LoD Chapter 2 - The Legend of the Forsaken Brother

[Bosolai]

"You mean HE's here?"

"Yes. He came into this city with a group."

"Does he know?"

"Of course he knows this is the HQ. Why else would he and the assassin's sister splinter into separate groups?"

"Get a bounty on him as fast as you can. Alive. Mercenaries, too. As many of the best you can buy."

"How much should we spend? We've currently got... 523,497 gold in the HQ's vault."

"All of it."

"All of it, sir? A sheer twenty-kay gold bounty would do the job. Or why not simply your bodyguards? Let them have some excersize."

"Not for Kerith. His only weakness is sheer numbers. Spend fifty-kay on mercs, and put a bounty up for another 200k. We're sending the best we can at short notice after him. And get them NOW."



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"It IS you! Oh Renetta, I've missed you so!" Trevor got to his feet and sheathed both axes. "We've got so much to catch up on! After Mother's death, I had to go. Father disowned me, forbade me from even coming close to Goraz. Since then, I've worked on my own, becoming the best at what I do. How have you fared the... how long has it been... six years? Has it really been that long? You must tell me everything!"

The couple finally got enough clothes on to be considered decent, but before they could run, Trevor held a hand in their direction. A white, semitransparent bubble appeared around the two, keeping them from going anywhere or making any sound.



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The sun was finally setting, and twilight was kicking in. The people ran off to their houses, and the guards seemed to disappear. A scuffle could be heard in the park. First to the left, then to the right, then behind, and next from the front. Three well-armed men walked up in to the four waiting in the park. The middle said, "Kerith, a certain Mr. Lichen wants to see you, and we're here to escort you. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Kerith grasped his claymore and readied for battle. "Or we can do this my way."

"Looks like thats the hard way, then." The man laughed, then commanded, "Boys." thirteen more men, all heavily armed and armored, appeared from out of the trees and bushes, surrounding the four warriors. All drew their weapons, and one or two used a telekinetic blast to send the warriors in separate directions, splitting them up.

(OOC: The BH's and Mercs in the park are in general tough stuff. Maybe half of them are inexperienced bounty hunters who couldn't pass up a high-paying job, but the rest of them are hardcore and good at what they do.)

[Mintaro]

Karnok awoke to the conversation but kept his eyes closed. He heard the rustling and was about to burst into motion when he was hit with a blast and thrown across the fountain. He slid managed to avoid getting his supplies soaked in water by slamming the hilt of his trident into the ground and using it like a pole vault to get him over the last bit of the fountain. He landed on his feet with his trident held awkwardly behind him. This normally wouldn't be a problem but he had four men in front of him. One of them was holding an ax, two of them had swords and the fourth had a weird sort of chain with a large spike and the end. The two swords men naturally came at Karnok first. His only defense against this was to jump back into the water. It was about calf deep on him, but that put it at knee deep for them, which gave him a large advantage. It also gave him time to pull his trident up to a ready position.

Karnok knew he wasn't going to be able to get a fire going, and he was able to summon his ancestors without one but he still needed time to concentrate. He was a decent warrior on his own but he could use the extra help, especially against these four. The swords men jumped right in after him, they split off to either side hoping to distract him. Karnok was used to fighting two foes at once however. They came at him at once, one attacking high, the other attacking low. These men obviously thought he was an idiot. Karnok slammed the high attackers sword between the prongs of his trident and twists his grip so it locked the blade in place. At the same time he pivoted on one foot and kicked the second man right in the shoulder. Most men have never been kicked by a bull, a Minotaur is stronger. The kick sent the man flying backward clutching his battered shoulder and crushed shoulder plates. It wasn't his sword arm he had hit sadly so he would be back in the fight soon enough. He then put his foot quickly down and twisted the mans sword out of his grasp sending it flying away in a random direction (have fun with it). Karnok then picked the man up and threw him to the side. He noticed the man had a second sword on him so he would be back up quickly as well. That was when the chain shot out at him. He managed to bring his trident up to block it just in time. Or so he thought at least.

The mans target had been the trident all along, it wrapped around it and he pulled. Karnok lost his grip for just a second at the unexpected maneuver but grasped it back firmly before loosing his grip completely. The man pulled but the Minotaur wouldn't budge. Karnok tried to pull the man off his feet but he weighed too much, it looked as though his armor was weighted with that purpose in mind. Thats when the Axe wielder struck at him. Karnok was forced to release his massive trident in favor of keeping his hands. A fair trade in the end. The Axe wielder was clearly the most experienced fighter in the bunch. He managed to get off four attacks in rapid succession, forcing Karnok to keep backing up. He felt water his his back and knew he was almost to the fountain. The Axe wielder went in for a wide strike, clearly hoping to drive his opponent into the stone structure behind him. Karnok saw it for what it was however. and swiveled his body around the strike, and then moved in close to the man. He Slammed one of his massive fists into the mans face. Then a second one into his stomach. The armor hurts his knuckles a little but he ignored it. He bared a vicious set of jagged sharp teeth and picked the man up. He pulled the man in close and bit his nose clean off. Spitting it out into the fountain. The blood sprayed from the mans face, and coated Karnok in turn. He didn't care, Minotaurs had eaten humans long ago. Karnok then hurled the man behind him and into the stone structure. The sound of his neck snapping was loud but lost over the din of the battle around him. Thats when the two swords men came at him again. Things looked bad for the weaponless Karnok, even with him lost in a blood rage.

[Zephie]

Jen walked along the streets then, making his way across the outskirts of town under a new disguise.

As the seemingly innocent Foreign Merchant, he kept his arms tucked into billowing sleeves and walked straight ahead, appearing lost in thought. Which was true for the most part... thoughts of what to do with all that money, and where to go next...

But that was when he happened by the park and saw the fight breaking. Pausing for a second, he wondered, What the he--? Those people must've been hotter than I thought...

Turning away a step, he added to himself, No wonder those two were so upset.

Completing his turn he then ran off into an alleyway, and hurried to get out of town as soon as he could. He didn't want to get involved with that fight, and if he ever saw those people again, he might just not want to get involved with them, either... ... ...assuming they survived, that is.

[lazy man]

Kerith was in disbelief. He thought that the Dragon's Blood would have been enough to protect him, but it wasn't enough. It seemed like he would never be able to get away. But how had they found him?

"Dammit! How the hell did I forget!" Kerith thought, cursing himself in his head. This was their base of operations. He was always taken to Fariya after a set of matches until his owners could plan the best places they could earn money. After all these years, he chose to forget because he knew it was no use remembering places anymore.

Looking around after being hit by the telekinetic blast, Kerith noticed he was surrounded almost immediately. And not just by any of the bounty hunters and mercenaries either, but the ones that looked the most experienced, along with the three men who had approached him earlier, who he remembered being Lichen's bodyguards. Altogether, there were about six people all around him.

"I'm not going back," Kerith stated matter of factly.

"You don't have a choice in the matter," Lichen's bodyguard replied with a smug tone. Then, with his signal, the other five charged Kerith simultaneously.

Kerith never stood much of a chance. He managed to stab one, but was soon dogpiled. With both arms being held by Lichen's other two bodyguards, the struggling pit fighter was brough out of the mass of people and in front of the leader. If he weren't being held, Kerith would have killed the man with his bare hands by now, but all he could do was stare at the smiling face of the bodyguard one of his owners had sent after him.

"I've always wanted to kill you, but I won't get the chance today. Mr. Lichen wants you alive, and I can't get the man who's paying me to kill now, do I? Guess I'll just have to settle with knocking you out." The bodyguard raised a gauntleted hand to face level, and sent a crushing blow straight to Kerith's temple. With a groan, Kerith went out cold very quickly.

"Alright, boys, let's move. We're done here." With a smirk, the bodyguard left, the other two dragging Kerith along. He didn't even care about the mercenaries or bounty hunters, so he just let them do what they wanted.

[Astral Harmony]

Renetta physically shook herself and regained her composure, not even noticing that Trevor's victims had yet to escape. "Trevor, what's going on? Dad said you ran away with grief over mom's death and that you might have gone insane." Renetta wasn't sure what to think. Something about Trevor seemed wrong, like he was forcing the good nature he directed at her.
Maybe I'm just being paranoid. What does he have to fake about seeing me again?
"Come on, Bro. Let's go home. I'll apologize to dad with you and he'll get him to welcome you back. And...and if not, then I'll run away as well!" She forced a smile that seemed out of place on her, as though she had made a decision she didn't really want to make just yet.

[Bosolai]

"Boss, what are we supposed to do with the other three?" One of the mercenaries asked.

The lead guard looked back, "You're being paid to ensure we get Kerith back. Only way to do that is to kill his entourage." He continued to walk off with an unconsious Kerith.

(OOC: For the record, five of the toughest guys are out of the picture. There are three or four actually decent enemies remaining, the seven or eight others shouldn't be too tough.)



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"Forget about him. Forget about these people you're hanging around with. Lets skip it all and just run away! We can go where no one will find us and we can forget the world!" Trevor pleaded.

"He's trying to run from the truth. He can't face it. And because of that, he doesn't deserve forgiveness. Not mine, not yours, not Helena's." The overdressed man walked into the courtyard. After taking off the many hats, Richard spoke clearly, "Renetta, the boy's gone mad. I tried to protect you from him, but it seems my stubbornness only drove you away. After you ran off, I figured I should at least help you face the truth."

"I don't deserve forgiveness? What do you mean? If anything, you should be apologizing to everyone! If it weren't for you, Mother would have never died in the first place? Old man, you best leave now and never return! Don't think I wouldn't enjoy killing you!" It was hard to tell whether Trevor was crying or laughing, but it was clear he couldn't maintain his composure.

"Your descent to insanity has twisted your view of the truth. Why not let Renetta know the whole story?"

"Renetta, ignore him. He's senile. Lets run away to a place where nobody will ever look."

"Tell her the TRUTH, boy!"

Trevor brought out his bow and readied an arrow, aiming it at Richard. "I told you to leave this place, old man. Now GO!"

[TheBlindMime]

Howl pushed himself from the ground like a drunk who had fallen into the gutter. He spit out some blood as he heaved a heavy sigh. The telekinetic blast had not only thrown Howl from his throne, it knocked his jaw right into the fountain. As he wiped his bleeding mouth with the back of his right hand four very clueless soldiers looked on.

Howl merely began to laugh deeply as they stood at the ready, all waiting for him to stand to his feet before attacking. "You all have to much honor to be in the business you have chosen. You should have killed me where I lied. Now!" He raised his right hand up and slammed it down in one fluid move. All the snow flew upward and began to swirl creating a snowstorm around the men. They all moved in quickly.

As they moved into the fury of the storm they trusted their blades forward all hoping the man they hunted was not quick enough to escape them. As they moved farther in they slowly seperated, each taking slow steps, creaking forward in their heavy armor listening for something other then the clinking of their armor or the low whistle of the snow.

One of the sword wielders could feel something in front of him and he hadn't heard any creaking metal save for his own, he lifted his blade up and dropped it with a yell to have it stop suddenly with a high ringing noise like that of hitting metal. His surprise caused him to step backwards to be brought to yet another quick stop, it was then that the storm came to a close, the flakes dropped to the ground once more. The men realized they were surrounded now.

A cage of ice surrounded them, its bars were so thick they were a pale white. High above the cages center on a pillar of ice stood Howl. His eyes were locked on those below him, "It's quite easy to manipulate ice when its so present in the area, I didn't even need to create most of this, just put it as I please. As I said, you should have killed me when you had the chance, unfortunately for you four, I will not repeat your mistake." Howl snapped his fingers and the bars slowly began forming spear's of ice, all of them driving towards the entrapped mercenaries. As the ice slowly puntures through their armor most of them scream for a moment before they meet their maker.

The sword wielder made a frantic plea for his life as a spear slowly grew closer to his throat, "Please don't, Please you can't do this, I'll never bother you again, please just let me go. please plea-" His final words were cut off by a slow wheeze as the spear passed through his throat. Howl looked on sadly as he tried to catch his breath, imbetween large gasps he lipped "I'm sorry", to the man whose paniced eyes seemed to be searching for any sign of comfort as the spear pushed through the back of his throat.

[Astral Harmony]

Renetta had half-turned when her father started speaking up, and remained still as he and Trevor had their dialogue. That was up until when Trevor drew his bow that she took action. This action was to stand in the way, her stance clearly one of a warrior. "I remember. During a horrible winter storm, my parents had to get medicinal herbs in the mountains, and my brother left shortly after them."
I should have never believed that it would be a happy ending.
"I want the truth and I don't care who it comes from." Renetta sounded cold, and knew this was her heart. Six years with no true answer, the countless worrying and tears shed, and finally...finally...the answer was within reach. She wasn't going to waste this chance, not while her brother and father were both there.

[Bosolai]

"I'm sorry I never had the courage to tell you this before, Renetta." Richard spoke, almost in tears. "Your step-brother was never kidnapped. Trevor killed your mother, and went into hiding."

"Thats impossible, old man! You killed her!" Trevor fired the arrow at Renetta, but missed because of lack of focus. He dropped the bubble around the senator and the girl, who dropped to the floor unconsious due to the oxygen deficiency. As fast as he could, he readied three arrows at once, and fired them at the group. "We were on the mountain, and my arrow... My arrow..."

"Your arrow would've gone straight through my heart if your mother didn't jump in the way." Richard said, broken with tears yet with a powerful tone. "If you hadn't tried to kill me there, Helena would be alive. Its time to face the truth, Trevor."

"No! It you hadn't cried for help! If only you weren't so weak! If only you didn't fool her into loving you more than ME, then my love would still be alive now! Because of that, you must die! You must all die!" Trevor brought out five arrows this time, firing them at everyone at once, then unsheathed his axes and leaped at Renetta.

(OOC: Regular arrows, unable to break through the usually enchantments made on most armor. However, the bow is enchanted so that single shots will be able to pierce through the strong stuff. As for the group in the park, have fun with the mercs/BHs. Remember, four of the seven remaining are "teh über".)

[TheBlindMime]

Howl slips a finger into his mouth to check the bleeding, it had stopped since he had killed those men. A sudden odor caught his attention, it was smoke, almost like that of the minotaur's but far less sweet. He looks down to see a pipe smoking spear-wielder who waves and smiles as Howl gaze met his. "Who are you?" Howl questions from above.

"I'm Gorobei Yamada," The plump man responds as he pats his plump stomach, "The name sounds strong but..." He just giggles for a moment before taking another puff.

"So I guess we're supposed to do our little dance now." Howl replies.

"Yeah that is what they pay me for. I just want to make sure that you know they pay me well." Gorobei says solemnly as he pats his pipe against his spear knocking it clean.

Howl smiles, "This should be fun," he leans forward and pushes off the pillar launching himself straight at Gorobei, "The names Howl!" he yells in mid motion swinging a clumsy right claw towards his chest.

Gorobei easily steps away from the midair attack and drives his spear towards Howl's face. Howl pulls his face to the left narrowly avoiding Gorobei's blade. As Howl's foiled attack lands on the ground his real move is set into motion, a sudden rush of icecicles shot up from the ground all firing towards gorobei's chest. Gorobei switches to the defensive quickly, flipping the spear in his hands as he propelled a flame in front of it. The two combined not only put a stop to offensive but began to burn away the ice.

Howl rolls away and watches as Gorobei continues his flame to burn away the remains of the ice. Gorobei's smile fades as he finishes burning away the ice and turns to Howl in a passive stance once again. "You're right this should be fun." Gorobei says.

Howl merely nods as he watches Gorobei, he tenses for a moment drawing his fingers into a fist and then slowly releases, "I'll miss you Gorobei." Dropping to his knees Howls hands pat the ivory floor, a sudden upchurning of snow flew towards Gorobei. As it grew closer its form grew more focused and concise, creating the form of a giant snakes head snapping at Gorobei.

Gorobei laughs as he steps back and throws a hand forward creating a huge arc of flame through the snake. "Your creations are too detailed my friend had if you put more focus in its size and strength and less into its scales and fangs you might have gotten me." As the last of the snake melts away Gorobei realizes Howl no longer stands behind it.

"I'll keep that in mind," Howl cackles from behind Gorobei. Gorobei turns to see Howl's hand engulfed in a set of jagged ice claws driving into his chest. He groaned loudly as his spear fell from his grip, a look of shock locked on his face. "If you hadn't been so focused on using your fire to burn away all the ice you might have seen me move."

"Heh," He weezed, "I'm a pyromaniac, what can I say...." He leans backwards reaching for something to brace his fall. Howl steps forward and helps ease Gorobei onto a nearby tree. "Thank you, but tell me..." He take a slow shallow breath, "What is your real name?"

"My name is Sebastian Howry." He replies complying to the dying mans wishes.

"Well Sebastian Howry, I'll be waiting for you at the gates of hell." He weezed for a moment as he put his pipe to his mouth, "You wouldn't happen to have a light on you would you," Howl shook his head no in reply, "Heh.... Just my luck...." The pipe slipped from his lips as his life slipped away.

Howl stands up and begins walking back towards the fountain as he waves a goodbye to his lost friend, "Until the gates of hell then, Gorobei Yamada."

(ooc: insert the hulk's hitchhicking theme here)