Round five

A few minutes had passed since me and Tomoko's party had managed to get the wagons turned around and headed back to the Lutia District.

"So... what are you going to do with her?" Tomoko asked hesitantly, glancing at Kain.

I shrugged. Kain was limping now, her bare feet caked in mud and blood, her remaining hand gripping the rope tied around it. She said nothing, only occasionally wincing as a stone or sharp piece of debris cut into her soles.

Citrinas had healed the worst of her wounds, keeping her alive but not comfortable. She was in no condition to cause trouble. "She's going to work in the mines until she dies."

Kain's face contorted in horror. "The mines? You can't—"

"I can," I interrupted. "And I will."

In no short amount of time did the two wagons finally make it back to the Lutia District. A few townspeople had gathered at the edge of the district, watching our approach with wary curiosity.

The parents tried their hardest to hold back their tears.

Sora stood towards the back of the group.

"Look! The Scourge is returning! And he's found our children!" The villagers all scrambled to get a good look at me, dragging a wagon behind me.

The villagers of Lutia parted to the sides of the gate to allow me in. I came in with wagon one, and after came Tomoko driving wagon two. The gate closed behind me, allowing me to put down my wagon. A woman in a simple brown dress stepped forward, her hands wringing a cloth. "Oh, sweet heavens," she breathed, taking in the children's state. I walked around to the wagon's back end, and with little effort, tore the door off the cage.

The children all came climbing out as I went to tear off the other cage door. Once I did so, I stepped back and watched as the parents reunited with their kids. The woman in the brown dress ran forward, her face streaked with tears as she reached for the little girl with the rag doll.

"Mommy!" the girl with the doll cried out, her words cracking with relief.

"Oh, my sweet Rose!" she cried, pulling the child into a tight embrace. The girl buried her face in her mother's shoulder, clutching her doll even tighter. "Thank you," the woman said, turning to me with tears still on her face. "Thank you so much for bringing them back to us."

The boy and girl who had been whipped were next, their father holding them both close, his face streaked with tears.

"Gina!"

"Kai!"

"Maya!"

I'd brought about forty or so children back. "My daughter is still missing," one of the women's face was streaked with tears, her hands shaking as she looked from child to child. She was the one who had come to me earlier, begging for help.

"Marie's right, my children are also still missing," another villager said.

I looked round and there appeared to be far more couples looking for their kids.

Oh, shit.

I stood straight and began to mentally count the number of kids.

42.

I then courted the pairs of parents, my heart sank as I reached a final tally.

57.

At a bare minimum, 15 were still missing. Sonuva bitch! There's another wagon!

Off to the side, Tomoko was being asked whether or not she'd had a hand in the return of the village children.

"We did." Arthur gloated, voice oozing arrogance of a noble, "You should've seen madam Tomoko as she bravely fought off those ungodly cultists. One even managed to crack my armor."

Sora looked down at her bloodied outfit, then back up to the clean outfits of Tomoko's party.

Sora shot Tomoko a dirty look. Tomoko flinched slightly at Sora's glare, but quickly regained her composure. "Actually, the Scourge did most of the work," she said, gesturing toward me. "He's the one who found the children and brought them back."

Sora gave Tomoko a look of approval and Citrinas turned Arthur into a frog.

"I'll only say this once more Arthur if the Scourge kills you because you kept irritating him, it's your own fault." Tomoko hissed quietly at Arthur.

Arthur's eyes widened as I approached, his tongue flicking out nervously. He tried to back away, but his legs wouldn't work right in his frog form.

I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up to eye level. His webbed feet kicked uselessly in the air. "Careful," I said, voice dropping low, rough. "I don't appreciate hearing my rescue turned into some sort of epic adventure starring your party." I let the SkullHacker dangle between us, just enough to make them notice. "Your contribution consisted of following my lead and not getting in the way. Nothing more. You keep running your mouth, and I'll feed you to the next Gastornis we see. You're lucky I don't do it now."

Tomoko's party members all tensed up, hands moving to weapons. But Tomoko held up a hand, stopping them. "He's right, Arthur. You're being insufferable."

I squeezed slightly, feeling his throat bulge under my fingers. Finally, Tomoko sighed and shook her head. "Scourge, he gets the point. Right, Arthur?"

He croaked something that could have been "Yes" or "Kill me now," but the words were unintelligible. With a final glance at Arthur's panicked expression, I opened my hand and let him drop. He landed on his back with a wet splat, his legs kicking weakly as he gasped for air. Everyone stood in apprehension until I addressed them.

"Did anyone count how many wagons the cultists have?"

The villagers, particularly the ones who were still missing their kids, looked to one another trying to find an answer to my question.

An old man finally stepped up, "We don't know sir. We were all confused by the chaos, no one thought to count."

I clenched my fists.

This'll be a little more tricky.

"Did anybody see anything leave the district through another gate at any point during the attack?"

Marie raised her hand nervously. "I did. I saw a wagon leave through the East Gate. It was right before the Scourge arrived. Maybe they took the rest that way?"

I nodded grimly. "Thank you. That's helpful. Which way is the east gate?" I asked.

The villagers all pointed in the east gate's direction. I marched with vengeance, drawing my Shotgun, intending on finding the remaining cultists and missing kids.

Marie stepped forward, her bare feet leaving small prints in the dust. "Please, bring them back safe. My little girl, Lily, is only six."

I paused. "I am... uncertain that they can be found at this stage."

Many heads dropped in despair.

"But that will not stop me from trying."

I pumped the Shotgun.

I began my hunt.