Azik's Hitlist (N)

[Azik Farenfir]

I just completed my first mission for the Resistance. I have mixed feelings about assassinating someone I know nothing about. But if it'll help bring our goal of Equality closer, I'll do anything I can to help. Even if that means stealing another's life.

I've been told to start documenting my missions through this diary. Stating who the target is, threat level and reason for the hit. It does make me feel a bit low having to summerise one's life in a few sentences, but this is ment to be archieved to show people the lengths of our struggle.

I'd better get started on showing those who reads this the way I, a thief turned assassin, do my job.

[Azik Farenfir]

Hit No. - 1

Name - (Sir) Abeit De Lonsk

Threat Level - Moderate

"Crime" - A few days ago, we recieved intel that numerous people, Beastfolk and Humans alike, were being accused of being members of the Resistance. Sir De Lonsk was single handedly pointing the finger. His reasons becoming more ridiculosly with each arrest. Usually he arrested those who upsetted him. People he arrested would sometimes resurface dead. Each time he pointed out a "Resistance Member", the Government would sing his name. It was the easiest way for him to climb the ladder of success. While the man himself is no imposing threat to the Resistance, if he continues his tyrany of sacrificing people for his benifit, others will follow his example.

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I was told that the good "Sir" needed to be dealt with. However, I needed to make it look like the Resistance had no hand it the death. After preparing myself, I was shown on a map safe place was for me to Quicken to. Having used it only a few times with much shorter distances, I needed all the free space I could get to reduce risk of crashing.

After leaving the camp, I arrived at a clearing. Focusing, I felt the instant sensation of the world flickering past. I started to slow down like the way I was taught. As I arrived at the designated location, I realised that I was still moving too fast and heading straight for a Oak. I saw a lake nearby. Only expert mages can alter their paths, but I had no other choice. Concentrating, I put all my attention into swaying my path. It amazingly started to bend, and I was heading towards the lake. I went straight into the depths of the water, where I stopped. I swam back to the surface. I was having a wonderful start. I got out and squeezed as much water out as I could. I decided that when I got back to camp, I was going to ask Bobbie for some tutoring.

Entering the city was easy. Being away from civilastions for 54 years has led to the Government either thinking I'm a shriveled up old man, dead or plain forgot about me. After, I regretfully must say, wondering about for half an hour, I arrived at De Lonsk's house. Though honestly, it was more like a condensed mansion. There were guards dispersed on the grounds. I kept walking and turned a corner. I thought of various methods I could slip by. Killing them did pop up more then once, but their deaths would only hinder the Resistances appeal.

I settled on the old fashion way. Activating my heatvision, I watched the movements of the guards patrols. I saw a blind spot. Climbing a house opposite the blind spot, I looked at the Mansion. I saw a window on the second floor. Finally, some luck. I jumped off the building, and climbed to the wall that surrounded the mansion. I then leapt to the roof, carefull to slow my impact with telekinesis to reduce sound. Making my way to the window, I peeked in. No guards. I did notice runes etched into the floor beneth the window. A trap. And from the runes used, it was one that paralized and sent electric pulses through the body. How morbid. It was a weak, but effective if placed where it isn't noticed.

I found a small gap between the window and the windowsill. It was large enough to slip my lockpicking tools through. After slipping them in, I then picked them up with telekisis. I lent my head against the window, and worked from sound. It lasted 2 painful minutes. I constaintly looked down to be sure the guards haven't moved there. I almost froze when I heard two guards talking as they started moving to where I was. Just as I saw a leg come into view, I heard the click of the window unlocking. I swung it open, only to remember the trap. I quickly froze the time around the trap and moved inside, pulling the window close with telekinesis.

Picking up my tools, I moved off the trap and stopped my magic. I was starting to feel the effects of magic fattigue. I needed to make this quick. After exploring several halls, I found De Lonsk sitting at a desk, writing. Just before I made my move, I discovered another trap at the door of the room. I cursed silently. I need to use magic to actually excecute my plan. I desided to wait. The room he was in wasn't his bedroom. Sooner or later he would go to sleep. I moved to a vacant room nearby and activated my heat vision to watch through the walls.

Two hours passed when De Lonsk finally stood from his desk and stretched. I stood up and made my way to the door, but kept my heat vision on. As he reached the trap, he stopped and slipped something cold on his finger. A ring that prevented weak traps from activating. Cleaver. When he exited the room, I stopped his time and slipped out. I quickly moved to him and pulled out a syringe. Inside was a fast-acting poison.

Pushing the syringe's needle into a blood vain, I emptied the contents. After removing the drug, I returned to the room I hid in and undid my spell. I heard him yelp. Using Heat vision again, I saw De Lonsk rubbing where I injected him. He then moved to his room. He dresses into his nightware, then slipped into bed. I waited 20 minutes, the time it takes the drug to kill, then made my way to his room with heat vision still on.

The tempreture of his body has already begun to fall, but I still needed to be sure. I checked his pulse on his neck. Nothing. He was dead. I looked at his ring. Slipping it into my pocket, I decided to keep it as a momento. I looked out his window. Only one guard was at that post. And I still had enough magic stamina to freeze him and quicken back to camp. Unlocking the window, I froze the guard, then climbed the wall. Undoing my hold on the guard, I made my way back to camp.

This time, my quicken went smoothly. When I arrived, I reported the success, and was dismissed for the night. The next morning, the body of Abeit De Lonsk was found. The doctors rulled that he died naturally. His heart just gave out. Though he was a healthy man, it wasn't unheard of. The Government of course started acusing the Resistance, but that was expected. The random arrests stopped shortly after. My first hit was a success.

[Azik Farenfir]

Hit No. - 2

Name - Nakiol Vitosai/Nik the Horrid (Human)

Threat Level - Moderate

"Crime" - Nik had been abducting People off the streets in Novgorod and selling them off as slaves. Like most slavers, he beats the resistance out of the "merchandise" before he takes them to the black market. On more than one occasion, he had killed. Whether it was intentional or not, it doesn’t justify him. Nik isn't the head of the serpent in regards to slavery. The head dwells much deeper. However, he had become an often told rumour amongst society. Showing such disregard for life to sell it is as bad as the Government. That is why we have decided that action is needed.

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I had been in Novgorod for a week now. I had been watching the movements of Nik since I arrived. At that moment, He was sitting at a table in an Inn with another man. Laughing. He would make volatile gestures as he talked. A frequent one was a back slap. The other man would smile at these acts. I assumed that he knew who Nik was. And either he was part of it to or not, made him equally as guilty as Nik. However, he was not my target. I sat at my table on the other side of the Cafe and sipped my tea. It was such a lovely blend. I need to make a note of that cafe's name... Ah crap I just wrote that...

Anyway, after an hour of shared tales and obnoxious laughter, Nik finally stood. The other man followed suit, downing the alcohol he was drinking in one gulp. They left the payment on the table, and left. I activate my heat vision to see what was happening outside. Nik and the other man shook hands then went their own ways. Watching Nik for thirty seconds as he walked away, I got up, left payment and followed. Nik turned down many alleys. The light of the sun started to fade as dusk approached. One final turn led Nik to a door. I stopped at the last corner he turned and watched with Heat Vision.

He pulled out a key and unlocked the door. As he pulled the door open, he put the key in his pocket. Acting fast, I sent my thoughts forward and pulled the key out with telekinesis as he slipped inside. When he closed the door, the key remained floating in front of the door. I quickly pulled it towards me and slipped it into my satchel. I then left and headed back to the inn I was staying at. I thought that Nik's little hideout deserved a search.

Climbing onto a roof that overlooked the door, I lay down and waited. I activated my heat vision and saw Nik inside. Deactivating, I watched for when he would leave. 3 hours later, I started to get cramps from sitting still. Finally, Nik opened the door and locked it behind him. He must've had a spare key. He looked on the ground for a moment, then shrugged and left. I watched him with heat vision until he was a good distance away. I jumped off the roof, onto the ground a few steps away from the door. Pushing the key into the door, I turned and the key clicked. As the door swung open. I stepped inside.

Unfortunately, I didn't notice a trip wire at the door. When it snapped, I became aware of a silenced pistol pointed at my face. The trigger was pulled by the weight attached to the string, and it fired. I had managed to slow the bullet down at that point and managed to move my face out of the critical zone. It did manage to graze my right temple though. A split second later, and I would an assassin killed by his target. It was sloppy of me not to think he wouldn't have this place rigged. As I entered the room, I enhanced my healing rate. The blood stopped flowing and the wound started to regrow skin. I wiped the blood away and resumed searching the room.

It was really just a room. A bed, a table with documents strewn across it, and a bathroom. It doesn't look like he cooks here since there's no kitchen. Looking through the documents, one caught my eye. It was a schedule for meeting up with other slave traders to negotiate trading "Exotic" wares. That sickened me. Slipping the note into my satchel, I jumped when I heard the rattling of the door knob. I quickly froze time around the door to give it the illusion of being jammed. I then moved as quickly and silently as I could as I heard Nik's voice cursing at the door. I slipped into the bathroom, removed my influence on the door and activated my heat vision.

Nik stumbled inside. He must have been leaning on the door when it abruptly opened. He closed the door, and then started to move about the room. I froze as I remembered the trip wire. I quickly sent out my magic and reversed the events that transpired so the wire was reattached. I couldn't reload the gun however due to the bullet flying out the door when it was fired. My heat vision started to fade as I realised that I've wasted a significant amount of magic repairing the wire. As it failed, I then needed to focus on listening to Nik's movements.

He moved to different parts of the room while shuffling papers. He was probably reading. At one point, I heard the handle of the bathroom rattle, and held my breath. I heard Nik grumble as the doorknob stopped rattling. After a few minutes, I heard the strain of metal springs supporting weight. He was on the bed. I waited a further hour before building the courage to open the door. Peeking out, I saw Nik lying face up and eyes closed. I started to move towards him. If there was a chance to kill him, it was now. A foot away, I noticed something that turned my blood to ice. The pistol was gone.

Looking back at Nik, I saw the pistol being pointed at me. Nik then sat up and sneered. I cursed silently. He stated that he knew someone was here because he had a sensory trap beneth the floor boards that would activate when weight is applied. It then alerted Nik mentally of the intrusion and he decided that he would toy with the "little mouse". Of all the... It was just not my day... He then began to gloat that he was going to kill an intruder with a gun loaded with a single bullet.

I felt a sudden wash of relief, but kept my outward appearance twisted with fear and anger. As Nik finished his boasting, he said goodbye, and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked. Nik's face showed his obvious puzzlement. He pulled the trigger again, and the gun continued to click. I took this opportunity to finish it. Rushing towards Nik with a dagger, I parted the skin of his throat. He fell to his knees as he reached to his neck, and then fell to the ground.

When I returned to camp, I handed the note with the time of the trade. I was given the usual thanks for my service, then dissmissed. The actions that were to be taken was discussed between the higher ups. They decided to act.

The day of the meeting, the Resistance ambushed the slavers. We we're told NOT to kill anyone regardless of their actions. It was a difficult order to follow once they started holding slaves as meat shields. However, we did manage to liberate the slaves with one fatality of the slavers. We entrapped the slavers in a timed spell that would deactivate once we had made sufficent distance.

Most of the slaves decided to join the Resistance. But a few wanted to re-build their lives. They were escorted to another country by some Resistance members. They were given ample food and money to restart their lives. The Government was not pleased by this and used this act to kindle their fires of deception and hate. But we didn't care what they said. The mission was over.

[Azik Farenfir]

Nit No. - 3

Name - Unknown

Threat Level - Low > High

"Crime" - The Ghost is just a lowly mugger in Rasgard. Though as low as he is, he has developed quite the reputation. He follows the same routine. He targets people who are alone. He then threatens with a weapon, usually a knife, and would demand valuables. The one thing that was different in his attacks was that the areas where he strikes would change constantly, if not all the time. He wears the same mask of a white skull with red eyes. There had been only one instance where he had murdered a target. The target, a human man no less, lashed out towards him. A struggle ensued, but ended up with the victim dead and bleeding into the gutter. Though The Ghost is not amongst our primary concerns, this could be an excellent situation for the Resistance to show that it cares for the people of Ruthenia more than the Government.

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Another night passed as I wondered around Rasgard, hoping to become a target of the less-then-illusive-Ghost. What a ridiculous Title. One would think that being called the "Ghost" would mean that he was either un-dead or exceptionally well at covering his tracks. Instead, his face, well... more like an artist’s impression, is plastered all about the town! This mission was either going to be very interesting, or a complete bore. I was putting my money on the latter. I walked for another hour, before the first rays of sunlight began to brighten the sky. Yawning, I went back to the inn I stayed at. When I woke, I read the newspaper and sighed with frustration. "The Illusive Ghost has stricken terror into Rasgard with his latest attack!" Folding the newspaper and finishing my breakfast/lunch, I thought that I would have better luck tonight.

I didn't have any luck. Not that night. Not the one after. Not for a whole week! I was getting annoyed. The "Illusiveness" of his name was starting to justify itself. As I walked the streets once again, I started to mumble to myself how long it takes for the blasted fool to attack an "18" year old man walking the streets frequently at night? As I walked past an alley, something grabbed my arm and pulled me into the shadows. A knife was held to my throat as a hushed voice said "Empty your pockets kid, before I need to give you a scar to match your other one." Finally! He took the bait! I froze him, and pushed him off. I pulled out a dagger and moved to kill. I felt a sudden and sharp prick in my neck. Reaching up, I found a dart. I pulled it out and stood in the open street.

The contents of the drug didn't concern me. I was immune to most poisons. Looking around, I saw men step out of alleys, buildings, even out of a man hole. There had to be at least 5 of them. All had roughly the same height and build. They wore different clothes, but all of them had the same mask as the Ghost. It dawned on me. All these men were Ghosts! Or, rather the one Ghost! That's why his attacks were so eccentric! The men would just take turns robbing people at different parts of the town! I momentarily felt proud of myself for forcing them to reveal their secret, but then realised that I'm surrounded. The five must watch whoever is working to be sure that he isn't killed.

I drew another dagger, and then felt another sting. One of the men had a dart gun. I pulled out the dart, only to start feeling groggy. The poison must be very strong to make me feel the effects. Another sting and I fell to my knees. I swore under my breath. One of the other men walked up to me wielding a baseball bat. Using the handle, he smashed it into my face. Everything went dark as I fell to the ground. A split second later, I was awake. My sight strained to focus. The room I was in was poorly lit. But from the looks of it, I was in a warehouse. Where exactly, I didn't know. My hands were chained to the wall, but not my legs. I noticed that they had taken the liberty of relieving me of my knives, satchel and even my vest and shirt.

Looking about the room, I saw that there were two doors. One large one that took up most of the wall opposite me, (probably to let large cargo carriers like trucks through) and a human sized door to the left of where I was chained. I attempted to use Heat vision, but realised that I had no magic stamina left. The thieves must have drugged me with a magic nullifier. Damn... They were surprisingly organised. Pity. If only they would put the heads together, they could actually be quite a thief syndicate... Why was I thinking that...? A few minutes passed, before a man stepped into the room. I watched him casually walk over to a chair, grab it and place it facing me. He then sat down.

He was wearing the Ghost mask. He then asked who I was. I responded saying that I was just an innocent boy who wanted to go home. He pulled out one of my daggers, and then asked what "innocent" child would ever need such good quality daggers. I said that those were just fancy looking kitchen knives that I use to cook with. The man stood, walked over to me and slapped me across the face. I expected to not bust out of here without picking up some prizes. But I could tell from the man's body language that he was nervous. He has never done this before. I was tempted to kick him upside the face, but I couldn't let them know that I can use my legs. I have to wait for an opportune moment.

The man went over to a bench near the door he came through. On it was a vial. He poked a syringe through and filled it with the solution. As he made his way over, I resisted. He hit me again. This time, more of a punch. I spat out a bit of blood, and submitted. I needed to let them think that they have control. When he injected me, I felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over. More Anti-Magic drugs... He started to walk to the door. He pulled out my dagger, and stabbed it into the table. He turned to face me and said that I won't be leaving anytime soon. Regretfully, I had to agree. It will take a while before they slip up and make a fatal mistake.

At the edge of my mind, I felt another presence. It was Takanost. Thankfully, he was a conciseness all his own and I didn't require magic to talk to him. I accepted him inside and told of my situation. He already knew of course. I forget, he sees what I see. He scolded me for being thrown into this situation. I asked if he had any suggestions to what I can do about restoring my magic between doses of the drug. He said that it won't be possible for me to use magic as long as the drug is in my system and that if they apply a new dose before the last wears out, I won't be using magic until I busted out of here... If I did at all...

Takanost did show me ways to deal with torture that would be sure to follow. Even if these guys were only rookies, it only takes an imagination, and a twisted one at that, to come up with ways to make a person sing. After a few hours, another man appeared. I recognised him from his clothes that he was the one who shot me. He asked me how I was able to resist his first shot. I told him that I ate a healthy diet of vegetables everyday. He laughed. He then asked did I think that wise cracks were going to get me out. I replied by saying that I don't know, but it was fun screwing around with him. He laughed again. He walked over to the table and filled a syringe. He said that he liked my "moxie" and that it was a shame we met under these circumstances. He moved to me, and injected me with the solution.

When he left, I noticed something. He didn't hit me. It was either a trick for me to start feeling a demented friendliness from him, or he was making a terrible mistake in not trying to assert his dominance. Well, if it was the later, he would be making a mistake nonetheless. As the light in the windows started to darken, my stomach rumbled. Takanost told me to be strong. That this would be my hardest trial so far. But I knew that this would not compare to that night with Sevir.

[Azik Farenfir]

The sun was rising again. Three times, three days I've been in there. I was right that all you needed was an imagination to come up with ways to torture. The "Ghosts" have started to get more confident. Each time they one finished his turn, another would try to outdo the former. Thankfully, they haven't thought of removing my fingers or teeth. I wanted to get out of there in one piece.

I felt drained and was famished. I have only been fed yesterday, and what they gave me was tap dancing on the borderline of rotten. But I forced myself to eat, even though I wanted to bring it back up; I needed all the strength I could muster to break out of here. I had been pulling against the chains anytime I was alone. They wouldn't snap of course, but I discovered that the right chain had a loose screw.

I worked the chain to loosen the screw day and night, between beatings and interrogations. Eventually, the screw came off and the chain came off the wall. However, I picked the chain and screw and slipped them into the hole it left, giving it the illusion that it wasn't broken. If I tried to break out then, I wasn't going to be getting far from the wall. I need keys to unlock the cuffs.

I set my sights on one "Ghost" in particular. He was very lax when it was his turn to watch/inject/torture me. He would just slip the keys into his pocket rather than place them on the table besides the vial and my dagger like the others do. Probably deducted that I was harmless... I pushed back the urge to laugh. We went through the same otiose regime of him punching me a few times in the gut, kicking my legs, and then he would deliver a back hand punch across my face. He was going to get it soon...

As he filled the syringe, I readied myself. The best thing to do was to kill him, but I wouldn't be able to kill him with one hand. I glanced at the chain on my right arm. That'll do. When he returned and reached for my left arm, I kicked him between the legs. When he fell to his knees, I pulled on the chain. It came out easily. Without giving him anytime to compose himself, I twined the chain around his neck and pulled.

After fishing through his pockets, I found the keys. I unlocked the shackles and rubbed my wrists. I grabbed my dagger off the table and halted by the door. I pressed my ear to it and listened for noise. Nothing. I unlocked it and entered. Inside, there was just a TV with a couch facing it. Beside the couch was a table. On it I saw all my gear. These guys really were amateurs in holding a prisoner. Keeping their property so close by... How kind of them.

After I had made myself more appropriate, the door to the next room opened. Two men walked in holding Ghost masks. They saw me immediately, but one fell to the ground as a dagger slipped into his mouth. I was a bit rusty from being held by chains for three days. It was meant to hit his throat. A second dagger planted itself in the door where the other man's head was. He had run off screaming blue murder.

He was running down a hall leading away from the warehouse. There was only one door which was at the end of the hallway. He was only starting to open it when I caught up to him and planted the dagger in his back. The door swung open to reveal another room. It looked like a rundown bar and reeked of alcohol and smoke. Around the room, I saw five men wearing Ghost masks. They all looked at the body of the man I killed, and then looked at me.

I pulled the dagger out of the man's back and brandished the dripping blade. All of the men started to move towards me. Wielding an array of weapons. Ranging from iron pipes to knives. I stepped into the room as they closed in. The first swung a chair at my head. I ducked from the attack and stabbed down on his foot. As he reached for his foot, I brought the dagger up through his jaw. Another man with a knife ran towards me as I pulled the bloody blade from the man's neck.

Using the same dagger, I threw it and it landed in the chest of the prior man. A fist slammed into my face as I was thrown against the wall behind me. One of the men started to advance on me. When he was a foot away and holding his arm up to strike me, I slipped a dagger out and sliced along the length of his arm. Severing major blood arteries will cause people to bleed out quickly. I punched the man square in the jaw with a uppercut and he collapsed.

The last two charged at me together. One swiped an iron pipe at me while the other was jabbing and thrusting with a broken bottle. I eluded the blows for a few seconds, and then kicked the man with bottle in the gut. He doubled over from having the wind knocked out. The second man swung the pipe in a downwards slash. Dropping my dagger, I caught it with two hands, and then elbowed him in the chin. When he stumbled back, I tossed a blade and it landed in the man's forehead.

The last one was still clutching his stomach when I went to his side. When he noticed me watching, he started to blabber about letting him go. That he was only stealing to support his family and that kidnapping me was something that he didn't support. I readied my arm to throw the blade, and the man closed his eyes and sobbed. Relaxing my arm, I turned and started to leave. I told him as I left that he should leave and if I were to hear him mention about this or report me, I wouldn't be as generous.

I left the town immediately. It was still early morn and there weren’t many people in the streets to see me coated in blood and bruises. I found a nice secluded lake where I washed myself off and restored myself. After I had enough Magic to make the trip, I returned to camp. Everybody didn't realise that I was held captive, and most of them won't. The Resistance higher ups were a little apprehensive about letting the man go, but ultimatly said that my decision to show mercy was not wrong.

They said they would be keeping an eye on Rasgard for any "Ghost" activity to see if that man would stay out of trouble. Thankfully, the mugging ended the night I escaped. Any other "Ghosts" must've been intimidated by my little example I left. Though honestly, I wished that I didn't have to get so brutal. The media started questioning into why the sudden disappearance. A few started claiming that it was the Government who stopped them, though few believed that the Government wouldn't care about such small time thieves.

Only a few newspapers published that the Resistance were responsible for ending the terror that was "The Illusive Ghost". However, those papers were immediately collected and burned by officials. Though people were not pleased by the Government’s reaction to the claim. Another strike for the Resistance.