BANG! BANG! BANG!

"LIAM! ANSWER ME! IS IT DONE!? HAVE YOU SILENCED THE GIRL AND THE ONE-EYED BRAT YET!?"

Liam’s face went white and his body became shaky. His hands trembled as he grabbed the edge of the heavy worktable and looked to Kurt and Isabel.

"T-The carpet," he hissed in a frantic whisper. "Help me move it!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Confused but not unwilling, Kurt and Isabel helped shoved the table and kicked back the wool rug to reveal a trapdoor. Liam took out a key from his satchel, unlocked the door and yanked the ring up, exposing a set of narrow stone steps leading into the dark.

"Down the steps! Hurry!"

"Why?" Kurt asked as his hand drifted to the knife on his belt. "We can take him. It’s just an old man and some villagers. No big deal, right?"

"N-No–!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"LIAM! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! OPEN THIS DOOR OR WE WILL BREAK IT DOWN!"

"You don’t understand," Liam whispered, shoving Kurt and Isabel toward the hole. "The Elder... he may look like a frail old man, but he is a monster. He’s been taking some sort of ’Blessing’ from the hooded man. If he sees you’re still alive, he’ll kill us all before you can blink!"

"Blessing?"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"THAT"S IT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! MEN! BREAK IT DOWN!"

Liam fumbled with his leather satchel, moving erratically and filled with terror. He pulled out another blue vial and shoved it into Kurt’s hand.

"L-Listen! *Sob* T-There’s a woman down there," Liam cried as tears finally spilled over his face. "She’s in the back room of the cellar. She’s... she’s fighting the infection. Give this to her and use the tunnel. It leads out past the wheat fields."

"You’re coming with us," Isabel reached for his arm.

But Liam shook his head and a tragic, resigned smile touched his lips.

"I can’t. Someone has to cover the hatch. A-Also, if I’m here, I can buy you time. So please," he pleaded as he grabbed Kurt’s shirt. "Please tell the capital. Tell King Maxwell that Eldoria’s shadow has reached the roots. The real evil... it’s in the swamp. The man in the hood... he’s the one that destroyed our small village."

BASH!

The front door splintered open upstairs, and the heavy trudge of boots filled the house.

"Search the rooms! I want Liam alive!"

Liam shoved Kurt and Isabel down the steps. "Now go!"

He slammed the hatch shut. From below, Kurt and Isabel stood still in the darkness, listening as the carpet was kicked back into place and the table dragged over their heads.

Then came the second crash as the basement door was kicked in.

"Where are they?" The Elder’s voice came out low and cold. "Where is the maid and that man, Liam?"

"E-Elder. Why are you barging in? I told you I’d take care of them..."

"Oh really? Because I don’t see them anywhere. Don’t lie to me boy. Where are they?!"

"....."

"ANSWER ME!"

The silence stretched.

Then, a chilling sound echoed through the room.

"...Ha! Hahaha! Ahahaha!" Liam began to laugh. It started as a wheeze and escalated into a hysterical, broken cackle.

"Hahaha... Haaa *sniff* It’s too late. It’s all too late, Elder."

"... What do you mean by that? What have you done, boy?"

"Where did everything go wrong, Elder?" Liam asked, now sounding eerily calm. "We were a quiet, humble village. My father grew wheat. Your wife baked bread. Why did it have to become this? This... factory for monsters?"

"Grrr. Liam..."

"I’m tired, Elder. I’m so tired of pretending to be blind. Tired of luring travelers in with a smile, only to watch them be dragged to the swamp and experimented on by that hooded freak. I helped you. I’m a murderer. I’ll never be forgiven... but at least I know it ends today."

"Where are they?!"

The three men grabbed Liam and slammed him to the floor which caused all the contents of his satchel to be revealed, as well as the last vial he has.

"What is this?" The Elder asked when picking it up.

"That?" Liam laughed through what sounded like a mouthful of blood. "That is my atonement. A cure. And they’re gone, Elder. They’re halfway to the capital by now. King Maxwell will bring his knights. And he will bring judgment down on every one of you!"

"You... you traitorous rat! I’ll kill you! I’ll peel the skin from your–"

"It doesn’t matter," Liam’s voice was peaceful. "Like I said, I’m tired. And it’s finally over..."

Shink!

The sound of a blade entering flesh was unmistakable.

And a wet, choking gasp followed.

Until finally... it stopped.

Above them, dark, warm blood began to seep through the carpet and into the cracks of the hatch, dripping onto Kurt’s cheek. Beside him, Isabel was shaking violently, both hands clamped over her mouth to stifle the sobs that were tearing through her chest.

"Useless trash, *Ptooey*" the Elder spat on the dead body. "If he had only kept his mouth shut, he could have joined the brotherhood once the Guest was finished with his work. Men! To the road! Take the carriage they came in. Take the reinforcements. Find them and kill them before they reach the capital! GO!"

The house cleared out in a storm of frantic activity. The Elder lingered for a moment, then, his boots clicked on the floorboards before finally exiting.

Kurt let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. "Of course. Brotherhood," he whispered into the dark. "The cult. It’s always the damn cult."

"Master... Liam is..." Isabel choked out.

"I know. We’re going to make sure it wasn’t for nothing. Also, we’re going to capture that cultist in the swamp. This village is pretty much empty with those men gone to look for us. We’ll clear house before moving on. But first..."

Kurt turned and descended the remaining steps into a dimly lit basement. When they made it fully down, what greeted them was what looked to be a little alchemy lab with notes everywhere.

In the corner, resting on a straw cot near a flickering oil lamp, was a figure. It was a woman with long, tangled black hair. Her body was a map of white bandages, many of them soaked through with fresh blood.

Kurt approached her with the blue vial in his hand. "This must be the one Liam mentioned."

Tingle

"Huh–?"

As he reached out to pull back the woman’s hair, a hand suddenly shot out from the bandages with the speed of a viper. It clamped onto his wrist with bone-crushing strength.

"Shit–!"

The woman lunged upward and slammed her forehead into Kurt’s nose in a brutal headbutt. This caused him to stumble back, stunned, as she rolled off the bed and landed in a crouch, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Master Rossana! Why you–"

"Wait!" Kurt halted her as he wiped the blood from his nose.

The woman’s eyes were wild when scanning the room like a trapped animal. "Where am I? Where is Austin? What did you do with him?!"

"Calm down," Kurt said with his hands up. "I don’t know who Austin is, but I’m not your enemy. I’m a friend."

The woman froze as her gaze locked onto Kurt’s face. Her eyes widened, the wildness replaced by a flicker of recognition.

"You... Kurt Rossana..."

"You know me?"

"I’ve... seen you around," she muttered quickly when darting her eyes away. "In passing. Mainly at Evergreen Park. I watched you fight the royal twins..."

"Great. Then you know I’m not with the freaks upstairs. This is my maid, Isabel. We’re here to get you out."

The woman didn’t relax completely. Suddenly, she winced, clutching her shoulder as fresh blood began to seep through the white bandages.

"You’re infected," Kurt said, showing her the vial. "This is the cure. Liam – the man who was helping you – gave his life to make sure you got it."

"Toss it here."

Kurt threw the glass bottle and she caught it with one hand. Then, without a shred of modesty or hesitation, she reached up and tore the bandages from her body.

Isabel let out a small gasp as the woman stood there, completely naked in the flickering lamplight. Her body was a masterpiece of toned muscle and deep, jagged wounds that were oozing the same black rot Kurt had seen on his own ankle.

She uncorked the vial and poured the liquid directly over her chest and shoulders. As the blue substance hit her skin, she let out a hiss as the infection began to slowly burn away; albeit at a much slower pace when compared to Kurt’s.

"Ha. That was a brave move. What if what I gave you was poison?"

The woman looked at him, her deep purple eyes unblinking as she began to wrap herself in a spare cloak lying near the bed. "... Poison doesn’t work on me."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Well, since you’re not dead or a zombie, I guess we can trust each other. What’s your name?"

The woman hesitated for a split second as her shadow flickering against the wall. "Gar–" she caught herself and shifted her voice slightly.

"Gracie. My name is Gracie."