Shell games (Daria)

[Silus Xilarian]

It was a windy day, especially so atop the massive wall surrounding Iziz. Daria and her acquaintence had been given an apartment near the palace, and a message was left there for Daria to meet Silus atop the northern wall of the city. Silus was resting comfortably, enjoying the breeze. Daria wasnt due for another thirty minutes, but Silus had nothing better to do, so here he was. A few guards stood nearby, their purpose was to keep a watchful eye on the newly crowned king's military advisor. Some people in the city harbored ill will toward the new king, so members of the government were naturally protected.

Silus checked his chrono then reached into his coat, removing a small stilletto. The weapon was very small, small enough to conceal in one's hand. He hit the button on the back of it and a razor sharp blade quickly shot out and into place. He tapped the blade once with his finger, then pressed the button again, drawing the blade back into the handle. It was clear that he was getting bored.

This would be the last time he was early for anything...

[Daria Nytherciria]

Wind was a marvelous thing. It eroded mountains, decimated cities and could kill in one swoop. Though it could not dull the power of the Force, it could hide an approach almost perfectly.

“Hello.”

Daria stood with a thin smile pressed into her lips. She wore no cloak, highly unusual. For her first formal training session, she had donned something akin to Kuto ceremonial garb – breastplate, jerkin, greaves, vambraces and such. It all made a soft shlink as she moved into a bow.

“Silus, I presume?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Something like that..."

Silus glanced up toward her, squinting his eyes slightly in the sun. It seemed that Daria felt that she should make a good impression, either that, or she couldnt take a gutshot. Either way, Silus seemed to be a bit underdressed for the occassion.....

"Isn't all that kinda heavy?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

The emotionless smile grew as Daria folded her arms over her chest.

“Perhaps for a weakling, yes.”

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus chuckled slightly....

"And I see you arent a weakling, because you can hold that armor up"

Silus pushed himself up and off the wall so that he was now standing up straight...

"Physical strength is good to have, but you know as well as I do that it isnt the only type of strength one can have. There are alot of things that I can do, but I dont. That armor is useless to you now, its only slowing you down."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Very well.”

A few well placed clicks and tugs and the large outer arm slid away, hitting the ground with a dunk. Daria looked as though she probably weighed at least half what she had moments ago, in only a light leather pleat skirt, boots and leather brassiere. The weapons which had been concealed previously were now visible – two boot knives, and knife belt that looked comparable to a bandolier, the latter of which she unbuckled and dropped into the shell of her plating.

One hand on one hip, she smirked, “Now…”

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus held out his arms, both of his hands closed tight.

"Pick a hand"

He held his stilletto in one of his hands. Basically at this point, one hand continued with training, the other to a lecture. He was curious to see how much latent ability she had with the force, aside from the natural gift that he'd seen her use before...

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria quirked an eyebrow but after a moment reached out to point at Silus’ left hand.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus put his hands in his coat pockets and started to walk off...

"Follow me"

They walked in silence for a moment. At a glance, Daria seemed a bit impatient, which was ok. Silus was the same way..

"So why'd you pick my left hand?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Most people would pick the right, so if you were bluffing me, whatever I was meant to pick would be in the left. Then again you could have been double bluffing, or triple, even.”

Daria gave a faint shrug of her shoulders, and added in resolve:

“Seemed like the right thing to do.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Next time, Just look and point"

Silus pulled his left arm out of his pocket and opened his hand, revealing the knife.

"So tell me what you know about the force."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Not very much. I know what it is, and have been able to use it to a small extent to damper my seizures, but aside from that…”

Daria felt momentarily inadequate, before the nonsensical notion passed away.

[Silus Xilarian]

"And you know that little trick you pulled on our guards...That is possible through the force..."

Silus glanced over and a sly smile spread across his face...

"Its a very effective ability, to manipulate the minds of others....one that I think you have a frighteningly natural grasp on. But you have so much to learn."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“It only works on those whose minds have not been strengthened by the Force,”

She explained, arms folding over her upper body once more.

“As has been proved numerous times, much to my annoyance – but as far as mental abilities in the Force go, it does appear that I have a head start.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"People with the force only have a small natural resistance. It worked on me, but Im a few steps ahead of you, I was able to shrug it off."

Which was true, when he was attacked by her mind trick, he felt himself losing concentration, but his mind was very strong due to years of practice and training...

"Pure ability is but one thing you'll learn. Even a 'weakling' as you put it, can defeat someone who is very strong. Application of ability is the key. Using your abilities when the time is right, for maximum effect. Look at the knife I handed you."

When Daria looked down, instead of seeing a knife, she would see a small snake lunging to strike her face....

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria’s heart skipped a beat.

The doz’rah flinched and moved to shift back from the creature. It was an unnatural reaction – on Doz’rah there were animals like this, who they skinned and cooked – and borne mostly out of the sudden change. Somehow, it didn’t feel like it should have felt though.

A muttered curse in Doz’rah and she looked back up at Silus.

“I suppose that was necessary.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"In the second you flinched, I could have took your head off ...application of skills, perfect timing. Goes a long way."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Twisting the blade in her hand, so that the hilt was now firmly in her palm, Daria nodded.

“Teach me application then.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Its quite simple really. You just have to be familiar with your own abilities, as well as your weaknesses."

Silus stopped and turned to Daria, standing face to face with her.

"Hit me, if you can"

[Daria Nytherciria]

That was something she could do. In her palm, the blade turned so that the hilt was faced outwards as she drove her clenched fist at Silus’ gut – aiming to sweeten the punch by driving the dagger butt home with it.

[Silus Xilarian]

Reflexes kicked in, and Silus tightened up his stomach and took the hit. He could have easily regrouped and struck back, or even blocked the hit, but instead he let himself stumble and fall. Immediately the three guards posted near him took off toward Silus and Daria.

"Now its three on one. And you dropped your armor back there. Good luck."

Silus pushed himself back. As the guards came, the first guard drew a vibrosword and ordered Daria to put her hands up. Sometimes the easiest way to learn how to swim was to dive in head first and hope for the best.

[Daria Nytherciria]

They wanted her to put her hands up – Daria grinned – so she did just that. The nearest guard with the vibroblade looked suddenly confused, and the two flanking him seemed to loose themselves for a moment. The first of the squad suddenly felt as though he was having a splitting headache, and the blade slipped from his grasp.

Nimble fingers reached out as Daria ducked and swept the weapon up by the hilt, turning the tables flawlessly.

[Silus Xilarian]

That was way too easy, Silus thought as he pushed himself back up to his feet. The guards were standing there, pain was pretty evident on their faces.

"Very good, and you three need to head back and have yourselves examined."

Silus motioned for Daria to follow.

"The more you open yourself to the force, the more powerful you will be with it. Your skill is one taught from birth im sure, you use it naturally and almost without thought. At first, much of what I teach you will probably require heavy concentration, but the more you do it, the easier it will become, to the point that it requires as much concentration as throwing a punch."

Silus veerred off to his right, toward a small lift that would take them down into the city.

"Have you ever meditated before?"

[Daria Nytherciria]

“No.”

Daria was silent for a moment, but was clearly thinking.

“Well… now that I think about it, I suppose we did practice a form of meditation to try and refine our mental abilities, to make them stronger.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Then this will likely be a similiar process. By clearing your mind, you can focus on the force more easily. The better you can sense the force, the easier it is to manipulate it."

Silus opened the lift, and the pair stepped in.

"There are more direct ways to manipulate the force, however, once you learn the basics..."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“If it is so easily manipulated, why is there not more who exploit it? Why is it only a select few who wield it for themselves?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"There are many who are gifted with the force. Some dont realize it, and never take the steps required to learn its power. Others train, but are held down by their own mind, subconsciously limiting themselves. A few however, take their skills and become something much greater than they could have ever imagined."

The lift stopped, and the doors opened up into the city...

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria stepped out, barely looking ahead, but rather transfixed by Silus.

“So everyone has the potential. How baffling! We truly are the intellectual elite if it is but we scarce few overcoming such trivial obstacles as you have mentioned.”

Her head turned, to look out into the city.

“Where to now?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Somewhere quiet. We could leave the city, but Id prefer that we dont get eaten alive during your first lesson..."

Slowly, they started into the city. Silus seemed to know where they were heading, but he didnt walk at a very fast pace. His apprentice had many questions, and he wanted to have plenty of time to answer them. Most of them at least.

"Not exactly everyone has the ability to weild the force, I only said that many people do and never use. A large majority of the galaxy, does have some potential, but their senses just arent attuned to use it. With proper training, they could gain some power. You and I, for example, are part of the lucky few granted with the ability to use the force more naturally than the majority of the galaxy. Our power is limitless, we just have to learn to use it."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Eaten alive?” Daria snorted.

“I am a hunter. I can handle whatever animals this planet has.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"You're mouth with kill you quicker than anything else. Theres nothing wrong with confidence, but you have no clue what is outside of those walls."

Silus' tone was deathly serious. One could say that the preacher preaches to himself in this case, since Silus was probably the cockiest person on the planet, aside from Salvestro, of course. But Silus had been outside the city before. He was confident that he could handle the dangers of the jungles himself, but it surely wasnt something he wished to do on an everyday basis...

"We'll venture outside the city soon enough, but not before im confident you can handle it."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria made an indignant, “Hmph.”

Somewhere in her mind, she understood, however. She recalled her first journey into the wilds of Doz’rah, how she had been so sure the beasts would fall at her feet in the blink of an eye. A sabertooth whipsnatch had almost torn her leg right off that day, and if it were not for her elders she would have surely been the meal for a hungry pack of beasts.

“What is outside the walls?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Well, If you've seen a warbeast patrol yet, just imagine one of those, without a rider, trying to eat you."

Silus commented as he started into an alley between two buildings. Just ahead was a manhole cover.

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Into the sewers?” She asked, her thoughts jumping ahead of her as she spotted what they were headed towards.

[Silus Xilarian]

"That doesnt bother you does it?"

Obviously, she didnt realize just how clean the sewers were. Few people knew that the sewer systems in the palace sector were even used any more for waste disposal. The tunnels were now used for traveling in secret from the palace to various places nearby. Silus had took some time after Giran was crowned king to explore. They would probably come in handy one day.

Silus leaned down and grabbed the manhole cover then pulled it to the side.

"Its a bit heavy, but make sure you pull it back behind you." He said as he slipped inside. By the time Daria would reach the bottom, Silus would have disappeared.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Having trekked the jungles of Doz’rah and braved the caverns of the dead Brak’tul, Daria imagined a trip into the sewers would be a walk in the part. She wriggled down into the darkness after her tutor, and eclipsed the outside world with the cover. Once her feet had hit the ground, her eyes darted about and searched the shadows for Silus.

“… Drannit.”

It struck Daria only then that there was no … sewer-like odor. This was not what she had been expecting. A few steps forward and she still hadn’t caught sight of Silus, so assumed she was meant to continue on walking.

[Silus Xilarian]

The sounds of wind on fabric shot by behind Daria, but when she turned, no one was there.

Just ahead you'll find three paths......Two of them take you somewhere you dont want to be. Ive gone down the other. Use your senses.

Silus' voice seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once. As Daria trekked further, she heard all sorts of strange noises, but none that she could gather any clues from.

[Daria Nytherciria]

The split in the road presented itself and Daria came to a halt. Frowning to herself, she lowered into a crouch and ran her palm across the ground in front of the left hand opening, before repeating the same process with the other two. Her brow knitted further as a result of this, as she strolled back and forth, pacing the same piece of concrete for five minutes or so.

Finally she appeared to be resolved and made down the central walkway. Moments later, however, she stopped and quickly backed up, her eyes reeling downwards and picking out a shape in the darkness which she doubted was friendly. The mentalists feet carried her right out and winding out into the right-hand chamber, which she moved down at a brisk walk – confident it was the correct choice.

[Silus Xilarian]

You almost missed me....

Silus' voice surrounded her again, this time a bit louder. Behind her, Daria could hear footsteps, but there was nothing there when she would turn around.

As she continued forward, the footsteps seemed to follow her, stopping whenever she stopped...

[Daria Nytherciria]

There was a technique the Doz’rah used when hunting. It was effectively like sonar. Just as they made a blast zone with their mind-wrecking abilities, they sent out rings which rebounded and returned to the mentalist. It was a relatively primitive ability which had only come into being some generations ago, and thus only worked while standing still and for short distances. What made Daria think of it was trying to locate the disembodied voice – but either Silus was too far away or simply not there at all, as no signal was given by the sonar.

Somehow, though, she knew she was going the right way. Something was drawing her further into the murk and she was able to walk confidently without even drawing a weapon.

[Silus Xilarian]

At that moment, a figure lept out of the shadows toward Daria. It didnt look like Silus, but there really werent any distinguishable features about it, aside from it being a person, and it was diving at Daria.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Recoiling, Daria shifted so that she was in a position to allow the diving creature to pass her by – and help it along on its way by grabbing at its form and giving a hard push.

[Silus Xilarian]

Just as the figure was about to hit her, it vanished, literally, in the blink of an eye. Just as quickly as it disappeared, however, it was back, on the opposite side of her, standing a few feet outside of her striking range.

More footsteps were heard, and three more figures approached, one in front of Daria, and two behind heard. All four were completely identical. So far, the illusions seemed to be doing their job. Daria was pretty well distracted. Nearby, Silus sat in the shadows watching his apprentice's reaction.

[Daria Nytherciria]

“Too cowardly to face me all alone?” she spat at the assembled cadre of shadowy figures.

If there was something Daria liked to avoid, it was close combat. She needed time to prepare, and perhaps by baiting them with words she would have time enough to mentally draw up a plan of action.

Just in case, however, both stiletto blades were in her hands with the tips pointed back at the ground.

[Silus Xilarian]

The figures paused for a moment, each seemingly studying the Doz'rah. None of them had any visible weapons. Sometimes though, an unarmed opponent can be more unsettling, as one can never be sure just what cards that opponent has to play.

Slowly, the four figures began circling Daria, none coming close, and none backing away, and each staying the same distance from each other as they all moved at the same speed.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria remained motionless. There was no sense in lashing out at any of the figures. They may have surrounded her, but as of yet were posing no threat.

[Silus Xilarian]

"You are weak."

The figures spoke in unison. All except one, who seemed confused that somehow, the other three had a different script. The next moment, the three figures that spoke walked away, seemingly melting into the dark walls of the sewer. Silus was pleased so far. Most people would have completely freaked out by now, and Daria seemed unimpressed. The one figure that was left cowered slightly and turned to walk away, venturing further into the tunnels muttering to himself.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria followed carefully. There was something at play here that wasn’t natural.

“Where are you leading me?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"The master awaits you...He will not be pleased with me."

The figure glanced back.

"Maybe he'll take his frustrations out on you, not me."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“I should think you, for not acting as your counterparts did, coward.”

Daria replied derisively, walking ahead, presumably to where the Master was.

[Silus Xilarian]

"There are no counterparts. We are one of the same. I was to kill you, but I have not the weapons. The master will deal with you swiftly. I do hope you are impatient."

A faint glow of light could be seen from around the corner. There was a small campfire. On the other side of the fire stood a man in a brown cloak. His face was concealed.

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria approached the campfire, immediately feeling the welcome heat. She took a moment to allow the warmth to bathe over her, and give adequate pause for the cloaked figure to speak. When he did not, she asked:

“Your servant tells me you are to kill me. Why?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"I thought you would have figured this out already."

From beneath the cloak came an all too familiar voice. The cloaked man reached up, a blue hand gripping the top of his hood, already a faint red glow could be seen underneath. At the moment, Daria was now staring face to face with the man that had brought her to Onderon.

As he let his hood fall back between his shoulder blades, Naj crossed his arms. An almost sadistic smile could be seen on his face.

"Do you really think I would have come here for no reason. As much as I enjoy your company, you've become a risk. It is a pity that the quintuplets didnt kill you earlier, we could have avoided this conversation..."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria’s eyes widened slightly. She was taken aback, and despite not dropping her guard she still felt somewhat hurt by what was said.

“… I don’t know what to say. You could have just asked me to leave, if that’s how you feel. Taken me back to Doz’rah,” she added, with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

[Silus Xilarian]

"No no, id rather deal with you now, then have to worry about looking over my shoulder for you."

Naj reached inside his cloak and removed a vibroblade, then started around the fire towards Daria.

"I'll be sure to thank your 'teacher' for leading you to me...."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria dipped as though into a crouch, snapping back up to her feet fluidly in an instant – stilettos now drawn from her boot sheaths.

“You made the mistake of teaching me how to control my abilities, Naj. Don’t make me break you. I don’t want to break you.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Dont worry, you wont have too. This will all be over with soon enough."

The Chiss' disposition became more aggressive as he slowly, methodically, eased toward Daria....

[Daria Nytherciria]

As Naj approached, Daria prepared, and then like a tightly wound spring uncoiled. Her right hand, holding the knife with the blade pointing downwards, raked out in a scything motion through the air – aiming to tear right at Naj’s upper torso.

[Silus Xilarian]

Naj made no movement to dodge Daria's attack. Instead he only broadened the smile across his face as the blade swiped through him as if he were thin air...

"Nice form, and the drama....It nearly brought a tear to my eye."

Naj let out a slight laugh. It had most likely become obvious to Daria at this point that something wasnt right, and that suspition was further confermed when Naj faded away right before her very eyes. As Naj faded away, out of the corner of her eye, Silus began to fade into sight.

"You know, for a minute there you had me worried. But I had faith in you, and you reacted well. The only thing I would have done different......I would have cut him open before I started asking questions....But, you seem to care more for him than I do."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“He helped me. I have to afford him that small courtesy of a last word before tearing him down.”

Silus was certainly more powerful than she’d thought him to be. She’d never seen Naj create people out of thin air. He must have had some strength of the mind… perhaps one day she would be able to do such things too.

“You have to put some trust and faith in your comrades if you expect to receive any in return.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"And friends are the only people who can stab you in the back."

Silus cut a bit of a smirk...

"Im not saying its good to be overlly suspicious. But dont let anything surprise you."

[Daria Nytherciria]

“It’s difficult. Everything here is new to me. Up until a couple of months ago I couldn’t even speak this language, and had no idea I was going to be… whisked away to learn some sort of … magic.”

Daria looked helpless for but a moment.

“… However I have learnt my lesson – trust no one.”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Not even yourself. People can be their own worst enemies..."

Silus paused for a moment, then started back up, cutting off any chance of Daria responding.

"Now have a seat by the fire and get cozy.....we're gonna be here awhile."

[Daria Nytherciria]

As instructed, she sat. Cross-legged on the floor, she watched the dancing flames a moment before looking up at Silus. Her first flicker of curiosity about him came at that moment, but she dismissed it, filing it away for some later retrieval when they were not busy.

[Silus Xilarian]

"Close your eyes and clear your mind..."

Silus spoke, as he started around to the opposite of the fire.

"Your mind is capable of performing a thousand tasks at once, or one task a thousand fold...."

Silus backed up a few steps and leaned on the wall behind him...

"Use your mind to see, not your eyes. Focus on the room around you, and picture it."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Daria calmed her breathing and, as Silus had asked of her, closed her and eyes. Picturing what was around her seemed like a simple task at first, but then she got onto thinking – did he want her to see everything in the room, even things cloaked in shadow? In the end, it was of little consequence. She could do what she could do, and no more, until she had been instructed otherwise.

With this silent resolve, she began to piece together the sewer in her minds eye. There she sat, at the fire. The walls fleshed themselves out easily, as did Silus stood beside them. It was difficult to give finite details to everything, and the further she looked the more focus seemed to slip and blur objects at their edges.

“… Now?”

[Silus Xilarian]

"Your body is calm, but your mind is tense. Keep quiet and dont scramble to grasp everything. You're working on a new level of thought, become comfortable with it. Your mind dictates the way your senses translate the world around them. That is how I made you think that people were there that really werent. The stronger your mind is, the harder it will be for others to affect it, and the easier it will be for you to affect others."

"Let everything come into focus, until you feel as though you're comfortable with your grasp of your surroundings. Then I want you to stand up and take ten steps backward."

[Daria Nytherciria]

This reminded her of another kind of training. It took her mind back to a time when she had stood in a forest, in complete darkness, and began instructed to wander until she found a nebula orchid. The forest was littered with pitfalls and her only means of avoiding them had been to see with her mind, not her eyes. The method which the Doz’rah hunted was also vaguely similar; being that radar-like feedback was given to the hunter as the debilitating waves ebbed out from their person.

She stood, confidently, and took her first step backwards. In her mind, she was the fire moving a little further away, and physically she felt the warmth lessen some, affirming where she was going. A couple more paces, and she could tell there was a slight dip in the ground, and made sure to watch her footing as she took her final steps.

[Silus Xilarian]

As she took her final step, a wooden staff that had been placed in the corner flew from its resting place and to Silus' hand. He reached forward with his free hand and moved it to the side in a quick waving motion. At that moment, the campfire in front of him was disturbed as if an invisible hand had swiped through it.

Red hot ashes flew into the air, and flaming sticks scattered across the floor in front of Daria.

"Don't open your eyes until you hit me."

With that command, he lobbed the staff at Daria, sending it straight for her forehead.

[Daria Nytherciria]

She had jumped initially, her own perception of the world around her somewhat slower than reality. Still, she could see the staff coming for her and ducked down in time to avoid a hard knock to the head. As she bent her body to avoid it, the staff was left to go careening on towards the campfire. With skill, however, she managed to pluck the thing from the air, and twisted with its momentum.

Daria turned the staff in hand, and perceived the world from another angle. The flames of the fire were not so bright now. Silus stood ahead, but she could not tell how far. Her depth perception was askew, and she had to give the staff a good few shifts of position and swings before she was entirely sure.

Edging a foot forward, she gave a test swung, lunging forward at him.

[Silus Xilarian]

The odds he had placed Daria in were severely against her, which was the plan. Her aim was pretty good for having her eyes shut, but Silus was already moving to dodge as she swung.

He sidestepped and did a half circle, keeping just out of her striking range, to force precise hits. If she just flailed the staff about she was bound to get a lucky hit.

This test was more or less to gauge her willingness to learn, and to see how well she applied her emotions in her exercises.

"I didnt say for you to stand there and swing that little branch around, I told you to HIT ME!"

[Daria Nytherciria]

A little surge of anger in Daria, and she almost opened her eyes. This time, she moved. Her whole body went with the staff, as she made a jump off to the side – aiming to land a skull-cracking hit right on the head.

[Silus Xilarian]

The move put a smile on Silus' face, for the sheer fact that it nearly got him. At the last possible moment, he shifted his stance, causing the staff to whiz by micrometers from his face. The wind from the swing burned his eyes slightly.

He quickly backstepped, fully expecting another attack aimed to catch him in too close. As soon as he got a few feet between them, he gave Daria a nudge with the force. It wouldnt even be enough to unbalance her in the slightest, just enough to raise her ire a little....

"Come on now, you're blind til you hit me....."

She was responding well to anger, and her frustration was fueling her attacks. Even more impressive was the fact that her last move would have worked well strategically, as it wouldnt have been easy to mount a counter attack against it, which would have put Silus strictly defensive.

[Daria Nytherciria]

As if it wasn't bad enough that she was having to engage in melee combat, the use of such an unwieldy large weapon was setting Daria even more on edge. She steadied herself and got her bearings once again – finding the world was so much crisper and clear now that she was angry.

The Doz'rah gathered herself as the plan for her next attack formed in her mind. She could not repeat the same maneuver, yet she needed something powerful that was difficult to defend against. She had aimed high before, now she would aim low. In one fluid motion, she slipped down onto one knee, and drove the staff upwards in a lunge aimed at Silus' solar plexus.

[Silus Xilarian]

Silus caught himself thinking too far ahead. If he dodged one way, he stood the chance of her sweeping his legs, if he dodged the other, she could rise up and catch him dead square in the face. Instead, both hands came down to grasp the end of the staff. It drove into his stomach, but with his own strength against it, he was able to soften the blow enough so that he could take it.

He stumbled back as it hit and immediately he reached behind his back.

"Good Job, I guess you earned your eyesight...."

[Daria Nytherciria]

Triumphant, a smile spread across her face as she opened her eyes to look upon Silus. She twisted the staff, resting it against the ground, as her chest puffed out with complacent pride.

"I am a quick learner."

[Silus Xilarian]

"Dont get too cocky. Just because you react well in a controlled situation doesn't mean you're ready for anything."

With her staff resting on the ground, Silus removed his arm from behind his back, taking a non aggressive posture.

"And just in case you have any delusions about this city, I'll give you a word of advice. Stay armed, there are a few nasty individuals who call this place home."

Silus turned around and started to walk off before pausing once more...

"And make sure all this fire is out before you leave. I'll be contacting you soon."

A few stray logs that still burned with a low flame were pushed aside as Silus walked off, making a clear path for him into the shadows.