• Closed • First star I see tonight [Moderated]

[Aeon]

Laughter. Laughter was what Aeon could hear as the sheath of his sword came bearing upon the man's face, just barely, but still painfully, hitting him in a sound similar to a screech, just barely being classified as a scream of agony and surprise. Surprise? Was it really a surprise to the fat man that he was going to be attacked. Perhaps the surprise was within the speed of the attack, because again, not many people expect a one-handed man to be so skilled with a blade.

The laughter, however, was only an illusion. Just like Ryqos was, and Aeon knew it, but he still felt nauseous and it still hurt in his heart to be laughed at, by his own mentor. I thought I taught you better. Don't play their game. He could hear the dot of Ryqos inside his brain say quite loudly. That dot of a person that remains within everyone's brains, that little memory that can be triggered, sparked, by even the simplest of things. Aeon was sparking this one simply by existing, apparently.

For just a trill, the young swordsman's jaw dropped while the woman aimed at his heart with her hidden crossbow. His eyebrows, however, remained raised as his jaw went back into its original place. He had a situation on hand, and he needed to do something about it, quick. She wants to kill you He could hear Ryqos say, but what did that mean to him. To kill you, she's gotta hit your heart. Finally the dead man talked of something that made sense, and then Aeon followed up. If I can dodge one bolt... He said to himself now, the image of his dead mentor disappearing as all the possible outcomes started appearing in his mind.

"Drop the crossbow. You have four trills to live." He said as he both stepped to the right and drew his blade from within its sheath at the same time, then following up with a step to the left, then another to the left, then right. He danced this way hoping to get to her without being hit. And like the cold words said, if she missed, he would be a sword's length away from her within four trills, ready to stab her in through the chest and end all of this nonsense.

The "intimidate then surprise" tactic, as he would call it later, if he survived.

Off Topic

You're the mod, the outcome of this gamble is all yours to decide upon

[Pegasus]

The laughter in his head probably didn't help but, it had to be said, Aeon rose to the moment. The woman who was, in fact, the merchant's bodyguard took less than a trill to decide. He spoke his words and, in a way, she believed him. However, there was a simple truth about her and that was that she lived, and died, by her loyalty and reputation.

So she took aim and she fired, trying to judge his stepping pattern before he stepped. Which was her mistake because, when he stepped to the left for a second time, she aimed as though he was going to step to the right, and so her shot missed it's target. It was probably worth Aeon's notice that her target had been his heart and, had he zigged instead of zagged, the bolt would have thudded it's way into his left ventricle and by now, he'd be dead.

He was lucky, but he might not feel it as the bolt missed and embedded itself, instead, in his right shoulder. It went in deep and it hurt, a lot. But not as much as some of the other things he'd experienced, all told, and so he kept moving. Which meant that, as it turned out, he was right. Give or take a trill, that was, he was right.

She had fired the crossbow, she had only one shot with it and she was reaching desperately behind her to where she had a hidden knife when he stabbed her in the chest and she looked at him with surprise. Like she hadn't known it was coming, like she didn't believe it.

Like maybe she hadn't quite believed he meant it.

"Ow. You hurt me." Her tone was accusatory and then her head lolled backwards and her knees buckled beneath her. The moment he withdrew the sword, there was going to be blood everywhere, he knew, and the merchant was far from dead.

It appeared, therefore, that Aeon had something of a situation to deal with. She wasn't dead.... yet. He wasn't dead at all, and both of those things could pose a problem for the young man.

What now?

[Aeon]

He wanted to scream, but he didn't. As the crossbow bolt fired and found its way into his shoulder, he wanted to scream so desperately, but he couldn't allow himself. It was the new Aeon that was doing this, not the old one. And the new Aeon knew that if he screamed, he wouldn't be fast enough to reach the woman before she fired again. Screaming takes up a whole lot of oxygen, oxygen that could be used for proper breathing, instead of sharp exhaling.

That calculation alone, alongside the fact that he knew she would aim for the kill shot, saved his life right there and then. He pierced the woman and felt just the tiniest bit of blood spray his only hand as he did so. He finally exhaled as sharply as he needed to because of the continuous pain as the woman spoke up, even though she was already half-dead.

"You hurt yourself. Fool." Aeon said as he drew the longsword out of the woman's chest and as the blood sprayed all across his black cloak, he knew he had another one to deal with. "And you. You can give up and live, or fight me and die." Aeon said to the fat merchant, now with enough adrenaline to almost fully block away the pain of the bolt still stuck in his shoulder.

If the merchant was to give up, the young swordsman would simply hit him in the head with the pommel of his blade and knock him out, ready to cut off his dominant hand, making sure he never did anything bad again. But if he was to fight, oh, then Aeon would have no mercy, and would end the man's life in mere trills, but one thing would remain the same. He would drop his sword once the merchant was out, dead or knocked out, and begin to slowly pull the bolt out of himself while also trying not to scream as good as he possibly could.

[Pegasus]

Silence.

That was what Aeon heard after the merchant had been hit over the head and knocked unconscious. He hadn't fought, he'd begged in fact, but he most certainly had not fought. If Aeon did decide to slice off the man's hand, he could. But equally, he would know that doing so in a place where he was unconscious would mean his death. Whether that made a difference to what he did or not, though, was up to him.

Then there was the bolt in his own shoulder. Pulling it out was difficult. Really difficult. As Aeon tried to do so, a number of things became apparent. First, the bolt was in deep and because of the shape of it, pulling it out was going to cause damage. Second, as he started to move it he could not stop himself from letting out a cry of pain. If he succeeded, he was almost certainly going to scream and there was a high likelihood that he'd pass out, too. Finally, as he moved it just a little, his own blood started to flow more. The bolt seemed to be stopping the bleeding.

What he did with that information was, of course, up to him. He'd started the process.

But either way, Aeon was in the shop and was, to all intents and purposes, alone. He could continue to pull the bolt, he could raid the place. He could call the guard.

Decisions, decisions.

Off Topic

if he decides to pull the bolt, he can do so without passing out - but it's very likely that he'll scream. He will also be bleeding quite a bit and this will limit his time before he passes out. Feel free to make that decision in your next post and move on from there

[Aeon]

Aeon had strong suites, many of them,
but unfortunately, every mortal has weaknesses, even Immortals have weaknesses, and medicine was one of those for the young man. He did not know the amount of blood spilled needed for someone to die, nor the way to close up a serious wound. All he knew were the very basics, like keeping pressure on a wound, or how to infect one.

Slash, went the longsword as he chopped off the fat merchant's hand. Bleeding out to death? That was never even an idea in the boy's mind. He didn't know the merchant would die, he could swear it to all of the Sacred Seven.
He didn't know he had become a murderer, he didn't know he had become the very monster he was trying to defeat.
But that monster, it gobbles up heroes easily. For a hero, a spotless record is required, while that monster jumps at the very first mistake a hero makes, and it bites, and it chews, and it eats. And the merchant would die.

Pulling the bolt a little bit, the scream that was held within now escaped the boy's lungs. It, of course, wasn't a good idea to pull something that was preventing the bleeding out. He needed a doctor. Would he make it to the infirmary?
Would he pass out if he pulled the bolt out? Would he die? Was this how it was all supposed to end? On the floor of one of the black markets. Just like that, from one crossbow bolt? Would the hero be killed not by the monster that now ate him from the inside, or the Sessfiend that haunted his dreams, but by a simple bolt of a crossbow from a dumb woman?

Deciding to keep the bolt inside his shoulder after the initial cry of pain, Aeon started slowly and painfully walking towards the outside. While a smarter man, a more intelligent man, would've dressed his own wound with the coat of the merchant, or would've taken something valuable from the store, the young swordsman wasn't that man. His journey was to the infirmary, but whether or not he would survive it was up to the cruel mistress of fate.

[Pegasus]

The Cruel Mistress of Fate Has Spoken....

Aeon awoke, the next trial. He was in a warm bed in the infirmary. He did not remember how he got there but, later, he was told that two citizens had found him passed out in the street outside, raised the alarm and got help. The citizens in question were unknown to the young man and had not given their names. All of his belongings were there, including his money, nothing had been taken. In fact, his anonymous helpers had left behind a gift for him. A small, silver pin in the shape of a shield. It was thanks, they'd said, but what it was thanks for the medics who were treating him did not know.

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Knowledge:
Bladed Combat (Longsword): One swift move
Detection: Noticing small details in your surroundings
Detection: Spotting obvious lies
Detection: Blood drops on pearls.
Endurance: Pain of a crossbow bolt.
Endurance: Trying to pull out a crossbow bolt.
Endurance: Remaining standing despite blood loss
Etiquette: When in a shady place, ask to see the merchandise first
Interrogation: Direct questioning of obvious lies
Intimidation: Make threats you can follow up on.
Intimidation: Being sure of yourself
Intimidation: Telling them how long they have to live
Intimidation: Give two options, one of them death.
Investigation: Discerning merchant types by small details in their shops
Investigation: Questioning where merchandise comes from
Location: Water Street Market
Negotiation: Stating your case clearly.
Negotiation: Let them know you have the means to pay
Negotiation: A price can be paid in more than nel
Tactics: Choosing the correct attack for the situation
Tactics: Emphasising your strengths
Tactics: Maximising your enemy's weakness
Tactics: Weighing up risks
Tactics: Surprise moves
Tactics: Intimidate then surprise.

Injuries: A lot of injuries that take a good long while to heal. A scar on your shoulder from the crossbow bolt.
Loot: +1 silver shield pin.
Devotion: Nope
Fame: +4 (Victory in single combat), +6(Kill a bandit x2) The laws you broke and enforced kind of negate each other more or less, so you just get -4 for that. Therefore, total is +6
The points may not be used for Domain magic.

Comment
I hope that you enjoyed this thread. I really enjoyed moderating it and seeing the way that Aeon's mind was working. I've given you positive fame, generally, because the people you killed were bad people. As always, if you've got any questions or anything that you are unclear about, drop me a pm. Great fun - thanks for sharing your stories with me, I enjoyed it! And... you know - I can't believe he didn't go and get himself the Star Metal before he left. Duuuude.