The Huntress Rides Again (Mission)

Mission Details:

And now that night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor
The angry merchant went a riding
Riding, Riding
The angry merchant went a riding, hoping to settle the score.

And through the brush she steps with careful poise, her posture never marred
She creeps towards the caravan, knowing all is locked and barred.
She peeks from her place in the treeline
And who should be waiting there
But a pair of tired caravan guards
Bless, a pair of tired caravan guards
Breathing softly out in the lovely midday air.

Athena knew she’d made an enemy of the merchants who frequented this road, but none so much as the man she’d robbed last night. She’d sabotaged his crossbow and pilfered his profits, and he’d no doubt returned to the market with tales of her misdeeds. The merchants who frequented this road were on their guard now, ready for any tricks she might play. That was fine with her. While it paid to have allies, she hadn’t been seen, and so her face was not known. She could walk right up to him and buy his goods with his own coin, and he’d be none the wiser. In fact, she considered doing just that. She could use a new blade.

Ah, but she’d hardly gotten enough to afford a new sword. His profits had been minimal. The real prize was the goods he carried, but they were too heavy to carry everything away, and she’d not had enough time to take even a handful of his wares. The best she had time to do was grab his ryo and run for it. Today, though, she was better prepared. She’d had her first real meal in weeks, and she was well rested. It was daytime, which meant she’d have a harder time remaining undetected, but that was no bother. She knew how to hold her own in a fight, if it came to that.

She crept along by the treetops as the caravan moved, the two guards brandishing their blades and following along at either side of the caravan. They were ready for a fight after last night’s burglar went uncaught, and the merchant, who sat at the front and whipped his horses along, was none too happy with the pair. That, however, was hardly any concern of Athena’s. She watched, and noticed that the two guards would sometimes fall behind when the merchant whipped his horses, so that the caravan moved past them and obscured one man’s view of the other. That would be her window. That was Athena’s moment to strike.

The merchant whipped his horses forwards, and the whole cart lurched as they tugged it along. Athena dropped to the ground from the treeline where she had been hiding, creeping quickly and quietly towards the guard nearest her. She appeared from behind him, tapping his shoulder before slipping quickly to his left as he turned to his right. She quickly stepped into the cart, rolling between the crates of goods as he searched for the person who tapped his shoulder, wondering if he was just jumpy and imagining things. Now inside the cart, Athena stepped carefully, one pace after the other as the guard returned to his original position. She watched the cart’s tempo, and got a feel for his rhythm.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…

Crack! He whipped the horses. The cart sped up.

Like a clock, he moved with such regularity that it honestly felt like a trivial puzzle to Athena, who tread across the cart, maneuvering between the piles upon piles of merchant goods.

She stepped over a crate full of kunai, careful not to drag her ragged clothes along the fine edges of the well-crafted blades. She slipped between two racks of katanas that had fallen over, once again making sure not to catch her clothes on the blades. She flinched as the cart lurched and the racks of blades converged, threatening to impale her. She held out two strong arms and forced the two apart, narrowly missing her skin, but catching upon her scarf. Smoothly, she removed the now damaged scarf from the blade and continued.

She was cautious not to touch the box of explosive tags, and stepped carefully around it. She was almost upon him. She was so close now, just a few.. more… steps…

She wedged herself over the man’s cot, glanced around his small sleeping quarters, which were a part of the cart, and found that there was nothing left of value. The door was bolted shut. Good.

She stood there in the darkness now, and saw that the man seemed to live in this small cart, where he kept his possessions and made his livelihood. There was a mirror and a cabinet where he kept his things and prepared for the day, a clock bolted to the wall, and a bookcase, sealed shut to prevent a stray piece of literature from falling to the floor. A fur rug on the floor to make the room feel more full, and all manner of paintings nailed to the wall at four points. It felt like an asylum, the way everything was bolted down, passing the illusion of homeliness.

She passed over his accounting book, and found that this arms dealer had fallen on hard times after making a bad faith trade, attempting to scam his buyers. How appropriate that justice would fall upon him in the form of Athena, not that she cared for such things. It was trivial really, but sometimes it was nice to feel like she was in the right, even if it didn’t change a damned thing she did.

She was just inches from him now, with only a curtain to separate the two of them. She felt adrenaline coursing through her veins as she reached for the curtain.

Crack! He whipped the horses. The cart sped up.

She moved like a cat through the darkness of the little cabin, peeking out to the flecks of light that presented themselves through the curtain that held her back from the merchant man with a heart as black as her own. She crept across the rug and over the thin boards of the floor until she could hear his very own heartbeat, soon to be pacified. She pulled it back, just as one of the guards spoke

”Oy, I think I saw somethin’ in the trees there! He said, pointing with his sword. Athena retreated back into the depths of the cart, peering out through the window. Sure enough, her trained hunter’s eye was enough to show her that there was someone else about to make a move on this cart. Shit. An arrow flew from the darkness of the woods, and sunk into the side of the caravan, mere inches from the merchant’s head. A warning shot. She saw the face of the man wielding the bow, the leader of the bunch. Broad and long-haired, with a thick jaw and golden eyes.

”Shit! Hop on the cart you idiots, let’s get the hell outta here!” The merchant shouted, whipping his horse as the two men hopped onto the sides of the cart, with the man under fire flinching as arrows pelted the side of the cart. Now was her chance. Athena would have to act quick, because while she could easily handle these guards, dealing with these rivals aiming to take her score would be more difficult. She peered out from the curtains just as the merchant driving the cart took an arrow to the neck. She quickly pulled him inside, using the transformation technique to take on his guize, and retrieving a pair of metal shields from the cart, using them to keep herself safe as he took his place at the reigns. Arrows pelted her shields as she moved towards a mountain pass, and she swerved the cart so that the arrows took out the guard on the left. He shrieked, and the guard on the right swore

”What the hell are you doing?” He asked.

”I’m losing control of the cart!” She lied, swerving so that he too was pelted by arrows. With the two guards now eliminated by her competition, she had to turn her attention to the bigger fish. She moved through the mountain pass, and for a moment, she let go of the reigns. These horses were moving on their own, and they knew what to do. They were good, fine steeds, and for the moment, she would trust them not to fail her. She turned back to the cart, leaping over the corpse and the cot and reaching the box of explosive tags. She squeezed between the rack of swords, leapt over the box of kunai, and grabbed a match as she hurled the box, striking the match on the floor and tossing it in as well. The tags caught fire, and the pass erupted in a huge explosion as it caved from the sheer concussive force of the explosion, causing an avalanche of giant rocks to fall upon her pursuers. Sighing with relief, she climbed back through the cart, leaping over the box of kunai and squeezing between the swords. She slipped over the cot and kicked the merchant’s corpse into the cavern, taking the reigns once again. The horses were spooked, but they were handling themselves fine. There was nowhere to turn in this cavern, so they simply kept running forwards.

Sighing with relief, Athena took the reins in both hands and glanced back at her handiwork. The entire pass was caved in, blocking her pursuers from reaching her. This was perfect… She’d made off with all of the wares the man had to offer, and sure, she’d wasted a crate of them in her escape, but she’d done pretty well all the same. She felt pretty good about her first highway robbery.

That was, until she saw the blockade at the other end of the pass. Of course they did. Fuck. Okay, easy does it. She was still pretty far away. They couldn’t see her. She quickly transformed into the leader of the bandits, and whipped the cart along faster than before. She came to a halt as she approached them, and one of the women guarding the pass stepped forwards.

”You got it! Where are the others?” She asked.

”In the pass. The damned merchant dropped a box of explosives on us and crushed us. I was the only one left.” She said in the leader’s voice. ”Go and see if you can find any survivors. I’m gonna bring this cart back to camp.” She said, her confidence overwhelming as she whipped the horses along. The group parted to let her through, but two men followed.

”We’ll escort you there, sir.” Said one.
”No need. I’ve already scouted the area. Search for survivors with the others.” Lied Athena.
”Sir, there are other bandits in the area. Just last night someone robbed this guy. We heard about it at the bar this morning. We’re coming with you.” Insisted the guard. Athena shugged.
”Very well.” She said, allowing the two to follow along.

Fuck. She’d gotten absolutely nowhere thus far. Literally she was in the exact same situation. She glanced aside as she watched the two guards walk next to the cart. She’d have to be quick.

”Who’s that over there?” She asked, pointing to the treeline with her right hand, while hurling a kunai with her left hand as she spoke, sending it flying at the guard’s face to her left. He fell with a thud.
”Who’s wha-” Began the guard on her right as she leapt upon him, bashing his head into the ground and knocking him out. She slipped aboard the cart once more, retrieving her blade, and whipped the horses. Like that, she was off.

(Exit)
(TWC: 2000)

+D-Rank
+1000 Ryo
+3 AP

76/500 Fuinjutsu Lock
500/500 Mark Seal
500/500 Fuinjutsu Breaking
500/500 Basic Medical Ninjutsu
500/500 Spanking (76 words already trained)

Approved