If Darkness Falls, Order will Prevail [Hugo]

[Salen]

Searing 34th, 4622

Morality is a constant quest, it's our choices which make life even more complicated and the choices that are also not made by us; no matter what we do there is no good in humanity, only a deep disturbing hatred and self embitterment of life, I understand that humanity is a selfish concept and in order for us to be free, we must become the selfish and idealistic individuals who stand up for a single law or ideology in order to predict our survival; we've become the most animalistic and destructive beings on the mortal plane of Atharen, and eventually we will all destroy ourselves. Is that what the Entente hope for, that we live in a utopian paradise, filled with the essence of our loved ones? It seems like there is nothing but a fantasy here, but call me cynical, I wouldn't change my view on this subject.

Humanity is truly a selfish concept, but it appears that we are so consumed about helping one particular minority when the whole world is in a deeply fucked up state, I've seen only half of it, imagine what other people would go through. I could only think about it from the dreamscapes I have visited, but it appears that humanity is also the reason why the concept of morality fails and yet we are driven by the hope for change, in truth, what if there was no hope? Are we left stranded in an cold, dark and lonely world waiting for one fucking saviour to save us from the existence of ourselves? I'm done waiting, I've waited all my life; now's the time to take it into my own hands and set my own goals, I will be my own liberator.

If Darkness falls, Order will Prevail

Salen wrote down the words of thoughts, but he had no idea how he could communicate them; it seemed he was just waiting around on an rooftop, waiting for another contract. That's if there was, the sunset would go down as he stared into the moon, eclipsing itself deeply below the earth. It seemed like another time to reflect on all of his words and yet it seemed like a lonely place to be, only Andre joined him as Salen turned around for a moment "Is Tiberius ok?" He looked over at him as he appeared to be worried about his wellbeing.

There has only been one person that Salen has said 'I love you' to, that was Tiberius; they had been close from the day Salen was initiated into the old sect that he once frequented, doing jobs for nothing but an tyrannical mistress, their love left a cold lash upon Dahlia's emotions, claiming jealousy for she knew what she wanted, however it wasn't in his desire. Andre would continue at the thought only it appeared he would also tear up at that moment "Tiberius is dead..."

Tiberius is dead...

Those harrowing words continued to echo in his head as he froze in thought for a moment; his whole world seemed to collapse as he could feel an aching lump in his throat, like he couldn't say anything, he got up and looked at Andre as a tear left Salen's right eye "No... It... No no..." Salen began to breakdown as his anger got the best of him "I need a fucking drink..." Andre would continue onwards to follow him to what seemed like a serf's tavern. He would approach the bartender and slam his fist upon the table "Something strong..." He would watch as the other Corvo who followed him seemed to be flabbergasted by Salen's reaction to the news.

"Are you just gonna drink yourself to a stupor, what's the matter with you?"

"Fuck life, fuck the world."

"I refuse to serve him."

"I DEMAND YOU GET ME MY DRINK!"

"Salen! Don't do this!" Andre grabbed him and pulled him out, just until two bouncers of the establishment seemed to have thrown him out as he seemed to come in picking a fight "I'll go somewhere else, assholes..." He would walk by as Salen would notice him go down an alleyway, perhaps the wrong alleyway of sorts; so much that Andre decided not to follow him, but instead head to the safety of his sect. Salen took a walk, but then began to remember the things Tiberius would tell him.

Don't be reckless,

Don't go getting yourself into trouble.

These thoughts would continue to wrack him with pain as he sat there, only to realise that he had gotten himself into trouble; a group of serf thugs would approach him with axes, clubs, shivs, hammers and even work tools like shovels and pitchforks "Ya got alot of nerve coming down these parts." Salen's expression began to get worried as if he had stepped wrong territory.

Initially a fight starts to defend himself as a gang member flung at Salen with a hammer, for which he grabbed and gave him a punch in the solar plexus, leaving him slightly knocked out. He grabbed the hammer and threw it at the floor, watching it bounce upwards and hitting the opponent in the face before catching it. He receives a shiv blow to the back of the shoulder blade, causing him to scream out in agony, causing him to unleash his shaper and claw out the contents of his throat with one meaningful slash.

Salen hissed as he pulled the shiv out of his shoulder and began running, realising that he was also losing blood, at that time he had nowhere to turn, nowhere to run to.

He realised he was alone.

Truly alone.

[Hugo Abreo]

The last two weeks had been quite interesting for some people in the great city of Genteven. Much of the local low-level Entente was in uproar at the assassination of one Veir Damocha after a certain soiree. Despite few people mourning the man, he was still a Veir and a person of high status. The outright and open assassination of such an individual at a soiree caused distress and raised tensions amongst the higher social circles of the city. This was not due to the fact that Damocha was dead, but more due to the manner of murder. Death and assassination attempts were quite common, but usually, this was done in private or when few witnesses were available. To attack a Veir at a soiree, a gathering of such local power, was as much as a message as the murder itself. It messaged that any of them could be vulnerable at any time if they misbehaved like Damocha.

Much of the city's upper class had been occupied by the murder and its effect, but for one Hugo Abreo, his focus was more on the probable assassin of Damocha. During the soiree two weeks earlier he had met one individual who went by the name of Salen. An enigmatic traveller (probably from the South) who had caused a scene upon his arrival and had for some reason slipped a copy of Damocha's assassination contract into Hugo's pocket. Hugo did not know why it was done, perhaps it was as a threat, but he had to act with subtlety. Since that fateful night, Hugo has with the help of his Branded ability of Huntersight narrowed down the general area where Salen was. But after confirming the general area on the first day Hugo had left the investigation into Salen into more capable hands. Specifically in the hands of a seasoned Valran by the name of Bertrand LaRue. He was chasing after Salen because he had several useful skills which helped with this specific investigation. Meanwhile, Hugo lacked any of these investigative skills and he stood out way too much. As such through the last two weeks, Bertrand had gone to the general area where Hugo had tracked Salen and taken the occasional job here and there. Doing the occasional bit of espionage and other types of information-gathering. He didn't gain a lot of money through this, but it was enough to be in the general area of this 'Salen' and create a profile.

Bertrand had for these two weeks only seen Salen a handful of times. But he had gathered where this Salen drank and had lodgings, which people he talked with etc. It was slow and not a lot of information was gathered, but he managed to evade notice by acting as one of the low-level shakers in this area. This was why after one particular day of doing some shady jobs Bertrand was at a small and dirty tavern when his target came in. This 'Salen' looked very distraught and was aggressively looking for any alcohol to perhaps drown his sorrows. Realizing that in this bad emotional state opportunities might soon arise, Bertrand went outside 'for a quick piss' but instead paid a low-level courier he knew to send a message to Hugo who was still working at the warehouse. After this quick interaction, Bertrand went back to the tavern, continuing by talking to one of the patrons but keeping an eye on the target. Admittedly that was not quite hard to do, nor was it hard to do inconspicuously. This was mainly due to the fact that the target was making quite a ruckus. Seeming extremely distraught and resorting to anger as an outlet for his emotions. Which resulted in the target quickly being removed from the tavern.

Consumed by his emotions, the target seemed to be far less wary and receptive. Something which might perhaps lead Bertrand to find their hideout. Something which he had not been able to do until now. So shortly after the target had left Bertrand excused himself at the tavern saying. "Well I have to go, still got some work to do." Thus with a slow and confident strut the hawk-faced man left the tavern and went through the low-level streets of Genteven. Then he saw an unusual sight, the target was being confronted by a group of 5 people and...... oh dear now he was fighting them.

Bertrand's mind quickly went to what he should do at this moment. His objective had been to learn more about these individuals and discover who their masters or associates were. There had been no directions about whether he should save them. He knew the young Abrero might arrive soon to help him and convey his intent, but that was not fast enough. Especially as the fight had now commenced and in a matter of seconds 3 thugs were down. But the target seemed to be bleeding and wounded himself, weak and exposed to the two remaining thugs. With a small frown of determination, Bertrand then went forward.

He didn't use any of his magical abilities, he didn't need to at the moment and often he found them to be a crutch if too much relied upon. Thus Bertrand walked forward with a confident thread, making little sounds but getting right up to the last two remaining thugs. Both armed and nervous, highly agitated, but focused on Salen. They were not ideal targets for some stealthy attacks, but good targets nonetheless. As such Bertrand drew a dagger from a well-hidden sheath in his coat. Then just a few inches from the nearest target Bertrand's left hand shot out to mute the target's initial death and to keep his head in place. This was quickly followed by the knife held in Bertrand's right hand, it shot forward, passing beyond the thug's throat and then swiftly being pulled back. Slicing several major arteries and preventing oxygen from flowing to the brain.

The final thug turned around to look at Bertrand as he saw a quick flash of movement, but was not quick enough to respond to Bertrand quickly closing the distance and having his knife pierce through the left side (just under the ribs) of the final thug. The thug did however manage to still react after this and swung with a club in his hand at Bertrand, something which Bertrand managed to avoid by jumping backwards. This created space between him and the thug, which gave Bertrand enough time to resheath his knife and draw a shortsword instead, giving the Valran a longer reach. The final thug shouted. "The fuck are you d-" But this distraction gave Bertrand enough time to act. He went towards the thug who swung at Bertrand with his club. But this strike was blocked by Bertrand's shortsword and was immediately followed by a parry which slit between two of the thug's ribs. The last person let out a gasp as he fell to his knees and his shirt began to stain even redder. Rather than letting the person die slowly or call out for aid, Bertrand kicked the chest of the now incapacitated thug and then had his shortsword pierce the ribs where the individual's heart should be.

After one final quick look around the area, seeing if anyone else had noticed or if any new threats had appeared, Bertrand's cold eyes looked upon Salen.

[Salen]

He watched as the unknown man would save him from the thugs that attacked him, but Salen was badly injured; he noticed the cold stare of his eyes upon him, as if the other male would attack him. Salen's flight or fight response began to question himself as he couldn't apprehend who was friend or foe at this point. At this point, people had their agendas; he had a reason to save Salen, but what for? He couldn't tell as his paranoia began to spiral out of control once again, so much that he proceeded to try an cast one final spell, a cage conjured from the very phantasm of his memories and then projected onto reality using Phantasmal Reckoning, giving him time to escape.

He hissed in pain as he held his wound, only the other possibility could be there within.

Mageblight.

"Shit" He exclaimed, knowing that this was the very moment that he had made a mistake; he was losing blood as well as incredibly weak and sick. It would appear he would need medical attention as soon as possible, but he had nowhere to go. He was lost and truely alone for his anxiety got the better of him. He ran as fast as he could, before tripping over and landing himself amongst the slummy streets at night. He had lost Andre due to his rage for the situation now began to reflect his pain of loss. The pain of losing someone once again after only being back together for a almost a season. The heartbreaking factor that would begin to sink deeply into Salen's mind.

He excelled, taking the last remaining strength he could have and tried to find safety and shelter. He had to get back to the hideout. The cage trapping Bertrand also began to fade due to Salen's weakness as he looked back; his eyes widen in fear as he desperately scurried away until he ended up at an dead end of an alleyway. There was no sign of an emblem, meaning he was trapped. The mageblight sickness slowly stirring away at him as he began to vomit. The loss of blood followed by his current condition lead his vision to become blurry; he couldn't tell if those two figures were thugs or concerned people but it would appear he was done.

Was he done?

His eyes closed as he succumb to his body's weakness, knowing it was an inevitable concept, perhaps he would join Tiberius in the realm of the dead. Right now, that seemed like the only thing he could think about, perhaps it gave him some solace, knowing that his life may be in the hands of others, like it always has been. From the cruel childhood to now it would appear he would find peace if he were dead.

An Hour Later

Salen woke up in an foreign place; it appeared he was placed amongst a bed of some kind. He was confused... Was he saved? If so, by whom? He looked around as he appeared to be in some kind of decadently decorated cottage of some sort. Was his rescuer some kind of Valran or lesser noble of the Daravinic Entente? He began to get suspicious and yet his stamina would be far more weaker, due to the mageblight sickness he was suffering; a sign that he was in early stage mageblight. He tried to proceed to get out of bed, in hopes of finding a way out of the place, but it appeared that he was weak, frail. He tried to stand up, but could bearly do so.

He fell to the floor with a thud, making a sound that could be heard from below "Shit..." He said, already feeling as if he had to beholden to whomever captured him. If he was captured, why wasn't he shackled and tortured like most Entente? Why was he simply left without any bindings or securements to ensure he didn't escape? What did they want? Salen wasn't keen to find out, knowing that his lack of trust for the Entente proved a huge disadvantage.

[Hugo Abreo]

Though Bernard knew that the individual that he was tracking was highly valuable, he had not expected to find him in some kind of cage seconds after finishing off the last of the two figures that were attacking the target. One second he had been staring at the target, who was appearing to grow quite weak, the other his vision was obscured by a set of bars. His eyes went wide and quickly darted around him, seeing if he was surrounded on all sides. Something which certainly seemed to be the case. Bernard quickly cursed and his eyes tried to focus back on where the target had last lain. But it appeared that in his momentary confusion the target had disappeared. Frustrated Bertrand felt at the bars and felt cold, unmovable iron. He really had no way to get out of here, at least at this moment. As such Bernard gritted his teeth, even as the target went further away, he remained stuck. Even so............. if Bernard focused his eyes on the bars surrounding him he could see that their structure was growing more loose. Seeming to fade back into the air from whence it came. Once more confused Bernard blinked, only to hear a small chuckle behind him. "Well, isn't this a surprise."

Alarmed, Bernard turned around only to see that a dark-skinned figure had entered the alley, a smug smile on his face and a set of relatively simple clothes but of fine make. Hugo Abreo his.......... lord.... had just appeared, walking as if he had nothing in the world to worry about. Despite that appearance though, Bertrand could see how Hugo was rapidly breathing and how there were beads of sweat on his face. Hugo must have run over here as soon as he got the news, something that was quite unusual for the young Veir. Then moments after the Abreo had appeared the iron bars seemed to fade from existence. Bernard raised his eyebrows in surprised and asked Hugo. "Did you just do that ?" Instead of the affirmative response that Bertrand was expecting Hugo shook his head. "No I did not, but it sure is convenient. As is the trail that is set here."

The perspective shifts from Bernard's to that of Hugo Abreo. For the practitioner of Branded magic could see in dimension that his Valran subordinate could not. Specifically, with Etheric energy suffusing his eyes, Hugo could see the traces of ether in his surroundings. Seeing Ether was like seeing an extra colour, a bright light that suffused his surroundings. It was present everywhere but it was primarily present around individuals such as Bertrand. But more relevant to this particular case was the light trail of Etheric essence that was leading from the site of several recent murders. As he finally saw the corpses Hugo raised an eyebrow in surprise and slight displeasure. "Can you perhaps quickly summarize what happened here before we go after Salen." To which Bertrand nodded. "Yes, but it might be best if we walk and talk." Hugo reluctantly gave a look of agreement and began following the recent trail of Ether that had been left. "So I was drinking at the tavern when the target came in. He was visually distraught and sought to drink his sorrows away presumably. Instead of fully being able to do that he was kicked out of the bar. Afterwards, he got into an alley which was the residence of a local gang, one who wanted him the fuck out of there and subsequently attacked him. He was wounded and in order to save him I had to kill several of the gang members."

After this short recap Hugo merely gave a small nod, before increasing the speech with which he walked. As he did so he looked around at every corner to see if anyone would try to ambush them. Something which did not happen and after a minute or so of fast-walking Hugo traced the raw Ether to an alley with a deadend. There he could see Salen, slumped on the floor and was he.......... falling unconscious? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Hugo rushed up to the body of Salen, checking to see if he was breathing. Something which was luckily still occurring. Hugo for one moment lost control, looking towards Bertrand. "Do you know how to treat someone's wounds ?" A wide-eyed Bertrandm stood still for a moment, before responding. "No ! I kill people, I don't heal them." "Well at least like put some clean cloth or something like that close to the wound to soak the blood. I don't fucking know, let's just grab him and get him back home. Lionet has some medical knowledge, she should know what to do. " Bernard nodded, then ran off in the opposite direction out of the alleyway.

Hugo looked flabbergasted, before Bernard returned with a handcart. "I loaned this from a drinking buddy. At least this way it is somewhat less noticeable and we can move him faster." A still surprised Hugo simply nodded and then put Salen into the cart. Though the assassin's feet stuck out of the end of the cart.

About 10 minutes later Lionet was cooking dinner. She tucked away a lock of her brown hair, contrasting with her lightly tanned skin when she heard the door being thrown open behind her. As she looked around she could see a flustered Hugo Abreo and Bertrand entering the cottage. She was about to say something before her lord responded. "This person is wounded. He needs medical attention." Lionet blinked, her mouth opened, then closed. After the short moment of confusion a determined nod came from the 30'ish woman. "I will get to it immediately my lord." The woman then quickly sprang to action, shouting to Hugo and Bertrand. "Alright get him on the bed, Bernard you remain on hand. Hold this person down if you have to." After Salen was placed on the bed Lionet quickly began stripping away Salen's upper body clothes, seeing that the main wound was coming from the shoulder. She then shouted to Bertrand. "Alright Bertrand put your hands here and press hard. We need to keep pressure on the wound so it doesn't bleed out." Hugo then watched from a distance, fascinated as Lionet rapidly went to work. Seeing how she disinfected Salen's wounds, before with a deft hand stitching the wound itself closed. He only let out a sigh of relief when he saw that after 30 minutes of work Lionet took a moment to rest. "Alright this person should be stable now. It will have to take some time until the wound heals naturally but for the time being he shouldn't die to blood loss." Hugo nodded and said. "Thank you Lionet, I don't know what we would do without you." A comment which the middle-aged woman shrugged away. "I'm sure you would do fine."

After Salen awakens.

Moments after Salen awakened and got out of bed he would be faced with a kind face. He could see a woman who looked to be in her 30's. She had brown hair and lightly tanned skins, her hands were tough from a life of hard work but she had the eyes of a woman who laughed and smiled a lot. "Calm down, you should try to rest. You got heavily wounded earlier and you seem to be suffering from some manner of mageblight. You should take the time to rest, I should inform the young lord that you are awake. Or rather Bertrand should do that. BERTRAND, GET THE YOUNG LORD. TELL HIM THE PATIENT IS AWAKE !!!" As Lionet said that Salen could see how the killer from earlier, the one who had perhaps saved him, scowled before doing as the woman had said. "Sure I'll do it, as long as you keep an eye on the stranger."

[Salen]

The shivers and the post-traumatic stress would kick in; he realised he was in an Entente's house, something which he reviled in. His breathing became much heavier, like he was unable to cope. He'd hold himself against the banister of the bed as he took a clearer view of what he awoke in. Already he was panicking a bit, but he remained calm towards the lady who tended to him. Eventually, the anxiety would cause him to vomit up ethereal bile on the floor, before he slumped weakly against the bed, trying to hold himself up, but he had very little strength.

"Why am I here... I nee-ed to get... Get out of here..." His breathing would continue to endure high levels of anxiety within him. His eyes would widen as she would call out loud with the shrill loudness of her voice. Salen winced as it almost gave him a fright. He was pretty jumpy compared to the last soiree he visited. It was obvious that events of turmoil and bad news were circling around his head. To hear the death of one's loved one was something deeply traumatising for Salen, especially when they had just reconvened. He wanted to what happened to Tiberius, weither he was playing hide and seek again or weither he was actually dead. It was hard for him to believe people, especially he was backstabbed by many people in his lifetime.

An essence of betrayal was always prominent. He always expected the worst from people, but hoped for the best. He composed himself for a moment as he took a deep breath, pulling himself up from his fall and slumping back onto his bed. He noticed the wound had been stitched up, preventing the blood loss that he had suffered from the stab wound. However, it wasn't enough to expect Salen's gratitude; he seemed hostile as his glare would become more predator like, as if he was surrounded by bigger predators. After all, games with the Entente were simply tit for tat, especially in the Age of Industry.

"Why am I here, what happened? Mostly, who are you? I don't understand, but whatever reason I have been brought here, you better not be playing your silly little games..." He seemed angry and distressed by the situation, an antithesis to what he was like during the soiree that day, knowing that his feathers were recently ruffled by the recent turn of events, the anger in his eyes was death wrenching, it was as if there was a tendency of violent aggression in them once again.

It was enough to strike fear into Lionet's heart once again, knowing that the male was extremely unpredictable. Little did they know, he was also manipulative and gifted with a blight that turns desire into an tool of existence, even if they are brimming lowly.

[Hugo Abreo]

Lionet's eyes went wide as she saw how the bile that flowed from Salen's mouth was ethereal in nature, which explained why the patient was so weak. It was not merely the stab wound which had brought them to this state, but the already present mageblight combined with the additional stress of being stabbed meant that the body had gone unconscious. The second thought that went through her head was that she would have to clean all that bile up. Yuck. After waking up and slumping against the bedside it was made very clear that the patient was also very eager to get out of here. Perhaps he had been in danger when the young master had brought him here? Maybe he needed to help a friend who was involved in the situation that got him stabbed in the first place. Regardless, she would have to make sure that he did not harm himself.

Lionet shivered a little in fear as she saw the hostility in her patient's eyes. He had been saved, yet he stared at her with hostility akin to an angry animal's. "I don't know the exact circumstances but the young master brought you here after you got wounded. From what I heard Bertrand helped save you from a pair of assailants. As for whom I am, I am Lionet, a servant of my young lord Hugo Abreo. I merely helped clean your wound and put in some stitches to prevent you from bleeding out. In any case, the young master should be here soon and he should explain more. For now, you should stay in bed and stay calm, if you keep moving like that the wound might open." Lionet then left to clean and warm several towels so they could be placed on the wound to help clean up any blood that went through the stitching and keep the flesh clean. As Salen's eyes were on Lionet he could see the residence more clearly.

At the moment he seemed to be in a relatively modest house in terms of size. About the same size as the cottage in which a peasant's family might live, but with far fewer residents as he could only see three beds (including his own). In the style of a peasant's house, all the amenities of the house were in one single room. With the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom all combined into one. What also stood out was the fact that whilst most of the furniture seemed quite well-made with many decorative elements, the structure itself was less elegant. A stone floor was recently installed but the ceiling and walls were clean but very simple and austere. Something which caused a somewhat confusing contrast. At the moment Lionet was in what seemed to serve as the kitchen/laundry area.

As Salen finished his cursory examination a familiar figure entered the room. The annoying Veir who had been at the soiree several weeks earlier. Though this time the clothing the noble wore was fare simpler in nature, akin to what a foreman or store manager would wear. Though made of finer material and with a better cut. The young Veir entered with a small smile but if Salen was able to look closely he could see hints of consternation and uncertainty in the man's face. Hugo would initially stare at Salen, inspecting him closely before heading towards the so-called Lionet and talking with her in some quiet tones. After a quick exchange of about 10 seconds, Hugo looked up again and with a frown his gaze returned to Salen.

Hugo then grabbed one of the few chairs in the house and placed it near Salen's bedside so that he was on a more even level before he began to talk. "From what I just heard you are confused about where you are and why you are here. So before we discuss things further I will tell you how you got here."

A pair of determined eyes then looked at Salen. "It started after the soiree, where Veir Damocha was killed. During this encounter, you placed this contract in one of my pockets." Hugo then opened a clenched hand and showed the document in question. "I presume it was a threat or some way to frame it, but I was not sure. And I do not like being uncertain. As such, I tracked your rough location and had you observed from a distance by the Valran in my service." Hugo then cast a quick glance at a somewhat concealed corner, here Salen could see Bertrand. Who had after fetching Hugo stood still in a corner, said nothing and merely looked at him. "His goal was to find your hideout and to discover if you were planning anything in regard to my personal well-being. Whether you intended to blackmail, kill or frame me for some act. During that attempt, you were observed being kicked out of a tavern and then being attacked by several gangsters. Deciding that the information of what you were planning was more valuable than having you die, Bertrand killed your assailants and you were eventually tracked down. Seeing that you were wounded you were brought here and treated for your wounds. "

After this explanation, Hugo leaned back into the chair and folded his hands behind his back. "These are the events which led you here. Now you are here and I do not know what to do with you. So for the few hours that you were unconscious you were brought here whilst I consider my options."

[Salen]

There was no remorse in his eyes when he revealed the killing of Sylve Damocha, not even an ounce of it, as well as forming a conclusion of other events. Salen would listen and pick out the pieces in his story "My hideout? What do you mean?" He said with calculating demeanor as his eyes shifted, before snickering for a moment "I don't know what you're talking about." He said denied all knowledge of everything wondering if he would throw all the evidence he could at Hugo, until he realised they were actually following him. He frowned like he had been caught, trying to figure a way out of the situation he was in. He was in deep trouble and realised that the assassination attempt could have been done better and not at a wreckless angle.

He knew seduction wasn't always the working foundations of an easy kill, but if they were easily tempted and persuaded into debaucherous acts then it would be a defining factor in accomplishing something. However, Sylve was cautious, he had a reason to believe he was going to be killed and to think that one naive person would not do it so publicly was a wrong judgement "So is that it? You have just been stalking me because you are paranoid in some form, hmm? If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it then and there believe me, I show no mercy..." His eyes laid cold upon Hugo for a moment, as if he was staring into nothingness; it has if Salen had been devoid of any emotion.

He started coughing and choking as his emotional state appeared to have aggravated his mageblight sickness, before composing himself again.

"You saved my life? Well you must be so infatuated with me already, perhaps I should give you a medal, whatever you decide to do with me... I almost feel like the cat that got the canary in a way..." He laughed as if he was about to have a breakdown yet again, a similar breakdown when Moop he had confronted Moop about the map, only it had ended in paranoia and turmoil "So, what are you going to do with me, I'm sure men of your stature have entertainment with folks like me, such as 'pin the leash on the slave...'" He said in a mocking tone.

He began to become increasingly volatile, and yet there was nothing Salen could do. He was weak from mageblight and it appeared they had the upper hand "Alright, I'll admit it. I didn't want to be caught, so I slipped the evidence in your pocket. It appeared you were a rather convenient source as usual. I've seen many Entente players pin evidence on other's to retract blame, a common trick to evade discovery of intent if you will... But if you were a friend of that man, I'd take a leaf out of his book, he was a vile rapist... Even murdered women of the Entente, so if you ask me about it, I did you all a favor, all I did was scare people into line... That's was what was needed, an event to put people in their places." He snickered.

"You don't agree with my methods? Tough... It's the way I am and I believe to be feared is to be worshipped so maybe take some advice from my book, dear friend or... acquaintance rather..."

[Hugo Abreo]

Almost as expected of this 'Salen', continued to act quite oddly. The man was weak, suffering from exhaustion, severe wounds and mageblight and yet he tried not to show any weakness. The first sign of that was after being accused of killing Sylve Damocha Salen did not deny the fact. Instead, Salen tried to regain the initiative in the conversation by accusing Hugo of being paranoid and by claiming that if he had wanted Hugo's death during that ball he would have been killed then and there. Something about which Hugo mused with a wistful smile. "Perhaps you could have killed me, but your kill of Damocha relied on the element of surprise. Something you did not have. Furthermore, you could have potentially had me killed at a later date for witnessing the event. Two Veir dying at the same event is suspicious, but if they die on two separate occasions it will seem far less remarkable. I like to believe that what you call Paranoia is just the right amount of caution." This monologue proved little as both Salen and Hugo did not have any examples to prove their word. Hugo then raised an eyebrow as he saw Salen's cold stare, though that raised eyebrow quickly morphed into a frown as he saw Salen suffer from the effects of mageblight.

Salen then mocked Hugo for helping him. Asking what Hugo was planning to do with him and joking that Hugo was going to apply casual cruelty on Salen. It was an interesting form of a defence mechanism. It seemed that Salen had realized that he was in a far inferior position to Hugo at this moment. Yet rather than be submissive Salen used humour and wit to try and feel like he was in more control. As if Hugo inflicting such casual cruelties would only confirm the point he had and would mean playing Salen's game in some way. "Some men and women I know would have their form of entertainment with you. But that is not my style so to say. Acting that way with a slave is a liability, all it takes is one moment of lost focus for the Slave to take revenge on their master. " Hugo's gaze went to one of the fingers on his right hand before his gaze returned to Salen. "I do not tolerate liabilities."

After the mocking tone it seemed that Salen almost gave up in a certain sense, he certainly kept his mocking tone but he also admitted to his actions. Explaining that he had indeed put the evidence into Hugo's pocket in a way to detract attention to himself. The Stranger subsequently began to criticize Sylve Damocha. Saying that the former Veir had been a rapist and that Salen had done a favour to him and the other Entente by removing Sylve Damocha from the board. Then came the interesting bit. It might just have been a throwaway line, but it showed the first direct bit about the stranger's philosophy. Something which almost seemed to contrast with the satirical tone that was often taken by this strange man. He said that to be feared was to be worshipped, which was an interesting look at fear. Which was a very broad topic.

"Fear is a funny thing. If you create too little fear it will transform into anger. If there is too much fear it might cripple a person or make them resort to extreme measures. Whilst even the best-applied forms of fear are not enough to create a satisfactory result by themselves. To be feared is to be worshipped you say ? I would disagree. To be feared is to be envied. For it means that one has the power and intent to use it. To be envied means to be both adored and hated whilst to be worshipped is supposed to be unrequited adoration."

"I can't say that the fate of Damocha disturbs me. He is one that has crossed the boundaries of what is proper for a Veir. As for your methods, I do not disagree with its occasional use but it is a tool with little emotion tied to it. Sure Damocha is dead but one might argue that he did not truly suffer the consequences of his death. He died a relatively quick death, whilst he was never faced with the truth of his actions."

Hugo then inspected Salen more closely, before saying. "Mhm, you seem to be quite weak. You need your rest, we can perhaps discuss these subjects at a later date. Although, there is one final matter for now," Hugo pulled out an object from one of his pockets, getting closer to Salen and putting it on his bed. It was a shining locket. "This seems to be yours, I figured it would be best to return it to you."

[Salen]

Salen didn't respond but listened to the actions, instead he appeared to turn his head in thought, not facing Hugo for a moment as he was rather grief stricken by events that transpired. Firstly, was it true? Were their remains? Was it all to gain control of him? Andre's concern from before outlined the truth of the events, knowing that there was a genuine outlook that he was scared. If it was true, Tiberius must have been a devoted friend of the Corvo brothers who were back at the Underworld, using the coven hideout as a way to protect themselves from persecution of society.

He turned around as Hugo offered him the locket at that moment he glared at him, before snatching it from his grasp with such force "So you'd steal from your captives like they always do... That's the lowest of the low..." He appeared to be even annoyed, even bitter, grief stricken and angry. The emotions of resentment were lingering in as he was beginning to feel a dark cold feeling within his soul; although he was too weak to fight, too weak to do anything about it. However, it appeared that this Entente man didn't lay a finger on him, He was curious on why the man hadn't tortured him in the first place.

Why didn't he?

Did he have an agenda? If so, what was the agenda that he was granted and if so could it benefit his goal "I know you want something, you don't usually leave your subjects alive like this, especially when they are 'what you would call' dangerous and uncouth in society. So tell me straight, what do you want?" He asked curiously. He could feel his body's weakness wrenching at him as he forced himself to lie down, hissing from the ether poisoning his soul within.

"In fact... Just leave me be" His voice appeared to be gravelly from his weakness, but there was a sound of aggression, sorrow and anger. He was too weak to shout, to scream at the men in front of him.

If he had enough power, he could turn the men against each other in a second through the use of Remnant, but he didn't want to risk anymore damage to his soul, following the rather intense magical workout he had this season, especially upon achieving the assassinations of Elijah Ameno and Sylve Damocha, two notable criminals killed by the hand of a seducer.

The Dark Seducer.

[Hugo Abreo]

Despite his weakness, it appeared that Salen still attached a lot of value to this locket, considering the speed with which it was grabbed from Hugo's hands. One moment it was in his grasp and within another second it was in that of Salen, who seemed to be quite vexed by Hugo having taken the item out of his jacket pocket. Seeing the hostility Hugo answered plainly, his expression holding little to be discerned. "Your, now somewhat ruined, jacket needed to be removed so we could treat your wounds. Just to be sure that there were no weapons in there that could hurt us we checked it and found this object." Hugo then continued to watch Salen, seeing a great variety of emotions going through the stranger's eyes, though Hugo could not identify what all of those emotions were. So instead of inquiring further, he kept watching whilst Salen seemed to process some of the emotions rapidly going through him. Though he was surprised when Salen plainly asked about his intentions. Then despite his upbringing, Hugo could not help but feel agitation as Salen accused him of being murderous and with ill-intent just for being of more noble birth.

"Leave my subjects alive..... dangerous and uncouth..... You don't even know me. We have only met on one previous occasion and though I threatened to do so, I never harmed you. You paint me as a violent perpetrator whilst portraying yourself as the victim. Is that just?" After this outburst, Hugo's cheeks flushed as he tried to regain his composure. "Like I said earlier, at first I wanted to know if you were going to harm me. Now what I want from you I do not know, perhaps a favour in the future? In any case, it is not decided yet. This was as sudden for me as it was for you." Hugo's gaze then sharpened as it seemed to give up on the conversation. A cloud of strong emotions darkens the tone of his voice. Hugo did not know what Salen thought, but he might perhaps find out in time. For now, it would probably be for the best if Salen got a moment to regain his bearings. "In any case I should get back to work, I have to make sure that everything is still in order at the warehouse. You can join me in the task Bertrand, I'll probably need your help to get things back on schedule." Hugo and Bertrand left the house, leaving Salen to the care of Lionet.

As Bertrand and Hugo exited the cottage and headed towards the warehouse, Bertrand spoke up. "You should kill him. He is a risk and he is too angry and willful to be used. At the moment he is a liability to you and will continue to do so." Hugo sent a frustrated frown at Bertrand who shrugged. "You don't have to do the act yourself if it is below your dignity, I'll just slit his throat when sle-" "Bertrand, stop."

"I can not kill a man in cold blood for the mere crime of being an inconvenience. Especially not if they are vulnerable like this. Furthermore, Salen could still be of use in the future. He could be a connection to the underworld in case we need any specific work." After this statement, Bertrand sent Hugo a hard stare of his own. "That is just an excuse." "I know." In awkward silence, the Veir and the Valran would continue their walk. Finishing the day's work.

The coming weeks Salen would be tended to by Lionet, perhaps helping with minor household tasks. He would not see/talk with Hugo and Bertrand that often. As both of them were already gone for work when he woke up late in the mornings. He would talk mostly with Hugo and Bertrand during dinner. With Hugo trying to be amicable whilst Bertrand tried to be stoically silent around Salen whenever possible. Often sending glares at him when Hugo could not see it.

After Dinner several spots in the house would be kept illuminated by several rush lights scattered around the cottage. With Hugo working on some kind of bookkeeping whilst Lionet and Bertrand worked together on minor stuff like cleaning equipment or crafting household appliances like wooden spoons or bowls. Stuff to maybe sell on the market as well. Which is how things would continue as Salen began to recover. That was until external factors made themselves known.