OW [6] Definitely Not Extorsion

Cognitive Data Relay… Scanning… Entity Description
Name: John Mason
Species: Human
Magical Condition: Prana User
Specialty: None
Body Condition: Good

Name: Ciara Waterman
Species: Human
Magical Condition: Lifeshaper
Specialty: Talisman Crafter
Body Condition: Excellent

Name: Nikandros the Swift
Species: Satyr
Magical Condition: Nature Mage
Specialty: Vitakinesis
Body Condition: Moderate

Name: Zarakz U’nlok
Species: Kobold
Magical Condition: Spellcraft
Specialty: Enchanter
Body Condition: Moderate

Name: Liak U’nlok
Species: Kobold
Magical Condition: Spellcraft
Specialty: Artificer
Body Condition: Moderate

There was a moment of silence as everyone in the room froze from the unexpected visitor. The only sound coming from the two kobolds, Zarakz and Liak who were too focused on their work to notice the intruder. John the human man was the first to see her, his eyes shot over to Ciara their lifeshaper.

“I thought everyone would be asleep,” John said.

“They should be, unless she is also a Lifeshaper and unraveled the technique,” Ciara said. “But that shouldn’t be possible.”

“Ah, shit. We have to kill her. She’s seen our faces.” John said, rubbing the back of his head. “Ah well, jobs a job.”

“She’s seen your faces.” Ciara said like a scolding parent. “I told you all to wear a mask for this exact reason. You know how I feel about killing people on simple jobs like this.”

“Well if you put her to sleep we wouldn’t have this problem.” John retorted.

Ciara bit her thumb at him. “Don’t start with me,” she said with annoyance. “She must have a talisman on her that prevents my technique from taking hold. If she uses her techniques it will drain her ability to resist me.”

“You guys missed the other possibility,” Muninn said. “I could just be so much stronger that her little spell… technique? Whatever you lifeshapers call it just didn’t affect me.”

“Well she’s got a mouth on her at least. Focus on your technique, I will handle the girl.” John said.

“Kill me, handle me,” Muninn said with a smirk. “Lets see what you got and try not to die too quickly. I have a few things I want to test.”

The man raised his hands and a gleaming pair of knuckle dusters appeared in his closed fist. They were large with spikes meant to tear into opponents. They coursed with the all too recognizable energy of prana. Almost like a golden honey energy surrounding not just the weapon but also his forearms. 

Cognitive Data Relay… Scanning… Object Description
Item: Knuckle Dusters – Prana-Bound Weapon
Quality: Intermediate
Magic Potential: Intermediate
Composition: Blue Steel
Description:
This is a  soul-bound weapon housing half of the host's soul essence and can only be wielded by the host. This item has undergone first level prana ascension. As this is bound to the host’s soul essence this item can be recalled to the host from any distance. It possesses limited self-repair functionality and will repair if damaged less than 60%. Functionally, the item operates as a prana conduit, precisely channeling internal energy flows and serving as a focal medium for the execution and amplification of all host-derived Prana-based techniques.

With a grunt, John lunged with flash step taking with more speed. He moved faster than a man his size had any right to. A blur of jabs and uppercuts, each punch rippling with prana, each swing leaving streaks of golden afterlight in the air. The floor cracked beneath the force of his steps as he drove forward, aiming squarely for her throat and jawline.

Muninn didn’t move at first despite his speed he might as well have been moving in slow motion. Then she shifted her weight and leaned on the balls of her feet. It wasn’t a full step, she didn’t need that much wasted motion. It was just a slip to the side, a pivot of her hips, the kind of minimalist motion born from countless fights and absolute confidence. John’s punches sailed past her cheekbones and collarbone by fractions of inches, his knuckle dusters missing their mark every time.

“You’ve got speed,” she said, ducking low, pivoting past a hook and tapping him lightly on the shoulder with two fingers. “But no patience. You are used to blitzing your opponents aren’t you? Take people by surprise with your speed which doesn’t match your build at all. Were you hoping I would be intimidated by your large size?”

Since he was so close she could see that John was actually a large man for a human. At least two heads taller and twice her weight… well he would be if her body was a mixture of metal and synthetic material. It didn’t matter much, a human his size wouldn’t be her match physically even when she was a druid. A smile stretched across her face, her eyes glowing as she ducked another strike.

John growled and doubled down, fists flying now in furious bursts. A straight punch hit the wall and cratered it, missing Muninn by a ghost’s breath.

“Hey, watch it you are going to set off alarms if you keep damaging things,” Ciara said.

“Listen to you teammate,” Muninn said with a chuckle.

John growled, prana surging heavier now, trying to anticipate her footwork. He activated some type of prana based technique. Illusionary hands appeared each were made from the golden energy. They condensed into physical form giving him six arms.

Muninn raised an eyebrow at the sudden change. She decided it was time to actually try a little. Mana coursed through her limbs and her aura flared to life. She was too quick, too smooth, like she wasn’t fighting at all. She blinked back away from him then she pulled her revolvers. She gripped them by the barrels, flipping them into blunt instruments. The metal of her guns gleamed beneath the hanging lights.

The next time John swung, she met it with just as much force. There was a crack as the fist was parried with the grip of her left gun, then whipped the right across his temple in a tight arc. The blow staggered him, not because it hurt, but because it caught him off-rhythm.

She advanced, the tide of battle shifted into her favor. She matched her force with his making sure this wouldn’t end too quickly. All he could do was defend. His six arms failed to protect him as she surgically dismantled any resistance. 

The butts of the revolvers struck like hammers. One to the shoulder, deflected with a raised forearm. Another to the stomach, he twisted, catching the blow across his ribs instead. Each strike was taunting, as if she was testing the limits of a training dummy.

“Here I was thinking that I would be able to really test myself with you but this is just sad.” Muninn said. “I see why you decided to become a thief. You wouldn’t make it as a warrior.”

“You haven’t seen what I can really do,” he growled, blood in his teeth.

He activated a new technique and the four prana arms fused with his real arms. The floor cracked beneath his step. He aimed a punch so fast it hissed through the air but Muninn leaned just a hair to the left, letting the strike pass her cheek by millimeters. There was a flash of power and an explosive force.

The amusement drained from her eyes, replaced by something colder. Her smile faded, not completely, but enough to suggest the fun part was over.

A strange hum filled the air. As she flipped over a strike holstering both revolvers as she landed. From her fingertips black lightning began to slither along her form like a snake. It crackled in unnatural silence, arcing around her wrists. The energy hissed as it touched the floor, leaving smoking trails behind.

“John watch out, she's not a material user, that is mana!” Ciara yelled.

She raised her hand, palm forward. The black lightning shot forward in a spiral. It wasn’t just fast, it moved wrong, twisting in ways that defied true natural lightning. The moment it neared John, the air burned with the scent of ozone and something foul.

John raised his fists, prana swirling in a golden wall to intercept the blast. There was an impact, a loud crash as the two forces collided. It wasn’t just a punch or a spell hitting armor. It was a chemical reaction. His prana was being eaten away leaving him vulnerable.

He slid back across the floor, boots scraping, the force of the spell stopping just short of blowing him off his feet. His body was racked with wounds and cuts. His arms blackened from the heat and weapons nearly destroyed.

“Still breathing?” Muninn asked, voice low, curious. Her eyes flicked across his stance, reading everything from the set of his jaw to the flex of his fingers. “Good. That was just the warm-up.”

“Ciara back up. Now!” John said.

“If I stop this spell people will start waking up in minutes. I won’t be able to recast before they start waking up.” Ciara said. 

“It doesn’t matter if we are dead.” John said.

There was a series of clicks followed by the defensive spells around the vault door flickering before fizzling out.

“Shinies!”  Zarakz said happily as the door slowly opened he squeezed in as soon as his body was able to fit.

“Shinies-shinies,” Liak said after her brother as she too ran inside.

“Nick, heal me.” John yelled.

The satyr was in the corner of the room trying to look as small as possible. His eyes darted between John and Muninn as if one of them were going to kill him in the next few seconds. John was already looking worse; the black scorch marks weren’t just burns; his veins began to blacken. Her lightning wasn’t just that, necrotic poison coursed through him rotting flesh. 

Muninn nodded her head towards John when Nikandros. He took the hint and rushed over to the downed man. She didn’t care about John but she did want to know if Nikandros could actually heal him. She was here to recruit him as a healer after all. If his skills were up to par she would take him. If they weren't, what was one more body?

“Nik now go.” Ciara yelled. “After that go in the vault and make sure Zarakz and his sister get what we came for.”

Ciara pulled the talisman from her face and the lifeforce enchanted paper immediately caught fire. Beneath some form of spell or lifeshaper technique blurred her faces. Muninn was actually kind of excited to see what a lifeshaper of her caliber could actually do. Unlike John, she seemed to be the real deal when it came to skill in her craft.

But then again why would she turn to thievery if she was really any good?

She prepared herself to fight taking out several talismans and each one pulsed with the power of her lifeforce. Muninn frowned this was going to take too long and to test the healer's ability she didn’t really need another person for him to work on.

She watched the girl chanting something as the talismans started to float one by one. She pointed a finger at Muninn.

Cognitive Data Relay… Scanning… Magic Phenomenon Description
Magic/Material Content: Lifeforce Manipulation
Spell Quality: High
Effect Name: Second Level Talisman War Formation
Description:
This is an advanced talisman lifeshaper battle formation. By interfacing with the practitioner’s lifeforce, four talismans are suspended in the cardinal array of Jai’Su. Once activated the talismans will act independently to attack, defend and enhance the senses of the practitioner.  

She spoke in a threatening tone, “I don’t know who you are but—” 

Bang!

The talismans fell to the floor as useless sheets of paper. The lifeforce energy dissipated as Ciara slumped to her knees the fell over to her side. Blood quickly pooled on the ground from the bullet wound through her skull. Black electricity coiled around Muninn’s revolver as she placed the weapon in the hulster under her arm.

She was honestly pleased at the efficiency of the weapon. She hadn't tried using her magic through the guns yet but she knew it was possible. It turned them into something Huginn called a rail-pistol. She didn’t know what it meant but honestly didn’t care as long as it meant she could kill annoying people in her way. 

“Ciara?” John questioned eyes agape. “You bit—”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you, John.” Muninn warned her gaze squarely on his. “Now lets see how well your recovery is going shall we?” 

The blue healing mana of a talented vitakinesis mage was actually pushing back the toxic electric necrosis eating away at John's nearly completely blackened arms. In moments the skin and veins had regained normal color. Parts of his flesh that had rotted were regenerating and in a few minutes he would likely make a full recovery. 

He wouldn’t live long enough to make that recovery. Muninn used a blink to appear at his side and punched him in the throat, breaking his neck and leaving him sprawled on the ground. That just left Muninn and her brand new team healer.

Nikandros fell back arms up covering his face as if Muninn were readying to strike him. After a few minutes and no attack he finally looked up just in time to see Muninn pick up and examine a few of the talismans around the dead lifeshaper. She specifically chose the ones that weren’t covered in blood.

“Please don’t kill me. I was forced to come here.” Nikandros begged. “I am just a healer, not one of these mobsters.”

“Oh, your healing is quite good.” Muninn said as she turned the talismans over in her hand. “Tell me which healing company do you work for? I am sure the healers guild would want to hear all about what happened to put you into this mess.” 

“Uh… I am a healer but not associated with the guilds.” Nikandros said wearily. “It’s not that I don’t want to work with them but the licensing fees pretty much makes all guild affiliated healers slaves to one of the healing orders. No healing people that can’t pay, the poor people that have to choose between healing an injured leg and food for their kids.”

“Oh so you became a bank thief for altruistic purposes?” Muninn questioned. “How did someone as caring as you get mixed in with the mafia?”

“I am not proud of it but I needed money and not many people are willing to lend money to a healer not associated with the healing orders. The people that can pay do but most can’t and I am not going to make them. So, when a guy said he would fund my efforts to help people I took it. I didn’t know what I was getting into, now I am neck deep in debt. I can only pay off by doing whatever task the mafia wants.”

“That includes being complacent in my murder?” Muninn asked. 

“No one was supposed to get hurt, put a few people to sleep that's all.” Nikandros said. “I don’t know what John was thinking trying to kill you. It would have just put a bigger target on our backs. And we weren’t going to take everything in just one thing the mob boss wanted.”

Muninn walked over to him and he scooted back on the floor to get away from her.

“How about this? I need a healer on a little team I am putting together. No hurting innocent people, and you get a steady income. I’ll even settle your debt with the mafia.”

“You’ll do what?” Nikandros asked. “Why would you help me? I mean I am not complaining, I would rather be able to do everything legit and put this all behind me.”

“Good, well forget what you came here for and leave. No one else in your little team is leaving the bank alive. I suggest you hurry.” Muninn said.

“If I go back empty handed the mafia will kill me.” Nikandros pleaded. “Especially if everyone else is dead.”

“Don’t worry about the mafia. Meet me at the Spider’s Nest Inn at midday. I will have all of your accounts settled by then.” Muninn said. “Oh, and Nikandros, don’t run or you won’t like what happens.”