[ The message from Mitsuhide - 'Tenkai,' as he styles himself - was concise but clear, and Daud wasted no time in grabbing an extra dagger, his wristbow, even his old Whaler's blade and bolting out the door. Why Mitsuhide, Tenkai, whatever the fuck he wants to call himself had summoned Daud is an open question, and not one that's worth the energy of consideration. What matters is reaching them. What matters is keeping Xu Shu from some fatal fall.
Because the bastard's with Xu Shu; that much is clear. The bastard's going for Xu Shu's blood, maybe his soul. Because Xu Shu and Mitsuhide are already locked in combat, and there's precious little time to bring this to a halt. As fast as he can. He has to reach them as fast as he can, and what are they doing together, why have they met at all, Daud doesn't doubt it was Xu Shu who drew out Mitsuhide. That it's part of Xu Shu's unspoken strategy.
The foolish boy. The persistent, well-intentioned, damnably foolish boy.
This has all gone too far. It's time to take care of the bastard once and for all. ...If he can. If it's possible to combat the magic Mitsuhide possesses. Daud's only seen a small sample of the bastard's abilities, and that sample was enough to warn of tumultuous depths of power, something even the Void might not be able to push back.
Still. It's worth a try.
It's been years since Daud used his own abilities. Years since he called on the Void and felt its sharp jolt through his system. After everything that'd happened, after Dunwall and the Empress and the deep damage Daud had done, he'd vowed to never use the black-eyed bastard's 'gifts' again. For years he'd succeeded, but now... Now, that vow has to be broken. If Daud's going to stand any chance against the force that is Mitsuhide, he'll need to call on the Void.
The years of disuse and severance from the Void put him at a disadvantage. He doesn't doubt he'll still be able to transverse space or draw objects from a distance. Doesn't doubt he'll fall into the motions easy enough. He also isn't fool enough to believe he'll be able to put the powers to their best use. Not without practice. Not without time to practice. As it is, he'll need to slip back into old habits as best he can and hope, hope some of it works against the bastard.
(He'll need to hope as well that Xu Shu might be impacted by some measure of the Void's powers. Is banking on his own ability to halt time around Xu Shu, if not around Mitsuhide. Because if he can keep the boy out of the way, he can knife the bastard on his own terms. If he can keep Xu Shu stilled in time, he can keep the man from doing something he'll regret, something Xu Shu shouldn't have to do. The boy's got a soft heart, in spite of all his fighting prowess; best to let him stay that way.)
Finding and getting into the forest was simple enough. He hadn't anticipated the traps, though. He's come across two so far, narrowly avoiding their damage, cursing internally. Shit. Shit, it's the last thing he needs right now. They're Xu Shu's work; he knows that much almost instantly, calculates based on their style and on a supposition that it was Xu Shu who'd drawn MItsuhide here. Smart of the boy to rig the odds in his favor (and with such deft traps, well-hidden and keenly honed; it's what Daud would expect of the man). Irksome that Daud's left to navigate them when he needs, needs to reach the ongoing battle.
Now he sets off a third trap, avoids a shower of blades only to catch one deep against his shoulder, steel slicing through fabric and flesh alike. For a moment he catches himself on one elbow, pressed close to the ground and taking a breath. For all of his persistent training, he's more out of practice than he'd care to admit. Older than he'd like to say, and in his present urgency he feels the toll of time more than ever.
No time for dwelling on that, though; there's noise ahead. A shudder of sound and a sudden flaring glow of flames. Hard to tell who that came from. Hard to say who's currently under attack. All Daud knows is that he needs to be there, now. Pushing himself upward again, he rushes warily, purposefully toward the conflagration. ]
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Because the bastard's with Xu Shu; that much is clear. The bastard's going for Xu Shu's blood, maybe his soul. Because Xu Shu and Mitsuhide are already locked in combat, and there's precious little time to bring this to a halt. As fast as he can. He has to reach them as fast as he can, and what are they doing together, why have they met at all, Daud doesn't doubt it was Xu Shu who drew out Mitsuhide. That it's part of Xu Shu's unspoken strategy.
The foolish boy. The persistent, well-intentioned, damnably foolish boy.
This has all gone too far. It's time to take care of the bastard once and for all. ...If he can. If it's possible to combat the magic Mitsuhide possesses. Daud's only seen a small sample of the bastard's abilities, and that sample was enough to warn of tumultuous depths of power, something even the Void might not be able to push back.
Still. It's worth a try.
It's been years since Daud used his own abilities. Years since he called on the Void and felt its sharp jolt through his system. After everything that'd happened, after Dunwall and the Empress and the deep damage Daud had done, he'd vowed to never use the black-eyed bastard's 'gifts' again. For years he'd succeeded, but now... Now, that vow has to be broken. If Daud's going to stand any chance against the force that is Mitsuhide, he'll need to call on the Void.
The years of disuse and severance from the Void put him at a disadvantage. He doesn't doubt he'll still be able to transverse space or draw objects from a distance. Doesn't doubt he'll fall into the motions easy enough. He also isn't fool enough to believe he'll be able to put the powers to their best use. Not without practice. Not without time to practice. As it is, he'll need to slip back into old habits as best he can and hope, hope some of it works against the bastard.
(He'll need to hope as well that Xu Shu might be impacted by some measure of the Void's powers. Is banking on his own ability to halt time around Xu Shu, if not around Mitsuhide. Because if he can keep the boy out of the way, he can knife the bastard on his own terms. If he can keep Xu Shu stilled in time, he can keep the man from doing something he'll regret, something Xu Shu shouldn't have to do. The boy's got a soft heart, in spite of all his fighting prowess; best to let him stay that way.)
Finding and getting into the forest was simple enough. He hadn't anticipated the traps, though. He's come across two so far, narrowly avoiding their damage, cursing internally. Shit. Shit, it's the last thing he needs right now. They're Xu Shu's work; he knows that much almost instantly, calculates based on their style and on a supposition that it was Xu Shu who'd drawn MItsuhide here. Smart of the boy to rig the odds in his favor (and with such deft traps, well-hidden and keenly honed; it's what Daud would expect of the man). Irksome that Daud's left to navigate them when he needs, needs to reach the ongoing battle.
Now he sets off a third trap, avoids a shower of blades only to catch one deep against his shoulder, steel slicing through fabric and flesh alike. For a moment he catches himself on one elbow, pressed close to the ground and taking a breath. For all of his persistent training, he's more out of practice than he'd care to admit. Older than he'd like to say, and in his present urgency he feels the toll of time more than ever.
No time for dwelling on that, though; there's noise ahead. A shudder of sound and a sudden flaring glow of flames. Hard to tell who that came from. Hard to say who's currently under attack. All Daud knows is that he needs to be there, now. Pushing himself upward again, he rushes warily, purposefully toward the conflagration. ]