He really hadn't planned on running for his life through the woods today, but then again, this was his life; he had to expect changes. After he'd left Bram's house, Virgil sent the letter to Clara via crow and made his way back to the prison. He was armed with knowledge of Trojan's part in the Five Crowns, and the plot to divide the five kingdoms; he had the element of surprise. Maybe returning to his first suspect would help bring out new information. He had to try. Either way, Virgil hadn't planned on running into a swarm of illus in the forest again, and yet here he was, sprinting towards the prison as fast as he could.
The illus were gaining on him, reaching their ominous claws towards him, just scraping the back of his vest now. Virgil grabbed his Muse-given whip from Clara's and threw the weapon's glowing end this way and that. One by one, the demonic creatures were disseminated into a small puff of smoke, returning to the night from which they came. But there were too many of them for the humanoid to keep track of, and one had snuck into his blind spot.
Suddenly, a ghostly hand yanked on Virgil's shoulder and threw him to the ground. He was done for. "No! No!" The illus ignored their victim's pleas as they invaded his mind:
"You'll never solve this, Virgil. Never in a million years."
"Your wife is dead. She's never coming back."
"It's pointless, half-human. Give up."
"Trojan will always win in the end. He always does."
"No!" A familiar sense of helplessness flooded Virgil's veins and circulated throughout his body, leaving him cold and empty. He remembered every touch, every beating, every cruel word that man had abused him with during his stay. Past threats bubbled up to the surface, mixing in with the absurdities of the illus, creating a dangerous mental cocktail of lies:
"Get up, you worthless synborne. How could you be so weak?"
"You are my slave. You are under my control."
"Yes, Virgil. Give in to my voice. I am your master now."
Virgil's back arched off the ground as the thoughts became too much. He cried out in pain, then fell silent. When his eyes flickered open, they glowed a familiar shade of violet. The violet curse had once again claimed its victim.
Virgil could've sworn he was suffering from déjà vu. When he came out of yet another violet trance, the humanoid found himself surrounded by crates of TNT. Again. Virgil scrambled to his feet and gasped. Stacks of trinitrotoluene loomed over him like towers of death in the stone tunnel, just as it had around the Holy One. Virgil froze. Did I walk back to the Holy One? The sentient thought. No. No! Oh, Muse, no! The last clear memory he held was running towards the prison, running for his life from illus. Why had he ended up by TNT again? To set off yet another trinitrotoluene pile? But where? The humanoid groaned in frustration. Virgil didn't know, and at this time point, he almost didn't want to know; he just wanted to get to the prison and put an end to this nightmare. And so, the sentient climbed atop the mountain of dynamite, grabbed a nearby pickaxe, and began to mine out the ceiling. He was getting out of here one way or another, tunnels be damned. He wasn't running into anymore monsters.
Time passed slowly as he carved out his escape, scraping his way to the surface. With his back pressed against one wall, and his feet to the other, Virgil made his ascent. It was time-consuming work, but he was determined; he would have his freedom. The being swung his pickaxe in a solid rhythm: Clink! Clink! Thud! Well, that didn't sound like stone. Virgil wiped away at the rocky residue on the ceiling to find the smooth texture of processed iron. Cement? This must be someone's house, the sentient figured. Where am I? Virgil continued to mine at the iron blocks until he struck air. The being gingerly hoisted himself out of the hole, took one look at his new environment, and nearly had a heart attack. "The casino?!"
The white tiled floor sparkled with a glossy sheen of wax. Wooden tables were scattered throughout the space, complementing the wooden menu signs above the cash register. The blue and white color scheme was too familiar. It was the seafood restaurant Virgil had spotted the last time he'd been in the casino. The humanoid's mind spun with unanswered questions as he came to terms with reality: Why was there a stockpile of explosives beneath the building? Did Finnegan want to blow up the casino?
The sentient paused to consider the evidence. It looks like Finnegan wants to blow up both the casino and the Holy One, he reasoned. It just seems so random. Is there anywhere else he might have planted explosives? There was only one way to find out. With his pickaxe in hand, Virgil hopped back down the hole and into the TNT lair. He hoped that his tool's durability would withstand the mining that needed to be done.
Everywhere. There were bombs everywhere. Virgil had checked under every major building in town, and had found explosives every single time. Under each establishment was a small pocket underground with a ring of TNT that outlined the building above. The stockpiles had been carefully calculated to only contain what was necessary to obliterate their target. They were planned and precise acts of terrorism just waiting to wreak havoc on the world above. And it was all over Orfcynn.
The sentient pondered all the worst-case scenarios as he paced up and down the town streets. Finnegan wants to eliminate Orfcynn and the Holy One. That would mean two of the five crowns would be dead, he processed. What's to stop him from doing the same to the other two powers: Gicela and Fernwick? I need to get rid of this TNT before it's too late. I'm going to need so much help though. I need-
"Virgil! Thank the Muse I found you!" Clara ran down the street to their humanoid friend, panting from the exertion. "Virgil, you're not gonna believe it," the woman gasped. "Nicholas is dead, and Finnegan's possessed!" Clara proceeded to detail the exact encounter she'd had at the castle to Virgil. "We have to save him, Virgil," she cried, tears pouring down her face. "We have to! He's alive, I swear!"
Virgil took the poor woman into his arms and rubbed his hand up and down her back. "Shh, it's okay," he whispered quietly. "We'll save him, don't worry. There's just a few things we have to do first-"
"And you know what's funny?" Clara interrupted. "That illu possessing Finn looks exactly like the one that almost took out me and Jules."
Virgil's heart nearly stopped; his mind went blank. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah, it looked just like it: same cloud patterns, same voice- everything. It's wild."
The humanoid pushed his friend back, his face screwed up in anger. "Are you telling me that you never got rid of that thing all those years ago?"
Clara froze, mouth agape in at the realization. "Uhm, no. I guess not. I mean, we've been looking for it ever since. Honest!"
Virgil tugged at his hair, barely able to contain the rage bubbling up inside him. "You and Jules were supposed to be the best illu hunters in all the kingdoms. You're telling me that you never finished the job?"
"Virgil, we almost died!" Clara argued. "By the time we'd recovered, the war started and we didn't have time. But now we can-"
"No."
Clara blinked. "No?"
"No." Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose, and closed his eyes. Rage turned into sorrow, which turned to disappointment and acceptance. "Clara," he started, "Because of you, that illu is now possessing a man who would have no qualms blowing everything up just to get what he wants. You put all five kingdoms at risk but not killing that illu the first time. You are to blame for whatever happens to this world, maybe even the death of my wife."
Clara stood in total shock, processing what Virgil had just said. She accepted responsibility for her mistake back in her early illu hunting days, but that didn't mean she'd killed her best friend. She knew she screwed up, but how had things escalated to this level? And Finnegan wanted to bow everything up? What was that all about? She had to set things straight, fight or no fight. "Virgil-"
"Save it." he fumed. "I don't need you; I'll fix this screwup myself. Just stay out of my sight." Instead of being angry, Clara could only watch helplessly as her once-friend ventured off in the city streets, no doubt back to the woods. She'd felt her heart tear when Virgil walked away, knowing this may be the last time she'll see him. Not only had she lost her best friend, she'd lost a rather new friend, too. Her last tie to Jules had been severed. A single tear slipped form her eye. What had she done?
Whoa, this is pretty serious. How is Virgil going to solve this mystery without Clara? Will Clara make things right? Actions really do have consequences in this story, and more to come soon.
-Zym