Hunt for the Relic

[Azure Ambrosine]

She had never been this far away from home before. It was a strange feeling, for she was still quite close. She had crossed the narrow length of the country of Italy, to Gargano National Park, on a mission to retrieve a stolen item. It was rare that anyone could steal from the churches of Rome, especially the Vatican, but it had happened, and here she was. Hunting down the thief and the relic to bring back home.

Perhaps it was ironical, a daemoness, with eyes as dark as blood and a frightening blue appearance, was chasing down a stolen Holy Relic for the church. But she was quite loyal to them, a ‘nun’ in her own regards- A Mamba, or a priestess, from the Daemons of Rome, a Faction closely tied to the Vatican. She was more religious than some of the Cardinals, faking it in hopes of one day living in luxury as a Pope. Albeit she had many Gods, and was born as an enemy of the church simply by her blood, she fought hard for them. Only because of her Faction though.

Azure had spent many days following the trail of the thief. She knew his face, for the act had been caught on a video camera, but that was all. She had followed her sources, who told her he was hiding out in the Gargano forests, probably waiting to catch a ride across the sea. She couldn’t allow that. Crossing either the Mediterranean or the Adriatic lead to several countries and her jurisdiction was Rome. She was already out of there, and if he got to that boat she would lose all hopes of finding him. She didn’t get sent out often, but her combined knowledge of fighting and relics made her suitable. That and the fact everyone of importance was busy.

She was armed, and carried around a backpack with a few supplies. She would have to scour these forests, and quickly. The staff and local authority knew as well, and regularly sent out patrols. It wasn’t the most valuable relic, but it was still sacred and worth a pretty penny. She was to retrieve it at any cost, but also had the contradictory order of keeping herself hidden from humans. She couldn’t work with them, not with her otherworldly looks. A hood covered her face, but she was quite hot in it. She couldn’t hear anyone nearby, so slipped it off her head, to get a breath of fresh air.

[Rennia Trayvold]

Having been brought into the area on business of her own, Rennia had made her way through the Italian Peninsula from the south. She had taken the unusual path of having stopped by Sicily first, just to take in the sights. Then she landed on the 'toe' of Italy. It wasn't the quickest route to Rome, but she was neither in a rush to get to Rome, nor had she had the opportunity to explore Italy's famous winding roads since she had gotten her new toy forty years ago. That only meant one thing... road trip.

Rennia had taken great care to plot out a nice trip from the tip of Italy up to Rome. It did take her across the peninsula unnecessarily, but she wasn't bothered by this fact. It took her on the smaller roads which had more twists to them, and then took her up past a nice park. Despite the lack of desire to reach Rome in any particular hurry, Rennia found herself making great time. That however had little to do with her desire to reach her destination, and more towards enjoying herself on the way there. At every opportunity she had, she opened the monster machine up. It was a habit of hers that almost got her into a serious amount of trouble on a couple particular instances. The woman had narrowly avoided being pulled over on a few occasions by wandering patrol cars. She had made sure to get the vehicle cleared by the Italian government, but speeding was still a serious violation... and she had no interest in finding out just to what degree a foreigner would get into if they had gotten pulled over for going in excess of twice the speed limit.

Still, whenever it was quiet, Rennia would sink the petal to the floor. The machine would respond by roaring as fuel and oxygen were forced into the combustion chambers, creating an impressive amount of horsepower and torque that launched the vehicle forward. A trip that might have taken her a good six and a half hours ended up taking... less than three.

Finally she had reached the park and brought the vehicle to a stop. She set the park brake and shifted the vehicle into neutral, letting her listen to the sound of the idling engine rumble for a few minutes before she shifted it back into gear, popped the brake, and shut it off. The daemoness gave a soft sigh before she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. She twisted about in her seat and reached back behind her to grasp what might appear to have been a long thin wooden staff that had a length of some sort of cord wrapped about it. Any intelligent being might recognize it for what it was. An unstrung longbow. Having grabbed her bow, Rennia pushed herself out of the vehicle, locked the door, and gently closed it.

The fiendish woman quickly slid the weapon underneath her cloak, easily working it into the holster she had made for it. Normally it might have stuck out, but between her height and size, as well as the fact the cloak wrapped around her frame, the bow was hidden well underneath. The daemoness then walked to the far side of the car and opened the door, only to lock it and reach inside for the final piece she needed. After closing the door, the woman secured over her shoulder and along her back, the item that she had pulled out from the passenger seat. It appeared to be a long bag or cloth type case that held an object inside it. To the informed, it was clearly a rifle bag. The size likely indicating an extra-full-sized rifle. With that said and done, the daemoness took off towards the park.

It took little effort to slip into the place, being as open as it was and the fact she was good at not being seen when she chose to. Once inside she began to wander around idly, taking in the sights and sounds at her leisure. Though Rennia would never admit it, there was something about nature that she admired. While her favorite creature was the wolf, she still found herself enjoying other animal life, as well as the scenery found only in nature.

She continued to idly wander about the place until she spotted another individual afar. Rennia quietly stood there and tilted her head as the being pulled off her hood. Well this was unexpected.... came the first thought to Rennia's mind. Even from the distance Rennia caught the unusual hue to the woman's face. Though she could see part of the woman's eyes from here, they appeared to be mostly dark. Which didn't seem extremely odd to Rennia, as every eye was different, and some had large irises... The skin however, that was a given that the woman wasn't normal. Either she spent an -extreme- amount of time out of any form of light, which would more likely produce a whiter skin... or she wasn't... entirely normal. But this was Italy.. and that much was to be expected.

After a moment of gazing upon the individual, Rennia made her way forward, keeping her gaze forward and down as if she hadn't noticed the other woman yet. Barring the woman's flight from being noticed, Rennia's path wouldn't take her into a collision course, but would wind up leading her close to her.

[Alekzander Faustine]

Alekzander had taken the relic with ease. Not that it interested him personally. He had been hired to steal the relic for five hundred thousand dollars. Of course he had only received half up front. It had been so far the strangest contract he had ever taken. A phone call, and a voice offering him a deal, only the voice was distorted with one of the mechanical devices. He was to steal a certain relic from The Vatican in Rome. The Voice wanted the relic for certain reasons and he couldn't get it personally. The item on question wasn't worth even that much, but to The Voice it was worth vast more. So, Alekzander had taken the job and completed it easily.

Getting in to the Vatican was easy. He ha joined a tour. Halfway through the tour he had used his ability to unlock things at a touch to slip through a side door. Then making his way to the room that held the relic was easy, as not many guards patrolled the back rooms and hallways. The only guard he had come across was easily dispatched with a good slam of his forehead against the wall. He had taken the relic and walked right out. It had literally been that simple.

Now here he was, wandering though these woods guided by only his innate sense of the sea to her to get on his own catamaran craft and leave to a port city across the Mediterranean in the port City of Alexandria where he was suppose to hand the relic over and receive his final payment. He sniffed and smiled, smelling the salt on the air as he approached the sea. Stepping out from the trees he crossed the sand to his boat and leapt on to it. He knew he was being hunted, and had to leave quickly. He revved the engines and spun away from the shore and began to speed out to sea.

[Azure Ambrosine]

Perhaps it was imagination, but as Azure stood there, listening, she could have sworn she heard footsteps. Very light, almost unnoticeable, only caught because she was standing there listening for a sign exactly like that. But, much louder, came the sound of a boat engine starting up. The loud metal purr ripped through the forest, scaring a few flocks of birds into a flight. There was simply no time! Despite the suspiciously light treading, she knew her target was headed for a boat. She could not deal with whatever silent hiker or officer happened to be close-by.

Throwing the hood back over her face, covering most of her strange blue-gray complex, she adjusted the backpack slightly before taking a dash. When time was short, she couldn’t simply idle by and hope to sneak up on him, she had to catch him, and get to that boat. Hopefully no one would target her, thinking she was the thief, but the boat would probably summon a few people. She had to be there first, she couldn’t simply let humans witness her take someone down. Especially with her abilities.

Her wings felt cramped, as she ran, dodging trees, jumping over fallen trunks and ducking under the low hanging branches. They were tucked in tight, causing a little bulge in the cape, and were being flattened by the backpack. (Getting it over her wings had been easy, by unclipping the strap and simply reclipping it over her arm. Her wings weren’t too big, so it didn’t take an insane amount of loosening. Plus, there was the fact that her wings did not commence at her shoulder blades, but lower down her back, while their tip only touched the shoulder). The tips probably showed under the cape, as the material would catch in the wind created by her running.

Soon, the smell of sea salt stung her nose, while the engine’s purring grew louder. She was almost there. She broke through a clearing of trees and skid to a stop as to not fall off the cliff she found herself at. A few rocks fell into the water below. She scanned the ocean, before seeing it. A catamaran. She scanned the deck and saw a familiar face: the one she had seen on camera.

[Rennia Trayvold]

Rennia didn't need but a split instant to put two and two together. She heard the sound of a boat engine rev and then saw the woman she'd spotted pulling up her hood and dashing off in the same direction. Rennia's gaze shot in the direction of the boat herself and for a fraction of a second she debated on what her next move would be.

She grasped at the strap of the rifle slung across her back and she herself took off at high speed in the direction. Those long legs gave her an incredibly quick stride, letting her fly through the forest. Only when she had to get through a tight spot or dodge a thick growth of trees did she show even the slightest sign of having any trouble.

Her attention split into several directions. Part was focused on what was directly up ahead, making sure she jerked left or right to avoid slamming into a tree. Another part was concentrating on what was behind her. This was to ensure that nothing snagged that rifle and did damage to it or her. Yet another part was pondering about the girl ahead of her. The skin coloration suggested that she was a daemon like her. Being in Italy, the first thing she considered was that this one... was from Rome. Though that meant she was a long ways away from 'home'. This also meant she was after something to do with that boat...

The last part of her mind was centered on said boat. She listened to it at focused on the way the boat sounded and where the sound came from in relation to her. Instead of chasing after the girl directly, she bent her course to put her closer to the boat. Finally when she came out of the woods she spied both the boat and the girl. The girl was slightly off to her side, down maybe a few dozen yards. The boat was somewhat ahead of her and moving away.

Rennia snapped her gaze to the girl, then the boat. Another split instant decision ran through her mind as suddenly she pulled the rifle bag off of her shoulder. In another instant she had the bag opened and pulled her rifle out. In the span of the third second she had the bi-pod snapped on and locked into place, and started pulling the legs down into standing position. By the time the fifth second rolled around she was screwing on the suppressor. Finally, by the tenth second the snap of the magazine securing into place told her she was ready to go.

Already mostly prone Rennia scooted back and got herself situated behind the rifle. She then reached forward and removed the caps off of either end of the scope. As her hand was coming back, it grabbed the charging handle of the massive bolt on the M107 .50 cal. The sound of heavy metal being pulled back and released forward informed her that a round was now live in the chamber. Finally she moved her hand back go the pistol grip, but kept her finger far away from the trigger as she sighted up the boat.

Her first goal was to examine the boat. A quick tilt of the scope brought it into sight. Immediately the first thing she spotted was the man on the deck. Then she began her search for it's engines. She searched for any sign of an outboard motor, or any engine housing she could find. The beauty of the .50 cal. was that it was excellent for one particular role. It was a good anti-material rifle. Material in this case often referred to numerous things. These things ranged from mines to light armor. The fifty was even good at piercing engine blocks, which she would do in this case if need be.

Rennia had no idea why the other woman was interested in the boat, but she wasn't about to gun the man down to find out. If she was going to shoot anything, the first round would be to disable... THEN the next move would be decided upon.....

[Alekzander Faustine]

Alekzander pushed the throttle forward slightly more. He turned almost completely around and watched the beach. Movement caught his eye and he smiled. It wasn't just one, but two. However they where seperate. One simply stood there staring after him as if dumbfounded. He doubted that, she was only thinking quickly. The other was moving about furtively, putting something together. Something fairly long, then the second being disappeared. Alekzander narrowed his eyes. A sniper....gone prone and was sighting in. Well then....that was simply not going to do.

With a thrust he slapped the throttle forward to full blast and depressed a button upon the board before him setting the boat to go straight and at the set speed (once it was achieve) in to the open ocean. In the same fluid motion he spun about. He held his hand open palm up and water expanded from it. It was thin as a sheet of paper, and almost five feet by five feet wide and long. He angled it catching the sun and sending a brilliant glare of sunlight directly at the female who had clearly fallen prone with her sniper rifle. He hoped that glare would blind her enough to allow the boat to put enough distance between them he would be out of range. If not....he would defend himself. Something he was all to good at doing. Treasure hunting wasn't the safest occupation, an being shot at was actually a common place. Even by snipers, though it wasn't as common.

[Azure Ambrosine]

Perhaps she had been right; perhaps she had heard someone earlier. For now, on the ground below and near her, someone had arrived. They paid her no mind, instead quickly setting up a rifle, probably to shoot at the boat or the thief. The latter of which had noticed them, coaxing the boat into a quicker speed, pushing the throttle forward. Only ten seconds had passed, but every second was precious. The boat was now in full speed.

The thief soon revealed that he was no mere human. He called upon the element in which he was surrounded, a spray of water shooting towards the sniper. It didn’t reach her mysterious aid, but it was probably enough to blind the woman, whom was looking through a scope. She didn’t pay much attention to the sniper, not having the time to take it in as well.

Her decision was instantaneous. A quick undoing of a clip and the backpack thudded to the ground. Another swift motion and the buttons holding the cloak came undone, fluttering down to join the backpack. Perhaps it would fly away, but she didn’t care. No, she was discarding the important rule: Don’t let yourself be seen. It was her main goal to get the relic back, after all. Her wings snapped open, the blue and black luster shining dully under the sunlight. It was dangerous, flying out to go meet him, as he was surrounded by an element he could control with ease. There was no way she could keep up with the boat either, her endurance would fade much quicker than the engine’s. But Azure was intensely loyal, and since this was a mission the Daemons of Rome had given her, she would try to the best of her ability to complete it. Even if it meant she would die trying. She leapt into the air, the flapping holding her aloft.

But, before all this, and during all this, Azure was performing something vital. She was praying. And albeit this may seem useless to many, it gave Azure power. She was a Mamba, a class that was rare in modern days, albeit was revered before. She prayed, and was calling upon a Hysteria. Despite the fact she was far from an adept Mamba, she had that power in her arsenal. So, while the backpack was being undone, while her wings unfolded, while she leapt in the air, her lips were moving. “I call upon the loveliest of beings, the Goddess Aine. I ask that She grants me her aid, casting Her spell upon this enemy. I ask for her Blessing, and the infliction of her Curse. I call upon the powers of Love.”

Of course, such fancy wording was not needed; she could have said much less and still used her ability. But she had been raised to be respectful of the Gods. And so, her Hysteria was cast, as the man was concentrating on spraying his water towards the sniper, she set in place the prayer ability. It would cause him to fall in love and pursue it. She did not know what he would fall in love with: perhaps the boat, perhaps the water, perhaps the shore, perhaps herself or the sniper. But he would pursue it, and it would delay him, for there was only one way a Hysteria could be broken.

[Rennia Trayvold]

Unfortunately for the man, his ploy did not work as he intended due to the scope having an anti-glare surface that prevented the sunlight from blinding her. However, it did the job well enough to prevent her from getting a proper sight on the the man or the ship. Unfortunately, while his plan may have worked, she wasn't going to be thwarted that easily.

Rennia seemed completely oblivious to the other woman as she went about removing her backpack and taking flight. Rennia was solely concentrating on her objective and what she would do next, making a split instant decision in her mind as to her next course of action.

Having been tracking the ship as it accelerated, she kept her rifle trained in that general direction. Then she did something that he might not have expected. The woman flipped the safety with her thumb and slid her finger in between the trigger guard and the trigger. Then, approximating on a hunch, she squeezed the trigger.

Inside the rifle, the hammer was released and sprung forward, striking the firing pin which snapped into the center of the round's rear casing. Inside the case of that .50 BMG round the powder ignited and began to expand, putting pressure on all sides of the case. The front had the least resistance, and thus was the first to go. In the briefest of instances that round sprang forward, rushing down the barrel. Those grooves began to force the round into the spiral which would stabilize it's flight. At the same time the pressure began to force the casing back, pushing against the spring tension of the bolt, and forcing it back to eject the casing and strip a new round which would be forced into the chamber on the rebound.

The round passed where the muzzle brake would have normally been, except this time it had been replaced by a 'suppressor'. This device didn't really 'silence' the weapon, but helped to limit the sound coming off of it, so that it wouldn't deafen the person firing it. From the end of the suppressor a small fountain of flame shot out behind the escaping round. The suppressor helped to minimize this as well, but there was only so much it could do against the mighty .50 bmg round. Only partially slowed due to a lighter load, as well as the suppressor, that round sliced through the air, still traveling well in excess of the speed of sound. This indeed was where most of the noise came from, as the bullet produced it's own sonic boom.

The speed of the round was such that it was almost out to it's target before the next pull of the trigger followed it. The gap had only been all of perhaps one or two seconds, but it was enough.

The first round would collide with the barrier of water, which while thick enough to prevent her from seeing behind it, would not have been enough to stop the speeding round, lest it was reinforced. Barring that, the round would simply toss the water aside and sail on towards it's target, it's trajectory not even altered.

If the round wasn't stopped, it would continue going until it struck an object hard enough to stop it. In this case, she had been aiming right below the waterline on the side of the boat, aiming to puncture the side, and likely the far side. She hoped that the holes would allow water into the boat (if what she struck had any open space within it). The second round would soon follow suit, followed by another, and another. Each time Rennia would adjust her aim, attempting to advance it on the speeding boat, to not only follow it's motion, but to also advance the round down the length of the boat.

She was firing blindly, but unless the boat changed course, or the elemental took preventative measures, nine out of the ten rounds would hit relatively where she aimed, puncturing holes in the side of the boat. Two of the holes would likely be above the waterline, but that would only be beneficial to her goal, allowing proper ventilation as the water would flood into the boat's internals.

Afterward, she would reach into her bag for a second magazine, being prepared for another round if need be...

((Forgive me If I'm assuming, but I am operating on the assumption that this is a small/midsized catamaran much like www.indiayachtpage.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Catamarans-Yacht-Charters-India-Mumbai-6.jpg
but with engines instead of a sale, or maybe it does have a sail. But the theory behind this is that puncturing one of the two hulls will at least cause it to list, if not completely capsize ^^ but again, just an assumption.))