Edwin stared down at his mask intently. He found that most of his free time was either spent with Shyra or examining this strange porcelin piece. It had become nearly an obsession. He often found that he was lose himself in the mask at the most inconvenient times,

He was confident that he knew every imperfection in the mask better than he even knew himself at this point. Between his dagger and mask, his tools were consuming him. Edwin could feel it, but it was hard for him to care.

His glance occasionally darted over to the black dagger that sat next to him on the small bench in his modest room. He keep it in arms reach at all times.

His tools helped him deliver justice. It had become his purpose. His thoughts were consumed by fantasies of striking down the monsters that lived among mankind. The world was too corrupt for any government to correct, but he was not bound by their forced mercy.

A warm voice broke Edwin's silent concentration. "Edwin, a new assignment is given. We are going to Hewe."

Edwin looked up to see his lover. He smiled softly. "When do we leave Shyra?" He had no need to prepare. He was expecting new order from Tilrer.

She chuckled. "I am as ready as you are."

Edwin appreciated that she was as driven in their field of work as he was. She likely was prepared to leave long before he was.

Edwin rose to his feet. He stood at least a head taller than Shyra and was twice as thick. His body engulfed the beautiful when they embraced.

"Let us be off then, Shyra," Edwin said as he grabbed his knife off of the bench and slid his mask over his face.

Shyra led the way out of the room gracefully. At times, Edwin thought that she acted more like a man than even he had. This moment highlighted in his mind that she was indeed a woman, despite everything else.

He realized that he was smiling at the woman as she walked. It was strange to him to be falling in love with someone in such a dark place.

He had to quicken his step to keep up with his Seeker. He knew the way to the Travel Gate, but he did not want to lose sight of her swaying walk.

The halls were all empty. Tilrer was not one that cared much about decorating. It seemed that the other Masked were all gone as well. It wasn't unusual for the halls to be empty, but it occasionally left Edwin with a feeling that he was being watched by something unseen.

Edwin caught up to his Seeker in the gateroom. She was standing patiently on the stone slabs with he arms crossed. She beckoned for him to come to her silently.

The symbols began to glow as he stepped onto the platfrom. That familiar cold feeling crept over Edwin's body as he closed his eyes.

After a few seconds, Edwin opened his eyes to rolling, grassy hills. Edwin felt a pang of sadness as he looked over the familiar landscape. He had spent a large amount of time south of Ilian as a young soldier. He had always wanted to one day settle in one of the small towns outside of Lucenne, but he knew that dream was not likely anymore.

Shyra had learned of his love of the area during one of their late night talks. She grabbed his hand lightly and tugged for him to once again follow her.

Edwin knew exactly where he was headed. Hewe was the only town in the territory south of Ilian that he despised. The place smelt of fish and rot. The people were strange and cruel. Edwin knew that it had only been a matter of time before he was sent to the town to deal with one of their many problems.

He quickened his pace and took the lead from his Seeker. He knew that she was his Seeker, but he knew where he was going this time.

Shyra didn't say anything, but she didn't need to. Edwin knew that she was uncomfortable from how she squeezed his hand.

They both stepped into the shadows together to quicken their travel. Edwin had been told over and over of the dangers of traveling this way, but he hadn't once actually seen anything in the shadowed lands since he was attacked by the Amzani.

Because of this, strange lands no longer made him feel uneasy. He wasn't quite as comfortable there as he was in the real world but nearly.

The world raced by nearly instantly as the pair of Masked walked to the shadowed Hewe. Shyra watched the shadows around them much more than Edwin. The white, rolling hills left little to hide.

The Masked reach Hewe long before sunset. Edwin preferred to hunt in the night, but waiting all day was not an appealing concept.

They both stepped out of the shadowed lands before they entered Hewe. They needed to strategize before beginning their hunt. It was more of a formality than a necessity at this point.

Shyra initiated. "I hate Hewe, but here we are. In and out. This should be an easy job."

Edwin nodded in agreement. "Lets just get this done. Lead me to the target and then I can drink his blood." The words felt unfamiliar as they slipped past his lips.

Shyra tilted her head and stared at Edwin. "Are you feeling okay, my dear?"

Edwin nodded his head. "I'm not honestly sure where that came from. Lets just get this done."

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He turned and stepped into the shadows. He knew that she would follow regardless. He was suddenly very uneasy. Those words weren't his own. He felt suddenly aware of his mask. It was eager for the kill. Much more eager to kill than to serve the purpose of justice.

Shyra moved silently behind him. He was worried that she was disturbed by what he had said.

She stepped ahead of him and went to work searching. She was drawn to the tracks of the target.

Edwin sometimes felt as if using the Masks was almost cheating while hunting. It was always so unfair to their targets.

Within minutes, Shyra had found the tracks. It was a couple by the looks of it. Their tracks led into the inn near the heart of the town.

Edwin stepped into the bright inn. He followed the footprints slowly. This was his pleasure. He wanted to savor this kill.

The footprints led into the basement of the inn. After stepping through the door at the bottom of the narrow staircase, he froze. There were many more sets of footprints suddenly. At least a dozen sets of footprints were in the room.

Edwin gripped his black dagger and clenched his teeth. This wasn't as going to be as simple a job as they had hoped.

He stepped out of the shadows with his weapon at the ready. The foul stench of rotting flesh met his nostrils immediately. He nearly lost his stomach, but the room was full of people.

As he appeared, the shrill shriek of a woman next to him rang his ears. WIth a quick swing of his dagger, the woman fell silent.

Other screams followed the death of the woman. Nearly twenty people stared angrily at him. Each one with purple eyes. The madness. Edwin realized why he was there suddenly.

Faster than the diseased beings could move, Edwin danced from person to person swinging his dagger.

Very quickly, he was surrounded by foaming-mouthed men and woman. He swung as fast as he could. Blood covered his entire body by the time that the last body fell to the ground.

Edwin lost his stomach at the sight of the carnage that he had left. The rotting smell had even grown significantly stronger as he pushed his way farther into the room.

Shyra stepped out of the shadows carefully. Edwin could see her worry in her movements. She rushed to his side. "Are you hurt at all?" Her eyes and hands flitted accross his skin quickly and gently, searching for any trace of an injury.

Edwin tilted his head sideways and looked at the woman. He was suddenly filled with a rush of immense joy. He started laughing, loud and hard.

The laugh continued. Edwin tried to stop, but he couldn't. It wasn't him that was laughing, he suddenly realized. It was his mask.

Shyra backed away slowly as she saw the pools of blood on the ground from the bodies. Each pool was growing and slowly creeping toward Edwin.

Edwin watched in horror as the blood slowly crept to him and up his body into the mask. He want to scream and throw the mask of, but he couldn't move.

The laughter stopped as the last drop of blood disappeared into the mask. Edwin collapsed at the same time.

Edwin woke to Shyra's worried eyes. "Are you feeling well?"

Edwin's head was throbbing. His eyes throbbed and body ached. He felt as if he was going to get sick again. "Wh- what just happened?" he asked shakily. Breathing felt harder than it should have.

"Bloodlust. It was your mask." Shyra said softly. "Do not worry. It will get better. Everyone that wears this mask deals with it."

Edwin pushed himself up from the ground. The foul smell had only gotten stronger. Bodies were still scattered across the floor. Despite the carnage, there wasn't a drop of blood in the room.

"How did this happen, Shyra? They were all infected with the madness. We are much too far from the Blight for this." Edwin slowly walked around the room, looking for anything worth noting.

Shyra followed Edwin closely, much like a mother watching a child take his first steps. "By the looks of it, they were organized. They were killing others and poisoning water supplies with infected body parts. I've never seen them so organized, but its likely that all of Hewe will soon be infected."

Edwin smiled. He could feel his mask growing excited. He thought it strange that the mask seemed to have a mind of its own. He wanted to throw it away, but he knew that he couldn't. It gave him more greater abilities than he had on his own.

"We need to leave Shyra. Tilrer will want to know of this as soon as possible." Edwin stepped into the shadows and strode out of the room with Shyra on his heels.

As the Masked stepped out of the inn, there was another pair of footprints that led out and away from the inn. Edwin shook his head. He had no choice but to follow the trail. It was not only his assignment, but it was the right thing to do. He needed to save the people of Hewe, if he could.

Edwin followed the trail at a near run. The tracks were sporadic, they person was much too inconsistent to not be infected with the Madness.

Edwin leapt out of the shadow as soon as he saw the tracks stop. Smoke filled his lungs and burned his eyes. Edwin realized suddenly what the madman was doing. The town was on fire.

Edwin tackled the infected man to the ground. The infected was still holding a torch as they tumbled onto the ground. Edwin stabbed the creature over and over until it stopped moving.

A child's scream took Edwin's attention from stabbing the lifeless body.

He leapt again to his feet and ran into the burning house that the scream came from. The roof had fallen in already in the main room, but Edwin pushed through the smoke and flames toward a closed door in the back.

He could feel his skin burning as he climbed around the fallen debris and tall flames. The door collapsed easily when he pressed his shoulder against it.

The small bedroom was mostly untouched by the fire. Edwin scrambled over to the small, limp girl in the corner. She had to have had less than eight years. Edwin scooped her up before stepping into the shadows.

The young girl remained motionless as Edwin carefully left the ruin that was her home. He stepped gently out of the shadows once he had made his way a safe distance from the burning homes.

He set the girl gently down on a patch of grass. As Edwin watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, a wave of relief ran over him.

Edwin sat back on his heels and peered around the burning town, looking for Shyra. He saw her dark silhouette approaching slowly in the distance.

Edwin looked back to the little girl. Her blonde hair and fair skin was untouched by the soot and smoke. Her round face wore a peaceful expression despite her circumstance.

Shyra's voice pierced the roar of a burning town. "You are a fool, Edwin. First a massacre and then risking your life to save a child. You are going to get yourself killed!"

Edwin met his lover's eyes and rose to his feet. He realized just then how much he had scared her. He walked to Shyra and wrapped her up in his arms. He felt her bodyloosen in his arms.

Suddenly more screams broke though the night air. These screams were very different. They were the screams of more infected. Shyra pushed away from Edwin and stared with him into the burning homes and shops.

Dark figures began running from amidst the buildings. Edwin felt the sweet and sickly rush of excitement as the creatures spotted the two Masked. "Shyra, take the girl and run. I need you two to stay safe."

Shyra moved away silently. He knew that she would help the girl just as he did.

Edwin could nearly taste the creatures' blood as what seemed to be every person in the town ran toward him. His right hand stung as he gripped his dagger firmly. He was suddenly aware of his burns from climbing through the burning building.

Even if he didn't want to purge Hewe of its infected, Edwin was unsure if his mask would let him leave. Tonight the mask was going to feast on the blood of Infected.