Returning home

OOC Info/Requirements:

Johann woke up, getting out of bed and starting the day as he always did, putting on one of his several official West Fiore Trading Company uniforms, this time going for his long, white and grey coat, his WFTC pin with the symbol of the guild where he always put it. It would prove to be a pretty routine day, or at least that's what he initially thought. After he got ready and dressed he did what he always did, go down to the mess hall for a hearty breakfast and, after that, to the magic training hall, training for around one or two hours, before making his way back to his desk. He sighed at the stack of paper that had started piling up, the CEO's attitudes toward paperwork not exactly improving his situation, but he knew there was no helping it, and with that he sat down, taking up a pen in his right and starting to carefully read through the first sheet of paper, nodding a minute later and signing it before putting the Trading Company's stamp on. This he kept doing for the next 3 hours, signing papers, putting them aside, stamping and sorting. It was one of the more boring tasks that came with being a Vice President to a trading company, but Johann was well aware and knew that there was no way around this sort of work, so he tried his best.

He stood up, sighing again. He just needed a break, looking over to the watch to see it was already noon. "Indeed, the perfect time for lunch" the WFTC mage grinned to himself, making his way over and back to his room. He wanted to grab a bottle of wine to maybe have a glass or two to go with his meal, as he usually did in the evening, but made his way over to one of his cabinets, opening it and looking through to realize he had none left. He shook his head, but it didn't matter too much, he knew where he'd get great wine quickly, and it was only a short walk anyway. He left his room, locked the door behind him, and made his way down the stairs for the entrance hall, opening the front door and setting foot on the main road that led all the way from the West Fiore Trading Company's HQ building to the several docks and down to the port city, making it easy for the merchants, traders and employees of the Company to get around this part of Divide Island.

In his case, he knew his destination, a small corner shop in the middle of Anhew port's marketplace, a place where one could find all matters of curiosity or excotic goods, with Johann regularly purchasing his wine from the man who he had met on a trip to a peculiar part of Hargeon with his friend Gangting.  Lost in thoughts about demons, the earth mage and Hargeon he kept making his way down the road, past the docks and into downtown Anhew, walking over the marketplace. "Business as usual, very good" the VP thought to himself, smiling a little as a few people here and there from the company stopped to greet him, holding a hand up or simply nodding, seeing that trade was flourishing as the vivid mass of people shifted over the square that was brimming with life.

Johann enjoyed the times when he was out of the HQ and in the open, able to let his gaze wander across the crystal blue and clear skies, whether it was Divide Island or somewhere else. The wind blowing through his grey hair he opened the small door to the corner shop, the ring of a little bell signalling his entry for the short, chubby middle aged man, who had lost the majority of his hair already, behind the counter. James Scepter, the merchant, turned his head, his eyes widening and a broad grin spreading across his face when he spotted Johann standing in the door.

"Johann, my friend ! Didn't expect you here, what brings you down to Anhew ?" the man asked with a friendly smile, Johann promptly answering him. "Good day, James. Unfortunately, it seems like" he faked a little sigh "I ran out of wine." and started laughing a little. "So ... the usual ?" the merchant asked the mage, who simply gave a nod back, the short man disappearing for a minute through a door behind him, coming back with a small bag in his hands, in it 2 bottles of wine without label. Johann knew it would be exactly the one he wanted, the other had never made a mistake before and he had his ways of getting his hands on the ones Johann wanted. It came to no surprise to the mage when the merchant addressed him once more while handing him the small paper bag, Johann now holding it in his left hand. "I got a new batch of wine, you know. Just in, too." "Hmh, go on, friend. How old ?" "Can't tell exactly, but from the looks of it around more than 30 years". Johann raised an eyebrow, wine like that was hard to come by, and he was indeed intrigued about what the other had just told him. "Oho, sounds truly special ... do you know who it's from ?". His friend gave him a nod and a smiled, looking like he was happy that he had obviously caught the VP's interest.

"Well, normally I wouldn't give it away so easily but it's you after all, so I'll make an exception ." James gave off a warm laugh "Looks like the bottles are from some nobles' old wine cellar. The place was abandoned a long time ago but it looks like bandits occupy the place these days. But really, who cares, sold them to one of my clients for a good price and now they're here". The short man shrugged. "Hmmh, peculiar ..." Johann gave back, again lost in his own thoughts. To him it sounded like just a coincidence, but the similarities were there, so he just had to ask the other "Do you know the place they are from ?". "Man, you're asking an awful lot of questions today" the other grinned "but if my memory serves me right it's called Amber Island and ...". Johann's face went pale and he shook his head, not listening to the other finishing his sentence "I'm sorry, what did you say ?" he asked, certain he must've misheard what his friend had just said, eagerly looking at him with a serious expression on his face. "Did you not listen ... Johann, are you feeling alright ?" the merchant noticed the paleness on the mages face "Want to sit d-" "What was the place called, James ?!" Johann interrupted the man "I just told you, it's Amber Island, but -" "Are you sure about that ?" "Yes, I am. What is going o-" Johann dropped his bag, the glass of the wine shattering inside the bag, a dark red liquid slowly starting to drip out, and turned around, hastily making his way out the front door of the shop, leaving behind a man with a more than confused look on his face.

Johann was walking through the crowd, almost in trance, his eyes blankly staring in the distance as he was picking up speed and started running. From running he went to sprinting, and from sprinting to exploding forward. The speed mage made sure to use the full potential of his magic, moving forward and back to the HQ at supersonic speeds, breaching the sound barrier with the loud, characteristic bang sound, speeding across the woods and back to the HQ, storming up and into his room, hastily grabbing his mask and putting it in one of his pockets, just in case, many confused eyes on him as he stormed back out and into the woods. He was shaking his head in disbelief while running past trees and all matters of bushes, it just couldn't be. There was no chance in hell that they'd still be active. He thought he had gotten them all, and there he was, hearing of more bandits on Amber Island, his old home, where he had chosen never to return after digging his own parents graves, yet his feelings were in turmoil. Every fiber of his body was actively trying to run away, turn around and just forget what he had heard, yet he went forward, one foot following the other in a steadfast rhythm, his face pale as the full moon on a clear summer eve.

After less than a minute he had reached a quiet and open spot, hastily spreading his arms, a chalk white magic circle appearing beneath his feet, turning the mage into wind and making him disappear on the spot. Johann opened his eyes, and already he felt the difference. The familiar, mild ocean breeze, the air was the same as on divide, but the tropical warmth and the jungle were completely absent, instead replaced by a chilly wind that would make people used to the climate of Divide Island shiver a little. Johann hands were trembling, but it was not the cold or the sudden change of weather that were taking their turn on him, but the release of the emotions he had built up over the past 3 decades, seeing the place that he used to call his home making him want to collapse, drop to his knees and stay down. All the sadness and suffering he had to endure, and all the hate he had felt for the people who had done this to him leaving him standing there, petrified, on the shore of Amber Island. For a few minutes he just stood there, looking at the sky, taking in the sounds, the smell, and the smooth cold of the ocean wind before  finally deciding to take a step forward. It felt like that one step had taken all life from him, and he wanted to stop, turn back and forget, but his body wouldn't allow him, thus taking another step forward, and another one. His heart was racing and his head was spinning, scenes from that one day flashing in and out of his sight for milliseconds before disappearing back into nothingness.

Johann had trouble breathing and he knew he needed a break but he kept going, back past the old dock that was now nothing more than a pile of wood and stones on the beach and up the hill, to a place that was more than familiar to him. He went through the small group of trees he used to play in when he was a kid and turned right, coming to a stop before a collapsed building, stone and blackened wood covering the grass where he and his father used to train, his eyes fixed on the ruin that was once the home of the von Weiss family. The sight hurt him, and he wanted to cry, yet his face was serious, unable to produce even a single tear as he turned once more, heading for another place, arriving at the tree that he used to hide in when he was young just a minute later. This was the spot where he had returned to before, where he had dug up two graves right by each other, each one marked by a single, makeshift wooden cross. This was where he noticed that something was off, getting closer to see that the two small elevations in the earth were still there, yet someone had obviously and with great vigor smashed the two crosses, the broken little pieces telling a tale of the malicious joy someone had had desecrating them.

Johann just stood there, doing nothing for a few seconds before he started smiling. For someone on the outside it would've looked like the man had gone insane, but in this moment, Johann was just happy that he got to visit his parents graves again, all other emotion being pushed aside. He grabbed a few flowers that were growing on the nearby cliff, going back to the graves and neatly placing a few on each before bowing, turning around and pulling out the mask from his pocket, the smile disappearing from his face in an instant. He put it on, his clothes, hair and weapon turning completely black, a single word leaving the mages lips in a calm breath, almost a whisper "Suscitatio", deeply crimson runes burning themselves into Johanns flesh, covering all of his body and lending him their strength, his hands stopped trembling, his heart stopped racing and his mind went calm, only the desire for a single thing filling it entirely, unending hate and the thirst for blood.

For the members of Blood Seal, the bandit guild, this remote island was, in more ways than one, a gold mine. First, it was known for its rich amber deposits, a rare and valuable material, especially to the nobles of Minstrel that enjoyed trinkets like these. Secondly, the island was, as mentioned, a remote location, far from the influence of both the magic council of Fiore and the musketeers of Minstrel, only protected by the local nobility, or rather formerly so, the perfect place for an outpost, one of the reasons the group had targeted it in the first place. Additionally, the place was still stacked with hidden loot and valuables ripe for the taking, left behind by the previous owners. In short: the perfect place for a bandit guild. They had suffered a few setbacks in the past, including the complete elimination of one of their cells, but that was only a minor loss in the grand scheme of things for them and their 5 leaders, each one being the head of a more or less independent cell. One of them was operating in the vast seas between Fiore and Minstrel, acting as pirates, smugglers, slavers and more, everything that made them money was an option with a complete disregard for morals and the law, with one outpost now newly set up on Amber Island.

On of their members, a tall, muscular man around the age of 30, was working outside the makeshift fort they had set up, stakes around an area with tents, wooden huts and watchtowers, the guild symbol clearly visible on his hand, a blood red cross in a circle, rolling around barrels with supplies they had captured from a civilian ship and stacking them up for storage. Johann could see him more than clearly from the distance with his heightened senses and the help of the glowing red rune that was situated in his left eye. Before the man even knew what was going on Johann had accelerated to a speed faster than ever before and ripped apart his body, splattering the barrels behind him with a stream of blood. Moving on, before him was the fortified position, a temporary solution, for certain, but a stronghold nonetheless.

Under his mask, the hunter grinned. It was of no particular importance to him. The rage that was burning inside him gave him power, an almost soothing strength, and he would use it, moving up his blade and pointing it at the massive wooden gates of the fort before ripping it through the air, a stream of pressure simply cutting through the material, the structure collapsing with deafening noise. Johann walked through the dust and over the scattered wooden planks to be greeted by a group of three, each one equipped with a sword. Again, Johann was grinning under his mask, sprinting at one of the men with a velocity that cracked the air around him, sending him flying into a wood wall with a kick and the full force of his speed, shattering it entirely before turning to the next one. The grunt tried to swing at him, but he almost laughed at this attempt at combat, the arm that was still holding a weapon falling to the ground before the speed mage crushed his ribs with a punch that shattered the earth around them.

The man collapsed and the hunter turned his attention to the last one who had, in an attempt to work to engage him at range, taken a dagger into his hand, throwing it at Johann who, with an almost elegant turn, caught the knife, dropping it on the floor before appearing behind the man, his blade emerging from the bandits chest before he too collapsed. From one of the towers, another was taking aim at the masked mage, firing his musket with deadly accuracy, but even the speed of a bullet was no match for Johann. He simply stepped aside, the projectile splattering the palisade behind him, Johann returning the favor by raising his hand up at the watchtower, a magic circle appearing in front of it, sending down an extreme amount of pressure onto the structure, the construct collapsing and burying the shooter under its weight. He continued to massacre his way through more and more, the occasional blade swinging for him, bullet shot at him or fireball thrown at him, but the mage dodged it all effortlessly. After about 30, they stopped coming, the surroundings reminiscent of a battlefield, the stench of fresh blood hovering in the air, he made his way to the center of the fort, kicking down the door of the largest building around to see a tall, bearded man standing before him, a sword in each hand.

"Looks like these rats couldn't stop you, but you'll never defeat me" the other exclaimed loudly before he started cackling sinisterly "I'll have you know I am the strongest fighter and mage on this island and-" Johann had moved forward and cleanly sliced of one of the man's arms, interrupting his sentence and with an "ARRGH" the man broke down, dropping his other weapon and holding his right shoulder with his left hand, a blood red guild symbol on it. "I take it you're a member of Blood Seal ? I thought your guild was destroyed years ago ?" he calmly asked the man on the ground that was desperately gasping for air, screaming in pain "What the ... fuck is your ... ARGH ... problem ?! One of our cells was destroyed, idiot ." "Hm ? Oho. Looks like the two of us will have a nice chat" "Like hell I'd tell you -ARRGH" Johann ripped his rapier across the man's chest, making sure to inflict only a flesh wound, pointing his blade at the man that was whimpering in pain. "What business has Blood Seal on this island ?" he , with a curious tone, asked the other, who with an arrogant tone gave back "Not the smartest one, huh ? Money" "Just that ? I see ... very well. You mentioned a cell. How many are there ?" "Not gonna tell you jack shi- woah alright alright, just ... don't kill me, okay ?" Johann had raised his rapier at the mans remark "5 cells. they are scattered and act independently and only answer to the boss" "Wasn't that hard now, was it ? I guess you don't know the location of the other ones, but you surely can tell me where your headquarters are, right ?" Johann asked the man from under his mask, and the other had a somewhat guilty look on his face, but complied "H-Hargeon ... hey, look, I told you what I know, you're not gonna kill me, right ? You're gonna spare me, right ?!".  Johann tilted his head to the side a little "Did you spare my parents when you raided this place 30 years ago ?" "Raided ? Man 30 years ago I was still shitting my pants, please, I swear, I have nothing to do with it". Johann gave the man a nod.

"I understand that. I will not kill you" taking back his rapier and turning around he heard the other pick up one of the blades he had dropped and he sighed, dashing to the side, evading the mans backstab and slicing the head clean off it's shoulders "In all honesty ...  I was hoping you would do that" he said to himself as the lifeless body of the man collapsed to the ground. Johann sheathed his rapier and took off his mask, breathing heavily. Heading for the door when he spotted a chest at one of the wooden walls, glowing with the same rune that he himself had in his left eye. Naturally, the man was more than intrigued, making his way over, hearing the chest unlock by some magical mechanism , opening it to find what the bandits had obviously been unable to acquire to this day: A blade and an amulet, both bearing the crest of the von Weiss family. Johann lost no time and grabbed both, it was, not just technically, but also practically, his, anyway, making his way out the front door, now noticing that he was more or less entirely covered in blood. He sighed and started mumbling to himself "Looks like the wolf will go out and hunt again"

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Word Count: 3.545 / 2.000