Episode 5: City of Tears (Part 4 of 4)

"Begging?" Locke replies, his fingers slightly twitching. "You know, I think we both know why I'm here, and while playing with you is all well and good, let's get to the point." Locke then turns around and announces, "Where's Lilanei?"

As he turns, the massive shadow of Madoco's mace comes swinging towards Locke's face as she bellows, “The witch is gone!"

Locke's eyes widen as the mace cuts through the air and slams right in the center of Locke's nose with an almighty "crack!" Locke stumbles back, holding his nose with his left hand, before he withdraws his sickle with the other.

"Wench! Where is my Lilanei?"

Locke rushes forward, bringing his sickle up towards his chest level. Once he's within striking distance, Locke takes the sickle and slashes it across Madoco's face before grabbing her by the hair and pulling it backwards – suddenly letting go as he does and forcing Madoco to stumble back five feet, both from the wound and from his positioning strike.

Shrieking as the blade slices her face, Madoco roars, "Grah! My gorgeous face! You will pay dearly for deceiving me, Locke! And so will your wretched girl!"

"Will you take an I.O.U.?" Locke chuckles. "Besides, I think the face job is an improvement!"

Clearly enraged, Madoco lifts her mace in the air with great effort as she rushes in front of Locke, swinging it in a motion towards the left. The mace, spikes and all, crash into Locke's right shoulder, piercing through his leather armour and through his skin. As she withdraws the weapon, it also tears some flesh away causing Locke to bleed. Locke screams out in pain before he steps a couple of feet back and swiftly reaches for a bottle of potion before he opens the bottle and drinks from it. Feeling refreshed, Locke roars again and presses forwards, his sickle still brandished and fury in his eyes. Once again he grabs Madoco, this time by the collar, and pulls her forwards. As he does, he takes the sickle – facing the jagged teeth on the one side of it towards Madoco – as he slashes it across her upper torso just under the chest. The slash crosses to the left, and then to the right, making an “x” on her chest as he shoves her back. Taken back by the blow to her middle, Madoco loses her breath for a brief moment before shaking it off. She then hooks the mace to her waist and retrieves her dagger which gleams in the dim light as she holds it pointed at Locke.

"When I'm done with you. . . I'll take this dagger and skin that girl myself!" She growls evilly.

"I won't let you harm a hair on her head!" Locke replies. "Besides, I'll skin you alive, and then eat ya!"

"I'd like to see you try!" She roars as she dashes forward and thrusts her dagger upwards into Locke's left thigh, twisting it slightly before violently pulling it out.

Locke cries out in pain as Madoco cackles and pulls her blade away from him. He attempts a lunge with his sickle but stops in mid-motion as he sees her begin to weave to one side in an attempt to avoid it. As she finally stops, Locke then strikes her, this time plunging the sickle deep into Madoco's right shoulder at the top of her arm. In the same fashion, he twists the blade and pulls it out before butting her in the face with the handle of his sickle.

Maroco emits a long cry of pain as she drops to her knees, clutching both her shoulder and her face, "Oh. . . Locke. . . I never knew you felt so passionately about me. I don't think I can go on!"

"Pull the other one," Locke spits, butting the top of her head with his foot. "You're talking garbage. Get up and fight!"

Indeed, as he butts her head with his foot, she swiftly grabs it in her hand and thrusts her dagger up, piercing the rear of his calf, and as she retrieves her dagger, she rolls to the side and returns to her feet, blood dripping from her dagger as she sees Locke bleeding from the back of the leg. Madoco wipes some blood from her cheek which had spurted on her before she rolled away and rubbing it between her index finger and thumb, she then softly licks the blood from her fingertips.

"Mm. . . I think I prefer you this way, Locke! Your blood is so sweet."

As she rolls and rises to her feet, completing her monologue, she is shocked to see that the rage and adrenaline has taken a hold of our Hero who now rushes forth. With his sickle tightly clutched, he slashes the blade across Madoco's face once more. Locke looks at the sickle, the jagged edges of which now drip blood.

He then looks to Madoco, who is bleeding and quickly asks, "All this fighting aside, sweetheart. Level with me. . . Do you like me?"

"Oh darling!" She exclaims, "If it weren't for certain. . . matters, we would be the greatest love to hit Blackcrest in all of time!"

"It's a shame," Locke comments. "Because I really have a soft spot for you too. It just so happens there's something between us."

As Locke talks, Madoco doesn't notice that Locke has replaced his sickle with his crossbow which he now loads, and as he loads it he also retrieves one potion and drinks the liquid from the bottle, immediately causing the blood from his wounds to clot as he feels revitalized. He aims the crossbow at Madoco and fires the arrow from it. The arrow flies through the air, colliding with Madoco's face, and as she screams in pain, Locke retrieves two more arrows and fires them in quick succession – both of which stick in her cheeks as blood pours from her face.

"I really wish it didn't have to come to this," Locke continues sadly. "I really do like you."

Now in great pain, the woman gasps and heaves as the blood steadily pours from her face and the rest of her wounds. She wipes some of the blood from her cheek and stares at it, great rage within her as she observes the red liquid.

"They do say. . . love hurts. But you, honey. . . you take the cake!"

"I take that cake and I eat it!" Locke proudly exclaims, before grinning and continuing, "In fact, I always want the best of both worlds. You, me – and Lilanei."

Madoco now growls loudly as she sheathes her dagger and releases her mace from its hook on her belt, letting it crash to the ground with a boom as she grasps its handle.

"Locke, you tire me. I shan't take anymore of your tomfoolery and I shan't let you live. I will kill you for what you have done to my face! And I'll make sure to show your precious Lilanei your battered remains before I slaughter her as well!"

"Aw, shut up and fight!" Locke cries. "You tire me with your tripe, too!"

Madoco's enraged growl now echoes throughout the chamber as she dives at Locke, mace swinging in the air. The weapon connects directly with the side of Locke's head, its piercing and jagged points carving new wounds into his face. He begins to bleed as well as feel quite dizzy from the massive blow to his skull. Dizzily, Locke drops to his knees, blood once again pouring from the new wounds on his face. He groans, but has enough foresight to reach for his bag once more and pull out his last potion. He fumbles with the cork, but manages to take it off as he drinks from the bottle. The potion begins to kick in, but in his dazed state, he is not yet fully recovered.

Grinning as she watches on his knees, she swings the mace down once more towards his head with great force. Dizzily, Locke drops fully to the floor; however as he drops, he rolls onto his back, rolling to the left as Madoco's mace slams into the stone floor – the impact of the mace causing the stone to easily shatter beneath its weight from the fury of the swing. Locke looks at the mace and its destructive force, the sight of which snaps him out of his dazed state. Curling his legs upward, he presses his palms on the floor and springs up onto his feet, retrieving his sickle as he does. Locke charges forth once more, facing the butt of the sickle's handle towards Madoco's head. He slams the hard handle into Madoco's skull before he swings the blade around, allowing the jagged teeth of the blade to slash at her chest. Fully gripping the handle once more, he thrusts the blade violently into her upper abdomen, slicing through her attire and her skin but not yet piercing any vital organs.

Now greatly weakened, Madoco once again collapses to her knees, blood dripping from her wounds and onto the stone floor. In one last ditch effort to down her foe, she brings her mace to her center and grasps the handle with both hands, before which she audibly groans and then thrusts the club upwards – slamming the blunt end into Locke's stomach with great force. Reeling from the blow, Locke sucks wind through his mouth, trying to recover from the blow he was just dealt. Gritting his teeth and growling in rage, Locke looks down at Madoco with a piercing stare before he rises his boot once more and kicks Madoco violently in the face, the kick echoing through the room with a loud "thump!" Madoco lands on her back as Locke kneels above her at chest level before he grips her collar and pulls her face up towards his.

"Tell me," he starts, "what would it take for you and I to drop this and forget it ever happened?"

Simply, she softly sputters, "Death. . ."

Locke narrows his eyes and announces, "Then so be it!"

With a growl, Locke once again slams the handle of the sickle into Madoco's face before he then in much the same motion as before slashes the jagged side of the blade across Madoco's throat – the skin slicing open and blood spraying out of her throat. He then raises his sickle up into the air so the tip of the blade points down towards her chest. He clutches her by the collar still before he then puckers his lips and blows her a kiss.

"Goodbye, sweetheart. . ."

With that, Locke closes his eyes and thrusts the sickle down deep into Madoco's chest cavity. He hears the spurt of blood, which he feels spray on his face – his eyes twitching as they remain shut. He releases her collar and lets her head drop to the ground as the sickle slides out of her chest. He opens his eyes and looks down at her, great sadness in his eyes.

"I didn't want to do this. . ."

As the back of her skull crashes to the ground, blood spurts from her sultry lips as she coughs and mutters, "Ah. . . Oh. . . Darling. . . You know exactly how to. . .treat a lady, ah. . ."

Locke simply looks down at her, shocked that she can still talk while too conflicted to speak.

Her initially pained expression turns to her signature grin as she purrs through the pain, "No matter. . . You are already too late."

"What do you mean by that?" Locke cries, now full of anger as he grips her collar. "Answer me!"

Her speech now becomes disconnected and slowed as she begins to slowly fade away.

"That witch. . . What my brother – or you – sees in her, I shall never know. . . In any case, she is not here. In fact," she grins at Locke as blood drips down her face from the corner of her lips, “she's long gone, honey. . . Hahaha! Your precious princess is in another castle. The big boss man. . . will make short work. . . of her. . . Oh yes. . . She's long. . . gone."

As she utters her final word, she coughs violently, blood once again launching from her mouth. With a gasp, her body suddenly relaxes as she slowly passes away – face staring up at the ceiling with her usual grin still etched into her face. Madoco is dead and as Locke looks down at her, he feels conflicted. He is furious at Madoco for what she has revealed to him, and what her group plans for Lilanei; yet he feels great sadness as he really did see something in Madoco. He sighs and reaches across from his position to the disguise he wore earlier that was torn off in battle. He drops his sickle for a moment and places his index and third finger on her eyelids before softly closing them. He then stands from her body and steps away before covering her face and upper body with the disguise that he wore earlier.

"I'll miss you," He blankly states. "But frankly, it's come down to you and Lilanei, and I've made my choice. . . It's her. I will find her, and whoever this big boss is, he and your twisted brother will feel my wrath. Who knows. If I met you before I ever met Lilanei, it could've been so much different."

With that, Locke picks up his sickle and nods his head towards Madoco's body as he walks past.

"Rest in peace," He whispers.

Locke then turns to the staircase before beginning his long dash through the factory and out into the city. As he makes it to the mid level, he hears an alarm begin to ring throughout the building. Nevertheless, Locke is swift and crafty in making his escape and he successfully busts through the front door. Upon making the escape, he dashes into the city and disappears into the crowds which now surround the city centre – as it is now early morning. As he rushes through town, our Hero's mind rushes in anger. Not only has he killed a gorgeous woman who he greatly admired, he must now find another way to rescue Lilanei. However, to his disappointment, he doesn't know where she is or who has her. Alas, he is at a dead end – with no clear path in sight. He continues running, tears flying out of his eyes and behind him as he runs, causing some of the townsfolk to take notice as they see a blood stained young man with a bloody weapon run through the town. Suddenly, he skids to a halt as he wonders what to do, before finding a possible solution.

"Hektor!" He says to himself. "He might know. . ."

With that, Locke turns and makes all speed towards The Black Crest Tavern. Perhaps the only chance he has of finding his friend, he returns to the tavern and busts through the front door – where this entire mess began. He walks in to see it is mostly empty as it is still too early for a drink, even in this large city! The Dragonborn, Hektor, sits behind the counter just as Locke left him and immediately looks up as the boy enters. As he sees Locke, his eyes widen with slight excitement; yet they merely return to his normally grim way as he realizes Locke is alone.

"Kid. . . Aw, kid. . . I'm sorry."

"Hektor," Locke announces as he walks up to the bar and slams his sickle point first into the wooden counter so it stands upright. "First," he pants, "please. . . One ale. Secondly, tell me all you know about the Vega Clan, and then tell me anything you've heard to do with a big boss man."

Hektor's eyes widen even more than before as he looks down his snout at Locke with an even more grim expression.

He turns his back on Locke as he fixes him a drink and begins to grumble, "That. . . That piece of scum. . . The King of Scum! I know who you're on about, kid, and let me tell ya. . . I don't think even you've got a chance against that overgrown pile of trash."

Hektor turns back around from fixing Locke his ale and slams it down onto the counter. Locke picks up the glass of ale and sips from it, the cool ale refreshing him slightly.

"Ah. . . Hektor, I don't care who he is, how big he is, or how many goons he has. All I know is, he has my Lilanei and I will get her back. Tell me everything you know of him."

"You must have a death wish, kid. . . But," he begins as he slowly wipes the wet patch around Locke's glass. "But, I'll tell ya anyway. The scum's name Lucio – a Tiefling warlord – or The King of Bandits as most of the scum call him."

"Lucio?" Locke asks. "The name of my mortal enemy. . . Okay, go on."

Hektor snorts as he continues, “The man runs all of the clans of bandits which prey the world – including that damned Vega Clan. The man lives on the Island of Fukai and keeps slaves and thieves as his lackeys in that big old mansion of his. That island – a beautiful place, but that was years ago. Back then, a little tribe of Dragonborn used to make it their home. But Lucio stepped in a took over half the lot, claiming to be getting revenge for his 'ancient ancestors' or whatever the hell you wanna call 'em."

"Dragonborn?" Locke echoes. "Does that include you? Or perhaps that might include my master. . ."

"That island," Hektor finally sighs, "is my homeland. I ain't been there in years, mind ya, but it's my home anyway! Tengai, our village was called. It's a piece of heaven for most of us, but see, kid. I ain't into all that honour mumbo jumbo. I ain't cut out for life with a sword; I just ain't that kinda guy. I let all that bologna go. I even changed my name. Yeah, they didn't like it when I left, but I'll let you in on something. I wasn't the only one to go at the time. And out of the two of us, I sure as Goblin's tail ain't the biggest failure to walk out on that place. . ."

Locke's eyes widen as Hektor speaks about himself and a fellow Dragonborn as a lump forms in his throat. He gulps down some more of his ale before he looks to Hektor and says “Akorrin,” before simply looking at Hektor.

The Dragonborn narrows his eyes on Locke before slowly saying, "Akorrin. . . I ain't heard that damn name in years."

"My master. . . is a failure? I don't understand," Locke says, his concentration now focused on the mysterious past of his master which he slightly yearns to learn of.

"Master?" Hektor snorts. "That's funny. The last time I saw old Akorrin, he was being booted out of Tengai in shame! I guess I really am old when that fool can be considered a 'master.'"

"Hektor," Locke begins as he drinks from his glass once more, "I went to that old factory in the middle of the city, killed off a bunch of rank amateurs, and slayed a formidable fighter," he says as he raises his glass in honour of Madoco. "My master, the one you think is a fool, taught me how to do that. What is it about Akorrin that you feel is foolish? He also taught me to treat other races with respect. I don't feel right listening to the one who taught me how to be a man be mocked and painted as a fool."

Hektor now shakes his head, his gaze directing down to the counter as he quietly says, "Kid. . . It ain't my place to tell you what happened all those years ago. If you want to know, I say you find that old lizard and ask him yourself. In fact," he says, suddenly raising his voice in realization, "if you're going to get to Fukai to save that girl, he's your best bet, kid! Cause me – I sure as heck ain't going back, no sir!"

"Akorrin?" Locke asks to himself. "That means going back to Illias. That takes too long. By then Lilanei could be. . . well," Locke becomes silent as he frowns; he looks down at the reddish brown liquid that swirls in his glass as he thinks.

Hektor quietly sighs before saying, "There ain't nothing you can do about that, kid. But if there's a chance, it's with your master."

Locke takes another swig of his drink before he looks to Hektor.

"Then I suppose it's time I go – home," Locke drinks the remainder of the ale from his glass and slams the glass down onto the bar, throwing a gold piece into the glass afterwards. "Thanks, Hektor – for everything."

"No, kid," Hektor grins. "Thank you. Seeing the same kind of mindless scum walk into this pub everyday can get on an old man's nerve. But you just ain't any kinda guy. It's actually been a bit exciting around here during the last couple a-days."

Locke smiles and nods at Hektor, reaching his hand over the bar in a gesture of hospitality. Hektor quizzically complies, taking the rogue's hand in his large claws. The two pump fists and Locke takes his hand away before he makes his way to the door.

Near the door, he turns back to Hektor and asks, "This Lucio. Do you know where he might be on Fukai?"

Hektor's brow slightly raises, "Locke. When you get there, you'll know."

"Okay. Goodbye, Hektor," Locke says with a smile as he swiftly walks out of the pub door.

Walking down the road, he finds himself standing before the Sleepy Sheep Inn once more. Deeply exhausted from his ordeal, he decides the best action would be to rest before his long journey. He is greeted warmly once again by Charlie, and upon hearing his story, she allows him to stay the night for free. After a warm meal and a quick change of clothes, he finds himself lying in bed – slowly fading into unconsciousness. The next day, his arduous journey back to his home – to Illias – would begin. . .