H'tes had woken up on the third day. As he did, he had to review his last two days to think of just how awful this City had been to him. On the first day, he could not find any work, got ran over by a crippled beggar in a wheelchair, hit with a drunk guy twice, beat up by drunks, having delusions about the crippled man turning into a werewolf to fight off the drunks, and then waking up later in a doctor's office. The next day, he was hassled by a drunkard who thought he was some kind of hobbit woman, and was kissed by that same man. Last night, he had nightmares about that man. It might, indeed, haunt him forever.
And in all this time, he had still found no work to do in this place. To small for about every job out here, except those that required knowledges he did not have, or time he would never allow himself to have. H'tes had come to think of this town as personally out to cause misery and suffering to his life, physical on the first day, mental on the next. He could only scarcely imagine what would happen on this day. Third times the charm, perhaps? Or third time was going to put him in mortal peril that he might not be able to escape.
No matter what the day had the potential to bring, H'tes walked on. The streets felt more empty today then usual. The sun was already setting, making it look like another day without a job and thus another day without money, and another day would be spent to get money. H'tes was in a bad mood today, as well. All he had done was get abused since he walked into this town, and today would just seem to be a dull, slow, boring day. But, what he did not know was that he was about to have a rather dark encounter.

With the lack of options at his back, Annihilate had been forced to extend his stay in the city. And while it wasn’t terribly inconvenient, he wished he could quickly make his way back to the Guild Headquarters. Still, it wasn’t all bad, and it gave the shade an opportunity to relax for a time. He had spent his mornings sleeping deeply, enjoying his long-overdue reverie, and his evenings dining on human flesh and taking strolls through the city. With the guild in full swing it was about time he had a bit of time to relax, and it wasn’t all wasted time. In his dealings with local vendors and various bartenders he had learned quite a lot, and had heard tales from all across the world. Dragons were abundant, warriors were fighting for gold instead of glory, and many wee striving to destroy the darkness and chaos that he and his comrades were forging.

Ah, but as he walked the streets his thoughts of missions, of death and all else were abandoned. He enjoyed the afternoon’s sun, and walked along the sidewalks of the coble-stone streets with little interruption from other passers by. Perhaps they did recognize him for who he was, or perhaps it was mere coincidence that they did not bother him, but either way his path was clear. Anyone who crossed his path, however, would’ve been severely chastised. No one touched Annihilate without his permission, and few were so lucky to be graced by his touch.

Moving down the street Annihilate pulled his cloak tightly around him. He wore a dark cloak and vest, and earthly colored pants with matching boots. A light chainmail shirt was concealed beneath his clothes, but it made no sound as he moved. And, while he wasn’t supposed to be armed within the city limits, the shade wore both of his swords on his hips. His dark leather sheathes matched his boots, dark black leather crafted from the skin of dragons. His hair was combed back and pulled into a pony tail, and he wore his facial hair in the form of a goatee. However, he appeared formidable none the less.

So, as he was walking down the road, he said little to anyone. Yet suddenly there was a bump against his shoulder. He hadn’t been paying much attention to his path, when the small H’tes crossed his path. Without knowing he had crossed shoulders with the high-tempered man, and it startled Annihilate out of his daydreams. He turned quickly, attempting to catch the man’s gaze, and he growled out the threat, “Watch where you step, cur.” His voice was like that of a lion, a vicious roar amongst the clang and bang of the world around them, and it held the sudden anger that promised pain.

As H'tes had been walking and grumbling about the city, he was suddenly bumped into by a larger man. It rather hurt to be bumped into like that and he had fallen back a bit. He looked at the man, whose voice seemed to show anger. H'tes was also angry himself. And two angry demonic beings did not make things better. But H'tes did not know of Annihilate's demonic nature, and thus he thought he was a human like most of the City's population.
His pale blue eyes met with the violent eyes of the man, and he said, in a child like voice in great contrast to the strong tone of the man, "Watch your own." He then added another piece of the sentence under his breath, perhaps enough that the man could hear, though H'tes did not care if it was heard, "Human." Humans were a new part of H'tes' inner ranting. Since most of his pains came from particularly drunk humans in this town, he was beginning to grow some more hatred for full humans. A half demon might usually blame his demon half on things, but the part demon had less to blame on demons as he never had met one before. And thus, he blamed his problems on the human population.
But as angry as H'tes, he was not prepared for a fight. He had no weapons on him, and even if the streets were mostly empty, he would not even attempt to transform into his demonic form here. Anything he could do would be an empty threat, and with his size and lack of strength, he could easily get beaten and bruised just for trying to stand up to this guy, and left in bad shape for the second time since he had entered this city.

Annihilate stopped in his tracks and turned abruptly – his cloak whipping around in the wind, spiraling along behind him. He bared his teeth at the back of the man’s head as if he were about yell and scream at him, seething rage burning in his blood red eyes. However, after only two steps the shade stopped just as fast as he had turned about. He caught the tail end of the demon’s comment, a frail whisper on the edge of the wind, and suddenly his anger drifted away. He understood the bonds of blood between occult creatures of similar natures better than most, and as he watched the man walk away his scowl curled into a sinister grin.

The shade suddenly had a strong feeling that the two of them would meet again before the night was over. He considered tailing H’tes, but he shook his head. Annihilate was no spy, though he occasionally pretended, and he had others to do that kind of work for him. He had ordained long ago that he would not be the one to climb around, sneaking through the vents and scaling walls like some sort of assassin. He was not going to lower himself to that level, for it just did not suit him well at all. Annihilate was no voyeur. So he turned quickly, and slipped down a back alley to disappear into the shadows leaving an empty space where he had once been standing.

Once down the alley and hidden in the shadows, he gave a strange call – a whistle of sorts. Then, suddenly, a strange little creature flew down into the shadows directly in front of him. It was a strange beast just a bit bigger than a bird, and it hovered before him – wings flapping furiously. The shade extended his hand for it to perch on, and it sat itself down like a gargoyle on the side of a roof. His skin was black and its eyes glowed read, and it had a devious little look on its face. Annihilate spoke to it almost as if he were a father to the creature, and it listened intently.

“There is another of our brothers here, child. You saw him from the darkness, yes? Follow him, and watch him. If you see his blood run true, when the time is right invite him to come to the inn later tonight. I would like to speak with him,” he whispered, his voice poison in the imp’s mind. He turned quickly and jumped from Annihilate’s palm, and then he flew off over the top of the building. Anni just grinned as he watched the creature fly away, his sharpened teeth gleaming in the dull light. Then, he turned and walked away back in the direction of his Inn. He had recognized something in the man he’d bumped into, the quasi-demon, and he always meeting new blood. He could feel the demonic energy radiating from him, no matter how small, for it was also in his blood.

Moments later as the shade made his way back to his Inn the imp darted over buildings and rooftops, and made his way across the city. It had been watching Anni earlier, had seen the meeting between them, and knew who he was looking for. Soon the little creature was on H’tes’s tail, trailing him – and waiting for just the right moment. It knew what Annihilate was looking for, and did not want to disappoint its master. A few actions, a quick glance, and the imp would know whether to approach the man or not. So, for now it observed and waited hidden beneath the shadows.

H'tes had walked on. His mood was not improving from simply trying to walk it off. He was irritable and tense, more then usual. He had no idea that he was being tailed, nor would he have much cared. He just walked on down the road. As some people moved by, he was bumped, again, and again. Almost as though the humans were looking so straight that they could not move their head enough to notice there was someone smaller then them walking by. It was becoming rather annoying.
He entered a small shop. After minor glancing, he was able to catch the eye of the owner. He needed a job, and he was checking everywhere for one. However, this one would say the same thing as the other human shop keepers. 'Your too small. You look to weak. You look too frail. You don't seem the type.' The list went on and on. H'tes would leave this one feeling even more angered.
He decided to take a back alley, on the off chance that one more shop might be open to try (and likely fail) to gain a job. A few kids were playing in the street. H'tes did not pay attention to them. They looked even younger then he did, perhaps seven to nine year olds. He merely walked on by, looking rather dark and moody.
One of the kids stepped in his path and he tripped on him. H'tes tripped to the ground. He then looked angrily at the kid. "Do you know how to watch where you are going?" he said in a growl. Grown men not take him seriously, but children that were smaller then him sure would. The kid backed away, into the group.
A leader of the kids seemed to step up. "You should be the one to watch where he is going." The kids seemed to act like a pack, moving into a single group so they would appear stronger.
But H'tes was definitely not taking that as real sign to back down. Anger got the better of him today, where it usually wouldn't. He stepped up, and grabbed the leader of the group, holding him up by his shoulders. He stared straight into the kids eyes. His own eyes were not the pale blue he usually cast to humans, but instead the whites of his eyes became black, the pale blue became red, and the circular pupils became slits like that of a cat. "I am in no mood," he said, again in a low growl.
He tossed the kid into the crowd of kids, who had all started to scream and scurry away. While revealing any form of demonic blood was generally bad, kids would not be believed of such things, and as they were the only witnesses, all it did was getting rid of an obstacle and relieving some of his stress. As much as it was a bad habit to get into, picking on people weaker then him was a good stress reliever, but one hard to come by, since the only ones really weaker then him were kids.

The little scamp followed H’tes for a long time, in and out of stores and through the streets, keeping to the shadows as best as he could. He was nearly scene once by a merchant, who noticed a little flash of black behind the demon, but the blur of shadow was not enough to cause alarm amongst the shopkeeper and his family. So, he said nothing, and the Imp continued to follow H’tes along his path. Annihilate, on the other hand, had returned to a small inn not far from the shop H’tes was destined for. He sat himself down on a stool at the bar, and ordered himself a nice dinner of roast duck, honey mead and bread. It would not be ready, however, until his pet was on its way back, and he lamented that fact.

So, he waited, and the Imp waited, biding their time until the target was confronted by the gang of young boys. This was what the devilish little creature had waited on, and it a sinister grin curled onto its lips when it saw H’tes get into it with the young children. They weren’t any match for his physical strength and his apparent foul mood. The Imp giggled in delight, happy to see such a display, for it knew its master would be pleased. However, it wanted to get in to the mischief as well, and as they went scrambling away it flew over to a fish vendor. He waited patiently for a moment, and when they came close he bumped the stall, knocking several of his large trout onto the ground. The boys, without realizing it, ran right into the Imp’s trapped, and slipped and fell all over the smelly fish becoming covered in the pungent stink.

The little imp laughed in delight, amused by its own acts, and then sighed. It turned, buzzed back toward H’tes, and slipped around behind him without anyone noticing. He waited until H’tes was about to leave the store, and then buzzed up, tapping on his shoulder. The imp waited, knowing that his appearance might confused the demon, but he hovered there with his arms crossed over his chest. When H’tes looked at him, he’d motion for him to follow the little imp. He’d snap and wave his arms, shouting a garble of words in an unintelligible tongue. It was easy to tell by his motions and body language that he wanted H’tes to follow, but where and how far was impossible to tell.

Still, he eventually stopped. It was hard to tell if he had given up or thought he’d gotten through to H’tes. Either way, he gave one last wave and began to fly off. He moved through the door, glancing back quickly, and then sped off. He went right down the middle of the street, easily followed by anyone – even a perturbed little pipsqueak – and he made strait down the road towards an inn at the end of the road called the Dragon’s Claw, and inside he went. When inside he sped right for his master, and plopped down on the bar right next to the shade. He stood there, looking up, and he nodded to Annihilate. Whether it meant he’d completed his mission or not, Anni couldn’t tell, but he shrugged and waited. Good things happened to those who waited.

H'tes watched as the kids slipped in the fish. He laughed at it. For once, misfortune has seemed to go after those H'tes didn't like rather then himself. It was a welcome change in this city. He was about to start walking along again, when he saw something. Some sort of demonic creature seemed to be waving at him to get his attention. After a moment, the creature went off, obviously wanting H'tes to follow him.
H'tes did not like that. Little minions like that were not exactly things he liked to see. They meant powerful masters, and powerful liked to hire the demonic. Wait... hire? There's a thought. He did need a job, after all. And if he could get one, no matter who the employer, he would finally be able to move on from this town. Oh, that would be one lucky thing to happen. He hesitated no longer to follow the creature.
When they arrived at an inn, the creature went inside. H'tes followed in. He looked around for the creature, and found it next to a slightly familiar face. It was the man he had bumped into earlier. Perhaps he had heard that 'human' comment and realized H'tes obviously wasn't human if he loathed humans like that.
H'tes wondered who the guy was now. Looking at him more closely, one could tell there was a sort of... hidden darkness to him. Something sinister, yet not on center stage. H'tes decided to seat himself near the man. He did not directly look at him for now, but instead sat in silence for a moment. "Any reason you sent your imp to find me?" he asked after a moments silence. He had wondered why the man was interested in the part demon, and hoped the answer was good enough to stick around.

Annihilate gave the small imp a grin as it paced about, arms crossed over its small chest. It grumbled occasionally, cursing lowly, very perturbed that the young demon had not yet followed him from the shop. It thought it would soon be on the receiving end of a violent thrashing by its master, and so he didn’t look up, for Anni’s expression was very disarming. The mix of insanity and brilliance was a sight to behold, and it could turn the most wary of enemies into potential allies. He’d soon work his magic on another victim, the man just did not didn’t know it yet. However, Anni was immediately aware when his prey had entered the room.

The little imp turned abruptly, its gaze locked at the door, and in a sort of happy cheer it jumped up in the air and began flapping its wings vigorously. The shade, without turning, reached out and tore a piece of bread from the basket that had been brought to him, and offered it to the little imp. While it would not be satisfied with the small offering, it would take it and fly off. It gave Annihilate a bow as if it were going to return to its duties, and took flight right out the door, passing by H’tes without a glance. Annihilate knew that thought the Imp was supposed to keep an eye out around the Inn it would most likely go off to find sustenance first. He couldn’t say anything, though, for he would’ve done so too.

However, he remained seated and quiet as the young demon came and joined him. He did not turn his head or even glance at the man, but he could tell very well that he was there. He could feel the blood running beneath his skin boil when the young one came close. His initial query made a grin appear on his pale lips, but his attention first turned to the server who brought his order. The smell of the roasted duck was very potent, and he could’ve very well smiling at the feast he was soon to enter into, but when the exchange of coins had taken place, and the food was before him, he stopped and looked at H’tes – this time taking a moment to examine the young man.

He was a diminutive creature, more of a boy than a man in appearance, and everything about him screamed frail. And while Annihilate did not dismiss the heritage of the man, he could not help but take his comments earlier serious. Annihilate even went so far as to chuckle before picking a bit of meat off of the small duck. He chewed it up, looked back at H’tes, and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. But do you speak with a possible employer with that attitude? That is, unless you do not wish for a bit of work.”

The little imp seemed to just fly by without even glancing, but H'tes did not pay it mind either. He was at the destination he was suppose to be at, and the imp was no longer needed. As he waited for the man to talk, he could not help a glance at the passing of coins, and the rather large amounts of food the man had ordered. He was definately someone of relitive wealth, that was for sure. Now the question was if he'd get a job, and he certainly hoped the answer was yes.
He waited for the man to answer his question, and the man seemed to chuckle to himself at the question. The answer came, and H'tes had to re-organise himself. 'This is a possible employer, show respect,' he thought to himself. "No. Sorry, sir," he said, trying his best to sound a bit more polite. Things were finally starting to look up, so he let some of the frustraition of the past few days slip out of his mind. Such minor things would only get in the way during this conversation, and H'tes considered this important. "I am just a bit... anxious for the opperatunity to get some work."
The truth was, he was desperate to get some work. Anything that would get him the funds to get out of this city was worth it. But, he would not let desperation enter his voice. He was not particularly good at talking, but he could at least hide certain things like desperation when he was trying to get something. At the same time, he wondered if this would have any thing to do with his demonic nature. It seemed likely, as this man was obviously not just looking for some kid on the streets to do a simple job. But if that was the case, perhaps being polite was not what the man was looking for. But, H'tes felt it better to have an air of self control over showing he was someone stupid enough to insult or demand from a potential imployer.

A little grin crossed over Annihilate’s lips, for he knew he had the young demon. The red fist of the shade was close to tightening itself around H’tes’s throat, and when that happened he knew he would have the man under his power. And then his grasp would not be easily released. His was a will that would not be denied, and if this one entered into a binding contract with him he would not be able to escape – Annihilate would make sure of that. No one escaped his brutal grasp – no one, and he would cut through a thousand enemies just to get to one single person. If H’tes just happened to be that one, he would tear through everyone in the city to find him. Let the rivers run red; it wouldn’t matter so long as his blood was amongst the rest.

“That’s more like it,” he remarked with a chuckle. His sarcastic tone a humorous expression veiled his true intentions. He was a malicious puppeteer with a plan for everyone in Ea, and H’tes was not the first, nor the last that the shade would bend. For now, though it was just playful banter at this point. Annihilate was just setting the groundwork. One little task after another would be enough to get the man on his side, and then when he proved himself loyal Anni would see if he could induct him into the guild. Then he’d have an experienced ally on his side, and specifically one who would not disobey him.

For the moment, however, Anni did not say another word. His mead and his roasted duck was laying before him getting cold, so he began to pick it apart piece by piece, not worrying about the bones. His teeth had been filled to very sharp points, and he could tear through meat with no problems. Likewise, bones were nothing, especially the small ones, and he crunched them into little pieces without any trouble. At least, not now, but he could feel a case of heartburn working its way up already as he swigged down the thick mead, and tore off pieces of bread with little trouble. After several minutes of chewing and gnashing, however, a final swig of his mead finished it off. He whipped his mouth on his sleeve, and cut a glance over to H’tes. With a grin he asked, “How do you feel about making a trip to Ondolond?”

In truth he was certain, at least by the previous attitude H’tes held, that he would not be against getting out of town for a bit, and the fact that Annihilate could not frequently visit the town he love. Ondolond was more like the world he had come from. There were only a few cities in his world like Lomedor, few on the same scale, and few with so many people. Even the larger cities in Illythria had fewer people than Lomedor or the Sanctuary. However, until some of the smoke blew over Annihilate could certainly not return to the city, for there was too much at stake. Leading a guild required a certain amount of anonymity, and his face was all over wanted posters all across the city. Needless to say that was the reason behind his goatee.

Annihilate raked his fingers through the bristly beard, and he whipped the crumbs from his mouth every now and then out of habit. He was somewhat meticulous when it came to his general appearance, and was even careful about how he presented his many scars in public. His hair had been pushed behind his right ear to expose a nasty exploding burst on the side of his forehead. He ran a finger down the scar as he thought carefully for just a moment on the price he should pay and then slowly drew a small letter from his cloak along with a small pocket of gold. He slid the letter across the bar, half way between the two, and he sat the small pouch on its surface. With a bit of a grin he finally asked, “So, what say you? I need a courier to deliver this to the innkeeper at the White Raven. Will you do this for me?”

H'tes knew he made the right choice in how he spoke. Perhaps this was finally his lucky day. He thought for a moment on Ondolond. He had heard of it. At the mountains, it was a boom town of commerce and business. It was not an old town, but it was quickly growing. It had sounded rather pleasent, and H'tes showed his interest.

The letter and the gold were set on the table. H'tes eyed it. With H'tes' desperation to leave this city and get some gold, how could he refuse? The answer was that he would not. Finally a way out of here, the gold to do it, and a job to do. Perhaps it would lead to a few other little jobs like this. H'tes had not had a full time job before, only small jobs. This would be a small job, that could lead to more jobs, and H'tes was glad to take the chance.

He took the gold and the letter, pocketing them both. He smiled slightly and said, "Yes, I shall," he said, pleased to actually have some money on him for once, and a job to do. It would be better then going from store to store asking for a job, that was for sure. He was definately eager to get going, but first, he had one thing nagging at him in the back of his mind. "May I ask for the name of my employer?" If he was going to work for some one, he wanted to know his name. But, at the same time he was not going to be rude enough to not introduce himself first. "My name is H'tes Enyar," he said. His name was not a common one, and thus he was not likely to get confused with anyone else this man might have in his service.

There was a moment where Anni seemed to stare at H’tes without blinking for a very long time. He had already decided what he would tell the man if he asked for a name, but the more he thought about it the more he seemed to wonder if it was the right decision. No. No one needed to know that Annihilate was sending a courier to Ondolond – no one, and he considered the implications of having that thrown over the man’s shoulders when he arrived. They would most definitely detain him, beat him, and do all manner of things to him to get information out of him, and while that didn’t at all bother the shade he knew that he would lose a good promising subordinate if he did so.

So, with a bit of hesitation he said, “Thanatos D’enrath.” Although it was not a complete lie, it was obvious that he was hesitant about giving H’tes any sort of information regarding his identity. Although it would not be any trouble for him to know one of the shade’s alias’s, what was contained in the letter was more than enough to implicate him in half a dozen other plots and schemes. It came to mind that he needed to set some ground rules for these deliveries, and the shade knew exactly what he was going say. A little fear was all he needed to get the demon motivated. “Alright, you work for me now, and there are rules. First, you never open the letters you are given for your own protection. Second, you take my letters to their destination, and you wait. They will give you a response, and you will bring them back to me,” he said somewhat coldly, indicating that someone in his previous line did not follow orders well.

He took a few moments and took another bite of bread, then long draught of his mead to wash it down. Annihilate pushed the letter and the gold a bit further across the bar, and then he noted, </b> he jested. He didn’t want H’tes to get on someone’s bad side, and then have to go right back out and confront them. It was bad business, and he didn’t like losing his men to their own stupidity.

Annihilate finally sat back against his stool, and turned to give H’tes his full attention. He propped one elbow up on the bar and pushed his meal away with his forearm. He leaned his other elbow against his leg, and then he asked, [color=red]“Do you have any questions? His tone was very serious, as if this were a matter of life and death. In truth the letter was not really that important. He’d be bringing a package back to Lomedor for Anni with a few person effects in it, but it was more a test of his credibility than anything. Now he’d find out whether he was really up for some of the tasks Annihilate had in mind or not.

H'tes took the rules in his head. Don't open the letter, wait once he delivered the letter to get a reply from the receiver, then take it back to Thanatos. It was a simple enough job, and he took it as a 'complete this one, and you get more.' Gaining a normal income would be rather beneficial to H'tes, so he took it seriously.

His employer then turned in his seat, and for the first time brought full physical attention to H'tes. In a serious tone, he asked H'tes if he had any more questions. H'tes was pretty sure he had all the information he needed. He shook his head. "No, sir," he replied, but he took the seriousness of his employer's voice. It gave him the false impression that the letter was important.

He stood up, with letter and gold on hand. He bowed respectively. "I'll be off then," he said. "I shall be back quickly." He turned and left the inn. He was ready to get going from this city as quick as possible. He knew he would have to come back here, but it would be for more work, and that was worth the time in this city. For now, he was just glad he had an opportunity to leave this city before it sent more horrible things at him. Good luck finally seemed to be on him. Or, perhaps bad luck to those who knew that "Thanatos" was evil. But, H'tes was already hooked in now, and soon he would go further into the web that Thanatos had put up. But for now, the sun shined brightly on H'tes, who had finally gotten a job he could handle and was not turned down for his size or youthful appearence.

Annihilate waited for H’tes’s response, and he did not take his blood red eyes off of them man until he had spoken. His response was just what he liked to hear, and it made the rest of his meal go down easily. He turned when H’tes stood and left, and went back to what was left of his duck and thought of the few little things he was having picked up from Ondolond. Half an hour passed and he reduced the remainder of his meal to nothing. Anni paid, throwing a few gold coins on the bar, and he headed upstairs. He had things to do, places to go, and people to kill, but first he retired to his room. He needed a nap.

Fin.