Main Page |
* Dawn is sitting in the meeting-place he arranged with Jade, a bench in a small, quiet park. A fountain burbles happily nearby, and Dawn looks for all the world like a man at his ease, enjoying a lovely spring afternoon, his arms stretched comfortably, and his head tipped back to welcome the sun. <Jade> Jade approaches Dawn, a shopping basket over one arm and her hair tied in a kerchief, looking for all the world like she's out doing her daily shopping. "Good day to you sir. Do you mind if I have a seat?" <Dawn> ::smiles distantly, as a cordial stranger might, and shifts over to make room for her:: By all means, mistress. A lovely day, is it not? <Jade> Yes it is. ::Jade takes the proffered seat, setting her basket on the ground. As she settles her skirts she slips two pieces of paper back to Dawn.:: I always enjoy doing the shopping on a day like this. I walk out of my way to come to this park you know. <Dawn> Do you? ::glances quickly at the paper before he palms it:: So few come here, I was beginning to think I was the only one. ::he glances around to ensure no one is near, then casts a quick spell. The air ripples faintly, and then stills again, but the sound from the fountain fades to the merest whisper:: There. Now we should be able to talk. <Jade> The two large characters on the front are Jin Hu, which means Golden Tiger. It's probably a name of some sort, but unless there's more that you haven't told me there's no way to know if it's a person, an organization, or a religious icon. <Dawn> You know all that I do, at least about this amulet. What else? <Jade> "On the back there seems to be a fragment of a poem. 'Galloping through the void/Would you seek to trace me/Ha! Try as well to catch/The tempest in a net!'" <Jade> "Surrounding that is a koan. 'Where are no thoughts. There are no thoughts. Where is no mind. There is no mind. Where is no body. There is no body. Where is no existence. There is no existence. Where is nothing. There is nothing.'" <Jade> I couldn't make out most of the characters surrounding Jin Hu. Knowing something about the source of the amulet might help me figure it out. The ones I can make out are "star", "iron", "backward" and "great". <Dawn> Mm. I took it off a would-be kidnapper... mayhap an assassin in training. <Dawn> Did I draw it sloppily? <Jade> It's possible. I'd have to see the original to know for certain. And of course, there's the possibility that you drew them correctly and I've just never seen them before. <Jade> Did this individual survive? <Dawn> I suppose. ::he looks around again, then reaches into his pocket and withdraws the amulet.:: <Dawn> No, of course not. But he looked to be from parts east - and maybe all of fifteen years old. * Jade quickly examines the amulet then returns it to Dawn. "You got the characters correct. And he's definitely part of some formal school. Still couldn't tell you what type of school, but assassin is a possibility." <Dawn> Mm. ::takes the amulet back and turns it over in his hand, eyeing it:: Well, that doesn't tell me much, but it's more than I had when I sat down here, anyway. Thank you. * Jade brushes Dawn's hand gently. {We're being watched.} * Dawn does not look up. {Not surprising.} <BlackFigure> ::with a small *pop*, something explodes on the ground between Dawn and Jade's feet, enshrouding the pair of them in acrid black smoke in a matter of seconds.:: * Jade closes her eyes and takes a deep breath of spring air. * Dawn does not bother cursing, but throws himself to the side, rolling and snatching at his belt for his dagger. <Jade> ::Jade jumps out of the cloud, landing in the fountain:: <BlackFigure> ::a black-dressed and hooded figure materializes nearly on top of Dawn and then *is* on top of Dawn, pinning him and scrabbling for the amulet:: <Jade> ::A chain flies out of a nearby bush, wrapping around the black figure's neck and pulling hard:: * Dawn slashes at the figure with his dagger, cursing, his hand tightening around the amulet. <BlackFigure> ::Dawn's dagger rips through fabric and skitters harmlessly over some sort of fine chainmail mesh. Although Jade's chain manages to snare the figure's neck, the tension does not seem to bother it in the slightest.:: * Dawn snarls and summons his trademark fireball, shoving it from close quarters at his attacker's face. * Jade stakes her chain to the ground, then charges, forming a ki sword as she does so. <BlackFigure> ::The fireball seems to dim slightly as it approaches the figure. (Literally) burning eyes stare into Dawn's, the skin crinkling around the corners as if the figure is grinning at him. One black-garbed hand closes around Dawn's bare wrist, and small metallic teeth bite into his flesh. He feels the skin go numb, and the figure's other hand closes on the amulet:: <BlackFigure> ::Dawn hears the figure whisper in some foreign language. The black figure suddenly looks blacker, somehow, the eyes dimming out into shadow, and he feels the weight on him suddenly vanish. A shadow moves to blend into the shadow under the bench, and is gone:: <BlackFigure> ::The amulet is gone with it.:: <Dawn> ::snarls:: Ah, you fuck, that's my good hand! ::he spits out an arcane phrase- and stops as the figure fades:: * Jade skids to a halt next to Dawn. "Dammit." Jade lets her sword melt away. "Any idea who or what that was?" * Jade offers Dawn a hand up. <Dawn> I'm guessing a friend of the man I got the amulet from. ::he grabs Jade's hand and pulls himself up, then walks over to the fountain and plunges his damaged hand into the swirling water:: <Dawn> I hope that's not the same fucking shit I found on the boy, or I'm going to have *two* fucking useless hands. ::he pulls his hand out of the water and tries to flex his fingers, then sticks it back under:: * Jade fishes her basket and skirts out of the fountain. "Poison?" <Dawn> Aye. Nerve toxin, plus a corrosive. ::he pulls his hand back out and holds it close to his face, examining the puncture marks minutely:: <Jade> Do we have anyone who might be able to identify it, or develop an antitoxin? For that matter, any ideas on how it could resist your magic like that? * Dawn flexes his fingers and sighs with relief. "Seems to be wearing off..." He glances at Jade. "We have one or two who might be able to develop something, but it would take longer than I like to think." Pain crosses his features, then is gone so quickly it might have been Jade's imagination. "Takes magic to resist magic. Or the support of a god." <Jade> Lovely. So we're either dealing with a well trained group of poison wielding mages, which probably confirms your assumption of assassins guild moving in, or else we're dealing with demons again. I don't honestly know which thought disturbs me more. <Dawn> ::shakes his head:: I don't think it was demons. ::eyes her:: Got guildwar shaping up, again, I told you. My guess is, they're part of the hired crew. You about ready to start surveillance? <Jade> ::nods:: Was planning on starting up once I finished this meeting. <Jade> But I have to tell you, I don't like the odds on this one. We've taken too many hits in recent years and haven't had the chance to recover from them. <Dawn> ::glowers:: You want to roll over? <Jade> No. I'm saying we're going to have to come up with something original if we want to survive. <Dawn> ::snorts:: You think about it and let me know what you come up with. Me, I've got some people to see to, and some arrangements to make. <Jade> If I get the chance, I'll talk to my Kara-tur contacts. And Dawn, be careful, we can't afford to lose anymore of our good people. <Dawn> ::raises his eyebrows, and nods shortly:: Take care. Be sure she doesn't see you, unless you need to intervene. <Jade> ::Nods:: She won't. * Jade walks off, vanishing as she passes behind a tree. |
|
|