[Sot2A] Rogues

WandersWithMoonlight

"She is," was all Wanders could manage to say as he took the portrait back from her, and he remained silent as he spoke about her.
She swallowed, unsure of what to say. It was one of the few moments in her life where she felt anything that she could say at all would simply be inadequate for this moment. "I'm sorry," she sighed with a sigh. Another moment of silence passed, and the knowledge of what she saw was hanging in the air, heavy and limp. She couldn't be sure how smart of an idea this was, but the words were out before she could stop them.
"I saw you," she said. "Last night, after you wandered off. What you did to that bandit." There wasn't much of a sense of judgment in her voice. It was a simple statement of the facts, with a hint of quavering hesitation.

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"He had killed three people a week ago and looted a farmhouse 2 days ago," Galdryn said "What I did was a mercy to the humiliation of the headsmans block. I am a vampire though very young and I needed to feed. I do not feed on innocents and only when I need to."

Galdryn paused to gauge her expression then continued, "I could have fed on you during sparring. The reason I am so proficient in my job is how often I feed. The longer I go without, the more powerful but uncontrollable my powers are."

Galdryn finished, he wasn't yelling or chastising but explaining. "And I know you saw, you're clothing has a distinct smell. I could have smelled you a mile away but my senses were blinded by my thirst."

WandersWithMoonlight

Wanders felt a pang of regret, knowing this may not have been the first time he had the accusation and what he was thrown back at this face. Even though he wasn't yelling, she couldn't help but feel that way. She closed up her pack once more, "I'm sorry. Suppose you're right. Hardly sounds like he was innocent. I'm sorry I followed you.'

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"It's fine, at least you didn't try and skewer me like most people. That would have ended bloody." Galdryn finished repacking all his things into a new bag and stood up slinging it over his shoulder.

"You remind me of her Wanders, proficient in your moves and confident but hesitant in execution. Also the way you move is very similar but that is where it ends. Her name was Sylvara." Galdryn turned and walked toward where the rest of the group had gathered before moving on.

WandersWithMoonlight

"Well," Wanders began. "Wouldn't have felt right if I did. I only followed to see where you were going, and that's what I saw. Didn't really think of what to do depending on what I'd seen."

She lifted up her pack and slung it over her shoulders, making her way to the rest of the group along with him, "So..Sylvara. How did we differ? If you don't mind me asking."

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"She had blind conviction, I admired it but it was naive. She also put too much stock in the Mother," Galdryn said, "Above all else she was foolish enough to love me."

Galdryn turned and looked toward the sky as if any minute she would fall out of it. He wasn't that old by Dunmer or vampire standards but it felt like an eternity ago.

"I'm sorry to trouble you with this sad tale. There's much more to it and I'm not willing to share more presently." Galdryns eyes again turned towards the sky.

WandersWithMoonlight

"It's no trouble," Wanders said. "Everyone has at least one. But I'm sorry to make you tell it."

Wanders went silent for a moment, idly tapping her fingers on her chin. "I figure you must have an amusing story as well," she said. "There's always one of those, too. What's...the strangest thing you've seen?"

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Galdryn thought for a moment playing memories in his head trying to think of the strangest one. "I once had a target who kept Argonian female slaves. He pissed off some 'friends' and they contacted me. I staked out the estate for two days and watched as the target acted out The Lusty Argonian Maid several times. The strange thing is that they were willing slaves."

Galdryn chuckled, "I ended up having to subdue every single one of them to keep them from killing me. Fortunately I did not have to kill any of them and they were all returned to the brothels from which they came."

Galdryn began to chuckle again trying to keep the image in his mind in order to keep his mood bright, it had been dark for far too long. "What about you?"

WandersWithMoonlight

"I can't really speak for targets," Wanders said. "But when I was training, there was another in the same group as me. I've heard tales of members of the Brotherhood figuring out their own methods as they go along. But he had his figured out before he even began. He was telling me about covers he would want to assume to get close to his targets."

She chuckled a bit, "It was very impressive, actually. He put quite a bit of thought into it. He had ideas for anything from a scholar on the Dwemer to even a famous chef. I don't see how he could plan those ahead of time. I suppose he'd save them for when he would need them. Just in case, I suppose. He had...several. It was staggering."

She let out a bit of a wistful sigh, "It's a shame he wasn't a writer. I think he would've been great for that. The roles he told me has such interesting stories. He was a strange one. I wonder where he is now..."

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"Have you tried looking for him?" Galdryn asked, "I have contacts that could if you wanted. It wouldn't be any trouble."

He took a moment to remember some more guises and then reminisced about when he posed as a bard to kill a couple at their wedding, it had taken several months of planning and learning flute the latter he still did. Galdryn turned back to Wanders, "Care for some music?" he said pulling his flute from a bag.

WandersWithMoonlight

"I haven't," she admitted. "I'll...have you think on it. It's a tempting offer."

She watched, though, as she pulled the flute out of his bag. "A musician as well? My, my, you are just full of surprises. I'd love to hear some."

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"I only learned so I could pose as a bard, I am also fluent with lute and lyre. I used to make good money in taverns. Ok first I will play something from home in the Ashlands."

Galdryn began to play a tune that began low and mellow but soon dropped to more somber tone. In his mind he sang the lyrics which told of the Chimers fall and the Neravarine Prophecy. Galdryn finished the song a few minutes later and looked toward Wanders.

"Any requests?" he asked while reading her face trying to gauge her opinion on his first song. He had hoped she didnt notice he almost missed a finger movement and so prolonged the previous note to cover it. It had been a while since he had practiced.

WandersWithMoonlight

As he began to play, she began to follow the notes he played carefully, only to find she found herself getting lost. The somber feeling of them enveloped her. For the duration of the song, nothing else existed. It'd been some time since she he'd heard anyone play any music, she realized.

When the song was finished, she politely applauded. "That was lovely," she said. "Seemed a bit sad, though."

She tapped a finger against her chin, thinking of all the songs she knew. "How about Stagger and Sway?"

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Galdryn nodded back to her and thought a minute trying to figure out the melody for Stagger and Sway for he had only played it on lute. Once he figured it out in his mind he moved the flute towards his mouth.

"Been a while since I played that, lets give it a shot."

Galdryn began to play and despite his modesty, was actually a very good performer. The melody rang through the air and for a moment it seemed that even the wind listened as it billowed across the path. The sweet sounds of the song were soothing to the heart and ears and once Galdryn finished he was reminded of his emptiness as if the song were his lover and they had just parted.

He put the flute down and moved to wipe a tear from his face which he had hidden with his arm.

WandersWithMoonlight

Wanders sat there, once again, captured by the melody of his playing. Up to this point, she'd only ever heard it played with the words, but there was something stronger about simply hearing the melody itself. The words were never spoken, yet she could feel the mood of the piece. She'd never had a moment like what the song spoke of, and it's one she never often thought of having, but she found herself longing for it as he finished playing and put the flute down.

It was a moment before she was able to speak, "That was...amazing. Thank you. It's been a really long time since I've heard that one."

She leaned forward slightly, "Are you alright?"

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"I'm fine," Galdryn said, "Just that song gets to me sometimes. Reminds me that I will never have what the song describes."

Galdryn put his flute away and composed himself. It had been years since he last wept, vampirism had that effect of a dampening in emotion but at least he still felt them. He began to wonder how others viewed him and how they must hate him for what he was.

"Do you ever wonder how your life would have been had you been born into a different one? How much of a monster do you think we are? Those who take life in the shadows for coin. We are not like most, our training calls us to be better and more skilled but I cannot help but think that if I wanted to I could leave it all behind and start over in some no name village in Skyrim or something. But then I think of the call of my blades, they thirst more than I do and I cannot help but indulge. Are we doomed to tread always in solitary shadows Wanders?"

WandersWithMoonlight

"No," Wanders said. "I don't think we are. The way I see it, we always have a choice when it comes to what our lives are like. This notion of a...cursed fate. It doesn't exist. We only convince ourselves that it does. I've thought about this myself. I've come across so many people who feel like they can't escape from where they are. I don't think that's true, though. Anyone can, for the most part. The process of change...is difficult. I think that's what scares people."

She stood up from where she sat, idly pacing as she spoke, "Change brings uncertainty. People may not like where they are in life, but they feel that at least there they've adapted and gotten used to it. So used to it that they can't see beyond it. Change...they don't know what happens then. Even if it's for the better, the task is so overwhelming that they'd rather just stay where they are, with what they know and have adapted to, even if it's not good for them They say 'it's just not that easy.' And it isn't. But if there is anything that I've learned, it's that nothing that's worth doing ever is."

She sighed, "That's how I think most people are, unfortunately. I never wanted to be like most people."

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"Maybe you're right," he said looking nonchalantly in a random direction. Galdryns eyes shone bright for a few seconds, partly due to the fact he hadn't fed today but also because he was scheming. How easy it truly soul be to slip away, he couldn't return home though, that's the first place they'd look but aww sure. With his training in disguise and subterfuge he could easily go anywhere.

"Unfortunately I'm most safe and most vulnerable here. It would be hard to leave here without much aid. I wont go into detail but it's dangerous for me to be out alone. Plus most people want to burn me on site once they figure out what I am."

WandersWithMoonlight

"That's rough," Wanders admitted, unsure of what else to say. "You won't have to worry about that much from me. I'm not in the habit of burning others alive. Perhaps if there was good reason to, but if there is such a thing as a 'good reason' for that, I don't think I've found it yet."

(Well. This is a painfully sparse response, and I also apologize for the long absence here. Truth be told, I'm not sure what happened. Real life stuff went down and, well, the next thing I knew several months had gone bye. Oops.)