Rebirth of a house

[Nikkii O'seth]

"My'love...... Aramis will be returned to Neriak, I know he will tell of this community. She will come here then with everything she can muster, and Aramis might be with her when she does." Naldany crossed her arms.

"I'm not going to be sent away Elindar you know that." Darlena pinched him

"And on this matter I won't argue ....... your going to make sure the children make it to safety, please understand." Elindar spoke firm to her and yet soft and caring.

Darlena clinched her fist and frowed for a moment but then nodded. Olantar soon showed up with a bit of a concerned look.

"Phelan I need to speak with you.... something has been troubling us the last few days while gathering food. We have been noticing someone watching our activities.... at first I thought it was Elindar's scouts but they stayed to the shadows and the movements was like teir'dal assassins."

[Phelan]

"Love, Aramis will do what he wishes anyways, right? Perhaps we can use him against Nikkii somehow." Phelan said before turning to Olantar.

"What did you say?" Phelan asked, because had been speaking when Olantar spoke.

"There maybe Tier'dal assassins watching us." Olantar said flatly giving up his hushed tones for now everyone was paying attention.

"How fresh and how long ago?" Elindar asked quickly echoed by Phelan.

[Nikkii O'seth]

"Not but a few minutes ago, as we was collecting the last kill, we returned from the western side of the community... I think they stopped about a few hundred meters from the clearing." Olantar frowned as he spoke still feeling his sense of duty.

Elindar ears pearked and he motioned to a couple of the elves that was with Olantar, speaking in elvish he tells them to go out and circle around the community. They nodded and readied their bows before dashing off.

"Love.... what did you tell them?" Darlena said pulling his shoulder.

Elindar escorted Darlena and Naldany back inside making sure the girls was inside with them before he closed the door. Now Aramis had come out of another cabin with a few other teenage boys with him.

"Gentalmen..... we have company..." Elindar grabbed his swords and started off the porch. "Get noncombantants indoors and be ready."

Aramis stopped along with the other boys puzzled at the sudden cerfew efforts being made.

"Father.... wha..." Aramis was interrupted by a sudden arrow striking one of the boys.

[Phelan]

Phelan lunged at Aramis and knocked him to the ground taking an arrow in the back as he did so. Phelan growled in pain and his face contorted mere inches from Aramis' face. Phelan quickly gained his focus and looked the boy in the eye.

"You are so eager to fight all the time, make yourself usefull and get your swords and get the rest of these boys home." Phelan said as he stood up off of Aramis and dashed up to a house where Elindar was taking cover from.

Phelan couldn't press himself flat agaisnt the building with the arrow sticking out of his back. He looked at Elindar and turned his back to him looking over his shoulder.

"Would you mind helping me out? I can't reach it to break it off." Phelan said grinning.

Phelan's stomach lurched a bit and his eyes unfocused slightly. And a queer look crossed his face as the realization set in that the arrow was tipped with poison.

"They are using poison on their weapons." Phelan said dully when Elindar broke off the arrow's shaft leaving only a few inches sticking out from the wound.

[Nikkii O'seth]

"You will have to hold out a bit longer till one of the clerics can cure it." Elindar hummed an song of healing that took some of the poison's sting off. Scuffling was herd in the trees and clanging of metal then silence. Elindar watched the area intently waiting for movement.

"Someone has fallen, but the fight isn't over." Elindar whispered back to Phelan. Then they caught a brief glimpse of a female dark elf carrying a bow dash behind a house, soon a male dark elf heading behind a different house finally a third male came into the opening he barely held his bow steady due to an arrow in his midsection. He fired off his arrow and took another to the chest that fell him, a few moments later one of the elves came out injured to the shoulder.

Elindar headed to where he saw the female hide since she was the closer of the remaing pair. She was focused on the the injured elf having forgot Elindar and Phelan taking them for dead, as Elindar focused in on her breathing. She wasn't as good as any elvin scout or that well trained of an assassin she wasn't masking her breaths and wasn't being very still and she went to stand up to move Elindar made his move. She was taken by surpise and put up her bow as a defense, Elindar's sword cut through the bow and his fist followed knocking the girl out.

[Phelan]

Phelan shook his head as it cleared a bit. Elindar moved off after the female and Phelan climbed to the roof in pursuit of the male. Phelan could hear the intruder fumbling for an arrow. Odd that they have sent such untrained people after us He thought as he silently crept to the edge of the house and peered at the Dark Elf standing there getting ready to make a move.

Phelan's eyes narrowed as the Dark elf drew back his bow, Phelan's eyes flared red as he leaped from the roof sword in hand. The Dark elf let the string roll off his fingers and was sure that it would find it's mark in the elf's head that he had aimed at, but at the last second something had caught his eyes, glinting of steel. Phelan's swords splintered the arrow, cut through the bow and sunk deep in the head of the Dark elf as Phelan landed gracefully on the ground. Phelan pulled his swords free from the wrecked skull of the man and wiped the blood on the cape of the now deceased assassin.

Phelan wondered how Elindar was fairing and more importantly where Aramis was.

[Nikkii O'seth]

Elindar came back into view dragging the female by the leg after making sure she was no threat by binding her hands and feet.

"I believe that's the lot of them.... "Elindar said aloud as he went to see to the wounded elf. Darlena was one of the first to come out and went to check Elindar. Naldany was soon out as well looking for Aramis and Phelan. Aramis was soon out and looking the female over in awe.

"My'love is it bad? " Naldany examined the protrunding arrow shaft stuck in Phelan's back. She could see Phelan losing his focus as he went to focus.

"Poison tipped." Phelan uttered before he slipped down to his knees aided by Naldany. Soon the rest of the community was out and Olantar was conducting a count of everyone. An elven cleric knelt beside Naldany, the same one who had treated him a few days prior.

"Not a true poison but something that relaxes the muscles making it easy for less talented assassins to kill with little effort. Please sir brace yourself I must remove that before I may treat you." She spoke with much kindness and tugged a bit pulling the arrow head out. Moving quickly she cast a curative spell and dressed the wound. "Sorry for the discomfort."

Naldany took a look at the dead asassins hand and his ring. "V'gen's.... they serve the Gal'saris and J'narus.... why are they here?"

Aramis continued to look the girl over, her white leather armor the fact she looked only a few years older than him. He had seen many other women in Neriak but she interested him then he noticed the swollen spot from where she was hit. He brushed the hair from her face and started to use a healing spell but Olantar grabbed his hand.

"Young master ..... that would not be wise she just killed one of your friends and nearly got you."

[Phelan]

Phelan was a bit disoriented after the healing. He heard people talking, but none of it registered. He got back to his feet as quickly as he could and rubbed at his shoulder, it felt as good as it ever did. Phelan sighed as he made his way over to the unconcious girl, Aramis and Olantar.

"Olantar, it's ok let him do it. Only a bit though Aramis." Phelan said quietly as he drew a blade and placed it beneath her throat.

Phelan nodded to Aramis who gave him a dirty look but proceeded.

[Nikkii O'seth]

Aramis started to heal the girl as the others surrounded them. She groaned a bit and Aramis stopped and watched his fathers blade near her throat. When she opened her eyes she tried to spring back once she noticed the blade but fell back onto Olantar.

"Let me go or kill me you vile filth... you traitors to your own kind you deserve to all be beheaded...." She struggled to get away from Olantar.

"Why are you hear?" Naldany asked.

"I won't tell you wench.." She fired back.

Phelan smirked and took the sword from under her chin and pushed the tip into her shoulder slowly piercing her armor then skin. Tears formed in her eyes and she muffed her scream until the sword was withdrawn. Aramis looked back at Phelan and gave him a look of unapproval and started to heal her wound but this time he was stopped.

"Answer her question.." Phelan said coldly wiping her blood on a clean part of her armor.


The girl collected her thoughts before she spoke. "We was hired ..... to kill you and take ones called Aramis, Tailu, and Zealott alive and return them to the new Grand denouncer..."

"You was after me?" Aramis interupted her, but his outburst gained her attention as she examined the boy before Olantar jerked her head back so she couldn't look at him.

"Your bigger than I thought.." she barely got out.

"The ring the other was wearing... your from the house V'gen aren't you?" Naldany said tossing the ring at the girl.

"My brother and father where are they?" She spoke.

"Dead ...." Olantar said loosing his grip on her hair.

"Your going to suffer for this I swear it...... yes and the rest of my house will want vengence for this once word of this reaches my uncle." She ranted on.

"What is your name?" Aramis asked

The girl was a bit surprised by his boldness and paused her ranting. "Andrea..."

She then noticed Darlena standing next to Elindar. "My'lady why are you outside of Neriak we was working..... your not the Grand Denouncer...."

"No I assume now my mother has taken that title.." Darlena replied.

[Phelan]

Phelan plunged the sword into her other shoulder.

"You presume much to threaten us. Perhaps if you dont' return, they will assume you ambush by the 'devil' elf?" Phelan mused as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Aramis clenched his fist and turned to his father.

"Stop it." He said.

"Oh, suddenly you care for another? Why the concern?" Phelan asked twisting the blade ever so slightly.

The girl spasmed with pain and shrieked. Phelan was truly wondering what Aramis' intrest was. Phelan wouldn't kill the girl, in fact he would have had her taken away by Elindar and his scouts already if it hadn't been for Aramis' interuption.

[Nikkii O'seth]

Aramis reached over an tried to pull Phelan's arm, allowing him to remove the sword.

"She is just doing her job...it's not her fault." Aramis yelled to Phelan.

Naldany smirked and glance at Phelan, while Elindar sent for his wonder to be cared for.

"Andrea.... was you the only ones that my grandmother sent after us?" Aramis now knelt between Phelan and her.

Naldany whispered into Phelan's ear. "He's infatuated with her, we can use that my'love."

She again tried to regain her composer before she spoke. "Please just kill me if your going to tourcher me more..... no she has others hired from all over... we was the first to track you."

Darlena snatched up the girl gripping her by the back of her neck. "She must be checked over for hidden weapons and young man so if you excuse us this isn't for your eyes." Naldany and a few other women followed Darlena into the cabin and the door shut behind them.

"So what will be done with her father?" Aramis asked

[Phelan]

"It has yet to be decided. She has more information that we need though." Phelan said running his fingers through his hair.

[Nikkii O'seth]

"What kind of information? Are you planning on killing her..... I have some things to ask her too." Aramis sounded like he meant every word he said.

Soon the women was comming back out dragging the girl behind them Andrea now wearing commoner's clothing. Darlena tossed her down infront of Phelan and Aramis, her face now with grass on it.

"I'll take care of her once your done with her.... so please be quick." Darlena said turning to leave.

Aramis grabed her arm and spun her toward him. "No.... you can't.... it's not right."

Darlena's eyes narrowed. " She would have killed you not more than ten minutes ago and thought nothing more of it than a job..... showing your assassin mercy will get you no where... she'll come back to finish the job. "

Aramis let her arm go and she went off to asssit Elindar with his wounded and the bodies of the two fallen assassins.

"Sir please let me go I'm sorry for what I said ... I'll leave and not speak a word to anyone.... I'll say it was the devil elf." She starded to plea as she attempted to roll onto her back.

[Phelan]

"Silence." Phelan said quietly, but dangerously.

Everyone was quiet including the girl. Aramis stared at his father hard as if willing him to leave the girl alive.

"Naldany, will decide what happens to you." Phelan said before walking off to help Elindar.

Phelan was relieved to let Naldany deal with such things, she was far better at it than he was. Phelan knew that if it were his choice they would just drop her off in Freeport and let her go.

[Nikkii O'seth]

Naldany smirked hearing what Phelan said, this was the edge she was looking for to get Aramis under control.

"Olantar.... do you have need for a laborer? .... to help tend the land an sow crop?" Naldany asked Olantar.

Olantar thought for a moment then smiled realizing what she was doing. "Yes I do need an extra hand ..... I can put her to work as soon as you let me and we have some to keep watch on her."

"Very good..... But if she tries to run or not work her execution would be carried out immediately." Naldany lifted her to her feet.

"Mom I will help her..... I will make sure she does what she is suppose to."Aramis said.

"Very well son but mind what I tell you and keep up your training with your father... and Andrea was it after your work is done you will reside with Olantar."

Olantar handed her a farmers tool and started to lead her to the area. "You will have to get use to having your hands restrained for now."


A pit had been dug and the assassins bodies was being tossed in. The dead scout was layed across from the pit and being prepared for burial, Darlena and a few others was tossing the left over wood into the bodies and oils poured onto that.

"Elindar my love..... this was only the begining we should be getting prepared." Dalena said looking down at to the corpses.

"Yes we should be making haste o get the black powder for your brother-in-law."