The Prologue
The Prologue
The shadow of a black cat travelled along the street in Maigh, capital city of the Conney region of Taira, as it walked it looked down an alley and saw the same scene it had witnessed a hundred times or more before.
A man staggered out the door of a tavern falling into rectangle the of light and sound thrown out behind him. Magnus laughed as he rolled over and watched the scantily clad woman he'd been talking to inside stagger after him wrapping a cloak around herself against the frosty air. Laughing she helped him up and the door closed behind them leaving them in darkness, the sounds of revelry muffled. 'Come on you.' she cooed, 'Lets get you somewhere warm'. The night was cold and as the amorous pair walked off down the alley their breath misted in front of them. Singing wordlessly together they travelled towards the rooms where she conducted her business.
Magnus had just returned from a trip to Warnal where he had been sourcing wines for his fathers warehouses and had stopped into The Rat and Parrot for a drink and some friendly female company. The Rat, as it was affectionately known by is patrons, was beside the north docks. Not the classiest place Magnus had ever been but he was known there and he liked it, he knew he was home and safe when he walked in and he could always catch up on the what had happened while he was away and find a pleasant companion, his father never knew he was back until he walked through the doors of their office so an evening in the pleasant company of Bronagh was just what he needed after a long journey.
The trip had been successful, very successful, Magnus had arranged to become the sole provider in Maigh of the newly released vintage and between the elation of a successful deal and the wine he had consumed he was feeling the confidence of a man with coin in his purse, wine in his belly and a woman on his arm. As they turned a corner the shadow stepped out of the doorway and resolved into the outline of a hooded figure, on silent feet the figure followed them into the night.
Magnus lay back naked in the bed enjoying the relaxed feeling and dozing. Glancing around the dark room he could make out the shapes of the table with two stools beside it. The dresser that was beside the door and the cooking stove still had the glow of a fire in its belly. He could hear the sounds of the street through the shutters that were over the bed and the sounds of revelry, brawling and all the other sounds of a city at night permeated the room. Bronagh was on the other side of the cloth partition designed for a mild amount of modesty when using the ablutions. A muffled whimper assailed his ears 'Come to bed' he murmered and dozed some more. A few minutes later he came fully awake, he didn't know why but something felt wrong, 'Come back to bed woman' he called out 'I'm not paying you to avoid me' he chuckled, nervously. He received no answer from the girl. His heart was pounding as he sat on the side of the sleeping pallet and his feet went into something wet, dreading she had passed out and tipped the chamber pot over he reached for the flint and steel and started to strike it against the candle. As a small flame flickered to life he looked down and saw that his feet rested in a pool of blood. Recoiling onto the bed his eyes frantically searching the room and the shadows that danced in the candles flickering light he believed he saw in the corner the shadow of a cloaked figure brandishing a dagger ready to strike. Finding his will he dived from the bed slipping and sliding in the blood, he crashed hard to the ground beside the lifeless corpse of the girl, her vacant eyes staring at him with accusatory sharpness though the only life there was the reflection of the candle flame. He scrambled to his feet and ran, still naked, headlong through the door of her chamber and down the steps to the alley below all he could hear behind him was the step of boots on the stairs. He ran till he thought his heart would burst but still he ran. In the distance he could see the lights of Hobblers Crawl and a man standing there, he would surely help him As he called out the man turned and started to walk towards him, Magnus pulled up short and tried to turn, the mans eyes had a pale glow and his skin was deathly white. Crying, Magnus turned and tried to run the other way but only succeeded in running into the man that had ended his companions life. 'No need to run Magnus, we just need a chat thats all' the man mocked. The world slowed right down for Magnus then. He watched powerless as the pale man leaned towards him, he gasped slightly as fangs found there mark on his throat. Behind him he was aware of another drawing near. Oddly they did not join in the feast, Magnus was somewhat relieved as others stepped out of the shadows to watch. Most disturbingly in the crowd watching and smiling with the others was his fifteen year old sister. Their eyes met and as the light faded from Magnus' vision he was sure he saw fear. 'Why?' was all he managed to say as tears rolled down his face briefly but then the pain was gone. Magnus looked back at the scene behind him and shrugged, his body was no use to him now. He turned and the Gates of the dead loomed before him, he walked through without another backwards glance.