The Last Dainv-Chapter 29

The Last Dainv-Chapter 29

A long conference table made of dark wood that clearly came from the lush dark forest. Rachel sat on one side of the table, with Gale beside her, and an old man smiling with his teeth at the other side of the table. The board creaked as he shifted his weight forward, staring directly at each micro expression of Elliot.
"You still haven't explained how you managed to build all this," Gale said. "A settlement this size in the middle of monster-infested territory? It doesn't add up."
Elliot kept on his smile. "As I said, we're resourceful. Necessity breeds innovation."
Rachel tugged at Gale's sleeve. "Maybe we can ask more about advice rather than-"
"And what about the dark forest?" Gale said. "How do you kill those garba-I mean beasts?!"
"We avoid it," Elliot said. "Blue Haven is our sanctuary. We have no need to venture into such dangerous areas."
"So you're saying you haven't encountered ether users or magicians, whatever you call them, like in the movies?! What if a beast comes here?"
Elliot's laughed. "Ether users? My boy, we're simple folk here. We rely on our walls and our wits. The saying goes that wit is mightier than the sword."
"That's not an answer," Gale slammed the table. "You can't tell me no one here has any abilities."
"I can assure you," Elliot said, "that Blue Haven is the safest place you could hope to find in this world. Why do you think we call it a haven?"
Gale watched the man speak through his teeth, as if he was saying the most obviously honest thing that someone had ever said. It felt rehearsed. Scripted. Like everything in this damned settlement. Even the citizens had blank expressions in their eyes when he looked away for just a second, but not Breath of the Void. That skill told him everything. I'm definitely not paranoid.
"Elliot, have you found any exit rift so far?" Rachel asked softly.
"I don't even know what that is. Care to explain, young lady?" Elliot asked.
There it was. The teeth again, even though it was already there before. The old man looked at her face for a second too long! That definitely wasn't normal.
"In Aur, when we enter into a rift like the one we're in, there'll always be an exit… you can call it an exit portal to go back home," Rachel said.
"But my dear, we are already home, and you can join us," Elliot replied.
"But I'm telling you we can go back home. Why not go home?" Rachel said.
Elliot clasped his hands together. "The people love it here. There's simply no reason."
"But don't they wanna go home?" Rachel said.
Elliot leaned back in his chair, a serene smile playing on his lips. "But why leave? Life here is better than it ever was on Earth. We've built something special, something safe."
Definitely a punchable serene smile if he hasn't seen one before.
Rachel stood up, balling her fist. "Safe? There's monsters out there that can destroy this place!"
"But they didn't. And we've learned to defend against those monsters already," Elliot said. "Tell me, Rachel, what awaits us back on Earth? More violence? More corporate and political corruption? Here, we have a chance to start anew. Start a new civilization."
"This isn't our world. The quality of life here isn't as good for the people as compared to back then." Rachel said.
This was going nowhere fast. The man clearly wouldn't say any more than what he was scripted for. But he was right. This place had no corruption. No bureaucracy. Then the best solution to find out whether it has no corruption or bullshit is to blend in—
"—I think Elliot has a point," Gale cut in.
Rachel and Ollie turned to him.
"What?" Rachel said in an exasperated voice.
"This world changed us. Made us stronger. Maybe staying isn't such a bad idea." Gale said.
"But weren't you just asking a lot of questions too earlier?"
"He's right though. I experienced the bullshit Elliot's talking about in that place you call home."
Rachel stared at him after he said that for exactly 10 seconds. He made sure not to reveal anything in his expression.
"See? Even your friend sees the potential here." Elliot's smile widened.
"Gale, you can't be serious," Ollie said. "After everything we've been through to find a way home? All the dangers we faced was to find a way back home."
"I'm just saying we should consider all our options. I'd rather stay alive than dead."
"And you think that staying here is an option? Really, Gale?" Rachel asked.
"Sturdy walls. More able bodied people that can defend. Food and-"
"I thought you wanted to go back home too. Was that… a lie?" Rachel clenched her hands on the table.
"Well, you thought wrong." Gale looked away, not meeting her stare anymore.
Elliot raised a hand. "Let's not fight. I propose a compromise. Those who want to stay can stay. Those who wish to leave are free to do so."
"And what about your people?" Rachel said. "Will you let them make that choice?"
Elliot spread his arms wide. "Of course. You're welcome to try to convince them to leave. I have nothing to hide."
That wide armed stance. Goddamn acting like a messiah, huh? I'll get you.
"Fine," Rachel said. "We'll talk to the people. Everyone deserves to know that there's an exit out of this hell hole."
Elliot nodded graciously. "By all means. You'll find them quite content here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."
Gale's eyes followed Rachel as she vanished into the crowd, her voice fading as she approached each passerby.
"So, you staying here in Blue Haven?" Ollie asked beside him.
Gale turned to face him, his expression completely blank. "Maybe life here might be better than the forest. Elliot's right. Maybe we've got a new chance."
His eyes drifted to the buildings outside the window. A child ran through the street, smiling, laughing, and a blank face when he saw her through Breath of the Void. On the surface, it looked positive. But the orphanage also looked positive on the outside. Assholes.
This tale has been pilfered from NovelFire. If found on Amazon, kindly file a .
"I don't buy it," Ollie said. "You're not the type to abandon people you've been through hell with."
Gale knew there was no way he could spill the details right now to Ollie when everyone in the square was looking and listening in on them. His father always told him to not alarm your enemies when attacking them.
He took a step closer to Ollie, whispering, "You don't know me. Remember what I told you about Earth? The bullying?"
"I learned the hard way, you have to look out for yourself first," Gale said. It wasn't totally a lie. The taunts, the isolation, the desire to disappear into the forest and just read books all day. He did want to run away from it all.
However, that wasn't reality. He wanted to stay with Rachel, but her method was too naïve. Elliot played her like an adult playing along with a child's fantasy. The villagers were never going to give her what she wanted if they even bothered to talk to her.
Gale walked to the door to exit, leaving Ollie behind. As soon as he was out of sight, he activated Distort, bending the ligth around him until he became nigh invisible. He moved silently through the streets, avoiding the citizens that moved about even if they couldn't see him.
Rachel came into view as he watched her approach people. A man hauling wood stopped as she said hello to him.
"Sir, do you have a moment to talk?" Rachel asked.
The man paused, wiping sweat from his brow. "What can I do for you, miss?"
Rachel's eyes looked around, taking in the busy scene of the man chopping up wood. "Do you happen to know how to leave this world? To go back to Earth?"
"Oh, we're all quite busy here, keeping everything in tip-top shape. Life is good here, why would we leave?"
The man's smile never wavered, just like Elliot's.
"What if I told you that you could leave?" Rachel asked.
"Leave this paradise? No thank you." The man began walking away.
Rachel's shoulders slumped slightly. She thanked the man and moved on to another target, a child eating a muffin.
Rachel crouched down to the child's level. "Hey there, where's your mom?"
The child looked up, eyes wide. Acting innocent. Most definitely acting innocent.
"My mom didn't make it," the child replied. That was all the child said before returning to walk along the path while eating her muffin.
Rachel's expression saddened. She stood slowly, her eyes searching the crowd again until they landed on another person, an older woman.
"Excuse me," Rachel approached her. "What do you do for a living here in Blue Haven?"
The older woman looked at Rachel with a smile. "Oh, I bake for the children and men. It's a wonderful job, dear."
Rachel leaned in closer. "Have you ever thought about leaving? Going back to Earth?"
The woman chuckled, shaking her head. "At my age? I'd be doing the same thing there as I am here. There's no point in leaving, is there?"
Again, she moved on. Now this time, a man carrying woodworking tools. A carpenter.
"Sir, if you had the chance to go back to Earth, would you take it?"
The man paused and smiled at Rachel, tools clanking together from the sudden stop. "Life is good and simple here. Why go back?"
Rachel, you're nice. Too nice, but why couldn't you see they all had the same smile, same amount of teeth? Heck, even their replies had no effort. Would normal people not ask more rather than just outright rejecting statements? She should've seen the wrongness of it all.
Gale shook his head, slipping away from the street, leaving Rachel to her own devices. Breath of the Void guided him through the street and settlement, focusing on a single entity: Elliot.
He found Elliot near the outskirts of Blue Haven, near the walls. Two men stood in front of him, side by side. Breath of the Void followed Gale's will automatically, tendrils spreading out to eavesdrop on the conversation.
"...can't let them leave," Elliot said. "It's almost time. She needs a new one, soon. And we need more supplies. Don't make mistakes this time. The cycle must continue, or we'll lose everything. That means
everything.
"
One of the men, a burly, stocky figure with wide shoulders, also with graying hair, nodded.
"What about the newcomers?" the burly man asked.
"Useful... and they showed up just in time. We can't let them leave. Drew, you know what to do," Elliot said. "They're strong. But the redhead looks to be her majesty's liking."
The smile on Elliot's face that he had shown the group was no longer there, replaced by a blank expression that he clearly saw with Breath of the Void.
The third man, younger and leaner, looking more like a boy, flinched at the mention of the redhead. "But sir, won't her disappearance raise suspicions? The others might start asking questions."
Elliot waved a dismissive hand. "You worry too much, Marcus. We'll do what we always do: make them forget. By next week, they'll be under my control as well."
Rachel.
Gale's suspicions had been right on the mark. Wisdom from books always wins. Blue Haven wasn't a sanctuary. It was a trap for the naive that think this place is perfect.
"Marcus, prepare the altar. We'll need it ready when the blue moon rises," Elliot said.
Marcus nodded. "Yes, sir. And the others?"
"Keep them distracted," Elliot replied. "Use whatever means necessary. We can't risk them stumbling upon our plans."
Drew shifted his weight. "What about the boy? The feral looking one?"
Elliot's eyes showed his teeth again under his lips with a smile. "Him? Don't worry about him. I'd say… he's one of us."
Gale remembered Annett and Ollie mentioning their fight against each other. If Elliot and his men possessed any abilities at all, a direct confrontation could be disastrous. He was strong, but even he couldn't take on multiple Ollies or Annetts at once, especially not in the heart of their territory.
This required a different approach. Strategy over brute force. Books over brain.
"The girl's screams will make for quite a spectacle," Elliot laughed like the creepy old man he was. "Perhaps we should save her for last, make it a grand finale. But alas,
she
has specific tastes."
The burly man chuckled. "Always did have a flair for the dramatic shit, didn't ya, Elliot?"
"You'll eventually learn to appreciate the finer points too," Elliot replied. "Now, go. We have a lot to prepare before the blue moon rises."
As the men dispersed, Gale remained rooted to the spot. He needed to warn the others, to get them out of Blue Haven before it was too late. But how? Rachel was already out there, spreading the word of her own messiah. He needed to somehow play it cool less he risk tipping off Elliot and his cronies.
More evidence, more chances to win against Rachel's naivety, and what do you know, Marcus was the perfect one to follow.
The boy moved, making his way through the settlement. Gale followed closely, silently, like a snake.
Finally, he arrived at a building not too far from where the three had talked, but still far from the bulk of the settlement. The building had an unobstructed view of the sky. No trees in sight blocking it. No buildings that might cast a slight shadow from the blue moon.
Marcus glanced around behind him before producing a key from his pocket. The key clicked, and the door swung open with a creak.
Gale slipped through the door just before it closed. The interior was dark. A few candles placed here and there lit the interior dimly.
The smell hit him first. Blood, piss, and shit all at the same time. And then he saw it all. The room was filled with an array of strange instruments. Chains with a hook on each end hung from the ceiling, their links stained dark with what could only be blood. Wooden slats lined the walls, covered in numerous knives, hooks, and other tools that could be, and probably were, used for torture.
In the centre of the room, an altar stood. Its surface was etched with what looked like a crude eye. It was the only thing that wasn't lined with blood in the room. A hole in the ceiling let the blue moon's light in, bathing the altar in a blue hue.
Marcus approached it, running his hand along the edge, then smelling his hands after.
"Soon, your majesty," he mumbled. "Soon, you'll feast again on those who outshine you, princess."
Well, that's creepy.
Gale turned his head to the ceiling. The blue moon was certainly a monster in its own class. Blue lances spewed out from its eyes. But why were they sacrificing humans to it?
He needed to act, and fast. But as he turned to leave, the wood creaked under his weight.
Fuck.
"Who's there?" Marcus whirled around, reaching for the hilt of the dagger at his belt.
Gale froze.
Marcus took a step forward, drawing the dagger.
"I know you're here, don't fuck with me. I'm awakened," he growled. "Show yourself, or I'll-"
Gale met Marcus's advance with a lunge. Bone sabre swung. Sliced cleanly through the boy's throat.
A spray of blood hit Gale’s face as Marcus staggered back, hands flying to the wound. A gurgling noise bubbled from his lips.
Gale followed him down, pinning his thrashing body to the floor. He clamped one hand over Marcus’s mouth to silence him and used the other to tear the boy’s hands away from his own bleeding throat.
Marcus’s heels drummed a frantic rhythm against the ground but stopped as Gale put more weight to stop the noise. His whole body convulsed under the weight.
Tears ran down Gale's cheeks. Stay still. Please, stay still. Then, he went still.
Life faded…
[Awakened Marcus fell.]
[A loyal subject of the crown princess of the Lord.]
[Extracting Origin from prey…]

Chapter 29