Guard Duty (Quest)

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So there he stood in the middle of the market at night, no weapons or armor to speak of, tasked with the deterrence of thieves. His mere presence would likely make those who had only a passing interest in burgling a bit find another target, but if someone was set on something within one of the stores, he would be little able to stop them. Still he stood vigilant over the market, his pitch black eyes hopefully missing little. 

Levistus was not the only one watching over the night, and his vigil did not go unnoticed. At the edge of the market a dark figure circled, just out of sight. Observing the lone guard in the market, sizing him up. A lone guard was all that stood between him and the myriad of goods he could pilfer from the market. The shadow was not one to let such a simple thing stand between him and wealth, although he was not really one for killing, but he could still beat the ever-loving shit out of the guard.

Levistus began to feel uneasy. He had not seen anyone yet, but he felt something stirring around him. Then something was upon him. How had he missed it? He threw the other man off of himself and scrambled to his feet. He was face to face with another drokagr, one with pointed teeth it seemed. The other drokagr lunged at him, he stepped out of the way just in time, punching the other man in the back of the head as he did so. His foe stumbled a bit, dazed a touch by the blow. His foe was a thief, not a fighter, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight. His foe drew a dagger and suddenly the ante rose, it was no longer a fist fight, it was a fight for his life.

He narrowed his profile to his opponent, waiting for the thief to make his move. The thief lunged with his dagger, attempting to stab at his gut. He parried the thief's attack to the side and delivered another blow to his head with his elbow. Following it up with a beautiful uppercut that put the thief on his ass and sent the dagger clattering off to the side. The thief scrambled back to his feet, the guard was a bit more than he seemed. This was a fight that didn't seem worth it. The thief decided to come back another time.

Levistus' duty was to deter thieves and the thief had been deterred, he did not pursue lest another take the opportunity of his absence to rob the place. He dusted himself off and continued his watch. The rest of the night passed quietly, with the morning sun came the regular market attendants and the relief of his duty. He would be back on the following night.
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Another night, he felt at home under he clouds which obscured even the moons and stars. His absence had not gone unnoticed the previous night, a friend was once more scouting the market after having heard the guard had changed the night before. He was not happy when he saw the same drokagr from before, but now much more heavily armed and armored. Not that his gear were prime examples of their like, but an increase from 0 to 1 is still an undefined % increase.

His own gear was the same, he didn't like the prospect of going up against the guard who was now armed. He had received enough of a beating when he was just wearing clothing and wielding his fists, with and blade the guard would likely rip him apart. Perhaps hillsfar was no longer the place for him to steal any longer. He left before the guard noticed him.

Levistus walked around the market stalls unaware that his presence had scared off the thief again. There were others of course, but few would be so bold or well suited to night time burglary. They would more be pickpockets and those who took advantage of distracted merchants. The point was moot to Levistus however as he spent the entire night keeping watch over the market without a single attempt on the market. It was only one night though, and he would be leaving hillsfar soon. The thieves would get their opportunity, just not that night.

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The sun cracked over the horizon, his vision began to fade. He would be relieved soon enough. BLINDSIDED! Levistus tumbled from the blow. He couldn't make out his attacker in the morning light.

"This is my city, you will not stop me from taking what is mine."

While Levistus had been more than a match for the thief at night, in the twilight of morning, they were much more evenly matched, perhaps even favoring the thief. The thief already had his dagger out, Levistus drew one of his blades, keeping his other hand free. The thief lunged, Levistus was unable to get out of the way, the blade barely penetrating Levistus' armor. Levistus grabbed his arm and plunged his blade into his attacker. There was some weeping and coughing as the blade slid back out of the wound and he plunged it back in.

The body went limp as the first of the market's shopkeepers began arriving. He had only been defending himself, but he felt a sense of dread that he had killed one of his own kind. Beings who could be immortal, suddenly cut short. He couldn't even see his fallen foe to try and treat the wounds. He had ended the man's life so quickly, he had only been doing the job... he was led away, told he did a good job taking care of the scum.

He didn't feel like he had done a good job... that night he left hillsfar, he wasn't sure if he would ever return.