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The Fortress

The three walked down a ruined building, into its basement. It was not lit, but it was clear from the start that, within the darkness, there were many unknown monsters lurking in it. The noises, the smell, and the general atmosphere made the dungeon dangerous and full of dangers in the dark.

Fortunately, the feline person turned around and made a hand gesture to turn on the mage-light around them. From there, however, it got worse.

"This is the work of a Collective who stepped too far and created monstrosities," said the feline person. "I'm in charge of cleaning the mess."

As the light lit the dungeon, the cages started to become visible, and with it, the beasts caged within. They were all vaguely humanoid, but it was apparent that their original forms of beast race were replaced by a monstrous feral with no attempt to talk or reason with others. Some of them, clearly belonging from dangerous predatory races, were kept in leash or otherwise chained so they could not endanger those who cared them, which was only one.

Karkas looked at them, bewildered on how magic could lose control so easily. He knew magic was dangerous if it wasn't done properly, but he had never thought that it could create monstrosities if it became an accident. He looked at them, trying to find a reason to talk to them. Yet, he couldn't. All he got was a snarl from a beast and roars from those who were once beast races.

He turned towards the feline and said, "What the fuck did that mage do, cat?"

"I'm not sure either, other than it activate a bestial gene all of us had suppressed in ages that time forgot. Only a select few have this kind of ability, but they usually could control it. Most, however, could not, and reduced into something like this."

"But isn't this a form of lycanthropy?" said Narati when noticing a wolf-model canine beast race. "He looks a lot like a werewolf."

"It is a form of lycanthropy, but aside from the wolves, I don't know the name from the other races who became a were-being. But then...for now, I don't know how to cure them. I'm a failure of a mage for that."

Seeing the feline's distress, Karkas walked to him, trying to comfort him. He accepted the croc's embrace.

"Look, it's not your fault that they become like this."

"You're right," said the feline, who recovered. "I need to focus. The two of you needed to find the person who knows about the Fa'ar. Follow me."

While walking to the back of the dungeon, the feline talked about the person they were trying to meet.

"This one was a unique and interesting fellow who somehow survived being a feral, but the mage captured him and made him a slave. Due to extensive experiments on his body, he became just like me, unable to grow any hair on his body. He always claimed that he was duped, and a Fa'ar was the reason of his suffering."

"Somehow that's one way to describe that son of a bitch," said Karkas while snarling, teeth bared.

"You seem to have a history with him. That kind of vengeance is rare, you know."

"How rare?"

"You either give up, or you got yourself killed."

"Unfortunately for you, I'm neither," said Karkas with a grunt. "I won't die until I get him."

"Well, as long as you're alive, then I don't care. Anyway, we're here."

The door that the feline person led to was iron-grated with small spaces between it. It was also a thick door with no openings except a small window. Around the door were magical points for maintaining magic in a long term, being a magical reserve.

Narati's sensitive ears could not hear anything in it, aside from the snarls and growls of the other beasts. Judging from the level of security, the place somehow had the worst beast of them all, but the feline person did say that he managed to control it and kill his master. Would he lash out? Narati shook his head in dismissal. He did not want to imagine it.

It wasn't helping when the feline person said, "Now, whatever you do, don't make wrong moves and stay behind the white line. He may be docile, but he's not harmless. He may look like he's secure, but even I can't be sure."

Narati gulped, feeling nervous. He could only imagine the danger, but he didn't want to see it. Karkas noticed his actions and put one hand on his shoulder, ensuring him that it was alright, and the bigger croc would protect him.

Releasing the magic seal, the feline person walked in first, then Karkas and Narati. The room was not lit by mage-light at first, but the feline person turned on one on his hand. From there, the whole room's condition was known to the group, and instead of scared, this made Narati sad.

The place was covered in chains. All parts of the room were covered in chains, and in the middle of it, was a pinkish figure, chained to the wall with everything the manacles had. He was clearly a shaved, but from being in that room with him was clearly unsettling. He was like a chained beast, sealed for the safety of himself and those around him. He was shackled all over, even muzzled, to prevent danger to those visiting him.

Upon them getting into the room, he awoke, showing his yellow eyes. Due to him being a shaved, it was hard to see his race at first, but it was clear that he was of a canine race, yet which race they could not be certain.

The first reaction he did was lash out against his chains, roaring and growling like a wild animal. The feline person stood in front of Narati and Karkas, pointing a finger than slowly lit with fire. He said, "Calm down, Derrick! This is me, Akandi!"

"A...kan...di..."

"Yes...it's Akandi, your friend. Calm down, okay? I just want to talk?"

Suddenly, as if his personality changed, he became docile, and to the surprise of the two visitors, he talked.

"Akandi, my friend," said Derrick. "How long has it been? Two weeks?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little...preoccupied."

"Preoccupied, my fucking ass! I know I'm supposed to be sealed in this dark room, but can't you please give me something to eat?! I can't stay alive with just nourishment crystals! I need food. Bloody meat! And just how long do I need to wear this bloody nappy?!"

"Well, you can't go to the restroom, so..."

"At least give me company before he come out! And who the hell are they?"

"They want to ask you something...about a certain Fa'ar?"

"A certain Fa'ar?" His face turned serious, then he looked towards the two. "Oi, mate. You're one of his victims, aren't you?"

"That's one way to say it."

"Then why are you walking around with him?" said Derrick with a snarl. Karkas quickly pulled out his giant sword.

"Easy now, mutt, before I accidentally cut your fucking head."

"Are you in leagues with him now?"

"You may be a fucking victim, but I have a feeling you deserve this treatment."

"Derrick, don't," said Akandi while walking between them. "This Fa'ar's not him. We know it isn't him from the start."

"Then prove it. How old is he?"

"I'm 17."

"17, huh? Your kind is notorious for being liars, mate. Have any other way to..."

Suddenly, Narati threw his spear and ran towards the chained beast, which surprised Akandi and Karkas. He climbed the monstrous shaved and glared at him between the eyes. It was so out of character in Narati's part, especially with his crazed expression and his smile which looked like someone who enjoy killing.

"W-whoa, Nara...don't do anything stupid. Fuck. Did he hear a trigger word?"

"What the fuck?" said Akandi, startled. "He looks like a different person."

"Yeah, he is...and I guess he's the one who caused people to hate his race more."

"You mean he's..."

"Yeah. He's the arsonist."

"Oh, holy mother gaia...for a Fa'ar to be..."

"Oh, shut up, you bloody fucks," said Derrick with an annoyed tone. "You two sounds like characters in a fucking theatre." He turned towards Narati. "And you, rat. What are you trying to prove, huh? You bloody well know that I'm helpless to anything. You want to kill me, fine. But you won't get your rat."

"Talk like that one more time, and I'll rip your throat out," said Narati with a crazed tone.

"Then do it, you wanker. What? Lost your fucking guts, mate? Do it! Use those fucking teeth! Rip my fucking throat out like a fucking beast you are!"

Narati looked like he was provoked by it, and he made a gesture to attack the wolf, who looked at him with unwavering stare. Close before Narati's claws reached the wolf's naked throat, he said, "Was that good?"

"Heh, you look past that," said Derrick with a smile. "But damn, mate. You were trying to kill me."

"And I'm surprised you thought I wouldn't until the last moment," said Narati while climbing down the shackled body. "So? Convinced?"

"Yeah. At least you're not him. You have a little mad in you. Him? He's just a dreg. A fucking coward, he is. I'll tell you where he is."

"Really?" said Karkas, surprised. "How do you know if you're stuck in here for..."

"Five fucking years? Yeah, I am. Before that wanker took me into his experiments, I was a bounty hunter, like you two. He had gained quite a notoriety after causing the daughter of a warlord got raped by some crazies. Fuck, he was so fucking mad he killed one of his own! I was promised a big amount of muns if I could bring his head, and another extra if I could bring him in alive. I thought, 'yeah, this is nothing. What can a worm-tail do anyway?' No insult intended, mate.

"Anyway, I went with a party of his. Big party, it was, full of crazies. Of course, it looked easy, until we reached his fortress."

"Fortress? Asran has a fortress?"

"And one that was well protected. It was full of traps, and once you enter, it's like a sick game of rat in a maze. One by one, we were dispatched by the traps, and I was so bloody sure that I was the only one who survived, until I realized my mistake. That warlord was in his pocket all the time! Promised a sum of muns if he could sacrifice his own and sell them to slavery, including his fucking 'daughter' which was one of his fucking servant!

"Of course, for a Fa'ar, tricking me into doing his job wasn't enough. He was working with someone, a mage with purple robe like Akandi here. And like a cake's topping, everyone was bloody tricked! While I was hauled away, I could see the warlord, blinded by muns, hit on the head by that Fa'ar! I knew that it wasn't enough to kill him, being obese and all. That was when I saw his sick play. Not only one, but two slavers. One's a magician with crazy eyes and crazy experiments that made me into this, and the other a kinky wanker who strip that fat bastard, stuffed a ball in his mouth and smack his rump like an animal he was while that fucking worm-tail just sat by his 'throne' like a royalty. I could never forget that sight. He was the lowest of the low. A dreg to the bone."

"Okay...that's an impressive story," said Narati. "But now we need to go and find him. Do you know where that fortress is?"

"Sure thing, mate. It's a couple kilos from Vanadian Outlook, a small free-town full of lowlifes like him, to the south, down a cliff. It is in the middle of the ruins of an old city, and is the only building high enough in that area. You won't miss it."

"Right. Let's go."

"One more thing. Be careful. Once you get in, you need to be wary of traps. They can spring unexpectedly. It was like a playhouse in there."

"Okay." Narati then looked towards Derrick and said, "One day...I'll come back, and we'll talk about your story."

"Oh, I'll consider it, provided I can control the monster within me. Akandi..."

"Yes, I understand. Come on, you two, let's..."

Narati heard something that was unnatural in there. The voices of some intruders who were clearly humanoid. Akandi realized that, due to the long duration he was in there, he forgot to lock the front door that led to the basement, and people could become suspicious.

The hid by the door, trying to get out of the intruder's sight, so they could caught them unaware. Their conversation, however, was something that gave the group an idea of who they were.

"So, this is the place where the magic indicator went haywire," said one of them. "Shit, to think that a mage's den is under the ghetto."

"Yes, and I have a feeling that worm-tail is here, too," said a familiar voice. "Fucking worm-tail looked at me in the eye and tried to kill me. A worm-tail!"

"Cast your hatred away from this place before I blow your head out, human," said another new voice. "You don't want to get them angry, do you?"

"Let them. We'll just attack them and make it look like we were defending ourselves from attackers. Chaos races are always the ones to blame."

"Say that again?"

"Chaos races are always the ones to blame, and you better not object to that or I'll consider..."

"What? Self-defense?" said one of them. "You do know they are not to blame for your idiocy. Magic is the one at fault here."

There was a gunshot. "These monstrosities are the product of that magic, not a Fa'ar, not a gnoll, not even us," he said. "You better shut your mouth."

"Fine! If you want it that way. The people of Unistad is going to strung your body up to the wall like the demons you are, Agents of Tomorrow."

"Yes, we were defeated back then, but it's also your fault to have a mage living in your city. You think we don't know? One of the Collectives was there, by the door."

"He's one of the residents who actually helps, unlike you, blaming everything on magic," said another one. "If it wasn't for you, my brother might still be alive."

"Blame him for practicing forbidden magic. And besides...hmm?"

There was a slight pause, but then the voice grew louder.

"Strange. I found a magic reserve at the back of this corridor. Something's amiss. Why is this door open?"

"Door?" said one of them. "It somehow leads..."

Narati, who was getting ready for an attack, signaled Karkas, who nodded and readied his sword. The one who came in was the bullying human who was trying to hit Karkas and hated Narati's kind with a passion. While it could cause the whole of Unistad to hunt them, it was a good riddance.

Once the human walked through the door, Narati made a sound. "Hey, idiot!" he said. That moment of distraction was fatal to the human, as when his back was turned, he did not see a giant swing of a sword that decapitate him. His head rolled away from his body outside, sending blood gushing upward like a fountain.

"You bloody fuckers!" said the chained wolf with a laugh. "That's how you fucking do it!"

That was one distraction that pulled the others towards the room. Narati did not spare any resources. He pulled out a pineapple-shaped grenade and threw it towards the rest of them. The clanging and thudding sound was enough to alert them, yet their reaction was too late.

The moment one of them shouted, "Grenade!" the thing blew up. Narati chose one with less explosive power so he would not cave in the whole place and close their only way to escape. Karkas went out first and, with a roar, ran towards the still disoriented people. His giant two-handed sword was like a toy to the croc, with him swinging it with ease, cleaving his victims into two or otherwise maiming them. Narati followed suit, killing the rest of them with his spear, showing a great expertise in handling it after a year of training.

And of course, the place was dark, and it was also dangerous to them. They could be ambushed in the dark, too, and when Narati was unaware of it, he would fall victim to one of them.

That would be the case if there was no one attacking from afar. A fire ball came out from the room and went past Narati, in which it struck the person attacking the Fa'ar. Surprised, he looked back and saw Akandi, who made a hand gesture.

"Thanks," said Narati.

"You owe me one." Akandi then turned towards Derrick. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"Yeah. Thanks for making me look like a fucking baby, Akandi."

The feline person laughed. "Yeah, you can't go to the toilet anyway." He then made a hand gesture and said, "Uvterd!"

The complex system of chains came off one by one, but fast enough before Akandi was attacked by an Agent wearing an anti-magic armor. Before he was struck, a feral monstrosity jumped and bit the attacker's head. In a scream of agony and the greatest violence ever imaginable, the monster, with sheer strength alone, pulled the Agent's head from the neck, and threw it away. The sight alone made Akandi sick and he vomited on the spot.

The monster, who looked like a furless black-skinned werewolf, went past Narati and Karkas and wreaked havoc past the attackers, even to upstairs. Seeing him went off, Narati said, "Damn. I hope the ghetto people knows how to not interfere."

"We still have one more thing to do here before getting to Asran. Akandi, right? Where is the orphanage?"

"I'll take you there. It's in Unistad. I know the caretaker. She's with me."

When they ran out, however, Narati realized something and said, "Wait!"

"What?"

"I'm not allowed in there!"

"Who the fuck cares?"

"They do! Look, I'll wait you by the southern area. Get them out of there."

"Sure do."

Narati ran out first, since he was faster than the others. However, when he got out, the first thing he saw was a carnage.

He sighed in relief when he did not find any collateral damage. The civilians were not harmed, so the monster Derrick wasn't entirely bestial. Yet, he left pile of bodies, all maimed and dead or otherwise dying, on the street. It was a bloody massacre. Agents and their informants were massacred, as did some guards who were trying to attack him. For the Unistad guard, though, it wasn't too bad, as they did not suffer grave injuries. Derrick was trying not to kill innocent ones, while the corrupt ones were his victims.

Akandi, somehow had a bad time with violence, upon seeing the carnage, looked away and threw up, which made Karkas shook his head. The croc found Narati, who looked to the desert.

"He's gone, huh?" said Karkas. "That fucker actually did all of our jobs for us."

"We can thank him later. At least now we know that we owe him one."

"What are you going to do?"

"Get the people out of this place, naturally. We need to give them passage to Creolean Waters and Diamondback's Nest."

"More refugees? Who is the one who don't want our town to get bigger and becoming too developed?"

"If they don't want, they can go to the walled town by the sea."

"I get your point."

Karkas then left the group, with Akandi, who was still sick with all the death, followed behind. Narati turned and found the people around, who were gathering to see the carnage. Some behaved like Akandi, while some tried to protect the children from the unsightly spectacle. The Fa'ar knew he needed to take command before panic happened.

Standing in front of the people, Narati said, "Okay, people, listen up! This place is no longer inhabitable. I want you to follow my instructions. Do anyone of you here is an explorer?"

Some of them raised their hands.

"I want you to take them to Creolean Waters and other free-towns you think will be safe enough for the children. Do not take them to a slave den. Some of you who wish to go to the west, follow a road west of Creolean Waters. You will find a small town called Diamondback's Nest. It's a mercenary town, but it's also for refugees."

"Is it safe for the children?" asked one of them.

"Safe enough to start a farm by yourself," replied Narati. "Take whatever you only need. Leave furnitures and store front behind. Take your produces and load it on a cart. Does anyone have a cart?"

"We have some in case we are evicted by Unistad," said the gnoll.

"Good. Take everyone out of here before the people inside that stadium starts something nasty and blame you guys. Go!"

The group quickly walked and run, occasionally giving orders to each other. Narati was surprised that no one's questioning his authority, given that he was basically an outsider.

Narati wanted to know. He wanted to know how a 17-years old Fa'ar could be given such authority to a small slum full of chaos races of all kind (except the evil ones, like the vampires). He went on and asked the same old Fa'ar who he helped, during which he got the answer.

"You may not think of it, son, but you're one of them, aren't you? The Wanderers?"

"You know them?"

"Have you forgotten me? You saved me from a group of raiders back then. You are young, but I have a feeling your friends were there to help you. How are they..."

"They're...." Narati didn't feel like talking about Jek. Even if he had moved on, he felt that talking about Jek to a complete stranger (even if he claimed to know Narati in one of the Wanderer's past jobs). The old Fa'ar nodded, put one of his hands on Narati's shoulder, and said, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. You don't need to try to remember. All I know is...you can save us, and you know how to do it."

"Thanks...I guess."

"Well, I guess I need to go on. I won't bother you anymore. If, by any chance, we meet again, tell me your story. I'll be happy to listen."

"I will."

The Fa'ar put on a hat and tip it down, smiling as he walked away, helping others in need of his help. Even if he was a total stranger, Narati felt calm and assured that his efforts paid off.

Now that thing's got out of the way, Narati started to concentrate on the primary job; find Asran and finish Karkas's quest for vengeance.

He just needed to end it, one way or another.