The cave was small, but cozy. A gleaming fire burned in the center of its confinement, stoked and maintained by the careful addition of wood that only an expert would understand.
The man sitting at the edge of the flames was called Adrix. He made his living as a traveling merchant who traveled alone to bring all sorts of wares to small villages.
At least that's what he wanted people to think. He had only been called Adrix for three weeks now as he plodded along in his horse drawn wagon along the plains and edge of the forest in a meandering, but purposeful direction.
There had been stops along the way, of course. Small villages where he sold cookingware,farm tools and the like. He had even encountered a small troop of goblins who challenged him a few days earlier. They had required him to use his blade, which subtlety angered him because its hungry edge was meant for human flesh, not idiotic beasts. Adrix, after confirming he was not being watched by magical means, had destroyed the goblins in seconds. He smirked at the thought of a simple merchant with so much combat prowess.
The fire cackled as if agreeing with his musing. Adrix held his hand up towards the flames and examined it in the warm glow. He smiled as he recalled how many lives it had taken. Adrix was not his true name but the title given to him by his governing body made it sound quite nice. He chuckled that maybe once this mission was over he could maybe keep the name... Adrix the Pathfinder. It had a nice ring to it.
Pathfinder was a title given to the best ranger in his home city's underground organization. He had held the title for more than five years and not for a lack of competition. He himself had assassinated nearly a dozen members of his squad who openly sought his position. Combined with his regular duties, it amounted to a lot of killing.
What made the man called Adrix perfect for such a role was his skill in stealth, subterfuge and assassination. None could surpass him in these three qualities and, though it would never be known, he had been instrumental in several royal deaths and coup d'etat in his country of origin. These missions were jewels in his crown of a very fruitful career.
Reminiscing was a pleasantry Adrix rarely indulged in, so he put his thoughts aside and focused on his current task. It was troublesome, as it was a lengthy mission and it was purely espionage as opposed to the more bloody tasks he enjoyed. However, the pay was more than worth these annoyances and recently acquired... hobbies had begun to dig into his personal coffers.
Carne Village. That was his next stop. He would reach the little village in a day. This seemingly insignificant town had apparently been touched by the devil's magic and absurd changes had come in a very short period of time. Combined with news that dark magic had begun to permeate from the adjacent forest, his government could not resist investigating, even if it meant sending a valuable operative.
His horse whined outside and brought his thoughts back to reality. The dumb thing was just an average convoy animal, assigned to him to aid in his ruse. As a high level ranger with points in animal taming, he could basically control the thing with his mind. He yelled at it to shut up and it started to graze, though it looked visibly nervous, if a horse could express that emotion. Behind the horse was a thick blanket of darkness. He knew, thanks to his tinted glasses with dark vision, that there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The moon was only a sliver tonight so any unprepared man without magic at his aid would be essentially blind.
The horse whined again, this time louder. This was very unexpected because a high level ranger had given a direct order only a moment prior. The steed also began to grow restless and bucked, as if trying to throw off an invisible rider. Adrix was angry now and he reached for the concealed blade behind his waist despite still sitting.
He shouted, employing his strongest taming skill, "Shut up and don't move, you stupid animal". The horse ignored him and galloped away at full speed, as if compelled by some god given command.
He was a ranger, and a good one at that. Even a horse could not outrun him in these plains with scattered trees. Knowing this, he smiled as he imagined his blade teaching the fowl a lesson.
"I'll teach you obedience..." he mumbled as he stood up. A spiteful smile bloomed on his handsome face.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder, from the back of the cave. Impossible. The small cave was a dead end. On top of that, he had cast warding magic and his ranger skills had greatly enhanced his vision and hearing. He turned slowly, his hand just an inch from grasping the concealed dagger behind his back.
She had appeared as if out of thin air.
Her copper skin seemed to shine in the firelight. Her pupils were an illustrious yellow, no... They looked like molten gold as they reflected the fire. Beautiful red hair in two long braids flowed down and draped over her black and white outfit which could only be described as something a maid would wear. Her maid dress parted just enough for her to see a slender and perfectly shaped thigh. She had a stylish hat that Adrix had never seen before and on her back was some sort of metal contraption. It looked like she wore a bear trap as a backpack.
All together, she was beautiful. The most beautiful woman Adrix had ever seen. His wife was certainly a head turner but this exotic woman with the golden eyes was on a whole other level.
They stared at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity. A lifetime of combat training had not prepared him for this. After all, Adrix was the one who surprised people with such tactics, but now he was the victim of this comical situation.
What concerned him the most was not her appearance, but the fact that her stance and demeanor had no malice at all. He could sense no killing intent in the slightest and her facial features gave a sense of curiosity more than hostility. Her hand was still resting lightly on his shoulder and her graceful arms looked like he could snap them like twigs. How had she gotten here? There was no evidence of magic about her. If she was here to end his life as he had done to so many others, why not strike from whatever form of invisibility she had used to get past his perception?
Finally, she lowered her hand and took a step back, the corners of her mouth starting to form a smile. Adrix was in awe at her beauty, but he knew that no one, beautiful woman or otherwise, would seek him out for a benign reason. He was not known for his head on fighting, but he could certainly defeat orichalcum level adventurers in open combat. He would slice her throat in an instance.
An instance was not fast enough. As if sensing the most minute movement of his hand, she lunged forward, but not in the conventional sense. Classical swordplay would have called such a move a thrust, but she held no sword. Rather, her face led the charge. Her entire body sprang forward and she leaned in, face first. Her face came within half an inch of his. One moment he was staring at a gold eyed beauty with the intent of killing her and the next all he could see was the molten gold of her pupils.
He fell backwards. How could he not? The woman's move was so startling that his hand had forgotten its target and he slammed onto the floor of the cave, barely catching himself on his elbow.
He yelped in a way that probably sounded like a dog when it was kicked. He immediately scrambled backwards, his mind only registering that he was in danger. He managed to go a meter or so until his back hit the wall of the cave.
The woman had not moved from her face thrust stance and as Adrix looked up at her, he saw her smile. It was not the same smile that had been tugging at the corners of her mouth before. No, this was different. Her mouth was stretched wide. Too wide. Almost reaching her ears. It was the most sinister thing Adrix had ever seen. Her eyes, previously molten gold, were now a flat yellow several shades darker. The curves of her immaculate body were pronounced by the fire's illumination. Like a statue coming to life, she began to advance towards him and finally she leaned over until they were face to face, though not as uncomfortably close as before.
"We're going to have fun."
Her voice was soft but heavy like honey. All the while, she maintained that wicked smile that stretched from ear to each, shaped like an elf's hunting bow.
He managed to slowly divert his eyes from her petrifying gaze and found himself looking at her chest. The way she was leaning over greatly accentuated the curves of her perfect breasts and left little to the imagination.
She seemed to have noticed his new fascination and said slowly "Do you want it that badly? I do like pleasure but only if paid equally in pain."
That did it. Weeks of sexual frustration for this operation were bearable when he was only surrounded by dirty village girls. Compared to his wife at home, they were dirt and she was his jewel. If he was using the same line of comparison, this woman was like the famed Dragonstone of the Old Legends.
Adrix was handsome. There was no denying that. He had a fighter's body and a sharp face with eyebrows he had been told no woman could resist. The love of his life who would eventually become his wife was equally blessed in similar ways. They had married five years ago, just after he took the title of Pathfinder. Together, they quickly got to producing their first child, who was three years old now. To any outside eyes, their family was perfect: A beautiful wife and a gorgeous son for a handsome and rich businessman (another fallacy of course).
Things had fallen apart fairly quickly. Trouble in paradise, one could call it. His pride and love of his job meant Adrix was rarely home. His wife was from a wealthy family and she had been raised with shelter and care that would make some royalty envious. For Adrix, this meant their romantic time was too dull as his partner was too inexperienced and naive.
With his job and new title of Pathfinder, it was not a stretch to a say that violence was a part of him. He lived violence. It quickly became apparent that he needed violence in his love too. The nights with his wife were not enough to quench this thirst and so he began to turn to high end specialty brothels that could serve his love of violence. Of course, not a soul except for the workers knew of his participation there.
He had guilt, as a father and husband should. But those feelings disappeared when the brothel workers would crack their whip or cover his mouth. The brothel workers knew what worked him up and they enjoyed it too. They knew he got pleasure from his pleasure and with violence and pain to start the fire, the blaze of gratification would continue. The sadistic smiles they always held were an expression of that cycle of mutual enjoyment. The same sadistic smile was now splayed across this mysterious red haired vixen's perfect face.
"Well then... I take your look as a yes. Then let me ask you this, do you accept the Vanta Key, Arcus Mesa?"
Those words should have instilled fear, but the heat quickly gathering in his groin dispelled any of Adrix- no, Arcus' disbelief. He should have asked what a 'Vanta' key was and he should have asked how she knew his real name, which was a closely guarded state secret. He asked neither of these things because he could feel his ears growing warm and his groin becoming an inferno. He hadn't spoken a word since she had appeared but now he did so without hesitation.
"Yes, punish me."