Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
Zari took another look around the building. Her lips twisted up in a rough grimace. He did love to flaunt that scar. Her teeth ground together and she almost, almost stalked right up to the man. Instead she glanced upward. The building she had chosen to hide behind was made out of raw stone and mud. She could scale it easily. The buildings were so close together here, too.
She mentally made a map of the rooftops from memory. She thought she could make it around the back of his house if she used the roof path. It was rare people looked up when going about their daily business and if she did catch the attention of someone it was definitely possible they wouldn't say a thing. People inhabiting this area were close-mouthed for a reason.
She was going to confront Shen, but she was going to do it away from the crowd. That was more her style and it had the possible bonus of being predicted. If Shen became complacent because he thought he knew how she would act, then the better off she was in the long run. She would make him a prisoner but it did not have to be now.
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
Shaving can only take so long and Shen was in no way going to linger, or stall on the off chance that Zarrustra might show up. He had other things to attend to, as many of his days did; so he instead began to pack up his bowl, his stool and his razor and neatly placed them away under his porch. The razor was not left anywhere so foolish of course.
Toweling off his face, he wandered back inside his home to get dressed. Oh, he'd lure her out some time. He just needed the right bait. And he had a hunch that he knew just what it might be, too.
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
Zarrustra was up the side of the building as dexterous as any girl that comes from a spider-loving populace. She was two buildings away and darting to the next one by the time Shen entered his abode. She met no one along the front of the street.
The leap over a dingy alleyway was accomplished with very little problems, too. However, she was assaulted by several pigeons shocked out of their afternoon nap by her footsteps. She was lucky all they did was beat at her with their wings. There were so many her vision was done to nothing until they spun away with angry squawks above her.
She was a lot more heedful with the next few buildings. Zari took care to check them for any stacks of crates or barrels, not to mention pigeon coops before leaping over. It had not taken her long. The area was barely a few blocks wide. Ten minutes, maybe, and she was dropping to the roof of Shen's building.
There was a window wasn't there? Her memory was excellent and she was sure that the shine of the sun had been bouncing off the glass. There. She had rounded the north side of the building and sure enough the window was right below her.
Now what?
The Drow had lost patience. She kicked the glass in with her feet and then dropped through the broken window with little regard for what lay beneath it beyond the broken glass.
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
Spider loving or not, Zarrustra's neglect of both Agility and Thievery did not make for a silent arrival upon Shen's roof. Regardless, kicking the window in would certainly have alerted him, but making such a ruckus had given him just enough time to make it half way up his stairs, his hands weaving as he dragged daylight through the windows in golden tendrils, shimmering as they wove and wound about one another. In the street, such an act would not have been as splendid. In the relative shade indoors, that light had more definition.
His approach was ominous too, something unnerving about him now that he was clothed. It should be her least concern though, the electric crackle that weaved between his fingers was far more alarming to anyone familiar with magic. Seasoned Drow were familiar with Light magic and loathed it, as it was only more powerful when used upon such dark creatures.
He said nothing, but cast his hand wide and a beam of light buzzed through the air, slamming into the wall much too close to where she'd entered. It simply decimated the wood and passed through, fizzing into nothingness as Shen let it wane. His glasses were glowing with the same light he still nursed in his hands and he was smirking, quite pleased with this turn of events. He had no intention of allowing her to get the better of him and more than that, knew she wouldn't respond nearly as sincerely should he not show her some force. That was the way of the Drow.
He rounded the top of the stairs, that electric crackle still live and rolling over his hands and forearms. There was not a great deal of room here, the landing at the top of the stairs only leading to his bedroom and upward, to a tiny attic which was little more of a crawl space.
"Why do I bother with doors? I suggest you disarm yourself."
Had he found her yet? Or had she been far too quick and evaded him a moment longer?
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
Zarrustra's mouth curled in a snarl. The hated Light magic blasted through the wall and missed her by inches. But, damned if she was going to cower like a mouse. They could battle all day long, too, as far as she was concerned.
As Shen had already noticed the shadows in the space were numerous and several of them rushed up and over Zari's form. They were plastered to her skin like eager lovers before her heartbeat stopped echoing in her ears. The shadow shield would give her more protection from the next blast she expected to come her way.
"Disarm myself? You must be joking. You want my weapons? Come and take them human. Come on. I'm just upstairs only a few feet away. I'm in your space. Your haven. Sithaa bless, I'm in your head. Let's see if you've managed to learn anything at all."
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
Shen only continued to smirk as his eyes fell on her, witnessing the last moments of her readying herself for battle. This was a dangerous place too, with such little room and not an inch to spare. In all seriousness, he knew that this would end quickly, with terrible results. They hadn't the luxury of range or cover, it was a matter of just whom would simply push their limit and overcome the other.
But Shen was hardly a fool. The broken window allowed a wonderful beam of light to cascade in the room and shine bright upon the floor and he had no reservations about how much power he had on hand. Still, he didn't want to simply cut her down. That would end poorly for them both.
"Poor little Rusty, so quick to act. Here, this may remind you of home..."
He'd spoken as he'd weaved his spell and as he finished, the light upon the floor had quickly ran a circle about where she stood. Completing the shape, it sprung upward in dozens of straight beams, each one splintering through the roof and anchoring to the light which it then reached. It took bare moments, but the effect was evident as the light snapped out to complete it's form.
Whilst she remained untouched and unscathed, Shen had just thrown a web of light around the Drow, it fueled from both below above. It was quite pretty really, as it sparkled and glowed, the design as intricate as any spider she may be familiar with - but power coursed through it's every strand and only a fool might tempt touching it.
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
Zarrustra 's snarl grew louder. Still, the addition of light had created even more shadows. That is what light does, really. It does not banish the shadows as the foolish might suspect. Instead, it gives those shadows a chance to grow and she intended on making use of every single one to escape the web. Her vermillion eyes flared wide and she flung her hands out toward the Light web before turning her palms face up with her fingers curved.
The shadow shield slowly spilled down her body to pool into the palm of her hands. Had Shen created a ball of solid light around her she would not have been able to do what she did next. The shadows sprung out from her hands and headed straight down beneath her feet. She split the wood apart with what was basically a hammer of shadows.
She fell to the level beneath Shen and gathered up more shadows as she went. The floor was leaking light, not that she cared. She wasn't worried about it at all. Instead she was headed right back up the stairs and Shen. This time the shadows were rolling in waves of darkness around her hands.
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
Shen laughed a little as she plummeted through the floor, he only felt exhilarated at this moment. That would subside when his focus wasn't on the battle and he realized he would have far too many repairs to make but presently, his mind was on the task at hand. She would not hold back and he intended to see her spent and weary. Then perhaps, they might talk. It was good she'd gotten away, too. It gave him a moment to focus on his newfound power.
Shen turned his mind inward for bu a moment and triggered the energy within his armor. A writhing, translucent and inky aura permeated about him then and he sneered. He hadn't cared for the warnings regarding his choice, it served his every purpose to have such a dreadful trick.
He was thinking quickly too and before she made it all the way back up the stairs, he'd spun about and kicked the shattered glass across the floor around him. It was an odd gesture and would go unnoticed, but Shen was a complex thinker, even in the heat of battle.
The web had faded into nothingness the moment he no longer needed it and presently, he had but one hand pooling the light that trickled in from the ceiling. It wound in an ever swelling ball in that corner of the room, behind where she would have to emerge from the stair well. Surely, she wouldn't bolt straight into danger like this, but Shen was quite happy to bide his time and wait upon her next move...
"You're going to pay Rusty. For the repairs. The rest can wait."
Oh, he knew she'd hate him being a wise ass right now.
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
Zarrustra's snarl turned into a viper-like hiss. Rage exploded somewhere in the primitive part of her brain. A place she put all the hate, loathing, and contempt for her enemies away in silent storage and Shen's vault in that dark hole was the biggest.
She flew back up the stairs on wings built from that stored hatred. A hundred wiry little shadows clung to her feet, her fingers, and surrounded her upper body as she tightened her hands into fists. She could feel the pain in the abused digits and it only fueled the rage. Zarrustra's magic was all about complex hand gestures and focused thought. It was why she had spent so much time on getting them back in shape. Right now she needed them to work properly.
She threw her hand out to the side when reaching the landing and several of the tendrils shot out like spider's silk toward the door of Shen's bedroom. She yanked it right off it's hinges and grabbed it from all sides with them.
"Repairs? You are going to need more than repairs! Come out, come out, come out little worm! Before I smash the rest of your house to pieces and you with it!"
The wooden door went shrieking across the space in front of her, and behind it, where the light couldn't reach her were new shadows.
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
Shen almost laughed a little. She was reckless and rash, but the trick with his door showed she was still thinking. Good. He didn't want her to have any excuses this time. She was faster and angrier than ever and Shen, well he was all too composed to be bothered with her threats. The bright ball of swirling light ribbons rolled and floated beside him and yes, her door kept her out of harms way should he attack her directly. He could, of course; sear a hole clean through that door, but she was anticipating that no doubt. He was.
Instead, he whipped about the weight on his chained weapon and shattered the other, nearer window as Zari pushed across the floor. It allowed more light but more than that, sent shards of colored glass into the room, just as the last one had thank to her rash entrance. With a snap of his wrist, the weapon reeled home and as the glass floated to the floor, Shen smiled a most ominous, vicious sneer.
The ball of light broke out and scattered about the room, like so many countless tiny souls released from some ancient artifact. Each piece of glass was struck by it and each burst into a bright beacon of the light, each colored whatever hue it had played in the stained glass windows. Those in the air froze there and slowly spun, those on the floor - they were everywhere. She's walked into his trap and this one, was quite peculiar.
He didn't physically contain her, but urged every spectrum to brighten and intensify, filling the room with a myriad kaleidoscope of the colors. Her eyes, like all Drow; likely wouldn't tolerate such a sudden shift in illumination.
"Have you ever seen a mirror mosaic, Rusty? Peculiar things. They play such tricks with the light and seems to scatter shadows, leaving them with little definition."
The light in the room did indeed keep moving, hues overlapping and cascading over one another. The shadows were unstable, insubstantial things when so much light came from so many, very varied sources.
Still, he knew she wasn't done.
Meanwhile, however; three men were prowling toward Shen's home. They couldn't help but notice the ruckus going on inside of course and whilst two rather grim looking individuals seemed somewhat unsure, a portly and well dressed man growled his orders at them.
"I don't care what's happening, better for it; I say. Head in there and off the blasted fool."
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
The Drow swallowed sharply and froze in place. She had ignored the glass on the ground, a foolish mistake and one she was paying for now. The shadows shrank back to her body looking for refuge from the horrible streaks of new light. Plus, how had she missed the other window? The colored glass was darker certainly, but that was no excuse.
Fine. She would garner no new shadows. She would have to pull them from her body. It left her vulnerable but what difference did that make? She had to break up this new trap Shen had built. She threw the door forward with the blast of shadowy propulsion from her hands. Her fingers, that were still curled into fists, snapped open to spread the magic out wide. The door made a rough streak through the glass, cutting off dozens of light streams and smacking into the open window.
That half of the room went dark. Zari's burning eyes searched the space for Shen her mouth curled in a sneer. Her pulse was pounding a new metronome in her throat and wrists. All the earlier pain from her fingers had flown away with the rushing adrenaline, too.
She still had the other window to content with, not to mention the holes in the roof. Why had she come back up here? To destroy that smirking male. To tear the flesh from his body. To force him to submit to whatever she might wish of him. Where was he? Her eyes were still blurry from the light.
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
Shen wasn't so easy to detect at this moment, as he'd spent the light he'd gathered and as she'd disposed of the door, he'd let loose his control over the countless colors that had filled the room. His next move was quite different.
The slinking sound of his unfurling chain gave little warning as the weight whipped toward her, him quite counting on her being disoriented. Oh, he knew she'd give a piece of her blackened soul to see him bound in chains, but Shen had been just as relentless in training with his choice of weapon as he'd been in his studies. The Gokusarigama was an unusual weapon and one that might not seem ideal in such an enclosed space - but if used in it's most simple application, it could prove terribly deadly and efficient.
The weight shot past her lower leg, barely above the ankle. Shen rolled his wrist, flicked and then yanked as hard as he could manage. Magic was a wondrous thing, but his choice in weapon was ideal for ensnaring would be assassins and bringing them crashing to the floor.
The two 'thugs' had entered the front door now. Whilst one had dragged a rather insipid looking blade from it's sheath, the other had locked a bolt into place on his small crossbow. Both tugged scarfs up to cover their lower faces and then, with nothing but simple hand gestures; they made for the stairwell as quiet as you like. Their employer stood outside, ringing his hands as he peered through the broken windows of the second floor. He was grinning in a sickening manner, quite pleased with whatever scheme he was hatching.
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
Zarrustra had quite a bit of knowledge about flails and their kin. She carried a facsimile of one herself and the years she had to practice with it were longer than some human lives. Her eyes were blurry, that was true, and she had yet to pinpoint exactly where he was standing, but her ears suffered no such impediment. She had no problem hearing the distinctive slither of his flail-like weapon.
She vaulted straight up into the air, or as much as this tiny place would allow anyway. No doubt he was aiming for her ankles or knees to tangle her up and bring her down. She wasn't going to make it easy on him, either. She wasn't nearly as agile as some but she could certainly leap upwards to avoid it. The amount of time it took to accomplish it was seconds only, but when she landed her eyes were clear.
Shen's light traps were gone but she had to assume he had others. He always had others. She learned that years ago. Now she needed to find enough time to reach the tiny crossbow that was a drow hallmark. She could see him standing a few feet away, an easy target, if she could get the bolt off. She needed a distraction.
"Hey, worm! I do believe you have the worse neighbors. Even drow do not break into homes through the front door."
Her voice was full of counterfeit glee while her hand was headed toward the crossbow. Hopefully she had pitched her voice just loud enough to be heard. Hopefully, it would draw the intruders attention. Hopefully, Shen would be surprised for that split second she needed. And last, but not least, hopefully there were only three people headed inside. Because there were only four bolts ready in the rapid fire bow.
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.
(A couple of things you may want to edit in your post Zarrustra. We are upstairs and unaware of anything happening below, intruders included. There is only two entering the house presently, whilst the third remains outside. You may also want to check with admin about your crossbow, as I'm not sure they would allow a semi-automatic crossbow at character creation. I will post all the same, as I would like this to keep moving and it's great fun. I won't respond to your taunting though, given the above info.)
As Zarrustra had leaped, Shen had lunged. He'd hoped to snare her and pull her off balance and then already be on top of her, his blade at her throat. No, he wasn't quite willing to kill Zarrustra just yet, though his reasoning for that might be a little obscure.
At any rate, she hit the ground and he was far closer now, his form bolting through the window light bringing her eyes into focus. As she'd dodged his attempt to bring her down, he ducked past her and before she could wheel about, he'd dropped through the hole in the floor she had made prior; the light clinging to his body like a thin veil. He slipped from view to the lower level of his home and as he did so, a barrier of that light filled the hole in the floor and shone brilliantly, making it not her easiest option now.
Footsteps on the stairs had her attention then and it was not Shen. Below, she could hear his voice.
Zarrustra [M:28:366:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?board=cs&action=display&thread=665][b]The only real difference between an ally and an enemy is that one deserves a quick death.[/b]
(I am only hoping there are three people due to the fact the bow has four bolts available for me to use, before I run out of ammo. I don't know how many there are specifically. I assumed once the two intruders came inside we could hear them, especially with the hole in the floor, which is why I made the taunt. As for the crossbow I shall have to ask. (PM Grayell, yes?) I used the term "rapid fire" loosely, too. Because the tiny bows do not need the time to knock that other such weapons do. It's not automatic if that was what you thought I was implying. I still have to place the bolts which set two on each side of the tiller. Something she can do very quickly, but not because of a special mechanism or anything like that. I will reply to you and see what the decision is about it.)
Zarrustra brought the tiny crossbow to bear but it was way too late. She felt Shen's presence before she could readjust to the flare of light around his body. Then he was gone and dropping through the hole in the floor. She clamped her mouth shut on another taunting snarl of words. What was going on downstairs?
She shrank back into the shadowed corner and regained some of her lost energy while listening. She was no where near exhausted, though, and the shadows were pumping new vitality into her form with each second that passed. Her heartbeat was thudding madly in her chest. There was even a rush of pleasure streaking up her spine. Why was that? He'd escaped the small confines of the attic. She had not gained control of him, either. But still, her flesh was humming with what Zarrustra would have labeled a salacious thrill were she with some house male or slave.
Her magic did not explain it. The duel she had fought only a few weeks ago contained no such thrill. Of course, she had been battling for her life. She was doing that here, too, against Shen, right? The animosity between them turned any altercation, even words, into open warfare.
There had been no answer to Shen's wrathful question downstairs. Zari inched closer to the opening, her face swathed in dark magic and only her red eyes visible. [/color][/font]
What is it about bad girls? They lie, cheat, won't suck your blood even when you beg them to. But for some reason, no matter how badly they treat us, we still can't walk away.