RP:Crazed Assassin, Close Call

Part of the A Dream of Tyranny Arc

Date: April 30th, 2016

Elevated Lookout to Sea

Desparrow stood near the peak on the elevation that overlooked the sea and all its beauty. Afternoon sun beat down on his exposed flesh, the clothing he wore only on his lower half and having belonged to some bandit that had perished the night before at his hands. He still had the scent of blood on him, remnants of it crusted on his hands and flecks of it splashed on his chest. Magically he was weakened, not giving off as powerful of a signature for those that were sensitive to feeling the presence of it. There he stood, enjoying the breeze, the light and the freedom of knowing he was not currently in danger.

Orphyn wasn't the same person Desparrow ran into a month prior. She wore no mask this day, no tight concealing leather for stealthy movement. She made no attempt at concealing her identity in any fashion. She wore a long flowing leather duster that suited the rest of her rogue-ish garb- Black and unkempt. Grey-blue eyes peered out from beneath vibrant neon-pink bangs, and a cigarette was fixed between two lips painted black. Her demeanor was much more calm and cool. A sense of normality. It was when she spied Desparrow at the cliff's edge did the deranged woman begin to slow; One side of her jacked parted as she wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her tainted dagger. Her voice, low in tone, called out. "Ryder. I've been looking for you."

Desparrow caught scent of the one approaching him and with that turned to face someone he hadn’t seen in some time. “Ah! Well hello dear Orphyn.” Azure hues looked her up and down and to be honest he was surprised. Sure he didn’t have enough on her to know what she usually looked like but she appeared more put together this time. “How have you been?” A couple new scars adorned his chest, specifically an arrow that had punctured the right side of his chest, another new thing being a tattoo that had been started on his abdomen. Indiscernible other than a manner of length which had scales, appearing to be a tail but it had no body.

Orphyn takes a final drag of that burning mixture of paper and herb, and flicks it over the cliff past the man that has drawn her attention. She lifted a shoulder with shrug. "Miserable." was the only word she would state. How melodramatic. Black painted nails were scrutinized for signs of wear, he tone still quite cold and emotionless. "So did you do it? Cenril? I mean, you said you were going to... but this?" Her stone gaze met his. "Good job, by the way. So much for only the government gettin' the brunt of it, huh? And the kids? Were they masterminds of population control too? Or did you just get rid of them for fun?" The woman was growing annoyed, and most likely, angry. Orphyn licked her lip before continuing. "There's a large sum on your head. Alive..." She ginned sinisterly. "...or dead. Oh what do I do?"

Desparrow hadn’t expected this turn of events but of course he did know that when he did attack Cenril there would be an accumulation of enmity towards him. A hand slipped into his pocket to grasp at a shard of crystallized magic and slowly he began to break it down for absorption into his body through the same hand. “Yes it was me, I had help but I did not expect it to turn how it did. Children getting taken was not part of the plan, but Mihael is a wildcard and I cannot control him. He took the children and has since been unable to be located. I don’t know where he is, and I disagree with the behavior as well.” The lycan didn’t know what to say, “There isn’t much that I can offer you. I attacked the guards, now that they are gone the rest of the people can be saved.”

Orphyn growled and looked to her left. "Shut your damn gob." she commanded. It might have been hard to tell exactly, but she wasn't quite talking to Desparrow. Nutters as usual. "Mihael, huh? Never heard of 'im." The dagger sheathed upon her left hip was dislodged from its housing and with casual prowess, she twirled that weapon in her hand. "Who do they need saving from exactly? Ain't been no wars around Cenril's way for decades. The government is lazy, sure, but it ain't like that mess in Frostmaw. SO who, Ryder, do they need saving from? Last thing I heard, was the streets were a bloodbath. Sounds like they needed saving from you and this.. Mihael, whomever he is." Suddenly she shouted at the space beside her. "I KNOW. GIVE IT A REST." Eyelids fell and a deep breath was taken as she regained composure. "I am torn here, Ryder. Very very torn. I want to believe you, I really do. But.. I don't know you. No, no I don't. We've met briefly and I trusted you. Was I wrong?"

Desparrow knew there was something off with Orphyn and so her reactions were most likely not to him. When she finished speaking he took a step closer so as to appear approachable yet maintaining a safe distance. “You weren’t wrong. I didn’t expect this; it truly did get out of hand. What was supposed to happen was merely the removal of the guard. There was outside interference, some men with soldiers not from here bothered to meddle in our affairs and made it explode.” With the slow trickle of magic back into his body he felt a bit stronger with each passing second while the crystal continued to shrink in his pocket. “There is a creature that goes by the name of Zirael, and as far as I know she wants to destroy -all- of Cenril, the people, the city itself. We can get the people out of here, to a safe place, and then I will with my allies go to face this threat. Sadly I don’t know what she is bringing to the table but I’ve been preparing for quite some time.”

Orphyn 's eyelids part ways quite wide, nose wrinkled- She had that psychotic angry look on her face. "Noooooo. No way. No how. Over my godless damned body. Who the hell is Zirael?" She seemed to completely forget about the Cenril incident and the bounty on Desparrow. Fingerless-gloved hand grips the hilt of her dagger so tight that the knuckles began to whiten.

Desparrow was relieved that the heat was off of him, but at the same time he made sure to not show it or make any indication that he was going to take advantage of the distraction. “A mermaid with from what I’ve heard, magic with water. I fear the worst for the city and if I just try and evacuate the city the guards would have just gotten in the way. Worst scenario we have a tidal wave to contend with that will wash away the city. That is my greatest fear, and I’m not a political man, so removing as much as I can to save many more is the best I can do. What happened was awful, but at the same time I cannot waste time making up for my crimes when I can still move forward to save the rest of the city.”

Orphyn started to laugh. A deep throaty sort. Mocking. "A mermaid? The whores of the sea? Bahahahaha!" But then he mentioned magic. A tidal wave; And so she grew serious. "Hrm. Well. You know. Your job might have gotten a wee bit harder, yes? There is a bounty on your head. Your friend too. A hundred grand! Now your intentions are noble, but I have half the mind to turn you in! Can you imagine everyone else? You're a dead man, Ryder. How are you going to save the city when everyone is gunnin' to capture you?" She sheathed her weapon. "This better not be some sort of trick, either. You remember, Fatty. Fatty lied to me too." With a light grin, the mad-woman moved some of those pink locks from her view.

Desparrow shook his head, he knew it was going to be difficult but he was going to manage. “I have friends, good ones, strong ones. There may be people that want my head, that are in it for the money but if they do that then who will be here when it comes time to protect this city. Sure there are some people but the less defenders there are, just means that it will be all the more difficult. I am coming up with a plan. I have a place for the people, even if the buildings are lost. If we preserve the history, the culture then in the end we can rebuild. No tricks will I have for you Orphyn. To those whom I consider my friends, I will not lie.”

Orphyn turned to look out and over the cliff, hair blowing with a gentle breeze. Her hands found warmth in her pockets, the opening of her jacket pulled shut. "You could die, you know." she said quietly. A moment of of silence, her next words making a little more sense. "Not really. But you could fake it. For the bounty. To confuse everyone looking. Maybe an illusion. Maybe a sleeping potion. Something." Blackened lips tugged into a bit of a smile. "You can fool everyone and hide in plain sight."

Desparrow nodded, something he had been contemplating since he knew that there would be people to oppose him. “I could, and it is something I could do, if I had the right people helping, not only with my ‘death’ but also with me remaining hidden. I am not unable to work from the shadows, I have a couple places I could hide, only one of them completely unknown about. Though even hiding there, I have to be able to get word out, and act without being seen.”

Orphyn taps upon her lip with a well cared for finger. "Networking. Hire disposables. People that you could perhaps trust, or maybe never have to meet. You hire someone who deals with a couple people, who each deal with a couple people, who- well... you get the idea. A web that makes it difficult to tie things back to you." Finally after having been staring out to sea for so long, Orphyn looks to Desparrow. "That's the idea, at least. I wouldn't know, really. I just mind my own. Mostly."

Desparrow nodded, not having the knowledge of such but with the idea given he found it to be quite reasonable. “Interesting.” His gaze went back to the sea, “It is a good strategy, one that I will employ for certain. You know there is probably a reward for offering tips as to my whereabouts. I’d rather not die, but if you let Ranok know that I was in the cove last night, you saw me murder some people.. Well I’m sure there will be a bit of a reward for you.” With that he withdrew a considerably smaller crystal of pure magic. “This is an item I’d like you to have. It is pure magic, mine actually. It grows when it is fueled, but can be used to fuel magic as well. I have more, so this is not any loss for me.” It was purple, and the size of several fingers clumped together. When used to fuel something it would shrink until used up and nonexistent.

Orphyn takes that strange bauble of magical energy, a brief examination of the item in a curious manner. "Oooh for me? Why you shouldn't have!" she snorts. "I think I can find some use for this one way or another. New toys are... fun." There was that sadistic grin again. Pocketing the item, her head listed to one side. "I'll pass along the... tip. Free gold is free gold! We will get you all publicly dead and stuff real soon. And then we're going to find this mer-whore and gut her like the poor excuse for a fish that she is. Slow and painful. Nobody messes with my home."

Desparrow nodded, releasing the item. A small smile was offered the woman, “I appreciate you not trying to kill me. To be honest I was worried, I don’t think I could fight you off, but my intention is truly for the betterment of our home. I also would greatly appreciate your help in staging my.. death.” That smile widened a bit, “We will fight back against Zirael, we will succeed, and rebuild this town better, one that is safe for all of us.”

Orphyn shrugs a little and flips her collar. She was all cool like that. "You didn't tell nobody 'bout me or what I did. And if you are telling the truth about what happened.. then I owe you the same courtesy, sweets." The woman pats Des on the shoulder with a wink. "Besides, if you're lying, I can always take your head later!" A giggle would indicate joking~ She was joking, wasn't she? Stepping forward to the cliff with both hands nestled now in her pockets, Orphyn stated, "Gotta scram. There's something.. I need to check up on. Stalk you soon, doll face." The psycho whistled to herself as she took another step forward and plunged off of the Cliffside. By time Desparrow would have a chance to look, she would already be gone.