The Hunt Begins

"Your physical being is the least of your concerns if you come with me and get involved, but as I see the resolve in your eyes we need to find a place to talk where we are unlikely to be overheard," Valandil pulled his cloak around him tighter, was he doing the right thing getting someone like her involved? It didn't matter he would get his prey.

"Lets go set up your weapons and armor first, then I will tell you all I know."

Mary nodded and walked off, not responding verbally. She'd gone and gotten herself upset remembering all she had lost and hadn't trusted her voice to speak.

She walked up to a small building with a forge out front and knocked loudly.

"I trust you have nothing against dwarfs?" she glanced over her shoulder as she waited.

The door opened, revealing a stout- to speak politely- woman in an old apron, pulling the large ear of a portly man with roughly the same build, plus a bit more facial hair.

"Evening." Mary greeted. "I--"

"My word- it's Mary-Beath!" she released the mans ear and stepped out, hugging the ranger around the thy lifting her off the ground. "Good te see ya'live 'n well!" she boomed before setting her down.

Valandil shrugged he really was not a racist individual having had to deal to much with racists, people against him for being an elf then people being against him for being a werewolf, or people being against him for both.

He stayed alert and quiet as the exchange went between the dwarf and Mary. He mentally was sorting out what he was going to tell her that was important and what was more minor that didn't need telling. They didn't have much time to stand around because surely whoever tried to destroy them was not expecting them to survive and was reporting to someone higher up the food chain.

Boros were you at the heart of this civil war, and if you are why and to what means. He mentally made a note that he would have to talk to the only one Vampire in the world that had his respect and that was partly because that vampire had almost killed him...

Mary smiled. "May we come in?" she asked polity, bouncing her knee to get feeling back in her lower leg.

"Sure ya can." the dwarf said, shoving her husband out of the way and beckoning them in. "When we heard the palace'd been sacked we'r sure ya we'r a goner." she said closing the door behind them. "How didja--"

"Doesn't matter." Mary said. "I need some special equipment."

[You wanna play the guy?]

(( Sure ))

At the word equipment her husband stepped forward, "What kind of equipment are we talking about?"

A blacksmith strives to make the best equipment he could make every chance he was able to make it. He hoped one day he would be able to craft his ultimate work of art, like his many dwarven ancestors have done and that day he felt was coming up soon.

Valandil just watched the exchange quietly keeping his senses open just in case someone tried to jump them.

"I need silver." she said, already taking her armor and weapons off, laying them upon the table. "Weight isn't the issue, I need it to be reliable. Sharp and pure." she said. "I found someone crazy enough to go against the vampires with me." she said, gesturing to Valandil.

"Good unta then." the dwarfen woman said frowning. "Them n' their broods been lurkin' around this town long'nuff." she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "We be owin you our lives fer gettin' us out 'for the King 'sided to off his own servants. Shouldn' be a problem to get whatcha need don, should it?" she gave her husband the stink eye.

Her husband nodded his head as he gathered the stuff, "I will start on it right away. What do you want for the silver in the armor?"

Valandil listened as the dwarf said the lot has been skulking around here, how far has this taint gone? The more he learned of the situation here the more he felt like it was caused by Boros the more his blood lust went up.

Mary took her necklace off and handed it off to him. "This symbol." she said. "Engrave it, embroider it, however you do it." she said.

"An' who's the elf?" The Dwarfen woman asked, eying the silver haired man behind her. "Been long time since we be seein one of you. Least two centuries."

Valandil just shrugged, "My name is Valandil I am not from these parts or anywhere close by to these parts. I am a hunter, vampire hunter to be exact."

The dwarf womens husband just grunted as he gathered up all of the armor and the weapon then he took the symbol, memorized it then handed it back to Mary. After that he vanished into his blacksmith shop to get to work on the equipment. It had been banned a while back to not put silver in anything as the King was afraid it would end up stabbing his own son, didn't stop the blacksmith's that didn't like how things were turning out to keep some silver and the truly daring ones like him...blessed silver.

"He'll be at that for a while now." The woman sighed. "Well then, have yerselvs a seat. I can whip up some grub while ya wait."

"Thanks, Heidi, but I have other things to do in the mean time." Mary said.

The woman looked a bit disappointed but nodded. "Aye." she said. "Well then, off ya go. Ya know we always had a soft spot for ya, Princess. We'll be done soon's possible."

"Mary." Mary corrected. "I disowned that title, remember?"

Valandil's ears perked at the word princess, that would explain a lot.

He decided to remain silent about it though since she didn't seem to want to talk about it, in all technicality he was a prince but his family disowned him so that really didn't matter at the here and now.

If she didn't want to be a princess who was he to say otherwise.

"We should find someplace quiet," Valandil commented, "there is a lot to tell you and I have a terrible feeling we are short on time."

"We've got a room at the inn-" she reminded him.

"Havens, girl, no!" The woman sounded outraged. "If it's quiet ye need, it's upstairs here ya go." she frowned. "I wouldn't trust no one round here- none at all."

Mary seemed hesitant for a moment-- not wanting to impose-- but nodded, looking to Valandil. "Upstairs then." she said, nodding to the stair case.

Valandil nodded as he walked up the stairs he found a set of chairs against a wall away from any window and sat down at them, he then gestured to the other chair.

"You already seem to have a solid understanding of mana so I won't need to tell you that," Valandil started, "I am hunting a Vampire named Boros, he is very old, very powerful and very power hungry. Many places I have been to other Vampires revere him as some kind of god, an all powerful entity that brings pain and suffering wherever he goes. This is false, he is no god just a really powerful mage that has the ability to manipulate black, red and blue mana, using the most terrible parts of each branch."

Valandil had been searching a long time and only found bits and pieces of information, nothing concrete, "His magic has power over death mostly, being able to reanimate and control that which was dead. Other rumors say he has some practice in Sangromancy, blood magic. Other sources say that he has the power to manipulate your mind and make you think and do things that you would never be able to think or do. All of it is here say since nobody has ever survived a fight with him."

"But I take it you have." she concluded curiously, sitting down to listen.

She had already explained the turmoil in the Kingdom. Knowing she was a princess-- sister to the vampire prince and human prince alike- she felt no need to further elaborate. Heidi had seen to that for her. It saved time.

"I only know the basics of Mana. I know different people within my family line were able to manipulate green or white, but neither at the same time... So how do you plan on taking him down?"

Valandil he had a feeling this would come up, it would lead to a lot more explaining but it was necessary. He needed to clarify something with her first though.

"Anyone can use mana," Valandil stated, "even if you have not had formal training every person uses a little of it in the day to day doing of things, like your friend downstairs I am sure he uses some red mana to create his weapons and armor."

"No I have never fought him," Valandil got a far off look in his eyes, "when I was just a baby over a hundred years ago, he came to kill me seems he has a taste for newborn blood. A fight broke out and I was sent away accidentally from my family nobody knew where or how I was just gone. He stole my family from me so I will hunt him down."

Valandil shrugged at the question of how, "I do not know, I do not know if I am even strong enough to do it I know that my mana has the ability to cancel out most of his if I knew the right spells. Currently all I am hunting for is information on where he is and what he is doing. I plan on sabotaging every evil plot he comes up with until I have the strength to destroy him. I feel that what is going on in your home is one of those plots."

She frowned. "You've got my word, I'll help you bring him down." she said. "So long as you help bring down the vampires here, I will follow you where ever you may need help." she swore.

As she spoke, her hand was over her pendant. "We've got a common goal you and I. And if this Boros has a hand in the fall of the Royal family here, I will have revenge upon him."

"I was afraid you would say that," Valandil would not bring her short on her revenge, "this hunt may take us to places you never even dreamed of and the journey could very well kill you, but if you are determined to hunt with me then I will try and give you some of the tools that will help you. For now it is late and we will need an early start in the morning if we are to rid this down of the blood sucking fiends, I personally do not feel like fighting the vampires on their terms but rather mine."

Valandil stood up and offered his hand to shake, "I promise you I will help you eliminate the vampires of your home."

[[ Okay so I don't know how well you have kept up on magic flavor but in Innistrad Avacyn has decreed that werewolves shall no longer have to have inner fights and become at peace as one. I am thinking that this magical decree is going to reach Valandil through the planes since he has such a connection to Innistrad. Turning him into a Wolfir ]]

[Okay, kind of an anthropomorphized wolf at all times? Or just when he wants?]

Mary took his hand and stood, shaking it firmly. "Then we have a deal." she said. "I'll spend the night in the inn and see if I can gather information. Come morning, meet back here?"

She wanted to be sure it was an agreeable plan. If it wasn't-- well-- she would adjust.

[[ the art that I have seen it is just an Anthromorphized wolf I think I am going to make it more he can look human if he wants but his natural form is that of the anthromorphized wolf ]]

Valandil nodded his head as he shook her hand.

"Okay I will be returning to the camp I set up," Valandil released her hand and turned to head down the stairs. As he was about to go down he turned around to her, "Hey Mary...be safe."

He then vanished down the stairs and thanked the dwarf for her hospitality and was out into the night heading toward his camp.

"Avarin come," he whispered as the red mana condensed in his hand and a female companion walked next to him.

She had long blond hair and sharp cunning green eyes. She was dressed in a leather vest and a long sleeve shirt and a pair of leather briefs.

"My lord," she bowed slightly.

"What is the news of home?" Valandil ignored the lord comment.

"The black walker has marched on Helvault, she is looking to destroy it," the young women said.

"I see, keep your eyes and ears open report me on further developments," Valandil then dismissed the women with a wave of her hand causing her to collapse into red mana again.

"Destroy Helvault..."

Mary spent an hour or so, speaking with her old friends before retreating to the inn for the night.

She closed and locked the door behind her, pouring a thin line of salt around her bed before undressing.

She didn't know much about her new partner. But she preferred it that way really.... This way if either died, there would be no feelings of resource. No more suffering.

"Come morning's light, hm..." she frowned, recalling what her brother had told her before she left the palace. His words seemed too distant to have been real, and she had been so distraught....

She closed her eyes and fought to keep her tears down.

"For you then." she said aloud, staring at the ceiling until sleep finally claimed her.

When Valandil reached his camp he took off his armor and his cloak, he went through the painful transformation bones crunching organs rearranging he yelled in pain which turned into a howl. He let his inner beast out.

Valandil tore through the woods as his wolf form making sure to let the wolf take over so it would not struggle as much if a situation came where he needed to be in control. This was how he learned control, after eventually being able to ignore the moon and her sway he was able to release and cage the beast at will. He and the beast did not live in any kind of harmony but they understood each other.

After a good hour or running around and tearing animals apart and feeding on them Valandil let out a might howl that echoed through the woods and town that was his warning to all of the vampires in the area, he was on the hunt tomorrow.

Valandil transformed back to his elf self and went into his trance for the night...Tomorrow he would hunt.

When morning came, Mary was up and dressed before the sun was up, out at her Dwarven friends home, helping with chores, despite Heidi's complaints of her doing so.

"Shouldn't be no Princess cleanin my floors." She was mumbling repeatedly as she worked on breakfast, eying Mary sweep.

Valandil walked through the streets, he was being eyes suspiciously by everyone he passed by it was nothing new many people stared at him with distrustful eyes. He went to the blacksmith's home and lightly knocked on the door waiting for an answer.

He silently waited, his senses noticing the shadow that had tailed him since he had enter the town. He didn't do anything waiting to see what the shadow was doing. He also summoned Avarin.

The blond rogue appeared again next to him bowing as she greeted him, "My lord."

Valandil nodded to the shadowed ally, "Follow him and report back to me, only kill him if you absolutely have to, and if you do do it somewhere out of view, no go."

Avalin bowed again, "As you wish my lord."

She vanished in the blink of an eye.

Mary opened the door to him, still holding the broom in her hand. "Slept in?" She raised an eyebrow, stepping aside to let him in.

From the main of the house they could hear the dwarf pounding away in his shop, working on her equipment.

Valandil shrugged, "Had a few errands to run, we might get some information before the afternoon a friend of mine is checking on something."

He walked into the house and nodded his head to the dwarf maiden in greeting, "Thank you for letting me stay at your home."

He walked to a window and watched for Avarin to return.