05-25-2015, 07:24 PM
Shay walked onwards into the barren desert land of the Dunes, with Agnès still by his side, only ever so slightly behind him. Agnès' head was drooping down slightly, still regretting her sudden snapping at Shay. He had to make it up to her, somehow. Shay thought about it for a while, overthinking the situation, feeling it was his fault for underestimating Agnès, almost sending her off in a sense.
Sighing a bit, Shay looked upwards at the horizon, watching the sun go down. This would definitely help the two in terms of sneaking, but Shay could only hope Agnès was well-adjusted to the cold, knowing it was about to get freezing in a few minutes. Behind him, Shay could see the city of Nippur fading from his vision as the two Primes walked onwards to Carrefore.
Both Agnès and Shay silently watched the sunlight pass over them, quickly turning into the darkened night. As the moon rose slowly above the horizon, Shay looked over to see Agnès' expression, completely dazed by the sea of stars surrounding the entire sky. The wind in the air became cold as ever, only comparable to some sort of arctic tundra, although the sand at their feet confused the feeling of being in a desert. Even Shay could admit, the stars above the two Primes distracted him easily from both the cold and their long walk to Carrefore.
Shay began to speak, before turning his head towards Agnès, shivering slightly. "This would be beautiful hadn't we been in a damned desert..."
Agnès almost giggled, still staring upwards as the two began to walk. The two walked over the broken down railroad Shay had previously been following to get to Nippur, Agnès paying no mind to it. Shay had wondered what uses this could have if it was rebuilt, whatever it was for. Both Shay and Agnès walked for what seemed to be about an hour from this point. All they had saw in their trek to where this Carrefore were simply dunes, small bushes, and rocks.
Although, the more they traveled, the more the area began to dense itself with savanna-like wildlife, the two Primes seeing trees and various other dried grasses as well. Both Agnès and Shay were fortunate enough to not meet any of the more carnivorous animals which were expected to be located in this general region, to which Agnès assumed were all asleep, and to which Shay didn't care. The only thing that soothed their nerves was the abundance of glistening stars, and the crescent moon in the night sky.
Shay didn't want to ask if Agnès was sure they took the right direction, seeing as she was making subtle and slight shivering motions in the cold and rigid desert night. Shay kept himself controlled, but only slightly. Shay couldn't help but to make the mental comparison of this cold weather and the North Atlantic, which still baffled him, even though he was aware how extreme deserts could get, on both sides of the coin.
The two Primes' breath began to turn into slight fog. Even the stars at this point could not help them move along, only their will to keep walking. Shay's mouth began to dry, and he could only imagine how Agnès was feeling right now, watching her teeth chatter a bit. Even before this, Shay could recognize Agnès' comfort in the heat, now turning into a slight disturbance of the cold. Shay was glad he didn't have to feel the unbearable blistering of the sun again, but now he just felt bad for Agnès. The only gripe Shay had at the moment was the length of time in which they had already been walking. Shay did not stop, however. A break would only worsen the issue.
At the very moment the two even began to consider giving up walking, Agnès' eyes went wide in surprise at the growing figure of a cluster of fortified buildings. Agnès let out a short gasp of breath. Shay opened his eyes to investigate the noise, only to find an ever so slightly excited Agnès looking off in the distance. Shay saw what she was looking at, the group of buildings growing closer and closer the faster they walked towards it. Agnès took no hesitation in speaking her opinion on the matter.
"I would believe we have arrived, Shay! Carrefore..." Agnès' voice died down a bit, seemingly in relief. Shay smiled a bit, stretching his arms outwards, before looking down at Agnès. Nodding towards a large dune, Shay started to jog towards it, signalling for Agnès to follow.
When the two Primes arrived at the top of the tall dune, Shay was fortunate enough to get a very nice view of the buildings below. Shay was expecting it to be more fortified, but much to his surprise, it looked more to be a village rather than an Empire outpost. It was a small town emphasized by the oasis surrounding the outskirts of the village, making it easy to spot the more technologically advanced portion of the area itself, which would be the likeliest location the Stormtrooper Captain would be settled in, or at least to what Shay assumed. Agnès looked on at Shay, knowing he was processing all of this information as he looked onwards into the village of Carrefore. Shay turned to Agnès once more, speaking to her his plans.
"The best idea I can come up with at this point would be to bypass any security nested at the outskirts of the village... Avoiding all civilian contact by climbing on top of the higher buildings... Before dropping off at the obvious Empire-controlled fort in the middle, to which I'd assume the Captain would be likely placed," Shay explained to Agnès as he continued to look off into Carrefore.
Agnès gulped at the mention of "climbing," to which Shay hopefully didn't notice. She admittedly wasn't very good in that regard, especially emphasized by her usual choice of footwear. She found it best to admit such before she ended up ruining the chances at completing the mission because of her lack of climbing skill, at least in comparison to Shay.
"Actually... I don't think it would be best if I found myself climbing... For I am not very talented in such areas," Agnès said to Shay, trying her hardest not to sound embarrassed. She knew Shay had to have been confident in his mobility to suggest the idea without hesitation, which made it harder on Agnès to admit her lack of confidence. Shay looked back to Agnès with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin.
"Well," Shay responded, "you could go down and scout out the area for me. Besides that idea, nobody said you couldn't try, now! I could teach you a few things."
Agnès looked down, thinking about Shay's offer. She thought it to be a teasing remark at first, but as far as she knew him, Agnès wouldn't doubt Shay was serious in that claim. She replied.
"If you think you can, Shay. I simply do not want to hold us both back when it comes to accomplishing our goal, here..." Agnès looked up to Shay as she spoke, with a bit of a serious expression on her face.
"I trust you won't," Shay said, hoping to reassure Agnès. As the woman let out a slight sigh, Shay continued to look on into the insides of Carrefore, trying to inspect the place as close as possible. Shay hummed to himself, scratching at his subtly bearded chin, before raising his arms a bit, and opening his palms. Closing his eyes, Shay began to channel a wave of Omnilium through his arms and into his hands. Agnès noticed this quickly, looking at Shay summoning whatever it was he was trying to summon.
It took a good full minute, but when Shay was finished, he held an elastic-looking band in his left palm, and a piece of cloth in his right hand, seeming to match the color of Agnès' current outfit. Shay took both of the objects in his hands, before giving them to Agnès, quickly explaining their purpose.
"Since we don't want to be caught in the process of completing the mission, or even after the mission is completed, I'm going to suggest pulling your hair back, and putting this mask over your face, so they won't recognize us."
As Agnès took both the band and the face mask, she saw Shay pulling out the band holding up his own ponytail, letting the now messy, somewhat long hair fall to his lower neck. He then pulled up his own dark gray face mask, and only afterwards did Shay put on his white Assassin hood, another signature to his previous organization.
"Good point..." Agnès admitted, pulling back her hair, tying it up, before continuing. "Thank you for your consideration, Shay."
Shay nodded, watching Agnès as she then put her face mask on, finding a comfortable spot to tuck it in her clothes. Upon finishing, Shay took a single look at Agnès' appearance, and as he suspected, she looked almost completely different. Shay smiled under his mask, before glancing back at Carrefore.
"You ready, Agnès?" Shay asked, to which she nodded.
"I would believe so."
[spoiler]
Sighing a bit, Shay looked upwards at the horizon, watching the sun go down. This would definitely help the two in terms of sneaking, but Shay could only hope Agnès was well-adjusted to the cold, knowing it was about to get freezing in a few minutes. Behind him, Shay could see the city of Nippur fading from his vision as the two Primes walked onwards to Carrefore.
Both Agnès and Shay silently watched the sunlight pass over them, quickly turning into the darkened night. As the moon rose slowly above the horizon, Shay looked over to see Agnès' expression, completely dazed by the sea of stars surrounding the entire sky. The wind in the air became cold as ever, only comparable to some sort of arctic tundra, although the sand at their feet confused the feeling of being in a desert. Even Shay could admit, the stars above the two Primes distracted him easily from both the cold and their long walk to Carrefore.
Shay began to speak, before turning his head towards Agnès, shivering slightly. "This would be beautiful hadn't we been in a damned desert..."
Agnès almost giggled, still staring upwards as the two began to walk. The two walked over the broken down railroad Shay had previously been following to get to Nippur, Agnès paying no mind to it. Shay had wondered what uses this could have if it was rebuilt, whatever it was for. Both Shay and Agnès walked for what seemed to be about an hour from this point. All they had saw in their trek to where this Carrefore were simply dunes, small bushes, and rocks.
Although, the more they traveled, the more the area began to dense itself with savanna-like wildlife, the two Primes seeing trees and various other dried grasses as well. Both Agnès and Shay were fortunate enough to not meet any of the more carnivorous animals which were expected to be located in this general region, to which Agnès assumed were all asleep, and to which Shay didn't care. The only thing that soothed their nerves was the abundance of glistening stars, and the crescent moon in the night sky.
Shay didn't want to ask if Agnès was sure they took the right direction, seeing as she was making subtle and slight shivering motions in the cold and rigid desert night. Shay kept himself controlled, but only slightly. Shay couldn't help but to make the mental comparison of this cold weather and the North Atlantic, which still baffled him, even though he was aware how extreme deserts could get, on both sides of the coin.
The two Primes' breath began to turn into slight fog. Even the stars at this point could not help them move along, only their will to keep walking. Shay's mouth began to dry, and he could only imagine how Agnès was feeling right now, watching her teeth chatter a bit. Even before this, Shay could recognize Agnès' comfort in the heat, now turning into a slight disturbance of the cold. Shay was glad he didn't have to feel the unbearable blistering of the sun again, but now he just felt bad for Agnès. The only gripe Shay had at the moment was the length of time in which they had already been walking. Shay did not stop, however. A break would only worsen the issue.
At the very moment the two even began to consider giving up walking, Agnès' eyes went wide in surprise at the growing figure of a cluster of fortified buildings. Agnès let out a short gasp of breath. Shay opened his eyes to investigate the noise, only to find an ever so slightly excited Agnès looking off in the distance. Shay saw what she was looking at, the group of buildings growing closer and closer the faster they walked towards it. Agnès took no hesitation in speaking her opinion on the matter.
"I would believe we have arrived, Shay! Carrefore..." Agnès' voice died down a bit, seemingly in relief. Shay smiled a bit, stretching his arms outwards, before looking down at Agnès. Nodding towards a large dune, Shay started to jog towards it, signalling for Agnès to follow.
When the two Primes arrived at the top of the tall dune, Shay was fortunate enough to get a very nice view of the buildings below. Shay was expecting it to be more fortified, but much to his surprise, it looked more to be a village rather than an Empire outpost. It was a small town emphasized by the oasis surrounding the outskirts of the village, making it easy to spot the more technologically advanced portion of the area itself, which would be the likeliest location the Stormtrooper Captain would be settled in, or at least to what Shay assumed. Agnès looked on at Shay, knowing he was processing all of this information as he looked onwards into the village of Carrefore. Shay turned to Agnès once more, speaking to her his plans.
"The best idea I can come up with at this point would be to bypass any security nested at the outskirts of the village... Avoiding all civilian contact by climbing on top of the higher buildings... Before dropping off at the obvious Empire-controlled fort in the middle, to which I'd assume the Captain would be likely placed," Shay explained to Agnès as he continued to look off into Carrefore.
Agnès gulped at the mention of "climbing," to which Shay hopefully didn't notice. She admittedly wasn't very good in that regard, especially emphasized by her usual choice of footwear. She found it best to admit such before she ended up ruining the chances at completing the mission because of her lack of climbing skill, at least in comparison to Shay.
"Actually... I don't think it would be best if I found myself climbing... For I am not very talented in such areas," Agnès said to Shay, trying her hardest not to sound embarrassed. She knew Shay had to have been confident in his mobility to suggest the idea without hesitation, which made it harder on Agnès to admit her lack of confidence. Shay looked back to Agnès with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin.
"Well," Shay responded, "you could go down and scout out the area for me. Besides that idea, nobody said you couldn't try, now! I could teach you a few things."
Agnès looked down, thinking about Shay's offer. She thought it to be a teasing remark at first, but as far as she knew him, Agnès wouldn't doubt Shay was serious in that claim. She replied.
"If you think you can, Shay. I simply do not want to hold us both back when it comes to accomplishing our goal, here..." Agnès looked up to Shay as she spoke, with a bit of a serious expression on her face.
"I trust you won't," Shay said, hoping to reassure Agnès. As the woman let out a slight sigh, Shay continued to look on into the insides of Carrefore, trying to inspect the place as close as possible. Shay hummed to himself, scratching at his subtly bearded chin, before raising his arms a bit, and opening his palms. Closing his eyes, Shay began to channel a wave of Omnilium through his arms and into his hands. Agnès noticed this quickly, looking at Shay summoning whatever it was he was trying to summon.
It took a good full minute, but when Shay was finished, he held an elastic-looking band in his left palm, and a piece of cloth in his right hand, seeming to match the color of Agnès' current outfit. Shay took both of the objects in his hands, before giving them to Agnès, quickly explaining their purpose.
"Since we don't want to be caught in the process of completing the mission, or even after the mission is completed, I'm going to suggest pulling your hair back, and putting this mask over your face, so they won't recognize us."
As Agnès took both the band and the face mask, she saw Shay pulling out the band holding up his own ponytail, letting the now messy, somewhat long hair fall to his lower neck. He then pulled up his own dark gray face mask, and only afterwards did Shay put on his white Assassin hood, another signature to his previous organization.
"Good point..." Agnès admitted, pulling back her hair, tying it up, before continuing. "Thank you for your consideration, Shay."
Shay nodded, watching Agnès as she then put her face mask on, finding a comfortable spot to tuck it in her clothes. Upon finishing, Shay took a single look at Agnès' appearance, and as he suspected, she looked almost completely different. Shay smiled under his mask, before glancing back at Carrefore.
"You ready, Agnès?" Shay asked, to which she nodded.
"I would believe so."
[spoiler]
Shay Cormac Wrote:Thus begins the New Babylon faction quest, "They All Fall Down."[/spoiler]
Give it your best, Agnès!
![[Image: tumblr_nabdyeE81m1qcy62fo1_500.gif]](http://38.media.tumblr.com/62a0123e863be665cb97c8e9e9831315/tumblr_nabdyeE81m1qcy62fo1_500.gif)
"The air is still, and I am a hunter."