Assassination: The Copycat Gang

Three barrels of wine, five sacks of rice, two boxes of jewelry were all assets assigned to the old merchant of dawn town, aim to deliver these safely to Era from the Phoenix mountains. The man will be rewarded with a sum of money in order to deliver these safely to the destination. With two horses tied to the cart, he mounts the wooden transport and begins traveling up towards the mountains. Almost an hour has passed and the old merchant found himself in the mountain trail. Hiding in the shades and thick foliage were a specific group of bandits that claim themselves to be Savage Skull. Whereas of course Savage Skull would thrive in looting inventory of their dead victims, they'd never consort to trivial things such as stealing from merchants and diverting unwanted attention.

The group makes its moving running among the trees and hiding behind boulders. The time to strike draws near and as soon as the old merchant reaches half way through the phoenix mountains, out came the group of bandits. First it was the booklet brothers, Wade and Randy who startled the horses, then it was Toby the defiler who would kick the old merchant of his seat and finally Zack Storm who stepped on the poor man's old throat.

“I don’t like this” says one of the lieutenants of the guard after hearing there were those who would claim the flag of the guild as their own in order to divert attention. Surely Savage Skull may be one of the most feared of Dark Guilds, infamous to commit several crimes that would go against the Magic Council however, Savage Skull and its members wouldn’t stoop that low to pillaging travelers and merchants, the idea of it is unacceptable and steps are to be taken immediately.

“How about we set up in the mountains and kill the pretenders already?” Asked one of the lieutenants of the guard, eager to get this issue over and done with, a dispatch was already underway and they only need one mage for the job. Dubhlainn kneels before the Guildmaster as he was given special permission to make do with this chore to his own discretion. He nodded and bowed down in respect with his hand on his chest. No words are needed as Dubhlainn left without another word. As he departs, Dubhlainn have to travel across the lands first setting his sights on the Neutral Grounds first in hopes to gain information about the job.

Dubhlainn settled in the Neutral grounds for only a few days, to seek out and find information regarding to the people who claim to bear the flag of Savage Skull. Upon his approach he looked around town, in hopes to find anyone who possess the malignant information he needs. Since Dubhlainn was no different from a Dark Mage himself, he had to take caution on who he’s talking to. It would be quite troublesome if an official finds him, or an entire platoon of Rune Knights. Even if the Neutral Zone was null and void of magics, strength in numbers would be troublesome and picking one soldier at a time would be time consuming as every second would most likely be against him.

In the deepest part of the Neutral Grounds, Dubhlainn heads down to a kind of market that’s under the control of the local syndicate and its only through their network can he hope to find the information needed. He entered an old abandoned building, if one were to step foot inside, they’d find themselves in an abandoned hall with a metal hatch in the center of the room. As the metal hatch would open, one would be lead in a stairway leading down to an underground city that stretches only to a mile. This was the only place Dubhlainn can get the information he needed was in this small district. Halls stretch far and wide as one can see a variety of small shops and offices that give services and goods that are illegal to the law.

"I never expect to see you again." Said the informant as the dark knight approached his office with a small bag of gold.

"I hear that your guild has been doing a lot of activity lately, tell me isn't it quite low of you folks to be pillaging innocent travelers and supplies? Sure you'd do anything to go against the Magic Council but--"

"Enough jesting, you know exactly why I'm here." Dubhlainn spoke, cutting of the words of the informant.

"Then it means I'm right, its weird for a Dark mages to resolve a problem for good but hey it just goes to show not many of you are rotten apples." The informant stood up as he draws open a file catalog. He slips the folder on the table for Dubhlainn to claim it.

A list of enemies were shown as follows:

As Dubhlainn finishes running down through the list of members, he left the informant without another world as he resurfaced back to the city. There was one more thing Dubhlainn had to acquire before making his hunt, the weapons of his choice. Projectiles would be more or less useless for this mission so he had to do this by hand, versatility is also a requirement. He came towards the industrial district, specifically the storage facility where most of Dubhlainn's weapons are kept. Some of these weapons were old fashioned, some were modern weapons that need repair, some lacked parts in order for it to be fully functional but lucky for him he found the perfect weapon for this job.

---

The copycat gang rejoiced, after crushing the old man's throat, the entire gang took the caravan and fled into the forest to the sanctity of their hideout. Toby took control of the cart and commanded the horses to his bidding, onboard was Kim who was examining all the loot they acquired. The booklet brothers and Zack escorted the Cart on foot. They crossed through the stream and went deeper into the Phoenix mountains till they stop by a cave. Inside the cave was an old abandoned building that was supposed to be a lounge for miners. In order to conceal the cave, they pulled artificial foliage, completely concealing the cave from the outside world. It was to estimate that only a few more looting runs would earn them a paradise. Unfortunately for them, they aren't aware of the consequences of their actions as the paragon of death marches straight to their doorstep. The first to have felt it was Kim and Zack, both shrugged it off thinking that they were paranoid but as dusk comes, the forests becomes misty. Well of course they were aware of Eclipse Soul's presence in the area since the guild hall is somewhere along the ridge which is a mile away from where they are now.

They were to move out before the dawn breaks for now the night is theirs to rejoice as they swim in the spoils stolen from the innocent. As the blood sinks into the ground, the pale corpse of the old man white and covered in mud and leaves, a footstep startles the birds, he not need to glance and mourn for the hunter had more important matters at hand. On this night be the last of those who claim titles and abuse them, their last breath and their last sight.

A feeling ran down the girl's spine, fear of what may come, pleading the leader to depart early. Even though the Leader Zack may have agree, its not advisable to go out during a night like this one, especially in the mountains knowing they might be ambushed by Vulcans who in fact tend hunt during the night. Kim prays that this night would blow over soon, unfortunately Lady Luck abandoned them for their crimes.

A twig snaps, startling the girl and causing her to fall down on her knees, paralyzed by fear, anxious to find out what lies behind thick foliage. Her eyes opened wider at the sound of the leaves and branches rustling, a figure emerges from the bush slowly only to discover that it was Toby the Defiler, yelling out to hasten the beat of the poor girl's heart.

It was a cruel prank no less.

She had cursed Toby and smacked him with a branch, their ruckus caused Zack of the booklet brothers to come out. It was his turn to take watch as the others are asleep. In the end Toby was punished by Zack and had to take the night shift while everyone else rests for the night.

Drops of water fell from the heavens, the start of a rain as the moon hid behind the dark and rainy clouds of the night. It started to get a bit cold and Toby was getting sick and tired of his watch, he's already thinking about hitting the hay since its unlikely for anyone to find their little check point here which is covered in thick foliage. He wore nothing but sandals, a pair of grey shorts, a T-shirt with a popular logo and a crowbar at hand.

He'd pay a good price just to see Kim all startled to the point that it would cause her heart cease beating. The silence dulled his senses, the cold air causes him to shiver, he withdrew himself from the entrance in order to find a good cloak to cover himself in, a temporary refuge from the ice cold winds and droplets of rain. His vision blurs as the Defiler fell into deep sleep. There he had dreams of a paradise, dreams of a life of luxury far grand than the life he's living right now. A beach and a home with three beautiful mature women to call his own, a life free from sin and into everlasting happiness.

Across the cave, the nearest person who lies sleeping was Randy booklet, who dreams of leading his own gang, becoming a don of his own syndicate, much like a crime family that he can call and claim as his own. Men were lined up under his command, wealth and riches were presented in bags, jewels and fine gemstones and diamonds.

Next beside Randy was Wade who had dreams of owning a bakery, who would enjoy baking delicious sweets for everyone including the little kids. For someone who appeared to be a big barbarian, they dream of becoming someone different prior to their current way of life. All that Kim Strange received was a nightmare of a masked figure in the forest, to her it was like staring into the abyss, she ran and ran until she trip and fell, she was so desperate she had to crawl just to get a distance away from him. It was in the middle of a storm, lightning strikes the background as thunder echoes in its wake shattering the silent atmosphere. She fear death, the messenger that's about to deliver an end to the dream.

All had fear death and she was no exception. A cold and unforgiving stare fro the visor caused the poor girl to scream out loud, waking everyone from their dreams and scarring the living hell out of Toby. It was hilarious to know that she got him back unintentionally. Everyone was quite pissed having their dreams been interrupted and shattered just by a scream of a girl who's suffering from paranoia. She was of course scolded as Zack managed to calm her down and allowed her to sleep by his side just to be safe.

Toby's night watch was over and it was time for Randy to take the next shift. Everyone returned to slumber as only a few hours remain before departure. The recent cart that the Copycat Gang has raided belonged to a powerful business tycooon of the Neutral Grounds, should he ever find out that his assets are missing, will incur his wrath, as he has the power and resources to find them which is why they have to leave early but of course going out to the forest in the dark is a stupid idea.

Unlike his brother, Randy was patient and awaited for the very day that he gets to lead his own crime organization other than being lead himself. He didn't like Zack because of the fact that he's a magus and that superiority and command belonged to him the day the group was founded. He long wished for his demise in hopes to gain some kind of freedom of ruling his own. He looked closely at his machete wondering if he should kill him now that he's asleep but then again he rather not risk it and decided to play along till the moment arrives and if only it arrives. In the dead of night he awakened only to come out of the cave only to jingle in the bush.

As he was feeling relieved, he was some how pushed but there was something else, he was feeling a sense of paralysis in his body, his vision blurs and as he looks down on his stomach, a piece of iron emerges from his stomach. Only to realize now that he's been stabbed, he bent down on his knees as blood flows out from his impaled stomach. Who was it? Who impaled him from behind?

He mustered enough strength, at least to see who his killer was. In a flash of lightning, he drops to the ground, facing his killer. His dream of becoming his own man was taken from him in that instant the moment he was impaled, a dream once again taken by the headless horseman of the mountains.

The thunder awakened Zack from his slumber, he was having a horrible dream that the crimes he committed will one day come in a form of payment, he dreamed that everything he worked for, everything that he stole from others was stolen in turn and so is his chance of reaching the dream he desired. Fear struck him like he was impaled by a thunderous lance. He sat up right to check on randy only for him to have disappeared from the entance.

“Tch that no good slacking.. Wade wake up!”

He shook the other booklet brother, who snored like a pig.

“Wake up! You idiot!!” Zack stood up to approach him and smack Wade on the head. With a large groan, Wade stood up.

“b-boss? What time is it?” He asked as he dusted off the sand in his eyes.

“Had a good night sleep? Sorry but your brother is nowhere in sight, you have to go look for him now, he is not in his post and we need someone to stand and guard at all times! Now get to it!”

As Wade look outside, he was greeted by a flash of lightning, apparently a storm blew over to this place and tore a bit of the foliage that concealed the cave’s entrance. Wade armed with his hammer head out in order to find his brother but as soon as he took a step outside, a feeling tells him that he should not go outside just about yet.

Lightning flashed again, Wade was starting to wonder himself where his brother was. IN a matter of hours the rain stopped and all was silent in the night again. It was Wade’s chance to go out and look for him at last and while he went out, the girl Kim strange suddenly woke up from another nightmare, waking up Zack and Toby.

She was screaming, she was scarred, her dream was vivid and all to surreal, she couldn’t sleep like this, she’s suffering from the anxiety of what would happen to her the entire night, Zack facepalm as he slapped Kim right on the face and grabbed both her arms and shook her up.

“Wake up Kim! THERE IS NOTHING OUT THERE! IF I HEAR YOU SCREAMING ONE MORE TIME I’LL HAVE TO THROW YOU OUT!”

Toby was sitting upright laughing while Kim started crying. As Zack looked upon the cave entrance, Wade was gone, perhaps outside looking for his brother. Zack then decided that the sooner they get out of this valley the better and ordered both of them to start packing up all the loot they have gained from the old merchant that they have ambushed. Toby stretched out his arms and started packing, Kim loaded up to the cart, hugging her legs and shivering, trembling and afraid of the unknown.

Zack noticed that Wade is taking his time. With a gust of the wind, Zack cleared the foliage revealing the entrance of the cave and decided to

walk outside in order to see where Wade have gone off to.

He couldn’t handle this stress, the booklet brothers missing and Kim crying.

“That is it!” He exclaimed. “We are leaving without those two idiots.”

The horses were awakened and ropes were tied, Toby took the reins as Zack got into the cart. He looked up to Kim and grabbed her throat. “Look Kim we’re going out of the mountains right now alright? I hope you’re happy.” Kim could only shiver, scarred of whatever may come for them. The gang thinks Kim was getting all paranoid but as a matter of fact she wasn’t.

The visions she had were real and not just dreams.

The cart was about to reach the road till Wade was walking infront of the path causing Toby to stop the horse. Zack wondered why the cart stopped but as soon as he exited the cart, he saw the sight of Wade carrying the long and bloodied corpse of Randy. When Kim went out, she screamed out real loud and started rushing off into the woods.

This really had Zack pissed off. He not have the time to go after Kim now, right as of this moment he had to see how Randy Booklet was killed. Judging from the corpse, he seems to be struck by a weapon, a blade no doubt.

Wade was furious and filled with anger.

“Don’t let it control you friend, for now we must get out of the mountains first.”

Wade put his brother’s corpse into the cart to which of course Toby started complaining that they were pulling dead weight on the cart, Zack would have also objected but it seemed that Wade respected his brother so much that he took his corpse with him. Quite the strange one he is and as of now there is no time to even wait for Kim, they had to leave this place because judging from what had happened to Randy Booklet, they aren’t alone.

“MOVE IT TOBY, WE MIGHT HAVE COMPANY ON OUR TAIL!” Zack shouted as Toby whipped the horses with the reins.

“What about Kim?” Wade Booklet asked as he carried the corpse of his brother into the cart.

“Forget about her! We need to go somewhere we can have a point of advantage! We can’t see the enemy but I can feel their movement among the trees.” Zack started whistling as he commanded Toby to go faster.

“Hiya!” Toby cried as he whipped the horses with the reins. It was a bumpy road out of mountains as rain started to fall again. A sound of a horse neighing from the distance can be heard as the cart rushed off, it spooked the remaining trio. As toby looked over to the left he saw what he couldn’t believe his eyes, there was a horse man in full body armor or rather a figure of it as it seemed that it would be concealed by a black and misty fog.

“BOSS THREE’O’CLOCK! I SEE SOMETHING!”

Zack tore a bit of the cloth covering the cargo was he looked outside. Toby wasn’t nuts and their fears turned for the worst. Upon closer inspection they can clearly see that the rider itself…

Has no head at all..

“No…they aren’t supposed to be real.” Zack said to himself. “We’ve been followed by a monster.”

Wade had to ask. “Boss who is it? What is it?”

“Its… the Headless Rider… THE DULLAHAN!” On cue the horse of the rider neighed as lightning struck startling the cart’s horses. Everything in the cart was bouncing and some pieces of loot were blown out. Toby was starting to get scared as the headless rider started pulling up what appears to be a glowing green whip.

The Rider twirled the whip around and started attacking the cart, grazing the wood, leaving whip marks that would have burnt its exterior. There was only one way to shake this rider off and that is by blowing him away with the storm. Zack, who was the only mage of the Copycat gang shot a gust of wind blowing off the headless horseman.

But at that same time the headless horseman had to act quick as it twirled its whip to damage one of the reinforced wheels of the cart and putting it off course before he and his stead were blown away into the dark forest under the storm. A wheel was torn and broken and it seems the cart wouldn’t support the both of them.

Because of the damage inflicted on the wheel, the cart lost control of its balance, the rocking impact of the cart caused Toby to jump up and hit a branch on the way down the mountain. Zack and Wade were the only ones inside and as the Cart lost control; it spun down until it crashed into a nearby ditch. The horses that pulled the cart were freed and galloped down the mountain leaving the copycat gang to their predicament.

Meanwhile in the woods, Kim Strange was still running under the heavy rain. She was definitely afraid that she began to hallucinate, trees that stand in her way suddenly became treants as their branches tried to grab her, some boulders resemble Vulcans as they opened their arms to receive her and with a flash of lightning, she got all tangled by snakes that hissed. Her fear has completely taken her over and there’s no point to reasoning with her. As she sprinted further into the forests she tripped on a root and fell down the mountain and into the river where she nearly drowned. She was in total panic as she tried swimming up, screaming out for help. She inhaled and exhaled, her heart race as she went further down stream, as she was about to sink and succumb to the currents, an unusual rock formation slid her out of the waters and into the bushes, sliding towards the trunk of the tree and knocking out her consciousness. All became black afterwards.

The first one to wake up was Toby, who so happened to have broken his leg while trying to drive the cart. He was immobilized and unsure what just happened. He started swearing, blaming the frightening horses that he considered to be worthless. The cart was destroyed, pieces of loot littered the road and all that Toby could do was crawl. As he crawled towards the direction of where the cart crashed, a thud sound came from behind him.

It was the Headless Rider who just dismounted his horse, lightning flashed revealing the misty figure that signifies death.  Toby was shaking in fear and his only chance to escape was to slide down hill and seek aid from Wade and Zack, praying they are alive and ready to help him out of this nightmare.

As he was only meters away, the Headless Rider stepped onto one of Toby’s legs as he yelled out in pain.

“P-please have mercy…” The rain made its downpour as Toby was covered in mud and tears.

“Hath have mercy on the one you have wronged? You are undeserving of mercy…” Toby’s life flashed before his very eyes and the only memories he had was filled with nothing but regret.

On the cart, Zack and Wade woke up as they try to recover and recognize the situation they are in, both were unharmed and it seemed that their plans have turned to the worse. Wade grabbed his huge iron hammer; Zack exited the demolished wooden cart.

A horrible sight to see, all the precious loot they have stolen are littered on the road behind him or buried in mud. Everything was collapsing; Zack’s fear is coming into fruition as it was happening right before his very eyes. Wade roared in anger as he smashed part of the cart with his Hammer. The two looked around where their attacker could have gone to but as soon as they looked uphill, they can see the Headless Rider clearly, standing on top and throwing the corpse of the Headless defiler Toby as it rolled down the hill, sliding down just for both Wade and Zack to see the horrible fate that came to the Defiler and it won’t be long till they meet the same fate.

Wade roared in anger. The Headless Rider killed Randy, he drove Kim mad and now he beheaded Toby. The Rider makes his descent down the hill as Wade roared and charged upwards, raising his hammer up high in hopes to crush the misty rider and avenge his fallen brother and comrade.

“YOU WILL PAY FOR MURDERING THEM!!!” Wade Roared louder as he jumped up and sent the hammer down on the ground as the Dullahan dodges to the right. The attack from Wade left a crater on the road. Wade’s neck was soon entangled by the bullwhip what seemed to have come out of nowhere as it dragged Wade’s body up to a tree. As the Dullahan tried to pull, Zack blasted a gust of wind right at the black misty rider.

The gust forced the Dullahan to recall his whip and release Wade from his constraints.

“Accept it… death invites you to her domain..”

The Dullahan started attacking Zack with its glowing whip. Zack unleashed a flurry of razorwinds that fired right at the black rider as it dodged them all by jumping. With such strength he pulled Zack up high into the air and threw him down onto wade, bouncing off him.

The Dullahan descends as he starts walking to Zack slowly, drawing his sword. Upon passing Wade he cleaves his blade, slitting the throat of Wade Booklet who was lying down on the ground. Zack was shaking as he unleashes a flurry of wind attacks.

“STAY BACK, YOU MONSTER!” He shouted as he spammed most of his magic right at the Dullahan.

The entity responded by slicing through the wind attacks Zack makes. A chill was sent down Zack’s spine and for some reason his natural sensory ability to identify a mage has been null and void. He can’t tell whether this man was more powerful than he is or not, he can’t even tell if it really was human at all, from its behavior it didn’t act like a Dullahan as they usually have a different method of claiming the lives of humans.

The Dullahan was getting closer to Zack, he had no choice but to run into the thick forest. His only chance of surviving this was losing sight of the monster that followed behind.

He ran through the tree lines, getting as far away from the Black Rider as much as possible only to have tripped on Kim’s body. It was a bit dark so he can’t see what caused him to trip but he kept running. Seeing the nearby river he stand up and looked for a way to cross it, the moment he does, he will be safe from the monster who’s hunting him down. He found a tree that was leaning to the edge of the river and blasted his wind to knock it down. As soon as the tree started floating, Zack hop onto it and used the wind to increase the speed as he surfs down the stream using the tree itself.
Just as he thinks he was going to escape the Dullahan was giving chase, racing by the bank of the stream and it just seems that his stead was faster than the tree itself and when Zack made the jump to the other side, the Dullahan’s whip binded his foot causing Zack to fall into the river and hitting his head with a sharp rock.

His body was dragged by the Black Rider to the river bank and was thrown to the muddy ground. The last thing Zack sees was the Dullahan stomping his foot onto his head and thus snapping it.

Kim woke up a few moments later, her vision blurs and everything was dark as it was before. The rain had stopped and she was all covered in grass and mud.

A few wounds opened as it seems she’s incapable of standing up. She summons whatever is left of her strength and lifts herself up from the ground, and leans on a nearby tree. Her body was cold and she was shaking, taking slow and deep breaths.. Inhaling and exhaling.

She takes the time to remember what happened; first Randy’s body was found by Wade and then the sudden and terrifying image of a Black Knight coming to get her. She concluded that she freaked out and strayed from the rest of the gang. It was still dark and this was no time to rest, she has to get out of here and she doesn’t intend on crawling down the mountain. She managed to find a stick and grabbed onto it, using it as a cane to help her get up and walk. As she stood, she turned to the tree only to see Zack, hanging from the tree with his neck all crooked.

Kim could no longer speak, she screamed out her vocals and started to cry.

That moment, something erect came out of her chest; it was a gauntlet which seemed to be holding her heart. The last minutes of life, she sees her heart beating slowly, her body cold but no longer shaking, she mustered whatever is left of her strength to turn her head around to see who her murderer was.

It was the Headless Rider who wore black armor.

IN seconds the Dullahan crushed her heart and dislodged its arm from Kim’s chest, grabbing hold of the corpse before it falls down to the ground. He grabbed her head and snapped her neck, plugging it out from the body and ending her misery.