Character 30

We had Verica burn everything down, to remove this unsightly blight from the world, so that none would be as unfortunate as to have their sight settle on that horror show.

Then, I healed the child, and tended to her malnutrition and dehydration. 

She must have hidden there, beneath all that death and macabre design, for at least several weeks, up to a few months. The only way she could have survived was if she fed herself on the flesh of those made into those meat dolls, keeping herself hydrated by drinking the blood that leaked upon the ground.

Her muscles had also atrophied, as she most likely couldn't move, for fear of being discovered and turned into one of the gruesome works of art being put on display within that theater of evil.

So, we left that underground hell, setting off for the surface. Of course, not before we collected everything we could carry. We would be returning to recuperate what we couldn't right now, later on.

After we took what we could of the treasure, we departed for the city of Re-Blumrushur. I carried the girl on my back, making sure to treat her with special care, something that was quite new to me.

After a few hours of moving at a somewhat comfortable speed, while still going fast enough to reach our residence before sunrise. We were let through without any trouble, the night guards didn't even bother questioning me about the child we brought back.

They probably just didn't care all that much, and we also had cultivated a decently high level of trust amongst the populous, which helped when we couldn't be bothered to explain certain things, and helped us with getting away with skirting certain regulations.

That just comes with the territory, when being someone that is not only highly famous, but also extremely strong. Especially in our base of operations, after all this is where we operated most of the time, which makes us quite a familiar sight in recent years.

Anyways, we reached where we lived, the same place that I had once first set foot in, that day five years ago. We still hadn't really moved, since there was more than enough space within that house, and after years of wanting to change residences, even Verica accepted her defeat. 

Though, I think she just got attached to the place.

Entering through the front gate, we walked in, then I went to one of the guest rooms, with Verica following and the other two going to the lounge, where we spent most of our time discussing various things.

It was mostly used to talk about which missions to take, how to distribute our funds, and different strategic meetings all happened there.

We hadn't spoken a single word to each other since discovering that place, but due to the years of us working together, we developed a certain level of understanding amongst us.

No one needed to say a word, but we all understood the non verbal message - we'll be talking about this after laying the girl to rest.

We climbed the stairs up to the second floor, went right, down the corridor and found the first empty bedroom, before entering together.

Looking around, there wasn't much to say about its interior, though there was a degree of luxury within, it was all in the fact that everything was made by the best craftsmen money could buy. As well as the highest quality materials.

Apart from that, there wasn't any excess, just a simple bed, with a few pieces of furniture, such as a night stand, a closet, a desk, and other miscellaneous objects.

Striding to the side of the bed, I stood by it, shifting my hold on the child to a more comfortable position, while I waited for Verica to pull off the blanket.

Taking her within my arms, I carefully laid her down on the mattress, putting her head on the silken pegasus feather pillow, usually the only thing I look forward to when going to sleep.

Pulling up the cover over her, I stared at her sleeping face. It was twisted in pain, as if she was reliving her real life nightmare within her dreams. 

It was something that was all too familiar.

And I was helpless. Speaking from personal experience, there wasn't anything I could do to soothe her cruel reality.

Seeking to provide whatever confort I could, I layed the back of my hand upon her forehead, and fortunately it seemed like it likely calmed her night terrors.

Her features that were overcome with agony, turned to one that was simply tense and uncomfortable.

It might not have been much, but that was all I could. 

It was more than I ever had.

I looked to Verica, trying to signal what I desired with my gaze, and luckily it seemed like she understood, for she began to cast a spell.

I was beyond exhausted, not having the desire to utter a word.

It seemed like Verica agreed with the idea, for she casted silently, something I knew that was somewhat inefficient. And not something she usually did.

A blanket of various colors settled upon her, its hues mesmerizing in my weary state. 

Along with it came a small bird made of light, that flew around in a circle once before landing next to the girl. Safeguarding her, some extra security, as well as alerting us whenever she woke.

So, we left, out the room, down the hall and stairs, retracing our steps, before entering our meeting lounge.

Entering, we could see the other two were seated, and looking just as tired as I felt. Then, we too joined them in their semi comatose states, dropping our bodies onto the soft leather sofas.

We stayed like that for a while.

Then, what I dreaded came to be, despite it being inevitable.

"So… what are we going to do?"