Trapped [Job/Garret]

Job Details:

Garret hadn't had any opportunity to capture those from the fight earlier, and did not want to linger in the Inn for any longer than he already had. Gathering his belongings, the spymaster began moving to the stables. He made sure to leave a lump sum of coin on the dresser before he left, to pay for any damages his prior scuffle had caused as well as for the cleanup of the two dead bodies that they would find in the room in the morning. Garret wanted to get moving right away, and hopefully elude his opponents in the process. The unseen enemy was the deadliest.

He approached the stall and set up his horse, keeping an eye out on his surroundings in case anyone approached him. Saddling up the beast, Garret lead it out of the stalls and turned it to the road. He rode it towards his next choice of Inn, this one closer to the center of the city and, hopefully, therefore more safe for him to stay at. His thoughts were that the guards based near the hub of the city would be numerous enough to discourage any would-be assassins that would come after his life. Of course, the idea was simply a pipe-dream. Garret knew this, in his heart of hearts, but still made the attempt anyways. When he arrived at the place, late at night, he decided he would finish reading the report on Acius quickly and simply make his way back to Headquarters. The road there was a long and flat one, which would allow the Spymaster some time to see if anyone was following him. It wasn't so easy hiding in open ground, though if they were not moving he supposed it would make it easy for them. This luxury wouldn't be affordable, however, as his movement on the horse would be too fast for somebody to reliably hide their presence while following him.

As he reached for his dossiers, a pin prick of killing intent struck the man's consciousness. He paused and leaned back, dodging a dart that zipped past his body and made a 'thunking' sound in the wood to his right. Quickly putting away the dossier, Garret turned his horse towards the direction of the attack. I will end it tonight. Let the hunting begin. Grim thoughts crossed the man's mind. He couldn't resist the provocation, though he knew full well that he was being baited. A trap is only a trap if the prey do not know it is a trap. Encouraging his horse to move forward, Garret kept low on the beast's back. He judged the direction of the attack and the likely spot that the Blowdart Assassin had struck from. As he approached, another shot came whizzing by, though this one was a bit too far to the left. The attack caused the horse to rear up; it was not a battle trained horse, and easily spooked.

Using that moment as an opportunity of escape, the assassin showed how he had followed Garret so quickly through the night; he, too, was riding a horse. Garret was unsure how he had gotten the horse to move quietly enough for him to have not caught the movement earlier, though perhaps his senses had dulled and he wasn't paying close enough attention to the environment and the sounds around him. It was a difficult task, to be sure, yet as soon as Garret had managed to calm the beast down the beast that he was riding on he gave pursuit to his assailant.

The hooves of the beast he was riding, as well as those of the beast his assailant was riding, were clopping on the city's roads. These echoed in his ears as he chased after the assassin, yet Garret began to extend his senses further. He could not afford to be put in an unfavorable position once again. The wind was running by his face as he chased the man. If it weren't for the various random darts that shot off towards Garret, he would have considered the chase an easy job. Slowly, the spymaster was gaining ground on his opponent; something that gave Garret hope. Hope that he would be able to take out his opponent before losing him to a poison that would take the assassin's own life away from him before Garret would be able to retrieve any sort of information from the man. Just as Garret believed he would be able to catch the man, the assassin turned a corner down one of the other streets. These occasional twists and turns around the city had put distance between the assassin and Garret, forcing Garret to be careful of what could be awaiting him around the bend.

The chase was long and hard, but eventually Garret was lead past the outskirts of the city. He had a sinking feeling that the direction they were going would lead them out of the city. It was only his strong attention and purposefully extended senses, pushed to their limit by his life being in danger, that Garret had caught movement out of the side of his eye. Suddenly sitting up straight, Garret leaned back as a second Blowdart Assassin shot a dart at the spymaster, and joined the chase to entrap Garret in a pincer attack. This doesn't look like it will end well. The thought that passed his mind wasn't a positive one; Garret, while he knew how to ride, was not a particularly expert horseman. The beast he was using was one trained at the Headquarters for couriers and the like. While it was certainly well-bred, and had a modicum of bravery, true battle would likely spook it beyond Garret's control. The only thing that had him still on that horses' back was luck and the small amount of experience that the horse had with fights simply due to being in the Headquarters during training periods.

Garret spurred it forward, urging it to move faster. His opponent ahead of him seemed to have been saving his beasts stamina, or hiding its true speed, as Garret suddenly found himself unable to close distance between the two. By now, they had left the city limits and were quickly approaching the forest. Inwardly groaning, Garret knew that this place would be ideal for ambushes and traps. If he wanted to have any possible chance of victory, he would likely have to use the very cover they intend to use for his own advantage. Garret looked back, behind him, only to note that the other assassin that had been following him had disappeared. He knew that the man would show up again, before the night was over. The would lead him to their ideal hunting ground, and attempt to make short work of him. The assassin he was following soon disappeared, however, and Garret found himself in the worse predicament that he could have found himself in. Lost in a forest he had chased enemies into, with no sign of any such enemies for a sign of baring.

Naturally, Garret's pace slowed dramatically at that point. He could not continue to move forward without knowing where he was going, nor  could he carelessly walk into a trap of his enemy's creation. He breathed deeply, taking in the air around him, and continued to stretch his senses to their fullest. The sound of the insects making their natural noises filled the night, with those around him being quiet. The exhaustion of the effort began to slowly grate on Garret's stamina. It was not a widely experienced phenomena that people often took note of, but the amount of energy it took to constantly stay on high alert was extremely draining. Garret noted a clearing in the forest that was located dead ahead of him, and believed that this would likely be the place where his opponents would make their stand. A clear area that allowed them to attack from multiple directions, while allowing them to retain cover and giving them a clear shot at their target. Recalling his thoughts earlier, Garret moved forward with the thought of the clearing being a trap on mind. Carefully, ever so slowly, Garret approached the clearing.

The sound of a twig snapping to Garret's right alerted the man of the presence of an opponent. His head snapped in the direction of the noise and his sights zeroed in on an opponent. He saw the next few moments as if time had slowed; the assassin brought a blowdart gun to his mouth, and shot forward a Paralyzing Dart. Though Garret did not know what kind of concoction was on the thing, he already knew he didn't want to get hit by the attack. The dart inched forward as his mind considered the different options; attempt to dodge while on the horse, attempt to dismount, or attempt to spur the horse forward. He quickly determined that there was very little chance that he would be able to dodge while on the horse. As soon as his decision had been made, it seemed like time began to move back at the regular pace once more. Garret jumped off the horse and into the clearing, using River Styx Style: Water Falls in Reverse. Unfortunately the horse was struck and, due to the paralysis poison on the dart, was unable to retain a standing position. Garret landed in the center of the clearing, preparing himself for one hell of a fight.

OOC:

Word Count: 1588/1500
Magoi/Stamina: 280/300

Abilities Used:

Garret walked in circles, slowly turning around and keeping a close eye out for any movement that may approach him. His breathing slowed, and he focused, still straining his senses to their utmost. The feel of the cold night air sent a chill across Garret's body. His intense concentration had caused him to sweat. It had been a long time since he felt this kind of singled-out intent from his surroundings. Sudden movement from the corner of his eyes had him bring a majority of his attention to his left; a gauntlet-ed man with a Wakizashi in his left hand. The way the man walked suggested a wound on his person, and Garret recalled the man who had gotten away a night ago. The days and nights began to merge together, and Garret was no longer quite sure what day it was.

The man moved forward, swaying left and right as he did so. His speed wasn't quite what it was the other night, though Garret didn't have use for that information as of yet; the man could be bluffing. The right gauntlet-ed hand seemed to sway with the body, and Garret assumed the man had an issue with freely using that hand as well. Again, his mind warned him to not take that into account; the dangers of the battlefield, and the information that presented itself, had already engulfed the spymaster. All there was left to do was to allow his experience, instinct and strength to carry him through victory. Entering a stance, Garret began to move as well. He ran forward before abruptly changing direction. Two darts shot forward, passing through the spot he would have been at had he still been running. It was not so much his sight that had caught it, but the actions of Wounded Sanada that had tipped him off. Garret mentally took note of where the attacks came from before coming to the side of the opponent that had escaped him not too long back.

Immediately the two of them had clashed, temporarily locking each other into battle. Ducking below a horizontal blow from his right, Garret used a right punch to strike his opponent. Before the blow could land, however, the man brought his foot up to kick Garret in the head. Using an advanced foot movement, Garret set his foot in a position that allowed him to spin quickly, simultaneously ducking his head forward. Near the end of his spin, the spymaster sent a kick out to the left leg that was all that was supporting Wounded Sanada. As would be expected of an assassin from Kou, the man easily dodged the foot sweep that Garret had attempted to go through with. The jump into the air gave Garret a short moment of respite, yet he felt that he had spent too much time standing still and fighting the man from where he was. As he pushed backward against the ground, Garret had moved in a short burst of speed backward just as Wounded Sanada had attempted to complete a downward vertical slash. Simultaneously, a dart passed through where Garret was just moments before.

The past three or four days of combat had begun to ingrain themselves upon Garret's senses, and it seemed he almost had a sixth sense for the flow of the fight. Yet even that sixth sense was not infallible. Garret's Borg flared up as a dart hit the Borg from behind. The second Blowdart Assassin had struck his Borg with a Blowdart. They continued to fight, and their movements brought them close to the edge of the forest. Garret, with the slightly superior maneuverability, had managed to get the one who was directly engaging him to a more favorable position. This allowed Garret to control the pace of one of the hidden opponents that was firing at him from the sidelines. It did come at the price, however, of making him slightly more vulnerable to the one that was closest to him on the side that he had maneuvered over to.

Blow after blow was exchanged between the two, but neither made much headway. Silently, Garret thanked fate that this man had not fully healed; his strength was greater than the assassin who had fought Garret in the commons of that first Inn. Garret backed up against a tree, and his opponent committed to a strong blow from his right. Spinning to his left, and around the tree, Garret watched as chips of tree bark flew out as the man cut into the sturdy trunk. Continuing his spin, Garret approached from the man's left and sent out a River Styx Style: Sea's Horizon. The roundhouse kick made a cracking sound as it struck into the man's left ribcage. Garret had definitely broke something.

Yet the opponent had escaped him before. Garret would not allow such an escape to be made a second time. Though he wanted somebody to talk to after the fight in order to track down those who were behind these attacks, Garret knew this man was too dangerous to allow him to recover or escape. He prepared a finishing blow, yet before he could do so the familiar sound of a sword leaving its scabbard and slicing through the air caught Garret's attention. He immediately dropped down to the ground as a katana took his place from above; the blade had pierced into Wounded Sanada's collar. It was twisted, like a tourniquet, and the new fighter managed to lift their teammate off of the ground, throwing him back and out of Garret's reach. Turning, Garret took in the looks of this new assailant. From his kneeling spot on the ground, Garret was looking up when he saw the form of his opponent. Hidden beneath the operative clothing, it made it impossible to know their actual identity. Still, even so, Garret was able to tell this opponent was a woman.

More importantly, during that fight the two Blowdart Assassins had made their way around and were in the trees not four meters away. He needed a fast spell that could split between the two opponents. A flash of inspiration flew to Garret, who reached for his wand and cast a spell. Blade Burst was cast, even as the female assassin came forward to attack him. Garret's two blue balls, created from the magic of ice, shot forward and covered the distance while transforming into blades of ice in the span of less than a second. The strikes took the two sideline Blowdart Assassins out of the equation, yet it was at a devastating cost; the woman's strike, a Dimension Cut, came down upon Garret's Borg...


OOC:

Training Word Count: 1120/1000 (B-Tier)
Magoi/Stamina: 220/300
Damage Taken: Borg Destroyed
Enemies Defeated: Blowdart Assassin x2

Abilities Used:

Ability Trained:

Garret grit his teeth. His opponent was a tough one, which was apparent from her ability to completely shatter Garret's Borg with a single attack. Wanting to end the fight quickly, Garret immediately coated his right arm with Magoi, and shot forward his most deadly attack Ikken Hissatsu: River Styx Style: Deep Sea harpoon. As his hand shot forward, Rin's sword came up to intercept the blow with an Unparalleled Parry. The techniques clashed, and the power and strength of the Magoi Manipulation technique attempted to burst through the defenses of his opponent's parry. Sparks flew from the two techniques, yet in the end it was the parry that had managed to break Garret's offensive technique.

Garret was shocked at the level of skill his opponent had held. He had yet to go up against someone who could successfully defend against this technique. Though his opponent seemed to be somewhat cautious as well. She threw out a Fan of Knives at a diagonal angle while bursting backwards, leaving Disabling Caltrops behind in order to impede any attempt to chase her. Garret attempted to dodge the attack, yet there was very little warning and too little time for him to do so. Garret was struck in both his left arm and his left leg. The number of times he had faced an opponent that could not only bypass the strength of his Borg, but also land subsequent blows upon his body, could have been counted on one hand.

The pain jolted through him, and he pulled the two knives from his body. In an ideal state, he wouldn't have had to do such a thing until after he had finished off his opponent. By pulling the blades out of his body, he was allowing the wound to open up, which would only drain him of his life force as the fight went on. Though it caused him to slowly bleed, he needed the range of movement from his body. It had made it necessary to remove them, simply due to the fact that the limited movement capabilities would be a deadly thing to deal with against an opponent of this caliber. During the time Garret removed the knives from both his arm and leg, his opponent had managed to hide her presence within the woods. If his opponent wanted to give him a small moment of respite, he would not look such a gift-horse in the mouth. Garret pulled out his blade, Desceld, and sent his magoi throughout it. A mist grew about the blade. This mist gained a strong definition, growing in clarity before flying off of the blade and doubling back to strike Garret square in the chest. The spell activated, and the mist slowly began entering throughout Garret's body. Slowly, his wounds began to heal with the effects of Descled, Gold Dragon's Blessing.

At the very least, with this, he would not have to worry about bleeding to death.

Garret noted that the operative from before was still leaning against a tree trunk. Garret knew that the woman had saved him before he was able to land the final blow, so it stood to reason that the man had to have some sort of value within the group. In that case, Garret understood that his true opponent would not have gone far; she would have to stay within range to ensure that Garret didn't change his target and take the man out, instead. He was certain that if he had approached the man, the female operative would immediately respond to his actions. Keeping his wand in his left hand, and his blade in his right, Garret slowly moved through a curved path to get to the man who had passed out. He did not want to risk stepping into the field of caltrops.

As he approached the body he kept his ears strained for any signs of movement. There was no sign of movement from the nearby trees, but Garret knew that an assassin could almost meld with the cover of a dark night such as this. He was careful, as he walked, of where he stepped. In order to note surrounding changes through his senses, he would have to ensure that his own movements were not overly loud. When he had cleared the field of caltrops, Garret began to directly approach the wounded male operative. An almost imperceptible shift from behind him tipped off his instincts. Garret moved his head to the right while his eyes simultaneously shot to the corner just in time to see Rin jumping towards him from above. She was preparing an attack, Wind Cutter, which would have hit Garret from behind had he noticed her a moment later. Her knees were close to her chest as she made her descent towards Garret, making her an incredibly small target, and naturally difficult to hit. As it was, however, Garret had spells that could handle such things. He had brought his wand up to cast his pressurized stream spell, Jet Stream. Two orbs of water appeared at Garret's side in the fraction of a second. These very points of water coalesced and shot forward, .2 meters in diameter, in an attempt to cut into the woman. Judging the danger, she had instead begun her cut prematurely. The blade intercepted each of the two streams of water, effectively dissipating Garret's spell. Her capabilities as a battle-hardened operative had made her familiar with the fact that any two points on a planar level could be connected with a single line.

Even so, she would find herself face-to-face with a second spell he had already begun to speak. Rithux, The Water Dragon was fueled through the use of the blood from the two knives that had cut into him earlier. "RITHUX! SLAM INTO HER!" The dragon had appeared as she was nearing Garret, who dove to the side as he shouted his orders to his water dragon. The creature roared its acknowledgement of his orders before slamming into the side of the woman. The strike drove her into a tree that he was standing in front of, just moments before. Needing another spell much like the one he had cast earlier in order to keep himself from danger, Garret called upon the Rukh to garner the advice of the forces that be. Grasping the words, Garret cast Ice Blade, slicing into Rin's arm and forcing her to drop her blade. Garret was beginning to tire, and he did not think he would last much longer if the fight carried on.

Yet he now had an opportunity. Allowing Rithux to dissipate, he approached the woman who lay against the tree and reached for the hood that completely hid her face. When he pulled it off, he became frozen in place, stunned by what he saw before him.


OOC:

Training Word Count (B-Tier): 1150/1000 (Ice Blade)
Magoi/Stamina: 60/300
Damage Taken: 2 C-Tiers -> 1 to arm, 1 to leg
Damage Healed: 1 D-Tier, stopping bleeding.

abilities used:

Ability trained:

Item Used:

Garret's wounds continued to heal from the spell he had cast earlier. The wounds were closing up, which was good, but the pain was still slightly throbbing. He looked at the visage of his foster sister, Akamine Rin, and took a few steps backward before accidentally backing into a tree. The sudden contact, combined with Garret's temporary shock, caused Garret to fall down on his buttocks.

Rin held her arm that had been cut; she had upon her face a twisted smile, as if the entire situation amused her. Hundreds of questions poured through Garret's mind, not the least of which being why he was being targeted by her. He tried to form words, but the desire to ask several different questions at the same time had made it entirely impossible for his mind to formulate the questions appropriately. Rin coughed, a spattering of blood from some unknown internal injury potentially causing her lungs to fill with blood. Focusing, Garret was finally able to ask. "Why? Why have you been targeting me?"

Rin laughed. "Iatsu. You've grown soft. You're weak..." She hummed to herself, as if having enjoyed the entire fight. The humming seemed to cause some sort of upset within the woman, as she began a coughing spasm once again.

Garret didn't quite understand what she meant; weak? Soft? He had to get answers, and he couldn't afford for her to die on him here and now. He leveled Desceld towards her, and sent out another golden mist with a dragon form, using Desceld, Gold Dragon's Blessing to do so. The healing force of the spell encompassed her, and she frowned as the effects began to take place. Garret made a move to get up and approach her, but a sharp cut being made against the side of his throat gave him pause. A familiar voice whispered from his side.

"Iatsu. Always pay attention to your surroundings, no matter how complete a mission may seem." Garret had frozen in place, though his eyes strained to look towards his left in order to confirm with his sight who was kneeling beside him. Spymaster Takahashi Sato, the man who raised and trained Garret before sending  him off to Reim. Slowly, Rin began to heal up from the wounds he had inflicted upon her earlier. She stood up, and walked to Sato's side.

"What... What is the meaning behind this?" Garret's confusion would not allow him to think clearly. There was nothing he could have imagined that would have caused them to come after him like they had. Or... Perhaps the Emperor actually cared for his bastard son? Was his death the price he would have to pay? Garret's thoughts were broken as Takahashi Sato chuckled. The Spymaster of Kou took his blade away from the Spymaster of Reim's throat.

"Listen carefully, Garret. You have come to a point of no return." Garret's confusion lifted, albeit slightly. They were not here to kill him, but to warn him of something. Or perhaps as some form of ongoing training. Yet the willing use of operatives, throwing away their lives as if they were nothing, concerned Garret. Lieutenant Acius' actions had fostered a sense of value for the life of his subordinates, and Garret did not approve of the discarding of their lives in such a callous manner. Yet he listened, as that was all he could do in that situation. "You must have read enough, by now, to understand. The men that were sent over here were handpicked by myself. To align with the goals of bringing Kou, and the world, to true prosperity."

Garret understood that much. Those feelings were something the two of them shared. Garret had found his sense of self while training under the Spymaster, and took great pride in his country and in the mission they set out to do. "The time has come for you to take your rightful place, as the Emperor of Kou." The man had said it with an incredibly straight face, and Garret stared at Sato for a brief moment.

It was Garret's turn to laugh. "You have no need to wonder where my loyalties lay. I serve the Empire. You can stop your test, now." Garret believed that his loyalty was being tested. He had done several things in the past year that were suspicious, though he had done them in what he had believed were the best interests of the Kou Empire. The thought that they had come to test his abilities and to test his loyalty was amusing to the Spymaster, as they knew better than anyone that he would not betray the country. At least, not under normal circumstances.

"Iatsu... You misunderstand. Perhaps I should explain from the beginning. Eighteen years ago I worked alongside a certain man by the name of Talix Niraj." He nodded at the sign of recognition that flashed across Garret's face. "The man widely regarded as a traitor, and the instigator of the rebellion that occurred fifteen years ago. He and I shared many ideals, and the two of us agreed on one very important matter... The current Emperor. His methods were unacceptable. Another would need to take the throne. He had been rising, working hard to become one who was ready to inherit the throne. Yet he had one fatal weakness; he was too trusting. A weakness that lead to the complete ruin of all of our carefully laid plans." Garret could not believe what he was listening to.

The man before him, the Spymaster of Kou, was a traitor? His thoughts were spinning. It was one thing after another, and Garret's world was changing rapidly. "Several men within Talix's camp had defected, under the machinations of Li Cao. Through these men, a trap was laid out for the Rebellion before the stages were ready to be executed. I learned of this at the last moment, as Talix was already making his way through the Emperor's Palace. It was too late to save him, so I instead worked to remove any documents that would implicate those who were loyal to his cause. Slowly, throughout the purge, I carefully selected men who were capable of still contributing to the cause and began training them as a force that would be sent to Reim. Those who were still loyal, but could not contribute, went into hiding. While those who were not loyal were purged indiscriminately. Ryu Nakano, who is a close friend of mine, made it a point to completely remove those who would potentially betray the remaining comrades."

Garret listened with a somewhat sick fascination. What the man was admitting was the highest form of treason. Had he not read those dossiers on the other men, he would have had a hard time believing what Takahashi Sato was saying. Yet those words seemed to strangely fit into place. Like the missing pieces of a puzzle that seemed to have no true meaning until the completed image revealed an important detail previously missed, the story revealed a surprising connection and intention behind Sato's words. "Your words are incredibly treasonous. Do you think I would not report you for such?"

Sato smiled. "No, that is within my calculations. When I raised you, I was careful, very careful, about what I allowed to interact with you. Of what words were spoken around you. I have worked hard to mold you into a worthy Emperor. Someone with a strong sense of love for their nation, and a dislike for those that misuse their position. If you tell the Emperor of my treason, I will likely be executed, and so will all of those that were close to me. But you must understand the Emperor's paranoia. An Operative would do anything to complete their mission. If the death of the Spymaster made him believe that he would be safe from the man who informed him of the traitor, then that could only mean that the man who informed him of that danger was a danger himself. You see? You, too, would become an obstacle."

Garret listened as Sato explained that his entire life had been a molding of the Spymaster of Kou's creation. There were various mixed feelings that this news caused, feelings that he didn't quite feel comfortable pursuing. Yet even if he had no desire to pursue them, they came to the man unbidden. Frustration at having been lied to and deceived, and a fear that he was not a free man. That Fate decided his actions was something he had come to terms with, but what if he was also the puppet of another man? Sato's explanation of the paranoia of the Emperor also struck a cord. At first, he immediately wanted to agree that such a man should not rule from the throne; a man who could not trust his own judgement of who to appoint as advisers was just as much at fault as a man who trusted those who would betray him.

But then he recalled Sato's explanation of having manipulated him from a young age to think what Sato wanted him to think. A part of him demanded that he exert his sense of self. To show that he was in control of who he was. He wanted to believe that the description of the Emperor was false. That Sato was manipulating him, once again. Yet he recalled the words Rin spoke when she berated Zhi after Garret had been released from Prison. Zhi had confirmed the words of how strict and unforgiving the Emperor was, and it certainly painted a distrustful picture of the man.

Garret grit his teeth. His frustration was mounting. His mind was gravitating to agreeing with Sato, that the current Emperor may be unfit to rule. He was confused, unsure of how to proceed. Garret closed his eyes. A flash of a memory came across Garret's mind, as he recalled the thoughts that coursed through his mind in the past. His thoughts of trusting Azix, and of believing him to be the better of the two when it came to leading from the forefront. This thought alone served as an island of serenity in the rapid storm of emotions that coursed through Garret's thoughts. This was something he had decided, something he had determined on his own. This beacon of light that he held onto was something that Sato could not take from him.

Opening his eyes, he smiled somewhat cruelly. "I hate to disappoint you, but I am no Emperor. If you're looking for somebody worthy of that title, perhaps you should put faith in the son of he who you worked with in the past. Azix Niraj. I place my faith in him." For the first time in his life, Garret felt the unrestrained killing intent of the Spymaster of Kou. Had he been a connoisseur of killing intent, he would have explained how the surface was a cold and smooth steel that was ready to cleanly pierce its opponent. Just beneath the surface was a tempered anger that held a hidden strength, relaying the ease at which the man's intent could become reality. And the driving force that was behind  this very intent was the weight of all of the battle experience that the Spymaster held.

Such a strong and unbridled intent left Garret in no position to think on this, though. Sato grabbed Garret by the collar and lifted him up, as if the Spymaster of Reim were some child, and slammed him against the tree. The action knocked the wind out of Garret. "NO! YOU WILL NOT RUIN 15 YEARS OF WORK!" The spymaster spoke with anger behind his words, throwing Garret into the tree that Rin had been sitting at moments before she had approached the two. Garret felt a rib crack as his body met the resistance of the tree. "It CANNOT be a man of noble birth who overthrows the Emperor! YOU will accept the duty of ruling the country! IT. MUST. BE. YOU... COME. RIN. WE'RE LEAVING THIS WEAK FOOL BEHIND."

Rin was grinning that annoying grin she had when enjoying the suffering of others. She whistled, impressed at what had taken place., and whispered a brief sentence to Garret. "You should just do what Sato says, Iatsu, like a good puppy." While Garret's attention was on Rin, Takahashi Sato had picked up their third member and began carrying him off.

Growling, Sato had only one last parting thing to say to Garret before both he and Rin disappeared completely into the night. "The one you wish to follow is the same as Zhi. And you are bound for that same path." The mental blow struck Garret, who was in no position to receive any further blows such as that. Garret's mind wrapped around that statement; the man had only a brief amount of time to wonder how, exactly, Sato had known of Zhi.


Hours passed, and Garret finally had regained his senses well enough to gather the motivation to do something. He didn't quite want to leave just yet, instead pulling out the final dossier. The one that spoke of Acius. Halfheartedly, he read into the past of the good Lieutenant.

Acius' life began 38 years back. Garret glossed over the description of the man, and continued to read of Acius' humble beginnings. Qing Bao Yu was a soldier's war orphan. He was born from a Reim woman camp hanger-on for the Kou Military, and he began as a hanger-on as well. A friend of his father, another soldier, had taken care of him during his upbringing after his mother had died. At the age of thirteen, Qing Bao Yu began showing an interest in warfare, and by the age of sixteen the man had shown a talent for logistics. By the age of twenty three, Qing Bao Yu became a lieutenant under General Hei Lu, where he quickly showed the usefulness of his skill set by increasing the General's ability to conquer lands through the efficient and proficient use of logistics to augment the General's command ability on the field. By the age of twenty eight, Lieutenant Acius was offered a position of General while simultaneously being scouted by Takahashi Sato for leading their operations in Reim. By the age of thirty, he left Kou to head up the operations in Reim, choosing to skip the promotion of General due to the Spymaster convincing the man to take the position he was currently fulfilling.

Garret read the page with a lackluster interest. The Lieutenant deserved greater attention, but he did not believe he would be able to provide it at that time. Garret began to move, gathering some firewood. The pain was terrible, but once he had completed what he set out to do he created a small fire in the clearing, ensuring that there was no chance for a wildfire spreading before doing so. Keeping warm at that fire, Garret burned the last of the dossiers. When he was ready to sleep, Garret thought on what he wanted to do with the fire. He brought his wand up to bare, and cast a spell he had used to cast for Rin when they were too hot. His emotions in disarray, he had accidentally cast a much stronger version of the spell. A Snowy Expanse enveloped the area, putting the fire out completely. Garret idly noted blood was dripping from his body, and an overall sense of exhaustion before Garret moved back to the edge of the clearing and passed out against a tree. It would be a long trip back to the Villa...


OOC:

Training Word Count (B-Tier): A lot(2641)/1000 (Snowy Expanse)
Magoi/Stamina: 15/300

Ability trained:

Item Used: