*On the outskirts of Bludwood, four guards were watching the gate. One was on a tower, three were down below. The guards were wearing heavy black trench coats to protect them from the cold snowy weather and had rifles in their hands. The guard on the tower was using binoculars to survey when he spotted a carriage being driven by two large speasts wolves that were red and had a flame on the tips of their tails. In the carriage were two dark elves. The one driving the carriage was a tall muscular elf with short spikey black hair and blue eyes. The elf next to him was smaller and skinnier. He had straight silver hair cut into a bowl, wore glasses, and had green eyes. He was holding a sketchbook in his hand. Both were wearing green trench coats*
(Guard #1): Two dark elves approaching the gate.
*The guards on the ground prepared their guns ready to fire as the carriage came closer to the gate. When the guards got a good look at who was driving the carriage their expressions soften*
(Guard #2): Hey~, Ignis and Roman.
(Ignis): Afternoon gentleman.
(Guard #3): Should have known it was you two when I saw the spirits. How’d the trading go?
(Ignis): Went well. We got some good wares for the shop that I think everyone will enjoy and we made some good money as well. Mind letting us in?
(Guard #3): Sure. After we do our inspection.
(Roman): Oh come on, you know we don’t bring in anything illegal.
(Guard #4): Sorry, but you guys know the rules.
*The guards inspect the cart for anything out of the ordinary. They inspect the back where they see barrels, fruits, and other miscellaneous stuff. The guard looks inside the barrels and sees nothing out of the ordinary. They look underneath the cart and don’t find anything suspicious*
(Guard #3: Nothing on this end.
(Guard #2): All good in the back as well.
(Guard #4): All right. You’re free to go in. Open the gate!
*The guard on the tower opens the gate and the carriage enters Bludwood. The carriage drives down the street where people of different races are walking making sure to stay out of the carriage’s way. On the other side of the street a bunch of gangsters are holding an elf and pummeling him while everyone goes about their business. When the carriage comes to a shop it goes around back and pulls into the docking bay. Ignis and Roman exit the cart*
(Ignis): Good job guys. Come back now.
*As Ignis opens his sketchbook to a blank page, the speasts start to glow and fade away. Once they’re completely gone they appear as drawings in the sketchbook. While Ignis was recalling his spirits, Roman went to open the dock doors and began unloading the cargo. For a man of his size and strength, it was easy to unload everything. By the time Ignis went to help him out the carriage was all but empty*
(Roman): Phew. That’s the last of it.
(Ignis): Nice work, Roman. All right, you can come out now.
*The floorboards in the carriage popped up and out came Dust, Ryuuji, Zia, Amarti, and Jin. Alita lay lying in the hidden compartment motionless*
(Jin): Alita. Time to wake up.
*Alita opened her eyes and immediately jumped out of the carriage and struck a pose*
(Alita): Infiltration. Success.
(Amarti): Ahh~, good to stretch.
(Zia): Are you okay Master Amarti? I’ll be sure to have a serious conversation with Lylah about these poor traveling conditions.
(Dust): Relax, she got us in. Though I didn’t expect to see you guys.
(Ignis): And we didn’t expect we’d be transporting you. It’s great to see you again, Dust.
(Roman): Yeah, you look great.
(Dust): It’s great to see you guys as well. I haven’t seen you since I left. Ignis, your drawings have improved so much. And Roman you’re still as big and muscular as I remember you. Actually, I think you’re more muscular. How’s Jasmine?
(Roman): Doing good. She’s in college now. Studying economics.
(Dust): Impressive. She’s way smarter than her big brother.
(Roman): Yeah, I couldn’t be prouder. She’s good when it comes to the books and I’m good when it comes to the muscles.
(Ignis): I’m sure you’d be good with the books if you applied yourself.
(Roman): Nope. Gotta stick with my strengths. That’s what you taught me, Dust.
(Dust): Yep. And find someone to cover your weaknesses. I say you’ve found that in Jasmine and Ignis here.
*Ignis smiles and rubs the back of his head all while smiling. Amarti checks out the closed store*
(Amarti): So you guys use this merchant shop as a cover to get money and keep eyes on Bludwood. Impressive.
(Ignis): Yeah. We both came from families of merchants so running a shop comes second nature to us.
(Ryuuji): And the Syndicate didn’t find you suspicious?
(Ignis): At first, yes. But we had a good back story and there was nothing they could find to trace us back to the clan. Plus, our shop doesn’t make a whole lot of money to appear on their radar. As long as we pay our protection fee the Syndicate and their subsidiaries leave us alone. Anyway, take this key and note. It’ll lead you to our safe house. Also, I probably shouldn’t be giving you this but here are the files we have on Noetia Syndicate, its major members, and their mansion.
*Ignis hands Amarti a book, a key, and a note with the address to the safe house*
(Ignis): Unfortunately, this is as far as we can go. I wish we could offer you more assistance but these are Lylah’s orders. I’m sorry.
(Dust): It’s okay. Lylah’s just looking out for your safety. Getting us in here was more than enough. We won’t put you guys at risk any longer. It was great seeing you both again. I’m. . .proud of the men you’ve become. Let’s meet again someday.
*Shadow Eye proceeds to exit out the backdoor making sure no one saw them exit the building*
(Ryuuji): You sure seemed to care a lot for those two back there.
(Dust): When Roman and Ignis first joined the clan I didn’t think they would last long. Ignis was scrawny, his drawings were subpar, and he lacked confidence. Roman was big and strong but he was too kind for his own good. Having that mindset in the underworld gets a person killed quickly. However, despite this, those two stayed in the clan to take care of their families and are now doing something they would have never been able to accomplish when I met them all those years ago. I can’t help but feel pride in their growth. Unlike a certain knight I’ve been stuck with.
(Jin): Hey!
(Alita): My apologies. I will do better going forward.
*As they walk the streets Jin took in how dead and depressed Bludwood felt compared to Brister*
(Jin): Man this place feels dead. Even for a winter day.
(Zia): It wasn’t always like this. In its golden days, Bludwood was known as quite the profitable kingdom that specialized in fishing. It was said they had the best Unagi dishes around.
(Jin): So what happened?
(Ryuuji): Over-consumption. The Unagi went extinct in the area and with the Unagi gone so too went their fishing market. They had to find profit in another area, so they chose war. At first, it worked out. Bludwood was able to expand its territory quite far. So far that they almost came to the borders of Brister. But that didn’t work out so well for them. Other kingdoms and empires started to fight back and it wasn’t long until they found themselves retreating and losing a lot of territories that they gained. This didn’t sit well with the people and with their backs against the wall, the royal family of Bludwood made a deal with the local mob families to get money. With their connections and resources, the kingdom was able to get money flowing again, but it came at a price.
(Jin): They handed the rule of their kingdom over to the mob families.
(Amarti): Bingo. Instead of corruption starting on the streets and working its way up. It started in the royal family and worked its way down. The mob families pretty much have free reign to do whatever they want and the people of Bludwood suffer for it. At this point, the royal family might as well be a puppet monarchy.
(Jin): So how did the Noetia Syndicate wind up at the top?
(Dust): In the past, there were four families who ran Bludwood. The Noetias, the Vikingos, the Glomgols, and the Asacuras. The Vikingos left after a dispute. The Glomgols destroyed themselves from inner turmoil, and the Asacuras were wiped out by the Noetias. With the Noetias as the top dogs all the smaller mob families fell in line and those who didn’t were quickly taken out.
(Alita): You sure know a great deal about the mob families in this kingdom.
(Jin): What’s your history with the Noetias anyway?
(Dust): You really want to know what happened?
*Everyone nodded*
(Dust): *Sigh* During my earlier days in the clan I mouthed off to a couple of Noetia members and got into a fight with them. Not wanting things to escalate any further I went to their mansion to apologize for my actions, but it soon turned into a one-man raid. Battled my way to the top and beat their second-in-command. Rather than be mad, the head of the family used this as an opportunity to kill his second-in-command. There was a power struggle between the two, so me showing up worked in his favor. I was absolved of any past transgressions and allowed to walk out in one piece. Now that I think about it, that was when everyone started calling me the Demon’s Shadow.
(Amarti): Your past is just like an orange. The more I peel away the sweeter it gets.
(Dust): I’m glad you guys take enjoyment from learning about my past.
(Zia): It is amusing to see you in this new light.
(Jin): Yeah, it’s like we’re finally understanding why you’re the person you are today.
(Dust): Oh please. That was nothing compared to the troubles I got into later on.
*The group finally reaches the safe house and enters discreetly. Zia turns on the lights to see the place was mostly empty, but had a cozy feel to it. There was a stove, two bedrooms, a bathroom with a shower, a TV, and a fireplace. Ryuuji used his fire magic to start a fire while Zia headed to the kitchen area to check out the fridge where she found some provisions they could eat and got to work preparing a meal for everyone with Alita’s help. Dust and Jin went to inspect the rooms while Amarti sat at the table to review Ignis’s notes*
***
*Back at the Noetia Mansion. Chief and the others were still in their room sitting anxiously with the muscular man and elf girl in the room watching them. Along with them were two other people in the room. The first is a man with seaweed green hair and yellow eyes. He wore a white suit with a black shirt underneath and had two piercings on his lower lip. The second is a dark elf with long black hair and golden yellow eyes wearing a red dress. She had red tattoos on all over her body. The one that stood out the most was the red dragon on her left arm*
(Chief): *Sighs* Alright, I’ll ask. How long do you guys plan on keeping us here? It was fun the first hour or so but I think we would like to go home now. We’re too old for this shit.
*Chief attempts to stand up but gets pushed back down by the man with the seaweed hair who was pointing a katar at Chief’s chest*
(Seaweed hair man): If I was you I’d stay sitting in that comfy couch. Unless you want to leave in a coffin.
(Chief): You don’t have the guts to kill me. I know what you want from me and I doubt your boss would be happy seeing a dead body.
(Little elf girl): Don’t listen to him, Garcia. Stab him right through his heart.
(Muscular man): Do not encourage him, Diamanda.
(Diamanda): Oh, lighten up, Maven. I was just joking.
(Dark elf lady): Garcia! Stop! Now!
(Garcia): Yeah, yeah.
*Garcia pulls back his hand and steps away from Chief*
(Dark elf lady): Do not mistake our hospitality for comfort. We could have easily killed you or locked you in the cells down below.
(Alexander): And yet you didn’t. Why is that?
(Dark elf lady): A close friend of the boss asked us to treat you with the utmost care.
*All of a sudden the doors open to reveal a young man who was a wolf demihuman with wavy blue hair and purple eyes. He had a grey tail and wore a grey suit with a blue shirt underneath*
(Dark elf lady): There you are Gambit. What took you so long?
(Gambit): Sorry for the delay, Miss Sae. Our guest has finally arrived.
(Sae): Good. Send him in. Look lively. Our final participant has arrived.
*In comes an older man wearing a beige sweater and white pants with a cane in his left hand. He had short grey hair with a beard and mustache combo that was also grey and red eyes. Chief and his friends were shocked at the man made his way into the room and took a seat in front of everyone.
(Mary): No. It cannot be.
(Thomas): Sean? Is that you?
(Sean): In the flesh. Sae, would you and the others give us our privacy?
(Sae): Of course. Take your time.
*Sae smiles as she exits the room with everyone to leave Sean alone with Chief and the others. Aside from Chief, everyone was still in shock to see their longtime friend still alive*
(Chief): So you’re the dirty dog that led them to us. It’s all starting to make sense now.
(Sean): Yes, I admit, I was the one who gave the Noetia family your identities. But I gave them strict conditions not to harm any of you. I swear.
(Mary): How are you alive? We saw you get shot and everything.
(Sean): Yeah, the bullet got lodged in there pretty well. Was a huge pain to get out.
*Sean stared down at his left leg*
(Sean): If it had been any higher I would have been done for.
(Alexander): The truth, Sean. What happened that night?
(Sean): Well after I got shot, I was quickly surrounded by knights of Bludwood. I knew I was going to die. The writing was on the wall at this point. As I closed my eyes and readied myself for death, the knights were taken out by the man himself, Lloyd Noetia. Lloyd was always suspicious of me and he wasn’t too big on the whole Golem project. So he decided to use us to sabotage The Golem. He decided to return the favor and save us, but by the time he showed up you guys were gone. Aside from me of course. Lloyd took me in, patched me up, and I decided to stick around to return his hospitality.
(Chief): You helped him take out the other families, didn’t you?
(Sean): Guilty as charged. Pinning The Golem incident on the Vikingos was easy. Starting the inner turmoil of the Glomguls took some time but the results were great. Some of my best work if I do say so myself. Finally, the Asacuras. Aside from gathering some intel on members I didn’t do much for this takedown. That was all Lloyd. With all of the families taken care of the Noetias took over the kingdom. Nobody could hold a candle to them and I was enjoying my life.
(Chief): So that’s how all the other families went down. I always thought it was strange, but now knowing you were involved makes sense. You silver-tongued bastard.
(Alexander): So why bring us here? If you wanted to tell us you were alive there were better ways of doing it.
(Thomas): And should have been done a lot sooner.
(Sean): I wanted to see you guys but I couldn’t risk exposing myself or you guys until now.
(Mary): And why is that?
(Sean): *Deep breath* Because. . .I need your help. The Syndicate is in trouble of losing its power in the kingdom. A new batch of Unagi have been discovered. After years of searching the Unagi has finally reemerged and the kingdom has taken the initiative to preserve this batch. In a facility not far from here scientists from the kingdom are studying and preserving this new batch of Unagi as well as having them lay eggs. Come spring their Unagi farm will have yielded enough fish to start trading and profiting from other kingdoms in the area. With this new source of income, the Syndicate’s hold on the kingdom begins to slip away and the power dynamic shifts in favor of the royal family. Naturally, the Syndicate don’t want that. Thus, the Unagi must be disposed of for their benefit.
(Chief): Are you listening to yourself? You’re willing to destroy an entire race of fish and kill people just to keep a group of thugs in power?
(Sean): Shouji, it’s nothing personal. Just business. The Syndicate’s forces alone aren’t enough to get past the lab’s defenses. But with The Golem’s power it’ll be more than enough. While it is a shame some people will die in the crossfire, we can at least minimize the casualties on our side.
(Mary): So that’s why you brought us here. You want our codes.
(Sean): Correct. Not to worry, I talked it over with Lloyd, the leader of the Noetia Family. In return for you giving us the codes, you’ll each receive 1.5 million credits and a safe return home. No harm will come to you or your loved ones. I swear on my life. Now, please give the codes.
*Everybody remained silent taking in everything they heard*
(Thomas): No. It’s too dangerous to put a weapon of that magnitude in the hands of people like them.
(Alexander): I agree. I won’t do it either.
(Mary): I won’t be responsible for letting that weapon unleash horrors upon the world. So, I’m out too.
(Chief): I will never give you that code, Sean. This is wrong and you know it.
*Sean lowers his head*
(Sean): *Deep sigh* I really was hoping we could resolve this peacefully.
*Sae comes walking in*
(Sae): So, were you able to reach a deal?
(Sean): No. Go ahead and do your thing Sae.
(Sae): With pleasure.
*The red tattoo on Sae’s right arm began to glow and flew off her body. The tattoo took the form of a small serpent dragon*
(Sae): Go.
*Sae pointed to Chief and the others and the dragon flew past all of them in quick succession. Chief and the others felt a small prick in their necks when the dragon flew past them. They each grabbed their necks feeling pain and dizziness*
(Alexander): Ugh~, a bit of warning next time would have sufficed. What did you inject us with?
(Sean): Don’t worry. It’s just a truth serum. It’s going to get you to reveal all your secrets including the code. Side effects will include dizziness and a little delirium, but it’s nothing life-threatening. I really was looking out for you guys and wanted to keep you safe. But you don’t say no to the Syndicate. I’ll make sure that once this is all over you’ll be returned home safely. You have my word.
(Chief): Oh yeah. You’re word really means a lot to us right now. Ugh. I. . .secretly feed the alley cats scraps of food near my pub even though I tell my workers not to do it.
(Thomas): *Snickers* You always did have a soft spot for animals, Shouji. I once pawned a golden Rolex that wasn’t mine for credits which I used to buy a bottle of Bourbon.
(Alexander): That was you!? I loved that watch! You son of a-I once drank an entire bottle of bourbon I found in a cabin.
(Thomas): You drank all my bourbon!?
(Alexander): You stole my Rolex!
(Mary): Me and a few of the other female spies used to spy on the males showering.
(Sean): Well I guess I’ll take my leave now.
*Sean gets up from his seat*
(Sean): As long as we’re being truthful I really was happy to see you all again and missed you. I do wish our reunion could have been met under better circumstances.
*Sean makes his way to the door and exits the room. Out in the hallway, Sean sees a man wearing a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt underneath and brown shoes. His eyes were blue, he had short slick hair that was black and grey with a short beard that was also the same colors. Sean approached the man who was leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed*
(Well-dressed man): So, how did it go in there?
(Sean): Not so well, Lloyd. They didn’t take the deal.
(Lloyd): I told you they wouldn’t understand our plight.
(Sean): I know. But I at least had to try. Just promise me no harm will come to them.
(Lloyd): Of course! As long as they don’t do anything foolish no harm will befall them. Once we have the codes and take care of the Unagi facility I’ll arrange for them to be taken home. I give you my word.
*As Sean and Lloyd continue to talk, a lackey of the Syndicate rushes toward them. He wore a black suit with a purple undershirt and had sunglasses covering his eyes*
(Syndicate lackey): Boss! We’ve got a serious issue!
(Lloyd): What’s going on?
(Syndicate lackey): Some maniac has been going around attacking our businesses and busting them up.
(Lloyd): What? Who is he?
(Syndicate lackey): We don’t know. He’s some dark elf. Never seen him before. Said he wants to talk to you.
*All of sudden Lloyd’s cellphone rings*
(Lloyd): Hello?
(Dust): You’re a tough man to reach, Lloyd. Had to go through twelve businesses just to find a guy who had your number.
(Lloyd): Do you have any idea who you’re messing with?
(Dust): Do you? Does the name Dust Balor ring a bell?
*Lloyd’s eyes went wide*
(Lloyd): Dust Balor? The Demon’s Shadow? Impossible, he died years ago.
(Dust): Well fortunately those rumors were wrong. Now listen up, I’m looking to get back into the game and would like to meet you. I just got done beating up some goons in a pool hall and I’m going to a café across the street to get some soup. Have your boys come pick me up so we can talk and tell them not to do anything stupid when they arrive or I’m going to take out the other thirty businesses you’re running in the kingdom.
*Dust hangs up leaving Lloyd bewildered at what he just heard. The Demon’s Shadow was alive and in Bludwood*
Author’s Note: Not much to say about this chapter, it’s pretty straightforward. The Kingdom of Bludwood is based loosely off Bludhaven from the DC comics. I was always fascinated by that city. It’s worse than Gotham, and the corruption starts at the top and works its way down into the streets. I always wished they would have made a game centered in Bludhaven. For Bludwood’s setting I wanted to show a kingdom that was consumed by their greed and fell so hard that they have to rely on criminals just to keep them from collapsing. We also get the chance to meet more members of the Balor Family who are once again based off characters from Three Houses. That’s all for now. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.