[Continued from Vincent]
Many circular tables litter the room in close proximity. Barmaids swagger about, nearly but never quite spilling the drinks on the trays they carry. The bar itself is set up against the long wall farthest from the door. The owner apparently makes use of the entire wall to store drinks and glasses.
Chayce is sitting at the bar quietly sipping his faywyne. Despite the fact that the sword he carries seems like it belongs as a showpiece in a castle and would probably snap quickly in combat, Chayce seems to be quite a person to recon with. The dust on his cloak is thick and he is obviously a traveler, which is not the safest of professions.
He lays two gold coins on the bar, one for the faywyne, another as a handsome tip for the barmaid. His expression seems slightly distant, but there is an underlying tension, perhaps a fear of something, and he is all around jumpy.
Outside, he begins to hear the loud and raucous talking of several men approaching the bar. They enter the building. The patrons of the bar seem to be silently wondering what the commotion is.
The men turn out to be elves... and they are a bit drunk. The leader leads them over to the bar and bangs his sword on the large oak slab. He is a good 6 feet tall and very skinny. He calls to the barmaid, "Drinks for me and my comrades who have killed many men today!"
An elf behind him with a face that resembles that of a rat whispers, "Killed who?"
Another elf, with short spiky hair, whispers back, "Got me."
Chayce looks up at the group and snickers almost silently.
Either they do not see him, or they choose to ignore him. They order their drinks (faywyne for all) and settle at a table. Their speech is still loud, but it quickly begins to blend into the other noise of the salon.
A short time passes. The elves drink and get louder. A few people enter. Including a tall man dressed all in black with a black cloak and black hair.
Vincent takes in the room at a glance and settles down at the darkest seat at the bar he can find, which is far away from his preferred corner.
Chayce raises an eyebrow at the stranger then goes back to his drink, still being mind-full of everyone.
Vincent leans forward and orders a shot of whiskey. He sips his drink quietly, glancing now and then at the people around him uninterestedly.
The elf leader says loudly, continuing the conversation he is having with his comrades, "Take this man over there..." He points at Vincent, "...that is what we must rise against... mankind... what is that? I think there should be an _elfkind_ before a mankind. Can you believe the arrogance of these humans?!"
The others reply, "Yeah! lets kill 'em all!"
Vincent shows no reaction to the talk, but he has clearly heard it as the elves are only a few meters away.
Ringleader stands and walks over to Vincent with his sidekicks behind. He taps Vincent on the shoulder. "Get out of here human! This is our bar!"
Vincent still makes no reaction of being aware of their presence. He casually orders a refill of whiskey.
One of the barmaids calls out, "This is not your bar, and the man can stay if he likes!"
With that, Ringleader slaps the barmaid back and onto her butt behind the bar.
Chayce puts his hand on his sword
Vincent glances at the barmaid, probably to make sure she is all right. The barmaid seems to be hurt, but mostly trying to keep down now. she isn't getting paid enough to handle this. Vincent turns his eyes back to his drink and finishes it in one gulp.
Ringleader continues, "Perhaps you didn't hear me, human." He draws his sword. "You leave or you die!" Ringleader, whose real name is unknown and is probably unspeakable if only for the fact that elf is hard to speak, is positioned directly behind Vincent, blocking him.
Vincent slowly sets his empty glass on the counter. He slowly reaches into his pocket and pulls out... a coin. He places it on the counter next to the glass.
Chayce holds his sword ready to draw it at a moment's notice
The bar has gone rather quiet. Whoever is not paying attention to the situation now are already noticing the difference in mood and looking around for the source of the problem.
Vincent slowly stands and turns.
Ringleader says, "A wise choice human." The elf seems a bit tense now, his sidekicks likewise.
The man in question, who is about the same height as Ringleader addressing him but seems so much taller, though whether that is because he is not drunk or for some other reason, reseats himself on the stool, facing the elves. He leans back against the bar. "Do you have a problem?"
"Yes, you humans are a plague to the land, destroying the wilderness instead of living at peace with it. You murder our people and rape our women, and we are not going to put up with it anymore!"
Vincent's face twitches... was that a hint of a smile? But it is gone almost before it was there. "And what are you going to do about that?"
Ringleader replies, "Well, I think first I'll take your ear, and keep that as a souvenir , then my friends will sort out the rest of you..."
Vincent says, "I must say, I am new to this reality. Please, explain before you kill me what it is you plan to get yourselves in prison for."
"You humans are all the same. only understand the sword. well fine!" He places his sword under Vincent's chin.
Vincent makes no reaction. "And who gets the blood? I'm always curious about where it will go when I die."
Ringleader says, "We'll wash the streets with it if I have my way!"
Chayce chuckles slightly.
Vincent answers, "Make sure it is useful. I'd hate to see so much fluid go to waste."
Ringleader seems confused. "Then we'll use you intestines to make shoes."
While his expression does not change, Vincent appears to be amused by this exchange. "Oh, my intestines don't get the honor of being made into strings for instruments? How disappointing."
Ringleader adds, "Well, your skull becomes an ashtray."
Vincent says, "Too bad, you're killing me because humans destroy the environment, and yet you want to use my skull to encourage people to destroy the environment. How very wise."
Ringleader spits out, "Actually I'd prefer to use your entire body for different things around the house, prove to you humans once and for all that you can use everything from something you kill."
Spiky, Ratface and the other three seem to be getting confused, perhaps because they are half drunk, perhaps because they have the combined IQ of a carrot.
Vincent almost smiles. "Thank you, but I'm more of an outdoor person myself."
Ringleader with a new rage: "You humans only know about the outdoors from what you rape, pillage and burn! I shall kill you for that!" He raises his sword and begins to bring it down.
There is a flash of movement and the sword is being twisted in his grip. For an instant, Ringleader can see Vincent's eyes boring into his own, can feel Vincent's hands wrenching the sword from his grip.
Chayce walks over, his cloak flowing behind him, and draws his sword.
Ringleader looks shocked and kicks Vincent in the chest. "You have fight, don't you?! Well I'll enjoy killing you even more for that!"
Vincent uses the bar behind him to balance himself and takes control of the sword. It flies into the bottles on the wall behind the counter and clatters to the ground.
Chayce walks in behind the group between the two sidekicks, and prepares to pummel an elf or two. He knocks one of the sidekicks out in a swift blow.
Next, Vincent's fist has broken Ringleader's jaw and has sent the man's body flying into the elves behind him.
Chayce follows through with a slash at another, removing the elf's belt and dropping his leggings to the floor.
Ringleader picks himself up and declares, "You'll pay for that!"
Vincent suddenly holds a gun in his hand. He raises it.
The other attackers seem to be confused, morso by the gun.
Vincent trips the nearest elf and says, "Stop!" He narrows his eyes. "Unless you want to die now."
Ringleader replies, "I am ready to die. Are you, human?" Another elf rallies to his comrade.
Chayce intercedes, "Excuse me..." He seems to be patiently there hoping to be heard, but none of the elves seem to be listening.
Vincent still has his weapon trained on the ringleader in front of him.
Chayce pummels another elf in the back since nobody seems to be listening to him. The elf drops like a sack of potatoes. Evidently Chayce's had to do this before. "Hey elitist bastards, you make a bad name to the rest of us who are just trying to get along."
Vincent shrugs and knocks the breath out of the elf in front of him. His gun has disappeared again, though obviously he can access it whenever he desires.
The elves pick themselves up, glaring at Chayce and Vincent. The other drinkers have moved well away. Some money is changing hands. Ringleader says, "You're like all humans. Stupid and cowardly!"
Ratface adds, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, "Fucking bastards!"
Chayce looks at Vincent with a twinkle in his eyes and says, "You want to handle this yourself, or would you like help? I'd love the fight."
Two of the elves lunge at Vincent, two toward Chayce. Each has a sword drawn.
Vincent replies, "Looks like it's both of us now."
"Oh well, not much of a challenge." He says this as he manages to parry the two coming at him like a wedge splitting wood.
The elves attacking Vincent bring their swords down at the same time from different sides. There is the blast of a gun and the elf attacking Vincent from the left gurgles blood before falling in a heap on the floor. The other elf's sword is nearly at Vincent's neck before he ducks.
"Not bad, but you could use a more modern defense, and give up on the street thug lunges, they never work," Chayce says to his attackers.
The sword-swipe at Vincent takes off a few hairs, but the elf does not notice since Vincent has turned and slammed the butt of his gun into the elf's stomach.
The two on Chayce try to lunge him from both sides, but Chayce ducks forward at the last instant and makes a light slash across both of them. They land with a thud. "I really did want to be reasonable. Now you've gotten blood on my good sword."
The elf Vincent attacked stumbles into the empty bar stool behind him. Before he can raise his sword again, Vincent has brought down a blow to his head. The elf collapses to the ground, unconscious.
Chayce looks around for anyone looking alive, awake, or dead with a bad-looking smile.
Vincent moves his boot away from the blood seeping from the dead elf at his feet. He takes another couple of coins and places them on the counter. He glances up at Chayce. After a pause, "Thanks."
"You fight well. Buy you a drink stranger?"
"No, thank you." Vincent steps over the bodies strewn about the floor and slips his gun back into his belt.
"Nice gun." Chayce cleans his sword on the clothing of a corpse. Vincent nods. "It has served me well," he says simply.
"Never liked them myself, not as reliable as the sword."
Vincent shrugs. "I use the blade as well. You are very good."
"Thank you..."
The entire bar is still silent. The patrons are staring at the bodies and the two men. Apparently, they were used to seeing brawls and bar fights, but not death in this salon.
Chayce takes the hat from one of the dead elves, it seems to be the hat of ranger, in design similar to a robin hood hat. He puts it on.
Vincent glances over the dead and unconscious elves, but chooses not to take anything.
"I think now is the time to leave. Before more punks get back, and before we get kicked out," Chayce says.
Vincent gives a curt nod. "Yes."
Chayce makes his way to the door. Vincent follows. The drinkers all shift away from the two as they pass.
And as they step out, a dark cloud grows above them, perhaps it is the stench from the people who died inside, or maybe it's the actions of an evil god, most likely it's just caused by the many police now closing on them.
Chayce says, "I dont like the looks of this, perhaps we did too good a job."
Vincent has no visible reaction to this developement. He remains at ease and watches the law enforcers circle the two.
Chayce continues, "We can stay or run, I vote run."
"Do as you will. I see no point in running."
"Well, It depends on if they are fair or not, if not we're in trouble."
"I must admit, they do have the fastest police response of any community I have visited."
Chayce replies, pointing, "Well, they are just located over there."
The police have finished making a circle around the two, though both men can see that the circle can easily be broken, if they wanted to try.
"Still, they are the fastest I have witnessed." Vincent says this with all the manner of a man casually talking about his business with a neighbor on a calm slow day.
"True... most take a while..."
And as they have this nice little chat the circle closes leaving them surrounded.
Chayce seems to honestly not care himself. He feels very sure of himself, and is truthfully more worried about the outcome for Vincent than for himself. "Hmm..." He speaks up, "Good evening constables!"
the policeman in front of them calls, "Freeze!"
Vincent thinks, // Quite warm, really.//
Chayce replies out loud, "Not that cold out constable. Although I might shiver a bit."
The policeman doesn't even blink. "Cut the chatter and drop your weapons."
Vincent moves his cloak so his belt and gun are visible. He carefully unbuckles the gunbelt and lets it drop to the ground without a word.
Chayce ponders. "Any more options? No 'or else'?"
Again, the policeman ignores him. "Drop your weapons."
Chayce looks at Vincent. "Are you wanted anywhere?"
Vincent snorts, then steps back from his gun belt until it is out of reach.
Chayce takes out his sword holds it out to pose for attack, then lightly sets it down on the ground. "Ok, there you are constable, enjoy."
Several members of the squad move forward and pick up the weapons. Others come up behind the men and handcuff them.
The constable comes forward and says, "You're under arrest for aggravated assault and murder. You have the right to remain silent. If you choose to waive this right, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney if the magistrate judges your case fit for trial.
Chayce says, "First of all, we were attacked, second of all, I want my lawyer here, and finally I'm parched from defending myself, have something to drink?"
"We'll take care of that when we get to the office. Come on, you two."
The police begin to lead the two away down the street. Others break up the small crowd that has formed and the rest go inside the bar to find and "take care of" the elves.
Chayce comes along peaceably. Vincent walks along as if he is part of the police squad, not a prisoner. He shows no sign of caring or resisting whatsoever. Chayce, however, seems quite upity.
After being processed, answering a few questions posed to them, and getting a small meal they are led to an emtpy cell in the prison. The prison is quite small; there are only three other cells and only two of them are occupied. They are lined up in a row so the inmates cannot see each other. Vincent and Chayce are put in the same cell, the door is locked, and the investigator leaves.
Chayce says, "Hmm. All the amenities of home."
The cell is small but not uncomfortable for two men to inhabit at the same time. There are two cots, a toilet and sink, and a couple of blankets and pillows that look like they've been heavily used for years. Next to the sink, there is a small in-table with two wooden cups and some soap.
Vincent grunts. "Which bed do you want?"
Chayce points. "That one."
Vincent nods and sits on the opposite bed. "Not too bad."
"So, just curious, what brings you around here?"
"My feet. I'm just traveling."
"Ok, sure, as good a reason as any I guess. Anyway, If you want to leave here, let me know." Chayce takes out a ball, sits on the bed and bounces it off the wall back to himself.
Vincent replies, "I've been in tougher prisons, but thank you for the offer."
"Alright."
"And thanks for the help." Vincent continues. "Not very many people who'd bother to do that."
"I was never many people, and I've been on both sides of the helpful hand." Chayce tosses the ball again *ta thum grab*
A voice echoes from just down the hall, "Cut it out, will 'ya?"
Chayce shrugs and keeps going.
Vincent asks, "Where're you from?"
"Far away. And I dont plan on going back."
Vincent nods. "Traveling, then?"
"Seeing the world as I avoid my ex-wife."
"Ex-wife." It sounds like a statement rather than a question and Vincent's tone makes it clear that he does not really care.
"Yeah, she wants to find me and kill me, sent her entire army after me."
"What'd you do?"
"Nothing, just here powers stoped working on me, I saw her true form and ran. Demonesses... Well, I dont like them. Let's leave it at that."
"Demoness. For the first time, Vincent looks slightly interested. "Congratulations on getting away, then. They can be very tenacious."
"Very, but I'm a hard man to find and a harder one to catch."
"As long as you don't stay in one place too long. Like here."
"True, very true." There is a pause. Then, Chayce continues, "So, anything interesting with you?"
"Yes." But Vincent does not elaborate.
"Well, good or bad accordingly."
At that moment, however, the door to the hall opens. Police enter, leading the three living elves past Chayce's and Vincent's cell to the one at the end of the hall. The three glare at the two as they pass, but say nothing. Soon, their cell is locked and the policemen are gone once again.
Chayce says, "Look what just happened to the neighborhood."
Do not copy or quote the above material without the expressed consent of the owner of this page.