Legends of Belariath
Avarwraith
The Amulet. Part Two
The high peaked roof would slope dangerously under her feet, the elf keeping her balance easily against the rows of tile. Her eyes flashing across the moving figure before she would duck out of sight once more. The thief would slip down behind the building, dropping down to the edge of the roof before dropping and falling to the ground. She would fall almost limply, her body moving into a controlled tumble that would end with her in a crouch in the darkened alley.
She didn’t need to see the cloaked Sheyka to know he was there, she had already gleaned the information she wanted, and she would arrive at the temple long before he did. The thief moving swiftly through the back alleys, taking paths that were only known to the whispering underworld of town.
She would slip behind the bathhouse. Resting for a moment as she cased the area. The place where they were supposed to meet was within sight, the elf swiftly darting across the field that separated the two buildings. The temple surrounded by a rather ornate, metal gate. The top decorated with pointed spikes. Without pausing a beat, the elf would leap against the fence, carefully scaling it before running quickly through the courtyard.
She would stop against the wall, pulling the hood of her cloak around her face as she would stop and listen. The area around her dead silent. Nary a breath to be heard around her, with the exception of her own. She would turn and carefully scale the low roofed building, her body sliding out of sight as she would wait for her quarry to arrive.
She couldn’t possibly have timed it better, the hefty human coming into sight, his wide eyes wandering over the empty courtyard, his hand holding a dirty kerchief as he would run it over his features, wiping away sweat before he would stop beneath the large maple tree, leaning against it slightly as he would wait for the Sheykan to join him.
The elf would watch him from her perch, her hand sliding silently into her cloak before sliding out the crossbow she had hidden there. A slight shake of her hand and one of the lovingly crafted bolts would slip down into her hand, the point painted black to keep from glinting in the moonlight. The bolt would be carefully loaded into the crossbow, the heavy wire drawn back as her eye would linger upon the rather fat human.
Time would pass, the elf staying perfectly still though her brows would draw down, the other one should have made it before now. The slight sound of soft boots against tile would widen the elf’s eye. Her head turning slightly to catch the glint of light against metal, her slim body rolling to the side. There would be the slight clatter of her crossbow hitting the tile, before a dagger would appear at her neck, the deep rich voice of the sheykan in her ear. ‘What’s this, don’t tell me we have a party crasher..’ his voice showing that this was not a wholly unexpected meeting.
A sharp elbow would fly back, hitting him just beneath his bottom rib, perhaps even breaking it. Her other hand grabbing his wrist and bending it backwards with a quick twist of her hand, the girl rolling away from him before coming to her feet. Her slim fingers wrapping around the hilt of her dagger, drawing it from its sheath.
The hood would slip back with her actions revealing the slim girl beneath, silver hair glinting in the moonlight, her black eye staring up at her opponent as she would swing her dagger in a vicious arc from the low left, to the high right, the blade cutting through his palm before he could move more fully out of the way. The larger sheykan would sneer at the dainty seeming elf, his own dagger held at the ready as he would slowly circle around the willowy creature.
‘What have we here? A lovely little slip of a thing.. With only one eye?’ he would arch his brow at her, a smile touching his lips. ‘I had heard they sent someone after the amulet, but I didn’t think I would enjoy them this much..’ his lecherous smile seemed to hint at darker things than simply killing her. His hand would lift, as if he sought to touch the black silk that covered the left side of her face. With the same movement he would try to drive his dagger into her gut, the movement of his blade foiled when the elf would side-step his hand, her body arching outwards so that his blade would become caught in the thick fabric of her cloak, his balance thrown off.
The elf would take full advantage, her own blade swinging up and then coming down in a wicked arch, the hilt coming to strike against the base of his neck. The Sheykan would stumble forward, falling down to the roof before he would suddenly lunge backwards, the man showing amazing agility as he would come to land before the thief, his foot kicking out viciously towards her head.
The elf would duck, though not fast enough. His foot would hit her just above the temple, sending her reeling to the side, left hand coming to touch the tiled roof. She would snarl viciously, her body pressing forward into his, her arm wrapping around his leg as she would dig her dagger into the back of his knee, pulling back viciously, effectively hamstringing her victim.
Her body still pressing against him, pushing him backwards even as he cries out. His body hitting the tile hard before sliding backwards. The thief would move quickly, her hand latching around his ankle, stopping his fall just as his hips were about to go over the edge. ‘Where is it?’ she would demand, her voice a harsh whisper.
She was caught by surprise when he would kick out at her. Her grip lost, his body falling over the edge. She would move silently, looking down at the sprawled body, his neck twisting in such a way that there was no chance of survival. The thief would slip back on her heels, a frown marring the elfin features.
It was apparent that they knew someone was after them. Perhaps they had stowed the amulet away, her eyes would turn towards the tree where the rotund man had been waiting.. A moment later she would jump down from the roof, the cloak pulled back up, hiding her face from view. The round human would look up, his kerchief running over his forehead as he would start towards the elf.
‘What took you so long.’ he would say anxiously, his hands rubbing together nervously. ‘I thought for sure he would kill me before you even arr..’ his words would trail off as the elf would look up, moonlight streaming under her hood so that he could seen the pale flesh of her jaw, the carefully darkened lips, so very feminine.
Those lips would twist into a wicked smile as the large human would take a step back, his kerchief dabbing at his head again. ‘What!? Your not.. Who are you?’ he would ask, his eyes dropping down as the crossbow would lift from under the cloak, the elf drawing closer to him.
‘Where is it?’ she would ask, her voice vicious as she would advance upon the sweating human. The man would back against the tree, his eyes nearly rolling up into the back of his head as he would pass out. The thief would growl, ‘Kirva take his worthless hide!’ Her hands would slip inside his clothes, rifling through pockets and pouches until she would find a single folded piece of paper.
Stepping back from the fainted man she would carefully unfold the paper, her eyes narrowing as she studied the markings upon it. It was a map, obvious enough, and she vaguely recognized the building that was marked in the top corner. The tower of Unigo. Along the sides seemed to be some elfish writing. She would puzzle over it for a second before slipping the map into her cloak, she would need a translator, and she knew just the man.
Her business seemingly ended with the men she would raise her crossbow, no sense leaving any alive to tell the tale..