[IC] Time Doesn't Heal Anything Quickly [Ebonfort]

[Rekaigan]

Starting Date and Time: 26th Day of Mauven, 300 DM, Late Night

Starting Location: Ruby Banks

CS URLs: Megumi Tsukiyama

It was a typical night at the Red Jewel Tavern, the tavern was bustling with business, being one of the larger establishments in Ruby Banks. In one of the corners of the dimly lit building, a half-katzheer had herself pressed against an off duty Ebonfort Guard, conducting her usual schemes of flirting and making off with their money. However things were not going as well for her. She thought that she could ignore her injuries and go about business normally, clearly a mistake as the guard wrapped his burly arm around her side. His hand pressed against her waist, causing her to recoil in agony as her broken rib shifted in her body. She began to sweat and grit her teeth as the the sharp pain flowed through her.

By now, the guard seemed quite alarmed, calling for a doctor or a healer. Nobody answered his call, since no one there was a doctor nor a healer that was willing to do any work, especially if they won't get paid for it. Megumi got up and pecked the guard on the cheek, giving him a small smirk. "It's okay, I'll be fine." Slowly, she walked out of the tavern, clutching her side. She hadn't moved too far away from the tavern doors, leaning against a wall. Her breath was short and every so often she would pause mid breath, cringing at the pain. She needed help, but she didn't know where to go.

[Twhirtley]

Jakobi was quite bored. He'd recently just finished some work here in Ruby Banks, and was now enjoying a nice flagon of Schlock's Shlappin' Lager, a specialty of this particular tavern. It was quite nice, he always came for it when work brought him this way. He sat with his back to the wall, watching everyone in the tavern and their ongoings. It was both a hobby and a work habit. He remembered Eirlandria, the buxom white elf serving lass. She was one of the only serving girls that was genuinely wholesome around here. Most of the other ladies were anything but, often very promiscuous or outright prostitutes. Jakobi found her quite interesting for how different she was. Interesting people were the best to keep tabs on.

He could see that Ser Lennon had found himself under yet another lass' wiles. He was the lowest ranking of knight, relegated to simple guard duty. A good guy he was, if also quite, well, dumb. He watched him and the half breed woman for a bit, her movements clearly pained and forced. It was rather obvious she was sore or injured and was trying to hide it, unsuccessfully it seemed, as now Ser Lennon was shouting for a doctor, or a healer. Jakobi snorted. There was only one healer, Sera Amaretta, and she was in the capital. And hardly anyone knew about her, especially not some low level knight out in the villages.

He watched the woman slump out of the tavern, and had a plan forming in his mind. He had an interesting relationship with Sera Amaretta, and he always liked having new contacts, especially ones that owed him. Yes, this would do just fine. He silently moved from his seat and out the back door of the tavern, guessing that she'd be just around the corner, before the alley. She wasn't moving quickly with her injuries after all. He had a pension for being the mysterious guy, it was more of a good business tactic than a natural effect for him. He moved up the alley and found a nice crate to sit upon. He then started whistling a faint, haunting melody. He let it carry through the air, his ears able to hear the woman's exasperated breathing around the corner. He reached into his coin pouch and pulled out a few silvers. He then flipped one out of the alley, making sure to let it hit a small rock on the ground, for the extra plinking sound. He then increased the sound of whistling again, and followed it up with another coin, another plink, more whistling.

"I can get you fixed up by a proper Healer, for a favor."

[Rekaigan]

It hurt. Her body was flowing with agony. She needed help, but she didn't know where to fi- plink. Her slightly panic ceased for a moment as she heard a metal object hit a rock, which she identified as a coin.. followed by a whistle. Was someone taunting her? Perhaps a lighthearted joke. She wasn't the petty kind of thief that would scoop any kind of coin that flew in their direction. She at least had some dignity. A voice spoke to her from the alley near her. A favor huh..?

"What kind of favor might that be?" She asked, her voice carried as a whisper into the alley, audible enough for the man to hear. Dark dealings required you to be discrete, making unnecessary noise would attract attention after all. Nothing says 'shady' more than a shadow speaking to you from an alley. She wasn't about to trust the man, but he seemed to know what she needed. Of course his request might be unfavorable or rather unsavory.

[Twhirtley]

He'd piqued her interest it seemed, that was good. She was cautious, she didn't leap faith first, yes, very good. She had the instincts of someone from his trade, but he'd not heard of her. And he knew all of the halfway decent or betters. That meant she was new. And new was both valuable and dangerous. "Nothing too terribly difficult, if you're up to the task. I simply need a distraction. I won't give you the details until we've made the Oath. And for that, all I need is your hand."

He hopped off his crate, sticking to the shadows, keeping his mysterious air about him. He stuck his hand out, a pale, human hand, palm up, untouched, unscarred. Then he just chuckled, and stepped fully into the light, standing just in front of her, a broad grin on his face. "Sorry, I can only keep up the theatrics for so long. I can guarantee you full healing at the end of the favor I wish for you to do. The only known Healer in the realm is a friend of mine, a former colleague. Her Healing is magical. I'm sure you've heard the rumors of magic existing once more, perhaps even seen it. After all, I'm guessing your injuries are from the tournament, lots of injured wandering around here from that. Shame I missed it, sounded like fun."

His grin looked a bit more mischievous now, "But again, I need your hand." His right hand outstretched, his other drew a knife, not aggressively, "It will hurt, but only for a moment, won't even leave a scar. So, are you interested?"

[Rekaigan]

An Oath, he says. Like a blood oath? Probably. But that sounds ridiculous. She thought. She had heard of blood oaths, but those are usually really religious, aren't they? Maybe not. She almost decided to put her hand in the mystery man's, but he suddenly hopped out of the shadows with a grin on his face. His grin made her grin back unintentionally, her face reddening slightly in embarrassment.

"Magical healing huh? I've heard of that, but it sounded more like a flimsy rumor, but I suppose I can trust you a little more than the gossip that floats around eh~?" She responded in a flirtatious tone. It was true that she trusted him that little bit more due to his friendly attitude, but she was still pretty unsure about it, but she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "And you have no idea how fun the tournament was." Megumi added with a slight eye-roll. That bloody Screamer really did me in. Of course it was no surprise that this guy would know of where the injuries are coming from, especially since there were probably tons of knights bragging or whining about their fights.

She raised an eyebrow at him when he requested her hand again and drew a knife. "Alright then.. You better not take me to some weird cult, okay? If you do, you'll have a lot of explaining to do~" She responded in kind. The last part of her sentence being slightly more playful. This was a serious business, but it does no harm to make light jokes at the start right? Maybe.

[Twhirtley]

Grinning devilishly, "You might be dumb if you think you can trust me. But sometimes you need to take a leap of faith." He gripped her wrist, firm but not overly so, "As for cults, well, the job has nothing to do with the few I know of. Besides, you're not really their type." He didn't give her any lead up, didn't count to three, with a quick slash, a tight hold on her wrist, he opened up her palm. Shortly after, he slashed his own, and quickly grasped her own, mingling their blood. For a brief moment, Megumi would be able to feel like the blood was rushing in through her wound, while the man kept his grip tight.

"Alright, you simply need to agree to the following. I need you to run distraction on a very special convoy that will be leaving out in the morning. It will be very heavily guarded, but that isn't a concern for you. I just need the convoy to stop, somewhere along the river, out of sight the village. How you do it is up to you. Your safety is up to you. If you're successful, you'll be healed very shortly thereafter, including any new injuries you acquire, pending severity of course, and maybe a small share. You are to never speak of this with anyone other than me, before, during, or after the job. Oh and feel free to decline, the oath won't harm you if you do. But should you accept, and attempt to cross me, to not do this, well, you won't regret it, there won't be enough time."

He waited for the woman to accept, knowing that regardless of her response, the magic was in place. She'd feel their mingled blood push into her wound, and would feel a foreign warmth spread through her body. When he let go, there wasn't a drop of blood on either hand, and the wounds were sealed, not even a scar to show they existed. "Convoy leaves the Knights' Barracks and Depot around the sixth stretch. They will have two, maybe three forward scouts, four wagons, heavily armored."

With that he turned, smiling to himself, as he wondered what she would come up with. And that led him to another idea. As he walked back into the alley, he made sure to step just a bit more firmly, to leave the slightest trace of footprints in the dirt. He'd normally never be so careless, but he had a playful idea he wanted to follow. His path led them through the buildings, stopping at a small shop, one that sold pottery and ceramics. He picked the lock quickly, slipped inside, and could be seen shortly after in the windows on the second floor. Right across from the shop, across the road, was the depot and barracks.

[Rekaigan]

She was caught off guard by his sudden and firm grip on her wrist, but she wasn't about to step out of something she had already agreed to. He didn't even give her time to brace for the pain, the cut made her flinch, but luckily the man's grip held firm. Suddenly he cut his own palm and held her bleeding hand in his like a handshake. She felt a strange sensation as if his blood was pushing into her hand?

As the man told her the instructions, she silently nodded as she took mental notes of what she needed to do. Stop a convoy huh... She thought. She looked at him straight in the face, "I'll accept." she responded firmly, just as she felt a strange warmth rush through her body.. She didn't know what it was, but it was definitely something that wasn't normal. She wasn't about to regret her decision and she felt that she wouldn't regret it either. She took mental notes of the numbers that he gave her, making some sort of strategy in her head. Of course it involved eliminating the scouts. She felt that the scouts should always be removed so she can focus on the pack. But how would she stop a caravan that large? A few ideas came to mind.

She followed after him, wanting to ask him a few questions. She kept silent and watchful as they walked. She noticed that he was walking a little heavier now, leaving dull footprints in the thin layer of dirt on the road, but she didn't know why. She knew it was on purpose though. She wordlessly watched as the man picked the lock of a pottery and ceramics shop, she slipped in after him with similar nimbleness, quietly closing the door behind them. She joined him on the second story of the building only to see him staring out the window, to what she made out to be the depot and barracks. She stayed a little further back in the room, away from the window.

"You wouldn't happen to know where I can get some fire crackers, would you?" She inquired with a slightly hushed voice. Fire crackers were uncommon, even rare among common folk and they were often produced within the shadier part of Azure Strand. Her mother once show her how to use fire crackers to scare people, it was all in good fun. But this time it was to serve a more sinister purpose.

[Twhirtley]

The main didn't move, though his voice seemed to echo from around the entire room, "And why should I assist a dead woman?" He turned, the tiredness on his face evident, as he looked upon her. His eyebrows gestured to above the doorway she'd walked through, that had what appeared to be a knife restrained by what seemed to be a spry switch from a tree. Though it wasn't tied up, and with a simple nod, the restraint fell away to the floor. Rather, it dripped. It was blood.

As the blood was no longer held back, the knife snapped down and flung back through the doorway, directly at Megumi's throat's height. It thudded into the wall opposite the door, "You need to be more mindful of your surroundings if you're to be more useful to me than a corpse. I can use a corpse, sure, but they aren't nearly as useful as one with your... potential. But you need more practice with your step and touch than with your words."

He turned back to look at the barracks. "Nothing comes for free in this world, as you well know. That you know of them to ask, you know firecrackers and the like are very difficult to get a hold of. Yes, I do know where to get them, and yes, I can get them for you in time to use them. But we are not allowed to give them to just anyone. You have to prove yourself. And luckily for you, I have the perfect task. One that will aid use both. All you must do is follow me, without getting caught. I'll notice you, obviously. Your skills are still raw. But if you pay attention, and are smart, you'll manage. If not, you'll be a corpse."

He shrugged as he left down the stairs, keeping his feet to the outer edges of the steps, walking heel to toe, rolling his feet, completely silent. He turned the knob of the door fully, in a single motion before applying a hint of upward pressure to the door. It had squeaked open before, but now was silent. As he exited the shop, heading toward the barracks, his feet still rolled silently, but were pressured along the outer edges, no longer leaving tracks. He stuck to the natural shadows, darker in the already black night, as he looked to the barracks. There were two guards before the large double doors, chatting noisily. The left was a large male orc and the right was a female deep dwarf. Being door guards, they were unranked, and wore no sash.

And the man waited, watching, for what felt like an eternity, but was merely a few slips. Then the woman said, "Time to hit the pot, want me to bring back a snack?" The orc grunted in approval, and the woman disappeared inside. As she did, he stretched and began to meander around aimlessly, looking up and down the street. While his back was turned, the man darted quickly and silently across the way, opened the door in complete silence and returned it shut.

If Megumi chose to follow, she'd find herself before three doorways. To the left came flickering candle light, to the right total darkness, and straight ahead was a large room lit by the moonlight through the windows. What she wouldn't find, however, was the man that had just snuck in ahead of her.

[Rekaigan]

"A dead wom-" She began, only to be cut off by a snapping noise and the sudden flight of a knife that was level with her throat, she jerked away slightly instinctively, but she realized that she would have indeed been a dead woman, had the knife been aimed straight at her. She glanced at the knife that was now lodged into the wall and then moved her gaze back to the man. She didn't feel any anger toward him. Everything he was saying was right. She would be as useful as a corpse if she didn't do things the right way. She needed to focus more and take this whole situation more seriously than her usual line of work.

Prove myself.. Where had she heard this before? Ah.. The Charr. She nodded wordlessly as the man finished talking.

She followed after him, staying close. She moved on the outer edge of the steps, just about laying her feet into the imaginary footprint that the man left behind. As her mother had taught her, the way of silent movement was to walk from heel to toe in a rolling motion and to keep the pressure on the outer edges to leave no trail behind. She noticed the way he opened the door, pushing the door upward slightly to prevent the hinges from squeaking.. As she followed him out, she closed the door, keeping the same kind of upward pressure to ensure the door closed silently behind them.

Megumi stayed close behind the man, who watched the door guards like a hawk who was ready to swoop. And swoop he did. As the female dwarf guard left her post, the orc had become lax, turning away. The movement of her companion was quick, moving in and going through the door with relative ease. She followed suit, keeping her steps light and her noise unheard, she darted across and entered through the same door as silently as she had observed, shutting it quietly behind her.

She was faced with three doorways.. The left was illuminated by candle light, obviously a bad choice. Moonlight flooded through the windows of the room ahead, however it retained most of it's dark shadows. The right was in total darkness. She knew that she could see almost clearly in the darkness, but not in a place that dark. She opted to go straight, into the room with moonlight. She kept her footsteps silent as she darted into the closest shadow. She looked around the large room, expecting to see someone or something. A trap maybe. There was nothing discernible. She didn't know where the man had gone, and she hadn't been given any further instructions. So she waited in the silently among the shadows. I bet he ditched me. The rat bastard.

[Twhirtley]

As Megumi's eyes very quickly adjusted to the dimly lit room, she could see she'd made a poor choice. The room she was in appeared to be a large kitchen with a bar. And all over the room in various states of sleep and stupor were knights. There was a door to the candlelit room off to the left, and another far off to the right, several knights between both. A shadow appeared to be moving off to the right, just outside the doorway, as if leading away from it. But Megumi's eyes could also make out tiny droplets on the left hand door's flooring, though it just looked dark, so identifying it from this distance was impossible. There was thumping from behind Megumi, followed by a voice.

"Bloody hell, I gotta get that burning checked out. Fucking orcs and their dirty green oak-knockers... Might as well grab a snack I guess."

Heavy footsteps began heading toward the kitchen, "Oy, Harkon, you still awake in there? There best still be some salted pork left." A man began to stir, on a chair in the center of the room, grunting lightly. There was a plate of salt pork on the table he was leaning against. The footsteps were growing ever nearer, seeming to echo off the many tables littered around the large mess hall.

[Rekaigan]

While her current predicament was quite.. worrying, she noticed that most, if not all the knights in the mess hall were asleep. Save for the one that was talking and the one that was stirring. Thankfully the room was darkened by the midnight, allowing her to weave between the tables and knights without being very noticeable, and since the knights who were awake were too drunk to even see straight. Her job was made that much easier. But that didn't stop her heart from pounding hard in her chest.

However her progress was slow as she moved toward the left doorway. Her side sent sharp pains through her body as she moved. Thankfully she was able to keep silent and unseen despite all her cringing. She had noticed the tiny droplets on the doorway earlier, but she didn't know what it was and she was curious. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say.. But not today. She thought, amusing herself with one her mother's favourite sayings.

She was confident that the Knight who was speaking was unable to see her as she flitted from shadow to shadow, avoiding the moonlight and the odd candle light. She stopped short of the candle light near the door, remaining in the shadows. Blood. The floor next to the door had droplets of blood on it. Her curiosity told her to go through the door, but her instincts told her not to go any further. However getting across this mess hall to the other door was going to be a hassle. She backed away from the door into more shadows before scanning the room for a safe path to the other door.

[Twhirtley]

The woman entered the kitchen, not noticing anything of the odd. The stirring man quickly fell back into a restful sleep and she tutted. She moved over to the massive larder over by the left door, her back to Megumi, muttering to herself about salted pork. As she reached up into a high shelf, Megumi saw a black ebony pin stuck into the loose flap of a back pocket. Everyone knew what that pin signified, it was proof of knighthood.

The orc woman would be busy for a while finding her snack, and the path to the right hand door seemed clear, there were two paths, one by walking through the tables and chairs, and the other crawling beneath them, through the legs of the sleeping and passed out. Once upon reaching the other door, she'd see that it only led to the right. Once turning through it, she'd find herself face to face with her secretive friend from earlier, grinning widely.

He mouthed his words slowly so she could read his lips, making no noise, "I've finished what I came for, time to go." There was a sound like a footstep behind Megumi, loud enough to seem close and distract her from the man. But no one came through the door. When she turned back, the man was gone and she managed to see just in time as a coinpurse filled with coppers fall to the ground, spilling everywhere loudly. Several snoring people in the kitchen snorted or stopped altogether. Megumi had two paths in front of her. A set of stairs leading upward, or another leading downward.

Following the upward stairs would deposit her into a massive room filled with bunks and sleeping knights, with a large window at the end. It wasn't as bright, being opposite the side of the moon, an unobstructed path leading straight to it. Following the downward stairs would lead her to a cellar filled with various foodstuffs. There were two doors here, one with a very heavy lock on it. Peering through the bars of it would reveal that to be the vault, filled with more gold, gems, and other fine things, more than Megumi could believe have ever existed. The other door opened to a tight set of spiral stairs, passing an unlocked window to another floor.

[Rekaigan]

Megumi saw only possible paths leading to the right hand door. She opted to walk through the tables and chairs. For the most part she weaved through them as some of them were pushed in or had larger gaps between. She bumped into a chair that had a sleeping knight, she froze in agony as the chair had hit her side. The knight groaned softly before continuing to snore. She took a moment to recover before proceeding.

She silently enter the door, only to find her 'friend' mouth the words to her. She cursed quietly as she heard footsteps near the door. No one came. When she looked back to her... acquaintance, he had already disappeared. A bag of copper pieces hitting the floor. A few of the coins clinked along the stone floor, causing a few knights to stir. She cursed silently again as she quickly scooped up the majority of the coins, proceeding up the stairs with a great degree of agony. The action of scooping up the bag had sent a shock through her system.

Soon she made it up the stairs, she slowly and silently opened the door, only to reveal a room filled with bunks and sleeping knights. There was a large window, an unobstructed path leading toward it. She was only on the 2nd floor, so jumping to another building would be relatively easy.. If not for her injury. She walked over to the window, remembering to keep her foot steps silent. All the knights were snoring away without a care in the world.

She quietly unlocked the window, opening it. She peered out of it, it was dark, being on the opposite side of the moonlight. As luck would have it, there was another building close to the window, the roof being a few meters away and slightly lower than the window. She tied the bag of coppers to her belt before perching herself on the window opening. She took a deep breath before leaping. She barely made the jump, grasping onto the edge of the roof. She slowly pulled herself up, the pain of her broken ribs causing her to grit her teeth in agony. After making it on top of the roof, she sat for awhile, trying to regain her strength from the painful ordeal.

"I swear I'll kill him when I see him." She muttered to herself, panting. She wasn't serious about it, but it was mostly just a kind of venting.

[Twhirtley]

A voice was heard soft in Megumi's ear, "Shouldn't make promises you can't keep." She'd feel the point of a knife gently pressing her damaged ribs. Then there was hearty laughter, and the knife point pulled away, "You still could step more silently, I heard you two floors up, but that is good enough for these brutes. At least when you're forced to think on your feet, you're not totally hopeless." He walked around her casually, strolling along the spine of the roof as if it were a park, "We won't speak again for a long time, but should you be successful at your mission, you'll find this healer you seek, as my Oath swore." With that he walked away into the night, seemingly not having paid up on his end of the bargain. If she chased after him, it would be the easiest thing in the world for him to disappear without a trace.

If she checked her new coin purse, she'd find that sometime the coppers had been replaced by the firecrackers she'd requested and bluish-silver coin with a man's smiling face on one side and a shadow version of him frowning on the other. It was not one of the Knight crafted coins, and had quite a bit of heft to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The 6th Stretch~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The convoy pulled out of a side road at the back of the Depot. At its front was four knights on horse back, followed by three covered wagons, all with a driver and another knight as a passenger, followed by four more knights on horseback. It moved slowly through the village, attracting a lot of attention from shopkeepers and others that were beginning their workdays. As it exited, it followed the main road along the river, and the four front horsemen broke away, fanning out ahead to serve as forward scouts. Of the back four, two stay back as the caravan moved, as rear scouts, while the other two stayed with the caravan as protectors.

[Rekaigan]

She heard the man's voice in her ear, she didn't move. Her eyes glanced down at the knife point that poked at her injury. She cringed in pain slightly, keeping her calm about her. She clicked her tongue in annoyance as the man judged her skills, she didn't even bother to look at him, her mind still a little numb from the pain. She finally looked up toward the man as he strolled into the night. She felt like she hadn't been paid at all. The firecrackers. She thought. The man hadn't given her an- She instinctively rummaged through her coin purse. There were a few coppers missing, but she felt something else in her fingers. She smirked, chuckling a little and she pulled out a small firecracker. It was a small cylinder, which she knew contained gunpowder amongst other material. As sly as ever. She commented inwardly. She rummaged through her coin purse to count how many she had, but her fingers fell upon a larger coin. A heavier one at that. The face of the smiling man and the frowning man. Two sides of the same coin.. She scoffed.

-----6th Stretch-----

By the time the caravan had left the Depot, Megumi had spent the majority of her time gap looking for a place to hide. She had a plan, she thought it was good enough to work. If she could find a good tree. As luck would have it, she did. Quite decent. It was tall, the branches were thick and the foliage even thicker, a perfect place to hide. A thick branch hung over the road. She looked at it from different angles from below, to check if she could hide in it properly. She nodded in satisfaction before slowly climbing up the tree. It was a painful experience as climbing had been for awhile now, but she managed to make it. 2 Stretches before the Caravan was meant to come as well. A time she'd predicted with the rising sun the same way one of the Azure Strand sailors had taught her.

She peer through the leaves of the tree, her hand pushing down some of the leaves. The caravan was moving closer, she gently lessened her push on the leaves so that they didn't notice anything weird. The guards had fanned out into scouting patrols already, but these knights were careless. Nobody ever looked up. Not even these knights. She grabbed a couple of the firecrackers that she had received, throwing them down from the tree as hard as she could, without hurting herself. The firecrackers were tiny, and they'd be hardly noticeable by anyone, especially when they're thrown so hard. The small crackers slammed into the dirt below, CRACK! CRACK!, the two crackers exploded loudly right in front of the horses that slowly plodded along.

[Twhirtley]

Sergeant Perrin watched from her seat beside the driver, Herken, of the second carriage, disappointed that she was the one assigned with this mission. Convoy protections like this were never interrupted, who would dare attack them this deep in their own territory? Screamers never made it this far in, and only smaller monsters and creatures could. It was boring. The young human woman waved lazily ahead at a man on a raft, poling his way toward the capital.

She wondered what her scouts would've hunted for supper when they made camp. Probably just rabbit. At least once she was in the capital, she could get some proper food and a bath. A nice comfortable time, not filled with the discomfort of a wooden seat and lurching over a bumpy road. Then there was a startling noise, loud popping, and she saw their horses rear up in surprise. These were work horses, not warhorses, and weren't trained to ignore loud and unexpected noises.

She watched as Herken struggled with the reins to keep the horses with him, though the other four horses had manage to pull away, leaving the fore and aft carriages abandoned behind them. She looked around, trying to find the source of the noise, her eyes falling on the scraps of the firecrackers between her horses and the carriage ahead. She immediately drew her scimitar and eyes cast upward, "We're under att--!"

The world went black. She didn't go unconscious, but rather, everything around the carriages, Megumi's tree included, were shrouded in blackness. It wasn't smoke or anything, just utter darkness. There were many sounds, easily heard by Megumi's slightly sharper hearing. She would be able to make out the sounds of breaths leaving bodies, thin blades cutting through flesh and cloth, then the sound of creaking wood and falling sounds.

Then just as quickly as it appeared, the darkness was gone. Megumi would see no blood, no corpses, just two very confused horses, and twelve wagon wheels laying in the dirt. The man on the raft was sitting there staring directly at Megumi's position in the tree, smiling. "Her name is Amaretta, she can be found nightly at the children's clinic across from the Maiden's Bane Tavern. Show her the coin, but don't give it to her. Good luck Megumi Cateyes!"

[Rekaigan]

Megumi felt a smirk form on her face when the horses started to panic and leave the cart. This was a lot easier than she initially thought. She didn't think the man would give her such a simple task. She didn't know the significance of this convoy, however. Perhaps it was just a simple test for her? Perhaps they were looking for something in particular in the carts. Her questions were largely left unanswered.

The sudden darkness caught Megumi off guard. She felt below her to make sure she was still on the tree branch, which thankfully, she was. Her red eyes flicked at her surroundings, but there was nothing. She knew she wasn't unconscious and this wasn't some sort of smoke screen. She heard the sounds of steel, cutting into cloth and flesh. People drawing their final breath as they body slumped to the blackened ground. She could only imagine the carnage that was occuring below her, and she could only hope that nothing happened to her as well. The sound of creaking wood was mixed among the other sounds, but it didn't occur to her at the time that they were taking the carts away.

As the darkness receded, Megumi blinked a few times to adjust to the change in light level. She looked around, there was nothing other than a pair of bewildered horses and a dozen wagon wheels sprawled in the dirt. Her gaze flicked over to the man on a raft as he spoke to her. She felt the hairs on her neck prick in suspicion. He knew where I was hiding.. Her first thought was to kill the man, but she soon realized that he was just there to relay information. She slowly climbed down the tree, making sure she didn't injure herself any more than she already was. She simply nodded at the man before approaching one of the horses. It looked at Megumi with suspicion, but the half cat gave the mount a few gentle strokes to calm it down. After a few moments, the horse was calm enough to ride. Thankfully, such horses of Ebonfort weren't specially trained to prevent horse theft.

---

It wasn't long before Megumi had made it back to Ruby Banks, heading straight for the children's clinic. It was just past midday, and the streets were bustling with people. As she brushed past people in the crowd, she took the time to liberate some passerby's of their purses, her movements were swift and unnoticeable to an untrained eye. Although, even a trained eye would have trouble noticing within a somewhat busy street. She entered the clinic, the door silently swinging open. "Can I help you?" a woman asked, the half cat nodded, "I'm looking for Amaretta." She replied simply.

[Twhirtley]

At hearing the request for Amaretta, the woman's demeanor changed. Her face went from cheerful and welcoming to dark and suspicious. She sized up the woman in front of her, immediately discerning her injury and occupation of choice from the tiniest of details. She knew who'd sent this woman. For a half moment, she considered drawing the knife from its slot in the bottom of her desk and putting this woman down now, but she knew Amaretta had a soft spot for Jakobi, despite his... goals. The "receptionist"'s job was to keep Amaretta protected after all, from influences both dark and Knightly. Anyone with her power was an incredibly valuable asset, and needed to be controlled.

Her face was already back to cheerful and welcoming once more, as if it had never changed in the first place. "She'll be with you in just a moment." The woman stood up, taking totally silent footsteps into the backroom. She was gone for a few moments before she came out with Sera Amaretta. The woman smiled kindly, "So Jakobi sent you? Do you have his payment?"

She stuck out her hand, palm out. If Megumi handed her the coin, she'd find herself struck unconscious and waking up in a nearby alley at the hands of the receptionist. If she refused to even show the coin, she'd be turned away politely. But if she showed the coin, but kept it to herself, Amaretta would nod, "Please follow me into the back."

She gestured to a lowered table for Megumi to get on, "Broken ribs I see. Those can be quite painful, limiting mobility, could even pierce a lung if you're unlucky. No worries though, I'll fix you up quite nicely." Once Megumi was on the table, the woman would put her hands on her ribs. There was a dull pink glow exuding from her hands, that she pushed into Megumi's skin. It would feel warm and comforting, albeit foreign. That is until the first bone was cracked and set properly, which would cause immense pain. But the pain would disappear just as quickly as it came, and once they were all back where they belonged, the pain was completely gone.

"Good as new. If you see Jakobi again... Please... Tell him..." her eyes had the sad look that could only belong to a woman who'd experienced the loss of one she loved, "Nevermind. I'll fix you up in the future so long as you have that token, anything for the Masks. I can be found here or in my own clinic in the capital." With that, she led Megumi out, "Best of luck in your works, stay safe."

[Rekaigan]

Megumi noticed the change in the woman's expression. She wasn't expecting such a reception. Her took a very slight step back instinctively to create space between them, but alas, the woman didn't do anything. The woman's expression changed back to a cheerful one, but Megumi wasn't convinced at all. She needed to be more careful with these dealings from now on.

Megumi didn't really respond with words, but she brought out the coin and showed it to the woman, being sure to keep it close to herself. Specifically told not to give the woman the coin, despite her hand asking for it. After which, Megumi followed the woman toward the back. When the Sera gestured to the lowered table, Megumi hesitated slightly before sitting on it. She didn't know what this woman was going to do to her. It was odd to her, that Sera knew what kind of injury she had. Perhaps she was just that good at her job, or Jakobi told her already. Either way, it saved her breath.

Megumi tensed in anticipation. She saw a dull pink glow in the corner of her eye. Magic..? It was quite different from the magic displayed at the tournament. So she assumed that there were many different types. But she wondered how many there could be.. Her thoughts were interrupted by an immense pain, she gasped before relaxing as the pain left almost immediately after. she could still feel the pain like a scar, but it didn't hurt anymore. It wasn't long before she finally felt relief. It seemed her ribs were all fixed up and she could freely move again.

Megumi quietly listened to the healer. She looked... lonely, or rather sad. Must've been Jakobi's doing as far as she could tell, but that wasn't any of her business. Before she went out the door of the clinic, she gave the healer a smile, "Let's hope that I don't have to see you again in such circumstances. That'd mean I was bad at my job~" And with that she left. As she walked, she decided to observe the coin. It was a strange coin with a good heft to it. But she knew it was invaluable. She wouldn't be able to sell it anyway.

[Twhirtley]

Reward Review

Megoogoo

Skills
Seduction: 1
Endurance: 1
Subterfuge: 1
Observation: 7
Investigation: 1
Flirting: 1
Intimidation: 1
Tactics: 2
Lockpicking: 1
Stealth: 8
Negotiation: 1
Camouflage: 1
Trapping: 1
Riding (Horse): 1
Pickpocketing: 1
Intelligence: 1

Knowledge:
Blood Oaths are Real
Magical Healing is Real
Amaretta: Knight Healer

Other
Jakobi's Blood Oath
25 Copper Coins
Masked Coin
Broken Ribs Fully Healed