The Manor
 

Perhaps if you'd ever been on a boat, the sailors on that boat would pale at the mention of a certain island in a calm part of the sea. The island was a barren place, with few trees and no drinkable water nearby. It was far away from land, connected only by a narrow, old stone bridge that time had worked it's wonders on. Ages past, the island was the only place in the world you could find a special metal, Asordium. It made incredibly tough weapons and armor, to such an extent that no metal has ever been found or created that can surpass it.

The remains of villages are scattered around the island, which is quite small. It stretched only about 15 miles in every direction, staring from the middle. It is simply a speck in the sea, but has endured. The middle of the island is the only place on the island where one will find a tree or grass, and it is there that the reason for the fear of this place can be seen.

It was built almost a five hundred years ago, constructed by an unknown group of men for the benefit of an unknown man. It is a nice mansion, three stories from the outside. The mansion has sat upon this island every since, untouched by all but the insane few who venture to the island, looking for treasure, Asordium or perhaps just death itself. Next to the path towards the mansion rests a graveyard, and a small house in the back where a lone man lives, driven long ago to madness by his Lord.

The outside of the mansion is simple a large, iron fence surrounding the walls. The gate is always open, and the road leading from the bridge to the mansion is always well kept. It was painted black when it was built, but time has worn it down to a charcoal gray. The windows are always covered from the inside by night black cloth, and the door is made of a sturdy, gray wood. Once inside, the magnificence of it's construction becomes apparent.

Into the front door, you step into a gigantic hall, made of black marble and painted black brick. Infront of the door, 10 feet from it infact, is a grayed statue. It is of an angel, facing the door with arms open. Behind the statue, rests a large staircase that leads to a second floor. Pillars stretch to the roof of the entrance hall, and torches glow from them even in the daylight. To the right and left of the front door, are two more doors which lead to closets, filled with clothes and hats and other possessions of the owner.

The second floor nothing more then a raised platform above the first floor, made of black marble and gray stone. The first door when you step onto the second floor leads into a large room, filled with bookshelves and tables. The room is a library, but the room does not look often used. Thick dust coats the room, and a small collection of vines is growing in the fireplace. To the right of the stairs, is the entrance to the butlers room. The butler is a old man, as they all seem to be. Black hair that is trimmed nicely, glasses and a standard 'butlers outfit'. The room itself is decently large, with it's own private bathroom. To the left of the stairs, is another room, quite empty and dusty. It looks as if the last thing living in this room was the spiders who decorated the ceiling in webbing.

The second floor circles the whole room, and directly across from the first set of stairs, on the other side of the room, above the front door, is a small staircase in the wall that leads to the third floor. The third floor seems to have the most doors, and is made of the same black marble as the entrance hall. Small pillars stretch here and there in the open room, and a smaller statue of the angel downstairs is present, facing the stairs.

The first door on the right wall of the room, leads into a large room with paintings on the wall. A fireplace crackles gently on the wall about 4 feet to the right of the door. A large table with about twenty chairs stretches infront of the door. At the head of the table, a large thronelike chair sits.

The second door of the right wall leads into a kitchen, filled with cupboards and freezers. A row of stoves sits, as well as a microwave and several other devices. This appears to be one of few rooms with electricity, even though the island has power lines stretching to it from some unnamed source.

The third, and last, door on the right wall leads into another, smaller, library. This one appears to have been used in the last billion years, as the dust is not as thick and the fireplace is actually lit. A small table stands in the center of the room, a laptop sitting atop it.

On the left wall, only two doors sit. The first one leads into another bedroom, this one equally disused. It has a door leading into a closet and another into a bathroom. It looks as though this person has few guests in his house.

The second door leads into a dark room. A single torch provides light for the windowless room. It is made of gray, plain stone bricks and is about the size of a prison cell. A table sits in the center, a small pile of books on it. A chair sits in the corner, and a small fold down cot is present on the wall.

The last door on the floor, is a large double door that sits across from the stairs. It leads into a large room, presumeably the master bedroom. A fireplace sits on the wall across from the door, as well as two windows above it. The room is made of black marble, the only room in the house made of that instead of brick. There is a small bed in the left corner, a nightstand and a small chair. In the right, a table with a computer on it, as well as some books and a ashtray. To the right and left of the door, are two more doors that lead into a closet and a bathroom.

The entire place is constantly dark, a side effect of the curtains being drawn and black. The only light comes from torches, or flickering lightbulbs. The place seems sadly empty, which suits its inhabitants fine.

Ekail's eyes were closed, his head resting on his shoulder. He sat in the chair in the dining room, not asleep nor awake. His butler quietly walked in and shook him once, which caused Ekail's eyes to shoot open. Wordlessly, a plate of food was placed infront of Ekail, and with a nod the butler left the room to eat his own food in the kitchen. Ekail sighed, and toyed with his meal a bit. Another flawlessly cooked steak, with soup and bread. Ekail's favorite, of course. Sometimes he wished the old man would sit and have a meal with him, but the butler would simply say he was not hungry and go to bed without food. After a while, Ekail stopped asking.

He took a sip of the water that had been brought, and sighed. He was alone in his madness, except for when he was at work. Then of course, he could unleash that madness on whomever crossed him. He wasn't used to the quiet, normal life he was being forced into. Shien had hired another group of assassins, replacing Ekail. Shien had 'promoted' Ekail to the position of right hand man and messenger boy, a position Ekail detested. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes again, falling into a peaceful nap.

"The dark is generous.
It's first gift is concealment: our true faces lie in the dark beneath our skins, our true hearts remain shadowed deeper still. But the greatest concealment lies not in protecting our secret truths, but in hiding from us the truths of others.
The dark protects us from what we dare not know.
Its second gift is comforting illusion: the ease of gentle dreams in night's embrace, the beauty that imagination brings to what would repel in day's harsh light. But the greatest of its comforts is the illusion that the dark is temporary: that every night brings a new day. Because it is day that is temporary.
Day is the illusion.
Its third gift is the light itself: as days are defined by the nights that divide them, as stars are defined by the infinite black through which they wheel, the dark embraces the light, and brings it forth from the center of its own self.
With each victory of the light, it is the dark that wins..."

To the amusement of the creatures lurking on the bridge, a winged figure strode towards them, muttering a little monologue and tapping his sheathed katana on his shoulder. He walked lightly, and didn't appear to have even noticed them as he rambled on in his soft voice.
One of the creatures, a goblin by the looks of things, silently emerged from it's hiding place and stealthily rushed the man, blade drawn. There was a sudden blur of movement and the man went on his way. Moments later, the goblin neatly fell in two.

"The dark is generous, and it is patient...

It is the dark that seeds cruelty into justice, that drips contempt into compassion, that poisons love with grains of doubt.
The dark can be patient, because the slightest drop of ran will cause those seeds to sprout.
The rain will come, and the seeds will sprout, for the dark is the soil in which they grow, and it is the clouds above them, and it waits behind the star that gives them light.
The dark's patience is infinite.
Eventually, even the stars burn out..."

Seeing that the man was a more interesting plaything than they'd expected, more emerged, a nightmare vision of hideous faces, sharpened blades and chittering demon-speak rushing the lone walker as one. A wave of purple/white lightning hammered the front runners back, igniting their skin and filling the air with their inhuman wailing. The assault only ended when the wanderer ramped up the voltage and hurled their charred forms into the advancing ranks of their allies. The ones charging from the rear rapidly discovered that the only reason their prey has stopped was because he was aware of their presense. They had barely time to cry for reinforcements before he struck
A half-dozen fell with the first swing of the sofly glowing blade, as it and it's master moved faster than they could follow. In the blink of an eye, the tables turned. The wanderer leapt out of the crowd surrounding him with a neat backflip and pressed his attack from the rear, shredding the subjectively frozen creatures with a manic grin.
Eventually, it ended. The wanderer walked on, away from the scattered bodies, clothes and blade spotless despite the carnage he caused.

"The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins.
It always wins because it is everywhere.
It is in the wood that burns in your hearth, and in the kettle on the fire; it is under your chair, and under your table and under the sheets on your bed. Walk in the midday sun and the dark is with you, attached to the soles of your feet.
The brightest light casts the darkest shadow..."

Ahead of him, the end of the bridge resolved itself out of the fog and the Messenger grinned. Whoever was here had gone to all that trouble with those creatures on the bridge, so he assumed that trespassing was likely to be bad move, generally. Oh well. He was here now...

Ekail jolted from his nap, more from the fact his soup had tipped over onto his clothes then anything. With a disgusted sigh, he rose from the dining room and made his way to his room to change. He hated it when he fell asleep and hit the soup bowl with his feet.

Outside, Miller the Butler busied himself polishing the gates and trimming trees, keeping his master's garden as neat as one man can. With a sigh, he wiped his brow on the back of his glove, and looked towards the bridge. His eyesight sharpened by magic, he caught notice of activity on the bridge..Maybe the demons were having another cannibal ceremony. Then the lightning flashed. His eye went wide and he scrambled into the Mansion, leaving his tools laying strewn.

Ekail had justed finished slipping into a t-shirt, jeans and a pair of boots when Miller came bolting into the room, panting. "S-sir! The bridge, something's moving on it. The demons appear to have been wiped out." and took a gasp. Ekail raised an eyebrow and crossed his eyes. "A visitor? Odd...No matter. Release Tinky." he said simply, and waved Miller off. The old man smirked wickedly and hurried down out the door, as Ekail stepped out of the bedroom and walked over to a window, drawing the curtain. "This might be fun."

Miller calmly stepped into the library and up to the laptop sitting within. After pressing a few buttons, a loud thunk was heard along with a splash. A low growl echoed from the water, and all was silent for a moment.

At the bridge, a slight disturbance in the water broke the surface, and a single spike sliced across. A large dragon-like head shot out of the water, attatched to a huge neck. Several more followed, until it was like a forest of heads surrounding the Messenger. The hydra growled, blue flame escaping it's maw, waiting.

For the very briefest of instants, the Messenger reflected that perhaps he should have taken the much accursed Tor up on a long ago offer for the 'idiot's guide to dragon-slaying'. He rapidly dismissed the thought, based on simple logic. The thing clearly has a large number of heads, most likely containing brains. Removing them would not be conductive to the creature's further well being and therefore must be performed with all due haste.

He jumped for the first head that had risen, neatly lopping it off and leaping off of the stump towards the closest head in a single smooth movement. The process repeated itself several times before the Messenger landed amidst a rather messy rain of heads and various unpleasant substances.
Needless to say, when a jet of flame slammed into him and knocked him across the bridge, he was rather surprised. Just like he was somewhat annoyed by the fact he appeared to be surrounded by twice the number of heads he was a minute before. He found the word 'Hydra' appearing in his mind, as well as the word 'Fire'. A cursory examination of the surroundings turned up a distict lack of any flaming arrows, explosives, napalm or Molotov Cocktails and killed that idea stone dead.
With a devious little smile, an idea struck him. As one of the Hydra's heads shot towards him, mouth open, he jumped onto it's snout and began to run along it's neck. The creature immediately lifted the head up and tried to shake him off. As he fell, he responded by stabbing the Murasame into it's neck and using it to slow his fall. A couple of heads tried to catch him on the way down, forcing him to yank the blade out and fend them off in free-fall.
He slammed into the creature's back at well over 60 miles per hour and almost rolled off before he managed to jam the blade between the creature's scales. As he dangled, he could almost hear the hydra mocking him for his feeble attempts to kill it.

"
You've brought nothing to this world, dragon, and I will ensure you bring nothing out. Plus, you're really pissing me off."

He used the blade as a lever, firing himself back onto it's back and ran to the point where all the necks converged. Sure enough, there was a large bony structure just under the skin where he'd decided the brain was located. The hydra had been watching him with what appeared to be contempt until that poin, when it suddenly realised what was about to happen. All the heads that could reach that far back shot towards the messenger as he raised his blade for a killing blow. Unfortunately for Tinky, the blade was very sharp, the main weidling it was very good at killing things, and anger was renowned for enhancing both of those qualities. All the creature's necks suddenly went limp as it's brain was destroyed, the onrushing ones slamming into the ground and the watchers all toppling like a suicidal forest. It was all the Messenger could do to leap out the way before getting crushed.

"Huh, what do you know? The harder they do fall"

She gapes at him, completely dumbstruck. She had been sure, positive even, that there was nobody on the other side of that window. In that split second she had taken her eyes away, there was suddenly a man yanking her inside. That was fine and nearly believable. But then, this man, undoubtably the owner of said mansion, had freed the theif who was attempting to rob him blind. And to add on top of it all, he was providing her with food.

Unable to do anything else, she robotically takes and eats the food the butler offers. Finished, and senses regained somewhat, she fianlly talks.

"Why the hell...?"

Ekail smirked to himself, then let the smile drop as Tinky was defeated, and promptly slid back into the water. Ekail put his head in his hands and said "God....Mental note, get a new dragon." and then stood up straight. He turned to Miller and the theif, then gave a small bow. "I am Ekail, Lord of this island and this mansion. And if your wondering why your not dead yet..I'm in a good mood. And if you so much as took a torch off the wall, Miller here would turn you into an icecube. Isn't that right, Miller?" he said, then turned back to the window.

Miller gave a knowning smirk and nodded to Ekail, then turned to the woman. He waited for Ekail to give a mute nod, not at Miller but instead at the outside. "Ah, yes. My manner. I am Miller Viltrap, Lord Ekail's butler." and gave a deep bow. "M'lord treats all guests, welcome or not, with kindness unless they annoy him, so please behave. You are free to wander, and you can simply call me and I should come quickly."

Ekail chuckled and then locked his gaze upon the man once more, then mumbled "The skeletons..He still hasn't gotten past my skeletons.." and then as an afterthought "Miller! Fetch Minaccia from my room. I have a feeling I may need it." and the Butler was once more off, returning with a small pole wrapped in red cloth, which Ekail took.

A portal appeared in the front hall, just before the front door. A red-scarved figure exited the portal, her body shadowed in the dim lighting of the hall. Varina raised an eyebrow as she looked around. Hmm. Perhaps I should have knocked first. But no matter. She was known for her sudden entrances, after all.

She gazed about her curiously. As far as she could tell, the place almost seemed to be home to a vampire. The walls and floors were black, the black window curtains closed.

My kind of place, a rough voice muttered. Varina smirked as she gazed down at the sword on her right hip.

"Well, Alf, perhaps we can explore a bit," she said. But on her left hip, she felt a soft shudder from the other sword.

Perhaps we shouldn't. There may already be someone living here. There are lights on around us. Varina stroked the other sword soothingly.

"Now, now, Lofn. We won't stay long. Just long enough to find out where we are." But from the corner of her eye, she saw a figure standing nearby. Whirling to face it, she bit back a squeak. A statue of an angel stood ten feet from the door, cloaked in the shadows. Varina let out a breath.

Did you think it was someone else? Lofn asked. Varina nodded, stepping toward the statue. Tor, perhaps?

"No, not Tor," Varina said softly. "Another old friend. You haven't met him yet." No wonder she'd mistaken the angelic statue for him. The wings and open arms had made her think it was coming for her.

Suddenly, a strange chill ran down her spine, and her eyes widened. She could sense someone coming toward the place. But she couldn't tell who it was. No, not Hayate...it couldn't be. Why would he come here? No, it might be Tor...although he usually tried to avoid her, rather than head right for her. Looking around, she went behind the statue, crouching down, one hand on Lofn's hilt. Whoever it was, they were coming closer to the front door.

She frowns, distrusting. "My name is Andy Thanthala." It's said in such a manner that it should carry some significance. Obviously, she expected Ekail to know of her. "Many more know me as the Queen of Thieves."

Dropping the hood, but allowing the upper-face mask to remain, Andy's auburn hair tumbles out. Shoulder length, and covered in a visible layer of filth, it lazily curls around her shoulders. Andy's hazel eyes appear haunted, shadowed, but defiant. Numerous scars, scabs, and sores litter her otherwise fair complexion. With a small nose and full lips, she could be pretty. Rubbing ruefully at her sore wrists, she looks around.

"Ya know, when I started to figure this place out, I wasn't counting on Mr. High and Mighty out there causing such a lovely distraction. And yet, you still managed to catch me red handed. How did you know I was there?" She seems rather peeved.

Ekail tapped his finger on the windowsill slightly, then said "Quite simple. You disturbed the wind as you jumped." and he grinned "One of my lesser skills is wind control." he said, then chuckled. He tapped the pole against the wall, then said "Miller." to which the Butler promptly bowed. "I want you to get your gloves and greet our guest when he gets here. Make sure that if he does get past you, he's not too tired. I wanna have fun too, yaknow." to which the butler chuckled. Ekail heard the man begin the walk to the butler's quarters, then said "Well, Miss Andy. If you want a show, I suggest you join me at the window. Miller is known for his dramatic performances."

Miller sighed slightly, glancing into his mirror. Oh how long since he'd last had to fight. He tightened his gloves slightly, carefuly not to touch the rings on each finger. He made sure his glasses wern't going to fall off, then exited his room and shut the door with a tap. He went down the stairs calmly, both hands behind his back. He passed the statue, raising an eyebrow at the presense there. Another theif? Regardless, they felt different from the being moving towards the Mansion. Miller shook his head and said "Two hundred years of no visitors and now we're a tourist attraction." before stepping infront of the door. The doors creaked open by themselves, although a strong gust of wind was felt, flowing from the inside of the door. The doors remained open as Miller stepped out of them, then walked forward infront of the gate. He stood a few feet from it, waiting patiently.

The Messenger finally waded to the shore and spent a couple of minutes trying out his feathered wing, flexing it in the sunlight and just smoothing it down. When finally satisfied, he started the trek towards the middle of the island, about... 7 miles by his reckoning. It looked like there was a large building there, and he would quite like to have a talk with the owner, regarding a small army of demons and a hydra.

A few minutes later, at the halfway mark, his rambling and moderately insane train of thought was abuptly de-railed by an oddly familiar grinding noise of bone on bone. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, while trying very hard to to lose it completely.

"Why? for the love of all that's good and unholy, Why? What'd I ever do? It was just an interesting bridge! That's it. That's IT. Bugger thisfor a lark"

To be fair, the undead were one of the things that peeved the Messenger more than most, they hit a little too close to home. Still, while skeletons were faster than zombies, they weren't as fast as him. He crouched down, wings unfolding to their full extent. He hadn't flown in quite some time, and would be the first to admit that his mis-matched wings were hardly aerodynamic but for a magical being like himself, these were hardly things to be concerned about.
The air seemed to distort around his wings for an instant before he seemed to disappear with a sky shattering boom, the air filling with flying bones as the shockwave pulverised the skeletons. Ahead, the mansion grew at an alarming rate, and he barely registered the figure that was standing in the porch until there was a slight flicker to his left. He twitched a wing, hurling himself vertically upwards, monofilament wire scything through the space where he'd been an instant before. He flicked a wing out, flipping him over and down to land behind a tree a good mile or so from the mansion, on the opposite side from his approach.
Were he in a better mood, or anyone else, he'd probably consider leaving at this point. However, the simple fact that whoever was in the mansion had all this outside was enough to pique his curiosity.

"The dark is generous and the dark is patient... hm."

A few moments later, and notably limping, he began the now significantly shorter trek back towards the mansion, sword sheathed and tapping off his shoulder once more.

Ekail directed Andy to yet another window, still trying to grasp how anyone could move that fast, let alone dodge Miller.

Miller watched with seemingly nonchalantness as his wire missed, and smirked. "Quite a fast fellow." he said, then turned to the mansion. With a quick 'snap', he had leapt from the ground at a quick speed and landed on the roof of the three story building, humming slighlty. He stepped over the roof, seemingly sticking to it with glue as he navigated the points and slides. He stood at the back edge for a moment, his eyes fixed on the 'guest'. With a soft flap, he had jumped off the roof and ontop of the fence, his shirt now untucked by the wind. He kept his eyes locked on the man, his fingers flexing in anticipation.

He quietly lifted his arms, and in a swift twist of his fingers a web of wire spread out infront of him. He pulled his fingers, twisted his wrist in a certain fashion and before you could blink, half of the ground infront of him now had small fissures in it. Miller's arms were placed back behind his back, the long, deadly wire now dangling behind him. "Come come now, good sir. The master doesn't like waiting."

"Ultra-Fine Asordium metal, refined until it was extremely flexible and strong. His own natural magical powers enhance it, making him capable of shredding this mansion in two with a flick of his wrist." Ekail said, a hint of pride in his voice. Miller would have been a splendid fighting partner, and he'd have to inquire about that to the man someday.

Ekail continued to keep his eyes on Miller and the guest, his focus completely on them. On some level, he registered Andy was no longer there and made a mental note to tie her to a pillar at some point and do an inventory of all his possessions. That thought faded as he watched Miller casually flick a finger, and the tree that slid into thousands of tiny logs nearby from the action. Ekail chuckled once more, wondering how this little fight would go..

How long had it been since he'd felt so many souls?
Too long
No, long enough
Hundreds of years

Now, his prison was attracting so many guests..And he assumed the warden was busy entertaining them all. He opened his eyes for the first time in years, to take in his surroundings. The entire room was the color of blood, though that made sense as it was made of it. He stepped forward, then sighed as the thousands of chains shackling him to the wall prevented him. He stepped back against the wall, and sighed once more. He'd have to wait..Have to wait a little longer. Surely someone would stumble upon his tomb, and he'd manipulate them into being his revival..

Varina's eyes narrowed as she listened intently to the sounds outside. She had heard a man pass close by just minutes ago; fortunately, he had left her alone to continue outside. The man hadn't been who she had sensed before, however. No, the one she had sensed had come much closer to the mansion - and in fact, moved with incredible speed.

Now she debated whether to go outside. The man who had passed her was undoubtedly still out there now. And somehow, she got the feeling that she shouldn't cross him. Not that she hadn't had her share of bad fights, but somehow this one seemed...off. She just couldn't place how.

Thus, her curiosity flew off the charts.

Looking around, Varina slowly rose to her feet. Gazing up once more at the angel, she passed it as she went to the front door. Very carefully, she opened it and stepped outside.

"Cha-Ching." Andy pauses in the current room under seige, what appeared to be a parlor of sorts. Yanking open an endtable's drawer, she spies the tell-tale shimmer of gold. Lifting it up, she grins at the golden key that was as long as her middle finger. Encrusted in the key were a couple of precious stones, emeralds and topaz from the looks of it. She whistles softly, placing it into her pocket instead of one of the now-three bulging sacks. Further investigation reveals an enchanted ring (carefully placed alongside the key), and a pearl-and-onyx necklace.

"How you feeling, Miss Andy? I'm feeling good, no, I'm feeling REAL good." She thinks to herself, clasping the necklace around her neck and acting like a "pretty lady" for a short while. Spinning around the room in pure joy, the theif laughs merrily in her luck. The way things were going now, she could become a pretty lady, indeed. Andy laughs again, loud and rich.

Ekail chuckled deeply, then shook his head in amusement. "You think trouble finds you? I've had my arms sliced off, my legs blown off by fireballs, my entire body blown into bite sized pieces and I've had the lovely experiance of being burned from the inside out." he said, then lifted his hand to toy with her hair again. His eyes never seemed to leave hers for a second, until he closed them for a moment and leaned in for another grazed kiss.

"Well, I don't suppose it would kill you, eiather." he said with a grin, then pulled off of her. With a twist of his wrist, he had let go of her hair and it fell perfectly back into place on her head. "So now that you've decided to stay, would you like a tour or simply to remain here on this floor?" he said, another grin on his face.


The second Andy placed the key in her pocket, he felt it. Someone had found the key to his binds, the key to his freedom. He jolted from his daze, suddenly more alert then ever. "My keeeey.." he nearly hissed, his voice going into a whisper. "She has my keey.." he muttered, then closed his eyes. His last bit of magical energy, hidden from these damned power sucking chains. He'd use it. It was a one in a trillion shot, but he'd use it.

The door to the room Andy was in suddenly opened, and outside it was..Nothing? No. Sitting in the doorway, was a fist sized ruby. Slowly, a small trail of them seemed to fade in from air, leading directly to the third floor library..

Varina took great care as she made her way along the wall of the mansion - she had no idea where either of her quarry had gone, and she was not eager to be spotted before she found them. She knew without seeing them that they were dangerous, and although she was curious, this made her edgy as well. The area around the mansion was very open, and although she could always leave via portal, there was the matter of actually having the time to open one if she was in danger.

What bothered her most, however, was who the first stranger was. Although a small part of her thought it was Hayate...no, no it couldn't be. True, she had sort of wished to meet him for a long time now. But at the same time....how would he react if and when he saw her? This power felt somewhat like Tor's, but unlike it.

Varina...they're near! Lofn whispered harshly. Varina stopped just before the corner of the mansion, and carefully peered around it. She saw the figure of a man standing on the fence, waiting for something...or someone?

Don't move, Alf said. He is close.

The Messenger noted the fissues decorating the ground around the fence-dancer, and positions himself at what he deemed to be a safe distance (about twice as far), before talking to Miller, sheathed sword still tapping on his shoulder.

"The Master?" He looked around in mock surprise, with little smile on his face. "You mean this wasn't an amusement park?
I suppose your master and myself should have a chat then..."

Varina's eyes widened as she spotted the winged figure beyond the man called Miller. "It's him," she whispered. "It's Hayate..." That part of her that had wished to see him now willed her to go out there, to get a closer look, to call his name.

But she knew he wasn't the same man that he had been long ago, just as she was no longer the same woman. In turn, as far as she knew, he had no idea that she even existed now. He believed that Elissa was dead. Tor would not have told him of what he had done; if he had, he wouldn't be alive. If Hayate knew that she had been ripped from that time, and made to remain alive, who knew what he would do?

What will you do, Varina? Lofn asked. Varina nibbled at her lip.

"Nothing, now," she replied softly. "We will wait and see how this plays out first."

Do you intend to wait until Hayate tires himelf out, in the event he might wish to kill you? Alf asked. Varina shook her head.

"If he is anything like me and Tor...he won't be tired out easily. Even by this man."

Andy lets out an excited whoop. Greed was her strength, not suspicion as to why there was suddenly a ruby in the door. Running along, she lifts it and studies it with a semi-trained eye, laughing joyfully. Scooping them all as she goes, it is in a surprisingly short amount of time before she is throwing the door to the library open.

"...Shit." She spins on her heel, racing up the slope, but eventually sliding back down. The loom of treasure kept her from trying again. "Guess I'm not going back that way." Nervously, cautiously, using all of her stealth and skills, the Queen of Thieves begins down the tunnel.

"I.. see.", she plainly said as she thought of her own experiences. She lifted her arm and looked under the edge of her gauntlet, smoothing her hand down to move the black glove that was beneath it a bit and shook her head before glancing up at Ekail. She wasn't sure how to behave at all. In situations like this, she was usually the one toying with someone to get whatever she willed. If he had been any other man, she would have already tried to either kill him, or even seduce him to give him false hopes of something more until she got what she willed. Ekail was different. This bothered her deeply. She even felt moments where she nearly smiled, but just could not. It had been too long since she had smiled... at least a smile of pleasure, only mania.

Then it happened, a faint sensation ran through her that sparked her attention.

Ariana began to look around confused, her visage changing completely as her emerald eyes narrowed. Suddenly they glazed over in a blue tone as a natural inborn spell began to take over. This spell allowed her to pick up on magical tendencies nearby, and if in the same area or room, she could see their aura if she tried. Something about this magic grabbed her attention, because normally she could turn the spell on and off as she willed. She had picked up on a strange magic, an inhuman magic. It was faint, almost dead it seemed. There wasn't much life in the sorcery that she felt.

She shut her eyes and began to think before opening them again, her attention not even on Ekail any longer. She glanced around the room, her eyes not picking up on any magical aura so she let her eyes finally fade back to their original color. She had hoped Ekail hadn't seen. She wouldn't know how to explain it. She couldn't let him know she was an enchantress, he'd have the upper hand. That could not be allowed. She let out a slow breath and brought her gaze up to meet Ekail's eyes. She did not say a word.

Andy gapes and stays where she is. "...What's in it for me?" Her intent is obvious. She wants the gold that is gleaming oh-so-wonderfully.

He chuckled to himself in his mind. This girl knew what she wanted. "You can..take it all..I can even..make..more...." he coughed out, obviously pained with each word. "I..created..those..rubies.." he mumbled. "Take the key you found..Press it to the chains..." he said slowly, before closing his eyes and sighing, exhaustion starting to overtake him. If she didn't help him soon, he'd probably die quite quickly.

If Ekail did notice, he didn't say a word. He had actually caught a split second glimpse, but decided not to adress the issue. There would be time for secrets and explanations later. More importantly, he decided, was getting to know her. "I live a wild life." he said, then sighed. "Or used to." with a hint of disdain. His smile dipped into a frown, before he shrugged and softly took her hand in his. He was smiling softly, his eyes glued to hers again. "You know, you're quite beutiful." he said, then smirked again. He let go of her hand, instead putting a hand on her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb. "It's actually been quite some time since I've seen a woman are good looking as you. Much less had them in my room." he said, his smirk growing somehow. He let go of her face, then walked over and sat down on his bed.

He sat down on the blanket, which somehow didn't seem disturbed in the least by his movement. The entire bedset was black, and matched his clothes nicely. He leaned back, paying his head on a small, square pillow that was laying there. "Well, Ariana. If you want, you can look around yourself, too. Just don't go outside. Miller is likely to chop you into pieces if you do."

"You made them? Than are they worth anything?" She takes a moment to look at them, then notices his failing life. "...Ok, fine. But you've got to swear you won't kill me aftewards."

Ekail nodded, sitting up slowly. He'd seen her go over to his basin, but he wrote it off as her looking at it, maybe making sure it was blood? He didn't really know, nor care. He shrugged and said "Well, that leaves tour, which is boring, or chatting. Which works." he said with a chuckle. He felt relaxed in her presense, somehow. Maybe he'd actually found someone he could be with..But he didn't quite know yet. And he didn't feel like using the word 'love' until he was sure she was sure. He stared at her face for a moment, the gave a halfhearted shrug and dropped back down onto the pillow.

He groaned softly in the darkness, his patience wearing. So close.."I swear..I won't hurt you at all..Just..Let me down..I need to move..I need my strength.." he gasped, his life fading quickly. Each word was like a slice off some invisable timer, and his body seemed to be graying before Andys eyes..

"Well...okay." With newfound confidence, she assuredly moves to the chains and touches the key to them. She doesn't take her time, rather quickly tapping each, than moving away, torn between watching to see what happens next and doing a head-long dive into the piles of wealth.

"Why were you up there?" She asks, half interested, walking over to the gold pile and falling to her knees, lifting up two big handfuls and letting it run through her fingers. Tears of joy begin to slip down her grim-encrusted cheecks. All of the years, living on the street. All of the years, wasting away under the tortorous eyes of some warden, of building herself a reputation and watching her bounty rise higher and higher. It had all, finally, paid off. Pulling up a gold tiara, she places it on her head. "Truly, truly now, I am the Queen."

Ekail's arm twitched on the bed, and then shot up to gently grasp hers. He pulled her down onto the bed next to him, a grin on his face. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked, his voice playful and full of humor. He pulled her hand to his mouth, kissing it softly and then trailed kisses up past her wris to her elbow, then let go and put his hands behind his head, propping himself up further. She had been staring, so he now started back. His eyes scanned over her in what could only be described as a wave of motion, taking in the most minute details. The color of her skin, the strak in her hair, her clothes. Even the way her hair seemed to cling to her face in certian areas. All made her look even more beutiful to him. He muttered under his breath, then looked back up into her eyes.

He sighed softly, adjusting on the ground and rolling over onto his back. The floor of this place was not as comfortable as he'd thought, but his strength WAS returning. Slowly, he lifted his hand and one of the gold coins near him began to twist and bend, until it formed a golden cane which he grabbed. He began to push himself up, his robe making him look like some sort of hospital patient. He staggered to full height, which was about six two. He looked over at Andy, his red eyes once more drilling out of the darkness. "He locked me in here almost two hundred years ago..I hadn't done anything." he said, a whimper in his voice. "..Who are you? I didn't think fa- Ekail would let people touch his treasures.." he asked, suddenly cutting his tongue. Ekail wasn't that any longer, oh no.

"...My name's Andy. He didn't exactly...let...me in. But he didn't stop me, either." That much was true, at least. "And I'm not touching, I'm stealing." He swore he wouldn't kill her. The worst he would do now is get some sort of police, and Andy highly doubted that. "Two hundred years, eh? You sure bout that?"

"Seems like a thousand. I've been hanging on that wall, no sleep, no food and no water. Nothing but the silence and the flickering lights to keep me alive. You figure out ways to chalk up the years." he said, his voice soft and dark. There was a giggle in it, the voice of a person who wasn't all there in the head. He seemed on the edge of breaking into a cackle all the time. He began to move slowly, as if testing his ability to do so. His mane of hair dragged on the floor behind him, resembling a frayed and tattered cape. He stopped shortly, and sat down on one of the mountains of gold. "My name is Jakail, Andy." he said, then closed his eyes.

Ekail grinned slightly, letting his hand grasp hers tightly and pulled her down again over him. He navigated her head over his, then drew her down into a rather fierce kiss. His other arm went around her shoulders tightly, drawing her into it more. It lasted for a few seconds, before Ekail pulled her back away and leaned upward, letting his hair dangle in the air. He pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her head against his shoulder gently. "It's been a long time since I've felt this, you know..This..Happiness? Pleasure? It's been ages. But it comes so naturally now.." he said, kissing the side of her head. "With you, anyway.." he added.

"Pleased, I'm sure. And you're sitting on my gold." She feels a twinge of doubt. "It is mine, right? And you're not going to lock me up in here in your place?"

She gets a sudden flashback, to this last prison cell she had the honor of being in. A seemingly inescapable metal box, with nothing but a door. She remembers feeling like it was the last place she'd ever be, the last she'd ever see before dying. And then she had gotten a stroke of luck when the drunk warden hadn't locked her in all the way. From that minor slip-up, she had made her way free. Someway, Andy knew that if she was locked in here, there would be no escape until some unlucky soul brought along a key.

Ekail's mouth twitched slightly as she put her arms on him, a tingle spreading over him as he felt her hands. He lifted his arms from her and instead grabbed her hands tightly, pulling them closer to him. She made him feel..Alive. Happy. Playful. Emotions he'd checked off a while ago as counterproductive. Now he was feeling them all in a way he'd only had the pleasure of experiancing once. He pulled her into a quick kiss, then smirked at her, their faces not even an inch apart.

"I think I'm falling for you, Ariana." he said simply. His mouth twitched into a grin, then he leaned in for a deeper kiss. He wanted suddenly to be with her. It wasn't a sort of passive 'I love you' notion, it was a 'I will have you' type emotion. He didn't care now if he had to use those vampiric charming spells he knew, he would have her one way or another. No person could ignite this within him and walk away, oh no. His train of thought crashed as he pulled Ariana and himself further onto the bed, so his legs were no longer hanging off and broke the kiss, grinning at her.

"The magic that holds those chains togather is gone. The key is useless now, nothing more then a guady trinket and I don't have the energy to stand, let alone force you against a wall, lift five hundred pound chains and bind them to your soul." Jakail said simply. "And yes, it's your gold. Go spend it on a castle. A mansion. Hell, go buy a town. I don't care.." he mumbled, his eyes drooping. He leaned back against the pile, sighing. "I don't need money anyway. I can create whatever I could possibly want or need." he said. As if to make his point, he lifted one of his hands and chains hanging against the wall suddenly began to bend and shift, shortening and spinning until they turned into..Clothes? The chains had been completely changed, now hanging on the wall was several items of clothing, including shoes. Jakail pushed himself up, and walked over to them. Not really caring about Andy at the moment, he began to get dressed, throwing the tattered robe as far as his weak arms could.

She watches him silently, remembering times that she had been in a similar state of weakness. Walking over to him, she wordlessly aids him to dress, her heart full of sympathy. "I've been where you are, in ways. I know your pain...at least parts of it." She thinks. Andy didn't see any reason to say anything. It was obvious that she's been where he is, or something close enough to it. Smiling softly, she gives him an awkward pat on the shoulder. "There's nothing quite like being free, is there?"

"Better I leave sooner than later. Besides...I've collected enough here to more than ten times fund that expedition at Icebreak." She grins, laughs, and starts the rather long process of making the massive amounts of gold moveable. After a while, a dozen or so well secured packages lean against the wall. Andy sighs and cracks her neck. "I suppose that'll do. I wish I could get the loot back upstairs, though."

Ah, greed. Andy finds, to her surpreme joy, that the staircase had come back. She makes her way up the stairs. In no particular rush, the theif begins to poke around the library. On a small table by a stack of books is a pipe. Shrugging, she picks it up to add to her collection.