TBD Vhalar 718
Mid Afternoon
"The Henny Inn," Max looked up at the three story building from the street with Brett beside her. Both sported their grey cloaks, standing in the street as the foot traffic shoved past them like rocks in a stream. If Detective Vernon's intelligence could be trusted, their mark, Wendy the Abrogation mage, was staying in the last room to the right of the top floor stairs. Brett crossed his arms and frowned as his brown eyes surveyed the building.
"Not ideal," he observed dismally. "One way up. One way down. The whole way up beyond the first floor is a big choke point. She'll have the advantage."
"In theory," the marked woman shrugged. "Not so much in practice. Let's go."
"If only this wasn't so time sensitive. What do you say about renting a room for a couple breaks? We can say it was part of our cover to get close without raising suspicions."
"Yeah. Because these fuckin' cloaks won't give us away."
"Oh, come on! I'll even settle for a half break. You know what I can do in a half break. If you forgot I can remind you."
"For fuck's sake, Brett. I'd need a blunt and several bottles just to erase it from my memory again. Fuck off and let's get this done."
The pair of Ashcloaks moved toward the Inn, Brett grumbling his disappointment all the way up to the door. Smarter agents ran an apprehension differently. They had a small army converge upon a single location all at once, using the element of surprise to win the advantage as they descended on their unsuspecting target like lightning. Others elected stealth. They fit in seamlessly in their surroundings until the time was right to strike. The first required too many annoying hands in the pot and planning. The second took far too long. Against virtually any Mantis member's better judgement, Maxine led Brett along for the most direct approach.
She moved past the inn keeper, past the small dining area, and up the stairs. She didn't make an effort to silence her foot falls as steps creaked and moaned beneath them. Given their garb, no one dared to ask questions either. Up and up they went until the were in the stairwell of the third floor. That's when a certain pale, black-haired, stout woman appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Wendy?" Brett asked just as the woman's eyes went wide with panic and fear, her mind quickly understanding the meaning of grey cloaks at her doorstep. Brett recognized the look. It was one that showed just before the foot chase. "Shit." He hustled past Max up the steps onto to catch an expulsion of ether that tumbled him down the stairs past her. She leaned out of the way of his descent and powered forward. Wendy turned and vanished from the opening. When Maxine reached the top of the stairs she leaned her body forward, then snapped it right back. Sure enough, her feint coaxed the downward swing with a dagger from a woman who didn't run very far. The blade cut through the air and the ex-convict rounded the corner, sending a kick to Wendy's chest. The mage fell backward against the hallway wall and rebounded with the dagger in hand. She made a few more cuts at Max with the dagger, backing the hunter up with little move to laterally avoid the attacks. Brett had recovered by then. He stormed up the stairs and appeared behind Wendy, grabbing her around the waist hurling her down upon the floor.
"Bigoted bastards!" Wendy shrieked, dagger lashing out at Brett when he turned and leaned down to get hands on her again. The blade raced to his chest. He backed up and swallowed hard, noting how close the stab had come to cutting through his leather armor. The shock gave Wendy the time to scramble to her feet before Max had a chance to lunge past her companion. The mage sprinted down the hall with the ex-convict at her heels.
She darted into her room, turning and yanking the door shut just as Max reached the handle. The new Mantis member tugged backward, planting a foot against the door frame as she labored to pry it open. Wendy worked just as tirelessly from the other side. Max only won the door open to a crack before they reached a stalemate. Brett got his fingers in the open and wrenched it open just enough to slide his nimble body through. Wendy shrieked and the door suddenly flew open, dropping Maxine on her rear outside the newly opened door. Inside she could see Brett moving toward the mage with his sword bared. A few other inn doors had opened, bewildered heads popping out to find the source of the disturbance.
"In the name of The Mantis and The Crown!" Brett demanded loudly with his sword raised. "You are under arrest under suspicion of being a magic user! Surrender peacefully and subject yourself to a fair and just trial!"
"Over my dead body!" Wendy hollered. Brett obliged her. Her swung his sword for the dagger-wielding mage. She ducked under it and made another stab for him, which he thwarted with a well-timed pivot. Max pushed herself up off the ground and balled her gloved hands into fists. Brett made another swing, this one with real power behind it, intended to halve the woman's leading thigh. Another ether pulse struck him, sending him backward to strike a dresser. He recovered quickly, lunging in to jab his blade at her chest. This time Wendy summoned a hardy ether shield, and the second time Brett swung upon it, it shattered with a concussive blast that send him careening past Maxine back into the hallway. He groaned on the floor feebly.
My turn.
Maxine stormed into the room with an even expression. The dagger came in wild, unpracticed swings just as they had before. The ex-convict shuffled backward to use distance to her advantage. She glanced at an adjacent vanity, gripped the wooden chair before it, and hurling it into the side of the mage's head. Wendy dropped with a whimper and hurried to recover. Max followed her, stomping a foot down on the dagger hand. Wendy wailed, fingers involuntarily releasing the weapon at her disposal that was now pinned to the floor beneath her own hand. Max reached down, grasping the woman by the hair with her left hand. The right cocked back and powered forward to meet the shield Wendy summon to protect her face. The Stun Gloves reacted to the ether cast, and to the Abrogation mage's surprise, Maxine's knuckles shattered through her shield to pummel her face. A few strikes and the woman was unconscious on the inn room floor. The ex-convict released her hold on the woman's hair, letting her head drop upon the wooden floorboards. Brett rotated one of his shoulder after sheathing his sword, jogging up beside Max.
"Next time?" he griped, gesturing toward her gloves. "If you know that shit can take on ether like that? You lead the way." Max shrugged and he knelt down, securing Wendy in Mantis bindings designed to keep ether conjuring at bay.
"I didn't have these when I fought Abrogation mages in prison," Max explained, flexing her fingers. "Didn't know if it was going to work the same as it did on Francis."
"Yeah, well, now we know. Help me with her, would you?"
The two Mantis mage hunters dragged the mage down the stairs and out the door of The Henny Inn. It didn't take too many bits for Wendy to wake up. The thrashing and cursing started then, and Max was quick to yank her to her feet and silence her with well-aimed strikes. The walk back to the Mantis stronghold became less and less eventful as the distance closed. With every step, a hopelessness and defeat settled upon Wendy. Her shoulders sagged with dreaded knowing. One would've thought Max and Brett was taking her to the gallows, not to be presented before a judging body to make her case. Wendy lacked the naivety that would've lent her optimism. All three of them knew what she was: a dead girl walking.
Mid Afternoon
"The Henny Inn," Max looked up at the three story building from the street with Brett beside her. Both sported their grey cloaks, standing in the street as the foot traffic shoved past them like rocks in a stream. If Detective Vernon's intelligence could be trusted, their mark, Wendy the Abrogation mage, was staying in the last room to the right of the top floor stairs. Brett crossed his arms and frowned as his brown eyes surveyed the building.
"Not ideal," he observed dismally. "One way up. One way down. The whole way up beyond the first floor is a big choke point. She'll have the advantage."
"In theory," the marked woman shrugged. "Not so much in practice. Let's go."
"If only this wasn't so time sensitive. What do you say about renting a room for a couple breaks? We can say it was part of our cover to get close without raising suspicions."
"Yeah. Because these fuckin' cloaks won't give us away."
"Oh, come on! I'll even settle for a half break. You know what I can do in a half break. If you forgot I can remind you."
"For fuck's sake, Brett. I'd need a blunt and several bottles just to erase it from my memory again. Fuck off and let's get this done."
The pair of Ashcloaks moved toward the Inn, Brett grumbling his disappointment all the way up to the door. Smarter agents ran an apprehension differently. They had a small army converge upon a single location all at once, using the element of surprise to win the advantage as they descended on their unsuspecting target like lightning. Others elected stealth. They fit in seamlessly in their surroundings until the time was right to strike. The first required too many annoying hands in the pot and planning. The second took far too long. Against virtually any Mantis member's better judgement, Maxine led Brett along for the most direct approach.
She moved past the inn keeper, past the small dining area, and up the stairs. She didn't make an effort to silence her foot falls as steps creaked and moaned beneath them. Given their garb, no one dared to ask questions either. Up and up they went until the were in the stairwell of the third floor. That's when a certain pale, black-haired, stout woman appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Wendy?" Brett asked just as the woman's eyes went wide with panic and fear, her mind quickly understanding the meaning of grey cloaks at her doorstep. Brett recognized the look. It was one that showed just before the foot chase. "Shit." He hustled past Max up the steps onto to catch an expulsion of ether that tumbled him down the stairs past her. She leaned out of the way of his descent and powered forward. Wendy turned and vanished from the opening. When Maxine reached the top of the stairs she leaned her body forward, then snapped it right back. Sure enough, her feint coaxed the downward swing with a dagger from a woman who didn't run very far. The blade cut through the air and the ex-convict rounded the corner, sending a kick to Wendy's chest. The mage fell backward against the hallway wall and rebounded with the dagger in hand. She made a few more cuts at Max with the dagger, backing the hunter up with little move to laterally avoid the attacks. Brett had recovered by then. He stormed up the stairs and appeared behind Wendy, grabbing her around the waist hurling her down upon the floor.
"Bigoted bastards!" Wendy shrieked, dagger lashing out at Brett when he turned and leaned down to get hands on her again. The blade raced to his chest. He backed up and swallowed hard, noting how close the stab had come to cutting through his leather armor. The shock gave Wendy the time to scramble to her feet before Max had a chance to lunge past her companion. The mage sprinted down the hall with the ex-convict at her heels.
She darted into her room, turning and yanking the door shut just as Max reached the handle. The new Mantis member tugged backward, planting a foot against the door frame as she labored to pry it open. Wendy worked just as tirelessly from the other side. Max only won the door open to a crack before they reached a stalemate. Brett got his fingers in the open and wrenched it open just enough to slide his nimble body through. Wendy shrieked and the door suddenly flew open, dropping Maxine on her rear outside the newly opened door. Inside she could see Brett moving toward the mage with his sword bared. A few other inn doors had opened, bewildered heads popping out to find the source of the disturbance.
"In the name of The Mantis and The Crown!" Brett demanded loudly with his sword raised. "You are under arrest under suspicion of being a magic user! Surrender peacefully and subject yourself to a fair and just trial!"
"Over my dead body!" Wendy hollered. Brett obliged her. Her swung his sword for the dagger-wielding mage. She ducked under it and made another stab for him, which he thwarted with a well-timed pivot. Max pushed herself up off the ground and balled her gloved hands into fists. Brett made another swing, this one with real power behind it, intended to halve the woman's leading thigh. Another ether pulse struck him, sending him backward to strike a dresser. He recovered quickly, lunging in to jab his blade at her chest. This time Wendy summoned a hardy ether shield, and the second time Brett swung upon it, it shattered with a concussive blast that send him careening past Maxine back into the hallway. He groaned on the floor feebly.
My turn.
Maxine stormed into the room with an even expression. The dagger came in wild, unpracticed swings just as they had before. The ex-convict shuffled backward to use distance to her advantage. She glanced at an adjacent vanity, gripped the wooden chair before it, and hurling it into the side of the mage's head. Wendy dropped with a whimper and hurried to recover. Max followed her, stomping a foot down on the dagger hand. Wendy wailed, fingers involuntarily releasing the weapon at her disposal that was now pinned to the floor beneath her own hand. Max reached down, grasping the woman by the hair with her left hand. The right cocked back and powered forward to meet the shield Wendy summon to protect her face. The Stun Gloves reacted to the ether cast, and to the Abrogation mage's surprise, Maxine's knuckles shattered through her shield to pummel her face. A few strikes and the woman was unconscious on the inn room floor. The ex-convict released her hold on the woman's hair, letting her head drop upon the wooden floorboards. Brett rotated one of his shoulder after sheathing his sword, jogging up beside Max.
"Next time?" he griped, gesturing toward her gloves. "If you know that shit can take on ether like that? You lead the way." Max shrugged and he knelt down, securing Wendy in Mantis bindings designed to keep ether conjuring at bay.
"I didn't have these when I fought Abrogation mages in prison," Max explained, flexing her fingers. "Didn't know if it was going to work the same as it did on Francis."
"Yeah, well, now we know. Help me with her, would you?"
The two Mantis mage hunters dragged the mage down the stairs and out the door of The Henny Inn. It didn't take too many bits for Wendy to wake up. The thrashing and cursing started then, and Max was quick to yank her to her feet and silence her with well-aimed strikes. The walk back to the Mantis stronghold became less and less eventful as the distance closed. With every step, a hopelessness and defeat settled upon Wendy. Her shoulders sagged with dreaded knowing. One would've thought Max and Brett was taking her to the gallows, not to be presented before a judging body to make her case. Wendy lacked the naivety that would've lent her optimism. All three of them knew what she was: a dead girl walking.
