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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 10, 2016 1:24:34 GMT
Fresh air, clean water, blue skies with nary a cloud in sight. It was everything Daniel imagined visitors to the mountains went there for, be they tourists or not. It was far enough away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Peaceful, remote, tranquil, and all sorts of other pleasant little adjectives. It was a perfect place to get away for some alone time; either by one's self or with a special someone. He might have even thought about coming here for some downtime once or twice upon a time.
Too bad that wasn't the reason behind Daniel being here.
An old contact, Maevia, had tracked him down to his place of residence with an interesting offer. Apparently, there was some Magi kid holed-up in the region. It was his job to get said Magi to a safe location for some reason that was unknown to him, though he had a number of hunches.It was easy enough: find the boy, get him to safety, get paid. Except, of course, for the added complication of a hunter in the area with the same goal. It was doubtful to him that this other hunter had anything resembling good intentions towards the Magi. And then there was the "hunch" about the person's identity that Maevia mentioned.
Daniel didn't like it. Trusting the cyborg sometimes felt like trusting a fox not to cause trouble in the hen house. There was just something of a shady vibe he got from her. Still, her information was usually good and always came with a fair bit to gain; no reason that should stop being the case.
So far, his luck seemed pretty worthless. You would think that a random Magi wandering around in the mountains would draw some attention, but nooooooo. It was never that easy was it? Even with a full description to draw from, he seemed to be getting nowhere fast. Hence the reason he'd simply retreated from the few villages nestled in the area to take the hunt into his own hands; better this way, anyway.He closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, taking note of the scents on the air. It was clear enough up here that most anything would leave some traces. Young Magi and hunters not withstanding.
A trance slowly came over him. It erased all of the distractions from his mind and the world at large seemed to shrink away while his focus heightened."Kalidas, Goddess of the hunt and master of the contract, grant that my hands be steady, my aim true, my feet swift. And should my prey allude me and I fail in my hunt, grant me your forgiveness." It was a prayer that came as easily to his lips now as it had when he'd hunted Magi for an altogether more sinister purpose. Pleading for guidance wasn't the meaning behind it; the prayer simply served to help clear his mind for the hunt ahead. Kalidas might perhaps grant him a favor. Perhaps not. Nothing was certain to him......save for the hint of something on the breeze.
Daniel opened his eyes and the world suddenly snapped back into focus. He craned his neck in the direction he thought the smell to be coming from before turning towards it and taking the first step of many. A hand went reflexively to one of the half-dozen or so handguns on his person.
He would be ready for whatever awaited him at the end of his little walk.
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PLAYED BY OOC NAME
PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 10, 2016 5:13:27 GMT
 blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
Elsewhere, Archaleos was having much of the same luck tracking down this young magi the reports had spoken about. Paying a visit to the settlements scattered around the base of the mountains had not lent him any usable information on the kid's whereabouts and, even with the extensive network of the Hunter's Guild, he didn't have all that much to base a search off of. Not where finding his target was concerned. He had gotten the sneaking suspicion that some of the villagers (watching him with their distrustful eyes when they thought he wasn't looking) were hiding some things, not letting on all that they knew, but Archaleos hadn't gotten the chance to interrogate them further. That wouldn't have made him very well liked among the populace. Ah well. He'd just have to go hunting in the most literal sense of the word. A tedious endeavor but, then again, it was always more rewarding to track down a target who thought they could hide. The magi couldn't be holing up too far from a village— not if he was as young as the reports said and roughing it on his own —which was the logic Archaleos was banking on as the Hunter combed the mountainous landscape with eyes peeled for any clue. So far? Nothing much. But the teen knew how to be patient, how to think his efforts through, so he quelled any frustration and went on searching. It wasn't until he heard footsteps that his attention strayed. ...a man. Older (than Archaleos, at least), rugged looking, visibly armed; no marks that could label him as a magi. The Hunter's dark eyes quickly noted each of these traits in turn as he looked, from higher up on a ridge, towards this new arrival. How curious. An easy smile stole onto Archaleos' lips (offsetting the way his own hand went to hover near the hilt of his sheathed sword) and he canted his head on a curious angle. ❝Ah, hello. I didn't think I would see very many people out here, are you just looking to see the sights nature has to offer? ❞ |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 11, 2016 4:46:45 GMT
When the words reached him, Daniel's first instinct was to free his weapon from it's holster and present the business end to the owner with a small piece of lead following swiftly after. Old instincts beaten into him by years spent in close proximity to danger; he managed to reign them in before they got out of hand. There wasn't a need to start a fight and waste precious ammunition without a good reason. Instead, he turned, slowly and deliberately, to face the new wrinkle, affixing him with a blank-faced stare. He didn't like the fact that someone other than himself was out here, whatever the reason, and being armed was a red flag in and of itself.
"Somethin' like that, yeah," Daniel answered. A sharp whistle sounded on the air as he played at clearing his nose. Weird smell, like something you'd expect from a machine shop. Cyborg maybe? Hunter? If so, then this mission was about to become more... complicated. Not that it wasn't something that a bit of creative thinking couldn't solve but still annoying.
"I've been gettin' a little stir-crazy just sitting around, so I thought I should take a trip up here where the air is clean. Get away from the city for a bit, ya know." His hand came up and away from the handle of his revolver to scratch his neck. "Wasn't expecting company, though. I don't mind all that much. Just wasn't expecting."Daniel stopped scratching and pocketed both hands, instantly relaxing his posture.
"Well, I just spilled my guts all over the place," he joked. "Mind doin' me the same favor?"
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PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 12, 2016 0:46:36 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE The question had been a strategic one— open up the topic of conversation, find out why this man was wandering the mountain slopes while a magi hid (hopefully) nearby, all without making the inquiry seem anything but casual. It would do no good to jump on him for interrogation if things could be resolved in a much more... pleasant fashion. No use burning up energy on hostilities. After all, what reasons would a human have to interfere with his work? The appearance of another magi might have been troublesome but that wasn't the case here. So Archaleos was nothing but polite and attentive as the stranger spoke his reasons for being around with the teen's own fingers straying from the handle of his sword. The man's lax posture did well to make him loosen up some— no longer worried about an immediate threat of gunfire —and Archaleos' robotic arms came to rest in a folded position behind his back. Relaxed, yes, but he was never the type to slouch. Bad manners. ❝I can understand that. The city can get rather... claustrophobic at times, and you've just about taken the words out of my mouth with that last bit. These huge mountains and we manage to run into one another. ❞ A mild chuckle, all part of the recipe for a good impression. His smile was likewise still fixed in place when the question was turned around. A beat of silence passed by as Archaleos considered how he should answer— with honesty? was it worth it to concoct a lie? —but no visible falter showed in his demeanor to betray that brief debate. The Hunter settled on what could be called a half truth. ❝That would only be fair, ❞ He agreed. ❝Truth be told, I'm here for more than sightseeing. A child went missing from the village just a short distance from here, a boy, so while I was in the area I decided to try and help with the search. ❞
What an act. There was even a pause for a wistful sigh. ❝I'm only one person but, one can hope. ❞ |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 14, 2016 17:02:56 GMT
And that, boys and girls, is all she wrote. So he was here looking for someone, eh? A boy by the sound of it; right in the same area where a certain earth magi might be found. That in turn meant one of two things, the first of which being that this particular kid was actually just a concerned citizen looking to bring some poor lost child back home to his family. The second - and this was the more likely of the two - was that the both of them were here for the exact same reason: finding the magi. Which made this particular kid the second hunter that Maevia mentioned in her message.
Great, just what he needed.
His original plan to grab the magi and get him to the drop point before running into possible trouble had just gone up in smoke now that trouble was having a nice little chat with him. Never a dull moment on the job, Daniel reminded himself. Now, it was time to improvise.
"No shit, huh?" Daniel said. "Well, if that's the case, I guess that I'm willin' to help out if you're wanting it. Used to be a pretty good tracker back in the day. Got pretty good at it too." He extracted his hands from his pockets and spread them wide like a man with a point to make to another. "After all, two sets of eyes are better than one. Teamwork and all that jazz if ya get my drift." Two could play the good Samaritan card.
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PLAYED BY Callie
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 15, 2016 3:58:38 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
❝That would be it, yes.❞ ...now this posed a bit of a problem. Whether this man would be interested in interfering with Archaleos' goal to hunt down the magi or not, he wasn't thrilled about the concept of having company along for the mission. There were other ways this guy could get in his way besides actively interfering and, honestly, why would he willingly take a civilian along? That was a trick question since the Hunter seemed to have little choice in the matter at this point.
At least this man had some skills of his own to offer the search (so he claimed). The mountains were a big place for one person to scour. Really big, actually, so maybe he could consider this a boon to his objective. There was just the matter of how things would go if/when they actually found the magi since he'd kind of been planning to off the thing ASAP. That would contrast pretty harshly against his story about searching for a poor lost boy. A quiet sigh. Well, he couldn't see any way to worm out of this situation now so he would just have to make due. ❝You would really lend your help?❞ Archaleos was quick to mend any cracks to his cheery exterior— skeptically narrowed eyes had been the only real indication of his thoughts —and he clasped robotic fingers fingers together in front of his chest with enthusiasm. ❝Thank you. I was starting to lose hope in making much headway through this environment but, as you said, a second pair of eyes will surely help.❞ ❝I was planning to head higher up,❞ He continued while freeing one arm to gesture up the ridge. ❝Since I haven't had any luck around here.❞ |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 15, 2016 22:36:00 GMT
Nailed it right on the bull's-eye! Well, now that the first hurtle was jumped, it was time to start planning the next few moves in his little game. First step: figure out the kids endgame without tipping his own hand. That would be a challenge seeing as he had a pretty decent poker face; cracking it would not be a simple matter, but all plans had to start somewhere to get off the ground.
"Good call, and one you won't regret," Daniel said as he started climbing in the direction his new "partner" had indicated. "So where are we droppin' the kid off if and when we find him? He got family or somethin' like it?" Not that it mattered to him all that much; he already knew where he was taking the target. This was just an opening salvo in the game taking place. The next part was noting every little detail about his tagalong that he could garner without giving much away. It was already pretty obvious that the kid was a cyborg of some type or another (probably bionic since that was the only thing that was overtly mechanical about him). The sword he'd had his hands on was obviously his main weapon. Daniel found himself wondering how far his skill with the thing had progressed. Hopefully, it wasn't too far ahead of his own skill with handguns. After all, it wasn't that long ago that he'd started getting back on the range to hone his skills back to their former edge.
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 16, 2016 3:15:50 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE ❝I would hope not.❞ The reply came out faintly amused, like a friendly tease, but in all reality the Hunter was indeed hoping that this turn of events didn't royally screw with his plans. At least not in a way that he couldn't easily handle. So far Archaleos was having trouble trying to discern any further hints to this man's intentions beyond sightseeing— was that really the only reason he was here? —and it frustrated him some. Privately, of course, but the feeling was still there. From what Archaleos could tell, he seemed the formidable type just based on the weapons he carried and his cool, unflappable appearance yet these facts really didn't do much to give the teen a better picture of what to expect from him. The man was proving to be cooperative, though, so all he could do was be... alert. Just in case there was more going on here than what met the eye. Archaleos had just started to move, hiking higher as his new companion drew near, when the next question was posed. ❝...a mother. She was the one to tell me about the situation, and if he has any other family they weren't mentioned. As for the place to bring him back to that would be Yoitz. A little village straight down the mountain, hardly even a hundred inhabitants.❞ Haha, well, the lies were really flowing now. Not that it mattered. He'd already crafted the largest one by saying that he planned to whisk this child off to safety, so what were a few more layered on to make the tale believable? That bit about the village was true, though. ❝Ah, but how rude of me. I never even introduced myself,❞ He paused once they'd reached the top of the sloping path, offering a robotic hand to shake. ❝I'm Archaleos.❞ |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 17, 2016 2:58:48 GMT
Oh this was just perfect—introductions. Sharing personal information with a potential problem didn’t seem like the best course of action to a man like Daniel, especially if said problem could return at some later date to haunt him. Still, the kid—Archaleos?—was nice enough to give out his name without much pause for hesitation; even offered a handshake. What kind of a man refused a handshake? Not one that Daniel had any interest in meeting.
“Name’s Daniel,” he said. His hand extended and closed firmly around Archaleos’s mechanical appendage to give it a single hearty shake, and then another. Then, he pulled his hand back and replaced in the comfort of his pocket. “Pleased to meet’cha. Mind if I call you Arch though? You’re names a little bit of a mouthful.”
A hint of a ghost of a smile crisscrossed his lips. Archaleos seemed likable enough, and that wasn’t something that Daniel often thought of anyone else. It didn’t exactly mean that he held any sort of conviction that the kid wasn’t a snake in the grass, poised to strike at the slightest provocation. Likable was one thing, but trustworthy was another in its entirety; trusting to easily got you killed in this particular line of work.
“Well, time’s a wastin’ and that kid ain’t gonna find himself, now is he?” Daniel joked. He turned from Archaleos and continued up towards the crest of the ridge. Good thing all those years of chasing after magi had given him a reasonable level of endurance, because this little hike of his would be draining otherwise.
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 17, 2016 20:42:45 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE
At least this guy— Daniel —was the polite sort. It would've been that much harder for Archaleos to keep up a friendly, welcoming demeanor if his entire personality rubbed him the wrong way. As it stood, things had the potential for progressing smoothly until they really got on the magi's trail.
With the handshake concluded, Archaleos retracted his own hand before giving a permissive sort of wave. ❝Feel free,❞ He said. Was the Hunter a particular fan of nicknames? No. But it was a small opinion he could keep to himself (shocking), so long as the nickname wasn't anything ridiculously demeaning. ❝You wouldn't be the first to ask, and it saves a whole three syllables anyway.❞ He paused in place long enough for Daniel to get a few steps ahead of him before loosing a breathy sound that could have been a laugh. ❝No... that he won't.❞ And with that Archaleos, too, moved to hike up the incline so that they could get on with looking for this illusive child. So far he'd been paying particular attention to crevices and caves— potential spots for a lone magi to shelter from the cold —and he hoped that this not-so-snowy would turn up results before they were forced to go looking at even higher altitudes. His intuition was telling him that he was on the right path, but Archaleos could only bank so much on gut feelings. He'd always preferred the facts. |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 17, 2016 22:37:58 GMT
And the facts were that Archaleos’s hunch was more or less correct. Something irritated Daniel’s nose, causing his face to scrunch up like a ball of paper just before he sneezed into his gloved hand. As it turns out that it was a lucky break for him because when he sniffed to clear his nostrils the whiff of something on the wind came with the breath of air. Something about the smell didn’t quite fit with the rest of the scents in the background, and Daniel was willing to wager a guess that following it would led him to his quarry, which was more than he’d had going for him since he’d started searching almost two days ago.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Daniel apologized over his shoulder. “Now that that’s out of the way, I can tell you that my thinking is that we should be heading that’a’way.” An extended finger indicated a northeasterly heading towards a set of black dots just on the furthest limits of the average man’s sight. A smart man might guess that the dots were openings leading into caves, or rather a network of them. Daniel didn’t really consider himself all that clever, but he still knew how to trust his instincts and his sense of smell; they were two things that almost never failed him before.
He turned slightly at the waist and shrugged. “Call it a gut feeling.” Now, it was just a question of whether or not this guy was the sort to gamble.
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 18, 2016 3:00:58 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE ❝Bless you.❞ Was Archaleos' response to the sneeze. Being that it was the polite thing to say, after all. The fact that something seemed to catch Daniel's eye did not escape him, though, and the Hunter curiously turned his gaze in the direction that the other was looking. Something worth noting for their search? He promptly got an answer when Daniel next spoke, gesturing to more accurately cast Archaleos' attention toward the area of interest. ❝That way? You mean towards the—❞ What exactly? Archaleos' inquiry was cut off as he strained his eyes with a squint (his vision was near perfect by your average human standards, nothing special without using his eye) and realized all at once what was being pointed out to him. ❝Caves. Ah I see.❞ An agreeable nod. ❝There's sound reasoning behind checking them. No one would last long up here without some shelter.❞ There was no telling how deep those caves ran, but it followed Archaleos' earlier thinking and was a good guess, if anything. He was willing to follow along with the suggestion. ❝That way it is.❞ |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 18, 2016 22:56:00 GMT
“Glad you think so,” Daniel said as he started towards the caves. A gust of wind set his coat fluttering as he strode calmly and patiently of the slope. Each step was synonymous with the metaphorical gears turning in his head, working out the kinks in the harebrained scheme forming between his ears. Details were brainstormed, reviewed, then discarded or included appropriately to compensate for the gaps that emerged. By the time they reached the mouth of the caves he’d pointed out, Daniel was relatively sure that he had the foundations of his newest plot laid out and ready for further development.
Now that that was done, Daniel had time to focus on the task at hand and glanced around at the various crevices they’d found. A good portion of them didn’t go much further than a few feet into the rock and, more importantly, showed no signs of recent habitation of any sort, which left the two largest of the openings. Frustratingly, both held a very potent sampling of the scent that drew his attention; it was all but impossible for him to discern which was the stronger of the two. Worst still was that the light failed a few yards into the cavity. He wasn’t sure if it was by design or simple coincidence, but the fact that both caves seemed to carry the scent effectively concealed whatever was in there from an enhanced sense of smell.
Guess it’s time to do this the old-fashioned way, huh?
“So, Arch, what’ll it be?” Daniel asked, indicating the entrances with a hand each. “Door number one, or door number two?”
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Post by Archaleos Durant on Aug 23, 2016 2:33:48 GMT
blood on my name THERE'S A RECKONING A COMING, IT BURNS BEYOND THE GRAVE And so they were off again. The silence that lapsed as they trekked towards the caves was oddly comfortable (at least for two people who were hiding things and waiting for each other to betray their hand) but, honestly, Archaleos preferred this to keeping a flow of small talk. He knew how to fill a space with words yet there really wasn't any point in chattering on right now. He had nothing pertinent to their search to say, so why speak? Peace and quiet made it easier for him to think, anyway. The caves really were a good bet for finding this child and the Hunter only hoped that they would be able to navigate around in the caverns. If his target had already had the chance to map out the caves, familiarize themself with its twists and turns, he would be at a terrible disadvantage running around in the dark. Not to mention the danger of just wandering around in random caves. The closer Archaleos got to the yawning openings in the cliff side, the more apparent it became that these were no shallow tunnels. They ran dark and (very likely) deep. ❝Haha, well it seems that there's no real way to make a good guess.❞ He had a moment of quiet indecision, gazing between the two. ❝How about two.❞ Dark eyes settled on the rightmost cave entrance and Archaleos gave a vague shrug. Might as well go with a choice on a whim since no other help was forthcoming. ❝If we have no flashlights then the darkness will make this troublesome. But I think I can be of at least some help—❞ A blink as he stepped forwards to investigate the mouth of the cave, the teen's right eye glowing to life as bright as it could manage. The yellow light produced would only help for a few feet ahead but it was better than nothing. | 0000 WORDS | | TAGGED | | SHORT NOTE |
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Post by Daniel Caim on Aug 23, 2016 23:24:01 GMT
“Useful little trick you got there,” Daniel said. The slight inflection in his tone showed that he was genuinely impressed. Some of the cyborg’s he’d worked with throughout the years weren’t near as clever as this one. That, combined with the fact that he now had a walking, talking flashlight, made the man smile; not having to scrounge around for stuff to make a torch was a nice little surprise. He pulled the pistol at his side—a basic thing with little in the way of modification or ornamentation—and pulled back on the slide twice. A single round flew out of the ejection port, which Daniel promptly and crisply snatched out of the air in a surprising show of dexterity. He fiddled with the point of the round until the lead bullet came free. Then, he poured the gunpowder onto the ground at his feet and stamped it down with his foot.
A strange display to be sure and one that Daniel already had an explanation for. He turned to the cyborg and gave a wink. “Call it a good luck ritual.” Most people might just right it off as an eccentric tick or habit of some sort. Daniel doubted that this kid was really what he said he was at this point in the game, but maybe he’d been playing the role of “random guy” well enough to be believable.
“Now, let’s get going into the deep, dark hole in the ground, yeah?” Daniel led the way in, making sure to keep as much light on his back as possible while still being able to see what was in front of him.
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