Chapter 26

I woke up with a start, my hand darting to my chest, to look for the hole where the sword had pierced me. Content that there was nothing there, I tried to get up and only then did I realize that I was not alone in bed. Janet had laid down next to me and, I guess, fell asleep on my shoulder, though my jerking up in bed had roused her from her nap.

“Davik?” she asked, a note of concern in her voice. “Are you okay? Was it another of those dreams again?”

“Yes it was, Janet, but your suggestion helped, and I think I know where the bastard is. Is it close to evening meal yet? Everyone needs to hear this.”

She nodded and replied, “I have no idea, but given the position of the sun in the sky, I am sure we have about an hour before evening meal is served.”

I nodded and crawled out of bed, heading out to use their facilities and clear my head. The dreams were far too vivid for my liking and I worried that they could influence me at some point, given the somewhat mystical nature of the curse. I returned to the room to find Janet waiting for me, a new shirt in her hand. I changed quickly, noticing her eyes linger on my exposed torso for the moment she could see it. I walked over to my satchel to find the small journal that had been stored there before leaving the room. We headed down to the dining area and, as I suspected, Ruben was sitting alone at a table, nervously glancing around. I began to make my way over to him and when he noticed me, he visibly relaxed. I took a seat across from him and noticed the he had bruises and some blood on his knuckles.

“I take it you had an eventful day, Stevan?” I asked with a smile, hoping to dissipate some of the tension he seemed to have.

“Yeah, it was eventful. I was forced into a situation where I nearly beat a man to death, and I am no longer sure that I can continue like this without having to kill someone.”

“Well, to be fair, you nearly killed Brenson, as well as killed Trent the night you attempted to kill me. You have the ability, what has made you not want to resort to it now?”

He nodded and replied, “I guess I deserve that, but those circumstances were different. For Brenson, it was to escape, as we had no idea what he had planned for us, only the feeling that something horrible would come out of it. For Trent, I truly regret doing what I did, though I doubt that anything I do for the rest of my life will make up for that. I had to choose my family or my friends - tell me that you would not have done the same if you had been put into my position? Even if I just told him to kill me, he would have made me immobile and forced me to watch as he killed my son, and raped my wife and daughter, before killing them as well. Only after that had happened, and I was truly broken, would he kill me.”

“No, I do not think I would have done anything differently if I were in your shoes and I do understand the stress that you were put under. However, I do not think you will have much more to do after today. Thanks to something that Janet and I had come to suspect, I believe that I now know where the bastard is hiding. While he may have left for some time after you escaped, I think he is in the same building that he once held you and father in so many years ago.”

Shock appeared on his face as he began to think on what I said, perhaps trying to think about what he could remember of the place.

“It was very remote,” he muttered, as he still tried to grasp at the information stored in his memories. “If we had not been running for our lives we would have tried to figure out where we were and where it was in relation to Retvan and Fardun.”

“Given that the aide to the Patron stated that the wolves in the region tend to disappear during a blood moon, I expect that it would be within the region around here. Perhaps in one of the various abandoned buildings they used to house miners, because I remember father telling me of those buildings being used for the deep mines. Ones that were mined for decades before finally running dry, causing the buildings to be left empty. No one would think to use them, especially if they made sure to make it look as if it were still abandoned.”

“That is true, but there is no telling how many of those mines there would be, not to mention the buildings. How do you expect to get that information, let alone confirm which one it could be?”

“The Patron’s aide should be stopping by to tell me of his sire’s answer to my business proposal. I can simply ask if he could provide me with the information, as I believe that the group responsible for the extortion occurring in the industrial district resides there.”

“Would he not then send his own people to deal with the issue instead of you being the one to go?”

“I suspect that he is unsure who is involved with the organization in question and thus would not be certain if the job would be dealt with. I will offer my services, as well as the services of the soldiers who accompany me, in dealing with the matter. As both a show of good faith and to ensure that the problem is dealt with.”

“That is a novel idea, Davik,” Ruben said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “however, what would give him a reason to trust you?”

“I will leave those who are not combat capable here in the city with those we both will accept as outside of their influence. They will not be able to leave without proof of their destruction, ensuring that I complete the task.”

He rubbed his fingers along his beard, thinking upon the idea I had given him, no doubt looking for a flaw in my plan.

“How can you guarantee that the Patron would accept the neutral party and besides, do you even know anyone here in town?”

I laughed and answered, “There is one member of our group you have not seen, Revar. He is the Patron of Cartha’s personal bodyguard and has been one for a very long time. He would be easily recognized by Retvan’s Patron, due to his unique status. I just need to make sure that he would be willing to do so. The other part of my plan will require Lillian’s help, so I am hoping that she will be back tonight to talk about what she may have found. From there, it is just a matter of coordinating things between Revar, Lillian and Sebastian to ensure everyone is on the same page.”

“Are you sure that you can deal with him, with only a handful of female soldiers to help you?”

“Oh, I am quite sure,” I answered, trying to contain my mirth. “They are a special section of the Vishant military that expressly deals with Voguel threats. Given the circumstances, I have had them sparring with me each night leading up to our arrival, with me going at full strength and full speed. While I am not sure of the abilities of an old one, I felt they needed to be prepared for the worst. Though it will not matter, as we plan to hunker down in the city during the blood moon and attacking them after, to ensure we are not surprised by anything.”

“Ah, I see. Well then it should go well, though it will mean that you need to get things done before tomorrow night.”

Yes, I plan to visit a smithy we believe to be owned fully, or in part, by Brenson. They were the ones that had been sending the goods to Cartha via the deal that Brant had struck. I believe that, while there had been vengeance on his mind when he killed father, he saw an opportunity to gain profit and saw Brant as the perfect means to do so. Your failure to renew the plan caused Brenson to look at Cartha, and I think that is what brought his ire to the town. It was then that he learned of Brant’s demise at my hand and of who I am.”

Ruben nodded in agreement, as I was sure he already suspected that something tied to Brant had brought Brenson’s focus onto us.

“So, what do you want me to do then, Davik? I really do not want to continue hurting people and you have already learned the information that I had been searching for. I do not think it would be wise to participate on your raid on his base of operations, I had only seen the room we had been in and the dilapidated stable we stole from.”

“Help Revar to protect the others while we are gone, as I trust no one else to do so more than you!”

Ruben looked at me in shock, “but Davik, how could you trust me after everything I did to try and kill you?”

“Because I knew that you did not want to kill me or Trent. You were forced into an impossible situation that in the end forced you to choose what was most important to you to protect. I would have done the same in your position, so instead of doubting, work to move forward. Through your actions, earn back the trust and respect of those you care about most, as well as your friends who were alienated by your actions. Now, before you go, I want you to have this, as I have finished reading the important parts and added my own, covering everything that has happened since I got back, until the day we arrived here.”

I pulled out the journal that was in my pouch, the one he had asked me to find the night of our fight and placed it in front of him. He sat there staring at it for a while, perhaps not expecting to see that ever again and no doubt wondering what I had added to it. He nodded and he promised to come back tomorrow night to discuss the plans and where he would be needed during our raid of Brenson’s lair.

I then went over and joined the table of my friends who had gotten together while I had been talking to Ruben. Even Lillian had returned, to my surprise, and I felt a twinge of joy at seeing her again, knowing that she had returned unharmed. I hoped that she had stumbled across the location of the building Brenson was using in her exploration of the area. I saw that even Revar had decided to stop by and join us, which would make the discussion we needed to have even easier.

“Hello everyone,” I began, “I am happy to see that our entire group is here to enjoy a meal together, tonight. It is most advantageous, as there is a lot to go over and I am glad I will not have to repeat it. First, I know that most of you are curious who that man is and why I would be talking to him at length. That is Ruben, Violet’s father and the man who attempted to kill me some months ago, resulting in my new abilities. Before you go to immediately condemn him, understand that he had been put into an impossible situation. If he did not do as Brenson ordered, his son would have probably been eaten alive in front of him, followed by the rape of his wife and daughter, repeatedly. He would have been forced to watch them be murdered as well, before Brenson would either kill him, or force him to live with the memory of what had been done to his family. If he killed himself, the same would happen, only his family would have their suffering prolonged. His only choice left to protect them, was to kill me. Trent was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for what Ruben is doing here, he survived the fall into the mine and made his way to Fardun, where he worked as a forester.

“Once he had the money to make his way to Retvan, he left to come here, making a name for himself as an enforcer, in the hopes of getting into Brenson’s more nefarious operation. He believed that by doing so, he could learn the whereabouts of Brenson and somehow get the information relayed back to me. That has become unnecessary, as I believe I now have an idea of where to search for him, all thanks to the monster himself.

“As we had been getting closer to Retvan, I had a vivid dream involving him, but ruled it off as my fears. It was not until a second dream - after we had arrived - that I believed there was something else going on and I mentioned what had happened to Janet. She had heard of something like this occurring back in Vishant, but believe that Brenson had started it by accident, as he had been acting more like it had been a fantasy. She told me if I found myself in that situation again, to try and play along – intervene in the dream - and see if I could get any information of where I was. It worked like a charm, as he confirmed the torture room I was in, was part of the same building that once housed my father and Ruben before they escaped. I relayed the information to Ruben, along with some things I learned from my talk with Sebastian and we believe that he is using one of the unused housing structures, found at one of the closed mines.”

“Okay, Ruben aside, that is a lot to take in,” Liza said, concern on her face. “How exactly are you planning to figure it out before he finds out that you are here? The blood moon is tomorrow, and I doubt anyone wants to be anywhere close to that monster during it.”

“I am hoping that Lillian may have seen something that will confirm my suspicions while she has been gone. Along with that, I plan to pay the smithy - we believe he has some ownership in - a visit. I will show my document as an envoy of Cartha’s patron, though I plan to go in the guise of Revar, as to not overplay my hand. I am hoping that, during my visit, someone might mention something, or I may see a document or something in passing, that will narrow down where to look. Revar, is there anyone in town who would know that I am not you?”

“Anyone who knows me has moved away. I asked my parents when I came, hoping to reconnect with someone. The only two people who know me now are my parents and neither of them has anything to do with the industrial district.”

“Good,” I replied with a nod. “That will make this easier, though I now will have something important to task you with. I need you to take Liza, Jerreth, Celka and Ruben to somewhere safe. Ruben will assist you in protecting them when we go to attack Brenson, though I know Jerreth will lend a hand as well. I want to ensure nothing happens to them, no matter what happens. Janet and her soldiers will go with me and I will assist them however I can to complete the mission. I am hopeful that we will be victorious in our endeavors and rid Bardack province of his rot, once and for all.”