Anima di Nerezza Chapter 5, New Enemies Options

[Sirin]

Anima di Nerezza
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5 Part 1- A long Walk Home


I sank into one of Vercindelle’s chairs and closed my eyes. I was exhausted. The orc had used up quite a bit of my energy, and I would not have been surprised if I was very sore in the morning. When I opened my eyes, Vercindelle was looking at me inquisitively.

“Love hurts, old man. I can vouch for that,” I softly spoke. He quickly chuckled, then readjusted himself in his personal seat.

“Well, Mabriel, I have run into a few cases of love, and I know its inner workings. However, I am not as knowledgeable about it as you seem to be. Would you care to explain?”

“The orc, Raziel, he is very… flexible. Let us leave it at that. I just want to get on with things. Who is the next man I will be killing?”

“Woman,” he corrected me. “You will be killing a woman. A much respected woman at that.”

“Ah, Vercindelle, when you first mentioned ‘woman’, I was half convinced that you were talking about Maria. But ‘respected? Ha! Now I can rest easily,” I spoke in good humor. Vercindelle laughed at this, obviously in a good mood.

“Syn Elsteen is her name. She’s a highly regarded senator, but will not be accompanied by guards,” he continued.

“How’s that? I thought any normal politician would revel in hordes of guards!”

“She worships some higher power, and believes it will protect her from any harm. She has no desire to be watched over by hired mercenaries. Syn lives humbly in a rundown inn next to the outer walls. I know little more than that, Mabriel, but I’m sure you will use whatever you can to aid you.”

“Unguarded target, inn next to the outer wall. I’m uneasy about this one, Vercindelle,” I proclaimed. His gaze lowered, however, and to keep him in good spirits, I quickly added, “But I’ll do it. That is, after I get a good rest. That orc really did me in.” I rose and began to exit the room, but Vercindelle stopped me.

“Mabriel, are you having fun yet? Like you used to?” he asked in a fatherly tone.

“Vercindelle, once you have to be with an orc like… that… you tell me if you have fun with it.” I laughed after this remark and left for good.

It was a long walk back to my room. More accurately, it was a long, tired, sore, achy walk back to my room. I found myself wishing I had simply slept in Vercindelle’s chair. Even THAT would have been better than walking home after a very long evening. Even that would have been better than getting stopped by some ruffian in a dark alley.

“Hey,” he called to me. “Come here. I wanna talk to ya.” I continued walking, wanting anything else than to run into trouble from this low life. Unfortunately for both of us, however, I felt a heavy hand grip my right arm. I decided to play along. Maybe I would have some REAL fun before I went to bed.

This post has been edited by Sirin: Mar 16 2006, 01:14 AM

[Sirin]

Part 3- The Body Merchant

In spite of the mystery of my reacquired weapons, I stood up and dusted my clothing off. I felt wonderful. All of my aches and pains were gone, and having multicolored eyes didn’t seem to be such a problem anymore. In regards to my good mood, (and my desire for advantageous information), I set off to the Blue Bandit.

My old, fat friend Kerric was not behind the bar top like usual, but instead handing out drinks to his customers. I sat down on one of the many barstools and waited for him to return. Eventually he did, and I noticed he was breathing rather heavily.

“Good morning, old friend. I take it all this moving about has been quite an exercise for you, eh?” I said sarcastically.

“Mornin’, Mabe! If only ya knew the woes of a sick assistant. Mara, the server, has been sick for several days now,’ he replied defensively.

“Indeed. I’ll have a glass of ale, and preferably some information.”

“An’ who would ya want information on, Mabe?” he asked while preparing my drink.

“Syn Elsteen. She’s a…”

“Senator?” he interrupted. “Yeah, I’ve heard o’ her. Would I be right t’say that she is the girl with little protection?”

“No protection, actually. Vercindelle said she lived in a beat up inn near the outskirts of town. She has absolutely no guards,” I informed him.

“Well, little or no guards, I got some dirt on her. She’s been in here every once in a while. Very…strange wants and needs, I’d say.”

“Such as…?” I inquired, hoping he meant something natural, as in anything other than having to dress in little clothing.

“Nothing too bad, Mabe, just…odd. She has an Argonian slave boy fetch things for her, here in town. Er…Runs-From-Winds, I believe. Ay, that’s ‘is name. Most o’ the time, he in the market for her food.”

“And of course, Kerric, what else would be more peculiar than fetching food?” I jeered.

“It’s not what the lad does, Mabe, it’s what he gets!” he replied.

“And that would be?” For once, I wished Kerric would come out and tell me the straightforward story, instead of his typical dancing speech. It was all too common for him too beat around the bush.

“People, Mabe. She eats people,” he whispered. I allowed my eyes to widen in unison with his, for I was truly shocked.

“This… senator… she eats people? How is she so respected, then?” I posed.

“I guess no one really knows why Runs From Winds takes the bodies home. I don’t know, Mabe. Maybe they don’t even know he works for ‘er.”

“So, what would YOU suggest I do, Kerric?”

“Well, if ya could get some poison, and find the merchant who gives the lad the bodies, you might be able to work something out,” he stated, apparently proud of his many ways of killing.

“Poison the bodies, I imagine? One would only assume you have the poison and the knowledge of who sells the bodies, correct?”

“Mabe, I do have the poison, but I have no idea who’s got the bodies. All I know is that it’s an Imperial man. ‘Sides that, yer on your own,” he said before tossing me a bottle of the venomous substance.

“That will do, Kerric. Here’s some silver for the drink,” I offered. He declined my gold, claiming that a free drink or two never hurt anyone, and sent me on my way. I made my way towards the market square, attempting to picture the Imperial man in my head. However, I made effort to no avail, for the only face to come to my mind was Maria’s. How that woman bothered me, I can never express! She would die soon. That is, if I found time amongst all the body-hunting.

The market was packed with Imperials. I wondered if Kerric had told me such a fact in satire. Perhaps he already knew that the market was populated solely by the Imperial race. I found myself loathing the whole lot of them, but searched anyways.

I asked countless merchants if they had anything “special” for sale. Consequently, countless merchants turned me away. Finally, I found a rather devious looking man who told me that he did have something special saved for me. He led me a short distance to a small building and palmed a small, rusty key. As he unlocked the door, I hoped that he had what I was looking for. After all, he was rather sinister in appearance. Surely only this man could sell dead people to a cannibalistic politician.