Mercenary's Walk [OPEN]

[Amri Dukhkin']

Amri hated coming to the city. Everyone was so weak and protected it made him want to scream, and the threat of being arrested always loomed over him. Not that it particularly worried him, he'd find a way to escape or his sister would get him out, but it was an annoyance. Looks of fear came his way often, him being a tall, rather hulking figure of a man, with a large sword at his side. People would move aside when they saw him, expecting him to kill them at any moment, him being the barbarian he was.

But he wasn't going to be killing anyone today, not yet. He was doing two things in the city. First, he was buying supplies that he and his sister could not get themselves. Things like daggers and paper (The paper was obviously for Yuliya). A small bag of gold clinked at his side from his last job in order to fill that order. And that was also the other reason: looking for a job. Now when Amri looked for a job, it wasn't like he was looking to become an apprentice or a shopkeeper, he was a mercenary. He'd given the word that he was in town out to a few pub owners and if someone was interested they would come to him. It was important because it was the only way his sister and he were able to make any real money so they could get things without trading or stealing, and one day his sister would probably become an assassin so they could both earn their way. For now she was camped outside of the city, patiently waiting for him to return, and hopefully, with a job to complete.

[Alexander Marquee]

Alexander couldn’t help but laugh at the idiots who split to avoid the tall man that walked down the street, as if he was a blade waiting for one of them to be pulled into it. His blue eyes gazed down at the man as he pulled the head down further over his eyes. It was always fun to watch the higher class run by on their daily boring routines, as they thought they were safe. “Anything can move through this city with practice.”

Disappearing from the roof tops, he ducked into the alleyway and moved to follow the man who was a little taller than he was. He followed nearby, ducking between people as the crowd shifted. He wasn’t far from the interesting stranger, as he waited for a few people in front of him to pass. It was the usual crowd, the ones who thought they were protected from everything by brick and military force but was shocked when something different was shown to them, a feeling Alexander knew all too well. Pulling a coin out he flipped it in the air a few times out of habit as he continued to watch the man from a distance. He decided that it was about time to speak up for the city.

After sticking to the shadows and crowds to pass around the tall barbarian and leaned against the wall waiting for him to catch up. He pulled the scarf over the bottom half of his face, hiding his devious smile. “I apologize for the people here, they have been sheltered far too long from things they don’t know are real or not. When something different arrives they become fearful and paranoid.” His voice range clearly from under the cloth as he talked to the stranger as he passed by.

[Amri Dukhkin']

Amri was surprised but not startled when a stranger stepped from the shadows by him who seemed to want to hide his identity. It was not as unusual a thing as it was for some people, Amri being the type of person to often linger in the shadows. He simply raised his eyebrows and lifted his sword to rest on his shoulder just in case the stranger was a threat, although there weren't very many things Amri found threatening anymore, especially people who didn't even seem to have a weapon out. Silly people and their soft ways. He studied what he could of the strangers face to figure out what he was, but all he could tell was that he was a young man perhaps around his age.

“You make a mistake in thinking I care about these people or their opinions,” Amri said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He had always been an outcast and he had never found reason to be angry about it. These were the people who were living soft, spoiled lives and it they chose to avoid him because he knew what real living was, then so be it, it meant he had to deal with them less and that meant less headaches. City people were dumb, and that was why he wondered again why this stranger had approached him and why he was apologizing for the city...unless they were someone who wanted to employ him? “So do you have a job for me or what?” Amri asked with a little impatience.

[Alexander Marquee]

Alex loved watching peoples reaction as he stepped out of the shadows to talk to them, it often held slight joy to watch people freak out, and to run or grab their sword. It was enjoyable, but a little insulting to him at the same time. He was used to it people thinking he was simply going to mug them, he hated it lumping him into a group of brutes who have no art or soul to their work. But then again this one was different. He stood strong, showing no real change in body posture minus moving the sword onto his shoulder making it visible. A hand flicked slightly revealing the sword hidden under his cloak for a few seconds, but made no movement toward it. There was no point in drawing his blade just to talk to with someone.

His crystal blue eyes gazed over the stranger, taking in various notes, but nothing to really tell him about the man behind the face. He smiled under the scarf, the only thing he could figure was that he was possibly around the same age, but then again appearance could be deceiving, and the young blond learned that the hard way. He was curious about him, and the feeling grew as he was now standing not too far from the man.

“You make a mistake in thinking I care about these people or their opinions,”

Alexander couldn’t help but laugh as the other outcast explained that he was mistaken. He knew that feeling, why care what others think, when you could enjoy life instead. Shaking his head slightly, a few strands of blonde hair fell in front of his eyes as they gazed toward the eyes of the barbarian. “Caring for these people or their misguided opinions is not the point; rudeness is still an ugly art that shouldn’t be practiced.” It was then an idea clicked in his head. Taking a few steps to the left never taking his eyes off of the other outcast; Alex positioned himself in between the guy who was scaring the other passerby’s and one of the walls. One hand shot up to rub the back of his neck as people tried to navigate between them. The other deft hand would relieve a few coins here and there from the pockets of the more occupied villagers who would pass by. “For rudeness when not apologized for, will just breeds more worry and fear.”

“So do you have a job for me or what?”

He chuckled as he was asked if he had a job for the barbarian. He wished he had a job, but in his line of work mercenaries only came in handy on big jobs, or for distractions. And while grant it he had done a few big jobs here and there, he hadn’t had any planned yet. “Not at the moment, unfortunately. If you looking work the inns often need people, or any of the shops might pay for a body guard. Then again that often just leads to standing around all day doing nothing; at least with the inns you can always take bets on how far you can toss a rowdy customer from the door frame.” He chuckled as he tried to keep track mentally on how many coins he had ‘came across’. “But then again there are always a few occupations outside the shops and inns that might require some one of your build.” He walked closer to mercenary and stopped far enough away to extend his hand in a friendly gesture. “I’m Alexander by the way.”

[Amri Dukhkin']

Amri really didn't know what this man was going on about. Worry and fear? Those were good things for Amri, worry and fear led people to believe they weren't safe and when a person believed they weren't safe they often came to the conclusion that one person was the cause of their worry and fear and once they had settled on who that person was they sought out a person like Amri to take care of the job for them and then Amri got paid and he got to spend his earnings in a tavern. So hell if he thought apologizing would stop that chain of events, Amri sure hoped he wouldn't take that measure. Especially when it came to fear. Amri needed people to fear him, it meant they left him alone and let him do whatever the hell he wanted, and it also meant they didn't want to get on his bad side, which meant his sister was safe from the few people who actually knew she existed. Of course he still took the precautions of never mentioning he had a sister unless he really needed to, but the more people were scared of him, the less harm would come to her.

He groaned inwardly when he said he didn't have a job for him. If he wasn't offering him a job, then why was he spending all this energy on him. Who did that? You only spent energy on people you were expecting to get something out of, whether it be work or entertainment, and obviously Amri wasn't going to provide either. He sure hoped this stranger wasn't stupid enough to think he could get a good laugh out of poking and prodding him, that would result in deadness for him. He wasn't anyone's plaything, he did what he wanted, which generally involved killing and drinking and making sure his sister stayed away from other people. But he admitted he was a bit interested in this stranger, at least he was brave enough to even come up to him. People who were brave enough for that were either interesting or extremely annoying, and so far this stranger wasn't leaning too far in either direction. But he shook his hand firmly, while saying, “I'm Amri, and if you don't have a job for me, what do you want? You must want something.”

[Alexander Marquee]

He was surprised about how others were acting around the stranger. Grant it he was much more imposing then the typical person, but Alex was sure he wouldn’t kill someone without reason. One of the few thoughts he had about almost everybody. He smiled as he tried figure out the man, when he realized the hallway was starting to empty aside from the two and a few other people. Well I guess that sums up my work day. He sighed as he gave a look around to see if anybody had any notable signs of the work he had been doing. Giving a smile as he lowered the scarf that was wrapped around the bottom half of his head.

There was something about him that was caught Alexander’s eye. He looked like any other mercanery but Alexander was a perfect example of how that can be different. He was hoping they hadn’t caught his job but was sure if the other man had caught him he would have said something beforehand, or swing a sword at him one of the two. His thought was cut when the other man shook his hand and words escaped him.

“I'm Amri, and if you don't have a job for me, what do you want? You must want something.”

“I was curious actually. Not many people like you walk these streets, or cause distractions in said streets.” He smiled as another strand of hair fell in front of his eyes. I’ll have to cut it soon. His curiosity was sedated and he was almost willing to go on his way. He was disappointed he didn’t have a job for the other man; he knew what it was like to be out of work. It was then he heard the unmistakable sound of someone imitating a raven’s call.

Alex turned around giving a sound similar to the one that just echoed in the street. “Mr. Marquee!” A small child ran through the street coming to stop in front of them. Kneeling down in front of the child, the young blond listened to his worry. Giving off a slight smile, he smiled at the other man. “It seems a job came up, if you’re interested.” Alex pulled a bag of coins out from under his cloak. “There’s about twice as much you would earn in one night working at an inn or tavern, if you’re interested.” He smiled at the other man. “It seems a friend of mine is having a trouble with a noble who won’t take a hint, you interested?”

[Amri Dukhkin']

Amri was starting to get restless. Why should he give a shit if this guy was curious about him? Lots of people were curious about him. What was he expecting? A Q and A session? An interview? Maybe if he was at a tavern or something he'd be more willing to have a prolonged chat, but they were just on the streets and he was in the middle of finding work. He couldn't have someone tagging along after him asking him what his life story was...especially cause blabbing that stuff around could get him arrested and then he'd have to kill some guards and stuff.

But Amri raised his eyebrows when the small child came running up to the man. Was he one of those annoying do-gooder types? Amri didn't get what the big deal was about children, people always seemed more willing to help them. But that made them weak and when they grew up they'd be weak and wouldn't be able to contribute in any real world. Life was survival of the fittest and people needed to realize that it meant sometimes children would die. Hell, Amri didn't even find anything particularly wrong with killing them, they were just people. And so people who went out of their way to help the helpless like children rather annoyed him, especially since they were the type to preach to him.

But hey, if he was getting paid, it didn't matter where it was coming from. And the good thing about preachy people was they tended to keep their promises on payment. With a shrug and a smirk, Amri swung his blade down from his shoulder and spun it once, as if in practice for chopping off someone's head, his signature way of killing people. “I've no reason to be fond of nobles, what's the gig?” he asked.

[Alexander Marquee]

Alex traced the streets through his mind as he tried to think of the quickest way. It shouldn’t be too far from where they were, and for the most part if they avoided large crowds it shouldn’t take them too long to get there. Brushing the kid’s hair out of his worried eyes, and gave him a reassuring smile. “Everything will be alright short stack, don’t worry.” The young boy glared up at him in protest, but Alex had already turned back toward Amri. Taking note of the other man seeming to get in a little bit of practice, Alexander sighed slightly as he wondered if this was a good idea or not.

“I've no reason to be fond of nobles, what's the gig?”

Alex had to think of the best way of putting it. “Well long story short, a friend of mine runs an orphanage not too far from here, and a noble has his eye on the land…. Or on her, not sure which; all I know she has made it quite clear she wants nothing to do with him. And if his past attempts are clues to what he might do, he’ll probably have a few bodyguards, not knights or royal guards though, too conspicuous. He’ll be using mercenaries most likely.” Alex turned around to face the child before patting his head and dropping a few coins into his hand. “Go get something to eat, the orphanage will be safe in a few hours.”

He watched as clouds passed a few seconds, there was a calming chill in the air. Turning back toward Amri, his face now covered by the wooden jester mask; Alexander’s eyes pierced through the mask but seemed to have an odd look in them compared to the usual soft and joyful look they normally had. “So are you ready?”

[Amri Dukhkin']

It did seem like the sort of do-gooder work that he usually despised, but getting paid made up for that. In fact...if word got out about this, he could attract a whole new type of clientele. People often paid good money for people to do good things too...though hopefully it wouldn't just ruin his reputation. He'd worked hard for a long time so that people would know he was a cold hearted killer willing to take the most “disturbing” jobs, though he found nothing disturbing about killing any sort of person. Life was survival of the fittest and the people he killed had come to their time and deserved to die simply because they couldn't win against him.

He lifted his sword back onto his shoulder as he said, “I'm never not ready, where to?” Even though it was this sort of job, a gleam on excitement could be seen in his eyes, the gleam of anticipation for what might be a good fight. Good fights were to him what a good meal was to other people, something rare, but wonderful, that made your mouth water and gave you satisfaction for days. His giddy excitement was almost childish in the way it made his feet dance around and the way it made him look every direction, wondering which way they'd be going and how long it would take to get there and start fighting.

[Alexander Marquee]

Alex watched as the small child ran off and disappeared down the street. He hated dragging others into his business, but even he knew better than to confront a group of mercenaries by himself. Not that he hasn’t tried; but then again spur of the moment issues were always going to happen. He tried to keep himself calm, but even a part of him enjoyed talking care out of bound nobles.

“I'm never not ready, where to?”

“All you have to do is keep up.” Alex started moving down the streets avoiding large crowds, he kept moving quickly looking back every so often to make sure he hadn’t lost the mercenary. It didn’t take long to come to a large hand kept building were thin man in rich clothing was talking to a women holding a child behind her. Her emerald eyes stared defiantly at him, no matter how much he talked. “All you have to do is move, my issue is with the boy and that’s all.” Her eyes still glared at him, as she refused to move. “I did warn you, my dear.” He brought down a heavy cane toward the girl only to be blocked by the masked young adult and his saber. “Not a very nice way to treat a lady, no?” The two disengaged and stared at each other in anger. “Kill him!” The man soon disappeared behind the four mercenaries, which advanced toward Alex with their swords drawn.

“Well it seems you’re up as well.” His voice rang out almost with a joyful glee to it. As one of the swords came down at him, giving Alex just a few seconds to dodge. Turning slightly to make sure his friend and the child had put some distance from the fight; Alex knew he had no reason to hold back. “Two each hardly seems fair for them, no?” He brought his sword up to block one of the attacks as all hell seemed to break loose.

[Amri Dukhkin']

Amri raced after even though he was not quite as fast. He was faster than a lot of people, but he didn't see the need to train for speed as much as strength as he was not the type of person to run away, and in most circumstances he had his horse with him. It also seemed redundant for him to train for speed since his sister had a pet peregrine falcon which was the fastest animal on earth. It was more important that his sister should be fast since he told her often to run away while he stood his ground and fought. But he was able to keep up with the masked thief enough to only be a few steps behind him when they got to their destination.

He saw the nobleman picking on the woman and the four mercenaries rush forward and a smirk came to his face. He couldn't imagine being one of those mercenaries who had the same client for most of their life and always had to listen to them. Amri only stayed with employers as long as he wanted to and that was how he liked it. He rushed forward to take two of them at once, holding up his sword to block one of them and reaching out his arm to grab the other by his forearm and spin him around. He ducked as the first one swung his sword to try and knock off his head and swung his sword upwards to separate the left arm from his body and then pulled the second man towards the swing of the first man to put him in the way of the blade to get him a nasty cut on his back. The first man fell to the ground with a gasp of agony for his lost arm and Amri smirked and kicked him in the chest to knock him on his back. He didn't need to kill him quite yet, and he could enjoy listening to the sounds of his pain as he faced the second man who had now turned to face him. He probably should've been paying attention to Alexander to see how he was doing, but he was having way too much fun.

[Alexander Marquee]

Alex smirked under his mask as one of the guards brought another attack after him, but the move was sloppy and more wildly trained. It gave enough time to bring his sword up to block. It was then he felt it again a slight choking, grasping at him he brought his blade up to block knock him down to the feet of one of the mercenaries. As his left hand wrapped around his sabre as his right hand shot for the dagger he kept on his belt. A slight smile stretched under his mask as he drove the small dagger into the foot of the closest mercenary.


Quickly tossing himself to his feet, his sword shot up with him slashing at the hand of the same guard causing it to cut shallowly into his hand. It was enough to avoid permeate damage but enough to cause him to drop the sword. Bringing his sword to cut shallowly into his side and then his legs, glancing his ribs and kneecaps, caused the mercenary to fall to the ground. He tried to keep track of where he was aiming, grant it they were working for someone he couldn’t stand but didn’t want to kill them for it, well not yet at least. He jumped back shortly to avoid an attack from his attacker. He glanced back to see that Amri was doing fine, and decided that he wouldn’t need to worry. It works like he can handle himself. He tried to focus on the guard in front of him but positioned himself to see the same politician watching the fight unfold.

[Amri Dukhkin']

With a grin, Amri faced the only opponent he had left. He was a bit injured so it wouldn't be as much fun, but he could still get some kicks out of it, and there would be no more waiting for the guy to come to him. Amri charged him, slashing upwards though the man stepped to the side and was able to slice his sword up Amri's forearm. Amri cursed and spun around to stomp on the man's foot which caused him to yelp and then Amri shouldered him in the chest and they both tumbled down, swords clattering out of their grips. Being on top, Amri punched him in the face several times but the man reached his hands forward to grasp themselves around Amri's neck to squeeze. Amri tried pulling the hands off him, but the grip was too tight, so he tried to just keep punching him. When that didn't work, he pulled himself to the side so that he could reach out and grab his sword, and then he smashed the hilt of it onto the man's head, knocking him unconscious and releasing his grip on Amri.

Amused, Amri stood up, though he had that look about him of a child who had broken his toys, but it was still funny to hear the man who's arm he'd cut off wimpering in pain. Amri smirked and stepped forward to stab him through the chest. No need to deal with that. He turned towards Alexander. “Done with mine, need any help?” He was still fighting, but Amri wouldn't jump in unless he asked. He respected a guy's right to fight his own battles.

[Alexander Marquee]

Alex backed up slightly as he tried to keep his timing matched up with his opponent. He wasn't sure if there was a way to disarm his adversary without killing him. He soon felt the cold feel of bricks behind him, as a smile widened under the mask.

“Done with mine, need any help?”

It was then they both turned when Amri asked if he needed help. "No I'm about done, but thank you though." The mercenary growled and tried to bring his sword down on the thief. Side stepping to avoid the metallic blade. The sparks shot from the sword as it cried out with a screech against the wall. He knew the sound all to well, and smiled again under the mask. He dropped the sword and dug a second dagger out of his belt and pushed it into his side. He tried to remember the anatomy lessons, but sure he hadn't struck anything vital.

He watched as the man reached for the dagger mark, and he saw the point. After smashing his elbow and watched as the man fell to the ground. He watched as the last mercenary fell, and turned to the Noble who started to dash down the street, and into a dead end alleyway. Giving off a small sigh, and picked up his saber. "It seems there is still work to do, come on." He said as he turned to Amri, and dug the dagger out of the mercenaries foot. Taking off after the man, and watched as the man to turned around and looked at him.

"Okay Mr. Valsin the way I see it we have an issue. Now you can leave Nesara alone, or" sticking the blade under the chin of the man who had backed into a wall of a building. "Or I with make a shallow cut for each word you said to her, and a deep non-lethal one for every time you threatened her or one of the children. Not enough to instantly kill someone, or even to cause them to pass out but the blood loss over a period of time might."

The masked still smiled at the man though the threat, creepily staring at him. It was then he pulled his sword away and started to turn away from him. Removing his mask as he gave a final shot back to him, and then heard the Noble man start to speak. "So this is the what they teach a son of a whore?" Alex fist tightened, as he heard the last words come from the man he didn't want anything to do with. It didn't take long for his fist to shoot out and strike Valsin across the face. He turned back toward the exit passing Amri again, not even taking notice if he followed him down the alleyway or not, and tossing him the bag of coins that were promised. "Thank you again for the help, so how about a drink?" The same smile appeared despite his soft eyes still holding a bit of anger in them. God only knew how much he needed a drink at the moment.

[Amri Dukhkin']

A bag of coins was always a satisfying reward for a job well done, though no amount of gold would ever be able to change the way Amri lived. He moved around constantly not because he couldn't afford a home, but because he had too many enemies, and if he had a known home, people would go there to kill Yuliya, and he couldn't let that happen. Plus he was a wanted man, and a barbarian, so there were many things in the way of him ever becoming a land owning man. That was okay though, he hated land-owners. They were always pompous, arrogant, spoiled blowhards whom the world could do without.

He said something about going out for a drink, which brightened Amri's eyes. He loved drinking. Drinking was great. It was one of the few pleasures of life, and he actually liked this guy enough to go drinking with him, it always made it fun, someone he could teach his drinking songs to and maybe he could learn a few.

But the thing was, he couldn't just go out drinking whenever he felt like it. Because when he went drinking, he usually got completely drunk and spent the night at the pub, and he couldn't do that without telling his sister first, otherwise she would get panicked and try to find him in the city and under no circumstances could he give her a reason to wander by herself through the city. So he should just say no, he should say no and leave.

But something told him that he could trust this guy to not be the type to go off and try to kill Yuliya, and it wasn't like Amri had given him a reason to want revenge on him.

“Sure, I just have to tell my sister where I'll be first.”