Halcon had worn a moss green cloak over himself as he trailed the fair Tayln, her golden and orange tipped hair was un-mistaken among the diverse crowd that was shuffling into the Burgundy Inn. Halcon was not on the hunt however and nor was he even thinking about attacking Tayln for there was no need – this was neutral territory and was subject to a strict code that both knew to follow lest they found themselves at the wrong end of the Assassin’s Guild. It was a very dangerous time to live within the Kingdom of Triskeleem, King Hadrius the I was its current ruler, rising to power from the unforeseen “hunting accident” of his eldest brother and the unexpected illness of the elder King himself. Halcon was told to come to the Burgundy Inn and wait further instructions as to his next assignment although he did not know why the King’s counter espionage councilor chose this spot --- and things just became a bit more interesting when his most deadly rival, Tayln was spotted.<br/><br/><br/>In normal circumstances they would have already sparred twice before dancing with the devil’s sharp fate with glancing swords, extreme parries, and all of those other elegant movements that pertain to the art of the kill.<br/><br/>Halcon kept his short sword in a cross draw with its hilt ready to be sheathed at a moment’s notice though he made it in such that it lay flat and out of sight when walking within the crowd. Halcon was sure she already at least saw him or perhaps felt him, though it would seem since this was neutral ground, she was obeying the rules. Hunting men and other humanoid races was one thing but there was always a special art in hunting an elf, particularly a Halfling Elf with elemental magic at the ready. In the case of Tayln, she had killed about 10 members of Hadrian’s best Stryder Corps, the Order of the Red Orchid whose chief spymaster, Bracchio Grimaldi, created the order for the specific goal of counter-espionage, reconnaissance, and assassination. In the case of Halcon who is a member of the Assassins Guild, a Guild made up of many different individuals from all of the Kingdoms throughout Timoridwyn, knew of Tayln who was also a member, and therefore worked on a different standard than the rest, often catching the suspicious eye of the King’s diplomatic corps.<br/><br/><br/>It did not bother Halcon one bit as these were very strange political times and he and Tayln knew a few things: When a job is given, one must then carry that order out to the end. The second - If they were to meet as enemies due to the contract, may the best blade find its mark as that was the life they had chosen to live.<br/><br/>When things were rather peaceful they were both quite different, as matter of fact, he was there when she had received the three-clawed scar upon her face. They had been fighting over what type of tactic they were to use to infiltrate a corrupt Baron’s manner in order to assassinate him and his retched wife, the bloody Duchess of Carean. Tayln insisted it was going to be an easy infiltration, where they would wait for the two to go to their shared bed chambers for the night and make quick work of them with a few pokes of her stealthy stiletto but as it would turn out, there was a decoy room, and when she had rolled right in, there was a Terra-Wolf waiting within that had almost cornered and killed her if not for a well-placed throwing knife that paused its pounce, only allowing the large hybrid to slash upon her face versus digging into her chest, long enough for her to quickly react and kill it with a well placed under stab through its lung. It was that job where their relationship started to sour and truth be told, they were once more than just counter Assassins attempting to find weak points for a quick kill once and for all. Quite frankly at the age of 35, Halcon had enough of the political intrigues of sorry Kingdom politics and when he had mentioned a possible retirement from the life, Tayln outright refused the idea, telling him that the thrill of the hunt was what kept her alive in spirit and that if he couldn’t see it that way, then he didn’t bother to understand her at all --- and that was pretty much the last parting they would have under a softer friendship.<br/><i><br/>
He didn’t really know what they had in all honesty.</i>They did share nights amongst the cold mountain tops on their way to the frigid wastes of Quan’Tala for their notorious triple assassination of Ghram-Kar-Gul’s War Staff before their attempted incursion into Tearyolen, a joint operation that was granted by both Kings of their nations against an Orc threat. Those were fond memories to be held. The curling gentle rapture of her hair and the smell of flowers and rose water with the constant roar of the wind outside their tent as their bodies engaged in sweet affections. Tayln was a wandering spirit in the end and perhaps they shouldn’t even have delved into anything beyond a joint quest, yet, they did and now they are simply enemies employed by opposite states who will unfortunately kill the other someday and that is the way the life was going to be. ---<i>Or was it? Why was he even flooded with these memories at this very moment when he could be staring down at the wrong end of her blade if he wasn’t paying attention!</i><br/><br/><br/>When Halcon put his leather gloves against the wood handle to the Burgandy Inn’s front door, he made a side glance to see some rather interesting people way off at the end of the surrounding walkway.<br/><br/><br/>“King’s guardsman,” he said to himself and as he turned to his left, “And…Elven Dragoon…So this is going to be one of those meets….”<br/><br/>Halcon gently slid into the main tavern hall and blended with a large group of customers that also followed him through the door and just as he crept into the floating mass of laughing potbellied patrons and their homely dates, he saw Tayln’s sunburst hair and her inquisitive eye before he had flickered out of sight.<br/><br/>The Burgundy Inn was a three story ale house and highway keep where they offered room and board for a weary traveler, making his way across Timoridwyn. The main entrance with two thick oak doors with circular window ports opened to a large flight of wide steps that allowed a patron into the main dining area where large long tables were set up with sturdy chairs aligned with nicks, scratches, and the occasional chip from a good bar scrap, particularly when a bunch of boisterous dwarfs had too much to drink. There was an elevated walk way that bordered the hall where a stage was set up directly in front for minstrels and singers to perform some music in the evening hours.<br/><br/><br/>The far right was the large and impressive bar where meads, wines, and harder spirits were served along with a huge larder in the back, five brilliantly lavish hearths where multiple ethnic dishes were cooked and served around the clock. When the doors flipped open there was a vacuum of air but for the most part, with the amount of people in it already, the place was extremely humid as well as the unfortunate smells that came with a humid tavern. The spiraling stair cases that were meeting in the middle was where the rooms were and from their level, one could figure out what a traveler actually came for as the first were solo rooms to crash in, the second was for a more grander experience with available baths to be used and roomy queen sized beds, and the top tier --- where the stair way stopped and a very large barbarian like man stood with a heavy two-handed axe at his side. This area was the brothel and marked clearly with red and purple back drops with twin roses curling around the statue of a busty Siren sitting on a rock, playing with a lute.<br/><br/><br/>Halcon slid along the smooth bar top and stopped within 20 paces of Tayln, pulling his hood over an watching her with his own sea blue eyes. Halcon gently felt the three day stubble that was always left as a lite goatee upon his face.<br/><br/><br/>“Hello – Tayln,” he said, finally giving away his presence though her quick turn and the half-sheath of her deadly Elvish dagger was enough to charge his own reflexes but as she did so, it stayed in a half-sheath, her expert hand just waiting with a surgeon’s accuracy to attempt to cut his throat if she should have to.<br/><br/><br/><i>The two stared at each other…</i><br/><br/><br/>“Remember…,” Halcon reminded her, “This is neutral territory. I am not even here for you,”<br/><br/><br/>Despite the obvious danger of the situation, it was still good to see Tayln. The fiery orange strands that coiled around her horns and her chilling yet direct stare was both a mixture of absolute beauty and silk laden brutality at the same time.<br/><br/><br/>“And so we meet again  surrounded by yet another interlude between conspiracy and political intrigue…”