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 Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:18 pm
 In the City of Guallidurth, Phraktos iv'Ress, Master Lock Picker, edged closer, peering into the window of the elaborately ornate stone mansion from his perch atop an opposing building across the way. He was already itching to get his fingers into the treasure trove he imagined was inside the mansion. His nerves shot up, as did the excitement. He tried to still his feelings and remain calm, but his feverish lust wouldn't allow him to do so.
He cackled gleefully and rubbed his hands together.
He didn't notice that his enchanted guantlets sparked and gave off a bit of light. If he had he would have stopped his gloating and moved to work. Instead, Phraktos remained on the roof for a few more moments drooling over the imagined hoard that he was certain he would make off with that night. Especially the all hallowed item that would finally be all his!
He had heard rumors of it from several mages in passing. Of course they had no clue that he had overheard them, all the better for him. The item in question was a narcotic, a very rare narcotic that everyone in the underdark wanted, but was very hard to procure. Unless one was a thief, of course. Otherwise one would have to send an expedition to the surface to get it. Even then there wasn't the likely hood that those sent would return with it, seeing as there were so many unknown dangers that one could meet with up there.
Phraktos shuddered at the thought. He hated even the thought of the surface world, thank goodness he would never have to go up there. And if he were able to manage to get past the wards and guards inside to where the narcotic was stored, then he would also be one of the richest drow in the whole of the Underdark. That was a rather nice thought...perhaps he could even take a break from the disliked tasks from the Matron of his House. Even though he was out and living on his own, and practically a free agent, he was still required to do the Matron's bidding whenever she sent a missive to him. He rather hated that.
"Soon, Iztheri and I shall be able to rid ourselves of her!" He cackled once more, a very satisfied gleam coming into his eyes.
"But enough of that," He muttered to himself, as he slithered off of the roof and into the shadows of the courtyard below. "time to get to business!"
He had figured that if someone in the Mansion saw him come from this House they would assume that he had been sent by them and a battle would ensue between them. Thus...the Spider Queen would be well pleased with the chaos that occurred from his mission. And perhaps, favor would fall on his House in Undrek'Thoz.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:35 pm
 Izzayne Ouss'rahel crouched in a shadowy corner of the courtyard, hidden behind a few statues the over-bearingly rich mansion owner had placed to show off. She shifted to un-tense her legs, a hand splayed out in front of her on the ground to support her weight. It had taken a few connections and more then a few threats to find out about this Narcotic. She was set for a windfall of money if she got it and sold it. The adrenaline rushed through her veins. This would be sweet. A glint caught her eye and she turned her head, noting it go off again as the movement that caused it continued. She narrowed her eyes and squinted at the form of a male, hissing. This was her target. NOT his. So when he shifted into the courtyard she took her chance and grabbed a dagger out of her belt. Shifting to dart across the courtyard and behind another feature in the garden, just behind the other thief. Her annoyance was plain on her face as she evaluated him, picking out the best way to subdue him for long enough to beat him to the Narcotic. Incapacitating him temporarily seemed the less messy option. So she crept forward, making sure to keep behind. The element of surprise was needed here. He was obviously stronger then her and she cursed her slight frame and the fact that men were physically stronger. Ugh. She edged out, dagger poised in her hand. "I don't know what you think you are doing, but this is my target." Se hissed in his ear, her arm darting around his neck to hold the dagger there, the words whispered into his ear.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 2:49 pm
Phraktos nearly jumped when the words filtered into his left ear, thankfully he was able to stop himself at the last moment when he noticed the dagger only centimeters away from his throat.
"Xsa!" He swore, his voice going rather high from being so startled. It was something he very much disliked..and he was trying to change that.
"Oh? Have you been scouting out the House for weeks on end? I doubt it." Phraktos spoke, venom dripping from his tone. "I will give you one opportunity to pull that toy away from my throat before I throttle you like the op'elgin elg'caress you are."
It was rather amusing..how Phraktos had called her a thief..seeing as both of them were of the same profession. It merely showed how unsettled he was a the moment, but Phraktos wasn't about to let on about that. Especially since the female was a mere slip of a woman...looking to still be a young child.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:00 pm
Izzayne kept the dagger pressed against his throat, a hand tangling in the short strands of his hair to discourage any attempt at trying to overpower her. She grinned at his cursing, thoroughly amused by it. It was always rewarding when she managed to thoroughly surprise someone. "Now, now." She purred into his ear, pressing the dagger tighter to his neck at his next words. Like. Hell. She was not giving this up.
"No need for such insults, you know. I've been staking out the mark for quite some time." She murmured, still in his ear. No need to alert any nearby drow of their intentions. Or rather, her intentions. It was pure greed fueling this need for the Narcotic. Not some good deed or use. Greed was a base desire, it was good. "I will not. This Narcotic is mine, darling. Her voice dripped honey with a lashing of venom.
"Keep your remarks to yourself, thief. You are a pot calling the kettle black." She murmured, shifting a little when she thought she saw movement from the house. Damn. He was going to be difficult to lug into a hiding place.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:13 pm
Phraktos cursed again under his breath, only this time it was so lightly spoken that he doubted she could hear it.
So she wanted the Narcotic did she? Perhaps there was a way to that he could end up working with her instead of against her. Despite her being smaller and perhaps easily overcome, Phraktos didn't want any more scars marring his features from a struggle. He had already won the star shaped on on his face not more than a year before from a struggle with a drow that he had underestimated..he really didn't want to repeat that.
When her tone dropped and she spoke with the edge of venom in her tone, Phraktos couldn't help but shiver from delight. Oh..she was definitely more his type than he had originally thought...he actually liked when females got feisty with him. Though..it did rile him a bit when she called him on his earlier remark about her. So..calling her a b***h hadn't really been wise at the moment..but if the shoe fit the individual than it was true.
"As you wish," He found himself responding in a low sultry tone. Feeling frustration go through him from his ever growing interest in her. He was supposed to be on a job not a midnight rendezvous! For goodness sake, he really needed to get his head back into the game!
A sudden thought flashed through his mind. Most thieves assumed that any rival would fight to get away from them. So..to go in a completely different reaction would probably startle her in return. This thinking seemed logical to him, and suddenly Phraktos relaxed his tense muscles, going completely loose and falling backwards, hoping to catch her off guard.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:23 pm
Izzayne kept her eyes on the windows of the mansion, trying to see if it contained any life. They were in an easily discoverable spot, but she wasn't going to give in and let him at this rarity! She kept him subdued, her hand holding his head still while her dagger pressed to his throat. Her lips tugged up in a smile at his silence and she chanced a look at the house again. Dammit, she was spending too much time hanging around.
She felt the shiver coarse up his back from the position of her pressed against his back with her full weight, keeping as close to him as possible to prevent being shaken or thrown off if he got away. "Oh, finally settled. Did you?" She hissed, tone still venomous. Her eyes narrowed in impatience, her pulse quickening in anxiousness. She was counting the ways in which she could get what he knew out of him and then get the item.
So caught up in what she expected and what she wanted, that the tone struck her dumb. What?! She was not embarrassed by that, not at all. But she was caught off guard by it! "H-hey!" She hissed, catching his weight for a moment before buckling under it, falling back and dragging him with her. Damn.
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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:33 pm
Once the offending female was crushed beneath his weight, Phraktos reached up and wrenched the dagger from her hand fiercely. Then he grabbed her wrists and held them together, still slightly sitting on top of her.
"Look, there is no need for us to fight each other for the Narcotic. We could split the profits. Plus..two thieves would have more chances of finding it, and getting away. Though.." Here Phraktos scowled, as he peered down at the young faced female drow.
"I'm betting I wouldn't be able to trust you as far as I could throw you."
Phraktos was careful to only restrain the female, and not hold her too hard for bruises to occur. He didn't want to be a brute about keeping her from attacking him..his sister had always advised him to be gentle when he could be. And..this female was such a lightweight that he imagined if he had let his full weight crush her earlier she could have suffered broken bones from his immense frame.
"Uh, you are alright aren't you? I hope I didn't break anything from falling on you."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 7:46 am
Izzayne cursed, pushing her knees into his back to try and relieve some of the weight toppled onto her. She glared, eyes cold and hard when the dagger was wrenched away. Crap, she had thought she had him too! It was time to re evaluate the possibilities of other's doing things against normal. "Xsa ol! Get off me you waele ma'lai!" She hissed, trying to force her knee up into his gut when he restrained her wrists. She was annoyed and it showed.
"I will gut you and throw your body to the surface if you do not let me go this instant! She continued, her glare hardening at the fact he still held her down. She listened to him talk, gradually stopping her struggling. She had more daggers, it was just a matter of him letting her go. She scowled back. "And I you, you seem to be at least sub par!" She hissed, voice venom-laced once again.
She blinked, the scowl dropping from her face in shock at the concern the other seemed to ask. She blinked and then shifted her legs. The blood was still flowing there, she was fine. "I'd be a hell of a lot better if you let me go. She muttered, before rolling her eyss. "I'm fine. Nothing broke, I'm not a twig."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:49 am
Well this apparently wasn't going to happen the way Phraktos had hoped it would. He sighed, and turned his gaze towards the mansion; the treasure trove was still calling to him. As was the Narcotic, but now Phraktos was in a quandary that he needed to solve fast.
Movement from inside the House he had used for cover caught his eye and he cursed. Frack! Of course those keeping guard would probably not have missed the sound of him falling on top of the smaller female...as his keys and such would have made some noise. He really must rethink his costume so that it was more practical for his job.
"Oh? Why should I let you go? You just told me that you'd carve me up like a nice rothe roast, like hell I'm going to let you do that!" He muttered with a slight scowl.
He pulled the smaller female up off of the ground and managed without too much trouble to get her out of the line of sight of the House guards. By this time..he was breathing a bit fast rather annoyed that the female was soo stubborn and unbending on working with him. He kept her restrained, holding her wrists in front of her with one large hand, while the other went around her waist and held her firmly against him.
Gods...her hair smelled good. Phraktos held back a groan of bliss, as he struggled in how to deal with the female. There were too many damn conflicting thoughts running through his head. He had to think fast and come up with some sort of decision. One thing he was thankful for was the fact that he had taken to wearing a piece of protective gear to guard against groin kicks. Otherwise she might have gotten the idea to try and get away from him that way.
"Alright, I know I've upset your plans. You've upset mine as well..and I know you really don't care about that. But..if we continue to sit at this impasse then we will get nowhere and no one will be able to get to the Narcotic that we've been staking out. Whether or not you like me or not is not in question. Very shortly we will have company..unless we come to some understanding. I really do not want to hurt you in order to get the Narcotic, so can we please come to some sort of agreement?" Phraktos murmured into her ear.
He couldn't help but consider the rapid change of positions slightly amusing. He just hoped that now that he had her at the disadvantage that she would be able to get over her stubbornness to work with him. Otherwise...gods..he really didn't want to go there. He'd have to put her out and stash her somewhere safe until she came to. Of course, she'd be furious and then she'd be hunting him down for revenge. Phraktos had already had too much of that happening in his line of work, it would really be nice if he could find a friend or...associate for a change.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:10 am
Izzayne's eyes flashed to the mansion when she saw Phraktos look. She froze and let out a hissing breath, teeth gritted to minimize any noise her breathing could make too loud. Dammit! She turned her gaze to him and stared, disapproving of his clothing as she took it in. He was like a big alarm bell in her eyes. Her eye twitched at that thought.
"So I can at least be let into comfier confines. I do not appreciate being handled in such a way." Izzayne muttered out, her eyes flicking sharply to the house when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She didn't protest when he moved her out of sight as this was a clever move, considering. Her gaze flicked to try and peek at him out the corner of her eye, wondering exactly what he was thinking. There really was no need to be this close.
"...fine." She hissed, her hands going numb now. She flexed her fingers testingly, still staring at him. Had he sniffed her hair just then? She wasn't sure, he was breathing too quickly to tell. "Work with me, then."
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:35 am
"Oh..you don't? I can think of worse ways one could be handled." Phraktos shot back in a slightly affronted tone.
However, he did remove his hand from her waist and loosen his grip on her wrists slightly when he saw her flex her fingers. Had he been gripping them tightly enough to cause the loss of blood flow? Sheesh. He really needed to be more careful than that. The loss of one's fingers would be a tragedy for a thief. Phraktos couldn't even comprehend how one would survive without having all their fingers.
Phraktos stiffened when he heard footsteps come from around the back of the House and head towards where they were hidden in the shadows of a statue. Once she muttered the last bit, almost reluctantly he released her and pulled his curved dagger from his belt and threw himself at the guard that had appeared only a few steps away from them.
It was the bright flash of yellow in his clothing that caught the guard's attention and caused him to go after Phraktos opening his mouth to scream a warning. He didn't get the chance..Phraktos had unleashed the dagger from his grip and it flew swiftly through the air, slicing through the male's throat cutting off his chances of speaking a word. The guard fell to his knees, his hands seeking to stave off the blood that was now rushing down his throat. That was when Phraktos finished off the unfortunate guard, retrieving his dagger and buried it into the guard's unprotected right under arm.
The guard twitched sporadically.. until finally his eyes rolled back into his head and his spirit departed to the Abyss. Phraktos grinned for a moment, then grimaced at the spectacle on the ground. He'd have to clean it up now. Or..wait..no he didn't. With a conspirative gleam in his eyes he pulled out the signia broach he had filched from one of those from the Mansion across the way. Now..there would definitely be a battle of sorts. It didn't hurt matters much that the guard was one of the higher sons of this House's matron.
"All right..let's go now. We have work to do." Phraktos said, tossing the signia broach onto the ground near the statue where they had been hiding.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:02 pm
"Shut up." Izzayne scowled, shifting and flicking her wrists out in an effort to return the circulation to them. Shoving against his hands with her wrists hadn't been the best move. She glowered further at him, stiffening when he moved. But that hadn't warranted it. Another set of footsteps had caused it. She shifted and slid a couple of larger blades out of her belt, crouching down in waiting.
She knew the scuffle Phraktos had with the guard would draw attention, so when the second guard dashed over she jumped out at him, hands flying to his throat to take him down, shoving her full weight into him. He stumbled back and in the momentary confusion she plunged one of the daggers into the side of his neck, tugging it around the cut his throat open. It was best to silence them that way. She stepped back and watched him crumple to the ground, tugging him into a more hidden spot.
"Dammit, this is all your fault." She hissed, staring at the fallen guards. They'd be found probably in a short while, it gave them hardly any time to get in and out again. She frowned at him and tucked the daggers back into her belt. "Fine, any idea on what you are doing?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:21 pm
Phraktos was a bit miffed that he had missed her take down of the other guard. He was rather mad at himself to forget that guards usually strolled in pairs..so it was a good thing that she had been there to take care of the second one. He watched her pull the second guard into a more secluded spot before he chose to say anything.
Of course he was stopped by her next words, his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits at her hissed words. "My Fault? The hell it is." He muttered back in low pissed of tone. "Oh I have more idea of what I'm doing than you are. When they do finally miss the guards they will come out to investigate, and find the insignia which belongs to the Family that resides in that House!" He replied gesturing over at the Mansion.
"That will give us a great diversion for us to leave. So..I'd say we have about 15 minutes to get in, grab whatever we want, and get out. It should be efficient time, unless you slow me down." Phraktos muttered, as he crept out of the courtyard and into the outer grounds.
Then he made a mad dash across the glistening street and coming to a stop outside the immense stone fence that wrapped protectively around the Mansion.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:38 pm
Izzayne rolled her eyes and wiped her hands off on the fallen guard's shirt. She walked over to Phraktos, hands on her hips at his explanation of what he had done. Well, maybe he wasn't as useless as he looked. Her eyes went down to spot the insignia. Clever. She grinned a calculating smile at him, eyes narrowing in obvious excitement. "Good plan." She commented, complimenting him for the first time.
Izzayne followed him, keeping low and moved at a steady pace, never letting him stray too far. She had to be nicer, she supposed. Id they were to work together they had to be nicer. She darted around the perimeter, barely keeping up with his words as she thought.
"I won't slow you down. I'm faster then you. Less bulk to lug around." She commented after creeping up, leaning up to whisper it in near enough his ear. Best to keep very quiet now. Maybe he could be useful, she just wanted this Narcotic and her cut of it. It would be substantial and she could move on to the next hefty price-tagged item. "My name is Izzayne, by the way. Izzayne Ouss'rahel." Best to know wha to shout out if things got tight.
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Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 12:59 pm
"thanks," Phraktos muttered back in return to her compliment, trying to remember where he had spotted the weak spot in the wall. "I have had that plan burning in my head for ages, I'm glad I could finally make use of it. It doesn't hurt matters that the two Houses have had an age old vendetta against each other. Though..if you've done your job you already knew that." He added.
Her whisper in his ear made his ear tickle, and caused him to flinch from it. he just grinned in response. Sure he was bigger than she was, but he could move faster than was assumed. He figured he might as well allow her to continue to think so, he would have a bit of an edge over her that way. He did after all hone his quickness from being chased all over the Underdark by those intent on killing him. That training had only made him faster and swifter than he had been at first. So..his being an adrenaline junkie had actually helped him in the long run.
He turned to her when she spoke her name and cocked his head to the side. "Lovely name Izzayne. I am Phraktos iv'Ress...it's a pleasure to know you. Now..to get in we'll have to go to the side entrance...from there I can pick the lock and get us inside. There's a weaker spot in the back of the Courtyard...where the warding spell isn't as deadly. I figure you did know that though."
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