FSE

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Seth hummed quietly to himself as he tread through the creek, although it was cloudy he knew the sun had begun to set, engulfing the woods in a gentle amber glow. For reasons he couldn’t perfectly put into words Seth felt at peace “Is it the little things?, the water is nice... nicer than the drains beneath Xander’s. And there’s fish all around my feet... are you trying to eat me?, I can eat you too silly...” thought Seth hazily, looking up from the creek bed he could see pale blue lights sparkling between the trees “Wisps? it’s been a while since I gave them a treat... I wonder if they like fish?”

Reaching into the water Seth tried to grab a fish as it swam by, but his movements felt heavy, and he could do little more than weakly paw at them as they swam past “maybe if I use both hands they’ll slow down for me” Using one hand to gently nudge a particularly long one towards his other allowed Seth to scoop it up in both hands “Ha!, got you silly. It’s only fair the Wisps get to eat you after you tried eating my feet!”

As Seth began to climb up the bank of the creek he smelled a familiar metallic scent accompanied by an equally familiar shrieking noise, looking behind him he could see that between the trees on the creek side opposite of the Wisps was a single Acturan skull seemingly frozen in place a few meters above the ground; it wasn’t a clean one either, cracked and encrusted with splotches of soot and blood.

“A fallen Ranger?” wondered Seth as he gazed upon the unmoving skull. He’d never seen a ghost like this before and wondered why it was watching him “Hello?” asked Seth, receiving no response “haven’t you got somewhere to go?” he didn’t want to be rude but the entity’s incessant staring had put him on edge.

“No, but I do” said Seth aloud to no one in particular, blinking confusedly.

“...Why did I say that?” he thought, as the sound of dogs barking could be heard nearby

With a panicked jerk Seth awoke from his dream, scrambling to his feet he checked his surroundings. Although it was cloudy as ever the near pitch-darkness had lightened to a gloomy twilight; allowing him to see both sides of the floodplain... and the long bridge downstream “I didn’t realize I was so close to it!” he thought, angry that he wasted time detouring through the muck and forest only to get a scant hundred meters or so away from the main road “You selfish piece of shit!, why’d you decide to pamper your sorry ass and nap on the job?!. All you had to do was walk in a straight line and you couldn’t manage that?” Seth mentally cursed himself, grabbing his knife and quickly hoping off the little island into the now shallow water; sliding on a stone and spraining his ankle in the process.

“Damn it!” he hissed, climbing to his feet. Seth could only hope that no one heard the splash as he half limped- half waded through the frigid knee deep water, after reaching the floodplains’ bank and sending a prayer to whatever god was listening he then glanced back to the bridg-

He was there.

Looking similar to a frightened hare Seth froze, and like the reaper himself Kunzes watched him from atop the bridge; his hand held out with the fingers spread apart.

Except one.

“Two” Seth could almost hear his voice as he brought down another finger

“Three” Thought Seth, turning and fleeing faster than he’d have thought possible

“Four” He ran, ignoring the pain in his ankle as he fled into the woods

“Five” Too afraid to think, too afraid to look back, too afraid to breathe or think clearly

“Six” The reaper was after him now

“Seven” And there was no where to hide

“Eight” Only trees with no end in sight

“Nine” A dog grew closer

“Ten” It tackled him

Seth rolled over, it’s teeth tore into his arm and pinned him there; but he was lucky, with his free hand he plunged his knife into the creature’s neck and desperately tried to shove it away from him,

It worked.

The dog let go, but Seth’s minor victory was overshadowed by guilt as the animal let out an awful wheeze of a cough, trying to breathe through the knife embedded in it’s windpipe.

“Forgive me” thought Seth as he clambered to his feet and continued running.

For a few seconds he naively wondered if he escaped Kunzes, but then his thoughts were interrupted by a howl; the other wolfhound had caught up and was accompanied by the beat of hooves closing in on him. A bolas (one or more long cords with weights at each end) flew past his head and tangled itself in a tree just ahead of him, causing Seth to flinch away and catch a brief glimpse of Kunzes smiling as he twirled and threw another.

It hit.

Seth let out a yelp as the second bolas snared his legs and tail, causing him to trip and fall onto the muddy ground “PLEASE!” he cried as Kunzes dismounted from his horse “I DIDN’T TAKE ANYTHING!, I-” Seth froze as he knelt beside him.

“Go ahead” said Kunzes, still smiling as he made eye contact with him “I know what you were going to say, and you know what I’m going to do, that’s what makes our relationship special, don’t you think?”

“Don’t talk to me like that!” half shouted- half sobbed Seth, curling into a fetal position and shielding his face “Just shut up... just-” he stopped, blood running cold as he felt the all too familiar sensation of a shackle being locked around his wrist

“Please... just kill me” said Seth in a voice barely louder than a whisper, barely struggling as Kunzes clicked the other shackle into place “I’d rather die...”

“Liar” replied Kunzes “You knew you couldn’t get away, yet you never had the guts to kill yourself, thankfully” Seth gasped as something pricked his thigh “You really are sweet aren’t you?, I saw the face you made after killing my dog; you felt bad, even if it was justified”

“...What did you... what did you do to me?” asked Seth quietly “Did you stab me?”

Kunzes’ smile turned to a smirk as he held up a now empty syringe, although the label was written in an Acturan language Seth didn’t recognize most of the words “Had someone get this for me a while back, takes a couple minutes to fully kick in but you’ll be sleeping well once it does”

Tossing aside the syringe he drew a knife and leaned close to Seth, who too afraid to act; did nothing as Kunzes began to cut and tug away his clothes “But you’re worth it though” he said, kissing him on the cheek softly “I’ll see you in a few hours, butcher”

“You promised...” sobbed Seth, weakly trying to push him away as the sedative began to cloud his ability to think “...you said you wouldn’t force me to...” he began to feel distant, as if the world itself was starting to melt away and fall asleep with him “...don’t call me that” was the last thing Seth said before drifting into unconsciousness.

...

...

...

Only a couple hours later the rain slowed to a light drizzle over the floodplain as Kunzes sat cross-legged beneath the fir trees, petting his living wolfhound while reading the diary he had fished out of Seth’s rucksack earlier.

“Nothing useful, it seems like he intentionally chose not to go into detail” thought Kunzes, rereading the most recent entries “...And I hadn’t realized how good of friends he was with that taxman... perhaps I could use this”

Skimming through the diary revealed a number of crude drawings of various plants and fungi, filling him with an odd sense of nostalgia “It’s been a while since you’ve been out here hasn’t it?” he said aloud, looking over to Seth who lay sprawled unconscious beside him, the dried blood from the bites he gave adding some dark red to the mess of scars across Seth’s body “I remember when we were kids you used to love hunting for mushrooms, and even though you told me not to I ate those red and white ones...” smiling at the memory he continued “Everything looked so huge and I couldn’t think straight for hours, I thought we had walked into some kind of nightmare world...”

Lying beside him Kunzes began to spoon with Seth, pulling his nude body closer to himself “But you lead me back home safe and sound, and I told you how much I was in love with you... and I meant it” he smelled Seth’s hair, breathing in his scent “You were so flustered, and you could have just left after that; but instead you chose to keep me company until it wore off, and I was so embarrassed...”

After a few more minutes spent gently stroking Seth he grew tempted to rape him again before riding to Xander’s, at least until he felt him start to shift “...Michael?...” mumbled Seth weakly “...Histuer tombu lal?...”

“That Enclaver concoction must be starting to wear off” thought Kunzes, disappointed he would need to hurry back to Xander’s. He briefly considered sticking Seth with another dose of the stuff but wasn’t willing to risk potentially killing him “We’ll play some more later, but for now I should focus on ripping up Toren’s place before the others beat me to it”

After taking off his coat and wrapping the sleeves around Seth’s shoulders as a makeshift cloak Kunzes lifted him up onto his horse, “He’s lighter than I remember” thought Kunzes, silently cursing Toren as he climbed on behind him “Kind of ironic that the old bastard’s cook was underfed; best not to starve the hand that feeds after all, it’s too bad he learned too late though”

From where they were now it would only take around an hour to get to Xander’s on horseback, an hour Kunzes spent finalizing his plans. Toren’s death may have complicated things somewhat but all the groundwork was set, he just needed to learn how it worked.

=========

“...How many?” asked Rowan, hoping he hadn’t heard Luthay correctly.

“Eighty-six at least” he replied “That’s how many bills of sale Seth found hidden away in the old bastard’s vault. All except his own and two others were from before Toren bought him as well.”

“And you said Toren never sold any of his slaves...” said Rowan quietly “What about the other two he bought?”

“Dead” said Luthay “Seth told me they were older women, a pair of sisters afflicted with an incurable disease, sold for less than a nice set of clothes” he struck a match and lit an old pipe as he spoke, the scent of the resin making the common room smell like burnt maple syrup “Seth wouldn’t say how the first died but somehow, through some sort of chicanery Toren actually cured the second... only to carve her up afterwards.”

“But why?...” asked Rowan softly, looking down into his tea “Why would he be that needlessly cruel?, wouldn’t it make more sense to sell her for more than he paid for instead?”

“It would if money was a concern” came Luthay’s reply, exhaling “... but his projects were funded by the count and his cronies, and he’d have rather kept the details of his work from spreading to potential competitors”

“Is that why Kunzes is after Seth?” asked Rowan “Because he wants to learn Toren’s secrets?”

For some time Luthay said nothing, unsure how to answer best as he poured himself some tea “...It’s complicated” he said at last “Kunzes and Seth have a lot of history, which I’d rather not share out of respect for my friend. But to answer your question: yes, he does want to claim whatever Toren’s cobbled together in that lair of his.”

“If Toren truly has made a panacea or some sort of miracle cure then it shouldn’t be kept hidden, even if the means used to discover it were appalling” Thought Rowan before saying “I’m not interested in keeping Toren’s secrets to myself. If he really wants them that badly why shouldn’t I just give them to him?”

“Because Seth considers that to be the worst possible outcome” replied Luthay “though I’ll admit he straight up refused to tell me why, and I can only speculate as to the reason it’d be such an awful decision.”

Rowan nodded, looking around the cluttered common room. It seemed that the government’s warehouse was full and the customs agency was simply cramming junk wherever it would fit, which included among other oddities several crates labeled in a language he had never seen alongside some unusual looking rifles and a metallic device that Rowan could only assume was some kind of instrument,

“I’m guessing you’re Minth as well judging by the tan fur. And the spotty face I suppose” said Rowan, taking a drink of the tea before continuing “that kid I mentioned earlier, Chet; told me that most of you were wiped out by the Jersen up north and some other people, “Enclavers” I think he said. Anything you can tell me about them?”

“Not much, you’d have better luck asking Seth or reading about it” replied Luthay before taking a deep draw of his pipe, exhaling as he glanced out a window towards the shredded walls separating the government building from the docks, the early morning light casting rays though the cannon holes “They did that, they’re Acturans from what I’ve seen, and I know they made most of the junk in here including this” he held up his pipe, watching the smoke drift upwards “They also reportedly live in isolated fortresses called Enclaves and tend to shoot or burn anyone that isn’t from there”

“I see” said Rowan, wondering why he had never heard of them “But where are they exactly?, on islands or something?. And why hasn’t the Liskian government done anything about it?, it seems like they’d be pissed that their trade routes are in shambles”

Luthay pointed to a map framed on the wall of the common room “See how everything east of Jursun’s colonies is written as “Uncharted Territory” despite their rush to gobble up every inch of land available?, that’s because the Enclavers live there; and like I said, they won’t hesitate to annihilate anyone who even thinks of trying to enter their lands without an invitation” he paused for a moment, pondering what to say next as he took a drink of his bitter tea “Now, there’s quite a few reasons as to why the governments done nothing: Too many wars on too many fronts, too much internal instability, too much debt to fund an overseas invasion... The fact that both Jursun and Liskia’s grip on this corner of the world is about as firm as a stick of butter doesn’t help either.”

Rowan nodded before yawning “That makes sense I guess. Sorry if I seem tired, I haven’t slept in nearly two days and I don’t think the teas helping” he stood and walked to the window, glad the storm seemed to be passing.. but something still bothered him “You seemed quite certain that he would catch Seth soon, but it’s been hours... what are the chances Kunzes lost track of him?”

Luthay was quiet for some time and although it may have been some trick of his sleep deprived brain Rowan got the feeling that, rather than contemplating what might have happened to Seth, he was instead contemplating how to say it. “...Even if he did lose Seth’s trail, he would find it again right after” said Luthay with a sigh “but it has been quite some time... I sent a couple lads out to keep an eye on Kunzes’ headquarters though, so at least we know he hasn’t been locked up in there”

“If only Seth had the head start he planned around, he’d have a chance” thought Luthay glumly “He must have been caught by now... but what’s taking so long?, is that bastard just taking his time or something?, leading Seth on just to crush his hope at the last minute?”

As Luthay dwelt on such thoughts Rowan began to take a closer look at the map, the frontier was a big place and the western nations only held part of the smaller, western half of Acturon. Looking south of the “Unseelie” or rouge Liskian claims revealed that even a few smaller countries had colonized the islands south of the mainland. “Audrea, Dunstradt, and even Abradal’s trying to swallow up the east as well it seems” thought Rowan.

Xander’s itself was a minor port alongside the coast of the great gulf dividing the two continents of East and West Acturon, and like Luthay had said almost everything to the east was blank save the coast and a couple of presumably Acturan settlements along it “So where are you from?, were you born here or in an Enclave?” asked Rowan, pacing around the room idly.

“Neither” replied Luthay plainly “I’m from an Outsider town, one you won’t find on any maps since a bunch of Seelie destroyed the place about...” he paused, thinking for a moment “-...thirty or so years ago, can’t remember the year though I was a teenager when it happened”

“Oh” said Rowan awkwardly “I’m sorry to hear that...”

“I told you not to pity me” said Luthay with a frown “and you’re an idiot if you think I’d blame you for shit that’s happened years before you were born” taking another draw of his pipe he added “And besides, that trash heap deserved to burn; place was made up of bigoted exiles, weirdos, and Enclave deserters mostly. It’s a miracle me, my parents, and my siblings weren’t strung up when they decided to move there”

“Well... I’m glad it doesn’t bother you” said Rowan, concerned “but why would they hang you?”

“Minth” he said dismissively “Like the kid told you earlier pretty much all the Enclavers and even other Outsiders want nothing to do with us, if we’re lucky they just shoo us away; and if not...” Luthay shrugged “What would you expect a bunch of bored and disgraced killers to do?”

“I see” said Rowan, remembering what he had been taught about old wars and the mercenary armies used centuries ago back west; and how undisciplined armies could cause as much if not more damage to their own people than the enemy “I’m guessing you lost your leg in the raid?”

“No, that came later. Although it’s not something I care to talk about” said Luthay as he saw Joey and another customs officer enter the room “Is he back yet?” he asked

“Seems so!” said Joey jovially, looking to Rowan he added “Are you ready to deal with the devil?, he’s at your new place so you’ll get to check it out at the same time”

“I’m close enough to ready” replied Rowan, hoping things would turn out well.

They wouldn’t likely.