The Eternal Assassin

Asher had always envisioned he'd one day introduce Samantha to Draken one way or another, but he'd never intended to bring Brian anywhere near the gang leader. At least not until he was much older. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures, and he trusted Draken to keep them safe while he healed up.

At the moment, he didn't fancy his odds of taking anyone on in a fight without either of his hands.

Stepping back into Draken's study, he nodded one last warning toward the gang leader before Samantha and Brian followed him out. Brian looked around at the room in awe, but Samantha seemed to freeze up and withdraw into herself a bit as she took in the well-decorated room.

"Good evening, it's a pleasure to meet you," Draken said, smiling as he gave them both a shallow bow. "Asher has not told me much about you, but he has stressed how important the two of you are to him. Rest assured, so long as you are within my manor, no harm will befall you."

"Thank you for having us," Brian said, reining in his curiosity long enough to return Draken's bow.

"Thank you," Samantha muttered, still looking around the room like she was waiting for another demon to jump out at them at any moment. Asher cursed as he finally realized why she looked like she was fighting back a panic attack. He'd made the same connection the first time he'd been in Draken' study, but he'd forgotten about it by now. The first thought he'd had when Draken had originally invited him in here was that it reminded him of Trellis' fancy wagon. And if he'd come to that conclusion after only seeing the interior of Trellis' wagon twice, no doubt the similarity was hitting Samantha far harder.

Asher went to reach out and take her hand, only to scowl at the painful reminder that he currently wasn't capable of doing so. Instead, he wrapped his good arm around her, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"Draken is a good guy," he said gently, feeling Samantha trembling at the memories of sitting in Trellis' wagon. "Come on, let's get situated in one of the guest rooms."

"I'll have Thunder show you to where you can stay," Draken said, opening the door and giving Thunder a few quick orders. The elite had been waiting patiently outside the study, and Asher couldn't help but wonder if that was some sort of insurance in case things got ugly between him and Draken. "Please, don't hesitate to reach out to any of my men if you need something. We can continue our conversation about Whikoga later, Asher."

"Sounds good," he said, nodding his thanks before gently shepherding Samantha out of the study with Brian following behind. The moment they were free of the study, Samantha calmed down a bit. Letting out a weary sigh that sounded like it held years of pent up emotions, she finally stopped trembling. Leaning against him, she wrapped her arms around him and hid her face into his chest as she hugged him tight.

"Thank you," she said as Brian began asking Thunder a million questions, thoroughly stumping the elite as she tried to come up with answers to such questions as 'how old is this place?' 'how rich is Draken?' and 'why does your mace crackle?'

"Don't worry, you don't need to go back in there," he reassured her, walking arm in arm down the hall as they followed a struggling Thunder. "I had the same thought you did the first time I saw his study."

"I guess a stocked liquor cabinet and a fancy desk are the classic signs of wealth," she muttered, looking a bit sheepish. "I suppose if you keep rubbing shoulders with the nobles in the city, I'll need to get used to this sort of thing, huh?"

"To be fair, Draken is something of a fallen noble," he admitted. "The only actual noble estate I've been in I wasn't necessarily invited, if you catch my drift. Though the truthseekers did actually give me permission, so I guess I was sort of allowed to do what I did? It's all very confusing."

"Speaking of, any chance I can have that ring back?" Samantha asked, looking hopeful. "I know the magic would have worn off by now, but I thought it was pretty. I'm not too much of a jewelry person, but it was the first time anyone had ever given me a ring. Not to mention the first time you gave me something like that," she added, smiling warmly at him.

"Sure, I…" Asher paused, halting in his tracks as he held up his two stumps. Wincing, he gave her an apologetic look. "I… don't think I can give you back the ring."

"Oh God, I'm sorry Asher," Samantha said, her face blanching. "I didn't even think-"

"You're fine." He chuckled, directing them to keep following Thunder before they got lost. "It's weird to think, but my hands will grow back. I'm honestly more upset that I lost my mithral dagger. I'll need to look into buying a new one, and we'll have to grab you a new ring while we're at it. You can help me pick it out this time!"

"I'd like that," she said, smiling as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before giving him a pointed look that told him she meant business. "…Though nothing too expensive, understand? I'd rather you put your shards toward more useful things."

"Don't worry, I'm not exactly hurting on shards at the moment," he said, laughing at her exasperated face.

Thunder directed them to a large suite much bigger than the room Kree was staying in, before reminding them to just step out and flag anyone down if they needed something. Brian immediately ran over and claimed one of the two beds, flopping onto it and all but sinking into the lush mattress.

"Brian, at least wash up first!" Samantha sighed, placing her bow beside the door as she went over to start wrangling her brother toward the attached washroom. Asher couldn't help but smile at the familiar sight of Samantha mentally switching into a more motherly role as she all but dragged Brian over to the washroom, the twelve-year-old complaining all the while.

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There were a lot of things to worry about. The greater demon hunting him on behalf of The Council of Death. Owl and the Head's interest in him taking over Whikoga's Guild. Even the truthseekers wanting to claim his head to a certain degree. Yet even with all that, for the moment, they were safe, and that was all that mattered.

Asher plopped himself down on one of the beds, intending to just rest his eyes for a moment before washing up himself. But before he knew it, he was out like a light.

It turned out, regrowing missing limbs was a bit more difficult for Eternal Regeneration than mending broken bones or even destroyed organs. When he awoke the next morning, Asher was pleased to find that about a third of his missing hand had regrown during the night, and the elbow on his other arm at least no longer looked like it had been put through a pasta maker. He figured it would take a solid day or two for his hand to fully heal, and maybe another few on top of that for his arm.

At the very least, it also proved to be excellent training for his skill.

Eternal Regeneration - Lvl 28

Even more strange, was the fact that Sever the Thread had actually increased from level 6 all the way up to level 8 during his fight with the demons. He'd only gotten a few stabs in, so he wasn't certain why the skill had leveled up in the first place, let alone twice, but he certainly wasn't about to complain. He had no idea what the evolved version of that skill would look like, but he was rather curious to find out.

Despite the fact that Asher had intended to keep them in the manor until he was in fighting shape again, he quickly changed his mind as the adrenaline and craziness of the prior day finally faded a bit and Brian grew a bit morose.

"Everything alright?" Asher asked, mentally closing one of the books he'd Incorporated and was still reading through as he moved over to check on Brian. Samantha was busy gathering some materials from Draken's storeroom to work on her crocheting, but Brian had been fiddling with his bow for the last few minutes without actually doing anything. Asher had picked up a while back on the fact that meant something was bothering him.

"I'm fine," Brian said, nodding absentmindedly. His eyes never left his bow as he continued to fiddle with it. "Do you think Logan is okay? I didn't see him make it out of the village."

Ah… Crap.

"I don't know," Asher admitted, seeing Brian stiffen and accidentally twang his bowstring. Realizing that might not have been the best answer, he quickly continued. "I saw a lot of people running though, and from what you told me, the two of you were some of the fastest runners in the entire village. I'm sure he's fine."

"Yeah…"

Brian went back to messing with his bowstring, and Asher went to run a hand through his hair, frowning at yet another reminder that wasn't something he could do at the moment. As much as he loved Brian, he simply didn't have much experience dealing with kids back on Earth. Hell, he didn't have much experience dealing with people, either. Not living ones at least. It was half the reason he'd decided to become a mortician.

"Draken told me the High Prince himself is going to send out a team of elite slayers to go after the demons that attacked the village," he said, actually snapping Brian out of his funk as the boy turned to look up at him in disbelief.

"Slayers? From the capital?"

"Yeah, the best of the best!" Asher grinned. He knew Brian was more interested in archery and fighting with his bow than he was in the forest and hunting like his sister, but perhaps he had a secret desire he'd kept hidden from Samantha all this time. "I bet they'll not only wipe the floor with those demons, but that they'll rescue everyone that needs help."

"That's so cool," Brian said, his thoughts of the village looking like they'd been entirely overwritten with dreams of the slayers for the moment if the giant grin on his face was anything to go on. "I wish we could see them fight!"

"I bet it would be pretty cool," Asher agreed. "…do you want to become a slayer one day?"

"What?" Brian snorted, waving his hand as if the thought was ridiculous. "Don't be crazy. Sam always says how dangerous fighting monsters is."

"I didn't ask what Samantha always says, I asked you if you wanted to be a slayer," Asher repeated, nudging him with his knee. "You're allowed to want different things than you think your sister wants for you, for the record."

Brian was silent for a moment, staring at his shoes as if lost in thought. He wasn't plucking at his bowstring, however, which meant he was just thinking.

"I know it's silly, because I can't even remember them… and nobody really knows what happened to them out in the woods… but after learning about what happened to mom and dad, I've kinda always dreamed of growing up and doing something that would help people," Brian finally admitted, his eyes shining as he looked at him. "I want to help protect people from wild monsters, or bad guys that attack travelers and villages, just like the demons that attacked ours. You don't think that's crazy, do you?"

"No, I think that's very noble of you," Asher said, smiling as he leaned over to wrap an arm around him. "Whenever you feel like you want to let Samantha know, just tell me. I think she'll be more receptive to the idea than you imagine."

"You really think so?" Brian asked, sounding more hopeful than he looked. "I thought she'd take my bow away and make me skin hides until my fingers fell off."

"She just wants you to be safe, but she also wants you to follow your dreams," Asher said. "Obviously, you're a little young to do anything quite that dangerous right now, but in a few years, after you get your origin element? I bet she'd be ecstatic that you want to help protect people from what happened to your mom and dad."

"Thanks, Asher." Brian grinned, putting his bow down and giving him a tight hug. After a few seconds, he pulled back and gave him his best puppy-dog eyes. "Could we go out and explore the city? I've never been to the city before!"

"Fine. But only if you promise not to go running off and get lost."

"Aw, come one! You have your skill on me, anyway! That shouldn't matter!"

"Sorry, that's the rule," Asher said, looking serious. "Certain parts of the city are more dangerous than others, so I need you to be extra careful."

"Fine," Brian huffed, still looking extremely excited despite his tone. "Go tell Sam to hurry up, I want to explore the city!"