Welcome to Cove

Salick drifted through the woods silently. The rain made it easier, but it sent a chill underneath his leather that no sane man would normally abide. Drifting behind a tree, he looked around for any Loyalists, or clues of their passage. The rain had made the ground slick and washed away all tracks. He sighed and moved onward.

The crack of a branch froze him. He knew it was not his own feet, he was rarely so careless these days. Being a scout recruit had honed his skills well. A trainee was wandering down the Yewish road, headed for stonekeep. He was stooped, with a slight hurry to his walk. He was sensible enough to wish to be out of the storm.

Looking closer Salick spotted some ale and lantern fuel. This man wasn’t out of his own accord, he was fetching supplies for the roadblock Salick knew was in place this very moment.

As Salick hovered toward the man, barely touching the floor, the trainee stood still. He wasn’t totally stupid after all, but it would not help him now.

“Sorry Lad” Salick whispered in his ear as the blade went through. “Cant have you delivering that tonight, I want her alone”. The trainee gave the slightest of gasps, all but drowned out by the wind and lightning. Lowering him to the ground carefully, Salick dragged him off to the side of the road and covered him with a fallen branch.

Slowly Stonekeep began to loom up ahead, and Salick left the shadow of the road, skirting around the great meadow. Questioning a footman up at the Abbey earlier that day had revealed the duty roster for tonight, as well as the plans for a roadblock. The footman had been lucky in that the information had saved his life, and he merely lay tied and unconscious in a locked storeroom within the Abbeys walls.

Creeping alongside the tradepost, Salick saw her and let out a familiar sigh. She stood with a heavy cloak wrapped around herself, lonely manning the roadblock. Looking up and down the road, she was expecting the trainee soon. Salick fell to the shadows and merely watched, haunted by age old questions. Why had she done it? Chosen the “life” of a loyalist. He thought that they would be together always, so alike of mind, and of spirit. Yet, she chose this, over him. It had caught him off-balance entirely, and had been among the reasons he had finally fled Yew, his former home.

A ruckus further up the road drew Salick from his thoughts. A footman was running down the road, trying to scream above the storm. He was losing. Reasoning that the trainee must have been discovered, Salick determined that this was the time to leave.

There was always next week…and the week after…and then after that…

Salick sighed and retreated to the woods.

“Can’t win em all…”

“Indeed not, Mister Kaysen”  Semis said, stepping from the shadows right infront of Salick. The old man had learnt some new tricks…Salick backed away cautiously.

“Taken up my traits I see? Never thought you the one…”

“Well its amazing what revenge will inspire you to do, eh?”

“Aye, well, as much as I love our little chats”. Salick began to back away.

“We have them often? Last time I remember ‘chatting’ with you was a good few years back. At the time you were fleeing with most of my most valuable possessions” Semis said, stepping after Salick.

“Aye well, you wont get them now, sold traded and….used…im afraid”

“Ah well, I thought that might be the case. Visiting your sweetheart are you? How quaint”

Salick realized he has been backing away TOWARDS stonekeep, and stopped backtracking.

“Keeping an eye out for an assassination actually, not that its any of your concern. Unless you’re here to see the new tricks I'VE picked up while I was away?” Salick slowly drew a small assassins point from his sash.

“Why, you think it would be that easy to settle old debts? I too have learnt new tricks since you departed so abruptly.”

“Aye, well, I doubt you’ve learnt as many as me, you old bastard.” Salick glanced up to the sky and judged when the next flash of lighting would occur. One of the clouds above them sparked. “And now, I must be off, so sorry to disappoint.”

The flash of lightning came, and Salick dived to the right, and into the shadows.

“Ah but you are mistaken Mister Kaysen! I HAVE learnt new tricks…”

Salick collided just then with a large cloaked and hooded man. The man hit him square in the jaw, sending him sprawling into the sopping mud. Three more men appeared from the shadows and held Salick up.

“After all…I learnt from a professional eh?”

Salick looked around at the three brutes, and then at Semis, who had a glint so cold in his eye that it about matched the revenge Salick felt he was about to be on the receiving end of.

“Well shit…”

Julie looked up from her post. The footman who had come complaining about the lights being out of fuel in the tavern, asking where the trainee was with his fuel, has gone inside the hall now. She looked up and toward the tradepost. Had she heard a cry? Maybe it was just the storm. She folded herself up deeper into the rain cloak and let her head dip again. Across the road, hidden by the wind and rain, an assasins point and covian sash lay in the mud, both stained with blood.

(OOC) - Moving back into Uni accomodation tommorrow. It seems likely that i wont be able to get round the Uni firewall, and so may not be back in UO for a while =( Sucks but oh well. See you all laters! Ciao! - (/OOC)

(Excellent story, really loved it. You'll be missed Salick. :( )

[OOC: Looking forward to the returning story... ;P]

(OOC) - If there is one  >:( Im at Uni now, and as expected, i cant log on. Bah. - (/OOC)

(OOC: Tres kool story man. Bummer about not being able to play UO at Uni, but I guess you'll be able to do more productive things like... drink.. and study - maybe - ;d;d Have a good one at Roe!)