Chapter 35: All Of Them
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The severity of the question wasn't lost on Adalia. Without stopping to bother with the numbers, she answered him with a fierce look and a vengeful fire in her eyes;
"All of them…" she answered in a quiet and cold voice that was barely above a whisper.
"…I want to kill every single one of those miserable abominable creatures. I want their blood to flow in rivers and soak up the earth. I want them wiped off the surface of the earth."
As soon as she finished speaking, Adalia shrank back with a sense of abject littleness. She knew that her desire was merely wishful thinking.
She knew that it was practically impossible. She had been consumed by the bitterness of her past, and in that moment she had voiced out her deepest darkest wish. No one had ever asked her that before. No one had cared enough to ask.
So when Xzavier asked, the floodgates burst open, and everything she had kept buried came rushing to the top with blinding speed…
"What would you give me if I really did kill all the orcs in this tribe?"
His voice pulled her out of the sea of uncertainties in which her mind had been temporarily trapped in. Her eyes met Xzavier's deep dark eyes.
She held his gaze steadily, trying to discern if he was joshing or not. But the more she looked at his serene face and serious expression, the more she saw that this was not a joke to him at all.
Convinced that Xzavier was serious and wasn't just pulling her legs. She finally answered with a seriousness that matched Xzavier's own mood;
"Mister, if you truly kill off every single orc here, there is nothing you ask of me that I wouldn't do."
Adalia wasn't a child. She knew the full weight of the promise she had just made. Xzavier was touched by her resolve. But he wasn't typically the kind of person who showed their true feelings. So with a stony look, he gave her an ambiguous answer;
"Let's see what happens next then…"
Back in town, the exasperated Tacy stumbled through the streets like a mad person. One look at her and one could tell that all wasn't well with the young girl. Worry lines had crept all over her young face, her eyes had sunk deep into her sockets and her normally bright countenance had somehow been dampened.
Tacy wasn't sick, not physically anyway. At the moment, she was consumed with one thought only; 'Xzavier Mace.'
Tacy had spent close to 24 hours searching out Xzavier. If she had her way, she would have definitely flipped the entire town upside down just to get a clue that would lead her to Xzavier's whereabouts.
Logic dictated that she head to the last place Xzavier had been last sighted, in this case, it was the hotel.
But regrettably, the hotelier hadn't been of much help. She still remembered the hungry look in his eyes when she inquired after Xzavier. Instead of coming outright to tell her that he didn't have a clue, he chose to veer to the left by making an advance on her. Tacy did not attempt to hide her disgust.
Filled with a savage indignation, Tacy stormed right out of the hotel. Over the next few hours, she poured all her energy into scouring the town for Xzavier.
"Have you seen a stranger dressed in black? He is tall and handsome."
Tacy asked this question so much that it resonated in her subconscious even while she slept. But unfortunately for her, she was met with the same answer every single time; a resounding 'NO.'
The anxiety gradually morphed into worry, and within a relatively short period, the worry morphed into full blown fear. Evening gradually brought the end of the day, still, Tacy searched very corner of Sikeda Town.
As her mind ruminated on the recent events that had transpired, Tacy began to fear the worst. She knew without doubt that Xzavier had probably headed off in the direction of the orcs to look for trouble. She mumbled to herself as she tried to sort out her thoughts;
"…if that is truly the case, then I have to go to Master Kadin to solicit his help. Xzavier can't possibly handle this orc problem all by himself! Yes! I must go back to master Kadin!"
True to her word, Tacy headed straight towards the underground exchange. She hurried along on her little feet, and time passed by in a blur.
The regular appealing nightlife had lost its appeal in her eyes. Men waited in the dark to rendezvous with their maidens, the singers on the streets singing ballads of heroes of old, the smell of roasted animal fat being skewed by meat vendors on the roadside, none of these appealed to Tacy any longer.
Even the crescent moon seemed to have lost its radiance to Tacy. A couple of people said hi to her, but they might have as well been greeting a ghost. Tacy was physically present, but her mind was miles ahead.
She navigated through the streets and finally arrived at the underground exchange. She ignored everyone else and went straight to Kadin's door. Not bothering to knock on the great oak door (as was her usual habit), Tacy charged right in audaciously.
Kadin who had been bent over at his table jumped up in surprise. A cloud of anger eclipsed his normally placid eyes as he barked angrily at his subordinate;
"Tacy! How many times do I have to tell you to knock before you…"
Tacy wasn't in the mood for their usual back and forth. She went on to voice her concern;
"There is an issue that requires immediate attention Master Kadin…"
Kadin tensed when he heard the seriousness and urgency in her voice. He knew bad news when it stood before him and it was currently written all over Tacy.
"…Xzavier is missing. I have searched for him everywhere but he is nowhere to be found. I believe he must have headed off to fight the orcs by himself."
Her voice was thick with emotion.
"I fear the worst might have already happened Master Kadin…"
She began to sob quietly.
The atmosphere in the room was one of gloom. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the room and Tacy's muffled sobs were the only sounds that the kept the office space from plunging into an abyss of uncomfortable silence.
Kadin was the type for words, but at this moment, he was lost in his own thoughts as he digested the new information brought in by his waitress and ward.
It took him a while, but he finally shook off the eerie feeling that he had contacted from Tacy. He reprimanded himself inwardly. Tacy was a young woman, and as the matured mind in the room, he was supposed to keep a level head and assess the situation objectively.
It would be counted as juvenile He sighed aloud before breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Tacy…" the old man began with a comforting tone;
"I admit that things aren't looking too good right now, but you have allowed your worries to completely overshadow your reasoning."
Tacy looked at him with burning black eyes. This wasn't what she had expected. The old man understood that she was coming from a place of emotion, so he ignored her glare.
"You seem to have forgotten the type of man Xzavier is. Do I need to remind you of his skillset and dexterity with weapons? Xzavier is a man that takes care of business. If he willingly headed off to confront the orcs, best believe that he has a plan."
A faint ray of hope shimmered in Tacy's eyes. She knew the old man was correct. Kadin reclined in his chair and looked Tacy squarely in the eye.
"Xzavier isn't the careless type Tacy. Trust his judgment, that's the least you can do right now. Xzavier is very daring, he can do anything."
Tacy remained on her feet. Gradually, she began to warm up to the comforting words of the old man.
"But that doesn't mean your suspicions aren't well grounded…"
Her eyes flung open at his words.
"So, just to be on the safe side, I will send out a few hunters with the task of finding Xzavier. This should put your mind at ease for now. Don't worry, I will personally oversee this expedition myself."
Tacy nodded her head vehemently in appreciation as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She bowed slightly and left his presence.
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The severity of the question wasn't lost on Adalia. Without stopping to bother with the numbers, she answered him with a fierce look and a vengeful fire in her eyes;
"All of them…" she answered in a quiet and cold voice that was barely above a whisper.
"…I want to kill every single one of those miserable abominable creatures. I want their blood to flow in rivers and soak up the earth. I want them wiped off the surface of the earth."
As soon as she finished speaking, Adalia shrank back with a sense of abject littleness. She knew that her desire was merely wishful thinking.
She knew that it was practically impossible. She had been consumed by the bitterness of her past, and in that moment she had voiced out her deepest darkest wish. No one had ever asked her that before. No one had cared enough to ask.
So when Xzavier asked, the floodgates burst open, and everything she had kept buried came rushing to the top with blinding speed…
"What would you give me if I really did kill all the orcs in this tribe?"
His voice pulled her out of the sea of uncertainties in which her mind had been temporarily trapped in. Her eyes met Xzavier's deep dark eyes.
She held his gaze steadily, trying to discern if he was joshing or not. But the more she looked at his serene face and serious expression, the more she saw that this was not a joke to him at all.
Convinced that Xzavier was serious and wasn't just pulling her legs. She finally answered with a seriousness that matched Xzavier's own mood;
"Mister, if you truly kill off every single orc here, there is nothing you ask of me that I wouldn't do."
Adalia wasn't a child. She knew the full weight of the promise she had just made. Xzavier was touched by her resolve. But he wasn't typically the kind of person who showed their true feelings. So with a stony look, he gave her an ambiguous answer;
"Let's see what happens next then…"
Back in town, the exasperated Tacy stumbled through the streets like a mad person. One look at her and one could tell that all wasn't well with the young girl. Worry lines had crept all over her young face, her eyes had sunk deep into her sockets and her normally bright countenance had somehow been dampened.
Tacy wasn't sick, not physically anyway. At the moment, she was consumed with one thought only; 'Xzavier Mace.'
Tacy had spent close to 24 hours searching out Xzavier. If she had her way, she would have definitely flipped the entire town upside down just to get a clue that would lead her to Xzavier's whereabouts.
Logic dictated that she head to the last place Xzavier had been last sighted, in this case, it was the hotel.
But regrettably, the hotelier hadn't been of much help. She still remembered the hungry look in his eyes when she inquired after Xzavier. Instead of coming outright to tell her that he didn't have a clue, he chose to veer to the left by making an advance on her. Tacy did not attempt to hide her disgust.
Filled with a savage indignation, Tacy stormed right out of the hotel. Over the next few hours, she poured all her energy into scouring the town for Xzavier.
"Have you seen a stranger dressed in black? He is tall and handsome."
Tacy asked this question so much that it resonated in her subconscious even while she slept. But unfortunately for her, she was met with the same answer every single time; a resounding 'NO.'
The anxiety gradually morphed into worry, and within a relatively short period, the worry morphed into full blown fear. Evening gradually brought the end of the day, still, Tacy searched very corner of Sikeda Town.
As her mind ruminated on the recent events that had transpired, Tacy began to fear the worst. She knew without doubt that Xzavier had probably headed off in the direction of the orcs to look for trouble. She mumbled to herself as she tried to sort out her thoughts;
"…if that is truly the case, then I have to go to Master Kadin to solicit his help. Xzavier can't possibly handle this orc problem all by himself! Yes! I must go back to master Kadin!"
True to her word, Tacy headed straight towards the underground exchange. She hurried along on her little feet, and time passed by in a blur.
The regular appealing nightlife had lost its appeal in her eyes. Men waited in the dark to rendezvous with their maidens, the singers on the streets singing ballads of heroes of old, the smell of roasted animal fat being skewed by meat vendors on the roadside, none of these appealed to Tacy any longer.
Even the crescent moon seemed to have lost its radiance to Tacy. A couple of people said hi to her, but they might have as well been greeting a ghost. Tacy was physically present, but her mind was miles ahead.
She navigated through the streets and finally arrived at the underground exchange. She ignored everyone else and went straight to Kadin's door. Not bothering to knock on the great oak door (as was her usual habit), Tacy charged right in audaciously.
Kadin who had been bent over at his table jumped up in surprise. A cloud of anger eclipsed his normally placid eyes as he barked angrily at his subordinate;
"Tacy! How many times do I have to tell you to knock before you…"
Tacy wasn't in the mood for their usual back and forth. She went on to voice her concern;
"There is an issue that requires immediate attention Master Kadin…"
Kadin tensed when he heard the seriousness and urgency in her voice. He knew bad news when it stood before him and it was currently written all over Tacy.
"…Xzavier is missing. I have searched for him everywhere but he is nowhere to be found. I believe he must have headed off to fight the orcs by himself."
Her voice was thick with emotion.
"I fear the worst might have already happened Master Kadin…"
She began to sob quietly.
The atmosphere in the room was one of gloom. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the room and Tacy's muffled sobs were the only sounds that the kept the office space from plunging into an abyss of uncomfortable silence.
Kadin was the type for words, but at this moment, he was lost in his own thoughts as he digested the new information brought in by his waitress and ward.
It took him a while, but he finally shook off the eerie feeling that he had contacted from Tacy. He reprimanded himself inwardly. Tacy was a young woman, and as the matured mind in the room, he was supposed to keep a level head and assess the situation objectively.
It would be counted as juvenile He sighed aloud before breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"Tacy…" the old man began with a comforting tone;
"I admit that things aren't looking too good right now, but you have allowed your worries to completely overshadow your reasoning."
Tacy looked at him with burning black eyes. This wasn't what she had expected. The old man understood that she was coming from a place of emotion, so he ignored her glare.
"You seem to have forgotten the type of man Xzavier is. Do I need to remind you of his skillset and dexterity with weapons? Xzavier is a man that takes care of business. If he willingly headed off to confront the orcs, best believe that he has a plan."
A faint ray of hope shimmered in Tacy's eyes. She knew the old man was correct. Kadin reclined in his chair and looked Tacy squarely in the eye.
"Xzavier isn't the careless type Tacy. Trust his judgment, that's the least you can do right now. Xzavier is very daring, he can do anything."
Tacy remained on her feet. Gradually, she began to warm up to the comforting words of the old man.
"But that doesn't mean your suspicions aren't well grounded…"
Her eyes flung open at his words.
"So, just to be on the safe side, I will send out a few hunters with the task of finding Xzavier. This should put your mind at ease for now. Don't worry, I will personally oversee this expedition myself."
Tacy nodded her head vehemently in appreciation as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She bowed slightly and left his presence.
The severity of the question wasn't lost on Adalia. Without stopping to bother with the numbers, she answered him with a fierce look and a vengeful fire in her eyes;"All of them" she answered in a quiet and cold voice that was barely above a whisper."I want to kill every single one of those miserable abominable creatures. I want their blood to flow in rivers and soak up the earth. I want them wiped off the surface of the earth."As soon as she finished speaking, Adalia shrank back with a sense of abject littleness. She knew that her desire was merely wishful thinking.She knew that it was practically impossible. She had been consumed by the bitterness of her past, and in that moment she had voiced out her deepest darkest wish. No one had ever asked her that before. No one had cared enough to ask.So when Xzavier asked, the floodgates burst open, and everything she had kept buried came rushing to the top with blinding speed"What would you give me if I really did kill all the orcs in this tribe?"His voice pulled her out of the sea of uncertainties in which her mind had been temporarily trapped in. Her eyes met Xzavier's deep dark eyes.She held his gaze steadily, trying to discern if he was joshing or not. But the more she looked at his serene face and serious expression, the more she saw that this was not a joke to him at all.Convinced that Xzavier was serious and wasn't just pulling her legs. She finally answered with a seriousness that matched Xzavier's own mood;"Mister, if you truly kill off every single orc here, there is nothing you ask of me that I wouldn't do."Adalia wasn't a child. She knew the full weight of the promise she had just made. Xzavier was touched by her resolve. But he wasn't typically the kind of person who showed their true feelings. So with a stony look, he gave her an ambiguous answer;"Let's see what happens next then"Back in town, the exasperated Tacy stumbled through the streets like a mad person. One look at her and one could tell that all wasn't well with the young girl. Worry lines had crept all over her young face, her eyes had sunk deep into her sockets and her normally bright countenance had somehow been dampened.Tacy wasn't sick, not physically anyway. At the moment, she was consumed with one thought only; 'Xzavier Mace.'Tacy had spent close to 24 hours searching out Xzavier. If she had her way, she would have definitely flipped the entire town upside down just to get a clue that would lead her to Xzavier's whereabouts.Logic dictated that she head to the last place Xzavier had been last sighted, in this case, it was the hotel.But regrettably, the hotelier hadn't been of much help. She still remembered the hungry look in his eyes when she inquired after Xzavier. Instead of coming outright to tell her that he didn't have a clue, he chose to veer to the left by making an advance on her. Tacy did not attempt to hide her disgust.Filled with a savage indignation, Tacy stormed right out of the hotel. Over the next few hours, she poured all her energy into scouring the town for Xzavier."Have you seen a stranger dressed in black? He is tall and handsome."Tacy asked this question so much that it resonated in her subconscious even while she slept. But unfortunately for her, she was met with the same answer every single time; a resounding 'NO.'The anxiety gradually morphed into worry, and within a relatively short period, the worry morphed into full blown fear. Evening gradually brought the end of the day, still, Tacy searched very corner of Sikeda Town.As her mind ruminated on the recent events that had transpired, Tacy began to fear the worst. She knew without doubt that Xzavier had probably headed off in the direction of the orcs to look for trouble. She mumbled to herself as she tried to sort out her thoughts;"if that is truly the case, then I have to go to Master Kadin to solicit his help. Xzavier can't possibly handle this orc problem all by himself! Yes! I must go back to master Kadin!"True to her word, Tacy headed straight towards the underground exchange. She hurried along on her little feet, and time passed by in a blur.The regular appealing nightlife had lost its appeal in her eyes. Men waited in the dark to rendezvous with their maidens, the singers on the streets singing ballads of heroes of old, the smell of roasted animal fat being skewed by meat vendors on the roadside, none of these appealed to Tacy any longer.Even the crescent moon seemed to have lost its radiance to Tacy. A couple of people said hi to her, but they might have as well been greeting a ghost. Tacy was physically present, but her mind was miles ahead.She navigated through the streets and finally arrived at the underground exchange. She ignored everyone else and went straight to Kadin's door. Not bothering to knock on the great oak door as was her usual habit, Tacy charged right in audaciously.Kadin who had been bent over at his table jumped up in surprise. A cloud of anger eclipsed his normally placid eyes as he barked angrily at his subordinate;"Tacy! How many times do I have to tell you to knock before you"Tacy wasn't in the mood for their usual back and forth. She went on to voice her concern;"There is an issue that requires immediate attention Master Kadin"Kadin tensed when he heard the seriousness and urgency in her voice. He knew bad news when it stood before him and it was currently written all over Tacy."Xzavier is missing. I have searched for him everywhere but he is nowhere to be found. I believe he must have headed off to fight the orcs by himself."Her voice was thick with emotion."I fear the worst might have already happened Master Kadin"She began to sob quietly.The atmosphere in the room was one of gloom. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the room and Tacy's muffled sobs were the only sounds that the kept the office space from plunging into an abyss of uncomfortable silence.Kadin was the type for words, but at this moment, he was lost in his own thoughts as he digested the new information brought in by his waitress and ward.It took him a while, but he finally shook off the eerie feeling that he had contacted from Tacy. He reprimanded himself inwardly. Tacy was a young woman, and as the matured mind in the room, he was supposed to keep a level head and assess the situation objectively.It would be counted as juvenile He sighed aloud before breaking the uncomfortable silence. "Tacy" the old man began with a comforting tone;"I admit that things aren't looking too good right now, but you have allowed your worries to completely overshadow your reasoning."Tacy looked at him with burning black eyes. This wasn't what she had expected. The old man understood that she was coming from a place of emotion, so he ignored her glare."You seem to have forgotten the type of man Xzavier is. Do I need to remind you of his skillset and dexterity with weapons? Xzavier is a man that takes care of business. If he willingly headed off to confront the orcs, best believe that he has a plan."A faint ray of hope shimmered in Tacy's eyes. She knew the old man was correct. Kadin reclined in his chair and looked Tacy squarely in the eye."Xzavier isn't the careless type Tacy. Trust his judgment, that's the least you can do right now. Xzavier is very daring, he can do anything."Tacy remained on her feet. Gradually, she began to warm up to the comforting words of the old man."But that doesn't mean your suspicions aren't well grounded"Her eyes flung open at his words."So, just to be on the safe side, I will send out a few hunters with the task of finding Xzavier. This should put your mind at ease for now. Don't worry, I will personally oversee this expedition myself."Tacy nodded her head vehemently in appreciation as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She bowed slightly and left his presence.
