The Jester of Eternal Imprisonment

Verdant was quite the pleasant city. Svector and Serena had decided to spend the day enjoying the recent festivities that came with Liana’s promotion. It was a little bit hard knowing that Adelyn was still out there, but there was nothing they could do now. On the bright side, alcohol helped with everything, even if Svector didn’t allow himself to get too drunk.

Serena on the other hand, was busy playing a fair game. The goal was a test of hand-accuracy. You would throw a ball at these durable birds that were constantly moving around. The more you could get in under one minute, the higher your prize. Serena was doing pretty good, really fast too.

“Forty-eight in sixty seconds?” The fair manager asked. “That’s a new record, girl.”

“I’ve practiced. What’s my prize?” Serena said with a smile.

“A rare stuffed animal,” the stand manager said. He reached to the back and grabbed an owl, the eyes glowed with water.

“Oh sweet!” Serena said, grabbing it. “I’m not really a stuffed animal person, but maybe if I can get a girlfriend I can give it to her.”

“You don’t have a partner already?” Svector asked.

“Nah, I move around too much for that. Maybe I’ll think of settling someday, however,” Serena responded. “What about you?”

“As I said, the girls’ mother isn’t around anymore. I don’t think I’ve had a relationship in a long time since then,” Svector said.

“Hah, so we’re in the same boat. Though, I don’t have kids to look after.”

Serena paused for a second before realizing something. “I think it’s about time we finish up here though. Custos will probably be waiting for us.”

“Really?” Svector said. He didn’t bring a watch or anything, and since the sky never changed it was hard to keep track of the time.

“Mhm. I have a good sense of time, let's go.”

Serena ran off to the prison that stood in the center of the city. 

***

As they headed towards the prison, the two of them ran into a familiar face. A lady with a glass of mead in her hand, as usual. She seemed to be enjoying herself, singing a tune alongside a variety of other animals.

“Yo, Liana!” Serena waved at her. The nature guardian waved back, sending off her animals and meeting them face to face.

“What is the status of our ride?” Svector asked. He was a bit anxious to get things moving, considering all the time they spent here.

“Custos should have it ready by now,” Liana responded. “I can probably take you to him, though I think he might be caught up in some business.”

“That’s great,” Svector said. “You lead the way.”

The three of them began to walk to the prison, passing by the guards that let them in with a simple wave. However, as they were walking inside, Liana made a comment.

“I do not recognize some of these guards, especially those uniforms.”

The guards of the prison normally wore green, a visibly bright color that glimmered in the moonlight. It gave both animals and people a clear direction on exactly what to see, while also matching with the aesthetic.

A few guards seemed to be wearing blue, however. They also had some strange technology around their wrists that they used to communicate with each other. Perhaps they were from somewhere else?

Liana pulled a nature guard to the side.

“Jathos, where is Custos?” Liana said.

“He’s dealing with a girl from the capital, you’ll probably find him in the basement,” the guard said. “I dunno if he’s taking visitors right now.”

“I see, thank you,” Liana said. She looked to the stairway that led to the basement, before Svector and Serena followed her down.

***

“This basement is pretty dreary, even for prison standards,” Serena said, as they walked through it. There were multiple layers of security that they had to pass through. Both blue and green guards stopped them on multiple occasions, and Liana had to argue with them to let her pass through.

The location itself was metallic and dark. A few cells were passed by on their journey, with rabid creatures clawing at the gateway, looking for a single chance to pounce. The thick steel doors didn’t give them that chance though, as they all angrily watched the trio as they advanced.

Eventually, at the very end of the hallway, they saw Custos. He seemed to be discussing something with another girl, around eighteen years old, who had two older guards behind her. Svector would notice the massive axe that she carried on her back, not too dissimilar to Serena’s own hammer.

“Custos!” Liana shouted. “We need to take care of our guests!”

Custos turned around and noticed the three of them approaching, before sighing and turning back to the lady he was having a discussion with. “My apologies for the interruption. This is my newly promoted Head of Environmental Relations, Liana, and it seems like she has brought some guests as well.”

“That is me,” Liana said, proudly bowing.

Svector stuck his hand out to shake hands with both the governor and his visitor each. “It’s good to meet you again, Governor. And a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss…”

“Yuzu. Who might you two be?”

“My name is Svector, and this is Serena. We’re two adventurers who have a favor with the governor,” Svector answered.

Yuzu shot a look at Custos. “You give up favors too easily.”

“Liana, this is the Executioner of Oscur. She is here from the capital for a few reasons,” Custos said. “It’s been a massive headache to deal with, really.”

“The capital?” Svector immediately noticed. That was the same place where Rumia was currently residing, wasn’t it? He had to talk to this person more. “What is going on there? What’s with the lockdown?”

“It is classified, do not ask further,” Yuzu responded, bluntly. Svector grit his teeth.

“What about my girl, Rumia?” Svector asked. “Do you know anything about her?”

“That is none of your business-”

“To hell with that, it is my business! Why can’t I go see her?”

“Svector.”

Serena spoke before he could get more heated. Svector was frustrated that this girl wasn’t giving any information, but he backed down.

“Do you want me to clear your thoughts?” Serena asked.

“Yeah, yeah, that would be nice,” Svector responded. Serena obliged, putting her hand on Svector’s forehead as a black mist came out of him. His mind began to feel much clearer as a result, allowing him to regain his composure.

“Sorry, governor,” Svector said. “Liana brought us here to see the status of our ride.”

“Right,” Custos said. “I should have that ready in just a moment, after this conversation. We were just finishing up our plans.”

“Plans for what?” Liana asked. “Does it have anything to do with what I’m doing?”

“Well, a little bit. I was thinking of informing you after we had our talk,” Custos said. “It’s about the jester-shaped elephant in the room.”

“Kaos?” Liana asked.

“Why yes indeed!” Another, unknown voice called through the hallways. A faint sound, as if it was actively being blocked from them. It was the sound of a boy’s voice, coming from deep into the tunnel.

“Who’s Kaos?” Svector asked.

“It’s the thing that your kid helped us with,” Custos said. “Thank the moon for that. They contained it before it got worse.”

“It was so much fun!” the voice from down the corridor said. “Unfortunately I didn’t get out this time! Maybe next time, if I’m being sent to a new audience!”

“Don’t talk to it,” Custos added. “Giving it attention feeds it.”

Svector took a step back. This creature sounded unnerving, and Adelyn had to deal with that? He could only guess what else she had to go through.

“What does it mean by ‘new audience’, though?” Liana asked.

That was when Yuzu spoke up. “It means that we are relocating him to a more secure location. Within the capital.”

“What? How are you planning on moving this big ball to the capital? And why are you doing so?” Liana asked.

Svector was also concerned. If such a dangerous creature was going to be moved to the capital, then wouldn’t that put Rumia in danger as well?

“Considering the recent reports,” Yuzu said. “It is much more secure in the capital than here. PASCAL will take care of security, as she is the most state of the art system imaginable.”

“PASCAL?” Serena asked. “Do you mean that girl we found at the capital’s walls?”

“Ah, you have met her. Yes, that is what I am referring to.”

“She’s going to be fun! So fun!” The jester-like voice down the hall shouts. “The guards here are no fun at all.”

“Are you sure about this PASCAL?” Liana asked, seemingly distrustful of the idea.

Yuzu nodded in response. “Perhaps we can restore him here once PASCAL has fully expanded across the nation. However, for now, Governor Esther believes it is the best option.”

“Tch,” Liana grit her teeth.

Custos however, put an arm on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Liana. I’ve already acknowledged my failure to keep him contained. We just need to make our system better. I need you for that.”

That caused the woman to nod in acceptance for now. “How long will it take to extract him?”

“We will have to extract him over the day. It takes a while to move the entire cell he is contained in. We cannot risk him breaking out,” Yuzu explained.

“Does that mean you can give the governor time to handle our situation?” Svector asked after. “I would like to get this resolved as soon as possible.”

“Sure, we’ve already discussed the finer details, so the rest will be handled by us,” Yuzu said. Custos nodded as a result, before walking away.

In the distance, Kaos’ voice rang out. “I’ll see you on the other side!” 

***

“I truly apologize for holding you two up,” Custos said. “Today has been rather busy for me, considering our festivities and this.”

“I’m not a fan of the capital’s state of affairs. It felt like we were handling things well ourselves,” Liana added.

“It is what it is,” Custos said. “As said, it is a huge thanks to your girl and her friends that we were able to get back on track.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Svector said. “I hope things get better for you soon.”

The four of them had travelled outside. The horse-drawn carriage led to a fancier way of travelling than dredging their way through the roads by foot.

“Sweet, I’ve never been in a carriage before. I usually just protect them,” Serena said. “This is so much nicer.”

“If you wish, we can also send guards to protect your carriage in case of any monster attacks,” Custos said. Svector looked to Serena for the answer to this, she was a capable fighter by herself after all.

Serena thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Nah. You don’t need to put any more resources into us. I think I can handle defense by myself.”

Svector turned back to Custos, his question having been answered. “Thank you very much, once again.”

“It’s the least we can do. The capital hasn’t given us any cars yet, but these horses are the most reliable you could ask for,” Custos said, petting the horses on the side.

“Cars? You better let me inspect those as well, those seem suspicious,” Liana said, crossing her arms.

“Relax, Liana. We’ll discuss it when there’s time,” Custos reassured her, before turning back to Svector and Serena. “I hope you catch up to them.”

“Speaking of which, Svector,” Serena asked. “What do we do if they’re not there?”

“Ah,” Svector thought for a moment. It was a potential issue they had run into, especially with how delayed their trip was. There might be a chance that Adelyn had left already.

“If I had to guess, Governor Knox would know where she is,” Custos said. “I’m not sure if my word means much to her, but you can tell her that I sent you.”

“Alright, I understand,” Svector nodded. He began to get into the carriage, with Serena following them. Shortly after, the carriage took off towards the City of Pugna.

One step closer, and hopefully he would see Adelyn again.