Rescue Mission

"You are such a git," she tried to complain, making an attempt to salvage some of the dignity she was sure she had lost in that kiss. "Not even letting me answer... What if I said 'no'?" Hanna cocked an eyebrow at him with a faint smile dancing around her lips. She reached up and kissed his cheek. "It's a good thing you know I love you," she whispered. Her purple eyes met his. "Dante Inferno, it would be my honor to marry you."

Dante just grinned, "Well, I am very good at being a git. Just ask anybody who knows me. If you said 'No' I'd have to convince you otherwise. In case you you forget I am very good at convincing people."
His eyes danced with an emerald fire. Honestly, Dante was a stinker. But a good one. He chuckled a bit at Hanna attempting to smooth down her clothing and hair. "You alright there dear, you seem to have issues standing on your own two feet.

((You are busted muchly so. Did you have fun on your trip?))

"Well, I am very good at being a git. Just ask anybody who knows me. If you said 'No' I'd have to convince you otherwise. In case you you forget I am very good at convincing people."

Hanna blushed at his last words. "I don't need to ask anyone," she replied. "You've taken care of that very well." There was no point in even attempting to deny that. He was Dante. He knew her better than she knew herself, and he knew exactly what to do to make her work for him.

"You alright there dear, you seem to have issues standing on your own two feet."

"I am not a deer," Hanna cried in mock indignation, hiding a smile. "You know very well that I'm a rabbit." She winked at him.

Holy, though. She still couldn't believe that he had just proposed to her. Not only was she probably grinning like a complete and total idiot, but there was also an anxious knot of worry within her. What would happen to them? Dante was a vampire, an immortal. While the blood of Elves flowed in her veins, she was never going to live forever like he. She would steadily age while he would remain the same until death do them apart. What kind of an effect would that have on them? Would it drive him to leave her for someone else like him, or would it chip away at her instead? She didn't know, and didn't want to know. Not now.


ooc: Ugh. The holidays... O.o

"I am not a deer," Hanna cried in mock indignation. "You know very well that I'm a rabbit." She winked at him.
Dante just grinned.
"A very pink rabbit at that." He answered arching a dark eyebrow. "Now little rabbit, How did you wind up in a place like this? So far from home, with many predators about?"
He opened the door and started down the stairs. He paused briefly to wait for Hanna, "Are you hungry?"
At the thought of food Dante realized he was a starving vampire and made a mental note to go hunting tonight.

Hanna rolled her eyes at him. "Well, it's a simple story really..." She had to force herself to keep a straight face as she searched her mind for something to say. After a moment, she launched into a wild story. "I was hoppin' around, just minding my own business, when this great big thing comes walking along." She feigned a look of horror. "It turns out that this thing was called a witch, and she picked me right up and dragged me off to her cave." Her eyes widened. "And she plopped me down in that cauldron of hers and turned me into a human. I was so startled that I tipped the cauldron over and I fell out." She smirked. "She was none too pleased, but I escaped with my life in tact, not knowing that I was about to meet the most amazing guy of my life."

Dante listened quietly, walking down the stairs. "I wasn't asking for a fairy tale, Hanna. Honestly, how many times have I heard you tell that. The ending is new though. "

"You have any place in mind?"

"The food here is pretty good, not as wonderful as your cooking," Dante joked. He and Hanna both knew she couldn't boil water to save her life. "As long as you don't mess with the pirate's rum you should be okay."

"Oh, who has the most imagination? Every cat you've had has been named fluffy or snowflake or something ridiculousness like that." Dante snorted. He caught sight of Hanna sticking her tongue out at him. "Obviously I have to be the adult too." He joked.
"You can agree with your rum. I can't have regular food anymore." Dante pulled out a chair for her before sitting in the chair across from her. "It always comes back up, not the most pleasant thing in the world."

OOC: A few hours later, as evening approaches…

Erin stirred, his senses returning to him in full and his eyes flashed open carefully checking the area around him before giving any indication he’d woken. When the warrior was satisfied that the barn was safe and devoid of any real threats, he shifted himself so he could look more carefully at the elf girl Lyra.
She was pretty, but that was obvious, by any race’s standards. She was young as well, but the signs of running had left their mark on her, some visible and others not.

Merthissa, the wizard had tried to recruit him to hunt an elf who possessed an amulet of great power. The directive had been her head or his. Erin had refused and been marked for his refusal, but Merthissa now knew he had made an enemy as well, for Erin had used his last dregs of power that night to not save himself, but to set fire to the twisted wizard’s shelves and books, to his home, so that whatever villainy the wretch was up to would be set back.

“So he wanted you dead, did he?” Erin’s had traced her jawline gently; her warmth against his hand comforted him. “Wanted an amulet of yours…something valuable to only those who knew how to control such a trinket…” Erin pondered the offer he’d been presented. “So close…and the offer he made was quite high…but the treasure is not what you carry…it’s what’s inside that matters most.” Erin sat back from the girl then, his eyes hard and cold as splintered ice, “That wizard shall hang by his robes and burn like a candle for all to see before I am through with him.” Erin growled softly to himself before shaking his head to banish the thoughts from his head.

“Lyra?” He stroked her hair gently, “Would you like to go back to the Inn?" The warrior paused for a moment, thinking, “Or, if you’d like to sleep a little longer, we can stay here. I don’t mind either way. It shall be as you wish.”

"Of course you're the adult," she told him as though it should be obvious. "You're the eldest, and you're the guy... Or, at least, that's what the survey says," she teased.

Dante shook his head in disbelief, "Hanna your a year older than me. What Survey are we talking about and what do you mean by I'm a guy? Does that make me stale? "
His green eyes sparkled in amusement. Count on Hanna to get peoples birthday's wrong.
The cheery environment put Dante on a slight edge. There were a lot of people. Lots of different smells and blood types.
About Dante's comment about food Hanna rolled her eyes at him. "Come off it," she scoffed. "Surely you can hold down a bit of cider at the least."

Dante shook his head again, "I can't unless you want and extremely sick vamp on your hands. Alcohol is magnified by four to every one cup he drinks."

Lyra noticed Erin's surprised blink before he was able to gather himself and organize his mind to answer. Her people skills could use some brushing up, but she was able to read them pretty well. From what she could tell, judging by the uncertain and stiff way Erin talked about who he was, she guessed that he probably didn't open himself up very often. With that in mind, she didn't know how to react at his opening up to her. When she had first questioned him, she had half expected him to be evasive or change the subject. He had surprised her this time, if anything else.

And who was the mysterious warrior Kaylen Silverleaf? If they had been best friends, why had they parted, as he'd said, with "less than kind words"? And best friends too, for that matter, she'd thought were supposed to be... well... friends. And friends were supposed to stick by each other through the thick and thin, right? Had they tried to be more than friends and it just hadn't worked out? The idea hurt, but she'd have to ask him what happened later, for from the way he'd delivered his information she doubted that he'd want to talk too much about his past.

When Erin got to his feet, Lyra shook herself mentally, not paying much attention. She was being childish to dwell on such things or to wonder about that which did not concern her. Erin was not for her, and that was the end of that. She wasn't worth the dirt stuck to his boots, so she might as well chase away any foolish feeling towards him. Abruptly, she realized that Erin was offering her his hand. Hoping that she hadn't kept him waiting long, she offered a quick smile and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"Thanks," she said. "I'm great... You got some sleep too though... right?" Oh please, she thought desperately. Please have had a peaceful sleep for once.

She complied with his request though and trotted outside. The wind that blew in her face was cool, but was made colder still by what was left of the rain. There was an odd metallic scent to the air that reminded her of something, but she could not pinpoint what memory it stirred for the life of her. That in itself was strange, for she had a memory that contained far more information than was probably healthy. She forgot almost nothing, and the fact that she couldn't remember what the all too familiar scent reminded her off caught the Elf off-guard. Her eyes moved quickly over the streets, but she saw only a small group of gossiping women that were standing outside a cloth merchant's store. Nervous and on edge, she didn't wait for Erin. There was a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It took Lyra about two minutes to find the place where they had left his weapons. They were laying on a small wooden cart that she recognized from before. It was out of the rain so the weapons were dry, but she came to a stop a few feet away. Something was not right.

A small hooded figure stood next to the cart. It's face was hidden in shadow, and she was unable to tell whether it was young or old, male or female, good or evil. The garment was travel-stained, like her own clothes, and she knew that whoever or whatever it was had come a long way. In her experience, that was never a good thing. The cloak appeared to be fashioned of hemp, and there were no feet were visible under the hem. Her eyes moved to the overlong sleeves and found long thin fingers peeking out. The nails were broken and torn, the skin a sickly white. The being raised its head.

Lyra took a step back.

No eyes looked back at her. They were less than ten feet away, yet even at that distance she could see no distinct markings to even indicate a face under the hood. She swallowed nervously, keeping her eyes on the figure. It would have been a lot smarter to look around for more threats, but she was more worried about whatever it was that was in front of her. In the long run, it was not a wise decision to make. Lyra took another step back, her bare feet sinking up to her ankles in the mud of the dirt road. The figure raised a bony hand, closing its fingers around the hilt of Erin's sword, Deathblade.

The reaction was instantaneous. As soon as the white fingers grasped the hilt, scarlet flames erupted from the point of contact, and the being screamed in agony. Not the yell of a mortal man experiencing pain, but the high-pitched shriek of an animal screaming its last. The air trembled with searing heat that even Lyra was not immune to. Smoke billowed into the air, darkening the sky, burning her eyes, but she found herself frozen in place, unable to tear her eyes away from the thing that was howling on the ground, huddled up in a heap of burning clothing and charred flesh.

Lyra was unable to tear herself away, unable to look away from the thing on the ground. The freezing wind that blew in her face contrasted oddly with the blaze. The sludge around her feet clung to her ankles, refusing to her let go, not that she was moving anywhere any time soon. She was unable to look away; she couldn't.

She remembered these things. She remembered only too well... But why could she not remember why? Why couldn't she put a name to the being? Why... why... why...?

An ice cold hand with long bony fingers closed on her upper arm. Jagged and broken finger nails bit into her flesh, and at last her head jerked away and her body automatically flinched back, but she wasn't able to break the grip of... Her heart stopped. Because she was looking into the suffocating blackness that was the face of the thing under the cloak. There was no time for her to cry out, and her body was refusing to run away. In her panic and in her shock, she had forgotten her powers. It didn't matter though because a hand closed over her mouth to silence her. Another hand expertly touched a place on her neck, and darkness glazed her eyes. The last thing she saw was the wretched being on the ground, its body almost consumed by the hungry flames.

Sheee... iiis iiin daarkneess. The first Hood looked at the second, who was just detaching its sickly-looking fingers from around the strange fire-creature's throat.

The second barely nodded, but the first detected acceptance from its mind. IIII waaas eeeexpeeectiiing moooreee reeeesiiiistaaaance, it thought at the first. Buuut sheee weeent doown wiiithooout aaa fiight. The thought was confused, almost disappointed.

Sheee reeeecooogniiiizeeed us, the first communicated. It's thoughts were angry, the words distorted in annoyance. Ooor oouuuur kiiiind. Thiiis waas nooot thee... fiiirst aaateempt.

Thunder rumbled overhead. The drizzle which had been steadily falling since the aftermath of the earlier storm became steadily heavier and turned into a downpour once more. Rock-hard rain drops pelted the cloaks of the creatures, but they were not perturbed by it. They seemed, in fact, not to notice the sudden change in weather, and if they did they gave no outward sign. The sky once more darkened, the loud drum of the rain eclipsing sound. There was a hiss from Deathblade, and the flames receded, yet the hilt continued to pulse with eerie red light. In the dirt, the ashes of the third Hood absorbed the rain and were lost in the mud. All that was left of the fight vanished in the storm.

Geeeeet oouuuuut, thought the second in response. IIIIII wiiiill laaaay heeer traiiiil.

There was no more communication. The Hood easily lifted the small Elf onto its narrow shoulders. With quick and silent footsteps, it disappeared into the rain. The second watched the first for a few seconds until it was out of sight, then moved to the cart. The wooden thing was cold and not particularly stable, and with a hard shove it sent the weapons tumbling into the mud. Bending down, it scooped up a few handfuls of mood onto the arms and backed up a few paces. There wasn't enough left of the body of the third Hood to be worth disguising. Its work done, the second Hood turned and disappeared after the first.

All that was left to indicate their presence was ever there was the acrid smell of burnt flesh. To a simple bystander coming upon the scene later, the smell certainly would have caught attention as well as the overturned cart. Yet, Erin's blades were well hidden; the only hint that gave away their location was the faint, glowing red light of Deathblade that still pulsed from the ground.

Hanna laughed. "Alright. I can't disagree with that. Perhaps it is for the better." She shrugged and smiled at him. Trust her to be a bumbling idiot and mix everything up. She never could keep much straight at the best of times.

Her face suddenly froze. There was an eerie wailing coming from somewhere outside. What the? She concentrated, and as she listened she realized that the sound was never something she would have guessed came from a human throat, so full of agony was it that it was far removed from anything she would consider mortal. Someone, or something was dying a most painful death. Just the distant sound of it made her skin crawl, her heart beat faster with fear. What was it? And, more importantly, what was causing it?

Horrified, she looked at Dante with wide purple eyes. "Someone's being killed out there!" she cried, jumping to her feet. "Come on, we can't just sit here!" She was scared, but more than anything she wanted to investigate. If someone was being killed, the killer was going to get a nasty surprise.

Not waiting for Dante, she bolted from the inn. An onslaught of rain hit her full force as soon as she forced the door open. Rain flowed across the road, turned the hard-packed dirt to mud, and almost threatened to sweep her off her feet so thick and fast was it. Soaked to the bone and disoriented, she tried to locate the sound of the death scream, for that is what it was. It was fading, but there was still enough hanging in the air to give her general direction. So it was that she found her bearings and sped off through the torrent of mud and rain to locate by the time she reached its source.

By the time she arrived at what she was sure was the location, there was nobody there... She stood shivering under the roof of a side building with her wet hair plastered to her face, scanning the area with her bright purple eyes. There was an old wooden cart that had been overturned with mud splattered over the sides and the wheels were sunken deep into the mud. But the stench alone gave away that something terribly wrong had happened. Death by fire, or some kind of black sorcery. Hanna took a few steps closer, peering closer. To her utter amazement, she saw through the swirling mud a tiny flicker of red light. What was going on in this strange town?

ooc: Does "sorry" cover my absence? :-/

Dante's head jerked up at the shrieking noise and he covered his ears. The noise pierced him to his soul. The noise in a vampire's ears were magnified by several times. But he bolted out the door close behind Hanna. Rain started dampening the scents of many creatures, not before he got a whiff of the burning flesh and... black-wood. But the black-wood scent vanished quickly.... and was replaced by Lyra's rapidly fading pinewood smoke scent. He looked around for Lyra and Erin, searching for the Legacy's musty scent.
"WOLF!" He yelled, searching for him, "Get your butt out here now!"
He moved to see what Hanna was staring at, "Don't touch it. Wait till Erin gets here."

Dante was distracted by another pile of mud or rather the footprints in the mud. It looked like someone had fallen into the mud, an imprint of a body. Dante frowned and crept forward. He sniffed the area and Lyra's faint scent. The rain was rapidly soaking his light grey tunic making it mostly see through. He pushed his wet bangs out of his face studying the tracks.
"I know your stupid... something is wrong... and very amiss..." He looked around as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

Horror crossed his face as her realized what he had said, "So sorry. My mouth was saying one thing but my brain was going into a completely other direction. I tend to do that more and more often now."
He itched his head taking a step backwards to get a better look at the whole picture. His green eyes flicked from one thing to another. Then he became very aware of the fact something or someone was standing behind them. He spun around to see a young woman with blonde and green eyes. Much like his own but much more vivid...
"Hello, Hanna. Long time no see."

Not just anybody could throw their arm around an a thousand year old creature, but apparently Hanna could. Zephyr stiffened for a moment before rapping her arms around the girl.
"Hello, Princess."
After Hanna had stormed off, Zephyr stepped in front of Dante looking him up and down.
"Demon born, so you are the one who died and came back. The legacy of the blacksmith lives on."
Dante's hair rose on the back of his neck. What on earth?
Then Zephyr walked up to Erin, her eyes studding him with a fiery intensity. A smile curved woman's lips. "Death trails you Legacy and the trail never ends until your death."
That was all she had to say, she took several steps away from the group, and she looked up at the sky. The stormy grey clouds began to move as the wind picked up and soon the rain stopped.
Dante just realized he was gaping at what ever it was that looked human... but it clearly wasn't. Then he jerked himself back to reality.
"Horses." He reminded himself. "I will go saddle Lyra's horse."
He ran into the Inn they had been staying. He joined Hanna in packing up their things. He was quiet still unnerved by Zephyr. After a while he came across his blood-skin. He opened it and drank deeply. Putting it away he picked up the bags and made their way back to the stable saddling the horses. Realizing Jennifer's horse was still here with a pang. After loading everything up and saddling the black ware horse, the mare, and gelding. Then, led them out of the stable.

Zephyr looked at Hanna as she entered again, her green eyes studying her. Silently she rose to her feet and moved to study the pile of ash that remained.
"I wouldn't do that-"Dante began.
"Please," Zephyr turned around to look at him. "Don't patronize me. I was born from fire. Much hotter than that sword could ever produce, now that was pain. Why do you think I can barely get along with my brother."
She turned back around, her brows drew together as she sniffed the ash with her sensitive nose.
"Black-Wood. Quick," She rounded on the three people behind her, "tell me which part of the Realms do Black-wood tree's grow?" But she didn't give them time to answer. "Caligo." She clapped her hands together like a small delighted child. "If I am correct- which I am. There is a massive fisher hidden underneath the Shadow King's fortress. Now what creature feeds on the rarest plant in the five realms? Obviously there are more tree's that grow in pure darkness than the creatures that can eat them. There are probably a hundred or so trees down there. Soo... that would make about a dozen or so of these creatures and only the Dark King has access to them... Hmmn.... I got it! The Skein!"
"The what?" Dante said almost going cross eyed from the sudden amount of information.
"The Skein! They are trackers, hunters, the Shadow King's personal assassins. I haven't dealt with them for over a hundred years. Oh sweet demons, we are in for an adventure. I am positive they would be taking your friend strait to him. Ahh... But we don't want that amulet Erin was talking about to fall into his hands... we'd have to head them off. " She looked around at them standing and staring at her, "Well what are you waiting for? GO!"


((Oh goodness... I had so much fun writing this bit. A bit of SHherlock Holmes in her don't you think?))

[The weather takes a turn for the worse, and the storm that had driven Lyra and Erin into the barn was just the beginning. Whatever had Lyra now had luck on their side as the downpour that begins starts to make the tracks Erin Wolf was following next to impossible. In addition, the cold rains are weakening the great warrior, for he is a being of fire and heat, and the biting winds and drenching drops of rain are like a suffocating cloak that slow and lessens his powers by a fraction.

The crowd in the little town that the crew of Lyra, Erin, Dante, and Hanna had stopped in return to their homes, and stories of demons and monsters flitter about like meek mice in the night. Who are the beings that took the elf girl? Where'd the storm come from? All bad omens, or at least, that's what the village soothsayer tells them,...all the people can do no is keep their children inside and pray that doom would not befall their sleep little way of life...when magic, men, and monsters collide, nothing good ever comes to fruition...

Even the birds have quieted and the stray dogs have disappeared from sight. Indeed, something evil was afoot.

The gifts Erin left for Hanna and Dante sit, hidden behind a half-rotted log, safe from prying eyes and greedy hands, awaiting their intended new owners.]


OOC: what do you think? This is more or less what the DM does...

Zephyr arched an eyebrow and squashed the temptation to knock him off of his horse. "Bright little ray of sunshine isn't he?" She paused for a moment before asking,"Are you guys going to actually listen to him?"
Dante shook his head, "Nope."
He gave Hanna a side ways glance, "You up for an adventure?"
"I like him," Zephyr decided. "I think I shall run ahead. I know a short cut, I also do agree with you Hanna on the river bit. You could easily hid a body there or lose the people following you. But I am pretty sure the skein want this girl-"
"Lyra." Dante supplied. "I am going to go get the stuff Erin left."
He ran to the barn and Zephyr studied him as he went. "He's cute. Is that-?" she pointed over her shoulder with her thumb.