RP:House Nasar Attacks

Part of the Rest in Pieces: Vailkrin! Arc

Summary: While making a deal, Larewen is attacked by an assassin of House Nasar. Elioyahazer happens to be close by and swoops in to save the vampire matriarch. The two enjoy a drink in each other's company before they decide to hunt a few nobles, unaware at first that they are the ones being hunted.

Abandoned Slave Market

Larewen stood in the alleyway behind the abandon market, speaking quietly and quickly with someone. Flanking the entrance to the alley were two cloaked soldiers. Upon drawing near them, one would recognize the pair to be undead and around their throats, the onlooker might be able to spot the insignia of House Dragana. The elf knew better than to travel this far into the city alone, especially after inciting civil war. Whatever dealings she had, they preoccupied her attention and she remained blissfully unaware of a shadow above her—a House Nasar agent seeking their target: her. There was a faint hiss as a blade was removed, a momentary stillness as the assassin coated their blade, and then they were dropping soundlessly deeper into the alley, melding into the shadows. While Larewen bartered with the owner of the abandoned shop, the Nasar crept nearer, careful to keep their movements confined to the back of Larewen’s head, where she could not see them.

Elioyahazer had been born with luck, a gift that had washed his body in grief. In killing. In the very lifestyle of being an assassin for hire. By luck, perhaps truly it's Larewens for Eli's appearance into the alley is most assuredly fated. Granted by way of his need to prove himself, which explains why the fledgling left home. He had taken Larewens warnings and moved along the rooftops for now, because the information about their enemies is t omething he can laim o now. However it it seems that he is not alone these days as another drops down and he spots what the hired ruffian intends to do, and whom they intend to do this too. Elioyahazer reacts with brutal efficiency, forgoing the normal means of chase - slipping off the roof into the alley way. The sky born Outrider pulls out his sword mid air and aims to plunge it straight down into their collarbone and into their chest cavity. But that's not all, his body is on a collision course with the fool below, feet first.

The would-be assassin was alerted to other movement in the alley with them, Elioyahazer’s blade barely missing its mark as they pulled back.. Rather than piercing the assassin’s collarbone, it finds the meat of their shoulder and they bite back a howl of pain. The scuffle and muffled cry alert Larewen and her guards, the latter of which suddenly darted into the alley with every intention of aiding Elioyahazer. Larewen raised a gloved hand, halting the ghoulish knights. No, she wanted to see how the fledgling performed. The Nasar agent rolled out of the way, landing upright on their feet to avoid the collision course they were en route to. One foot slid backward, the other firmly placed forward for but a moment before the agent lunged at Elioyahazer. Hand pulled back and poised to strike, the blade was aimed for the fledgling’s throat.

Elioyahazer specializes in quick casting utility magic, added by the Xalious wood totem hanging from the handle of his bastard sword. He has no time to sneer over his attack, and the drawing of blood. A singular arcane word lights up a rune on his totem, halting his descent enough to land softly upon the ground. Elioyahazer raises his bastard sword and rests it upon his shoulder. An amused glance stretches over his features when the assailant charges. The Outrider responds with calculated proficiency. His heavily protected left arm bats the strike aside - the mithril inside his bracers showering Sparks into the alley way. Simultaneously, his feet shift to side step to his attackers flank. Where that bastard sword is swing downwards in a mighty chop that can easily split their head in two. It seemed Eli intended to end this fracas with a show of Gore.

Larewen loved gore. That much she attested to the moment the agent made that fatal mistake. With their arm cast wide by the repelling mithril plate of Elioyahazer’s bracer, the agent moved to bring up their other arm and drive a smaller blade upward into the man’s gut. The blade doesn’t make it to it’s mark though, for suddenly its wielder’s head was cloven in two. Gray matter, bone, and blood burst ourtward from the center of the agent’s head and they fell to their knees, staring blankly up at Elioyahazer. “You’d damn us all?” they asked, the words almost otherworldly upon their dying breath. From here, Larewen approached, mismatched gaze studying the corpse. She toed the body with her boot, then extended an arm. Verdant shadows snaked downward from her fingertips, seeping into the fallen assassin’s form. The body twitched unnaturally as the dark magic worked its way in. But this wasn’t as far as Larewen went. A flash of cruelty lit up her features as her magic reached out further, grasping the escaping soul of the vampire that had dared attack her and yanking it back into its shell. The newly raised creature exhaled, blood bubbling from its split head. Inky blackness knit the skull back together as best it could without all the pieces. With a lift of her chin, she directed the two guards to take the newest addition to Larewen’s army with them, no doubt taking the poor sod to her estate. After this, those eyes fell upon Elioyahazer curiously. “Why?” she asked.

Elioyahazer is showered in bone brain an vitae, bits clinging to him here or there. But even such a sight does not compare to the devilish grin tainting his cinnamon kissed features. God's that felt good. The dying man's words etch their way into his minds eye. "Aren't we already?" With a singular twist, the weapon is pulled free of it's newly found head sheath. The blood is wiped from the blade, and it's driven back home into the scabbard at Eli's side. Larewens magic is always a sight to behold, at least now he's sure of it. The raised minion is soon ready to head off with her guards, but she stays. Why?! That's a rather vague question. "Why not? That assassin is an enemy." He looks directly into her mismatched eyes. He didn't do it to gain her favor. Nor did he even want attention over it. The simple truth is that he yearned to flex this new body of his. But he also remembered something else. "You said that your enemies would know that I've been sired by you. Sense it even. So I believe that puts us on the same side. I sure as hell don't want you dead."

Larewen allowed a smirk to slide over pale lips. The elf was pleased to hear his words, though wary all the same. Emrith wasn’t the first of her sirelings to change on her; to decide that her death was imperative to the survival of others. She doubted he’d be the last. She turned slightly, watching as guards and newly returned disappeared from the alley. He’d taken her warning to heart, so to speak and something about being listened to was nice. Although, that didn’t explain why he was already out and among the general populace. Skirmishes contantly broke out on the main city road between her soldiers and those of House Trintus, mostly. Occasionally the others were involved. And yet Larewen seemed to regard Elioyahazer as a mother might a small child. Protectively. It’s the only reason he’d been warned, and even now as he spoke, the elf let loose a dry laugh. Beneath her breath, she murmured something along the lines of “We’ll see how long that lasts” before tilting her head back toward the main road. “Care to join me for a drink?”

Elioyahazer smirks to her comment about how long this will last. He wasn't a seer and couldn't see the future. He does know that for some reason nabbing that kill felt great. His mind actually ached for more as if there was a primal hunger from a monster deep within his core. Such a thing would have struck Eli stupid had it happened just a few days ago. But now?... As for the war and the skirmishes, well, he'd cross that bloody bridge when the time presented itself. "A drink?" His eyes glance down the road once, suspiciously eyeing any who pass them. "Sounds good to me." Even with his mind on the fight, and the possibility of more to come, what else would he be doing now? "Lead the way, Larewen." He still uses her first name as it's the only way that he knows her. With a single step, he moves up next to her, ready to move along at her pce. "What can you tell me about the war?" His voice a whisper among the crowds.

Larewen wiggled her fingers as they walked, thickening the air around them so that whatever was said stayed close by, rather than drifting into the ears of those around them. Guiding Elioyahazer to the south, then the east, Larewen seemed unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. Instead, she said simply, “Our King abdicated his throne—something he told me he was doing before hand, knowing full well I would lust for it. I waited some time, mostly for the houses to adjust Then I decided I would lay my claim and, as you can see, the result was an uproar. The Houses now vie for the empty throne, and I intend to pit them against one another and use the ensuing chaos of a renewed affront to my advantage.”

Elioyahazer fall's into thought. Pit them against each other? So she was scheming to break them apart, by secretly using other houses against each other. "And what if a house falls, and it's pinned on you and the surviving houses join hands to end you?" She most certainly thought of the angles, but as a new player to the politics of Vailkrin, Eli was unarmed - without knowledge. Howevera questioning glance is thrown her way. "I wonder if I might be of assistance." Well he already protected her, why not sign up for more?

The Hanging Corpse

Larewen chuckled dryly as they walked. “The Houses have come at me once already, when they ruined my All Hallow’s Eve bash. Framed me for the slaughter of several visitors to the city, actually,” the elf explained as they reached the entrance to the Hanging Corpse. “I was incapacitated, and helpless to stop much of the slaughter.” The elf’s expression darkened as she spoke. A summoned gust of wind pushed open the tavern door and she entered, keeping the door open for Elioyahazer. From there, she guided him to her preferred table near the hearth, and ordered bloodwine, remaining strangely quiet.

Elioyahazer nods once to her story about the other houses attacking her once already. They failed, to his surprise. Just how strong is Larewen? His mutated eyes shift to her once while she steps through the threshold. Then, Elioyahazer follows in pursuit ordering the same drink for himself. Eventually the desert born spell blade moves to join her at the table, pulling out a chair across from her. His cinnamon kissed features shrivel up for a moment in thought. “So, why don't we attack them?” He lets the question linger in the air, sipping his ordered drink and watching her reaction.

Larewen waited patiently for her own drink, contemplating just how he might be able to help her when he spoke again with the obvious question: why not attack them, if she fended them off once before? That answer came soon enough. “My forces have not yet recovered from the first one, and what remains are constantly caught up here in the city, in skirmishes with the other Houses. What I need is an assassin. One that is willing to slip through the shadows behind the lines and take out my enemies, while I wear down their forces. But before I can begin to wear them down, I must rebuild my army.” Why was she confiding all this information to a new sireling? Larewen wasn’t sure and for a moment she appeared conflicted. Mismatched eyes rose to Elioyahazer, studying him quietly for a prolonged period of time.

Elioyahazer understood why Larewen couldn't just go in all swords blazing, but didn't understand why she had chosen to wait so long. Is it due to her need of an assassin? There must be plenty who could handle this for her. His eyes twitch to the nearby fire while lost in thought. His expression as void as the night he passed. Nothing of his inner world is visible written upon it. His attention moves back to her. “Look, we don't know each other, but for better or worse, the events of yesterday played out and here we are. You and I. Allies.” He lets those words sink in. No one knows what the future holds, but he can't go anywhere else, he has been sired by Larewen and they will know it. “Besides the hunger you've granted me, I have this itch in the back of my mind since that scuffle. I need more. Granted, I'm not much of an assassin, but if you point me to a house, I'll use my skills and knowledge to leave a trail so bloody that all houses will feel fear.”

Larewen listened as he spoke, sipped at her drink a few times, even lit another clove cigarette which she seemed to pull out of nowhere. His affirmation that they were allies, and so willingly so, struck a nerve in the elf. “Surely there must be something more you want,” she said after a time. “I’ve only given you an eternity, and in exchange for that, you’re showing…” The elf trailed off, puffing on her cigarette for a few moments. “More loyalty at less a cost than any of my other allies.” Her gaze turned toward the fire in the hearth, studying it for a long moment before returning to Elioyahazer. She did not trust him, and it was evident in her features. After all, her last second to last sireling had tried to kill her.

Elioyahazer fell silent again, mulling over her words. Trust is a difficult thing for anyone who's been stabbed in the back. It seems to Eli that she is hesitant to grant him trust. After all, he is a stranger. Despite being sired by her, they knew nothing about each other. “Honestly, this whole place is new. Being sired by you has unknowingly made me an enemy to the others. You've done me no wrong, so I have no ill intent to you. But if I didn't work with you, where would I go? What would I do? Go back to my manor in Cenril to the empty walls and memories of a past I can never have?” The thought of that place bothers him, visibly so. “I understand that you don't trust me, and I'll be honest too. I don't trust you either. But trust comes with time. If I do this for you, what do you have to lose? Some nobody fledgling? All I'm seeking is a new path. Which is why I asked to be remade, not reborn.”

Larewen did exactly that. She’d run, that was what took her so long. She left Vailkrin with fighting in the streets, because she knew exactly what it was like to come home to an empty manor. She also knew what it was like to step out of those doors and have everything ripped away in mere moments. Over the past night, what Elioyahazer had seen of Larewen was a side not many got to view. A softness that rarely surfaced. Finally, she spoke, “Sometimes, being able to return to that place is a step we must take.” The words were quiet. Barely audible even within the sound barrier Larewen had created. There was a hint of pain in the elf’s eyes, but it soon faded. “More than you know,” she said, this time louder. The image of her assassination, the one that had succeeded and rendered her without form for some time, burned brightly in her mind.

Elioyahazer frowned once. “The only way I'll return home is to burn it down.” His tone of voice is flat and uncaring, void of any love. While he was eager to land himself a job, she wasn't too eager to give him a chance. This is something that words can't change. Instead of prying into her past, he lets that slide. And by the look on her face, he'd be right not to discuss it. Without another word, Elioyahazer raises his drink to finish it. Today has been an interesting one. “I'm glad that you are safe.” Now he's referring to the attack from earlier. He draws himself up to a stand, and smiles once to Larewen. “I'll see you later. Thanks for having a drink with me.” During this moment that nagging voice came back into his mind, scratching at the surface of his sanity. I really need to clear my head. He moves away and throws the barkeep enough coin for what they've had. “I'm going to find a little exercise.” With a nod to Larewen, he starts to head off.

Larewen watched him as he stood, as he tossed the coin down for their drinks and stated his need for exercise. When had Larewen last stretched her muscles? When had she last shown her might? Finishing her cigarette, she ashed it out in one of their cups and rose, stepping after Elioyahazer. Her gloved hand reached out, grabbing his wrist with sudden force. "Wait, I'm going with you," she declared. The corners of her mouth twitched slightly and again that madness glinted in the depths of her mismatched eyes. "I could use some too. Perhaps I'll even put on a show, let them see that I've returned."

Elioyahazer is already lost to the swells of what this day would bring. So far gone that it took him a moment to register that he had been stopped by Larewen. His eyes glance to her once, hazed over for seconds before donning the light they always held. She wanted to join him? The thought brought a smile to his features, “Then let's go.” If she was on the same page, she new all the great spots around the city where they might stroll happily. Elioyahazer gives her a moment before turning his attention to the door and opening it for her. A hand waves to the exit as if to say 'after you’.

Larewen caught the smile, and as those three words left his lips, she eagerly stepped out the opened door and onto the streets. Somewhere, she released Elioyahazer's wrist. Probably after tugging him westward, deeper into the city. "The Houses are mostly over this way," she said as she picked up her pace, moving in between wandering corpses of various states of decay and several nameless vampires. "We're more likely to find nobles strolling along there. Quick work of a few of them should give the Houses their warning." There's something different in the elf's tone, something primal and hungry.

Elioyahazer is tugged along without complaint heading in the direction she had chosen. No matter how many people Eli passed they were all nobodies to him. Not a single wayward glance brought recognition. So they were heading to the Noble district? How fun. “Larewen a man should never make quick work of something he desires.” Once again he jests remarking upon his thought of taking all the time in the world. Once they reach their destination, he'd know.

Nightshade Avenue

Larewen might have flushed. Memories of the night before certainly surfaced in her mind for a moment or two of the journey to Nightshade Avenue, but she said nothing. In fact, her jaw tightened as if she were trying her best -not- to say something in reply to his jest. She did, however, acknowledge it and slowed her pace accordingly. The pair did not go unseen, and they were followed to the quieter streets filled with grand houses and shops. Here the crowd was less undead and more vampire. Especially the trio that followed behind them, all belonging to House Nasar. It seemed word had reached that house of the earlier failed attempt, of a man who had dispatched the last assassin with ease. Perhaps three would do the trick. One quickened his steps, coming close enough to reach out and snare the elder vampire by her hair. A dagger coated in dragon's blood was pressed to her throat, her skin sizzling at the contact. Larewen did not cry out. There was no need to, and the pain the man inflicted on her was ridiculously minor compared to what she'd been through before. The other two flanked the pair, their attention fixed mostly on Elioyahazer. One lowered a hand-crossbow, armed with a poisoned bolt, toward the man's chest. Larewen turned her head, allowing the blade to bite into her flesh as she regarded Elioyahazer. "This is perfect," she said, and the words sent chills down the back of the man currently holding her at knife-point.

Elioyahazer silently scrutinized the surroundings as the walked, cautiously keeping tabs on anything that might lurk within the shadows. The three assailants approaching them were noted, but by Larewens expression it wasn't something he should worry about. By her continued disinterested expression, even when the knife was held to her throat he smiled. “Is it?” So now they were here. What would happen? Elioyahazer needs no further information to let slip the dogs of war. Her flexes once and bounds off, testing the very limits of his increased speed. He was already fast for a human, having honed speed over brute strength, but now he was unbelievable. His body cartwheels through the air, a moving Target is much more difficult to hit with an arrow. His sword is drawn just as he lands behind the first of two assailants and a red mist sprays through the air. The attacker grabs at his throat suddenly, panicking, but his head leans backwards and falls from his shoulders. The headless body is used as a human shield keeping any shot by those arrows at Bay, until he's close enough. The decapitated corpse is violently pushed at the man and Eli steps around taking his arm with a single strike. The lost appendage is grasped within his left hand and the screaming man is kicked over where the desert born huddle's over him and beats him to death with his own limb. Blows rain down time and again. It's brutal and Savage but it does not stop for a length of time. The armored limb is discarded and Eli looks to Larewen to see if she is safe.

Larewen was safe, that much was certain. Turning to face her own assailant, a wicked grin took hold on Larewen’s face. The blade at her throat cut her skin, leaving a thin line of black blood in its wake. Her skin sizzled as the dragon’s blood coating the blade poisoned the flesh, darkening it. The elf didn’t cry out, though the pain reminded her of her torture. It was minor in comparison. Continuing the spell she’d begun, honeyed words flowed from her mouth and with it came shadows by the mouthful. They squirmed their way out of her throat, forcing passage into the Nasar agent. She showed no signs of stopping her chant, and as the shadows poured fourth in waves, filling the assailant until his skin purpled. It began to stretch and distort until finally, the agent burst in a spray of blood, shards of bone, and bits of gray matter. This left Larewen with a near maniacal grin upon her lips, her eyes glittering with a hatred reserved for the Houses of Vailkrin.

Elioyahazer watched Larewens target swell up like dough set out to let the yeast activate. That is until he exploded sending waves of blood, guts, bone and brain matter everywhere. A slow drawn out laugh begins from Elioyahazer, shaking his shoulders slightly at first, until his whole body rumbles. Once he catches his breath, the desert born fledgling looks towards the Noble district. Were they just starting. “I do hope the next aren't so disappointing.” His remark is just barely over a whisper. Larewen would most likely hear his statement as Eli begins to walk further into the depths of the enemies territory. The mental state of his mind sought more. More blood. More death and it's call was only getting stronger.

Larewen rolled a slender shoulder upward in response to Elioyahazer’s statement. She had no idea any more than him of what would come next—but they did come. From outside one of the noble houses, a pair of guards arrived, their faces stoic. Swords were drawn with a hiss and one charged for each of the vampires present. The guard meant for Larewen charged her, underestimating her powers and believing he could simply run her through with the blade (a fear that he did accomplish). The blade pierced her torso, and were she living would have undoubtedly cut vital organs; this only seemed to infuriate the necromancer. While the second guard approached Elioyahazer, Larewen began to cast once again. The elf looked positively insane in her current state, that maddened stare and blood spattered body. Her darkly melodic words seeped from her tongue, targeting the guard. It culminated in a miasma of darkness that coiled around the hapless male, sucking his very being from his body.

Elioyahazer is in his element, never taking his scrutinizing gaze off the guard who comes his way. With a sneer the spell blade twirls the bastard sword in his hand, catching it in reverse grip. With a sudden burst of movement the vampires face off. The guard throwing out a fierce lunge to impale Eli much like the other had done to Larewen. But the fledgling was ready for this. Twisting his body, the reverse grip blade met the other with a parry, tossing the strike to the side. Elioyahazer doesn't stop, lifts the blade horizontally where the palm of his left hand meets the pommel to push forth with brute strength and his charging momentum. The brand sinks to the hilt causing a pained cry from their enemy. The desert born sneers, drops low and changes his grip. Backed by the strength of his arms and legs he pushes the blade upward until it hits sternum where guts spill out on the floor. Well, that was fun. Elioyahazer gives a kick to the partially filled innards, taking a gander at when this poor fool last fed.

Larewen waited. She waited for her target to collapse, for more to come—anything to continue their bloodshed. When that did not happen, she turned instead upon a passerby. One of the crowd that had gathered to watch. A tendril of shadows shot outward, snaring the poor victim and pulling them to her. With a twist of her fingers, she exerted a force upon the poor sod, driving them to their knees. She faced the Houses then, those that were visible anyway, and called out, “I will take this throne. And those that stand against me shall face my wrath, just as has been witnessed tonight. This is only the beginning.” Closing her fist, the shadows around the bloodied woman’s victim constricted, squeezing his throat until his head popped off in another spray of sanguine vitae. Without another word, she let the body fall to the ground and carved a path through the crowd to return home.

Elioyahazer stands like a stone faced sentinel while Larewen speaks. He does nothing as she tears apart a civilian. Instead he sets out to help her this night. Once she turns to leave Elioyahazer sets himself to the grim task of mutilation. The guards and the three other assailants find their heads removed, and stood upon their swords which have been plunged into the ground for a makeshift display. Their bodies are gathered and Eli sets them ablaze. His mutated eyes and fearsome presence turns to the gathered crowd. "These men are to be left as reminders.” His neck bulges as he bellows the command whilst a single digit points to the gruesome display. Once his words sink in, Elioyahazer moves back down the path they came from to meet up with Larewen.