Darkness. That's all that Sarin ever saw anymore. She was sickened by its pure and constant blandness, and she choked at its thickness. Darkness and pain were her life, clutching her and holding her down, suffocating her like the deepest fires of Hell. It hadn't always been like that though. There was once color, and laughter and music. It all seemed like an old photograph now, painted in the back of her mind like a forgotten dream
What brought her into this predicament? Trust. She had trusted the mage, she had trusted Bergandorph, and he betrayed her. He left her there to die in that slave pit of doom, left her to bleed, and burn, until her own tears fell so swiftly that she drowned in them. She constant pain she felt in her heart, had turned her into a cold, unfeeling killer. She would do anything to seek her revenge on the mage. Anything to finally feel again.
That was what this girl had lost. Her soul was gone forever, and the whip
and the blade of betrayal broke her spirit. Sarin had left her home in Luskan
"The City of Sails" when she was sixteen. The mage Bergandorph had
passed through the town and made promises of adventure and glory. At the time,
she hadn't wanted anything else, but as time progressed she realized how wrong
she was. The realization of what
happened, that he would leave her there to die, broke her heart. She was
broken, just like a broken circle.
She may have been broken, but she swore to herself that she wouldn't die. No,
she wouldn't die. Anger coursed though her body and mind. Two years had passed,
for two years she had been led astray. Sarin cursed herself. How could she have
been so foolish? So stupid? She ran her hands through her long black hair. She
winced in pain, as she gingerly touched the side of her head. The last thing
she remembered was this incredible pain from the blow Bergandorph had dealt
her. She silently moved gracefully across the tall grass towards a small town.
She walked in coolly, her hand on the hilt of her sword. She knew she could
flash out her weapon if the need arisen, before the other person even knew what
happened. The town was a little too quiet for her liking, and she felt eyes
upon her. She spun around to find a man with a dagger drawn. She met his gaze
and in a mere breath she pulled her sword Sho-Durah, from its sheath in a
smooth, fluid motion. She drew her weapon directly up, parallel with the
ground. Her tactic confused the man and he lunged trying to gain the upper
hand. She easily moved out of the way and plunged her sword into his back. She
gave it a jerk and the man fell to the ground without a sound. She grabbed his
cloak and wiped the dark blood off of her blade. She turned and left the man.
She gained no satisfaction from killing, but she was determined not to let
anything stand in her way.
Above her, a man watched from a housetop. The gruesome spectacle had amazed him. Cold, he thought to himself, too cold. He jumped down from the low roof and decided to follow the young woman. She continued up the road leaving a trail of death behind her. This piqued the man interest. Who was this woman? He walked into the inn "The Rusty Bucket" just in time to see her disappear up the stairs. The man quietly ascended the stairs; he had just turned down the hallway when he felt a blade at the base of his neck. He slowly turned to face Sarin, his hands a long way from his sword.
"Who are you, and why are you following me? Are you one of Bergandorph spies making sure I'm not still alive?" said.
"I am Aubrey. And I know not of what you speak." he said calmly.
"You lie!" she spat bitterly, tensing her muscles.
"Wait! I beg of you no mercy, for I know none will be given..." he started. Sarin had heard enough and she kicked him hard in the chest. Aubrey lost his breath and his balance and stumbled backward, over a few stairs until he hit the landing with a thud. Sarin hovered over him; she placed her dagger to his neck, teasingly.
"Should you continue to haunt my steps, I'll not hesitate to kill you." she slapped him hard across the face, leaving a stinging red mark. She got up and walked into her room. Once inside, she locked the heavy bolt and paused. 'Why did you spare his life?' she asked herself. He was very handsome, no doubt about that, but that had never stood in her way before. Should she see him again, she would kill him. She walked over and gazed at herself in the cracked mirror on the wall. She sighed, deep and heavy. Sorrow bubbled up within her, and her breath came out in a trembling sob. Tears slowly slipped down her cheeks, until suddenly she stopped. She quickly brushed away her tears and looked into her own eyes. She was only eighteen. She was no longer innocent, she had spilled much blood without remorse, and although she didn't regret her murders, she would give anything to have prevented herself from leaving Luskan.
Aubrey didn't know what it was that kept him from leaving the inn that night. Aubrey hadn't even really spoken to her but he felt compelled to her. She was very beautiful, and extremely deadly. She was strong, not in a physical way although she had the prowess of a warrior. He could sense she was hurting, a deep emotional wound and he wanted nothing more than to help her heal it. Her eyes, dark, deep and cold, burning with a lost innocence and pride, had stared into his and he read the story of her life. There was so much sorrow, and sadness for one person to bear.
Aubrey stayed in the inn all day, until the night fell. Aubrey pulled open the heavy door and lightly descended the stairs. Suspicion lurked everywhere in her mind. She disliked this place. She quietly slipped out of the inn and into the night. Seeking comfort in the shadows, she quickly made her way from the dirty town. She felt someone was watching her, but every time she looked around; there was no one to be seen. 'Be calm, your getting paranoid,' she told her self, 'Well I have a right to be paranoid, there could be spies anywhere.' Not too far behind her, lurked the mysterious Aubrey. Sarin picked up her pace, and it wasn't long until Aubrey had lost sight of her. Sarin had backtracked around and came up behind Aubrey. 'So the hunter becomes the hunted.' she whispered to herself. Taking her dagger from its sheath she quietly moved towards the man, standing confused in the night. In a mere breath she had him on the ground with her dagger at his neck. She felt his heart beat as she held him on the ground, an emotion flickered through her body, a shiver down her spine, and then it was gone, and all she felt was terror and anger and hatred. Almost like she was under a spell, she paused, willing herself the plunge the knife into his heart, but it was as if some force had frozen her in place. Suddenly she felt herself relax her hold, and she rose up. "Get on your feet." she crept into the shadows. Aubrey gazed after her, he walked calmly towards her, and her drew his sword. She heard the mitril blade being drawn and she instinctively drew her own blade. She turned and the sound of their blades colliding rang out into the night. "Leave me alone!" she spat bitterly, "Why must you continue you haunt my steps?" She eyes burned into his, with a fire that he felt even in the cold dark shadows of the night.
"You intrigue me," he started," I wish to make your acquaintance, without the constant possibility of death staring me in the face." She stared at this devastatingly handsome man with disbelief; there was no way he could know how deadly she really was. She was temporarily amused that the man even thought he stood a chance against her. She laughed bitterly at him.
"What makes you think I would not have killed you?" she spat in an icy tone.
"Well, if that was what you were planning to do, you would have done it already." She froze; suddenly bored with this little game, but she could not bring herself to raise her sword against him. "You see, I know who you are. I know where you are from and I know why you are here, all alone in this place." She took a step back
"No, you couldn't possibly..."she said dumbfounded. To be known was to be weakened by the life she left behind in Luskan. "You know nothing of me, and this conversation is wasting my precious time." she turned to leave him
"Your name is Sarin, is it not?" she froze in her steps. She turned around and cried into the shadows,
"What do you want from me?" a bitter anger bubbled inside her as she willed herself to put her sword through his heart.
"You are an incredible fighter. You would be a asset to any caravan. I've come to you now to ask of you your help."
"No, I walk alone, I fight alone." she said, her voice faded into a whisper, "Always..."
"Always?" he questioned. Images flashed back before her eyes. Memories of a time when things were right with the world and she was happy and smiling. She shook the images out of her head. Never would she allow herself to be sucked back into somebody else's scheming plot. She had vowed to herself when she escaped the slave pit of doom, never to make alliances with anyone. Something inside her, told her the man knew more about her then he let on.
"And why should I help you?" she questioned. Lowering her weapon, and replacing it in its sheath at her hip.
"Because I can help you. I know you are nursing a fatal wound to your pride. I don't pretend to know what happened. Maybe with time, trust will form and I will learn more of what happened. In the meantime, I will reveal my story to you. When I was the age of seventeen, a band of thieves and murderers entered my hometown of Waterdeep, and killed my father. Many of my kin say he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but at the time of his murder he was alone in his study, and the study was completely pillaged. None of my fathers friends or family knew what was taken from the study, because none of them knew what my father did when he shelled himself up in the dark room night after night. I salvaged some of his papers and books and set out to find the truth about my father. Here." he passed her a tiny medallion. "I found many of these, but no one seems to know what they are." Sarin took the small token and traced its surface with her thumb. She knew what it was, as soon as she saw the moon light glint across its surface. Sarins eyes met Aubrey's as she returned the piece to him. A deep sigh escaped her, as she closed her eyes and faced the sky.
"What? What is it?" Aubrey asked, moving closer to Sarin. "What purpose do these serve?" he questioned holding up the medallion. Sarin turned and looked at him, slowly, choosing her words carefully.
"They mark." she said flatly. She turned to walk away. Aubrey grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.
"But what do they mark?" he pressed gently.
"They mark the living dead. Those chosen to die, for reasons they themselves may not know." She said quietly, her voice trembling slightly.
"And who decides the fate of the beholders?" he urged.
"The Desbats." she spat bitterly. The ice glazed over her eyes once more.
"And who would they be?" Aubrey said, trying to keep his excitement under control. He had searched for so long, trying to find a thread of connection between the mysterious happenings linking his father to his death, and the cryptic messages found in his study.
"The Desbats...are a group of scheming murderers. Obsessed with power, and glory and riches. They are responsible for the deaths of many powerful beings, wizards and humans alike. They posses some of the most enchanted and powerful weapons and objects in the entirety of the Realms. They will kill anyone to achieve another ounce of glory. They'd sell their souls for more power and nothing will stand in the way of victory. These medallions mark those who are to die, not only do they mark their possessors in the physical world, the evil contained within such a trivial object places a irrepressible mark on their soul. And they will find you. You can run and hide and live your life with a sword at your back, or you can try and fight it, but it makes no difference. They will find you, and kill you. Your father was already dead."
"Then you must help me!" Aubrey pleaded. "Please...I have no one else to turn to. I am completely alone out here; it seems to me you are quite alone as well. We'll traverse afar! Solve the unsolvable, help one another." he stared Sarin directly in the eyes. "I'm begging you for your help."
"Why? Why me? Out of all the creatures in the entirety of the realms!" she cried.
"Because, these things are supposed to be dead on the spot, but you know!" he said holding up and coin. She turned away and started walking towards the south, without another word. Aubrey smiled and continued after her. "You won't regret this!" She suddenly snapped her attention back to Aubrey.
"I haven't agreed to anything. I don't trust you, I don't want to get to know you, and I don't want anything to do with you. However, I won't kill you, just so long as you don't get in my way." Aubrey glanced at her and shook his head in disbelief. Her confidence bordered on cockiness. Sarins mind raced. Why was she allowing this man to follow her? There was something about him, a feeling she got when she looked in his eyes and that he was an honorable young man who meant her no ill intent. She was still weary about trusting another person. They walked in silence, for a long time. Both of them eyeing each other from the corners of their eyes. Neither of them trusted each other, but at the same time, neither of them felt threatened by one another's presence. Aubrey broke the silence, when he asked, " Where are we going anyways?" Sarin looked at him. " Calimport."
"I see...may I inquire as to why?" he questioned.
"Do you want you avenge you father or not?" she asked quietly gazing out over the open plains. His silence answered her question. "Then tru..." she stopped. Aubrey looked at her. "I have business in Calimport, and so do you. If you help me Aubrey...I'll make your fathers death doesn't go unavenged." she extended her hand slowly and cautiously, Aubrey reached out and shook her hand.
Sarin suddenly tensed. Aubrey spun around and instinctively drew his sword. Sarin already had hers both out in the blink of an eye. They both watched in silence as a black shadow moved silently in the distance.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Bergandorph sat in solitude, relishing in the riches placed about him. In the circular room, silk curtains, valences, and fine tapestries draped every wall. Plush and luxurious rugs covered the marble floor. In the center of the room, was a low platform, on which Bergandorph sat, ordained in a fine red silk robe trimmed with gold and jewels. In his hands he cupped a round glass ball. Deep within its core, a light glowed, red, then blue, then misty gray. These colors swirled within the enchanted globe, pulsing, growing. He rang his fingers along its surface. He sighed and chuckled.
" My dear Sarin." he paused, gazing into the depths of the globe." What a pity. It was you who swept me into power, you alone and no one else will ever know," he laughed into the silence, "In all honesty, I do wish these was another way. You were such a good Desbat. But no matter..." he pulled his eyes away from the globe and placed it back in the eagle claw holder. He turned and opened the door directly across from him with his mind. Just about to knock was his informant Kizal. Kizal paused temporarily surprised.
"Yes? What is it?" Bergandorph snapped aggravated by his bumbling assistant.
"Uh...y-y-y you see your excellence...some of the uh…. Desbats think it was not smart leaving Sarin alone in the uh...Wild alone, sir" he sputtered awkwardly.
"What? You dare to question the motives of me, Bergandorph? I can assure you she is quite disposed of..."
"But sir, she is a master of deceit...what if she was only..." he continued more boldly.
"Only what?!" Bergandorph bellowed. He grabbed his servant by the neck and lifted him from the ground." Are you implying that I, master and Chief of the Mighty Desbats, need to be reminded of the past events that I have overseen personally?" he threw the pitiful man to the ground, who cowered in a trembling ball of fear. This disgusted the mage to no end, and he pulled the man to his feet. " I have weighed every decision I have ever made since I was first declared a mage! I have never made a mistake, ever, in the history of my life, and I will not have a sniveling little bastard question my authority." With that the mage drew his dagger slowly, "You forget your place." plunging the dagger into his heart. Bergandorph didn't even bother to pull the dagger from Kizals body, he let Kizal drop to the floor and spat on him. He turned, smoothing back his hair and recomposing himself. He turned and walked out into the grand hallway. He bowed his head to the guard to bowed low to the floor.
"Clean it up." he said pointing to his mediation room, and he turned and continued the stride down the hall.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Arrows shot from the strange shapes. Sarin, crouched low to the ground, kept her eyes on her target. The dark figure loomed about fifty feet away waiting to make her move. Suddenly she saw Aubrey launching an attack and she hesitated, angered that her perfect shot was stolen from her. Quickly she moved into place, stalking silently. A beam of blinding white light shattered the darkness, illuminating their foes, and temporarily blinding them. There were only two of them, dressed in green, the opposing party, were clearly human. Sarin stared in awe at her companion confused as to where the light was coming from. She remembered the task at hand and rushed in to join Aubrey. Aubrey was battling fiercely with his opponent. His blades flashed relentlessly, the sound on steel on steel ringing out into the night. The man tried to go to the right, and Aubrey faster than he, nicked his sword arm viciously. Sarin, more quiet and passionless, kept up behind the other man, crouching like a coward, shying away from the circle of white light, terrified. Sarin, sprung like a cat, stabbing the man through the lung. He died without making a sound. She watched Aubrey fight the man fairly, realizing how different they both were. She chose to remain in the shadows, watching.
Aubrey's breath came out in short puffs and he found a rhythm as frantic as his pace. The man snarled, sword poking and managing a slight hit as he drove Aubrey back and around. Aubrey's swords twirled and flashed, blocking the mans every attack. In a sudden turn of events, Aubrey gained the upper hand, panic was obvious in the man eyes, and it turned to rage as Aubrey's sword found another hit. Sarin watching from the shadows became bored; she reached into her pocket and pulled out her throwing daggers. Walking directly up to the fight she grabbed the mans hair and pulled him backwards exposing his neck.
"Kill him!" she ordered Aubrey. Aubrey looked at her in disbelief. He stared into her eyes, burning with hatred. She spat in disgust and plunged her knife into the mans neck. He dropped to the ground. Sarin spun on her heel and walked away. Aubrey, still shocked followed her, without a sound.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Bergandorph paced back and forth. Quietly he contemplated the fact that Kizal may have been right. He argued with himself in his magical mirror.
"There is no possible way that Sarin is alive!" He spat.
"Well how sure are you that she was actually dead?" responded his reflection in the mirror."
"I don't make mistakes. I have…"
"Never made a mistake." The reflection finished."
"Well I never have!" he bellowed. His reflection smiled.
"So…what do we plan to do about this little problem?" Bergandorph stared deep into his own reflection. He spun around quickly, rushing from the room and into the dining hall. His presence silenced the motley crew.
"I shall be requiring the help of a small party…two or three shall do it…to go out into the plains and find Sarin. It seems to be that there is a small chance she may still be alive. Any volunteers?" A man quickly arose to his feet and walked up to the mage with confidence. The very mention of the girl's name thrilled him. Could she really be alive? He smiled to himself. Bergandorph sized up the young man. He was handsome, tall. He had long blonde hair, barely reaching his shoulders, light blue eyes dancing with life. Bergandorph knew this boys reputation as a human bloodhound, skilled in the ways tracking.
"All right Beacan." spoke Bergandorph. "Who is to accompany you?"
"Kaie and Taegan." He said without emotion. Kaie and Taegan stood and shuffled to where the great mage stood. Bergandorph left and motioned them to follow. The mage led them down a dark and twisting corridor. Suddenly halting at the huge door, the mage said a few words in a language neither of the thieves understood. Inside the room was a grand display of armor and swords. The three stared in awe around the room.
"Choose." Bergandorph said with great authority. The small band of thieves chose the best armor and the strongest swords. " When you find her, kill her." Bergandorph said with a twisted smile, and with that, he left them.
"Can it really be true?" Kaie sputtered excitedly. "Can she still be alive?"
"We can hope…it seems to me, Bergandorphs awfully confident that she is alive." Beacan said with a smile. " Otherwise, he wouldn't have organized a search party." He winked at Taegan, who smiled in return.
"So what do we do when we find her?" Taegan questioned.
'We bring her home." said Beacan while fastening his belt. "After all, that's what we were hired to do."
"But what about Bergandorph?" Kaie asked.
"Our loyalties do not lie with Bergandorph, they lie with her parents. We have our duties." Beacan snapped at his sister."
"Don't preach to me about duties damn it, I know where my loyalties lie." The harshness of her tone told Beacan he misunderstood her.
"Bergandorph will kill us. He will hunt us…you know first hand his capabilities. When we entered the Desbats, we left our freedom at the door, you know that as well as I do."
"Then we will have to be very careful won't we?" Beacan said. "Bergandorph is powerful…too powerful in fact. He knows we know that. Therefore, he will assume that we fear him, and would not cross him." He smiled as he made for the door. Kaie smiled at her brother's logic, it made sense. That is what kept the Desbats from killing one another, their fear the great wizard. Taegan placed a strong hand on her shoulder and winked as he walked past. She still felt uneasy as he followed the two men out into the grand hallway. Outside, they found mounts, one for each of them, along with a pack of items that they might find useful along the way. In complete silence, they rode off into the horizon, looking for the fallen warrior.