Chapter 6
Dathai and Donncha walked through the streets of the merchant area.
Their purpose was to check on the men out on patrol and see what was going on in the city. Donncha found that these walks boosted the men’s morale as they saw him out on the street with them, and he was never shy of getting his hands dirty in any action that they needed to take. They walked into market square where the stalls were bustling with late afternoon business; people milled from stall to stall. The sounds of the various stall holders selling their wares rang out through the market and the smells of spices and cooked meats floated on the crisp air. Despite the bright sunshine of the late afternoon people were wrapped up against the winter chill. A vegetable seller called the two men over smiling.
‘Well captain, out looking for trouble?’ he said, punching the captain amicably in the arm.
‘That’s assault Sean!’ the captain joked, ‘What do you reckon sarge, should we haul him off to the cells’. The three men laughed and the conversation turned to the cost of vegetables and life in general. Every now and then one of the other stall holders would shout a greeting or a jibe about how all they do is stand around talking the two watchmen took this banter in the light hearted manner it was intended and replied in kind. The two men were well known and respected around the merchant quarter. People felt reassured when they saw the captain and sergeant walking around, it gave them a sense of comfort.
‘We’d best get on Sean. People will begin to talk if we stay here all day’ Donncha said gesturing to the others in the market and laughing. They turned and walked down the row of stalls. They had barely gotten ten yards away when Sean called to them. They turned around and barely had time to catch the apples that Sean threw to them.
‘Lightning reactions you have boys’ he laughed and turned to serve a lady that had just walked up to the stall. Donncha and Dathai walked on through the market listening to the callers and eating the apples that Sean had just given them. Though they seemed relaxed they felt the tension of the city and as the sun began to set and the stalls started packing up people became fewer and further between.
As the shadows of the buildings surrounding the warehouse closed together there was no soul to be seen walking through the market. Lights could be seen coming from the windows of taverns around the square but the normally lively taverns seemed a bit more subdued than normal as people hurried home before the sunset. In his rooms at the university Scath strapped on a sword and a pair of throwing daggers as he prepared to go out for the night, he normally didn’t carry weapons but tonight he was returning to the warehouse and he had a feeling that he was going to need more weapons than just his claws.
In the temple Marion walked back into the hall after resting for the afternoon. Still sitting in the chair she had left her in sat Dúlra.
‘Did you get any rest?’ Marion asked. Dúlra looked up coming out of her reverie.
‘Has it been that long’, she looked around and saw the darkness outside the window. ‘Well, I suppose we best get ready and out to this warehouse’. In the light of the fire they re attached their weapons and walked back through the gardens to the Temple itself. They knelt before the flame and silently asked for protection in their work that night. After a moments prayer they stood and walked down the aisle and out the door into the street.
They made their way through the quiet streets to Bolands warehouse. Even by the dock standards this was a rough part of town. They entered the street cautiously aware that at any moment a trap could close around them and they'd be caught. Moving from shadow to shadow Dúlra took the lead with her shield held in front of her while Marion watched over her shoulder and to the rear. From the warehouse at the end of the street some light glimmered through shutters and cracks in the wooden building. Carefully they approached always wary of attack, eyes straining to pierce the darkness while hearing strained at its limit to hear a footfall or voice that could give a persons position away to the two hunters. They got to the door with no incident though and swapped positions, Marion looked through the crack at the side of the door while Dúlra watched their backs. She leaned back and whispered.
'Anything there?'
'Boxes and crates, nothing out of the ordinary' she began, 'wait, one of the boxes is opening from the inside!' the surprise in her voice carrying on the whisper. 'Someone's just come out of it. It appears to be hiding a ladder or stairs judging by the light coming from the box'.
'Guess we need to examine that box' Dúlra replied 'any way in from here?'
'Not so much' Marion observed ' but there is a catwalk towards the back of the warehouse, probably for loading. Lets go around there and see how we do.'
Sticking to the shadows they walked to the end of the warehouse. The two looked down the alley that ran between warehouses and slowly started to make their way along it, Dúlra again taking the lead with her shield. Marion lay her hand on Dúlra's shoulder and they stopped dead. About 20 yards ahead of them, from a doorway, they could see someone's breath misting in the cold air. Marion slung her great sword and drew the crossbow pistol from her belt. In one swift and silent movement she cocked and loaded the weapon and was gesturing for Dúlra to begin moving forwards towards the person. They knew that this person was not out taking an evening stroll and that he would give them away given half a chance. As they reached and area where Marion had the shot she leant on Dúlra's shoulder, aimed and shot. From the doorway a gentle gurgling sound could be heard and a man slumped out of the shadows. They quickly moved to put his corpse back into the shadows. In the dark night someone may assume he was homeless and sleeping in the doorway and ignore him for the time being. At the end of the alley they found themselves looking over the river. The flotsam and jetsam clogging against the bank and catching on the jetty that ran along the back of the warehouse. Rising up over the jetty a flight of stairs was built into the warehouse and at the top they could see the shutters of an entrance there. With a final glance across the river the two started up the stairs. This time Marion took the lead. She had reloaded the crossbow pistol and had it in her hand pointing up the stairs. Dúlra walked backwards with her shield between her and the bottom of the stairs her eyes constantly scanning looking for movement that might give the position of any threat away. Out on the river small boats carried on plying their trade of smuggling people and contraband around the city but she wasn't interested in them, just the job at hand. At the top Marion opened the shutters a crack to see if it was safe. Seeing it was she opened it a little further and tapping Dúlra on the shoulder stepped through. Dúlra joined her on the catwalk and pulled the shutters closed behind her. Crouching in the shadows they waited straining to hear if they had been discovered. After about a minutes silence they both breathed deeply.
'That's the box that opens' Marion whispered pointing to a large box in the middle of a group of boxes
'Clever idea' Dúlra replied, 'But you can see the scratches in the dust from where its been opened. Best go and see what its all about then hadn't we'.
Marion nodded and stepped to the edge of the catwalk. Like a shadow she stepped off the edge and landed silently on the ground, a second later Dúlra landed beside her. They were about to walk to the box when a noise came from inside it. They ran to the shadows of other boxes and crouched low. Barely able to breath they watched as the box door opened and three figured walked out. The first was small and weasel like, the second was about five foot six but wore a hooded cloak that covered them to their ankles. The third figure closed the door over and turned to follow the others. He took two steps and turned, his eyes scanned the room looking for something, he looked straight at where Dúlra was crouched and she in turn looked straight at him. She had met the elves of the woods before and could see the similarities but that said, looking at a dark elf was a completely different experience. The evil that exuded from this creature was palpable. She could feel it creep over her and, almost, touch her in the most in appropriate way. As he looked at her she was sure she had been discovered when he stepped towards her all doubt dissolved. She stayed stock still waiting, her fingers tensed around her sword and she felt the muscles in her legs bunch ready to spring forward to kill. Just as she was about to release at him the weasel man came back around the corner.
'Stop jumping at shadows,' he said 'you know how she hates to be kept waiting'. He stopped and looked, then turned on his heel and jogged after the other man.
Waiting until it was all quiet again Marion and Dúlra stepped out of the shadows they'd been hiding in.
'I thought we were done for there' Dúlra panted quietly her heart pounding in her chest.
'It would have been tricky to deal with three at once and not get discovered, I have to admit' Marion whispered in reply. 'Did you see his face, would you be able to identify him'.
'Couldn't you see him from where you were? He was a Dark Elf. Looks like the High Inquisitors sources are good'. Dúlra replied to her shocked partner.
They went over to the box and slowly opened the door, the entered and in the centre was a ladder down to the sewers. The two hunters climbed down and looked up and down while they stood ankle deep in sewage. They decided to head away from the river as there would be less chance of someone using that end as a lair because if the river flooded then they would also get flooded. The two vampire hunters walked on as silently as possible, straining to hear anything over the constant sound of running and dripping water.
*******
Scath walked out of the front arch of the university and into the darkness. He waited till he was out of sight of people before he took to the thieves highway across the roofs of Maigh. Even more so than the street level there were fewer people walking around here. Every now and again he'd look down to the streets to see if there were people around. Overall the streets were abandoned in this area. He knew that in other areas of the city things were carrying on in the same way they did night after night. He knew the prostitutes would be on the corner of Friend Street, even someone as old as him wasn't sure which came first, the prostitutes or the name of the street. He knew that out on the river the smugglers would be at work and that somewhere in the city the dark elf and his associates would be out to kill again. He headed to the warehouse that he had seen them go into the previous night. Took up a spot beside on a roof top opposite and settled himself down to wait for them to show themselves. He watched as the two vampire hunters went down the alley, saw them shoot and kill the look out with unerring accuracy with the crossbow he noticed. When they didn't reappear after a short time and he didn't hear any alarm get raised he assumed that they had found a way in and were investigating the inside. As he watched two figures appeared through the front door of the warehouse. He recognised the weasley man from the previous night. He saw the other figure, a girl by her shape though she was covered head to toe in a black cloak, gesture and could see her lips moving but couldn't hear what she said. The weasley man ran back into the building leaving the girl on her own. A few minutes later Scath recognised the dark elf walk through the door, the three strode off in the direction of the merchant district, the dark elf raising his hood as they walked. They walked with purpose but did not seem to be in anything that even resembled a rush making straight for the merchant quarter. Scath followed, slightly behind and of course several floors above. When they reached the merchant quarter they stopped and waited. In the mouth of an alley they set their observation point. Scath sat down on a ledge where he could see them and the chimney that he rested his back on meant that they'd have a much more difficult time spotting him. They weren't watching the roof however, their attention was firmly fixed on the door of The Welcome Inn. They chatted quietly amongst themselves but as soon as the door opened they were alert and watching, pulling themselves deeper into the shadows. Eventually they must have seen their mark as the doors opened and a man in his mid twenties walked out. On his belt he wore a cutlass, a short heavy weapons popular with sailors, and he swaggered with a combination of over confidence, sea legs and ale. The three figures detached themselves from the shadows and followed the young man along the road. He paused to lean on a wall for a moment and the trio decided to take their opportunity. The young man, however, had clearly been to rougher cities than this and had his cutlass in his hand weasley man lying at his feet twitching and clutching the remnants of his throat while his life blood drained on to the cobbles stones. Before anyone could move the dark elf had ducked and stepped within his reach, disarmed him and planted the young man on the ground. Picking him up he dragged him into the alley. Scath jumped the gap between the buildings to get a better view, below him he could see that the person in the cloak that he had assumed was a girl was in fact a female vampire and she was thirstily consuming the blood from the young man who was desperately trying to fight her off. Scath could see that he was about to lose conciousness and his life and he was beyond saving but before the vampire finished him she broke away, looked into his eyes and Scath strained his hearing
'Bet you wish you joined us now' he thought she said, it was so soft it may have been something else. She clamped her fangs onto his neck and swiftly finished him off.
'What are we to do with him' asked the dark elf gesturing to the corpse he carried on his shoulder. 'Bring him with us' she replied, 'we cant leave evidence around the streets'. Wrapping the corpse of their fallen comrade in a cloak they headed back to the warehouse. This time taking a longer route to avoid as much light and placed with lots of people as possible. They finally made it back and Scath waited for them to go inside. He followed the alley that the vampire hunters had gone down and found the jetty an stairs. He quickly gained access and looked out from the catwalk for any clues as to where they had gone. He saw droplets of blood lead up to a box and disappear.
'That must be where they stashed the body' he thought and looked around the room some more. There were no other signs that anyone had passed this way. He decided to investigate the body and see if he had anything to identify him on him. He dropped of the ledge and walked over to the box. Looking around for any other signs of danger he gently opened it and stepped back amazed.
'Well there's something you don't see everyday' he muttered to himself. He stepped inside pulling the door behind him and descended into the darkness. Standing in the sewer he stood still and listened. In the distance he could hear a man and a woman talking softly while they walked. He decided to follow them and see where they led. He knew that he was surrounded by enemies so he drew his sword prepared for whatever he may discover, be that dark elves or vampire hunters, since they must be down here somewhere too.
Their purpose was to check on the men out on patrol and see what was going on in the city. Donncha found that these walks boosted the men’s morale as they saw him out on the street with them, and he was never shy of getting his hands dirty in any action that they needed to take. They walked into market square where the stalls were bustling with late afternoon business; people milled from stall to stall. The sounds of the various stall holders selling their wares rang out through the market and the smells of spices and cooked meats floated on the crisp air. Despite the bright sunshine of the late afternoon people were wrapped up against the winter chill. A vegetable seller called the two men over smiling.
‘Well captain, out looking for trouble?’ he said, punching the captain amicably in the arm.
‘That’s assault Sean!’ the captain joked, ‘What do you reckon sarge, should we haul him off to the cells’. The three men laughed and the conversation turned to the cost of vegetables and life in general. Every now and then one of the other stall holders would shout a greeting or a jibe about how all they do is stand around talking the two watchmen took this banter in the light hearted manner it was intended and replied in kind. The two men were well known and respected around the merchant quarter. People felt reassured when they saw the captain and sergeant walking around, it gave them a sense of comfort.
‘We’d best get on Sean. People will begin to talk if we stay here all day’ Donncha said gesturing to the others in the market and laughing. They turned and walked down the row of stalls. They had barely gotten ten yards away when Sean called to them. They turned around and barely had time to catch the apples that Sean threw to them.
‘Lightning reactions you have boys’ he laughed and turned to serve a lady that had just walked up to the stall. Donncha and Dathai walked on through the market listening to the callers and eating the apples that Sean had just given them. Though they seemed relaxed they felt the tension of the city and as the sun began to set and the stalls started packing up people became fewer and further between.
As the shadows of the buildings surrounding the warehouse closed together there was no soul to be seen walking through the market. Lights could be seen coming from the windows of taverns around the square but the normally lively taverns seemed a bit more subdued than normal as people hurried home before the sunset. In his rooms at the university Scath strapped on a sword and a pair of throwing daggers as he prepared to go out for the night, he normally didn’t carry weapons but tonight he was returning to the warehouse and he had a feeling that he was going to need more weapons than just his claws.
In the temple Marion walked back into the hall after resting for the afternoon. Still sitting in the chair she had left her in sat Dúlra.
‘Did you get any rest?’ Marion asked. Dúlra looked up coming out of her reverie.
‘Has it been that long’, she looked around and saw the darkness outside the window. ‘Well, I suppose we best get ready and out to this warehouse’. In the light of the fire they re attached their weapons and walked back through the gardens to the Temple itself. They knelt before the flame and silently asked for protection in their work that night. After a moments prayer they stood and walked down the aisle and out the door into the street.
They made their way through the quiet streets to Bolands warehouse. Even by the dock standards this was a rough part of town. They entered the street cautiously aware that at any moment a trap could close around them and they'd be caught. Moving from shadow to shadow Dúlra took the lead with her shield held in front of her while Marion watched over her shoulder and to the rear. From the warehouse at the end of the street some light glimmered through shutters and cracks in the wooden building. Carefully they approached always wary of attack, eyes straining to pierce the darkness while hearing strained at its limit to hear a footfall or voice that could give a persons position away to the two hunters. They got to the door with no incident though and swapped positions, Marion looked through the crack at the side of the door while Dúlra watched their backs. She leaned back and whispered.
'Anything there?'
'Boxes and crates, nothing out of the ordinary' she began, 'wait, one of the boxes is opening from the inside!' the surprise in her voice carrying on the whisper. 'Someone's just come out of it. It appears to be hiding a ladder or stairs judging by the light coming from the box'.
'Guess we need to examine that box' Dúlra replied 'any way in from here?'
'Not so much' Marion observed ' but there is a catwalk towards the back of the warehouse, probably for loading. Lets go around there and see how we do.'
Sticking to the shadows they walked to the end of the warehouse. The two looked down the alley that ran between warehouses and slowly started to make their way along it, Dúlra again taking the lead with her shield. Marion lay her hand on Dúlra's shoulder and they stopped dead. About 20 yards ahead of them, from a doorway, they could see someone's breath misting in the cold air. Marion slung her great sword and drew the crossbow pistol from her belt. In one swift and silent movement she cocked and loaded the weapon and was gesturing for Dúlra to begin moving forwards towards the person. They knew that this person was not out taking an evening stroll and that he would give them away given half a chance. As they reached and area where Marion had the shot she leant on Dúlra's shoulder, aimed and shot. From the doorway a gentle gurgling sound could be heard and a man slumped out of the shadows. They quickly moved to put his corpse back into the shadows. In the dark night someone may assume he was homeless and sleeping in the doorway and ignore him for the time being. At the end of the alley they found themselves looking over the river. The flotsam and jetsam clogging against the bank and catching on the jetty that ran along the back of the warehouse. Rising up over the jetty a flight of stairs was built into the warehouse and at the top they could see the shutters of an entrance there. With a final glance across the river the two started up the stairs. This time Marion took the lead. She had reloaded the crossbow pistol and had it in her hand pointing up the stairs. Dúlra walked backwards with her shield between her and the bottom of the stairs her eyes constantly scanning looking for movement that might give the position of any threat away. Out on the river small boats carried on plying their trade of smuggling people and contraband around the city but she wasn't interested in them, just the job at hand. At the top Marion opened the shutters a crack to see if it was safe. Seeing it was she opened it a little further and tapping Dúlra on the shoulder stepped through. Dúlra joined her on the catwalk and pulled the shutters closed behind her. Crouching in the shadows they waited straining to hear if they had been discovered. After about a minutes silence they both breathed deeply.
'That's the box that opens' Marion whispered pointing to a large box in the middle of a group of boxes
'Clever idea' Dúlra replied, 'But you can see the scratches in the dust from where its been opened. Best go and see what its all about then hadn't we'.
Marion nodded and stepped to the edge of the catwalk. Like a shadow she stepped off the edge and landed silently on the ground, a second later Dúlra landed beside her. They were about to walk to the box when a noise came from inside it. They ran to the shadows of other boxes and crouched low. Barely able to breath they watched as the box door opened and three figured walked out. The first was small and weasel like, the second was about five foot six but wore a hooded cloak that covered them to their ankles. The third figure closed the door over and turned to follow the others. He took two steps and turned, his eyes scanned the room looking for something, he looked straight at where Dúlra was crouched and she in turn looked straight at him. She had met the elves of the woods before and could see the similarities but that said, looking at a dark elf was a completely different experience. The evil that exuded from this creature was palpable. She could feel it creep over her and, almost, touch her in the most in appropriate way. As he looked at her she was sure she had been discovered when he stepped towards her all doubt dissolved. She stayed stock still waiting, her fingers tensed around her sword and she felt the muscles in her legs bunch ready to spring forward to kill. Just as she was about to release at him the weasel man came back around the corner.
'Stop jumping at shadows,' he said 'you know how she hates to be kept waiting'. He stopped and looked, then turned on his heel and jogged after the other man.
Waiting until it was all quiet again Marion and Dúlra stepped out of the shadows they'd been hiding in.
'I thought we were done for there' Dúlra panted quietly her heart pounding in her chest.
'It would have been tricky to deal with three at once and not get discovered, I have to admit' Marion whispered in reply. 'Did you see his face, would you be able to identify him'.
'Couldn't you see him from where you were? He was a Dark Elf. Looks like the High Inquisitors sources are good'. Dúlra replied to her shocked partner.
They went over to the box and slowly opened the door, the entered and in the centre was a ladder down to the sewers. The two hunters climbed down and looked up and down while they stood ankle deep in sewage. They decided to head away from the river as there would be less chance of someone using that end as a lair because if the river flooded then they would also get flooded. The two vampire hunters walked on as silently as possible, straining to hear anything over the constant sound of running and dripping water.
*******
Scath walked out of the front arch of the university and into the darkness. He waited till he was out of sight of people before he took to the thieves highway across the roofs of Maigh. Even more so than the street level there were fewer people walking around here. Every now and again he'd look down to the streets to see if there were people around. Overall the streets were abandoned in this area. He knew that in other areas of the city things were carrying on in the same way they did night after night. He knew the prostitutes would be on the corner of Friend Street, even someone as old as him wasn't sure which came first, the prostitutes or the name of the street. He knew that out on the river the smugglers would be at work and that somewhere in the city the dark elf and his associates would be out to kill again. He headed to the warehouse that he had seen them go into the previous night. Took up a spot beside on a roof top opposite and settled himself down to wait for them to show themselves. He watched as the two vampire hunters went down the alley, saw them shoot and kill the look out with unerring accuracy with the crossbow he noticed. When they didn't reappear after a short time and he didn't hear any alarm get raised he assumed that they had found a way in and were investigating the inside. As he watched two figures appeared through the front door of the warehouse. He recognised the weasley man from the previous night. He saw the other figure, a girl by her shape though she was covered head to toe in a black cloak, gesture and could see her lips moving but couldn't hear what she said. The weasley man ran back into the building leaving the girl on her own. A few minutes later Scath recognised the dark elf walk through the door, the three strode off in the direction of the merchant district, the dark elf raising his hood as they walked. They walked with purpose but did not seem to be in anything that even resembled a rush making straight for the merchant quarter. Scath followed, slightly behind and of course several floors above. When they reached the merchant quarter they stopped and waited. In the mouth of an alley they set their observation point. Scath sat down on a ledge where he could see them and the chimney that he rested his back on meant that they'd have a much more difficult time spotting him. They weren't watching the roof however, their attention was firmly fixed on the door of The Welcome Inn. They chatted quietly amongst themselves but as soon as the door opened they were alert and watching, pulling themselves deeper into the shadows. Eventually they must have seen their mark as the doors opened and a man in his mid twenties walked out. On his belt he wore a cutlass, a short heavy weapons popular with sailors, and he swaggered with a combination of over confidence, sea legs and ale. The three figures detached themselves from the shadows and followed the young man along the road. He paused to lean on a wall for a moment and the trio decided to take their opportunity. The young man, however, had clearly been to rougher cities than this and had his cutlass in his hand weasley man lying at his feet twitching and clutching the remnants of his throat while his life blood drained on to the cobbles stones. Before anyone could move the dark elf had ducked and stepped within his reach, disarmed him and planted the young man on the ground. Picking him up he dragged him into the alley. Scath jumped the gap between the buildings to get a better view, below him he could see that the person in the cloak that he had assumed was a girl was in fact a female vampire and she was thirstily consuming the blood from the young man who was desperately trying to fight her off. Scath could see that he was about to lose conciousness and his life and he was beyond saving but before the vampire finished him she broke away, looked into his eyes and Scath strained his hearing
'Bet you wish you joined us now' he thought she said, it was so soft it may have been something else. She clamped her fangs onto his neck and swiftly finished him off.
'What are we to do with him' asked the dark elf gesturing to the corpse he carried on his shoulder. 'Bring him with us' she replied, 'we cant leave evidence around the streets'. Wrapping the corpse of their fallen comrade in a cloak they headed back to the warehouse. This time taking a longer route to avoid as much light and placed with lots of people as possible. They finally made it back and Scath waited for them to go inside. He followed the alley that the vampire hunters had gone down and found the jetty an stairs. He quickly gained access and looked out from the catwalk for any clues as to where they had gone. He saw droplets of blood lead up to a box and disappear.
'That must be where they stashed the body' he thought and looked around the room some more. There were no other signs that anyone had passed this way. He decided to investigate the body and see if he had anything to identify him on him. He dropped of the ledge and walked over to the box. Looking around for any other signs of danger he gently opened it and stepped back amazed.
'Well there's something you don't see everyday' he muttered to himself. He stepped inside pulling the door behind him and descended into the darkness. Standing in the sewer he stood still and listened. In the distance he could hear a man and a woman talking softly while they walked. He decided to follow them and see where they led. He knew that he was surrounded by enemies so he drew his sword prepared for whatever he may discover, be that dark elves or vampire hunters, since they must be down here somewhere too.