walking with shadows...

[Alezand Jozlyn, Allaine knight]

The moon struggled to break the hold of tyhe clouds overhead. It's light, strangled, bled here and there across the dismal cemetary. The stones stood in absolute silence as if being well trained guards watching over the grounds that were sacred. But their vigilance detered noone but of the weakest of heart, for often those with ill intentions passed through here, knowing that would be imperceptable to most who would be watching. But this was the mistake that evil ones make.
Tonight there was a new guardian on the prowl. Clad in dark navy blue robes, and black leather bandings and boots, the individual was as swift and silent as the shadows he moved along. Despite his dark appreance, this was an emmisary of good. For tonight, Alezand Jozlyn decided to return to his hunting for trouble. In his past, he had witnessed dealings within these holy grounds, and so tonight, he decided that he would check it out. Alezand had trained himself in stealth and speed, and was attune to hiding in the same enviroment as the very evils he sought to destroy.
Crouching low, he came upon a large head stone and laid there quietly. His eyes scanning the yard for any other unnessisary shadows like himself. It was a careful job, but one he had been practicing for a long time. No one ever expected an attack from their own, and no one ever suspected of heroes hiding in the shadows like the villians they clashed with. But it was very stategicly sound. He was but a candle with in the gloom of treachery and deceit. And so he waited and watched...

[Gilsworthy]

As is the manner with chance meetings, and chance meetings were a dime a dozen in the land of Avaren, Gil was not planning on meeting a single soul. His little planned romp through the cemetery was less a matter of purpose and more a product of caprice. The silence that permeated the resting place of the dead was something more than mere silence, as in the silence of a library, or a quiet room. Pure non-sound existed, like the bodies that lay at rest under the earth were loathe to hear a single peep and sucked the ambient noise of nature into their pallid mouths. To most it would be oppressive, but to Gil it merited a sigh of relief. Dead people didn't try to stab you in the back, dead people didn't carry on boorish conversation, and conveniently, dead people didn't mind if you stepped all over their beds.

It wasn't that Gil was a solitary person, no, he enjoyed conversation and companionship as any good natured thief would. Sometimes a guy just wants time to relax, to forget about things. So it was that as Alezand slinked about in the shadows, Gilsworthy walked about on the headstones. His dark longcoat made a horrendously loud flapping in the non-sound of the graveyard as his long legs walked deliberately from gravestone to gravestone, exhibiting a startling lack of reverence for the dearly departed. What did they care? It wasn't as if one of them would jump up and tell him to keep it down.

"Upsie daisy..." Gil breathed, pulling himself up the side of a small tomb and standing on top with his hands in his pockets. The moon was giving a feeble sort of light, not the full brilliant moon you might expect from such a scenic area as a graveyard. Sighing in mock despondence, the thief put one arm around the angel looking sanguine in it's vigil overtop the graves, and decided he would watch awhile with it. The shadows stayed just as dark as ever, but a small smile quirked the edges of his lips.

[Alezand Jozlyn, Allaine knight]

A voice rose over the stones arrayed about, "And what brings you here tonight, my dear Gil?" Neither malice nor softness was found in the voice that carried over the dead silence of the yard. Only a sense of purpose could be construed in the commanding speech. Alezand rose slowly, just enough to belie his position to Gil. Alezand was no threat, nor was he threatened. On the contrary, Alezand was rather relieved to see that his friend had managed to escape the wretched injustice being perpetrated within the kingdom lately. It had been a long time since they had crossed paths, back to before Tyanno and Alezand had went out to the field. Gil was a good soul, despite some of his traits. Alezand liked to think of him as a "good thief" rather than the bastard ones that he often apprehended. Gil often shared his earnings of trade, as so witnessed by the guardian warrior. And there was no malice or overwhelming greed in his character. "I must say it is a pleasure to see you again, how have you been?" Asked the darkly hooded swordsman as he resumed his camoflaged vigil...

[Gilsworthy]

At the sound of a voice echoing from the gravestones, Gil blinked once or twice in surprise, his entire body tightening like a coiled spring by pure reflex, ready to shoot off in any direction. The face that was revealed among the shadows caused the tension to release itself in a long, slow exhale. The familiarity of it tugged at the back of his mind, and his words seemed to belie a friendship, or at least companionship. A smile crossed Gil's face, and to buy himself a smidgen of time he shifted position from the right side of the stone angel over to it's left, in front of an outstretched wing. Yes, he was remembering now... some time ago, in another land they had met. His memory of the fellow was regrettably not as lucid as the other had for him. Quickly his mind raced to procure the man's name, and once the figure had retreated again into shadow, Gil said,

"I believe it was my feet that brought me here, although with no regard to my own wishes." quoth the thief, chuckling slightly. Finally his mind settled upon the man's name, and he continued after a moment's pause, "I've been as good as could be expected. While I've come to this cheery locale for a stroll, I might wonder what a knight like you is doing slinking about in the dark, Alezand? Got someone you're on the lookout for?" The moon gave up it's useless fight and succumbed to the clouds around it, dropping the entire gravesite into a murky, half-grey pall.

[Alezand Jozlyn, Allaine knight]

Observing the moon passing beyond the veil of the sky, Alezand smiled at his acquaintance's response and question in turn. 'Well, I have found that I have rather a skill at defeating darkness within its own realm. But alas, I have also found that trouble doesn't make itself present until the very last moment. So searching, and hunting for it in the deep of this hollow is rather invigorating as well as it is advantageous." He said carefully. "So, what have you been up to whilst i have been absent to this land" He asked, his eyes still piercing the surrounding darkness. the wind picked up and the straggle of trees on the plot rustled and sang in the cool night air. Shadows danced more in the tune of the trees and their movements. there was no scent of rain in the air, which was good. Alezand was not interested in getting soaked tonight despite his improved mood. He slid from stone to stone now, to get a better vantage of the darkened cemetery. He stopped every so often, immediately becoming the very night itself in his masterful stealth. But he was sure that being of the trade that Gilsworthy was, he could probably track every movement the swordsman made in his twilight stalking. Alezand really didn't expect much. Here was no tip off of some dirty deal, or of a meeting of wrongdoers hoping to go unnoticed at this hour. No, he just was following a hunch, and whether trouble did show up here, it was no matter. He was doing his job, and it brought him back to a good friend in the process...

[Gilsworthy]

At the knight's speech, Gil could only helplessly roll his eyes. There would always be guys like Alezand around hunting down evil wherever it may lie; it was as certain as the trees shed their leaves in Autumn. In response to the question he answered, "Oh, i've been around. You know, 'where the wind blows...'" singing a snatch of a song he'd heard far and away. Giving the solemn statue an encouraging pat on the back, the thief sprung from the rooftop and landed in a crouch on top of a massive stone cross adorning some nameless grave. The other was a fighter, definitely, and he got a few points in Gil's book by not trying to sneak around in full platemail like some fools he'd met in his lifetime. Dark clothes, black leather. Both good ideas for melding with shadows... he wasn't doing half bad.

"It's the same everywhere, of course. This whole business of usurpation doesn't surprise me one bit- oh, you have heard, haven't you? Some upstart clergyman took over the palace and made himself the new monarch. Haha, the day the church rules the world will be the day that I find myself a cozy hovel and settle down to die of old age." he chuckled. "All I ever see is war and deception, everywhere and all around. But I do what I can to make some impact." Standing up and balancing effortlessly on the point of the cross, Gil put a hand up as if to shade his brow and make a play at scouting out the premises. "Now seriously, Alezand, if I were some paragon of evil I really don't think i'd hang out in a cemetary... it's far too obvious. You can't honestly have expected to have found someone here?"

[Alezand Jozlyn, Allaine knight]

"I have most certainly, and I have dealt with this enlightened foe in person. I do believe that we shall see this pass quickly as well. I just wish Ricard was back. I have no clue to his whereabouts. I have heard rumors though, and I intend to find out." Alezand always got the information he wanted, one way or another.

He watched in mild amusement as Gil leaped lightly from one perch to another and playfully scanned the murk around them. "Ah, but I have found enemy here, in the past. And there is something more sinister going on here than just trivial upheavals of state. I fear for this land, not for the clergy or the corrupt royals, but what lies lurking at the edge of the land. It chills me Gil, For it is an enemy that these leaders will never see, it is up to people of vision, people like you and I to do something about it before it is too late" Alezand let out a sigh, blending it into the wind so that none but the most perceptive would pick up on the gesture. He really did fear for the times ahead. A land divided was not going to be able to defend against an determined and resilient fiend. It really was up to a few scattered men and women that decided it was time something be done...

[Gilsworthy]

((OOC: My sincerest apologies... let's get this over with and on to better things.))

IC:

"Do something about it...' repeated Gil in his mind. So the real king was missing, eh? The gears began to turn in the thief's highly analytical mind, and one hand rose reflexively to stroke his chin in thought. Enemies lurking at the outer parts of the land. A false king oblivious to the imminent threat, shortsightedly dealing with matters of the city. The wheels spun faster. Gil hopped lightly down from the cross-shaped headstone where he began to pace.

"Undoubtedly there would be immense laud and honor for the one who restored the king to power. And on top of that, he would be doing the entire kingdom a favor to reinstate a monarch who knew how to defend it well. Yes, I'm liking the sounds of this..." He snapped his fingers conclusively and turned to the general direction where Alezand lay hidden. It was unsportsmanlike to give away his position by addressing him directly.

"I'm not going to wait a second longer. I think I'll see who I can find in the local Tavern to pump for information, then perhaps I'll do some scouting in the wild areas at the edge of the kingdom to see what I can see. It wouldn't hurt to drop by the shadier districts and hit up some of the lowlifes there... they always seem to be the most informed. At any rate, if you have no more words for me, my friend, I'll be off."

[Alezand Jozlyn, Allaine knight]

"Ah, I only hope that we cross paths again soon, Gil. I imagine we will, for we are searching for the same thing right now. Answers. And with both of us on this venture, one can surely believe that the good king shall be found and restored. I bid you farewell, friend. May you stay safe till the time we meet again. " And with those parting words, Alezand sunk back into the shadows, even as the moon once again began to illuminate the yard. And he continued his survey of the place, passing like the breeze...