Vamon

Vamon let out a relived sigh and sheathed his rapier as the creature made its escape. Part of him was curious as to just what had made it run away, but at this point he didn’t really care to question it. He simply took a moment to catch his breath and gather his cloak that had been ripped off by the beast. It had been torn in half, leaving him without a hood or a cloak to speak of. He was slightly annoyed, since that had been his only good cloak, but he could always get another one at the store. He heard a set of voices address him as he turned back to see the group.

“Oh, I’m… fine. I’m fine” He said with a wave to the two girls. His hands were still shaking but he had calmed down for the moment. Their synchronised speech was a little disarming, but for some reason it made him a little uneasy. He was a little surprised though as he looked over to see a woman dressed in leathers, a hood and a mask. “Well at least I’m not the only one with a mask now” He thought as he looked over the woman. Her appearance was a little odd, she almost appeared to be prepared for a confrontation. but what caught his eye the most was her tattoos. Openly mocking the church like that was a bold move, and to so proudly wear an affront to the church on your skin was a respectable feat, to the right person of course. He couldn’t help but feel like a bit of a wuss comparatively, he did his best to hide his markings. That said though, a big burn on your face was a little more conspicuous than some tattoos. But he as he felt himself calm down, it occurred to him that there were more people here than he had thought. It seemed that there was a man approaching them, as well as a little girl he was rather surprised to see.

“Fancy seeing you here Spencer.” He said, speaking softly as to try and calm the situation down. He quickly looked her over, making sure she was unharmed. “I’m glad to see that you weren’t injured in all this… Craziness” That only left one person he didn’t recognise though. But considering the armoured woman’s words, it was fairly obvious what type of person he was. Vamon reached up and touched his mask, making sure that it was still on his face. He wanted to leave as soon as possible, dealing with the church was understandably one of his least favourite things. That said, Vamon had some question so he put his fear of the church aside for a moment as he addressed the armoured woman.

“No, thank you.” He said as he approached her. “If you hadn’t thrown your sword, I probably wouldn’t still be here” He glanced over to the body of the man as he spoke. The remains were like nothing he had come across before, simply torn to shreds in a moment. It was disgusting. Fascinating, but disgusting. His attention quickly turned to the man approaching them. If he really was with the church, then he wanted to avoid a confrontation the best he could. “That is a good point. Perhaps it was driven off by a holy presence” He said, his curiosity peaked. He kept his guard up, but now he had become far more interested in learning just what the creatures were. If he could catalogue them for himself, he might be able to discern their source. “I hope you don’t mind my little interruption, but do you happen to know what those things were? They seemed almost… ethereal” As far as magic went, Vamon wasn’t the best. But when it was a matter of personal safety, he found it best to know everything he could.

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It worked. It had actually worked. As the flaming blade cut through the creature of darkness, it's shrieking sounds of horrendous agony piercing Guthrie's ears like needles, it quickly began to evaporate into the darkness it had once come from. Guthrie's heart was pounding heavily, like most battles Guthrie went through - and survived of course -, so it took a moment for him to realize what was happening to him.

His hands felt like they too were set ablaze!

With an equally loud shout, Guthrie fell to his knees as he dropped the flaming sword and clutched his hands. He had felt the burning embrace of something warm before, like a torch or a newly smithed weapon or tool, but this was something very different. It was as if the flame was made of nothing more than the hottest flame, and now his hands were paying for it.

"Yes...my hands..." Guthrie managed to say through gritted teeth to his two newly-found companions, not registering that they each took one of his hands and suddenly...well, did something that made the pain go away. After a few moments, Guthrie could only feel a sort of itching left in his hands, but when he looked at them, they were perfectly fine again. And he instantly knew what they had done. Within seconds, Guthrie had thrown himself up from his kneeling position and taken a few steps away from the twins, looking over and over again at his hands to ensure nothing funny or unexpected had happened to him. Magic...he hated magic...

It was then that he realized there were more people in that deserted - well, deserted at some point at least - alleyway. The same man he had met in the shop, commenting on his catch; a young girl, possibly just a child; a supposed priest or another type of clergy, and the apparent owner of said sword. Regaining his calm, he lowered his hands and looked at the hooded woman and the alchemist. "I'd like to know that myself, that thing is not meant to wander this close to civilization."

@Sam12435@Dark Light@Delta44@ONL: Despite all the commotion none of the townspeople seem to be rushing to see what had happened. Most likely having heard the shrieks and the brief cries of the torn man, they knew it was better to not get involved and leave it to the guards and people who well dealt with such things as a choice of job.

“That... was a Spirit of Vengeance.” The masked woman stated, noting that the priest was heading towards the witches, but not interfering right now.” They usually appear whenever a person's left to die a long painful death. It takes decades for one to form after it's death as the spirit loses it's sanity and all that's left is the desire to exact vengence or in this case complete death to anyone it meets. At least the normal Spirits of Vengeance are such. These ones were different as you all saw. These ones were MADE with magic from unwilling sacrifices. Someone in Shezze sacrificed people in order to create those to serve as their weapon of assassination. I happened to see them heading somewhere and interfered with them, thus earning their ire for the moment before you all appeared.” The masked woman explained.

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Sala & Vala

“Don't force yourself.” The witches replied in unison to Spencer with a smile. The child appeared shaken and frankly not too well, but Sala and Vala weren't sure it had anything to do with the situation that unfolded. They couldn't put their thumbs onto what it was, but something seemed a little off about the child. The fact it was a child alone wandering about not even considered into this. Still they decided it was not a thing to be concerned about for the moment.

What they were very concerned about was Azerus. The clergy seemed to be heading towards them with purpose in his eyes and they didn't like that one bit.

The twins suddenly jumped backwards taking martial stances with their staffs, being ready to protect themselves.” Leave us alone... priest.” They said with irritated voices, their magic already surging through their arms into their weapons.” We do not … wish you harm, but we will... hurt you if you try something.” They added, slowly moving towards Guthrie.

“Yes... we will be leaving this place soon... into the unexplored areas. Even hardened criminals are allowed to venture out unhindered.” They stated, taking a few more steps back and slowly holding their free hands together. The witches' magic worked best when they were in physical contact." We already earned our freedom once... We won't become slaves to the church to do as they please again." They added.

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"Made with magic, you say...and sacrificed? Those are heavy words you lay out for us, hooded lady...though I am willing to believe them for now, at least after what we just witnessed."

Oh great; when Guthrie thought he wouldn't get involved in any more magic, it just had to come straight back into his face again, didn't it? With a heavy sigh, Guthrie placed his hands at his hips, looking back at the body of the torn-open man, having just been attacked by the Spirits of Vengeance. Death. Though no stranger to the final embrace of eternal sleep, it was nontheless an experience Guthrie knew he would be haunted by for the rest of his days.

Those nightmares had to wait, though, as he noticed movement at the corner of his eye. The twins were moving - slowly and backwardly - towards him. They seemed agitated, even frightened by the now visibly approaching clergy/priest them. "Oyh, what's this?" Guthrie said out loud over the heads of the twins, making his way around them and standing in front of them. "What is it that you want? Leave these two alone, they have done you no harm. And you shall do no harm to them, we have a deal."

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Spencer, taking well to the role of the dependent child, clung to the twins like they were her parents. Of course this wasn't the case, naturally, but out of habit she tended to recoil whenever she saw a priest approach. She moved behind the two of them as though to shield herself from the priest, not wanting him to get a closer look.

From behind the twins, Spencer gently waved at Vamon. "H-hi, Vamon...! Ehe... Yeah, I'm quite glad I didn't get turned into mince-meat, too. Though, this situation is looking rather tense. I-I think I should probably leave... ehehe..." The twins breathing had certainly escalated. She could hear the panic in their breaths, her enhanced hearing once again coming into play, as the accelerated thumping of hearts near-silently echoed in her ears, like the world's weakest bass to a song. It was a warning. A warning that Spencer would gladly take.

Silently, Spencer pulled up her hood and began to casually walk away, her presence against the twins' backs fading quickly as the young vampire girl makes her retreat out of the alleyway and back to the square. She starts her pace slow, however steadily speeds up to a run, headed for the Square. 'They want to go to the unexplored areas?' She thought to herself as she made her way through the streets of Shezze. 'Well I'm not going down there. Nope! No sir! Not doin' that!'

Vamon

“Spirit of Vengeance…” Vamon muttered as the woman spoke. The concept was fairly interesting as far as magical beasts went. But the idea that someone had crafted them against a person’s will was an alarming idea. If someone was capable of something like this, then they must be a rather powerful mage. Given a different satiation he would love a situation to sit down and speak with someone of that power, but considering the fact they had sacrificed citizens of the town to achieve their ends it was safe to assume they weren’t exactly a good person. He was suddenly caught off guard as Spencer addressed him.

“Aah Spencer, be careful” He said, glancing over to her for a moment. “We don’t know where the creature went and there might be more of them, so please be careful” He wanted to go with her to make sure she was safe, but there was still more he wanted to ask the armoured woman. But it seemed like his questions would have to wait, as the clergyman kept approaching the two girls. He thought about what he could do to help before he heard the girls mention a history with the church. He paused for a moment and glanced back to the girls, looking them over carefully. A thought crossed his mind for a moment, but he dismissed it quickly. There would be time to wonder about things like that when things calmed down a little. That said, he would prefer if there wasn’t any further combat, he obviously wasn’t a good fighter so he would prefer to talk the situation through.

“I don’t mean to assume the church’s priorities, but I would think a mage sacrificing the people of the town would be more important. Why don’t we adjust our priorities and focus on finding them before another innocent person gets hurt” He asked, in his most civil tone. He wasn’t trying to sound patronising, but he was hoping that words could do something to help the situation. That said, he made sure to keep a good distance from the man and himself. If a fight broke out, he was going to do the smart thing and slip away in the chaos. He would rather not hand seemingly innocent girls over to the church, but wasn’t about to risk his life twice in one day.

Guthrie's and Vamon's words seemed to fall on deaf ears as they failed to slow or hinder the priests movements.
With his eyes never touching the men he replies coarsely, to Guthrie first.

"That's hardly a deal nor how one is made. But let me offer you this, should you never hinder my path of righteousness and always uphold yourself accordingly to the teachings and law of the light, then I will never bring harm to you. Your present words excluded for the foolish mistakes they were."

His voice was unwavering and stern but not threatening. He spoke mater-of-factly with a cold stoic detachment. The only thing more unnerving was his righteous conviction.

Then he addressed Vamon by way of biblical quotes, "The evil before my eyes is as the evil I cannot see. For all that is not light is darkness and as a humble follower of the light I must first vanquish the darkness that surrounds me before I can reach out.
Light does not discriminate in its work nor shall I, for those that turn their back to the wrong-doings before them are weighted with equal burden and guilt upon their soul as those who perpetrated the atrocities."

Then in three powerful and sudden moves he would vanish. First abruptly leaping at the wall to his right. He sinks against it with his legs acting like springs, then a powerful quick jump sees him dart to the other side. A fast fierce kick catapults him back up and onto of the rooftop of the first wall, only to slip away into the darkness with haste.

...His feet softly and silently paced beneath him as he took short hurried steps to match the beat of one much shorter than him. Moving swiftly he utilised all his acrobatic skill as he raced across roofs and rolled back down onto the ground.

a moment later...

Before spencer could reach the square her head suddenly and fiercely jerked back against the momentum of her running body. A strong hand had caught her hair in a firm powerful grip and stopped her dead in her tracks. Just as quickly another hand swooped up and caught the underside of her jaw with a short sharp blow and held her mouth shut as it pressed up squashing her head against his chest. The priest spoke in a whisper.
"I see through your charade you spawn of darkness. As the wicked twins stated, your only home is beyond the reach of light and in the deepest depths of the forsaken darkness. You will go back and join them or die right here."

@Dark Light@Delta44: Near the square where Spencer and Azerus were, there was a small commotion going on as some soldiers stopped by them, clearly their attention attracted by the priest who was attacking a young girl.” Honorable clergy, we need an explanation to this...” One of the guards stated as they were obligated to uphold the law and if he was indeed assaulting a child he'd need to be punished.

“You are free to go, the captain will need your help.” A voice suddenly rang as the hooded woman from earlier in the alley, appeared from a nearby shadow. As she walked forward her body let out a trail of black smoke before it vanished. The soldiers only nodded to each other and then left, in search of their captain.” I'd have to ask you to proceed more calmly and to be careful what you say in public.” The woman said now standing right in front of Azerus with Spencer in between them.” One wrong word could spark a mass panic. Besides she's not that much of a danger, I've been observing her since the day she entered Shezze.”

@Sam12435@ONL: With the situation at the alleyway finally calming now that the creatures were gone, only the twins, Guthrie, Vamon and the hooded woman were left as Spencer and Azerus left. For the marry group that was left the situation was clam, but more and more chatter was going on in the distance as soon a group of guards could be seen headed towards them from distance.

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Sala & Vala

The witches took a deep breath as the priest went off to somewhere in his zealous pursuit of whatever his ideals were. It was exactly those types of people that scared Sala and Vala the most. People so blinded by some kind of fanatical idea fed to them so much until they knew nor wanted anything else. The fact he left made both of them take a breath of relieve as their stances relaxed. They smiled to themselves and let go of each other's hands.” That... gave us cold sweat.” The witches said as they relaxed their arms.

“Be wary of the clergy...” The hooded figure suddenly stated as she walked over to grab her second sword.” In this place there are very few people who know how to form and control Spirits of Vengeance as such knowledge is extremely dangerous and kept well hidden. Currently the biggest group of people who know the craft are the clergy of the Church of Light.” The woman stated, sheathing her sword and pulling some kind of black sand from a pouch on her belt.” We will meet again.” She added as suddenly the black sand in her hand burst into black flames that consumed her and in the next moment she was already gone with no traces left beside a single burnt circle on the ground.

The guards were now very close, but there was still time to run in case they decided to.” This is … very bad.” The witches stated, realizing they had actually stumbled upon mortal danger if there was someone creating these things to kill people.” We will stay... to explain to the guards, but afterwards we should hasten our departure.” They added and looked at the approaching soldiers. They were led by a woman in full plate armor, armor that was clearly not something cheap or easy to get. She also had a big sword and shield badge attached to her left shoulder pad, indicating she was in charge of the guards in Shezze.

It was no wonder darkness and sorrow had befallen this town, evil and magic stalked freely from every shadow. Its roots ran deep. For a brief moment he simply considered the logistics of completely cutting and blocking off the town from the network. The tunnels he would have to fill or collapse.
Meanwhile Azerus never spoke to the guards. His stare had said it all, his utter disgust and bitter disappointment of their accusations. A stare that subtly undermined and questioned their senses.

Then once again he saw the hooded woman. Now certain she too was a witch Azerus began to realise the scene he walked into for what it was. A gathering of evils.
He had no intentions of listening to the forked tongue of a witch, in his mind he would only find lies and deception amongst her words.
"By the good grace of the one light I give you the same offering I gave her, you can die right here and now, ending your wicked ways! Or, live the rest of your sacrilegious life out in the unknown. Either way I cannot allow your presence to continue to haunt and devastate what innocence remains of this town."

While speaking he never released his grip of the child.

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"I swear by my father's sword, do not lecture me of The Light for I know all about light and darkness. The real light and darkness, not your so-called sacred texts. And if you harm the girls..."

Guthrie didn't get to finish his intimidating act, as the priest all of a sudden lept to the side of the wall and then out of sight. He had begun to walk slowly towards the man, his hand slowly drifting towards his sword, but now it seemed that it was not neccecary. The alchemist was still there, vocally supporting him, which was at least something to smile for.

"...You have my thanks, Alchemist. I'd rather not face a man of the cloth alone, especially not Them. What is your name?"

Are you two all right? He didn't hurt you? Guthrie turned eventually to the twins again, trying to face them with a calm and comforting face - something he was not accustomed to, as he walked back to them. Theo followed him, panting casually with his usual happy composure as he sat down beside the twins. "I agree, I do not wish to stay any longer here. There are many dangers out in the caves, but zealous clergy are not one of them. And what about you, Alchemist? Will you join us? We could perhaps use someone with your knowledge?"

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"A-aa-!"

With Spencer's mouth held shut, she couldn't speak back to the priest, his grip on her small frame powerful and commanding. Fear struck the young vampire, and as he spoke of her dwelling in the dark for the rest of her days, Spencer began to fear for her life, heartbeat escalating rapidly. 'No... No, no-no! Nononono! I-I don't want to go there! That place is way to scary! Th-that's where-!'

Spencer's eyes began to tear up, the ocean blue giving way to droplets of crystal. Azerus could quite easily tell that Spencer was frightened; Hell, just about anybody who saw her could! However this wasn't the same kind of fright that she'd normally experience. This was something... else. The world around Spencer seemed to grow darker like a blurry haze, as ominous red eyes glared at her through the darkness. Memories of a day which haunts her resurface, and her breathing becomes feverish - hyperventilation. Blood seemingly pools at her feet, and words ring out in her head: monster, flesh-eater, blood-sucker, fiend, crazy, murderer;

... Vampire...

Even if Ira wanted to escape, she didn't have the strength of a vampire - not like the one which killed her father and converted her, nor like those which stared at her through the darkness. In a desperate struggle to calm herself down, she reached into her coat and gripped her sun stone so tightly it could bleed. She felt light-headed. Afraid. Sick in the stomach. And all her mind could process was: 'Go away go away go away go away go away go away go away go away go away go away go away go away!'

Vamon

“I really hate it when they quote things like that…” Vamon muttered to himself. In actuality he had heard that quote numerous times before. He had learned it as part of his time at the church, as it was one that struck a chord with him. He was hoping that perhaps the man was less pious than he seemed and his diversion could serve its purpose, but all of a sudden the man vanished. Vamon was able to catch sight of him jumping away for only a moment before he lost him again. It seemed as though his faith had been drawn by something else for the time being.

“The clergy often lacks proper foresight; they don’t even realise the true magnitude of the situation” He said with a shrug as he turned to face the rest of the group. He listened as the armoured woman spoke until she mentioned meeting again.

“Ah, wait I still-“He started, hoping to ask a few more questions about the situation. But before he was able to finish his sentence, she disappeared in a burst of black flames. He let out a disheartened sigh as he turned to the others. “Well she sure knows how to make an exit” He said as he dusted himself off. But as the man addressed him, he found himself a little nervous. He considered whether it was a good idea to provide his full name for a moment, but quickly dismissed his worries. The man openly defied a member of The Light, if there was anyone he could trust it would be people like him.

“Yes, they can often be a handful. Some of the less devout ones can be reasoned with, but he seemed beyond even that. And my name is Vamon Koarmez, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He offered a small bow before turning to the girls and listening. The offer was flattering, but he had to consider for a moment whether to accept it. They were dangerous people, the girls had some kind of connection to the church and even being associated with them might get him caught up in something bad. But if he were to have any chance of learning about the mage that had sent those creatures, then it would be with these people. After all, the armoured woman did say she would see them again. Plus, the crazy clergymen around here were defiantly a reason to leave, once he was done with his business he might come back for another round and he wasn’t willing to take that risk.

“Well I am no l fan of the clergy myself, and I don’t feel this place can offer me too much by simply waiting and studying alone. So I will travel with you for now, if you would have me of course. Might I ask your names?” He hadn’t been one for traveling parties before so it would be an interesting experience. But one thing left him a little curious though. He turned to the girls and started to speak but hesitated for a moment. It might not be a good thing to just out and ask considering the situation, but he couldn’t help his curiosity.

“I hope you don’t find this rude ladies, but you mentioned a rather dark history with the church” He started as he glanced down to them. “I don’t mean to pry, and if you don’t want to talk about it that is absolutely fine, but I was simply wondering if it would make us targets of the churches ire” He fully understood the hypocrisy in asking something like this, esprecially considering his own relationship with the church. That said, his curiosity had been building surrounding the girls all day and he couldn’t rightly deny himself the opportunity to potentially unravel the situation.

@Dark Light@Delta44: “Hoooo... how pitiful.” The mask woman said, but her voice clearly spoke of how jokingly she took Azerus's words, almost like she was speaking to a child.” You cannot take me down, priest... you lack the skills to do so.” She state with a shrug of her shoulders.” Only those higher in your order can compete with my and you do not make the cut.” She added.” There was a saying long ago... light exist to keep darkness from growing too big... and darkness is there to keep the light from blinding those it exist to protect.” The masked woman stated, pulling a small medallion from under her armor, it was a pitch black crystal shaped like a sun.

“I will be going now, I have an evil warlock to catch.” The woman added with a sound smirk as she flicked her hand form the wrist and some for of dust blew around, her body being covered in black flames once more.” You want to know the truth about this situation? Use the little kindred to sniff out the hidden door in your chapel here in Shezze... I'm sure the smell of gore will be easy to follow by her.” She explained as her body vanished.” See the blinding light...”

@Sam12435@ONL: The guards will reach them now. 10 people with steel chain mail and chest plates. The guard captain was leading the group as they will quickly surround the alleyway along with Sala, Vala, Guthrie and Vamon.

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Sala & Vala

“No he didn't hurt us.” The witches replied, glad the clergy was far far away. Now they had the guards to deal with, hopefully the law realized this was not done by human hands of any kind.” Yeah, there will be all manners of things out there, but at least non of them brainwashed zealots bent on conquering everything in the name of a deity.” The witches agreed with the warrior.

Then they heard Vamon's introduction and smiled.” Pleasure to meet you, Vamon. My name's Sala Falere.” The first twin introduced herself with a bow of her head and a smile.” My name's Vala Falere.” The second twin chimed in moments later with nearly the same intonation even!” Your company will be well received... the bigger group we are, the better our chances of survival.” The twins said in unison again with happy smiles.” Any expertise you bring will be of help and a man of knowledge is always a good companion.” They smiled.

“Ahh...” They replied when Vamon started asking about their relationship with the church.” We were...” The started speaking, but the soldiers finally arrived in force and surrounded them. Swords and spears were immediately drawn at the present group, some of the guards making grimaces unable to stand the gore of the freshly torn body nearby.

“HALT! I'm Nevan Katlas, guard captain of Shezze.” The woman in full plate armor called and introduced herself as she drew near, holding a sword in her right hand. She basically ignored the group as she kneeled by the body, studying it.” You... you didn't do this.” She finally stated and looked at Guthrie, Vamon and the witches.” Where's the beast that tore this man apart and what's your business here?” She then asked."There's been an unusual number of guests for the last 2 weeks..."

Vamon

Vamon couldn’t help but be a little taken back as the women spoke in unison. He glanced to Guthrie for a moment, curious as to whether he found their manner of speech as disarming as he did. But, he waited expectantly as the women began to speak. He felt his curiosity reach a peak, only for him to be suddenly spanned back to reality by the group of armed men that had encircled them. Vamon was startled, but as he grasped the situation he raised his hands to show they were empty. The guards might be a little jumpy considering the gore that had been left behind after their little incident, so he wanted to make sure they had no reason to think of him as a threat. He felt a little frustrated that he didn’t get to hear the Falere twins’ story, but considering they were going to be traveling together for a while he let it go for now. He could always ask them again later.

“You are quite right Capian Katlas” Vamon said, lowering his hands to his side. “We heard a commotion and came to see the attack in progress. We did our best to stop the beast, but it fled into the darkness. I’m only sad we couldn’t stop it sooner.” He glanced over to the body for a moment, offering a short prayer in his hear, before looking back to the guard captain. He was upset that he couldn’t save the man, but he thought it best to mention it out loud. It would be in their best interests if the guards thought highly of them, so he did his best to make a good impression. “The beast was odd though, it wasn’t a creature of nature. It feared fire and seemed to have a fear of the clergy as well. We think it might be some kind of spirit, a dark ally of a powerful mage.” He felt that it was best the city guard was aware of what they were dealing with. The more people that were aware of the danger, the more could be done to circumvent it.

“My name is Vamon, I am a traveling alchemist.” He offered a little bow before he decided to ask a few questions of his own. He felt he would let the others introduce themselves, he hadn’t known them long enough yet to speak on their behalf. “I would advise caution when searching though, it’s possible there could be even more of those creatures around the place.” He couldn’t shake the feeling that the danger hadn’t quite passed yet. That said, having capable new allies made it a little better. He made a mental note to buy as much lamp oil as he could when he next came across it.

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Vamon. Vamon the Alchemist. The name did not ring any bells for Guthrie, though that was surely not such a bad thing after all; a name of fame could either mean the element of anonymity would be thrown straight down the mole's hole. It also meant that it was a fair chance Vamon was not a man of an evil character; or else he would have already turned him to the guards.

Speaking of the guards, Guthrie was unable to pitch in the conversation before their growing group of adventures had been surrounded by an armed band of men. Their weapons and armour were sturdy enough, but lacked the visible marks of tear and wear, that much Guthrie could see. He figured it had to be the guards, the Shezze Militia. As the leader of the guards - clear enough because of her polished armour and the fact that she was indeed a she - came forward and began asking them questions, Guthrie stood tall and firm as he looked directly at her. His hands hung passively down beside his weapon, his composure giving the impression of a man not about to attack, but ready for anything.

"My name is Guthrie Harlanson. Blade for hire, though this was a fight I won't demand pay. Those foul beasts of the Dark..." Guthrie turned his head and spat at the spot where the dark creature he had sunk the flaming sword into had vanished. "There were two; Spirits of Vengeance I recall them being called. Like Vamon said, we think a powerful sorcerer...mage...someone summone it here. One we managed to slay, it vanished over there. The other fled, but only the gods know where to."

Guthrie turned back to the leader of the guards, giving an quizzical look. "What do you mean by unusual guests? Have there been that many noteworthy visitors the last two weeks?"

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Spencer, as expected, kept quiet throughout the whole ordeal, silently praying to herself with her eyes squeezed shut. However, as time dragged on her eyes gave way to a pleading look towards the young woman before them. Something akin to 'Please take me with you!' seemed to emit from her lapis-blue orbs. Yet her attitude swiftly began to shift, especially when the woman dragged on about being taken to a church and used to sniff out gore. Her two least favourite things, the Church and gore, in the same place? Now Ira needed to escape.

She struggled against her captor, against his grip. She twisted and writhed, legs and arms flailing in an attempt to strike her captor and make an escape, however the blows were less than powerful. One accidental kick towards Azerus' groin may incapacitate him, however if he managed to protect the vital area, she wouldn't really have much else from her aimless thrashing. It was very clear now to anyone in the area, if it weren't before, that Spencer wanted to escape.

Azerus could feel the vampire child squirming in his grip. He tried to tighten his hold but his muscles would not obey, something was setting upon him and no amount of ignorance could keep it at bay.
A tingling crept through his body, starting from one arm and extending down the next. Even though he had stopped physical exertion he still couldn't regain his breath. A sweat took over his pale skin.
He was fully aware of the irregular rhythm of his frantically beating heart but as it was without remedy he refused to give it any regard, in case the very notion of his thought would somehow grant it further power.
It had proven to work in the past. His state passing after a short crippling moment of inconvenience. Not this time.
The priest collapses to the floor.

Not a single person in a thousand miles to truly care upon his absence. To appreciate or understand the life sacrifice he had committed to try build a better a brighter future, the daily struggle he endured to live a pure selfless existence offering everything of himself to the very people that regretted and despised his very actions, living for a greater good.

As his world suddenly faded to black and he was taken by a sudden departure he welcomed the abyss with a faint smile. The weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders and he no longer bore the burden or strain of others.
Surely something better awaited him on the other side...

@ONL@Sam12435

@Delta44:Spencer did finally manage to break away free and run away into the dark streets, devoid of people at this hour. She'd run for a while without realizing where she was or how much time had passed since she escaped the priest's hold.

Finally she'd be torn away from her panicked state and stopped in her tracks, when she found herself bumping into a rather warm embrace of someone. She could feel long soft silvery hair gently caress her face.

“Are you alright, child? What are you running away from?” A melodic voice ran in her ears as she'd finally see who had stopped her. It was a very young woman, probably around her early twenties. She wore leather armor or some sort and on her back could be seen a pair of long elegantly curved swords made out of black metal. Clearly not from the city guard, church or any organization the vampire would have seen in the past.

@ONL@Sam12435: The captain of the guard raised an eyebrow when Vamon introduced himself, almost as if she knew him. The woman said nothing, but nodded with some respect before smiling and nodding at Guthrie too. Nevan appeared quite pleased by the two men as her expression softened somewhat. The guards then spread around, starting to gather all the torn flesh from the man, before two other guards returned with what appeared to be a coffin of some sorts.

---

Sala & Vala

“We are...” The twins started presenting themselves also to the captain, before the woman waved her hand to stop them. The witches were left speechless mid sentence as the guard ordered her men to scatter and search for traces of the beast.

“I know who you two are... You have my thanks, Sala and Vala Falere, and you also have my apologies. Because I too was part of the royal guards of Belizarius, but sadly your situation happened before my time. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for how you two were treated. I can only promise that things will change soon and cases like yours won't happen again.” The guard captain said, bowing her head to the witches who were still left speechless, but their hands were trembling quite strong.

Sala and Vala didn't know how to reply to the woman in front of them. They had heard of her, the black sheep of the Belizarius Royal guards as she was called, a traitor, heretic and many other names. They didn't blame her, but her words did affect them, making them remember the past, but the strange meaning of the second part also didn't elude them.” Won't happen again... you promise?” They asked in confusion. Such words could only be taken as declaration of war towards the church!

She didn't reply to the twins, but instead turned to the two men.” Yes... indeed these beasts require magic to be made... forced into existence. Arcane... or 'holy' one works fine. This is the fifth one that has showed up in the last month. 2 attacked me on the streets a while back, one tried to kill me in my sleep and one while I was taking a bath.” The guard captain replied with angry expression.” This is the first time they attack civilians...” She stated, throwing looks around, eyes narrowing before returning her gaze to Guthrie.” Yes... we've had priests show up, traveling merchants that don't usually pass by here, you all, also believe it or not we even had an Archbishop show up a while back. Officials from Belizarius and Astaras... Anyhow enough is enough... we waited for confirmation on the missing people, but no more. Every time some of these things show up, we get reports of simple travelers who vanished around Shezze... All of them have the same in common... the local priest went to 'guide them'...”

“You mean...” The witches asked in horror, moving behind Guthrie almost as if they were afraid of everything now.

“Yes... if they want war, they will have it.” The captain stated and looked at the small group.” I suggest you all either head home or as far away as you possibly can from the union. The Church of Light has been doing whatever it pleases for too damn long...” She stated and called one of the guards.” Send messengers to Astaras and our friends from the Order of The Black Sun. Tell them all I agree with their conditions, I will join their forces.” She stated before turning back to the group.” I can provide you all with some assistance out in the tunnels, I will give you all supplies you will need if you so chose. Won't ask you to join the upcoming war... you all do not deserve to be pulled into the madness.”

---

---

"War? Well, then I myself shall kindly accept your offer of not joining. War's not of my liking, and it probably will never change..." Guthrie let his hand grip the handle of his sword, feeling the weight as he let his mind briefly consider the future. Their future. If they were going down in the tunnels - places where men like himself had to fight to just survive, and lesser beings were easy prey - they would need to be well prepared.

"Rations, dry, enough for us to last a week at most; we can live of what we gather and hunt. Oil for our alchemist friend here, he'll surely create wonders with the liquid. A bow and a quiver of arrows, lost mine against a brownskinned stone-worm a few weeks back. Whatever the girls need. And..."

Guthrie let his gaze rise up towards the ceiling of the cave, as if searching for something lurking up there, in the shadows. "..any information on a creature with red eyes. Red like that man's blood. I am tracking it."

Vamon

Vamon was relieved to see the woman was rather reasonable about the situation. He was a somewhat suspicious looking person so it was good to hear that they weren’t going to have a hard time from the whole situation. But he found himself somewhat rattled as the woman mentioned being a part of the guard in Belizarius. But something that had been gnawing away at the back of his mind all day had finally made sense.

“The twins…” He found himself muttering quietly. He had heard stories about a mysterious pair of girls that spoke together during his childhood at the church. He even had a faint memory of seeing them as a young boy, but it had been so long ago that he couldn’t remember details. But his thoughts were shaken away as the Capitan turned to address him. If she was a guard from Belizarius then it was totally possible she knew who he was. After all, his name was somewhat infamous within the walls of the city. But since she didn’t seem aggressive, he let the thought slip from his mind so that me could focus on the details. He felt his stomach drop as she mentioned the priest.

“To think someone in the church would…” He started, a disgusted look crossing his face. He might have been a blasphemer himself but he still respected the teachings of the church. He didn’t agree with their methods and their lack of drive to learn, but people had faith in the church. For someone to take that faith and use it for something like this was nothing short of despicable. He glanced back to the woman as she mentioned the Order of The Black Sun. He could only assume that would be related to the woman they had spotted before, considering her attire and tattoos of the sun. Vamon found himself with a strong urge to do something as she mentioned war, but he had to take a moment to think. He wasn’t a fighter, their recent encounter made that quite clear and he feared his attempts to help would simply make him a liability. He let out a sigh before nodding in agreement with Guthrie.

“I am no fighter myself so I think I will avoid this war. The church and I have a rocky enough relationship as is, I feel any more provocation and they might start to take it personally” He said with a shrug. Guthrie’s comment caught him a little off guard though, but he found himself oddly flattered by it. People often spoke of him well, but he assumed it was to get some form of discount on a sale, so it was refreshing to hear a comment from someone like this. He glanced over to the girls for a moment as the man addressed them. He felt a little pang of shame as his mind thought back. Of course, there wasn’t anything he could have done to help them. He was a child, younger even than they were, but that didn’t make it feel any better. To think that men and women like his father would have treated children so young that badly was almost sickening, but he didn’t feel like saying anything right away. He would leave that for a less volatile time.