Broken Alliegances

[Dissinger]

(Solo)

“You sure we can trust them?”

“They sent the olive branch, if there was a time to invite them to the fold then now is it.”

“If its a trap?”

“You have some of our best trained warriors…”

“I wouldn’t risk Mother like that.”

“That’s why I make the decisions. You and Garret should be able to keep her safe. Besides its about time she saw what the world was like, and time away from Lavinya would do her good.”

“…”

“What was that?”

“Yes sir.”

“I never said you had to enjoy the decision, merely that it isn’t yours. You can let your feelings get in the way on this one, or you can be a bodyguard to Mother. Its up to you, what is your decision?”

“You knew my decision before I even entered the room.”

“Good, the boat leaves tomorrow; we’ll move you guys through the sewers this time. Too many people leaving the warehouse looks suspicious.”

[Dissinger]

Seth stood at the bow of the ship his eyes closed as he recalled the conversation with Darith. Despite everything that happened, Seth knew one thing, he was right. The guild of thieves in Radasanth had sent an olive branch to the Lavinian Thieves guild, and had offered an alliance. It was a move that would allow their thieves to freely move in and out of Radasanth, and a possible boon for the Lavinian Thief’s Guild. However, Radasanth was Coronian, and despite the way Lavinya held neutrality through the world, they were still from Antioch, and there was always bad blood between Corone and Antioch.

He felt a slender hand upon his shoulder and opened his eyes. He didn’t even bother to look at the owner, but knew who it was. He sighed before he said softly, “Enjoying the sky?”

A soft laugh could be heard from his companion before she replied, “I am. I haven’t seen it in awhile. I think I’ll watch the stars for a bit before bed. You on the other hand, seem more restless than I have ever seen you. What’s wrong Seth?”

Seth turned to look at the woman with him. Mother was not her true name, that was something only three people knew now. However, she had earned her name when she had become the nurse, and furthermore the caretaker of all the thieves. No matter how it happened, Mother had become a true mother figure to most of the thieves, earning her thief title.

Still, Seth knew her true history, who she was and what she had been. Every time he thought about it, it saddened him, for she was someone he had cared deeply for. A sister to a man he was best friends with Mother had been a thief from an early age. Young and ambitious she had joined in on several daring raids. However, one such raid had gotten her caught, and the guards of the post had been a lecherous crew at the time. Even trying to appeal to Thomas his old childhood friend and member of the Guard Post could not cause him to show pity on the girl, who had endured rape and torture at the guard’s hands.

The result of the encounter was a woman who was meek and mild. Her Lavinian Pride had been broken, and the woman who had emerged had never seen daylight since. As he looked at her she seemed to understand what he was thinking before she turned away, “I’m alright Seth. You don’t need to worry about me…”

“I still feel he could have chosen someone far better for this, rather than volunteer you for this mission,” Seth said softly.

“It wasn’t his choice Seth,” Mother replied softly.

Seth’s eyes widened as he said softly, “You…chose to come?”

Mother nodded before she said, “I have you and Garret to help me. I don’t need to worry about my own safety. Besides I can’t stay cooped up in that guild forever. It would be shameful of me to waste the life you and Garret gave me. Besides this is only a simple diplomatic mission…”

Seth shook his head before he said softly, “Something doesn’t feel right. I have a feeling they wanted to get rid of Darith. This isn’t what it seems.”

“Of course it isn’t Seth. But the first step to disarming a trap, is knowing of its existence. Wolf may be foolhardy at times, but he knows what he is doing. Why else would he have sent nine well trained thieves, two of which are world renowned?” Mother chided.

“Because he felt that one wouldn’t be enough,” Seth said simply as he turned and looked out over the sea again.

“We land tomorrow Seth, try to rest at the very least,” Mother’s voice warned as the sounds of feet upon the wooden planks could be heard. Seth’s eyes were once again closed as he tried to punch through the veil of time, in order to prevent what could easily be a lethal encounter.

[Dissinger]

The next morning the delegation of thieves had gathered at a tavern. The owner was a sympathizer to Lavinya, and was often used as a rest house for weary Lavinian Thieves. As they checked in they had need of only two rooms, knowing Mother would only need her own room for modesty, and that the men would make do with what they had. Paying for the two large rooms they established a pseudo headquarters before they began to relax for the day.

They were early as could be expected, so that they would have time to recover from the boat ride, and be on guard. Taking up only two tables in the tavern they talked quietly only the occasional chuckle being heard. Finally one of the men spoke up, “Demon, why did you come? Certainly your talent is wasted here…”

Seth sipped his ale silently before he set it down. He then looked the thief in the eye before he spoke, “Jester, I am here because I owe the guild a debt. The only way I can ensure that debt is repaid, is if I protect the ones this guild loves most. And as much as I love Mother, we all know Hawk is sub par when it comes to-“

Laughter erupted as a few hands patted his back. Garret on the other hand spoke up, “Yeah let’s see you say the same thing when I ‘accidentally’ miss during your next hanging…”

Seth chuckled as he and Garret clasped hands over the table, showing the good will that had never broken between them. As they continued to drink and talk the younger of the thieves began to drift off to bed, unable to hold their drink as well as the veterans. Finally it came down to Garret Seth and Mother, who sat in amicable silence.

“Its been awhile since we’ve been like this hasn’t it Mother?” Garret said breaking the silence.

Mother nodded before she said, “Since before the Hawks Talon rescue for certain. Back when I was with Seth and your only concern was skirt chasing the girls at the local tavern.”

Seth looked down into his tankard of ale before he said softly, “A lot has changed since then. We aren’t the children we used to be…”

It was Mother who chided the thief slapping him on the shoulder, “Oh get over it Seth. You had a rut of bad luck, so what? Do you think my rut of bad luck gives me the right to be depressed as well? I may have given up what we had, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let you destroy yourself through Lavinian wares. That’s almost suicide…much like your father before he met your mother.”

“I wouldn’t know I killed them before I could ask them about how they met…” Seth said sourly. This time it was Garret who spoke up;

”Listen Demon, you can hide behind your guilt and your past, but you must move forward. I know it’s not what your father, nor Thomas, would want. They wanted you to live your life, not to waste it away at the bottom of a tankard swimming your back teeth in ale.”

“Think of Liliana, would she like to know the man she cares about is drowning himself in ale because he doesn’t have the pride to pick up and move on?” Mother accused.

Seth slowly rose dropping a few coins onto the table to pay for his tab before he said softly, “Good night ladies. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As he left Mother looked at Garret before she said softly, “At least he still insults you. He’s in there somewhere Garret. We need to pull him out…”

Garret shook his head before he said softly, “No, it’s not our job to rescue him from himself. That is up to Liliana…”

[Dissinger]

When the men had awakened from their drunken slumber a note could be seen under the door. One of them picked it up as he sighed reading it aloud to the others, “To the delegates from Lavinya, in your honor we have prepared a feast. Tonight you shall dine upon our considerable stores and be informed of the terms of the Allegiance. Meet us at the town square where you will be lead to our guild.”

Seth sighed as he said, “No choice, we shirk them and we lose our potential allies. Be on guard and keep your weapons ready, we are thieves first, men second. Never forget it.”

The others nodded as they gathered their things. As they moved down into the Tavern below Mother soon joined them completing the delegation. Once they had managed to pass the time away they slowly got up somberly in order to arrive at the appointed place. Slowly they moved through the town of Radasanth before they hit the square and began to mill about. A few of the thieves began to look through the area while Garret merely scanned the area for anything out of the ordinary. Mother meanwhile was admiring the sky when a few men showed up, each similarly armed to the thieves of Lavinya.

The thieves all moved into the center of the courtyard before Seth stepped beside Mother. Mother nodded acknowledging her bodyguard before she spoke kindly, “I take it you are our benefactors this evening. It is a pleasure to meet you, my name is simply Mother, one of the heads of the Lavinian Thief’s Guild.”

“Darith could not come?” One of the thieves asked.

“Darith apologizes for not coming, but as you know Guild Masters are rarely in the position to leave their guilds, even for something as important of this.”

“But of course Mother, if you and your bodyguard would come this way, we can get the feast started,” The man in the lead said. Seth felt something amiss with the man, but said nothing. As he followed him he looked down at the charm around his neck that seemed to point wildly at the leader. A small frown soon crossed his face before he carefully tucked the magical trinket under his shirt. The man was a mage, which made him on guard, and happy he had Spite in his holster.

As they continued through the city they soon walked down and alleyway. The leader then opened the cover of a sewage pipe before he and his men slipped down. Mother began to move forward after the last of the Radasanthian thieves went down before Seth grabbed her arm gracefully. As she looked at him harshly he spoke, “Me first maybe two more thieves then you. Last thing we need is a kidnapping…”

Mother sighed as she nodded seeing no fault in the Logic. Seth was the first to slide down the entrance and hit the bottom before he shouted, “Next!” Quickly two more of the thieves descended before mother did and the rest of the delegation. Once the last had made it and closed the entrance they were in what seemed like darkness. For bit it seemed as if no one would fix the problem until a faint glow of light filled the area. The ring on Seth’s finger shining before a ball of light formed in it. Holding up the globe he said, “Well then, lead the way.”

The men lead them through the catacombs of the sewers until they reached a much larger area. With the final turn taken they saw the guild hall of Radasanth. Unlike Lavinya, which had prided itself on its brotherhood, and the ability to leave their guild at a moment’s notice, the Radasanth guild hall was large and impressive. A symbol hung from chains that seemed to mark the guild, a symbol of greed and stealth. As the thieves drank in the surroundings the leader spoke, “Welcome to the Radasanth Thief’s guild, Brothers of Antioch, we hope you will join us for the feast!”

[Dissinger]

Cheers arose from various thieves found in the guild hall as tables were brought out. The feast being set upon it as only the finest foods were set out. Everything seemed to be a show as they did so, and quickly chairs were brought before the Thieves were told their places in the middle of the long table now set for the banquet. Seth meanwhile kept his eyes out and could see nothing truly suspicious for now.

As the thieves sat down upon the table a couple of kegs were brought out. The leader once ore spoke, “I, Guild Master William, have brought a delicacy of Lavinya here for the feast. We Coronian thieves know of the Lavinian’s love of their ale. Especially in its more formidable thieves. So, for you tonight, we have brought the best kegs we could steal from Lavinya, a tribute of Ale, so that we may show our good will.”

Mother and Garret both looked at Seth who seemed to focus on the man. While it had been dark earlier he noticed something off. William seemed to be like a brother to Seth. Had they of met in Lavinya, one surely would have thought the Dahlios Clan had another member, but that was impossible. The other thieves however were busy sitting at the table and getting ready for the feast to notice.

As Seth took his seat he waited, a tankard of the Lavinian ale set before each member of the Antioch Guild. As they were served their food, each of the Radasanthian members filled with their own ale, and raised their tankards. Garret and Mother looked at Seth who slowly raised his own before he met their eyes. Mother nodded before she leaned over and whispered something to Garret who also nodded.

William soon spoke up, “A toast to our hopeful allies. That they may share in the secrets of Radasanth, and not betray such secrets to the grave.” The Lavinians too raised their glasses as they offered an echo of the toast, before each person drank deeply from the tankard of ale they had.

Soon the feast continued on with the members of Radasanth offering their brethren drink plentifully. Things were thrown across and long after the normal hours of the town above their heads the feast began to dwindle. It was then that Mother spoke, “Guild Master, I must ask, what it is you expect from Lavinya of this alliance?”

William smiled as he answered truthfully, “I expect that we be trusted and trust in return. That we have this alliance until death do us part…”

As the Lavinian thieves started to get up they yawned, tired from being full and the rowdy feast. William upon seeing this smiled as he said, “Ahh the time has come. I had hoped it would be sooner, but now that I see you all have eaten your fill and drank the last drop, I must inform you that you are all deadmen.”

[Dissinger]

Garret, Mother, and Seth all rose from the table daggers drawn as they looked upon the seven other thieves. It was evident that sleep would claim them, making them useless as William laughed, every Radasanthian thief drawing their own weaponry. The situation was hopeless as William explained, “Death’s Kiss, a special toxin for you arrogant Lavinians. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”

As the three remained silent, they waited for the explanation they knew would come. The thieves beside them already presumed dead from the admission of poisoning the delegation. William seemed to sigh disappointed, “Perhaps not. It is a slow killer, one that seeps into your blood. It begins slowly sapping the user’s strength, until it finally drags them blissfully into slumber, an assassin’s tool, from the looks of it, you haven’t been drinking. Or rather, these two have, but you Seth, I have to hand it to you, you certainly knew how to make it seem like you were…”

As these words were spoken William strode forward, and upon moving the Demon’s chair, a pool of what could only be assumed ale continued to spread. He smirked as he said, “How did you three figure me out? I was oh so careful in my actions, in my words and my phrasings…”

“Secrets to the grave, a catchphrase often meant to be a permanent oath. In your case, since there was no oath, it was a signal to the Radasanth thieves that the Lavinian ale was poisoned. We weren’t sure what you would do, just that we had to be wary…” Mother spoke boldly.

As the thieves began to move in William laughed gently pinching Mother’s cheek. Seth and Garret both tensed as he said, “It’s amazing, truly amazing how you three, the most renowned Lavinians ever, managed to all evade this trap. Fitting perhaps, that the Lavinian Mother, who is the nurse should slip her dearest brother an anti toxin, and that Seth Dahlios, the Lavinian Demon, renowned Hex Mage should only take one true draught from Death’s Kiss.”

Mother looked at Seth worriedly as Seth remained still looking at William. William walked up before he said, “Well, I think that’s enough shocking surprises. For now I think we’ll have to lock you three up. I only give you a day tops before Death’s kiss encompasses you fully Seth. You may not have taken a large dose, but the dose in one tankard is lethal, to those that haven’t taken any form of antidote…”

“The way I see it William, that’s twenty four hours to kill you,” Seth said boldly. William chuckled as he slapped Seth hard, trying to take the sting of Seth’s words away. Seth meanwhile turned with the blow before he met William’s eyes and grinned maliciously.

The thieves moved in and one hit Seth in the gut winding him and causing him to drop the daggers. William picked up Spite and Malice before he said, “A pity, I was expecting Ebony and Ivory, I should have expected no less from a watered down mage such as you…”

As Mother and Garret were quickly disarmed and taken away Seth was dragged after them as he offered no resistance. Soon they were all encaged, each in a small ten foot square cell with a chamber pot and a bed of hay to rest in. As they were locked up, daggers placed teasingly outside of reach and packs thrown into the guard post of the cells. One guard rested on a stool at the end of the hallway, a set of keys hanging from his belt.

The message was quite clear, there would be no escape.

[Dissinger]

Mother looked worriedly at Seth as she saw his condition. Though he had been given a day, it was obvious that was a good estimate. Seth had begun to develop a sweat and had begun to take off his jacket and vest in an effort to keep his body cool. While he feigned being alright she knew he needed help. The problem was, she was out of anti-toxin herbs and a true antidote would have required some of the poison.

Garret meanwhile rested against the bars next to him remaining as close to his sister as possible. As he looked at his long time friend he spoke out, “Don’t you dare die on me Seth, you have a bastard to kill…”

The guard down the hall laughed at the comment before he spoke up, “Oh shut up. You’re all dead. After Dahlios dies you’re next Garret, and after we’ve all had our fun with the girl, her broken body will be sent to Lavinya as a message. You two however, I figure the bounty on the demon will fill our coffers, and I know Alerar had some problems with you Brown. We figure we fill our wallets off of your leader’s stupidity.”

As Garret started to rise Seth tiredly held a hand up. Garret looked at his friend before Seth said as strongly as he could, “Don’t bother with him Garret, we both know he’s just common Radasanth trash. It’s not our fault he thinks a few gold is a lot of money…”

The guards laughter stopped as he moved up to the bars. Seth smirked at the man as he said coldly, “Say that again Demon. I dare you to.”

Seth’s smirk grew to a grin as he said, “What you got wax in your ears?” He then leaned to see Garret and said, “I don’t think he even grasps trade speak. Perhaps I should talk slowly and in small words.”

Garret chuckled as the man opened the cell. Moving inside he launched a kick only to be shocked when with perfect timing Seth blocked it on his mythril gauntlets. As the man’s foot was far softer than the metal of mythril he grunted in pain before he hobbled out of the cell locking it.

The man sat down stubbornly at his post before he said, “You die in a day, I don’t know why I waste my time…”

Seth merely laughed as he said, “Because you’re stupid and don’t know better…”

Mother silently chided him and whispered about not provoking the moron as she wiped some of the sweat from his brow. Seth relaxed under her care as she was glad he was at least acting like the Seth she knew in his final moments. It wasn’t hard to see the worry in her face as she saw the color slowly draining from the Lavinian’s face with each breath.

[Dissinger]

Hours later a few thieves came into the prison area. A few looked at Seth and snickered seeing his near still form as he tried to save his strength for fighting the poison. As they moved on they reached Mother’s cell before one of them spoke, “Hey guys, look at her, think we should have a go with her before we kill her?”

Mother remained close to Seth, but he didn’t need open eyes to sense she was getting nervous. She had felt safe only because Seth had comforted her despite her misgivings. However, the words brought back memories, painful memories of a time when she was similarly imprisoned. As she looked at them one of them went to the seated guard to fetch the key as she whimpered. Seth slowly gripped her hand and squeezed it as hard as he could, only managing a firm squeeze as she said softly, “Please, protect me Seth…”

“I will Sarah,” Seth said as he slowly shifted, standing up and leaning against the bars. Mother looked at Seth, amazed at the use of her real name, it had been years since he had called her that, and for her to hear it on his lips seemed to calm her. However he had said that before and now they were both unable t do much. As the men came back one of them looked at the standing Seth and whistled before hooting with the others.

“Wow, still standing, I give that another hour before you can’t…” He then moved to Mother’s cell door and began to unlock it as Mother stayed close to Seth. The braggart then came in as he said, “Oh come on now, there isn’t much pain, if you just submit. The more you fight it the worse it gets…just go with it you whore.”

Seth tensed at the sound of the thief calling her a whore. As he entered the cell he thumbed his nose at Seth before he gripped Mother’s arm tightly. Pulling her to him he said, “Now you take it like a good girl, or I’ll kill you now and have a go with your body…”

The other men began hooting as the man roughly shoved her against the wall. She cried out as the sound of Garret ramming against the bars hit the room. The others looked at Garret laughing as they watched the show, impressed by the antics of their friend. However, soon there was no reason to watch as something happened. When the man backed up a bit to display himself to mother, Seth acted like a coiled spring. Faster than the others could have ever guessed he grabbed the back of the man’s pants and slammed him against the bars between them. Before he could even hunch Seth’s gauntleted arms came around the man’s head when, with a sickening twist, he neatly snapped the man’s neck. Dead before he hit the ground the other thieves were panicked before Seth held out his hand and said softly, “Time’s up…”

An orb of black energy crackled into existence in his hands as the men watched transfixed. The demon stories they had heard were proving true, and when they looked into his eyes, they held a satisfied light. They didn’t know what had satisfied the thief, but they certainly didn’t want to be next on his list of victims. Seth grinned as he looked at them and said, “This orb can kill you in a single instant, get out of here, and leave us alone…”

The panicked thieves ran past the guard as he looked at the menacing visage of a gaunt Seth Dahlios, holding an orb that did god’s knew what and ran himself, if only to save his skin. Seth then dispelled the orb hitting a tile and instantly releasing his grip as he sagged. Garret looked at Seth as he said softly, “Get the key mother, they left it, it’s the chance we’re looking for…”

[Dissinger]

Sarah nodded dumbly as she grabbed the key and unlocked Seth’s then Garret’s bars. Moving to Seth she hugged him tightly as she began to sob and cry, causing him to hug her tightly as he closed his eyes. It had been so long since he had been in this position with Sarah, the results of a relationship that had ended roughly, and forged his heart into ice. He had for so long thought love pointless because of Sarah’s rejection of him, when he tried to comfort her after her vicious rape. He had killed the guards, had tried everything in his power to set it right, but in her mind, she couldn’t get past the pain.

Still now she was purging as Seth hugged her, feeling a wave of overwhelming weakness as he closed his eyes and just held her, his knees shaking but his determination to be a rock for her holding him up. Garret meanwhile watched them for a bit before he said, “Lets get above ground for now, we can decide our next move after we get Seth to a healer…”

Garret quickly grabbed their gear, roughly throwing it all into Seth’s satchel before he slung it over his shoulder, ignoring the fact he was now carrying far more than he was used to. Sarah slowly pulled away as she tried to be the strong woman of the Lavinian Thief’s Guild. As they moved Seth fought another wave of weakness before Garret sighed, “Dahlios, don’t die on me now, you just saved my sister, keep it up and you’re family…”

Seth continued to push himself as they moved looking for the nearest route to the sewers. Hiding in shadows as they knew it was only a matter of time Seth Garret and Sarah slowly hid in the shadows as they tried to escape, moving about before they could easily hear the roar of outrage, “You guys what?!”

“Now or never, “Seth said as they moved across the hall rushing towards where Garret remembered the exit to this nightmarish hell. Slowly they made their way until they were free, the sounds of the thieves scouring the area filling the sewers trying to find them. Soon however they hid in a niche close to the exit but out of plain sight, Seth was fading fast and Garret couldn’t drag him up the ladder. Hiding in the shadows he closed his eyes as he knew he was dying. The fatigue that ripped through him was becoming unrelenting.

“Come on Seth, be strong…” Sarah whispered in his ear. He groaned softly as she looked about. Seth slumped to the ground sitting as he began to breathe deeply fighting the burning sensation in his veins. She quickly stroked his hair as garret looked at his sister. She sighed as she began to check his vitals her hands moving with a healer’s precision. Finally she spoke, “Doesn’t look good, he’s in far worse shape than he’s letting on, we gotta get him out soon…”

“How do we get him above ground?” Garret asked as he looked at Seth. Seth groaned as sweat began to trickle down his forehead.

Sarah looked at Seth awhile before she said, “Seth, you in there?” Seth looked at her with glazed eyes but nodded. She carefully cupped his cheek before she said, “Listen, Garret is going to carry you up the ladder, all you have to do is put your feet on each rung as he pulls you up. Got it?”

Seth nodded dully again as Garret sighed handing Sarah the pack, “Thanks for the volunteer work sis…”

“You think I could carry his fat ass?” She said as Seth chuckled softly. It sounded hollow, like he was far too tired to do it properly, but the fact remained he was alert. Garret meanwhile handed Sarah the pack and began to move Seth around his back. The poisoned thief tiredly linked his hands so as to get a good grip on Garret before they began to climb up the ladder out of the sewers. Slowly rung by rung they began to upward climb…

[Dissinger]

Hours later Seth was laying in a bed, deathly still. Sarah had begun to work on stopping the poison in his veins as she administered antidotes to various poisons slowly. Each one returned a bit to Seth as he rested, finally asleep. As she sighed watching him sleep Garret gently put his hand son her shoulders and pulled her back, “Rest sis, you did all you could…”

“It’s my fault, I should have sat closer to him, helped him out…” She said as she turned to her brother.

Garret sighed as he moved to leave the room, “Its not, I’ll be in the other room, while you tend to your patient, I need some rest before Seth wakes up.”

“Garret, you do know that this won’t end like this…” She said firmly.

“I know, he’ll want revenge, and that’s why I need rest, we have a lot to avenge,” He said softly. Garret then left the room before Sarah turned to the downed form of Seth, inside there was someone who was reminiscent of the Lavinian Thief.

That man had done so much for her, had given the world to her on a silver platter, and raged vengeance upon the very guards that had raped her when she was captured. She shuddered seeing the deathly visage that clung to him, trying to drain him as he fought for a life, she knew he didn’t want. It was something that concerned her as she took a towel and wiped the sweat form his face. Moving she removed the gauntlets on his hand before she undid the vest and shirt on him, trying to keep him cool as the antidote went to work. Having to force feed the Lavinian in order to get him to heal had been a tough feat.

Still as she gazed upon him, she detected a soft sadness. He held the grief of his parents deep in his heart, and he hid it form the world, it was something she saw often in the older veterans, who tried to be strong when they saw their friends pass away. To see it on such a young man, who still had his entire life before him, troubled her. He was burying his pain, in an effort to be strong. Sighing she gently stroked his hair in a motherly way, gently moving the wild hair from the face it sought to hide. He was such a sweet man, when he chose to show that side of him.

As she looked at him she felt the fear grip her chest. She had always been afraid of Seth, his horrible and terrible secret, the deaths of his parents. They had been so close and he had shown his love for her repeatedly. It was hard to believe the rumors around him, and yet at the same time, he had admitted to her so many where true. This however wasn’t what she was afraid of; she knew that they could have overcome those pitfalls in a heartbeat.

She was afraid of loving another man again.

The pain and trauma she had gone through still echoed to her at night. It had taken her years to deal with it enough to not have her waking up screaming into the darkness that she wasn’t some whore. Then, today the situation had returned and she found herself regressing to the shattered wreck. It had taken Seth killing the man brutally and hugging her tightly before she could accept that she was in fact safe once more.

And how safe she had felt in his arms, they had wrapped around her strongly, despite the poison that weakened him. She felt like he was saving his strength just for her, and despite the fact she knew he had pushed himself, he had given up ground to the poison just to make her feel safe. As she looked at him she looked around the room, childishly seeking if anyone was spying on them before she leaned down and took a chance.

Her lips pressed softly against Seth Dahlios’ lips, before she pulled back and clutched her chest. She felt the euphoria of the kiss, and the bitter fear, and she knew once and for all that she had a choice to make. She could live forever in the shadows, underground and never again see the starry night that had been there when they left Lavinya, or she could take a chance, and trust that Seth would make it right.

As she looked at the sleeping thief, she knew her answer finally, and that answer was the same she hoped he would make…

She chose to live.

[Dissinger]

It had been hours later that Seth awoke, feeling the frail form on his chest. The poison was gone as he slowly lifted his head, amazed at how easy the action seemed as he saw brown hair cascading across his chest. Sarah had slept with him that night, for reasons he could only begin to fathom, and she had apparently worried herself sick. As he looked around he found his shirt and vest folded neatly on a chair nearby, with his gauntlets similarly placed. She had stripped his entire upper body for some reason, and as he brought a hand to his forehead he finally fathomed it, sweat doused it and caused him to sigh realizing he had possibly broken into a fever, and this was her way of countering it.

Shifting underneath her caused her to shift slightly as she gripped him tightly. Raising an eyebrow he though he spied an eye on him before he sighed and said, “Fine stay there for all I care…”

“I think I will,” Her voice replied tiredly as she curled up against him.

He groaned as she continued to use him as a personal pillow before he said, “You know, if you were going to strip me, might have wanted the pants, at least then I would know what you were after…”

Sarah giggled as she moved forward and in a surprise move kissed him deeply. The act caught him off guard before he found himself reacting remotely. She had been one of his many lovers, and if it hadn’t been for the incident in her past he would have possibly married her. Instead they had been separated, yet it was all there. The tenderness and the love, the actions almost robotically going off as he returned it full bodied and passionate.

Soon their lips parted as they looked at each other like two children. She then looked down and gently began to trace over a few scars on his chest. He closed his eyes as she finally fingered the prominent scar. The death mark given to him by Scara Brae, it was a constant form of annoyance, and something he wasn’t sure if he relished or loathed. She then traced a frail finger over it before she said, “I heard about this little mark, so, who did you kill?”

“A few guards, they were getting too physical for my tastes…” He said softly.

She nodded as she began to trace over the innumerable scars on his chest. Each one was only about a couple of inches in length, but varied widths. She then looked at him as he said softly, “Not something I’m willing to share yet.” Again she nodded as she looked deeply into his eyes. He saw the bit of hope that shined in those brown orbs as she merely looked into his. For a moment there was nothing else in the world but Sarah Brown, and yet Seth sighed as he laid back on the bed breaking the magic.

“You don’t like me? Is that it?” She whispered softly as she began to sit up moving off the bed.

A hand gently snaked around her waist as he hugged her from behind and whispered in her ear, “I do, gods know I do. I just, don’t think you’re ready for that yet…”

“So what? You can sleep with a Radasanthian Noble’s Daughter, you can sleep with some vampiric tramp, but you can’t sleep with the woman who you wanted to marry at one point in your life!?”

Seth remained silent at the accusation as he closed his eyes. He knew it was true, Mariah had been one of his lovers as had Sivienna. The list of women he had slept with to sate his carnal hunger were varied, but few. He had tried to remain as pure as he could, and yet here he was refusing the one person he would have done so without a second thought. A sigh of guilt left his lips as he whispered softly, “Where are they now? What have I done with them since?”

“How about Lornius, you could have easily asked for my brother, or hell, even asked for me. Instead you chose the Vampire,” She replied curtly.

He clenched his teeth at the mention of Lornius, it was the one mistake that refused to go away. Sighing she turned to face him before she took his hands and placed them on suggestive parts of her body, “I remember a time when you were loathe to have your hands leave these spots. When I would have to find new ways to keep you from going further than this, and now I have to try and seduce you to do the very things you would do freely?”

“I don’t want to hurt you Sarah,” He replied softly.

She then shoved him back on the bed as she roughly kissed him. Pulling back she whispered softly, “I’m tired of being the prim and proper Mother, tired of being the one who has to play it safe. I want to live Seth; can’t you just for one night make me feel like that?”

“You’re worked up because of the deaths of our brothers. You aren’t thinking straight Sarah; this isn’t something that you can just throw yourself into. Afterwards it’s awkward as hell and you feel dirty…”

“Seth, please. I don’t need the birds and the bees talk from you. You were so raring to have this body, and now when I try to give it to you, as an act of Love you deny me? I don’t believe that,” She said as she glared down at him. Seth looked up at her before he sighed as relaxed under her his hands falling from her body. Sarah then leaned down so her hair formed a curtain from the rest of the world, giving them a more intimate climate as she whispered softly, “Seth Dahlios, I know we can never be what we were, but for tonight, can’t we just see what it would have been like? I may have been broken, but you put me back together and I never thanked you. Let me thank you Seth…”

He sighed as she gently let her hair tease his chest. Closing his eyes he said softly, “I may not have the strength you need Sarah…”

“I don’t care anymore Seth; you gave up your happiness for me. You shut yourself off from the rest of the world, and from everyone you cared about for the chance to make me happy. You sacrificed your name to be the man I wanted…”

She kissed him deeply before she pulled back and he whispered softly, “What do you want?”

“I want to make you happy for once. To let you forget for a moment how fucked up our lives are, afterwards you know what we have to do, but right now I just want to remind you what love is like again, what true happiness is.”

“That’s not true happiness or Love though Sarah…”

Sarah smirked before she whispered, “Then I want to make you satisfied and until you are that, I am not going to let you leave this bed…”

[Dissinger]

It began slowly soft kisses and gentle caresses. Soon it became far more heated as Sarah simply overcame her fears. They took their time letting her adjust to each level of intimacy until it finally happened. Once it began it was like a bursting of the dam of emotions. Soon all their pent up love and emotions went into each other as they kissed passionately and wildly. It could be said that at that moment, the Lavinian Demon was sleeping, but it was obvious that was far from the truth.

After their heated session once again they were resting in the bed as Sarah sighed, her head resting on his chest as he gently stroked her hair. He closed his eyes as she moved and whispered in his ear, “Had I known it could be like that, I would have done this far sooner.”

He sighed as he said softly, “I don’t think I’ve been this open with someone in a long while…” She then giggled as she playfully patted his chest.

“I’m surprised that for someone so rusty you know what to do…”

He sighed as he said softly, “Lets just sleep, we have brothers to avenge tomorrow, and I promise that it will not end until I take William’s last breath from his body…”

She looked at him before she kissed him and whispered, “You are so focused on revenge, I swear, if it weren’t for me practically throwing myself upon you, you’d have crawled out of bed to gut that bastard…”

“I suppose you’re right, you certainly know how to make your patients stick around toe recover fully,” He whispered as she blushed. He then smirked as he whispered in her hear, “Don’t worry your secret is safe with me and Garret…”

Her head snapped to the door before she sighed, “Don’t scare me like that…”

Laughing Seth said softly, “You moan to wake the dead dearest, I have no doubt William knows what we did…”

Blushing she sighed as she said, “Doctor’s orders, shut your mouth and kiss me…”

Kissing her gently they held it for a bit before he pulled back and said, “Lets sleep, we have a long day ahead of us…”

Nodding Sarah said, “I’ll stay behind, I don’t want you to hold back because you’re afraid for me…”

Seth shook his head as he said softly, “No, I want you there, you have to avenge them as well. I’ll protect you Sarah…”

Looking into his eyes she nodded as she accepted his word as fact. In a few hours, they would fight, and the Radasanth guild would be destroyed, yet at what cost?

[Dissinger]

An anonymous tip to the Radasanth Guard had produced the desired effect. With the guard storming the sewers in force and capturing criminals it seemed that the Guild of Thieves would never recover form this blow. The guard had captured so many that few of the older veterans would be around to even teach the tricks of their trade. As they tried every way to escape it seemed nothing would work as they were caught by the guard, with the exception of one man.

William, the man who looked so remarkably like Seth, began his trek through the sewers before he finally managed to land out of the sewers. He grunted as he jumped form the sewer pipe only a few feet higher off the ground. With a dull thud he landed on the beach that lead out into an old outlet into the bay. He smirked seeing it as he muttered, “Well the filth is dead at least…”

As he sighed brushing himself off, he stopped when he heard a soft cough. Frowning he scanned the area before he came to a stop, three figures each wearing cloaks were before him, each brandishing similar daggers with one exception. The one in the middle was wielding a black and a normally colored one. Smirking he moved forward coolly, “It seemed my reputation precedes me. So then, Seth dearest cousin, what is you want from me? Is it a petty vengeance, a simple release, perhaps a quick death?”

“Your head on our guild’s wall as a warning…” Was the cold reply.

William laughed as he spoke, “Well then, let’s see how you stack up, I could swear that you weren’t all that you’re cracked up to be…”

With those words he rushed forward as the three cloaked figures moved about. The deadly dance began with a simplistic slash at one of them before he moved swiftly. Catching the cloaked figure off guard a kick lashed out and sent them back, before he checked the daggers, they were similarly colored and so he moved to the next, blocking the attacks.

A twirl of daggers as one of the figures stepped between the downed comrade before William sighed as he said, “Well then, if that’s the way its going to be, better keep up!”

With those words his movements began to blur leaving images in its wake as he slashed into the two standing figures. Finding the one armed like Seth would they began to dance as the other figure staid back. He countered expertly and parried each blow before returning despite the odd magic. This frustrated William to no end as he tried to overcome the obstacle. Each slash timely countered. Each parried turned into an offensive strike against William. He was truly annoyed as the fast reflexes and hawk like vision.

“Not bad Dahlios, not bad at all,” He said as the two cloaked figures watched in silence. One was studying, the other worrying. Once again the locked up and continued to clash. William getting frustrated finally sent a kick into the man’s chest, sending the figure flying. Standing over the downed form he smirked as he pulled back the hood with a gloating smile, “Well Seth, time to watch you die…”

“That’s all well and good, but I’m not Seth,” The man under the hood said. William looked deeply into the eyes of the victim. Garret smirked, his dark hair clenched in the man’s hand as he stabbed forward. It was only by pure luck the man dodged the attack before he growled lowly.

“Alright then, we’ll do this the old fashioned way…” He said. Moving swiftly he began to move faster the blurs not even able to fully dissipate before replaced. Finally Garret was overwhelmed before a stab into the gut hit him, and a shove sent him out of the fight.

Garret groaned clutching his chest as William forced him into a lying position with his boot. His face once again filled with a smirk as he sighed. With one less place for Dahlios to hide, he turned to look at the two other cloaked figures, still leaving an illusion of images he said, “Who’s next?”

[Dissinger]

The next figure bolted before the other. It was a shock on the first ones face as they reached out for the other. Still the man laughed as the pitifully novice attacks came at him. He blocked them all before he reached out and grabbed the girl by the throat and hoisted her up. Clutching at his hand her daggers dropped as William chuckled maliciously, “Little mouse…”

Seth pulled down his hood as he shouted out, “This is between you and me William, put her down!”

Another laugh escaped William as he said bitterly, “You cost me my guild Dahlios. Atop of this, you caused my sister so much pain. I would say it’s only fair I return the favor…”

Seth growled as he stepped forward. William still effortlessly held up the girl as he said, “Temper temper dearest cousin. You wouldn’t want to frighten me, when I get scared, things die…like little mice who don’t know how to keep their anger in check…”

“What do you want William?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I want you to suffer; the Kiss of Death wasn’t enough. You simply had to go and fight through it. Admirable but with this little whore, you were able to overcome death itself. That my friend is unforgivable.”

“You have me, fight it out like a man,” Seth shouted. Garret meanwhile groaned as he watched the scene unfold. William turned to face Seth before it happened, much too quickly for either man to comprehend the sound before it happened. A sickening Snap echoed through the air before Sarah’s lifeless body hung limply in his hand.

“Oops,” He said as with a casual toss it landed before Seth. William then laughed as Seth knelt down to check. He was like anyone in fresh grief, he just had to know, be certain of the knowledge he already had. He slapped her face and called her name, but nothing would reach her now, the woman who had gone through life tormented and bitter, who had finally chosen life, and had chosen to be with those she loved, was gone.

“Sarah!” Garret called out as Seth stayed hunched, his hair hiding his eyes as he looked at the body. Garret didn’t know what to do, he was wounded, but as he fought he pushed himself to rise and start to head over to Seth before William held up a hand.

“Stay back! Even dogs know when to stay down,” William barked. Garret was once again shoved off his feet and to the ground as Seth remained abysmally silent. William then turned as said coldly, “Oh don’t tell me you had feelings for the vapid whore? She got what was coming to her. Trying to prove she could best the grand dream. It’s our Legacy, written in our blood!”

Seth slowly stood, the hair still hiding his eyes as the winds began to shift. The effect was eerie to the casual observer as they saw a gauntleted hand tighten into a fist. William however was far from casual as he said, “Such a hypocrite. You claim to be human, yet here you are being nothing more than a beast. You rutted with the girl, and so now you want vengeance for her death? You think that will make the pain go away? You’re nothing but a puppet to these people Dahlios, and it’s sickening. You could be so much more! I don’t see why you hold back!”

The wind whipped around his cloak, pulling at it and revealing the sight of something foreign to the gauntlets. Steadily a red drip began to appear on his hand clenched in a fist. He continued to stand there silent as the blood dripped from his hand. William watched with a morbid curiosity before he said, “Such the foolish cliché, what are you going to do glare me to death? I don’t doubt you’ll just be another broken man that I take back so my sister can finally complete her task. I hope you don’t expect to survive my sister, because if you do it’ll shock even me!”

Garret saw something when Seth whipped his head up, a glint of malicious intent as the eyes of Seth Dahlios went cold. In the depths of his heart the Thief stood before the Mage, face to face they stared at each other. Both looked at each other for the longest time before both said as one, “Kill him…”

With those words the hand was brought up to his face as he held it palm up, the blood pooling in his hands as he said eight words, the most powerful spell he had taken, whole heartedly, “You’d be surprised what you could live through…”

William’s laughter stopped when he heard the words and watched in horror. Energy began to crackle from the blood as it shot out. It arced over his arms, down his chest and over his body as he could feel the spell coming forth. The energy played with his wild hair as it came and finally, the orb began to form. It was a ball of pure crimson energy. The crimson globe formed by the purest form of hatred and malice he had done it again, and embraced his heritage.

“Dahlios, you don’t even know what that will do. You can’t be certain of the effects. I wouldn’t use it if I were you!” William said slowly backing up. Garret watched in silence as he saw his best friend move menacingly forward his arm dropping and the red orb still clutched within it. As William tried to turn to run he made his mistake, and the predator struck with a vicious efficiency.

“Oh but I do, enjoy your seven Deaths, that’s not nearly enough, but it’ll do!” He shouted as he spun and threw the orb with precise aim.

[Dissinger]

The orb washed over William and he found himself tied to a stake. Pondering what in the hell was going on he watched as a torch was brought to the stake, and slowly lowered to the brown wood. As the flames began to rise higher and higher he shook his head.

“No, this isn’t real it can’t be I was fighting Seth!”

In a flash he suddenly felt the rough texture of burlap against his face, and the coil of rope around his neck. He kept trying to look around before he heard the words, “Executioner, commence execution!”

Soon he felt the ground out form under him give as he fell, the rope began to bite into his neck. Feeling the life slowly choke out of him he tried to remember what he had been doing, the animalistic fear overcoming his sensibilities. Soon however he shouted out, “I was fighting Seth!”

Another flash, this time he was in the middle of the ocean, and he was tired. As he dipped under the water he fought to rise up again and broke the surface gasping, the illusion hard to fight against. He remembered the beach the sand underneath, but he was so far from it. As he looked out on the beach, he could see Seth and Garret slowly walking off, but he knew it was fake. It had to be, he was fighting Seth, not being thrown out to sea!

Now he was on the ground looking up at the sky. He felt a sigh of relief under he heard the sounds of horses. Looking around he could clearly see four horses, each with a rope tied to one of his limbs. Shaking his head he saw in a rather morbid fashion the riders waved at him before they began to ride off. He fought to pull them back only to feel the strain as they began to slowly pull him into four quarters. Stretching he felt his chest tighten before he groaned. He knew something was amiss. He couldn’t be dying like this; he was fighting someone wasn’t he? He couldn’t remember anymore before he felt the horses begin to strain as they continued to pull his clothes starting to rip as they gave a little to buy him some time.

Soon however he figured it out and shouted as best he could, “Stop with the illusions Seth I won’t stop fighting you just because you make me think I’m dying!”

He was a bit more comfortable now as he was tied to a chair. Slowly a figure walked around him, a gleaming knife in hand. He looked menacing as he moved swiftly and succinctly. Soon however William was left with nothing to wonder as the man slowly began to tear his shirt open. The knife gleamed once more in the air before he felt it puncture his skin and slowly slice him open. After the cut had been administers, the man’s hand began to reach for the cut before William shook his head, “Not falling for it Dahlios!”

Laying on the ground now he saw two heavy set men carrying large stones. They quickly placed them on a board that seemed to be resting on William’s chest before they walked off grabbing more stones. Each stone made it harder for William to breathe as he realized what was finally going on. He was experiencing a spell effect. The Hex Magi Seth Dahlios having hit him with one that made a person fight an illusion of death happening to him. As he realized this however the next illusion struck at his mind.

Once more he felt the rope on his hands as he tried to look around and figure out what the illusion of death he was to experience now was. Ashe looked around he seemed to be tied with his head against a barrel. Fighting to pull against his bonds he heard the sounds of something chopping before he felt a hand press onto the back of his shoulders. The feeling of something wet on his neck could be felt as he frowned trying to figure out what it was. The hand then roughly grabbed his head and moved it to the other side, where he came face to face with an Axe.

Trying desperately to find some way to dispute the illusion he was finding it hard to concentrate when the axe was picked up. He then heard a list of everything he did in life. Murders, incest, many other despicable and horrible accounts were tolled out. Before he heard the dreaded words, “Executioner, commence sentence!”

He hardly had time to think to call out before the axe came down.

[Dissinger]

A ship slowly made it way out of port. In its hold was precious cargo to two men aboard it. It wasn’t something that could be described in a tangible sense. It wasn’t the money or the items found after looting the Thief’s Guild. No, the cargo of that hold was seven coffins each with a name inscribed. The last one, the eighth coffin was more ornate, as befitted the person who resided in it.

Above deck under the stars a man stood his face out to sea as he watched the starry night. Many people were walking over the deck, but all knew better than to mess wih the man at the bow of the ship, as he watched the stars. In his hand he held a single item, a ring. The ring was a gift to the resident of the eighth coffin and as he felt the texture of the metal a tear slowly slid down his cheek.

What’s wrong Seth?

She was dead.

Besides I can’t stay cooped up in that guild forever. It would be shameful of me to waste the life you and Garret gave me.

And yet it was gone so quickly.

Come on Seth, be strong…

He couldn’t, the wind from his sails was gone. The reason for his happiness removed. Strength was not what he did to his cousin, who was later found with his head severed from his body an unexplainable black paint on his neck as if to draw a line across it. The body had been left where it was as the two men sought ot recover their fallen brothers…and sister.

You are so focused on revenge, I swear, if it weren’t for me practically throwing myself upon you, you’d have crawled out of bed to gut that bastard…

He had no doubt in his mind now. He had fallen so far in the span of a minute that he had wholeheartedly wanted his cousin William to not only die, but die a gruesome death. A death that would make him shudder in the afterlife.

I want to make you happy for once. To let you forget for a moment how fucked up our lives are, afterwards you know what we have to do, but right now I just want to remind you what love is like again, what true happiness is.

He closed his eyes as he leaned against the railing the tears falling freely. For a moment things had been right and he had forgotten his dead parents, his estranged love. He had forgotten the bitter taste of rejection when he had tried to help her. For one night, they had been that married couple he had always wanted. As he continued to cry quietly he felt the overwhelming grief of not just Sarah’s death, but the death of his parents, the death of his best friend Thomas, and the deaths of the other Lavinians. He saw many deaths, friends old and new and he couldn’t stand it as he broke down, falling to his knees.

“Dear gods why, WHY!?”

[INDK]

Well, I have to say, I’m a bit behind on Seth’s storyline. I get the impression a lot happened that I didn’t know about. That said, it seems like you are doing new things with him, and that’s good. He was not becoming stale earlier, but his adventures were bordering on formulaic. It’s one thing to get into a comfort zone, but you don’t want to get redundant because of it.

Total Score= 67.5

Introduction – 7 I would have liked some sense of context in your first post. Not knowing who the speakers were or getting any sense of what was going on really turned me off. If you could have even offered a vague setting it would have helped this a little bit. However, you did a great job of introducing the basic plot with a good deal of brevity. The second post makes things a whole lot better.

Setting – 5 Interesting premise, and you worked in your obligatory references to Lavinya. Still, nothing all that substantial.

Strategy – 6 I like the way Seth’s strategy is tied in symbolically with character.

Dialogue – 8 The spoken dialogue really felt more normal than most of your writing did. The Seth-Sarah stuff was the best.

Character – 6 I do think this could have potentially been a bit stronger, but you know who Seth is, what he does, and have a vivid past history. I needed more development here, especially since this was a solo quest.

Rising Action – 7 Great buildup around the climax, but pedestrian in other areas. This could have been paced a bit better in the early goings, but the problem was you didn’t do a particularly great job moving between the subplots you had created. An elaborate storyline is good, but you have to work better on weaving the parts together. There were also a few points of gratuitous dialogue.

Climax – 8.5 Easily the best part of the thread. It was one of the few parts where all the subplots came together.

Conclusion – 6 It seemed like you intended this conclusion to be abrupt. However, it needed to close a bit better if you were going to do that. The last line wasn’t particularly strong. Still, you did tie in a lot of the meaning well before the sudden end, and that can be difficult to do. I’m giving you a bit better than average points for trying something and almost pulling it off brilliantly. Had you just managed to put this together, you would have easily had an 8 or higher.

Writing Style – 7 You’ve improved a bit if memory serves. However, you occasionally do have typos and things like that

Wild Card – 7 All in all, this was some good work out of you. I like that you’re challenging yourself again with your storylines

Spoils=

Dissinger gains 1200 EXP
Dissinger gains Seven Deaths – Once per thread upon saying the words “You’ll be surprised what you can live through” a ball of crimson red energy will form in the hex mage’s hands. The orb when thrown will travel at the speed of an arrow with any added force of the caster’s throwing. The result is an illusion picked at random to simulate one of Seven Deaths; Burning, Hanging, Drowning, Beheading, Quartering, Disembowelment, and Pressing. The illusion is up to the victim’s discretion and often takes on the form of their greatest fear of dying. Should they not be able to see through the illusion then the spell will kill them, making their body react as if it had been put through the illusion, making it real. However, should they force off the illusion of death they are merely disoriented a post as they must fight off their body almost thinking it was dead.

[Thoracis]

Rewards Added!