AN: Sorry I'm late. This Chapter needed a bit more work than I thought. Plus, I was busy getting gifts for my family. It's that Christmas craziness. You know how it is.

Hope you're ready for another lackluster Carys Chapter! Yaaaaaaay!

In all seriousness, I think this is actually a great Chapter full of humor and interest. It's certainly a Carys Chapter I liked to write, beginning to end.

I also noticed a poll I've had up for over a year and forgot about. Since Part IV ended. It was for Favorite My Craft Arc. Halstatt won, by the way, but I'm betting the numbers might change if I included the Darkest Arc into the mix. (^_^)

Anyway, it's still Wednesday and I've got people waiting to check for spelling mistakes on this. (You know who you are). Sorry for the delay and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Minecraft. If I did, I'd have Parrots as Messenger Pigeons.

Chapter 173

Fishing

[Noman]

The third day of our journey, October 20th, started with exhaustion and heavy rainfall. At Carys' insistence, we rode through the night and sunrise, dispatching Mobs left and right. We were no strangers to traveling without sleep—having done so in our mad dash to Ringwood prior to the Wither summoning—but it was taxing all the same. The Paragons never once showed fatigue. They were well used to it, and seemed to draw from an endless pool of stamina.

But, through the miles and miles of ground we covered, by noon we finally reached the Village of Westmarch. We stopped atop a wooded hill overlooking the village. Instead of a wall, it was surrounded by a shallow moat traversable by a set of four wooden bridges, one on each cardinal direction. The moat didn't have any water and wasn't too deep, but had seven or eight Iron Golems patrolling it. Any Mobs that fell in would be dispatched immediately. A wall would be better, but the Iron Golems seemed able to defend Westmarch all the same. That meant there were Testificates inside.

The houses itself were made of wood and cobble and arranged in a grid-like pattern. The village's size was moderate. Nothing too special.

Instead of descending to the village and getting out of the rain, however, the Paragons dismounted their steeds at Carys' behest.

"What's the holdup? We've been riding all night." Soul complained, thoroughly soaked. "All I want to do is flop onto a bed and sleep like a log, and you've got us stopped here with our thumbs up our asses."

"Language." I chastised wearily. I was as tired as Soul was. We all were.

"Oh me oh my, do the infants need naptime?" Carys mocked with a sickeningly sweet smile before her expression twisted back to annoyance. "Marshal your strength. We still have work to do."

Soul muttered traitorously while the Paragons listened intently. The Angel of Death pointed to the village at the bottom of the hill.

"That's the village of Westmarch. It marks the westernmost border of Ringwood. Beyond that is the Redbone Desert, which we'll be crossing to reach Exter in the shortest time possible."

I let out an internal high-pitched keen at hearing we'd be crossing the desert. The blistering days and icy nights, coupled with the lack of food, would be no picnic.

"Before we proceed with that," Carys went on, "I've decided Westmarch is a good opportunity to do a little bit of fishing."

"What are you playing at?"

Carys sent Soul a quizzical look.

"You're suggesting we fish without our star fisherman? What's the sense in that?"

There was a long pause of silence in which Carys closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"…I'm gonna forget I heard that." She finally said before continuing. "Fishing, for those of you too brain-dead to figure out, is a type of trapping method to catch cultists. The low-end grunts are numerous, but don't ever reveal themselves to fight unless they're sure they'll win. They won't dare attack a well-armed group like ours. So what we like to do is dangle seemingly weak and defenseless bait for them to gobble up. Once they show themselves, we encircle and attack. We fight a bunch, we kill a few, we interrogate the rest and then kill them too. It's a cakewalk."

"Pft. I'd like to see the sorry suckers they pick as defenseless bait." Soul whispered as an aside.

"The bait this time will be Nowhere_Man and Lost_Soul."

"Ha, they're—wait, that's us!" Soul realized. "How come we look defenseless?"

"You mean besides the cat rubbing its face on your leg?"

"Cat-Face is purely marking his territory!" He defended hotly.

"This is largely a test." Carys explained further. "I want to see how the cultists react to you and Noman. If the Endward Cult's passed on all their intel, they should recognize the Beginners—particularly Noman—as high-value targets. Dangerous, but noteworthy. Floyd can't go because of the wanted posters and because the grunts won't challenge a Hacker."

"Assuming there are any cultists in Westmarch at all." I pointed out.

"Oh, there will be. Westmarch is a well-known cultist outpost. I'd say ten percent of the village's population wears black-leather caps."

She said it so matter-of-factly that I couldn't dare contest her. Soul, however, expressed his concerns.

"We've heard plenty of that malarkey working with the Silver Intent. 'Oh, there are cultists here, there are cultists there.' It's been bullshit every time."

"Unlike the Silver Intent," Anibal chimed in, "we have a trustworthy information network. Any intel regarding the Endward Cult passes through our network into Jillian's hands. She then relays the news to us via map message." Anibal held up a map proudly. "There are no wild goose chases from her. Every lead she throws us has been solid."

"There's a correlation between missing villagers and imported supplies." Kalmarin added. "Armor, weapons, ink sacs, and potion ingredients keep getting shipped to Westmarch. People keep disappearing. It shows all the signs of cultist activity."

"But then," I started, "why have you not liberated this place? You know about the cultists. Why not put a stop to them?"

"Because that'd defeat the purpose." Carys said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Those cultists will know about other outposts. Larger outposts—the ones we don't yet know about. If we wiped them all out here, we'd save one small village, but lose a source of cultists to interrogate. It's better to keep them within our reach. Better the enemy we know."

"And what about the 'disappearances'?" I demanded. "You just continue to let people die to the cult?"

"Saving them would alert the cultists." Carys growled back. "The grunts would go to ground and we'd have nothing but the accolades of a backwater village. I somehow doubt they'd be useful in a fight."

"So you just leave them to it?" I snapped, my voice rising. "All life is precious! If you have the power to keep them from becoming sacrifices, you should do something! I thought that was what the Paragons were about!"

"The Paragons are about getting vengeance on the Endward Cult." Carys spoke absolutely. "That means wiping them all out in the best way possible. I can't be concerned with an oceanful of minnows when there's a big fat marlin further out. So long as Westmarch has cultists, we have a renewable source of intel about the Endward Cult. That's more important than the lives of everyone in that village."

I was appalled. Here the Paragons were, content to let innocent villagers die to cultists simply because they had bigger fish to fry.

"You… You can't mean that…" I tried. "Zeppil… You freed Zeppil from the Southern Division—?"

"This again?" Carys muttered angrily. "I'll tell you what I told those sheeple. I didn't save Zeppil for their sake. I attacked the Southern Division because that was a quarter of the Endward Cult. They shower me with praises and gifts, but for what? They should have saved themselves! Everybody should save themselves instead of waiting around for me to do it!" She pointed at Westmarch. "I'm not swooping in to save their asses because what's the lesson in that? Wait around to be saved and eventually it'll happen? This isn't a fairy tale! This isn't the Age of Heroes! It's the Age of Get Off Your Ass and Save Yourself! And you know what? They'll be stronger for it."

"Well I disagree." I shot back. "Not everyone's born on the battlefield like you." At those words, Carys' expression turned livid. Her crimson eyes looked capable of burning holes through my skull. Still, I continued. "You should protect those who can't protect themselves. If we're here, we should take care of Westmarch's cultist problem."

"Hoh?" Carys asked dangerously. "You saying you're gonna disobey me and root out cultists?"

Soul and Floyd stood behind me, supportive.

"If I must."

"Fair enough." Carys nodded, stepping aside and flashing a shark-like smile. "Go right ahead. Play hero."

The sudden politeness was more terrifying than any glare she could have given. I shuffled hesitantly and behind me Soul and Floyd did the same. The Paragons just looked on, though Anibal was smirking as if privy to a private joke.

"Of course, it won't be you who's paying for this disobedience." Carys went on as I took my first step. She waved her map tauntingly. "No matter how fast you are, I'm betting you won't be fast enough for me to send a map message to Baltic to kill your four-eyed archer, Lenzington." I froze at the threat. "If all life is precious as you say, I'm curious to see who takes more precedence: Your friend or the villagers of Westmarch?"

"You low-down—!"

"It's your choice." She cut off, her scythe drawn and pointed at us. "Fall in line or your friends will face the consequences. I won't tolerate insubordination, gentlemen. You'll do what I say or else."

Reluctantly, I backed down and lowered my head. Beside me, Floyd and Soul did the same. Cat-Face hissed, arching his back at the Angel of Death. She wore a satisfied expression.

"Good. Now, back to business." She pointed with her scythe. "Noman and Soul. You'll enter into Westmarch. Alone. Go about your business and act natural. Go shopping, take in the sights, share a table for a lunch date, I don't give a fuck. Just make sure you're relaxed. If you let on you know you're being watched, the cultists will detect it's a trap. Wait until, say, sunset before you leave town. If all goes to plan, a contingent of cultists will follow you and we'll be able to arrange a nice ambush."

"Sounds like a risk." Soul noted suspiciously.

"I mean, if you want to be little girls about it, yeah." Anibal taunted, earning a laugh from Carys that had Soul's blood boiling. "Relax greenhorn. We'll be watching you like hawks. You'll come out of it just fine."

"And remember," Carys specified, "you're to take the fight outside of the village. We can't ambush them within, otherwise there will be witnesses and the Cult will learn of our alliance. I can't stress enough how much of a problem that will be, both for our group and Cobb's."

We accepted with a nod, knowing there was little else we could do. Soul, however, had one last thing to say.

"We might need emeralds to get in and do shopping. Do you still have our Silk Touch Golden Shovel? We could sell some grass blocks."

"You mean this shovel?" Anibal asked, holding up the very shovel Soul mentioned.

"Yeah!"

"Sorry. We don't have it." Anibal pocketed it back in her backpack and walked off with an innocent whistle. Soul fumed and had to hold Cat-Face back from scratching the dark-skinned thief.

"Alright, enough chit-chat." Carys ordered with a jerk of her head. "Get down there and act enticing."

[Floyd]

While Soul and Noman went into the village, I was told (ordered more like it) to be on standby. We would watch and wait until they left the village, then catch up covertly to properly set up an ambush for tailing cultists. The secret to this fishing business was not to let the prey know they were swimming into a trap.

Cobb would appreciate the fishing metaphors if not for Carys making them. I wondered what he'd think of our blips splitting up. Probably nothing good.

Truthfully, I didn't trust Carys to act before Soul and Noman were in any danger, but disobeying her meant Lenz's life would be forfeit. I could always use Speed to get them out of any tight spot they found themselves in. Plus, Noman had two artifacts—they'd be fine.

In the meantime, I figured I'd try and start on my new Hack. I wanted Strength badly. Having it would mean no more paralysis (so long as I mastered Speed as well). I separated myself from the Paragons to focus, coming across a simple clearing with a tiny, shallow pond. The rain fell in torrents, but it sounded peaceful without the crackle of lightning.

I breathed in deeply and closed my eyes, thinking of the feeling of strength. What did strength mean to me? When did I feel strongest? When did I feel weakest? What did I envision as the epitome of strength?

I asked myself these questions while breathing in and out. Somewhere within laid the key to unlocking a new power. It was just a matter of having the right mindset…

"Ah, there you are."

My eyes snapped open as I whirled upon the interloper. Who else but the Paragons' Hacker: Kalmarin_the_Prophet.

"I've been looking for you."

"Well, I haven't been looking for you." I countered. "Do you mind leaving me alone? Or are you going to threaten Lenz unless I hear you out?"

"And here I thought you'd be more passive without the artifact wielder as backup." He tipped his fedora and I turned around to glare at him. "Be honest. Do you hate me?"

The question was so out of the blue that I had to pause for a second to replay it in my head. "No, why would…" I thought about it a bit more before realization hit. "Ah. You mean about abandoning your post at the Origin."

It wasn't hard to figure out that Kalmarin had been the one in charge of bringing freshly spawned Hackers to the Hack Clan. For whatever reason, he left and joined with Carys, allowing many Hackers to set off into the world without a clan to call their own.

"Yeah." He nodded. "So? Do you blame me for it?"

"Sure do." I replied before attempting to center my thoughts. "But I don't resent you for it. On the contrary, I'm grateful you didn't stay on watch."

"…Really?"

"Because you weren't there, I got to learn on my own and make some life-long friends." I spoke fondly. "I used to think these dark lines meant that something was wrong with me. Like, I was born with bad blood. Moreso when I heard all the awful things the Hack Clan was responsible for. But now…"

"…Now you know it's not you, it's them." He finished.

"Actually, yeah." I fixed him with a quizzical stare. "How'd you figure that out?"

"Does it matter?"

"I dunno." I shrugged. "I don't usually come across a Hacker that treats Crafters like anything other than insects, let alone one that started with the Hack Clan only to wind up good."

"I'm one of a kind." He admitted. "Though, I'd rather we keep our histories to ourselves."

"Fine by me." I sighed. "When I think of what could've happened had I joined the Hack Clan at the start… it frightens me." I shivered. "It's not being on the side of killers that scares me. It's being one of them and not even thinking I'm a bad guy. I would just go on squashing Crafters like bugs like it's the most normal thing in the world."

"Yeah, I was a lot like that for a while." He admittedly softly. "I try to forget, but… well…" He shook his head. "Notch, it's cold out here. Anyway, I came here for a reason. Carys wants me to help train your Hack."

My eyes widened. "What!? Carys said that?" It didn't make sense to want to make your enemies stronger. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is that I'm saddled with it." He noted dryly. "I didn't ask for the job, but I'm the only Hacker she's got, and she'd rather your power be an asset than a liability. That means we need to train it up to snuff."

I considered his words, wondering how much I should admit to or whether I should accept.

"…How many Hacks do you have?"

"I'm a Level 2." He held up two fingers. "I got Enderport and Strength. Though, I used to have Regen—"

"Used to? You can lose Hacks?" I couldn't hide my interest. "How? Can I lose my Hacks if I'm not careful?"

"It has to do with an emotional upheaval. A great shock or when you're rocked to your core. It's not something that can happen to you in a blink." He assured. "You won't be losing your Hacks, but that doesn't mean we can't Temper them. I assume you know about Tempering Hacks?"

"Yeah. Sandra and Winslow taught me the basics." I frowned thinking about those two. "Really, I've been trying to Evolve—awaken a new Hack. Strength."

"Ah, still sore about getting paralyzed by Carys?" He guessed, tipping his hat. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but you won't be achieving Strength anytime soon. Not without some serious effort."

"What do you mean?"

"Strength is all about responsibility. Independence. Not taking shit from nobody."

"Alright…"

"You're not going to feel that under Carys' thumb." He pointed out as if it was obvious. "She's ordering you around and holding your guild mate's life over you. That's about as far from calling your own shots as you can get."

I deflated after hearing that. I could see his point, though. How was I supposed to feel strong following the orders of another? But then, Kalmarin followed her orders, and he didn't lose his Strength. Maybe because they treated each other closer to equals. He was the leader of Team Alpha with subordinates that followed his command.

And Cobb had placed me in charge of the western group. He tasked me with keeping them safe. He trusted me with that responsibility. I was strong enough to be entrusted.

"Whoa, hey! Look at yourself!" Kalmarin shouted.

I snapped out of my thoughts and glanced at my arms. Dark smoke had begun to coalesce and thicken, forming a layer along one of them. It looked a bit bigger than usual.

However, the layer of smoke vanished almost as soon as I paid attention. My breath was swept out of me in a rush of exhaustion similar to when I first unleashed MultiAura. I fell to my knees and stared at my trembling arms before grinning up at Kalmarin.

"Not anytime soon, huh?"

"Not bad." He accepted, smiling back. "Still a ways to go, but there was something. Maybe it's worth my time teaching you a few pointers."

He let his own Hacker smoke surge forth, coating his body in a layer of dark, thick vapor.

"Whatever you were thinking about, hold onto those feelings. Don't ever forget them." I shakily got to my feet and closed my eyes, replaying the words I used to psyche myself up. "We'll see if we can't make you a Level 3."

[Noman]

Getting into Westmarch was as simple as crossing the wooden bridge, flashing our Ringwood Entry passes, showing our Citizenship Information and Inventory, and then paying the one emerald per person toll. After the exorbitant prices in Akasha, it was a welcome change, especially since our emeralds were low.

According to Soul, most of the Beginners' funds came from the proceeds off our Silk Touch Shovel. The same shovel Carys stole from Cobb and Anibal taunted us with. Selling the Grass Blocks obtained through it earned the Beginners around three-thousand emeralds. But after Zeppil, Akasha, and splitting the funds between our groups, we were each left with around five-hundred in our Ender Chests. I was partly to blame for wasting emeralds after frantically buying up as many Splash Potions of Healing and Regeneration as I could for a comatose fisherman. And then there was Jade's portion which she took with her…

"We need a new way to obtain emeralds." I noted forlornly.

"You said it. This bird wasn't cheap."

I glanced to Soul and then did a double-take when I saw a vibrant red parrot sitting on his shoulder.

"What… how…" I stammered before rounding on the axe-wielder. "When did you buy that!?"

"In that store a couple blocks back." He gave a lazy wave behind him. "I did it while you were looking uncomfortably at our dwindling supply of emeralds."

"If we have a dwindling supply of emeralds, why would you go out and buy a bird!?" I snapped.

"This is not a bird." Soul spoke with indignation. "This is a scarlet macaw. A proud parrot with a brilliant red plumage."

*Squawk*

The bird supplied, fluttering its wings atop Soul's shoulder. Cat-Face eyed it hungrily but Soul warned the feline off of it.

"No. Bad kitty."

"Okay." I pinched the bridge of my nose, beating back my rising temper with practiced patience. "Why did you buy a scarlet macaw?"

"Well, the other parrots didn't strike my fancy—"

"Why did you get a parrot at all!?"

"Well, I had to, Noman. It was a bargain. Buy a parrot and you get a jukebox and music disk half off."

"You bought other useless stuff!?" I hissed incredulously. "I can't—I don't—this is—"

"Now, look, I knew you'd be upset," he appeased with both hands. "But just hang on to those grievances until after," he placed down the jukebox, "you see," he set down his parrot on top, "this."

He slid a black music disc with a red center into the jukebox and waited as a slow, grainy song started up. It was a tranquil song with a standard beat. A bird-like warble added in.

Almost immediately, Soul's parrot began to shake and sway to the beat.

"Oh yeah. Bust a move." Soul encouraged, bobbing in place and swiveling his hips in a crude dance. I stared flatly at the pair, my blue eyes empty.

This went on a few minutes as the song played out, the rain doing little to ruin their boogie. Once it was done, Soul took the disc back out and scooped up his parrot, perching it on his shoulder once more.

"Is that all?" I asked dryly while Soul broke the jukebox. He frowned.

"You know, if it was just a humming parrot or a whistling parrot, I'd get why you'd be unimpressed. But a dancing parrot, Noman?" He repeated as if it was some great discovery. "A dancing parrot? You are a man with no taste."

"At least I know a waste of money when I see one."

"Hey, fuck you, Noman! This parrot is golden."

"Lang—!"

"Raaawk, fuck you, Noman!"

Our eyes widened as we turned to the bird perched on Soul's shoulder. It rustled its feathers and nibbled on its neck before letting out another dirty slur in the same tone of voice as Soul.

"Raaawk, fuck you, fuck you!"

"HaHA!" Soul laughed in delight, jostling his own shoulder playfully. "Did you hear that? He talks too! A dancing, talking parrot! Who's getting his money's worth now, jerkwad?"

"Raaawk, fuck you, jerkwad!"

"Hey, I taught him that! Damn, he's smart."

"That thing is a dirty-mouthed menace! The both of you are!"

"Hey, say bosoms."

"Soul!"

"Raaawk, bosoms! Bosoms!"

"Hahaha!"

"Ugh, as if one foul-mouth wasn't bad enough." I complained.

"Quit your bellyaching. This little guy is a part of the family." Soul said while affectionately feeding it some pumpkin seeds. "I just need a name tag to name him."

"And what, pray tell, are you going to name him?" I asked, remembering Soul's penchant for simple names. "Bird-Face? Parrot-Face? Or maybe Macaw-Face—?"

"Christopher Squawken."

"I'M DONE!" I exploded, throwing my hands up in the air. "I'm done! Are you trying to drive me insane!? If boundless patience wasn't one of the virtues of aikido, I'd shield-bash you in the face!"

"Raaawk, shield-bash you in the face!" Christopher Squawken belted out in a pitch-perfect mimicry of my short-tempered voice.

"Hey, he sounded just like you." Soul pet the parrot's head with a single finger. "I wonder if we can use this guy to pass on messages…"

"Soul, we can't just spend emeralds willy-nilly like this." I massaged my temple as a migraine began to form. "Let's just do a quick lap around the village before heading out. I don't want to stay in one place very long."

Went unsaid was that cultists were likely watching us and that we shouldn't press our luck in baiting them out in the open.

"Fine, but if you're worried about emeralds," Soul piped up, pointing out some bulletin boards by a wooden building, "we can always earn our keep by collecting some bounties."

I followed his gaze, spotting several familiar wanted posters, even as a green-capped guard hung up some new ones. We went over to check it out and were greeted by the faces of well-known Lieutenants and even more well-known friends.

Wanted: King_Cobb. Endward Cult Executive. Division Unknown. Bounty: 1000 Emeralds.

Wanted: Flawwed_Floyd. Endward Cult Lieutenant. Division Unknown. Bounty: 200 Emeralds.

Wanted: Lenzington. Seen aiding and abetting Executive King_Cobb and Lieutenant Flawwed_Floyd in Ringwood. Displayed archery skills that bested Captain Velocishot of Daymonte. Possibly a Lieutenant. Bounty: 350 Emeralds.

Wanted: 4Blite. Endward Cult Lieutenant, Northern Division. Bounty: 550 Emeralds.

Wanted: Leadstripe. Endward Cult Lieutenant, Western Division. Bounty: 480 Emeralds.

Wanted: Teal_Larkspur. Endward Cult Lieutenant, Eastern Division. Bounty: 670 Emeralds.

Wanted: AceOfJades. Endward Cult Lieutenant, Northern Division. NO PICTURE. Description: Shoulder-length green hair. Purple eyes. Green, form-fitting, leather jacket. Purple undershirt. Dark jeans. Green backpack. Wields a Diamond Cutlass. Bounty: 560 Emeralds.

Wanted: Ember_Waves. Endward Cult Executive, Northern Division. Mastermind behind the Tragedy of Ringwood. Murderer of King MilesPerMinute and Princess Deo. NO PICTURE. Description: Waist-length, wavy, burnt orange hair. Light-blue eyes. Well-endowed. White bolero jacket. Blue-grey undershirt. Slim brown pants. Black belt and backpack. Blood red beaded necklace and bracelet on her right wrist. Wields a Diamond Rapier. Bounty: 2700 Emeralds. DEAD ONLY.

"Yikes." Soul recoiled at the last bounty. "That's a lot of emeralds for an opening bounty. She's the one you and Lenz encountered in Ringwood?"

"Yes." I noted gravely. "And her bounty is well-deserved. If anything, it's not enough to describe how dangerous she is. Ringwood didn't even wait for the Snow Prints to get back from Lazuli."

"Do they have a choice? Better to have some description to go off of. Same with Jade." Soul scowled at the sign without an image. "Hope we find that snake before anyone else does."

"Jade'll face justice, Soul." I assured. "We can get her."

"Maybe there's something you're not understanding, Noman." Soul bristled, his red eyes darkening. "It's an understanding that Floyd's on board with, and I hope you will be too." He hunched over, directly addressing me. "We are not going to 'get' this girl. There's gonna be no bounty collection, no trial, and no imprisonment. We're gonna kill this miserable fuck. End of story. You getting this?"

I thinned my lips while Soul's faithful parrot echoed the last of his words. Killing was against the way of aikido. Even if Jade betrayed us, she'd pay for her crimes by rotting in a cell for eternity, trapped with the guilt of the horrors she'd committed under the Endward Cult. That was the kind of justice I wanted for her. As cruel as she'd been, she helped for Cobb's sake. That had to count for something.

But saying something like that when Soul was laying down his grim opinions on the matter would have been unwise. Instead, I gave a curt nod and let him decide what it meant.

While we were chatting, the same guard who'd been putting up posters came back with more. He set them all down and we were greeted by a set of fresh faces.

"Who are these chuckle-heads?"

Wanted: PearlyKeen. Bounty: 950 Emeralds. DEAD ONLY.

Wanted: Cyan_Gift. Bounty: 690 Emeralds. DEAD ONLY.

Wanted: Lemonada. Bounty: 560 Emeralds. DEAD ONLY.

Wanted: Sam_Vatar. Bounty: 500 Emeralds. DEAD ONLY.

Wanted: Drowned_One. Bounty: 320 Emeralds. DEAD ONLY.

Wanted: Xx-Brand_Unforseen-xX. Bounty: 90 Emeralds.

Wanted: Mox_Faith. Bounty: 40 Emeralds.

"Excuse me." I stopped the guard as he put up the last one. "Could you tell us about these new wanted posters? Who are these criminals and why do their posters specify 'Dead Only'?"

"Didn't you hear?" The guard spoke nervously. "When Ringwood was attacked, the Captains bungled the security and hundreds of Ringwood's prisoners were let loose. A rogue's gallery of Ringwood's worst are back out there, free to terrorize to their heart's content, and there are even rumors that they joined up with the Endward Cult. As if we didn't have enough to worry about with the Kingdom is disarray."

"They certainly got the posters out faster than with Ember." Soul noted.

"We better have! Their posters have been kept on file ever since they were first caught and locked up. Notorious ones like Keen, Cyan, and Lemonada. Had to pull them out of storage and dust them off for any Berserkers that pass through." He glanced at the printed faces worriedly. "I don't feel safe knowing those killers are running amok."

"So that's why they're dead only." Soul nodded.

"Raaawk! Dead Only! Dead Only!"

"If you ask me, they're dead only because Ringwood doesn't have the manpower to keep prisoners." The guard commented. "They need to hire guards to watch them at all times, they need to feed them, they need to build solid cell walls and bars. I bet Ringwood doesn't even have the emeralds to compensate the bounty hunters that bring in their Heads. It's just a means to stamp out those serial killers, and quick. If the criminals are over a hundred emeralds, Ringwood would rather have them dead and gone."

Yet another violation of my aikido mentality. It was worse thinking some of those faces would be lending the cult their strength. This whole thing with the Endward Cult was spiraling out of control. It reminded me of why we needed Carys to beat them back. Even if Cobb thought otherwise, the cult was growing stronger. We had to rise to the challenge.

Hearing about the cultists also reminded us that we better get going. We had to play bait, and we certainly attracted enough attention with Christopher Squawken. It was time to leave Westmarch.

It was time we encountered some cultists.

We collected our horses and left Westmarch around sunset. The rain was still coming down hard, but we galloped west in the hopes that Carys was watching out for us and keeping pace. We didn't dare check our maps for fear we were being watched by cultists. Meanwhile, Soul found ways to pass the time.

"Raaawk! Hey, Soul! What do you think of all this rain?" Asked the imitation of Soul's gruff voice.

"It's terrible Chris. It's raining cats and dogs."

"Raaawk! I know! I just stepped in a poodle!"

"Ahhh! He said it! I taught him that!" Soul gushed, feeding his parrot more of the pumpkin seeds he loved. "This bird is solid gold. Floyd's gonna love it!"

"Hey, Soul?" I piped up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Is your dependency on animal companionship a way of coping with the distrust in people caused by Jade's betrayal?"

"I…ah… w-why would you—?"

"Nevermind, eyes up." I warned as thirty black-capped figures began to emerge from behind trees. They were clad in iron armor and riding horses. I readied my shield and Soul his axe as one of the cultists stepped forward.

"Nowhere_Man. The Lighter Billionth." The cultist greeted, wiping rain out of her hair. "What a miserable day to meet you. You couldn't have stayed the night in Westmarch and let us kill you indoors?"

"Why are you cultists so adamant about killing me? I've done nothing to you." I said, both to buy time and out of genuine curiosity.

"It's what you're going to do to us that makes us worry. You and King_Cobb. One of you is the threat, and our Lieutenant prefers to mitigate unnecessary risks. Ergo, you're gonna have to bid farewell to this world. Hopefully the next one is kinder." She drew her bow as did the surrounding cultists. I raised my shield and gestured for Soul to get behind me.

I can use the Bottes Zephyr to dodge those arrows and lift Soul with me. I can drop him off on the treetops and then go for the closest—

I cut off as Paragons dropped from the foliage and took out the back row of cultists. Their horses cried out and had the front row spinning in alarm. Then, a smoky black and blue blur darted across, slashing into five cultists at once before sending a volley of MultiAura spikes into the chest of a sixth one.

Carys' name and her wicked scythe became visible as she sent out a shockwave that toppled three cultists at once. Her appearance had the lead female cultist go white as a sheet.

"Th-The Angel of Death…? A-ATTACK! ATTACK!"

Just like that, the fighting started.

Soul dove in with gusto, his loyal parrot screaming 'BLOOD FOR THE THIRSTY, GORE FOR THE HUNGRY!' and even Cat-Face unsheathing his claws. I put up my shield and blocked a set of arrows before closing in on a cultist.

They lunged with a sword and I fell back to my aikido training, reaching both hands out to grab the attacker by the arm. After that, I turned on one foot, pulling his body across and into the ground, twisting one arm behind his back to get him to release his blade. I then squashed him with my shield, my full weight behind it.

The next opponent came with a stabbing motion. I sidestepped and gripped the blade at two points before grunting and twisting the weapon upward. The attacker held on, unwilling to be disarmed, so I instead stepped into his guard with my shield, lifting him off the ground. With nothing keeping him tethered to the ground, I leveraged his weapon with further force and flipped him over my shield and into the ground. I then pinned his sword arm at the joints, threatening to break it if he didn't let go. He yielded with a harsh grunt, and I proceeded to knock him out with the hilt of my blade.

Carys was a whirlwind with her scythe and positioned in the center of the battlefield. She hooked on cultist by the legs, scything them out from under him before she pierced his helmeted face with the tip. I looked away as she brought her scythe to the torso of another, preparing to gut him like a fish. Her crimson eyes were alight with bloodlust and she smirked as EXP orbs floated from the dead bodies and into her arm.

Kalmarin was using his Hacker strength to slam cultists into the dirt before stabbing them with his sword. Anibal was getting up close and personal with a Sharpness V diamond blade. The other Paragons were holding their own just fine, managing two or three cultists at once with the help of the support team consisting of Reuben, Albert, and Harbord. Those three chucked out splash potions when needed, weakening the enemies and strengthening their allies. One or two cultists were even paralyzed, presumably for interrogation later.

Realizing how outmatched they were, the cultists tried to flee. The female leader I blocked with my shield and knocked her bow aside before a pair of potions paralyzed her. The others were stopped by Floyd, the assassin Stayer, and Dyson.

In mere moments, the thirty cultists were dealt with. Twenty-two were dead and eight were paralyzed and rounded up before being roughly deposited at the base of a tree. Soul supported Floyd as his cooldown started up. Carys looked at her EXP Meter appraisingly.

"Jumped to 44. Not bad." She nodded before crouching in front of the helpless cultists. "Bet you guys killed a lot to get that much EXP, hm?"

She wasn't the only one who leveled up. The Paragons and even Soul and Floyd managed a level or two. Floyd went from 32 to 34 and Soul went from 24 to 26. The only exception was myself, who disarmed instead of killed, and the support team on potion-throwing duty. Our levels remained the same.

"Y-You're working together…?" The female cultist spoke weakly; her darting eyes and mouth the only things she could move. "How? You're supposed to be enemies!"

"It's complicated." Anibal shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it if I was you. Course, if I was you, I'd be scared shitless right about now."

Soul rested Floyd against a nearby tree with Kalmarin watching over them. The axe-wielder didn't like the Hacker watching, but he also wanted to talk with the prisoners.

"I'll make this short and sweet." Carys spoke while resting a hand on her hip. "You're all going to die here." One or two cultists started to breathe more heavily at that. "Nothing can change that. What can change is the amount of pain I subject you to before I send you off. It can be as little as a slap on the wrist, or it can be as much as getting set ablaze, poisoned, and brutally beat down. Your choice."

"Do your worst!" The female cultist dared. "We're prepared for the Next Life awaiting us. We're not scared of you."

"Uh, yeah, we sort of, kinda are!" One cultist protested, eyeing Carys fearfully.

"Well then, to start us off—"

"Where's Jade?" Soul interjected, stepping forward with a scowl. I thought Carys would call him out for interrupting, but instead she allowed it, folding her arms quietly. "Tell us anything you know about Jade."

"N-Never heard of her in my life before."

"Then how do you know it's a she, dumbass!"

"Raaawk! Dumbass!" Christopher Squawken belted out. The Paragons and cultists looked to the bird with varying degrees of incredulity while I tried to hide behind my shield.

"If you know enough about Noman and Cobb AND know we're enemies with the Paragons, you must know something about that green-haired snake." Soul fisted a cultist's shirt and hefted him up. "You better give me something before I break your jaw."

"I-I don't know! She's not in our Division! Leadstripe is our Lieutenant!"

Soul slugged the cultist across the face and let his limp body impact the ground before bringing him back up.

"You must have heard about Jade. She's supposed to be hot shit among you cultists, right?" Soul shook him angrily. "Where is she? Where did the Northern Division relocate to?"

"We-we don't… know anything…" The cultist coughed in pain before Soul sucker punched him in the gut. He kicked him for good measure, prompting me to go forward and stop the senseless brutality.

"Soul, stop. He'd tell us something if he knew—"

"Oh, come on. How innocent can you get?" Carys noted wryly before shooing us back. "Clear me some space, boys. I'll show you how a professional conducts an investigation. Anibal, fetch me the lava pail. Reuben, the splash potions." She cracked her knuckles in preparation. "This might scar some of you tender viewers."

I hid behind my shield and covered my ears.

Soul tapped my shoulder to tell me it was over. I slowly peeked over my shield to see the Paragons cleaning up some draconian instruments of torture and Carys wiping her hands on her jeans, wearing an unconcerned expression. The support team had killed the prisoners, taking their EXP for themselves.

"Seems the Lieutenant you're looking for is MIA." Carys explained. "These guys were from the west, but news about Jade's disappearance has been going through the melonvine. They didn't know anything about the Northern Division and they refused to say anything about their HQ, but I found out about some outposts on the way to Exter. I worked them over pretty good, so they were telling the truth. We should clear out fast before they send someone to check up on the group we killed." She noticed I was avoiding her gaze and flashed a shark-like smile. "Didn't scare ya, did I?"

"Yes…" I admitted, quaking in my shoes. Torture was definitely against my aikido philosophies. Even covering my ears, those screams were bone-chilling. Even Soul clenched his jaw tightly.

"Hey, no pain no gain." She shrugged. Floyd recovered to stand beside us. "We got some pretty good intel. Even found out the Akasha region is devoid of cultists."

"Why's that?" Floyd asked while Soul jerked his head up in panic.

"Because—"

"Hey! Check out my parrot!" Soul suddenly screamed, holding out Christopher Squawken for all to see. Carys narrowed her eyes at the bird, unimpressed. "Come on, Chris! Say something distracting!"

"Raaawk! Carys is a tool! Raaawk!"

The silence was deafening as a shadow passed over Carys' face. Soul began to sweat, especially since the parrot had mimicked his voice. He had said that. The bird was just spitting out his words.

"What?"

"Uh, I don't know where he got that from." Soul tried before Carys lunged forward and grabbed the axe-wielder, choking him with her scythe handle. "Guys! Get her off me!"

"Anibal, ready the torture devices again." Carys spoke darkly while we struggled to pry her off of him.

"Ack! Squawken! Say something else! Do the dance!"

The parrot began to imitate a different voice. A voice that froze Floyd and I as it belonged to one of the tortured cultists.

"Raaawk! We don't have any bases in Akasha! Not since the Hackers attacked! There's nothing left of that place! Raaawk!"

Floyd and I let go of the axe-wielder and stared with wide-eyed horror. The Hackers attacked Akasha? Nothing left? But, why would they…?

And then it hit. The only reason Hackers would attack was if it was for one of their own. Or, in this case, two of their own. Winslow and Sandra both vanished in Akasha. The Hackers, being so close to the Mess Kingdom, went to investigate.

There was nothing to find since Floyd and I killed them. And if there was nothing left of Akasha, it was…

I fell to my knees and nearly threw up while Floyd fixed his purple eyes on Soul, the one Beginner who stuck around Akasha long enough to witness the Hackers' attack. Smoke poured from his eyes as he demanded in a low growl:

"What happened?"

Inventory (Floyd): 1 Mob Head {Creeper}, 1 Iron Sword, 1 Diamond Helmet [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Chestplate [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Diamond Leggings [Projectile Protection IV], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 2 Iron Ingots, 64 Steak, 54 Steak, 2 Sticks, 31 Coal, 20 Torches, 1 Fishing Rod, 1 Furnace, 1 Crafting Table, 1 Minecart, 1 Bed, 1 Boat, 1 Diamond Boots [Projectile Protection IV], 16 Gunpowder, 16 Ender Pearls, 2 Ender Pearls, 1 Splash Potion of Invisibility {6:00}, 1 Bucket, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}

[EXP: 34]

Stratus the Horse

Inventory (Soul): 1 Diamond Axe [Sharpness V], 1 Iron Pickaxe, 64 Iron Ingots, 28 Iron Ingots, 20 Flint, 12 Gold Ingots, 1 Milk Bucket, 1 Diamond Helmet [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings [Protection IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Diamond Boots [Protection IV, Feather Falling IV, Unbreaking III], 1 Crafting Table, 1 Jukebox, 1 Music Disc {chirp}, 1 Bed, 1 Furnace, 24 Torches, 34 White Wool, 58 Dirt, 26 Pumpkin Seeds, 64 Cobblestone, 62 Cobblestone, 32 Jungle Wood Planks, 1 Armor Stand, 64 Steak, 6 Cooked Mutton, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Ringwood Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}

[EXP: 26]

Long-Face the Horse

Cat-Face the Cat

Christopher Squawken the Parrot

Inventory (Noman): 1 Diamond Sword [Sharpness I], 1 Diamond Chestplate {Severe Shield}, 1 Leather Boots {Bottes Zephyr} [Dyed White], 1 Green Shield [Beginners], 1 Flint and Steel, 1 Milk Bucket, 6 Buckets, 2 Cobblestone, 1 Bed, 1 Crafting Table, 5 Ender Chests, 16 Ender Pearls, 5 Ender Pearls, 1 Nether Star, 54 Steak, 3 Phantom Membranes, 1 Splash Potion of Healing II, 1 Book {Citizenship Information}, 1 Paper {Zeppil Entry Pass}, 1 Paper {Akasha Entry Pass}, 1 Map {Minecraftia}, 1 Enchanted Golden Apple, 1 Diamond Helmet, 1 Iron Chestplate, 1 Diamond Leggings, 1 Diamond Boots

[EXP: 26]

Snow the Horse

AN: Nice going, Christopher Squawken. Whose side are you on!?

Things are picking up for Carys' side. And Soul is quickly gathering the cast of the Bremen-town Musicians. He's even got a dancing Parrot!

Next week, we see what shenanigans the Endward Cult is up to.

FAV. FOLLOW. REVIEW. PM. FORUM. DISCORD. OREOS.