Captain Rose's boots scurried in a blur through the muddied dirt roadways through the semi-derelict Village as her mind raced in equal celerity. The moment she heard of Maresh's impending fate; her heart quickened as she desperately gains her bearings of the Egni Village. Her squad ran, taking care not to expose themselves too much of a scene amongst the evacuating villagers as they chased after her. The village was a mess of carts, boxes, and oaken barrels that littered the supplies of personal belongings of a village of over 50 tenant farmers making the muddy paths a labyrinth.

After a brief tussle of dodging hurried villagers, grunting porters, and stray livestock, Stryder finds themselves within the Village Center, a large circle with a stone temple of the Gliesian Pantheon easily skyscraping the highest point in the settlement.

A crowd gathered before a wooden stage where a man in heavy armor and wearing a purple hat carried with him a lengthy scroll of paper that he read out its content from face level all the way down to his feet. Behind him was a waifish lady, tied to a pole of cut lumber her feet mired in animal fat, twine, and small kindling sticks. Several religious clerics waved holy symbols of the Gliesian Pantheon onto the condemned woman as they chanted hymns and prayers onto her as she wailed all the louder the more they progressed. It was as if she was not only damned in her mortal form but damned forever in the soul.

"By mandate of the Duke of Kalmte and the High-Ecclesiarch Ithan the Fourth, we have gathered here today to address a crime most foul and Tolio's Hammer smiting down upon the wicked trespasser. For whatever crime is greater than treason." The man declared to a jeering crowd, jeering not at him but at the woman behind him. "May his all-smiting hammer purify the tainted soul of this vile witch who has sowed discord and death unto her own neighbors! May she forever howl amongst the echoless chasm of the Slough of Tivna's Garden for all-times and beyond!"

"That woman… that is Maresh!" Liliyan cried out. "Those Plum Toppers of the Inquisition are going to burn her!"

"If they have Maresh, they could also have Ratimir too!" Iris followed in her distress.

"What do we do now?" Obediah sweat fell off of his brow.

"There's a'lotta peeps all over us right now. Kickin' the door in will be unwise." Crocker shook his jaw as he peered over his surroundings.

"God Damnit… and if we don't… we will lose our only shot in finding Ratimir." Samantha cursed.

The time for her to think was again very short, every second flowing down upon her as patience, tactics, and forethought was discarded for immediacy.

She was going to regret this decision…

Samantha concentrated her mind once again for a spell, charging the Arcane Meridians on her Hecate Suit as she formed a great big ball of water. The created watered bubbled in size as the Inquisition ignited his torch before proceeding menacingly to a quavering Maresh who tried in vain to break free from her tight bonds.

The flames soon encapsulated its kindling, devouring it all to grow in its infernal strength as their tongues licked the ragged gray cloth of Maresh. She screamed, cried in pain as she could feel her skin crisp under the fire's kisses. She wanted to howl in agony once again, but as the waif was about to open her mouth. She suddenly felt a heavy cold breeze lay past her. It felt like the spring water used for the baths back at the Sprouted Flower. Opening her eyes, Maresh looked around her to see that the fire below her feet were quenched, the ashes of the flame, its cold corpse laying on where the kindling was placed. And she too was equally soaked in water, the autumn air soothing away her semi-broiled body.

She unholstered her FBR-20, unveiling it from her tunic and raised its barrel to the air, firing three warning shots that echoed thunderously across the village. Those three shots caused the villagers to scatter in disarray with only a few iron hearts and those of the Inquisition left standing with their sweat poured faces drawing their weapons in a fearful frenzy.

"Who dares interrupt this execution?" one of the purple hat Inquisitors growled as he drew his Rapier.

"You got three counts to drop your weapons and give us the girl!" Samantha unveiled herself alongside with Stryder who readied themselves, magic and guns alike for battle.

"Y—You! You're the Share Holder, aren't you?" He recognized Samantha from the numerous reports, or more exactly horror stories being accounted to him by those who spoke of her many terrifying talents. "You demons seek to rescue this Witch? That only makes you and her even more guilty of the highest of heresies." He scowled.

"I am getting so tired of hearing this…" Samantha grated. She just wants to shoot them all and be done with it but alas, the Rules of Engagement says she is only cleared to attack if she is being set upon by the now scattered Gliesian Natives. "One!" she began her countdown.

"I rather die on my feet than live on my knees Demon! Kill the---" the Inquisitor didn't had time to completely blare his orders to his men before Samantha fired her Bullpup with a clean headshot through his purple hat.

"Get Maresh out of there!" the Captain Ordered.

The Inquisitors and their escort of Duchal Guards charged forth towards Samantha and her squad readying both their blades and spells. Crocker, Clay, and Aliathra were on crowd control, using their fully automatic and rapid firing weapons to pin down the charging Natives. They ducked for cover seeing that ordinary obstructions could shield them, if partially, from the invader's wrath. This gave Diaz the opportunity he needed to rush towards Maresh's pyre and cut her loose from her bindings with a slash of his Actocolite-Katana.

The battle for Egni Village soon escalated to a chaotic firefight as Stryder stormed the Duchal-Inquisitorial positions with hailstorms of spell and bullets leaving a maelstrom that is easy to be lost beneath its lethal gales.

"Silence!" He casted an Arcane Curse to them just as Iris and Liliyan were about to react. One such Inquisitor, a Mage of senior distinction, began to cast several enchanted Hexes in quick succession towards the Vampires of whom he caught isolated behind their Demonic allies.

Both Vampires began to feel a searing heat burn from within their bellies as the opposing life forces of their bodies began to turn violently. Their negative flow reacted to the anathema of the Inquisitorial Mage's positive flow with acidic consequence. As long as that mage grappled them with his Magicks, the two couldn't even scream for help as the battle raged on around them.

"I smite you down Vampire whores!" the Curse-bearing Inquisitor brought up his enchanted knife, a blade searing with Holy Magicks onto its form readying to finish the two Sochairfuil off with a cathartic lunge into their hearts.

"Smite this…" Iris bared her fangs.

Tipping over, she bucked her hip upwards where she kept her Aparo Astra Magnum Pistol holstered on her belt. Its hollow pointed Magnum Ammo tore through the Inquisitor's arm, dismembering it clean off and disrupting his holy-powered hexing, freeing both Iris and Liliyan.

"That was a clever little Cantrip you have there." Liliyan shook off the dirt on her porcelain face.

"Not a Cantrip, just a little… gift from a certain friend." Iris blushed as she turned over to the Inquisitor's corpse. She attempted to backspin around her new gun so she could stylishly sheathe her Aparo Astro Magnum back into its pocket and impress her friend Liliyan. Unfortuitously, her finger slipped a few inches and the pistol came falling down clumsily onto the muddy ground.

At least she kicked the safety in first otherwise she would have a verbal beating by Kayin and Samantha about Weapon's Safeties.

"Still haven't gotten 'the Cowboy' right…" Iris shook her head, picking up her pistol once again and quietly holstering it back before huddling over to the corpse once again, using her sharpened nails, she cut an open bleeding wound from the man's abdomen and began to sate her thirst through cups of her palms. "I suggest you drink some. I believe this is going to be a long day ahead of us." The witch suggested to Liliyan.

The battle continues to rage on for the rest of the hour, with the Native Soldiers now slowly being overwhelmed by the Federation's superior firepower and close quarters tactics. They tried in vain to hide away from them within the houses only to be ratted out by Kayin and Crocker. Before long, the whole of the Village of Egni, of a defender amount of 107 was defeated by a force a nigh a tithe of its number.

"We surrender!" one of the Villagers held his hands and dropped his pitchfork upon seeing the litters of death and destruction happen before his village. Their Will broken, the Villagers bowed before the Otherworlders. Frozen into silence as they did not want what happened to those Soldiers to happen to them and their families too.

"What now Cap?" Kayin turned to Samantha.

"There's like over hundreds or more Civvies around us. No way we can control them all with just us." Samantha examined the aftermath. These were starving villagers, broken down by newfound fear yet there were many more of them than there were of Stryder. They are all in likelihood might try to do something drastic against her squad if given one moment of weakness in such disproportionate conditions. And they weren't even equipped for Settlement Occupations, let alone babysitting refugees.

"This chick here needs some help though!" Diaz reminded everyone as he carried the fading Maresh in his arms. Her hair was shaved and her body was close to a ghoulish skeleton as a result of days if not weeks of abusive neglect.

"Shite! Get her somewhere safe, away from these folks." Crocker clasped his fist upon seeing such anguish inflicted onto her. "Get her to that Church up on that hill! Alie, heal'er up stat!" he barked.

"Clay gets a line over to the Twelfth's that we have managed to occupy a settlement east of Colobonne," Samantha ordered. "Occupational force and Refugee care complement at the double."

Carrying over Maresh, the Stryder regrouped to the Village Center and into the empty Temple. The building was situated atop of a small hill that easily made the holy building the highest point in the village. The holy site was a humble stone monument to the Gliesian Pantheon, built more as a reminder of their faith than to share the opulence of the Native's Gods with wooden furnishings. In regards to a Temple's Sacred Treasures, if judging by the humble size of the Temple being very few and likely had been evacuated already before Stryder Group's arrival thus allowing the vampiric Iris and Liliyan to enter the premise with negligible discomfort. Setting aside the Altar to be used as a makeshift medical bed, Aliathra began to cast her Restoration magicks onto Maresh, revitalizing her body from the brink of death.

"M-uh… Mistress?" the girl turned to see her boss amongst her rescuers.

"Thank the Gods you are okay Maresh… you are safe now." Liliyan cradled her.

"Mistress… they...I thought I was going to die… the darkness… all of it… they even had Ratimir…" she groaned, her breath quickened with each progressing word as the Elf Healer's hands began to treat her numerous bruises.

"Ratimir… my 'Cousin'. Where is he? If they, had you, they would ha---" Liliyan asked her but she was interrupted when Maresh immediately began to wail upon hearing Ratimir's name.

"He is dead!" the beleaguered Maresh convulsed. "They killed him in his own home and took me away."

"What do you mean he is dead?!" Liliyan grasped Maresh's laying body, shaken into disbelief. "The Inquisition. Killed… Ratimir?" she trembled.

"Explain everything that happened to you and him." Samantha pressed.

"Ratimir wanted me to bring home some Habafant Calves and a few pots of dirt from a ranch that was having a plague amongst their cattle until I found his cottage being ransacked by Adventurers… from the Grey Order by the looks of their badges." Maresh explained. "One of them told me that I was a 'Thrall' to that Ratimir but I wasn't… I did what he was told willingly. Yet they told me that he caused the Plague that has befallen unto Egni. They went inside his home t-to… kill him…"

"Do you recognize the Adventurers?" Liliyan asked.

"I… I think one of them was called… 'the Bane'." Maresh stuttered.

"Faithleann…" Samantha's ears ringed when she heard that name. "Blonde hair? Blue eyes?" she asked.

Maresh nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"That brat again?" Iris' fangs growled. "When did that all happen? Where is Ratimir's cottage?"

"Months… maybe… ah…" Maresh grasped her bruised skull. "He… he only ever shows me his Cottage... You can follow the creek north east until you see his hut. Hidden by some tree's and by a large rock." She directed. "But… the forest is now being used to cordon off all the infected people and animals there now."

"Shit… this all went to shit Cap." the Sergeant cursed. "First we got an Election-Referendum thingy now we'oughta solve a fuckin' Pandemic?"

"Wait… what was he doing exactly more in his Cottage? When you brought him those things he asked from you?" Samantha pressed again.

"Pieces of Habafant Meat. Ratimir told me, that he is trying to find a way to cure the plague that had befallen to the Habafants and several of the villagers." Maresh answered.

"Does that mean… shit… I gotta call… yeah… uhm… Yeah Captain, Code Lime! We need a CRBN Team on the way with them. Prep for Bio-Hazards." Clay interjected as he held his radio who is on the line with the commander of the 12th Infantry.

"Cure? For a Plague? That'll be bad for everyone." Samantha shook her head.

"O-ccu…pation? Have the Empire come with the Northern Reinforcements?" Maresh's eyes gleamed as she turned to Stryder.

Samantha awkwardly coughed. "Uh… that is not important right now… can you take us to Ratimir's Cottage?"

"I can show you the way but we must steer clear of the Plague Camps. The air is thick with their sickness." Maresh nodded.

"The Twelfth is coming in about an hour ma'am. We should sit here until they arrive." Clay reported, dropping his radio back to his back.

"Nay, we have to get to Ratimir! I… I… we cannot allow muh-my brother too…" Liliyan sprang up, tears in her eyes and throat choked with grief. She dashed away from Maresh straight to the door.

"Liliyan wait it's not sa-" Samantha was about to grab Maresh but she was too quick on her heels for her to catch her.

Obediah, who was standing sentinel with his rifle pointed to the Temple's entrance was too slow to halt the tearfully running Liliyan as she exited the holy premise.

"Shit! We have to get her!" the Captain cursed. "Crocker, stay here with Diaz, Obediah, Alie, and Maresh. Kayin, Iris come with me." she ordered.

"Don't run far off now." Sarge hollered.

Samantha along with the Vampire Witch and the Combat Engineer bolted past the Temple's Carved Doors.

They trailed behind the runaway Vampire Courtesan past the pacified Village to the forest as aforementioned by Maresh. The mouth of the trail leading to the forest was packed with warning signs and damnatory cross marks that signify an evil being locked inside by the tree lines' walls. It didn't take another hundred meters for the dispatched Stryder Group Members to encounter the creek that Liliyan promptly followed northeastward.

"Liliyan! We shouldn't be here! Let us take care of this for you!" Kayin pleaded.

"I cannot allow my brother's remains nor his home to be defiled!" the Vampire hysterically howled.

She leaped through the decaying trees and decrepit rocks until her soft porcelain feet became tainted with the black kisses of the earth. The trees they darted past soon transitioned into a glade where a hidden cottage, just as Maresh described was situated against a large rock. Greeting them was a band of several Five shapes of an uncanny fusion between Neanderthalic and ghastly that littered their warm yet scarred-filled bodies around the ransacked cottage. At first glance, they looked like savaged vagrants or those who had endured a battering series of hardships across a tumultuous journey. There were several crudely made tents of cloth and animal hide they were sheltered on. Observing just a second further, Samantha could indicate that these must be the Infected people Maresh had also talked about. Their mouths were salivating excessively, their spasmodic movements, eyes unblinking, and their heavy breaths showing that their quarantine life in the forest was a harsh living. These vultures in humanoid form arose from scavenging the remains of Ratimir's Cottage as Liliyan angrily gripped her hips to demand their attention.

"You cretins! Don't you dare touch let your dirty paws touch my brother's home!" the Vampire Courtesan scolded them.

The quarantined Humans remained unresponsive only silently staring at Liliyan with their doll-like eyes and with their mouths agape in frothy saliva.

"Fooo---- So… Han—Ger!" one of the Infected, without hesitation lunged at Liliyan, his mouth opened with his sickly yellow and blood-stained teeth for a savage bite.

He was immediately shot dead from a quick draw of Samantha's Bullpup clean-off. The cracking of her rifle initially startled the Infected for a brief second but they resumed their cannibalistic charge towards Samantha and her companions. Lunging to them with crude clubs, stones, and rusted knives, they seemed to power through most of Kayin and Iris' attacks from their weapons and magicks as if they were immune to most forms of pain.

Only a clean shot at center mass, or by the head from Kayin's Shotgun or a decapitating slash from Iris' Vampire Claws guaranteed their incapacitation. Their hearts pounded heavily as the last of Scavegengers fell to the disturbed relief of everyone in the group.

"Liliyan! Do NOT run off like that! Those people could have killed you." Samantha reprimanded.

"Wha--- What Accursed beings are those?" Liliyan bewildering pointed to the five corpses on the floor. "They tried to… attack me."

"Za-Zombies! Zombies, Captain. Dead lookin', groaning and stinky everything." Kayin screened aside to examine them. His cheeks twitched as he gagged in disgust to its decrepit smell.

"Strange, they look like them but they don't… feel like a Sgerbwed." Iris suspicious scanned the corpses.

"They 'feel' like one?" Kayin turned his head and questioned the Witch.

"There's no sign of any Negative Energies, they can't be Zombies. They still have all have their Positive Energies, they are all still 'alive', somehow. But in a way, not themselves… like feral." Iris sensed the still-warm bodies of the dying Infected people. "Just my word as a practiced Conjurer of the Undead. Oh, forgive me Sam my dear… but their blood… no… no need to look away like you do… even I wouldn't drink THAT." The witch plugged her nose and mouth with the cup of her palm.

"They could still be dangerous even if they are dead. Stay away." Samantha pulled both Vampires away from the bodies.

As they backed off, the four could hear behind them the subtle crack of branches and moving rock alerted the four that their presence in the pestilent glade was sensed by hordes of more of the Infected.

Sam's alarmingly counted dozens if not over a hundred or so migration of frothed-mouth drones hover before her companions like vultures. Their noses thirsted for the scent of fresh meat. After her team's flesh.

Samantha checked her Ammo, five magazines of heavy rounds. She can make many of those shots with semi-automatic fire. She compromised several parts of her vest for extra holding cases for her FBR-20 and Gladius Pistol.

"Fight them back!" the Captain ordered.

Kayin, Samantha, and Iris fired their magicks and weapons onto the approaching horde. Yet rather than take cover, retreat back into the forest's shadows nor any form of self-preservation for that matter, they continued to charge through the forest onto Samantha's position. Some of their shots weren't perfect despite their best efforts to aim, only seeming to graze and further agitate the infected hordes to them. These monstrous humans used their speed and numbers to their fullest advantage. Hastily aimed Torso Shots weren't guaranteed to bring them down, and even they weren't the best in scoring critical headshots against moving targets that would strafe to the side in response to their aimed fire.

"There's just too many of them!" Samantha huffed.

"I am burning too much… too quickly…" Iris exhaustively panted after casting a Fireball at the ravenous horde.

"Get in quick! The house is our only hope." Kayin cried as he pointed to Ratimir's Cottage.

Darting past the slain accursed Infected they had killed, the detached team of Stryder Group hunkered over to the abandoned cottage. Iris covered their retreat with a quick sprout of flames she drew along the dirt soil to keep the Infected away for a few precious seconds. Once inside they found that the humble home, despite being ransacked months ago still sported the barest essentials of furnishings, just stripped naked and left to rot with the vacant cottage. Working together, the team barricaded the door and two windows from the Zombie-like horde ranging from a cupboard, a stove, the bed, and table with a pair of stools using a combination of magicks and physical input.

"Sorry, but we don't taste any good!" Samantha fired Bullpup onto the Infected. Flicking her rifle's Selector into Semi-Automatic mode.

She aimed carefully as she peeked over the barricade, calling each shot right between each of the Infected eyes and foreheads as they shambled in vain to climb into the house's gaps. Their weight of numbers was being used against them. Their skeletal bodies, although a frightening to disconcerting sight to witness those individuals who were coddled with healthy prosperities had made the Infected physically weak, seemingly unable to perform more complicated motor functions than step forward and bite or even attempt to clumsily topple themselves over the man-sized windows even if they were barricaded. Thus, they are forced to rely on sheer numbers to chip away the defenses of the dilapidated hollow with abandon.

"S-stay back Liliyan!" the Captain grunted as she shoved the cupboard towards the window.

"This is Stryder-Lead! We need immediate support over here!" Kayin yelled at the radio.

"This is Stryder-Two, we are boxed in back at Egni! The Inquisition just launched a Counter-Attack! We can't reach you!" Lewis' voice yelled at the radio. Gunfire could be heard on the radio as people shouted in indecipherable yells.

"Fuck!" Kayin cursed, as he struggled to keep the door holding against the persistent Infected.

Liliyan cowered behind Iris as she skidded her frail body across the cottage's wooden floor. She was reduced into a malaise of tears as she covered her ears that blanketed the crack of Kayin and Iris thunderous weapons. In her panic, she felt her buttocks a sharp piercing pain when she slid by the corner of the cottage farthest away from the doors and windows.

Clasping her injury, she turned around only to realize that she had just stumbled upon a hidden door that was built into the ground. Its broken handles indicating forced entry however. Opening the door, she realized there was a small staircase that led to a deceptively deeper part of Ratimir's house. It has seemed there was more to her brother than meets the eye amidst his idiosyncrasies and modesty.

"W-we can go i-i-in here" Liliyan turned to her companions, pointing down on the hidden basement door.

Samantha looked over, seeing the basement door being flung open. The sight of a golden bridge beneath an inescapable press brought forth. She was running low on ammunition and her was beginning to breathe heavy. Sheathing her rifle Sam gestured Kayin and Iris to follow her down to the basement door. They hopped inside and with a hasty after thought, Iris conjured one of the nearby stone bricks into a door bar and using a few twists of her power re arranged the damaged locks of the door to allow them to lock themselves within the basement allowing for sanctuary to final be realized amongst Samantha and her companions.

Darkness, albeit calm in poise immediately greeted them before Kayin brought up his Flashlight out.

"They should lose interest with us eventually…" Kayin looked over the magically sealed door.

"That was a lucky break though Corporal…" Samantha sighed in relief, resting her back by the mossy brick wall behind her. "Those… those people… Did the Duchy leave them to… be like THAT?" she looked back at the unfortunate Plague Infectee's.

"This… this place, however… more than meets the eye." Liliyan passed. "I never knew Ratimir would have any much need for such… intricacies." She looked over the darkened hallway ahead. It was pitch black outside of a few dozen meters away.

"Indeed." Iris nodded. "Whatever is he hiding here, we have to… what is the word you say again, Samantha? 'To the bottom of it.'?" She asked.

"Whatever Ratimir was working on about that plague he's working on, he must be trying to do some help if that's the case." Samantha stood back up. "I mean, we may at least try to piece together what in the hell is going in this village by the meantime. The Docs and Chem-Teams would appreciate it." She suggested.

"What of your brother-in-arm? The large one who wears half a Knight's Plate?" Liliyan rolled her hand, trying to best describe one of Samantha's squadmates.

The Captain instantly knew who she speaks of.

"You mean Crocker? Don't worry about him, he can take care of himself and the rest of my team… I mean… 'Cwum-Nee'. He's actually in a way… just as great as a team leader as me." the Captain humbly answered. "I could never ask a better Number Two than him."

"Number two?" Liliyan furrowed.

"Just how we call our second-in-command. You know, someone who directly answers to you?" Samantha explained.

"Knowing him, he should probably yell at Clay to get the Twelfth all over Egni at the double. No way they will leave it to chance. Hawkwood is probably scrambling every unit in a five-mile radius." Kayin nodded. "If we are going to go through deeper in this basement, we should stay together now from this point on. Who knows what is waiting for us down here?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. It was going to take a while for those infected to give up trying to pursue them and there was not much they could do from here other than push forward into Ratimir's secret underground dungeon and beside quested into investigating this mysterious plague. Sticking together with Kayin delegated as the Pointman and on the prowl for booby traps with his light polarizing Infrared Goggles.

Slowly but surely they progressed through the dungeon.

"Maresh said right that some Grey's came through here, right?" Liliyan comments.

Their progress was greeted with arcane remains of conjurations, stains of unwashed blood, several triggered snare traps, and even a chamber filled with darts that shot around the wall or were stopped dead onto the floor as if by some artificial creation that now had disappeared such as an Arcane Shield. Judging by these traps, Ratimir intended that nobody was welcome within his underground sanctum. The more they journeyed through the now exhausted gauntlet, the more upset Liliyan became as she quavered, holding Iris's hand to hold her fragile morale.

"They were very thorough. I can give them that." Kayin nodded.

They came upon a slightly opened door at the end of the hallway. Unlike the rest of the dungeon, it was a solid slab of lumber carved by hand with an ornate shield hanging at its center. A depiction of a spear-holding bird as it takes flight, the Coat of Arms of the Mairinnas family. This door must be where the real heart of Ratimir's secret doings is kept… and someone had been there.

Pushing the door open, the four companions entered Ratimir's laboratory. It was significantly nobler than his humble cottage with an expansive floor, more furnishings, and the addition of amenities such as a study with a small library of bookshelves and his aforementioned lab if it weren't for the whole chamber to be in a state of disarray. Scattered papers, damaged furnishings, and burn marks betraying the scene that there were signs a fight had occurred an unknown time ago.

"What did that Brat Faithleann do here?" Iris whispered, cursing the Chosen One's name.

"See if there's anything useful here, we can grab about Ratimir." Samantha ordered.

Liliyan looked over by the bedroom, Iris turned around and examined the Study whilst Kayin checked over by the lab.

"Well, now I know why he wanted to know where I get my bed for my brothel. I recognize the handiwork of the wood and the mattress." Liliyan sat by Ratimir's significantly larger cot compared to the one found above ground at his cottage.

"Nothing but books about Animal Drawings here… and a few blank papers… is this… Ah… it's just ink." Iris spat out the black liquid from her mouth when she looked over Ratimir's desk.

"Well, Ratimir had always seemed to enjoy the company of animals more than other people. When he grew older, he was at least more… forward when it comes to talking with anyone else." Liliyan reminded Iris.

Corporal Mudwin scanned past Ratimir's laboratory, most of the valuable equipment and likely any form of writing typical of any laboratory were destroyed or confiscated when the Adventurer's Guild Quested their way into the Vampire's inner sanctum. By the number of smashed glasses being scattered about and delicate yet broken iron bars, Ratimir was likely to engage in some form of Alchemy, but the bloodied table at the center also indicated he dabbled in butchery however ironically enough for someone supposed to 'have an Affinity with Animals'.

Wanting to examine further, Kayin pulled down his helmet's visors, switching them on to Infrared Sight, he re-examined the scene under a new lens. Several areas of interest soon began to pop on his screen.

"I got something by the table ma'am. Some kind of… dried up… Microscopic Life Form?" Kayin declared. "I am seeing a trail… going about away from it… over and over and… AAGGHH!!!" Mudwin accidentally tripped over when his heels were cut with an unexpected hazard when he was stepping back from the mysterious trail.

Recovering from his fall, Kayin lifted himself back up only to find that his hands were touching something soft and mushy. When he looked back to his hands after getting back up, he discovered to his dread that his gloved hands were grasping something blackish-red with a rotting scent. Turning around, he gasped at what he had just tripped on.

"Guys… I… I think… I found Ratimir." Kayin yelled.

The other three women quickly dropped down to Kayin's position and found the grisly sight.

"Brother…" Liliyan collapsed to her knees.

Ratimir was a tall yet stout man, easily of the size of Sergeant Crocker but the antithesis of physical health as Samantha observed the corpse. Iris confirmed noddingly with Liliyan as she knelt down to comfort her kin-sister as they recognized Ratimir's leather jerkin his Habafant horned tattoos on his now eroding body. The corpse, especially around his belly was now a feasting ground for carrion critters to devour to their heart's content. His body was mangled into a macabre origami by several crunching blows, likely from cuts from a sharp object also capable to break bone strikes from a heavy weapon or having his body turn inside out by some form of Positive Life Force inducing a spell. His eyes were hollowed as fungi festered within its sockets.

"This shit just got a whole lot more complicated Captain." Kayin shook his head.

"Yeah, Ivetana and the other Eildearan's are not going to love to hear from this…" Samantha agreed.

"This can't be!" Iris head ached in sorrow. "Do you know what this means not just for you and my people Sam? They will be doomed to face the Federation's Guns in droves. Break us just us how they broke the Empire…" a rare tear fell down the Witch's cheek, yet her eyes held like a cracking dam the rest of the Vampire's tears by the strength of her volition against her humanity's wishes.

Iris knew she had seen nearly a half of her people agree to the Federation's compromises, but they could not be allowed to move an inch away without the rest of the Eildearan's permission. Any attempt to usurp such an authority could lead to tumultuous conflict where Sochairfuil blood would be spilled by the buckets.

"There has to be another way. If Ratimir can't break the vote, how are we going to get the Vampires on our side." Kayin turned to Samantha.

"I… I don't know…" Samantha sank her head down. She was at a loss of what she could do to salvage this. "But we got bigger fish to fry. For now, we have to let the other Vampires know what happened to Ratimir, and let's see what we can talk our way through from there. We have to at least bring his body over. Liliyan, can you act as a witness to what happened for us? Tell the Eildearans about everything that happened?" The Captain answered.

The Vampire Courtesan wiped away a tear from her eye, she silently nodded her approval.

"We should also at let them heed the Plague coming about from Egni too." Iris reminded.

"Okay get some gloves on and let's at least try to carry over Ratimir. Iris, I need you to conjure up some Cloth if you can so we can zip Ratimir… with some dignity. It's the least we can do now." Samantha ordered.

Pulling up her scarf to mask the rotting stench of the corpse, Samantha grabbed Ratimir's body from his chest. But when her hand grasped the dead Vampire's leather jerkin, she could feel an odd solid shape peek out by his left breast. Rather ashamedly, Samantha dug her into the jerkin until her hand found a slab-shaped object hidden beneath an inner pocket. Pulling it out of the back pocket was a blood stained and unmarked book.

"Some kind of notebook?" Kayin asked.

"Could be a Journal," Samantha answered unassuredly. The red-headed captain opened the book carefully and dusted off the muck and dirt away from its pages.

She was not yet confident in deciphering with the rows and rows of the Slaegian Alphabet let alone how to discern each character in regards to penmanship. But by the legions of characters written inside it. Ratimir, assuming he owned the journal must also have obsessively written down many if not important notes of his doings inside this derelict lair on to this book.

"Iris can you read out loud for us." Sam passed the journal to the Witch.

Iris took hold of the book and her eyes peeked over its texts after finally conjuring a body bag that they could use to help transport Ratimir's Corpse away. Later they can conjure up a small sleigh that should help them push the Body back to Stryder's Land Cruiser where it should be taken to the Eildearan back at the Tyhela at Dimera. With a reassuring smile she began to interpret the text in Samantha and Kayin's English:

---

Many grim tales are being spoken by the Ranchers around the village about the cruel scourges happening to their critters. Tales of them going mad, wild-eyed and looking malnourished despite being fed ample feed and cared for. Their mouths frothed like searing pots as their maddened eyes began to attack anyone or anything who try to come close to them with their cud-festered teeth. The Clerics and the other Ranchers heralded that the Habafants have been struck with the title 'Primal Boil' due to this.

I gave so many gifts to my furred friends, sometimes silently trespassing their plots to feed them, care for them or cure them of any ailments. Unlike most of the Ranchers who only seem to see them nothing more but just sacks of Ducats. They breathe, live and play just like us too!

However, this malady that befallen amongst the critters, especially big friends the Habafants cannot go un-answered. I cannot seem to get close to them so I could try to see what is wrong with them but I doubt I could be able to evade the local help the Ranchers have been hiring just so they could keep intruders like me away. I don't know if I could be able to save them from this malaise or the Ranchers, but I must try.

---

"That… that does sound like what would Ratimir would say. He always loved Habafants." Liliyan softly smiled. It was a small solace that even though he was dead, he never stopped doing what he loved despite what everyone had judged him.

"Continue Iris." Samantha ordered Iris.

---

Coincidence!

I just found out from one of the taverns that one of the Daughters of the more scanty-pursed Ranchers 'helps' makes ends meet by working as a Woman of the Night back at Colobonne, specifically from the same Whorehouse as where my Sister Liliyan works as the Brothel's Mistress.

The information however was costly as I was nearly taken by the Watch that night as a fight broke out between her father, me and several of the other peasants who had used some of their stipends to enjoy a few hours with this joiner of Liliyan's girls back at the Sprouted Flower. I shall scrounge up whatever Gold I can and I will see if I can get this 'Maresh' lass to help me try to get closer to these afflicted Habafants.

---

"That explains Maresh's links with Ratimir." Samantha affirmed the information.

"That… sounds surprising. Not going to lie." Kayin commented.

---

Maresh agreed to help as long as I pay her a little extra to keep her word of my 'odd requests'. She was more relieved when given the prospect for easy coin without having to spread her legs or rough herself up.

I told her to deliver the Habafant corpses, or at least what she could get away with taking away from the Rancher Estates to my Cottage. Although she still gets odd eyes amongst the local boys in the village, they typically don't dare get in her way unless they were tossing coins at her for a moment of her time. Nonetheless, I managed to get some pieces of Habafant Flesh from her, not what I was expecting… but it should work. I can easily keep them stored for long periods by preserving them in some brine kegs so I can see if I can cut out what is hurting my big brown friends.

---

Iris was progressively slowing her speech as her eyes widened by Ratimir's written words.

"He must really love animals if he was willing to go through that." Samantha turned to Liliyan.

"I mean… yes he does still eat meat coming off from the Butchers. But he always treated every animal, whether they are from the farm or from the forest with reverence. Admiration for all of them. From their birth to being served on a plate." The Courtesan's tears dried. Hearing her brother's words was slowly bring her back from the state of grief to softly accept his passing.

Samantha and Kayin were beginning to become intrigued by the journal. She gestured Iris to continue, wanting to know more of Ratimir's dabblings.

---

I can never believe what I saw. What Maresh gave me was something… SOMETHING TRULY EVIL.

At first, I had sensed an odd Life Essence… alien to the gentle Habafants when the Strumpet passed me over the cut-up carcasses of the Rancher's dead Habafants she veered into my possession for my study. I looked over the bodies and found amongst the brains and innards of their remains that there was some kind of outside being lingering within them. Using my Arcane Locuses what I found beneath the masticated scraps of the Habafants is SOMETHING TRULY EVIL.

Something made of nothing else but unadulterated malice lingered, nay THRIVED within the stomachs of my friends. A deceptive being of unimaginable hatred for all life yet so small in size, it may as well be unseeable with the un-aided eye. This Evil Essence somehow invades into the Habafant's stomach and began to steal the power of its food for itself without anything returning to its anchor. It disgusts me to see that one can steal another's bread even after he had swallowed it into his mouth. Deprived of any relief to their aching stomachs, they become lost, enslaved into wild beasts, acting madly against their Rancher Overlords and even to myself to demand a meal that, like a thief in the night, steals the nourishment of the Earth to feed itself.

To take without returning, perhaps the greatest sin of them all.

I must find a way.

---

Iris' eyes began to scan the book slowly. Her voice and head having difficulty comprehending the next text.

Cold sweat fell down Samantha as she began to piece together what Ratimir described. What he seem's to be describing could be some kind of microscopic life form. A Parasite? A Bacteria? A Virus? A Life Form that takes away nourishment?

"He is beginning to speak in tongues that I do not understand…" Liliyan began to shiver in confusion.

---

I am beginning to lose sleep, and the stories I heard are getting grimmer by the day, not only are my Habafant friends are dying to this Truly Evil Being but even the Farmers and Ranchers around the village are beginning to show the same signs that the Evil Essence capturing their souls, frothing mouths, a frenzied aura and ghoulification of their bodies no matter how prosperous their bowls were.

But as I wallowed here in my research amongst the smelling piles of Habafant carcasses, Maresh shared me some good tidings. The rumor goes that a herd of Habafants from one of the Ranches have been reported to be miraculously no longer ensnared by the Evil Essence after a brief attack of several of its Herd Family. Not only that, even if they shared the same pastures as them, they do not exhibit any of the same signs of their enslavement as if they were freed. Must look into this closer. It almost laughs in the face of such a Truly Evil Being. They stood proudly, as the Minstrels would sing, 'like the Wise Knight facing against the Barbarian Champion.' These 'Miracle Herds' were no stranger to its foe, it stood tall, studied its whispers and no matter what the Evil Essence may had attempted to seduce them to its influence, they remain pure!

The Golden Lady shined brightly amongst these blessed beings as some deem a Miracle. But I need to know… how did this Miracle happened? It is never enough! Unfortunately, Maresh told me she cannot visit me much for a while as she still has duties with her family and the rest of the village. As I foresee, I must continue alone in this journey. I must find a way.

---

Iris turned over to the next page.

---

I was nearly caught… but I it pains me to do this as I came up with an idea. I had to, although I do not know if I can forgive nor sleep at night the same anymore but I had to rustle and run as fast as I could, stealing away two Habafant Calves from their mothers. The cows' whining alerted the Watch as I escaped and I barely reached the safety of the forest before I lost them. It was a risk to steal a them, but I needed these children from the 'Miracle Herd' so I may unlock their secrets. One Calf was from the 'Miracle Herd', the other was from another Ranch who happen to share the same grazing ground as them.

I believe the Miracle was, that the Golden Lady must have arrayed its light onto the Tainted Habafants to weaken them and to give the Pure ones of the 'Miracle Herd' to fight off the Evil Essence. I have placed all of my remaining supplies of the Tainted Habafant Flesh on my Alchemy Table for a series of ventures to test out my ideas onto the Calves. The 'Miracle' Calf will be tested off its ability to resist the Evil Essence, while the normal Calf will be used as a means to attempt to recreate the same constitution against the Evil like its 'Miracle' kin. I know I will likely hurt thse babe but if it means the other Habafants and Village will become safe, it is a Sacrifice I will be willing to make.

At least nobody will call me 'Rancid' anymore.

The title 'Sage' would sound very nice to me.

---

"That table was filled with Tainted Flesh? That's gross!" Kayin cringed. "That explains all the dots on my goggles too…" he gagged his tongue out.

"Corporal, are you getting this recorded?" Samantha asked the Engineer. "We need this on the NETT Comms. The Chem-Troops will want to know everything we got here in this place."

"Yes, Yes." Kayin nodded as he turned on the built-in broadcasting visor camera connect to his unique node within the NETT Warrior Network.

NETT Warrior is an Integrated Communication System that allows UFEAF Soldiers to be able to identify themselves on the field, broadcast live information to their peers and superiors and be able to communicate live with each other at lightning speeds for the best possible Operational Cohesion. The system is also connected to ISAC and the UFE Navy firing systems to allow for greater overall Command Oversight across multiple inter-related strategic/tactical layers.

"There is one more entry here." Iris flipped unto the final page of Ratimir's Journal.

---

One of the Calves, the normal one eventually died; I might have pushed the babe too far... But what I recorded astonished me.

Without any surprise, the 'Miracle' Calf showed pre-dominant resilience to the Evil. No matter how expose it is, the Calf remained resolute. It truly lives to its title.

Testing my suspicions: That it was Malynaris’ purifying the Evil Essence somehow. I pick the use of a Weakened Wand. I managed to buy it off from a Rogue Mage that passed over the province looking to hand off some of his illicit Arcane Item about a month ago. I began using the Wand to inflict a weaker variation of the spell 'Scorching Ray' onto the pieces of tainted Habafant flesh Maresh gave me.

As expected, the Evil Essence weakened, although some parts remain of the Evil Essence's remains lingering still amongst the tainted flesh. I grabbed my knife and willfully coat a sliver of the tainted flesh and then proceeding quickly onto both Calves, purposely feeding flakes of the flesh onto its feed, both in water and in its fodder.

---

"He deceitfully fed Habafant to a Calf? That is most vile." Liliyan winced.

"What is a Weakened Wand? Isn't that just broken Arcane Amp?" Samantha asked Iris.

"No, a broken wand would be 'Cracked' rather than 'Weakened' Samantha. These wands are actually a kind of tool some mages used when they need to cast certain spells but not at its typical full strength. It is a tool for precision rather than power. Often used by Healers, Constructors and even Druids." Iris explained. "There's still some more on the last page…"

---

Again, as expected, the normal Calf began to show signs of the Evil Essence trying to enrapture it, soul. A Fever formed, but as a blessing from heaven, it progressed no more than that On the other side of the wall, the 'Miracle' Calf had no effect on its temperament. Both Calves were healthy after several of days observing. It seems that Malynaris, upon weakening the Evil Essence, allowed the Miracle Herd to stand a chance against this Invisible Evil.

And I have recreated this Miracle!

Farming more of this milder Evil Essence while long casting Scorching Ray spell all day however is a tiring process. I risk burning my entire lair using such a spell, already I had to quench 4 times a fire that nearly devoured my table. Fortunately, I have a managed a work around with single casting of Necromantic Spell 'Inflict Wounds' for every batch of Tainted Habafant flesh. Using my Weakened Wand, I was able to create a facsimile of the 'Scorching Ray' milder Evil Essence I had previously broiled to submission. But now faster, quicker and less likely to burn my cottage down.

My next attempt to vitiate the tainted Habafant flesh onto the Calf through a variety of different methods. But to finalize onto my little journal here, the most effective means of inoculating my milder Evil Essence is by cutting open a wound onto the Calf's leg and inserting a sliver of the taint onto the Pure being. It is then, that the soul will be able to defeat the Evil Essence at its weakest possible strength rather than at its strongest and resist future attempts of corruption from that point onwards. It should take several inoculations but it seems I have to poison my blade of the tainted flesh about three times to develop the resilience I seek for my friends.

I must try again—

---

"It ended here." Iris concluded. "He stopped mid-writing… I fear that at that moment, he was killed by that brat Faithleann." She bitterly bore her fangs.

"My Brother did all of that behind mother and I? Gods we really should not have let him leave out of our Estate on his own way when he asked." Liliyan lamented. "Mother always said that chasing those big furred beasts would get him killed. Yet he is a fool to never listen to us…"

Samantha recollected her thoughts as the Captain retreated to rest upon one of the Sanctum's sitting stools. She reviewed what clues she and her team had witnessed so far. The Infected Walkers were devolved beasts that is a fact, hungered starving beasts. Although they do look and act like a feral Zombie, the Magically Conjured ones were too dull and obedient to lash out wildly against others as their necromantic conjurer commanded. And that's not regarding that Zombies should be filled to the brim with Negative Life Force, of which these Infected were not. As Iris, regarded, they are still 'alive but feral'.

In regards to Ratimir's Journal, the way he described his procedures with the late Calf sounded something familiar to her. Something she had read in a History Book back at biology classes back home at Boucherville, Quebec Prefecture.

"That 'fool' Ratimir pioneered a life-saving procedure we call Vaccination using Liliyan. Using 'the evil' Necromancy magic no less. Uh… uh… Inactivated… Live… something but weak… Vaccines?!" Samantha's eyes widened across each side of her corneas. "Guts… your Cow-Hugging brother is in a whole other level of smarts." She turned to Iris and Liliyan.

"W-what kind of tongues are you all speaking about?" Liliyan asked confusedly.

"Vaccines? Oh Liliyan, I think you need to know of this." Iris tapped her. "Its like… a Shield or more of maybe a Trainer… it is like… uh… uh…" the Vampire Witch Stuttered, struggling to remember what Dr. Lee Haneul talked about her.

It was related to a 'Medical Examination' as they call it that she was forced to go through when she agreed to collaborate with the Federation many months ago.

"It's like a Trainer, an Instructor of sorts for your body. It helps you be able to resist the disease so you don't have to be sick." Kayin moved on Iris's behalf. "Often made by… fiddling around with Ratimir's 'Evil Essence', or what we would call it a Virus. He was likely trying to make a weaker version of the virus so that the body could easily resist it."

"But if it is weakened, how could it fight against the Evil Essence at full strength?" Liliyan inquired.

"Your body is much more hardworking than just that. Even if the opponent is weakened, the way the Virus… I mean… 'Evil Essence' will still act and look the same nonetheless. Imagine your body like a… City Gate. Whatever comes in are the 'Good Essences' like Merchants and… uh… Villagers. But the Guards will remember to keep an eye out for a known Criminal Bandit. Imagine what Ratimir is doing is posting the Wanted Poster of the Criminal Bandit. The Guards would be told what he looks like and what he will do so they remain alert." Samantha explained through an analogy.

"Guards would be ready to find and capture him," Kayin added. "That's the idea of how it should work."

"Like 'the Ballad of the Wise Knight'." The Courtesan lowered her head, realizing her brother's analogy. "My Brother… Oh, Ratimir… I… am so sorry…" Liliyan mourned over Ratimir's corpse once again.

"Your brother died, trying to help people and those Habafants despite them hating him for what he does. Yet even still, it never stopped him from trying." Samantha knelt down with Liliyan and held her by the back.

"And that brat Faithleann killed him." Iris cursed.

"Samantha… those villagers in Egni, killed my brother." Liliyan clawed the stone floor. Her teeth clenched to the verge of being crushed by the weight of her ire. "They do not deserve any of my brother's kindness! They killed him by sending those Adventurers to kill him and handing Maresh over to be burned at the stake. I want you… to eviscerate… every man, woman and child in that damned village until none are left!" she accentuated, beating the floor with her closed fist.

"No! Don't say that Liliyan. Killing them will not bring back your brother." Samantha stopped Liliyan.

"She is right, the Arferol hate us enough already. That would only make them want to hunt us down even more. Do you want to end all of us to end up like the Lachtinach's?" Iris pleaded.

"I… I… I don't want to see my brother like this anymore!" Liliyan wailed.

Iris closed into her kin-sister, and held her back up. Together they proceeded to respectfully put Ratimir's body onto the conjured body bag so that Ratimir can be taken back to his family.

"Hold on… if Faithleann and those Adventurers killed him in the middle of his writings then…" Kayin raised. The Engineer pulled down his visor, still turned on to Infrared mode, and re-examine the specks of dead microscopic on his lenses.

His face froze catatonically as he sees that the highlighted traces led outside of the Lair, to the direction from where they came in.

"The Adventurers must have taken out his research." Kayin quickened his pace as he followed the trail. Passing over the exhausted trap rooms the group, after carrying Ratimir's corpse virtuously onto the conjured body bag returned to the lair entrance.

"Trail leads outside. What happened to those Research Samples of his?" Kayin cocked his shotgun as he unlocked the door. Gently he peeked over to see if the Infected were still around but found nobody waiting for them that wasn't another UFEAF Soldier.

With a thumbs-up gesture, he signaled to his companions that the coast is clear and together they quietly left Ratimir's Cottage.

"Where does it lead to now?" Samantha asked the Engineer.

"No… No… No… they didn't." Kayin shuddered as he jaunted over to the creek.

In his visors, the trail of the tainted Habafant samples ended by the edge of the flowing creek.

"Where do these waters lead to?" Samantha asked Liliyan.

"To Egni before moving out to the rest of the Duchy. We use the water for bathing, washing and drinking." The Courtesan explained.

Samantha looked at Iris and Kayin who in turn looked back at each other. The puzzle finally came together now.

And the picture it formed was a ghastly image, even more sinister than the Infected Walkers that had attacked them earlier.

"We need to get back to Egni. Now." Samantha ordered.

They advanced southwards along the forest road taking care to remain alert if any of those same Infected individuals were nearby. As they moved, Samantha and Kayin could hear gunfire in the distance.

"Looks like the Twelfth arrived quickly." Kayin commented.

They could see over the distance a rising smoke cloud from Egni, causing Samantha to grow concerned about her detached squadmates. With further progression, they began to see several bodies littered around the floor. Dirtied, mangled, and hollowed Gliesian Natives. It took a quick look on their mouths to realize that these people were Infected with the Habafant 'Primal Boil' Plague that the late Ratimir described.

"Look over there. Soldiers of yours?" Liliyan pointed out across the dirt road.

A squad of ten soldiers appeared amongst the corpses of Infected Individuals before them by the road. To the Gliesian unfamiliar to the concept of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense Unit or CBRN, they seemed to be the Otherworlder's pre-conceived equivalent of their own Knights in regards to their distinction that they emit among even the regular forces. That and their rather twisted take on the travelling Physicians of non-magical ability that peddle their services and remedies to those who could afford (or trust them). They held their heads tall and proud with large protruding eyes and bore two to three kinds of black beaks in a strange mix between a Doctor's herbal infused, avian-shaped Mask with a Knight's Bascinet. Their armor was in actuality a thickly protective olive-green mesh cloth that protected them not from physical blows but of the chaotic elements. By the time they are within visible by the naked-eye distance to the Soldiers, Samantha's NETT Warrior Communications from her visor reveal them to be belonging to the 12th Infantry.

"Halt!" one of the Hazmat-suited Soldiers hailed Samantha. "Do not move!" he ordered.

"We are not one of----" Liliyan tried to reassure the soldiers with her beguiling tongue forward but Samantha and Iris forcibly pushed her down.

"Do what he says." Iris urged the Courtesan as she firmly held her still.

"Scanning!" the soldier commanded a giddy UAV Drone to hover above them.

Its cyclopean eye scanned ominously over the four companions for a tense moment before it returned to its master. Like a hawk returning to its handler, the knightly CBRN Soldier nodded to the bird before returning the mechanical animal into his back.

"Captain Samantha Rose. Prepare for decontamination." He informed her.

"De-co…" Liliyan's eye convulsed on the alien word her kin-sister speaks of.

"Just bear it. Don't do anything." Iris pleaded.

The CBRN Soldiers brought out another one of the Otherworlder's Mechanical Creatures. Twins in fact. Both were four-legged about less than a size of a steed with a large snout over its body. Beneath its torso protruding 4 large testicle-shaped tanks that hung around the being. The first creature wasted no time dispensing white foam across Samantha and her companions, nearly burying them in cold bubbling disinfectant foam over their bodies. The next creature immediately prompted suit, began showering sterilized water to wash down the disinfectant foam over their bodies. This left Samantha and her companions' bodies with their clothes and gear soaked and shriveled. It was a rather unpleasant yet ultimately necessary experience overall for them. But Liliyan has taken these measures the worse as her delicate Courtesan robes were ruined to the point of decay and her usually vulpine aura soured into a disheveled glare at these Olive-armored Knights.

"This is no way to treat a Lady!" She scowled to the Otherworlders as she covered her voluptuous features with her hands. The water that dampened her clothes aired off a visage of a nymph mid-bathing. Immediately, one of the CBRN Soldiers placed over her head a thick-clothed black towel to dry and cover her body up.

The Soldiers ignored her complaints, turning to face Samantha and saluted her.

"Ma'am. Lieutenant Fred Feldchrist. C.O. of Twelfth Infantry's CBRN Team. We came in when you blasted those Bio-Hazard detes all over the Warrior NETT. It's an honor to meet you." One of them announced. "Forgive me, but this is all standard procedure." He apologized immediately.

"At ease Lieutenant. I would have done the same too." Samantha nodded. "What goes the situation back at the Village."

"Your squad is doin' al'right. Your second-in-command, a Staff Sargeant Crocker managed to hold most of them off at his position. They took some beating when the Natives punched a hole at their garrison but by then, our Fjord arrived and we mopped them up quick. About two hundred or so dead and about thirty captured when the fighting stop, still counting."

"And the Civvies?" Samantha pressed.

"The rest of the boys are now rounding up the Refugees by their camp as we speak. All pre-cautions and everything are now being deployed. We're taking no chances even if we have an idea what we're dealing with." Lieutenant Feldchrist answered. "Eh… what on earth are you carrying back there? Did you take a casualty?" the CBRN C.O. pointed to the Body that Iris was carrying over.

"Oh… uh… that is… not of your concern now… but it is imperative you know two things." Samantha rolled her tongue. Her team is caught in an awkward situation. Chem-Troopers were infamous amongst the UFEAF for their reported 'chauvinism' as stated by many reporters. Taking little to no pre-cautionary empathy on their duties resulting in several public relation scandals that are still being felt to this day.

"Here, give this Journal and make sure it gets to Inspector Reid or Agent De Sardet for official's sake. It contains all the gist of the detes I broadcasted earlier. Get the nerds and wigs to read through and get everything contained now." Samantha explained.

"Affirmative." Feldchrist nodded.

"Also, this body bag here? It is imperative that I must return it and its contents to a classified location as it is a matter of State Security." The Captain explained.

The CBRN soldiers peeked over, but unfortunately the Commanding Officer only shook his head.

"That corpse I'm afraid has to be disinfected and be disposed of separately. A Corpse is a Corpse. I also regret to inform you that you are to be quarantined within Egni until further notice." Feldchrist informed her.

The bureaucratic delay agitated Samantha. They were in a strict time limit by the Eildearan to return Ratimir but the CBRN Team is stopping them. If they don't reach them on time, it could spark a catastrophic diplomatic incident amongst these shadow aristocrats.

"Samantha, what of Ratimir?" Liliyan's eyes darted to the Captain.

"We can't do much right now but do what they say. Just give me some time, I will try to work something out." Samantha hovered over. "Now be quiet." She hushed her.

"Be gentle with these folks, not for my sakes but for theirs Lieutenant. The Natives don't know what kind of danger they are all in." Samantha appealed.

"We will." Feldchrist nodded.

His soft nod however, was not at all reassuring to the Captain. Even if she is deemed a 'Chosen One', Samantha knows that the coming days ahead will be a difficult hill to climb for the Federation and Amelioration forces to overcome without any scathes. The Gliesian Pacification Campaign is about to heat up into a whole new kind of battlefield.

The Battlefield of the Heart and the Mind.

[-]

It was horror displayed in broad daylight, or at least as much as the afternoon Malynaris descended below Kalmte's horizon as the Federation set their foot firmly on the Village of Egni. Despite their valor and faith, the remnants of the Duchal Guards and the Inquisition were simply no match for even a small band of the Otherworlders when they tried to assault their position, cutting them down before they could even lay a glancing blow onto them.

Mita the Crow Master had to reluctantly quell the aching on her dead heart to see the victory drunk Otherworlders had their way with the Refugee's in the camp. She nearly forgotten about her mission of tailing the Share Holder.

But instead of a wanton slaughter, what befallen to them was much worst.

She saw the invaders corralling the refugees off their tents into enclosures like Cattle in a twist of irony to the region's famous livestock pastures. Just like livestock, the Otherworlders brought out a plethora of their vile gizmos that allowed them to brand, pick off and prob the refugees to an unsettling variety of extractions. From their mouths, the glimmer of their eyes, and worst of all their blood as if grading these fresh captives for what use they will have for them in the future. A lordly Overseer directed the flow of human traffic to several zones that the Otherworlders partitioned amongst the clearing where the Refugee camp was. Many families were split apart amongst the refugees, pleading for mercy to not be separated from their loved ones but their begging fell on deaf ears. Those who attempted to resist the Otherworlders when they came upon them attempted to futilely resist, but were beaten down and carried off in force away to their fates. Some, even killed. Such a instinctual reaction, only goaded the Otherworlders to tighten the leash on their new Livestock.

In all likelihood of her observations, from years of study of Demonic Myths from the Archives within the Grey Order's Grand Lodge paints a sickening picture. These livestock breeders, shepherds, farmers and tanners were ironically, to the sight of these demons, the very products they had peddled before the invasion, Cattle. And in all of her years as a Rogue, it sickened her. She may had been an orphan and her career required her to be absent of emotions. But those times were of professional contracts. Today was different, as she saw these poor people become nothing more but Cattle. Corralled, graded and then sold for their blood, bones and souls to the ravenous consumption of the Demonic Hordes.

And there was not a damn thing she could do but watch it all happen.

"Halt!" She heard a voice from below the perched tree she was in.

The Crow Master's heart froze, had she been caught?

She peeked over the thick branch she hanged herself around and realized that there were several Otherworlders were walking past by her position. She couldn't decipher their language much but they seemed to be amiably babbling to each other with their pompous bravado.

Thankfully her invisibility cloak shielded her from their naked eyes. Her experience in observing the Invaders made her much more adept in evading them ever since her misstep back at Tyr Rian those many months ago. She observed that when the Invaders pulls down these flat-shaped pieces of eyewear onto their faces, they gain the ability to see through the dark, illusory enchantments and whatever forms of surprises that would meet them their way. Despite said ability, deemed 'Gods' Eye' ability as she and her surviving Crows would call them, the Invaders took a significant amount of their energy to channel the gui needed for the ability. They seem to grow uncomfortable, if not fatigued the longer they use Gods' Eye. A weakness she could exploit.

Her fellow Crows, as few as they can be, were being tested and dare says being tempered within the fires of this invasion. They came up with several clever tactics to goad and ambush isolated Otherworlders in combat, managing to inflict several casualties as they did. Already, Tweeting Birds have been conjured to all over the known bastions of Imperial Resistance still left of their insights. They rely heavily too much on their strange magicks it seemed in addition to their chronic need to herd thousands of Souls for them to be shipped away to grim fates.

But just then, several more figures appeared below her. Lying still and slowing her heartbeat, Mita closely observed them. To her astonishment, she recognized two of them. One being the red-headed Corrupted Chosen One, the Share Holder, and her Sochairfuil Mistress. Despite not being a mage herself, she could sense their unique scent of Mana flowing throughout their bodies as she was familiar with both of theirs back at the Ostalrocs.

There were two other people following them that she couldn't recognize but are likely her escorts. The Share Holder and the Vampire Witch shared a few words to these Demonic Soldiers before both parties parted ways in opposite directions. A few dozen meters away, the Share Holder stopped by one of the Horseless Carriages that seemed to trailblazed their way across the Imperial Lands with impunity to whatever terrain it seemed to encounter.

Mita took a deep meditative breathe for moment before she refocused her eyes. Zooming past the fog and smoke through the fazing distance away. Thanks to a mix of her training and natural talent, she had an exceptional acumen in being able to see through far distances. Something her teachers were astonished to witnessed being able to do, alongside her uncanny abilities to climb atop any elevation regardless of difficulty such as the tree she now hides herself upon for her reconnaissance being of the more treacherous varieties. Additional features, almost unique to her was that she had an uncanny ability to scent Mages from non-magically adled people. Not even herself could know how she is capable of this skill, whether it's a sign of divine favor, her own talent, or something more. But she could tell the air amongst people who is a Mage among them which in her career gave her a niche albeit decisive tactical advantage. These abilities she passed down to a subpar extent to her fellow Crows.

One Demon emerged from the Horseless Carriages anus and threw her a roll of cloth. The Share Holder unfurled the cloth and began to dreamily caress its soft surface. It must have been a Sleeping Mat of sorts by the looks of it. She most likely intends to stay within Egni amidst the devastations being carried out across a field away. Likely to personally witness and gloat over the suffering of the capture Slaegian Imperials.

"Well… look who decided to rest upon the Troll's Cave." Mita smiled.

An idea sparked in her head. A plan that could allow her to slay two or maybe even three with one arrow if all fell into place. She could be able to not only capture the Share Holder, set back a sizeable battalion of Otherworlders but even gain the gratuitous bounty of rescuing the captive Egni Refugees who now lay hopelessly locked into the confines of their isolated corrals.

It will require her to gather what remains her remaining Rogues and their collected Arsenal of subterfuge to vanquish the sword with the beguiled cunning of the Crows.

Chaos always opens the door to opportunities for those who are bold. As so the Ballad Proverb says.