The Red War

Chapter 11 | The City of Laas

| 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝑜𝓊𝓉𝒽 |

Leon and his group had been told to search the slums for this killer. The slums of Laas was very unique compared to other kingdoms. All people who lived there were incredibly poor, life expectancy was very low. They had bad access to water and a lot of the time the people's waste would be spilt throughout the streets. Although the life style these people lived wasn't the best there wasn't much crime, some would say there wasn't crime at all. The slums were made when the refugees from a war came to the city for help. The Angels did give them shelter but apart from that they have nothing to the people. This didn't phase them however, they were just happy to be alive and to have a bed to sleep in. For generations the population got bigger but the kindness between the people stayed the same, all their families had a tight bond which nothing could break. The news of murders happening in the slums was troubling for them all, to see one murder a year was rare but now a dozen were dead in only a few months. Another important fact was that the slums are just out of reach of the forest, its one of the only places in the South to be in a clearing. Every few years a person would wonder into the forest, never to be seen again. Some slum folk believe that whats killing the people is actually a creature from the forest, thirsty for blood and a craving for flesh. These are just stories though, at one point or another there was always rumors about creatures in the forest. Even if a creature did dwell in the forest its not like it could come to the City, it would be caught instantly. But reality didn't matter when the people were this afraid.

A lot of the newer generations grew a resentment to the angels who lived in the city. The city of Laas never used to be on the ground, for thousands of years it was dormant in the sky, watching over the lands. Angels were the only people able to reach their home and this reason alone was why they stayed out of wars for so long. But their region of isolation came to an end suddenly, no one but the high ranking angels knew why the city fell to the ground, of course there's been countless theories but none proven. Most of the city stayed intact and shortly after was when the slums were born. The thing was that the city itself was still high off the ground, the angels were still the only ones able to enter the city. Over hundreds of years the angels became more accepted man into their city and thousands still live in their today, they had their own area. So the fact that murders were happening both in the slums and in the city confused Leon, only an Angel could get from one place to another, and if it wasn't an Angel then what could it be.

After a day of travelling they made it, the first sight they saw was the decaying entryway of the slums, the sign was detached at one side, it swung every time a gust of wind hit it.
"Not a good first impression." Rex said. The five of them continued forward. Myra and Az were high above the other, since they were the only ones with wings they had no use for horseback. Leon and Sam stayed close to Rex, he was directing them through the town since he had been there many times prior. Leon called out to Rex.
"So where do we start looking?" Rex signed and stopped his horse in the middle of the road, he stared at all the citizens, observing their every movement and action. A group of four men caught his attention, they had raging looks on their faces and bloodied knuckles. He watched as the group of men entered the local tavern.
"We'll start off in there." He pointed towards the inn then hopped off his horse. Az and Myra saw that they were stopping so they flew back to the ground. The three who rode hooked their horses to a pole, close to the inn but also in a hidden spot. Rex turned to the others and smiled.
"I'm sort of a local down in these parts, so, you'll all follow my lead." The other four all sighed at once, annoyed with his cocky attitude.
"Ok, whatever." Said Az. Rex smiled and turned towards the tavern.
"It's showtime." He said under his breath.

The inside of the tavern was a completely shit show, the design was outdated, broken glass everywhere and blood stains on the floors. Rex studied his surroundings then turned back to the others, he seemed to always have a comment on every situation.
"Thought the slums were meant to be a peaceful place." The other didn't respond, they just continued to look around. Rex looked over at the bar and saw the group of men earlier, they all laughed and sang among themselves, already into the shots of vodka.
"Don't worry guys, I'll question those four." Rex quickly sped off, not wasting any time. The rest of them looked at the other locals, picking out which ones to question. On a table close to the bar was a young couple, nothing real important about them. An elderly man had just left the restroom and walked towards one of the tables, this peaked Myra's interest so she walked off to question him. Leon, Az and Sam were left, all three looked around more picking out the people to question. Az chose a lonely guy standing near one of the side rooms. The tavern itself was quite empty, these sorts of places were busy during the night but during the day they were just empty. Almost simultaneously Leon and Sam spotted a woman, she sat on one of the tables far from the bar. With no other option the two of them walked over to the girl for questioning.