((For the purpose of time line, this thread takes place about two weeks after the pending conclusion of
Restraint and Yielding to it.
I almost made these three separate stories, but figured I'd just consolidate them into one post. I kept the titles, however.
))
~~~~~~~~~~
((Chapter I - Hands Tied in a Gambling Match))
Returning to Orgrimmar was not Jenkantu's favorite experience in recent days. She'd done it more than once, giving the impression of fulfilling her normal habits. Now it was time to set the ball in motion, however, and so she returned again with a particularly paranoid air about her. The beauty of a plan like the one Jen had in mind was simple enough: she need not fake her cautious demeanor.
Fully-suited for combat and with two freshly made boxes of bombs in her possession, Jenkantu prowled through the western entrance of the great city. The path wound and curved to the small collection of priests and mages in the Valley of Spirits, but at this time of night only a few lights were burning in their respective areas. Voices speaking softly with the accent of Trolls carried over the shallow water as her shadow passed in the darkness, unseen.
'Here goes, Jen. You reach the Cleft and tell them the story and there's no turning back. Life as you know it is over.' A cool breeze licked at the sweat on her brow and neck, almost seeming like the representation of Orgrimmar itself laughing at her foolishness.
She moved up the stairs of the building near the ever-vigilant war veteran on his bristling mount, deciding passing behind them would be wiser than trying to sneak by in front. The ground rumbled and rocked as it had all too often in recent days and the mounted Orc was unsettled. Jen slipped lithely past him, maintaining a tenuous balance in her steps. She heard him curse and then mumble something about the honor of the Horde and scoffed inwardly. She'd fought their battles, bought into their stories, prayed for the renown and respect a good war can earn an honest individual. It won her a beautiful wolf to carry her, but the other promises of that life weren't meant for people like Jen. She'd finally come to accept that she had too many enemies to truly make any friends... And yet, hadn't she done just that?
'Maybe. Has yet to be seen. What if I get all the way there and sell the tale and she doesn't help me? This will be one hell of a trick to turn on my own...'These thoughts had crossed her mind more than once in the days between her liberating conversation with Ugnah and this day. They always had to though. If ever Jen didn't second guess her decisions she would be getting soft and soft...
'Soft means dead. Soft means truly dead.' Her eyes roved the loose stones in Orgrimmar's streets with a passing thought of,
'Whole damn world's coming apart around us..' But her focus remained on the thought of what might happen if her new acquaintance betrayed her. There were ways, Jen knew, to prevent a spirit from finding the Spirit Healers. She'd heard of their employ by assassins before, and knew the Shattered Hand was likely to hold such knowledge.
Her stomach turned in a mix of eager anticipation and dread as she realized her thoughtful steps had carried her to the mouth of the passage leading into the Cleft of Shadows from the west. A heavy gulp slid awkwardly down her throat.
'Fear? Since when is there a cowardly bone in your body?' she asked herself, knowing full well that fear had often been the fuel of her rage.
'It's healthy for me.' A slight nod of her yellow chin was her last affirmation of this course of actions prior to her entering the tunnel, steps heavier than they'd felt in most of her lifetime, but as she passed the threshold a new crop of doubts rose in her mind.
'What's plan B?' She asked herself,
'Get out. I'll hide out in the caverns if I have to, kill any of them that come for me if it comes to it, and make my way out at an opportune time... After that.. if this falls through...' she didn't know. That was what really turned her stomach in fear. Jen never did anything without a solid backup plan, but if she bungled this she would have betrayed the Horde, betrayed the Alliance, and betrayed the Horde again. Surely she would find no respite. Jen stopped, leaning against a wall of the small winding passage, the light contents of her stomach churning. Her body fought itself, trying to keep calm and trying to make her realize her fear. Will was not enough to stop the purging of her stomach. It was a natural effort to settle her nerves, or something to that effect.
'My but I've grown weak.'This was not the place, not the time. Fear was natural and healthy, but assassins fed on it like few others. When the retches completely subsided Jenkantu wiped her face and stared hard at the dark wall of the passageway. The cool rock felt good so close to her skin and the patterns the shadows made were comforting as they danced to the dim light from the open fires burning further down.
'This is my life. This is my choice. This is one fel gamble.' The face of 'Ugnah' danced before her.
'She promised death if I betray them, but if she betrays me I die and she has no worries... Is this a trap?' Cool, blue eyes turned down the tunnel's length as a lifetime of being belittled, badgered, and abused played out in her mind's eye.
'Everything hinges on this decision. Everything I know... Is it worth losing what little I've got?'The blood boiled in her veins at the last thought.
'Fel, this is my chance. I have to claim it. Freedom, freedom from Father, freedom from the Shattered Hand, freedom from my half-blooded heritage. If I don't do this they've won. If I don't do this, what life do I have to lose?' The rage was a comfort as she looked up and down the tunnel. Not a soul in sight.
'Glad no one saw that. Time to move on.' A new sense of empowerment passed through her muscles, quieting even the most severe of her nerves. The spilled contents of her stomach lay in the tunnel with the last of her weakness. Confidence replaced it as swiftly as she left it behind,
'If this Lady Kat does betray me I'll make my own path. It's not impossible.' Of course, Jen hoped Kat wouldn't. She hoped she'd finally found a place to exist as herself without judgment. She dare not let such hopes take a defined form in her mind though, not then at the very least.
Her steps guided her stealthily around the single dreary-eyed guard at the very end of the tunnel and she slipped toward Ormok's den. He was awake. He was always awake, but he wasn't the only one she knew like that. "Ormok," she said in a voice that cut the darkness to his ears only, "I have news of the Alliance movements. An opportunity in the waiting." The anticipation she felt for freedom bled into her voice, making it more believable than she'd really hoped it would be. She had little to worry about in fooling Ormok, he was too secure in his position over her -
'A position changing very soon...' - but it was still a big task she would claim lay in waiting.
The Orc tried to mask his brief surprise. Jen hadn't outright startled him, but even catching him the slightest off guard made her smile. "Opportunity," he said in his gruff voice, "Speak."
Jen nodded, an evil smile playing on her lips as she imagined a million ways to kill the Orc she spoke with, "They prepare to mount a counter assault in Northrend. The king will be relatively unguarded. It's the perfect opportunity for an assassin." Her boots turned, crushing the dirt beneath them in an audible grind. Her senses were so sharply focused that even the near-stagnant air passing slowly through the cavern seemed loud at the moment.
Ormok's bushy brows raised in question, "The King... Varian Wrynn?" Jenkantu nodded, dead serious in the flickering firelight. "You must be mad. Few Horde could even pray to stand toe-to-toe with that man alone and survive to tell of it."
Jen's right hand waved somewhat dismissively as she nodded, "Yes, but
think about what would happen if one did. And I'm not planning to fight him head on. Enough poison will fall Varian Wrynn as readily as any other." Ormok still looked skeptical. "What do you have to lose? We both know I'm dead if I don't prove
very useful
very quickly. Let me go, let me kill him, or die trying. Then at least I reclaim my honor."
He gauged Jenkantu for a long time, his gaze resting steadily on her blue eyes. Perhaps it was the light sparking in them, or maybe the blood lust in her voice, or he really was just too confident in his position over her, but Ormok slowly nodded, "Fine. You save me the trouble of killing you if you fail, and if you succeed... Well... We'll talk about that when it comes to pass."
She could hear the evidence of an unspoken 'Idiot' attached to the end of his last statement, but dismissed that. It was inconsequential, she'd told the lie, she'd tied her hands, she'd sealed her fate. Now a trip to Stormwind would serve multiple purposes. She would reclaim her coin and those possessions she had left while fleeing the city. She would be seen traveling there. Tailed even, right up to the city's entrance. She would make the lie truth in the eyes of the Shattered Hand.
'Irony at its finest when freedom hangs on a trip from the place where you're most likely to find Death waiting in the shadows to the place where you're most likely to run into it headlong.' She gave Ormok the Shattered Hand salute, "By your leave."
The Orc shook his head in amusement, "Go on, go kill your king." He obviously thought she wouldn't be successful, but he'd bought the story and that was really all that mattered.
Jen knew her shadows wouldn't follow her into the Alliance capital, and that meant she could steal her things and leave, though she'd have to be careful not to be seen once she'd collected her possessions.
'Love, love, love my Wormhole Generator.' She thought with a smile as careful steps carried her away from the Cleft of Shadows once more.
'Wonder if I'll love my hand when all is said and done...' She cast a glance to the injured extremity.
'Certainly wasn't what I'd originally planned to do, but it really could prove so very useful.' Another grin played on her lips as she wondered what might be in store for her.
~~~~~~~~~~
((Chapter II - Infiltrating Stormwind
Two days after 'Hands Tied in a Gambling Match'))
The journey to Stormwind was taken carefully, as though Jen truly wanted to lose anyone following her. In reality she had doubled back more than once not to confuse would-be trackers, but to make sure her shadows hadn't lost her. The spies sent by the Shattered Hand consisted of three members. One was an Undead, interestingly enough,
'I wonder if 'she' knows her scent carries in the breeze.' But then, Jen had known the Shattered Hand was working with the Shadowstalkers. The other two were Orcs. They followed her from Orgrimmar to Ratchet. There Jen spent an evening fine-tuning her flying machine and wormhole generator. She also rechecked her parachute cloak, and was glad to have done so when it exploded. Recalibrating that took most of the night, and come morning she was on a boat to Booty Bay.
Stranglethorn vale greeted her in its usual way, sticky, warm air coating her skin like a sheen of sweat. The three Shattered Hand rogues had found covers on the ship, each pretending to have their own business in Booty Bay. When it made dock Jen walked up the board connecting it to the wooden planks that supported the Goblin city.
'Perfect place to make some poisonous explosives... Would compliment my story and supposed intentions.. Not that I relish the idea of-' the ground trembled and the water gurgled and bubbled in response as the entirety of Booty Bay shook on its supports. Jen was not the only person to lose her footing, but she recovered it before even meeting the planking. "Gah! Damn this shaking!" she growled loudly as she kept her balance. When all had calmed she made her way toward an engineer she'd had dealings with before.
Winding her way through Booty Bay she saw her shadows mingle and mix. One took up fishing on the lowest part of the wooden decks. Another traveled to the herbalist. The third made for the auction house. She greeted Crazk enthusiastically as she entered his shop saying, "Crazk, my friend, I've a project as needs a good eye and has some coin in it. Think you're the Goblin for the job?"
It gave the Goblin a start because of the quiet in which Jen carried herself prior to speaking, but he was more than keen on the idea of making money. Particularly so when he learned what Jen wanted, a unique missile of sorts designed to deliver very deadly contact poison. Of course, Crazk Sparks lived up to his surname, implementing Jen's idea into a firework rather than a true explosive, but it served its purpose. More than once she was aware of the other spies moving around in her vicinity. She masked her notice to the best of her abilities, but she was sure they'd know she'd noticed them at least once or twice by the time she left Booty Bay.
Thankful that the restrictions of mounts on the wooden boarding had been lifted, Jenkantu slid onto the back of the wolf her battles for the Horde had awarded her and ran a hand through its black fur.
'Going to have to do something about you too, old friend,' a pang of grief, however shallow, came with the thought for the mount had been true to her in combat. There was no way of disguising her old friend though. Her coat bore too many injuries that were unique to her and a glass-blue eye did little to help make her less distinct. Sure, wolves were plentiful among the Orcs, but it wasn't worth the risk.
The wolf carried her mistress north through the jungles as twilight came and passed into night, purple traces of the sun driven from the sky. Their passage was marked by the beasts among the trees, as would be the passage of those following behind. Jenkantu stayed to the road this night, trusting the darkness and the shaking to keep most other travelers away. Occasionally her solitude was infringed upon by a passerby, but for the most part she road undisturbed. Her wolf contributed to her efforts in this, for the she-beast's demeanor helped dissuade the jungle's inhabitants from approaching or harrying the rider.
They made their way from Stranglethorn through Duskwood and then Westfall before entering Elwynn forest. While in Westfall the temptation was strong to make for the Deadmines and lay claim to those pieces of Defias standard issue armor she had not yet acquired, but she knew this was not the time.
Gray dawn broke the dark of night to find Jenkantu traveling the gnoll-infested river of Elwynn Forest. They were of little concern to her, though a pest to the would-be adventurer. Her mount she parted with when she left the water, petting the beast as she took from it's battle-scarred back those possessions she always carried with her. The saddle and harness she had used for years she stripped from the animal, laying them to rest by the river and loosely tying the creature to them so as to imply an intended return here. She took with her the horn to call her companion. Pausing at the site, Jenkantu laid a slab of Rhino Meat on the ground for her friend and ran a gloved hand through its fur.
'Stay safe, tear the limbs from your enemies, and make me proud, Girl,' Jen didn't speak a word from her thoughts, but the wolf seemed to know something was amiss. Jenkantu didn't walk away immediately, instead taking some time to replace the bandaging on her left hand. This time it was special bandaging though. Inside the wrappings was trapped a small amount of numbing poison. Enough to take the feeling out of her hand for the most part. When Jen finally did turn and walk away her she-wolf companion let out a drawn-out whine from the riverbank.
Speckles of dew colored the fabric of Jen's tunic and cape and slicked the surface of her leather armor as she stepped lightly through Elwynn Forest. In these early morning hours the world of humans came to life. Sounds that testified as much carried through the trees to her ears as she skirted the edges of Goldshire. She'd been in that town less than a year prior, less than two months prior truth be told, on some errand or another. She put it from her mind. Three figures followed somewhere in the wood, but out here they had more room to hide than in the cramped planks of Booty Bay and the confines of the boat.
'I know they're watching.' Jen thought as she moved through the dappled darkness of the shadows made by the forest canopy.
It was not a very taxing trip, though adrenaline coursed in a steady pulse through the veins under her yellow skin. The sounds came to her more clearly in this state. Like every movement of her and her environment was slowed and magnified before it reached her ears. The crush of grass and soft, dew-laden dirt, the rustle of leaves above her, even the occasional scraping or snapping of branches when larger creatures moved about, it all set the mood. This was the zone of her attention, the focus with which she had approached so many tasks before, and as she moved through Elwynn she let it carry her.
The human guards in their heavy armor made sounds of clinking as they moved, their voices engaged in idle banter and reached her through the air. They stood at the gates of her mark, between her and the fabricated mission she'd presented Ormok, and between her and her true mark. She pondered her options, a fang sinking into her upper lip as she sucked on it, eyebrows knit together in thought.
'Tricky, tricky...' She considered murder, but she knew the guards kept posts too close by, a diversion would be necessary.
'Let it be something to keep them concerned a little... Of course, they may make the guard heavier in the city, but there are always places to hide..'She took hold of the riding wolf's horn and looked it over for the last time. A small chip on the rim brought a smile to her lips as she recalled using it to fend off what would have been a lethal dagger blade. Jen closed her eyes, shook her head, and threw the horn away from her, quickly drawing back into the shadows of her hiding place. "What was that?" the male guard asked.
She saw them both turn and leave Stormwind's gates. They moved within feet of Jen, but she was well obscured by the shadow of the wall. Once they'd passed her she slid along it and into the tall archway she'd freely walked through before. A single guard was directly in her way as well as one opposite him. Jen took a good hold of her sap and moved forward, carefully watching the guard across from the wall she walked. With an awkward and painful effort she tossed a loosely rolled lump of slightly-dampened powder across the way. When it hit the ground it made an audible noise almost like an inhale of oxygen and both guards turned toward it. "What?" The one nearest said.
'Perfect.' She brought the sap down hard on the neck of her prey. His body went limp in her arms and she quickly poured a small amount of a healing potion passed his lips. It wasn't enough to revive him fully, but the swelling that had threatened immediately abated. Jen leaned his body on the wall and moved along, casting a wary glance to the other guard. Thankfully, they were still trying to locate the source of the noise. Ducking between the giant statues on the bridge to the city, she avoided the watchful gaze of the other members of the guard. The sound of hurried steps reached her ears, and a voice speaking with some urgency. They were reporting the sighting of the horn. She paused to listen, happy for the shelter provided by Archmage Khadgar's stone likeness.
'I'll have to thank him for this later...' She thought, chuckling inwardly.
"Probably just a remnant of one of their sieges," the voice of one of her favorite Stormwind officials stated clearly.
'Ever-confident, aren't we Marcus?' Jen thought to herself. "Still," he went on, "better to send out scouts and see. You say one of your men fainted?"
The reporting guard cleared their throat sheepishly, "Erm, yes sir."
"We might need to have a....... premises....... too....." Their voices faded as Jen moved along. She'd heard enough.
'Funny to think you might be the subject of that trashy romance that's so well circulated.' She thought of Marcus when she couldn't hear even the sound of his voice any longer.
'The stockades might be tricky to get into, though not if they're rioting as much as they were.' Jen passed through the tunnel that finally opened on the streets of Stormwind and ducked immediately to the left as a group of adventurers walked into the space she'd only just vacated.
'Gotta keep on my toes it seems, even in the early hours.'Ducking and winding with great caution, Jen made her way into the heart of Stormwind. Funny that the the layout of this city and the Orc capital weren't all too different if you really looked at it. Stormwind was ultimately more defensible in the assassin's opinion, but when it came to the flow of money you could almost find your way as easily through one as through the other.
Her heartbeat slowed a little when she entered the canals at last. Jen knew these all too well. They'd been responsible for her escape when Doel had sucked his taint back from her. The sun glistened off the water and it was all she could do to crouch low to the stones in her efforts to avoid being seen. Laughter reached her ears and the sound of small feet.
'Ugh, children.' she found herself thinking.
'Just when you think you miss a place you're reminded of why you shouldn't.'She slid under a bridge adjoining the two sides of the canal and held herself there, waiting until she heard the sound of them passing overhead. When at last they'd grown quiet she pulled herself up. A gasp drew her blue eyes and standing before her was a young girl with yellow hair. "Y-y-you're..."
Jen blinked, "Hi there." She said, drawing out the smooth quality of her voice. "No, of course I'm not, Silly. It's Hallow's End."
The child blinked now, and looked around, her finger resting on her cheek like she was hard in thought. "Hallow's End is over, though." She said, her young mind drawing the conclusion.
After a quick analysis of her circumstances Jen decided to play dumb. She stooped low to the ground so they were at eye level and offered a close-lipped smile, the sort that wouldn't draw as much attention to her fangs, "Is it really? I thought it ended today."
The little girl laughed, "No, Silly, it ended two days ago. Mommy says that's why they aren't giving out the candy anymore." Jen nodded, indulgently and tried to remember if the Alliance enjoyed the same sweets the Horde did, "Your costume's really good though. I can hardly tell you're not an Orc! Can I touch it?"
Her blue eyes moved to the girl's face as a bead of sweat formed in her temple.
'Think quick, Jen, unless you want to kill a child.' It was one thing she had adamantly refused to do throughout her entire career. Today would be no different, "I don't think that's a good idea. The paint might come off since it's so warm out and then you'd get it on your hands."
"Aww," the blond pouted. "Can we show my brother?"
The sweat drop grew larger, "Erm. That's not really a good idea for me either. I look so foolish already. What's your name?" Jen asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Maria," the girl answered before saying, "it wouldn't take long and he's not far. Please?"
Jen reached into her pouch and fished out a handful of candy lingering from her last inn stay along with a small trick pumpkin of little worth that she'd lifted from some fool's pocket, "I'm really sorry, but I tell you what, I'll give you this handful of candy and this trick pumpkin since I'm too busy to go along with you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about my mistake. I would be embarrassed. Can you do that for me?"
The child had eyes almost as blue as Jen's and it made the Half-Orc wonder if this was a part of what had convinced the girl she was not truly an Orc. She considered for a long time, eyes on the hand of treats, before finally saying, "Alright, I promise." Jen handed her the candy and she giggled, "Thank you!"
"Of course, run along now, and remember, don't tell anyone!" The sun crawled a little higher in the sky as the human child ran off to find her friends and the bead of sweat tickled down Jenkantu's yellow skin, slipping under the line of her armor soon enough.
'Very close call... I've got to be more careful.' the assassin berated herself. Her eyes passed over the bridge to the canal and then back after the girl.
'Better to be safe at this point.' She pulled the Deepdive Helmet she had made many years prior from one of her packs and replaced it soon after with her goggles. After fixing it in place, she lowered herself into the cool waterways of the city and swam to the bottom. It was not a long trip from the bridge to the canals beside the entrance of the stockades, and the helmet assured her that she wouldn't need to surface for air during the journey.
The water felt good against skin still sticky from the exertion of her travel. Of course, she would regret swimming in her armor later, but it was trivial at the moment. Easy, heavy movements at the bottom of the canal brought her to the approximate location. As she made her way up the wall she checked over her shoulder to be certain no one watched from across the waterway. A thin veil of darkness and training in subtlety could only do so much, but her only audience was a man who seemed rather intent on his fishing line. Jen shook her head, swapping her Deepdive Helmet back for her goggles and sliding it into her bags. She lifted herself completely out of the water and caught hold of the lip of the canal walkway with her right hand. Fingers curled on the stone, and slipped from a lack of grip and the dampness.
'Oh no..' Jen eyed the lip of the canal closely. She hadn't thought about that. Nor had she thought about her injured hand. She peeled the water-laden glove from her right hand, putting it too in her bag and caught hold of the canal lip again. This time her grip held, but so straining was the weight of her whole body on one hand that she felt it trembling. Still she pulled herself up for a better look, casting a glance back to the fisher again to be certain he was as entranced with his line as he had been.
Seeing the human had taken no notice of her, Jen focused on the stockades entrance. Guards stood outside talking, a shift change by the looks of it and too many for her to simply sneak past them. She waited a good three minutes but they seemed engrossed in discussion of the shaking. It certainly made for an aggravating addition to the troubles of passing through enemy lines. Jen slid back into the water quietly, staying pressed against the wall.
'How to draw them away...' she pondered. The ground gave a rumble and the city of Stormwind trembled.
'Amazing their canals haven't given yet, but they were very well made... Canals...' Her eyes traveled across the water and rested on the fisher.
'Oh no..' she thought with an evil grin as she watched the old man right himself. But yes, she had an idea. Jen put her diving helmet back on and slipped under the water's surface. Resting on the bottom she looked through her bags, a mischievous glint lighting her eyes as the contents of her netherweave containers were drenched.
'There's enough shaking going on that I might be able to pass this off as something not aided by intelligent hands.' Jen retrieved her gnomish army knife and walked across the canal's bottom.
She closely inspected the wood of the docks, the planks below the old man. Carefully she opened the portion of the knife that served as her mining pick and began working at the wood. Chipping here, stretching there, weakening. She made splashes in the water to help disguise the noises of her work and timed most of the louder actions with the ground's rumbling. When she was satisfied that it would give out from the next good tremble she descended to the bottom again and moved back across the water to wait. Jen's keen eyes saw the damage done the underside of the dock threaten more than once to give way in the next few rumblings of the ground, but it would be another ten minutes before finally a big enough disturbance passed through. The wood splintered and the fisher cried out as he and his fishing pole splashed into the water. Guards ran toward him both around the canals and through them. She saw the splash as their bodies entered the water and moved to the surface. With all the splashing and shouting there was little chance they would notice the ripples of her body and the noises of the water as she pulled herself from it. Dripping wet, Jenkantu moved into the shadows again and stealthily entered the stockade.
She was not the only thief to seize the opportunity of the strange shakings of the earth. The prisoners pushed hard against the guards at the stairs and Jen needed only a fistful of vanishing powder to go unseen among them and move into the cells. Her stash was in one of the deepest cells of the prison and would require some small seaforium charges to reach, but Jen had come prepared. In the end, retrieving her coin was the easy part of the whole ordeal. So focused were the prisoners in their efforts to escape that they took no notice of her passage. She only killed one, the one in the room with her money. Rifling through his pockets she found a trick pumpkin not unlike the one she'd given Maria.
'How similar we are, Horde and Alliance, and yet how different..' she thought, pocketing the small toy before setting her charges.
~~~~~~~~~~
((Chapter III - An Audience With the King
A few hours after 'Infiltrating Stormwind'))
Burning bed frames made for a convenient way to dry out Jen's leather armor. She used them readily before attempting escape. It was actually a simple matter of waiting for the opportune moment, which came with the next large quake. The ground shook and rumbled and the guards and prisoners staggered, but the prisoners tried to rush out anyway, and with everyone off their feet they made it pretty far. This was when Jen exited the stairs and moved to the back of the chamber. The guards pushed the prisoners back again, eventually requiring aid from those posted by the doors, and again Jenkantu took advantage of her environment. She passed through the door unseen and unhindered and surveyed her surroundings. The thought of swimming the canals again did cross her mind, but as much trouble as she'd had lifting herself from them she decided against it.
Instead she skirted the walls of the canals, ducking store fronts and hiding behind trees and barrels when the need arose. Her path led her toward the bridge squarely in front of Stormwind Keep, there she would pull her last stunt as Jenkantu. Possibly also one of her stupidist.
It was late in the day as she moved through the city, though not yet dark. Where she saw the sunrise glinting on the canal water on her way in she now saw the beginnings of sunset do the same. No one witnessed her on her way there, though she passed more than a handful of adventurers and guards. Finally booted feet took careful steps onto the bridge.
'That's quite a distance...' She eyeballed the shot she was going to have to take and glanced around.
'Guards all around too. None too close, but many not far enough away either.' She reached into her bags and opened a waterproof case contained in one. From this she pulled a cylindrical object with a conical tip. The object was painted white with the bold, red symbol of the Horde upon it. Jen took a length of line from her bags next and tied it to the shorter fuse already protruding from her missile. It was originally a firework, of course, but little else could be expected when her co-conspirator was Crazk Sparks. Poor Goblin had no idea what he'd conspired in. Of course, that worked to her favor too if the Shattered Hand did its homework.
She trailed the extra line across the bridge and coiled out an additional two feet, eyes almost constantly scanning the canals to be sure no one was approaching. Jenkantu cut the line and put away what remained. She ran it along the length of the wall below the sides of the bridge and angled the poison-laden firework toward the entrance of the Keep on small metal legs she had constructed for just this purpose. With the hilt of her dagger she tapped the legs' bases into the stone, making the firework less likely to go awry.
'Showtime, Crazy.' Still enveloped by her long-practiced stealth, Jenkantu swapped her goggles and her diving helmet once more. After securing the goggles she took her flint and steel. She pinned the flint with her boot toe near the end of the line and stooped low to the ground before striking it with the steel.
Sparks struck out, once, twice. The third time they caught the line and set it burning, putting an audible sizzle in the air around the blaze. Jenkantu scanned the canals again, but no one looked close enough to notice. She took the flint and steel in hand and dropped over the bridge wall and onto the thin ledge above the water. She crept forward under the bridge to watch, one hand touching the underside for stability. Once the ground rumbled while the unnoticed sizzle continued. It took thirty additional seconds to reach the firework's base, and Jenkantu knew she should have used the time to escape.
'Hope my rocket's not misaligned after all that shaking..' Smart as that would have been, the assassin wanted to see the result of her efforts.
Finally a loud whistle sounded, shrill and sudden as a scream. A trail of red shot froth from the bridge above her and toward the mouth of the hall. Past the entrance the firework flew true, carrying its deadly load.
'Excellent...' Jenkantu thought as it soared above the guards' heads.
She could barely see it when it suddenly spun and spiked upwards into the ceiling, not at the King's chamber.
'Oh fel.' An explosion of red sparks and a thin cloud of green filled the hall in the distance as guards shouted and scurried about. Jenkantu dropped into the water, activating her Wormhole Generator as soon as both feet were planted soundly on the bottom. "I hope this thing works underwater..." she mumbled as she awaited the wormhole that would make for her grand escape.
~~~~~~~~~~
((There is an RP thread pending most likely at some point tomorrow to convey the conclusion of this story.))
))
Founded April 26, 2005