Friend or Foe? [Free Form Job With Shane]

The sun was bright as it shot its warm rains down the city like a hail of arrows from Apollos bows, however the temperatures maintained a cool medium due to the cool breeze that swept through the city like a passing beautiful stranger. Lavanitir Port City was a place where guilds had no influence, nor did the mark you wore matter. It was a perfect place to go if one wanted to lay low and avoid the authorities. due the the port cities nature, it was a zone where outside influence had little power over, as long as you played by the cities rules one cold live a peaceful life regardless of their blackened history. This was precisely the reason why Alicia had chosen to investigate the port city. She had accumulated a wide range of clues and information, some were dead ends, others were pieces to the jigsaw puzzle. There was significant amount of informants that all said similar if not the same thing. From the looks of it a rogue rune knight had gone into hiding in the heart of Lavanitir Port City. With all the false information and the possibility of error, Alicia had resolved her self to go investigate the city herself. She was incognito, not only in attire but on the job as well. She had decided to proceed with her quest during her requested time off. The headquarters was not aware of her current location, she had simply wrote down on her permission to leave a vague excuse. She had written down "will be off to visit a friend outside the country". Due to her impeccable work ethic and countless overtime hours, she was granted the time off with little to no problem.

The attire Alicia had chosen to wear, was a simple t-shirt and windbreak over the white t-shirt. She wore easy to move jeans and comfortable running shoes. She had tided her hair into a bun and tucked it under a black cap that matched her black jacket. Inside her pocket was her ilac and a camera in her messenger bad that was strapped onto her back. To top it all off she, used make up to cover her scar and wore brown eye contacts to hide her naturally blue eyes. She even wore a pair of black rimmed glasses. As a result of her attire, and petite figure at a glance one could easily mistaken her as a young boy. A leather bound book with accents of metal on the front, back and on the spine was tucked under her arm as she got off the boat that had brought her to Lavanitir Port City. With much determination she looked past the city skyline and took a deep breath and continued into the heart of the city. A voice echoed from her mind, a sophisticated voice that was adorned with pride and knowledge. "Alicia doth thee very much bethink to findeth thy quarry h're? in earnest, this all couldst beest a wild goose chaseth! wherefore searcheth f'r someone thee knoweth thee cannot defeat? we shouldst beest looking f'r mine own pages and spells. With all mine own pages did acquire i couldst provideth thee an arsenal yond couldst useth to acquireth unimaginable pow'r! this is a wasteth of timeth! coequal if 't be true thee doth findeth that gent, what doth thee expecteth to accomplisheth? thee cannot coequal summon a fraction of mine own pow'r!" The voice spoke in an archaic way of speaking, not only was the voice borderline unbearable but due to its obsolete way of speaking Alicia had to constantly translate what the damned voice was saying. Alicia sighed and glared down at the book she held.

"Grimm... If you don't shut up I'm going to throw you into the sea." She growled in a quieted whisper. "Fine! fine! i shall shutup. But doth not sayeth i didst not warneth thee" The voice retorted. Alicia scowled down at the worn down book which she held in her hands. Alicia sighed and swung her bag around, unzipped it and promptly shoved the book deep into the bag and closed it. "Finally... some peace and quiet..." she muttered as she made her way deeper into the city. The city was bustling with crowds of its citizens going on with their daily lives. It seemed peaceful enough. It was a nice city, there was plenty of delicious looking seafood cuisine. Yet Alicia was not here to relax, she persevered scouring the city using the clues she gathered as reference and a trail for her hunt. Eventually some of her references revealed that they crossed each other and intertwined. With this new discovery Alicia, had found a pattern, and a possible location where she could find the suspect she was looking for. With great haste she made her way to the location. She dashed through the roads and alleyways. She took a left turn and then a right. After a few minutes of hastily navigating the city Alicia came to a stop. In front of her was a nice cafe ticked away in an inconspicuous corner of the city. The smell of sweets made Alicia's sweet tooth ache for a quick snack, but her mind was focused at the task at hand and pushed her cravings into the back of her mind. Alicia's eyes scanned the tables in front of the shop. Sure enough her target was there. He looked different since the last time she saw him. But there was no doubt about it, the young man that many once looked up too, a young man that was featured multiple times on popular mage magazines. A man once the poster boy of the honorable Rune knights, A man some people saw as a symbol of peace....This man was none other than Shane Stern.... no longer was he the hero, but now he was tagged as a murderer... a wanted man by the magic council...Alicia steeled herself and took a deep breath. She approached the man with a smile. "Hello there. Is this spot taken?"

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WC: 1013

While he had never been bound by his job and position within the Rune Knights in terms of the location he could travel to, his current situation gave Shane a much higher degree of flexibility on his movements. Gone were the days where he had to travel to and from from one place to another on his airship or his motorcycle. Despite being a fugitive from the law, the former Rune Knight General saw the silver lining of his currently cloudy days and fully exploited it as he moved around from place to place to pursue his own agenda. In fact, he valued the anonymity that came from his current situation, allowing him to do things that no other Rune Knight could pull off without attracting public attention.

As the speedboat slowed down nearing the port, Shane pulled off the tinted goggles he had used to protect his identity from his face, dropping it to the floor of the boat by the steering wheel. A black briefcase was set down on the floor by the steering wheel column as well, with his left feet stomping right on top of it to prevent it from moving around while he had braved the waves on his far-too-small vessel earlier. It had taken him two whole weeks to obtain the necessary intel for this mission. Within the black padded briefcase was half a vial of deadly venom procured from the fangs of some exotic beast far west. Five drops of the venom into any town’s water supply would completely incapacitate the town within two days with severe headaches and a high fever.

The effects of the virus could be neutralized, but it would take time that the Rune Knights don’t have. However, it would be more than enough time to bargain for a ransom. Shane had stealthily boarded the transport ship, where the briefcase had been stored within a container, hidden in plain sight among tens of other containers. It was low-tech transportation meets high-tech storage. The briefcase was protected by a control panel that required five sets of 6-digit password and a retinal scanner, preventing Shane from accessing the case but it was just as fine for him. He never needed to open the case from the beginning.

When he finally docked at a secluded corner, Shane pulled out two bottles of bright red jello and slammed both bottles on the bottom of the speedboat while he jumped out of the boat empty-handed. He watched with arched eyebrows as the bright red jello expanded rapidly, covering the entire bottom of the speedboat, including the black briefcase. When the jello finally stopped expanding, a grey canister with a vibrant orange band around the middle appeared in the former Rune Knight’s right hand. The pin was pulled and the canister was thrown into the boat, combusting the moment it touched the jello lining the entire boat.

The red jelly-like substance caught fire almost immediately, sucking in the air around it with a whoosh as the flames roared upwards. Shane took a few steps back, taking cover in the shadows of a pillar while watching the boat burned until there was nothing left, as people nearby shouted for help to put out a fire that would already have died out by the time help arrived. The man then slunk away through the shadows, walking away from the port towards the center of the city. As he moved away, Shane used his Requip magic to swap out his completely dark outfit and changing into a pair of white sneakers, light blue jeans and a white tee shirt. A folder that seemed thick appeared in his right hand as well, which he rhythmically tapped against his thigh.

For these two weeks, he had made temporary base in Lavanitir Port City, a place where money ruled, and the laws of any country held no sway. His familiarity of the port city was obvious from how he could navigate the streets and alleys of the chaotic city planning or lack of planning, with his eyes on the iLac in his left hand.

After a few minutes of walking, expertly maneuvering around the other pedestrians, Shane arrived at one of the five coffeeshops that he alternated daily, smiling to the pretty girl with auburn hair standing behind the cashier.

“Good morning, Elise,” Shane grinned as he looked at the huge chalkboard hanging behind the counter with the entirety of the menu written in alternating colors of blue, pink and yellow chalk. The coffee shop had only opened two weeks ago, on the same day Shane arrived in Lavanitir. He had passed this place by chance while he hunted for a place to rent, and was personally involved in hanging up the massive and wide chalkboard above the counter after one of the two men supposed to install it fell off an uneven ladder. However, at that time, the assistance had been offered to the coffee shop owner instead of Elise who had joined as a part time cashier only a week ago. “I’ll have an americano, please.”

“I will bring it to you once it’s done, Steve,” Elise replied with a smile of her own before going about making the americano. Steve Rogers was the alias that Shane was using together with a weak disguise that indicated his contempt for the efforts to hunt him. Taking a table just beside the entrance of the coffeeshop, Shane sat down on one of the low foldable lawn chairs, facing the front of the shop and setting the folder on the chair beside him. The americano was brought to him a few minutes later, and after a sip from the hot beverage, Shane continued looking at his pure black iLac. With a matte layer of screen protection over the iLac, Shane could safely browse through the contents on the iLac without any fear of anyone peering from the side. The only way to sneak a peek was over his shoulders, and if anyone dared to do that, they would find themselves grabbed by the collar and thrown upside down over his head.

“The new bunch of recruits looks promising,” the former Rune Knight general mumbled to himself as he scrolled casually through the confidential dossiers of the Rune Knight database. When he scrolled over a silver-haired female whose features screamed out at him, Shane scrolled back to the dossier to study it again. A smirk appeared on his face when he read the last name.

“We’ve got the Field Marshall’s sister in our ranks, huh? Suzy’s gonna be pissed,” Shane chuckled to himself before being interrupted by a silhouette blocking out the sun. Frowning slightly, Shane raised his head, eyes widening when the person in the dossier he was reading about appeared in front of him in the flesh. He couldn’t fault the girl if she saw through his pathetic disguise, and he wasn’t particularly troubled at being discovered. His only question right now was why the Rune Knight had sent a fresh recruit, even if she was the Field Marshall’s sister, to hunt him.

“Yeah, sure, take a seat. It’s a really busy time of the day for the coffee shop,” Shane replied sarcastically with a grin, his left arm swinging to the side pointing out the obviously empty shop to see how the girl would reply. “Have you ordered yet? Their ginger latte’s not bad.”

Shane set his iLac down on the table as well, the screen facing down on the table. He leaned back into his chair and continued sipping from his americano, ignoring the girl and just gazing outside with a peaceful smile on his face.

“Sun’s a bit bright today, but weather’s pretty good overall,” the ex-Rune Knight commented to no one in particular.

[1326 words]
[Total WC: 2339]

Alicia stared at Shane, the disguise wasn't particularly inconspicuous, but it was certainly enough to certainly suffice. She knew her attire functioned barely as a disguise. She knew she could have put in a bit more effort to hide her identity more, however there was something Alicia wanted to find out for herself. She chuckled at Shane's sarcastic statement "All jokes aside this cafe does have a certain charm to it..." Alicia nodded in agreement as she took the seat in front of Shane. "I'll give the recommendation a try....One ginger late please." Alicia smiled sweetly as she placed her order to a passing by waitress. The day was indeed quiet early, but Alicia was sure that the place would have a few customers come by eventually, but for now it was just her and the ex-rune knight.

"Indeed the weather is quiet pleasant if I do say so myself." Alicia mused as she took off her cap, allowing her long hair to unfurl and hang freely. Her face was calm and serene, a sense of ice cold professionalism could be sensed from her due to the way she carried herself. She crossed her legs and leaned back into her seat, as if she was completely relaxed. She sat there for a few seconds admiring the beautiful weather. Things were proceeding well, Shane hadn't killed her out right, but she need to get more information. Alicia knew she could not base her future actions on a mere exchange of superficial pleasantries. "You know... mister Rogers, if I am not mistaken... you are quite a difficult person to find..." Alicia smiled sweetly, as she placed her ilac on the table, she then unzipped her bag slowly, held her bag towards Shane. All her actions could been plainly seen, her body language was clearly showing she was not moving out of hostility. The book Alicia had conversed with earlier could briefly be seen, but her she was not reaching for the book, but instead for a folder behind it. She retrieved the folder and set it on the table and zipped up the bag again. By that time Elise approached the two and served their orders. "Are you friends with Steve?" Elise inquired curiously, Alicia looked at Shane and smiled. "You can say that he is an acquaintance of mine.. If I recall, I met him at an engagement party for a relative of mine..." Alicia smirked as the half truth and half lie left her lips. "A shame really... I never got to speak to you at the party, mister Rogers... but I am certainly glade we ran to each other this morning." Alicia laughed playfully, putting up a perfectly crafted bubbly persona. Elise smiled, probably thinking the two were simply two acquaintances taking the time to get to know each other. Elise eventually left the two alone.

Ding! A notification appeared on Alicia's ilac. Alicia had set her phone on the table in way that was angled and presented where Shane could perfectly read the notification as well. Alicia glanced down at her ilac, reading the notification out loud. "Breaking news a transport ship was recently reported to have caught on fire." Alicia raised her eyebrows giving a cute but surprised look. "Oh dear!... I certainly hope no one was hurt..." Alicia picked up her phones and scrolled through it. "Will you look at that... no civilian's working on the boat were injured or harmed." Alicia spoke slowly, placing emphasis that no civilian was hurt or injured. She tilted her head, and furrowed her eye brows. "Funny... if I do recall the port isn't too far from here... But I digress..." Alicia smiled and took a sip from her ginger latte. "Wow... it is good.. thank you for the recommendation mister Rogers." She set he drink down and leaned forward, placing her hand on her cheek. "We live in troubling times indeed... are you aware of the news? One of the well known Rune Knights, by the name of Shane Stern has been on the run... the news outlet has been calling him an murderer of sorts... and if I do recall... the Rune Knights have mobilized a few troops to hunt him down..." Alicia sighed, and opened the folder revealing news paper clippings, photocopied files from the Rune Knight data base, collected names. There was even a map with multiple red circles drawn all over it, with red lines connecting the circles to one another. It was a rough, indication of Shane's movements, there were some noticeable errors on the mar but it was enough to be a rough estimate of his latest movements across the country. "Do you know what I find the most intriguing about all of this, mister Rogers?" Alicia mused as she turned the pages in the folder, revealing Rune knight profiles of previous Rune Knights that tried to apprehend Shane. "So far... all these Rune Knights have been sent to capture mister Stern.... but guess what?.... No one was killed... all injures the sustained were not life threatening... and here I thought mister Stern was murderer... a dangerous criminal." Alicia looked up at Shane. Her regal, and professional aura vanished revealing the smirk or a truly conniving and reckless young woman.

"Look at me talking about work... after all I am not working today...forgive me mister Rogers" Alicia placed her hand over mouth as if trying to stifle her seemingly cute and innocent giggle. "Enough about my silly ramblings... how are you mister Rogers? How's the nomadic life been treating you?" Alicia leaned forward looking at Shane with her crystal blue eyes. Her tone was excited and curious. It was clear, the girl was a master of lies. Everything she did was so natural, normal civilians would have simply assumed it was a normal conversation. Underneath this cute and friendly persona, her words we're deeply coded. Alicia had spent weeks, and many late nights trying to find every crumb of clues she cold get her hand son. There were so may days that left her at a dead end, but after all her blood, sweat and tears her work had payed off. The more she dug, the more inconsistent the reports were. There seemed be a bigger picture, a bigger story, but Alicia was clueless... the only way she would be able to gain any answers, was none other than the man in front of her. Despite her serene and calm demeanor, her heart was pounding and the adrenaline was pumping in her veins. What ever secrets that was hiding, Alicia was determined to uncover them all.

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[1102 Words]
[Total WC: 3441]

The long silver hair unfurling freely as the cap was removed had confirmed Shane’s identification. This was really Alicia Sinclair, the sister of the Rune Knights Field Marshall sitting in front of him. Feeling the light breeze that had just entered the store fleetingly, Shane sipped on his americano without any intention of making any conversation. Instead, he wanted to see what the girl would do. He already knew of her suspicions, due to the weak disguise he had used. Biding her time to sit and observe instead of just flipping the table over and attempting to capture him had already given her points in Shane’s book. Especially considering the fact that she was from the Special Ops division.

The silence only lasted a few seconds before Alicia made conversation again. As she spoke, the girl deliberately opened her bag in front of Shane, revealing a book and a folder within it. Shane kept his calm smile on his face, even as the girl took out the folder and placed it on the table between them. Her beverage arrived shortly after, Elise placing it down gently on the table. Elise began speaking to Alicia, allowing the latter to create a story about their acquaintance while Shane merely nodded and grinned.

When Elise had left, he finally responded to Alicia’s first question.

“Miss, why would you want to look for me though? I’m just a normal person,” the former Rune Knight said as he adjusted his position in the chair, moving slightly before settling back again. The sound of a notification on Alicia’s iLac got their attention before she could reply, with Shane casting a cursory glance at the iLac. It had been purposely set down in a way that he could read the notification, with a very tiny hint of his smile turning into a grin showing. Alicia read it out loud, regarding the incident this morning where a ship had been torched. The flow of the conversation was casual but was rather forced when it was finally headed to the true destination.

The folder was opened, showing the homework she had done through the combination of newspaper clippings, confidential data from the Rune Knights database, and a map. Shane already knew those areas circled in red were where he had been sighted. The former General allowed the girl to continue speaking, elaborating on her theories about his disappearance and his actions while he maintained his peaceful smile, unperturbed by whatever she was saying. When the girl was finally done, smirking in his direction, Shane returned the smirk, leaning forward and resting his left elbow on the table while sipping out of his cup.

“Been awhile since the Spec Ops got a great recruit such as yourself,” Shane remarked as he put down the cup on the table and looked at Alicia with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You are remarkably similar to your sister, but you still have a long way to go if you want to surpass her, Ms Alicia.”


“You’ve studied my background, what led up to my arrest and what I’ve done and where I’ve gone after that. What’s next? Are you going to attempt to capture me and score some points with your sister? I’m quite… resistant to capture, as you definitely know,” Shane continued, leaning back from the table and resting his arms on the side of the armchair.


“Or are you just here as a scout and there’s reinforcements round the corner?” the former Rune Knight lazily asked, with nary a care at all.

[WC: 592]
[Total WC: 4033]

The coded pleasantries ceased, and Shane to be no longer beating around the bush. Alicia did not mind, it would be easier to speak mind out having to sprinkle every word she said with sugar. “Why…. why indeed… would trying to satisfy my own curiosity suffice as a reason to go looking for you mister Rogers?”  Alicia mused as she enjoyed a sip from her cup. After taking a sip she lowered down her cup and looked down at the liquid that filled the cup. She listened to Shane compliment her and she returned his flattering words with a smile.

“You certainly know how to flatter women mister Rogers.” she chuckled at the notion of her being similar to her sister. Alicia knew it was inevitable she would be compared to her older sibling. She didn’t mind it too much, but it did slightly irk her but it was something unavoidable it was something she learned to live with. “Surpass her? Hahaha Oh… mister Rogers I am very… very aware of that.” What was her reason? To surpass Serilda? No, that wasn’t the reason. Perhaps she simply wanted her abilities to be acknowledged, then again such a shallow reason left a bad taste in Alicia’s mouth. In the end, all Alicia wanted to do was help her sister, after Serilda had lost her late husband the sight of her broken sister left a deep impression. However seeing Serilda rise from such a dark place, making a name for herself among the knights, seeing Serilda finding someone to love…. All of it was nothing less as awe inspiring.

“I’m not interested in gaining favor from my sister…. All that matters is that I’m useful to her… all that matters is that I am of help…” Alicia spoke in a calm and even tone, she gazed at Shane without breaking eye contact. Her confidence and determination undeterred. “I can always attempt to arrest you mister Rogers… but where’s the fun in that?” Alicia laughed as her finger traced the brim of her cup.

“And… no… I am not a scout… there are no reinforcements.... I wasn’t lying when I said I’m not working today… HQ, my sister… no one knows I’m here…. For all they know I am on my day off…” Alicia shrugged, mirroring Shane’s devil may care aura.  “I simply wanted to test my theory out… and I think I may be on the right track here….” Alicia took the files and placed it back into her bag.

“I don’t think you killed that man… but I don’t have solid proof… today was an assessment of my abilities… and from what I can see… I’m capable of finding you…I can confidently say my detective work and intelligence acquisition methods suffice…” Alicia lifted her cup and downed the rest of her drink, the drink was hot but nothing she couldn’t handle. She set the empty cup and looked at Shane once more.

“Mister Rogers would you like to play a game? Perhaps a little wager?” She mused as an air of mystery permeated around her. Almost like a devil presenting a deal. A smile curled upon her lips as she gleefully awaited Shane’s response.

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WC: 533
TWC: 4,566

Shane considered Alicia’s answers as he leaned further back into the chair, bringing his cup of coffee to his lips and sipping on the hot beverage. While the action was relaxed, his eyes were trained on Alicia, mentally going over the answers of the girl. When he finally put the cup back down on the table, Shane let out a sigh and slightly shook his head. He had come to a conclusion. He knew nothing about what the younger generation was thinking.

Alicia’s belief in him was appreciated but Shane was barely moved. While it was unfair for him, his dismissal from the Rune Knights and the arrest warrant for him posed not much of a threat to him, and it even helped to give him more freedom in doing his duty. He was confident that even if the strongest Magic Council member personally came to arrest him, he would be able to escape.

“Compared to the newbies I have seen, I agree your skills are a cut slightly higher than the rest,” Shane nodded in agreement as he acknowledged the girl’s ability but his interest was piqued at her final question.

A faint grin responded to the smile on her lips as he cocked one of his eyebrows with a quizzical look.

“What do you have in mind?” the former Rune Knight asked.

[WC: 224]
[Total WC: 4790]

"A simple wager of sorts.... one week... if you wish.... one week I'll give you ahead start, If can find you again... I get to ask you a question... and you must answer me truthfully..." Alicia smiled as she looked down to the empty cup, she debated whether or not she should order another drink.

"If you don't like that... I have another wager.... you're famous for you defenses... if I could break a shield of yours... then once again I'll be able to ask you a question and you must answer it truthfully.... If I lose I leave you alone, and I'll forfeit all the information I have gathered about you... I won't look for you again and I'll remains silent... I will not tell a soul that you and I met on this day... So... what will it be?" Alicia inquired as she leaned slightly forward eager to listen to the former heroes response. She meant every word, and in her heart of hearts she hoped that Shane would choose the clash between her power and his defense. She knew he would be too much for her to handle alone, but if she could perhaps even a scratch in his defenses.... then perhaps she had a chance to be just as strong as Shane if not even stronger.

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[WC: 220]
[TWC: 5,010]