The assassin hid behind a column as the Sarafan knight passed, before re-emerging and sprinting down the corridor, ducking back into cover as another guard strolled past. He could deal with them if necessary, but not without raising the alarm and being forced to abandon his contract. He was one of the best in Meridian, unique in that he was willing to take contracts on vampires. Whether they were Cabal or Sarafan was irrelevant. A dangerous game to play, irritating both sides, but he hadn't been caught as yet, despite both Vorador and the Sarafan Lord tearing the city apart to find him. Both of whom were the only people he refused contracts on. There was little point in denying yourself income.
Not that killing the Sarafan Lord would turn the tide in the vampires' favour. It was amazing how people's minds worked. Despite the fact that the 'man' had lived for over 200 years and had green fire coming from his head, people rejoiced that the vampire menace was over, and ignored the fact that it was impossible for him to exist. Most likely, there was a string of men who looked like the Sarafan Lord, or at least could fit inside his armour, unless he was a renegade vampire that had somehow gained immunity to glyph energy. That seemed likely. Vampires were not naturally co-operative creatures, their ideal world being where all vampires senior to them have been killed off.
Slowly and stealthily, the assassin worked his way into the industrial quarter. His normal practice was to ambush vampires while they hunted, but that wouldn't work with Sebastian, who was infamous for his speed and power. He had to threaten the item Sebastian guarded, to ensure the vampire would not simply leap out of reach and alert the City Watch. Sebastian disdained to fight humans unless he was hunting, considering them inferior. Even in the industrial quarter, the assassin's plan depended on Sebastian not simply walking away and sending in fifty soldiers to root him out.
Eventually, he found his way into the Nexus Stone chamber, without having to kill anyone. While he was wearing nondescript working clothes that would withstand a casual glance, if somebody asked his name or number he'd have to kill them, and bodies were hard to hide when pressed for time.
Deciding he'd never be able to climb to the Nexus stone unaided, he walked further into the room and signaled to the man slumped over the controls. The man made no sign he'd heard, which struck the assassin as odd until he saw the blood. Dropping into a fighting crouch, he searched until he found the vampire. It was Umah, one of Vorador's senior lieutenants. She was examining the Nexus stone. The assassin backed away. It was against his ethical code to kill without payment unless threatened. Then Umah looked up and saw him. The Assasin did the only thing he could. He screamed "Vampire!" as loud as he could, trying to twist away as she leapt at him, partially succeeding in that she didn't kill him, but failing in that he didn't avoid the lunge., and was knocked against the wall and stunned. But she was too late. His scream had been heard, and two Sarafan knights ran into the chamber, axes at the ready.
The first one had his throat ripped out for his troubles, and the second's clumsy slash was easily avoided. His kneecap was shattered by her counterattack. But by this time five more Knights had entered the room. Snarling, the glow of teleportation magic enveloped Umah, but she was still there when it faded. The five knights advanced cautiously. They'd seen what had happened to the other two.
"Leave her."
The knights looked up. Sebastian strolled into the room, grinning evilly. With a snapped order "See to the wounded!" he then ignored the Knights and dropped into what, for vampires, was the attack position. Two knights went to each fallen knight and carried him away, while the remaining one crouched next to the assassin, ready to protect him. Almost touched by such altruism, the assassin raised his head to watch the battle. While he'd fought many a vampire, he had yet to see a vampire fight a vampire.
However in typical Nosgoth fashion, there was to be no fighting as yet.
"Sebastian."
"Umah."
"Tell me of the stone above, and I shall give you a quick death."
"A foolish sentiment. You must kill me as quickly as possible if you hope to escape. And the manner of your death is not up to me."
"Tell me, Sebastian, why did you betray our kind?"
"You know as well as I do that Kain would have destroyed us as soon as we outlasted our usefulness."
"You know he walks Nosgoth again?"
"We met. He called me 'a sloppy butcher.' I wept with shame."
Umah laughed. "Show mercy. His mind is in fragments. Wit may be beyond him yet."
"Wit? That is ever beyond such a creature as him. Do not look to him for salvation, Umah, for he remains little more powerful than the humans he detests. Even should he prove victorious, he will drop tools that have served their purpose."
"Philosophy from the one who had to be physically removed from my arms by Magnus before the battle of Freeport?"
Sebastian laughed. "You were most distracting. It is a shame to see your charms wasted in death. Although you would never have caught Vorador's eye had Magnus not been needed that day. Vorador may be a fool, but he knows beauty when it presents itself." Sebastian glanced sideways, and seeing the Sarafan knight, seemed almost embarrassed. Abruptly he turned back to Umah and said "Enough of this. Prepare yourself. And do not think to flee. You cannot teleport beyond the walls of this room."
"I would not dream of teleporting...away!"
She teleported to directly in front of Sebastian and lunged. He jerked aside at the last instant, and her teeth pierced his shoulder instead of his throat. His fist clanged off her breastplate, shaking her loose, and suddenly they both blurred.
It was fascinating to watch. Umah's technique was all delicacy and flair, putting her teleport ability to good use and keeping her distance as much as he could. Sebastian was a more orthodox fighter, but he was so fast things balanced out. Watching, the assassin wondered how he was supposed to kill him. Occasionally, Sebastian unleashed a sudden burst of powerful attacks that, when Umah was in range, bounced her off the nearest wall, but it wasn't until he got a good grip and held her over a steam jet until she lost consciousness that the fight was decided. There and then, the assassin decided he would be best served by going into an early retirement.
Gesturing for the four Sarafan knights re-entering the room to take Umah, he told them to take her to the Sarafan stronghold before walking over to the assassin.
"You. What happened?"
"He raised the alarm, my Lord." The Sarafan Knight replied, helping the assassin to his feet. Fully recovered, the assassin told him "I can stand."
Sebastian frowned. "Indeed? What's your name, I must recommend you to our Lord."
The assassin remained silent.
"What ails thee? Speak!"
Shoulder charging Sebastian, the assassin knocked him into one of the steam jets. As he'd hoped, the Sarafan knight moved to help Sebastian instead of chasing him, giving him a head start.
A good assassin always prepares for the worst. The explosive glyph charge he'd planted earlier gave him an escape from the building after he'd lost his pursuers. It wasn't difficult. They were far too worried about Umah escaping in the confusion to worry about him overmuch. Soon he was on the street, in a completely different set of clothes, safe for the moment.
After he'd been walking for some time, two thugs and a vampire stepped out in front of him. The vampire wasn't Sebastian, but could've been his brother. The assassin tensed.
"Sebastian does not care to chase you," the vampire told him lazily, "but judges you a worthy prey for his firstborn sons. Thus he told the guards not to chase you to test us. Be wary."
Sons? Suddenly realizing he was walking through mist, the assassin whirled, neatly beheading the vampire sneaking up behind him. Turning back to face the others, he leapt backwards until he was free of the mist, ears tensing for soft footfalls behind him.
The vampire in front of him was in shock.
"You...you killed him!" Then he snarled. Knowing he only killed the first vampire because he surprised it, the assassin backed away.
"I'm gonna teach you a lesson." The left thug growled.
Drawing knives from his sleeves, the assassin killed both thugs quickly, but the vampire was too quick. It showered him with punches like hammer blows, cracking at least two ribs. Rolling to his feet, the assassin flung a globe of water at his adversary. It struck him in the face, giving the assassin a three stride lead over the vampire once the chase began. He reached the nearest Ward gate ahead of the vampire and stood just outside it. When the vampire tried to attack him, he grabbed its wrist and fell back. It was a desperate gamble, but if he tried to hide behind a Ward Gate the vampire would order a human lackey to shut it down, and then he'd have nowhere to go. It worked. Unable to pull away, the vampire was eventually burned to ash.
The assassin lay where he was for several minutes before rising. Covered in blood and in no condition to fight, he was easy pray for either the Sarafan or another vampire. He had to get off the streets.
That had been close. He needed to find another line of work before his luck ran out. Hmm...Ducket's traders supposedly paid well. Or maybe...