Sacrifice Mage-Chapter 99 (B2: C15): Innocent Return

The Scarthralls were dropped off by a gaggle of guards who looked like they couldn’t wait to be rid of their charges. In fact, as soon as they saw me arriving, they had yelled out something about completing their jobs and being back later before rushing off like they were afraid of catching the plague or something.
I hadn’t even gotten to ask them about the timeline of the rest of the innocent Scarthralls or anything like that.
Not that their reactions were surprising. That the guards hated the Scarthralls was obvious to anyone with eyes and ears. Moreover, I suspected their goal was to visibly make sure I had custody of the vampires and that was it. All they really wanted was to ensure there were no Scarthralls loitering about in Ring Three.
“Nasty pricks,” Hamsik muttered.
He seemed to be in a rather sour mood for some reason, and I wondered if part of that was because I had made zero progress on getting to his half-brother. I wouldn’t blame him if so.
“I’ll find him,” I promised. “I’m heading to—”
“Later,” Hamsik said in a clipped voice. “We have more important things to deal with now.”
True enough.
The Scarthralls looked like a bunch of schoolchildren on an unfamiliar field trip. Their arrival had drawn the attention of some of the locals, those who weren’t employed or were otherwise busy. Attention that wasn’t really positive.
They were also not looking great. Most were thin, looking famished and starving, some even appearing moments away from collapsing. We’d have to deal with their need for blood soon.
Looking through them, I didn’t find any sign of Tural. It seemed he wasn’t with this group. I… wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Just thinking about what had happened to him during the fight, about what
I
had done to him myself… I swallowed.
Banishing those memories, I approached the Scarthralls with an encouraging smile.
“Welcome!” I said. “Or I suppose, welcome back! I don’t know what it was like in the prisons, but the important thing is that you’re out.”
“Shit,” one of the Scarthralls said. “It was absolute shit.”
“Literally sometimes,” said another.
My eyes twitched. Mostly because I wasn’t surprised.
“I’ll be frank with you,” I said. “The fact that you were forced into being Scarthralls is regrettable. But we still need to deal with it the best we can.”
They didn’t like the sound of that, which I had expected, but I couldn’t coddle them. We were kind of in the same boat. Or well, they were in the boat I had been when I had first arrived here—torn from the life I had been expecting and drawn into a completely different one I hadn’t at all been prepared for.
But I had tackled it all the same, and now I was here. And that’s what I focused on when I continued.
“I know some of you are worried, I said. “And some of you are scared. And it’s true, it’s not going to be easy at all from here on out. But that doesn’t mean
things have to get worse
. Do you understand?”
They seemed to straighten at my words. With some, their eyes sharpened and they looked straight at me. For others, though, they were stepping back, still looking unsure.
“How could you know what we’re dealing with?” a woman asked. She was shaking her head, her red pupils looking like daubs of blood against the dirty whites of the rest of her eyes. “All you did was kill… kill people like us.”
I scowled. “The only ones I killed were the ones who deserved it.”
My voice had snapped out, which wasn’t good because I was trying to get them on my side. I took a quick, calming breath.
“Look, you’re the victim of a terrible crime,” I said, trying to sound as reasonable as I could. “I’m sorry for that. Genuinely. But we can’t change the past. The best we can do is take it into account as we move forward and make the best of the hand we’ve been dealt. Trust me, I know. I’ve been there.”
“You’re no Scarthrall,” someone said.
Another raised his hand high in affront. “You
can’t
know!”
Alright, maybe trying to approach it from that angle wasn’t going to work. I was trying to be frank, but honesty was working against me here.
I swallowed. This was a struggle. A real clash in my mind. I was trying my hardest not to give in to cynicism, not to let my current thoughts be infected from my experiences on Earth.
Back there, a lot of people didn’t
want
the truth. So many were incapable of dealing with it, and would much rather prefer simple, straightforward answers that didn’t hold any of the listeners culpable for anything that had gone wrong. They never wanted reality.
All they had sought was reassurance that things would be okay. That someone would take care of it all.
Even lies were preferable to cold, hard truths.
Maybe… maybe that was the same everywhere. I wasn’t a real leader. I had zero experience actually understanding what people wanted as an aggregate. Sure, I had some idealistic notions that everybody desired the same basic things like happiness and meaning and safety. But reality was much more complicated than that.
People
were more complex than that.
“Don’t
lie
.” Hamsik stepped forward, and the belligerence that some of the Scarthralls had started displaying quickly melted away in the face of Hamsik’s aggressive presence. “I know some of you. I recognize you. And you! All of you were there that night. All of you were present on the day of the Sacrifice.”
I needed only a second to understand what he meant. The day of the Sacrifice. The day of
my
Sacrifice.
“He—he’s right,” one of the called-out Scarthralls said, stepping forward from the rest of the gathering. “I was there. So were lots of you. The cult leader had been summoned, and we were going to Sacrifice him. It was…” He lowered his head and his voice. “It was a crime, not that different from the one done to us.”
More and more of the Scarthralls corroborated that. I didn’t recognize them. The memories weren’t pleasant, but I could deal with my reactions. It was what I had brought up in the first place, after all.
“That’s right,” Hamsik said. “Ross here started with nothing in this world except for a certain power. And he used that power to claw his way to a position where even Councillors pay attention to him. He didn’t let the crime of what was done to him hold him back from using what he had to push himself forward.”
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If I was told I’d have Hamsik praising me like that one day, I’d have laughed it off. Yet here he was, making me sound like the hottest shit in town.
“It’s not the crime aspect I wanted to point out,” I said. “It’s the fact that you’re
alive
. You’re standing, in control, in full possession of your faculties and your freedom. The only restriction is that you’re a Scarthrall now, the same way my restriction was that when I first came here, I had to work with the cult.”
That was the crux of the matter. Working within restrictions but working
forward
.
“What are you suggesting?” asked the same Scarthrall who had first admitted to being present at my summoning.
The time for speeches and appealing to truth and emotions was done. Now they needed a direction.
It was probably a good thing I had spoken with the hospital about what to do.
“Since you’re Scarthralls now,” I said. “The best thing is for you to get your own homes. Someplace you can stay without causing too much friction. To that end, we’ve been preparing residences for you. Please settle down there and try to relax and take a breather.”
“So we won’t be returning to our families yet?” a different Scarthrall asked.
“You won’t be
imprisoned
. I think it’s just best if we smooth the process of integration as much as we can. You’re mistaken if you think it’s a matter of me thinking you’re inclined to do the same kind of horrid things the actual monstrous Scarthralls wanted to do.” I shook my head. “That’s not it. What I’m concerned about is the response from the community.”
Even as I said it, my head swivelled to take in the little audience we had garnered, the few non-vampiric residents of Ring Four who had wandered over to see what all the fuss was about.
The Scarthralls watched them back too, and that was proof enough of what I meant. Regardless of their proven innocence, they would be judged. I was wary of that. Ring Four was already embattled against the rest of Zairgon with the scarcity of resources and opportunities and general derogatory manner it was treated. We couldn’t afford infighting amongst ourselves.
I raised my hand. “We’ll prove to everyone that we’re not just people to regard with suspicion and concern. We’ll prove we’re not just people who need to be accepted for who we are. We’ll prove that we’re
invaluable
.”
It was maybe a little too cheesy, but it seemed to have the right effect. Everyone’s eyes returned to me, and they weren’t disbelieving. I was successful in convincing them I had a plan.
“I don’t mean to sound harsh, but there are bigger things afoot than our families,” I said. “Bigger things than how people see and treat us. Bigger things just being accepted. And that’s what we’re going to use as an
opportunity
.”
“Bigger things like what?” a Scarthrall asked.
Slowly, I smiled. “Bigger things… like Blight Swarms.”
My plan to make the Scarthralls something like a militia meant to specifically tackle the challenge presented by the Blight Swarms wasn’t exactly a foolproof plan. Plus, I didn’t even like framing it as a
militia
.
They had the potential to be a strong fighting force, but that wasn’t their main goal and I certainly wasn’t about to force anyone to comply with my ideas.
When I mentioned it, several Scarthralls naturally bowed out. I wasn’t surprised. None of them had wanted to be Scarthralls in the first place. They didn’t care they had new Paths and powers and whatnot. This wasn’t what they had asked for. This was
unfair
.
So, I couldn’t blame them for shying away from a direction that would need them to make full use of their vampiric abilities. They didn’t want to become
more
of a vampire.
I didn’t have a backup plan for those sorts of people, but at least they were complying with my wish for them to be careful about mingling with the rest of Ring Four.
And of course, I told them the cult’s doors were always open for them all.
“You should induct them all,” Hamsik said. “And then bind them with Oaths.”
I winced. Escinca had disliked them, and honestly, I felt the same. Plus, as I had seen with Glonek, it had only worked so far. “Don’t think Oaths are going to stop that many Scarthralls from causing problems if they wanted to. Also, binding every single one of them to Oaths just because some of them
might
cause issues is problematic, Hamsik. It’s not right.”
Hamsik sighed and shook his head.
For the time being, we had asked the Scarthralls to relocate to one of the abandoned sections of Ring Four. We were still finishing up establishing proper residences.
Since we finally had some privacy, I asked Hamsik about what was bothering him. Because when I had started talking with the Scarthralls, his initial displeasure had given me the impression it wasn’t just the matter with his brother that was bothering him.
I could finally talk about it since we got some privacy. “Like I said, I’ll take care of it. I’ll be heading out to the Adventurer’s Guild—”
Hamsik eyed me critically. “You can just say no, you know.”
“What?”
“Just say no. Just say you’re busy. It’s not
wrong
to just not want to deal with every single problem on your plate. Pits, this isn’t even a problem on your plate.”
“What are you talking about? I said I’d help, didn’t I?”
“
That’s
what I’m talking about. You’re starting to act like Elder Escinca.”
I frowned. “And you’re starting to act like a prick again.”
Hamsik lips curled as he bared a few fangs. “You seem to think that every little problem that comes up always needs your full attention to figure out and solve. Like every wrong you see is something
you
need to make right.”
I took a moment to consider that.
Was
I doing that? I didn’t think so. Sure, various issues had presented themselves and I had to deal with them in great part because I was in a position of both power and responsibility.
But it wasn’t like I was going out of my way to rescue stray kittens or make sure every single person on Ring Four was happy and sated. No one had the time for shit like that.
I decided against responding with annoyance, though. “You’re not wrong in the sense that balance is important, and I
think
I’m maintaining that balance for now.”
“Maybe you are.” Hamsik closed his scarlet eyes for a moment. “You’re growing stronger bit by bit. You’re not stagnating. Yet. Just don’t let your supposed duties overwhelm you, Ross. Remember the first time we properly talked? Remember what you said about stagnating and not progressing?”
I didn’t have to think too hard to remember it all. Back then, I had been talking in terms of external, societal things. I had warned them that simply helping in the moment wasn’t enough. Otherwise, the situation would stagnate and nothing would really improve.
Fair enough. The same could be said for everyone’s own, individual matters.
“Just one of these days,” Hamsik said quietly. “I’d like to see you say no to something. No to a problem that you’re asked to deal with. Because knowing which battles to pick is half the battle, right?”
I grunted. He had a point there. It was something I’d have to remember.
“The issue with your brother isn’t something I’m going to say no to, though,” I said.
Hamsik didn’t reply to that. Maybe he’d have been satisfied with my decision if I
had
declined to help him, but I hadn’t, and he wasn’t going to turn me down.
With all that done, and as Hamsik left, I thought about spending the rest of the day training. Well, I would need to check on a few things like how establishing the new residences for the Scarthralls was going on. I
could
delegate it, but I figured it would be a good break after some training.
But I only got in about an hour of flying practice before I was interrupted by a visiting Scarthrall, who was brought in by Sreketh.
“Another exciting thing, Ross,” she said with a big, toothy smile.
I looked between her and the gangly Scarthrall. He was maybe Aurier’s age. Not quite an adult yet, but close. “Oh? What’s going on?”
Sreketh nudged the Scarthrall, who cleared his throat before stepping forward.
“Um, I’ve manifested a Path, Cultists Ross,” he said. “A special Path, I mean, that’s not related to anything. Well, not related to any
jobs
. I think it’s related to, well, you know…”
He gestured to himself somewhat hesitantly.
I was growing more and more interested. “What’s the Path called?”
“Path of Bloodforged Strength, with an Aspect of Aetherblood. It just manifested out of nowhere the other day at the guards’ prison. I’m just… not sure what to do with it now, because I figure there
are
things I could do with this.”
I slowly nodded. This young Scarthrall had realized he had actual power, and now, he was keen on making use of it in ways that would improve his life.
Just like I had when I had with Newborn Star.
After a moment of looking between Sreketh and the Scarthrall, I took a deep breath. “I think I know what we can try. Something I probably should have thought about earlier.” I smiled at the Scarthrall. “How would you like to be an adventurer?”