Apocalypsis
'What an odd-looking man,' was Taria's first thought as she looked at Far'u-q. He was tall and skinny but had an air of a huge man. It was hard to explain. His eyes were black or dark brown, she was not sure and his brows must have been the bushiest brows she'd ever seen. His lips were thin and wide, stretching across his face like a scar. His nose was long and almost knife-like. On his head, he wore a turban and his body was garbed in the long gwalada typical to the men of the Salminians.
After receiving them from the deserts edge, he had proceeded to take them to the guild where they were to be lodged and also serve as their cover-up. Their cover was mercenaries looking for work in the area and Scale Crown was the only guild in the area associated with theirs.
"I don't like him," Ana commented. Her voice was slightly muffled by the scarf she had wrapped around her face to prevent desert winds and sand from causing injury.
"You and me both," Taria commented. Far'u-q walked ahead of the group along with Rojo. The Salminian did most of the talking however and from his posture, Rojo was probably having a hard Ike listening.
"Rojo seems to have no qualms though," Ana chuckled knowing full well Rojo was not and he could hear them. Taria and Caesar laughed when they noted their captains slightly clenched fists and the slight tensing of his shoulders.
"Sí. He's found a new compadre," Caesar added.
After she'd come back from the river the night before, the atmosphere had changed for Taria. Ana had been more friendly and Caesar had engaged her in conversation. Apparently, she had proved she wasn't just a spoiled noble and could rough it out with them. According to Caesar, "A man who can eat shit with his amigos, was a man who would stay with his amigos." And as for Ana, "A princess who knew when to take off her tiara, is a princess worth respecting. And respect is everything."
Rojo just said, "A soldier is a soldier. We take what we can and make the most of it. You have shown you can do what's necessary to survive. That's what's important."
Taria honestly did not care if they accepted her or not. She just was glad that their mission was finally moving. Taking another glance at the still talking guide, she mused to herself that maybe the mission could be talked into solving itself.
After two hours of trekking and constant yapping from Far'u-q, they were more than happy to greet him goodbye. Rojo sighed wearily as they stood in front of the door of Scale Crown. "Missing your new friend already cap?" Caesar teased and Ana snorted prompting both herself and Taria into another bout of laughter.
"Oh hell no man!" Rojo exclaimed. Another moment with the overly cheerful man, and he felt he would have died. Caesar and Ana and Taria just kept laughing. Rojo sighed. "Let's just get into the fucking building," he said and pushed open the door, and stepped inside.
******
Caderius stopped by the inn, or he thought it was. He had ridden hard and a two-day journey had become one. He looked at the shack of a building and fought down the resentment. This was his lot now and he would have to make do.
News of his exile would soon circulate, so finding work as a bodyguard for some rich noble would be nigh impossible. His best bet was to find a guild and join. Unfortunately, no guild in Iriduin would take him for fear of angering the Crown, and despite the fact that he was an exile, he would never join the service of another kingdom.
Salminia was known for its laxity towards men such as him. He was sure to find something here. He was confident in his skills as a fire mage and swordsman.
Looking around, he could not find a stable for his horse so he tied it to a post outside. There was a good bit of grass around for the horse to feed on and a bucket which seemed to have a fair bit of rain water in it. After tying up the horse and inspecting it's its food and water supply, he concluded that would have to do.
Patting the horse one last time, he made his way inside the inn. The insides looked as dingy as the outside. Broken floorboards, dirty tables and chairs--all made of wood too. At the front was a stage with musical equipment. Which surprised him. With tge state of disrepair of this inn, it would take a miracle for them to afford entertainment. Although, how many inns had a tavern as the first floor. That only showed that this was anything but a reputable place.
Just what he needed.
"Welcome to Scale Crown! How may I help you?" a young red-head called out cheerfully from the front desk. Caderius walked up to her casually while his spirit sense checked out his surroundings. At a table in a corner say a group of youths. Two males and two females.
One male was already a Level Three Mortal King, one female was a Level One Mortal King and the second male was a Level Two Mortal King.
The last female was just a Level Two Mortal Duke. But close inspection showed her to be the youngest. Far younger than the rest in fact.
'Probably a prodigy,' Caderius thought to himself. He didn't feel any threat from them seeing as he himself was already a Level Ine Heavenly King. However, he didn't let down his guard. From their attire, they were elite soldiers and probably worked for a national guild and not a sect.
Caution never killed anyone.
"Yeah, I was wondering if I could find lodging here and good as well," Caderius said to the dark skinned redhead. On the counter, he placed five gold coins and one ki stone.
The redhead frowned and looked up at him with a slight distressed smile. "I'm sorry sir, but only guild members can lodge here. If you're not a member of Scale Crown Guild then I can't give you a room. Sorry."
Caderuis sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.
"How about that food first?" he suggested and proceeded to a table in a corner a couple paces away from the other group. His mind spun as he thought about what he should do.
"Here's your food sir," the redhead said cheerfully and dropped a bowl of steamed vegetables and some meat with sauce on it. Beside it, she placed a pint of ale. Caderius' face grimaced as he looked at the plate.
Firstly, he did not remember ordering anything. He only said she should get him food.
Was she not going to give him a menu?
Secondly, what the hell was in his plate? It looked like all the forests in Iriduin were having a meeting in it but forgot to invite the animals. And then someone bled all over it afterwards.
He took a sniff of the ale tentatively and sighed. At least the alcohol was drinkable. Still smelled like decayed piss though, but he'd had worse.
Caesar and Rojo shook with mirth as they saw the older man's face. The same thing had happened to them when they came in. Finally, they couldn't hold it in anymore and busted out laughing.
"Ustedes, muchachos, son unos bastardos!" Ana whispered furiously to the two men and stood up.
Taria just sat in her seat and said nothing. She wanted to laugh as well, but one look at Ana and she kept shut.
'I already get enough scolding from my father,' she thought to herself.
"Aww come on!" Caesar gasped. "It was hilarious and you know it," he said to Ana' s retreating figure. Rojo didn't say anything and just put his head on the table still laughing. Ana ignored them all and sat down beside Caderius.
"Señor, please don't mind those putas. Their mothers were a bit... loco."
"Aye! Me estás negando ahora, madre?!" Caesar shouted when he heard what Ana said. This time, Rojo, Taria and Caderius started laughing as well. Anna's face was red with anger and embarrassment.
"Maldito bastardo! Quién diablos es tu madre?!" she spat back even though she wanted to laugh as well. But she was also angry.
Caderius laughed more and then placed a hand on Ana' s dust which was clenched so tight it was white. "Esta bien señora," he said in between laughs.
Ana instantly noticed the hand and her already red face darkened even more. Caesar noticed this and busted out laughing again.
"Por qué tiene la cara roja, madre?" he asked Ana and she darkened somemore. Taria tried to deal up her mouth but she couldn't. Rojo was already sitting on the floor laughing. Caderius was laughing as well, and the redhead at the counter was stooped in her corner drying the tears in her eyes. All in all, everyone had one thought on their minds at this time...
'Caesar/this guy, is an idiot.'
But it was all in good faith. Caderuus was just happy to have met a bunch of youngsters like them aonsoon after what happened to him. It made his day a lot better. Everyone laughed for a bit longer then calmed down a little.
Then Ana made a weird sound and the whole room was triggered again. This time, she joined in as well.
"Mi nombre es Caderius," he introduced after the laughing died down a gain. He extended his hand to Ana and she blushed more.
"Ana," she said simply.
"Ramon," Rojo said simply while giving a slight look at Ana. Laughing with a stranger is not enough to let your guard down. She should know that. Ana' s eyes dimmed as she realised her mistake. But it had already happened and there was nothing she could do about it.
"Pedro," Ceasar said with a smile. He was more experienced than Ana but didnt take her mistake as seriously as "Ramon". He noticed the look Rojo shot Ana.
~Cálmate hermano~ he passed by mental link to Rojo. Rojo just nodded his head slightly as he waited for Taria to introduce herself.
Taria wondered why Rojo Room and Ramon have fake names. She didn't see the look that passed between Rojo and Ana. Plus, this was her first high profile mission. In her previous mission, she'd never had to change her name so it never occurred to her.
"And I'm Taria," she said quietly.
Rojo smacked his head on the table and groaned. Ceasar and Caderius bursted out laughing.
"Its It's alright team leader Ramon," Caderius said. Rojo raised his head sharply and Ana stiffened beside Caderius. It wasn't the was Caderius said "Ramon" that got their attention though.
It was what he called Rojo.
******
The hot sun bore down mercilessly as, once again, Sa'na stood before the kaavi. Unlike the last time, there were no jeers and insults from the crowd. In fact, most people looked at the girl in the centre of the arena with pity.
Though her trial was supposed to be adjourned to the next day, it had intact, been postponed to a few months later due to some security crisis that had plagued the region. And during that time, a lot of unsavoury information revolving the matter between Sa'na and Ejiro had come up.
Already, Ejiro was a well known womaniser and a woman-beater. Which was one of the major reasons why he was still unwed. What right thinking person would knowingly send his or her child into the hands of such a beast?
The case had been abandoned for more than four months and the girl was obviously with child. News from the wardens at the dungeons had filtered as well, into the public ears. Apparently, there were two things of note about the bastard girl.
One, she was a well behaved person with a fondness for silence and strong drink. But who would not understand that with the kind of life she's had to endure, especially under a friend like Ejiro?
The second was the scary one.
Sa'na absolutely hated her baby.
She had tried to commit suicide twice while in custody. Once, she'd vexed the wardens till they beat her sore. No one cares at first, because they felt no pity for her. The shameful nature of Ejiro had not come out then.
It wasn't until the prison physician had determined that the poor girl was pregnant that the truth dawned on the populace.
And what a painful truth it was.
At first, mothers and barren women cursed her. Then, whispers from the Kaavi's residence filtered out.
It wasn't just a baby bump the physician discovered in the girl. Apparently, her body was riddled with scars. Through the use of a truth finding array orb, it was found that the scars were from both self-inflicted harm and external physical abuse.
A week later, it was also leaked that a mental proving of the girls mind, revealed multiple suppressed memories. The content of said memories were stomach churning.
However, Ejiro somewhat belonged to the local aristocracy. His mother, after all, was the Kaavi's younger sister. Thus, though everyone knew what the truth was, it was obvious that the victim would pay for the sins of her abuser.
Such was life.
Sa'na stood there in the sun oblivious to the pitiful stares she was getting. Even if she knew, she wouldn't have cared. These people were all hypocrites. Before this whole issue, she had been ignored and spat on. So she never expected to get any sympathy from them. She did not even bother trying to explain.
They were selfish and greedy and malicious. The circumstances she faced after Habiba's death had opened her eyes to the true nature of humans. In fact, after the second rape she faced, she decided not to see herself as human anymore. She already knew she was a halfling, so it was easy to accept.
Plus, she could prevent hating herself more than she already did, that way.
It was about noon when the Kaavi finally showed up. He watched the girl in the centre of the arena with sad eyes. Her eyes were blank and cold, her face was devoid of expression. He raised his hands up and the subtle murmurs of the crowd hushed.
"Sa'na Mai-idin. You have been brought before me today for unspeakable crimes. Your charges are known to you. So, how do you plead?"
He could barely bring himself to read out her charges again. It was bad enough that she was wrongly treated. But even if she had been mistreated by her masters, she had still razed half the town to the ground. And till now, they still had no explanation for how she did that.
Sa'na looked up at him. Her face was still blank and emotionless. She shrugged her shoulders saying, "Guilty I guess. I mean, I don't know how I did any of what you say I did. But it doesn't matter what I say does it? It's not like I am an actual person like you people so, do what ever you have to."
To many, that was the most they had ever heard the girl say. Even Obasi, her Master, was shocked. Customers to the bakery were shocked as well. Many times, they had often complained that the girl was like a cold fish and if not that the bread was exceptional, they would not come back.
But here they were listening to her ramble. Her voice was beautiful. Melodious and calming. Like a gentle spring or light breeze.
And for the first time, the people of Semnis realised how beautiful Sa'na truly was.
Women swallowed. The girl had perfectly captures the attitude of the people towards her. Shame filled him as he knew that despite the subtle calling out of himself, he would still have to bite the bullet. He cleared his throat to steady his voice.
"Very well then. Sa'na Mai-idin, for the crimes of wanton destruction and attempted murder, you are hereby exiled from the city of Semnis. From this day hence, if you are caught withing a hairs breath of this city, you shall be killed." Emem paused as he tried to say the last part of the sentence.
"You have one day to prepare evacuate the city."
The whole arena bursted into an uproar. The aristocracy had ugly expressions on their faces. They had been expecting a death sentence. Especially Ejiro's mother.
"What is the meaning of this?!" a woman cried out in outrage. This was Ejiro's mother. "What do you mean by "exile"?! My son is bedridden because of this witch!"
(Scale Crown guild hall)
(Scale Crown guild crest)
(Scale Crown guild exterior)