This Time It's Personal

What I'm bringing Along:

Garret had called Azix to the insulated meeting room, as if he were about to brief him on a normal, albeit sensitive, mission. When Azix arrived, Garret was standing with his back to the man, hands clasped. "I told you, when you joined my cell, that we would succeed even with the political back stabbing that was involved in your joining of this team." Garret turned to face Azix and let his hands drop to his sides.

"We've accomplished much since you've joined us. Your contributions have been invaluable. The reason I've brought you here today is that we have new mission orders. Li Cao, an official from Zou, is coming here on a diplomatic mission." Garret took a rolled up missive from his sleeve and slid it across the table. It was a small profile on the dignitary, which didn't really have a great deal of information in it about the man, other than the fact that he was a very influential individual. "Our job is to serve as his body guards, as there are several individuals who have put a hit order on him. Now, it's not too surprising, considering some of this background info I've dug up on him." Garret slid a second missive to Azix, which detailed how the man has used his fortune in order to manipulate others for his own gain.

In that list was information implicating Li Cao as a perpetrator of holding information back from their group in order to discredit the dishonored prince, and the nephew of a traitor. Garret answered no questions about the mention of a nephew to a traitor, but answered many of any of Azix's questions at this point.

"Now, what we will actually be doing is cleaning up our chain of command. We'll head out, in secret, ahead of schedule and assassinate the man ourselves. He's a strong warrior, from what I hear, so be certain to take extra care." Garret paused. "It goes without saying, we'll need to gear up. Any questions?" Again, Garret answered any questions other than the issue he had avoided earlier. He would then prepare his own gear, including his wand, his middle-class looking clothing and his operative clothing. The operative clothing he packed separately, with plenty of water skins on his person.

He had a small side-trip to make, before he was ready for what had to be done. Azix in tow, Garret made way to a slaver he knew. He had met her in the past, doing work for Zou in order to make sure her business was still successful. He approached the new building they were doing business out of. Garret recognized one of the guards, and that very same guard recognized him. "I'm here to see Serene."

The man looked to Azix, and then back to Garret, who simply nodded. "Alright, come on in. She'll see you." The man was so quick to ask him his business last time, but it was quite different this time around. He quickly went ahead, and entered a room, likely to announce Garret's presence.

When Garret and Azix walked into the room they would see a woman dressed in business attire sitting at the desk with her chin resting on her clasped hands. "So, Mr. Hero, what brings you here? Having second thoughts about that job offering?" She smiled, folding her hands back to the table.

"I'm here for a favor, actually." Garret said, cutting to the point. Garret explained that he needed his subordinate and himself smuggled out of the town next over, and dropped off on the road with two horses. He would pay for the horses.

The woman laughed. "It's not every day you get asked for a favor in my line of work. You know, we are firm believers of Give And Take." She smiled, which was one that looked quite genuine. "I'll take you up on that. We'll get write you up something to help you out, but I get to call a favor in from you in the future. And I'm sure you know I won't hesitate to call you up on that." She snapped her fingers, and the thug left the room. Shortly after, another man entered the room and Serene told him what she wanted wrote up, so that they would have the assistance he had requested in the next town over. "Take this to the head of their business. Gudo, is the man's name. He's got some terrible taste, but we go back and he knows who I am. He'll give you the assistance you need." She handed Garret the papers. "I'm sure you're busy, but I'll be expecting you to hold up to your promise."

When they left, Garret would speak briefly with Azix if there were any questions.


As per their orders, they made their way over to the next town to await the arrival of Li Cao and provide escort services. However, Garret and Azix were instead smuggled out of the town during sundown by a group of slavers, as per the orders given through the missive Garret had obtained from Serene.

When they were dropped off, Garret got onto the horses' back and began to lead Azix to Li Cao's camp. They would arrive as the night hours got darker, and make their way through the forest nearby to scout the camp's defenses and consider their options for attack. Garret was in full operative gear, and they were in an ideal spot to look over Li Cao's camp...

OOC: Word Count 920/1500

Azix stifled a grin as Garret explained who their target was for the mission. He was pleasantly surprised to see that Garret was a man who took his word seriously, willing to strike back to make a point. Even better was the fact that Azix would be able to get some revenge towards the Aristocrats, who made his childhood even more difficult. Li Cao in particular had made vicious rumors about a young Azix several times, usually resulting in Azix getting lashes in front of the court. This mission was going to be a sweet release for vivid memories that had left scars in his psyche.

Azix had no questions for Garret when he asked, his mind was elsewhere, imagining the outcome of the mission. He went to his room a put on a black outfit, wrapping a black cloak around his body with a string to hold his staff, put on a face mask that covered the lower half of his mouth, and then wrapped a black cloth around the top part of his head, securing both masks in place, so only his eyes showed. Then he put his eyepatch on over the mask, covering his purple orb of a left eye. He also grabbed a pair of black boots that were designed to muffle foot steps.

Garret informed Azix he had to make a quick stop beforehand and Azix agreed to follow. They met one of Garret's contacts, an attractive woman, who made a seemingly suggestive remark to him. Ever the professional, Azix wasn't surprised to see Garret ignore it and ask for a favor, getting them out of the city. He noted, with a raised eyebrow, that this job was important to Garret, enough to leave a loose end and owe a favor. Azix respected the man a bit more for that.

As they left, Azix turned towards Garret and asked, "So, why is this mission so important to you?" He pointed back towards the building, "That is a loose end, while I have a feeling she likes you, if she puts two and two together, that information would be very valuable."

Garret paused, looking to Azix. A flicker of emotion crossed his face, almost like a mix between confusion and hesitation. It was replaced by a steely determination. "You've got potential. I'm not going to let that go to waste." Garret said that last sentence more to himself, than to Azix, as if trying to convince himself of something. "Anyways, with the way I have this set up, that information won't be worth anything." Garret was leaving details out of what he had planned, that much was obvious.

Garret seemed to dodge Azix question again, normally he would brush it off, but they had been working together for a while. Garret still had mysterious intentions and Azix wasn't going to let an opportunity to understand him better pass by. "Be that as it may, you didn't answer why this mission is important." The look in his eye reflected his intention to understand.

"It's important because..." Garret paused, struggling with his words.  He sighed, almost resigned. "I despise those that do shoddy work, especially when it is intentional. Even worse when the lives of my cell members are endangered due to it." He looked over to Azix. "Is my method too extreme?" There was more that Garret was holding back, but what was strange was his question. While Garret was flexible with how a mission was performed, he had never ventured to ask people about how they felt about his decisions in what to do.

As if remembering something, Garret became stone faced once again. "Nevermind, no need to answer that."

Azix nodded, he understood what Garret had told him, but he didn't know how much Garret despised the higher-ups actions. It would appear that both of them had a similar desire  in protecting their team. He was surprised to hear Garret ask how he felt about his methods, before closing up again. He took a moment to think  before speaking, "I respect your methods and your sense of honor, Garret. I've never questioned your methods, in fact, you constantly impress me with your strategy. After tonight, I'm sure that they'll speak of this for years."

Garret gazed off in the distance as they continued on their way, almost as if in a trance. His tone was slightly ominous when he said "Yes. They may." some time after Azix spoke.

Content with what he had learned, they would leave to rendezvous with Serene's men. They were dropped off with horses and they made their way to a forest nearby the camp. While they were checking out the camp's defenses, Azix motioned to  Garret, "I've got this." He took his staff from within his cloak and whispered, "Light Vision." Magoi streamed from his staff to his eyes, forming lenses of light. With magoi he adjusted the lens to see farther away, using them like binoculars. He briefed Garret on what he saw and their positions.

Spoiler:

The coliseum, usually bursting with noisy crowds, stood disturbingly quiet save for a single dull repetitive sound. The delightfully natural noise of fist meeting flesh was unmistakable as Zafar Mushtaq gradually reduced the face of his victim into a crimson drenched mush with eyes. The poor man beneath the red haired assassin had stopped fighting back and whimpering half an hour ago and had long since died from blood loss. But even with his toy meat bag unresponsive, the clown faced killer was still letting out a sickening giggle whenever his blows made the corpse's meat shift in a peculiar way. As Zafar's excitement built so too did the frequency and force behind the punches until he finally let out a pleasured moan and sat back on the balls of his heels. Eyes rolled to the back of the sociopath's skull as he looked upwards to the moon as it cast it's silver light upon his form.

Zafar had convinced the man to fight a duel at midnight in the area by insulting his family name. So what began as a fight to defend familial honor ended in a brutal execution by beating. The idea was to have no spectators, but apparently someone had not gotten the memo. A slow applause began as a well dressed individual sitting in one of the VIP stands clapped his hands. Zafar's eyes rolled back from their pleasured position and sharpened into a slightly perturbed glare which became solely aimed upon the man who had interrupted his basking. "Well done! I must say, that was better than any fight I've seen in this colosseum since I arrived in this country. Since they don't do many fights to the death it's rare you get to watch a fine display of violence such as this!" The gentleman brought one hand to his heart and extended the other outwards in a dramatic gesture as he went on to describe his passion for lethal sport. "Aaaaah, what a pleasure it is to see someone bathing in the light of the moon as they exhibit the TRUE nature of humanity and this world!"

These musings had managed to soften Zafar's irritation slightly, but he still didn't take the interruption kindly. Standing up from the lifeless body and turning to face the balcony from which the stranger spoke. The red haired clown spread emply palms and rose his shoulders slightly as he called out, "I didn't think my 'work' would earn me a fan. To whom do I have the pleasure of thanking for such compliments?" The assassin's eyes only closed breifly but when they opened again the man on the balcony was gone. Or so it seemed until his voice sounded from behind Zafar. "You can just call me, the Contractor." His voices was calm and confident, but it struck a disturbing chill down even Zafar's spine causing him to turn around and jump backwards swiftly as if expecting an attack. His yellow golden eyes would see only a deep bow in greeting coming from the mysterious figure.

The man was well dressed but his garb was not of Reim. Zafar couldn't place a finger on where the man was from at all but it was clear he held a position of considerably financial power. The assassin noted the pseudonym the stranger chose to list and smiled softly as he realized what his intentions probably were. "I've been watching you, which is no easy task when someone moves around as much as yourself. I noticed you first in Balbadd when I was on my way to Reim but I didn't become a fan until you killed that magician on your first day here...what do they call you now? Clown-faced Madoushi Killer-sama?"

Zafar's reply was chosen carefully after a brief pause but held no subtlety, "Those are some nosey eyes you've got. It's surprising no one has gouged them out yet..." As he said this, Zafar slowly reached behind his back and grasped his Bloody Branch in a reversed grip before dashing forwards with a lunging stab. The killer's eyes were alive with excitement as his dagger met a wall of magoi and sent sparks into the night air as it grinding along the shell only to be redirected elsewhere. "A magician!?" Zafar thought to himself as he recovered and made for another attack.

The Contractor simply laughed as he let his borg repel each of the killer's blows until it finally broke. The very moment the shield of magoi shattered however, the man would step inside Zafar's reach in the blink of an eye. It was the perfect time to perform an attack which would kill the assassin, but instead the man simply whispered, "Don't be like that..." Before Zafar could slash at the man again he flew into the air using magic and stayed floating above out of range. "I was just judging the quality of your services~ You see, I need someone killed. A Zouen named Li Cao who will be arriving in the city in a week's time." The stranger dropped a satchel at Zafar's feet which landed with the clanging of gold coins. "That's half the payment now. I'll find you and give you the rest if you succeed."

The bastard ended his statement as if Zafar had already agreed. The assassin sucked his teeth and put his dagger away realizing that there wasn't much sense in trying to oppose this magician for now. He knelt down and picked up the satchel begrudgingly. "I'm glad you've accepted. In addition to this man, there is one more person I'd like you to kill. Another man from Zou named Azix Niraj. He should be a part of the group assigned to protect your target. If you manage to find and kill him I'll pay you for ten heads instead of just the one."

A whistle sounded as Zafar prepared to ask why an optional target was worth such a large bonus, but before he could do so the gentleman took his leave by simply flying away...


Zafar made the trek from the capitol to the forest where Li Cao's camp would be on foot. He could have taken horses or some other transportation, but he did not want to draw any attention to himself and instead chose to approach as stealthily as possible. He'd obtained the time and location for Li Cao's camp by messenger pigeon at the last second and could only assume that the bird had come from the Contractor.

Patience was the name of Zafar's game as he took the long way around the camp making his way through dense forest in order to approach from the way the group had traveled from. The camp was guarded from all angles anyways, but it was possible the men on this side would be a bit more complacent. There were 16 guards in total, eight on watch and eight resting by the fire. After a while of observation Zafar noted that one guard was relieving another once every hour. This gave him a reliable opening to exploit but he would watch from the shadows of the forest for a while longer. Waiting for a sign of weakness when he could strike and not assuredly end up swarmed by guards when his target wasn't even in sight yet. Li Cao was likely in a tent or otherwise out of sight from Zafar's location and until his position could be confirmed making a move would be a pointless gesture.

~1255/1500 Word Count~
Magoi/Stamina: 200/200

Garret whispered to Azix the next part of their mission after Azix mentioned the numbers and positions of the guards. "This is the plan. We're going to approach them in the open and introduce ourselves as who we really are." Garret had smuggled them out of the first village not so much as to hide the fact that they were coming, but to keep anyone from stopping them from going.

"We will request a meeting with Li Cao with urgent news that an assassin has been hired to kill him, and was out in this very forest waiting for him." Garret fabricated the story, though it was one that was very believable. "With this, we will convince the guards to do a deep rooted search of the forest for the enemy while we stay behind to 'guard' Li Cao." Garret nodded back to the camp. "We'll have small talk with him for a bit, long enough for the guards to be well within the forest. When that time comes, we'll spring a surprise attack on him. With the element of surprise on our side, and the guards off in the forest, we may stand a chance against him. And... By the time the guards get back, Li Cao will have suffered from some serious wounds and have died. 'We tried our best to stop the assassin, but he got away.'" Garret explained the last part of his plan in regards to the situation. The main thing for this would be to pretend they did not know of his treachery.

Garret would be sure to answer any questions Azix had for the execution of the mission. He would then stand up and make his way towards the camp with Azix...

OOC: 1210/1500

They stepped out from the cover of the forest and began the trek to the campsite. Since the plan was to be transparent about who we were, Azix began unwrapping the black cloth around the top of his head, letting his black chin-length hair loose. He removed the eye-patch and stored them in his cloak, still wearing the lower face mask. Azix took a deep breath and focused on the task. He pictured the mask he needed to play as he inhaled, sharpening and solidifying the image in his mind. Exhaling, he let the muscles in his face and body relax, softening his features. With a quick shift of character, he approached the men, urgently.

It didn't take long for the guards to spot them and approach. "Gentleman!" Everything about his demeanor and presence demanded attention. The guards gripped their weapons and approached with a practiced readiness in their stance. Azix came to a stop with his hands up, "My name is Azix, we are supposed to be Li Cao's bodyguards tomorrow. We need to speak with him, it's urgent."

The bodyguards glanced at Garret and Azix before turning amongst themselves. One of them pointed at Azix with a smirk, "Prove it."

Azix frowned under his face-mask, not letting it show in his eyes. With an impatient tone he removed his eye patch, revealing his left eye, the purple a nearly black in the dim light. "Now can we report about the assassin in the forest? I think Li Cao would be more concerned about his life than a jest about my appearance." Personally, Azix believed Li Cao would, in fact, make many jests at the next phase of this mission, but the guards didn't think so.

The guards looked at each other briefly and all but one left to search the woods. The man who made the jest escorted Garret and Azix to the camp. He told the other guards what happened and went in the tent. Around the campfire sat two senior guards who glared at them the while they waited for Li Cao.

They waited a few moments before Li Cao came out of his tent with the guard. Li Cao nodded at the senior officers and the guards took off towards the forest, leaving Li Cao alone, but definitely not defenseless.

Li Cao grinned at Azix with a bemused look in his eye, "Ah, the Niraj boy, what a pleasant surprise." He looked at Garret and pointed at Azix, "I see he still has a thing for masks." He looked back at Azix, "Have you told your friend there how you use to wear a mask to court to hide your tears?" He laughed, "So, tell me, what is this urgent news?"

[1285/1500] [180/200 magoi]

There was little Zafar enjoyed about taking a job like this. It felt too much like when he lived under the thumb of his master and the organization which had trained him to be a killer from childhood. The way the mysterious Contractor operated made Zafar feel like he was moving with puppet strings rising from his joints. It was not pleasing to dance to the tune of another and the clown faced killer was already plotting how he might be able to kill the Contractor when they next met. Judging from the strength of his borg, there was no way Zafar could simply kill him with conventional means. He would need an ace up his sleeve which was difficult considering he didn't even know when the phantom would next show himself.

Plotting would have to wait however as someone new was approaching the opposite end of the camp. Zafar could not hear what they were saying from his position deep within the forest, but he could tell what the result was. Some kind of message was spread to the guards at the perimeter and they all became more aware gazing into the darkness of the forest cautiously. It didn't matter if they were being more attentive at the orders of a superior officer or if somehow the men had seen Zafar's roundabout approach and warned the Zou guards. There was a group of armed fighters moving out into the forest and Zafar had no means of fighting them all without risking his target fleeing.

The red haired assassins took a step back behind the tree he'd been peeking out from and climbed up into the branches where he would wait for the guards to pass. It was nerve wracking if only because Zafar had to suppress his killing intent and resist the urge to begin slitting throats. But the job came first. He was a professional despite all his oddities and even a contract forced upon Zafar would not stain his pride with a failure. The first guard passed below and Zafar remained still in the shadows of leaves and branches. He dared not breath and minimized his presence as much as possible like a predator stalking its prey. Zafar counted foot steps in his mind even if he couldn't hear them anymore and waited for the guard to pass. Now was not the time to strike however as more of them would surely pass as the soldiers from the opposite side of the camp made their way over to the forest.

~1500+/1500~

"Show some respect!" Garret demanded, cuffing Azix in the back of his head. "Bow!"

Azix glared at Garret through a side-long glance before obeying his command, though only bowing just deep enough to satisfy the minimal amount of respect that should have been given to Li Cao. Garret, on the other hand, immediately bowed deeply and respectfully, setting his right knee on the floor and casting his gaze downward. He clasped his fist in his hand and leaned his right elbow close to the ground as his left elbow rose to the air.

Li Cao did not approve of Azix's show of respect, and forced Azix down to the dirt with his foot.

"Your Excellency, forgive this apprentice his transgressions. His work in the field as a distraction is sufficient, but he has yet to learn to respect his superiors." Garret spoke hastily, seemingly begging forgiveness.

Li Cao paused, and removed his foot from Azix. "Your respectfulness pleases me. I will forgive him this once." A cruel smile came across his face. "Now, again, what brings you here so early that you have my men running all around the forest searching for some assassin?"

Garret raised his head, looking to Li Cao. The man had both a blade and some strange gauntlet. "Your Excellency, I had received reports that there were men after your life and made haste to get here as soon as possible. I saw movements in the forest, but without knowing their numbers, I found it more important to alert yourself and your guards of their presence so as not to risk your life."

Li Cao stroked his chin and nodded. "You did the right thing. When I saw in the report that your family were part of the rebel movement..." He paused, as if remembering something. "Ah, sorry, your Uncle. He framed your parents, if I recall correctly. He was part of the rebel movement. Anyways, when I saw that, I found it disquieting that I would have such an individual looking out for my life." Li Cao moved over to an expensive looking chair and sat down, relaxing. "I now see that I couldn't have been more wrong."

Li Cao's arrogance in his abilities were clearly showing, as he was quite relaxed.

OOC: 1587/1500

Even though he understood why Garret acted the way he did, it still pissed Azix off to bow to Li Cao. The man was worthless and would soon hopefully be a smoldering piece of ash. He grit his teeth as Li Cao shoved his face in the dirt and waited till the noble was satisfied. He composed himself, wiping the dirt and grass from his face, listening to Garret and Li Cao's conversation. Azix was interested to hear that his family had been involved in the rebel movement, he would have to discuss that with Garret later.

Li Cao relaxed in his chair with an air of arrogant nobility around him. Azix looked at the man with a humble expression, "I apologize for my insolence, it would appear my manners are lacking after being away from the court for so long." He did a proper respectful bow this time, proving he could play the humble part that Li Cao desired.

Li Cao dismissed Azix with a wave of his hand, "Don't worry, I don't expect anything from a Niraj rat like yourself. Your father was the epitome of shame for the rest of us at court. If anything, your father succeeded only at raising his enemies' stations. A little insolence is a fair trade for that." He flashed a grin that could make a weaker man feel worthless, "Plus, it is enjoyable to watch the puppet dance."

Wolves howled in the distance, singing a song to Father Moon as the three men watched each other around the campfire. Azix didn't let his irritation show, instead he smiled. "What I miss most about court, actually, was your presence. You were probably my greatest teacher, in fact."

Li Cao's eyes narrowed, suspicious, "Is that so?" He leaned forward slightly, prepared to teach Azix a lesson if he made a smart remark.

Azix nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, you taught me the value of honesty." He paused a moment to let his words sink in, watching Li Cao try to piece together where Azix was going with this. "I remember when I was a young boy, I had stolen a priceless possession of yours. I can't even remember what it is, probably some trinket that had caught my eye." His cheeks turned red and he feigned a good impression of being embarrassed, "Not that it was just any trinket, my lord. It meant something to you. I remember you flying in a rage and summoning the court so that all could see you punish me." He saw that Li Cao remembered the time, of course Azix had been innocent, but that didn't matter. "As you whipped me, every slash carved that lesson into my mind. How could I expect to be worth anything if I acted like my Father did? I know this is years later and you've probably forgotten about it, but I wanted to thank you for teaching me the value of honesty."

Li Cao sat stunned for a few moments, quickly recovering with a smile, "Really?" He stroked his chin and stared into Azix's eyes, looking for any trace of facetiousness. When he saw nothing but genuine appreciation, he chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you learned your lesson. I clearly had nothing to worry about with you two." He stood up and walked into his tent, emerging with a tall glass of sake. "Maybe we could share a drink and tell me what else I taught you, all those years ago."

The wait was becoming more and more unbearable with each passing moment as Zafar remained hidden within the canopy of the forest. At last the last few guards began to pass Zafar's position but it had taken too long. The assassin temporarily forgot about his target as wide blood shot eyes darted back and forth on a zombie-like expression. Zafar wanted to kill at least one of these guards even if that meant consequences. The layer of professionalism he'd been clinging onto burned away and Zafar dropped from the branches landing right in front of a large man whom had his sword out at the ready. "W-Wha-?" He would not get a chance to finish exclaiming his surprise before the clown faced killer lunged for the guard moving one hand to grab his sword arm at the wrist to keep it at bay while the other moved to punch for the target's gut. Zafar made the odd decision to bite into the guards neck only to tear a mouthful of flesh  away leaving the man to fall to the floor as a gurgling mess.

Zafar looked up from the corpse with a grin as he basked in the after-kill high. A pleasured gasp was followed by a moan while the assassin forgot where he was or why he was there until the shriek of a nearby guard snapped him back to reality. "A-A-Assassiiiiiin! It's him! He's here!" A slightly smaller guard shouted as he tried running back to camp. The fool's voice would echo into the forest drawing other guards near, but he failed to stick around to confirm Zafar was still there once his allies arrived. Just as the shorter guard entered the light of the campfires the Assassin would have caught up with him.

A cold hand with sharpened nails reached out and grasped the man's collar cause him to abruptly stop and choke himself on his own gear. He was then pulled back into the shadows and behind a tree as he coughed in recoil from the sudden stop. There in the darkness, Zafar was barely visible to the guard who'd just been staring at the firelight as a guide back to camp. But the killed did not make a sneak attack. Instead he stood there smiling slyly with a pleasured squinting pair of golden yellow eyes piercing a gaze through the guard's soul. When the man was finally aware of the monster in front of him he stepped back in fear for a moment and desperately gripped his weapon in both hands. Zafar's smirk became a toothy grin in response showing off the blood of the man's friend and bits of his flesh still caught in Zafar's teeth. He wanted to show this soldier the fate that awaited him only for the man to act rashly and make it so.

The fool's sword rose high overhead in preparation for an attack giving away his intention's completely. During that moment Zafar initiated The Essence of Void by stepping in with a palm thrust for the guard's face stopping before impact to spread wide open and block his field of vision. The man slashed downwards in reaction thinking he'd hit Zafar but the assassin no longer behind his and. Zafar had dropped low to the ground and performed a flip parallel to the ground using his hand as a brace to maneuver past and behind the guard. By the time Zafar's hand moved away he appeared seemingly disappeared into thin air as the guard's blade bit deeply into the tree Zafar's back had been up against.

The time it took to pull his sword free of the trunk was simply too long. Zafar stood from his acrobatic feat and dashed towards the guard stabbing him in his lower guts with his Purpose of Fire attack.  Zafar pulled the dagger free from the wound and then took a step backwards to dodge the guard's final back hand when he gave up on the sword. Zafar quickly dropped his center of gravity and stopped his own dodge allowing the man's fist to crash heavily against the side of Zafar's face. The assasin's head snapped to the left violently and he seemed stunned from the blow. The guard became momentarily hopeful that he'd managed a serious blow. Perhaps victory was still within grasp! But these delusions were crush as Zafar calmly returned to a relaxed posture and stared at the guard with gleaming eyes of ecstasy. There was a large red bruise where Zafar was hit and some blood was now dripping from both sides of his mouth instead of just one and half of it was his own. But somehow this didn't stop Zafar from smiling sickly as he lashed out with his dagger slitting the guard's throat.

The Zou soldier would fall against the tree and slowly bleed out face of utter terror from the image Zafar burned into the back of his eyes. Zafar took in a deep breath and let it out with a soft but clearly pleasured moan as he felt himself fall from a climax. It was the shouts of other guards deeper in the forest as they doubled their search back closer to the camp in response to all the commotion.  "Ah...that's right. I was here to kill someone else." The clown faced madman said in a gleeful low voice as he turned his attention to the camp to observe what had transpired since he was having his fun.


Training WC: 500+/500
Stamina: 180/200

Ability Used:

Trained Ability:

A commotion was occuring from the forest. There were shouts coming out from the opposite direction they had approached the camp from. Did they think they saw something? Garret shook his head, but noted an opportune moment to attack Li Cao.

The man had stood up and moved closer to the edge of the camp to get a better look out at the forest, with the light no longer blinding him.

Garret pulled his wand out and aimed it at Li Cao's back. "Jet Stream." Garret whispered, casting his spell. Four pressurized streams of water shot out at the end of his wand, 2 each aiming for Li Cao's shoulders. Whether it was Garret's voice that gave it away or some strange sense for battle, Li Cao turned and avoided three of the streams. As Garret's spell cut into Li Cao's other shoulder, Li Cao surged forward and closed the distance between himself and Garret, performing a Dragon Blade Sword Swing, shattering Garret's Borg and sending him back two meters.  

OOC:
Magoi 170/200, Borg-less
Li Cao: Took 1 D Tier damage

Jet Stream:

Screams from the forest pierced into the night, Li Cao walked to the edge of camp, scanning the forest edge. At the first sign of an opportunity, Garret didn't hesitate, pulling his wand out he sent a spell towards Li Cao's back. Four streams of pressurized water shout out at the end of his wand, but all but one hit as Li Cao's intuition saved his life.

Staff in hand, Azix positioned himself around Li Cao as he closed the distance on Garret. Three meters behind Li Cao, Azix whispered, "Fragments of Light," as Garret's Borg shattered. Five yellow fragments of light shot towards Li Cao's back at ten meters per second. Azix smirked, but Li Cao's intuition struck again and he turned around, dodging two of the fragments. The other three lightly grazed his arm, dealing D-Tier damage.

With a wild grin, Li Cao surged towards Azix and delivered a Tiger Claw Strike that shattered his Borg and knocked him into a tree. Aziz clutched his chest, gasping for air, his eyes raging at the joy in Li Cao's eyes.


[170/200]

Abilities:

An unexpected sight awaited Zafar as he walked into the firelight of the camp to see his target fighting a pair of magicians, the men who approached the camp earlier. "Hoo~? What's this?" The turn of events was interesting so Zafar decided to wait even with the impending return of the guards possibly appearing behind him at any moment. The clash was not long before Li Cao seemed to have the magician's on the ropes. If there was any time to strike at the prey it was now when he thought that his own victory was almost at hand. Zafar performed Fundamentals of Water and lept into the air performing a flip at the peak of his arc.

Crimson haired death landed in front of Li Cao taking the Zou warrior by surprise. Zafar took this chance to sent a swift kick towards Li Cao's sword hand. The brass rings around the assassin's ankle were aimed for a specific point on the Li Cao's wrist which would enact Zafar's Fundamentals of Wind upon the man. With that weapon and arm neutralized Zafar lashed out with his Bloody Branch looking to take advantage however the attack was too slow. Li Cao performed an Elegant Parry and deflected the attack while simultaneously knocking Zafar off balance. The large gauntlet around the man's other hand then crashed into the assassin's torso with an unnatural crunch as several ribs were fractured. Zafar's body was sent flying between the two magician and skidded across the ground unconscious.


Stamina: 160/200

Spoiler:

Garret was surprised at the entrance of Zafar. He almost didn't believe that there was an actual assassin here. I suppose I should have trusted the data to be accurate. The red-haired man, a Fanalis, attempted to strike Li Cao with a strange blade. Li Cao, however, was too skilled and deflected the attack and knocked Zafar with his gauntlet. Garret heard a sickening crunch as the newcomer flew between Azix and himself.

Garret brought forth his Water Dousing all at once, commanding a geyser to appear in the ground beneath Li Cao's feet. The earth rumbled beneath him, throwing him off balance as a large amount of water came rushing to escape.

The earth tore apart as it gave way to the wave which engulfed Li Cao. It was at this point that Garret had cast Pressure Control on the man, crushing his throat.

Garret sighed, looking over to their uninvited guest as Li Cao's body fell down from the air and landed nearby, flat on his back. Where had the man come from? No matter, luck is on our side tonight. "Well. There's our assassin. Looks like we not only finished our job, but caught the man who 'killed' Li Cao." He couldn't believe their luck at having an assassin come through at that time.


OOC: 130/200

Azix thought Li Cao was going to bash his head in when a clown descended from the sky, between Azix and Li Cao. The clown kicked Li Cao and tried to follow up with another attack but it was parried and Lic Cao's gauntlet sent him flying with a crunch. The whole scene almost seemed comical, except for the part where Li Cao was now free to focus on Azix. Luckily, a giant geyser formed under Li Cao and sent him off balance, before Garret finished him off with a spell.

Azix bowed to Garret, "Nice touch." He looked towards the clown and wondered where he had come from.

Garret sighed, " "Well. There's our assassin. Looks like we not only finished our job, but caught the man who 'killed' Li Cao."

Azix smirked, "The man descended from the heavens and put on quite the performance." He walked to the clown's unconciouss body and crouched down. Azix grabbed an arm and started dragging beyond the camp, to a small ditch. He threw his cape over the body and shifted it, so it looked like even ground in the shadows and he wouldn't be spotted. He looked back at Garret, "I say that injury was meant for me and I owe him one." Azix didn't know why, but he had a funny feeling about the clown. He shrugged it off and went to Li Cao's tent looking for anything valuable before the guards came. As he searched, he formed an illusion around himself, his clothes appearing torn with cuts and scratches all over his body with Azix's Disguise.

[160/200]

Abilities:

Garret stared at Azix, slightly confused. He shook his head and quickly helped his search. Garret, too, was looking for valuables, but of the different kind. When he found what he was looking for, some personal documents and papers, he folded them up and set everything else where it had been. "Hurry up, that water spout wasn't exactly discreet." Garret had then cast Water Manipulation Technique in order to remove the droplets of water

Garret would then walk back out of the tent and move to Li Cao's body. As Azix finished up and left the tent the guards came to the camp to see what had happened. When they saw Li Cao's body, the stared at Garret. Garret shouted "He left to the north, fan out and find him!"

Several guards chased after, but a few stayed behind and approached Garret. "You... Were unable to capture or kill the assassin? Just what kind of good did you two do? If we were here... His guards... We could have definitely stopped him."

Garret shook his head. "It was my failure, as the highest ranking officer here. It is my responsibility. I will file a report. Make sure His Excellency Li Cao gets a proper burial." The guards glared at Garret, but could not say anything. They would eventually return back to Zou in order to provide that very burial, and make a report of their own.

It was at this point that the guard outside that camp that Zafar had killed earlier was found, adding to the body count.

Garret was tired, and ready to leave and finish up his reports. He looked to Azix, to see if there was anything else the man needed or had to say. If nothing, he would make his way back to the horses in silence.

Azix untied the reins from the tree, "I'll meet you at the safe house later, I'm going back for that clown." He looked Garret in the eye, wondering what his superior's plan was now. He mounted his horse, taking care to stick to the shadows and grass to muffle the horses steps. Wrapping himself in a Cloak of Shadows and using Distortion he hid himself in darkness as he passed the camp. He kept the camp fire between him and the guards to use the light-blindness further to his vantage and found where he had dumped Zafar's body. He quietly threw the man on the horse's back and headed back to town, wondering who this strange clown was.

[130/200]

Abilities: