A deep ache settled over his muscles as he pushed himself stiffly towards the exit of the makeshift medical tent. His recent ordeal had left him not only physically battered but also mentally frayed, a storm of anxieties brewing with more questions and worries than there should have been. As he emerged into the cool, evening air, he was met by the Old Man who fell into step beside him with a quiet dignity. The Old Man's calm was a stark contrast to the turmoil he felt.
"Did you take part in the fight?" he managed to finally ask as they made their way towards the front of the house.
The Old Man shook his head with a small sigh. "No, I admit I didn't because I felt someone had to keep an eye on things here to protect the girls who couldn't fight along with the area itself in the event there was a second party. A course of action that proved to be needed as a small group of five misguided souls had come here. Their plan was to wait for the main force to leave, then ransack the base and kidnap those left behind. I confess, I stumbled upon them by chance as I went to check on May in the kitchens. They never had a chance to enact their scheme." He offered no further details, merely a serene smile, implying a swift and decisive end. "They were quickly returned to the earth with oddly little need for me to act, only removing the one who had snuck through hoping to find a hostage well the others fought your plant guardian." He stated.
John gave a grateful nod, a sliver of relief cutting through his mounting frustration. At least someone reliable had been present. But his gratitude was quickly overshadowed by a deepening resentment towards the supposed 'fighters.' "Why did it take so long? And how did such a large force get so close? It's not like we were that far away from here and the commotion was rather loud so why…" he murmured softly, his anger returning as a slow-burning ember in his chest. "Why was it only after Ash was sent that they finally arrived to help?" He spoke softly, almost to himself, oblivious that the Old Man with his keen senses, easily caught every question.
The Old Man's sigh, a sound heavy with disappointment caused him to look at him. "I have no satisfactory answer for you about that but I do share your disappointment." He recounted how they had all felt a slight tremor, a ripple through the ground that he'd immediately questioned, only to be dismissed. When the guttural roars finally echoed across the camp and he urged investigation, his concerns were met with exasperation and dismissal. "I was told firmly to mind my own business and to leave the 'fighters' to their duties," he recalled, a hint of bitterness in his tone. "They simply turned back to their laughter, joking amongst themselves about some grand hunt or another they had planned." Only Ray had shown a flicker of willingness to heed his warning but then he watched as she was easily swayed by them, no doubt wanting to fit in as their leader and to avoid isolation. "She relented to their words far too easily for my liking, convinced it was merely beasts fighting again, I had asked why all of them where there rather than having someone on patrol only for her to tell me they needed a break to plan a hunt against a supposedly troublesome creature that wanted to nest close by" the Old Man told him, his tone growing sad. "She was lying though, I've known her long enough to be able to tell and with the way the others laughed when she said it and spoke in a mocking tone, I knew it wasn't true, just an excuse they no doubt prepared to use in order to justify their lazy actions." He finished; his gaze fixed on the distance. "It was only when Ash appeared in a flash, breathless and clearly exhausted, shouting of enemies and all but screaming for them to get moving to help you that they finally sprang into action, grabbing their gear and rushing out to the field."
Hearing this narrative only fueled John's fury, transforming the ember into a roaring inferno. His entire body felt as if it were radiating heat now seemingly as a desperate effort to maintain a semblance of control to not allow himself to be consumed entirely by rage and lose himself. He thanked the Old Man, a curt gesture, before they reached the front of the house. There, assembled before them was everyone in his camp including the merchant.
Most took a moment, their casual chatter dying down before recognition dawned in their eyes upon seeing him. They straightened up slightly, though their smiles of greeting contained an unsettling mix of unease and forced cheer. The self-proclaimed 'disabled destroyers' stood foremost, boisterous and seemingly unbothered and uncaring as they continued to talk loudly and laugh. Ray fidgeted beside them, a faint blush on her cheeks, her gaze flickering nervously towards John before looking away, laughing weakly at one of their jokes but shooting uneasy glances at him constantly. The mage twins stood a little apart, conversing in hushed whispers, their expressions clearly annoyed by the destroyers' antics and clearly still somewhat tired. Z, ever the enigma, remained isolated and to the side, a solitary figure whose intense gaze seemed to appraise John with an unreadable intensity that made him feel as if they were trying to figure out if their potions where an investment or something they should charge him for. Finally, Ash and Saya stood protectively beside Alice but appeared unsettled, guilty, nervous and sad. At first glance she appeared perfectly fine, her small frame unblemished, even having the red ribbon wrapped around her arm seemingly as if she was never hurt or in a fight at all. But upon closer inspection, a disquieting 'offness' became apparent. Her smile seemed plastered on, a bit too wide and too fixed to be natural. Her eyes, slightly too open he hadn't seen her blink once since looking her over. There also seemed to be a faint, unnatural gloss that shimmered ever so faintly across her skin. She also wasn't bouncing around, wasn't rushing towards him with her usual boundless energy or even trading barbs with Ash. All these subtle cues sent his worry sky rocketing and his instincts screaming. Unfortunately, she would need to be an issue he could only address after all the unpleasantness with the others was concluded.
His eyes, ice-cold and unforgiving swept over the rest of the assembled group. The heavy, metallic rattle of his chains faintly echoed as they formed behind him, there rattling carrying a strange and a chilling finality that sent a chill down everyone's spine. Z, Ash, along with the twins and Saya seemed to pick up on the subtle shift in the atmosphere. Perhaps due to their heightened senses or a deeper intuition, they visibly stilled, their eyes locking onto him as they seemingly tried to do all they could to not make a single sound.
The 'disabled destroyers,' however remained oblivious to it all. While they had snapped to a semblance of attention, their whispered jokes and shared grins continued. Even Ray, despite her furtive glances at John, seemed unable to grasp the gravity or seriousness of the moment, still caught between the desire to belong and a burgeoning sense of unease as the old man seemed to be trying to get her to pay attention without saying anything.
"Our fearless leader!" the armored Berserker boomed, a wide, insincere grin splitting his face. "Glad to see you're up and about! and gotta say, love the new look! Far fitter and better than the tub of lard you used to be. And seeing that mess we came to, it's clear you're a real badass, I'm sure you would have been fine even if we didn't step in!" His attempt at flattery was thinly veiled, a condescending edge to his tone that scraped against John's raw nerves and did nothing to quell his surprisingly still growing anger.
His gaze, sharp as obsidian fixed on the Berserker. His chains struck the ground with a soft, unsettling crack, a clear, physical manifestation of his simmering anger. "Funny you should mention that," His voice was deceptively calm, a low rumble that promised an impending storm. "Where exactly were all of you? How is it that you, all the fighters and warriors, could miss a group of over sixty people this close to our base with one of them being a god damned beast of a man?"
The Berserker's forced smile faltered for a brief moment, a bead of sweat tracing a path down his temple. "Uhm, well, you see, Ray was on guard duty. But when you went out to see the merchant, we figured you and the other two badasses could handle things without any issues. We didn't expect something like that to happen or for there to be such creatures!" He stammered nervously before puffing himself up, a desperate attempt to appear imposing. "Also, don't overexaggerate, it's clear there were less than twenty-something of those things! Closer so something like twelve or fourteen if were being really generous in count!"
A chilling laugh escaped John's lips, a sound that sent shivers down the spines of Ash, Z, Saya and the twins. "Overexaggerate? Oh no," he snapped, his voice now devoid of its previous calm, laced with a venomous edge. "It seems you are truly, spectacularly stupid then! Those 'monsters' were created from the very people he brought with him! Ash and Alice were fighting them but when they started to fall, the bastard leading them began causing them to mutate and fuse into those abominations over and over, stronger each time by causing there fallen or injured to meld together with the living repeatedly with unknown changes and effects only making them more dangerous each time!"
"Well, uhm, why weren't you fighting as well from the start then?" the Berserker retorted, refusing to back down, his arrogance clouding his reason. "I mean you're supposed to be the leader, but instead you had some women fight for you at the start and clearly let them get badly injured at that! What kind of man are you?" He tried desperately to shift the focus back onto John, oblivious to the subtle but profound changes in the air or the steadily increasing pressure that now caused some of the other fighters to sweat and cast nervous glances that betrayed their unease.
"You're right," John conceded, his voice cutting through the rising tension, "their injuries and what happened are all on me. I accept that and I make no excuses for it, it was entirely my fault but let me ask you: where were all of you when the tremor happened the first time? Where were all of you when there was screaming? When the beasts roared upon forming! It wasn't that far from here, so why wasn't anyone sent to investigate!" His voice slowly rising, practically a roar itself at the end that caused many to cast their eyes downwards in shame. Saya, however, along with the twins, tentatively raised their hands, drawing his fierce, heated gaze.
"I was in the kitchen with May at the time," Saya began, her voice quiet, almost swallowed by the oppressive atmosphere but tried her best to keep her voice steady before looking down as an invisible pressure seemingly began to press down on her, a faint shadowy mist, no doubt created by the things only she could see began swirling protectively around her. "When the tremor happened, I was helping make sure none of the gas bottles were damaged or leaking. Once that was done, I made my way out and bumped into the twins. I managed to get them to tell me what they had secretly been doing; it seems the reason they have been sneaking away was to a far-out area a short distance from here that's away from everyone to avoid accidentally hurting anyone or damaging anything well they practice combinations of their magic and to try and improve themselves. They were heading over to investigate the tremors and were moving slowly slightly so they could recover enough to be able to try and help deal with whatever caused it. They also managed to take down one of those mangled and fused things and get you out of there, but that pretty much drained them of what energy they managed to recover from what I could see."
"And we took down the rest!" the Berserker quickly interjected, already puffing out his chest again, seeming to genuinely believe that was some kind of amazing feat as he shot a smug look at the others, who met him with expressions ranging from disbelief to outright disdain. "So don't you think you should give us some kind of reward or something for it! We did far better than anyone else after all and by destroying them and finishing what you couldn't we protected this place!"
"Oh? A reward?" John growled, his voice once lower and more dangerous. "But my question is still this: why didn't any of you react to the noises at the start? Why wasn't there a lookout or anyone on patrol? You were quick to spot the merchant, but why did no one see anything else? Why didn't anyone investigate!" His words seemed to act like a physical blow that caused the Berserker to visibly deflate somewhat, his confident façade crumbling as he began to sweat heavily, frantically trying to concoct an excuse as no one else seemed willing to speak up.
"Ray was supposed to be on watch though!" he stuttered out, his gaze darting to the young woman. Ray's head snapped up, a shocked and utterly betrayed look on her face.
"A role she wasn't fulfilling only because you and the others had called her over, I believe," the Old Man interjected softly, his voice cutting through the tension with calm authority, making his presence known once more as he hobbled over to John's side. "It was to have a drink and a bite to eat, sharing the spoils you gained from your previous scavenging that you claimed was your right as compensation for your efforts if I recall correctly." He looked at Ray, his gaze filled with a profound disappointment that made her visibly wilt, guilt flooding her features as she realized her own part in causing what had happened.
"We deserved it, though!" the Berserker blustered, his voice cracking with desperation. "And what are you going to do with us? You can't lose us! We're the fighting force of your little town here! Without us, you will have nothing! And if you try to kick us out, I promise I will tell everyone I come across about this place and even the marauders about what you've done and even your underground you made!" He practically shouted at John, his unexpected outburst stunning everyone into silence as they looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion that he would do such a thing to the person responsible for saving all of them.
A profound, chilling stillness descended upon the group. John's expression remained unreadable. "And who among you agrees with him?" he asked, his voice cutting through the silence, cold and sharp as a winter wind. "Who stands with him? Come now, step forward and stand with him if you feel his in the right." He swept his gaze over each of them, observing the flicker of hesitation and internal struggle playing out on their faces. Slowly, one by one, the other fighters began to step forward to stand with the berserker. Ray bit her lip, her internal conflict etched clearly on her features, torn between her shame and a desperate need for acceptance along with seemingly trying to weigh which side would be best to be on before, with a heavy sigh and visible struggle she too stepped forward to stand with him. Upon seeing this the old man couldn't hold back a soft, sorrowful sigh, his gaze filled with a profound sadness and disappointment that seemed to question her very choice. Ray's expression instantly clouded with regret and she tried to step back but found, to her slowly mounting horror that she was unable to move.
John stood watching each and every one of them with a deceptive calm, his face falling back into a neutral, emotionless mask as his gaze like chips of glacial ice went over them one by one. Before him, a small cluster of individuals he entrusted the protection of his budding camp and people to. Their faces etched with a mixture of defiance and dawning fear.
"You made your choice," John began, his voice devoid of warmth, each word a stone dropped into a still, cold pond, seemingly more directed towards Ray than the others. "You can't just take it back after making it." He paused, allowing the silence to stretch, amplifying the gravity of his statement. "And in regards to your threats, well you're right on all points, I can't just kick you all out, not quite yet or till I have enough means to protect my own people. But at the same time, I certainly can't keep people like you here either, benefiting from the very system you sought to undermine well clearly trying to use your roles as a threat to get your way but It does make me worry since if you're willing to do that what lines won't you cross?"
Soon he began to list off their transgressions as if he were a angry god listing off their crimes, his tone unwavering and each point like a hammer blow. "Firstly, you consistently failed in your assigned duty of keeping this place safe. Your negligence led to our own being harmed, it could have led to lives being lost and don't try to bullshit how it didn't happen, Elena caught five of them who had come in after all of you had left, not thinking to leave someone behind just in case or to keep the place safe but all something that could have been avoided had you done your jobs." A flicker of shame crossed some faces but it was quickly replaced by resentment as they glared at him. "Secondly, you've clearly developed some kind of debilitating superiority complex, forgetting the sheer desperation that brought you to our gates, forgetting the sanctuary we offered and how we helped you get back into better health after what you had been through. You strutted around as if your presence was a divine right now, rather than a privilege earned through trust and action." His eyes narrowed further. "Third, you didn't even show an ounce of remorse or even accept your blatant faults when confronted. Instead, you tried to shift blame, to justify your incompetence with pathetic excuses and even though some of you remained silent not a single one spoke up in protest, Saya and the twins explained their reasoning, she even showed remorse well you all seemed to take it as a joke."
Ray's face turned pale as she felt an insidious chill that had nothing to do with the evening air. Below her, the earth seemed to stir as thin, grayish roots, like veins of ancient wood began to slowly, almost imperceptibly, envelope her feet. She hadn't felt them at first, a strange numbness preceding their tangible grip and no doubt why she couldn't walk back at the last moment. Now that she had noticed them, she saw how they were creeping up her legs, these tendrils crept with a relentless, unfelt pressure. Her breath hitched, ragged and shallow. Her eyes, wide with terror upon noticing the same happening to the others before her gaze darted towards the old man standing slightly to John's side. He had always been a quiet but he had always been a constant presence for her, always trying to help her and now seemed to be someone John listened to except now, when his gaze met hers instead of the warmth they used to hold she found a profound sadness, a look she had been receiving a lot lately and finally realized why as he slowly, almost imperceptibly, shook his head. There would be no intervention from in in this, she had made her choice, ignored his constant attempts to help and it was too late to regret it.
John, either oblivious or perhaps uncaring of Ray's growing panic simply continued. "Fourth, you tried to threaten me, believing your collective numbers or perceived strength could sway my judgment, that you could bend me to be your little bitch who would listen to your demands through fear. A grave miscalculation on your part, I assure you." His voice dropped at that, a dangerous undercurrent slowly creeping into his tone. "And finally, I can already see that given just a little more time, you would undoubtedly try to seize control of this place, wanting to place yourselves as the supreme leaders of the camp I want to create, a self-serving tyranny disguised as ambition, no doubt having Ray be your figure head, someone who could take the blame like you tried earlier well you hold all the control."
"So what?! What's wrong with wanting that!" The berserker snarled. "A camp needs a strong leader! I've done more than you have! I've risked my life on patrols, faced down more horrors than you could ever imagine! So how is it you're the one who should be allowed to benefit from our work, our blood and sweat?!"
He tried to charge forward; no doubt wanting to try and attack him but soon frowned when he realized he couldn't move his legs. Looking down he noticed his massive boots where tightly wrapped in gray roots that already coiled their way across his legs, thicker and more aggressive than the ones binding Ray, they nonetheless anchored him firmly in place. He visibly tried tugging his legs, then straining to try and move them, his powerful muscles bulging but the roots held firm. Soon shock registered on his face before his furious gaze snapped back to John clearly demanding an answer well screaming to be released. The other members of the defiant group, though not yet fully ensnared watched in horrified fascination well a cold dread seeping, destroying their bravado. They could feel the subtle tremors in the ground, the very earth apparently siding with John as they noticed the same kind of roots having wrapped around them as well entirely unnoticed.
John however ignored the berserker's demands, his attention seemingly elsewhere seemingly in thought as his gaze drifted to a point just beyond them, as if addressing an unseen entity before turning his gaze to the merchant "Z," he said, his voice carrying an unnerving neutrality that somehow made his words even more chilling, "would these people be tradable? Or would they need to be… dead, their souls somehow trapped for them to be to be viable for trade?"
A collective gasp ripped through the group. The air grew impossibly cold, the kind of cold that cut a person to the bone. Shivers, not of temperature but of primal terror ran down everyone's spines, not just the captives. Wide, panicked eyes turned to each other, then back to John, who remained still as he waited for an answer. The words "tradable," "dead," and "souls trapped" hung in the air making them realize how badly they had messed up, how their demands, attitude and superiority complex had backfired on them.
They soon began to plead for mercy, trying to apologize, claiming they were just following their leader and that it was all just talk, for him to not take it so seriously and that they would change, but seeing his cold gaze they soon to strain against their bindings, twisting and writhing as a raw, desperate fear took over. But the roots, in response to John's question visibly pulsed and thickened as they rushing up and around their bodies, wrapping around their torsos and arms with startling speed, no longer caring about subtlety as they effectively pinning their limbs preventing any further struggle and causing panic to truly set in. Their voices rose in a cacophony of sound, some begging more pitifully now, others for mercy well a few resorted to throwing curses and futile threats at him, their faces contorted with a mixture of rage and abject terror.
Only Ray seemed to break from the frantic, collective hysteria. As the roots tightened around her chest, securing her completely her struggles slowly stopped. Her eyes, no longer wide with just panic but filled instead with an overwhelming, crushing wave of regret upon realizing how she had brought this upon herself. A tear slowly began to trail down her cheek soon followed by another before becoming a torrent as she crumpled, her body wracked with shuddering sobs she couldn't hold back any longer, she no longer pleaded for release, but instead began weeping for the choices she had made, for the path that had led her, to this chilling, irreversible end as the old man watched with a few fresh tears forming in his own eyes, she realized now exactly how much he had been trying to help her, the reason for his disappointed and pained gaze she had constantly been receiving as of late.