Chapter 22: Misery

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Coën's skin was dark purple, eyes bloodshot, voice creened. Still drowning in pain. Derek watched as he sat on a stump as his friend went crazy from the shock. Derek, feeling a whole bunch of mixed emotions, was praying that Coën doesn't turn onto him.

Derek stood up and placed his boot on Coën's chest, pushing down very little. He quickly shifted down so that it was his knee on his chest, he squeezed harder. Coën thrashed his arms around, scraping the dirt and throwing rocks at Derek's armour.

Coën was gone.

Derek sighed and shut his eyes, blessing Coën in the afterlife. He pulled out Coën's sword and stabbed it down into his heart, killing the Knight rather quickly. Derek leant off his fallen friend and laid beside the body, looking up at the clear sky.

----

Derek dug up a spot opposite of the ruins and made a tombstone, engraved Coën's name and profession with his dagger. Derek buried the body, shielding Coën's face with his helmet, placing his shield upright on his chest. Derek filled up the grave.

Derek sat there, not making a noise, just sitting there. He rubbed his hand across his forehead and stood up, walking to his horse. He petted Coën's steed and took the reins off.

"This is where you go an' be free, Chestnut." He whispered, voice cracking slightly.

The horse stood there and when time came that Derek left these ruins, Chestnut followed. All the way down the road and to the local town.

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Derek didn't return to Borden, not Wintergale, he went to the port city known as Legois and seeked a ship to set him off to Marakkana, a island south of Condor and home to Elves. With Ciri going away through a portal to another world and Jeff seeking his own duties - whatever that is - Derek was left with nothing to do. He decided to see if the Marakkana Elves needed help with anything. Anything that'd consume time.

The ship was an ex-military ship now being used as a transport for salts and spices to the Dwarven continent and such. Derek had to pay extra to catch the waves and make a new, unscheduled, stop.

That didn't harm Derek at all, coin was the least worry on his plate.

Hours later, now late at night, the captain of the ship had called for Derek. They were at the docks of Marakkana, waiting there was a friend of Derek's. The Elf Quinlan Berichè.

Derek hacked all his stuff over onto the docks and carried himself over to his friend. "Quinlan."

"Knight. How was the sea?" Quinlan's voice was roachy and hoarse, his long blond dreadlocks glittering in the night sky.

"Decent, managed to get some sleep on the way over. You look... different." Derek felt the elf's dreadlocks.

"Yes, time equals change, Derek. I expect you of all people to know that. Come, let's not dangle about. My home should prove quite welcoming."

Derek nodded and followed the Elf. The land of Marakkana was marshy and stinky. But if the Elves could take habitat here, so could Derek. Quinlan opened his door and with a murmur of a few words, his house lit up. It was bigger than it looked on the outside, an illusion?

Derek dropped his luggage on the wooden floor and sat down on the couch, looking at the strange but beautiful home. Paintings of lighthouses and waves really brought the sense of living on a beach to life, it was quite relaxing.

Quinlan pulled up a bowl of shrimp and handed it to Derek, insisting that he eats. "Fresh from these waters!"

Derek nodded. "Any problems regarding witchcraft, monster's, and other abominations from Hell?"

"Derek," Quinlan's voice sounded like a wood cutters whorey wife. "Best to relax for tonight. You've been on a bloody boat the whole day, for goodness sakes! Rest, Knight, and we'll talk in the morning."

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Derek woke up on the couch, the sun glowing through the windows, breaking through his eyelids. His Elven friend not around.

Derek stretched out and quickly pulled on some pants before searching. He heard shouting outside and quiet roars of fire nearby. Derek threw open the window and saw the Condor military rounding up all the Elves, Quinlan somewhere in the mix of it.

Derek went over to a soldier and tried pushing him aside.

"Tha fawk are yea doin'?" The soldier said throwing Derek back. "Yea ain't an Elf, we basically saved yea! Show some respect, cocker!"

"What're you doing to these Elves? They've done nothing!" Derek said still peering over to see if he could catch a glimpse of Quinlan's dreads.

"King Aldir has ordered us to hunt down e'ery Elf. They could be helpin' tha Sili'otia, cocker!" He was pushed by and Elf that was running to Quinlan's house.

The elf made it and shut the door. Four soldiers with swords and torches in hand went over. They kicked on the door but decided that a burnt elf was the best elf. They broke the glass and threw their torches at cloth next to the table. After a blink, the house was up in flames. The screams of the elf grew along too.

"What in Etheria's womb are you doing!?" Derek heard Quinlan's voice show up behind him.

There was the elf, right beside the soldier. The soldier nearly soiled himself but he quickly grasped Quinlan's brown cloak. "Oh, you look like a fawkin' mage! Alfred! Alfred!!?"

Another soldier jogged over. "The fook ye need?"

"Sili'otia appeared right in front my eyes! Orders to cut him down before he teleports away?"

Quinlan struggled while Derek stood.

"How do ye know he is of the Sili'otia? Proof!"

"Uh, I've got none."

"So you've no way to prove it, huh? Ha, you're lucky I hate Elves almost as much as me own father, kill him... death from hanging!"

Derek knew he had to act now, so he did. He threw his fist into the iron helmet of the military commander, Alfred, and landed it on the temple. He quickly unsheathed the other guards sword and cut him down before he could realize it. Derek kicked the soldier holding Quinlan down and picked up the Elf.

"Get us out of here!" Derek yelled, soldiers on the pursuit.

"Where!?"

"Anywhere, dammit!"

Just as Quinlan and Derek were being teleported, a soldier pulled down Derek. It was too late for Quinlan to stop the process of the teleportation so he left Derek on Marakkana.

Derek was being beaten to a pulp, kicked and stomped. After a minute of beatings, they pulled Derek up. Alfred kneed him in his stomach.

"Fook ye!" Alfred yelled and spat into Derek's face. "Get him to the ships prison, along with the Elves."

Derek was being pulled over to the ship. They pulled over a sack over his head making Derek no longer see. The military locked him in under the ship. The Elves were loud, crying - as would normal civilians - and shushing their babes.

Derek tried to climb up but he was in shambles, ankles and hands.

It felt like an eternity before the ship began moving, it made Derek feel sick, not knowing where they were and the rocking of the waves. Derek laid down and felt his back crack. He moaned quietly and let his mind take him away.

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