William Winthrope

“So Noel, what is it you do around here as a scout?” William asked, “Besides you know, taking care of some rogue pokeGirls,”

William was now in lock step with the scout, but despite his most charming efforts Noel refused to be taken advantage of.

“That’s about it,” Noel responded plainly, committed to speaking as little as possible.

“I’m just trying to learn more about your wonderful city,” William said, giving him an innocent shrug, “Everyone hears so much about the legendary Nollemburg. Who better than a certain high ranking scout to show it off?”

“William was it?” Noel paused, and after a slight nod of confirmation from William continued, voice dripping with sarcasm, “As much as I’d love to show you around I don’t quite have the time nor do you have the reputation warranting some special treatment.”

Taking a deep breath, his annoyance finally appeared on his face. “Now if you don’t mind , I must ask that you leave me be. I have much to attend to and cannot have you trailing me like some lost puppy.”

Noel turned quickly and stomped off, leaving William standing frozen, shocked he had managed to anger him so easily.

His shock only lasted a moment though, as he shook himself free, and shifted to plan B. Ducking down the nearest side street, obscuring himself from most of the public that still gave him a view of Noel’s back, he activated the Rune on the inside of his wrist.

A low grade Shadow Cloak materialized in his hand, something his father had left behind after his disappearance. A high grade Shadow Cloak engraved with a Skill Rune, similar to the Storage Rune on his wrist, would make the wearer completely invisible at night.

Unfortunately for him, this cloak was not nearly as powerful, and although it was a gloomy day, it was not quite nighttime. It would still be quite useful though. It allowed him to move out in the open, and any eyes that would land on him would slide off him as if repulsed by whatever existed in that space. It would require someone who was actively looking for him in particular or a powerful counter skill to detect him.

Throwing the cloak around his shoulders, William entered the mess of people once more, trailing behind Noel. He would be showing William around the city whether he liked it or not.

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Slinking through the city, William discovered that Noel was quite the popular man. He didn’t do much in the way of working, wandering the streets seemingly without aim, but he would get stopped every so often by fellow cloaked men, almost exclusively by those with black trimming. Some of them were single Holders, with only one ring apparent on their hand, but many more were not Holders at all. 

Their polite behavior and show of deference to Noel clued William in the part of the hierarchy of their cloaked group. Those adorned with black trimmings were most likely the lowest position in their organization, as well as the most likely largest sect, while Noel with this purple trim and two Rings of Binding would most likely hold a mid tier position. Unfortunately, with the steady patter of rain falling from the sky, William could not make out any of their conversations, but they would only last a few minutes before the newcomers would bow and go their separate ways.

As the sun began to dip, and the world turned darker, William crept closer, emboldened by the increased effect of his cloak. He had followed Noel into a richer district of the city, now quite close to the inner wall protecting the royal chambers. Another cloaked man had stepped out of the sea of people milling about, looking to quickly relay a message. He had a cloak of gold trimming, the same uniform that must have taken Layla, with two rings to make the matching description complete. He was still not quite close enough to make out the full message, but since the rain had gracefully stopped, he could make out what could have been a name, or perhaps a place inside the city: ‘Gythaden’.

The two gave each other a respectful nod, indicating that despite their different colored sects, they were of similar status, or perhaps just being of equal strength, both being double Holders.

Quickly making up his mind, William switched his target from Noel to the newcomer. He proved to be much harder to track however, taking twists and turns in what must have been a planned route, showing no hesitation as he traveled. 

Turning once more, the man shot a quick glance over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner. The crowds had mostly dissipated, the night quickly turning black making his presence harder to hide despite the increased effect of the cloak. Pausing for a beat to make sure the man had made it far enough ahead of him, William turned the corner to follow.

The man had gone down a dark alleyway, lit by only one dim lamp some 50 feet down the way. He could spot the faint outline of the man well past the lamp, his ominous figure stopped and fiddling with something in his hand, his back still tuned to William.

Creeping forward, William had decided that he had either discovered something important, catching this man in some secret doings in this alley, or he had stepped directly into a trap. 

“You can take that damned cloak off now,” The man called out. 

So definitely a trap.

He had spent enough time sneaking around the city, and now that his ploy had been discovered it was time to bail. He turned to run, but before making it even more than a few steps, a monstrous form melted out of the shadows blocking his exit.

It was an odd looking beast, one that William had never seen before, not even in his studies at Kespian. It was a demon. That was the only thing William could think as it fully materialized out of the dark. Or as much as it could materialize as its body took on a black, ghostly form, the light behind it vaguely visible. It was certainly humanoid, standing tall on two legs, towering well above him. All along its torso were long slash marks, as if they were previous wounds from a battle that never quite healed, oozing a black sludge, dripping onto the stone at their feet. Each plop of ooze that fell to the ground was followed by a sizzle as the oozed melted through the stone. Three long claws extended from each hand, sharp enough to tear through his body easily. Completing its demonic look, its face only consisted of a twisted smile and two long horns protruding from its forehead, curving over the top of its head, looking almost like slicked back hair. Any semblance of eyes very apparently missing. He couldn’t be sure, but this thing looked to be a member of the Spectral family, something he knew almost nothing of.

He quickly summoned his weapons, two twin matte black short scimitars, the blade extending just over a foot, and curved slightly at the tip. William prepared to defend himself, but suspected he stood no chance against such an opponent. His evaluation was cut short as the man behind him spoke up once more.

“Do you like Marie, my pet? She’s quite eager to please, letting me know of your presence behind that flimsy cloak of yours as soon as you began following me,” He paused, letting the information wash over William before continuing on.

“Now I’m sure you don’t want to have to fight her. My Marie has killed many that were much more skilled than you. Why don’t you take off that cloak like I asked and come tell me what it is you were trying to do with that foolish plan of yours.”

William had no choice but to take off the cloak, stashing it away once more in his Storage Rune, before turning his back on the monstrosity, despite his body screaming at him to do anything to get away. Taking in the man, he could see a Lava Hawk now perched on his shoulder, its fiery plumage standing bright in the darkness of the alley. Its presence on the man's shoulder was not nearly as intimidating as the figure that was now behind him.

They were still far apart, William having only taken a few steps into the alleyway. Still holding both scimitars, William slowly approached the man, walking forward until he was standing directly in the small yellow glow of the only working light. 

“Well now, those are interesting swords you have there,” The man commented and whistled, “Don’t see those everyday.”

“Who are you?” William responded to the man’s nonchalance comment.

“Hmm… perhaps you will know in time. Provided of course that you survive our little chat here.” 

Seeing the man after moving in closer, he could see he was the picture of confidence. He stood with his arms crossed, a gleeful smile plastered on his face as if enjoying the opportunity of a fight. Daring him to make a move, daring him to do anything that would give him an excuse to let him pokeGirls loose. 

“I’m curious though, how proficient are you with such exotic weapons?,” He rubbed his chin in thought, “Perhaps a challenge to see if you are even worth my time.” 

It seemed he wouldn't need the excuse to fight, making up the terms of their discussion as he went. The Lava Hawk lifted off his shoulder taking flight and soaring above him, a fiery streak was all that was visible against the night sky. Suddenly, a stream of fire erupted from the bird's beak, lighting up its face for a brief moment before William had to dodge to the side to avoid being burned alive. 

Both of his possible pokeGirl opponents were untouchable: One was flying through the air with no way to fight back, and the other... well he didn’t want to test to see if his weapons would even work on it. 

That left just the Holder, still standing there as smug as ever, watching William struggle against his pokeGirls. Making up his mind quickly, William rushed forward, closing the distance between the two in mere seconds. As he neared him, his manner of confidence did not waver even slightly as a long katana materializing in his hands, and dropped into a fighting stance. Crouching slightly, his sword parallel with his face pointing outwards towards William, waiting for him to swing first.

He took the bait, slashing downwards with one of his scimitars, aimed directly at his chest. The cloaked man brought his katana forward, parrying his blow, a faint glow emanenting off of his weapon, showing signs of some sort of durability Rune engraved to be able to withstand such attacks. 

William quickly followed his first swing by another from his left hand, swinging at the man’s open side. Before his attack could land, a gust of wind blasted into his side, tossing him into the air and slammed against the brick wall of the alley. Regaining his balance quickly, he glanced upwards to see the Lava Hawk flapping its wings rapidly, using its wings to direct the skill in his direction effectively. 

Turning his attention once again to the man who had returned to his defensive position. It seemed his strategy was to simply fend him off while his minions defeated him while he wasted his time attacking their Holder. With a plan beginning to form in his mind, William rushed the man once again with a reckless abandon. 

Feigning another slash from above, he instead used his right hand to slash across the man’s thigh, scoring a light graze before a katana moved with inhuman speed to deflect the bulk of the attack. Springing backwards, the man reevaluated William, something shifting in the way he stood.

A stream of fire rained down once again, forcing William back, creating a wall of flame separating the two men where William was standing just moments before. 

Bursting forward, the man ran through the searing flames as they went out as quickly as they appeared, attacking with the advantage of the vision impairment his pokeGirl had provided. Taking the offensive for the first time, the agile man swept his blade, intending to slice right through his torso and split William in half. 

William quickly lowered his own blade to meet his, metal clanging on metal as they met just inches away from chopping him in two. He brought his other scimitar down, trying to bury his blade into the soft part where his shoulder met his neck. 

Faster than either William or the man could react, the demon materialized out of the shadows once again, bringing its clawed hand forward blocking his curved blade, stopping what was sure to be a killing blow.

Now it was William’s turn to smile. The demon had been forced to vacate its position guarding the exit to save its owner.

The man bounced backwards, surprise etched on his face that he would leave himself so open to a counter. The demon melted back into the shadows, and the man reset his stance, back to his defensive position after being punished for his aggressive attack. 

William pushed him again, trying to take advantage of the shifting momentum. As he had before, he opened his offensive with a hard slash aimed at his chest. It was easily fended off, the man quickly shifting his katana to the side after the brief clash of metal, trying to anticipate the follow up William had used previously. 

Indeed William had swung his second scimitar at his side, but upon seeing the man fall into his trap, William activated his Storage Rune. The scimitar vanished from his hand, and the katana that had come down hard to block passed through open air. A small dagger materialized in his hand, still moving forward, and slashed the man’s fingers as the two hands passed each other, shiny Rings of Binding falling to the ground.