The Butler with a Candlestick in Ryder's House (Graded)

[Aegis]

Date

Velaine's fire spears rocketed toward the chiming Traitorstone necklace. The Mantis recognized her mistake a bit too late, after all, she was not normally one of the one's to carry a traitorstone. She moved to evade the fire spears, but two caught her, one in the cloak, igniting it up, coaxed by Velaine, the other in her legs. The woman was quick to shed the burning cloak, but the trousers were another problem entirely. She screamed as the flames burned into the fatty flesh there, sizzling and filling the air with the scent. The other fires ignited the crates in the warehouse, illuminating the entire area for Velaine.

The Mantis woman scrambled to get the flaming trousers off, but fell in the process, the damage done. She got them off, exposing the burnt, blackened skin and muscle. She was on the ground, her face instantly slick with sweat from the pain and the rising heat. Embers floated through the air, and the woman reached for a small pistol cross bow on her belt. Her hands were slow. She brought it up, but she didn't have it loaded. She was scrambling to find a bolt on her person, panic setting in, as her traitorstone chimed and chimed and chimed.

Then she saw her bolts quiver, on the trousers that were now smoldering a few feet away.

There was nothing left for the woman. She gave up, looking at Velaine with fearful eyes. "You scum will never win. We'll purge the kingdom of you. There's nothing you can do about it." She then feebly threw the crossbow at Velaine. "I will see the Eternal Kingdom. You'll know nothing but pain and torture for eternity. Kill me, witch. My family will be cared for. The same cannot be said for yours."

She scowled one last time at Velaine before closing her eyes, awaiting what she felt was inevitable.

[Velaine Krome]

It had worked.

Her flame raged around as it devoured the woman’s leg. Velaine felt nothing as she heard the screams. She had no interest in pitying someone who had damned dozens of people to a similar fate. The smell of burning flesh made her stomach churn and for a split moment, she swore Elrik’s charred body was once again laid out in front of her. When the hunter fell, her prey finally approached.

Once she was close enough, it was impossible not to notice that the woman was about her age. Almost pretty. Velaine took her in, making sure she had no more tricks left under her sleeves. Her bloody fingers wrapped around the stone and yanked it from the Mantis’s neck. The small item had led the hunters to her mentor, led him to his death.

“Family?” she asked, laughing mirthlessly as her fiery ether slowly died down. One by one they withered, until only an orb of flame was left alight. “What family are we talking about exactly? My mother and father who barely cared about me? Sees me only as a bargaining chip? My betrothed who left me and broke my heart because the lies and fear you spread about mages? Or maybe my brother who is in gods-who-knows-where right now?”

The young woman looked down on the bleeding mage hunter, ashes raining all around her. Her eyes were glassy, but not a single tear escaped. She should be shaking, with grief and anger, scream in rage and bitterness. Yet, all that came out of her was a deadly calm, her voice as serene as a priest. She barely even felt the wounds on her body. “My family… The person who never left me, who always supported me… You and your people already burnt him on a stake. Elrik. That was his name. You burnt him along with a sixteen arc old girl simply for existing. I think it is you that will surely suffer for eternity.”

It would be so easy to call upon the fire once more. It was only right after all, to give her a taste of her own medicine. But the Krome found herself unable to do it.

Her magic was Elrik’s gift to her. All she had left of him and she had no interest in tainting that gift with the murder of this horrendous coward. No, she deseverved much less. Velaine bent down slightly, picking up the crossbow the woman had thrown. It took some time for her to find the bolts in her burnt pants but she found at least one still intact. There was a satisfying click as it loaded.

It was the easiest thing to turn and aim at the woman’s slender throat. She could see it bobbing up and down as she swallowed in fear. Her lips started shaking as she started muttering a prayer – or a curse.

And she shoots.

[Aegis]

Date

In a single moment, the Mantis woman was dead, a crossbow bolt jutting from her throat, blood gurgling up into her mouth and bubbling out. It was as simple as that. So very, very simple.

Rodreyo watched as the city guards stormed past the window, heading down the same alley he'd sent Velaine down. Speaking to the woman who was dead yet moving about, cleaning up the... well quite frankly disgustingly cleaned house, "We may need to leave soon. I do hope this was worthwhile." The fire that was bellowing all around her in that warehouse had caught their attention. They were carrying buckets and shouting orders and commandeering the nearest well. Orders rang out.

"We need to stop the flames from spreading!"

Neighbors and onlookers alike began to congregate at a safe distance, clogging up the alley. Some of the guards were questioning the neighbors, trying to discover if they'd seen what could've caused this fire. Parts of the ceiling were collapsing now, walls threatening to crumble around the Rynmeren noble. Windows shattered from the growing heat, goods were popping and steaming within the crates and barrels.

The building would be coming down soon.

Guards were stationed on the roofs of nearby buildings, using bucket chains to soak their walls and prevent the fire from spreading. But all eyes were on the building. Guards were at a safe but visible distance from the blaze, in both alleys that touched the warehouse, mostly to prevent onlookers from looting nearby businesses.

And Rodreyo stood up, contract in hand, as he walked into the alley, mingling into the crowd, his thrall staying behind in Ryder's home, cleaning the filth. He wanted to see if his investment would finally prove her mettle, or if this was just another lost cause.

[Velaine Krome]

Velaine stumbled back as she watched the light leaving the mage hunter’s eyes. The world began to spin and she could not tell if it was because of her blood loss or the realization that this was the second life she had taken from this world. She should be overwhelmed by emotions – guilt, satisfaction, anything – but all she could feel was a numbness settling over her.

Her fingers tightened around the stone as it died down along with the last of ether. With a groan, she shoved it into the pocket of her pants. At least she got something useful out of all this chaos. As the fire crackled around her, the she-wolf finally realized what she had done. Perhaps she could ask the flames to die down, but she feared her defiance was at its limit. Her head was pounding and her legs were so close to failing her.

And then she heard a scream of surprise and muffled orders outside the building.

People. A crowd was gathering outside, she could tell. Here she thought that with the Mantis dead, her problem would be over. With a sigh, Velaine took in the sight around her. The fire had taken a life of its own, engulfing the building as it roared in victory. They had defeated the enemy after all, the one who tried to hurt her. It did not understand that perhaps all the fire was a bit of an overkill. Even without her urgings, the red blaze was already slithering towards the mage hunter’s body.

While she was rather certain that no one had seen her enter the alley or her altercation with the blonde woman, it would still be difficult to explain why she was walking out a burning warehouse. The young woman had no intention to be held accountable by what happened here. She did what she had to.

A victim. That was what she had to convince everyone to believe. With a story spinning inside her mind, the young woman knew what she had to do.

“Help! Someone please help me!” she cried out as she slowly limped towards the exit. It was certainly easy to let the pain mingle in her voice, for every step she took all her wounds flared up angrily. Velaine braced herself on some of the crates every time she stumbled, trying her best not to fall. If she fell, she knew there was no way she would be able to get back up again.

Smoke started to thicken around her and the cough wrecked through her body. The arrow in her waist seemed to tear through her abdomen all over again. Every few steps she had to stop, muffled cries escaping her lips. She had learned to act and deceive even before she had ever heard of any magic.

Finally. The doorway.

The young woman spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. Not Rodreyo, but rather one of Ryder’s neighbours. An older woman with whites in her hair who had greeted her a few times and even go far as to comment that it was good thing that Ryder had finally gotten rid of the whores and settled on a normal girl for once. With the stone heavy in her pocket, Velaine knew that she could not rely on her magic for now. She could see the sympathy in the eyes of the crowd, but also apprehension, confusion.

Darkness slowly tried to claim her, but she shook it away stubbornly. No, not yet. She had to make sure that she made it out of this shite alive.

As she leaned against the doorway, one of the guards started approaching her. Younger, perhaps one of the new recruits. From the look on his face, there was no doubt in her mind that she must have looked horrendous, covered in soot and blood. She let the tears start rolling down, let her voice crack and whimpered.

The she-wolf had learned how to act and deceive far longer than she had even heard of any sort of magic.

“Please help me… It hurts so much.”

[Aegis]

Date

Rodreyo watched as the woman stumbled out, putting on a performance as a victim. It was a good one, and many would be fooled by it. But he knew the Etzori had a tendency to be a bit more cold and unscrupulous, or at least, their police force was. And so, Rodreyo stepped forward, removing his cloak in an especially showy flourish, allowing the crowd to see his stunning good looks and his heroic gesture.

"Brunhilda darling!"

He threw the cloak around Velaine, and pulled her in close, a tight, comforting embrace of lovers that had survived a tragedy. He was thanking the stars and the moons and the ancestors of old that his beloved Brunhilda was alright, thanking everyone and everything except for those damn, dirty Immortals the Etzori hated so much. After what he considered was a long enough performance to build drama, he began to usher her away, hiding her in the plain sight of the crowd. They would remember this, for the day, but forget about them on the morrow.

He nodded in thanks to the chief of the Etzori forces that were there, followed by a profuse thanks that was laid on so thickly, the man had no choice but to utter an embarrassed "You're welcome," just to get him to leave. And so, he steered Velaine away from the fire and the crowd. As he did, he slipped the contract into the valley between Velaine's bosom, securing it away. Once they were completely gone from the situation, he whispered in her ear, "Find me in Yaralon. When you do, I will make your mission a reality."

He then led Velaine to the finest doctor available in a reasonable distance and paid for her treatment. She would make a full recovery, and speedier than normal thanks to the professional's many arcs of experience. And then, Rodreyo was gone.

!	Message from: Aegis
	I will be reviewing this shortly. Velaine, you may send me a write up of Rodreyo as a Mage Mentor NPC, but leave the skills blank for me to fill in.

[Fairytale]

Velaine Krome

Knowledge:

Skill Knowledge:
Acting: Pretending to be a helpless damsel
Deception: Clothes that draw unwanted attention in Etzos
Deception: Enjoying the lies while they last
Deception: Picking apart a conversation to find the lies
Deception: Ryder didn’t order a dress, something is up
Deception: Playing the victim
Discipline: Regaining composure in the face of an intruder
Discipline: Not letting darkness take you
Defiance: Using gusts of wind to deflect crossbow bolts.
Detection: finding a hidden person by listening.
Empathy: Some people can’t be read
Endurance: Taking a crossbow bolt to the lower back
Endurance: Taking a crossbow bolt to the forearm.
Interrogation: dealing with an intruder
Interrogation: Asking the important questions.
Intimidation: Getting into a threatening stance.
Meditation: Finding comfort in items from the past
Politics: If a deal sounds too good to be true, It probably is.
Politics: Treaties and deals: Read carefully and pick everything apart
Politics: Seeing an offer for what it is.
Ranged (Crossbow): Loading a bolt
Ranged (Crossbow): Shooting at close range
Tactics: Don’t let your opponent get close.

Non skill:
The Order of the Mantis: They suspect you of being a Mage
Rodreyo: Former servent
Rodreyo: A diplomat of Yaralon
Rodreyo: Empathy doesn’t work on him
Yaralon: It’s said to be welcoming to mages.

Loot:

Tracking stone of the mantis

Injuries:

Injuries that will heal rather fast

Fame:

10 Fame

Magic:

These points can be used for Domain Magic

Skill Points:

15

Notes:

This was a very interesting read, lots of good plot and character development. Easy to read and I didn't notice any grammar mistakes. Velanie is clearly a survivor and a good one at that. I wonder if that neighbour of hers will question her on this new handsome man that embraced her at the end.