The Sawtooth spent the evening anchored in place, with all the crewmembers maintaining a considerable distance from the pirate flagship, what little that had witnessed in the waning light of the evening sun had been enough to turn their stomachs. What had been searched yielded no survivors, with much of the focus on eliminating any remaining enemies, with the parasitized pirates switching to a seemingly dormant state. As the dark mist dissipated, so did their ability to act, defending themselves only when attacked, and even then, only minimally. The soldiers and sailors refusing to let down their guard, keeping their distance and shielding themselves from possible attack.
“Caedyrn, why don’t we just cut those things down? They aren’t much more than statues right now; we can easily cut them down one at a time.” Vexariz argued his point, his anger was clear in his eyes. The man was on edge, stemming mainly from his daughter’s condition, as Cauaria remained unresponsive alongside her pet Gulgul. Vexariz’s condition was far better than what it had been earlier in the day, following the girl’s brush with death the man had been distraught, murderous even. At one point threatening to cleave Spurius in two, it was only Sabina’s intervention that deterred his action.
Spurius was another matter, the young man had been locked away for his own safety. His defense of the infiltrator was understandable, it would be difficult to kill someone wearing the face of your family. Yet that creature had caused harm to many others, and if Vexariz had been undirected rage towards his act of defending an enemy, Malakos’s anger was specific in his protection of the creature that had murdered his family. Spurius for his part accepted the anger, the curses, the insults, having resigned himself, aware that his decision was a threat to everyone present. His own personal desire had trumped the needs of the many, and the safety of the group. Yet even so, the Spurius was not alone, Sabina defended him, often turning away those attacking him and remaining by his side, providing a shoulder upon which to rely.
Caedyrn let out a long sigh, his eyes drifting to the bodies laid side by side upon the deck of the Sawtooth, wrapped in white linens as some watched in silence, sounds of weeping audible within the group. “Vex, we have lost too many on this expedition. I understand your anger and your need to vent, but I will do everything in my power to assist your daughter… So, I need you to control your emotions.” Caedyrn glanced over to the other ship, still connected by the boarding bridge, his knife glinting in the moonlight and aimed at the dark unmoving shapes in the distance.
“We could very well kill those things one at a time, but right now they are passive and dormant, so long as we give them a wide berth they will not attack. How confident are you that in this darkness you could succeed in your task?” Vexariz made to answer, his mouth halfway open before Caedyrn raised his hand stopping him before he could provide that answer. “How confident are you that it can be achieved without any casualties… not a single one?” At this Vexariz could not respond, his mouth slowly closing shut, his eyes drifting over to the bodies on deck, his fists shaking in response.
“Vex, the world is changing, becoming more chaotic… We appear to be entering a new age, one of strife and conquest. I do not wish to see our people’s lives wasted needlessly. Both the frontier and the Balearii clans lack manpower, we cannot afford to lose soldiers because of bad decisions… Calm yourself and go rest, we will search the rest vessel first thing in the morning, then we can burn it and all those things with it… without risking the lives of our soldiers. Is that acceptable?” Like a child being scolded by his father, Vexariz a massive tower of muscle and strength, appeared subdued under the withering gaze of the older, shorter, and lean man. It did not take long before he silently nodded, accepting the other man’s suggestion before taking his men and retiring for the night.
Caedyrn stayed in place, his eyes focused on the area beyond the enemy ship, toward the darkness off in the distance. The Rustikan peninsula, that is where their enemy lay, and it was only a matter of time before they brought the full might to bare upon Syroneika. It would be difficult to repel them with the island in such disarray, the coming war between the Federation and League threatening to weaken their defenses. That was assuming the central and northern territories could even be relied upon to fight against the coming tide, for now Temrenos and its subsidiaries would need to increase production and training for new soldiers, a costly endeavor, but one that would hopefully confer much greater benefits when the time came.
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“Wakey Wakey, Rhoden. It’s time to wake up.” A chorus of constantly changing childlike voices echoed from the surrounding darkness, that’s all there was, darkness as far as the eye could see. Rhododendrun was chained, elevated by his partially rebuilt arms and legs, elevated in a spread eagle, glowing purple chains disappearing into the unending darkness. “Perhaps I took too big of a bite… no matter, you still have enough core to sustain that form… There’s no use pretending, I can tell that your awake boy!”
Rhododendrun screamed out into the void as the light from the chains grew in intensity, searing his flesh down to the bone. “Well would you look at that, I was right. You know it’s very rude for a guest to ignore their host… but now that I appear to have your attention, a conversation is in order. Do you know who I am?” Just as soon as the question was asked, the darkness in the distance came together, taking on a humanoid form. A childlike and androgynous creature stood there, veiled in clouds of ever shifting shadows, its eyes glowing a deep shade of purple beneath its hood.
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“Orchid you bitch! So, Rafflesia was your doing, did you send her to undercut me! To destroy my work! To embarrass me in front of the Praetor!” Rhoden was livid, even though his flesh was more akin to stone, and part of the shattered owl mask obscured his features, his eyes burned with what could only be described as a death glare. He struggled against his bonds, continuing through the pain until it became too unbearable even for a creature like himself.
“Good, it looks like you still have plenty more life left in you… all the sweeter the taste of mana will be.” Orchid paced around her shackled prisoner, her form changing constantly, sometimes an elderly crone, other times a young strapping man, and countless others, men, women, children, young, and old, it didn’t really matter. What mattered was the look in its eyes, the same measuring gaze a lion might level as it stalks its prey. “Rafflesia was doing what she does best… being an absolute tool. I do not need to direct her, allowing her to play her games, her pitiful and useless attempts at usurping power mean nothing. Sometimes to fool your enemies, you need fool your friends… seeing as I have no friends, pawns should work just as well. Don’t try to escape little Rhoden, its futile, merely a pointless exertion. Those chains are attached to more than just your flesh, they feed off the mana from your core, your power is gone in here… No different from a weak… powerless… human.” Orchid kept her face inches from her prisoner’s face, fully aware that there was nothing he could do.
“What do you want? We are on the same side. Fighting in the Goddesses name! The unevolved are our enemies, we shouldn’t be fighting one another!” Rhoden yelled out in pain as the chains flared up once again, even his slight movement causing them to flare up. “Listen, we have bigger problems than petty infighting! That human, that Scholar, he knows too much. He is too big of a threat; I can give you whatever information you want. We need to tell the Goddess that they are already finding ways to adapt and use mana. As weak as it might be now, it constitutes a danger to the Goddess, to her avatar, to the cult! Can’t you understand the importance! These are far greater than our petty differences!”
Yet, instead of reacting in the way he expected, Orchid began to laugh hysterically, as if only they were privy to the joke. “That’s precisely what I am hoping for… I don’t even need to turn around to know what kind of stupid face you’re making.” Orchid disappeared into smoke, appearing a second later before Rhoden’s eyes. They grabbed his face, nails digging deep into the flesh of his face with little resistance. “You think we all chose to become like you, that we volunteered for this. While you bastards get to bask in the sun, and still enjoy some semblance of life… We are relegated to the dark underbelly… Slaves in life, and now slaves in death!” Orchid slammed their fist into the man’s stomach, then activated the chains, watching as the weak Rhoden squirmed.
“You don’t know what its like, to be forced into becoming what we are. To crave the flesh of other sentient beings, until one day your mind can think of nothing else… You Chalbys can sustain yourselves on souls and mana, without fear of degrading, of losing your mind until you become a drooling wreck, only capable of feasting… a slave once again.” Orchid’s constantly shifting form circled around the shackled Rhoden like a shark in the sea.
“You wondered how I have lived so long, when even your Praetor cannot… The answer is simple, I don’t, and I haven’t, but at the same time I have… My predecessor’s discovered a way to pass our memories along, to suppress our hunger for the flesh of human’s which is the source of our degradation. All I must do is consume my own kind instead, the source of the change… Are you beginning to understand your position?” Rhoden’s skin was already a pallid grey but turned a shade lighter as the reality of what Orchid was stating dawned upon him.
“Killing me will only incur the wrath of the Goddess upon you! If I die, they will know, my soul will return to the veil, back to her embrace. She will know of your transgressions; you will be hunted down like the traitorous scheming cur you are!” At first Rhoden was terrified, the inflection within his voice stating as much. Yet as he continued his thoughts became more subdued, thoughts more fanatical, and faith in his deity unquestionable.
“And there it is… you Chalbys are predisposed to the Goddesses suggestion, loyal little pawns. We Wodhlings are failures, the degradation is built in… meant to maintain control over us, cull our numbers every so often. I have seen this same scene play out again and again… but it doesn’t matter. I will make use of whatever I can until the time comes… The Scholar has his purpose, but you Rhoden have outlived yours.” Orchid’s body created from the surrounding darkness began to dissipate, its eyes still glaring at the shackled prisoner. “Don’t worry Rhoden, I’ve been doing this for a long time. Your soul will never be making it back to the veil, have you not wondered where we are… and why I would tell you any of this instead of simply killing you?”
The more Orchid spoke, the more Rhoden’s body shook, his eyes drifted left to right, observed his surroundings. His eyes which had appeared cloudy and unfocused this entire time finally shot open. “Reality marble…” He mumbled that under his breath, then turned his attention to Orchid, whose form at this point was almost completely gone, only the head remained, a wide mocking smile plastered across its featureless face. “Wait! Wait! I can be useful to you!” However, his pleas fell upon deaf ears, the shadow had become a wisp, leaving the shackled Rhoden to wallow in absolute darkness.
“Dead men tell no tales little Rhoden… Goodbye.” A childlike voice echoed in the hidden compartment, giggling as they held up the little ball of darkness in their open hand. The marble like item disappeared beneath their hood, followed by an audible crunching.
“Hey, I heard something from over there, I think someone’s hiding behind the boxes.” Seconds after the voice was heard, a gaggle of children appeared, some peeking over the wooden crates yelling found you. The child who had been found jumped up and laughed along with the others, an oversized cloak obscuring them from sight before the sound of a ringing bell could be heard from above.
“Land! We have arrived!” The gaggle of children screamed in joy, rushing up the stairs and to the upper deck of the ship as the Port of Hegesistra came into view.