[F01] Kicking Names

[Luke Pendragon 0]

First post info
 

Luke's Stats:

Level 14? | HP: 280/280 | EN: 46/46 | DMG: 5 (1 base + 3 weapon skill + 1 weapon enhancement) | MIT: 0 | ACC: 0 | THORNS: 0 | LD: 0

 

Equipment and consumables:
Weapon: Rare Great Sword with +1 Damage and +1 Accuracy

3 starter healing potions that heal 50 HP

Abilities:
<<Straight sword>> Skill [Rank 1]

+3 DMG



 

 

Luke, on yet another quest, looked out over a hill into a bandit hideout that had, until recently, been cleverly hidden. Even getting to this vantage point had required a lot of time to cut through dangerous flora to allow troops to make their way through it. 

“So that’s how they’re getting in and out,” Luke said to himself, looking down at the base of the hill. It looked like earth had been dug through, creating a tunnel. Apparently the bandits had been here for quite some time and had a well established means of transport. It was quite unfortunate that this intelligence had fallen into player hands. 

What was so special about this place? Other than it being hard to get to, there were suspicions that there were valuable resources in the area. Exactly where was a mystery, but if Luke had to guess they were probably inside the tunnel or underground somewhere. He wouldn’t be surprised if there were a series of mines in the area.  

Luke turned around to look at the players that had come here with him. They all looked nervous – they were a small handful who knew they were going up against dozens upon dozens of bandits, if not more. Luke highly doubted that all the bandits were trained in combat. Surely a well established position such as this was full of other kinds of folk. People to do the hunting, the cooking, the cleaning, etc. 

“Listen,” he said, upon seeing their disheartened looks. “We aren’t here to fight them all. We’re mostly here to verify that this place does exist, and to figure out how they’re moving in and out. Your jobs are to secure the mode of transport. Yes, there will be fighting, and as usual we are putting our lives on the line… but we got this.” He gave them a confident nod, though he had doubts about some of them. He hadn’t exactly been entrusted with the best team and he hadn’t been in charge of them for very long. He knew their names and had a report of their abilities, but they hadn’t much combat experience together. 

“We don’t have long,” he continued, “before someone spots us. And when they do, it’s going to get rough. So let’s make it down to that tunnel and try to secure it.  

Thankfully the hill wasn’t hazardous to climb down on this side. It was mostly just grass and dirt with a few flower patches scattered about. Luke and the squad head down in a zig zag pattern towards the tunnel. About halfway down they were spotted – evidenced by the noise from down below and how a handful of bandits were grouping in and pointing at them. 

“Archers!” Luke shouted over his shoulder. The four archers in the group dropped to one knee and started drawing arrows and firing down at the bandits. They were too far away to land accurate shots, but flying arrows were always a good way to make people panic. There were pros and cons to this strategy. Luke was no tactical genius but it made sense in the moment. Make it harder for the bandits to form up and such. But once they actually did form up, Luke would be down four men until the archers were able to catch up. Or perhaps they would remain preoccupied battling it out with enemy archers. 

He was getting better at formulating plans and leading, but he was still a work in progress. At least people listened to his orders, which told him that he was either scary enough to not be messed with or his orders had started making sense. 

“Swordsman, ready for combat!” Luke shouted as they ran closer to the bandits who were amassing near the hideout entrance. They weren’t aware that the soldiers were actually interested in the tunnel, or at least they weren’t at first. When they finally realized what the soldier’s plan was, the bandits started running to the tunnel to intercept them. 

Both groups arrived at about the same time. Swordsmen clashed with each other, including Luke. Luke being the special case that he was, wasn’t as afraid as his men were. His sword was already drawn and his body was already pulsing with the power of the equipment he’d gotten from Wulfrin. He had intentionally remained slow to keep the group mostly together, but now that he was in the thick of battle, he could really let loose. 

Only a handful of the bandits were actually dressed for battle. The rest had thrown on whatever they could on short notice. There were more bandits coming, though they had five to ten minutes before they showed up – plenty of time to deal with this first wave. It was the second wave that would be truly dangerous, but there was no time to think about that. 

Luke moved like a blur, rocketing from one bandit to the next, slashing at flanks and other exposed areas. The sheer strength and speed at which he attacked was enough to overwhelm most weak NPCs, and if that weren’t enough his skill with a blade was more than enough to disarm the more competent of the bunch. He couldn’t be everywhere at once, however. He heard a scream of pain from a familiar voice. He glanced over to see one of his men fallen to one knee. 

“Shit,” he said, running over and cutting down one last bandit. 

“He got me in the side,” the soldier reported. 

“Medic!” Luke shouted. 

“Here!”  

“Take our wounded inside the cave. Nobody came out of there so I imagine it’s empty. Tend to him and keep him safe. 

The player nodded. That left two men by his side. He looked over to the archers. One of them was also nursing a wound, but at this distance he couldn’t tell how serious it was. Had a bandit really managed to land a shot so far away? The other archers kept firing, trading volleys with bandits that had much better cover down below. 

Luke looked back towards the hideout, expecting to see a fresh wave of bandits to fight, but he was surprised to see that they hadn’t come out. Perhaps they’d realized that coming out of the hideout to fight was a fool’s game, especially with a player of such power helming the assault. 

Luke’s every instinct was to barge into the hideout and kill everyone he could find… but he held himself back. They had secured the cave, and that had been the objective. 

“You two,” he said, turning to address those right next to him, “back up the medic and try to set up a position inside of the cave. I’ll make a bit of chaos so that the archers can make it down here.”  

Luke intended to follow through with his words. He ran at the bandit hideout, roaring as he did so. The archers couldn’t afford to keep firing afar and had to turn their attention to Luke. The bandits rightfully thought that shooting arrows at Luke would keep him away. It was difficult, however, to hit someone moving so quickly. Arrows glanced off of his armor and those that looked like they’d hit were deflected with a quick swipe of his sword. 

As he got closer, he thought he might actually go in there and make a mess, but he caught a glimpse of at least two dozen bandits forming up inside. It just wasn’t worth the risk, and he’d be damned if he got chewed out for not following orders. Thankfully, his distraction had been enough. His archers had managed to make it down to the cave and were now safely within its confines. 

Luke sprinted back the way he came to find the cave to be quite crudely made. There wasn’t really any space to do battle as it was just a simple tunnel that went through the hill and likely exited out of some kind of trap door. 

“How are the wounded?” he asked the medic.

“They’ll be fine, but I need medicine from back at camp for one of them.” 

“No worries, we should be out of here soon enough. I highly doubt they’ll try to rush us down in here, so we can follow the path. Trouble is, I don’t think this tunnel is going to be operational when we come back. I imagine they’ll block it off. But we’ve carried out our orders. We verified their hideout’s location and that they take underground paths to navigate. If we have some scouts stationed around the area, we’re sure to find bandits moving in and out of similar tunnels.” 

He could only guess, but this tunnel was not very large. It was hard to imagine large amounts of goods passing through, certainly not large enough to make an entire hideout. There had to be another way in. 

“There’s also one survivor,” a soldier reported, kicking a NPC bandit in the side. He’d been tied up and thrown to the side. 

“Excellent, I’m sure his information will be valuable,” Luke said with a smile. After that, he helped to carry the wounded through the tunnel which did pop out at the other side of the hill through a hidden door in the ceiling. 

Luke’s prediction came true. Over the next week, scouts kept an eye on the area and found two more entrances. Many more soldiers were sent in next time which allowed them to successfully capture the hideout. Clever bandits as they were, many of them had fled before the altercation. 
 

Edited 1 hour ago by Luke Pendragon

[Luke Pendragon 0]

Luke went back to continue his rescue quest. He picked back up at where he and Aisha had taken the lead, quickly leaving behind Fang and Wato, as well as Norio. Luke was surprised at how willing Norio was to hang back and preoccupy Minnat while they got away, although he had done something similar in the past. Some people were predisposition to play the hero. 

He didn't know why he criticized Norio so much, maybe it was because they weren't so different. All he knew was that, right now, he was glad to have him on his side. Between himself, Norio, Aisha, Wato, and now Fang? The group might have the manpower to do some serious damage to the criminal enterprise in Jian, at least he hoped he did. He didn't know what the mysterious organization had been doing the past year but he knew it couldn't be good.

"Where we headed?" Luke shouted, doing his best to make himself heard over the sound of the horse and the wind. He assumed Aisha had a destination rather than just aimlessly running off into the forest. He just didn't know where. He assumed it was probably to a camp or something, if he knew where it was that they had set up. He’d be glad to get out of this area, that was for sure. For as short of a time as they had interacted, he’d had his fill of Nagato and couldn't get far enough away from him. He couldn't stand that creep. Maybe one day he’d talk to the group about helping him take Nagato and his criminal empire down.

"To camp, but that’s just our first stop. We need to regroup somewhere.  

Meanwhile, Fang and Wato did their best to keep up with Luke and Aisha. If she hadn't been locked up so long, she would've been able to ride circles around them. Now so much time had passed that she wasn't familiar with horses like these. Fang hadn't been outside of Nagato's complex in years, so to see that the world outside it hadn't changed much, it was reassuring for her. Maybe the world wasn't so different from the last time she was free, she thought. 

After hearing so much about this others from Wato, she was interested to see what they were up against for herself. Sure, Wato described the Hanzai, the name of the criminal enterprise, to her in great detail, but words couldn't do it justice. She'd be interested in seeing just what she had gotten herself into by getting herself tangled up with Wato. She had been a part of crews before but something was odd about this bunch, they didn't seem like they fit together at all. Wato wasn't kidding when he described them to her as ragtag.

"It's just up ahead here!" Aisha shouted, slowing the horse that she and Luke were on. Though she said what she did with the utmost confidence, she'd soon realize it was no longer true.

Aisha stopped the horse and waited for everyone to arrive. Moments after she and Luke stopped, Fang and Wato caught up. Not too terribly long after, Norio arrived as well, albeit with a different horse than he left with. This was typical of Norio and the group didn't bother asking questions. They had something else on their minds - that the group had made it to the end of the line, that this was the end, they had done it.

"I don't understand, this is where I set up camp. Where is it?" Aisha asked herself and mostly thinking out loud. She remembered perfectly where she’d set up her tents. There was no way he could be misremembering, that was out of the question. Something had to have happened. 

"Luke, you didn't see it when you got here?" Aisha questioned, certain there had to be an easy explanation for this. If there was nothing here when he arrived, that meant someone would've had to have taken everything down. Nagato was pretty slick, from what she knew of the crime lord, but this? Was he really capable of this? If so, maybe they had been underestimating him all along.

"All due respect, it's a big forest and it all looks the damn same. You're sure it was here?" Norio joined Aisha, knowing full well where the camp was set up. It was a shitty spot but he remembered it well. It wasn't like you could miss a bunch of big tents.

"No, it was right here..." Aisha replied, before it finally hit her. "...Nagato, I bet he took all our shit. We weren't fast enough. If only I had arrived sooner, perhaps I could've stopped this..." she jumped to conclusions, blaming herself once again for all that had happened. She wasn't certain but all the pieces came together in his head - Nagato said he had been warned of their arrival, so while he was in his complex, he’d had his men get a head start. He’d probably had them follow their tracks all the way back to this very spot.

"Shhhh, did you hear that? What was that sound?" Fang interrupted, curiously. It had been a while since she had heard a sound like that, having been imprisoned as long as she had. 

Luke snapped out of it, having heard exactly what sound Fang was referring to. It was the roar of an approaching flying monster. He stumbled up the mound of earth before finally falling to his hands. When he peered up into the skies above him, what he saw was a handful of flying monsters coming right for them. 

"I could be mistaken, but those might be Hanzai monsters."

"It's definitely the Hanzai." Luke said, a sense of defeat in his voice already. He wasn't sure why he felt the way he did, since this was always going to be the end result, he was always going to have to face the Hanzai. He supposed it was just the mounting tension of it all, as well as desperately wanting to confront them on his own terms. The Hanzai were actually headed by a group of rouge monsters, and it seemed that they’d sent their forces to deal with them. 

"Bollocks." Wato remarked, "I thought we were supposed to be bringin' the fight to them. Yet, 'ere they are. How? How'd they find us?" Wato was disillusioned at the sight of the flying monsters soaring high above them. His last interaction with the Hanzai went swimmingly, as evidenced by his being sold off to Nagato and imprisoned. Getting captured by them was one of the least enjoyable captures he could recall and he'd seen quite a few in his day. Part of him was really looking forward to giving them hell, as it might be his last chance at doing something big. 

"You know what? I bet this is all your fault, Luke. I mean, it's all your fault anyway because you're the one who got us into this mess but I bet if you had shown up earlier, we would've been able to escape and get back to our camp before Nagato got to 'em," Norio said, jumping the gun a bit and letting his doubts about Luke get the better of him. 

Luke turned to face Norio and though the two were a similar height, Luke's presence seemingly towered over him. Luke felt from the beginning that Norio couldn't be a team player and it seemed to him that Norio was hellbent on proving him right. Dealing with enough as it was, Luke decided to set the record straight. 

"To think, I thought for a minute that we could work together, maybe even be friends. But no, you still act like you're a gun for hire. I'll have you know that I came here as quickly as I possibly could. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for not waiting for me if you couldn’t handle yourselves. Jumping into this without me would've been suicide and you know it.”

"Easy, Luke. You're not the only who learned a few new tricks. A lot happened while you were gone..." Norio snarled, anger emanating off every word he said. That was certainly true, much happened after Luke left to travel back to the desert. There was a lot that Luke missed out on and a lot that he couldn't possibly understand - Norio had grown and changed significantly, as had his relationship with Aisha. They had inadvertently gone from associates to something much, much more. What Luke, among others, would think of such a development? They had kept this little tidbit to themselves up to this point.

Luke appeared unimpressed by Norio but inwardly, he was surprised. In fact, a couple of things about what had just transpired actually caught him quite off guard. The first and most obvious being that, judging by that vibe that he was giving off, Norio seemed to have some new ability up his sleeve. That was quite a development in and of itself given how little he seemed to use skills in the first place. This did explain why Norio seemed stronger than the last time Luke had seen him.

The second was less obvious and came as more of an implication - when Norio said a lot had happened while he was away, he subconsciously shot a brief glance in Aisha's direction. Frankly, that concerned Luke far more than any new technique. It was almost as if there was something he hadn't been clued in on yet. Before he could deliberate over it, their quarrel was interrupted.

"Enough. If you two are done with your little pissing match, we should get moving. I know a little town just west of here, we can hide out there," Fang interrupted, unenthused by the egos at play. Strong as these two may have been, it wouldn't make a lick of difference if they were sitting ducks out here in the forest. Luckily for them, Fang was a local and she knew her way around the area.

The quintet set out once more on the horses they stole from Nagato, with Norio following close behind on an injured horse. This time they set out west, finding cover in the trees before the monsters in the distance could close in on them. They were surely circling the skies keeping watch, but the group was safe for now. 

They headed for a small settlement where Fang grew up. It took some time to get there, which only emphasized the aftermath of the awkward altercation between Norio and Luke. Had Fang not interrupted, who knows what else would've been said or done. Fang figured they had bigger things to worry about, but she hadn't been around long enough to judge yet. She'd come to understand in time that everyone in this group was a little off and whether she liked it or not, now she was too.

Heat beat down onto the crew as they shot across the trails, finally losing the monsters in the sky that veered off to look at other areas. For the most part, the towns they passed seemed shady. The area was well known for its dark underbelly and criminal underworld, hence why someone like Nagato would thrive here. It was a festering sore of evil, a blight on the country. 

There was little evidence of large civilization, aside from the stray hut or roving hunters. The towns were few and far between in this area. The settlement they were headed toward was the only one for miles. If they didn't stop there, it would be at least a day’s trip on horseback to get out of the crime infested area. 

As the group finally arrived and dismounted, Luke walked alongside Aisha, Norio lingering far behind. "Tell me, do you agree with him? I told you what had to be done, you were the first to know. If I could've done it differently, I would've."

Part of him understood why Norio took issue with his actions, but it wasn't like Luke wanted to disappear to do other contracts. He wasn’t like the others… he had responsibilities. It was just the way things worked out. Part of him also didn't think he owed anyone any explanation, as he had done what he thought needed to be done in order to get stronger. He supposed he couldn't fault anyone for wanting one though, because there were consequences to his actions and more people were involved now than ever.

"Who, Norio? No, all that matters is that we got here and we got Wato. Just let it go, Luke. He didn't mean what he said. It's been a long time and there's just a lot happening right now. We're together again, we're going to get out of here, and we're going to take on the Hanzai. We can do this, Luke," Aisha said, taking Luke's hand in hers as they walked. She knew she could smooth this situation over, she just had to play mediator for a while.

"You're right, we will. They don't stand a chance against me - against us," Luke said, catching himself and his inadvertent hubris. 

"As for Norio...I suppose I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this time, but you need to tell me something. I want to know what happened while I was gone. I want to know everything." There was something, maybe many things he didn't know and that needed to change if they were going to keep this thing going.

“Let’s wait until we find a place to stay.”

“Okay.”

The group ventured futher into town, following Fang's lead. After a short tour, Fang decided it was time they disappeared for a while. The local called in a favor with an innkeeper and scored the ragtag group a place to stay for the night, under the table too. Here, they could take refuge from whoever it was the group had after them now. 

Frankly, it was hard to say who exactly would be on their tail. Minnat, the bounty hunter certainly couldn't be far behind. Now that the Hanzai monstesr were in the area, there was no telling when their ground forces would be coming after the motley crew as well. After getting settled into a room that was surprisingly large, the group divided and paired off with one another. Wato and Fang took to the far corner. Luke and Aisha hung back by the door to the room. As for Norio, Norio sat alone, in the sole chair belonging to the room.

"You're right, there's a lot you missed, I'll start from the beginning. The first couple weeks after you left were pretty boring, honestly. All I did was listen to rumors, trying to get an idea how much Hanzai presence there was," Aisha began, clearing her throat before she continued. "After that, I took your advice and finally went out looking for Norio. I was on my way to  a town trying to find him and we ran into each other on the way, believe it or not. He was going the opposite way. I wound up joining him for a drink and convincing him to help me with something." 

Luke nodded, intently listening. "We got to thinking Wato was still being held hostage somewhere in the area at the time. I told Norio about some rumors I had picked up on and convinced him to go check it out. Didn't take much convincing. When he got down there to investigate the next day, he found a bunch of Hanzai thugs and Minnat. According to Norio, Minnat had just finished loading up wagons with a bunch of cargo to be delivered to Nagato. We can't know for sure, but we're pretty sure Wato was part of that ‘cargo’. Norio was too late and was ran off by a bunch of Hanzai before he could do anything about it, so Minnat got away."

"Of course. I had a feeling there would still be some of them there," Luke stated, glad he was right in assuming that the Hanzai would still be up to no good, even with Cado and the Hanzai supposedly long gone. "Speaking of Minnat, what's the story behind that arm? Last time we saw each other, he didn't have one that looked like that." 

"Oh, right. I guess you weren't around for Norio to tell you about that. Norio cut it clean off. Looks like he got it healed though, and with some enhancements as well," Aisha explained.

"Anyway, shortly after Norio learned where Wato was going and who he was being taken to, me and him had a falling out I guess you could say. I tried to get him to help me further but he ran for the hills, I think because he didn't want any part of this at the time. He had other things to do. A few days went by and some people came by Wato's mount and they ransacked the place, knocked me out, and carted me off. Everything after is hazy but from what Norio told me it wasn’t good till he rescued me from that mess. So, we've worked together on and off ever since. We went months at a time without seeing each other, even though we knew where to find one another. We did a few jobs together but we mostly just kept an eye out for any Hanzai activity. It wasn't until last month that things changed. All the sudden, Norio was on board. He wanted to help us and I think it's because there's nothing left for him.”  

Luke took a step back from Aisha as his stare grew vacant. He could see now what had changed, there had been a shift in the dynamics. Luke shot a dirty look at Norio, who was picking at his nails across the room. There was lots to think about – good thing they had nothing to do but sit around for the time being. 

 

Truth be told, Luke didn't have much experience in affairs of the heart, nor was he especially in touch with his feelings at this juncture. That's what made this moment in particular so difficult for him, he wanted whatever was best for Aisha and if she thought that was Norio, then so be it. However, Norio had yet to wholly prove himself to Luke. For all that Norio may or may not have done right, Luke still had his doubts. Ironically enough, the same could be said for how Norio saw Luke. Perhaps it wasn't Luke's business at all, perhaps he needn't be concerned. Of course, that didn't stop him from asking a foolish question.

"Is that right? You two? You're sure that's a good idea, considering the situation we've got ourselves in?" Luke questioned, the words slipping right out of his mouth before he could even completely process what was said. Perhaps he felt something else… perhaps he was even jealous.

"Luke, listen to me. Nothing's changed. I won't let something like me and Norio get in the way, here. Our mission is still the same. Don't lose sight. Think of what we've all done just to get here right now, don't throw it all away. Not yet. Remember what I told you back before you left? I told you I'm in this. We all are, now. So, act accordingly, got it? We need you."

Aisha stabbed her finger into Luke's chest multiple times as she spoke. While she understood where Luke was coming from and saw now that the passage of time had altered things, she knew she had to keep the peace at any cost. If that meant putting Luke or Norio in their place when they needed, then so be it. Her relationship with Norio, if one could even call it that, couldn't hold a candle to what she felt for Luke and their mission.

"Well, that's where you're wrong, I realized back then that I needed you. I needed every one of you to get here." Luke said, reminding himself more so than anything else. As he said what he did, Luke also realized that Norio needed Aisha. While he might not have liked it and he may still harbor resent and jealousy for the two of them, he now had a better understanding of everything. They were there for one another when no one else was. Luke couldn't change that now, none of them could. They could only go forward and that's where his focus needed to be.

Luke and Aisha's chat was long winded, yet short lived. There was still plenty Aisha wanted to tell him but after mentioning her and Norio, he seemed to check out. She'd have to let things simmer and reconvene with him later, as she still hadn't told him some of the most vital things she had learned. Things such as Nagato working with the Hanzai, both of them possibly working under an even greater power, and perhaps most importantly… whether Luke was finally willing to commit to taking things up to the next level. Pertinent as it all may have been, she knew now wasn't the time. Not after the discussion they just had.

Right now, they had bigger, more immediate issues. After some time apart, the five individuals reconvened in the middle of their room to talk things through. The group needed to get on the same page if they were going to steer clear of whatever else the enemy was going to throw at them.

"Fine. I'll bite, what's the plan? I got us this far and we're safe for now, but if this Hanzai is as formidable as Wato tells me, they're going to find us. Not to mention the fact that Nagato's bounty hunter is still after us," Fang started, begrudgingly breaking the awkward silence hanging in the air. She was slowly beginning to grasp the gravity of what she had gotten herself into here.

Despite all that Wato had told her, she didn't realize that when she got involved with Wato, she was also getting involved with his crew and their mission. While she knew they might get out upon the arrival of his friends, mentally, she hadn't grasped that. Even now, none of this seemed real, she was still playing catch up with reality. Despite her tough exterior, years of imprisonment had made this sudden change quite jarring for her.

"Formidable is an understatement, but you're right. We've got to figure something out. We had a plan, but with the Hanzai showing up, we may as well be back at square one." Luke replied, "You seem to know this better than the rest of us, Nagato too."

"I didn't see much outside those walls, but being around him as much as I was, I heard rumblings of a shipyard. I don't know where, but it's got to be out there. Knowing him, it won't be easy to get into and it's bound to be heavily guarded..." Fang replied, telling Luke all she knew, though it didn't seem like much help in the grand scheme of things. She was one of Nagato's personal entertainers for years and in that time, she had learned a bit about Nagato and his dealings, but not everything. Nagato was just that enigmatic of a businessman.

"Well. You're from around here, you think someone here would know how to get to it? Nagato seems to hire out pretty often, surely one of the scoundrels around here would know something," Aisha chimed in. Like Luke, she hoped Fang would prove useful. As it was, she wasn't exactly ecstatic about her addition to the crew. Everyone else here had been in it since the beginning, but Fang was the new kid on the block and thus far, Aisha couldn't tell if she fit in. That said, these feelings were spurred on first and foremost by Aisha's own pride and protectiveness. In time, perhaps she would rethink her feelings on the matter.

As the rest of the crew got some much needed rest, Luke sat staring at the Hanzai dragons still looming high in the sky above the area. The mongrel didn't need sleep right now, not the way the others did, he just needed to figure out what to do next. Nothing thus far had gone exactly as planned and that was a problem for him, it meant something had to change… they had to adapt. Luke, maybe more so than anyone else.

Before Luke could quite figure out what to do next, he was joined outside by none other than Norio. After their altercation earlier in the day, Luke hadn't said so much as a word to the rapscallion. The mongrel wasn't sure what Norio could've wanted, but he was fairly certain he wasn't going to get an apology for what Norio said to him earlier, granted Luke wasn't necessarily sure he deserved one either.

Norio wasn't entirely wrong in thinking what he did about Luke, but Luke certainly saw things differently than he did because he acted with purpose and intention. He did what he had to do, at least that's how the warrior saw the circumstances. He supposed the right thing to do, would be to hear and try to understand Norio, regardless of their current animosity for one another. If it was talking Norio was coming out here to do, then Luke supposed he could humor him and entertain whatever it was he had to say. Trouble was, Norio wasn't just coming out to have words.

"I wanna have this out, right here and right now, Luke. Today was the last strawm," Norio started as he came up beside Luke "I may have said what I had to say but it doesn't end there and I think you know what I mean when I say that. You've given me nothin' but attitude since we met. I could tell from the moment I met you, you didn't want to work with me. You wanted to fight me, didn’t ya? Something about me just rubbed you the wrong way and you wanted to do somethin' about it, didn't you?"

"I know, because I could see it in your eyes, that look. I'm no stranger to that look. I know when someone wants to get in the ring with me. So, here's what we're going to do. If we're gonna have to keep working together, we're gonna have it out once and for all. You and me. Got it?"

"Tread carefully, Norio. You don't want to do this. It won't end well for you," Luke said, refusing to give Norio so much as a glance. He was fully aware that Norio was dead serious about the proposition he was making, Luke just didn't think it would lead to anything productive. "Besides, you really think a fight in the middle of that forest won't draw attention to us? You're underestimating Cado and the Hanzai both." Luke spat, noting the foolish nature of Norio's idea. They couldn't afford to be found right now.

"Fuck, Luke. You really think you're hot shit now, huh? Come on now, at least give me the benefit of the doubt. I don't care how strong you think you are now, you need to put your money where your mouth is, pal. Come on, you and me.”

"You know what, fine. If it will shut you up, I'll indulge you. If this is what it will take to knock some sense into you, I'll do it. Let's go." Luke’s tone took a sudden and drastic turn. Now, not only was he looking at Norio, he was in his face. It seemed as though he was fed up with Norio's antics. All that miscreant was doing was adding insult to injury.

He has said his peace earlier but now he was just rubbing salt in the wound and Luke was tired of it. The mongrel felt as though he owed no one an explanation for his actions over the past year and the fact that Norio saw it differently, was more than irritating. All of this, coupled with the bone he had to pick with Norio concerning Aisha, was enough to finally set Luke off.

Norio and Luke took off into the forest. Eventually the two men came to a stop far enough away from the settlement that they came from. Luke was less enthused with the location, believing it to be too much of a halfway point between where they came from and where this whole thing started. Regardless, Luke was ready to get this over with and return to the mission at hand, so he was fully prepared to humor Norio if he had to. Not before attempting to talk some sense into him first, though. "Last chance, Norio. You can still walk away, we don't have to do this," Luke said.

"What, you scared? Sorry pal, there's no lookin' back now. Let's do this thing." Norio replied, uninterested in Luke's attempts to talk things out rather than fight. The rogue slipped off his horse, cracked his knuckles, and walked several feet away.

The two men stood across from one another now, about six feet apart from each other. A silence had draped itself over them, it had grown so silent that all the two combatants could hear, was the warm wind whipping through the trees. The tension that hung in the air as the wind rustled the combatants hair was palpable. As the two stood for a moment, waiting for the other to make the first move, they both realized that maybe this was always going to happen.

After a few tense moments, Norio made the first move, cocky as he was. Norio had a legitimate confidence in his abilities to begin with, but after realizing what he was capable of upon saving Aisha from the notorious Burgendy, he had discovered something new within himself. He didn't have a name for it, he didn't know what the power was, and he didn't know where it came from but he had acquired a certain strength, a new energy he could draw upon.

Trouble was, it came and went after he used it to defeat Burgendy and he hadn't been able to conjure it up since. Of course, that didn't stop Norio from thinking that much more of himself. He was tough and he knew it. Luke was similar, he was much stronger than last time they’d met. Going through an ascension was more than enough to put him a step above most any mage. He wasn’t sure that Norio knew about many of Luke’s powers other than ‘he’s a mage’ which is why he wasn't worried about fighting Norio whatsoever. Luke was more worried about what might happen if things got out of hand.

As soon as Norio launched forward with a slapdash attempt at an uppercut, Luke realized that Norio was faster than he would've given him credit for. That said, Luke was able to easily sidestep the attack, causing Norio to go stumbling forward beyond him. Quick to counter the evasion, Norio spun around and attempted another attack, this time a simple jab at Luke's head. Before Norio could connect though, Luke blocked his fist in mid-air.

With a grip on his fist, Luke began squeezing Norio's closed first, pushing in on his knuckles until they began to make an audible crunch. Luke had given him a chance to walk away and Norio passed it up, so the time for mercy had come and gone. Norio grimaced, but it would take a lot more to stop him than that. Thinking on his feet, Norio yanked out his crossbow with his other hand and tried to fire into Luke's gut.

“Come on now,” Luke said, waving his hand and yanking the crossbow out of his hand. It flew across the air and slammed into a tree.

Just like that, the two were on even keel once more. Norio's little attempt had done little more than momentarily startle Luke. Powerful as Norio's weapon of choice was, it was no match for a terrari who was ready for it. The scoundrel put his fists back up in front of him, squaring up as he slowly closed in on his opponent once more. It was evident that the both of them meant business, Luke just wasn't sure how far he was willing to go. The truth was, Luke didn't think it was outside of his ability to kill Norio and since he wanted to avoid that, he had to tread lightly.

For the first time since the two arrived here, Luke stepped into a makeshift fighting stance, the very same that he usually adopted but since he was not great at non ranged combat it had little practice. Rather than move toward Norio, Luke simply waited for him to strike once again. Norio's downfall against Luke was that he was simply too headstrong, he wanted to strike first and strike as hard as he could. Luke on the other hand, knew to patently anticipate Norio and plan his own attack accordingly. Whatever Norio came at him with next, the mongrel would have a rebuttal.

Norio swung, this time with much quicker speed. So fast that it made Luke realize that he must have been holding back before. His fist immediately connected with Luke's cheek, causing his head to swivel to the right. Norio had made his first direct hit and Luke had to admit, it smarted a lot more than he thought it would. After landing the hit, Norio felt pretty good for a moment until he realized how quickly Luke had managed to recover from it.

Luke flicked his hand back and out of nowhere the crossbow from before whizzed over and struck Norio right in the temple, which caused his head to jerk backward violently. A few more of those to the head and Norio would be lucky to still be upright, he knew that much. Unfortunately for him, Luke didn't stop there, swinging the weapon back around and smashing it against his chin.

The combo took Norio by surprise. He spat a fair bit of blood out of his mouth. That uppercut of Luke's caused him to bite his tongue. If there was ever a time he could summon up all that power he had when he fought Burgendy last year, now would be the time. Of course, he didn't have the slightest clue how to go about that. He didn't have a great understanding of sword arts, despite his ability to wield it. He had a pact within him that had awakened but he still didn’t even know what it was yet.

Despite his doubts, Norio lifted himself off the ground and ran toward Luke, locking hands with him in a power struggle. The two pushed against each other with all their might, well, at least Norio was. Luke was still holding back, for now of course. As the power struggle went on, Luke began exerting more and more, slowly increasing his output until he was pushing Norio down toward the ground. Norio's knees bent and his feet dug into the ground as Luke slowly overpowered him.

It didn't look good and it didn't feel good either, Norio couldn't keep up at all, he simply wasn't strong enough even with Luke only using the bare minimum of skill. Desperate as he was to keep holding on, Norio closed his eyes and grit his teeth, doing his damnedest to push through the pain. As he attempted to push back against Luke's overwhelming might, a soft light began to emanate from him. He was a Paladin and his spell filled him with hope.

Luke hadn't seen anything like this before. It took him a moment to realize that this was some kind of light bending - a paladin. Despite not actually doing any damage, the change in Norio was significant. Part of him had to admit, this was fun. He also found it comforting that he had the guts to fight.

As the two struggled against once another, Norio doing his damnedest to overpower Luke. Even in his inspired state, he couldn't quite seem to overcome Luke on the other hand, had begun slowly putting more force into their struggle, until he finally began to win the power struggle once and for all. Norio took a heavy step backward as he began to buckle against Luke's strength. As Luke loomed over him once more, he took this opportunity to look Norio right in the eye and tell him exactly what needed to be said.

"Norio, listen to me. I know about you and Aisha. I think you'll agree with me that we have our differences and that's not going to change. What can change, is that we can and will set them aside. If not for the mission, for her. You see, I know you feel strongly about her, we both do. From the sound of it, the two of you are at odds right now. If you want to do right by her, start right now. Get out of your own way. "

Luke tried to be the bigger man here. He continued, "I know this fight wasn't for fun, it was because you were angry. Not just with me, either. I can sense that.”

Norio grit his teeth and begrudgingly backed down, which in turn caused him to drop at Luke's feet. He hated to say it, but everything Luke said made perfect sense. As he sat in the dirt, he looked up at Luke and saw something else. Gone was the Luke he had worked with a year back. He could see now that Luke had become something else entirely. It was almost intimidating, what he had become, but in a positive sense.

It was clear that Luke meant business and that this whole thing wasn't just a joke to him, Norio could see that now. Before him, was a man who had to live with the choices he made, regardless of their consequences. Every day, he had to face that and try and carry on, doing his damnedest to right the wrongs however he could. Norio wouldn't say he was wrong about Luke all along, but he would say that there was more to him than he realized. Whether he liked it or not, they were brothers in arms now. Fighting the same fight.

"Well, I hate to say it but when you're right, you're right. It's been a shit year, Luke. I can tell you one thing for sure, you missed a lot. After you left, everything went to hell in a hand basket. Hell, I almost lost Aisha. I knew shit had gotten out of hand once she was at stake. That's when I realized what she meant to me. If I hadn't been able to save her, I don't know what I would've done. I sure as hell wouldn't on this side of the country, that's for sure," Norio said, wiping the dust off of his face with his gloved hands.

"You say that like you don't come from Jian," Luke jeered, playing along with Norio as he stuck his hand out to help him up. I

"Pfft. Different kind of forest, Luke. This place? This place is a hellscape to me," Norio replied, grabbing Luke's hand as he raised himself up off the sand. "Whatever you've got in mind for the Hanzai, it better be good. You're stronger than you used to be and I was wrong to think your year away meant nothing but that doesn't change the fact that these guys… they mean business. If they're going to come after anyone and everyone you even remotely involve, this has gotta end soon. If I had more to lose, you bet your ass I'd have a bone to pick with you."

"I know. Cado, based on every interaction I've had with him, is approaching unhinged. If he gets what he wants, if he gets the power and influence he desires, the whole country will be in danger. He's their leader, if he falls, so will the Hanzai. Like I said before, I've got a vague idea of what I'm going to do to end this, but I'm going to need you and everyone else to do it. So, is this over? Can I trust you to work with me?" Luke replied, sticking his hand out once again, this time for a handshake. He wanted to bury the hatchet with Norio and from the sound of it, Norio did too.

"Yeah, let's give 'em hell." Norio said, grabbing Luke's hand and giving it a firm, single shake. "Since we're being honest with each other, there's a lot you need to know. When you talked to Aisha earlier, how much did she tell you? I get the feeling you don't know everything you ought to." Norio was right, there was a lot Luke didn't know. Though Aisha had an opportunity to tell the Luke, she opted not to, given his reaction to what little she told him regarding her and Norio.

Meanwhile, miles away, Cado sat in thought. Despite their business together, Cado cared little for what Nagato wanted. However, when he got word from him of Luke's arrival back in Jian, Cado's interest was piqued. Cado felt it was inevitable, he knew he'd see Luke again, he knew he'd come for him. Someone like Luke, so insolent and stubborn, never knew what was good for them. He didn't know to lower his head and cower at Cado's feet. In some ways, that was respectable. In others, it was infuriating.

Cado showed Luke mercy by not having him killed in his sleep and for what? All for Luke to spit in his face and show himself once again a year later, more powerful than before. Cado could sense Luke looming over him, he had heard of his ascension. None of it made a difference but it did serve to incense him. Luke was just a continuous, grating reminder that a powerful mage opposed them. They could've had all the opposers in the world and it wouldn't matter, because the only one to truly stand in their way, would be Luke. He was a bug they couldn't squash, a wound that wouldn't heal, a sickness with no cure. Even worse, he was a reminder of the world Cado left behind.

So, when Nagato alerted the Hanzai of Luke's presence, Cado was quick to drop everything. It was all in hope that this would be the end of the line. In the year since their paths had crossed, the Hanzai had accomplished so much due to this war. Before, they had but a single town under their control. Now? They had their fingers all over the country.

The sheer number of criminals at their command was nothing to sneeze at but you'd never know it judging by Cado's attitude. In time, they had truly become a force to be reckoned with and yet, it wasn't enough for Cado. In truth, his goal to be heard had been put on the back burner as he and the Hanzai did dirty work for even more sinister organizations. If he could finally overcome Luke, symbolically, maybe he could overcome his superiors too. In his mind, it made perfect sense.

Lost in his hate-fueled thoughts, Cado didn't hear his second in command arrive. Though he would've been hard pressed to hear him slip in through the open door in the first place. As his second began his stride toward Cado, he was immediately stopped by Cado's personal guard. The beefy guard looked similar to the rest of their foot soldiers, except he was larger and wore a different kind of armor. The guard had express orders not to let anyone disturb Cado, no exceptions.

Unwavering and loyal as he was, he was unafraid of the other members of the Hanzai. Cado was the one true leader, there was no mistaking that. From the moment he was promoted he hadn't the slightest doubt who was running things. One could speculate that it all started when Cado stopped hiding in the shadows and instead showed himself to the public.

"What do you think you're doing? Get out of my way you blubbering oaf. You may serve Cado but I'm your superior as well, you know. If you know what's good for you, you'll get out. of. my. way. I won't say it again." The second in command pettily pushed the guard.

"At ease, guard. Let my second in command speak," the armored leader demanded, snapped out of his daze by the nerve wracking chatter of his subordinate. He admired the loyalty of his guard, unafraid of standing between him and his second in command. Should the others ever turn on him, he imagined his personal guard would fight alongside him to the death. He needed more like him.

"Your second in command? Am I below being called by my name, dear Cado? After all we've been through?" the hooded figure asked, mocking Cado as he moved beyond the guard, who had now stepped to the side. "Your unbelievable hubris aside, I wanted to alert you that we now have soldiers on the ground. I've stationed two units at Nagato's stronghold, with four combing the forest in search of Luke and company. I also wanted to inquire as to what you were thinking in regards to Luke. I trust you have a plan, should you face him again?" As time had gone, he had been acting alone more and more.

"They'll be coming to us, I imagine. When they do, they will fall. We have the high ground now. As for Luke, I showed him mercy once, I know better than to make that mistake again. Should we face each other again, he'll have the dignity and privilege of being defeated by one of his own kind. If it is defeat that I face and he somehow conquers me, I will have the same." Cado said, showing a brief glimpse at whatever semblance of honor the man had left.

"Are you suggesting he could be capable of defeating you? You actually think there is a chance you, the mighty Cado, will fail?" the subordinate asked, his tone caught somewhere between sarcasm and genuine concern.

"I have absolute confidence that I will be the victor and we will not see failure, but no good tactician ignores the possibility of their own defeat. It's better acknowledged and planned for, than never considered in the first place," Cado professed, turning to face his second in command, as if to show him how certain he was in what he was saying.

After a few hours rest, Luke and his band of misfits were back up and at 'em. Luke and Norio approached the day with a different mindset than when they began their endeavors. After a short altercation in which the two eventually found themselves back on speaking terms, Norio informed Luke of all that he and Aisha had learned in the year that Luke was away.

Luke had been given more information than he had expected, information that could certainly alter his course of action against the Hanzai. The plan that had been taking shape in the back of his mind since yesterday had now been fleshed out. For that, they had to find their way to Nagato's shipyard. That's where Fang came in, her thought was to seek the help of someone in town she may have known to have worked for Nagato, a "friend" as she put it. That objective brought the crew to a local tavern of sorts.

Luke walked through the half circle that served as the sole entrance and was immediately choked by the smoke hanging in the air. This place seemed particularly inclined towards cigars. The rest of the crew followed Luke's lead and cautiously entered, with Wato and Fang bringing up the rear. As Fang walked in, she scanned the entirety of the lounge in search for someone, anyone she might have known. Though this was her hometown, it had been many years since she last ventured out here. Then it hit her, there was an armor-plated man with long hair sitting in the right hand corner before them.

Fang would know that armor anywhere, it belonged to a mercenary named Himiko. Years previous, Himiko had served as a rival of sorts to Fang, often going after the same jobs. That is until Himiko gave up his life as a smuggler and became a pirate and marauder instead. It seemed even after all these years, his base of operations was still in this slice of Jian.

Fang approached the armored merc from her past, but before she could say anything, Himiko was quick to note her sudden appearance. "Well, well, well. Fang, as I live and breathe. It's been many years, girl. You looking for work? Me and my marauders could certainly use someone of your... talents." Himiko offered. He hadn't seen Fang in years and though he had heard of her imprisonment at one point or another, he acted as though she had left the country or dead.

"You're right, it has been a long time, Himiko. A long time since you stole from me. You really fucked me over. I've been locked up for three years because of you, but I'm back now and I hope you're ready to get even, because I've got a job for you." Fang spat on the floor, clearly still harboring some hostility toward Himiko for stealing a shipment of goods that she was smuggling for Nagato years prior. Despite how she felt towards the pirate, she knew Himiko would know where Nagato's shipyard was and she knew Himiko was tough enough to hold his own against whatever Nagato threw at them. Much as she detested him, he was a necessary evil at a time like this. It's a shame Himiko didn't see it the same way.

Himiko was quick to stand up in opposition to Fang's words, revealing just how much he towered over Fang, and many of the other patrons in the establishment for that matter. The large, armored figure side stepped the table in front of him and moved closer to Fang to continue their conversation.

"A job, for me? I think not, child. You've been gone a long time, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. You should know, few live to get squared away with me, Fang. I owe you nothing but if you don't walk away, you just might owe me. Walk away now and you'll have the privilege of being 'even', as you put it."

"Are we going to have a problem over here?" Aisha interjected, coming up behind Fang to provide moral support after watching her and Himiko interact. It was true that Aisha still couldn't be certain of Fang, but if she was going to be part of their little group, Aisha was going to treat her like family until she was given a reason not to. Not only that, they didn't need a fight breaking out in a bar. Not when there were people after them. They needed someone to help them and if this armored goon wasn't it, they had to move on and find someone else.

"Is this guy going to help us get to Nagato's shipyard, or not?" Aisha asked, turning her attention to Fang, hoping to expedite whatever was happening here.

"Nagato's shipyard? Ha! That's what you want from me? You couldn't pay me to get near that snake again. You and your friends are on your own," Himiko replied, shoulder checking Aisha out of the way as he walked beyond her and Fang both. Before leaving the establishment, the marauder and mercenary turned around to say his last words to Fang.

"Until we meet again, Fang. Enjoy your freedom..." He said, before walking out of the room. Moments after leaving, Himiko and a few of his men took off on horses. Just like that, someone who could've helped, disappeared. They were back to square one, but not for long.

While Fang's encounter with Himiko didn't exactly pan out the way she would've wanted, she and the rest of the crew had no choice but to carry on and try and find someone who could help them get to Nagato's shipyard. Luckily for the group, there was still hope, as there was someone else to be found in this bar. As the crew carried on through the lounge, lead by Luke, each member scanned the room for people they thought might be able to get them where they needed to go.

Fang didn't recognize anyone else now that Himiko had left, it seemed her neighborhood had changed a lot in the time that she had been imprisoned. Aisha was judging every book by its cover, there were plenty of unsavory people, but who knew how to get them where they needed to go? She didn't know. Many of the patrons knew the name, but few knew details, except one. Sat a few feet front of the bar, was a blue skinned aelf, sporting a messy head of hair. Before Luke could approach the guy, Norio already had. Unbeknownst to Luke, Norio knew exactly who this aelf was.

"Hold up, I know this guy," Norio spoke up, getting the attention of the others before diverging from the group to convene with the mysterious stranger before them. “You, you're the guy that came to me after I took out Burgendy, you were related. You're..." Norio stated as he walked up, before taking a seat in front of the familiar man. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the name of the man who had paid him a brief visit nearly a year ago. That said, he hadn't forgotten his face. He bore a slight resemblance to a man that Norio had hated for the majority of his life, so he was hard to forget that way.

"What are you doing here?" Norio asked, as he had fully expected to never see the man again. Last time they had seen each other, someone mentioned something about tying up his relatives affairs and that was the last he heard. Apparently, that somehow lead him here. This was the last person that Norio expected to be here, but he wasn’t complaining. He was willing to take any help he could get.

 

Luke watched as Norio and Moiba had their conversation. 

"Moiba. And you're Norio. I spotted you as soon as you walked in. You're a hard one to miss. You did me a big favor, taking care of Burgendy, I haven't forgotten," Moiba replied. Moiba was usually more stern and all things considered, still was a bit in spite of his drunkenness. 

"To answer your question, Burgendy is exactly what brought me here. If you remember, I've been tying up his affairs, at least I was. That's what brought me to you and in turn, what brought me here. As it would turn out, the last partnership my distant relative brokered before he finally met his timely end, was in fact with Nagato. After our talk, I set a course to eliminate whatever partnership my enemies had.”

Mobia recounted his tale. 

Moiba wasn't one to go out of his way to accommodate much of anyone, especially a crime lord like Nagato. That said, he was technically here on business, and that meant handling this in as professional a manner as he could. In an uncharacteristic move, Moiba pulled some strings and arranged a meeting with Nagato. It made sense that the two should meet in a rather formal fashion, as what Moiba wanted to tell him had to do entirely with Nagato's partnership with Burgendy. Moiba had a feeling the two were up to no good and as he parked his mount inside the stables of Nagato's stronghold, that feeling was only compounded. 

This place just felt dirty, Moiba hadn't even stepped inside the massive complex yet and his skin was already crawling. It was nothing new to him though, he knew first hand how ugly the crime industry was and though he didn't know Nagato personally, he had heard enough to know that Nagato was good at what he did.

Moiba was greeted by dirty looks from the goons hanging out in the stables. Moiba didn't know what they were doing nor did he want to stick around to find out, they were obviously dealers of some persuasion, they had the look of salesmen. Moiba tied down his horse well and began making his way toward one of the exits to the back of the stables, large as it was, it was a long walk. Before the mercenary could even make it to the exit, he found himself being escorted by two massive guards, presumably Nagato's detail. 

Suddenly, Moiba felt less like a client and more like a captive, it was clear he'd have to stay on his toes here. Sure enough, Moiba was lead through the doorway, into the complex. Once inside, he could already hear the music coming from the second or third floor. It appeared Nagato's reputation for parties also proved true. This was his safe haven and he was quick to let anyone who came into it know. He was a man of wealth and taste, a man of culture and far reaching power. At least that's what people said. Moiba supposed he'd soon find out for himself.

Moiba and his accompaniment ascended through the complex to reveal a large room filled with people, people of all kinds. The only thing the people in this room probably had in common, was a life of crime, that and their affinity (or allegiance) toward Nagato. Deep down, many of these crime lord types were the same - Moiba had dealt with enough of them to know that. Moiba didn't care what hang ups Nagato had, he just wanted to be clear with him that whatever he and Burgendy wanted to do, wasn't going to happen. 

That also meant Moiba had to be prepared to turn down a potential offer to pick up where Burgendy left off. Moiba was prepared to deny Nagato, regardless of how tempting of an offer he was made. Moiba had plans of his own and taking after his long despised, distant relative was the last thing he wanted to do.

"So, you're the one who wanted to see me. You don't look like much but to your credit, you certainly have friends in high places to have arranged this meeting," Nagato stated, as his guest was brought before him. Nagato had dealt with all kinds in his line of work and he knew when someone impressed him, Moiba did not. "Well, out with it, then. State your name, since I've already forgotten it. While you're at it, state your business with me." Nagato started waving his guards away from Moiba as he awaited a response. 

"My name is Moiba, hopefully that name rings a bell, because that has a lot to do with why I'm here. You struck some kind of partnership with a relative of mine, Burgendy. Whatever you two were doing working together on, I'm here to tell you that partnership is over." 

"Oh?" Nagato, quickly replied, uncrossing his arms and placing them on his chair. "I remember Burgendy well." Nagato stood up from his chair and walking out toward the balcony before him to get a better look at his party. "Tell me, then. How is it that our partnership has come to an end? Was he not able to deliver and rather than face me like a man, he sent you in his stead, like a coward? Pathetic." 

"From what I understand, he did his best but his best wasn't good enough. I don't know the details but I'm guessing you and him teamed up in an effort to take down Norio, that right? Well, you're right about one thing, he couldn't deliver. Norio defeated him. Burgendy is dead. The only reason I'm here is to tie up his affairs, let you know that it's over. All of it." 

"Oh, it doesn't have to be over. Burgendy was a pawn. Anyone could take his place, even you. I would've liked to have had the entirety of the criminal underworld under my thumb for my future pursuits… But there's no use lingering over what could've been. I'm more interested in acting upon opportunities that are directly in front of me. What's stopping you from picking up where your kin left off? Money? I assure you, money is no object." 

Few people were above being enticed, it was just finding the one thing they couldn't live without. "You see these people? Half of them are on my payroll. I contract people from all walks of life. Crime doesn't discriminate. I'm certain we could come to an attractive arrangement, one that suits your mercenary lifestyle. We could do good work together. Start with Norio, then we'll see where we are. I'm always looking for hired hands." 

"I don't think so, Nagato. You're not going to be making a deal with me anytime soon but I'll make a deal with you. Here's what's going to happen, I'm going to be on my way and you're gonna drop your obsession with Norio. It's gonna be like this whole thing with Burgendy never happened, got it?"

Normally Moiba wouldn't have cared what happened to someone like Norio, but since he had suffered so much at Burgendy's hand, Moiba felt somehow responsible. The least he could do was keep Nagato off his back. Not only that, Moiba also didn't get why these crime lords were all wordy blow hards with so much to say… it really got old after a while. The hubris these degenerates must have to get off on hearing themselves talk, astounding really, it really rubbed him the wrong way.

"Is that so? Or what?” Nagato replied, turning to look Moiba in the eye. How dare this miscreant defy him. This, this nobody. At least he thought he was a nobody, as his sources didn't have much in the way of information about him. Even their mutual friend who arranged the meeting didn't have much to say when it came to the mystery man. 

"I don't know who you think you are but I can tell you for certain that you're nothing to me. This is my slice of Jian and I will not be threatened by some measly trash. This meeting is over. See yourself out." Nagato felt himself growl, thinking Moiba would simply slink away like the low life he was. That's where he was wrong.

Moiba smirked at the snide condescension hanging in the air between him and Nagato. The mercenary turned around and took a couple steps as if he was going to leave, only to spin around and pin Nagato against the railing of his balcony. With a hand on his left arm and one on his right shoulder, Moiba lifted Nagato off the ground and dangled his front half over the banister. If Nagato wouldn't listen to words, maybe he would listen to actions. 

Before Moiba could do or say anything else though, Nagato's guards intervened, dragging him off of the helpless crime lord. Nagato spouted some intelligible nonsense as Moiba was hauled off, the mercenary menacingly smiling all the way out of the room. Moiba was taken back down to the stables, where he was thrown out on his ass, only to watch his horse be taken away by Nagato's cronies.

After recounting his tale, Moiba continued, "I've been trying to figure out a plan ever since. I'll give that Nagato guy credit, he's managed to keep me in hiding for months. I even found out where he had been keeping my horse, too. It wasn't enough, fucker was too good. Place was crawling with his men and the securities he had in place were some of the best I'd ever seen. I couldn't do it the way I liked, so I've started going about it the hard way, earning enough money to buy the damn beast back from him myself. He doesn’t know why I want it so badly, but let’s just say that I’ve hidden some valuable property inside of its body… but that’s another story.” 

He sighed, "enough about me though. A better question is, why are you here?" 

Luke poured himself a drink from the bottle sitting between him and Moiba. After hearing what Moiba went through with Nagato, unfortunate as it was, Luke felt like they had stumbled on a goldmine. Moiba was an enemy of Nagato, Moiba knew how to get to Nagato's valuables, and the best part? Moiba owed Norio a favor. Luke couldn't help but relish the moment.

Luke stepped forward and said, "well, Norio here is with us. As for why we're here? Fuck. How long have you got? The long and short of it is, we came here to rescue someone from Nagato. We got him, but we have unfinished business."

"That's right." Norio piped up, placing a hand on Luke’s shoulder. "The story is a bit more complicated than he’s is letting on, but what he says is true. We broke our friend here, Wato, out of Nagato's stronghold. As you'd expect, Nagato didn't take too kindly to that. It's been downhill ever since. But enough talk. We can tell you whatever you wanna hear later. Right now, I'd like to call in that favor of yours, Moiba. You said you know how to get to Nagato's shipyard? Take us there." Moiba was a mercenary, so it wasn't likely Norio would need his services in that respect. This favor was the perfect opportunity for him to get some use out of Moiba and get the rest where they needed to be. 

"Heh. I should've known that would come back to bite me in the ass. Look, I said if you ever needed someone in your corner, to find me. You did, and I'm a man of my word, so you've got a deal," Moiba replied, amused by how quick Norio was to get right down to it. Moiba had to admit, he liked the cut of his jib. 

"On one condition. You help me get my horse back, too,” Moiba bargained, glancing at each member of the ragtag group looming behind Norio and Luke, as if to confirm that they understood the agreement they were coming to.

"You've got a deal," Luke said, smiling. If you would've told him a year ago that he'd be friendly with somebody related to Burgendy, he would've laughed in your face. 

So much had happened since then, it felt like ages ago, like another life practically. Luke wouldn't have long for wistful reminiscence in that moment, because as he watched Norio and Moiba shake on their deal, he noticed another dark presence enter the bar. When Luke turned to see who or what could be causing this disturbance, he watched multiple Hanzai soldiers filter in. Luke and company had been found, at least they were about to be found if they didn't move fast. 

"Glad as I am that we've figured out how we're going to get to Nagato's shipyard, we've got trouble. The Hanzai is on the ground, worse yet, they're here. We've got to get out," Luke muttered, keeping his voice down so eavesdroppers would be hard pressed to hear what he was saying. All the while making eye contact with Moiba, hoping to convey how serious the situation was.

"I see them. Those goons in the red and black armor? No problem, we can get out through the back. Come on," Moiba said, springing up from his booth as he motioned the five to follow him. He had seen a lot of armored thugs and foot soldiers in his day, but these guys were new to him. Whoever they belonged to, Moiba wasn't familiar. 

While the Hanzai soldiers were preoccupied asking the other patrons a myriad of questions, the group did their damnedest to keep a low profile as they made for the exit. Naturally, it wouldn't be long before they were found out. Someone was going to point the soldiers in the right direction and when they did, the heat would be on. Luke brought up the rear, making sure everyone else would make it out without being seen.

They exited into an alley. At the end of the alleyway, Moiba peered around the corner to the left to make sure the coast was clear. Around this corner was the de facto area where everyone left their horses. It was supervised to prevent thieves. Moiba knew if he could get down to the other side, he could get to a carriage that someone park earlier. 

"Alright kids, here's the plan. When you see my signal, you move in." 

Fang and Wato both drew their weapons just in case a combat situation arose. Aisha, on the other hand, didn't bother. If she needed to fight those soldiers, she'd do it with her fists - she seemed to fare better that way. Ideally, they'd get away without having to confront the soldiers, but it was better to plan for the worst and hope for the best. 

As Moiba struggled to sneak into the carriage, he also started peaking over his shoulder at random intervals. The mercenary couldn't have anyone interfering with his work right now. That was the trouble with stealing from people, you had to be on your toes or else you could wind up in hot water. 

Meanwhile, back inside the bar from whence they came, the soldiers belonging to the Hanzai were closing in on their targets. Luckily, most of the customers in the lounge were outlaws themselves, and weren't willing to cooperate. Of course, there were always exceptions to any rule. Some criminals would sell just about anyone if it meant saving their own skin. With their newly gathered information, the squad leader split the squad in two and ordered them outside to patrol the front and back exits.

A few soldiers went out front and as soon they looked to the right, they saw a man attempting to hijack a carriage sitting on the other side of the building. According to the information they were given inside, Luke and company were being helped by a mercenary named Moiba. This man before the soldiers just happened to match the description they were given. Light blue skin, unruly hair, tattered armor. The soldiers looked at one another, acknowledging what they were seeing, and started to move in on the man. 

Meanwhile, the other soldiers filtered out through the back exit to find Luke. Before the leading soldier could even speak, Luke threw his body weight against him. The soldier stumbled backward, stunned. Before the other two Hanzai soldiers could move in, Norio grabbed them both and slammed them against the wall repeatedly. Norio dropped the now limp soldiers and turned his attention back to the first soldier Luke had stunned. The soldier charged at Luke, attempting to throw a right hook at him after getting a running start. The attack was to no avail, Norio smashing into the soldier in mid-air. 

Luke walked up to one of the dazed soldiers. “Here’s a message for your higher ups. You can hunt me down, you can send your men after me, but you will not stop me. I'm coming for you and I'm going to finish this. You thought you could come here and stop me and my friends in our tracks, but you've only brought yourselves closer to the end. Soon, this will all be over." 

"You there, stop! By order of the Hanzai, you're under arrest," a Hanzai soldier commanded as he and his comrades started running toward Moiba. 

"God dammit, we've been made!" Moiba shouted as loud as he could, not even realizing that the rest of the group had already been dealing with soldiers of their own. 

Moiba quickly loaded his crossbow and opened fire on the foot soldiers, making sure to keep one hand free to hold the horses in place. 

"Everyone get down here, now! We're making a break for it!" 
 

Edited 1 hour ago by Luke Pendragon

[Luke Pendragon 0]

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