Ambush

Cetus clung to the side of the canyon. The shadows naturally cast by the canyons concealed him. His guild armor and natural magic probably helped as well. It was the perfect spot for his ambush. The job was fairly simple. Get in, steal the information, get out. If need be eliminate all of those in his way. Do so in the guild armor. Cause everything was better in the guild armor. Cetus tugged at the mask on his face. He still wasn't used to the thing. He liked his own mask better. It opened easily for him to bite his targets. This one did some sort of weird morph in order to allow it. Creepy really. It had morphed away from his hands and feet in order to allow him to cling to the side of the canyon.

The assassin looked behind him checking that the canyon was still empty. It was for the most part. A small feline creature was crawling across the opposite wall. That was good. He had time to check his inventory. He ran his fingers over the weapons as he ran a list in his head. Three knives, all meant for throwing. One long bow with a quiver that never ran out. Each arrow from the quiver was tipped with a little poison or was on fire. A nice weapon. He was glad the mercenary he'd taken it off of hadn't had completely useless gear. A short sword. A katana. Two small pistols with extra clips when the charge ran out of their lacrimas. It was a little bit of overkill given this was only supposed to be taking info from a caravan. However, Cetus liked to be prepared for any eventuality. He'd almost died more than once from not being adequately prepared. There were a few scars from those missions.

The sound of wood on rock drew the assassin's attention. A heavily guarded caravan was entering the caravan. There was something off about it. It was perfect. The people were all equidistant as were the animals. They were eerily quiet, not a noise out of place as they traveled. Four of them crouched atop the caravan which was... driving itself. Sort of. Maybe the creatures pulling the caravan were highly intelligent. They looked like long lanky dragons, complete with withered wings. Their draconic heads were set atop long necks. Their entire body weaved back and forth as they walked. They stood little taller than the waist of the human looking things around them. Cetus was taken aback by the presence of the creatures. He didn't want to offend the Society. Not again. Those dragons were rather up stuck despite loaning out the 'lower' class dragons in their retinue. Still better pissing them off then the Syndicate or Consortium. Griffins and djinn seemed to make much worse enemies than dragons. Cetus had never found out why dragons had a fiercer reputation.

The shark debated the wisdom of bringing the Society down upon Hidden Blades. Provided they were involved at all. That was the hardest part. There were other little cabals of dragons out there. None wielded the power of the Society. However, all dragons were dangerous. Cetus carefully turned himself on the cliff face. He'd have to risk it. This wasn't a job he wanted to fail. Gripping the rock with only his feet, the assassin unlimbered the bow from his back. He drew back one of the fire arrows. The fire wouldn't entirely consume the carriage - he hoped - providing a way inside. Twang the bow sung in his ear. Fire trailed behind the arrow until it struck its target. The wood lit instantly. The magic fire was quite handy.

The humans at top the carriage snapped up. Their heads turned toward Cetus as one. How they knew he was there was a mystery. He was well hidden from any prying eyes. Their jaws dropped impossibly wide to unleash a shrill shriek. The sound reverberated through the air. Cetus closed his eyes against the sound. Rocks tumbled down into the canyon from the sheer force. "What the hell..." Cetus murmured once it stopped. There had been nothing like that in the dossier. His eyes popped open again. Could he complete this mission? Without the information, the assassin was going in blind. They could hit him with something he was wholly unprepared for. Like their human looking buddies suddenly having unnaturally long limbs. And then those buddies scrambling toward the cliffs on all fours.

The assassin stared at this entirely new creature. He'd never seen anything like it. Drawing another arrow, he loosed it. Time to see if they died like humans too. His target twisted unnaturally seconds before the arrow struck. The blade sunk into the shoulder instead of the head. Cetus watched the creature continue up the cliff. Its head seemed turned around now. The mouth was a gaping hole and the features of its face had entirely smoothed over. A marbled tan covered its entire body now that the clothing was gone. This was way out of his league. He wasn't sure if these things could even die. And there were four of them scrambling up the cliff toward him. The others stood defensively by the carriage with the dragons.

"Fuck." Cetus cursed, beginning to fire relentlessly. He wasn't going to abandon the job even if it took his life. That was the way he'd been raised. That was the way he would die. The creatures took arrow after arrow without falling. Arrows riddled their heads and or shoulders. Cetus didn't know what it would take to finish them off. Throwing the bow back onto his back, the assassin simply dropped. The air whistled in his ears before he struck the things. His foot planted into one's face. The shock it sent through his leg was almost painful. There was a shriek right before it released the cliff. As they fell through the air, the creature flailed wildly. Cetus casually took a knife from his belt. The blade went easily through its thin neck. Once the head was separated, the entire body stilled. That was good to know. Remove the head and the thing died.

The crash into the ground was jarring. The body of the creature helped soften the blow to Cetus. Yet it still hurt. Not that it mattered. He needed to keep moving. The assassin rolled away from the body, taking cover behind a nearby rock. It was a good idea. Fire slammed into the ground where he'd been. Lightning, shadows and wind magic struck soon after. He would have been dust if he hadn't moved. There was new information there as well. The creatures atop the carriage could do magic - the dragons weren't capable of breath weapons. That hadn't been in the dossier either. Cetus felt a bit of irritation at that. Those dossiers were supposed to inform the Hidden Blades members. If there hadn't been a single helpful piece of information in it, what good had it been?

The assassin debated using his magic. The White Court would be helpful here. Albion was more powerful then these things. Too bad Cetus' body was too weak to handle such power yet. At least not all of his power. The creatures were coming back down the cliff side. More likely than not, they were approaching the boulder as well. The dragons might even be coming with them. A perfect time to unleash Albion's power. Cetus took a deep breath. Albion's power began to flow through him, concentrated upon his hands. The effect was rather painful. Cetus felt the scales come into existence. His gloves parted to make way for the blue gem that grew on the back of his hands. Yes. This was what he needed.

The assassin jumped atop the boulder. Divide! A deep voice said as a light blue pulse came from the gems. The advancing forces stopped as the magic enacted upon them. Cetus saw the dragons, the creatures and the carriage begin to shrink rapidly. He didn't wait for a second. This was the best chance for him. The throwing knives were gone before his feet hit the ground. The short sword was free even as he took his first step. It was a dance of gore that followed next. The creatures and dragons were shocked from their sudden shrinking. That hesitation was all Cetus needed. His swords cleaved through necks, wet the ground with blood with every step. A deep rage began to build within him. It was rapidly coming toward the point Cetus always feared. A total loss of himself and a dance of carnage. It would prevent the completion of this mission.

The assassin was breathing hard as he paused before the carriage. Bodies littered the ground behind him. All the dragons and most of the creatures were dead. Those of the creatures that weren't dead wouldn't be able to stop him now. Only the four standing atop the carriage could stop him now. Cetus stared at them defiantly. There was only a few feet he'd have to cover. With the carriage at half its size he could leap amidst them and cut them to pieces. One of the mage things stepped back. "Please... don't-" Cetus exploded into action. He hated pleaders. They should have run when they had the chance. There was no point in pleading now.

The fight was short. They cast their magics with wild abandon. Not one spell was even remotely on target. Clearly they'd never had to cast under pressure. His katana slid through one of them. He left it in the body, opting to pull a pistol instead. A few shots toppled another of the mages. The one closest to him shrieked, leaping away. His short sword hit it in the back. It landed awkwardly. Cetus left it where it lie. With a severed spine it wasn't going anywhere. The last mage trembled as Cetus looked it over. It was rather strange. A terrifying creature was trembling in front of a man dressed in black. It probably had less to fear from Cetus then he had to fear from it. His pistol snapped up and it went down. Two neat holes smoked in its face.

Cetus holstered the pistol. Closing his eyes, he released his spell. The scales receded. His gloves reformed after the gems were gone. Everything that had shrunk slowly returned to its proper size. Cetus had to steady himself as the carriage suddenly began to grow. The assassin leapt off before it was too big. It'd be stupid to get hurt now. The last step was to retrieve the documents. He waited until the carriage was full size to open the door. Inside there were many glowing red orbs. Again not in the dossier. The assassin took a long look at the orbs. Small shapes were moving inside them. Eggs. These must be the creatures eggs. That was yet another strange thing. It rounded out the strangeness of this entire mission. Why were eggs being transported along with information?

Cetus put that out of his mind. The documents. Those were the important part. The assassin began his search. Most of the interior of the carriage was covered in the eggs. The sheer number of them made the assassin wonder if this was meant for a new colony. There were simply too many for this to only be a family moving to a new city or something. The documents were in a small chest near the back of the carriage. The chest almost looked tossed there as if it wasn't incredibly important. Cetus took the entire thing to be safe. The documents he needed were right on top but the entire chest was filled. The client might enjoy a little extra info.

Stepping back out into the sun, Cetus looked around at the destruction he'd wrought. All in the name of Hidden Blades. There was a flicker of some emotion in his chest he didn't quite understand. Perhaps he should visit Astrid. She might calm the unwanted emotions in his chest of late and help bring back the more pleasurable ones. Yes, that was it. He'd try that after dropping off this chest. It'd be a good way to celebrate for a job well done.

WC: 2,101