"The mission. There is an imperial count, he lives in the fringes of the empire. Named Kalbius Malkeyer, an art collector. We know him as the Uncrowned King...'
Black shadows appeared, made into matter gathered into a dossier hovering in front of Luna.
"All money drenched in blood are washed clean by his hands. From bandits, criminal, be it the Golden Rose, or the Crimson Coin, The uncrowned king guards the wealth of those that lurk in the dark."
The dossier showed Kalbius's appearance, families, lineages and also various inconsequential information.
"We want you to read his ledger.... During the Count's seasonal ball infiltrate, find his vault and take note of his accounts. Tell us of the people that bought tin from the Rose." The hooded man studied Luna and added, "Don't not try to look too far ahead, agent. And don't mistake what guild can and cannot do. The guild can get tin, enough for a hundred Gelderholms, but that would not be profitable. The Rose, they have made business inconvenient. You and I are tasked to resolve that."
The magic barriers rippled slightly, "And when we are done, the Golden Rose will not be trading with anyone.."
"well... except with us," He snickered. "questions?"
It was still early evening by the time Liana left the guild building. With a mind only thinking of feeding on something, she wasn't paying attention to anything around her and so didn't notice she'd taken the path that went past the tavern. As she reached the door, she didn't see a certain incubus coming out of the building with a group of men - laughing in a drunken stupor about something. Moving along the street, she paused as a familiar scent wafted over - a bitter, aromatic scent. Turning around, she honed in on the origin and saw Jasper surrounded by his friends.
"...Food...?" Liana's instincts subconsciously remembered that the incubus had provided blood before, causing her to lick her lips and hungrily stare at him with some longing. "Ngh!" A sharp pain pierced through her clouded mind and she felt repulsed when she looked again at Jasper - feeling revulsion over the thought of getting close to him. With this subtle compulsion controlling her, Liana gave up the idea of feeding off the man and headed in the direction of Hejlikka's house. As she reached the corner of the street, Jasper glanced in her direction and noticed her disappearing figure, before smirking.
Walking down a few streets, Liana finally reached the house and began unlocking the door slowly - her energy very low even with it being night time. Taking effort to open the door, she entered the quiet house and stumbled through the kitchen while forgetting to close and lock the door behind her. Shuffling into the living room, she didn't notice the shadowy figure come in through the open front door that then silently followed behind her. Banging into the sofa on her way to her room, she fell over as she lost her balance - landing on her hands and knees - and remained on the floor for a few minutes before registering that she was sitting there.
Fumbling with her hands as she struggled to get up, she eventually managed to stand and continued heading to her room. Taking out her key, she unlocked the door and headed in. Again, absentmindedly leaving the door open behind her, she began taking her dress off before finally noticing a familiar scent at the door. Turning around, her dull red eyes were met by Jasper's gleeful own. Blanking at the thought of Jasper being in Hejlikka's house and at the entrance to her room, the incubus began chuckling as he openly admired the view before him with a smirk.
"I must say, Little Kitty, you've certainly become more forward since last we met~" His magnetic voice resonated as he sauntered into the room and pointedly stared at Liana's chest; his tail expertly grabbed the door and shut it behind him.
"...Ah..." Liana felt panicked but couldn't think properly as the pain from earlier began throbbing in her mind again. Subconsciously covering her bare chest, she turned her head away, not wanting to look at the incubus who was oozing with pheromones with every step he took.
"What's this~? Is Little Kitty speechless from seeing me~?" He gave a low chuckle as he grabbed Liana's chin and forced a deep kiss on her.
"Mmnh!" Liana came to her senses and tried to struggle against him, but the little strength she had from being hungry was all but drained away as the man sucked out her vitality.
After a few short seconds, Jasper raised his brows as he released the new-born from his mouth and smiled, "It seems Little Kitty's been starving herself. What's wrong~? Can't handle the flavour of other things anymore~?" He laughed as he extended a claw and scratched his tongue deeply, "Let's eat together, then~" He then resumed the kiss while shoving his bleeding tongue into Liana's mouth; the black, bitter blood flowed down her throat and invigorated her whole body - bringing about an exceptional wave of ecstasy. With that, she instinctively wrapped her arms around Jasper's neck to keep him from leaving as she sucked on his tongue hard.
Noticing his partner was reciprocating enthusiastically, he slid a hand down her back, pushing the dress off the rest of Liana's body while guiding her to the bed. Focusing entirely on feeding on the blood, Liana wasn't aware of what Jasper was doing, thus offered no resistance as he began fondling her chest with expert movements. Moaning from the waves of pleasure, Liana's fangs instinctively grew out and pierced deeply into Jasper's tongue, causing it to bleed more heavily. Growling at the sudden pain, it only served to make the incubus more aggressive in his actions as he quickly removed his clothes while still kissing the young woman beneath him; constantly draining her depleting and growing vitality as she fed on him.
Realising that she wasn't paying attention to what he was doing, Jasper internally smirked as he moved his hand between his prey's legs and began preparing her for his full devouring.
***
Waking up as soon as the sun set the next day, Liana found herself feeling exceptionally energised but also empty at the same time. Sitting up, she soon realised that she was completely naked - with her dress strewn across the floor beside the bed. Looking around, she noticed a piece of paper next to a few wine bottles on the chest of drawers. Getting out of bed, she noticed a lot of white stains on the bed sheet, which - along with the familiar looking liquid in the bottles - made her have a sinking feeling that something bad happened the night before.
Reaching the dressing table, she picked up the note and read it before immediately screwing it up and throwing it at the floor in frustration and shame as she knew that the black contents within the bottles were indeed Jasper's blood as payment for letting him feast on her. She wanted to smash those bottles to get rid of the proof of the 'transaction' but she knew it would be foolish and reckless to do so since it would be wasting a good amount of blood - easily 2 weeks' worth. Liana then crouched on the ground and shivered as she realised that Jasper knew where she was living and had easily entered the house multiple times to bring the wine bottles over.
Thinking about how dangerous the incubus was, she suddenly thought about Hejlikka and Julrik and worried about their safety. Quickly getting dressed, she rushed out of her room and found the female elf eating her evening breakfast as normal. Julrik had also come back from working the day shift and was eating an apple while teasing his sister about something. Entering the kitchen, the two elves turned to look at her and smiled as if there was nothing wrong.
"Hejlikka...about last night..." Liana opened hesitantly.
"Hmm? Last night? What about last night? Oh, you mean about me not bringing some 'food' back? Sorry, I remembered that I needed to talk with Freja about her stalker problem and so slept over there during the day. I actually only just came back about half an hour ago..." The female elf blushed in awkward embarrassment as she recalled her promise to bring some food for the starved-looking Liana. However, she soon noticed that her friend's eyes had turned gold again and wondered if she'd ended up finding her own food.
"Oh...you did? That's okay, then..." Liana internally sighed in relief before giving an excuse about the wine bottles, "Ah, about the 'food', I bumped into an acquaintance last night and they supplied me with some as a gift." She blushed in shame as she thought about the payment for such a 'gift' before suddenly remembering that Julrik was usually in the house at night. Glancing at him, she noticed the familiar red marks on his neck which earned a knowing smile from him.
"Ah, I was at a bed mate's place last night, so I'm afraid I was unable to grace you with my wonderful and handsome presence, little Miss~" He then continued to eat his apple.
"JULRIK!" Hejlikka threw another apple at him while complaining about how he should go back to his own house instead of hiding in this one, earning the chuckle from her brother. The female elf then looked at the clock and hurriedly finished her breakfast before saying her goodbyes and leaving for work.
Julrik yawned before saying he was going to bed, but not before telling Liana that it was nice seeing her back from the barracks - despite her abysmal failure at the task - claiming it was frigidly cold in the house without her soothing presence. She smiled wryly at that as she said goodnight to him.
Standing alone in the kitchen, Liana went back to her room and observed the state of it - trying to find all of the evidence left by Jasper's and her feasting. Stripping the sheets off the bed, Liana got to work with cleaning them thoroughly - incredibly ashamed that she allowed the incubus to feed on her again. As she waited for her sheets to dry, she picked up her partially fixed - yet mostly tattered - dress and began sewing the material together again while pondering over what she should do now that Jasper knew where she was living again...
[OC: Liana, Jasper, Julrik and Hejlikka|Setting: Scribel City - Hejlikka's house|Word Count: 1542]
[OOC: Acquired 7 wine bottles filled with Jasper's blood]
Dear Little Kitty,
You were truly wonderful last night, panting beneath me as I savoured your body's vitality~
I must say, you should starve yourself to that point more often - you're much more responsive to my advances that way~
As per the terms of our previous agreement, I've left you with some food to last you a while.
Don't guzzle it all at once, since I'll be away from the city for a period of time on errands.
Be sure to dream of me devouring you, Little Kitty~
I know I will be~
Your amazingly-good-in-bed business partner,
Jasper~
"The mission. There is an imperial count, he lives in the fringes of the empire. Named Kalbius Malkeyer, an art collector. We know him as the Uncrowned King...'
Black shadows appeared, made into matter gathered into a dossier hovering in front of Luna.
"All money drenched in blood are washed clean by his hands. From bandits, criminal, be it the Golden Rose, or the Crimson Coin, The uncrowned king guards the wealth of those that lurk in the dark."
The dossier showed Kalbius's appearance, families, lineages and also various inconsequential information.
"We want you to read his ledger.... During the Count's seasonal ball infiltrate, find his vault and take note of his accounts. Tell us of the people that bought tin from the Rose." The hooded man studied Luna and added, "Don't not try to look too far ahead, agent. And don't mistake what guild can and cannot do. The guild can get tin, enough for a hundred Gelderholms, but that would not be profitable. The Rose, they have made business inconvenient. You and I are tasked to resolve that."
The magic barriers rippled slightly, "And when we are done, the Golden Rose will not be trading with anyone.."
"well... except with us," He snickered. "questions?"
"The empire? The Holy Human Empire? I was just planning to visit them someday... Very well. The task shall be done. However, will there be a cleansing team after me? The Merchant preferred the secrecy in their deal, after all." Sound of worms wiggling echoed the bridge, and cold winds blew passed the two hidden figures.
"About the so-called Uncrowned King, is he still a potential customer?" The answer of the Contact would determine the life and death of the so-called King. It was as if Luna asked Death God for his decree.
In the middle of the foggy concealment, Luna's figure turned slightly blurred, revealing only the silhouette of her expression. A smile crept crawling on, and on, and on. Although she had not done anything, the air around her seemed to distort as bloody fragrance radiated out from the smile. Moonlight flashed, and it only served as the highlight for her ominous temperament.
"The empire? The Holy Human Empire? I was just planning to visit them someday... Very well. The task shall be done. However, will there be a cleansing team after me? The Merchant preferred the secrecy in their deal, after all." Sound of worms wiggling echoed the bridge, and cold winds blew passed the two hidden figures.
"About the so-called Uncrowned King, is he still a potential customer?" The answer of the Contact would determine the life and death of the so-called King. It was as if Luna asked Death God for his decree.
In the middle of the foggy concealment, Luna's figure turned slightly blurred, revealing only the silhouette of her expression. A smile crept crawling on, and on, and on. Although she had not done anything, the air around her seemed to distort as bloody fragrance radiated out from the smile. Moonlight flashed, and it only served as the highlight for her ominous temperament.
"Potential customer?" The man shook his head, " The king... is a much more complicated existence than that. He.."
The hooded operative trailed off, he was hiding something, something he wanted to say but didn't. For the briefest moment there was a vulnerability in his composure
"Agent, how you go about acquiring the information from the ledger is up to you. But If you so wish, we can provide you with the architect of the Count's villa for interrogation. Although the vault maker is dead, we can get procure the vault maker's apprentice. We can also obtain as many as four invitations to the Count's ball. A safe house in the village near by, tailors for gowns and tunics."
"Ah," the agent added, "I should say just in-case... Do not take the ledger from the vault. it will mark you body and soul, and every person and organisation with an entry in that book will hunt you down until you are died... even Merchant guild will hunt you, agent"
He allowed those words sink in.
"Read the book and when you come back, tell me the only thing you remember are things that involved the Rose and the tin. " The operative held out his hand the magic of the shroud started to gather in his palm. "I'd suggest the path of least violence, and one that could not be traced to you."
The barriers shimmer slightly, fading in power, "The ruby on your gold card can summoner a red letter raven. Decide what you need, I will prepare it, and when the stage is set, we will send you a mission briefing."
The magic continued to gather into radiant green light in his palm. When it stopped the lump magic launched into the air and flew off to some far away place. Strangely, the barriers that obscured sight and sound still remained, only the third unaccounted for function disappeared.
"Miss Luna" his tone was different from before. Spoke her name for the first time, "If I could have a moment of your time, before you go... Off the record."
Those word 'off the record' was a damning revelation of what that magic was, a recording.
"Potential customer?" The man shook his head, " The king... is a much more complicated existence than that. He.."
The hooded operative trailed off, he was hiding something, something he wanted to say but didn't. For the briefest moment there was a vulnerability in his composure
"Agent, how you go about acquiring the information from the ledger is up to you. But If you so wish, we can provide you with the architect of the Count's villa for interrogation. Although the vault maker is dead, we can get procure the vault maker's apprentice. We can also obtain as many as four invitations to the Count's ball. A safe house in the village near by, tailors for gowns and tunics."
"Ah," the agent added, "I should say just in-case... Do not take the ledger from the vault. it will mark you body and soul, and every person and organisation with an entry in that book will hunt you down until you are died... even Merchant guild will hunt you, agent"
He allowed those words sink in.
"Read the book and when you come back, tell me the only thing you remember are things that involved the Rose and the tin. " The operative held out his hand the magic of the shroud started to gather in his palm. "I'd suggest the path of least violence, and one that could not be traced to you."
The barriers shimmer slightly, fading in power, "The ruby on your gold card can summoner a red letter raven. Decide what you need, I will prepare it, and when the stage is set, we will send you a mission briefing."
The magic continued to gather into radiant green light in his palm. When it stopped the lump magic launched into the air and flew off to some far away place. Strangely, the barriers that obscured sight and sound still remained, only the third unaccounted for function disappeared.
"Miss Luna" his tone was different from before. Spoke her name for the first time, "If I could have a moment of your time, before you go... Off the record."
Those word 'off the record' was a damning revelation of what that magic was, a recording.
"Even the Merchant Guild considered him to be complicated, then why would this little Luna dare to play any tricks?" Hearing the words from the Contact, Luna reverted back from her bloodthirstiness and changed back into her indifferent and disdainful vibe.
"Of course, I'm all ears. In fact, dealing with an organization is a lot more troublesome than dealing with an individual. Forgive me for acting up for a moment. The Guild should love to see its member devoutly performing their duty, right?
"About the preparation, just get be a suitable identity and a nice villa. If possible, some magical material would be great. Of course, all in the name of improving the chance of completion." She wrote various precious material and presented it at the Contact. Although they looked expensive, Luna knew how to push the limit and only wrote some of the slightly troublesome treasures. Just enough for it to be valuable, but not enough for the Guild to make an excuse to refuse her.
"Even the Merchant Guild considered him to be complicated, then why would this little Luna dare to play any tricks?" Hearing the words from the Contact, Luna reverted back from her bloodthirstiness and changed back into her indifferent and disdainful vibe.
"Of course, I'm all ears. In fact, dealing with an organization is a lot more troublesome than dealing with an individual. Forgive me for acting up for a moment. The Guild should love to see its member devoutly performing their duty, right?
"About the preparation, just get be a suitable identity and a nice villa. If possible, some magical material would be great. Of course, all in the name of improving the chance of completion." She wrote various precious material and presented it at the Contact. Although they looked expensive, Luna knew how to push the limit and only wrote some of the slightly troublesome treasures. Just enough for it to be valuable, but not enough for the Guild to make an excuse to refuse her.
"Aye, I will see to what you need," He paused, " What I am about to say is just between you and I away from the records of the guild, my gift to you, as your handler."
"A word of advice, we are agents of a merchant guild, a guild that solves its problems with money, that means when the guild use us, it is when the guild want something it can not buy. When the guild's greatest strength fail, we are the fail safe. The count, is an foe, one that the guild have no leverage against. These are all our missions, against targets the our backer cant not touch. If we are caught, we are on our own. If this is not for you when I call again, do not come."
"Aye, I will see to what you need," He paused, " What I am about to say is just between you and I away from the records of the guild, my gift to you, as your handler."
"A word of advice, we are agents of a merchant guild, a guild that solves its problems with money, that means when the guild use us, it is when the guild want something it can not buy. When the guild's greatest strength fail, we are the fail safe. The count, is an foe, one that the guild have no leverage against. These are all our missions, against targets the our backer cant not touch. If we are caught, we are on our own. If this is not for you when I call again, do not come."
"I appreciate your advice." Luna was not really sure about the words that the Contact said. After all, the Guild might be hiding a lot of things from their members. Who would actually know the inner working fo the Guild? Certainly not some outer members...
Fail-safe? Those that Guild's backers couldn't touch? Luna felt pretty suspicious about this point. After all, what could we the small flies do, if even the Guild could not? To her, it was more logical that the Guild simply had their attention and main focus at somewhere else, or just that they didn't consider the Count to be their top priority.
Of course, the Guild might say that so that they could make an excuse when we got caught. After all, they wouldn't want to redeem us if there was no benefits in doing so.
"If we could be considered as a partner, then why haven't you told me your name yet?" Luna wasn't really interested in his name, but it was essential to know at least something about him, so that she could use it to identify him when they met the next time. Of course, this was excluding her scent-marking, for she had already remembered his scent.
AIEO's nightmares (Open - Scribel city)
I am lying in a cold cold alleyway trying to sleep but I can't everytime I close my eyes my dreams turn to that of becoming the daemon and slowly perverting and pervading everything around me. On top of that something or someone is watching me I need to sleep I need to right the situation of my body but I can't do it. I need to do it but I can't. I'm to tired for this. I close my eyes and then the nightmare starts again. I wake up shivering in a cold sweat a few seconds is all that has passed the damned nightmares I can't even close my eyes properly now. Is that footsteps in the background or am I hearing things. Damnit.
"My real name?" he shook his head, "... They call me the Ironsong"
He took a step back,surprised by his own admission. He looked away and spoke with a sadness in his voice, " I should not be talking to you this way, not without the guild recording it. We are not partners, your are an agent, and I am your handler. Nothing more."
With a turn, shadows wrapped itself around him. Then he burst into a dozen black birds, scattering in to the night sky.
AIEO's nightmares (Open - Scribel city)
I am lying in a cold cold alleyway trying to sleep but I can't everytime I close my eyes my dreams turn to that of becoming the daemon and slowly perverting and pervading everything around me. On top of that something or someone is watching me I need to sleep I need to right the situation of my body but I can't do it. I need to do it but I can't. I'm to tired for this. I close my eyes and then the nightmare starts again. I wake up shivering in a cold sweat a few seconds is all that has passed the damned nightmares I can't even close my eyes properly now. Is that footsteps in the background or am I hearing things. Damnit.
AEIO'S Nightmares (OPEN - @Vanus / @Bochi)
"...Oh, f***'s sake. Different alley, different time, different person, same energy. Deja vu. I haven't been to this place before. Who's this? Camping out in this weather without a fire. You must be either crazy or mad.""
Vicious stands a safe distance away, letting her words do the travelling. She didn't get any closer.
"My real name?" he shook his head, "... They call me the Ironsong"
He took a step back,surprised by his own admission. He looked away and spoke with a sadness in his voice, " I should not be talking to you this way, not without the guild recording it. We are not partners, your are an agent, and I am your handler. Nothing more."
With a turn, shadows wrapped itself around him. Then he burst into a dozen black birds, scattering in to the night sky.
Looking at the black birds, Luna stood motionlessly in her place. Gradually, her figure melted into the darkness, and once a wind blew past her, she was nowhere to be seen. The only thing left was her lingering voice, as indifference as ever, yet, there was a hint of amusement in it.
"A man with a story, huh? Interesting... Ironsong— Until next time..."
AEIO'S Nightmares (OPEN - @Vanus / @Bochi)
"...Oh, f***'s sake. Different alley, different time, different person, same energy. Deja vu. I haven't been to this place before. Who's this? Camping out in this weather without a fire. You must be either crazy or mad.""
Vicious stands a safe distance away, letting her words do the travelling. She didn't get any closer.
"My body perfectly regulates my heat in any situation between." AIEO nods off again. "60 degrees celsius and -30 degrees celsius which this night is well above." AIEO falls asleep again and rapidly wakes up.
"My body perfectly regulates my heat in any situation between." AIEO nods off again. "60 degrees celsius and -30 degrees celsius which this night is well above." AIEO falls asleep again and rapidly wakes up.
"So I see. Well, if it's not the weather, then it must be something personal. Or you have a really bad case of insomnia."
She went for a smile, but ended up yawning as well. It was getting rather late, after all.
"So, why camp out? The tavern's offering discounted rooms for adventurers, and while it's not royal tier, it's better than sleeping out in the open like that. You'll attract lots of undesirables."
"So I see. Well, if it's not the weather, then it must be something personal. Or you have a really bad case of insomnia."
She went for a smile, but ended up yawning as well. It was getting rather late, after all.
"So, why camp out? The tavern's offering discounted rooms for adventurers, and while it's not royal tier, it's better than sleeping out in the open like that. You'll attract lots of undesirables."
"Tavern costs money I have debt simple problem pay debt off before seeking proper accommodation. Thugs can be executed and I can use their skulls for other purposes like these." AIEO shakes the skulls attached at her base flashing off the double headed cassowaries. "Sleep deprivation and nightmares resulting in insomnia are the problems for my lack of sleep. Further beds uncomfortable stone preferable"
"Tavern costs money I have debt simple problem pay debt off before seeking proper accommodation. Thugs can be executed and I can use their skulls for other purposes like these." AIEO shakes the skulls attached at her base flashing off the double headed cassowaries. "Sleep deprivation and nightmares resulting in insomnia are the problems for my lack of sleep. Further beds uncomfortable stone preferable"
"Can't help you there much, then. Although, if stone is preferable then...try the sewers, maybe? There's a couple of nooks and crannies down there to rest, and the odd cultist planning to perform some kind of blood ritual. The smell might be a bit of a problem, though."
"Can't help you there much, then. Although, if stone is preferable then...try the sewers, maybe? There's a couple of nooks and crannies down there to rest, and the odd cultist planning to perform some kind of blood ritual. The smell might be a bit of a problem, though."
"No it doesn't it's powers relate to perfection, pleasure and pain. Don't know what it does with the sewerage but it can make you feel pleasurable from being covered in it." I shiver a little at that.
"No it doesn't it's powers relate to perfection, pleasure and pain. Don't know what it does with the sewerage but it can make you feel pleasurable from being covered in it." I shiver a little at that.
