As Artemedia walked upstairs to have a drink and collect her thoughts, Vicente took notice of the smell that her and Kyn had been so focused on. The smell of ocean water and rancid body odor. It was upstairs. Rather than follow Art, Vicente calmly walked past the other coven members near the dais and made his way up the opposite set of stairs.
He heard her footsteps as she made her way to the central balcony. Moments later, he heard the door open and then close. His pace quickened, though never broke into a full run. He always tended to hold his composure even when threats were imminent. As he approached the door, Vicente heard yelling coming from the balcony. The words were unmistakable. "For Lord de Morieve!"
He heard the sound of steel clanging as a bow let loose an arrow. Vicente swung the door open to find Art fighting a mysterious, female Orc. It appeared that Art already had the advantage, despite having an obvious gash on her leg. Vicente drew his swords and began to circle the assassin with Art. The assassin,who immediately recognized her disadvantage, ran back through the door and into the hall.
In a blinding flash, the Orc was hurled into tables and chairs, near the dais' overlook. Vicente's movements shifted back to a calm, collected walk. He approached the stunned Orc and gripped her by her arm, pulling her up to face him. He landed a hard punch to her gut, knocking the wind out of her and then effortlessly tossed her over the side of the balcony. With a loud thud, she landed at the feet of Fadorian who looked slightly puzzled, if not partly amused by the sight of an Orc falling from the sky. Vicente leapt from the balcony, landing next to the injured Orc with a fierce look on his face.
The other coven members began to gather towards the source of the commotion. Vicente calmly stated "Lady Art has been attacked. Please ensure that she is alright." Kylulex nodded and moved quickly to tend to the injured Bosmer. Vicente turned towards the Orc laying at his feet with a grim expression. "I have questions.. and you will answer them. Now."
"I will tell you nothing, de Morieve! Or shall I say.. La Rouche?" She hissed.
Vicente glared at the Orc in deep thought. "I see he has informed you of many things. No matter."
"Why you bother using HIS name is the the real question, Vicente. Why don't you tell your little family?" The Orc was becoming indignant.
Vicente smiled, then gripped the Orc by her hair lifting her head several feet above the ground. "I use his name as a reminder of the hatred that I have carried for over 1000 years." As the last word left his mouth, he brought her face crashing into the floor with an awful crack. "A hatred you are going to witness first hand, bitch."
The Orc cried out as her face made impact with the cold, dank floor. Several of her teeth lay on the ground in a pool of blood. "I will tell you nothing!"
"If you need any assistance, please let me know" added Fadorian. He was clearly enraged over the attempt made on Art's life.
"That goes for you, as well, you filthy cat! You S'wits are nothing to me!" the Orc screamed at Fadorian.
Vicente swung the Orc around by her arm, dislocating her shoulder with an awful pop, landing her on her knees facing Fadorian. He held her there, sobbing, as if she were an offering to the large Khajiit.
With little effort, Fadorian landed a strong punch to the Orc's face, causing both her and Vicente to fall back a bit. Blood sprayed from her mouth from the trauma of the impact. More teeth fell to the floor.
Vicente's voice became very low as he whispered "Tell me, cur, where is Verick?"
"He..is.. Everywhere. You should know that.." The Orc was struggling to hide the pain as blood streamed from her mouth.
"That was not helpful, so let me ask rephrase the question." Vicente drew a dagger from its sheath and plunged it into her shoulder, twisting it around.
The Orc shrieked in pain. "Firsthold! He is in Firsthold you bastard!"
"I see.. And why does he want the stones? Why is he attacking the coven?" Vicente pushed harder on the dagger.
"Isn't it obvious!? He wants what is his! His bastard son... He wants you back! And this pathetic coven.. Your new.. Family.. They will be the price of your return.." Her sentences were now becoming broken as she fought through the torture.
Vicente stood up with a look of concern. He looked at Fad, then reached down and gripped the Orc's hair. Slowly, he lifted her from the ground and turned her to face him. "You are doing quite well for yourself, now. Please, your continued cooperation will spare you from seeing my uncaring side. Why does he want the stones?"
Whispers were heard in the crowd.
"If this is his caring side, I'd really hate to see his uncaring side."
The Orc spit blood in Vicente's face and she struggled to smirk.
Another loud crack was heard as Vicente's knee landed in her gut, clearly breaking her ribs. With a blinding speed, she was swung around and crashed into the wall near the stairs. Vicente walked towards her and asked again. "Why does he want the stones?" He wiped the blood from his face and mockingly licked it off of his hand. She remained silent. An awful splinter was heard as he punted her in the side, rolling her down the stairs to the base of the dais.
She began to cry tears of rage. "Stones, no. He wants THE.. stone. He is.. going to.. destroy you all. Everyone.. Except for you. He has special... plans for... you, LaRouche." She started to chuckle as blood ran from her mouth, even as her lungs were collapsing.
Vicente slowly made his way down to the injured Orc. He gripped her hair and pulled her to her feet to meet his icy stare. "That wasn't so hard now was it? I want to thank you for your cooperation." His left hand moved to grip her arm. He began to chant, quietly.
The shrieks of pain were almost inhuman. Her entire body pulsed in a dark red aura as the chanting continued. Vicente grinned, wickedly. Blood began to run from her eyes, as the aura burned brighter. The crowd began to move back, as if anticipating something awful was about to happen.
The aura suddenly vanished and her body exploded, throwing blood and entrails all around the hall. There were gasps, as well as some faint cheers heard from the onlookers. Vicente, soaked in blood, casually turned to face Fadorian and Art, who had now rejoined the group.
"We need to find Rothmund. Now. We are in grave danger, and the Grand Maw Stone is our best chance at beating Verick." He kneeled and casually reached into each of the blood soaked pockets of the Orc's breaches. After a quick search, he withdrew a missive and read it to himself.
"This contract is for the head of Fadorian, Artemedia, or Augur. Payment on delivery to Outlook Inn." He threw the paper into the pool of blood and intestines scattered below him.
Artemedia began to question the situation. "Isn't it odd that Verick would send such a second rate assassin for the heads of key members? This looks like a trap."
"Agreed, but at this point we do know that Verick is, in fact, in Firsthold. We need more information." Vicente was showing agitation in his voice. "We need to move faster. Much, much faster."
Art and Fad began discussing how to contact Rothmund as Kyn entered the hall. He was covered in blood, despite not being present for the execution of the Orc.
"Well, this looks like a familiar scene.. Though.. I shall not be cleaning the mess up for you, this time. You and your damned Blood Magic. As you can see, I made it rain blood in Eldenroot, as well. I won't be welcomed back for some time. Vicente.. I believe he is gathering an army to him. The dead are rising and follow Vericks subordinates. Not to mention these damn assassins and the bandits that are already in his service."
"Kyn, I suspect the same.. We need to go to Firsthold. Now."