Lorne POV

"How far is it?" he murmured beneath the cover of his dark hood. 

His words were partially drowned by the downpour on this desolate night. The boy who spoke was a sickly-looking lad, riddled with all manners of infirmities. I cleared my throat, straining to catch my words.

"Huh? What did you say?" I asked, my gruff voice slicing through the heavy rain.

We moved swiftly through the dimly lit cobbled streets, where streetlights resembled dark stalks crowned with balls of golden fire. We weaved between hard poles, navigating the narrow streets that offered glimpses of closely built homes. The Victorian-styled city, Santana, nestled beneath the ominous mountains of Sauvage, bound in mystery in the southern realms.

Alongside my companion we pressed on tirelessly, having not rested since our departure a fortnight ago. Despite maintaining a timely pace, we both panted with exhaustion by now. I, the older and less spry of the two, couldn't ignore the weariness etched on the young man's face. "

Lorne? Shouldn't we take a break?" he would ask me cautiously from time to time. And my ire would spire as I met his gaze with a scolding glare.

"No need. We keep going. Remember, purple reeds and a goat's tail. When you see it, that's our place," I instructed, my hoarse voice growing weaker. He refrained from pressing his concerns further, aware of the consequences.

As we maneuvered through the quiet city, drenched in relentless rain, my discerning eyes focused on the old-fashioned Victorian architecture surrounding us. The heavy rain provided cover for our movements, the streets mostly deserted because of the plague and the call to evacuate due to the improptu disaster of demons arriving.

 I was always the calculating and cautious type when undergoing such missions like these, and I had gambled on the weather and luck to keep us hidden from the night patrol.

Captivated by the rain's beauty, I observed the glistening cobbled stones and the narrow, winding streets leading to deserted alleyways. "Tavers Town," a sign read halfway down a street. My curious eyes caught sight of a boarded-up store with a squeaking sign—an animal's tail and a purple reed. Before I could speak I heard the young lad's voice filled with cheer saying.

"Lorne! w-w-we found it! Come and look! It's the reed and the cow's tail."

"Goat's tail, you fool, but yes, this seems to be the place," I replied, studying the sign with furrowed brows. 

Unease crept across my face as I contemplated the impending meeting. I was aware of the dangers behind this door, but at what choice did I have left? Instead of worrying I made sure to brief the lad on how to conduct himself again. 

"Remember, 

Do not speak even if spoken to.

Do not look him in the eye.

Do not touch him

. And lastly, if at any moment you hear things but do not see them, tap me on my shoulders three times."

"But that...that doesn't make any sense..." he protested weakly

"Shut up and listen! You don't need to understand it, but you will certainly follow it,"

 I insisted, sensing weariness in his demeanor. I rustled into my pocket and handed over a slim silver-coated necklace with a pendant adorned with four tiny silver petals and a pale pinkish jewel pressed into its center. 

"Wear this around your neck, but keep it hidden. If anything goes wrong, squeeze the jewel and pray to your God." I sang to him darkly.

Questions lingered on his tongue, but my firm hand silenced his spluttering doubts. 

"Thumb it, pull it, do whatever you need to do, but make sure you hold that flower in your hand. These people are not like us—they are dangerous, boy. Very dangerous. Do not forget that." I stressed.

Between the boarded storefront and the adjacent house, I led the way down a thin alleyway. The sounds of constant rainfall rattled against the pipes and the walls. 

 At the end of the narrow outdoor corridor lay a closed steel door. A beige-colored one, soaked in rain, I pressed the handle down and pushed forwards, the door opened with a terrible squeal. As we entered, echoes resonated through the hollow tunnel. Another steel door stood ahead, behind which a faint song softly echoed from within. I held my movements, and exhaled deeply, placing a palm over my fast-beating heart as I vowed.

'Be still my heart...we have met worst disasters before'

I proceeded through the iron door, and the sloped ground indicated that we had descended beneath the citadel.

Soon, we entered a dimly lit, spacious room where our footsteps echoed against the clear yet murky ground. As I observed our surroundings, I noticed thick pipes gathered near the ceiling. A subtle cough caught my attention, and as my gaze descended, I spotted a hooded figure sitting on a short stool, with a radio resting on a tiny square table. The hooded figure turned around.

"Ah! You've finally arrived, my friend. And you're not alone. Hello... there... new friend. You can call me Mr. Pax," he greeted with a smile, revealing cupid-shaped lips beneath his hood. I positioned myself between him and the youngster behind me.

"Shall we conclude our business?" I replied stiffly.

"Of course. Business is important during these trying times. I heard a rumor about children being born with deformities. Can't say I'm surprised with that smog in the skies," the man named Mr. Pax remarked casually.

"The factories provide jobs, and jobs pay us coin," I replied, tossing a bag of silvers at this Mr. Pax.

"Now show me the item so we can be on our way." I insisted

Soon afterwards long, the hooded figure presented a wooden box secured with a golden lock to me. I gently pried it open to reveal a glittering white crystal inside. Sinister whispers emanated from the jewel, and I couldn't ignore them. I heard terrible whispers and swiftly closed the box. Without much thought, my aging features adorned a sly smile. My trembling gaze couldn't believe it, for only a select few knew the value of this jewel — a ticket to a life beyond that of a common peasant.

'Finally... it ends tonight.'

"Hey now, since I've been so kind as to sell you a rare magic crystal so cheaply, why don't you indulge my curiosity a little?" Pax spoke in a jovial manner.

I furrowed my brows. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, for one thing, why don't you share a little about yourselves? You don't seem like merchants, so my guess is you're a drifter of some kind. Such a fascinating vocation, I might add. I once carried dreams of living in the outdoor world myself, neither confined nor forced to live under restraints. I admire your ilk. By the way, what was it you said your name was again?"

I remained tight-lipped and rigid in my speech, continuing to glare at the young-faced hooded figure. There was something sinister about the plastic smile drawn across his face.

"I never mentioned our names. We are men of free trade; unlike drifters, we have a peculiar skill set for acquiring rare items. Much like this crystal here."

I smiled and hid the rectangular-shaped box away. I glanced toward the young man by my side; the boy wasn't doing as well as I would've hoped. His eyes, filled with distress, could not stop rattling from one end of the room to the other. The whites within them were ghostly pale, and the lips, dried and cut, were muttering hot air. I could see the boy would not last much longer underneath this sort of pressure. I cleared my throat and placed my lizard-like eyes upon the fellow standing in front of me.

"In this life, men like us take on many forms. Back in my day, a man was taught to con a ship, roast a fattened boar, fight in a war, love his wife, and his children, and of course... how to kill. Nowadays, you young folk think way too linear about things. One day you might understand the world from an old man's perspective." I chuckled, revealing a rare smile that showed my rotten teeth.

 The plastic smile almost faded away like smoke from the fellow named Pax's face.

"Hm? You think so. I think the linear thinkers tend to be your generation. From my point of view, is it not the old Lords and Kings who condemned the children of this land into working the factories and tilling the mines? Haha, you're quite interesting though, I haven't come across someone like you before, good sir. We should be friends. We'd make an unlikely duo, don't you think."

I was surprisingly caught off guard by those verses. I wasn't sure whether this fellow was downright crazy or simply putting on an act to bide his time.

 My doubts tended to be right in tense situations. History had cruelly proven that time and time again.

 Survival was always the route one goal for everyone, and this world of mine was exceptionally cruel to those without the instinct of survival. Before everything else, my life must come first. My brows suddenly straightened. My eyes felt clear and much lighter than before.

 "Say, how many more crystals could you get me?" I asked with a softer tone this time around. The change in my countenance didn't go amiss, but the hooded fellow only showed his reaction for a few moments. His circular face returned to its jovial, comical look. "It might take me a long time to gather them in large quantities. But I do still have a few more nearby if you're interested; the price will be doubled, of course."

This made me furrow my brows again.

"How many more can you sell me today?"

The fellow draped in dark robes turned his eyes towards the ceiling; clearly, he was pondering some things deeply. Soon enough, he snapped his fingers and glared with elation towards me.

"I can get you a few more, but... but I'll need you to wait here for me. I'd be considered foolish if I carried all my goods with me,"

He mentioned with a wry smile. Nevertheless, I accepted the proposal.

I glanced over my shoulder and gestured for the boy to approach me. I forced my hand into the boy's robes, fished through his inside pockets, and placed my bearish paws over the coin purse I placed inside earlier for good measure. Just as I leaned in, I whispered something quickly and pulled away swiftly. The young man clothed in the dark robe didn't seem concerned; his eyes would light up as soon as the pouch filled with coins was tossed towards him. Occupied by the weighted coin purse, he was halfway turning on his heels away from us. "Wait here for me, good sir; I'll be back with your goods in a few moments." While he was twisting around on his heels, a rogue noise caught his attention from his rear—an audible metallic clicking sound.

"Huh?" Once he finally turned around to meet it, the barrel of a black iron revolver was staring back at him. The wielder was, of course, myself, who gripped the pistol with a look of conviction burned into my two eyes. Two breaths later, I pulled the trigger and sent the bullet blasting into the left side of the fellow's face.

The force sent the hooded fellow crumbling backward. The bullet had eaten away any piece of flesh and bone it met. The burning smoke wheezed out from the combustion of the shot. 

I stood still for a few patient moments. My heart was racing wildly, my breath laborious, but with the clearing of the smoke, and seeing the lifeless body of the hooded wearer sprawled against the ground, brought a satisfying smile to my face.

The boy beside me, however, could barely make sense of what had just occurred; there was a ringing noise distorting the world around him. All he could do was shield his ears while watching the blurry figure of myself approaching the dead body.

"Y-y-y-ou shot him....Wh-why did you do that?"

I ignored him at first, too busy searching the corpse for anything valuable. I didn't find anything shaped like a box or anything for that matter. I decided to check the apparel, fighting through layers of clothes before I noticed something peculiar poking out of the trouser pockets. I carefully took out the stick-like object with my two stubby fingers.

My eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

"This....this is...ha...ha-haha-aha I knew it, I bloody knew it. Of course, magic is real, I told them! I told them all - Lorne is not crazy ahahaha! Those Gods have decided to smile down upon me. Boy! Do you know what this is?" I hadn't realized I was conversing with myself at this point; the boy was still swallowed by the fear and realization that someone was lying dead right in front of him.

I hadn't expected death to befall such a shadow against him. I watched the boy fall to his knees; his head fell into his two hands and he started rocking back and forth.

"Get up, you fool. Don't you understand what this is...look-look damn it! They call this a magic wand - these things could level an entire kingdom. Do you know what this means, boy? Do you bloody know how long I've been waiting for this? WAKE UP DAMN YOU WAKE UP!" I roared, but the boy remained lost in this docile trance.

Without a second thought, I remembered the pendant, so I ducked down and reached into the boy's robes. I yanked the chain free and tucked it into my pocket. The youth was still stuck in his hysterics that he didn't react nor say a word; he merely sat on his knees, shivering while uttering gibberish. I felt a cold heaviness gathering in my heart.

"There is nothing more I can do for you it seems... If you choose to remain in this state, then I... I must do what is necessary."

I stepped behind the boy and gingerly pressed the barrel of the revolver to the back of his shivering head.

My hand was shaking; my entire body was shivering like ice swam through my veins. I gritted my teeth and roared to the heavens to spur my will on to do what was necessary. 

"Don't make me do this! Get up now-damn you boy! damn you!"

A guttural cry escaped through my mouth as I steeled my resolve and squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

The boy stopped squirming, and his body slumped to the ground. I stood over his dead body for a few moments, lost in contemplation of the scene before me.