Waking up to the face of a young man waiting impatiently for her to awaken. Akira stirs feeling very weird. "Ugh, Where am I? and who are you?" Akira says as she looks around the area. Suddenly she feels something move on her neck. Instinctively Akira grabs her throat and feels something that shouldn't be there. "Wha-what is this?" Akira thought aloud. "Ugh, My head!" feeling woozy.

She braces herself and looks down at her hand trying to get her thoughts back from before Akira awoke. Looking then at the man who seemed a bit different than any one Akira has ever seen. But she couldn't tell because the lighting was bad. Since it was night.

Akira asks."Umm... Please tell me kind sir. How long have I been out? Where are the goblins that were chasing me?... ow my head." As soon as Akira had becomes flustered her body and mind began to scream. As if something was moving within. It may have hurt but it felt as if it was trying to protect her. Akira then tried to get up but stagered as she tried to stand. Feeling weak in the knees. Akira falls back down with a thud.

General Alberts finally decided it was time to take a break. He and two of his soldiers had been walking along the road through the great forest for most of the day now and it was nearing dusk. The sky now was a bright mix of oranges. They decided they would break camp near the small stream that was next to the road. While the other two were pitching tents, Alberts sat on a rock by the stream and filled his now empty water pouch. He took a swig and pondered about the recent events. How the night before he had been given a sealed envelope and told not to open it but to deliver it personally to general at Garis Keep, and the journey through the great forest that would take them a good two days just to get to the keep and another two back to the city.

Yet he smiled feeling lucky, the trip itself was pretty uneventful, which is a rare occurence given the nature of the forest they were traveling through. He felt a soft breeze pass through that was coming down from the mountain side. He heard one soldier, Serus, shout to the other, "Hey Horam. Go get some firewood." To which the other nodded in reply. It was indeed strange though. Though they were fortunate that they managed to avoid the more wild beasts and other inhabitants of the forest. They didn't hear any of its peaceful residents aswell. No birds, no squirrels. It was odd. Aside from the noise of the stream. it was dead silent.

Yet the silence was misleading. Though they heard no other noises. They were not alone...

On a branch high above them; the sunlight refracted and showed a barely visible outline of a person, crouched on the branch, watching them. If it hadn't been for the rays of the sun, it would have been completely transparent. The figure then lept as quietly as the wind from the tree branch and landed as softly as he jumped onto another to get a better view. He watched the one guard, Horam, who had removed his armor that was covering a now sweat stained cloth tunic leave the encampment for firewood. He lept again to another tree branch as the guard left the encampment.

Horam had traveled about 30 feet from the encampment to where he found some suitable firewood. He took a quick look back and was glad he could still see the encampment. yet he did not see the figure looming 30 feet above him nearly 15 feet away. The almost translucent figure then reached for what appeared to be a bow with his left hand and with his right hand an invisible arrow. Horams own noise of him chopping wood blocked out the sound of the arrow being pulled back.

Once the arrow was released, it became solid and clear as day and so was the figure who fired it. He wore a shrouded armor that was sanguine colored, his bow had been laqured to an obsidian black. His quiver was a mix of ebon with crimson lines. On the right side of his waist was a dagger, on the left side, a short sword. He wore a small hood that matched his armor that covered his head but left his face viewable. He was lean, as if built for acrobatics but was strong. Strong enough to use his bow with deadly precision without much effort. It didn't matter for Horam though. His back had been turned and now it was too late. He wasn't even able to let out a scream. He was dead the moment the arrow struck his back and punctured his heart. He fell to the ground; axe in hand.

Gareth grinned at his latest kill. It wasn't much but he had done a good job. The other two hadn't noticed.

"Two left." he reminded himself.

He closed his quiver and raised his right hand into the air and a soft green light eminated from his hand and he was back to being transparent again.

Serus stopped suddenly from his work and looked up. Alberts looked at him from where he was sitting and was confused.

"What is the matter Serus?" Alberts had asked.

Serus didn't answer. He was too busy trying to listen. He didn't notice the repetetive sounds of Horam's chopping but now that it was absent, it unnerved him. He hoped he would hear the sounds of Horam coming back but to no avail.

"We may not be alone my lord." was all he could say. He quickly went to his tent and pulled out a clamor. He went out to the area where Horam was and found his comrade lying on the forest floor, with an arrow protruding for his back.

He ran back to the encapment. shouting "Arm yourself my lord!" He reached for his clamor and went towards his general to ready himself to defend against whatever was out there. He wondered if there had been bandits. It was not uncommon for them to make camp in the forest but they didn't see any signs of other travelers.

Gareth watched from above as the two men now were armed and ready. He lept to another branch that was closer to them, this time however when his landing knocked free a loose pinecone which fell to the ground. The two below saw this and quickly readied themselves. Gareth knew that now play time was over. He lept to a lower branch and one with a quick drop landed to the ground below. Serus heard the thud of his landed and quickly searched for what had fallen, his eyes darting back and forth. He swore he could hear footsteps of their unseen attacker.

Gareth krept closer and closer. He knew that a conventional attack would be useless. Serus was well armored but there was one weak spot. Serus was holding his claymore in guard position but it revealed his unprotected armpit. Gareth jumped back and landed on a rock. Again he got out his bow, opened his quiver with a quick motion and pulled out an arrow and fired, sending an arrow right through serus' armpit.

Serus let out a cry of pain as he fell to the forest floor and Albert looked to where the arrow originated from. He saw the man on crouched on the rock holding his bow. There was no point in becoming invisible again. Gareth knew this would end here. He lept to where Serus was moaning in pain. He put aside his bow and took out his dagger. It glowed a soft red from all the enchantments placed upon it. With one fluid motion Gareth slashed at Serus' neck and Serus' moaning stopped.

Alberts was too terrified to charge, he had spent years in the service but he couldn't charge his enemy. He could only drop his sword and run.

He ran down the road, he could hear the footsteps of his persuer behind him. He was tired but his legs still carried him. He thought about the keep. How he could find safety there. Yet the keep was a day's walk away and the sun was setting. He soon realized that he would never see the keep, and he would never see home again. He felt a pain burst from his back and he stopped cold. Was it an arrow? No, whatever it was though, it was freezing, the sharp pain of cold took over him. His body went numb. He couldn't move; the only heat he felt was from his head. He felt something grab his head, he saw the blade of a dagger near his neck.
"Who are you?" Alberts barely made out. He heard his attacker reply with only one word. "Silence."

With one more quick motion he felt the warmth of his life esecape through the new hole in his jugular and the cold blackness of death taking him.

Gareth began ruffling in the now dead general's pockets looking for what the general was supposed to deliver. Success. He had found his orders. The general had been told to give them to the master of the keep but in truth he would never complete that mission. The keep had been cleared out some time ago. What the general had been given were Gareths dead drop orders. His master was clever. He guessed that the client of this contract had been given the orders and was told to give them to the general. He wondered who the client was this time. Maybe someone the general had arrested or a rival looking to replace him.

It didn't matter though. In the past three years of working for the Brotherhood, he had only met a few of the clients for the contracts and he really didn't care who had made contact with his master. The only important thing was that his master would be impressed and he would be paid. He opened the sealed letter and read it. "Congratulations Silencer." was the opening statement.

"Silencer." he thought. It was a title rather than a name; given to the personal assassins of the Brotherhood's ruling body, the Black Hand . Five silencers there were total. Four for the speakers and the Listener's personal Silencer. The speakers and the listener made up the black hand and the silencers were the hand's nails.

It was strange, all his life rarely anyone ever called him by his actual name. When he lived on the streets as a boy, people called him beggar, vermin and street rat. When he entered the Brotherhood three years ago, they called him brother. Now his brothers and sisters now call him by his new name; Silencer. Truth was he didn't care much about his real name. He was proud of his new title and name and he would wear it with honor.

He pulled back his hood and wiped his now sweaty forehead and strolled around the area where the bodies lied. He had spent the whole day from sunrise tracking him. Had it not been for the Ring of the Gray he wore, he wouldn't have been so lucky and would have had to hunt them in the abandoned keep. Looking at his handy work reminded him of the first time he killed. The thrill, the exiliration, the adrenaline rush. The thrill of the hunt was still there but everything else had become second nature when it came to assassinations. He knew that he wasn't the best. The Listener's Silencer proved that. But he was good. He wouldn't have made it to Silencer if he wasn't. Now came the boring part of the contract.

The contract called for that the hit look like a simple attack by marauders or beasts of the forest. It was easy enough to pull off. The forest was huge, full of bandits and beasts. Those that didn't know the way around could easily get lost. Some times people entered the forest and simply disappeared...

Yet these were legion troopers and a general no less. Luckily the general himself was dressed only in a travelers cloak to look inconspicuous but the other two soldiers had been wearing their legion armor. No way it would be believable that they were brought down by forest bandits. Gareth knew that to make it a little more believable, he would have to dress them down a little. He bagan to remove Serus' armor and weapons along with gathering Horam's equipment and Alberst legion short sword. There was a drop off onto the mountain side a couple of yards away, he could dump the equipment there. He made sure to take any valuables the legion soldiers had to make it look more believable that they were attacked by bandits.

As he began to finish his work, he heard a scream that came from a few yards away along with several screaches. "Goblins." he thought. He looked first to his ring and saw a light begin to appear and looked out into the forest. sure enough the purple foglight, the sign of life was seen but it was distant and fading. He saw the group of light coming from the goblins but there was something else. That scream that came before certainly didn't come from the goblins and the group was moving fast as if it was chasing something.

Had he been seen? If the bodies were spotted now then his plan would be ruined. He pulled his hood back over his head. Night was beginning to fall and the fog light was beginning to fade as the goblins and whatever they were chasing left the area. He raised his hand again and a blue light came forth and his eyes were now a total deep blue. He needed to know what the goblins were doing what they were chasing. It didn't matter much to him if someone had spotted him or the bodies. After all it was a big forest full of nasty things and sometimes, people just disappear...

Waking once again, Akira saw the man flee. Something in the forrest had stirred and the smell of blood was think in the air... wait? How could she smell blood? Akira was stuned the feel this way, but the fact of the matter was that something had happened and she was still amongst the area where it began... Perhaps something could be found to tell her what happened? Or she could at least find a weapon to defend herself with. She was raised by an elven tribe. taught how to use a bow and to use the forrest to her advantage.

Akira stood and looked around, shocked to see the amount of damage. She couldn't believe that she had survived at all. 'But, why did he leave?' Akira wondered. She didn't know that the passing man that had helped her was a marked man, who would be soon dead.

Akira trudged through the rubble, looking for any type of bow with guiver. She could hear the restless beasts starting to come out for the night's hunt. She stumbled on a small bow, but it was slightly damaged. It could be used... but for how long? was the question.

Placing the bow and quiver over her shoulder, Akira started to walk towards wherd she some how smelt blood. SHe never knew she'd be, soon enough, watched.

"Just a girl..." Gareth whispered to himself as kneeled on another branch and watched as the man ran off into the forest. The winds were coming down from the eastern mountains and the branch swayed slightly under his feet. He readied another arrow and let it soar. The wind picked up and the arrow went off course slightly and struck the man in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.

Gareth's heart stopped and his breath froze as the man sceamed in agony. He turned and shure enough, the girl had heard the screamed and turned. He didn't care about the man. The arrows he used were laquered with a special poision that would spread through the man's body, eventually causing his heart to fail. But that didn't matter. He was supposed to make it look like simple murder. The poision was a specialty of The Dark Brotherhood. It was practically their calling card that most town guards knew too well when identifying cause of death among murder victims.

Gareth quickly regained his senses. He wasn't sure if the girl saw him and if that was the case, he could just make his escape and leave her here for some forest resident to claim her. He held his arm and the soft green light eminated from his hand. As he was finishing his spell, the wind picked up again, this time swaying the branch harder, causing it to crack. He lost concentration of the spell as now things from bad to worse. The branch broke and Gareth found himself falling to the forest floor; landing with a hard thud.

He quickly regained his senses and stood crouched down. His eyes glared. Sure enough, he had been seen. He landed back first in plain view of the girl. Any hope of leaving quietly with the girl alive had been dashed. He had been seen.

"She's just a kid!" He thought as he realized what he must do to insure the completion of the mission. He had performed contracts on children before. But they were the targets. It was unavoidable. She wasn't a target. She could have avoided it. "She's just some stupid kid in the forest!" He yelled in his mind. But the arguments died as quickly as they came. He breathed a heavy sigh and reached for his dagger and short sword. He knew what he had to do.

Akira looked over and didn't know if she should go help him up or run.. But she knew that she was in trouble when the man reached for his weapons...

Akira stepped back a few paces, while her white hair moved in the wind. She was a bit scared, but her attention was taken away by the sound of something comming their way...

Akira moved to the side just before an arrow nearly hit her She could smell more blood... Then, with out warning, another set of arrows flew in and five club wielding goblins rushed into the clearing. They went for Akira and the man, two to three... the man getting the most. An Orc sniper following slowly into the clearing.. aiming for another shot.

"Umm.. I don't know about you... But I think our introduction will have to wait until our prior engagement is finished.. I hope you're good with slaying Goblins.." Akira said as she unshouldered her bow.. aiming towards the nearest goblin. Stopping her aim as she had to jump away from another set of arrows... She couldn't aim for the goblins while the Orc was still there... a slight pain in her throat now surfacing. Making her feel like her neck was on fire.

Gareth's eyes darted back and forth. "Goblins and Orcs? Working together?" He thought. It didn't make sense but it didn't matter. "First things first." He placed closed his eyes and placed his index and middle finger to his eyelids and a blue light quickly flashed from the ends of the fingers. When his eyes opened they were covered by a blue tint. The night vision spell allowed him to see the three goblins each weilding hatchets quickly closing in. They were too close for him to get out of the way and get his bow. Instead he went for Goldbrand, his short sword. It was shaped like a short katana with a straight edge and a gold tint. evidence of the fire enchantment that it was given when it was forged long ago. He didn't like melee combat but when he was forced into them, Goldbrad always showed how it earned its place among his favored weapons.

The first goblin made the mistake of rushing in, Gareth side stepped it and with a quick move, slashed at its back, the fire magic burned the goblins wound with an orange light. The other two then tried to take him on at once. Though he had fallen earlier, he was still able to jump over both of them, and reaching for his dagger, plugged one with in its stomach with Goldbrand and cut the jugular of the other with his dagger. the blood of the previous soldier now on the goblins neck.

He then placed Goldbrand back in it's scabbard and cleaned his dagger with one of the goblins fur shirts before sheathing it. Now it was just him and the girl again. But then he looked down at his ring, which was starting to glow. Glancing around he saw a mass of purple foglight enclosing around them. The light came off the bodies from a small army of orcs and goblins. Too many for either him or the girl to take on. He only brought enough arrows for the contract plus a few for hunting and he didn't know how many she had left. As they enclosed around them both he started to back towards the girl.

"Just run. Leave her here, they don't know you." Was all his common sense could say. He knew he should follow his common sense. His heart was racing but he knew he could escape. "Just Run." He glanced down at the silver haired girl. "Hold your breath." was all he said.

He then placed one arm around her waist and they both crouched down. With his other hand, he reached for a smoke ball in one of his pockets. A last resort escape measure. He threw the ball to the ground and as it exploded with a cloud of smoke, he held his free hand in the air again, concentrating hard. He only knew four spells, one to heal small wounds, one to give him night vision, one to freeze targets for a few seconds and one for invisibility. Yet while other members of the brotherhood were good with many other spells they knew. He mastered the ones he had.

Through the smoke a soft green flash appeared and the two were invisible. with his arm around her, he lept up to the nearest tree branch and lept upwards into the forest canopy. He found a large sturdy branch and stopped, in time for the invisibilty spell was about to wear off. He watched the ground below as the band of goblins and orcs quickly marched through the area.

He then turned to the girl. "I do not know why I just risked everything I lived for in saving you. I hope you have a good reason for me risking everything in doing so. But be warned. If you ever tell anyone about what happened here or earlier. I will end you." He then sighed. "You may refer to me only as Silencer."

-darkeclipse awoke. all he could feel was a blanket of darkness surrounding him.- a demon is nearby. -he muttered to himself. he broke through the clearing of trees and saw a group of goblins and orcs. he pulled out his sword of retribution and started slashing at their numbers.- too easy.

Akira felt herself being grabed around the waist. She was then in the air and was on a sturdy tree branch. She looked over at the man and saw them both reapear. His words were unnerving, but she decided to tell him the truth. "I don't really know what is going on. But I was being chased by goblins earlier. I am from an elven village that was a fifteen min run from here..." was was being the main word. "We were attacked by those fiends down there... I do not know if anyone else is still alive..." Akira stopped and looked up.. She was puzzled to why this man went by the name silencer. But She guessed best time to was now instead of later.

"I don't really know what is going on, or what any of this has to do with you. Aren't you just a hunter? Why would anyone call you Silencer? It is a bit of a strange name. But if you wish it. I'll call you that since you did save me..." Akira said as she set her footing on the tree branch well enough so that he didn't need to hold her. She was taught how to climb and jump trees by elves. She just couldn't do it as fast as them.

Realising that he had said that he had risked all... Akira wondered. "How did I make you risk everything? I don't really understand..." Akira couldn't finish. Her neck felt like it was on fire and there was now a slight red glow comming from underneath her collar. A sharp pain went through her body as her footing on the branch wavered, Slipping as she grabed out to him. She didn't know if he would grab her hand or not. But she hoped so.. the feeling in her neck intencifying as she went backwards.

Gareth didn't even think has he reached for the girl. He caugher her by the hand but noticed the glow coming from her neck. He didn't know what to make of it. Perhaps one of his Brothers would. They weren't far from a city with one of the hidden sanctuaries of the brotherhood. Only a couple of hours away.

One thing that he took more notice to was that the girl didn't know about The Dark Brotherhood. "She must have led a sheltered life." He thought to himself. The armor he wore was standard issue, the shoulder plate he wore on his right shoulder blade even had The Black Hand mark, a dead give away on it. He smiled, as if fortune had rewarded his rare act of charity.

He snicked a little. "Yes... I am a hunter of sorts. And yes Silencer is a strange name. But we don't get to choose our names and it is better than some others that people get called..." He remarked rather grimly as the voices of the past called out to him, calling him beggar and street rat. "But in any case that's not important. Orcs usually are enemies of goblins. Luckily there's a town not too far from here. Some guilds and such, maybe you can find your elven friends there. We will leave once the moon rises bast the western mountains."

He looked below and sighed, the area was clear except for bodies of the fallen. "If you'll excuse me, I have some things to tend to. Goblin meat isn't edible for humans but other creatures take delight in it and it's best to get rid of it quickly. You'll be safe up here." He then made his way quickly down to the forest floor. He didn't really care about the goblins, he just needed to quickly rectify a situation.

Sure enough the man was dead thanks to the poison of the arrow. But the man's demise wasn't what concerned him, it was the poison's after effect. The man's face had been pulled back which made the muscles and bones easy to make out, making his face a grissly visage showing his final moments.

He gathered the dead goblins and orcs and put them in a pile ontop of the human and set the bodies aflame. He smiled as his cover up would prove successfull. If it wasn't for the smell of burning goblin flesh, the bonfire would have been enjoyable. He then ran to the clearing where the other three soldiers were. The army of goblins and orcs had been here and they seemed to have done him a favor. His night vision showed him their tracks in the ground and best of all, they had taken the armor he had removed from them and had planned to toss over the cliff side.

He made his way back up to the canopy, offering a hand to the girl. "It is time to go, the moon is out and it will provide us the light we need to get to town. I should let you know. I'm in a guild; a "hunters" guild. I will need to speak with them while we're in town but after that, we can find you whatever help you may need. Also, the town guard doesn't like people going out into the great forest, even members of the hunters guild, so it would be best if you didn't tell anyone that we were here or what happened here..."

Akira took his hand and followed him. They were both fast on their feet. Surprisingly enough. She was actually having a hard time keeping up.. He was a tad faster than the elves that she had trained with. That was a lot to say in the least.. but never tell an elf that.

Akira paced herself and kept a stable distance to Silencer. She still couldn't get the hang of calling him that. But she then realised... She had been impolite not to give her name. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you my name. It wasn't polite of me not to. But My name is Akira. Pleasure to meet you and thanks for all the help you are providing. I hope I am not a burden?" Akira said as she ran up to his pace. She felt like she could go this fast. But hopefully they would be close to their destination. She could somehow hear rustling of the bushes nearby. But it was mainly wolves and raccoons. She wouldn't be surprised if an Owl or hawk flew by as well. All the night creatures were out and Akira hoped that she'd be at least able to get a new bow.. the one she had now was on it's last leg. She knew she'd need a new one before another confrontation would occur.

The moon was now up high and Akira could now see very clearly. Her eyesight had fully adjusted and she didn't need to rely on Silencer's movements to know where to go. She even started to jump like an elf when she felt changes in the dirt. Jumping cleanly over traps that the local hunters set for wild beasts.

"So. May I ask what your guild's name is? OR where you're originally from? I was found by my village and don't know whom my real parents were. I guess being an orphan is pretty hard. But the ones that took care of me treated my like their own..." Akira trailed off. Remembering her family and friends that she saw being slaughtered. She knew no one was left. There had been a meeting prior to the assult. It came on suddenly. She was the only one to get away. and even she was nearly killed... "If only for that light... What was that anyways...' Akira thought as she ran. The light that had engulfed her had saved her from becomming goblin fodder. HSe never would think for a second right now that the light was tied to why her neck right now hurt and burned in pain with an unearthly power....

-darkeclipse was running through the forest. he caught scent of people on the move. he noticed the moonlight. it was the same as when he was left unconscience in the patch of bloody trees. burning with the pain of trying to remember he followed the two scents he found. the trees surrounded him as he followed and he guessed they had gotten there by a different path.-
i should be able to catch up. providing no one attacks me i should be able to ask them where the nearest town is.
-when he got to a clearing he noticed a huge hole. the clearing reaked of goblin blood.-
they must have been attacked too. -he thought going faster.-
-after running through strange kinds of trees he knew he was catching up.-
i'll catch up soon. and i'll finally be out of this forest.-he thought remembering he's been here for hundreds- thousands? he really didn't know.-