Retribution

[Poison]

Retribution - punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance

Anita VanDeBurg, more commonly known as Poison, made her way down the main street of a small village. It was nearing sunset and the young woman was feeling very pleased with herself. After a lifetime of searching, but never finding, she had finally managed to gather enough information to locate the person that had sent her life to hell in the proverbial handbasket. That person was none other than, Lucas VanDeBurg, her stepfather.

Bitter memories flooded her mind as she walked down the nearly empty road. Many years ago, Lucas had been drunk while her mother was in town shopping and she was in her room finishing her homework. She would have been one of the top students and was almost done with her schooling until Lucas came into her room, very drunk. Try as she might, she could not stop the onslaught of images that filled her mind’s eye of that terrible afternoon. Her ears rang once again with the awful names Lucas had called her as he beat her and ripped at her clothes. She wrinkled her nose reflexively at the remembered stench of his alcohol-ridden breath as he forced his lips against hers even as he forced himself on her in other, more personal, areas.

The more she remembered, the more detailed the memories became as they repeated themselves. Her life had been completely ruined that afternoon. By the next morning, she had packed away a few changes of clothes and some food and was well on her way to Radasanth. There she had fallen in with thieves and assassins. They took her in and made her what she was today, but she would never forget that she could have had a better life if Lucas had not been drunk.

However, the day of retribution was at hand. She had listened for information about Lucas and it had finally paid off. Apparently, after a big fight with her mother over Anita’s flight, he had left her mother. He had not gone far though, only as far as the second village over. He was still close enough to make a nuisance of himself, but not close enough to make it worth finding him. Rumor said that he frequented the village’s only tavern, so Poison headed there first.

((Note: This is SOLO))

[Poison]

Silence fell over the tavern as she swept in and let her hood fall back off her head. A wealth of long, silver hair fell around her shoulders, framing a perfect face. She still had a satisfied smile on her lips, but her eyes were cold as ice. She looked around the room once and found that her stepfather was not here. Barely hiding a look of brief disappointment, she turned to have a seat at the bar. It was only after she took her seat that the tavern resumed its normal low buzz of conversation.

“A glass of red wine, sir.”

The man nodded and quickly found a clean glass and a fresh bottle of the requested wine. He carried just about any kind of alcohol that money could buy and there were no requests that were strange to him. The village was at a halfway point between the world of men, and the magical barrier that kept unwanted guests out of the angelic land. He had never been able to cross it himself, but he was always curious to know why angels would leave their home and come here.

“Here ya go, lass. Anything else you need?”

Anita took a long sip of the wine, relishing the flavor. It had been over a year since she had last been able to taste and enjoy wine. For the millionth time, she thanked the fates that her true father had known how to reverse vampirism and that her home village had been willing to help her.

“That is wonderful wine, good sir. Now, I need information. I’m looking for someone. His name is Lucas. I’ve been told he frequents this tavern.”

The barkeep was silent for a few minutes and looked around as if trying to find something that needed his immediate attention. Finding none, he sighed as he spoke in a low voice.

“I know Lucas, but you don’t want nothing to do with him. He’s the worse drunk I’ve seen in many a year. I’ve had to throw him out many times, but he always comes back the next day. I don’t know where he sleeps or where he gets the coin for his drink, but I’m sure that a fine girl like yourself wouldn’t want to know. I have a few spare rooms upstairs, why don’t you let me rent you one for the night, and go home in the morning. Whatever Lucas did, it’s not worth finding him.”

“While I appreciate your concern, Barkeep, I must find him. His deeds may not go unpunished and the life of a drunkard is not punishment enough. I am to carry out his sentencing personally, just as soon as I find him. Do you expect him to still show up tonight?” She waited for his nod, then continued, “Good, then I will wait right here.”

The big man sighed, “One more question, what did he do that merits such unwavering determination to find him?”

It was Anita’s turn to be silent for a few moments, then she looked directly into the man’s brown eyes, “Several years ago, he raped a girl of 16 because he found out that she was not his biological daughter. He was angry and drunk when he did this, but those are not reasons to rape the girl that you raised and who called you father. There are no reasons for what he did, just that he was drunk and stupid and now he will pay the price.”

As she spoke, her voice had grown hard and bitter without her realizing it. The barkeep wisely bowed his head in acceptance and backed away with a murmured apology and wishes that she enjoy her drink. For her part, Anita quietly went back to drinking her wine. She would not drink too much, at least, not tonight. By this time tomorrow though, she expected to be having a drink in celebration of justice finally being done to the man that had ruined her life.

[Poison]

An hour, perhaps two, later, the door to the humble establishment opened to admit a tall man wearing a long dark cloak. His hair was so blonde it was almost white and fell to his shoulders in ragged curls. His eyes, once a piercing blue looked haggard and already had the glaze of a man with too much alcohol in his system. Ignoring the crowd in the room, he took a seat at the bar just a few seats away from Anita.

The instant that the door opened, Anita had looked to see if it was Lucas, just as she had every single time it had opened since she arrived. This time, she was pleased to find that her wait had not been in vain. Lucas now sat a mere three seats away from her. The vengeance she sought was in easy reach of her titanium sai, but she chose to remain quiet and not look at the new comer. The last thing she wanted was for him to recognize her before she was ready.

The barkeep paused before her and filled her cup. She no longer drank wine since she wanted a clear head. Instead, she was drinking water. Even plain water tasted almost as good as wine now that she no longer hungered for blood and blood alone. As he filled her cup, he spoke in a low voice.

“That’s him, lass. Are ye sure ye still want to make yerself known to him? Why don’t you watch him for an hour or so, see what kind of person he’s become. Then make a decision whether or not to claim to have found him.”

Anita sighed at the man’s determination to change her mind and then nodded. “Fine, I will wait a little bit longer. I would like to take you up on renting a room though. I have no where else to go tonight.”

“All right, I’ll be back with a key. The fee is 20 gold per night.”

While the portly keeper went to fetch a key, Anita watched Lucas out of the corner of her eye. He was drinking directly out of a bottle of whiskey. After taking a particularly long swig, he smashed it against the edge of the counter, sending glass shards flying. Someone made a joke and he laughed drunkenly at it while roaring for a new bottle of alcohol. This time, he asked for Lavinian Ale. The girl that took his order almost ran for the Ale, not wishing to incur the drunk’s wrath.

What a despicable sight.