Clan Titan

~...she boldly pushed open the door to enter the Golden Griffon. Standing just inside, she took a moment or two to survey the tavern's interior and its patrons. There appeared a confidence about the woman who many would most likely not recognize.~

~It had been years since Serena had set foot on Titan soil and even then, she'd not made what one could consider a lasting impression. It was amidst an affiliated land that her memory left its mark; for in that age-old tower, the maiden was molded into the being she is to this day. It was this past encounter that prompted her travel.~

~Her silver-glinted eyes came to rest on the barkeeper and as she began to step toward him, her gloved left hand moved to, shifted, and came to rest upon the hilt of her sword. It shifted moreso the blade to keep it from hindering the maiden from seating herself as she reached the bar.~

"A mug of your finest." ~she requested, somewhat demandingly so, reaching into her coat pocket and dropping with her right hand a few silvers atop the bar.~

~Although a virtual stranger to the tavern, the fact would be lost on most everyone who happened to look in her direction. The maiden seemed quite comfortable in her place at the bar, appearing only as a stranger to the customary trepidations that typically befell newcomers. Neither would she be seen as minding her own business as she scouted the establishment for any familiar face.~

Huddled over a stack of books in the Library, Titan's resident Archmage pored over everything he could find about several subjects. Ancient lore, arcane history, and particularly mythology, among a few. The few others in the library just gave him his space, not really wanting to know what evil he was up to today.

Planning to release a demon into the castle was the predominant theory.

A chill, a thrill even, crawled up his spine suddenly. He looked up, arching an eyebrow inquisitively. Standing, he even looked around to determine if the cause was nearby.

Regardless of from where, he already knew from who.

Leaving his books on the table, he blew out the candles and vanished into the darkness...

~Serena made eye contact with several individuals as they casually strode passed. At least, she'd started with a peer into their eyes. Whether this initial glance was returned or not, she concluded the look by allowing her sight to fall the length of the passersby. The manner in which she took her measures might appear as condescending, though Serena hadn't made that connection. She wasn't worrying herself over whether or not she was patronizing the tavern... in either definition of the term.~

~As she sipped from the ornate glass fancifully etched with the Titan trademark, the maiden overheard a few motley conversations. The idle chit-chat between many in the crowd held little interest, although the edgy murmurs of liches & shadow walkers drew in more of Serena's attention. It hardly surprised her however, that not one mention was to be had of the one she'd intended on meeting during this excursion.~

-Perhaps he no longer haunted these grounds?- ~she mused~ -Had he finally met his match?.. had he perhaps been given a lethal dose of his own malign medicine?- ~To these thoughts, she outwardly shook her head and chuckled. Her only regret, if it had in fact transpired, that she'd not been witness to it.~

~Visibly amused by her own ponderings, Serena downed the last drops of her drink and ordered another. She'd leave the tavern only when the mood struck her to do so, and it wasn't just yet.~

...only to appear moments later in the far dark corner of the tavern.

His sudden appearance startled those that were huddled in the corner, and in their haste to move several tables were noisily overturned. Not a few curses were muttered under breath, and those that were sober enough hoped the old mage didn't hear. Twist ignored all this as he scanned the room.

When he saw her at the bar, his face broke into a crooked grin beneath his black cowl.

"I thought so..."

~Her head's movement was not swift in its turn toward the ruckus in the far corner. This maiden was not as easily jolted as the common female.~

"...and a glass of whatever he'll be having." ~she added to her previous drink order in a soft-spoken manner, turning back to the barkeeper to see that he had been among those startled to look toward the mage's arrival.~

~She too wore a crooked grin, which only broadened as it seemed to further disturb the now fidgety server. It was good(?) to see that some things had yet to change.~

"Join an old.. friend for a drink?" ~she hallooed over her shoulder.~

Twist began to slowly make his way across the room towards the bar, amused at how people either got out of his way, or tried to make themselves to small to be noticed. As he reached the bar, he also overheard the barkeep mutter something about how the old bastard should quit scaring his customers. The 'old bastard' just filed it away as another reason to scare the stuffing out of everyone next time.

The barkeep left him with his usual mulled wine, and went to take care of other customers. He raised it to her.

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? If I remember correctly, last time I saw you, you were occupied with the demise of your previous 'host'."

~Serena raised her glass as well, though she hardly moved it to touch his in that, what she felt, irritating custom. She only partook of a small amount of the liquid, then set the drink down.~

"It is a pleasure, isn't it?" ~she asked the obviously rhetorical question as that of a jest.. yet, she truly was that conceited and so there was no laughter to follow it.~

~Her purpose was one of business in nature however, recent epiphanies had prompted more social engagements as well. As she thought of a reasonable answer for her visit and as Twist mentioned the demise of her previous host, Serena then chuckled.~

"Aye, interesting times. I have not come for further assistance in that regard, though it is, in part, the reason for my visit."

~She shifted slightly on her barstool, only as much to straighten her posture, and then continued.~

"I wanted to see how the years have been treating you and to hear whether or not you have given thought to our little bargain?" ~she smirked again and after looking over his length, she added~ "Time has treated you kindly old man."

Twist also took a small sip of the mulled wine and set it aside.

"Time has little choice for one such as I, but I doubt Time cares one whit either way, so long as I don't stop the River's flow."

Taking his glass again, and with a wolfish glint in his eye, he drained it.

"Diverting it, however, is another story....."

~She saw the look in his eye and found hers matching it, that amused smirk as well still prevalent upon her face. Picking up where he left off, Serena added...~

"...and in that story's writing, I would certainly care to collaborate."

~Instead, her thoughts were briefly diverted. She couldn't help then but to think back on their previous encounters and the fears of many when the two were near to one another. If ever there was a collaboration... Serena nearly lost herself in the possibilities. Blinking a few times in quick succession, the reality was that she was hardly the partnering kind and she suspected Twist was ultimately the same. Still, the thought was quite intriguing.~

"So tell me then, Twist, will you hold your boon over my head for as long as the River flows?" ~she looked back to and twined her hand about her glass~ "You know it isn't polite to keep a lady waiting." ~Even the rim of the glass, as she brought it to her lips, could not mask her smile.~

"That would be true, if I were a gentleman. Or even a man, for that matter, vile worms that most humans are."

A moments thought passes by.

"To be honest, I haven't had the time to give much thought into what boon I would ask of you. But now that you've given me a few ideas, I may have something in store..."

Twist seats himself upon one of the barstools, seemingly lost in thought.

"However, keeping Curulan from interfering is going to be hard part."

~She raised her glass again and nodded to his first statement. He responded to the old social proverb as she figured he might. Another common view, for just as Twist was no gentleman, Serena was no lady. Her stare lowered when she took a longer draw from her glass, but quickly rose after his next words. The silver sheen in her eyes brightened as she looked over to the barkeeper to ensure he was keeping to others' business and not their own.~

~Another healthier draw and her drink was finished. Serena set the glass down just in front of herself and turned to look back at Twist as he finally seated himself. He had her full attention now; she was more than a little intrigued and wanted to know more of what he was thinking.~

"Not so hard if he were kept preoccupied with... other matters."

~Her pause would give light to the fact that the 'other matters' she intended would not be to one's liking. The maiden paused before speaking again only for the moment she pondered whether or not she'd actually ever met Curulan before. It didn't matter to her of course; she knew who he was if only for his position in the clan.~

"Whatever you wish me to do, it will be done."

"Right now all I need is for him to be distracted. But I know someone better suited to that task."

As he spoke, Twist smiled in appreciation as Ebon-Ashe herself amused herself with yet another poker opponent by tossing the poor sod like a ragdoll. (Awakening)

"I've also still got Tordek running around the Planes searching for the pieces to the Rod of Seven Parts, of which he's delivered two."

A few more moments pass as he watches EA continue to play.

"As for you, I'm not so sure. My plans are almost ready. All I really need now is information. Particularly on whoever else may take a 'dislike' of my objective. Problem is, I don't yet know who they may be, but I'm willing to bet they're not on this plane of existence."


(( If you can't tell, I've hit a roadblock. I know what I want to do, but can't think of a good way to get there. >_< ))

-Color me disappointed- ~her mind whispered just as it probably showed on her face as he told of the better suited individual. It was a smart move on his part, of course, to choose another for the task. Serena wasn't exactly the favored candidate when only a harmless distraction was desired. Apparently Twist had not forgotten the maiden's virulent disposition that he himself had a hand in developing.~

~When the 'game' spilled over into the tavern, it was then Serena realized her hand still rested about the hilt of her sword as she momentarily gripped it tighter. She watched the indignant woman's actions as Twist spoke further in regard to Tordek's endeavors. Quite the ballsy exhibition, Serena thought as she then looked to the hapless fellow sprawled across the table's remains & then to the vacant reactions of the onlookers. Her hand then released her sword altogether; who was she to cast judgement upon such conduct? She thought for a moment of joining her hands in applause of the occurrence, but she did not do so.~

~As Twist concluded, she looked back at him with a slight raise of one eyebrow.~ "Information gathering is not my forte as you know." ~she gave a quick raise of both eyebrows & smiled~ "I think I'll stick around for a spell in any case. I find the area..." ~quick glance to the lady with the ebony hair~ "...rather fetching. If you should devise a way in which my talents might be useful to you..." ~She let her last words trail off as if to say more but she didn't bother, knowing he needn't hear the rest to understand she would be easily called upon.~

(( Continued from "Awakening"))

The adrenaline rush she'd experienced from killing Fineas and due to the subsequent rise in her temper, Ebon-Ashe jovially drank the crimson coloured liquid the barkeep placed before her. The beverage was red wine-- her favourite. The drink was many things to Ebon-Ashe. Chief among those things was the similitude of the red wine to blood.

The rogue had been raised among some very arcane customs, one of them was a ritual of drinking the blood of your enemy after defeating them in battle. The idea behind this concept was that slaying them and drinking their blood would give you their skills and talents-- and in some cultures it was said that you eat their soul. Because of the "soul eater" ideal, this habit had been linked to cannibalism. Cannibalism didn't fare well in society... so Ebon-Ashe drank wine instead. Though, secretly, there were still times she practiced this tradition...

Azrael hadn't walked the halls of Titan in a long time. It was him who forbade her to slay any fellow clansmen. The mere thought of her triumph over this "law" caused Ebon-Ashe to smirk with sheer delight. The experience became even more titillating at the realization she'd slain a Titan in the Golden Griffon of all places. Sheer euphoria raced through her body, feeding the dormant fire that lay within her. Her blood boiled. Azrael wasn't around to stop her now!

Ebon-Ashe emptied her glass with a frenzied hunger; however, she didn't bother asking the barkeeper for another drink. Instead, throwing caution out the window, she took her empty glass and strode across the room to Fineas' corpse. He had not lain dead for long so the blood would not have begun coagulating. It would still be warm.

She pressed the empty glass to Fineas' chest and lifted the corpse's legs to enable gravity to expedite the filling of her cup. Ebon-Ashe dexterously tossed Fineas' corpse aside with her empty hand, then wraped her hands around the now full glass. It was so warm to her touch. So delicious... so...

It was about that moment she realized that several eyes lay upon her to watch what she'd do next. Defensively she barked, "What the hell are you looking at? Get back to brooding in your ale or join the party, you swine!" The phrase "Join the party" was executed with a hand motion in the direction of Fineas' lifeless and bloody body.

Defiantly, the rogue sat at a more private table to enjoy her beverage while it was still warm.

Ebon, now sitting, ensconsed the glass in her hands as she brought it towards her nose. The rusty smell of the blood was intoxicating. How long had it been since she'd last tasted the flavour of blood on her lips? She couldn't recall, but that famine was to end in this moment. Pressing the cup to her lips, she quaffed. The warm liquid flowed over her tongue, dancing with it before slipping away down her throat. As she swallowed, she closed her eyes savoring each and every particle as it flowed thickly but quickly, coating her throat with a warm silky sensation.

"Ah, Delicious!"

His superior sense of smell brought the sweet aroma of fresh meat to his attention.

"I will indeed let you know the moment I know what fun I can indulge you in, my dear Serena. And now, if you'll excuse me..."

Bowing to her slightly, he made his way over to Ashe's table.

"It's plain to see that you're enjoying yourself today. Have you any plans for the poor sod's corpse? I'm not in the mood to hunt at this time..."