“Now, Mister Drake, who do you work for?” Architallis asked their captive in a level tone as he sat on the side of the bed facing the man.
“Wait,” Vex said. “You drugged him?” She walked around the bed to stand beside Architallis, trailing a hand along the sheets to keep her balance.
“Of course,” Architallis replied, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “How else would you expect to gain the information we need?”
Vex shrugged. “Bullying. Mocking. Maybe a bit of torture.”
Architallis gave Vex a sidelong glance before focusing back on Drake. “Having witnessed your methods earlier, I think it best we keep this civil.”
“Hey!” Vex snapped in defense. “Like I said, I had my reasons for that, and they were good reasons. Besides, you think drugging the man is civil?”
“Less blood. Fewer screams. No pain. It is a simple formula to find it more civilized to drug a man to answer questions than ripping out his nails and hope he speaks truth.” He directed his next question to Drake. “I repeat, who do you work for, Mister Drake?”
“Dryzor Corp.” Drake slurred his words as his head bobbed up and down drunkenly.
“Excellent,” Architallis said with a smirk. “We’ve verified their employer. Now, Mister Drake, why are you targeting corporation offices for collection?”
“Orders from the big boss. We will devour the world’s agony.” Drake said as he tried to focus his eyes on Architallis, only for his focus to roam the room before honing in on Vex. “Hey there, pretty lady. Want to sit on a nice guy’s lap?”
“Ew,” Vex said with a slight recoil and a snear. “No thanks. I’m good.” Vex turned back to Architallis. “What did he mean by that devour thing?”
“Zero conclusions as of yet,” Architallis said, his wolf ears and tail twitching in thought. “Mister Drake, who is your next target now that you have succeeded here in Conan’s Fall?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Drake said with a sloppy grin as he continued to ogle Vex. “We need to head north next, to Torrin. Then further north to Ruttway. Then, with the thingy full, we go to that underground place. Fortress something. I forget the name.”
“What good does that do us?” Vex asked. “We have the Omen. We rest up for the night and hitch a ride straight back to Fortune’s Landing. Done is done.”
Architallis shot Vex another irritated look. “While that is an excellent and streamlined plan, we need to know what they were planning with the device. If Dryzor has one Omen, they likely have more that they will use to similar ends.” He focused back on questioning Drake. “Now, Mister Drake, do you know what the device is?”
“Of course. It’s a magic lantern.” Drake said.
Architallis shook his head. “That is not what I asked. Are you familiar with the term Thorn-wrought Omens?”
“Uh…Yeah. I think. The boss man mentioned somethin’ about Omens. Said somethin’ about how he needed to fill them up and get em’ back.”
“Fill them?” Vex asked. “Fill them how?” As Drake’s focus wandered around the room, Vex leaned forward, just lifting herself from the bed, to snap her fingers beneath his nose. “Yo. Drake boy.” Drake startled at the sound of her snapping fingers before focusing on her. “Fill the Omens how?”
“I, uh…. I’m not so sure. We’re just supposed to use em’ until they’re full of something from enough usin’s. Then we take em’ back to the boss man.”
Vex looked to Architallis with a question. “Fill the thing with myst, you think?”
Architallis scratched his nose as he pondered the question. “Possibly. From what that tome of Faith’s read, once the lantern is a capacity of myst, it can cause widespread destruction. Are you suspecting this boss of their’s will unleash the wide-scale effect on a pre-designated target?”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Vex confirmed as she folded her arms and audibly rolled her tongue piercing over her teeth. Architallis found that habit of Vex’s irritating. It grated on his nerves every time. “Hey,” Vex said, snapping her fingers beneath his nose again. “Who is this boss man of yours?”
“Don’t know his real name,” Drake muttered, sleep encroaching on the man. “We only know him as Mister Thorn….” Drake trailed off into a deep sleep.
“We should leave him be for now,” Architallis said as he stood from the bed. “He will be asleep for the rest of the night. We should not wake him, lest he think of a way to escape us.”
Vex scrunched up her face in irritation before letting out a long breath. “Fine.”
“However,” Architallis said, raising a pointed finger. “We are not done with this evening’s discussion.” He pointed to Alex. “If you could please move our gentleman to the restroom while we hold a private discussion.”
Alex gave a wordless nod and picked up the chair, man and all, casually, and set him down in the bathtub. As Alex walked back out of the bathroom, Vex was giving Architallis a wary look. “What are we talking about now?”
“Trouble, could you please fetch me a beverage from the vending machine down the hall?” Architallis requested. Troubles eyes lit as he understood what was about to happen to some degree and hurried from the room to do as baid.
“First and foremost,” Architallis started, pinning a heavy gaze on Vex. “Why did you return here without Sin? You know that you will act as a beacon for the Rose lance to track you back here. The last thing we need is those foul women harassing us while we have a hostage.”
“Oh, quit your bitching.” Vex said with no small amount of snark. “Those slither-spined bitches were run down by the lantern and worn out by the brawl. If they are even half as drained as I was by the damned lantern, they’ll need the whole night to recoup.” She stood from the bed and paced back and forth across the room as she wound up. “Besides, we got the data we needed from Drake. We could leave him behind if we needed to make a quick out. Not like the Rose would have any interest in that scumbag.” She jabbed a finger toward the bathroom door.
“That is not the point I am trying to make,” Architallis countered. He stood and walked around the bed to rest his back against the wall beside the door. “They can still likely track you, even without sufficient power to act. They could plot against us and launch an ambush while we are still resting.”
With the bed vacant, Alex moved to lie down, crossing his legs and resting his hands behind his head. “Actually, not so much.”
“What?” Architallis and Vex asked in tandem.
“Oh, yeah.” Alex sat up, propping himself up by one arm, and was gesticulating with the other hand. “Martyrs can totally track a target from almost anywhere to almost anywhere, but they need something really personal to their target to use as a link to that target. That requires magic to be used on the thing. And if what Vex just said about them needing to rest from myst exhaustion… right?” He turned to Vex with his question. “I’m guessing you used the lantern on those scumbags.”
Vex gave Alex an astounded look. “Uh…yeah. Shocked you figured that out.”
Alex waved off Vex’s shock like an arrant fly. “Not hard to puzzle out. Last I saw you had the lantern. Then you got jumped. You and your bro against those three schizos. Not hard to figure out that you’d cheat using the lantern to drain them like I drain a mug of beer. Basic tactics. In a real fight, there’s no such thing as cheating. Only winning and losing.” Alex looked to the door with a questioning expression. “Where is the Immortal, anyway?”
“Missing,” Architallis said calmly. “We will need to find him tomorrow if he does not return tonight.”
Trouble reentered the room with a can of soda in one hand, his eyes surveying the room for possible threats. Architallis recognized that keen gaze. The Alchemyst snatched the drink from Trouble’s hand and folded his arms back across his chest. Trouble shot Architallis a disapproving glare, but said nothing as he took his seat in the corner back up.
“So we’ve got the thing,” Alex said as he rolled onto his side to face the rest of the present lance, resting his skull on one propped hand. “Can’t we just go? I don’t want to chance those slimy corp-rats getting their paws on it again.”
“I doubt Faith would approve if we returned without her brother,” Architallis said. “We will need to find the Immortal before we begin our exit.”
Vex huffed in frustration before returning to her pacing. “We should send you and Ex out to track him down,” Vex said to Architallis.
The Alchemyst raised a challenging brow at Vex. “And why not you and your brother?”
“Because we’ve been fighting or running all damn day. I need some damn shut-eye.” Vex replied.
“You should be aware that I have been almost as active as yourself. I could certainly use some rest.” Architallis pushed off from the wall and walked into the restroom with the can of soda. “However, before we rest, we need to have a team discussion about what was witnessed after the battle.” Architallis left the door open, and made an audible show of peeing into the toilet as he called to the other room, “Both Trouble, and I saw that stain in your past, Vexxenna. You owe us answers.” After his urine tapered off, he stowed his equipment and turned on the sink. While the water ran. The Alchemyst cracked open the can of soda, poured out a quarter of it, and replaced it with his second truth potion.
With what Architallis had witnessed from those shadows, he felt it was imperative to know who he was working with. If the Vex woman was even more unhinged than he had already expected, then he was going to need to make some hard choices. He didn’t want to think about those options, but he had best stiffen his spine and bite off that bitter poison.
Architallis stepped from the restroom to find Vex glaring at him. “Seriously.” She said with a deadpan expression. “Taking a wizz mid talk. I thought you had more class than that.”
“Hey,” Alex said, propping himself up on his elbows to make eye contact with the Witch. “When a guy needs to go, he needs to go. I get it. Nothing wrong with keeping up a talk while you empty the water balloon.”
Vex rolled her eyes at the Soulforged before turning back to the Vhenari. “And don’t call me Vexxenna.”
Architallis took up a perch against a wall adjacent to Trouble’s corner. The Alchemyst noticed the Adroit’s nose twitching slightly, but paid it no mind. “I suspect that you are obfuscating from the topic at hand. We need to discuss what was shown.”
“What was shown?” Alex asked, trading a curious look between Vex and Architallis. “What showed what, that needs to be talked about?”
Architallis pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes, and sighed before saying, “The lantern’s light was shone upon our intrepid leader. It revealed a moment when she tortured and killed a woman for an unknown purpose to unknown ends.”
“Ooohhh!” Alex said, drawing out the word at the spontaneous realization. The Knyght locked eyes with Vex. “Yeah, I think that needs some clarifying.”
“Don’t give me that!” Vex snapped at everyone in the room. “I had my damned reasons for what I did back then. Now let dead dogs lie. We don’t need no necromancy screwing up our plans.”
“I think some digging is just what’s needed,” Alex said as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m pretty sure the Rat and me agree that this is something we should know about. So, spill it.”
“Don’t,” Vex warned in a stern but level tone, trading pointing with a threatening finger between the two grilling her.
“I am not dropping this,” Architallis said with a casual swipe of an upturned palm, as if motioning that this was a simple fact that could not be refuted.
“You don’t want me digging into your past, Rat-boy.” Vex jabbed the accusing finger toward Architallis. “I think I’ve earned some privacy for not prying into your shady past.”
“My past won’t interfere with my mission performance. Yours on the other hand…” Architallis trailed off.
“What? WHAT?!” Vex snapped. “You think that because I screwed up and put down some bad bitch that I might do the same to you?”
Architallis shrugged with two upturned palms, the gesture saying, ‘You said it, not me’.
Vex muffled a frustrated scream through sealed lips as her pacing drew angrier, steps stomping loud enough that the tenants in the room below would certainly be filing a complaint. Vex’s fists were clenched, arms held taut at her sides.
Architallis made his move. He offered her the drugged beverage. Without thought, Vex snatched the drink with a viper-like strike of her hand and a venomous glare. She turned to storm away from Architallis and Trouble, raising the can to her lips when the unexpected happened. Trouble, at some point, had readied a shot in his hand, shooting the can out of his sister's own hand. The dented can tumbled through the air before landing to spill across Alex’s bed.
“Hey!” Alex complained. “You soaked my sheets!”
Vex turned to give her brother a shocked look. Trouble raised from his crouch to step up, face-to-neck with Architallis. “Why?” The Neoform demanded.
“I don’t know what you-” Architallis started to deny, but was cut off as Trouble wrapped a vice-grip hand halfway around the Vhenari’s neck. Architallis was forced against the wall with powerful but measured strength. The strength intensified as Trouble lifted Architallis off his feet, pushing him up against the wall as far as he could reach.
“What did he do?” Vex asked, her tone and posture reflecting complete trust in her brother’s judgement.
“Drugged drink.” Trouble answered.
Vex’s eyes flared with offended rage. “Drugged with what?”
Architallis tried to answer, but could only let out choking and gurgling sounds.
“Was he trying to kill me? Knock me out? Steal my organs?” Vex accused, stomping up to stand next to her brother.
Architallis gave Vex a confused look and gave an even more confused gurgle.
“Truth Potion.” Trouble answered in a level and calculated tone.
“Oh, I see how it is.” Vex snarled. “You were going to pry out my truth whether I was willing or not. Fine!” Vex turned away and stormed halfway across the room. “Tro, drop him and step back.”
Trouble did as he was told, gently setting the Alchemyst back on his feet and stepping aside. The Neoform kept a hawk’s gaze on Architallis. The Alchemyst fell to his knees, rubbing his throat with gentle fingertips.
Vex turned around, with the Last Light Lantern held in one hand, the other hand on the aperture control. “If you want to yank open my closet full of skeletons, then fair is fair.”
“No!” Architallis shouted, reaching one hand out in a futile effort to stop Vex.
At the same time as Architallis’s cry, Alex shouted, “Wait!”
Vex opened the porthole to the revealing light, and the strange, flickering light washed over Architallis. He had no natural myst to draw upon, but there would still be fallout for the action, beyond that of psychological impact.
Architallis didn’t want to look at his shadow. He didn’t want to see those moments again. They were already etched deep into his memory. He relived them every time he saw a child, a pregnant woman, or a spliced individual. His mind dredged up those memories any time he brewed potions or pulled that infernal, strange syringe.
And yet, Architallis still looked back. The Alchemyst needed to see his shame and sins again. He couldn’t forget them. He shouldn’t forget them. Architallis had done such terrible things in the name of love. Heinous and abhorrent things to innocent people. All to save four lives. And yet he still failed.
The shadows revealed the dark secrets. An abandoned and run-down basement, full of people strapped down to gurneys. Many were already dead, little more than masses of gore in the vague shape of a person. Even as Architallis watched, his memory-self was injecting fluid from the Morphic Syringe into the arm of a woman in late-stage pregnancy. She thrashed against her restraints even as discolored veins raced up her arm. The human woman screamed in soundless agony before her body bubbled and boiled, skin rupturing in sprays of blood and flesh. Within moments, the woman was gone; only a mass of dead meat remained.
The image jumped to another moment, the same process, a different victim. It was another pregnant woman, this one was an elf. The act of murdering a pregnant Elven woman and her babe was something so heinous in Elven culture that Architallis stood no shadow of a chance of a fair trial, with the judge a High Elf.
The images flashed again and again, the same process, the same result, different victims each time. The whole nightmare culminated in a single moment Architallis desperately wanted to never see again. But he had to. He must. For her sake.
Architallis was holding the hand of a Rat Vhenari woman, ripe with pregnancy. Her body was sickly. Much of her fur had fallen out, revealing a multitude of sores and discolored skin. In the memory, Architallis sobbed as he clutched the woman’s hand. She stroked the side of his face with her other hand, muttering something with a gentle smile. Architallis shook his head with fervor, tears flung with each motion. The woman said something else, and Architallis broke down, holding his face in his hands.
Architallis remembered that moment of flat denial. He refused to use her as his final subject. He was supposed to save her. Save them. He wouldn’t, couldn’t kill them. He refused to do something so nightmarish.
The shadow climbing the wall changed perspective to show a squad of Capture Specialists breaching the door to the basement and arresting Architallis. But before the image could come to a conclusion, the light was flung from its focus on Architallis.
The Alchemyst looked back to find that Alex had flung himself at Vex. The Soulforged straddled Vex, the lantern still gripped in her hand, only resting on her chest and shining across Alex. Stretching across the wall behind the Soulforged, the revealing shadow was longer than it had been when revealing Vex’s or Architallis’s shadows.
Alex screamed in visible agony, clutching his Soul Core, like he was having a heart attack. This was true pain, not panic or shame at whatever was going to be revealed. Alex screamed like he was dying.
