By the time Envy woke up, we had dragged the corpses to the side, tied up Greed, bandaged the wounds and begun exploring Greed’s dungeon. Turns out the resistance was as curious as I was about that back room. Envy seemed a little miffed that we hadn’t waited for their recovery with bated breath. I had already known that the wound wasn’t fatal. This was far from the first time somebody had been stabbed in front of me. Sometimes I got to be one stabbing. 

His form was the brawny man from before. It was therefore not pleasant to help her limp over to Nero. At least I thought that’s what he said. His accent was thick and low, with lots of pauses between words. Nero seemed to be the head honcho of the rebels here. 

Envy kept whispering things about how to be properly respectful and how to address him. They didn’t seem to realize that I had already spoken with Nero. Not in a polite way either. I had screamed at the spear wall to move their asses once Greed had fallen. The man leading them was apparently Nero. 

Turns out he was in the back room which means I had to help drag the heavy version of Envy even further. I wonder why he wouldn’t transform into something a little smaller or lighter. Maybe he was pissed about how everyone seemed to be ignoring us. A big man tends to get attention more than a skinny kid does. We got over there to find him poring over the leather book. The child laid dead on the floor, blood lapping around the ankles of the rebels as they ransacked anything of value from the walls. Two men strode to block our path but were dismissed by a wave from Nero. Upon closer inspection his black hair was plaited into a braid, his skin tan from the sun. 

Envy staggered over to the bookstand by leaning close against the shelves. I waited off to the side, feeling awkward. It seemed well above my place to be anywhere near decision making. A gasp erupted from Nero and I had to fight the instinct to look. Suddenly he began shouting orders and rebels rushed around the room piling papers and artifacts into a pile. A torch was brought over and its purpose became clear. They were going to purge the collection. A swarm of rebels dragged in Greed from the outside, door screeching as she was pulled in on a beam, lashed flat against it.

When she saw her things cast in such a pile she began to scream. Profanities from all corners of the world gushed forth till she was breathing hard. A heavy hand landed on my back. Envy was struggling to stand. I rushed to help him lean against the bookshelves.

“She’s going to be burned for her crimes”.

A painful death for sure. Envy wheezed before elaborating.

“Don’t look but in my hand I have the Compendium of Greed. Stick it in your cloak.”

I tried to keep the concern out of my voice as Envy’s hulking form slid down the bookshelf onto the floor settling against the base. 

“You alright Envy?”

“No the bastard poisoned her blades. She told me the exact poison. I should be ok later on.”

My teeth clenched. A lie then. I knew dying better than anyone and his voice trembled with the fear of those about to die. I wouldn’t add to that pain. I asked a question to avoid his suspicion.

“How do you know the Procella?” 

“I’m sent to kill them most of the time.Since the kingdom doesn’t know their faces, they accept any old head. So I spare Nero over there in return for a favor. He did a pretty good job dontcha think?”

His voice was slurring more and more. He would have asked for an antidote if there was one. Envy knew poisons better than anyone. 

“What now?”

“You guys will be in the carre of Nero. He’s a good mann and should be able to hide youu for a while. I …… gotta tell you something. There were no tracking runes on you. Just me. I was the only one withhh itt. You should know…. Since I won’t be wallkking out of here. When I’m  gone, there is a mappp with thee … the gold stashes marked onn it.”

The crackling filled the air as his voice burbled and his breath labored. His hand clenched on my arm pulling me close till I was directly in front. A final resolve mustered, Envy forced my head till we were eye to eye. Tears pouring out of his eyes, he muttered thank you, and stared into death. 

Slumping over, his corpse bubbled and shrank. I turned away salty bitterness running down my face. The fire was roaring as Greed began to catch on fire. She looked over, and upon seeing Envy’s body, began to laugh. I snapped. 

Plunging my hand backwards I clutched at his blades. Pulling one from it’s scabbard, I launched it, spinning into Greed’s throat. A sickening thunk and then silence. 

Screams launched from my mouth. Rebels looked scared. A vague sensation of them running out of the room walked across my consciousness. I would bury Envy in the fire. I closed my eyes. Envy never knew who they were and I wouldn’t either. A light weight settled in my arms as the cloak fell off, originally fastened around a large neck. The heat licked my hands as the body sunk into the burning paper. 

I fell backwards against the shelves and lay there crying.