A man wakes up with a bursting headache. Either the consequence of the alcohol he consumed or that his old companion nearly broke his skull against the wall. Lhedo looks around the unfamiliar room. It's around the size of a cheaper tavern room but unlike there, in this room, there isn't a speck of dust to be seen. The draperies are engraved with multiple different carvings and decorations. A man drinking coins out of a cup or a woman bathing herself in a lake of coins. Every decoration differs, but all give the same meaning of someone acting with numerous coins.
Lhedo sits up and reaches for his bursting head. The wound has been disinfected and healing magic seems to be cast upon it. Now only a scar remains on partly his forehead and the side of his head. He grabs the cup on the night table next to him and scoffs seeing it filled with clear water.
Soon after, the sound of knocking fills the chamber. Someone's asking permission to enter the room of the wounded man.
"Enter." Lhedo says trying his best to ignore his fervent headache. The feeling is so intense he wonders if his heart has found another home. The figure enters after hearing Lhedo's permission and is led in by two mercenaries of The Silver Sons. The leader of Lhedo's mercenary corps enters, wearing his full armor. The leader's bronze helmet covers his face. Making him nearly unrecognizable even to his own follower. The two guards go out of the room again, leaving the patient and their visitor alone.
"Boss, what brings you here?" Lhedo asks frowning through the pain as he tries to consume the bland water. His face scrunching up as he has to do so. The leader of their mercenary corps holds his hand over the cup filled with water, blocking Lhedo from drinking any. He grabs a pouch filled with powder from his side and pours it into the cup of water giving it a black-purple tint resembling that of wine. A smile appears on the patient's face, the only way to effectively battle a hangover is to get drunk again. He gulps from the cup the sweet flavor coursing down his neck. The leader's eye focused on the gulping neck of Lhedo.
"Lheda's dead. She was murdered last night." The leader says seeing that Lhedo has consumed the wine.
"What?" Lhedo responds hearing the death of his almost identical named companion.
Lheda was a young woman who suffered from amnesia after an incident. The small crew of mercenaries she appeared to be a part of was all found dead. Presumably by some Norkan brigands or perhaps even Sytrichian slavers trying their luck. Lhedo recently joined his new party and found the woman near death. They gave her food and made her one of their own. Her appearance was so much alike with Lhedo that they simply called her Lheda. A literal female version of Lhedo.
"Why… How?" Lhedo asks back, the cup he holds slightly shaking before he goes to gulp down more of the wine-flavored water.
"She suddenly disappeared last night. They found her corpse in the harbor's bay. Her legs and arms were broken and the words "traitors" and "cowards" were carved into her skin." The leader says as he continues to stand around. Playing with the sheath of his weapon.
"Who would do this?" Lhedo asks his hands shaking again as his grip tightens. The cup nearly shattered.
"Who would do this, boss? Tell me, please." Lhedo asks again, the turmoil of emotions he experiences right now difficult to manage.
"I'm leaving town, Lhedo. I'm taking the savings and going to Shif for a few years." The leader announces, looking at the door.
"What? Why? What about our vengeance?"
"What vengeance?"
"Lheda is dead!" Lhedo smashes the cup against the night table. In disbelief that he even had to mention why there should be vengeance. The leader remains unshaken, standing there.
'Is he still there?' Lhedo thinks, his vision getting hazy. He lays himself down again on the proper bed, feeling sleep overtake him.
"The mercenaries after us found no remains of the man we killed in the cave. Either taken by beasts or still alive. With Lheda death and the message accompanying it. I think you get the issue." The leader moves closer, waving his hand in front of Lhedo's hazy eyes. The eyes are unable to follow the hand's movements.
"Let's… Let's get vengeance… boss." The slow and tired voice struggles to say. His eyes are desperate to close.
"Vengeance against someone who we couldn't kill when already injured? Don't be a fool." The leader walks away again, moving to the door. "I heard you were quite talkative last night. I'm sorry it has to end like this." The leader leaves the room as Lhedo closes his eyes. Unable to stay awake any longer. As the eyes close of the traitorous mercenary, his soft breathing matches the beat of his heart. Both slow down until a complete stillness reigns in the room. The patient is now completely still in movement, sound, and life.
The day quickly turns dark again. Not yet night but no longer enough light to call it day. The evening acts as a bridge between the contrasts. On the roof stands a humanoid figure. Its emerald jeweled eyes not matching the dark aura that surrounds him. The bloodlust of the figure howls loudly mixing in the wind. Blood stains his clothing having recently murdered a second. The man named Reul begged for his life as he was dragged into the dark cavern of their treachery. Keeping him bound and silenced as the shade demon carved the man's true nature in his flesh.
"Weaklings, Traitors, Cowards, Dead men." Adding some extra carvings compared to his previous murder. The emerald eyes were cold and unrelenting, the aura inhumane. A creature so much like a normal human yet so different in its nature.
In the eyes of Reul, the being was the darkness of humanity poured into one. Unsure of what was greater the pain or his fear for the being in front of him.
Blood loss is the cause of death for the man named Reul. His body hanging against the cavern wall, blood dripping together with the droplets of water. He hangs there in a noose made of his own clothing. His naked chest was ruined by the carved messages. Attracting the interest of the insects and smaller remaining carnivorous creatures.