Scattered Fragments

Chapter 10~ When the Shadows Come Out

The opening ceremony was finished, leaving Miora and its people a bit lighter. Now the fun was about to begin. All around the city music played, food was being prepared and passed around, crates of alcohol being emptied out and thrown to the side as another was brought out. The cups were thirsty, the plates were hungry, the music brought soul and dancing brought rhythm. Even a couple soldiers stationed at the city perimeter were ready to join the festivities as they carried a barrel of Ale to their Garrison.

"I don't care what the captain says, we're going to tie him down and make him take a swig!" said the taller soldier.

The rounder soldier chuckled, "We're gonna' get stable duty for a month, but aye' it'll be worth it. Captain's been a hardass for far too long."

The music and cheer from the city got a lot quieter as they reached the Garrison, the front door was cracked open a bit. The soldiers set the barrel of Ale down, just outside the door, and dusted themselves off.

"If the boys inside ain't screw up, captain should be tied up right about now," the taller soldier said, snickering.

"Guess we'll be having company in the stables!"

They both laughed and entered the small building, their giggles suddenly dead as a gruesome scene played out before them.

Blood coated the walls of the room as if it had been a new coat of paint. Soldiers laid out all around the room, some missing arms, legs, fingers...heads. The copper smell of blood turned their stomach, along with the sudden shock of it all. They might have started throwing up on the spot if it wasn't for the site of their captain, wide eyed as he sat on a stool, tied and bloody. There were a couple people standing around them, strange characters. One wearing a cape, the other a hulking brute and the last a woman wearing a long coat, holding two pistols in her hands. She was the first to turn around, her deadly gaze locking them in place.

The woman smirked, "Oh, there's more of you."

There was no emotion in her movements, just a cold professionalism as she lifted one of the pistols and shot the taller soldier between the eyes with deadly accuracy. It was so sudden, he had no idea what to do, how to react. The realization didn't settle in until the body hit the floor with a horrible thump, that his comrade, the best man at his wedding, a father of two small girls, his best friend... was dead.

The soldier dropped to his knees, his face and mind clearly lost. The strange lady approached him and settled the barrel of the pistol onto his temple. The poor man was too broken to move or do anything, but stare at the final horrified look on his friend's face.

There was a clicking sound. The woman-no, the demon grinned. There was no remorse in this woman's features, just pure thrill. "Sorry big boy, it's just business." Before the final clicks of the hammer, before the final flash, the bang, the end; the soldier noticed the man with the cape look back at him with the eyes of pity. His mouth begun to open, for just a little bit...but it was too late.

~

Firion watched as Xena took out the final soldier, his body dropped next to the other human. He didn't know why he spared the soldier a glance, but he simply brushed off the question; nothing but mere annoyance. He looked back to the human captain, a deadly calm on his face, and continued to interrogate the man.

~

The city was a lot bigger than he expected it to be. Albion hadn't been to Etra much in his life, but he heard stories of the golden city. A goddess who conquered the Onen and split the land, a castle which once was her own lying at the very center of Etra, a forbidden blade lost somewhere in the city; the stories and myths went for ages. He always believed the city to be weak, depending on a goddess for comfort and peace. That kind of mindsets doesn't breed great warriors, just obedient dogs.