NOVEL NEXT XLVI. ... And the Mirror Cracked
As he approached with unwavering confidence, the fury of the people grew to uncontrollable heights. A jumble of insults and curses were spat in his direction, with the only things keeping them from lashing out and outright striking Cabdan being the frightful and imposing nature of his mysterious company and the ominous black ring he wore on his pinky finger.
Cabdan: You're all bark and no bite. Settle down...
Just a few feet away from the raging crowd, Cabdan and Lunalus stopped.
Cabdan: I'm no fool, I realize you want me out of these slums -- preferably, in a splintered, rotting coffin. I am more than willing to leave you to your own affairs, if you grant me but a single request: the location of Virno von Virtus. Help me, and nobody will have to get hurt.
A short, slender figure moved through the angry mob with much difficulty. At least, she had reached the front.
Cabdan: Ah...
A sword is raised in his direction. It's bearer had no fear, no hesitation. The decision of cutting him down where he stood had already been made in her mind.
Tyssa: You're disgusting. After all you've done, how can you have the gall to address us with that attitude...?
He moves in for a hug, but Tyssa grabs the sword with both hands. She had no interest in a reunion.
Cabdan: My, Tyssa... What has gotten into you? Is that any way to treat me...?
Tyssa: SHUT UP!
Her tone was far too menacing and assertive for someone so small and young. Those closest to her were caught off-guard -- Cabdan included. He takes a step back.
Tyssa: I was so naïve... I thought I could trust you. I really believed everyone was out to get you, that you were a kind soul surrounded by terrible people. But now... Now all I see when I look at you is a greedy, pathetic man, willing to use and abuse those around you to fulfil your goals. Just staring at your face... It makes me sick!
Cabdan grinned as he let out a dismissive laugh.
Cabdan: Look my sweet, I truly do not know what lies these people have been telling you. Of course you can trust me, you always could! Come stand by my side, I'll forget th-
Tyssa: TAKE ME SERIOUSLY, YOU FAT BASTARD!
She takes two unblinking steps forward, holding her blade mere centimetres away from his face. Cabdan's expression turns from a confident smile to a terrified frown as he stumbles backward, falling on his behind.
Tyssa: Yiel... What happened to him? I want the truth!
Lunalus witnessed all of this with a deep sadness -- as if Tyssa's pain was his own. He wiped a single tear from his face, refraining from intervening.
Cabdan: I told you the truth already...! Of course I did not go into detail, you would not want to hear how he was-
Tyssa: BARR WAS JUST A KID! I don't buy it for a second he killed my brother...! At least not without you instigating him to do it...
The veil had been lifted. Cabdan grinned as he stood up from the ground, finished with any attempts to mask his intentions.
Cabdan: You want the truth, my little Tyssa...?
He approaches her blade fearlessly, letting it pierce his expensive coat. Tyssa felt a paralyzing shiver.
Cabdan: The moment I set foot into that foul home of yours, filled with the stench of the carcasses of your rotting parents... I knew I was in for a treat. The rent they owed me was mere change compared to the fortune I could make from someone as precious and as young as you... But your brother, young as he was, was as unwavering as any young man over twice his age. He would not let me take you no matter what. He truly, truly cared for you.
Her eyes begin welling up with tears.
Cabdan: But little boys aren't nearly as profitable as little girls... And they can be much more problematic. I have found that from personal experience...
Tyssa bites down on her lower lip hard, drawing blood.
Cabdan: So I needed a way to take you back with me, without the burden of having to carry the dead weight that your brother would be -- and, of course, without having to face the possibility of him coming back to take my own life some years down the line... Alas, solution was simple.
Lunalus grabs his own chest with one hand, as the other clenches into a fist.
Cabdan: It was Barr's perfect trial by fire -- the ultimate initiation. If I could make him kill an innocent child at my beck and call... I was certain I could control him. I'd have a trustworthy bodyguard at my side, one who cared not about society's morals or ethics to fulfil his role, but about righting the wrongs of this world according to his own visage, one small step at a time. But right and wrong are so easy to sway once you get into people's heads... His young mind was easily manipulatable.
He grabs her blade with his bare hands, confident that Tyssa lacked the strength to even try to injure him in her devastated state.
Cabdan: I did not lie to you, little Tyssa. Barr did kill Yiel... But he only did so under my suggestion.
As tears stream down her face, Tyssa's face contorts from a heart-shattering frown to a rage-filled scowl. She drives the blade deep into Cabdan's chest, but as she does, an explosion of dark magic surges from the piercing point, sending Tyssa crashing into the crowd.
Cabdan: HAHAHAH! You're braver than I thought...! But what does that say for the rest of you? Is a little girl the only one in your midst with the courage to face me?!
Lunalus steps forward, placing himself between Cabdan and the crowd.
Lunalus: Enough... I've seen enough, Cabdan.
He seemed... Broken-hearted. Depressed, even.
Lunalus: Anya von Virtus... Is she here?
A voice from the far back of the mob answers.
Anya: She is.
People step back to let her through. Although Lunalus' presence instilled fear into their hearts, Anya seemed to be willing to face him with no hesitation.
Anya: You want to know where my son is... Well, so do I. Virno is not here.
Cabdan: She's lying, I know thes-
Lunalus signals Cabdan to remain quiet. He seemed even more sorrowful after hearing her words.
Lunalus: This woman is telling the truth. The purity of her sadness is proof enough. I feel it...
Lunalus slowly steps toward her.
Lunalus: I deeply regret this... All of this hurt... Truly, it is a fickle world, this. I do not know what the future holds for your son, but I can confidently say that whatever it is, it will not bring peace to your worried heart. His fate is one no mother or father would ever desire upon their child...
He points toward Anya's heart.
Lunalus: ... But it is a necessary one, to rid our lives of their pain. Let me offer you the only thing I can, for now... Release.
From the tip of his finger a crystallization of tar begins to form. It extends rapidly, forming a blade thinner and sharper than any human could ever forge. It pierces her chest painlessly. Anya drops to her knees, then falls to the ground. A pool of blood slowly forms beneath her lifeless body.
Rel: MISS ANYA!
Rel, Jargen and Punjo rush to her, but it is already too late. She had no pulse.
Punjo: What's wrong with ye, ye darn monster?!
Lunalus looks up towards the skies.
Lunalus: What's wrong indeed... How could I let this happen...? Our vision is still far from becoming realized...
He feels something small hit the tip of his foot. It seemed to have rolled off of Anya's clothes. Lunalus' eyes widen.
Lunalus: This is...!
The moment he grabs it, he feels a jolt of foreign energy surge through his body -- his suspicions were confirmed.
Lunalus: Eclipse... It only makes sense. Few others could have taken down Lacerbus...
He held Ballo's coin in his grasp. With only a touch, he seemed to be able to roughly identify the creators of its magical properties.
Lunalus: A weak lead, but it will do.
Cabdan seemed pleasantly satisfied with the outcome of their visit.
Cabdan: Oh, are we going already? Well, I suppose that was enough fun for one day... Perhaps I'll return some other time, so you can all have a turn...!
Lunalus shuts his eyes, raising his arm high above his head and clenching his hand into a fist. Black magic emanates from the spaces between his fingers, as Cabdan's ring reacts violently to his actions.
Cabdan: S-spymaster Lunalus, what are you doing?!
Lunalus' expression reflected absolute apathy.
Lunalus: Virno seems to be under the protection of Eclipse, far from your slums. Your usefulness has come to an end, Cabdan.
Cabdan's face twists into a wrathful grimace, betrayed by his trusted lifeline.
Cabdan: This is NOT what we agreed upon...! The ring is MINE!
Cabdan tries to subdue the ring as it violently vibrates around his finger. He could feel his flesh searing underneath.
Lunalus: The amount of suffering you have brought upon these people... It is unforgivable. Untolerable. It is... Evil. Were you to feel but a fraction of their heart's weights, you would crash to the ground, unable to move a single muscle. Perhaps there was nothing I could do for Anya von Virtus... But I can at least give these people what their hearts most desire in this moment.
Lunalus opens his hand. The ring collapses upon itself, dissolving into thin air and slicing Cabdan's pinky off. His skin at the point of cutting showed signs of advanced rotting.
Lunalus: I truly hope we never meet again, Cabdan. Farewell.
Casting a portal of pure blackness, Lunalus vanishes into its dark embrace. Cabdan is left to fend for himself, as the crowd begins encroaching upon him.
Cabdan: FOOLS...! DO YOU BELIEVE YOU WILL TAKE ME SO EASILY?! CUT THEM DOWN, NOW!
Amidst the crowd, several citizens turn on each other upon hearing Cabdan's command. It would seem some of his men had managed to infiltrate the mob. At the centre of the skirmish, Rel, Jargen and Punjo held their weapons at the ready.
Rel: Dammit, what the hell do we do?!
Jargen: Stick close together, we need to get out of here. There's no way we can tell friend from foe right now.
Punjo: Not yet lads, look over there!
In the midst of the confusion, Punjo managed to spot Tyssa. She seemed to be heading straight for Cabdan.
Rel: She's going to die...!
Jargen: Fuckin' kids... Come on you two!
The trio begin to close in on Tyssa's position, in an attempt to rescue her.