[closed] two assassins walk into a badland

[aquilus]

Who: Jacob & Altaïr
When: Late July
Where: Free Cities/Badlands
What: Questin'
Warnings: Probably violence

[Altaïr hadn't planned to partner with Jacob on this task. He hardly needs the help, and if he did, there are others he trusts more.

And yet. It's a curious thing to have another Assassin here, particularly one he doesn't know, particularly one from the far future. There is much he has yet to come to know about Jacob Frye, even if he doesn't count their time spent in that other life — and he doesn't — and Altaïr isn't sure he'll like all of it. But then man has a care for the creed, if not a detailed knowledge of it, and that has to count for something.

(He certainly hopes it does.)

If nothing else, Jacob has a care for the people they mean to aid. Altaïr lets him lead their journey into the badlands for a while, if only to see how he'll do, but there's not much to test either of them. Nearly an hour into their journey, though, he urges his horse forward to ride alongside the other man.]

Careful. Someone's waiting for us.

[Why does he say this? Even he isn't sure. He doesn't see anything obviously wrong; maybe he heard a small sound, too quiet for his ears to truly register but enough to trigger unconscious alarm. Regardless, his instincts are suddenly alerting, and he has learned to listen to them.]

Comments

[rookvision]

[Jacob's a hurricane when he fights, and more than that, he's someone who's at home in a bar brawl. He's grinning wildly when Altaïr shows up, a man in his element even when unarmed—which he isn't for long, disarming one of the bandits to yank the long knife from their hand and give it a twirl. He's brutal in cutting the bandit down, quick and efficient, and spares the body barely any thought before he swings around to block another blow.]

We ought to leave one of them alive to talk to! I'd like to ask them, [yeowch that was a hard punch, but Jacob recovers quickly and delivers a hard kick to the bandit's knee,] some questions!

[aquilus]

[Altaïr gives him a sharp nod to acknowledge he has heard the request. Preserving life during a fight in which he is terribly outnumbered is not typically one of his concerns, but he can manage it.

That doesn't mean most of the bandits will live through the end of this fight, though. Some of them appear to realize this, because their level of combat grows not more desperate, if not more skillful. One of the biggest charges forward, wielding his tremendous bulk along with whatever weapons he might have — and it might be the more dangerous of the two, which is why Altaïr won't allow him the time to use it.

He dodges, thrusts out an arm and extends his hidden blade as the bandit rounds on Jacob. He doesn't have a chance to react before the blade is plunged between his ribs.]