8 5 - V H A L A R - 7 1 9 . . . R H A K R O S
Hyde hated this fucking city. Rhakros had all the wrong reminders packed into every curve of a hill and line of a sloped street. Even after many arcs spent far away, he could see the damn memories play out before him in flickered shadows trapped within the faded haze of morning mist. A bickered fight with Cherry that'd gone nowhere good; the time her brat had nicked an apple from a stall when he thought Hyde wasn't watching; and a hundred other pointless nonsense of wasted arcs thrown away on a lying trollop and her bastard that he'd thought was his. He deserved it for being fool enough to believe her.
All that was long gone though, only existing in his memories. Hyde would have been a filthy liar if he didn't admit that seeing Rhakros like it was, brought his decrepit heart a small amount of smug satisfaction. He stood at the very edge of a crumbled ledge in the shelled-out building where he'd set up camp, and overlooked the decimated ruins of what had once been The Plaguedaughter's province - a shining gem of fervent devotees who willingly filled themselves with insects if it would only help Her Pestilence. Hyde never cared for it, but then he never cared for much. He hadn't cared when he'd left that brat behind, without the bother of an explanation even though he'd raised the boy like his son to the age of six.
Though he wouldn't have guessed that Lisirra would have gotten squashed like the bug she was... Hyde wasn't fool enough to believe she was gone for good either. They didn't call them Immortals for nothing.
The Darington-born leaned against the rubble and surveyed the ichor-and-blood spattered ground. It'd been long enough, hot enough during some trials and cold enough during others, that most blood had dried into blackened stains and most ichor had gelled over into hardened substances. The Etzori army sure did a number on the place when they sacked it, and didn't clean up a lick. Rotten corpses, left out to get picked apart by any animals who dared the streets still coated in the residue of plague-tinted offal. The worst of it was the alchemist fire-blasts though that had decimated entire structures. Hyde had found no less than five corpses in the building he had taken for shelter, but there were plenty more in charred morbid piles through-out the streets.
He picked at a gap between his canine and a mid-tooth. His short dirty nail dug between the pallid shadowed teeth. Hyde checked his belt, and the secure of his knives, then he jumped down from the ledge. He landed with a thud, to a rubble pile and the dust of stones fell down from the soles of his heavy boots. Scarf lifted to keep his breath covered from the hazy mist, he started on a determined path to the building in question.
It'd once been a nice resort inn, for the wealthier tourists that visited Rhakros (and usually never left). Hyde had never cared for it, but then that apathy had already been established.
When the Etzori had left, they had left behind destruction, death, and ashed ruins. High on their own victory, they'd thought the job done. They'd taken most of the Rhakros with them and left few others behind. The place had been emptied of a lot, but not everything. That was where Ichabod Hyde came in. He walked the street, already on his third contract for the season. People who wanted to confirm information, others who wanted to try and reacquire lost goods, some who just wanted a willing body to check on this or that for them. Hyde knew what he was getting paid for, and that was to breathe in the fumes and walk around the ichor, and kick aside corpses so he could check beneath floorboards for squirreled money stores or heirlooms. To see if he might identify a corpse here or a corpse there. To look for papers through ash and soot and mouse tracks for abandoned deeds and other important documents that'd gotten lost during the chaos of the war.
Which is exactly why he shoved aside the broken frame of the inn, and scoured the lobby floor of any papers he could find. There were servitude contracts the owner's heir wanted recovered, as well as inheritance documents. He assumed it tied to some other city, but he wasn't getting paid to snoop around and figure out the connections himself. Hyde shuffled the gray ash while he searched through the ruined building. Not as many corpses lying about, but that's because someone had already piled them out in the adjacent alley.
The stairs to the upper floors had gotten knocked out, leaving a hole behind. Hyde used a rope and it took him a few tries until it looped around the partially destroyed railing. He tightened it snug, then climbed up the rope to reach the upper floor.
By the time he found anything that resembled the document, the sun had already crossed over the sky and evening approached. His stomach growled in anger at his refusal to pay any attention to his need to eat. He'd chewed on some jerky and that would have to do. Hyde didn't like to waste what rations he had, just in case. He found what looked like half of a deed, bitten away at by rodents but with enough to it that it seemed good to him. Nearby, he found a couple more documents stained with blood but mostly readable about the client in question.
Hyde followed the way he came; down the rope with the papers folded neatly in his jacket. The man paused, to look one way and listen the other, while he tried to make sure that nothing lurked to ambush him. Once certain, then he continued. He returned to his shelter with a swift climb up the rubble. Belongings gathered, he headed out of the city at a quick pace. He almost considered running, but then doing that was as good as waving a torch about and trying to gain the attention of creatures he'd rather leave him alone as they had so far.
Though a torch wouldn't have been a terrible idea as it was already dark when he reached outside the city and into the mountain range. Taking care not to slip on the rocks, he managed his way to the agreed rendezvous point. Sure enough, the client's camp remained there like it had been the couple of trials before. Hyde handed over the documents to the young man who sneered at the half-eaten deed.
"I can't use this!" insisted the young man. "Go back and get the rest!"
Hyde stared at him - or more, it was a glare as that was his natural expression - and said nothing.
"Well," huffed the client as he pocketed the papers after looking over the inheritance ones. "I'm not paying for half-a-deed."
"You paid for a search," reminded Hyde.
"Yes, well, I... uh..." the younger reached around and took off his coin purse. He counted through then said, "It was three nel, yes?"
"Five." Hyde crossed his arms. Maybe he should have negotiated for more, but they were just some filthy documents at a building he already knew the location of. As desperate as all the Rhakros refugees were, Hyde wasn't the sort to gouge them just because he could. It was still honest labor, all said and done, even if it was filthy and dangerous work.
"Of course, five, yes, there you are." The snide heir smiled with too perfect teeth that begged to be knocked out, and then said, "Would you like to stay for some stew, my companions will be back from hunting soon and I- oh..."
Hyde had already started on his climb back down the mountain. He didn't want to waste his night on some twerp that would probably wake up with a knife in the back by one of his companions. Hyde had already seen the layout of that camp, and if the companions actually returned from a successful hunt in the mountains, then it wasn't anything he wanted to be part of. Besides, he needed to check on his own camp and where he'd left his horse. The location was secure enough he didn't worry that much, but he liked to check whenever he got the chance. After that, he'd scour the rest of the surrounding wilderness near the ruined city, for other potential clients.
All that was long gone though, only existing in his memories. Hyde would have been a filthy liar if he didn't admit that seeing Rhakros like it was, brought his decrepit heart a small amount of smug satisfaction. He stood at the very edge of a crumbled ledge in the shelled-out building where he'd set up camp, and overlooked the decimated ruins of what had once been The Plaguedaughter's province - a shining gem of fervent devotees who willingly filled themselves with insects if it would only help Her Pestilence. Hyde never cared for it, but then he never cared for much. He hadn't cared when he'd left that brat behind, without the bother of an explanation even though he'd raised the boy like his son to the age of six.
Though he wouldn't have guessed that Lisirra would have gotten squashed like the bug she was... Hyde wasn't fool enough to believe she was gone for good either. They didn't call them Immortals for nothing.
The Darington-born leaned against the rubble and surveyed the ichor-and-blood spattered ground. It'd been long enough, hot enough during some trials and cold enough during others, that most blood had dried into blackened stains and most ichor had gelled over into hardened substances. The Etzori army sure did a number on the place when they sacked it, and didn't clean up a lick. Rotten corpses, left out to get picked apart by any animals who dared the streets still coated in the residue of plague-tinted offal. The worst of it was the alchemist fire-blasts though that had decimated entire structures. Hyde had found no less than five corpses in the building he had taken for shelter, but there were plenty more in charred morbid piles through-out the streets.
He picked at a gap between his canine and a mid-tooth. His short dirty nail dug between the pallid shadowed teeth. Hyde checked his belt, and the secure of his knives, then he jumped down from the ledge. He landed with a thud, to a rubble pile and the dust of stones fell down from the soles of his heavy boots. Scarf lifted to keep his breath covered from the hazy mist, he started on a determined path to the building in question.
It'd once been a nice resort inn, for the wealthier tourists that visited Rhakros (and usually never left). Hyde had never cared for it, but then that apathy had already been established.
When the Etzori had left, they had left behind destruction, death, and ashed ruins. High on their own victory, they'd thought the job done. They'd taken most of the Rhakros with them and left few others behind. The place had been emptied of a lot, but not everything. That was where Ichabod Hyde came in. He walked the street, already on his third contract for the season. People who wanted to confirm information, others who wanted to try and reacquire lost goods, some who just wanted a willing body to check on this or that for them. Hyde knew what he was getting paid for, and that was to breathe in the fumes and walk around the ichor, and kick aside corpses so he could check beneath floorboards for squirreled money stores or heirlooms. To see if he might identify a corpse here or a corpse there. To look for papers through ash and soot and mouse tracks for abandoned deeds and other important documents that'd gotten lost during the chaos of the war.
Which is exactly why he shoved aside the broken frame of the inn, and scoured the lobby floor of any papers he could find. There were servitude contracts the owner's heir wanted recovered, as well as inheritance documents. He assumed it tied to some other city, but he wasn't getting paid to snoop around and figure out the connections himself. Hyde shuffled the gray ash while he searched through the ruined building. Not as many corpses lying about, but that's because someone had already piled them out in the adjacent alley.
The stairs to the upper floors had gotten knocked out, leaving a hole behind. Hyde used a rope and it took him a few tries until it looped around the partially destroyed railing. He tightened it snug, then climbed up the rope to reach the upper floor.
By the time he found anything that resembled the document, the sun had already crossed over the sky and evening approached. His stomach growled in anger at his refusal to pay any attention to his need to eat. He'd chewed on some jerky and that would have to do. Hyde didn't like to waste what rations he had, just in case. He found what looked like half of a deed, bitten away at by rodents but with enough to it that it seemed good to him. Nearby, he found a couple more documents stained with blood but mostly readable about the client in question.
Hyde followed the way he came; down the rope with the papers folded neatly in his jacket. The man paused, to look one way and listen the other, while he tried to make sure that nothing lurked to ambush him. Once certain, then he continued. He returned to his shelter with a swift climb up the rubble. Belongings gathered, he headed out of the city at a quick pace. He almost considered running, but then doing that was as good as waving a torch about and trying to gain the attention of creatures he'd rather leave him alone as they had so far.
Though a torch wouldn't have been a terrible idea as it was already dark when he reached outside the city and into the mountain range. Taking care not to slip on the rocks, he managed his way to the agreed rendezvous point. Sure enough, the client's camp remained there like it had been the couple of trials before. Hyde handed over the documents to the young man who sneered at the half-eaten deed.
"I can't use this!" insisted the young man. "Go back and get the rest!"
Hyde stared at him - or more, it was a glare as that was his natural expression - and said nothing.
"Well," huffed the client as he pocketed the papers after looking over the inheritance ones. "I'm not paying for half-a-deed."
"You paid for a search," reminded Hyde.
"Yes, well, I... uh..." the younger reached around and took off his coin purse. He counted through then said, "It was three nel, yes?"
"Five." Hyde crossed his arms. Maybe he should have negotiated for more, but they were just some filthy documents at a building he already knew the location of. As desperate as all the Rhakros refugees were, Hyde wasn't the sort to gouge them just because he could. It was still honest labor, all said and done, even if it was filthy and dangerous work.
"Of course, five, yes, there you are." The snide heir smiled with too perfect teeth that begged to be knocked out, and then said, "Would you like to stay for some stew, my companions will be back from hunting soon and I- oh..."
Hyde had already started on his climb back down the mountain. He didn't want to waste his night on some twerp that would probably wake up with a knife in the back by one of his companions. Hyde had already seen the layout of that camp, and if the companions actually returned from a successful hunt in the mountains, then it wasn't anything he wanted to be part of. Besides, he needed to check on his own camp and where he'd left his horse. The location was secure enough he didn't worry that much, but he liked to check whenever he got the chance. After that, he'd scour the rest of the surrounding wilderness near the ruined city, for other potential clients.
