A Job is a Job | Page 3

• 124 HP
• 132 EN

It was a blessing, that Cain had not been skewered, that his mount had not been slain. It was a blessing, that he had caught Nyx's message, that he realized that someone else could be used. It was one more blessing of the many he had already received throughout his short life. Parents that never fought, friends that never betrayed her, and the soundness of both mind and body to continue doing what she needed to do. He was indeed a blessed existence. The Double Blessed of Idna and Iedi, now receiving the boon of yet another miraculous individual, until he was filled to the brim with wonders all around.

Leaning him, his large frame shielded his companion further. There was nothing to be done but to go forward, no? And unruly as the beast was, painful as the sensation of his thighs slamming against the flanks of the horse was, the midnight haired muse continued to cling on, eyes wide.

"North," he spoke to himself, to his companion, "We're going North until we get out of sight, and then letting the horse go off on its own while double tracking downwards to meet up with Zack. Just gotta bear with this for a while longer, Youn! If there's anything you can do to speed us up, now's the time to do it!"

@Skyswimsky

If you need any roll, here it is
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• 60 HP
• 50 EN

_____It was not for lack of effort on Nyx’s part. Unequipping her bow and quiver Nyx stumbled backwards. She would be caught soon enough, but she still had some work to do as she moved her gaze back to Aalam and coughed up blood. Hands running along the knives in her sleeves, the voices muffled but clearly closing in on her and Aalam. She had one last thing to do, and it was likely to get her killed either way.

_____With a quick swipes of her arms Nyx began throwing knives towards Aalam, she had to stop him from chasing and keep him where they could catch him. It would likely get her caught as well or killed but it was the least she could do to help Yuu in her current state. Blood and poison dripping from her weapons as she did everything she could to keep Aalam occupied.

Attacking Aalam
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• 148 HP
• 92 EN

Aalam watched his arrow more form its course; it was the reason like this you had a team. SO if someone was able to move projectiles form out the air with a flick of their finger, someone else could rain down fire from the sky or something else. However, the person that he was expecting to deal with the magic was currently escaping with his intended target. One day he just wanted on where he could kill a person and just be done with it all. In the back of his mind he knew that this was going to happen he could have felt it but they did the opposite thing. Think that the other would have just been able to do the job; it was one person after all. It wasn’t like they needed to burn down a village or even kill someone like a king; it was one girl in a small little village that might have been abusing her power. It was the simplest job and while at times he might have wondered if this was a set up for a much bigger thing. Like someone was playing in order to take out a person of possibility in the region then they could have just taken her to the bar and kidnapped her but no.

Now, however, he was going to have to deal with Nyx when this was all over as well. However one thing at a time, the first being he needed to get on to a horse or else he was going to lose sight of the target. So he jumps on the nearest horse it had been a while since he had ridden but the basics were still there. However even as he pulled his horse into the pursuit of Cain he still needs to deal with Nyx. The woman was throwing knives in his back after all if she was going to going to fight with range she needs to learn to aim better. Pulling a knife out of his side and returning it to its sender.

Mounting a horse and returning a knife
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• 124 HP
• 122 EN

The man was catching up. He could feel it, the singular focus behind his approach, the deadly precision and the advantage that he had for being unburdened by his steed. Where did Aalam lie now? Was this still an 'act'? Or had the archer tired of this game, seeking simply to kill the child and be done with it?

No time for that. The Flagbearer could feel Youn's indecision as well, the faltering of her heart and the madness that was all around. The terrain had blurred, twin beasts frothing as he focused and focused and...

Aalam was close now. Dangerously close. Vocally close.

"Sorry, dude."

This wasn't going to be something that would kill an adventurer like the great Aalam Abungu, but this was certainly something that'd inconvenience him. As the two horses crossed into a thickly forested area, Cain summoned the depths of his Harmonic Magic and let out a glorious, devastating sh0ut. A battle hymn, undulating hauntingly and melodically, his midnight mane going with that ethereal light as magical ripples bounced out and about.

But this wasn't a buff. This was a different effect, one that he had put to use plenty of times before for non-lethal missions.

This was a sleep spell, meant to instantly shut down the consciousness of the horse that Aalam rode on. Within such terrain, moving at such speeds, to fall asleep in the middle of a gallop would spell a cruel fate for the horse indeed.

But it was necessary. For once the horse fell, there was no way for the Hunter to catch up any longer.
@Skyswimsky

Riding while using Harmonics to knock out Aalam's Horse
83
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• 20 HP
• 40 EN

_____That was what the hero got? Judged and losing an arm for trying to stop the person really trying to kill the girl this stupid person was protecting? He was either an idiot or terrible at his job leaving the girl alone and kidnapped, or a combination of the two. That was all Nyx could think about as she moved her only arm over the missing limb and growled lightly at the people. Her voice strained as she tried to speak up.

”NOT DEAD! ...IN… Alley! Youn… With annoying… one… chased… by… real killer… I… Can lead to Yuu… If… Not… believed…”

_____Nyx would try to point her missing arm at first before grumbling and pointing her arm in the direction they had went before stumbling her way back towards Yuu and the cloaked person if they stayed where they had been. If they did not trust her they could stab her in the back or whatever they wanted to do. Nyx did all she could do and for all hell she was useless to anyone now outside a stumbling guide. If fate was kind enough, and the two had not left the spot Nyx set down Yuu she would lead anyone who followed her there before falling over.

”Killed before yes… Not a lier… No… Did not… want to harm her… Heard the bell… lost control… Can’t atone…. Can’t be forgiven… Sin… cross to hold… another…”

_____Frame was not moving while her mouth spoke against the ground. Nyx did not want to be forgiven, she likely cost Yuu her vision and because of her lack of strength and skill might even have cost Youn her life. Both their lives ruined because of her, she would not forgive herself for that as she simply laid there waiting for whatever fate had in store now that her task was done. He was most definitely though, not being the hero ever again… Losing an arm was not worth it.

N/A
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• 148 HP
• 72 EN

Aalam drove his horse forward it was in times like this he felt annoyed, if you could bring yourself to do the job then why take it? Even if Cain was to escape him today how could he be sure that the job would not land on the Aristocracy's lap again and the next time the people sent might not be as merciful as he. Even then there was a balanced player lose energy when they used magic on a smaller scale than this but what the girl was doing it was too grand. There was a balacnce some where just becasue she was a child did not make her innocent. The horse was closing the distances and was doing as at an excellent pace as he did have the extra weight of a medium size child to weigh it down. If they were to keep up this pace, he would be able to run them down. There were times that he wonders if he was doing the right thing that a person might have been playing the entire thing as a game for some odd reason.

Hell, it might have been the child’s mother that issued the contract after all this was Terra and nothing ever tend to be as it appeared. That was a lesson he had learned early on, and it was one that it seemed Cain had tried to ignore. As they rocketed down the trail, there was death, and then there was Aalam. He wasn’t about to fail a job as simple as this simply because two people seemed to have to live in the moment. He needed to stop the both of them damn he hated shooting like this, who did people think he was Gywn? He was a good shot, but there were limits after all like people who weren’t riding away from him at full gallop and him riding on a horse at full gallop. When this was over he was going to hunt Cain down and hit this man with the biggest thing he could find anything ranging from the size of a bottle to maybe a chair…yea a chair sounds about right.

A shot like that took time to get right after all he didn’t want to kill Cain well that was starting to something that he was looking to consider. However he was almost there if he could just push the beast to go a little after then, he saw a bright light and felt his horse give out from under him. Ok, yea he was going to try and kill Cain now. As his horse went head first into the ground he used that he heard a crack, shit. At least the best momentum carried it forwards and he was able to get to his feet, they were about fifty feet away and gaining speed. The man should have put him to sleep because this was a longbow and he was pissed. However the tree line gave them some cover, and he wants to sure that this was a shot he could make, so it was time to double down. Grabbing two arrows from his quiver as he took aim, letting out a loud whistle as he did so, those arrows would either find there mark in Cain or the horse. His choice now, however even if they missed it didn’t really matter for he had called Thunder, so he whistled again. Once command that he would give the bird follow. He was too old too much too tired to keep having to do this job after job, next time he was just going alone.

Fires two shots at Cain and calls in Zeus ordering him to follow
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• 104 HP
• 102 EN

The two tumbled down, bouncing as both their horses were disabled at the same time. Rolling on the moss, Cain held his charge tightly as he took the bruises in her place. It didn’t hurt. Not at all. Compared to the horrific sensations he had faced before, this was nothing but an inconvenience, and the midnight haired muse tumbled onto his feet once more, acrobatic skill displayed.

He still had plenty of gas in his tank, and on foot, they were definitely not equal. If Aalam was a man drenched in stealth and subterfuge, assassinations in the darkness, Cain was a dancer on the battlefield, fleet of foot and unburdened by the need to protect himself. Youn was a slight burden, but as a child, her weight was nothing compared to the Orcish Club that he could wield, her burden nothing that could not be sustained with the Harmonic hymn that continued to pound and pound and pound and pound. His dark red eyes smouldered in the heat of the moment, an arcane flicker dancing on his finger tips for just a split second as he gazed towards the Hunter.

But then the Flagbearer blinked, the berserk aggression dissolving to a more focused darkness, and he ran once more.

Bounding from tree to tree, the hymn of his breaths and his heartbeats fusing into an esoteric song enjoyed only by himself. On and on, with an acrobatic flair that persisted even while he princess carried Youn through the darkening forest. The sun was beginning to fall, afternoon dipping into evening. If they kept up this pace, they’d be home free.

Well, there was no home they were going to, but soon, the valiant story of a saint being rescued from the barbed clutches of a hunter will be complete. And from that point on…

The smile never left his face as Cain asked, mid-escape, “So, Youn, how does your magic work anyways? Is it something that I can learn?”

Yeah, if this was the pace he was going to be keeping from now on, he was definitely going to need a conversation.


@Skyswimsky

Speed Buff + Acrobatics to Escape the Aalamator
88
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• 138 HP
• 52 EN

His horse was dead, his back was hurting, and he had wasted at least two bottles of the finest liqueur that he had ever known. Come on who makes a man do that, it was right it wasn’t right at all, and it was these factors that were getting him to the point of being upset. They got the job for the love of everything that was holy why couldn’t they just do the job. He was tired and hurting; he doesn’t do this to anyone else. For one time he would just like to be able to get the job down and go home kick up his feet with a nice bottle of ale or even just water at this point. Also, he was going to hit Cain the next time he says him with something much larger and heavier than a chair, maybe a desk. However with the sound form his UI and the way that his feet were feeling heavier he was being drained, checking his menu and well that not surprising this chase was exhausting him and it was draining him fast. He needed to stop this, and he needed to do it quickly, if Cain were to draw out the chase for too long, he wouldn’t be able to follow.

However he felt to familiar pressure in on his shoulder, turning to look at the Zeus, the Thunderbird had been a recent addition to his collection. It seemed fitting to name him after both a great man that he had tried to kill and well a Greece god of thunder. Feeling take off and issuing one order to follow Cain from the sky. However, if he were going to be moving as fast as he did earlier then that would be a problem even for Zeus, so the man needed to be slowed down. So he aimed and for a second wondered when he had to hurt players a lot now often. Sure nyx had thrown a few knives at him, but the girl was small, so they were more of an annoyance if anything else. However, those where thoughts for another day as he aimed, but then lower the arrow. No there was too much of a chance that he would miss, he would follow on foot Zeus would watch form the sky. There was almost no way that he was going to be able to escape. So pulling up the hood of his cloak and started to walk. There was no reason to run after all he would catch up soon enough.

Ordering Zeus to follow Cain for the sky as he followed on foot in stealth
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• 104 HP
• 72 EN

Ah, so that’s how it was, huh? Truly just an example of good fortune, pulled passively away from others. There was no direction, no teachings, nothing but another example of someone being blessed by a goddess, a divinity.

As the river roared around them, white waters pounding violently, Cain let out a breath. He was a bit tired of this after all. If he wanted to do things the proper way, it would have been best to stall for time instead, to let the villagers of the town, to let that great swordsman act as a shield, a sword, cleaving apart the others. As it was, all he did was…

…waste time on something that he couldn’t use to begin with. Good fortune wasn’t a miracle. Good fortune couldn’t be applied directly. Through this whole endeavor alone, the Flagbearer of Miracles deduced what she was. Naught but a good luck charm, ineffectual in direct confrontation, meaningless outside of its permanence. Slowly, he dropped Youn back onto her feet, stretching back. He could feel his spine pop, his back aching from the uncommon amount of exertion. A bust. A trail that ended up cold. That Zack fellow believed that such a curse could be undone, but this ability of the Oracle’s was simply too indirect.

He didn’t have that time to wait.

“Well, that’s fine, isn’t it?” Cain smiled, patting the child on the head, “The world does need brighter people like you, kiddo, but I guess, moving forward, you really need to watch out for yourself too. The brighter the light, the darker the shadows and all. I’m not really all that smart of a person, and I’m not really an expert in combat or whatever as well, so I can’t really help you there, so hey…”

He swayed slightly, listening to the pounding of the waters, the primal beat of the river, until he could make that music his own as well.


“…this is all I can do.”

Amethyst brilliance spilled from his fingertips, enhanced twofold by natural harmonics. Without another word, an arcane beam seared into the child’s forehead, cutting off her last lifeline.

A job…

He laid her body onto the ground, before taking out a hunting knife.

…was...

The strokes of the blade as it sawed through the sinew and fat and muscle and bone was muted by the pounding waters around.

…a job.

And at the end, only her head remained, other pieces tossed into the river. Washing his hands in the frothing river, Cain sent a message, before walking off.

If a roll is needed??
59
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• 138 HP
• 52 EN

As he walked, he saw Zeus circling and the area it seemed that Cain had stopped moving for whatever reason. So he made his way through the overground over a tree root and under branches with a steady back. There was no rush in his movements or actions it was just a forward march, it was similar to the wind. The wind was neither good nor was it wills it just was, and that was him at this moment. He was alone a few meters away when he heard it the death of innocent and one of the few spots of light in Terra.

He felt it as it bounces through his body as the sound playing in his chest and wound its way found his chest and squeezed his heart. It was enough to cause him to stop and hold on to a tree for support. His nails were cutting into the tree's bark as he to a second to stabilize himself as he felt a bit of strange wetness no his face. However, he had to make sure the job was done it was Cain after all, and the man had spent the day running from him. With the girl in tow, however, the scene the greeted him when he got to river bank confirmed that she was dead. He was surprised he didn’t think that Cain had it in him to do something like this. Zeus landed on his shoulder giving the bird a pet on his head he had done a good job after all and disserved a bit of a rest, so he sent him back. The piece of the girl was in the water, and the river seemed to run red with the blood of an innocent. He could see a section of her thigh working its way down a river.

There was work that he would have to do here, so he took off his bow and quiver as he set out to do what was needed to be done. Hanging up his coat and shirt as he walked over to the girl’s head as he picked it up off the floor, looking at her as he apologized. “I am sorry, you did not dissever this, but I must follow the code. It is all I am and I that I can be.” As the water ran down his cheeks as he realized that he was crying and for the first time in a long time he accepted that he felt sorrow at what he had done. So he started the process of cleaning what was left of her, watching the blood and combing down her hair. Taking off his shirt was washing the white linen clean as he wrapped up the head. Placing a wreath of flowers and rosemary on her head before making a bundle for Zeus to carry, there was one more order he had to give him before he was able to go home. “Take her home, Zeus.” He watched him rise in the air as he gained height, the bird would be there in a few minutes, and it was time for him to leave. He had done enough here, cutting off the water to his tear as he fixed his face back into the granite it was cut from.

Zues will take the village, Aalam was heading back to report the mission completed
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