March 22nd, 1566 ME
Floria
Norah Mercia
A day had passed since the King had officially announced that he was surrendering Floria to the monsters. During that time, Amaya and Delilah had finally let their soldiers enter the city. I watched as groups and groups of monsters entered Floria one by one. The pro mamono citizens that had been so vocal about their opinions were practically jumping into the arms of the new visitors to their home. I observed a Succubus make some seductive gestures at a nearby man, calling to come closer. A few feet away, an Arachne held up a hand-woven shirt to a shorter man, beckoning for him to put it on. The man immediately threw off the shirt he was wearing and put the new one on, making the Arachne blushed furiously. The integration was going surprisingly okay, despite people's reactions yesterday.
I guess the anti-mamono crowd went into hiding.
As for me, I was still on the lookout for my husband. I wished I had gotten a better look at him yesterday, because I was having trouble finding him. There was no sign of his spirit energy, anywhere. I had circled the armory at least fifteen times by now, telling myself that he would come back. After a few hours, I gave up and headed back to the inn, reasoning that if I couldn't find him, nobody else would be able to find him either. Someone who was able to hide from so many monsters so easily would surely be strong.
As I sat on my bed, thinking about where else he could be, Dayna came in, a man wrapping her arms around her waist with her tail wrapped around him too. The two of them were covered in sweat and dirt, clearly having finished their "Wedding fight" as Salamanders called it.
"...No luck?" Dayna panted, tired from their duel.
"Nope." I responded, not bothering to look at her. "No sign of him anywhere. No sign of his spirit energy, either."
"Well, best of luck finding him. You might want to look into hiring a Dark Mage, because I don't know if you're going to be able to find him with your non-existent magic skills." Dayna suggested. "Either way, I found my husband. You're welcome to forget mister serial killer and join me and my husband."
"I'm not into harems, Dayna." Dayna's husband spoke for the first time. "You're already enough for me. Maybe too much."
"I see, Hal. Sorry, Norah. Better luck next time."
"I had no intention of being in a harem with you, no offense." I turned towards Hal, an idea popping into my head. I grinned cruelly. "Word of advice? Dayna likes being spanked, so keep that in mind if you want to be the dominant one during lovemaking."
The salamander's face turned the color of her scales. "What?! Where did you get that from?!"
"Heh. Noted." Hal smiled.
Part of me was jealous Dayna had gotten a husband so easily, while I had to search Floria up and down to find mine. I got up from the bed, and began heading towards the doorway. "I'm going searching again. Wish me luck."
"Good luck." Both Hal and Dayna said simultaneously. They looked at each other, surprised. "We're thinking alike… That must mean we're perfect for each other!" Dayna squealed, hugging Hal harder.
I turned around as I was about to leave the room. "Yeah, yeah, the two of you have fun. Try not to get your fluids on my bed, please."
"No guarantees." Dayna said, slowly shifting Hal into position for lovemaking. Hal didn't do anything to resist.
I left my friend and her newfound husband to enjoy themselves, and exited the inn. The barkeeper at the front had been replaced by a Satyros, cleaning a glass with one hand and chugging a bottle of wine with the other. She put her wine down to wave me goodbye as I opened the double doors and went outside. I pulled a map of Floria out of my coat and unfolded it, scanning the large city.
I went over the mental image of the man in my head. Bloody butcher's cleaver, tan jacket, tan hood, black pants, jackboots… The jackboots were standard Order soldier or hero attire, but the cleaver hardly seemed like a practical weapon. Maybe he retired, and took up butchery or hunting as a hobby?
If so, he was the perfect match for me. My father was a butcher before my mother had met him, and she had asked him to train her after they had married. I would be following perfectly in their footsteps.
I walked through the streets towards the armory where I had last seen him. Taking a look around, the city was rather peaceful. Humans and mamono walked around hand in hand, some of the humans having up to five monsters clinging to them at once. Seeing a Lizardman with a similar appearance to me holding her husband's hand made my jealousy flare up again, but that just made me more determined to find my mystery man. I began daydreaming about what kind of man he was, my mamono instincts immediately filling my mind with dirty fantasies, a majority of them involving him cooking for me. I didn't even realize I was drooling.
You're here somewhere, I just know it. I thought to myself as I continued walking. Suddenly, I realized something. I had been walking for thirty minutes. The armory was only about fifteen minutes away from the inn Dayna and I were staying at. I looked around. The mamono-human couples were gone. In fact, there was barely anyone on the road. The streets were eerily quiet.
I looked down at my map. Apparently, I had missed the turn that led to the armory. I nearly slapped myself for getting so distracted. I reoriented myself and began the trek back to the armory. It was then I began noticing two people following me. They began looking around the empty street, then nodded to each other.
As I was passing by an alleyway, one of the people called out to me. "Hey, monster? We need directions, do you think we can take a look at that map of yours?" I stopped and turned around, against better judgment. I held out the map to them.
"Of course. Take a lo-" Before I could finish talking, I felt something slam into my head hard, sending me sprawling to the ground. I tried to get up and draw my mamono realm silver knife, only for another hit to knock me down again, sending the blade sliding far away from me. I flipped onto my back, seeing a third person carrying a rusty shovel. The two people who were asking for directions surrounded me.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing here, monster?!" One of the men yelled, kicking me in the stomach.
"W…We're allowed to live here, now. The king announced he was letting mamono into Floria yesterday…" I whispered. Maybe these people hadn't heard the news, although part of me knew they did. I began slowly backing up towards my knife, hoping the attackers wouldn't notice. "I just got lost, I don't mean you any harm-"
"King Emyr is a spineless traitor! Floria is ruined because of his incompetence! All our friends are missing now, because of you monsters!" The second man snarled angrily, before kicking me again.
"Monsters don't kill people! Your friends are safe-" The shovel wielding man jabbed the sharp end into my arm, my sentence being interrupted by a cry of pain from my mouth.
"Safe? Safe!? You call being turned into a monster's slave safe?!" One of the men screamed furiously, leaning down and punching me in the face.
"We no longer feel safe in our own home, because of you!" One shouted at me.
Another one followed up with an angry remark of his own. "You ruined everything! We would've been fine, if we had just let the Order help us!"
The shovel wielding man spat at me. "I hate you! All of you! Go back to where you came from, you freak!"
I finally reached my knife and quickly slashed at the shovel wielding man's legs, causing him to drop his shovel. I scooped up the improvised weapon and swung it in a wide arc, knocking the other two off their feet. I scrambled to get up and began sprinting away. Looking back, they thankfully weren't chasing me. The first two seemed to be more concerned with the shovel guy's leg.
I didn't stop until I reached my original destination. I rubbed the two wounds on my head and seethed in pain. "Shit, that hurts!" I hissed out. As I nursed my two wounds, I realized something. There was a part of the city I should stay out of at all costs. I thought of getting Dayna to come with me and get revenge on the attackers, but quickly pushed the idea out of my head, not wanting to put her in danger.
A small group of people walked by me; A Holstaur, her husband and their son. They looked like they were sightseeing, and they were heading in the direction of where I had gotten attacked. "Stop!" I yelled at them, startling the poor family.
"I… I'm sorry for yelling at you. Don't go into that part of the city. The people there aren't nice."
"Miss Lizard, are you alright?" Their son asked me, walking up to me.
"I'm… Okay, I think." I half-lied. I was thankful the attackers didn't injure me more. "Do any of you have any bandages?" I asked the Holstaur and her husband. The man fished into his bag, withdrawing two strips of cloth and handing them to me. I wrapped them around my wounds, sighing in relief.
"Thank you." The couple nodded, taking their son and walking in the opposite direction. As I laid there, Dayna's words echoed in my head. We'd better get our husbands, quick. I might even convince mine to move back to Dragonia with me, because this city doesn't seem like a place for monsters. At the time it had seemed unreasonable, but now I could see she had a point. Sure there was an entire area of the city that was full of friendly people, but what if the dangerous parts spread?
I stood up with renewed energy. I was going to find my husband, claim him, and then whisk him far away from this blasted city. After making a mental note to take Dayna up on her offer, I began looking around the armory for clues. An hour later, I finally picked up on something. A tiny, pale and dried bit of blood, right where the mystery man had walked off. I walked in the direction, seeing another one about two yards after it.
He must have forgotten to clean off his tools.
The droplets of blood slowly got smaller and smaller, but just as I thought I was about to lose trail, it curved into an alleyway. My heart raced. He had to be here. I waited another hour to see if he would show up. When he didn't appear, I began looking around the alleyway once again. Something caught my eye.
One of the stone brick walls had a single brick sticking out ever so slightly. Nobody would've noticed it if they weren't searching as intently as I was. I touched it, and next to a trash can, a trapdoor opened up, with a ladder leading down into the darkness. I wasted no time and climbed down. This time, having my mamono realm silver knife at the ready. As I descended, I began hearing faint voices.
"You want to stock up on uncorrupted food before they take full control of everything? I understand…"
"...will charge a small fee for uncorrupted food the next time you come here…"
"What?! For free? Do you think I'm running a fuckin' charity here?"
"...for free, this time and this time only. Don't get used…"
I reached the bottom. The place looked like a basement retrofitted to be a butcher's shop, with cuts of meat hanging from the ceiling. Behind a counter, I saw the man from yesterday, dressed in the exact same clothing, only this time I got to see his face. Or rather, what was covering his face. A wolf mask, looking like it had come straight from an actual wolf. Next to him, was a woman wearing basic clothing, holding a few coins in her hand.
"So, whaddya say? Do we have a deal or not…" The masked man's voice trailed off as he turned towards me. The woman turned around and immediately backed away from me, hiding in a corner. She shook her head at me, seemingly terrified. The masked man observed me for a moment.
"Who are you? How did you find this place?" He spoke, confused. His hand grasped his cleaver tightly. "Are you one of the King's new enforcers? Because if you are, I'm not breaking any of your stupid laws."
"Oh, no. I'm not with them. Let's just say, I'm a secret admirer of you." Not the best first interaction, but I could still salvage this. The masked man, however, didn't seem impressed. He turned towards the woman in the corner, and silently gestured for her to leave. The woman quickly pushed past me and climbed up the ladder leading to the surface.
"Answer my question. Who are you, and how did you discover this place?" The man inquired, his voice muffled.
"Ahem." I cleared my throat. "My name is Norah Mercia, and let's just say, I'm a fan of your work. Both my parents were butchers, and I'd like to follow in their footsteps." I took it slow. A hellhound would've jumped him by now, but I was no hellhound. "As for how I discovered your hideout, there was a trail of blood leading into an alleyway."
The man mumbled something under his breath about moving shop. He put down his cleaver, walking over to me. I realized how tall he was, being almost a foot over me.
"Let me guess. You want to marry me."
I couldn't help but smile. "Oooh. Eager, aren't you? Well if you're so willing to get down to business, I wouldn't be opposed to sealing the deal right now-"
The man interrupted me by dashing forward at an insane speed, pinning me to the wall and holding his cleaver to my throat, laughing underneath his mask. "No offense, but you're the last person I'd marry." He pointed to the two bandages covering up the wounds on my head. "You're about as appealing as a corpse that's been outside for a week. Besides, my life right now is perfect. I don't need you dragging me down." The man let go of me, but kept his cleaver pointed at my throat.
"B-but…"
"I don't need your help. So if you'll know what's good for you, you'll get the fuck out of my shop, right now." He gestured to the ladder with his cleaver and shoved me towards it. "Go on. Scram."
I began reaching for my mamono realm silver knife. Maybe the hellhounds were right. Maybe a little bit of force was needed to get a husband. Once I made him vulnerable, I'd get on top of him, show a bit of skin, let his base instincts run wild, and he'd warm up to me in time. But just as I was about to pull it out, the man punched me in the head, knocking me to the floor for the second time today. He kneeled down and shook his head, letting out some muffled laughter. He reared his head back, and headbutted me. Everything went dark.
…
When I came to, I was in the alleyway. I got up and looked at the wall above the trash can, but the brick that was sticking out wasn't there anymore. I felt the ground next to the trash can, but it was solid. There was no sign of the trapdoor. I groaned and felt the bruise on my head, feeling a piece of paper sticking to my head. I peeled it off my skin and read it.
Don't try and follow me, or you'll regret it. Sincerely, The Scavenger.
I threw the note in the trash can in anger, and then began retracing my steps back to the inn. I wondered what I would tell Dayna.
Today wasn't a very good day.
March 26th, 1566 ME
Outside of Floria
Elise Maxwell
"Yeah. That just about covers everything major that happened while you were in custody." Norah said, the Lizardman's voice sad and disheartened. "You missed out on a lot."
I stopped walking for a second, to contemplate everything that she had told me. Despite Amaya telling me that King Emyr was going to surrender Floria to her, I still felt angry that he had gone through with it. I had respected him, trusted him. I understood that he thought fighting was hopeless, but part of me wished he had persevered. Part of me dreaded the long term reaction of the anti-mamono citizens to his decisions.
"...We must hurry to Floria. I need to see everything with my own eye." I quickened my pace, sprinting along the path. I would've used a speed spell, but eleven days of not eating anything had taken its toll on my body.
"Not yet, I still have something I wish to ask of you." Norah quickly caught up to me, blocking my path. I tried to go around her, but she kept getting in my way. I began to object, but I remembered that she had saved me from isolation. She had given me uncorrupted food, and wasn't trying to talk me into monsterization. Despite monsters being my natural enemy, I still felt like I owed her something. "Fine. What do you want, Norah?"
"There's someone I want you to track down."
"Let me guess, it's this scavenger guy." I had somewhat tuned Norah out when she began talking about how she had gotten rejected, knocked unconscious, and dumped in an alleyway by her husband-to-be. I felt a little bad, but not really. They weren't even supposed to be in Floria to begin with.
"It is. Do you know him?" Norah asked hopefully. "Despite everything he said, I think he'll make a good husband for me. I just need to break down his walls a little."
"I've never seen a man in a wolf mask before, and I've lived in Floria my entire life. Besides, he doesn't seem like a good match for you if he said all of that. Do you really want a husband who has that sort of attitude?"
Norah stayed silent for a moment before responding. "Maybe I do."
About half an hour passed and we had finally reached Floria. From the outside I could already see the drastic changes the Mamono had made to the city. I could see a few Wyverns, Harpies, Griffons and even a few dragons flying around the city. I noticed the distinct lack of any flags or banners with the symbol of the Order on it. They had been replaced by what I assumed was Amaya or Delilah's own design, a circle with two white bat wings coming out of it. As we neared the front gates, I took a deep breath.
A blue-skinned demon swooped down to greet the two of us. "Oh, hello Miss Elise! Welcome home! I see you made a new friend too…" She said, looking at Norah. I kept my distance. My hands began reflexively moving towards my blade, until I remembered that it was corrupted now.
"Just let us through. I don't have time for this. I have someone I need to see." I knew demons were crafty monsters that were skilled at manipulating humans. During my military service, I had found that the best way to withstand a demon's manipulation is to have a strong objective in my head to focus on instead their words. The demon looked a little miffed at me ignoring her, likely wanting to talk to me some more. Norah grabbed my hand and the two of us pushed past the demon. The blue-skinned fiend threw her hands up in the air, then went back to greeting newcomers to Floria.
"You have someone to see?" Norah asked, curious. "You're not married as far I can tell."
"My brother. He's suffering from Noble's disease, and I haven't seen him for almost two weeks now. He is worried about me and I'm worried about him." I explained, quickening my pace.
As I passed through, I looked around my home city. The aftereffects of the surrender deal on Floria were clear as day. Monsters of all kinds walked in the streets, some alone, many with human men. I immediately noticed the lack of human women. After a few minutes of walking, I finally found one, wearing a mask and covering every single part of her body, staying far away from any of the monsters. A young boy wearing a similar mask was clutching her arm and looking around, frightened.
"Good god…"
"It could be worse, Elise. The fact that there weren't any major riots over the King's decision was a miracle. The surrender didn't go as terribly as I expected." She rubbed two scars on her head I hadn't noticed. "Though it could've gone way better…"
"That's… good, I think." I responded, unsure what to say about the state of my home city. Seeing the very creatures I had fought against for fifteen years mingling with humans was surreal.
"Either way, I won't be staying here for long. After I find my husband, me and him are going back to Dragonia."
"Huh." I murmured.
Norah huffed with annoyance. "My friend already got a husband, somehow. Within the first two days, too! Meanwhile I have to go on a wild goose chase just to get a chance at…" Norah stopped talking suddenly, her eyes widening at the road in front of them. She began looking around frantically. "Oh no."
"What? What's wrong?" I looked around as well. The streets were unusually quiet and very uncrowded compared to the part of Floria that we were just in. I noticed the houses. Many of the houses' windows were barricaded with wooden planks, blocking any light from coming inside. Wooden spikes and even a few bear traps surrounded the homes. The shops and taverns all had signs with the word "CLOSED" written on them.
"It's… It's not safe here." The Lizardman suddenly grabbed my arm and began dragging me in the opposite direction, back to where the city was more crowded. Confused, I began pulling in the direction we were walking, much to Norah's dismay. "What are you doing? We can't stay here, we might get hurt!"
"My house is this way, if we go around it'll take forever to get there… Besides, if you're so scared of this place, why not just wait for me here?" I explained, dumbfounded. "Are you afraid of getting attacked? Aren't Lizardmen supposed to be skilled fighters?"
Norah stopped, my words seemingly having struck a chord with her. She took a deep breath and drew a mamono realm silver knife from her belt, observing her surroundings. "Maybe I shouldn't have left my halberd in the cave. I'm not sure if I can defend myself with just a knife."
"So stay somewhere safe while I go check on my brother."
Norah shook her head. "No. I can do this. I'll come with you." She began holding her knife a bit more confidently, seeming less scared.
The two of us walked through the desolate streets silently. Norah seemed more alert than I was, keeping her eyes on any shadows and alleyways. The very few people outside began casting more dirty looks at us. I caught a glimpse of someone through a window carrying a shovel. They looked at us, gasping and immediately shutting the curtains. I even heard one of the people outside mumble "Traitor" towards me underneath their breath. I pretended not to hear and began pushing forward.
I'm no traitor. Just because I'm being accompanied by a Lizardman doesn't mean I'm a traitor. It's not like we're married or something.
Eventually we reached my house. The manor was just as I left it, the maids not being deterred by my absence. Norah and I walked up to the double door entrance, throwing it open and taking in the familiar smell of my home. I threw my shoes off, tossed my coat onto the coat hanger and began to head upstairs towards Eryn's room, when someone familiar stopped me.
"Where the hell have you been, Elise?! Eryn has been worried sick for two weeks! Two fucking weeks! You just vanished in the middle of the night with no warning whatsoever!" My maid, Amias, reprimanded. She glared at Norah, a mixture of fear and anger on her face. "And what the fuck do you think you're doing letting a monster inside our home?! Did she trick you into letting her in so that she could go and rape Eryn-"
"Amias, I will explain everything after I check on Eryn. As for our guest, you will find that she is well-mannered, even by human standards." I turned towards Norah. "Just stay in the corner and don't say anything until I come back. Understood?"
"Understood…" Norah said begrudgingly. She sat down in the corner of the manor's foyer, casting me an irritated look. Amias kept her gaze focused on the Lizardman, still distrustful. I couldn't blame her. The maid had been an avid worshipper of the Chief God in her free time, even having a small altar in her room to pray to.
"Amias, I said I'll explain everything after I check on Eryn. She will behave herself. Isn't that right, Norah?" I asked.
"Yes…" The Lizardman nodded her head.
"That settles it. I'll be back in a few minutes or so." Amias nodded reluctantly, still keeping her eyes on Norah. I went upstairs, a few of the other maids giving me a more warm welcome than Amias. Taking a deep breath, I opened Eryn's bedroom. For once, he wasn't in bed, but sitting at his desk in front of the window facing outside. He slowly turned his head towards me.
"Elise…? Where did you go? I was so worried…" He asked quietly. "Why'd you leave?"
I hugged Eryn tightly, not letting go for almost twenty seconds. "I'm sorry, Eryn. I'm so, so sorry. I went for a walk to get some fresh air because I was having trouble falling asleep and then all of sudden, I had sleepwalked out of the city and there was a dragon and she…" I stopped my rambling to take a breath, "It… it was stupid of me to leave without warning you, I'm really sorry. I'll never do it again."
Eryn looked at me, a faint smile on his face. "At least you're okay, that's what matters. Just promise me you'll never-"
"I promise!" I interrupted him. "Oh. I'm sorry for yelling at you… A-anyways… How have the past few days been treating you?"
"Mostly the same. I've seen a few monsters on the streets outside but they don't seem interested in this area for some reason. I'm glad you're here."
"The people here aren't exactly welcoming towards monsters, so all of them are staying in the mamono-friendly part of Floria. But with how many monsters are immigrating here every day, they're likely going to run out of men in that area and start coming here." I explained.
"Sounds like trouble…"
"Yeah, I don't see this not escalating." Both of us stayed silent for a moment, considering what we were going to do. Eryn, despite being sick, was a prime target for monsters. Despite my parent's wishes I wanted to cure him by human means, not hand him over to a monster.
"...We can cross that bridge when we get there. Don't worry about it for now." Eryn assured me. "I'd like to hear what you've been doing for the past few days."
I took a deep breath, and told Eryn everything. My battle with Delilah, Nikolas being a traitor, the dreams of me turning into a Succubus and a Cursed Sword, Amaya trying to feed me corruptive food, and Norah breaking me out. He nodded along, a horrified yet intrigued look on his face.
"Nikolas came by the other day and talked to Amias. He told me that you had an 'accident' and that he was looking for you." Eryn recalled. "Kenton visited a few times as well, too. He said he was searching for you too. He told me he left something in your room."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it?"
"He never told me. You should probably go check."
"Right." I quickly walked out of Eryn's room and sprinted down the halls to my room. I opened the door, only to hear something fall on the ground. I looked down, seeing a note on the floor. It was signed with Kenton's name. I picked it up and slowly read through it.
Dear Elise Maxwell,
Welcome home. If you're reading this, then I am dead. Please, do not search for me; I have arranged for my body to be cremated and my ashes to be spread into the ocean.
I audibly gasped and dropped the note. I leaned against the wall, my heart beating quicker and my breath quickening. I began to hyperventilate, which turned into uncontrollable sobbing. Kenton, the man who had been with me through thick and thin on countless missions, was gone. Grabbing the note with shaky hands, I took several deep breaths and continued reading through it.
I have attempted to convince King Emyr to give up on the surrender deal, to no avail. I have attempted to convince the heroes of Floria, including both Nikolas and Suvina, to join me, without success. Nobody seems to listen to me, despite my pleas to resist. I pray to the Chief God as the monsters draw closer, yet I hear nothing. Perhaps our god is punishing us for the King's foolish decision. I can't do this, not alone. I would go down fighting, but knowing how monsters operate, that likely wouldn't work out for me. So therefore, I have chosen to die on my own terms.
You're probably distraught over my decision. Understand, I had no better choice. I am thankful for the life you have given me. You could've ignored my request to train me that day, but you didn't. For that, you have my gratitude. May the Chief God be with you in these dark times.
Yours in infinite finality, Kenton Liu.
The note fell from my hands and my sobbing turned into full on crying. I leaned up against the wall, my head in my hands. The worst part of this was that it felt like it was partially my fault that he committed suicide. I wasn't there for him. I had gone missing when he needed my support. As his leader, I would've given him hope, something to rely on.
But I wasn't the only one responsible for this. Sadness gave way to anger. Anger at Amaya, anger at Delilah, anger at Nikolas, anger at King Emyr, anger at every single traitor that had thought it was a good idea to let our mortal enemies within Floria.
I heard knocking on the door. "E-Elise?" I heard Norah ask.
I tore open the door. "Get out! Get the fuck out of my house!" I screamed at her through tears. "Never come back here! This is all your fault!"
"W-what? What's my fault?" The Lizardman asked, confused. "Is something wr-"
"Leave!" I shouted, violently shoving her away. "Leave me alone!"
Norah blinked at me for a few seconds, conflicted at my sudden change in emotions. She then slowly backed off, and walked down the hall, back towards the exit. I slammed the door and laid down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.
March 27th, 1566 ME
Outskirts of Floria
Elise Maxwell
"Done…" I uttered wistfully, placing one last flower in front of two drawings. One depicted me and Kenton sharing a bottle of wine together that I had paid an artist to draw, and the other was a picture that Kenton had drawn of his parents when he was young. I stepped back, observing the completed memorial. Me and Eryn had made it near a small pond somewhere near Floria's walls, a place where I knew Kenton often liked to relax. I had thought of having a funeral for him, but I would rather die than let monsters attend his funeral. Nikolas and Suvina didn't deserve to come either, since they had abandoned him.
"I'm sorry, I really am." Eryn said, leaning against a tree. "I can't imagine how this feels."
"He was one of the first people I recruited. Changing my mind and training him to become a hero was one of the best decisions I ever made." I murmured, staring at the memorial. "I wish I was there for him, maybe he wouldn't have done this."
Eryn sighed. I knew he and Kenton weren't the closest, but he still enjoyed Kenton's company when he visited. This hurt for him, too.
"Do you have the wine?"
Eryn nodded, handing me a bottle of wine. Specifically, Kenton's favorite wine. I uncorked the bottle and poured the entire bottle out onto the ground in front of the memorial. Both me and Eryn gave the picture of Kenton a salute, and began heading back to Floria.
May the Chief God guide you into the afterlife, Kenton…