The dark red blood stained on the ally mixed in perfectly with the shadows of the night. Vencrest's blade remained in his sheath, and his hands remained at his side, but he had managed to kill this man, who was whimpering on the ground a mere moment ago. He had thought he was powerful, but now his singed body lied on the floor, in a puddle of his own blood. Trekella, the chaotic lupine stood at his side, panting slightly, black spots on the side of her mouth, were she had recently shot streams of flame from. The man was dead, they had killed him, by an order from a secret employer. They were hired to kill stray dogs.
The man stood before him, shrouded in shadows. He wore black clothing, and wore a katana blade at his side. A mask was wrapped his head, and only revealed his eyes. He appeared to be a ninja, a hired assassin. Yet this assassin was hiring the help of Vencrest, and his two allies, Valerik, and Saeborn. The man began to speak, his voice sounding muffled from the mask upon his face. "You must kill these men," He said, tossing a small scroll at Vencrest. "Once you have killed the first man on the list, meet Valerik and Saeborn at the Orc Grog inn, and collaborate to kill the rest of these men."
Vencrest caught the scroll swiftly, placing it in his pocket, not even bothering to read the names of the men. "Why must we kill these people," he said in a dark tone, keeping eye contact with his employer. "They are stray dogs." Vencrest understood, and acknowledged with a swift nod. "How much will you pay me?" Vencrest questioned, playing with the scroll in his pocket. "Enough, I can tell you that." Vencrest would take the mans word, for he was desperate for money. These men would be an easy kill, and an easy pay day.
Vencrest found a slimy looking boy, wandering the streets at night. He approached him, and asked him ", who is," he pulled out the scroll, reading the first name ", Kienzien Thatcher." The boy made a sick smile, and let out a nasly laugh. "I'll tell you, for one hundred coins. Vencrest grabbed the boy by the shirt, and shoved him into the wall, firing a small ice arrow at the mans leg. It pierced his skin, and his scream echoed throughout the streets. "I'll never tell," The boy panted, his eyes glazed over. "Tell me," Vencrest whispered in his ear, "or I'll move a little more to the left."
"All right, all right, I'll tell you," The boy panted, his smug look transformed into a look of fear. "He is hanging around the back ally, near the Wolf Pelt inn." Vencrest slammed him into the wall, and walked away, and the rest, was history.
Vencrest walked away from the dead body, summoning Trekella to follow him. She did so, and together, they entered the Orc Grog inn, awaiting the arrival of his allies.
Valerik lurked the dark streets of Lomedor, silently awaiting for his employer. He had been contacted by a mysterious figure, given a note to meet him at the ally behind 'The Worker's Getaway.' Valerik had gladly accepted the job, being the greedy mercenary he was. He tapped his foot impatiently as the moon began to rise higher and higher in the sky. He had been here since sundown, and already waited hours. 'This better be well paying,' thought Valerik, a scowl spreading at the thought of this being a simple task.
Suddenly, a shadow appeared in front of him. Valerik jumped back, his hand swinging to his side, fingering his hilt defensively. The figure held out his hand, ordering Valerik to stop. A man came down the same alley, stopping in front of Valerik. The man seemed to be a normal peasant, coming to speak to Valerik. The shadow stepped closer to the vampire, the moon light revealing his identity. It was one of the elusive ninja, killers for hire. The peasant out stretched his hand, "Hello, you must be Valerik?" he asked.
Valerik took his hand, and after a quick shake, moved it to his side, close to the hilt of his blade. "Why is this ninja here?" asked Valerik with a demanding tone. "Why, the ninja is your employer!" said the man with a chuckle. "What? Why would a ninja need a mercenary?" asked Valerik. The ninja reached into his pocket, taking a scroll out. "Do not ask questions. Take this scroll, kill each name on the list. A drow named Vencrest and a demon named Saeborn will be accompanying you," said the ninja, his voice muffled. Valerik was unable to make out some of his speech, straining his ears to hear his task.
"Kill the first name on the list on your own. Next, meet your comrades at the Orc Grog inn." Valerik nodded, placing the scroll in his pocket. "Why is he here?" asked Valerik, nudging his head towards the peasants direction. "I am the ninja's boss," said the man. Valerik nodded, deciding not to ask anymore questions. The ninja nodded, beggining to head off. "Wait!" exclaimed the newly employed mercenary. "What?" asked the peasant annoyed. "Why do these men need to be killed?" The peasant responded, "They are stray dogs." Valerik immediately recognized the term, which was commonly used in the mercenary world. They were rouge mercenaries, competition for the man's business.
"Why do ninja's need to hire a mercenary! You have men to do this yourself!" exclaimed the vampire. The ninja turned around completely, taking a step towards Valerik. A sharp kunai revealed itself from the ninja's sleeve, poking Valerik's chest. The ninja's other hand came to the veil at his face. "Men can not be relied on to kill." The ninja's veil was pulled down, her mask coming clear. The women's boss smirked. "I am the master of the Kunoichi, female ninja." Valerik froze. These women were some of the most deadly mercenaries in all of Arda. He smirked, turning around. "Well, its a pleasure to work for such warriors," Valerik said, exiting the alley.
Valerik left the city, meeting his ash dragon Akor out side of the city. He unraveled the scroll, reading the first name on the list. "Dan Grayworth," he read. The name was followed by, 'Estolad'. Valerik mounted his dragon, beginning his journey to the small village. He stopped his dragon several miles away from the town, walking the rest of the way himself. At last he came to the small wooden gates of the growing city. 'Estolad' was etched in crude letters at the top of the gates. He entered, finding a nearby guard. "Excuse me sir?" he asked politely, "Where may I find Dan Grayworth?" the guard snorted. "Probably at some bar or harassing some woman," he said disgustedly. "That ass tried to pick up my wife!" he said. "So if something happened to this man, would anyone care?" Valerik asked with a smirk. The guard turned his back to Valerik. "No one would notice, just don't ask me anything else," Valerik smirk, heading to the local bar.
He approached the bar tender, "Do you know Dan Grayworth?" he asked. He merely pointed to a lonely corner of the bar. A dark shadow was leaning against the wall, drinking beer. Valerik strode over, sitting across from the grisly man. "Hello," he said politely. "What do ya wan'?" asked the gruff man. "Come with me." Valerik said, lifting the man's shoulder by the sleeve. He complied, taking his beer with him. Valerik took him behind the alley. "Lemme guess," said the man with a sneer, "Your that girl's brother, huh?" he laughed, swaying slightly, "Well tell her, if she wants it again, she can come to me!" he began to laugh so hard, he had to clutch his stomach to control himself. Valerik was disgusted.
He drew his blade, and instantly plunged it into the man's gut, the lightning pulsing through his body. He let out a gasp, dropping his glass in a shatter. He fell on top of Valerik's sword limply. The vampire removed his blade, listening to the slight cackle of electricity that pulsed through the corpse. The back door to the bar opened, the pudgy bar tender rushing out, investigating the noise of the smashing glass. He gasped when he saw the body, but after seeing the identity of the man, merely shut the door with the yell, "Ya bette' leave befur I repart ya!" Valerik wiped his blade clean on nearby grass, and reseathed it. He walked over to the main street of the city, heading to the Orc Grog inn. He at last found it, heading in, immediately spotting Vencrest. His grim expression revealed his attitude. He sat across from him, whispering, "We're hired to kill rapists," he said, wiping his forehead. "We're hired to kill some real pervs."