OOC: Unfortunately, work is extremely busy for me at this time of the year, so i won't be as active as I had first hoped with this - however, i'll still try and get a post in every couple of days. If i'm inactive for several days, i give permission for someone to take temporary control of Xathryll until i get back --
___
"TRY YOUR LUCK! ONLY TWO COPPER A ..."
"... FINEST YOUNG LADIES IN ALL OF GOLDWYNN! COME AN..."
"... MAGICIAN AMAZE YOU AS HE JUGGLES FIRE WITH HIS BA..."
The sounds and bustle of the entertainment district flew by Xathryll as he walked along the rooftops slowly. All this crowd and noise was unsettling to him - used to the solitude and darkness of subterrainean life as he was. Still, his eyes darted back and forth between people, watching for a suitable mark. He had only been in this city for a couple of weeks, but already it suited him fine: Unsuspecting, niave fools to prey on for money; plenty of hidden passages, rooftops and basements to seclude ones self in; So many people that any trouble made will be forgotten in hours.
Ah - there... A lone man had lumbered out of a tavern and stumbled off into a darkened alleyway to empty his bowels. His mind was already jumbled from the interesting substance Xathryll had come to know as 'booze', and it would be no effort to shatter what was left of it. Xathryll stalked over to the roofs edge and peered down at his victim as the man vomited noisily. After several seconds inspection, he raised a hand and pointed, palm facing the man, and fingers curled into a claw-like gesture.
...
Graeson was a simple man enjoying a simple life - after a hard days work, he had come to the entertainment district to find some drink and boast to his friends. Of course, as he does every night, he overindulged, and soon found himself stumbling outside and to the seclusion of an alleyway to 'make room for more beer'. Midway through bringing his dinner up, he blinked. The noise of the main street some ten meters away from him suddenly seemed to dim to a low buzzing sound, and the lights coming from it abruptly seemed less significant; dimmer. He didn't watch the street for long, however, as suddenly just behind him a clattering of bin lids caused him to jerk his head around worriedly. Graeson slowly stood up, staring at the bins as though something were about to burst from them, when abruptly a cold, not quite human laughter chuckled in his ear. Clearly worried now, Graeson turned once more to try and find the source of that laughter, but nothing was there. All thoughts of the tavern were out of his mind now - it was just the alleyway, himself, and something evil. A clicking of what sounded like claws on cement echoed in the alleyway behind him once more, and terrified, Graeson turned, only to come face-to-face with a black-hooded man, peering intensly at him. His face was hidden in shadows but the drunk, frightened man was certain he saw red pinpricks of light where the mans eyes should be. The drunkard turned and began to flee as fast as his uncoordinated legs could carry him but suddenly, with a whisk of sound and a faint breeze, that hooded man materialised in front of him once more, now blocking his way back into the lights and crowd.
Drop your purse, and I may allow you to live...
The words weren't spoken, but Graeson could hear every letter imprinted on the back of his mind, chilling him to the core. Incoherently murmuring prayers to the gods, Graeson threw his purse to the ground and turned, fleeing down the alleyway into the darkness as though all the hounds of hell were five feet behind.
___
Xathryll smiled faintly - the man was fortunate - He liked to make examples of people who did not comply instantly. Still, drunkards are almost too easy to frighten, but they do carry a fair bit of coin sometimes. Snatching up Graeson's purse, Xathryll peered upwards to the rooftops. He blinked out of existance, nearly instantly reappearing on a window sill three meters up, before phasing in and out again to one the next level above. With one final blink, he graced the rooftop with his feet and glanced around. Now... to retire for the night, or to find another target...