[Center][h3][b][color=SteelBlue]KOSROQ[/color][/b][/h3][/center]

Kosroq had small rituals he performed before each job. Currently he was finishing inking the prayers on his mask. It was fashioned after the masks worn by an ancient order of assassins rumored to commune with spirits. Of course, that was long ago, and the order hadn't existed for a very long time; he doubted anyone even knew the origin of the mask anymore. It was a tool meant to hide his identity and strike fear into his enemies. The mask itself resembled a sunken face, narrowed eyes and a completely neutral slit for the mouth. The prayers on it were mostly of forgiveness. Kosroq thought of it as wearing his confessions on his face. 

Finishing the ink, he wrapped it in a bundle of clothe. Next he changed his outfit. His 'work' outfit had more Earth Kingdom influences than Northern ones, only incorporating some fur around the collar. Most of it was dark green, though there were some lines of lighter shades as well. It looked, for the most part, rather generic, but allowed freedom of movement.

Finally, he strapped the scabbard of his serpent-tooth dagger on. Picking up the bundle hiding his mask and shoving it into his bag, he mouthed a silent prayer with his eyes clothed, then set out.

[center]--~--[/center]

The city was always busy, meaning getting to the agricultural sector without any attention was easy enough. The difficult part was in doing the job. 

The bureaucratic building of the agricultural sector - where all the records, scrolls, and other various paperwork was written, stored, or transfered - was huge. This meant that sneaking around was easy enough. Kosroq entered with his mask off. He knew the name of the target - one Loh Ma. All Kos had to do was plant some papers. He'd gotten a better glance at them before he'd left his place - they were faked correspondence between Loh Ma and a group of sandbender [i]daofei[/i]. Over multiple letters, it detailed how Loh Ma, who, among other duties, took in crops from outsiders and calculated their value, was transcribing the total of crops falsely, taking some of the crop, and selling it covertly to the [i]daofei[/i] for some personal profit, while the city knew none the wiser and the [i]daofei[/i] ate well and recruited more members sick of the sparse pickings provided from the desert and the infrequent stolen goods. After all, the deep inland desert dwellers were reputed to feed off buzzard wasps and drink cactus juice, which sounded unhealthy to do once, much less live off of. Of course, it was none of Kosroq's business.

The business of the agricultural officials often meant the offices themselves were empty, often used only for meetings and writing the records not done on the spot elsewhere. Kosroq located Loh Ma's office relatively easy. Getting in was easy as well - Kosroq had perfected a technique to lockpick doors a long time ago, and though Kosroq hadn't brought a canteen with him, the agricultural offices were decorated with an abundance of flowers and such. Checking the hallway again and listening for any approaching footsteps, he began drawing some water discreetly from a nearby flower and working on the lock. Lockpicking with water was tricky work - he had to let the water into the lock, then slowly feel out the proper key shape by freezing and unfreezing the water repeatedly until he felt the ice occupying the appropriate space for him to turn it like a real key. He could simply break the lock or expand the ice enough to damage it, but the point was to leave no trace. It was very difficult to manipulate the water at such minute detail, but he had had plenty of practice.

The office was pointlessly well decorated for something few likely saw, which was typical of officials everywhere. Kosroq settled for sliding the papers behind a large cabinet set against the wall - hidden enough to be believable while still being fairly simple to locate. Besides, he was sure the client would alert the authorities of Loh Ma's supposed 'corruption' within the day so as to guarantee Loh Ma had no time to find out of the client's planted papers. Overall, an easy job - no need for his mask or knife after all and no complications. Kosroq slipped out of the office in less than five minutes and walked out of the bureaucratic building, disappearing into the stream of people moving about the city.

Garr almost looked surprised when Kosroq knocked at his door. "Hmm?"

"Tell the client the job is done. Within the next few hours, please," Kosroq said, then walked away without waiting for an answer. It felt good to make Garr hurry after he popped this surprise job on Kos earlier, even if it had been easy. Now he had the day to himself again. Maybe he'd pop by the monastery to pray for a bit, he mused as he disappeared into the crowd again.