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 Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 9:31 pm
 With a grimace of frustration, Solmur'ss slammed his fist against the side of a towering display of fabrics. Solmur'ss had been tracking his mark for two days already. The Goddess must be in a particularly chaotic and spiteful mood, he reasoned, given his luck! Patience was worth it usually. Something about this target had Sol on edge however.
The male whom the bounty hunter was tracking was a tall lanky thief. (Sol could not help but find it a little ironic that his traveling companion to Guallidurth was also a thief, though quite luckily a different one.) The thief was being sought by a Guallidurth House who suspected him of taking some very valuable magical items. Sol still wasn't clear quite how they had fingered this particular thief. None of the drow would personally own up to letting the thief escape, but someone must have encountered him or.. No matter. He didn't particularly care what had transpired. They were paying very well to get a chance to deal with this drow alive.
They were in one of the maze-like slum neighborhoods. This was his first job in quite a while in the city of Guallidurth and Sol was realizing how rusty his memory was. The thief had entered a large marketplace that took up the gutted bottom floor of a row of buildings. Different businesses and merchants filled the open downstairs, while the upstairs was taken by private apartments. The bazaar was a strange and chaotic environment inside and Sol's distance from the thief had been enough to lose him almost immediately to the crowd. He had to think smarter about this. This was a place for selling things, but not the place to hawk such precious wares as what the thief had stolen. No, the thief would be heading upstairs to a private room. The bounty hunter turned on his heel out of the bazaar and darted down the side alley.
The long narrow alleyway led around behind the merchant building. Sol was hoping that he could find a back way in. Some more direct way to get upstairs to the apartment levels. Catching the thief in the quieter upper floors would be his best opportunity.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 3:40 pm
 It had taken longer than Mal had expected to find her target. She was even now catching his trail to follow him. Her employer had only just finally decided to contract her to fulfil this job. He had been humming and hawing for so long that Mal’tyrr had nearly been certain he would back out, but something seemed to have pushed him. She was to find a thief that had stolen something from a House in Guallidurth. She was to make it so he was never seen alive again.
She had a theory her employer was just trying to hide his involvement in the matter, but he had not said that. She was an assassin and she had the feeling he thought she was stupid, which irritated her, but well he was her employer and she would do as he asked. She would normally have told him in no uncertain terms that she was uninterested in the job, but the amount he was paying was rather obscene and she needed the money. It irked her to think that she did, but her sister had demanded that she contribute once more to the family. Apparently, she had been shirking her duties recently and this one job would keep the other off her back for a good long while.
Mal’tyrr had finally caught sight of her prey and set herself to following him though from a rather large distance away. She preferred to stick to alleys and other places than go down into the crowds of people below. It really could be most uncomfortable being amongst the masses down there. She was just uncomfortable with more than a few people around her. It made her tense and wary not sure if any might attack. She was not very trusting.
Her mark was proving quite slippery as she watched him. As they had moved through the city, her eyes kept on being drawn to a figure that seemed to be always just at the corner of her vision. She finally turned her attention to it, but was unable to determine much from where she was. Mal was pretty certain that the other was following the same person as her, but it could still be coincidence… she narrowed her gaze… or not. She should follow him and remove him before he got between her and her target. She decided to hold off on any decisions for now, as she needed to find out where her target stayed.
Mal made her way to the next rooftop crouching low at the edge watching her target as he made his way into a large building. She sighed with annoyance at this her attention caught by the male who was following ‘her’ target. She crept to the edge of the building as he made his way down the side rather than going for the main entrance. He was after the same target. A cold look entered her wine dark eyes, she would have to remove him before he got into the building and caused any trouble. She darted her gaze from side to side. Now to find a way down to where he was; the alleyway was deserted. Then again, it would inhibit her ability to move…. She could watch to see what he was doing and then act on that… it seemed the safest plan for now.
He would be aiming for a quiet way to get in and when he got to a suitable place, she could strike. A slow smile touched her lips hidden as they were by her veil, but there was no amusement in the look only satisfaction. She had to make her way over to the other building’s roof. Her gaze fell upon a ledge that hung out a bit further than the rest. She could jump from one side to the other and then climb the last few feet to the other building’s rooftop.
Simple.
She just had to hope no one looked up, but really what were the odds she would be seen? She set her plan into action.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:18 pm
This payment was worth it! Sol just kept reminded himself of this fact as he grunted and continued his trek around behind the building. This was his first job since arriving in Guallidurth and there was no reason to have expected it to go over perfectly without a hitch. He had brought nearly nothing with him from Undrek'Thoz and this job was absolutely necessary for him to start earning his own living while in the city. As of yet, Sol could not say how long he planned on taking residence in Guallidurth. It would be a shame regardless to drop the ball on his first client here.
The bounty hunter cautiously examined the area after he turned the corner. Directly behind the market, the quiet street expanded and provided a much wider area than the side alley. This would be to allow for unloading goods, he could only assume. Sol turned his gaze back to examining the building itself.
He ignored the obvious large set of very wide doors. Definitely for the marketplace and not for the apartments. Sol continued walking further. He turned his red eyes upwards, considering scaling the outside of the building. It would be possible. He fingered his hidden House insignia briefly. Levitation would make quick work of it. Barely after he had even decided to try levitating straight to the top level, Sol had a sudden distraction. He briskly kept walking and on a gut feeling decided to investigate the doorway he was now approaching. The door itself was recessed several feet from the outer wall, the small niche giving an air of privacy to the entryway. Residential entrance? Sol stopped, intent on making quick work of picking the lock.
The male would not go so far as to smile with any confidence in the day's work, but he did take a deep breath and forget his feelings of anger towards himself. Things were starting to go right. He would get inside this entrance, go straight up to the apartments and make a smooth job of searching for his target. One could nearly bet a month's pay that the thief would exit through this way, so if finding him did not work then Sol would wait for him to leave the building.
His clients might even get more than they had bargained for! If the assumption was right that the target was at this particular location in order to get rid of the items in some way, then all of the stolen goods might even be recovered after all. There were other concerns too. Was the thief entering the building to go to a location by himself? Or was he going to meet someone else? It occurred to Sol that he might not have just one drow to deal with. He uttered a low guttural curse at the lock as he finally began to feel its mechanical counterpart give way. He began whispering a few more words, putting to use the charm of his House insignia to dispel the basic magical force over the door.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:30 pm
Mal had made it to the roof of the building she was aiming for without a hitch and watched the male as he made his way around to the back of the building. He was looking for a quiet place to enter just as she had thought. She had to remain low barely peeking over the top occasionally. There was no way that she would want him to catch a glimpse of her watching him. Things might get messy if she was noticed before she was ready.
Mal started to make her way down the side of the building with some difficulty as she tried to keep an eye on the male at the same time. Maybe she should have started moving down before now. He appeared to be picking the lock on a small door. She took a breath noting a bar hanging out from the wall a bit further down the wall than she was. She really needed to go down faster than she was.
No pain, no gain and all that. She threw herself forward from the side of the building she was climbing down without a hint of hesitation eyes glued to her target. She caught the metal bar and clung tightly her gloves helping to buffer some of the sting except from the bare fingertips of her left hand. She shimmied across the pole to the wall and once more carried on her descent eyes on the male she was trying to sneak up on. It was possible he had heard her previous stunt, but she was ready for that eventuality all her muscles tense.
He seemed more than proficient at what he was doing picking the lock. She might not get down soon enough to catch him outside. She tried re-evaluating her plan. It would be a pain to hang back and regroup. Yet she knew that she should think through carefully any moves especially after someone else who was after the same target as she was. Her natural arrogance and belief in her own ability though made her decide that she would just follow straight after him. He was taking the trouble to open the door for her after all. A slow grin touched her lips, it was only fair that she take advantage of his hospitality. It would save her having to struggle with the door herself. She was a lot less proficient than he appeared to be. Picking locks had never featured highly on her list of things that she believed were important. She had learnt enough to get by though.
This was just one step closer to “her” target and it was merely an added bonus that part of the work was being done for her. She just had to hope that she could deal with this male and “her” target would not find out he was being chased already.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2009 8:34 pm
Solmur'ss groaned with relief when the door finally opened. The bounty hunter tucked his house insignia back away into his red cloak and rushed inside without another thought, leaving the door stay wide open behind himself. The door didn't matter to him now. He had to think quickly. There wasn't much of a chance in all the deep Abyss that this target would be easily found. All he could do was move fast and try.
Inside, Solmur'ss saw a staircase immediately to his left. He started racing up the stairs towards the residential floors. It felt like a frustrating eternity before finally the next door appeared. Panting for a moment at the tops of the stairs, Solmur'ss slowed his breath and tried the door quietly. This one was unlocked. He entered the hall, disappointed by the large number of doors that dotted its length. What could he do? Knock them all in and ransack for the goods or the thief? It wasn't the first time he had wished his eyes could see through walls! Perhaps he could interrogate a neighbor instead.
Solmur'ss turned around quickly, however, heading straight back into the staircase. He would see if the other floors were as quiet and empty. It could also buy him a little time, hopefully, for something to happen and give him a break. With every minute that passed, Solmur'ss felt more and more determined not to go home empty handed tonight. There was no way he was going to start over again cold on this slick thief's trail.
((Short, but I was thinking the staircase might give them a good chance to run into each other?))
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 7:41 pm
Mal watched the male open the door and rush in, which caused a dry smile to touch her lips.
Perfect!
The assassin dropped lightly to the ground eyes darting back and forth before she slid forward through the door closing it behind her. She wouldn’t want anyone else to walk along behind her and try to see what was inside. Mal walked forward straining her senses to try and give her ample warning in case anyone appeared. She felt pretty safe though certain the male would run into any trouble before her and give her plenty of warning.
She eyed the staircase going upwards with some distrust, it was too exposed, but she had to catch the male before he got to “her” target. Speed over stealth today.
She made her way quickly up the stairs tense as she finally reached a door that stood ajar and she could hear movement on the other side. Whoever was there was coming back towards her. She smoothly reached for her blades drawing them ready to point them at whoever came through the door eyes narrowed and completely focussed.
If it was someone who lived here then she could get them to give her directions before she disposed of them. If it was the male that seemed to be after the same target as her then they would just see what might happen. She took a deep breath ready to stop whoever walked through the door.
[Shiny plan. -nodnod- Seems a good point for them to meet.]
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Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2009 10:57 am
Solmur'ss jerked the door open, intent on rushing up the next flight of stairs. As the door flew open, Solmur'ss had no time to freeze at the sight of the blades greeting him from the other side of the entryway. Not that he hadn't been in plenty of dire situations before, but the bounty hunter was moving with such distracted haste that he was nearly moving into the stairwell with the stranger before realizing the situation.
Solmur'ss stopped himself quickly, backing up towards the hallway wall as he moved for his daggers. The stairway was too cramped for this sort of thing. If only he had been more cautious and less worried about losing his target, perhaps he could have caught on to the other's presence a little sooner. He sized up the female quickly. An assassin likely? What could she be doing lurking with weapons drawn? She couldn't be after him. This was a little harsh for trespassing. Looking for someone else then? He was here for someone too.. Solmur'ss was not enjoying the look of his options.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:04 pm
Mal's eyes narrowed as she recognised the figure of the male that was following "her" target. So it was him and not some hapless resident that she could question. She watched him start to back up and spoke instantly voice cool and not betraying any of her thoughts,
"Do not move or we will find out whether you can breathe through a hole in your neck." She held herself arrogantly starting to demand more answers from the other. "Identify yourself male. You're after something of mine and I would like to know the name of someone brave enough to try and get between my prey and I." Her wine dark eyes were cold and completely focussed on the male.
Up close he was pretty much how she had expected him to be though she had to say he had impressed her ever so slightly when showing his ability at opening doors to get into this building. It certainly would have taken her longer on her own. He had also managed to pique her interest, which was a pretty good thing for him. It meant that he would remain breathing that much longer whilst she satisfied her curiosity and decided properly what to do with him. She certainly wanted to know what he wanted with "her" target.
Part of her wondered if he might even be useful to her. It depended what kind of drow he was really. Her blades were held up steadily towards the other, but she made no other aggressive moves despite her threat to him.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:51 pm
Solmur'ss gritted his teeth hard. Ah, chaos. This job had turned soundly against him. Confidence this morning had turned into this! At least she had answered one of his questions already. The stranger was not after him, but rather, she thought he was after something of hers! The same thief? Now this was a new problem! Solmur'ss had never been caught in a fight over a target before. And it looked like the female was winning.
"Solmur'ss, my lady. And don't worry, I can tell you now that breathing through my neck is not a talent of mine." The bounty hunter nodded his head, deferring to the female through his posture, "I don't know who your prey is, but I am a bounty hunter sent after a thief."
Her blades were leveled at him, but for now he hoped that if he kept talking that would be enough to appease her interest. Sometimes it was good practice to learn how to sink low before a female and let her carry on her way without hindrance. Sol could see that he could not afford to have this female think of him as a problem standing in her path. He likely wouldn't make it out of the building if she did! The bounty hunter's opponent looked nothing but determined and his mind spun fast as he tried to drum up some hope that he might get his job completed. It was looking bleak.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:37 pm
Mal'tyrr eyed the male before her as she saw him standing down almost....seemed he was a good male that knew his place. She felt herself straightening even more her feeling of superiority only growing at how the other deferred to her. This was as it should be...it also made him more interesting. She had come across too many males that only paid lip service to their place below females. This one.....Solmurr'ss seemed to actually truly understand and not hate that he was below a female. At least that was how it appeared, he might also be just a good actor.
Mal's hands tightened for a moment slightly on the blades and it may have seemed she was about to just have one with him, but her posture relaxed again. Be he a good actor or not he was behaving and that was all that mattered to her right then. She arched her brow at his words,
"I have met none who could breathe from their necks so truly it doesn't surprise me that that isn't a talent of yours." Her tone was dry, "I am an assassin and I have been sent after the same thief I have watched you following. My employer wants his head and I aim to provide it." She narrowed her eyes at him a moment at these words, "I will remove any obstacle in my path. This is your only warning. You better not get in my way." Her tone also held a hint of aggression at these words and the blades were steady still at his neck, but she then lowered them seemingly more than trusting she was good enough to defend herself if Solmur'ss even thought about maybe trying to attack her. She didn't lack in confidence. "You can either help me or leave here now." She gave the ultimatum without a hint of worry in her tone as though she already presumed to know what he would choose.
She looked at him rather arrogantly arching one brow, "So what is your choice?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:14 pm
((-epic lateness- D: ))
Solmur'ss stood stone still, not wanting to breathe hardly in case it would make the female flinch and send a blade through him. Not that a female needed any excuse at all, he just did not want to give her one. She was probably eager to spill someone's blood if she was as frustrated with this target as was he.
"If there is any service I can offer you, I will do it." Solmur'ss gave an easy business-like smile, "If the thief loses his head, well..." Sol shrugged, "My employer doesn't care about that as long as they get some proof that he is dead or maybe some of their items if he is carrying them. More than anything, they just don't want him to get away with his crimes."
If he could tag along, maybe there would be a little something in it for him to take back to his client. There must be a way. Once she had this thief's ugly head as a trophy, why would she care if a mere bounty hunter were to pilfer his pockets or ransack his room for the stolen items? It was not up to him right now, if it were then he would be taking the thief back (mostly) alive. Living another day would have to be more important than getting what he wanted.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:27 am
[Slow me is slow. ^__^;;]
Mal’tyrr tilted her head nodding slightly to herself,
“My job is merely to kill the thief. I care nothing for anything else. You may take whatever you wish from his body.” It made no difference to her. She had been told to kill him and that was what she would do. Her employer had not specified anything else so she saw no reason to stand in the male’s way. It wasn’t as if he were truly set against her.
He seemed willing enough to go along with what she wanted to do and that satisfied her. She sheathed the blades that were at her sides and they slid into their specially designed sheathes easily the hilts resting against the small of her back. It was a sensation she was used to. “I presume you have not found the thief yet either..... or I would be needing to take him from you.” Mal’tyrr spoke almost to herself as she considered what to do. “Well...... if I have you helping me then we can search this building more effectively and find my target faster. We wouldn’t want to give him a chance to escape or else it would take longer than I am happy with to find him again.” Her eyes narrowed above the veil covering her lower face, “He has been particularly slippery.”
The assassin eyed the bounty hunter a moment before looking up the stairs. “We should move quickly now so we are not discovered. If he does not appear to be on this floor then we should try further up. He should hopefully be easy to spot. I don’t want to have to search this entire place room by room.”
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