Tempers Ball

[OOC] It would seem that Matty has gone awol again, as he never posted it means its a little easier to get on with the thread, please talk to Kaz about joining the thread.

[IC]
Time goes on, an endless stream sunrises and sunsets. For Islia, it had now been many years since Rory had left. Islia had gone on without her mentor, trying to live up to the assassin he had taught her to be. Trying to insure that her every action was professional, considered, and within the code. The cetaur had taken her in, a Vampire with a dagger that allowed her to walk during the day, trusted her with his friendship and also with his most secret of arts. He had known she was undead, and had trained her anyway. For that she would always be grateful.

But Rorshach was gone. An empty space in her current circle of beings to interact with. She did not know if he lived or had passed away. Just like Niurin, Aurelia, Ruark and Kaz. She doubted she would see him again, but never gave up hope. They were the closest things she had had as friends outside her flute, and she missed them fiercely.

In Rory's absense, the organisation of the Silent Flute had slowly dwindled away. She had not the time nor energy to pour into it as deserved. Rory was unique, a brilliant criminal mastermind. It was too much to Islia, she retained a hand picked selection of contacts and contracts, and had continue to serve justice with her Immortal Flute, but let the rest go.

In the years since Kaz had broken free and banished Niurin from his mind, Islia had searched for ways to bring the Voice of the Intop back, but the ritual at the Stone Circle had not gone to plan, a troublesome bitch had multiplied the helm they had needed, they had not find the right one in time, and he had been left trapped in limbo, unable to influence the world. She had almost given up hope of finding a way to restore him to any sort of power.

She longed for a return of the days when Niurin led the Fury against the unbeleivers, or even to see Kaz. She knew that it was Niurin that she loved, but Niurin had been in control of Kaz. When she closed her eyes it was Kaz's body that she pictured when thinking of Niurin. It was kaz's eyes that she wanted to sink into. But he was gone too. Disgusted by Niurin's taking control, he had vanished after freeing himself, plunging the TEN into disarray with no leadership.

But he had followed the path of Intop while Niurin was just a voice in his head, maybe he could be convinced to return, not as Niurin's host, she knew that there was no chance Kaz would ever consider allowing Niurin to share his mind again, even if they knew a way to do it. But maybe forgiveness could be sought. She had also some heard rumours about the existance of a group calling themselves the Cult of Numi. Niurin would want revenge, he had been pleased when he had learned that prior to taking up service with the Intop, the Silent Flute had been responsible for killing an enclave of the cult of Soma. She might pay them a visit should her current trip prove fruitless.

He had never spoken of what had gone on between himself and the Voices of the moons, but she knew that he counted them responsible for his banashment. Until they had unlocked the arian using her dagger and released him, Niurin had been trapped inside one of the lower circles of hell. It had changed him, she had seen moments of pure evil, responses learned by surviving in the lower circle. He had had to become a demon. But the artifact they had needed to give Niurin a new host was lost. It was pointless dweling on things that could not be changed.

They were gone.

She needed a new source of work for her and her flute, some of the older contracts Rory had started under the Silent Flute had dried up. Rumours had spread of an underground network of theives and other less savoury characters, led by an inteligent but secretive leader. She had decided that she would seek out this underground network of theives, maybe they would have some work for her and her trained squad of undead assasins.

Shelgeyr was old. His days travelling from place to place hunting for bounties, were over. No longer was he young enough for such efforts. Instead he now helped run the one largest network of bounties in the lands.

Over the years he had developed close ties with many of the ruling houses in the Empire, having helped them locate and either capture or kill those who had escaped their justice. He even had a ties to the court of Angelique, which was looking to lead to a couple of promising bounties.

His main dealings at the moment were with the organisation led by the mysterious Leto. He had never even got close to learning anything about the man who had pulled the criminal world together so cohesively, but he had spoken to those higher in the circle of trust, and was often given bounties for those the organisation wished rid of.

He currently resided in Lurelyn, a small town outside the the land claimed by the Empire, Islan, or even the various guilds of the Disputed Kingdoms. It was a reasonably well-to-do town. It's proximity to the coast allowing for a good selection of incoming ships and traders. His manor overlooked the sea front, and he had a second set of premises for the bounties near to his dock.

For an enterprising person like Shelgeyr, this proved opportunity for prophet. Several ships occassionally docked without being checked, and went on with cargo undisturbed. For this he made a handsome profit. He also had large profit stakes in many of the shorefront taverns and whorehouses scattered throughout the region.

All in all life for the old bounty hunter was good.

Soon the little elf was due to dock on one of Shelgeyr's piers. He had not seen Graham since Rorshach left, and the pretentious Lord Captain-General Graham Beddington of Kingstown had turned from head of the Floating Flute, to a pirate and smuggler. But when all is said and done, all that had changed was were his orders came from.

The Lord Captain-General now sailed for himself. Shelgeyr and Graham had kept in touch, more due to their collective interest in smuggling, than any real desire to spend time with each other. For once, Shelgeyr was impatient to see him. For the last couple of days he had been irritable, irked by the pirates uncheduled stop at a portstown several leagues north, he had been kept waiting for a week longer than he had expected.

Shelgeyr's last collected bounty had been - as bounties go - completely usual, that is to say, that there was nothing unsual about it. One of Shelgeyrs more promising hunters had brought the target back dead, as per preference on the bounty. It was not the dead man that had caused Shelgeyr to send word to the former Floating Fute, but a item that was in his possestion.

An ordinary and boring list of low quality low cost trade goods, had been folded neatly in the bounties pocket. To most the list would have been just that, a list. But Shelgeyr knew differently. The list was wrong, some letters having been printed faintly, others bolder than they should be, some words were spelt wrong or slightly out of context. Shelgeyr knew the key behind the encoded message, he ought to, having been a flute master himself. But why, after all this time, did an encoded message turn up, detailing current and active smuggling of the Floating Flute.

It seemed odd that the Lord Captain would have decided to sail again with a cargo for the Flutes. But, surely only an order from Rorshach himself could cause such a shift. So many questions needed to be answered. Hopefuly that damned elf would turn up soon.

They had travelled at night, bypassing several small villages and larger more substantial encampments. Islia had learned early on, that villagers tend to become upset when they find their loved ones dead, and had decided against allowing her immortals the temptation of large quantities of fresh blood.

Occassionally one of her Flute would slip ranks and turn up again several nights later looking rejuvinated, but that was to be expected, after all, the undead needed blood, and there had been a lack of assassinations recently to provide it for them.

During the day, Islia would leave her Flute hiding from the sunlight, and venture out to collect the local news and rumours. Usually the rumours consisted of battles between the powerful guilds of Tonan, but occassionally she would hear rumours of bandits that had become a little to agressive. The villages did not know, but it was these bands of outlaws that provided her Flute with the blood that sustained them in less bloody times.

She had left her flute a days ride behind her following up on rumours of a small group of criminals. It was said that they had been preying on merchants and those without escort, travelling westward on the road towards Lurelyn. Her vampires would soon put an end to the killers, and would get their fill of blood.

It was to Lurelyn that Islia was currently heading. Several of the larger towns she had passed had suggested that Shelgy, one of Rorshach's bounty hunters, was a major stakeholder in several establishments in the town, and if rumour was to be beleived - which she assumed it should be - he also had some ties with the mysterious leader of theives.

News had finally reached Shelgeyr regarding the cause for Graham's delay. Graham's ship the Vantage, had turned up wrecked off the coast of the Empire, it's hull smashed open by the black rocks, and partially burned. The crew that were accounted for were all dead, their bodies charred by the flames that had engulfed the ship. The cargo was unacounted for.

Of the captain himself there was no sign, Graham was unlikley to have allowed his ship to burn down and become wrecked, so it was likley that he was dead or taken. Unfortunatley for Shelgeyr, there was no way to establish whether he was dead or alive. At least not unless he received word from Graham, or from captors. His body has not washed up on the shoreline, but that particular coastline was famed for the number of 'lost' sailors it had created that was not unsurprising.

It was certain that the cargo had been removed, but no one seemed to know if the ship had caught fire and in the chaos been wrecked upon the rocks, allowing an enterprising discoverer to empty the hold, or if pirates had taken the ship, burned it, and set it on its course to be wrecked.

What was clear, was that the questions about the Floating Flute would not be answered, at least not yet, and not by the probably-late Lord Captain-General Graham Beddington of Kingstown.

It was all so neat, signs of the Floating flute appear, and then the leader of the Flute mysteriously wrecks his ship, and is lost to the sea. It did not take Shelgeyr long to decide that Graham's ship had been wrecked to prevent him from confirming whether of not the Floating Flute were being sailed with his knowledge or not.

Shelgeyr cursed. Why the hell was Graham all the way over by the Empire, when he should have been heading to Lurelyn and his meeting. The fool's need to make 'one more stop' had probably got him killed. What was going on?