Manifest War: The Weapons Within

After a few miles worth of travel, conversations began to crop up amongst the group.

“So, what’s your name?” Rivell asked, looking at the kind young man’s face with great curiosity.

“Ah, where are my manners! The name’s Wilson. Wilson Mafty!” He replied with a deep bow, trying to be as polite as possible.

“I see. Well, nice to meet you Wilson!” Rivell smiled, accepting this new individual into their group. Carmen and Sarah just looked back at him with cautious expressions, not really knowing what to think of this situation.

“So, where are you guys traveling too in such a hurry? Anything important?” He wondered with a curious smile, hoping to continue their conversation.

“We’re visiting someone..” Carmen’s tone turned cold, feeling that he didn’t need to know any details.

“Ah.. I see..” Wilson lost his smile and looked off into the distance with a saddened expression, sensing that they didn’t want to talk to him at that moment.

Many hours passed by and the group had traveled through a large portion of the forest, causing them to set up camp once night came upon them.

“I’ll keep the first watch, you guys get some rest.” Carmen said while leaning up against a tree and gazing at the crescent moon in the sky.

“Alright, just grab me when it’s my turn.” Sarah replied with a yawn and a big stretch. She and Rivell got comfortable before quickly falling asleep for the night.

Wilson took a seat on the ground and rummaged through his leather bag, quickly flipping through the many papers inside. Carmen glanced over and took notice of some of the papers, finding them to be rather peculiar. She saw a strange logo of a hook attached to a crow on many of the pages.

“Who did you say those documents were for again?” She quietly asked, fishing for more information about the job they took on.

“Ah, uhm, just for a few fishermen.. I needed the escort because this forest tends to be quite dangerous and I’m too weak to fight off any wild beasts or bandits..” He replied, getting slightly startled by the random question and quickly closing his bag.

“Hmm, I see.. Well, get some rest. We leave bright and early in the morning.” She added, stepping away from the tree and beginning to scan the perimeter.

“Right! Good night!” Wilson shifted his bag to the side and laid his head down, using the bag as a pillow of sorts.

Morning quickly came and the group headed off further into the forest, continuing their journey to Melvrim’s Cape. After encountering a pack of wild Siesolves, A wolf-like creature that was native to Siestro. Its body was covered with scales instead of fur and along the creature's back were a multitude of sharp fins. After a brief altercation, the trio made quick work of them.

Utilizing their new skills and putting Jorah’s training into practice, the Siesolves stood absolutely no chance against them. Wilson looked on with an impressed expression as he cowered at the back of the group, thinking he found a strong team of Vesta’s to help him.

The traveling continued throughout the afternoon and into the evening hours, covering several miles over the course of the second day. They rested up for the night and once the 3rd day arrived, the group finally made it to their destination. They looked out over the peak and saw a wooded land mass protruding and curling out into the coastline, getting kissed by the waves of the West Siesta Ocean.

“There it is! Melvrim’s Cape!! Let’s hurry so we can make it there before the afternoon.” Wilson remarked with a gleeful cadence, happy to have finally made it this far. The group set up a small camp, leaving their main cargo behind to speed up the downhill trip. Once finished, the trio quickly made their way down, wasting no time.

The group arrived at the cape and followed Wilson to a cabin hidden just behind the tree line. Carmen could hear the crashing of waves as they got closer, finding the sound to be quite calming after traveling for so long.

“Here we are! Everyone should be inside.” Wilson said as he walked up the short set of steps, motioning for them to follow.

Sarah, Rivell, and Carmen followed closely as they entered the fairly worn establishment. The door creaked loudly and inside was a group of six individuals surrounding a desk, looking down at a map that was laid out. Sitting at the desk was an older gentleman with a short gray beard and green eyes.

He wore a loose fitting black shirt that wasn’t buttoned up all the way and his hair was fairly messy, looking like it hadn’t been brushed in weeks. The man’s face was quite stern and serious, insinuating that he tolerated very little nonsense.

“Good Sir, we’ve arrived.” Wilson said as the door closed behind the group. The man glanced up from the map and took notice of the trio standing behind Wilson, finding them to be quite interesting.

“Ah, Wilson, welcome back. You’ve got the documents?” The man asked, now giving him his full attention. The other people present in the room all looked up and stared intently at the group, not saying a single word.

“Yes! Here you go.” Wilson replied while stepping forward and placing the leather bag on the table. The man slid it closer before examining the contents inside, pleased by what he saw.

“You’ve done some good work here, Wilson... And I see you even brought some gifts as well.” He showed a devious grin and his eyes grew darker as he looked in their direction.

Carmen immediately sensed that something was wrong, noticing an increase in everyone’s Core Energy at that moment. Before she could react, they quickly got surrounded by the other individuals in the room and were forced to the ground.

“Hey!! What the hell!!! Wilson, what is going on!?!” Sarah yelled out angrily, wanting to know what was happening. Wilson slowly turned around and showed the group the most cheeky little grin. He laughed and stepped aside, joining the man behind the desk.

“You guys fell for my little pathetic act so quickly. Luring you kids here was comically easy and we even got to the cape faster than I anticipated, so for that I thank you. Though I’ll admit, I quite enjoyed traveling with your little group, but this is where we part ways.” Wilson added while still wearing that cringey smile.

“Urgh!! You bastard!! I knew we shouldn’t have helped you with your stupid job!” Sarah replied, growing more and more angry with each passing second. However, just as she reached the peak of her rage, Sarah and the rest of the group began feeling sleepy.

“W-What.. Is.. happen.. ing.” They said before passing out cold on the hard wooden floors. The group had fallen victim to one of the individual’s Manifests. He had a metal looking staff aimed at them and it was emitting a yellow wavelength that landed across the groups bodies.

“Logan Sir, where do you want us to take them?” Another of the subordinates asked while picking up their limp bodies off the floor.

“You two can cage them up in the cave. Everyone else, go down to the docks and finish the rest of the preparations. We’ll put them with the other shipment once the boat arrives in the next few hours.” Logan stood from his desk and directed them out of the cabin. Everyone nodded at his request and quickly gathered the trio, closing the door behind them.

“You’ve outdone yourself this time, Wilson. Not only did you bring me three Emerald Class and above Vestas, but you also brought a member of the Belouis family. That girl alone will bring a massive price on the market. I can only imagine the amount of people down in the depths dreaming of having that bloodline added to their future generations. This haul will certainly put Crow-Gather back on the map.” Logan cheered, applauding Wilson for a job well done.

“You flatter me, Sir! I would do anything for Crow-Gather, you know that. You and this clan practically raised me up from a young boy, this is my family.” Wilson replied, bowing his head to Logan and accepting the praise. The two continued their conversation, enjoying each other's company for a bit longer.

Crow-Gather was a clan of ex-mercenaries that specialized in smuggling, trafficking, and delivery operations. When their leader, Logan Spotts, created the clan, they quickly made their way to the top of the underworld, accomplishing many jobs quickly and efficiently.

However, the clan grew too big, too quickly and the quality of their efforts were greatly diminished. People joined just to be a part of this once illustrious group and not put in the work to maintain that reputation.

After many failed missions and a less than happy customer base, Crow-Gather fell to rock bottom. The amount of amateurs within their ranks was too much and eventually, the clan became a laughing stock. Many of the stronger members left to do other things, finding the clan to not be worth their time anymore. All that remained was Logan and a few of his most loyal subordinates, hoping to restore Crow-Gather back to its former glory.

A few hours went by and Carmen slowly began to open her eyes as she laid on her side, still feeling incredibly exhausted. She noticed that she was inside of a small cage, the thick bars looking rusted and fairly worn. On her wrists were tight shackles that glowed a dull green color, insinuating that they were of the Core blocking variety. Before she raised her head, Carmen heard a couple of people talking.

“I hope we get paid big time for this next shipment. I want to eat an actual meal and not this basic slop..” One of the men said before eating a spoonful of some brown and chunky porridge.

“I know right.. This would be a huge break for us, like.. Really huge.” The other man replied, rubbing his finger in a circular motion on the table.

“You’re telling me, Riley. We just don’t have the manpower to do multiple jobs anymore, especially ever since Kat and Don left. They alone could finish so much on their own, it was really helpful…” The man sighed and took another bite of porridge.

“Man, screw Kat and Don. They abandoned us to go chase money so they could open some stupid shop. I bet they’re living it up and laughing at us right now...” Riley replied, growing irritated by the mention of his ex-comrades. Just as they were about to continue their conversation, they heard a soft voice from behind them.

“Hey.. Where are we?” Carmen said from her cage, looking at them with her alluring red eyes. The two men got up from the table and walked over, wanting to see what this girl wanted.

“You aren’t supposed to be awake yet. Let’s grab Kavon so he can put her back to sleep.” Riley said after seeing Carmen sitting up in the cage. They were about to walk away until Carmen made a request.

“W-wait.. I’m having a hard time breathing.. My shirt.. Help me..” Carmen said with a breathy tone, putting on an act to hopefully get them to open the cage. Riley paused and turned around, looking at his partner with an annoyed expression. He approached the cage and stared at Carmen who was breathing heavily as though struggling to catch her breath.

“Riley, we should do something. The boss won’t be happy with us if she dies before we ship them off…”

Carmen continued her act and then Riley reluctantly opened the cage, reaching in and pulling Carmen closer. He slowly undid a couple buttons of her shirt, revealing a fair bit of cleavage. He stopped and stared, getting weird thoughts in his head as he contemplated continuing.

“Thank you, so much..” Carmen replied with a soft voice, trying to keep Riley’s guard down. He looked Carmen deep in her red eyes, feeling absolutely charmed by her young beauty.

She smiled and then within one swift motion, she reared her right leg back and kicked Riley directly into his face. The force of the kick easily broke his nose and sent him flying back. He stumbled before banging the back of his head on the edge of the table, knocking him clean out.

“Riley!! Hey!! Why you littl-” His partner got smacked across the face with the chains on Carmen’s shackles, causing him to step back while gripping his head.

Carmen then sprinted forward and shoulder checked the man in the stomach with all her weight. He bent over in great pain and in that same moment, Carmen spin-kicked him directly in the temple. He slumped over and fell completely unconscious, his head hitting the ground with a loud thud.

“Well that was much easier than anticipated..” She thought to herself as she checked their pockets, looking for a key. She eventually found a small, rusted key that fit her shackles and with some double-jointed finagling, she released them from her wrists. She quickly buttoned up her shirt and started to look for Sarah and Rivell, checking all the nearby cages. Carmen desperately hoped that nothing bad happened to them during her slumber.