The hard pat below made every unchecked footstep ring out like a shot. Foregoing hard soles had meant he could keep the element of surprise, but he could not truly appreciate that, the thin footwear he had thought would help having long since been buried in the sands of the Shurima Outskirts. They were useless here, leaving his feet cracked, as dry as the picked-clean bones that dotted this sand-blasted patch of earth.
His long hair was flowing behind him unchecked, kept from his eyes by a simple pair of non-reflective goggles he wore, though not a breeze passed him that he didn't hear the irritating scratching and tapping of grit against the lenses. The bulky, violet trappings he normally wore left in a safe house, replaced with a simple, dark tan pants and vest, the latter having a cowl that covered much of his face. It blended into the bleak, brown isolation of the Voodoo Lands well, and was reinforced with just enough leather as to not leave him completely unprotected. Last was a compact, heavy bag, contents known only to him. Tools for his purpose.
The usual blade he wore had been left behind as well, along with his cape, a matte gray arm blade being the only visible weapon he was armed with, though its visibility from a distance was not obvious, as the blade itself was non-reflective. It was a much simpler design than what he would have normally used, though it was no less deadly, nor was he any less skilled with it. A hidden compliment of his normal throwing knives rested on his person as well, but far fewer than he normally carried.
The place was made no better by the fact that he had been moving through it almost a solid day without having seen a single solitary indication of the settlement he sought. Finally, perhaps twenty six hours after he had stopped actively searching, a hint presented itself to him. A trio of dark figures on the horizon, one ahead of the other two by what may have been a mile. Odd, but, it was all he had to go on. Using all the stealth he could muster in a place without life to blend into or appropriate cover, sprinting toward the shadows as quickly as he humanly could. He was closing quick when he noticed the two following were not so much following as stalking.
He wondered how long it would take for the beasts to find their way to him. Strange, that he found them instead. In as much time as he had spent closing the distance, the beasts had as well, they were almost like wolves, large, akin to wolves but almost wrought of tooth and claw and closer in size to a small bear. The smaller of the two coiled and pounced, making not a single noise, as though their paws, possessing easily twenty to thirty claws each, were not even capable of doing so.
There wouldn't be another chance. Time slowed to a crawl in Talon's perception, instinct claiming him, turning him into the monster hiding under the surface. His hand darted into his cache of knives. "Eyes. Throat. Heart." Was all he heard, every beat of his heart sounding another of Marcus' words in his mind. Even as the final memory rang out in his mind, the pair of blades were singing through the air. The first caught the smaller animal in its snout, sending a spray of dark red blood out onto the gray ground. The second hit home, perforating the creature's eye socket with a wet crunch.
"Faster, boy. Katarina would have you dead by now." Commanded the ethereal DuCouteau. His body moved of its own accord, hurling itself forward as the wolf-beast began to take note of its injuries, still soaring through the air. Before it hit its mark, Talon had slid by underneath it, the thin, stealth blade affixed to his arm having sent another, much larger fountain of life pouring out onto the ground. The glimmer of razor-wire shone in the sun as the Blade's Shadow spun with honed grace and speed, tearing the throwing knives in the still leaping, dead wolf from its corpse and around in a vicious arc, screaming through the air and across the ground.
The second wolf, larger and more obviously dangerous, focused its attentions on Talon as he turned. It barreled forward to a symphony of whirling death. "Eye. Brow. Throat." Commanded the knowing voice of DuCouteau. The first spin completed, burying the tied blades into the animal's temple, but not doing anything to slow it. If anything, the pain seemed only to make it run faster. Talon's momentum continued still as his bladed arm tucked in. The beast took the final leap to secure its meal, jaw opening and legs extending before it.
Talon let out a single shout of exertion as his rotation finally came to an end, his arm buried to the elbow in the animals' mouth, most of his blade now protruding, warm with blood, from the back of the creature's skull. Time seemed to return to normal as Talon breathed in heavy gasps, every muscle in his body aching from his Cutthroat and the amazing amount of physical exertion the entire ordeal had put him under.
The smaller of the two wolves barreled lifelessly into the man, easily outweighing him by about one hundred pounds. Talon placed his foot on the other's muzzle and gave a quick shove, wrenching his arm free of the beast's maw to inspect the gruesome lacerations it had inflicted upon his body. He would survive. He freed his throwing arms and stowed them away after wiping the blood upon his chest, approaching the trapped man and placing the tip of his bloodied weapon upon the terrified man's brow, not hesitating to issue a single, stern command.
Post by The Grey Warlock on Jul 3, 2013 16:59:36 GMT -5
Talon would be led to a particular sink hole, the man would quietly begin whispering in a foreign tongue. As if from thin air, several robed figures would step forward from thin air. None had their eyes showing, only their lower jaws as the rest of their body was obscured by various dark colored robes. One man in particular, dressed in light grey robes stepped forward to address Talon. The man's body seemed fairly large and almost radiated a dark power that would cause Talon to feel almost as if he were standing before a mountain, "Assassin." he spoke, his voice low and would be fairly intimidating, "You intrude in territory that does not welcome your kind."
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Jul 3, 2013 19:59:35 GMT -5
"My kind?" Talon retorted, his shoulders shaking with quiet, dark laughter, locking eyes with the grumbling mountain. His arms crossed over his chest, arm blade moving through the air dangerously. "Perhaps you don't pay attention to the headlines often. Noxus is no home to me." He cut a particularly fearsome image himself, coated in the blood of the dead animals.
Talon's head cocked to the side and he gave a tiny smirk of dominance, his voice dropping to a whisper, barely audible. "If I'd come here to kill you, trust me, you would be dead already." He narrowed his eyes knowingly before he continued, "I gave your man life. If you'd like, I can take it back. I didn't come here under orders to kill. I am here because I need to speak to the leader of this place."
Post by The Grey Warlock on Jul 3, 2013 20:48:10 GMT -5
"Silence." The man before Talon commanded, "I care not of your home province. You are an outsider to these lands, they do not welcome you." The man pulled back the hood, eyes as dark as coal pierced Talon's being seeming to look into the assassin in search of something. The man's dark hair was showing signs of greying, his goatee surrounding pursed lips, "I lead these people. I am the Grey Warlock, and if you have any hope of living, you will speak with respect."
"Schatten wolf" The Grey Warlock growled, a small carving of a wolf would glow brightly, a shadowy wolf would appear like smoke before the Grey Warlock, its eyes were as white as pearls, yet when it bared its teeth at the assassin it was nearly impossible to distinguish its teeth from the black smokey fur. The Grey Warlock spoke with more authority now, "Explain why you threaten the lives of those within my order, and explain why we should not rend you limb from limb with but one breath."
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Jul 3, 2013 21:35:31 GMT -5
"Are you daft, old man? Does your old age prevent you understanding the words I speak? I've told you my purpose here. And I remain peaceful only so long as you can remind yourself that respect is earned. Not demanded." Talon shot back, neither backing down nor showing fear. He was used to the pissing contests of Noxus, the only thing different about this particular exchange was the unknown of the Order. Worrying, but he didn't let it show.
"I told you, if I wanted your people dead, they would already be dead." Talon shook his head and unfastened his blade, tossing it aside and watching it tumble along the rocky ground. His gaze fell on the Warlock again with boredom apparent upon it. "Now, are you going to continue stroking your bloated ego, or can we talk?" He finished, offering a hand to the wolf before him by way of peace.
"Animals are much easier to deal with than people... No pomp, no circumstance." He reflected, looking down at the hulking monster before him, a tiny smile playing across his lips, careful not to show his teeth to the creature.
Post by The Grey Warlock on Jul 4, 2013 0:36:31 GMT -5
The shadow wolf moves its nuzzle to sniff his hand, its eyes, completely white seem to stare into Talon's own. Wisps of thin smoke rise from the creatures body, he growls softy, keeping its teeth bared. Talon's disrespectful tone towards its master made the creature wary of him. It sniffed his hand again and turned its head to look at the Grey Warlock, a sharp bark and Gregori Hastur seemed to relax somewhat. As he did so, so did the rest of the mages surrounding him, the tension in the air clearly relieved from the Grey Order's side of things.
The Grey Warlock does however, keep the commanding air about him as he speaks but one word, "Come."
Gregori would lead Talon to a nearby sinkhole where he simply stepped into it, looking to disappear without a trace the image of the sinkhole would shimmer ever so slightly, a trained eye such as Talon's would easily be able to pick up the slight distortion. Should Talon follow into the area, he would find himself, not falling to his death or into a pitch black abyss. But instead, he would find himself being lead through a rather dark cave, other than the spheres of blue and purple magic there was no other light source. The grey warlock was far ahead, his silhouette barely seen in the darkness. A soft growl would alert Talon to the shadow wolf by his side, leading him deeper into the cave.
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Jul 9, 2013 7:41:44 GMT -5
Talon gladly followed after collecting his weapon and strapping it to his side, closing his eyes as he stepped through the illusion to spare himself the sensory shock of being somewhere completely unlike where he'd expected to be. The darkness of the cave would be stifling to most, but it was in darkness that Talon felt comfortable. He followed the silhouette in silence, using the growl of the creature at his side as a guide, his empty hand straying near it instinctively.
The time Talon had been under Marcus DuCouteau, long years spent in pursuit of another man's goals, had taught him many things. One of them was the value of skill, of understanding how best to utilize someone's talents. A second, though much more difficult to swallow, lesson, was the importance of making use of the rest of the world when the time called for it.
Hopefully, these people could help him. He knew the league certainly could not, and if they could, he barely trusted them. But these men and women, they were of Noxus. An older Noxus. One less rife with lies, deceit and politics. If only he had been there to leave with them, perhaps his life would have been different. Perhaps there would be many more men and women alive, rather than dead at his hands.
A pang of something, guilt most likely, shot through him and was quickly silenced, his focus returning to his whisper quiet steps.
Post by The Grey Warlock on Jul 9, 2013 8:34:14 GMT -5
Gregori would pause at what looked to be a dead end within the cavelike area. He placed a weathered hand upon the cold rock wall as he turned his head to look and wait for Talon to be beside him. The Grey Warlock never said a word, his dark eyes simply watching the assassin approach. The Shadow would would lead Talon to stand about three feet away from Gregori, a soft glow appearing around the three figures as Gregori begin to recite the quite incantation to send them where they could speak in private.
In a flash of dark purple fire the walls of the cave seemed to simply melt away into darkness, followed by a sickening falling sensation. Gregori and the wolf seemed completely unphased by the motion. A sudden stop and soon light would nearly blind the assassin, when his eyes regained focus they would be standing in a fairly bare room. Stone walls, not visible door and a simple table in the middle accompanied by two wooden chairs opposite each other. Gregori moved to one and gestured for Talon to sit in the other.
"You wished to talk." His eyes look to Talon's if they weren't obscured by the hood, "Talk."
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Jul 15, 2013 10:31:19 GMT -5
The assassin remained standing, cutting to the chase immediately. "We're bringing Nocturne here. I'm sure you know he's escaped and I'm certain you're aware of the risk it entails for you and your people." He paused a moment and turned the chair around, sitting in it and resting his arms on the back as he continued. "You may be wondering why you care, and you probably don't think it's worth the risk."
"Have you ever wanted a bargaining chip? I can't think of a better one than the threat of an ethereal horror being unleashed on the enemy. Or, giving the League back what it seeks to contain. Not for free, of course." He lazily shrugged a shoulder and stared the older man down, judging every tiny tick and twitch in his facial muscles. He wholly expected not to see any.
Post by The Grey Warlock on Jul 16, 2013 3:23:22 GMT -5
The Grey Warlock's expression was stone cold. Not a single movement other than to cast a glance at the shadow wolf that now sat next to the Assassin. It's white eyes stared up at Talon, without pupils it was near impossible to tell where exactly it was looking, but it was clear it was watching for something. Gregori however shifted his eyes back to Talon, "Are we now?" He thought over what the assassin had said, a bargaining chip? An entity that could enter the minds and drive people insane simply by reaching out with his own mind. The risk? The risk would depend on the ritual involved in summoning and binding the shade.
"An interesting proposition. What exactly do you gain from this?"
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Jul 18, 2013 2:58:33 GMT -5
"Peace of mind." Talon replied simply, a hand idly reaching down to scratch the strange wolf behind the ears. His expression did not flicker for even a moment, though he hated the half-truth that now hung in the air around him. He wasn't particularly interested in sharing anything that he didn't need to share, and his reasons were most certainly his own. He got the feeling that the old man wouldn't let up until he knew what he wanted, however, but he didn't think it would require much convincing before the old man was aiding him.
"Do you accept?" Talon asked finally, thoughts returning to the moment at hand.
Post by The Grey Warlock on Jul 18, 2013 4:31:33 GMT -5
"Peace of mind?" The Grey Warlock stroked his goatee in thought, it was clear that there was more to this than met the eye. Gregori leant back in his chair, his eyes studying the assassin, "Bring the Eternal Nightmare to my people, risk their lives and sanity. Simply for your peace of mind and a bargaining chip? I will need more than that if you want the aid of my Order. We need to know every detail, how it escaped from the Institute in the first place, we need these details in order to bind it."
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Aug 11, 2013 21:22:37 GMT -5
Talon's mind worked quickly through the scenario. It was so long ago now, strange that he had almost forgotten it. Perhaps it was the madness that had taken him following it. Still, he began a terse retelling of the events.
"Nocturne's prison was apparently shattered by the summoner guarding his room. The summoners in the hall leading to it were all cut down, each one said to have sustained multiple injuries that lead to their death, accounts called them fairly deep, arms and legs. It's unclear if they bled out or were killed outright, but there were no signs of magical activity. The last to die, the one who freed him, was split in two, from hip to head." Talon explained, continuing after a moment, allowing the knowledge to sink in.
"Nocturne vanished after that, though he's made a few choice appearances across the land, primarily to draw blood, and little else." Talon finished, fingers drumming idly on the table between them.
Post by The Grey Warlock on Aug 11, 2013 23:20:58 GMT -5
"Flesh that released the Eternal Nightmare, must be sacrificed to bind it." The Grey Warlock studied Talon, "We need that summoner if we are to bind Nocturne once more. The ritual involved would be risky, and may in fact cause many to die before he is successfully bound." Gregori frowned, wondering if the risk of acquiring the summoner, if he was still alive, or getting the corpse if he was dead, was really worth it. Perhaps there was another way... Using incredibly powerful magic would no doubt draw the eyes of the league. Something the Order had no wish of doing. Their seclusion was what had allowed to grow in power, should the league snoop and find out what they were planning, there would no doubt be an attempt at intervening.
The Shadow wolf sniffed the assassin, pure white eyes simply stared, watching.
Post by The Blade's Shadow on Aug 24, 2013 1:26:52 GMT -5
Talon grimaced at the words but did not falter. If that was the price, it had to be paid. Without another word he slipped his bindings free and rolled his sleeves back, pocketing his gloves as he placed his bare arms on the table between them, palms up. His forearms were covered in scars, paler than his already blanched skin, free of the sun's touch for most of his life. They were worn as trophies and as lessons, crisscrossing his skin at strange, obviously unpleasant angles. How many of them were inflicted in training and how many of them had been inflicted trying to sustain the assassin's young life was unclear.
His eyes lingered on his hands for a moment longer than he'd cared for them to, before he glanced up at the older man. "Blood or flesh, how much and how fast?" They were all less questions and more impatient demands, but even if pressed he would not speak the words that would condemn him. He hoped the show was enough to inform the warlock's decision.
This is what it comes down to, I suppose. The price of knowledge. Talon mused internally, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit. He wasn't truly certain the sacrifice that would be necessary for whatever magic the leader of the Grey Order had in mind, or if it was worth it to pay but having Nocturne with the Order was much more soothing a thought than having the shade floating about with knowledge that needn't reach anyone else's ears.
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