Silent as a....(Basic stealth)

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

First cycle of Cyraxtum in the Season of Summer

ooc: For the first few posts and possibly the whole thread, I will self-mod.

Kalenel arrived five mintutes early to the designated spot in the Southern Quarter. On his body, he wore only his normal clothing and his cloak, deciding it best to leave any crowns and his dagger at home. As he waited in the silent alley, checking and double-checking the slip of paper containing his training information, Kalenel thought of the actual reasons he was taking this class. There were many possible reasons, but the one Kalenel accepted best was that it would lead to better things.

And who knows, he might actually have a knack for it...

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

The moon had finally reached his highest point when Kalenel thought to leave. His instructor had not shown up yet and the young rogue thought the whole thing a ruse. Finally giving in, Kalenel let out a loud sigh and started at the exit of the alley. He stopped suddenly, his keen elven ears pricking up just as he was hit in the back from behind. Out of pure instinct, Kalenel dove forward and turned to face his attacker, ripping out his dagger as he did so. The fire in his eyes was quickly doused though as he looked upon a smiling vysstichi. "Lesson one, always be alert!"

His instructor was a vyystichi of no nobility, looking to be of the same roots of where Kalenel was now. He looked to be about Kalenel's age, which means he could be a few decades older due to the life span of the dark creatures. Upon his body were numerous scars, none of which that bad except for a particularly viscious looking one running down his right arm. He was quite slender, having almost no muscle at all. The eyes of his instructor were stern though, more than most he had ever seen. "I am Taval, your stealth instructor."

"You are Kalenel, correct?" Offering a hand to the kneeling rogue. "Now get up, you have much to learn..."

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

For the next half a candlemark, the two dark elves talked of their past and of their present situations, and actually came to find that they shared many things in common. Seeing as they only had so much time on the surface, Taval cut to the lesson.

"Their are two keys to success in the field of stealth, alertness and stealth. Alertness, becaues you need to be alert of what might effect your visibilty and noise level. Silence is key because you must know how to work and move your body to stay silent and unseen." Tavol said all this while walking around Kalenel, examining him. His actions were not intiminading though, due to the fact that the two were practically the same age. Kalenel showed not his thoughts though, knowing the words to be wisdom and soaking in every word.

"Tell me Kalenel, what are some ways you might accomplish this?" Tavol questioned, trying to keep up his wise act.

Kalenel paused before answering, gathering all of his thoughts so he could give the best answer. "By avoiding spots where the noise of movements might be increased, like broken glass or dry leaves." Kalenel again paused to fully consider the question. "Knowing what you pursue and your surrounding are essential also."

Taval nodded at the answer, and preceded to show Kalenel some basic techniques on how to be quieter while moving. First, he showed him the correct way to walk when you are in need of stealth. "You must come down lightly on your feet, first on the side near the toes, and then lightly coming down on the rest of the foot." Tavol showed him slowly the technique several times before asking him to give it a try.

After several rounds of Taval critiqueing Kalenel's attempts, they went over the keys to stealth again before the first lesson ended. After their talk, Taval instructed Kalenel to practice the walk that night and return the same time tommorrow in a different alley, this one closer to a tavern.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

This was the perfect chance!

Kalenel was hidden well, or so he thought, at the back of the alley when he saw Taval arrive. His instructor had his back to him and was apparently waiting for his student to arrive. Kalenel had trained hard the night before and thought the best way to show his trainer all he had done was to sneak up and surprise Taval like the instructor had done the night before. Crouching down and stepping lightly as he was taught, Kalenel made his way to Taval, keeping as quiet as he could manage. When the brash vyystichi was just within reach, Kalenel and Taval heard a loud snap as the rogue snapped a twig with his feet. "Nice try..." Taval offered with a smile as he looked over his shoulder. Even without saying, Kalenel knew Taval had heard him coming a long way away.

"You must learn to synchronize moving silently and watching your footing. You kept silent, but got excited and forgot to be alert. Patience, Kalenel, is as important as Alertness and Silence when it comes down to it." Taval lectured silently as he looked upon the entrance to the nearby tavern. From their position, the two vyystichi were hidden well and could observe. The rogue Kalenel was still confused about the whole situation, but Taval spoke once again before Kalenel could speak up.

"I want you to follow a drunk out of the bar and give him a scare. If you can prove to me that you can sneak up on a drunk human, then you are surely a worthy student!" Taval said overly excited. Was this really the way to learn stealth Kalenel wondered, but couldn't help going along with the fun. The pair waited until one particularly fat, and appearantly drunk human stumbled out of the bar. If careful, Kalenel could easily sneak up on the drunk and surprise him. Laughing to himself, Kalenel thought of the human as the dummy young warrior's hit while beginning their training. This could do nothing but hone his still blooming skills!

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Kalenel, with Taval behind him somewhere, followed the unaware drunk a few blocks untill the he stopped at a wide alley. Appearently, the drunk knew he couldn't make it home in his condition and stopped somewhere to rest. Kalenel peeked across the corner after the human disappeared around it. What he saw was expected, with the drunk leaning against a wall with one hand as the majority of his back faced Kalenel.

With his heart pumping wildly, Kalenel preceded silently toward the man. He made sure he came down on each step on the outer edge of his foot and bringing down the foot silently. He had become better overnight, through his personal practice and hoped it would see him through. He kept one hand in front of him in case he was caught off balance or if he was surprised, and the other close to the collar of his cloak. This arm position aided his balance and prepared him for any surprises. Keeping his head level with his shoulders, he was getting closer to the drunk.

Without the notice, the drunk lurched for a second then looked quickly behind him. But luckily, the quick witted Kalenel hid himself behind a mound of trash before he was seen. Taval looked from a distance and smiled, happy with his students quick reaction time.

Waiting a second before continuing again, Kalenel was right behind the drunk and still was not noticed. With agile hands, he took his dagger out of his belt and swiftly cut the belt of the human, dropping his pants to the floor. Before he could get his hands on the pesky elf, Kalenel was 5 paces away, facing the human and smiling. The drunk, not thinking of his fallen bottoms, took a step and fell straight to the floor. Adding to the humor, his face landed in a wet pile of mud.

The pair were off in no time to share a drink at the bar, planning to meet the next night at the original alley for the next lesson.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Kalenel and Taval arrived at the same time for training the next evening, ready to put the finishing touches on Kalenel's training. It was apparent to Taval that Kalenel had skill and the field, and could go a long way with it. In a matter of brightenings, Kalenel had become rather skilled in the stealth walk for a beginner, with his quick wits playing no small part in that. After a brief greetings, Taval began that days lesson.

"I am proud of you, as I told you before Kalenel. You showed great promise last night, but you still have many things to work on. You must improve your patience and your alertness. If you do that, I have no doubt you will go far in this field." Taval ended with a smile before going deeper into the lesson.

"There are more techniques to learn for the basic studies of stealth, so pay attention. There may be times when you will have no mound of trash to hide behind, and may be forced to avoid detection on the spot. To do this effectivily, you must have a dark cloak, as you have. With much haste, fall unto a sitting postition with your legs crossed with your head between your legs. Using your cloak as cover above you, it is possible that you may still go on undetected." Taval showed Kalenel the technique several times before asking him to give it a try.

Kalenel's first few attempts at the technique did not go so well, finding complications at making everything one fluid motion. It was a complicated technique, and Taval showed Kalenel a few pointers that would help him with the move. For one, Kalenel's footing was wrong before he went into the movement, but he quickly corrected that under Taval's guidence. By the end of a few candlemarks, The young rogue had the move down rather well.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

The moon was at it's highest point as Taval started the next technique to be shown to the rogue. Kalenel was making great progress for a beginner, and his basic training was drawing to a close. What kind of test would Taval give his student to end the lessons?

"The stealth crawl...It is a technique to be used when you come upon the situation where you must stay very low to the ground and still make movement. It is done by getting in the push-up position and moving one side of your body at a time." Taval lectured before actually showing Kalenel the move. It was rather simple to learn, but not that easy to master.

The rogue flopped down in the position he was shown, and proceeded to move down and back up the alley a few times. It was rather simple, but practice was needed as well as conditioning to master the technique.

With that, Kalenel was sent away until the next night, which was to be his final lesson and test. His heart raced as he thought of what that night might hold, but calmed and readied himself to practice everything he had learned up untill now.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Inside his heavily curtained hovel in the Southern Quarter, Kalenel practiced through the day before his meeting with Taval. He was sure of his skills now, confident that he would be able to handle whatever Taval had planned for him. With his rugged black cloak upon his shoulders and it's hood upon his head, Kalenel made his way toward their training alley.

Keen eyes darting each way, Kalenel emerged into the alley seeing no sign of Taval. He did however, find a note nailed to the wall. Ripping it from the wall, Kalenel read it quickly.

'The bouncer of the inn we were at a few brightenings ago has something of mine. The item is encased in a thin black case that reflects light. Get it, and your lesson is complete.'

Kalenel smirked after completing it, knowing that Taval was watching him from some angle. Crumbling the note in his hand, the fallen prince made his way off into the night toward the inn. He had already possessed all the skills he could learn from the class, and saw this as a test to himself. He would have the item in his hands by the end of the night, that he was sure of.

The inn in his sights now, Kalenel stuck to the shadow's a few dozen paces away from the entrance and used his keen darkvision to observed the scene. After about a half a candlmark, the rogue saw nobody even resembling a possible bounce go in or out. But when his patience was almost up, Kalenel noticed a large muscular man emerge out of the entrance. The thing that really caught his eye was a gleam of light that came from a small object in his hand. The human had the item Kalenel was going for, and so the chase was on.

Kalenel followed the bouncer silently for more than a few blocks, coming close to the edge of the Southern Quarter. The bouncer was headed home, that much was apparent as the two came into a much more residential area of the city. Stopping at a rugged house, the bouncer headed for the door and went inside. In the darkness of night, Kalenel went around to the back of the house to observe the man further.

A lantern lit the hovel as Kalenel peered inside, slightly stinging his eyes. He shielded them and looked for any opening to the house. As he did so, the bouncer prepared to sleep and placed the black case upon a desk next to a rolled up mat. A half candlemark after the lantern went out and the bouncer fast asleep, Kalenel crept inside the window silently.

His heart racing, Kalenel relied on his training as he walked silently toward the black case. The bouncer snored softly, adding to Kalenel's confidence. The case now within reach, Kalenel went for it and snatched it into his hands. Success was short lived though, for the human rose from his sleep and a lantern was lit out of the opposite corner of the room.

Kalenel went for his dagger...

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

The bouncer's strong arms grasped Kalenel's as the rogue attempted to flee. Kalenel looked into the eyes of the human, expecting to see rage. Adrenaline pumping, Kalenel slashed out with his dagger and missed horribly. The human clutched the rogue tightly, and....was he laughing....

Kalenel saw the test for what it was when Taval came out of a corner clapping his hands in approval. The bouncer, who was also part of the joke on Kalenel, laughed as he showed the prince he meant no harm. "You have done well Kalenel in showing your skills tonight. I'm not so sure my big friend would of been so lucky if I hadn't told him what was to come." Taval said with a smile as he motioned to Kalenel to open the sack.

Inside was a leather mask covered in black cloth, with holes for the eyes and mouth. A strap of leather was used to secure it to the head, with a rugged but working buckle supporting it.

Kalenel looked to his friend and smiled, showing he took the practical joke as what it was. After they shared a laugh, Kalenel headed home with the mask for a long sleep. He had his excitment for the day, and had weapons training with Faust the next day.

Oh, how his life had changed.

ooc: Awaiting approval...

[Kalinda]

Basic Stealth Approved!