Dogura thought back to the fight, stupified that Wraith was nothing more than a killing machine. The thought had stricken him with crippling force. It would only be natural that Dogura was so easily defeated. This would have calmed the samurai, but upon hearing of this news, he was once again flung into a land of confusion. "Why..." Dogura directed his harsh tone at the creator. "Why would you teach him the arts of assassination? What did you plan to accomplish by this act?" Dogura stood straight up. His eyes had narrowed at the mad-man, he expected an answer, and fast.

OOC: Can anyone tell me what band I've been listening to? There are hints in post.

OOC: HNS, do you ever have classes these days?

IC:
Gorodo, for the first time, assumes a serious pose as Rose begins to speak. Hands firmly gripping the chair he stands behind, his eyes never leave the woman as she explains all that had happened. His stance is one of pure solemnity, and it is abruptly apparent how this man could have once been one of the most dangerous men in the criminal underground of the world. Those who bother looking at him can almost see him mentally recording every scrap of information she throws out about Wraith - most certainly Alpha would see it, but he too is paying incredibly close notice to Rose's words, trying to puzzle out who the impostor could be.

As Rose sits down, Dogura's sudden outburst catches Noval and Shada off guard. Gorodo merely glances at him, furrowing his brow. "Perhaps 'created' wasn't the best choice of words, boy," he says softly, as if correcting the Hylian with only a small portion of his awareness. "More like, I discovered him. He already had the qualities and training to make him an incredible assassin - I was just the one who nudged him in that direction.

"As to what I wanted to accomplish . . ." he slowly shakes his head, bringing his full attention to this question. Alpha nods mentally, understanding - if Gorodo was to mention Him, there is no telling what would happen. The man needs to focus his intellect on another reason. But the reason he gives surprises even the Sheikah: ". . . It wasn't about what I wanted, it was what I needed. You don't get far in the underground without creating enemies, and Wraith was just the best when it came to taking those foes of mine out."

Alpha laughs inwardly. 'Huh. He told the truth and nothing but the truth . . . just not the whole truth.' And if Alpha hadn't known better, he would never have guessed at the lack of information. Noval looks the informant in the eye. "Well, what are you thinking, Gorodo?" the general asks.

Gorodo fixes him with grave stare. "I've just got one question: has he been leaving them behind?"

Noval shakes his head, apparently understanding what 'them' refers to. "He has not. This is great proof that it may not be Wraith, but it could also mean that he has become much more heartless over the years . . . I'm not willing to discount any possibilities as of yet."

Gorodo nods. "I'd wager that it ain't him, then. Wraith was a magnificent killer if ever there was one, but he had his morals set as the highest of priorities. The fact that he stated his mission and then failed to accomplish it, couldn't use his staff correctly, and was able to manipulate fire so effectively is all the proof I need to know it for certain. Not to mention that his fighting style isn't that of Wraith's . . . we're looking at an impostor.

"But still, he's dangerous enough that you need to take him seriously. He's got the staff and the mask means he's got high connections - the staff of Wraith was left with me when he departed; I gave it to another overlord as a peace offering when I departed from my high position in the criminal underworld. The mask he wears he took with him; even I don't know what became of it or how this impostor got a hold of it."

The hylian's brow was furrowed. What he heard hadn't cleared anything up. Exactly the opposite actually. Now even more questions swirled through his head. Who was the imposter? Is the real Wraith still out there, waiting. Are the imposter, and the real assasin connected. That wasn't all. Some of the informants words he found vague. Pyre decided that it was time to speak.

"You say you made Wraith an assasin to get rid of the men threatening you? An assasin is a danger to everyone, especially one as skilled as Wraith. Who would be worth removing, that you would chose their downfall, instead of leaving Wraith a harmless man, no threat to anyone? I guess what I mean to say is, who would be more dangerous that Wraith?"

OOC: I would have to say Genesis; due to the 'Land of Confusion' in your post.

IC: What Gorodo said made sense to the Sheikah. You don't get far in the underworld without some muscle to back up your claim; especially if you mean to make your mark on such an unforgiving territory. Also having a top assassin on hand would mean that very few would question him due to 'health concerns' that may arise if they did so. It's also an easier task to get someone who is perfect for what you want and then turn them to your own means than it is to train someone for years yourself. Although matters of loyalty may arise.

He had to wonder; how did Gorodo, if he held a high postion in the underworld, manage to leave without retrebution? The man he gave the staff to must have a high level of honour, if he is the one responsable for him leading a quiet life. But such questions wouldn't help them get the answers they sought.

He decided to ask a question that seemed to be bothering him, yet nobody else. 'What are you referring to by them?' Wanting to be kept in the loop as much as possible.

OOC: WRONG! It be Disturbed. "Stupied" "Land of Confusion" "Stricken" Nice guess though.

IC: Dogura now had more facts on his side. Well, if that was not the real Wraith, then... And they all speak of how powerful the real Wraith was. Perhaps we're dealing with things we may not have controll over. Dogura was ready to speak, but held his tongue, as he was eager to hear the responce to Pyralin's question.

OOC: This is cool. Nice plot Alpha. You got me and my samurai thinking.

OOC: My classes don't start again until January 16, Alpha.

IC:
Rose was about to ask the same question as Pyre. Then she mentally shrugged. Her voice was still a bit worn out from telling about the fight with the imposter Wraith. She waited for Gorodo to answer the newly put forth question.

OOC: HNS, I hereby hate you.

IC:
Gorodo turns to Pyralin and gives him a smile that could abruptly be called malicious. "My boy, that was kind of the point. The strong prey on the weak, and that concept is swiftly learned by all who participate in the Underground. There was never anyone more powerful than Wraith . . . well, never anyone other than the master. But He wasn't one that anyone would've sent an assassin after anyways."

Shada speaks up. "And who exactly was this master?"

"That, young lady, is none of your business," Gorodo responds as curtly as possible, thrusting his pointer finger in her face. He seems to take no happiness from her resulting recoil. "One of the deals I insisted upon when agreeing to be Noval's informant was that I don't have to say a word about the master unless I feel like it. Which I don't." And both he and Alpha knew that if he was to say a word about Him, the true Wraith would assuredly strike again.

As Raven asks his question, Noval shrugs. "I had avoided the subject until I had Gorodo's opinion on the matter, but 'them' refers to one of Wraith's trademark 'signatures' that was left behind at each of his killings."

Gorodo interrupts, saying, "Wraith, as the most powerful assassin in the Underground, was highly coveted by every crime lord in existence. If they could pay the price, he and I would allow them to commission him for their own jobs. But Wraith always had the final word on whether or not he would accept the missions, and that's where the 'morals' aspect of his character that I mentioned earlier came into play."

"At every scene of his attacks, Wraith left behind two different items. The first," Noval says as he withdraws it once again from his cloak, "is the poisoned needle that was used to kill them. The second . . . the second was a stack of papers pinned to the body with the needle, a pile of information that he would gather about the victim."

Gorodo grins. "5000 deaths in a year is indeed a large number, but the top assassins can get that number without difficulty. Wraith set himself apart not only because he could decimate missions veteran killers found impossible, but his near-photographic memory - when he chose to use it - allowed him to skim through files on the victims and find evidence to justify their deaths."

"It turns out that every person Wraith killed had some sort of connections with the criminal practices," Noval says quietly. "It's astounding how many nobles were corrupt, and though a majority of them was under suspicion, no convicting evidence could be found on them. Had Wraith turned that information over to us rather than assassinate those people, he would be one of the greatest heroes in the minds of those following justice and Order." Hidden beneath his hood, Alpha raises an eyebrow. "But as it is, he's one of the most dangerous men in that realm. The Council of Wraith actually put together a court to try his victims posthumously for the crimes revealed by Wraith's notes, and it was found that over 50% of them would have gotten the death sentence - at least - had these practices come to light." Noval shrugs. "But there's still that other half to consider. All would have been imprisoned, most for life, but that is not the issue at hand. A vigilante is not something we can allow to continue, especially when murder is his primary practice.

"This Wraith, on the other hand, does not leave any information behind. His killings are either random or upon innocents, and the former assassin was not so corrupt as to do such things." Noval grins. "That's the bad news. The good news is that if it's not the true Wraith, then he's someone that can be taken down much more simply."

Pyralin raised an eyebrow and looked Gorodo for a moment before nodding slightly. He thought about the last thing that the man had said, and pondered its implications. Pyre knew that it would probably be best to stop the imposter assasin, but what if it was a trap. What if they were being lead to their deaths? He decided to be careful about how he asked his question, although still make his intent obvious.

"So you suggest that we take the imposter down?" The actual question he wanted to find the answer to was more along the lines of: What would you gain from taking the imposter down? Of course the hylian relized he didn't know the whole story. He wanted to see what some of the others, especially Alpha, would do, and ask.[/i]

"Of course we should take him down," Rose said. "You wouldn't let weevils run rampant in a field of corn, would you? My question is what is this simple method that can take down this fake Wraith?"

OOC: Does anyone else think it's weird that I compared people to corn?

OOC: mabye we should just use a scythe to harvest the corn

Pyre nodded at Rose, accepting that what she said was right. Letting the assasin run free, killing innocents was NOT an option. However he didn't think that a "simple" method was going to work. He said as much, "Simple? Finding him and confronting him would be the simple way. I don't think that that would be wise. Of course my knowledge on this subject is limited..."

Gorodo chuckles at Pyralin and Rose as they go back and forth. "First off kid," he interrupts, "I suggest you try to kill him solely because he's trying to kill you. I got nothing at stake in this stuff, so if you choose not to fight him, that's your problem. And as for your question, young lady," he says as he points his finger to Rose, "I didn't say there was a 'simple' way to get rid of this impostor. Since I don't know who he is, all I can say for sure is that he'll be easier to kill than taking out the real Wraith would have been.

"And you're right, kid," he adds, once again addressing Pyralin. "Confronting him probably won't do you too much good . . . unless you can get even more members into this little group of yours. Sounds to me like you guys actually stood a chance against the fake, but maybe larger numbers would shift the scales."

OOC: Oh, well. I hazarded a guess.

IC: 'So, you're saying that we should advertise the fact that we are going after Wraith? To try and beat him by weight of numbers? Isn't that a simple idea for someone who knows all about him. You must know more beyond throwing enough people at him will bring him down. For example; what is with the staff he wields? It's no ordinary staff.'

For someone who was meant to answer their questions about Wraith; so they could find a way to defeat him or at least learn more what they were up against. However all they had learned was that the Wraith they knew was a fake, which he and no doubt others had thought for some time, and that he used to leave a calling card of sorts. This being supplemented by a comment that anyone could have come up with was more than he could take.

Pyre thought over what had been said. He agreed with Raven. Just finding more people wouldn't be a good idea. "No. The more people who knew we were hunting "Wraith", the more chance word would get out about it. That might even bring the real Wraith down on us......" He stoped and considered the implications of what he just said. The hylian knew that having the real assasin hunting them would probably mean the end of their lives, he couldn't help but think what might happen. Heck, he didn't even know if the real Wraith was still alive.

Tayro's ears perched up once again. He absolutely hated when doors creacked. The sound would enter his ears then travelling to his mind, where the sound seemed to confuse himself, besides creating a great amount of headache. There was only one thing worse than that - chalk scratching on the board. Only a few moments past that reaction, when the young teenager regained his sense fully, did he look at the source of that dreaded sound to find a human around his mid-forties who wore casual clothing. The boy was rather surprised when he first saw him, seeing that his impression of a criminal mastermind was nothing like that, at least according to the various books he'd read. To him, criminal masterminds were people who wore black clothing - tuxedos - or something quite wealthy, and wore various types of jewelry - specially rings - on them, besides the fact of being vastly large to the sides, so to say... at least that was their descriptions in the various tomes he'd read about the subject. He shrugged. He knew that this Gorodo has retired of his past life as a criminal overlord, but according to a very famous volume he had read some time ago, one cannot actually leave a life of crime.

The next thing he knows, the Human in question opens up a secret passage - Great... Another one. - the mage apprentice thought at that moment - and everyone starts walking inside. Not wanting to get caught behind, the boy jumped from its sitting perch and followed suit. One thing that caught his attention was Alpha and this Gorodo's greeting. Something didn't seem quite right here, their speeches seemed lacking... and hollow, like they wanted to hide something... though what it was was, at that moment, undecipherable. Still, not wanting to miss any detail like a good detective, Tayro mentally noted this event, and simply continued on his way through the secret passageway, and turned right as indicated, to continue up a spiral staircase and to the far room, also indicated by Damera.

Guess the book didn't overreact at all. Old habits are hard to lose, huh? - was the Hylian's first thought as he entered the room of riches (as he had dubbed it). Most of the items who were displayed here were absolutely priceless, or so the man has made him think. He raised his hand to hsi mouth as he saw Raven's little passion emerge, and restrained any type of laughter. Seeing Shada sits down, the Hylian feels free to do the same, and so takes a seat on the sofa as he continues to observe everyone enter, and for this meeting to actually take place. His gaze keeps shifting between Gorodo and Alpha, yet seeing no other signs of that previous tension, the boy let it go... at least for now.

After fixing his position correctly - not one too stiff but not very relaxed at all, he proceeded in hearing what everyone had to say. He thought that he should first hear everyone's questions, and only past that he would voice his own. And so, the first moment of surprise was when the man started laughing like an hyena - at least, that was the comparison the boy thought of first-hand - making the teenager jump slightly from his seat. He certainly didn't expect such a reaction, nor did he await the answer that came past that. Created? In what sense? I mean, did he create him as a robot or a summoning enchantation - although this is quite unprobable, considering the amount of deaths it's hard to believe otherwise - or did he train him? - he thought. The latter was really the most obvious, but considering the man's killing spree the former isn't one to actually forget. The answer quickly comes after that, and the mage apprentice quickly takes various notes on the subject, believing that this information will be of the most high value when they meet again with this Wraith. True, the boy had not fought against the man previously, but he was probably equally targeted. Even if he wasn't, he wasn't going to let the man claim any more lives for his personal interest.

The boy continued to hear everything for a while, and at that moment, he had now acquired precious information. He now knew the full events regarding the battle - except for the cir sith part, yet it wasn't that important either - knew that although a cold-blooded killer, Wraith was also one of morale and principle and only killed for a reason - raising the boy's consideration for the man, as perhaps he wasn't only evil, and only part-evil - and only people connected to the crime world - and here the consideration went up slightly higher again - and the most important one, that the Wraith they saw is an impostor. If the man was an impostor, many other questions came to mind, and that fact seemed to make more questions arise instead of answering... yet this man probably couldn't answer to the most of them... and there was also the fact that the real Wraith might still be around somewhere... quite closer than he'd think. Still, the man being an imposter and failing his objective did level the field a bit, as it meant that the man still had not the skill of the real Wraith, and must still be 'in training', so to say. Thus, it would lead to the fact that it would be easier to take out than the real deal. Still, if they knew not of his self, how could they reach him? It would be better for them to find it, than him to appear when they least expect.

That's when it hit him. If it was a fake Wraith, that must mean it was then imitating Wraith. If so, then it would also try to mimic every of the real Wraith's costumes and habits, and this man being the creator of this assassin, who better person to answer about his habits and traits? The better they knew Wraith, the better they knew about the fake one. "Well then, seeing this man is attempting to mimic your assassin, then how about telling us of Wraith's old habits, places he used to go, weaknesses... everything. All that you can tell us about him is priceless information, and a means to find the fake one." - the boy spoke, with a serious tone of voice - not rash, but not gentle either.

Gorodo shrugs at Raven and Pyralin's words. "Hey buddy, I just call 'em like I see 'em. You came close with the force you had; logically it follows that a stronger force would be able to beat him." He turns away to look at a curtained window on the wall opposite the entrance. "As for his staff . . ."

Noval leans forward. Having never seen Wraith, it seems he too is interested in the man's weapon of choice. 'I know nothing about his style or anything - just his poisoned needles,' he realizes with a bit of annoyance. Beneath his cape, and thereby invisible to all, Alpha's muscles tighten. This information-giving had better not get out of hand . . .

Then Gorodo starts up again. "That staff of his is something he spent five months working on, after he got access to a different lord's library of spells and enchantments. It's easily concealable because, at most times, it is a mere cylinder that is just bigger than the hand grasping it. But its magic creates two metallic bars that extend its length out three feet in either direction." He makes hand motions in a small attempt to illustrate the concept. "The metal is light weight but incredibly durable.

"But that ain't the biggest thing to beware with the staff. It absorbs electricity, starting from the moment the bars are extended outward, from the air itself. Wraith knew a way to fully electrify the staff at will, but even without that if enough time elapses or an incredible deal of electricity enters the air - like the Zora's electrical shield - it can be fully energized. At that point, it won't matter whether he hits you or not; if he comes even relatively close to the mark, the shock will leap out at you. As you probably realized from the impostor's weaponry, Wraith's preferred element is that of lightning, and he created that staff to be an embodiment of electricity itself."

He turns back and looks Raven in the eyes. "If you ever go up against him again, and he uses that staff, do not use any electric-based techniques. That's the best advice I can give you concerning that weapon."

As Tayro speaks, Gorodo simply faces him, leans his head to one side, and shrugs again. "Wraith's habits, favorite places, weaknesses . . . well, he didn't enjoy being around people. His head was always buried in books, memorizing spells of all kinds. He liked electricity the most, but the guy was able to use thousands of abilities concerning any element known to man . . . and several previously unknown. His favorite places were in his quarters or in the library. And his weaknesses . . ." He frowns. "I don't know. He never failed, and he wasn't stupid enough to mention any kind of weakness that he had. This impostor undoubtedly has some, but the true Wraith . . . I couldn't say, even if I wanted to."