Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on May 27, 2017 18:23:55 GMT -6
Lost civilizations? Sigma was normally interested by historical figures, but the prospect of ancient cities holding secrets within their ruins under the Nabata desert was something that piqued Sigma's curiosity. Just imagining living in older times, being able to be apart of that era... The heroes of that time must've been paragons, people that marked history. Sigma was sad to think all of that history had eroded just like everything does with time... Also, living in a mageocracy would probably mean Sigma would've probably had the possibility to learn instead of having to become a thief... Man, he started to understand a bit more why Althea was so interested into this stuff. If he knew more about it, he would've probably done the same as her and tried to explore these ruins. But eh, learning information about nobles to help the Resistance was fun in its own way too. One day he might even be able to make nobles shake with fear at the sound of his name...Sigma Wolfhart....Oooooooh.... a true vigilante! Haha... Man, being able to become known as a good person would definitely be better than just being the guy that can tell you if your business partner is using the profits of the dried jerky business to go to the Western Isles with his mistress. That whole job was just one big mess...
However, one thing Althea said had made Sigma's head turn even more than the rest. Blood magic? What was that? Wait, go back a second, did you just say "blood magic"? Huh, I've never actually heard that one. I know about Elder or Dark magic, there's also Light and Anima... But never have I heard of something that relates to blood. If I had to guess, I imagine it has to do with Elder magic? Sorry if that sounds mean, but i guess i just have a preconceived notion of dark magic usually being associated with evil necromancers. Not that you're evil, I mean, I'm a thief but I don' steal sweets from children.
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Post by Althea on May 27, 2017 20:35:14 GMT -6
Blood magic. Depending on who you asked, it was the absolute pinnacle of the depravity of Dark magic, or something far worse than even the Dark, magic so vile that even the most despicable of dark mages would want nothing to do with it. Unfortunately it did not exist in the modern age, at least as far as she knew, and there were so very few claims of what it had been capable of - if it had truly existed at all.
"...It is said that the body is the source... and conduit for all schools of magic. Nether, Light, Anima, even healing magic all use the... magical energy within the mage to create miracles. But that energy needs a conduit. Mana, prana, chi, whatever the word, few know how it truly is created and channeled. But one theory, dating back to time immemorial..." And perhaps even older than that, "-is that blood is the conduit through which magic flows. That it is perhaps the source of magic. And if that is true, it stands to reason that he could could control blood could control it all." She smiled sadly, regretfully, at the very thought. Whether or not 'blood magic' had ever truly existed was questionable at best. But from what she had read, Althea actually did believe in it. Perhaps it did not work in the manner she had described, but something along those lines.
"The sorcerer-kings of Nan Madol, it is said, could boil a man's blood in his veins. Control it, turning men into slaves, their minds still free to witness the horrors their bodies wrought in the service of sorcerers. Some of what I have read suggested that they... harvested it in massive quantities to fuel necromantic engines that terraformed the earth... one source suggests that they even meant to return Nabata into a paradise of natural life... at the cost of all existing life within the sands." And that was the catch, wasn't it? Such strange and terrible rumors, a truth that may or may not exist. It was precisely because it was so terrible that she wanted to know. Had to know. Yes, there were terrible people on Elibe even today. Vile dark mages like Hargus. Monstrous champions of the Light like Kraft. Those who could use and discard the lives of hundreds, thousands, without remorse.
"...I... suppose that is why I wish to know the truth of the matter. If anything so horrible ever truly existed." The dark mage sighed in sorrow. "Dark magic is not innately evil; it is but the union of the magus and the Nether. What it is used for can be good or evil, yes, but no more so than light or dark. The very idea of a magic that consumes the lives of others to fuel that terrible power is abhorrent."
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on May 28, 2017 20:30:22 GMT -6
Blood... is the conduit of magic? Maybe even the source? Woah, just thinking about was making Sigma's eyes widden with amazement. To think that humans could actually have that power and not be borrowing from the Nether or gods... there was some kind of emancipation that came with that thought... Surprisingly, the way Althea was talking about the sorcerer-kings and their practices didn't really scare Sigma. Honestly, the prospect of being able to completely rejuvenate a desert was something that Sigma had never thought possible, so to hear that these people had found a way to actually do it was impressive and incredible. The means to reach that end were still incredibly monstrous. He would've probably tried to stop them if he had lived in those times, but as somebody living in the present, he could be impressed by them without needing to feel like he had to stop them.
The implication that this kind of power existed made Sigma feel like a kid all over again hearing about the Crimson Demon and all of the other heroes and how they were able to create feats of inhuman strength and agility... An entire power unknown to the world. The unknown aspect was definitely making Sigma excited. Well, if only he could actually study the subject, but sadly he just didn't have the knowledge to do so... "Man, that's... really fascinating. The way you talk about these arcane secrets is just so amazing! I don't know the first thing about casting a spell and now I want to go to Nabata right now! That magic does sound terrible however, yes. But just... the fact that it could exist is so exciting, you know? I guess I understand a bit more why you seem to enjoy being an archaelogist so much, hell I'd be right next to you digging in the sand if I could! There's no way now that I'm letting that researcher beat us to the lake if those ruins can possibly have ancient tomes of unknown magic in them. At first I was just curious because of this wolf emblem and who could be behind it... But now it seems like it's so much more!"
Like a kid in a candystore... Man, being a mage was pretty cool...
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Post by Althea on May 28, 2017 22:39:55 GMT -6
"It's an interesting thought, isn't it? The idea of bringing life to all Nabata? Some legends claim that the great desert was once a paradise until... something left it a barren wasteland. And we do know that small scale terraforming is possible, albeit expensive and slow. The fact is that it is very possible that Nan Madol DID exist once, long ago, perhaps not exactly as I described but something similar, and it is also possible that they did master a form of terraforming." She couldn't help herself, grinnding a bit as she looked at the entranced thief. Althea was simpler of a person than she tried to let on. She was in love with knowledge, with legends, with myths, in much the same way that Sigma idolized heroes. Faced with someone who could understand that passion on a fundamental level, even if neither of them actually realized it or shared the exact same interests, made it hard to contain herself. "That is what drives me in my endless quest, Sigma. Neither money nor power nor ideals. There are just... so many stories, countless times older than you or I, and while many are false, enough are true that it makes every failure worthwhile. Knowing that I stand where dragons once tread. Seeing evidence of the age of heroes, or even finding some of the strange and terrible weapons that were left behind."
Those... those she usually just destroyed. It pained her, but modern Elibe had little need for the Soulbreaker orbs of legend, horrible contraptions containing spells that could rend the spirits of men within a mile in the span of half a heartbeat. Torture mechanisms. Traps. They would only be used for evil by Etruria now, and so even that knowledge she had to consign to oblivion sometimes. Still, she sighed in tired bemusement. "Of course, I haven't said much about the long nights, the days and weeks of backbreaking, painstaking work that never amounts to anything. Archaeology is the search for those moments and the endless drudgery in between, one and the same, married together inseparably, like light and dark, good and evil, milk and cookies." Althea giggled. "But if it's enough motivation to beat him to the lake, that's fine. Perhaps it will all be a disappointment, wasted time in search of nothingness. But perhaps it will be far more, and perhaps we will finally solve a riddle left for us centuries ago by the only other man to walk those halls."
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on May 29, 2017 22:51:36 GMT -6
"Huh, that sounds actually pretty close to how my job goes..." he had a half smile sayign those words, starting to get intrigued at te connections he was making inside of his head. Turning his head, he explained to Althea exactly what he meant: "I mean, finding information about someone normally is not as interesting as this whole thing was. I remember having to stay hours every day at the same street corner waiting to see a tactician come out of his home so that I could finally go inside and procure what I needed! And even then, there's a high chance I won't find it or I won't have enough time. Kids were starting to call the Stander after those days of doing nothing just waiting there on that corner... But, when the stars align and you can find that dirt, that sweet sweet, oh so sweet intel, everything is worth it. Well, unless it's just about finding where he hid his famous beer recipe, then the reward is much more disapointing... But hey, today I might just find some arcane artefacts with you, so I think my career leading me down to this moment is pretty worth it.
He laughed softly thinking about all of this. Never had he done a job this exciting before. Leaving Illia and going to see the world was a pretty good idea. He was still tied to the place fo course, the Resistance might need his skills one day, but to now be relatively free to do what he wanted had been a pretty beneficial experience overall if he had to say. Not only that but his swordplay was getting better, he was meeting new people... Just overall growth! And it felt good.
"That is pretty insane... We'll be walking into a place nobody has ever set foot in except for its builder. I hope it'll have survived the passage of time well. It'd be nice to learn more about this man, maybe the architecture or the layout of his hideout will help us understand him better..." This was pretty exciting. Sigma was still investigating someone in this job, but now he was dead since many years! This was going to be an investigation through time! He wondered what that wolf meant... Did it have some kind of symbolism tied to it? Was it simply a trinket? He decided to not think too mcuh about it since they were going to get their answers possibly soon anyways...
"Man, now because of you I want milk and cookies but I'm under an overhang in the Lycian outbacks...
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Post by Althea on May 31, 2017 13:59:45 GMT -6
"The Stander, is it?" Althea chuckled at the thought. It was certainly no Saint of Swords or Divine Dragon, that much was certain, though by the standards of children she supposed it could have been worse. Far worse. 'Mr. Poopybutthole' sounded about right for that level of maturity. "Well Mr. Stander, now sitting, let us hope that we do indeed find something worth our time... I'd feel like a right fool if my tales got you excited for something that turned out not to exist, but based on my limited findings I do believe there is something to this tall tale. Just not what is inside."
The idea of stepping into an abandoned ruin was not... quite... as new to Althea as it might be to Sigma, on account of her spending a fair portion of her waking time in those kinds of conditions, but it was not something she had become inured to over time either. There was still something magical about walking where none others had in centuries or even millennia. Treading the same ground as giants and dragons of old. So by no means would she judge him for it. "One word of advice though Sigma. Keep your eyes and ears open. Ancient ruins, especially the well protected variety, do tend to have traps that can be difficult to locate before they are sprung. More than a few eager adventurers have left limbs or lives behind in those dusty halls and I would prefer both of us make it back alive."
If only so he could help carry the stuff, but really she was trying to be nice and it was mostly just that she didn't want to see him die. "Regardless. Perhaps it would be wise to rest now so that we can get moving again early on. Who ought to take the first watch?"
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on Jun 1, 2017 20:20:43 GMT -6
Traps eh? Sigma knew a bit about how to place good trap. Though he had never really been on the recieving end of one since most of his opponents were pretty big idiots or had too much pride to actually try to seriously attack him before it was too late. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then you steal all their goddamn intel before they can fight you right? At least, that's how Sigma remembers the saying...
"I'll take first watch, I'm not that sleepy anyways. I'll wake you up in a couple hours cool?" Getting up, he went out of under the overhang to go lean on the tree Gambit was sleeping next to. Hm, they were well hidden but Althea had the right idea by being careful. The sounds of the wildlife were both soothing and foreign to Sigma, considering he came from a frozen wasteland. This place was almost like the tropics in comparison! Grabbing the bag attached to him with one diagonal strap, Sigma pulled out one of the notebooks he hadn't read yet. Sitting down, he decided to pass the time by leisurely studying whatever else the researcher had discovered...
After a couple hours, Sigma was getting a bit tired of reading about how the stone's concentration of sulfur had an indirect link with the ruins location... Yeah, it definitely seemed this was one desperate man trying to find this place... ALmost seemed pathetic in a way. Especially since him an Althea were just about to figure it out from what it seemed...
Suddenly, he heard noises. crouching down, Sigma turned his head slowly as he saw what looked like moving torches on the road. Had the mercenaries seen them? No, they were way too well hidden after all... Sneaking up to where he could see these people, his doubts were confirmed when he saw two armed men speaking:
-et it, we should probably try to make a roadblock a bit up north if the thief still hasn't reached this point - What if he's travelling through the woods? - If he's actually doing that, then we have plenty of time to get those treasures that man talked about.
Seeing them walk off, Sigma was starting to feel a bit desperate. A roadblock? Seriously? Ugh, things were going so well too... Walking back towards the camp since it was Althea's time to take watch duty, he woke her up quickly to warn her."Bad news, they're blocking the road up ahead, we'll have to make a plan tommorow to try and pass through...
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Post by Althea on Jun 1, 2017 23:33:05 GMT -6
It didn't take long for Althea to go limp, slumping up against the rock face in peaceful repose... at least as far as sleeping against a mix of dirt and rock could ever be considered peaceful... which actually wasn't saying much at all. Regardless, many, many, MANY long trips on the road as well as her often inconsistent sleep schedule had taught her to sleep when she could rather than necessarily at set times so despite it being earlier than she would normally sleep, it was still easy to crash. As for trusting Sigma not to doodle on her face while she slept, well, they'd burn that bridge when they came to it.
That said, waking up was more... challenging than the reverse, and while Sigma did help her get to the point of not viewing him as a strange walking toad, she was not exactly a morning person nor especially adept at waking up in general "Mrph." Hmm... that hadn't been quite as coherent and well worded as she had planned. Had she planned it? Hard to remember. Well, she still had her limbs attached and not everything was fie, so it couldn't be THAT bad.
The roadblock thing was... less than ideal when she did grasp it, though. But not the end of the world. Not that she, in turn, was in much condition to make an amazing plan to deal with it turn, nor was her usual internal mental filter on to, er, filter her words. "We'll blow them up tomorrow. Deal with them. Whatever." Scrunching her face to try to pull herself awake further, Althea waved vaguely at her counterpart as if that was actually supposed to communicate anything. "Gessum sleep, I'll be -" she broke off, yawning, her hand over her mouth in some lazy form of modesty, "I'm not goin anywhere," she settled for slurring as the process of continuing to wake up fully ran its slow and arduous course.
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on Jun 7, 2017 23:32:40 GMT -6
"B-blow them up?!? Hmm, well at least you seem pretty confident..." It didn't take long for Sigma to notice that she definitely seemed to have issues with waking up. Not a morning person eh? Well, very late night would be more accurate but does it really matter? Looking over towards the seemingly very groggy woman, he waited a few seconds there before realising hehad the right to go to sleep. And not a moment too soon... He was going to need some energy for tommorow's travel and for the obstacle they'd have to break through. There was no way to know how many there were. The only thing he knew was that there were at least two of them, and honestly he wished that that was it. Who knew how big a force that researcher had hired? He's probably so lost in his fantasies he thinks he's going to be able to pay all of them... But really nobody knows what's inside of those ruins. Althea seeked this place in search of arcane secrets so it was a fair guess to say that there might be magical items... However actual gold and treasure was only a possiblity.
"Alright, guess there's no use in worrying about it now, let's devise a plan in the morning when we'll both at least be rested. Good night... Keep your eyes peeled for any enemies too." Laying down, Sigma tried to forget about the possibility of being found by the mercenaries. Stressing out would disturb the small amount of time he had to rest after all. He just had to trust Althea's abilities, she was probably powerful if she knew a lot about ancient magic, right? Ugh, he decided to just close his eyes for now... He was actually starting to feel sleep take over him anyways.
Let's just hope that they aren't TOO boned right now...
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Post by Althea on Jun 11, 2017 2:53:06 GMT -6
"Not confident. Grumpy. There's a difference."
Stifling another yawn, Althea sat up and started trying to focus on the task at hand, which... didn't go well. At least not for a while. It wasn't until she went digging in her damn pack and found some jerky to chew on and imagine she was chewing on the flesh of her enemies - not literally, that would be gross - and start thinking about the strange sense she had felt while at the cairn stones of Tir na Nog did her mind really clear up enough to actually start approaching the quintessential state of 'being Althea,' which in this case apparently meant being a snarky angry socially awkward sleepless twat. So the usual, but angrier. Nonetheless she rapidly found herself in a world of her own creation, figuratively speaking of course, probably not paying... quite as close attention to her surroundings as an observationalist like Sigma but still acting as somewhat of a passable watchman. Watchperson. Whatever.
Dawn came, and with it the remainder that natural light was the invention of the devil, wildlife should all be burned, and civilization would crumble without beds. She could almost feel her tender frame creaking in protest of the abuse. But no one had attacked them and she was alive, so that was two good things in an ocean of elephant ass. The rest could all go f**k itself though. On the bright side she wasn't actually that crabby anymore, just her usual self. Which wasn't a huge improvement, but at least she didn't feel like a genocidal monster right now. Still might have nudged Sigma SLIGHTLY harder than was absolutely necessary to get the process of awakening started, but that was... purely out of a desire to get moving and not anything else. Just, you know, the normal pursuit of efficiency.
Keeping her voice low, Althea stood taking in their surroundings. Hm. Yup, still a bunch of trees and crap. "Wake up, sunshine."
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on Jun 11, 2017 19:21:53 GMT -6
Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, the earth is warm and sunlight is breaking through the thicket. WHat a beautiful start to thi- OW MY F*CKING RIBS! Being instantly woken from that half conscious state of being, Sigma pretty much jumped out of bed thinking the mercenaries had found them. He was almost going for his dagger before he saw that Althea was the culprit. "Thank you honey, how did you know I like bodily harm in my morning routine?
Getting up, he started to roll up the thick fabric and tying it back with its string to bring it over to Gambit who seemed to also be waking up. "I imagine things were quiet during the night? He continued to packup the campsite while waking up. Doing it was almost second nature after having traveled from Ilia by himself. After being relatively done, he took out his rations and started munching on some dried berries and some weird cracker... things. Whatever, it was filling and better than rat infested trash he would find in Edessa, good enough. He offered some to Althea if she wanted to also. After beign done with his light breakfast, he started totalk with Althea about the roadblock.
"Alright, so we need to think of a way to get past them. I don't think we can get around with Gambit so if we want to keep our speed up, passing through them is the only way. They know who I am but they still don't know anything about your existence and your involvement... Hmm, I might have plan. It sounds risky but hear me out. We could possibly have you go up to them with Gambit to distract them while I go around to attack them from behind. Some kind of pincer maneuver if they weren't too many. Hmm... Actually Althea, what's your proficiency with magic? I don,t think I've seen what you can do...
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Post by Althea on Jun 14, 2017 19:36:37 GMT -6
Althea snorted "Part of a balanced breakfast, prince charming." She wasn't ACTUALLY angry by any means, she'd had a few hours to get over that, but there was a bit of snark still built up to get out of her system. And she didn't hit him hard or anything. Just a, you know, solid nudge. Her... foot slipped... yea she was going with that. She blinked a few times to his question and continued thinking about how to destroy all of nature. "Yes. I believe there was some searching, but they did not discover this hiding place. ...Your vision continues to impress."
Ah yes, the famous soon-dayray. Salt and sugar. Or at least salt and sugar flavored salt. Or in her case, jerky flavored... jerky. The point was that she was eating jerky and taking its power into her soul to give her the strength to face the day. Seemed Sigma had similar ideas, not too surprising given that breakfast was a thing, but she still liked the peace and quiet if only temporary. Almost made her feel like they were an actual team, or something crazy like friends, enjoying a quiet moment. At least until reality stuck its ugly mug in the door and faceplanted all over the rugs. She... frankly did not enjoy the idea of killing a bunch of mercenaries without necessity. To be blunt. It wasn't that she was violently against the concept, simply that meaningless killing of people just doing their jobs was not her thing... as long as those jobs weren't hurting other people. Anyways.
After a few moments of deliberation, Althea looked up at her companion, her expression carefully neutral, but forcedly so. Questions of morality of this caliber were not as easy as she, er, would prefer. "I am capable of providing heavy fire support at human-sized targets from roughly fifty meters with minimal travel time." If necessary, it was likely possible that she could kill them all before they even realized she was there, or at least exterminate the group before they had a real chance to fight back. She didn't give a crap about the fairness of it; what was important was the result, and between her dying and them dying, she would pick them every time. Self preservation did not allow her to answer in any other way.
"...Though I am... uncomfortable with slaughtering men simply doing their jobs," she admitted a little more hesitantly, the businesslike, factual tone of a moment before dissipating to a degree. "Self defense is one thing, but outright murder is another entirely. Though sacrificing the advantage of range is... tactically unwise given that when last I checked I was not exactly immune to swords and arrows." She bit her lip, uncomfortable with the situation but trying her best to be honest and up front with Sigma. She had hoped there would be another way around or some manner of diplomacy to convince them to back off, but it did seem unlikely to say the least. "What are your thoughts, Sigma?"
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on Jun 15, 2017 10:31:24 GMT -6
Ok... Well that definitely sounded like something powerful and scary. Well good, at least now he knew that she could handle herself very well in a fight. However, the bigger problem showed itself not too long afterwards... Killing people only doing their job WAS kindof a bad thing to do. Hmm, but at the same time they were really serious about finding them if the way they had treated the townsfolk was any indication.
However, finding a way to get past them without unecessary bloodshed would be ideal... Thinking out loud he said: "Hmm, depending on how many there are, russhing past them could possibly work. I don't know exactly how nether magic functions but maybe using it to protect Gambit could work. However, then we would be stuck with pursuers if they also have horses which his highly likely... We still have a long way to go. If we don't stop we'll probably reach the place only by sunset, being actively followed during this would instantly either slow us down or simply give us a rather abrupt end."
He hadn't done this kind of thing in his old job. It was very rare that he had the choice to not kill unlike the times people would suddenly attack him at night and survival of the fittest was the only rule. How badly did he want to get to those ruins? Would it be worth it to be maybe kill some people over it? There was definitely something strange about that metal wolf emblem... He couldn't just ignore it and go on with life like he didn't want to discover the truth behind it. Trying to figure something out, he thought of another idea.
"I somehow think these guys may not be the sharpest around. Maybe talking to them could work... Hmm, what if we made them think I was already dead? We can make it seem like you killed me as you act lik an innocent bystander who was being attacked by a crazy thief with grey hair who didn't realise his victim also knew dark magic... I bet they'd eat it up if you have some good acting skills..."
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Post by Althea on Jun 19, 2017 19:45:40 GMT -6
"The best defense is a good offense," the dark mage intoned, before wryly smiling at Sigma. "I'm afraid I have little to offer in the wise of defensive magic... though your comment does give me an idea. Targeting their horses might be an option as well, if they are easily visible." It was slightly ironic that she was trying to think of ways out of self defense, but at this point most of her, er, self defense had been just that - dealing with cultists, crooks, and ne'er do wells who offered little choice between death and killing. While it was perfectly possible that these mercenaries were hardened, soulless monsters who would just as soon kill her as feast on her tenderly broiled flesh, it was also possible that they were just doing their jobs. And their job might just be to keep her and Sigma away from here, not actually kill them. Maybe. A yellow brick road of ifs and ands and buts, paved with stupidity.
Of course there was the simple reality that they might very well NOT have their horses in easy view and targeting distance. So she considered Sigma's other suggestion as well. The idea of... acting... didn't really appeal to her. She didn't HATE it, it just wasn't something she really did. When your normal emotional expression is approximately negaive zero, anything above that looks almost as weird as it feels. She was, however, in possession of a fairly good poker face and the ability to die with casual ease when necessary, even if she didn't care to actually do so unless necessary.
"I don't believe I could mimic a histrionic woman very well," she stated simply and honesty without any shred of remorse or shame at the notion or the wording, "-but I believe you may be on to something there. I am but a simple traveler, heading to investigate a dig site in... northeastern Ryerde," her mind moved along as she puzzled out the story, "a circle of stones believed to have magical powers, when I was forced to stop for the night to camp. A silver haired man attacked me, saying something about needing this gear for a job, and I was forced to kill him in self defense. I approached them in my uncertainty, not being very used to actual combat or how to report the crime," she nodded, "-And in the meantime you sneak past them while I purchase my passage with my fabricated tale, picking you up when out of sight."
Would it work? She didn't know. She couldn't know. It depended too much on many factors she simply could not predict. Were these guards madmen or just mercenaries? Would they believe her or not? It would also depend on Sigma getting through the forests fast enough without being observed, and her not being forced into melee combat. While her casting speed had certainly improved... well, offense and defense again. An axe to the back would fell her no matter how much offensive magical ability she possessed. The dark mage looked to Sigma in the moment. "Which do you think? Make a run for it and try to destroy their means of pursuit, or baffle them with bullshit and try to sneak through? Our passage will be noted either way, and pursuit only delayed rather than halted, especially if they discover the ruse of your supposed death too quickly and strike out on horseback."
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Sigma
Thief
Does anybody care about intelligence work anymore?
Posts: 151
Profession: Spy/Information Broker
Affinity: Anima
Profile: Sigma
OoC Alias: Sigma
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Post by Sigma on Jun 19, 2017 22:41:16 GMT -6
"No I guess a researcher wouldn't really be able to do the "histrionic" thing very well..." He continued to visualize in his mind how that conversation would go if Althea tried to sound extremely emotional with uh... "her ability to stay stoic in any situation" yeah, that's what we'll call it...
However the question became clearer. Use cunning and guile or simply opt for fighting their way through? Both would pretty much end up with the same results whatever way you looked at it... Really, it was simply choosing whichever method had the highest chance of succeeding. Sneaking was his specialty... However Althea made a very fair point that it would only delay them instead of possibly stopping them from pursuing if they took out their horses. Their destination was already known and the fact that he was travelling over there also. The element of stealth had been thrown out the window 12 hours ago. This was a mad race to the finish line, finesse be damned. Although they'd probably to design their attack plan a bit more, Sigma knew that attacking was the only way.
"I... I think that stopping them from being able to follow would be best. I'd prefer to keep the human casualties to a minimum but I'd be okay with dispatching their horses. At least then it'd take longer for them to inform their friends. I think our best bet would be for the both of us to sneak near their camp. You can probably take out their horses faster than i can. However for it to work I think we need to also implement ideas from the other plan... Firstly, you could pass through their camp. Then you leave Gambit somewhere further up the road. Later, you come with me and we take out their mounts. After that it'll be a question of being fast enough to reach Gambit and leave without too much fighting. I'll follow you in the shadows to make sure nothing goes awry on your end during the first part. And finally... If something goes wrong...
We improvise?"
Yeah, improvising was usually Sigma's best trai in fights and missions. Yes, he knew how to make plans but usually making stuff up in stressful moments was what he excelled at. Call it dumb luck (which it probably was a lot of times) but that's how he stayed alive for so long. He started to strap his swords to him waiting for Althea's response. "Or at least, that's what I can come up with right now. Is there anything you'd change?"
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