With a flourish, the blonde scrawled the ink-laden quill across the thick line at the bottom of the unrolled parchment in front of her. Her signature was comprised of elaborate loops, ‘Serafina Volkov’ having been written with elegance. ”Is that the last spot, then?” she asked the man standing next to her, who quickly pulled the parchment away, blowing on the ink in order to dry it more quickly before rolling the scroll up and putting it away in the leather satchel he carried on his shoulder.

”That will be more than sufficient, Miss Volkov,” he said, his eyes darting around in a rather concerned manner. It was clear that the real estate broker she had been dealing with did not spend much time in Vilpamolan, and he was not overly comfortable in their current location. ”Congratulations, you are now the owner of this… fine establishment,” he said, pausing before speaking the last two words as though he was not able to determine what exactly it was that he wanted to say. He handed her a set of keys, and turned on his heels, leaving in quite a hurry.

Serafina swiped the keys off the counter, holding them in her hand and fixing her gaze on them for a moment. She turned, facing the open space in front of her. The establishment in question that she had just purchased was comprised of a rather spacious tavern, with twelve rooms above it. The previous owner had rented the rooms out much in the fashion of an inn – but the place had gotten rather run down in the owner’s old age. Serafina saw that as her chance – now that she was no longer spending much time with Nemesis and Celeste, particularly since Nemesis had ascended, and Xerxez spent his time off doing who only knew what – she hadn’t seen him in weeks - she found herself with a bit of free time, and her entrepreneurial spirit had gotten the better of her.

Now, she thought to herself. I’ve got a lot of work to do…


Serafina’s eyes snapped open, and she looked up at the ceiling above her. The candles in the chandelier had burned out long ago, and the only light cast into the room was a small sliver of moonlight let in between the curtains. She had been dreaming, dreaming of the day nearly four months ago when she had purchased what was now her rather successful business venture. Much had changed with the establishment since she had taken owner ship. The tavern was completely refurbished, decorated in red velvet and black marble, a bit fancier than most establishments in the pirate settlement. Food was served along with drink from all over Revaliir. The twelve rooms had now been changed into eleven, with her having had the two largest at the end of the hall be converted into one large, master suite – her master suite, to be exact. The remaining ten rooms were available for rent, of course, but not in the typical sense of an inn. They also came with your choice of companionship, for a hefty fee, of course.

The success of the new business venture that Serafina was running, however, had been irrelevant as of late. She hadn’t been feeling like herself. She hadn’t felt the urge to hunt in weeks, nor had she felt any of the hunger pangs that normally came with a lack of hunting. At first, she thought that it was due to the fact that Xerxez hadn’t been around – perhaps she was feeling the absence of her mate… but after all, was he even her mate anymore? He had pledged his allegiance to Nemesis and she wasn’t sure what that meant for the two of them.

After days, she had decided it was time to reach out, and she had sent word to Celeste, in hopes that her friend and sister would come to her aid and perhaps help her figure out what was happening.

My Dearest Celeste,

My heart is heavy with regret in so much that we have not spoken recently. I hope that you and your wonderful family are well. I wish that I could tell you I am writing this letter with the purest of intentions, wanting nothing but to open a line of communication with you once more – but sadly, I must not tell that lie.

Something is happening to me. At first, I thought perhaps I was letting myself fall into disrepair with Xerxez’s absence… but I have come to the conclusion that this is not the case. I have felt no desire to hunt. I have felt no desire to feed. I haven’t even felt the desire to bed anyone, and as well as you know me this is a bit worrisome.

I have noticed that my senses seem… sharpened – but with this sharpness has come headsplitting pains. And in my dreams, in my reams I see an entity, but I cannot see its face or establish its gender. I cannot hear it voice, but it speaks to me, and it tells me that my time has come, and that soon I will see the path on which I am destined to follow.

Celeste… am I dying? Is this the new incarnation of the Reaper? Upon Dalanesca’s passing, I feared that perhaps the next incarnation of Death would not be willing to turn a blind eye to my murderous sprees, for as we all well know, she was not one to allow unnecessary murder in most cases. Perhaps her successor has finally decided I am to pay my dues.

Please, Celeste. Come to Vilpamolan. Come to Deadly Decadence – it is my establishment. I will be there, each night, waiting for you. Come to me, and help me figure out what is happening to me. I will finally admit it, my friend – I am terrified. For the first time that I can recall… I am afraid.

With my love,
Serafina

The letter had gone out well over two weeks ago, sent in an expedited manner to her long ago friend. She left word with the staff managing the downstairs portion of her establishment, that if Celeste were to arrive, she was to be directed to Serafina’s room without a moment’s hesitation.

Celeste had yet to arrive, and Serafina was beginning to fear that perhaps she would not come at all.

With a sigh, she rolled over onto her side, facing away from the entrance to the room, a small tear forming in her eye as the whispers in the back of her mind started once more, praying to whatever entity would listen that someone would help her figure out what was happening.