Kindred Spirits

//Chapter Eleven: Hellbound//

The day began with nothing out of the ordinary, for the most part. You were on watch duty, same as Caramel Arrow. Over the past few weeks, you've quietly started to become great friends. Playing games of Komi, sharing meals in the cafeteria, and so on. Thankfully, the system didn't seem to mind watchers picking and choosing who they worked with on their assigned tasks provided that they had the same assignment on that day. If it ain't broke, don't fix it you suppose. Either way, things were shaping up to be good.

At least, on the surface. You couldn't confirm anything, but there were whispers and rumblings. Rumors about the king contracting some sort of disease during one of his diplomatic embarkations to some of the more distant tribes of the region. Given his hardened body, he was unlikely to die from it but it did leave him vulnerable. You, along with all the other watchers, wished for his health to improve in the coming days.

It seemed that caramel arrow noticed your concern for the king, despite not expressing it verbally. "I've know Dark Cacao for the better part of a decade now. He will be fine, a simple disease wouldn't be capable of killing him." She said as you two walked atop the black wall as you had done so many times before. By now, Winter had passed and the letters you had gotten from your village had confirmed its survival but with your loyalty to dark cacao firmly established, you would not be returning for a while. You sigh and tell her "I know, it's just... He's supposed to be our leader, and how can one lead when debilitated by such an illness? Though, the fact he can do it regardless speaks volumes to his resilience and resolution." "That's the spirit, Y/N. He's a slayer of dragons and the founder of this nation, he will not succumb to such a base ailment." Caramel Arrow replied heartily, patting you on the back. The unexpected force of the pat surprised you briefly, but you recover and playfully reply with a small jab to her shoulder.

"I guess so..." you trailed off, looking to the nearby forests now. From what you could see, apparently bandits were moving throughout the forests again. "Hey, I see movement in the trees. And it don't look like our people." "... You're right, Y/N. Doesn't look to be more than 5, think we can take 'em ourselves?" Caramel Arrow inquired, preparing her bow for deliverance of judgment. You shoot her a smirk and say "I think we can. Let's get to it before they make a move." Quickly getting down to ground level, you two head off into the forests to deal with this apparent scouting party.

Unbeknownst to you two, trouble was brewing within the court culture of the kingdom. "We have confirmation, my liege. Caramel Arrow has left the citadel and will not return for a short while." One of the disciples following affogato spoke. Affogato merely takes another puff on his cigarette held on the end of a metallic tube. "A short while is all we need, my disciple. The men have cast on the symbol of the New Cacaoin kingdom, and the old king has been put to sleep for a long while. A shame I cannot make use of that soul jam he has, but control is more than enough for now." he spokes, expelling purple smoke with each syllable. The disciple merely bows their head and leaves to inform all the supporters to make the next step.

Back to you two, you had quickly tracked down the bandit scout party. Although scout might be the wrong choice of word. They gave up without a fight and the leader of the group merely laughed. "What's so funny, bandit?" Caramel Arrow calmly demanded to know, confused as to what the bandit found so humorous. "You don't realize it. We were just a distraction for something bigger. And the best part? You get to see how we feel about being divided so thoroughly." he replied smugly, taking a seat. It takes you a moment, but soon you piece it together. "The Citadel... Caramel Arrow, you said not to trust affogato... I think your suspicions go much farther beyond a few bad experiences..." You say, with the bandits quickly erupting in laughter. "The greenie over there figured it out faster than the hardened vet! Ain't that just peachy! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" He boisterly proclaimed as the two of you quickly made your way back to the citadel.

Arriving at the citadel gates, you quickly see some familiar faces that were hard to recognize underneath the new armor. They took a fighting stance, and a conflict almost broke out. But a familiar voice declared "Now now, let's not be hasty. Y/N here is a guest." It was affogato, and the watchers quickly lowered their weapons as he peered from the top of the wall. "You snake! What have you done now?!" Caramel Arrow demanded to know, angered by what looked like treason of the highest order. "Nothing you would've done, if you had the same sense as I did. Anyway, Y/N my dear. I should thank you, your efforts have helped to give me the chance to do all this." Affogato replied, taking a puff of that cigarette of his. "W-what...? How did I help you at all?!" you asked, obviously very confused.

"Simple, Darling. Through your actions with the bandits, I was able to gain sway with much of the watchers. Though... I've felt this service to not reach its full potential since it was not intentional. Thus, I offer you a place at my side. Join me, and together we can make a new kingdom, a new empire." Affogato declared, breathing a haze of purple smoke. "Don't listen to him, Y/N! We swore an oath to dark cacao cookie, not to this land though we may protect it!" Caramel Arrow defiantly countered, pointing out your duty as a watcher. You quickly decided to end the debate by asking affogato one thing. "Am I to assume that you orchestrated the bandit situation so that it would play out this way? It's quite odd that you managed to have the location of their hideout in the first place." you asked, reaching for your sword in preparation. Affogato's face instantly shifted into a scowl and shouted "No, I did not! Everything I've done, I've done for the good of the land! Not like that stubborn fool we called king!"

That visceral reaction, that over the top response to an accusation that if false would be calmly explained, was proof enough. "You've said enough, Advisor. My only regret is not piecing it together sooner. To hell with your empire, I'll fight until dark cacao is in control once again!" You rebelliously declare, unsheathing your katana. Affogato merely sighed and said to someone nearby "Take them in alive, the both of them. I want to make this personal." He then left, and another familiar face leapt down. This one was a face you did not want to see turn traitor. Your good friend, Orange Choco Cookie. "Orange Choco?! Why?! Why turn your back on the king who gave us this position?! You swore an oath!" You yelled as other traitorous watchers surrounded you. "Y/N, you don't understand. Dark Cacao let the bandit problem fester and grow, hurting so many villages. Affogato intends to rid the region of them shortly. If you cannot see that, then I must do as he said." he replied, shifting to a combat stance with his spear.

You and Caramel Arrow fought valiantly against your former comrades. Ordinarily, this would be in direct violation of the third tenet of the watcher's code. But in your minds, they had turned their back on Dark Cacao, the man who had handwritten those tenets. They were no longer watchers, in fact they were no better than petty bandits! However worthless they may be now, they proved to be too much for you. A purple haze covered the battlefield in front of the gate, and you two began to slow down. "I'm sorry, old friend. I wished it could've been different." Orange choco said as he struck you in the head with the back of his spear. The last thing you saw before falling into the arms of the unconscious mind was caramel arrow seeing a similar fate as you.

A grim happening, the advisor turns out to be a traitor and wished to gain much for himself. And for this next excerpt from the tale of the dragonchild, things don't get too much better. In fact, it may be infinitely more tragic.

"The old man ran and ran and ran. His legs ached, his wounds leaked jam all over the snow covered landscape. It seemed that no matter what distance he traveled, the village was never in sight. But he could not give up hope and used every bit of grit and determination to keep on going. The squeals of the Spawn would motivate him to go and go and go. The spawn itself became rather cold but it seemed to be more comfortable in these harsh winds. It was more squealing because it was hungry and desired food. Hope seemed to be on the horizon, as the old man began to spot the lights of the village."

"But it seemed this hope would be dashed, as the man's wounds became too painful and grievous to bear any longer. He collapsed to the ground, and began to curse himself. The spawn was by now upset at the sudden stop and began to squeal even louder now. The old man had used all his strength to try and get both him and the spawn to safety. But that strength was not enough, and he was so defeated. In a moment of pain shared by the two, the old man screamed as loud as possible into the unforgiving winter winds."

"And then there was silence. The spawn did not know what had happened, but knew it could not be good. The old man had perished from his injuries, and his dough had begun to crumble into tiny bits. The warmth of the old man soon began to fade as the bitter cold reared its head at full force. The spawn squealed and squealed. Its only friend had gone away, and in his place was nature, unbound and undeterred. And its indifferent cruelty would not bode well for the spawn."