Inglorious return

He viewed the city from the heights of a nearby hill, watching the quiet walls as a brisk autumnal rain pelted him. It was cold, but he had years of experience ignoring that, just one more thing that didn't really matter, and worrying over it could not change the fact, would that wishes were morr than wind he reflected as his horse stamped an impatient hoof snorting and tossing it's head in agitation. He looked down at his hands, still blue, almost black, the veins popping as he flexed them.

All over his body, muscles rippled, since his exodus, he had been on a harsh training regiment, determined to reach a far better physical state than he had ever been in. He had been doing some mercenary work, collecting bounties on wanted criminals and the like, hiring himself out to either side as long as the coin was good, his concern for the law had been eviscerated, naturally how could he stand behind a system which had so wronged and defiled him.

"C'mon old boy, won't get any more pleasant the wetter I am, i need a drink" he chuckled to himself, least now he could drink and not worry about someone trying to kill him, and to hell with it if they did, he'd die or they would, either way would be ok with him. The rain redoubled it's efforts as he remounted his horse and set down the hill at a slow walk, every sense alert. He had never trusted the Ranger Captain, and his opinion of city officials in general was low, so he was not planning on depending on their protection, he would make his own way.

Ranger didn't know how long he'd be in town, he was tailing a lead on a bounty, which may be here, a rapist, who's bounty was commissioned by a wealthy merchant, the father of the aggrieved party, which made things nice, for he could simply kill the man and collect, it was so much simpler when the law did not have to get involved, why he liked working personal contracts.

He heeled his black stallion (a prize) to a canter as he reached the bottum of the hill heading towards the gates, wind causing his cloak to ripple behind him head thrown back by the rush his dark blue skin illiciting sparks of static electricity to leap from and return to his skin. He was nothing fancy to look at, his face was still emotional to the point of making a stone seem gushy, utter blankness which had been perfected again with years of trainign. He wasn't as young as he had once been, nearing thirty now, but he was robust, and in the prime of his physical condition. It was his mind, and his heart that troubled him, he didn't have a cause he could claim, didn't care who paid him so long as the coin was good, his life was a day-to-day affair of uncertainty and mistrust, bred of necessity, and nurtured by resentment.

He reached the gates and slowed, looking at the guardsment as he passed, his hood drawn back up, he would be easily recognizeable and he was not sure the reception he would recieve in the city, he had not been exiled but had left of his own volition and so now returned, that is what he knew, and that there was a job to be done.

As simple as that Eldarus' first Captain of the Guard returned, with no acclaim, no greeting, just a man, with a hood pulled up to cover his face, making his way through town on a finely bred horse. He chuckled at the thought of the villa, knowing it would have been kept in decent repair for him, but decided to get lodgings this night, it would be unduly malicious to come upon the servants in the middle of the night and expect accomodations to be in order, he had the coin for it, in fact he was much better off financially now than he had ever been before as a civil servant, and if not the same the job at least had it's perks.

He headed to Ellington's Last Stop, where he procurred a bottle of whiskey and a bed, and went ot his rom, sliding the owner Cedric a few extra coins to ensure some discretion, he did not want it public knowledge just yet that he was back, he wanted ot get a feel for the place first, this wasn't coming home he thought, as he lay in the bed he had rented staring at the ceiling, it was had been, but now he was a stranger, and who knew what the next days would bring.

Ranger had moved into the villa a few days after returning to town, spending a few nights at the Stop to give the servants a chance to clean things up and prepare the estate to once more be inhabited, though in honesty he did not know how long he'd be in town. He was at Ellington's in fact the night of the incident that would in large part determine his near future.

He was throwing back whiskey shots as usual having hit a dead end on his bounty which had brought him back to Eldarus in the first place and was getting frustrated, he was not well liked around town which did not make it any easier as people were less inclinded to be helpfull to him, what with his penchant for brutality and then the osterization he had endured after his trial.

It turned out to be his lucky day however, as unwittingly his mark strolled into the tavern as bold as you please, almost unnoticed at first, with a cowl hiding his face, but as the man sat down he removed his hood and Ranger recognized him at once from the sketched flier he carried around in his pocket, to show people and such, as well as a list of the crimes the man stood condemned of, rape of an 11 year old girl chief amonst them.

Ranger stood up, throwing his cloak back over a shoulder his hand reflexively ready to draw at a moment's notice. "Marconis Delanqua" he said in a firm voice. "I'm here to collect punishment for crimes listed against you in the city of Bronzidul, remove your weapons and come with me, so that you may recieve a fair trial and due process" he finished his speal, hand resting calmly on the hilt of his sword, but the peacefull way was not going to work, he had figured it would not but due process was required in this situation especially considering his actual authority especially in this town was non existant.

The man Marconis, drew a throwing dagger from a sheath abover his shoulder and threw it at Ranger, who skillfully ducked to the side, making the motion into a roll, he was drawing his blade before he even finished the motion completely coming to his feet at a run toward the man ready to draw blood. As the second dagger came flying at him he used his magnetic link with the earths core which had been established as an assignment gone wrong back when he was captain of the city guard, the same incident that gave him his unnaturally dark blue almost black hue of skin, to deflect the daggers flight with a soft push of air, not using much at all of the energy stored within him, if he used it all too quickly he would have to give himself time for it to regenerate so he had learned over the past months on his own how to use it in subtle manners so ast o make it more useable over a prolonged period of time instead of one powerful strong burst.

He closed the distance quickly, the man stunned seeing the arc of his thrown dagger his eyes going wide it froze him for a moment, just long enough for the trained soldier to do what needed to be done, as the third dagger came to hand, he used a stronger jolt of energy to keep the man's hand steady while with a powerfull arc he curied his bastard sword in the man's neck, cutting through tendon and muscle alike, it was exceedingly sharp, a man must maintain his tools above all else. the man fell to the ground Ranger's sword still buried in his neck. "they never take the easy way" he remarked ot Cedric Ellington, who had watched the exchange in his tavern without the horror you would normally expect from a tavern owner in his situation, but Cedric was known to be fairly go with the flow, having questionable past associations himself, though now he was mostly legit. Ranger tossed him a bag of coins "for the cleanup, best go notify the guard, this won't go over well at all" he said sitting down. "And give me some more whiskey will ya, if i have to deal with these mouth breathers I might as well do it with something firm in me stomach."

With that he sat down at the bar, waiting for what he assumed would be his arrest, in any other town, he might have been able to get away with it, but he doubted that would be the case here with his past history in the town. He did have a witness though and HAD acted in self defense, he had tried to resolve the situation peacefully. He didn't know how this would end. "Oh, and one more thing, can you send a messenger for me, to my employer that way at least I can collect payment, if it so happens that i perish before it can be collected, keep it, I'll make it worth your while either way friend"