The job had been an easy enough one, tracking down some monsters that had made their great escape from some rich bastard’s menagerie. The owner himself had hired Killian, and directed him to the approximate location just outside Darkveil City. A couple of dead displacer beasts later, the swordsman had returned to the city to report the completion of the job and receive payment.

The menagerie owner had insisted that Killian should visit the River Rose Bathhouse and unwind, paid in full by him as an act of gratitude. Killian had tried to decline, but the asshat had been persistent, and Killian now found himself undressing in a private room in the bathhouse. He was forced to leave any weapons he had with the receptionist in the lobby, with an assurance that they’d be returned upon his exit.

Killian sighed, and resolved to try and enjoy the bath, despite his initial reluctance. He lowered himself gently into the steaming water, closing his eyes as his muscles relaxed, and slid down until the water reached his chin. He tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling, watching the steam swirl and dip above him.

This is kinda nice, actually.

Thoughts flitted through his mind, and he found himself thinking back to some of the more pleasant memories he had made in recent times. A small smile curved his lips upwards as he thought about that strange dance he had shared with Leandros’ wife, Apogee. The things I do to finish a job…

Killian stayed in the water for maybe ten minutes, far less than most would, but he was never a man to stay idle for long, and soon lifted himself out of the water and started drying off. Maybe that was why he wasn’t killed the second the assassins showed up. He was already tightening the belt of his pants when the door was kicked open and four men in dark leathers piled in, and four crossbow bolts hit the water where he would have been.

There was a moment of surprise from the men as they realized that Killian was already out of the water, albeit still pretty wet and entirely shirtless, and in that moment Killian fell upon them, fists swinging.

He really wished he had his sword.

Killian had learned a fair bit of hand-to-hand combat in the Legions, but it was never an area he had practiced much in, and it had been a while since he’d needed to rely on those skills. He always had his sword on him.

Not today though.

Killian’s first blow broke a man’s jaw; he might not have perfect technique, but he was strong [Bull’s Strength], and knew how to put weight behind a strike. As the man he struck stumbled back, two of the others slammed into Killian, and he found himself being driven back, and before he knew it, his back hit the wall. He tried to bring a knee up to drive into the side of the man on his left, who was wrapped around his midsection, but it was easily blocked. The man on his right had Killian’s arm pinned to the wall, and was producing a wicked looking curved dagger.

Shit.

The fourth assassin was still standing by the open door, trying to find a shot with his reloaded crossbow. This was bad. Killian was pressed to the wall, one arm pinned, his torso grappled, and a near certain death in his future- if not by dagger blade, than by crossbow bolt.

Like I said earlier… Shit.

---

Quest details:

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Let's get down to business
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 5 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: Charon has experienced a wide array of conflict and difficulty over the last three years, with worldwide crisis popping up every few months. The need for strong, brave heroes has rapidly been increasing and the Crown is starting to feel the strain, as military groups are being stretched thin. Capable heroes, adventurers and guild members are being asked to help train a newer generation to help combat the problems that plague the nation. Help by teaching another, be it how to use a weapon and fight, how to cast powerful spells, or how to quietly navigate a dangerous area. Maybe you yourself are the one getting trained, hoping to step up and help defend Charon! No matter the skill set, it will only benefit the land to have more able bodied heroes!

As the assassin takes aim and lines up their sight on Killian’s heart, he’s abruptly yanked backward by the back of his shirt with enough force to sweep him clean off his feet.

“Hrk!”

The other assassins glance over their shoulders at the door where their ally had been standing. A series of loud dull thuds emanate from the hall before it goes silent.

The pair restraining Killian don’t loosen their grip for a second which leaves the guy who got his jaw rocked to stumble over and see what is going on. While all their attention is on the open doorway, Killian might notice one of the puddles of water on the floor is disturbed.^[1] A set of silent boot prints appear on the ground and approach the goons pinning him up against the wall.^[2]

Suddenly appearing out of thin air, the heel of a boot roundhouse kicks into the clavicle of the assassin with the knife. They drop the blade and crumple to the ground in pain before a knee meets their nose and knocks them flat on their back, out cold.

The new assailant steps to the side, the hem of their long coat sweeping back behind them as they regard Killian’s current situation.

“Excuse the intrusion, I have business with the man you are trying to bloody the bathwater with.”

Golden eyes then meet Killian’s and it takes a moment before a look of recognition crosses the fellblood’s face. “Oh, it is you? Good day, Mister Glae.”

The familiar charcoal-skinned fellblood looks fairly unconcerned with the odd altercation Killian has found himself in even as the assassin with the broken jaw realizes he's there. They pick their crossbow back up from when they dropped it on the floor and attempt to reload it. Zarius continues to pay them no mind, instead giving Killian a bit of a bemused look. 

"Do you require additional assistance?" he asks, gesturing to the assassin grappling him. 

---

[1] invisibility
[2] silent step

Killian blinked in surprise as the assassin by the door got yanked into the hall, even letting out a little “What the hell?” despite his situation. Neither Killian nor the men pinning him did anything as the sounds of violence emanated from the hallway.

He shared a look with the assassin holding the knife, and the man snarled and pulled back his arm, winding up for a strike. Killian’s eyes flickered to the disturbed water on the floor, then back to the assassin a second before a mysterious Fellblood appeared and absolutely destroyed the knife-wielding killer.

Killian gaped for a moment, not recognizing this new player in the field immediately. As his savior addressed him by name, a memory flashed through the swordsman’s head- an embarrassing night at the Rookery.

Before the Fellblood even asked him if he needed further assistance, Killian was driving his now free arm down, his elbow cracking into the back of the assassin still grappling him. The man gasped and released him, and Killian shoved him back a step.

By the door, the assassin with the cracked jaw was aiming down the sights at….at… What was the Fellblood’s name again? Shit.

“Watch out!” Killian called out, then proceeded to tackle the assassin in front of him into the water, leaving the last one for… for… whatever-his-name-was. As the two men quickly sank to the bottom of the bath, they struggled for positioning, both desperate to remain on top. Killian finally got a good position and kicked out, hitting the other man’s chest and propelling himself back to the surface, his head bursting free as he gasped for breath. The assassin surfaced a moment later, sputtering, but Killian was already pulling himself out of the water.

The assassin waded towards the edge of the bath, but Killian delivered a brutal kick to his face from his position above him, and he fell backward into the water, blood from his broken nose reddening the small pool.

Killian stood there, panting, water streaming down his lean form, rivulets of water tracing his muscles and dripping off him to pitter-patter on the floor.

The assassin floated to the surface of the water on his back, and Killian realized he’d been knocked unconscious by the kick to his face. Killian slowly turned to the Fellblood, still breathing heavily and dripping water.

“Good timing. Thanks, uh… uh…” Killian tried desperately to remember his name, to no avail. “... Rookery guy.”

Zarius watches as Killian tackles one of the two last remaining threats in the room into the steaming bathwater. He contemplates going to help for a moment but figures Killian probably can take a single assailant on his own. 

The other remaining assassin takes aim and fires the crossbow at the fellblood, but doesn't even have a second to realize the mistake he made as Zarius catches the bolt and throws it back into his thigh. 

"Aaaugh!" He steps back only for Zarius to have already closed the gap between them, yanking the crossbow forward and then using the butt of it to crack the man's face.

He lets go and reaches up for his bloodied nose when the fellblood gets him in a headlock and tightens his grip on his windpipe until he's gasping for air. After a few moments he stops struggling and slumps unconscious in Zarius' grip while Killian makes his way back out of the water. 

"Zarius," he corrects Killian before dropping the choked out assassin unceremoniously on the floor. "And do not thank me yet." 

The fellblood then goes about the room, crouching down and going through the assassins' pockets looking for anything on them of value or import that could help identify who they are. 

"Any idea why you were targeted?"

He wasn't expecting to have to rescue Killian from getting killed. Hells, he hadn't really expected Killian to be the person he came looking for in the first place. Just goes to show that Darkveil's information network has taken some pretty bad hits in recent times. That'd be something he'd need to figure out how to fix sooner rather than later.

Killian saw the last few moments of the Fellblood’s fight, watching as the assassin was almost effortlessly dispatched. He felt a twinge of jealousy at the other man’s evident skill with close-quarters-combat, but it was quickly swallowed up by respect. This guy was good.

“Zarius. Right.” Killian moved over to the water and reached in, grabbing the floating assassin by the leg and pulling him out of the bath, grunting with the effort. With that done, he turned and watched as Zarius methodically started searching the assassins, presumably for information.

I mean, maybe he’s just robbing them.

Killian pushed that thought aside; Both Kamille and Caedes seemed to trust this man, and even viewed him as a friend. Killian could give him the benefit of the doubt. He tilted his head at the Fellblood’s question.

“I can think of a few people who might want me dead. I’ve had my hand involved in the destruction of more than my share of gangs and other such criminal organizations. Any remnants of those groups would have it out for me.”

Killian didn’t voice a darker possibility- that maybe it wasn’t a criminal that had tried to get him killed, but someone who might hold a grudge over Kenting. Whether that was a surviving family member that had been away at the time, or even an angry former comrade of Killian’s from the Legions who might harbor resentments over how his actions reflected on his battalion. Admittedly, these options were unlikely, but Killian couldn’t rule anything out.

“One thing I can say fairly confidently though, is that while I may not know why I was targeted, I can guess as to how I was. I was basically strong-armed into coming here tonight. A rich man, someone from this city by the name of Avery. I doubt it was a coincidence that he was so insistent that I come here.”

In fact, now that he was thinking about it, the whole job had been too easy, and they had specifically asked for Killian to travel to Darkveil just to handle it… It was likely that the whole thing had been a setup.

Killian looked down and cursed softly under his breath.

I’ve been an idiot.

Zarius pulls a few pieces of crumpled paper out of one of the goon’s pockets. Unraveling it, he glances over the writing while listening to Killian explain how it’s not out of the realm of possibility that someone wants him dead. Picking fights with criminals in Charon’s most well-known criminal haven would predictably end poorly.

“That would do it. You are aware that Darkveil is entirely made up of gangs and criminal syndicates, correct?”

It’s also no secret that the Legion have made it more difficult for the criminal syndicates to do as they please even on their home turf. Maybe that fact emboldened Killian to stick his nose in where it doesn’t belong.

That said, Ash Landers aren’t known for just sitting by and taking shit from good ol’ boys in armor upholding the laws of the religious and rich. Perhaps Killian feels otherwise.

“If you offended any of them, it only makes sense that they would target you.”

Finding no evidence of that in the scraps of paper, Zarius pockets them then continues to check for anything else of interest amongst the assassins’ belongings. He only pauses when Killian mentions a name.

“Avery,” he repeats. “Hm. Interesting.”

Avery isn’t a nobody, but he’s not exactly a big player in Dakrveil. Last Zarius has heard about what the man’s been up to was that he was licking Count Mallock’s boots in order to make sure his own morally grey operations wouldn’t get taken out by the Legion or the Stablemen in the wake of the Vulcadreus cult investigations. That’s about as much as the fellblood knows about the man, which doesn’t leave much to make any conclusions on why he’d set Killian up to get murdered in a bathhouse.

“Any idea why he would request you specifically come here?” Zarius goes back to pulling a few odds and ends out of pockets, still not finding anything particularly useful. “An ex-legionnaire hardly seems like someone worth his time and ill-gotten gold.”