Myrken Wood by Night (cont'd.)

[Varian]

"I was there, in the morning, when he was screaming and running about the tavern. I didn't really think anything of it." Gage quietly added as he and his employer stood over the fresh corpse of Brant Vomsk, the bumbling old fool who had been seen and heard in the Broken Dagger only the morning before.

"You didn't think anything of it?" Varian turned, with orchid eyes ablaze, toward his coach driver. Gage nodded slowly, looking away from that gaze he knew too well. "No, sire. Just an insane old man, my Lord. I didn't give him.. a second glance." The young man's expression shifted, as he stared at the dead man at his feet. It was almost sad. No one in the tavern had even responded to his pleas.

"I see. Just insane." Varian turned from Gage, noticing that he was making the youthful mortal uncomfortable. He shook his head and touched to fingers to his chin in thought. "Do you at least recall what it was he was screaming about?"

"Aye, I do, my Lord." Gage turned back to Varian, just as he took a step away from the corpse, unable to examine it further. "Something about Captain Kanashia and that we were all going to die. He wanted to speak to the Captain, Baron."

"How strange." The Ventrue prince responded curtly. He was still staring at the body. Slowly, he kneeled next to the old man and reached down, closing his eyes that were still open wide with fear. That gloved hand ventured down, to the wound at the man's throat. It was wide and gaping, but there was no puddle from the blood that should have spilled from an injury so severe.

"Gage, you are not to leave the keep until I know what it was that did this. Do you understand?" But Gage did not respond, the young man was far too busy being doubled over at the side of the carriage, vomiting up his supper.

Varian stood from the corpse, canting his head as he eyed it once more in suspicion. "Just a mad man." He quietly repeated before pressing his thin lips together and turning back toward the coach. "Compose yourself, Gage. You must take me back to the storm."

Gage slowly recupperated and began to nod, rounding the carriage and climbing into the driver's seat. Varian closed the door after he'd boarded and with a quiet call, it was off down the road, out of the forest.

[Varian]

For every action, there is an equal or greater reaction. In turn, the events that had occurred within Myrken Wood most recently, concerning the "war" against Kindred was coming to pass, and with great haste.

The first attack accounted was that upon the Kindred prince himself, Baron DuMonde.

Viktor Collingsworth, a courageous, if not overly arrogant young guard attempted the arrest of the vampire within the Broken Dagger. Upon Varian's refusal, the guard attacked and the vampire was forced to defend himself.

In the yard of the tavern, the fight ensued and became fierce. As the battle continued, the goal of both combatants soon became the execution of one another.

Alas, the elder Kindred's abilities proved far greater than that of the mortal guardsman. Baron DuMonde was able to out maneuver Collingsworth and due to the blind determination of Viktor, Varian was forced to take his life, and without mercy.

In wake of the skirmish, Varian was again lulled into combat with one of the area's hunters. Claude DeLaempri, an amature and rather unknown slayer. After an exasperating duel, Varian pulled away and departed.

A streak of quickly coagulating blood left along the support beam of the Dagger's porch and a puddle at the base, but the body og the guard would not be found.