Private Tales The Shadows of Destiny

[Nasir]

Nasir moved quickly.

The two men standing within the center of the Common room were too slow. Both of them had weapons, though neither held them.

He moved towards the one on the right, deciding to hand Keyleth a small amount of trust as they burst into the common room and struck. It took him only four steps to close the distance between himself and his target.

Before the peasant could even do anything he found his legs kicked out from beneath him and Nasir's arm locked around his throat.

Pressure exuded on his neck cut away the air, and a loud gurgling could be heard as the man fought against the bandits grasp.

 

[Keyleth]

Keyelth was built more for agility and precision than brute strength. Before anyone could properly react, she'd launched herself at the man on the left, sweeping his legs out from under him.

In a matter of seconds, he was flat on his back with a dagger at his throat, Keyleth's knee pressing painfully down onto his chest.

There was anger in her eyes, and the peasant had the unfortunate luck of being the first glimpse Keyleth had of regaining some sort of control in her life. She could still fight, there was still a chance for her to get free.

"Give me a reason not to slit your throat right now." She snarled at him, letting the blade bite into his flesh.

 

[Nasir]

A loud crack echoed out behind Keyleth followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

Nasir stepped over the dead man, his long-knife clutched in his left hand as he stepped up behind the Aegis. There was a disinterest to his human mask, though and odd intensiveness to the way his eyes sat upon the peasant on the floor.

"There's no reason good enough." Nasir said quietly behind her.

The peasant with a knife to his throat began to sweat, his eyes bulging and his face filling with fear as he opened his mouth to beg for his life.

"P-p-please! It wasn't my idea, it was Pa's!"​

Nasir leaned over Keyleth slightly, taking a look at the man for the first time. He was young, probably in his early twenties. He had the looks of someone who would be a warrior had he not been stuck in a dead end town.

 

[Keyleth]

"And you, the foolish boy that you are, agreed to murder travelers seeking a night's rest?" She growled in response, pressing the blade a bit more firmly against the young man's throat.

In Minaris, such indifference and laziness would have met a swift end. Her people's culture was built communal support; without it, such an isolated people would have perished long ago. There were criminals, of course, but they never passed tried to pass the buck and blame someone else.

Everyone was responsible for their own actions.

"I do not care whose idea it was." She snarled once more, and then swiftly flicked the blade upwards and sliced the young man's ear clean off.

"A craven brat is what you are." Her eyes snapped to Nasir. "He'd do well with your people."

 

[Nasir]

The boy screamed, a little too loudly for Nasir's taste.

No doubt everyone within half a mile would hear his cry, and that likely meant the entire village would come running to investigate. His lips thinned slightly, and he glanced down at the boy while Keyleth scolded him. "No."

He chuckled.

"He doesn't have the mettle." Despite what Keyleth might have thought, his band was not just made up of cravens and fools.

Everyone had their talents, their reasons as to why Nasir had chosen them. Even the most despicable of them.

"Kill him." He offered. "He deserves no less."

 

[Keyleth]

She knew there wasn't another option.

The boy needed to die, especially with him wailing like his was beneath her.

With a shake of her head, she clamped one hand over the young peasant's mouth to muffle his cries. He thrashed about on the floor, frantically trying to get free.

"Shh." Keyleth murmured, placed the tip of the dagger on the side of his neck at the base of his skull. Ideally, she would have done this from behind, but the blade was still long enough to get the job done.

"It'll be quick."

That was the last thing the would be murderer heard. As soon as the words left her lips, she slammed the dagger through his neck until she felt the blade bite into his spinal chord.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir smiled down at Keyleth, his head turning towards the door. "We likely only have a few moments."

He commented as he began to venture behind the bar.

The village was scarce, and truth be told he wasn't entirely too concerned with a bunch of peasants attacking him. If things grew dire he could always use his magics, but that was a revelation he did not yet want to offer Keyleth.

Nor anyone else for that matter.

Without a word Nasir stepped behind the bar, rummaging around for bottles before he found what he was looking for. He uncorked some of the higher proof alcohol and slowly began to pour it over the bar and floor.

"Did it feel good?" HE asked nonchalantly.

 

[Keyleth]

"No, but it needed doing." She said matter of factly, shaking her head as she pulled the blade from the dead man's neck. Blood gushed from the wound, seeping into the floor in a dark crimson pool.

Her eyes turned to Nasir, watching him as he poured the bottle out.

"Killing should not be done for the sake of pleasure." She said curtly.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir smiled at Keyleth, an insidiousness hidden behind his eyes. "Oh yes, of course."

It was clear that he did not exactly believe her words.

"It had to be done." He agreed as he finished pouring the bottle over the bar and pulled out another, wiggling it in his hand before tossing it over towards her. Another was quickly withdrawn from behind the bar, and then dripped onto the floor.

A second later he moved behind a wall, grabbing a lantern from the kitchen before appearing once again in the common room.

Outside the window flashes of light could be seen, moving torches as folk from the village gathered outside. "Did it not?"

He asked coyly.

 

[Keyleth]

She eyed him cautiously after he tossed her the other bottle. Her eyes turned back to the cheap liquor in her hand, frowning slightly. Of course there'd been other options, she'd just chosen the easiest one.

Her thoughts drifted for a few fleeting moments. What would The Mainlander have thought of her now? His Daesha broken and fallen so far from Grace. She liked to think he wouldn't oppose the killing... But what about the rest? He'd hate her for not trying to immediately get free, for letting everything happen. She'd failed to protect him and herself.

She cleared her throat and took a long swig from the contents of the bottle before she tossed it to the ground. The bottle shattered against the wooden floor, sending glass and amber liquor in every direction.

This was what she deserved.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir frowned, then shook his head.

For a few seconds he did not move, still waiting for her answer. When she did not speak his fingers deftly popped open the small door of the lantern.

There was no hesitation in how he moved, his hand clutched the side of the lantern, and then he nonchalantly tossed it onto the bar. The burning wick of the candle touched the amber colored liquid and fire exploded in an instant.

The heat of an inferno laved against Nasir's skin as he slowly walked out from behind the bar.

Fire began to slowly draw over the bar, spreading as the Drow moved towards Keyleth.

 

[Keyleth]

She spun the dagger once in her hand as he approached her, gritting her teeth slightly together. A part of her wanted to stab him with the weapon, but she knew that she needed him. As much as it pained her to admit.

"Why did we come here if you knew this was going to happen?" She asked him in a low voice, glancing to the fire over his shoulder.

They didn't have much time, but she didn't think there would be time to ask the question later. No doubt more people would die tonight.

 

[Nasir]

Fire slowly rose all around them. "It was a test."

There was no small amount of disappointment in his voice. He had known what would happen, had known that they would try this. He'd done similar things a dozen times before, probing those whom his bandits would raid.

"I gave them a chance." Nasir said quietly. "An opportunity to be decent, to show some small amount of restraint."

His head shook. "But they couldn't. They saw a bag of money. A beautiful elven woman. That was enough for them."

Disgust crossed his features.

"All they saw was a bit of wealth, because that was all they are capable of seeing." Just like the rest of them. Just like those humans he lead.

 

[Keyleth]

"What does me being elven have to do with anything?" She asked, already feeling the heat of the fire as it rapidly spread through the building. It cast the both of them in a brilliant orange glow.

With Minaris as isolated as it was, she had no idea how things operated on the mainland.

There wasn't enough time to get more answers from Nasir. From what he'd shown her in his own actions against her, and the display from the humans in this village; she was starting to understand why a portion of the Minrasin nobility wanted to remain isolated. The people here were monsters.

"Nevermind... let's just go." She said softly, turning to make her way to the door.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir didn't appear to intend to answer her question even before she dismissed it herself, instead regarding one of the window.

"Stop." He said with a wave of his hand.

He could kill those out front, but not without his magic. That would reveal too much, and he had no intention of giving himself away. Not in a rundown village like this. Not when the secret was still more valuable than a few bandit lives.

"This way." He pointed to where the fire was already catching. "Through the Kitchens."

Then they could get the rest of his men to slaughter this place.

 

[Keyleth]

She paused when he casually gestured towards the kitchens, and then she sighed, turning to follow along behind him. The dagger spun lightly in her fingers and was then secreted away inside her sleeve. If he was going to let her carry a weapon, she wasn't about to relinquish it.

Already the fire had spread far enough that it consumed the main room, dark smoke starting to billow from the windows. It stung her eyes and made it difficult to breathe.

"There will likely be others around the back." She growled, trying not to cough as the smoke rose around them.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir held his breath as they walked, moving through the Kitchen as the inferno quickly began to consume the building around them.

It was another mark of Humanity, the wasted potential in their construction. Contempt filled his stomach as they walked, the sound of Keyleth's voice barely reaching him over the snapping of the flames all around them. "I do not doubt it."

He said as they reached the door.

"But." Nasir smiled, the human mask he wore on his face twisting slightly in an air of cruelty. "I'm sure they won't be a problem for you."

He lingered on the words just a second longer, and then kicked open the door.

 

[Keyleth]

In that moment, she wanted to demand the truth from him. He wasn't human, he was something else, of that she was certain. She'd seen his glamour flicker, heard the slips in his words. There was something more at play here, but he was keeping everyone around him in the dark. So what was it he was really after?

There was no time.

He kept them moving and then the door flung open after he kicked it ajar. There were indeed a cluster of men waiting around the back of the inn. Two of them held torches and the others carried a weapon of some sort. From her count, there was only five of them.

She hesitated.

Keyleth never hesitated in battle.

But standing there in the doorway, faced with the group of men with nothing but malicious intent.. she was abruptly dragged back to the fight in the jungle with The Mainlander and Nasir's bandits.

And the wretched ending that met them both that night.

Her breath caught in her throat.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir was like a force of nature.

There was no hesitation to the way he moved, no breath to take. As soon as the door slammed against the outside of the tavern he dashed out.

The long knife in his hand found itself coated in blood within just a few seconds of being outside. The blade caught the throat of the nearest man, and that was when the screams began. It took only a minute for the men at the back of the tavern to turn into an orgy of blood and death.

Nasir cut through them like a farmer did a field of grain.

He came to a stop when the last of them fell to the ground as a crumpled corpse. Blood splattered his clothes and face, the long-knife dripping into the earth.

Slowly Nasir turned back towards Keyleth.

 

[Keyleth]

Keyleth didn't move for a few moments, but the oppressive heat of the fire eventually ushered her forward. The dagger in her hand suddenly felt incredibly heavy, as if she was dragging a greatsword around.

The woman staggered, finally trying to gasp for breath. Her soul was shattered and the broken pieces were struggling to reassemble themselves in a timely manner.

Accompanied with the smoke inhalation, and she felt incredibly lightheaded. As she took a step forward, she nearly stumbled to the ground.

A hand reached out and she grabbed Nasir's shoulder for support.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir caught her, though only barely touching her. One hand rested half on her waist as she grabbed his shoulder for support.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched her free hand, still weary of a knife fluttering up to meet his stomach. The bleeding men around them moan quietly, a few of them still hanging on to their death throes. Nasir looked around.

"We have to go." No sympathy entered his tone.

In order to be reforged a blade had to be broken.

That was what Keyleth was feeling. She had been shattered and broken into a thousand pieces, broken apart and sundered so that she could become something else.

This was only the first step.

 

[Keyleth]

As his hand came to rest on her waist, Keyleth returned to her senses and she quickly pulled herself back. Disgust surged in her stomach, followed shortly by a powerful wave of nausea. She didn't feel like herself anymore, she didn't know who she was anymore.

Her life as she'd known it was over. That woman died in the barn, murdered by the men who attacked her. Every part of her had been stolen away, and now even her very soul was sundered.

She could hear voices shouting in the distance, bearing down on them.

"Lead the way." She managed to rasp out to the Bandit Lord.

 

[Nasir]

Nasir lingered for a brief moment, then nodded his head. "That way."

He pointed towards a path behind the buildings. Just ahead lay the dwarven ruins, the broken and sundered stone laying out as though the villagers had been picking away at them. Behind voices began to echo, some yells for water, others for blood.

"The others will be down here soon." Nasir commented as he began to walk.

There was contempt for the bandits in him, but he had trained them well.

The fire would be beacon, and they would all come running for a chance of blood. Nasir had known that when he'd set the flame. He and Keyleth would just have to survive until the others arrived.

"OVER THERE!"​

A voice behind them called.

 

[Keyleth]

She knew that Nasir meant the rest of his men would soon descend upon the village of murderers and show them a taste of their own medicine. Until then, however, the two of them needed to survive.

Instinct was a powerful motivator when it came down to it.

Keyleth shook her head and moved to follow Nasir. She needed to focus on the now, losing herself in her trauma would only get her killed.

Packing that hurt away was dangerous, but she simply didn't dare to try to process it.

As they fled around the corner of the building, she heard a group come around behind them. Heavy footsteps came pounding, and the shouts of those chasing them made it clear that they'd been found out.

"Fuck..."

 

[Nasir]

A small hiss slipped passed his teeth as an Arrow sunk into the building behind him.

The townsfolk were no moving in a pack. Through the darkness his eyes recognized a few of them, some patrons of the Inn that they had just burned down. There were at least a dozen, and probably more moving among the buildings to the left and right.

"To the ruins." Nasir told Keyleth as he flipped his long-knife and clutched it a bit more tightly.

He could chance a fight, but the only way he would win was with magic. Best to just flee and let the others take care of this. Rein would relish in all of this.

Without another word he grabbed the back of Keyleth, urging her around a corner towards the cliffside where they found intricately carved steps leading up to a set of stone double doors.