Fantasy The Dome

[Desert Rose]

The sky was decorated with dark pink and purple hues as clouds began to settled in threatening rain. Rain was something quite common in the area, but their magic was so refined that if the royals didn't want it to be wet the magic shield could even block out droplets looking to refresh the moisture craving earth. The royals didn't see the necessity of doing so after all it would prove to be quite a challenging feat. So as the heavy rain fell washing away any evidence of a shadowy figure approaching the house of one of the councilmen.

A cry for help was masked by clash of thunder crackling outside. It was possibly their only chance to ever hope to get help, and it was squashed by mother nature, herself. Blue terrified eyes stared into cold hazel eyes freckled with specs of gold. A sickening grin twisted on the assailant's lips while the councilman clutched his chest gasping for breath in a painful effort to not choke and die. "it's less painful if you don't struggle you know." A soft voice spoke with such tenderness it sent a shiver up his spine as she releases her hands allowing him to collapse to the ground. Was he to die by a woman's hand? He wondered to himself in his final moments of shameful death choking on his own blood from the stab wound.

The rebel assassin always stayed until their victims took their final breath. It was a surety they couldn't afford to lose. If any one of them ever ended up surviving it could mean the end and the idea of starting over was terrifying. There were some nuances the assassin picked up when she was a little girl. Like how the dead would have their eyes covered, she didn't remember why exactly just that it was a thing and it was something she picked up on. She covered the man's dull blue eyes frozen with terror with a gauze like cloth. Removing any evidence of her other than the dead body she removed herself from the large house.

Raethlynn stepped out into the downpour letting the rain soak her cloak shielding her skin tight trousers decorated with a thigh belt that held throwing knives and pouches filled with vials of various poisons. On top she wore a somewhat loose fitting tunic a more manly attire but fare more functional than a corset. The cloak pulled tightly around her thin frame as the droplets bounced off the hood while she quickly walked through the streets. Now she was nothing more than a villager caught in the rain seeking shelter.

Shelter was a small house near the border of the barrier, a place where no one liked to live. She shivered some as she stepped out of the cold rain and into her soon to be warm little house. She lit a fire in the fire place and hung up her cloak to dry before taking off her weapons and changing into something far more suitable for a lady, even if it was for a poor one at that. Soon the events would unfold as the councilman marked the second death the royals would have to deal with. The first person she killed was a lowly guard to send a small message, when that wasn't heeded as serious the rebels took their threat a little bit higher. They would wait and see how the royals responded to that before deciding their next move. Raethlynn was simply the messenger nothing more and nothing less.

BriGuy

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel walked inside the house calmly past all of the guards and bureaucracy around. His grey clothing blended in with the dreary sky outside causing it feel as though he almost materialized out of no where. His cold heartless grey eyes surveyed the scene quickly. He looked at the dead council man, he looked at how efficiently the kill had been done and nodded. He flatly stated, "The same assassin who killed the guard." He walked out into the rain and surveyed the street. The rest of the investigators around were now intently watching him as he walked out into the street. The grey dreary man mildly twisted his head, barely acknowledging everyone else's existence just enough to say, "Leave." In a quite, serious tone.

All of the men immediately turned around and went back to their normal business. He pulled a grey hood over himself to hide his distinct appearance and curtly paced into the streets of the town. He was starring at footprints in the mud as he made his way through the streets and followed the winding alleyways and roads of the city. The rain picked up and most people scurried off the streets to escape the heavy downpour but the Sentinel didn't even seem to notice. he was soaking wet when he stopped in front of a house.

He sighed as he slowly pulled out his long ornate damascus sword. He took one last moment to admire the wet muddy street and almost smiled. He thought it was a beautiful day today. Everything was grey, and everyone was dull to what was happening in the outside world, just how he liked it. Pulling off his hood he set his Jaw, clenched his blade with two hands, and charged into the door slmming it with his blade first and then slamming into it with his right shoulder bursting through the door and preparing for any possible attack that may be coming his way.

 

[Desert Rose]

Between the pouring rain that seemed to come down even harder and the crackling of the fire place Raethlynn didn't even realize that there was anyone outside of her door let alone a soldier. With her soaked outfit hanging by the fire to dry she had changed into a simple peasant dress. She was sitting in an old rocking chair gazing into the fire place enjoying the soothing sounds the fireplace mixed with rain and distant thunder.

The young woman wasn't scared of much spending half of her childhood outside the barrier and the other half with a rebellion what was there to be afraid of? However, there were always a few things that could inevitably startle her.

What she thought to be thunder only added to her alarm as none other than the Sentinel come crashing through her doorway sword in hand. Her bright orange eyes took in his intimidating presence as she steady herself. She had stood up and moved back upon his entering.

"Can I help you?" she questioned her voice soft and almost sickly sweet sounding, nothing at all like the cold killer she was.

She was quick to think as she went over reasoning, it couldn't be she was suspected could it? The rain had washed her footprints away hadn't it? So how did he come to find her? She cleared her throat some as she tried to not look too suspicious be that she was genuinely surprised and startled by his intrusion.

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel smirked at her quick sticky, guiltily sweet remark. He had responded to the murder almost instantly, a few minutes later and he would have not been able to track her foot prints in the mud, but that was only if.

He cleared his throat and calmly explainef, "I'll give you 2 choices.
1. Admitt your guilty
2. Fight
I am prepared for either." The Sentinel was hoping to lure her into using beastial powers if she had them. If she was guilty she would be forced to reveal her true nature throughout the fight, and if she pleaded guilty that made it much easier, but way less fun.

He set hus sword and his pose in a defensive stance. He hoped his position would allow him to black any manor of atrack. He was dealing with, what could be, and extremely hostile and dangerous i dividual. He kept his expression intentionally smug and condescending the whole time, in hopes of angering her.

 

[Desert Rose]

Raethlynn drunk in the man before her with stone cold eyes as she listened to him. She noted how his body moved into a defensive stance. He was prepared for a fight like he said, and if she surrendered well that would be too easy.

She tugged at her dress as if to straighten the many wrinkles. "Guilty?" she enquired her voice still soft and smooth. "Guilty of what?" she asked looking him over with searching eyes. "Fight?" she said going along with the act of practically gasping while dramatically lifting her hand over her mouth "why would I want to fight a man... a soldier none the less." she said her voice dripped with sarcasm as she shook her head. "I could never... However, I have some tea I can make for such an honored guest in my home." She said not missing a beat.

She wondered if he would push further or give the first attack. She wasn't sure how he knew but she needed to act innocent for as long as possible. If not to get him to leave to at least buy some time for her to get to her weapon discreetly.

 

[BriGuy]

He took a closer look at the girl standing in front of him, she seemed to be the only one around but, the accused could have also just hidden in here. Only pretending to be casual he slackened off a bit. Giving her the faintest smile, he said, "Yes, tea would be nice. We can discuss who did the killing over tea." He fainted a casual demeanor and proceeded to sit himself down. He gave her a fake warm smile. He made sure to keep his hand on his sword.

He had to bait her into attacking him if she was the killer. If she wasn't the killer, he would pressure until she revealed were the killer was. He doubted the innocence and giddy demeanor she was trying to portray. He kept vigilant and studied her closely waiting for any unexpected movement. He didn't trust her one bit, and was especially going to watch the making of the tea in case she thought poisoning was an option. He wasn't going to let himself be caught off guard.

The Sentinel, regardless f how rude it may have seemed, also continuously looked her up and down, albeit discreetly. He was looking for any suspicious bumps, or places she could be hiding a weapon. The Sentinel was trying to live up to his name, observing her, watching her, paying attention to every motion, every place the eyes looked at noticed, every stutter of breath or word noted. He was determined to catch this assassin, maybe he, or she, would be useful. Killing her, capturing her, or using her, could all be useful.

 

[Desert Rose]

"Excellent." she said though just the feintest drop in her smile proved she was a bit annoyed by his answer. He wasn't the first person to drop by and accuse her of murder. With no proof she could send them on their way as none had ever stayed when she offered tea. She figured it was a noble thing, they were better than to have tea with a peasant.

She noted his stance relax ever so slightly and gave a soft smile as she began to prep the tea. She put the pot of fresh clean water over the fire place waiting for it to heat up humming quietly to herself. She pulled out mismatching clay made cups to poor the hot tea into. It was a mix of herbs and berries filling the room with a fresh berry aroma.

"You said there was a murder?" she asked handing him the larger of the two cups. She had done everything out in the open making she he could see what she was doing. She didn't want to seem anymore suspicious than he already suspected her. She was also curious of him only seeing him from afar and hearing stories of the Sentinel and here he was in her living room sipping tea after accusing her of murder. "Who was murdered?" She asked trying to force empathy in her voice as she tried to act how a normal civilian would act upon hearing such tragic events. She had a hard time seeing death as tragic, not really having an emotion of it, and well she knew the man she killed last night and how he deserved it.

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel watched her everymove as she made the tea. She was intentionally open which could either be suspicious or very innocent looking. He half expected her to toss the scalding hot water at him, but she didn't, she just poured him a nice cup of tea. The Sentinel thought to earlier when he had said he would like some tea. There was abrely perceptable hint of displeasure, this maybe him suspicous, but she also might just be upset some high ranking officialwas barging into her home and taking her tea.

The Sentinel calmly stated, "You or someone is your house killed a councilmen not terribly far from here." He calmly took a sip of tea and said, "Nice tea." He was trying to bait her int revealing information and intended to keep up the knowledgeable charade until he was certain she didn't know ANYTHING useful. It just seemed like the sincerity she was showing took effort, and if it took effort it would eventually falter. The Sentinel made sure to watch her carefully. If she was guilty, she was doing a fantastic job covering it up.

The Sentinel kept his sword out fir safety and to add to the unease. He made sure that while one hand was picking up the cup, the other was on the handle of his blade. He knew better than most that the half human could hide their wild halves very well if they chose too. athis point it was a mental game, his favorite game, he liked keeping people guessing, wondering, and keeping them on a leash of suspense in wonder of what he would do next.

 

[Desert Rose]

She paused in her sip of tea as her bright almost glowing orange eyes flicked over to him when he first spoke. So this was the game she had to play, convincing him she was innocent. She wondered if he was humoring her or if he really wasn't so sure she did it. After all whether she was innocent or not didn't mean he wasn't capable of arresting her.

"Thank You." she said graciously accepting the compliment.

Raethlynn studied him noting that he hadn't let down his guard. While he did sip the tea, or at least looked like he did, he still had his hand on his blade. Which still left her defenseless given her weapons were in the other room, and she doubt he would let her out of his sight.

She tried to look shocked "a councilman you say?" she said looking slightly down "goodness... how tragic." she shook her head as genuine as she tried to sound her sweet voice thickened with sarcasm.

"Please do tell me why you think it is I or my household to be the culprit?" she asked still keeping it vague and opened to the fact that she might not be the only one in the house.

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel smirked at how nonchalant she was. He calm and sweetness almost gave her away. The flicker in her orange eyes intrigued him, she was most likely hiding something. He tilted his head and calmly stated, "After killing the councilman, you cleaned up almost all traces of yourself besides the dead body. Despite the many pairs of footprints at the crime scene, only one lead down a dark ally and looked faded away enough to be the killers. So I followed you here to your house, were you have clearly already hidden all supplies or item you may have used, that's why I am going to ransack your house if not given an ample quick confession. " Towards the end his expression grew much more serious and he stared her in the eye.

The Sentinel would stand up, walk close, and look her dead in the eyes. With an emotionless col expression he would say, "Did you kill the councilman." He had his sword held behind him to atleast give her a fighting chance if she resisted. If she was a rebel, she could be an asset, he just had to break her first so that she knew there was nothing he could to stop him. The Sentinel would stare deep into her eyes searching for any sparks of fear, dishonest, shock, resolve, malice, and so much more. The yees were the gateway to the soul, and the Sentinel believed he had the key.

 

[Desert Rose]

Orange eyes narrowed on the Sentinel as he informed her of his morning activities that now lead him to her home having tea. A small smirk couldn't be helped on the corner of her lips as he took note of how cunning she was. However, she misjudged the rain and didn't guard herself well enough, then again she didn't plan on facing The Sentinel.

When he stood moving close to her she tensed as he closed the distance between them and she was backed into a wall. Her eyes flicked to his sword and then to his. A small flicker of fear showed before her face turned hard. "He deserved to die." she muttered under her breath as she moved her cup smashing it against the wall mainly for a distraction as she took the sharp glass and moved to stab his arm.

Raethlynn didn't put all of her weight into the thrust of the cup to his arm as she tried to use the distraction to put distance between them. If she could get to the other room and to her weapons, she might have a chance.

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel was taken aback by the speed of the movement and only barely gave ground. He lifted his arm and her glass shard shattered against his stone arm. With haste the Sentinel tried to sweep her legs out from underneath her. If she was any good, he wanted to know, was she even worth turning into an asset? Until things got dicy, he wouldn't even start trying to use the blade of his sword, only the flat side. She did seem fast though, although maybe a little dramatic in his eyes.

Her eyes had given away her rebellion, but he decided to let it happen, maybe that was a mistake, but it was certainly going to be fun. He entire demeanor had changed now. He smirked, "Fighting the sentinel with a cup of tea?" He jested, "I expected better from such an acclaimed assassin."

 

[Desert Rose]

Raethlynn made the mistake in forgetting what the Sentinel was so after the slight shock occurred as the glass shared shattered into stone she quickly attempted to dart to the side. Unable to avoid the sweep fully she managed to get distance between them even if she fell forward. She quickly pulled her knees in and caught herself on her hands before jumping up again almost cat like. Not wanting to keep her back exposed to him she turned and backed away towards the other room.

Her breath was even as she was no faced with a choice. If she went into the other room then she risked him trapping her there with little chance of escape if he blocked the doorway. The window was boarded leaving out that option. She wasn't keen on fighting the sentinel in these circumstances after all she didn't always grow up in a house, and found it to be quite restricting.

"You did say you liked tea." She responded her eyes looking him over making sure she didn't miss anything. A flicker of fear hinted at her bright eyes as she tried to push it down and keep her breath from quivering. 'die by his sword and be a martyr for the cause.' she thought to herself. It was hard to join a cause she wanted nothing to do with. The human rebels thought they did her a favor when they took her in at 10 years old, but she wasn't in need of rescuing from outside the barrier. The forest outside the dome where monsters lurked and threatened was her true home, and had she not encountered beasts far greater than The Sentinel?

Her eyes became slightly larger and brighter, her teeth a little sharper as she tore the bottom of her dress off so it was mid thigh. The torn loose flowy fabric hung in uneven tatters around her legs giving her more room to move her legs without getting caught on the fabric, as well as keep from getting caught on anything. Still she needed make a decision and fast.

Raethlynn darted into the next room where she grabbed her short sword and moved against the wall next to the door her sword up and at the ready expecting him to pursue her inside. If she could get him fully inside and be close enough to the door, she might be able to turn the tables and sneak out of the room leaving him inside, it would give her a much better advantage and a possible way to escape.

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel wasn't to surprised he hit her, but was surprised at how she transferred the hit into perfect escape towards a nearby room. He made sure to keep observing as she transformed more into her true form. He chuckled to himself and thought I guess all cats really do land on their feet. She had only gained minor distance so, so the Sentinel started to approach. She was probably quicker than him, but not by to much, and his strength and composition should be enough to win the fight or at least convince loyalty. A threat to kill the rebellion should be enough to convince her into servitude.

The Sentinel's train of thought came to a screeching halt as she ripped off her lower dress. In all his years of fighting, out of all the monsters, half humans, and warriors he had fought, none, absolutely none, had ripped off most of their clothes intentionally. His approach was halted in sheer surprise, was she honestly wearing a completely useless and unarmored dress before? He quickly regained focus and was very glad he kept most of his face covered otherwise she might have seen his facial expressions.

She had managed to run into the room. Sentinel decided to charge forward, and leap into the room barrel rolling and turning around as fast as possible. He hope was to surprise her so much that she had little time to react to his entry and would be caught completely off guard by his sudden entrance. Taking deep breaths he began to sprint and right before entering the door leaped forward and immediately searched for her. He locked eyes with her for a moment as he flew in mid air.

 

[Desert Rose]

Raethlynn steadied herself as she was already thinking ahead of an escape plan. If he was here then surely other guards would be on the look out, and if not then he would alert them. She wasn't safe inside the dome anymore, then again she never really felt safe.

The Sentinal's plan did work, however as he flew in and their eyes locked for a moment when he barrel rolled. Good thing too, otherwise he would have been struck with her sword at the door. She rolled her eyes clearly annoyed but he went all the way inside leaving the doorway opened, and that's what she wanted.

She quickly lowered her weapon, as risky as it was, and bolted for the door.

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel, realizing his mistake, grabbed a nearby candle and, while running to block her path, threw the candle as hard as he good straight towards her head. If he didn't stop her now she might get away. That would change the plans greatly. If she successfully started to pull away, he might have to try offering a more partner type deal than a slave type deal to her. Her speed was impeccable!

The Sentinel would try to stick out his long sword in another attempt to trip her as well. If he could stop her it would allow his initial plans to come through. He had intentionally left all guards behind in a hope that she would run away before he even got in the house.

The Sentinel was starting to get minorly frustrated. He expected her to fight him. Not run. Especially not run away that skillfully.

 

[Desert Rose]

The candle remained in hits metal holder that held the dripping wax when she used it for a source of light at night. She gasped as she felt the dull edge hit her head and what was worse was the sound the metal made hitting her skull.

She growned and looked rubbed the back of her head pausing in step. Before she could recover she felt the flat of his blade just before she was knocked over. She hit the ground and moved to her knees her back facing him. She was going to wait for him to get within her reach before she went to try and stab him aiming for his leg.

 

[BriGuy]

It had worked perfectly! With a smug grin The Sentinel approached in a fighting stance. Maybe this assassin wasn't as challenging as he thought. He walked towards her calmly. It was just so easy. Too easy. The Sentinel felt uneasy all of the sudden.

He kept walking and pushed down his thoughts, hesitation kills. Why was she staying so low to the ground? He remebered what type of animal she was. She's cat like, she's completely comfortable with low to the ground attacks. He was standing right next to her when the realization hit.

 

[Desert Rose]

Raethlynn smirked her toothy grin as she made a cut to his leg now more confident and thinking she had the upper hand she pulled the blade back and took a bold swing forward at him.

"The rebels will succeed!" she hissed at him.

 

[BriGuy]

The jab was successful, in his attempt to dodge the injury wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but the blade found its mark. Warm blood now trickled down his leg as she reared back in a fighting stance. Only taking a fraction of a second to recover, he got in a sword fighting stance ready to block whatever attacks may end u coming his way. She came at him with a swift strong head on attack. He was intrigued by what she yelled as he parried her attack. It was no master quality assault, just an average strike. He blocked it with ease.

He growled in contempt as he spoke, "The rebels will never win at this rate." He set himself up in a professional duelists stance. "You will never succeed without inside assistance." He paused for a moment to let the words sink in. He would watch closely to how she reacted. This was a determining moment.

 

[Desert Rose]

The assassin smirked "the fact you look so lowly on us will mark your undoing." she said simply as she pulled back from his block and moved into stance. She was growing impatient and desperate she didn't have the skills to defeat him, not as a full human.

She tensed and moved forward again as she brought the blade down on him in a diagonal direction. "you'll die too." she hissed at him.

 

[BriGuy]

Her increased attacks made it harder to block than before. He was able to lift his sword in time to block but the attack was harder, faster, and stronger than before. With more difficultythan before and only due to a solid stance he blocked the blow. The clang of the swords rung through the air as their blades hit concussivly. The Sentinel grumbled in frustration. Had she even thought about the offer before trying to lop of my head? The Sentinel offer a sweeping side counter strike to try and smash her in the side with the flat edge of his blade. This made the attack a little slower than he thought.

Midst delivering his attack he would yell, "I am offering you a deal!" His eyes were filled with anger now. If they didn't come to a conclusion, one or the other would turn into a complete monster.

 

[Desert Rose]

The clang of swords echoed throughout the small household before she retracted and went for another but stopped when he said he was offering a deal. Had she misunderstood? Raethlynn gasped when his large sword made contact with her side, the force knocked her down. Even though it was the flat of the blade it was a heavy hit from metal to ribs. The assassin dropped her blade as she fell and grabbed her side while taking a moment to catch her breath.

"A deal?" she whispered looking up at him curiously. They already had an insider, that was how she knew what council man to kill. In the end they would all die, but the rebel's knew they needed to kill them strategically. That could only be done with inside knowledge.

"What sort of deal?"

 

[BriGuy]

The Sentinel smugly grinned and sheathed his sword. He considered the question for a moment, "A mutually beneficial collaboration." He thought for another moment or two. His mind was flying through options of what to say and do. Finally he said, "I want us to do favors. I provide info, you kill a politician I need killed, it's a win win situation." He held out his hand to shake hers with a grin on is face, to help her up.

"You're not that bad in a fight." He wanted to make her trust him more than she should. "I thoroughly enjoyed that. Maybe we can spar again sometime." Despite his smiling face his eyes were intently watching her every move.

 

[Desert Rose]

She watched him as he sheathed his sword, and she slowly stood up leaving her blade on the ground. It was a sign of respect of the duel and trust. He sheathed his weapon and it was only fair that she no longer had hers.

"favors?" The assassin questioned now more interested.

"Hmph." Raethlynn huffed at his compliment but a light blush slowly formed on her cheeks. "For what purpose?" she asked eyeing him suspiciously "You're not part of the rebel forces." She noted crossing her arms over her chest. "Why should I do your dirty work?"