The Swiftly Turning Tides[TacheonBlack]

Ahh, Kilkenny. Such a great place. Good people, good weather, and a good job for a guy like me. The bad thing is I can’t find the bastard. Hoch remembered the conversation with his informant.

“Head to Kilkenny, there’s a job there for you. Good payoff if you get it right.” That’s all he got until he arrived. On entering Kilkenny he found a man with a sign that said “Hochgender Adler! COME HERE”

God, this guy’s about discreet as a cat in a dog show. Might as well be on fire, he thought. The man’s name was Dave. Suit and tie, the hair he had was grey, and had the thickest accent Hoch had ever heard. The man was infuriated because his daughter was killed when a drunkard stabbed her to death. Hoch’s job was to find the man and kill him. Simple enough. The downside is the descriptions were from witnesses who were also drunk at the time. The only generally agreed upon things were dark brown hair and a height of a little under 6 feet and lots of tattoos.

Time to hit the streets. Hair can be covered by a hat but the tattoos make it easier. Then again, they could all have been too drunk and he has black hair and is 3 feet tall. Humph, drunks. Hoch was now looking through the streets and asking random people if they saw someone fitting the description. Hoch kept it to older people, they tended to be more observant and liked the talk.

Two days and no results, damn. Hoch had been scouring the streets for two days searching for the man. He'd had some feedback like, "I saw a man like that in a pub," but when Hoch got to the pub the man was not there.

I wonder if he knows I'm here. Could he be avoiding me?

Hoch walked up to a middle-aged woman and asked, "Excuse me miss, but have you seen a blond haired man with many tattoos?", his voice dripping with honey.

"What?!" the woman said.

Great, she can't hear me. "Have you seen a blond man with tattoos?" Hoch practically shouted.

"What about him?" said the lady as she pointed over Hoch's shoulder to a man with blond hair, a katana, aviator's glasses, and... There they are! The tattoos! Hoch's mind registered this in about 2 seconds and spent the next 3 congratulating himself.

The hard part's gonna be killing him. It looks like he has a gun there.

I'll just wait and see. Maybe follow-"Who are you? the man asked, breaking Hoch's train of thought.

Why did I have to stare at him? Hoch approached the man.


"That is of no concern to you.You may know me as your killer. Is it true you killed a woman here some nights ago?" Hoch said in a commanding voice.

"I have killed many. What concern is it to you?" he said.

"I have been hired to kill you. It can be simplified by you simply leaving this town."

"If I don't?"

"I will kill you then."

"I'd rather have a fight," the man said as he raised his katana.

OoC: Cheers to what I hope to be an awesome battle.

OoC: Aye, cheers.

BiC: The runt that now accosted Vylanos weighed around one hundred fifty pounds. Had he wanted to, Vylanos could simply have thrown him out of the way and continued on his course: to the bar. However, he was in no particular rush and, judging from the weaponry this kid was packing and the look in his eyes, he would be getting drunk enough from this fight as it was. There was some validity to the youth's claim, he supposed, he had impaled some little wench through the heart some days ago after she refused to accompany him back to his hotel room.

"I'd rather have a fight," Vylanos replied to the kid after he asked him to leave town, raising his katana as he did so. Then with his other hand he rearranged the oxygen molecules around the base of a building off to their right, and the resulting explosion rattled the air and filled their impromptu battlefield with acrid smoke. People started to scream. The kind old lady that had helped out Vylanos' foe was thrown off her feet, and didn't move again. Fire licked the edges of Vylanos' vision, and he could feel the heat radiating as the grass around the road all caught fire. He casually led a trail of destabilized oxygen particles towards his newfound enemy, effectively launching a jet of fire at him.

"Very well then," Vylanos laughed, that maniacal gleam back in his eye, "it's your turn now."

OoC: Sorry for the short post... but I think I got the point across.

"Very well then," the mad man laughed, a maniacal gleam in his eye, "it's your turn now." All hell had broken loose. The explosion had made people scream, and that poor old lady had been trampled by scared market goers and venders. Hoch saw the fire spreading fast--at him! He ducked and felt the fire go over his back. The heat was unberable, and his cloak almost caught on fire.

Damn him! I don't want to be responsible for the death of innocents! Hoch looked up from his possession on the ground and saw the man bring up his katana in preparation to decapitate Hoch. "Who are you?" Hoch asked. "I'm your killer," he said as he brought down the katana, "but you can also know me as Vylanos." Hoch rolled out of the way but not fast ebough to escape uninjured. There was a small gash in Hoch's left shoulder.

Gah! No crossbow shooting for now. Hoch jumped up off the grass because the fire was now forming an oval around him. Hoch jumped on to Vylanos' shoulders and rapped him on the back with the flat of his sword. While he was turned around Hoch kicked him in the back of the knee joint. As his knees buckled Hoch ran to a back alley prepared for the fight.

He'll come. Sure enough Vyalnos came running stabbing and shooting whoever got in his way. Hoch dived behind a trash can as he saw Vyalnos aim at him. Boom! Thunk.

By my count he only has one shot left before he has to reload. Hoch kicked over a box and heard Vylanos shoot and grunt at the same time. Hoch heard him rummage for ammo.

Better go now while he's distracted. Hoch jumped up a ladder to get to the top of the building. He heard a, "Huh?" from below as Vylanos realized he was on the roof.

I need to hurry before he gets up here. Hoch had a plan to save the people: he would cut down the water storage tank on the buliding he was on and the water would put out the fire below. If Vylanos was slower that's exactly what would have happened, but Vylanos was faster because of anger and bloodlust. Hoch was cutting the third leg of the water tower as Vylanos shot at him. One went over his head and the other below his right arm.

I don't have enough time for the last leg. Hoch decided the effort would be better put killing Vylanos. He slashed at the third leg, breaking it, and threw his weight against the water tower which would fall directly on Vylanos.

It might not even kill him. I'll watch out until it's safe to go up there. Right now it would be too suspicious.

OoC: The short post is fine. You got your point across crystal clear.

Vylanos still let the kid think he needed to rummage for ammo. It would come in handy later. While he was 'searching' through his pockets, he looked up, to discover that his would-be assassin had fled to the roof. So quickly, too... he was an unpredictable bastard. Vylanos' head still ached from where he had been accosted, but he managed to keep his vision clear long enough to fire off a couple of rounds with Jessica. The first one was too high, and the second was too low. He was just getting his bearing on the third, somewhere in the middle, when the cheeky little blighter managed to put all his weight behind the water tower, causing it to come tumbling down. While it was still in the air, Vylanos managed to revert it back into its iron, oxygen, and carbon-- along with all the water back into it, so that he simply got rained upon by rather metallic water. This seemed to put off his attacker somewhat. Speaking of which...

"You know my name now, kiddo, but what can I call you?" Vylanos inquired, trying to put as little malice into the words as possible.

"Why, I didn't give it to you before, Vylanos?" the brat spat Vylanos' name out of his mouth as though it were poison. "My name's Hochgender Adler, but I'm also known as just Hoch," and as he said this, he had enough distraction time to set up all that he needed. Vylanos could clearly see the makeshift bandage over where that wound on Hoch's shoulder was, but he could also see the crossbow that he had just nocked. "Say good-bye, Vylanos," Hoch chided.

Vylanos oxidized the rock on the rooftop Hochgender Adler was standing on, and the boy fell through.

Thump.

Ah! How'd he do that? Hoch had fallen on a bag of garbage. He was silently cursing Vylanos when he realized he had dropped his short sword on the roof when the rock disappeared.

I'll have to make use of my crossbow and knife for now. Hoch had already pulled out his knife when he saw Vylanos look over the edge of the roof. Vylanos raised his gun and prepared to shoot. The space was too small for Hoch to run away and if he used super sprint he'd be too exhausted to retaliate if Vylanos chased him.

I can't do anything. No! I won't give up. Hoch pushed himself up and stumbled towards the alley's exit. Click. Click, click.

Ha! He ran out of ammo! Hoch broke into a run. At the alley exit, Hoch looked and saw Vylanos quickly reloading. He shot out 2 bolts from his crossbow.

That fall hurt, he reasoned. Hoch knew he couldn't fight without his sword. As he ran down the still chaotic streets, he saw a blacksmith.

That'll do. To lead Vylanos in, Hoch waited until he saw him come out of the alley before he went in. It was a big room with an open roof and a ladder going up to a bedroom. The ceiling looked brittle. It seemed that the slightest touch would shatter it.

That may help me out. Hoch lit the furnace and stuck a newly crafted sword in it. Hoch blew on the bellows until the sword was orange hot. Hoch was sweating from the heat of the sword and the nervousness of his plan. The door squeaked open. Hoch threw the now red hot sword at the opening door.

OoC: Sorry for the short post. I wanted to leave it open for you. There's something I set up for you to do but I doubt you will.

As Vylanos opened the door, he saw a streak of orange rocketing towards him. He quickly shut it again, and heard a massive thunk as the superheated projectile embedded itself in the wood. It would probably catch the door on fire. Vylanos didn't care. He reopened the door-- as much as he could before the hilt of the blade hit the wall-- and entered the room with his katana dragging its tip through the dirt floor and his pistol raised, more as a confrontation deterrent than anything else.

Of course it's empty. Of course, he thought, noticing that his prey was missing. Then he saw the ladder and the loft.

"Checkmate, kid," Vylanos chuckled, firing his revolver at the roof. Said roofing collapsed, crushing anyone upstairs.

"Not quite," came the reply. Hoch (or so the young one said) had hidden behind the door. Vylanos whipped around in disgust, holstering his pistol and bringing his blade parallel to his vision, the hilt by his ear. Adler had a sword too, and he was grinning.

OoC: Better a short post after close to three months than none at all, right?

He must be angry. He put his gun away. If his thoughts clouded by anger he'd have killed me with a shot to the head. He must be trying some tough guy theatric. Hoch thought all this with a smile as he jumped backwards. He quickly spun around to pick up several red-hot daggers he'd put in the furnace earlier. With quick precision he threw one at Vylanos' head, one at each arm, one at each leg, and one to the chest. He held the only remaning one in a reverse grip.

The dirt that made up the shop where the two men now faced each other was easily packed into a semi-solid wall. The daggers protruded a little out the back end of the wall, but they were stopped, sure enough. Vylanos cast the wall forward, pushing Hochgender Adler backwards, and as he did this he readied his katana and swung down, only to find no one there. The bastard must've used the daggers as a distraction.

Sure enough, when Vylanos turned around he the double-doors to the smithy were swinging energetically, and he heard the thump of someone landing on the roof above. He smirked and began to fire off revolver shots wherever he heard footsteps.

"Dance, little boy, dance!" he cackled.

Hoch jumped in a pattern around the roof, walking on his hands at some points. Bullets whizzed past him and they holes they made in the brittle material were large, about the size of a coffee cup. Finally he'd made his circle and the roof came down in the shape of a ragged circle with Hoch on still on the remainder of the roof. He hoped his ditraction would work and jumped off the roof. Air whipped past his ears and there were a few gasps from people but he landed with a Plop! in a cart of hay. His eyes peaked up rom the rim of the cart and his eyes trained on the blacksmith door. Hay covered his entire body and pressed against him gently. The yellow, stringy fibers russled slightly as he took his crossbow off his back and prepared to shoot at the man if he came out the door.

OoC: Wow, Assassin's Creed ripoff, much? P:

BiC: Vylanos had to dive out of the way of the roof as it collapsed; it would've crushed him otherwise. As he was assessing the situation, he took a sidelong glance out one of the grimy windows-- just in time to see his 'friend' glomp into a pile of hay. Knowing full well what would happen in he were to simply walk out the front door, Vylanos quickly reloaded his weapon and lept with all his might onto the roof.

Vylanos was about to fire blindly upon the haybale when he thought of a better idea.

He dropped down and then hopped back onto the roof again, this time with a flaming poker.

OoC: Recently replayed the game. Also, it's waterproof hay. *hopes bluff works.*

BiC: Hoch's attention at the door temporarily faltered when several things happened. He heard a thump on the roof, then another thump from inside the building, a bright light coming from the window of the building, lastly another thump on the roof. As he analized the situation he heard a whistling and realized it was coming from above him. A thin, flaming piece of metal was heading for him and the very dry hay. He jumped out of the cart as quickly as he could. Sadly, that wasn't quick enough. His cloak was set on fire so, on instinct, he rolled and the fire extinguished.

"**** you!" he shouted in the direction of the roof.

The brat was still desperately rolling as Vylanos dropped down to retrieve his prize. He grabbed the kid by the nape of his neck and dragged him over to the edge of a brook running through the middle of Kilkenny.

"Let this be a lesson to you, kid," Vylanos said, between stints of submerging Hoch's nose and mouth, "for someone like you, even a few inches deep is enough to drown you." Vylanos then threw him into the water and left him lying in the water, gasping and vomiting water as the brook rippled gently beneath him. Vylanos began to walk away.

OoC: Woah, woah, woah. Did Vylanos pretty much just set Hoch down in water?

OoC: Vylanos just dunked his head a few times to simulate drowning and then set him down. *searches frantically in Hoch's profile for a reason that was bad*

OoC: It wasn't bad it's just... Hoch can kinda... y'know, get up. <_<

OoC: Yes, I know that. It's more like shoving someone, you know, just to embarrass them.

Now, enough OoC, get to posting!

OoC: Seems like a silly thing to do.

BiC: Anger bubbled inside Hoch and he attempted to push himself up. Sadly, his hands were slick with persperation and water making him fall down into the stream. He suceeded in getting himself up the second time took out his crossbow, aiming it directly between Vylanos' shoulder blades. He pulled the trigger and the bolt flew out of Hoch 's crossbow.

OoC: Meh post is meh.

The kid fell for it. He actually fell for it. Vylanos whipped around, smacking the bolt out of the air the moment he heard it being launched. He then simply vastly increased the melting temperature of the water around Hochgender Adler's feet, causing the stream around his feet to freeze where he stood.

Vylanos smiled and waved cheerfully as he began to vanish into the crowd which had resumed moving about a minute after the fighting had begun; you're got to love Ireland.

Thank god I'm not in a river, Hoch though as he began pounding his fists against the ice. It eventually cracked and his cold feet were free! Hoch looked up to see the bastard had disappeared. He ran into the crowd searching for Vylanos. Luckly, finding a face in a croawd was one of Hoch's many skills. He ran to Vylanos amid the crowd of people and turned the man around so he was looking at him. After a second to check that it was, indeed, Vylanos he punched the man in the nose.

Vylanos was rather taken aback at first, and decided that he did not appreciate being punched in the nose. He took his fist and implanted it into Hoch's lower belly. A few people toppled like dominoes as Hochgender Adler's body slammed into them, and Vylanos couldn't help but laugh. When Hoch pulled out a blade, someone screamed. Pretty soon, everyone was yelling and running away. Vylanos drew his own blade and looked for a way to start a fire. He doubted Adler was the kind of kid to let everyone die around him.