A Personal Favor II [Azix/Garret/Job]

Pulling out his wand, Garret cast his spell. This Sound Field is definitely a spell worth using. Now then... For the next order of business, it looks like I'll have to take a trip. Garret opened up his communications folder; it was mostly empty, as the organization 's members were aware that he wouldn't be needing communications. The folder had seen a bit of recent use, as Garret had looked over it several times. It was a contact from a woman named Serene, calling in a Personal Favor from him. On several occasions. Unfortunately, she did not know where he was, and only knew how to get into contact with him through channels she would normally provide information to.

He had spoken to Acius of the matter when he saw these, and Acius explained that they attempted to get in contact with her with other agents, however she had refused to speak with any of them. Recently, the Intel she had been sending had been much more sparse than it once was. Garret wasn't sure how much of that was due to recent events and how much of that was due to how upset she probably was that he had not responded. He put the correspondence file away, and took the letters with him. Throwing the all but one of the letters into the fire, he made his way to Acius who was speaking to another agent.

"Acius, I'll leave operations here under your control for a bit. There's some... things... That need to be taken care of." The man gave Garret a searching look. He must have found something in that short period of time, because he simply gave Garret a firm nod without asking anything further.

-----------

Garret had made it into the city, and approached the safe house before entering. There were some other traditional supplies he would need before going any further. He could sense three people within the building. Garret opened the doors and made his way inside.


OOC:

220/250 Magoi
333/1500 Word Count B Tier Job

Sound Field:

After scouting out the warehouse, Azix had made his way to the safe house that he shared with Garret, Carmen and a few other operatives. He hoped to run into Garret to ask for his assistance in the job. While Azix felt he could probably handle the job, it would be nice to be teaming up with the blue magician again. It had been a long time since their last mission together and Garret always handled missions like a professional.

He entered the common room upon his arrival and his sudden appearance seemed to momentarily startle Carmen. She recovered and quickly judged his appearance. Azix kept his Staff of Refractions at his left hip. On his other hip, sheathed was his Deviant, a short sword gifted by the Pirate Queen, Madam Trixie. His face was covered in familiar wrappings, with his eye-patch over his inky purple left eye. She recognized him instantly and wondered how much he had changed.

Azix carefully made his way to a chair opposite her and sat down, "You have been well I trust? I imagine you have been running a tight ship." He gestured to a few documents on the table between them.

A small smirked curled at the corner of Carmen's mouth as she folded her hands together. "Of course. Leading a cell has some stressful situations, but I can handle it." There was a hint of playful antagonism, but she slid a file to him with a serious face. "We have received word that your Black Crow friends have had some trouble."

Azix gazed at the papers inside, he was shocked to see that the gang had shattered into a few smaller factions. It appeared that after giving Madam Trixie the Black Crows, the members had been divided about the actions. What surprised him more, was to hear that the Pirate Queen had suffered two large blows to her forces. She had split her forces along two fronts of Reim, north and south, to deal with the rebellions. Azix felt genuinely frusterated for Trixie, he had unknowingly helped her end a bitter battle only to have it unravel.

To make matters worse, it appeared that half of her fleet, the whole of her northern front, was wiped out by a raging storm. There had been no exact count of losses for the rest of her fleet, or word for a few weeks of the Pirate Queen, either.

Azix closed the file and pushed those matters to the side as he focused on the job at hand. The distraction wasn't worth it. He slid the file back to Carmen, "Thank you for the update. I will look into that later, for now, have you seen Garret? I might need his assistance."

Carmen shook her head, "No, I have not. I heard he is back though," She paused and gave a small smile. "Acius told me he had received orders to release Garret shortly before you arrived, but you kept your promise. I'll give you that." Her look softened for a brief moment, acknowledging that she may have judged him too harshly before. "How have you been?"

Azix dismissed her concern with a wave and a smile that reached his eyes, "Bah, say no more. Your actions sent me on a journey. I should be thanking you. Anyway, I wonder where I could find Garret."

She raised an eyebrow, "He is Spymaster for the continent now, he was promoted. You would probably find him at HQ. Hadn't you heard?"

Azix chuckled, that would be just like Garret. Sprung from prison only to rise in the ranks. It seemed fate favored the blue magician in a weird way. He stood up, if he were to find the new Spymaster, he had better hurry. He stretched his arms and glanced towards Carmen, "I guess I'll try to meet him there, then."

[644/1500]

Garret walked towards the Common Room, where two of the three people who were in the Safe House were located. He looked to see who it was, not completely entering, and saw both Azix and Carmen in the room. He was pleased to see them speaking of work. Diligence and focus were two important virtues to Garret. He had some time to study Carmen, who seemed more defined than she was, previously. Her arms were definitely showing some muscle, though the muscles looked wire-y instead of bulky.

'I guess I'll try to meet him there, then.' Garret heard, directly from the man rather than from the spell that engulfed a decent portion of the safe house. Wand in left hand, hidden under overly long sleeves, Garret entered the room.

"I see we're hard at work here." He said, looking to the two. He took a deep breath of air through his nose, savoring the familiar scent of the safe house that the Butler took such great care for. It still smelled like he remembered it.

Carmen was surprised to see him, and immediately bowed. Garret bowed back, and would do so for Azix as well should the man bow himself. "Carmen. It's good to see you again. I've read your reports, and saw that you have been doing well even with strained resources considering all of the recent events. Rest assured, we're working on freeing up resources for you to use."

She bowed again. Garret had meant nothing untoward with the offer for additional resources. He was genuinely impressed with the work she did. She was pleased with the praise, and slightly relieved to hear that they should be getting more resources.

"Azix, I'm glad you were able to release me from the prison. When an opportunity presents itself, I would like to treat you to something as a thank you. But in regards to your performance, the number of reports you have sent in has a large time skip of your activities. We should discuss this sometime.

I'm aware of you securing a pirate fleet from the west as an ally to our cause. We don't really have much of any kind of report on that, but it is certainly worthy of a promotion, which we should also discuss when the time comes. For now, I have to meet an old contact, Serene. If you recall, she's one of the slavers that we receive information from."

Garret had praise for Azix, as well. From what he understood, Azix had gone through quite a bit to obtain help from the 'Pirate Queen.' He didn't know the details, but he could see through how much the man's stance had changed since before Li Cao, and believed that he must have gone through quite rigorous training.


OOC:
205/250 Magoi/Stamina
801/1500 Word Count

Sound Sphere Sustained:

As luck would have it, Garret showed up as Azix decided to depart. The orange magician gave a respectful bow along with Carmen towards their superior officer. Garret spoke briefly towards Carmen, complimenting her abilities with a promise to increase the cell's budget. He finally turned towards Azix, giving him praise for the few details he had learned and thanking him for the rescue.

Azix brushed it off with a wave of his hand, "I would be happy to go over the details, we have much to catch up on." He remembered Serene from the job with Li Cao, the slave trader was someone he wanted to talk to about locating Lavicus' sister. "Do you mind if I accompany you? I have a favor to ask of Serene." If Garret asked about the favor Azix would tell him that it could be explained on the way.

If Garret allowed Azix to join, he would follow the blue magician to Serene's location. Along the way he would take the time to explain the series of events till he had arrived at the prison. Azix would start with him going back to save Zafar after Li Cao's death and learning that The Contractor had hired the red haired man to kill Li Cao. He'd mention that it seemed The Contractor's actual intent was to get rid of Azix. That would lead to their botched attempt at killing the strange magician and being sent to kill Barsatos. He would mention the connection to Magnostadt as well as the compound being a magical circle.

Azix briefly mentioned taking out Christopher, the red magician, who had information about Zou's operation that they had obtained from Li Cao. That mission had already been reported. The story about Carmen beating him into action to train would be told with a soft chuckle. From there, Azix had met The Instructor who had began his training, the Black Crows, and Madam Trixie. He explained how he had gotten her as an ally, but also included the information that Carmen had told him earlier. There was much to tell and it would probably take the whole journey, but Azix condensed the minor details and kept to the important ones as well. He would include any details if Garret asked for them.

[1025/1500 words]

Garret listened to Azix's request and frowned. "You may accompany me, yes, but do not expect too much. From the reports I've been receiving, she has become significantly less cooperative in the past few months." Garret warned the man, not bothering to ask him of the details as for why he wanted to meet with Serene.

OOC: Word count for Controlled Sound BIC:
They walked forward, Garret leading the way as Azix explained the events after Li Cao's death. Garret hadn't meant to get the information as they walked, which required them to take a few detours in order to avoid others from overhearing the conversation. A feat that was only too easy for Garret, who was listening to the approach and movements of everything that was nearby with his Sound Field. They took various back alleys, and Garret chose their ways without any hesitation, revealing a certain confidence in his navigation ability that was backed by the spell he was using. It didn't take a genius to realize that Garret somehow knew where others were simply by his unnaturally fast pace.
OOC: End Controlled Sound Training WC: 121 BIC:

Garret took in what he could, mentally, of the things that he did not know that Azix filled in. Occasionally, Garret requested minor details to be described more. He also compared the verbal retelling of Azix's report and the paper report that was filed.

By the time they reached the place, Azix was just finishing his story with the latest news on their pirate allies to the west. Garret held up a hand to motion for silence as they approached the building.

OOC: Begin Controlled Sound Training BIC:
As they approached the building, before them, he knew varying statistics. How many people were in the building, their sizes. A pair of the guards within the building were even talking about what they had ate for breakfast the other day.
OOC: End Controlled Sound Training +41 WC: 162 BIC:

The guard at the door watched as Garret got within three meters. They looked at each other, sizing one another up, and Garret saw that the man looked to be a very respectable individual. Somebody who did professional work, as opposed to the thugs that used to work for Serene.

"We're here to see Serene. I have a summons from her." Garret handed the most recent letter that he had kept from earlier to the guard, which had the invitation on it. The guard looked at it with a strange look. "Just got back from an extended vacation. The summons took a while to reach me."

The guard frowned and looked back to him. "It's legitimate, though it is strange that Ms. Rilius would leave the name of the person out."

"Garret." He had offered, telling the man the name he went by. "Though she doesn't know me by name, we go back."  

OOC: Begin Controlled Sound Training BIC:
"Well, wait inside, I'll go see if she's available." The guard opened the door, and Garret followed behind him. The place was a very official place; it looked like an office for a legitimate business. The waiting seats were comfortable, and there were receptionists working at desks doing paperwork. Garret closed his eyes again, and watched the guard's movements throughout the building. He noted the direction the guard was moving and saw that there was a female figure relaxing at a desk with her hands behind her head while leaning back and feet on the desk.

Opening his eyes, he turned and whispered to Azix. "Be careful what you say here. From my understanding, this is the office for a restaurant business."

The guard knocked on the door, and the woman changed her seating, bringing her feet to the floor and underneath her desk while clasping her hands. She invited the man in. The man explained the arrival of the two men and, for a brief moment, she spoke in a surprised, yet pleased tone. However, shortly after the initial surprise, it was covered by a sudden frosty change. She told the guard to tell the two that she was busy, and instructed him to not allow them to enter for another half hour.
OOC: End Controlled Sound Training +214 WC: 376 BIC:

Garret sighed, not wanting to deal with the games she was playing. "You caught her at a hard time. She's really busy right now, and won't be able to see you for another twenty to forty minutes here. She'll call you when she's finished." The man looked Garret over once again before returning to his post outside.

OOC: Begin Controlled Sound Training BIC:
Garret whittled the time by thinking and watching the sound interact with the environment. He watched as some spots, occasionally, went completely black within his sight; those times when everyone was so focused on their work and there was a minimum of heavy breathing or noise occurring. It showed Garret that, in the event where everything was silent, there was no information on noise available in the area to gain information on. Were Azix to pay attention to Garret's facial expressions, he would see something akin to a faraway look in Garret's eyes, as the man was taking into consideration quite a lot of information.
OOC: End Controlled Sound Training +105 WC: 481 BIC:

The time had finally passed by, and the two of them were summoned in. When they got into the room, Serene had a scowl on her face. "Sit." She demanded, pointing to a set of chairs. She seemed, to Garret, to be genuinely upset. Garret followed her orders and sat in the chair across from her desk. Before he had the opportunity to speak, she verbally cut into him. "You promised me that you would return the favors I've done for you. Personal favors. Yet when I try to reach you to collect, I can't?"

Garret attempted to explain the situation, however she cut him off once again. "It was my understanding that we had an exchange. I did a favor for you right away, and you would do one for me at a time of my choosing. Well, you weren't there when I needed your help with something." She was working herself up, and the tone and infliction on her words took a hard line. "Listen. You owe me double now." She sighed, calming down slightly. "That woman you dropped off from before?" Garret immediately remembered Kirine, the woman who knew of Li Cao and that he had been searching for that information. He silently cursed himself for forgetting about the woman and not killing her when he had the chance.

"I couldn't sell her. Nobody wanted damaged goods. So I offered her a job over here, to work off my losses from taking her in. She's fit right in now, and I don't want to return her to you anymore... Garret, right Mr. Hero?" She massaged her temple, and Garret began to believe that she was acting this out. The woman must have spoken to Kirine and gleaned that Garret was with the Zou faction. The pieces weren't too difficult to put in place, what with what she knew.

And likely, she knew that he was, during the time he had been unable to respond to her, indisposed through death or prison.

"I hear you're a dangerous man, Garret." She was getting to her favor, at last. "Some upstart slavers and kidnapping groups have begun to make their move on my turf here. They're kidnapping indiscriminately, and these young wet-behind-the-ears slavers are all too eager to pay for them. I need your help, since I can't act alone. These folks are a danger to those of us who are selective in our choices of slaves, and think ahead of the game when it comes to our jobs."

Garret knew where this was going, which was confirmed shortly after he realized what she was going to ask of him.

"I need you to hit a group of kidnappers. They have a warehouse on the other side of town, with a manticore outside. Their group is led by a man by the name of Alexander. They're scum that are going to get the rest of us killed if they aren't more careful, so I'd like it if you could take out that trash. You can't refuse; you owe me. I will provide you with hazard pay, of course." She smiled, at last, grabbing a suitcase of Huang out from under the desk. "And remember, you're late. You owe me more than one favor, due to interest. Report back to me when you've taken care of the problem."

Garret nodded. "Fair enough." He said. "I've come to return that favor I promised you. I am a man of my word. My associate here, if you remember him, though, has come along for a different reason." Garret allowed Azix the opportunity to ask Serene whatever it was he felt the need to ask for.

Serene looked to the man and simply raised her eyebrow.



OOC:

190/250 Magoi/Stamina
1769/1500 Word Count
481/500 Word Count Training Controlled Sound

Sound Field Sustained:

Azix had bowed respectfully to Serene as he took a seat. He listened quietly as she lectured him, it appeared that Garret's absence had interfered with outside interests. Azix could relate to that, so he waited patiently until he was directed to speak. As he listened to the conversation, he caught the name Alexander and his eye glimmered. As fate would have it, Azix and Garret each had a personal favor that led to the Street Ninjas.

When Serene raised an eyebrow for him to speak, Azix would tilt his head, an appreciative gesture. "It amuses me that you mention an Alexander. Fate seems to have led us together, for I planned on taking care of him tonight." He paused and briefly glanced towards Garret, "I was actually going to ask for his assistance. There is an associate of mine, his sister, Sophie, had been taken by the Street Ninjas. I promised to find her, which brings me to why I am here."

He stood up and bowed before her, "I would like your assistance in locating her through your contacts. Any favor you would ask of me, you would have, no questions asked. I have a description of Sophie as well."

He sat back down and listened to her response. However she answered, he would thank her for her time or assistance. If she acquiesced Azix would provide her the description of the blond haired six year old. The identifying mark, a scar on her elbow that looked like a beak, was also provided.

After that he would wait to leave with Garret, Azix taking the lead since he had performed recon earlier. When there were no people nearby, Azix spoke in a low tone, "Six pairs of eyes see through the shadows, staring at the manticore." It was an indirect way of revealing that there were six guards on duty during his recon.

Two blocks from the warehouse, Azix motioned that they were almost there. He led Garret to an alleyway, pulling his Staff of Refraction from the strap on his hip. "Give me a moment, I haven't tried this with multiple people." With several whispered commands to the Rukh, they formed around Azix's staff. Garret could see the Rukh give off an orange light as they listened to Azix's commands. Magoi would stream from the staff to form around both their bodies, bending the light around them to make the Zouens Vanish. Azix was impressed to see that he was able to use the spell to cover others as well. "Stay relatively close, I'm not sure how far away I can hold it."

Azix led them to the warehouse, looking around for the guards in the areas he had seen them before. At the manticore statue, three Street Ninja Recruits peered around, talking amongst themselves. Across the street, the other three were watching the crowd, keeping conversation to a minimum. Azix choose the three near the manticore, leaving the other group for Garret.

With his right hand, he silently slid Deviant from its sheath, holding the hilt backwards, blade pointing behind him. With the advantage of his stealth, Azix quietly approached the guard on the far left. When he got within range, he moved his blade hand towards his left shoulder, twisting his body to the left. He twisted back around, using the momentum to drive his sword into the Recruit's gut. Azix cut into the skin and nearly disemboweled the ninja, any pressure would probably finish the job.

The other two turned around at his cry and Azix began circling around the other side of the statue as they looked to see what happened. Azix came behind them and switched his grip so his blade was raised above him. With a diagonal slash towards the man's kidney, he stepped around the ninja towards the last of the group. The man pulled out his weapon and shouted, but Azix moved quickly, slashing at his foe's face.

He moved back and waited, but it seemed like the three were down for the count. Azix turned to see how Garret had done.

[1500+/1500]

Spoiler:

Serene was surprised to hear that Azix had planned on going after Alexander and his group that were doing the kidnappings. She pursed her lips as she considered what he had said. After asking for the description of the child, she began laying down her conditions. "Your group hasn't shown much reliability in keeping to its promises so far. Once you finish taking care of Alexander, come back and I can tell you the whereabouts of the five slaver groups that buy from them. I might even be able to ask some contacts to look out for such an individual, if she has already been sold or traded to an outside slaver. Well, that option is only available if you're willing to pay for her at that point.

My favor? In return, each of the five slavers you search that I provide you information on, make it so that they can never operate in Reim again." The slaver code kept them from directly fighting amongst each other, but if a third party that was searching for a particular slave ended up hitting multiple places... Well, that's occupational hazard that they walked into themselves. Plus, it never hurt to have less competition on the streets.

Garret insisted Azix leave first. Garret decided to test Serene before he left. At the door, he paused "Oh." he said, turning his head slightly to look towards Selene. "Sorry to make you worry." The mask of anger fell, and a bit of shock appeared on her face before she looked away. Garret left the Slaver's office and made his way to the warehouse with Azix.


Garret had still sustained the Sound Field. He nodded to Azix, confirming his assessment of the layout and acknowledging the man's homework on casing the location prior to their current situation.

OOC: Begin training Controlled Sound BIC:
Azix had then cast a spell on the two of them. They had vanished from sight, though to Garret he could still slightly see Azix. The Rukh and Magoi used to cast the spell was seen through by the Blue Mage. However, even if he were unable to visually see the man, his Sound Field would have given away that he was there.

Garret went his own way after following Azix; he wasn't sure how far Azix's spell reached, but felt that so long as Azix was still within his Sound Field things would work out. He worked his way around and behind the three individuals across from where Azix was approaching. The prolonged usage of his Sound Field had offered him a good idea on how sounds worked, and what kind of sources they came from. With a flash of inspiration, Garret whispered. "Oto kanri suru." He had cast Controlled Sound in order to control the sounds made by himself and the three recruits, choosing when to cancel sounds made from each of them. All sound from Garret was nullified.
OOC: End Controlled Sound Training +176 WC: 657/500 BIC:

Starting from the blind spot of the other two, Garret worked on each individual member. Using Water Corrosion he kicked the back of the knees from behind one of the members, while also sending a strike to the back of the neck. The man attempted to scream out, but Garret's spell canceled out the sound. He quickly grabbed the man from behind. The man was on his knees and was out in moments as Garret choked him out and dragged the 'Ninja' into an alley. Tying him up, he gagged the man as well.

He repeated this process for the next one, however as he was choking the man out the last member saw the first of the members from the opposite side being taken out. One of them had been gutted by something invisible. The member was terrified by this invisible force, and turned to where he believed two of his comrades were. When he saw them missing the terror only increased. Garret sent a punch straight to the man's gut; while not really enough to knock the man out, it seemed that the man was so terrified that he fell unconscious. Garret completed his work, tying up the man and leaving him in the alley.

As Azix finished up his work, Garret was walking across the street towards him. He took in what Azix had done, and nodded. "Good work." He said, speaking normally. The sounds of both of them that came from their mouths would be canceled out, 2 meters after it left them. All other sounds made by them; their bodies and their movements, were all canceled out. He was now close enough to the building that he had a general idea of its layout and the placement of individual people, as well as grouped up people. He provided these details to Azix, explaining to the man based on conversations what each person represented.

If Azix asked Garret how he knew, Garret would only smile.

OOC:
135/250 Magoi/Stamina
657/500 Word Count Training for Controlled Sound.

Abilities Used:

Garret approached after finishing his half of the group and surprised Azix by giving him the full details of the warehouse, as well as people's location inside. Azix asked how he knew, but Garret refused to answer and simply smiled at his request. Seeing that the blue magician wouldn't answer, Azix shrugged it off. All that mattered was that they had an idea of where to navigate inside.

Azix led them into the building, still under the cover of Azix's Vanish spell. Inside the warehouse, there were several workers moving to and fro as they carried on with their job. It appeared that the warehouse was a legitimate business while maintaining a front for the Street Ninjas. Azix ignored them as he made his way further into the building, the workers were not the target and there was no reason to waste time attacking them.

They came a long, wide corridor to the east of the building and followed it. After a corner, they spotted four men standing in front of a door, two to either side. Azix gave them a calculating gaze as he sized them up. The four men seemed more experienced than the ones outside and guarded the door with an air of professionalism the others had not displayed. They didn't talk, instead they kept a close eye on both sides of the hallway.

Azix signaled to Garret that he would handle the ones on the right side of the door and leave the other two for him. Slipping past the two guards on the left side, Azix moved to stand in front of the two guards he had picked out. One of them seemed uneasy as the orange magician, hidden under an invisibility spell, stopped in front of him. A grin stretched from ear to ear as he could see the ninja's instinct from years of training warn him to impending danger. While the man did not see danger, the caution in his eyes as he surveyed the hallway betrayed his thoughts.

Beyond the door the Street Ninja Adepts guarded, would likely be where Alexander, Azix and Garret's true target, worked. With his Deviant still in his right hand, Azix stabbed one of the Adepts through the gut and turned to the other. He pulled his sword free from the fallen Adept's stomach and aimed a slash towards the other. Azix was stunned momentarily when the Adept raised his own blade to parry away the attack from Deviant.

Azix knew his spell was still working, it appeared the man's battle intuition was strong. The Adept moved to the right of Azix and got into a defensive stance. The Adept's eyes were closed, his breathing even, with his sword held at an angle in front of him. "I might not be able to see you, but I know you are there!" The ninja exclaimed loudly, clearly ready to fight.

"Tsk~" Azix didn't have time to toy with the Adept, or else he would have enjoyed toying with the ninja futher. With two quick bursts of speed, Azix utilized Sakeru to take two quick steps, one towards the ninja's side and the last to move behind him. It had been timed well, the Adept had made a Swift Strike towards where Azix had previously been standing. Azix sent a quick slash with his Deviant towards the Adept's back and then kicked the man's legs out from underneath him. He bent down and delivered a strike with the hilt of his blade, striking the man with the lion head against his skull. With that, he moved to the door, seeing how Garret had handled his two Adepts.

Spoiler:

Enemies::

Garret followed Azix through the building, helping guide him through the various turns towards their target. Azix chose not to attack the various employees at the warehouse; a decision Garret approved of. It would have been a waste of time and effort to do so.

When they rounded a corner there were four guards standing at a door. It was no surprise to Garret, who had sensed them through the Sound Sphere he had maintained up until that point. Azix signaled to him on who he wanted to take out, and left the remaining two to Garret. Garret relaxed. He had allowed Azix to lead in this operation, and would be following the man's instructions while mentally grading the work that was done.

It was, in part, an assessment of the various skills that Azix had developed and worked on up to this point. He filed away his thoughts to review at a later date and intended to plot out the man's development with what he heard from the man and with what reports had reflected.

As Azix made his move, one of the men spoke out. "I might not be able to see you, but I know you are there!". Garret's Controlled Sound was still in effect, and canceled the noise made from him before it got out of the effective range of his spell.

The two that were assigned to Garret turned to look at what was going on with the other two that Azix was dealing with. Not quite understanding what was going on, they made as if to make random attacks through the air.

Before the attacks could land, Garret used River Styx Style: Raging Current. He jumped forward into the air and spun, landing a spinning kick to the heads of both of the guards on his side. The force of the strikes caused them both to pass out. Garret calmly finished them off by cutting off oxygen to their heads through a choke hold. This would take a bit, as long as Azix simply stood there and watched. Garret didn't really have any 'fast killing' techniques or weapons. Something he would have to change, soon.

Having negated all sounds made from their falls and altercation, they would be able to proceed without worry of their presence being apparent.

OOC:
80/250 Magoi/Stamina

Abilities Used:

With a hand on the knob of the door, Azix nodded to Garret, a gesture of approval of the blue magician's work. Not that Azix doubted Garret's ability to dispatch these weaker targets, but Azix had wondered if they would be able to sync well in a mission together after being apart. Clearly, they still worked effectively together.

With a twist of the knob, Azix opened the door and entered into a large room. There were maps along the walls with locations marked, a few shelves of books sat in the corners, and a large table was in the center of the room filled with missives and scrolls. At the head of the table, a man with long, golden hair sat studying some of the missives. A staff rested against his chair at his right side. Alexander, the yellow magician looked up as the door opened and Azix stepped through. There was another door behind the magician that led further into the building.

"Who is there?" Alexander growled as he grabbed his staff, feeling uneasy.

Azix had maintained his Vanish spell to keep him and Garret invisible for the time being, but he could feel that it wouldn't hold up much longer. They would need to quickly deal with the yellow magician if they wanted to maintain their cover. With the Staff of Refractions aimed towards Alexander's feet, Azix used Kage Youshiki. A mass of shadows formed at the tip of his staff before quickly moving to the yellow magician's feet. A magical seal of purple light grew beneath Alexander and fifteen shadow constructs came forth from within. With Alexander at the center of the seal, he didn't have much time to move before the tendrils shot upwards to pierce his Borg.

As Alexander's Borg shattered, he stood up and aimed his staff towards where he had seen the Rukh forming for Azix's spell. An Electric Whip formed at the tip of his staff and he lashed out towards Azix. The orange magician had expected a magician to notice the Rukh and react accordingly, so he had moved out of the way. Azix had been expecting a projectile though, not a whip, so as the Electric Whip arced in the air, it caught Azix's Borg. He let out a small cry from the unexpected shock of losing his Borg. The damage also caused Azix's Vanish spell to dissipate revealing both Garret and Azix's location.

Enemies:

Azix:

Though Garret's Sound Sphere was no longer in effect, he had an idea as to the interior of the room and where the man was standing even before Azix had opened the door. As Azix opened the door, the man who had been sitting at a table, reading over some papers, looked up. Upon not seeing anyone, he spoke out. "Who is there?"

Azix had stepped into the room, giving Garret some room to maneuver. Having still maintained Controlled Sound, Garret already had a plan of action in mind when Azix immediately took initiative to cast quite a strong spell. Not caring to be caught out at that exact moment, Garret propelled himself through the air and towards the ceiling with his River Styx Style: Water Falls in Reverse technique. Having angled his body slightly so that he was nearly parallel to the ceiling by the time he reached the top, Garret's feet propelled him from the ceiling to the ground behind Alexander. His Controlled Sound spell negated all sounds made from him as he did so.

When he had landed behind the man, the spell Azix had cast earlier ran out and no longer provided their concealment. It would seem, on the surface, to be an unfortunate turn of events. However, this had an effect on the psyche of the opponent; the invisibility spell was over, and the man hadn't much reason to believe that there was anyone else in the room besides himself and Azix.

Garret utilized this opportunity to execute another of his techniques, River Styx Style: Sealing the Magoi Meridians. The first two strikes landed on the man's shoulders, first the one holding the staff, followed by the other shoulder, paralyzing both arms. Garret's knee had risen to the occasion as well, striking the center of the man's back and paralyzing his body. Lastly, before he brought his right foot down, he pointed it downwards, tip aiming as if it were a spear, as it shot down and struck the man's leg and paralyzing that as well, just for good measure.

"Ace." Garret said, catching Alexander by his arms as he crumpled down towards the floor, and lifting him up. "I believe you have information you wanted to gather?" Garret knew the man needed to be pumped for his information. He believed Azix was hoping the man could finger the kid, and lead them on the right trail. Garret felt Azix was willing to go through the dumpsters for this; it was just something that had that kind of vibe.


OOC:

20/250 Magoi/Stamina

Abilities Used:

While Garret was taking Alexander out, Azix was dealing with a terrible urge to ruin the yellow magician. The job was to murder Alexander, but Azix felt a sadistic urge to slowly torture the man. It was now very clear that the use of shadow magic brought out some dark part of his personality. Azix cupped his head in his hands as he took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Azix could feel the connection of Kage Youshiki to the darker personality so he made an effort to stop feeding the spell magoi. A voice in his head let out an angry cry that echoed within his skull when the connection was lost, but the urge quickly vanished.

Garret's voice brought Azix back to reality and the orange magician slowly nodded. If Garret was paying attention he would see that Azix was deeply troubled by something, but Azix quickly brushed his thoughts aside. "You're right, we should see what he knows."

Stepping around the table, Azix crouched down above Alexander and gave him a small smile. He pulled his Deviant from it's sheath and put the point near the yellow magician's eye. Azix was worried about the dark impulse from earlier, but couldn't let it interfere with the job, he would still have to apply pressure to make the man talk. "Now, Alexander, do you feel like telling me about the Street Ninjas or should I start removing various body parts until you do?" Seeing a spark of defiance in Alexander, Azix acted like he was thinking as he looked the magician's body over. "It seems my associate here, Gary, has made you immobile. I would start with your fingers and toes, but I doubt you'd feel that at the moment. Should I start with his eyelids, Gary?" Azix looked at Garret when he asked the question but no reply was needed. Alexander began giving up information seeing that Azix meant business.

Between Alexander's story and the documents scattered along the table, an interesting story began to unfold. A noble from a minor house, Benjamin Gladius, had financed the Street Ninjas, using his connections to start a new slave trade company. It appeared that he wanted to remove Serene to secure a monopoly on slave trade in Reim and was beginning to put the plan in motion. There was another business front in Reim, but it was located on the docks and was more of a cover for Benjamin to meet with his business partners. The warehouse they were currently in is where the major operations were handled.

Azix was able to locate a detailed log of the transactions of slaves but the information was encrypted. He slipped the log into his clothes to give to Serene, hoping she might have a cipher. While he hadn't found the location of Lavicus' sister, he had the log which would help point to it and had secured Serene's help with the mission complete. Almost complete. Making sure they had everything they needed, Azix finished off Alexander before leaving to head to Serene.

There was something... Strange going on with Azix. When Azix asked Garret in an aggressive tone whether or not they should begin torturing Alexander, Garret frowned. He had a distaste for that kind of stuff, and while he understood that it was sometimes necessary, he did not like to see it employed.

Bringing his attention back to the task at hand, Garret noted that Azix was finished asking his questions. The man started searching the room for documents and, while he did so, Garret began the slow process of choking the man to death. Once finished, Azix seemed to have found everything he needed. Garret helped the man secure an exit through the back, without alerting additional guards. The door was locked from the inside, so they were unable to lock it behind them. As Azix made way to Serene's, Garret stopped him.

"We just finished an operation, Ace." He said, while they were under cover of darkness. "It would be unwise to head straight there. We should meet back up tomorrow, that way they will be able to verify the job was finished with their own resources. And, of course, for security reasons." Garret explained to Azix why it wasn't the best idea to head there at this time and waited to see what Azix would say, in turn.

Azix recognized the merit to Garret's words, but he had a promise to make and time was of the essence. Lavicus' sister was still out there and his best lead provided five different possible places she could be. His other lead was an encrypted transaction log and he had to hope that Serene would be able to decipher it. Azix looked at Garret, his eyes determined, "Any other time, I would agree with you. At the moment, I'm pressed for time to fulfill that favor. The logbook I took will provide proof that we were at least close enough to obtain closely guarded information. I plan to take the long way, as well." When he was done speaking, he turned and began heading down the street, keeping to the shadows.

Now that he knew the location of Serene, he envisioned a mental map of the city using a mix of areas of the maps the Grumptoes used, as well as landmarks he had seen. He plotted a course that utilized alleys and small roads that would loop around several times. They could use the environment in those parts to make sure they weren't followed and to lose any stalkers if need be.

When Azix felt confident that they weren't being followed and after checking with Garret to see if his instinct said otherwise, he let Garret take the lead the rest of the way, allowing him to handle the guards. Once in front of Serene, Azix would bow to her giving her the encrypted logbook. "That is a log of all the Street Ninjas' transactions, but I was unable to find the cipher. You can verify with your people that Alexander is dead, but I give you my word that he is no longer a threat. With that, I also obtained information you would may find valuable. A noble by the name of Benjamin Gladius backed the Street Ninjas and has been funding them with the intention of replacing your operation. In fact, they are planning on removing you, personally, soon. Unfortunately, I did not find an exact time frame, but I hope that the death of Alexander deters their plans for the time being." Azix paused and when he looked Serene in the eye, he appeared distraught, "I apologize if this is too forward, but may I please get that list. Finding that girl is important to me."

Garret nodded. Azix was determined to see this through, and as quickly as possible. Thinking back, it made sense to want to try to finish it soon; if they did not, the child could get sold to somebody. Other slavers, nobles, or other individuals. Tracking the girl down would become incredibly difficult.

While Garret at first wanted to believe that Azix had made the wrong decision and, thus, subtract his 'grade' on how well he had done, Garret realized that this was actually the better course of action of the two.

He couldn't shake that strange feeling he had earlier though, before he had asked Azix if he wanted to gather information. The man was struggling with something. Garret just didn't quite know what it was.

Azix consulted Garret, here and there, to ensure they weren't being followed. When they got close to the place, Garret was sure to handle the guards and set up the meeting with Serene.


When they arrived in the room, Serene seemed surprised to see them back so soon. Azix provided a brief description of what took place, and handed her the transactions log that he had found.

She looked at it thoughtfully, as she flipped the pages. Azix began telling her of what the book was, though she could tell just from the first few pages. He then began to tell her of the plan from a man by the name of Benjamin Gladius. Her eyes narrowed and her body language stiffened up.

Previously, when she was biting into them on their first visit, she seemed to be mad. That, however, did not hold a candle to the sound of her voice when she spoke. "Hooo? That pig of a man would dare to break the slaver agreement?" She balled her fist, which was resting on the table, and the two who had just come back from a dangerous situation could feel, with their heightened senses, her murderous intent.

Slowly, she reigned it back in, and seemed to have control of herself again. Sighing, she continued. "I suppose I'm not one to talk, all considering. However, they're walking a path of self-destruction. I appreciate the information. I'll have some people work on deciphering the transaction log, in exchange, so that we can help you in your search." She rubbed her temple with her fingers, as if massaging a headache away.

"Here is the info that you wanted, Mr...?" She inquired as to the name he used, while passing over several documents that gave a good idea of where the five organizations could be found and what kind of security to expect. "Also, the hazard pay." This time, she pushed the money towards Garret. "And Garret, I expect to see you again tomorrow."


Garret left the building, waiting for Azix to show up with him if he didn't leave right away as well. "I must ask, because I don't recall seeing any reports on the matter, but why are you searching for this child?" The thought hadn't really occurred to Garret until now. He and Azix had aligned goals at first, which proved a distraction as to why Azix was actually coming along in the first place.

Was it something Azix was hiding? Or was there something he missed in a report?

With a bow, Azix thanked Serene for the information before accepting the documents. "You can call me Xenos. I appreciate all your help and I will do my best to...impede the competition along the way."

After they left the building, Garret asked Azix why finding Sophie was so important to him. Azix wondered how much to reveal about the Grumptoes. He had no reason to lie to Garret, they had been through many jobs, but he didn't want to blur the lines between Zou and the Grumptoes. He was not sure what Garret's reaction would be either. Azix took a few moments to respond, "You know how your absence here disrupted plans you had going on?" Azix was referring to the delayed return on the promise to Serene.

"I had something similar happen. During my time here, I have seen the conditions of the slums. I saw boys playing in the streets, showing signs of starvation and malnutrition. I gave them a chance to work and hired them to observe the city for me." Azix looked distantly at the ground and took a few seconds to continue. "I couldn't stand to see kids in such a condition and warned them that it could be dangerous, but I don't think that I warned them good enough now. While I was gone, well, it seems they had experiences that made them grow a little wiser. Probably too soon for their own good. The one I trust the most leads their operation, but his sister got kidnapped by the Street Ninjas. I wasn't here to protect them...it's my fault. I plan to correct that mistake."

While he had been talking, he kept his voice low and would pause if people walked by. The more Azix talked, it seemed the more depressed he got. Azix began to curse his fate, the stress of recent events building up. Garret would notice some black Rukh flutter nearby.

Garret listened to Azix speak about the street urchins that he had outsourced work with. Garret wanted to interject a question on the professionalism of not reporting them, if not as personnel, then at least as a resource. Before he could, however, Azix continued to speak. Garret mulled the words over before he acted rashly and berated the man for his actions.

Essentially, Azix was creating a second department for espionage, one that was not directly related to their operations. This had a lot of benefits. Garret saw it immediately after thinking on it. But this wouldn't be a resource they could actively tap; the two organizations could not overly interact with each other, if the benefit was to be retained.

Garret could tell that Azix was blaming himself for the current situation, which Garret didn't quite understand. Before he could say anything, however, black Rukh began to show about. A flashback occurred, momentarily reminding him of his first meeting with Hasan.

Flashback:

Garret turned towards Azix, and looked the man in the eyes. One moment, his left hand was resting on the man's right shoulder, and the next there was a slight sting of a feeling on the man's right cheek. Garret had used Pressurized Strike, a watered down version of the technique Hasan had used on him. It betrayed no intention, giving no tells for the strike that occurred. Garret held back, not dealing any damage to the man; had it been his intent to hurt him, the magician's Borg would have stopped it anyways.

"Azix. You are walking a dangerous path." Garret said, a warning tone in his voice. "I'm not talking about what we do on a daily basis; we both know the risks for that. But the direction of your mentality..." Garret shook his head.

"I don't know what you think of yourself, but know this; You're strong. I knew this for some time now, but... You don't trust in yourself." Garret held his hand up, insisting on speaking further. "Don't misunderstand me. It is your strength of spirit I speak of. You are blaming yourself for things that are out of your control. For things that would happen. For your fate. That is a crutch that the weak of spirit rely on; they believe that by opposing fate, they would somehow obtain the strength to thwart it." At this point, Garret paused. He was about to open up to the man, more so than he had anyone else. "I was like that once, not too long ago, as well." He admitted.

Garret took a deep breath, and turned around. He didn't want Azix to see him embarrassed. "Before I left to my imprisonment, I advised Acius to promote you to my spot. He knows I hold a high opinion for you. Though this is not simply because you were able to perform well on the job; we are kindred spirits. And my faith in your strength and ability were not misplaced." Garret laughed; a strange sound, from the man. It was awkward, as if it were the first time he had truly laughed in quite a while. And there was something else in the laugh; perhaps, a hint of sadness.

"Who else could boast of having subjugated a group of bandits, and then secured an ally with the fiercest pirate of the west?" Garret's arm raised up to eye level, as he wiped his sleeve across his eyes; was the man tearing up? What was the cause? Happiness? Sadness? Or perhaps a mix?

Garret cleared his throat, and turned back to Azix. "Trust me. You are strong. Don't allow your spirit to waver, no matter what the outcome is. Work hard moving forward, and turn your regrets into one of your strengths. One that fuels you to look forward and help shape a better future."



OOC:
10/250 magoi/stamina

Abilities Used:

Azix was stunned, after he had finished speak, Garret hit him with a spell. It was quickly evident that Garret didn't mean to hurt Azix, by his Borg not flaring up, but that the blue magician was rebuking him for his mood. Azix listened to his partner in silence, he hadn't realized that Garret though so highly of him or that Garret had requested Azix receive a promotion.

Azix was especially surprised to see that Garret was opening up, though the blue magician seemed to turn around so Azix didn't see the emotions on his face. The orange magician wasn't sure, but when Garret ran his sleeve over his face, it appeared that the blue magician might have been crying. Azix wouldn't look down on Garret for displaying such emotions, in fact it gave Azix a new respect for his partner. He had finally heard his partner laugh, even though it sounded weird coming from one usually so detached, and he had gotten to see a side to Garret that clearly wasn't shown often.

No longer feeling depressed, Azix approached Garret and laid his hand on the man's shoulder. "Thank you, my friend. I will try to see the things you see in myself. Never doubt yourself either, I wouldn't have struggled to rescue you from prison if you weren't so important. Your mind, your leadership, and your ability seem to overshadow my accomplishments in my eyes, so trust in yourself as well."

Azix removed his hand from Garret's shoulder, "I need to start going through these documents to find Sophie. The sooner I find her, the better. Thank you again for your help and for making me realize my value." Azix gave a bow to the new spymaster of Reim and started to walk off. He wanted to catch Lavicus up to date with his search before heading back to the safe house to analyze the documents.

Garret was somewhat surprised to hear Azix return praise to him, though he was over his embarrassed moment. Azix told him to not doubt himself, as well, which amused him. Since Hasan's training, Garret had grown to accept things as they were. He no longer blamed himself for things outside of his control, nor did he blame some intangible force, either. Garret was close to falling into a meditative serene and peaceful state of mind, however he avoided that at this time. There were other things that he needed to occupy himself with.

Azix bowed to the him, and he returned the bow, as the two departed to their own individual destinations.

[EXIT]