[Val'keth]
Val'keth had made her way out of the club and down the nearest alley. Her intent was to drop by the Dragon's Inn and make her presence there widely advertised - then wait out of site until the stranger showed up.

She climbed the wall of the building with ease, taking to the roof-tops oncemore to travel the city. She sprang lightly from building to building, keeping an eye out below for the faceless man and his dog - no point running into more danger than was absolutely necessary. Val'keth thought back to him, puzzled by the fact she had seen no sign that the priestesses were involved. Perhaps it was Zade they were after - but at this stage she couldn't be sure of anything.

She dropped to the street by the Dragon's Inn, landing silently and slipping up to the door. She threw it open with gusto, and strode inside with a provocative swagger.

"HUGH!" she yelled across the common room, threading her way through the people there. "A drink for both of us, in celebration of my continued existence!"

Hugh looked totally confused, but turned and did as she bid him. Val'keth slammed a couple of coins on the polished bar. "I tell you," she continued in a voice loud enough that all would hear, "it was a close thing. First this man - he had no face and these PHENOMENAL powers, and then this HUGE snarling dog!"

Val'keth grabbed the tankard, turned around and leant back on the bar. More than a couple of people had stopped their own conversations - and that came as no surprise to her. There was nothing more out of the ordinary than a dark elf in the midst of the surface world, and one in a seemingly good mood at that. They were not renowned for them at all.

"He ripped the very sword from my hand with his mind, then when I leapt for him with my daggers he used his powers to prevent my strikes getting home - and then set his dog on me!" Val'keth gestured wildly as she described the scene, taking more than a couple of liberties with who did what. She purposely neglected to mention Zade's involvement. "It was breathing fire and brimstone, but I cut it's eyes out and got away to tell the tale!" She grinned widely, lifting her drink in a toast. "TO LIFE!" she said with gusto, downing her drink and laughing.

Satisfied that her little escapade would remain in their minds for a long while yet, Val'keth left the Inn, ducked into the alley behind, and scaled the wall once again. She moved off over the rooftops once more, taking a wide circle around the Inn initially, then heading in a criss-crossing route towards her room.

---

[...on the streets of Montfort...]

[Graw Oswold]

"...I simply cannot thank you enough Mr. Oswold," said the diminutive woman walking at Graw Oswold's side.

"Your modest payment is thanks enough, ma'am." Oswold. He stroked his neatly-trimmed beard with his callused hands and winked at Maria. "A woman cannot be TOO cautious in this town, and what with all the happenings lately, hiring an escort is one of the smarter ways an woman can spend her money."

"I see..." said Maria. Her blond hair and frilly white dress fluttered in the slight breeze.

"Yep. But I can assure you that anyone intent on molesting you tonight will get the sharp end of this here..." Oswold grasped the heavy broadsword hanging from his hip. On the other hip by an equally heavy battle-ax. Oswold's dark brown leggings and light brown shirt were worn and frayed, but they were both quite clean.

"Tell me about another one of your adventures, Mr. Oswold."

"Ahhh... have I told you the one about the time I killed a lion right here on these very streets?"

"Noo!" cried Maria. "A lion! Here in Montfort?"

"Graw Oswold does not lie, ma'am. Not unless absolutely necessary."

"Do tell me about it!"

"Quite a few weeks ago, some fool hunter managed to let his collection of wild animals get out of their cages. There were lions and tigers and all manner of-"

"Mr. Oswold?"

"Yes?"

"Who is that man up there? With the dog..."

"Hmmm..."

The man was standing in the middle of the street two blocks ahead of them.

There was a large dog... or SOME kind of animal... sitting patiently by his side. Oswold squinted, but for some reason he couldn't see the man's face.

As he watched, the strange man started walking towards them. The dog got up and trotted out in front.

Sensing that something was wrong, Oswold grabbed Maria's arm and brought her to a halt beside him. Then he gripped his sword and spoke in a loud, booming voice.

"HELLO, FRIEND!"

The Stranger said nothing. He kept walking, and even as he drew closer, Oswold STILL couldn't see the man's face.

"PERHAPS YOU'D LIKE TO CROSS OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET, FRIEND!" yelled Oswold.

No response.

"I KNOW YOU MEAN NO HARM, MY GOOD MAN... BUT I FEEL I SHOULD WARN YOU THAT I AM A SKILLED SWORDSMAN."

The Stranger kept coming.

"Mr. Oswold?" Fear was evident in Maria's voice. "P-Perhaps that man's deaf. Maybe?"

"Deaf he may be," replied the fighter, "But that don't explain why that fellow has no face."

Oswold drew his sword with a flourish and stepped in front of Maria.

The huge, woolly dog broke into a run... straight for them.

Oswold just nodded and tightened his grip on the sword.

---

[Zade]

Zade stepped onto the street and waited for her senses to adjust to being outside. The sounds, smells, and strange lighting of the PanDemonica took a while to work out of one's system, and Zade didn't want to be taken unawares because she couldn't see or hear someone coming. Especially with a potentially unstable psionicist and his demonic hound walking around.

Eric Hood hadn't helped her as much as he'd hoped, but most of that was due to Val'Keth. The annoying elf's involvement made it necessary to withhold certain resources... at least until Zade could remove her. That was the nature of December's business. Certain players... like N'Doki and J'Hasp... had to remain hidden unless absolutely necessary. But Eric had been clear in his instructions... get rid of the elf and Zade could have all the back-up she needed. Unfortunately, Val'keth didn't seem to be around, so Zade decided to venture over to the Coliseum to see Clussh, the medical demoness. Hopefully she would find Lovvorn there, and convince... or force... him to lend some magical support to this job. She remembered hearing how Lovvorn and Eric Hood tracked down a magic-using murderer not too long ago. They had had a little help from some others, but Zade imagined that having a versatile mage like Lovvorn along sped things up considerably.

As she navigated the streets, Zade paused every once in a while to listen for any signs that she was being followed. She halfway hoped that Val'keth would show up so she could deal with her. Then again, it may be worthwhile to keep the elf alive until after the Stranger was captured and interrogated. If that were even possible. Was Val'keth's assistance worth what she was giving up by keeping her alive? Probably not...

[Val'keth]

As she circled back to her rooms, a familiar figure caught her eye on the street below.

Zade.

Val'keth froze, watching silently from above. She thanked whatever god or goddess of luck there might be - had she leapt for the next roof, Zade would surely have seen the shadow pass above her.

She was walking purposefully, her stride no idle amble through the streets. With no sign of the stranger yet, Val'keth decided that Zade might well be off to find reinforcements. If that was the case, then she would follow and learn a little more about Mr. December's organization.

Val'keth stayed up on the roof tops, using her innate ability to glide across the small gaps between buildings instead of her more usual methods. Her soft boots made no sound on the tiled and thatched roofs as she stayed a respectable distance behind her quarry, and she mentally smiled as she recalled ripping them off the dead feet of House Dalp'ra's lizard-master. They were one of her most treasured possessions now - and he certainly didn't need them anymore.

[Zade]

Zade had killed Val'keth for perhaps the fifteenth or sixteenth time in her mind when the sudden scream shattered her musings. It was high and shrill... a woman. A frightened woman... and one very close by..

"Now what..."

Crouching, Zade crept to the other side of the street and listened. Something was happening one street over, probably a block or two ahead. Zade heard a man shouting. And then a low, guttural growl. The woman screamed again. Then Zade caught a whiff of a familiar scent... brimstone.

The Hellhound.

And where there was a hound, there was a master.

Zade was unsure of what to do, but when the woman screamed again... a long, desperate wail... Zade unfurled her whip and ran toward the source of the commotion. Rescuing the woman would probably be impossible, but at least she could get a good look at the Stranger's methods without them being used on HER.

[Val'keth]

Perched high above the streets, Val'keth heard the screams just as clearly. She scowled as Zade drew that repulsive whip, vowing that she would hack it into tiny pieces before much longer.

Another scream shattered the night, and Val'keth glided across to the next roof, following Zade. She recoiled as she saw a very familiar sight in the street below, ducking low on the roof.

The same man, and his huge dog.

Val'keth pulled a dagger free, held the glistening blade poised and ready but made no move to throw it. After what they had seen the last time, Val'keth was truly amazed that Zade seemed to be willing to have another mauling meted out by this man. Still, she thought, that was none of her business. If Zade wanted to die early, that was her problem.

Val'keth puzzled over the stranger and his actions. He was terrorizing another woman - and had not gone to the Inn as she had hoped. That told her there was a chance it was not her he had been after earlier. Or perhaps he just preyed on *all* women in Montfort - but that didn't fit right either. The big question was still WHY he was doing this.

She continued to watch and wait above, content to see how Zade fared on her own. Much as she despised the woman, she had to admit her skills were excellent considering she was human, and though her personality grated on Val'keth, she would still step in if things went badly wrong. After all, she thought, they still had to finish their little skirmish that was so rudely interrupted earlier.

Val'keth smiled and pulled her cloak around herself, blending into the roof almost perfectly.

---

[Graw Oswold]

Graw swung his sword at creature's head as it leapt, and then gasped as the unholy hound's jaws clamped shut around the blade. He suddenly found himself in a game of tug-of-war with the beast... a game which he was loosing.

The beast was pulling him down the street by his own sword.

Graw let go and reached for his axe. His sword fell to the ground as the hound released it. The dog leapt for him, and Graw swung his axe with all his strength. The blade sank deep into the side of the beast's head.

The hound continued forward, slamming into Graw and knocking him to the ground. Instinctively, Graw threw both hands out and pushed against the beast's chest. The fighter tried to force the beast away, but, much to his surprise, he discovered that not only was the hound not dead... but it didn't even seem HURT.

Graw's axe was hanging out of its head like an ornament, but it still took all of Graw's strength to keep the thing from sinking its teeth into his face.

DamnDamnDAMN!

The hound growled and snarled in his face. Its claws racked across his chest. They weren't sharp, but they were as hard as rocks. Graw's shirt was shredded in seconds, and the tattered strips were soon soaked in his blood.

The beast was strong, and Graw's arms were weakening. If the SMELL of the beast didn't kill him, then those teeth certainly would. He had to think of something. Anything.

If only that damned woman would stop screaming for a second...

[Zade]

Zade rounded the corner and crouched low to observe the scene. The Stranger was only about a block away, facing away from Zade. In front of him a woman in a white dress floated effortlessly in the air. She was screaming.

For a second, Zade thought the woman was levitating... but then she realized that it was the Stranger's doing. He was holding her helpless in the air while he did... whatever.

Off to one side, a man was wrestling with the Stranger's pet. He was losing.

Zade returned her attention to the Stranger. Why was he attacking these people? The woman certainly looked nothing like Zade OR Val'keth.... so why bother her? Unless he wasn't really after either of them.

There was one way to find out for sure. Zade palmed one of her throwing stars and started to creep down the street toward the Stranger. If he was distracted, she could catch him by surprise and hurt him before he raised his shield. But she couldn't kill him. Not yet. Zade took aim at the Stranger's back as she stepped into throwing range. She squinted. The Stranger's dirty grey cloak made it difficult to tell exactly where his spine was. She could paralyze him if she hit it, but it would take a perfect throw. Unfortunately, in this dim light a perfect throw was all but impossible. Maybe if she got a little closer...

[Graw]

Taking a risk, Graw slid one hand up to the hound's head and grabbed the axe that still hung there. He twisted the weapon violently.

The hound didn't yelp or back away as he had planned... it simply redoubled its efforts to sink its teeth into Graw's face. Graw pulled the axe free completely and then swung it once more. It sank into the hound's forehead, creating a new wound even as the previous one healed itself.

The Hellhound paused for the slightest instant when the blade penetrated its skull. That was all it took.

Graw threw the beast off and rolled to his feet. The beast was still wearing his axe, but Graw quickly recovered his broadsword and swung it at the hound.

The hound jumped back and the blade cut the empty air in front of it. The beast leapt. Graw dropped to one knee and thrust his sword straight up as the hound sailed overhead. The blade impaled the beast, entering its belly and bursting out through its back. Momentum carried the hound... and Graw's sword... several feet before the hound hit the ground.

Graw saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see a dark-skinned woman in black leather creeping up behind the man with no face.

A woman? What was she doing? A friend of Marie's maybe?

Without thinking, Graw shouted a warning...

"STAND BACK, MADAM!!!! THIS LAD IS DANGEROUS!!! I'LL RESCUE THE WOMAN... YOU RUN WHILE YOU CAN..."

[Zade]

"DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!"

[Val'keth]

The slim dark-elf shook silently with mirth as she watched the scene below unfolding. Voices carried well in the still air, and she knew Zade's cover had just been blown. The man down there - a fighter from the looks of him - was busy with the dog while the woman dangled in mid air, much like Val'keth had earlier that night.

The poison on her dagger was the most powerful she had that wouldn't kill - it merely induced unconsciousness until the antidote was given. She had smeared it liberally on the blade using more than was normal, for she knew it would have to work almost instantly, and her fingers flickered she readied another diversion that might startle him enough to penetrate his shielding.

The split second of that opportunity presented itself as No-Face turned toward Zade, and Val'keth flung a swirling globe of inky darkness at his head at the same instant that she threw her dagger between his shoulders. The black sphere completely encompassed the stranger, and she offered a quick plea to fate that his shields had dropped enough for her dagger to thud into his back.

She grabbed another dagger and sent it flying to follow the first, aiming lower this time, then ducked back down on the roof.

[Zade]

As the Stranger turned towards her, Zade broke into a run. She didn't see the darkness envelop his head, or the two daggers bouncing off of his invisible shield. She reached the closest building an hid beside it...

Great... NOW what...

[Stranger]

As soon as the male shouted, the Stranger turned to look behind him. Suddenly, everything went dark. He dropped the woman he had been testing - she was not the target anyway - and added more of his mental strength to his telekinetic shield. He couldn't see... which meant an attack was imminent. At the same instant, he sent a telepathic command to the Hellhound.

Strange... there was no response...

He sent it again:

::Find the attackers... destroy them::

[Oswold]

When the leather-clad woman started to run, Graw immediately turned to get his sword. His blade was stuck in the strange animal's chest, having pierced it right through the heart.

"Hmph. Got ye, ye bastard!"

Graw grabbed the blade and pulled it free. His eyes widened as the wound closed instantly upon removal of the sword. The beast lifted its head and began to growl...

"AAAAH!"

The Hellhound leapt to its feet. Oswold swung his sword, but the hound was too quick. It caught his arm at the elbow and snatched him to the ground. Oswold screamed as he felt his bones snapping in the beast's powerful jaws.

[Zade]

Zade watched from the shadows. The Stranger was preoccupied with some kind of dark cloud that had enveloped him. His hound was still chewing on the fighter.

The woman, however, had fallen to the ground. She was unconscious, but still breathing.

Maybe she knew something. Maybe she was the Stranger's target...

One way to find out.

Zade ran from her hiding place, heading right toward the unconscious woman. Her path would take her right between the Stranger and the Hound. Zade hoped they would both remain preoccupied until she got the woman out of here...

[Val'keth]

TINK! - Clunk.

TINK! - Clunk.

Crouched on the roof, Val'keth heard the tell-tale sound of her daggers hitting something more solid than flesh. It meant only one thing - that her daggers had not reached their target - and that was not good news. The sphere of absolute darkness had obviously not been enough of a distraction for him to lower his shields, and she'd have to try other methods.

Val'keth saw Zade dart toward the woman lying on the ground, and she realized that she might just hold some of the answers to the riddle this stranger posed. Val'keth slipped down the side of the building, raced across to the globe of darkness and disappeared inside as she drew her sword.

She immediately felt at home in the blackness, and though sight was useless to her, other senses sharpened to take its place. She felt the air move as the stranger moved, heard his breathing, smelt him. She lashed out with her sword, feeling it ringing against the shield he still had around him, but aiming to distract not to penetrate it. Val'keth danced silently around him in the dark, keeping track of the time, listening for the sounds that would tell her the direction of Zade's departure with the woman.

[Stranger]

The Stranger hadn't moved yet, despite the woman's attacks. But he was still blind. He was safe behind his shield for now... but he needed some information about his surroundings and the nature of the attackers, which now appeared to include a mage of some kind. He sent another instruction to the Hellhound...

[Oswold]

Graw Oswold was trying to pry the beast's jaws away from what remained of his elbow when suddenly the hound released him.

The beast looked towards its master, suddenly oblivious to Graw's presence.

That was the only thing Graw needed. He drug himself away from the beast, rolled to his feet and staggered towards Maria, who was laying unconscious on the ground, just beyond the dark expanse that had enveloped the Stranger.

He had to get to her... help her... but how much blood had he lost?

Could he fight? Could he even walk far enough to get to her... he had to try...

[Stranger]

It was so simple...

Now that he was seeing through the Hellhound's eyes, the Stranger recognized the spell as just a normal field of darkness. He couldn't dispel it.... but he didn't have to. All he had to do was walk out of it...

He took four steps forward, and then his own vision returned. He looked down at the armed elf that had been using the darkness as a cover for her futile attacks. He recognized her.

[Zade]

Zade ran past the Stranger just as he stepped out of the darkness. Fortunately he was facing the other direction. It looked like Val'keth was about to die.

What a pity. No... not really

[Val'keth]

Val'keth had lunged toward the stranger one last time, sensing he was about to step out of the globe of darkness - and her sword rang once more against the shield he had around him. Then, they were both outside the dark sphere, and she saw his head turn toward her. She had no idea what he was thinking behind the blankness, but she wagered it would involve her and pain...

[Zade]

Zade scooped the unconscious woman up into her arms and ran. She nearly crashed into the man that was with her as he stumbled into Zade's path.

"Gimme da woman!" Graw tried to yell.

"BEHIND YOU!"

The Hellhound... still wearing Graw's battle-axe in its forehead.... jumped onto Graw's back and knocked him to the ground.

"AIIIIIGGGH!!!!" Graw screamed as he began wrestling with the beast. It was clearly a loosing battle. Zade knew that this man was going to get chewed to pieces right in front of her.

Then it would be her turn, but only if she were foolish enough to remain there.

Zade knew she should run... . But her instincts told her that this was an opportunity. Zade dropped the woman and snatched Graw's axe out of the Hellhound's face. The wound closed almost instantly, but Zade neither noticed, nor cared. She lifted the axe high...

"HOLD IT STILL!" she yelled. The poor man tried to comply, even though he had the use of only one arm and was weak from blood loss. He managed to roll onto his back with the Hound on top of him.

Zade brought the ax down as hard as she could.

CHOP!

The blade sank into the beast's neck, severing its spinal cord and the majority of the connective tissue. The hound's head was hanging on by a thin strip of flesh.... a strip that began regenerating as soon as Zade removed the axe.

But not for long.

CHOP! CHOP!

The beast's head fell free of its body. Zade had seen many things, but she had never in her life encountered a creature that could live without the use of its head. And that didn't change tonight.

The beast lay still, pumping sulfurous blood out onto Graw Oswold's chest. Graw was pumping out a good share of blood as well, but unfortunately, Zade couldn't carry him AND the woman.

Well... she COULD... but she didn't want to. After all, the Stranger had attacked HIM only as an afterthought. If either of them knew anything, it would be the woman.

Before she left, Zade cast a glance at the Stranger.

"What the...?"

[Stranger]

Suddenly, his connection with the Hellhound was violently severed. He felt the beast die in his mind, and gave an involuntary mental shiver as his connection went silent...

[Val'keth]

Just about to take flight away from the stranger, Val'keth instead flashed her sword in a feint toward his face. The shiver told her *something* had just happened, and she took the chance and rammed her dagger toward his ribs with her other hand.

It met a momentary resistance, then sliced into his skin, cutting through his clothes with effortless ease. Satisfied that the wound would give her a few precious seconds to escape, Val'keth ripped the dagger free and ran in the opposite direction to Zade. Hairs prickled on the nape of her neck as she waited for a blast of psi-energy to engulf her at any second, but that didn't stop her legs pumping as she tore down a narrow alley and started to climb the wall.

[The Stranger]

The Stranger heard his heavy cloak tear and felt a painful prick in his side. He strengthened his barrier instantly.

The Hellhound was dead. The elven woman had cut him. This was not good. Not good at all.

The Stranger's feet left the ground as he wrapped his power around himself and levitated a few feet off of the ground. He quickly floated away, his cloak billowing behind him as he disappeared down the street.

[To Be Continued]