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onetodie 04-09-07, 04:01 PM

For days it seemed Vilkacis sat in front of the ruined den. He did not eat and barely slept. He had run out of purpose in his life and was in deep thought concerning his future. What and where shall he go? He could not go north, as he was a wanted murderer there, especially with the clan killing his cousins. He had heard stories of a great city to the west, the city of Waterdeep, but he could not think of what he could do in such a city. Besides, he needed the openness and freedom of the wild lands. Then he picked up a fresh scent on the wind. “Human, with a hint of flowers…” he thought. Then he heard the footsteps. Slow, careful, perhaps this human had seen him sitting in the clearing. “You may come out, I will not harm you,” Vilkacis spoke out loud, never turning from his position. The human, female from the scent of the blood, stepped into the clearing. “How did you know I was there? I was perfectly quiet,” she asked. “I can smell you. Your scent is not like anything I have smelled before. What kind of flower was that?” “It was jasmine oil, but I applied that days ago…are you real?” “Very much so.” Vilkacis stood, not realizing that he was naked, except for the belt and the ring. “Ohhh…do you need some help? I have a spare cloak you can cover yourself with.” Realizing his appearance and suddenly becoming very self-conscious, Vilkacis for the first time blushed. Then he looked upon the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Silky red hair, long and tied into a top knotted tail, eyes the shade of jade that stretches forever, skin so smooth and almond in color around the most beautiful lips he could imagine. Suddenly he was unable to speak. “Is there something I can help you with?” She tossed the cloak at him, giggling a little. He barely caught it, as he was still staring, the butterflies in his stomach nearly made him pass out from starving himself. “My name is Vilkacis.” “I am Ilyngwyn, and be warned, if you try to put a hand on me, I will take it as my own.” “I could never harm one such as you…” This began the happiest time in Vilkacis’s life. Ilyngwyn and he traveled all over Faerun. She taught him the tools of the thief and he in turn helped her already formidable skills in weapons, though he hadn’t used one since leaving the tribe. There were no secrets between them. They loved and laughed and took what they needed. Nothing could stop them. Unfortunately for Vilkacis, the tragedy that haunted his past would catch up with him, and reap it’s own terrible vengeance on his love. They had purchased a very nice apartment in Calimport. It overlooked the sea. They had the fortune of being anonymous here in this large port city. They had enough money to live comfortably for a number of years here, and so would have passed as such but for the mayor’s psychic advisor. The mayor of Calimport, a cruel human by the name of Salim Allahdubah, was notoriously paranoid, and asked his psychic advisor for the telling of the future so he could spy out his enemies. One morning, he asked and this is what he heard: “A werewolf will come seeking revenge upon you for the death of his love.” Thinking it was madness, as no werewolf he had ever heard of would live in a city such as his, he thought nothing of it until later that ill-fated day. On his way to an afternoon meeting near the harbor front, his carriage rocked from an impact and came to a screeching halt. “What in blazes is happening out there driver?” “You had better come out here quick, my lord.” When Salim stepped out of his carriage, he saw a form lying under the back edge of his carriage. “What is this? What did you hit?” “I hit a woman I believe my lord. She stepped out in front of us and before I knew it, we had struck her.” Salim bent over her. She was still breathing, but Salim had no time or care to help her. Salim bent over and kissed her on the cheek. “A kiss from a king is all I have for you, now we shall leave you to your fate, as I have pressing business.” Salim climbed back into his carriage and motioned his driver to continue, leaving the dying body of Ilyngwyn behind on the street. A few passers by moved her from the street onto a bench in front of a tavern, but then left her there. Unable to move and crying for her love, she sat there for hours. “Vilkacis,” Ilyngwyn whispered, “please come…please come and rescue me…” He was standing on the balcony, waiting for her to come home when he heard a small knock at the door. Quickly he moved and threw the door open. There was a small boy, clad in the rags of the street. “You must come with me. Your wife has been hurt. She needs you.” Vilkacis picked the boy up and ran. Following the boy’s directions, he made his way quickly to where Ilyngwyn was laying. He set the boy down and walked the remaining few feet. Kneeling beside her and taking her hand, Vilkacis looked for signs of life. He could smell the blood, could see it running down her skirt onto the sidewalk. “I am here my love” Ilyngwyn opened her eyes and smiled, a bloody smile but one nonetheless. “You came, you heard my pleas…” She coughed violently and more blood came out with it. A dark crimson color it was. “Rest, I will get you to help.” “No, I just needed to see your face one more time.” With that, Ilyngwyn died. Vilkacis grabbed her and held her. “Please don’t leave me my love, please…” Vilkacis whispered into her ear. Not wanting to let her go, he detected a new scent on her cheek. “A carriage hit her some time ago. She just awoke a little while back and that is when we sent the boy to find you,” a voice from behind him said. “Where did the carriage go?” Vilkacis said, pain and sorrow in his voice. “It went down the avenue, but you will never find it now.” Vilkacis gently laid his love on the bench and wiped the blood from her face with his shirt. “Do not touch her,” Vilkacis growled as he stepped into the street. The smell was hours old, but he could still smell it. The scent was male, a faint hint of coffee and some very noxious cologne. He could feel his rage building; his every instinct was to become the living embodiment of that rage. To kill every body in sight, then continue until something stopped him. But he couldn’t do that. She had always kept him in check, always was able to take the hate away and pull him from that edge. Now she was gone. Vilkacis started running down the street. He followed the scent down to a large building on the harbor. There was a lone light coming from the third floor. Quickly he climbed the building and crept through the open window. There were three men sitting at a table with a few large stacks of paper on it. He made no noise and he smelled the air. Yes, the scent was here, but the human male had been gone, maybe not longer than an hour. “Where is he?” Vilkacis said as the three human leapt to their feet in shock. “Who are you and how the hell did you get in here? “I asked once, don’t make me ask again.” Vilkacis could scarcely control his anger. “We don’t know who you talking about. Now get out before the boys get rough with ya,” the older man across the room said. The other two younger men started smirking and pounding their fist into the opposite hand. Vilkacis immediately reached over and grabbed the man on the right, broke his arm at the elbow, and tossed him through the third story window out into the cobblestone street below. The other two stared at Vilkacis as he turned to look at them. “Don’t hurt us.” It didn’t even register to Vilkacis as he quickly moved to the other thug and ripped his head off. “Last time old man, WHERE IS HE?” Vilkacis screamed. “I don’t know who you are talking about…” the old man stammered. “He left an hour ago, I can still smell his stench. Here, I believe this belongs to you,” Vilkacis said as he tossed the head of the thug onto the table, knocking over the stacks of papers and covering them with blood. The old man started to move to pick up his papers. “No, I wouldn’t move if I were you. Do you understand what I am saying, old man?” “YOU JUST CAN’T COME IN HERE AND DO THIS TO ME! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FRIENDS ARE?” the old man yelled. “No,” responded Vilkacis calmly, “but if it’s in those papers then I suppose I will. And I also suppose that I won’t be needing you anymore as well.” “What?” Vilkacis jumped over the table and grabbed the old man by his shoulders. Not thinking, Vilkacis morphed in front of the old man, now screaming, into his werewolf form. He had to duck so as to not destroy part of the ceiling, and then he took a large bite out of the old man’s midsection. He dropped the old man on the floor. Shifting back into his human form, he could still taste the old man’s blood as he spit out the chunk of human flesh onto the floor; the old man just stared at his own insides. “Can your friends fix that?” The old man tried to speak, but the holes in his lungs would not allow it. “What? I’m having some trouble hearing you? Oh I get it, you’re having trouble breathing. Let you in on a little secret. It only hurts for a while, a very long while. You see, it takes your guts a little while to dry out, but your lungs will eventually fill the hole with blood and then, that’s when the true pain begins. Let’s get you upstairs. I am sure the birds are hungry.” Vilkacis hoisted the old man over his shoulder and left the room, finding a hallway with a spiral stairwell on his right. “Nice house.” He walked up the stairs and opened the latch that allowed access to the roof. Leaping up, he landed softly with the old man in tow. He dropped him and then dragged him towards the roof edge. “If you can be so kind as to point in the direction that your friend left in, I can make the pain go away. Or I can make it hurt more.” The old man lifted an arm up and pointed back into the city, towards the rich part of Calimport. “Which house?” Vilkacis guided the old man’s arm across the direction he had pointed. The old man’s hand started to shake as he passed City Hall. “That it? Is that where the man is?” The old man closed his eyes and nodded his head. Vilkacis let go of the old man’s hand and dragged his body into the middle of the roof. Then he left the old man there and went back into the room that he had entered. He grabbed some of the papers that had the most recent dates and an old coat, and then used the rest of the papers to get a fire going. Not in the fireplace, but in the middle of the room. He used all of the furniture and then calmly walked down the stairs and proceeded to light each and every room on fire as best he could. Before he even got to the third room on the first second floor, the house was a blazing inferno. Vilkacis left the burning building and walked down the street. Lucky for him, the wind was calm right now, and he could detect the scent again, a little stronger than before. He followed it all the way through Calimport. Finally the scent became much stronger outside City Hall. “So, the old man had been telling the truth.” It was now late in the evening, but there were many lights in the windows of the City Hall of Calimport. He could see shadows passing over the windows, but had no idea where his prey was. He decided to enter and see what was inside. Unfortunately for Vilkacis, the door was locked. He just pulled harder and the door went pop as the hinges gave and he flung the wayward door into the street. A muffled gasp came from inside. “I’m terribly sorry sir, we are closed,” said an armed guard that was moving towards Vilkacis. “I just need to ask you a quick question,” Vilkacis said with a sly smile. “Do you know anybody that would leave a woman in the street for dead?” “No, I don’t. You will have to leave before I call for the watch to come arrest you.” “Well buddy, I can’t let you do that. The thing is, I’ve been tracking this scent the better part of my night, and it hasn’t exactly been a good day. Now I’m going to continue to follow this scent until it has died, or I die. And I’m not doing the latter anytime soon.” The guard drew his short sword, but the look in his eyes told Vilkacis that he didn’t really want to fight. “You look like a nice boy, why don’t you just go home and call it a night. There will be plenty of stuff for you to do tomorrow.” “I can’t let you do that.” With a move as quick as death, Vilkacis grabbed the guard and quickly snapped his neck. “Sorry about that bud.” The scent was coming from down the hall and up the grand staircase. He was getting close now. Vilkacis crept down the hall and up the stairs. Now he could hear someone panting heavily along with some grunting. Silently he made his way to the source of the smell and it also seemed the noises. Slowly he tested the large double oaken doors. They were unlocked. He quietly twisted the knob, pulled the door open a bit and looked inside. Instantly Vilkacis caught the source of the scent, the source being a large Calimshite, who was naked having sex with a woman on the top of a desk. The woman smelled of roses and sweat, but he could have cared less. He slipped into the room and crept up behind the man. “Excuse me, do you know where my wife is?” Vilkacis asked. “What in blazes?” said the man; startled that anybody was in the room with them. The woman gasped and quickly slid off the desk to try and cover herself up. The man turned around and stared hard at Vilkacis, who returned the glare in spades. “As you can plainly see, this woman is not your wife, now get out of my office.” “Yes, I can see that. Now, do you know where my wife is?” “No I don’t you insolent cur, now leave at once!” “Well, I do. She is lying on a bench outside the Desert Spring Tavern. That’s down the main avenue a bit before you get to the harbor. Ever been there?” The mayor suddenly remembered what his advisor had said. “Oh my, that was your wife my carriage ran over this day…” Vilkacis took a step closer to the mayor. Now they were only inches apart. “Yes.” “We tried to stop and help her, but it was too late…” the mayor lied. “A small boy came to me. When I got to her, it had been hours since you had left her. She hung on to life in that street on that bench for the better part of the day. She had been waiting for me. If only you had helped her when you had the chance.” “Well my lad, can’t we work something out for your pain and trouble? I am a very powerful man and have many friends in this town. We can get her the finest help…” “SHE”S DEAD YOU STUPID SON OF A *****!” Vilkacis screamed. “Do you understand now what it is I am telling you? Oh, and one of your friends I already visited. Very interesting stuff here,” Vilkacis said calmly pulling out some of the papers that he had taken. “I don’t understand all this rubbish, but I am sure I can find someone who can. Take a look at the harbor. See anything interesting?” The now visibly shaken mayor of Calimport walked to the window and saw the inferno that was starting to claim many portions of the harbor front. “Jacob…” the mayor whispered. “So that was his name. You should be proud of him. It took a lot of persuading to get him to finger you. Of course I had to rip his guts out. Very bloody, very painful. Are you mad yet? Sad? Me, I don’t feel anything now. You took that from me today. Any last requests?” “Just one, are you a werewolf?” “Yes, but I do this as a man.” Vilkacis grabbed the mayors’ head and started to press in with his hands. The mayor struggled as his head was being crushed between Vilkacis’ hands but to no avail. The woman screamed the whole time. The mayor’s head made a noise like a melon being crunched under a wagon wheel and again Vilkacis again was covered with the blood of his enemies. The woman continued screaming as Vilkacis walked over to the window, opened it and leapt out into the night. He found himself staring at Ilyngwyn’s body until early morning. Then he noticed the Watch patrol coming down the street. He leaned over and whispered into his dead wife’s ear: “Let’s get you someplace where you can sleep, my love,” whispered Vilkacis; the tears now flowing freely down his face. He picked up and cradled her body, then ran into the back alleys of Calimport until he had made it back to their home. There, he laid her on the couch as he collected her most prized possessions. Most were jewels and gems, but her favorite was a small ring he had made her. A simple band of leather interwoven to form a chain of sorts was the small thing she held most dear. He grabbed his pack, threw some extra clothes into it, packed his wife’s tokens into a small sack, then picked up his wife again and left the city of Calimport. He carried her across the desert, moving quickly at night and sleeping by day. On the second day, her body began to decay and really smell. This attracted many scavengers, but none would come near, for Vilkacis’ sorrow was palpable to the animals that surrounded him. He decided that he would not rest until his love was sleeping peacefully and safely. He made his way to the hills north of the desert. These hills were filled with narrow rocky canyons with many caves. On the fourth day, he found a suitable cave. Small and deep, he laid his love inside it, arranged her things and slept beside her for two days. “Awake my love.” Vilkacis woke up so fast that he hit his head on the hard ceiling of the cave. There was nothing except him and the body of his wife, still dead. “You have grieved enough, you have avenged my death, now you need to go and live.” He shook his head violently. How could he be hearing this? It was his love’s voice, but he could not see who, or what was talking. Slowly he crept out of the small cave. When he got out, he stood in a beautiful meadow surrounded on all sides with sheer rock walls. A small pond was in the center with a small waterfall that fed it. Aspen trees stood on three sides and there were many flowers growing here. He took a deep breath; jasmine, lilac, wild rose and many other scents in the small glade made him remember the first time he had laid eyes on her. He gathered many of the flowers and laid them inside his love’s crypt, then laid each stone that he could find into that small cave. Somehow he managed to find enough to fill it up completely. Then he took her dagger and carved her name into the rock face. He used it so much trying to make her name a permanent feature that the blade wore down and snapped. Tears still flowing, he gathered his meager belongings and leaped out of the hole in the hills.