Chapter 4: Silent Auditorium

As the days passed since Sebtrul Castle had been manned, Christoff had found himself more alone than not. Glenys was gone. He did not know where, only that she was dealing with some intricacies that adventurers had to deal with. Perhaps she was finally heading home, if he had to see her distasteful ears anymore he would have personally turned himself over to the Sorcerer King so that he may be executed.

He had little to say to the Baroness D'Artoria and her knightly kindred, nor did he find much worth in the stoic calculations that some of her kindred had come up with regarding how long they have left to survive.

Two people had consistently sought out his company however: A pleading refugee that they had picked up only a few days prior and the serenely lost presence of Nate. Christoff saw no use in speaking with the former anymore, all that the weeping mother had wanted was for them to search for her family. That was not what he was about to do, nor was it on the agenda. He was not an adventurer anymore, as he had told her if his name had been Laykus the outcome would be different.

As for Nate, Christoff thought that he would serve well enough merely by accompanying the whole group once they had left to cross the border when the time came.

The delays had been wearing Christoff's patience thin. The supplies they had, of course, had also been running thin. Had the kingdom not have fallen, they would have had the supplies they needed to already be on their way. Though with the boosted numbers, food was able to be found and that in itself was like a shipment of supplies.

And yet, Christoff waited. Impatient, but showing any signs of his temper. House Fridian had been preparing for the past few days to disembark to Argland. They had been adjusting to life outside of confinement once again. Things were exceeding as he had expected it to, even if it wasn't as fast as he had hoped.

His place was to oversee every item of requisition and he would embark on the journey without doing so. He felt no frustration doing his duty, after all in an environment like this everyone had a part to play. He only felt a concern that he would be better suited on the frontlines. Back in the formation that he had grown accustomed to, perhaps or even just taking a patrol through the capital.

The one thing that Christoff was not, was bored. He spent much of his time isolated away from everyone else. Here, Christoff had gone over the paperwork that he had created and counted each piece of weaponry and food that they had possessed and even came up with the proper amount they would need for when they decided to leave.

Still, when it came to the supplies diminishing hestill saw that more than anything else. Even as the remainder of the Kingdom around them had been broken down for supplies.

In reality, the one thing he was looking at was defeat. The Sorcerer King would surely see them crushed, even if they plan to take up arms, it would only be a gesture of defiance. The lack of spell casters they currently had and trained knights would be even worse, Christoff had honestly considered cutting his losses.

His pride as a knight and a former adventurer would not allow him to do the former, his kingdom had already been destroyed and he would be no better than Lord Ainz if he sent what little people remained into a devastated landscape.

Three knocks appeared on his door, echoing across the crudely built wooden door.

"Enter." Christoff said

He did not bother asking who it was, he could already tell by the knocking who it was.

"Christoff." Nate spoke, leaning against the wall that was near the door.

The sigh he had been holding back finally escaped his lips and he looked towards Nate.

"What is it?"

"In regards to the Blue Roses…is there nothing that you can do?"

What a dumb question.

Christoff shook his head and rolled his eyes

"If there was something that I could do, do you not think that I would have tried that?"

"Well…" Nate took a moment to think

"Well, what about Laykus? She is one of your kind is she not?" He finished, in this context kind refers to an adventurer.

Christoff felt his aggravation rising, he did what he could to control it and took a deep breath.

"One of mine? Like a pet? Like a giant dog that had just walked away from everything they knew.? 'Oh, Christoff come and get Laykus, she went and peed on the carpet again'. In this analogy, the carpet is all of our combined hope." He spat

"Is she, or is she not an adventurer?" Nate still pressed

"She is, but that does not mean I can get into contact with her whenever I please."

Outside of the Castle, the mist had been growing thicker and thicker. It is unknown what could have been causing such an occurrence but given the recent events it did not take much thought at all. The smoke stacks still filled the horizon while the eerie silence filled the lands, birds had barely been chirping anymore.

One such glance would be lodged in someone's mind like a knapped shard of flint. A gleaming, reflective blade in which they saw this dead and nameless kingdom, a hollow land and a plaintive message from a time already layered with mythic allegory, like a sunken wreck overtaken by the encrustation of deep-water denizens.

Glenys had walked through the forest, approaching a towering arch and paused to examine the carvings."'They resemble musical notes." she spoke, her head tilted to the side as he followed their course with a finger in the air, like an orchestral conductor. "Every block is a song within a greater work, a choral symphony rendered in stone and sung by those who trod its byways"

This would be the only calming thing that she would see, she had set out once again to head back to her lands alone. For obvious reasons.

She took a final glance at the archway before walking away, there she approached a clearing which housed yet another village. From the looks of it, there used to be a few farms that had been set up in this area for reasons unknown to her.

The smell was unbearable.

Rotting and burning flesh tingled her senses, almost making her vomit. She had smelled plenty of foul things before as an adventurer but this, this was one of the worst.

At the initial village when she met the two soldiers, she was there when the attack broke out and hid in the closet doing whatever she could to mask her presence to the undead that attacked and the ones that had turned.

Perhaps it was a good time to head back after all….though she was an adventurer, she was used to a group. Adventuring solo was not a forte of hers.

And head back she did, navigating through the mist and the other unspoken horrors that could have possibly laid waste.

"You are far from my expectations." Christoff said. "I wished for an adventurer."

Glenys was standing in the doorway, slightly puzzled by how the man was acting. It was like he didn't even glance at her. Immediately she regretted her decision to speak with him.

"I am an adventurer." She said, struggling to find the pride in her voice.

"You really are far from my expectations." Christoff said, finally meeting her gaze of course with his helmet on. If he were to take it off, he would uncover a face that was rather young and smooth though had its share of scarring. "I am Christoff, are you truly an adventurer?"

He finally introduced himself to her after all this time, though the word adventurer has stabbed at the half-elf as if it was a stabbing wound from a sword and she was not sure why.

"I am Glenys and yes, I am an adventurer." She finally replied "You sound…disappointed." She spoke, struggling to find the right words.

"That is because I am. I expected to find an adventurer who had some knack for fighting and I found a scared abomination. If you wish to prove yourself, you had best get yourself armed."

Glenys had hated the hope that was surging through her at his words. Yes, she had been insulted but for her she would have a party to go back to after all this time.

"I assume you are aware that fighting is practically useless and the laws of E-Rantel in current times may have spread here."

"I will spare you a lesson in where Lord Ainz's authority truly lies in our own nation. Now arm yourself at once, Glenys."

With reluctance, Glenys had lifted her hands showing a massive scar that was from the elbows down. Her fingers twitched as if it was on cue. Christoff looked for a few seconds and then blinked a few times.

"Is there some significance in your mutilation that I am supposed to acknowledge?"

Glenys lowered her hands once again "I have trouble swinging a sword, my hands do not obey me as they once did." She wondered if she was being mocked, but she could not guess to what purpose that was to. She was right after all, she should have just spoken to Nate.

"Your invalidity is noted. Now go arm up, once you are ready you will be coming with me."

"I still do not understand, where are we going?"

"That will come in time, obedience should come first." Christoff gave another of his classic long, emotionless stares even though he was wearing a helmet she could feel it.

"Christoff?" She asked one more time.

"I am still waiting for you." Christoff had replied "My patience is not infinite, Glenys."

'How?' She thought to herself 'How could someone be acting like this even when there is nothing left?

"She moved to the door.

"Gleyn is fine, thank you."

"If you wish. I agree calling you by your full name is insanely theatrical especially for a cripple.

Glenys finally felt her blood boiling, the first stirrings of anger that dwelled within her and it was a very welcoming thing.

"Christoff, you are one of the first Soldiers next to Nate I have spoken to. Were all of your kind so direct?"

"Are all of your kind so intoxicated with self pity?" He spoke, sounding as if he might smile. "Now please, be swift. You are not the only lost person I need to reclaim."

"Lost Person?" She questioned, practically spitting

"We are heading to another Castle further to the west. Undoubtedly within territory owned by the Sorcerer Kingdom."

Glenys finally walked out, exhaling a sigh as she left.

In Nate's eyes, Christoff saw a wealth of purest, depthless hatred. A hatred not formed from one action and one event, but a chemical cauldron of emotion strong enough to twist even the calmest, most composed soldier that he had ever known. Anger flared in those eyes, of course. More than anger, it was rage. Frustration tainted it further; the desperation of not understanding why this was happening, and the ferocity of one who still believes he might find a way to stop it.

This was correct, as Glenys left he saw the hurt in her eyes and that made him feel the worst. He hated Half Elves, but he was never one to say such things even when one was clearly a warrior. These thoughts had also poisoned itself into the mix of other emotions that had been swirling around for days now.

He truly had changed in the recent events, for the worst in most cases.

As the footsteps died down, he removed his helmet with trembling hands. A tear slowly formed at the corner of his eye and then fell soon after. He was crying? Indeed, Christoff was often like this when he was alone. He regretted how cold the past few days had made him, he hated how his kingdom fell so quickly and worst of all, he hated that no matter how much he tried to force himself to go back to how he once was, it was to no avail.

It seemed as if all that remained of him was an empty shell with the former occupant gone. The new occupant feels that they are already too far gone and with the kingdom gone there is no choice but to embrace the current path that he walks. It is almost as if he has given up all hope and chose to embrace this rebellious idea, excommunicating everything else

These moments of weakness were the only visage of the past regarding Christoff. The once noble and proud soldier who served his Kingdom and could feel an arrangement of emotions, came out in moments like this.

Had this world possessed dark god's whose influence you could fall to, Christoff would be well on his way.

Christoff is driven by the need for salvation, not his own, though surely that at a subconscious level, that plays its part. Christoff wants salvation for the entirety of the kingdom that has now been destroyed. It is not as if he was looking to be forgiven by the now dead king. and say 'I was doing it for you all along'. No, he is a long, long way past that point, if he was ever at that point at all.

He wants salvation for his Kingdom in that he wants to save them from the forces that have enslaved, mutated and twisted them. He wants them to go back to how they were: a kingdom that was doing just fine under King Ramposa

The inherent power vacuum that always was at the forefront of every noble's mind, how poorly equipped the soldiers were, the land that had already fallen to the Sorcerer Kingdom after the Katze Plains incident, and the consequences of his own disastrous actions: he wants to undo it all, and make the Kingdom wholeagain. This goal consumes him utterly and completely. He just wants to put things right, not for himself, but for his fellow people.

Christoff exhales a bit and looks towards the ceiling, he wonders if there is even a point in trying this. He wants to get as many people out alive as he can but at the same time he also wants revenge. Revenge on forces that could spell their defeat with just their pinky finger.

'How different things would be if we did not give up our Fortress-City.' He thought, however, this thought was only a what if scenario. Even if Re-Estize had not given up E-Rantel, the outcome would have likely been the same.

All that extra politics didn't matter. He knew them by one thing. Traitors. That is all they were to him.

In the blink of an eye, his mind swirled back embracing the raging virago that resided in it. Oh how he wished he could lead a siege against those damned traitors.

A glorious one at that.

As his mind continued down the rocky path it was on, he heard footsteps approaching and immediately threw his helmet back on breaking out of the trance that caught him..

"Christoff" The Voice said before it even reached the door, clearly out of breath.

"There is a situation, you must come quick. We have visitors."