11:07 A.M.
February 20
Frostmonth 22
Limeroom, Veotera
It was actually closer to five hours before Gary got the call from a runner that the captain had sent. Gary had recharged his Reserves to sixteen percent in that time; though he’d torn into the preserved foods he’d gotten as camping rations to fuel the speedy recovery. He was still furiously reading texts in his Virtual Network the whole time, trying to give himself a crash course in dealing with a mentally ill serial killer with hopefully minimal casualties.
The two clergy and two guards had taken his silent ravenousness as him mentally preparing to kill someone most likely, and they left him to his mental preparations. To be honest the last thing on his mind was that he was going to have to potentially kill someone today. He was keeping that thought at knifepoint specifically to not think about it. His plan was to have 「Rift Maker」 at the ready to actually save a theoretical hostage. He knew how his portals worked and was confident he could prevent a death by popping the man’s attack out through a harmless angle via portal and simply rush him to subdue him.
If he had a rogue-ish Skill set there was no way he didn’t have 「Danger Sense」. Gary didn’t know the differences of how different grades affected each other but figured it was most decidedly not the time to run tests; thus his more defensive plan as opposed to just getting into range and stabbing the guy with his Skill. He was confident in his physical ability and close-quarters battle skill so if he could neutralize the weapon for a few seconds it should be easy to deal a disabling blow and resolve the situation simply.
Gary also tried not to think about the old adage of a plan not surviving contact with the enemy. This was all very high above his pay grade and this confidence he was pretending to have was probably going to get people killed. As he finished off another piece of dried meat and took a hefty swig of water to wash it down, he looked at the religious displays through the church’s interior and sighed heavily. “God, I hope I don’t fuck this up,” he muttered quietly as he hung his head and patted his armor down for a thousandth time to make sure he didn’t forget anything. That one guard’s slit gut rumbled in the back of his head as a warning of this person’s strength.
Seraphina’s pristine skirt hem swished quietly into his lowered line of sight as she clearly looked over him with an expression he didn’t care to look up at. “Curious that your secular heart would reach to the divine in times of crisis, yet you do not exult the Radiant.” Her tone was one of curiosity as he looked up just a little bit and saw her to waist height, hands gently folded across her lap in what he’d learned was effectively her version of ‘parade rest’. He still didn’t look her in the face.
“Doesn’t hurt anything to ask for help when one needs it, and if it gets answered it’s just more evidence to support the pro-divine stance.” A feminine hum of assent at the thought met him as the silence came back. Gary stood up finally as the runner was met by a second one at the door with the final location he needed to go to. “I was more thinking aloud finally that I hope I can save lives today. Even this person’s. I’m not too keen on the idea of killing innocent people.”
“Innocent,” she asked as they began moving towards going outside and following the second runner. “You show sympathy for a known killer. How can they be innocent in your eyes, Gary?” The group minus Remmy and the two guards from before broke into a light jog as they moved towards the position in question. Gary noted that Seraphina had literally no issue keeping this pace, breasts bouncing lightly but predictably with the footfalls hidden beneath her skirt. She was clearly near his own level of ratings at the least.
“I don’t deny the blood on this man’s hands, Seraphina. What I call him innocent for is the fact that he’s displaying very clear signs of an illness that has no treatments here. He is a tragedy in progress; never having had a chance to even attempt to have a normal life because of his own blood. If the treatments to mitigate his symptoms were available in time, perhaps there’d be bloodless hands on his wrists. This poor soul never stood a chance, and is a victim of his own nature. He never asked to hear voices, never asked to be tormented to the point that only causing death and destruction to others is the only way to silence his own torment…”
“Your heart is too generous.” Gary looked to her azure eyes, feeling something steel at the accusation in them. She blinked at the sudden ferocity that met her statement.
“‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ I find it’s one of the better maxims to live by. I know I can’t save this man from the law, and I can’t save him from himself. It doesn’t stop me from trying to bring him comfort for the tragedy of his misbegotten fate. It’s still going to be a pain to my heart but if I do nothing to try and ease it the burden will be greater.” At least that's what he was telling himself. He was under no illusions that this was probably going to go horribly. This was nothing but damage control at this point.
“So even the guilty deserve succor?” The group was coming up on the captain and a small group who were keeping out of sight from the corner they stood by. One guard was on his hands and knees, peeking through what Gary assumed was a gap between a stone rain barrel and the wall around the corner.
“They deserve the chance to receive it, at least. Hardening your heart to the sorrows of the lowest leaves you numb to the joys of the highest.” The group came up to the captain, who waved them urgently to his side. The man eyed Gary and nodded before flicking his eyes towards the nun at his side. Seraphina dipped herself into a curtsey to the man. “Captain, meet Inquisitor Seraphina de Lys. Figured it’d be a good idea to bring some backup that’s got full Reserves.”
“Thank you for gracing us, Inquisitor,” the captain responded with a curt bow and clear gratitude in his voice. Gary and likely Seraphina caught the admiring glance to her clothed cleavage - frankly he man would have to be a hardcore eunuch to not at least sneak a peek - before he straightened up to his full height and hooked a thumb over his shoulder around the corner. “Got the bastard around the corner there. He’s sitting on the stoop of a boarding house, just rocking back and forth.” Gary blinked as he looked around, his eyes narrowing.
“..This near Denning Street?”
“This is Denning Street.” Gary moved to the man crouching by the rain barrel, judged the lighting situation to not be one that would make a reflection known, and pulled a polished steel mirror out of a pouch on his belts. He leaned it to and fro out of sight of down the street and was satisfied he wouldn’t be given away by inadvertent signaling before he angled the polished metal square to give him a look down the street without moving the guard from his own line of sight.
His face twisted into a frown. There was the guy; greasy mohawk, tattered bloodstained clothing, and looking like he was having the worst time of his life. He was rocking back and forth gently muttering to himself and occasionally jerking at some unseen assailment from things that likely weren’t there. Gary’s frown was from the fact that he was sitting on the stoop of the exact boarding house Delilah had brought him to when he’d escorted her home. A low sigh as Gary lowered the steel mirror back into its pouch and turned back to the assembled guards and Inquisitor. He kept his voice low as he spoke.
“Alright. He’s still on the stoop. I’m pretty sure that boarding house is empty at this time of day, but be prepared just in case. I’m going to use 「Stealth」 to circle around and come at him from the other side. You guys stay here and get ready to move in if things go sideways. If he comes this way, don’t hesitate. Get him on the ground and pinned as best you can. The Skill only stops you from perceiving him with your eyes. Getting a physical hold on him will counteract it’s ability to conceal. And for the love of God reign in your bloodlust. It’ll trigger 「Danger Sense」 if you’re directing angered thoughts at him hard enough.”
The assembled forces nodded, at which Gary took a deep breath and triggered 「Stealth」. He faded into ten different shadows that fell from sight as he quickly took off behind the group and quickly circled the block to come in from the far side. A part of him was relieved that the man hadn’t moved, but another was a little annoyed that he’d chosen this particular boarding house to stop at. There was nothing for it but to go for it, it seemed. Gary kept to his own advice and made sure to have a deep grip on any thoughts of anger in his own mind as he slowly approached.
Thirty feet, twenty feet, ten. He took great care to step slowly and calmly, his Skill having plenty of time left on it. He got to within about six feet before the man’s head jerked up and his fully-wide eyes locked onto a spot slightly to Gary’s right. A spooked look on his haggard and gaunt face preceded a shriek of terror. A shiny and immaculately-maintained jeweled knife flashed up and the motion sent a flashing shard of tiny ice spikes spraying down the street to glitter in the near-noon light. The sound attracted someone from within the boarding house, and both Gary and the haggard man twisted to the sound with near-matching horrified expressions: his because of mental illness running roughshod over his sanity, and Gary because this was about to turn into a hostage situation.
The door opened just enough for Gary to catch a familiar flick of honey blond before his adrenaline went into overdrive and he immediately used 「Leap」 to tackle the knife-wielding man off the stoop. His concealing Skill broke as the man screamed in terror at his hallucinations suddenly gaining physical sensation and lashing out with his knife at the armored figure that had him in a death grip around the mid-torso, rolling them into the street amid clatters of metal, stone, and flesh. Gary felt the knife screech against his back upper plate and skitter the deadly point away from his leather under armor. Sounds and shouts from the guards that rounded the corner; the guards and Inquisitor rushing down the street to aid the tussle. As the struggle and flipping around in the street continued, Gary saw Delilah aghast in the mostly-opened doorway at the sudden surge of violence on her doorstep and into the street.
The haggard man was fighting him mightily; desperation, adrenaline, and the suicidal strength of the insane combining to actually let him get atop Gary and bring the knife up in a two-handed stabbing position. He heard several shouts all at once and knew this was the do-or-die moment as none would be able to reach him in time. The knife came down with a horrified scream from the man and at the last possible instant Gary triggered 「Rift Maker」. Gary almost felt a sagging bit of relief as the Cherenkov Blue cloud manifested into the terminal point of the swing, right in Gary’s face. He’d directed the exit point out and away into the sky and the man’s hands crashed into the otherwise invisible boundary of the rift.
Organic matter was unable to pass the portal’s event horizon yet. That left the knife-wielding hands pressed awkwardly against some unseen barrier and before the man could retract his hands Gary swung his hands in to grasp the man’s occupied wrists in a deathgrip. Another struggle ensued for the five seconds it took before Gary squeezed his grip for all he was worth, fingers digging deeply into the flesh of the wrist’s insides to mess with the musculature there and loosen the grip on the knife. As he’d hoped Gary watched the five seconds elapse and the knife flew out of the cloud, out of the man's grasp, and clattered to the street somewhere out of sight and mind.
By now the guards had closed the distance, practically smashing the haggard man off of Gary and tore him out of the Plunderer’s grasp. Rough slamming sounds and thunks echoed through the horrified screams as the man struggled with his new oppressors even as a third man joined the pile and a fourth dove for the kicking legs to pin them down as well. Gary was on his feet in an instant. He looked over the tussling pile of bodies and looked quickly around for a rope or something. The captain saw the frantic look and tossed a set of self-locking manacles to Gary’s waiting hands.
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He dove into the pile himself, and the feeling of cold metal clamping around the man’s wrist set the panicked screaming to a new pitch and fervor as the men understood Gary’s intent. They grasped the man firmly and managed to roll him over enough for the second arm to be freed. It flailed about until the guard on that side grabbed it and held it up and back for Gary to get to with the other manacle. A pained tone entered the screaming at the angle so Gary quickly fastened the other one and finally spoke aloud.
“Keep hold of his upper arms! Middle guard, help with the legs! Someone get me something for that.. Delilah, there any rope over there?!”
Startled at being called out to, the barmaid looked about frantically before she found a couple coils sitting under an awning. She grasped the coils and tossed the rope from a distance towards the haggard man’s legs. The two guards now down there caught Gary’s intentions and quickly got the captain’s help in securing the still-flailing limbs into a wrapped bundle with a really sturdy-looking knot on it. Gary was straddling the man’s pelvis - really more sitting on the guy’s thin butt to add his weight to pinning him down - by this point as he kept the shackled wrists pressed into the man’s lower back.
He looked over the assembled formation holding the struggling man down and began nodding to himself in approval. This had gone far better than he’d hoped. His heart rate was coming down out of the low quadruples by now as he took stock of how to proceed from here.
“Good work, guys! Just keep hold of him up there. One of you on the legs can back off if the other one just lays down on them towards the mid-calf to keep them from flailing about.” He looked over his shoulder at the captain who was breathing a little heavy simply from the excitement more than exhaustion and nodded to the man. “Good call with the manacles!”
“God in Heaven, boy! I’ve never had a restraint go this smoothly!”
Gary smiled thinly as he looked back at the prisoner, who had gone from screaming his lungs out to sobbing into the cobblestone streets like his heart had been crushed. Gary’s smile faded as his mind caught up with his slowly ebbing adrenaline. Here was the part he was dreading.
“Guys, help me roll him over.” The guards were surprised by the request but GAry raised up from his seat enough to let the burly men rotate the prisoner below him so he faced the sky now. The fight had largely gone out of the man at this point. He probably didn’t have anything left to give; he looked tired, exhausted, and like he hadn’t been running on anything but sheer terror for months at this point. Dull and near-lifeless dark eyes blinked at the noonday sun on his face before Gary leaned forward and loomed over to provide shade and a focus for the man to lock onto. The screaming looked like it was about to start back up again when Gary simply held his hands on either side of the man’s face.
“Calm,” he said in a soft and gentle voice, straining to not let his adrenaline into the tone. “Calm,” he repeated in an even gentler voice as he tried to sooth the man down from the brink. The scream was still lingering on the man’s tongue but he was clearly trying to swallow it back down. “It’s alright. We’re here now… The voices can’t get you in the sunlight.”
At the mention of the voices, the man weakly tried to struggle. Gary squeezed his hands together lightly to refocus the man’s attention.
“It’s okay. They may still be there but all they can do is talk. I won’t let them hurt you. Focus on me. I’m real. You’re real. Say it with me. ‘I’m real; you’re real.’” He softly nodded as the man’s lips began moving, the fractured mind behind the eyes trying to say it and make it true. The movements of the lips became more coherent and Gary nodded encouragement to the increasing cohesion before he heard a weak voice finally work past the scream the man had wanted to say.
“I’m real.. You’re real.” A firm nod and smile greeted the declaration. “I’m real, you’re real.” More encouragement and Gary released some of the pressure on the man’s cheeks to let him speak more clearly. “I’m real; you’re real. I’m real; you’re real! I’M REAL; YOU’RE REAL!” The last ended in a shout that was weary exultation, making Gary smile more strongly.
“Good. Good. They can’t hurt you if you don’t let them. They’re not real. I’m real; you’re real.” The sadness of this scenario was evident to Gary, but this was going to be the extent of what he could offer the man. Something to cling to in his final moments. “Do you know who you are?”
A hesitant nod, a swallow from a dry throat. Gary looked at the man’s condition and decided to risk it.
“Someone hand me a waterskin or a cup or something. He needs water.” Once more it was Delilah to the rescue as she disappeared back into the boarding house and emerged with a cup of water. She approached and as soon as she was in view the man lost the coherence in his eyes and was about to start screaming again when Gary realized his mistake. He grabbed one of the man’s shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position, blocking the view he had of the now-frozen-in-place blond. A tired and hyperventilating sound came from the man Gary had pressed into a hug as he accepted the cup with his left hand. “It’s okay. The blond lady won’t hurt you. I won’t let her.”
Delilah looked offended at the statement and Gary sent her a pleading look along with a single shake of his head. She finally relented, and seemed to finally get the idea she was somehow a problem in Gary’s attempts to calm this man down. She wisely stepped around out of immediate sight as Gary adjusted his sitting position to let the man lean back enough to allow Gary to bring the cup into play.
“Here, drink some water. Nice and slow. It’s all here for you.” Little by little, he managed to encourage the man to drink and moisten his throat. Gary was happy the others understood he was trying something and weren’t interfering. “Good, good. Nice and calm. Now, can you tell me who you are?”
“N-nathaniel.. Nathani- shut up!” Nathaniel’s head jerked to the side and he shouted angrily into the empty air. “You’re not real! Stop talking!” He finally looked back towards Gary who sat there patiently waiting for his answer. “I’m.. Nathaniel Parrid.. I’m Nathaniel Parrid! You damn voices!” Gary nodded at the shouting; it was right in his face but not directed towards him. Schizophrenia this bad was long past the point he could even try and help, and that was before the fact that this man was going to be executed without a doubt.
“Parrid,” the captain behind him said in an incredulous voice. “Wait, isn’t that Lord Parrid; the ruling noble of Limeroom?!” Gary turned his head slightly towards the sound of the man’s voice before gently speaking.
“Maladies of the mind don’t care for one’s rank, captain. I presume from your tone that Nathaniel here is Lord Parrid’s kid?”
“Second kid! Second best! Second isn’t good enough!” Nathaniel cried out as the tears began flowing and the sobs started back up. Gary held him against his armored chest in a hug as the poor man devolved back into trembling sobs in the embrace. Yet deeper tragedy. He was starting to dislike Limeroom a bit. Gauntleted hands patted Nathaniel’s back as he soothed the distraught figure.
“Shh… Shh… It’s alright, Nathaniel. I’m real; you’re real. We’re here.” As Nathaniel calmed down again Gary risked looking over his shoulder. The guards, the captain, Seraphina, and Delilah who’d joined the rear of the crowd for possible protection all watched this play out. “I’m going to get off you now, Nathaniel. Are you going to sit here properly? You can yell at the voices all you want, okay?”
A weak nod into his shoulder answered him and Gary finally got off the man as he patted between his shoulder blades and sat beside him. He finally looked properly at the assembled people with a sad expression that he made sure Nathaniel couldn’t see. Delilah had a dawning look of comprehension on her face at the way he was acting, the guards looked unconvinced but willing to play along, and Seraphina’s red-eyeshadowed eyes were ablaze with neon azure locked into his own gray ones. He met her gaze stubbornly for a few moments before turning to look at Nathaniel who had turned his head to look towards Gary with weary eyes.
“I’m tired… Can I go to sleep? The voices won’t let me.”
“Remember, Nathaniel; they’re not real. All they can do is say mean things. Just think really hard about them being quiet. I’ll get my friends here to find you somewhere nice and bright to sleep, okay? Will you go with them quietly?” Weakly, the haggard man nodded and leaned forward with clear exhaustion barely letting him hold himself upright. Gary nodded to the captain, who gave a motion to the men with him. “Treat him gently, he’s very tired. Make sure he gets somewhere nice and sturdy to sleep, and make it well-lit.” His gentle words carried a stern glare Nathaniel didn’t see, the clear implication that he was giving instructions to keep the prisoner pacified. “And if the voices start going off again, remind him that he’s real and you’re real but the voices aren’t. Gently.”
Nods resounded as they hefted the shackled and trussed-up prisoner between them and silently made their way to the stockade of Limeroom. Once far enough away, Gary laid back onto the cobblestoned streets with a sharp clatter of metal on stone. “Holy fuck, that almost ended badly…”
“Gary, what the hell was that?” Delilah stepped forward now, looking down at him with a stern look and hands on her hips. The stern look didn’t suit her and Gary couldn’t help but smirk sadly up at her as she leaned over him, bosom and hair both affected by gravity to cast his face in shadow.
“Catching a serial killer,” he responded simply. She blinked at the word ‘killer’, then he saw her lose a few shades of color when she understood why he’d moved like that when she’d opened the door. “..Yeah. Poor bastard’s schizophrenic, and apparently has been killing people in Limeroom off and on for a while now trying to stop his symptoms with the death noises of other people or some such.”
“Schee-zoh–” She was clearly having trouble with the English word, so Gary waved off her attempt at pronouncing the word.
“An illness of the mind. One of the primary and most famous of its symptoms is hallucinations; most famously auditory.” The captain’s face lit up with understanding as he made a noise of exclamation.
“That’s why he kept talking about voices! I thought that was just some distracting act!”
“No, sadly. He’s been unwell for far longer than recently. Early onset can be as young as early childhood in particularly potent cases. What I was doing there was simply trying to calm him down enough to be transported. In reality it’s like using smoke to fight an avalanche, but hopefully it’ll buy you guys enough time to do what you need to. Lord Parrid’s probably not gonna be happy his kid’s a killer. Glad I don’t have to tell him!”
Seraphina had been watching him this whole time; eyes still brightly ablaze with that Skill of hers. She’d chosen to remain silent and was seemingly content to just watch him as he conversed. It struck him as her being a judgemental bitch but he understood she was trying to understand him better and better. Delilah caught the look as well but misinterpreted it. She saw the church garb and dipped into an awkward and clearly unpracticed curtsey at the far-fancier dressed nun. Those azure eyes flicked to her and she got a nod of raven-haired assent at the gesture.
“God be with you, child.”
“Thank you, sister.” Gary detected a note of bitterness in the reply.
“So, what now? Case closed?” The captain spoke up as he looked up and down the street. He spotted something and scooped it up after moving over there, coming up with the knife that Nathaniel had. Gary saw a nice-looking sapphire on the pommel. Water magic, or more specifically ice magic. The call had been right.
“Seems so. Even with noble parents, he’s apparently got a trail of bodies behind him and all those guards he injured last night. No way to avoid an execution most likely. The lord’ll probably want it quietly done. If people didn’t know he was missing and in the slums, then the man’s got a cover story in place. Better use that knife to back up your discreet asking about how to handle it. ..I just ask that you make sure it’s quick, or subtle. Maybe give him an overdose of sleeping medicine? No one benefits from it being public.”
“Aye,” the man drawled as he looked sadly at the knife. Gary’s Plunderer cried at the thought of losing the sapphire, but his mind understood it wasn’t really for him. “Guess I’d better go release the lockdown and inform the lord. I’ll leave you folks to it. Thank you for your time, Inquisitor.”
“Go with His Grace, good sir. Your works are appreciated by the folk of this city and by God.” With a respectful round of nods, the captain moved to follow his men. Seraphina turned her gaze back to the Delver and barmaid, now crossing her arms under her breasts with a stern look on her face. “So when are you getting married?”
Delilah flinched visibly at the words. Gary looked at the reaction then sat up and glared at Seraphina. He got a cool look from behind her power face in reply. The blond hung her head and sulked quietly before murmuring a reply.
“It doesn’t matter.” With that, she turned from them, ran back into the boarding house and slammed the door. Gary was on his feet now and glaring at the Inquisitor with sheer menace. She looked him in the face, a crack forming in the way her eyes looked at him. She was slightly remorseful; just a tiny bit. But not enough for his tastes. He leveled a finger at her accusingly and she responded by standing up a tad straighter, still with her arms crossed under her bosom as if daring to challenge her was a zero-sum game at this point.
Something had gone on there, and he didn’t like it at all. She simply bowed her head, uncrossed her arms, and walked back in the direction of the church without a word.