1??????????????Soul Bound


    1.1????????????Finding her Feet


    1.1.6??????????An Innocent Profaned


    1.1.6.17???????Not with a bang but with a whimper


    Kullervo withdrew his sword and, after a moment of disorientation, Kafana realised that she was now looking down at her own body. A heavy iron collar appeared around her ghostly neck and slammed closed with a doom filled *clang*, then a virescent chain snaked up from the sword and attached to it.


    The chain allowed some movement and she turned her head to watch her friends’ reactions to her murder. She could still see her surroundings, though the noise from crashing waves and all the other background sounds one never notices until absent started to fade into an unnatural silence.


    Alderney appeared to be whispering something to Pierrot. Bungo loomed in front of VamaKali, reaching forwards very fast towards her face with something in his hands.


    Instinctively VamaKali stepped back and drew her swords. It was only as they were whipping towards Bungo’s unprotected body that he opened his palm to reveal it contained nothing more than flowers. He died grinning, his objective achieved - VamaKali had let go of Pierrot.


    Alderney blocked the repulsive Jincan, standing there as though she thought he was about to offer her a dance and Tomsk stood between Kullervo and Pierrot with folded arms, unmoveable, just staring the man in the eyes, in challenge. The only sound he made as Kullervo gutted him with a knife was a disgusted comment “Pathetic.”


    In that crucial instant of hard earned freedom, Bulgaria took Pierrot in his arms and threw him out to sea with all his strength, leaving behind a coil of bloodstained rope tumbling to the sand. Pierrot, taking Alderney’s advice, swam underwater until far beyond the range of WraithLock’s bow. FancyAnts sent his reluctant antlion into the water to chase after Pierrot, and then looked mightily upset as it got eaten by the Kraken.


    After that, there was nothing the Brute Squad could do except take their anger out upon the survivors.


    Bulgaria took the dramatic route of standing very upright, head back, neck exposed, arms outstretched, as though on a crucifix. Wibano crushed him with a single hammer blow.


    Alderney was not so lucky. WraithLock stunned her with an arrow from behind, and Jincan took his time killing her, levering her mouth wide open with a long stiletto knife, pouring obscene amounts of poisonous slime down her throat and then giggling as she died in convulsions of agony, sobbing like a child. Wibano joined him, laughing, as Jincan smeared more slime over Alderney’s body then waggled his sword like a dick before stabbing Alderney between the legs with it.


    FancyAnts, still furious over the loss of his pet, exchanged a brief word with their leader before walking over to Kafana’s corpse and started kicking it. Eventually he wound down, and finished by pissing over her face and hair, before turning away.


    Eeeeeew.


    She didn’t want to see more, so with a ghostly arm she selected the icon pulsing on the bottom right of her vision that said “Return to Sanctum”.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    [Spirit can not return to Sanctum, while under the “Soul Bound” debuff. Do you wish to permit your Vessel to respawn without you?]


    {Sys, yes, please free Vessel-Kafana, and tell her, I don’t know, thank you? Sorry? Good bye? All of the above? No, tell her “I love you”. I hope she fares well without me, and can keep all those skills she earned and everything I have. Oh, no, we never finished the mittens together!}


    She started crying. Of all the stupid things to get upset over, the thought of those mittens they both spent ages working upon, sitting unused on a shelf, never to be given to Alderney, never to feel Vessel-Kafana’s glee at stage-managing the surprise and delighting her friend.


    [Vessel released. I will ensure she dreams your final message to her, Kafana.]


    She stared listlessly at the portal, and returned back to reality. *flip*


    <hr>


    Antonio looked back down the dark alley to check for followers, before entering the warehouse’s side door. In the empty space in the middle, sitting on a stool, a fair haired man was playing a lute and singing. His clothes were distinctive, decorated in interlocking green stripes reminiscent of slender branching trees, on a white background, even his cape and cap. More memorable though was his voice, which was beautiful, nearly as good as Nicolo’s.


    =Come closer=


    The voice sounded softly in Antonio’s head, and he found himself walking forwards into the light. He didn’t want to go. Something about Grattelard made his skin crawl, and that was before he found out what Grattelard really was.


    He first met Grattelard when he’d been trying to free Nicolo from the brothel. He thought Grattelard might take Nicolo on as an apprentice. And Grattelard had helped with the escape. For a price. He’d never let Nicolo know the things he’d done to keep Nicolo shielded. Grattelard had made clear to Antonio that if Antonio ran away or ever refused a task Grattelard set him, Grattelard would kill Nicolo permanently. After first skinning him alive.


    Antonio hadn’t really believed the threat. Not until three weeks later when he’d seen Grattelard do exactly that to a debtor who was late in making payments one too many times. Grattelard had been paid to make an example of the man. Grattelard treated it like just a piece of work, no better or worse than any other way of earning money. It was all the same to him, as long as he got paid.


    Antonio tried to persuade himself that keeping Grattelard informed of everything he learned about Kafana and the others wasn’t all that bad. After all, he wasn’t the one who’d killed them, and they’d be respawned ok, wouldn’t they? He told himself that, but it left a bad taste in his mouth. This was the last time. Grattelard had promised. And once he’d got Nicolo away somewhere safe, he’d turn himself into the watch, beg forgiveness. And then, when he’d served his time, he’d be reunited with his brother, who’d be a famous singer by then. Everything would be ok.


    He scarcely felt the needle go in, mesmerised as he was by the music. It wasn’t until the magically enhanced disease had already paralysed him, and Grattelard no longer needed to waste mana on keeping him spelled, that he became aware of the searing pain spreading out from his belly, as his organs ceased to function one by one.


    He couldn’t move his chest enough to scream, but Grattelard was careful in these things. He carried on playing, to cover up any sounds. In deference to his chosen deity, though, he did switch to playing a dirge. Bel approved of respect where due.


    He even explained his reasons to Antonio as a parting gift, so the boy wouldn’t die still wondering.


    "Nothing personal. You outlived your use, and were a loose end. Always be tidy."


    He left the corpse on the floor of the warehouse and spared it no further thought.


    He had a party to attend.