PM to join [The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

When the strange, new breed of Dhani make their way to the surface, the necessary purge commences.

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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Kaie on November 2nd, 2014, 6:51 am

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7th of Fall, 514 AV





Life for the young Myrian woman that morning had begun no differently than it had any other day she awoke in Mizahar's Heart of Anarchy. Her afternoon shift guarding Ruby's most prized men and women as they went about their duties was rather easy-going. After all, it had always been the late night drunks and rowdy gang members that most often caused her to handle undesirable situations with her fists. When her services were no longer required, she was content to roam about the city from one tavern to the next, listening for job opportunities and valuable information regarding people of notoriety in the city.

Eventually, as the borderline alcoholic savage always seemed to do, she ended up at the Drunken Fish. It was perhaps one of the only bars she felt remotely comfortable spending her time in. She was an obvious outsider after all, wearing her leather vest and loincloth paired with her very Myrian qualities. Such were shunned and targeted by the proud natives of Sunberth. Since Manowar's clients tended to be almost just as foreign as she with the docks involved, there were nights she almost felt compelled to loosen her guard. Of course she never made such a folly. Not yet anyway. A move that foolish would land her in some dark, filthy alley beside another mutilated corpse. Too often she'd seen men slain and women exploited at the first sign of weakness. When it came to the slaughter of men, Kaie's blade was far from clean.

For some time the day remained so mediocre when compared to the ones that came before. The bar was relatively docile, actually, filled with drunken singing and boisterous laughter. Though she'd never openly admit it, even the ale was almost good. At least all seemed well until the pair at the table adjacent to hers began their gossip.

"Oi! Boyd! You 'ere 'bout tha' drownin'?"
"Ay? Wha' drownin'?!"
"Buddy o' mine was wif me when we was 'eadin' back to tha' ship. Saw...Saw was 'er name? Tha' bitch we saw take on 'em Daggers by tha' stalls?"
"Hah! Tha' merc woman? Bitzer, I 'eard 'em call 'er. Wha' 'bout 'er?"
"Well two o' us a' the ship? 'Eard a splash. Saw 'er flailin' like mad tryin' ta stay up. Saw 'er go down. No one ever saw 'er come back up."
"No kiddin'! When ya see this? Ya sure?"
"Aye. Sure as I'm a true 'Berther. Saw it wit' me own eyes two days ago."

Kaie stiffened. Her fingers seemed to lose spirit in their firm clutch around the handle of her mug. Expression went hard, and she willed the dampering in her soul to die. Bitzer dead? The mug was seized again more fervidly and tipped back down her throat. She chugged the rest of the bitter drink, drowning the budding sense of grief like the method of her trusted acquaintance's death. When the cup ran dry she placed it upon the table and shoved it away from her. Then the burning began. She isn't stupid. Never struck me as stupid. Could she really have fallen in the water herself? No. No, I doubt that. Remember where we are. A growl built in her throat. A flame flickered alight and echoed in the fierceness growing in her amber eyes. Muscles tensed and her lip curled. Murder.

"Hey! Everyone! Get the petch up!"
The room seemed to pause all at once, turning toward the open door where the crier stood. Some of the more drunk and hostile began to storm toward the man for his words. Even Kaie was torn momentarily from her furious sulking. "Scaly bastards just crawled out of the Bay! They're swarming the city! Tons of them! Straight out of the sea! Join the fight! Join the slaughter! Kill the Sea Snakes!" Then he sprinted back out the door where the sounds of battle began, cries of agony and the sound of clashing weapons. In a moment the entire bar was alive. Chairs squealed as patrons rushed toward the door, discarding their alcohol in exchange for bared steel.

Kaie ripped her gladius from its sheath with a primitive snarl and made a break for the door. With the crier came an outlet, an opportunity to focus her hatred and expel the hostility that bred in her warrior heart. This was not justice. This was not revenge. This was bloodlust. And she knew exactly what she was hunting when the man burst into that tavern, though she knew not a subrace that came from the sea.

Dhani.

And just like that she emerged into the street and raced with the mob toward the Docks. Thus the Ancient War of the jungle began, but this time upon foreign ground.



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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Vaylen Stroud on November 2nd, 2014, 7:33 pm

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It had been five days since his mutilation of the two thugs in the Storage Houses of the Castle Commons. Five days had passed with the concussion wracking Vaylen’s brain. Unfortunately, he had to make a deal with Irith Baughn concerning the whole thing. Vaylen explained to him that because he had been hurt defending Irith's stall, he would still be receiving pay through his days of rest. Irith Baugh, the scared little shit that he was, agreed whole-heartedly within seconds. After seeing Vaylen cut down two thugs much larger than he, Irith had no intentions of getting on his bad side.

With those five days passed now, sitting in a dark private room of the Cheap Side of the Sunset Quarters, the concussion had disappeared mostly. The only thing that truly existed still was a faint headache, but that was hardly anything that would distract Vaylen from going out into the dark this fine night. The evening was the time of the Wraith, and Vaylen would make sure to abide by that inner law of his mind.

Standing afoot, Vaylen began to gather his gear. Night leather armor strapped against his skin, kukris and throwing daggers returned to their scabbards, a fur-lined cloak draped over his back, and the Mask of the Wraith obscured his mien from the rest of the world. Vaylen headed toward the door, but halted himself and peeked back over his shoulder. He was glad he had been able to rent one of the cheap homes of the Sunset Quarters. Of course, he trusted no one, and could not rent a shared room with another being, so he acquired his own, private establishment.

Smirking beneath his mask, Vaylen exited the petite room with nothing more than a bed, table, and dresser, heading down a flight of stairs of one of the few two-storied buildings in which he resided. As he exited his domain, the ringing of steel and wails of the night echoed in his ears. Yes, Sunberth was a crime-filled, anarchical city with constant murders, but there was never full-blown, steel-on-steel sounds that shot through the night. Something was amiss and it wasn’t painfully difficult to notice why.

Vaylen’s steel-gray eyes were not so shocked at the first sight of a Dhani. It was probably the first of the beasts to reach the slums of the city, but with the near-nonexistent knowledge Vaylen had concerning the monstrosities, he didn’t even know where they had come from. It was not in its more behemoth form, for it was still a human. Even from a distance of twenty or so yards, Vaylen could make out the golden slits for eyes that the serpentine creature donned. It was a male, standing at about six feet and three inches. The creature was muscular, and was obviously much stronger than the two men in front of it, but there was something the abomination didn’t have—increased speed. Simply from watching his movements as he used a clawed hand to impose a massive gash on the chest of one of his enemies, Vaylen could tell he was the faster. He was the Wraith.

With an arrogance defying his years, Vaylen unsheathed a throwing dagger from one of the many scabbards strapped along his chest and waist. He flipped the small blade in his hand a few times, observing the Dhani execute strengthened attacks at its meager opponent before it clawed the man’s neck apart, sending blood spewing forth in various directions. That’s when Vaylen took his shot.

Whipping his body with all of his strength, he sent the throwing dagger into flight. The edge of the steel embedded itself into the thigh of the creature, making it howl in agony. Its golden slits for eyes immediately shot upward, locking with the stern gaze of Vaylen Stroud. The Dhani ripped the dagger from its thigh and tossed it to the side, snarling.

The large Dhani, in human form, began approaching Vaylen, but eventually it broke into a sprint, showing its true speed. As Vaylen had imagined, it wasn’t that much faster than a human. At least not this one. The Wraith’s hands fell to the grips of kukris, ripping them from their scabbards and placing them across his chest in an ‘X’ formation.

A claw swiped diagonally downward from the left of the Dhani, but Vaylen was the quicker. Side-stepping the creature to his own left, Vaylen exploded into a whirl of motions he had practiced against his father. His fur cloak flailing behind him, Vaylen sent Nightwraith—the black, nearly ebony kukri in his right hand—into the unarmored side of the Dhani. Goldwraith followed next, slicing beneath the snake creature’s armpit.

The Dhani growled loudly, rotating its body quickly and smashing Vaylen away with its right forearm. As a constrictor Dhani, the reptilian monster was much stronger than Vaylen, and the human fighter was easily thrown onto his back several feet away. But Vaylen still had had grips on his kukris when the Dhani had done so. The awkward counter by the snake mutant had caused Vaylen’s hands to move in similar awkwardness, and they viciously tore through the Dhani’s flesh as they tried to release themselves from his insides.

With blood streaming down the Dhani’s right side, it stared down at the prone Vaylen. The Wraith was already leaning on his elbows, ready to spring upward, but then something altered the fight entirely. The golden slits of the Dhani began to grow larger, and its mouth stretched wider, grinning wickedly as scales began protruding from every inch of flesh. Longer and thicker claws curved forth from their fingertips, and… the creature’s head contorted into that of a massive snake. Fangs grew wide and undeniably sharp. Venom seemed to leak forth from its maw, and a hissing sound emanated from its throat.

This time, looking upon the true form of a Dhani, Vaylen’s eyes were awestruck.

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Last edited by Vaylen Stroud on November 4th, 2014, 1:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Kaie on November 3rd, 2014, 3:31 am

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The mob thundered through the streets toward the fray, weapons raised and mouths wide to let loose malevolent cries. The Myrian merely raced with the flow of the barbarian current. Through the bodies she could see them now, though the difference between the scaly human forms and the warring Sunberthian was hard to distinguish in the dark. Nonetheless, Kaie dashed forward to join the leading crash of the tidal wave of warriors. Her battle cries merged with that of the de facto allies around her.

"For Myri!" She cried in her native tongue when she spotted the glossy glow of scales along the back of the humanoid before her. Her gladius raised and the apparent Dhani woman spun in alarm, widening slit eyes confirming she was indeed a part of the strange sub-race the bar crier swore crawled from the bowels of the sea. The Myrian's sword crossed her face with a brutal downward swing. The Sea Snake's head snapped sideways with the surprising blow, blood spewing in the wake of steel as it split open her face. It was only when she dropped lifelessly to the ground that Kaie noticed something strange.

It was not a dagger, a sword, or a trident she had held in her pruny hands. A strange antique box was what clattered and snapped upon the docks. This is not the way of an invader, Kaie thought in bewilderment as she was forced by the crowd to step over her kill and advance. In the end it did not matter. Siku and her spawn were enemies of Taloba and the bane of her people. The method in which they moved about the world was irrelevant. Myri had declared a war upon their kind long ago, and though there was stalemate in the jungle to prevent genocide in Zinrah, such rules did not apply to neutral grounds. As a daughter of Myri, it was her duty to carry on the war in the name of her Mother.

Moving on in search of a new target, it seemed by the will of her Goddess Queen her amber gaze fell upon one figure in particular. One she would recognize anywhere. A vicious snarl ripped from her throat and her fingers clutched her gladius with far more finesse. Her feet strode quickly through the fray in the direction of the hulking Dhani, the pattern of his scales far too familiar for her liking. He was a massive, imposing thing with thick arms and long claws. The snapping and shifting of his bones as he morphed into his venom-less snake form made her blood boil. Constrictor. Of all the Dhani sub-races, it was this one that occupied Falyndar that was the nemesis of the Myrians. It was this one she would kill. Myri's blessing upon her skin began its burn.

Just when he had finished shifting in his long, serpentine form, muscles expanding to slither toward the strange, masked man, she made her move. She reversed her grip on the gladius, took it in two hands, and with a yell plunged it down into the middle of its lengthy frame. It gave an agonized hiss as the steel slipped through its flesh and embedded into the wood of the dock.
"You've run far from your nest, Skurak, but Myri has still found you," She spat in Myrian and tore her sword from its body. In panic his flat head swiped around to expose fangs, slit eyes wild as it began to sense its mortality between her stab and previously dealt injuries from the man before. With the muscles past its middle practically disconnected, he writhed miserably toward her with little success. What good was a constrictor unable to overpower and suffocate its prey?

"Dira comes for you now." The Dhani Constrictor made a last ditch effort to defend itself, lunging its head forward with jaws agape. The gladius only had to make a simple swing to bat it away, and split the flesh behind its skull as a result. He collapsed back upon the docks, slit eyes misting over, and blood from various wounds pooling beneath him. "Mother, accept my sacrifice. Your daughter does your will beyond our homelands." She looked then to the masked man with a perplexed expression. Amber eyes flickered between his eyes and his weaponry. She offered him a passive shrug and a flash of teeth. This time her words were in Common. "Nice blades. Shall we put them to use?"

And with that she turned back toward the shouts and sounds of fighting. Back to her warpath.
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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Vaylen Stroud on November 3rd, 2014, 6:22 am

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If Vaylen had been dismayed by the sight of the Dhani Constrictor, he was stunned at the visage of the woman that charged the tremendous Dhani from behind. Her gladius, a fine weapon indeed, tore through the creature’s back with ease. After a few split seconds of battle, with the exotic woman roaring words in a language Vaylen did not know, she finally stood over the twitching, lifeless form of the Dhani.

That moment where Vaylen peered upward at the blood-lathered form of Kaie for the first time would be implanted in his mind forever. Overcome with bloodlust, those large, eternally brown eyes of the peculiar woman brought a curiosity upon him that was unparalleled in his time of existence. He saw so much of himself within those eyes of hatred. It was refreshing to the young warrior. Little did he know that he had needed to meet with a Myrian to share such a connection of malice, a race of humans that were known for their savagery.

“Nice blades. Shall we put them to use?” Those were the first words that Vaylen ever heard spoken by the lips of an individual who may have been his equal. Maybe even his greater. A smirk grew across his countenance, though it lay concealed by the grotesque Mask of the Wraith. With an obvious respect for this woman growing within him, he leapt to his feet, gripping his kukris comfortably within his strong hands. Vaylen had no need to say anything in response, for Kaie was already in flight, heading towards the sounds of battle in the night air.

Vaylen found himself unable to not follow her lead. Sprinting behind the destructive path of Kaie, he eventually caught up to her, but did not surpass her. He widened the path of destruction, for he knew they both had the same goals this night: to annihilate as many of these creatures as possible. Of course, Vaylen did not know that her motives had been born from hatred of the things since her childhood, and he was just a young man addicted to the sight and sound of his blades tearing through another’s body.

Along the path of carnage that had been forged between Kaie and Vaylen, the mercenary’s gray eyes found his target. A Dhani woman was leaning against a wall, barely hanging onto her balance. Another woman, though apparently human, lay dead in front of her, and Vaylen could immediately tell that the Dhani female was considerably injured.

In a flash of motions, Vaylen was upon her, his left forearm smashing her throat against the wall of the structure behind her. The kukri in his right hand—Nightwraith—with a growl of ferocity that indicated so much acrimony, dug relentlessly into the center of the Dhani woman’s face. The Dhani’s golden snake eyes blasted abroad at the agony that swept over her anatomy. She attempted to scream for a second, but the vicious curve of the dagger separated her nose horizontally. Gore gushed from the perverse gash imposed upon her by the will of a crazed Vaylen, and once the mercenary twisted the kukri and had it find the woman’s brain, she grew still and Vaylen ripped Nightwraith from the insides of her face, mutilating it entirely.

The demented individual that was Vaylen turned back to Kaie at that moment, uncertain if she had watched the ordeal or had moved on to claim victims of her own. For the first time since his father’s murder, the inferno had returned to Vaylen’s steel-gray eyes.

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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Kaie on November 5th, 2014, 4:34 am

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All was confused in the heart of the savage despite the clarity in eyes and focus in her head. There was that spirit of vengeance welling up inside her chest again, something that had long since neglected to make itself known since she killed a wingless Zith in a battle in the wildlands. It was bitter-sweet to remember how it felt. There was the grief, the injustice that wounded her but fueled her unbridled fury all the same. It was empowering and with the power came that desired retribution. Yet the feeling hardly belonged in that night as she slaughtered the Dhani with the rest of the city. They were surely not the cause of her leader's demise. Still it drove her, maddened her in combination with her prejudices. Only the burn of Myri's gnosis upon her flesh reminded her of her duties. Nothing else could matter until the killing was through.

Her strides were calculated. Each step took her in the direction the battle flowed, edging her toward the sea where she could hear the screams and splashes of those making their escape. Her masked companion rose to his feet quick enough, for several ticks later she caught a glance of him engaging a heavily wounded female. Amber eyes wandered as she searched out a target, slipping and jerking her body around fighting groups as she moved. Then she found him. He was a tall, muscular thing more like the build of the constrictor than presumably his own kind. He'd abandoned whatever gift had been in his hands long ago, for in them he now held the dagger the Myrian watched him rip from his latest victim's grasp. He was bloodied but hardly wounded, wearing the long slice across his chest like a badge of honor. His head rotated to survey his perilous environment. She watched his dark eyes find her as she stormed across the docks in his direction, gladius brandished fervidly, and glance toward a hole in the fray leading deeper into the city. Then he seemed to settle on her, and extended his dagger in her direction.

You're mine.

The Sea Snake stepped over the bloody corpse at his feet and made his way through the crowd toward her. They were locked upon one another, each promising an agonizing end for the other. He began to hiss loudly at her in the tongue of his own people, which earned him a decisive growl from the Myrian and a flurry of savage curses. Finally they rushed in with steel in hand. The gladius made a wide swooping arch, but the Dhani skillfully ducked beneath its reach and gave a thrust with his dagger. It raced across the edge of her side as she tried to pivot away, tearing flesh to form a shallow wound that bled angrily. She snarled and send a vicious kick into his chest instead. The man stumbled back with a wheeze. Either took a tick to gather themselves, and their fatal dance began again.

This time it was he who struck first, slashing downward at her face. With her free left hand, Kaie jerked her arm up and halted the attack at the wrist. Then she plunged her gladius forward. Satisfaction came when she felt the way the sword split through his torso, sheathing itself within his innards. She supposed it was almost unfair, him having a stranger's dagger to fend off a longer blade. She didn't pity him. The hate in his slit eyes reminded her he didn't want it anyways. Refusing Dira, the man took his free left hand and threw a solid fist into the Myrian's cheek. Kaie stumbled back with the strike, her blade ravaging his body with her involuntary retreat. She could feel the bruise already forming upon her face, tissue swelling with the trauma. She glared back toward the human form of the strange Dhani breed.

His hand went to the crude wound on the lower left side of his abdomen, pressing against it despite the crimson cascading around and over it. It leaked down his pants and dribbled upon the docks. His face contorted in a grimace. For a tick he looked toward the sea and rolling waves crashing like a welcome against the shore. Then his hand turned to a fist and he clutched the dagger with such a determination, one would think he believed he had his own prophecy to fulfill. His murderous grey eyes fell upon Kaie again, and slowly he trudged her way. It was almost admirable. The Myrian met him halfway, the blood from her own wound dribbling across her sunkissed skin.


"Another soul to Dira. Another trophy for Myri. And another loss to Siku. Your kind should've stayed drowned in that sea you crawled from." The dagger raised and the man gave a shout, hissing his curious war cry in a language she would never understand. She let the swipe come, and stepped off center to avoid it. The man stumbled past her, and with his folly she rewarded him with a deep gash upon his back. He hardly kept his balance and let out a yelp. On his heel he spun back to face her, unwilling to die just yet without another chance. Energy leaving him as blood pooled at his feet, his final rush was a slow one. The attack was just as sluggish. He thrust the dagger at her middle, and with a pivot she was out of range. A perfect place to swing her sword into his throat.

The blade stopped at the bones of the spine. The misting of his eyes was practically immediate, and the dead weight of his body slid from the gladius and crumpled upon the ground. It was a rather bloody affair, the way he leaked and stained the wooden docks red. She stared down at her kill for several moments, murmuring her praise for her deity and then she looked to streets around her. Already the fray had died down significantly from before. There was the splash of a few stragglers diving back into the bay, and the hasty dashes into the shadows to hide and nurse wounds. Only the couple still locked in the fighting remained. It wouldn't be long now.

Off to the side she catch the sight of the masked man from earlier. The Dhani corpse at his feet was brutally mangled, face unrecognizable. She eyed him for several ticks with curiosity, flicking the blood from her gladius with a jerk of her wrist. Finally she wandered through the bodies of Dhani and Sunberthan alike to approach him.
"Disfigured?" She gestured toward his mask with a furrowed brow. Distrustful habits kept the bloodied gladius tight in her grasp still.
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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Vaylen Stroud on November 5th, 2014, 6:59 pm

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Once Vaylen had been finished with the killing of the injured Dhani woman, his crazed eyes flashed about, looking for more prey, but none came into his vision. With no one in sight to kill, the flames in his eyes burned out. The skirmish between the serpentfolk and the people of Sunberth was ending, and the Wraith quietly watched as the strange woman dealt with a Constrictor of her own.

She was a fine warrior. The Myrian woman had sent the creature into the throes of death in only a few ticks of battle on the docks. Wiping the blood of his kukris onto the pant leg of the human woman the Dhani female had killed before Vaylen had wiped her from existence, the mercenary returned his weapons to their scabbards and began approaching the bloodthirsty female.

When they finally became closer to one another, the Myrian woman pointed at Vaylen’s mask and inquired if he was disfigured. Vaylen only laughed. “No, ‘tis only an heirloom of my family. A legacy that I will carry on in the correct fashion,” Vaylen said, raising both hands to either side of his face to remove the countenance-concealing piece of attire. His steel-gray eyes seemed to glow perfectly in the evening, with much of his features visible by moonlight.

“I am Vaylen Stroud, mercenary of the streets of Sunberth,” Vaylen said, bowing slowly, though never losing the stare from Kaie. As he returned to his formal posture, he smirked slightly at her, his mask still held in his hands below him. “You are a fine killer. What is your name?”

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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Kaie on November 12th, 2014, 5:43 pm

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Noticing the masked man's sheathed blades, the Myrian resigned to do the same after cleaning them on the torn shirt of one of Sunberth's fallen. Her amber eyes watched him skeptically as he removed the mask, but was pleasantly relieved to find the man had told the truth. There were no ugly scars from wicked blades or scorching fires. In fact, the man himself wasn't bad to look at at all. His squared, hair-lined jaw and striking steel grey eyes made him pretty enough to catch even Ruby's eye. Yet the Myrian recognized the same stone-cold glare that came just as naturally to his eyes as the amber inferno in hers.

An heirloom? She thought quietly to herself with a nod of understanding. A strange one indeed. Kaie had never seen it fit to wear such a mask. She wanted her enemies to see her, all of her features that practically shouted what she was. She was Myian, something feared and inhuman, and on the battle field she wanted them to comprehend just that. When her blade yielded blood, she wanted them to know who she was sacrificing them to whether or not they understood her native tongue. Yet there was a familiarity in the mask. Her clan was known for their war paint. Each color smeared upon their faces had a specific meaning: bravery, willingness to kill or be killed, strength. It was the embodiment on their collective spirit and meant to strike fear into the hearts of those who looked upon them. Surely after what she witnessed his mask was designed to incite fear, too.


"Thank you. I'm Kaie of the Cutthroat Shadows," The savage returned with a grin, though she did not extend her hand to shake nor bow for the sake of politeness. Such things were simply not often present in her jungle abode. "So you're a mercenary, too? Lucky for us there's plenty of work to be had around this city as I'm sure you know. You do well with your blades. I take it you've never fought a Dhani before?" Kaie gestured back toward the streets she'd rushed out of and away from the bloody carnage surrounding them. Amber eyes took a moment to stare curiously down at the human form of the alleged Sea Snakes. Why have I never seen or heard of such creatures before? Where did they come from? What are they? What were the strange objects they brought from the bowels of the ocean with them? She turned back to her comrade with a grin. "Care for a drink? The Drunken Fish is sure to be open still and battle always gives me a thirst."
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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Vaylen Stroud on November 13th, 2014, 9:07 pm

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His eyes watched the Myrian as she examined him when he took off the Mask of the Wraith. While Vaylen could not tell what she was thinking, he did understand that she was most likely reassured that nothing had scarred his features.

With the Myrian’s greeting, he smirked slightly and nodded. “You are welcome. A pleasure to meet you, Kaie of the Cutthroat Shadows,” Vaylen said. He was not thoroughly surprised that she happened to be mercenary like him. She was an excellent fighter, and at that moment in time, the Wraith knew even he would be hard-pressed battling the female Myrian. When she brought up the Dhani however, it forced Vaylen’s eyes into squint, obviously thinking the comment had been somewhat condescending due to his lack of prowess in fighting the creatures. His stare loosened though, when her actions and features did not hint at an insult. He nodded again. “I’ve never seen such creatures before, though I’ve heard of them from the drunken sailors, though I never believed anything those petching crazy shykes ever said, so you can see my dilemma,” he said, shrugging slightly and grinning. “I’m glad you happened upon my little battle though. The support was necessary.”

Vaylen watched Kaie turn around, and then look down at some of the Dhani corpses. Again, what she was thinking then eluded the Wraith. But, just as she had taken the time to examine him when he had removed his mask, he now took his time to really look at the Myrian woman. While Vaylen had mostly just noticed her combat abilities and her apparent bloodlust toward the Dhani, he now saw how truly attractive the woman was in the shimmering silver moonlight. Long, dark brown hair, and large dark eyes—physical traits that Vaylen enjoyed in a woman.

When she finally turned back toward him, he directed his gaze toward the corpses, making it appear as if he was examining the bodies as she had been. Finally, she spoke again, and the request was a pleasing one to his ears. “Been quite a while since I’ve sat down and had a drink, and even longer since I’ve shared a drink with someone I can respect,” Vaylen remarked, hooking his mask onto a loop on his belt and approaching Kaie with his hands resting on the hilts of his sheathed kukris. “Let’s go. I know the way well enough.”

The mercenary directed Kaie and himself through the twisting streets of Sunberth toward the tavern. With the lifeless Dhanis strewn about and much of the battling having already settled, most of the patrons were either returning to their homes or the taverns of the city. Vaylen had been mimicking the pace of Kaie on the walk to the Drunken Fish, and while she was an attractive woman, there was a part of him—a part that had murdered his parents and had killed countless others—that still didn’t trust her fully. Maybe he never would. Maybe he would never trust anybody.

Parting through the throng of people who were entering the Drunken Fish once more, Vaylen pushed open the door and held it for the Myrian woman. Once they had fully entered, he made his way to the bar, not waiting to see if the woman wanted a table or not. He did make his way toward the other end of the tavern though, so none of the drunken sailors would be too close. The Wraith wasn’t too fond of people, and Vaylen intended to keep away from anyone other than Kaie as long as possible.

Seating himself upon one of the high stools, he slid three copper-trimmed mizas across the bar to the barkeeper. “Just a mug of ale,” Vaylen muttered, not caring for any pleasantries.

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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Kaie on November 13th, 2014, 10:54 pm

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To his honesty in regards to her question about his previous encounters with a Dhani, Kaie gave him a firm nod of understanding. Her lips curled a bit when he spoke of the ridiculousness of sailors. After she trip across the Suvan and her time among dockside taverns, she knew the sort he described. The Otani was once merely a fairytale told by such men she spoke to. Of course that all changed when she met one for herself and was forced into a childish game to regain her sword. The humiliation of the encounter almost made her mood turn sour. "Stepping in was my pleasure. My people hate those petchin' bastards more than anything. It felt good to honor tradition," She replied with a dark laugh, suddenly finding content in the irony of her situation. As far from home as she was, Kaie was managing to continue the conflict abroad. "And as for those drunk sailors? You and I both know they talk out their asses so often its hard to remember which are their lips, but you'd be surprised which of their stupid fantasies turn out to be real enough. Shall we?" She gestured toward the direction of the street leading to the tavern and off they went.

After their series of weaving and wandering, they'd arrived back to the place the Myrian had started about a bell ago. The pair was bloodied and battered, but each seemed cold hard and steady in their approach. Vaylen certainly knew the tavern etiquette. When the two shoved open the door they were greeted with boisterous shouts and laughs. A pair of clinking tankards that spilled ale across a table had a bar maid in a flurry. The bard standing beside a corner table of sailors was strumming his lute, praising the city's victory over the mysterious Sea Snakes that crawled from the bay. One man, though nursing a deep slice across his chest that was visible through his slit shirt, seemed to relish in the song with his companions. Another was passing around his bloodied dagger to a few men who had apparently missed out on the glory of the battle. Little did they know corpses of their fellow Sunberthans littered the streets just as well.

Kaie followed the man to the bar and sat at the stool beside him. She gave a glance to the three coppers and offered the barkeep a grin.
"You already know."
"Petchin' right we outta know by now. When yer not workin' yer drinkin', Myrian," Manowar boomed with a jovial twist of his mustache. She retrieved her own copper triplets from her coin purse and passed them along. The large man pocketed them happily and vanished to procure their drinks. Returning to the bar had made her recollect the news she'd heard earlier. Rather than allow herself to spiral down into the depths of her fury again in a public setting, the Myrian turned her attention to the unmasked.
"Never was sure if I liked sitting at the bar or not. Hate havin' my back turned. Never know who's around. Always sit here anyhow."

The plump barkeep returned with a grin and slid the mugs across the wooden bar counter. Kaie opened her hand and let it hit against her open palm and thumb routinely. Then she tipped the drink back to her lips and drank heartily. It was bitter as always, but the savage never minded the taste.
"Easy to make enemies here than anywhere else. Doesn't help the loyalty of allies are just as useless. Why does your lot stay?"
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[The Docks] Snakes for the Slaughter (Vaylen)

Postby Vaylen Stroud on November 16th, 2014, 1:21 am

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A slight grin slid over Vaylen’s face as he listened to the conversation between her and the bartender. “You must come here often for the barkeep to know you so well,” the mercenary retorted, but his humor faded quickly when Kaie mentioned the seating location. On instinct, he turned sideways on his stool to face the Myrian, getting a great look of the door at the same time. He nodded at her comment as he did so, knowing well the chances of being robbed or stabbed in the back when facing away from potential threats.

As both the Wraith and the Myrian settled in and began to sip their drinks, Kaie asked him a simple but rather telling question. Why was he here, when so many things threatened a person in Sunberth more so than almost any other settlement? He dwelled on the question for a few ticks, looking into the swirling liquid of the ale contained by the mug in his hands. His steel-gray eyes finally lifted however, and stared into the dark orbs of the Myrian. “I stay because I learned from a very young age that if you’re in Sunberth, no one can stop you from doing what you want or getting what you want. Your only limit is your own conscience,” the mercenary explained, his eyes squinting slightly, intensifying the gaze between Kaie and him. “No other place can offer me that opportunity.”

Vaylen’s eyes fell back to his drink after another tick or two, sipping the ale once more as he directed his attention away from the Myrian warrior. He adjusted his body so he was facing the bar once more, no longer taking in the visage of the Drunken Fish’s entrance. “So, I shall ask the same of you. What are you doing in the city of anarchy?” The inquiry slipped forth from his lips as easily as it had from the lips of Kaie. His eyes looked down at the wooden surface of the bar, but they averted sideward, looking at the Myrian woman from the corners of his eyes.

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