I decided to let it be for now and help with the search of the rest of the house. Once we got upstairs the old man went right and I went left. There were three recessed doors along the hall up here. I opened the first one to see a room that was rummaged through but no people. I checked the next door and found what looked like a ladies dressing room. Gowns hung from poles in an armoire, while small benches were seated in front of mirrors. I got to the last door and heard a yell from the other side open too the floor. Couldn’t make it out but it didn’t sound urgent, more like a shocked exclamation. I opened the door on a scene straight out of a nightmare. There was blood everywhere, a woman was chained to the bed with her clothes in tatters, there was a man hung from the ceiling with several knives sprouting from his body, and several small knives on the floor at his feet. I needed to close the door before I vomited all over my boots. Not being a stranger to blood and guts just from the recent battles I’ve been in, I was completely appalled by the pure unadulterated evil on display in that bedroom. I gathered my wits and realized I needed to check and see if she was alive. Maybe there is still time. I rushed into the room to see if I could find a pulse. Weak at best, she was trying to say something. I got a little closer trying to be as gentle as possible.

“Is he dead?”

“Who? The man that did this? No he ran away.”

“Then he’ll be back. Qie Lao won’t let me die. Why won’t’ he let me die?” She sobbed and started shuddering.

“Was that his name?”

“So cold…” she said and began convulsing. I yelled for help and tried to hold her in place. Checked her pulse again. Nothing. I checked her breathing. Nothing. Her body wasn’t even cold yet. Had I been faster or more skilled I might have been able to save her. The old man stumbled in and wretched whatever water I gave him earlier on the floor. I walked past him after telling him to cover her up and get him down. I was determined that no one else see this nightmare.

At the end of this landing, I saw some of the women comforting young man that looks like he hadn’t eaten in days. He was dressed in more finery than the rest, so I assumed the child of the couple I just found. At that moment I could only think one thing, “Son of a bitch must pay.” Just then I got a flashing red notification.

New Quest----Quest has been modified by Rule Breaker. VENDETTA- You have been profoundly changed by the events of today. Qie Lao must die. Killing Qie Lao will unlock a previously lost class ability. The longer it takes you to do this the worse the urge to kill him will become. If not accomplished in two years you will devolve into a berserk, single minded, animal. A vendetta cannot be denied.

That’s just fine. I was going to do that anyway. The old man peeked his head out from the door asking for help with one of the bodies. I did so and quickly.

“Who’s the boy?” I asked.

“Young Master Nicklelash. Possibly the last of his family since his uncle went to war.” He responded.

“Ok what’s your name? You don’t want me calling you old man, do you?”

“You may call me Fairfax. I’m the house attendant and superior of the other staff.”

“Is that all that was downstairs with you?”

“Yes, and some of the staff’s family.” He started to mumble to himself about what they will do now and how to keep the boy safe.

“Ok I need to get all of you to safety. Where is the nearest Town?”

“Town? Why would we go to town?”

“Qie Lao made it clear he would bring back reinforcements. I doubt I’ll fare too well in another battle.”

“Is that the Monsters name?!” Fairfax said with such venom and a fierce look that told me he had a violent past all his own.

“The last thing she said to me.” I said with cast down eyes. This was going to be difficult and I didn’t want to do this with every one of the others.

“Can you organize everyone; I believe the sooner we leave the better.”

That stoked a fire in him. Shortly after he began giving orders to the staff and people began racing around putting things in bags, gathering food stuffs, and generally preparing to leave. Fairfax pulled me to the side and said:

“For your help getting us out of this terrible situation.” He handed me a rolled-up piece of paper and a palm sized bag. I put the bag into my new satchel and unrolled the paper.

New Item- You have received a region map. Your slate will be updated with information.

The bag had some coins in it and I decided I could dig through that later. We hustled everyone out the front door and I stopped to ask:

“Where are we going? Which direction is the nearest town? What’s its name?”

“We are headed to Everhart. It is near the king’s road not far from here. Some of my staff are from there so we should be ok for lodging. Where did you want to go?” Fairfax replied.

“Not sure, I’ve never been outside before.”