In For The Kill And Out For The Betrayal

[Anadwen]

Aldanith only winged off. "I doubt that." he whispered, and chose his own way, only a short distance from Vandryn. He picked the highest rooftops to climb, and his figure flashed like a flowing shadow through them, the cape and hood waving like a black flag.

He knew very well what was his plan. He aimed to get to one of the shielded places on the town wall, on which he could jump and get over with minimal attention. It appeared like a small tower, and its roof was comfortably close. Only one narrow street divided it from the roof of the house Aldanith just stood on.

He made a few steps back, and bolted back towards the edge of the roof. On its edge, his feet broke off the ground beneath and he leaped into the air like an arrow, fired by a tense bowstring. He crossed the distance with inhuman ease, landing on the roof of the small tower almost noiselessly. The guards surely weren't quick enough to notice something as fast as him.

[Lion]

Perhaps the guards weren't quick enough to notice, but Vandryn had trained his sight all his life to catch anomalies even from the corner of his vision.  He had found his way a little easier over the wall and by the time he saw Aldanith finally land on the other side, he gave a yawn and uncrossed his arms from over his chest.  "Took you long enough," he muttered and gave him a sniff before turning and running off toward the trees.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith gestured him to follow, ignoring his provocative remark, and sprinted towards the forest in a speed that outmatched even the limitations of his own kind. His feet hardly touched the ground, and he leaped forwards in insanely long and quick steps, appearing to be flying rather than running.

The trees only flashed by his sides, and even though he ran faster than a wild beast, he maintained his balance exceptionally well, not even getting near to crashing into something, or  tripping over. There was something eerily unearthly in his sprint, it was too fast, too flowing to be natural.

[Lion]

Vandryn was fast in his own blood.  He was built for punishment, for survival even in the harshest conditions.  He did not need to lead on this mission and followed the blur of Aldanith seamlessly.  He moved behind him with ease.  They were shadows in the night, nothing more than shadows on the wind.  Not even the leaves on the ground were disturbed at their passing, as if they were nothing more than ghosts.

[Anadwen]

The glistening river appeared in the distance, and Aldanith's keen eyes noticed it soon enough to slow down and stop by the shore. He pulled out the map again, studying the various routes that led to the temple, and waited for Vandryn to catch up.

"Now it took you long." he winged off, and pointed at the map. "There are two ways. One leads through the river, while the other one goes over it... Decide which one you want to take. Do you like swimming, or not?" he questioned him silently.

[Lion]

"Swimming is fine," Vandryn answered idly, flashing a grin at the drow, and bowed graciously.  "Ladies first."

[Anadwen]

"That's why I waited for you." Aldanith replied with a crooked grin, and took off the heaviest parts of his armour that might hinder him in the deep, wide flow of the river, such as his shoulderguards and cape. The metal part of his left arm glinted in the dim light of the moon, connected straight to his shoulder, but he dove into the water before Vandryn would get a chance to examine it more closely.

He held his breath, and swum under the surface, slightly against the current of the water, which seemingly didn't hinder him, showing the same grace and strength as before. There was a dark hole in the other shore - an entrance to the cave of which he spoke. He was sure that the map was safe, concealed in a secure place under his armour, where the water wouldn't reach it.

[Lion]

[Lol, airtight armor! 8D]

"And so patient the lady is too," Vandryn commented just a moment after Aldanith slipped into the water.  He still wasn't too impressed by the drow, but so far he hadn't gotten in the way.  As long as he continued to be useful, he would have few complaints from his Mr. Grotesqueness.  Vandryn was not wearing cumbersome, armor, he never did and he never had to.  It was unnecessary to carry all that weight and when Aldanith had gone away, he moved down to observe the dropped pauldron.

It was heavy, a dark metal, and it stunk of foul magic.  Demons were never a lovely thing to mess with it, but after the stink of drow, the stink of demon was just as strong.  "That would explain the overcompensating physicalities," he mused before dropping the piece of iron to the ground and he kicked it to the side, and slowly waded into the water, taking his time before diving below.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith swam into the river that parted from the main stream, flowing into an underwater cave. His head emerged from the water, sticking the long white hair to the sides of his face, and he climbed out of the river onto a narrow shore. It was just a large piece of rock above the surface of the water, but it fulfilled its purpose perfectly.

Streams of darkened water ran down his cheeks, smudging the kohl and ash, and giving him an even more menacing, eerie appearance than before. He put most of his armour back, only when he noticed that the left pauldron is missing. He snarled. Piece of shit. And that f***er wouldn't bring it back even if it fell on his rotten head...

He moved the rest of his armour over the empty space as well as possible in an attempt to cover the gap. In the end, there was only a small space uncovered, and there was still the leather armour underneath. He impatiently waited for Vandryn, who was either too wimpy to cross the river, or rudely taking his time. Any of those would enrage him, and as he squatted on the rock, he gave his surroundings a look of utter hatred and loathing.

[Lion]

He wasn't there for Aldanith's whim, beck and call.  Vandryn moved with the current until he was just on the otherside, following the slop and trail of slime Aldanith left in his wake.  Just like a drow, he thought with mild curiosity.  By the time he made it through the cave, Vanryn popped on discreetly and walked gracefully up the slippery rock.  "Lead on, your majesty," he said with a bored shrug.

[Anadwen]

"Took you enough time. I thought I'll turn to stone before you show up." Aldanith snarled, springing to his knees. He was getting quite annoyed with Vandryn... If he'd make any more problems, he'd get rid of him quickly, and so it would be if he wasted any more time, too.

He walked over to a small hole in the cave wall. "Ladies first. Even ugly ladies." he gestured Vandryn to enter with a devilish sharp-toothed grin.

[Lion]

"Which is why you're taking the lead.  You read the map after all," Vandryn said, bowing.  And shortly before bowing, he gestured for Aldanith to continue, clasping his arms behind his back.  "Oh, and in case you forgot, you left your armor pauldron on the other side of the bank.  Probably not a good idea.  You should go back and get it."

[Anadwen]

"I know I did, but it's a waste of time to return." Aldanith winged off, entering the tunnel. He watched Vandryn's every move with the corner of his eyes, vary of any action the dark elf might make against him.

His hand arose to his head and a small bickering flame appeared above his fingers. It had an unhealthy ghastly color, deprived of any hue, but it lit the tunnel much better than a lantern would. His vision was perfect even in utter darkness, but he wanted to make sure than that idiot behind him won't trip over and make any mess. 

[Lion]

Vandryn growled a little, mostly to himself and watched as the drow alight a flame in his hands.  So he needed a light to see in the dark?  Vandryn said nothing and strode behind him.  The tunnel reflected the light back around them as they emerged through it.  Vandryn stayed a few yards behind him, letting the light from Aldanith's hand sparkle as the tunnel opened up to a wider cave.

But suddenly his eyes honed in on something ahead of them, the rocks only proving to be a minor concealment, and suddenly Vandryn was upon Aldanith and snatched his hand in one of his and snuffed out the flame.  His other hand went over his mouth, holding him in a semi-headlock.  "Shhh," he growled.  "We're not alone in this cave."  And promptly let him go.

"They're right up ahead.  At least a dozen or so. Goblins by the sounds of their grunting."

[Anadwen]

Aldanith turned his head aside to get rid of Vandryn's hand on his mouth, and reached for his scimitars. "I knew about them. There will be short work of those..." he hissed back, reaching after the handles of Bloodstorm and Frostdeath on his back.

The soles of his boots didn't make a sound as he came forth, and soon a dim flashing light of a lantern approached. He pressed his back onto the wall of the cave, and his body seemed to be covered by a thin veil of shadows, hiding him in the dark.

Soon, a grunting pack of goblins, carrying several small lanterns, appeared afar. Their light fell on Aldanith, but he appeared to be completely hidden by the dark as he moved towards them.

[Lion]

Vandryn frowned and moved through the other side, flanking around the approaching creatures.  Vandryn vanished from the drow's side, and he felt vines crawling up the side of the cave wall.   Quickly he scaled them and crawled to an inlet, a perch of carved stone that lead up to the side.  Quietly he removed his bow from his back and took out an arrow, the blink tip hidden along with him in the shadow.  He nocked it, silently pulling it back and taking aim at the lantern light.

No, that wasn't his target, but the fattened guard up on the hill, grunting closely with another, smaller goblin.  He narrowed his eyes, grinned as he let the arrow fly.  There was a brief whistle and nothing more than a gurgling sound as the arrow struck through the neck of the larger goblin guard and the force was enough to knock him into the one in front of him, sticking them both in the neck with one shot.  Only the second one had a second to scream.

It was second enough to ring the start of the blood bath.

[Anadwen]

Aldanith dove into their pack like a shadow in the moment when the goblin's scream echoed in the cave, slashing his scimitars in a fountain of black blood and even blacker fire. His heart was pleased at the sight, the desperate screams of the goblins were a symphony to his ears and the smell of their blood, their fear, was satisfying for his savage, bloodthirsty mind.

He moved too fast to be hit by their daggers and maces, like a lightning, spreading death with every passing moment more and more. And every dead goblin only drove him to a bigger frenzy.

[Lion]

Vandryn was pleased Aldanith was having his fun, at least the pup would be occupied for a time.  Vandryn saw them drop like flies and he suddenly moved from his perch, taking a running leap and somersaulting to a large jutting boulder, pointed at the top and overlooking a large stone bridge that was carved over the passage and passed on through toward the cavern exit.

Globlins were swarming them in hordes, and Vandryn nocked arrow after arrow, taking them down like the vomitous insects they were.  One was behind Aldanith, spiked club raised and ready to slam it on his head.  Blood spurted up and poured from his neck when an arrow found its mark and he fell to his knees, writing on the ground.

[Anadwen]

The bloodshed was getting more and more brutal. Aldanith has turned to one of the darkest forms of magic - the one that ripped the very bones from the bodies of the goblins, tore their veins and corrupted their flesh.

He still used his scimitars, and caused chaos in the hordes of confused and scared goblins. They were beginning to run away from what seemed like a couple of shadows, slaying their ranks, something that killed but couldn't be killed.

Aldanith stood atop a pile of corpses, and instead of goblins attacking him, he had to start reaching after them. It appeared as they were trying to escape rather than be victorious in something that was anyway an uneven battle... Without any use.

They'd all die in the end, and Aldanith grinned at the thought.

It indeed happened, and soon there were no more goblins to slaughter. Aldanith looked down at something, snarling under his feet. One of the creatures was slowly crawling away, leaving a long smudge of blood behind itself. The dark elf's metal hand clenched around its neck and broke it, grabbing the skull and ripping it out with the spine, hanging like a bizarre tail. It dripped with blood, and Aldanith's cold, hard laughter, resembling a vicious crow, echoed in the cave while his hands, covered in the black goblin blood, ran over his mask, coloring the already dark surface even blacker.

[Lion]

Vandryn waited patiently for Aldanith to be the rest of them.  He had killed the rest of what he needed and when that was through he moved back toward the kills he had calculated and plucked the arrows from their bodies.  No need in letting those go to waist.  After putting his bow away, he peered up at Aldanith and raised his brow expectantly at him.

"Your majesty," he called out, standing by the exit.  "Are you ready yet?"