Snippet #1720939

Even though Sean was his best friend and the only man he would trust with his own life, Avius still found it hard take jokes about Allison from him or anyone else for that matter. Even though he'd been told that Allison and Crystal along with a couple of other actives had betrayed the Pack and seen for himself that Evin had done the same, Avius still couldn't take jokes about the woman he had loved for so long. It just wasn't possible and even though he wanted nothing more than to doubt Seans words about her, the evidence was clear; She had stopped him from performing a tradition done by the Pack through several generations and defied her new Alpha and were now positively helping Evin, a traitor who had not only caused so much damage to the Pack but also caused much pain to Avius personally. He couldn't let this mess pass him by, even though he wished he could.

"Maybe something could be done about that leader of theirs?" Avius thought and came up with several sinister ways of putting someone loyal to the Pack in a leadership position inside the Crimson Shadows. However, for now he kept them for himself seeing as he knew that Sean didn't have a grudge against them, only the people they were protecting. When the question that Avius had been waiting for turned up he sighed heavily and let his hand slide down the quarterstaff slowly.

"An old man, his wife and their fifteen years old son, all dead. No witnesses. No questions asked. I got in, assassinated them and then got out. Nothing special." Avius reported just like he used to; Very short. His eyes darted off towards the encampment as he heard voices from the camp growing louder, however he figured they were just having a laugh or a friendly (or as friendly as it could be in the Pack) argument. Nothing to worry himself over. His attention shifted back to Sean as he sat down next to him by the lake.

"Things are changing in this land and they're changing fast. It might be a breeze when it comes to all the fighting between the cities and the outcast might give us a small moment to breath..." Avius began and let his hand touch the water for a brief moment before puling back, feeling how it was about to twitch again. "...But, we can't stay put forever. We need a plan and we need it fast. Why? Because soon shit will get real and you know where we will be when that happens? In the middle of it." The man rose from his position and put away his weapon as he held his hand as it begun to twitch furiously. The pain was hard and merciless, but he endured it. The pain just reminded him how much he wanted Evin Bana dead and what he would do to slit that sick mans throat. It was a pleasent thought and a bit tad sick, but it was pleasent nonetheless.

"Here's my suggestion. We should stop focusing on taking contracts and staying neutral. That's what Dani and Crystal did and looked what happened." Avius explained and insulted himself in his mind for speaking ill of Dani, but it had to be done. "Instead we should ensure that once the war starts again, we'll be on the winning side."

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[The Desert - In the ruins of Brightvale]

A smile grew across the leaders scarred and concealed face as he motioned for the rest of his companions to follow his lead as he jumped off his trusted horse named Merlin and led his animal and friends into the very ruins he had been trapped in four years ago. It had changed to say the least and there were more people here than last time and they didn't seem as hostile. They did however, seem very curious about him and his odd company, but maybe that woud prove to be an advantage that he could use. After following the woman into the ruins a couple of mercenaries came up to them and told them that they would feed their horses and put them by the stables. The leader approved and his friends followed his lead. After that they kept on following the woman with the golden eyes.

His meeting with Crystal didn't turn out as he had hoped for nor as he had thought it would be, but it was good enough to see that she wasn't angry with him, or at least not yet. The fact that Evin wouldn't like seeing him again and that Allison sure would be happy made him feel like home again. "I wouldn't have it any other way.", He thought as Crystal had walked away. As they moved on he noticed that people had been starting to follow them to see what this odd group might want with the leader of theirs and who they were. They whispered and bets were even made between some of them.

"Barca will enjoy himself here. However, I believe I'll have to keep an eye on Ace for a while." He thought as he eyed his companions who walked right behind him. Ace was yet not impressed and remained as void of emotions as usual; Barca was smiling and held his helmet under his right arm as he scanned the ruins; Akida remained cool-headed, but he could see that she wanted to go about exploring this place for a couple of hours. Such things would have to wait though as they reached their destination.
A ring had gathered around them as the company stepped forward and soon enough they were joined by a young man with dark brown hair and cocky posture to say the least. Next to him stood the woman the group had been following and in the crowd the leader also spotted a woman he had grown fond of a couple of years ago. However, before he revealed himself to anyone else but the one person who already knew who he was, the leader turned his entire attention towards the cocky guy who he hoped wasn't the leader, but probably was.

"I suppose you're the leader of this fine company of men and women? I have many things to discuss with you if you're willing to listen." The leader said and bowed. Akida and Barca were the only ones who bowed with him. Being the elf that he was, Ace bowed to no one but himself and his father. That was elven law and it was what elves were taught from childhood. If you bow, you're weak. If you bow, you open yourself for a deadly strike even from an ally. When you bow, you might sign your own death sentence. After rising to his former posture, the leader looked over at Allison before returning his hidden eyes back at the man who might just be the leader of this group of mercenaries.