Brand New Chess Piece [Recruit]

Pitter patter, the shingles and storm drains sounded above at the increasing tap of rainfall. The drops came down from the clouds and rolled off corners of the rooftops to plop down against her hood and drip off the edge of the cloth where it ran. The weather was miserable but hardly uncomfortable in a comparison to the conditions back home on the mountain. Plus, Famine was with good company on this task. “Here,” she said shielding a photograph with her hand and placing it in Ahote’s grip before tugging up his hood off his shoulders so to keep the rain from falling on his head before walking onwards down the strip of sidewalk to their location

Famine tried to ignore how her stomach grumbled when she walked past a bakery with Ahote. Things were difficult on the mountain. The villagers were becoming increasingly more difficult, and there was less food available to tax from them than ever. She swallowed, refusing to salivate at the scent of sweet bread.

Back on Mt. Hakobe, the guild was ironically enduring a time of famine. Along with their chronic financial struggle came the loss of members. A drop in incoming funds followed. Fewer members meant fewer jobs would be done after all. Basilisk Fang was her home, albeit a cold one with an almost always heavy mood. Everyone seemed to house themselves in that could fortress and along with shelter Famine made sure they had medicine, food, water available for them. Now, keeping true to this was harder than ever. They could always result back to petty thievery… but that was something Famine would save for after this particular mission.

“You see that man in that picture, Ahote?” Famine muttered up his shoulder, marveling a moment how he stood subtly taller than herself now. “His name is  Aemon Trahaear. They are an unaffiliated mage.” Famine began. “And I’m going to find them and convince them their work is better done with us.” She explained. They were down on numbers. Famine needed to gather more pieces on the chess table of she hoped to endure the consequences of losing such a handful. Loose lips sink ships after all and she had little faith that the secrecy of the guild was any of their concern now. Just like Kanix Laspor. Everyone to abandon the crest or commit any form of treason towards Basilisk Fang would be killed on sight

So to lure out her target Famine had left an anonymous job in Talonia, which requested Aemon by name-- only his name. There was no other description held. Maybe curiosity would take the particular mage to their location despite how ominous the paper was. Famine stopped and shouldered the door of a pub open, gesturing Ahote to step ahead of her before walking inside
The job didn’t say much, just that Aemon would have to come to the pub to meet the client, and in this case Ahote as well who she’d brought along for the experience and because she feared to leave him at the guild without as many eyes to look out for him-- Even though he was capable at his age to take care of himself.

“Hardly,” Famine chuckled back to the boy when referring to the pub Back home...that was somewhere quiet. A bar was a place for laughter, company, forgetting things, and making mistakes. And as she expected this time of evening people were just starting to head in and get out of the rain. Why, when taking her son along, would she elect to meet her client in ain a pub? Well- the mage needed a crowded room, a wave of bodies to escape into should she be recognized or put in a place where she and Ahote needed to flee.

The bar was tens to a hundred conversations told in loud voices, all of them competing with the music that rang out of the jukebox. Famine glanced over her bench at the table, skimming for the familiar face somewhere, anywhere. The crowd was young, students from a university, and independent mages who had since settled here in Talonia.

--And if she was recognized, It would just be an honest drunk’s mistake. Famine lifted her palm and gazed at the silver ring on her index finger, and the gem gleamed when her eyes focused on it. Narrow blues changed to bright rubies, a dark cowl to a school smock some of the other university students from the area wore, and a raggedy brunette bob and braid extended into straight raven locks.

Famine knew Ahote must be confused at the abrupt shapeshifting, and everyone in the bar was either too busy, not paying attention to another mage trick, or drunk to make sense of it.

“I’ve got a little bit of a reputation that follows me. I can’t let that risk my job today.  Ahote, you and I-- we are going to be new people, just for a little while. I don’t want to scare away our new friend away. My name is now Maria, I’m a student from one of the nearby… schools for the non magically inclined. You are my little brother Leon. We are going to ask Aemon to demonstrate his skills by taking care of a problem of mine.” Famine explained, tasting the pitch of her new and higher voice. She gave him a little tassle of his hair, to let him know his mother was still behind those brand new eyes.

Now, feeling a little taller in her seat than she may have been before she looked around the room again, the crowds, the bar at the front and than another table-- just as a familiar looking individual was sitting down. Ameon.  “See Ahote? Over there.” Famine jostled him in the shoulder lightly where the light haired subject sat in the end of the room. “Can you wave him down and bring him back here to talk?” Famine asked of him over the jukebox and clattering of glass. If anyone was capable of squeezing through a little crowd of warm bodies without getting much attention it was a kid. “And if anyone asks, Remember the story I told you-- Leon.”

Famine blinked around with new ruby eyes. Smoke twisted in its artistic way, forming curls in the gloom, illuminated only by the age-speckled bar lights. Along the wall was every hue of amber liquid in their inverted bottles; every vice that alcoholic attendants had been ordered to avoid.
The bar curved into the outer wall of the room, dark in the barely lit pub. Through the windows, the diamonds of lead panes, trickles the sallow light of street-lamps. The smell was intense of cigarette smoke, perfume that clung to clothing, skin and furniture alike.

Her eyes followed the back of Ahote’s head intensely after she took another look around, Famine knew taking him to a bar wasn’t the best mother and son outing… but he’d been wanting to experience her work, he’d asked about it countless times from the time that he was still really a child. As he grew up, and rather quickly at that she explained more and more, that her work got others hurt to protect what she loved, that she tricked people to help the status of there family, that there intelligence and what they’d endured made Basilisk Fang more entitled to anyone who ever was hurt in Famine’s wake. Today her task was simple, pull a man who tiptoed on the type rope of light and dark-- [i]as many Talonian mages who didn’t have a home yet did[i] and swindle him enough to make the pitfall into Basilisk Fang a little easier of a transition.

She just needed him to go on the job, agree to help a girl named Maria that didn’t actually exist. The were fictional aspects who's job asked for help taking care of a problem. Slaying other Talonia school children’s biggest threat; a supposed group of violent gang members. In actuality harmless. At most obnoxious frat boys that attended the mages college in the area. Famine could care less what happened to a person who didn’t have there own magical talent, they just used mages skill to make them there own workers-- like they were some upper class… Famine was all to familiar with this concept growing up poor, having to survive completing degrading chores in Magnolia.

Famine kept a careful eye on Ahote, who approached her target waiting for her son to bring him over. She connected a gaze and raised a hand slightly though to gesture them back to her. He’d have lots of questions, she’d stick to her role and be the talented actress she was.

Their guest was found and seated by Ahote who Famine--Maria sat aside closely at the table across from Aemon when he arrived. She put on her best smile.

“Yes, I decided  I needed to get someones help quickly. The police are neglecting us and I’ve seen you come through this town recurrently… It wasn't hard to ask around for your name. You probably need me to explain…. Our universities a cesspool of crime at the moment. It’s been that way since a new gang made its way into our campus, our town.” And so the deceit riddled words were exchanged

“Mages don't stick around here long to protect us… and so it has just gotten worse. With illicit activity, they’ve brought a drug pandemic, gang war and mafias to the campus.I hope you are interested in my offer, you will receive a generous reward.” A half-truth, "The magic council has bigger problems tha,n to do anything about these non-mage criminals.” Eventually the whole lie slipped out, smooth and easy like melted butter running down toast.

She stifled back the urge to laugh and held it in her chest, barred it away like that ribcage kept her from spilling guts...Aemon would be doing plenty of the petty non-mages for her, oblivious whether they were criminal or not. Who could question a girl in need? Instead... “And I.” fake tears stung the corners of her eyes. “Just want my town back. They need to be gone.”

Aemon's….violent attack would hopefully kill many loud-mouthed school boys and would shut down the biggest non-magical education center in Fiore. This was a step towards a future where normal folks were afraid of mages for destroying their schools. Hopefully, her guild could begin to advance again in the state of civilian alarm.

Those arrogant college kids would be at their most vulnerable this Friday night...She intended to set Aemon loose very soon with his job and promised pay once it was done. “They are usually liquored up on campus around these hours. You could be done with this job tonight.” The mage suggested with pursed lips, an open palm to guide the conversation and play with the invisible puppet strings attached to every word.

Without waiting for input, Famine grabbed something off her lap, a bag. She set the satchel on the table between them. It hit the surface solid and heavy. Inside was a mechanism of gas fuses and wires. “One bomb, and you take our livelihood back from the criminals.”

It took all her sense not to crack an excited smile right there, to keep a strong poker face. If she wanted to snare this mage it was vital that they went through with this completely and that there were casualties… Famine had seen many neutral and unaffiliated mages undergo the exact same process… when the power was in a person's hands it wasn’t hard to end lives--Especially with a doe-eyed school girl lying and explaining how it’d save her family. Innocent blood stained and not even the strongest holy water could burn the guilt away from some. Sometimes a person went mad, they killed more, embraced the darkness. Famine was a stunning example of this exact concept. To repopulate her guild she would change his life forever. Eventually, he’d have no choice but to join her and the others on Mt Hakobe…

And still, she served him lie, after lie, after lie. Famine did it in such a way as if they were sitting in front of her holding out a dinner plate begging to be fed. “I trust you don’t need more information if your willing to help us, sir, the address is on our work order…. You can trust me to find you when the job is done.” she insisted, tasseling Ahote’s dark hair where he’d sat down next to her with their guest.

---
We talked on discord about this briefly how I will be cutting you loose to finish the recruitment at your own pace without needing to wait for Ahote or myself I will put you on an exam/job format.

To complete Aemons recruitment I expect 3 posts with a span of 300 words each or one solid mega post with 900 words

Famine show up right outside the crime scene again and reveal herself during the final stage of the recruitment once all the objectives she’d given you have  been met

May the odds be ever in your favor

“I’d like to report a mass homicide at the college,” maybe not the same voice, but audibly the same tone of words that had spoken to Aemon hours ago sounded in the distance.Maria was nowhere, only a woman in black.  “I see him right now; A man with a red coat and white hair.” She was speaking into a lacrima phone, no doubt with authorities on the other line.

The woman, Famine, standing at the schools gate may have been a little too far to look over clearly but Aemon would see in her hand was a small switch of some kind, the light at the top of the trigger practically blinking with anticipation, followed by the quiet telltale beeping that mimicked the pounding of hearts. “My name is Maria Thompson.” Then, her thumb slid over the button.

It became very clear between that that wasn’t her name as she tossed away the device from her ear.

She pressed the switch and a deafening sound like thunder crashed around them.
Behind the mage and in front of Famine came a pillar of fiery smoke and dust boiling up from within the school, blowing through other floors, dorms, study halls that Famine doubted were empty this time of night--

The fire lit up the darkness her hood cast over her eyes, revealing in the orange tones eyes lit up with maniacal intent. A series of new flashes broke out, blowing out glass windows and lifting the incandescent radioactive gases, and then a great gush of flame rose. The sheer rush of air blew her hood off her head and ruffled her hair, nonetheless she was still standing. Famine was in awe at her creation; the fire was fascinating. A column of pure hydrogen must have rushed up into the vacuum created by the explosion; the next blast of flame, in a lateral sheet, came at the buildings highest, and great rags of fire, changing from red to violet and back through the spectrum to red again, went soaring away to dissipate in the upper atmosphere. geysers of hot ash and molten bricks spouted upward; some of the hot debris landed amongst them-- But never striking Famine, as though some invisible bubble around her left her unscathed save for the flakes of ash that gently fluttered on the top on her hair like a grey snow.

Now, as the smoke was both settling and dissipating she looked through the opaque clouds of grey across to Aemon, she’d let him take in the situation at his own pace, but with the authorities, on their way, he was wrapped around her little finger.