Reunion (Closed)

[Borgus]

"Dang it", spoke Borgus as he was force to take a knee. The kid's blow to his shin knocked his foot from underneath him. Borgus knee hit the ground along with his right fist and the magic. The force exploded as Borgus left a dent in the floor. "Kid got some strong legs", spoke Borgus as he rose back to his feet. He was about to back at the kid when he saw the two burly men walk in. His priorities changed the moment he saw them. They were clearly his mark. They had the look of it and the smell.

"So you all must be the mercenaries", spoke Borgus as he stared at the one good man. He kept a eye on the angry one. Taking a step back Borgus put all three of his enemies into view. The two mercenaries and Vincent. He had no idea what the kid could be up too so for all he knew he could be a agent of them. It would make sense for the boy to be mercenary. He had the look of one and the spirit. Borgus began to gather magical power around his fist in preparation for another attack. He was not sure who would be the first to strike, or if they were game to fight at all. He just knew he did not want to be caught off guard.

If it was not for that punk kid Borgus would have been prepared for this. He probably would have taken one of the two by surprise and the dealt with the other, but no he had to be tried up by the boy. Vincent was starting to become a true nuisance. He should have killed him back then when he had the chance.

[Vincent]

The long haired man calmly walked forward toward both Borgus and Vincent stopping mere feet away. He smiled softly but his eyes were soulless gates into the nether. Neither feeling or caring. "Excuse my friend's language. He has a slight tongue and temper it seems."

The axe wielder rushed over even as the swordsman spoke. "Shut it new guy! I'll handle this! The angry merc brandished his axe menacingly. The axe head shined bearing an ever so subtle red tint. It was hardly difficult to imagine why. Vincent glared up at them labeling them his enemies. Standing he glanced at Borgus who's expression made it quite clear the two were in agreement. For whatever reason the two men shared these men as enemies. "Truce?" It was the only word he felt he would need to utter.

The long haired man watched the aggressive men attentively. It would be any moment now that either side could strike. Would these two previously brawling team up or would they be struck down? There really was no cause to be fighting and he could see that. He placed a hand on the warrior's shoulder and spoke softly, "Come now, no harm done over a barroom brawl now is there?"

"Can it! There is cause when they blind me outta the clear blue!" He was going to wait no longer, the offenders would not be the first he had cut down in this village. After he could even get a drink. He rushed forward readying a swing to cleave Borgus in two.

The swordsman moved with lightning-like reflexes and came between everyone lunging the hilt of his blade into his comrades diaphragm in order to stop his advances. Turning back to the two he smiled at them. "I apologize. But you both stare as though we have wronged you... it kinda pisses me off."

Vincent did not know how to react. He was like a child waiting for a parent to tell the other adults what was what. Never had he seen a swordsman move with such speed or ooze a killing intent you can almost feel physically. The axeman was violent but, something told him the swordsman was the true killer.

[Dayan]

Well well, this situation went in an odd direction. The two up front had the poker faces of a broken drunk, and their opponent had been quick to sense the distrust radiating from the two of them. If you identified yourself as an enemy this early, you'd be fighting through the entirety of the noble's forces. That was a losing battle, for any man. They were a pair of idiots, not an army-slaying warrior.

Dayan couldn't realistically draw his weapon without being noticed. The length of chain made it noisy, which meant it wasn't always the most inconspicuous weapon. Still, he would be ready to get involved with whatever these two did. They'd started a fight with each other, and now seemed likely to start a fight with these two new arrivals. The mage, at least. The kid had paused, likely considering his options here.

Still, what was more interesting was that the swordsman was trying to defuse the situation. He didn't want things to come to blood shed, or perhaps couldn't be bothered to do so. He likely had more experience than everyone else in the room put together. The two kids trying to take him on would prove to be funny, and perhaps Dayan could use it to his advantage.

He needed a way to gather more information about this town. Perhaps the fight that was about to begin here would be good for that. Still, he wasn't quite ready to act yet. Too many unknown variables, and one screw up would end it all.

A true con man doesn't play dice. You don't play the game if there is any chance of losing.

[Borgus]

"Truce", spoke Borgus. He did not want to try to fight the boy and these two at the same time. Borgus looked at the two men and began to size them up. The axe user looked strong, but he was stupid. His stupidity could be used against him and in Borgus favor. The swordsman however he seemed to be the real danger. His eyes alone told of his skill and the calmness he had made it obvious he was not one to take bait. If Borgus did get into a fight with him he would have to be on his toes. This was the kind of man who looked like he could run you through before you even realized it.

The axeman, as Borgus suspected, began to show aggression. He took offense to Borgus blinding light. As if he was the only one blinded. There were plenty of people in the room who got flashed and they were not complaining like a little whelp like he was. Selfish, self-centered, and aggressive, yep he was your standard axe user. He moved as if he was going to attack the acolyte. Borgus welcomed the challenge as he already knew how to defeat his kind. As the axeman moved to charge Borgus took a deep breath. He had prepared himself to side step the moment the big man brought down his axe, but the swordsman dashed in unexpectedly. With a flash he planted the hilt of his blade into his own partners abdomen and stopped the contest before it even began.

"A wise decision", spoke Borgus keeping his cool. On the inside Borgus was almost in a panic. That swordsman was fast. Faster than than most of the blades he fought before. Another thing that he noticed was his skill at tactical choice. Letting his partner rush up against Borgus would have been a fools mistake. Borgus would have simply side stepped him and punched him in the jaw. if he was not knocked out from that Borgus would have placed a bolt of light into his chest and called it a day. Now however he still had the threat of the big man and the calm cool swordsman who moved like the wind itself. Borgus was no coward, but he was not sure about picking this fight.

"Wronged me, nah", spoke Borgus. "I have no beef with you in particular, but rather with your whole group. You see you all disturbed one of my investments and as a result I ended up coming to this little town in Lycia. I am busy man you see and my time is money. You all are costing me a lot of money", spoke Borgus as he looked into the swordsman eyes.

[Vincent]

Vincent was astonished to find that Borgus was bluffing. Vincent was not very good at lying and gambling. In fact he got cleaned out when he tried a few weeks ago. His shock was a tad overbearing on his composure and his glance at Borgus told everything. Vincent did not believe the man capable of dealing with them. Perhaps true, perhaps not, either way it did not do well for the bluff.

The raven haired man glanced at Vincent giving him a quick one-over letting his eyes linger a moment before returning his gaze to the one holding his composure. "I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you. We only carry out the orders of our employer, Jarred Atellus." He almost gave emphasis on the name, an ever so subtle rise in volume. He wanted them to hear the name. Was it supposed to act as a sort of deterrent? Vincent had lived here his whole life but he had never heard the names, let alone met any of the nobles before. "Crack, go collect from the barkeep would you? I trust you won't act out during this? Not if you want drinks again."

The swordsman kept himself between the two and his partner. He was trying to diffuse the tension and keeping their work honest for the time being. The warrior picked himself off the floor glowering at the two boys and his partner before heading over to the bar. "Three silver Pete." Pete gave it up with no fuss. Three silver? There was no possible way the rest of the town experienced such fair taxes to be hurting so.

Vincent did not like this situation in the least but he held back. He did not get his proof here and these men were stronger than he. Bide his time and perhaps tail them a bit before going to give this Atellus a surprise visit.

[Borgus]

"Jarred Atellus", spoke Borgus in a surprise tone. In truth he had no idea who the man was, but at the moment he did not need a fight, or at least not here. He would rather have the mercenaries think he was scared off by the name along. It would do well for him when he moves against them later and get him out of a possibly fatal fight. He could not depend on the boy for this one. The boy was good, for his age, but he was not skilled enough to provided proper back up. Borgus was going to need space if he wanted to beat this swordsman. That was one of the most beautiful things about magic. Not only is it useful up close and personal, but it is also effective at range.

Continuing with his previous act Borgus grunted at the men while they collected their due. Borgus placed on a worried expression he developed while playing poker and simply watched the swordsmen. He prayed his act would pay off, but he was not sure how highly they thought of their boss. Still it would be wise to play this card for all it was worth Letting the enemy get the better hand of you was not a wise choice. "Tell your boss he won't have anymore trouble out of me", spoke Borgus. The bandit kept up his fearful poker face the whole way through. War, war was deception. If he could trick them into beveling he was a coward who feared such men in power he could gain the upper hand. For one to be successful they must first know themselves and then the enemy. Borgus knew himself and he knew of them, but they did not know of him and that was his greatest weapon.

[Vincent]

The bandit appeared surprised by the name at least. Did he know who that was? Typical though, a bandit acted high and mighty until the moment there was something he did not like. In this case it would be this Atellus. Was he that powerful of a man? No, that could not be it. The bandit swore not to cause trouble which seemed to satisfy the swordsman a bit. "Uh, you won't be getting any from me either." Vincent said it quietly but it reached the man's ears at least. Why was he still shaking? This man's gaze was heavier than most weight he had ever carried before.

The swordsman smiled at the two as they promised not to cause trouble. He eased his hand away from his sword's hilt, "Good. I hate needless bloodshed." He turned to his partner who had the coins in a box and nodded his head to the door. The warrior looked at the others in the room before wordlessly leaving the tavern. Vincent could not help but feel like he looked like a dog whipped into submission. Once the warrior was out of the way the swordsman spoke to the two again.

"Jared Atellus may be a small lord but his ambitions are great. We are not the only mercenary troupe that he has under his employ. You would do well to remember that the NEXT time you think of causing some trouble." The swordsman turned on his heel his long raven hair flowing wildly. He calmly left and rounded the corner.

Vincent let out a sigh of relief and let his body relax. "Heh, what an idiot. He revealed a lot of information trying to scare us. So the Atellus residence and look out for mercenaries." Vincent moved to a seat at the bar and sat for a moment. "Hey Pete, you were right." He had no idea what the bandit would do from here but he wondered if perhaps they bore a shared interest.

[Borgus]

Borgus stayed quite till he was sure the man was gone. "So lord Jared Atellus", spoke Borgus. "Might need to get the boys to look into him", murmured Borgus under his breath. The bandit knew better than to just run head first into this. If a noble was involved that meant that he was going to need back up. At first he thought it was a group of mercenaries over stepping their bounds. A few broken jaws and threats would be enough to straighten them out, but for a Noble to be involved. This was now a snake of a different color. He was going to need a firm plan, back up, and a escape route if he was going to try and settle this. The options he had lying before him was to A, convene the noble to leave his person alone, B Kill the Noble, C move the family out.

Borgus did not want to do A or C. A, because he despised talking with nobles. The way they thing they are over common men and women really gets under his skin. That was one of the main reason Borgus became a brigand in the first place. Curse the nobility and their uneven system. He was making his own path and their rules did not apply. Option B, was the option he liked the best. Killing a nobleman was always enjoyable. Especially when they begged for their life. The sweet sensation of slicing open their throats as they see their own red blood bleed out was one to be enjoyed. Still killing a nobleman brought heat. Heat that Borgus could not waver. Or at least not in this nation. Back across the Bern boarder he could probably get away with it. With all the mountains and other bandits as a tool to blend in. The last option move the family out was another one he did not want to consider. It was cowardly and weak. Borgus would not suffer this. He would only chose that route if it was his last option. So far thought he needed to gain information and the best source of information was the gutters.

"Here", spoke Borgus as he pulled out a puse of coins and tossed it to the barkeep. That was payment for the damages he cost. Borgus always payed his debts. It was one of the fundamental rules of his personal code of honor. "It seems we have the same prey", spoke Borgus without looking at Vin

[Dayan]

"Well then, if this is how you operate, I suppose things tend to make a bit more sense," Dayan said, standing and making his presence known. "Here I was thinking that your disaster of a 'plan' from before was an outlier, but you honestly do just wait for information to fall into your lap. So tell me, are you going to plan to walk right up to his manor house and try to kill him in his sleep?"

Dayan was tired of dealing with this kid even before he'd started. How he'd lived long enough to not get killed was amazing. "Wake up, kid. You both identified yourself as potential threats they will be looking for and attack on sight if you are by that house, and for what? Information you could have gotten if you kept your damn heads down and asked two questions to a shopkeeper?"

He was now standing by the bar, looking disdainfully between the two of them. "What do you think happens if the noble catches wind of this? Who do you think he'll make an example of, besides you two, of course?"

Dayan was, apparently, satisfied with belittling the both of them. The violent mage, what are the odds, and the idiotic sword boy. "If you have any real desire to pull something like this off, you need precision. Swift and efficient, not bluster and bravado. Or do you mean to tell me that you can fight your way into a locked and guarded manor house, because I'd love to see that."

Thankfully, the bar was empty with the exception of the three of them and the bartender. Dayan was curious how both of them would respond to his prodding. The boy was one thing, but he fully expected the mage to take a shot at him. This kid had a history of traveling with violent, psychotic mages who didn't think ahead.

[Vincent]

"It would seem so," Vincent didn't bother looking up from his seat.

Pete caught the bag of money peering inside to find the gold was far more than enough. "Oh, my, thank you very much. Heh heh, in fact, I think there is more you could break." It may have seemed an odd thing to say but he wanted to renovate and his wife would not let him without a good reason.

Suddenly Vincent heard a loud and vaguely familiar voice. Who could that be? Looking, he was noticeably shocked. Was everything from his past travels going to show up in his hometown? It could not have been Burt or Liror but rather these two. Vincent, ashamed of how he previously operated, avoided looking directly at the man. Oddly he did not seem interested in bringing up their previous engagement aside from a passing remark.

But he didn't start any fights with them. It was only a misunderstanding born out of the mage. Regardless, this man was right... again. They would be remembered and an eye would be kept out for them because of this little scene. "I tried to avoid confrontation you know... well, with the mercenaries." Borgus had been an unexpected variable and instinctively he tried to capitalize on it.

Who said anything about killing the noble? He wanted to make him pay but he hadn't intended to kill him without cause. Dayan seemed to think him fool enough to go charge headlong into an assault on the manor. Well, he could forgive that. He gave him good reason to think that. Now that he thought about it, "...Are you, offering to help?" Vincent was questioning and expected to be shot down for even asking but it almost sounded to be an implied proposal.

[Borgus]

"Watch your tongue boy, I have killed better men for lesser offenses", spoke Borgus as he looked into the man's eyes. Who in the world was this guy. He seemed to be a acquaintance with the boy. Yea that was just want Borgus needed, more people running around trying him up. As much as Borgus did not like what he was saying he was right, but then again he was wrong about the person who was standing before him. Borgus knew how to handle himself and the likes of noblemen. It would not be the first time Borgus has plotted murder, nor would it be his last.

"If I desired to fight my way into the manner and kill the noble pig while he was sleeping I could", spoke Borgus. "If I wanted to burn down this whole town I could just as easily. Believe it or not I have more power than you realize you fool, but I won't get into that. At the current moment I have no intentions of killing anybody in this backwater village. That includes the noble as well. I just want to make it more trouble for him to bother a single individual than it is worth. I can accomplish that without taking his life. However that turns the subject around to you Mr. Ponytail. What stake do you have in this? Why all of a sudden do you care? What is your angle?"

Borgus looked the man up and down. He had no idea what he was up too, and why did he suddenly care. He was obviously trying to look down upon the two of them, as if he was somehow superior to Borgus. That kind of attitude really ticked the acolyte off. It was that reason alone that Borgus first got into banditry. If there was one thing that ticked him off the most in this world was the eyes of a person looking down upon him.

[Dayan]

Dayan was willing to help out the kid, he at least seemed reasonable now that the other shrimp wasn't here. The thug, however, he was going to be the fun one.

"If you have nothing valuable to say, spare me to stench of your impending liver failure. Small dogs always bark the loudest," he said, paying no further mind to Borgus. Vincent had been willing to learn, Borgus claimed he already knew everything. As far as Dayan was concerned, that made the job much easier. He could use the kid in his plan, though somehow he assumed Borgus was going to be that random variable he'd have to adapt to. He didn't think the 'tough guy' would up and leave without any kind of resolution.

"Help?" Dayan echoed Vincent's question. "No. I have a plan, and I can use you to pull it off. I'm going to assume you have a similar goal, and your face is known. As long as you can swing that sword around and not die instantly, then I have a use for you."

He smirked as he thought about both of their parts in the plan he was weaving. One was willingly entering into it, the other one was going to be a part of it just by nature of who he was. "How quick are you?" he asked to Vincent. The boy seemed nimble enough, but it was always best to verify the abilities of your tools before you relied on them.

Borgus had nothing going for himself other than being loud and idiotic. As it went, that was precisely what Dayan needed. People like that could be tricky to manipulate. It couldn't seem too obvious, or they would resist it just to be contrary. It also couldn't be too complicated, or they wouldn't act as planned. He needed to engineer the situation so the idiot thought it was his own idea to do exactly what Dayan wanted him to.

"I have work to do. If you want to see this resolved, meet me at the rocky crags outside of town after nightfall. And try not to bring the entire mercenary squad down on your head before then."

In truth, Dayan didn't have much work to do for this. A few things, certainly, but nothing exceptional. That didn't mean his statement wasn't true, however.

[Vincent]

Vincent listened to Dayan's speech. It was just as condescending as it had ever been. He would not admit to it but watching him insult Borgus did his heart some good. Vincent was not sure how far to trust this man however. Previously he did slam him in the face with his sword hilt. If someone did that to him he would likely seek revenge the next time they met. Perhaps this was part of a scheme from Dayan to do just that.

If it was not then the man made it clear that Vincent would be the one helping him. If he was honest about it then it could work well. He was not the leader type, at least he did not think himself to be. It was much easier to follow. Neil made all the plans, or Burt, Duma... did he ever think of the plan of action? He really was just some follower. And once he finds Near he would be his student and following him. The revelation troubled him a tad but now was not the time to dwell on it.

How fast was he? Fast enough to keep pace with a mage through the snowy north. But why would he want to know? Did he want him to act as a distraction and run away? maybe get shot? The negative possibilities were endless and it was torment to dwell on it. It was easy to consider all the negatives but harder to think perhaps he had moved on and would help for good reasons.

"I'm fast. I will consider it... what's your name?"

[Borgus]

"Arrogant little prick", spoke Borgus. He had enough of this guy. Normally he would simply punch him in the face or blow out his eyes with a beam of light, but Borgus had neither the time nor the patience to deal with him any longer. The acolyte walked out the bar. It was better this way. If he stayed he would have killed the swordsman, or at the very least destroyed the bar again. Instead Borgus began to focus on the task ahead. He needed to put a stop to the problem and as much as he did not like it the mercenary was right about one thing, he could not do this alone. Still that was what goons were for and Borgus had a good number of them, though he was not sure if any of them were near this backwater town. He could leave and come back, but that would be annoying and the nobleman might have reenforced his guard by then. Still it was a better plan than nothing. Finally deciding on taking the medium to the situation Borgus deposited a letter in the hands of a courier and sent him to deliver the message about two cities over to some guys who owed him a favor. They would not get the letter till a day or so later and then it would take about a day to get here. So Borgus bet they would arrive in three days. It was better than nothing, but Borgus still wanted to do something here. When dealing with nobles and their estates information was key and Borgus did not have any of it at the moment.

"Alright time to get to work", spoke Borgus as he pulled his hood over his head and began to move. The acolyte first began to walk the streets of the town to build up a mental image and then began to investigate the manor. Though Borgus did not go straight up to the manor. No he was far smarter than that. He instead went to the hills and began to try to get a view of the place from a place with higher altitude and coverage. Knowledge is power and Borgus was going to need it.

[Dayan]

Dayan watched the loud mouthed man leave and sighed. "Finally. I thought that buffoon would never leave. Listen, kid. That idiot is going to poke the hornets nest, I'd bet money on it. Give him time and he'll turn this town into chaos incarnate. Not good for solving something like this, but perfect for a distraction. The best kind of distraction is when the people doing don't realize they are a distraction," he explained. He didn't really care if this kid lived or died, but he was far more useful a tool than the brute was.

He eyed the bartender coldly, as if to cow him under the stern gaze. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "The plan, as it exists, is simple. Wait until that moron starts to cause trouble, as he will, and then I make my move. That's where I plan to use you. I don't know how you intended to resolve this situation, and I don't rightly care. This lord bleeds the people for coin when they work the unforgiving earth to earn it, so I think it is only fair that his blood should be returned to the very earth that he robs."

Dayan paused for a moment, moving his finger over the bar as if tracing something out. "When the fool starts making noise, we go and tell those at the manor. I will, because they don't know me yet and have no reason to mistrust me. The swordsman isn't a fool, he won't believe me at face value, but you let me worry about that part. Once some of the guards have left, as they will, that will be your time to act. I want you to sneak into the manor, and I don't care why. You can steal gold to pay for a poor family, carry out some petty revenge or just take a nap in a satin and silk bed. All I need you there for is so that if they are going to catch one of us, it will be the one without blood covering his hands."

Dayan turned his gaze to Vincent, not faltering for a moment. "Yes, I am using you as a distraction for my own ends. If you would have preferred, I could have pretended that you were an integral and valuable part of the mission that I cared about, but such trite would be largely inconsequential."

He answered the last question with barely a thought. "Doctor, will do."