Lieutenant Tex patrolled through the slums as he usually did, but for the first time, and completely against regulations, he did so alone. Ordinarily, the people of the slums were quite hostile against the Guardsmen. They were even occasionally quite open about it, hurling rotten food or even stones.
It was rare, but certainly not unheard of for Guardsmen to vanish in the slums, hence the regulation requiring Guardsmen to never venture in the slums in groups less than five, and only when in full battle dress.
But something had changed in the last month. There were no more beggars on the street. People no longer hid in corners and alleys. There were no more long dead bodies left to rot in the gutters. People were no longer talking to each other in harsh whispers. And perhaps the most important difference, children were once again playing and laughing.
Lieutenant Tex saw the people glare at him as he passed, but he no longer felt like they would attack him at any moment.
If someone saw the slums now, they would believe it to be a respectable community. But they wouldn’t have seen what happened before.
Just two weeks prior, Tex and the other officers in charge of the slums reported a sharp spike in the number of murders. Even worse, the majority of those killed were members of prominent gangs within the slums.
This, in itself, was not surprising. The gangs of the Zolis slums constantly fought each other. Tex would not have been surprised if they had been at war with each other. What was surprising, and worrying, was the number of corpses found with large chucks missing, as if they had been bitten.
When it first started to happen, Tex would have bet that one of the gangs had recruited someone capable of taming or summoning a Monster, but then the rumors began to spread.
Rumors of a hulking figure, clad in black armor, more Monster than Man. A creature that suddenly appeared one day and began taking control of the slums. He offered everyone a single choice. Obey, or die.
The first to go were the petty thieves, brutes, extortionists, and drug dealers. The Guardsmen had attempted to do the same thing many times, but had always failed miserably. They were simply too slippery, too many back alleys they could slip into and disappear.
But the rumors spoke that once the man had caught your scent, there was no escape. Soon, all the petty criminals were either dead or missing. Next came the gangs. Just last week, these very streets had been painted with the blood of dozens, littered with the mangled and chewed bodies of the very people Tex had been struggling to arrest for just over a decade.
It had been done in one night. One day, the eight gangs, each numbering over a hundred members, were going about their daily duties of extorting people and arguing over territory. The next, they all lay slaughtered in the very streets they claimed.
Tex’s superior officers had expected a power vacuum to occur, but there was none. Yet no one seemed to take the preverbal throne. But someone was keeping order in the slums, cleaning it up. It certainly was not the Guardsmen, though his superior officers were glad to take credit.
Tex wanted to meet the person in charge, this black Monster. Not only to learn of its intentions, but also to warn it. The gangs in the slums were not the only criminal organizations of Zolis, and they certainly were not the strongest, merely the most numerous. These organizations would turn their greedy eyes to the recently free territory of the slums and attempt to take as much of it as they could.
The members from different organizations would clash and turn these streets bloody once more. Tex doubted he would get along with this Black Monster, but he did not care to try. All he cared about was that the people in the slums were finally treated fairly. If Tex had to bow to a cannibalistic Monster to ensure they were, he would.
He did not even know how he would go about finding him. Which was why Tex was currently walking around the streets. He was hoping to find something that would provide a hint. Hell, he would even take a map. Not that he needed it.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
As he turned a corner, he immediately reached for the sword at his hip. He had patrolled the slums long enough to know an ambush when he saw one. Four men casually leaning against the buildings to either side of the street. Tex did not need to look behind him to know that there were another four behind him.
Together, the four in front of him stood straight and blocked the street. As they did, any civilians quickly vanished from sight.
“What is your business here Guardsman?” the thin man in front asked, apparently the leader.
Tex restrained himself from drawing his weapon. Ordinarily, an ambush would immediately attack. Besides, he was drastically outnumbered. It was in his best interest to resolve this peacefully.
“I have come to meet with the Black Monster.”
They all broke out into laughter, and just as suspected, Tex heard four distinct laughing a few feet behind him.
The leader struggled to stop laughing, “You believe in rumors?”
“When those rumors eviscerate a thousand people in one night? Yes. I do.”
The laughter died and the leader’s face turned serious, “Very well then. We will take you to him. Whether you get to leave with your head still attached is up to him. Follow us.”
Without waiting, the four in front turned around and began to walk away. Tex slightly jogged to get closer, the four behind him keeping pace.
Tex was not sure what was about to happen, but he did know that this was a serious matter for the entire city. If only he had support from his colleagues. They had warned him against interfering, and if his head turned up nailed to a door somewhere, they would be proven right.
Behind him, a voice whispered, “Cousin, what does eviscerate mean?”
* * * * *
Duke Daniel Redmond leaned back in his chair at his desk, rested his head atop his palm, closed his eyes, and sighed. Many people saw the Duke as a tireless organizational machine. Someone who nearly single handedly kept the entire Kingdom of Lissura running, despite the king’s political absence.
But that was far from the truth. The Duke had an extensive network of operatives that knew what and how he wanted things done. They reported to him, but they were the ones managing the small things, only coming to him when they did not know what to do.
Unfortunately for Daniel, the nation was large enough to still occupy nearly all of his time. And now, there was something happening in the Slums that none of his operatives could figure out. They reported the effects, but had no idea what was causing it or why. The crime lords in the other districts were preparing to move on the Slums, which would likely result in a war being waged.
The Gilaen Empire had sent delegates to negotiate a trade deal, but now they wanted to discuss an alliance so Lissura would assist them finally conquer the Savage City States. Such discussions would require his direct presence and influence.
The Independent City of Galmore, a city that the vast majority of commoners believed had long been wiped out, had signed an alliance with the Independent City of Onigas. This would shift the political battlefield of nations in ways that the Duke had not had time to sit down and consider.
And to top it all off, Galmore was also sending a young Noble to observe Lissura. This Noble would be responsible for studying Lissura and seeing if Galmore would wish to consider any trade agreements or even alliances. However, from the sound of the message, this Noble, despite coming from Galmore, was independent from the city.
‘An Independent Lord from an Independent City.’ Daniel scoffed.
That was bound to cause issues, but perhaps he could persuade this young Noble to report favorably.
Rolling his shoulders as he stood, Daniel walked over to the window. The Saint was not there this time. When he first arrived, he had always spent the midafternoon under the tree entertaining the children of the castle. But the Duke noticed that since the events in the Slums, the Saint had been less frequently visiting the tree, much to the disappointment of the children.
In place of the Saint, Daniel saw his son with his fiancée. They sat under the shade, leaning against the trunk and each other. Evelyn was reading from a book in her lap, obviously trying to get Lukas to study with her, but his attention was focused on the flower crown he was creating.
With a beaming smile, he finished and plopped it on Evelyn’s head. She stopped reading for a moment before glaring at Lukas. He innocently smiled at her for a moment before sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes. Evelyn tried to stay serious, but failed, bursting out into laughter.
Before, the other Nobility had merely suspected that the two youngsters were engaged. And while the Duke had yet to officially announce it, the way the two were acting with each other confirmed it. Redmond had already received letters from a few of the Nobles that he was on friendly terms with asking when the wedding would be. The Oton family and even asked what they should bring as a gift for the lovely couple.
Despite the chaos that was erupting everywhere, the Duke took solace in the small fragment of peace and tranquility that was Lukas and Evelyn.
He only hoped he could keep it that way.