Day 10, Spring of 416 AV
Early Morning
The Great Bazaar
Early Morning
The Great Bazaar
It was exactly one year since that incident. The vantha had been busy making money, attending to practical matters and fulfilling his growing need for more wealth, more power. That incident had been more or less shoved to the parts of his mind as just a random anomaly, for in his line of work he had seen enough danger to prefer living in the present than moping in the past.
The only difference was the onset of nightmares. The nightmares were always similar, about a man gripping a wicked-looking knife, always dripping with blood. His face was always covered by his hood, and was always clothed dark crimson red cloak, though it could be with the blood of his victim or red dye, or both. It was always flashes of activities, of memories that did not belong to him, of seemingly random slayings, always with that large knife he held. Like a butcher of men, the murderer sought and stalked, always patiently waiting for his victims for the perfect time to strike.
It was horrifying, and the atrocities of the man in his nightmares were somehow amplified by the unsettling mood of his dreams. It had begun almost after the events last year, though at this point of time the vantha did not draw a link, for everyday he rushed with his busy activities, the mundane chores of the day taking his mind off from things before the night refreshed his fear. It was a cycle, one of forgetting and re-experiencing.
Shaking his mind off these thoughts, Eridanus walked confidently among the shops, seeking supplies for a short journey out of Syliras. He mostly did jobs as a freelancing mercenary for the Starcleavers, and possibly due to his reputation and efficiency in completing the jobs a man had approached him directly instead of through the bounty service.
The man had informed him of his reputation through word of mouth, and he wanted to save money by cutting out the middleman. He promised to split the bonus from cutting out the transaction fee, and this way he could save some money and Eridanus could earn a little money. A win-win situation.
The vantha had puffed his chest then proudly, for his personality then was entirely different from his personality in the presentmeaning 511 AV onwards. The man had lost an orb that was important to him, and as it was quite a fair distance from the safety of Syliras he was doubtful he could bring it back in one piece. The man had confided in him that this orb was not only an instrument needed for his profession - and here he added a conspiratorial wink - but also an inheritance from his father, a family heirloom of sorts. He promised a huge bag of gold, and reassured Eridanus that he wanted this orb instead of simply buying another one due to its sentimental value to him.
Eridanus had agreed then, finding out that it was somewhere in the Ruins of Nial. When questioned as to why it was in such a place, the man looked hurriedly around as if to see if there were any Knights in earshot, and he whispered that he had been doing 'business' there, adding another conspiratorial wink as he did, expecting the vantha to know what he meant. Being the proud person that he was, Eridanus did not admit to not knowing what he meant, instead nodding in agreement as if he knew what the man was talking about.
It was a pity that he did not think further on the topic, for if he added two and two together he would have found the proceedings suspicious. However, hindsight was always twenty-twenty, especially hindsight a hundred years later, and so the vantha went along happily, jubilant that a simple retrieval job would net him a disproportionately large bounty.
He only needed to get his supplies, and then he would be on his way. He could handle his own against the dangers of the wild. It would be a simple job, and he would soon be back in the city, enjoying his new-found wealth.
Excellent.
The only difference was the onset of nightmares. The nightmares were always similar, about a man gripping a wicked-looking knife, always dripping with blood. His face was always covered by his hood, and was always clothed dark crimson red cloak, though it could be with the blood of his victim or red dye, or both. It was always flashes of activities, of memories that did not belong to him, of seemingly random slayings, always with that large knife he held. Like a butcher of men, the murderer sought and stalked, always patiently waiting for his victims for the perfect time to strike.
It was horrifying, and the atrocities of the man in his nightmares were somehow amplified by the unsettling mood of his dreams. It had begun almost after the events last year, though at this point of time the vantha did not draw a link, for everyday he rushed with his busy activities, the mundane chores of the day taking his mind off from things before the night refreshed his fear. It was a cycle, one of forgetting and re-experiencing.
Shaking his mind off these thoughts, Eridanus walked confidently among the shops, seeking supplies for a short journey out of Syliras. He mostly did jobs as a freelancing mercenary for the Starcleavers, and possibly due to his reputation and efficiency in completing the jobs a man had approached him directly instead of through the bounty service.
The man had informed him of his reputation through word of mouth, and he wanted to save money by cutting out the middleman. He promised to split the bonus from cutting out the transaction fee, and this way he could save some money and Eridanus could earn a little money. A win-win situation.
The vantha had puffed his chest then proudly, for his personality then was entirely different from his personality in the presentmeaning 511 AV onwards. The man had lost an orb that was important to him, and as it was quite a fair distance from the safety of Syliras he was doubtful he could bring it back in one piece. The man had confided in him that this orb was not only an instrument needed for his profession - and here he added a conspiratorial wink - but also an inheritance from his father, a family heirloom of sorts. He promised a huge bag of gold, and reassured Eridanus that he wanted this orb instead of simply buying another one due to its sentimental value to him.
Eridanus had agreed then, finding out that it was somewhere in the Ruins of Nial. When questioned as to why it was in such a place, the man looked hurriedly around as if to see if there were any Knights in earshot, and he whispered that he had been doing 'business' there, adding another conspiratorial wink as he did, expecting the vantha to know what he meant. Being the proud person that he was, Eridanus did not admit to not knowing what he meant, instead nodding in agreement as if he knew what the man was talking about.
It was a pity that he did not think further on the topic, for if he added two and two together he would have found the proceedings suspicious. However, hindsight was always twenty-twenty, especially hindsight a hundred years later, and so the vantha went along happily, jubilant that a simple retrieval job would net him a disproportionately large bounty.
He only needed to get his supplies, and then he would be on his way. He could handle his own against the dangers of the wild. It would be a simple job, and he would soon be back in the city, enjoying his new-found wealth.
Excellent.
