Vulture Urakh

The winds blew carrying with them the smell of blood and smoke of burning carts and bodies. Vulture looked lazily as one of his men stomped on the arm of a young man–breaking it with a wet snap. The boy screamed, but the man only sneered more as he spat on the boy's face. 

Similar scenes were visible all around Vulture as he walked towards a man–probably in his twenties. He crouched down and met the boy's eyes, fear was clear in them, much to Vulture's amusement. 

Vulture put a gentle arm on the boy's shoulder as if to comfort him. The boy flinched and Vulture smiled chagrined, “what's your name boy” 

The boy flinched at Vulture's words, “N-neth..” he stuttered, clutching at his bruised side.

“Tell me where you were coming from and where you're going, and I'll let you go,” said Vulture with a seemingly genuine smile.

The boy looked at Vulture dumb founded, opened his mouth to speak, looked around and closed it again.

“What? You don't believe me?” Vulture said, feigning hurt.

“High Hearth!” Another boy barked a few feet away. Crouched on the ground whimpering as his legs were shattered by a hammer. “we were going to the Dreads fort. N-now let me go!” his voice pleading and demanding at the same time. Vulture only smiled and met Neths eyes and shrugged. “Early bird gets the.. what was it again?” Vulture trailed off, when no reply came from any of his men Vulture only shook his head. “What? No one..! Sometimes I forget that I work with animals. Not people.” 

His men laughed like they had heard the most amusing thing in their life and howled like wolves. Vulture's hands shot out and grabbed Neth by the neck, fire erupted from the hand grabbing the neck. The boy's scream was lost in the roaring fire now consuming his skull. 

“Captain captain!” Came the call from behind as One of his men came running towards him. “What happened now, Oily?” 

Oily wasn't his name however, but the small man liked to oil his hair on a daily basis thus earning him the name ‘oily’. And the fact that he smelled like sunflowers despite whatever shitty place they were in. 

“Heth and Eled haven't returned.” He said concerned.

The Vulture's eyebrows cocked as he regarded Oily. “What about the girl?” He asked.

“She is here in Earlin that's for sure, moving towards the dreads fort I'd imagine. Heth and Orved had heard rumors about them and went looking for them but it seems she got to them first.” Said Oily.

Vulture only smiled, showing his canines, “You're talking as if I wasn't the one who sent them after her.” 

Oily didn't reply, only lowered his eyes, “W-what do we do now.” Oily said, ignoring the Vulture's questions. 

“What else is there to do? We chase after the bitch and get what we were ordered to get. Or do you want to face the Commander with a failed face?” Vulture said as he wiped the blood from his hands. “We'll enter Verelin and finish the first job first. And if we find the wench before that it's all the better, but we'll chase her to the dreads fort if we have to.” 

“Understood captain!” Saluted Oily.

“And stop calling me captain fool, call me Zeth. We're just a small mercenary group on our way to contribute to the coming battle. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“W-what about these men.. Zeth” Asked Oily looking around at the butchery and maiming.

“What about them? Kill them all. Almost half of their people escaped alongside their leader. We chase after them and hunt them down before they make it to Elyn.” Vulture said as he jumped up on his white stallion posing like a hero of a fairy tale. 

“And wake Forkel up, we're moving. The smell of prey is strong!”