Rinnkielo

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Rinn looked at the wreckage in front of her, scratching her head. The remnants of a carriage, the horses nowhere to be seen, dead bodies littering the ground, blades of grass colored red. The coffer cracked open, laying at the back of the wreck. A frown appeared on her face as she looked inside of it... a faint hope that there would be something left there, but she knew that it was unlikely. Yep... completely empty.

She walked around the wreckage to look for clues about who was responsible for this attack, when she spotted a body that seemed to have some life in it, sitting unconsciously against the wreck, tied up completely. Rinn walked up to them, poking at their side with the tip of her boot. She was not that scary to look at to warrant a hostile reaction by default... hopefully. Just gray and brown clothes that looked more practical than anything, her blonde hair collected in a dirty, messy ponytail. A dagger at her side, along with a bunch of pouches...

Looking at the nearby corpses, the only thing that was evident at first glance was that there were holes poked in them... most of them were killed by sharp and pointy weapons. She reached for a flask on a dead man's side, shook it a little bit to make sure that there was some fluid in there and splashed it in the unconscious person's face.

"Wake up." She began once there was some response at last. "What happened here? Who attacked you and where did they go?"
 
Hawkflesh rolled his thin head round and looked up at Rinn, whom he did not know, through the thin curtain of his black hair. The red cape was tattered and worn, cocooning him against the tree like a swollen red blister.
"Well," His voice was dry as fresh ash as he remembered finding the odd assortment of Plumhollowers in the exact, possibly less murderous, scenario some months earlier "this is more than a little ironic!"

Dark eyes looked around and tried to connect the disparate dots of his memory.
"It looks like we were, attacked, on our way to Fluxxon. I think. Pretty certain one of them hit me pretty hard. Big woman with a hammer or, maybe I dreamed it. I'm sorry, can you, release me please?"

No point in telling her unless he had to. Not that he'd expect her to believe him but he had no idea how long he had been there and he was eager to get moving.
 
Rinn didn't care about irony. Especially since she did not even know the details to understand it. She tilted her head to the side, quite often impatient, she was the type of person who would sometimes spend long days without anyone to talk to and yet when the opportunity to actually do so was presented, she was oftentimes uninterested. Alas, some cooperation was required and some patience was practiced.

"If you saw the woman, would you be able to recognize her?" She asked instead of answering his request. It probably shouldn't be that difficult to identify someone like that... not that many big women running with hammers usually. She reached for her dagger though and moved it close to his binds. "I got a score to settle and it's going to be your chance to do so as well. And getting your freedom back shouldn't be overlooked either... Your answer?"

There was a cruel gleam in her eyes as she mentioned that score that she wanted to settle. There was no doubt that she would gut anyone involved in this robbery to get back what she was after.
 
It took a moment to shake the last of the brain fuzz from Hawkflesh's eyes but then he focused on her. Deep dark focus like the glint of a blade in a shadow.
"I will kill anyone you like if you get me out of here and I hope you don't mind if I smile while doing it."
Shaking his head again he realized that he had not actually answered the question.

"Fuck... yes. I'd know her if I saw her again."
The moment was a bit spoiled, nothing was bringing it back.
"Where is my sword?"
He didn't see it anywhere but his view was limited, he must have dropped it when he went down.
 
Rinn tilted her head slightly as she looked down at the man. It wasn't that unusual to have someone around these parts who was thirsting for violence. There would be plenty of it by the end of the next couple of days, that's for sure. She nodded to him and the dagger cut through the rope with ease.

"Good enough for me." She noted and straightened up, looking around. "I don't see any weapons lying around. They took everything of value." And everything that they could sell, even scraps. Nothing unusual there, it was not worth to be a bandit without stealing everything that was moveable. They were sloppy here and there, but Rinn did not see any weapons for him to use.

"No matter. We gonna find you something along the way." She said before pointing towards the tracks on the ground that were leading towards the East. "They must have headed that way. How well do you know the area?"
 
No sword, no food and an aching head. If the concussion did not kill him before tomorrow he figured he would be none the worse for wear.

"Obliged to you." He grunted as he climbed his way up into a stand. He was thinking, even for an Elf and with a burn mark on his face.

The carriage was completely ransacked now that he saw it, no hope of anything left.
"I didn't see where they went but they hit us from off-road that way, I'd wager there's a good direction to start."
He pointed southward to show the way.

Then with sharp eyes he examined his saviour for a moment before extending his thin, cold hand to her. She seemed like one not to cross.

"The name's Hawkflesh."

@Rinnkielo
 
The man was far from being an epitome of beauty, especially with that burn mark on his face, but that hardly ever mattered out in the middle of nowhere. Rinn figured that he wanted to get even at the very least and get his stuff back. Hopefully his stuff was not contained in the coffer that she sought for herself, but... to be honest, that felt unlikely. And there were no guarantees of finding that damn thing anyway.

She looked down at the extended hand while considering the direction he provided, coupled with the tracks on the ground. She took his hand and shook it. "Rinnkielo." She said as she walked over to the tracks and crouched to look at them closely.

"What was your job here?" She asked, trying to figure out what kind of skillset her newfound partner might possess while she straightened up and went in the direction that those tracks were leading towards. Obviously he had a sword, so that was something to count on, hopefully.

Just as Hawkflesh mentioned, they would soon go off-road into and their path was not that difficult to follow. They had numbers and they cut through bushes with ease, trampling the low vegetation. Rinn looked up ahead, the further they went, the thicker it all got, eventually turning into the outskirts of a forest and once they were there, the possibilities would be endless.
 
That was a tricky one he thought to himself as their hands parted. One touch and he knew he was right about her, strong hands, killing hands.
"My job here was to be on holiday!"
Not untrue. Though he was planning on killing the wagonmaster once they reached their destination. She had charged too much for the journey and Hawkflesh felt it would be something of a public service to rid the world of her particular mark of greed.
As his eyes fell upon her corpse he noted a tinge of regret at not being the one to open her guts himself.

"Well, there goes that I guess."
He remarked at both realities at once and followed Rinnkielo off road into the brush. Trees thin and tall made the world small and cramped. Their roots creates steps that led nowhere, this was not a place for people to travel but there was some sign. A patch of cloth here a broken branch there. Someone had used this unkept pathway.

"You were not with the caravan." Hawkflesh said after a while of silent stalking.
"Which means you walked all this way out and you're all too ready to go after these murderers."
He did not need to know but he was curious.
"What's your stake in all this?"

@Rinnkielo
 
Rinn raised an eyebrow. To be on a holiday? That did not really make any sense to her, but she decided that it was not important. His job could be anything, she just tried to understand what he could provide skillwise. Not that either of them could fully trust the other out in the middle of nowhere, but they were friendly enough so far and it shouldn't be a problem. Not for now.

"Hmpf." That's all that she had to say and it wasn't much. The same went for his comment about... something. She didn't have to know all the details of what he was thinking. And they had a couple of things to look out for anyway that deserved more of their attention. The path that these ruffians carved into the forest that marked their way... it was a tad bit irresponsible on their part. They must have had numbers.

Hawkflesh decided to break the monotonous search for that group and Rinn looked at him questioningly. Did he truly want to know? Well, it's not like she was after something incredibly important, but worth a lot either way.

"They got something that I want. They took it from the caravan. And the caravan's leader took it from someone else. Do you truly want to know?" It was a way to say that it might be something that he shouldn't get involved in... or maybe not. It was difficult to tell as Rinn held a hand up. The wind carried the smell of a campfire towards them. At least it was safe to assume that it was such.

"Can you smell that too?" She asked with a hushed tone. "So... how good are you with sneaking around? These have to be the bandits and we are greatly outnumbered. A frontal assault would be suicide..."

She was making a couple of assumptions here, but it was a relatively safe guess that these were the people they were looking for and that they had to figure out a more subtle approach.
 
"Only if that something turns out to be something I find objectionable, you know the kind of thing. A person, the last of a rare species, some form of cursed object that by rights aught to be destroyed, that old story. Other than that I really cannot see myself caring too much."
His smile was a drawn dagger as they picked their way onwards.

"Of course I can. I was waiting for you to notice."
He'd picked up the smell almost half a click back but he had learned to give human's as little told you so's as possible so he kept the details to himself and spoke in soft tones to not let his voice carry.

"I can wield a knife in the dark well as any can."
He answered, crouching down and removing his red cloak. The less he wore that could snag the better.
"I agree, best be quiet and quick."
The brush was thick and the trees dark, the voices he heard were low and tired.
"On your word we go in, kill as many as we can before the others wake then deal with the rest. Pick through what's left. Sound good?"
From his boot he undid a strip of lace and tightened it into a garrot.
He was going to enjoy this.
 
Rinn shook her head. "It's all mundane, I'm afraid." No crazy curses, not that she knew about at least. As long as they did not turn into a newt at the end of the day, it should be all fine, right? At least she did not plan to change forms just yet. It was not her style.

She grimaced for a moment as he told her that he already picked up the scent. She was not too bothered by it though and focused more on their approach. "Good. Let's hope you can grab a knife quickly then. Though I'd prefer if they did not wake up at all." It wasn't always possible to get the most out of every situation, but Rinn tried to be efficient at least.

"I assume they will have some of their people standing guard. We start with them." It was the logical decision, but it's not like the two of them were seasoned partners, so it was better to be on the same page.

As they crawled closer to their destination, the voices were easier to make out. The bandits were in no shape to have a party apparently. There was a fight at the caravan after all and the wilderness was not exactly friendly to anyone. The first couple of guards were sitting at the perimeter of the camp. Two of them, they were paired up, so no one would be alone. Clever enough.

Rinn prepared her dagger and looked at Hawkflesh. It was time to see what he was made of. Her mouth moved to give him a silent 'go' and she began to sneak towards the guard on her side, waiting for their vigilance to falter for a few moments before her dagger moved towards the back of one of the men...
 
That was good to hear, he had his own magical problems to deal with and it was reassuring to confirm that his new companion was versed in this form of warfare.

Without a word, only an affirming nod, Hawkflesh skulked around to the other guard. The timing had to be quick, almost perfect. The guard closest to him was stocky, strong built and human but tired so he waited until they reached up their arms to yawn and he sprung.

The garrot slipped over the guards head in a smooth motion and he pulled back and down, wrapping his legs about their torso like a spider with its prey. He'd have to trust that his partner was as quick with the dagger because the grapple would take a few moments.
They spluttered and fought, thrashing about and traying to reach back to grab him and get release for their burning throat.

It was a terrible way to die, being strangled and not for the first time Hawkflesh felt that perhaps he enjoyed killing for its own sake.
When it was done and the body stopped moving he pushed the dead weight of it off him and sat up, hoping to see Rinn standing over him and not the other guard, and all of their friends.

@Rinnkielo
 
A terrible way to die in the terrible wilderness. At least without magical problems. It was up to Rinn's new partner to prove himself... not because she felt like being some kind of boss, nah. It was simply because he had the more difficult to task out of the two of them. Initially at least.

She had a better weapon for the job after all, one that would require less struggle. As Hawkflesh grabbed his man by the neck, Rinn sank her dagger into the throat of hers. After a pitiful moment of trying to gasp for air, the guard collapsed on the floor while her partner seemed to be just as quick... the slight smile on her face almost felt like a reward or compliment. Of course the strangling of the guard took a bit longer, but it was still as smooth as she could have asked for.

As the dead man was pushed off, Rinn was there, extending her hand to Hawkflesh to pull him up. No words shared, just a slight tilt of her head to signal that the way was clear to get a closer view of the camp... of course, this was also a moment he could use to grab a weapon for himself from the guard.

They barely got to the edge of the camp, approaching from behind a couple of bushes, when someone familiar showed up near a fireplace with a pot over it. It was the woman Hawkflesh talked about... she was armed with a sword, but otherwise didn't wear any armor at the moment. It was supposed to be a peaceful moment at camp before dinner, after all...

Rinn raised an eyebrow, almost questioningly... perhaps he wanted his revenge now? All for himself?
 
He had taken the axe of one guard, a simple thing but effective.

Rinn was quiet and skilled, he was thankful for this. Few people in life were reliable and he reasoned that together they may take all of them if they were so separated as the guards.

Of course he wanted revenge. Hawkflesh was a man of simple and direct actions so he nodded back to Rinn and made his way towards the woman who took his sword stopping just short of entering the camp light.

Victory came to those who did what the other won't do first.

So he threw the axe and leaped out into the light after it. Boots hit the ground as the axe connected with the woman's back and she made a stifled cry as she fell, writhing in pain for a moment before Hawkflesh was on her and planted his boot in the back of her skull.

The crunch silenced her and hawkflesh wasted no time in picking up his sword again but just as he reached for it someone came out of the dark roaring, spear raised the scewer him and of course he was alerting the rest of the camp.

@Rinnkielo
 
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