Aelus stood on the outskirts of Syvatlo. The wind tossed his ragged clothes and chilled his skin. For some unknown reason Aelus saw the cold as another curse laid upon him by his captivity under Peschek. His newfound freedom proved otherwise, the chains were gone, the slavers dead, but the cold remained, savage and wrathful. He flexed his stiff fingers and wandered into town. It was no different than most of the other towns he had terrorized during his time in the Duchy. Aelus swept through the town, liberating the coin purses of nearly a dozen of the town's more affluent citizens. He stopped in at a tailor with his new found currency, buying a padded leather vest, brown cloak, leather gloves, soft soled boots and a pair of pants with more pockets than most commoners could count. After his business was finished Aelus made quick use of a back room to change, leaving his old clothes on the floor.<br/><br/>He needed his mask. There was something fundamentally wrong about his existence without his face. He bought a small plank of wood and a cloth hood. Aelus made his way to a back alley and sat on a derelict crate, drawing the guard's dagger and carving away at the wood. He hacked away at the plank for hours, rounding the edges and working in the finer details of the face. When it was finally finished he smiled, it lacked color, but that could be taken care of later. The fanged face of Anu Shirek, the Andyec tribe's god of thieves, shadows and trickery. The Laughing God, The Snake, The Skinwalker. This mask's visage was not nearly so glorious as its predecessor, but concessions had to be made, he could have a better mask crafted when time and resources were not so limited. Aelus hooked the mask to the hood and pulled it over his head, breathing in deep and opening his eyes. He had finally been resurrected.<br/><br/>His next destination was the slave market. The calls of the auctioneers could be heard hundreds of yards away, finding the center of activity was as simple as moving towards the sound. He pushed through the crowd, hood up and mask on. Patiently he waited as the options were paraded before the crowd. He had enough coin left to purchase one of the cheaper slaves, but choosing the right one was imperative. A desert nomad, a mountain tribesman, lesser political prisoner, a terrified girl, and finally his choice. A young man was brought up to the stage, still a boy by most standards. The auctioneer introduced the boy.<br/><br/>"Here we are! From the Duchy itself, local boy taken into custody after an unfortunate run in with the city watch. He's since been broken of his poor habits and would serve as an excellent house servant, field hand or bed warmer if it suits your tastes."<br/><br/>Aelus walked to the edge of the stage and tossed a coin purse at the auctioneer's feet. He spoke in a grim tone, leaving the otherwise wordy salesmen at a loss for words.<br/><br/>"I'm taking this one."<br/><br/>The auctioneer chuckled.<br/><br/>"Proactive man, he's yours!"<br/><br/>He knelt down as the guards unchained the boy.<br/><br/>"Enjoy him."<br/><br/>Aelus glared at the man from behind his mask, ushering the auctioneer to back away and return to his business. The boy was brought around the stage and handed over to Aelus, who took the rope attached to the boys bonds, leading him away from the crowd. The slave waited until they were out of sight of the crowd, then attempted to tackle Aelus, who sidestepped and kicked the slave behind the knees. The boy stumbled and fell to the ground. He attempted to recover but found his face pressed into the mud by Aelus' boot. The Skinwalker spoke to the boy in a condescending, deadpan voice.<br/><br/>"I have no desire to harm you boy, but if you make another attempt to escape I'll show you just how cruel a god I am."<br/><br/>The boy spit into the dirt, his face still being pushed into the filth.<br/><br/>"Fuck you! No masked pisser's gonna hold me against my will."<br/><br/>Aelus smiled, removing his boot from the boy's face.<br/><br/>"I had a feeling about you boy."<br/><br/>The slave scrambled to his feet.<br/><br/>"How would you like to earn your freedom?"<br/><br/>The boy looked at Aelus suspiciously.<br/><br/>"What do you mean?"<br/><br/>"I mean, you answer a couple questions and I'll let you go. If you're especially helpful I'll even give you some coin before I set you on your way."<br/><br/>"I'm listening."<br/><br/>"The slave stalls, how many guards patrol them?"<br/><br/>Aelus spent the next few minutes extracting information from the boy, he had a good mind about him and remembered the interior of the stall clearly, like he had been planning his own escape. When the boy finished Aelus nodded and tossed him the last of his coins.<br/><br/>"There you go. You've earned it."<br/><br/>The boy caught the coins and looked up at Aelus.<br/><br/>"What are you planning?"<br/><br/>"I'm going to let everyone know that I'm not as dead as they'd hoped."<br/><br/>"You're breaking into the stall."<br/><br/>Aelus turned away.<br/><br/>"Let me come. I know people in there, I can help you."<br/><br/>"This is going to require precision and skill. Your incarceration proves that you lack both."<br/><br/>He began walking away, pausing at the mouth of the alley.<br/><br/>"If you're really interested in my work, meet me in the shadow of the temple at nightfall."<br/><br/>Then he disappeared around the corner, heading for the stalls. He took a moment to haul himself onto a low roof, climbing to a taller building in the towns closely packed field of shingled plains. He make a guess as to his directing from the vantage point and made his way towards the stall along the rooftops. It always amazed him, the tendency of people to look down, almost like looking up from the ground was as frightening as looking down from on high. It didn't take long for Aelus to reach the holding cells. He dropped down from the rooftops, landing behind one of the patrolling guards. The stall was relatively undefended, with half the stock out for sale and the general safety of the town the owner saw little reason to pay too many guards. Aelus followed along the guards path for a while, mimicking the man's motions and stride. He swept up an inch away from the man's ear.<br/><br/>"Hope you're single."<br/><br/>The man jumped and Aelus snapped his neck. Two more. He slid along the side of the building towards the front door, drawing his dagger. He peered around the corner, one guard at the door, leaning on an old pike. His armor was old and ragged, worn from years of use, likely before the man had even joined the guard. Not long before it'd have a new owner. The guard raised his free hand to rub his eyes, then Aelus swept up beside him and grabbed the man around the mouth, dragging him to the ground. The guard dropped his pike and began swinging at Aelus. The Skinwalker dodged the first hit, taking a second before sliding the dagger under the guard's chainmail hood. Aelus stood up and dodged into the door. The last guard was sitting in a rickety chair with his feet on a box, seemingly oblivious to the disturbance outside. Aelus lurked in the shadows, slinking towards the guard in the chair. The man grunted, sitting up to grab a bottle from the box. Aelus hurried behind the chair, waiting for the man to lean back again. The guard finished his drink and put his weight on the chair back, pushing it towards the assassin. Aelus reached out and snapped the man backwards, crashing him into the ground. He drew the guard's sword and plunged it into its owner's chest.<br/><br/>Aelus lifted the keys from the guard's belt and set to work unleashing the remaining prisoners. They congregated in the center of the spacious building, apparently confused about their next course of action. A few trickled out of the stall, unwilling to wait for the town watch to be alerted to the bodies outside. Aelus released the last of the slaves, then confronted the congregation.<br/><br/>"All of you are free. There are no strings attached, all I ask is that you escape, flee to the far edges of the country and listen. Listen for my name. I am Anu Shirek, The Skinwalker. Spread stories of what you saw here, let others know that I am alive, and I am not running. Any of you who desire to aid me in my efforts, meet me at the temple of the gods at nightfall."<br/><br/>He paused.<br/><br/>"Now would be a good time to run."<br/><br/>The formation broke and the slaves filtered out into the town, integrating into the citizenry. Aelus strode out of the stalls, picking the pockets of the newly corpsified guards and fading into the back alleys of Syvatlo. His recent exertion reminded him just how hungry he was after his time with Peschek. He scoured the multitude of signs that lined the streets. In the end it didn't prove to be a sign that led him to the tavern, but the foot traffic. People moved in and out of the building constantly. Aelus wandered in, drawing a couple odd glances. As he entered the tavern he caught a glimpse of the other freed slaves that battled Peschek. He took a seat and ordered a meal, observing the tail end of his acquaintances' conversation with a gruff soldier type.