**Both good options. Legato supposed the fishmonger's shop would disguise an assassin from more senses than the hostel, but was this a man who wanted to stink of fish? Legato doubted it.**
A raven flew in, cawing as it circles above the docks. Ciaran entered the docks not long after. He was still reading the scroll he recently bought, and almost fell into the water.
Ciaran: "Ah. Okay,"
Ciaran looked around and spotted a rather deserted place nearby a fishmonger's shop.
Ciaran: "Well, I think I shall practice this."
Ciaran approached the spot and, once he was sure no one was nearby, casted Incite on himself. The inscription on the ring on his left hand emitted a faint black light while the raven cawed and swooped towards Ciaran, who screamed before passing out.
---
Ciaran couldn't speak a word nor see anything. All he can do was to feel his own body in the darkness. He looked around, turning his head without actually seeing anything. After a moment of breathing a rather cold air, he slowly moved forward, taking small steps with his feet. Strangely, the air grew colder, and his eyes seemed to have begun adapting as his surroundings slowly turned to purple, save for a tiny dot in front of him. Ciaran continued to approach the dot, which, after a seemingly long walk, he realized was actually a sphere because it was swirling. And whispering.
Ciaran paused as he began to hear whispers. Which grew louder. Louder. And louder.
---
Ciaran awoke to the loud sound of a raven pecking his head, the smell of fish and the view of clouds. Ciaran breathed heavily. His eyes dilated. He was lying down.
Liar!
A sharp voice echoed in his head and Ciaran suddenly stood up. His face looked down in disbelief. He squinted at the cawing raven. He wasn't sure what has happened, but he was sure the voice didn't sound like the raven, his bondmate. When he slowly exhaled while wiping his face, he realized. It sounded like the whispers.
---
As he slowly regained his composure, he gauged how long he was passed out and it seemed like only moments in reality. His raven, who had stopped cawing continuously, flew to his left shoulder and cawed once, reminding Ciaran of his task.
He lifted his head, shaking it, and then looked at the surroundings, searching for anyone who looked like a gang member or a guard.
A tall man stood near the fish monger's, wearing the blue cloak of the city guard. Further down the docks, Ciaran saw a couple of widely built men wearing leather cuirass under their torn looking jackets. They looked the sort of people to be called 'Crashers'.
Ciaran paused momentarily after noticing the city guard and the men in leather cuirasses. Then he turned to his raven, giving each other some sort of meaningful look.
Ciaran: "Yeah .."
The raven cawed twice, loudly.
Ciaran: "Okay, okay. No more stunts,"
Ciaran nodded while walking further down the docks, towards the men in torn jackets.
When he was nearing them, he tried to look for a spot to hide from their view and away from the light. He thought he must confirm their identity first and hear something useful without causing unnecessary attention.
Ciaran found himself with a few options. There was a pile of grain sacks nearby the pair of thugs, fully exposed to the light but Ciaran could likely duck behind it and keep out of sight. The other options both involved walking past the thugs, either into a nearby bakery or into the dark alley beyond them.
Ciaran felt insecure about the grain sacks and the bakery. The dark alley seemed too obvious. He glanced at his raven, which flew right away towards the thugs, cawing loudly. He pulled out one of his scrolls and walked towards the dark alley, past the thugs. He was pretending to read his scroll as he walked by, while his raven continued its caw while flying aimlessly above the thugs.
One of the thugs pulled out a pistol and bag of powder.
Thug- Damned birds, I'll show the pest.
The other thug leaned across and snatched the powder from his hand, giving him a rum look. Neither seemed to notice the scroll reading man walk passed.
But then, as Ciaran entered the dark alley, he realized just how dark the alley was.
--
It was so familiar. So empty but so alive. So silent but so loud. So dark, and full of terror.
The dark alley was consumed by its own shadows.
And Ciaran could no longer see anything, not even his body, nor hear anything, not even his voice. He shivered, each strand of his hair was tense and every inch of his skin could feel the cold air that was engulfing him. He was in fear.
--
But then, he heard his raven's caw, sending him back to his consciousness. He was standing still near the entrance of the dark alley, still unseen by the thugs. Ciaran then hid himself properly, well within the shadow of the walls of which his back was pressed against. He took a deep breath and his raven flew onto his left shoulder.
Ciaran turned to his resting bondmate, chuckling silently.
Ciaran: "That was close. Did you always scream 'turd' like that?"
The raven tilted its head while Ciaran observed the two thugs without exposing much of his head. It seemed that their voices became louder as he bathed in the shadows.
Ciaran didn't have to wait long before the Thug's ushered someone into the alley and flanked them. The young man, probably in his late teens, went along willingly if a little confused.
Thug- Have you considered what you'll do in the next life kid?
Ciaran seized the moment of opportunity. He sent his raven soaring into the air, while casting Soothe at one of the thugs who aimed at his raven earlier. Then, he went out of the shadows momentarily, throwing one of his knives at the other thug in a quick sequence. The knife was already flying when he whispered,
No-one heard Ciaran's whisper as the knife lodged itself in his target's shoulder, eliciting screams of pain the drowned out other sounds. The young man bolted back in the direction he had come as the other thug failed to snatch his collar to stop him.
Between his screams, another knife was already flying towards the agonized victim again, while Ciaran's raven silently dived down towards the other, seemingly soothed, thug. It was aiming to strip the thug from his foul weapon, the pistol.
The thug was in the middle of loading his pistol when the swooping raven caused him to drop it to the floor. The thug cursed loudly as he dropped to retrieve the weapon.
The second dagger struck the man square in the face as he writhed from the shoulder pain, the pommel of the blade breaking his nose.
Ciaran quickly reacted to the sound of the dropped pistol by throwing a knife at the kneeling thug. Then, Ciaran started to run towards the thugs as his raven went on to harass the writhing thug. It was pecking at the knife lodged on the thug's shoulder.
Ciaran groaned as he left the comfort of the shadows,
The third dagger barely missed the thug's arm as he drew it back, abandoning the pistol in favour of keeping his limb's intact. It was at this point Ciaran heard a deep voice bellow down the alley from the direction of the docks.
Ciaran, hearing the voice, looked towards the docks and, as he saw the cloak, quickly realized that it was the guard from the docks. But Ciaran didn't stop his movement, and instead continued to walk towards the downed thug.
After a deep breath to calm his adrenaline--and agitation, Ciaran addressed the guard.
Ciaran: "A small problem, sir. And it was going on. See, these thugs .."
Ciaran then picked up his knife which hit the nose of the writhing thug.
Ciaran looked at the kid, then let out a smirk while picking up his other knife and cutting the kid's speech,
Ciaran: ".. When these thugs grabbed you into the alley. I know."
Ciaran turned to the guard, while picking up the thug's dropped pistol.
Ciaran: "See, sir, when I arrived earlier today, my raven flew off, and I went here to look for it. The next thing I know, these thugs were trying to shoot it with this ..,"
Ciaran twirled the pistol while his raven cawed softly,
Ciaran: ".. Before they decided to harass this young man. I just did what a good citizen must do."
Ciaran then confidently tried to gave the guard a convincing look.
The guard gave Ciaran a suspicious look, then turned to the thugs, who seemed to be struggling to come up with a better explanation.
Guard- I somehow doubt you'd qualify as good citizen, hiding in alleys throwing knives at people. Still... these two were obviously up to something, so you can be on your way.
Ciaran chuckled and shrugged while sheathing a knife,
Ciaran: "I was just looking around the corner, sir, not hiding. And aren't people allowed to defend himself, his pet, and other people, sir?"
Ciaran glanced at the two thugs, then at the guard, while sheathing another knife.
Ciaran: "Besides, these two are undoubtedly up to something dangerous. They were the ones hiding, lethally armed, and snatched people into alleyways. Who knows what will happen if we let this kind of people do whatever they want, right, sir?"
Ciaran leaned to pull the knife lodged on one of the thug's shoulder.
Ciaran: "There. When you interrogate him, just press there for an answer."
Ciaran smiled at the guard while sheathing his last knife,
Ciaran: "Glad I can be of help today, sir, thank you for letting me take my leave, and good day. I hope we will meet again in better circumstances. You too."
As Ciaran walked away after saluting the guard and the kid, his raven flew onto his left shoulder. He hoped to have swayed a little attention off the Guild and dented some things.
The harbor master was more than familiar with Snake's query, and referred the thief to Darragh. He was found aboard deck of the galley Hero of Hoardson, and his manner of dress was purely Elexian.
Ciaran: "Ah. Okay,"
Ciaran looked around and spotted a rather deserted place nearby a fishmonger's shop.
Ciaran: "Well, I think I shall practice this."
Ciaran approached the spot and, once he was sure no one was nearby, casted Incite on himself. The inscription on the ring on his left hand emitted a faint black light while the raven cawed and swooped towards Ciaran, who screamed before passing out.
---
Ciaran couldn't speak a word nor see anything. All he can do was to feel his own body in the darkness. He looked around, turning his head without actually seeing anything. After a moment of breathing a rather cold air, he slowly moved forward, taking small steps with his feet. Strangely, the air grew colder, and his eyes seemed to have begun adapting as his surroundings slowly turned to purple, save for a tiny dot in front of him. Ciaran continued to approach the dot, which, after a seemingly long walk, he realized was actually a sphere because it was swirling. And whispering.
Ciaran paused as he began to hear whispers. Which grew louder. Louder. And louder.
---
Ciaran awoke to the loud sound of a raven pecking his head, the smell of fish and the view of clouds. Ciaran breathed heavily. His eyes dilated. He was lying down.
Liar!
A sharp voice echoed in his head and Ciaran suddenly stood up. His face looked down in disbelief. He squinted at the cawing raven. He wasn't sure what has happened, but he was sure the voice didn't sound like the raven, his bondmate. When he slowly exhaled while wiping his face, he realized. It sounded like the whispers.
---
As he slowly regained his composure, he gauged how long he was passed out and it seemed like only moments in reality. His raven, who had stopped cawing continuously, flew to his left shoulder and cawed once, reminding Ciaran of his task.
He lifted his head, shaking it, and then looked at the surroundings, searching for anyone who looked like a gang member or a guard.
Ciaran: "Yeah .."
The raven cawed twice, loudly.
Ciaran: "Okay, okay. No more stunts,"
Ciaran nodded while walking further down the docks, towards the men in torn jackets.
When he was nearing them, he tried to look for a spot to hide from their view and away from the light. He thought he must confirm their identity first and hear something useful without causing unnecessary attention.
Did he manage to walk past unnoticed?
Thug- Damned birds, I'll show the pest.
The other thug leaned across and snatched the powder from his hand, giving him a rum look. Neither seemed to notice the scroll reading man walk passed.
But then, as Ciaran entered the dark alley, he realized just how dark the alley was.
--
It was so familiar. So empty but so alive. So silent but so loud. So dark, and full of terror.
The dark alley was consumed by its own shadows.
And Ciaran could no longer see anything, not even his body, nor hear anything, not even his voice. He shivered, each strand of his hair was tense and every inch of his skin could feel the cold air that was engulfing him. He was in fear.
--
But then, he heard his raven's caw, sending him back to his consciousness. He was standing still near the entrance of the dark alley, still unseen by the thugs. Ciaran then hid himself properly, well within the shadow of the walls of which his back was pressed against. He took a deep breath and his raven flew onto his left shoulder.
Ciaran turned to his resting bondmate, chuckling silently.
Ciaran: "That was close. Did you always scream 'turd' like that?"
The raven tilted its head while Ciaran observed the two thugs without exposing much of his head. It seemed that their voices became louder as he bathed in the shadows.
Thug 2- Why do you think we're waiting around here, wave cloak won't be able to see into this alley.
He began to inspect them from the shadows, while hoping for a better window of opportunity. Perhaps a random pedestrian for them to grab?
Thug- Have you considered what you'll do in the next life kid?
Kid- I- er... no?
Ciaran: "Bless me, Gramps!"
The second dagger struck the man square in the face as he writhed from the shoulder pain, the pommel of the blade breaking his nose.
Ciaran groaned as he left the comfort of the shadows,
Ciaran: "Arrrhh!"
Guard- What on earth is going on here!?
After a deep breath to calm his adrenaline--and agitation, Ciaran addressed the guard.
Ciaran: "A small problem, sir. And it was going on. See, these thugs .."
Ciaran then picked up his knife which hit the nose of the writhing thug.
Ciaran: "Tried to kidnap a young man .."
Guard- Kidna- is this true?
Thug- Is it hell. We were just talking.
Kid- I was walking the other way...
Ciaran: ".. When these thugs grabbed you into the alley. I know."
Ciaran turned to the guard, while picking up the thug's dropped pistol.
Ciaran: "See, sir, when I arrived earlier today, my raven flew off, and I went here to look for it. The next thing I know, these thugs were trying to shoot it with this ..,"
Ciaran twirled the pistol while his raven cawed softly,
Ciaran: ".. Before they decided to harass this young man. I just did what a good citizen must do."
Ciaran then confidently tried to gave the guard a convincing look.
Guard- I somehow doubt you'd qualify as good citizen, hiding in alleys throwing knives at people. Still... these two were obviously up to something, so you can be on your way.
Ciaran: "I was just looking around the corner, sir, not hiding. And aren't people allowed to defend himself, his pet, and other people, sir?"
Ciaran glanced at the two thugs, then at the guard, while sheathing another knife.
Ciaran: "Besides, these two are undoubtedly up to something dangerous. They were the ones hiding, lethally armed, and snatched people into alleyways. Who knows what will happen if we let this kind of people do whatever they want, right, sir?"
Ciaran leaned to pull the knife lodged on one of the thug's shoulder.
Ciaran: "There. When you interrogate him, just press there for an answer."
Ciaran smiled at the guard while sheathing his last knife,
Ciaran: "Glad I can be of help today, sir, thank you for letting me take my leave, and good day. I hope we will meet again in better circumstances. You too."
As Ciaran walked away after saluting the guard and the kid, his raven flew onto his left shoulder. He hoped to have swayed a little attention off the Guild and dented some things.
Snake - "Darragh, you know him?"
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Snake - "You Darragh?"
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together