Vincent - Inn - Hollow's Peak
"Now now Lucian, is that anyway to say hello to a friend?" Vincent smiled from the shadows of his seat. Vincent managed to straighten up and clasp his hands together and rest his elbows on the table's edge before looking at Lucian again. It was clear to see even in the dark, that Vincent had lost a fair amount of blood, yet his eyes remained their cold dark red.
"I was doing my duty as you should have been. There was a mage here Lucian, a powerful one. He was at least an advanced tier 2. I'm damn lucky, if I do say so myself." Vincent grinned, his arm that sat in a sling was torn and it now hung limply from his side. Blood trickled down from his left nostril, and there was a fresh cut that stretched across his right cheek.
The grin left Vincent's face just as quickly as it had come, "They killed him. That bastard killed one of the younger children here Lucian. It goes to show Magi have no sense of justice or of what is right or wrong. I was watching it when they split that child in half. That fat bastard of a crime-lord sat there chuckling as his puppet used his magic to cut the child clean in half. I was in the crowd that had gathered to watch this boy plea for his life, just biding my time until I could strike swiftly and quietly. That's when the boy came in, or more correctly, was dragged in. The guards threw him on the ground at the Crime Lords feet, holding him down with the tips of their swords. As he begged and pleaded with the Lord, the Magi came out from a room behind the throne. Both hands swirled with his devilish magic, and before I could lose a bolt, a pillar of darkness shot out of the ground and pulled the child apart and threw his body-parts across the room. I loosed my bolt in the next second, it flew straight, managing to strike the Magi in his left shoulder, and before he had time to react I had notched another and fired that as well. This next one managed to graze his left cheek, giving me and him opposite-matching scars." Vincent said, pointing with his good arm to the large cut on his cheek.
"It was chaos right after that. The Magi conjured a wall of shadows from all corners of the room and blocked him and the Crime Lord from my sight before I could let loose with another bolt. Then the time for my crossbow was over. I drew my blade and stashed my crossbow away as the guards came into the room. I thought at first I'd be able to handle them, but that was before the sorcery came again. Chunks of ice shot out from the shadows of the room, and tendrils of shadow lunged forth to try and stumble me into the path of a guards sword or an icicle. The first icicle caught me off guard, as did the second. Both striking me in a tender spots." Vincent said, motioning to his face and his limp arm. Vincent's eyes were clouded over, as if he was there in the Crime Lords manor once again, surrounded by the Crime Lords' dogs and dodging the icicles that would have surely murdered an untrained man.
"It was by chance that I managed to escape at all. The Magi's icicles managed to thin out most of the other guests, leaving me a large gap through which I could run for the door. The only man that dared stand in my way found himself with half a body laying on either side of the door. I split him from the groin up. Then I ran. I finally ended up here, but you must swear to me now that we will go after that Magi. Swear to me Lucian, and uphold your oath as a hunter." Vincent said, his eyes snapping back to focus on Lucian. His eyes darkened another shade, his bright red eyes glinting eerily in the dim light of the tavern.
Vincent had only barely given the women who had followed Lucian in a swift nod. Barely acknowledging her presence, given the much more pressing matters at hand. Blood dripped down from Vincent's limp arm, dripping on the floor to form a puddle about six inches across.