With the death of James Vaewlyn, the other ministers grew wary of who would be next on the list, unaware that their cause of concern was no longer in Reuthar with them. Some like Seris chose to take matters into their own hands and stage a personal military personnel from assasins and high ranking adventurers, his excuse being that of safety.
Others like Toren unafraid of their deaths kept on working without a care while the rest chose to hunker down into their million dollar manors.
…
"Where am I?" Vhorren subconsciously muttered as he clutched his aching head. He was met with a flood of pitch white flourescent lighting that drove him insane as he tried to make sense of the world around him. It wasn't the destructive manor of his father that he was met with but rather a sterile white room.
Other than the faint humming of the lights above him, there wasn't any other noise that he could make out. Before he could go into a fully blown analysis as to how he came to be where he was, a door opened to the side and two masked operatives walked in.
"The subject is awake." He heard one of them coo into his radio as the other locked eyes with him beneath his glasses. "Who are you people and where am I?!" His tone laced with fear as his heart pounded vigorously. Beads of sweat could be seen trail down his forehead as he crawled away from the two.
"Vhorren. There is no need for you to be so wary of us. We're part of Reuthar's elite field however it would be beneficial for you to first calm down." One mused beneath the muffles of his mask. With the sight in front of him, his sense of fear was understandable.
"Urgh!" A wince of pain rippled through his head as he recalled the fight between him and Jarren. "Where is Jarren?" His tone teetering between wary and rage. "We will explain it all in great detail but first it is paramount that you calm down."
One of them urged as they made their way closer to him. Seeing that they had no ill will with the, his guard collapsed. "Now that you have relaxed, I hope that it wouldn't be too much to ask you a few questions."
Vhorren still adjusting to the situation blankly nodded. "That's great however should you feel that the matter is too much for you, we urge you that we can stop at any moment you'd wish."
Seeing his nod once more, one of them brought out a recorder while the other brought out a clip board. The one with the recorder began the interrogation. "Alright Vhorren, we found you in a near death state in yor father's manor, can you explain as to what had happened?"
Vhorren looked at his shaking hands, his breathe turning shallow as he finally gave his answer. "It was Jarren. We had a fight." The one with the clipboard seemed to note something down as the two kept on going.
"Okay, why did the two of you fight?" Vhorren looked at the two, his face pale as he gave his response. "He… he killed my father and the rest of everyone I know. He didn't say anything much, just execution." The sounds of a pen writing on paper could be heard fill the white cube of a room.
"Have you ever had any form of confrontation with Jarren and if so, what was the nature of the relationship between you two?" Vhorren's fists clenched upon hearing this as he gave his answer laced with venom.
"The two of us were on the opposite end of the spectrum with each other. His murder of Saevin and those three innocent girls further ruined the relationship between us. He was a hated figure in the school however the professors found him interesting thus they chose to keep him around."
The interrogator let out a low thoughtful hum as he asked his next question. "Are you aware with the death of Lirale and how she came to pass?" The air went cold, Vhorren's wheezes filled their eras as they noted his reaction.
His face darkened as his mind recalled the video Jarren sent to him. An insult would be an understatement to call what he did. "…Yes." His answer came, his tone gravel and heavy with his gaze focused on the floor. "We're sorry to hear that. You can rest easy that we're trying to locate him and have him face the brunt of his crimes."
Vhorren's chest hitched. "Really?! What are you going to do then? What fire power do you have that can stop a monster like him?! You've known that he is in the kingdom and yet none of you have been able to find him much less confront him!" His tone full of reprimand making the room fall dead silent.
"Between your confrontation of you and Jarren, what did he say?!" Vhorren took a long pause as his mind drifted elsewhere. 'Will I ever get the chance to avenge her or will it be all for naught. For me to die a stupid death?' He mused in his mind as the sound of the two operatives jolted him back to the topic at hand.
"Vhorren, it would be grateful if you cooperated with us here." The one with the clipboard chimed in. Vhorren's face turned sour. "Yes, he did say something." His tone sharp as he went on. "He told me to relay to Toren that the person he was looking for was far closer than he thinks he is."
The two exclaimed their shock at this statement however Vhorren refused to divulge any more.
…
'He's closer than I think he is?' Toren couldn't help but wonder at what Jarren meant. 'Does he mean about the case with the photographer and if so how does he know about that?' Stroking his chin, he let out a hum as he recalled his deductions so far.
'Closer than I think he is…' His eyes darted to his table where the feed of Vhorren in captivity was playing. 'Could he be talking about Seris or the other ministers?' His beliefs on being one of the ministers was further strengthened.
'It would be better to keep a closer eye on Seris for now.' With an order, an operative adorned in all black made his way to his office. "I want you to increase the surveillance on Seris and the other ministers. Make sure not to startle them."
With a bow, he was left alone in his room once more. 'Jarren, it would seem that with each passing day you acquire more and more enemies. I wonder for how long will you keep on going with your treachery till you have your fill as well.' The sight of Jarren's end dying brought a smile to his face.
His gaze went back to Vhorren as a thought crossed his mind. 'It would be a shame to see all of that rage die out without a proper cause.' A dangerous smirk flashed on his face as he relayed his orders through his intercom.
'As for you James, I swear that we will bring this bastard down.' Recalling James's efforts, his smile faded reminiscing the feed of his death. His croaks on the floor made his skin crawl, his lifeless eyes staring back at him past the afterlife as he gave a long winded sigh.
'As for the eastern border, it's a shame that it came to fall. With it down, it's only a matter of time before cases of infections begin to spiral out of control.' The sight if Reuthar falling into anarchy made him grit his teeth. 'As for you bitch of a queen Guinevere, I'll make sure that you have your serving as well.' Swearing to the heavens, a new fiery resolve burnt in his eyes.
He had seen the lifeless state of those infected, reduced to nothing more than puppets for her to control. 'How is she able to control them from miles is the question? Not to mention there has to be some way of severing her connections with those she infects.' The notion of how she was able to control so many made his mind ache.
She didn't control her own people but other kingdoms as well further testifying the complexity of the plague that tormented them. 'With the hit to the east, the main army at the south will have less rations and it's only a matter of time before their momentum dies out.'
If the eastern border went unchecked then their demise was a matter of time. 'However the horde that swarmed the east is no less than what plagues the south if not more. With our main forced already preoccupied, I'm certain that reclaiming the east is a lost cause.'
The idea of him simply waiting for his ruin was something that didn't sit well with him however his hands were already tied.
*Ding*
The screen switched from Vhorren to a sight to the west where his worst fear had been enacted. He saw a town that had already been infected with the plague. The people bursting into crazed laughs as they began their onslaught with the army that held them back.
The sounds of people dying and his men roaring at the horde filled his ears. Guns blazing, smoke filling the scene as the state turned into a complete hell. A horde tried to make their way to a tank only to be vaporized by it's artillery.
However the more he watched, the darker his face grew. The toll of both sides grew but he knew that Reuthar was the one facing the dire price. 'Has she no form of compassion?' He couldn't help but wonder as he saw civilians launch themselves at the military personnel.
Their screams made his spine crawl given that as much as they were infected, they were the people of Reuthar.
*BAM*
The sight of a child no older than five could be seen shot dead with a military personnel who manned the machine gun. Before his men could take a moment to rest, the sounds of abominations filled his ears.
'She's planning on overwhelming us with numbers. It's madness!' With the civilians of Reuthar being weaponized against them, the abominations and demons only the matter difficult for them as they were much harder to deal with.
'For her to use them like this would mean that she has a large army of them. However this isn't even the main force of Redfall.' With the growth of their technology while theirs remained mostly stagnant, he was sure that she was making a blade far superior that they could only dread facing.
'Or should we yield?' The thought lasting in his head for no more than a second before he dismissed it to the side. 'How could we give in after fighting so valiantly? Wouldn't it make the lives of the men that have fallen in battle to be vain? Not to mention I'm sure that she would drug anyone who would choose to ally with her.'
His mind then drifted to the dwarves who had maintained their relationship with her all this time. 'It would be great to sever their relationship however I doubt that they can give in at such a stage.' With the rapid growth of Redfall, it would be foolish to turn against them.
Given that they still maintained their ambiguity, they had the best outcome out of all the other kingdoms. 'As for the elves, I wonder who they will side with during these dark times.' With Guinevere's power encroaching the other races, it was hard to determine what the elves would choose.
'Being creatures of purity and attuned with the forest, I'm sure that they would be hesitant to ally with Guinevere given how ruthless she is. It would be great to have them on our side. However the chance of them defecting is still on the table and side with Guinevere.'
The screen came to a cinematic end, with his me being overwhelmed and forced to retreat deeper into Reuthar. "For how long are we going to keep on retreating? When will we be the ones to make a move on her?" As much as he yearned to take the initiative, he knew that doing so at their current situation would be akin to admitting defeat to Guinevere.