[Venos]

(Writer's notes)
[I wrote this story in one sitting yesterday so there are no doubt a bunch of minor typos and mistakes, one thing I often do wrong is the time(past, present) of my wording but I hope you can understand it anyway.
The intro doesn't follow the story itself but is more a lead in to why my character was on the road in the first place.

I am not requesting any RP items, I write because I like to do it

I was Veno on IN:X(and R i think) and Faltar on IN1 if anyone wants to get back in contact.

Leave comments if you have any, in or out of character.]


Venos' Path

Part 1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I have not always been who I am now. I have seen more pain and suffering than most. I have inflicted death and destruction upon my enemies on countless occasions. I have hunted, caught, tortured and killed.
All of this I have done.

I served the forces of order for years. I fought and defeated my enemies. I held my ground when others retreated. Yet even I fell in the end.

One day years ago I realized that no matter how long or how hard I fought I would never achieve the victory I yearned for. There would always be new dangers and new enemies to fight. I became sick of it all. I left my belongings to my remaining guild mates and left all I had known behind.

I travelled the world on my own. I had given up on old enemies and friends alike. I was free.

But as I'm sure you have guessed it was not to last long.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<


It was another night like any other. I was traveling the road between Trinsic and Britain when I came upon a brigand camp. I was not in the mood for a fight or had the gold on me to bribe my way past them so I headed off the road into the forest to find a way past the camp and back to the road.
I decided to play it safe and walked for about an hour into the woods. I wanted to take a good long route around any potential trouble with the brigands but ended up running into an entirely different problem.

Right as the sun dipped below the horizon I emerged from the forest into an open clearing. And right there was a keep. It's grey stone rising up over the nearest treetops. How could I not have seen it approaching?
I backed up behind the nearest tree to get a decent look at the keep here in the middle of the wilderness.
From my vantage point I could see the entire front of the keep.
It seemed somewhat sparsely decorated. Only a saddle mounting and a barrel of water was at the main door. I could see no movement in any of the windows.

*snap* I spin around to see where the noise came from but all I get is a sharp stinging pain on the side of my head and blackness in front of my eyes.

I woke up chained to a stone wall in what I assumed was the basement of the keep. An assumption that would later be confirmed.
I had blacked out from the blow to my head so I had no idea who or what had dragged me in here and was holding me captive.

For what felt like days I saw or heard no one.

I was chained in a standing position so there was no way to rest or sleep. If I had tried I would have hung in my arms with the chains digging into my wrists.

Just before I would have collapsed from exhaustion the door suddenly burst open and a large man came in. He pushed me hard against the cold wall and poured water into my mouth. I greedily gobbled up as much as I could. Before I'd even had half as much water as I would have preferred the bottle was empty and disappeared into his backpack. He took out a small loaf of bread and put it into my right hand. I was barely able to get my hand to my mouth but munched on the bread the best I could anyway. He turned his back to me and walked over to the door, when he reached it he turned around and looked at me. "You better eat up now; I've been instructed to keep you alive until it's decided what to do with an intruder like you." I was too concerned about eating to bother answering him with a spiteful remark although a fair few came to mind at this point. "I'll see you soon." He said with a dark grin on his face and left the room. The door was closed but I heard no lock slide in place. Well not like there was anything to do about that in this position anyway.

[Venos]

The water and bread had given me some more strength and resolve. I was not going to surrender to these bastards!

Two days later I wasn't so sure about that anymore. I had slumped down and was hanging in the chains. My hands were numb but my shoulders felt like they would break apart.

This time the door opened slowly. The same man who had given me water and bread came in. He stopped two steps away and simply started laughing.
"Not so tough after all eh? Well that’s what i thought."
He lifted my head up and put a bottle of water to my mouth. I could barely swallow the water as it slowly filled my mouth.
"Oh come now its water. I can't be here all day to wait until you finish drinking"
It became steadily easier to drink as my throat became moist and once again used to water.
"Well there little man wasn't so hard now was it?"
My head slumped down again as soon as he let go. I felt him fiddling with the restraints around my right wrist and suddenly my arm fell down my side. The pain in my shoulder became five times worse along with a sudden hard throbbing in my hand. He released my left hand as well and I dropped down on the hard stone floor.

I woke up in a cot next to a small window. I could feel the ingredients of a healing potion in my veins and the sun shining on my face.
Just as I started getting up to have a look around the door to the small room opened and a man stepped in.
"Good morning" He said with a smile.
"I trust you are feeling better?" I could neither hear nor see any malice in him. Although he didn't seem as concerned as his words could lead one to believe.
"Yes, thank you." Was the reply I decided on. I could have been more aggressive but for now I would play along and jump unto the inevitable "it’s all been a bad misunderstanding" that I was sure would follow soon.
"As you may have guessed it seems that there has been a misunderstanding in what your intentions were when you came here." He said with a slight smile on his lips.
"Yes it would certainly seem so. Who are you and who did you believe I was to warrant the treatment I've undergone?" I was playing along as best I could but pain is not forgotten as fast as this fellow seemed to think.
"To the second question, we believed you to be an agent of chaos. The first I will let my master explain. He will see you after you have been given a good breakfast." This man was hard to read. He was certainly used to hiding his true feelings and intentions. This was most likely not the first "misunderstanding" these people have had.
"Ah I see. I can appreciate the position you would have found yourself in with my capture although I would suggest that you simply ask the next guest who he is and why he is here." I smiled up at him waiting for his next excuse.
"Well people can lie." Apparently I had struck a nerve. His anger and mistrust shone through his friendly attitude even if he hid it quite well.
"True enough. Now I am very hungry and would very much appreciate the breakfast you were talking about."
"Of course I will bring it here in just a few minutes. Do you have any preference for drinks?"
"Water will do fine"
"Very well then. There are clothes right here." He pointed to a chair next to a small table. "I will be right up with breakfast." He gave me a big smile and left the room.
I got up and quickly got dressed in what had been laid out for me. It was quite nice clothing. Certainly not the cheapest around so it would seem that funding isn't a problem for this group.
My backpack was on the floor next to the table and I gave it a quick look. A handful of runes but no reagents. They probably didn't want me simply recalling out.

After a few minutes the man returned with a large trey of mixed breakfast foods and a pitcher of water.
"Thank you." I said as he put the trey down on the table in front of me.
"The master will send for you in about an hour. I will come pick you up then." He said with another of his fake smiles.
"Oh I seemed to have missed your name?" I looked up at him expecting an answer like it had merely been a small oversight from him.
"I am Heru." He said as he headed out the door which he locked behind him.
I plunged into the food with no regard for table manners.

Heru returned an hour later as he had promised and took me into the main room of the first floor.
At a small table sat a well-built man. He was flipping through a book as Heru took me over to a chair across the table.
He looked up as I was walking over and closed the book with a small thud.
As I reached the table he stood up to shake my hand.
We both sat down with a nod.
"I am the master of this keep and of our little group. My name is Tekaran Toi."
"My name is Venos and I seem to be the victim of a misunderstanding according to Heru here."
"As you can imagine we don't get many visitors out here so our reaction to your arrival may have been somewhat out of proportion. I hope you won't take it too hard out on us but privacy and secrecy is two things that are highly valued here." Tekaran said with no hint of emotion on his face.
"Well I can appreciate the need for privacy and I do apologize for my stumbling unto your keep. I was merely trying to-"
"Yes yes I’m sure you have a good enough explanation as to how you ended up here." Tekaran interrupted. "Problem is however, that you did come here. And since you are not a part of my group I can't let you leave."
"Can't let me leave? Do you expect me to stay here for the rest of my life?" I can't say that I was all that surprised at his statement. Secluded groupings of people tended to want to stay secluded or they wouldn't be out here in the first place.
"Well I was going to suggest that you join my group." A smile appeared on his lips.
"Join you?" This suggestion was somewhat unexpected so I couldn't hide my surprise by the offer. "I'd have to know a lot more about you and your group before I could make such a decision."
"I realize it's a bit of a jump to make but I really can't tell you anything about us until you accept my offer." Tekaran was still smiling.
"So you want me to join your group, knowing only that you are a group that lives somewhere in the deep woods and that you highly value privacy?" I was well aware at this point that should I not accept his "gracious" offer of what would basically be servitude I would not leave this keep alive.
"The choice is yours. Join us as a full member or live out the rest of your days here in the keep as a guest." He lifted his hand up towards Heru who was standing a few steps away. "Please take our guest back to his room so he may consider my offer in depth."
I got up and walked alongside Heru towards my room.
"What should I do Heru?" I asked him.
"I choose to join; I suggest you do the same." His answer was straightforward and seemed genuine. And of course confirmed my suspicions that there were not a lot of members in Tekaran's group that were here voluntary.

As I lay in my cot that night I made my decision. I would join Tekaran's group and first of all figure out what this was all about and second find a way to escape.

[Venos]

Part 2

It wasn't actually as bad as I had first imagined. Tekaran Toi was the sole master and leader of this group as he called it.
I was only getting more information slowly but from what I could piece together after a month was that this group really didn't need all the secrecy. Members were usually out in the woods to hunt various animals for food or monsters for whatever items they may be carrying around. Others would gather lumber from all around the keep or mine in the caves a little ways to the west.

To me this group mostly seemed to be stocking up on materials and trade goods but I couldn't figure out who received all the goods. The keep was big with plenty of storage room but the stocks never grew. Someone was clearly getting the materials we were gathering.
During the past month I had talked quite a bit with Heru. He wasn't exactly here voluntary either but unlike me he had simply been trying to mine in the same mine as this group was. His entry had however not taken him through 4 days in the dungeon of which he seemed quite happy. He had been here for almost 2 years. I didn't plan on staying that long but didn't talk to anyone about that.
Heru had come to accept his place here. He did sometimes admit to longing to leave but he was clearly not ready to accept the risks involved in that.
Heru was out as an accomplice.

I had chatted a bit with Thea when doing work in the keep. She was also not here by choice. In fact no one I talked to seemed to have been one of the founders of The Group as it was known.
Thea had been here for just over 4 years. She had been picked up by Mokar on the road between Trinsic and Britain. Mokar just so happened to be the same man who "took care" of me while I was in the dungeon.
Thea hadn't been cooperative in the journey to the keep so she had spent a few days in the dungeon as well. She didn't tell me exactly how many days and I didn't ask into it. No point digging into old pains.

This one day Thea and I were both in the kitchen preparing midday meals and got talking again.
"You know Venos I have been trying to figure out how to get out of here." She looked over at me while clearly waiting for my reaction.
"It might not be wise to talk about such things, others might be listening." I wanted to see just how serious she was about getting out. If she backed out of the talk this quick she clearly wouldn't have the stomach to do it anyway.
"I know but.... I just want to go, to leave here and never come back. And I think you feel the same even though you haven't been here as long as some of us." She looked me deep in the eyes, trying to see if she could read my emotions before I said anything.
"You can't read me can you?" It was time to see how tough she really was.
"No." She admitted.
"Then why do you think it's safe to talk to me about these things?"
"I just think that.... I don't know. I just know that you feel the same way i do."
I smiled. "Well you are right about that."
She smiled and turned towards her work.
"It's not nice of you to play with me like that." She blushed but kept her eyes on the vegetables she was cutting up.
"I needed to see how far you would go. I don't want to try and get away from here with someone who is going to back out in the last moment."
"I won't! I want to get away from here!" She had turned and was looking at me with what I could only describe as desperation in her eyes.
I cocked my head and looked at her face. I studied her expression.
"Really? Well then we should do it." I smiled and she replied it with a smile of her own.
I hadn't actually noticed it but Thea was beautiful. She had long dark hair down to her shoulder blades and dark green eyes. I've always had a thing for green eyes.


Two weeks later our escape plans had gotten nowhere. Getting out of the keep was easy. We were sent out to work on most days. Problem was it was always in groups and always had at least one of the privileged guards along. They always kept close watch on everyone who was out to work.
Getting our hands on reagents had proven equally fruitless. I still had my runes but with no reagents they were useless. We had both checked through the stores and rummaged through the kitchen and pretty much anywhere else we could think of.

"It's hopeless." Thea proclaimed when we were both in the kitchen again.
"Nah we just need to keep looking and if necessary come up with a new idea." I tried to reassure her.
"That's what you said last week as well." She sighed.
"Well yes but it's still true." I smiled to lift her mood.
She smiled back but it was obvious she didn't believe me.
"Thea" I grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards me. "Don't give up please!"
I looked her deep into her eyes to show her my determination to get away.
Her expression didn't change but she put her hands on my sides and pulled me closer.
She closed her eyes and we kissed.

I woke up the next day with more determination than I had ever had to get away from The Group. And I would bring Thea with me.

As fate would have it that day we actually did get out. Although i doubt either of us would have agreed to it being this way if we had known.

[Venos]

Part 3

I saw Thea at breakfast. She was just walking out when I came in to the kitchen.
I spent that day in the mine with 2 others. I didn't know them nor did i want to. Mokar was the guard on duty with my group today. He hadn't spoken directly to me after I had joined The Group and I did not want that to change so I simply worked like I was used to.
Midday came and went and towards evening we packed up and headed back towards the keep.
Evening meal was being prepared as my group came in so after we had packed our tools away and washed we could sit right down for dinner.
During the day I had let my mind wander for way to escape. The obvious one would be to simply run into the forest while out on lumber duty, perhaps slip away silently, perhaps we could just.... I had no ideas we hadn't talked over already. Well new ideas didn't just spring up over dinner did they?

After dinner I headed up to my room, or rather our room. After having joined The Group single rooms no longer existed and we lived in four man rooms that were only just big enough to hold four cots for us to sleep in.
I wasn't quite finished thinking over the possibilities of escape however so I simply lay down to think.
My head had barely touched the pillow when I had a scream.
I jumped out of my cot and flung the door open. I heard a yell coming from what sounded the front door of the keep.
"It's vampires! To arms all!"
I ran down the hallway to get to the room where Thea was sleeping. I turned the corner and saw she was already out and had apparently had time to put on more clothes then I had. She was fully dressed and i was only wearing short pants.
"Thea we need to go now!" I panted when I got to her.
She simply looked up at me and said: "I know."
I took her hand and we ran down the stairs to get into the main ground level room and to the front doors.

We had barely crossed the main room to the small hallway leading to the main doors when the doors burst open killed the 2 guards before they even raised their shields.
Thea pulled me off to the side just in time to avoid an arrow flying in through the open door.
"Venos we can't fight them." Her voice sounded like she had already surrendered.
"We have to try! You know what they will do to anyone that surrenders. If we fight we at least have a small chance!"
I picked up a board and turned around in a protective stance in front of Thea.
We were standing in the corner and the first four vampires ran right past without looking in our direction. The next two however were more thorough.
"Ah here we have some prey." The first vampire hissed.
"I am not your prey vampire!" Was the only reply I could come up with considering the situation. "If you are looking for a fight however, I am more than happy to oblige you."
The first vampire came straight at me while the second circled around to my left where Thea was now standing.
What actually happened is little more than a blur to me...
What I can say however is that I didn't land the killing blow on either of the vampires. Thea was a far better fighter than me and I must admit that I had not expected it. She had never really told me anything specific about her past but I sort off always assumed she hadn't received more than minimal training in these forms of combat.
As we ran away from the keep towards the edge of the forest she was right behind me.
I had barely gotten past when the second tree when I heard a scream behind me. I stopped and turned back to see Thea on her knees. A vampire had his arm around her neck.
"On your knees human or she dies right here." His voice was dark. Or maybe that's just how my mind remembered it.
I hesitated for just a second before I slumped down on my knees head down. I couldn't let her die. Not when I had a chance to help her.
"Smart more human. Although it was entirely expected. "I could feel the vampire's grin even if I couldn't see it.
Another vampire stepped out from the shadows and grabbed my arms from behind.
"And now human, it's time to see just how powerful I am." The first vampire said.
He released his grip on Thea and learned his head down. I yelled: "Nooooo!"
His fangs easily penetrated Thea's skin and I could see her wince from the pain.
Twenty seconds later he raised up to his full height again and laughed at me as a tear rolled down my cheek.

*blackness*

I woke on a hard stone floor. Not that different from what I had experienced in the dungeon of the keep. Here however there was absolutely no light. Whether my eyes were open or closed seemed to make no difference at all. I was not chained or bound but I could only feel my way around.

It took me just a few minutes to feel my way around the room. It was small barely two by two meters I'd say.

I had been awake for an hour or so, it was hard to tell given the situation. Needless to say I had no hope of living past another day at most. Vampires rarely kept their food alive for too long. "Someone is always hungry" is a saying I had heard in a few stories.
I heard quiet footsteps outside my room. It sounded like two pairs of footsteps but it was hard to tell.
The door creaked open and let just enough light in that I could see it was two people.
"Here is your first meal." The voice was familiar somehow but I couldn't place it.
The smaller person stepped into the room and the door was close again.
"Hello Venos." Thea said. Her voice was unchanged but her emotions behind it were very different.
"Thea is that you?"
"Yes."
Without even sensing her approaching I felt her strong arms grasp me. Her fangs pierced my skin with little need for force.
I didn't fight.
I felt her drain my body of blood as she sucked it out of my wounds.
Suddenly she stopped.
"I am not going to kill you. And no I won’t turn you either. I may be a vampire now but I won't let your become one because of me."
She let me go and I slipped onto the floor.

When I opened my eyes again it was in a healer’s cot in Britain.
"How did I get here?" I asked.
"You were brought in by a lady yesterday. She did not tell us anything she just came in put you on the cot and then left." The healer answered.
"Thank you." Was the only response I could give.
An hour later I was walking down the street from Lord British's Castle towards the bank. As I crossed under the bridge I felt a sudden shiver.
"Hello Venos."
"Thea is that you?"
"Who else do you know that prefers shadows?" She said while taking a step closer so I could see her smile.
I jumped over and hugged her.
"I missed you too." She said. "And I am sorry I bit you. I was just so hungry."
I stepped back and looked into her beautiful green eyes. "You saved my life. That's how I remember it." I smiled.
"Thank you for not hating me."
"I never could Thea."

After she departed I headed down towards the bank.

It’s time to start a new life.