Apologies in advance for the shortness of the piece. I wanted to write more but felt like here was a good place to stop.

Review whenever possible, favorite & follow if you please.

Thanks.

TGU: I

It was night and moonlight shown over the waters of a yet unnamed ocean. A single figure rose from the seawater, a red glint in his visor and a muted glimmer shining off of his black wetsuit. He looked into his HUD provided by a small screen projected over his right eye.

All clear on this front.

He moved forward and unclipped his silenced pistol, raising it to check the sights. He glanced at his HUD once more to check for life signs nearby. Seeing none he continued on his way. He moved with measured slowness and a crouched gait, the only signal of his passing being the footprints he left in the pearly white sand.

A set of brown rocky cliffs rose a few yards from shore, with dots of hardy green shrubs scattered across the rock face. He could smell the salt in the air from the sea and feel a cool breeze waft in from the shore. A beautiful day for one to die, he thought.

He followed the sea for a while, following the onscreen instructions given to him from the HUD. After a short time he came to a cave in the rocky wall, the destination he had been hoping to arrive.

This is the place, he thought.

Before ducking in he glanced at his surroundings one last time, the swishing sea, the clouds above blocking the moonlight expertly. It couldn't be a better for stealth.

At that moment the clouds shifted and a sliver of moonlight shone on his face, revealing dark gray skin and short stubby orange horns.

Vantas flicked a switch on his HUD to enable his low-light vision before ducking into the cave, an eager smile on his face and adrenaline beginning to pump through his veins.

The night was young and the sky was overcast, horrible conditions for the planned hours ahead.

A man in a fitting red suit was staring up at the moon. Despite the darkness surrounding he wore black sunglasses, reflecting the newly revealed moon as a cloud shifted. He duly noted the pale light flitting to the westward beach before sweeping east and covering the mansion he stood in.

The balcony he was perched upon gave a clear view of the far sea, far because of the cliffs that obscured the beachhead below.

The glass door behind him slid open to reveal a lady in a black dress with a decorative pink trim. She had short blonde hair and a black hair band set within. Her eyes gave off a no-care attitude.

"Dave," she said, "the party's starting and the guests are getting restless. They're waiting for you."

"I'll be out in a sec, Rose." he replied.

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago." she retorted. "Now either you get your butt out here now or I'll tell them the party's cancelled and they'll go home. You're choice."

Dave sighed and scratched the back of his neck. Why does she have to be such a good sister, he thought.

He turned and stepped through the doors, held open by Rose. "Good boy." she said.

Dave went to the railing set above the ballroom below and looked down upon the guests.

There were a surprisingly good amount of trolls here tonight. The purpose for the party was to promote human-troll relations in the first place, so that was a plus.

He cleared his throat and the group went quiet.

He stared throughout the crowd gathered for a moment before continuing.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I don't want to get in your way of mingling and growing fonder of one another, as that is the whole reason for this, so I'll get right to it. Have fun, play nice, and no hitting on my girlfriend."

The guests laughed.

Dave glanced the crowd again right to left. "Party on." he said finally.

The guests broke immediately into chatter and the quartet began playing a melody. The butlers and servants walked throughout as well, carrying trays of finger foods, champagne and other trifles not available on the buffet tables.

Dave sighed and leaned heavily against the railing, staring past the crowd with unmoving eyes. Rose stepped forward from behind and settled next to him, leaning against the railing as well.

"Why don't you join them?" she asked in a soft tone. "It's been awhile since you've mingled amongst the crowd."

"Not tonight." he replied. "Something's bothering me and I can't put my finger on it..."

Rose shrugged and went down the stairs from the balcony.

Dave stared blankly among the people for a moment before rising and going back to the balcony to stare at the sea.