Café Ristorante

[Guest]

It was a... beautiful day. Nothing less. With a fat wad of Cens in his pocket, his legs crossed as he propped his sunglasses further onto his face, and straightened out his jacket some more, admiring his white nylon gloves as he raised the ornately-crafted coffee mug to his mouth, and took a sip, the warm liquid slipping down his gullet as he sighed. Such a brilliant day to stroll through the ruins of central. Perhaps listen to some music, soothe his mind.

Most would think it a burden to have to work on a day such as this. But, however, not Ayden Derocha. No, Ayden enjoyed his job far too much to view it as a negative factor in any moment of his life. Infact, Ayden was working right this moment. He was assuming a rather stealthy aspect of his job, that was true, luring a mark to a café so he could... go along with his business. In full view of at least a dozen others. In broad daylight.

Ayden took another sip from the mug of coffee, and put it down a little quickly this time. Hot. Not the sort of stuff he was used to. However, he retained his calm expression, but knew that amongst the a la mode appearance of the coffee shop, he stuck out like a sore thumb. All the more reason for the contact to locate him slightly more quickly.

Murazar Dauthi. The Soul Stealer Alchemist. Proficient in hand-to-hand, ranged, and melee combat. A high threat level. The contractor was anonymous, and they paid extra for that benefit. Ayden didn't argue. They made the drop punctually, he picked up his fee, and drove back down to the coffee shop, and had contacted Mura not a few moments ago, asking him from a private number to rendezvous with him at that very coffee shop.

What reason would he have to appear? More, what reason would have have to not appear. Ayden had dropped a few hints in his invitation that he had something Mura would be interesting. And when the man arrived, well, it would be slightly more interesting than he anticipated. Raising his hand to call for a waitress, he stared down the other mug on the end he'd ordered for Mura, and straightened the tablecloth. He murmured to the young girl as she made her way over. "Could I get a top-up on my coffee, please, miss?" He said, a smirk creeping onto his face as he held up his mug. She flushed, nodded, and hurriedly headed towards the kitchen to move on.

Ayden checked his revolver. Clean, locked, loaded, hammer ready... a last resort should he have to use it. Next, he moved his hand to his sleeve and pulled it back to reveal a watch. Twenty minutes. By then, he aimed to be on the other side of the city, if all went to plan.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar had gotten an odd call from someone he did not know. He was to meet someone for something he was truly at least a little interested in. He decided to go ahead with the meet, but he was going to bring back up. Just in case he himself couldn’t take care of it, before he even arrived the interiors of the buildings surrounding the area were covered with snipers and quick reaction teams. There were vehicles of various types parked at any possible exit. The sewers had claymores set up in them from all the entrance points that would be picked up by his teams if the meeting went to plan.

Once he had arrived he appeared so much more out of place than his counterpart that it was ridiculous. He was in khaki pants and a T-shirt with two cloaks tied around his shoulders. One was the Major General, Head of the North, Head of Briggs Intelligence cloak. The other was the Lord Captain-Commander of the Black Company’s cloak which was one of a kind just like the other. He took a seat and upon seeing the coffee before him accidently spilled it over to the side in mid-sit down. He looked over to the waitress with a big friendly smile and asked her quite concisely to get him some water. He was taking obviously no chances. He even had a man in the kitchen watching out for any possible poisoning even if he did drink what he was getting.

He looked over to the man in front of him and held out a hand his other hand resting on the hilt of his sword Gurthang. The alchemical symbol on his hand was evident, he could snap his fingers and it would create an explosion in between them like none other. ”You know who I am, so who are you to be calling me? I’m guessing a brand new player in the game who either wants to be hired by, has been hired to take me out, or you want something from me. Which is it? Don’t lie either, if you do it will be worse on you. After all you should know I’m not weak by any means and the only people that even directly pose a threat to me are on my side or won’t fight me quite yet.” He was blunt, cold, controlled, and direct. He obviously wasn’t fooling around and even though he hadn’t said so he had taken precautions.

[Guest]

Bluntness. He'd presumed it would go down this way. Oh, well, he would have savoured a chance to play with his target a little more before he had to put the finishing touches on the whole thing, but, it seemed as if their playful little meet would have to erupt into something more at that very moment. The facade would have to be broken. "Soul Stealer Alchemist, you do not scare me." With that, he lifted a napkin to his face, to wipe what were the pitiful beginnings of a mustache on his upper lip.

With the other hand, however, he slipped it under the tablecloth and put a mite more downward force onto it than one would usually.

In reality, prior to Murazar's arrival, prior, even, to this morning's sunrise, Ayden had spent a good length of time engraving a transmutation circle into the face of the table, before laying the cloth over it once more. It was the specific circle for the simple manipulation of the shape of carbon-based materials. Such as wood. And, as the blue alchemic discharge crackled around the fingertips of his hand, the surface of the table began to shift, and in a split-second, it had formed into a razor-sharp, thin, pointed lance, forged of wood and wood alone, heading straight for Mura's throat, at the sort of speed that would take above superhuman reflexes to attempt to block. The only option he had at the moment was dodging, unless he wished to be skewered upon his chair.

With that, Ayden kicked his own back, and leapt up onto it, flicking his arms out to either side. "Why, Mr. Dauthi, I was positively OFFENDED when you didn't recognise my beautiful face immediately!" He flicked his head downwards, and lowered his body, stretching his arms out, bearing a rather inhuman, almost marionette-esque appearance. "After all, the Blackskull Alchemist is going to be the last person you'll ever see! PYAHAHAHAHAHA!" With that, he unleashed Fleshbane, and loosed a shot aimed directly at Mura's gut - inevitably one of the most painful places to take a bullet to.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar grimaced as the man activated his alchemy upon the table. He was already in motion, his eyes after all caught the glow and motion of the activation of the circle before it had been done. He guessed they were worth having rather than normal eyes. He clapped his hands together and as he kicked the table over to the side and did a very small backflip that almost scraped his head on the ground. He was on his feet, he spread his hands away from him and activated the Fire Shield. It crackled instantly to life just as the round from the mans firearm was shot towards his gut.

He let his hands hang at his sides as he looked through the shield, it was insanely hot. Thankfully his inner shield kept him from melting alive or spontaneously combusting. He smiled as he knew he was almost completely concealed behind the flames. " I have never met you nor have I worked with you in the past. To me your just a stranger, someone new to the game. Someone should have told you its suicidal to accept any contract that means my death or capture. "

He frowned to himself and felt his neck, that table almost slit his throat and beheaded him. The man in front of him was despite his currently low alchemical skill quite talented and tactical at killing. He decided to keep Gurthang sheathed and clicked his cochlear implant twice, the invisible communcations device that was implanted in his head. He had alerted his men to simply seal off the exits and entrances and prepare. They were not to interfere, Murazar spoke again." So how much money am I worth? I have a hobby of checking how far its gone up." He seemed to not even take the man in front of him seriously, except for the fact he had activated one of his rarely used ultimate defenses. His only one in fact, he rarely used it except when absolutely necessary.

[Guest]

Ayden landed upright on his feet, using his hands to balance himself, the barrel of Fleshbane smoking. The man had... avoided both of his assaults? Hmph. Perhaps he was truly worth the money indeed. "Eight thousand Cenz..." He growled, before a grin struck his face. "...and any more details will have to wait until I've got you on your knees!"

With the last shout, ignoring Murazar's warning, Ayden dove back in, gun in hand, and unleashed shot after shot after shot into the fire shield, until the revolver clicked empty, to which the assassin responded with a snarl. It appeared as if every bullet had melted before even coming close to the man's flesh, and he couldn't see what he was doing behind the infernal barrier, whether it was calling for backup or readying a signature attack. Beginning to run out of ideas, not waiting to reload, and still running towards the man - who was more powerful than he'd assumed - Ayden slipped his firearm back into its sheath.

But, that had been a distraction. As he got dangerously close to the shield in his sprint, Ayden propelled himself into the air, pulled his legs up tight, and removed both of his twin semi-auto pistols from the holsters on his shins. He'd executed this move many times, and knew that he'd only have a small opening - if any - when landing, so the moment he felt the cold gunmetal slide into his hands, he stretched out his body until he stood at full form, hurtling through the air, an arrow racing towards the ground, his trouser legs falling back down to their usual positioning.

In the split-second he felt his first foot touch the ground, Ayden immediately worked with his momentum, attempting to spin himself around to face Murazar's back, and, regardless of whether he'd increased the fire shield's area or not, he unloaded a six-shot barrage, alternating from both of the pistols.

Even then... this guy seemed powerful. Ayden hated to admit it, but he seemed almost like he could laugh off a shot from a .45, even at this range. He had a certain... aura... about him. A really, really, really bad one. Ayden's brow furrowed as he readied himself to fire the moment he saw an opening, aiming for the Soul Stealer's head and unleashing another two rounds.

[Murazar Dauthi]

He blinked as the man jumped over his head after holstering his weapon and pulling out two more. He chuckled slightly, apparently he couldn't see around the front of the fire shield he had created. Apparently he didn't see that it entirely encompassed every angle, almost anyway. There had to be some room left for him to walk after all. He sighed loudly and held his head before he snapped his fingers twice around the general area of his would-be assassin. Three grenade-size explosions combusted nearby the man.

Craters formed where they were exploded. He spoke aloud to the so-called Blackskull alchemist." All you have is small firearms? No missiles? No rockets or grenades? No water, ice, earth, or wind alchemy? I admit you are a dangerous man to be reckoned with, but you have nothing to counter my abilities. Do you really want your soul stolen? Or for me to create a firestorm on top of your very body and wipe out the surrounding ten miles within minutes? "

He paused to let it sink in before he started to walk towards the man before stopping after a few feet. The entire area around him was charred so black it was impossible to tell what exactly the material was that had melted. It was also smooth as perfectly carved granite. He questioned him like a frozen hail that wouldn't stop." C'mon, you have other tricks up your sleeve right? I mean you either knew you were getting ripped off for such a hard hit for only eight thousand Cenz. Or you thought this was a easier job. Or someone set you up for failure." At the last part he grinned like the devil for a moment and laughed," Too bad you keep fighting as if your in a corner. Otherwise you'd be pretty good to have in my organization."

[Guest]

"Not 'all I have', no, more 'all I brought with me'," Ayden growled. "It seems I've underestimated a mark for the first time in... well, must be years, now, practically since I first started in this line of business." A cackle. Then he arched an eyebrow. If the man was as powerful as he claimed... things could get pretty ugly pretty quickly.

Then... he started to roll it all into place. The facts were connecting, one by one. Anonymous contractor. A hit price apparently drastically lower than the average. And, the last piece of the puzzle, a man with god-like alchemic skills. Somebody was trying to flip his business back on him. Cheeky fuckers.

"My apologies," He mumbled, having stopped midway through a run-up to perform what looked like it would be another fruitless uppercut. Rather oddly, he returned to his seat by the table, picked it up, and grinned at the one remaining waitress cowering underneath the counter. "Can I get another top-up on my coffee, please?" He looked around for the mug, before realising transmuting the table would have... yeah. A brown puddle and shards of crockery on the ground revealed his predictions to be correct.

He placed his hands over the somewhat disfigured transmutation circle, and quickly reverted the deadly-looking wooden spike back into the material it had been birthed from, smiling and smoothing out the tablecloth, staring back up at Murazar. "Sorry, once more, Mr. Dauthi, it appears the both of us have been played, somewhat, here. I have no information for you, and unless you wish to continue this battle further on any grounds, there's probably little reason for you to be here. I apologise for wasting your time." With that, he finished, and flipped open his cellphone, rifling through texts as quickly as he could.

Adding up the little amount of factual detail he'd been given - and none on the particular workings of Murazar's alchemy - Ayden made a 'hmph' noise. He was pissed. Nobody had tried to do this before. Removing the half-empty clips from his pistols, and laying both down on the table, he blew through the chambers of the weapons, before setting them down on the small, unbalanced structure too, chuckling darkly and aligning Fleshbane with the Children gently, too.

Nobody had tried to do this before. And he'd make sure nobody would try to do it again.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar chuckled lightly as the man suddenly pieced together what seemed like a set-up. He froze for a moment calculating what was being said and decided that he'd better be this mans friend before the man came up with some alchemy that could kill him. Which sooner or later someone would be his counter. Rei-chan was a even counter to his own abilities, so far from what he had seen she was the only one who was in alchemy at least at least a level or two above his own. Except for mass destruction, that he specialized in more than she did. It was his favorite ability and the most seldom used due to its political ramifications.

Maybe he could hire this man, or at the very least have him as a contact. He turned of his fire shield with just a thought. The effect was more draining than he thought, it wasn't overly tiring. It however was enough to feel its effects. It seemed his more powerful and longer lasting abilities took more gas so to speak to power than he remembered them taking. He walked over and reset his chair back where it was and sat down in front of the man. He looked over at the waitress right after he did and held up a finger to get her attention. " Get me some whiskey and that water I asked before." It was concise and a order, not a request.

He tapped his head twice and spoke aloud, obviously not towards the Blackskull alchemist."This is the Lord Captain-Commander, situation has changed to green from red. Say again, From red to green. Turn all police and military police forces around and tell them the situation has been handled. Estimate damage and deliver recompensation to the owner. Out." He popped his neck afterwards and clasped his hands together in front of him before speaking to the Blackskull alchemist." So you know a fair deal about me. What about you? Who are you exactly to think you could take a hit on the most skilled under the market mercenary in the underground? After all you are either overly arrogant in your skills or had just caught wind of me since I operate in this area lightly."

His pride in himself wasn't misplaced or making him arrogant. It was earned and held in a vicegrip with death threatening him on a constant basis. He was at the top and wasn't going to let go. He was however very interested in his former would-be assassin. After all if this was the first time someone had tried to trip him under the business, he couldn't have worked for too long. After all he had worked in it for five years or so roughly. He had at least to trip ups each year alone. They were starting to thin out and go near nil now that he worked with Rei-chan almost solely and that he was at the top of his game.

[Guest]

Ayden blinked. Lord Captain-Commander? What, did this guy have his own personal invasion force or something? He mulled it over and realised that the forces were... well, probably a safety net for the 'contractor'. He imagined if they were anything like this man, they'd be hardy as all hell.

He snapped the phone shut as his coffee, and the two beverages Murazar had ordered were delivered by a set of pale, trembling hands. Ayden chuckled. But... recompense? He was PAYING them for the damage? That either meant he had political ties, disposable income, or, the most delectable to Ayden, some sort of moral code. He grimaced at the thought. Not thinking before he acted was second nature for him... although, then again, it was for most hot-heads and toddlers, too.

And then, even more intriguing. The man continued. He had obviously been stunned enough by the flurry of bullets, acrobatics, and alchemical assassination attempts to look into him. A cocky grin slid onto his face and widened over a split-second. "Actually, the 'contractor' both maintained anonymity and gave me as little information as possible about you." Ayden shrugged. "In my line of work, that usually means there's nothing significant about the mark, and ninety percent of the time, it's just revenge, or something dumb like that."

A sigh. "But, I suppose I'll indulge you, anyway. Talking about myself never gets tiring, after all~!" With the grin having reached maniacal levels of over-exaggeration, Ayden continued. "I'm a young man. I have no affiliations to anyone you know whatsoever. I remain a neutral party, at the moment, anyway. I kill for money, and alchemy's a hobby for me. What more do you need to know? If you want to know my tricks of the trade, I'm afraid that's a rather pathetic attempt to do so." A pause.

The light refracted off his irises, bouncing throughout them and creating a spectacular light show as his glare suddenly lit up with a chained, barely controlled inner rage. "If you want to know just how I operate, you'll have to beat it out of me, Mr. Dauthi." The grin and the glare both subsided slowly, before he continued as if nothing had happened and the statement had been perfectly usual.

"I take pride in my skills, yes, but... I wouldn't call it arrogant." Ayden raised a finger to his chin as he mulled it over, before shaking his head. "Actually, scratch that. People tell me I've got a planet-sized ego, so I probably do pit a lot in my skills. But, that's fair enough. I'm learned in close-combat, handling most firearms, and a number of Aerugese and Xingese bladed weapon disciplines." He yawned, stretching out over the chair, before returning to his usual posture and quickly sipping the scalding hot coffee.

"I'm sure that's not what you're interested in, though. Point is, if someone wants you dead, I don't know who it is, and unfortunately enough, if someone wants me dead, I haven't the foggiest of that either." A pause, whilst he rubbed the side of his nose in quirky bemusement. "Actually, that's a fair point. Why are you still here? Most people would have left long before this. Either you're interested, for some odd reason, or you want to hire me... and I can say I'd be happy to continue down the path of either of those two, but preferably the latter."

Ayden chuckled. "After all, I wouldn't say no to another little excursion today, and a few thousand Cenz in the bank."

[Murazar Dauthi]

He watched and listened with a small smile, he leaned forward creating the look of interest in terms of body language. There was after all no way to tell it was fake, he waited until he was done talking. At least for the moment, after all he doubted this conversation was going to end now. He replied calmly deciding to test Xingese, after all if this man did learn those bladed weapons then he had to have traveled there at some point in time. " So you would know this language then if you had learned those weapons, eh?"

He paused to make sure he did understand him, he liked using seldom used languages. It provide OPSEC for whatever he was doing." I could care less how you operate, i'm set in my ways as you are in yours. Unless something drastic happens I wont change, also on that note of why i'm still talking to you. I dont wish to hire you in a manner of speaking. I want you in my Black Company. I have need of someone with your talents and skills. Now before you refuse, the Black Company is run differently than most organizations." He cleared his throat before deciding to lean back for a second and popping his neck slowly as if savoring the sound.

" The Company runs on not so much as being as in getting jobs with greater than average payout on the condition of being in the company. Think of it as a loosely run military that answers to only the man in charge. Which is me. The only times orders are even really given are either in the Ebon Citadel's defense, which is where we are based. Or in time of war like right now although with preferrably only battles. Otherwise your almost free to do whatever you want so long as you do your job decently and answer the call. " He paused another moment to let it sink in and decided to get to the point right off the bat. Instead of beating around the bush after enough of a introduction.

" I am offering three choices. One you can join in one of the divisions i've set up. Or you can lead one of those divisions. Or finally you can just work with us, in exchange for jobs I can set you up with that are not quite as suicidal as this and have better payout you help us only when I call for your help. The only problem with the last choice is if you dont answer the call I will personally hunt you down for wasting my time and resources. Or you can just refuse it all and walk away at any time before you agree to anything. I wont mind if you ask more questions about any of it. "

He decided at that point to simply pour himself a glass of the whiskey in a delicate manner before sloshing it twice clockwise and sipping it lightly. It burned his throat, he ached for that burn. He needed it! He needed to be doused and calmed down. No emotion was his safety net.

[Guest]

When the reply came in Xingese, Ayden was half-tempted to respond with a series of confused Amestrian remarks, playing dumb, but then he remembered who this guy was. Serious. Right. He tried to concentrate.

He arched his eyebrow. A pitch? He wanted him to join this mercenary company? This was... unexpected, to say the least. Ayden sat contently through the entire spiel, listening the entire time, sipping his coffee until the base of the mug became visible from the inside.

"I have to say, moments after an attempt on your life, this isn't exactly what I'd expect." He paused. "I hope you don't have any sort of moral requirement to join. I'm not a big of morals, really. Killing freestyle's more how I go." A pause. The third option sounded tempting, but so did the second... but Ayden had to be careful with his affiliations.

"A few questions. First off, full, all-out membership... should I choose to join another party, whatever it may be, would this count as betrayal? Or am I, in the eyes of the Black Company, of course, allowed to perhaps... well, join the State? That silver pocket watch is awfully tempting, after all." Another pause, before he continued.

"My second. Are you in full need of a covert operations branch? That's... my specialisation. Somewhat, anyway." He tipped the mug upwards, swigging the last dribbles of coffee from the slowly cooling mug. "Third, do you have a good dental plan?"

He began to cackle, before, once more, bursting into full-out hysterics, obviously finding the rather mediocre joke more hilarious than was humanly possible. "I joke, I joke," He stated, as if Murazar couldn't pick up already. "But... should you allow me to join the State... and should there happen to be a war involving the Black Company and one... separate, involving Amestris..." Ayden began the display, using salt and pepper shakers on the table to denote which factions were which.

"Which faction will I be expected to fight with? I mean, I'd rather not face execution for desertion from either party, although I have a feeling the Black Company's would be somewhat more... gruesome." He grimaced. Sometimes he wondered why he loved the gore so much, then his inner psychopath kicked in. "Eh. I'm somewhat impartial. I'll probably take the third option, unless there's call for me to join up as branch head, or something. Affiliates, it works nicely. I mean, all the killing, none of the boring paperwork and having to decide between two factions, should it come to it."

He paused, before thinking on it, and finally rushing into a conclusion. "Hang on, I will still get access to the liquor cabinets of your 'Citadel', right?!"

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar rose an eyebrow and chuckled lightly before answering his question and statement," I can tell talent when I see it and I never hesistate." The last statement was a obvious subtle warning. One that was spoken naturally as if it wasn't one."There are no Moral obligations. Its just when a order is given, its followed without hesistation. Which most of the orders for you would probably be enjoyable. Some of the orders about reducing collateral damage and civilian casualities are simply to avoid the political ramifications of Amestris, provide professionalism which generates more profit, and to avoid making more enemies than we can handle."

He chuckled lightly and decided on honesty mixed with some... cunning." Well, normally that would be true. Although all of the research from being a state alchemist has been removed or destroyed by RIOTE. I highly doubt any of it will get back to where it was secured, without alot of people checking it out and having alot of inventory lists. After all I can manipulate the system if you need specific research books from most places in the world. At a small fee of course, although that should be no problem for anyone who works with and under me. Also even though state alchemists do indeed rank up nicely, so have I. I'm a Honorary Major General, the Head of the North, and the Head of Intelligence in Fort Briggs. You dont need to be a state alchemist to accomplish what you desire."
He paused a moment and decided on a point black answer as he shifted his body so his legs crossed over one another and he leaned back comfortably." In short, it would be a betrayal. However if I give you special permission with a specific plan in mind. Such as intel gathering on the side, I would make a exception to this one rule." This was the first time he and almost only time he would make an exception. The only reason he would was to benefit himself of course.

He rose an eyebrow, covert operations eh? He could guess Xan could use a field commander since Xan couldn't be at the Ebon Citadel all the time and could use someone to help out with the field work. He again answered his question,"At the moment there is no such position. However the leader of my Covert ops that also deals in Blackmail, Assassination, Kidnapping, etcetera could use a Field Commander. As a field commander you would do far more field work than paperwork." He paused a moment thinking before amending himself." Probably no paperwork now that I think about it."

He rose an eyebrow and pointed at the pepper, obviously the company before replying." The Company, I doubt that Amestris would give you large payments to fight for them against a enemy while the Company would. While I doubt we would ever fight Amestris due to the fact we are based here and allied with them. If it somehow happened, we would probably just base ourselves in another country or make one elsewhere. Even so you would be a betrayer to oen of those two factions and Amestris would just imprison you for life. While the Black Company would find more creative and ingenius ways to break you and make you beg for agony everyday whilst loving us for it." He smiled and spoke with perfect cheerfulness as if it was so far in the norm to him that it was just a nice friendly statement.

He rose his eyebrow again and spoke," There is a call for a leadership position due to a...unique situation with our current head of intelligence and black operations. Which the unique situation is permanent unless I release him from duty in which you would be promoted to the position. Otherwise while the third option is mighty nice, it holds the least of all the perks and you would never gain access to the higher tier jobs and payouts. Nor would we shelter you from Amestris or other countries if they threaten us with politics. If you did join and something happened that made you shit out of luck. We would help you and damn the consequences. You would be a brother to us then." The finally he grinned and shook his head east and west in answer to his question on the liquor.

" Nope, you would have just the minimum access to the Citadel. Membership gets you everything from the Armory, to land, sea, and air vehicles, transportation, better payouts, the bar, teams if you need a team to work with, and with the leadership position an even greater payout than normal. Let alone what an affiliate would get." He paused and motioned for him to ask more questions, give a answer of some kind or just tell him he was to think about it.

[Guest]

"Ah, a man who plays everything to his advantages? Smart indeed. And if you're willing to be gracious enough to give me that deal, I'd be indebted to you in return." And then came the spiel of being a Field Commander in the Covert Ops branch. Better pay than a State Alchemist, access to the armoury, that would certainly be nice... and Ayden presumed he'd get his own room as well. If he could balance the two, that'd be nice.

He coughed, and there was silence but for a moment before he continued with the final question. "I don't mean to offend you by this, but... should I at some point decide to leave the Black Company, would it be viewed as betrayal, and punished? Or if I... officiate it with you, would I still be a comrade-in-arms, say, just an ex-member, and have a few ties and expectations of me?"

Ayden continued with his explanation. "See, Mr. Dauthi, I'm a very sporadic person, and I don't want you to mistake me wishing to leave, should I join, even if I do, and my reasoning, I assure you, would be nothing sinister, I would leave behind all information and swear on my life not to become an informant."

He smiled, oddly, albeit fondly. Things were going well, and they had been for the past few days. Messing with the kid. The Ballzini job. And, now, this. "Other than that, the deal sounds enticing indeed. If there's some sort of specfic position for solely assassinations and interrogations, and it's open, I can promise you I'll snatch it up, right away." He chuckled, pushing the empty mug away from himself.

"And especially the last part. Having friends like that... well, some people to rely on, it's not usually my thing, I work alone... but... as a last-resort, I'm confident you and your subordinates would prove to be helpful above all else. And, I must say, your gratuitous amount of resources are tempting me, too." He raised an eyebrow and began to chuckle.

He waited intently for an answer. The clincher. The game-maker, or game-breaker. The do or die response.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar raised an eyebrow and gave it a decent few seconds to think about before replying,” You could under the original rules just go to me and we could work something out if you leave. Just make sure all secrets and intelligence stay with the Black Company. The only obligations you would be under would be the ones we would work out at that time depending on your situation and position. Although you would be treated with respect by current members should you leave the only real nonnegotiable obligation would be to do nothing that would negatively impact the Black Company.”

He paused to take a sip out of his whiskey and grinned and replied,”Assassinations are a given for one with your skills, interrogations are covered however due to special skills I and my Annalist has that make finding the truth child’s play. “ He grinned an unsettling grin, one that bespoke his grim reaper-like ability. He gestured with his drink towards Ayden and spoke up again,” Also in that sector you would get jobs specifically from me that pay very well. Although some jobs sadly, require very quiet professionalism.”

He set his glass down on the table and held out his hand deciding that Ayden was right at the point.” So what say you? Will you join the Black Company? Although if you do I think I might have to come up with a better title than field commander…Hmm, Dai Shan perhaps. That sounds as good as anything.” Dai Shan, Battle Lord. It seemed to resemble the Field Commander title.

[Guest]

Annalist? Interrogator? Pah, what was this? Was he some sort of recruit in their eyes? Chuckling, he removed his right glove, revealing a freshly-tattooed transmutation circle - still bloody - on the palm of his hand, the skin red-raw around it. "This is the transmutation circle for total control of the nervous system, be it my own or an enemies. I can remove any limit my body has over me, and at the same time, I can administer the most jarring pain anybody will ever experience and make them wish for the comfort of their mother's womb once more. Murazar - or Mura, whichever you prefer me to call you - I don't just like what I do. I don't love it. I take pride in it."

His tone suddenly went from nearing snappy to jovial. This guy would become his boss, after all. "That said, an interrogation can never go wrong if you know what you're doing, just several different paths of doing it right. Should I have to perform one on the field, or be it required that you need a specialist - my other palm lets me remove limbs rather messily with a touch of my palm - to interrogate, if you require a third wheel, I'd love to join. Infact, I insist that I sit in on a few of your 'sessions'. Observation for new techniques." He grinned. "As for... quiet professionalism..." He shrugged.

"Not exactly my forte. I fight psychologically, as well. I like to hear my enemies scream. To have a hand in one's death is beautiful. To be able to manipulate fear, and instil it into the hearts of many... is an unfathomably good feeling." He chuckled. "But, your call... boss." A grin. The pair were starting to see eye-to-eye.

Dai Shan? Very nice. He liked it. He liked it a lot. Sounded... brutal. But... not fitting enough for him. If he was to work in the shadows, to have them become his domain, to move between patches of dusk tracking enemies...

"Tell me, Murazar... in this language of yours... what is... Shadow Lord?" He waved his hands as he spoke, trying to sound and look as deliberately tasteful as possible, in an unspeakably depraved way. After all, everything had to roll in, click exactly into place, for him to even consider the position.

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar grinned wildly he like this man, he had style, skill, some forte. Although his ideas on interrogation were nice in his eyes, he knew that sometimes a lot of people required far more subtle and different less painful interrogation methods. Also his and Xans methods were perfect although irritating. He replied calmly as a great midnight darkness arranged itself around him like a cloak and covered the nearby area.

He spoke chillingly with his wild grin as the screams in his head raged loud as ever.” I steal souls remember? So does my Annalist. While you can be an interrogator as it would take some of the pressure off of us. I doubt you would enjoy our single session interrogations. They are quite short.” The darkness then faded away into nothing. It was at the least intimidating due to the fact that if he could steal souls like many said he could including himself. Then it was easy for him to sift through and find what he wanted.

Murazar cocked his head to the side; he had almost not even realized he spoke the words Dai Shan to him. It was an old language, with few words still known. Words his Father used to know and had taught him out of curiosity. He spoke again with a smile,” Shadow Lord would be Shadar Shan. Just don’t tempt the Shadar logoth. For Tia mi aven Moridin isainde vadin. Anyway before I assume you calling me boss means you accepted, have you accepted the call to the Black Company?”

He grinned as he changed his posture and relaxed it slightly. He was still on guard as ever he just felt the whiskey working its wonders on his wrecked system. He downed half the bottle already and took another of his ‘sips’. He grinned to Ayden the BlackSkull alchemist. He now remembered hearing that name earlier in his information exchanges. It took awhile to sift through that amount of information in his head.

[Guest]

He raised his hands as a conductor would, grinning madly, insanity twinkling in his eyes. "So prolong them! Suffering and pain is a universal enjoyment, of others, anyway. We humans are primal beast indeed," The light shone from his teeth as he unleashed a menacing grin, before curbing himself and moving back in his seat, taking a sip of water as if he'd said nothing.

"Shadar Shan. I like it. I like it... a lot. Infact, I love it! I adore it, Mura!" He cackled. "Very well. Shadar Shan Blackskull at your service. And as for your question... yes. I'm onboard. And I'd wish to head to your Citadel. Immediately." He stood up, and tucked in the chair, tightening his jacket, his hands going behind them to readjust both his satchel and the Fangs.

He picked up the first of the half-empty clips, and thumbed some more rounds into them from his pockets, ramming the ammunition in with an oh-so-satisfying sliding sound, leading right to the click as the hammer slammed on. He repeated the same process with the second gun, and crouched down momentarily to return them to their sheaths, before standing back up, crunching his neck from side to side, and staring wickedly up at the horizon.

An entire new world of violence had unfolded to him from an event that could have meant his death. What was this man's reasoning for taking him on? Why could he possibly want a would-be assassin, a possible infrastructure threat in his company, and so high-up, too? It was odd. Perhaps the man had, amongst his fearsome alchemy, some intuition the Blackskull Alchemist didn't yet have access to.

Either way... the wicked glare flicked from the horizon to Murazar in a single, fluid rotation of his head, the stare dulling and his grin curving up his face like a cut shearing his head into two portions, almost horrifically defined. His silvery-grey hair brushed back and forth about his neck from the breeze as he smiled.

"It's good to be on-board... boss."

[Murazar Dauthi]

Murazar nodded to Ayden and grinned as he tapped his head for the cochlear implant. He spoke into it as he stood quite lazily.” This is the Lord Captain-Commander. We have now the Shadar Shan whom I am traveling directly from here to the Ebon Citadel with. Get transportation and prepare a convoy ASAP. You have two minutes. Out.” He expected two minutes, but knew they would be prepared and in front of them in one-and-a-half minutes in reality.

When the man looked at him in a way it was dead obvious that he was both blind and looked like to have been in a horrific accident Murazar could do nothing but smile. This man had been hurt and knew not to screw up. Murazar just hoped in the future this man wouldn’t become a liability. If so he would simply torture him for the rest of his miserable life by either taking his soul or putting him in a “Dungeon”.

He spoke softly, his voice like a rasp among the graves. ” Good to have you in the brotherhood. Dovie'andi se tovya sagain. To the Ebon Citadel then.” Just as four wheeled APC strykers arrived and a bunch of black clad extremely well-armed with what looked like the best gear and weapons on the market opened up one door of a stryker and took up guard positions around it as Murazar walked inside and secured himself a seat waiting for Ayden to hop in and his soldiers to go back inside and roll the convoy out.

{EXIT THREAD}

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