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“Ha…”

A long, deep breath whispered through the now silent confines of the saloon.

What was once a bar filled with life, now almost devoid of it aside from those still standing. Julian, Cyrus, and Juliet. But then again… perhaps it hadn’t been filled with life at all.

The corpses littering the floor were, as Julian had said, mere puppets of flesh. Once living, desecrated to be machines meant to kill. Well, not anymore as their bodies now sprawled in eerie stillness.

And the worst part of it all was that it was evident from the 5 seconds of the fight that Julian would decimate them all.

The gong of his shields signaled the start of this battle, and now his deep breath signaled the end of it.

Not a single tint of blood could be seen, and not a single drop could be heard—except for the silence of death. And very much like the bodies they’d encountered at the mansion, these corpses were now shadowless, gone as soon as their brains were severed from their bodies.

“All these people…” Juliet sighed, wiping her sweat as she surveyed the aftermath. “Do you think they were innocent once? Good people… before they were turned into whatever they are now?”

“It’s… best not to think about it.” Cyrus tried to avoid the sight of the fallen bodies, instead focusing on the barkeep, who was actually also still alive, but not standing. He was trembling against the wall as Julian loomed over him.

“P… please!” The barkeep held up his hands in a plea, dropping to his knees with tears streaming down his face. “I… I have a family! Please, don’t kill me.”

“What is Orpuk?” Julian asked, resting the glacivyr blade on the barkeep’s shoulder. He didn’t press it to his neck, he didn’t threaten him with it. He just… left it resting there.

“I… I don’t know!” The barkeep stammered.

“The gods will have your guts, boy!” Juliet slammed her war axe on the floor. “You were chanting his name earlier! Don’t think we didn’t hear that!”

“I… I only joined in to save myself! I swear, I don’t know anything about Orpuk or whatever it is! Please!” the barkeep sobbed. “I just… a year ago, some people in robes approached me, gave me a lot of money to set up this bar. It was a huge sum… I don’t know anything else!”

“...What do you know?” Julian sighed, crouching down while keeping Searadyn’s Veil resting on the man’s shoulder.

“I… wait…” The barkeep’s eyes widened as he stared at Julian. “There’s… a cargo ship docking here soon. I think… I think I overheard that this… Orpuk thing will be on it.”

“When?” Julian pressed.

“Two—no, three moons from now,” the barkeep gasped. “It’ll arrive with the usual trade ships. I… I think it’s coming from Edzea.”

“Edzea?” Cyrus’s gaze sharpened. “Are you certain?”

“This old man’s spinning tales.” Juliet shook her head. “The Eldazens haven’t traded with us since before I was born! Why would a cargo from those short people be here!?”

“I’m telling the truth!” the barkeep pleaded. “Please, you have to believe me! I didn’t even know these people were… undead! If I had, I would have reported it a long time ago! Please, I’m a follower of the Light of Artemia! I… I think all life is precious!”

“Now he’s just spouting all sorts of lies.” Juliet shook her head, “You say that after you tried to stab the Boss!?”

“That’s…” The barkeep kept his head even lower.

“You’ll have to decide what to do with him, Julian.” Cyrus crouched down beside Julian, placing a hand on his shoulder and whispering in his ear, “I… can kill him if you want.”

“Where did they say they’d deliver the cargo?” Julian ignored Cyrus for now, shooting another question to the barkeep.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Do you think it could be brought here, in your bar?” Julian stood, scanning the saloon strewn with bloodless corpses.

“I… no? I don’t know.” The barkeep’s breathing grew ragged. “I told you, I don’t know anything else.”

“Let’s just tie him up for now. We might need him for some answers,” Julian sighed. “Then we’ll turn him over to the police after we finish the quest.”

“And that’s a wrap. Tell MEGAN to end the stream on your end too.” Cyrus snapped his fingers to end the stream, then kicked the barkeep hard in the chin, knocking him out cold. “You just confirmed it, Sword Junkie—the Chat’s probably going nuts when you mentioned the quest.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,” Julian hummed, glancing at Cyrus.

“Nah.” Cyrus smirked, casting a final look around the corpse-filled saloon. “It’s about time they got a taste of what’s coming. Because I’m telling you, Julian… a storm’s brewing here in Calydion.”

Unbeknownst to the group, another storm was stirring on Earth—or, more accurately, across the vast sea of the internet, flooding the forums and social media of Otherworld.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.