Visnuss Naramika, one of the sons of Naramikas king's brother, relegated to the status of a branch family after the eldest had taken over the duties of a king, was as spoiled of a young master as they came. Since his father, in his great wisdom, or the wisdom of the current king, many would argue about that part, had given up any right to fight for the throne and had gone so far as to assist the current ruler to ascend, had earned quite the cuishy place for both himself and his family. The lands given to them to lord over were fertile and vast, filled with both beasts and people, resulting in plentiful harvests, both agricultural and bestial. Their cities flourished even without them moving a finger, bringing in plenty of coin through taxes.
As such, ever since his birth, much like any of his sibling, Visnuss had been given anything he had ever wanted. There was nothing he could not get, with the exception of things his own siblings or parents had claimed. Slight inconvenience, but it did apply to the rest of the branch family as well. As such, they would often try to learn of what their dear family members were plotting, either to swoop in at the last second and try to steal the prize right under their noses or to move faster and present said desire on a golden platter.
Was it any wonder then, that at some point, the game had grown slightly stale, as the family had been doing the same for years on end. Eventually, they had encountered a few slave traders passing through their lands on one of their outings. That had been quite the eye opener. So much new, unexplored toys awaited them all across the world and all they had to do was to fork up some coin. A great deal of coin admittedly, but with the large amounts they had already amassed and the plentiful amounts still coming in year after year, the price had seemed small. And besides, slavery was perfectly legal within their nation, many of the nobles having their own little slave fights for sport.
One thing had led to another, and here they were- with Visnuss and the old coot, another noble of their nation and a fellow enthusiast of the game, on the other side of the carriage, both trembling in fear, as their ride was damn near flying along the roads, the border and their own lands the target. Were they aware that the slave traders they financed, along with numerous other nobles in who knows how many countries, used Ravenhold Fort as a transit city for the movement of the merchandise? Not really, though they had never needed to. Nor did they know, up until recently that a couple of the influential noble families of Sol were in on it, despite being well aware of the outlawed status of the practice within their nation.
They had also been quite excited once upon a time when they heard that they would soon get their hands on some prime merchandise- young and nubile wolkin teens, plenty of girls and even a few boys for those with special interests. They had also been rightly enraged when they had learned that said shipment was stolen, all due to the interference of a couple grown up wolfkin, no doubt relatives to the merchandise, and a princess of Sol. Visnuss, being the spoiled and foolish rotten young master that he was, with the assistance and encouragement from their noble friends in Sol had agreed, gleefully, to be the spearhead, to put the foolish young woman in her place. The fact that she was a princess, and pleasing to the eye to boot, only sweetened the deal, or so he had thought.
They had pooled quite the resources, hiring a famous mercenary to act as their champion to crush the competition and strongarm Sol to the marriage they had damn near demanded before. Where had it all gone wrong then? It started with the two sects from the inner continent arriving, having picked their tournament as a way to settle some sort of disagreement of theirs. Quickly followed by that absolute monster that killed Raja. And the way he had looked at them after the fact? It was clear that there was nothing protecting them in Solendiel. As such, using whatever little time they had, hoping that the monster would prioritize his deal, whatever it may be, with the royals of Sol, they had ran away.
Even now, a couple of days later, both representatives of Naramika were trembling in fear, Rex's last display of cruelty clear in their minds. 'What was that thing? Clearly it was no man! No matter what those sects said!' the same thoughts plagued both, for there could simply be no human of such power. At least their minds could not even hope to comprehend such a notion, even more so now that that same monster in human skin might still be on their trail. And with those two, equally monstrous birds of his, there was no guarantee that he could not be upon them at any given moment.
Panicked, trembling bodies would leave the carriage every night at one or another inn as they tried their best to sleep, often waking multiple times per night, screams of panic and cries for mercy escaping their lips. Their travel back home becoming worse and worse with each passing day, as their disrupted and terrible sleep and the nightmares were often accompanied with raunchy couples having the time of their lives just a room or two away, eating away at their spirits more and more. Not like they could afford to waste their time on relieving that damn itch either, not when they were still in the Monarchy of Sol. And so, after almost two weeks of travel at incredible speeds, using the straightest and best maintained of paths leading north, they finally reached a large canyon, stretching for as far as ones eyes could see- the Ten Thousand Falls canyon. A single, small, yet extremely walled settlement stood at the very edge of it, locking down the only bridge leading towards the other side where an enormous steppe awaited.
'Home. Almost!.' both dignitaries thought with the barest of relief in their breaths, their faces damn near plastered to the window, hoping to cross the great bridge as soon as possible. And moments later, they even enthusiastically and with hope and joy, for the first time in two weeks, encouraged their coachman to speed up. A request that the man at the helm of the carriage somewhat acquiesced, increasing the pace just barely, seemingly doing as asked while ensuring that the beasts pulling them would not be inconvenienced too much. There was still quite the path ahead of them.
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The first week of these past two had been dreadfully boring. Danica would be the first one to admit that. She could also perfectly understand the reason why they had to wait until the duo of fools had returned to their own nation, crossing the well guarded border, appearing in the logs of the guards of both sides. There was no reason to make life harder on Eve's family because she was impatient. And for all that she loved to nap in Rex's arms, or train with her own back pressed against his well trained chest as they both meditated and used the runes on their bodies to grow ever stronger, she was honestly still too young and hot blooded to be able to sit still for too long. Thus, when Rex had come up with a 'throwaway idea that just accidentally slipped of his tongue and should not be paid any mind to', or so he himself had said, Danica had immediately considered how it would work and was it worth it.
And honestly? She was having the time of her life. Not only could she sneak peaks of the duo's misery growing every morning their carriage left yet another inn, she could also have copious amounts of quality time with Rex, even if the inns they had to stay were barely passable at times. Damn those soft beds at Eve's place and how easy it was to get used to them- something she had already demanded Rex find a fix for going forward. She had to admit, there was some diabolical pleasure in torturing the duo with the sounds of one of their favourite past times, while they themselves could not spare the time to indulge and were already extremely stressed and paranoid. The way their faces seemed more sunken in with each passing day, their eyes shifting at the slightest of noises of birds flying past, clearly expecting Rex to appear at any moment, ready to draw them down to hell where their mercenary was already waiting. And now, their carriage had just left the Monarchy of Sol, crossing the few hundred meter long bridge to the other side, welcomed by by the Naramika guards no doubt. She herself could not see that particular thing, though thanks to the soul link with Rex, and in extension Wari and Sidsal, she could ask to gaze through either falcons eyes- something the duo were more than willing to accomodate. Yet another thing Danica could relentlessly tease Eve about, though she supposed it was about time to start actively helping that young maiden to get her desire and curiosity sated. 'Once we deal with this thing and return. Let's do it then. Yes! Let's do that!' she thought and promised herself, clearing her mind moments later and delving into yet another mana burning session, waiting for the next stop of the carriage. Rex had said moments ago that they had allowed their prey to run for long enough. It was also thanks to the incredible discrepancy in the speed of the two modes of travel, as well as the fact that Rex had two abys falcons, he could appear within the eye of public every few days, proving he had not gone after the unlucky fools, while keeping eyes on them at all times, giving themselves a perfect excuse should anyone ask. The fact that both Pyra and Juan were almost tripping over themselves to offer him any assistance whatsoever, with the blonde elf barely stopping at simple hints that she too was incredibly jealous of Danica at times- to have landed such a man was indeed a blessing any pure maiden would dream of.
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Finding a group of discontents who had turned to robing and pillaging was simple enough. Then, with a simple sword in hand and a few unlucky bastards as examples death with, Rex had acquired the 'assistance' of a local briggands group. With just the right amount of intimidation as the stick, and a solid few valuable gems, something that could theoretically be found almost anywhere, the lack of proper geology and whatnot ensuring the lack information on the subject, as the carrot, Rex used said group of brigands to stop the carriage the next day. They had enough time to prepare after all. Even here the brigands were smart enough to not actually harm the coachmen themselves, lest some serious bounty hunters are sent after their asses, but some damn lordlings of this land? Especially when they have had to rely on what they had been to survive? Yes, they were more than happy to fuck with the lives of them. To actually get paid for it as well, properly paid at that? Who could actually refuse? So what if the guy was scary as all hell? He had done most of the killing of the guards accompanying the duo, ensuring that the brigands only had to tie down the carriage of the targets in question.
As such, just seven or so minutes later, walking past a couple dozen dead guards, Rex was upon the coachmen carriage. In unnaturally gruff voice Rex spoke "Get your asses out here little piggies. We have to let the gentleman on his way after all." but seeing as how those two were trying to bunker themselves inside, panicking for their dear lives and hoping for a miracle, Rex sighed once before adding. "Our apologies for the slight damage to your carriage." Then, within the next minute or so, two, panicked, kicking and screaming fools were removed from the carriage, cursing them and promising endless suffering for their families and everything they loved once their attempts to buy their freedom had failed.
"YOU WILL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS REX!!! MY FAMILY WILL COME FOR YOU! THIS IS A CLEAR DECLARATION OF WAR!" screamed Visnuss as he was tied up.
"Oh? I already have a patsy for this?" Rex asked apparently intrigued, his hoarse voice indicating so ever slightly. "Who did you piss of so much at that tournament to run back home with your tail between your legs? There is no way you are stupid enough to offend the inner continent sects? Spill it!" the last couple words were rougher, followed by a fist in Visnuss' gut, causing the latter to bend over said fist.
Seeing the groaning and squirming excuse of a man before him, the hooded figure that Rex was acting as right now turned it's sight onto the other man, earning almost a girl like squeak, promptly followed by an explanation that the poor bastard could provide.
"A war between Sol and Naramika? Yes, I can earn with that." Rex hummed as he tied up the duo, leading them towards a small cart of his own. Once both were loaded in, he turned back towards the group of brigands who were already gathering around him. Without much words, he threw a small bag towards the leader, who opened it immediately, his eyes greedily observing the precious gems within. "As agreed. I would advise you change your stalking grounds as soon as possible. There will be tracking squads sent after them in a matter of days."
With that said, Rex boarded the cart and moved out, riding away and leaving the brigands to their own devices. The fools would no doubt stay around for too long, no doubt getting captured and tortured until they revealed every single detail they had heard, resulting in even less suspicions going Rex way. He had enough knowledge and understanding of geology to realise that the lands of Naramika were rich in a certain precious gem, one that held quite the value, though few outsiders could get their hands on the unpolished version of it, a secret well kept by the people within. The fact that Rex had spent some extra time acquiring precisely this unpolished gem in decent quantities to pay the brigands played a large role in his deception. ONly a native of Naramika was supposed to know, removing any suspicions from Rex. There was simply no way for him to know after all.
Ensuring that he was not followed or tracked in any way shape or form, his mana pulses constantly scanning his surroundings, he reached a rather nice and dark patch of a forest, he had come from, Wari circling high above the clouds, waiting for him. Rex killed the two mounts that pulled the cart in but a single action, their bodies dropping lifeless before him. Then, he stored both the bodies, as well as the cart in his space storage that had far more space by now than he knew what to do with, acquisition of a new and special bed for Danica not including, and called his trusty abyss falcon to descend as soon as darkness took over. Then, once he and the two unconscious bodies were safely on Wari's back, they departed Naramika just as unnoticed as they had arrived.
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Visnuss awoke with a rather unpleasant headache throbbing in his head. It was as if he had been drinking for a few days straight. He has had worse ones, of that there was no doubt, but usually such headaches were accompanied by a rather gright light coming through a window and a rather large number of naked women all around him. And yet, there was neither the bright light, indicating that morning was upon them, nor were there plenty of naked women around him, some with quite nasty bruises of his making. No, what greeted him, alongside the rather annoying headache were the groans of an old man, a slightly dark room and the rather unpleasant feeling of chains and ropes biting into his flesh. Clearly he had been tied to a chair of some sort. Also not the first time in his life, yet again, the lack of womanly giggles and the smell of expensive alcohol reminding him that things were off.
It took him a few more minutes to properly come to, remembering the last things that happened. It was then that he truly awoke, his eyes opening widely, head turning from side to side, clearly panicked and looking for ways to get away, or anything that could stoke his hope.
"I am afraid your coming days are not going to be much fun." Spoke a relatively youthful and feminine voice, Visnuss head turning in the direction, catching sight of a beautiful, ashen haired woman sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, playing with a small construct in her hands. Wow. Those alluring curves. That beautiful face he could just barely make out. The woman was indeed a true beauty. Was it actually a rather elaborate ploy from one of his friends to make the whole experience a proper roller coaster? To scare the living shit out of him and then bring to utter ecstasy with such high class beauty? Damn, he would have to work hard to top such play, but for a beauty of this quality, he was sure he could think of something.
Then, as if noticing his lustful stare and understanding the process of his thoughts, as though they were familiar with each other, the woman stopped playing with whatever small construct was in her hand. "Well then, time to see how much I have learned and just how much do you actually now. The old man has been rather talkative. Sets see how well you sing?"
And then, whatever wild and erotical fantasies Visnuss had just cooked up in his mind vanished like darkness at the dawn, as the incredible beauty left her comfortable looking club chair and walked over, her full form getting revealed by one of the mana crystals illuminating his surroundings. The ashen haired woman was indeed as stunningly beautiful as he had expected, her youthful yet voluptuous body almost awakening his little friend from its slumber with her mere presence, yet those blood red, almost shining eyes and the elongated canines extending from her upper row of teeth sent an absolute chill won his spine. This here was an actual vampire.
