Evelyn cleans the mansion. She sweeps and mops and sends the errand boy to grab groceries. She doesn't cook because Lord Eshteross prefers to cook; but she prepares the ingredients, and cleans up after he's done. At night he reads his books locked in his suite while she engages all the traps. Hidden servant's paths, spring-loaded weapons in the walls, hidden swords stashed around the house and a bell on a string that goes to every room in the house were all symptoms of the master's sordid past. Lord Ariks Eshteross, at the end of his days, was left alone to enjoy the wealth he had amassed though he never directly said how. She has her washcloth, he has his secrets.
Today was a special day; it was the only day she cooked for the old man. She finished the laundry, made a pot of tea, and when the oven timer went off the front door burst open. In ran the master himself, Lord Esteross. There in the foyer she saw him there with a great bloody gash across his shoulder and she dropped the birthday cake on the floor.
"Sir!" Evelyn yelled at Eshteross, "What have you done!? Who did this to you?" She instantly rushed to fetch her washbowl and washcloth. He was limping on a tall elf dressed impeccably in white with fresh blood across them both. Evelyn wiped his brow with a washcloth; her clean bowl was quickly becoming red with each pass over him.
"I'm sorry Evelynn" Eshteross managed after a while.
"Well it's your floors, Ariks " She grumbled, "It'll take months before-"
"Don't worry about the floors, you need to leave here, you need to go I've-"
"Sir I'm not going anywhere." She said risking a glance at the tall man. He was running his hand over his clothes and the blood began disappearing. "And you are?"
"Ah! It's seems like every day I meet a person who does not yet know me!" The tall man said with a flourish of his hand and in his voice. "I am Angel, woo-er of danger and lover of beauty. Saving all who need it and let the Father sort out the rest!" He ended with a great burst of laughter despite the odd looks from Evelyn.
"I was about to say" Ariks interrupted, "We found our girl's contact in Basurias. I should've expected herself to be there but when we arrived she was already found. Otohan Thull was waiting for us. She's Legend of the Peaks. A war hero; if you ask the winners." He trailed off.
"I teleported us out but she knows where we are." Angel urged Evelyn meeting her gaze, "She knows where you live."
"It's a matter of time until she lands herself here and aims to kill us." Ariks said with a weighted finality like a burden on his shoulders, "I'm going to stay. Here. I will wait for her and end this here." Ariks pronounced standing up from his chair. He put a hand out as Evelyn began to say something. "No I've already discussed this with Angel. We're staying here to meet her."
"Yeah and totally kill her! Assassinate the assassin in our pajamas!" Angel thrusted a fist in the air and little fireworks burst around behind his head.
Evelyn could tell Angel enjoyed the attention but when he stopped everyone was silent. They were both hurt and getting better, but there was a silent clock hanging over all of them. She had never expected anyone from Ariks's past or whoever this assassin was to ever actually come to his house. But she felt safer here than anywhere else. "I'm staying too." She declared.
"Evel-" Ariks was cut off.
"No I know this house better than all of you. I want to stay and help. I want to keep you all sharp for when this person comes." Evelyn proclaimed unwavering, "It's not like you'd know how to keep me out." She said flipping a ring of keys that slipped out of her hands and landed on the floor.
"Erik let's discuss what we need to do here at least first." Angel broke off with Erik around his shoulders stealing a glance to Evelynn and a wink.
Over the next several hours Evelynn was in a frantic dash to get the housework done. She ran down to the corner with a bag of silver to the errand boy to grab dried food rations, lumber to bar the windows, and an extra bag of silver with the instructions to never return to Lord Estheross's house. Evelyn herself made a trip to the guards to hopefully plead or pay for extra guards for a ten day. Coming back to the house after five hours of chores and talking to people around Ariks's dwindling social circle with an arm full of groceries and medicine kits.
Opening the door she nearly dropped everything. A gigantic four foot tall lizard dropped from the ceiling above her with a bronze knife slashing at her face with it. "AAUAAHHH!" Evelyn screamed with a lizard on her face nearly toppling over herself as she backed away from this vicious thing that about came up to her waist standing. She kicked it in the face and it snapped back rushing at her and then to the bag at her hands. She jumped away as it pulled out a great slab of jerky from her bag and ran back inside the house shutting the door behind it with a hind leg. It was chaos inside. Lizards as big as children were wrestling each other out of the kitchen covered in flour and fighting over a chicken leg.
"STOP!" Ariks boomed over his foyer. The lizards all stopped and looked at him, "These are my guests you fools and stop eating!" The lizards gathered their things and scurried up to the upper floor breaking a few vases along the way. One ran past her and grabbed its knife and the last jerky and ran up with the rest. "Sorry Evelyn, those are hired hands from places unknown to me. It's difficult to find magical items like these. Powerful. But one use only." Ariks said glancing into a past long gone by as he pulled out a broken stone with runes about it. "They'll listen to me." Ariks smiled, "As long as I keep feeding them."
Angel found himself a bedroom near Ariks's bedroom. He didn't come out much because he was sleeping during the day but she would make him breakfast at night making sure to step over the trapped step in the stairs. It was this time that she got to talk with him in somber intimate chats where he told her stories about Ariks she had never known before. She had never even seen this man before yet he seemed to know so much about Ariks. Apparently they used to coordinate spies to collect and gather intelligence across Marquet. After that she slept in a servant's passageway with some blankets and pillows for a bed and a wooden rod to bar the door. Each morning was similar, disarm the traps, feed the lizards, look out the window, fear, and prepare the food. She didn't get to speak much with the master of the house. She placed his food just inside the room and an hour later come back to pick up the dirty dishes. Falling asleep was difficult, but after listening and only hearing nothing for so long Evelynn always eventually found sleep.
The dishes were rattling. She had fallen asleep and now someone had kicked over the dishes. She silently cursed herself for leaving them out. She undid the wooden rod and padded out into the night ducking underneath the fire-breathing bust of Ariks himself, leaving it dark. Turning the corner she saw the door slightly open and froze. The master suite door was open and she knew it should be closed. Her head was washed with burning worry mixed with nausea and dizziness. She couldn't think of anything else to do except... She took a big breath of air and rang the wire connected to bells across the whole house screaming, "HEY WAKE UP!" Tears streaming down her cheeks in desperation for her friend inside, "HEY WHAT'S GOING ON!?" She yelled at all her fears there in the dark before her.
The door slammed open shattering porcelain dishes to the wall as a figured ran at Evelyn. Evelyn ran with a tenacious terrified will to stay alive a few more seconds. Rolling under the bust, Evelyn watched the figure get engulfed in flames. Rushing back to her makeshift bed she closed the wooden rod keeping the door in place. Scrambling to her feet she ran down the corridor banging on the walls and down the steps. She knew the assassin wouldn't have time to get down to where she was going so she flung the door open and quietly closed it until it matched its surroundings leaving it completely hidden. She was in the kitchen now. She almost tripped over a lizard running out into the foyer; its tiny blade held high. Overhead footsteps boomed across her on the floor above. She grabbed a kitchen knife and ran out the door, slowly following the stairs back up to the master suite. It was silent again. She knew everyone had to be awake, surely nobody was dead and still the house was utterly quiet. Opening the door to Ariks's room she crept in. Quickly there were footsteps running outside that she didn't recognize. The door opened and in slipped Angel almost next to her. "Angel" She whispered.
He gave a stifled screamed and covered his mouth with a look of death and surprise at Evelyn. "Stay here, she will be upon us soon." He said opening the door and against the black of the hallway a darker figure was running towards them. She was running full speed with a dancer's body dark in dark leathers. As she was at the threshold he threw blinding light in her eyes and threw Evelyn and himself across the floor away from her as she stumbled into the room. The room was lit with bright true white. Whipping her swords around her the woman pulled off her hood. As she opened her mouth to speak a large crack sounded overhead as Lord Eshteross broke through the ceiling and landed on her. Rolling off he reached under his bed and pulled out his walking stick.
"DONE!" He shouted and a clap of thunder boomed in the room and they were all blown away from each other. When Evelyn got up from the other side of the bed, Angel had a sword and then they were fighting, in a dance of the blade. Rolling out from the two, all Evelyn could tell was that she had brown hair and piercing eyes and she was running straight for her. Diving again Evelyn slammed her fist on a panel in the wall and a hand axe flew out of the wall and checked the assassin on the shoulder stopping her in her tracks. She ran over the bed and ducked out of the room. Following Evelyn the assassin jumped over the railing to land in front of Evelyn. It was now that Evelyn noticed the front door was open with the bodies of slain guards at the foot. But here was Otohan Thull, hero of the Peaks keeping pace as Evelyn backed away up the stairs. A quick flurry of air whipped by the assassin as a quiver of bolts flew past her and stuck into the wall. Looking quite amused at the trap under her feet and she pressed on.
The lizards were coming from the hall now. There were only two of them but behind Evelyn, Angel and Ariks were behind her. Otohan was there before them fending off the two lizards deftly while Angel grew bright celestial wings like a great bird and began flying around the assassin shining bright light in her eyes as Ariks rushed down with a rapier better suited for close melee. Their swords dashed, up and along the banister. Together they spun about each other dueling and even though Ariks had several advantages he was still only keeping himself just alive. Angel jumped down and now he had his sword out that shined just like he did in this dark place but the assassin had her shadows. The shadows grew from her and formed about her sometimes taking form to block an attack or to slash at an opening in Erik's defense. They fought and Evelyn knew she was frozen in fear, she wasn't a help here to anyone. She almost threw her kitchen knife to help only realizing she had dropped it somewhere. She had to get out. Ariks raised his sword as another shade from the shadows cut at his leg and he fell to one knee. She had to run around them without drawing her attention. Angel grabbed the assassin by the head and head-butted her with a ripple of purple energy surrounding his forehead.
"I got the information, Ariks." Angel gasped. It looked like he was watching something with his eyes as they flicked in his head. Stepping in Estheross thrust his sword in still focusing on catching the assassin's attention.
"Hold her off for Evelyn!" Ariks shouted. They were constantly having to back to the assassin's inexorable advance. Evelyn darted around them and ran out from the mansion into the cold night air. Turning around she saw Angel look back at her, give her a wink and blinked out in a white spark leaving Eshteross to fight the assassin alone.
"Help!" Evelyn shouted stepping over the bodies at her doorstep. Vision blurred and stumbling over herself she was crying uncontrollably. She caught the attention of a band of guards nearby and only in their torchlight realized she was covered in blood. She took them to the mansion with its door still left open. And when they went inside, only Lord Ariks lay on the floor in a pool of blood.