The Demon Of Damshire

[TheIndigoSultan]

Thud.... Thud.... Thud.... The corpse's head gave a resounding noise with each step it was dragged down. The massive, grizzled man kept dragging it behind him. His muddy black boots beat a slow counterpoint to the dead girl's noggin. The corpse was dressed only in a nightshirt and was covered with massive stab wounds. The giant dragging it down the oak stairs wore a long, brown coat and a black wool cap. His face was a mask of pain and furry.
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The light from the two candle stubs were burning low, sending a wavery light across the heavy wooden desk top. Guard Markus Broadrun rubbed his head, causing his short brown hair to bristle, as he read over the reports of the murders. He was still having trouble wrapping his head around what had happened. Four young women in three weeks, in nice middle-classed neighboorhoods, had been murdered, dragged from their beds and then through the streets, and dumped on the doorstep of the local Temple Of The Lady. Despite staking out the temple steps, he had managed to deposit the last two bodies without being seen.

It seemed like senseless acts of violence, except that whoever it was kept leaving them where he did and kept repeating a pattern. His dark, brow was more lined than normal. His normally rugged handsome face had taken on a look of pain, like a suffering diety or constipated king.

There was a letter from the Duke of Pakslanon his desk, written in bold, dark strokes. It was full of dark threats and dire predictions as the short longevity of Markus's career, if he failed to catch the killer. He sighed. How the blazed could he catch a killer, when he and Deputy Guard Renald were all their were to watch over a village of two hundred souls?

He would have another funeral to attend, or course. He would have another mother shooting him accusing looks, yelling at him for not stopping the killer. He would have another father looking to take vigilantee justice, running off with a cudgel or a hammer at the slightest suspicion, ready to rain down revenge. It was tearing the town apart. It was all to much in to short a period of time.

 

[LadyOfThorns]

Miranda Blackthorne

Four murders in three weeks, and all of the victims were young women. Her cousin had been among the slain, the first to die in such a manor which had set the pattern for the rest. Ever since her cousins death she had vowed to find whoever was responsible and make them pay dearly. But she knew she knew she would need help. Out of all the people in Pakslanon only one seemed to be trying to do anything about it. Of course she had no way of knowing why he was doing it, she had not seen the letter form the Duke herself, nor had she heard of the talk within the Duke's court about Markus's career.

It was a rainy morning when she came to the guards house, a horse cart splashing across in front of her as it made its way up the cobblestone street to the market area. She was dressed in a green cloak, the hood of it which was up, lined in a silver colored triming, a brown shirt, black beeches and soft red knee high boots. On her right thigh she had a dagger starpped securley to it. Approaching the door of the building she opened it and walked inside, the light of the burning lamps greeting her as she came in.

Looking around she lowered the hood of her cloak revealing her long and soft honey brown hair underneath, her emerald green eyes looking about the light of the lamps reflected in them. Her face looked young, like that of a woman in her very early twenties.

She knew Markus by his face alone..he had been at every one of the victims funerals so far, and had heard angry and upset remarks of him in the past funerals. However she had given him none of those, and had even regarded him with a kind eye when she had seen him passing by in the street. He always looked so tired..it was as if this case was dragging him down, wearing him away at the seams.

However she knew he did not know her, and had only seen her once at the first funeral.

"Markus Broadrun?" She asked as she shut the door behind her, pushing it shut by giving it a nudge with her foot near the bottom of it.

"You may not know me, but...I have come to offer my services to you...my name is Miranda Blackthorn."

 

[TheIndigoSultan]

Markus rose stiffly. His right leg still bore the marks of one of the men he had brought to justice and hung to swing in the wind. His dark face, a little to rugged to be handsome, was looking more pale than normal. He was aware, in the presence of the lady, that he must look like a great unshaven brute. His sturdy frame was dressed in the long black tunic and leggings of his office. He adjusted the black belt at his waist and smoothed out the wrinkles in the front of his tunic, without realizing he was doing so.

"Oh yes? Well please take a seat and we will talk." Markus gestured to the low wooden bench in front of his desk. He was aware that he should offer her tea, or something feminine, but brewed targa root, blacker than the pit of Hades and more bitter than a scorned lover, were all he had to offer.

OCC: Welcome. I apologize for the short post, but I was off to bed when I noticed you had posted here. I will be offline all day tomorrow, so I wanted to throw up something so you would know I had acknowledged you.

 

[LadyOfThorns]

Miranda nodded and took a seat, first removing her cloak and hanging it over the back of the chair before she sat, the shirt she wore from what he could tell was a snug fitting one, nearly clinging to her form, the design of the material made to emphasize the roundness of her breasts. Sitting down she eyed him with the same kind eye she had always given him in passing when she saw him in a crowd.

"If it would not trouble you...might I have something to drink? A strong whiskey or something akin thereof would suit me fine...I have nothing wet to quinch my thirst since last night before I took to the bed." she said with a small smile.

 

[TheIndigoSultan]

The constable gazed at the young woman steadily. She certainly didn't seem to give a damn for societal conventions. First she comes in dressed in clothing that no respectable woman would wear, and yet of a very expensive cut and then she asks for liquer. He rubbed his chin thoughfully. If she wasn't careful, he figured she might be accused of witchcraft at some point, and guess who they would send to collect her? Still, he liked her confident manner and he really needed the help. He had spent some time in more Southern lands when he was in Hardtack's Raiders, a mercenary company, and knew Southern women were different. Maybe her family was transplanted, though she sounded like any of the locals. It had opened his eyes, but he knew the rest of the town wouldn't be so open.

He nodded and poured her a glass of whiskey. It was big enough to hold three shots, but he figured she could handle it, or she wouldn't have asked. "Right then. Tell me how you can help me. The Lady knows I need help."

 

[LadyOfThorns]

Miranda

Taking the glass from him she began to drink it down. He seemed to have taken an interest in her form of dress. Yes it was hardly something a Lady would wear, but then again whoever said she was a Lady? True underneath all the garments she looked like a very fine young woman, a nice slender body, soft skin, firm supple breasts. And every now and then she had the same cravings to be touched by a man as every woman naturaly had..and sometimes though on the rare occasion, she had also yearned for the touch of another woman. Although more often than not she found herself satisfying her own yearning and cravings as she lay in bed alone at night.

But was she a Lady? No..well she wouldn't call herslf one anyway. Growing up in with four Brothers and a Father who was a Huntsman kind of got that out of her. While other Ladies or girls of a young age were schooling in the finer arts, and learning how to be Ladies, she had been out with her Brothers and her Father learning the ways of the world, and how to survive off the land, her Brothers and Father teaching her how to use a bow and sword. This was not to say however that she did not like to dress as a Lady should..from time to time. She just lackeda certain quality or something that Ladies had.

Now as for Witchcraft. Yes she did know a little about it. Her Mother had been part of a coven and had taught Miranda a few things. But when Miranda had turned sixten, her Mother had died of a fever, but this did not mean that the girl simply put all her teachings aside. She still practiced what her Mother had taught her, always remembering that there was a difference bewteen good magic, and dark magic, depending on what she used, or how she used it.

As she drank from the whiskey, ejoying the nice warm burn it left on the back of her throat, she listened to him as he spoke. With a smile she set the glass down and then answered him.

"Perhaps you have been going about this all wrong. So far all of the victims bodies have been found at the Ladie's Temple. Have you taken into consideration the murderer might be trying to lure you out?" Yes he probably had taken that into thought.

"Maybe what you need is something to get whoever is doing this out into the open..some bait perhaps...this is what I propose to you. Let me help you by drawing the murderer out."

 

[TheIndigoSultan]

She wan't a conventional sort of woman at all. She peeked Markus's interest, but also his suspicions. Why was she so keen to help the constabulary capture the killer? Most citizens didn't see anything when crimes happened. They didn't want to be involved. Here was a young woman who stood out like a thorny rose among lillies and wanted to be involved.

"Well, be that as it may, and to be sure I am not about to discuss the nature of my investigations with anyone at this moment, why is it that you feel the need to become involved. Are you working for an agent of some noble or sponsor. If so, you had better make me aware of them." He put on his most serious expression.

The door opened a young, red-headed man stepped in, only to be shood out by a quick gesture from Markus.

 

[LadyOfThorns]

Miranda

Oh his most serious expression was it then? It sounded like he was interogating her, with all those qustions and the statement at the end. She couldn't help but laugh a little as she finally finished her whiskey, setting the glass down on the desk, her green eyes shining to him in the light. "Very well Markus, if you must know I am not being sponsored by anyone, not even the Duke himself, nor am I an agent, freelance or otherwise."

Then she sighed, a somewhat dark expression falling over her face as her eyes went downcast to the desk. "You see...my cousin was the first victim in this case...I know what you mut be thinking now...here is someone who comes to me caliming to help who probably only wants revenge. This is not so...however with revenge...revenge is a tricky sort of game...best left to those with cold running through their heart. I come to you only because I wish to see justice being done...but even justice needs help..wouldn't you agree?"

Then lifting her eyes she smiled to him. "And if you are wondering..yes..I am more than capable of defending myself if I had to." She sat back then, uncrossing her legs, her hand resting on her thigh in a casual way as she waited for his reply.

 

[TheIndigoSultan]

OCC: I had a post written, but lost it somehow. Sorry for the delay, but I can't rewrite it right now.

 

[TheIndigoSultan]

Markus thought for a moment, one finger scratching at his chin. There was something about the lady that he liked. She had a hardness and a determination that reminded him of himself, when he had joined the guard years before.

"Alright then, I'll give you a chance. Outline what you have in mind and we'll consider it." He walked to the door and opened it, then dragged a thin, red-head in. The red-head was dressed in guard black and had an open friendly face. "Take a seat Michel. I am deputizing this young lady for the the time being. We have plans to discuss." The younger man sat down in the chair next to Miranda, while Markus remused his seat behind the desk. "Alright then, what is this plan?"