Grim Preparations

The two adventurers froze up as they entered the inn, their eyes locked on a woman smiling at them. Some people turn their heads to see what the commotion is and grinned wildly when they saw the flabbergasted expression of the two men standing up next to the door. After all, they had also feared for their companion as they were all regulars and knew each others. The surprise written on Andrew and Moringar was the same that they had gotten on their faces a few hours earlier when Zoe appeared out of nowhere.

They all had heard Andrew's description of his lost friend before he left to go search in the city. Yet, the newcomers having heard his speech didn't recognize her when she came in instantly since there were many differences between the two. Even those who knew her wondered if she was the same person that they talked to before when she sat at her table silently.

"Z-Zoe... Is that you...?" The knight muttered while looking at the woman who was looking at him. He couldn't believe that she reappeared like this and was quite chocked by the changes in her appearance. Her long purple hairs were way darker than before into them while her chestnut eyes had turned nearly black. This was especially accentuated by her ghastly pale skin which was only a shadow of its former healthy pinkish and lightly tanned hue.

Her clothing had also seemingly suffered since her mage's robe was in a terrible shape. The sleeves had been torn, revealing Zoe's thin and white arms. She had never been a particularly muscled woman but she looked frailer than ever. Furthermore, a new scar ran around the end of her forearms, marking forever her nearly pristine skin. It looked like a circle and was quite visible since it was way pinker than the rest of the arm.

Overall, the whole atmosphere surrounding her had changed. Her voice was as joyful as before but you could see that the light in her eyes had considerably dimmed and with it was gone a part of her personality's lightness. While looking at her Moringar felt that she had considerably grown in the last 24 hours but maybe not in the right way.

"Well, yeah it's me. Why would I be someone else?" The mage joked while playing with her pint of beer.

Slowly, the two surprised adventurers started to move toward her table as she gestured them to seat.

"W-Where were you...? We have searched the whole city.." The knight muttered while grabbing a chair and gently sitting on it as if he didn't want to break the dream he was in.

'I guess that even them have forgotten about those wooden huts built in the dirt in the outskirts of the city... You were right Jack, that's indeed a god forsaken place for the common people.' She thought while remembering herself of the lie she had to say.

"I simply walked around and bought some stuff, sorry if I worried you."

Moringar frowned when he heard her as her alibi seemed even more fake than a duck with three legs.

"Yeah, yeah. What's the true story?" He grunted while wondering why was she lying.

"That's the truth." She laughed, making her two companions wonder what was happening.

"Tch. If that's so, then how your eyes, hairs and even body changed color?" The old man continued while his instinct screamed that there was something fishy. When he gazed in her eyes he only saw death, despair and a tinge of madness.

"I tried drinking a new potion to change my style a little and that's what happened." The young girl shrugged while remembering herself what Jack had told her about her change of appearance :

'"The change in your hair's color is quite surprising but I think I know why.. Well, that's not the matter. Your eyes are black thanks to a curse I put on them in order to avoid a.. Slip of tongue. Oh, you're worried about your skin? Don't worry, it's just because you've lost a lot of blood and been through a lot. You should regain some colors in the next few days. Remember, don't be too violent with your arms since you still need to heal ! I did my best to repair your severed mana circuits but it would be best if you refrained yourself from using spells for at least one week too."'

Then, she shivered as she remembered the suffering it was to have the curse engraved in her eyes, the weird tingling she felt when she slowly got her arm's feelings back and all the others... Discoveries she did during that afternoon. He had opened her eyes on the might of true magic and also made her discover than sometimes, you felt so much pain that the idea of dying nearly became seductive enough to seize it.

She felt a lot of remorse as she saw the worried faces of her friends, thinking that she had sold them to a devil to save herself.

'I'm so sorry guys... I made a deal with a monster and will bring you into it... Please, please save me..' She screamed in her mind while they were saying that this potion was weird. Zoe wanted to explain them the situation, tell them the truth but Jack had been clear about the curse she was bearing : If she dared to try to tell them the truth in any kind of possible way then the spell would detect it and make her head rot at a visible speed. Furthermore, she could only stick to the script they had written together since she had been ordered to do so.

"Oy. Zoe, are you alright?" Moringar asked while she seemed to look in the distance.

"Oh, yes yes. Sorry." She laughed without any mirth in her voice. "By the way guys, I talked with them today and have organized a training session in two days."

"Uh? Who did you speak with?" Andrew asked as he remembered clearly that Laena hadn't seen her today nor yesterday.

"Oh eh... I spoke with Jack and he assured me that it was fine for them. We'll have to go to the adventurer's guild at noon and from then we-"

"So you just went there without telling us? When did you go exactly anyway? You disappeared dammit, be clearer !" The knight finally exploded as his worry and mental stress turned into anger. Zoe tried to explain herself but it only fed Andrew's anger as he saw how stupid and illogical her excuses were. He felt wounded as he knew that she was hiding things but refused to tell them even after all they went through.

Moringar was simply looking at them, thinking about what she had said since his instinct screamed him that there was something lying between the lines. 'She spoke with Jack and disappeared huh... This guy never gave me good feeling. Well, anyway it looks like we'll have to go and ask him directly since it seems that he knows more about it than us.'

"Andrew, that's enough." The old man said while putting his hand on his angry and sad friend. "You won't tell us the truth do you?" He then asked while locking his eyes with Zoe's ones.

"B-but I'm telling you the truth..." The woman replied while lowering her eyes and avoiding her friend's gaze.

"Yeah, I see that." Moringar sneered. "Let's go guys, looks like we'll have to ask Jack to have another part of the truth." He continued while empathizing the "ask" with a menacing voice.

"Good id-" Andrew tried to say while getting up before Zoe grabbed them and nearly screamed :

"No ! Y-you can't go there... It's useless, after all we'll see them in two days."

'Don't throw yourself in the monster's maws ! We might find a solution until then... But who could I ask help to? The Church?' She thought cynically. Unfortunately for her she was now stuck between the anvil and the hammer.

Sensing the questioning gaze of her companions as they wondered why she overreacted like this she explained while looking at the ground:

"P-Please, trust me. Let's follow our usual schedule and meet them there... Believe in me, I beg you.."

Moringar frowned and was about to retort but surprisingly the first one to reply was Andrew who also bent his head and apologized :

"I'm sorry for having vented up my frustration on you Zoe. Moringar, we'll follow what she says. After all, we're a team and I trust her with my life. Let's do it here too. However Zoe, I hope that you will tell us the truth soon and show us that we deserve your trust too."

Tears made the mage's eyes shine a little while the old man simply scoffed before agreeing. Then, they ordered drinks and left this matter on the side to enjoy their reunion. Yet, Zoe had troubles to smile and enjoy their interactions like she did before since Jack's shadow weighed on her shoulder.

'He has promised me that he would free us and a wouldn't kill us if we cooperated well during the incoming mission... Furthermore, our goals overlaps but then, why can't I remove this feeling of guilt off my shoulders? Why does I feel like I've sold my soul to a demon...? He surely has a lot of knowledge and was seemingly ready to share it but... Have I made an egoistical choice..? ' She thought while staring at her room's roof and fighting with her conflicting emotions.

After a few dozen minutes she finally fell asleep as her exhaustion finally caught her up. However, she didn't drift toward comforting and sweet dreams. Instead, she revived the horror she felt that night as she saw him standing in the dim light just before he severed her arms. Then, she remembered herself of the agony she felt as her eyes and her whole being got cursed. She woke up a few times during the night to wipe her cold sweat and insult Jack's family on three generations.

-

Waking up, the man in black shirt looked at the sky through the broken planks of his rundown house when he suddenly sneezed for no reason.

'Have I gotten a cold? It has been pretty hot these nights though.' Jack thought before shrugging and stretching his painful body. His mana circuits were still hurting as he used them the whole day but he shrugged it off while happily singing :

"Ain't no rest for the wicked..."

He surprised himself with his own joy and laughed because his plans were progressing fast and steadily. Turning around, he looked at his pets standing in a corner of the house and waved at them before leaving with his sword in hand. He then strolled casually in the dirty alleys between the crumbling houses of the slums and whistled lightly. Whenever he saw a closed door or a living soul he hit them until they fell under his blade. The silhouettes who followed him usually ravenously ate the bodies, only leaving some bones in their trails.

'I wonder how those two are doing..' Jack thought while decapitating a woman. He had grown used to the company of his little students and the sudden solitude made him realize that his daily life had been more interesting than he had expected it to be when he was still dreaming of the outside world. He had told them that he would remain there and informed them of their meeting with Zoe's team before leaving again to work on his grand plan.

He sat a little on the pile of undamaged corpse he had collected before working on them and grinned grimly as he thought about the fight that was definitely going to wipe those holy knights out. 'Finally, I'll be able to avenge myself. It might be petty and useless since these are only a drop of water in the ocean. Yet, this will be the most delicious salty water I have ever tasted.'