Creatures Of Fate

Death Dealer

  Ra'venna eyes the red brick wall as it basks in the last rays of daylight.  A wicked smirk takes over her face, her purple orbs glow with sinister intention. How foolish, the mercenary muses, to presume a simple wall can keep me out.

Guards are scattered about the outside and inside. They are use for little more than scaring off mischievous children and turning away angry mistresses. She watches as one flirts with a peasant woman carrying a bowed basket containing fresh flowers. The young girl twists a panel of her robe around her index finger nervously as she inches away from the insistent guard.

Finally, he is called away and the she wastes no time scurrying off. Ra'venna watches her until she melts into the crowd. It seems both the Count and the company he keeps are less than reputable. She glance at the sky taking note of the position of Tevata's two suns: Phebo and Solus.

She will wait until nightfall. The market should be cleared then. The crowd is thinning already, she notes. Tugging her violet cloak further over her head, careful to be sure her pointed ears are hidden, she sinks into the crowd. Unwilling to risk a creature realizing what she is, she slips into an adjacent alleyway, allowing the shadows to conceal her from sight.

Ra'venna stands against the chipped stone, witnessing as Kitsunes flitter in and out of the market. The final merchant rides away, pulling his unsold goods behind him in a carriage, as the last rays of day die.

The four moons are slow to rise this night. Of course, that could be because she is watching. The mercenary steps out from the shadows into a shaft of red moonlight. Chayone's seemingly angry body looms overhead, as if giving his blessing. She closes her eyes: I will not fail you.

Ra'venna uses the shadows of the desolate market as camouflage, until the only thing between her and the wall is a stone road worn from years of frequent travel. One of the guards walks past, his eyes trained on the trimmed grass, grumbling about his miseries. He passes past Ra'venna clueless. She waits until he reaches the arched entrance before bolting from her hiding place.

She runs up the wall, using her hands as leverage to pull her up. The bottom of her cloak swishes around her. Ra'venna grasps the closest protruding stone, testing its strength before trusting it with her weight and throwing her other arm onto the wall's summit. Pulling herself up, she kneels on the slim edge and scans the ground below. A half-drunk guard passes beneath her, taking a pause only for another swig of ale.

They are a disgrace. Ra'venna regards them with disgust. Then she remembers it is making this job easier than most. She lands with a muffled whoosh. Instead of running she simply strolls to the only other building on the property-a wooden shack. On the door is a diamond shaped sign with crossed swords inside. The guard's armory. Obviously for decoration rather than use. She climbs onto the roof, spreading her legs across the slanted roof, keeping a hand on the vertex so as not to slip and fall.

From here she has a clear view into the Count's bedchamber. He blocks out the candlelight as he paces back and forth. He repeatedly drives his hand through his hair, tugging at the shoulder length locks.

He knows his predicament after all.

​

In recent years the Count Heitsu of Cha'ol has taken to making a series of devious alliances and underhanded deals. They have caused him to fall out of favor with much of Asharia's nobility. It is a group of them that has brought her here.

Ra'venna notes that the Count has not passed in front of the candlelight. She waits a few more moments to be sure he hasn't paused or slowed his step.

Beneath the cloak, her wings twitch. She beats them together, using the momentum to thrust her forward. She catches the window's ledge and lifts herself up. She slides through the window into the poorly lit chamber.