A day in Gehara started like any other.
There were all kinds of Ghecks that participated in the early torture of their so called lessers, but there were a fair amount that did not. These ghecks were a bit more lazy than the others, not wanting to even lift a finger until they were forced to. Of course, not all of the ghecks were as indolent or slovenly as the others. Some even looked to be in great shape, they were just as muscular as their captives.
Most of the more athletic ghecks would sleep through the early activities that occurred daily in the gheckla tribe. Although they were less indulgent than the other ghecks, that was not to say that they were kind. The only reason why they refused to engage in the diurnal rhythm of sickening torment the ghecks held dear to their hearts, was because it would get in the way of their workout.
Today seemed to be a day like any other, a paradise of decadence. They had no idea what was soon to befell them, their tyrannical rule would be destroyed before they even knew it.
—-
Just a moment's distance from Gehara, Alban and Lat crouched low in the tall brown grass stalks. Alban was busy scouring the area for an easy access point into the town, while Lat was coming up with ideas would make entry a lot easier. Neither had much success though.
The main problem was the town itself. It was completely open with low walls, making any attempt at approaching easily visible. The stalks of grass the two were hiding in stretched out in every direction that wasn't Gehara, and the area had practically everything BUT blind spots. Last but not least, there was a gheck at any point that seemed even remotely accessible.
It appeared as if they would be unable to enter, but that didn't deter Lat at all. He was absorbed into his mind, mulling over any abstract idea that he had. He would've had a mind to try a few, but Lat was sensitive to the fact that they had only one chance to succeed. It was eating at his psyche, effectively impinging his resolve.
Until he arrived at the only notion that made sense to him. Maybe his revival was a lucky break and would never happen again. Perhaps he would be unable to save anyone at the end of the day, but it wasn't him that needed to save anyone. All he had to do was give Alban a chance...and he would give the savage a clear opportunity. Even if it only lasted a moment.
"Alban. I have a way ya can enter, so ya don't need to search any longer. Save yer energy for sneaking around please" Lat was intent on getting freedom for his people, no longer caring whether or not he would be able to experience it himself. He figured he had seen enough in his short reprieve from his pained life, the life he had given up on anyways. Strength meant nothing to him if the ones he grew up with remained enslaved, beaten down and kept under the constant threat of death. Enough was enough.
"What are you going to do?" A leveled inquiry was the only response Alban could give.
"Ah, don't worry about it. Just sneak around and enter through the back. Ya should prolly head there now, everyone'll see ya if ya stick around here." It didn't take much brain power to connect the dots of Lat's plan. Alban wasn't going to argue about it though, he actually felt respect for Lat. To be able to give up your life for others takes a lot of courage, especially in a world like Nightmare. Being a martyr didn't come naturally to monsters, or at least Alban didn't see many cases that would suggest anything different.
Lat stepped out from his grassy cloak, his body unobstructed and no longer obscured. Taking a deep breath, he wanted one last lungful of the air that finally felt refreshing instead of constrained. His blond hair glimmered under the red moonlight, the shine being just a bit under conspicuous. The ghecks spotted him not even a second later, their eyes bulging at the phantom that stood before them. Lat's shaking lips upturned into a brilliant smile, while his voice forcefully snapped his target audience out of their stupor.
"YER COLLARS ARE SHIT! WEREN'T YA ALL SUPPOSED TO BE SUUUPER SMART? GUESS THAT'S JUST ANOTHER LIE, HUH? COME GET ME COWARDS!" Countless provocations resounded from him, striking against the ears of every gheck in the town. Seeing his plan's success, he then started running around the town, insults pouring out of his mouth faster than he could even think. He had succeeded in drawing their attention.
—-
Alban slipped into the town amidst the fervor, his presence unnoticed by the enraged ghecks. He had first extended his wild aura, trying to find the strongest targets so he could quickly dispatch them. He figured it wouldn't be outlandish to group up all the weaker ones and eradicate them if he was found out, but if only the strongest were left it would be easy for them to get rid of the slaves or command them to attack him.
He slipped into the houses where the still sleeping athletic ghecks laid, peacefully slumbering through the din transpiring not even a second away. Sneak attacks weren't his forte, but Alban managed. His palms were alight, finally allowing the neglected flame to burn whatever it could. His hands cloaked in the fire, he quickly wrapped his hands around each and every athletic gheck he found. He even produced an earthen spike from the middle of his palm, quickly silencing his victims before they could reveal Alban's position.
The plan was working, in fact it was going so smoothly that Alban was a bit worried. As he hurriedly assassinated each and every gheck he could get his hands on, there weren't very many left. 'I guess all those shouts about their honor being worth as much as their shit is pretty insulting for them...' Alban thought.
"Preposterous! How dare a lowly mutt like you even assert that we are not the noblest of nobles?!"
"You are a crook and a felon, the lowliest of the low. You are not even worth the dirt beneath my feet, you mongrel! Who's with me?!"
Silence. Their outraged cry was met by a slight breeze gently blowing into their ear holes. There were no affirmations, no cries of agreements and certainly no other ghecks. Alive, that is.
The two that had yelled so loudly in an attempt to raise a clamor of outrage felt a chill upon their backs. Each slowly turned around, and their eyes were met with corpses littering every corner of the town. The pungent smell of blood made itself known to their nostrils, while their eyes were locked on a certain young man that was completely green. Green with the very life fluids that chugged along their veins. Alban smiled brightly before cutting their lives short, abruptly ending their terror in the kindest way he knew how.
His wild aura had caught onto the presence of one more gheckla, the one who he assumed to be their leader. Alban searched high and low, but couldn't catch a glimpse of his titular white powdered wig. He could vaguely sense that the gheck was still in the area, approximately in the area of that restaurant Lat had mentioned. He followed the traces and entered the place, hoping to finish the job before anything went awry.
There was a passage in the middle of the floor, darkened steps leading down into an even blacker corridor. Alban wondered if he should go down, wary of fighting in an enclosed space. If the gheckla chief had any machinations in store for him, entering the trap wasn't a smart idea. Before he could weigh the pros and cons thoroughly, the very floor in front of him broke apart.
It was then that he witnessed the still pathetic gheckla he had been searching for's last stand.