brow. The trip hadn’t been as hard on him as it had been on others, but a hard trek was a hard trek, and so the Etrurian appreciated being able to stop for a moment and talk, particularly if he was talking with Myscha. There was an attraction there, though to what Saturos had not quite figured out.
The teal-haired Etrurian wasn’t inclined to think that he was in anyway smitten with the woman, at least not in the puppy dog way that the one miner, Gabe, was. That man would follow Myscha to the ends of the earth for a kiss. Now that he thought about it, Saturos was surprised that that man wasn’t standing right next to her now. He looked over Myscha’s shoulder, scanning through the crowd of marching miners for the man currently on his mind, before seeing him walk past them with a look on his face that could only be described as jealous. "Please," thought Saturos to himself, mentally rolling his eyes, "I am in no way trying to snatch ‘your woman’." And to be completely fair, these was little chance of a simple, modest man like Gabe ever catching such a seemingly slippery fish, so even if Saturos was trying to seduce the blonde haired middlewoman, he wouldn’t have had much competition.
That being said, there was definitely something...attractive about Myscha. Yes, attractive was indeed the best word for the situation. Saturos wanted to spend time around her. He found her temperament and her sense of conversation endearing. It wasn’t very often that he found people he enjoyed talking to without simultaneously trying to manipulate them. Aidan was another one of those people. While Saturos was, admittedly, constantly trying to manipulate the gruff general, the operative had no doubt come to enjoy the man’s company during the few relaxing moments he made for himself.
“How is your foot?” the operative asked, concern trickling into his voice. “Doing well I hope. No broken stitches?” He glanced down at the blonde woman’s foot. It seemed to be holding up well, but pain wasn’t something easily visualized. Sometimes even the most minor-looking of injuries could cause the most intense pain. He looked back up at Myscha’s face. She didn’t look like someone whose foot had been torn open only days ago, even less someone who had just had to hike across the mountains on said foot, but from what Saturos knew of the woman, she wasn’t someone to let her weakness show. It was a good trait to have. Saturos was of the personal opinion that the only good time to show vulnerability was when none actually existed.
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 26, 2014 13:58:38 GMT -6
“I guess so,” Charlotte replied keenly, pushing a handful of her long hair behind her shoulders. Looking around, it certainly wasn’t the kind of view the blonde would want to wake to every morning for the next few months. Sure, the outdoors was lovely in small doses, but it was hard for young woman to stay in a given city for longer than a week or two. Staying in the mountains for months on end with nothing to do but sleep and mine? That sounded like a prisoner’s sentence to the consultant.
The thought seemed to garner a similar feeling from Ryker, judging by his response to Charlotte’s attempt to sympathize with his situation. Granted, Charlotte was of the opinion that there was still something the teal-haired man was keeping from her that would better explain his true reason for having to being here. After all, the woman thought as she watched him turn to face her, she didn’t quite have an explanation for why a handsome, intelligent, and charismatic man like him had to resort to mining to make ends meet.
She appreciated that the man stopped to allow the two of them time to speak before they would inevitably go their separate ways. Charlotte had to admit, she didn’t mind being around the tan-skinned, well-spoken man. Considering her usual associates tended to be rotund merchants and balding nobles, it had been quite some time since she’d found someone in her travels who she could tolerate conversing with for more than a few minutes. Ryker being easy on the eyes was an added bonus on top of that, and he was quick on his feet, smart, and surprisingly adaptable.
For a brief moment, Charlotte considered if there was something she could do or offer to the man to get him out of having to deal with all of this. She had money, access to stable work, hell, she even had a small place in Laus that she never used. Just as quickly as the thought came to her, however, Charlotte let the idea pass. Offering the man work meant less work for her, and she couldn't be sure he would be as precocious in her work as she. Even the funds she considered offering weren’t really available for offering; Charlotte was constantly investing her own funds into items for work, which meant anything she could give to Ryker would end up hurting her in the long run.
Besides, sticking her neck out to help someone she barely knew wasn’t the consultant’s style.
So instead, when the man showed a bit of concern for her injury, Charlotte pushed those thoughts away and simply shrugged. “It’s doing just fine. Seems you haven’t lost your touch with the binding,” she joked, slyly harkening back to her distrust in his truthfulness around his 'former profession.' “Still as taut as it was in the cave.”
In reality, ‘fine’ constituted being carried around, limping about, and having to deal with shooting pains every so often, but Charlotte was trying not to come off as weakly as she had in the cave. Her initial response to her injury back in the cave had been uncontrolled and pathetic, a show of unrestrained emotion that could have led to questions of adequacy, had any of those men been one of her clients. There was certainly a time and place for exploiting her womanly weaknesses and turning them into strengths, but her outburst had done nothing of the sort. So she leaned heavily on her uninjured foot, angling her hips in a way that allowed her to balance with just her injured foot’s toe to the ground.
Charlotte rested her hands on her hips, eyes breaking from Ryker’s for a moment as she watched miners march on towards the mining camp behind him. “It’s going to be a lonely ride back to the mainland,” the blonde commented, eyes snapping back to lock onto his. She noted what an interesting shade of brownish-red they were and how she’d like to see what they looked like from up close. “It’s been nice travelling with you. In between Garvan's grumbling and the cave collapsing, of course. ” She didn’t clarify whether she was referring to the group as a whole or just the man in front of her, but she was fairly certain he knew what she meant.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Nov 5, 2014 14:00:24 GMT -6
Saturos smirked as Myscha put on a casually tough act in an attempt to play off any thoughts he might have of her own weakness. The teal haired Eturian could see through the act, though. He in no way thought the woman was lying when she said that his handiwork was holding up well. He knew a well dressed wound when he saw one, but he also knew that such a wound, stitched or no, would not heal quickly, and it would heal much slower if it was constantly being stressed and aggravated by a mountain march, which is exactly what had been happening. Since the cave-in, Myscha had been limping and piggybacking alongside whatever miner would help her on her way, so there was no question in Saturos’s mind that her foot indeed hurt. Still, he admired her ability to put on a strong face for him.
“I wouldn’t say ‘nice’ is the appropriate term to describe our trip, but the time spent with you these past two weeks has been enjoyable,” Saturos returned, taking Myscha’s hand a grazing the back of it with a light kiss. The gesture of affection was genuine, but it also played nicely into his “proper gentlemen fallen on hard times” act. The Etrurian operative also did not miss the brief moment of jealousy that flickered in Gabriel’s eyes before the latter miner walked just out of view. Saturos smirked. Some people were so easy to get a rise out of. “You have a mind sharper than most I’ve met, and you definitely are far easier on the eyes than this crowd of dusty workmen. It was a pleasure meeting you.” Saturos released the woman’s hand then took a single step back. His gaze lingered on Myscha’s arm, then made their way back up to the woman’s face.
If his suspicions of secretive personal business were correct, Saturos would need to keep an eye on this woman. She was smart, charming, and beautiful, but she was also clever, and so very discreet. She was as suspicious as she was intriguing, and the operative could only imagine what she was up to. Fortunately for Saturos, now that he was here at a dig site bustling with people it would be quite easy to switch his guise to something more versatile and accessible than a miner. A diplomat? No, that wouldn’t make sense here, and an officer would draw too much attention. Maybe his best choice here was just to go as himself… Regardless, he’d slip off when his current traveling companions were processed and return as someone else. Probably with a hood. Tall and bright-haired, he would cut too striking a figure among the crowds if he didn’t mute himself in one way or another.
“If I could, I would like to request one thing of you,” Saturos began again, a smirk on his lips. “Before you’re done with your business here, would you mind coming to see me?” His eyes were playful, at least they were before they shifted their gaze down to the woman’s foot. “Or at least the on-site medic? If you’re going to be heading back alone, you’ll need to get your foot checked-up on at least once.”
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Post by Charlotte on Nov 6, 2014 13:06:43 GMT -6
Charlotte was barely able to contain a small chuckle as Ryker took her hand and planted a soft, warm kiss just above her bent knuckles. What a noble gesture he had chosen, so innocuous to onlookers – unless the person’s name was Gabe, which in that case, the gesture was likely one of challenging the painfully plain miner’s ‘territory.’ The blonde’s back was to the direction the miners were marching, though, so she could only assume the poor man had been spared of the heartbreak. He seemed so awfully fragile, so it was a good thing for him Charlotte wasn’t sticking around for very much longer.
“Oh, you flatter me, Ryker,” Charlotte smiled as the man released her hand. While she had played her reaction as humble with a bit of embarrassment, in all honesty she loved garnering positive feedback. After all, many of her jobs not only required her to be smart and a smooth talker, but attractive as well. Tricking an old, licentious noble to bringing you home only to lay claim to the magic weapon in their possession wasn’t exactly easy if you weren’t good-looking. It was doable, but the blonde’s generally immaculate appearance made her job almost laughably easy sometimes.
It’s a shame it had to end so soon, she added in thought as the man expressed his pleasure in meeting her. So very interesting was the teal-haired miner who stood in front of Charlotte; his mannerisms, speech, and expressions were unique, more unique than the average person she usually dealt with. She retained the thought that there was still something there to be cracked, but unfortunately for her, she wouldn’t get the chance to explore further once she was given the package she was here for.
The consultant’s brow raised and her lips curled into a grin as the man asked to see her before she left. She’d seen the look in his eyes, as fleeting as it was, so she was aware having her foot checked might not be the only thing the man wanted to see her for before she left.
“I’ll certainly try,” Charlotte said, certainly meaning what she said. She couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to find the man once she was ready to go, but what could it hurt? She’d said she would see Gabe anyways, so she didn’t mind making the trip.
“Well, as you said, it’s been a pleasure,” the blonde said finitely, a tinge of disappointment laced in her satisfied tone. “I’ll come find you before I go.” With that, she turned on her uninjured foot’s heel, catching a glance of Gabe just as he quickly turned to speak with one of the foremen at the front of the processing line for the new miners. Charlotte shook her head, unbelieving in how short of a time it took for that man to become so attached to the idea of her being interested in him.
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Post by Charlotte on Nov 7, 2014 0:09:04 GMT -6
The Bishop’s mine was certainly abuzz with life with the arrival of the new miners. The area honestly looked like a veritable small village for the men who worked in the mines. Most of the buildings were little more than shanties raised for the sole purpose of housing equipment, men, and rations. At least one large barn had been raised that looked to house the stables, and there was one building on the far side of the makeshift village, away from the mines, which was a well-built log cabin.
Charlotte moved in the direction of the log cabin, as the Bishop’s advisor had told her to do as soon as she arrived at the mine. While the cabin was only a few minutes of walking to reach, the blonde had to stop three times to allow her foot to rest, doubling the time it took her. She’d been walking ‘normally’ since arriving in the town, and she refused to keep limping around or being carried now. Still, as she winced up to the front door of the cabin, Charlotte knew she wouldn’t be able to hike back if she wanted to. Lucky for her, a horse for the way back had been negotiated into the contract for the job.
After knocking on the cabin door, Charlotte only had to wait a moment before the door was opened, revealing a slim, gray-haired old man in long robes. “Yes?” his silvery voice impatiently sounded, as he looked to the blonde in front of him. Charlotte reached into one of her traveling clothes many pockets, producing the same paper that she had shown to Ryker, and handed it to the robed man. His beady eyes glanced over it for a moment before holding it towards the sky, no doubt checking the seals’ authenticity, before handing it back to the woman.
“Come in, come in,” he urged her, clearing the doorway to allow Charlotte barely enough time to make it inside before he slammed it shut behind her. As the woman folded the letter up neatly and replaced it on her person, the man had shuffled off to a corner of the room. Charlotte’s eyes followed him; she was anxious to finally have the package in her possession, but her gaze was dead when looking him over.
“Is the package ready to be moved?” the consultant asked coolly. While her voice rose and fell as if to music when she’d speak to Ryker and the other miners, Charlotte was down to business now. There was no need for fanfare when talking to the Bishop’s mine overseer. If anything, her no-nonsense attitude with him would be appreciated – well, it would be if Charlotte didn’t have other plans for the package she was about to receive.
“Yes, yes, I have it right,” he turned back to face her, a small, sealed leather pouch now in his hands as he approached her, “here.”
The package for the stone was smaller than Charlotte expected, but she supposed if a dragon had to carry it with them everywhere, it would need to be transportable. The man offered the package to her, which she took, opening carefully to see the beautiful aqua blue stone sitting inside. Charlotte moved towards the lone window in the cabin, and holding the pouch in the light, small flecks of shimmering red could be seen in the stone as well. It was exactly as it had been described to her.
The man cleared his throat, his foot tapping impatiently. Charlotte’s eyes flicked up to look at the man, folding the leather pouch closed and stashing it away in one of her pockets. “Where will I find my horse?”
“The barn, of course,” the gray-haired man huffed, crossing his arms uncomfortably. “You should be going now.”
Charlotte’s mouth twitched in a smirk. “It’s truly been a pleasure.” Not waiting for the robed man, the consultant showed herself out, pocket feeling just a bit heavier as she did her best to ignore the pain in her foot. Before it had only been cropping up when she stepped on the stiches, but now the arch of her foot felt as if it was pulsing, the pain growing worse when she placed pressure on it too. Charlotte supposed it was a good thing she was going to see Ryker before she left.
But as she looked through the men moving to and fro around her, Charlotte couldn’t immediately pick out the tall, teal-haired man – he usually stuck out like a sore thumb, but he was nowhere to be seen. The blonde had hoped he would just wait around where they’d stopped to speak, but when she went back to the spot, there was no Ryker, hell, not even Gabe could be found. Still looking, she noticed the same foreman who Gabe had been speaking to earlier. There was no longer a line in front of him like before, so Charlotte could only presume all of the men had been processed, which by extension meant Ryker had to have gone through the line as well. Maybe the foreman would know where her two missing friends were.
Hips swaying a bit more than usual, Charlotte approached carefully, a hand on her hip as she flashed a smile at the bald, muscular man who held what appeared to be a list in his hands. The foreman looked down at Charlotte, brow furrowed but eyes focused on the distraction in front of him.
“I really hope I’m not being a bother,” Charlotte started, her voice sweet, “But I was hoping you’d be able to help me find two of the new miners. They’re friends of mine, and I really would like to see them before-“
“Names?” The man flipped through the papers he was holding, his eyes breaking contact with hers. Charlotte was surprised he was willing to help her so quickly; he likely just wanted to get her out of his hair as quickly as possible, but Charlotte wouldn’t complain.
“Gabriel.”
The man flipped through his papers for a moment. “Gabriel Arimen, Assigned to Bunk C.”
“And Ryker.”
More papers flipped, but after a few seconds, the man sighed. “Who?”
Now Charlotte’s brow rose. He must have misheard her. “Sorry, Ryker Moen.”
“I heard you miss, but there’s no Ryker on my list.”
The blonde blinked. That didn’t make any sense. “You must be mistaken, sir, I traveled with a Ryker this whole way. He’s tall, teal hair-“
“Miss,” the foreman interrupted her, “if he’s not on my list, then he's not assigned to this site. He's either been reassigned or it's not the right name.”
Lips pursed, Charlotte stayed silent for a moment, mulling over what he'd just told her before nodded swiftly. “Yes, you must be right. Thank you.” Before the man could stop her, she walked off towards the barn. The foreman called after her, telling her she was going the wrong way, but the man’s yells were ignored as she focused on getting to the stable.
She knew something was off about Ryker! Charlotte was part thrilled that her instincts had been right, but she was also worried. If he wasn’t a miner, it meant he was here for some secretive purpose, just as she was; there was no other reason for him to lie as blatantly as he did. Had someone else heard about what Charlotte was moving? Damn, she thought, he could be working for another noble, trying to get the shipment she was tasked with moving. Or worse, she thought, could he work directly for the Bishop? Had he sent someone along for the ride to keep watch on the blonde, to ensure Charlotte didn’t try anything?
Sweet, poor Gabe would be heartbroken, but she wasn’t risking her job for a lovesick miner. She quickened her pace, her stable, slow walk turning into a hobble as she tried to get to the barn as quickly as possible. She was taking a risk by not going to meet him; he'd realize eventually that she wouldn't come, and he'd likely assume she'd been spooked. But even if he was just meant to observe her, to Charlotte that meant someone was interested enough in the product to keep an eye on it. If that person was the Bishop, then she ran the risk of being caught trying to abscond with the stone, because the moment she left the camp, she’d be rerouting to a different dock than the advisor had designated for her transportation back to the mainland. No matter what the case, Charlotte knew she needed to leave, and now. She needed to disappear off of this damn island before Ryker wised up and tried to catch up with her.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Nov 13, 2014 22:56:44 GMT -6
After Myscha had left for wherever it was that she was headed, Saturos had made good on his plans to disappear. No sooner had the limping woman head into camp did the slippery teal-haired operative go slinking off into the nearby woods to swap disguises. Hidden from view, he removed the dusty, sweaty, leather miners garb that he had been wearing for the last couple of weeks, and pulled from his pack a more professional and proper looking outfit that he had brought with him for such an occasion. A blue embroidered linen shirt, a pair of goatskin pants, a pair of fur-lined hide boots, and a black woolen cloak all made up Saturos’s go-to, multi-purpose agent wear. It was durable, comfortable, and easily repurposed into whatever disguise the operative currently needed to adopt. In this case, since he was playing the part of agent under Bishop Aurelian, Saturos just needed to look a bit more down-to-earth and practical, so he rolled up his sleeves, beared a little muscle, then, to make himself just a little less recognizable, he pulled his cloak up around his neck and mouth. Nothing suspicious, just enough to draw attention away from his face.
Satisfied with his current look, Saturos adjusted his boots and made his way back through the trees and back to the mining grounds. It was a short hike, having not gone very far in the first place, and as the Etrurian pushed one last branch away from his face, he came to the edge of a gently sloped ridge that overlooked the recessed mine. Looking down, Saturos could see the miners scurrying about like a colony of ants all set on performing their assigned tasks, whether those be moving loose earth, transporting ore to be appraised, or simply banging away at the stubborn clumps of dirt and stone that had yet to be so kind as to free themselves from the spots they had sat unmoving for centuries. It really was impressive how much of the mountain the bishop had managed to strip away in such a few short months, and even more impressive that, like an ant colony, there was likely an operation twice if not three times as large going on completely unseen below the surface. Truly such a project was no simple feat, and it was astounding that mere men could displace such massive amounts of the world just to get at the rare sparklies that lay beneath.
But there would be time to admire the single-minded efficiency of human engineering later. After meeting Locke, Saturos’s original purpose for being out here was essentially complete. Maybe there was a dragon out here. Maybe. The Etrurian operative wouldn’t pretend that this would be the old cleric’s preferred answer, but it was enough for Saturos. He figured that, without an actual sighting of a twenty-ton fire-breathing beast of legend, the bishop would just try and downplay the rumors anyways, so what did it matter if Locke had the strength of twenty men? Aurelian hadn’t been scared of a dragon, he’d been scared by the potential mass exodus of his workforce, and a mysterious strongman wouldn’t cause that.
So Saturos stepped off of the edge of the slope and slid down its face with a level of balance and grace that he took a considerable amount of pride in. While many things about the teal-haired Etrurian were an act, his appreciation for physical fitness was not. Too often did men and women in his field neglect their bodies in favor of a more cerebral lifestyle, working vicariously through others. Saturos wasn’t unfamiliar with the role of puppet master, but he had learned from his days training under assassins that there were some things you could only accomplish if you were willing to do the legwork, and Saturos always did his own legwork. Yet that didn’t stop more than a few of the swordsman’s peers from claiming that the master of disguise was inefficient, unfocused, or simply lacked the ability operate on a large scale. The critics didn’t get to Saturos, who figured that such critiques were their way of masking the jealousy they held that he could get their work done without calling on a network of aids and helpers. That being said, it didn’t leave much time for recreation.
“But,” Saturos reflected as he surfed into a rolling stop at the foot of the dirt slope, “who needs recreation when work is so entertaining?” His momentum was killed with a series of bouncy steps, and as he jogged his eyes began to wander, searching for the blonde haired Myscha. Hmm, the more he said the name, the more it bothered him. Not that there was anything wrong with the name itself, but it was the kind of name you expected to find coming from the lips of a desert nomad, dark-skinned and raven haired; not a blonde, pale-skinned, blue-eyed woman of northern heritage. Oh well, it wasn’t like any single culture had irrevocable ownership of names. Saturos came from the an old Lycian myth, the name of a dragon who ruled a kingdom that sat upon the clouds, and he, Saturos, was obviously none of those things.
Minutes passed as the Etrurian stalked about the mining grounds, flitting through lines and about crowds, his gaze darting about for a sight of Myscha, but the woman was proving hard to find. Whether that was intentional or not, Saturos could not be sure, but he had been hoping to find her again before she began her business. But then just as the agent’s eyes began to narrow with mild disappointment, he caught a quick glimpse of her unmistakable champagne hair, the most distinguishing of her physical characteristics, slip into a wooden shack on the other side of the grounds. Immediately the man began slinking over to follow, but, mindful of his height amidst the other men, did so in a way that made him look as aimless as possible. He also tilted his swords, which hung sheathed at his waist, more vertically so that they were hidden under his cape.
After making his way to the hut, Saturos snuck up against the back wall, trying his best to remain inconspicuous while still trying to catch anything he could about a possible conversation happening inside. Truth be told, there was probably no reason he needed to be so interested in the woman’s business, but there was something about the fact that Aurelian had chosen an independent contractor to do whatever she was doing that told Saturos that whatever she had been sent here to do was not meant to fall under the Prophet or the Herald’s gaze. As one of the Herald’s men, those were exactly the kinds of things that he wanted to be privy to.
Unfortunately Saturos couldn’t hear anything. Either she was in there alone, or whoever she was meeting with was incredibly quiet. That meant Saturos would have to risk the window, which was a good foot above above even his head. It couldn’t be helped. The teal-haired Etrurian slipped his cloak up over his head, concealing his more identifiable features, then placed a foot in the gap between two of the logs that made up the wall of the wooden shack. He was about to pull himself up when he heard the front door open and close, and saw Myscha stroll out it. Instinctively, Saturos slipped around the corner, not wanting to be seen, but just as soon poked his head back around to watch her walk over towards the stables. Darn, he’d been too slow. And where was she going? Was she already leaving? That had been a very quick stop for such a long trip… Did she have a destination further into the mountains?
After Myscha was far enough away, Saturos rounded the corner of the hut and entered through its front door. Inside stood the silvery haired man, who, at the sound of the closing door, turned on his heels to see who or what had just entered his domain. “Who- ?” he began, before the teal-haired Etrurian silenced him with a casually raised hand. The man unconsciously followed instruction, stopping mid-sentence, but stared at Saturos with a wary and suspicious gaze. The operative merely grinned, knowing his timing seemed quite unusual. “Hello, I'm Saturos Prox. Nice to meet you.” he introduced, extending a hand to the man. “I'm here investigating a couple of things for the bishop. What do you do here?” He smiled, but his awkward directness only made the man more flustered. “Um, me? I’m the gemcutter on-site. Do...do you need something from me?” the older man asked, attempting to shake Saturos’s hand. He was clearly very nervous about something. Saturos frowned. Gemcutter? Why come all this way to see a gemcutter? Aurelian didn’t need to sell his own jewels on the black market. “Oh, nothing big, I just need to talk to you about a woman.”
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Post by Charlotte on Nov 16, 2014 23:27:35 GMT -6
As she made her way through the men going about their business in the midst of their small miner’s village, Charlotte felt sweat starting to gather and bead near her hairline. The bottom of her foot was burning now, so much so that the blonde knew she had to stop again, even if just for a few seconds. Breathing in through gritted teeth and being careful to not bump into anyone, Charlotte ducked in between two shanties, connecting her back to one of the makeshift walls and sliding down until her backside hit the ground. Leg splayed out, she slowed her breathing and considered taking her boot off to allow the wound some time to breathe, but she knew she didn’t have time.
For one, every second that passed was another second that the teal-haired man she knew as ‘Ryker’ could be looking for her. Charlotte was still unsure of how he fit into everything, especially since they had spent a fair amount of time with one another during their trip to the mining site. Charlotte hadn’t thought twice about their conversations, but now she was trying to remember every little thing she’d said to the man. To her knowledge nothing she’d revealed had been incriminating – sure, she’d given a bit more information about her “career” than she normally would have, but nothing that would come off as suspicious. To him, she’d portrayed herself exactly as she had wanted – a traveling consultant, a ‘consummate middleman,’ as he’d put it.
Still sitting, Charlotte’s hands anxiously pulled her hair around to her front, beginning to plait the long locks in an attempt to keep her shaky fingers moving. She hadn’t thought about it until now, but there was also the matter of the Bishop’s men she was supposed to be meeting at the southern port. Their trip having been delayed by the cave in, Charlotte could only assume they might be worried about the blonde taking longer than planned to make it back. At some point they would come looking for her, and considering the caravan’s delays, they may come sooner rather than later. One calming thought assured her that if Ryker worked with the Bishop that the men waiting for her would hold their posts, but she still needed to consider the possibility.
Her hands running out of hair to braid, Charlotte decided it was time to finish her trek to the stable. After fishing in her pockets for a small piece of ribbon, Charlotte tied off the quickly weaved blonde tresses and stood, gingerly testing her foot again. She hissed, her short intermission having barely helped to ease her pain. Knowing her time here needed to quickly end regardless, Charlotte flicked her newly-braided hair back over her shoulder, continuing towards the barn quickly in jaunted, uneven steps. She did her best to keep away from the main walkways, knowing she’d be more likely to run into Ryker there.
While she could see the barn from almost any spot in the town, as soon as she could make a straight path for it with no interruptions, the blonde threw caution to the wind and sped her walk until her hand was upon the dark wooden door. Pushing it open, she was greeted with the overwhelming musk of animal mixed with damp hay. The sun had begun to set so the barn was relatively dark, only a few corners being lit by oil lamps and still windows. While some of the large building housed equipment and two large carts, the outside walls were lined with stalls that held a handful of horses, one of which would carry Charlotte to safety.
First, though, she needed to find the groom. Squinting in the darkness and looking past the lines of stables, she spotted a young, brunette-haired woman in the far corner of the barn, bent over one of the stall doors as she reached to feed one of the horses. Charlotte quickly made her way over to the woman, doing her best to put on a smile through still gritted teeth. The groom noticed Charlotte making her way over before the consultant could greet her, though, so after casting a glace to the limping blonde, she looked back to the horse.
“Sorry ma’am, but the stables are closed for the night,” the groom said without looking over to Charlotte as she stopped next to her. “You’ll have to come back in the morning. “
The blonde sighed. “Apologies, miss, but I’m on important business for the Bishop this evening.” The mention of the bishop caught the young woman’s attention, as she broke her gaze with the mare in front of her and looked over to the blonde. “You’ll have to understand he’s awaiting my return to Etruria, as soon as possible, so I must travel in the night.
“Also, I have…” Charlotte trailed off, wiping sweat from her brow as she fished around in her pockets to reveal a crisp letter, “…this.” Different from the one she had shown both Ryker and the gem cutter, it bore the bishop’s seal as well as a message granting Charlotte the ability to utilize one of the horses housed in the mine’s stables for her journey. Finally facing the blonde as she held the letter out, the groom took the letter. While Charlotte assumed the young woman couldn’t read, seeing the bishop’s official seal was enough for the groom to take the consultant at her word.
Handing back the letter, the brunette looked down the row of horses. “I’ve only got two riding horses; it’ll take some time for me to resaddle one, so – "
Charlotte held up her hand to stop the woman. “Saddling won’t be necessary; I’d like to get moving sooner rather than later.”
The groom looked a bit surprised at Charlotte’s request, but she simply shrugged. “Suit yourself. You can take Calamity here.” Nodding her head towards the horse they stood in front of, the young brunette opened the stall and began untying the mare as Charlotte backed up to allow the groom space to walk the horse out. “She’s a bit older, but she loves a good run and knows how to get to the docks.”
“She sounds perfect,” Charlotte replied, watching the groom as she led the horse into the middle of the barn. As the groom walked away to grab a set of reins for the horse, Charlotte was already mounting, though much more awkwardly than usual as she could only jump with the force of one leg instead of two. Charlotte nearly yelped as she pulled herself on, but she bit the inside of her cheek instead. As the young groom came back, she laughed as she saw Charlotte already pulled up onto the horse.
“Color me impressed,” she said as she strapped the reins on the horse, handing them back to Charlotte as the blonde got acclimated to being on a horse again. It had been quite some time since she’d ridden, but she’d learned how to ride bareback from the smugglers so she was fairly certain she could handle it again. As soon as the groom handed Charlotte the reins, she also handed the blonde’s pack up to her.
“Thanks,” Charlotte said as she pulled it over her shoulders. The groom moving to unlatch and slide open one of the barn doors, Charlotte made a loud “tch” and lightly tapped the sides of her feet against Calamity’s belly, causing the horse to move forward as well. The barn doors creaked as they opened, eliciting a few whinnies from the horses in the barn, but once open the doors ceased their groans.
The groom looked up at Charlotte as the blonde walked the horse out of the barn. “They’ll be sending her back, right?”
It was Charlotte’s turn to look surprised. “I’m not sure.” The other young woman didn’t look reassured, of course, so Charlotte added, “But I don’t see why they wouldn’t. A horse can’t get me off of the island, now can she?” The groom nodded; she still looked unsure, but it wasn’t Charlotte’s duty to make sure she was content.
But there was no reason not to be polite. “Thank you for your help...” Charlotte paused, realizing she’d forgotten to ask the groom her name
The brunette didn’t seem to mind. “Annalee, miss.”
Charlotte smiled. “Very pretty.” With that, the blonde broke their gaze, giving a slightly harder tap on the horse’s underbelly and another ‘tch.’ After a gruff snort, Calamity began trotting where Charlotte led her, towards the path that led to the northern docks that Lord Balsam’s men would meet her at to escort her safely back to Laus.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Nov 18, 2014 21:23:22 GMT -6
Saturos’s looked both troubled and puzzled as he exited the gemcutter’s hut. He stood in the doorway for a moment, his head tilted towards the ground, before closing the door to the behind him. Letting out a short sigh, he sauntered silently over towards the stables, tracing the route he had seen Myscha take earlier. His gaze was aimless, flitting from one random location to the next, and he was so deep in thought that he just narrowly avoided some potentially harmful collisions with miners carting around huge wheelbarrows of gold and iron ore. The swordsman got more than a couple nasty looks, but he managed to safely navigate his way through and around the moving crowds.
That had been interesting, to say the least. No sooner had he dismissed the gemcutter’s suspicions and struck up a friendly conversation with the older man did two armed gentlemen, wearing tunics emblazoned the symbol of Elimine, enter the shack. The door slammed open at their arrival, and they strode in, very stern and serious, acting like they owned the place. The larger of the two, a man whose name Saturos had eventually gathered to be “Valen”, wasted no time in shoving the tall, teal haired Etrurian aside before slamming his brutish, metal gauntleted fist down on the gemcutter’s table in what made for a very intimidating entrance. Indeed, Saturos had even jumped a little, but it was more due to the unexpectedness of being shoved aside than it had been any sense of fear of the soldierly looking man.
Valen had demanded quite loudly to be told where “the woman” was, which threw up a warning flag for Saturos, as he immediately assumed the woman in question was the woman he himself had been talking about, Myscha. It seemed to be the correct guess as the old man, whom Valen had referred to as “Francois”, stammered and shook his head, claiming that he did not know, and that the woman had left only minutes before. And as Valen shouted, Saturos stole a glance at churchman’s smaller companion, but the stout man merely returned his attention with a face of pure disinterest, obviously not interested in who this teal haired man was or why he was here. It was for the best, as Saturos rarely enjoyed being the center of attention unless he chose to place himself there.
From the one-sided back and forth, Saturos was able to gather that Myscha, the woman, was supposed to rendezvous with Valen and his companion who would accompany her south on the next leg of her journey. But Myscha was late, days late in fact, and that was apparently cause for great alarm. So Valen continued yelling at Francois, accusing the latter of irresponsibility, but he got little more than uncomfortable shrugs from the gemcutter. The older man knew he had done nothing wrong, and that whatever anger Valen was venting was meant entirely for Myscha. But it wasn’t really her fault, Saturos thought. The severe weather and cave-in had delayed the mining party at least two to three days, and whatever misdeeds they were assuming were no doubt a result of that delay. They had probably just missed her on their way into camp, and she would end up at the port with no escorts to be seen.
But just as he was about to speak, justifying the blonde woman’s lateness, something occurred to Saturos. The byway to the south port, where Myscha was to meet these two men, left from the southern edge of the mine. But when Myscha left from the stables, Saturos had watched her go out the northern exit up the road they had come in, and from that road there was no other way but north towards Armagh, the military port from which they had arrived. Now the generous assumption would be to think that Myscha had taken a wrong turn. Maybe she had mis-communicated with these fine men of Bishop Aurelian and had forgotten where she was going to meet them. But Saturos knew she was too smart for that. If she was supposed to go to the southern port, she had made the conscious decision to do otherwise, which meant that whatever she was planning on doing with the package she had received from the gemcutter, it wasn’t going to be to deliver it to Aurelian.
“Excuse me, I must be going now,” said Saturos, attempting to dismiss himself from what had now become a shouting match between Valen and Francois. None but the stout man took notice, and even he barely did at that. “It was nice to meet you Francois.” And with that Saturos slipped out the door.
So here he stood, troubled and puzzled, looking for the stablehand to see if he could get himself a horse. Just what was it that Bishop Aurelian had wanted moved in such secret, and what did Myscha gain by stealing it? If it was valuable enough for the bishop to hire a private consultant to circumvent Intelligence, then she had to know that it was valuable enough for Aurelian to hunt her down, probably quite viciously, to get it back. He knew she wasn’t stupid, so was she just incredibly confident in her ability to evade capture? From what Saturos knew of her, that just may be the case. If she rode fast enough, she could reach Armagh before Aurelian's men were able to get a message to the port city, but he also knew it wouldn't matter. It was a foolish confidence. The Bishop would find her and capture her. Saturos would have to show the woman that before she got herself killed.
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Post by Charlotte on Nov 19, 2014 12:52:02 GMT -6
Charlotte was careful to not to direct Calamity to take off at a gallop the moment she left the stable, but she was very aware that she needed to move as far and as quickly as possible. It would take her at least a few hours to reach the port, possibly the entire night if she didn’t move fast enough. She was lucky to have a horse that was used to being ridden through the mountains, otherwise their trip would have been a lot longer and likely more dangerous.
The blonde did her best to lead the horse along the edge of town rather than using the main paths, knowing that she stuck out like a sore thumb among all of the miners. She was anxious to break their trot, but she knew she needed to wait until she the right moment to raise the horse’s pace. Doing so in the middle of town would just raise suspicion, which she did not need right now. Lucky for her, the men were still shuffling wheelbarrows and equipment around, so their attention was focused on more important things.
As soon as she hit the edge of the camp, Charlotte ‘tched’ at Calamity and tapped the horse’s underbelly harder than she had been, signaling that it was time to move. After a snort, the horse took off, with Charlotte guiding the mare’s gallop while also remaining aware of when they needed to slow due to the rough terrain or rounding a corner. Charlotte was shaky at first, as she hadn’t ridden in quite some time, but before long the blonde began feeling comfortable again on the horse’s back.
After two hours of riding, the consultant found herself nearing what looked to be a fork in the road. And while she desperately wanted to keep riding on, there were two things she needed to address: her map to reconfirm which direction she needed to go, especially since it was dark now, and the painful throbbing in her still injured foot. It hadn’t been too bad at the beginning of her ride, but constant movement and use had the pain now making her leg uncomfortable as well. There was a bit of brush and tree cover near the fork, so she made her way there, finding a safe spot to slide off of Calamity.
Dropping the horse’s reigns to the ground, Charlotte carefully got off of the mare, grinding her teeth and inhaling sharply as she touched her feet to the ground. Taking her pack off and dropping it next to Calamity, the blonde did her best to disappear in the brush, though she knew very well that she would be visible to passersby. But she was confident that she had put enough distance between her and the mining town that taking a few minutes to recharge and recoup wouldn’t hurt.
Thankfully for her, the road quiet, so sitting on the ground, Charlotte pulled out her map of the area and tried to place where they were at. At the same time, the blonde pulled a small package off of her belt, unfolding it to reveal a handful of the leaves Locke had so graciously given to her back in the cave. She still wasn’t sure if they actually worked, but considering how uncomfortable she was, she popped a few of the fibrous, now dry leaves in her mouth, the spicy yet still muddy taste returning to her mouth. Even if they didn’t work, Charlotte hoped the spiciness of the leaves would provide her enough distraction that she forgot about her pain.
It took her longer than she would have liked, but the blonde was almost certain she could see where she was on the map, and what path she needed to follow to get to the docks. Charlotte was closer than she’d expected to be, but she still had at least another hour of riding before getting where she needed to be. But the reassurance brought more confidence in her escape than she’d had when leaving the mines. As she folded up the map and placed it back in her pocket, the blonde leaned up against the tree again. Incredibly drained, and with everything going according to plan – for the most part, at least – Charlotte decided taking a few more minutes to rest was both safe and deserved. She instinctively felt for the stone on her person, just to make sure it was still there, which it inevitably was, before closing her eyes. Just for a minute, the young woman thought.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Dec 2, 2014 22:14:35 GMT -6
Myscha must have known she was being tailed, because she had put a lot of distance between herself and the mine in a very short amount of time. She had put so much, in fact, that for a time Saturos had thought he may have very well been traveling the wrong direction, but he assured himself that, no, this was the only other way out of the camp that a horse could feasibly travel. There was the possibility that she had ditched her horse and gone off the beaten road, but if that was true Saturos would at least have found her lone horse.
A good head start, then, and probably a strong dosage of haste both contributed to Myscha’s apparent speed, and it, along with the appearance of Aurelian’s men at the gem cutter's, spoke to the blonde woman’s guilt. Now it was true that she could just be traveling quickly because she believed herself late and was trying to make up for lost time, but for one reason or another, Saturos didn’t believe that to be the case.
Awhile passed, a few hours or so, as Saturos continued on down the road at a steady pace. He wasn’t particularly concerned with matching Myscha’s speed, because he knew that on a road this rough, even the most experienced rider would need to stop to rest if they pushed themselves too hard. He would come up on Myscha while she took a break, and then he would confront her about her haste, her destination, and why she was flagrantly violating the trust of her handlers. It was out of the scope of his current assignment, but he figured that if he was currently working to assure the security of Bishop Aurelian’s mine, a security breach like this could be construed to fall under the jurisdiction of his operations. Plus, he rather liked her, and he didn’t want to see her strung up and killed for doing something as stupid as stealing from the Bishop. He wanted to get to her before men with far more nefarious plans for her did.
And lo, just as he finished that though, Saturos spotted a horse come into view down the road. It had no rider, and it looked as if someone had taken a seat by its feet. As he drew closer, he saw that the person sitting down had Myscha’s distinctive blonde hair, and as he drew even closer, he saw that the woman was sleeping. The Etrurian frowned. It was almost unfair. She must have been truly exhausted from the march if she was taking time to sleep while escaping from a mine with stolen goods.
Saturos sighed as he dismounted his horse. He would take no pleasure in this arrest. His feet hit the ground with a quiet thud, as he was careful to make as little noise as he could, and as he silently walked towards the unconscious woman, Saturos drew his falchion. He tilted the blade sideways, careful to aim the edge away from Myscha’s face, then tapped her lightly on the chin.
“Hey, wake up.”
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Post by Charlotte on Dec 5, 2014 13:12:04 GMT -6
A wyvern roared behind the blonde from the Illian camp as she tried to drag her companion with her. He was badly injured, features barely recognizable as his head lolled. The man was barely cognizant of what was going on around them, which left Charlotte to try and desperately bring him along.
“Come on, Simon, move!” The blonde pleaded as the man collapsed to his knees, head hanging in front of him. “You need to move!”
Drool mixed with sweat coursed down his chin as the man tried to reply through his swollen lips and tongue. “Quiet... stupid... b*tch...” he spat, weakly pushing her away from him.
Charlotte ignored him, again pulling at his arm and trying to pull the man back to his feet. “We don’t have time for this, Simon, just get up and –“
The same roar sounded again, though this time it erupted from Charlotte’s bloodied companion as he sprung to his feet, hands grasping her neck as he slammed her back into a wall. “NO!” the voice bellowed, though this time Rogus’s voice came from the disfigured man and what distinctive features were left seemed to have shifted to be more reminiscent of the red-cloaked man. Feet dangling a few inches from the ground, Charlotte grabbed the man’s hands, trying desperately to pry them away from her neck so she could breathe. She tried to yell for him to stop, but the words merely shaped her lips, no sound coming from them as the wyvern roared from behind her companion as he laughed and laughed at her struggling...
As soon as the cold steel of Ryker’s sword touched Charlotte’s chin, the blonde’s eyes snapped open as her body jumped involuntarily, pulling her out of her nightmarish sleep. As soon as she located the source of the touch, the young woman relaxed her tensed muscles, slightly narrowed gaze resting on the teal haired man standing in front of her. She cursed herself, disappointed that she had fallen asleep long enough for Ryker to catch up to her. He had changed since they parted – gone were the drabby, worn leathers that had mostly blended him in with the other miners. A black cloak partially obscured his features, and the linen shirt he now wore was wonderfully embroidered. If Charlotte had any doubts remaining about the man’s true nature, they were absolutely gone now. She was clearly dealing with either a competitor collector’s lackey, or one of the Bishop’s men.
“I didn’t think you’d be this eager to see me off before I left, Ryker,” Charlotte teased as she raised a hand aimlessly, pulling the braid she’d plaited a few hours previously to rest over her left shoulder. Considering the circumstances of their reunion, her greeting was particularly light-hearted, though there was a venomous taint to her tone. Despite the startling wake-up, Charlotte wasn’t fearful of the sharp edge the man held pointed at her. Considering her usual clientele – not to mention her caretakers at the orphanage – Charlotte had all manner of weaponry waved around in her face, in an attempt to threaten the blonde with violence. While she used to be fearful, she’d been able to dull that reaction long ago.
That still wouldn’t stop her from requesting the blade lowered, however. “You can put that down, you know,” Charlotte added, hand motioning lazily to the falchion that rested only an inch or so from her face as she made reference to her injury. “You of all people should know I won’t be able to run off.”
Whether Ryker lowered the blade or not was irrelevant, as the blonde would simply shift slightly and sigh. There was a certain show of respect one had to give to a person openly wielding a weapon, or who had the ability to do so at a moment’s notice. “Now, I’m not sure I appreciate being threatened while simply trying to do my job,” the consultant said, hoping to shield herself from punishment in case he really was one of the Bishop’s men. Having squandered her head start from the mine she’d have to try to weasel her way out of this some other way.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Dec 8, 2014 17:39:07 GMT -6
“I apologize. It is rather ungracious of me to threaten you like this,” replied Saturos as he pulled his sword from under Charlotte’s chin. “I gather I’m not the first person to wave a sword in your face, no?” He wiggled the blade about playfully as its tip left the touch woman’s skin. It really hadn’t been the most threatening display of force, so he wasn’t surprised at the banter, and for what it was worth, she made a good point: it wasn’t like she could run away, and if she tried to pull a dagger on him, the Etrurian operative was reasonably sure he would be able to overpower the attempt with little to no harm to his person. She knew that, and so she knew her best bet was to act calm and cooperate. So, being the gentleman that he was, Saturos casually slid his sword back into its sheath before resting his left hand over the sword’s pommel as if sealing it away; it was a proper swordsman’s gesture that signified peace and diplomacy. Then, after shifting his weight into a more laid back stance, the teal-haired Etrurian ran his right hand through his hair as he let out a slow, shallow sigh, before looking back down at Myscha with a tsk. Even suddenly roused from a nap, she projected a collected coolness and poise that most women would be envious of. So smart, so confident, so practical, and so beautiful. It was a shame that she was risking all that for, what, a paycheck?
“To be honest, I thought better of you,” he muttered, responding to his own thoughts aloud, just loud enough for Myscha to hear. His gaze danced one way down the trail, before dancing down the other, then settled on the woman’s foot. “I figured someone as intelligent as you would be discerning enough to know when scamming your client for a larger sum of the profits is a bad idea.” The operative’s voice was mockingly overdramatic, a habit of his, but underneath the ham was fine layer of genuine frustration which Saturos had no doubt that Myscha would be able to pick up. She probably saw in him now one of Aurelian’s men, taunting her and toying with her and wondering how he could have been played so. But the truth was far from that. His concern was mostly, if not entirely, for her sake.
“I don’t imagine we have much time, so I’ll get straight to the point and ask,” Saturos continued, a slight tone of urgency in his voice edging out the playfulness of the previous sentence. “What’s so valuable that you’re stealing it right from Aurelian's nose?”
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Post by Charlotte on Dec 15, 2014 22:24:05 GMT -6
“Hardly,” Charlotte curtly confirmed the man’s observation as her narrowed eyes watched the steely blade dance away from her face. She unconsciously exhaled through her nose in relief, watching as the teal-haired man slid the meticulously cared for blade back into its sheath, resting his hand over the pommel. Charlotte was no sword master, but she understood the meaning behind the man’s actions. There was a proper etiquette to most everything you could do, and the handling of a sword was no different. He was making it clear to her that he was here to talk, not fight, which the blonde was grateful for.
Still, Charlotte couldn’t help but still struggle with why he was here. The lackey of another collector would have no issue with striking her down and taking the stone from her person to deliver to his buyer, so she’d ruled out that possibility the moment he sheathed his blade. That left the man as some sort of member of Bishop Aurelian’s entourage, though Charlotte still had her doubts about that too. She had been given clear instructions on all of the Bishop’s men who had been involved; she’d been told what they would look like and how they would introduce themselves. That didn’t immediately rule out the cloaked man’s involvement, but why would he waste time entertaining a conversation with her now? Couldn’t he just snatch her up, take the stone, and drag her off into an Etrurian dungeon? Well, the night was still young, so all of that could still occur, the young woman supposed.
The moment Ryker – or whatever his name was – continued, Charlotte quieted her thoughts, intrigued by the slight disappointment in his voice. The consultant felt no qualms regarding the man’s thoughts of her; after all, he didn’t know the details surrounding her pay or how the slip had been planned. Despite the man’s perception of her, she had been particularly judicious with this job considering her plans for it; in fact, if it weren’t for the delays and her injury, Charlotte had been wholly confident that she would have been able to slip away and disappear. It had been a leap of faith, continuing the plan with all of the unplanned factors in the picture, but it was a risk Charlotte had been willing to take considering the reward.
But that sliver of, dare she say it, concern that floated on top of the sardonic melodrama, that was what kept the blonde interested. Why would the man care about her fate if he was one of the bishop’s men? To any of them, she would be just a petty thief; the only concern they would have is for their own skins, as they’d have to be worried about being reprimanded for letting a tricky minx like Charlotte nearly slip away with the Bishop’s precious dragonstone. But from what she could see, the man didn’t have any concerns like that; maybe he was higher up than a lackey?
“...we don’t have much time...” Ah, there it was! Charlotte’s narrowed eyes were now accompanied by a raised brow. He didn’t work for the Bishop at all, did he? If he was under some sort of time constraint, just like her, then they were both at risk of being apprehended by the Bishop’s men. Considering how calm he was, Charlotte assumed the time constraint for him was merely one of inconvenience, but for the blonde, that meant the Bishop’s men had started looking for her; it had certainly taken them long enough. Charlotte was beginning to get frustrated, though. A whole slew of questions had been answered for her, but another handful had just sprung into being, mainly surrounding how she would escape, and still, who the hell was this teal-haired man?
Charlotte recognized she wasn’t in the position to be interrogating him, though, so she sighed as she responded to his question. “Oh, I can’t tell you that,” she purred eyes looking down at her raised hand, examining her fingernails lazily. “That’s bad for business, love.”
She paused, considering her next words carefully, and as soon as they came to her, she looked up from her fingernails to meet the man’s eyes again. "What amazes me is that you expect me to throw caution to the wind and freely give valuable information to a man I don’t know.” She paused, looking back down to her nails before curling her fingers down to touch her palm, eyes again lazily glancing over her cuticles. “Besides flashing your blade, which I have a feeling you’re not inclined to use, you’ve given me no reason to cooperate, dear."
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