dawn of ancient fire

episode 2- Marlowe

Marlowe casually walked through the alley ways of Kavan. Her pace is intentionally slow and rolling. She didn't have a plan, but she knew that her prey would surface; they always did when she hunted. Kavan was the city of dragons, built upon the bones of a once mighty ruler. The nobles who ruled the city and the royal family had a body that contained two souls—a human and a dragon. The royals possess the ability to shift entirely, while the nobility received lesser traits. The ability to shift the eyes, spit flame. It had even manifested physically, with some nobles sporting a shimmery dusting of scales throughout their bodies. the architecture ranging from tall, sweeping stone castles to thatch-roofed huts. The town itself was harsh and crude, much like its history. The architecture ranged from tall, sweeping stone castles to thatch-roofed huts. Tangled alleyways and streets. As if architects couldn't decide on one design direction. The only clear feature was the walls separating the city from the outside world, and the nobles from the city. Creating two rings one inside the other. The outer city of Kavan had become a hub for the unsavory. Drug lords, hookers, black markets, assassins. A vast network of ancient sewers served as a hub for those selling and buying. It was Marlow's job to know who was who, and where to find them. Having been forced into these streets at a young age she learned quickly who to keep close and who to stay away from. In the end relying on yourself was always the best bet and the choice she frequently chose. She wasn't close to many people.

So once again, Marlowe found herself hunting, and waiting for her target to make himself known. Tonight, she hunted for a new face. A man named Cadoc lev. from her understanding, Cadoc started as a small-time thief. Travelling up the ranks to lord after a messy encounter with Roker Flynn. Roker was known to mastermind the pleasure trade in Kavan. Running into Cadoc after attempting to expand his business to the assassins that Cadoc oversaw. Needless to say Roker didn't walk away from their first and only encounter and Cadocs tiny empire grew two thousand men and women bigger, s*x and death werent the only unsavory trades in Kavan however, Many fell prey to the drugs offered by the lords who peddled magic turned sour. Pushing crates of Tiny viles that had once been used to heal and help. The former king had granted gold to a small group of mages and witches from the labs in morein forest to research ways to stabilize their healing magic outside of themselves. As a way to fast track the needs of thousands of wounded and dying after a brutal ten year war. They succeeded, saving thousands of lives. But where progress is made, there's always someone waiting in the shadows to ruin it. A man named Jaromir from the northern continent realized that adding dark magic to the stabilized healing magic created a drug unparalleled to anything on the market. Giving the user a euphoric high. Unfortunately the longer a person took the drug, the worse the effects. A wave of unsolved murders plagued Kavan until a body was found still partially intact. Blood from the body identified the drug and research was able to be done on its effect. After several trials it was found that the drug ate the victims from the inside out until the body could no longer hold itself together. Collapsing the user into a pile of, well, meat.

Marlowe reached into her boot and pulled a clove cigarette from a gold case. Double-checking her surroundings, she lit one and placed it between her lips. there was only a moment to inhale before she felt a blade press to her throat.

" Hello, little dove." a warm voice purred in her ear, "you're quite far from your nest."

Marlowe remained relaxed. He had been trailing her for the last hour, unaware that she had been leading to this spot.

" Looking for you," she replied calmly. He pulled the cigarette from her lips and dragged, breathing the smoke into her face.

"Is that so? well, dove, I'm all yours,''. he said, taking another drag from the cigarette and removing the blade from her throat. A soft scratch had marred her throat, but he was otherwise steady in his grip.

" you've been making waves." she replied.

"How else was I supposed to meet the infamous Marlowe?" he jested, giving her a wolf's grin as he circled her. "I've only been in this city a short time but my." he Chuckled. "How your reputation proceeds you. Say you hunt and kill with no feeling, like a ghost." He laughed.

"We can get this over fairly quickly if you cooperate. The prince has requested your presence." She hissed."Immediately."

Marlowe was never one to mince words, especially when the prince sent her hunting.

He was toying with her, feeling her out. Marlowe did not have time for this, she was getting a headache and just wanted to crawl into bed and forget the last few weeks. Days went into gathering info on Cadoc, pulling favors, expending resources, just for this moment. None of her connections mentioned he liked to talk!

Cadoc continued to circle her until he came to a stop in front of her; he leaned his arm on the brick wall above her head, the other braced on her hip.

"It's been fun, but I really should be going," he smiled. So, caught up in his chase he didn't realize when she slipped a dagger from the sheath at her wrist. She laid her other hand atop the one at her hip and leaned in.

"I have a better idea," she whispered into his ear. He chuckled in response.

It was time to end his fun; Marlowe twisted that wrist and slipped under his arm. she placed a kick to the back of his knees, sending him to the ground with a smack. He grunted with the effort to keep his arm angled to keep it in the socket.

" If This is the way you wanna play sweetheart, then all you had to do was say so," he remarked, still grunting in pain.

"mhm," Marlowe huffed, pulling a length of rope from her hip and binding his wrists together.

"Dove, I didn't agree to this." he chuckled again. "Didn't your mother tell you to ask permission first?"

She placed the dagger against his ribs,Hauling him to his feet. "C'mon, let's go for a walk."

******

Marlowe had never met a man who could talk so much about so little. The man babbled on about the weather and the menu at different taverns in the city, his breakfast, and why the rates for a good hooker had gone up. It made Marlowe's head pound.

"so, you know what I told him, dove? I told him exactly where he could put that coin".

" do you have the capacity to shut up, or is this your natural state?" she asked

wWell, my natural state is lounged on a velvet couch completely..."

"Enough"! she couldn't take it anymore, " if you say one more word ill shove my boot down your throat!"

"Now that's not very dignified dove, and I'd love to see the look on the prince's stuck-up face; not that you can see much of his face". His blue eyes glinted above his smirk "have you ever actually seen the princes face dove? "

Marlowe growled before spinning him around to face her.

"I know what you're doing."

" what do you mean?"

"you're trying to get under my skin."

".... is it working?" he had the nerve to look innocent! As if he wasn't intentionally being infuriating.

She growled and continued to tug him along. She regretted her decision to walk. She could've strapped him to a horse and made him run behind it. That would shut him up. Having to run through the city or be dragged. And Marlowe wouldn't walk the horse. Oh no, she'd gallop to the prince's front door.

" your smiling dove," he said

"what?"

" What devious things are running through that pretty head of yours?" he leaned closer, whispering into her ear.

" just imagining you," She swatted him away

" Scandalous, we've only just met. I don't recall rumors of your lover's little dove. Tell me, have you had many?"

" Stop talking, you flirt too much."

" I've never had any complaint, most claim im charming." he gave her a devilish smile

"Is that before or after you pay them off?"

" Bold assumptions made by the Princes pet" he smirked and gave her a once over with his eyes.

" being dragged by a horse."

he recoiled, " come again?"

"I imagine you being dragged through the city by a horse, steered by me, of course, all the way to the castle." he didn't talk much after that.they were only about a block away from the castle anyway. She could see king basilius still wrapped around the castle spires in his ether form. The air between them grew noticeably more tense as they walked closer and closer.

"it's just the king," she said sharply. He looked down at her. He had blue eyes, she noted, pretty for such a brute of a man.

" Aye, but I haven't dared get too close." He had a slight accent, obviously from the north, but it had faded slightly as if he'd been in Kavan much longer than he let on.

" Scared?' she asked, surprised to see he looked shaken.

" Yes." His answer took her a back. dropping the swagger for a moment. Rumors claimed Cadoc possessed dragon ether. Marlowe had written them off as hearsay, meant to scare those who worked under him into submission. Perhaps the rumor held more truth than she originally thought. As they neared the gates of the castle, she tried to think of a reply. Unable to find something suitable, she let them drift into an uneasy silence.She wasn't ashamed to say she savored the inevitably brief moments of quiet. She removed her glove from her free hand at the gates and held it out to the guard on watch. She could feel cadoc's stare as the guard drew a blade and dragged the tip across her palm. She placed her now bleeding palm to the grey stone at the center of the doors, letting it sit for a moment before removing it and putting her glove back on her hand. The stone at the center absorbed the blood left behind, it flowed through the markings. slowly the door creaked open. She pulled on Cadoc's ropes and stepped through the gate. The inner city was infinitely more likable than the slums. They used grey and white marble to construct everything, and even in the dark, the white seemed to pulse and glow. Beautifully designed homes and shops lined the streets before them. There were no hookers on the corners or trash in the gutters. Fountains of water bubbled nearby, fed by the human-made river that flowed on either side of the walls. The architecture was modeled after old elven cities, sweeping archways and trees, and overgrown hedges. It was beautiful to look at. An alarming change from the city outside. Marlowe had argued the Topic with Ryuu several times. Most of the people lived like criminals while the upper class lived like royalty. The unfairness is a stark contrast.

"If you wanted to take me home." cadoc said, the annoying swagger back in his voice. "you could've done it without the knife. "

"I thought I told you to hush, I've heard enough of what you have to say for a lifetime, and I can wholeheartedly say I can't wait to get rid of you."

"You haven't enjoyed our time together dove?" He gave her a simpering pout.

"you're a piece of shit."

"Always a joy speaking with you lil one." Marlowe was fed up and couldn't take any more of his meaningless chatter. She spun and pulled the rope to her and kneed him in the stomach. Pulling a handkerchief from a pocket in her leathers, she stuffed the fabric into his mouth. She turned on her heel and continued to walk, a sway in her hips and a satisfied grin on her face. He stumbled along behind her, arms tucked into his abdomen and glared openly at her.