Thaumiel: The God Killers

A Knight, a Witch, and an Assassin Walk Out of a Bar...

Usdohr pushed open the door of the bar, completely indistinguishable from everyone else. Good. He was not here to be noticed.

Lowering the hood of his cloak, heavy eyes staring out from a thick head of brown hair, short beard and muscles giving him the appearance of a smith of some sort. The man sat down at the bar, and waited.

It took only a few seconds for the barmaid to come to him. The dracokin woman was young, and rather attractive. If Usdohr didn't have a job to do, he might have stayed to chat for a while. Alas, he was in a hurry.

"Evenin', sir," said the barmaid, "what can I getcha?"

Usdohr leaned over, and spoke in a slight whisper to her. "Information, miss. This is the best place to get that, hmm?"

The scaled woman raised a ridged eyebrow, which was mostly towards Usdohr's accent than his inquiry, his accent being a thick Northern voice, his r's rolling off his tongue.

"What sorta information?" The barmaid started working on another patron's drink as they talked.

"I'm looking for some people. Adventurer's, mainly. No one specific, I was just wondering if there was anyone like that in town." Usdohr beckoned the woman over, and dropped his voice to a proper whisper. "I'm mostly looking for someone who would be willing to spill a little blood. Or a lot, I'm not picky."

The dragoness narrowed her eyes. "You're not plannin' on causin' any trouble 'round here, right? I do have some names, but I'll need more details than that, sir."

Usdohr smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, my 'job' does not concerned this town, or even this kingdom. I just heard that Roseguard has some of the better mercenaries around these parts."

The barmaid looked relieved that this mysterious job wasn't even in the kingdom, and she answered with less scepticism. "Now, I'm not an expert on fightin' and such skills, but I can get you a list of some people I know who would be alright with a little violence - for the right price."

She reached inside a pocket of her dress, producing a slip of paper. She passed it over to Usdohr, and he took it, seeing that it seemed to contain a list of sorts.

"That," said the dracokin, "is a list of the various mercenaries and bounty hunters an' such Roseguard has. You have their name, their speciality, and of course, their address. That help you?"

Usdohr looked up at the barmaid. "It does, actually. Thank you for your time." He stood, and as he did he passed her a pouch. "Take it as an apology for wasting your time, and as a reward for your help."

The woman opened up the pouch, revealing that it was full of hice coins. "I- sir, thank you. I won't question where you got these, as this is an awfully large amount, but... well, anyway. Good luck with... whatever it is you're doin'."

Usdohr thanked the barmaid for her assistance once more, and left the bar. Now, what's on this list...?

-----

"Hip, hip, hooray!"

Late in the afternoon, the small tavern, normally so quiet, was a ruckus of noise, the majority of it coming from the exhausted but exuberant band of knights, all bearing the mark of the God of Conflict, a shield with a wyvern printed on it.

The knights themselves were celebrating a certain person - Lieutenant Abifal, the only dark elf in the group. Just hours earlier, they had all been hunting a hydra, though the creature was smarter than they had estimated - it had cornered them in a cave, every mouth dripping acidic saliva, and there's a good chance most of the knights would have been seriously burnt, possibly killed, if Abifal hadn't thought to use fire magic to alight the acid - promptly causing the hydra to burst into flames. Sure, it was risky, being in such an enclosed place with flames and smoke, but they all managed to make it out with only minor burns. A miracle in itself, given that even groups of trained hydra hunters usually would've lost some people in such a situation.