Nillium Encampment, The Burroughs
3rd of Summer - 9:20 PM
Philip turned right into the concussive blast, and before he even knew what was going on, his body was propelled across the sunken alley, and against the building opposite to where Ayer stood. He hit the brick with a satisfying
thud back-first, and landed on the ground with his head just barely tilted forwards. Despite their sneak attack, it looked like Philip was able to keep conscious, even after bumping his head. The man kept himself from falling forward with both hands and slowly tried to left himself up.
"Hall..p.. Help.." His voice was a quiet breathy murmur, and he wobbled from side to side. What just happened? He looked up to see Ayer wielding his strange machine and narrowed his eye to try and make out his features. Philip didn't know what he looked like, but that weapon of his would give him away if he could just focus. But before he could manage any completely thoughts, his consciousness quickly faded, and the man fell forwards chest-first into the damp concrete beneath him.
From the edge of the Alley, just out of site from where Ayer and Paric were standing, heavy footsteps began to echo towards them. At first, that's all they would hear. But the approaching man's shadow was cast wide against the left wall by moonlight. The shape of his upper body stretched far, but with a metallic
swish, the shadow grew even longer as he drew a blade from his waist.
"Hey hey, Phi*HICK*lip. No breaks!
No breaks! What're you doin' back here?"
Nillium Encampment, The West Wall
3rd of Summer - 9:20 PM
Looking out into the forests that surrounding Nillium, several men and women were lining the edge of the encampment's wall. Among them stood
Bertha Nillium, the Don's beloved sister, and her two favorite
henchmen, Joseph Bristle, and
Larry Norwell. Of the many nameless grunts that polluted the city of Nillium, those two were especially tactless. Most of the gang's members at least adhered to some kind of moral foundation, but those who served under Bertha had a terrible habit of
ignoring the rules. Being second-hand to the Don had its perks, and none of them boded well for anyone who ticked off that woman in any way, shape or form. Of course, she was just as shameless as her underlings. When the Nilliums had first 'acquired' Ayer, she suggested that the Don immediately resort to more sinister means in order to unravel the man's designs. Whether that amounted to torture, murder, or more subtle strategies didn't bother her in the slightest. But the Don was a reasonable man. He liked to consider all of his options before resorting to senseless violence.
The forests were silent today. Unlike everyone else in town, Bertha was one of the few who decided to keep herself separated from her brother's silly witch-hunt. If they had just gone with her ideas from that start, Ayer wouldn't have even been an issue! But keeping watch at the wall was pretty boring. Most of the time, Bertha would convince the guards to just
play cards with her, rather than keep an eye out. That's probably why people were able to sneak into Nillium to begin with. Bertha and her cronies had a lot of pull, and they were a negative influence in more ways than one.
"Full house!" Bertha shrieked, "Whattaya got? Lay 'em out boys!" Joseph smiled and laid his hand flat, but Larry just tossed his cards away.
"Four of a kind," Joseph announced. He
cheated, as he often would, but Bertha knew it. She laughed it off and shoved her snacks across the table.
"Yeh win again you filthy cheatin' bastard!"
"Bertha," Larry started, "We should probably keep an eye out-"
"Shut it!" Bertha growled, "Don't be such a spoil sport! Nobody's
stupid enough to screw with the Nilliums! Any spies that get through won't be gettin' any information that 'ain't already public!" Larry rolled his eyes and stood up. "Where ya goin?"
"Sick of losin'?" Joseph gawked.
"Sick of bein' made to lose,
jackass," He said calmly. Larry made his way to one of the many staircases that lined the wall and sighed. He stopped for a second. "Gonna go get some more food." Bertha rolled her eyes.
"Put anything else in that tummy'o yours and you'll end up more
fat than
man," she said quietly. Joseph snickered at her little insult. Larry didn't waste any time acknowledging it, and quickly sped downstairs. With their third player gone, suddenly
rigged poker wasn't any fun. Larry's reactions were what made it worthwhile after all! It's not like they were betting coin or anything, anyways.
"He'll be back, miss," Joseph assured Bertha. But she didn't seemed convinced. Her attitude quickly drooped and she slunk into her chair like an angst ridden teenager with her arms crossed over her chest. "Don't ya go worrying yourself."
"He hates me," She pouted. Joseph rolled his eyes with a gentle chuckle.
"If he hated you, the boy wouldn't be so loyal. There are plenty of other posts for a man with his talents. I Reckon there's some reason he follows you around." Bertha blew at a strand of hair that clung to her sweaty cheek. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it." She rolled her eyes.
"Shut up Jo."
Nillium Encampment, ???
3rd of Summer - 9:30 PM
There was nowhere mustier than the dank underground tunnels that ran between Nillium's sewer system. Pipes and cracks were littered throughout the open-topped trenches that the city used to disposed of its waste, leading liquid and garbage from one trench to the next. A few of those tunnels served a purpose beyond that, though. Only a few people know about the underground networks, and even fewer had direct access to them through some parts of the city. But for every Nillium that had permission to be stomping through those filthy escape routes, there was somebody who
didn't. The tunnels weren't all that well hidden if people were willing to dive into the shit-filled trenches that ran across town. For some, that was the only option. Much like Ayer, there were many visitors that didn't like the idea of working for the Don, or staying in the Nillium encampment. Others simply couldn't contribute anything to the continued growth of their town. Since the tunnels rarely saw any practical use, as the town itself had not fallen under siege in
years, homeless bums and renegades made them their home. Although there wasn't any sense of community underneath Nillium, a few vagabonds would cooperate from time to time if they saw the need to. It was because of their combined efforts, that the tunnels were rarely combed. The Don had more important things to worry about then a few losers mucking up his sewers. To him, they were merely trash that didn't even deserve a proper cleanup. Going through the expansive tunnels would have been a pointless effort, anyways. It was almost impossible to sneak up on anybody in the winding network without making a
splash. At least, that's what most people thought.
One of Nillium's bums was panting heavily in the tunnels beneath the city with his back and hands pressed firmly into the smoothed tunnel wall. His chest jutted out rapidly with every breath, but he tried his best to constrict every last movement he made.
'
calm yourself willie, the gin's makin' you see things'
His desperate attempt to calm himself had been pointless. He heard it again. A familiar
tapping against the walls of the tunnel. Something metal tapped rhythmically. One-two, one-two. Then the humming started again, moving in sync with the metal tapping. 'Mh-hm hmm hm~Mh-hm hmm hm~' Tippity-tap, tippity-tap. One-two, one-two. It got louder and louder, like it had done before, and the man's heart began to race. It pounded in his chest viciously. Blood thumped through his neck and forced him sliding down the walls until he hit the ground.
'
calm... calm... Ca..'
The tapping stopped, along with the humming, when it sounded like the culprit was
just around the corner. The man held his breath and turned his head slowly. He gasped for air when there was nothing there, and sank into the wall. These hallucinations had been going on for hours now. Stress like this couldn't be good for his health.
'
calm...ca..c-c-k-ka-kssh-kshhhh!' His heart almost stopped when he hear metal dragging against the wall. It sounded like it was only a few inches away from his left ear. His head snapped towards the sound even though his veins felt like they were filled with lead. There was a blade slowly dragging against the stone, leaving behind a
clear mark as it cut an inch-deep into the wall.
"Come now, are we out of breath already?" The blade stopped inches away from his cheek. His body began to pulsate as he tried to muster the energy to pick himself up off the ground. But as soon as he scrambled to his feet, something rammed against the side of his rib-cage and sent him crashing back into the dampened dirt below.
"A bore! You're become a bore!"
That voice was familiar. He recognized it immediately. It was a man's voice. The same voice that hummed to the tapping. The tapping that had been following him around all night. The man pushed himself to face
whoever forced him into the ground, but a jolt of pain coursed through his arm before he could make any moves. He felt the arm go numb as blood welled from his shoulder blade. He'd just been stabbed.
"Silly Nilliums, nillies, nice little nuanced nincompoops! Nilliums?
Nillie Nilliums, was it? You all smells exactly the same,
pardon me for my nose does not discriminate between the bold or the cowardly mice that linger in these filthy gutters, but perhaps that sweet, succulent smell has bewildered me in the past! Look here, look!" A shadow, barely visible, forced its blade deeper into the bumb's shoulder, and turned him over while cutting through more flesh. A grown of pain rang through the tunnel like a blaring Venbu. "Hello! Hello, little one! Hi!" The man on the ground looked up at his assailant. A few beams of stray moonlight bounced off the shimmering pools of the tunnel to just barely light up the face of his ruthless attacker. "Yes, yes, hi!"
His skin was pale like wax paper, and his eyes had the faintest ruby glow to their silhouettes. What stood out the most though, was his overbearing
smile. "Did you like my song, little one? An ode to the indulgence of this petty world! An ode long lost to time, I'm afraid,
time consumes anything worth putting in a museum, a sad thought, so I cannot guarantee you'll recognize the name!" His smile widened. "
The Sky Falls, and With it, Our Dreams. A famous poem of its
era, I'm sure."
"P-p-puh-ple-"
"Puh-puh-pish posh! A man that stutters cannot expect to be acknowledged as anything more than a drunken fool!" The sword started to cut around the circumference of the drunk's shoulder as its wielder put pressure on the handle, squeezing out a few more painful
groans. "What a wretched thing you are. We've just only met, and yet, you lay breathing bated breaths so
beautifully! You haven't even asked my name yet, you scoundrel!"
From the end of the tunnel, several voices called out.
"Down here! I think he's hurt! Get him!" The pale-faced figure turned towards the approaching voices slowly, dragging his blade
through his victims chest as if he was no longer
present. The drunken man shouted and hollered incomprehensible phrases as his lungs were sliced in half. Blood began to pool in his throat, reducing his pitiful groans to a series of guttural gurgles. Before long, the assailant was standing face to face with three men, all of whom were wielding blades, and a few mana-lit lanterns. They stopped in the tunnel and stared at the pale figure quietly. This wasn't Ayer at all. It smiled at them and casually flicked the blood from its weapon.
"Hello!"Baeshri Pass, Caravan Centaurus
3rd of Summer - 10:26 PM
Flin couldn't make out the writing on the note. There were a few lines of Myti-script with a few words, or phrases, crossed out with black ink. Zay began to peer towards the Myti's lower back, but spun towards the Caravan's front door as soon as the tapping started. Neal and Noru reacted in a similar fashion, completely forgetting about the two females on the floor of their cavern for a second. The medic didn't let his attention get stolen for long, though. Neal looked at Zay, who peered to him as well, before looking to the door.
"Open it," He said quietly. Neal, after a short delay, walked past Daelin and unlocked the door. Zay stood up and positioned himself against the wall, trying his best to conjure something small and
sharp in his right hand.
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