Revenge, or something more (OPEN)

[Dios Sarvo]

It was a small place, hidden amidst the back allies and crooked pathways that lead one far from the more commonly bustling streets of the castle city. It's sign, reading "Sarvo's Private Investigations," along with the building itself was well worn and overcast by the taller structures that encircled it. It was a workplace and home that was all to apropo for the man inhabiting it seated in the darkest recesses of the twilight city. Even in the light of day, the inside required light to reveal the somewhat dishevelled interior; it's corners littered with papers stacked high, and a single solitary desk placed in the middle wherein Dios sat, a look of impatience upon his face; one slightly twisted by the hand that served as a perch for his chin as he leaned upon the desktop. Checking his pocket watch before stuffing it back into his vest, he rapped his fingers impatiently against the hardwood desk as a heavy and sustained sigh escaped the man's lips.

"Must incessant rapping be your only respite, or could you find some other means of delight?" The shade placed it's hands on the man's shoulders, it's slit like eyes trying hard to express the creatures annoyance. Swatting at the being's hands, Dios sneered before spinning around in his chair and hoisting himself to a stand.

"You know how much I hate waiting, and especially when I want something," Dios started as he paced the room. "You know how important this move is to me; to us. Not to mention I hate having to rely on others. The more people you have in a plan, the more...problematic things can become. They get messy, ya know?" The Lord of Shadows twisted his paper thin form to face his host, his expression having changed little from before.

"I know well of you nature, and matters of trust, but this matter is bigger then either of us. We need the others for this to be done, so steel your nerves lest this plan come undone." Dios swatted his hand at the shade, not dismissing the being's words, but more so just tired of being told the obvious. DIos knew well that he didn't have the power alone to accomplish what needed to be done, and, as much as he hated relying on others, he needed people of specific...skill sets to get this job done. Pacing the well worn floor back and forth as his listened to his nagging parter drone on, he interrupted yet another finely honed bit of wordplay with a question, further showcasing the man's rising impatience. "Are they at least coming? You can tell me that much, can't you, oh all seeing shadow," his voice dripping with a patronizing tone with his final words.

"I question whether you deserve such a boon, but I shall sate your question with a single word; soon."

"Fine, good enough. Thanks, or whatever. Now get your ass back into my shadow. We can't have people getting wise to you existing, especially if this is too work out as we want it to in the end." Taking the halfhearted thanks with a hint of pride, the shade gave the man a quick grin before flattening itself against the floor, emulating the man's shadow just in time for the first of the crew to enter through the marred front door...

[Natalya "Justicar" Banders]

As if in response to Dios' repeated tapping against his desk, a metal clang echoed against his front door followed by a cautious, "Hello?" Hesitation held still the body of Natalya Banders for a moment before she pushed the door open to the building the poster had mentioned. "Hello, I'm here for the-oh god what is that?" The musty smell of Dios' abode caught her off guard, causing her to crinkle her nose and cut her sentence short. Wafting the smell away from her face her eyes were drawn to the centre of the room where the lone Investigator sat. "Uh, Dios Sarvo...I presume?"

His unassuming size and shape caught the young Justicar by surprise. This is the man organizing the mission? I wonder what his secret is. Catching herself before she made the situation anymore awkward she took to his desk in a few lumbering steps. The weight of her in her armor caused the floorboards to creak and cry under duress, making her all the more wary of the destitution of the P.I.'s office. "Nice place you got here. Guess work's been a little slow since...well, you know?" Extending her hand forward she clutched a roll of parchment in her other, unfurling it to reveal a finely written wanted poster suspiciously lacking in any portraits. "Name's Natalya Banders, Justicar of Eventide, Servant of Nerezza. I'm here for the, ahhhh, pest control I believe you called it?" An eager smile managed to overtake the offended cringe in her expression for the moment.

[Dios Sarvo]

"Ahh yes, Miss Banders. Welcome, take a seat," Dios remarked with a wide smirk as he slid himself in his chair towards an unassuming pile of papers. Rifling through for a hastened moment, he returned to his desk as he reviewed the lone file. " I've been keeping an eye on your work. Fairly impressive, I have to say, and I don't say so often. Part of me had hoped I might catch your attention, but I was unsure just how far you'd been travelling outside or Nerreza these days. Perhaps luck has favoured us both in this instance."

Nonchalantly flipping through the notes Dios had accrued on the woman, his gaze would occasionally graze the brim of his hat as he watched and sized up the woman. There was only so much he could surmise between his notes and the woman's body language, so Dios resorted to an old but simple tactic; something that would amuse him if nothing else as he waited for the rest to arrive.

"You'll have to pardon me, Miss Banders. I'm not one for idle chit-chat, but feel free to regale me with you exploits while we wait, if you feel so inclined. It always helps an employer when he feels confident in his hired hands. And do feel free to exaggerate a bit, it never hurts my immersion in a good story," his voice muttered with a feigned hint of interest as his eyes drew imaginary lines across the papers before him.

[Vincent Loque]

The door very rudely opened then, and without a knock or any kind of warning whatsoever in barged Vincent Loque, a man tall, tan-skinned, blond hair and a scar over his right eye. He shrugged his muscular shoulders and grinned to the two people already in the room.

"Hey there. I'm Vincent Loque, former captain to the Ignisian queen," he spoke and gave them a nod, "sorry for interrupting, gentlemen, I'm here for a uh...job, of sorts."

Vincent, indeed, had failed to recognize Natalya's actual gender with her tomboyish appearance. If she was not waify, she was not a girl.

[Dios Sarvo]

Dios couldn't help but break his usually unwavering concentration with the sudden intrusion of yet another guest. Tipping his hat towards Vincent was the most the Ignisian received as a greeting before Dios kicked off his desk and back towards the seemingly unorganized piles behind him.

"My, my, shirking royal duties for a bit of fun are we, Mister Loque. Don't worry, I won't tell." With a hastened trill of fingers through the papers, he claimed the file he needed, and with another quick slide across the worn wooden flooring, arrived at his desk and began to review the document. "I was worried this was going to be a gathering of thugs and money hungry degenerates, but this is quickly turning into quite the ragtag band of goody-goodies. What with Miss Justicar, SIr Royal Captain and little 'ol lawman me, I'm suddenly starting to feel like this is all going to go too smoothly," Dios quipped before ending the thought in a chuckle. "Anyway, grab a seat. I was just razzing Miss Banders here to wow me with a tale or two whilst we waited. Don't worry, I won't bother you for any, I've already got enough here on you for your own book series." The words poured out thick and smug from the man's grin, almost as if the detective was bragging about his work as he flapped the sizeable file to and fro in the air, almost mockingly at Vincent.

[Natalya "Justicar" Banders]

The flattery flustered Natalya, replacing what should have been suspicion of Dios' knowledge of her with a short-breathed titter. "Mr Sarvo, I, I don't know what to say." Stupid stupid stupid. Clearing her throat she quickly thought up her most impressive tale in a hurry. Despite his tone, Natalya had spent enough time in the city to know what an interview sounded like, and like it or not she needed a job fast. Her travels outside of Nerezza had been granted to her by the Queen, a reward of sorts for her efforts during the Undanian Invasion. Yet her poor planning had left her with only enough travel funds for a week, and now with only enough for a day's lodgings Dios' offer had appeared before her like a wellspring of good fortune, yet one she could only drink from once she'd proven herself worthy it would seem.

"Well, okay so here I am in Bloodstone Keep, just a couple hundred of us and about a thousand refugees on the run from Duo's army. At first the battle is just awe-inspiring, I mean the stuff of legends are right before me, duking it out with real life monsters and the whole thing has me terrified-I mean, no not terrified. Surprised! That's it! So these creatures surprise us from the interior, just appearing out of thin air in a burst of light before they descend down and start taking out our archers. So I'm freaking out I mean I'm pumped up! Yeah, pumped, so I throw off my gauntlets and just as one of them bursts through the front gates I-" The real life womp of the door causes her story to cut short with a high pitched "Eeep!" as Vincent trotted into the office. By the time she calmed herself from her own startled state she missed the "gentlemen" line completely, all for the better. Vincent Loque, who is he? A question that hung in her mind for only a short while before Dios saveed her the embarrassment of asking.

Turning to the supposed Royal Captain she snaps to attention in a military salute. "An honour to meet you Sir Loque. I am Natalya Banders, Justicar of Eventide, Servant of Nerezza."

[Vincent Loque]

"I've resigned, there's a difference," Vincent answered with a chuckle as he slumped himself down into a chair beside Natalya, "I'm sure you could write an entire series on me, I've seen far too many things for even my own lifetime." He probably should have questioned how this guy could presumably know so much about him, though by this point Vincent was sure his name was known in some way in many parts of Allorum--all for good and bad reasons--and by now he had no idea what to even say or do about it, if anything. His motivation was shot with a new, young family of his he knew he didn't care for, his own daughter he actually did care for abandoned him, and Ignis was gone to hell with the monarch that was in place. Vincent had known better, he was born and raised to serve under a Volkanon throne but when Presul took it instead, he remained loyal to the country and not to the Volkanon family. He'd stayed to serve the new queen and soon found he couldn't honestly swear fealty to her, she just...wasn't a royal. Not by blood, not in demeanour, not in any logical sense, and not in the heart that Ignis had and needed.

Ignis could do as it would with him for his actions, but Vincent left. If he was a criminal now by their standards then so be it. But for now he needed to make some kind of money so here he was, back in Crepusculum.

He eyed Natalya as she spoke to him though, mouth agape as he debated voicing aloud that he thought "Natalya" was a bit of a girly name for a burly man but then shook his head and decided against it. He turned his head so he could see her properly, his one eye straining to take in her appearance and he gave her a short nod.

"Ah, yes um..." Sir or Lady...?

"Pleasure to meet you, Natalya Banders, Justicar of Eventide. Servant of Nerezza," he spoke quickly, noting it was less than respectful to not include every title one should have. This Natalya sounded more impressive in title than he did, though that was also probably because Vincent was convinced none of his titles really should matter anymore, he'd basically ruined all of them by now.

[Natalya "Justicar" Banders]

"Please, the pleasure's mine sir." Natalya put down her formal salute at the mention of his resignation, leaving her arms crossed as her pose took a more relaxed stance. She restrained herself from letting out a sigh at Vincent's comment regarding her current position, her hopes of making connections with officers of the other countries dashed in a single sentence. She had hoped to get an audience with the Crepusculum military and their captains in her vacation, yet she tried to convince herself that Vincent's appearance could be a fortuitous coincidence. Maybe his time in Ignis had given him an in with the current king?

Still, much as she tried to ignore it she could not miss a look in his eyes that she'd grown all too familiar with. It was a look of confusion and apprehension that moved over her from top to bottom. It was a look that had lead to enough childish fisticuffs that at this point Natalya barely felt anything more than mild annoyance. WIth a tempered patience she gave the former captain a faint smile before addressing him. "Please sir, Justicar Banders will suffice. In my short time outside of Nerezza, I've noticed such formality is not as important. How then, would you have me address you, former captain Vincent Loque?" After getting his response, she turned to Dios, eager to get business under way.

"So Mr. Sarvo, I have to admit I'm a little curious as to what exactly we're helping you with. Your wanted poster was a little fuzzy on the details but as long as it's on the up-and-up, I'm more than happy to assist you." She had her suspicions of course. Vermin either meant the literal kind or the criminal sort and either way she could use the experience. Still, if it was for a Private Investigator, perhaps it was something else. Such a thing was unheard of in Nerezza, and it occurred to her that anyone could hire a P.I. for any sort of work, whether or not it was necessarily for the sake of the law.

[Dios Sarvo]

Dios watched from beneath the shade of his hat as Natalya and Vincent talked back and forth. "Hmmm, both seem a bit strong headed, but that might work for the best..." At this point, Dios would have to make due regardless, as a quick whispered word from the Lord of Shadows seemed to dash any notions of a larger party. Slapping his files shut and rising from his seat, Dios figured it was best to just get things rolling and hope for the best.

"Yes, yes, Miss Banders. I do apologize for the obvious lack of information, but this was something I had a keep rather hush-hush." Dios placed his hat softly on his notched desk, slipped his hands into his pocket as he began to pace around his workspace nonchalantly. "In recent times, the activity of Duo and his little ragtag gang gave rise to a certain few events that I've been tailing and gathering info on. One of those had recently payed off, and this little band I've put together is to deal with that issue. This issue is the Assassins Guild, and their murder of one Benjamin, former Kin... er, President of Unda."

Meandering round to his desk once more, Dios donned his hat once more. There was something comforting about the little cusp of shadows that would softly frame his face, especially when he started to...stretch the truth a bit. "Now, as some folks around here know but don't like to talk about, my Father was murdered by the Guild for his pursuits to stop them, and I've made it a goal of mine to put that gang of cutthroats to and end, but by the books, as my Father would have wanted. This more specifically relates to one given assassin, the fabled Nightmare, as he is the one who took my father, and in this instance, also brought down Benjamin."

"That's right Dios, soften 'em up. Nothing like a little sob story to cement people to your cause," Dios thought to himself, his stoic act and distancing body language belying the wide smirk that laid hidden beneath the shade of his tipped hat. Convincingly clearing his throat of his feigned emotion, Dios turned back to his two hires to finish his missions exposition.

"That is why you two are here. I have all I need to get that Nightmare bastard on the chopping block, but I need muscle to get past the bands of lesser thieves and cutpurses that serve him, and the manpower to bring him down so that I can bring him in. That is our mission: To infiltrate the assassins guild, dispense with his minions and drag that bastard back to Unda, so that he can pay for his crimes against their Kingdom."

After what felt like a convincing delivery, Dios stood with open arms and a welcoming grin, as if beckoning an answer from the two if they would be that muscle he needed.

[Natalya "Justicar" Banders]

Natalya could only respond with a long silence and a look of dumbfounded bewilderment as at last the P.I. revealed to her and Vincent the totality of their mission. What struck her most was not that they were charged with handling such a major criminal, but rather the mention of this 'Assassin's Guild' that he so casually glossed over. With righteous indignation in her voice Natalya stammered, "A g-g-guild of assassins?" Her damascus gauntlets slammed against the man's desk as she leaned in toward him. "You mean to tell me the rulers of this land allow such...barbarism to flourish here? I, I cannot believe things have gotten so bad outside my homeland that murderers are granted license to do business as they please!" Her face flush with emotion she met eyes with Dios as a twinge of pain came over her. "And you poor thing. To think that your family has been soiled by these, these...when do we start Mr. Sarvo?" Dios' duplicity had worked more than he could have hoped against the lawful Natalya. Maybe a little too well, as she reeled back from Dios only to draw forth her war hammer from her waist and brandish it before him. "This goes beyond mere hired help sir. I would consider it an honor to me and my country to assist in the apprehension of these criminal scum. No charge."

Forgetting herself and her predicament entirely she didn't have an ounce of regret for the hasty offer. If such an organization existed and its members had attained the power to target international leaders, then their very existence was a threat to Queen Elexa. Damn reputation and damn money, this was a chance to do real good for the world!

[Vincent Loque]

"Loque or Vincent is fine with me," Vincent answered Natalya briefly before Dios briefed them on this mission and included his little personal story involved in it. Where he simply nodded in a silent respect that the man lost a family member to this enemy of theirs he noted that Natalya, to him, overreacted quite a bit over it. He glanced over at her, giving a look that showed almost a boredom or that he looked down on her for displaying such emotion. He licked his dry lips and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms then as he spoke out to the young, clearly naive woman.

"Justicar Banders. If you find an organization of assassins barbaric then you've a long, long way to go and many places to see yet," he rolled his head then to face Dios and gave him a shrug, "the Justicar feels the need to work for free but I'm a man with sense. I'll help you find this man, give you peace if that's what you're looking for, but I'll gladly accept my pay."

Stupid kids Vincent thought to himself, silently scoffing at her...her? Oh, Dios did say 'Miss' didn't he? Oops. He silently scoffed at her words.

[Natalya "Justicar" Banders]

"Excuse me Mr. Loque? What do you mean by that exactly?" Natalya's words were tinted with a blend of confusion and ire. The idea had never crossed her mind, but something worse than a guild of assassins? What could possibly be more lawless, more vile than that? There was something in the man's speech that troubled her more than his words. What exactly had he seen that had dulled his sense of outrage? Her master's stories of Ignis had always been about warriors of valor and honor, tales she'd grown up with that had coloured her view of their land and it's people. Certainly they were not simple fables. Perhaps there is a reason this man is a former captain after all. The thought put her on her guard against him.

[Dios Sarvo]

Dios took the breadth of Natalya's heartfelt speech to bask in both the woman's naïvety, and his silver tongued guile. Off put slightly by Vincent's seemingly indifference if not right down cathartic take on his tale of "woe" and "misery," Dios scoffed mentally at the man, slightly indignant in only receiving the man services and not such brazen loyalty as with the young Justicar.

"Cool it, Dios. You can't win them all, especially not with those Ignisian muscle-heads," he thought in a vain attempt to bolster his own pride.

Having lavished in his self-praise long enough, Dios stepped in-between the two, ready to dissolve the ensuing argument that was beginning to grow. The last thing Dios needed was people getting stupid and hot headed amongst each other just before they were about to go and do something important.

"Now, now you two. We're all friends here, so there's no need to start getting all bent outta shape on the nitty-gritty. Yes, Miss Bander, such a group does exist, but it is most assuredly not by the decree of any Lord or Lady. But...that's not to say that such a guild doesn't serve uses for the morally corrupt in power," Dios quickly shook his hands about in the air, undoubtedly trying to dismiss his last notion from the young woman's mind. "Regardless, us catching the Nightmare could be enough to cripple them and put this guild on the run or at least the recovery for some time, giving us more time to find other ways to bring them down for good, so let's just focus on the here and now, and worry about all those other itty-bitty little details down the road, m'kay?"

"As for you, Mister Loque," Dios continued whilst quickly shifting his attention to the tanned swordsman. "I appreciate your participation here, and shall make sure you receive just compensation for your services. I'm sure your veteran level of experience and knowledge will be a great boon not only to myself, but young Miss Bander's here. Who knows, perhaps we'll all learn something on this little adventure of ours? We might even become best buddies, all three of us. After all, to place your life in another's hand is really to call them "friend," wouldn't you say, Mister Loque?" The final few sentences oozed out from between the man's lips with that ever indiscernible tone that seemed to come and go with him. It rang with sarcasm, and almost sounded mocking, patronizing even, but the man had a reputation for sounding as such, so who was to say it was nothing more then an odd mannerism.

"Annnnnnnyway, that about does it here, so unless either of you have anything more you'd wish to discuss, I'd suggest we part ways, get all rested and ready, and meet by the city gates tomorrow at noon. Our journey will take us into the mountainous region between Crepusculum and Nerezza's borders, so pack accordingly. Oh, and if you need, just hit up the local Inn off the Main Street and tell 'em I sent ya, they'll cut ya a deal." With all seemingly said and done on his behalf, Dios returned to his seat after collecting several more wads of paper from the errant stacks that littered his office, reviewing them in silence save for the occasional muttered thought.

[Natalya "Justicar" Banders]

"But...no, you are right Mr. Sarvo. I should not insult the wisdom of Crepusculum's leadership. Forgive my foolish words." Her head bowed down towards Dios as her heated tone dropped to her normal volume. The man's words to both her and Vincent filled the room with a sense of reason that calmed the fire that had stoked in her soul. Affixing her hammer back to it's belt-strap she couldn't help but steal a look at Vincent that betrayed her troubled feelings she had for the man. Sellswords and mercenaries had always been a part of her job, as some of her assignments had required a little extra muscle or special skills. She'd met her fair share of dutiful men and women under such circumstances, yet more than a couple of them had taught her to be watchful of those that pledged their loyalties to the gleam of gold. Vincent had thrown his honor into question with only a few words, but Natalya wasn't going to judge the man on just words. The law had taught her better than that.

With a faint sigh escaping her lips she took a step past Dios to bring her face to face with the tanned man. She held still with a sternness in her eyes before slowly extending her hand out towards him. "Mr. Loque, whatever your reasons I am glad to have a man of your experience join us in bringing these criminals to justice. I look forward to working with one who held such high office in Ignis." Dios' words of friendship and revelry were a little heavy handed, but it did remind her that a friendly relationship made for tighter teamwork on the field of justice. She didn't have to like her coworkers or trust them, but she wasn't willing to put her life or those of her men-at-arms in danger because of it.

[Vincent Loque]

Vincent stared at Natalya as she questioned the things he'd seen in his years though he wasn't sure if it would be right to spoil her with the tales of what soldiers did while they were bored with the living people, animals, or corpses, or what forms of bloody entertainment were made custom in other countries. And then it was the criminals themselves, their organizations, how many get away with having a lot of gold to bribe and how little don't. The list had varying degrees of terrible things, though the older gentleman was convinced he could have listed off anything to her and she would get excited over it in some way or another. Or maybe it was him, by this point in his career an organization built solely to hunt out and kill people for gold didn't surprise him--that was basically what any soldier already did, though they slapped "honour" on top of it somewhere to make it justifiable.

Maybe it really was just him. Grumpy old man. He merely grinned at Dios and his stupid tone. 'Friends' he said, though Vincent decided it best not to retort back. He could call it whatever he wanted but 'friend' wasn't it, more like a necessary acquaintance for the job at hand. Natalya showed more of at least a peaceful nature with him, extending her hand out to him and he met her appropriately, rough hand grabbing ahold of hers and shaking firmly. He nodded, giving her a polite smile.

"I too look forward to this experience, Justicar Banders. It's been a long time since I've met someone with your...enthusiasm for such a job," Vincent said, adding in quickly, "it's good."