A chorus of grumbling voices echoed around Prince Aurelius as over a dozen shivering, rain-soaked men stumbled their way into the moderately-warm yet still rain coated interior of the wretched hovel that the dark elven prince had managed to find out in the wilderness in such a fortuitous manner.

Soaked to the brim, the men of Baron Pavel’s entourage dropped their heavy, sopping wet coats into a bundle as they quickly went to work in removing their weapons and armor before neatly stacking their metallic possessions with a precision and well-practiced speed.

And once all of the men had stripped themselves of all, but the barest of necessities, they quickly, and begrudgingly, made their way towards the dimly lit fire that burned ever so proudly with its weak orange and yellow flames. The fire popped and sizzled as droplets of rainwater seeped its way through whatever cracks and holes had born themselves out of the hovels unfortunate history of abandonment and loneliness in the ever-expansive wilderness of the Ranislavian countryside.

Exhausted and battered from the sheer onslaught of such a fierce and unpredictable storm, the various men of the Ranislavian aristocrat’s entourage sat in a circle around the fire. Slowly extending out their freezing limbs ever so closer towards the dismal amount of warmth that the earthly fire pit could manage to provide to such a large group of unfortunate travelers.

As the sight had unfolded before him, Aurelius couldn’t help but smirk quietly to himself as the shimmering silver and moon-like orbs of his eyes glittered happily in the worn-down abode’s pitch darkness that crept into existence as rolling claps of thunder and lightning lit up the outside world that had fallen victim to the dreary midnight sky’s vengeful wrath.

‘What a marvelous sight that I’m seeing tonight,’ The prince’s smirk quickly turned into a poisonous grin as he moved closer towards the circle of huddled masses and stepped over the closest of the shivering men.

If he was to play host on this miserable night, then he might as well as act as a humble man hell-bent on committing an assortment of good deeds and selfless acts.

“From the looks of things, it seems that the storm has caused quite the disturbance in your gentlemen’s plans. Perhaps serving some of the stew that I’ve made tonight would do everyone some good and keep themselves warm for a little while.” Aurelius spoke in a gentle tone as he stood over the cauldron-esque kettle, slowly stirring the various meats that had been kept boiling within the steaming broth ever since the dark elven prince had cooked up his meal for the evening.

The prince’s sing-song voice weaved through the air as his words reached the ears of the human men, mesmerizing the lot of them as they quietly nodded their heads. The life within the eyes slowly dimmed as the prince’s words caressed the sides of their faces before slithering into their ears as if a lover had whispered sweet nothings to them on this very night.

“Wouldn’t you agree, Baron?” Asked the dark elven prince as he turned his attention over to the portly and nearly-passed out Ranislavian nobleman.

Never the sort to sully the blue-blood flowing through his veins, the Baron had made it a habit to stick to himself in even the most dire of situations. Yet despite his body calling out to him to join those of his men and warm himself up around the fire, Baron Pavel’s stubbornness and disdain for those less fortunate than him had won out that night.

Despite having been called upon, the Baron remained quiet. His head hung low as if he was in deep thought over matters that were most dear to him. Or perhaps such matters were of things that came into existence only a short while ago.

A smile that brimmed with heartfelt warmth and brotherhood crept onto Aurelius’ face as he looked down upon the shivering frame of the Ranislavian aristocrat. “Baron Pavel?” The prince called out towards the man for a second time, his voice growing softer with each breath that passed through his smiling lips. “Would you like something warm to eat? To help keep your belly full and your body warm, I mean.”

With these words, the Baron must have finally heard the golden maned prince for his head had snapped upwards with lightning quick speed whilst his eyes shot towards the source of the honey-suckled words that had spoken to him.

“Oh. Uh, yes.” The Baron coughed as he brought a hand over his mouth, clearing his throat of whatever frozen-inspired dryness that had wormed its way down into the back of his mouth. The pudgy and extremely pale-skinned man clenched and unclenched his jaw multiple times in an attempt to get his body to work properly as it always would when the weather was warmer. Much warmer. “Getting some food in me would do wonders in helping me sleep through this night.”

Joyous wonder filled the room around the group of men and elf alike as a tender, warmhearted chuckle escaped from somewhere deep within the prince’s inner body. “That it would, Baron. That it would. But I hope that you don’t mind sharing a bowl with some of your men, do you? I wasn’t able to find much of them while rummaging through this place. I could only scrounge up less than a handful of such crude tableware when I had stumbled upon this place.”

Aurelius’ silver orbs gleamed brilliantly beneath a sudden flash of lightning as his eyes flickered from one man to the next; carefully nodding to themselves as their desires to eat alongside one another was far too powerful of a spell than even the most mythical of powers described in ancient times.

Looking at the faces of his men, Baron Pavel flicked his head from one angle to the next as he took in the weary expressions of those that served under him. His face was neutral in its expression, but even the most prideful of dullards could tell that the aristocrat’s disdain for his lowborn and impoverished servants had started to collapse in upon itself as his stomach growled out its desire to be filled.

With a defeated sigh, the Baron relented. “I don’t see why not.”

“Excellent,” Aurelius happily clapped. His gloved hands excitedly rubbed themselves together as he turned his attention back towards the brewing pot of meaty stew. “Let’s dig in and have ourselves a wonderful night.

And as he began pouring the first bowl of many bowls that night, the elven prince began to whistle a somber tune that fit well with the weather that had brought all of them together. Happily weaving and bobbing his head from side to side as an eerily grin crept onto his gorgeous features that were casted in shadows born from the pit’s abysmal excuse of a fire.

“I’m not sure how you men would feel about my cooking, but I’ll be more than happy to hear what you all have to say about it. I’ve learned how to cook this dish from a band of Ogres while on my travels.”

“Uh,” Came the soft voice of a man who was still soaked to the bone, his body shivering from the cold air that seeped into the many cracks within the building’s crumbling foundation. “Where would I be able to relieve myself around here?”

Aurelius gave a quick nod of his head as he gestured towards a crumbling doorframe that led into the inky blackness of the hovel’s back half. “Just go past the kitchen and you’ll find yourself outside soon enough.”

The shivering man quickly gave a nod in thanks before grumbling quite verbally to himself about the cold as he got to his feet, forcing a light chuckle from the nearby elven prince as he moved on to the next man and began to serve him a bowl of his steamy stew.

One by one, the golden maned prince served his guests to the best of his abilities and as the gathered men quickly downed their fill he would move on to the next man who was eager to have a taste of something warm that could light a fire in his belly.

Eventually, Aurelius found himself standing before Baron Pavel. A man that the elven prince was most eager to speak with on this very night.

“You know, Baron.” The elven prince started to say as he handed the Ranislavian aristocrat a bowl of stew that was filled to the brim, nearly overflowing with stew to the point where the pudgy human had to be extremely delicate in how he moved the bowl while bringing it closer to his body so that its warmth to bring some much needed heat to his noble visage. “I’m quite perplexed as to how we were able to meet like this. I had thought that you and your men had left the Vesely estate well before I had even managed to finish my business there.”

Baron Pavel looked to the side with a downtrodden expression as he let out an exasperated breath of air.

To Aurelius, it was obvious that the man before him was holding quite the impressive reservoir of contempt towards him.

“That makes two of us.”

That was all that the Baron said for the time being as he tilted his head back and slowly downed the contents being held within the worn and battered bowl.

Seeing as how the Baron wished to be left in his own thoughts for the moment, Aurelius moved on to the next individual and handed the man a serving of his own special blend of meat stew.

And with that, all of those within Baron Pavel’s entourage had been served. All except for the one who had gone off to relieve himself, that is.

But Aurelius knew that his return would hold a special meeting to this sudden meeting of fated strangers.

The elven prince flashed a vile grin at what the future would hold for the lot of them, but quickly suppressed his vile-coated glee as he stood away from the circle of human men and allowed for them to have their fill for the night.

“Feel free to help yourselves to whatever’s left over, but do be mindful of your friend who has gone off on his own for a little while and leave some for him.” Chuckled Aurelius as he leaned back against the wall closest to the battered doorframe from whence the man would assuredly return out of. His arms lifted themselves up against his chest and folded themselves over one another as he let out a satisfied sigh, glad to see that the men before him were appreciative of his cooking.

Even if it meant that the whole lot of them were eating nothing more than what amounted to nothing but unfiltered half-truths.

“I can’t help but think that you’re quite the colorful type of character.” Came the voice of Baron Pavel, forcing the elven prince to turn his attention towards the plump human aristocrat and watched as the man set his bowl to the side.

Aurelius couldn’t help but notice that the bowl had been emptied of its contents by its entirety.

With one hand combing through his golden mane and tossing several locks of shimmering blonde hair into the air, the dark elven prince couldn’t help it as he let out a jaunty laugh.

Thinking that the elf before him was laughing at his words, Baron Pavel continued and tried his luck in finding out more about such a mysterious entity that was the golden haired elf that served as his host for the night. “I’ll let you know now, but I don’t like the types who are colorful. They’re nothing more than self-centered know-it-all’s who act smug for the sake of acting smug.”

Aurelius flashed a smile at the Baron as he slowly shook his head, fully aware of just who the man was talking about when he spoke about those who were colorful. “Yet I happen to chance upon you while in the vicinity of the Vesely estate. Isn’t that family the very sort of people who you now claim to despise?”

“They are, but I had a business deal to settle with them.” The Baron snorted out as a look of disgust came over his face, plunging his chubby features into deep shadows. “Though I doubt that details such as that would be of any interest to you.”

“Oh? I don’t see why it wouldn’t.” Aurelius said as he shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll have you know that my own dealings with the Duke and Duchess didn’t go all that well. Or, at the very least, I suspect that it won’t.”

Half-truth’s were mixed into his words as the elven prince spoke, fully aware that everything that had been discussed privately with the Duke and Duchess of one of Ranislava’s oldest bloodlines would be dependent not on such refined individuals but of the woman whom he hoped would be open to meeting them.

His wife, a raven-haired woman now known as Iskra Dreadblade, was an extremely stubborn individual when it came to things that she did or did not enjoy seeing or hearing about.

And to make matters worse, he knew that she would be at her most stubborn when it came to seeing her parents for the first time in nearly a decade.

Thinking of the journey that it would take to convince his wife in doing such a thing, Aurelius took a deep breath and let out his frustrations in a longing, heartfelt sigh.

‘I’ll just force her to have a sit down with them if need be.’ Aurelius thought to himself as he looked upon the human Baron, watching his every move as he waited for the Ranislavian nobleman to take the bait that he had left out for him. ‘I’ll just have to deal with the consequences of her anger afterwards. Not that I won’t be able to handle such a thing anyway.’

“I find that very hard to believe.” The Baron finally said as he looked at the elf with uncertainty in his gaze, cautious of whether or not he should believe what had been told to him. “Who would be insane enough to turn down a business dealing with one of your kind?”

“Someone who has more money than they have senses, I would imagine.” Aurelius laughed as he flashed the man a knowing wink. “But with all that had been said, they weren’t all that appreciative of my offering in becoming a ferryman for them.”

“A ferryman?” Instantly taking the bait, Baron Pavel jumped at the chance to learn more of the dealings between the Vesely household and the mysterious entity standing before him.

Aurelius threw an open palm into the air, gesturing to the man speaking to him that he wasn’t all that sure as to how to best explain by what he had meant. “My offerings of helping to satisfy their dreams were met with suspicion and cold-hearted logic.”

Aurelius laughed at those words, finding them a little bit too silly for even his own ears. Yet, the elven prince knew that he needed to play up his own importance to whatever strange desires that Baron Pavel thought that the Vesely household held dear to them so that the Ranislavian aristocrat would fall for the elf’s scheming ways.

“And what, might I ask, were those dreams that you had so graciously offered to help them with?”

A prideful glint flashed inside of Aurelius’ silver orbs as he gave the Baron a smug, chaotic grin.

‘I guess it’s true,’ Aurelius began thinking to himself as he thought back to the times where he would listening to his human wife call back to the times that she had spent around many of the noble born aristocrats that dotted the halls of Ranislava’s royal castle. ‘That the men like the Baron were a little bit too greedy for their own good.’

Not that Aurelius thought that there was anything wrong in such things, but he knew if he were to let the man before him go and carry on with his life, than there would be an uncertain amount of unknowable events in the near future that the elven prince felt that he couldn’t live in hanging over his shoulders at all times.

So what better way to deal with such things than to deal with them now and cut them off at their very source?

“What’s of things,” Aurelius started to explain as he tapped the heels of his boots against the ground, quietly wondering just where in the world the other man had gone off to. “But I specialize in ferrying goods that many would consider to be explicit in nature. Or just downright dreadful in having to deal with on their own accord. If you catch my meaning, that is.”

Baron Pavel looked to the ground and rubbed and open palm at the bottom of his chin, thinking to himself as to how he should best handle the situation given to him.

A few moments passed in split succession and the Ranislavian aristocrat seemed to have fallen for exactly what the dark elven prince was hoping for.

“Would these things entail something such as a person?” The Baron asked of the elf as he looked directly into the blonde haired prince’s eyes. It was now or never for this man and it seemed that dealing with an unknown entity such as the golden maned elf was his best shot in whatever it was that he wished to accomplish. “Or at the very least, knowledge of where a person’s body might lay?”

With an eye raised at the man’s inquiry, Aurelius once again shrugged his shoulders. Suggesting to the man before him that such a thing could be possible if he was to be given enough time and information.

“I don’t see why not, but that all depends on a lot of things.” As he spoke, the elven prince gestured with his hands in a way that would suggest that not all things came cheaply or easily. “Though I am curious as to who you might be looking for. Is it a family member of yours? Or someone close to you?”

“A family member? As if.” The Baron scuffed as he rocked his head back in disgust, obviously displeased at the suggestion that he would ever become related to whomever it was that he was in search of to be a disgusting adventure. “Though it is someone with whom I have some history with, if that’s what you had meant.”

Baron Pavel let out a disgruntled growl his face twisted into a calculative expression. Hints of perversion and immorality were thrown onto the man’s increasingly lucid expression as he nodded to himself at whatever it was that he was envisioning in the back of his mind.

The Ranislavian aristocrat was the sort of man that found the idea of bringing whomever his target was closer to his noble visage to be quite the exhilarating one.

“I think I understand by what you’re trying to suggest.” Aurelius chuckled as he tightly clenched his fist in an act of not-so-subtle hidden anger.

As luck would have it however, Aurelius had noticed that the Baron was starting to pay less and less attention to his growing expression of disgust for the very man himself and the elven prince couldn’t help it as an sadistic grin crept onto his soft, and gentle features.

“Humor me for a little bit,” The blonde haired prince called out as his fingers tapped against the sides of his arms. “What is it that you’re looking to accomplish in finding whoever it is that you’re searching for? Are they an acquaintance gone missing? Or perhaps an old rival that you wish to spit in the face of?”

Baron Pavel let out an annoyed tick of his tongue as he looked to the side, very displeased by the idea of having to remind himself of the whomever it was that had earned the ire of his personage. “They’re more akin to being an acquaintance of mine who hails from a rival family. At the time, she was an upstart of a teenaged girl that had grown too full of herself just because of who she was and who she would be marrying in the future.”

A light chuckle escaped from the Baron’s grinning lips as he said this, recalling the events that led to the girl’s downfall as if they were nothing more than sugary sweet memories of days long since passed.

“If I were to have her in my possession, then I would be eternally grateful towards someone such as you. I’d even go so far as to suggest the idea that I would actually feel beholden to shower you in gifts for the years that would come afterwards.”

“I see,” Once again, Aurelius’ face twisted into that of barely disguised hatred for the man sitting before him. Swallowing back a few choice words that came to his mind, the elven prince remained quiet for a few moments as he managed to cool himself down and return to the here and now. “What if she’s dead? What happens then?”

As if it was obvious to all of those around him, Baron Pavel nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “Then I use the body for my own personal gain. I would very much revel in the chance to see the high and mighty get knocked down a peg or two. All the more better if they became self-destructive with what would happen after I had shown off the rotting corpse to its family.”

“Fair.” Aurelius said as he shrugged his shoulders as well.

‘It’s not like I haven’t done something similar before.’ Aurelius thought to himself as he recalled the moment in which he threw the head of his demonically-corrupted first born blood-brother at the very feet of his third oldest blood-brother, a man who now sat on the very throne as their father had done so before.

“And what if this person were alive? What would you do then?”

Baron Pavel flashed a hideous grin towards the elven prince, but whatever was on the tip of his tongue wasn’t able to formulate itself into spoken words as a sudden, frightful cry came from somewhere out back.

Then there came a heavy crash that was then followed by a heavy thud as that very same wordless voice cried out in terror once more.