Sin: Path of Poison

Chapter 3 Part 1

My eyes fluttered, awareness slowly returning as something warm moved under my hand. I traced back the source, I held the hand of a young man, his pulse beat quickly. Strange that I didn't wake earlier. I searched my thoughts, nothing about him raised my defenses, much like Torch. As I released his hand he moved backwards quickly while staring down at me. His dark brown eyes looked down in confusion, a look unbecoming of someone so proper. Despite his shock, not a hair was out of place, it was pulled perfectly up and held tightly. His robes were pristine and without a trace of dirt, it was a stark difference compared to my current appearance. Absurd that I let myself fall so low.

Pain reeled through my body but I didn't have time to think about it. My hair was a mess, I was covered in leaves and dirt and more than one bug crawled over me. I pushed myself off the ground to lean against the tree in the dim dawn of the morning. I was here for a job.

"You're awake.." He trailed softly. I nodded, staring at his pristine boots. "Why.. why are you here?" He still sounded confused. I didn't answer, instead letting my senses out to see who else was nearby. "You shouldn't be here, where did you come from? I can help you go back." He rambled.

"I can't go back." I answered softly, his heartbeat sped up rapidly. "How long have you been here?" I added in a docile tone.

"Maybe an incense stick of time? I didn't mean to startle you, I didn't know if you were alive. You weren't answering so I tried to find a pulse.." He trailed, trying to get a better look at my face. I continued to avoid making direct eye contact, he cleared his throat before continuing. "Your outer robe was covering you completely, I.. I didn't realize.. It wasn't until I got close I realized.. You reached out and held my hand before I could move away." My head tilted in confusion, unable to piece together the conversation.

"Mm." I replied, still not understanding. He laughed lightly, sounding more nervous than before. "Why are you here?" I asked quietly. He managed to still look proper even while nervous.

"I went out for some air, I happened to see you on the ground." He glanced around, likely realizing how absurd that sounded. A short distance away a horn sounded loud and clear. He turned to look in the direction of the sound then back at me. He looked troubled, his almond shaped eyes held a hint of concern as he sorted out his thoughts.

"Stay here, I'll come back and help you." He sounded upset. Why? Turning, he ran to a horse that was tethered nearby and rode off towards the call. I also had to go towards it to investigate. Carefully hiding along the tree line, I peered into the clearing in front of me. There were half a dozen people on horse chasing down and killing the five trackers that were caught unaware.

Mixed among the trackers was another group of suspicious people, a group of four. My eyes scanned the group on horseback before finally settling on one. His robes, while not overly exorbitant, were obviously of the highest quality. Blue robes with gold embroidery flowed perfectly around him as his eyes focused on the hired killers in front. His hair was held up by a golden hair clasp and pin. The pin resembled a golden eagle, although the details were clearly not trying to imitate the bird completely. His features were soft and pleasing to the eye.

The person nearest him wore dark green robes not of a lesser quality, but worn more freely. With sharper features and a look of abandonment he seemed thoroughly pleased with the hunt in front of him. I crept silently along the treeline to close the distance, placing myself closer to the battle stage.

As the groups of killers mixed, unsure of who they should kill first, everything became a mess.The horses came in fast, their riders easily picked off several people. One of the trackers recovered quickest and reached into his side to show a full hand of throwing knives. Before the riders were even aware, he'd already downed one of them and brought another crashing to the ground.

Another killer quickly jumped towards the man as he tried to pull himself up and get a grip on his sword. The man in the green robes leaped from his horse, which was unable to turn around quick enough. He deftly blocked the sword from cutting the other man's throat. Meanwhile the tracker reached in for another set of knives and seemed to be targeting the person in blue and gold.

With only a few acupuncture needles at my disposal, I threw one, hitting the mark near his temple. The man's body momentarily froze. The man in blue and gold was able to close the distance, slicing him across the chest.

My movement hadn't gone completely unnoticed. While they couldn't see what I'd done, it was obvious I shouldn't be here. I hurriedly knelt to the ground, reaching my hands out in front of me, fully prostrating. I channeled the smallest bit of energy towards the needle which sent a spasm of suffering and pain. My goal was achieved though, the needle fell from the dead man's acupoint into the tall grass where it'd be nearly impossible to find.

One of the horsemen came over slowly as the last of the killers were eliminated. I didn't dare make eye contact, but from the sound of light armor clamoring, I could tell he was the head guard for one of the nobles. From here on it would depend on luck and acting if I could ride this out or make a quick retreat and find a different way in.