The Crimson Fang
Chapter 5 - The Trial

The trip back to Alice’s house had been a quiet one. Everyone was weary after all that had happened throughout the day, and the possibility of the Altros being free soon weighed heavily upon them. The sun was rising as they reached their destination, only to replace several carriages outside the house. “What is the meaning of this?” King Artemus approached one of the drivers to question him. “Ask the guards inside,” the driver replied. Artemus nodded and the group entered.

They were instantly greeted by spears pointed directly at them. Joseph and Draken instinctively placed themselves between the spears and the Crimson King. “Ahh. We were wondering when thou wouldst return and grace us with thy presence.” There was a familiar voice, as the inspector that had visited the house the previous morning came into the entryway. “I am afraid that thou hast very much to explain to us.” “If thou hast questions to ask of us, we would greatly appreciate it if thy weapons were lowered.” The inspector nodded and the guards lowered their spears. “Perhaps we can speak about this in a much more comfortable setting?” The inspector gestured to the room they had first met in, leading the Crimson Nobles in.

Once in the room, they found Alice and Jewel with their hands bound. “What is the meaning of all this?” King Artemus asked the inspector. “We are investigating the possible murder of David. Thou hast claimed that he had succumbed to a heart attack. We all know this much. However, it certainly does seem a tad too sudden for such a healthy young man to have suffered such a fate. Thus, thou art to be placed under arrest and brought to trial, where the truth shall be settled. I do trust that thou will cooperate with us. I wouldst hate to have to order thy deaths ahead of time.” “We would hate for thee to order that as well,” King Artemus replied. Draken and Sakura both stifled a laugh. The King shot them a warning look. “Very well. Let us away,” the inspector told the guards, and with that, they were off.

The group arrived at the town hall where they were immediately brought to a stand. Sitting above them was, presumably, the town’s mayor. He was a heavyset, short man, yet he exuded a pompous aura, as the Fang could see. He clearly allowed his position of power to get the better of him, allowing him to become a bit of a glutton. It seemed that everyone they had passed on their way to the hall had their own darkness about them. This was clearly set to be a biased trial. “Thou art brought before me, accused of murder,” he stated, bluntly. The tone of his voice confirmed that he was, indeed, as pompous as his aura betrayed him to be. “Do thou possess anything to say in thy defense?” King Artemus spoke up. “As we have informed thy inspector, the morn before this one, we arrived to visit David and Alice, as they are family, as well as to inspect the condition of our manor. Upon our arrival, Alice went round to rouse her father, only to replace him lifeless. We were preparing to visit thy local undertaker, when the inspector called. We informed him of what had transpired, paid the land taxes, in full, for the next year, until which time we plan to visit again, and he departed.” “How dost thou explain thy decision to take Alice with thee?” “We had come to the decision that she should have some time away, allowing her to properly grieve for her father, as well as to bring her to an environment where his untimely passing wouldst not be reminded to her every day. Also, in our home, she need not concern herself with work and other such small matters.” “And thy home is located where?” “We are the Noble Crimsoni. I am Artemus, head of the Crimsoni and Lord of Brakham. Naturally, my home is quite large and accommodating.” “Thou art a Lord? I replace this hard to believe. Why wouldst a Lord be travelling the countryside? Why wouldst thou own a home in such a small town? Where art thy guards? Answer now!” “I was merely taking in the sights that I have heard are around this town. We own a home in this small town, because it is to our advantage. We enjoy escaping from the mundane task of lording over a land, I am certain you understand. We come to the house in this town to enjoy the peace and tranquility of your small, humble town.” “Why art thou speaking so strangely? Thou art lying! Guards! Seize them! Kill them! They are found guilty of murder and hereby sentenced to death!” The guards began to move in upon them. “As for why I don’t travel with guards, you’ll replace that my ‘family’ is more than sufficient to protect me.” With that, King Artemus snapped his fingers, signalling the Crimson Fang to strike. Joseph counted as they moved into position. “Forty against five? That hardly seems fair,” he laughed. Draken chimed in, “You guys might want to call for some back-up.” “Tell you what,” Geoff added, “We’ll give you the opportunity to call some of your friends to help you.” “Better act fast, or this will be far too much of a bore,” Sakura told them. Ami merely laughed, and the Fang drew their weapons. Alice and Jewel shuddered and they watched a bow, two daggers, a giant hammer, a pair of strange metal gloves, and two swords materialize in the hands of the warriors. How is this possible? Alice thought to herself. She had known that her lords were special, but never before had she thought that they could be anything but human. She was still trying to wrap her head around it, when a guard returned with reinforcements. The enemy now numbered over one hundred, including many soldiers outside, waiting for their chance to fight. What struck her as odd, however, was the fact that the Crimson Fang was still smiling. It was apparent that this large of a number would still be too small, in their opinion. Her thoughts were broken by King Artemus speaking to Jewel. “I apologize for having dragged you into this, my dear. In return, I will give you the choice that I have given Alice.” He turned as the mayor attempted to strike him. He placed one arm around the mayor’s head, and placed his other hand under his chin. “You may join the Crimson Noble race, or you may share the fate of this scum and his town.” “What is their fate, milord?” Jewel asked, ignoring the struggling, screaming man. He yelled, “I was right! There is something wrong about thee! Thou art not human!” “This is their fate.” With that last word, King Artemus pulled the mayor’s head up and twisted it to the side, making a sickening cracking noise, as his body fell, lifeless. Jewel gasped. “I wish it didn’t have to come to this. Unfortunately, however, there were numerous groups of necromancers discovered in this town. It was decided by the Council of Races that the best way to deal with this issue was to wipe it from the face of the Earth. Do you know what a necromancer is?” Jewel nodded. “A necromancer is one who dabbles in life and death.” “You are partially correct. It is much worse than that, however. They deal with trying to bring the dead to life. They worship the very creatures that we fight to keep at bay. Even those in positions of authority,” he lifted the mayor’s arm, revealing a tattooed symbol, “are practitioners of this dark art. So, I ask again. Will you join us?” Jewel nodded. “Excellent! Now that that is out of the way, we can return to the business at hand! We will turn the two of you when we return home. There is far too much going on around us at the moment. I hope you will understand.” He felt a tug at his arm. He turned to see Ami standing there with a smile on her face. Beyond her he saw that the Fang had moved on to the reserves outside. “Hmm. It’s going faster than I thought. Let’s get back to the Conduit.” Ami helped him up, sliced the ropes that were binding the human girls’ hands and led them through the sea of bodies, to the outside.

Once outside, they made their way through the soldiers back to Alice’s house, Draken and Joseph taunting the soldiers every step of the way. When asked why, they responded that they were angering the soldiers, attempting to make an actual challenge. It hadn’t seemed to work, but that did not deter them. When they finally reached the manor, they were greeted by even more soldiers. “Is it just me, or is there an extremely high amount of reserves, for such a small town?” Sakura asked. Then, she noticed something. Some of these soldiers had marks on their bodies. When she looked closer, she saw noticed slash and stab wounds, as well as signs of crushed bones. There was also a large amount of blood on their armour. She realized that these were the very enemies they had been fighting! The others seemed to notice, as well, because they had developed a new passion for the battle. Now, they were fighting necromancers, with an endless supply of bodies to raise. Still, the Fang was laughing! She heard “That’s 300! How about you, Geoff?” “475, here!” “Damn! How about you, Joseph?” “If we are counting multiple kills, I’m at 1,537 and counting!” “Ha! Maybe I should try a blade!” “Try 2! It works wonders!” They started laughing again.

After what seemed like hours, the group finally reached the cellar, with Geoff and Ami acting as the rear guard. They had moved to the rear to counter the resurrecting soldiers that had been charging them from behind. King Artemus walked over to the Conduit, ignoring the combat going on around him. He placed his hands on the mirror’s surface, and the Conduit began to glow. “Once we have all entered, I will cause the Conduit to self-destruct, destroying the town, and all life therein. Alice and Jewel, the two of you will enter first, followed closely behind by Sakura and Drakenarius. Ami and Geoff will go next, then Joseph, and lastly, I will enter. Once I have gone through, the Conduit will self-destruct. Ladies, go ahead.” Alice and Jewel obeyed, walking into the Conduit. Sakura followed, Draken behind her. Just as Draken made his way through, there was banging at the door behind them. Geoff walked through the mirror, leaving the last three standing there, watching as the door burst open. Reincarnated soldiers began to pour into the room, but instead of attacking, they stopped, as if they were waiting for something. “Your Majesty, how long after you enter before the Conduit self-destructs?” “About a minute, why?” “They are waiting for a chance to run through. You and Ami go through the Conduit. I will hold them off, as long as I can.” “Are you certain?” Joseph nodded. “Then promise me you will be right behind me.” “You know I can’t promise that.” Suddenly, Ami threw her arms around his waist. He looked at her and smiled. “I can, however, promise that this rabble won’t be the ones to take me down. I don’t plan on dying today. I can also promise that I will replace a way home; no matter how long it takes. Go ahead.” He took a combat stance, a look of fierce determination on his face. Ami turned with a worried look across her face. King Artemus ushered her through the Conduit. He turned to look at Joseph. I’ve never seen such a look of determination. He will do whatever it takes not to fail. He smiled inward. “I will see you on the other side,” he told Joseph. Joseph laughed. “See you soon, Your Majesty.” There was a sound as King Artemus entered the Conduit, and Joseph was alone. He steeled himself, but the enemy still didn’t attack. He heard footsteps, walking heavily down the stairs. The soldiers parted, allowing the most grotesque, horrible looking being that he had ever seen, to enter the room. “You must be Joseph, the one causing such a problem for my plans.” Then, there was a bright flash of light.