Everett watches Sylvari create the warning poster. Simple and direct. Though expecting folks walking down a street to read anything and take it seriously is a pretty big ask. It's a good enough solution for the time being, but definitely not a permanent one. Still, there's only so much they can do given the current circumstances. It's not like they can stand there and shout at everyone who passes by. They still have the threat in the sewers to deal with.  

He nods. "Can't leave it to keep causing problems, right?"

Thinking for a moment, he can only really come up with one plan that might be worth a shot if they can't find a more reputable potion salesman.

"I'm sure I can find a torch or lantern. Maybe I can play bait for it while you keep concealed in the shadows?"

It seems like a reasonable suggestion. He knows that bumbling about in the dark not being able to see makes him more of a liability than an asset, but perhaps they can still make things work this way. That'll all be up to Sylvari's discretion though. Should things go wrong, at best she would escape unscathed, at worst she would put herself in harm's way for him. Her positioning herself between the rat and himself, when they were small, did not go unnoticed.

"Otherwise we may need to put this off until we can find proper potions, or you may be better off recruiting someone better suited for the darkness. Whatever your preference is, there's no hard feelings."

Sylvari smiled at her partner, happy to see his fighting spirit remained intact after their harrowing ordeal. "You've admirable resolve, Everett, darling. And it's a good plan. While I'm not specialized in stealth, and many undead see darkness as no obstacle, if I hang back enough, we might be able to prompt the creature to attack, thinking I would be unable to assist."

Sylvari leveled a predatory smile. "They always underestimate my range in my armor." A look of concern replaced her previous one of pleasure. "Though this does put you in the fore of the danger, my dear. I shouldn't expect you to entrust your wellbeing to a stranger and won't press this plan unless you're absolutely certain."

Sylvari bit her bottom lip nervously. Of course, she'd risk her very life to safeguard Everett, if it came to that, but in combat, there were always variables. If she misjudged her effective range, or the creature turned out to be faster than she anticipated, it would be her new partner to pay the price.

Everett smiles at the compliment Sylvari offers him. It means a lot to hear someone say anything good about him given his circumstances. It's been tough figuring out who he is or what kind of person he is without remembering anything of his past. He's had days where he nearly had full-blown identity crises.

Admirable resolve. He likes the sound of that.

Admirable.

Admir...a pang of pain strikes his head and he raises his hand to press it against his temple as he winces. It throbs for a moment before easing and disappearing altogether. It's not the first time that's happened, and he brushes it off as if it never happened, or he didn't even notice he had a clearly visible reaction to it. A bright smile spreads across his face as Sylvari finishes expressing her concerns for his safety in this plan. 

"It's alright, you were already protecting me from that rat," he points out. "I trust you to not let me die."

Maybe he shouldn't be so willing to trust her. He doesn't know the first thing about her, and there is something a bit odd about how she brought up the undead as if that was relevant. Still, she had put herself between him and the rat without being asked and the way she wears a nervous expression convinces him that she means him no intentional harm. 

She's a sweet girl, he thinks. 

"Come on, after we're done and we get paid I'll treat you to drinks," he waves for her to join him as he walks down the street in search of their entrance to the city's underground.

It's not hard to find or 'borrow' a lantern along the way, so they had everything they needed to at least make their best attempt at luring the creature to the half-elf while Sylvari prepared her ambush. 

Sylvari looked on with concern at Everett, who seemed to be having a sudden migraine. Just as she was about to ask after it, the moment passed, as did the look of pain on his face. With a frown, she let the moment pass without saying anything. I shouldn't pry. Perhaps it's an old wound troubling him that he doesn't like to talk about. We just have to get through the mission. I'll keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't overexert himself.

Sylvari's frown only deepened at the closing of his statement, despite the complimentary nature of his words. The world is a dangerous place, after all. How I wish it was wise to be able to depend on others, but prudence dictates vetting potential allies a bit better, I should think. He's a sweet boy. I shan't betray his confidence. She did her best to put on a brave smile as she let a comforting hand rest on her companion's shoulder.

"Of course. I shall not let harm come to you, not if I can avoid it. And drinks afterwards? I must say, I applaud your positive thinking. I shall certainly need... a drink after this endeavor."

After acquiring a torch for Everett, the pair descended to the city's subterranean level, the all-encompassing presence of the darkness below engulfing them immediately. Sylvari allowed the shadows of her heritage to consume her vision ^{[Ebon Eyes]}, trailing an inky blackness over the surface of her eyes to grant her sight. She gave Everett an encouraging smile as he marched forward, into the dark alone, as she stayed back, at the edge of the available sight lines.

He returns Sylvari's smile, but he wouldn't tell her that positive thinking is all he has going for him right now. It would be all too easy to slip into the depths of despair given his situation. He has to smile. He has to look on the bright side. He has to. 

Sylvari's hand on his shoulder is a comfort he welcomes. The reassurance keeps him grounded in the present and helps him keep focused on the task at hand. 

They come by a torch fairly easily and Everett strides ahead into the dark of the sewers with only the torchlight to guide his way. The flickering flame casts shifting shadows across the stone-worked tunnels as he walks along the edge of the sour-smelling water that flows down towards the docks. 

Sweeping the torch from side to side, Everett investigates the tunnel to the best of his ability for any signs of the beast that stalks through the darkness. So far there's just a lot of...well, he doesn't want to know exactly what the sludge coating the stones is. Judging by the smell, it's not anything pleasant. 

Listening for anything odd, all he really hears is the continual drip drip drip of something leaking somewhere. It's ominous, and each step he takes echoes off all the tunnel walls. He knows his role is to be the bait for the beast, but he can't help but wince and look around wide-eyed after every step deeper into the maze of tunnels. 

After a few agonizing minutes, the tunnel splits off into three more tunnels. There's one to each side and then one straight ahead, all pitch dark to the half-elf.

Everett cautiously looks down each tunnel, but the torchlight is quickly consumed by the darkness keeping him from seeing too far down any direction. He's not too sure which way they should head, so he glances over his shoulder to look for Sylvari. 

That is his first mistake. As his back is turned, a long spindly appendage reaches out from around the corner. It snaps at his leg, latching onto it tightly before pulling back suddenly. 

"Agh!"

Everett is pulled off balance and he falls forward dropping the torch in the grimy water. He slams against the stone before being dragged back into the darkness which seems to swallow him whole.

As the pair ventured deeper into the all-encompassing darkness, Sylvari fought the rising urge to move forward beside Everett wanting to protect him from an ominous presence that she felt all around them. Only the thought of making his efforts and bravery wasted stayed her feet from rushing to her companion.

She lingered back as far as she dared, which given the state of the Sol City sewers, essentially meant that she was back about 60 feet so she could maintain vision of Everett along the straight portions of the labyrinth. When Everett came to a crossroads, he paused to turn back to look at her. It was that same moment when Sylvari saw their quarry lunge forward to grab Everett's leg, the spindly fingers belying a horrid strength as the subsequent pull threw her friend off balance and caused the torch he held to be extinguished as he dropped it.

"Everett!"

Sylvari launched into immediate action, coating the soles of her boots with icy magics as she dashed forward to be by his side ^{[Frozen Feet]}. When she skidded to a stop upon reaching the corner, her suspicions, and her fears, were confirmed. A bedraggled woman with red eyes, clothed in scant rags, had Everett by the throat, looming over him unnaturally in the darkness.

"What a delectable treat. Most of the dregs I find down here are scrawny and malnourished. Children make poor eating. But a full man..." The woman trailed off looking at Everett's missing arm before continuing. "Well, most of one, anyways. It's my lucky day!"

"Unhand him, malefactor!" Sylvari bellowed as she charged, stopping short as the vampire held a sharpened talon to the tender flesh of Everett's neck.

"Ooh. Another kin. Did I snap up a special treat you were saving for later? Surely there's enough to go around." Her unhinged grin was enough to send a shiver down Sylvari's spine, and she was glad Everett couldn't see it, especially being so close to the source.

Sylvari merely growled in response.


"No? Daywalkers are always so greedy. Thinking they're above us with their fancy guile. But I see the truth! I see the caged beast beating at the bars, ready to break free." The vampire let erupt a cacophony of manic giggles.

Sylvari grimaced, forced to acknowledge the hint of truth in her enemy's words. Nevertheless, she took advantage of the momentary lapse in the villain's awareness to conjure a bolt of negative energy ^{[Chaos Bolt]}, launching it straight at the vampire. She howled and clutched at her face with the impact, consequently dropping Everett. Sylvari immediately interposed herself between them.

"Get back, Everett!"

Everything goes wrong so quickly. He tried to be careful to the best of his ability, but given the severe disadvantage he was willingly putting himself in, it's no surprise that things have spiraled into a dire situation. Whatever this monster is, it successfully jumped him and managed to creep up on him without making a single noise. Its stealth and speed are insane. 

Not to even mention its strength. Pinned underneath it after being dragged to the ground, he can barely breathe as its grip tightens around his throat. He gasps for air, desperately trying to pry the unseen foe's fingers free. 

It doesn't take long for Sylvari to catch up to them and confront the foe. If he wasn't struggling to breathe, he'd be surprised to hear his attacker actually strike up a conversation with Sylvari. Well, if taunting could be considered conversation. At the very least he's relieved that Sylvari is nearby, otherwise, this would be a much worse position to be in. 

He winces as he feels something sharp press into the side of his neck.

Another kin. 

What is that supposed to mean? Does Sylvari know this monster? Is this monster a person?

Though he can't see what's going on, he can at least hear their back and forth, but a lot of what this madwoman says just doesn't make any sense to him. 

He doesn't have long to puzzle out the confusing revelations the crazy monster lady claims as Sylvari makes her move. Something happens and his attacker releases their hold on him. There's a splash next to him, hinting that Sylvari has now closed the distance between them. Everett rolls away from the splash to get clear of any wide-sweeping attacks Sylvari might use against their foe. 

Finding the nearest wall, he gets back onto his feet and reaches for his own weapon. Then he thinks twice. If he can't see and he just flails around blindly there's a chance he'll hit Sylvari instead of the chatty creature. He'd be a hazard rather than any help. Without any light, his options are extremely limited. Even if he finds the torch he dropped, he has no way to light it.

He closes his eyes and focuses on the howling sound as he fumbles around in the dark. His hand manages to find the edge of a loose brick which he pries from the wall. 

"Sylvari, duck!" He shouts at Sylvari as he pitches the brick toward the enemy, trying his best to judge the distance and height without being able to see.  

As Sylvari stepped in front of Everett, the vampire righted herself and looked at Sylvari in fury, even as she looked at their foe, twin pair of crimson eyes staring at each other in the dark.

"Wretched wench! No fair. I caught the manling while your guard lapsed; he's mine by right."

A wave of disgust rolled up within Sylvari at the way the creature spoke about another person. If there was any doubt in her mind about the necessity of putting this thing down for the sake of common folk, it evaporated at the vampire's needling. Still, she wasn't likely to get another easy strike on their foe with her attention now being devoted wholeheartedly to Sylvari.

It was at that moment that Everett cried out for Sylvari to duck, an order which she instinctually followed, after years of martial training in small groups.

"Oh, what cute concern you've coddled within your meal, kin. Why it's almost-" The vampire's taunts were interrupted by a face-full of brick as Everett launched a projectile at their enemy.

Sylvari was able to suppress a laugh at the absurdity of the situation only as she recognized the murder in the woman's eyes. The vampire got low onto all fours and leapt, unnaturally high in the air, spinning as she neared the ceiling. With her lengthened claws, she dug into the mortar of the stone above and scurried unnaturally fast towards the man who provoked her.

Sylvari was not about to let Everett feel the sting of the vampire's claws and leapt back to bear the blow on her shield ^{[Shield Hit Preventions 1/3]}, before following up with a blow from her warhammer, crackling with frost ^{[Spell Blade, Arcane Soul]}, which sent the creature sprawling into the brackish water.

Faster than Sylvari would have hoped, the creature recovered and began another mad dash towards Everett. This isn't working. Everett can't see and won't be able to attack for fear of hitting me. I can't allow the creature to attack him. Taunting her seems the best way.

"Your fight's with me, devil. Come and fight, and I'll show you the beast you so crave to see!" Sylvari punctuated her challenge with a yell, marking the vampire with a brand of hatred for her ^{[Knight, Challenging Mark]}, as the creature turned on its heel and leapt atop Sylvari, biting and slashing with her claws.

Sylvari struggled to maintain her defense in the onslaught, grateful for her layered armor ^{[Cuirass Hit Preventions 2/2] [Gauntlet Hit Preventions 1/2] [Shield Hit Preventions 2/3]}. "Everett! She's between us now! I've got her attention if you have any flashy moves to try!"

Did...did he hit it??? REALLY?? Man, he wishes he could have seen it, but alas he's still flopping around in the dark like a blind fish. That wasn't changing anytime soon either. 

He hears something scrambling across the stone, but the sound bounces around too much for him to tell exactly where it's coming from. He feels Sylvari's back press back into just before there's a hollow clang of metal, like a drum being struck. A burst of cold air stings his face and he draws back a little just to make sure he's not hindering Sylvari's movement. 

Something heavy splashes into the water on the other side of him, and then there's a rapid splashing that approaches. Given there's no clang of metal, he can only assume it's whatever attacked him earlier. He holds up his arm defensively, fully expecting it to go for his neck or head. But Sylvari draws its attention to her instead, shouting and then maneuvering to put the ravenous creature between himself and her. 

"I've got her attention if you have any flashy moves to try!"

He hesitates. He has nothing. The only magic he knows won't do them any good in this situation. They're underground, so changing the weather is useless. This thing isn't likely going to be spooked by a burst of thunder given its fixation on the kill. And this thing is attacking them directly rather than with projectiles. 

He has nothing. 

The sounds of Sylvari struggling with the creature is distressing. While Sylvari has plenty of armor, this thing seems determined to rip her apart regardless. This kind woman has done nothing but show him compassion and concern since they met. Gods, it's barely been 24 hours and she's already put herself in the line of danger for him more than once. Now she needs him, and he's useless.

A deep dread settles in his chest. 

Not again. 

Wait...again?

Not again. 

What does that mean?

The feral vampire dodges down to Sylvari's left and bashes her fist against the edge of Sylvari's shield to break her defensive stance. She takes the chance to go to rake her long sharpened nails across the woman's face, ready to tear her apart with a ravenous hunger for blood and death. 

The loud metallic pang from the hit snaps Everett out of it, and instinctively he raises his hand in the direction of the sound. 

A new sound fills the tunnel, an odd crackling sound followed by a soft glowing light that is enough to distract the feral vampire mid-attack. Her gangly form becomes silhouetted by the growing light, but it's not daylight, and it's not coming from any torch either. 

Everett stands only a few paces from the two, his eyes glowing an electric blue as ripples of electricity spread between his fingertips and up his arm. A slight breeze picks up around him and his as the electrical charge grows in power. The sparks grow, dancing erratically across his skin and illuminating the tunnel in a harsh pale blue light before- 

KA-CRACK

The lightning streaks out and strikes the feral vampire square in the back.^[1] She lets out a horrifyingly awful shriek of pain as her body convulses and twitches. The smell of burnt flesh and ozone fills the tunnel even after the light fades and all three are cast back into pitch-black darkness. 

Everett blinks, the light fading from his eyes and his fingers twitching from the residual charge. 

---

[1] Lightning Bolt

Sylvari's eyes go as wide as the other vampire's as a streak of bluish-white energy erupts from Everett's outstretched hand, as if her companion brought the fury of the storm with him down to the sewers. She had never known him to possess such power, but the arcana swelling with him felt practiced and calm ^{[Chaos Touched]}.

The vampire, on the other hand, had a distinctly less positive reaction to the event. As the bolt hit her in the center of her back, she fell forward, briefly paralyzed by the gout of electricity. Sylvari could see where the energy had blasted apart her tattered rags and left a blackened scar that slowly continued to radiate outwards. She grimaced. Wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of one of those.

Still, displaying a hellish tenacity, the vampire slowly began to pick herself up of the ground, intent on dealing a bit more pain before she would give up her ghost. Sylvari didn't relish the thought of attacking a person while they were down, but the vampire had portrayed herself truly vile: nothing more than a pest to exterminate. With a great heave, she brought down her mighty warhammer on the vampire's rising head, causing it to cave in with a sickening crunch. The enemy moved no more.

Fighting back a wave of sorrow, Sylvari nudged the body with her boot into the mired water beside them, which submerged with an unceremonious splash. She then retrieved the torch, which had fallen just so in the water that it was still visible from her vantage. She struck a few loose rocks together until a flame took and handed the implement to Everett.

"I suppose I did ask for flash. Well done, darling. Shall we head topside?"

Everett appears absolutely stunned as if he doesn't understand what just happened. Even though he can't look at his hand in the dark, he can more than feel all his nerves tingling like his hand and arm were waking up from falling asleep. The pins and needles are intense, and it takes a while for them to fade into a residual numbness. 

He hears the sounds of a struggle stop, and a part of him panics at the possibility that Sylvari isn't the survivor of the scuffle. Then he hears her voice and he sighs in relief. 

"I..." he hestitates. How does he even start to explain to Sylvari what just happened? He has no explanation to offer, not even a theory of how he's capable of firing literal lightning from his fingers. 

"I don't know how I did that...it just happened."

Briefly, he's reminded of Cypress and how her magic seemed to act up without her willing it. Was he the same? No. That doesn't seem right to him. The young satyr's magic is random, but this is different. It's like a muscle memory. 

When Sylvari suggests they go back above ground, he nods. Anything sounds better than being in this sewer for even a second longer. He takes the soaked torch but mostly relies on Sylvari to lead him like a blind sheep back into the daylight. He squints as his eyes adjust to the light after being in complete darkness moments before, then he looks at Sylvari. 

He frowns at the state of her armor, marred with scratches caused by that creature's unnaturally tough nails. Other than that, she seems unharmed, but if she hadn't been clad in so much protection, she would've been shredded to ribbons. He's beyond lucky that he didn't suffer that fate himself. 

"I'm sorry." It's all he can say as the feeling of guilt settles heavy in his chest. 

The young man's apology hit Sylvari like a blow she wasn't ready for, as the justiciar began to lead the pair out of the darkness. She turned back to look at Everett, with a slight frown on her face. Noticing a bit of soot that stained his face, probably acquired when the vampire had tossed him aside, Sylvari retrieved a small handkerchief from the pouch she wore on her belt. She drew close to her companion and gently wiped his face with the cloth, meticulously cleaning until his face was unblemished once more, before looking up into his eyes to speak, only her veil between them.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, dear. I regret the way we went about luring the creature out, seeing the way she roughly handled you so." Sylvari scrunched up her face in disgust at the memory. "But we worked together to take it down. Don't let lingering bad thoughts rob you of this accomplishment. Twice today you've faced death and survived. Twice, you've beaten the odds and will become stronger for it. Take comfort in your skill and the gods' providence that this is the case."

Sylvari rested both hands on her friend's shoulders, hoping to ground him in this moment to prevent the tigers of the mind from tormenting him with what should have been. She remained in this posture, affixing Everett with a meaningful look, one she hoped translated through the cloth concealing her eyes, until he seemed to be ready to move on. She then offered him her hand, an insurance that he would see the light of day again. An insurance that they were both alive in no small part thanks to his talents.

Sylvari's closeness is unexpected, and her gentle touch even more so. He doesn't feel he's done anything to deserve her concern or kindness, yet here she is freely giving it. 

It should be a comfort, but it makes him feel even worse. He tries not to show it though, and puts on the best smile he can.

"I'm alright, and you're right, we did what we needed to do in the end." He takes a breath. "Next time we'll just be more careful and prepare better. No more trusting random potion sellers on the street."

He takes her hand and lets her guide him along, not really caring where they end up. In a lot of ways, Sylvari reminds him of Cypress who also took care to lead him around like a lost puppy. In a lot of ways, Sylvari also reminds him of Lady Calyptra who was the first person he can remember keeping him grounded. 

Thinking about all of them, the guilt lifts a bit and is replaced with gratitude. He's fortunate that all these strangers have gone out of their way to help him when it would be so easy to pass him by or take advantage of his missing memories. 

"Thank you, Sylvari. I, uhm," he stumbles over his words a bit awkwardly, "I still owe you a drink."

Sylvari let out a breathy chuckle at Everett's statement, partly in amusement at his words and partly as the relief of the reality that they had both escaped unscathed set in. "I must concur, darling. You know, I've never had a positive experience with potions. I'm thinking of forgoing them altogether."

Sylvari happily walked along, retracing their steps into the sewers until Everett's last words made her stop dead right at the foot of the ladder. She stood as still as an inactivated golem, caught off-guard by the wave of guilt that Everett's off-hand reminder brings. It isn't until she is keenly aware of Everett's concerned eyes on her that Sylvari reanimates.

"Darling, I- Everett. I think I owe you an explanation on why I was so intent on taking this quest. On why I was so ready to throw caution to the wind and allow you to act as bait to ensnare the vampire. About her words..." Sylvari trailed off, looking away in shame, unable to continue.

Where words failed, only actions could be trusted, and thus, Sylvari wordlessly removed her veil to reveal her pure crimson eyes, professing her cursed heritage in spite of the corona of light around her from the daylight above. There were so many things Sylvari wanted to say: apologies to issue, explanations to offer, assurances to give, but none came easily to her tongue. In the end, she settled on a light joke in lieu of silence.

"I'm a rather expensive drinking companion, you know." A weak smile was displayed instead of the fierce frown in Sylvari's heart.

Everett listens quietly to what Sylvari has to say to him. And when she raises her veil, the depths of his deep blue eyes meet the blood-red moon of hers. 

He doesn't really understand what specifically Sylvari is trying to tell him, but she seems pretty upset about how he might judge her based on the color of her eyes. They are odd, that is for certain. He hasn't run into many folks with such vibrant red eyes. 

Daywalker, the other woman had called her. He had assumed that just meant anyone who walked in the light of the day, but maybe it meant something more. The woman had called her kin, and Sylvari in turn had called her devil. Sylvari doesn't look like a fellblood, but maybe there were types of people in the world he doesn't know about, or more likely, have been washed away from his mind along with a tide of other memories. 

Regardless of what Sylvari is or isn't, her actions have spoken for her where words have died on her tongue. 

"It's alright," he reassures her with a smile. "Your actions and your words define the kind of person you are, and I think you are a caring and protective person."

He releases her hand and reaches up over her head to pull her veil back to fall gently over her face. Then he sets one foot on the bottom rung of the ladder, looking up at the sunlight streaming from above before turning to look at her once more. 

“It's a good thing we're going to get paid then.”

And with that, he climbs up the ladder back to the surface before waiting at the top to help Sylvari up to join him.