Her fingers cracked, ready to play with her toys as she began her words, carefully crafted with a gleaming dagger beneath it all. "All right then. If you think that I should return the food rightfully mine then make your way to the right. If not then move to the middle. And move to the left if you want to experience the greatest gift on this land, serving me and aiding me with my carriage."
The crowd looked amidst itself, unsure of what choice to make. "Callista! These are the people of Redfall, not slaves you get to boss around!" Isen shouted standing between the crowd and Callista in a defensive stance. "Make you pick, my window of patience isn't that generous."
Slowly but surely they all began to move. About a dozen to the left, the middle with the most people and a handful to the right. "Great!" Her tone filled with glee rather than bitterness. "Those of you at the left, I one person to walk out of that cube of mine."
*Bam*
An obsidian cube formed encapsulating those at the left. "As for you at the right, I want you to wonder what makes you think that you can refuse an order from me. Twenty laps around the town, any form of slowing down will be met with harsh punishment. As for those in the right, I want you to take care of the carriage. Strip he houses if you have to, and feel free to take the rest of the food"
Her words landed to all three sides. "Callista!" Isen was instantly thrown into a cage of his own watching the entire scene play out.
*Snap*
Dozens of crystalline statues appeared out of thin air, their chilling presence making those in the middle to ponder about their choices. "Didn't you hear what I said? Get to it." Clapping her hands, the other two sides began their work. "Callista, there are the elderly in the middle, you can't expose them to such harsh labour." Callista merely laughed at his words.
"This is merely the surface of what's to come Isen so I hope that you can stomach it all." Her taunts making his scalp tingle. 'I'm actually quite glad that I made this decision.' Those on the left sighed with relief while those at the middle clicked their lips as the sentries lead them to the outside walls.
Each of them wielded an obsidian whip that bent and cracked in a means that glass wouldn't. It wasn't long before the air was filled with cries and wails of agony and resentment. Isen with his point of view was nothing more than a bird watching all of the atrocities happen with no means of intervene.
His cage didn't yield regardless of how hard he pinched it. His malcore attacks rendered useless as well. 'Why would the world birth such a monster?' He couldn't help but wonder, his gaze falling on the little boy who lagged behind.
*Whip*
The boy yelped in pain, his back marked with a whip as the sentry easily kept up with his pace. It didn't talk, it's presence enough to jolt the bit with adrenaline that wore off. "You can't be forming connections so easily Isen. Otherwise you won't make it to the end of our joy ride."
His gaze on her figure filled with unbridled rage. 'The world is burning and here you are, adding more to the flames! I hope that your end is nothing more than peaceful or quick.' His gaze shifted back to the little kid who received another sharp whip to his back. "Argh!!!" He cried out in pain however those around him had their own problems.
A few more whips and the boy couldn't take it anymore. His frail figure crashed to the floor where he received a barrage of whips and kicks from Callista's puppets. They kicked harder and harder till the boy no longer cried. By the end of it all his neck twisted the wrong way, his skull shattered and his ribs exposing his lungs and other internal organs.
His death was anything but cruel and tragic. What chilled Isen more was how apathetic the sentries were as they went back to their tasks. Callista however glanced at her repaired carriage. "The paint job isn't my taste but I have other places to be so I'll let it slide." And yet here actions betrayed her words as those who had repaired it met their deaths.
Their heads sprawling on the floor with eased smiles. She looked at the interior, pleased, she made her way back out. "Come on Isen, we have an entirely new world to see." Her words playful as his cage lowered him to the ground. He immediately made his way to the gate to help an aggrieved old woman.
'Or you could storm off and play the hero as you usually do.' She sighed with a devilish smirk on her face.
*Whip*
The whip wrapped around his legs however he held on. "There's no need to help me. It's my time young man." The old man mused with a sigh as she got off his back. "You're going to-" His face was covered with her blood, her body thudding to the floor as her head was sent flying into his hands.
"..." The warm blood trickled down his face, his hands visibly shaking as he tried to make sense of what had happened. His shoulders nudged by those running around him. "Did she just..."
*Thud*
Another body fell to he ground, this time the man offered futile resistance. He tried to cover his face however the kick were more than enough to end his life. His hands bent the wrong way, his ulna caved into his orbits as his ribs pierced his lungs and liver. "Gah!" Before he could cough the blood out of his mouth, a kick to his chin claimed his life.
His neck bent far too wide to be normal. The sounds of flesh and bones crunching filled his ears. His knees came in contact with the ground, still in stupor of what was going around him. He looked at his own hands, still wondering whether they were his in the stage that he was on.
As a battle hardened veteran, the sight of gory deaths was air to him however this, this felt way too cruel to be the work of a human. "Even demons aren't this merciless!" His breathe hitched, his eyes filled with mist however his pride wouldn't let him cry.
"This isn't a demon or a monster! It's the devil herself." His mouth bitter as he forced himself to swallow. "I... I did it!" The sentries didn't bother with him as they kept on running laps around the town till they ceased. The town's walls was littered with mangled corpses and the whispers of the dead.
The air thick with blood and metallic hue. The cause, watching it all with a smile on her face. "You all managed to survive, congratulations." Her words empty to the victors as they readied themselves for more of her games. "Now recalling the carriage, I realized that it didn't have horses so you will have to do."
'Does the cruelty of woman even end?' Most couldn't help but wonder. The distance between Pestos and the capital wasn't small either and with their fatigue ridden bodies, it would be even harder to execute such a request. "Callista, don't you think that you've done enough?!" Isen posed however the miss was yet to be satisfied.
"Enough, this is just the first town Isen, we have way more to go through before we get to the capital." Her gaze drifted to the tired men. "Now chop chop horses, we don't have all day!" And with that she made her way back into the carriage. Isen glanced at them, his face showing mercy before looking away.
'What is the point of me being a knight if I won't be able to shield the helpless from people like her.' Knowing that she was far from done, the picture of many meeting their death at her hands made him gnash his teeth in helplessness.
...
The image of Pestos grew smaller, Callista all alone in the carriage as the sounds of grunting could be heard at the front. The carriage, grand as it was made it harder for Isen and the other frail men to pull it. The ten of them grabbed onto the reins and ever so slowly pushed the carriage away from the town bathed in corpses and death.
"I don't.... I don't think that I'll be able to make it." One of them mused, their tone filled with finality as thru crashes into the ground. The rest immediately rushed over to help him however Callista's reminder forced them to push on, Isen carrying the man on his shoulder. "You don't have to stress so much with me. Just end my life to relieve my burden from you."
Isen refused to comply as he marched on. Another fell, he bothered however when another have way, it dawned on him that he couldn't save everyone. The two already on his shoulders long dead, claimed by fatigue and hunger. He placed them to the side, closing their eyes with respect before pushing on.
One by one they all fell till he was the only one left. "Mmgg!!!" His grunts filling Callista's ears as his veins bulged from over exertion. "Don't die on me now. I still need you to watch just how of an immoral monster I truly am." Her words dripping with mockery.
*Snap*
Tho horses of obsidian appeared out of thin air. Isen looked at the horses. "Is this a joke?! Did to you have to kill each and every single one of them just to fix the problem with a wave of your hand?!" Callista didn't bother with a response, her gaze landing on the road ahead.
"Tie the reins and man them. Or you could come join me in here." With a spiteful glare, he made his way to the coachman's seat and manned the reins. Their speed quickly shot up from before, vast stretches of plain covered in the span of minutes.
'Does the ruthlessness of this woman have no bounds?' Isen couldn't help but wonder, the reins steady in his arms. 'Luckily there are two more towns before we arrive at the capital.' However the fact that she would her hands on more innocent people made his skin crawl.
'I hope that the heavens manage to send someone to stop the wrath of this woman!' He hoped inwardly, to some extent seeing himself as a fool but even a dying man catches a straw at the hands of rapids.
***
"So far the trade has managed to open up however it'll take two months to recover. " A man mused, his face grim as he handed over the reports. The woman behind the desk clutched onto the documents, skimmed through them with a look of disinterest before callously throwing it to the man.
"Make sure that we get close to Varcel. It would seem that the queen fancies him." Her tone devoid of any emotions. The man quickly took his leave, the woman now alone fell into thought. "Guinevere... just how did you manage to become a Hollow Saint overnight?" She couldn't help but wonder.
She had done her research and was baffled with the results. Guinevere, some fourth princess of Othare that barely left her compound, weak foundation and barely any talent to land her the position she was in at the moment.
"Madam, he's here." Another servant mused before she was waved off. "Right, let's see how you managed to scale your way to the top Guinevere." She muttered to herself, rising to her feet and exiting her office. The halls stretched, reeking with opulence and affluence. However it was nothing more than a sore sight to her.
Opening in the main hall, she came across a man. His state barely passable as a noble, his face bathed in dark lines with a fidgety edge to him. "I'm so glad that you could make it Yorric ." The man shot up, eagerly stretching out his hand. "Of course Adeline, I would't dare turn your audience down." Followed with nervous laughs, his presence in the scene felt wrong.
'To actually think that he was a prince. How he's fallen.' She didn't dare mock him, aware of how cruel fate was.