- Stuff:
Cetus shivered in the cold wind. This desolate wasteland wasn't even worthy of a real name. It carried the old name of what had once inhabited this place. Morgate Town. A place scarred by the occupation of an old dark guild. Basilisk something or another. They'd gone out with a bang. Now the remnants weren't good for anything except the scavaging of the old guild's weapons. That was why he was here in fact. To stake a claim for an independent client. Nothing for the Hidden Blades. As such he had a familiar mask on. One that was rapidly growing in infamy. He might need to switch it out in order to keep his anonymity. Something for another time. Perhaps he'd put a call into Pandora for a while. Slip into Caimileir's skin for a while.
There was movement below. Time to get to work. His client had staked a claim on a large portion of Morgate Town. They had decided to hire out to make sure everyone in the area knew it. Cetus was to hunt down and 'make an example of' anyone inside that territory. A carefully developed plan would need to be executed. It was intended to efficiently get the word out and reduce the amount of work Cetus had to put into this. It would almost be annoying if he had any feelings. Menial grunt work being placed in the hands of an experienced assassin. It was the height of arrogance. If it had bothered Cetus at all, he might have paid his client a visit. Teach them the meaning of fear.
As it was, Cetus moved through the wasteland. Every shadow became utilized. Those below didn't have the slightest clue. Death was descending upon them. Cetus touched the book strapped to his back. There wasn't a need to unleash its power. Not on these weaklings. The first one didn't even know he was dead. Cetus pulled his throat out and moved on. The man tried to shout, only to find he was spraying blood everywhere. The man's partners died with a shot through the kidney and one through the heart respectively. Three corpses. Three clear messages. Cetus didn't waste any time.
Each of the corpses was carefully skinned. Then they were placed upon stakes at three different strategic points. Cetus also set up remote viewing lacrima around the warnings. Should anyone enter after seeing them, he would make an example. Preferably with their screaming. The assassin moved toward the center of the area. He hadn't gone very far when someone passed the line. Cetus rolled his eyes. He'd expected this of course but not this soon. He spun upon his heel. Time to hunt once again.
It took not one but seven examples. Cetus got a little more creative with each of them. The first was carefully skinned, left upon a pole while they screamed. The second had bits and pieces removed. Cetus stacked the pieces nearby after tying the man to a pedestal. After that, Cetus simply tortured them in various ways. He ensured their screams could be heard. When there was nothing more to wring from them, the assassin hung them up for all to see. It didn't take long after the seventh one for the message to get through. People were not welcome here. He left the bodies where they hung and headed out of town. His job was done.
WC: 569
