image [https://i.imgur.com/oC49uW0.png]

After spending much of the afternoon with her friends, Carmen went back to her dorm alone and took a nap. When she awoke, the night sky greeted her from the window. She looked around their eerily quiet room and noticed that Elise wasn’t back yet. Once Carmen got out of bed, she happened to see the newspaper sitting on her desk. She picked it up and scanned its contents again, causing irritation to race across her face.

The anger she felt about the situation continued to eat away at her mind, prompting Carmen to ball it up and toss onto the floor. The paper bounced across the tile and ultimately struck her bag, hitting with enough force to tip it over. All of the contents inside began spilling out, including a peculiar black and gold card. The golden D.H. etched on the side sparkled in the windows light, calling for Carmen to retrieve it.

“I wonder if Murdoc knows anything about all of this?” Carmen muttered under her breath as she picked up the card.

She took a second to ponder her decision, wondering if going back to Dead Haven was a good idea or not. Against her better judgement, she walked into her closet and changed into her simple, black battle uniform. After getting dressed, she quickly put on her dingy black wig and coat.

Carmen opened the window and looked around outside, making sure that there was no one around to see her. Once she determined that the coast was clear, Carmen leapt out and flew towards the woods in the distance. She eventually landed in a secluded clearing a few miles from campus and took out the Dead Haven card, forcing her Core Energy into it. The card began to glow until that same sinister looking portal from before formed in front of her.

She took a deep breath and reluctantly walked through it, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. Within a few short seconds, she was back at the warm, foggy, and damp forest area. Carmen quickly put up her hood and began retracing Varric’s steps, not deviating at all from where he walked when they first came to this strange place.

She continued in the same direction for a while until the familiar little shack came into view. Carmen got to the door and knocked four times, utilizing the same cadence that Varric had used. Moments later, a small window in the door slid over. Carmen showed the card to it and after the window quickly shut, the door unlocked itself and opened. Carmen walked inside and immediately headed for the elevator around the corner.

Once Carmen stepped onto the old, rickety platform, the stressed wood creaked and popped as it accommodated her weight. The elevator began it's decent and after a few grueling minutes passed, she was finally back inside of Dead Haven. The smell of smoke and must tickled her nose as she stepped forward into the busy streets. Carmen quickly navigated past all of the sketchy shops and buildings on her way to the DHCL arena.

Half way through her trek, Carmen heard a loud screech to her left. She looked over her shoulder and saw a bunch of burly men trying to wrangle a young wyvern, forcing it back into a cage. Its pained wails echoed against the walls as they poked and prodded it with their Manifests. Carmen stood there watching it all unfold, wondering what else was going on inside of this peculiar looking tent. Within that same moment, an older gentleman with an impressive mustache and a green top hat walked up to her.

“Ahhhh I see you have a keen eye for beauty, young miss! Care to take a look at my wares?” He said with an excited tone, getting uncomfortably close to Carmen.

“Huh? Oh, no. I’ve got to get goi-.”

Before she could finish her sentence, the man got behind her and began pushing her forward.

“Come along now, surely I’ve got something you need!” He said with a big smile, his eyes glossy and filled with glee.

As they entered the dark red tent, Carmen saw a sign that read “Briswald’s Batch” in a golden cursive font. The man continued to push her along until they got to the center of the large tent. He let go of her shoulders and began raising his hands into the air, spinning his body around like a lunatic.

“Welcome to my humble warehouse!” He exclaimed, sounding incredibly proud of this establishment he created.

Carmen looked at him with great confusion, finding his actions and mannerisms to be quite strange.

“Soooo, I’m guessing you’re Briswald?” Carmen asked, her eyebrows raising slightly as she awaited his reply.

“Correct! And this is my one stop shop for everything under the sun! Need a few slaves? We got them! Need a mythical, rare beast to fight alongside you?? We have you covered! Been wanting something to take the edge off or feed your inner temptations? By golly we’ve got it! Anything you need and Briswald will point you in the right direction!” He explained, giving Carmen the full spiel about his business.

“Yeaah, sorry, I’m not interested in buying anything. I really need to-.”

“You can at least take a look! I promise you’ll find something of great use here. Our paths didn’t cross for nothing!” Briswald said, getting close to her face and smiling.

Carmen quickly backed away and sighed.

“Ugh, fine…”

“Splendid!! Follow me this way.”

Briswald bowed and motioned his arms to the left, pointing them in the direction of some cages. Carmen followed after him, wondering what he could possibly want to show her.

They passed multiple cages filled with rare animals, beasts from the Core Depths, and people from all walks of life. He gave explanations for everything he showed her, not missing a single detail and trying his best to upsell them to Carmen.

“And these slaves right here would be perfect for maintaining a manor. If you act now, I’ll give you a two for one deal, what do ya say?” Briswald asked while rubbing his hands together, hoping she would accept his offer.

Carmen shook her head and looked at the frightened people inside, wondering how and why they ended up in such an awful place. However, just as they were about to walk away, one of the slaves caught her attention. It was a woman with messy black hair and greenish eyes. She looked like she had been through hell with how ravaged her body was.

‘Why does she look so familiar? Have I met her before?’

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Before she could step closer to the cage, Briswald began to push her along again to show off the rest of his wares. He proceeded to guide her to other areas of the tent, showing her all kinds of trinkets and devices that could be useful in some situations. However, he ultimately had nothing of interest to Carmen.

“Look man, I’m really not looking to buy anything today, okay?”

Briswald looked down with a saddened frown, bummed that he couldn’t get a sale from her.

“Okay… May I at least know the name of the one to turn down my many, wonderful wares?” He asked with a pout.

“Uhh, the name’s Petra…” Carmen replied as she made her way to the exit.

“Petra… I see. Well, I hope it won’t be long until we meet again. Next time I promise I’ll have something you can’t possibly pass on!”

Briswald’s demeanor shifted completely and he was back to his usual, chipper self. He bowed his head as Carmen left the tent, smiling deviously.

Carmen quickly left the area, wanting to get away from that building as fast as she could. She continued on to the arena and as she approached the booth outside, Carmen saw a man with their feet propped up. He seemed to be deeply engrossed in a book of some sort, his eyes never leaving the pages.

“Um, excuse me. I need to speak with Murdoc. It's urgent.” Carmen requested.

“They're busy. Come another time.” He replied, still staring at the pages below.

“But, she told me to-”

“Are you deaf? I said they're busy!!”

The man finally looking up at Carmen as he slammed his book on the table. However, once he saw who was standing there, his demeanor changed completely.

“Oh, it's you…”

The man cleared his throat and straightened his posture, causing Carmen to raise her brow with confusion. Without saying another word, he looked back at the guards and motioned his head to the side. The guards quickly nodded and stepped aside without hesitation.

“Go down the hall and take three lefts. You should see some stairs. Murdoc will be there.” He said as the guards opened the heavy, steel plated door.

Carmen gave him a nod and made her way inside. She cautiously proceeded down the musty and unkempt hallways, batting away cobwebs and smoky haze with each turn she took. When she arrived at the steps, she could hear Murdoc’s all too familiar raspy voice.

“Leon, you've gotten sloppy. I expect more from you.” She said, her tone filled with disappointment.

“Sloppy?? What do you mean!?” Leon replied, gritting his teeth.

“Yes, sloppy. I gave you a single target and yet somehow four people ended up dead…”

“Tch, they got in the way. Collateral damage, ya know?”

Leon let out a light chuckle as he crossed his arms, making light of the situation. Murdoc leaned back in her chair and rolled her eyes.

“Do better next time. You’re pissing off my clients.” Murdoc said before lighting up a cigarette and taking a large puff.

“Ah c’mon Murdoc, don’t give me that. I always get the job done, don't I? You’d think after seven years you’d have more trust in my methods.” He replied with an annoyed cadence, his voice growing louder with each word.

“Sugah', trust is not a word in my vocabulary. I don’t care how long you’ve worked for me, I have no tolerance for sloppy methods. Tighten your shit up or get lost…”

At this point, it was clear that Murdoc was done having this conversation. She glared at Leon through her silver rimmed glasses, sending a slight chill down his spine. However, before he could reply, Leon heard a subtle knock on the wall.

They looked over at the office entrance and saw Carmen standing there. Murdoc’s mood immediately shifted as her lips curled, forming a devious smirk. Leon cocked his head to the side with a fairly confused expression.

“Hmm, haven’t I seen you before?” He asked, trying to jog his memory.

“Uhh, I don’t think so…” Carmen replied with an awkward tone.

Leon stared at her black wig and battle uniform, looking Carmen up and down for what felt like an eternity.

‘Wasn’t this the guy with Elise’s father? What is he doing here!?’

Carmen began to panic as he slowly approached her, hoping he wouldn’t sniff out her true identity. However, just as he tried to investigate further, Murdoc spoke up.

“Leon, leave us. I’ve got business with this girl.”

“Oh, sure.”

Leon continued his approach, walking past Carmen and closing the door behind him. Carmen breathed a sigh of relief as cigarette smoke wafted in the air.

“I knew you’d be back and look at that, you’re right on time.” Murdoc said with a smirk.

“Murdoc, I need to talk to you. I’ve got a few questions to ask, got a sec?” Carmen replied, getting straight to the point.

“You want to talk to me? Un uh sugah', that’s not how things work down here. You want my help, then you need to do something for me first…”

Murdoc’s tone shifted as her eyes met with Carmen’s, glaring at her as though she just made a grave mistake.

“Tch, I don’t have time for this Murdoc, it’s really urgent!!”

“Hmph, looks like you don’t need my help then. Sorry kid.”

Murdoc leaned back in her chair and started shuffling through some loose papers, completely disregarding Carmen’s sense of urgency. Carmen was fed up with Murdoc's lack of care and so she began to exert her Core Energy. Her blood lust boiled over as her power flooded the immediate area. Murdoc peered over her glasses and glared at Carmen yet again, unfazed by her show of strength.

“You’ve got some nerve baring your fangs at me, little girl. Have you forgotten where you are? Try anything even remotely stupid and you’ll go home tonight in a body bag, that much I promise you.” Murdoc said with absolute severity, her amber colored gaze piercing through Carmen’s soul as they stared each other down.

Suddenly, Carmen began to sense the presence of multiple people watching from all over. It was as though she had hundreds of eyes on her and the sensation sent shivers down her spine.

“Ugh, what do you want then?” Carmen asked with an irritated tone, ceasing her show of power and crossing her arms.

“I want you to fight of course. So many people have been asking about when Petra would enter the ring again. There’s a lot of money riding on you, kid. But, the choice is yours. If you really need my help so badly, I’m sure the decision’ll be easy for you to make.”

Carmen stood there for a few moments, silently thinking over the offer. She knew how dangerous this would be and that it wouldn’t be easy to win again, but this was the only way she could probably get the answers she was searching for.

“Fine… I’ll do it. I’ll fight in your stupid little league. But you better hold up your end of the bargain.” Carmen said with a determined cadence.

“That's a good girl and of course, I never go back on my word.”

Murdoc stood from her chair and handed Carmen a clipboard with a paper on it, instructing her to sign in. As Carmen walked over and went through the process of stamping her thumbprint, Murdoc’s devious smile curled intensely.

“There, I signed in. Now what?” Carmen asked, crossing her arms again in an annoyed manner.

Murdoc simply looked over her shoulder and nodded her head as though giving someone a direction. Suddenly, two large men appeared next to Carmen. They quickly grabbed her arms and shoulders, forcing her down to her knees with incredible strength. Carmen tried to fight against them, but for some reason her abilities weren’t activating. She looked at their hands and noticed they were wearing these strange gloves that glowed a dull red color.

“What the hell, Murdoc!” Carmen exclaimed with red eyed rage.

Murdoc approached and stood in front of Carmen, looking down at her with a cheeky smirk.

“Did I not say that If you came back down here of your own will, I wouldn’t let you go? Well, I’m just staying true to my word, sugah'.” Murdoc replied as she aimed her palm at Carmen, prompting one of the guards to move her hair away from her neck.

Murdoc’s hand started to glow brightly and Carmen began feeling a searing hot pain pressing against her neck. The feeling rushed down her spine and pulsed in her chest, growing hotter with each passing second. However, just as fast as it began, the pain subsided and Murdoc’s hand stopped glowing.

Upon the back of Carmen’s neck was a small tattoo of an intricately designed D.H. insignia. It sizzled and smoked as the man let go of her hair, covering the mark. The two guards stopped holding onto Carmen before getting to their feet, leaving her down below.

Carmen rubbed her neck, feeling the raised skin and heat coming from the newly formed insignia. When she looked up, Carmen was met with a devious smirk resting upon Murdoc's face. Many thoughts raced through Carmen's mind as she wondered what this woman had done to her.