Seis : the Ruins of the Wind

Chapter 5: The Visit ( Part 1)

« Visits are always a pleasure, if not when arriving, then at least when leaving. »

Unknown poet

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He woke up, chilled, covered in sweat, while his own scream, the one that had pulled him from his sleep, still echoed; it vibrated somewhere within him, in his chest, and burned his dry throat. His hands, gripping the ground, were sore; he had clenched them so hard that his own nails had pierced his skin. But he did not feel the soft hand of Babeth trying to reassure him as it had for four years. He sat up and looked around. Uma's massive silhouette was still lying down, and the other two futons were empty. Babeth and Lou had left Rita-Ori more than six months ago. Seis and Uma had staged a fake rockfall. Officially, Babeth and Lou had died under the rocks. Jonas knew that Seis, his little mine demon, was very close to his fellow inmates. He had given him leave, but he had refused. He had requested only one thing: not to replace the two dead in the cell. Rita-Ori was not full, so Jonas agreed. On the other hand, the Baron took the disappearance of his lover Elmira much harder. No one had an explanation. The Baron had punished all the servants who were close to the disappeared, but he had obtained no information. His anger had eventually subsided. But some of the castle's servants were still traumatized by what they had had to endure for several weeks.

A new routine had begun for Uma and Seis. Unlike previous years, they no longer had to dig the tunnel, nor watch their backs and fear being caught. Seis was surprised to find that he missed it. The fact was that he was much more bored. He had then decided to spend even more time trying to understand the different groups in the prison. More information would help him advance his plan. Seis had stopped taking Lou's potion because it no longer had any effect; he was stuck at Level 3 Phase 3. Even without SCM, he was much stronger than a normal adult. But the Level and Phases represented a person's abilities even without equipment. Behind his frail appearance and purplish complexion, Seis was a real danger. Not to mention that he had been trained in combat by Uma every day for several years. He was ready to face his enemies.

During these few months, they had received only one letter from Mikou. The tribe of the Ancients had accompanied Babeth and Lou to an island near Mia, and Elmira had left them before. They had no other news. She just asked Seis to leave a message if he wanted to stay in touch with the descendants of the Drakons. Uma and Seis spent most of their time in silence. They talked very little; Uma was not talkative even with her hands. Nevertheless, in order not to go crazy and to stay in touch, Seis told her all the information he received by talking to the guards or the other inmates. Seis went to eat in the other tunnels every day to meet the different groups. Everyone knew the little mine demon, and Baron Jonas was delighted with this news.

That morning, however, when the guards came to fetch Seis for a summons, he knew that the Baron was not going to treat him with his usual friendliness. A terrible incident had occurred where ten guards and six prisoners had lost their lives. Such a tragedy had not happened since the first year when the Baron had taken control of the fortress. If the Baron was known to have trouble controlling the prison, he had to send a message to his direct superior in the nobility, in this case, his father Count Henri. Seis knew this very well because he had studied for years under what circumstances the detestable Henri might come to see his son. It had not been easy to understand how to force the Baron's hand and orchestrate the situation without getting caught. Uma and Seis had to kill the sixteen men and make it look like a settling of scores. They had chosen detestable men, all spies or supposed spies of Henri at Rita-Ori. Seis had gained their trust for months before arranging for them all to meet in the same place, in the same tunnel, just an hour before the end of work hours and the return to the cells. Uma had the pickaxe and the SCM, Seis used a shovel. They were dead before they could utter a cry. Unfortunately, stealing an SCM in this situation would have aroused suspicion, so Seis had to leave all the equipment in place and had just arranged the bodies to make it look like a fight where they had killed each other. And now, Jonas wanted answers, and Seis was not going to give him any.