The blackened sky above eased his mind as he stared into the void with an easy smile. His golden eyes left the windows behind his throne and down to the woman decorated in golden chains wearing a black outfit that left little to imagination. She was sitting on the ground with green eyes gazing at him, full of fear. That was the look he preferred in his slaves. A young man had an iron collar and a chain attached to it filled his goblet with a fine wine from somewhere in Onnen. The hall was beautifully dressed with red curtains and a blood red carpet leading up to the throne at the end of the hall. Above them was a black chandelier with glittering obsidian shards delicately hung underneath them. Over a thousand silver was used to get that alone. But none of this was enough. Not while that fascinating child remained out of his grasp. Not while she held a glimpse of hope in her heart. Until she looked at him with broken eyes and a destroyed mind, he would never be satisfied. A woman with silver hair and golden eyes entered the room. 

"You've brought everything Caroline." He stated. 

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't." She retorted quickly. 

"Good. We need to hurry the process. Jerome is agitated and difficult to reason with. He wants to act now so we may need to speed things up." Marcov said in a cold voice.

"Master." The slave woman at his feet spoke up, "Why go through all this trouble for a child? Surely you don't need to waste your time-"

Before she could even finish, Marcov had motioned to one of his guards to drag the woman off to the side. She clung to Marcov's leg for life, knowing what her fate was when she was to be rejected. The guard managed to pull her off and gag her with a metal part of the chain. Tears ran down her cheek as she scraped her nails against the hard tiles of the floor. Her golden chains were tightened and she screamed despite the gag. Soon she was removed from the room and another pretty woman had been dragged into the room as her replacement. The woman was a red-head with blue eyes and a quiet disposition. Marcov liked the previous one but he preferred his slaves quiet and obedient. Talking without permission was disgusting for a slave. 

"You may have her for your experiments." Marcov said to Caroline.

Caroline didn't make any sign of recognition to his words. That mattered little to him. She was an alchemist and a healer first, and clearly a woman of fine breeding. Someone worthy to be employed by him. The massive blackened doors opened as a stranger stepped into his hall. This was their first meeting face to face but Marcov had been spying on him for a very long time. A potential employee. 

"Enter." Marcov instructed with a strange smile. 

The Vilpamolan Coast was perhaps the obsolete last place that Damien wanted to find himself. The class of food here was worthless to his taste, as the desires of those who dwelled in this place ran rampant and unchecked. To him, the taste of the people here was revolting. He could practically smell it in the air…the filth…

Still, this was the place to go when you wanted information. Needed information.

Damien was tall in his human form, taller than most. The illusion that masked his demonic presence was well crafted, barely indistinguishable from any normal, powerful mage. As he walked into the room, he noted Marcov's presence…the ease at which the ‘man’ sat. It was much like Damien used to sit before his world came crashing down.

None of that mattered much, though. That woman was all he had left. Her scent. Her taste. It was his, and his alone.

“You sit as though you’re not concerned,” Damien stated as he stood before Marcov. “A man of my stature, of my power stands before you, yet you do not worry. You are either powerful or a fool.” Despite his boasting, Damien was hoping that Marcov was as powerful as the rumors said.

“If you truly are what they say, then you should know why I’m here.” A test. Sure, even the great Marcov may not have that information, but Damien had not been careful with who he was looking for. The woman with piercing blue eyes.. The one who defied the rules of her very existence.

His Ashlynn.

“You have information on where she is. And if you don’t…then you must know a way to get to her,” Damien stated without waiting for an answer. “Of course…I do not expect this information for free.” A demon was one bound to contracts. It was quite simple really. Transactions were a specialty.

“Name your price.” Damien was far from desperate. He was, however, impatient. Searching for Ashlynn without any leads would prove bothersome and irritating. This was the easiest way.

As expected, the man was eager to get the information as soon as possible. This woman left a permanent mark on his soul, the same mark that captured other men and made then vulnerable. He patiently waited for Damien's long speech to finish before he slowly waved for a contract to be brought before the man. The contract itself was long and complicated but stated what each side would get in clear writing. 

"Ashlynn's location and the people she is with will be revealed to you after you have done some work for me. Your target is a man named Lewis Terrowin. You will capture him deliver him to a specific location. I would also like you to take a blood sample from Lewis. Once that is complete, you will have your information and a large amount of supplies as form of payment." Marcov said in a calm tone of voice, "The details are in the red envelope." 

Just as he spoke, a well dressed servant brought a red envelope on a silver platter for Damien to read. The details were all written on a piece of paper inside the envelope, explaining who Lewis was and who his family was. Details about the house and each of the children, from who they were to where they went to school. There was also information on Lewis' past jobs including his connection with the ex-god Raith. Even details on past friendships and connections with Xeix and Angela were provided. Anything that was known by someone, even the random stranger or a passerby was written on the papers in the envelope. The contract was also crystal clear, without any tricks or little lies that would lead to disaster for either party. Marcov had little need to put up such trickery. Trickery like that was for the weak, for people who couldn't offer anything. The only detail that was left out of all of this was any mention of a girl named Dala. THAT was for Marcov alone. 

"If any of this is too much trouble, feel free to look for other links. But be careful. I cover my tracks but others do not. By the time you learn what you need, the people hiding Ashlynn will already know to hide her again." He said simply as he took a sip of his wine. 

The information network scattered across Revaliir was messy and difficult to navigate. He had taken decades to learn its secrets and to perfect his own source of information. To learn how to make himself a ghost while still getting what he needed. To leave few tracks behind after learning what he needed. There weren't any lies in his statement. Marcov knew the clumsy nature of any 'competitors' and the way they slipped up on a regular basis. Marcov simply smiled as he watched the Damien's expression. 

From one true demon to another ‘demon’, Damien knew that Marcov wasn’t just hiring Damien for any reason. There was something else behind it, and despite the plethora of information that was handed over on his target, there was something else that Marcov was not telling.

Still, even without the full picture, the lust demon didn’t quite care. Damien was more than confident that he could handle anything that came his way. He took the red envelope and opened it to reveal a document, and looked it over. The target was a young man, silver hair and brown eyes.

“That narrows it down,” Damien said as he started to read more into the document. “Lewis Terrowin. A wife named Simone and sixteen children. THey all live on an island located in the Benin region of Onnen. The island is partially owned by a man named Raile Talon, who seems to have funded much of the Terrowin ventures.” The demon smirked. “There’s quite a bit more here. His daily routines and various contacts… this is very thorough.” Most of the information was useless to Damien though. He was far from a normal contractor when it came to doing ‘menial’ jobs such as this.

“I’ll have him in three days,” Damien stated with certainty. “It says here to meet in the ruins of Auclair…a man named Jerome. He better be there…once I fulfil my end of the bargain, I expect you to fulfil yours.”

Without waiting for an answer, Damien turned around and started to walk out. Ashlynn would soon be back in his hands. Safe.

That was all that mattered to him now.