Dangerous Thirst

Chapter One: Dead Weight

The day time hours never suited Tav or his work. He wouldn't call himself a gur, but he did hunt monsters on occasion. Other times, he hunted people. There was always someone who needed killing and always someone willing to pay for it. And Tav's latest target was someone everyone believed to be untouchable. The leader of the Gur paid Tav twenty-five percent of what he would earn in advance. However, there was no one in Baldur's Gate who was stupid enough to attempt to assassinate a vampire. Except Tav. Anything and anyone could be killed. Kelemvor as his witness, he would do whatever took to finish the job. He would be paid.

His latest lead had taken him to... Frayge's Flophouse. If the gur were wrong about this, he would charge them severely for wasting his time. It seemed unlikely that vampires or their spawn would frequent a place such as this. It was shady, dimly lit, and smelled strongly not just of liquor, but of loss and self-pity. Tav wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. He liked to think he had more refined tastes. A fine red wine, one that was sweet, but not too sweet with a dry bite at the end. Best served alone after a job well done. Tav did not imagine he would get anything even remotely close to the sort here and across from Sharess's Caress. This was not the part of town he liked to linger long in. Most jobs he did here were quick, get in, get out.

Nearly all of the patrons of the Flophouse had their eyes on him. He was attracting attention on purpose. He was dressed in fine black clothing and cut a lean figure. Clean shaven, Tav appeared much younger than his two-hundred-fifty years of life would suggest. Never mind that humans were not supposed to live that long in the first place. An eternally long life... a gift and a curse from Kelemvor. The extent of which-

"Are all gur this awful at blending in?" A pale elf was now seated in front of him, a lazy smile on his face. The elf could have been carved from marble for all Tav knew. His skin was just that white and only animated by the elf man's expression. Red eyes and sharply pointed teeth. He was unmistakably a vampire. A vampire spawn, Tav corrected himself. However, Tav was not looking for a vampire spawn and thus had no interest other than gathering information.

Tav let the full force of his gaze fall onto the elf now. He could see more than the spawn likely wanted him to see. What a pitiful creature. It would be a mercy to put it out of its misery when this was all over. The man had lived a long life of cowering and kneeling before those more powerful than him. Even now, Tav could see the tension in his posture. He was trying to appear nonchalant, but he was afraid. Even the smell of it clung to him like the stinking miasma of this rundown pub. And of course, like every other vampire spawn, there was a glint of ambition and defiance in his eyes. It was the fiercest of any Tav had ever seen. That alone said more than words ever could.

"Are all vampire spawn so charming?" Tav shot back bitterly.

The spawn's eyes darted around the pub to make sure no one had heard. "What do you want?"

"Information," Tav said evenly.

"What makes you think I have it?" the elf's eyes narrowed and moved almost imperceptibly over Tav's left shoulder. "Or that I'd give it to you."

An ambush? How juvenile. Tav kept his expression neutral, pretended that he didn't see the other vampire spawn closing in on him. He could have laughed. Perhaps, he was too good at his job. If they knew who they were dealing with, they would know this wouldn't work. They would be more afraid. It said a lot about the arrogance of his target. He was being underestimated, something he was used to. Sometimes, he wished he could just skip the hassle, but that would require him to get sloppy. Tav was many things, a murderer among them, but sloppy and inexperienced was not. It was then that he realized he recognized this vampire spawn. It was such a long time ago. He'd nearly forgotten. He doubted the other would even remember. They'd met before.

"Astarion."

The elf looked briefly taken aback.

"That's your name isn't it?" Tav wasn't really asking. "Astarion."

"It is, but I don't understand why you know it. Did he send you?" Astarion didn't need to clarify who he was. They both knew.

Tav gave the elf a small, dangerous smile. "If he sent me, you would all be dead already." The vampire spawn closing in on him stopped in their tracks. "And you're going to give me exactly what I need."

Then Tav faded into the background until there was seemingly nothing left of him. Becoming invisible to creatures of the night was easy for him. They relied too heavily on their superior darkvision, but the shadows Kelemvor granted him circumvented even that. He dispatched the vampires with ease, driving wooden stakes into each of their bodies. He purposefully missed their hearts, but they wouldn't be moving against him until the stakes were removed. Such was the nature of such things. The wretches hadn't even seen him coming. It was child's play at best. His target was insulting him with these cheap tactics. It was obvious they'd never dealt with a capable killer before.

Astarion was making his way toward the door, but Tav reappeared right in front of him. "Talk. I won't ask again."

The elf sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"Why are there so many of you and why hasn't he killed you?" Tav didn't bother softening his questions. "A man like him doesn't strike me as benevolent."

"I don't know. Maybe he likes having eternal mindless puppets to serve him. He's sick."

"You can't expect me to believe that's all there is," Tav pulled out a wooden dagger from his back pocket. "The greatest threat to every vampire is not a gur or even a highly trained assassin. It's another vampire. And it strikes me as odd that someone like him would have so many roaming around this city."

Astarion didn't even flinch. He only glared up at Tav,"I swear that's all I know. We're supposed to hunt for him, bring him the best souls this city has to offer. And then he kills them. Whatever you think he's planning, you'll never figure it out. Whoever sent you after him sent you on a suicide mission. I wish you a slow and painful death."

Take him with you, Tav.

That voice in his head. Kelemvor was speaking to him directly for the first time in so long. He would have wept if not for the circumstances. And for the oddity of his request. Take the vampire spawn with him? Wasn't Astarion a slave to his master? Wouldn't that just lead him to a faster death, unless that is exactly what his god intended. He need not fear. Tav took a calming breath.

"Your wish may yet come true, bloodsucker." Tav hissed. "But for now, you're coming with me."

In a motion, far too fast for any eye, supernatural or other to have seen, Astarion was out cold. And not for the first time, Tav was left alone carrying the dead weight of another body.