The Corruption- First Draft

Chapter 2

The inside of the castle floor was made of cobblestone, and no stairs were present, just semi-steep inclines. Havre had Jaryn riding on top of her back as he was getting woozy. They entered the infirmary; it was mostly devoid of life but cluttered with empty vials and jars, and an oddly pale human who was writing something down.

"Afternoon, Auli. I don't know if you saw, but my friend got into a fight and he needs medical care."

Auli looked to the two and nodded. "Sit him on the cot, I'll take care of him. I saw everything that happened, who was that? He looked like an ivierae, but. Usually they're like, not murderous?" she said, walking over to a nearby cabinet to grab a blue coloured potion. At that point Ryo had limped in. He had a gash in his side.

"Ryo, are you okay? What happened?" Jaryn asked as Havre helped him off.

'I, I caught up to him, but, he. Pulled a dagger on me. Bastard got away,' he explained in a huff. Havre stopped Jaryn from standing back up, and sat him down.

"Don't worry, we'll track him down, eventually," Jaryn said, pulling out the folded paper. "I found this after you started chasing after that elf. It makes sense now why he was by himself- he's a Benoist. Lennon Benoist, to be specific."

"That surname sounds familiar. That's theeee, uh, ivierae family who owns that demon embassy, right?" Havre asked. She helped grab a few ingredients for Auli, who mushed it up in a bowl mixed with the blue potion.

"His grandparents own it, but I'm pretty sure he left that a long time ago. I hear it was because he felt too entitled to have a job. But rumours aside, this'll probably help us figure out what the Hell is going on," he mentioned, teeth grinding. He opened up the paper to read it out loud.

｢Lennon Benoist,
Go with Kyazf to Symilf after you're done with your tasks, in the usual meet up spot. From there we will work out a plan to get your brother back by the time he and Lord Cassius come to the city for that meeting with the Highking on the 7th of Feyo. Your timing is of utmost importance. Kyazf has a spell in his wand to get you both back, aim for the 30th of Mereo at the latest.
-Ilflurer｣

"Ilfurer? I've never heard a name like that before," Auli mentioned, soaking a piece of cloth in the potion.

"It's the Silmfein word for butterfly," Jaryn murmured, his fist clenched.

'You can't seriously be assuming that butterfly from earlier is connected to this, are you?' Ryo asked, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Of course I am, this is all way too conveniently lined up for there not to be a connection, Ryo. Where have you seen purple butterflies flying around?" He asked, pointing his finger at him.

Havre and Auli looked at each other confused, before Havre grabbed a needle and some horse tail hair from a cabinet and walked over to Jaryn. "I, uh, didn't realise you could speak to animals. It's a neat gift," she said softly, laying him on his stomach to begin stitching the wound.

"You didn't know that? All orcs have that ability, they're spiritually bonded to foxes at birth," Auli said, blotting the damp cloth on the gashed skin and grabbing a needle.

Havre's face went red from embarrassment, and murmured a sorry. Jaryn paused and winced over the needle entering his flesh. "It's, it's fine. I'm sure you- don't get many orc visitors."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what on Mirthae were you talking about with the purple butterfly?" Havre asked.

He sighed, "Earlier today I saw a purple butterfly in my dreams. The.. mocker swallowtail I think it's called. It just gave me the odd feeling that someone died, and. I guess I was right, with," he trailed off.