Redmane's Story

It was not your standard Mountain that had popped up over time here on the world of Terra but was that of the Blue Mountains, thanks to the tranfigurative magics from the dwarves most powerful wizards and sorcerers, and it was this very same mountain pass that housed the Business Halls of Lord Jorn himself. Several dwarves stood outside of the gates of this citadel carved in stone and within the walls of this dwarven empire stood markets so vast that it would boggle the eyes of men and mer alike as it did not seem to end but go into the mountain fortress.

The markets busiy streets gave way to all kinds of vendors claiming to have goods from otherworldly places a what one could see every corner have a smithy of some kind claiming to do specialty jobs all in the name of one clan. It was this overflowing market that Jorn watched over from the safety of his office that towered over the open air market and it was with little interest that kept the dwarven lord from watching his people and back to his chair at a ebony desk that was filled with paper work and a small meal and a gold goblet filled to the brim with a dark red wine that filled the air with the scent of foreign spices and warmth while the scones that kept the room lit illuminated while the furs on the floor and the red tapestries on the wall provided a rather unique appearance to the all stone room.

There was a loud cry of a bird, a crow or eagle of some form from outside that soon filled the window and the interior of the room. A few seconds passed and in the shadows a single being stood. Dressed in red and black, two swords on her back and two at her hips. Numerous throwing weapons were on her person as well. There was a brief breese as she entered.

The human woman, or so it appeared, was quite regal in appearances and yet seemed not the least bit tired from her seemingly long flight for that matter. For several long moments she observed the Dwarf behind the desk. Such a small fellow, she thought. Will make for interesting disccussion back home. With that thought she let her presense be known and stepped into the lamplight cast by the lit scones.

Jorn was looking down at his papers at the moment of the rather strange entrance and when the woman in rather regal clothing and far to much weapons just to simply look up at her with little more interest than what a spider would consider a fly trapped in its webbing. The dwarf could not count honestly how many times assassins and thieves have tried to impress him or take his life but little did they know about the trap that was always set in store for them. The floor on which Redmane was standing would suddenly seem to shift and swirl as its true nature of Jorns control of the arcane was now in full display. The room was no more and instead a field of flowers and open sky took its place.

"I always have wondered as to why not a single soul ever knocks or sets up an appointment nowadays but I truly must say I find this entire charade rather tiring." The dwarf simply stood from his desk which now appeared within the rather complex illusion as Redmane would now feel a slight breeze blow past her hair and with that Jorn would stand from his seat with cane in hand and hand stroking his rather regal beard. The dwarf dressed in a rather dark suit that his people had made for him that almost gave him a lordly appearance and with that several rings sat upon his hand that signified his bearings in this world are truly of a king in his own home. "From what I can gather you are some kind of soldier perhaps? No to lightly armed to be that for a 'lady' such as yourself who deems it necessary to bring blades into a dwarfs home uninvited."

Jorn simply continued to stroke his beard only to chuckle as he examined her a bit more. "A killer then? You might not have the look about you but I know your type. I served in many wars and have seen more of my brothers fall to the taint of killing for pleasure or coin on more than one occasion. So tell me what brings you to this lovely market I control?"

The woman smiled. Not the least bit phased by the actions of the magic the dwarf possessed. "If I were here to kill, I'd have done so long ago." Came the calm soft voice of a battlescarred woman. One that possessed skill and experience, as well as faith and endurance. "But it is not why I came. I was not expecting someone to be within this room. Looking for a place to roost one might say. I was not expecting it to be taken already. If such is the case, I can look elsewhere."

She smiled again, with a slight bow she introduced herself, "I am Redmane, the Maidensword. At your service." She said. "I did not come here to harm you, but instead look for work. I was informed that a Dwarf Lord had a job that needed to be done for good pay. They mentioned a Dwarf named Jorn. I assume that is you. I was informed that you resided above a open market." She was a Jellicle Assassin, but a very unique kind, in some cases she worked for coin, in others she worked for truth and each of her actions spoke volumes in what she did.

This one was truly an odd one for it seemed that Jorn was in luck. "If you were here to kill me I would imagine that you would fail." The nerve of some people and even more so considering this was an office and not a inn and how could this woman simply act in such a manner that she could hear of Jorn and yet not anything more than that there was a job. The dwarf was utterly speechless and watched Redmane for a time just to simply shake his head. " Redmane, a pleasure, there is an inn down the street from here and the job is simply to act as a body guard for myself while I continue to run an entire nation and my business."

"A bodyguard for a dwarf. Do not jest" Redmane replied with a deadly smile. "My swords are for killing, my skills for survival, and my ablties, to protect. But as a bodyguard. Surely you must be joking Master Dwarf. To send out a call for the best abled to merely protect you here in one place ?" The woman gave the Dwarf a hard look. "I came from there. Or did you not hear the cry of the birds as they flew, scattered on the wind at my arrival ?" Her a bodyguard, he had to be kidding.

Jorn did not jest and it seemed that this woman was nothing more than deaf and without a few missing screws. "I am the leader of an entire nation and at war with enemies who would have me killed for what I stand for." It was not very often that Jorn relied on others but there was many things the Dwarf did for himself on a daily basis. "I require your aid in order to keep me alive from others who would think they are fool hardy enough to do it. I cannot protect myself all the time and when my guard is down there will be nothing that I will be able to do."

Redmane smiled "Consider it done then." She said, "Of course I have my terms. I do not swear my swords lightly. I work on my own and take orders from none but the Master of my order. However he has given me leave to do as required for you until such time as I am recalled home. I do not know when this will be. But for now, you have my blades in your service until such time as I am recalled."

She gave him a curious look then "Do we have an accord ?" She asked.

The dwarf walked up to her and nodded just to then produce a small bag of coin. "Take my coin and go to the inn and get yourself a room for the night. We will talk more about your employment when the sun rises." With that said the dwarf went back to his table to do some paperwork.

Redmane accepted the payment. It was good enough for the evening. For the moment they had an accord, as far as that meant to her, she could come and go as she pleased. Watching from the shadows at all times. The perfect time to keep herself busy. Perfect indeed. The small bag disappeared into the folds of her clothing as she went to the window as the room reformed around them. The office was a good several dozen meters up or so from the top of several of the houses within the open market. Without a sound she easily perched on the sill, then disappeared, with the cry of a eagle once more heard as she went somewhere. She was going to the inn, but not the one pointed out. Not just yet. She had other things to attend to first.

The cry of an eagle was heard briefly before the front side window was opened and breeze swept through, out of nowhere appeared a woman dressed in red and black. At her side were two swords, on her back were two more, a bow of silver and dark blue crossed her left shoulder to her right hip, countless knives filled the rest of the seemingly extra swaths of cloth. She went to the bar and looked through the various drinks before settling on two she prefered. Ice cold whole milk, and ice cold Pepsi. After mentally flipping a coin she requested a large glass of Pepsi. The Jellicle Assassin was well suited for such a dangerous location. Taverns of any sort were dangerous to visit.

He took a look around and saw the woman appear in red and black and he raised a brow, and pulled the knife from it's sheathe slowly, from his side and then held it carefully near him to make sure that he was ready just in case the woman tried anything funny. He then took a little swig from the rum and coughed. "Now that is some really good rum, I tell you what." he said with a chuckle and then started drinking more.

"Say, barkeep, give me a run down of what has occurred in this city and if others of my Order have been sighted recently" The woman said. She heard the sliding of a knife but paid it no heed, thinking instead that whomever it was merely was cutting meat in order to have a smaller portion in order to eat.

"Nothing much can be said of recent happenings. Others of the Order, no, I cannot say. I am sorry, but have you checked the Undermarket ?" The barkeep replied with a shake of his head. "I am sorry I am unable to be of much help."

"No, even if I had, then I would have still come to you for more information. Thank you." The woman replied, taking a long gulp of her drink. The caffine hit the spot and seemed to waken the woman slightly and she focused then and asked for some raw deer, Raptordeer if there was any.

Once her order was placed she cast her extreme blue eyes around the tavern. She liked the design of the place. wood paneling, post and beam structure. The design was well thought out indeed. It felt a lot like the Dangerous Tavern back at home. Though not filled with cats and dogs, but mostly empty at this time of day.

He was a little worried, as the woman actually looked like she would be able to hold her own, but he kept his composure and figured out what hew as going to do about the situationa t hand. He got up slowly, and put his gun on the table. He then moved over to her position and sat down next to her. He chuckled and took a swig from the rum, and then grinned at her.

"Well hello there beautiful" he said, trying to act like a drunken idiot which he was not.

It was after a good minute of quiet thought when she was being spoken to. Turning her gaze towards the owner of the voice she took in the male. Typical human male, she thought. He seriously reeks of drink! And yet, he does not look drunk, only smells it. Finally she said, "Tell me. Is that the first thing a man says to a woman when they first meet, or is it different in Human worlds ?" She asked him. Proving for once she was from another planet, but if she was human was an entirely different matter. She sure looked human, but then, there Glamour was very useful for that illusion.

The man just grinned and shook his head, becoming serious, "Tsk task, not all men are like me, or what I appear to be, I am not drunk nor am I one of those kind of men, my name is Milan, and I work for the Detente, pleasure to meet you madam" he said with a formal and polite tone before bowing.

The woman smiled, slightly bowing in his direction she replied, "Redmane, The pleasure is mine." She had a look of a woman born of exerpience, and yet, she was not human, or was she ? It did not matter. Her order soon arrived and she began to eat. The Detente were not an Order she had knowledge of. Nor did she understand what such an order even was for. But the one thing she did know, was that the Jellicle Assassin Order had been around. After all, her meal, Raptordeer, was freshly prepared for her.

Within minutes of her order arriving she had finished it. Along with her drink. She turned to Milan, In a proud yet slightly shy tone she said with out any emotion showing on her face "I am sorry to cut our meeting short, Milan, But I have needs that are most pressing that I must see to. Do take care." With that she stood and left a tip on the bar top before walking towards the front door. Disappearing as she did so as the window exploded open with the rattle of a strong wind and the cry of a eagle as she took flight.

The port was still in a state of strong repairwork. None of them noticed the cry of an Eagle nor did any really wish to care if at all. redmane perched on a pole out in the water. Not far from the blight on the waters, and the docks. Without so much as a reason to why she was ther she jumped and disappeared with the cry of an eagle once more. Stepping in long strides to other pillars before landing on the docks and moving inland. Her mind going over her assignment carefully. This was going to be quite interesting to be sure.

It was her first job after several weeks of nothing but smaller jobs around different places until the summons came. It was short and simple 'Come as you are, same place, same time' nothing more, not even a name, but the writing she knew. She was needed by her employer for something important. But what it was she did not know.

Moving through the crowds of workers slogging through muck and mire and driftwood and other junk, the red and black dressed woman with long black hair carefully took in everything. Port of Solinus. Gateway of the Expanse. she read in many langauges. Many langauges, not including Siamese. Which annoyed her something else indeed. With a single weapon in hand, and her hidden blades on both arms. She moved through the crowds towards the more firm ground. Her prey was in this city, its last known location at least. She could start tracking in this place. When she got out of the mud.

Jorn smirked and produced upon his desk a small paper revealing the blood ties to the royal family of Inikhethadaternock, a family that called the head of their house a sand dragon, and one with a peticular name and image etched upon one of the family insignias. "I need you to go to a place called 'The Gateway of the Expanse', A port more in particular of Solinus, there you will find this boy and kill him." Jorn produced a small bag of coin and placed it upon the table along with a few maps and a rather intricate looking dagger that seemed to shimmer when the light reflected off from it. "This target is armed and dangerous and yet he will not expect someone to come looking for him. His father has crossed me many times in the past and I want to send a message."

The streets were packed to the brim with people from all walks of life and almost all realms and even a few looked stranger than some of the beasts from legends long past. Yet something stirred within the crowd as several noblemen and women moved through the crowd followed by the priests of Arkanus and other fallen gods while Merchants called out to their passing customers offering strange goods and interesting trinkets. It was all of this and yet little to no sign of the Symir as of yet within the dense crowd.

As Jorn was about to dismiss his assassin the dwarven lord began to cough a bit and shake his head. "Before I forget." The dwarf lord spoke just to stand up from his seat. "Bring me something back to prove the target is dead will you. I can take your word on the matter but proof is so much sweeter."

"In my line of work, proof is the best truth there is." She replied. She looked carefully over the information he had for her before she finally nodded. "It wont be easy. But it can be done. He wont be expecting anyone to seek him out. Depending completely on what the family in question did to you, I will not ask." She raised a hand indicating that she did not want to know just what occured for her targets father to cross her employer, the less she knew the better.

Moving through the crowded streets of the massive port, Redmane came to a halt in some form of a market place. All sorts of sellers were selling their wares in the near constant rain and mud. She knew one thing, she'd hate to be there in the dead of winter. The mud frozen or freezing, or worse. Near a market stall selling meats and cattle there was some extra space. with drier ground. She knew exactly what to look for. But then when tracking trying to find it properly took time. Sword in her left hand she kelt to one knee and traced a finger on the grass, some of the straw was recently disturbed. She brought her hand to her nose and sniffed. Ah yes. He had been here, but how long ago ? The smell was extremely faint!

Jorn had several papers, but not many, or even enough for Redmane to get a solid lock at the writing style the target used, nor was she able to get a good idea of what the target did for a living for that matter. However he was apparently the son of a powerful house. Not something she had slain before, though she had brought down governments with her brothers before, this was no different. One item caught her eyes directly on the third sheet of paper. A single symbol.

Redmane smiled, the symbol was faint, but the targets scent was there. It was also faint, but he'd been that way. Now all she had to do was find more of that symbol. Standing back up as a market seller approached her to try to sell her something she retorted while holding out a piece of cloth with the same symbol drawn on it "Have you seen anything like this before ? And who drew it ? And how long ago ? In that order please."