Headed By A Snake

The pair reached the entrance of the ritual room and balked at the disorder. It was littered with debris, shards of wood, sc.r.a.ps of metal, all from broken and shattered torture equipment.

"This is horrible," Korr gripped Tycon"s hand tighter, "...A vengeful spirit lurks here."

Tycon looked away so Korr couldn"t catch him rolling his eyes. "What nonsense. The mess is from when Wroe had to make a deal with an otherworldly spirit and utilize inhuman strength to break out of the barricades I set for him. Now, in order to lead this woman to her doll, I"ve got to pretend to focus and track a ghost that doesn"t exist."

"Look, Leader! The ghost does exist!" Korr yelled, pointing excitedly.

Tycon slowly turned his head, his jaw slightly open, "Ehhh?"

The slightly transparent shade of a tortured victim crawled on the floor towards them. Wisps of dark smoke hazily drifted from its spectral body, as its too long limbs-- twisted and broken, dragged itself forward.

Tycon stood in front of Korr, his back straight. He cursed his lack of preparation. The pair of adventurers had neglected to bring any weapons, much less any tools effective against ghosts-- no spirit powders or holy water or spell wands or blessed beads.

His mind spun its gears as fast as it could, his head growing hot, trying to find an effective plan. He"d be able to use Vexing Gaze-- even though that would give himself away as a non-human. He was willing to take the risk of trusting Korr, if they could survive this. He"d have her withdraw first, with him following behind.... If Wroe successfully made his Warlock pact, his magic would be--

"GIVE ME BACK KHLOE!!" Korr gave off a shrill battle cry as she rushed forward.

The walls shook with her rage as the woman grabbed the specter by its neck, and began to punch its ghostly face.

Tycon watched the woman strike the ghost nearly a dozen times before his brain finally registered the situation. "Oh."

"STUPID! GHOST! GIVE! BACK! MY! KHLOE! GIVE! HER! BACK!!!" GIIIIIVVE!! HEEEERRRR! BAAAAACK!!!"

The ghost revealed its transparent shadowy face-- Tycon tried to recall where he"d remembered it... The lounge with the portraits? One of the Tavor ancestors, then... It had no mouth and it tried to scream. Korr"s attacks continued to damage its spectral form and it could only suffer in silence.

Seeing that she wouldn"t be finished anytime soon, Tycon placed the lettuce pillow on the dungeon stone and sat down to wait patiently.

…

After Korr defeated the ghostly "kidnapper", Tycon informed her he had sensed Khloe"s location. To lend further credibility to his charade, he extinguished the oil lamp and led Korr back to the main hall using his night vision. Wandering in a zigzag pattern, he finally stopped in front of one of the doors.

"I sense... Something here," Tycon said mysteriously.

"Oh, no, Leader... This is Mister Keith"s room," Korr shook Tycon"s arm.

"Wh-what? Barza"s room!" Tycon spoke with forced surprise as he widened his eyes-- all while checking Korr"s reaction.

"Oh, no! What do we do?" Korr had believed the act in its entirety. Tycon inwardly rejoiced.

Tycon took hold of Korr"s arms, "The kidnapping ghost may have possessed Mister Barza. We must tread carefully, Korr..."

"I"ll... I"ll fight the ghost, Leader," she spoke shyly, but confident in her fighting abilities.

Tycon pursed his lips, wis.h.i.+ng that this woman could provide a solution that was not bone-breaking violence, "No, Korr. The mission is to secure Khloe"s safety."

Korr"s eyeliner stained eyes widened in shock, then she lowered her head in shame, "You"re right, Leader..."

"I"m always right. Never question me again."

Tycon quietly opened the door. Barza was asleep, his loud snoring was like an elephant-sized devil-bear gargling rocks and dirt.

"It"s horrible, Leader. Mister Keith is fighting for control over his body from a terrible existence," Korr said, anxiously.

Tycon furrowed his brows. The woman had somehow managed to accurately but horrifyingly describe the man"s snoring, "Y-yes. But have faith, Korr. The men and women of Invictus will not fall so easily to evil. Now quickly, we must search for Khloe while the ghost is occupied."

Frantically, Korr scanned the room, soon spotting Khloe among Barza"s belongings. Sneaking hurriedly, she grabbed the doll and embraced it in tearful success.

But the snoring stopped. The room fell into an unsettling calm as Barza"s snoring inexplicably calmed to the level of deep, wheezing breaths.

Korr placed Khloe into Tycon"s hands but did not exit the room.

Tycon tucked the plushy cat doll beneath an arm, "Korr... We"ve succeeded... We must away. Why do you hesitate?"

Korr shook her head, "I can"t leave him like this, Leader."

Tycon grit his teeth and pulled a breath of air, his eyes wide. His voice took on a hint of panic, rising in pitch, "And why not?"

Korr gave a gentle smile, "I"m part of Guild Invictus now..."

Tycon screamed in his mind, "What does that have to do with ANYTHING?"

Korr took a step backwards-- a step towards Barza"s sleeping form, "The ghost has fully possessed Mister Keith. He has failed."

Tycon put a hand forward, trying to find the words to stop her, "No, Korr... It"s too late."

The woman raised her hand, forming a fist, and she stared at it in contemplation, "I"m not good with words, Leader. And with just my strength, I haven"t been able to save anyone-- even the people I truly cared about. I... Worked for years... For a man I didn"t respect... because after Leader died... I mean, after my previous Leader died... I didn"t think anyone in this world had use for me any longer."

She looked up with a pained smile, enchanting sparkles forming at the corners of her eyes, "But now... Right now... I can save someone with my fists."

"You don"t have to do this," Tycon pleaded. "Korr... Please."

The woman shut her eyes and shook her head, tears falling down her face. "Regardless of the danger I face, Leader... I"m going to punch Mister Keith in the face until the ghost is destroyed."

Sweat poured down Tycon"s face...

"I"m sorry, Barza," Tycon cried in his heart.
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Tycon half-turned away from Korr with a regretful expression.

"Do what you must."

…

Tycon shut the door behind him, sighing wistfully. "I tried, Barza. Truly, my friend. I tried."

"Oh, Sir Tycon--"

"Huh?" Tycon glanced up in surprise.

A slim woman in her nightgown walked the halls. If Tycon hadn"t recently seen a ghost"s spectral form only recently, he would have thought that Sorina Capulet was an ethereal spirit, herself.

"Oh, Miss Capulet. You"re..."

Sorina crossed her arms, s.h.i.+vering in the cold. Tycon could clearly see dark lace undergarments underneath her sheer nightgown, her efforts clear towards looking seductive. Tycon glanced over his shoulder at the door behind him, inducing a conclusion. He raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Invictus is about to go into the field. She"s trying to meet with her lover. It"s a shame that the situation is all wrong."

"Um... Sir Tycon... Why are you standing in front of Mister Barza"s room?"

Tycon sighed. This wouldn"t end well, "Go back, young lady. You"ll catch cold."

Sorina wrung her hands, then began tapping her two forefingers together, "I-I can wait, Sir Tycon. I have something I needed to discuss with Mister Barza..."

Sorina approached the door without fear as Tycon sighed in regretful acceptance.

Once close enough, Sorina halted her steps, her eyes wide in shock.

m.u.f.fled through the door, she heard the sounds of bone striking flesh. The bed creaked under the weighty strikes of an Iron-ranked Berserk Knight falling upon Barza"s unarmored face. Barza cried, sniveling snot and tears as he screamed.

"Stop, Miss Se--arrgh! Please! It hurts! It hurts!"

"Endure it, Barza! You"ll feel better after the release!"

Sorina"s paled as white as paper, as all the blood drained from her face. Tears began to form at her eyes and her mouth began to quiver. "Sir Tycon... Mister Barza is... with another woman?"

"I give you my word that he will regret it," Tycon shook his head. "I... I tried to protect you, Miss Capulet."

The young woman sniffled and bowed deeply in respect. "I... I know, Sir... I know... Thank you, Sir."

Tycon raised a hand and... awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. Pat pat, "There, there."

"Th-thank you, Sir... I... I need to go." Sorina turned and ran off, back towards her room.

Tycon gave a sigh of relief. Korr"s screaming Berserk Knight voice wasn"t recognizable at all-- and less so, m.u.f.fled by the heavy wooden door. Sorina didn"t need to know that it was Korr who was in the room, giving Barza the pounding he"d never forget.

Seldin Korr emerged from the room, her fists dripping with a thick layer of blood.

"It is done, Leader. The ghost has released its hold on Mister Barza."

Detached professionalism had returned to Korr"s voice. Tycon was pleased.

"Get some rest. I"ll have you help packing our supplies in the morning."

"Yes, Leader."

Raising a b.l.o.o.d.y palm to her chest, Korr gave a salute... as well as a hint of a smile.