Rubies Red as Blood [Closed to Cards of Fate]

[Dedalous]

Artheridge sighed audibly as the town came into view around a curve in the road. Several days of horseback and ships, and she was not a happy malamute. Normally she rode in relative luxury on the bench of a merchants wagon, able to actually see the terrain moving to alleviate her motion sickness.

But a ship, that was a different story, where the captain wanted passengers below decks during day to day operations. She was heaving two hours in to sail, and miserable the remaining day until they docked. Then the horse ride from the port to the town she was now approaching. While it wasn't as bad as sailing, she’d never had the calluses needed to ride comfortably for long. After all this, she was quite relieved her destination was within sight, and with daylight left in the sky, no less.

I’ll get into town, get a room and a meal, and track down the dwarf tomorrow. He’s been here ten years, he’ll be here tomorrow. With that decided, she spurred Belfont into a trot and headed down the road at a slightly quicker pace, determined to make the town before dusk.

As it turned out, this was easily accomplished, the town being closer than the young smith had anticipated. She rode through the front gates well before the guards closed them for the evening, immediately making for the first inn she saw along the main thoroughfare.

Stepping down from her horse, she sighed, placing her hands in the small of her back and stretching with a groan dipping into an almost growl. Belfont, well used to his rider’s vocalizations, paid the predatory sound no mind whatsoever, going so far as to butt at the malamute’s side, asking for a scritch between the ears.

“Heh, goofy bugger,” she grinned, rubbing along the gelding’s face and around the bridle, then unstrapping it and removing the loosely fitted bit. Glancing around the stable area and seeing no one to tend him, she held up a hand, one finger extended in a ‘wait’ gesture. Snickering as the horse snorted, flicked his ears, and stamped his hooves, the malamute shook her head. His reactions are almost worth the ride, she thought to herself. Aloud, she said “Stay here. I’ll be back. Don’t burn the barn down while I’m gone.” This was met with another snort and a toss of his head, Belfont almost seeming to understand and answer her.

Stamping her hobnailed boots on the hard packed earth to try and regain some feeling in her legs after the hours long ride, she headed towards the side door of the tavern, wondering where everyone was. She was early for the evening rush, yes, but stable hands were usually on hand all day just in case a traveler arrived earlier in the day.

Making her way through the short hallway from the stables to the common room, she caught the scent of roasting meat, mulling mead and wine, and the rumble of conversation in the common room.

Must be early, she thought, rounding the corner, and seeing this obviously wasn’t the case. It was some sort of town hall meeting, it seemed. Guess the local inn’s as good a place as any. Her hometown was large enough to boast a magister’s office in addition to the shops and two inns, but she wasn’t unfamiliar with the practice.

“‘s been missing for two days now, Erick,” a man in the middle of the group was saying. He cut short as she entered the room, however, turning to look at the uplifted canine with an expression she was sadly all too familiar with. “What’s one of your kind doing in here, Beast?” he demanded, going from concerned to hostile in an instant. Wincing inwardly, the malamute surreptitiously put her hand on her belt, in easy reach of the release for her sword sheath. Club him. Don’t need blood spilled, she thought, preparing for the worst.

“Now, now, Delyn, she’s clothed, and rather well at that. She’s obviously a paying customer, and I won’t have that kind of hostility in my establishment,” the man at the head of the group chided, firm, but soothing. A fair leader, and most probably the group’s spokesperson, if not the town mayor in a sleepy place such as this. Turning to Artheridge, the man addressed her directly. “Appologies for my associate's behavior,” he started. “My name’s Erick, and I’m the proprietor of this fine inn. May I assume you need a room for the night?”

[Cards of Fate]

The moon shone brightly over the coast as a large boat made for shore, coasting on the brief phantom of a breeze in an otherwise still night. Below its deck, in the captain’s quarters, Vincent Cain was busy at work scrawling down notes idly as he passed the time. He was used to entering missions under the instructions of the mysterious seeress Leona Stevvains, the woman he had once had the pleasure of calling his boss. Now with his recent promotion to Emperor of the Tarot Hierarchy, he had the pleasure of calling her his peer. This however, was not a mission for the Hierarchy, but a mission of his own personal interest. An associate assisting the scholar in a venture into mining had gone silent for quite some time, and quite a bit of gold was riding on this operation. Naturally the Emperor would want to find out for himself.

A brief knock on the door drew Vincent back to reality as he glanced up, his sapphire eyes shooting a pointed glare at the door. “Come in.” he grunted slightly displeased at the interruption. The ornate oak door swung open to reveal a figure clad in a verdant green cloak stepping inside. Swinging the door closed behind them, the figure pulled back her hood to release a crimson mane of hair. Her emerald eyes matched Vincent’s as she smirked slightly.

“Scarlet.” Vincent muttered leaning back a bit in his chair. He was not expecting his right hand employee to even be awake at this hour.

“Boss.” she stated bowing and sweeping her arms. “We arrived early, the crew is getting ready to dock. Shall we head out tonight or tomorrow?” she asked as she righted herself. Vincent paused and chewed his lower lip as he thought for a moment. His left hand instinctively rose ho his forehead and his fingers found themselves running through his hair. ‘I’m getting a bit scruffy’ he mused to himself as he realized how his hair had grown to almost shoulder length. ‘I’m going to need to find a barber soon…’

His thoughts turned back to the question at hand and he paused. “Tell the crew to post up a watch and go on standby. You, Demetri, and Cael are to ready yourselves to ride immediately. I would like to get there as soon as possible and find our contact and figure out why he disappeared with my gold…” Rising to his feet Vincent paused, “Make sure you have your torture kit Scarlett, If this dwarf doesn’t have my gold we’re going to find out what he spent it on or who he gave it to.” He finished.

A smile crossed the pale woman’s pale lips as her eyes lit up. “Yes sir.” She cooed turning on her heel and throwing the door open. The scholar took a moment to admire her zeal as the door shut and rose from his chair, shrugging off the nightgown he had been wearing to bare his olive skinned chest and expose his boxers. He pushed his chair aside and strode across the room where a tall, ornate, mirror stood and examined himself. He had arrived to this world pale and scrawny, yet now his muscles were lean and defined, his skin a slight tan. His eyes found themselves affixed on his chest, where a tattoo of a Tarot Card shimmered slightly in the light, bearing the Roman numeral “IV” and the title Emperor scrawled across the bottom. On it a regal man in a purple cloak stood before a throne, arms outstretched as if to say “Go ahead, challenge my power.”

He felt a slight grin play across his lips. He was not a vain man, but the sheer amount of change he had wrought upon himself was…awe inspiring. He had become a man, a warrior, no. He had become an Emperor amongst man. Something he would carry with him for the rest of his days. Satisfied with his reflection Vincent turned to a nearby trunk and pulled out a set of leather trousers, a silk shirt, and a deep purple robe. Once properly clothed the scholar sat on his ornate bed and pulled a pair of long socks over his feet, followed by a pair of leather boots, and finally a pair of gloves that reached halfway up to his elbow. He snatched a cane and a steel sword and exited the room.

It was time to find his gold…

Vincent had found his three henchmen ready to ride on the docks with borrowed horses from the town, Scarlett sat at the front of the back with the bridle for Vincent’s horse in hand. Demetri, a large mountain of an Orc grinned from ear to ear as he checked his equipment. His plate armor was polished impeccably and shone brightly in the moonlight. All manner of weapons hung from his belt, saddle, and back, ready to be drawn at a moment’s notice. His head was barren of any hair, and large tusks jutted out from his jaw menacingly. Cael, a Drow, simply sat silently cloaked in midnight black leather armor and a cloak draped around his shoulders of the same hue. His hood was up, obscuring his brutally marred face and scalp. Scarlet had shed her cloak for a set of black leggings and her signature scarlet blouse bound by a black bodice.

All three of them were armed to the teeth and trained with one purpose in mind, keep their boss alive. Vincent mounted his horse without a word they departed in a breakneck gallop. Someone had lost Vincent a lot of money, and they were going to pay.

…

Vincent strode through the open doors to the inn with a frown on his face and a growl in his throat. “I’m looking for Calcius.” He grunted. The men and women froze at the sight of his armed companions. “One hundred gold to anyone who can tell me.”

A drunken man rose to his feet. “He and a couple o’ otters went te check out a mine…haven’t been back since…” he slurred. Vincent turned to the others who simply nodded.

“Scarlett.” Vincent commanded. The woman pulled a sack of coins from her cleavage and tossed it in the drunk man’s direction. The scholar turned and gazed around, eyeing the cloaked figure from behind. "Any other information?"