Corruption

[dryfter]

He wasn't sure why the room seemed gloomier than normal when he awoke to a cheerful good morning, followed by the title he loved so much to hear uttered by her. Shaking his tousled blonde head, the warlock thrust away the sheets to revel nude in the chill morning air, delighted in how she fitted herself against him, her own heat more than enough to keep him warm against the chill as she brushed stray locks back into place.

"Would it please you to bathe with me? or should I do so myself and you watch?"

A soft smile. The room once again smelled of sex, and their prior coitus. And while it was cloying and most definately alluring, sadly it had left them both smelling rather stale at the moment.

"Why don't you go on, dear Alyssia. Were I to join you, I doubt very much that we would get much done this morning. Sadly, I fear the same about simply watching you as you cleansed yourself back into the perfect picture of feminine sexuality that you are."

He could see her confusion. Master turning down a chance to enjoy what she had to offer? Darius only hoped that gentle voice and smile would allay her fears and inner warnings.

"I've much to prepare before your arrival, love. And you're an integral part of my studies. Clean up quickly, and meet me in my laboratory....sadly, I'm quite ashamed to admit, this won't be the first time before I've gone straight to work without bath or breakfast."

Leaning forward....he planted a kiss on her forehead.....a sneaky palm sliding easily around her to heft one firm breast in its grasp for a quick and teasing grope before swinging his feet outward, already looking for his silken robes.....

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Please please please......"

His concentration was absolute, never swaying once even as he heard the door open behind him, his gaze locked on the dusty pages of the heavy tome before him. Runes, sigils, and arcane writings swirled beneath his gaze....slowly taking shape into words......words instantly captured and translated into another tome.....one that he had learned long ago would be consumed by the very spell it contained, should he ever be able to cast it.

It had taken months.....years to come this far......

"Alyssia....thank you for coming."

Was that a hint of agony yet in her eyes? Could it have hurt that badly that he left her to bathe on her own? And yet, the very emotion that fueled that hurt, was exactly what he needed.

"Forgive me for not joining you, Alyssia.....I needed a moment where my mind was not clouded by lust."

A wry and sheepish grin.

"That's something I fear would be impossible while watching you naked in all your glory, glistening wet and no doubt teasing me as you bathed."

He knew he spoke truth, the mere thought of such an image already stirring the lower regions of his robes. He only hoped he was right about this.....

Without warning, he moved to her, his lips claiming hers in a soft kiss not meant to incite passion, but to confirm it. Slender arms wrapped about her, holding her tenderly, attempting to drive away the misgivings the morning may have brought as he held her close.....

"Please.....come stand close to me."

He was happier now that she was here, of that he had no doubt. Completed, like a half empty goblet that had just gotten topped off. And that....was exactly what he needed........

"Tell me, can you read this?"

Thin fingers entwined with hers.....though he bid her to turn from him, damned if he was going to let her go. He knew she couldn't, she had turned her path towards that of a rogue, and most likely knew little of the arcane. Yet she deserved to understand his work as well.....

Darius gasped as the sigils snapped into clarity before his gaze, fully aware of her gaze on him now.....a confused look on her face as he began to read in a tongue neither of them fully understood, an ancient dialect of elven. As if on cue....a quill pen hovered softly across the room, daintily jotting down every word......

"Impossible....and yet, I knew......"

He turned towards her.....his face pale.......as the last of the pages closed before them......

"Remember when I told you that Shiress can't possibly gain any use from this book? I told you that even I barely began to translate it.....and that it only began revealing its secrets to me shortly after I brought you here, Alyssia?"

Could she feel him shaking? And if so, was it from fear....or excitement? Even he wasn't really sure.

"I have....a theorem....I've had it for months now, as to why that is. Why now, of all times. I'm a man who doesn't believe in random coincidence. The only thing that changed in my life between then and now, is you. Yet I couldn't read it then.....and now I can.....but.....its been a fight. Some days it feels like my eyes themselves are melting out of my head, spilling across the pages like some new bizarre ink. And yet, I've fought on."

A new brand of alarm in her eyes.

"It's been years now since I've brought you here. And I think its finally over. The last component I needed.....was Love. Not yours....persay.....though I need that as well."

A soft chuckle.

"My own. And its never as strong as when I'm with you."

He turned back to the book.....his eyes wide with amazement.....and perhaps a boyish excitement.

"Don't you see?! Shiress CAN'T read it for just that reason. Never in a million years. Love....and a purity of soul perhaps? Though, I doubt that last part. My soul's surely not pure after all the things I've done, the wrongs I've committed in my life. I've trucked with daemons and other monsters, such a thing scars the soul forever unless one is extremely careful."

His brow furrowed slightly.

"Now that's its translated, I'll have to make sure I read it thoroughly. As I mentioned before, it contains some manner of summoning spell. And I dare say that its considerably more complicated than the ritual I used to bring that incubus into being. Thank you so much for coming here, Alyssia! I couldn't have finished the translation without you!"

 

[VampiricTouch]

He had said no. Certainly something was amiss despite the sweet assurances he gave her. Touches and compliments merely brought a smile that never reached her eyes as he left her bereft of his presence. The bell tinkled as she slid into the tub to wait for the arrival of hot water. The chilling edge of the tub only made her curl further into herself as she pondered the sudden turn of events.

The door creaked open as a bucket of water floated in. - Had she angered him in some way?

The water came cascading down over her body, chasing away the goosebumps that had risen across her skin. - No. His smile was sincere, he was not angry.

Another crash of water came to pool around her feet. -So was his excitement.

The water splashed to rise to her thighs - About the work he had to do.

The water rose another notch to cover her lower back - She'd be part of his work... was that his purpose?

The heated water rose slowly as her thoughts took a dangerous downturn. Had she disappointed him? Perhaps it was the last mission... where she almost failed.... where she was soiled... Had he tired of her? Had he chosen to use her as a reagent for an even greater summoning?

Heat blanketed over her chest. Would it matter? She would desire all he wanted...

~~~~****~~~~​

Alyssia arrived in the room, clean but uneasy. She tried hard to shield the discomfort from her Master. What he chose to do was certainly his own to make.

"Forgive me for not joining you, Alyssia.....I needed a moment where my mind was not clouded by lust.That's something I fear would be impossible while watching you naked in all your glory, glistening wet and no doubt teasing me as you bathed."

The words were simple, an easy enough explanation and sufficient to calm the angst of her morning bath as she breathed her relief and smiled. She relaxed as he swooped down and kissed her. The tender claiming of lips reassuring much more than what his words and teasing touches had done all morning.

He was possessive and she was completed there beside him. She turned at his bidding, her eyes floating over the esoteric symbols with askance as she tried to make sense of them, whole heartedly trying to understand if only for the person she loved.

Her surprise was evident as she turned back to her Master when he began reciting the very words he had asked her to try reading. If he was able to read them... what was the purpose of asking her to try? Her eyes drifted from her Master, to the book at hand and finally to the spelled quill that scritched over parchment.

"Impossible....and yet, I knew......" The book closed as he finished reading and she awaited his explanation.

"Remember when I told you that Shiress can't possibly gain any use from this book? I told you that even I barely began to translate it.....and that it only began revealing its secrets to me shortly after I brought you here, Alyssia? I have....a theorem....I've had it for months now, as to why that is. Why now, of all times. I'm a man who doesn't believe in random coincidence. The only thing that changed in my life between then and now, is you. Yet I couldn't read it then.....and now I can.....but.....its been a fight. Some days it feels like my eyes themselves are melting out of my head, spilling across the pages like some new bizarre ink. And yet, I've fought on. It's been years now since I've brought you here. And I think its finally over. The last component I needed.....was Love. Not yours....persay.....though I need that as well. My own. And its never as strong as when I'm with you."

Alyssia's eyes narrowed at Shiress' name, not having forgotten any of her past encounters with the undead elf, but distaste could only survive so long under the brilliance of her Master's success and soon she smiled as he chattered with excitement about a problem he'd been so hell bent on solving. It had certainly been the most interesting confessions of love she'd ever heard of in her life.... no affirmation. She gave his shaking hands a gentle squeeze, as if to ease their tremors as he continued.

"Let me stay with you Master?" Alyssia asked softly, "You've not had an apprentice since Tamara. Let me learn and help?" She looked up with bright eyes of excitement, in many ways, happy because her Master happy.

The question hung in the air for a moment before her face darkened and she wondered aloud, "Should you have translated it then...? If Shiress can't read this book," Alyssia's hand rested over the worn binding before her, "she should be capable of reading that one..." Her head nodded towards the quill that stood poised and ready for its master's command. "Has this process... merely helped her bypass the stumbling block she wouldn't have otherwise?" She queried as her head tipped and hair spilled over.

 

[dryfter]

Darius remained silent for a moment as he struggled with which question to answer first. He certainly didn't want to seem hurtful to his prized pet by informing her that the chances of her being capable of learning the arcane were slim indeed if the Caelum had instead chose to employ her towards assassination and stealth......but then again.....she had shown promise at one time with the divine magics before having chosen her own path.....

That would take much thought. Thought he'd rather spend before giving a rash answer like taking on an apprentice who new next to nothing about his work.....work that would brand her forever as an Avernus and most likely scar her lovely spirit beyond recognition should she delve too far into it......

"Has this process... merely helped her bypass the stumbling block she wouldn't have otherwise?"

His thoughts snapped back into reality at the dangerous question.

"Perhaps. Which is why I'm placing you in charge of protecting this tome when its not being inscribed with the translation I'm working on. This will serve two purposes."

A soft, tender smile.

"I'm sure you realize that this means you'll not be sent on any more missions to kill Avernus for quite some time. This is a slow and lengthy process I'm afraid, though I suspect that when its finished, it could prove more deadly than even the sharpest of your blades."

The show of relief on her face was tangible.....

"And secondly, it will keep you in close proximity to me.....which seems to hasten my ability to translate and decipher this damnable text."

A mischievous grin as he glanced back at her.

"You're not allowed to seduce me while at work, do you understand? As much as I'd love to make each day a non-stop lovemaking session with you, the spell I'm unlocking in this book may very well be our salvation from that vampiric bitch. That means I don't have to worry about her doing to you what she did to Tamara......."

The thought of the elven vampire's fangs finding the flush veins of Alyssia was strangely erotic in the back of his mind.....the assassin struggling at first against the deathly kiss......her iron will slowly usurped by the weakness of sudden blood loss......her loyalty twisting on an unseen hinge.......did he really dare taking such a risk?

She would have to be careful......or he'd be doubly damned for as long as Shiress' amusement allowed him to live......

 

[VampiricTouch]

Time passed rapidly as he slowly, but surely worked towards his goal. Yet the closer they drew to his goal, the more persistent her dreams returned. As if the contained Alyssia resonated with his understanding and sought to reach him before it....

And you? How many times have you killed for the means of your power? Knowing the price of your decisions, you chose your path. You chose it knowing that someone would be sent for your head. The forbidden arts. The Avernus. Those without salvation....

Silence filled the reverie of her slumber. A silence that stretched forebodingly across the distance of their soul. Time had stood still in the chains of her imprisonment, and in that moment, it creaked forward. Alyssia took a single step forward past the shadows of her imposed chains... and hazarded the question that defied all things she had known.

But you, you are not beyond salvation... are you.

Coils of his imposed chains hung loosely about her body, draped like cloth over her arms. When the time came, they would tighten, and seal her away again... but now, her freedom was her own.

Tell me then. How is it that your sins have not damned you?

The air was heavy as she weighed his words, and her own. The impression of thought, and emotion drawing its burden upon them both.

Release my chains and let me see your story, and you, mine.

She stepped towards him then. There was no deceit in her request, but neither was there forgiveness for what she had become... The brilliance of her soul contained by his restraints, resonating in their own uneven beat as she approached his darker one.

 

[dryfter]

And you? How many times have you killed for the means of your power? Knowing the price of your decisions, you chose your path. You chose it knowing that someone would be sent for your head. The forbidden arts. The Avernus. Those without salvation....

That voice again.....

"No...."

Darius flinched in his sleep.....how often did he have these dreams now, interfering with his nightly reverie?

But you, you are not beyond salvation... are you?

Silence.....a resounding ache that would no doubt be felt in his heart long after he had woken with little or no recollection of this dream......

He could see her then......Alyssia ShiRien......her grim visage so unlike the cheerfully obedient girl whom he allowed to assist him on a daily basis now.....chains hanging loosely from her alluring frame as she affixed him with a steely glare.......one that seemed to soften at the last second.......

Tell me then. How is it that your sins have not damned you?

A glimmer of recognition.......a face that only knew parody now........

A platinum haired elf maiden......her innocent look hiding her wickedness even back then.......

He had loved. Had loved Shiress more than anyone he'd ever known......until Alyssia.......and that love, had damned him. Had made him a willing and easily led fool.....led far astray from the safe confines of the Caelum. And now....now the only thing that reverberated in his soul as strongly as his love for her had been.......was his bitterness and contempt for her, knowing full well that Shiress had originally only kept him alive out of amusement. But that had all changed with the woman before him........

Release my chains and let me see your story, and you, mine.

I will not.

A look of sadness and.....surprise......?

I will not be hurt again.

Realization......food for thought as wakefulness stirred them both towards another morn.........

She was so bright.....this Alyssia......so bright when held up to his tainted soul.......and in that brightness lay his true fear........

He would be measured.....and found beyond redemption, as was the ways of the Caelum. She would see him for what he was....and all he had done......and she would be repulsed........

 

[VampiricTouch]

I will not. I will not be hurt again.

The chains pulled taut against her with his words, tremoring as she struggled against the call of consciousness. They returned her to the subconscious prison as her sadness filtered through.

I had thought your affections were genuine. Was I wrong? Must you devalue that which redeems you....? You would rather carry the lie you've created than face the truth? allow me the choice to accept you. Choose you... and possibly love you?

The impression of her words were like whispers. A wisp of thought barely registered but laden with the resigned sadness as she withdrew.

~~~~****~~~~
​

Alyssia woke to the sadness that brimmed the room once more. It was a foreboding thickness that had accompanied each and every waking morning... since the day she'd began partaking in his work to translate the book. Was there something amiss with the tome itself...? Was it perhaps a premonition of danger should her Master's work be completed........

Unsatisfied with the questions and the lack of answers, she slipped free of her Master's arm and left the bed. Dressed and armed, she made her way up the stairs to her Master's laboratory. The door to his lab opened to her touch, and was left ajar as she settled to flip through the pages of arcane words... along with the translation in progress....

Not that she understood anything, but the air became heavy with each passing page... as if danger would lurk in the very shadows casted by the candlelights....

 

[dryfter]

I had thought your affections were genuine. Was I wrong? Must you devalue that which redeems you....? You would rather carry the lie you've created than face the truth? allow me the choice to accept you. Choose you... and possibly love you?

The warlock awoke with a soft shiver.....

Turning to his right, he felt her absence immediately, the lack of someone warm by his side. Bolting upright, he immediately scanned the room....taking in at a glance her missing armor and weaponry.

"Well at least she's not walking around naked....."

Groaning, he reached clumsily for his own robes as his bare feet met the cold stone floor of his chambers.....

"She's certainly a treasure isn't she?"

Darius spun wildly, hands already making the motions of casting before noticing his visitor for the first time......

"Relax. I'm not here to kill you."

The voice was rich and baritone, male in every way, and it was that same maleness that had set off his innermost alarms.

"What do you want, assassin?"

Thin elven eyes raised slightly in amusement.

"The Council was simply under the impression that you wanted Alyssia as some sort of sacrifice. They were quite pleased to find that you've kept her alive until now. Even more so when it came to them that you ordered her out to eliminate some of your.....competition. Putting her skills to good use, are you?"

From the man's tone, it was clear to Darius that killing wasn't the only skill he was referring to.

"So is she as good as everyone in the guild imagined?"

"That's none of your damn business, now begone before I have to remove you myself!"

A soft frown....the first he'd seen beneath that hooded cowl.

"Very well....I did tell you I was here on a....recreational visit and not.....business. Just know that your peers are watching you very closely, Darius. You just might be.....re-evaluated."

That brought some harsh laughter....

"Re-evaluated? And the thought that you consider those half-wits my peers is more than a little disconcerting. They're safe from the Avernus thanks to me.....at least for a little while longer. Tell them to cower in their shadowy hole and await the demands of the next when the time comes."

Slowly, he backed towards his chamber door.....the unwanted and unannounced visitor remaining perfectly still as he watched the blonde warlock retreat, not even moving even as the door slowly closed.....the magic user gone from sight......

------------------------------------------------------

He found her in his laboratory.....his blood racing, breathing labored. How he had gotten out of there without violence would be a question he'd be asking himself in his starkest of nightmares for years to come. Right along with....HOW DID HE GET IN HIS PRIVATE CHAMBERS?!

Scowling, he attacked his tomes....noting only at the last minute Alyssia's choice of reading material.....

"Hoping to learn something? Say, I didn't write anything useful in there, did I? Like...I don't know....how to create arcane traps that incinerate unwanted intruders BEFORE they make it into your chambers? Cause yeah...if you find that in there, let me know immediately."

Of course she wouldn't.....it was a summoning incantation he had been translating.....

But he was a touch frazzled at the moment.

 

[VampiricTouch]

The door flew open in a startling slam as he stumbled into the laboratory in a disturbing display of panic. Her master that was always calm. Always collected and calculating. Which only made it more unnerving to see him this way. And the words that followed were far more alarming.

"Intruders....?" She rose from her seat as the pages were left open before her. "Our chambers?"

She struggled to contain her own qualms, reaching instead for him as he scanned the dusty books and flung the pertinent ones into a pile. Her fingers gently touched his hastily donned robe, drawing along the folds of fabric to arc around his waist. There was no suggestiveness in her touch. As the innate understanding of intrusion bore down upon her. There was no place for frivolity in times such as these.

Rather, the touch was a subtle check upon his body. There was no smell of blood and the touch told her that he was not in pain, both facts barely reassuring her against his agitation.

"What happened?" Her voice was low, the tension barely held in check. "Was it ... Shiress?" Her guard tightened as she spat out the hated name with a hiss. "Weren't there wards against her?"

Her other hand rested against his hand, stilling it's desperate search as it brushed past the worn spines of tomes. She swallowed hard as she realized how cold his hand was, but it was more than just cold. They were clammy.

Could it be fear?

 

[dryfter]

His weak attempt at humor had not gone unnoticed. But then...considering who he had been speaking to, that seemed hardly surprising.

"Nobody you need to worry about. Me on the other hand."

His answer didn't please her at all. He knew it wouldn't. Not when he had charged her with his protection, made himself the object of her desire.

"Caelum assassin. Let's just say they were checking up on you. I imagine he'd have been quite amused if he'd have entered through my chambers a few hours ago."

A few hours ago....when they had been a tangled mess in the sheets.....her body still leaking his fluids. The sudden mental picture brought a stirring to his loins despite the direness of the situation.

"Shiress I had prepared for. You, on the other hand, I had to make special arrangements to you could pass through my wards. What I need to know....is how HE ascended a forty foot tower with no apparent rope and slip into my private chambers?"

The warlock scowled.

"This will take work, and important time away from studying that tome. Not only will I no doubt have to place wards around the window sill.....but those same wards will have to be amended to allow for your safe passage but not anyone else's. What a bother....what an irritation!"

He continued to fidget and fuss....until he knocked over a stale pile of books, grumbling to himself as he slowly picked them back up and placed them back on the table they had been displaced from.

"Perhaps they've become more resourceful, having lost their pet assassin."

 

[VampiricTouch]

"Caelum Assassin."

She blanched, fully understanding the consequences of their arrival. "You're alive." Her relief was evident in the whisper

"Let's just say they were checking up on you. I imagine he'd have been quite amused if he'd have entered through my chambers a few hours ago."

She scowled. "Checking up on me?! A decade ago I was stricken from their annuls, and they now check up on me?

She watched him pace as he contemplated his problem. Nibbling the edge of her nail, she murmured. "How long was he there? Are you certain it was without rope? Such items can be easily concealed...."

"no." She answered her questions herself. "Caelum assassins wouldn't be able to. They aren't prepared for this."

"Are you certain that he was from the Caelum? I'm... dead to them. What would a top assassin be doing on a mission to 'check' up on the dead?"