Bidding for Murder [job/solo]

Assignment Overview: Lexiara has gathered a lot of information on several traders, but the auction is still going on. Take out the man running the auction without getting caught!

Enemy Name: Trader Joe
Rank: B
Needed damage to take down: A (B to borg, B to take out)
Description: Joe moves at 12 m/s and deals B-tier damage with his sword. Joe also carries a wand, indicating he is a magician.
Abilities:
Fizzle: Joe uses his wand, summoning a 1m sphere of ice around himself at 10 m/s, freezing anything that touches it for 1 posts.
Parry: Joe moves his sword a 20 m/s to deflect incoming attacks of A-tier or lower.
Mist: Joe creates a 5m sphere of mist at 15 m/s to obscure his location.
Frozen Blade: Joe infuses his sword with ice at 15 m/s, causing all basic attacks to freeze a single limb for 1 post.

---

As the hour of the auction approached, Lexi began her preparation. She had to make sure everything went smoothly, as this was her best chance to gather intelligence on a massive number of slave traders while whittling down their numbers, one at a time. She knew she would not be able to hide her bow or quiver on her person at the auction, but she could hide it nearby so it would not be out of reach. She did make sure to keep her dagger hidden close to her body, though, the slender blade small enough to hide in the folds of her clothing. She was careful in her selection of clothing, layering them so she could change quickly to avoid detection, if need be.

She made sure to keep her bidding paddle in a convenient location and also a hefty pouch of gold, a way of proving she had the money to support her bids on any slaves. She hated the idea of having to actually act like she was going to purchase a slave, but if she did not bid on anything, she would draw suspicion. People were here to buy other people, not just peruse the wares. You did not window shop at a slave auction. As she left her assigned tent, she noticed people were slowly beginning to make their way to the arena where the auction would be help at.

The arena for the auction had been set up at one end of the little settlement with seating provided for the buyers on the outer ring. The slaves themselves were held in cages further out and would be brought out in small groups for bidding. Lexi made her way to a free seat, discreetly observing those around her. She recognized a few faces from seeing them around the camp and gave nods of acknowledgement to those who greeted her, but she kept a distance enforced by the cold look on her face. More and more people began arriving and the seats were soon all taken, leaving those who arrived later to stand and mill around near the edge of the arena.

Lexi tucked her artificially darkened strands behind her ear, being cautious of not disturbing the cloth that hid the jaguar ears perched on top of her head. It did not take too long for a man to approach the podium in the center of the arena and Lexi cocked her head to the side as she noticed he carried a small wand in his hand. A small gem at the tip began to glow when he spoke and she realized he was probably using Sound magic to amplify his voice, making sure all bidders could hear him. Lexi listened carefully as he explained how the auction would be run, not wanting to commit some horrendous mistake that would draw attention to her.

The man running the auction, Joe, explained that the first portion of the auction would be for individual slaves being sold while the larger groups, intended for labor, would come near the end of the auction. The ‘specialty merchandise’ would be saved for last. All bids would be recorded and payment would be due during each intermission, to ensure a single buyer did not go beyond their means and deprive other bidders from a fair chance at their intended purchases. Lexi took a deep breath and settled in as the first slave was brought out and the auction officially began.


[578/1500]

Lexi gritted her teeth as she raised her paddle to bid on a young girl while the price was still low. She had lost three other bids so far, but to keep suspicion from being cast on herself, she knew she would actually need to win a bidding war. The price steadily increased and the man bidding against her had a lewd look in his eyes as he ogled the young girl. She could not have seen more than ten summers but the look on the other bidder’s face told Lexi what he intended to purchase the terrified girl for. She raised her paddle again, raising the price substantially to try and dissuade the other bidder. It seemed the tactic worked as he shot her a glare. At least he had a limit to how much he would pay for his depravity. She won the bid and the girl was returned to her cage.

Lexi used this as a chance to slip away from the crowd, going to the person in charge of finalizing purchases and handing over the a large amount of gold. While she could have simply had the purchase deducted from her deposit, she wanted to save that back. It helped to establish that she was not done buying for the evening. She had beaten the crowd, the final bidding going on now before a short intermission would be held. Lexi used her purchase as an excuse to make her way back to the holding area for the purchased slaves, making her way to the cage containing the young girl she had just bought. The girl looked up at her with an apprehensive look. Lexi wanted to give her a reassuring smile, but it would not do for anyone to see her showing kindness to a slave, so she simply nodded at the guard, instructing him to release the young girl.

The guard unlocked the cage and handed Lexi the guide rope to the young girl’s chains. Lexi thanked him before giving the lead a sharp tug, the young girl whimpering as she followed behind her new mistress. Lexi led the girl back to her tent, waiting until they were safely inside before finally giving the girl a small smile of reassurance.

“Worry not, child. I do not intend to hurt you. I want you to remain here for a bit. I will come back later and things will become clearer. Just know that I do not wish to harm or use you. Get some rest, I will return soon.”

The girl looked confused and rattled but sat on the floor obediently. She was young and scared enough that she followed instructions quickly, no doubt she had seen what happened to disobedient slaves. Lexi reached out to pat the girl’s head but stopped when the girl flinched away. With a sad smile, Lexi returned to the auction, stuck standing next to the arena, her seat had been swiped by someone else while she had been securing her purchase. The next part of the auction was already underway, small groups of male slaves being brought out, obviously intended for labor. Again, Lexi went through the ruse of bidding but not winning several times before picking a small group that would not fetch too high of a price and making her purchase. She had very little competition, as the group of five or six slaves did not look to be in good physical condition, looking almost sickly.

This time, after she paid for her purchase, she snagged her bow and quiver from its hiding spot and slipped discreetly into the tent of Joe, the man running the auction. When the guard at his door tried to bar her way, she arched a brow and gave him what she hoped was a seductive look.

“Joe asked for some… relief, before the last portion of the auction. Certainly you would not deprive him?”

The guard snorted but allowed her access to Joe’s inner chamber before retreating to stand near the person managing the funds. Lexi had often seen women slip into Joe’s tent in the evening hours and was glad her ruse had been acceptable. Now, it was simply a matter of waiting for Joe to enter the tent. Soon, the noise levels outside of the tent became louder and louder, signaling that several people were examining their most recent purchases. Lexi’s hand slipped into her skirt to pull out the dagger, staring at the entrance to the tent, muscles tensed as she waited Joe’s arrival.

[1333/1500]

When Joe entered the tent, Lexi gave him a seductive grin, the dagger hidden behind her back as she raised her other hand to summon him forward. The leer he shot her made her skin crawl, but she suppressed the urge to grimace.

“You aren’t one of my usual girls…”

“Well, the boys thought you could use some relief from someone a bit better than a slave. But, if you would prefer, I can leave…”

“No, no, not at all. I do tire of perfectly obedient girls sometimes.”

Lexi gave a knowing smile before moving forward. Joe began shedding his shirt, dropping a sword and his wand on top of the shirt as she approach. Lexi hid her revulsion as she planted a kiss on his lips, trying to appear more experienced than she was. When he moved to slip his tongue into her mouth, she finally gave a shudder and took advantage of his distraction to whip her dagger around, attempting to slice into his flesh. Her blade met with resistance as his borg flared to life and then shattered. Joe immediately jumped back, reaching for his dropped items as Lexi leapt backwards, expertly snatching up the bow and notching an arrow into it as he raised his wand. With a focused breath, Lexi released Death Shot, the arrow speeding toward Joe’s neck. He raised his wand, attempting to stop the projectile with Fizzle, the arrow overpowering the sphere of ice surrounding the man. Though it lost some of its power, the arrow still managed to pierce through and lodge in Joe’s throat.

The man barely gave a grunt as he fell, the arrow preventing him from crying out in alarm or pain. The look on Lexi’s face could only be described as murderous as she notched another arrow in her bow while cautiously approaching Joe. Blood was pouring from around the arrow in his throat and as much as she wanted to make him suffer through an agonizing death of drowning in his own blood, she could not risk him alerting anyone of what she had done. She pulled back the bowstring, letting him see the hatred in her eyes before she released a basic arrow in between his eyes. His body stilled as all life left his body, Lexi not moving until she was certain he would not recover from her fatal shot.

[1729/1500]
[Stamina 210/250]
[Ammo 14/15]

Abilities Used: