((Part One of rp in Central Thanalan, takes place almost simultaniously to Kanaria's above post.))
The most important lesson in war, is to not have anything you would not be willing to sacrifice for victory. If you have even just one thing precious, you have already lost.
Jin'li opened his black eyes as the lesson Master Adin had taught him a decade ago replayed in his mind. Adin had been wise. For ten years, Jin'li had used people and things to make his enemies do things they would never have done otherwise. The white-haired miqo'te had become a master of blackmail. And tonight, was his masterpiece.
He stood on the mine cart tracks just outside the far end of the rail tunnel that ran southeast of Black Brush Station. In his right arm, he held Kanria, bound and gagged, her eyes wide in fear. In his left hand, Jin'li pressed his personal gunblade to the woman's temple.
The wind moaned as the pair stood there for what seemed like an eternity. But Jin'li was patient. The miqo'te had only recently informed Osric that the meeting location between himself and Osric had been moved to this location, and the hyur was taking his time. Jin'li had been planning the shift all long, to prevent giving Osric time to set up a possible ambush.
The was an echo inside the cave and Jin'li looked up as a shadowed form cam into sight inside the tunnel.
Osric Melkire's boots clicked slowly, his pulse barely under control as he looked from behind his mask at the pair of figures ahead. The hyur felt his stomach knot as he continued to walk forward, looking at Jin'li holding his fiancee hostage, looking at his worst nightmare made real.
"That's far enough, Master Melkire." Jin'li said as Osric reached the edge of the tunnel. Osric came to a stop, his feet resting before a wooden box. The hyur noticed Jin'li wore a rappel system around his waist and torso, the rope coiled neatly by the edge of the cliff that the rails ran atop, the end synched tightly to the railroad tracks.
"Easy, Jin'li." Osric said, raising his hands up past his ears, past his head. Jin'li noticed the hyur brush his ear ever so slightly and suspected the male had just brushed a linkpearl. A count down began in Jin'li's head, a calculation about how long he might have before Osric's allies arrived.Â
"Good evening, Master Osric." Jin'li said with a small nod of his head, his black eyes never leaving Osric's masked face. "Would you kindly open the box at you feet?"
The woman in Jin'li's arms stared at Osric and whimpered softly behind her gag as Osric looked down at the box and spoke:
"I'm not going to find a bomb in there am I? Leaving you to shoot her and rappel down from the railroad?"
"No harm will befall her if you obey." Jin'li explained calmly. "Now would you kindly open the box?"
Osric knelt down and, with a grimace, opened the lid. Inside the box was a mechanical collar and a smaller box. The collar had what appeared to be a magitek explosive and a speaker system built into it. Once locked, Osric could not see a clear way to unlock it.Â
"Would you kindly put the collar on?" Jin'li requested as his eyes watched the crouched hyur.
Osric Melkire looked up to Kanaria.... "...Alright." the hyur male said slowly.
Osric slowly reached into the box and pulled out the collar holding it in his shaking hands as he spoke:
"What's in the other box?"
Jin'li pulled the hammer back on his gunblade deliberately, the weapon clicking ominously as the hammer locked into place
 "We will come to Rema's box after you put the collar on." Jin'li replied dryly, his black eyes fixed on Osric, the woman in the miqo'te's arms squirming in fear, eyes wide.
Osric placed the cold metal to his throat and swallowed before he fastened the collar. The collar locked shut with a hiss and there is a burning smell as the collar welded itself shut. The front of the collar glowed blood red for a few moments and then the light went out. There was a single, mechanical beep and Jin'li nodded in satisfaction as he spoke:
"That collar contains a linkpearl that allows me to hear what you say should I desire to listen in, and will inject my voice through your neck into your head. I wore such a collar once. They cannot be undone without the key, which I have, far from here. Now, before I let her go, whom do you serve, Master Osric?"
"You, ser." Osric replied despairingly. "Gods damn you, you."
"No." Jin'li shook his head. His face suddenly contorted and when he spoke again, his voice was a perfect mimicry of his dead Master Adin's tone. "You serve me again." Jin'li's face twisted again. "And you serve me," came out the imitation of the dead Lady Rema's voice. Jin'li nodded and then spoke in his own, flat tone. "There is an explosive in that collar I can set off should I choose. Do not forget whom you serve. Swear your loyalty to this slave."
Osric Melkire clenched his fists and huffs a breath. "I swear to Adin. I swear to Rema. I swear to Jin'li. As... as I live, I'll serve."
 Kanaria Galanode could feel the tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheeks only to soak into the cloth of the gag. A murmuring could be heard from behind the gag, yet not a syllable understood.
 "You are a slave. We are the masters. Say it. Please." Jin'li commanded, his mind knowing what a master should say to a slave. He had been the slave all his life.
 "I'm a slave. You are the masters." Osric answer despairingly and Jin'li felt a smile try to flick over his mouth, his subconscious giddy with the power he felt, the fact that he was a master. But Jin'li's conscious mind strangled his emotions and he spoke calmly, his face blank as he spoke:
 "And as a slave, you are given what the master thinks you should have, and you will lose what the master thinks you should not have. This is the truth. Master Melkire. Lady Rema wishes you to take that box and open it once our business here is done, for she is kind and you will need it. As for Master Adin, shall I give you his gift?"
Osric Melkire swallowed nervously, the collar tight on his throat. "You are the master, ser."
A faint scratching of boot grinding on the wooden post that held aloft the metal rail track caused Jin'li's left ear to flick. Osric's allies were close.
"Then embrace the gift of suffering, Master Melkire. Remember, the box." Jin'li said sternly as he released Kanaria and shoved her forward towards Osric. In a fluid motion, the white-haired miqo'te hefted his gunblade, the polished metal glinting wickedly in the moonlight as Jin'li pulled the trigger. Bright orange, like a small sun, erupted from the end of the barrel. The projectile slammed into the back of Kanaria's head. The woman jerked back, blood and grey matter splattering the rails as she fell face forward onto the tracks.
"NO!" Osric screamed, his voice loud and shrill, his heart tightening as he raced toward the body of his love, the pain inside his heart a million times worse than anything a mortal could suffer physically.
Jin'li raced to the edge and threw himself over the lip of the rail and fell like a comet towards the earth. The rope snagged and went taught and if Jin'li was not a eunuch, he might have let out a whimper as the girdle pinched his groan. Jin'li sliced the taught rope with his gunblade and started running, plunging into the darkness of the the long cave before him, water splashing around his ankles.Â
Osric Melkire knelt down beside the body of the woman and pulled Kanaria to him, cradling her in his arms.
"Please gods... please... this can't be real... no...." Osric choked, tears streaming from underneath his mask, the sounds of running feet surrounding him, paniced voices all around him
The most important lesson in war, is to not have anything you would not be willing to sacrifice for victory. If you have even just one thing precious, you have already lost.
Jin'li opened his black eyes as the lesson Master Adin had taught him a decade ago replayed in his mind. Adin had been wise. For ten years, Jin'li had used people and things to make his enemies do things they would never have done otherwise. The white-haired miqo'te had become a master of blackmail. And tonight, was his masterpiece.
He stood on the mine cart tracks just outside the far end of the rail tunnel that ran southeast of Black Brush Station. In his right arm, he held Kanria, bound and gagged, her eyes wide in fear. In his left hand, Jin'li pressed his personal gunblade to the woman's temple.
The wind moaned as the pair stood there for what seemed like an eternity. But Jin'li was patient. The miqo'te had only recently informed Osric that the meeting location between himself and Osric had been moved to this location, and the hyur was taking his time. Jin'li had been planning the shift all long, to prevent giving Osric time to set up a possible ambush.
The was an echo inside the cave and Jin'li looked up as a shadowed form cam into sight inside the tunnel.
Osric Melkire's boots clicked slowly, his pulse barely under control as he looked from behind his mask at the pair of figures ahead. The hyur felt his stomach knot as he continued to walk forward, looking at Jin'li holding his fiancee hostage, looking at his worst nightmare made real.
"That's far enough, Master Melkire." Jin'li said as Osric reached the edge of the tunnel. Osric came to a stop, his feet resting before a wooden box. The hyur noticed Jin'li wore a rappel system around his waist and torso, the rope coiled neatly by the edge of the cliff that the rails ran atop, the end synched tightly to the railroad tracks.
"Easy, Jin'li." Osric said, raising his hands up past his ears, past his head. Jin'li noticed the hyur brush his ear ever so slightly and suspected the male had just brushed a linkpearl. A count down began in Jin'li's head, a calculation about how long he might have before Osric's allies arrived.Â
"Good evening, Master Osric." Jin'li said with a small nod of his head, his black eyes never leaving Osric's masked face. "Would you kindly open the box at you feet?"
The woman in Jin'li's arms stared at Osric and whimpered softly behind her gag as Osric looked down at the box and spoke:
"I'm not going to find a bomb in there am I? Leaving you to shoot her and rappel down from the railroad?"
"No harm will befall her if you obey." Jin'li explained calmly. "Now would you kindly open the box?"
Osric knelt down and, with a grimace, opened the lid. Inside the box was a mechanical collar and a smaller box. The collar had what appeared to be a magitek explosive and a speaker system built into it. Once locked, Osric could not see a clear way to unlock it.Â
"Would you kindly put the collar on?" Jin'li requested as his eyes watched the crouched hyur.
Osric Melkire looked up to Kanaria.... "...Alright." the hyur male said slowly.
Osric slowly reached into the box and pulled out the collar holding it in his shaking hands as he spoke:
"What's in the other box?"
Jin'li pulled the hammer back on his gunblade deliberately, the weapon clicking ominously as the hammer locked into place
 "We will come to Rema's box after you put the collar on." Jin'li replied dryly, his black eyes fixed on Osric, the woman in the miqo'te's arms squirming in fear, eyes wide.
Osric placed the cold metal to his throat and swallowed before he fastened the collar. The collar locked shut with a hiss and there is a burning smell as the collar welded itself shut. The front of the collar glowed blood red for a few moments and then the light went out. There was a single, mechanical beep and Jin'li nodded in satisfaction as he spoke:
"That collar contains a linkpearl that allows me to hear what you say should I desire to listen in, and will inject my voice through your neck into your head. I wore such a collar once. They cannot be undone without the key, which I have, far from here. Now, before I let her go, whom do you serve, Master Osric?"
"You, ser." Osric replied despairingly. "Gods damn you, you."
"No." Jin'li shook his head. His face suddenly contorted and when he spoke again, his voice was a perfect mimicry of his dead Master Adin's tone. "You serve me again." Jin'li's face twisted again. "And you serve me," came out the imitation of the dead Lady Rema's voice. Jin'li nodded and then spoke in his own, flat tone. "There is an explosive in that collar I can set off should I choose. Do not forget whom you serve. Swear your loyalty to this slave."
Osric Melkire clenched his fists and huffs a breath. "I swear to Adin. I swear to Rema. I swear to Jin'li. As... as I live, I'll serve."
 Kanaria Galanode could feel the tears slip from her eyes and roll down her cheeks only to soak into the cloth of the gag. A murmuring could be heard from behind the gag, yet not a syllable understood.
 "You are a slave. We are the masters. Say it. Please." Jin'li commanded, his mind knowing what a master should say to a slave. He had been the slave all his life.
 "I'm a slave. You are the masters." Osric answer despairingly and Jin'li felt a smile try to flick over his mouth, his subconscious giddy with the power he felt, the fact that he was a master. But Jin'li's conscious mind strangled his emotions and he spoke calmly, his face blank as he spoke:
 "And as a slave, you are given what the master thinks you should have, and you will lose what the master thinks you should not have. This is the truth. Master Melkire. Lady Rema wishes you to take that box and open it once our business here is done, for she is kind and you will need it. As for Master Adin, shall I give you his gift?"
Osric Melkire swallowed nervously, the collar tight on his throat. "You are the master, ser."
A faint scratching of boot grinding on the wooden post that held aloft the metal rail track caused Jin'li's left ear to flick. Osric's allies were close.
"Then embrace the gift of suffering, Master Melkire. Remember, the box." Jin'li said sternly as he released Kanaria and shoved her forward towards Osric. In a fluid motion, the white-haired miqo'te hefted his gunblade, the polished metal glinting wickedly in the moonlight as Jin'li pulled the trigger. Bright orange, like a small sun, erupted from the end of the barrel. The projectile slammed into the back of Kanaria's head. The woman jerked back, blood and grey matter splattering the rails as she fell face forward onto the tracks.
"NO!" Osric screamed, his voice loud and shrill, his heart tightening as he raced toward the body of his love, the pain inside his heart a million times worse than anything a mortal could suffer physically.
Jin'li raced to the edge and threw himself over the lip of the rail and fell like a comet towards the earth. The rope snagged and went taught and if Jin'li was not a eunuch, he might have let out a whimper as the girdle pinched his groan. Jin'li sliced the taught rope with his gunblade and started running, plunging into the darkness of the the long cave before him, water splashing around his ankles.Â
Osric Melkire knelt down beside the body of the woman and pulled Kanaria to him, cradling her in his arms.
"Please gods... please... this can't be real... no...." Osric choked, tears streaming from underneath his mask, the sounds of running feet surrounding him, paniced voices all around him
