[BM10] Second blood II
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:12 am
63rd of Ash, 120
As the argent approached, Arkash kept low and leaned his body forward from the rooftop. He could no longer see the Errant Knight, nor his Hollow, but he could smell and hear them both. As soon as they were in line, Arkash bolted from his hiding place and leaped from the height of the roof with the dagger of his prosthetic arm poised to strike. While he fell, he contorted his body in a powerful twist to aim for the argent, then landed squarely on the human's back and drove the point of his knife into the knight's shoulder simultaneously.
The argent fell to his knees with a cry of pain; buckled from the stress of taking Arkash's full weight so suddenly. Using his one organic claw, Arkash ripped the human's helmet off and threw the piece of armor across the street before he dove forward and snapped his jaws around the argent's head to pierce his skin with the use of his serrated teeth. The taste of blood and salt painted his palette as he injected a full dose of his venomous payload into the human's veins.
Before he could attempt to squeeze the human's skull any further, however, the hollow charged at him and swung its fist at the attacking rathari. In a panic, Arkash ripped his hook-like teeth from the errant knight and fully extended his legs on the argent's body to leap away, but he'd made an error: The blade of his prosthetic arm was still lodged in the human's shoulder; he hadn't twisted the blade to free it. So, his prosthetic arm unbuckled at the brace and pulled from his stump as Arkash tumbled out of the way, and caught the tail end of the hollow's strike, which landed squarely on the Errant Knight and sent him to the floor.
While the injured Argent began to stand, Arkash readied his knife for a second strike, and the Argent's hollow bellowed a shriek-like call. He'd lost his prosthetic arm, sure, but his target was weak and bleeding; he just had to outlast him, maybe deliver a few more cuts. There in the dark of the Outer District's streets, Arkash faced off against the two.
His focus remained solely on the Argent as he stumbled and struggled with the poison in his veins; the hollow was too great a menace to Arkash. The argent held his bleeding head with a gauntlet while Arkash's jaw dripped rust-colored saliva. The rath watched patiently before the errant knight groaned in pain, and drew his sword as he turned to face his assailant. Arkash lowered his body, flicked his knife around so that the blade pointed downward, then ran at the boy knight and his hollow both with frightening speeds. All the human could do was lift his blade to block the strike, but the effects of Arkash's venom had already begun to work into the argent's muscles; he was weak. It looked as though Arkash was about to land his hit before the hollow stepped in and threw its arm to strike Arkash with a full-forced punch. Arkash hissed and pulled away at the last moment to weave beneath the staggering human's blade.
Arkash placed himself on the human's flank then dove at him with his knife poised to stab. To his surprise, the argent turned and swung his blade weakly at Arkash while he approached. There was no time for him to evade the swing of the blade, so Arkash took his chances and lifted the edge of his dagger to block the strike. The argent's strength had waned to a point that Arkash successfully parried the broadsword with his dagger, and dove in to fully close the gap, where he jabbed at the human's stomach. The blade ricocheted against the plate armor of his waist, as Arkash had lost momentum during his parry, and didn't have the physical strength to push the dagger through plate metal himself.
Just a moment later, the hollow swung another poorly aimed punch at him, and Arkash froze. Before he could regain his composure, the construct struck him from his blindside, and Arkash reeled from the blow. His dagger flew from his claw and he fell back first onto the cobbled street with a dull impact. His heart raced at the realization of what had happened, but his fear bated when the image of the argent swinging at him came into view. The knight's sword hit the floor with a dull ping as Arkash rolled aside, then lifted his legs to his chest and kicked up in a way that pulled the weight of his body to his feet.
As he spun, his eye traced the ground for sight of his knife, then shut as the argent's blade soared at his head. Arkash ducked, then dove and rolled across the floor to escape the argent's reach. As he landed on his knees, he turned to spy the hollow as it rushed him, then wove to the side as the Golem drove a hard kick forward. As its foot came down, Arkash gripped the ground with his claws and spun his body to throw his tail into the back of its leg. The momentum and weight of his heavy appendage took out the hollow's support, and brought it to one knee as Arkash scrambled across the floor to escape. The argent struck the floor where he crouched again, but Arkash was all too fast for the weakened knight.
It was quite impressive to see the knight still fighting when Arkash considered all that he'd bled and the weight of the prosthetic limb in the knight's shoulder, but he'd already lost a lot of blood. He leaned into the handle of his blade to catch his breath while the quickened beat of his heart continued to push his life force from his veins. During that short respite, Arkash caught sight of the dagger he'd dropped and pulled his body in its direction to snatch the handle off the floor. It was nearly over; the end was close.
His claws beat hard against the cobbled road as he ran at the argent, and in the same instance, the hollow rose to its feet. The beast turned and swiped at Arkash, as he'd expected, and missed completely when the rath ducked, then leaped at the wall of the street and bounced off with a full extension of his legs that propelled him over the hollow, and onto the kneeling Argent, where Arkash plunged his dagger into the back of his head and penetrated the hard casing of his skull. The human jolted and twitched as Arkash's weight fell upon him, then fell to the ground as the rathari brought him there.
Victory was his, but he hadn't the time to celebrate. He was made to release the handle of his dagger as the hollow charged at him once more. He fell back against the stone in a bout of shock, then rolled to the side to narrowly evade the stomp of its foot. He had to lure the hollow away, as per his contract. As his knees hit the floor, he sprang from the ground and broke into a sprint. The golem roared its shrill cry, and ran after him without tact or coordination; it's only task was to seek and destroy.
So, the rath led it through the Alleys and volleyed over whatever obstacle he encountered with ease. The beast ran through crates and the like without care and trampled whatever was in its path. The moment Arkash turned on the second alley of fifth street, he backed up to where the ratty man stood and caught his breath for a moment or two.
He only caught the sight briefly, but the ratty men held the end of a rope with both hands, and the rest of it followed into the higher section of the alley. The moment the hollow turned the corner and charged toward the rath, the ratty man let the rope go and stumbled. The drop of something heavy sounded with a crash, and the hollow's leg was caught in a snare that ripped it from the ground and dangled it overhead. In one move, the hollow had been captured. The rath watched as the beast flailed and writhed above, then looked to the ratty man. "Tha's i'?" He asked as he steadied his breathing.
"Didje draw th' eye around th' bodeh?" Asked the gaunt human. Arkash's eye widened, and in an instant, he turned for the exit of the alley and bolted down the street. He'd been too busy dodging the hollow to draw the eye. He had to hurry, lest someone find the dead argent. He bared his teeth and hissed as he flew through the moonlit streets, and skidded to a halt before the body. There were no other humans gathered, which led Arkash to believe the body hadn't been discovered. He reclaimed his prosthetic arm and his dagger both, and used the puddle of blood that the argent laid in to draw the insignia of the eye with the tips of his fingers. He'd done it so many times that it almost felt like second nature. When the argent was at last surrounded by the blood red lines, Arkash rose to his feet and took a step back. It was done, his contract was complete.
As he stepped away from the scene, Arkash breathed raggedly and clutched his chest with his bloodied claws. A glance down revealed the rushed job he'd made of fastening the supports of his prosthetic arm, so he began to properly adjust the straps. When he next turned around, the ratty man was stood there, right behind him. Arkash startled and gasped as he reeled in fright, then coughed hard into his claws. "Ah- 'ew scaerd me!" He spoke in frustration, and the ratty man smiled broadly.
"Follow, Assassin," he spoke in a tone that was much unlike him, then turned to proceed down the street Arkash blinked and stared hard for a moment. How did the human get behind him? Arkash had left him on fifth. Perhaps he went through the alleys? Arkash shook his head; It must have been while Arkash was painting. Nonetheless, Arkash followed after the human with something of a smile on his face; it was time to meet the shadowy client, the one who'd led him through hoops and trials for the past two weeks.
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