Eventually, Aadam came to stumble upon the caves, guided by Bixby's map. Heaving heavily, he took in deep gulps of air, falling to the floor of the cave. Leaning himself against the wall, the moon shone bright overhead, it's light shining through the sparse leaves overhead, hanging onto the lone tree outside the cave.
Aadam once again was drawn into the soft lull of rest, this time finally succumbing to it's embrace.
-
While Aadam slept his weariness away, there were more sinister plots elsewhere in Greymerrow. Despite it being quite pleasant, it mirrored every other city, that being it's issue with corruption. Those with that bore good intentions were routed out of the city, left to the mercy of the wilderness, or just outright slaughtered.
A young boy, Rollan, not beyond the age of 10 ran through the alleys, as if the devil himself were on his heels. Behind him was the ringing of the stampeding footsteps, chasing after him,
"Come here boy! Don't make any harder!" called out one of the 'hunters'.
The wild barking of hounds resounded within the air, sniffing the air latching onto his scent as if it were there lifeline. They then pressed there noses to the ground, almost smothering themselves on the cobbled street. Rushing towards his direction, Rollan could only keep running, but a 9 year old's stamina was only so much.
Running into a narrow alley, hoping to throw off his pursuers, he was immediately met with dismay when he came to the sight that it was a one-way alley. Meaning that there would be no exit to leave from. The only way to leave would be the way he entered.
Turning around to quickly run again, he was met with the sight of barking dogs, and men yelling.
"Get out there boy! Don't make us hurt you!" yelled the apparent leader of the group.
"But boss! You said I can hurt them! I got to hurt them before!" whined one of his lackeys.
"Yea boss! Imagine the sight of their pain... oh it would be so delicious!" cried out another one of the lackeys, licking his lips in a demented fashion.
The boss whirled around, "You idiots"! He then turned to face into the alley again, "Come on kid. Don't make this any harder for us. If you come out now like a good boy, I'll make sure they treat you π―πͺπ€π¦ππΊ."
With a grimace on his face, he turned away. "No! My parents warned me to stay away from people like you!"
"But your parents won't be here any more little Rollan. They're going to a wonderful place where they can play. Unfortunately you won't be able to see them again Rollan. You need to pay for there sins Rollan. They wanted to give rights to those bastards! Rights! Correct there wrongs Rollan and you shall be saved. I'll even be your new π₯π’π₯π₯πΊ."
"You people make me sick. All of you. Scum." A new presence had arrived at the scene, garbed in dark clothing, a hood covering his face.
"Shut up! Who do you think you are! We'll kill you and then rape your body also."
"Yea we don't discriminate!"
Suddenly a blade whistled out from the man's sleeve, slitting both of their throats. Their bodies falling to the floor with their faces locked in an expression of mockery, not even realizing that they had died.
Backing away in fright, the group of assailants regrouped, gathering themselves once again. Then in a burst of realization, their leader cried out, "Shit, you're the employer aren't you?"
"Ah so someone here does know who I am?" he asked nonchalantly. Then his personality whirled around as he brutally berated them, "You wrenches. Useless! Useless I say! You can't even do one damn thing right!" He turned around, speaking to midair, "The saying's true ain't it buddy? If you want something done right then you got to do it yourself."
He then turned back to face the demented mercenaries, "That means that you're not needed anymore."
One of the lackeys chose that now was an appropriate time to butt in, "Hey, before you go and finish this up, umm... can we play around a little? We won't damage him or anything."
"I recall saying that you guys aren't needed," he replied.
"Did he?" asked another lackey.
"I don't think he did," said another lackey.
The leader of the group tried futilely to get them to shut up.
"Ah what a shame, I liked this cloak," muttered the hooded figure.
"Wait what? But-", the lackey who was talking was silenced. A dagger flying cleanly through his throat, the words dying on his lips.
Rollan pissed himself in the alley, his fear evident as he watched the men outside get butchered. Streaks of blood filled the air, settling down in a red haze. A light breeze spreading it out like the mist.
Following the first lackey's demise, another lackey was quickly disposed of before they had a chance to react.
The figure's bloody daggers sliced cleanly through their throats, severing arteries and bursting their veins. All around, screams of pain were heard. For those that had their throats slit, they merely crumpled to the ground, blood flowing out of their mouths.
3 of them had been dropped to the ground before they unsheathed their weapons, finally being able to somewhat defend themselves.
Only 5 of the lackeys remained, not including the leader. The lackeys charged forward, hoping to overwhelm the figure with pure numbers.
Unfortunately for them, such a mundane tactic would not work against the likes of this one. He bent forward, slicing into the back of the knees of two that charged causing them to fall over, thus causing the others to trip over them. He then stabbed deep into the back of the head of one of them, then rolled over and stabbed deep into another's lung, leaving him heaving, blood pouring in. Eventually he would drown in his own blood, but that is of little importance to the figure. He leapt forward, chopping the last lackey in the neck before wrapping around his back and slitting his throat.
His cloak bloodstained he began to stalk towards their leader, as he approached he began to gain speed.
For a moment the former leader hesitated, before turning to run. However, that moment of hesitation was inconsequential. For it would have ended with the same result. A dagger soared through the air, embedding itself through the skull, entering one side, and protruding from the other.
The figure then went to retrieve his weapons, bending downwards to wipe to blood on the fallen's clothes. He then turned towards Rollan, who during this had decided to try to take this moment to escape. Rollan, seeing that he was noticed cowered, his hands above his head, he sprinted away.
"Please don't hurt me. Please. Please. Please," obviously frightened by the brutal display before him.
However, such an attempt was folly, for the figure quickly swept forward and began to somehow appear in front of Rollan as he turned the corner.
"Shush... I ain't here to hurt ya kid. I'm just going to take you and-" he looked downward, only to see a slim dagger protruding from his chest, before it was pulled out. His body fell to the ground, before being kicked aside.
The kid removed his hands from his face, not feeling any sensations of pain. He then looked and felt a wet, sticky substance of the ground. He tried to scream but there was a firm hand clamped over his mouth.
"It's okay kid. You're fine. Okay? You're fine."
Calming down briefly, the kid asked "Who are you?"
"I'm Mason and you look like shit."