55 Destroy Everything (Part 1)

We returned from the river shortly after my encounter with Rand. I also noticed that the weather was clearing up. It was already autumn, therefore the weather was rather chilly and... wet. Usually days had loads of wind, but some of them would be clear. 'Tomorrow should be alright. If the weather is good, my plan can proceed' I thought.

I decided to notify Nick about it, just in case. As I entered his house, I told him about the plan and the date. He nodded, then looked at the turtle while saying "Your turtle seems alright now. See, I told you there is no need to worry... Cough... Cough". I walked up to him, and checked his body. It was bad. He had a weak pulse, and his face started to get a tint of paleness. "Boy, you don't have to run around me like a nurse you know? I'll be alright. When you spread the poison tomorrow, come here". I nodded, and left him.

I was sad to be honest. Nick was my friend, at least I treated him that way. He taught me so much, and only thanks to him, I probably didn't go insane. I looked at Shelly and smiled. I had two friends, although one of them would soon leave this world. We returned to our house, where I made sure everything was prepared. All the bottles of the Cloud Haze Poison were there. Five in total. I also had four bottles of antidote. Three of them would be used during my plan, which would leave one bottle as a back up.

I wasn't concerned about the normal villagers, they had no way of surviving this poison. I was more worried about Rand. If he managed to survive, and get help from Grasshill Village, I would be exposed. This meant, I had to make sure Rand really died. I spent the rest of that day training. The next day, I went to work as usual. With my ingots completed, I took Shelly to the river, and said "Eat a lot today, we will be running some errands during the night. Make sure you are not hungry at that time". Shelly nodded, and hunted some fishes.

After that, we awaited the nightfall. When the sun set behind the horizon, I moved out. Shelly stayed inside. After all, I wanted to take care of the lumberjack first. He was a lonely man and moreover a man who did stuff to Dina. I learned that a while ago. He and a few others were the ones who forced her, and treated her body like a piece of rug. I had some personal issues with that guy, and they would be sorted out soon.

It was still bright inside his lodge, which meant he was awake. I decided to wait, and not alarm others. Kill him as silently as I could, then take care of the rest of the village. He took his time for sure. About an hour later, the light finally disappeared. I waited a bit longer just to make sure he was asleep, and approached the lodge. I could hear his snoring, therefore I was quite certain he was asleep. Besides that, smell of alcohol was strong around the lodge. 'I hope you enjoyed your last day in the world of living' I thought, and tried opening the doors. 'Locked, but not a problem' I thought. The locks were rather crappy around this village, and I could easily force the doors open.

It would make some sounds, but at the same time, he was drunk and asleep. I pressed the handle hard, and pushed inwards slowly. The doors creaked, but his snoring never stopped. "Creak... Creak.. Bam". The lock broke, and the doors were now open. Jack was still asleep, while the odour of alcohol hit my face as I entered. I could see his outline on the bed, not very well covered at that. I walked up to the bed, and saw his stupid face. I wanted to punch him first, but I restrained myself. With a dagger in hand, I swung it downwards, piercing his head and brain. He died pretty much instantly, which was his luck. Others wouldn't be so lucky.

I returned to my house, and saw that Shelly was already waiting for me. I said, "I will need to plant those bottles around the village. I will need your help with that. You will help me release the poison, so that the cloud spreads almost simultaneously. Let's go, I will show you which locations you will be responsible for". Shelly nodded its head, and followed me outside.

We quietly made our way to the first location. The locations I chose were inside the village, and at a few strategic places. The first location was closer to the village gate. I place one bottle of the poison behind one of the houses, and said "I will take care of this location, let's move on to the next one". Shelly nodded its head, and continued to follow. The next location was to the north east, not far away from my house. I placed another bottle there, and we continued. This was another location I would take care of. The next one would be Shelly's. We moved on, and arrived further north.

"This will be your location Shelly. The next one will be yours as well, while I take care of the other three. Let's go, I will show you the last location" I said. The fourth location was near Rand's place. I told Shelly to wait a minute before smashing or doing anything with the bottle. I had to get to the next location first, and open those bottles myself. Before I left, I gave Shelly the antidote. Nick told me, that my antidotes would be enough for around 20-25 minutes. This was more than enough time.

"We will met behind our house. When you done breaking those bottles, wait there". Shelly nodded, while I ran towards the last location. When I arrived at my final location, I drank the antidote and opened the bottle containing poison. I didn't linger there, and simply ran towards the next location. Then the third location. With all the poison released, I met Shelly behind our house.

I asked, "All done?". Shelly nodded its head, and made some noises. I nodded as well, and said "Good, follow me. We need to visit Nick, and then make sure no one survived. After that, we will leave the village for the night. The Poison Cloud can linger here for a while, better be safe than sorry". Shelly nodded again, and followed me to Nick's house.