Oh heck, why not make it a trio of misfits, eh? xD
I could see Kassom having an interesting run in with one or both of them. He's a thief who walks the moral fence like a tightrope artist and plays host to an earth-elemental demon with a thing for metal. He and Derek could play off one another quite nicely -- where Derek is a killer with a conscience Kassom is a pragmatist who chiefly looks out for his own interests. Hmm... perhaps a rumored cure for vampirism, something heavily guarded and kept secret, could bring them together, Derek as the client and Kassom as the hired help?
As for Sapphira, perhaps a chance meeting? Something along the lines of Kassom sneaking into a certain lesser lord's manor to loot a valuable trinket, and in the middle of the theft Sapphira sneaks in to assassinate the lesser lord for the sin of buying and selling dragon parts, and as the two go to make their exit they stumble across one another? Possible fight scene, part ways as semi-friendly rivals or something to that effect. Sound good?
