House of Memories [Closed]

"They're...[i]comfortable," Travis said vaguely. "I've added extra security measures to make sure they stay safe and can't do harm to themselves or leave. As for the dagger..."

Travis reached for his belt and detached a fastened dagger and sheath. He flipped it over and handed it to Valen.

"If we're not going to wait for little miss, we should start heading out," he said. "Folks predict that there's going to be fog again tonight, and we'd best travel while it's not here."

***

The two would head down the path leading to town. While the area had been bustling and busy in the daytime, it was practically a ghost town at night. The streets were pretty much abandoned and houses had their doors shut and their curtains drawn. Faint Cartic marks served as the only sign of life in the form of street lamps and one of the few places still open was a tavern facing the square. Travis got him and Valen a seat on one of the outer tables as he looked at the menu.

"We'll stay here and keep watch until dark," he said. "Once it's dark enough, you can try wandering alone and see if someone suspicious shows up. I'll tail you."

Time would pass as people eventually left the pub and it even closed down. The sun had set and fog was starting to develop. They'd see the regular Expiate officer pass by but no one stayed too long. By the time the moon was out, the place was completely abandoned. Travis looked at his pocket watch.

"Alright, I'll give you a head start," he said. "Just so that it really looks like you're alone. I'll make myself scarce."

Travis would leave and stretch his arms before walking off into a direction. Valen would notice the fog starting to gather at his own feet. If he examined the square, he'd notice that it was practically abandoned by now. All the shops were boarded up and even the lights were getting dimmer. There was no one there now save for him...



and a kid?


Squinting, Valen would notice a short figure in the distance. It was a young boy, someone who looked like he was in his mid-teens. He was perhaps five feet in height or so. His hair was a deep red as was the scarf that wrapped around him. He had an amulet with Arielle's Crest on it: a large cross with a bright blue stone. He also wore an oversized blue coat with silver trimming on it. He stood there, tense, and just staring at the ground. He was also rubbing his eyes and...sniffling? Was this boy crying?

Valen slipped the dagger up his sleeve so that it couldn't be noticed outwardly and followed alongside Travis. He'd ordered apple juice in a beer glass while they waited patiently at the tavern to make it seem he was drinking. Nobody appeared suspicious as he glanced about and before they knew it, it was the peak of night.

Valen waited a few minutes after Travis left before getting up and walking into town. He took note of everything, especially the emptiness of the streets.

Nothing happened so far. Maybe he should've went somewhere more remote. But then, he noticed a stray figure. Was that a young boy?

"...."

Valen walked towards them calmly, no assertiveness or intent in his demeanor other than a man calmly walking up to someone.

"Oi, young lad," he called out, raising his right hand towards them. "What are you doing out here so late? It's dangerous to be out and about all alone right now. Are you lost?"

The boy stiffened as Valen approached. He almost looked like he was going to reach for his pocket, but stopped when Valen asked if he was alright. The boy, whom Valen would now see had water at the corner of his eyes and a reddened nose, shakily straightened up again.

"U-uh...no, I'm not lost," he said meekly, his voice high and squeaky. "I...my mentor said I had to stay here and keep watch. I-I'll be okay, I promise."

The boy rubbed his eyes and looked at Valen, regarding the tall and dark-haired man.

"I-isn't it late out for you, though, sir? There's a curfew in place for all workers now, after all."

"Is there? I did not hear about that," Valen stated with a tilt of his head. "My mistress needed me to run an errand a town over and it took longer to get back than I expected."

Valen knelt down to get a closer look at the boy.

"But if there is a curfew, then you and your master shouldn't be out and about. Do you know where he is, lad?"

The boy averted Valen's gaze as he questioned the boy's own presence past curfew. He hesitantly answered.

"W-well...I'm actually outside because of the curfew," he said vaguely. He then looked at Valen and tried to smile. "S-so, don't worry about me. As for my mentor...he's somewhere around here. He'll pick me up when it's time to leave and go back home. It should be soon! P-plus, I'm under Ariel's protection! I'll be safe!"

As the boy said this, he'd pause and look behind Valen. The latter would notice a very familiar deep blue cloak covering a figure in a purple dress carrying a basket of vegetables. She looked around hastily and started heading deeper into town. The fog soon swallowed her.

"Whoever that was...shouldn't be out here either," he said. "If you pass by her, tell her to go home. I have to stay here until my mentor gets back."

Valen glanced over his should as he watched the familiar figure scurry away. His lips persed but he remained calm and looked back at the boy.

"As much as it pains me to leave a lady to fend for herself, I simply can't leave a young lad alone when the streets are so dangerous," he stated. "If your master is coming soon, I'll wait here with you until he does."

She can take care of herself Valen thought to himself. That's what I'll have to tell myself for now.

The boy fidgeted as Valen explained he would wait until the boy's master came.

"N-no offense mister," he said slowly. "I'd honestly feel safer alone."

The boy looked up at him, his eyes practically trembling along with his body. His hand reached up and grasped his cross.

"Master doesn't like me talking to strangers," he said. "Besides..."



"You're just as potential threat as anything else here."




The boy's voice almost deepened by an octave, and the trembling in his eyes turned into a dull, smooth stoicism. He frowned.

"You have an obligation to head home, or you're arrested, understand?" he said, his voice deadpan and blunt.

The boy pulled at his scarf, showing the upper part of his coat. It had the Expiate's crest on it. He pulled it back up and made a shooing motion at the man.


"Now go, before I--"

The boy's eyes shifted to the side, and he turned. Valen would notice a slender figure in a long black coat trimmed with red walking in the middle of the square. Their hands were pressed together as if in prayer, and praying beads dangled from their bare arms.

"I sense the demon's works," he murmured.

The boy would yank Valen by the vest before forcefully slamming him against the building wall that was behind me.

"Move!" he said in a hushed voice.

The boy would then grab his cross as another arm raised itself in the air in a rising motion. All of a sudden, black rocky spikes jut from the ground in a line. The figure in the robe turned, its face that of a woman, pale and red-eyed with sharp teeth and clawed fingers. It dodged out of the way, but as it did, a black rock emerged from an angle behind them, piercing them straight in the chest and jutting out from the opposite end.

Inhuman screeches filled the air as the figure in the black cloak writhed in place, black liquid the consistency of blood oozing from the wound.

"By Ariel's power, I vanquish you!" the boy bellowed. The black rocks began glowing with light blue lines and marks, creating a bright white light and the creature began to burn and char. However, as it did, the cloak came off and Valen would notice it was wearing servant's clothing.

Valen's eyes widen for a moment when he saw the expiate symbol, but he calmed himself as to not betray his identity.

"W-Wait, is something going on in the tow-" But before he could react, the boy pushed him up against a wall.

He's stronger than he looks Valen alarmingly thought. Things escalated and Valen, slinked back stealthily while keeping an eye on the events. The boy was a deceptively capable caster. Valen crept into the alley, about to make some distance when he saw the cloak fall off the assailant. His eyes widen again but he forced himself to look away again and bolted.

It was ran through. There's saving them now he told himself logically as he put some distance behind him.

Once he was sure he was in the clear, he looked around cautiously, before calling out in a hushed tone, "Travis. Are you there?"

"Over here."

From a fire escape above, Travis landed in front of Valen without a sound. His expression was grim.

"I saw what was happening from above," he said. "Looks like the Expiate were more serious about this than we thought. Let's keep our distance but watch what's going on."

"STOP!"

The two's attention would be drawn to the familiar voice in the distance. If they went to investigate around the corner, they'd see that a blue-cloaked figure raising a silver bell in the air. They'd also see the Expiate boy with their raised hand trapped inside a binding glyph and suspended in air. His eyes glared.

"Unhand me at once!" the boy yelled angrily, his voice still low. He was trying to move it, but it resisted against the glyph that surrounded it like a flat disc cuff.

The blue-cloaked figure spoke again, revealing them to be wearing a silver butterfly domino mask. In the background, the monster in the servant's clothes writhed, its body charring at the center slowly.

"This person isn't undead! Undo the spell at once and let me heal them!" she demanded. It was pretty obvious by now that it was Liseran.

"You have no say in the matters of the Expiate, stranger," he said. "Ariel wills those corrupted by the curse of night to be vanquished!"

Clutching his fist, the glyph surrounding his wrist shattered. The girl gasped as black rocks formed just an inch from her as she jumped back. The boy created more marks, frowning.

"Now to finish this," he said as the rocks began to glow again.

"No!"

Liseran cast a force spell, causing the rocks' base to shatter and dropping the servant on the ground with the tip still impaled in their stomach.

"I can't believe I'm seeing this," Valen groaned in a hushed whisper, putting his face in his hand. "No matter how you look at it, you can't heal impalement. And this is beyond reckless."

Valen kept to the shadows and watched the scene carefully.

"We can't intervene like this, not with that kid right there. What do you think we should do?" Valen asked Travis.