A Job is a Job

A job was a job, but Cain was interested in this mission for other reasons now. An Oracle who reputedly had the power to manipulate fates, to exchange the fortunes and misfortunes of individuals willy-nilly. It was certainly something that interested him. An application of Astral Magic? Or something more akin to divine favor, a power that could influence the gods themselves?

Or maybe their client had simply been victim to a rumor, and sought misguided vengeance. That was also true, wasn’t it?

Well, first contact always had to be made, before anything else began. Hopping off the caravan he had been hitching a ride on, Cain took a bit of the town’s famous ‘Golden Sun Apple’, turning his gaze to the sky as he enjoyed the sweetness. It was noon right now. No reason at all for the Oracle not to be working. No reason not to drop by and say ‘hi’ then. His gaze flicked to the residents of the small town, most of them a fair bit happier-looking than average, no doubt blessed by the Oracle who could manipulate luck and fortune.

Yes, if they were truly happy, then this wasn’t an ‘evil witch’ they were dealing with. This was simply someone who picked sides.

A few more crunches, and the midnight haired muse fully devoured the golden apple, before licking juices off his fingers. There were merchants hawking their goods, wives out in the market to prepare for dinner, farmers taking a well deserved rest, and kids running around doing kiddie things. “Well,” Cain said, turning to Aalam and Nyx, “First step is always information gathering, eh?”

He didn’t wait for their response. Nyx, at least, was probably too busy listening to Linkin Park and cursing the sun to care about learning new things about this interesting town. And Aalam…well, Aalam was Aalam.

“Good day to you, m’lady,” the midnight haired muse smiled, waving at a young food vendor, “Came here because I heard rumors of an Oracle. Could you kindly point me in the direction of her estate?”

A pause. A twinkle in his dark eyes.

“And perhaps some recommendations on your menu? Of all the villages I've come across, I haven't seen anything as aesthetically pleasing as what you have here, but, alas, one man's stomach can only hold so much.”

 

_____Why did it have to be mid day, a scowl across Nyx’s face under her black hooded cloak as she stuck to whatever shadow she could find. It was always day time when she was asked to do something and it was starting to get annoying for her. Nails clicking to the metal hidden in her long sleeves as she tried her hardest to avoid the annoying talkative one, and well everyone. Her intentions simply to get the task done, and leave before she was suspected. Hand quickly taking an apple and moving into her sleeve as she sat down in the shade.

”Fucking...Annoying…Ass bright lights… annoying… laughing kids... just die... everything should just die...”

_____Her words mostly unheard in her hushed tone as she set the apple down and began stabbing it with needles coated in a number of poison or paralyzing agents. She never understood why people ‘ASKED NICELY’ for information about a target, you would be killing the person anyways and if you killed enough one was likely the target and there would be less to see the crime or tell the tale.

_____Another needle slamming into the apple as she gagged slightly listening to the children laughing. This place was making her sick by the second and she seriously wanted to leave already. If not for the fact pay and reputation was likely on the line she would, but she swore if that annoying man tried to talk and be nice to her again she would shove the damn poisoned apple down his loud mouth and watch him cough up his own blood!

_____Hand slamming a needle into an apple slightly harder than intended and drawing the attention of likely a small handful of others. It was slightly more odd, a black cloaked figure with an apple-turned-porcupine set in front of her. Eyes lifting as her crimson colored eyes shot down anyone who would possibly try to approach her and stabbing another needle into her pass time prey. This one causing the apple to bubble and rot as the organic eating acide worked away at it.
@Aalam Abungu | @Cain Darlite

 

Aalam was checking his arrows on the ride over, it always paid to be prepared for any event, but he was being sent to a place he didn’t know to do a job he knew pretty well. He would have like to have the chance to get some groundwork down. Maybe case the town for a few days to watch the witch learn her ins and outs. Get a free home, how difficult it would have been to break in if she had any magical defenses about her. This was the second time he was sent on a mission for the Aristocracy; the first had ended interestingly. He was not about to let the second end the same way.

He had been sent to kill someone that was more of the same it was the fact that he had been sent along with Cain. He knew the man a job like this usually was something that he was against. A lightly worry floated its way to the back of his head; he didn’t want to have to kill the man to get the job done. He might need that support later in the day. As for the other one Nyx, she seemed willing to kill, for the way that she was treating that apple it was apparent, however, she was acting out. That was problematic it drew attention and attention brought questions, and too many questions was a bad thing. He had been sent to kill a target with two walking distractions. He wasn’t sure if that was genius or insane. However, he could make it work they would just need a plan.

As for excitable Cain was right the first step was always information and they need some, he would leave the main crowd to the man; he had a feeling about him that made people want to open up. Looking down at Nyx watching her have fun with an apple, he was not going to deal with that now. He needed to find the nearest bar. So he made his way through town slowly, keeping his hood up with the intensity of the sunlight that day it would have cast his face in a good deal of shadow. Picking up a little bit of information about the village as he made his way to familiar territory. This was some place that he knew no matter how far he went drunkards and bartenders stayed the same.

Making his way to the bars popping himself down on a bar stool letting the bar itself hold his weight. This was a character that came to him naturally, so he put a bit of gravel in his voice and slumped his shoulders. It was a character that he played so often, after all, taking two coins out of his pocket, a pair of beaten up silver, for gold would draw too much attention, and bronze would keep the man’s attention.

“I…I need a drink” His hand quickly going to his mouth as he brought his Adam’s apple up and down a few times. Closing his eyes for a second as he brought it under control, blinking his eyes as he looked at the bar. “Right a drink and I need information about someone called the Oracle." Muttering the words low as if he was afraid that someone would hear him. "They said she could change a man’s luck around.”

@Cain Darlite / @Nyx

 

Cain pursed his lips in amusement as the apple vendor lady did her best to shill her products to him. He didn’t have much need for subsistence, not really, but the flavors of Terrasphere was something he’d never be able to afford in real life, and if he was travelling…may as well enjoy the local stuff, mm? Dark eyes flickered towards the direction the freckled lady had pointed out, and Cain let out a low whistle at the sight. A towering coniferous tree with an impressive canopy that covered the entirety of the house below it. It must have been annoying to have apples constantly dropping on the roof but right now, the combination was charming and cozy, the history of this special breed of apple amusing for a lorenut like himself.

“It does seem like quite a fun souvenir,” the midnight haired muse replied, “And I’m sure gifts will always make a living goddess a happy one. I suppose I’ll take two of your pies, and half a dozen of your shiniest apples, m’lady!”

Without much care at all, he slid in an extra five gold pieces as part of the payment, before tipping his hat in her direction. A generous, totally unnecessary tip. But depending on how things go, it may be viewed more as an apology, hm? So much happiness for this village, to be ruined because someone seeks a possibly misguided revenge. He wondered how they’d react when their living goddess was slain. Wondered if she’d feel guilt over guiding this stranger to her abode. Wondered, wondered, wondered.

If you had something precious, it’d be better to lock it away, out of sight of malicious eyes.

“Hey, sis,” Cain called out to @Nyx with a teasing grin, “Play nice, alright? Don’t get into trouble or anything while I’m gone!”

With that, the man hummed a happy little tune as he strode towards the house by the great tree.

 

_____The first words spoken to her Nyx chose to ignore, the girl clearly did not know when someone wanted to be left alone and simply labeled it as ignorance. The second time the girl spoke to Nyx she pulled her hood down and began stabbing the apple she had taken with the same needle trying to block out her words. Nyx was not trained to deal with people, as such she would do everything to avoid social interaction. However the third time the girl spoke caused Nyx’s temper to shine as she smashed the brittle apple and glared at her.

”Annoyance, not father… NOT SIBLINGS!”

_____Nyx growled out the second part in reply to Cain trying to once more be friendly with her. Nyx wanted to kill him, screw the job. Hand pressing down further on the apple as she set her glare to Cain while he walked away wondering how long it would take each of her poisons to kill him and what would be the best one to make him suffer. Turning her focus back to the girl Nyx clicked her tongue and moved her gaze down to the no longer enjoyable pass time.

”Taste does not matter… unneeded… Distraction at its worst…”

_____Words spoken in hollow tone and Nyx reached down and reclaimed her needles. Carefully wiping the poison off and setting them back into their spots. Hands moving the crushed remains of the apple around as Nyx simply wished it would be night time, she always felt better at night. But as the sun touched her exposed hand she quickly recoiled it and balled up in the shade and in her cloak.

”N...Nyx… Name Nyx…”

____Hands quickly pulling her hood further down to hide her face after giving her name. While it was not her real name she did not like the idea of talking to people. Nyx never focused when the instructors gave lessons on interaction with others, so without that she feared talking because she did not know how to perfectly approach the problem and excel at it. The only thing she knew was to reply when asked a question, and ‘please spare me’ was only truly spoken when they did not want to die.
@Cain Darlite | @Aalam Abungu

 

Aalam looked at the liquid in the glass it was a nice color for a cider, the thing was almost golden. But if he was able to recall correctly cider tends to have little to no alcohol in it, it wasn’t something that he would have usually drank, but he played a character. Give the glass a sip as he took in the flavor of the drink, the man had created an excellent beverage. It was light enough to quench the thirst with just a hint of apples; the alcohol gave it just a nice buzz. There was no way he was going to get drunk off this, but it was still a sweet drink if nothing else. The thing about the information that he was just told, this oracle had the power from birth did she? Then why was it only now that he was hearing about her. That was odd if a person had power like this even in a small town like this one the news would have spread even if it was in rumor. He knew Terra was a bit place but that didn’t track in his mind there was too much off. And this bodyguard the bartender said he wasn’t looking to trust him, that wasn’t too different but the way that he said it. It was just a man’s dislike this was a distrust that was odd in a small village like this. This was distrust with the underlining taste of fear, downing the rest of his drink and letting a small hiccup slip out as he rested the tankard back on the bar.

“Ohh by the god Gods my man that hit the spot. This is some excellent stuff right here best thing I’ve put in my mouth in a year. I’m going to need to more of these ya here?” Rubbing his chin as he leaned back in his chair thing out something that he could tell the bartender. “Ya, know there was this one thing, ya see I was on the trail yea? Taking so some man that was with the lion pride, you know that group, the big one. Their leader name has a Z in it Zexel? Or was it Zinc something like that anyways, he was telling me this story yea, right so this man. He supposed to be the man of men; big ass boarded chested man, fists like hammers and all that jazz. So the story goes as he tells it that this man. Zeus yea that was his man Zeus, this man Zeus when into these tunnels under this castle and he found this big incest queen thing. Like as big as this bar big.” He stretched his arms wide as he told his story to show the size of the beast. He might not have had Cain’s voice or Zeus presence but if he knew anything it was how to play a part. “So this man Zeus right say in his sure deep voice right in the face of the Queen. Today foul beast you die. And charges right at the thing I shit you not, well he shit me not starts hammering at the Queen. Man, he said that Zeus’ hand fell like the will of the god’s themselves shook the cave and all. But even that wasn’t enough to kill her; the queen throw him off and slashed his stomach. But them this Zeus lets out a roar, and cocked his fist back.”

“Now this the important piece, in the second it was like his arm was cover in a golden armor. Don’t look at me like that you want to hear a rumor. Then she punched right through the thing killing in a blow of golden light. One of the greatest things the man ever saw, anyway that what I heard. Now your turn what’s wrong with the guard he won’t stop me from trying to see her, will he? Or is a more he doesn’t like anyone type thing?” He needed to get the man talking and this was the best way for him to get it done.

 

Well, color him surprised. Of course there was going to be a big crowd in front of the miracleworker’s house, and of course her bodyguard had the aura of a trained professional, one that was apparently badass enough to dissuade even most adventurers from picking a fight with the man. It was interesting enough, at least, to see that money alone wasn’t enough to move Fortune’s Child. She either had standards, or there was simply a limit to what sort of miracles she could actually perform. Regardless, her ability to refuse even the richest clients simply gave more weight to her powers, and it was clear to Cain that this was DEFINITELY going to be a long wait. Some people had even opted to camp outside the door, after all, no doubt indicative of just how long they were willing to bum it out in order to get a chance at receiving good fortune from a living goddess, while others looked like they had just left their virtual avatars on stand-by while they did more worthwhile things in the real world.

Out of curiousity, the Flagbearer of Miracles poked one of those soulless bodies and had a bit of a giggle when they fell over.

Wait, no, gotta focus here. Gotta do the right thing and request urgent audience with that young girl, to at least get SOME degree of attention from her. He took a deep breath, centered himself, and traced a hand over his throat. The noose was there, tightening slightly, but Cain Darlite was no shrinking violet, and he had no time to be fiddling around waiting for the door to open once more.

And so, he grinned.

Brushing past the invalids and the rich, the adventurers and the eccentrics, the Double Blessed of Idna and Iedi approached the door and rapped twice on it, hard.

“Special delivery for the young miss in the building. Open up please!” A deeper sigh, before he expanded his voice to reach all denizens within the fanciful estate, magically increasing the range without increasing the volume. “Two apple pies, baked fresh and still steaming! Incredibly crunchy and amazing crisp! Best eaten immediately!”

 

Aalam drank down the last of his cider, it was still a nice brew, and he did wonder why more people didn’t know about the drink. After all, something this good would sell like fire back in the capital, if only he had the right marketing assistance. With some proper guidance he would be able to push the money back into the village and in turn, make this place into a more profitable area. If they were able to keep most of the ownership local, it would be a significant profit. He took up the tankard of the stronger liquid, taking a sip and allowing that wonderful familiar filling of burning to run down his throat. That was the stuff strong enough that he was able to feel it but still was able to keep some flavor. So many breweries these days forgot about the taste and focused on putting a man on his ass. It was one of the reasons he had taken to mixing his own if he mixed enough things he was able to something better. However, his apple drink was just right to mix it with anything would be criminal. So he pulled tow more coins from his pocket and placed them on the counters one was for him and one was for a bottle of the substance.

“This is some good stuff, my man, simply… simply wonderful. You know, you could make some serious money with this drink ya know. I know this mate, does some trading with that kingdom Astora, Astore. Well, whatever that place is called that kingdom with an A, got to sample some of the drink for one of their best bars, piss poor stuff. I tell you piss poor stuff compared to this. You even think of trying to export the stuff? If you so let me know aye?” Placing a card on the table with the name Brayden engraved on it. “The name’s Brayden, trader, and shipper, it’s nice to meet you.”

Even as he was saying this he was thinking about what the man had just told him; this guard had just appeared one day. This village was unknown Sure the apples were something that would bring it a bit of attention but nothing major. Hell, the only reason that they had found this village at all was that someone had requested that the Aristocracy take care of the Oracle. If the town was as insular as he made it sound then this was odd, no one just appeared like that until they were trying extremely hard to keep their past hidden, and without magic that was almost imposable in this world. Added to the level of skill this man was supposed to have, people in the same field would know you. However, if they were helped by a person that had been blessed with powerful magic from birth, it was possible.

He needed information on the place that she was supposed to live, entrance and exit point. However, if he tried to put an arrow through her neck without knowing the full range of protection that she had it would be a failure. They get a range of her abilities then he would decide from there if it would be easier to kill her or just kidnapper her. However, those things would be looking into in a bit. Turning his attention back to the bartender from the glass, pushing a new coin onto the table. “Ok how big of a bottle does that get me, I might need a late night drink.”

 

_____Nyx would not reply to anything Yuu said, her focus on moving the apple remains around slowly with her fingers. It was around the time she was asked about sibling that Nyx locked up, hands moving into tightly clenched fist. Gaze moving up as hint of anger traced her eyes but the overwhelming feeling of regret seemed to hold her to speak up. The more this girl knew, the higher chance Nyx would likely be told to kill the girl. But at the same token… Nyx hated hiding…

”Had a brother… He failed the organization… and I was told to kill him for it… He only failed because he was told to kill me… He had a heart… I lost mine when he failed them…”

_____Nyx moved her hands from the apple fragments showing a broken heart before scattering them quickly. Hands moving to pull away her hood fully as tears began to fall from her eyes against her struggle to stop it from happening. She did everything the order told her even if it destroyed her from the inside and there was never a day she did not regret taking away her brother’s life. But his final words kept her locked to the group she hated the most.

”He likely still hates me… I don’t blame him…”

_____Moving to curl up into a ball just before her stomach growled and Nyx ignored it. She was not going to keep struggling to deal with things, now that someone else knew her deepest regret there was no reason to be allowed to live. Moving her head down to her knees as she kept crying and seeing flashes of her brother’s face. The first person and only one she had officially killed, the reason she could never kill anything unless it was by poison.

_____She was nothing but Venom in other people’s lives, it was the only fitting tool for her to use. Beside that she could never hold a weapon towards someone without seeing her brother’s color faded eyes staring back at her. But none of it would matter anymore, she would just sit here until death took her also. Maybe she would get a chance to say sorry to her brother before she was taken away for her crimes.
@Cain Darlite | @Aalam Abungu

 

Yeah, that’s right, he’s a fucking genius.

Cain smirked at the others within the crowd who gave him the stink-eye for his behavior, before slipping into the room. Dark eyes followed the visitor that had left, wondering how much of that expression was bliss and how much of it was just magic-induced elation, but there wasn’t enough time for a connection. He strode in instead, placing the two pies on top of the cabinet by the entrance, before turning to take in the atmosphere of the room.

Subtle, but the pelts must have fetched a pretty penny. No extravagant paintings, no richly colored decorations, no personal cooks or anything like that. The large sword must have been meant to be a weapon for the bodyguard, perhaps against more unruly guests. Definitely a warrior then, instead of an assassin. Other details seemed simple enough, but first, there was conversation at hand.

Tapping his feet against the floorboards, Cain mused over the question for a few moments, before saying, his tone dropping to one that was many degrees more serious, “I have a…friend who has found herself under the influence of a malignant individual. A curse, perhaps, that I don’t know how to dispel myself, despite being a mage of some repute. So I’m here to ask your Oracle of the extent of her own abilities first, before I make any judgment over whether or not to proceed with my request.”

A shrug, before he pointed a thumb towards the stack of apple pies.

“Just a chat over some apple pie, you know? I’d imagine she’d enjoy a break after dealing with such difficult people on a regular basis too.”

 

_____Nyx did not care for being touched, she was to lost in her pit of self hate to try and stab the girl for touching her. The job, the hell with it she had no reason to do anything anymore. Moving to curl up more when Yuu tried to get Nyx to follow the girl simply sat in her spot in the shade and kept crying softly. Her mind replaying the very few memories of her brother she still could recall without pricking the sight or memory of his death at her hands.

”Don’t… Not wise… Just… spend time with her while you can… before you lose it…”

_____Nyx’s eyes slowly faded out, her emotions getting sucked into a black void inside her as she heard the ever annoying bell in her mind from past memories. The same bell used to tell her to kill her brother, but this had no given order, expect the last she had recived and that was to kill the oracle or deal with her. The information she ignored moving back into focus as her blank stare set on Yuu and Nyx blinked a few times.

”Threat to mission, level eight… Remove… threat…”

_____Her hand twitching for a few moments before it quickly swung, knife sailing towards Yuu without emotion in her face. The bell chiming again and again trapping her deeper in the empty void. If Nyx could get anything, she would wish for her freedom, hands wrapping around the care in her mind as she watched herself attack someone who, she spoke to about her past and they comforted her not lashed her for having emotions.
@Cain Darlite | @Aalam Abungu
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