Before we were even near the only town in the Dark Lands, I could feel that it was not a very great place. We were already starting to see strange shady people standing in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of the town. Some only stared as we passed by. Others tried to sell us items that were considered illegal in Draconia, such that contained evil magicks. I actually had an encounter with a pale young woman who wore too much eye makeup. As I passed by, she grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.
"Hey there good-lookin'… What are you, a prince or somethin'? Your clothes are awfully fancy…" she said.
"I can't stay around… Please let me go," I pleaded.
"Oh, you said 'please…' How about this… I've been lookin' for a little 'pleasure' for a while now… Decent travelers are rare out here. Satisfy me, and I may let you go." She put her hand on my chest and sighed. I pushed her away and she dropped to the ground.
"I said that I can't stay… Keep searching, woman, and I'll go on my way… Besides, you're not my type." I turned away and hurried to catch up with the others.
"Cryos, what's gotten into you?" Keia asked as I approached.
"What do you mean? She tried to sell herself to me! I have some more important things to take care of," I said.
"Just keep moving," Keia said.
"This is what I like to call 'The Town of Lawlessness,'" Ryth said as we stepped up to the city gates. "I'm not sure if the gates are meant to keep travelers out, or to keep the evil in." As he said that, someone was sent flying over the wooden gates.
"I'd say that it's not so great at keeping people in," I said.
"What is your purpose here?" a voice asked from behind. Rona tried to hide his face. I turned around and noticed a guard; however, he had no skin or muscle. He was a skeletal guard. "You!" he shouted and pointed a sickly spear at me. "I asked, what is your business here?"
"Let me do the talking," Vegance said and stepped in front of me. "We are sick of the unfair treatment provided by the Draconian Kingdom… We seek a new life under Necril's power, perhaps a chance at revenge…"
"Aren't you all? Welcome to our town… It's not much, but it's okay if you hate good," the guard said. "Open the gates!" Two other skeletal guards came from nowhere and pulled the gates open themselves. The first thing that I noticed was the dirtiness of the streets, and then the shabbiness of the buildings, and then the overall gloominess of the town and citizens themselves. Vegance led us all in. The guards closed the gates behind us with a loud creaking sound. All of the townsfolk that loitered near the gate eyed us with suspicion. I waved at one particular man, and my greeting was met with a wet ball of spit.
"I already don't like this place," I said.
"Just think like a villain and you'll do alright," Vegance said. "We'll just spend a night in the most secure inn, and then we leave in the morning."
"If we're still alive," I mumbled. I felt the pressure of many eyes on me, almost as though everyone knew who I was. I wanted to ask where the inn was, but I had a feeling that no one would be kind enough to help me. Instead, Vegance did the asking. She randomly went into an anger fit, as though she were lost or confused, and then grabbed a nearby man by his shirt collar and threw him against the wall. She morphed into a huge black panther and stared him down. When it was obvious he was frightened, she tightened her grip.
"Look," she said. "I'm looking for the inn… Tell me where it is, or I'll tear you in two!"
The man whimpered and pointed down the street. "The inn is called the Black Beauty… Please let me go…"
Vegance dropped the man to the ground and morphed back into her natural form. "Thank you kindly, sir." The man clambered to his feet and ran away quickly. Vegance turned back to us. "See? Easy."
"That was terrifying… And random," I said.
"When you're an ex-villain, you get pretty good at being bad… Just look at Rona." Vegance pointed at Rona, who appeared to be locked up in a verbal argument. "He knows how to have fun here." The man Rona was yelling at pushed him and drew his sword. Rona drew his sword as well. The man swung his sword, which Rona promptly sidestepped. Rona swung around behind the man and pushed him forward, and then he thrust his sword through the man's back. In one motion, Rona pushed his sword down the length of the man's back, spilling his blood (among other things) all over the ground. Rona drew his sword back and put it away. He left the man to die as he joined us.
"Rona, was that necessary?" Ryth asked.
"He started it… I finished it. Do we know where the inn is?" Rona replied.
"Yes, we do," Vegance stated. "I 'obtained' the info, hopefully from a reliable source… People tend to be fairly reliable when their lives are threatened."
"Shouldn't we be moving?" I asked.
"We're going!" Vegance exclaimed and led us once more. Before I followed, I could not help but notice a group of men watching me, pointing, and whispered from an alleyway. I pretended not to notice.
The Black Beauty was nothing majorly extraordinary. It was a two-story building just as shabby as the rest of the town, with a rusty sign hanging just over the doors. The doors, I imagined, looked a lot like the old saloon doors that you would see in pictures of the old Draconian capitol. The sounds of men singing and women screaming in delight could be heard inside.
"Well, ain't this a great place to stay?" Vegance asked.
"You can't expect someplace perfect in a town without law," Rona said. "It will have to do."
"Will we force our way into a room?" Keia asked.
"Ooh! I wanna try!" Ryth shouted. We all turned to stare at Ryth.
"Ryth, you be evil?" Rona said. He actually smiled, the first time I had ever seen him smile. "Ha… That's amusing."
"I've been watching you, Rona… I can do it."
"Well, if you think you can do it… Show us what you can do," Vegance said.
"In that case, you are all my lackeys," Ryth said. He tried not to smile, but failed.
"We're doomed," I whispered to Keia. She nodded in agreement.
Ryth started us off by kicking through the inn doors, and then almost stumbling and falling down on his face. He immediately regained his balance, however. As he looked around, everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing and focused on Ryth. Ryth walked silently up to the counter and gave a somewhat menacing glare at the innkeeper. She looked back at him with a stare that was twice as menacing.
"Are ya looking fer a room, or are ya just another troublemaker?" she asked.
"I'm…" Ryth cleared his throat and deepened his voice a bit. "I'm lookin' for a room, see, and no one in this joint had better mess with me or my lackeys…" He eyed the most fearsome looking men in the corner of the room and scowled at them. "Wouldn't want no one ta get hurt… Would ya?"
The innkeeper laughed. "Yeah, like you could hurt someone… Says the big bad fox who's not even wearin' pants!" She burst out laughing, followed by the rest of the room. When she stopped laughing, so too did everyone else. "How're ya gonna pay?"
"Because I say so… I ain't payin'. I'm takin' the room by force, see?" Ryth declared. The innkeeper stood up from behind her desk. She was tall and clearly twice Ryth's size. Ryth cowered in fear.
Vegance stepped up beside Ryth and patted him on the shoulder. "Here, let me take care of this." She pushed Ryth aside and stared the innkeeper in the eyes. "You'll have to excuse him… He thinks he's bad, but he's pretty damn useless sometimes."
"Hey!" Ryth shouted. Vegance turned around and winked at us.
"Wait… I know your voice… Vegance? Is that you?" the innkeeper asked.
"Huh? Sahra? Is that you?" Vegance asked in response. She smiled. "My, you've put on some weight… How many years has it been?"
The innkeeper sat back down. "It's been quite a few… Since you and Rona left, this town's turned pretty ugly."
"And to think, I was gonna have to knock ya out," Vegance said with a smile. "Rona's here too." Rona, who had been hiding his face this whole time, unveiled himself.
"Ah, Rona, you've been gone awhile… How've ya been?"
"I've been undisturbed for a while… Suddenly, I'm dragged back out into the world again. Are we getting a room, or not?"
"Sure thing! Y'all can have our master suite, big enough for six, on the house… And I promise ya, ain't no one gonna bother y'all 'less they get through me."
"Thank you kindly," Vegance said. "C'mon 'lackeys…' We're going to sleep well tonight." She started up the stairs, followed by Rona, Keia, and Ryth. Ceae looked at me once before following. I could not shake the feeling that someone in this room had been eyeing me since the moment I walked in… I went upstairs without another thought.
I was sleeping well until I was rudely awakened. I looked around aimlessly to try and determine who had woken me up, but all I saw were unfamiliar faces. When one of them realized I was awake, he hit me in the stomach. I was devoid of air, so I could not scream. My hands had already been tied, and as I gasped for air, one of the larger of them shoved something in my mouth and dragged me onto the floor. I tried to struggle free, but a sharp blow to my head knocked out all feeling I had left. I was still conscious, however, and I could hear what was going on. No one came to my rescue… I could not determine why. I was dragged down the inn stairs and out into the street. When my vision returned, I noticed that I was being dragged by my feet. Three men in dark cloaks took up the lead, and two men carrying toothed blades were following behind. I heard someone shouting orders to the men who dragged me. I tried to struggle again, but I was unable to move anything below my neck. I still could not cry for help. The streets were oddly empty… I was dragged into an empty apartment building and taken upstairs. Two men standing guard opened a door, and I was set up in a chair. My hands were untied and the gag was removed.
"Stay here, and don't move!" one of the men demanded and then started to laugh. As though I really could move… I sat motionless for awhile. The room was pitch black except for a pair of glowing white eyes that must have belonged to two extremely tall figures. I heard the door open behind me, and then a small light in the middle of the room came on. I could partially make out the two tall figures in the room. Both were glaring at me: one wore armor with demonic spikes, and the other wore much less. Both had an aura of mixed darkness, lightning, and fire. From one glance, anyone could tell that they were heavily muscled. A man stepped up between the two creatures and smiled at me.
"Welcome, Cryos… You're free to move, but if you try to escape, my Nightmares here will evaporate you," the man said and pointed to the two tall figures beside him. He snapped his fingers and I felt my muscles relax. "Please, make yourself at home… Get up, walk around, stretch your legs a bit…"
"Your 'Nightmares' won't jump on me?" I asked while clutching the arms of the chair.
"No, no… Not unless you start for the door," the man said. I stood up and walked around the room while still staring at the Nightmares. I stretched and yawned.
"So… Who are you, and what is so important that you had to have me dragged from my bed and down the street in the middle of the night?" I asked.
"My name is Dave, and I needed to speak to you about something," the man said.
"Dave? That's not a Draconian name… It almost sounds simple."
"I blame my parents… I was adopted." Dave stepped forward and stuck out his hand. I looked down at his hand. "Go on, take it… A handshake is considered a formal greeting where I'm from." I took his hand and he shook mine.
"For a guy who seems to want me dead, you seem so polite…"
"It's because I need you. I can't have you killed just yet…" Dave let go of my hand. "At least hear what I have to say."
"Go on… I'm listening."
"I know what you're trying to do, Prince. My men in your castle have reported everything to me… You're out searching for Necril here, aren't you?"
I nodded. "You have people in the castle spying on me?"
"Well, more like Shadows… They keep watching from some of the least likely of places."
"'Shadows?' Are they Darklings?"
"A fairly new breed. They've been tracking you all along… In a way, they brought you upon Vegance."
"I was led?"
"Stop interrupting!" Dave shouted. He took a deep breath. "Lemme finish." Dave cleared his throat. "I've known the whereabouts of Vegance all along… After all, I created her." He paused to allow me reaction time. I only stared blankly. "Anyways, I know what you're thinking… Yes. I am Necril's brother, the very same that had the 'Create-a-Darkling' contest… I never really liked Necril. He always tries to outdo me… He would've had it with Rona, had he not given him a heart."
"Rona was given a heart… And he turned on him."
"Yes! And now, he travels with you. The very opposite he was intended to do, for sure… I'm willing to offer you something."
"Offer? You're evil! I refuse to side with evil…"
"I'll offer anyways… I want you to find out the truth behind Necril… I can't just tell you, because it'll ruin the surprise. I want you to get in there and discover the truth, about Necril, about Draconia, everything… Information is power, Cryos, so you can have it all if you're just willing to join forces with me…"
"I'll never do such a thing…"
"Oh, but you'll see… Less people will die this way."
"Lies! I'll not do such a thing… I'm leaving." I started for the door, despite the sound of the Nightmares growling at me. I heard Dave order them to stand down.
"Don't worry Cryos! You'll discover the truth, one way or another! It's part of your Destiny!" Dave shouted as I stormed out of the room. I headed down into the streets almost ran into Keia.
"Cryos!" Keia shouted at me and hugged me. "You had me worried… What happened?"
"I was kidnapped… Spoken to by Necril's brother," I said.
"Necril's brother? The one that created Vegance?"
"Yeah. He wanted me to join with him and help him defeat Necril…"
"What an odd request… Is he evil?"
"Definitely… He's even invented new breeds of Darklings. I don't know why he wants me to help him kill his brother."
"'Darkness corrupts' is what Rona said… Darkness has made him hungry for power, no doubt…" Keia looked off to the side. "Just come back to bed. We'll tell Vegance in the morning before heading off to Necril's Keep."
"Okay… I need my sleep anyways." I took Keia's hand and we walked back to the inn together. We headed back up to our room and fell asleep quickly.
"So explain it again… What happened, from the start?"
"Cryos was kidnapped last night, and had a conversation with Necril's brother." I woke up to the sounds of voices, particularly Keia's and Vegance's. When I lifted my head, Vegance came over to my bedside.
"Is this true?" Vegance asked.
"Huh?" I blinked at her sleepily.
"Is it true that you were kidnapped last night?"
"Uh… It feels like a dream, but it must have been real… Yeah. His name was Dave… He wanted me to join him in killing Necril."
"Killing Necril? That's our job," Ryth said. "Why would he do the same?"
"Dave's always been a bit strange, and even jealous of his brother," Vegance explained. "Maybe he knows something we don't?"
"Well, he kept telling me that I'll find out the truth… And less people would die if I joined him."
"That doesn't make sense, though," Keia said. "If 'Dave' is evil, killing Necril will make room for him."
"How about we just kill him now?" I asked.
"No," Vegance said. We all turned to face her. "We deal with Necril now, Dave later. If Necril's working on a second Rona, perhaps without a heart… He'll have a loyal and impossible to defeat minion… Dave was never as good as Necril."
"Then we stick to the original mission?" Ryth asked.
"No choice… We take out Necril, and all others following him should fall as well. We head to Necril's Keep as soon as possible."
"We're ready for travel," Rona said. "We move now."
"I was thinking the same thing… I want out of this town," I said. We all gathered our belongings and hurried out of the inn. We followed the street to the other end of the town and out through the gate. It was strange because the back gate had no guards. It also had much fewer people. Once again, we were out in the darkness searching for Necril's Keep. Rona, however, seemed very anxious to get there. He led us at a rapid pace.