WQ - Blood for Blood • Private

…What do you mean the captured soldiers haven’t shown up yet?

“Ah, well, we believe that some of the Astorean soldier’s might have taken them prisoner.”

The very Astorean soldiers that were transporting them to the border? They turned rogue and killed the captured soldiers?

“We aren’t sure if they were killed or not. That’s why we’re requesting help with tracking them down.”

Savannah couldn’t help but roll her eyes, her lithe arms crossing over her armored chest. You want me to play bloodhound to a bunch of enemy soldiers? If they’re dead, good riddance!

The commander grunted and shook her head, the long brown locks swaying with the movement. “Miss Reed, please. You know as well as I do that their deaths, especially at the hands of our troops, would only escalate problems within the country. We’re trying to get things back to normal for as many people as possible.”

Normal for the enemy should be six feet under as maggot food, Savannah replied, steel coating her words.

The brown gaze of the commander matched her glowing white one, each glaring at the other. However, it was the former that was the first to look away.

“I know I’m asking a lot, especially after what happened on the wall.”

Savannah merely snorted in response, her gaze narrowing a fraction though it was still as cold as the grave.

“However, you’re one of the more capable people I can rely on. Aalam spoke very highly of your abilities…”

Savannah shrugged her shoulders and remained quiet, her gazer skittering off to the size where a worn chair sat. There were teeth marks on the bottom of it, probably gnawed to death by the commander’s dog…which was missing at the moment.

“Please, Miss Reed –”

Fine. Yes. I’ll search for them. What do you want me to do with your wayward soldiers? I’m assuming that I cannot kill them for disobeying a direct order and endangering the fragile nature of our agreement with Felderen?

“No, no. Just…just, send them back here.”

And if they don’t return?

“Then they will have committed treason against the crown and when they are found, will be executed for their crimes.”

It would be much faster to just skip that step.

The glare that the commander shot her way was met with another careless shrug. The silence that fell between them was enough of a hint that Savannah needed to get to work. So, with a sigh and a small shake of her head, she turned on her heel and left the room, her long legs quickly carrying her to the courtyard. Little did she know that the commander was calling another to accompany her to make sure she too didn’t go rogue.

@Scon Carvalho ​

 

It had been a few days since his first log-in. Scon had 'earned' himself a marker denoting him a Player Killer, PK for short, on his first time logging in - Most impressive or else most dumb, depending on how you look at it. Since then he had taken the time to better master the movements used in this battle system and he felt he now at least understood how to control himself. He had gotten as far as a little basic questing, too - killing wolves for pelts and crushing nests of beginner level giant spiders. The immediate danger of learning to combat those beasts aside, he had also needed to be careful navigating the brink of safe zones. He could be attacked at any time by someone much more capable than himself, any time he stepped out of the towns.

Still, at least now he had a grip on the basics; things like investigation mode, interacting with the UI and also just interacting with the world! He had gotten the jist of talking to people - players were near identical to NPCs (were they even NPCs..? They could just be actors, after all!) and he had held enough full blown conversations with a couple of shop-keepers to convince himself this AI was powerful. Neural networks were a hell of a thing, just like this whole game, and he was beginning to truly understand what an advanced undertaking Terrasphere was.

Something he didn't understand, though, was the war. Apparently he had been late to the party - it was true, he hadn't even heard about the game until recently, and there had been a whole war happen before he got in. Scon hadn't bothered to delve too deeply into the story, still acquainting himself with the physics; the limitations; the impressive tech on display and, most notably, the Mastery system. Levels didn't exist, something which left him feeling confused and maligned, but slightly liberated. Conversely, the people of 'Faldaren' were feeling quite the opposite - held captive by the winning army, their home the location he happened to find himself in.

"Sure, I'll help out." He replied succinctly to the commander. He was oblivious to the politics of the situation; the should and should-nots of assisting in retrieving runaway captives. That meant the whole situation had no negative connotation, no concerns of betraying his nation or of saving some dogs who deserved the sword. A perfectly poised sellsword, his favourite go-to role in these open world games!

He had to remind himself it was a game, hourly, or he worried he might forget.

The commander informed him of the experienced soldier he would be working with, a female by the name of Savannah, who had first hand experience fighting in the war - that made her a risky agent for the task, having been stabbity-stabbing these escapees a matter of days prior. He was being sent almost as the conscience for her. Good thing the quest-giver was oblivious to how poor a choice Scon was for that role. Incidentally, her name rang a bell with the male, but he couldn't place why. It was a weird feeling, hanging over his subconscious.

Seeing the back of her didn't help explain who or how or where, either, but it caused the male's tail to wag slightly. Having pretty company helped one get through a quest that much easier. Watching her sway as she walked, the male was aware of how depraved he truly was.

"Hey, uh, Miss Reed?" He called, breaking into a brief jog to try catching up with her. "Hey, hi. I'm with you for this mission. Fill me in?"

 

A human's hearing wasn’t nearly as good as Faerin hearing. However, Savannah could still make out the sound of steps coming toward her and her name on the wind. There was a slight tightness in her shoulders as they inched up around her ears, but she quickly shook it loose. She should have known that she would have company on this quest and all that bullshit about Aalam suggesting that she had good skills was probably just that: bullshit. Sad enough to say that she believed it.

The lithe knight stopped in her tracks, closed her eyes, exhaled and prepared herself. She would calmly and rationally explain to this person why they didn’t have to accompany her, thank them for their time, and then resume her search alone. If they were worried about being reprimanded by the commander, she knew plenty of fetch events that should be happening in the next ten minutes or so that they could do so that they were lost for a while. Hopefully, the AI memory had reset by then.

Actually no, you’re not with me, Savannah started to say as she turned around to face her “partner”, her arms crossing over her dark breastplate. Yet, the words melted in her throat and she was left narrowing her silver-blue eyes and nearly growling instead of making conversation. And even if you were with me, no fucking way am I partying with a player-killer!

The accusation was loud, probably louder than she had originally meant for it to be, but the venom in her tone was deliberate. This was the same jackass who got her killed after the whole war thing went down. And that event was on such a large scale in terms of chaos that she rightly should have died. Imagine her anger at being felled by a fucking bear mere days later. There was nothing heroic or knightly about that at all.

Get out of her newbie. I don’t need your help. And she pivoted once more and started walking away, grumbling the entire time.​

 

That was some vitriol. Scon had only just closed the distance between them when he was liberally barraged with insults; first about his player killer status and then in regards to how he was a newbie. It was true that, given he was still only a few days into his tenure at Terrasphere, newbie was an accurate label. But to the prideful male who boasted playtimes in online games amounting to weeks of his life, it stung. Being a PKer? Meh, that reputation didn't worry him. But he was no nub.

"Well a howdy doodle f*** you too." He started in sarcastic sing-song, clearly riled. The catman's arms had raised from a position of openness, offering his greeting, to a pair of birds, flipped at the admittedly attractive female. She was probably a dude anyway. "You can't do this quest solo, even if you were trustworthy enough to. It says so in the quest details, newbie. And, there besides, you're going to end up killing these people if I'm not around to stop you."

The male, with face tightened into a displeased snarl, stomped past his would-be party member. If she didn't move out of the way his plotted course would cause him to brush shoulders past her, the mountain of a cat suddenly done with pleasantries. He had been excited to work with a supposed war hero with a nice round ass, but her stout indignation at his status had completely ruined the moment. The tip of his tail flicked in annoyance, his hands now curled in fists.

"Come on then, elitist." Having passed her he moved in the direction she had been walking. "There are seven of these fools to corral, I know that much. Well, assuming nobody has killed anyone else. I don't care for all this political crap, but apparently it matters to you?" Even at the best of times, Scon was above the nuances of good and bad, sides of a war and all that. He was mostly content being used as a point and click tool that could assume his employer was taking the correct moral stance - in video games, especially MMOs, situations where you could make the wrong choice doing a quest were rare.

"And, for the record, I didn't hunt a player out and kill them or anything. Accidents happen." Scon stated obliquely with an aloof shrug as he marched towards a dirt path that lead out of the barracks' courtyard. He stopped at the beginning of the route out of the town, turning to Savannah again (assuming she was even still there.) "You've probably killed some NPCs, if you're as capable a warrior as this Commander seemed to believe. And I hope you are, because I doubt we'll have much chemistry if a fight happens. But yeah, killing not-players? That's worse, really - the little Asura-looking chick gets to respawn, but this neural network, or whatever these guys are..." He slowed at his own revelation. "It's getting scarily close to real murder to kill them." The male's final words trailed off as his eyes became distant. This was deep. Duuude.

 

Savannah made a show of rolling her silver eyes at his remark about her being unable to complete this quest solo. She had done many things in this game by herself and it was only when she grouped up with other players where bad shit happened. Case and point was the whole bear incident and, less impactfully, the recent war. And even if it turned into a situation that she couldn’t handle, she felt more than confident in her own abilities to manage it…somehow.

I already told the commander I wasn’t going to kill these…idiots and if I were, there’s nothing you could do to stop me. Her words were little more than a snarl and a demeaning once over. Her lithe frame stopped walking and stood there stubbornly in the street, the Felis male a little ahead of her and people milling around them.

If you don’t even care about “this political crap”, and Savannah did finger quotes here, then why even accept the quest! Go out into the world and help the farmers or the bakers or the people who need the dire rats cleaned out of their cellars. No political crap there!

The only reason Savannah followed the male is to keep up the belligerent conversation they were having. Granted, having her previous body be compared to an Asura gave her some pause in her feelings. There was something new here, a feeling that was both anger and adoration considering she thought the Asura from GuildWars 2 were pretty cute…in their own alien way.

I was the asura chick, asshole. Her words were slipped and dripping with anger, her arms tight as they crossed over her breastplate, her fingers curling into fists, her nails biting into the palms of her hands. ​

 

"...Oh." It was an unexpected turn for the tan feline, to hear his not-quite ally reveal herself as his saviour; she was claiming to be the one who intervened between him and that bear when he first logged on. A few things suddenly fell into place, though, and Scon could only stare blankly at the chest of the azure female. So that was how she knew he was new to the game! And that's why her name seemed familiar! And that's why she had such disdain for him! And apparently, she knew what an Asura was?

"...Oh, phew." Scon amended, shaking his head and mopping his brow in mock relief. "I was worried my conscience had to bear the accidental death of someone nice!" He followed in chipper beat. He hung his head back and sighed smugly. "But if it's just someone as rude as you that got in the way, that's fine. Yeesh, all that worry over nothing..." And, with that, Scon had turned back towards the route out of town, walking once more as if nothing had happened.

"The political crap pays me to not care." He added loudly over his shoulder, lazily lifting a hand to wave away any concerns. He took a few steps before grinding himself to a sudden halt and turning back to Savannah.

"Oh! Speaking of pay..." Scon moved a gloved hand up to an invisible wall infront of himself, gesturing concisely as he scrolled through a few menus. After a couple of seconds passed and some finger movements registered, he made a brief 'aha!' and curled his hand into a fist. In it a furry, blood-soaked pelt materialised, hanging down from the male's grip. The crimson marks had dried and stained the coat, turning the brown of the grizzly bear coat into a darker, almost black shade. It was definitely the bear, though, Scon having gone to great lengths to include the head in his carving.

"This is supposedly a quest item, from that bear. I didn't exactly kill it alone, so this is yours - I don't need it anyway." He went to hold it out for her but, assuming she wouldn't take it, he slung it on the floor. "If you want it, crack on, otherwise it can despawn. Or rot, maybe. This game is weird..."

"Speaking of games, you played Guild Wars?" Scon suddenly asked Savannah, as though they were now acquaintances and everything was fine and dandy. Water apparently flowed very easily under his bridges. "I was a Norn there."

 

The Death Knight released a low growl of frustration at his lackadaisical reaction to her news. She thought, if anything, he would immediately apologize and offer up some excuse for how that entire thing went down, but, instead, he insulted her! There wasn’t a sorry bone in his feline body. And that only made her more pissed off and more resistant to wanting to work with him.

However, it seemed he was walking away, which was good! She would let him. They weren’t technically in a party together right now and she just had to wait the allotted time before she retried the quest again…but if this annoying person was anything like her thoughts, he would just get in the way again to be an asshole. Last time she risked her neck for any new blood who got in over their head!

You can get just as much gold doing something – anything – else that doesn’t involve me interacting with you. I bet it’d be more fulfilling for you too! Sure, she was basically yelling at his back and acting the part of an upset teenager, but her frustration was real. She hated ungrateful people, hated his attitude in murdering her, and his refusal to even admit to his mistake. Seriously, fuck this dude.

Curiosity made her glance toward his hand and the massive black bear pelt that he casually displayed. Her eyes got wide and she extended a hand to the pelt only for him to drop it onto the ground. She let out a sound, something close to a wail, before she dropped to the ground and picked it up. It was heavy, but she had built this avatar to have muscles and be beautiful.

Mouse-girl her ass Princess Vivian!

It’s beautiful, she whispered, fervently petting the head and running her palms through the fur. A few more treatments and it would shine. I’m supposed to take it back to the dad, but I think I’m going to get this one crafted into a cloak. Holy shit, this is amazing.

Genuine excitement covered her burnished blue features, her dark blue lips pulled into a smile. A few hand movements had her depositing the pelt into her inventory.

I played for all of the first year, she said, squinting into the distance while she did inventory management. I had a human thief I really liked, but couldn’t stay hooked on the game. The combat was pretty cool though. I dunno, I guess, narratively, it just didn’t hold my attention.​

 

Scon was amazed at the female's interest in the pelt. Admittedly, it was more like a floor rug the way he had ended up carving it, but he didn't have much of a choice - his halberd was both blunt and unwieldy, so he had to make long vague cuts when skinning his (...their?) kill from before. To Scon, the action had been more like mining the rough diamond out to later be refined. Not least due to the amount of blood that had soaked into areas of the hair - and plenty of it would have been Savannah's own. She seemed obliviously overjoyed though, her eyes becoming small stars at the gift he had bestowed her. Maybe he should have charged.

"The dad..? What..." Scon quirked an eyebrow, then pieced it together. He had cost himself some rewards here... "Oh, like a quest? Yeah, screw that, make it into a coat! Much cooler. And Norn." he smirked at the idea of the lithe female running around in an oversized bear-hooded woolly coat, swinging her halberd at passers-by. In his mind, it was snowy and there was a giant ice dragon in the background. And, of course, he also pictured her without the coat on, too.

"YEAH." Scon declared loudly, as if to shout away his own thoughts. "It did kind of fall flat - I'm a grinder when it comes to that kind of thing, though." The male trailed off while looking around. "But, hell, this place couldn't ever get boring. Look at the attention to detail..." He knelt down beside the female, running his fingers through a non-stained patch of brown pelt. The individual fibres each gave way to his touch, falling back into place as he brushed past them. It was exactly how real fur would rustle. It was essentially real. "I could never create anything 1/100th of the quality here... You know?" He sounded sad, almost deflated. Slowly the male stood up again, stretching his legs out.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I think I need to fight something." came Scon's next words, random and possibly bloodthirsty. "Did you have any idea about where these, uh, bad soldiers might be hiding out?"

 

I never really liked the Norn race, Savannah murmured, more to herself than him. They were just big humans that could shift into animals. Like, why not just roll a human. She gave Scon a sideways glance and squinted a little, wondering about his affinity for the large, more brutish race. Then again, it didn’t really matter here, now did it. There were no Norn or Asura to speak of, which was fine with Savannah.

Humans, elves, Faerin and animal people; seemed like all the bases were covered in terms of marketing.

There was a man who served with me on the South wall named Henry. Henry has a wife and a small child at home and his home it outside of the city. If anything, they took the Falderen soldiers there for whatever nefarious things they want to do with them. Savannah shrugged her shoulders and started walking toward the road that would take them to the house she was speaking about.

I don’t skip quest text.​

 

Savannah wasn't necessarily wrong - The race from one of his previous ventures into MMO play were indeed just bigger, drunker humans with a greater affinity towards animals. But, to look at him here, that was exactly what he had been looking for. Scon was, after all, an oversized cat-boy, tail swinging merrily with shoulders broad as a tree trunk. It was easy to see how this character had been created long ago in online game's passed. He was a refined iteration of that character, albeit with Silvestre having to become Scon for the purposes of playing in Terrasphere.

"I'm Savannah and I laud myself over uninformed newbies to make me feel stronger." Scon whined in an intentionally terrible impression of the human. He grinned to himself as he continued walking, even having attempted strutting like she did - hips swaying excessively like he was walking a tightrope. He wasn't sure why exactly her putdowns left him with the urge to mock her, but he persisted bravely, continuing in his own tone of voice. "Well, Miss Henry's-Frienderson, why would he abduct them to his home where his family reside? Surely it'd be... Well, less insane... to take them to some cave nearby if he's going to torture them? Or, whatever it is they're planning... Why are they fighting, again?"

Scon really didn't know anything about the war except that it had come to an end recently and that Astorea had beaten Faldaren. He didn't even know the geographical/racial differences between the nations, yet alone if there was any cause for their battle. Instead, having spent most of his uptime practicing using his new halberd, he had slipped into his normal role of oblivious sword-for-hire. His weapon was made of copper - cheap. It was called Steve. The end was pointy.

The road was plain enough; a bit of mud from a recent spate of rain meant you had to take care if you didn't want to dirty your boots. But, beyond the odd out of place rock or pebble, it was a smooth journey and easy walking. Scon remained just ahead of Savannah but kept her in the corner of his eye - he didn't know where he was going but insisted on 'leading the way' so long as she continued. He was also aware she might try and seek revenge on him - they still hadn't partied up so friendly fire wasn't disabled - she could now kill him without consequence since he was a PKer.

"So enlighten me about yourself, Miss!" Scon requested after a couple hundred feet of silence. "A-S-L sort of thing. Eh, that's probably too forward - Maybe, like ah, how long you've been playing? Done much questing?" He asked with his head over his shoulder to look at her, or more specifically her chest, not even considering where he was going.

 

Firstly, I don’t laud myself over anyone. You asked a question, I answered and provided context. If you’d rather go on this quest being clueless, just let me know and I’ll stop explaining stuff. Her eyes were narrowed at his broad shoulders the entire time she snipped back at him, her fingers curled into fists at her sides. She was never regrouping with this Felis again if she could help it. No way, no how.

Secondly, like many of the NPCs, he owns a farm. On that farm is a barn. Where do psychopaths sometimes take their helpless victims in order to do heinous things to them on the movie screen? She let the question stand, believing him intelligent enough to put two and two together…or so she hoped. If she needed to clarify, she was going to turn straight around and head back to the city, the quest be damned.

Thirdly, he and his squad are probably upset about the whole war. A lot of lives were lost, on both sides, and when you can’t take out your anger and pain on the main cause of it, you take it out on the thing that you can. Which, in this case, would be those soldiers.

Savannah fell silent as they continued walking. It seemed silly when she explained it to another person, but she felt for this particular NPC. The war had been rough and the carnage that amounted to the many farms which had been burned, the people who were still missing, and the lives that had been lost was a heavy burden to bear. And it was evident the more rural the landscape around them became. Some homes were still smoking while the distant cries of someone sobbing could be heard.

The Death Knight winced and strode forward, trying to block it from her mind. There would be a massive effort to rebuild all this, she was sure.

Yes, I quest all the time, she told him, her reply cut and dry. She stopped walking and frowned at the spot where Henry’s home should’ve stood. Instead, there was nothing but a pile of burned frame boards and some embers that still smoldered. The grass was torched, his farm equipment destroyed.

Oh no, she whispered. ​

 

Scon quirked an eyebrow at the female (or rather, at the ground infront of himself where he walked) as she explained where she believed the Astorean soldiers would have taken their prisoners. To him, the most likely place would be a cave or a dungeon or some private clubhouse/jail thing. But he was hardly a connoisseur of horror films and would have to defer to her judgement in the matter. Moreover she had threatened to stop explaining things, his most valued reason for her being here. That, and her cute hind.

She went into depth talking about and subsequently stewing over the war that occurred and Scon found himself returning to his thought about the npc system in place. If it could evoke that sort of feeling and empathy in players, given these non-players seemingly lived out whole lives, he was again made to wonder just how far from real people they were - Maybe in some years there would be actual laws preventing their murder or something. That would be intense...

Scon didn't notice at first as they approached Savannah's destination. He had no idea where they were headed, after all, but when his partner spoke out to exclaim at the sight infront of them, the cat was soon aware that the burnt out husk of a farm wasn't normal fare. There was not much more than structural beams and wisps of flame where once, presumably, a farm had flourished. Judging by the look on Savannah's face, this was especially problematic.

"What does this mean for us?" He asked, somewhat obliviously, as his eyes scanned over the wreckage for hints - The inspection mode available through Terrasphere's interface was useful for figuring out exactly what was and wasn't relevant to him. It was a helpful reminder this was a game, too. He noted the former rakes and shovels that had once been useful tools, now pieces of charred metal. They weren't especially useful, but they told the intricate tale of the NPC - detail only a simulation could provide.

Feeling unsettled, Scon drew his Halberd and gripped it in both hands. He looked over each shoulder and widened his stance. The male's tail curled close to his frame and he narrowed his gaze. If the culprits were here, he would be ready for them.

 

I…I dunno, Savannah replied in a whisper. She gave Scon a sideways glance before she took a step forward, her boot crunching the gravel beneath it. The air was tinged with the smell of smoke and charred meat, similar to a BBQ but somehow making her more nauseous than hungry. She shook her head, her hands balling into fists at her sides. This was here before. I came to the event to raise their barn and there was a little minipet giveaway roll thing after it. Like a sheep or something. I didn’t roll well enough, but got some extra gold for it anyway.

Her voice trailed off as her silver eyes surveyed the damage. The house had been obliterated. There were only the support beams left and those were charred to the point it was amazing that they were still standing at all. The field beyond smoldered, the ocean of barley and wheat that had been planted by NPCs and PCs alike had been reduced to ash. There was nothing left of the farmstead.

Savannah had heard some reports of the farms being razed by the enemy, incase there was some bunker like situation. There was hopes that the PCs would be starved out of hiding. Pure NPC logic, of course, since the PCs could just log out whenever and wait for a buddy to tell them to log back in. Nevertheless, this had to be evidence of that…at least, Savannah thought so.

She took another step forward, her jaw tightening. The barn wall facing them was charred, but standing. The roof had a huge hole in it and there was a lone spiral of smoke twisting up and out of it.

The barn is standing, she said, her legs immediately moving her forward. Dunno for how much longer, but it’s standing. Her jog turned into a sprint within two steps, this new limber body covering distance at twice the speed her Faerin body would have managed. She turned around the corner, her eyes colliding with two Feldaren soldiers with bloodied faces, one of them missing an eyeball. They both seemed unconscious, or so she hoped. Their bodies were splayed atop haybales against the perpendicular wall.

In the center stood Henry, his arms crossed, his head tilted back as he watched a third soldier hang from the crossbeam overhead. His hands and feet were tired together, his eyes bulging, his legs jerking as he twisted back and forth in a vain effort to get free. There was blood dripping from a headwound onto Henry’s face, but he didn’t seem to care or mind. He was stoic, his eyes hard, his mouth set. And there was more rope coiled at his feet.​

 

Scon tightened his grip around the shaft of his weapon when his partner confirmed an absense of knowledge - she didn't know what was happening either and, given how she had some kind of prior experience with this place, that was unsettling. He remained alert for someone attacking them; for a sneak attack or trap that would cut any escape off. But nothing came. That was only more concerning for Scon, who expected there to be some skull-crushing by now. The quiet smoldering was not good.

It took a few moments after Savannah set off in the direction of the barn before Scon followed suit, remaining taut and alert, sharp head movements accompanying his being on-edge. Of course, he should have been looking to their destination rather than around them, in search of a threat, a fact that soon became clear.

"What the fu-" He almost gagged, stopped in his sentence by the acrid smell of death and burning. Scon was used to corpses, used to letting the blood from humanoid opponents, even in VR, but never to this degree - The... fragrance... was a new experience entirely, never before having been greeted by such realistic a sense. And to see the realistic bodies of murdered soldiers strewn about the barn - That was not good gameplay.

The fire in the structure was slowly spreading, eminating heat and devouring the wooden components of the barn's design. There was a thick cloud of smoke overhead, filling the ceiling but only able to trickle out of the bottleneck hole in the roof. Scon agreed with Savannah that the walls would soon be coming down - they didn't want to be inside when that happened. Truthfully, he didn't want to be there right now!

"Oi!" The male shouted before Savannah could make her move. "What in God's name are you doing?" This must have been the farmer, an Astorean called Henry, who owned this place, had a wife and kids and hated these Faldarens. He contemplated reasoning with the guy, but he was clearly deranged, torturing and murdering the soldiers. Instead, saving the poor hangman and finding the other Faldarens was the go to plan.

"You're a damned idiot!" Scon yelled, raising his weapon to point it at Henry. "Where are the others?" He asked as he advanced, moving quickly forward with tip pointed at the murderous farmer. Funny how he had already forgotten about Savannah...

 

Henry spun around, his eyes wide, dried blood smeared across his left cheek and ear. His eyes were wild and unfocused, the pupil in his right blown, the collar of his shirt blooded as the rest of him. He was still in his uniform, his weapons missing, his boots caked in blood, mud, and dirt. He didn’t look like the man Savannah had fought beside during the war nor the happy father who freely gave away baby lambs as thanks for helping raise his barn. He was different, a stranger in comparison to the man back then. This was the side-effect of war.

The body above them jerked and twitched and Savannah tore her eyes away from Henry to the enemy soldier that he was hanging. The man was turning blue by now, but he hadn’t stopped moving in his vain attempt to get free. Immediately, the female Death Knight sprung into action. She had worked with a few other players to construct the pulley system that allowed them to move haybales to the second floor if they needed to. She knew where to cut the rope to get that soldier down.

“They had to pay!” Henry screamed, taking a threatening step toward Scon, his voice shrill with emotion. “The farm’s gone! Beatrice, gone! Mary-Elizabeth, gone! These…these…fiends did it. They did it! They burned my house, destroyed my tools, torched my barn. They were squatting in my house!!”

A single cut to the hempen rope was all that was needed. The enemy solider hit the floor with a sickening thump, diverting Henry’s attention for the time being. There was a single blink from him before he sprung on the bound man, his hands going for the soldier’s throat, his muscles taunt. He would kill this solider with his bare hands if he had to.

@Scon Carvalho ​