The fall of the great is often precipitated by becoming too paranoid and going after enemies they don't need. But then, when you are a noble, you are not a lunatic for knowing that everybody is out for you. It's just the way things are.<br/><div style="text-align: right;">-Proverb in the court of King Fenris. Unknown Author.</div>A mercenary cursed under his breath and turned his gaze toward the sunset.<br/>Machado... the name had become familiar. He had almost forgotten when he wore another. There was almost nobody alive that could possibly know it. Still, the girl Lina approached him and whispered<em>"Atal"</em>while giving him the letter. The gods only knew how she had located him, but it meant his haven was not secure enough. What a friend can find, a killer can find too. He knew it. He had found safe havens that were not meant for him to find...<br/>And he has been hiding from the men-at-arms of the king's favorite ever since his employer has been killed, making him a renegade.<br/>After reading the letter, he fixed his gaze upon the girl.<em>"She's cute",</em>he decided.<em>"Ah well, doesn't matter. One does not turn away a request from his old master at the arms, even if said master turns out to have been a spy, and is now dead."</em><br/>-My master asked me to take care of you. He was indeed right to fear for your safety. Of course, he couldn't have known that my own safety would be... not quite guaranteed at the moment. Still, I will do my best. I think that leaving the city might be in order, though, as much as I hate to admit it.<br/><em>"Because I have trouble avoiding them with my skills, and with one girl that cannot do the same <strong>things</strong>, we'd just get killed. Let alone with two of them..."</em><br/>-I see that you have already what you need on you. Follow me, we must warn another friend of mines. If we must leave, so must she. Besides, travel would be somewhat safer if there are more of us. At least, one should hope so.<em><br/>"Only if both of you wear men's cloaks, or it would just make us all the more attractive target for any highwaymen and slavers around. Ah well, doesn't matter. I've grown to accept Freja as a friend, and odds are high we'll get killed anyway. I will not leave the city without her."</em><br/>With that, he rose to leave. They reached another safe haven nearby - which was by itself far from safe to live in, but what goes for commoners is a bit different to experienced mercenaries. The two had decided to settle close to each other, but didn't want to share a room. Maybe they didn't believe each other, or maybe some of them didn't believe themselves - and nobody needs additional complications at a time like this. With both of them being nervous and having plenty of free time while hiding, they risked a quarrel, and quarrels amongst their kind tended to get nasty.<br/>Besides, they both had some secrets they didn't want the other one to uncover. At least, not yet.<br/>Anyway, the axe and impressive stature of the mercenary allowed them to walk safely the two streets that no local would allow his own wife or daughter to walk after sunset. After that, Halik knocked on the door, using a swift combination of knocks and pauses.<br/>- It's me, girl. I've brought news, and these are hardly good ones.<br/>Nobody else dared to call her just "girl" - at least, nobody who knew her well enough. That's why it was part of the secret phrase. The knocks were just for distraction -if he hasn't called her "girl", she would know to run through the back door. She had to call him "boy" when visiting his place...<br/><br/>It didn't take long to explain the situation to Freja. And her things were mostly packed for travel, in case she had to leave fast if necessary. She could leave with them if she chose to, and they were waiting for her answer. Sure, most people she knew were in the city, and she would have to build a reputation anew if she chose to leave with them. But then, most of her friends - Machado was one of the few that were left - were leaving anyway. And most of the people that wanted her dead were in the city anyway. Still, she was a bit reluctant...<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 3pt;">Roll Result: Thufir Hawat (TeH GM) rolled: 1d100<br/>First Target Number: 69 (Black Hand skill) <br/>Result: 18<br/></span><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 6pt;">Check successful, marking it for possible future improvement of the skill.<br/>Only Ixy can reply to the text in red. <br/>Jouzinka, you can comment in the OOC thread, or act unrelated to the text in red - I suggest asking any questions your character might have.<br/></span>She was going to give them an answer, when she felt someone observing her. She might have suspected some boys had made a peephole to her room - again - if it wasn't for a small detail...<br/>Whoever was observing her, was doing so from the realm of the spirits. That was beyond the local boys, no matter how horny they might get.<br/>-Let me think a bit - she answered, closing her physical eyes and leaning back in her chair. She looked like sleeping, or contemplating a serious problem. In a way, she was.<br/>In the realm of the Spirit, her eyes opened and she noticed the glowing spiritual form of a man. He was obviously spying upon them, probably ready to deliver their plan to whoever had sent him. That he was a servant, there was no doubt. The spiritual form of everone betrayed his or her inner state, and this man was dressed like a servant, or a drunkard. He was only a couple of feet away from her sitting body, and didn't seem to have noticed she had opened her eyes in this realm. He was probably feeling safe, after all, only a few people were able to let go of the physical realm and let their spirits soar - and only another could perceive his spiritual form, not to mention present a danger.<br/>It was curious, though, that the form of Machado was pulsating. Half of the time, he looked more of an wolf than a man. She had no idea what that might mean.<br/>Her form, of course, was that of a black-clad killer, beautiful and slender yet dangerous as a coral snake. It had changed a bit after leaving the Black Hand, but there were no significant changes since she had last used that ability.