"No… no no NO! This can't be happening!" Zander watched wide wide eyes as Carlos paced around the hallway, watching the man curse and shudder as he glanced inside the wide-opened door that sat in front of the pair, ajar after Carlos' attempts to break in, his panicked shouts catching Zander's attention.
"What happened?" Zander asked, his face filled with concern. He'd recovered rather quickly due to the help of the resident healer, leaving only a few minor injuries on his person. Despite his healthy status, he found walking difficult, alongside a few minor actions that didn't give him too much pause. He'd spent much of the twelve hours since the return of the raid in bed, passing in and out of sleep as dreams of horror and monsters tortured him.
Just as he'd awoken for the third time that night, Carlos' frantic shuffling about the darkened halls of The Garden caught his attention, and from the man's concerned curses, he surmised that something was up. Following the man, he caught him breaking into a room with the label "R," using his daggers to push the door from its hinges, banging along the side of the door desperately.
"Reginald! REGINALD!" Carlos screamed, finding it difficult to push past the door. Something was clearly blocking it, and he shoved with all his might, slamming into the face of the entrance with his shoulder, sending a small shudder throughout the hallway with the sheer force of the blow. Dust flew from the attack, showering the area in a lighter color, only visible from the small excess of lamps that littered the hallway that served as the living space for most residents of The Garden.
"Zander!" Carlos shouted, turning back to him. He seemed a bit surprised to see him, but instead of questioning his presence, he turned back towards his task, doing his best to press into the room. "Reginald's in trouble!" He exclaimed, panting for breath. "I-I've got a link, some little magical connection with the people in our squad, it helps for scouting" he explained, causing Zander's head to tilt with confusion. "Reginald's link was off, so I went to come and check it out, and now I think something's seriously wrong!" His raised voice began to turn into a shout, and Zander, quickly understanding what Carlos was trying to say, moved his way to the side of the door, using their combined strength to shove it open, the door swinging towards the pair.
What they saw next caused a broken, hallowed sob to erupt from Carlos' mouth.
"No… no no NO! This can't be happening!" Carlos' voice cracked, splitting as his breath became heavy, and he bent over, using his hand to prop himself up along the side of the wall, doing his best to let himself breathe, before stepping into the bedroom, and discovering just what had stopped the pair from opening the door.
Zander peeped in, his expression concerned and curious, only for his face to drop into a visage of horror and despair.
Reginald's body sat alongside the length of the door, hunched over on its side from the two pushing the door away. He'd held a bottle of alcohol in his hand, and a knife in the other, and upon further inspection Zander noticed a large red streak cutting across the length of his arm, moving to his wrist. A similar cut could be found on his other wrist, and a pool of blood had settled between the two, a sickening stench of death emanating from his corpse.
"Oh god-" Zander said, hunching over, his body beginning to heave as he involuntarily lost his lunch, sending a spew of vomit across the carpeted floor. Carlos dropped the weapon in his hand, which he'd used to take the door off its hinges. Tears flowed openly from his eyes as he approached the body of his friend, the friend he'd worked hand in hand with for years now, only to have their story ended like this.
"What… was this a murder? He would- wouldn't commit suicide, right?" Zander asked, his arms trembling violently, reminding him of the helplessness he'd felt when being attacked on all sides by the goblin horde. The feeling sent shivers of tingling pain down his spine, over and over, in an endless wave of pain and agony. He felt as if his body had fallen asleep, and just woken up, pins and needles pricking every point of his skin as his strength fell away.
"No… This was Reginald's own doing" Carlos said, his face solemn. He clenched his fists tightly, so tightly that his nails began to dig into the skin of his palms, leaving a small trail of blood along the side of his wrist. "I can't- I can't believe he'd do this… after surviving it all, after getting through the damn lure. There was only good things to come!" Carlos shouted, his voice filled with sobs as he hugged himself, crying openly without a care. "He was supposed to be the wise guy, the one who had all the damn fancy quotes, the old man… FUCK!" He pushed the ground, before turning away from the room, moving down across the hallway with immense speed, so much that Zander could keep up, even with his own boosted stats.
"Wait!" Zander shouted, getting a glance from Carlos. "Where are you going?"
"To the captain." He said, and then he was gone.
__
Zander blanched as Reginald's corpse was lifted into the cart, and subsequently launched into the void, joining his fallen comrades in its gentle embrace. He shed a small tear as he remembered the small time the two had together, the fallen enemies they'd slain, and the brief moment by the fire. Half of the team had still been alive by then, and now there was only three remaining. Despite being people he'd met only a few days prior, he couldn't stop himself from crying. They'd felt like the first relief he'd had since arriving on the second layer, the first semblance of family, or friends in this harsh world, yet they'd all been taken away from him. Like sheep to be slaughtered. He clenched his fist at the thought, silently cursing the cruelty of this harsh, despised world. He screamed internally with every breath, every second feeling like hours in length.
"My scouts" Sarah said, her voice downtrodden, as if she'd just been given the news that the world was ending. "They were MY scouts, forged in bonds of blood and heartfelt comradery." Her hand placed itself above her heart as she lurched forward slightly, her head bobbing in an attempt not to scream. "We'd fought through so many hardships together, through the Great War, through the collapse of The Igniting Hand, through the toughest raid we'd ever experienced, only a few weeks ago. Together, we'd pushed our loyalty past the brink, pushing ourself alongside it. Together, we made this nation great, we'd allowed for our prosperity and fought against the horrors outside our walls, all in an effort to better our people. It's cruel to imagine the losses we've taken in exchange for our freedoms." She said, her hands fiddling with her fingers, massaging her palms together.
"Half of my squad now lies dead, dead at the cost of saving our lives, of furthering the expansion of our people and the establishment of our sovereignty over a new, united territory." She announced, her head held high. "I have come here to announce the exploration, colonization, and development of fifteen further complexes over the next coming months, all fueled by the efforts that leave us mourning here today." She said, getting a wave of gasps, shocked expressions, and surprised glances from the crowd of citizens. "With their sacrifice, we have achieved a new height! The complete safety of a collection of complexes, free of monsters, free of raids, and most of all, free of panic, of fear, of hunger and death."
"Recently, Matsuo ordered the rapid expansion of our nation, and through the efforts today, we have succeeded. Please, welcome our colleagues into the afterlife, and we will do our best to fight on in your stead." Sarah said, her hands clasping together, steepling her palms. Her actions earned a series of similar actions from the other citizens, some of whom then going further to reach for a series of crosses that hung around their necks, a symbol of faith.
"Whilst Matsuo is away, we will continue to push past our boundaries, to expand into our newly found land, and becoming the dominant force in this region, for the betterment of our people and beyond. For humanity!" She exclaimed, raising her hand high into the air. A roar of agreement coupled her actions, and Zander watched on as she rallied the crowd, his head still spinning.
Glancing back down, he shuffled away from the main crowd, looking for a quiet corner to rest. He glanced at his hands, observing the small scars he'd taken from the large number of battles he'd had to fight in such a short amount of time. He clenched his palm, watching the scars fade away, and unclenched them, a reminder of who he was now.
He blinked his thoughts away, willing open his status screen, hoping to see some of the changes since the last time he'd bothered to check, nearly a full day before the launch of the scouts' expedition.
[Status]
[Core: Copper (Upper)]
[Soul: Copper]
[Traits: Masterful Crafter (Species Only)]
[Species: Human]
[Status:]
[Strength: 21]
[Constitution: 22]
[Dexterity: 24]
[Intelligence: 12]
[Spirit: 13]
[Charisma: 10]
[Abilities: Willpower, Adrenaline, Sword Mastery (Silver)]
[Essence: 145]
His statistics had taken a massive rise since before the expedition, yet despite that, it didn't look like enough changes to warrant the fighting he'd done. He thought the fight with the thralls, the goblins, hobgoblins, and his desperate charge through the caves would result in more, however it seemed it was going to get increasingly difficult to push himself past his limits.
An interesting change was his core, which now had changed from its [Core: Copper (Lower)] status, evolving into a [Core: Copper (Upper)]. Whilst there was no visible change on his statistics, he felt himself with a deeper capacity for mana, finding it easier to keep up some of his abilities, though admittedly he didn't use much in the first place. His only real use of mana was through the use of his [Adrenaline] ability, as well as his [Sword Mastery], however the latter didn't use much mana in the first place, allowing for him to push further past his limits, whilst [Adrenaline] took a small chunk of his mana, but the real cost was the overwhelming rage he'd had a chance to experience mid-fight, essentially ending his life in an instant if he were to need to rely on skill and technique over sheer force. On top of that, his berserker state removed much of the control from his body, so he was terrified to use it in front of allies, worried he'd attack them without seeing the difference between them.
He frowned as he thought about his fighting capacity, thinking about how he could continue to push past his limits, but he'd found no real way to continue at this moment in time, especially without a series of fights to push him further. He thought long and hard for a few minutes, before focusing especially on a certain part of his status that had puzzled him for quite a while.
[Traits: Masterful Crafter (Species Only)]
There was never a real explanation for this part of his status, and it'd had no real effect on his during his time amongst the second layer, but the lack of information had plagued him for hours, even if he pushed it to the side. How can I use this, if it doesn't benefit me in terms of stats or abilities? He asked, and he willed for something to open, hoping there was some form of hidden screen or statistic that would appear before him, but nothing happened. He tried willing certain new ideas, a status, a shop, a trait screen, an inventory, yet nothing seemed to work, until eventually he'd finally tried to open a crafting menu.
Before him, a massive list of abilities rolled out before him, showering his vision with catalogues and selections at his disposal. He opened his eyes wide, his finger toiling through the massive list as he watched it scroll across his vision.
[Crafting:]
[Page 1/999999]
[1. Weapon Energy (Copper) – 2,000 Es.]
[2. Qi Manipulation (Copper) – 5,000 Es.]
[3. Erubian Edge (1/2) – 10,000,000 Es.]
[4. Aura Manipulation – 10,000 Es.]
[5. Domination (100/100) – 50,000 Es.]
[6. Nature's Blessing (1124/1500) – 25,000 Es.]
[7. Water Manipulation (Copper) – 50,000 Es.]
[8. Blade Dance (4/7) – 1,000,000 Es.]
[9. Binding Contract – 25,000 Es.]
[10. Calm Mind (1/2) – 1,000 Es.]
[<- Last Page – Next Page ->]
Zander was befuddled. Before him was a massive series of abilities, all of which far outside the price range he was used to. How was he supposed to afford any of these?! Also, those numbers… what do they mean? He asked himself.
He looked at the bottom of the list, noticing the last option on the first page, which seemed to be in a random order. [10. Calm Mind (1/2) – 1,000 Es.] Es. clearly stood for essence, just like it did at Johann's shop, allowing for him to spend essence in exchange for greater growth, though these prices seemed exuberant. The numbers next to the ability seemed like a capacity number, as if there was a certain limit on how many people could use certain abilities, which made sense. He tilted his head once again after looking at [Calm Mind], confused as to why someone else hadn't taken his ability.
[Willpower (1/2) – 1,000 Es. – Core of Crystalized Mana]
[You have proven yourself able to push beyond your limits in the face of mortal danger. In times of intense stress, you find calm in the storm. While under heavy stress, the user has increased control of their emotions, allowing for higher focus and quicker reactions during combat and fast-paced situations]
[You do not have the materials to craft this ability]
Zander nearly had a second take once he saw those words, finding everything rather confusing. In the shop, it only displayed the essence cost of these abilities, yet once he'd pressed further, it seemed there was an underlying crafting mechanic that governed them further. I suppose that's why it's called Masterful Crafters instead of Masterful Shoppers… He thought, earning himself a small chuckle.
Zander kept looking through the list of abilities, finding a palette of overpriced, unobtainable abilities that'd never even dream of affording, with some abilities ranging even in the trillions of essence, which boggled his mind. How the hell was he supposed to afford something like that? Even the basic thrall on this layer gave him 1-2 essence per kill, with brute class thrall giving him closer to 20 per kill. He breathed a heavy sigh of exhaustion, before putting the screen away, and making his way back to the gathered group, finding them mingling together, discussing small, whispered conversations, each person too afraid to break the silence.
Zander gasped as a hand clasped down on his shoulder, sending a rocking pain through his chest as a few untreated bruises throbbed. Looking back, he found a smiling Bernard behind him, and gesturing to the side, bringing him away from the crowds.
"Heya laddie, hope everythin's alright after the expedition. I heard you's folks had a tough journey, but it wasn't without some benefits, no?" He asked, getting a small nod from Zander. "Ah, that's the price of sacrifice, lad. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Lucky for us, their sacrifice will help us all." He turned his head away, before turning it back quickly, leaning up to Zander's ear. He cupped his scarred hand up to his grizzled face, whispering to Zander. "Is it true what the Captain's sayin' laddie? A collection of safe complexes, free of raids, an' all that?" He asked, fidgeting slightly.
"Yea." Zander replied, nodding to the main fervently. "We happened upon something called a Lure out there. A system prompt told us that if we cleared it, the local radius of complexes around it would be completely free of monsters, so we decided to give it a go. Little did we know, there was an innumerable horde of monsters that emerged, like the raid from not too long ago, just with thralls instead of buzzards. Maia and Xavier went quick…" He said, his head falling to the floor. Bernard placed his hand along Zander's shoulder as Zander began to tremble once more, before stabilizing.
"It's fine- I'm fine- I just need a second." He stabilized himself, regaining his composure as he launched back into his story. "We had to fight a nearly evolved thrall, going from Brute class to a Variant class, though admittedly I don't really know what those are, but if it's anywhere near as strong as that Brute… god help us all if we stumble across one." He said, his face filling with a small, innate fear as he recalled the events of the past week.
"We managed to kill it by luring it off the edge of the complex, though admittedly I think it was less us and the thrall's overwhelming directive to kill us, and we all tumbled over. Sarah caught us… and we managed to get back." He decided not to tell Bernard about the Trial quite yet. Despite knowing that he was one of the council members of The Garden, he didn't want to reveal any information that hadn't been said yet, and besides, the goblin caves were very dark.
He thought back to the hordes of goblins, and the legions of human slaves they'd kept, his mind aflutter as he remembered them once more, his breath quickening as he questioned what he was doing. What about the humans? Did they get freed? Did they die there, shackled to the walls, as we vanished from the Trial? Were they even real in the first place? His questions did not help him in getting over the events of the Trial, but he made sure to ignore it, shaking his head violently as he tried to forget the details. One way or another, there was no real way to know for sure.
"I-I just… I can't do this, man" He stuttered out, his thoughts involuntarily spilling from his lips. "I can't do this! Every single step of the way there's some horrible atrocity that seems to splay itself before me, like a fucking red carpet of death, or something. Fuck, I don't know" He leaned against the wall, sliding along the side of the structure, until he'd reached a sitting position, tucking his legs into his arms, and curling himself into a ball. "What's the point? Each time I seem to gain some foothold in what I'm doing, where I'm going, and why, it feels like everything is ripped from me all over again. What am I doing wrong?" He asked to no one in particular, a tear flying down his cheek as he began to sob.
Bernard slid down beside him, resting a comforting arm along his shoulder. "I get it, laddie. You weren't even a soldier before this. Even to us veterans, this place is a nightmare in itself, and I doubt it'll get any better the higher up we go. Who knows how catastrophic things could get? Still, our only way to solve this is to get stronger, and make yourself powerful enough to ensure that nothing happens to your friends. That's why we have Matsuo- well… usually. If he was here, we'd probably not have so many catastrophes, but with him still in the Skyscraper… it's a bit tough, laddie. I understand." He chuckled slightly as he played with a seam on his thick armor. "Sometimes, life's tough, but it's up to us to keep improving in their stead, and to use their sacrifice to make the whole of us better." He said, nodding his head to himself as he spoke.
"I- I guess…" Zander said. He fell silent after that, and Bernard reciprocated, the two sitting together, overlooking the endless void that sat far, far below them, the new home of Reginald. They wondered together what the future would bring, what the sacrifices made today would benefit, but they never held doubt for the actions of their fallen comrades, they just shared a silence.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sarah breathed a sigh of frustration as she walked amongst the administrative rooms of the upper floors, past the wooden barricade which always had to be forcefully removed once Matsuo left. Despite the benefits his magic provided, there was always a range to his abilities, so anything he'd leave behind was only permanent if he was present in the complex, or several complexes away. Usually it disappeared when he moved to the Skyscraper, and it was no different this time.
She pondered about Matsuo. She hadn't seen him since before the expedition, and whilst the nearest teleporter was quite a ways away, she knew that Matsuo thought this was an urgent matter, and he wouldn't hesitate to use the full capacity of his stats to cover the distance easily. A week and a half long trip was usually the longest he'd leave The Garden, especially when there was such a massive danger afoot, so where was he?
The lures, the trials, and the newly discovered safe territory was practically a haven for The Garden if they could use their resources right, starting with Matsuo's massive infrastructural renovations that he could make. He was always the guiding light of The Garden, its anchor guardian and the core of what made the nation so unique, and so safe, though safety was not something that came to mind over the past several days, not with the introduction of these newer, higher dangers.
As she pondered further, she made her way to her room, gathering a few small binders, each filled with a collection of papers, papers which depicted the statistic of The Garden. The population, the general source of wealth, the relative strength of its citizens, and the combined strength of nearby populations and communities, allowing for an easier analysis of their situation. Usually, Matsuo was rather good at these kinds of things, whilst Sarah fought alongside her scouts, finding a joy in exploration, but with him absent, it was up to her to fill the role of guardian, even if she was rather unfamiliar with her tasks.
Luckily, that's what the council was for.
Sarah opened a pair of massive, widened doors, doors which led to a gigantic room with a similarly large, rounded table in the center. He smiled as she greeted the nearly twenty pairs of eyes that met hers as she sat down at the round table, preparing herself. Today was the day of their weekly council meetings, which decided the infrastructural goals and resources they'd be dedicating to the community for the week. Whilst most meetings were unusually boring, with very little being done besides improvements to the military or living quarters, so many unusual events had happened within the past three or four weeks that everything was bound to be intriguing. Their past few meetings had been met with serious debate, usually quelled by Matsuo, but now everything was significantly more prominent, and without an authoritative force to take his place, there would be chaos.
"Councilmen and women" she nodded towards the accumulated crowd of council members, smiling brightly to the group. "With Matsuo still out on his diplomatic trip, it falls to me to govern this council meeting. All rise!" Her last words she articulated with force as the council quickly stood from their seats, each bowing their heads to her in recognition. Satisfied, she sat down, allowing for the other members to follow suit.
"These past two weeks have been expensive in terms of both physical and human resources. Firstly, let's bring up some of that bad. With the loss of the main squad of scouts, it seems our scout regiment will have to be partially disbanded. While I believe it necessary to still conduct small scale expeditions with the smaller teams, Alpha team will be disabled nearly permanently. Despite this, new discoveries in the field have left us with many, many different options." She said, getting a series of serious nods and furious note taking from the other members.
"I assume most of you know of the "Lures" that we discovered along our journey, as well as the rewards it brings from my report after I returned, would that be correct?" She asked, and another series of nods were directed her way. "Good. If you have any questions about these lures, please ask about them after the meeting, I will be happy to explain any of the details you're missing." She patted her binder, removing a large document that detailed their armories, treasury, and accumulated wealth/manpower, and smiled.
"The good news is that through the actions of the fallen, all complexes within a range of the complex we have dubbed Hope have been cleared entirely of monsters, with a promise from the system of no more monster spawns. Forever." As she said those words, a collection of whispers and gasps erupted from the rest of the council, and soon, a voice rose above the frantic discussion.
"Safe, you say?" A man, equipped with a massive beard tipped with gray and grizzled hair. He wore a large hat atop his head, similar to that of a typical, run of the mill cowboy, and a small patch above his left eye. His expression was stoic, but for Sarah it was honestly rather difficult to differentiate between his typical expressions. His name was Santiago, and he worked as The Garden's spymaster. He was the one who weeded out spies, dangers, thieves, and any threats in the nearby area, allowing for The Garden to swiftly deal with any issues, even if it meant he had to get his hands a little dirty. His voice was usually devoid of emotion, the resounding words coming out as an overwhelming expression of seriousness and focus. He didn't feel like a man trying to survive, but a man trying to win
"How do we know this "Lure" made the area safe?" He asked, thrusting his fingers into the air, using his other hand to count the digits along his hand. "We ain't ever seen something like this, never once in all five years of livin' here." His hand gripped his other digit. "If there is a danger still remainin' what will YOU do to solve it?" His hand moved once more. "And finally, and I think the most importantly, why did it take the sacrifice of the alpha team to secure such a victory. Why not turn back, and bring Bernard's folks over to help? It's pretty damn clear that those "Lures" are made for large scale military conflicts, not some small team o' scouts, even if y'all are the best of the best. Now we've lost one of our best spellcasters, a great frontline fighter, and- bless his heart- Reginald, my dear friend." His head turned downward, his face hardening further, which Sarah didn't even know was possible. He turned back to Sarah, staring deep into her eyes as she hesitated, unsure of what to do.
"I-" She trailed off, furrowing her brows as she tried her best to think of what to say, before taking a deep breath, her nerves slowly playing through her mind. She'd never felt any nervousness or stage fright at a council meeting or leadership role before, yet here she was, acting like a kid at a band audition. "Firstly, thank you for your condolences, and I'm sorry about Reginald." Santiago's face contorted as she mentioned his name, but he let her continue onward. "As for safety, the system promised it as a reward for clearing the lure, and I don't think I've ever seen the system lie before, have you?" Her words got a series of shaking heads from her peers. "and lastly- I-" Her words tripped in her mouth, catching in her throat as she tried to speak. "Our losses was my fault. We took a vote on what to do, and, afraid we'd lose our chance to earn something as great as guaranteed safety throughout the complexes, we took the chance, and paid the price. We were terrified that we'd let the one opportunity to better the lives of everyone slip out of our fingers and fizzle out, so we did it, and we won with great difficulty.
She stood up from the council table, leaning her head forward in an expression of sorrow. "It was my fault they died. I should've known better than to dive headfirst into such a dangerous situation, but I assure you I had the best of intentions in mind. My scouts trusted my judgement and followed suit. I hope you can understand the sacrifice they made. Despite that, it's imperative that we focus on what we've gained. New territory for rapid expansion, and a massive increase of homeless peoples from the fifth wave. Today, we're presented with a new opportunity to better ourselves and our community." Her voice was purely professional, like a businesswoman giving a speech to her colleagues, discussing the future of a company.
"I believe that is it our responsibility to provide a home to those still seeking refuge within the camps of the Refugees. After some brief communications from them, it is clear that they're overwhelmed with the sheer numbers of newly awakened at their doorsteps, and this new expanded territory would provide an excellent opportunity to take them in." She glanced at the council members, her eyes placing Bernard across the table from her, who nodded, his face scrunched in concentration. "So I propose a new several month long expansion phase. Each of these complexes can host thousands of people, and I believe we can create miniature communities that combine together under a single banner, centering around the Hope complex. I believe we should move our base of operations, military, and council positions there, and assist in the rapid employment and recruitment of new citizens, create homes and jobs for those in need, and provide assistance to those looking to improve themselves and their abilities." With those final words, she sat back down in her chair, internally sighing to herself as she finished her speech. It felt like her heart was pounding in her chest.
A collection of glances and further whispers from the council broke out into loud discussion and debate, with some sides expressing their concerns with the new plan. "Won't expanding so rapidly drastically impact our supplies? Do we even have enough resources to deal with this many new citizens? How can we establish our rule and ensure that there will be no protests or rioting from the newcomers?" Sarah frowned as those words spilled out across the room, a little annoyed. They had no intention to rule like tyrants over the people, but they needed direction, direction which could only be given by Matsuo. Usually the council never even attempted to counter Matsuo's proposals, though perhaps a small correction here and there when something would backfire. To see such a radical backlash on heightened the doubts in her mind.
As she let the rest of the crowd discuss it amongst themselves, she looked towards the ceiling, thinking back on the journey she'd just so recently returned from. Flashes tore through her mind of memories, of death. She watched Maia's death play out again and again through her mind, ripping through her emotions like scissors. She relived her time in the dungeon, her first day in the dark, shackled and toyed with like a tool. Their rusty daggers and swords had caused dangerous infections, the healer had told her, and if she'd spent a few more days in those cells she likely would've died. Just the thought of it made her head spin. Her, dying? She'd never thought of that, not since the Great War. Since the Strollo's were beaten back, she had dedicated everything to getting stronger, to ensuring that The Garden would prosper for years to come, and she'd accomplished her goal and more. Until now, it seemed.
She glanced to the side, interrupting her thoughts as she noticed a weird sound from outside the door. Thump, thump, thump… It was footsteps, clearly, but for what? No one was typically allowed within a large radius of the council hall, so a person so close could be a potential threat. Mentally, she prepared to manifest her blades at a moment's notice, right before the doors swung open with a massive bang! as the doors slammed against the back of the wall. The council room fell silent as all eyes fell upon the new presence.
"Captain Sarah! Captain Sarah!" It was Meek, the young street boy turned courier once he became an adult. In his hands he held a large scroll, and his legs wobbled back and forth as he trembled in place.
"Matsuo is dead!"