Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

*************

Virgil Boone

 

I swing my legs off of the mare I borrowed from one of Johnny’s men as I land on the fertile dirt of Bareworth. The wind of a sunny Sunday blasts at my hair, putting the long strand on my face as I gather my inner strength. I don’t wipe the obstruction away as I take painful steps toward my family’s house down the road.

So much effort was put in to gain this land years ago. The Timberlands isn’t the safest of all the territories., but it’s up there. It borders Blackreach if that says anything. Buying the house for my siblings was just as difficult as gaining ownership of the land. Blood, sweat, tears, and many lost friends.

That is the life of a Damned. Eternal pain and hardship under the confines of an Estate. Mine in particular was the Harveys. They beat me, tortured me, and forced me to do unspeakable things. I was young, about as young as Wyatt is when they took me off the streets.

Many broke under their ministrations, but I would not. I could not. I had a family to protect. After a week of initial trials, they allowed me to go home. And from then on, I would get a chance to come home once every few days. Just barely could I keep my young siblings alive. Back then it seemed much more hopeless than it did now.

But only now did I lose one of them. Vernon…

My little brother joined me to make my life easier, I know that, but I never thought he was willing to die for me. It… hurts. So bad. I’d give anything to trade with him. But I cannot. I’ve experienced enough death and met enough Two-Faces and other people who did not heed the warnings of the Hunters. They may be cruel, but they know how Ether and Sigils work. Mostly, at least. To go beyond your limits is supremely risky. Very few ever get to turn around once they cross the edge.

Sadly, my brother is not one of them. And now I have to go break the news to my sisters and remaining brother. I have cried enough. A whole month of suffering and self-hate. Now, I must be strong. A pillar for them to lean on. No matter how I wish to crash and fall.

I wipe my eyes and make sure there is not a single speck of water coming from them as I continue my walk to my house. I do notice that something is odd, however. Bareworth is not a noisy town, but it is quite quiet today.

Too quiet. Way too quiet.

No chirping birds or rustling rabbits. No crackle of fire or chopping of firewood.

I activate Vigilance. The combination of Listen, Farsight, and Physical Enhancement is powerful and heightens all my senses, especially hearing and sight. I make a detailed Quilt of the three skills and my surroundings become so incredibly focused that I can hear and see everything nearby.

But even as I listen closely nothing comes to my ears. The lack of noise is far worse than the presence of it. At my current distance from my house, several hundred feet, I should be able to hear voices. I probably can’t pick up whispers, but Nora, Aron, and Victor would have no reason to whisper in the middle of the day.

My instincts rear up as I know something must be wrong. My mind whirls with possibilities and they settle on one and only one. They’ve come for me. The Harveys. And they are using my family to bring me back.

I grind my teeth as I prepare for what might be in store when I walk through those doors. I earned my freedom. I have already done the impossible, what more could they want from me?!

Is assassinating a 6th Sigil not enough to gain my freedom!?

A few rough steps leave obvious footprints before I rear in my anger.

Calm down, Virgil. Peace of mind is the only way you and your family can survive. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out. Now. What do we do?

I take a short moment to collect myself, talking inside my mind to help gather my resources. The only step I can take that doesn’t guarantee the death of my family is to just walk through that door. But that doesn’t mean I do so without any preparation. I need to know what awaits me.

At this point, I’m only a hundred feet away or so, and I stop. Trees block my sightline to my wooden house, but I don’t look at it. I can’t afford to be seen. I get low to the ground and force Ether into Vigilance, momentarily pushing it past its limits. I can feel my ears immediately start to ring and my vision shakes from the overuse of the skill.

But with the risk comes reward. Now that I’m closer and my skill is pushed further, I can just barely hear what is going on inside the house.

Six voices… no, seven. I hear Nora crying and Aron trying to console her. The two twin sisters are fragile, especially Nora who is always sick. She’s the reason why I am still collecting bounties. Her treatments are expensive, and my teeth grind with extreme force at the thought that she is crying.

I listen a bit closer, slowly reaching the limit of my ears without bursting the eardrums, as I hear the soft breathing of Victor. I only recognize it because I’ve raised him since he was a babe. Identifying my family through breathing is easy, I do it all the time to find prey through walls. It seems as though he’s unconscious, though.

Vernon used to joke that Victor was a coward for not wanting to be a Hunter, but it seems as though the young lad will step up when he’s needed. Not that he stood much of a chance.

The five voices I hear that are not Nora or Aron speak in hushed voices. The first complains and speaks with the second before a third jumps in. The fourth and fifth have their own conversation going.

“When will he get here? I’m tired of waiting.”

“Shut up. You know who’s coming. Be on guard. Watch the road.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. The big bad Virgil. I still don’t get why he got his freedom. The bastard was only a 3rd Sigil after all. No Absolution, or nothing either.”

“If you killed a 6th Sigil rebel as a 3rd, I’m sure you’d get your freedom as well. Virgil is not powerful, but I have no doubt he could kill each of us if we are alone. Phantasm has very few skills, but they are honed to perfection. None are as good as him when it comes to stealth and assassination. Now, focus like Red said or you’re just asking for a dagger to enter your back.”

“Fine.”

The second conversation is harder to hear, almost as if they are in a different room. Even with my Vigilance pushed to the absolute limit I can’t pick up all the words.

“How close is—-”

“Close, —--”

“Like a —- away or a —- away?”

“Like… oh shit!”

The bits of their conversation I can hear immediately make me go on high alert. I’ve been Flickering and Masking here or there to keep any Augur off my ass, but it seems as though I lost my focus. They found me. Fuck.

The second I realize this, I Flicker and Mask, and move through the trees in a circular motion around the cabin. I move as fast as I can and go from dark area to dark area, using every ounce of training and experience I know to remain unseen.

I make it to the other side of the cabin and hide with my back against a large oak as I take deep breaths. The whole sprint was done within Flicker, and I have to spend a few moments to recovering and pushing the otherworldly sights from my mind. The realm of spirits and clouds that comes to me every time I use the skill is jarring and only seems to get worse the longer the stint is.

Once I calm my breathing, I use Vigilance once more and listen to the inside of the house, but the happenings break my heart.

“Come on in, Virgil. Hands up and weapons outside. We will know if you’re armed or not. We have guns to each of your sisters’ heads and a knife to your brother’s. I’ll give you sixty seconds before I blow out the back of the pale one’s head.”

I hesitate for just a single moment before the decision is made. There simply is no other one that can be made. I have to go to them. I’m only here to keep them safe, and there is no way I can keep Nora, Aron, and Victor all safe at this point.

I was simply outmatched to start with. They brought an Augur and a good one at that. Mask and Flicker both affect foresight of any kind, yet it could get to me. Sure, I was distracted, but that means only a little bit. The Augur must be a 4th or 5th Sigil. That, or there are two of them. I do think the second is unlikely though. Each is a valuable asset. For them to come for me with one is both unexpected and curious.

The possibilities run through my mind as I walk toward the cabin with my hands up.

“I’m coming!”

Either they came for me because they need me to assassinate someone, or they regret letting go of me. The first feels unlikely. Surely there are others who can do the job better? Wait… Who’s the head instructor of the Damned again? Wasn’t it Darkstep?!

I never met her myself while I was a Damned, but I heard about her. She is the one who oversaw many of the “illegal” groups like the Damned. The trials to teach us stealth and assassination likely came from her.

She must have recognized me somehow in that town square. But how? Wait. it doesn’t matter. She just has to be the reason. Why else would they be here waiting for my return? Darkstep must have heard about our victory somehow and my survival before sending people to collect me and force me to work for her.

What can I do about it, though? Knowing the reason for them being here is nearly pointless. It won’t change anything.

At this point, the door is only a few steps from me, and I take a deep breath as I slowly remove all my weapons. First, my bowie knife, then Vernon’s pistol, then my lever action, then my extra knives, before I finally pull out the derringer in my sock. I don’t try to pull anything over them.

These people, who I can only assume are fellow Damned, have an Augur among them. Their extrasensory can likely see every weapon on my body.

After I remove all my weapons, I slowly put my hand on the knob and open the door to my house before stepping in. When the inside is revealed to me, my heartbeat accelerates at the sight.

Nora and Aron are on their knees with a revolver to each of their heads. Nora is shaking with sweat dripping from her face, the telltale sign of her disease acting up. And by the shimmer on the gun barrels pointed at them, I’d be willing to bet they are Colts. To the side of the twins is Victor who is unconscious with a trail of dried blood on his face. The young artist has a knife pressed to his neck. Everything is fucked. Both of the twins are also gagged so they can’t even speak when I look at them. Tears just fall from their eyes.

They probably think that Vernon will show up at any time to save us… Not this time, girly.

The other two people in this room both have weapons pointed at me. One with a shotgun is resting on one of our dining chairs, and the other with a crossbow set on the table facing me while they sit.

They are all dressed in the usual Damned garb, at least the usual for the Harveys. All black with bandanas over the face. No revealing tattoos or scars. Those are the only things they are willing to heal for us when we need it.

The one with the shotgun seems to be the leader as he speaks up when I enter my house.

“So nice to finally meet you, Virgil. It’s been several years since you last served, huh? I’m sure you don’t want to waste any time and want to be with your family, so I will be quick.”

The man sits up straight as he feels in control. Which he is. There isn’t much I can do. I just stand and look at him. I make sure not to put much defiance or confidence in my face. Just the right amount. I don’t want him to take my countenance as a threat.

“You will become a Damned again, and you will sign another Contract. This time, it will be to the Mistress herself. Then, you will complete a mission for us, immediately.”

I nod at him. There is little I can do to refuse or negotiate. I just hope that the mission isn’t to attack my recent friends. If I had to choose Wyatt or my family, the answer is obvious, but it is painful. I do ask for more details, however.

“What is the mission?”

The man slides a piece of paper over toward me along with a long parchment. The paper has a newly made bounty on top of it. I glance over it quickly and pick up the name, rank, abilities, and reason for the bounty.

Edward Dudley

Bloodbeast

5th Sigil - assumed to be a combination of Comanche and Occultist

Wanted

Dead 100000$

The Bloodbeast uses a variety of blood-based Ether skills and is a master of many skills. From tracking to warfare, the Major is adept in many forms of combat. Trained by his father, the Bloodhound, he is a force to be reckoned with. He recently escaped from his execution and is now on the run. He is wanted only dead for the murder of dozens of righteous Hunters and civilians.

I look up from the paper after just a second. I instantly call bullshit. I don’t bring it up like it is false, however. I use it as more of a joke. I laugh and look at the man.

“Haha. What do they really want him for? Taking some rich man’s daughter’s innocence?”

The man seems to take my inquiry as genuine and answers. Damned have our own relationships even if we are forced to go against each other quite often.

“Ha! Not quite. He tried to remove the bounty on the boy named Wyatt that killed his father, spouting some nonsense that Edmund couldn’t have possibly died to some child. The Mistress vetoed him, and he got angry. He challenged Darkstep to a duel, saying that she is why so much darkness lingers in Onyx Gate. One thing led to another, and he was “caught” after killing several innocents in a bloody rage.”

I nod at his answer and sigh. The Estates can truly do anything they want, can’t they? Ruining the life of a talented young man is nothing but another day to them. And my today, it seems. I look down at the parchment in front of me beside the bounty and feel psychological pain at reading it.

The Contract. A piece of paper written by high-Sigiled Lawman-Scholar mixes. Their words can bind people and force them to follow the directions on the paper. This one is the Damned Contract. I don’t even bother reading it entirely, though. I just give one last glance to the man on the chair before picking up the pen that was left on the table.

Just as I lean down to sign it, however, I hear a whisper in my mind. One that has no sound yet has substance.

“Buy me time. I’m pulling out a big one.”

I don’t externally react to these words, but they surprise me greatly. I recognize the voice as Abraham’s and my eyes briefly glance around for him just to not catch a single trace. Was the man following me?

Doesn’t matter. Buy him time. Any means necessary. This is my family we're talking about, and I clearly can't make him retreat. So it's all or nothing.

“Is this Contract any different than the one before?”

The man on the chair chuckles while the rest are silent. That is the rule after all. While on a mission and with a non-Damned in the room who can fight or otherwise may be a threat, only the strongest may speak so that stories and lies are not confused.

“Yes. This one has no way out like usual. Even if you assassinate an Angel, you will never get out.”

I just slowly nod, sigh, and pick up the pen as I falsely hesitate to write. Several seconds pass as my hand shakes on the paper. And it seems as though my hesitation is frustrating the man on the chair as he stands up and starts to walk toward me.

But before he can even make it halfway, the air above the table shimmers and glitters with the falsity of nightmares. Abraham, the Nightmare is here.

A huge knight in plate armor with a crossbow in one hand the size of the man sitting down and in the other a giant sword lies. Before anyone can even react, a mental blast runs through us all and momentarily stuns us, even me as Abraham cannot differentiate between friend and foe, then the knight moves with inhuman swiftness.

A bolt lands in the chest of the man holding Victor and the two holding guns to the twists have their heads removed with a swipe of the giant sword before the apparition disappears just as quickly as it appeared.

Abraham can only pull so much from his own nightmares, after all. It is my turn, though. The two remaining Damned recover and point their weapons at me, firing the second they get the chance to, but I’m no longer the man I used to be.

I Flicker through the bolt from the crossbow and the blast of the shotgun. Only minor wounds are left because of the Ether in the weapon as I step right up to the man who sat in the chair. I raise my hand with Necrosis flowing through it.

“Seems as though I brought backup.”