Chapter 218: Book Four – Interlude – Part Two – Haunted by the Past

Fisher walked in a straight line while looking into the cells to his left and right. Each one was surrounded by brick, and they had a steel door with a slot at the bottom and thin bars at the top.  The former made it easy to deliver food when it was feeding time, and the latter was used to check in on criminals without opening the metal doors.  

At the end of the hallway, Fisher could go left and right. As the captain, he knew the layout in his mind like the beloved faces of his family, so he knew where to go. And to get there, he took a left at the fork continued until he came to the third right, and it was the second door on the right. A bit far, but it wasn’t the hardest thing to find.

He knocked on the door, and Tim answered the door. The Koena didn’t have his helmet on, so Fisher caught a glimpse of his gray scales. Unlike most Koena, Tim chose to take a polishing cloth to them, and he valued them much like a noblewoman would care for her nails. Tobba was nowhere to be found, but if Fisher correctly remembered the schedule, then he was out doing his second round of patrols. 

“Sir! Sea and Jeri are through the door behind me,” Tim said. He saluted and walked to the side, allowing Fisher the space to walk in. This room was where he usually sat when one of his subordinates was questioning a suspect in the actual interrogation room. It had a one-way mirror that allowed people on one side to see through. Those on the other side would only see their reflection. It was new technology, one made in the closely guarded laboratories of Westera. Somehow, the former governor Parrel bargained with Westera’s president and obtained three sets of mirrors. Fisher didn’t see how such an object could be used for war other than hiding something, but if someone was going to do that, why not use a brick wall? Those were far cheaper than paying the tens of thousands of dupla for a niche piece of glass. But that was beside the point, and it wasn’t like the money for it came out of his pockets. 

“Did they say anything when you brought them in?” Fisher asked. He stared through the one-way mirror and observed the suspects. Jeri had his eyes closed, choosing to stare at darkness. As a guard, he knew what was behind that suspicious mirror. It must’ve been hot, though, because the tuffs of silver hair adorning his head were greasy and slimly.  

On the other hand, Sea was energetically looking up and down, left and right. Like her partner, she also had silver hair, but hers were grayer, with splotchy spots of white to be found. It frantically bounced around, covering both of her eyes one moment and revealing them in the next. Perhaps it was because she was in a panic, but the scar on Sea’s lips seemed to be bleeding, but that could have been from different things. She was a rowdy woman when Fisher trained her, and if she put up a fight when Tim and Tobba brought her in, then she probably smacked her face on something. 

The two of them were sitting in a chair with metal chains tying their legs to the chair to keep them immobilized. The table in front of them had two wooden posts that Tim and Tobba tied Sea’s and Jeri’s hands to. There was a third, fancier chair for the interrogating officer to sit in.

“Jeri stayed quiet, sir. Sea... Sea screamed and shouted and cursed us. She called us every name in the book and then some, but she insisted that she was innocent... Sir?”  

“What is it?” Fisher turned around. 

“Did you receive the witness statements from the incident?” 

“That I did. I already read through them before I came down here. Oh, did you see Sampson?” 

“I did. Was that not the case when you came down?"

“He was there, but he was dead drunk and asleep to the world,” Fisher said. He slowly shook his head. “I told him to head up on patrol, and Mire came down to take his spot.” 

“Sir, I don’t know how he got drunk so fast. He was as sober as ever when Tobba and I came through, but we did warn him about the bottles. He just shrugged us off, though.” Tim stared past Fisher and heard Sea scream as if she was dying. “Sir, what are you going to do about them?” 

“Their crimes weren’t severe enough for the death penalty, but they did raise their arms against Canary’s citizens. Nearly all of the reports stated that the guards were the aggressors, and the Singi and Human they saw them arguing with tried to defuse the situation the best they could by walking away. 

“We have a vow to protect all of Canary... That includes the people who live here, the animals who live here, the horses and oxen that pull wagons and carriages, the slaves that slumber around in the slums, the poor and the homeless... I assume you remember the day you passed my training? Tim, look into my eyes and say you remember.” Fisher turned around. His stoic voice was full of aggressiveness laid hidden beneath his carefully chosen words. 

“Sir, I do. I recall just how much I cried after I killed that flying beast with swords for appendages... I remember just how badly my bones and muscles ached after one of your workouts... I can’t... I couldn’t... I couldn’t forget those days if I tried.” 

“Think about the pride you have as one of Canary’s defenders. It should mean a lot to you because you sacrificed so much to get to where you are now.” 

“I will, sir! I’ll defend Canary with all I have! And as long as I’m here, its people shall sleep with peace and comfort! I swear it!” Tim gave a quick salute. 

Back in the day, right before Fisher was promoted to lieutenant, there was a brawl inside a bar that turned violent enough to leave behind a couple of corpses. Tim wasn’t the aggressor, but he wasn’t the victim, either. Tim was just a rowdy punk looking for trouble, and the Koena found it. He also found himself lying face down in a puddle of someone else’s blood. A metal chain was tied around his struggling hands and wrists. Then and there, he started to respect Fisher, the man who so effortlessly stopped him in his tracks with a couple of well placed-punches and kicks.  

After being released from prison a few days later, Tim refused to leave unless he was accepted into the guard’s training program. In terms of combat, he was just a bit above average. His strength fell within the masterful use of Pulmoni Oxygeni. He could sustain the circulation of his lungs for over an hour with minimal pain, and all of his physical stats tripled. Only Fisher and a fair few others, including Mire, could handle him, and only the captain himself could fight him on equal footing when Tim was pulling out all the stops.  

At least when it came to a strictly physical fight. Any moderate Skill User could hold their own, but they had to act fast to secure the victory before they ran out of Skill Energy.  

 “Good. Stay here and keep watch,” Fisher said as he walked past the one-way mirror and gripped the doorknob.  

“Yes, sir!” 

With that, Fisher turned the handle and stepped through the open door, but he was met with a torrential amount of abuse before he could close the door behind him. 

---

“FISHER, LET ME OUT OF THESE DAMN RESTRAINTS!!!!!!!! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!!!!! I’VE ALWAYS BEEN LOYAL!!!!! GODDAMNIT!!!!!” Sea thrashed, pulling up and away, but the rope keeping her tied to the post and chair prevented her from moving.

Fisher walked up to the table and sat down in the third chair. His tired, brown eyes stared back and forth from a stoic Jeri to a hyperactive Sea. He waited ten minutes, but Sea’s cursed-filled rant showed no signs of stopping. Eventually, Fisher became tired of waiting and stood up. He punched the table, breaking it into two, and grabbed Sea by the neck. Fisher didn’t have any force or ill-intent behind his grasp, but his aggressive actions were enough to submit the rowdy woman. After releasing his false grip, he sat back down and took a deep breath.  

“Do you two know what you did?” Fisher said. His voice solemnly reverberated around the room, bouncing off the filth-stained bricks. The two candles flickering nearby briefly extinguished themselves, leaving the room in total darkness. Instead of relighting them, Fisher remained sitting and repeated his question. “Do you two know what you did?” 

“...” 

“...” 

“Fine, I’ll spell it out for you. You had no right to threaten and harass those girls. Drawing your swords was the final straw. Sea, I even read that you attempted to arrest someone just because you didn’t like what they said to you. Why? For what reason did you have to act like this?” 

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“That girl...” Jeri opened his eyes, but no one noticed because it was dark. “I couldn’t handle seeing her hold the hand of that Singi... I know I didn’t care much for it when I met them on the road... But when we were closer to Canary, I felt something... The rules... why couldn’t they follow the rules...?” 

“What rules? Canary doesn’t have any rules about Human and Demi-Human holding hands. Even if it did, the punishment wouldn’t be murder. It’d be just a fine for something so non-violent,” Fisher said. “You—” 

“THE CHURCH’S RULES!!!! Those two threw the Church of the Heavens Above’s tenets in the dirt and spat on them!!! How could we not want to kill them after such blatant disrespect?” Sea argued back. Fisher heard something whooshing in the darkness but realized it was probably Sea swinging her arms. Since the table was broken, nothing prevented her arms from wildly swinging. Still, there wasn’t any need to worry because her wrists were also tied together. It was the same for Jeri.

“Yes... The church... We did it for the church because it is only through them that we shall find salvation... The tenets... The rules... The orders... The worship... As loyal members...it is our duty to uphold and spread their word... If you found the Gods, Fisher, you would know what we feel... You would know why we acted the way we did... It’s all coming back to me... IT’S ALL COMING BACK TO ME!!!! OUR FATHERS... OUR MOTHERS... OUR CREATORS... IT IS ONLY THROUGH US THAT WE SHALL SPREAD THEIR WORD... THEIR COMMANDS ARE OUR COMMANDS... FOR THROUGH THEIR NAMES SHALL WE FIND TRUE SALVATION AND EXPERIENCE EVERLASTING BLISS AFTER DEMISE...” 

“Jeri, what the fuck happened to you? You’ve been a member of the guard longer than I’ve been alive, and I've never known you to be religious, especially not to this extent. Sea, you even hate organized religion… In your eyes, is it acceptable to kill innocent people if they break even a single one of your rules? Even one as minor as holding hands?” 

“Death is death... It does not matter how they meet their end, be it by my blade or the blade of my allies. But should we come across rule-breakers, they shall be purified and put to rest.” The tone coming out of Jeri’s mouth was his voice, but the words definitely did not belong to him. Even the cadence and time between each word differed from how he usually spoke. It was all weird, strange, and odd.

“Jeri, you’re religious, aren’t you? You weren’t before, but it seems you have found the light of the Gods that reside in the Heavens Above,” said Sea. Her brash tone was still present and clearly there, but again, the timing between her words and the way she accented certain syllables wasn’t like her. “The light is the light of the Heavens Above, and we have found it. We have seen the truth hiding beyond the dark sky. We have seen the faces of our creators...our mothers...our fathers...” 

Exasperated, Fisher cradled his face in his hands and sighed. He wasn’t getting much of anywhere with Sea and Jeri.  Still, he tried and tried, but he always came up empty. Every question he asked was answered with some odd statements about the church. Soon, that knocked an idea into his head. Fisher changed his tactic from asking about the incident to asking about what Sea and Jeri did before encountering Servi and Momo, and what he found was interesting.  

In the weeks before the Warden tournament was to start, Sea and Jeri became new members of a church. Though its location was slightly out of the way, it was affiliated with the Church of the Heavens Above. And after a bit more prying, the captain discovered that Sea and Jeri had donated a substantial amount of their pay to the church’s coffers. 

Suddenly, Fisher remembered the Monotonia Momo talked about. About how such a tiny pull could bring a man to his knees, then twist his mind until it was all he could think about. The mightiest of warriors could fall victim to its sweet whispers of eternal pleasure. But could it strip a man’s personality, replace it with unfathomable worship, then change it back? He didn’t think so. Sea and Jeri had to have been thoroughly searched, and the matter of mysterious pills would have certainly been brought up if they were found. And the two couldn’t use Dimensional Storage, so it was impossible to hide them away.  

He asked them about Monotonia, but Sea replied that anyone using drugs to worship the Heavens Above was not a true believer. She even spat on the ground to reinforce her startling position. Jeri did much the same, though the words he used were far more aggressive, even bordering on disbelief that someone would even ask them.  

I don’t want to make any false assumptions, but Monotonia seems like it isn't related. That’s good, but I’m still at a loss… 

Unfortunately, that was the extent of the information Fisher could extract from Sea and Jeri. Any line of questioning that involved the church went in a circle. Even if he attacked from a different subject, it all amounted to nothing. Still, he couldn’t say he came away empty-handed. Just knowing that Monotonia most likely wasn’t involved at all was a stroke of good luck.  

But the time he spent with them had to come to an end, and that end was approaching fast. 

“Sea... Jeri...” Fisher stood up and used Lucem. When the room was illuminated, he saw two faces that did not have a hint of regret for what they had done. The criminals weren’t smiling, but they didn’t look sad. It was more of a neutral expression bordering on the hint of actually accomplishing something, and that was what made it all the more intriguing. Fisher had thought he would get some information. He did, in a way, but something strange was brewing. There was a mystery afoot, and as the captain of the guard, it was up to him to solve it.  

If he just ignored it, who was to say that whatever forces at work wouldn’t eventually turn their gazes upon his beloved family? 

“Before I walked down here, I used a messenger spirit to talk with the governor... We’re lucky news didn’t immediately spread, but there’s a chance for the incident to become common knowledge. Since no one died, and it was taken care of rather quickly, it doesn’t look like we’ll have a riot on our hands. That’s good... Canary’s been through a lot this year, and that’s the last thing the city needs.” Fisher took a breath and spoke their sentences. “You two are to stay locked up for five years. That will be your punishment for the attempted murder of Servi and Momo. Use this time to learn from your actions and better yourself. 

“But judging by your words and mannerisms, I feel that the blame doesn’t solely fall on your shoulders. Still, that doesn’t mean I can just let you go. And I can’t act like this didn’t happen. It wouldn’t be fair to your victims.” 

Fisher canceled Lucem after grabbing the doorknob, and he left Jeri and Sea in the deep darkness while he returned to the light-filled room. Tim was there, leaning against the murky brick walls. He stared at Fisher, who sighed.  

“Go ahead and transfer them to a cell. I’ll get Mire to help you out,” Fisher said. He gave Tim a final salute and made his way back upstairs. When he came across Mire, who was faithfully standing guard at the prison’s entrance, he returned the wooden keyring to her.  

She obviously had questions, and Fisher answered them. “Lock the door and go help Tim transport the prisoners to their cell.” 

“Of course, sir!” Mire enthusiastically responded. She sure was a cheerful one: an Elf who took pride in a hard day’s work. 

“Keep up the good work, Mire,” Fisher replied. He turned away from her and walked up the stairs. When the fresh, clean air brutally assaulted his nostrils, attacking the smell of filth and excrement, he took a deep breath.  

“Even if I want to go home, I still have six hours left...” Fisher whispered to himself. After a deep breath, he returned to his office to prepare for a meeting. Then he had a scheduled patrol he couldn’t push back, and after that, Fisher had three more meetings concerning things only the captain of the guard had to deal with. Yes, it was hard and tiring, and most days probably weren’t worth the effort, but there was no better job for him. 

---

When he had arrived home after a hard day’s work, the first thing Fisher’s children did was brutally attack his knees in a ferocious hug. Their affectionate-filled voices nearly deafened his ears with shouts of “Daddy’s home!!!!” The little buggers wouldn’t even give their father the time of day to change out of his armor into something more comfortable until he played with them. Even the alluring voice of their mother and her mouthwatering descriptions of dinner couldn’t pry them away. With a simple shrug and a giggle, she left her husband to his fate of playing Princesses and Captain until dinner was cooked.  

Such a game required three play pieces in the form of two princess dolls and a knight, which was obviously Fisher’s role, and it also needed objects to function as monsters or enemies. It was much like playing ‘house’ or ‘doctor,’ meaning it relied on imagination as the primary source of entertainment. But that was something children had an abundance of. 

After a few rounds of that, it was time for dinner. Meri and Mari rushed down the stairs as their little feet stomped the carpeted floor. As she had in the past, Marissa would motherly berate her daughters for running in the house, and as always, Mari would giggle while Meri acted like she wasn’t in trouble. Fisher was behind them, coming up the rear after escaping to his room. With Dimensional Storage, it didn’t take long at all to change into something more casual, but it didn't compare to Servi's quick change.

Dinner time in the Jin household was a loud affair. Meri and Mari would talk and talk about the things they saw or the dreams they had. Sometimes they would brag about helping their mother around the house. More recently, they would happily tell their father that they saw Mr. Feral walking around town, or they had run into Dineria or Srassa. 

If it was the former, Meri would usually remark that she wished she could be as strong as ‘Mr. Feral.’ Mari's comments were often about his emerald skin. “I wanna be as green as him! And his scales! Papa, you’ve seen Mr. Feral's scales, right? They’re so shiny and green, and I wanna touch them! Can I grow scales?! Please!!!”  

It was clear that biological evolution was far too advanced for the young Mari, but Fisher didn’t want to dash her hopes at such a young age. He’d always answer with a, “You’re too young for scales, sweetie,” and end it there. 

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