Quest Vengeance and The Void.

[Elise Darkwater]

Elise had been paid well for the job. This along with a few extra's had left the higher ups in the college very pleased with her. So pleased in fact she could leave her cell and return to the outside world.

At least until they needed her again.

After being marked with a tracking rune to make sure she didnt stray too far away Elise was free. She visited a few shops and really was enjoying the sights and sounds of Elbion. She decided to head to her favorite tavern outside of town.

As she exited the gates she soon found herself walking along the dense forest road she knew so well. The Old Mare was the tavern she had visited after her first job for a group of bandits, and she really had a soft spot for the old building and the people within.

So she walked with a slight skip in her step as she hummed an old tune.

"Old grey mare she aint what she used to be, Ain't what she used to be. Aint what she used to be.." She sang.

The forest around her began to grow dark. Many in her shoes would begin to worry, but a monster of darkness had no fear of it's home as she seemed almost further emboldened by it.

 

[Faerlin]

Faerlin spied on her target through the spyglass she’d been granted for this mission. The assassin had eliminated almost all of the paladin’s squad back in Vel Anir; Faerlin had almost been among them. Indeed, she’d sustained some pretty serious injuries in the fight. Only the fact that the healers of Vel Anir had extensive experience patching up injured soldiers had saved the paladin’s life.

And ever since that day, she’d been preparing to take Tattoo down.

The paladin had studied what she could of the energies the assassin had wielded, blood and darkness. While the scholars and mages hadn’t known exactly what Tattoo was—indeed, even among the mighty city of Vel Anir, there were foes they hadn’t faced yet—they knew enough about magic and smiting evil to give Faerlin the tools and the knowledge she needed to take down the assassin.

It would be the paladin’s distinct pleasure. No one came into her home and slaughtered her people and got to walk away from it. Now Faerlin embodied the wrath of Nykios and Vel Anir both, and she was ready to unleash it on the unworthy scum that had dared to test the mightiest force in the world. Permission had been requested and permission had been granted by the city of Elbion; they wanted nothing to do with Tattoo and her ilk. At least officially.

Before this mission—and during the days it had taken to get here—Faerlin had prayed fervently, for hours every day. Her pool of magic was deeper and stronger than it had ever been. She was armored this time, in silver plate with steel chainmail beneath. The weight would’ve crushed anyone who hadn’t prepared their entire life for a confrontation like this; it helped that runes to lighten and strengthen it had been etched into it. Her weapons were also silver: a silver longsword (with similar runes to her armor), a silver shield with every protection spell she could acquire layered on it, and her arrows had silver tips. Apparently silver interrupted magic of all kinds due to its density or something. Faerlin didn’t know the specifics of it. Nor did she care: so long as it got the job done she’d take it.

It wasn’t just her gear that had been improved: Faerlin herself had asked for, and received, blessings from her temple. The priests had given her increased strength, endurance, speed, dexterity, and even laid a healing spell over her, which might grant her slight regenerative abilities. She wasn’t planning to get hurt to test it.

And she had allies, too. Or an ally, anyway: Voraak Tyrethian was along for vengeance as well. Faerlin handed him the spyglass so that he could examine Tattoo as well. Already the paladin’s blood was boiling in anticipation.

 

[Elise Darkwater]

The whispers licked her ear as she stopped in the middle of the old road.

She smelt something in the air she heard the song of a familiar ones blood.
Her fangs extended slightly and claws seemed to grow from her fingers. Her gauntlets were in her bag.
Her hands already healed from the nasty puncture left by the blood extractors inside the cursed weapons. She knew that blood.

She wiped the drool leaking from her mouth at the thought of tasting that life energy again. Hopefully through her fangs this time around.
Her smile widened as she simply sat and waited. Her energy seemed to seep out if her and into the earth as she hummed a tune and started putting on her gauntlets.

She waited.
She wouldnt bring the fight to the tavern she was so find of. This person was coming no matter where she was.
She had thought it odd the college let her out of her cell. It seemed too kind.

Had Philippa Ebonheart known about the loose end she had failed to cut and allowed her to leave.
It was a win /win form where the college sat.
Exactly the place Phillipa and her supiors always made sure they sat. Either the loose end was taken care of or the assain linked to killing for the college's less reputable under the table allies would be killed and cut the cord connecting them to anything. Either way the coelleg won.

All they had had to do was find a way to get the two problems to "take it outside." She had been foolish to trust them.

She heard approaching foot steps without even opening her eyes. The scent of her blood was so strong a small trickle of drool leaked from the corners of her grinning lips.

"I have missed you child.."

She said. She hadn't eaten since leaving her cell. That had been a mistake.

She had been hoping to lead away a less desirable man to bed with her and eaten before she slept, but with the tavern out of the question she was hungry.

"You've changed a lot since I last saw you..I can't remember what for the life of me has changed..."

She said with a mock pondering expression tapping her.

"Oh that's right!"

She said finally snapping her fingers pretending for it to have just occured to her.

"You had a lot more spears in you. My spears. Like a little pin cushion."
She said covering her mouth with a gauntlet as she giggled hysterically.

"So come on. I can feel your blood and energy from here and it makes me feel so hot and bothered.."

She said with a lustful sigh as she stared into the paladins eyes. There was warmth in them. Inviting her to give up.
But behind the warmth was a cold killer lacking neither pity nor mercy.

"People like you complete me..."

She said in a voice that was filled with a sickening longing. She licked her lips and sank into a defensive stance beckoning her oppentent to attack.

 

[Voraak Tyrethian]

Voraak had accompanied Paladin Dercaiya to seek revenge against the woman they have nicknamed ‘Tattoo’. This assassin had killed several people back in Vel Anir and came close to killing Voraak but she took priceless research from him. He would have been that much closer to reclaiming a lost artifact--a blade.


As the Paladin handed him a spyglass, Voraak peered through it and gazed at the assassin, who was no doubt proud of herself for a ‘job well done’ which angered Voraak more. He wouldn’t be bested again--he was determined not to be.


Although Vulka would be best suited to following the assassin and track her, he didn’t want to take chances and lose his close friend and scout. Vulka had hung back with them and was pecking at the ground, hunting for bugs to devour.

The Pale Sorcerer had looked in the Vel Anir archives for such magic that she used and he could not find any official records of it but, it was mentioned as a form of “Blood Magic”. It took time and many trials to even become adept in the art of Blood Magic. Either the assassin was a prodigy or she had a very forceful mentor. Then again, it could be some other circumstance that he was unaware of. Not knowing the situation made him frown as he furrowed his brows.


It seemed as if the assassin had heard his frustration and looked in their direction.

How in the bloody hell can that wench see us?
He pondered.

Saliva was dripping from her mouth and she looked like a longing wife-wanting her partner to make love to her. A lustful murderer. This made things more interesting.

Voraak had only met a handful of murderers but they had a motive or behaved in a different way, this woman however; it seemed like it was a pleasure to kill. A severe pleasure.

Staring into the unknown, Voraak smiled and knew that soon the fight shall commence.

 

[Faerlin]

Faerlin didn’t know how the assassin had sensed them (though the mention of dark spears gave her some idea), seeing as the paladin and Voraak hadn’t moved from where they were hidden, watching Tattoo. Still, one moment the assassin was far off, the next she was staring into the paladin’s eyes. Faerlin, for her part, stared back, no fear in her gaze or her posture.

Ignoring the assassin’s words for the distraction they were—Faerlin was well used to the art of taunting opponents—the paladin didn’t bother using any of her own. She’d been given orders to take this bitch down through any means necessary, and she would follow through on them. So, in a blinding display of speed and dexterity, the paladin pulled the bow from her back, nocked an arrow, and fired in one smooth motion.

The shot flew straight and true, but the paladin knew the assassin’s own gifts and doubted it would land.

That hadn’t been the purpose behind it anyway: Faerlin mostly wanted to give Tattoo something to look at while the paladin dropped the bow, drew her sword, and ran forward in a carefully controlled charge. This time, the paladin wasn’t holding anything back, though she was fighting smarter. Remembering how Nykios’ divine magic had somehow been corrupted by Tattoo’s own dark arts, Faerlin was simply going to strike directly at Tattoo through force of arms, until the paladin had a clear and safe target for her magic.

Also, she was hoping to draw attention away from Voraak. She’d protested when the mage tagged along, seeing as he had been the original target and seeing how useless he’d been last time. But he was a free man, allowed to do what he wanted, and the higher ups thought he might be an asset. How a mage who’d failed to fire off a single spell in their last fight could be an asset, Faerlin didn’t know. Hopefully he’d show her sooner rather than later.

Assuming the assassin was close and hadn’t dodged out of the way, the paladin’s sword would swing out, intending to sever Tattoo’s left arm at the elbow.

 

[Elise Darkwater]

Elise stood still with a smirk as the arrow flew true ready to bury itself in her head. She caught it easily. "Really...I thought you would have learned by no-"

She froze her words catching in her throat as she saw the silver point. Silver!? If her arrows...

Then her blade..Her blade! She blocked the strike with a speed that made the action seem like it hadnt occurred knocking it away the sword deflecting its edge with her gauntlet.

It hissed and she grimaced for a moment letting out a squeak. In the next instant she seemed to melt into the ground in a pool of darkness and she reformed with a little space between them. She drew her crossbow using hand hand to fire it while aiming her left hand as well.

She fired a bolt at the paladin that left a trail of black smoke behind it. While her left fired a volley of void spikes at Voraak.

It flew true landing at the paladins feet exploding in a cloud of thick black smoke enveloping the area around her.

Elise took her moment to turn and flee to the treeline, should nothing hinder her she would disappear yet again slipping through their clutches. Her back was exposed as she turned.

 

[Voraak Tyrethian]

Voraak took the Paladin’s charge as a way to use his Frost magic to an extent that his rage almost seemed to make the spells stronger. Sure he was bested last time, but that was because he didn’t know who he was up against. Now he had an idea.

As Paladin Dercaiya charged forth with her sword, Voraak performed somatic gestures and his hands started to flow with ice crystals forming. The air around his hands started to emit a faint mist.

The assassin had fired void spikes at him, to which he somersaulted out of the way, barely missing them.

Want to fire a volley at me? Okay, I’ll oblige.
He thought wickedly.

Throwing his hands forth, a barrage of ice spikes came out of his hand and tore through the foliage and forest debris. If the spikes didn’t make contact with the assassin, it would at least prevent her from hiding.

Frozen ice ripped through the forest with such ferocity that some were left plunged in the shafts of tree trunks. Plants were carved away and Voraak didn’t care. He sought revenge.

He wouldn’t be made a fool again.

After the barrage had ended its course, Voraak drew his hands back and performed more somatic gestures. An attempt on the next attack.

 

[Faerlin]

Well if the assassin was dumb enough to take blows, Faerlin was going to take full advantage of that fact. The arrow struck Tattoo in the head, and the paladin felt a fierce fire of satisfaction burn within her. The other woman was dead. She just didn’t know it yet.

Although the sword strike was deflected, Faerlin followed up by thrusting her shield forward in a bash. The silver on it would hopefully turn what would normally just be a stunning blow into something more potent. However, the cowardly assassin melted into a pool of darkness, and retreated. Screw that: the paladin charged ahead. As the smoke exploded around her, Faerlin’s armor flared and it was swept away in a wind that glittered with golden light. One of the blessings from a priest of Drakon, god of nature. The priests of the other Celestials had been more than happy to lend their aid to this cause.

As the assassin turned her back to them, Voraak finally cast an actual spell. A volley of ice spikes ripped through the forest, shredding the foliage. Faerlin smirked, then, for the first time this fight, called upon her own magic. Directly in the assassin’s path, two trees had been hit by the man’s spell, so the paladin called upon her magic. Twin crimson bolts surged forward, and the trees, already weakened, toppled down before the assassin could reach them, cutting off that route.

 

[Elise Darkwater]

The bash took her in the chest driving her backwards and breaking a couple of ribs as the silver burned her skin. She let out a whimper as she landed turning to flee further as ice spikes sank into her lower back and the foliage around her.

She fell before pooling into darkness, reforming and making for the trees.

A whip of darkness wrapped around a branch as the trees fell leaving her plummeting back to earth with another squeak. She landed heavily still trying to shake off the silver effects.

The spikes were pushed from her back as the wounds closed quickly. She turned to her attackers slowly backing into the fallen trees.

"It was just a job no need to take things so personally.." She said with a nervous giggle holding up her hands in a passive gesture.

"Let's be adults about this and talk it out.." She said looking from the paladin to Voraak. Black blood was flowing from the right corner of her mouth as she finally placed her back to the tree.

Her black energy flowed and pooled around her on the ground as she slowly sank into a sitting position clutching her injured side properly cornered.

"No need.... for more.... bloodshed right.." She said between chokes as she began coughing up a glob of black tar holding up a hand for them to stop. Her energy seemed to pool around her and sink into the ground and she hoped for a bit of mercy.

 

[Voraak Tyrethian]

Voraak approached carefully in order to get a better look at the situation. The Paladin did a good job of charging into the assassin while he would follow up with a spell. It was a sound strategy in his opinion. Swordplay wasn’t in his wheelhouse as magic favored him better but he was semi-decent with a blade.

Holding his hands out in front of him, the blue fog continued to roar around his palms and even circle around the length of his arms. A ray of ice shot out as Voraak murmured something under his breath which caused the ice to make contact with a tree in the distance and freeze. The blast was continuous and he used this to make an ice wall reaching from that tree to another one nearby, hoping to change the assassin’s mind about running away.

No more bloodshed? Should have thought about that before you lay waste to Vel Anir

Voraak gritted his teeth as the Paladin proceeded over to the assassin. Tensions were thick in the air like the air around a marsh. Dread and anxiety danced in the atmosphere like reunited lovers. He was on edge.

Voraak wouldn’t interfere with the Paladin’s justice but he still wondered why she was hired to take those documents away.

 

[Faerlin]

There would be justice here, and vengeance too. What there would not be was any discussion. As far as Faerlin was concerned, the assassin’s life had been forfeit the moment she shed Vel Anirian blood. It was far more valuable than the black and evil sludge that flowed through the other woman’s veins, and it cried out for a response to the attack at the heart of the fortress city.

”Stand back,” the paladin ordered Voraak, not willing to let the assassin pull off any more tricks. After seeing how quickly she had drained the people in the tavern, Faerlin wasn’t going to take any chances. So the paladin approached, sword at the ready, and thrust it into the other woman’s heart.

It was time to end this and wipe this monstrosity off the map. And the paladin was a cleanser of evil. Well, here was evil. It was time for it to face judgment.

 

[Elise Darkwater]

Her look of fear slowly melted away.

"You dont wanna talk ey? ok?"

It had been a trick.
The paladin thrust at her trying for her heart. Spikes suddenly punched through the ground around her spearing Elise as well as everything is a 30 ft radius.
However they deflected off of the paladins armor.
She hadnt seen this coming and barely rolled out of the way. the stab ended up slashing her stomach deeply.
She fired a tendril of void energy to the top of the ice wall and launched herself up into the air firing another volley of void spike from on top of the wall to rain down on them.

"Better luck next time shit stai-"

She said as she suddenly hit her knees clutching her stomach wound, and vomiting over the side of the wall. The silver made it burn and black blood was gushing from it.
It wasnt healing at all for the moment.
It would but not for a longer than she had.

"-s-stains.."
She finished as the world went fuzzy and finally black as she fell backwards on to the other side of the wall landing roughly.