Introduction
Welcome back to Maledicturs Terra. This is a Chain Story between myself and @lex-zaiya, meaning that we each write the parts alternatively.
If you have not read Maledictus Terra Book 1: Mortis Custos yet, it starts HERE at Part 1 and ends at Part 101 HERE. At the end of the Part 101 post you will find links to all 101 Parts!
Maledictus Terra Book 2: Sanguifex started HERE with Part 1 and ends at Part 111 HERE
The previous part by @lex-zaiya can be found HERE.
I am going to IGNORE the hook laid by @lex-zaiya in the last episode... either she follows up with a part that has the conversation about Barakus in it, or she foregoes it and the conversation happened out of the viewpoint of the characters.
In the meantime... other players are moving in our world that we have created together...
Part 42
The little girl walked through the streets.
It was late and dark. It was a terrible part of the City. It was not a place that most people chanced to walk through late at night because of all the crime.
Thieves and bandits were the least of it. Murderers and Rapists too, which were worse. And there were rumours among the commoners that there were cannibals in the poorest areas. These were dark times, and people's minds went to dark things.
It was true of course, sort of. There were cannibals in the city. But they did not eat others because they were hungry. They did so because they were commanded to do so, sothat they may grow stronger.
The little girl continued to walk down the road. She passed by a drunken man who staggered down the street with a broken bottle clutched in his fist. A little while later she passed by a man that hiding in the shadows.
Once the drunk man passed the man who was hiding it was almost certain that the bandit would jump out and the two would fight. Someone was going to die. The drunken man was very large compared to the bandit. It was possible that either or both would perish.
The little girl had passed by the bandit without him seeing her. The same happened when she passed by a couple of guards who secured the slums from the rest of the City.
The guards did not stop her. They did not even notice her.
This area was a lot nicer than the slums but it would get nicer still as she got closer to the Castle. Djonn Cabre III was the ruler of this city and the land around it were his lands.
She passed by another couple of guards at the fenced gatehouse to the Castle. It was closed, due to the hour. Yet, there was a staff entrance, small and hardly noticeable - like her.
She slipped through this opening in the wall and out the other side. She was now in the property that was directly part of the Castle.
She walked through the Castle door and into the hallway beyond. She did not gawk and stare at all the refined decorations and displays of wealth.
She entered the Throne Room. King Djonn Cabre III sat on his throne as though it was slowly cooking him. He looked like the work of leading a nation was slowly killing him. As though it was poisoning him. Infected.
The little girl walked past all the people arrayed before the King.
"...and reports of bodies with bite marks on the corpses have increased, especially in the southern parts of the Kingdom." The Captain of the Guard reported.
The news did not make King Djonn happy. He seemed to consider his options.
"I need a Taskforce, around ten to fifteen led by someone you pick out Captain... they need to investigate these disturbing occurrences."
"Yes your Majesty."
She came to stand right before the throne.
They all seemed to be looking straight through her as though she were not really here. She walked up the steps of the throne and walked towards the side of the throne. She was now next to him and she climbed up the armrest. From this position she began whispering into the King's ear.
Like an infection that was impossible to detect, the words of her tiny voice wormed itself into the King's brain and settled there.
And there we go! I did not forget about Temolach and his servants! Darius is another new character, one of the Master Acolytes from the Temple in Part 22
Back to @lex-zaiya
Thank you for reading!
Here is an explanation of Chain Stories and here is the current Chainstory Library
Vetitum Nemus
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@zakludick
Interesting!
This was such a chilling and atmospheric part! The way you described the city, especially the dark and dangerous streets, really set the tone for the whole scene. The little girl slipping unnoticed through the chaos was eerie and intriguing, especially as she made her way to the castle and whispered into the King's ear. The tension with the reports of bodies found with bite marks really adds to the sense of something sinister brewing in the kingdom. I can’t wait to see where this goes next!
Thank you very much!
Would you like to be on the tag list for this series?
I do every second part. @lex-zaiya will be doing the next part.