Masks On

The Job:

"Thank you, thank you! Really, it's been a splendid show, all of you. I'm afraid I'm out of material for today, so I'll have to make my way. You're donations are really appreciate; it's what allows me to eat so I can be here tomorrow. I hope to see many of you here again, so I can show you what other secrets I have!" With a small bow and to minor applause, 'Leon' Mayura finished his street show. Packed up and with the donations safely put away, he made his way through the street towards the back alley. The show went great today, as normal. No mistakes, a generous take for himself, and a decent amount of applause throughout. Usually, Arsene wouldn't stage performances when he had a job scheduled, but he did an early one today to scout for that job. All the while, whilst entertaining the crowds, he was spotting and counting the amount of targets. At least, however many were mingling and hiding with the populace. So far, he had counted at least 15 in the last half hour, the highest number all day. So, they were getting ready to go soon.

Safely in the alley and away from view, the illusion around Arsene shattered, revealing the black uniform of Hidden Blades. Today was a work day, after all. The job was simple in premise; an upstart guild, known only as "The Masked Guild" so far, was looking to get information on the legal guilds. He, and another member, where being dispatched to stop them. To his understanding, it was less about protecting the legal guilds, and more about shutting down an upstart competitor to maintain power balance. There were few powerful and established dark guilds currently, so Hidden Blades would like to keep it that way. Not that Arsene cared personally. More people working in the shadows meant more buyers for himself. But, this job was an opportunity. There was always a place to add more success to his record, and nothing said he couldn't swipe the plans for himself after this was done. There was nothing outlying that, after all. The freedom offered to him by Hidden Blades was perhaps it's greatest perks. There were no huge list of laws and punishments, nor was there any strict orders on how to accomplish anything. It was simple and clear; get your work done, and make sure it never happened. A smile crept onto his face as he thought about it.

Arsene felt confident in his abilities. An expert manipulator, investigator, and spy, as Troubadour he was able to get in and out anywhere never having existed. Unfortunately, those skills weren't as necessary today. While Arsene was a master of information, he wasn't as grandiose as normal when it came to combat. There was little his set of skills could offer in a 1 on 1 fight honestly. His methods were limited to surprise attacks and assassinations, even then there were people much better suited for the task. This job was a test for himself. Taking out the targets quickly, stealthily, and without being noticed was the goal. Nobody in the entire city could be aware they were being 'saved' today. As far they were concerned, it was a boring, average day. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he let out a calming breath, trying to kill any nerves before he began. First, he had to meet up with his partner and form their plan. Arriving at the meeting spot, hidden away in a deep alley, Arsene waited for 'Sanguine' as he was called to arrive. Like always, there was no info on the man he could find, and as such was completely blind to what was awaiting him. There was simply hope that whoever they were, they could deal some damage.

WC: 631
Total WC: 631/14,000

It had been a long day so far for the red headed youth, if it hadn't been one thing it was another or it had seemed that way. University work, additional lessons and then there was the constant business meetings that he had to attend within the town of Clover on behalf of his families business. He just wanted to get the day over and done with but that wasn't going to happen as Lynus came in and whispered something into the teenagers ear after covering his mouth speaking in a code like language that only a few would know within the Dagger family. Still the elder black haired man believed it was better to air on the side of caution when speaking of things that normally couldn't. Young Apollo looked up to him and nodded "I understand Lynus might you continue this meeting for me, I have kept notes so you will be up to date while I deal with the matter at hand." he said watching as the tall slender male dressed like a butler bowed as Apollo started to stand. "I'm sorry gentlemen but a family emergency seems to have reared its ugly head and I must attend to it immediately. Lynus will continue this meeting in my stead and I shall return at the earliest convenience." he said politely to the other members of the meeting.

He stood aside allowing Lynus to take his seat and start reading over the notes of what was being discussed in the meeting and where Apollo was hoping for it to end up by the end of it. "Please take care Mr. Dagger and we hope it is nothing that can't be resolved quickly." the elderly man at the head of the table said "I'm sure it will only take an hour or so at the most but you are in good hands with Lynus." he said moving to shake the elder males head before walking out of the board room, with the information he was given he knew that he was to meet up with another member of the secret section of his family. Those people whom he feared for so long believing that they would harm him if he misbehaved or acted against his families wishes, he was now part of them in the hopes to support his older brother but he still thought it was more because they wanted him to keep an eye on him as some sort of spy. As if he would betray the only family member that seen him as a person, in honesty he didn't want this way of life, he wasn't born for it.

Going by the information that he was given by Lynus there was a guild looking to build a reputation and starting it within Clover Town, he knew this was something that wouldn't stand... well it likely could stand but it would just likely cause more issues at a later date and so it was better to nip it in the bud. Moving out of the building he made sure to start moving down less used paths until he found a spot that was well concealed and took off his family pin placing it into his pocket activating something else he had on his person. The moment that he did his mask appeared on his face as did the basic uniform of someone within the hidden blades, he couldn't wait until he could advance and get something not so constricting to wear. Yeah he was the brother to the 'chairman' of the guild but that just meant he had to work harder or at least that was what his mind was telling him. Now covered from head to toe in his uniform he headed to the meeting point with haste.

Seeing another there he quirked an eyebrow under his mask for a moment before approaching them "Lets get this done." he said without another word he started jumping between the narrow buildings until he got to the roofs and headed towards where their enemies had been said to be congregating. It was true he could had been more warm towards his ally but he was there to work not make idle conversation besides he wanted this out of the way to deal with what he was actually there for. It never seemed like the teen could catch a break these days and he had been trying, he knew however how bad it was to argue with his family on anything and so here he was doing what he was told yet again.

Word Count: 764
Total Word Count: 1,395
@Arsene Mayura

Straight and to the point. Arsene could appreciate that in anyone. While he himself was a slave to his desire of grandeur and narcissistic tendencies, there was a certain appeal to a more simple, straightforward job. No time wasted on introductions or showy displays of power and posturing, positioning against each other to establish a sense of hierarchy. If things moved this quickly for the rest of the day, perhaps he'd have time for another show. Or, perhaps it was having his fill of pomp and circumstance with the show before work that milded out his normal disposition. Regardless, that was a thought for another day. The best and most unfortunate part of Hidden Blades was definitely the sense of anonymity; while Arsene loved covering his own identity away and keeping his secrets, knowing so little about his coworkers was a minor frustration. Even now, his first impression on Sanguine was the same as each other member, save for the aforementioned forwardness. Covered in the same obscuring armor and with no details to go on, Arsene simply had to hope on his partner's skills. After all, if neither of them was suited for direct combat, this would in fact be a struggle.

Any questions the troubadour had about his coworker's physical prowess was quickly blown away however. With a surprising efficiency and ease, Sanguine was way beyond him, walking amongst the sky and ceilings. Satisfied that his partner seemed competent, an equal sense of annoyance grew within Arsene was he realized he'd be expected to follow them up there. Arsene was decently athletic but certainly didn't possess the skills and strength necessary to repeat that feat. Scanning the alleyway, he spotted loose pipes and extended bricks to form a path. While not an often practiced skill of late, the performer was no stranger to parkour and building scaling back when he first started. Hurling himself upwards, he grabbed onto pipes and ricocheted off walls, taking footholds on windowsills and bricks. A few moments slower, but in a far more "skilled than brute force" method (In his own opinion), Arsene was following his partner across the skyline.

So far, he'd yet to spot anyone of extreme importance, and that bothered him more. Only the initiates, with silver masks and a black cloak that seemed like a poor knock-off of his own uniform, had been seen amongst the crowds. Arsene had done his research before taking this job; enough to at least known the basic structure of the guild, how to identify their members, and their hierarchy. As such, seeing only peons forming together bothered him. It'd be much easier if they could get a read on the head, the so called Golden Sword, and take them out quickly. However, it seemed they wouldn't be that fortunate today, and that they were going to have to start slow. As they approached the guild hall, Arsene would stop and signal for Sanguine to come over, perched at the edge of a roof and staring down into the alleyway below. Looking down, one could see 3 initiates huddling together in the shadows, whispering and nodding. Most likely just posturing and trying to make themselves feel more important. It was kind of cute, like little children playing adult.

"So, what's your usual plan for these shows?" Arsene appreciated Sanguines direct actions, but a little bit of forward thinking would be appreciated here, a scornful glare taking over his face as he remembered the Chariman's lecture from before. "If you'd like, we could stop by beneath us and take out a few extras, maybe see if they know anything relevant, and perhaps borrow their costumes? It would be much easier to get close to the head that way, and I must admit that type of method is my forte. However, I'm not sure how you normally operate, so I'm definitely open to follow your lead. I'm told I make a great supporting cast."

Word Count: 652
Total Word Count: 2,047
@Apollo Dagger

Sanguine had scaled the building with no issue even with the bulky clothing that was his current uniform, he wanted to get out of it in all honesty but he knew that meant he would have to prove himself more to his family; well his brother most of all at least on this side as he was the current chairman of the dirty little secret that his family had. He still remembered when he was told about it and the disbelief that had caused him to run away from it, he didn't want to believe it, how could he after everything he had been told as a child? He had, had enough of the cloak and daggers that was his families normal way of doing things even to each other, it was almost like his family were compartmentalised and it was need to know on everything. Sure all families had secrets but still they had times they were normal and the entire family knew the family skeletons, not in his family the weekly family game seemed to be 'what's the latest scandal hidden in the shadows' or 'find the family secret' he was at his wits end and he was sure there was more to come.

He had a lot of things on his mind but those had to be pushed to the back of his mind at least for now as he concentrated on his task. It hadn't even crossed his mind that his job partner wouldn't have been able to follow him up to the roof but then it might have been better that they were on the ground and he was on the roof but then there was the issue it would be easier to be seen. He was glad to see that the other had found his way to the roof and was keeping pace as he began to move across rooftops with little effort, he was starting to be glad that he was forced into doing track and long jump during his time at high school all be it that was short lived as he quickly graduated years ahead of when he was suppose to. Now age fifteen when many his age should be still in high school but starting to think if they want to continue there, move onto collage or start getting a job he was in university and on the board of directors for a powerful company. Shaking his head he focused himself once more as he neared the spot of the fledgling guild.

Crouching he looked over and seen the three masked initiates peacocking and rolled his eyes under his mask, it reminded him to much of his cousin Gabriel, part of him wondered if he was actually in this guild he wouldn't have put it past that snake in the grass in all honesty. As he crouched he heard his job partners words and contemplated everything carefully, their next actions would decide everything for this job. "I'm guessing you are some sort of performer then Troubadour." he said simply, it wasn't exactly a leap of faith given the terms he was using, his dual coloured eyes looking to the other even with the mask over his face it was easy to see he wasn't exactly impressed "Careful of how you speak, it can give tell tale signs of what you are without the mask and make you easier to find." this wasn't him telling the other off but more a piece of advice as they were meant to be very religion and state when it came to who they truly were and the guild persona they showed.

With that aside he went back to looking at the three clowns below them "We can't take that course of action as it would mean revealing ourselves to the other, I doubt that will be looked very favourably on and I doubt the chairman would be pleased if we did." he said only imagining the punishment that would come with doing something so stupid "Besides, dead men tell no tales and not one of them will be breathing by the end of this job" he said his voice cold and still as a frozen lake. "Really any information we get off them will be worthless common knowledge, besides they look and sound like initiates and so not prone to the types of information that we would find useful." he said standing once more. With that he jamp off the roof landing right on top of one of them with a deafening cracking and crunching heard as the masked man hit the floor blood escaping his mouth as he twitched.

The other two men seeing their friend hit the floor and a new person standing in their place were now shook for a brief moment but that would be all that would be needed as the fully garbed Sanguine made a purplish dagger appear in each hand and spun around quickly in a corkscrew motion slicing each person's throat and body before they could make a single sound. He knew the only reason this was so easy was because they had been caught unaware and so had been easily startled, from that point on things would get more difficult and that such tactics might not work. He looked up to his partner and waved one of his hands still holding the daggers "Since you are still up there how about doing some over watch scouting, if we can find out who is where and the easiest way in we can likely find out some information on what they're up to with little risk to ourselves." he said allowing his partner to do such a task if he wished to, if he did he would start hiding the three bodies of the people that he just killed; the youth knew if someone stumbled across that scene then it would make their jobs far more difficult regardless of who found them putting the guild on high alert and likely having the guards trying to find them. He could really do without that right now.

Word count: 1,018
Total word count: 3,065
@Arsene Mayura

Arrogance. Surely, in all things, it was the deadliest venom. It lead to the most tragic demises and foolish mistakes, pushing aside better judgement and thought with rash decisions and ideas. It brought out the carelessness in people, with a reckless haste to rush forward. Thinking themselves above others; whether it be more talented, skilled, experienced, or anything of that matter, the second one gave in to those base emotions it rarely ended well. Flying high above others on wings of wax, awaiting the eventual strike of god to bring one back to their mortal standing. It was a lesson Arsene had learned the hard way twice before, and one he absorbed into his heart. Proud, attention craving, and forward, the performer walked the tightrope above it and struggled to not fall into it once more. Yet, that didn't mean others didn't, and Arsene could see it reflected in every action and thought his partner presented before him. "I'd warn against assuming so much. While I appreciate your concern, I'd say only a fool would believe anything coming from the mouth on a man in a mask. Today, I am Troubadour, the performer, and as such I play my roll. How I speak now, is simply me playing my part."

It was true, that Arsene played the performer. On the streets, under the name Leon, he amazed people with wonder and awe and did it all for pocket change. But, that too was a role, an alibi for him to live and adventure under. Looking too deep into what anyone said within the guild felt like a novice decision in his mind; as if anyone would present their actual self to others here. Hence, that's why Arsene acted like himself, assuming others would think the same way and thus rule out the chances of him actually being a performer. It seemed someone people were a bit more opened mind about those ideas however, and he warned himself mentally to be careful with that.

Before he could retort back his partners plan, he leapt forward into action, crushing their first target beneath his feet. Arsene felt his stomach drop at this, both in how foolish the action was and the gore it created. The move was skillful, just as he expected from a member of the guild, but it resonated with such a loud crunch it seemed to echo out into the street connected to the alleyway, and even then if anyone happened to peer down it he would have been seen. Luckily, it turned out not to be the case, but it was still a risky move. This, coming from the man who was worried about being discovered? The irony was not lost to Arsene, but he was unfortunately in no mood now to enjoy it. The worst part of it all, was the memories flooding to his mind of his job with Artemis; of the stern warning he received for acting without planning and what it almost cost them. Biting his tongue in anger, he still felt his job was important, but again he was assaulted with the irony of being angry when he did the same thing to other people.

Calming himself, Arsene knew he had to start moving now; clearly Sanguine wasn't a patient man, and this time Arsene wanted to be more ready to handle him. Light shimmering and flickering briefly, 3 copies of himself appeared around him. Magical reflections of him, the clones were one in mind with him, and with no words needed they got to work. They each spread to a different rooftop, staying low and scanning for anymore targets. Arsene himself started to slide down towards Sanguine, mostly using a water pipe. As he reached the ground, Troubadour walked right past his partner in crime, moving towards the corpses and touching them briefly. "I must say, while that was impressive, I'd appreciate more warning next time before you move. Making decisions on your own isn't exactly what a team job entails." Artemis' words stung into his mind again, and he scowled beneath the mask. "You're not the only one here who had intent to kill; under no circumstance did I want any of these men alive. However, I do argue against killing them immediately. There is no such thing as useless information, that just means you aren't applying it right." He stood, turning around away from the corpses and letting go.

Facing Sanguine, Arsene made sure not to seem threatening. He was upset, yes, but he understood that Sanguine was trying to make this a success as much as he was, for whatever motive he had. This job should be a co-operative effort, and starting a fight would not make that happen. So, he spoke calmly, simply trying to get his points across to his associate. "I don't think we are in any rush for the moment; he have all the time in the world to plan and think ahead before we act. For that, I think we should use every tool available to us, and one of those for me is this." Arsene shimmered himself now, taking on the form of the first corpse he touched, albeit not bloody nor dead. "If I had a few moments, all I needed from him was a name, and a good idea of how he spoke and acted, and I could have easily approached others as him. I'd like to try and get that from the next group though." The illusion shattered, and Arsene returned to his lack armor, reaching down for the first corpse to start hiding it with Sanguine. One of his clones spotted the next group; across the main road, walking down the street. Unfortunately, they were in broad daylight at the moment. "I've spotted some more, but they are walking together publicly. Two silver, two gold masks. How do you want to handle this? I trust your judgement, just let me know what you need of me."


WC: 1,011
Total WC: 4,076
Spells Used; Call the Ensemble
@Apollo Dagger

This was the first task he had taken on as a member of the Hidden Blades, it wasn't a path that he actually wanted to take but it was one that had been forced upon him by his father. Yet again he was being used as a pawn in his families game of chess but there was nothing that he could do to prevent it, he knew the punishments in his family were harsh especially for defiance. He was the good obedient son, the one that his family seemingly cherished but he was pretty sure even that was a cover for something at this point. He understood that image was everything to them at an extremely young age so he was groomed and preened to depict that perfect child that would do anything that was needed and his parents got the praise for having such a well behaved child. It was sickening in his opinion but since when had his opinion mattered for anything within his family? He knew that his last action was a foolish mistake and it could have cost this entire mission, he'd fess up to his brother and Lynus later about it and most likely get the chewing out he deserved if not something much worse about his behaviour. He went over why he took such an action instead of waiting like he normally would have and could only come to the conclusion that he wanted it over and done with as soon as possible. This was never his world and nor did he ever wish it to be so he guessed part of him wished he had missed and was taken out by the enemy or killed himself by falling but no such luck.

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking." he said before the other could say a word, he knew the other was well within his right to chew him out for the action that he just took as he knew 'the chairman' would never have permitted it and would have given him a few choice words right there and there, then gave him a bigger one when they ended up alone after the job was finished. He never made a habit of apologising when wearing this mask he had found but he knew he had messed up and that such things could cost lives or tasks, were his day job dealt with money his job on the side had more dire consequences and he would have to start remembering that even if he did find it distasteful. He had thought over what the other said about presuming something of a person you'd never know anything about and he was correct, no one would expect he was the youngest of the three dagger children and that the chairman was the heir to the family's business once their father either stepped down or died not that he seen either happening anytime soon. "I'll take your former comment under advisement." he said his tone remaining neutral, sure there was no real way of telling however the lingo he used wasn't something he could dismiss so easily, it came across as second nature. It was as if he wasn't playing the part but it was part of him still he could have been wrong and without knowing more about the person, which was highly unlikely thanks to the rules.

It was true he put on a persona and was sure many within the guild did but given whom was his butler and how his persona didn't change that much, he knew that others themselves would have tell tale signs about whom they were outside the mask. There was one other thing however, it didn't matter if he got the profession of the others right he still wouldn't know them if he was to walk passed them on the street. Many people held the same job or status after all he had to deal with at least eighteen teachers a week, three sets of board members a week and that's before he got to the aristocrats he dealt with thanks to his families own standing. If he was right he hoped the other would learn and make some adjustments to help him, if he was wrong he was wrong there was no fall out for him and it meant the other was doing a great job hiding who they were.

He had already came to the conclusion that the act was foolish and not one that would have ever been permitted had he been with his brother or Lynus. He could already hear the comment from Lynus already telling him that 'such a move could have drawn attention of more people, that this guild moved without detection and though they knew nothing of each other they had to depend on the skills and abilities the other had.' followed by proper etiquette and likely a punishment. The dual coloured eyes that escaped his mask looked down the alleyway and into the street, he was glad that something was going on in the area today so it hid the noise but at the same time it also meant there were far more people around so that could have been a bit of an issue regardless if someone decided to come walking down towards this way. It was a gamble that could have went the completely other way had fate not decided to smile on him at current but it would be something that he would have to watch out for in the future when making calculated risks like this again. Turning his eyes to the other for a moment, he could only imagine that the other seen him as impatient and at current that wasn't exactly wrong he had left in the middle of a board meeting that he needed to get back to or he'd get the flack from his father.

Both sons from the main Dagger line seemed to have had their path chosen for them and were expected to stick to them, there was overlap however between their two realities nothing could stop that as much as he would have liked it to. His brother ran a guild thought to be a myth that really only the one one percent could reach if they ran into a problem but he was also the heir to the family business but wanted his freedom from their family's expectations and he couldn't exactly blame him for that. He on the other hand had been groomed to deal with the family business hidden from the darker path his family seemed to walk, he had only recently found out it had existed and was thrust into it like the deep end of a pool before being told it was either sink or swim. True his brother and Lynus had supported him in the transition but he still felt like he was drowning in the world that was never his to begin with. He would adapt though, he needed to or he wouldn't survive, less than perfect wasn't accepted from him. To this day he still had no damn clue why they were stricter on him that the others but that was something he knew better than to ask about.

"They're out of the way." he said simply as if that was the whole point of it, sure there was more to it than that but there was nothing that could be done about it now. "There will be others that we can get the information we require from." he knew that no information was useless but at the same time it all depended on who the information was useful to and if the correct time ever came around to use it. Still these were initiates given the posturing and would have fled if not caught off guard making a hell of a lot more mess than what he almost had. He had to admit he didn't want it to be as messy as it had went down but it seems like he was living up to the alias his father had given him 'I'm not a combatant... I'm... I'm...' his hand went to his mask for a moment as his eyes closed, he didn't understand why but he felt like he was losing part of himself, it quickly passed and his hand lowered. "I am aware, I will adjust." he said not wanting to talk to much about things he almost seemed to have a robotic response as if it had been programmed into him on some things it had been drilled into him. He was glad that the conversation finished as quickly as he had ended the lives of the three men now he had to figure out the best way to continue forward from this point so such mistakes weren't made for a second time.

He smiled under his mask a little "Nothing from this point forward happens without us both in agreement." he said calmly, this way they were both in the same page watching "Agreed, lets get this done correctly." he said his tone never changing from the first moment he had spoken, while the other might not have been in a rush he was but still it would be unforgivable if there was record of the guilds existence and dreaded the hell that would fall upon him if he was the one to mess up that badly. Then again at the back of his head he was wondering if that was that bad, it was quick lived as he knew he would be hunted by his own family his eyes closed for a moment as he fought back the pain that would come from such a thing. Sure he was a pawn to his family as was Artemis but he loved at least his elder brother and would never want him to go through the pain of having to do such a task. Deep down he knew if such a thing had to happen Artemis would never give the order to another, he'd do it himself his heart sunk just thinking on it.

upon opening his eyes he turned them once again upon his guild mate "My magic doesn't do damage, it is a support magic." he explained he rarely used his magic as he was actually afraid of it, he was afraid of the fallout it could have, he had no idea why this was he remembered something from when he was very young. He wasn't even sure if it was a memory or a dream he was just far to young to make complete sense of it but it didn't matter what it was it was enough to make him use his magic sparingly. Watching what the other done he nodded seeing some of what he could do, he put a single finger on his own forehead before bringing it down and his other hand up so both covered the eyes creating a telepathic link between himself and any ally within the area 'And this is one of mine, talking makes noise just thing about the information that you need to tell me and I will do the same we will pick up on it.' he sent to the other explaining knowing the quieter the better especially going into another guilds guild hall. 'Do you have anyway to separate, immobilise or draw them in?' he asked wanting to get to know the others skill set. 'I have several ways of immobilisation and knock back' he let the other know letting him get his say in before he continued.

Word count: 1,931
Total Word count: 4,996

Spell used:

@Arsene Mayura

Arsene's expression softened a bit under his mask, not that anyone beyond himself could see it. It seemed that at least some respect he was getting through to Sanguine. That was good. It was very little progress, mind you. His partner still spoke like they were addressing a wall, and had about as much life to them as a celery stalk, but they were listening to him now, and Troubadour would take whatever he could get here. "I'm glad we're on the same page now. Let's focus on getting this done." A small part of him wanted to pry, growing bigger by the second. There was something about Sanguine that seemed off, and no matter how hard he tried to place what it was it evaded him. Where was this figure from? Why did they join Hidden Blades? It didn't make sense to him, and it seemed to make even less sense as Sanguine revealed his magic was purely supportive; that meant that he literally just crushed a man to death with physical prowess alone. Where do you even learn those skills?

Pushing the thoughts side, he forced himself to focus on the mission. Dig up whatever info he could find on Sanguine later, right now he was on the job. First, he took a deep, calming breath, and thought about the situation. How should they proceed? As Sanguine made some strange gestures and explained more, Arsene tried to formulate an idea. 'Maybe ignoring the sub members and focusing on finding the head is best? No, if we ignore too many and they have proper communication we can be surrounded easily. It's best to thin their ranks enough so at least if they converge we aren't too massively overwhelmed. I could try and get plans out of one of them by playing as a member,but who knows what these people actually know. The peons could have just been told to spread out and cause trouble. Maybe if tried to cause some kind of scene and fought int he confusion? A fire or some type of alarm going off could rattle the crowds enough to give us good cover, but with two supportive mages could we even finish this in time before the Rune Knights showed up?' Arsene's mind was rapidly firing away through thoughts and ideas, coming up with some and shutting them down within the same second. It wasn't until he barraged Sanguine with around 30 different lines of thought before he realized Sanguine wasn't talking to him, he was thinking to him, and that Arsene was sending all of his thoughts back.

Rattled, Troubadour jumped to a sudden attention trying to regain composure. He had no problem using telepathic communication; it was a better alternative, as Sanguine described, but it also felt wrong to him. Arsene made a big deal of being private; of having his secrets kept firmly lodged where no one could reach him, inside his mind. Yet, here Sanguine was threatening to breach that safety. Not that Sanguine was prying in or digging into Arsene's mind at all, but the idea that he could unsettled the performer. Now, he suppressed his thoughts as well, focused entirely on the mission. 'Understood. This does sound like a much easier way to talk. Does it have a range or limitation I should be aware of? Any catches or surprises?' Arsene tried to look casual again, relaxing his stance and cracking his neck. There was no intention on his part to repeat the previous display again, so knowing the exact limitations of the spell would help.

'Oh, how strange. I never thought that I'd see somebody else here inside this barren wasteland of a brain. Tell me, do you associate with this clown by choice or by obligation?' The booming voice pierced through Arsene's mind, shocking him to his core and going across the telepathic link. It was deep and ancient, a presence filled with immense power. 'Not now, of all times to actually show your ugly head, why now?' There was another telepathic link inside Arsene's mind, and now it was crossing in and joining with Sanguine's. 'No. Not now, do not say anything more. I don't have time to explain this or deal with his.' 'Why the cold shoulder Arsene? Tell me, are you ashamed that you leech off my power and are trying to hide that fact?' 'Not now or I'll shatter you into dust.' For half a second Arsene was ready to explode, realizing that his name and power source had been revealed, before realizing that the voice spoke only to him, not to Sanguine after the first comment. 'I'll explain that later. For now, we have work to do. I'll bring them all over here, just hide and follow my lead. '

Forcing himself into work mode, Arsene shut down all other emotions or thoughts. His appearance shimmered, once more taking on the visage of a dead member. Beside him, two more clones appeared, each shimmering into existence with the appearance of the last two. Telepathically, Arsene shared his plan. He was going to go out there and get the attention of the group, leading them back to this alleyway for the ambush. The clones walked further down the alleyway, then started to fake a fight between each other, grabbing and tussling about. Troubadour ran towards the group, quickly calling out in the voice of the dead member for help before running back to the alley. Confused, the group followed him, having no idea what was happening, before seeing the pair fighting and running over to break them up, leaving them wide open for a sneak attack as they entered into the alleyway.

WC: 950
Personal WC: 3,244 / 7,000
Total WC: 5,946 / 14,000

Ren didn't even fathom what was going through the others mind when it came to him, but then he really didn't care either. It wasn't exactly like they were ever going to be friends. No, for that possibility there would have to be trust between the two, some basic information would also be needed. Knowing the real name of those you call a friend was kind of important, right? This was something he knew he would never be able to have, so why should he care what anyone within this guild thought of him. Being part of this guild made him realise something, something that he never really wanted to admit to himself before. Other than Lynus and his elder brother he truly didn't trust anyone... he had no one else. His life was hollow, his movements always decided by another. Was he truly this alone in this world? Was he so pathetic that he didn't have a friend? That he couldn't make one? He didn't want to put the fault onto his family, to him it really wasn't their fault but then that would mean the fault would land on himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to connect to people on a deeper level such as friendship, but for that he would need the one commodity that he was never allowed it seemed. Time.

Ren nodded to what was said 'If we are on the same page then this goes forward much smoother. It also ends sooner rather than later' he confirmed to the other showing he understood what the other was being said. As before he had no idea that the other was curious about himself or his skill set, if he had he would have requested they didn't look but then even he would have known to say don't would make curious minds even more curious on things; that was how his mind worked after all. He had already been told however not to look into things when it came to the guild and its members and agreed that he wouldn't. It wasn't worth the headaches or issues that would arise if he was caught in doing such things, of course there was nothing saying that he would get caught, still, he wasn't so full of himself to believe that just because he was good at what he done that there wasn't someone who could do it better. He was still trying to get use to this new part of his life after all, that being said he never made the same mistake twice that was against his personal code, something his tutors had learned quickly, that their student had a steep learning curb and always soaked up information quickly like a sponge.

He remained quiet listening to the others thoughts seeing if anything could be used, in honestly many of them could be but from the little he had seen of the others magic the two were the same. They had support magic, he of course could be wrong on the others. Though the other wouldn't be able to see Ren smirked a little under his mask, he knew that support mages were often underestimated and that was one of their greatest strengths especially when two or more worked in tandem with each other. The could easily outlast offensive mages. 'Telepathic links work wonders I've found in this line of work. No noise and easy to hide plans and movements from those who shouldn't know them.' he sent back to the other knowing by now he had likely realised he wasn't speaking what he wanted to tell the other. He closed his eyes as he remembered that many might not understand how this spell worked 'I don't know if you are okay with this or not but I wanted to let you know how the spell worked just in case you worried about privacy given our work.' he sent to the other his eyes opening once more to make direct contact with the other to allow himself be read if needed 'I can only hear what you allow me to hear, I can not force my way in, in any way. Your privacy remains completely in tact I assure you.' his tone was sincere as he spoke, his eyes showing no attempt to deceive the other.

He believed that though there would never be a true trust between people of this guild, that working with another there had to be at least enough of it that you could trust your back to the one you were with not to stab you in it when it was turned. 'This life is filled with deception as you know, but, I would like to know that those I am with would value my privacy as much as I valued theirs. Well that and that I could turn my back on them and not end up being struck in it.' he sent again his tone held the same honesty as it did before 'We aren't like regular guilds for sure, but we still need to get on with each other on some level. Right?' he sent with a smile under his mask. 'I don't know your magic type but from what you've shown I would say you are like me, a support mage; if we can get our rhythms working in harmony with each other it doesn't matter we aren't offensive users we can be a lot more terrifying.' he sent allowing the other to know his thoughts as his eyes closed in a way it was clear he was grinning under his mask.

He opened his eyes once more after a few long seconds 'In honesty we need to thin their numbers, so we need to find out how many are here at current. That information is vital to us, that being said they may lie but that is a bridge to cross when we get to it I suppose.' he sent his tone showed he was in thought as he spoke. It was then he heard the question and nodded 'All spells have limitations of course but I can recast when I feel it weakening, as for range, it has a current range of one hundred and sixty eight point seven five meters exactly.' he didn't think it was to bad in all honesty but it could be so much better so it was something he would have to work on at some point but for now that wasn't something he himself had time to do. He had taken notice of the others body language and perhaps that was part of why he was so open with the range but there was also the fact they needed to know how far they could separate before the spell was of no use to them. It was then that he heard another unknown voice within the link, one that he hadn't expected but refrained his own body from tensing his eyes closing to hide his surprise, on hearing the others voice he decided he would pretend that he didn't hear anything. It was obviously something that the other was uncomfortable in people knowing. 'We should get started.' he sent finally opening his eyes looking to the other.

He tilted his head as if he was confused 'Explain what exactly? You just asked me to follow your lead and I'll oblige.' he sent to the other, proof that he wasn't going to pry, in fact he was going to do the exact opposite and play ignorant of what just happened and allow him his privacy. With that he moved away and found a near by place to hide within the shadows watching from a crouched position as to what was to come next. He was interested as to what the other would do. He listened to the plan and knew that restraints would be needed, he could do an illusion but that could and likely would draw attention. He didn't want a repeat performance of his earlier screw up so believed that wasn't the best way to go but immobilisation was, thing was how to keep them quiet, he would have to trust the other for that. 'I am going to use something on the group that will make them a little unstable I guess you could say so I'd step back in case the lash out at you. If we can get the two silver masks to deal with each other then I can end the spell on the gold mask and you can hopefully gain information.' he said to the other, luckily their seemed like some sort of event was starting so that would provide them the cover they needed for now but music could only cover so much before someone close might hear something.

As soon as the group was out of the sight of any others Ren stood and seemingly teleported into the shadow of the person wearing the gold mask before moving into the shadows of those in the silver masks. As he did the shadows of each seemed to get darker, at first nothing seemed to happen as he stepped to be beside the other. 'And now their performance begins.' he sent calmly watching as one of the silver masks fell to his knees crying, the other ran to a near by corner and cowered almost like they were about to be beat. 'Well that was anti climatic...' the other would hear as the man in the gold covered his ears as if he was trying to stop hearing something, Ren knew it was the whispers of what he had left within the shadow of the man trying to make him fall to his fears. In his opinion this still worked as they had separated and so could be picked off 'So... what now?' he asked the other as he looked between the three 'We could take out the silver masks while the gold mask tries to fight off what I done, by the time that's done he should have fallen and we can get out information.' he explained wanting to see what the other thought before doing anything.

Word Count: 1,695
Total Word Count: 6,691
@Arsene Mayura