"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."
-William Shakespeare
Prologue
Within a mansion that was rundown yet in an acceptable working order, a man in a black tunic and chainmail proceeded down a massive corridor that was lined with fine woodwork and delicate paintings. His stride was heavy and swift as he made his way to a room that was absent from light.
He entered the boxed in perimeter, which had one wall to the left lined with a bookshelf and a fire place adjacent to it with busts of statues on both sides of the mantle. Then shutting the door, he approached the inferno.
Though the room was dark and rather plain, there was a spirit of evil that lurked about it. It was as though this mansion held many secrets and dark terrors. It was not possessed by other worldly creatures by any means, for the living have nothing to fear from the dead.
The black tunic approached the bust on the left, grabbed the shoulders and twisted it with all his might. The sculpture turned about face which let out a great shudder throughout the walls. Then advancing towards the bookshelf, ran his hands along the spines of the albums until stopping at one on the far right, mid level.
With unusual effort, he pulled the book back which slanted forward at an angle which gave out a shift behind the shelf in which it unhinged like a door. Behind, another passage way was revealed.
This passage way was even less accommodating, as it had only one torch seated against one of the bulkheads of stone that swallowed and housed the darkness. The man in the black tunic then took hold of the torch and made his way down.
After a slight pilgrimage through a musty atmosphere he came across a series of doors that were lined single file across each other. Once selecting the one desired, the hallways amplified the deep moan of the hinges with their unfeeling acoustics. The door was opened with a whine that sounded as though the very structure were in pain.
Within the dingy cubicle, was a chair holding up a figure, whose back was facing the black tunic with wrists tied to the arms of the chair and feet to the legs. The man seemed resting after what appeared to be strenuous abuse. For his face was bruised and swollen.
Walking behind him, the black tunic put the flames up to his bare ribs which caused a sizzle of the flesh. The sufferer snapped out of his meditation with an agonizing yell.
"I need details Eduardo." said the man in black.
Panting and pleading with all the want for his tortures to end, the man said, "Cyrus, have I not told you enough!? Why are you keeping me here?"
Cyrus lit one of the lanterns and replied while the burning wick illuminated his devitalized eyes, "A number of reasons; your failure being one of them."
Rattling the chair, the captive returned, "I swear what I told you was the truth!"
Turning around, Cyrus walked around him, "
Concerning 'her,' that I do believe, for I was there remember?" said he while gliding his hand across his shoulders until he reached the back of the neck.
He then grabbed the scalp and arced Eduardo's head back and whispered, "But there was one lone survivor that you are not informing me of." He then forced the head down with a shove.
Biting his lip, Eduardo replied, "I don't know…."
Cyrus shoved the torch into the side of his neck in which an ungodly scream followed. "Will that help you remember?" said the tyrant.
"I don't know WHAT I SAW!" yelled the afflicted Eduardo who rocked around ferociously in attempts to rid himself of the pain.
Cyrus then pulled a chair up in front of him, flipped it around and seated upon it with it backwards, "Well then, what DO you know what you saw?" said he with a pressing tone that was inconsiderate to his agony.
Failing to stay composed, Eduardo let tears fall as he attempted to account the memories that Cyrus wanted while fighting the gnash of the burn.
"I remember running through the woods to find the others, then I saw it, Una Loba gigante! She was ripping through the group as if they were insects. At first I thought it was her who butchered my men, Enrique and Hugo at the warehouse, but now….."
"Deadly creature, isn't she?" said Cyrus with a tone of dark enthusiasm.
He then leaned forward and held the flames under Eduardo's jaw which forced him to raise his head as far away from the torch as his neck would allow. "We hired you to bring us a kenrou corpse and what do I get? Two hostages and an incompetent coward!"
Eduardo trembled as the flickering blades of the torch were lightly lapping his chin, he could only beg, "Please you must understand…what I saw."
"I saw her too…!" returned Cyrus with hostile impatience.
"I fled because…" he began to show more trepidation when his mind was embracing a more terrifying factor.
"That brings me to my next question,' said the torturer, 'why were you running away?"
"El ejercito de un hombre." returned Eduardo with a fear that his words would be heard by another.
"Speak more sense." said Cyrus coldly as he began to lift the torch up and singe the flesh.
"THE MASKED MAN!" cried Eduardo.
Lowering the incendiary object Cyrus smiled, "Tell me more about him."
With a shuddering nod, Eduardo accounted, "When we were upon the group, the masked man stood between us and the target. I called out for them to go after the girl and not to worry about one foolish soul."
"And…?"
"As the group pushed past him he began to contend fiercely with them which gave us no choice but to have a few stay behind and deal with him."
"How many stayed behind?"
"At first roughly four, one even managed to slash his back, but he recovered and before I knew it, they fell one by one. I called out for others who turned and saw what was happening and soon he was outnumbered at least fifteen to one."
Cyrus raised an eyebrow, "He did not fall?"
Shaking his head, Eduardo gave trembling voice, "We had him almost overrun until….he changed…."
"Describe it to me."
Eduardo then began to give Cyrus all the details concerning the nightmare he witnessed ending with, "I stayed hidden and watched all of it, El hombre con ojos rojos! El es un diablo!"
Cyrus hovered his own hand over the flame and said with eagerness, "Extraordinary isn't he?"
Eduardo cocked his head as Cyrus arose and reset the chair, "You may call him, what was it; 'Hombre con ojos rojos?' I know him as 'The Warrior from the East.'"
"What?" exacerbated Eduardo with confusion.
"What you saw were two creatures that we have been tracking for some time. A surviving kenrou and one of the last of the Mu-haulen- Zhan-shen, who has thrown his lot in with the count."
Eduardo began to shake and scuffle as he attempted to break free from his restraints, "You knew?! When you hired us, La Mano Negro and the Hawks of Heizenberg, you made no mention of this!"
"Would you have believed me if I did?" returned the sly response of Cyrus.
"We were not prepared for that!' yelled the captive, 'how many men perished because of your neglect?!"
"Oh don't worry, their deaths will not be in vain for they have served a higher cause."
"What is it you are planning?"
"As I have said before,' said Cyrus, 'To save us all from certain ruin."
Eduardo cocked his head, "This….this is not the work of God. What is this really about?"
Cyrus rested an arm behind his back as he paced around, "We all serve beings greater than ourselves. However you shan't live long enough to know what it is you died for."
"YOU USED US!" screamed Eduardo while trying to quaver from the chair he was tied to. Then with all his spite and malice, cursed his tormentor, "Pieza de Mierda!"
Cyrus turned to him and thrust his boot into the man's chest forcing him to fall back harshly. "If you are to insult another, have the courage and decency to do so in their native tongue!" said he.
Gritting his teeth, the downed prisoner declared, "You think you will get away with killing me? Every mercenary from Trenni to Lumion will be after you once they find out what you've done."
"Once we succeed, not even God will stand in our way." said Cyrus with frigid animosity.
He then put a foot on Eduardo's shin and pressed down which raised the chair back up but caused great discomfort in the process.
"If you knew so much of your enemy then why do this to me? There is nothing new I have informed of you!" said the heavily flustered Eduardo.
"Because you gave us a solemn promise that you would accomplish the task even if you were the last one standing." said Cyrus with a tone that sent a surge of panic through Eduardo's bosom. "You fled, when knowing full well that every captain must go down with his ship."
"Burn in hell!" gritted Eduardo before spitting at the black tunic.
Cyrus then grabbed a lantern and walked to the door, "The world is going to burn either way,' said he, 'We are ensuring that there will be plenty of company."
He then lobbed the torch under the chair, in which the flames began to feast upon the new found fuel. Eduardo, when feeling the heat writhe underneath him, began to shuffle in a frenzy before falling over, immobilizing him. The fire began to spread and consume his wooden seat and spread to his clothes.
Cyrus then shut the door behind him, and could only hear the muffled echoes of Eduardo's dying screams bellow throughout the corridor. He then proceeded up to room that first led him to this dark torture chamber.
He forced the bookshelf shut and slid the slanted book back into place, which locked the mechanisms from re opening. Then went to the mantle and twisted the statue back into it's correct face.
"Did he get a good send off?" came an elegant voice from behind.
Cyrus turned to see an older gentlemen of sixty with neatly combed blonde hair and blue eyes that pierced all they set their gazes upon. "You could say that." said he.
Striding up to him, the fair one returned, "Well then, perhaps you can assist me in helping our newer guests settle in."
"How can I be of service Jurgen?" said Cyrus with a darkly sick tone.
"Well as you know, one of the most valued and admonished traits within my walls, is honesty." returned Jurgen with a polite yet sinister tone.
"I'll convince them to cooperate." replied the black tunic.
"Wonderful news!" said Jurgen clapping his hands together then turned and informed, "I shall lead the way."
Both men quitted the room and went through the hallways to the main hall until they went down to a sub level that held a modest whine cellar. Jurgen then took Cyrus to the tasting room and motioned his arm to go inside.
There he found two men, one with a bandage wrapped around the area above his knee, both with hands tied and on their knees.
Cyrus then haunched in front of them and said with a twisted smile, "Well then, Matthias and Lawrence, let us get started. First I shall lay down the rules of the house."
