"I can't ever break even with them, I just lose for merely playing the game." Lyssara watched the girl fall into madness, her heart screaming at her to help calm Serum and yet in her mind, she knew that Jarren would find a way to make it worse.
"Just go into the second floor, there's no need for you to wait for me." Seryn mused flatly, her eyes distant, her tone cold. Lyssara didn't bother to calm her down, aware that it would make the situation worse. Rather than to to the next floor, she hesitated before making her way out of the game.
...
Waking up, looking outside of the window carriage was the soft swaying of trees, a faint breeze brushing by as the leaves seemed to shake with each gust. As for Jarren, he was still in the coach seat manning the reins.
Waking up, she looked at the mask, glimmering in glow and yet simple in design before the conversation with Eamon echoed in her head. A neigh made her hesitate as Jarren made his way to the coach and opened the door in a rather gentlemanly posture.
"We're at another stop, we won't last long milady." His tone low and polite as he gestured at the town behind him. "Of course, I wouldn't want to have it any other way." Her mind went back to the conversation with Eamon, his name at the edge of her tongue waiting to be let out and yet she didn't.
'I have to wait for now.' She consoled herself as she made her way to the main hall of the hotel, unaware that behind her Jarren wore an intrigued face.'I wonder what choice you'll make Lyssara.' He mused in his head as he began the procedure with the booking, Lyssara watching from the side.
'Her need to know more persists and yet she doesn't, not yet with her mind being impure.' He placed the pen down as he made his way back to the coach picking the bags for the two. Along with the bellboy, the two made it to their designated room before the two were alone. Lyssara fell asleep, possibly from fatigue while Jarren brought out his book and began with his notes.
...
"There are twenty more over here!" A voice crackled through the dense smoke that had yet to simmer. "Gods above, just how may are there?!" Another inquired before the two were cut off. "We're not here to focus too much about that! So get back to work and look for more survivors!"
Still the two hesitated, taking a long look at the pile of corpses that melted together thanks to the flames and ash in the town of Dunvale. The man who had cut off the two was known as Elric Valor, his gaze sharp as he lightly stroked his brown mustache with his other hand places behind his back.
His task had been to tail the elusive two, Jarren and Lyssara and so far he had yet to catch a promising tail of the two. Moving from town to town till they finally arrived at Dunvale which already had it's fair share of problems. What had greeted them wasn't the usual backwater town but rather a town or ash molding fire.
Elric with a mere glance could tell the cause which unnerved him. 'It would look like it's just as bad all the way out here as it is in the deeper parts of the kingdom.' He let out a sigh crouching for a closer look at the body beneath him. One side of it's face was completely burnt melting into the wood and the other carved with marks, clearly beasts.
"Sir! We've found a small handful of people however they aren't in great shape." A voice drew his attention. 'Sleep well little one, may the gods watch over you.' He murmured before rising to his feet unaware that the gods he prayed to were just as distressed as they were on the mortal plane.
Elric glanced at the group that had survived the attack, his eyes narrowing with contempt as he could tell that it was a gang of misfits. With the numerous losses of towns and cities under the royal rule, the matter at Dunvale was merely one of many so far all over the kingdom. A symptom of the fall of the old world of Arcania.
"I want to answer you some questions so don't waste my time. Who knows, I might even give you people some resources to help drag out your miserable lives!" His tone sharp as his attention darted from each of the members that showed signs of stress and trauma.
In the sea of carnage and fire, the situation was to be expected given that most of the members were nothing more than regular people. "Hmm!" The crowd murmured in unison which prompted Elric to press on with his questions. "Do any of you know about a man known as Jarren Velros or the name of a girl called Lyssara?"
His question met with silence, not one that meant ignorance but willful restraint of information. "Should we be gentle with these people?! After all I don't think given their track that we should be so patient with them." One of Elric's officer shot up, with a gaze of scrutiny washing over the group.
"I- I know something!" One of them finally managed to speak through the silence that weighed their shoulders. "What do you know and don't leave anything out!" His order caused the man to flinch before taking a long and deep breathe. "A few days before, a man came here to this town with a little girl, he stated that his name was Jarren Velros."
'So he was here.' Elric concluded as the man went on. "However it would seem that he was in a subservient position, I would guess that he was her butler." Elric's brows furrowed hearing this. 'Jarren, a monster that has managed to plague this world is now playing second fiddle to a small girl?' With the reports he had heard about him, this stream of information felt odd.
"Are you sure it was him? What were his descriptions?" The goon paused glancing behind at his comrades. Another stepped forward, his voice uncertain. "I recall him, he had brown hair, his eyes as well in a sharp butler outfit." Elric glanced at his notepad, baffled with what he heard.
Looking at the description he had, it would seem that the person states wasn't their target. "But he should have headed in this direction from Caerthalas..." He muttered to himself. "What was the description of the little girl?" The air stiffened eliciting a skeptical gaze from Elric.
"What's the matter? Don't you want food or have you lost your will to live?" His question met with silence before it dawned on him. Looking over his shoulder, he could see a small horde make their way to the rubble of the town. 'So this is what had leveled Dunvale.' His men began to make their way to their carriages making the Motley Court raise voices of restlessness.
"Didn't you say that you would give us food?!" One shouted at Elric who was halfway onto his carriage. "I don't give food to the dead." Without sparing another look at them, his carriage darted from the ashen town heading back to the capital. Faint cries of agony ripped through his ears however by now, it was staple to him.
'A miss with him?' Recalling what he had heard, he was unsure of whether the group of men were honest or not. 'In dire times like these, it would be foolish to waste precious resources on a group of men like those.' He sighed calming his guilt and clearing his consciousness of what he had done. 'They were already halfway dead, it would be an unnecessary strain for us.'
With his primary goal of tracking down Jarren, taking care of a random group would only slow him down. 'There should be a town not far from here.' Looking back at the town, by now the screams had already died, most of the mutated hare feasting on the fresh game. The sight sickened him however he knew that engaging a fight would be a loss for them.
"Inspector Elric! Have you found anything about the target?" A voice rang through his radio. "No, however there have been some developments." He mused before relaying what he had accrued from the Motley Court back to the person on the other side of the radio.
"Acknowledged! Keep on with the pursuit of Jarren Velros and this new individual. Report any progress back as scheduled!" And with that, the radio went silent easing his figure. 'Do these people really plan on contacting a monster like Jarren fr survival?' He found it all too absurd however with each day growing grimmer, even he was at a loss for what to do.
The regular life was now growing into a dream he could only wish for as times only got tougher. Those at the bottom would be used as fodder to keep the elites couped up in their privileged mansions. Even the plan of leaving it all behind would work short term given how rampant more and more cases about Abominations began to pop up.
'Is this really the fall of Arcania?' He couldn't help but wonder as he let out a heavy sigh. His fingers dug into the fabric of his pants, his mind lost in his world of thoughts of what was to come. 'So far the only kingdoms that have been able to ward off Redfall are Thaloriel, Reuthar and a few more kingdoms. However I'm sure that this won't last long.'
Before it was one kingdom that had yielded to Redfall, now most were forced into accepting defeat. In every class, Redfall stood superior, be it firearms, military personnel or information not to mention with the dwarves backing them up, it seemed bleak to make a kingdom made my monsters fall.
His hear crashed onto the head rest, his eyes narrowing as the image of Thaloriel being another jewel on Redfall's crown came to be. 'At this point, it would be best to savor the last remaining days I have my will.' He murmured, his tone growing more desperate and callous of what was to come.
...
"Wake up!" The monotone voice echoed through the speakers, blaring fluorescent forcing Seryn to squint as the scene transitioned from one hell to another. Glancing at the robed personnel, her gaze grew apathetic. She had played their games, ran their tests and yet they kept on pushing. Each day she wishes for death and yet it seemed to elude her.
"It would seem that you have no further use for us." One of them began which raised a spark behind her dead obsidian eyes. Not with the hope of freedom but liberation from her hell. "However given your complicated relationship with Jarren, this shouldn't be too much of a bother for you." They didn't bother elaborating as the room began to fill with a purple odor.
Her mind grew weary, her body limp as she collapsed to the floor. In her vegetative state, she could faintly hear people make their way to her before placing her on her bed. Murmurs now whispers as they glanced at her as if wondering what to do before hauling her away. The lights felt like a sporadic light-show her mind could barely tolerate.
Down the hall and to the right, she was taken to a room, an operating table not far with what she could assume was another operation. She didn't bother to wonder what they would do with her this time, she knew it would be painful regardless. Gently placing her on the operating table, the masked surgeon began his mumbles as he reached for a needle.
"This won't take long." A lie she grew tired of hearing. He stuck it to her right hand and neck before reaching for another tool, it was a mechanical hacksaw, its rotating blades making her eyes to dilate with horror. She tried to move, her body heavy as lead proved it difficult and with the straps, it was a waste of energy for her.