Tales of Undeath: The Von Virtus Chronicles

Before long, it was nighttime. The four of them gathered at the orphanage to present their findings.

Rel: So... Who wants to go first?

Neither Jargen nor Punjo seemed too eager to start. Rel sighs.

Rel: So... Not much luck either, huh?

Jargen shakes his head.

Jargen: All we managed to find out is that Cabdan's not gonna be around here for a while. The guard near his prostitution ring said so himself.

Punjo nods.

Punjo: And we can believe 'im, trust us... We made sure.

Rel and Virno look at each other, slightly concerned with how they managed to ensure the guard spoke the truth...

Virno: Alright, well I guess that's something at least. As for us, we only managed to uncover that Cabdan basically handed the fighting arena over to his goons to do with as they please. But what's more curious than that is that one of his men warned us to stay indoors tonight...

Rel: Right. Apparently, things around here are going to get more dangerous than usual after the sun goes down.

Punjo and Jargen look at each other. Their eyes widen.

Rel: Are you guys' family home?

Punjo: All good on my end.

Jargen: Same here, thankfully.

Rel nods.

Rel: Good. Virno has also warned his mother, and we made sure to alert as many people as we could... Though, to be fair, most didn't seem to believe us. This is why I propose we try a different approach...

Rel closes the door of the room they were in. Virno moves close to a large sheet of cloth that seems to be covering something quite big.

Virno: We had some time to kill before our meeting here. It's not much, but we did our best...!

He removes the cloth, unveiling a pile of weapons underneath. All of them were variations of mainly wooden tools, some sporting either nails or razors attached. They seemed rather flimsy overall, but it was better than nothing.

Virno: Take your pick!

Punjo and Jargen approach the pile.

Rel: ... We'll patrol the streets tonight, keep the slums safe. If we can't keep people away from the danger, we'll have to keep the danger away from people.

They grin from ear to ear.

Punjo: About damn time we get t'have some fun...

Jargen: You said it. Tearing and nailing planks all day gets pretty boring. But it does get your body used to certain "motions"...

They each grab the biggest mallets they could find.

Rel: Can't say I'm surprised you'd pick those...

Jargen smiles.

Jargen: I'd rather fight with just my hands... But it's best to be prepared for the worst.

Rel picks up a bat with nails nailed onto the head, while Virno chooses a plank with razors attached to the edges. There were bandages around the grips, and they had been ground to become circular, to make them easier to grab and hold.

Punjo: Laddies... Be ready for anything tonight. Alright?

Punjo's question sent shivers down Rel and Virno's spine, but they nodded anyway.

Virno: So, are we all prepared, then?

Punjo: Let's get going!

Jargen: Yeah, I'm good to go too.

Rel: Same. Follow me!

Armed with their newly-acquired weaponry, they march out of the orphanage and into the streets. So far, everything seemed as quiet as usual for that time of day.

Punjo: Any ideas where to start?

Rel: I have a couple of locations in mind... I say we start with the arena. That's the source of the rumors, after all. If there's a place where things could get pretty wild, that would be it.

They head towards the arena. So far, all was tranquil. They arrive and are greeted by an empty fighting ring.

Virno: Nothing...

Rel shifts around nervously, as if he was hoping that they had found at least something by now.

Jargen: You lads sure you heard right...?

Punjo: Maybe they were just fooling around.

Virno shakes his head.

Virno: There's no mistaking what we heard... And the guy didn't seem to be kidding, either. Rel, you said you had other places in mind. Where to next?

Rel takes a deep breath.

Rel: There's another place we really need to check. Honestly, I'm afraid of even going there. If they're there... It would be bad. Really bad... For everyone in the slums. But we have to ensure they haven't made their way to it. Follow me.

Rel leads them through some back alleys. They accompanied him, but still couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary. After they leave one of the alleyways, Rel stops in front of a familiar building. At a first glance, it also seemed untouched.

Virno: Your family's convenience store...?

Rel: The only place in the slums where you can get supplies. I wouldn't think they'd be so stupid as to rob a place as important to everyone's livelihood as this, but...

As they approach the store they hear noises coming from within, even though the doors and windows seem closed.

Rel: I should have goddamn known better... Fucking Cabdan and his goons... Ready your weapons, everyone.

They grip their weapons tight, bracing for the worst. Upon approaching one of the doors, Rel notices that someone had forced their way in. He kicks it open.

Goon: They're back!

Gorilla: Took your sweet time! Were the wenches more rowdy than usual?

Ruffian: Maybe it was their men who put up a fight...!

The store was turned upside down. Three men inside had ransacked the place, and were gorging themselves on the food and liquor within. It was a mess. They hadn't yet turned their heads to see who entered.

Rel: Animals...

As they hear Rel's unfamiliar voice, they look at him.

Gorilla: Oy... That's not them!

Ruffian: You gentlemen walked into the worst place you could have tonight...

Rel raises his weapon in their direction.

Rel: Tell me about it, motherfuckers!

One of the men runs towards Rel, knife in hand.

Ruffian: Sorry, kid. Wrong place at the wrong time!

He attempts to stab Rel, but Rel reads his attack clearly. With one of his arms, he redirects the man's knife away from his torso, and with his other hand, he manoeuvres the bat's knob into the center of his palm, thrusting it directly upwards. The end cap of the bat hits the man straight on the chin, with such strength that some of his teeth break as his lower jaw makes contact with the rest of the skull. Blood spurts from his mouth.

Ruffian: SHON OHF A...!

The attacker stumbles backward, spitting his broken teeth to the side. Before he could gather his composure, Rel's bat was already coming for him in a wide, horizontal swing directed straight at the side of his head. The last thing the man sees is Rel's wrathful expression, before the bat's nails make contact with his skull, piercing his brain and popping one of his eyes. He drops to the floor motionless, as a growing pool of blood forms beneath his head.

Punjo: Oy, leave some for us!

Punjo and Jargen rush forward, to protect Rel from the other two men. They didn't seem too keen on attacking, however, after seeing what Rel could do...

Gorilla: Wait! We surrender!

He drops his weapon, kicking it away from his reach. The other one does the same.

Goon: Just let us go... We promise we're done. We won't ever do something like this again. Please have mercy!

Virno lowers his weapon. Rel seems undecided. Jargen looks at the two boys.

Jargen: You two really do have a lot to learn still...

Punjo smiles.

Virno: They surrendered... We shouldn't kill them. Rel, c'mon.

Rel gripped his weapon tight, looking at the floor.

Rel: But after what they've done to our store... I can't just...

Punjo: Don't let yerselves be fooled by these two!

Jarges approaches one of them, grabbing him by the throat and holding him up.

Jargen: Right. Did you forget what they said when we came in?

Punjo walks towards the other one, as the man steps backward, terrified.

Punjo: They were expecting their buddies ta come through that door, not us. So this is all just a sorry attempt ta buy 'em some time... Ain't that right, little man?

The man's back hits the wall behind him.

Goon: Please, I'm sure they're still a ways off from here! Just let us-

Punjo: DON'TCHA LIE TO ME, LADDIE!

Goon: PLEASE...!

The man closes his eyes, in fear. Punjo raises his mallet high overhead, then brings it down on the man's skull. It bursts like a watermelon, as the swing sends the rest of his body crashing down into the ground.

Jargen: We'll have company any time. We should head outside and wait for them, if they get us when we're inside we-

A warm liquid hits Jargen on the side of his face, interrupting him. The man had spit on him.

Gorilla: YOU'RE FUCKED! YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE, YOU HEAR ME YOU CUNTS?! YOU FUCKED WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE YOU-

Jargen grips the man's neck tighter, feeling the cartilage break under his grip.

Jargen: Shut up.

As the man chokes, Jargen pulls back his other arm, which is holding his mallet. He then swings it forth, directed at the man's nose. As the wooden weapon crashes against it, the sound of cracking bone is heard, and blood comes spewing forth from his nostrils. He releases the man, who falls onto his back, still conscious.

Gorilla: MERCY... Please, have mercy...!

Jargen: I said shut up.

Jargen grabs the man by the leg, and starts dragging him out of the store as he wails in pain. A trail of blood follows behind.

Virno: What are you guys doing...?

Rel: Aren't we going a bit too far?!

Punjo grabs the other man's headless corpse, carrying it over his shoulder. He follows Jargen out.

Punjo: We're not going far enough, boys... If we don't stop this today it'll only get worse.

Punjo spoke as if it wasn't the first time he had dealt with something like this.

Jargen: You two, grab that other guy. Let's get them all outside.

Begrudgingly, Rel and Virno do as Jargen instructed, putting their faith in their two more experienced comrades. They make it out the front door.

Virno: Now what?

Jargen: Now it's time to do some redecorating.

Punjo: Just like any other day at the orphanage, eh Jargen?

Jargen: Right... Same shit different scenery. Smash away, Punjo.

Punjo raises his mallet high overhead, and sends it crashing down onto the corpse he was carrying. The sound of bones cracking is heard as his mallet gets bloodier.

Rel: Guys... What the fuck is going on...?!

Jargen looks at Rel, stopping his mallet high overhead.

Jargen: What's going on is that Cabdan decided that he doesn't give a shit about the slums anymore, so he's using them as a playground for his men. It's our mission to send a very clear message to these fellows: fuck with us, and we'll fuck with you ten times as hard.

He sends it crashing down onto the man's head as he squirmed and cried. After the mallet hits, he finally stops moving.

Jargen: This is a test.

He looks at both Rel and Virno.

Jargen: If we succeed, Cabdan's men will learn to fear us and back off, letting us run the slums ourselves. If we fail...

Punjo stops pounding the man with his weapon, wiping the sweat from his brow with his bloody hands.

Punjo: ... They will kill, rape and take everything we own until they've had enough.

Jargen nods.

Jargen: These aren't people we're killing. They're predators. Monsters. Parasites. So you two need to stop seeing this as murder, and start seeing it for what it truly is:

Punjo: Pest control.

Says Punjo, as he brings his mallet down onto the lifeless body once more.

Jargen: So mangle these bodies as much as you can. Paint the streets red with their blood, scatter their limbs across the slums... Show these bastards what they get for wrecking our home.

Rel and Virno looked at each other, nervously.

Virno: I don't know if I can...

Rel: Y-yeah... This seems way too much...

Jargen and Punjo keep crushing the bodies.

Jargen: That's the whole point.

Punjo: Don'tcha worry. The two of us will do the dirty work if ya can't handle it. Ya can keep watch inste-

Goon in the distance: HEY! WHAT THE FUCK...?!

Punjo: Ah. Guess it's a tad too late fer that...