Railón, Levarin (Volundr) - Shroud & Dagger

[Gloomcrest]

35th of Frost, 4622

Taking a moment to enjoy the nightlife of Levarin; the southern Darvain city was a rather stunning place to behold. From what Jared was told from the many bits of information that he had managed to gather was that Levarin is a tourist destination that is home to many Entente & wealthy merchants alike.

“Well… Isn’t this a stunning jewel of a city… Must have many things to take… But only what is needed and nothing more… Greed is unbecoming & taking more than needed would attract guards.”

From what Jared could see, he was currently standing up on one of the many roundish rooftops that was painted in a light coral shade with the pearlescent white stone that holds the build of buildings that litter the city streets. Not to mention as well that the strikingly golden & white sand that blankets the coastal cliffs that sits close to the many rivers that runs along its landscape was something that Jared would only picture during a peaceful Glade back home in Alistian.

Letting his amber-hued eyes look around for potential targets or places of interest as it was time to restock on some bartering tools & Farthings to line his pockets; many market stalls were present as it would seem that an event was being held.

“Remember, Jared; This place holds some of the most powerful Valrans & Veir… Best not to cross them where you can & stick to taking from the commonfolk…”

With that, the amber-eyed thief takes a moment for a thin shroud of darkness to emanate from his body, quickly enveloping the Nightfallen rogue before condensing into a thin, viscous layer of umbralplasm as the conjuration of his wispy Obscura was completed. With a brief glance, the thief starts his descent down from the Thieves’ Highway (what most people would call the rooftops), using his innate strength & acrobatic skills to scale down from building to building until his feet meet solid ground.

Briefly stretching his arms wide & cracking his fingers before rotating his arms as if warming up his muscles as stiff joints would make it harder for the Alistian larcenist to nab items where he can. If the thief wanted to pick some pockets in the marketplace, the amber-eyed thief would have to manipulate his Obscura back into a condense ball of umbralplasm which he would store by having it lay thinly inside of his cloak as if he was preparing in advance for when a potential encounter may occur so that he would easier access to his Raw Magic as Devising darkness & creating a Compass would take a little bit of time even for Jared despite training hard to make the process more efficient through the use of visualization & repeating the process over & over.

Nevertheless, the works of a petty thief would soon begin as Jared takes a moment to find a gap within a crowd of people before slipping & blending in. Letting the large mass of people act as his cover as the Alistian thief prowls for his marks before he raises too much suspicion on himself or vanishing once his pockets were lined with enough to make the next few days or week of living comfortable before striking again or needing to bail out & move onto the next town or city.

[Volundr]

Looking through the crowd calmly with his ever shifting brown to gold eyes, not used to being a part of a more civilized society. Used to the military side of things, he wore a lighter version of his military gear, his twin swords at his hips rather than on his back since keeping his weaponry under the upper view of the crowd was most definitely smarter than just having them be visible. It had been slightly less than a week since he had come back, and the commanders of the Halamire saw fit to rotate him back to a more comfortable space to remember what it meant to be a Daravin resident. Feeling his chest gently, he felt the journal he had carried for so long resting in a small pocket in his armor, snug to his form as he let out a soft sigh. It had brought an energy to Volundr that often eluded him, one of an almost safe feeling. He never carried that much on him as a soldier, maybe enough to buy a new longsword if one of his should be broken or stolen. But he seemed content, continuing his walk in the crowd.

Being as tall as he was, he had a bit more of a vantage point over everyone, glancing about the crowd for any weird motion. Having just come back to life, his body remembered the motions but his mind was a bit more slow on the uptake, not seeing anything out of the ordinary as he continued walking. His presence was a unique one in that it was a presence that completely lacked the fear of death, more so accepting it as a part of life. And as such, some people stayed a bit further from him, since such a presence was slightly unnerving. Continuing his walk/impromptu patrol, he drifted a bit past Jared, his eyes constantly on the move to look for absolutely anything. Muttering to himself softly, Volundr seemed to patrol the market place since he figured it would be the best way to develop a sense of nationalism while also making sure nothing went awry. He knew that mages had a higher standing in society, and that also painted a large target on their backs if they suddenly showed up in the lower class areas.

Walking past Jared still, a coin purse could clearly be seen on his person, as well as the two longswords and armor. But other than that, Volundr looked just as poor as everyone else while also having gear that was maintained to perfection, the swords clean and polished despite the scabbards being covered in various slash marks from combat. The armor was also fairly clean, but had various stitch marks in the fabric of the brigandine and even in the leather, a few metal studs missing. His whole aura exuded one of a trained soldier, but his dress code signified someone of a specialty group, like a scout or light infantryman.

[Gloomcrest]

35th of Frost, 4622

As the Alistian thief continued to move about within the large crowd of the lower district marketplace; One thing that caught Jared’s attention was a figure that stood extremely tall, almost a foot in height compared to his own. Based on his features with a stern, light brown hue that changes to more of honey-glaze. This particular imposing figure was very much part of the militia of Daravin based on the equipment & gear, something tells the apprentice thief that whoever this person is, he would need to approach it carefully especially since this soldier in question was actively looking out into the crowd which would make his job much harder.

Considering bail out of his operation, Jared started to make his way through the crowd, closer toward the edges as he was navigating through all sorts of people; Still keeping an eye out for anything to take while he was on the move. It only then that he was coming closer to the imposing scout that the Alistian rogue saw a mark worth the risk, a slender Hyr’norai male that had a loose coin pouch that simple in beige & minor golden wave designs that looked heavier than most; Not only that the drawstring was dangling loosely that a simple blade cut would loosen the bag and none would be the wiser that something was missing due to the constant flow of people bumping into each other as they were trying to reach to their own intended destinations.

“Alright, just a simple cut and back into the alleyways… No need to bite big & not be able to chew your meal…”

Moving slowly, allowing his footwork to do most of the heavy lifting as he begins to approach the unsuspecting Hyr’norai male, the amber-eyed thief would take a moment to lift his right hand up; extending it slowly up towards the loosely hanging coin pouch; briefly allowing the umbralplasm hidden underneath his cloak to snake upwards through his clothing, sticking close to his skin before coiling a small amount of it onto to his right ring finger as his larcenist hand reaches up and with a quick flick of his wrist, the umbralplasm on his ring finger would briefly change into a pitch black blade that simply sliced through the drawstring as if it were flimsy parchment against a recently sharpened knife.

Time was of the essence now as the pouch began to drop towards the ground, by now the unsuspecting Hyr’norai male would have quickly noticed a shift in weight. Not wanting his victim to get a good look at his face, Jared would quickly reach up for the falling bag, swiping it in a blur before pushing ahead of the crowd as he attempts to vanish and move out to a quiet alleyway, slinking by many unaware people while at the same time the pilfered victim would take a moment to feel his waist & pockets for anything.

Unbenounced to Jared, the imposing figure in question had a good view fast; the pilfering attempt happened due to his large statute though the brief moment of using Nightfall in the robbery attempt would be hard to see if one was not looking out for the finer details.

[Volundr]

Simply watching, Volundr felt his eyes strain a bit, not quite recovered fully from his recent resurrection. Knowledge was definitely spotty as he had his journal, but had to rapidly fill in the rest. But, upon glancing at the crowd, he was able to notice one figure that he had recently passed quickly weaving through the crowd, also noticing the Hyr’norai male look around for his coin purse before locking in on Jared's movements. Weaving decently well through the crowd, he went on the outside of the crowd to move a bit faster, still keeping a bead on Jared as he followed, not saying anything to try and trip him off to any kind of following.

Remember Volundr, you are a soldier, not the policing force. See where he goes, what he does. If he goes beyond the city, then you can use force, but not right now.

Not used to using any kind of magical ability, he focused on his own personal shadow, all of the shadows under his armor and in crevices that nobody could see, beginning to slowly build up Umbraplasm, allowing it to cling to his form like a second skin. To focus like this, he definitely needed to slow down a bit, but the spatial knowledge of where Jared was in relation to him never stopped. Soon, feeling most of his armor-covered body also covered in this Umbraplasm, he sped up once again, now focusing less so on compressing it into a Compass, letting it coalesce into an orb hovering in a small spot near his back where the armor didn't quite fit right.

Keeping his wits about him, one of his hands rested on the pommel of one of his blades, making his way now directly towards Jared with a purpose, making it clear to not only himself, but to others that he had a mission to do. And if Jared saw Volundr approaching, he could see those brown-gold eyes, now more of a solid gold color due to the moonlight, staring right at him. This was either going to become a chase scene or a fight, whatever Jared decided on. But seeing that he was a soldier, it might be more of a fight than anything else.

[Gloomcrest]

35th of Frost, 4622

Not noticing too much for the time being, Jared’s sole focus was to get out of the crowd as quickly as he could. Briefly using his agile footwork from his practiced experience in acrobatic movements & bits of dancing here and there to avoid many of the common folk.

As the thief reached closer to the edge of the crowd, a sudden feeling he knew all too well started to settle in as if he was being watched for a moment. For a moment, his eyes were playing tricks on him as the previous hulking figure he once saw was no longer where he was, merely standing out and watching the crowd.

“Shit… Did he catch me? Best be moving now… Don’t want to be on the end of his shit list…”

While the thief was decent at finding things, his skills amounted to items, hidden caches & secret panels, not finding people in particular which was a skill he was lacking & realized just now that he needed to add something to his own training regime when the Alistian thief had the chance to do so.

Once the Nightfallen magus was able to break free from the confinement of a crowded marketplace; the thief started to duck & weave throughout the many streets & alleyways; some covered with crates, barrels or a covered up wagon that litter Levarin streets & alleys. While on the move, Jared started to Devise the surrounding moonlight and congeal it down to multiple spheres of darkness through the act of Compass, the training that he did a few months prior has started to pay off since he was able to maintain a steady pace while making up his Umbralplasm.

“Remember Jared; Killing does not get you paid… Lose them if you can & suppress them if it gets too close.”

Turning around for a moment, a looming shadowy figure with golden eyes started to make their approach, bathed in the moonlight; It was a fairly terrifying thing to witness due to the size difference and aura that was being emitted. In this case, this stranger was releasing a hostile aura due to the tight grip around the pommel of one of his blades.

“Seems like I can’t talk you out of a fight???”

The thief nervously chuckles as he shrugs for a moment before starting to make a run for it; quickly going through one of the many pouches as he throws the contents out on the ground, littering a good section of the alleyway with wooden ball-bearings in his attempts to slow down the figure. The shady figure in question was slightly faster than the average commoner based on how far he was covering; attempting to gain distance if possible before attempting to hide.

[Volundr]

Watching him move into the alleyways proper and begin to twist and turn, Volundr immediately began following, using his sight, touch, and hearing to only focus on Jared and whatever he might do. Upon seeing the wooden bearings being tossed, he manipulated the Compass he had to cover most of the stone floor, moving the bearings out of the way before coalescing it back into the tight spherical shape about the size of a golfball. Still barely able to use his power, he had enough knowledge and intuition from his body to feel the pull of Nightfall whenever he used any of those abilities. Locking his blades into their scabbard using cloth, he broke into a dead sprint to try and catch up to Jared, or at least get close enough to try and slow him down.

Okay, get close enough, either retrieve the stolen coin purse or slow him down. Fight or flight. Right now, he's trying to get away, so stop him!

It felt like he completely left the ground with how fast he was running, making sure to keep track of Jared the entire twisting and turning of the alleyway system of this city, of which was new to him. Every obstacle was met with either Umbraplasm manipulation or outright going around, his body picking up the habits of a scout, finding the path of least resistance and all. All the while, his gaze never left Jared, or if it did, it was only for the briefest of moments, like an endless hunter that only had its prey in mind. Volundr might not have known where he came from or who he truly was, but he had ideals that he would strive towards. And helping those who couldn't help themselves was a part of his ideals that he tended to live by.

Come on you bastard... where are you going...

This chase so far had lasted a couple minutes, but Volundr kept his speed despite the fact that his lungs burned, ignoring the dull pain he felt to push further and hopefully tired Jared out. He didn't know if Jared was a human or a Kohrun like him, but he had the endurance and stamina to keep up with even the most hearty of races, so shaking him was going to be difficult. Especially once he's set himself to a task.

[Gloomcrest]

35th of Frost, 4622

Feeling his lungs burning from within, the amber-eyed thief knew for a fact that running for more than a couple of minutes would tire his weary muscles & bones. Turning his gaze back for a moment, seeing the hulking figure who was giving chase use a sphere similar to his own to remove the makeshift obstacle with relative ease puts a bit of panic as this would be one of the few times that the thief had to put extra amount of effort in his attempt to escape.

“He shouldn’t be able to climb up as easily with all that weight he is carry…”

Grabbing one of his Compasses, Jared takes a moment to split the content in two before shaping into two climbing picks that he would often use to scale buildings during his time back in Alistian & Genteven. Using his momentum from his run, the thief takes another second, to brief manipulate some of his Umbralplasm to coat the base of his boots, altering the texture to mimic a rubbery, bouncy text which the thief would use to propel himself enough in the air to get a leap a couple of inches higher than a normal person would able to naturally run & jump.

Upon reaching closer to one of the building walls; the Alistian thief would swing one of his picks into the wall, cracking the surface upon impact but able to hold his body weight up in the air. For a moment, the thief could rest but as one would say ‘There was no rest for the wicked’ and with a soldier in hot pursuit. The Alistian rogue is happy to take the Thieves’ Highway since the scaling up walls & maintaining balance on slippery rooftops should be more than enough to hinder Volundr’s movements.

Still a bit stressed out from being chased, the thief was not letting his short-lived advantage go to waste as he continued to move on the rooftops best he could. Breathing heavily as his lungs felt like they were going to give in at any moment. Shifting his umbralplasm picks back into a Compass, the thief would take a moment to use Stratum by elongating the liquefied shadow into a spear that would embed itself into a nearby rooftop from one building to another, using it as a tightrope and scurrying across albeit with reduced speed due to the fatigue building up on his muscles & cautious nature of potentially falling to the ground.

[Volundr]

What Jared believed to be impossible for a man like Volundr was indeed very likely as he had trained as a scout. Scaling mountains and encampment walls to get the most important information was his craft, and while his brain didn't remember, his body did. Finding miniscule ledges on the brick walls of the city, he pulled himself up further and further until he got to the rooftops himself. Noticing Jared now going from rooftop to rooftop, he didn't hesitate at all to follow, continuing his endless pursuit as he could feel the lactic acid building up, but again, no pain. In fact, the feeling of the acid building up only propelled him further, using all of his speed and might to jump from rooftop to rooftop in order to catch up as much as he could. Each heavy landing on the roof caused Volundr to stop for a moment and adjust his footing so that he didn't just slide down back to the street, giving Jared a bit more time to get away. But, with the hunter rapidly approaching, the thief had a choice to make.

Hey, you. This is the first time that Volundr has spoken since the chase started, his voice a bit rough and gravely as he looked in Jared's direction. You should probably stop running, I'm not stopping until I either get that coin purse back or until you're behind bars. Either way. Shrugging to himself, he continued approaching, not drawing either of his blades. In fact, he was only holding onto the blades because he wanted to make sure they didn't fall off of his person, looking for all exits and escape routes. Glancing back at Jared through half-open eyes, Volundr calmly focused on building up more and more Umbraplasm before his cloak and armor, using every single inch of shadow to develop a pool of the liquid shadow.

[Gloomcrest]

Whether this man was running on an infinite amount of energy or had the endurance of a horse, It was still a scene to behold as this massive man could scale up the sides of the building with relative ease. Even the thief would struggle without using various tools but merely assessing which points were available to grab by sheer grip strength alone is something the Alistian thief should keep in the back of his mind for additional training when he wasn’t feeling under the weather.

“My god! You are such a pest! Fuck off already, 'cause I am not gonna stop unless you make me!”

Usual calm and collected; the persistent nature that Volundr was giving off was making the thief instead irritated; Was it worth dropping his prize or attempting another bout of escapism by any means necessary? Already having his Obscura active, the thief takes a moment to take a deep breath as he leaps off the building and dives straight towards a wall with no windows on its surface.

“Forcing my hand… But I want this prize even if it means little….”

With his words said, the Nightfallen thief takes a moment to allow his mutation to trigger its change over his body. The Obscura that was cloaking his form begins to cling tightly around Jared’s body before turning into a mass of liquified shadow, which suddenly splatters against the stone, seeping into the cracks as Jared’s mutation triggers Trespasser, which allowed the Alistian thief to seep through the thinnest of cracks.

A helpful ability that was tried to his altered mark of control over Nightfall focused more on evasion and bypassing various defences and securities in his attempts to elude his pursuers. As the few remaining inches of umbralplasm bubble through the cracks, the thief’s physical body is no longer present as the shadows simply slip through the wall.

Hoping that this was enough to stop Volundr from trying to close the distance further, Jared would appear on the other side of the, allowing his magic to rest for a moment as the thief remained silent, Listening carefully for any sort of tell that person chasing him would lose interest or be puzzled by what just transpired before their very eyes.

[Volundr]

Hearing the sound of his foot pressing against the roof right before leaping and seeing the blur that Obscura was known for, he immediately went to the side of the building to try and see where he went. However, not seeing where he landed, Volundr gently dropped to street level and closed his eyes for a moment. First, he faded out the sound of the crowd, not wanting to be distracted by their noises. And then, he listened for the smallest of noises, even listening for breathing as he held his breath silently. This was less of an arrest or kill mission and now a scouting mission, which he was quite good for. Looking around slowly, he manifested all of the Umbraplasm he had been gathering to this point into a tennis ball sized orb, looking it over slowly before looking at the shadows. Since Nightfall had a lot to do with shadows, he had an idea of what might have happened, splitting the main compass into several different masses. Throwing each of them at a different section of shadow, he then manipulated them to flatten like curtains and cover their respective areas of shadow, looking for anything other than the walls of the buildings or the street surface to cling on to.

Where are you... Volundr thought to himself, his fingers spread like he was holding an orb but hanging down at his side rather than in the air. Without much of a noise, he silently stepped through the alleyway, slowly dragging the Umbraplasm behind in a weakening gradient, having a few dragging particles for the sake of making sure that he wasn't going to second guess himself. He didn't like giving up, gently taking out his journal and looking through it to see if he had mentioned anything about the ability to hide in shadow. While there definitely was theory supporting the fact that a lot could be done with shadow, it didn't at all mention anything about hiding in the shadows well enough to become completely invisible. Turning the corner and taking his Umbraplasm with him, he allowed the material to coat his entire person and enter an Obscura himself, immediately peeking around to corner. Not having heard any normal footfalls of escape, he imagined that Jared was still there, just hidden. And he was going to catch him, no matter what it took.