*Out in a snowy region near a prison-like building the wind could be heard blowing across the snow. All of a sudden from the snow a pillar of flames comes shooting up into the sky. Once it was over a muffled scream can be heard coming the snow. Pulling their head out of the snow was a man wearing a mask with a red flame on it*
(Flame Mask): Ahhhhhhh~!
*Using his strength, the man is able to pull himself out of the snow. With frost and snow covering his face and clothes, the man triumphantly stands up while still screaming*
***
*One week ago*
*In the kingdom of Brister at the Black Tortoise Building the members of Shadow Eye were in a conference room*
(Raika): Anybody know what this meeting is all about?
(Morgan): Not sure. All I got was Morrison’s message saying to come here first thing in the morning for an emergency meeting. Must be serious if even Dust is here.
*Morgan looks over at Dust*
(Dust): Hey, I only showed up because Hibana received the message as well.
(Morgan): He messaged Hibana? Damn. This really is serious.
(Jin): Is Hibana being here bad?
(Zia): Morrison only calls in Dust for important meanings. If he called both of them in that usually means we have a big mission.
*Morrison enters the room followed by Walter and a woman with long pink haired tied into knot by silver ring. She wore glasses covering her brown eyes, a white long-sleeved shirt, with a silver necklace around her collar, a blue skirt, and black heeled shoes*
(Ryuuji): General Walter?
*Everyone immediately stands to salute the general*
(Walter): At ease everyone. I’m sure most of you know commander Elise Vega.
(Elise): It’s a pleasure to see all again. And see new faces.
(Morrison): I apologize for bringing everyone in on such short notice, but we have a new mission for you. Your mission, will be to rescue this man.
*Morrison lays down a projection device on the table and up pops the picture of a middle age man with short brown wavy hair and stubby beard. His eyes grey and he wore a lab coat over his light blue collared shirt, and khaki slacks with brown shoes*
(Morrison): Dr. Howard Oswalt. Former Head of Research and Development for Hargus’s mage corps.
(Amarti): Former?
(Elise): A few weeks ago, our spies reported that Oswalt was removed from his position for embezzling funds which he used to help the sick child of his coworker and poor results on his research. He was quickly arrested in sentenced to execution in his hometown of Werbend. Roughly 60 miles outside of Hargus’s capital and 25 miles from Brister’s defensive base up north. He’s currently being held in Werbend’s maximum security prison until the day of his execution which is a week and a half from now.
(Walter): Infiltrate the city, break into the base, and rescue Howard Oswalt before his execution. Once you have rescued him you are to flee the city with him alive and make your way out the shores east of Werbend where one of our navy ships will extract you from the area and bring you back to Brister safely.
(Jade): It’s been a while since you sent us on such a dangerous and wild mission. Why go through all the trouble for this man?
(Elise): That man was once one of the most powerful people in Hargus’s army. In return for offering him sanction, he agreed to share any intel he has on Hargus and continue his research. Under our supervision of course.
(Sanada): A fair offer, but I sense there’s something more to this mission. What is it?
*Elise looked over to Walter who nods his head giving her permission to tell them*
(Elise): In order to save his life, Howard is prepared to expose the spies we have stationed in Hargus and their surrounding cities to Hargus themselves.
*Everyone was shocked to hear this except for Dust*
(Dust): He’s bluffing. There’s no way our spies would be that stupid to give themselves away.
(Elise): He’s already exposed one of our spies who’s been stationed in Hargus’s surrounding cities for the last eight years. If another spy hadn’t caught wind of the message a moment later that spy would have been dead.
(Dust): Lucky guess.
(Walter): He also named seven more spies we have in Hargus. He specified their names, heights, gender, what they looked like, and where to find them. One of them has been there for over ten years. I think it’s fair to say he’s not bluffing and we’re not taking the risk. This mission is way too risky for our spies to do, so it’s up to you to rescue him.
(Elise): We’ve acquired a fake pass to get you access into Werbend as well as a good cover story. Once you’re in the city our spy team will be there to provide support in anyway they can. Good luck to all of you.
***
*A day and a half later the group had made it out to Werbend using their fake passes to enter the city. Despite the cold weather the city was bustling with people in the streets, entering/exiting shops, and cars. As the group was walking through the streets they carried various suitcases and wore winter clothing. The wind blew a newspaper at Morgan which wrapped around his leg. Morgan grabbed the newspaper and observed the front page. The newspaper’s main headline was the execution of Howard Oswalt. The paper painted him as a traitor and a dangerous man. An unredeemable man who deserved nothing but death and the people brought into it*
(Morgan): Looks like Hargus worked fast at making this guy irredeemable.
*Morgan passed the paper to Ryuuji and the others*
(Jin): I can’t believe anyone would buy into this crap. Especially since he’s one of them.
(Amarti): Doesn’t matter. Surrounding settlements don’t know what goes on inside the capital of Hargus, so they rely on newspapers to report what’s going on. And since it’s controlled by Hargus’s government they can do whatever they want.
(Hibana): Honestly, it’s probably a good thing these people don’t know what goes on within the walls of the capital.
(Gael): Is it that bad?
(Hibana): Gael, what you went through with the human supremacists might as well be a series of unfortunate events compared to what’s going on in Hargus’s capital. This whole city is just a façade. Hiding the dangerous beast of what Hargus really is. The capital, it doesn’t hide anything. It’s literally Hell on Rein.
*The group continued to work through the streets getting some attention from onlookers. One of the onlookers was a scruffy looking man with ginger hair and brown eyes. He wore a grey jacket and brown pants with grey snow boots. He staggered down the street as if he was drunk and bumped into Jin*
(Scruffy man): Oh sorry young sir.
*The scruffy man pulled away from Jin and continued down the street hiding a grin on his face before he fell backwards. Looking at his right hand he saw the wallet he had pickpocketed from Jin, but in the lower corner was a chain. Hearing someone clear their throat he looked up and saw Jin standing over him with his right hand on the chain and the other end of the chain connected to his pants pocket*
(Jin): What belongs to me. Stays with me.
*The scruffy man smiled innocently and let go of the wallet. Jin pulled on the chain and reclaimed his wallet before putting it back into his pants pocket and catching up with the others*
***
*The group eventually reach a diner/tea house called The Blue Tree. The sign on the door said closed for maintenance and another sign below it said new entertainment coming soon. The group opened the door and entered the bar. It was a good sized bar with plenty of tables, a bar, two pool tables, and a stage for a band to play. As they entered, they saw six people. One was a polar bear demihuman with white eyes and black hair under a hairnet. He wore a blue t-shirt and black jeans with black shoes. Two were females. One was a dark-skinned human with black-braided hair and orange eyes and the other a penguin demihuman with dark blue hair that had pink highlights and purple eyes. They each wore a white shirt with blue pants and black shoes. The girl with the braided hair had a blue bandana on her head and both ladies were sweeping the floor. The last three were human men. The first two were twins. Both had muscular built, medium brown curly hair, and black eyes. They both wore black t-shirts and brown pants with black boots. One was cleaning the bar while the other was polishing a chair. The final man was sitting on a barstool crunching some numbers on a tablet. He had dark red hair and brown eyes while wearing glasses. He wore a blue shirt and brown pants with black shoes*
(Dark red hair man): Sorry, we’re close today. Come back another time.
(Amarti): Actually, we’re the band you hired. Traveled pretty far from Retsirb Village.
*Hearing that name made the man and his coworkers stop working and stare at the group*
(Dark red hair man): No fooling? I hear the mountains are nice this time of year.
(Morgan): You’re confusing the mountains with our lakes which are as blue as the sky.
*The dark red hair man turned to the polar bear demihuman and nodded. The polar bear demihuman nodded and ran to the door to lock it*
(Dark red hair man): Welcome to Werbend. You must be the guys Commander Elise talked about. I’m Takashi. The big polar bear is Austin.
(Austin): Hey.
(Takashi): He’s our chef. Our two servers, Kesha and Ramona. The twins are Pete and Peter. Bodyguards and assistant chefs. Together we’re spy unit 621. AKA Herbal Cloak. You guys must be-
(Zia): Don’t say it. For your own safety and ours it’s best to just use our codenames.
(Takashi): Uh right. Sorry. Still, I can’t believe you guys are actually real. Let me just say it’s a huge honor to be working with you.
*A knock could be heard on the door. Using the peephole, Austin saw three soldiers through the hole. He turned back silently to let the others know and they nodded letting him know it was okay to open the door. Once the door was opened in walked the three soldiers. The first two were regular foot soldiers but the third one was a man of authority. He was slightly chubby with low cut brown hair and hazel eyes. They all wore military outfits that were black with gold lining*
(Takashi): Constable Guzco? What a present surprise.
(Guzco): At ease Takashi. Was on patrol when I heard wind of some unique individuals walking through town and thought I-well look what we have here. Didn’t know you had guests.
(Takashi): Constable, this is the entertainment me and the group hired for the tea house.
(Dust): Hello. Dr. Leonard Bronson of the Bronson Music Group. Nice to meet you constable.
*Dust and Guzco shake hands*
(Guzco): Nice to meet you as well. I’m Henry Guzco. Constable of this here town. Welcome to Werbend. I assume this is your team?
(Dust): Yes. We have our vocalist Ms. Deona Valkyrie.
*Zia bows catching the attention of the constable and the soldiers*
(Dust): Our Cello and drummer, Mr. Arthur Cleveland and Ms. Reiko Kaze.
*Amarti and Alita wave from the stage*
(Guzco): Quite the band you have. What about the rest of you?
(Morgan): I can answer that. G.T. Donovan, at your service. Road manager for the Bronson Music Group. That dark elf lady and young man are the sound team and those four are the mercenaries I hired to keep us safe on the tour.
(Guzco): Mercenaries, huh? I have to admit, I’ve never heard of the Bronson Music Group.
(Morgan): We’ve mostly been deep within Elfan territory but the group is on tour heading to the Solaris Empire. This is one of our stops.
(Guzco): I see. Are they any good?
*Takashi and the rest of Herbal Cloak broke into a sweat. While the story was the group were traveling musicians it was never mention whether or not they could actually play. If they couldn’t the cover would be blown*
(Morgan): Are they any good?
*Morgan begins to laugh*
(Morgan): You’re only looking at the world’s greatest pianist. Don’t be shy doc. Tell him.
(Guzco): Oh don’t tell me. Show me.
*Guzco pointed to the stage with the piano. With a slight smile, Dust walked over to the stage while Jin and Hibana were setting up sound equipment. Guzco and his men took seats at a nearby table close to the stage as Dust settled down in front of the piano. Taking a deep breath, Dust began to play the piano. The sound was mesmerizing and got everyone’s attention. Dust played a beautiful song for everyone to enjoy. It was as if he was making the keys dance for everyone to see. Each note carried weight and meaning behind it. Everyone could feel Dust’s emotions and they loved it. After about four minutes of playing Dust stopped. Guzco and his men stood up and applauded him. Everyone else joined in as well*
(Guzco): Bravo! That was beautiful.
(Dust): That’s only just a sample. But if you wish to hear more I’ll be here all week.
(Guzco): Oh I am definitely coming back. Well I say things are all good you. Enjoy your stay in Werbend. Guzco and his men make their way for the door*
(Guzco): Also, if you mercenaries are looking for extra work while in town, come by the office. Got a few jobs.
(Ryuuji): Appreciate it, but our policy is to never take on work when in the middle of another job.
(Guzco): Good man.
*Guzco and his men walk out the door. Once the door is shut, Hibana runs over to investigate the table for any bugs while Takashi secretly looks out the window to make sure Guzco is truly gone. He sees Guzco and his men walk down the street and turn the corner*
(Takashi): *Sigh* All clear.
*Everyone cheers*
(Jin): Dust that was amazing. Where’d you learn to play the piano?
(Dust): Been playing it ever since I was a kid. My mom made me do it. Said in case I had to go under cover in the Clan I would have to know how to play an instrument and be good at it. That Guzco guy was sharp. He was definitely suspicious of us.
(Takashi): Yeah I got a sense of that as well. He’s not the best fighter but he’s smart. That’s how he became constable in the first place.
(Sanada): Well definitely need to watch our step around him. He could expose our whole operation.
(Raika): Now that he’s off our back for now, let’s get a better layout of the town and start planning this prison break.
(Takashi): Sure. But I think it’s best we do it tomorrow. It’s almost 6pm. Going out now isn’t the best idea.
(Gael): Why, what’s the problem.
*Sirens could be heard from outside*
(Jade): What’s that?
(Takashi): That’s the sound of the prison gates opening. Which means they’ll be coming out now.
(Morgan): Who’s coming out?
(Ramona): Head up to the second floor. You’ll see them.
*The members of Shadow Eye go up to the second floor*
(Takashi): Austin, hit the lights. Everyone, check the backdoors and make sure they’re locked.
*The members of Herbel Cloak nodded and performed their task while Takashi ran upstairs to meet with the members of Shadow Eye who were in a room looking out a window on the streets below. As they did they saw a bunch of men and women walking on the streets in black and red uniforms*
(Gael): Damn. . .who are those guys?
(Takashi): Hagus’s 71st Special Squad. Codename: Blood Sword. As you can see, they got the run of the place. In terms of manpower, the constable’s and the prison’s forces outnumber them. However, it’s a different story when it comes to fighting prowess. Even if they combined their forces, it still wouldn’t compare to Blood Sword.
(Ryuuji): What are they doing here?
(Takashi): They were sent here by the capital to observe and carry out the execution of Howard. Make sure he dies a criminal’s death and stop anyone from interfering.
(Dust): How long have they been in town?
(Takashi): They arrived about two weeks ago and since then it’s been hell. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night they leave the prison early and strut around town as if to say: ‘we own this place’ and it works. Everyone’s afraid to cross them. Even the constable keeps his distance. What’s interesting about this squad is that they don’t discriminate.
(Jin): Don’t discriminate? What do you mean?
(Morgan): In Hargus, each squad and division is composed of only one race. It’s their way of keeping them in line and letting them know their worth.
(Jade): So why are they the exception?
(Takashi): Don’t know. All I know is that once upon a time, they were all imprisoned due to a crime they committed. Or at least most of them were. A few were put in the group as punishment for disobedience.
(Amarti): Using criminals as soldiers. A good way to increase the kingdom’s manpower and if something happened to them it’s no major lost as far as the army is concerned.
(Takashi): Usually. But for some reason the higher ups in Hargus really do value this group. Most likely because of their leader. See that man in the white coat?
*Everyone looks down below and sees a wolf demihuman in a white coat smoking a cigarette. He had red eyes and white hair*
(Takashi): That’s their leader, Brant Alexander. They call him the Blood Flame. Don’t let his looks fool you. He’s the craziest of them all. Everyone in that group listens to him and does what he says.
(Alita): A wolf among the wolves.
(Amarti): Can’t we just steer clear of them and get a better layout of the town?
(Takashi): No. That’s the main road. In order to get to any other roads we’d have to go through them and that’s the last thing you want to do.
(Hibana): Uh, guys, we’ve got trouble.
*Everyone looks down on the streets and sees the pick pocketer who tried to rob Jin earlier walking toward the Blood Sword group while acting drunk*
(Takashi): Oh no, what are you doing? Not them!
*The pick pocketer staggers to a wall position himself and picking out his target. Out of all of them he picks a man with dark blue hair and green eyes as his target. As the Blood Sword group walks pass him he bumps into the soldier*
(Dark-blue haired soldier): Hey watch it!
(Scruffy man): ‘Scuse me.
*The scruffy man waves his hand and walks in the opposite direction of the soldier*
(Dark-blue haired soldier): Not so fast asshole.
*The soldier runs in front of the scruffy man to cut him off he then grabs his left arm to expose the wallet he tried to escape with*
(Dark-blue haired soldier): Thought I wouldn’t notice? I’ve been pickpocketing people since I was six.
*The soldier grabs the wallet and pushes the scruffy man into the waiting arms of two more soldiers. One was a dark elf with lime hair and purple eyes. The other was a woman with curled blonde hair and red eyes. The man tried to escape their grip but they were too strong. As he struggled, Brant approached them*
(Brant): What seems to be the problem here?
(Dark-blue haired soldier): This asshole tried to pickpocket my wallet.
(Brant): Really? Stealing is a serious crime. Men, teach him a lesson. Don’t take too long.
*The soldiers smiled sadistically and dragged the man back into an alleyway covering his mouth as he cried out for help. Seven soldiers went into the alleyway while Brant and the others went about their business. No longer able to watch, Jin ran out the door followed by Ryuuji who was also growing anxious*
(Takashi): Wait, are you nuts!?
(Dust): Nope. Just too righteous for their own good.
*Dust and the others ran after them*
***
*The seven soldiers left the alleyway with the scruffy man nowhere to be seen. The soldiers were laughing and high fiving each other. They then started moving to catch up with the rest of the group. Jin and Ryuuji made to the alleyway just as soon as the Blood Sword soldiers left followed by the other members of Shadow Eye and Takashi. At first, Jin was going to go after the soldiers but Dust grabbed his arm and stopped him. Ryuuji went into the alleyway followed by Sanada and Morgan*
(Ryuuji): Hey! Are you alright?
*Ryuuji turned the corner and stopped when he saw blood on the ground. Sanada, Takashi and Morgan caught up to Ryuuji and saw the blood as well. The four nodded and turned the corner to see a disturbing image. The scruffy man had been nailed to the wall by his hands and his stomach slit wide open with blood pouring from his head and stomach. Takashi was so disgusted that he puked right there on the spot*
(Raika): Is everything alright down there?
*The members of Shadow Eye came to the corner with Zia rubbing the back of Takashi who has just finished puking*
(Sanada): Wait! What’s behind this corner is something no one should see.
*Jin, Gael, and Alita were confused but everyone else got the message*
(Morgan): If we stay here, we’ll draw attention to ourselves. Let’s go.
(Gael): What about the man?
(Sanada): There’s nothing we can do to save him.
(Zia): Are you okay, Takashi? Can you walk.
(Takashi): Yeah. I heard the rumors, but I never thought they were true.
*Takashi took one look back towards the corner and ran to the exit of the alleyway with the others*
Author’s Note: Hey guys. It’s been a while. We’re entering the final arc of this volume, and boy does it start off on a dark note. For some time I’ve been thinking about doing a darker and more dangerous undercover mission for Shadow Eye to do, and the idea of them doing a prison break-in and escape deep within enemy territory came to mind. It also gives me a chance to dive more into Hargus and just how corrupted and dangerous this kingdom is when compared to Brister. For example, prisoners becoming soldiers is something Brister would never allow, but Hargus sends them in to do their dirty work and won’t care what they do as long as they get the job done. They have no remorse and don’t mind brutally killing someone over something minor, which is scary and that’s what I wanted to do with Blood Sword. They’re some of the worst Hargus has to offer and they’re proud of it. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.
