Assassin for Hire

Julian was asked by his brother about knowing contacts with some crows. A potential job for his friend and professor. Julian of course would do mostly anything for his brother but would always tell him he owes him a big favor. The only reason he would ask for such a big favor was that Julian was going to take on the task as he alter self but Julian wouldn't know this. Throw ravens, an arrangement was made to meet the lovely couple of Maeve and Lucien. A raven would be sent to Lucien with the details regarding the meeting spot. 

'I hear your looking for someone. If you seek the wolf then meet in the Free Marches. Offshore, along the coast, a small area surrounded by trees. Midnight.  Journey through there. I'll find you. Don't be late!' 

Julian wore his black wolf mask, alongside his leather black armor with belts and gloves attached. His black cloak swirled with the breeze, his hair obfuscated by the hooded cowl. He danced through the trees as he climbed from branch to branch, one with shadows. He crouched light as a feather waiting for the couple to arrive. 

Lucien wasn't sure how he felt about putting their troubles into the hands of the Crows, not that he didn't have a huge amount of healthy respect for the crows, but it was also a length he'd never imagined he'd go to for the safety of his family. He'd thought about the House of Repose, but despite their reputation, they just didn't have the same influence and reputation that the Crows had.

He'd wanted to go on this little trip on his own, but it wasn't something he'd even voiced to Maeve because he knew she'd raise a stink about it and then probably followed him any way. It wasn't like he didn't think she was capable, but the fact that their unborn child was a factor, he felt the need to be a little more overprotective than usual. Grainne would go with them, but he decided to have Grainne stay back at the boat and him and Maeve would continue on to the meeting spot. 

When they finally got to the meeting spot after a rather lengthy boat ride, they approached the meeting spot.

This is the place they said right? All the trees look the same to me, how do we know for sure it's *these* trees.... He commented to Maeve

Maeve walked by the side of her lover, her eyes scanning her surroundings. The brunette was starting to show the signs of pregnancy, which came with a reduction of her dexterity but her senses were as sharp as ever.

She couldn’t see the person that they would be meeting, and she could not pinpoint in which part of the forest they were but she looked up scanning at the leaves. Trees were one of the best hiding spot due to the fact that they were a good place to find a cover and to be able to see the rest of the surroundings.

“Don’t worry darling, I am sure of that we shall see them soon” she said kissing his check before speaking out loud “Come out dear, how are we going to hold a meeting if we don’t see you?”

Julian waited among the trees, his eyes like an eagle waiting for his targets to approach the given destination. His ears perked as Julian listened to the conversation. The reason why Julian made the destination so vague was in case someone that wasn't invited wouldn't show up to the party. He knew this area and made sure to lay some sort of noise traps around the surrounding trees for any uninvited guests. Through the light of his movements, Julian slid down a tree as if he glided down. He appeared to the left of them his hands folded above his chest, leaning on the solid tree trunk. 

"Mr. Beauvais and Ms. Valathrian, glad you were able to find the place," Julian spoke with a slightly deeper voice than his normal Julian voice. He wore a wolf-like mask with a bit of gold at the top. His clothing was dark with leathers and belts. A cloak flowed down his back. He was one with shadows, even among the dark it might have been hard to see as his visual appearance might fade in and out of the tree coverage. "So....what sort of task is being thrown onto the table? An interesting request coming from particular brothers. Especially coming from one who spends most of the year being of the artistic creators?"

Lucien was fairly used to cloak and dagger, from his experience as a fence for thieves, and he imagined that Maeve was used to it as well after her time as bard. Still, he couldn't help but feel a bit odd about it all. If it weren't for the fact that he trusted Tomas, he might not be obliged to remain at the meeting, instead preferring to take their leave and deal with the problems themselves, even though he knew that simply wasn't realistic.

He cleared his throat.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if Tomas would be able to help since he's not exactly following in the footsteps of his father, but I'd rather work with the Crows than the House of Repose, your reputation exceeds theirs. Hopefully I've made the right choice... Since he was Orlesian, the mask didn't bother Lucien, everyone wore masks in Orlais, it was just how society worked there. There are people after Maeve, a group of bards led by one man. He won't stop until she's dead and neither of us are in the position to do much about it. I'm not really a fighter and she's pregnant with our first child. The idea he could lose both Maeve and his child in one fell swoop frightened the crap out of him.

Julian didn't react but just watched and listened. A group of bards that didn't like a member leaving their group. He could have several ideas why that particular leader would want Maeve dead. A job was a job though. Julian's eyes locked onto Maeve. The woman was with child. There was quite an amount of work to be done he thought. Who was the person after her? What exactly was the involvement of Maeve? And of course, the necessary payment needed for such accomplishments and tasks. Julian pushed his body away from the tree and took a few steps toward the couple. His dark cloak danced with the air as he moved.

"Seems, that he actually cares about your predicament. Strange though, as you said he has chosen to not really partake in his father's affairs...." His eyes went to Lucian and then back to Maeve. His eyes looked her up and down and then back to Lucian. "Celebrations to both of you. I assume you two would make such lovely parents....But clearly, this problem will not be good for the baby. I will see to it that the job is taken care of. What are your terms? Kill just the leader? Take out the entire company of bards? Things I would need some information would be the prior history you had with the man..." Julian's eyes lingered on Maeve. He would like as much information as possible before entering the shadows.

"Name, whereabouts, hideout, any particular history I should know of the man."There was a brief pause in Julian's speech as if he was waiting for his words to sink into the couple. "Where will you go in the meantime? Obviously, you both should be somewhere these bards can't reach you and safe...." 

“Well, any help that we received is welcome. In my situation I cannot afford to reject any goodness from anyone” said Maeve graciously, pulling out her best charm as the barding lessons from the past kicked in.

“Thank you very much on the congratulations, but yes, Dubois happens to be quite the problem considering that he’s quite hellbent in making me pay for leaving and putting him in quite the unfortunate situation before leaving” said Maeve with a smile as she took delight in how she had fucked him over back in the old days. “The rest of the company are mere pawns for it, he tends to recruit young and inexpert people who gets flashed by the chances of what they will have, or better say by the lies of Dubous” said Maeve bitterly, remembering her own beginnings. “He is the goal and I would like the least collateral damage possible darling. My story is quite simple; I was young and innocent, he promised me the world if I became one of the Orlesian bards, it turned to be quite the awful deal so I quitted and maybe in the process maybe I fucked up some of his best contracts and plans in revenge” the last part was said with poorly concealed pride.

“Dubois, generally he tends to stay in Val Royeaux although at times he travels to Jader; at the least back in the day, my information might be a bit outdated but it’s what I got. His real name is Bernard Delemau” her expression turned a bit uncomfortable at the second part, the place to stay had turned in a bit of a tricky topic with Lucien who wanted to leave and Maeve, who was an stubborn idiot. She decided to do what she did best, ignored the topic and pretended that the question did not exist.

Lucien let Maeve explain the details, after all it was her ex-associates that were the problem so she knew the most about it all. He was eager to have it all over, eager to get on with their lives, to start their family and really have the life they'd always dreamed of.

Whatever the price, it's of no consequence, and we can cover expenses as well

[color=#c10300]"That seems like enough information. I have resources that can dig further. So primary target is Dubois. It may take some time, but I'll make sure the job is complete. Is there something you need to confirm the job is done? Some require the head, others a particular item of their person." [/color]

Julian adjusted his postered as he leaned into the tree more. His hands crossed his chest as he took in this information. Clearly, they were not safe where they were and it if this professor meant something to his brother then he wanted to make sure they were safe. 

[color=#c10300]"Down payment of 300 crowns at the start and once completed you will both owe me a favor. Whether I use that favor now or a few years from now....I'll come to act on that favor. Since your also friends with Tomas, I'll throw in for free a place to stay. I have a safe house within the city of Antiva if you so choose to relocate until the job is done or at least when your baby has arrived." [/color]

[color=#000000]The masked figure didn't move as he made his offer to the couple. As much as he was for crowns, he had plenty of money. He only took it so it wouldn't look suspicious. Plus extra crowns just went into resources for his long-term goals. Favors are what he liked collecting from people because it bound them to a contract. [/color]

“I don’t need him dead, but a good way to confirm his surrender would be for him to give away his ring” she said pointing out to a small scar that she had on the underside of her chin “It’s his most precious item, a diamond gifted by who would become later his first victim since it’s how he boasts about how he was one of the best bards since the beginning” Maeve’s mark was from one time that he punched her hard, on the underside of the jaw in order to not scar her face but to hurt her. “I will later throw that damn thing to the sea, but I want the humiliation of taking it away from him” said Maeve with a dark smile.

“I will owe you whatever you want, but with only one reservation. You can ask whatever you want from me, but it will be from me. My children stay out of the deal; I know that likely this is obvious but I want to leave this clear” Maeve looked at Lucien “And o course if my husband desires to stay out of the deal, I can’t speak for both of us. Darling is not fair for you to pay an hypothetical future payment for something that happens to be my problem”

Lucien was a bit surprised by the man's offer of a place to stay while the job was being done, it wasn't something that Lucien had even considered asking, but was quite appreciative of the offer. Considering their situation he didn't see any real reason not to take the man up on his offer, even though it would mean taking a hiatus from his university classes, but then perhaps he could find some old ruins around Antiva to dig around while they were there.

Well for one, I think we should take him up on his offer of a place to stay while the job is being done, maybe even until the baby is born, that's up to you how long we stay. As far as whether or not I'm part of this deal, I jump, you jump, that's the deal, it may be your past, but it's our present so I'm in this a hundred percent by your side, no questions asked.

His eyes stayed on both the young couple. He didn't react but he listened. He would never come for the kids. That wasn't him...unless it meant protecting his own family. He mainly wanted favors for things in the future. Information....things he couldn't get so easily and that would tie him to anything. He looked at Meave and then back to Lucien. 

[color=#c10300]"I will not ask for any sort of favor that requires the use of your child...honestly it's not my style. Deal. Favor from both. Next time you see.." [/color]There was a pause. A moment of forced habit. He was about to out himself. Calling Tomas his brother. That would have given him up. If he wasn't so guarded and not carefree, he might have let it slip. "[color=#c10300]Tomas. Give him my regards. And thank him. I'll leave instructions at the safe house. There is a safe house there. It's spacious and has some basic supplies and a bed....if an emergency happens...reach out to Julian, Tomas's brother." [/color]

Finally, movement rose from Teowolf. He stepped toward both Maeve and Lucien. He grabbed something from his back. A key that was wrapped in cloth with written instructions. [color=#c10300]"The key to the building, alongside instructions on how to find the safe house within the city. I'll check on you in a few weeks....unless there was anything else...I will take my leave...." [/color]Shadows began to slowly leak from the ground and around him. As if the tendrils of shadows moved like a dance. They swirled and swayed around Teowolf. They waited for a command, waited to wrap around Teowolf. 

Maeve nodded as she listened to the instructions “Then we do have a deal, thank you for the safe house. We won’t move in immediately but as soon as we do, we shall contact you” said Maeve with a smile.
She waved him goodbye “Then we shall just wait for news” finished Maeve before resting her head against Lucien’s shoulder “I hope they come soon” she muttered to herself.


(for me it's finished guys <3)

Lucien felt a lot better about things, sure for now there was still danger, but with an Antivan Crow on the job, it wouldn't be long before things were taken care of, and in the meantime they could be safe in Antiva if they so chose down the road. Honestly he'd have rather gone sooner rather than later, but he deferred to Maeve's timeline on when she wanted to take him up on that offer.

Thanks again, I mean I realise we're paying you, but this really does mean a lot to us. With that he fell into step with Maeve and they left.