Starring:
Seishino Kanami, Iwagakure Advisor (NPC)
Date: June 02, 2010
Summary:
Who is Lord Hei-Long? Why does he inspire so much fear? But more importantly… Will the man meeting an agent of Hei-Long survive to do his bidding?
"No Escape"
Kusagakure - Land of Grass
The woman's voice — sounding harsh and inhuman, and yet somehow still female — whispered back sibilantly, "Lord Hei-Long dessssiress a meeting with the princessss…" The robed man stiffened. "I can't do that," he responded. It sounded a touch too loud in his own ears, so he took a moment to glance to his right. A scraping noise from in front of him drew his attention swiftly back. There was now a second satchel, presumably also full of money, sitting next to the first. He still could not see the woman's face in the darkness. For some reason he felt glad for this fact.
Licking his dry lips, the man whispered hesitantly, "I'll need time." When there was no response, he continued on. "I'd have to make sure there are no scheduling conflicts, and that the meeting can take place discretely." "Of courssssse," the woman hissed back. The man grunted and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "This is a big risk I'm taking for your master." For a moment, it seemed as though the woman was going to raise her head and reveal her features at last. But thankfully she decided against this and instead answered, "Lord Hei-Long appreciatesss the rissssks involved. You are being compensssated appropriately, are you not?"
The man grumbled a bit, but he finally admitted that he was being paid quite well with a nod of his head. And yet he began to wonder if perhaps it might not be best to terminate this relationship with the mysterious Hei-Long. He had made a lot of money. He could certainly cut his ties and flee to some distant country where he could spend the rest of his life in luxury. "We will expect an anssswer within the next thirty daysss." The hissing voice penetrated his thoughts. The man just glanced once more at the woman, whom he was no longer sure was even human let alone a woman, and then reached out with both hands across the table to seize the bags of money.
Abruptly he found a hissing snake rearing up on the eating surface inches from his face, baring its fangs. He froze. He didn't even breathe. The woman then said, "Do you happen to know what 'Hei-Long' meansss?" The man started to shake his head, but thought better of it, and instead just swallowed. The woman responded, "It meansss 'Black Dragon', in the language of the Sssouthern Lands. And black is the sssymbol of death, among other thingsss." A bead of sweat trickled down the man's face, dangling from his chin… And then striking the table. He blinked. The snake had retreated into the woman's sleeve. Looking up at her, he found himself staring into a pair of eyes identical to a serpent's, but scaled to a human being's head. He felt his entire body go cold. "I jussst thought you should know."
What happened after that was a blur in the man's mind. All he knew was that he found himself hurrying down the dark streets, clutching to him his two money satchels, with the realization firmly in his mind that there was no escape from Hei-Long. Not for those who wished to live.
Broken Memories Part Two begins soon…
