Inside the Butlers office, deep within the Varish's capital. The masked man's children sat together, confused and surprised
The butler continued trying to pull out their tongues, seeking any questions to be spoken
"You know the disfigured humans, right? The ones inhabited by maggots? Weird bone structures and body parts in the wrong places—"
Thomas cut him saying "Yes, yes we do know it, we just, don't understand"
The butler replied "What is so confusing? I mean you can spot them easily if you use your eyes"
John was the one to speak saying "Do you know how many citizens there is inside the capital"
"4, maybe 5 million tops" said the butler as if it was a pretty normal answer
"How do you expect us to find them with how big the place is?" asked John
"Oh, you must've misunderstood me" replied the butler "You are not supposed to search for them, you'll just be the ones to kill them"
"So… you know already of their locations?" asked John
"Nope…" replied the butler
"Then how can we hunt them?!" asked Thomas
"First of all, don't downgrade it to a mere (hunt)" said the butler "these are not like your typical bandit or wild animal, a small injury can and will lead into you joining their lines"
"Second, we do have our way of finding it the moment an infection starts"
"I am… confused," said William
"It is easier to see for yourself" said the butler "That is why I called you alongside Ino to this office"
"Ino?" asked John
"Yeh… the knight behind you"
He wore no extra ordinary armour, if not for his Sigel you'd think of him as
"I… did not even notice him over there" said John to himself
"Of course you won't, none of you is able to do such a thing" said the butler "After all, his Sigel is made fully of gold"
Sigel of sharp-edged chains overlapping one another, he stood there silently, by the door, staring them down with his green eyes, the only thing aside from his mouth that is not covered by the helmet he wore
"Ino will be the one teaching you how to find such creatures" said the butler "He will show how to take care of them as well"
The knight opened the door stepping out. The hesitated children traded looks with each other not knowing what to do, with how silent the butler is John decided to lead them out
"So… Ser Ino?" asked Thomas getting some of his attention "How do we find the sick?"
"Don't" said the knight
"Huh?? What do you mean" asked Thomas
"Don't call them sick, colouring what they are will lead emotions out" said Ino "Having pity on them will just drive a limb inside of you"
"A limb???" said Thomas Confused
William was the one to answer him saying "If the infected— the creature, is left for a certain amount of time, his body deforms, adding whatever it wishes where ever it likes, you can imagine the rest yourself"
"Can All body parts experience this?" asked Thomas
"Some witnesses spoke of a complete extra head, equipped with all the facial features, with some spices of course" said William
"So, we have to drain all the blood out of… it, right?" asked John
"Not really, it can be killed like any other being, crushing the vital parts works," said William
Trying to make it simple William continued with "They are driven by instinct, that is all is known to the public about them"
"Also, they are filled with maggots that can infect you if given the chance," said William
"Maggots…. Eugh!" said Isabel "I want nothing to do with that, so it is a good thing that I specialise in long distance"
Reaching a metal bar door Ino took out some keys, once they were inside, he grabbed some torches from the side, handing each of them one after putting it ablaze, and down stairs they went
"What do you think lays there?" Isabel asked Thomas
"Probably a magician" said Thomas "or maybe this is a secret pathway, one that leads to the outside" excitement colouring his face
"Why would we need to use that???" asked Isabel
"Because it is cool to do so, and very helpful as well" replied Thomas
"You are the only one who thinks of it like that —" said Isabel finding it weird and childish
"Welcome" said the butler who stood before them, startling Isabel stopping her mid-sentence
"How did you…?" asked Isabel
"A secret staircase" replied the butler "Anyways follow me"
Thomas smiled mocking his sister as he continued walking
"Anyways, you are here so you can be given you Sigels," said the butler
"Why is that?" asked Sara "Plus You haven't tested to see if we are good enough for such a thing"
"Don't worry about it" said the butler "You seem skilled enough, plus I will be only giving you copper ones"
"Copper ones?" asked John
"The lowest rank, that'll help you go past the check points when you are out on a hunt" replied the butler
"I still don't know about that," said Sara
"Come on, don't be so clumsy" replied the butler taking out a plat of wood "They will all have an empty spot, showing you as self-assigned knights, this won't bring you much attention"
They each took one strapping it to their leather clothing
"So? what do we do now?" asked John
"We ask him for locations"
A prisoner was brought down their way, he moved violently with the only thing holding him down being the chair he was strapped into
"Him???" asked Sara
"Oh no that is just a replace" said the butler opening a path through the long curtain behind him "This, is the way"
Inside of it, tens of prisoners were tied to the walls, behind sturdy glass, they looked deformed, having the very sickness the children are going to fight
They looked hungry, skin over bones, chained to the walls
"What the…," said William
They looked to be asleep, little sleeping dozes were handed to some of them who seemed to be waking up
"Can you explain??" asked John
"Well, this is the communication device we have in here," said the butler
"How??" asked William
"This is not known to the public…" said the butler thinking about wither to speak it out or not
"But I trust you guys so…" he said going towards one of the glass barriers, he took out a little box with a nail of iron sticking out
"Want to test it out?" he said handing it over to Henry
Looking confused he pulled back for a second before taking it
"Come on" said the butler "Press it" he whispered
Tick!
The glass barrier that the butler took it from had the infected behind it twitch ringing the bell attached to it, he slowly started to wake up
"Open the box," said the butler
Inside of it a worm was wrapped with strings, the nail went throw its head killing it on the spot
"How did they know that it died, and why was this body the only one to move?" asked William
"For the first answer I say...… I don't know" replied the butler "Although the reason this one was the only reaction, is because we took it's body"
Taking the box out of henry's hands, he said "We hand a box to each team that walks the deep and empty streets, the parts that aren't crowded enough for such infected to catch attention"
"Of course, only the trusted ones are handed this, so no info will be leaked out" said the butler putting it in place as a doctor refiled it "A simple tick! Is all it takes for it to work," said the butler
"So, we will be sent on such missions?" said Thomas
"As much as I'd like to hand over such a safe mission to you, a certain someone would just get mad," said the butler
"Your mission is to wait in this room" said the butler as some doctors brought them chairs to rest "When it gets dangerous you will seek them aiding in the disposal"
Handing them a map he walked out saying "Take care, and be sure not to get infected"
Slam! The door was shut
They just stared each other, the knight behind them went towards his chair getting some rest leaving confusion and shock to the kids