Long Travel Home

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Kayne tightened the new cloth wrappings over his left arm. Rather than ending at the elbow, it now ended halfway up his bicep. The young warrior stared at it, his gaze somber. He just... sat down at his camp site... and put his head in his hands. You worthless idiot. You absolute fool. The biggest rookie mistake and you let it happen. You lowered your guard, and now look what you have to show for it. A new curse, painted into your skin to mark your shame. Like a monument to your sins. To your failures.

    "I have to try harder." Kayne growled, gripping his head even harder. He couldn't let this happen again. He needed to be more cautious. More observant. More strict. It was his fault it turned out this way, so now he had to repair that. Kayne didn't know what the marking that broke his skin like porcelain meant. But he knew it couldn't be good. It was given to him by a being known for their mass slaughter of humans. 
    
    And he was a human, so unless he somehow managed to move her, a being who has lived for eons, with his pitiful attempt at respect, there was no possible chance that the marking that was now etched into his skin was a blessing. You know what the opposite of a blessing is? Say it with me kids- A  C U R S E. Kayne was an idiot, but he wasn't retarded. Whatever it gave him, whatever it meant for him, he wasn't touching it. 
    
    Kayne sat up and sighed, standing and starting to clean up the camp. The sleeping bag was rolled up, stuffed into a duffel bag, and thrown over a shoulder. Everything else was tossed haphazardly into satchel. He had come here to hunt down a bandit camp, but now that he didn't actually need to be here anymore, there was no reason to stay. 

    The young man checked over the map he had, then set off on his path. 

    As the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky, Kayne pushed ahead, crossing streams, hiking up hills, and wandering through fields. The few times he took breaks, it were to catch fish or set traps for small game animals to replenish his supply of meat for protein. Of course, it took more effort to clean and wrap for travel, but it didn't matter. As night began to fall, the young man would be on the woodline, nearby a grassy plain. As he usually preferred, there was a small stream close by as well. 

    With a sigh, Kayne gathered up dried wood, sticks, and other supplies to start up a fire. Thanks to his previous hunting and fishing, he had enough meat for the required protein after so much travel and activity.

    But, just meat isn't much of a meal, but he still had half a loaf of bread and a pack of dried fruits and nuts. Wasn't anything for royalty, but it was enough for him. As soon as the meal was done, he rolled out the sleeping bag and prepared for bed. 

    In his dreams he was surrounded by an ocean of black, standing atop its surface, alone underneath a starless sky. Voices surrounded him, silent whispers, that slowly grew in intensity until it was all that filled his head. He covered his ears, but they still broke through. The voice wasn't his, but it was one he knew too well. It berated him for his failure, mocked him, chastised him, insulted him. And then, it said something that pierced Kayne's heart. "You're not my son." 

    As though on cue, the surface beneath him broke and he plunged deep into its depths. The sludge was cold and abrasive, sticking to his skin gripping to him like oil. Like ink. Every-time he tried to swim to the surface he only plunged deeper and deeper. His lungs screamed and burned. The second he broke, his mouth opening, the ink flooded down his throat, coating it and forcing itself into his lungs. Color plunged through the blackness. A hand. Wrapping itself around his throat.

    "Failure." 

    Kayne lurched forwards as he awoke, panting and gripping his throat. The young man cursed his idiocy and clambered out of his sleeping bag. The air felt colder than normal, but his body felt hot and sticky, covered in sweat. He felt disgusting. Thank god I bathe in the morning. He thought bitterly. 
    
    His morning routine continued like normal. But instead of continuing in his travel, he set down on a rock alongside the dirt road and simply rested to catch his breath. With a heavy sigh, he focused himself on sharpening his short sword, taking solace in focusing on something physical to do.

    Something he could still control. Despite how absent he appeared, he still kept himself on alert, in case someone were to come down the path, friend or foe. 

[Myra]

The day was lovely now that the morning fog was finally lifting. A soft coolness met the heat of the sun, birdsong ringing across the area. Myra trotted lightly in the underbrush, antlers blending with low tree branches. She made it out of a forest onto a dirt path and continued until she saw a boy sharpening his sword on the side. "That's an odd place to sharpen a weapon. Most seek out a forge you know." Myra walked closer, now that Kayne knew she was there.

She was a caribou faunus, large antlers crowning her head. Myra wore leather armour and had a bow slung at her back. Honestly, she looked like any kind of light armour ranger type person you'd expect but with hooves and antlers and a short, fuzzy tail. "Name's Myra. What's yours?"

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Kayne looked as a faunas approached, setting down the whetstone and giving the young woman a once over. His mind flashed to the memories Bahamut showed him, the many dead the deity had seen. The young warrior turned away and gently slid the dark colored sword back into its sheath. Judging from her bow and arrow, she was some sort of archer. A ranger or hunter perhaps. Is she hunting for something nearby? He mused.
    
    "A forge isn't required for simply sharpening a blade. A whetstone works just fine. It's only when a sword requires more extensive care that you should take it to a forge, but at that point, handing it to a proper blacksmith would be the best course." Kayne responded, gently pulling out the sword just slightly so he could show its clean form. 

    He stood up as she stated her name, turning back to his camp so he could roll up and pack away his sleeping bag. The young man remained quiet as he worked, though it wasn't to be rude or to ignore her. Wonder if she's out here for a bounty. She didn't seem like the ranger type. Didn't have the eyes of a killer. At most, if she had some sort of combat roll, she would likely be a scout. 

    "Kayne." Breaking free of his thoughts, the young man slung the duffel bag back over his shoulder, and turned back to Myra, his steel-blue eyes meeting hers, as though probing into her, trying to figure out what type of person she was. In return, his were... empty. Cold. As though they were the eyes of a dead man. 

    Truth be told, that wouldn't be too far of a stretch. 

    Kayne looked out over the road, reaching back to pull out his map and a compass. It still seems like I'm a little ways out from the nearest city. Perhaps if I cut through this way, I can shorten my travel time. But who knows what's lurking around this area. Especially seeing as bandits were able to establish such a large camp, If I wanted to make sure I didn't get caught with my pants down, I'd have to travel slow anyways. Kayne sighed and rolled the map back up, stashing it away once more. 
   
    Main path it is.

    "Where are you headed?" Kayne cast his gaze over his shoulder back at Myra, finally deciding to put his theories to rest and get an answer from the female faunus directly. Turning back away and looking down the path, he'd continue. "Personally, I'm heading back to civilization. I need to resupply on food and other necessities."

    Couldn't hurt to rest and recharge, either. Kayne kept that thought to himself, though. It all depended on where he ended up and just what sort of jobs might still await him. His hand twitched at the thought of heading out again, and he fought back to urge to grab his cloth bound hand. The thought of resting almost sounded like a blessing after what he'd experienced at the hands of Bahamut, but he immediately chastised himself. If he gave into fear so easily, he'd be better off just handing in his spine then and there. He couldn't rest. Not yet.

    Not until he redeemed himself. 

[Myra]

"Fair enough.", she said. The guy's blade did in fact seem to be in good condition to not need the aid of a forge. An ear flicked slightly while Kayne stared into her eyes. It was obvious even without a deep reading that she wasn't the kind to go into combat unless absolutely necessary. She was physically strong, but her general expression showed she was also soft. His on the other hoof- hand, had a complete contrast. An emptiness, a strain that was seemingly rare or unique to him.

Myra grabbed the grip on her bow, adjusting it so that it was comfortable again. "Oh, I was just exploring really. I'm an aspiring beast tamer, so I've been seeking out creatures to form a pack with. But now that I think about it... It would be a good idea to go into town and get some fresh supplies for the next few days. Mind if I join you?"

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    So she isn't a warrior. Kayne pulled the massive sheath that held Hydra onto his back and adjusted it until the whole thing was held firm. The young man listened to the girl for a moment and then let out a soft, almost tired sigh. Not irritated, mind you, but it had a slightly... exhausted air about it. If we come across danger, she isn't blooded like a warrior, would she be able to defend herself? The young man's cold blue eyes dissected the faunus with a critical gaze. She seems to know her weapon well, but if someone got close, those antlers could easily be grappled. 

    Everything about her was a risk, but at the same time, she'd gotten this far without trouble. Still, if she traveled with him, with her combat inexperience, if trouble came he'd have to be on the defense the whole time to make sure she didn't come to harm. Just one more thing to defend... but that's what his power was for anyways, wasn't it?
    
    Regardless, she needed supplies just like he did, so she'd have to go his way anyways. Kayne just held out hope that the rest of the journey would be calm and peaceful. He'd still be ready and alert of course. You know what they say; prepare for the worst, hope for the best. Hopefully in this situation, he'd actually get the better end of that phrase for once. Whenever he flipped that coin he always seemed to get screwed. 

    With some reluctance, the young man placed his hands on his hips and exhaled deeply. He parsed over the situation, thinking over how long it would take them to reach the nearest city, and finally made his decision. 

    Kayne turned fully to face the faunus.

    "Feel free to come along. It's not like it could hurt any." He was being polite, it was an incredible risk to bring her along with him. Especially with how terrible his luck had been the past few days. Now he was just crippling his combat effectiv-

    Kayne caught himself and turned to face away from Myra. Listen to yourself, you sound just like your father. He held back a cringe, not wanting to give anything away to his knew companion. The old man's claws were sunk deep into Kayne. No matter what, echos of his influence upon Kayne still remained. Carved into his very being. And the recent failure hadn't helped that any.

    "Keep up." Kayne called back to the girl. His metal boots made soft clinking sounds whenever they struck rocks along the dirt paths, but other then the shifting of the armor, he made very few sounds, and even less attempts at conversation. It wasn't being cold though, that much was certain just from his body language. The young man wasn't ignoring her or being rude, he simply just... didn't talk much. 

    Unfortunately for her, it looks as though Myra would have to do most of the conversational heavy lifting. Every now and again, he'd look back at her, checking to see how she was doing and how well she was keeping pace. If it seemed like she was slowing, he would slow in turn. If she were doing well, he'd speed up just slightly in brief bursts, just trying to shave off even the tiniest of seconds from their travel time. But, should the need arise, he would begin to look for an area for them to stop and allow the young woman to rest.

    While Kayne doubted someone like her would run out of breath quickly, hours and hours, and miles and miles of walking could take a toll on anyone. He was quiet, not stupid, and he understood that not everyone was used to the sort of physical exertion that he had been bred for. 

[Myra]

It's not like Kayne really knew what Myra was capable of, they did just meet after all. But it was all the more bothersome that his gaze seemed to have a hint that he was underestimating the young faunus.

Myra's expression seemed like she was bemused by his talk of keeping up. Sure he could walk fast, but she was practically behind him. Hooves softly stepping onto the road, a soft crunch of rock turning into dirt beneath each step. Nevermind that, guy was probably having a rough day or wasn't used to being around someone.

After a few minutes of an awkward silence, Myra decided there needed to be a break in it. "Soooooooooo..... What brings you out to the wilds?" She trotted up a little to walk directly next to him now, just so he didn't have to turn so much and potentially hurt his neck.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    "I took a bounty to clear out a large bandit camp. They were causing trouble and even taking and selling off captured innocents as slaves." Kayne stated flatly. "The plan was to make sure they never got the chance to do something like that again." 

    His eyes narrowed as his mind flashed back to the burnt, ashen husk that once formed a camp. Blackened and torn bodies scattered and rotting. The smell, the sights, it was nothing new to him, it was what he was used to. But the alien feeling that clung to it still sent a shiver down his spine, reminding him once again of the bitter mistakes that lead to his current... predicament. He needed to get stronger. To make sure that never happened again. To make sure he could repent for his mistakes. 

    "Someone else got there first. Now I'm continuing to my next stop." As Kayne continued, his eyes went to the treeline around the path. "If I find anything along the way, I'll take care of it and continue on." 

    That was Kayne's purpose after all. Hopefully he would get some sort of a challenge. Something that would get his heart racing, his blood pumping. Something that would push him harder... make him feel alive. He was a weapon, meant for war and bred to destroy and that's what drove him. In hopes that one day he'd find a true challenge, to make him feel something once again, to die in combat and put his battered soul to rest. 

    He used his power to protect, to be better than the man who trained him, but there was still something there, carved into the back of his mind. Kayne felt cold no matter what. He never truly felt happy or content, always wanting to get better, to be better. 

    The young man remembered travelling during a heavy rainstorm, barely able to see a meter in-front of himself through the downpour. He remembered feeling something in the air, a different pressure, a different presence well before he saw the eyes. Well before the claws.  The beast had been massive, and its strikes had nearly broken his defenses. He remembered then how warm he felt. How he had smiled. 

    He'd chased that sensation ever since. 

    "Why do you wish to be a beast tamer?" Kayne inquired, casting a glance towards the young lady as she strode beside him. The young warrior was slightly impressed with how well she kept pace with him. It seemed he didn't really have to worry about her just yet. Maybe perhaps as the day dragged on, but currently she showed no signs of slowing or tiring. Looks like I didn't need to be so cautious after all. 

[Myra]

"Now hold on a minute, I'm not going to be dead weight around here. I can hold off my own enough to not get carried!" Myra huffed, a small cloud puffed out of her nostrils. "A damsel in distress can't go into the wilds and seek out giant beasts. They'd be too fragile. I'm tough enough to take some hits and deal some back." If she wanted hired muscle for protection, she would have hired a mercenary to join her.

"I celebrate the masterful craft of the great Lady Maisha. She's given so much life and I seek to understand and become more in tune with it." Myra rubbed the end of an antler passively, stroking the soft velvet that lined it. "I understand my reasoning isn't for everyone. But it's my reason. I respect the beasts of the wilds and I want to understand them more. I want to work with them to fight evils that threaten their home and the homes of others."

Myra looked up to watch the sky. Only a few more minutes of walking down the path did the sky darken and begin to drip into a moderate rainfall. A silent curse snapped in Myra's head, she wouldn't be able to catch scent or find tracks in weather like this. Oh well, it could be worse. The rain drowned out most sound with a soft pattering and dimmed out their vision with a light fog.

Just out in the distance they would find a stone outpost, faint figures pacing around. Myra immediately stopped and went into the brush, grabbing Kayne by the arm and crouching through the wet foliage. Myra's fingertips glowed with a small white light that snaked out on the ground and travelled towards the post. She waited a couple seconds before her eyes darted around and she counted each coloured marker that lit up in her eyes. "That's way more than any amount of guards at an outpost... You think they're bandits?", she whispered to Kayne.

SPOILER: Click to show

Weather Conditions: Rain
De/Buffs Present: +25% water/ice damage, -25% fire damage
Enemy count: 10
Breakdown: 8 grunts, 1 intermediate, 1 boss

[Sparky]

[Refs]

   Kayne gave her a flat gaze, stopping in his steps to listen to her. He'd let her say her piece before bluntly saying. "I never called you a damsel in distress. Nor did I say you were going to be dead weight. If you're referring to when I said I would 'take care of whatever I came across,' I wasn't referring to you. I was simply stating my intent to destroy whatever gets in my way."

    "I apologize." Kayne continued, turning and continuing to walk. He was... not good at talking with people. Some things that made sense in his mind, obviously didn't completely translate towards her. "I should have been more clear. That's my fault. I didn't mean to cause any offense." 

      When Myra started to speak of her goddess, Kayne's expression became more... distant than before. He didn't follow any god, and while he did offer respect to those that chose to, he... didn't particularly favor people who gushed on and on about their deities and what not. Following a god was one thing, being a zealot was another. Kayne just internally hoped that this wasn't going to be a constant thing like it had been with... other individuals he'd come across.

    But without the religious subtext, the young warrior had to admit her drive was noble. He respected it, and didn't question it. But at the same time, it was too innocent. She said she could carry her weight, and he believed that, but the way she spoke of evils, the tone of voice she used... it was idealistic, almost childish. Like a childhood fantasy more than and actual driving motivator. 

    Maybe it was just because of how he was raised, or the things he'd seen and done, but it just came off as too... innocent. Now, it wasn't a bad thing, certainly, but Kayne inwardly worried just how much actual experience in battle this young faunus had. She seemed soft, but thankfully for her, using a bow was less personal than using a sword. When Kayne killed someone, he was close enough to look into a man's eyes as he cleaved through them, see the wide shock of terror, the desperation, the fear of death... the fear of him. 

    When rain started to fall, Kayne became more alert, slowing his pace and scanning a lot more frequently. There was something in the air, just underneath the scent of rain. In the dense, cool air, it seemed to cling. It was stronger than anything natural. Like... smoke. Campfires. Something's close. 

    Kayne had become aware of the stronghold well before Myra. He'd been through this situation one too many times to be caught so foolishly off-guard like a child. The warrior had already made it halfway into the cover before she had even started to pull.
    
    As Myra pestered him, he carefully and quietly dropped his bags, and pulled out a small spyglass, scouting over the walls. "Well fortified, but still relatively small. There's no camps or outposts on the map." 

    No, he was certain. This wasn't a friendly place. This was his chance to redeem himself. Kayne kept a hand low  and outstretched, as though trying to keep Myra in place. Kayne watched the wall, counting the number of guards that passed, how frequently they crossed certain points, and what their paths were. The rain made it difficult to see, even with the spy glass, but on the closest wall it was enough to get an idea. He didn't like not being able to see too clearly, and not being able to see into the camp, but he needed to work with it. 

    "You'd better be good with that bow." Kayne tossed the spy glass to Myra. "There's four patrolling the outer wall, no idea how many are inside.  The rain helps benefit us. So here's the plan."

    Kayne turned away and used a stick to draw in the mud, marking out the walls and using his compass to also add in north, south, east, west. 

    "I'll approach this nearest wall, the south wall and wait for the first guard to pass. Once he's down I'll pull his body down and out of sight. When the next guard comes, make sure to go for a kill shot, I'll be waiting to pull the corpse down just like the first. I want to secure the wall first so we can peer down into the heart of the camp without issue." Kayne cast his gaze back towards the fortification. It be risky, but he could make it with his warp. The gloves he wore gave him better grip in the rain than just bare hands, but he'd have to leave Hydra down at the base of the wall until they knew what they were working with, Kayne needed to save on weight.

    Kayne unsheathed his dark shortsword and during one of the gaps in the patrol, silently dashed towards the wall. He was on the hunt again, and his movements had all changed accordingly. Instead of loudly stomping on rocks and not caring how much noise he made, Kayne kept his profile low and small, using the sound of the rain coming down to mask the small noises his movements did make. This is what you're good at. This is all you've ever known. It's in your blood.

    Kayne pressed his back up against the stone wall and carefully set his unsheathed Hydra down against the wall, waiting to be used once he was done, or if something went south. He couldn't mess this up. Not again. Not like he did with Bahamut. He needed to redeem himself. To get better. He couldn't fail again. 
    
    Still, this is where he hit his first roadblock. If it were dry, Kayne could have been able to properly scale the wall. The cobblestone was smooth, but not devoid of finger-holds. In the rain though, he didn't have enough purchase for his gloves to grip and would be entirely relying on his fingers. Even with his cloth bound left arm and armored right, that would still be asking a lot. 

    Hard way it is. Kayne backed up and ran forwards, springing upwards and launching himself up the wall a few feet. On its own, it wouldn't be enough, but at his apex Kayne's physical body would melt away, stringing forwards into a stream of black ink, re-materializing just a little bit above four feet, and then transitioning again three more times until his hands gripped the ledge. Each consecutive warp was ever so slightly slower than the last, but it had managed to get him to the top.

    Carefully, he found a proper purchase against the wall and waited, listening intently for the sound of footsteps. Counting the second until finally the guard was right above him. Giving one final warp, Kayne re-formed behind the guard, arms lunging forwards to grab him, the cloth bound arm going to cover his mouth, the armored one brandishing the short sword. If it all went well and was successful, Kayne would pull the man backwards off the ledge with him, pressing the cold steel against the flesh of the man's throat and ripping it across his jugular while they fell. 

    If it worked, Kayne would be greeted with the familiar, albeit diluted tang of iron. Still, he wouldn't have much time to revel in it. He needed to make sure to keep the element of surprise, and before hitting the ground would ink warp one more time so that instead of a meaty thud, Kayne would instead catch and silently lay the corpse against the wall. 

    As planned, Kayne would go back up the wall once more and wait once again, this time, for Myra. The good news about the rain was he could still use his ink warp a lot more frequently and a little further than normally, giving him much more leeway in scaling the wall. The big problem was that eventually, by the time they'd gotten the last one, he'd still be drained. Kayne toyed with the idea of allowing this next body to fall, risking the noise and attention, seeing as only two guards would be left. Already he worked out the attack. They wouldn't be immediately alerted by the sound, just curious, and if he played his cards right, with only two wall guards remaining after the second, he have breathing room to drop the last two as well, though he'd have to be much quicker on the last one, as there would be no doubt that they would be immediately alerted if they didn't see their compatriot. 

    That is, unless they just shrugged off the noise and continued on their path. He was gambling on this. If he was wrong, he could potentially alert the whole camp, but if it worked he would be able to conserve a lot of his strength and energy. 

    But rewind. Should Kayne not be able to grapple the guard, or fail to pull him back, or any number of variables that resulted in the guard still remaining alive and Kayne and the man still remaining on the wall, he would immediately ready his stance and move as quickly as he could with the limited time he had to strike at the guard and finish him off before friends came. The whole time, he would be screaming at himself internally. Berating himself for his stupid, rookie failure. 

    You absolute idiot. It was the easiest thing you could have done and you fucked it up. You worthless fucking failure. You don't deserve the powers you have. You don't deserve to be here, fighting like this. After all that talk, after everything that happened, you failed all over again like the worm you were. You have to try harder, you have to be better. I have to try harder. I must try harder. I need to try harder. I need to be better. 

    While Kayne's grappling obviously left much to be desired, he was extremely skilled in sword play, not to mention he would still have the advantage with the element of surprise. Depending on whether or not the guard had his weapon out, Kayne would either lunge and try to drive the sword through the man's mouth and out the back of his head, forcing it through flesh and bone to silence any sound he'd make, or go for a slashing blow to attempt to decapitate him. Whatever the case, Kayne needed to make sure the man didn't cry out for help, and then immediately would go down off the wall with the corpse in tow. The problem was, blood would still be left, and while hopefully it would be washed away quickly, in the chance it stayed, there was no doubt that a perceptive guard would get curious.
    
     But if he managed to block, that whole plan would immediately go out the window. It didn't matter if he yelled or not, or if a body left blood or not. Metal on metal was the indistinguishable call of battle. Not only would the camp be alerted, Kayne knew for certain the other three guards would be on him in a matter of seconds.
    
    He just hoped if that were the case, Myra's aim would be true. 

[Myra]

Myra took off her bow, placing it on the ground and bringing out a bottle and one arrow out of its quiver. She uncapped the bottle and dipped the point into it, encasing it in a thick and blackened tar of a liquid. She quickly capped it, trying to preserve it from gettin diluted in the rain and knocked the arrow onto her bow. ”Lord Celest, bless my bow so that the arrow flies true.”, she whispered as she aimed upwards towards the top of the wall plus some. Her eyes were still trained on sources of light, now marked between mostly reds and one light blue.

The young fawn watched as Kayne initiated the first kill, the red flame snuffed out quietly. In his liquid state, Kayne’s life essence appeared more warped, less wispy but it made sense as that entire pool of ink was him and there was no true center in this form. Her eyes flicked back up, watching the patrol along the walls. Her arrow followed the next red form that came to light, constantly recalculating where the arrow would go. Time seemed to slow for Myra, perhaps she was simply in the moment. Three... Two... One... She let go of the arrow, a whistle from its feathers quieted out by the sound of rain and ripping through the next bandit’s neck. They tried to scream, only to let out a muffled gurgle.

Myra wasted no time in dipping and knocking another arrow. Two down, eight left. A loud and raspy caw sounded, a toll of death. It went off five times, but it was not the Lord of Death himself. No, this was simply a messenger, a passive creature tied to their domains that knew by instinct to call for soul reaping. At least, that was the mythology they were tied to that Myra knew.

The body to hers fell, the thump drowned out from the downpour. The other patrolling guards didn’t seem to take much notice regardless as they were on the other side of the outpost. Myra had to move, either go straight and catch up with Kayne or skirt around and take aim again.

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    As the second body tumbled off the wall, Kayne pulled himself up fully, unsheathing his blade. He was quiet and careful as he slunk towards the edge, getting his eyes into the camp. He needed to know what he was going up against before he made any big moves. so it seems there's six more down in the camp. Fair enough. 

    Kayne watched a crow and let out a grunt, and continued to skulk low against the wall. He needed to tend to the wall guards. But seeing as after Myra's display the rain fully deafened the sound of a body falling, Kayne was going to be far more... liberal in his actions. 

    When the next guard had his back turned, Kayne, moving low and quick, closed the gap and sprung up, driving his blade upwards through the base of the man's skull, right where it connected to the spine. The bones crackled softly as the life went immediately out of the guard, leaving an empty husk. The young warrior pressed his free arm against the corpses back and simultaneously shoved it forwards and ripped the blade backwards, letting the corpse tumble before carefully lowering down against the wall once again to wait.

    Being closer this time, the guard's interest was piqued, but as the last of the blood washed away, the only confusion came when there was no sign of his compatriot. Kayne waited as quiet as he could be until the moment he waited for came.

    The guard looked over and before he could call out the disturbance, Kayne's hand Shot up and together the two fell, one hand firmly on the man's throat as the other held his mouth shut. Admittedly, Kayne's grip was a bit harder as the two fell, but two bodies were great cushioning for the young man. The guard was gasping and wheezing, his back bent in a way that shouldn't have been possible. Meanwhile, Kayne had the wind knocked out of him, having to lay still on the ground for an irritating moment.

    Well, all things considered, that could have gone better. He thought miserably as he stumbled back to his feet. As the former guard looked up at him with growing fear, desperately jerking around, Kayne lifted the blade and drove it downwards through his jugular. As diluted crimson bubbled out of the wound, the man would twitch only a few more times before finally going still. But at least it was successful. The young man, his hair matted against his head stood against the wall and listened for any change in activity, but heard none. At least, not over the sound of rain. 

    Rather than wasting energy vaulting the wall all over again, Kayne quietly picked his way back around, until he had returned to the other side so he could collect Hydra and pick his way back to Myra. 

    "There's six left inside the structures walls. Would you be able to scale up it on your own?" Kayne inquired. "If you can't, then either find a way in if you want to help, or just stay here and wait until it's over."

    Kayne didn't wait for a response, ducking back towards the wall and repeating the ink warp process back up it. This time, instead of a blackened short sword, the heavy blade known as Hydra rested upon his shoulders as he stared down below, looking to assess the situation. If he was spotted or not didn't matter anymore. It had all been set up and he wasn't going to just dance around anymore. 

    Whether spotted or not, he would try to seize upon what he could, activating Hydra to extend it to its full length and leaping off. No matter what hell met him or awaited him, before he hit the ground he'd warp forwards towards his target, and make his attempt at tearing the man in twain by dragging Hydra down diagonally from the left side at the crook of his neck, down to his lower torso. If it worked, that was one less to worry about. If it didn't, he'd flatten out Hydra, one hand remaining on the handle, one pressed against the side to brace, and switch to blocking any incoming attacks. 

[Myra]

"Yeah I can see that. But there's no need to scale the walls now." The faunus got up and ran closer to the outpost, sneaking past the makeshift gates. She let an arrow fly into one of the bandits who was simply resting next to a cauldron brewing a stew. She slung her bow on and ran ahead, hooves lightly padding on the soil and avoiding splashing in puddles.

She was just as quick as Kayne in executing kills. Despite being in near plain sight, Myra stayed close to the walls. And even then, any alarm for the rest of the bandits outside was very slow. She ran at another that was just walking out of the building and leapt, flying in at them and driving her hoof in point first, feeling a crackling beneath. The man was more than dead, it was like stomping on a clay pot.

A third bandit took notice and was knocking an arrow, but before he could shout, Myra was already running straight for him with her head bowed in a threat to impale him with her antlers. The bandit, unsure of what to do, not used to the enemy running towards the danger, began to panic. But before they could let out a full scream, barely even before the sound left their throat, Myra stopped before them and forced a spike of earth to rupture out of the ground. She managed to nail them and brought out her bow, nocking an arrow and shooting straight up to impale them dead in the throat. She stepped back as the body fell with a thud, breaking the arrow and forcing the rest further into the neck. A quick look around and it seemed like the last was inside.

SPOILER: Click to show

7 of 8 down, 1 left

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    The blood from his recent kills dripped off his armor with the rain water, but the iron tang still clung to him. To his clothes. Its stench clung to the inside of his throat and filled his mouth with its taste. He embraced it with open arms.

    The young man let up on Hydra's trigger, and the blade retracted into its normal state once more. Once Myra had finished goring the last minion, Kayne didn't wait to make his way inside, leaning back and putting all his force into one solid kick, planting his metal boot directly into the door. 

    Wood cracked, and the door tore off its hinges, crashing down to reveal the room inside. Kayne didn't really care much for the details right now, and simply gave it a confirming sweep to make sure that the room was clear. As far as things went, the room was unimpressive to him, so, after confirming it wasn't trapped and nothing was in there waiting for him, he entered and let out a hefty sigh. 

    Pitiful. You always rely on someone else to clean up your messes.  Kayne ran his fingers along the wall as memories of his father's voice hissed in his mind. He remembered the training field, and how he'd been knocked flat onto the ground as punishment. You let the rookie handle your fight. What a joke. Kayne balled his fists. Even when things went well, some nagging, biting little parasite in the back of his mind found ways to tear it all down. Kayne needed to be better. There was still one more person left, then they could leave this place.

    "We won't have shelter from the rain this time." Kayne stated, testing the next door. If it wasn't locked, he'd let it swing open. If it was, he would force it to. "But there's only one person left. Likely the leader of this group. I imagine he'll be somewhat more of a challenge than his fodder." 

[Myra]

The interior of the outpost was cold. A low hum of wind echoing down its halls as the door was open. The kick was loud enough to surely alert the last bandit here. Myra followed Kayne in, keeping her steps quiet in case of an ambush. So far, the place felt empty, but Myra could see the life essence of the last soul there. She kept going down the hallway, alert for any traps set up by them.

The door for Kayne opened without an issue, revealing what was likely the sleeping quarters to all the bandits the outpost had. There were a couple chests that could be rummaged through and looted. Other rooms branching from the main path seemed to reveal general living quarters. More beds, shelves lined with all kinds of books, a study with parchment scattered everywhere. There was even a room with straw dummies and targets at the edges and a cleared center with singe marks to reveal a training room for them to keep their combat skills sharp. It was a shame that it didn't mean anything in terms of alertness.

The hall lead into what appeared to be a dining room, a large fire still roaring in the hearth. Benches were scattered, hinting to a brawl between bandits at some point that was never cleaned up. A dagger was poking out of the table. Potions were laying on the ground next to a knocked over basket.

Myra kept going, keeping close to the wall and peeking around for traps. She cautiously stepped over a tripwire, scanning the floor for other things like a stepping stone trap laid into the floor. The hall lead into what looked like a study, a dead end. No, that wasn't right. The soul was close, but not with a normal pathway. No, they holed themselves up in a room linked to a secret passage. "Where... would it be..." Even though secret passages were typically obvious, the bandits did a pretty good job of making this study so homely that no one would have ever guessed there was anything beyond this point.

SPOILER: Click to show

If Kayne chose to loot from the chest:

2x Minor Health Potion
5 Gold

[Sparky]

[Refs]

    Kayne followed along wordlessly, stepping over and around traps with ease and little hesitation. At times, he would end up getting ahead of Myra as she chose to err on the side of caution. The boy wouldn't even give the chest so much as a glance, ignoring most everything. His eyes were cold and hard like steel, but his stance was like that of a stalking predator, closing in on the kill. His body language was restrained, as he kept himself from foolishly charging in out of excitement. 

    If he wanted to be successful, he had to have patience and grace. 

    But... when they came to a supposed dead end, Kayne almost seemed to fall to disappointment. Already he knew from the way Myra was acting that the man was still around. But the fact that he wasn't there to face them directly... it made him almost sick to his stomach. I don't know what I expected from a bandit. Kayne grunted and relaxed his stance, turning away from the study and heading back towards the door. 

    "I'd hoped for a challenge, instead I get a coward who hides in a hole with his tail between his legs. What a let down." Kayne didn't say much more than that, but after a few moments, loud crashing noises echoed throughout the halls as wood splintered and snapped. If Myra were to return to the dining hall, she would find Kayne scattering broken wood everywhere, alongside cloth and bedding from the sleeping quarters, and anything else he could get his hands on. Once satisfied, he'd take a chair leg, wrapped in cloth with bits of smaller tinder poking out. If there were any flammable liquids, like oil or anything of the like, the cloth too would be doused in it. Then, he'd do the same with an assortment of similarly treated chair legs.
    
    It wasn't hard to guess what he was doing, especially when he tucked the first into the fire long enough to set it alight. 

    Regardless if she went to the dining hall to see that or not, Kayne would return to the study with the burning make-shift torch and begin doing the same to that room. Though, this time he was careful of what he pulled, apparently not wanting to activate the secret passage entrance. 

    "If the coward is still hiding, then there's no escape tunnel from his refuge. Otherwise he would have already been long gone." Kayne growled, tossing the burning torch down on his make-shift bonfire pile. He would only stay a few seconds to watch the fire grow, before hurrying Myra out and closing the door behind them. Using more rubble and wreckage, he'd do his best to jam and block the door, and throw a second torch down for good measure. A second wall of fire outside a jammed door that would only grow the longer it took to get out of the door.  

    If one fire was harsh, and a second was brutal, then all that sweet, sweet tinder Kayne had dumped out into the dining hall was downright overkill, and by the time he'd started igniting what was left of the beds, it was obvious that he just plain had a grudge against the bandit. The young warrior didn't stick around much to watch it all burn, preferring not to stay with the smoke as he made his way back towards the door.

    "If he doesn't burn, the smoke with strangle the life from his lungs, and if that doesn't kill him the heat will bake him alive. He can only hope that the roof won't cave in on him either. If he somehow survives, he'll only have us to deal with. Whatever he chooses, his cowardice only served to extend his miserable existence for a short few moments longer." Kayne's eyes were cold and devoid of compassion or care. He showed no remorse or guilt towards the cruel death he had set in motion. "I set out to destroy him, and I won't leave until I'm done." 

    He'd stand outside in the rain, watching, waiting to see what would happen. Even in the rain, it would take a while for such a massive fire to be put out, and inside it would be a hellscape of water being boiled into scalding steam, mixing with the smoke and creating a living nightmare. The young man would wait to see if anyone came out, or at least until it started to die out. Unless Myra wished to leave sooner, he'd stay until he was satisfied, and leave it for some other sap to try and find loot in. If anything survived the burning hell, though, Kayne's interest would be reignited ten fold.

    Perhaps he'd get the fight he was looking for. 

    "You fought well." Kayne stated, not looking away from the blaze he'd created. His voice was flat, monotonous, contradicting the words that came out of his mouth. "You surprised me. The way you speak, the way you walk, you practically glow with the innocence of a rookie. Though I can't say you're built for the battlefield, at least I know you won't break easily."