Malum's hardened gaze softened again as he gave a hint of a smile once more and the tension of the room seemed to lift in an instant, "It was a somewhat mutual decision between my father and I" he replied, "perhaps more in his end and less on mine though. You're free to ask him when we get there, if you can convince him to answer honestly that is. He's likely become firm in doubting my existence. Out of sight, out of mind sort of thing." Clearly things had not been left in good standing but it was hard to say if it had been something Malum done... or perhaps his father. To think that someone even remotely like Malum was on Atlantis was chilling. What sort of man could create a spawn like this white haired demon?

"Who is your father? Why is it so important to talk with him? What do you plan to do once you've spoken with him?" The questions rattled out of Merrik as if he couldn't contain them any longer. "What have you kept Atlantis a secret?"

Malum laughed and placed a hand on Merrik's shoulder, "You're full of questions aren't you? Alright then, you've caught me in a sharing mood, but perhaps steer clear of calling that place by name shall we? It is such a well guarded secret, and there are eyes and ears everywhere, I would hate to spoil things now." he began to lead the way back towards Laina's kitchen-a much more direct route than Merrik had taken previously.

"Laina" Malum greeted as he stepped in the door. Instantly the older woman grabbed a large kitchen knife and threw it at him with surprising skill and accuracy for her age. Malum grabbed a nearby pan and swatted the thing away with ease, it clattered to the floor. "I'm late aren't I?"

"It's getting cold" Laina scolded as she wiped her hands on her apron and exchanged a friendly hug with the King. "I see you found the boy. Quite clueless this one, I felt like I was teaching one of the catcher's kids."

"I do hope he didn't cause you much trouble" Malum apologized, "and as much as I hate to put you out, would you mind giving us some privacy?"

"Kicking me out of my own kitchen now?" Laina gave him a look, "You are cheeky. Alright, I've got some errands to run-but keep the neighbor twins from pinching my pies or I'll have your head."

"I will guard them with my life" Malum promised with a grin. He bowed his head to Laina respectfully as she headed for the door.

"Aye, yer life and not yer mouth!" Laina called after him before disappearing.

"Sweet girl" the King commented as he sat down to the meal she had prepared for the both of them. "So then, my father you asked. Goes by the name Solum Mauldrich, if you've heard of him I would love to hear what he's been up to"

Solum Mauldrich was a well known name on Atlantis in fact. A leading scientist in biochemical engineering, though over the last few years his interests had turned more political as he found himself a seat on the council and a prominent member of society. He'd had three wives, the last two of which had died of unfortunate health issues but none of which had knowingly produced a son or daughter for that matter. The running rumor was that Solum himself was infertile.

Blue eyes glanced around in surprise. Eyes and ears everywhere? Everyone here was out of earshot, yes? It was very puzzling, but Merrik was not going to question it. He let Malum lead him out, delighted to find himself back in Laina's kitchen.

As the two spoke like old friends, Merrik eyed a pie, and the bread Laina had been working on earlier. His mouth began to water, and his stomach growled, despite the fact that he had eaten a ridiculous amount earlier.

His growling stomach was forgotten as the banter ended, and Malum answered his questions. His eyes widened, and he turned back to the king in amazement. Solum had been in politics since Merrik could remember...at least five years.

"Well....Let's see...he's on the council now...I don't know if he was already there when you left. He got remarried, about a year...maybe a year and a half ago. My mom...actually works with him on occasion, when he has free time. So...what happened between you two? It can't have been as simple as a mutual choice..."

Merrik bit his lip, glancing away from a minute. "Malum...you aren't thinking of...of trying to hurt him or anything, right?" Still, it didn't really matter. He would just have to kill this man before they reached Atlantis, and ensure nothing happened up there that could hurt anyone from his home.

"That depends entirely on him" Malum replied and he seemed honest about it, he seemed honest about everything he had said to Merrik in fact so either he was telling the truth or he was a very, very good liar... which was entirely possible as well. "I think I've said enough about me" he added soon after, "what about you? And your mother, what does she do?"

The news about his father-if it really was his father, didn't seem surprise Malum at all, though the King's features were very hard to read.

After searching the king's face to attempt and see if he was being truthful or not, and being unable to decide, Merrik finally sighed, and nodded. "She's a doctor. One of the top doctors." Merrik's tone was rather bitter. "There's a strange disease she's discovered, and she's spent seven years trying to find a way to combat it. Hence the work with your father."

"Actually..." He glanced at Malum, before continuing. "She was supposed to come with, on my trip down...but, ended up busy, so sent her assistant. I was checking my ship, and I heard someone on the deck...I got excited, and rushed my preflight examination...That's...why we crashed. I missed something. My ship is older, and needs a lot of maintenance. I knew that and still rushed it. Now, I'll have to give Tonya a burial when I can face it, and tell her parents what I did..." He cleared his throat and shook his head, as if realizing how much he was saying, and should not be.

"Not that that is your concern. So, Egypt. When will we be leaving for it? Do the girls...you know?" Merrik gestured to his stomach and wiggled his hips to mimic dancing. "They don't wear many clothes, do they?"

Malum laughed heartily, "Even the skies have heard of Egyptian women" he chortled, "Yes, no one in Egypt wears much in the way of clothing and you will see quickly why. The heat is constant and unforgiving to the point where it feels like your bones are sweating. They have much in the way of gold but water is a resource far more valuable there than any precious metals. Be sure to drink your fill as much as possible, or you will become another victim of the sands." he cautioned.

"But with that in mind... don't forget to enjoy the view as well" he smirked, "I'll have you keep close with one of my own, Ro. She'll make sure you get what you need and keep you out of trouble. We'll meet her and a few others once we're done eating here."

"Stellar..." Merrik couldn't help the giant grin coming over his face. "Sweating like crazy will be totally worth it for the view..."

"Lots of Water." He echoed back, nodding. "And Ro...Ro? Who is Ro? Oh yeah, when are we leaving?"

'Clever little magician. Manipulation. I like it.' Leisha thought through the lions eyes as Hemset set up his attack. If one of those shards hit her it would most definitely do some damage, so she had to think quick. Leisha stopped in the centre of Hemset's circle of spikes, thinking a moment about her next move, before a gust of wind began heading towards the shards, aiming to send them straight to her.

'Perhaps...Air it is' Leisha began to restore herself, and the crowd watched as she grew in height, taking her human shape once again. Her eyes turned a bright gold, and she began to rotate, twisting and spinning at such a speed, the shards began to circle her, gaining momentum; faster and faster they continued, around the whirlwind Leisha spawned, with her in the centre, until the tornado started to rise, taking the glass with it. Round and round they went following the whirlwind in to the sky, taking Leisha with it, until the wind got so strong it shattered the shards, dropping them like snowflakes back in to the arena. As she continued to rotate, surrounding clouds began to fuse together, creating a super storm, which darkened the skies. Black clouds covered the arena, oscillating with great strength, followed by claps of thunder roaring down, paired with lightening strikes, violently smashing against the glass surface, each one nearing closer to the magician who watched as the storm grew in strength as long as Leisha continued to spin in the air.

Leisha knew Hemset was much better than her at Manipulation. She could call upon any of her forms to assist, such as the fire from her phoenix or the wind from her eagle, or even the great earth shattering roars from the monstrous lion. But manipulating the weather was a risky business, having only showed itself when she was re-born, using the eagle as her guide. Her forms had grown in strength in her second life and she was still, to this day, learning to handle them, although she would never show another she was struggling to control it, hoping the sheer illusion was enough to convince her opponent of the skill. Luckily for Leisha, today was one of her better days, as she was able to manipulate the storm to such a strength it created electricity. She could only hope that once she stopped spinning the storm would lose strength as well.

---------- Post added 10-30-2014 at 01:57 AM ----------

“Thats it....Kinda.” Otis shouted, as Ro attempted to shoot two arrows at once. They didn't hit the targets perfectly, but at least they were close.
“Dammit. I'll never get it. I'm much better with daggers! Watch this..” Rohesia said, lifting her dress slightly revealing her daggers, that were tied to her left thigh by a leather strap, leaving them hidden until she required them. She threw a dagger with each hand, hitting both targets right between their legs. Ro laughed out loud, grinning towards Otis.
“Ouch!” Otis exclaimed.
“You really don't like Eldonians do you?” He laughed.
“Do you?!” Is all she said.

Otis had been from Egypt originally, but after bandits killed his parents when he was 12, he was blamed by his uncle, a palace guard, forcing him to run away. His uncle had never bonded with Otis, for the pure fact that Otis was a bastard. His real father had (deleted) his mother, and left her to raise him with a new partner whom she eventually married, but his mother refused to give up the child in to slavery, like was the common thing to do. Once out of Egypt, he travelled a long way over the mountains almost succumbing to the ghastly conditions there, to Eldonia hoping for a better, safer life. His only choice was to live in the slums near a town called Kaldar, mostly full of politicians, business men and land owners as it provided a quick and easy route straight to Morlock Castle. His life wasn't easy, and like many other Eldonian's stricken by sickness of poverty, he had to resort to begging, stealing, and killing those who threatened to kill him first. Eventually, 2 years later, he was seen by catchers attacking two guards attempting to take him to the dungeons for trial, who were heading back to the mountain with two young orphan boys, and gave Otis an offer which he couldn't refuse; to get off the rotten streets of Eldonia and in to safety, where he could be trained as an assassin. Otis soon learned to use daggers and swords, but being from Egypt, he had learned how to use a bow and arrow since being a child, so he was given one.

Now Otis was passing his 20th year, and he was proving to be a well respected assassin to Egypt, receiving orders from those higher up in Frodan to assassinate enemies and steal from richer families thought to hold items of value. And he wasn't bad looking either, he had short black scruffy hair, olive skin, and broad shoulders, and he stood a few inches taller than Rohesia. He had a cheeky smile and a persuasive tone, which certainly helped him with the women as he got older, but he was respectful, and loyal to the King of Thieves.
Otis was happy enough with his life, but he had yet to fulfil his dream, and that was to find, and assassinate the men who killed his family.

Ro didn't know Otis too well personally, preferring to use her skills in Eldonia, but she had played games with him before and knew he was Egyptian. He just neglected to tell her he was the assassin she had heard about before she bet money on beating him in archery. At least he had promised to teach her some skills. And Ro was hoping to persuade Malum to bring Otis along on their trip to Egypt, as he insisted he knew all of the secret passages, whereas Rohesia hardly knew Egypt at all.

The glass was shattering all around him and Hemset was forced to move back, step by step. Such a storm, such raw power was rather terrifying to see. He summoned his own wind to combat hers but he couldn't manage to get quite enough power behind it-he had used up too much magic already and his spells were weakening, he could feel it starting to weigh him down with the urge to rest.

Despite all his defenses, Hemset was starting to get bashed around pretty badly. He tried moving forward to get a clearer shot of Leisha but the winds hurled his body back, rolling along the hard glass surface. Still, he got back to his feet and pushed against the storm again but this time the lightning stuck not far from where he stood and the residual shock sent the boy reeling again.

His ears were ringing but again Hemset rose and summoned the glass shards together, sending them hurling into the tornado that was his opponent but the wind only swept the glass around the storm and soon cascading back down towards him again. One of the shards bowled him over and Hemset tumbled once more and once more he fought his way back to his feet.


"stay down Hemset" Cedric whispered, mostly to himself as he willed the boy to stop. Didn't he realize he had been beaten? They'd put on quite the show but now it was time to end it, so why didn't he yield?

The look in Hemset's mage white eyes was chilling to the bone to see. Some part of him had finally blocked out the crowd, all sights and sounds beyond that of the arena had disappeared from his senses and he was focused on one task and one alone; taking Leisha down. Even if it meant his life, even if it meant hers.

Somehow, impossibly, the sound of two hands clapping seemed to rise above that of the howling winds as Pharaoh Nemiah rose from his seat. "Well done!" his voice echoed across the arena, signalling that this should be the end of it. "I think that was more than a sufficient display, don't you Prince Cedric?" he looked at the boy who could only nod, grateful that the pharaoh was putting an end to it now.

Hemset froze in place and blinked once, then twice as he seemed to snap back to the reality of the situation at the sound of Nemiah's voice forcing it's way to his ears.
It was just a sparring match... right... Not a fight to the death... He placed a hand on his head, feeling rather faint all of a sudden. What had he been trying to do?!

The whole conversation had been unsettling, and off putting. Malum's dad was so well known. And considered an upstanding citizen. What in the world had happened between the two?

With a vague description of Ro, Merrik set off back down, trying to locate her. She was fairly easy to find. Malum had said she'd been brushing up on bow skills, and there she was. A few people were watching and betting on the two, but only one thought entered Merrik's mind. Merrik wasn't sure whether or not Malum was actually coming, since someone had popped their head in and whispered to the king of thieves before Malum had described Ro and sent him off.

A foreign, exotic woman. Who was hot. In, you know, a dangerous, could kill Merrik probably with a pinky kind of hot way. Merrik watched for a few moments, curious as to how the bows worked. Eventually, during a lull, he grinned, puffed out his chest and strutted forward, ignoring the fact that he was a strange, lanky fifteen year old boy who really had nothing to offer this woman. "Ro..?" He stated, trying to make his voice deeper. "Malum said I'd find you here. Hi." He attempted a sultry look that probably tipped his weirdness way over the cliff.

Leisha heard applause from the crowd and Pharaoh Nemiah calling an end to the fight. She had won, not that she expected to lose, but young Hemset had tried his best, and she could tell he was worn out, not being able to re-charge like she could.

The storm clouds began to fade away as she fell back to the ground, using the wings of her eagle to ease her down but still retaining a human form. She looked quite spectacular light that, and the Egyptians cheered their champion. Leisha bowed again before walking over to Hemset, shaking his hand to congratulate.

“You did great Hemset. Very impressive. Your original opponent wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes. Don't beat yourself up alright?” She whispered, out of the Pharaoh's ear-shot.

As they began to walk away from the arena, she spoke again.
“Rest well, and tomorrow I will show you a few things if you like. I'd love to see how you manipulated the fire like that, once you have that mastered there won't be many that can stop you, believe me.” She said, smiling.

Lord Tanus went up to congratulate Hemset briefly, before requesting more wine. The spars were over, and the evening was coming to a close, but those that wished to remain could drink in to the night If they wished, and he was certainly looking forward to a few more drinks with Zeta and Prince Cedric before they headed to their quarters.
“More wine?” He asked simply towards the female warrior, offering a cheeky smile.
“Perhaps not too many though, I wouldn't like to make a fool of myself.”

Mae said her goodbyes once the events had ended, and had her guards lead her to her quarters. She promised Cedric she would be in the Gardens by the palace the following morning, so they could speak again.
“I look forward to our next meeting Cedric.” She said, batting her eyelids flirtatiously.
“I can't wait.” She said, giggling, before she turned to head back inside, her smile suddenly changing in to one much darker, obviously disappointed that Hemset had not beaten Leisha.

Mae took great pleasure in requesting one of her guards accompanied her...(deleted due to pg-13 breach)



---------- Post added 10-30-2014 at 04:08 AM ----------

Rohesia turned to face the strange boy, who had used Malum's name so freely. She saw his attempt at making himself look more buff that he was, and his voice deeper than it would clearly allow. She turned to Otis and grinned, before facing the boy again.
"Malum said? And who might you be?" She asked, passing Otis her bow so he could shoot again.

Hemset's hand was burning hot, in fact all of his skin seemed to be radiating a great heat all over and he quickly pulled away as he realized it. "sorry" he mumbled, becoming rather withdrawn once more and as soon as he could remove himself from the festivities he promptly did so, barely making it to his bed before passing out in a heap on top of the blankets.

Anyone with a keen enough eye in magic would have noticed that all the spells Hemset cast were actually very basic manipulations of the elements. What made them formidable at all was the amount of energy he was able to put into them but it wasn't a very efficient way to battle with magic. It didn't take very long to reach the bottom of the barrel when you're pouring it out as fast as possible.


Zeta laughed lightly and accepted the drink, "I don't mind a fool, as long as he realizes he is one" she replied with a chuckle, "just keep that blade sheathed so no one can get hurt" Zeta smirked at the double meaning of her words.

Oh mi gawd, oh mi gawd! She's talking to me! Say something cool, quick! "I'm Merrik. Do you like...." Something cool, something cool! "Fish?" Ugh... Merrik felt his shoulders droop some, and his cheeks felt like they were on fire. If only he could slap himself sometimes.

Nothing to do now but try and fix it. "Cause, um, you know, I'm a pretty awesome cook. Could totally make an awesome dinner for two sometime...You know, since we're gonna be hanging in Egypt and all..." There....damage repaired. Lifting his cap, the boy rubbed his head, and glanced at the female, half expected an arrow to be pointing in his face.

"Smooth..." Otis whispered to Ro, turning back to shoot his next arrow.
"Hah, a good cook eh? I'm sure Laina would be pleased for the extra hand, or perhaps my friend Otis would prefer you cooked for him..." She joked, getting a jab in the side from the assassin before realising what Merrik really said.
"Wait...you are coming to Egypt? Why? You sure don't look Egyptian. And you don't really look Eldonian either. What help will you be?" Rohesia asked, confused. She wondered just how much Malum had told him about their visit. Was he an assassin too? Sure didn't look like one.

"N-no, I'm not into guys," Open mouth, insert foot, "I-I mean, I was thinking it would be nice, for you know, a date with you, or something like that. Cause...you're...like...steaming!"

Merrik puffed up again, looking rather proud, "Malum needs help with something. So, he said when he's visiting an old friend, you were gonna hang with me while I get some stuff I need to help him out. H-Hey! I can be a lot of help! I'm one of the best shots in my city!"

"Wow...this guy. Is he for real?" Otis laughed, clearly as bemused as Ro.
Rohesia thought about what he said. Apart from the request for a 'date', she was sure he had said she would be helping him get stuff while Malum went to visit Hemset. That can't be right, can it? Rohesia wanted to go with Malum to visit Hemset and the others, so she could show him how well her archery skills truly were, so she could make him proud if she cut down several men, so she could...well...you know!
"I'm not quite sure what you mean by steaming young friend, but you are quite amusing i'll give ya that!" Rohesia laughed again, wondering where the hell Malum had found this kid.
"Best shot in your city huh. With what exactly? Steam?" Rohesia smirked, laughing out loud with Otis. Before realising she should probably be nicer if he really was helping Malum out.
"Ok OK, i'm sorry. Jokes aside...er...Merrik. Your business with the King is fine by me. If he needs your help, and my help, i am more than happy to oblige, but please, i beg you, stop making my ribs hurt." Rohesia pleaded.
"Where in the world are you from anyway? Your accent...is strange." She asked, offering the bow to Merrik, wondering if he wanted to try at a shot.

Merrik sent a glare towards the man next to Ro. Jerk! He probably just liked this woman too!

"No! Seriously! I'm freaking awesome!" Merrik's confidence faded as Ro held out the bow. He glanced down at his gun, and back at the bow. "N-no, thanks. I wouldn't wanna make your friend look bad..."

He folded his arms across his chest, peering at her. "I don't get why you are laughing. I'm from...up north..." He shrugged. "Anyway...how old are you?"

"Now that i would love to see!" Otis joked, before feeling like he should introduce himself too.
"Anyways, i'm Otis, one of the best assassins around here..." Clearly exaggerating, hoping to scare the kid.
"Pfft, maybe not the best, but probably better than you Merrik." Ro corrected him, still grinning at the kids comments, his confidence in himself made her smirk, as much as she tried to contain her desire to fall to the floor laughing.

Rohesia caught him glancing down to what seemed like a weapon strapped to his belt. It was a strange object she had never seen before, further feeding her curiosity about Merrik's hometown, wherever that was. 'North?' She thought, there are no cities to the North....not that she knew of anyway.

"What is that thing? Some kind of crossbow? I've never seen it before." She asked, totally ignoring his request for her age, she certainly wasn't too old to be considered a possible mate for the strange kid, still being in her early 20s, yet she was still old enough to know when an attempt to flirt was acceptable, and when it was not.

"Merrik, quit playing around. I know that thing is just a toy" Malum chuckled as he approached, flanked by several other people, mostly archers it seemed. Each one of them wore the mark of a King's man, expert assassins and thieves each one.
Malum held Merrik's gaze for a moment as he approached, the fact that the boy had deemed to keep the guns on him was foolish in the King's opinion. He had given Merrik clothes to blend in but the guns were a thing entirely different and eye catching and brought up too many questions about where he got them.

Rohesia stepped back as she saw Malum approach, responding to his chuckle automatically, followed by a smile. 'So he was telling the truth then, Malum did know Merrik', she thought to herself. But a toy or not, she couldn't help but wonder who he was, and why he spoke so strangely.

"Well, a toy aint gonna help him where we're going." Rohesia responded bluntly. 'And neither is his ridiculous accent', she thought silently, deciding against offering that piece of honesty.

"Any chance of a quick word..er..in private?" Rohesia asked quietly as she crept away from Merrik and towards Malum. She had many questions, but perhaps sticking to the most important would be much better; the sooner they were on their way, the better, she had promised Otis half of her share, whether he was coming or not.

Otis recognized a few of the assassins Malum had chosen to join them. He had taken trips with some before, more often than not as partners. They were good at what they did and worked well in a team, and he nodded in greeting to them as they stood quietly a few feet behind the King of thieves.

Malum looked to Ro curiously and nodded, "what's on your mind?" inquired the King as they moved away from the others.

One of the assassins was a girl called Tamra who freely walked over to Otis with a smile, "I haven't seen your sorry mug in ages" she greeted. They had spent some time doing jobs together a year or two ago but since then she had been travelling across Egypt to take on other work deeper within the country. Her skin certainly was evident of that, she had tanned darkly enough to pass as an Egyptian, though she was only half Egyptian.

Otis embraced Tamra, offering his signature cheeky smile back at her as Rohesia walked away with Malum.
"Well, Well, if it isn't my favourite gal!" He joked. "You've certainly tanned, been busy huh?"

Rohesia looked back at Marrik, then turned her gaze to the King nervously.
"Look, who you hire is none of my business, of course. It is not my place to question. No matter how....different they may be. I...I just wanted to make sure the original plan is still the same, with you know who." She asked, referring to Hemset.

"I mean, is he coming to help?....orrr just try to improve his skills with women? Because trust me, they need work." She said, adding a laugh so Malum knew she was joking, she hoped at least. Rohesia was rarely this blunt with the King of thieves, but she certainly would voice her opinion if she ended up stuck with Merrik in the town while he and the other archers go off to see Hemset. She wanted to prove she was just as good in Egypt as in Eldonia, even if she wasn't so sure it would work in her favour yet.

"Exceptionally so" Tamra grinned, "You'd be surprised how many contract killings you can get further out from the mountain. It takes you to whole new levels of stealth though, not having this great fortress of a place to retreat to."

"You're right, who I hire isn't any of your business" Malum replied, eyeing her for a moment before cracking a smile again, "To be honest, I haven't seen him fight much but those aren't the abilities I'm interested in with him. Think of him as a blacksmith if it helps. He needs particular materials and I won't risk sending a team of thieves to pick out the wrong things. Killing two birds with one stone on this one Ro, the Egyptian guards are going to be far too preoccupied with me to notice a few things missing."

He placed a hand on her shoulder, if he had been anyone else it would be a gesture of reassurance, "I understand, no one wants to play the sitter, but I require his skills and he isn't from around here. He could easily say or do the wrong thing and then I'd lose him and if I lost him I would be very, very upset."

"Ah yes, a risky business thats for sure. But i bet it pays well! Perhaps you should bring me along next time. It would be nice to have a familiar face around when i check out the further reaches, I'm convinced there is something of value for me there..." He replied, more serious than not. He and Tamra had certainly had their history. She was a trusted friend, and she was fully aware of his history; Most importantly, his determination to assassinate the men responsible for bringing him in to this life.

Rohesia considered his reply. Definitely not from around here...

"Understood My King... I will ensure no harm comes to him. I just have one more request." She began, looking over at Otis who was talking to a female assassin.

"Perhaps i may bring Otis along? He knows the streets better than me, and he's a good shot too, as I'm sure you are aware. It would provide me with extra protection while you are at the Palace, and an extra hand to carry the goods. Unless of course, you have somebody else in mind?"

Rohesia wasn't pleased with the plan, but at least Malum trusted her enough to take care of somebody he considered important. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea. It would give her the opportunity to test her persuasion on the Egyptians, leaving Otis or another to grab the items needed while she distracted them, and of course coming back with more than just silver trinkets. Gold and gems were plentiful in Egypt, especially in the markets by the palace; having a familiar face to show her around would be much appreciated, especially if she had to take Merrik along.