Chapter 4: Essen’ Seo

The sky hadn't even begun to lighten up yet. Kars eyes shot open right on the dot. 6:00 am.

He had no clock or any way of letting him know the right timing, but nonetheless, he had trained his body to wake up at certain times. After countless military drills and waking up earlier than your superiors, his body had memorized this, and he often awoke without any outside interference. Kars flipped open his tent, untied his horse, and began riding without any further notice.

A good 2 hours later, the trio and Regalt also set off towards their destination. They left their camp under the watch of their mages and knights. For them, it was more like an expedition in which they get to relax afterward.

The weather in Baerim was very accommodating. Not too cold, not too hot. It was perfect for just relaxing and laying back within this windy terrain. They laughed and talked and acted stupidly now that their superiors were nowhere to be seen.

The group cloaked themselves in long raincoats and began their preparations. Their armor, clothing, and identity were all effectively hidden. According to their information, though Baerim was very accommodating, Sei'O experienced frequent bouts of rain. Unlike Baerim which held a lot of flat plateau's, it was encompassed by huge mountain ranges and several hills.

The horses galloped as fast as their legs could take them. Their reserves had been replenished through magic. With the quickness of their feet pummeling against the earth, it was almost hard to hear anything but the sound of their hooves. Despite that....

despite that, Regalt was still very much asleep. His head slumped against the neck of his horse as it bobbed up and down. He was at the very back of the group, trailing behind just 20 feet away. The other three continued on ahead in an arrow-like formation.

Shiek rested to the left, with Lawrence in the middle, and Mikhail to the right. Their horses traveled almost as if in unison.

"Tch... I was so not looking forward to this fuckin' horse shit again" she said while looking in Lawrence's direction

"Calm yourself. You're always whining about the slightest inconvenience." Lawrence scowled

"I do not! I just been ridin on this damn ass for a whole 2 days straight. I ain't wannin' te hop on again!"

Mikhail blushed a little bit and shook his head "Um…S-shiek. Only donkeys are called ass...sorry"

"I meant 'xactly what I said fuckin geek." Shiek retorted.

"I-its common knowle-..n-nevermind"

He looked away from the duo. There was a short silence that was suddenly broken by the loud mouthed Shiek.

"Hey, what' ye think this plague kid looks like anyway?"

"Well, according to the briefing. He's a child with red hair, red eyes, and a dark gem of some sorts resting on the middle of his forehead."

"heh, no I didn't mean that dumbass. I'm talkin'bout these plague kids. I've heard they look pretty monstrous. With skins made of rock and hollow pits for eyes. And apparently they weigh a ton too."

Mikhail nodded. "C-couldn't they spread sickness...if you stare at one long enough. And they're practically vile people. I-I've heard of some of the things they d...do to other children.."

Lawrence looked at the both of them. Then he laughed greatly. "I don't know exactly what they look like. But I'm only inclined to believe half of that. There's no way one could spread sickness just by being looked at. Humans tend to create frightening excuses to be scared." He nodded.

"Though...from what I heard, they are rather vicious people. The general populace seems to avoid all interaction with Plague Children...and they generally don't mess with them. But with a rep like that, they can't possibly good news. We'd be doing them a favor to eliminate them."

His entire speech was based on self-rationalization. As much as he hated to admit it, not even he wanted to slay a child. Lawrence was far too kind of a man. Dehumanization of the target was all he could do to steel his resolve. If this was perhaps a pure healthy human child he had to kill, he'd hang up his armor and relic and put an end to his career. For that reason, he refused to see plague children as anything other than cancerous.

The rest of their travel continued in leisure talk, with Regalt waking up every now and then to ask if they've arrived. Soon enough, however, they did arrive at Sei'O's main capital- Essen'Seo. The city was huge. It gave off a very rustic atmosphere. A huge wall surrounded the circumference of the entire city. Covering everything off from view.

Getting in was fairly easy. They only had to pay a minor toll and tell them they were mercenaries en-route to another country. They were in great need of rest and needed a place to stay. The guards simply nodded and warned them of causing any problems. One thing Lawrence noticed immediately was that the guards wore the sigil of Baerim. Sei'O had no combat force or military force of their own. It was completely snubbed out by the great empire country.

After entering through the city walls, the scenery differed greatly. The walls had been very heavily maintained so as to look very exquisite. But much much different.

Several of the buildings were metallic and filled with heavily decaying metals. Many of them had rusted over to the point that holes had formed within their frames. Other parts of the city was swallowed by vines that stretched up to the tallest building.

It was a disgusting look to those who lived lives of luxury, but to those who often traveled to different countries, this was an exquisite and unique appearance. Many who visited often came again to enjoy such a tranquil experience with nature.

Of course, the state of Essen'Seo didn't happen naturally. This was the cause of the plague 15 years ago. The massive amount of deaths, desertion and economical halt that followed shortly after had caused maintenance on buildings to be a thing of the past. The ensuing struggle of survival made little time for anything else.

Shiek looked around "Heh, disgusting. I was hoping that these plague kids would be in the slums...but this whole thing is a slum."

"Hey now...remember the calamity that befell this place 15 years ago. For such an event to happen, it is a surprise that the country is still this well composed. I suppose it’s due to their building structures. Even the roads are lined with iron." Lawrence looked around in awe.

The country was known for its iron exports. The eastern mountains were rich in valuable metals, and the people had earned their living from mining and smelting the ores.

"I-..I too think it looks nice." Mikhail spoke. It was so quiet that he was entirely ignored; Or rather, that no one else heard it. The city seemed to be bustling with life and activity. Constant crowds of people scattered through the streets, participating in their daily life. It was a lot different than Yorba, who had long since dropped the idea of markets.

Cryers shouted out, selling food, and several intricately designed clothing stores dotted themselves across city. It felt like they had completely walked into a different world. Yorba was much quieter and not quite as bustling in activity as Essen'Seo.

"Alright. Let's start tryin'a find that damn plague kid." Shiek said walking in through the city. She had been born in the slums herself, so when she made the comment about the city's appearance, in truth, she felt very much at home.

"Alright. We have 3 days tops to find this kid. Common sense would dictate that we'd have to kill him as soon as possible...but- " he hesitated with this last part. "Perhaps it would be better to wait for the 3 days. It would be better to see how he obtained his power before killing him." Lawrence nodded. "That way we can both take out the Plague Child, and find out where he obtains the relic."

Suddenly during their walk, Lawrence noticed something. Laying on the ground, bludgeoned and beaten by brute force was a Plague Child. A little girl no older than 7. It was the first time that he had laid eyes on one of them. Instead of the horrifying vicious stories, it was much different. Her face was distorted to the point that it was indiscernible. Blood trailed down her face. Her arms were broken and bent inwards. In her hands, she held a piece of bread. It was probably what she was killed for. More sickening was that the citizens all walked passed without even sparing a single glance. It made his stomach twist. Who exactly were the monsters here?

He could try and twist it in his mind that she was killed by another plague child, but that would be foolishness. He quickly guided the other three away from the scene, captivating their attention before they could see what he had just witnessed. Mikhail's eye went wide for just a second before he reluctantly nodded. He had also seen it.

"Never mind about the wait...We'll be killing the kid right away." He couldn't bear the thought of following the child around for several days before finally deciding to kill him.

Mikhail raised his hand. "...Um..w-where's Regalt-San?"

The immediately looked around to notice that he had not been with them. How far back did they leave him...at the gate? on the path here?

Shiek began laughing out loud at the tense situation. This was very typical of Regalt. But he can hold his own despite the situation, so it was no matter to be worried about. Now if they had left Mikhail behind or anything like that, she might be more inclined to be worried about his safety.

"He's probably off sleepin' somewhere." She responded, waving a dismissive hand." Now, let's continue on the damned' way" Sounding pissed as all hell. In truth, she had also seen the kid all beaten and ravaged. It was nothing new to her.

She had grown up in the slums of Yorba and slowly over time gained renown fame for her atrocious actions and murders. That was all in the past however, long before Kars had met her. She figured she'd have to be the one to put a stop to the kid. From the looks of their faces, the other 2 were losing conviction.

The next couple of hours they took to gathering information and finding out where the majority of plague children reside. With that, they set off towards the slums. On the far -eastern corner of Essen-Sei'O, there was a small community of outcasts and amongst their ranks were the plague children.