BloodRune

   Pulling the hood of my cloak down further to shadow my eyes, I move onward toward a fair-sized stall up the row.  As I make my way through the shifting mass of people, someone brushes heavily against me, knocking me back a step.

   “Follow me, Colette,” a man’s voice commands quietly as he continues forward in the direction I had just come from.  Arching a brow in curiosity, I turn and follow the man with only a moment of hesitation as he ducks into a narrow alley between two buildings beyond the length of stalls.  His voice seems mildly familiar and there are few that I feel obligated to tell my true name to.

   “My name is Kirinai in the event you had forgotten,” the man states over his shoulder as I enter the narrow space between the buildings.  He stops a good distance into the shadowed alleyway and turns to face me.  A firm yet stolid expression adorns his features as he watches me closely, his reddish-brown hair pulled back tightly from his face.  Kirinai is a man of fairly short stature though he still manages to be a dominating presence in any situation when not in his master’s presence.  Shallow lines lead off from the corners of his eyes, the only sign of the ages’ wisdoms he has acquired over the decades.  Scars, quite obviously from rather severe burns, cover nearly the entire left side of his face and neck.  At the moment he wears but a simple tunic and pants of leather with low, heavily used boots also crafted of leather.  And, as usual, he wears the long, dark gloves that he never seems to take off.

   “Belior sent me to find you,” he continues without as much as giving me time to respond, standing with his shoulders back and perfectly still with his gaze locked unwaveringly on me.  “I have your next assignment.”

   “Belior?”  I raise an eyebrow, intrigued as to how he could have found me here and after so long.  “How did he know where to find me?”  Kirinai chuckles dryly at my question, somehow sounding rather unnerving.

   “He didn’t.  I did.  But that is beside the point, Colette.  Your next assignment awaits you.  Before I begin with your instructions, however…”  He reaches behind him with one hand, retrieving a small leather pouch and untying it from his belt.  Loosening the drawstring on the pouch, Kirinai tips the bottom up, sprinkling a powder similar in appearance and color to ground charcoal into his other gloved hand.  Clenching the hand into a fist, he whispers a word in some unknown tongue and blows the powder toward the entrance of the alleyway.  Instantly, a barrier, shimmering as if it were made of water, seals the opening, distorting the images of those walking on the other side who continue on as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

   “You wouldn’t mind explaining to me what you just did, would you, Kirinai?”  I cast a fleeting glance over my shoulder at the barrier before returning my attention to him.  “I hope, for your sake, that is not meant to keep me in here.”  Smirking faintly, I slide my cloak’s hood down to my shoulders.

   “No, I don’t especially wish to explain but if it would put your mind at ease I shall at least tell you that our business will not be disturbed by them now.”  He inclines his head toward those passing beyond the glistening wall behind me.  I nod slightly, silently urging him to continue on with what he came for. 

   “Now then.”  Kirinai reaches down to his belt and pulls out several sheets of folded parchment that had been tucked under it, offering them to me.  I look at the parchment sheets skeptically for a brief moment before seizing them from him.  “The details of your assignment are on those along with maps and other information that may prove to be useful at some point.  However, I was instructed to brief you on the basic plans regardless, in the event you had any questions, comments, or concerns.

   “Belior wishes for you to acquire something for him.  This something is a one-of-a-kind talisman that your target will have in her possession.”  Her?

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