As soon as Nelson returned to the mansion and to Sethis’ side, he knew something wasn’t quite right. Had the man ordered someone to follow him? He didn’t believe so, but then the way Sethis seemed to have been waiting for him with a knowing smirk told him to be wary of this man and what might come next.Had Sethis been smarter than Nelson gave him credit for? Had he let his guard down enough to be fooled by this man?Nelson took in a slow, deep breath and kept his expression natural and continued towards Sethis. He could feel his heart pounding, however, as he knew something was off about this whole thing. He mentally made a list of how he would escape if Sethis attacked him, including using several hidden items he had on him. If he needed a smokescreen or two, he wasn't against using them.“You know,” Sethis began as he motioned for Nelson to join him. “I could get rid of your debt to the King if you asked.”Nels
The group made their way into Sethis’ mansion. They each felt the tension swirling between them, but none dared speak their minds. This plan had them on their toes. They knew Sethis was going to surprise them with something or another, but they didn’t know how yet.They only hoped that he tried to attack Fenryn when they were ready for it and not a moment too soon. From what Nelson had seen and known about everything Sethis had planned, he believed they would need to be down in that room with the mages for this to work, but he was prepared for that not to be the case.As they reached one of Sethis’ many large study rooms, he reached his arms out wide and offered an obnoxiously wide smile. “Ah, Fenryn my son! And Larry! Welcome! I’m glad you two were in the city already!” He said cheerfully.At first, Nelson gave his two companions a puzzled look that asked, ‘who is Larry?’ but when he noticed Vaughan’s irritated scowl, he realised it was him. Did Sethis get his name wrong deliberately
Vaughan was getting more and more anxious with each second that passed. He hadn’t yet escaped the restraints, but he needed to give the two some time to get into place before he joined them. So far, everything was still silent in the room below, but he knew that wouldn’t last much longer.As he did finally get out of the bonds, he quietly sneaked over to the entrance and listened out for the signal to join the three below. He knew he couldn’t go down too soon, or else it would put his King in danger and that was never something he wanted to risk. He just had to have trust in the two men to know when it was best to act.Fenryn waited to act as well. He knew very well that Sethis needed his blood or life, and until he was ready for that part, there were other things Nelson would need to do to sabotage stuff if it was possible. In the meantime, Fenryn checked his surroundings for signs that he might also help with doing so.He spotted the gemstone
Fenryn’s eyes widened as the soul was aiming straight for him. He was no longer unsure if a soul could possess a normal person in this fashion, as his blood had clearly changed the rules of how things worked. Mixed in with the ritual, he couldn’t take anything for granted anymore. He needed to find some silver, but he panicked trying to find some on his person.“Look out!” Vaughan’s voice called out suddenly from behind as Fenryn abruptly found himself being picked up and moved out of the way by force. Just as he landed on his hands and knees, Fenryn turned to face his old friend. Horror filled his eyes as the soul leapt into every hole in Vaughan’s face.Seeing what had just happened, Nelson knew they couldn’t stay down in this cavern under Sethis’ home for much longer. He had no way of knowing what foul monstrosities the possessed people would become and there was no guarantee Vaughan would be friendly towards them once
Taking hold of the bed rope, Fenryn was the first to get down from their current location. Their side of the house had bent so much that he knew it wouldn’t be long now before the entire building would come down around them. Many of the guards had gotten out, but others were still calling out from inside. He felt for them, but he had to get out of the blast zone of the rubble that would surely pose a risk to him.Turning his gaze on Nelson, the King saw a large crack quickly zigzagging under the window. “It’s now or never, Nelson! You’ve not got much time left!” Fenryn called out, urging the man to hurry. They might not have had a good start to their meeting, but he had learned he could depend on the ex-bandit. At least enough to worry about his safety.Nelson peered down at the King. The bedsheets wouldn’t have held both of them, but now that Fenryn was on the ground, he could finally get down himself. With the way the King had urge
While the King kept his focus on the chasm, Nelson looked around for signs of movement. He could hear something not far off, but he wasn’t sure if it was survivors below the rubble or the possessed group. The tips of his fingers were tingling annoyingly, but he ignored it and carefully made his way towards the sounds.He hadn’t known what to expect, as he had never seen a possessed person before. He wondered if they looked anything like the demons he had faced before. If so, he believed he could handle them just fine, but nothing could prepare him for what he finally saw.Stumbling down a large piece of the rubble, Nelson almost didn’t see the thing in front of him. Ashen black skin covered what had once been a human from head to toe. They almost blended in far too well with the rubble and the dust still lingering in the air.As they turned around to face Nelson, he noticed how tightly the skin seemed to cling to the bones, making them appear e
While leaving Fenryn to deal with Vaughan, Elena, the two guards, and Nelson went about looking for the other possessed humans in the area. There was nothing they could currently do about Sethis as he was far too large for the silver to even phase him, but they each hoped the others would be easier to contend with.The two guards quickly found another of the possessed mages. This one looked as white as snow and almost bone-like in appearance. Where there were once two eyes were now nothing but sunken holes with evil red orbs floating within.Meanwhile, Nelson took Elena back to the gnarled tree-like ex-mage closer to Sethis. He wasn’t sure how to handle this thing, especially if it kept screeching as loud as it did. He was sure if they were not cautious, their eardrums would explode from the sheer sound.Once the two arrived, Elena hesitated and looked up. She could barely see her father’s face from this close. She wondered if any part of him remaine
Slowly, the babbling Vaughan had been spouting was slowly calming down after Fenryn had finally slipped the bracelet onto his wrist. Yet even with the silver jewellery, it was obvious Vaughan’s possession was not being reversed. Although the result that Fenryn was more relieved to see was that Vaughan had stopped thrashing about now.It was at least a start to helping Vaughan, but Fenryn couldn’t help but fear for the sanity of his old friend. What if the silver wasn’t enough to free him from possession? It worked on mages, but this whole thing had not been normal and neither was this possession. It had slowed the old soul down, yes, but not stopped it entirely. That it had possessed a human with no magic was not normal. All the rules for what Fenryn had discovered and understood were now null and void.“Come on, Vaughan,” Fenryn said, still holding onto the other man’s hand while silently praying the silver would finally free his fr