Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

From a small leather pouch concealed inside his shirt, Syl proudly reveals a worn set of lockpicking tools.

Syl: Keep an eye out for me, will ya...

He says, as he expertly inserts the tools into the cellar door's rusty keyhole and begins picking it.

Jargen: Hmph. Still the same cunning rat you were before... Haven't changed a bit.

Syl: 'Course I have... I get to break into the homes of the rich now, instead of the rotting hole-ridden dumps in the slums.

Syl smiles, the sound of the lock's turning gears a satisfying sign of their ever-nearer arrival in Cabdan's domain.

Tyssa: But there's something that's not making sense to me... The slums' homes don't have any locks, so does that Cabdan's men steal and terrorize the rich, too?

Jargen: Aye. Cabdan's reach goes beyond the city slums... Though he cut his teeth swindling and putting the slums' residents under his thumb, it wasn't long until he started making friends in high places. Making people "disappear", break-in jobs, debt collection... He and his network started doing a bit of everything and expanding to other areas of the city.

Syl: And expand we did! Shame you left before things got good, Jargen... If you knew how much he was willing to pay guys like us, bet you'd still've be around!

Jargen snarled at Syl's suggestion, yet before he had the chance to reply, the lock echoed a final, decisive click. Grabbing the doors' handles, Syl opened them wide revealing the cellar beneath.

Syl: There we are...! Come on now, fun part's about to begin...

Following Syl inside, the group finally sets foot inside Cabdan's residence. Greeted by the dark cellar, their senses are readily assaulted by a nauseating stench coming from a locked room to their right. A trail of dried-up blood seemed to lead from that door all the way to the entrance that connected the cellar to the rest of the house.

Syl: Geez... The hell's he keepin' back there?!

Jargen shakes his head, not wanting to veer off track.

Jargen: Focus. This is Cabdan's home, none of us should be surprised at what we may find... Especially you. Our goal is to get the documents and the antidote, then leave.

Syl: Ahh, just what any good, honorable a person would say when faced with a potential murder... Glad leavin' Cabdan's done wonders for your moral compass.

He said, ironically. Unmoved by his comment, Jargen continued pressing onward toward the cellars inner entrance.

Syl: Hey, easy there! You'll get us spotted in no time, let me take the lead...

Upon approaching the stairs leading to the door, the group could hear voices coming from beyond it...

Muffled Voice: ... just one more, yet again. I swear this is his third "just one more". I'm telling you -- whatever going on inside that lab, I don't wanna be around to see it. You saw how many damn bodies we had to hide... Do you know how many are left at this point...?

Other Muffled Voice: Save it. Got enough shit on my mind as it is, don't want to have to worry about what that madman's up to. Cabdan put him in charge, just do as he says... Shouldn't be long until he's back, he'll sort him out then.

Muffled Voice: There ain't no "sorting" that guy out, whatever was there to sort has long left the building... But I'll let ya go now. Gotta get back down there and fish another one for him. Unless you wanna help...?

Other Muffled Voice: Not a chance... Good luck with that. Don't take long, hear we're almost outta cake.

Muffled Voice: Save me a slice at least...!

Just as soon as their exchange seemed to cease, they could hear footsteps approaching the cellar door.

Syl: Shit... Hide, behind the barrels!

They scramble to use several wine barrels of varying sizes that littered the cellar as cover before the guard made his way inside, managing to hide just in time. As soon as the door opens, he begins making his way down the creaking wooden stairs and in the direction of the locked room.

Guard: Sheesh! It still reeks in here... Fuckin' Dmitri and his goddamn experiments, should have him clean up this goddamn place...

The man opens the locked door, causing the potency of the horrible stench to double. From within the room's gloom, he drags a lifeless corpse through the cellar and back up the stairs.

Syl (hushed): Dmitri... Fuck.

As the body is dragged past Rel, he manages to take a glance at its face, recognizing it...

Rel: No way...

Soon, they hear the door above closing. The danger had passed, and they were once again alone in the cellar. Syl was the first to step out of cover.

Syl: Right, we're in some deep shit here ladies and gentlemen...

Rel: You're not joking. Guys, that dead man... Did you see his face? It was the same one who murdered miss Anya!

Punjo nodded in agreement.

Punjo: Aye... Saw it too. But that makes no darn sense, he practically handed Cabdan's life to the people of the slums, signing his death sentence. How come Cabdan managed ta get 'im after all that...?

Jargen shakes his head.

Jargen: ... We're all forgetting something. Something I myself hadn't yet realized: we've seen that man's face before, even before he brought us Cabdan and killed Anya.

Rel and Punjo furrow their brow, thinking hard upon the matter. In the meantime, Tyssa and Syl seem deeply confused about whatever it was they were discussing -- Syl even more so than she.

Jargen: Back when that man Ballo saved us... He showed us something -- the doctor's last living moments. He was killed by a man in dark armor, the very same whose face we've seen at least twice since then. Remember?

Rel and Punjo's eyes widen, in realization.

Jargen: He did seem familiar when I saw him in the slums, but I couldn't put two and two together then. Now, it clicked. Seems like the man who murdered the doctor is the very same who came looking for Virno that day and murdered Anya... Bastard's getting closer and closer.

Rel: Shit... You're right! This is the guy Ballo said could even take control of his lackeys, warping their own faces and bodies to match his own... So, d'ya think that...

Rel points toward the room where the bodies were kept, its door left wide open, most likely an oversight by the guard...

Rel: ... There could be a bunch of dead guys that look just like him in there...?

Syl shakes his head, hastily makin' his way toward the eerie room.

Syl: Dunno what the fuck y'all've been smoking, never heard something so damn stup-

He looks inside the room, finding two other corpses within. Same body. Same face.

Syl: ... No way. What kind of fuckery is this...?!

Jargen: This house must've been where they fought. This is where the doctor last drew his breath...

Punjo: I remember Ballo showin' us Cabdan, too. Bastard must've lured the doctor here to die... Set up a trap for 'im!

Rel's fist excitedly clashes with his open hand, in a moment of eureka.

Rel: And that trap was Barr...! Punjo, do you remember what one of his goons told us, when we were searching for info on his whereabouts? He said Cabdan had left to take care of his injuries...

Punjo squints pensively, trying to follow Rel's line of reasoning.

Punjo: So he used Barr's injuries ta lure the doctor, bring him over to his mansion, where this assassin was waitin' ta pounce... It all comes together. Quite the shitstorm...

After processing all this, Tyssa crosses her arms and sighs in frustration.

Tyssa: So what I'm hearing is Cabdan's also responsible for the deaths of the doctor and Virno's mother, that it? Even after being gone he's still a headache...

Rel nods, stepping in to complete her summary.

Rel: And lets not forget Barr... Last time anyone saw him, he was at death's door. Next thing we know he's become some kind of monster. Cabdan was supposedly seeing to his injuries, yet it seems he did more than that... He turned him into something that I'm not sure is even human anymore.

Furious, Jargen turns to an unfazed Syl.

Jargen: D'you fucking see?! See why I goddamn left? Cabdan's a fuckin' animal, even those who are loyal to him aren't safe from his schemes...!

Syl retorts.

Syl: I know the damn price I paid for serving under him, Jargen. Don't need a lecture from you! You're one to talk about loyalty...

Jargen raises his fist toward him, ready to brawl.

Jargen: That line's getting pretty damn old, better start droppin' it soon...!

Syl takes a small dagger from his pouch, extending it in Jargen's direction.

Syl: Or what, Jargen?! Think you can take me, soft as y've grown? Come on then big man, show me!

Tyssa: STOP!

Tyssa shoves herself between them abruptly, catching them by surprise.

Tyssa: He's dead, alright? Dead, and gone. Whatever allegiances or grievances we had... We have to leave them behind. We can't afford to get wrapped up in our past now, else neither of us will get what we want. We're here so that we can pick up the pieces and cobble together some kind of future for ourselves, yes? So let's do that. Neither of you will have to look at each other's faces after today. So please... Just work together for the next couple of hours. Can't you do that?

Staring each other down menacingly, Jargen and Syl make an effort to conceal their fangs and act amicably for the time being.

Syl: Girl's right. Wanna fight? We can do it after we're rich.

Reluctantly, Jargen nods in agreement.

Jargen: Aye. Enough bickering.

Syl turns around and takes a couple of steps back, taking a deep breath trying to gather his thoughts to devise a course of action after the facts which had just come to light.

Syl: Alright... Dunno exactly who this doctor of yours is, but he's dead and this supposed face-shifting murderer's long gone too, right? So freakish corpse clones aside, let's focus on the actual threat to this mission... The man called Dmitri.

Syl crosses his arms, turning to face the group.

Syl: Seems you're all about to meet the mastermind who devised Faya's poison himself...