[center][h1][b]Xenelith[/b][/h1][/center] [b]Time:[/b] Morning ==> Noon [b]Location:[/b] Love Lounge ==> Roshimi Market [b]Interaction with:[/b] Azriel[sub][@Tae][/sub], Jack[sub][@Alivefalling][/sub], Zelginn[sub][@Dezuel][/sub] [hr] Xenelith didn’t deign the annoying child a response. He was too young and too stupid to understand the necessities of a long life. The skaula was doing its job excellent though, as was his companion for an hour. [b]“Dispatch the child, Azriel. We have no time for meaningless riddles.”[/b] He said as he rose up. [b]“I think I’ll retire to my room.”[/b] The girl led him by the arm to one of the more luxurious rooms and closed the door. For an hour the Dark Elf commander would not be reachable. After the hour though, most of the skaula had done its job. Two dark elves, that hadn’t accompanied the group, had arrived and were standing guard at his room’s door. When he finally came out they delivered their news with practiced neutrality: Lord Terneus had been attacked at the market. He narrowly survived the assassination attempt. It filled Xenelith with utter joy, knowing that that pompous bastard had the life scared out of him at least once. Though those were private matters. Terneus Andros was a civil servant of Aklenroth. He ordered his guards to bring him to the site. On their way, Xenelith got the full briefing. It gave the dark elf commander plenty to think about. He had almost sunken too deep into his own thoughts to feel the rustling on his purse. Almost, but not quite. Without turning around he grabbed whatever arm was grabbing his coins. Then he turned to face the thief. Though he had to look down to do so. It was a kid, no older than 12. A bear demi-human. He looked scrawny but a fire burned in his eyes. “Let me go!” he yelled at Xenelith as he tried to fight the iron grip. “Let me go!” [b]“What do you think you’re doing?”[/b] the dark elf commander asked. “Nothing you pale skinned freak!” the cub yelled out as he kept fighting. “Let me go! I’ve done nothing!” Such lies with such a straight face. Combined with such boldness. There was a clear fire in the bear child’s eyes. Few would’ve dared to insult a dark elf to his face these days. Xenelith did let him go. The moment he released his grip the cub bolted away as if Xenelith was death itself. Xenelith for his part, slowly took out a stack of coins from his pouch, held them up and yelled: [b]“Hey kid!”[/b] When the child was sure he got far enough he turned around and saw the dark elf holding up the stack of coins. Slowly he put the money on the edge of the nearby fountain. He said something the child couldn’t hear to his dark elf guards. They began to walk away, Xenelith quickly followed. The kid kept his eyes on them and everywhere around. The stack of amass was attractive. Soon the hunger in him overtook his cautiousness. He ran for the stack and grabbed it all in one fell swoop, then he ran. Far, far away. Assuming it was some wicked trap and he would be caught as a thief by some other dark elf guards tipped off. But nobody stopped him as he ran. Nobody chased him. Eventually he ran straight for the best bakery in town. “You shouldn’t have done that sir.” A dark elf said as he looked back to see the cub take the money. “The kid is as good as dead anyway. This city, it’s like flour’s being billowed up by blacksmith’s bellows. One spark and everything goes wrong.” His eyes turned forward again and scanned everyone passing. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as if he could be attacked at any moment. Xenelith’s eyes fell on more satisfying results. In the distance, a few deadened trees. Though he wasn’t deaf to his guard’s musings. [b]“When this city blows up, who do you think is going to get out faster? A noble desperately filling his cart with gold and clogging the main streets or an orphan that knows all the alleyways and sewers.”[/b] “Still, you shouldn’t have done it sir.” The dark elf said. “Their kind didn’t send money when we were starving on Daka. They send nothing. They left us to rot.” There was a real bitterness in the dark elf’s voice. [b]“And now I chose to be better than them.”[/b] Xenelith said. [hr] The marketplace was still busting with people. Despite the assassination attempt mere hours ago. Only a section of the market was cordoned off by heavy armored dark elf guards holding massive iron tower shields up. Their very presence created a barrier between them that only a select few could cross. Xenelith passed along with just a mere nod. Before him was not much. A few smaller animals. Dead and crushed. Some cake on the ground and an arrow lodged in the wall, angling downwards. [b]“Tell me again what happened.”[/b] He told one of the dark elf guards as he observed the strange stage. “It began with a faun, sir. He began to play music right there.” The dark elf pointed at the cart Ilan had mounted earlier in the day. “The music was good, but the Lord-Governor didn’t seem to like it. He tried to confiscate the lyre. Out of nowhere, an arrow lodged itself right next to Terneus. Then critters and beasts suddenly appeared.” [b]“Did they attack the crowd? At all?”[/b] Xenelith asked as he crouched by tiny corpses of some birds slapped out of the air by frantic movement. “No, sir.” The dark elf guard said. “They flew over and passed all the people to attack the Lord Governor’s men. Aside from a few people running away from the chaos, not a citizen was harmed. Then once more out of the chaos a centaur dashed forward, threw a cake at Terneus and ran away with the faun.” Xenelith was rather impressed by the stoic expression of his guide to the crime scene. He knew for a fact all dark elves would be laughing their asses off in private the moment they heard the news. Even he cracked a smile. Though it quickly faded again. Certainly the situation had a comedic element. [b]“Anything more?”[/b] “Yes sir. A shady figure, I couldn’t quite catch who or what it was, took the lyre from the lord governor. Then the lord governor just vanished. In thin air. I’m sorry sir, we lost track of him.” The soldier reported. Rather solemnly. [b]“I understand, soldier.”[/b] Light Elves and their invisibility. It made them dangerous assassins indeed. Daka’s wolves were quite apt adept sniffing them out in the wild, but a city mingled too many smells. The trail would’ve long faded by now. [b]“I will inquire about the Lord Governor’s location.”[/b] Though if the man was caught, he alone was to blame for it. Never the less he already forged his plans to leverage the situation. An attack on a high ranking civil servant of Aklenroth would only drive more power in his own hands. His focus returned to the scene before him. The cake was meaningless. Rather hopeful he outstretched his hand over one of the birds. Silently begging Halastra to heed his call. Nothing happened. The dead did not rise up. Once more he was confronted with the limits of his power. Rather disgruntled he said: [b]“Fine.”[/b] And turned his focus on the arrow. Luckily the guards had kept it in the wall. With one eye he followed the shaft upwards. [b]“Nobody saw anything on the roofs?”[/b] He asked. “Nothing, sir.” The dark elf said. It had to come from the roofs. If it came from an amora further away, the assassin would certainly fail. If the amora was closer to ensure an accurate shot, people would’ve noticed it. The clues were strange though. An assassin on the roof, probably an accomplished light elf. That much was certain. But did he wait for Terneus to show up or was the faun planted as bait? One thing was clear though: this was not done by Risa. The girl didn’t have the people or the expertise to pull it off. At the very least there was another band of rebels in the city. One became two. The infestation of Roshimi was showing itself from under the thin veneer of civility. Intrigued by the would-be assassin, Xenelith decided to scale up the building to the roof he suspected the arrow was fired from. It gave a beautiful vantage point down into the market. Though everyone within the smaller streets was hidden away. His eyes wandered further away. To the grand spires and mansions in the distance. He caught a glimmer of the sky city high in the cloud. For a moment he realized the insane scale of Roshimi and he grew jealous of it.