I was dreaming, drifting in an all-too-familiar void, no light nor shadow, only a place I knew intimately, a place I feared above all else because it was far too welcoming. My blood was warm here, despite the sun never shining upon it.

I felt my feet meet an empty resistance and I stood, eyes open yet unable to see, save for my body when I reached out.

Red, scales, ever familiar, yet there was this distinct sensation that this was entirely new to me, almost as though my very eyes were alien to me, gazing upon a body they had never seen before.

"What do you have in mind?" A voice cut through the silence and I spun around to face the speaker. Nothing.

"When you see me in my full glory?"

I turned around again, dagger in hand, but nobody was there.

"What dwells within your still living flesh, that I greet you with such compassion?

I spun around again and saw a Kobolti. Though cloaked in a Fel-stained mantle, bearing a wooden mask with a crudely-painted scowl, I could tell what they were almost instinctively.

"Fel-touched shade, why do you haunt me?" I demanded.

"Your surrender is inevitable. Your willing submission foregone." I could feel him smile, as if it was with my own mouth. "I am the Evil that Roams, what Some would call a most intimate Rival."

A few of the words he spoke seemed to dig into my mind, I understood this Kobolti was dangerous, that I needed to escape.

"Long forgotten slave, blood-cursed blade, kneel before me and accept my Glory. Let. Us. Be. As. One."

He reached up and grasped his mask and I turned away. I ran from him, because somewhere deep within my mind I knew if I didn't I would be unable to escape.

"It does not matter." I heard their voice directly to my right, I kept my gaze forward. "I have a greater prize than you." Their voice spoke to my left.

"You will die before you accept my gift."

Their voice came from in front of me. I closed my eyes and ran forward. I ran until the ground softened. I allowed myself to fall, this place could not harm me, after all.

Something wasn't right. I opened my eyes and saw I had fallen into bone-white sand, or was it ash? I quickly scrambled to my feet and gazed out to an endless black ocean, massive monoliths stretched out into a sky that hurt to look at.

I drew my daggers and looked around, searching for my assailant. Black tar rose up from the sand, taking the form of Felshades. I felt my heart lurch at the sight of them, once-mortal, now Fel-twisted monstrosities.

'Join us...' It had been years since I'd heard their voices within my mind, years since I'd escaped. I let out a hiss as I leapt at them. I Jumped from one to the next, plunging my daggers into their chests, slaughtering them without issue. I-

"Spex! Get up!"

I jerked awake and gasped for breath, I coughed and spat up a black liquid. "Oh, Gods! Are you okay?!"

I nodded. "Yes." I answered. "Thank you."

His name was Tyvash, the primary Beastfolk liaison in the Telrand Adventurer's Guild in Albitia. Despite being the capital of the Human-centric Kingdom of Albitia, one particularly known for being unkind to Bahrati, Kobolti, and pretty much any other non-Humans, it was an excellent place to lay low and do some easy work.

There was always someone to kill, always someone who wants someone else dead. Not to mention, Tyvash was supposed to teach me how to infiltrate the Windsong Adventurer's Guild.

Easier said than done.

"Was that Fel-tainted blood?" He asked.

"Yes, now please do not bring it up again." I answered. I wasn't in the mood to talk about my past again. I sat up in the bed I was provided and reached for my bag, Tyvash wordlessly nudged it closer, just enough so I didn't overstretch myself, but not so close that I didn't have my hard work taken from me. He, at least, was polite.

I opened my bag and pulled out a vial. I grimaced as I uncorked it and drank it.

"Blood?" He asked.

"Specially treated Vampire blood." I replied. "It absolutely tears through me, but it's the best outside of healing from a halfway decent Priest and a Fel-suppression tonic."

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He nodded, "I see."

I pulled a fang-marked belt from my bag and put in my mouth before the pain tore through my body. I bit down, grunting, my body tense from the agony that coursed along every fiber of my being.

I blinked, or maybe I blacked out, I wasn't certain. I was laid on my bed, gasping. I took the belt out of my mouth and absently pulled a tooth that had come out. It'd grow back soon.

"Bleedin' Fel-blighted rotted egg!" I spat.

Tyvash entered the room with a wooden tray of food. I reasoned I'd blacked out, I was glad he hadn't tried to resuscitate me, there were worse fates than death.

"So, how are things in Bahrati?" He asked, avoiding the uncomfortable subject.

"The same." I said, taking the tray. Bread and broth, what they offered to those who couldn't pay. "The Adventurer's Guild has only been around, what, ten years?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied.

I dipped my bread into the broth and watched it soak the liquid up. "They're doing a better job than the bleedin' Temple."

"Aye." He replied. "A beggar went to the Temple asking for food and they gave him a sword, the same beggar came here and we gave him food." He paused. "The man could barely drag it, let alone lift it properly."

"He was lucky they didn't beat him within a Jhakan of his life." I muttered. "Have you ever thanked the Gods for anything, Tyvash?"

"Of course I have." He said. "Cursed them plenty, too."

"I've only thanked one God in my life, and they immediately spit in my eye and ground me underneath their heel." I said. "And it so happens the only target I fail to kill happens to be a bleedin' Priest."

"How would you react if you saw them again?" He asked me.

"Nothing." I replied. "He knew I was there before I made my move, sussed out I was working with a partner, and used Sanctuary without speaking a prayer. That Human's a monster through and through."

Tyvash smirked. "Is that so?" He asked. "It's good that contract was void, then. How many of our own would be dead if it was pressed?"

I thumbed the bowl, eyes narrowed. "That's the thing." I said. "He didn't try to kill me. Held a knife at my nape, yes, but for all his unpolished movement and below-average strength, I think he didn't kill me because..." I trailed off. I wasn't a stranger to pity, and being pitied by a mark was a new low, but something about him... "In all honesty, he strikes me as a lonely soul who recognized another."

Tyvash laughed, I was not insulted, it was indeed a foolish thought, in all likelihood, if we ever met again- and such would be likely since he was registered as an Adventurer- if he recognized me at all...

"I may have to silence him a different way, if it becomes necessary." I finished.

Tyvash nodded. "So, what advantages does he have, that would also stymie any further attempts on his life?" He asked.

"He's Lady Wyrashe's guest-"

Tyvash's expression went cold within a heartbeat. "You were hired to kill one of her guests?" He asked. "And you accepted?"

"When the Bahrati Lord of Coin yote a large bag of gold in your direction, do you say no?" I asked.

"I would." He answered bluntly. "In fact, I'd get a larger commission from the Lady herself. Consider: Had you been successful, you would have to deal with her right and left hands, one of whom could level a small town with a single punch, and one who is my brother."

"I was unaware you were related." I remarked. "Why are you not in her service?"

"That is a very private question." He pointed out. "One I am not willing to answer."

I nodded, there was a time and a place for such questions, and this was not one of them. I didn't have any family, like Tyvash I'd been taken, enslaved, forced to work for Human masters. We'd both killed our respective ones.

"So, Windfang-gani," He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why do you toil here in Albitia?"

"Beastfolk are beneath notice." He replied. "And the Guild is required to provide service to Beastfolk."

"And Kobolti?" I asked.

"The Guild is required to provide service to all Beastfolk." He clarified. "Joining, Appraisals, food and drink..." He caught on. "Ah, you're referring to that. Convince an Adventurer to assist you, it would be best to start with a Stone Adventurer, find someone who's trying to haze a new arrival, defend them while showing off, but show restraint." He paused. "And for the love of the Gods, don't pick a Lord, the only decent one is Lady Wyrashe, and even then...

I nodded, understanding.

"Do you mind if I ask what it was that caused you to cough up Fel-tainted blood?" He asked.

"I am not a Fel worshiper." I stated.

"I wasn't insinuating, yet from that resigned expression you made, I can tell this isn't temporary like most Adventurers deal with."

"I'll tell you, if you answer my prior question." I answered.

He let out an annoyed hiss, but did not press further. I ate my soup in silence, Tyvash did not leave- I expected him to, but it seemed someone was covering for him- and simply leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"My brother swore an oath to serve Lady Wyrashe if she healed me." He said. "I do not follow her because she would have done it regardless, she chose to take my brother." He looked at me. "Satisfied?"

I sighed. In our line of work, our worth was only as good as our oaths kept.

"Felshades." I said. "The Human who took me experimented on Felshades." Tyvash's expression darkened, he understood why I did not wish to discuss it.

"I see, had I not woken you..."

I set the tray aside and stood up. "Killing is just business, Tyvash, there is nothing else I could do that could allow me to live even somewhat comfortably. Priests want donations, Alchemists want payment, and Vampires aren't willing to part without their blood without money." I went over to the window and opened it before climbing up and sitting on the sill.

"If it's any consolation, my brother broke his right leg to save me." Tyvash stated. "Nearly tore it off, our master-" He spat the word derisively, "-was using magic to try and forcibly remove our memories, carve from our souls our spirits, make us perfectly subservient."

"What is wrong with Humans?" I asked.

Tyvash leaned against the wall beside the window. "I wish I knew." He replied. "By the Gods, I wish I could kill them all."

"My target..." I said. "Your brother was accompanying him that day. I separated them, do not worry."

He gave a short laugh. "I'll bet you anything that idiot's training him. Spex, favors do not count much in our line of work, but would you be willing to see what Lady Wyrashe sees in that Human?"

"For a fellow tortured soul?" I asked. "Sure, but next time you pay double."

He laughed. "Of course, of course."

I saw the sun make its way below the horizon and I brought my feet up to perch on the sill. "Do you have any last minute requests?"

He nodded. "Tell the Guild Master my mission is still going slow, and to expect Scag by Artandur."

I nodded and Leapt to the horizon...

O-o, O-o. O-o, O-o...

I stood upon that Fel-blighted shore once more, though no Fel Beast attacked me. Without danger, the place could be considered almost calm. I looked into the ink-black ocean, and a small part of me wished to drown in it.

"This will not be your last time here." I turned around to see another cloaked person- female, this time- bearing a smiling mask. I drew my dagger and started to circle her. "I am not here to harm you, Spex Kobolti, rather, I am here to warn you."

"About?" I asked.

"About the folly of choice." She stated. "That which transpires has already come to pass, we are but pale shades enacting the play that has been written." She touched her mask, in the shadows of her cloak, I could have sworn the smile widened. "We are, all of us, from the smallest of hamlets to the mightiest of Thercori ruins, the slaves of the Crimson Emperor, and refusing to yield will lead to death. Remember this, you will understand shortly."

I blinked and looked around.

"I could have sworn... something was here." I muttered...