Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

Rel clenches his fists in anger, the thought of coming face-to-face with one of the men responsible for putting his childhood friend in such an agonizing state made his blood boil.

Rel: He's... Here? Now?!

He asks, grinding his teeth in fury.

Syl: Easy, kid! Last thing we need's a loose cannon for this op. Sure is, seems like Cabdan appointed him as the acting head... Man's a crazed maniac, only ever cares about his little experiments. On the one hand, it works out for us, probably means the guards aren't as pressured to do their work and are more likely to be slackin'. On the other though... Won't be so easy for you to get your hands on your highly-coveted antidote. Dmitri's probably holed up in the lab as we speak.

Tyssa loudly blows air out of her nose, also making her displeasure known.

Tyssa: Good. We can beat the crap out of him and get an antidote by force -- even if it means he'll develop it for us then and there.

Syl scratches his head, his face reflecting his doubts on the matter.

Syl: Yeah... Good luck with that. He'd probably just give you guys a bottle of poison and call it the "cure for all your ailments".

Rel: Last guy who tried to give Tyssa poison disguised as an antidote got a sword through his eye socket and the poison shoved down his throat... And that guy was your boss. Do you really think he'll risk it?

Syl shrugs, heading up the stairs.

Syl: Don't forget it's likely that, far as the guy knows, Cabdan's still alive and kickin'. But you're welcome to try, get your chance to find out soon enough... In the meantime, I'll head for the office and grab those documents -- if we split up, we can get this done faster.

Jargen quickly grabs the back of his clothes, pulling him back.

Jargen: Always the joker, eh Syl? Weren't born yesterday. You're not going alone.

Syl aggressively twists his torso away from Jargen's grip, releasing himself.

Syl: Hands off! Look, it's a waste of manpower for the five of us to all go get the same thing. We oughta split and speed things up... Easier to move around in smaller groups, draws less attention too.

Jargen: Sure, nobody's gonna deny that... But if you think I'm letting you go into the office alone, you got another thing coming. I'm coming with.

Syl's eyes widen as he swallows dryly.

Syl: Y-you're better off going to the lab, Jargen... Your imposing figure'll make Dmitri quake in his boots, you'll make things much easier there!

Jargen: Ehh, dunno about that. I've heard I've grown soft since leaving Cabdan, I'm prolly not that intimidating anymore... I'll leave it to Punjo, I'm sure he'll do a fine job!

Jargen looks at Punjo, who winks back at him. Bitterly, Syl concedes.

Syl: ... Suit yourselves. We oughta get going then, before anyone else comes down here to clean up. I'll check if we're in the clear.

Jargen clears his throat, not about to let him anywhere far from his reach.

Jargen: We'll check, you mean. I'll signal you guys if you're good to come up.

Rel, Tyssa and Punjo remain down in the cellar, as Syl and Jargen make their way up the stairs. Once there, Syl puts his ear to the door -- not a peep. He then goes for the door's handle, quietly opening it... On the other side, a long corridor greeted them, perpendicular to their current position. To the left, there was nothing but closed doors and a couple of lights to aid with the corridor's visibility. To the right was a similar picture, with but one difference: there was a three-way intersection not too far from the cellar's door, which seemed to grant passage to an upper floor via a set of stairs. As far as guards were concerned, there were apparently none in sight nor earshot.

Syl (hushed): So far so good. Let's get a move on...

Jargen directs a thumbs up toward the rest of their comrades as they eagerly make their way up the stairs and join them.

Syl (hushed): Come on, then.

Guided by Syl, they make their way through the rightmost corridor, their footsteps muffled by the tapestry that covered almost the entirety of the wooden floor. Upon reaching the intersection, Syl comes to a full stop.

Syl (hushed): This is where we part ways, my friends. Jargen and I'll be heading up, towards the office. As for the lab, you're gonna wanna keep heading down the corridor, take the left turn up ahead, and then enter the second door to your right. You'll find another corridor, leading straight into the lab... Just don't forget our friend from earlier could still be around, alright? Let's not throw all our hard work away at this point.

Jargen steps closer to Syl, towering over him menacingly.

Jargen (hushed): You're sure you're giving them accurate directions, aren't ya Syl? They won't be walking into a room full of guards...?

Syl shakes his head, almost insulted at Jargen's insinuation.

Syl (hushed): Are ya thick in the head?! My neck's on the goddamn line here too, what'd I have to gain in doing that?

Jargen (hushed): Just makin' sure. Wouldn't want any trouble, like you said.

Syl rolls his eyes, turning to head up the stairs while doing his best to ignore Jargen's incessant doubting of his allegiance.

Syl (hushed): When ya need to bail, just head back down the cellar and out where we came. Doors to the outside're still unlocked, so there should be no stresses there. We're all grown men, we don't need to wait around for each other. If ya got what you need, ya go. We'll be fine on our end, so we'll assume you'll be on yours, too.

He starts making his way up. Before following behind, Jargen faces the group one last time.

Jargen (hushed): He can go, but we should meet up somewhere and make sure we're all right. Whichever group makes it out first can wait for the other in the same garden spot we used to scout the place out, understood? Meet you guys there. Good luck...!

Punjo (hushed): See ya out there, Jargen!

Rel and Tyssa wave him goodbye and each group goes their separate ways. Now reduced only to three members, Punjo takes the lead of his group with the younger Rel and Tyssa right behind. With the laboratory as their destination, they proceed through the quiet mansion corridor, following Syl's instructions.

Rel (hushed): Jargen's keeping a pretty tight leash on that Syl guy...

Tyssa (hushed): As he should, I don't trust him for a second. If Cabdan were alive, he'd still be at his beck and call, stealing, murdering, and doing who knows what else for coin...

Rel thinks to himself for a while, before hesitantly opening his mouth once more.

Rel (hushed): D-do you guys think that Jargen would still be working for Cabdan too if...

He stops himself, afraid that he would be saying something he shouldn't.

Tyssa (hushed): I know what you're thinking. I'm curious about that too... You can say it, I don't mind.

Rel sighs anxiously, taking a deep breath before continuing.

Rel (hushed): If he hadn't been there that night... When he went to your family's home. That was the last straw for him, right...?

Upon hearing his question, Punjo shakes his head dismissively.

Punjo (hushed): Time and a place ta be talkin' bout those things laddie, this is neither of those right now. Ya two can ask 'im yerselves once we're done 'ere...

Although he tried to put it past him, Rel's question lingered in his mind. After proceeding quietly for a short while, Punjo returned to the topic to make one final remark.

Punjo (hushed): ... I'll just tell ye one thing about Jargen: he never robbed the people of the slums. Never killed any of us, never did anything that could hurt us. He may have done some dark things in his past, true... But it was never to good people. That night... He wasn't there 'cos he wanted to. He was there because Cabdan specifically told 'im ta be there. Cabdan knew Jargen, knew that kinda job weren't for 'im... Yet he still brought 'im along. Ya two decide what ta make of that.

Rel and Tyssa ponder on what Punjo had just shared with them, cautiously and pensively continuing on their way to the lab. In the meantime, Jargen and Syl were approaching the office's door...

Syl (hushed): Just the two of us, Jargen... Just like old times, eh?

Jargen does not reply, ignoring him completely.

Syl (hushed): Say, somethin's always bugged me... Ya worked with Cabdan since the early days, right? Were with him some good years, long before most of us joined. So why leave after all that, just when things were gettin' good? Ya can't tell me ya didn't have some fun back then... I still remember the look on your face after those jobs. You know the ones, ya looked like... Man, ya looked like a man possessed -- literally!

Jargen clenches his teeth. Although his mouth was closed, the way his facial muscles tensed made it clear to Syl.

Syl (hushed): C'mon. Don't you miss those days a single bit...?

Jargen takes a deep breath, filling his lungs with air before replying.

Jargen (hushed): Better off in my current line of work.

Syl's eyes widen in anticipation.

Syl (hushed): Oh? And what's that?

Letting the air out through his nose in a silent sigh, he continues.

Jargen (hushed): ... I'm a handyman. If something's leaking, breaking, whatever... I fix it.

Syl can't hold back a devious, mocking grin as he hears what became of his old comrade.

Syl (hushed): HAHAHAH...! Man, thought you'd be livin' a bit more glamorously than that... But I guess it's to be expected. Never did manage to leave that pig sty you call home. Slum-dweller through and through...

Jargen closes in on Syl, looming over his back.

Jargen (hushed): Watch your mouth, Syl.

Apologetically, Syl raises his hands in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Syl (hushed): Ahh don't take it to heart! Just havin' a bit o' good hearted fun... But go on then, spill it. For old times' sake... Ya owe us at least that, right?

Angrily, he trades places with Syl, walking past him and taking the lead.

Jargen (hushed): Only thing I owe the lot of you is a punch in the gut and a knee in the teeth. Don't push your luck.

Syl (hushed): BAH! You're no fun, Jargen... No fun at all!

Suddenly, Jargen stops himself and immediately steps back, impeding Syl's advance as well.

Jargen (hushed): Damn, get back...!

Distracted by their conversation, Jargen was about to carelessly turn a corner, just as he noticed a guard watching over one of the next rooms' door through the corner of his eye.

Jargen (hushed): One guy, guarding the door to the right...

Syl takes a nervous hand up to his forehead, rubbing it.

Syl (hushed): Shit outta luck, then... That's the office.

Immediately, he pulls out his dagger from within his concealed pouch.

Syl (hushed): Not to worry... Guess we were lucky we got this far without casualties. Time to get our hands dirty...