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  After taking another brief moment to analyze the impossible situation, Jaimus stood before picking up his cane and fetching an old book from a hidden compartment. Jaimus then spoke while making way for the door as fast as his limp would allow, “Come, we leave immediately to fetch Eleven, I know where they took Tiberius and I know who was responsible... damn-it son, don't stand there like a statue, help me open this door we don't have much time.”

  Zackarius, after snapping out of a brief haze, speedily jumped to action to do the task which he was instructed. Then as they walked out along Tacitus Street, Jaimus spoke hurriedly, giving commands to Zackarius as he limped forward quickly on the young messenger's left, “Alright this is what I want you to do, get to the Andromeda as fast as you can, inform Kanii of the dire situation, then tell her to prepare for an emergency exit immediately. Do not allow anyone who is not in service to Tiberius onto the docks surrounding the Andromeda or her escorts; tell Kanii specifically to enact Praetorian confiscation rights on that land, guarding it legally as the temporary property of Praetor Tiberius. If for some reason I don't make it there before Tiberius arrives then leave without me; now go, hurry!”

  As Zackarius began to run toward the docks, doing exactly as he had been told, Jaimus called out from behind, “Oh and don't forget to tell Kanii; Tiberius will be coming in hot!”

  Jaimus watched as the eager Zackarius sprinted away to complete his orders.

  That poor boy may become a soldier today.

  Aside from talent, the quality Jaimus liked most in those who served him was loyalty, and by his estimation that kid had it in spades. Jaimus would never have two worry about Zackarius running off to save his own skin, as the boy's constant unwavering loyalty to those he served would not allow him. No, Zackarius would follow his duty to death's doorstep and beyond, that much was certain.

  If only there were more like him.

  Quickening his pace, Jaimus moved as fast as his old bones would allow toward the large, high class inn where Eleven would be staying. Upon entering the sizable lantern lit lobby Jaimus continued forward before stopping at the front desk. The man in charge came to greet him, but as the smiling man began to speak, Jaimus cut him off, “Send someone to fetch the masked man named Eleven immediately.”

  Retrieving a widely recognized Imperial seal which identified Jaimus as a high-ranking government official, the seal which Tiberius had given him many years ago, he continued after throwing it on the table, “This is under the express authority of Praetor Tiberius himself, which means, if you don't mind me being blunt, that if you continue to stand there and gawk at me, or refuse this order out of some sort of customer confidentiality regulation, then in about ten seconds I am going to walk out that door and see if Tiberius' soldiers fare better than I.”

  Jaimus' well-crafted threat worked wonders, as the man moved speedily, reaching for the inn's books. Finding one in particular, the innkeeper opened it and began running his finger down the list. The man, stopping his finger on one name specifically, then spoke out, “Ah, excuse me, I will be but a moment.”

  “Thank you,” said Jaimus, as the innkeeper strode quickly, nearly sprinting, up the elegant staircase to his right, moving speedily to fetch the masked man out of the fear which had been placed by Jaimus' well played partial scam.

  A few moments passed by before Eleven, followed closely behind by the innkeeper, came gliding down the stairs, perhaps curious but in no apparent hurry.

  As Eleven came up to Jaimus he spoke first saying, “When I requested you to inform me of any new developments I expected the message to arrive by a trusted messenger; not by Jaimus himself? I wonder what extraordinary situation warrants such unusual action?”

  Jaimus responded quickly, “Normally I would beat around the bush a little before getting to the point, but today the dire situation at hand requires certain directness... The praetor has been kidnapped, and I believe, putting the pieces together which I have gleaned from certain recent reports such as the one I shared with you earlier, that he has been taken by Legatus Malcus and is presently being held by Salinius at his estate.”

  The innkeeper rudely interrupted immediately after Jaimus had finished, “Wait, I thought you said that you were acting under the praetor's express comman...”

  Before the innkeeper could finish, Eleven cut him off, shouting uncharacteristically, “Silence!”

  The innkeeper wisely obeyed Eleven's command, instantly shrinking back behind the front counter. Eleven walked toward the door after removing his hand from the hilt of the sword which was strapped to his back, the sword from which Tiberius' sword was designed. Then, turning around, Eleven spoke before disappearing into the night, “I won't be long.”

  Jaimus watched the darkness engulf the last surviving Faceless, as the man, if you can call him that, went off to do the only thing which he was bred to do; release souls.

  After a few more brief moments passed, Jaimus made his own exit, walking into the brilliantly moonlit night.

  It took some time before he began to near the docks; but as he neared, still within the shadow of the over encroaching buildings which made up the majority of Northside, Jaimus saw in the distance Tiberius' soldiers preparing themselves for battle. The five different captains were working quickly to prepare the ships and organize their defenses with Kanii, clearly, ultimately in charge. Having only a complement of twenty soldiers assigned to each ship, there weren't enough warriors, battle ready as they were, to fight any real battle. However, there were enough Gahnen warriors for a tactical retreat, and that is exactly what they prepared for.

  Jaimus knew that, since most of Tiberius' personal legions and their commanders were recruited specifically from places unfriendly to the Empire like Gahnen, if Tiberius' personally financed warriors were forced to choose, the majority would remain loyal to Tiberius, not the Empire. So in reality the clever praetor had been preparing, with betrayal in mind, for some time now. What he did not prepare for was the way in which it happened.

  Continuing to move forward, suddenly, Jaimus stopped, as a person he did not expect to see moved out from the shadows in front of Jaimus, sword drawn.

  Jaimus spoke as the tall man moved closer, putting his sword to Jaimus' chest, “I expected infiltration but I must admit surprise at the revelation that the double agent is you, Talius.

  "Tell me three things before sending me to the fate which now lies clear before my eyes: How long, why, and did Zephir die well?”

  After he finished speaking, Jaimus hunched over suddenly, gasping as Talius' sword came in, piercing his heart. With a grim expression, Talius whispered in Jaimus' ear as he leaned forward, “Since the beginning, because your death is my freedom, and no, I saw him suffer before his breath gave out.”

  Jaimus, reaching out to Talius for stability as he attempted to cling onto life for a few more agonizing moments, replied, “I've seen it, traitors like you are always haunted by the choices they've made... so freedom from slavery to Malcus maybe, but you will never be free from your own mind's lash. Do one thing for me, I offer a rare chance to make future's burden lighter. Take this book and throw it into view of those soldiers before running off to collect your reward.”

  The pain surged through Jaimus' chest again as the long straight sword was abruptly pulled out of his body. Then, falling to his knees, dropping his cane, his vision closing in as the blood spewed out of his body onto the ground, Jaimus gazed forward catching a glimpse of Zackarius far off in the distance before exhaling one last time, falling to his end.

  Chapter 7

  Day 2

  Clink, Clink, Snap! The sound Tiberius heard as he was shackled moments before his eyes flew open, amplified the distress he felt as his present situation began to reveal itself. With his mind slowly regaining consciousness, he struggled futilely against his restraints that held him tightly upon a cold steel surface which could not realistically be called the bed. No one, as Tiberius scanned the room, could be seen, no one with which he cou
ld ascertain or identify his captor's identity. And, as Tiberius continued to look around the room, it became very apparent as to the sole purpose with which the room was built; torture.

  Tiberius had heard of rooms like this being built by some lords to keep their slaves in line; in fact, some houses, like house Valdiss, were famed for such things. But such rooms and methods were not by any means exclusive to house Valdiss, as there were many similar rooms even in Five Spires which are not, even in the slightest sense, unused. No, extreme cruelty and despair are used by many to craft subservience; although Tiberius very much doubted subservience would be the reason for his torture and no doubt death at the hands of his currently unknown captors.

  As Tiberius looked around the dimly lit room he saw three cages behind him, each one for a different purpose with only the one on the left being a holding cell.

  The cage in the middle being too small for one to stand straight up in, and not wide enough for one to lay down, also had sharp razor blades sticking up off of the ground, leaving only about a foot wide and long space razor free. This cage Tiberius recognized famously as the bed of razors. A disobedient slave or prisoner would be left inside for days even weeks at a time before, as they chose to sleep on the razors due to extreme exhaustion, someone would jolt the man, woman, or child awake in a variety of cruel ways, the worst of which usually being the lent scorpion, whose venom gives its victim light convulsions.

  The cage on the right was known as the serpent bucket. It's hooks, which would be used to hang the undesired, could be raised or lowered below the trap door on the bottom of the cell. Then below the iron cage's trap door usually sat a large bucket of venomous or non-venomous serpents which would be used to terrify, injure, or kill whichever poor soul found themselves inside the monstrous contraption.

  Continuing to examine the room, Tiberius saw two tables littered with saws, blades, and various other horrifying contraptions, each device worse than the last. Also he saw hooks coming down from the ceiling in different places, and small lit oil lamps to bring all of the horrible things which should never have been invented or used, to light.

  After some time had passed, unwelcome fear came to greet Tiberius then remained to gnaw at his mind, and no doubt very soon his sanity. Suddenly he heard footsteps coming down a set of stairs that lay beyond the thick iron door which if he tilted his head up, was directly in front of him. His heart quickened as a strange apprehension took hold of Tiberius which was a result of both the desire to learn the identity of the one who put him here, far beyond the salvation of his legions, and also the fear of whatever fate was about to befall him, or the final journey through which fate would lead him to its undesirable gates.

  Chink, chink, eeek! The sounds of the rusting iron door opening, unpleasantly greeted Tiberius' ears before an unwelcome but familiar voice followed the appearance of the vile, wicked man, famously known as Legatus Malcus the Scarred, “You don't look too pleased at my appearance's embrace Praetor.”

  “I wonder why,” replied Tiberius as a new found rage began to rise to the surface.

  “Well I suppose it is due to the unfortunate position you find yourself in; and I assure you were it not for the slightly indirect command of Lord Emperor Maximillian himself, our last meeting, according to my preference, would be on the battlefield in exceptional, invigorating combat to the death.”

  Tiberius responded with an angered, mock laugh before taking the time to consider the new troubling information that Maximillian himself had warranted this action, “Hah... let me out of these chains and we can satisfy your... preference.”

  Was Tiberius surprised by this new development? No, but he had not expected such action to be taken so soon; perhaps that was his own mistake.

  Malcus continued, as he walked slowly from the doorway to the left side of the restrained Tiberius, “You know, I must admit that I will truly enjoy this, because as much as I despise the manner in which I obtain my revenge, the relishing thought of causing you to suffer sends electrifying shivers of excitement through my spine. Although, I almost feel besides myself, for while the thought of your torture gives me so much joy and contentment, the thought of your death disturbs me as I have thoroughly enjoyed our dance of destiny, our coalescence in service to the Empire. After all, we work so well together, so in unison, despite your ridiculous notions caused by your unhealthy pursuit of true nobility. I would go on to say that eventually you would see things as I do like always, but we both know at this juncture that such a thing is now, let's just say... far more than improbable.”

  Tiberius, enraged, simply responded with silence.

  Malcus continued toward a far table to fish out the tools which he would use upon his unwilling victim. Finding a sharp thin blade and a specially pronged scoop he returned before going on, “Well, before we begin let me tell you why I find incredible irony in this current situation which has brought us together again. You see, I'm sure you don't know this but many years ago I was a young officer serving under your father's command in a little village called Bjernein, located in southwestern Gahnen. I was sent there to investigate numerous reports of the rebellion potentially stockpiling weapons there, along with many reports of soldier disappearances. So, Danicus, being whisked away on Imperial business to the nearby large city of Bjernstein, decided to make a short side trip to the neighboring village of Bjernein where I was stationed.

  “You have to understand, I had uncovered nothing in the whole time which I had been stationed there, so in order to keep my commission and impress Danicus, I decided to falsify evidence, framing a young couple for conspiring with the rebellion. I believe their names were Fjorden and Helga; also, if memory serves me correctly, they had two young children, although the girl's body was never recovered. Anyway, the day before Danicus, the then newly elected Minister of Justice, arrived I went to the young couple's home ordering the soldiers under my command to lock the family inside. Then I threw the first torch before standing back as my soldiers continued in suit. As the crowds gathered around, we could all hear the shrill screams of those inside as they were consumed by the tall flames which engulfed their home,” after a short pause Malcus continued, “Well, upon Danicus' timely arrival the following day, I went to show him my work. Being pleased, Danicus congratulated me for work well done, but as he was speaking, the men who were pulling things out of the rubble surprisingly found a survivor; it was a four-year-old boy with a strange luminescent mark on his right hand. As the child was quickly brought to me for a decision on what to do with the boy, Danicus spoke up immediately, ordering my soldiers to hand the young boy over; and so it was.”

  Malcus then, taking the scoop he held in his left hand while holding the razor in his right, thrust the pronged scoop inside the socket of Tiberius' left eye. Tiberius screamed in pain yanking his shackles in a desperate attempt to free a hand. But all attempts proved pointless as Malcus began removing his eye from the place it belonged.

  After fully removing Tiberius' left eye and severing its stem with the razor, Malcus finished as the praetor's agonizing screams died down, “Do you know what I learned all those years ago? I learned that other people's pain brings me... happiness.”

  Tiberius cried out with rage, “Damn you Malcus, if I cannot live to see your death in this life, than my blade shall await you in the next.”

  Suddenly, a man Tiberius immediately recognized as Salinius of house Brasitus, came storming down the stairs saying loudly to Malcus, “Hurry, come quickly, there's trouble!”

  Malcus, not taking a moment to pause, turned, heading quickly for the door before charging swiftly up the stairs behind Salinius without even bothering to close the large iron door as he made his exit.

  Malcus, running speedily behind Salinius through the halls of the large manner, began to feel immense irritation rising to the surface due to the unexpected interruption.

  This had better be worth my time Salinius or I will skin you myself.

  Making their way out of the man
ner, Salinius led them across the long walking path, and through the winter-made-barren landscape, toward the wealthy estate's tall gates. Upon arriving, Malcus stopped instantly, remaining silent as he took in the gruesome sight which revealed itself before him, Salinius, and the soldiers who had come to see what all the commotion was about.

  Just twenty feet away lantern light revealed the twenty soldiers who had been posted at the gate; all of them, were now lying slain upon the ground. Blood was strewn about the shocking massacre, covering the bodies of the dead. Eighteen of Malcus' fallen servants were rearranged to look as if they were bowing, laying prostrate before two heads which were held above the ground by the two decapitated soldier's own spears. Then Malcus' attention was drawn to the two names, one name carved onto each of the bodiless soldier's foreheads, they spelled; Malcus and Salinius.

  Chapter 8

  Day 2

  “He's here,” declared Legatus Malcus.

  “Who?” asked Salinius, all attention directed toward Malcus as he turned to face the Brasitus manor.

  “Tiberius' dog,” seethed Malcus in reply.

  Salinius, responding to the legatus' insufficient answer, spoke, “You're saying just one man is responsible for this; or do I misinterpret your meaning?”

  “He's not just one man; he is a Faceless, the last of his kind. He is a thing of night terrors come to life, one from which stories of your childhood taught you to fear the night and take pleasure in the rising of the sun,” answered Malcus as he grew irritated by the man's questions.

  Malcus needed to think quickly, as the timely appearance of the monster known as Eleven was indeed unexpected. He had believed that all of his tracks were covered, that everything was working according to plan, but of course he now knew that such belief had proven itself to be unfounded. No doubt spies, which by him went unnoticed, had reported to Jaimus before Talius had completed his mission.