The winds have shifted, carrying the scent of pine and cold iron to a place where the shadows finally hold their breath. After the Black Lodge Arsus and Crow have reclaimed the silence, raising a new hearth from the dust of the old.
This is no longer a ghost of the past, but a fresh refuge where the canvas is as taut as a bowstring and the loyalty is as deep as the roots of the forest. The Sanctuary of the Nightbound has found its new anchor; the fire is lit, the blades are stilled, and for those who have outlasted the storm, the gates of the night are open once more.
[00:45] Crow (melchior.wardell) would approach with Klauw who just fed himself some of the sausages that were intended for some of the killers. The gaze alone would have you suspect that the animal was smart enough as to understand what he had done. “Greetings.” he offered. “What a womderful day.” the tone of voice with the words was slightly off. It was difficult for a killer to say anything that didn’t bring doom, brooding or other more brutal things to light.
[00:46] KeDjA (lilli.breda) is about to throw her arms around Arsus’ neck and seduce him when he appears in the camp, when suddenly a huge thalarion appears next to her and snorts. She squeals in fright—unusual for her—and takes a step to the side. She grumbles quietly as she regains her composure and puts her hands on her hips while looking reproachfully at the animal.
[00:49] αяѕυѕ (daimos.baarer): “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Thalarion,” Arsus blurts out. He hadn’t heard the beast coming, as he had been concentrating on Kedja’s seductive arts; after all, they were safe in this place. “What a beautiful day, indeed,” he then says with a smile and zips up his pants.
[00:52] Crow (melchior.wardell) had been completely oblivious to their ‘intimate moment’ but by their way of responding the corner of his lips were drawn into that smirk. “Oh ..did I interrupt anything important?” he would reign Klauw in when it started to pick up on some pheromones clearly of their anticipation. “By all means … I don’t mind to watch.” he jested. Or … was it true that there was this voyeur in him.
[00:56] KeDjA (lilli.breda) grumbles quietly as she raises her head and notices Crow’s amused grin. “Tal Master,” she greets him cheerfully before turning her gaze back to the animal, which is sniffing in her direction. She takes another step back and growls, “I’m not a sausage,” as if trying to warn the Thalarion. Of course, she knows that the animal would hardly listen to her.
[00:56] αяѕυѕ (daimos.baarer): “By the way, Crow, builders were at the harbor constructing something. I saw a smithy and another house that appears to be vacant (at least from the outside). I will investigate why a blacksmith would move here, into the wilderness. There must be a reason for it; a blacksmith would likely earn much more in a city.” he made a pause and said “no no, its ok, i will perform a bit more in the evening”
[00:59] Crow (melchior.wardell) felt the animal restless and chuckled “By all means why wait till this evening. Even Klauw picks up on the urgency.” he jested. At the story of the smith he perked a brow “Perhaps the Innkeeper thought by bringing in a smith her situation would be less dire?” he considered the thought some more. “Perhaps I came on too strong. With the tale of the pirates that are often seen on this point in the rivers.”
[01:02] KeDjA (lilli.breda) ‘s nose wrinkled slightly as she kept an eye on the restless Thalarion. Ready at any moment to run away or push Arsus forward if necessary. She still heard the conversation about the Innkeeper and the possible blacksmith and casually interjected, “Maybe it’s her companion or her future companion.”
[01:06] αяѕυѕ (daimos.baarer): ” “Pirates?” he asked, slightly amused. “Here?” … “That’s a sensational story,” he said, nodding. He hadn’t seen any pirates in a long time. Perhaps word had simply gotten around that Arsus didn’t like pirates and that his Sleens had already killed one or two… but let’s leave that aside. “Future companion,” he repeated. “Is the innkeeper pretty?” he asked, amused. He hadn’t seen the innkeeper yet, but the name Namika brought back some memories. He once knew a woman with that name. Back then, in Kassau, he was her bodyguard. It had been ages.
[01:09] Crow (melchior.wardell) knew the bond wasn’t as stupid as some might credit her for. “You might be right as to the future .. but she was quite forthcoming in sharing that she hardly needed men.” he replied. At times it took time to have women warm up to Crow. But the end results were often imaginable. “Blond.” he stated to Arsus. His hands would move before his chest indicating a large breasts “You know the type.” he indicated “So I would say she is certainly an eight … but perhaps when undressed a good nine or even a ten. The last of course totally depending on how she uses her assets.”
[01:15] KeDjA (lilli.breda) rolls her eyes as Crow begins to describe the innkeeper, completely forgetting that she wanted to keep an eye on the Thalarion. She pulls her hands, which were still on her hips, forward and folds them in front of her chest. “Maybe she’s fat under her robes and ugly under her veil,” she suggests. Just to annoy the men a little, who like to forget that free women are skilled at hiding their physical imperfections under their clothes. As a slave, she is unfortunately denied this privilege.
[01:15] αяѕυѕ (daimos.baarer): “Of course, I’ll keep an eye or two on her if she’s at least an 8. As a man, that interests me… hmmmmmm… She rarely needs a man? Then I’ll be that rare man…” He nods vigorously as he speaks. Arsus has always been rare. When he shows up somewhere to use his dagger and take a life, it’s rare for that person to see Arsus again. “Maybe it’s even the woman I once knew, and she’s definitely a 12,” he said with a smile.
[01:19] Crow (melchior.wardell) would look from one to the other. It was surprising how much you could learn by simply studying their poses, the way they spoke. “Perhaps.”he replied to Kedja. “But I think considering Arsus picked you, that he doesn’t mind some flesh around the bones.” he shrugged “In truth I myself do not like skin and bones either.” when Arsus spoke of using his talents he would arch a brow. “Let us wager … ” he suggested. “Let us wager who gets the first kiss.” it was of course a joke. Although if Arsus would indeed take him upon it. He would for sure give it effort. “The woman you once knew ?” Crow added – seeing the slight disadvantage he might have when it came to Arsus if he had indeed met the woman prior.
[01:27] KeDjA (lilli.breda) looks down at herself and visibly tries to suck in her round belly. She snorts quietly because she is not very successful. Her shoulders rise a little. “In the north, you need a little more on your ribs. Otherwise, you’ll freeze,” she says, defending her body shape, even though that is probably not necessary. But of course she knows that with her rather plump figure, she will never achieve the delicacy of a dancer. Which is why her attempts at dancing are rather sparse. Her gaze wanders back up and she looks back and forth between the men. A quiet snort escapes her when she hears about the bet for the kiss.
[01:30] αяѕυѕ (daimos.baarer): Arsus nodded thoughtfully without accepting the bet. He saved that for later. “Hmm, indeed. I knew a woman named Namika in the city of Kassau. She was the Tatrix there, and I had a contract as her bodyguard until the city fell. I don’t know what path she took after that. It was many moons ago…” “However, I must say, I did make advances, but I was unsuccessful.” He didn’t mention that he had already seen her quite naked in a camp where he was once imprisoned. It’s not a story for here and now, after all, he didn’t even know if it was this Namika. He smiled at Kedja; she was, for his purposes, simply perfect as a slave, and in the furs she was unbeatable.
[01:33] Crow (melchior.wardell) would look to Kedja “You are perfect, girl. The fact your owner speaks of another is telling.” he replied “She must be above perfection if he gives her a twelve.” of course trying to fuel her spirit. “This lady was a scribe .. not only by the blue she was wearing but by the sharpness of her tongue.” he nodded. The words of Arsus made him ‘ahhh’ a few times. Surely this explained a lot. “Either way … I will check out this new established smithy and see if I can learn more about the Innkeeper. I am curious if she knows her way to a mens stomach.”
[01:39] KeDjA (lilli.breda) The grin on her face now gives way to a beaming smile. Of course, she is not vain, but praise, especially from one of the two men present here, was something that, firstly, did not happen often and, secondly, was worth twice as much, if not more, than praise from any random Rarius. “Thank you, Master,” she says, lowering her gaze slightly as her cheeks flush slightly. It was rare for her to be embarrassed. This makes it all the more clear how much these words mean to her. To cover up her embarrassment, she simply turns around and goes into the kitchen area to fetch an uncooked, raw sausage. When she comes back, she simply throws it in front of the Thalarion.
[01:44] Crow (melchior.wardell) liked this side of Kedja and truly reveled in it as long as she allowed. When she took a sausage Klauw was instantly enthusiast. The animal quickly warmed up to anyone with a sausage. The animal might look dangerous but it was almost a kitten, eager to be petted and cuddled. Most likely due to its upbringing and being spoiled rotten by slaves. As she approached it would sniff and try to inch closer but when the treat was thrown the animal would quickly pick it up and devour it. If eyes could tell a story – they were now focused upon the girl. Surely she could get more where this came from ? “Better not spoil it too much, Kedja. One must consider what damage this one will do when you must have experience with coffin nail.”
[01:48] KeDjA (lilli.breda) observes how the dangerous-looking animal reacts almost meekly when she returns with the sausage. However, the way it devours the sausage gives her an idea of what it might be capable of. She looks up and grins at Crow. “I’m used to spoiled creatures, Master.” Her gaze shifts to the right toward Arsus and then back to Crow, her green eyes flashing cheerfully and cheekily. The environment was not actually good for her. All the training of a well-behaved kajira faded into the background here, and the Nordic nature within her surfaced almost brutally in the wilderness and proximity of the forest. Only the silk on her skin showed that she no longer lived in the north.
[01:52] Crow (melchior.wardell) laughs and for a moment there was no reservation in it. It was genuine “Well we can’t ever be too spoiled, Kedja. Truly ! We have slaves … and … bonds for a reason. Their life very much depends on the level of our comfort.” he replied. “Kassau .. wasn’t that where you met ?” he asks – quickly realizing that in all this time not their complete life story had ever been told or shared. Now such was not uncommon, killers were hardly ever called very social.
[01:56] KeDjA (lilli.breda) grins as Crow laughs. She preferred it to the men walking around with grim faces. Her head shakes slightly. “In Kassau, my owner was after the lost city collapsed. So probably after YOU met, Master.“ She glances briefly at Arsus, who is probably devising a tactic to win her kissing bet. She turns back to Crow. ”I met him at the port of Torcodino. But that was a very, very long time ago.”
[01:59] Crow (melchior.wardell) nodded and ah’s again “Oh of course. I visited that place yes.” he replied to her. “I wonder at times where my head is when it comes to memories. I guess with so much time to remember, things get messed up.” He was really old and with it there was a lot to remember. “Well it is good that he did, girl. Surely you are the apple of his eye.” he jested. “just as delicious and round.” he teased her some more. “Now I will check the build. See if she might have made a beam to tie my thalarion too. She wasn’t very fond of Klauw.”
[02:01] KeDjA (lilli.breda) snorts slightly at his first words. When he announces his departure, she takes a small step aside so that the Thalarion doesn’t step on her foot. “I can’t understand that at all, Master,” she replies to his last statement. “It seems so… harmless,” she says amusedly.
[02:04] Crow (melchior.wardell) nodded “Looks, my dear Kedja can be deceiving. But do not tell anyone. It is a well kept secret.”he jested. Was he speaking of his tharlarion or himself ?
[02:13] Crow (melchior.wardell) would move calm towards the part Arsus had spoken off. His eyes see the small cottages and the entire furnished smithy. “Greetings, lady.” he offered. “Seems you got some neighbors. I hope the kind you lilke ?” the question was casual and his greeting as social as he was able.
[02:15] пαмıκα тσʟαп (dinara.braveheart) counts the eggs she has just collected from the vulostall and writes the number in a book with a small piece of charcoal before leaning forward once more and looking into the stable. She hears heavy footsteps that do not sound human and straightens up just as a greeting is heard. Her eyes scan Crow and then the Thalarion. “If it eats my Vulos, you’ll pay me for the loss,” she mutters under her breath before clearing her throat. “Tal Sir,” she greets him and turns briefly toward the smithy. “I haven’t seen the owner yet.” She turns back and shrugs. “We’ll get along fine, I’m sociable.
[02:20] Crow (melchior.wardell) would note how she even wrote down the number of eggs and was sure about his observations of her being a scribe. He grinned when she started to bitch before greeting. “This one ..” as he scratched the animals neck “has a thing for sausages.” he shared truthful. “I think something in his upbringing made him less inclined to find his own food.” the animal was just spoiled to a t. “Oh you haven’t ?” he answers to her not yet meeting the new neighbor “One wonders though why this spot? Clearly a smith in the city has more likely chance upon an easier and a more richer life.” he would regard her once more. “I wondered if you serve anything this hour ?”
[02:25] пαмıκα тσʟαп (dinara.braveheart) closes the book and slides it into a small gap between the wooden beams of the Vulostall. Her gaze turns to the man. “Perhaps a third or fourth son who has no chance of starting his own business in his father’s town,” she surmises. “Or someone who has fallen out of favor, excluded from the city’s caste system.” She shrugs her shoulders briefly, as if it were something completely normal. “A late breakfast?” she replies to his last sentence. Of course, as long as she has no regular customers, she would take every opportunity to do business.
Crows Murder 