Midnight Maelstrom (LadyElven)

OoC: Some traits will appear in my character that was not explained in my character thread that you approved LadyElven but they aren't exaggerated, I've added some new powers to Garner's inventory.

The Zuk-Juk woodlands were the next destination for this fearless sole traveler, who walked the quiet night. Zuk-Juk was a deserted forest for many months, the area was very close to the Kanwaie village and the area belonged to them. However, the villagers have never set foot in their own woods after the disappearance of four farmers and some village officials who went with a search party to find the farmers. The people were starting to believe that their own forest were haunted and for the fear of being taken by the forest, the village men refused to explore the forest.

Since the forest was the source of the Kanwaies food and water, the village started to get low in supply. The Kanwaien people decided that it was time to migrate and find another region to settle in and leave the demons manifest in the woodlands.

The traveler was trying to find the quickest way back to headquarters and the only way he found was to go through the supposedly haunted Zuk-Juk woodlands. The night was young and the moon was high, full, and gave a great source of light for the traveler so that he did not need lanterns. He was walking through the abandoned streets of Kanwaie, ready to exit out and enter Zuk-Juk woods, a large pack on his back making rustling sounds as he treaded on.

The traveler was a young man who stood six feet tall, his hair was a neat dark brown color, held back in a pony tail dyed in black and no longer than his thumb. His hair caused his eyes of deep blue to stand out. His attire was simple but clad-like, a long gray trench coat, with a strange symbol at the back, it was left opened and revealed a black long sleeve buttonless shirt beneath it, over the shirt were many belts and straps. His trousers were baggy, also black like his shirt, and the hems were tucked in his dirty but tough boots. Wrapped around his waist was his utility belt designed with many different holsters, little throwing knives were tucked in front and on his were the two orginal revolvers he carried, Lupe and The Luck. This man was geared up and armed, which explained his fearlessness in this deserted night.

His name was Garner Hunt, Julius to very few were close to him, as for those who do not call him this name think and believe that Julius is dead. As he walk he thought and lost track of time, he had already entered the woodlands. While walking he reached for a locket neckless which was wrapped around his neck and flipped it open, on one side was the photograph of a young beautiful woman and the other a clock. "Everytime I open this locket so the time, I see your face first..." Garner thought as he stared at the photograph. Just seeing her smiling face in the locket sent wave of anticipation and happiness in his heart. [i]"Now that I'm coming back to headquarters, I can visit your town and speak to you again, Marisol. But this time a while longer--"[i] Garner thought but was interrupted by a sound in the dark forest. Crunches from the footsteps of another person in this forest.

Garner was well aware of the stories that were told about the villagers and their forest. The villagers were primitive people and did not know how to handle matters like this. Garner glanced at the clock and let it go, it was midnight, and he started to notice how alone he was but he didn't panic. "The Saints don't get scared." Garner whispered outloud as he put the pack he carried quietly to the ground. He was now in a crouching position. His right hand was placed underneath his trench coat on top of his Luck revolver. He scanned the forest intently waiting for the sounds again, but they didn't come a second time.

Garner was not satisfied with this and pulled out his Veritas dagger. The blade on the handle glowed a faint blue color. "...So it's not a demon...?" Garner wondered. "Is it a male?" The dagger's light shown even more faint to answer.

"A female then? Is she armed?" Garner whispered again to the dagger he held in his left hand and this time the dagger illuminated a bright blue and then transformed to a bright red light color to confirm a yes and danger answer, not only that the glowing dagger guided the hand hold it to point to where the sneak was hiding within the forest. However, Garner couldn't identify this woman hiding yet but he didn't take his chances, the dagger always tells the truth. With cat like reflexes Garner retracted his Luck from it's holster and released a couple of rounds to where the knife had pointed to, a deeper and darker part of the woodlands. The quiet forest now was filled with noise of loud pops from Garner's revolver. Firing what he counted to be five rounds, Garner retreated a few steps back quickly, still crouching. He tapped the ground with the hand holding the dagger and a small flashing red circle appeared on the grass he touched. Once the flashing circle appeared he plunged his hand into the light and pulled out his Ordem staff.

The dagger was still in his hand along with the staff now and it still illuminated a bright red, meaning the danger he shot at is still mobile and unharmed. Garner tossed the dagger into flashing circle and then the circle disappeared. Garner's revolver was still trained on the area he had shot at. "Whoever's out there show yourself! I know you're not dead yet..." This was midnight, and whoever was out there had better prepared for a midnight fight.

Liya, why did we agree to do this, again?

The female assassin slid her back against a hard, blackened tree and gripped a couple of her knives in one hand. Something was moving in the forest, but she was unable, as of yet, to tell what it was. Those stories she had heard from the villagers might have a ring of truth to them after all.

We agreed to this because we need the money, okay? We’ve been over this several times already, I think. We always need the money, Kryanak. Or do you want to go hungry for the fifth night in a row?

Liya Karonan glanced upward to see her falcon companion perched on an overhanging branch that looked creepily like a gnarled black arm frozen in midair, ready to snatch up unwary travelers. Kryanak, her fierce eyes glowing in the darkness of the night, peered down at Liya.

You may have to go hungry, Liya, but I do not so long as there is ample prey around. And besides, you know that I can always catch you something to eat.

The assassin grimaced. Yes, I know, but rats and other vermin aren’t particularly appealing to my sense of aesthetics. Thanks for that generous offer of yours, though.

Ignoring the sarcasm, Kryanak ruffled her feathers, almost as if she were attempting to shrug. Suit yourself, but it’s your empty belly that’s got us out here chasing vague phantoms and shadows through the dark. I thought you usually didn’t put much stock in tales of the supernatural, anyway.

Rolling her eyes, Liya shook her head. Sometimes, having a falcon mentally bonded to you resulted in the strangest of conversations. I don’t, no. But something about the way those villagers spoke of whatever ghost or evil spirit or whatnot is supposedly out here piqued my curiosity. Plus, I mean…that nice, handsome sum of money they were offering to anybody who could make this “evil spirit” go away was enough to convince me to brave this forest at night. And I didn’t ask you to come along, you know.

Liya heard Kryanak sigh inside her head. Liya, you know that I can’t just arbitrarily decide not to go somewhere with you. Let’s just figure out what’s been causing these random disturbances and get out of here. I can sense strange things about this place, and I’m not very fond of it.

Nodding, Liya gripped the pair of knives more securely in her hand and scanned her surroundings as best she could. The night was so thick that she could barely discern the faint outlines of the trees, but her sight wasn’t her most heightened sense. Years of assassin training under her father and experience on her own had aided in sharpening her sense of hearing, as well. Silently, she crept forward, taking care to make as little noise as possible. She thought she saw something move among the trees, but it was gone upon closer inspection. The wind moaned and the moonlight cast the forest in a pale light, creating an eerie effect. Normally, things like this didn’t faze her, but her uneasy feeling caused her to clumsily step noisily into a pile of fallen leaves.

Mere moments later, Liya sensed something nearby, and Kryanak’s warning screech pierced through her head.

Liya! There’s a man nearby, and he’s training a gun right where you’re standing!

Liya dove out of the way just as a stream of bullets ripped through the underbrush where she had been standing. Leaping to her feet, Liya whirled to face the direction the bullets had come from as a voice broke the dead silence that had filled the air in the wake of the hail of bullets.

"Whoever's out there show yourself! I know you're not dead yet..."

Liya sniffed and revealed herself, still clutching two daggers, to the man. “Well, who are you? It’s not polite to shoot at someone without seeing if they’re a threat first, you know?”

"So... it is a chick..." Garner thought and examined his possible enemy features, he could make an impression of her even in the night. "Nice body too..."

Garner kept his arm holding the revolver pointing at the woman, he got up from his crouching position steadily, his face serious but then he sneered slightly. Who did this girl think she was? Trying to sneak up on him in this haunted forest, it was a wonder to Garner, that she wasn't dead yet. According to the Kanwaies story, there could be a cluster of demons prowling these cursed woods.

"Who am I? I could blow your head off right now for sneaking up on me like that little girl. The question is who are you and what are you doing here?" Garner demanded, his hand holding the revolver was already experiencing some slight fatigue, of keeping it up to long. "You shouldn't walk these woods if you aren't specialized to handle the dark forces which I believe the forests may be infested with, from what I can tell you are not a Saints officer, slayer, not even a freakin' guard. My dagger also told me that you're a bad vibe here, unless it was referring to this whole damn place. I'll play it safe though... My arm is getting tired but I don't think you can throw the knives you have in your hand faster that I can blow you away..."

There was a very short pause, "I'm talking too much... Garner mentally noticed. He pulled back the hammer to his revolver, and a clipping noise was made. Cocked and ready. "So tell me who you are now! Before I dress the grass behind you with brains, and believe me miss, I have a clear shot to your head, so no funny business."

"Wait, wait, wait. Did you just call me a little girl? Little?!"

Liya clutched her daggers tighter than she ever had in her hands, creating an almost burning sensation on her palms. The gall of this man astonished her. Did he even know what he was dealing with? The assassin ground her teeth together in angered exasperation. Sensing her friend's mood, Kryanak sent soothing feelings through their bond and attempted to calm the rising indignation of Liya.

You need to keep a level head about you, Liya. Anger will get you nowhere, especially if you're the one in immediate peril. You should know better than that. Now, just tell him what he wants to know. That can't hurt anything, can it?

Sighing, Liya slid her daggers back inside her clothing, slowly so as not to alarm the man. "Listen, I have no quarrel with you, alright? I'm just out here, looking for some sort of evil spirit or something that the people of this village nearby told me I could find out here. I had told them that I'm a freelance assassin, and they offered me a very large sum of money, plus room and board for a few days, to come out in this forest and eliminate this evil spirit they claim has been threatening their village for quite some time. Now, please, I would really appreciate it if you didn't get in my way. I'd rather not have to go hungry another night."

Your name. You forgot to tell him your name.

Shut up, Kryanak! I know! Why don't I go ahead and tell him about you, too, because I doubt that he knows you're there or even that I'm talking to you right now.

Sarcasm doesn't become you, Liya. But he did ask for your name...

Liya rolled her eyes, making no attempt to hide the gesture from her oppressor. "Oh, yeah, and by the way, my name's Liya. Now, how about you tell me something about yourself? Name and where you come from might be a good start. I'd like to know at least a little bit about someone who wants to kill me."

"Screw my name, and I don't like you, Liya..." Garner replied.

He stared at the girl who called herself, Liya. For some reason he hated her name, and her face. Why was he feeling like this? His eyes became hard, "Damn, I feel like breaking something... What's wrong with me?" Garner thought as cold sweat started to trail down from his forehead unto his noise.

He finally lowered his gun, even though he felt like blasting the girl in front him. He holstered the revolver and made a stance with his ordem staff. Garner felt extremely violent but his thoughts were well intact, by the second his a part of his body was beginning to feel distant. "*****! Am I being possessed?... How the hell did is this happening? I still have my thoughts, I've never heard of this type of possession."

Garner started marching forth with the staff in both hands pointing forward. Then his mouthed moved without his consent, "You're going down! you pixie lookin' whore!" Involuntarly Garner started running forth, one of his hands also beyond his control tapped the ordem, the command to extend. "NO! Don't do it!" Garner said in his mind, but his will power alone could not execute the command as he ran forth the ordem stretch feets longer in high speed and great force ready to plow itself into Liya's stomach and send her through the trees.

Liya's eyes widened. "How dare you speak to me like that?!" She clasped a couple daggers in her hands just as the man charged at her, wielding some kind of staff. "I still don't even know who you are!"

Dodging fluidly to the left, Liya darted toward a thick tree trunk and put her back up against it, her eyes searching the treetops for signs of Kryanak. Through the dense foliage directly up above her, Liya spotted her faithful friend hovering low over the branches.

What in the world is wrong with that man?!

The falcon's tentative reply came to her rapidly, as if Kryanak herself were suddenly very afraid of this forest they were in. I do not know, Liya. But I can feel something strange occuring in this woods, and I don't like it at all. Not at all. We should get out of here, and fast. No amount of money or food is worth this.

Liya turned this suggestion over in her mind for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of it all. Finally settling on a decision, Liya affirmed her friend's fear. Yeah, I think you're right... Let's go.

Glancing in the diretion of the confrontational man, Liya pulled two more daggers from her clothing and launched the quartet of gleaming weapons in his direction to cover her back as she dashed off among the trees, Kryanak following her route above the treetops.