Homecoming

[Izvilvin]

((Continuation of And Once More We Return (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=18413).))

The sun's rise was a welcome occurrence, bringing with it the realization that at last, Izvilvin was returning to Alerar.

He wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. It was business that was bringing him home, the need to explore the mysterious origins and headquarters of the Step organization. Izvilvin didn't think he would be leaving Alerar for some time, if at all. It was entirely possible that he was traveling at sea for the last time, that Ettermire or even Ankhas could be his grave.

The note against his breast had told him to go there with a single word. It could have been a trap, but if it was, why was he simply not killed in his sleep? Someone would require an immense amount of talent to tie the note to Icicle's handle while Izvilvin slept, so why not simply use the chance to slit the drow's throat?

This was only one among the many questions Izvilvin had running through his head. Another: would Alydia survive Aubrey, the murderous drow who shared this vessel with them and dozens of unknowing passengers? If she didn't, Izvilvin's struggle to gather information on Step would only be more difficult. For that reason alone, he needed to ensure her safety.

While she'd left to sleep at the break of dawn - apparently, Aubrey would not kill during the day - Izvilvin remained on the deck of the ship, migrating to the front to witness the approach of Alerar in the distance. The region was his home, regardless of how he'd spent his time there, and coming home was something that took him years to summon the courage to do.

He didn't move from this location until they'd pulled up at Etheria Port and a plank was set to allow smooth passage to land for the ship's passengers. Izvilvin ignored them, instead choosing to watch the dilapidated city before them. It seemed to be crumbling beneath the weight of its own poverty. Broken buildings and a humbled population was all it held. It did not give the best impression to first-time visitors who would use it as a gateway to Ettermire.

Even from here, he could see the train station just beyond the city's opposite end. A train was currently leaving for the capital city. In six hours, Izvilvin would meet with Alydia at the ticket booth, and together they would travel to Ettermire and he would ask her to begin gathering whatever information possible on Step, and why Ankhas was a place he should go.

If she was still alive.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Aly felt eyes burning on her hat brim as she mounted a horse. Shynt Aubrey, a serial killer who hadn't been captured during her days on Ettermire's police force, was back in Alerar. He'd marked her as his next target while on the ship, which took the pressure off her mind that he'd start murdering innocent citizens at random. Still...she knew he knew she was getting on a horse, meaning he'd probably be following her. If she didn't have enough distance between them when she ditched the horse, she was quite likely dead.


~*~*~

He watched her from the shadows. The foolish little detective had assumed he'd follow her onto the ferry she'd boarded as a diversion, and now she thought a horse would distract him. She feared him; barely two nights had passed since he'd held her close enough to caress her throat with his knife. He'd smelled the panic rising from her skin like a cheap perfume, had seen it spark in her eyes when she looked across the dinner table from under her scarlet hat and saw him watching her from across the room.

She had reason to fear. Her fear was well justified, and the thought of how her little body would bleed, staining her red garments even deeper. Twice before, years ago, he had almost had her, only to see her slip through his fingers. He could still see that mocking smile and hear that condescending purr. But this time...he would slice her open, rip off that stupid hat, and look upon her naked face.

She thought that taking a horse out of town would fool him, because that's what she would normally do. But with her fear, she was going to try and do something unpredictable. Which made her predictable. With a sneer, the deadly Shynt Aubrey turned to go board a train.


~*~*~

Six hours precisely after the ship had docked, Aly stood at the ticket booth, getting train tickets to Ettermire. The station, despite being a couple of years old at most, was in poor shape. The benches were scratched and marked up, the boarding area looked rickety, and nothing else looked quite in repair. If she hadn't known that it was new, Aly would have thought it had been there for decades or even a century without significant maintenance. Obviously, this town was just completely apathetic about the people it greeted, which was a shame. Port towns that didn't cater to tourists died.

Tickets in hand, Aly looked around for Izvilvin, pulling her hat firmly over one eye. She hadn't heard Aubrey pursuing her on the road, which concerned her. Had he anticipated her? No, impossible. He knew her well enough to know that she'd be most comfortable getting out of town on horseback. Maybe he'd been duped by the ferry?

Perhaps I was just being watched on the horse by someone who likes red...

[Izvilvin]

In hindsight, Izvilvin regretted not keeping an eye on the passengers of the boat. Knowing Aubrey's initial move would have been useful, would have shown Izvilvin just how much of a predicament Alydia was in.

What was done was done, however, and he put the thought out of his mind. He'd keep his eye out for the killer as he roamed the town, letting Alerar's distinctive scent and feel soak into him.

His first step onto Alerian soil had his senses reeling. He'd dreamed of this moment for years, of the things he would need to do in order to return home and try to live a normal life in Ettermire. As he stepped onto the port, however, he knew that he would never be able to do it. Normal had never been a word Izvilvin could associate with his life, and the reality of coming home hammered that into him. Even now, he'd come to Alerar to put an end to an underground government agency of Corone, and he didn't even understand how he was going to do it. There was no normalcy associated with any of it.

Despite having been wanted in Alerar for years, and knowing Step had dozens of agents out for his blood, Izvilvin walked the streets openly and with his hood down. The town had changed since his youth. It had been allowed to fall apart, becoming a city for derelicts and those who could afford no better. The streets were littered with garbage, blankets, boxes and empty bottles.

He did this for some time, getting a feel for the city and the land. Overall he was unimpressed, but he knew the other areas of the region had not been so ignored. The citizens did not make eye contact, they either stared into the horizon or looked at the ground. It was a sad state of affairs.

Izvilvin avoided public places and approached the train station not long before he was set to meet Alydia. A tin roof covered the railway and ticket areas, but aside from that the location was about as furbished as the rest of Etheria Port. The sightseers looked desperate to move, as Izvilvin watched on from a great distance, next to a building that seemed abandoned.

Eventually she showed up and he approached. When she saw him he nodded toward the train, and she met his walk without Izvilvin having to slow down. He saw that she had two tickets, and they were set.

"Usstan xo'al ulu ragar Aubrey, drill kat kyorl ukta. Klezn ph' al xuil dos?"

He took a look around as they came to the entrance of the train, where a small line had formed and tickets were being checked. Scanning slowly, Izvilvin saw no sight of the murderous man, whose erect movement and confident tone had left a bitter taste in Izvilvin's mouth.

(("I tried to find Aubrey, but didn't see him. Things went well with you?"))

[Alydia Ettermire]

Aly shook her head at Izvilvin's question. Instinct told her that something wasn't right, which had her more alert than normal. "Usstan talinth uk kyorlat uns'aa inbau pholor l' zaphodiop," she told him. "Drill F'sarn naut zhaunus. Uk kat tahh uns'aa, ji Usstan xuat zhaun vel'klar uk xal tlu."

She shifted her shoulders to adjust her coat more comfortably around her; it wouldn't do to have it bunching and rumpling on the long train ride. They'd be on the train all day, which would give her more time to think about her route around Ettermire to wear out the killer and get the most legal attention without getting caught herself.

The pair got a few odd looks while they boarded the train, but otherwise didn't have a problem. The interior of the train was in very good repair. There were six cars, not including the engine, and each was furnished with twenty four booths that could seat up to six. The booths had tables in the middle of them so that passengers could work or sleep, and the chairs were plush with just the right touch of firmness. Alydia settled them into a booth at one end of the car they'd been assigned, where he could face the cabin and she could watch the door.

"Tangis' ji," she told the renowned warrior who was with her more for her good sources than good looks, "uk zhah naut ghil nin." And aside from the common sense precautions, she wasn't going to worry about it more than she had to.

(("I think he saw me get on the horse. But I'm not sure. He didn't chase me, so I don't know where he might be."

"Even so, he is not here now."))

[Izvilvin]

Plush red seats greeted the two travelers, and while Alydia had gotten a decent amount of rest in the last few hours, Izvilvin had not really slept in over a day. He was used to the dulled awareness, but found the sleeplessness hit him harder when he sat.

"T'yin udos ph' bwael." he said simply, closing his eyes and letting out a near-silent groan.

A mere moment went by before the train was on its way, slowly beginning to pull away from the station and rumble forward. Izvilvin found this fascinating, peering out of their window to watch as the scenery began to move. It was an especially welcome sight to leave Etheria Port behind, in all its non-glory.

It was a good time for him to relax a bit, so Izvilvin closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the welcoming fabric of the seat. "Usstan inbal naut tlus ulu ettermire wun uss ravhel drasven. Uriu ol thir'ku?"

It was a question he'd had on his mind many times in the past. Alydia seemed the type of person who would know how to answer it, but Izvilvin also had no way of knowing how old she was - though she appeared somewhere around his age or younger.

(("Then we are fortunate."

"I have not been to ettermire in one hundred years. Has it changed?"))

[Alydia Ettermire]

It was a fair question, has it changed, and one a person could be expect to ask after decades away from home. "Ol uriu thir'ku natha yentil, drill l' xukuth d'lil che'el zhah l' toha 'zil ol zhahus. Ussta prollussk tesso uns'aa nindel rin'ov yol l' Valsharess zhahus elggen, gaer ph' mzild glennen pholor l' revi'n. L' Kyorl, l' Mazzara, lu' mzild. Ol zhah naut bekea z'hin maglust a isto."

She'd already been gone at the time of the Queen's murder, but she had been in on all the news. With the murderer still on the loose and no one knowing if he or she would be after her brother the King, every precaution was being taken to ensure his safety. The city was practically under martial law, safer for citizens who walked openly under the light of day, but much more dangerous for those who cloaked themselves in darkness. Not that the criminal world wasn't thriving...it just wasn't as safe.

For once, the extra law would work in her favor. Aubry was bigger and more heavily armed than she, not as light on his feet, even if he was more dangerous. He could be drawn in and overwhelmed while she made good her own escape. The Chief would know it was her work that brought him in. Even if she'd always be his biggest failure...one last time, she would be his greatest protege...and one last time he could think of her fondly as his child.

That was her one regret about turning to a life of crime. The Chief had taken her in, taught her how to read and write, let her pursue her interest in languages and puzzles, and taught her everything he knew. She'd lived as his daughter from the time she was twelve to the time she was a hundred and ten; her clothes were modeled after his, even though her red garb and wide-brimmed hat were far more ostentatious than his humble brown trench coat and normal fedora. She still had the key to his house and didn't doubt that her room was still there, still made the exact same way it had been the day she'd left. He'd been the first one to look out for her, even though he hadn't had to, and the betrayal had hurt her as much as it had him. She just couldn't help that she was a thief instead of a detective.

Her eyes focused, and she realized she'd been staring blankly out the window for the past several minutes. She shook her head gently, pulling her hat over her eye and her mind firmly back into the present, then stood up.

"Dorn tlu rath wun natha stath klew'noren," she murmured.

With that, she walked off toward the train's washroom.

(("It has changed a lot, but the heart of the city is the same as it was. My boys tell me that ever since the Queen was killed, there are more soldiers on the street. The Kyorl, the Mazzara, and more. It is not wise to walk alone at night."

"I'll be back in a few minutes."))

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin listened with interest. Since his time in Ettermire, Lord Vordutin had been killed and a queen was made leader, and now she had been killed. It would take some time for him to get acquainted with the land again, but he didn't imagine it had become so chaotic. He still had no idea about the ongoing civil war or the skirmishes among opposing factions.

She finished speaking and he let his mind wander. He remembered Ettermire's streets, the gravel tile-like ground, the dark stone buildings. He barely remembered his parents, despite how close he'd been with his father at an early age.

The more time went on, it seemed, the more Izvilvin had allowed himself to become preoccupied with Step and the new friends he'd made. Fallien had become his second home, and he could have stayed there for the rest of his life if he'd wanted, watching over the Jya... And then the new Jya... And the next.

That was part of the main problem. He would outlive every friend he could make in Fallien. He would watch them age and die, while he retained his youthful agility and strength, his health. Izvilvin didn't think he could bear the emotional rollercoaster, thought he would eventually become so bitter that he could make no new allies. He thought he would eventually flee back to a life on his own, until one day his sword missed a parry and a monster took his life.

Alerar was where he was meant to be, perhaps, but he knew it would take time for him to be comfortable there.

Alydia announced her leaving, and with that, Izvilvin snapped out of his contemplation. For now he would settle on taking some rest, not knowing how much time he'd have before they arrived in Ettermire.

[Alydia Ettermire]

Shynt Aubrey strode into the car he'd seen Alydia enter only a minute or so after she'd left. He'd seen her board with a male drow, likely one of her informants. When the murderer looked around, he saw the man, sleeping against the window. His hand twitched. It'd been too long since he'd taken a life, especially a life where the blood slipped out slowly, blanketing black skin with deep red. It was the most aesthetically appealing type of kill.

His hand gripped his dagger. Killing her informant would send a powerful message to the red detective. Panic would course cold through her veins and she would reek of terror by the time he finally embraced her and had his way with her limp carcass. Killing a man in his sleep, however...there would be no fear in his eyes. The whole kill would be wasted, it would be boring. Besides...Shynt Aubry was a methodical man. He already had one victim marked, it wouldn't do to start one project before the other was finished.

He walked on.



Alydia washed her face and hands, securing her hat once more into position before opening the door, pulling her gloves back on. The sight that greeted her made her blood freeze. Unlike the dim and dank bowels of the ship where she'd encountered Aubry two days before, the train was well lit and smelled of metal, but everything else was exactly the same. The already too narrow walls closed in on her as the murderer stepped forward. The intense gleam in his eye sung songs of murder, her murder, and his towering figure filled her vision as she shrank back.



The door slammed behind the killer with a hollow rattling sound, and he stepped up to her with his knife drawn, flicking the remainder of the lock of hair he'd taken as a trophy, slowly tracing the needle sharp point down her slender throat, between the gentle swell of her breasts, down the flat stomach toward the curvaceous hips. Aly's breath came in terrified gasps, and he breathed in deep, savoring the smell of her fear.

Almost tenderly, he reached out his hand and put it on her shoulder, keeping her still while he walked behind her. His hand slid down, his arm wrapped gently around her waist and he pulled her close against his body, murmuring in his deep, grating voice the exact agonies he was going to put her through. Delicately, he dug the knife's point into the flesh behind her ear, starting to mark her as his. Rivulets of blood started dripping from her flesh, and his own breath started coming harder, in anticipation of the kill.



Forced once more to face her own mortality at the hands of this brutal killer, Alydia stood paralyzed through all he'd done. But the moment that searing pain started behind her ear, something snapped, a primal urge to survive. When the knife moved so the killer could get another grip on her, Aly slipped into her own shadow and back out in the sliver of darkness caused by the overhang at the door.

An instant of surprise and rage on the part of her attacker gave Aly the time she needed to open the door and get through. Then she did the thing she knew best: she ran, heading toward the back of the train. She needed to get somewhere more open, where she had a better chance of running. Her hand slipped beneath her coat, grabbing her whip. She could hear his heavy footfalls pounding behind her, gaining on her. She didn't doubt that she'd probably have to turn and fight. That wouldn't go well...but hopefully she wouldn't spend it alone.

[Izvilvin]

After a few moments, Izvilvin opened his eyes. Something about the movement of the train, less leisurely than the steady plow of a ship, put him off. He wouldn't be able to rest aboard it, so he resigned himself to waiting until Ettermire.

He rose, taking a quick stretch and looking from left to right, wondering just how quickly this train would get him to his destination. A flash of red caught his attention, though, through the windows of the doors which separated this car from the next. It was Alydia. A husky-looking drow appeared from a door to the right, then barreled after her. Izvilvin clenched his teeth and ran after them, startling the nearby passengers.

Alydia wasn't as quick as the heavy drow behind her, partially due to poor running attire, but Izvilvin was quickest of the three despite all the weapons he wore. He poured himself into it, gathering as much intensity as he could to power the run. As the leading two drow ran, passengers rose and spoke among each other, gasping again as Izvilvin charged past.

He watched from a distance as Alydia reached the car's door, opening it and slamming it behind her just in time for Aubrey to charge into it, splintering the wood with his heavy frame. He kicked it open after that, costing himself a step but knowing he could make it up.

Izvilvin took the opportunity to whip a diamond dagger out of its leg holster, throwing it without missing a beat. It struck the door as it automatically shut behind Aubrey, but it did the job of distracting the murderer. He spun, peering through the warped window of the door, seeing Izvilvin as he shed his cloak to reveal an arsenal of weaponry that covered him head-to-toe.

Definitely not an informant.

He grabbed his diamond dagger while opening the door, a smooth movement which had the lithe drow crossing his arms in front - he then draw his other dagger on the way back, closing the gap between himself and Aubrey just as the murderer drew two knives of his own. Long, black weapons sharpened to deadly points.

Their eyes met over their blades, and in that instant both fighters knew that they were underestimating each other. But it was too late.

Izvilvin attacked ferociously, four consecutive swipes that hit nothing but air as Aubrey retreated a few steps, moving with speed his larger frame did well to hide. He countered forcefully and unexpectedly, with two high swipes right for Izvilvin's neck. Pulling back his head to dodge, the drow slashed upward at the extended arms, again catching only air as Aubrey pulled his limbs back.

Amidst the screams of shock from the train's passengers, Aubrey pressed in immediately, using his large bulk to attempt to overwhelm the smaller fighter. Izvilvin dodged a pair of stabs by using his arms to catch Aubrey's, but he needed to react fast and pull his arms down to avoid the man's dragging daggers. There was no way to avoid Aubrey's boot as it shot forth, so Izvilvin took the brunt and absorbed it by leaping backwards. He'd underestimated the strength of it, however, as it overpowered him and sent him to his back.

Expecting a quick follow-up, Izvilvin prepared himself. When none came, he looked up to see Aubrey rushing through the next door to continue pursuing Alydia.

Snarling, he rose and ran after them.

[Alydia Ettermire]

It wasn't so much her coat normally got in Alydia's way as the blasted thing just kept catching and dragging on seat rails. It made it kind of hard to run...and made it ever more important to get to somewhere freer. But her own ease of movement wasn't the only factor in her need to lead her pursuer to the outside. The other passengers on the train saw an armed man running through the cars and started to panic and move around, becoming a danger to themselves.

"Xun naut treemma!" she yelled, cracking her whip ahead of her to clear the aisles. "Zexen'uma wun dosst k'laren lu' ser dosst rahi pholor dosst dalharen!"

Aubrey, to her knowledge, had never been seen in the open and had never had so many distractions about. She didn't know if a a crowd of terrified people would wrest his attention away from her and onto them. That was exactly what she didn't want, so she purposely slowed a little more. It would put her almost in his range, but having his real target so close should keep him focused. Besides...narrow escapes were just so much more dramatic.

Behind her Aubrey's footfalls stopped, and when Aly reached the back of the car she turned to see what had happened, fearing that someone else had caught the murderer's attention and was about to die, despite her best efforts. When she saw that it was a more even fight than she'd feared, she watched closely, not knowing if Aubrey would survive his encounter with Izvilvin.

When he sent the lavender eyed warrior down and turned once more to pursue her, it told Aly two things: he was even stronger than she remembered, and he was so focused on her that unless someone got directly in his path, they were safe.

The door opened for her and slammed shut before he was halfway through the car, and Alydia kept running, repeating her warning to the passengers in the new car even as he barreled after her. She was through the last door of the train with a few yards to spare, and looked around desperately. She wasn't going to jump from a train moving at this speed, that would just be stupid.

A ladder led to the top of the train, and she scurried up it as Aubrey burst through the door. The wind on the top of the train laid her flat for a moment, but she stood up and took a few steps forward, turning around to look for her pursuer.

His hands found the top first, scrabbling for purchase like the claws of a nightmare beast out from a pit, and his head followed soon after, red eyes glowing with malevolence. For a moment, he looked on the one-time detective, at her raven hair flying and red coat whipping about wildly in the wind, at the way the late afternoon sun silhouetted her small frame in glory, and then he propelled himself upward, after her. He could see the blood still dripping down her neck from where he'd marked her, and he was about to finish the job.

Now out in the open, Aly turned and ran. The slick metal surface of the train's roof provided poor footing, and both murderer and thief slipped and slid, but she was still ahead, and having a better time of it. She'd run on slick terrain before, her pursuer wasn't used to it.

Then, in a moment, everything went wrong.

A strong cross wind hit Aly broadside, grabbing her coat and upsetting her already precarious footing, sending her flying off the train. In a split second, she lifted her hand and cracked her whip, grabbing onto the low rail that the maintenance workers held onto when they were servicing the vessel. The ten foot coil of leather caught, yanking her back.

Aly rammed into the side of the train with bone rattling force, and all she could think of doing was holding onto her whip for dear life. She looked up to see where she could climb back on, and saw Aubrey's sinister leer looking back down on her. There wasn't a way to get to either end of the car and slip back into the train; the only way was up, straight into the arms of a man that wanted to kill her.

She was completely stuck.

(("Do not panic! Stay in your seats and keep your hands on your children!"))

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin's run was still quick, but despite his armor and his precautionary leap backward, he'd been winded. Aubrey's leg was like the trunk of a tree flung down a horizontal rope in some crude Scara Braean wood trap.

His steps were nearly soundless even at this speed, so it was not a passenger's fault when he stepped out into the aisle after Aubrey passed, blocking Izvilvin's way and necessitating a sudden leap by the drow onto the newly-empty seat. He was back in front of the man quickly and running again, but he'd lost a step or two on the husky, murderous drow ahead of him.

Izvilvin charged into the door ahead, deftly turning the knob just as he arrived. He was gaining on Aubrey, but didn't want to risk another knife throw with so many of the passengers buzzing around in their seats. An unlucky attempt could have hurt someone innocent.

Though he was gaining ground, Izvilvin wasn't close enough to stop Aubrey as the murderer slipped in through the final door, shutting it behind him and peering through the window at the pursuing warrior. Aubrey snarled and smashed the lock before following Alydia, warping part of the door and wedging steel into the mechanism. Izvilvin smashed into it a second later, trying to blast his way through with brute force.

Flustered, Izvilvin fiddled with the broken lock for a moment before realizing there was no way to break through, even using a weapon. He slid his diamond daggers back into their leg holsters and took a quick look around the car, looking for a window that would give him some opportunity to climb up to wherever the other two had gone.

He passed through a sea of human and drow passengers, all confused and quiet as they observed what was happening. Izvilvin gave them no attention, merely headed back to the last junction between cars and looking around. The sound of wheels on rail, of determined plodding through the Alerar mainland, filled his ears.

Grabbing hold of the rusted rail which separated the junction from a painful plummet to the ground, Izvilvin hoisted himself up onto it while lifting a hand to grab onto the top of the car. In a moment he was up top, feeling a powerful wind grab his hair and throw it backward violently. The sun shone brightly against the tin top of the transport, temporarily blinding the drow.

Aubrey, meanwhile, was taking great joy in watching Alydia's struggle. It turned out that while he might not have the pleasure of feeling her life flutter away in his hands, he could watch as she slowly lost the will the hang on and live.

That was the plan, at least, until a bolt of crackling lightning slammed into his left shoulder, spinning him around and nearly causing him to tumble off the train. Aubrey went to one knee, seething, and looked along the train to see Izvilvin standing at the opposite end of the car, a bright sword pointed toward him.

"Dos ser terini'nestg tar'annen nindolen tangin," he sneered aloud, but the sound was absorbed by the whistling wind.

Izvilvin was already charging his way, a buzzing white blade in one hand and a steaming blue one in the other. The lithe drow's balance was great even here, which gave him an advantage. Aubrey, meanwhile, drew a bastard sword from his back to meet the attack. As trees and brown soil whirred past, Aubrey's sword met Izvilvin's in an upper-downward slice.

They grunted and separated quickly, Izvilvin following up with a rapid series of strikes from either side, meant to unbalance the bigger warrior and lead the battle. Aubrey met every strike with impeccable control, not only parrying but deflecting the short swords wide enough to keep Izvilvin from striking too quickly. Every wide deflection was controlled perfectly by Izvilvin, however, as his arms drifted out wide but came back in quickly enough that Aubrey could not counter.

Both warriors kept their legs wide to maintain balance. In a sudden change of pace, Izvilvin swept low with Mjolnir. Aubrey not only stepped over the slash with one boot, but actually stomped down on top of the lightning blade with his other, the leather canceling out the potential shock through his body and pinning Mjolnir down.

A cleave from his bastard sword came in immediately, forcing Izvilvin to abandon Mjolnir and fall back a step to avoid it. Aubrey had put too much faith in the strike and the miss put him off guard, just long enough for Izvilvin to draw a Cillu kukri and drive it deep into the husky drow's thigh.

Aubrey roared and stepped back, giving Izvilvin just a second to snatch Mjolnir from the train's surface. To his credit, however, the murderer was the first to attack with his bastard sword, overcoming the pain in his leg. Izvilvin couldn't hope to parry the heavy, large blade with his short swords, so he deflected and dodged, forced to retreat back toward where he'd arrived.

"Ka er'griff Usstan orn'la p'obon dos, ust!" he bellowed, forcing the smaller warrior backward.

Aubrey's sword came in with a wide swipe, one Izvilvin couldn't dodge. Instead he lined both short swords up and put his entire weight behind the block. Metal clanged and Izvilvin slid to the right, unable to find the traction he needed. Aubrey used the second's hesitation to draw a knife from seemingly nowhere, slashing a deep wound into Izvilvin's bicep. Smoothly, Aubrey folded his arm and drove an elbow into the smaller drow's face, driving Izvilvin backward and onto the slick surface of the train.

In the thrill of the fight, Izvilvin hadn't been mindful of his steps. He'd been pressed all the way back to the junction, and it was here that he slid over the car's edge and tumbled onto the steel platform below. A concussive blast of pain washed over him, through his head, and he could not find the power to rise.

(("You keep interesting company these days."

"If only I'd marked you, first!"))

[Alydia Ettermire]

For a long, almost interminable moment, thief and murderer stared into each others' eyes. She wasn't going to last there forever, he was perfectly safe on his perch. Every bump of the train's wheels over track rattled Aly's petite frame, and her delicate hands, clamped onto the whip's grip, started chafing even through her gloves. Barehanded, she'd already be worn raw.

Now, quite literally at the end of her rope, Alydia had neither time nor inclination to give up and panic. A quick look to the right told her that they had two miles to a tunnel, a glance to the left told her the track behind them was empty for at least five. There wasn't purchase to make it possible for her to move along the side of the car at this speed, but she could brace her feet against the side of the train. She was right by a window and if worse came to worst she could steal it and get back in. I'll wait until the last instant, though...

Suddenly, Aubrey's face vanished from view. Since it wasn't like him to focus on anything other than the suffering of his target, Aly could only assume that some important distraction had wrested his attention away. Perfect.

Hand over hand, Aly climbed up her whip, slowly dragging herself upward. The side of the train didn't provide much purchase for her feet, but it did at least allow her to brace herself. Her arms shook under the burden of her own weight, but if she fell now it would all be over. The roughness of the ride didn't help her on her struggle to the top, ramming her battered body repeatedly against the side of the train, knocking her off her footing, nearly shaking her from her lifeline, but the petite thief's determination to make it finally paid off when her hand grabbed the same rail her whip had coiled around. She grabbed onto it with her other hand, letting her whip flutter in the wind for a moment while she hauled the rest of her back onto the top of the train.

Her breath came in pants and her entire body shook from the sheer physical exertion, but she didn't have long to recover: no sooner had she reclaimed her whip from the train than she saw Aubrey manage to drive Izvilvin from the top. Aly nearly swore. If he could even defeat a man whose reputation as a warrior was unparalleled, how was she supposed to beat Aubrey?

The tunnel loomed ever closer, they were now less than half a mile away, and Aly knew exactly what she had to do. Shynt Aubrey's stop was going to be very abrupt.

She'd expected him to turn back to follow her, but again an element she'd never observed affecting Aubrey drew a new behavior from him. He put his sword away, still glaring down at where she imagined Izvilvin had fallen, preparing for the kill. The lavender-eyed warrior had, in injuring the murderer, become his number one target. Aly needed him to stay on top of the train, so she did the only thing she could.


The crack of the whip sounded in Aubrey's ear like the peal of thunder over the night skies, and he wrenched his attention away from one target to the other. The wind whipped her coat around her body like a wild, vital flame, and an even deeper desire to snuff that out burned in the killer's veins. He turned to her, stepping forward ominously on the smooth surface of the train, even if his leg wound slowed him down. She retreated before him, running like the coward she was, although she moved more slowly, cracking her whip at him like he was some circus tiger being led through its paces.

Finally she was trapped at the very edge, and the stinging bites from her whip couldn't prevent him from advancing. He brandished his knives menacingly, expecting to see fear light up her visible eye. "El," he told her.

Instead of fear blazing in her eyes, that mocking smirk slashed across her red lips. "Nau." One more step backwards made her plummet from sight.

He didn't get a chance to pursue her. The stone wall he hadn't seen hit him full on, knocking him down. He bounced between the stone tunnel and the metal car for just a few moments before it ended with a sudden WHUMP, and Aubrey got a chance to breathe. Pain consumed him, and his battered, broken body was in worse condition than he'd left many victims, but he still stood. He was going to make sure that bitch paid for what she'd done.


Once more safe, for the moment, Aly took a welcome moment to breathe before turning to walk through the car she'd just traveled over. The passengers were still panicking, some screaming, some crying, and she really wished they'd just shut up. It's not like they'd even been harmed. On her way through, she grabbed one of the complimentary packages of peanuts that the train served all its passengers and tucked one of their stiff blankets under the folds of her coat. As soon as she made it to the other end of the car, she stepped through to find Izvilvin lying there motionless. He was battered, cut and stunned, but that looked to be the worst of it.

Crouching next to him, Aly held up the bag of peanuts with a grin. "Taudl Usstan zhahus ji verve. Usstan sila've dos folbol ulu cal."

(("Die."
"No."

"Sorry I took so long. I brought you something to eat."))

[Izvilvin]

Breathing heavily, Izvilvin tried to find a way to respond. He grabbed the peanuts in his right hand and clutched them tight, letting his arm fall back against the steel.

"Aubrey?" he asked, but figured he already knew the answer. The light of day had just disappeared momentarily, after all. He closed his eyes and nodded with understanding before Alydia could respond.

He sat up, the cool breeze of Icicle's enchanted blue blade washing over him. Mjolnir crackled at his other side, noisily beckoning for the warmth of its sheath. Izvilvin forced himself to rise and sheath the swords, tucking the pack of peanuts under his breastplate.

Before he had a chance to examine the bleeding cut on his arm and the imprint of Aubrey's elbow on his forehead, the train slowed, bringing a screech from the wheels right by them that caused Izvilvin to wince. It was easy to see that they were still in between towns, so the drow peered through a nearby window to see uniformed soldiers searching the nearby car.

"Udos ssrig'luin ulu alu," he said, grabbing Alydia's arm and leading her to the side rail. He stepped over it and dropped to the ground, his feet meeting a thousand tiny rocks.

Looking down the railroad, he saw no sign of Ettermire in the distance. They needed a place to hide for the time being, until the train took off again and they were alone.

For miles around them there was plain, with a copse of trees here and there. Just off the tracks, however, there was a brush extending along the side. Izvilvin made haste for them, hoping beyond hope that they weren't being watched from the windows.

He dove headlong into it, bringing on a dozen tiny scrapes. It was better than the alternative, to be sure.

(("We need to go."))

[Alydia Ettermire]

She didn't need to be told twice that a stopping train is one a fugitive needs to get off of. They'd be recognizable as part of the brouhaha, and despite being victims this time...she and Izvilvin were both recognizable and wanted persons. The scarlet-clad thief took to the dense brush just after her companion, finding them a shallow ditch for extra cover and laying low while train security moved through, clearing each car methodically and reassuring the passengers. When no one started toward them, Aly took a look at Izvilvin's arm.

While not exactly used to the sight of blood, it was far from her first time looking at a stab wound. This one bit deep, but didn't look like it had hit any major blood vessel. Still...it needed bound, so she pulled out the blanket and held out her hand to him.

"Belbau uns'aa natha velvel." She hated talking, even in a hushed murmur; it felt too much like giving away her position, despite the fact that no one in the train could hear them. He handed her one of his diamond daggers, and Aly wasted no time cutting the stiff piece of cloth into strips.

Blanket cut up, Aly handed Izvilvin his dagger back and folded one of the strips, pressing it onto the wound and binding it tightly with a second strip. It would probably hurt, but it would also stop the bleeding that much faster. When that was done, she settled down into the brush to wait, using another piece of cloth to wipe the blood from her own cuts. They couldn't do anything until the train was gone.



Slowly, Shynt Aubrey stumbled through the tunnel, and was a little surprised to see it stopped on the tracks. It didn't take him long to realize they were looking for people, probably himself and the two Drow he was looking to kill, but he waited for the caboose to be cleared before climbing up over the rail and settling in the back of the train. No way he was actually going to walk all the way to Ettermire. He'd find his target again there.


Alydia clenched her fist when she saw Aubrey climb back onto the train. Was this a man, or an unstoppable force of nature? She hadn't expected him to survive his encounter with the tunnel or the fall from the train, and yet there he was, limping but alive. Reflexively, she tugged her hat a little lower over her eye. The case is still on...

(("Give me a knife."))

[Izvilvin]

Izvilvin braced himself as Alydia went to work, parting his flesh and sticking the fabric into the wound. He winced but remained silent as she wrapped it tightly, holding the blood inside. It wasn't pretty, but it would do until they reached civilization and the drow could purchase clean bandages.

He forgot his pain when he saw Aubrey, though, stumbling painfully onto the back of the caboose. Izvilvin had assumed he'd been forced off by the tunnel, and it seemed that he'd been right - how Aubrey still stood, the drow didn't know.

He had no idea what to say, for he knew that Alydia saw the man as well. It was a shocking development to both of them, and Izvilvin wondered if the murderer was a mortal at all. Few could match him in a battle of swords, after all.

Hardly a moment passed before the train sounded its whistle, however. It seemed that the authorities on board were more concerned with getting the passengers to Ettermire safely and quickly than they were with capturing those involved. After all, nobody had been hurt. Izvilvin watched carefully as the train crawled to a start and sped up, never taking his eyes from the crouching, determined drow in back.

They rose when the train had moved far into the distance. The pain in his head had passed, but Izvilvin needed a solid night's rest before he'd be ready to fight again. "Dos inbal morfel natha gareth ogglinn wun nindel uss." he said. If he encountered the murderer again, Izvilvin wouldn't hold back.

Setting a reasonable pace, they began to walk alongside the railroad tracks. Izvilvin led, his face locked into a grimace. He didn't know if seeing Ettermire on the horizon would overwhelm him or not, but the finality of it would surely hit him; he fully intended on never leaving the region again, after all. Izvilvin expected to die here, perhaps using the last of his strength to eliminate Step altogether.

After a short time, Izvilvin slowed and came to a stop. In the distance, at the utter limit of his vision, he could see billowing smoke above a series of black figures. He imagined it was the manufacturing district of the city, and the smoke was coming from factories. Ettermire.

"Ori'gato's vrine'winith whol natha qee'lak v'dre."

He sat down there, on the rubble by a patch of dead grass. Plains surrounded them, by Izvilvin didn't look at anything, just stared into the distance as his hand slid under his armor. Revealing the pack of peanuts, he ripped it open and poured about half of them into his hand, absentmindedly holding out the remainder of it to Alydia.

(("You've made a strong enemy in that one."

"Let's stop for a quick rest."))

[Alydia Ettermire]

She sat down on the grass after Izvilvin did, taking off her hat for the first time - but still keeping it between her face and his eyes. She was at least as tired as he was, probably more so. Her usual line of work didn't make her walk long distances or do battle on top of high speed vehicles. Wearily, she ran her fingers through her hair, taking a little refreshment from the cool air on her scalp. Her moment of hatlessness was brief, though, and she put it back on her head, tugging it firmly into its usual position.

She took the peanuts offered. It wasn't much, as far as a meal went, but it was great for morale and would give them some energy. That was something she'd need once she got to Ettermire.

She turned her eyes toward the city while she ate. She'd only been gone for five years, she still knew it like the back of her hand. She knew the exact area she would find Aubry, where to run to avoid him and his deadly blades, and where to go to make sure he wound up gift wrapped for the Chief. Once they got into Ettermire, having Izvilvin nearby, while somewhat comforting, would be devastating to her plans.

"Vel'drav udos inbau ulu l' che'el, z'hin ulan l' Valshath," she told him. There was a note of weariness in her voice that she didn't bother to mask, it had been a long few days and she was tired. "Dos orn doer ulu natha jyzumar xuil natha niar leith, pholor l' feir suul zhah natha k'lar nindel uriu euolen. Ol uriu natha phish lu' uuthli suru a l' jas. Shar'tleg zet, t'yin shar'tleg ditronw pholor l' llarnbuss revi'n. A l' kku d' nindel revi'n zhah l' Tonaik Ujool. Wun l' beldraein tu'suul ol dos orn ragar Bron."

Maybe it was stupid to separate from someone who actually knew how to fight...but Ettermire was her city. She'd run the streets as an urchin and patrolled them as an officer, no where else in the world was as much a part of her. If she couldn't snare Aubrey in her own city without Izvilvin, and Bron was good enough to take him down...

Best just to risk one life and let him continue on his own journey.

(("When we get to the city, walk toward the palace. You'll come to a square with a fountain, on the far side is a jewelery shop. It has a red and blue bird at the top. Turn left, then turn right on the third street after that. At the end of that street is the Dirty Mug. In the building beside it you will find Bron."))

[Izvilvin]

They didn't stop for long. The peanuts were salty and unsatisfying, even more so was the pause when they were so close.

Izvilvin used the time to let his mind wander. He tried to remember everything he could about the city, but the layout and the feel eluded him entirely. He had an anxiousness in his soul that was desperate to burst forth, and it was the true reason for him wanting to relax for a moment. He tried to compose himself, to settle his nerves for the days ahead.

But he was aware and attentive to Alydia's words, though he continued to stare into the distance. He nodded at every important point, committing the directions to memory. He hummed an appreciative note but otherwise said nothing.

They were off again in moments, a quicker pace carrying them closer and closer to the looming city. At the end of a long stretch of narrow railway, Ettermire was like a beacon of danger to each of them. Izvilvin had tried to murder Lord Vordutin over a century ago, though it was likely that the incident was long forgotten. Step was still after him, of course, though their efforts had ceased months ago.

Still, he knew the Alerian city would present a whole host of new problems for him, in its own way.

They eventually reached the city gates. Large, steel bars presented a not-so-inviting entrance, but they were open for the two drow to enter. The city beyond was warm with activity and life and productivity, but Izvilvin sensed a kind of tangible tensity in the air.

"Ka Usstan xuat kyorl dos 'sohna lu' nindol Bron zhah d' jala xxizz ulu uns'aa, Usstan bel'la dos. F'sarn zhaunus dos shlu'ta ragar uns'aa pholor dosst daewl - xun ji ka dos thir'ku dosst shar bauth vel'bol Aubrey's sarn'elgg zhal'la tlu."

He put a hand on her bicep, squeezing gently as a sign of appreciation and affection, before he backed away and entered the city, blending into the shadows like a master thief.

Bron was high on his priority list, but Izvilvin was wise enough to know how badly he needed new bandages for his arm and a solid night's rest. If he encountered anyone near Aubrey's level of ability in his current state, Izvilvin wasn't confident in his chances of survival.

Thankfully, the one thing he remembered was the way to the inn. He remembered that his mother used to work in it when he was a child, and he'd often be the one to fetch goods from a nearby grocery. The memory startled him momentarily, brought on a wave of nostalgia that warmed his soul. It was the first feeling of the kind he'd ever experienced.

What else would he discover in this city?

(("If I don't see you again and this Bron is of any help to me, I thank you. I'm sure you can find me on your whim - do so if you change your mind about what Aubrey's punishment should be."))

[Alydia Ettermire]

The instant Alydia set foot into the city, her entire demeanor changed. As the last miles dragged on, her aching feet had started dragging in the dirt and her tired body had lost its normally perfect posture. Her eyes only tracked the road ahead and all that was obvious to her ears were the slow tread of her feet and the light one of Izvilvin's beside her.

But as soon as she had a foot through the gate and into a city, the exhaustion rolled from her like water; she had caught her second wind. Her body straightened, her feet picked up and her eyes cleared. While Izvilvin said goodbye, Aly took a piece of paper and pen out of one of her pockets, making a quick scribble on it and tucking it into Izvilvin's breastplate. If Bron didn't believe him and Izvilvin thought to give him this piece of paper, it would clear everything up.

When the warrior went his way, Alydia headed back toward a very familiar house, picking up a few pebbles on the way. The Chief was a workaholic, his ability to work all day and think ahead of a suspect was in a large way responsible for her own success. In the past, they'd worked in tandem - rise at the same time, step out the door while putting their hats on, work all day...and which ever of them got hungry first would pull the other one home for dinner. Without her, he'd slipped more into a routine. Dinner time was now, he'd have been home for less than an hour, hanging his coat over a chair and forgetting that his fedora was on his head as likely or not.

She looked up at the small house when she got there. Ninety seven years, that had been home. It was hard not to just go in and crash on her bed. She could still see her little light catcher in her window, she knew the rest would still be there. She wanted to pretend for a few minutes that nothing had changed. But...she was a wanted criminal. Nothing would ever be the same again.

She threw the pebbles up at the old kitchen window, watching them bounce off the glass and clatter to the ground. It didn't take long before she saw a familiar old face peer down. He was only there for a second, and Aly knew he was coming down to arrest her. She might have been his child for a time...but his dedication to the law was greater. Which was exactly what she was counting on.

Before the Chief could get out the door, Alydia dropped a piece of paper and fled. That paper was blank but for two words: Shynt Aubrey. He'd take care of rallying the forces. She'd take care of catching the crook.


Fifteen minutes later, Aly stepped into the labyrinth of alleys that had been Aubrey's playground. Every nerve in her body was on high alert; for the first time ever she was confronting the most prolific serial killer of her career with absolutely no backup. She knew what he was capable of, and exactly what he would do to her if he caught her, but for the first time since she'd boarded Aubrey's ship, the dread that had consumed her was pushed down to a knot in the very center of her stomach. She was in sight of her goal, and that focused her.

The familiar scents of stale urine and rampant mildew assaulted her nostrils, joined by the stench of rotting garbage and the tang of old blood. Water dripped down from various outlets, splashing forlornly in tiny puddles that swarmed with mosquito larvae. It still surprised Alydia that Shynt had been so successful as a murderer when he had settled in this dump as a hunting ground. Even though only about half of his confirmed kills and only a handful of the ones suspected had been linked to this area...that was still a large number for a place no sane person would venture.

The narrow walls of the alleys made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, the options for flight were limited. As small as she was, her shoulders nearly brushed the walls on both sides; if her steps drifted a few inches right or left, she'd soil her coat. Part of what made this place such a good place for Aubrey to hunt was that there wasn't a way past him once he'd cornered his prey; his broad body blocked the path.

It wasn't long before heavy footsteps fell behind her, and Alydia turned to look once more into the face of evil. He loomed out of the darkness like the personification of picturesque death, red eyes gleaming with smoldering malice toward the victim that had eluded him and thrown him off a train. This woman was the only one who had ever managed to evade him more than once, the only one who had ever managed to pull herself back from the brink of being consumed - not once, but four times total, twice just that day. Not this time. Now she was in his domain.

He stomped forward, only barely favoring his injured leg, and he gripped his knives as though he hadn't taken any serious damage from his encounter with the tunnel wall and fall from the train. He expected to see the same fear that had lit up her eyes each time before, expected to smell the terror rising from her skin. This kill, he would savor more than any before, it would be as wine to water. "Dos zhal'la zhaun alur taga ulu tah uss phindar wun natha belgareth, S'argt Ettermire," he growled. "Usstan orn elgg dos nin."

To his frustration, the only thing that lit up her face was that self assured smirk he'd learned to hate nearly two decades before. "Dos orn inbal ulu atsar uns'aa ust, Aubrey."

Before he could take another step, the thief turned in a swirl of coat and took off, rounding a corner. Fury consumed Aubrey; this bitch wasn't going to get away from him again. He would carve her open, cut off those mocking lips, and eat her heart while it still beat. She was going to be his most horrific kill ever, and the screams of agony that tore from her throat would be the most glorious music he'd ever heard.

Aly ran quickly, coat billowing out behind her. She made sure her footfalls were audible. She couldn't afford to lose him now that she was going to finally land him in jail where he belonged. She could hear him behind her, the killer's heavy footfalls almost persuading her that he was completely invulnerable to pain and grunting breaths speaking of his excitement with his target to close to within his reach. A little desperation forced her feet to move faster. Whatever else happened, she didn't want to be caught.

She sped around corners, left and then right, and another right brought her face to face with a concrete wall and a ladder leading up. A glance backward showed her the red figure of Aubrey still barreling after her, and she didn't hesitate to scurry up the ladder. Rooftop chases were more her element than just plain street, anyway.

He was just a few rungs behind her all the way, although her lighter weight let her get a little extra distance between them. Shoving herself off the last rung and onto the lip of the building, Alydia burst into the relatively fresh air of Ettermire's night, out of the dankness of the alleys. She didn't take the time to let the air refresh her lungs and clear her nose; the instant her sullied boots were on the roof, she took off running again. This building had a flat surface, but many still had sloping roofs. That was where she would gain ground.

She wasn't even halfway across the top of the building when a heavy whump told her that Aubrey had landed behind her. It was only five feet to the next building, a sloping one, and Aly leapt for it as soon as she got to the edge of the first. She landed easily, bending her knees in flight to absorb impact, and was off once more. Most people wouldn't look up to see her leading the murderer around the city...and he wouldn't think to look down. Not with his prize in sight.

It didn't take more than a few minutes before she saw a few officers in the streets, scattered out in a standard search pattern, and she appreciated the Chief's swift response to her notice. Now...how to lose Aubrey while maintaining her own liberty?

She didn't get a chance to think about it. Every so often, she'd had to slow down to choose which way to lead him over the city, and she'd underestimated his agility. What she'd expected was still a large enough lead had suddenly turned into her death sentence.

It felt like getting run over by a train; Aubrey tackled her, knocking her off her feet, and when she rolled to try and regain her footing, he was right on top of her. His stony hand gripped her throat, pressing hard enough that stars bloomed in front of her eyes, and when her vision cleared, Aubry was leering down at her, trailing his knife up and down her body slowly, as though deciding where the first cut will go.

"Dos ph' usst, lotha ligrr," he growled.

Aly narrowed her eyes. "Neitar." There was a patch of shadow on the next building over, fifteen or twenty feet away, and she was lying in the shadow of the man she'd hunted so long. His blade pressed against her abdomen gently, preceding the actual cut, but she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Alydia vanished in a wisp of shadow, reappearing well out of his reach.

Aubrey let out a frustrated roar, unwittingly catching the attention of the men on the ground. He barreled over the side of the building, jumping for all he was worth, too enraged by her cowardly tactics to notice that it was better than a ten foot jump. Weighted down by weapons as he was, he had no chance of making it, and plummeted twenty five feet to the ground, landing hard. Alydia had just stood there, mocking smirk trailing him all the way to the ground.

Winded and stunned, Aubry tried to push himself back up, only to have a baton slam in to the back of his head with enough force to finally render him unconscious. The officers wasted no time in binding him up and hauling him off while Aly watched from her perch.

It was over. She had won.

(("You should know better than to hunt a monster in a maze, Detective Ettermire. I will kill you now."

"You will have to catch me first, Aubrey."

"You are mine, little girl."

"Never."))

[Alydia Ettermire]

Job finally done, murderer finally done with, all the adrenaline drained abruptly out of Alydia's system, and exhaustion from the last few days hit at once. The cuts behind her ear burned as perspiration trickled into them, and her hands were shaking. The troops would be dealing with Aubrey, so despite being less than thirty feet away from the scene, she felt safe enough to sit down. Slowly, she made her way around the building. There was a wall between the street Aubrey was being dragged down, so she hopped down to that and then made her way to the ground, sliding down and sitting, leaning back wearily.

The cold stone beneath and behind her braced her, leeching out the chase-fever and giving her reeling mind a chance to process the fact that Shynt Aubrey, after two decades and countless hours spent chasing him down, was finally dealt with. She hadn't left the force intending to pursue a vendetta against him, but now that it was done, a sense of guilt left her, as though she'd made up for betraying the one closest to her.

"Dos zuch xunus plynn l' mzilst waele mayare ulu inbau l' alurl kku, Alydia." The warm, weary baritone was the most familiar voice in the world, and hearing it felt like coming home. Except she could never go home again.

"Karliik!" Aly bolted to her feet, not sure if she should rush to hug the old man or run as fast as she could.

They were mirror images, she and her former mentor. Each wore practical clothes for their line of work beneath bulky trench coats, and each had a fedora on top of their heads, although the Chief's wasn't nearly so wide brimmed and didn't obscure his face. He was also more subdued in color, opting for an earthy brown instead of an ostentatious red. He stood there with his hands in his coat pockets, and Aly took that to mean despite the dozen or so warrants out for her arrest, he was going to let her off the hook this time.

He nodded slowly when she reached up and took off her hat to look at him with both eyes. "Bwael emp'poss, jiharditalwien."

Tears brimmed in Aly's eyes at the praise so rarely doled out, but she didn't let them fall, putting her hat back on and forcing a smirk. "Usstan fridj zhahus veir a. Nindel zhah jal."

"Alydia...Ka dos ssinssrin ulu doer rath delmah, F'sarn zhaunus nindel wun ssussun d' nindol, dosst draeval gumash tlu morfel bista." He looked at her earnestly, gentle red eyes promising redemption if she'd just repent of her wicked ways, but...

Aly shook her head. "Usstan xun vel'bol Usstan ssinssrigg. Nindol zhah vel'uss Usstan tlun, Karliik."

He turned away from her. "Z'hin nindol menvis, dos orn doera saph ukta."

She stiffened. "Karliik! ... Ilharn. Nau. Dos xunus naut sila phor natha elggur. Neitar. Neitar."

"Whol dosst ehmtu bwael...Usstan kestal ji." He walked away from her, disappearing into the night. Aly watched after him for several minutes. The sting of his disappointment hurt more than being rammed against the side of the train, but it even further entrenched the line she'd drawn between them. From an inside pocket of her coat, she drew a house key. Her fist tightened around it for a moment, and she considered destroying it. But...no. It would be her one reminder of who she'd once been. She had a new life now.

Twenty minutes later, she entered the home of Bron Retla. It was small, just a kitchen that faced the street, a bath just beyond it, and a living room and bedroom in the back of the house. It was simple, almost a dump...but it was home to one of the most successful information gatherers in all of Alerar, and a man Alydia felt lucky to call one of her own.

Ever alert, Bron whipped around from his stove, leveling a knife at the intruder, but at the sight of the dingy red hat and coat, his face broke into a smile. "Alydia! Inbalus dos fris xan'ss dos orn'la doer, Usstan orn'la inbal tha dos."

The thief sat down at the table, accepting the glass of water he held out to her gratefully. "Usstan inbalus folbol ulu xun. Uriu uk doer quin?"

"Vel'uss?" Bron turned back to the stove, adding more food to the skillet. Aly looked beat, doubtless she was hungry.

"Izvilvin Kazizzrym." Aly set the cup down, empty. The cool water going down her throat was the most refreshing thing she'd experienced all day.

"Nau, nau uss uriu doer."

"T'yin uk orn tlu ghil mufo."

After dinner, Alydia found a comfortable sofa in the den, lying down to sleep. She pulled her hat over her face out of habit...but it was going to be a good sleep. A restful sleep.


(("You always took the stupidest risks to get the best results, Alydia."
"Chief!"
"Good job, gumshoe."
"I was just in the neighborhood. That's all."
"If you want to come back home, I'm sure that in light of this, your sentence could be commuted."
"I do what I love. This is who I am, Chief."
"Walk this path, you will become like him."
"Chief! ...Father. No. You did not raise a murderer. Never. Never."
"For your own good...I hope so."

"Alydia! Had you sent word you were coming, I'd have met you."
"I had something to do. Has he come yet?"
"Who?"
"Izvilvin Kazizzrym."
"No, no one has come."
"Then he will be here tomorrow."))

((Continued in Behind the Veil (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=141040#post141040).))

[Taskmienster]

Homecoming


STORY (24.5/30)

~ Continuity ~ 7.5
Knowing the previous quest helped, though you both set up the transition rather well.

~ Setting ~ 7.5
Much, MUCH better than the previous quest. I felt like I was really part of where you were, instead of being told what it looked like. I could almost imagine writing one of my own characters right into where you were.

~ Pacing ~ 8
Awesome, reading the first part of this and then going to this one made it sooo worth it. The pacing was incredible.


CHARACTER (23/30)

~ Dialogue ~ 7
Not a whole lot in this one, but it was done really well.

~ Action~ 8.5
Awesome.

~ Persona ~ 7.5
Much better than the first thread, much more involved and felt a lot deeper and you both made your characters feel more real and dynamic instead of flat and static.

WRITING STYLE (25.5/30)

~ Technique ~ 7.5

~ Mechanics ~ 9

~ Clarity ~ 8


WILD CARD!!! 8!

“Besides...narrow escapes were just so much more dramatic.” Awesome, haha.



TOTAL

(78.5/100)


GAINS/REWARDS!

Where in the world gains: 1658 exp | 175 gold
Izvilvin gains: 3706 + 200 (to compensate for the previous thread which was totaled wrong I think) exp | 160 gold

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added!

Where in the world? Levels up to 2!