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RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Salt and Sanctuary belongs to SKA studios.

Chapter 33: The Scharfrichter


"LAND HO!" A loud voice cut through the blackness.

Spectre slowly opened his eyes. It felt as if all his nerves were screaming bloody murder at him. Then again, being swallowed by a massive Grimm surely didn't help. He sat up and took stock of his current whereabouts. He was below the deck of the ship. He rubbed his temples as he stood up.

"Spectre, we're here." Ruby said, coming down the stairs.

Spectre nodded, grabbed his equipment, and made his way above deck. The sun was beginning to Weiss was already there looking a little less green than the last time he saw her. Captain Scar had lowered one of the rowboats into the water. Spectre looked around. The coast stretched on towards the horizon in both directions. Not a single town in sight. He also noted that they were decently far from the shore.

"I thought we agreed you were dropping us off at the shore." Spectre said.

"We did. You ain't going there alone, lad. The water be too shallow for me ship." Captain Scar replied. "So, me first mate will be rowing' all of ye over to the beach. Now, payment for our services…"

The captain turned towards Weiss. Weiss groaned. Spectre chuckled and began climbing into the small rowboat. Ruby followed after him. They waited a few minutes before a large man with rippling muscles climbed into the boat. Weiss followed about a second later. The man grunted and grabbed the oars.

He rowed them to shore. The going was slow, but it could have been worse. The rocking of the boat was doing wonders for Weiss's sea sickness. Spectre chuckled as Weiss leaned over the rail again. The first mate grunted, though Ruby could have sworn she saw a resemblance of a smile on the man's face.

They rowed in silence for enough time for Weiss to fully empty her stomach and begin dry heaving. When they reached land, the first mate grunted at them. The disembarked and Spectre pushed the small craft back to sea. They watched as the rowboat rowed back to the ship.

"I can understand Jaune's hate of flying." Weiss spoke up, after a final gagging fit.

"No more sea travel?" Spectre asked.

"No more sea travel." Weiss agreed.

"I don't know, I didn't think it was that bad." Ruby replied with a smile.

Weiss grabbed Ruby by her collar and snarled. "NO MORE SEA TRAVEL!"

"Ok, ok. No more sea travel." Ruby amended, waving her hands in an attempt to placate the angry heiress.

Weiss nodded and let go of the younger girl. She began walking south. Spectre chuckled as he helped Ruby up. She too chuckled as they began following Weiss south. Unfortunately, they didn't go far. The sun was already dipping below the horizon.

"How long was I out?" Spectre asked.

"A couple days." Ruby replied.

"Anything interesting happen in that time?" Spectre inquired.

"Not really. Weiss was sick, you were unconscious, and Captain Scar complained about you two the whole while. It was really boring." Ruby answered.

"No Grimm or Darkborn?" Spectre asked.

"Well… we did see one of the dragons a few hours after you were taken below decks." Ruby said. "It didn't bother us though."

"Odd." he thought aloud.

"Yeah." Ruby said.

They lapsed into silence as they set up camp. Spectre started a fire while Ruby went off to hunt for food and Weiss gathered some fruits that she found in the area. The fire was burning quite well when Weiss returned. She laid out some of the fruits she found. Spectre noted that she was sorting them into two piles. He threw another log onto the pile and walked over to where Weiss was sorting the fruits she found. He saw a few varieties.

"It's not much, but it's better than nothing." Weiss said as she stood up.

There were four piles of fruits. Three of them had a various assortment of berries. Spectre noted that there were some blackberries and strawberries in the pile. The fourth was composed entirely of round shiny black colored berries. Each about the size of a blueberry.

"Deadly Nightshade." Weiss stated as she noticed his gaze. "Not exactly edible unless you have a death wish. Not even aura can help."

"I know what they are. I've… used them before." Spectre said.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"Another odd similarity between Remnant and Salis. Nightshade exists in my world. And on the island." Spectre stated.

"How did you use them?" Weiss asked.

"Ate them. Tried to end it all. I grew desperate. The island was worse than any prison you can possibly imagine. It was a chance at escape. Of course, my unique connection to the Salt didn't allow me to stay dead." Spectre chuckled. "On the plus side, I can confidently say that Deadly Nightshade berries taste terrible. Too bitter."

"This isn't a laughing matter!" Weiss said. "You tried to kill yourself with these… with the intent to end it once and for all!"

"That was a long time ago." Spectre defended.

"How long?" Weiss demanded.

"It doesn't matter." Spectre replied.

"How. Long?" Weiss repeated.

Spectre sighed. "Two months before I came to Remnant. Two months before I finally destroyed the body Azredak used on the island. A week before I started trying for an atonement that I stopped caring about."

"That wasn't that long ago." Weiss stated, as Spectre sat down against a tree.

The Saltborn stoked the fire and leaned back.

"It doesn't matter how long ago it was. I can't die, and Nightshade is not a pleasant fruit… I wonder how it would work on Azredak?" Spectre absently stated.

"Probably not that well." Ruby said with a frown, as she entered the clearing, three rabbits slung over her shoulder, and three decent sized branches in her arms. "I managed to get some food."

"How much of that did you hear?" Weiss asked.

"Enough." Ruby said.

"Wonderful. I hope you two don't start worrying about me." Spectre said.

"I'm not." Ruby replied with a smile as she sat down. "Can I have your knife?"

"You're not worried?" Spectre questioned, tossing her his blade.

"Nope. You're not on the island anymore. Nothing to worry about." She said as she began sharpening the branches.

"Ruby…" Weiss began.

"Weiss, it's fine. Spectre won't try to kill himself with us. Besides, he's got far more reason to live… that and he's proven time and time again that he can't stay dead." Ruby responded as she stabbed the first branch through one of the rabbits.

"You… make a valid point." Weiss said.

"That still begs the question." Ruby began. "How do we kill Azredak?"

Ruby and Weiss looked to Spectre for any answers. The Saltborn looked down and thought.

"I have no idea." Spectre eventually answered with a shrug. "That's kind of why we're on this journey, though."

"True." Ruby said. "What about the Salt? Can't you use that?"

"Not likely. Ruby, I barely understand the Salt as is. Even on Salis, we didn't understand it all that much. If more people on Remnant knew it existed in all souls, then maybe we could make some headway in understanding it." Spectre said.

"Even if anyone in Remnant knew and utilized the Salt like you do, I seriously doubt you'd know any more than you do now." Weiss stated.

"Why's that Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Think about it Ruby. Everyone on the planet knows about Aura and Dust, but do people truly understand it?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah. We can unlock it and use it and-" Ruby began.

"No, she means, do you understand the hows, and whys?" Spectre asked. "Do you know how it works? Why are we able to unlock it to begin with? Where does it come from? Why is it the soul? What are all of its possible uses?"

"Oh…" Ruby replied. "I don't know all of that."

"I don't think there's a scholar on Remnant who does." Weiss replied.

"And that's the point. I know even less about the Salt." Spectre said. "I've barely begun to scratch the surface of what it can do. I've got immortality and Salt enhanced attacks, but as we've seen it can do so much more."

"Like enhancing people who take it from you?" Ruby asked.

"Exactly, and then there's the Salt's strange reaction to you." Spectre said pointing at Ruby.

"Yeah. Let's not do that again." Ruby stated.

"I think I'm missing something here." Weiss said.

"Right, she wasn't there." Specter said.

"And we didn't really go into detail." Ruby continued.

"I'm right here." Weiss said.

"Yes, you are." Spectre stated.

"So, what happened when Ruby took the Salt?" Weiss asked.

"It… came to life?" Ruby said, uncertain.

"No. I think it's always been alive. It just manifested differently. On top of that tower, there was a flash of white light and a storm of Salt surrounded us. In the storm, the Salt manifested as some figure. It killed Skourzh." Spectre summarized.

"It manifested as a figure?" Weiss questioned.

"Yes." Ruby said. "It also apologized to me."

"And I have no idea why it reacted like that. Jaune took the Salt and it gave him my knowledge and abilities, he fought with the Salt. Ruby took the Salt and it fought for her." Spectre said.

"Do you at least have a theory?" Weiss asked.

"Possibly." Spectre admitted. "Jaret was almost as clueless. He believes it might have something to do with the legend of the silver eyed warriors, but he wasn't sure."

"If it did have something to with that, then why hasn't Ruby anything else with the power?" Weiss asked. "That flash of white you mentioned sounds like it might be the power of the silver eyes."

"But I don't think it was my power." Ruby interrupted. "It felt so much like the Salt."

"The flash of white?" Spectre asked.

"Yes." Ruby clarified. "It felt like the Salt created that."

"It still might be related to the legend." Weiss stated.

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter right now." Spectre said. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and we have to hurry to Aurum."

"The city won't be going anywhere." Weiss said.

"But we don't know where it is." Spectre said. "All we really know is that it's on the southern coast and probably near the mouth of a river."

"Why do you say that?" Ruby asked.

"Every city needs a proper water source. Rivers tend to be freshwater." Spectre stated. "Do you know of any rivers near here we can follow?"

"Nope." Ruby replied.

"No." Weiss stated.

"Blast." Spectre said. "Eh, we'll find it tomorrow. We should rest."

The moon was high in the sky. It was going to be a peaceful night.

…/…

Carsejaw scowled. Sea travel was always so boring. Fortunately, land was in sight. The docks were mostly empty at this time of night. That was good. It'd be less likely that he'd be seen.

The duke disembarked as the small vessel made landfall. The witch, the duke, and a small crew of Darkened quickly departed. A few of them stayed behind and set off in the boat. Carsejaw watched as they scuttled the small ship once it was in deeper waters. Carsejaw couldn't help but admire Lord Azredak's ingenuity.

The former humans and faunus made it back to shore. They quickly hurried off, deeper into the town. They had to quickly find a place to hide before morning. It wouldn't do for him to be seen. On an island of primarily faunus individuals, he and the Darkened would stand out like a sore thumb.

They found an old building that appeared suitably abandoned. Carsejaw and his crew quietly entered. The former duke scowled at the sight of several sleeping, apparently homeless faunus.

"Kill them. Quietly." Carsejaw ordered.

Four of the nine darkened nodded and hurried off to kill the sleeping faunus.

"The rest of you, two of you scout the upper floor. The rest of you, gather information. I want to know who's in charge." Carsejaw ordered.

The rest of the Darkened nodded and hurried. Carsejaw smiled. Azredak really had outdone himself with the Darkened. Ren and Nora were valuable prototypes, but they still thought for themselves. The Darkened were empty shells. Darkborn pawns born from the corpses of the dead. Solely designed to carry out Azredak's will.

Faintly, Carsejaw heard several snapping sounds. Good thing these were civilians and not huntsmen or huntresses. That did get Carsejaw thinking, could a huntsman survive having their neck snapped? Probably not.

"Is it done?" Saira asked, giddily.

"Right. You. Forgot you were here." Carsejaw growled.

"Ah, don't be like that. You know you like me." Saira said.

"Yes, it's done. And no, I don't like you at all." Carsejaw snapped. "This place shall do for now. I have some of them scouting."

"I know that. I was right here when you ordered them." Saira said.

"Right. I try to tune you out all the time. Works wonders for my head." Carsejaw replied with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, I like you too you jack hole." Saira snapped.

"Jack hole?" Carsejaw questioned.

"Yep." Saira said.

"HEY! HANDS IN THE AIR AND WEAPONS ON THE GROUND!" A new voice said.

Carsejaw and Saira turned towards the voice.

"Dear god…" The faunus said. "RAISE THE ALARM! THE DARKBORN ARE H-"

His shout was cut off as his head slid off his body. However, someone heard his shout. Loud klaxons blared throughout the city. Lights began turning on, and more faunus were rushing towards the group.

"So, since your plan didn't work, can we go with my plan now?" Saira asked cheerily.

"Looks like we don't have much of a choice." Carsejaw groaned.

"I know, but I'm at least making an effort to be polite." Saira snarked.

"Fine, Saira, time to raise some hell." Carsejaw said, unsheathing his massive broadsword Scharfrichter.

Saira laughed and flew out of the building. She immediately began launching spells left and right. A massive fireball flew from her staff and slammed into an approaching group of faunus.

"I don't think that was big enough." Carsejaw deadpanned.

"Are you kidding? That was a small one." Saira said. "Wait till you see me really let loose."

"Then let loose." Carsejaw said as he bisected a faunus.

"Really?" Saira asked, glee coloring her voice.

"I think I'm going to regret this." Carsejaw muttered as he summoned blades from the ground.

"MENAGERIE! YOU WILL FEEL THE POWER OF SAIRA THE SALT WITCH!" Saira yelled as she slammed her staff into the ground.

Carsejaw involuntarily gulped as a growing black circle spread along the ground from where Saira had planted her staff. Black spirits began flying out of the ground. Small black orbs with two white eyes and a red aura began flying around the Witch. Carsejaw had to keep backing away as the Dark Swarm grew larger and larger. The faunus that had come to repel the attack had halted in terror.

"Attack." Saira commanded.

The swarm began flying through the city. Many of them flew in random directions. Some flew into buildings, others into the street. Many targeted the faunus. They destroyed whatever they touched. Carsejaw turned back and continued his onslaught of any resident of the island he came across.

Saira laughed as the swarm killed many of the people on the island. She breathed deeply and cut the spell. Hundreds of bodies lay before her. The entire block they had started with was little more than a pile of rubble. Saira smiled at her handiwork, until a rock slammed into her head.

She was thrown off balance but gathered her bearings quickly. She looked towards the source of the rock. A tall faunus with a royal purple coat stood at the end of the street, and he was walking towards her. He didn't appear to be wearing a shirt, so a large patch of hair stood out in the middle of his chest. He had silver armor around his waist and on his left shoulder. He also had a pretty bushy beard.

"Lower your weapon and maybe I'll be merciful." The, probably, faunus said.

"And if I don't?" Saira asked.

The man didn't respond, instead, he just launched forward. His fingers ended in sharp claws. Claws that Saira quickly grew acquainted with as they slashed across her face. He slammed his fist into her gut while she recovered and threw her down the street.

Her staff clattered to the ground beside him. Saira sat up with a growl. She smiled and floated into the air. She flew towards him and slashed at him. Her arms extending into the red fleshy Salt malformed tendrils she was used to. The faunus struggled to defend against them. Saira would admit, he had a high tolerance for pain. She slashed at his back. Her arm cutting through his aura and spilling his blood.

The faunus turned and leapt at her. He tackled her out of the air and slammed her into the ground. He straddled her and began slamming his fists into the side of her head. Saira laughed at his attempts to hurt her. Fortunately for him, however, he had also pinned the witch's arms. Unfortunately, he did nothing about her legs.

One of Saira's legs wrapped around the Faunus's waist and yanked him off her. He was surprised at the sudden force. Saira stood up and wiped her hand across her mouth. She giggled at the sight of blood on the back of her hand. She hadn't properly bled in a long time.

"You made me bleed." She said as she picked up her staff. "That earns you a reward."

The man growled and launched himself at her again.

"Nuh, uh, uh." Saira said, wagging a finger at him.

She twirled her staff and fired a Dark Coil at him. The spell slammed into him and the coils of blood magic spread to his hands and feet. Saira raised her staff and the man lifted off the ground. The magic held his arms at bay.

"Looks like he caused you some trouble." Carsejaw stated as he neared the witch.

"Not really." Saira shrugged. "He was a lot of fun though."

"Sure. But the fun is just beginning." Carsejaw said, looking around.

"I know." Saira responded with a smile. "With us, the Darkborn and the Darkened, Remnant doesn't stand a chance."

"The Darkened are dead… again." Carsejaw noted.

"Eh, that was predictable." Saira said, waving off the duke's statement. "How about the rest of the island?"

"Unknown, but the inhabitants in this town are dead or surrendered." Carsejaw replied.

"Now, what do we do with him?" Saira asked, turning to her prey. "I think he is the leader around here."

"Really? Does he have a name?" Carsejaw inquired.

"Presumably." Saira said with a smile.

"What's your name, faunus?" Carsejaw asked.

"Why should I tell you?" the man asked, defiantly.

"Because my associates here can make its life very painful. And I can do far worse." Azredak's voice rang out.

The three of them turned to the source of the voice. Saira and Carsejaw bowed low. The faunus could feel the intimidating aura given off by the, seemingly, innocuous scarecrow. He didn't remember that being there earlier.

"Lord Azredak, we have taken the town." Carsejaw reported.

"And I captured the leader." Saira continued.

"I can see that." Azredak stated. "Now, it shall tell me its name and I can promise it freedom."

The man didn't trust the honeyed words of the scarecrow. He shuddered at the sight of the grinning corpse.

"The people of this world have already lost. They just don't know it yet. Now, might I have its name?" Azredak repeated.

The man remained resolutely silent.

"I don't like to be ignored. Saira, remove one of its limbs." Azredak said.

Saira smiled and grasped the man's left arm. Her grip tightened as her limb grew and wrapped around the entire length of the appendage. Without so much as a warning, she pulled. A loud snap was heard as the man's arm was torn from its socket. Blood sprayed from where his arm used to be as he screamed in pain. Saira readied a spell and pressed her staff to the bleeding stump. He screamed again as fire erupted from her staff and cauterized the wound.

"Now, would it be so kind as to tell me its name?" Azredak asked.

"Ghira." The man said through gritted teeth.

"Ghira." Azredak repeated. "Lock it up. I shall be by soon. It shall make for a powerful new Darkened."

"As you command, Lord Azredak." Saira said with a bow.

Carsejaw gagged Ghira and Saira began to float him away. The two followed him.

"Why did we do this again?" Saira asked, "Not that I'm opposed to it."

"Azredak wants Menagerie as his new island." Carsejaw replied.

"I thought that was Vale's purpose." Saira stated.

"No, Vale was little more than a stepping stone. Plans were already happening for the city's downfall." Carsejaw said. "And Salem's castle just doesn't have what Azredak needs."

"And Azredak needs an island?" Saira asked.

"Apparently. I don't know why though." Carsejaw replied. "You know, I don't know a lot of why Azredak does or wants things."

"I don't either." Saira said. "I also don't care."

"Fair enough." Carsejaw stated.

"We'll lock him up, then you can go raze the rest of this island." Carsejaw said.

"Way ahead of you." Saira laughed as she launched another fireball towards the docks.

"By the way, Saira," Carsejaw interrupted the Witch's wanton destruction.

"Yes?" Saira asked.

"Next time, we stick with my plan." Carsejaw said.


ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY…/…

Data Log BOS033

Information – And I'm back. Things have settled down, so our regular upload schedule should be returning. Thanks for bearing with me this last month. On an unrelated note, I looked up the name of Carsejaw's sword. Apparently, Scharfrichter translates to Executioner.

Information - Please leave constructive criticism. Updates to the archives take it into account, and it is greatly appreciated.

Input command - express_gratitude - Thank you to all who read this, your feedback and views are much appreciated. Feel free to leave ideas and recommendations for the future. Input command-tip_hat...Command accepted; hat tipped. Input command-Close

Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.

End Log S.T.K.