"What?" Felix was annoyed and confused at her change of tack. She thinks I was a prisoner? Why?
"Was that it? They certainly did a number on your armor. What happened? Daddy scrimp on the quality of guards? Go for the bargain bin for his least favorite?" Her voice was thick with syrupy sarcasm and Felix felt his hackles raise. A sharp, itchy heat built up along his back and neck, his skin crawling as a rage he hadn't felt before rose up.
This asshole thinks that I was captured? That's ridiculuous! It's--
Felix took a step forward, jostling the knife still stuck in his shoulder. The blaze of pain ate into his rage, and sent a chill snaking down his back as his senses tingled in warning.
Holy shit, she's using a Skill on me!
Bastion of Will is level 28!
The rogue frowned when Felix stopped moving, silently snarling when he starting backing away.
"I'd appreciate it if you kept out of my head," Felix smiled, happy to see the woman angry. He also desperately wanted to pull the dagger out of his shoulder, but couldn't afford to split his attention. This lady has a whole bag of tricks.
"Strange noble," she scoffed. "Awful polite, even if you are a cockroach."
"And you're awfully...stabby," Felix finished lamely. "Listen, putting aside the fact that you just poisoned me, then stabbed me, then attempted to stab me again, I'd really rather not fight. I'd also appreciate you not luring the giants toward my uh, associates."
"So you are a Guilder. Interesting." The lady smirked, which annoyed Felix more than he expected. "I can let you go, sure. No can do on the second part, though. Professional pride, you see."
A lightbulb went off in Felix's head, dots connecting in a way that was painfully obvious in retrospect. "You're an assassin! Of course! Dark armor, creepy mask, poison and daggers, why didn't I see it before?"
"...Creepy mask?" Felix heard her mutter.
"If you're an assassin, were you hired to kill Magda and the others? By who?"
Instead of answering him, her hands blurred as Felix barely perceived several knives zip his way. He leaped to the right again, feeling the roof below creak beneath his feet in protest. The knives flew by harmlessly, and Felix felt awful smug for about a second.
Then she reappeared directly next to him, daggers held low.
AHHHH! REIGN OF VELLUS!
A burst of blue lightning blasted forth, ripping the rogue from the roof and slamming her into the dilapidated wall. The same wall she had tricked Felix with before, he was happy to note. Without waiting for her to recover, Felix darted in, moving close with his crooked sword held to the side. He led with a slash, catching a glancing blow across her bandolier of knives, his bronze blade striking golden sparks on the steel. She recovered though and caught his second swing on her long dagger, quickly twisting and following up with a series of lightning quick thrusts.
He jumped back, feeling more agonizing lines of fire along his stomach. He daggers further shredded his once-beige tunic. Felix eyeballed his Health, noting it was barely over 25% while his Stamina was hovering just above 10%. His left arm hung limply, his shoulder spasming around the knife still lodged there.
I can't keep this up. I've got maybe two more good hits left in me.
"You're looking haggard, roach. You need a nap?" The assassin taunted him, smirking despite her obvious fatigue. If Felix was exhausted, she wasn't too far behind. He supposed her Endurance wasn't too high...she seemed to be focused heavily on Strength and Agility. "Here. Let me help!" She rushed forward.
Felix stepped forward to meet her, knowing he couldn't outrun her in his state. He did the only thing he could.
The unexpected.
PITT!
He slashed low to high, trying to simultaneously shove her daggers aside and drive her back. The assassin was ready, angling her weapons and flowing around his strike like a wraith. And then, she tripped.
Which, of course she tripped. That's what happens when a terrier-sized tenku runs headlong into your legs.
"AHK!" She cried out, Felix's sword somehow catching her across her face as she stumbled. It was only a second, but it was enough. He dropped his blade once it had connected, rearing back with his right arm and put everything he had left into a single uppercut.
Corrosive Strike!
The rogue took the blow straight to the gut, and Felix thought he felt something crack, before her entire body suddenly rocketed backwards. The force of the strike propelled her up into the air, literally launching her off the roof. For a moment, Felix only stared at the space where the assassin once was, dumbfounded. Then he rushed to the edge.
She was gone.
Pit cautiously walked up to him, peering out into the darkened alley below.
"You think she's gone?" Felix asked. His Perception and Manasight was picking up nothing. Either she had exploded into a thousand pieces, or she had used some sort of escape Skill. He was hoping for the exploded option.
"Ugh," Felix huffed. "Assassins, now?"
Pit's only reply was to chirrup twice and nuzzle his beak against Felix's leg. Felix smiled, reaching down with a groan to scratch the tenku's neck. "Thanks, Pit. You're a lifesaver."
Pit chirped brightly and walked back onto the roof as Felix followed, still keeping a watchful eye out for the assassin's reemergence. She'd caught him off guard too many times, at this point.
In a flash, it came to him.
"Vambrace! That's it!"
That would have bugged him for the whole day.
Looking down, he regarded the flat steel knife that was lodged in his deltoid. Pulling it out wouldn't be pretty, but it had to be done. Felix had been able to put the pain out of his mind during the fight, but it had severely hampered his movements. He vaguely remembered something about leaving a weapon in a wound to prevent blood loss, but that was before he could heal himself by sitting for a long time.
He grunted as he pulled it out. The blade was small, only five inches long, but it was wide. It had a weird etching on the flat of the blade, like a nautilus or curled horn or something.
Name: Steel Throwing Knife
Type: Piercing
Lore: Unknown
He pocketed the knife for later and applied pressure to the wound to prevent the Bleed status, focusing on Meditation for a few minutes. When the worst seemed past, it was time to move on.
As Felix scooped up his hooked sword, he pondered at his increasingly frequent encounters with near death. The shock value of it had decreased a lot since he started, but he still wasn't comfortable being brought low by every enemy he encountered.
Granted they're all higher level than me, but still. I need to figure out how to do this all better.
Ultimately, he wasn't dead, so Felix counted it as a win.
Felix hefted his curved sword, looking at it's bronze length. Despite heavy use, the thing was still in pristine condition, the edge unmarred by burrs or nicks.
What did the Archon call it? A Crescian blade? He held it up, examining it in the midday light. Aside from the enchantment to bypass the Temple wards, it seems normal enough. Oh, what's this?
The blade had a thick rivulet of blood streaked across it, bright and red. The assassin's blood. Felix bit his lip in consideration, then reached into his satchel and pulled out an empty vial from his potion case. Carefully, he scooped a dollop of blood into the vial and corked it.