Completed Oops

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Elbion.

The Broken Quill inn.

Khadija's favorite.

And Clarissa Mejeure could only imagine why. Imagine. Ha. She could figure it out. Oh, Kha. So skittish. Wouldn't even talk about her predilections with her best girl Claire. She loved her silly little clocks. Loved them. And who made clocks? Dwarves. And who ran The Broken Quill inn. Why, a dwarf of course.

Clarissa didn't judge. Not much. Not too terribly much.

"Yes, you do!" Kha said. Her voice raised in frustration. A seeming echo in her room.

Claire covered her mouth with a hand. "Kha, darling, you can tell meee~~..."

Kha's eyes widened. Her bottom lip curling down. "Areyoucrazy? He's a dwarf. A dwarf, Claire. Which means, he smells like sour ale and has more hair on him than a yeti. A yeti! Claire. A yeti!"

Claire rolled her eyes about playfully and waved her other hand, batting lightly at the air. "So, should I take it then that handsome half-elves are more your fancy, hmmmmmmm~~~?"

A nervous twitch of her eyes. Kha said, "That's not. That's not fair."

"His name was Luc the Unlucky, wasn't it? I suppose if you really wanted to, you could let him get lucky for--"

"O-kay, alright, that's enough," Kha said, flushing a fierce red. "Did you want this task or not, Claire? Time sensitive."

"Of course, love."

Kha sighed. Hands on her hips. "Alright, good good good. It'll be easy. Trust me."

Claire smiled. "Easy."

* * * * *​

It wasn't easy.

And now Claire was bound and gagged and stuffed into a closet.

A College student had turned to necromancy. Had a small home in the Residential District of Elbion, wealthy enough parents, but apparently the normal arcane pursuits bored him. Khadija got a tip from an informant about this student, Renaldus, sneaking away for days on end. Going out into the Savannah or elsewhere. All the usual excuses to his classmates and teachers. Dio confirmed Renaldus' escapades with his little eyes in the sky, one of his birds spotting Renaldus making way into a known safehouse of necromancers east along the Cairou River.

It should have been easy to convince Renaldus that he ought to join with the Luminari. He seemed predisposed to disliking the College anyway, and it was only a matter of time really before he'd be found out and some mercenary or mage-hunter or College lackey would be knocking down his door and taking him dead or alive to answer for his crimes. That, serving the common cause of a greater humanity, the standard Luminari appeal.

But Claire knew her mistake now. She was a bit too...forward.

And Renaldus turned out to be a eunuch.

Oops.

Now, with some measure of mounting worry, she lay in his closest among his College robes and sheets and other clothes. He alluded to taking her out of Elbion tonight. To that little lair of his with all his friends. Something about 'harvesting bone matter'.

But Kha knew where she was. Surely Kha and all the others in her Luminari cell. And Trajan. Surely Trajan too. He was lingering around Elbion last she knew.

Somebody knew. Somebody would come.

Surely.

Right?

Smiling One

 

[Smiling One]

Willis Reede began to sing. It turned out that the young man had a talent for it going back to when he was a Pirate. Willis had to fill in when the singer of the crew: Sea Dog fell ill with scurvy. Willis was nervous at first but began to sing about the perils of Davy Jones’ Locker and the crewmen especially Captain Davis loved his rendition. It was a good day to sing as well since Willis was tasked by a college student named Renaldus to kill a Lemure and bring back its ooze for part of an experiment.

Renaldus promised to pay Willis well and even gave him a hefty coin purse as a down payment. The young man eagerly took on the contract, wondering how much more would he receive once the job was complete. Lemures were easy to kill at least for a professional monster hunter, and they were common around the edges of the Woodlands. Then again Willis had heard that students of the College of Elbion pay a lot of coin to mercenaries and monster, hunters essentially to have the sell swords do their homework for them.

Willis wasn’t keen on returning to the Woodlands, but the pay was good and he didn’t need to go far. In fact, the most challenging part was to endure 10 hours of walking to get to the damn place. As soon as Willis arrived at the forest, the first thing he saw was a lone Lemure trudging near the entrance. A lesser fiend made of sludge and goo when the creature saw Willis, it began to screech and drag itself towards the young man..... slowly. As soon as it reached Willis, he raised his Cutlass performed multiple strikes at it. The Lemure’s arms fell to the ground along with its head and its corpse began to disintegrate. Willis gathered up the goo in a test tube and headed back Elbion. Lemures were among the most feared types of monsters among villagers because of their appearance yet to monster hunters, Lemures were easy money.

The sun began to set as soon as Willis returned to the merchant city though It was still bright enough to where people were still doing their day-to-day activities. The young man continued to sing: Leave her Johnny arriving at Renaldus place and began to knock. “Hey, Renaldus!” Willis announced. “I got your ooze here!” Truth is, Willis couldn’t wait to a party with the coin he was about to receive.

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

A muffled knock. And a muffled voice.

Claire perked up. Some sliver of light under the closet door was all she had for reference in the dark. The front door of the house seemed miles away, given her current predicament. Stuck in the closet at the back of Renaldus' study/bedroom, which itself was behind the main room of the house.

She scooted closer to the closet door, difficult as it was with her hands and ankles tied, but she managed. Pressed her ear to the wood. Listened. Heard Renaldus' footsteps. The shutting of the study door. Going in the direction of the front door.

Front door opening. Renaldus' voice quieted by distance and obstacle. Just barely could she make it out.

"Good evening, Willis. Come in, come in. Tell me of your success. And allow me see the vial, if you would."

Willis? Clarissa didn't know anyone named Willis in the Luminari. Well, that hardly mattered, now didn't it? Opportunity only knocked once. Literally, as it were, in this case.

Yelling into her gag wasn't going to do much. He'd tied it pretty tight. Something different. Louder. Hmmmmm.

Claire struggled. The closet was cramped, and the bindings severely limited her movements, but if she could just turn around and get her feet pointed toward the closet door...

 

[Smiling One]

Willis happily entered Renaldus' house taking out the vial from his bag. "Here you go Renaldus," he said happily and looked around. Elbion was infamous for having cramped living conditions however Renaldus' place was quite spacious. There was a fireplace at a distance on the mage's right with a bright red carpet depicting a Lion fighting a Bear. The house was warm and cozy and probably expensive for a student.

"Nice place you got here Renaldus," Willis said closing the door behind him. "I'd say compared to other houses in Elbion the pricing on this house is beyond what student makes if they earn money at all."

In his few visits to the College, Willis heard rumors that students get into the school by bribes with rich parents. Renaldus was probably the son of some rich as hell merchant and is paying for his education. Willis kept quiet about that though after all Renaldus was paying the coin. Heading for the marble chair, Willis sat down and began to pour some Wine onto the cup.

"Don't mind if I drink?" Willis asked. "Forgive my rudeness but traveling to the Woodlands heading back to Elbion can make your throat parched."

The young man guzzled down the wine. "Good stuff sir," Willis said tasting the sweet, intoxicating nectar that was the Wine. "What kind of Wine is this?"

After placing the cup down Willis turned to the man. "A lot of villagers fear the Lemure," he said. "But they don't know is that they're one of the easiest monsters to dispatch due to their soft bodies and slow movements. One slash from Cutlass bought it down."

Willis took another sip and continued. "So all that's left is the rest of my pay and we're good to go!" he said happily. "Pleasure doing business with you Realdus!"

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

The man, Willis, talking.

Renaldus: "Ah, thank you. And yes, my parents have done well for themselves. It allows me to concentrate on my studies."

Claire brought her knees up to her chest and wiggled and squirmed and made some progress in turning.

"Yes, of course. Help yourself. It is a magnificent wine."

Claire froze for a moment. A shiver of terror and pulse-pounding excitement coursing through her body. A ride, yes, a wonderful ride! Captured, a faint sliver of hope, and now, her potential rescuer drinking some of Renaldus' wine. Oh dear.

The wine was spiked. Claire knew, after she had the misfortune of grabbing Renaldus' crotch only to find nothing there, and when Renaldus suggested some of the very same wine to smooth over the awkward moment. Dizzy, brief blackout, bound and gagged, woke up in a closet. Wouldn't be the first time, funny enough. For her having a spiked drink. Or blacking out for various reasons. Or being bounded and gagged. Or waking up in somebody's closet. Separate occasions all, but the combination was marvelously delightful.

Much less so, of course, if she and this man Willis didn't escape or be rescued by the band of necromancers before...whatever it was they wanted to do. That would be dreadful. But that bridge to cross was far on the horizon, wasn't it?

"Oh. Your payment. Perhaps I should fetch it for you...after you wake."

The beating of her heart! The pounding in her chest! A caged animal, oh yes, gnawing at the bars of its confinement. Her hands trembled behind and beneath her. A shuddering terror slightly orgasmic.

Finally. Her boots pressed against the wood of the closet door. And she banged and banged and kicked and kicked. Made as much stomping racket as she could.

Oh to see if she had done it in time!

 

[Smiling One]

Wine like alcohol is a depressant, it's designed to relax your entire body. Most if not all of the people who consume Wine do it for the stimulating effect. In Willis' case, the Wine did its job too well, as he got up he briefly lost his balance and his vision was briefly blurred. Normally Willis had a high tolerance for drinking he recalled a time having a drinking contest with a Dwarf in a tavern of Alliria.

Dwarves were notorious for having legendary resistances in alcohol but Willis kept pace with the Dwarf wowing the crowd and the Dwarf. Willis finally passed out around the 122nd drink but the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness was the Dwarf declaring that Willis was the best human he ever drank with. Willis swayed a bit leaning against the wall, his eyelids were drooping he could barely lift them, his entire became numb. "What the fuck?" Willis mumbled.

It was then he realized that the drink was spiked with a substance: The Lullaby Willis guessed judging on how he heard singing though no one sang. Renaldus sat on his red couch smiling letting the potion do its work, a surge of anger came over Willis though he was losing consciousness fast. "You bastard!" Willis yelled drawing his Cutlass. "What the fuck did you-?!"

There were loud thumping noises that came from the main, Willis sprang awake the adrenaline carrying his tired body. Ranaldus frowned and got up to investigate, but Willis punched him in the jaw with the front end of his Sword before to the room tracking the source of the noise. What was going on? Why was Renaldus doing this? He had no idea. Before he could get to the room, however, Willis collapsed, the last thing on his mind was who was making that damn noise.

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Hmm. A conundrum.

Renaldus rubbed his jaw and stared down at the unconscious monster slayer. This was all so dreadfully impromptu. Opportunity hardly ever knocked when one was ready. But he would persevere. For the experiment, of course. Bones and flesh were needed. And all the others had been pitching in. Doing their part. And he now had two fine specimens right here.

Problem being, he was in the middle of Elbion and didn't have very sufficient tools for binding. A potent drug to drop into a bottle of wine when it became clear that the woman wasn't much interested in the dark arts at all. Shame. Always a shame. But there would be a use for her. And the monster slayer. For the experiment.

The bindings. Yes. Or rather, lack thereof. His magic wouldn't do, lest he ruin some of the precious flesh and bone. Otherwise, a few spare belts for the woman, crudely tied into a knot. Useful for a time against her struggling perhaps, but likely it would be for her to eventually slip free, even in the darkness and confined space of the closet.

A conundrum. Such poor bindings wouldn't serve at all for the monster slayer. And the drug was potent because its effects were strong and swift, not lasting.

An idea.

Renaldus kicked the monster slayer's cutlass away into the main room and, with difficulty, pulled the unconscious man into his study. Then he stepped out of the room and shut the door. And an icy mist formed about his hands, as his cold magic sealed the door all round with a thick ice: top and bottom and sides.

No windows in his study. Poor ventilation, yes, and all the better for his purposes. If they got unruly, and eventually when the time came to move them at nightfall proper, he could make a hole in the ice sealing the door and suck all the air from the room, rending them unconscious again.

Yes. Not a sound plan for long travel to the haven, but he expected some of his fellows to arrive at nightfall anyway. Quite the surprise he'd have for them, and they could help him securely extract the specimens out of Elbion and to the haven.

* * * * *​

The jamb was breaking! Look at that beautiful light leaking in!

Claire heard what she thought was a scuffle. Then a thump. She paused. Listened. The clatter of metal bouncing across wood. And...oh no. Sounded faintly like a body being dragged. Into the room. Perhaps it was the man named Willis, though? Dragging Renaldus? Oh how pristine! Sure, Renaldus would be dead, but fuck him. Damn it, he was even immune in a sense to that insult, that bastard Renaldus. Still. To hell with him! The Luminari could recruit other mages. Better mages, oh certainly better mages.

Maybe even her rescuer. Possible. She'd have quite a time of it, trying to convince a complete stranger, but all she needed to do was get him to talk about himself, and she had ways of doing that. Subtle and not so subtle ways. Gauge his potential interest in the cause. Oh yes, the cause. Hmmmm. It was just sooo easy to forget why she was doing what she was doing, wasn't it? Fun and danger and being dirty with the enemy simply had a way of pushing the cause to the back of her mind.

Hmm. Quiet. The door shut. And...a hiss and a crackling of magic.

That wasn't Renaldus in the room, was it? It was Willis. Blacked out from the spiked wine.

Oh how exciting~~~ah! Her little thread of fear and peril just kept getting wrapped around her finger and it simply wouldn't unravel. A nice, rough choking of the blood. Edging to the precipice, daring to look over. Shivers!

Claire gave the door a kick. Another. And then--

The closet door burst open. All the white and blue lights from the magical etchings on the walls flooding in.

Claire wiggled out of the closet. Boots first. Finally got a look at him.

Hmmm. Delicious. Renaldus had a prissy manicured look about him, with a sheen of sniveling insecurity. But here was Willis. Look at those arms. He had balls made of brass, surely, he didn't even wear armor. Look at those arms. Just wore what he damn well pleased and didn't give a damn who or what he was fighting. Mmhmm. And look at those arms!

Claire wiggled over to Willis laying there unconscious on the study floor. These loathsome bindings and this horrid gag! Seemed Renaldus didn't bind him, but, a glance at the door, seemed he didn't need to. Some kind of ice had formed all around it and sealed it to the jamb. Another bridge to cross when she got to it.

For now, options limited with her wrists and ankles tied, she had one thing she could do to coax him back to consciousness.

Claire made like a cat. Rubbing her face and hair all over Willis' face with equal parts desperation and affection. The drug would have him for a time, but once it started to fade, her efforts would be more and more effectual.

And what better way to endear herself to a potential recruit? Well, there were other ways, hmmmm, oh yes, of course, but again, options limited.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis was stirring in his sleep, the Lullaby potion was one of the easiest potions to make. The ingredients are common and it doesn’t take long to brew. The average time to make the Lullaby potion was an hour. Though because it was cheap, it meant that the potion’s effects wouldn’t last long. The Lullaby song began to fade away and the next thing Willis felt was soft features and a mop of hair all over his face.

“Ugh,” the first thing Willis saw was a woman snuggling against him. Willis eyebrows shot up in shock as he saw her. Normally he wouldn’t mind a woman on top of him but right now they are in a bit of a pickle.

“The fuck?!” Willis whispered placing the woman in front of him.

Starting to regain feeling in his arms again, Willis rubbed his eyes to get a good look at the woman. She was bound a gagged very tightly by the looks of it. The woman had shoulder length black hair, very tight black leather clothes which exposed her curves along with an absolute cleavage which showed off most of her breasts. Willis looked at her with a blush tinted on his face. She was simply stunning wearing that outfit.

“Hang on,” Willis said removing the gag from the woman’s mouth and undid the binds on her wrists and ankles. She was bound tightly but Willis’ experience with tying and untying knots from sails made it easy. He turned around and saw that the door was sealed with ice. Willis had some fire bombs in his bag but that shithead Renuldus took it away.

“What’s your name?” Willis asked the woman calmly scanning the area for anything they can use. It was mostly school robes. “I’m Willis Reede Monster Hunter and Mercenary.”

The young man sighed, sometimes Monster Hunters need to vet their clients before working on a contract. You never know when a client will go insane. While Willis is curious as to what this mage is up to, right now his concern is get out. “Do you know what does Renuldus want with us?” Willis continued beginning to dig through the clothing.

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

And there he was.

Claire didn't have a lot of first times. Not for what she normally did, in any case. She liked to make the unhealthy effort to cross off as many of the 'first times' from the list as she could. Oh yes, find your little niche in the world and get all those first times that concerned your predilection done and done, darling. Then you could expand on it, of course. Hmmmm. Always a pleasant surprise to cross something off of the big list of life without even knowing it was there to begin with.

Rubbing a man's face in the manner of a cat was one of those first times.

Having a man wake up next to her and exclaim, "The fuck?!" was another.

And both were delightful. Absolutely pristine! Oh the cat thing was fun and funny, yes, a little toy to play with and bat around in her particular pursuits. But the man waking with the heady mix of shock and, dare she think, wonder about him? The feel of a marvelous little prank, naughty by nature in some different circumstances than these. There was a scenario ripe with a few 'first times' she was keen to explore, even after so brief a thought on it.

And Willis removed her gag. A big inhale. The sweet taste of unfiltered, if stuffy, air.

Her bindings removed next. Oh, just belts? Damn that sly Renaldus. If only she had known. Would've made that brat look quite sorry if she'd burst from his study after he thought himself victorious over Willis. True, she lacked her daggers as Willis lacked his weapon too, but mages loathed being tackled, didn't they? Seriously, didn't they? Oh it didn't matter now.

Claire, her arms and legs freed, sat up on the floor now, boots on the wood and knees up, rubbing her right wrist with a hand. "Willis Reede. Pleasure to meet you. I'm Clarissa. Clarissa Mejeure. You can call me Claire, but only if you really like me."

A coy glance away as she said it. Then meeting his gaze again. A smirk and a wink.

Hmmmmm. Monster Hunter. The Luminari had plenty of men at arms, many formerly of the Anirian Guard, but they were more accustomed to fighting men or men-like xenos than actual monsters. Possibilities, yes. A shame that Renaldus had to be such a prick--damn it, immune to that insult too. A shame that Renaldus had to be such a...such a...oh fuck it, cunt, but the Luminari could find and recruit other mages.

A Monster Hunter. Could be just what the cause needed right now.

Claire stood and entwined her hands and stretched them high above her head, standing on the tips of her toes with her eyes closed and oh so innocently puffing her chest out as she stretched. See, of course, yes, just a little comfy stretch, one must make sure to stretch that back now too, arch it quite nicely, and who was she to know what she was doing? Eyes closed, love, can't you see?

And she said as she stretched, "Hmmmmm....ahhhh~~~....not in the slightest."

Back down onto her feet proper. Arms folded under her chest. "Well, silly me, in some slightness. He did say something about 'harvesting bone matter'. How terribly dreadful for us, wouldn't you say?"

 

[Smiling One]

Willis smirked at Clarissa “Clarissa eh?” He replied watching her rub her wrists and ankles. Clarissa looked like a thief or maybe a seductress based on her clothing still she looked cute. “I didn’t realize the person I’m trapped in here with would be so.... cute. I’m guessing Renauldus don’t have a taste for good women judging on how he bound and gagged you. He’s probably some cockless asshole.”

Willis couldn’t help himself, even when captured and trapped by a crazed mage if he was in a vicinity with beautiful woman. Willis can’t resist the urge to flirt with. “When this all over Clarissa,” he said while examining the room. “Why don’t we go off somewhere nice. Because I really like you.”

Boy does she know how to charm a man! The held gaze, the sultry smirk, the subtle movements which exposed the curves of her tight leather outfit all complete with a wink. Willis had to concentrate but how could he with a beautiful woman grabbing his attention.

“Right,” Willis was about to say but his eyes perched up when he saw Clarissa stretch standing on her toes while arching her back. Willis already gawked at her amazing exposed cleavage but he saw the tight leather clothing leaving little to the imagination. Her breasts were as big as her body and it nearly touched his chest.

“Shit,” Willis shook his head. “Let’s not get coy my dear Clarissa You have an impressive cleavage. It’s great that you’re not shy in showing it off along with your tight leather clothing.”

Willis then shook his head, he got to take this seriously. Who the fuck knows what Realdus was up to until of course Clarissa spoke about the mage harvesting bone matter.

“Bone matter?” Willis asked crossing his arms. That sounded like necromancy, usually high level spells requires bone marrow of some kind. Considering that it was two of them who were captured, it may be a summoning. “Sounds like they plan to sacrifice us for a summoning.” He said.

Looking at Clarissa Willis sighed and tried to look at her eyes and not at her chest. “So Clarissa,” he asked. “What’s your story? How did you get captured?”

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Ohhhhhh. He didn't like her. That or he didn't take the bait. Oh a dirty shame. Is this what it felt like to be coyed upon? Coyed at? Coyed with? She wasn't sure how to phrase it, but he seemed to be playing coy with calling her Claire. She could work at changing that.

Oh but the lavish praise. Cute. One of those words that tapped right into her ego.

And then he did say that he liked her. Coy. Holding her beloved little pet name above her head and just out of reach.

And her stretch made him call her coy. Oh, of course, couldn't act like it wasn't true. That was her game. Part of her mistake with Renaldus. A little too quick, as if it were some kind of race and she could be back with a shiny new recruit for the Luminari before sundown. Everybody was allowed a little mistake made from excitement and overeagerness every now and again, weren't they?

Teasing. Teasing made the heart grow fonder. The titillating promise of what could be had a way of overcoming reason. Made people oh so suggestible.

And Willis was forward in what he liked. The stares. Oh yes, the stares. Those of jealousy and those of envy and those of desire. How she loved them. Tapping into her ego like that little collection of words. Gifts. Everybody had their gifts, but only some had theirs so readily apparent. And to think her prudish mother and father disparaged her for it. They'd have her as wrapped up as a nun in a convent if they could. How terribly boring.

"That feeling of being locked in a cage," Claire said. Looking to the door with the ice as if she hadn't heard him or hadn't paid attention. A luxurious sigh as she rotated one shoulder and then the other. "Oh to be free!"

Then she faced away from him. Even took a few steps away and toward the door. Put her hands on her hips as if she were seriously pondering something of substance. Hmmmmm. Get a look. Like it? Now you can't. Not until I sayyyy~~~. She ought to get Kha to enchant a piece of cloth or leather that would roll up and roll down whenever she snapped her fingers. But that might be too obvious. Funny, yes, but obvious.

What's her story.

Claire glanced back over her shoulder at him. Closed her eyes and laughed and held the elbow of her right arm and batted her hand back and forth. "Oh. Yes. Cockless asshole. Funny how you should mention that, love."

Eyes open. "Let's say I failed convince Renaldus to try something new. He prefers his musty little studies and his droll little escapades at night. Not the best College student, I'd imagine, but a useful enough necromancer. Too bad he's a...well, how does one insult a man with no cock? He doesn't seem all that bothered by its lack. Hmmmm...a conundrum."

Claire crouched down by the door. Still facing away. Making like she was inspecting the ice. "And you, my dear Willis? I did hear that you're a monster hunter. Slayer? Which do you prefer? Oh but they both sound marvelous, don't they?"

 

[Smiling One]

Despite being a beautiful woman, Clarissa didn’t answer his question. Why was Clarissa here? What was she doing? It didn’t matter he suppose at least right now. “Well our eunuch friend wanted to focus on his studies,” Willis said. “Of course it involved with the undead. It’s little wonder why these cockless bastards tend to be necromancers.”

Clarissa asked Willis about which profession he preferred. That surprised him since he never thought about it. Both jobs were high risk and sometimes receive little pay much mainly because the clients tend to get stingy whether out of greed or “they won’t have enough coins to feed their kids.” Willis enjoyed the coin nonetheless but he also loved the thrill that came with both jobs. Being put in the brink of death and overcoming it was when Willis felt most alive.

Clarissa turned around and placed her hands on her hips giving Willis a good look at her back side. “You do have a good ass Claire,” Willis thought but other wise answered her question. “I prefer both,” he said. “They offer me a chance to travel the world and see new places.”

The young man sighed. “I admit,” he said. “That I also find it exciting to be constantly on alert that one bad move would lead to my death. It makes me feel alive.”

Willis found a Bobby pin on one of the robes. He picked it up and showed it to Clarissa. “Found something,” he said. “Could prove useful.”

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))
​

Prefer both? Oh, they were two different professions, were they? She scarcely knew. Used the terms interchangeably. Hardly mattered. Willis did both. Why settle when you could indulge? Hmmmmm.

Oh, would you look at that? Willis fancied himself a little thrill here and there. How many of those men who called themselves Templars or Monster Hunters/Slayers or Paladins or whatever self-important name took themselves faaaaar too seriously? Always too concerned with their lot in life, and not even allowing themselves a spot of fun, or so much as admitting that they were having it. Trajan was like that. Oh, inspirational, said the things that Clarissa liked to hear about Mankind and xenos, but stuffy, of course. Serious, serious, serious.

As if it were some sort of sin to admit that you liked something. Oh, how dare you. Scandalous! A summary of her parents and indeed her family at large. As if being dishonest about what you enjoyed constituted some kind of virtue. As if there ought to be shame in the partaking of your predilections. Cover yourself up. Don't smile. Do it only for procreation. Oh, worship upon the altar of dull decency until your dying day.

It was as if her parents and all the other similarly serious-types loathed having a heartbeat.

A hmmmmm from behind her lips. "Oh, I suppose the same could be said of me. I've a line of work that demands the same of me and I do so adore it. No big and grandiose title for me and my work. I merely go places. Meet people. Listen to them and talk to others. Maybe convince these people to do a thing they wouldn't normally do. Oh, but look at me, I've tipped my hand! Now you'll be wise to my charms and my motives. What ever shall I do?"

A grin. Then her eyes centered on the pin Willis picked up.

"Oh, you shouldn't have," she said, plucking the pin from his hand and putting it in her hair.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis smiled at Claire’s response, still dancing around the question huh? But at least more information was presented. If Willis had to guess Claire was a spy of sorts who went out and seduce a target for information. It’s a spy’s method of operation: Meet people, coerce them, work on getting that person to spill secrets. “I don’t know,” he smirked. “It depends on what you’ll do for me.”

There he goes again flirting if Willis keeps this up they’ll end up being bone paste by tonight. Willis then raised an eyebrow when Claire took the pin from him and hid the small item in her hair. “Well pins are a girl's best friend," Willis said smiling now. "I was thinking of you when I picked it up."

Willis turned his attention to the frozen door, it was sealed shut with icicles formed around the edges of the door. Frowning, Willis went and kicked the door, there were cracking noises forming around the door. "Well if you look that," Willis smirked. "Our balless friend didn't do a good job of sealing the door."

Willis kicked the door again and more cracks were heard, he saw the hinges of the door begin to weaken. It seems that Renuldus didn't take account that because he froze the hinges he unintentionally made them weak. Willis kicked the door one more time and some of the ice fell from the floor revealing keyhole. The young man smiled sometimes the straightforward method is the most viable.

"Will you do the honors Claire?" Willis asked politely bowing to her.

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Oh, how pristine! Willis took to calling her Claire now. She wasn't sure what did it. Elation from cracking some of Renaldus' botched ice work on the door, her talking a bit more about herself, the particular angle he was looking at her now, so many things. Maybe it was even just his intention to say it when he pleased. He was a exceptionally flirtatious man, and they were playing the same game together. Live by the tease, die by the tease.

She imagined that it would either be quite easy or quite difficult to convince Willis to join the Luminari. No middle ground.

A brief puzzlement. And she cupped her cheek and slowly slid her hand down to her chin. "But what honors are there fit for me? I don't happen to have the key, as convenient as that would be, and you've a stronger kick than I, certainly. If you'd like me to try, oh I suppose, but only if you insist."

A fanciful dancing of her eyes around the periphery of the sockets. Smiling, not looking at Willis directly, awaiting.

* * * * *​

Renaldus glanced back at the door to his bedroom/study. Some fight in them. Perhaps there was some way to enhance the ice, make as tough as steel for a time. It would require experimentation. Much procrastination, yes, on the element of ice, for necromancy was his true passion. But he could find the time.

Little did his specimens know, two of his fellows had arrived. One of whom had parents more wealthy than even him. Not based in Elbion, but Belgrath. And he had brought along his carriage. Easy to sneak out two unconscious and bound people in that, especially so at night.

Renaldus nodded for the rich fellow, a dwarf, to wait outside. He could charge in from the front door when the time was right, spells already primed.

Renaldus motioned for the other fellow, human like him, to hide in the main room behind the cushioned couch. An expensive piece, that.

Then Renaldus faced the study door. Some distance away in the main room.

Let them tucker themselves out breaking free. Then face the chill and death springing from Renaldus' fingertips.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis raised an eyebrow at Claire's statement, what was she talking about? Clearly, Willis was asking her to lock pick the door unless.... "Wait a minute," Willis muttered getting close to Claire. "You don't know what I'm talking about do you?"

It looks like he'll have to toss out Spy as a possible guess Willis took the Bobby Pin from Claire's hair and smirked. "Let me do this instead," Willis chuckled. "Besides there are a few honors that you and I can do once we're out of here."

Claire's exposed cleavage was a big distraction, Willis just couldn't help but stare. Like Willis, Claire seems to love being a big tease. "Did I mention that I love your choice of clothing?"

Quickly turning around, Willis began to undo the Bobby Pin and stick through the keyhole looking for tumblers to push up. He's done a lot of lockpicking as a child often entering small stores to steal food or to get that toy he wanted. This skill served him well as a Pirate as he helped open buried treasure without the need to spend hours looking for a key.

At last Willis heard a click and the door opened, the ice collapsing while it did so. The hinges which weakened by the ice began to collapse but Willis caught it scraping his hands in the process. Willis gently bought it down and he smiled at Claire fixing the Bobby Pin and placing it in her hair. "There," he said. "After you my lady Claire."

Once Claire was out, Willis went into the room and quickly looked around. He spotted an Elven blade on hanging over a fireplace in the main room. Running to it, Willis removed the short sword from its scabbard and touched the blade, it was still sharp which meant the Eunich will be in for a bloody mess. Turning to Claire, Willis smiled. "Stay close Claire," he said. "I'll protect you."

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Ooo. Invading her space. She liked that. There was something about knights and other warriors with codes of honor that had trickled down to many a common man. Made them overly kind and courteous. Too considerate, even. There was a certain dark thrill in being in the presence of someone who had the physical capacity to simply overwhelm her if he so wanted, yes. A thin line of scruples and whim separating thought from action. Oh but what did it matter if big and strong men acted in such a manner that there wasn't even a hint of danger? What thrill was there to be had by, say, sitting next to a completely docile and domesticated bear? Might as well sit next to an overgrown puppy.

Her parents would have been aghast. And surely Trajan. But she enjoyed her dark little taboos. Wrongness had a way of making something already pleasurable even more so. Hence, her fascination and effectiveness at mingling among various groups of xenos as well as men. Trajan never asked, and she never told. After all, had the cause not been served if she completed her assigned task? Let the details die lovely little deaths in secret.

The pin taken from her hair.

Oh. That. Lockpicking. She didn't even think he meant that. It simply wasn't a skill she ever needed to pick up. She never needed to pick locks. She convinced other people to open doors for her.

And wasn't that what Willis was working at right now? By her direct intention or no, everything had a way of falling into place, hmmmm? Perhaps he was motivated by her choice of clothing. He did say he loved it, or, more specifically she imagined, the particular lack thereof in a choice area. Eyes never lied.

"Oh, but of course. A good bespoke set of pieces from a skilled leatherworker. Made painstakingly to measure, naturally. My shawl I purchased separately, but it accessorizes well, wouldn't you say?"

Which, of course, is why she specifically didn't mention it. The conspicuous lack.

Willis got the door open. Open then and caught, as it tumbled a bit, and set down on the floor. Wait, what? He wanted her to go first? Wasn't there an angry necromancer out there? Sure, he wasn't silly enough to stand directly in front of the door they had just forced open, but Renaldus was out in the main room somewhere.

A nervous smile and laugh from her. There was a difference between leaning up against the cage of a deadly beast, and jumping in. One was exciting, the other foolish. A whisper, "Well, if...if that's what you think best, love..."

She got in front of him. Technically, she'd be going out first, but she pressed herself back and up against Willis so much that there was hardly a distinction. Her right hand back and lightly clutching the sleeve of his shirt as she inched forward.

Out into the main room.

Renaldus. Off to the right. Slow-moving, shadowy tendrils extending out from his hands. Reaching toward them.

Claire shrieked. Dodged even though the tendrils had yet to be within gripping range. Scampered after Willis once he located a weapon. The tendrils turning and slithering through the air after them.

She got behind Willis, leaning down some, looking out from his right side. Stay close, he said. He did keep on calling her Claire, and that felt better. An assurance that he wouldn't just be fighting for his life.

"Oh, don't worry about little me staying close!" Another nervous laugh. "Do your thing, Monster Slayer!"

 

[Smiling One]

There were dark tendrils heading towards them, Claire screamed and went behind Willis. Willis hacked one of them in half and the tendril dissipated. They were weak attack spells designed to put pressure on an opponent while the mage prepares for their stronger spells. Willis put Claire behind him as he continued to slice the dark tendrils with the Elven sword. Willis always admired the Elven-smiths for forging weapons that were on par with humans in terms of effectiveness but was light as a feather. An Elf can get in more attacks with their swords than a human can with a human forged sword.

"I gotta keep this," Willis thought staring at the gleaming short sword before diverting his attention to Renaldus. "You've done a shit job," he smirked. "To not successfully contain us with magic? That's some amateur stuff there!"

It really was, how can Renaldus not make sure that the ice would hold? If anything it would be more efficient to cast a perma-lock spell but then again it's best not to give this mage any ideas. He was very stupid, "So you captured the lovely Claire," Willis said "And captured me! I would cut your balls off for that! But since Claire mentioned that you don't have any, I'll just cut off your head!"

Willis charged straight at Renaldus before he could cast his spell slicing him across the chest. Before he got hurt, Renaldus managed to dodge Willis attack preventing the hit from being fatal. There was a long cut across Renaldus chest as blood slowly started to pour down. Willis frowned "time to dance eunich!" he growled.

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Ah yes, there it was. The release. The opposite of the squeezing and the constricting and the tightness of tension. Oh, the loosening. The gentle ride back down from the heights. The proper balance of rush and relaxing. Both sides of that hill a pleasure in their own right.

Willis had him. Without a doubt. Renaldus was but a student. There was a measure of potential in him, of course, and that happened to be one of the reasons for the Luminari's interest in recruiting him. That and, frankly, the general lack of combat mages in the fold. Trajan lamented on it from time to time. Oh, bother. Perhaps they were cursed. More likely, the Luminari's stance against the College made it particularly difficult to suss out candidates from non-candidates. Another day, perhaps, Claire would be so lucky as to recruit a skilled mage. If she did it before Kha could do it, even better. Another little thing to tease her with.

Willis went forward after cutting through the tendrils and after they had dissipated. Claire stood where she had been. Arms together and fingers entwined, clasped hands canted to her right, all the while wearing a wonderful smile. A dainty look. One she surmised might very well catch Willis' fancy, what with him having offered to protect her.

Some men weren't particularly inclined to subscribe to the Luminari's views. Not at first. They needed to be primed. Sweet-talked by a woman like Claire before following a man like Trajan. A funny thought. Just how did Kha convince people to join the Luminari? She wasn't nearly as open as Claire...seriously, how did she do it? Chat with them over wine or something? No. Probably not. Maybe she used all those silly little clocks of hers to try and hypnotize them. Like a circus showman on a volunteer from the crowd. Surely she had some special trick? In Claire's view, having the gall to ask a man to drop his life and devote himself to the cause was a rather heavy subject to broach. Why not smooth it over with something fun? And should he still refuse, well, Claire and the man both would have had a good night regardless. So what--?

And that was when Claire was grabbed from behind. Lost in part to her wandering thoughts and in part to the sight of Willis doing his work.

"Ahhh!"

A thick arm. Around her waist. A hand, pressed into her side, cold as a blizzard in a bottle. Light blue vapors of magic leaking into the air around the big, stocky hand.

A dwarf. Robed similarly to Renaldus. He spoke loudly to get Willis' attention. "Ever seen a body shatter like ice, lad?" Hard eyes on Willis' weapon. "Drop it."

From the relaxing back to the rush. Claire's heart pumping deliciously hard once more. The savory tingle of adrenaline and terror under her skin. And yet, she wasn't quite sure if she was leaning up against the cage of the aforementioned beast, or had now fallen in. The uncertainty a high all its own.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis spun around to see a Dwarf holding Claire by the waist his hand beginning to glow with icy smoke coming out of it. He was wearing the same robes as Renaldus. Another fucking cult in Elbion? Great. Willis gripped the handle of the sword sweat starting to form on his brow. Claire had an odd look of terror and excitement while Willis did enjoy the rush he didn't outwardly express as Claire did.

Renauldus was recovering from Willis strike appearing haggard and terrified. It seems the eunich has experienced his first taste of battle and already hates it. The piece of shit from the corner of his eye, Willis spotted another sword on top of the scabbard. It looked like a ceremonial sword but it looked sharp nonetheless. He just needed Claire to be with him. The Dwarf had her at magic point. Willis continued to grip the Elven sword's handle it was very light, an amused smile spread across Willis' lips he had an idea.

"Claire," Willis smiled. "I told you that I will protect you. You'll get out of this place even if it means that I may not. You have my word Claire."

Willis adjusted the blade raised it up as though he was throwing a spear and launched it as fast and hard as he can. The Elven blade cut through the Dwarf's shoulder forcing him to relinquish Claire. "Come to me!" Willis shouted seeing the Elven Blade penetrated the raw oak wall. The young man then grabbed the Ceremonial Sword and pointed towards the two assailants. "Time to party!" He smirked.

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

An outstanding throw! Backing up his words in a marvelous fashion. The dwarf staggered back with a cry and grabbed at his wound and in so doing freed Claire from his grasp. Danger, danger, lovely danger. The certainty of death terrifying, but the uncertainty of it absolutely thrilling. A gambler's high, in a sense. In the moment of the rolling of the dice, all things were possible. Sides turning round and round, bouncing off the wood of a table, raw potential dancing in their motion, and therein the exhilaration contained. Once the dice had landed, all doubt and wonder as to the outcome would be removed. But such magnificent intoxication in the tumbling and in the turning, riding the tumultuous wave of chance!

And here, now. Tiny victories over Renaldus and the dwarf, but they were not trapped by surety yet. The dice, as it were, still rolling, the number to be revealed at once all possible numbers and none at all.

Come to him. Didn't have to tell her twice! She wasn't one for fighting, oh no. That was the domain of men like Trajan and women like Abby. People who preferred it to be their business. And that simply wasn't something Claire cared for. Much like lockpicking, it was a thing best suited for her convincing others to--

Another robed man stood up suddenly from behind the sofa of the main room. A spear of summoned bone floating above his hands. And it launched forward like a fired crossbow bolt.

Claire, eyes wide and teeth clenched, arched her back so hard as to slam herself down to the floor, a heavy thud of force from her body hitting the wood. Bright stars before her eyes. Wind cleanly knocked from her chest, leaving her gasping.

But the spear missed! Sailed right over her stomach and her bosom. Flew past and hit the jamb of the open front door and dissipated into nothingness as the summoning magic faded rapidly.

A glance up at Willis, as she lay on flat on the floor on her back. An awkward grin and arch of her brows, and a slight shrug of her shoulders.

She couldn't say it. Not directly. No air in her lungs and all. But tried to suggest it without words:

Not a bad dodge. Right?

 

[Smiling One]

Willis' eyes widened when he saw another robed man appear from behind the couch and summoned a bone spear. "Look out!" Willis shouted as the man launched the weapon towards a sprinting Claire. The woman then did something that Willis did not see in his life. She arched her back and the spear barely missed Claire and disappeared before it hit the wall.

Claire smiled at Willis who was bemused, she had the flexibility he can't deny that. Willis extended his hand and helped Claire. "Impressive," Willis muttered. "Never seen a dodge like that before."

Willis then turned his attention to the three men who were ready to fight. Placing himself in front of Claire, Willis smirked. "Anyone of you shits touch Claire and it'll be the last you'll touch." he declared. "Ah fuck it you will be dead whether you touch her or not."

Willis turned to Claire and winked. "Don't worry," he said. "I got this."

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Claire took his hand, and it was more him pulling her up than her doing much standing on her own. But the clutching tightness in her chest let up some, allowing for little sips of air. Quite unpleasant, to throw oneself down flat to the hard floor, but a necessary pain. Oh yes, perhaps.

She got behind Willis as best she could. Tricky, with the dwarf on one side and Renaldus with the bone man on the other. She'd need to move with him, lest she make for a juicy target simply standing by her lonesome again. Move with him, but to do so without getting in his way. She could manage. Surely.

"You got this," she said, wheezing. Still hadn't caught her breath proper yet. Hmmmm. A concern, yes. But she'd have to do her best. How terrible would it be to perish here on account of some silly pratfall?

Stay close, stay limber, stay ready. Ooooo, the chills.

Renaldus and the dwarf fiddled with their fingers, preparing more icy spells while Willis and Claire had their brief banter; the bone man summoning another spear of bone, preparing to launch it.

 

[Smiling One]

The three men surrounded Willis and Claire preparing to launch their spells. The man behind the couch launched his bone spear at Willis. Willis sidestepped just barely with the bony weapon just grazing his cheek. The weapon once again dissipated before it the wall. That was Willis opening! The young man rushed towards the cultist behind the couch hearing the Dwarf behind Willis launch his Ice spell from behind.

From the corner of his eye, Willis saw the spell headed straight for him. Thinking about Claire's awkward dodge, Willis arched his back forward rolling on to the wooden floor. While he did so, Willis heard a scream he got up and saw that the man behind the couch got hit by the ice spell. Willis enjoyed the string of curses coming from the Dwarf as he leaped on top of the couch and slashed the afflicted cultist with one strike of his sword.

The man cried out in pain as Willis put him out of his misery with a horizontal slash across the neck. One down. Willis focused on Renauldus and the Dwarf who drew out his ax. "You'll pay for that you son of a bitch!" he roared rushing at Willis. Willis smirked and shrugged. "Hey!" he said. "It was either my life or his! Next time aim better!"

 

[Trajan Meng]

((Clarissa Mejeure))​

Oh what luck. Willis' turn to dodge a bone spear. Claire didn't need to move much, and certainly not as dramatically as last time. Just a delayed sidestep after Willis, keeping him mostly between the other two threats in the room. Well, now the bone man was just an archer without arrows, so to speak, hmmmmm? How terrible for him. Willis rushed the man and Claire matched his pace, or at least gave the effort to and--

An arcane noise. Behind. Willis caught sight of something and rolled. Claire flung herself out of the line of 'fire' and pressed herself against the wall of the main room. Sure, she had parted from Willis some, but the dwarf's little icicle spell missed both him and her and hit his own comrade.

She giggled. Couldn't help it. It was the one thing the dwarf didn't want to happen. And yet it did! Oh sure, sure, of course, battle and fighting for one's life was terribly serious business, yes, she was well aware. But it simply was funny, wasn't it? Awful for the dwarf, but fuck him. Pristine for Claire and Willis, absolutely pristine!

Renaldus seemed ready to cast something as Willis jumped over the couch and finished the bone man. So Claire tucked the crook of her boot against the leg of a small and light end table, giving it a good toss with her leg. Parchment flew everywhere, a quill and jar of ink spilled from the airborne table, and Renaldus, surprised, had to awkwardly stumble out of the way of the table, his casting temporarily interrupted.

Claire ran and slid across the floor and back behind the sofa. Not much in the way of cover, but some concealment from the other two necromancers. Oh, that was some fine craftsmanship and tailoring on the cloth over the wooden framework. Were the cushions goose down feathers? Oh it had to be comfortable. She had half a mind to steal one of the cushions once all this commotion had come to a close.

Staying low, poised with her feet and hands ready to move if something terrible came her way, she glanced at Willis and said, "What a fabulous show you put on, love!"