The fog rolled in off the lake to engulf the village in a foul smelling blanket, although it was less of a lake and more of a festering swamp. Alix kept himself low amongst the debris in the alley, a mess of broken barrels and crates, rotten straw, and a constant slurry that seemed to flow throughout the village underfoot. Mortlake was an all-round foul place, but he was just glad the sun had set before they reached it. If he was able to see what he was smelling, see the filth he was standing in, he probably would have run back to the hills.
With Primal Ruin equipped, Alix managed to fade into the darkness, Tifayn and Brant crouching behind him. He could hear Brant’s furious breathing, fighting Alix’s command not to charge ahead. He held the unbelted claymore in his hand, having removed the sheath the instant Alix handed it to him. It looked almost like a toy in his giant hand, buy a toy that could murder dozens. Evory had flown off to a rooftop somewhere to scout ahead, while Tifayn stared into the fog as if she could see through the thick miasma. She had been unusually quiet and brooding throughout the day. When Alix had asked her what was wrong, and also where her weapon was, she had replied in a harsh voice that she despised slavery, and that she wouldn’t need a weapon. Then she had refused to speak another word.
Mortlake barely earned the right to call itself a village. It was a dingy collection of ramshackle building that appeared to be built mostly from scrap. The main focus of the village were the docks that stretched out onto the waters, where a large ship had just docked moments earlier. Up until then, the village had been as silent as the grave, apart from a whistling that emanated from the trees and rooftops every so often.
The ships bell let out a mournful toll that cut dully through the fog, and from doors all around, figures dressed in raggedy grey outfits appeared. Strips of cloth were sewn onto whatever rags they wore underneath, giving them the appearance of wisps of fog floating through the streets.
What’s happening Evory? Alix asked though his connection to the vampire.
I can see them carrying cages out of some sort of warehouse and down to the ship. It’s too dark to see what’s inside them, Evory replied.
I thought vampires had no trouble seeing in the dark?
I can see fine in the dark, but this fog is different. Those weird whistling sounds are messing with my senses as well. I had a look at one on a rooftop. Well, I smashed it open. It looked like it was set to make a noise at random times but I don’t know what it was for.
How many of the Ghost Company are out there?
I can see about a dozen on the ship and another dozen in the village, but there could be more.
“Evory thinks there’s at least two dozen of them out there,” Alix said to the two waiting patiently behind him. Now that he was here, he didn’t know what to do next. He was suddenly faced with the question of what he would do if he had to kill one of these men. Could he do it? He realised he still felt detached enough from this world that he probably could, if he had to. It was just a game. The lives of slavers didn’t matter at all.
“What’s in those cages?” Brant asked, catching sight of the boxes moving down the docks.
“Evory said she can’t make that out in the fog.”
“Are you fucking blind Alix? Slavers carrying cages means there’s bloody slaves inside them! Let’s get out there!”
“Are you able to take on twenty four men by yourself?”
“Just watch me. With this sword, I’ll carve them to pieces.”
“We need to know if Ophenia is here for sure first, otherwise we are risking our lives for nothing. I’ve got a better idea,” Alix said, bracing himself for what he was about to do.
“I told you I’m not fucking buying my wife back from these bastards!” Brant hissed against his invisible chains.
“You won’t have to. Wait here. Don’t move, unless they draw weapons on me.”
Alix stood up out of the muck and stepped out of the alley before Brant of Tifayn could say another word. They hissed behind him but he ignored them. He was tired of sneaking around. He took a small sip of Obscene Privilege but left Xilian in his inventory. The last thing he wanted was to come across as hostile. His hat also stayed behind. This was one encounter in which he wanted the potion to have full effect.
“Good evening!” Alix called out into the fog as he reached the end of the dock. A backlog of cages had been piled up there from the warehouses they had been lifted from, waiting for the ship’s crew to haul them the rest of the way. He instantly noted shapes moving behind the hard iron bars.
Master, what are you doing! Evory called in a panic.
Stay hidden and stay quiet, Alix promptly replied.
The men of the Ghost Company all stopped what they were doing and rushed to intercept Alix’s march towards the dock. Close up he could see that the grey streamers were attached to some sort of hooded poncho, with the hoods covering the faces of everyone there. Wide lenses had been fashioned into the hoods, along with more strips of grey material. It gave them all the look of malevolent owls, which would have been comical to Alix if they weren’t involved in such horrible crimes.
In moments he was surrounded by the owls, the ring identifying them only as Ghost, with levels ranging from low-twenties to mid-forties. Alix suddenly felt like he had stumbled into a new game area wildly outside of his current level.
Just keep remembering, you’ve got cheats…
“I think you are in the wrong place, stranger,” one of the higher level Ghosts said from underneath their hood in a distinctly male voice. The ring told him he was level thirty nine, but he didn’t look like much. In fact, all of the owls looked like their costumes hid thin spindly figures beneath them.
“On the contrary, it looks like I’m in exactly the right place. Some friends of mine in Galdea told me you boys were the ones to find if I was looking to purchase…shall we say an exotic mate.”
“You heard wrong,” the Ghost replied. As one, they all drew thin white blades. Alix analysed one and saw it was named Venbrill Blade (Poisonous). That doesn’t sound good…
“Don’t be so hasty boys, I can pay well,” Alix said, taking the two bars of gold from his pockets, trying to catch their eyes with the glinting fortune. None of them seemed to pay any attention to the offer, but he could feel Brant’s furious gaze burning into his back.
“We will be taking that gold as payment for you bothering us, and that fancy suit of armour. If you have it over without a fight, we might let you out of here with your life,” the Ghost said, beginning to advance on him.
Why the hell isn’t the potion working on them? Alix asked the ring, the first hints of panic building within him.
It must be the lenses in their hoods, the ring offered. It was as good an explanation as any.
“Look boys, I’ve come here in good faith, with good money, but you are idiots if you think I’ve come here alone and defenceless. My men are waiting outside the village for my signal to help me carry back my purchases.”
“Looks like you are alone to me,” the Ghost replied, looking dramatically to his left and right.
“Alright, I’m going to give you guys one last chance not to die tonight. Do you have any Ringtail’s for sale or not? I suggest you stop being so obtuse and answer the damn question.”
The Ghost was silent for a moment, before he turned to his men. “Show him the merch, boys,” he said with a theatrical air.
A few of the Ghosts produced lanterns that had been kept shuttered until then, and walked over to the cages, shining the light on what was within.
Sickly looking Ringtail’s were crammed into every cage. It was hard to tell if they were breathing from such a distance, but they all looked very limp.
“Your merchandise doesn’t look very…alive,” Alix said, hoping Brant couldn’t hear him.
“It’s to keep them quiet on the ship until they reach their destination. Just a quick jab with one of these Venbrill blades and they go as limp as a bag of sand.” The Ghost chuckled and the rest of the crowd joined in. Suddenly Alix realised that he was surrounded by a lot more than two dozen. More had crept out of the fog as he had talked.
Evory, this has gone on long enough. Their hoods are stopping my potion from affecting them. Are you able to remove a few?
I’ll try…wait, master, there’s something wrong with Tifayn, Evory replied.
What do you mean, there’s something wrong with her?
Before Evory could reply, a scream of pure terror cut through the fog. It was a gut-wrenching sound, made all the more disturbing by how quickly it was cut off. It came from back in the village, near where Alix had left Brant and Tifayn.
Evory, what was that!
No reply came. The Ghosts suddenly forgot about Alix and raised their poisoned blades against the fog, waving them around wildly at every wisp that shifted in the soft breeze.
Alix decided the time for games was up, so he drew Xilian from his inventory and raised it defensively. Suddenly what Alix could only describe as the Devil raced out of the fog, snatched up a Ghost and then disappeared again. The creature had to have been eight feet tall at least, with leathery pitch black skin, hooved feet and twisted horns that pierced the sky, which, along with their eyes, burned with an inner fire. Alix froze solid, completely unsure of what to do now.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Before he could think of retreating, another shape dashed past him out of the fog, enormous sword raised high. Brant charged in absolute silence as the Ghosts were distracted by the sounds of their companions last excruciating moments.
With a powerful swing born from a lifetime of training, Brant swung the Claymore in a wide figure eight. The Ghost Alix had been talking to lost his head, as did the one beside him, and then their legs were cut out from under them as the sword made its return swing. Blood gushed from half a dozen different directions, spraying the surrounding Ghosts with red, making them easier to spot in the fog.
Suddenly they all forgot about the devil stalking them in the fog and concentrated on the one slashing and flailing about in their midst. Their small thin blades were no match for the reach of the Claymore though. A pair tried to flee, but they were bowled down by the remains of their companion coming flying out of the shadows of the village. He was no more than a pulped mass of bones and sinew.
Into the fray Evory appeared, diving out of the darkness to snatch away as many hoods as she could. Alix managed to catch the attention of every one that was unmasked, and he was saddened to see how young they all appeared to be. Before Brant was surrounded, although he seemed to be holding his own well enough, Alix charged in. Having given them enough chances to do the right thing, and seeing what they had chosen to do otherwise, his conscious was clear.
The Ghosts that were unfortunate enough to catch his gaze instantly turned towards the cages and began unlocking them in an attempt to give Alix what he had been asking for. It gave Brant plenty of chances to cut down those that became distracted wondering what their companions were doing.
Just as Alix was about to engage with one of the Ghosts, the monstrous devil appeared out of the fog again and impaled his opponent on their horns. The Ghosts flesh sizzled where it made contact with the horns, The Ghost didn’t even have a chance to scream before the beast tore him from the horns and threw him out into the lake.
“Master, that’s Tifayn!” Evory called as she swooped down to yank off a few more cowls.
Alix’s blood ran cold at the sight of her. She had called herself a demon before, but he hadn’t imagined she had this sort of beast lurking within her. At the sight of her, a handful of Ghosts turned to flee, but she chased after them, catching them easily in a few strides. She grabbed one in each giant hand, and used the bodies as clubs to beat the others to death, leaving a smearing of bloody pulp all along the road.
Brant continued to hack away in the background, steadily cutting down the number of Ghosts, his blade a whirlwind of death. It didn’t look like there was any safe way to join in the fight without getting in Brant’s way, so instead Alix rushed over to the cages to check on the Ringtails.
They were a sickly looking bunch, incredibly thin and unwashed to the point that their tails were a mass of matted fur, but he could see that all of them appeared to be Ringless.
You better be here Ophenia…
If she wasn’t, he doubted even the Soulbind would be enough to stop Brant’s rampage.
“Spare one of them!” Alix called over to where Brant was fighting the last few Ghosts. Their choice had been to run towards Tifayn or try their luck fighting Brant. Both were losing options. The bodies were piled up around him like he was in the middle of building something. “I want some questions answered.”
There was little Alix thought he could do for the Ringtails, all of which were female, other than check that they were all still breathing, which luckily they all were. Then he remembered what the Ghost had said, and the Poisonous tag his analysis had given their blades.
Alix withdrew his last case of antidotes, grabbed a vial and picked a Ringtail at random. He unstoppered the vial and poured the contents into the girls mouth. He wasn’t sure, but it looked like the girls breathing improved, and a bit of colour returned to her pale skin, although it was very hard to tell in the uneven light.
One by one, he fed the girls an antidote, as the sounds of fighting grew quieter and quieter, until there was only one whimpering voice behind him. Just as he finished administering the last potion, Brant threw down a now one armed man that was bleeding profusely.
“Here’s your one,” he said, then began to scan the Ringtails. After a few moments his eyes spotted one familiar. The claymore fell from his hands, its length sticky with gore, and he rushed over to one of the seemingly lifeless Ringtails lying in the dirt.
“They all seem fine. I have given them an antidote to counter whatever poison the Ghosts gave them,” Alix called to Brant, before turning to the last remaining Ghost before he bled to death. As soon as he saw Alix, his whimpering stopped and he forgot all about his missing arm.
“Most of them recover perfectly fine,” the Ghost said in an attempt to be as helpful as possible.
“What do you mean, most?”
“Well, the journey can take a while some times. If they don’t get the antidote at the other end in time, it can cause some permanent damage. Their bodies are still fine, don’t worry about that, but their minds are gone.”
Alix was unable to express how disgusted he was with the man, but he wanted to get some answers out of him before he disposed of him. “Where were they going to be taken?”
“Celadon, they go to Celadon.”
“Are there any more here in the village?”
“No, this is the last shipment of the month. The rest have already gone,” the Ghost replied, ecstatic that he was able to answer Alix’s questions.
“How about you go show me how long you can hold your breath underwater? Don’t come up until I tell you,” Alix said, heading over to Brant.
The Ghost hauled himself up from the ground, ran down the dock and then dived into the murky water.
Alix found Brant leaning over one of the Ringless, holding her up in his arms. She was still to wake, but text floating above her showed what he had been hoping for; Ophenia Brant, Lv. 28.
“It looks like she will be alright. Let’s get out of here,” Alix said.
“We can’t just leave the others. Look at them. They will die out here without out help.”
“Shit. I’ll go look for a wagon or something.”
Just then he heard the sound of cracking timbers and the ground shook as something caused the ramshackle buildings to violently explode.
Evory dropped down from the sky. “We’ve got a problem. Tifayn has reverted to her original demon form and she’s going on a rampage.”
Alix had no time to react to her revelation, as a commotion came from the ship hiding in the fog. Over the side poured a stream of Ghosts, way more than Alix would have expected from a ship with such a shallow draft for navigating the swampy waterways. Flashes and glints drew his eye, and as the men got closer, he realised they were all armed with rifles. Ten, twenty, thirty gunmen he counted, as the monster that had once been Tifayn continued to wreak havoc on what remained of the village.
As the numbers continued to grow, Tifayn finally caught sight of the new enemies. She appeared out of the fog dual wielding roof beams like swords.
There’s something I think you should see, the ring said as Alix watched the chaos unfold before him. Brant was paying no attention to the army rapidly assembling around them and the unconscious Ringtails.
I don’t think now is the time- he began but the ring cut him off.
You read Practical Magic? You need to cast Telescopic Vision right now. Focus on the ship.
Alix quickly flicked through his menus to look for the spell, one he barely remembered reading about. It took him a few precious moments, but he managed to find the spell and tap on it.
The effects were dizzying at first, until he learned how to control the magnifying effects. He quickly focussed on the ship and saw what the ring was talking about.
Fuck…
Text that had been floating out in the fog finally became visible.
Chase Gun – 8 Pounder
Carronade – 68 Pounder
As well as the cannons, the upper decks were bristling with Swivel Guns, and all were pointed in the direction of Tifayn and the helpless Ringtails.
“Brant get the fuck out of here now! Grab a Ringtail and run as fast as you can. You too Evory!”
“Wh-“ Evory began to ask.
“NOW!” Alix roared.
Brant had no choice but to obey. He flung his wife over one shoulder, then picked up another Ringtail and flung her over the other and sped off into the fog before the ship’s crew could fully surround them. Evory grabbed another two and took off into the sky, but Tifayn ran past the Ringtails still lying in the dirt.
Just before she reached the line of men, that were furiously trying to load and aim their guns at the demon, a thunderous roar came from the ship as the carronade fired its huge load. With demonic reflexes, Tifayn raised the crossed roofbeams before her. The cannonball tore through the fog, leaving a clear tunnel in its wake, and struck the wooden beams head on. The impact shattered the beams and threw Tifayn to the ground.
They had run out of time. The next shot would tear through Tifayn. He couldn’t lose her. Alix put away Xilian, took the Obscene Privilege potion of out his inventory, which was still almost full, threw away the stopper and downed the whole vial. Then he ran in front of the men as they raised their guns at a dazed Tifayn, and yelled into the night. “Turn your guns on those firing from the ship!”
This time, after consuming so much of the potion, Alix didn’t need to rely on Evory to tear off their hoods so he could catch their eye for the effects to overwhelm them. As his voice reached the first man, he instantly swung his gun over the head of the others, took aim, and fired at one of the men manning a swivel gun. The man slumped to the deck, but another stepped forward to take his place. Unsure of where the shot had come from, everyone on the ship continued to aim at Tifayn. The rest of the men suddenly they turned in a wave and battered the ship with a hail of gunfire.
With the Ghost distracted by their companions turning on them, Alix rushed over to where Tifayn was lying in a shallow pit dug by the force of her hitting the ground. She was unrecognisable. Black scales had grown to cover her once silky soft skin. The fire had left her horns now that she was unconscious, but as he stepped up to her, her eyes shot open and the flame returned, scorching the air with their heat. She bared her black teeth filed to deadly points.
The potion didn’t seem to be having much effect on her just with eye contact so he tried a different approach, hoping that his gamble would pay off.
“Tifayn, I order you to get control of yourself. Get the rest of the Ringtails out of here and get back to the castle,” he spoke clearly.
Tifayn’s gaze shifted to the commotion around the boat, a growling growing deep in her chest.
“Tifayn!” Alix barked, and her attention shot back to him. “Do as I command, Tifayn. I will deal with the ones here.”
Slowly the flame left her horns and the fire in her eyes died down, but not all the way. She struggled out of the shallow pit, shaken from the cannonball, all the while keeping her eyes locked on the battling Ghosts. Instead of charging them again, she mechanically stepped over to where the Ringtails were, loaded them back into cages, stacked them up precariously and carried them off into the fog, as if they were shopping bags she was determined to get inside in one go.
With all the Ringtails safely away, Alix turned back to the confused battle going on behind him. The Ghosts on the ship had finally realised it was their own men firing on them and had begun turning their guns on the men ashore. The carronade fired again, and half a dozen Ghosts were blown into the air.
“Get in there and fight them to the last man! ” Alix yelled to the Ghosts, still following their orders to the letter, to fire on those in the ship. “Then I want you to sail the ship out to deeper waters, gather in the hold, set a charge and blow out the hull. Then you are all to play a little game and see who can hold their breath underwater the longest.”
Ignoring the carnage and body parts strewn around them, they rushed back down the dock and up the side of the ship. Soon screaming and gunfire erupted from inside the ship, and then the clashing of swords. After a few moments the sounds faded into eerie silence. Without a word the remaining Ghosts appeared back on deck, soaked in blood, and the ship floated silently back into the fog.
Alix watched the ship disappear, numb. There was no sense of relief in what he had accomplished. His only consolation was that most of the men probably deserved their fate. A pair of lanterns, miraculously unscathed, caught his attention. He grabbed their handles and walked back into the streets of the ruined village.
After Tifayn’s rampage, there was barely anything left of it. All of the houses seem to have been built over pits in the ground, holes where they must have kept their slaves until the ships arrived to collect them. There was no sign of any women or children, or any sign that anyone other than the Ghost Company lived in the village, which was little more than a dozen buildings squatting close together on the water’s edge.
Alix threw the lanterns into the splintered remains of the village and walked off into the darkness. The fire quickly spread among the ruins, a foul smelling smoke billowing up into the air. A dull boom echoed out across the water. The fire grew into a towering inferno until there was nothing left of Mortlake other than a pockmarked black stain.