72nd of Ash, 120
From the low lamplight of his room, Arkash peered through the spyglass with both his hands to steady the tool. From the glass, he watched the warm yellow glow of the window he spied dim to black, though the rest of the windows remained lit. The estate never fully slept, but that wasn't to say that it's lord didn't. Arkash lowered the spyglass and squinted into the moonlit darkness that rested beyond his window. A glance to the left revealed all the plans and preparation the past few days had taken him, and all of a sudden, he was ready.
By a stroke of luck, Arkash had regained both his left arm and his eye earlier that day. He'd sworn to repay the elf that gave him his body back with a plethora of favors whenever the time came, and with the plans they'd set to meet in a few days, Arkash was certain that he'd someday live up to the promise. Still, he only had three days from then to kill the noble lord, retrieve his reward, then make it back to Lienburg before Taelian gave up on him. So, his own agenda had been pushed forward. Edward Vogen would die that night.
Edward Vogen, the name that Malafor's ex-accomplice had chosen, was a ruthless, honorless human. At the promise of a finer life, Edward had turned on the man he sided with and struck him down with a terrible curse. Thinking he'd won, and that Malafor would perish, Edward fled and claimed his status as celebrant, as awarded by the count. Only, Edward went on to inherit the entirety of the house when the woman he'd married to come into power died of a mysterious illness. Arkash knew the noble was a practitioner of bane, like Cyrus. He'd backstabbed his accomplice, murdered his wife, and tormented countless other innocents while under Malafor's guide.
The rathari had made a promise not to return to his despicable ways and meant it. It was because Arkash whole-heartedly believed that Edward deserved to die, that it was the right thing to do, that he continued his mission. That and the promise of power beyond his wildest dreams had completely enthralled him. Malafor had to die too, but only After Arkash had claimed his reward. He was steadfast in his decision, and remained so as he packed his bag with all the necessary gear he would need for the job.
He packed up the whole room, at least everything that belonged to him with the addition of a thin blanket, as he'd have to skip town that night if he was caught. During his cleaning, he stopped upon the steel shaft of his prosthetic arm and exhaled slowly through his nose. With both hands, he picked up the false limb and inspected the saddle on which his stump once rested. Pain filled his eyes for a moment, but he soon dismissed the thoughts of what had been and looked to the future. With a sigh, he set the arm down on the bed, collected his key and backpack, and headed out the door. The arm was left for the Innkeeper; a trade for the sheet he'd taken.
Once he'd returned the key to the keeper and paid off the at of his rent of the room, he made his way to the estate. The streets were far quieter at that hour. In fact, despite being a rather busy street in the daylight hours, it was completely empty in the moonlight. Arkash looked up at the glare of the moon from the dark of the alley; it was nice to watch the celestial body with both of his eyes once more. Once again, the moon would watch him as he stained the chrome of his knife with red.
After the patrolling Chevalier passed, Arkash drew the thin blanket from his backpack and ran to the bench across the street. He took a knee quickly and set his bag on the floor before he drew his knife and his shortsword alike and attached their sheaths to his hips on either side. With his teeth bared, he tossed a section of the blanket onto the fence and gripped the other end tight in his jaws. Using the full strength of his upper body, he pulled on the sheet and steadily lifted himself to the top of the wrought iron fence while his feed scaled the iron bars an inch at a time.
Once he was there, he gripped the bar with one of his hands, then released the sheet with his mouth and gripped the same bar with his other hand. In an impressive display of control and core strength, Arkash pulled his legs close to his body and fully extended his arms to hover as far from the fence as he could. He bared his teeth as he brought himself to handstand above the fence, then fully extended his legs in a powerful kick that saw him launch in a well-aimed backflip, then land on the snow-quilted ground with his knees bent into a low squat, and one hand pressed to the snow to support his weight.
His yellow eyes furrowed into a glare as he set his sights on the master bedroom from below, and lifted the lip of his cowl to cover his mouth. Low to the ground, he drew Brodie's knife from his belt and took his first few steps toward the estate once he was sure there were no Argent lying in wait.
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