Torin: Day Two

I had heard that thieves and smugglers frequented this inn, and this passage had helped several lawbreakers manage to evade the guard. I was glad to have paid the extra coin for it as I lifted that trap door and felt the cold, damp air. Diana had stopped to gather some things, and aside from the incumbent fire I had chosen not to protest. I would have passed it all up and regretted it later. I was about to make a remark when she shoved an old lantern into my hands and dropped into the passage. She pulled the door shut.

I could see her stop cold in the pitch black of the passage. I heard the creaking of the building above us as the flames spread throughout it. Diana began searching her person for something, and holding out a hand presumably for the lantern.

"There's no need for that." I said, taking her by her outstretched hand and turning down the passage, and tossing the lantern from my grip. I heard her shout something as I got my pace to a slow run and remembered that not everyone else was capable of seeing in the darkness. I'm gonna regret dropping that other lantern.


After a few minutes we exited from a small cave into the woods outside of the village. The inn was an inferno at this point. We could hear the fire bells pealing across the village.

"Let's get moving." I said, turning towards the morning sun.

"Wait a minute. What makes you think I'm going with you? Do you even know where you're going?" She exclaimed, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Let's pretend you didn't just put yourself on a mass-murderer's wanted list. Your old protector is gone. A woman on her own in these woods, no matter how well armed with my weapons, won't do well if she runs into too many outlaws at once. Of course, you could always go back to town and explain what happened to what's left of its denizens. But in short... I owe you. So stay here if you want, but I don't want to find your body pinned to a wall next week." I watched her weigh her options, and eventually he made up her mind.

"I need time to make a new plan, so I'll go with you for now. But not East. I'll go in any direction but East." she said, her eyes glaring towards the morning sun as if she was trying to stare it down.

I weighed our options and decided that our best was to head South, so we set off. We followed the tree line for an hour or so and eventually came to a road. A worn road marker stood at the forest's edge, pointing to the South and the village of Kimbel.

"We'll have a walk on our hands for the day. Kimbel's a good 25 miles. Luckily, it's open and not a road frequented by highwaymen." I told her. She gave me an inquisitive glance.

"Are you scared of highwaymen? The big, strong demon slayer?" She chuckled at what I could only imagine being the thought of me running from a group of thugs.

"No. But I've been up and moving for about 56 hours. I'm getting weak, and the bright, beating day's sun isn't helping. I killed your... whatever he was, because of the same reason. I have to rest eventually. And..." I looked away. I've discussed many factors of my existence with many people, but not many people know my feeding habits aside from the ones I kill. I've never gotten accustomed to talking about it. Never had to tell anyone. She leaned around to look at me. I can't tell if she's enjoying this or if she thinks I'm insinuating I'm gonna kill her. I might as well come out with it. "I..."

"If you're going to kill me, at least have the decency to tell me."

What!? I stopped cold. Her face was blank and surprisingly honest. "I... I'm not gonna kill you! What the hell are you thinking?! I was gonna ask you if you'd be willing to keep watch while I recovered some of my energy. Jeez, quit being so damn morbid."

"How in blazes am I supposed to know?! I've been running around since yesterday without any real understanding of how I even ended up in this position!" She shot back defensively, then took a second to breathe. "...If you want to find a place and take a catnap, that's fine. It'll give me a moment to think, at least."

I sighed. "...Thank you. And don't worry. I don't plan on killing you."

Day Two: Dawning

Bile rose in my throat as I stared down the warning Torin's mark had left on the walls of his room. The carnage we stepped over to get there had been so well-shredded as to forget it started out as a collection of humans - walking, talking beings. Our luck ended, it seemed, as Torin found his belongings. The identifiable remains of a woman, eyes forever locked in a blank expression of surprise, housed his sword.

A lone, lit lantern, suspiciously full, illuminated the windowless room, attracting Torin's attention. He threw it to the ground, breaking the glass and letting the oil soak the floorboards.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing else valuable of mine is in this room anymore. He could have taken my coin, but most likely someone else came in after him to rob the bodies. Might I suggest we leave?"

The flames were spreading. There was no time.

"Don't you think before you act?" I complained, hurrying back to the entrance. In the time we'd spent shuffling through gore, the sun would have risen too high in the sky for a dim escape. "How are we supposed to get out of here? Does your monstrous friend strike towns blind as well? Oblivious to large buildings on fire?"

Torin scowled at me. "I do, in fact, think. I thought before I ever paid for the room!" With that, he tried the knob of a locked door. When it didn't yield, he kicked it in. "Hurry, there's not much time," he insisted. Smoke was beginning to roll through the common room.

I followed him into what looked like a stock room, where he had thrown aside a tattered old rug to reveal a hidden portal in the floor. "Where does this lead?" I asked as he opened the door and began to step into the hole.

"Outside the village. It isn't a long passage. Quickly, now, before the smoke reaches here too!"

I turned to wedge the damaged door back into its frame, then pulled a folded cloth bag out of my belt. "Just a moment," I demanded as I began to shove food into it. "Who knows what we'll found out there? Ah, we're lucky!" I held up a flint for a second before pocketing it. Torin growled as I tossed a stray, half-emptied lantern his way and occupied my free hand with a precious skin flask of wine. Smoke curled through the cracks in the door as I threw the bag's handle over my shoulder and scurried down the hatch.

With the opened floor swung back into place, the tunnel was pitch black. I fumbled for the flint in my dress, but Torin grabbed me by the arm and tugged. "There's no need for that," he said, breaking out into a run.

"I can't see!" I sputtered, stumbling over the uneven ground. He was following the twists of the cavern with impossible accuracy, while I bumped into the cold dirt wall more often than I liked. Soon, the ceiling opened up above us and the morning was visible through the mouth of a small cave that opened into dense forest.

Torin gazed smugly at the flames licking at the sky in the distance. "Let's get moving," he sighed, striking out East, away from the town.

"Wait a minute," I protested. "What makes you think I'm going with you? Do you even know where you're going?" His loud laugh nearly knocked me off my feet.

"Let's pretend you didn't just put yourself on a mass-murderer's wanted list," he began as his mirth died down. "Your old protector is gone. A woman on her own in these woods, no matter how well armed with my weapons, won't do well if she runs into too many outlaws at once. Of course, you could always go back to town and explain what happened to what's left of its denizens. But in short, I owe you. So stay here if you want, but I don't want to find your body pinned to a wall next week."

I thought about what I must look like, with my careworn clothes, stringy unwashed hair, and mismatched bags criss-crossing my body. I looked like I belonged to nobody, like I might not be missed, and like I might have something worth stealing. In fact, if he weren't in my debt, I'd probably be next on Torin's hit list. I was stuck "I need time to make a new plan, so I'll go with you for now. But not East. I'll go in any direction but East."

"A new plan, huh? Well, I've already been West. He doesn't like to backtrack. Let's go South. We've got all day, and thanks to you, we're even well-supplied." He set out, with the dawn at his left, at an easy pace. After a while, I could feel his eyes burning into my side.

"What?"

"Morbid curiosity ... what's to the east?"

"The thing I'm running from, naturally."

"Funny. You're trying to escape danger, and I'm trying to find it."

I laughed. "Danger, in death? Gods, no. It's the danger in life I'm running from."

Torin - Day One: Part 3

I kept an eye on her as we walked inside the inn, reading her expressions as we walked through the carnage. I could see a flicker or two of sadness at this immense, unnecessary loss of life, but otherwise she was reacting very minimally. You've been at this for some time. It took years for me to get used to this kind of sight.

From what I could tell there were around 10 people in the main room when he attacked. Not much left of them now. He really wants to get me into trouble and out of his hair. As we rounded the corner into the hallway leading to the few rooms, I looked back to her again, "You sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine. What kind of man is this that you're chasing? From everything I see here, he seems more akin to a beast or a demon, rather than a man."

I started walking slowly as I spoke, "If I called him a man, then I apologize. He's not a man anymore, per se. He may have the body of a man, but his soul... His soul may not even exist any more. He creates nothing but carnage and destruction, and yet somehow no one in the area can ever catch the faintest glimpse of him. I can't understand it, except for the use of some sort of magic, or even something akin to hypnosis. But at the root of it all, he's nothing more than a ruthless beast that needs to be put down, simply to put and end to his killing."

"If you think such of him, why put so much effort into hunting him down?" She asked, stepping over what remained of a elderly man. "Why are you the person hunting him?"

"Some time ago he tried to kill me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't some deliberate, planned attempt on my life. I had done him no harm; just another possible victim, but probably not what he expected. You've bore witness to that. I didn't realize what he was, or how many people he'd already killed. I beat him back, and he ran away. A couple of days later, I found out about an entire village about 120 miles from here, out in the East. Every single person had been beaten, killed, and mutilated. He had killed all of them. His... style is unique. So that kind of set the wheels in motion. I decided that I had to do something about it."

"Did you think yourself to be responsible for their deaths?"

"In a way. If I had killed him, then he wouldn't have killed anyone else since. But he's fast. He almost seems to jump from region to region without rest. I've been chasing him for 3 years, at least."

"How is that possible? Could it be more than one killer?"

"I don't know, honestly. He travels too quickly, but I can never find anyone to give me a description. This is honestly the closest I've been to him in a while." I stopped at the door to the room I had rented.

"...I believe we have made it to your room, Torin." Diana said, peering around me. "Just a feeling." Spattered across the door were several bloody handprints, and words carved into the surface. 'YOU WILL FAIL,' dug deep into the wood and filled in with blood. I opened the door slowly to find a woman staring at me, cold and lifeless. He had done so much in so little time. She was attached to the far wall by several of the soldier's weapons and a couple large shards of wood he had driven into her limbs and torso. She was stripped and slashed open; strewn about as though he wanted to make her a part of the room. And embedded into her chest was what I had come for. My broadsword was glistening in the darkness with blood, and the blade itself had darkened as a result. I sheathed my short blade and walked to the body.

"...Gods. This is... What are you doing?" Diana asked as I reached up and gripped the handle of my sword. I removed the weapon from the corpse quickly, and set it into a set of small hook and clasps on my jacket. I scanned the room quickly picked up a lantern, then turned to my inadvertent companion and tossed the lantern over my shoulder. The lantern shattered on the ground, the oil spreading across the dry wood and the surface catching ablaze.

"Nothing else valuable of mine is in this room anymore. He could have taken my coin, but most likely someone else came in after him to rob the bodies. Might I suggest we leave?"

Day One: Diana (Part Two)

He threw me over his shoulder so easily, as though I didn't weigh a pound. I couldn't help but cry out, regretting it the moment I saw a nearby guard's head raise in alarm.

Before he could connect my voice to my location, the ground flew out from under us at a sickening rate. Gods, but the man can fly! I barely contained my surprise as he set me down and continued sizing me up. I had certainly chosen an interesting new companion, though if he continued to handle me like a sack of potatoes, his uniqueness would not assist him.

Once assured that the guards would not be expecting us atop the roof of the local inn, we relaxed and he began to introduce himself.

"I'm Torin," he began, holding his hand out to me. It seemed a gesture given too late - having already laid hands on me, already entered my personal space. He would not enter it again by my choice! After a moment, his arm dropped as he smirked at me.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's nice to meet you too. Well, if you insist," he sighed, "I've been following someone ... maybe something, and it's brought me here. In every town, there have been terrible murders, bodies left scattered in pieces or scraps hanging from trees and roofs. There aren't any witnesses for any of the murders, and in fact the townspeople act like they've just woken from a dream."

"So you're investigating it?" I asked, eyebrow cocked.

"You could say that," he chuckled. "We can't have anybody edging in on our business, now can we?"

My temper flared. "I am not a murderer!" I hissed, stepping aggressively towards him. "Any man I've killed had bought his way to hell long before." The amused look on his face melted into a sad understanding. "My name is Diana. My ... companion ... and I were just passing through. I've got my own quest that's brought me this way," I finished, noticing Torin's attention had shifted to the ground below.

I followed his gaze to the entrance of the inn, where a wide swath of blood peppered by armor painted the cobblestones and stairs leading to the door.

"We need to move. I need to get my gear and we need to leave. I have this feeling that this isn't coincidental," he insisted, again holding his hand out to me. This time I had no choice but to allow his touch as he grabbed me and leaped to the dirt. The smell on the ground made my stomach twist as the blood heated with the rising sun. Torin seemed to end his survey and focus on the door. His eyes had transformed from the red shade they had after his murder to a cooler gray. After a moment, I spoke up:

"What's wrong?"

"We'll see once we get inside. But I have this suspicion that he knows I'm here. He's found his way out, and it looks to me that he might try to use me as a scapegoat. In short, he's trying to pin his little spree on me," he explained. I stared into the dark doorway, hoping the dawn might lend some clue to what might wait within.

"Do you think he's inside?"

He shook his head and handed me a knife with a grim look. "I don't want to do this, but the moment I walk inside without you, he'll end up out here tearing you apart like those soldiers. And I'd never hear you scream, because you wouldn't get the chance. So take this, stay  close, and don't hesitate to use it." I balanced the knife in my hand - rather heavier than I would have preferred, had we more time. But not the worst weapon to have in-hand, should push come to shove. I nodded and begrudgingly placed my hand on his arm to serve as a lifeline in the dark building, assuring him I could handle myself.

He looked down at me with a naked sadness in his now-gray eyes. I bristled at his implied pity, at the idea that I might not come out of the inn alive.

I grit my teeth and advanced.

Torin - Day One: Part 2

It took us a good bit of time to get distance from that place, the crux of a situation that I could have just as easily have avoided. But where's the fun in that?  I took her with me and made it almost to where I was staying: a little inn on the outskirts of town, near the gates and a convenient little hole that avoids the gate and its guardsmen. As we neared the building, I heard the usual unpleasant sound of soldiers questioning commoners. I acted before I thought, and grabbed for my small blades. She stopped me before I moved to attack them, "No!" she whispered harshly, "We can't leave a bloody warpath on our way out! If we're getting out of this village, we have to think rationally." After an exasperated sigh, I nodded and took my hands off my blades.

"I agree, but I have to get into my room. I have to get some things that I left a few hours ago."

"What, back when you were looking for a snack?" She smirked.

"...You could say that... But regardless, we've got to get into that building. Trust me, things will go a lot smoother should we get caught in a bad situation, as long as I can get my belongings. Now, if we can't do things the easy way..." I looked around for anything that might help out, found nothing and sighed again, "Just...don't freak out."

"What?" She looked at me with a genuine curiosity and then shock. "Wait... What are you thinking? I have to say I don't like the sound of your voice right now." I smiled, holding back a laugh due to our...extenuating circumstance.

"Will you just shut up and hold on?" I smiled again and picked her up, waiting for a second while deciding if this was the best idea. Apparently, she thought I was thinking of other things, cause before I figured it out, she had looked at me funny and slapped me lightly.

"I don't think that what you're thinking is going to get us out of this mess, but I can assure you it will certainly get us into another one." I sighed at her a third time, smirked, and went to set her down, only to pick her up and throw her over my shoulder. She yelped a little in response, and hit me in the back.

"Hush you, it was worth it. Now stay quiet; this is the fun part." I figured that the soldiers had heard her yelp, and they would most likely be rounding the corner to see what the sound was, so I decided it was time to move. I wonder how it looked to her, to see the ground rise up, and then move rapidly away for a second or two. But I've done it numerous times. Something about the demonic blood had made me more agile. I've jumped higher than this, and it was extremely easy for me to make it onto the roof of a single story building. I let her down slowly, and she was surprisingly calm. You're very intriguing, I hope you know that. I looked down to see the guards right around where we were standing, and she came up to me and grabbed my arm, trying to pull me back. "It's all right, they can't see us. They don't really expect people on rooftops. We'll give them a minute to scratch their heads, and then see what we can do to get in."

While we waited, we talked. I introduced myself, and explained why I was in this town in the first place. I told her about the trail of bodies that I had followed from village to village, all connected to a murderer that no one could quite recall. She started to tell me things about her, when I heard something...unnatural. "Hold that thought...Diana, was it?" I walked to the other side of the building, and looked down to find a bloody trail leading into the building I was staying in. "...Great. We may have a situation."

"What do you mean, a situation?"

"See for yourself." I turned toward her as she stepped up to the roof edge, and watched her eyes search the bloody image below. "We need to move. I need to get my gear and we need to leave. I have this feeling that this isn't coincidental." She nodded, and I grabbed her up, taking a moment for her to get ready, and stepped off the roof. I made sure to hit the ground as easily as possible, and I surveyed our surroundings as I let her down.

There was a bloody smear moving from around the corner into the doorway of the small inn, and what looked like a leather chestpiece in shreds laying just in sight. Diana noticed my silence, and turned to me. "What's wrong?"

"We'll see once we get inside. But I have this suspicion that he knows I'm here. He's found his way out, and it looks to me that he might try to use me as a scapegoat. In short, he's trying to pin his little spree on me." I assume that she had noticed the change in my eye color. I had caught a glimpse of it myself in a reflection from a window: the usual bright red had cooled to a flat gray. I saw a slight hesitation as she turned away, looking into the doorway.

"Do you think he's inside?"

"I'd rather like for him to be...so probably not. But I'm open to surprises." I took out my two knives and handed one to her. "I don't want to do this, but the moment I walk inside without you, he'll end up out here tearing you apart like those soldiers. And I'd never hear you scream, because you wouldn't get the chance. So take this, stay  close, and don't hesitate to use that." She nodded and held the knife in her right hand, and placed her left hand on my arm.

"This isn't the first time you've done this, is it? Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

I looked at her one more time with my now flat gray eyes, placed my free hand over hers for a slight second, and sighed. ...If only I hadn't heard that before.

Day One: Diana (part one)

It was over in an instant.
It felt like an eternity. I stood frozen on the spot, staring at the body of the man who had been my protector and provider for the last 3 months. He had ensured I stayed safe, sheltered, and well-fed every moment I was with him.
His murderer was standing above him, momentarily unaware of my presence. How could he? How could he have rid the world of my provider?
That lecherous ball of slime, before I could do it myself?
He had funded every step of the journey I was taking, at the high price of his pitiful advances, and unbeknown to him, his own life. My skin crawled to think of how many times he had tried to touch me, my ears rang with his whining that he had given me everything, that I had given nothing in return. I should have killed him weeks earlier when his pleas became more insistent. He had become dangerous, but to have lost the chance to dispose of him in my own way made me furious.
So furious that for a moment, I forgot that there was another person between me and his body.
My eyes rose to meet his ... as red as mine were angry. I could feel him analyzing me, and I could almost feel the lie coming on. I knew he hadn't found the man that way. I had watched him drain the blood from the body and slit the throat to cover it.
"Shut up."
His eyes widened a little.
"Do you know...how long I had to follow him? How long I have had to put up with that pitiful, disgusting man? And now, I don't even get to finish his useless existence?! Gods, all for naught! I still feel the burns on my skin from his lecherous hands, and thanks to you, I don't get to rid him of them!"
"If it's any consolation, he didn't feel much." He shrugged. My temper boiled over.
"I wanted him to feel everything I was going to do! I was going to make him suffer for every little thing that he has done in his entire miserable life! And now I've got you to thank for taking that opportunity away from me!" I ranted and screamed before he interrupted me and apologized.
"Look. I'm sorry. I had no idea that you were after this guy. I just happened across him. If I had known, I would have asked you about it first. I mean, hell, aren't there tons of other worthwhile guys out there that you can go after?"
He had no idea how many men were deserving of my scorn. But I knew he could have chosen a better target. He must have been tired. "Aren't there plenty of other useless people that you could go sink your teeth into? Quite literally, I might add."
For someone I had just seen take the life of another human being, he seemed so nonthreatening. Almost amused by my sarcasm, even.
"Now. Look here. I apologize for raining on your little murder parade, darlin'. I never planned on getting in anyone's business. So I'm gonna go my way. I suggest you go yours. The fuss you've stirred up has no doubt caught someone's attention. The faster you get out of here, the better."
"But what about the body?" Was he just going to leave it laying there? "Even I would have given it a proper burial."
He insisted we didn't have time - before walking up to grab my shoulders. He intrigued me too much to die, so I jerked away. As I proceeded to make distance between the two of us, I walked face-first into the leather-clad chest of a town guard. I felt the murderer grab me again, pulling me away from the guard.
In another split second, the guard had flown through the air - propelled by a strong fist - into a brick building. We had a short amount of time to get away.
So I went with him.

Torin - Day One: Part 1

Yeah, I could have went and found and embittered drunk who was tired of living. I could have went hunting down a wanted criminal who didn't deserve a second chance and who probably wouldn't get one should he or she be caught. I could have found anyone more deserving, but for the first night in a long, long time, I just didn't want to.

I was bored, had a rough day, and most of all I was just tired. And the man I found was just standing there, not doing anything and the moment was perfect.

So I seized it.

I can say with certainty that he never expected, or saw a thing. I broke his neck in mid attack, and he was dead before he hit the ground, but I used every second of the time in between to drain him just shy of dry. To hide the mark I left upon his throat, I took one of my shorter knives and slit across the wounds, disfiguring the appearance to look like that of a open knife slash. I cleaned my blade on the back of my shirt and sheathed it.

When I turned around, I hadn't expected to see the girl standing there, looking past me to the dead man. In shock, she stood quite defensively when I turned in her direction, but it was in her eyes. She knew him. But oddly enough, I didn't see grief in those eyes. There was nothing about her that suggested that I had just killed a loved one, but rather... that I had taken something from her, like a cat that realized the mouse was dead and playtime was over. The silence hung around for longer than I'd liked, and I knew that it had more to do with her analyzing me than what I had done to the poor man. I decided that I should try to at least make it look like something it wasn't, so I spoke out.
"It's a damn shame. I found him there, and just from getting close and looking, I can tell you he's-"

"Shut up." She faintly snapped at me, "Do you know...how long I had to follow him? How long I have had to put up with that pitiful, disgusting man? And now, I don't even get to finish his useless existence?! Gods, all for naught! I still feel the burns on my skin from his lecherous hands, and thanks to you, I don't get to rid him of them!"

........Not many things shut me up. I've been known to have quite the witty repertoire, but again, for the first time in a long time, I couldn't speak. I thought for a few seconds, and the words that came out weren't the a-typical response that this situation needed. "If it's any consolation, he didn't feel much."

I saw her frustration and knew that's not what she wanted to hear.

"I wanted him to feel everything I was going to do! I was going to make him suffer for every little thing that he has done in his entire miserable life! And now I've got you to thank for taking that opportunity away from me!"

Apparently, you've upset her, old boy. Nice going there. "Look. I'm sorry. I had no idea that you were after this guy. I just happened across him. If I had known, I would have asked you about it first. I mean, hell, aren't there tons of other worthwhile guys out there that you can go after?"

She scoffed at me, smirking as she replied, "Aren't there plenty of other useless people that you could go sink your teeth into? Quite literally, I might add."

The look I gave her seemed to calm the anger she was directing my way. "Now. Look here. I apologize for raining on your little murder parade, darlin'. I never planned on getting in anyone's business. So I'm gonna go my way. I suggest you go yours. The fuss you've stirred up has no doubt caught someone's attention. The faster you get out of here, the better."

She stammered for a second. "But what about the body?"

"What do you expect to do with it?"

She shrugged, "Even I would have given him a proper burial."

"Well then the local guard will just have to be his pallbearers. We. Don't. Have. Time." I walked to her and grabbed her shoulders, "If you don't go, then I'll leave you here to take the fall." She looked at me for a moment and scoffed again, jerking free of my grasp. She turned around to leave and slammed straight into a guardsman. She stepped back as he glared down at her. His eyes shifted to me as I walked up behind her, taking her arm, "See, darlin'? Now we're gonna have to explain ourselves to this fine gentleman."

I think that he saw it coming. My free hand clenched tightly onto his face, sheer muscle propelling him into the building adjacent to us. Bricks crumbled at the force of his weight being forced into them. I turned to her again as the dust grew around us. "Come with me. NOW!"