The Mission(Henry)

[The Dark Knight]

The Dark Knight sat behind his large desk, scrolls and books littered it's surface. He was intent on his work, he needed to find what he was looking for among the ancient tomes. He picked up a black leather-bound book written in an ancient, arcane language. He understood the language perfectly though, and he imagined that he was one of the few who could. The language had been lost hundreds of years ago, the strange symbols drawn on the page replaced with a simpler language.

He turned through the pages slowly, carefully, until he came upon what he had been searching for. The book was a collection of powerful ancient artifacts that most believed to exist only in legend, but The Knight knew better. He brought the candle on his desk closer to the page so he could see it more clearly. His office was lit only by two torches on the door that cast strange shadows across the page.

Pictured were two small statues carved from white and black stone. One figurine was of a beautiful archangel, his white feathery wings spread wide. He was holding a burning heart in his right hand, his left gripping a sword pointed at the ground. The other figure was of a terrible demon, his bat-like wings in the exact position of the angel. He was holding the same burning heart in his left hand and an axe, blade down, in his right.

The Knight read the page and nodded to himself. The artifact was called "Heaven and Hell Pact". It was created when God and the Devil made a deal and infused the statues with special powers. He needed both of them to cast the spell he would be using in the near future.

He had called Henry Renold to his office and was waiting for him to arrive. It would be Henry's mission to retrieve the Pact and bring it back to him. The Knight began pouring over maps to figure out it's exact location, using the legend as a reference as he waited for Henry.

[Henry Renold]

Sometime Henry wondered about the Dark Knight's sanity, which was rather ironic since most of those who knew Henry had marked him as crazy, but this meeting had taken it to a whole new level.
It was well known that the leader of the Brotherhood had never come close to being caught, despite having many lairs throughout the city, but Henry had always assumed that it was just luck that had prevented his capture. Today however, he had discovered that it was actually because the Dark Knight kidnapped anyone he wanted to meet with. Seriously.

Luckily, Henry was in a more stable mood than he had been for a while, and although he wasn't exactly his old self, he had brought a little control and a few manners with him today.
And so when the sack was finally removed from his head, he managed to refrain from shouting and screaming and merely stood up, brushing the remnants of whatever had been in that rancid sack out of his hair.

"Are there not easier ways of granting an audience?" Henry asked with a smirk. Clearly not all of his manners had come along this evening.

[The Dark Knight]

"Not when you're the most wanted man in Camelot." He replied dryly without looking up. He picked up a pen and made a mark on the map and flipped through the pages of one of the many books on his desk and stopped on one for a moment, looked at the map and made another mark. He waved his hand and a chair slid out from the desk. "Sit." He instructed, still without looking at his visitor. He was almost done, then he would explain what needed to be done.

After another moment of looking through the arcane texts written in alien languages he make a final mark on the map and circled one location, an apparently empty portion of map almost seventy miles from Camelot. He nodded and looked up, and scanning over Henry. "You're a good thief, and a half decent fighter. Since we lost Grixis you're the next best candidate for this mission." He said in a business-like tone of voice.

He picked up the black leather book and held it in front of Henry, showing him the picture of the Pact. "Do you know what this is?" He asked, his voice emotionless. He imagined the boy did not so he continued, "It is an arcane artifact made my God and the Devil themselves, it hold untold power. It was thought to be something of legend, but I know better." He said, his voice rolling like thunder. "The Brotherhood requires this item, and you have been selected to retrieve it." The Knight sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk, and waved his hand, sending all of the books back to their shelves, save for the map.

[Henry Renold]

Henry glanced back at the heavies who had brought him to this dark room, slightly annoyed with them for the way he had been manhandled. They just stood there, clearly their brain power wasn't as good as their muscles. Still, he knew better than to argue with three men much larger than himself and without a word he took the vacant chair.
At first his mentor said nothing, and growing impatient, Henry wriggled down in the chair to make himself more comfortable and kicked his feet up onto the desk. The Dark Knight didn't so much as look at him, so he guessed it didn't bother him too much, annoyingly.

Finally, the Dark Knight looked up. Some shuffling behind him signalled to Henry that the 'kidnappers' were leaving and Henry perked up, perhaps now they were finally going to discuss what he was doing here.
He dropped his feet back down to the floor, and sat himself up a little straighter. When making eye contact the leader of the Brotherhood was rather intimidating.

"You're a good thief, and a half decent fighter. Since we lost Grixis you're the next best candidate for this mission."
At mention of Dante's name, Henry flinched but only slightly. He knew that now was not the time to show his manic personality and luckily for him it kept itself at bay, instead he busied himself with studying the cover of the black book that was being shown to him.
Henry had never seen anything like it before, he couldn't read and had never visited a library or book store before, so even if the book had been completely ordinary, Henry would probably not have known. However something about that book seemed a little...off to him. It sent a shiver up his spine and he found himself not wanting to look at it any longer.

In a voice as emotionally barren as the Dark Knights, Henry replied that he had no idea what the book was and was relieved to find the Dark Knight put it down. He was amazed as he continued to listen tot he plan. The Brotherhood were entrusting him with a mission of importance?
Wow Henry breathed, although hopefully not loud enough for the man to hear.

"So where have i gotta go?" Henry asked, standing up and leaning over the old map on the table. He could just about manage mapreading but the one on the table didn't seem to show the Camelot that he was used to. He was fairly confident of where he needed to go though, the large circle seemingly in the middle of nowhere marked that.

[The Dark Knight]

The Knight looked at Henry, emotionless as usual save for the glint in his eye that hinted at excitement. "That's the difficult part. This artifact has been lost through time. But I believe that I've found its location. This mark is the location of an ancient, abandoned cavern. According to legend a cult used to practice here, and they used the artifact in their ceremonies. It should still be down there. This is the location of the entrance, but the chamber is probably much deeper in." He said and pulled another map from under the first one.

This map detailed known cave systems surrounding Camelot. He drew another circle on the map, "I believe the chamber to be here. Be careful though, it is entirely likely that it is still guarded by either magic or some abyssal beast." He said as he rolled up the maps and handed them to Henry.

"And you'll need this." He said and tossed a small silver ring to Henry.

[Henry Renold]

Henry reached out, catching the tiny band in the palm of his right hand, which he was particularly proud off seeing as he was left handed.

"Whats this?" He asked, turning it over between his fingers. There didn't seem to be anything strange about it, it just looked like a normal day to day ring and not even an expensive one. There were no jewels adorning it, and no inscription either, which suggested it belonged to a peasant. And yet what peasant would have a solid silver ring?

The maps were surprisingly heavy as he took them into his arms. Because of their age, the maps looked fragile as porcelain, but when Henry looked closer they looked to be made of some strange animal skin. He shuddered and tucked them under his arm.

"And will you be accompanying me?" He asked, secretly hoping that the answer was to be "no". He had a feeling that he would perform much better without the added pressure of his commander watching him.

[The Dark Knight]

"That ring you have holds a special power. It grants the wearer darkvision. Even in the darkest places of the world, you well as on a starry night. You'll need it where you're going." He replied, standing up. "And no, I cannot accompany you, I have other matters to attend to." He said, not offering any further explanation. His journey would lead him to a graveyard, then into ancient tomes. It was a nessicary work.

"Good luck Henry. Do not fail me." He said as he waved a hand which opened the door behind Henry.

[Henry Renold]

Henry exhaled a silent but relieved breath of air. If the Dark Knight wasn't going with him, then he had less pressure on him, and that meant he could go at his own speed.

"Well in that case, I should be going!" He grinned, standing up from the chair he had been lounging in. Part of him wondered exactly what the Dark Knight had to do instead of helping to find this supposedly coveted artefact, but he guessed it must be pretty important.

With a wave of the hand, the door behind Henry opened, and full of excitement and anticipation he left, heading back to Dante's old house to collect his weapons.