Death's Hand

[Evil Troy]

Darkness swallowed the small, lightly decorated room. The only thing that seemed to halt it was a single candle placed on a small table in the center of the room. Two blackened figures sat in the room. Their faces covered by a cloak of shadows. Their shadows danced upon the elegantly designed walls behind them. They sat upon finely crafted oak chairs. The only thing that surrounded them, besides the encroaching darkness was a few other pieces of finely crafted furniture. They had been waiting, waiting for the events of today to begin. That time had almost come. One of the figures finally stood and made their way to the lone exit to the room. However, instead of leaving they stopped at the door.

“You know what to do right?” One of the two asked in a cold lifeless voice.

“Yes, I shall not fail you.”

“You best not if you value your life.”

The figure then exited the room and disappeared down the pitch black hallway outside.

The sun was now starting to set below the horizon, and the creatures of the night were now starting to make their night howls. Reaper quietly made his way through the growing darkness in the woods. To most he would look like a fool wondering around in the forest. Yet he had a reason. He was walking towards the hidden base of Death’s Hand, and he was about to reach his destination. After a couple more minutes of walking he came upon a door set into a large hill. This was it, this was the base. Without any second guesses Reaper opened the door and stepped inside. Inside he was faced with a short hallway, dimly lit by a path of candles which led to a spiral staircase leading deep into the earth. No wasting any time Reaper made his way down the hallway and then down the staircase. At the bottom he traversed another short hallway before facing a large metal door.

Inside Reaper found himself in a large room lightly littered with furniture that looked as if it had not been used in ages. The room itself was cool and dark, the only light coming from candles scattered here and there. Knowing he still had some time to kill, Reaper walked over to a couch sitting in the corner of the room and took a seat. There he sat and waited for the events to begin.

[Ankolyste]

Alice Ditrich had an interesting day of mainly sticking around her home. She cleaned random rooms, merely moving things around to make them looked organized. Alice organized her medical books and re-wrote some notes to herself to keep them fresh in her mind. When the day continued Alice had wound up in the front room of the base, grooming herself. Her paws; Sharpening her claws and cleaning them, her tail; brushing the knots out, and her ears; rotating her piercings.

After a well spent time on her part Alice curled up on a couch and blew out the nearest candles, dampening the shine on her eyes as she began to doze. The cool room calmed her nerves and quieted her senses and she was able to sleep as the day went from noon to early dusk. Alice was normally a nocturnal anthro, but lately her sleeping patterns had been quite off.

When someone came through the large metal doors and joined her in the room, she knew dusk was about to turn into night as the smells of the cooling night air frisked her senses. Alice yawned, her canines shining from what little light reached the corner she had took haven in. Stretching across the couch she layed there for a while, looking over the the blonde haired boy on the opposite wall on the identical couch. Scratching her right ear she stared at a candle that was flickering in the middle of the room.

[GraftRaven]

Geru hurried through the woods, he did not want to be caught by anything on his way to the base. The snap of a twig, a deafening roar, and he was blasted off his feet by a large hairy beast. As they fell he tried to push it off, then twisted his hands in a peculiar motion, sending two blades shooting up through its chest.

He rolled over, pushing the heavy mass off himself and then pulling his blades out and flicking his hands again, retracting them back to his gauntlets. "Great, werewolf blood all over my new traveling cloak.." he complained as he stood up, then continued on his way.

After a few minutes he found the door in the side of the hill. Geru pulled it open, then stepped inside the short hallway and then down the staircase. At the end of the next hallway he spotted a few coat pegs hanging on a wall. he took off his cloak and hung the bloodstained thing before pushing aside the heavy metal door. At this point he was wearing only a plain, rather baggy, black shirt and a pair of plain black pants that hung over his feet, which he preferred to keep bare, his foot-pads were enough to keep him from hurting himself by stepping on something.

Spotting the two other people already there, and being rather struck by the appearance of the other Hybrid, he chose a seat at a table lit by a solitary candle. As he sat his tail flicked to one side, hanging off the chair like a third leg. He took a black cloth out of his pocket then extended one blade and began to clean it vigorously. After he was done with that he would do the same to the other blade and then put the cloth back in his pack, in a container that was made especially to be water and odor-proof from the inside.

[mcstringer]

Malcom "Blaze" Kannagi used the treetops of Forkar forest to quickly transport himself to his destination. The small nusances he encountered on the way were, either scared off when he approached or were dispatched easily with a flare of his spirit flame. The few times he saw larger beasts, they could not climb to his location because, either they were too big or he was already on to the next tree.

Malcom sighted the hill described on the map at the back of the letter. He jumped down from the last tree in the area; careful to use the limbs as best he could to break his fall.
Upon landing and brushing away some stragling leaves and twigs, he continued the rest of the way on foot.

It was not too difficult to find the entrance because he memorized the signs of the hidden entrance from the letter. The scene, once inside, kind of creeped him out because it was just a long dim hallway and a staircase at the far end. This set off his "you're stupid" alarm, and he reacted to it by calling forth a simple fire spirit called a Wisp. They are around the size of an average hand and look like a candle's flame, and they can release pockets of fire the size of a human's head like a light range projectile weapon. This gave Malcom some comfortable light and a little helper to disperse any simple ambushes.

The way down the stairs was uneventful with the Wisp orbited around him just above him and about at arms length distance. He paused at the door at the end of the stairs when he saw the dust prints made about a few people entered ahead of him. Be ready for anything. Malcom opened the door half expecting the be cut into pieces, shot full of arrows, or some kind of explosion of magic, but since none of that happened. He calmly walked into the room with the Wisp in tow waved a greeting to the two anthros and dark clothed human and sat in a chair away from everyone assembled. He situated his position in such a was as to keep the door in view and create a quick as possible escape, if need be.

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

Nimble fingers undid the laces of Eve's corset just before the young princess wiggled out of the fine dress and traded satin and silk for linens, rough against her fine, pale skin. Eve strapped a black leather belt around her hips, slid her small feet into knee-high leather boots, tied herself into her bodice after pulling her linen blouse over her head and off her shoulders, then she donned her dark cloak.

The brunette had almost slipped from her room when she gasped and crossed from the window back to her vanity, slipping the letter from behind her mirror then sneaking out the window again and quickly descending the wall, each move memorized and practiced.

Princess Valetta slipped into the shadows, avoiding one of the clinking guardsmen of the castle, and then darting into the forest. Her footsteps were silent as she picked her way through the trees and brush until she came to the hidden doors of the organization that had invited her there.

A pale hand gripped the hilt of a small, dangerous looking dagger, as she slipped through the doors and down the hall, then down each step of the curving stairwell, each measured and silent. Pale grey eyes darted, watching her shadows move from the candles, then hesitated slightly at the door at the end of the second hall, the only sound - her exhale.

"This... Will be fine." She told herself, a shiver moving down her spine. Eve opened the door and stepped into the room, slipping her hood off her head in the same motion, her brunette tresses falling free around her pale, pretty and rather innocent looking face. She observed the blond man on the couch, the two hybrids – one male, sitting at the table with a sole candle, the other female, laying on a couch opposite the blond boy – and a third male, apparently supporting a wall with his weight with a cold-looking ball of light hovering about him, all of whom had arrived before her. She bowed her head slightly to each of them in turn, twirled the dagger skillfully between her fingers and pressed her back to a wall.

"I'll assume this is the correct place."

[Tytun]

As the sun set by the city of Forkar, the citizens were finishing up their daily routines. Workers were returning home, kids were being taken back home by their mothers, and most of the stores began to close for the night. When the streets were mostly quieted down, only a single figure remained on the particular path. Upon closer inspection, the figure could be seen as an elderly woman sitting peacefully, almost in a light slumber, on a path bench. Upon the sound of the final nearby door closing, however, the elder looked up and around. With a sigh, she stood up and began walking her way to the edge of the city. As she walked, the guards who stood in silence by the gate watched this elder walk out into the forest, wondering what in the world she was thinking yet not bothering to stop her.

When the elderly woman was out of sight, she calmly walked behind a large tree. The form that showed up from the other side, however, was not the same elder. Instead, a young woman covered partly in armor walked out from behind the tree. Without any time to waste, she quickly, yet quietly, made her way through the forest.

After quite some time of searching, she finally found the secret entrance referred to in the note she had somehow obtained. Upon entering the door, she traversed through the hallway and down the spiral staircase, noting the presence of others as she went. Once at the bottom, she came across a large metal door, already bearing signs of recent usage. With a slight shrug, she opened the door and stepped inside. As she closed the door behind her, she took the time to look around the interesting room. Five... Five other people were here, two of which were hybrids. With a slight nod to nothing in particular, she moved about and sat down in a seat slightly closer to the male, who was further away from the others. Once there, she remained silent, waiting for what would happen next.

[GraftRaven]

Geru finished cleaning his blades and retracted them, leaving behind only a loud clicking sound. He flipped his left arm so the underside was towards his face and lifted a small cover revealing a miniature crossbow and a mess of cogs and springs. Touching a pin attached to one of the springs Geru released the crossbow's arms and they swung out, quivering a bit when they reached their full span, a mere six inches combined.

He concentrated for a minute, and then some of the gears began to move seemingly of their own accord, placing themselves in small pre drilled holes. Geru then pulled back on a small lever which drew back the string and tensioned the arms. As he began to let go, believing the lever to be locked in place it snapped forward with the force of the string, sending a few of the cogs to shoot out in a tight spread across the room. Geru froze, then slowly looked up. “Sorry.”

[Ankolyste]

Alice watched as people piled in, just watching them with her golden eyes. She wasnt too sure what to think of them just yet. Her attention suddenly came upon the other hybrid in the room who was fiddling with some kind of blades in front of him. She noticed the scent of blood and complied with how he kept his weapons clean. Being a clean freak herself it caused an instant smile across her lips. Twitching her ears slightly she watched him as he brought out yet another contraption. Blinking a movement caught her eye and she watched as a girl sat next to the first young man who came into the room. She looked as if she were nervous, but she wouldnt ever be able to tell without hearing her voice.

When a sudden snap of the contraption the other hybrid was messing with caught her off guard she flinched, her hand going to her thigh where her needle anxiously waited. As he looked up and apologized Alice relaxed, bringing her hand back to where it rested before. Her heart calmed and she twitched her tail back and forth. Alice was excited to meet and chart out the specialties of each of these people, it was the trick of her trade to know the strengths and weaknesses of everyone she possibly could. It served her well if she was ever turned against.

[Evil Troy]

Reaper quietly watched as everyone filed into the room, each taking a place here and there. The first two where hybrids, one of which was a male and the other female who was actually in the room before he, himself had arrived. From the short time the male hybrid had been in the room it was apparent he enjoyed tinkering with gadgets, so much so that he caused a spring to fly across the room. The female hybrid was a bit different however. She stayed in the corner and closely watched everyone as they made their way into the room.

Next was a human. However, the fact that an orb of what looked to be fire separated him from the usual human. It was obvious that he was trained in what looked like some kind of conjuration. Another human came into the room after him. It was a girl this time. Her skin was pale and white, enchanting in a way, but not only this it almost made her look as if she was a vampire. Reaper couldn’t help but smirk at this. For some odd reason it intrigued him.

"I'll assume this is the correct place."

Reaper smirked and nodded. “It would appear so; otherwise I doubt there would be so many of us here.”

The last to enter the room was another human girl. Reaper watched as she took a seat beside him. When she did he quickly studied her from the corner of his eye. True she looked human but something about her felt a little other worldly. But he quickly shrugged the feeling off when he heard the door open again. As the man walked in Reaper immediately knew it was their host, the one who had summoned them all here, The Angel of Death.

“Good evening everyone, allow me to introduce myself. My name is The Angel of Death and I am the one who sent all of you the letters.” He politely said as he made his way into the room and bowed. “Now then, if you would all please show me your letters so that I may know you are who you say you really are.”

[Tytun]

The female who had entered last had only a few moments to really take in the room before a presence made itself known to everyone. Turning her head to the door, her gaze fell upon a man who had a strange aura around him. Because of this, she simply stared at him curiously. When the man stated who he was, she slightly nodded to herself, noting that this was the reason he felt so strange. Upon his request for the letters, she reached into her back pocket and held out the envelope containing the said letter. To her, it was interesting on how he apparently knew her full name, including her side name Sercy. It was strange, yet intriguing at the same time. But that... would be asked another day.

[GraftRaven]

Geru looked at The Angel of Death as he entered, then pulled his letter from under his left gauntlet, holding it out with two fingers. His tail an ears twitched as he looked at the man, there was something odd about him that he couldn't put his finger on... Then Geru blinked and the feeling was gone, replaced by a need to say something. "If anyone finds any of those pieces later, please return them." He suddenly felt very stupid for saying it, but it had to be done... perhaps he should have waited a bit though...

[Ankolyste]

Alice was instantly intrigued by the cloaked figure who had entered the room from the second he put his foot down. His aura was interesting and intriguing. Swiveling her ears around she listened to him as he asked for the letters to prove themselves as who they really are. Smiling slightly she grabbed the folded letter from her pocket and held it up for him to see. "Smart man to reassure himself about assassins." Her smile changed slowly into a smirk as she nodded, then sat up on the couch, her legs folded beneath her with her tail wrapped around her waist and sitting in her lap.

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

The princess straightened and raised her head slightly as their host entered the room, odd man out with the other six of them in the room. A pale hand, unscathed and uncalloused from never working a day in her life, slipped into her cloak, withdrawing the piece of parchment that had invited her to this place, it's wax seal broken, folds worn from many re-readings.

Eve held it up for display for only a few moments before crossing her arms over her chest and tipping her head, waiting for the next move of the players around her.

[mcstringer]

Malcom tossed a gear that flew at his face to the male antroph in the room. Without leaving his spot on the wall, he reached into his chestplate and grabbed his letter from behind it. Wordlessly, he held his acceptance letter in his hand nonchalantly; tiring to act unafraid by the entity playing humaniod.

[Evil Troy]

After checking to see if everyone had their letter The Angel of Death turned towards the female hybrid, a smile crossed his masked covered face.

“It’s not as smart as it is wise.”

With a short turn he made his way to the center of the room. It was obvious now that he wanted everyone’s full attention. Without saying a word he slipped his black, glove covered hand into his cloak.

“Now then, before I give you more information about Death’s Hand I have a few jobs with which you must all complete.”

Without taking his eyes off of any of them he pulled his hand out from his cloak. When he did he also pulled out four brown, worn leather folders.

“Within these folders you will find the information needed to the complete your jobs. For those of you who are wondering why there are only four folders yet there are eight of you, well that would be because each of you will be working with a partner. Malcom and Xylian, Geru and Alice, Reaper and Eve, These are the groups. Your names are written on the folders so there should be no confusion about whose is whose.”

Pausing he made his way to the table where Geru was sitting and placed the folders on is cold wooden surface.

“Oh and before I forget, you must all eliminate your targets and return here before sunrise. If you fail to do this then well….” Pausing he turned back around to look at everyone. “Don’t bother coming back.”

After hearing this, Reaper made his way to the table and grabbed his and Eve’s folder.

“Eve lets go.”

With that Reaper made his way out the door expecting Eve to be right behind him.

[Tytun]

Xylian listened to every word their host provided, and gave a slight nod as he finished. Standing up, she moved over to the table and picked up the letter reading with her name and this Malcom... Turning to face the remaining others, she then walked over to the door and stood there silently, waiting for her 'partner' to near.

[mcstringer]

Malcom guessed to one that went to the table after the dark clothed male was his new partner Xylian. She waited patiently by the door as he walked on by her.


"So, who is the person we have to kill?"

[Tytun]

Xylian heard the man she assumed to be Malcom ask what their target was. Remaining silent, she opened the letter and read its contents. After about half of a minute, she handed the letter to Malcom, letting him read what was provided.

[GraftRaven]

Geru sat up and placed the returned gear onto its peg in the device, then shut the lid and paid attention. What The Angel of Death had to say was indeed interesting, and he was quite relieved that he would be working with Alice. Geru picked up their folder and then moved to sit on the arm of the couch she was sitting on. "Lets see who this person is then." He undid the clasp and spread the papers in a fan shape on the seat in between them. "Lets see, in Amen, Leader of a band of thugs..." He trailed off in his reading.

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

She blinked and frowned just slightly as the partners were given, but with names, only, no one in the room had exchanged names.

In a bold move, one of the males stood and went to the table, collecting one of the well-used folders.

“Eve, let’s go,” he said and the princess blinked with surprise – just her luck, to be paired with such a striking young man. She'd have to watch herself - not be distracted by him, and of course not let him know he was distracting.

The brunette pushed herself off the wall and glided forward, her heavy black cloak brushing the floor as she followed after her partner. A pale, delicate-looking hand rose into the air, well-kept fingers moving in a little waving motion to the others in the room.

“Good luck to everyone,” Eve said with a smart little smile over her shoulder.
Her partner’s footsteps fell heavy on the floor as the two moved swiftly down the corridor to the stairwell. Passing him, she smoothly took the folder from his grip and ascended the stairs while glancing it over.

“So, it’s obvious you already know who I am, O’Bold One,” Princess Valetta said to him, then continued, “Looks like we’re headed to Johan, a good two days away. Hm, and our dear host expects us back by dawn… This should be fun.”

Stopping several steps from the top, Eve blocked the passage with her half-turned figure, looking down at the male and said, “Listen, I’ve never worked with a partner before and I’m a little used to taking charge…”

She turned back around and kept walking, leather-soled boots soundless as she opened the door, slipping out into the night; the scent of rain was heavy in the air, but the dark sky wasn’t visible through the forest’s leaves. The princess’ voice dropped a little lower, “As most of the kingdom knows from my father and I’s most audible fights… So, what do you say we head there on horseback?”

[Ankolyste]

Alice blinked a the man as he responded to her, smiling as she crossed a leg waiting for Geru to come over to reveal the person they had to kill. Once he came over she waited for him to remove the papers, spreading them onto the seat between them. Grabbing a piece of paper she scanned it quickly "Alright, easy enough right?" She chuckled slightly as she looked up at him. "Shall we?" She asked as she hopped up from the couch, raising her arms and stretching tall, shaking her arms out as she grabbed the papers and handed them to him.

[GraftRaven]

"Quite right, we'll need to get moving to be back by sunrise." Geru took the papers and put them all back in the folder, then redid the clasp. "I never expected to go back to Amen so soon..." He said as they walked to the door, he held it open for Alice to go first, then he went out himself, passing his traveling cloak without a second glance, they would be moving far too quickly for it to be any use.... and it was still bloody.

[mcstringer]

Malcom waited at the door for the others to leave, and he walked through the door before his partner. He opened the letter as he walked up the stairs aware that his partner was following him.

"Sweet, we're going to Avery. The name on the letter is Gaius Cassius, whom if you did not know is one rich "merchant" with his hands in everything and we get to kill him. According to this letter, he'll be in one of two places his mansion home he calls 'The Cresent Bay of Beauty', which sits on a sandbar enclosed lagoon near the town, and the main office itself, which is near dead center of the market square as possible."

Malcom turns to his partner when they're almost outside.

"Are you able to get to the mansion and back before sunrise, or do I need to make a construct for you too? My plan is you go to the manison and I'll go to the Market. All he said was they we had to 'elminate our targets and return by sunrise' that does not mean he has to be dead right then. He can die later, we just have to insure that he will."

[Tytun]

Xylian followed her partner as he left the room and traveled down the hallway. As they went, Malcom began explaining on who their target was and his idea on what needed to be done to find him. When he asked her if she could make it into the merchant's mansion, she simply nodded. Immediately afterward, she finally spoke for the first time.

"It won't be a problem," she replied in a calm voice. "But, explain your plan."

[mcstringer]

Malcom turned, opened the last door, and held it open like a gentleman.

"It is simple we are each going to our target's only watering holes and places he frequents. He has no friends, and he entertains at his house. We take care of it how we see fit, and get back to this hole in a hill before sunrise. Simple. Easy. Hard to mess up."

[Tytun]

Nodding to his kind gesture, Xylian exited the door and then waited for her partner to follow. When he moved up by her, she gave a soft sigh in acknowledgment.

"I see. Your plan seems solid enough." Reaching her hand down, however, she then pulled out a thick black string and held it out to him. "Promise me one thing, though. If you do manage to find our target in the market, I do not doubt your capabilities in taking him out. After all, you were allowed into this secret organization... Once you take him down, place this 'string' on his body. I'll take care of the rest."

[Evil Troy]

Staying behind the girl Reaper just followed and listened. It really wasn’t his style to be taking the orders, yet for once he wanted to see what this girl was made of. He was also interested to see how she would react under the pressure of limited time. Of course at the same time he didn’t need to let himself get distracted either.

“Honestly I would hope you are a good fighter. Otherwise why would The Angel Death have picked you? Haha excuse me, I’m not used to taking orders, either. As for taking horses that might be best. Seeing how, like you said, Johan is two days away.”

By this time he was beside her, keeping her pace. Glancing over at her he once again noticed her pale skin. How interesting would that be if she really was a vampire?

“I must admit I find your pale skin interesting. I mean really you almost look like a vampire. Haha just imagine, the royal family hiding a secret like that. Oh excuse me, sometimes I tend to ramble. We’re heading to Johan and our targets are werewolves right?”

[ｒａｂｂｉｔ]

“Of course I’m a fine fighter. I’ve been forcing my father’s guards to teach me to fight since I turned twelve. We can definitely steal away a pair of horses from my father’s stables – no one will miss them at all,” Eve said, looking at him as he kept her pace.

His comment about her complexion made her pause, but not in stride. Eve smiled a little, tipping her head, gray eyes flashing over him appraisingly. Then he mentioned the werewolves. A frown flashed over her pretty features for a faction of a moment, trying to recall if she’d said that their targets were werewolves. She hadn't.

“Yes. Werewolves,” the Princess nodded and looked forward again, voice low as they moved through the forest. "You can ride horseback, can't you?"

Soon, they were standing at the edge of the forest, just outside the castle’s walls. To think, an assassin’s lair so close to the home of the royal family; it was almost ironic, and above all, funny.