A bleak darkness still filled the sky above the cemetery. However, the orange and pinkish hues of the sun rising could be seen slowly creeping into the black night from behind the top of the trees. Magdalene stood outside the tomb she had delved into alongside the three minotaurs alongside their wicked host. The girl had given the crypt a wide berth but her eyes continued to focus intently upon the entrance. Vladimir had joined her in fleeing the scene before the stone had collapsed on top of them and stood a distance away from his guest.
“Ms. Yorre, if I may--,” Vladimir started to call out.
“Don’t call me that, you monster! Get away from me!” Magdalene was quick to retort. As she snapped at the man, Magdalene was quick to distance herself even further from Vladimir. Vladimir himself sighed resignedly as his listless, uncovered eye fell to the cobble pathway beneath his nice shoes.
“Even still… monster seems too kind a label for someone such as myself,” Vladimir muttered aloud. While she had heard the odd statement, Magdalene elected to ignore the ramblings as the cracking of stone rang out from the direction of the tomb. Her eyes widened as she witnessed the monument splitting; fragments of the chipped stone leapt from the once immaculate design as the cracks spread quickly.
“W-where are they? What’s taking them so long…” Magdalene quietly mused to herself. The girl could feel her heart starting to thump a bit faster and louder in her chest. However, the thumping seemed to skip a beat as the stone began crumbling apart and a large chunk of the top of the tomb fell upon the entrance. Sounds of cracking and splitting gradually quieted down now that the tomb had been sealed by its own roof. Magdalene shook her head slowly, “B-but… they’re…”
Before Magdalene could finish her thought, she could hear the stones barring the entrance to the tomb shifting. Surprise filled her eyes as she observed a large piece of the monument fly from the piled-up rubble. Her gaze followed the large and shattered rocks as they were ejected from the pile, one by one. After about twelve chunks of the tomb had been cast aside, Magdalene gasped at the sight of a brown furred arm reaching out from within the tomb.
“Ari!” Magdalene called out as the minotaur emerged from the tomb. Aridean’s eyes were focused on Vladimir and one hand firmly gripped her axe as the other passed over her chest and clutched her shoulder. Magdalene quickly rushed toward Aridean but stopped short as the tomb finally collapsed.
Dust jumped high into the air as the stone monument came down. Crumbling of the delicately carved masonry could be heard as the tomb cracked and shattered to pieces. Aridean ignored the destruction that she had just barely escaped as she advanced toward Vladimir. A ferocious scowl was drawn across her face; Vladimir responded to the hostility with an apathetic expression. Magdalene, however, looked beyond Aridean as the demolished stonework had settled into a heap of broken and chipped rocks. The young girl surveyed the pile of rubble that Aridean left behind her.
“A-Ari? Where’s Vi--,” the girl began to hesitantly ask before gasping as she more closely inspected the minotaur. “W-what happened to you?! W-why is there a-a… A-Ari?”
Aridean refused to respond to her remaining companion. The tall minotaur simply passed by the half-elf girl. Magdalene merely watched as Aridean made her way in the direction of their host. A cool breeze blew past the three occupants of the cemetery as Aridean closed the distance between her and Vladimir. Both Aridean’s mane and Magdalene’s hair were windswept as the air rushed past. Vladimir’s long ponytail and the generous tuft covering the left side of his face had also been picked up by the gale.
Just seeing the blood-red orb in the man’s eye socket and the long scar running down his cheek caused Aridean to snort in anger. She could feel her blood boiling in her veins just looking at the man in that stood in front of her. Vladimir continued to wear the guilty and apathetic expression he had put on as Aridean marched toward him; his apparent depression only served to infuriate Aridean further. Her breathing became louder, more aggressive, and her lips curled back into a vicious scowl. Aridean lowered the hand that had been clutching her shoulder and raised the one carrying her axe above her head.
“A-Ari? Y-you’re not--,” Magdalene anxiously called out. There was perhaps the faintest hint of concern in the girl’s voice as she watched with wide eyes. Despite her remaining companion’s call to her, Aridean did not respond. She simply stared down into Vladimir’s uncovered eye; her anger and hatred were met with the most empty and hollow expression she had ever witnessed.
“I haven’t the right to try defending myself. But even still… I’m afraid that it would be pointless. Hell itself has banished me so that I might exist in this mortal plane for all eternity,” Vladimir finally spoke, his tone filled with gloom and remorse and his expression never changing.
His fault… all of this… is this bastard’s fault! I could kill him! I could kill him a hundred times and it still wouldn’t be enough! He’d still get back up! But even then… Aridean internally considered while still holding her axe over her head. The minotaur’s chest heaved with every angered breath that escaped and another cool breeze flew past. Despite her rage that burned in her eyes, Aridean refused to bring her blade down upon the man standing before her. Vladimir made no movement; the count simply seemed to accept his punishment.
“Strike me down now if that is what you desire. I will rise so that you might do it again and again and again. I will accept whatever tortures you deem necessary,” Vladimir finally announced with his depressed voice. The man sighed before muttering, “My true hell, the sins of what I’ve done here, shall haunt me forever. Death or life, there will never be a reprieve from the evils I have wrought.”
Aridean continued to focus her full attention upon Vladimir. However, her fury had begun to falter as the man spoke. Her expression slowly began to soften as she remembered what it was Vladimir had said down in the tomb: ‘Do you honestly believe I want this?! I’ve no choice but to keep going. If there is even the slightest shimmer of hope--if I could just… my sins would be worth it.’ Aridean could so vividly recall the emotional outburst from Vladimir; the frantic desperation in his voice and the overwhelming dread in his expression.
He's been doing this… tricking people into walking to their deaths for a century. But regrets every second of it… Why… why couldn’t he just skip us? Why did he have to bring us here? If only we hadn’t come to Cortonne, lamented Aridean in her mind. Her thoughts quickly shifted from her disdain for the man responsible for her friends’ unfortunate demises to the friends she had lost. Vidor Stonehoof, the first minotaur she had ever spoken to and her first love, and Rana Stonehoof, her magic instructor and ‘sister’, were no longer with her. Aridean’s throat tightened as she thought about her cherished friends. Her eyes remained glaring toward Vladimir, but after a few blinks, they had been lined with wet tears.
“Ari?” Magdalene called out gently as she slowly approached the troubled minotaur. Magdalene stopped just a few feet behind her tall companion as she waited anxiously for Aridean’s next move. Aridean felt her entire body grow cold and her arm was brought down to her side again. As she began to quietly sob, streams of tears flowing from her eyes, she dropped the axe she had been threatening Vladimir with. Vladimir’s one visible eye followed the axe from its perch above Aridean’s head all the way down to the ground where it now lay.
Aridean slumped to her knees and covered her face with her hands. Her head hung low as the minotaur began to cry out loud now. Magdalene watched Aridean, a bit lost and unsure. The girl slowly lifted a hand toward the mourning minotaur yet withdrew it before hanging her head low as well.
“Why?! What was it you were trying to accomplish?! Why did you have to take us down there?! Why did they have to die?!” Aridean sorrowfully pleaded through her heartbroken crying. Vladimir paused for only a moment before looking to the crumbled tomb that the three had escaped.
“Anything I say would only be an excuse. What I’ve done… cannot ever be undone. These fresh, new sins shall follow me for eternity; just as the ones I’ve kept since I started all this well over one hundred years ago…” Vladimir said solemnly. He turned away as Aridean continued to weep. “You might never forgive what I have done… but… I am truly sorry for what has happened here today.”
“You—you’re sorry?! How could you—agh!” Aridean began to snap before gasping in pain. Her left arm immediately flew to her right shoulder, fingers wrapping around the crossbow bolt planted in her flesh. Aridean took a deep breath as crimson blood trickled down her right arm. Without hesitation, her fingers that were wrapped around the crossbow bolt firmly gripped the projectile. Another short gasp of pain escaped her throat as the bolt was pulled from its resting place.
How could he do that? He… said we were friends… I… I thought that we were supposed to be more than just that. He said he loved me… he promised me that he would… Aridean internally lamented. The tip of the bolt was coated in Aridean’s blood and had even pulled loose some skin and meat. Excruciating pain had enveloped Aridean’s shoulder as the trickling stream of blood had developed into more of a geyser of red. Breathing deeply, Aridean looked over the bolt while gritting her teeth.
“Ari…? T-that’s kinda deep… d-do you want me to—,” Magdalene began to offer. As she spoke, the girl was slowly shuffling her way toward the injured and depressed minotaur. Magdalene stopped short, however, as Aridean’s fingers touched the metal tip of the crossbow bolt she held. The half-elf let out a gasp of shock as the bolt now glowed a brilliant orange and was thrust against Aridean’s open wound.
“NGAHHHH!!” Aridean screamed as she felt the open hole in her shoulder burn closed. Magdalene watched with horror as Aridean sealed the wound closed as Vladimir looked on with his same apathetic face.
Gasping for air after the ordeal, Aridean dropped to both her hands and knees. Her singed fur produced a rather unpleasant aroma. Her skin still burned as if the magically imbued bolt had not been removed from her shoulder. Even so, Aridean slowly rose from her hands and sat upon her knees again. Still breathing heavily, she looked at the crossbow bolt once more. Its tip still had an orange glow about it. Aridean inhaled deeply and closed her eyes before gripping the shaft to the bolt so firmly and pushing upwards with her thumb. Without much effort, the projectile was broken into two pieces and dropped from her hand.
Still a bit baffled by the minotaur’s actions, Magdalene shook her head and proceeded toward Aridean. As she approached, the girl’s hands began to glow with their usual luminescent brilliance when she channeled magic. Without a word, Magdalene ran her hand over Aridean’s sealed wound. Aridean turned to look at her companion, confusion on her face. Magdalene only spoke after her hands stopped glowing, “You only closed it, there could have been serious damage on the inside.”
What the hell do you care? Aridean thought about asking the girl. She rubbed her now healed shoulder with her left hand as she slowly stood back up. There was no pain left, not even a trace of her sudden cauterization of the wound. Magdalene had treated her wound so thoroughly that it was as though she had never had the crossbow bolt fired into her shoulder in the first place. Aridean could not bring herself to look upon Magdalene any longer and turned with her gaze focused on the ground in front of her. Vladimir watched silently, his eyes shifting every few seconds to survey the collapsed tomb again.
“S-so… what do we do now? W-we should probably head back to Stonehaven, right, Ari?” Magdalene asked anxiously.
I don’t care anymore… why bother? What’s the point in any of it? Aridean contemplated without any movement. After a moment of silence, Aridean sighed dispiritedly before nodding her head. She bent over and retrieved her large war axe from the ground before turning and marching toward the gates to the manor. Vladimir gave his full attention to his surviving guests as they turned and began making their way out of the cemetery. However, Aridean did not manage to walk much more than twenty feet before stopping in her tracks. With his eyebrow raised, Vladimir watched as Aridean now inspected the destroyed tomb from afar.
He promised me that he’d… even Rana said so… But that was just another lie, wasn’t it? Why would they give a damn about me? Aridean mentally considered while Magdalene continued toward the cemetery gates without her. Standing still as the stone that had collapsed on top of her as she exited the tomb, Aridean gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at her sides. Her breathing had become rather heavy again while tears continued to stream down her face. A hand was lifted up toward her neck where it grasped at the necklace that Vidor had given her.
Vidor… and Simon… Aridean thought to herself as she surveyed the trinkets attached to the chain. She grunted before tightening her grasp on the necklace. With a forceful yank of the ivory charm and locket, the chain around her neck was broken. Aridean brought back the hand holding the broken necklace. Tears flooded her face as she quickly tried to throw her arm forward. However, before she could stretch her arm out in front of her and release the necklace, a firm grip was applied to her wrist.
“If there is anything you would be willing to listen to me say, then let it be this,” came the familiar voice. Aridean turned with fury in her eyes to look upon Vladimir, holding back her wrist, “Don’t throw away such a treasure. Don’t throw away your life with them. Don’t throw away your love and let your time have been for nothing.”
How dare you speak that way to me after what you’ve done! I-I--, Aridean considered shouting at the man keeping her from discarding her necklace. However, she stopped despite the rage flowing through her. Aridean turned away from Vladimir before forcibly taking her arm back from him. Her tear-filled eyes moved from Vladimir to gaze upon her necklace once more; the burning ferocity in her expression vanished within the blink of an eye. Without speaking, the minotaur slipped her necklace into one of her pockets and followed Magdalene out of the cemetery. Vladimir continued to remain where he was as Aridean left him.
“Don’t throw away those feelings, Ms. Gray. Don’t throw things away and make the exact same mistakes I made,” Vladimir spoke aloud to no one as he was left in the graveyard by his lonesome. The man hung his head low and bit his lip. A single tear rolled down his scarred left cheek.
Aridean silently followed Magdalene across the courtyard and back into the Impalivik manor. Vladimir’s servants stood at attention yet did not make any movements as their master’s guests approached. Eyeing the mute attendants curiously, Magdalene pushed open the door to the main hall. Both Aridean and Magdalene continued through the manor to the staircase leading to their guest rooms. The duo climbed the stairs and proceeded along the walkway to the door leading to the guest rooms hallway.
“So… we’ll just get out things and get the wagon, huh?” Magdalene asked as the two reached Aridean’s room. Aridean refused to respond, her fuzzy face was still damp with her tears. Magdalene let out a quiet sigh, “I-I’ll only be a minute in my room…”
With that, the half-elf walked further down the hall to the room next door. Aridean watched as Magdalene opened her door and disappeared into her room. Throat tightening and body feeling both heavy and cold, Aridean lethargically lifted a hand and reached for the doorknob to her own guest room. She slowly entered the rather lavish bedroom and gently closed the door behind her. However, instead of collecting her gear, Aridean slumped up against the door and slowly sank to the ground in front of it. Her face fell into her knees as she tried to take a few deep breaths.
“What did I tell you? You barely escaped with your life after that whole ordeal,” came the familiar and deep voice. Aridean looked up from her knees to see ‘him’ sitting at the table again. Furrowed brows over his eyeless sockets and his clawed hand held his skinless chin. His elbow rested upon the table and his left leg, with pockets in the flesh revealing its bones, was crossed over his right knee. One of his clawed fingers upon his right hand was impatiently tapping the wooden armrest upon which his right arm rested.
“Vici…?” Aridean called out to the monstrous form that occupied her guest room. Vici, the guardian spirit or whatever he was, shook his half-skinned head back and forth. Aridean could not tell what the creature must be thinking as none of its present features gave anything away. All Aridean could even think she was certain of was that the glow residing within the beast’s empty eye sockets were focused intently on her.
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“I told you to steer clear of that accursed worm,” Vici growled, his deep voice sounding bitter and frustrated. The strange hostility in Vici’s voice left Aridean feeling a bit confused.
“W-what? How did you know Vlad was cursed?” Aridean asked, much to the apparent irritation of the spirit before her. Vici, with brows furrowing even further, shook his head as he stood from his chair.
“What does that matter? Why did you not just listen? You were almost killed!” Vici snarled as he approached Aridean. With every step the spirit took, it left a dark footprint in the carpeting of the guest room. It looked as though ink had spilled upon the floor in the shape of Vici’s strange, clawed feet. These patches of darkness began to bubble on the ground like boiling water and then began to slowly spread out. As the monstrous form loomed over Aridean, Vici growled, “Next time: listen to what I tell you.”
What? What does this thing care about what happens to me? I don’t even know where he came from! Aridean wondered from her place on the floor as she looked up uneasily at the beast standing over her. Nervously, she got to her hooves yet still had to look up to Vici.
“You’re a guardian spirit, aren’t you? Why couldn’t you help at all?” Aridean hesitantly asked after a nervous swallow of the lump in her throat. Vici let out an annoyed grunt as he turned his boney back on Aridean.
“Since coming to you, my power has greatly diminished. It pains me to inform you that I am afraid I cannot come to your aid until my power is restored,” Vici answered, his tone less aggressive now. His head turned slightly and Aridean could see the glow from within his empty eye socket, “Oh, but when it is restored, you needn’t worry any longer… I shall have everything under control.”
“But I’m not worried about me… if you just had your power, could you have saved the--,” Aridean began to question further. Vici turned his head away from Aridean again; she thought she could almost hear a low rumbling coming from the creature.
“I am only concerned with your wellbeing. Should something happen to one of your companions, they are unfortunately beyond my aid,” Vici interrupted, his tone not in the least bit remorseful. Aridean stared at the spirit puzzled until she noticed the boiling, dark footprints had spread across the back half of the guest room. It looked as if someone had been throwing paint all throughout the room as the pitch-black color crept up the walls and onto the ceiling. Vici began to march into the darkness ahead, “Just do as you’re told next time.”
“Wait! Where are you—,” stuttered Aridean as she reached out to the strange being. However, she heard a knocking on her guest room door and turned with startled surprise.
“Ari? You got everything yet?” came Magdalene’s voice from the other side of the door. Before Aridean could act, the doorknob was turned and the door itself was pushed open to reveal the half-elven thief sporting her rugged backpack. Strangely, she looked up to Aridean with what almost looked like worry in her expression, “A-are you okay? I thought I heard you talking to somebody in here.”
Aridean immediately turned back around to find that Vici had once again vanished in the time it took for Magdalene to enter the room. The minotaur shook her head once before letting her gaze fall listlessly to the ground in front of her. With a depressed sigh, Aridean went to collect her own pack from where she had left it the previous day. Unable to speak, she simply retrieved her belongings and returned to her spot by the door where Magdalene was waiting. The young girl looked up to the somber minotaur, yet Aridean noticed that Magdalene could not seem to make eye contact with her for whatever reason.
The two survivors of the demon attack, without having spoken a word to one another, proceeded to exit the guest room. Aridean closed the door behind them gently and together, she and Magdalene made their way back up the corridor to the main hall. Around the walkway, down the stairs, and across the main hall to the entrance door, the duo exited the manor into a bright sunlight that had the two covering their eyes. Once her sight had adjusted, Aridean noticed that the team’s wagon and horses were already pulled to the exit gate of the estate.
“I guess that means he wants us gone. After what he put us through last night, we’ll gladly get out of here,” Magdalene snidely commented upon also seeing their wagon waiting for them. Without a word, Aridean began walking toward the old wooden wagon with Magdalene in tow. Vladimir was waiting by the gate along with two of his servants.
Vladimir turned to face both Aridean and Magdalene as the two approached. He was unable to look either of them in the face, instead directing his gaze elsewhere as he let out an anxious sigh. Magdalene glared at their host for only a second before climbing into the back of the wagon. Without a word, Aridean climbed into the driver’s seat and took hold of the reins.
“Let’s get out of here, Ari,” said Magdalene with a somewhat condescending tone. However, Aridean did not move nor did she speak nor did she whip the reins to get the horses walking. Slightly confused, Magdalene turned to see that Vladimir’s servants stood directly in front of the horses, the gate to the road shut behind them. Magdalene glanced from the gate to Aridean to the attendants that blocked the way, “Wait… what’s going on here? Why aren’t you opening the gate?”
“I cannot allow you two to simply leave Cortonne,” Vladimir announced. The nobleman held his hands behind his erect back and carried with him an air of elegance. Magdalene’s eyes went wide with surprise at the sudden announcement. Aridean, however, disinterestedly focused on the closed gates leading to the main road. Somewhat worried by the minotaur’s absent-mindedness, Magdalene leaned over the edge of the wagon and took a deep breath with intent to snap at Vladimir. The girl stopped as the nobleman raised a hand, “Not until you hear me out.”
Magdalene eyed the man before her suspiciously before turning to Aridean again. Upon seeing that the minotaur driving the wagon was stone still, Magdalene’s eyes drifted listlessly to the ground at Vladimir’s feet. However, the girl forced upon her face what little determination she could muster as she locked eyes with Vladimir again.
“Hear you out? What else do we have to say to you?” replied Magdalene. Vladimir paused only long enough for an anxious sigh.
“Over one hundred years ago… I unleashed that monster upon the world. It stole my mortality from me and used me to do its bidding. For over one hundred years, my duty has been to lead wayward travelers to their demise. While I have long since lost the right to even be called human, I have desperately sought any means of escaping its hold on my being,” Vladimir began to explain with a serious expression drawn across his face. Magdalene’s sneer seemed to harden as the man spoke. Aridean merely blinked as a cool breeze passed them by.
“We’re supposed to feel sorry for you after everything you’ve done? You’re the reason that cemetery is so filled up, aren’t you?! All those gravestones are your victims, aren’t they?!” shouted Magdalene furiously. “You’re a monster! You’re a killer! You’re a—a—a…”
Magdalene’s voice trailed off as her eyes slowly sunk back down to the ground again. Having heard the headstrong thief seemingly waver in her reprimand of the noble, Aridean’s ear twitched slightly. Her only movement did not seem to be noticed by either Magdalene or Vladimir.
“Resent me as much as you want; your aggression is not misplaced. However, while this is immeasurably presumptuous of me, I must ask something of you two before you go. In all the time that I have served that demon, never had any of my victims managed to hurt it like you had. That cursed beast is not gone but may have retreated to its hellish domain to recover from the damage that Ms. Gray inflicted upon it. To that end, this is my only opportunity,” Vladimir continued once Magdalene had quieted down again. Simply hearing the man speak was enough to draw fire in Magdalene’s eyes again.
“You want something from us after what you did?! What more do you want?!” snapped the half-elf girl. Vladimir looked toward Aridean, still focused on the gate exiting the manor grounds, before locking eyes with Magdalene.
“I would like to ask that you allow me to join you,” Vladimir stated sternly. Magdalene was entirely taken aback; her eyes went wide as she slumped back in her seat in the back of the wagon. “There are a great many sins I must atone for. I would like to join you in the hopes of beginning my long journey to atonement.”
“Why in God’s name wou--,” Magdalene began to retort.
“I don’t give a damn about what you want and I don’t give a damn about what you do,” Aridean spoke without having turned from the gate before her. Her voice was entirely devoid of any emotion, “If you’re coming, get in.”
“Ari?! He—he’s the reason tha--,” Magdalene began to argue.
“I said: I don’t give a damn about what he wants or what he does,” Aridean sternly repeated. The minotaur sat still as stone save for the subtle heaving of her chest as she breathed and her mane dancing in the breeze. Magdalene looked to Aridean with fury in her eyes, clearly the girl was perplexed by the minotaur’s sudden detachment from their fallen comrades. Even so, her expression quickly softened as she stared at the spiritually broken Aridean. The girl quietly shook her head as she turned back to Vladimir waiting by the side of the old wagon. Her rage resurfaced just looking at the noble.
Vladimir returned Magdalene’s hatred with a look of somewhat apathetic understanding. He closed his eyes as he breathed in the cold air deeply. Opening his eyes again, the man turned his attention toward his mute servants. Vladimir brought up his right hand and Magdalene’s eyes widened as it started to glow a dark crimson color. Having just waved his glowing hand, Vladimir’s attendants removed themselves from in front of the gate and wagon.
“E-even your servants? Y-you… made your victims into your servants? How cruel… How could you do something like that and say you regret what you’ve done?!” Magdalene shouted as Vladimir’s servants opened the gate to the road. Vladimir failed to look the girl in her eyes as he spoke.
“This was a mercy compared to what that monster would have done with their souls. Either I take control or that beast devours their very essence,” Vladimir began to explain. Hearing his words, Aridean’s grip on the reins she held tightened. Vladimir turned to face Magdalene, “They were not given the freedom to choose their destiny. I tether their spirits to their mangled bodies to keep them from the demon.”
“This… is your mercy?” Aridean quietly spat. All the minotaur could think of was how Vladimir brought Rana back from the dead solely to kill her and her friends. She remembered so clearly how having called out to the older minotaur’s spirit had allowed Rana to regain some control. Despite the growing anger, Aridean remained silent as Vladimir approached the wagon.
“I understand that you might never forgive what I have done and that I may never earn your trust but know that I do sincerely wish to atone for what I’ve done,” spoke Vladimir as he reached up the side of the wagon. As the noble pulled himself over the wall of the wagon, Aridean whipped the reins and the horses began marching forward. Vladimir had to collect himself a bit after the initial jolt brought on by the horses but eventually settled into a seat in the back of the wagon. As Aridean drove the creaky wagon out onto the road, Vladimir looked back at his humble estate. “For over one hundred years, I’ve been trapped here desperately trying to set right my failures. You might not have done so out of the goodness of your heart, but just leaving this hell behind is both relieving and… disappointing.”
Aridean remained silent throughout Vladimir’s short monologue. She was not at all interested in what he had to say any longer. Magdalene, however, eyed the cursed noble untrustingly as she scooted further away from where Vladimir sat and closer to Aridean. Seeing their disinterest and wariness, Vladimir held his head low.
“It is understandable that you might not wish to speak with me. But I assure you, I intend to serve your cause as I am able. I swear by my title of Count and by my name that I shall obey any and all orders you might have for me,” said Vladimir before turning back toward his estate.
What the hell does your title or name mean to me?! It doesn’t mean anything to you anymore, does it?! Aridean considered shouting. Her blood was absolutely boiling in her veins yet she focused intently on the road ahead as the wagon began to roll away from the gates to Vladimir’s manor.
The wagon was now passing by the large, flower-decorated cemetery. Vladimir sighed once more before speaking softly, “I’m sorry… I ask that you wait for me just a little longer.”
Darkness was quickly spreading across the familiar countryside as the horses drew the wagon closer to the well-known tree line. The horses dragged the wagon across a small rock in the road. Magdalene jolted upright from the bump the rock had given the wagon having been disturbed from her nap. She saw that Vladimir was reading a book just a few feet from where she had been sleeping. His one visible eye glanced up to see that the half-elf was now awake but immediately returned to his reading.
“Mngh…” Magdalene quietly mused as she not so subtly scooted away from Vladimir and closer to Aridean. Turning her head, Magdalene noticed the familiar looking forest just ahead. Aridean pulled up on the reins she held and the horses stopped with a soft whinny. The half-elf let out a relieved sight as Aridean jumped down from the driver’s seat of the wagon, her hooves hitting the ground with a thud.
“Ah, so this is it then?” Vladimir asked as he gently closed the book he had been reading from.
“Ari, are we sure about letting him in?” Magdalene asked with a hostile tone. Vladimir merely sighed while Aridean refused to answer. He watched as the minotaur began walking for the trees ahead.
“Ms. Gray, I’m going to assume since you cannot use earthen magic that you have some other means of opening the way,” Vladimir called out.
Opening the way? Does he know tha—Aridean began to wonder to herself. She stopped dead in her tracks as she approached the ‘back door’ to Stonehaven’s main entrance when she heard the familiar sound of stone splitting and grating against itself. Aridean turned with eyes slightly widened with surprise as the entrance tunnel opened itself up. Looking beyond the rising dirt and stone, Aridean could see that Vladimir’s hand was glowing.
“W-what? How did you know that was there?” Magdalene asked in shock. The dark glow around Vladimir’s hand faded as the way was now open to the three. He turned to Magdalene with a wry smile on his face.
“It is not exactly common to find a human capable of magic, even less so one capable of manipulating all four base elements of fire, water, earth, and air,” Vladimir began to explain. “However, I was gifted that trait and the ability to sense out magic in the surrounding environment. I knew right away we had arrived when we entered the illusory field that hides this road.”
Magdalene was still a bit awestruck by Vladimir’s magical prowess. Aridean, however, shook her head as her eyes filled with apathy once more. The minotaur climbed back into her seat in the wagon and whipped the horses into motion again. Both horses pulled the creaking wooden vehicle into the tunnel whereupon Vladimir closed it back again once they were at a safe enough distance.
“Ari, I know it’s kinda late at this point, but are we really sure it’s okay to bring him here? After what he’s done… I-I don’t even know how you could—,” Magdalene asked whilst whispering into Aridean’s left ear.
“I understand that you will have reservations regarding my presence here. I assure you, I wish to join you in search of retribution for my sins. There is much I must make right and I wish to start by making right how I have wronged you,” Vladimir spoke, seemingly having heard Magdalene’s quiet question to Aridean. “I do recall Ms. Stonehoof having mentioned losing her mother and father. Should the Stonehoof siblings have any remaining family… I would wish to be in attendance when they are given the news.”
You don’t even have that right… You don’t even have the right to speak their names! Aridean’s mind screamed. Despite her rage flaring up again, the minotaur gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the reins she held. The wagon continued through the torch-lit tunnel and emerged into Stonehaven proper. Aridean immediately made for the stables, yet her anger vanished entirely upon seeing him standing in front of the building alongside Joseph the stable manager.
Joseph quickly took note of the approaching wagon and waved his greetings to Aridean. Beside him, Mikali Stonehoof also turned to watch as the wagon neared the stables. Aridean’s blood ran ice cold and she could not move a muscle in her body. The horses instinctively stopped pulling the wagon as they reached Joseph and Mikali, the two of them quickly finding themselves confused by the party that had returned to Stonehaven.
Aridean wished she could just vanish from sight. A tightness in her throat quickly began to form and she was holding back tears just looking at the old minotaur. She desperately wanted to run away from Mikali as his voice echoed in her mind ‘Thank you for saving my grandchildren.’ His voice, after having brought Rana and Vidor back to Stonehaven after their sasquatch fiasco, continued to repeat on loop in the back of her mind. Aridean was only brought to her senses when the gravelly voice rang out.
“Child… where are Rana and Vidor?” Mikali asked sternly. Aridean failed to even open her mouth to answer. Her head turned and she locked eyes with the General’s only good eye. Aridean swallowed the lump in the back of her throat and blinked. A shimmering tear rolled down from her right eye and the brow over Mikali’s slowly began to rise.
“Child… Aridean, where are my grandchildren? Why are they not with you?” Mikali asked again, his serious tone mixed with a small hint of confusion. Having heard the old minotaur ask his question again, Vladimir’s brow raised slightly as his right eye shifted from Mikali to Aridean. Aridean, still grasping the reins to the wagons’ horses, could feel her grip tighten as she struggled to hold back from crying again. She hung her head low as she began to lose what little self-control she had managed to hold onto thus far. As Aridean began to shake in the driver’s seat to the wagon, Mikali’s mouth slowly fell open, “Aridean… speak: where are they?”
“A-Ari?” Magdalene called out to the distressed minotaur from her place in the back of the wagon. Vladimir looked from Aridean to Mikali, his face entirely unreadable.
Aridean lifted her head only so that Mikali could see the tears streaming from her eyes. She could hardly contain herself as she struggled with her emotions. She took short and fast gasps of air sucked into her lungs through her gritted teeth. Joseph the stable manager had paused at Mikali’s side; he sighed thoughtfully as a hand was brought up to cover his mouth. Mikali opened his one good eye wide as he impatiently awaited Aridean’s answer.
“General Stonehoof… Vidor Stonehoof… a-and Rana Stonehoof… d-died while f-fighting valiantly against a d-demon that had been preying off travelers in the hamlet k-known as Cortonne. T-they both fought the beast… at the cost of… at the cost of their own lives,” Aridean finally managed to squeak out through her cracking voice and barely controlled sobs. It was now Mikali’s turn to hang his head low.
“Ms. Gray…” Vladimir quietly called with a solemn tone. He drew in a deep breath before redirecting his attention toward Mikali with a stone-faced expression.
Mikali, the hardened General of the rebellion, was frozen and speechless. Through her blurred vision, Aridean could only just make out the subtle movements of the old minotaur’s head shaking back and forth slowly. Mikali tightened his grip on his walking staff and recomposed himself. As though nothing was wrong, he lifted his head and sternly addressed Aridean, “Child, bring your companions and come with me. I want to hear everything.”