Jacques half-expected Senesin Kestal to either be killed or be rescued by the Church of Nihilo. To his relief, Kestal was still alive and still within the prison, serving time for the crimes he perpetrated. Despite the dirty, industrial haven, Macksten was not corrupt or governed by a corrupt company. From what Jacques learned upon reading a brief history on the Haven, the industrial city was apparently built over the ruins of an ancient, pre-war city, which was already technologically advanced before the war started. The founders of the present day Macksten discovered an archive of the secrets of the devastated city’s technological advancement, building Macksten with that knowledge in mind.
Even so, in Jacques’s opinion, they should start thinking about modernizing their industry. There was no guarantee that it would last if it was as dirty and as polluting as it was. Deciding not to think much about the city’s fate, he returned to the task at hand.
The prison Kestal was held in was built beside the concrete wall that surrounded the haven, with one side being within the wall itself. It may look like a problem at first glance, especially since the other side of the wall was a wasteland. Someone could easily blow a part of the wall and let the inmates escape, or a prison breakout could possibly happen.
That would be the case if the prison was on the ground floor.
The ground floor was occupied by a garage intended for supplies, complete with a service rail that came with a pair of trains parked inside the building. Somewhere close by, a satellite settlement acted as the source of food for the prison and the Haven at large, connected by the service rail. It was one of several ‘satellite towns’ with differing functions, ranging from food production to suburbs for families. They were all as guarded as the main haven, which gave Macksten a much bigger expansion beyond the walls they erected when compared with the other havens in the area. Of course, like many havens, Fa’ars were not allowed into Macksten, though they were allowed to stay in one of the unsanctioned settlements outside the walls. The settlement, like the suburbs of Macksten, grew into something different. It was not lawless, like many unnamed free towns dotting the wasteland as it had its own police force and contributed to the workforce beyond the walls. While the Haven itself was off-limits to these rat people, they were not miserable. In fact, living inside the Haven could arguably be worse, hence the suburbs.
Due to this, the Fa’ar kid enjoyed waiting in the town with Karkas when Jacques and Raine went into Macksten. The kid had started to warm up to the Crocodilian mage ever since he showed genuine remorse towards his actions. Karkas himself wanted to do this so that he could understand Fa’ars better, especially a Fa’ar with a lot of stories to tell. He would like to know more about the kid, but he should wait until his voice returned. The best the Fa’ar could say were strained whispers, though he managed to say something intelligible as the days went by. He also taught the kid how to write. The kid knew how to write, but in his own kind’s language, so Karkas taught him how to write in Common. The kid wondered why the language he was learning had no unique name, but could not voice his opinion and simply kept this question to himself.
In the meantime, both Jacques and Raine went to the police station where they turned in Kestal and requested a visit with the chameleon Lizan.
As they waited for the officer to give them permission, Raine decided to chat with Jacques as they waited in the corner, to stay out of earshot for most of the beast people.
“So, how long have you been with them? Before you decided to bail out?” asked the cat-eared human.
“5 years, give or take,” replied Jacques. “Long enough for me to start believing their view of the world.”
“That this world is an illusion and everyone’s already dead? It sounds like a major twist in a story than a genuine belief.”
“You’d think otherwise if you’re close to death and your life’s full of shit,” said Jacques. “They preyed on the hopeless and the pessimists. I happen to be on the latter category.”
“Again, no one’s gonna believe that shit, even if they happened to be living a hard life. I mean, if that’s what you believe, why make life hard for other people? You can at least kill yourself.”
“Not everyone is brave enough to do that.”
“Exactly!”
“But you put some good words into a good speaker, and you get yourself a convert. But you’re right. It’s stupid.” Jacques sighed. “Then, you came along. To be fair, I did not expect someone other than my former friends to fight like that. You have your own fair share of story, aren’t you, Raine?”
“We both are,” said Raine. “I didn’t even realize you were part of that dangerous cult when we met.”
“What did you see of me, then?”
“That you’re a loner and you’re good with guns despite of having claws and teeth,” said Raine. “But nothing else.”
“Then I did a good job,” said the Loup. “That’s the point of being anonymous.”
“You’re lucky no one realized who you are by the way you handle those guns, you know. Those tricks would bound to make anyone curious. And a Loup gun mage? You’re too unique to be anonymous, Jacques.”
Before Jacques could say anything to retort Raine’s claims, the police officer that left them to ask for the permission returned to her desk and said, “The prisoner’s ready. Follow me.”
Raine and Jacques obliged. They followed her through the busy station and towards the skybridge above a busy supply depot. Both of them looked on as the workers sorted out packaged food into carts, some of which started moving after they were at full capacity following the rail tracks that led into the city. There seemed to be a recent resupply, making the depot rather busy.
“Is it wise putting the prison above one of your supply depots?” asked Raine. “You could just use the main entrance to your haven.”
“Don’t ask me,” said the officer. “I am not the designer. And besides, they are inmates with good records. The worst ones, and the special cases, are not allowed to work in the depot.”
“You mean, you employed your criminals?” asked Jacques.
“What’s wrong with that? Everyone deserves a second chance.”
“Not everyone.”
The officer sighed. “You’re right. Not everyone. Well, fortunately for you, this isn’t where you’ll find the worst of the worst. If that’s the case, I won’t even consider letting you visit any inmates. Also, we don’t keep them in Macksten or any of the other jails. And besides, it’s rare for anyone to consider them worth living after what they did.”
“How about murder?” asked Jacques.
“There’s a lot of ‘em in the jail, worse than your guy. Still not the worst of the worst. If you want the worst, try a mass killer, or the people who’s responsible for this desert. Oh, and add ‘child killer’ in there, too, since it’s that cult Senesin Kestal belonged to. I’m reasonable enough to know he regretted it, though.”
“And about his condition….”
“Oh, that? Don’t ask me. I’m not with the magic division. He shouldn’t experiment with something so risky by himself, but eh. It’s not something you can freely admit that easily.”
As they walked and talked, they reached the end of the skybridge. Two human officers flanked the door leading to the prison, keeping stern expressions.
“No weapons past this point,” explained the officer escorting them. She then handed them bracelets. “And wear these dampeners.”
Raine and Jacques handed them all their weapons. Jacques gave them his revolvers, his rifle, and his combat knife. Raine gave them his sword and dagger. They then wore the dampeners on their wrists. The effect of having their mana restricted was immediate and unusual. This was the first time they ever had their ability to cast spells restricted. It also increased their anxiety, but they were experienced enough to not make this apparent.
“Now then,” said the officer. “Several rules you need to follow. You can only communicate for 30 minutes. All conversations will be monitored. And finally, any attempts to free the prisoner will be treated harshly.”
“Any guarantee you won’t just sell our weapons and be done with it?” asked Raine, trying to lighten the mood.
The officer, insulted, said, “Don’t mistake this police station with one of your black markets. Get going.”
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“I’m just kidding,” said Raine after the officer’s response. “Sorry.”
Nevertheless, the jest did not sit well with the ones guarding the door. Preferring not to be uncomfortable, Raine hastily walked in while Jacques simply nodded, silently hoping that their response was genuine.
Jacques and Raine found the next room to look rather like a corridor in a hotel, where each door led to a room. They weren’t sure which one would let them talk with Kestal until a green light was turned on over one of the doors with a big ‘C’ on it. The prison guard, a lion subrace Felinar, peeked out to find the two confused bounty hunters and said, “In here.”
They both followed the lion into the room. He promptly closed the door behind them just as the door on the other side opened, revealing Kestal, freed from his botched spell and was now wearing prison garbs. The chameleon Lizan looked rather surprised to see the two, or more specifically, Jacques.
“I was so sure someone’s out to get me,” said Kestal as he sat on the chair. “Am I glad to see you again.”
“You look well,” remarked Jacques. “They managed to fix the spell?”
“Only after they found out about…ehm, the release trigger,” said Kestal, who looked away. His scales started to change color as he became embarrassed. “I’ll spare you the detail.”
“At least you look good with those scales of yours,” said Raine. “Unusual as it is, you look better without black.”
Kestal sheepishly chuckled.
“Yet,” he said after he stopped. “I’m not entirely blameless for what I did that night. The first was understandable, but the second’s unnecessary. Then there’s the issue with the Nihilo stuff they found in my apartment. The deaths ensured a life sentence for me. Good thing my appeal against my former association with Nihilo was a success. We wouldn’t even be talking if that failed.”
Kestal’s eyes took separate glances to both Jacques’s and Raine’s silent expressions, each of his eyes moving independently from each other like a chameleon would. He quickly surmised the reason why they visited him.
“This is about Nihilo, isn’t it?” said Kestal. “I warned you about this, Loup.”
“Tell me where they are now,” said Jacques. “Or if you ever made contact with them after you cut ties with them.”
“No, of course not,” snapped Kestal. “I got out after I became disillusioned. I’m sure as hell’s not going to have anything to do with them anymore.”
“But you can at least try and tell us what they did before you left.”
Kestal, after a momentary pause, said, “We never met in the same place, even the leaders. We tried to keep our gatherings as infrequent as possible to not raise suspicions. If no one talked, no one’d get hurt.”
“Is bragging or boasting part of that ‘talk’?”
Kestal sighed. “Yeah. It’s far harder not to boast if you believe you are part of something great. That’s how they get you.”
“Have you ever met any of the leaders? Are they Maril and Claire?”
“Maril?”
“The Fa’ar lady.”
“Oh, you mean Leader Sukali. I know Claire Withers. She’s the grand master of the current group.”
“So, they’re now part of them,” murmured Jacques. “I never thought they’d do that.”
“Well, as far as I know, they are always part of Nihilo. The support pillars if I might say so.”
“Do you know how to contact them? I’m sure they’ll call when a meeting’s about to take place.”
“I only stumbled upon one of their meetings since I was around when they gathered. But then…I think you might find this interesting. They are a clandestine group, but their base of operation’s far from subtle. Well…subtle if you don’t know where to look.”
“Is it the one by the seaside region?”
“They have a seaside region base? Well, I know they’re crazy, but that’s just ramp it up even more.”
Jacques took his remarks as a ‘no’.
“Let’s get back to topic. We don’t have much time left,” implored Raine. “Where is this base located? Can you give us a name?”
“Narvan,” said Kestal short. “It’s a ruined mining town close to Macksten. I’ve been there a couple of times and I know the one running it. Ben-Renee Garulon. He’s one of the few members I made contact with and once hosted the other leaders in Narvan.”
“Ben-Renee Graulon…,” pondered Raine. “That sounded like a Loup-garou name.”
“You’re right. He’s also hard to miss. He’s much bigger than your usual Loup, almost like an Ursan.”
“Give us what we need,” said Jacques. He turned to the leonine guard and asked for a pen and paper, which the guard gave before walking behind Kestal, apparently understanding that they were finishing up and preparing to return the prisoner to his cell. Kestal wrote some words on the piece of paper. Jacques looked at the chameleon, who nodded and said, “It’s close by. Half a day walk from Macksten to the west.”
“That’s all I need to know.” Jacques stood up and walked out of the room. The guard opened the door for him. “Come on, Raine. We are wasting time here.”
“What? Uh, wait, Jacques.”
“And Kestal…thank you.”
Jacques’s sympathetic tone hid regret and possibly sadness, though it wasn’t as apparent. Only Jacques knew what he had in mind, something that he did not hesitate to tell his human friend when they walked through the skybridge, leaving the visitor’s room.
“He’s a dead Lizan walking,” said Jacques.
“Dead Lizan? You mean, they already….”
“They already got to him. We walked into a trap.”
“Of course, they are. I was starting to feel that it was too easy. Does that mean—”
Raine was quickly interrupted when he noticed the same guards they recognized from the skybridge walked into the corridor, along with the leonine guard that walked out of the visitor’s room. The smell of copper filled Jacques’s nose, which told Jacques enough of the chameleon’s fate.
“How good you are with your fists?” asked Jacques.
“Hey, I have claws too, you know.”
“Those things?” Jacques simply showed his sharp Loup-Garou claws. “Aren’t these.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll let you have the lion, buddy.”
Jacques grunted in response. As the leonine guard approached the two, the Loup suddenly twisted his body and clawed the guard. The attack caught the lion by surprise as he did not have the time to defend himself, resulting in a deep gash caused by Jacques’s sharp claws. The Loup did not stop there. Without delay, he grabbed the bigger guard and slammed his mane-covered head to a nearby wall, but that’s where his surprise attack came to an end.
The lion anticipated Jacques’s next move, which was a kick, and absorbed it with his hands. Suddenly, Jacques found himself being grabbed and slammed to the ground. The shock of the attack disoriented him momentarily, but when he recovered, he rolled out of safety when he saw the Felinar’s nightstick coming down at him. He quickly recovered.
Raine, meanwhile, dashed towards the two human guards when he heard a growl of pain from the Felinar. Unlike Jacques, his attack was far more successful. The two guards already had a chance to pull out their nightsticks, but it wasn’t enough, as Raine managed to dodge their predictable attacks by weaving and bobbing around them like a trained boxer. He then gave one of them a one-two-three jab punch to the face in quick succession. He ended it with a swift kick to the man’s side.
Before he could deliver a finishing blow, he became alerted by the other guard’s angry yell, to which he turned to face and dodge his attacks before grabbing his arm and repeatedly slammed it to the nearby wall, causing the man to release the nightstick in pain. Raine did not hesitate to grab it and whacked it across the man’s head, knocking him out instantly.
The other guard grabbed Raine, trying to immobilize him. Raine responded by elbowing his face until he let go. Once Raine turned to face him, he quickly used the stick to attack his knees, forcing him to kneel. The cat-eared human then finished the fight with a roundhouse kick that threw the man to a nearby wall.
He did not delay. Raine quickly scrambled to find the keys to the dampeners, but quickly remembered that they were fitted by the female guard escort from earlier. He quickly ran towards the skybridge’s entrance to find the guard being treated for her wounds by the other police officers. They saw Raine and quickly trained their guns at him.
“Whoa, whoa, wait!” yelled Raine as he raised his hands. “Don’t shoot!”
“He’s not one of them!” persuaded the female officer. “Stand down!”
Some were reluctant, but eventually conceded. The officer, holding her bloodied stomach, quickly pulled out a key that she used to release the dampener bracelet. Almost instantly, Raine felt a part of him returned, just as one of the officers rushed towards him while yelling insults. Raine did not need magic to deal with the person as he dodged and threw the bigger Loup over his shoulder using the momentum of the Loup’s attack.
“Where’s my sword?!” Raine then shook his head and said, “Scratch that. Give me something with better mana conductivity!” But then he realized that he had no time, so he said, “Ah, forget it!” before he stood up and ran back to the visitor’s area.
Raine quickly found Jacques, who by this point was struggling against the bigger lion man. The leonine Felinar was not in a better shape than Jacques, with one of his eyes closed due to the wound on Jacques’s claws and he was bloodied all over. That did not mean he was close to being defeated, however, as the Felinar guard’s claws were close to Jacques’s eyes and the Loup was struggling to keep his enemy’s maws open. The sharp leonine teeth would surely bite through his flesh if Jacques wasn’t careful.
Thankfully, Raine managed to get to Jacques before the Loup’s right eye was gouged out. He unlocked the dampener, returning the ability to cast magic to the Loup. Without delay, something materialized in his right hand, which he promptly shoved into the Felinar’s maws.
It went off, filling the room with a flash of bright light, momentarily blinding both Raine and the guard while Jacques managed to close and avert his eyes. He recovered first and proceeded to kick the guard’s jaw, breaking it, before kicking the guard’s chin with his knee. The force of the attack was enough to instantly knock the guard unconscious.
Panting and gasping after successfully surviving the ambush, Raine recovered as he helped Jacques up. Jacques caught a glimpse of what happened to Kestal moments after they left: his throat was ripped out of his neck and his long tongue lolled to the side awkwardly. Blood dripped down where his throat was supposed to be. He couldn’t even scream in pain; it happened so quickly. The Loup did not realize that the lion repositioning himself behind Kestal was to kill him, and the chameleon realized this.
Which was the reason why Kestal wrote something else on the paper instead of the direction to Narvan. He made sure it was not visible to the guard who was going to kill him, so he obscured it with his hand.
“Beware.”
Jacques only realized who the Felinar guard really was from one of the chameleon’s eyes, which rolled back independently of the other. That’s when Jacques knew that Kestal was already resigned to his fate and that he always knew there were cultists disguising themselves as police officers.
Kestal’s final warning finally earned him the respect Jacques only reserved for a select few. Not only was he the first bounty who surrendered peacefully, he also sacrificed his life doing what he thought was right.
As Jacques stared at the chameleon’s lifeless body, he started to realize the great responsibility he had, and the pain of yet another death caused by him not destroying the cult that caused the greatest pain to the recovering wasteland.
It’s time to make things right.