Sleeping Giants Game 43

Intro

Max's Sentence

We see Max, sitting at a counter with a plate of mostly-finished breakfast in front of him. He seems lost in thought as he slowly chews his bacon.

“Another fill-up?” The orcish owner of the tavern, Mugdul, approaches Max with a full pot of coffee. Max pauses and looks at him for a moment, then nods silently and takes another bite of bacon.

Ching ching Another customer enters the tavern, and Mugdul nods but Max pays them no mind. He still seems to be mulling something over. This new customer takes a seat right next to Max and folds her gauntleted hands on the counter top.

Max continues to chew, then swallows slowly. “So, I guess this is it, huh?” He reaches down and takes a sip of his coffee.

Our view pans, and we see who is sitting next to him. Eva Thomsen, Cardinal of Skyhammer. She sits silently with her hands clasped, looking at Max expressionless. “I’m afraid so.”

Max lets out a long sigh, takes another sip from his coffee, then puts it down on the counter. He reaches to his side and pulls up his entire coin pouch, placing it on the table. “Mug, it’s been good. Thanks for everything.” Mug looks at the pouch, then at Max, confused. But as Max stands to leave, Mug only nods silently.

Without exchanging words at all, Max and Eva leave the tavern. She keeps within arm’s reach of him the entire time, though he shows no signs of attempting to flee. He has accepted his fate.

In the dark alley beside Mug’s Tavern, far from any crowds or passersby, Max kneels down onto the ground. “Just tell me one thing,” he says. “How did you find us?”

Eva is silent for a moment, before responding. “Your brother.”

Max closes his eyes and leans his head forward, exposing the back of his neck. The sound of “shiiing” echoes lightly throughout the alley as Eva unsheathes her greatsword.

“The trickery of Hell will not sway the perfection of a Heavenly heart.” Eva begins, as she lifts her heavy sword into the air. “Be cast from the light of Virgil, and walk in the darkness forever.” As she speaks the words, darkness begins to emanate from her, as though the shadow itself were engulfing her.

“I, Eva Thomsen, do sentence you to die.” Max clears his mind and relaxes his muscles, accepting his fate.

But the sword never drops. And a moment later, he hears a thud and his eyes shoot open. He stares forward at Eva, as her body writhes. She reaches for her throat, which has been cut from ear to ear. The shadows that surrounded her pour off of her body like smoke.

“What’s wrong with walking in the darkness forever?” Max, confused and nervous, looks quickly to where Eva was standing. The shadows pouring off of her body coagulate into a humanoid shape, which Max doesn’t recognize at first. But as the shadows fade away, the woman’s deep red skin and yellow pupils give her away. She tosses aside a rag she was using to wipe her blade clean.

Sudden recognition comes over Max’s face as he looks up at the woman. “Keras?”

She looks down at him and smiles. “Hello again, Shield.”

Outtro

We see two Skyhammer officials kneeling down in an alleyway in Kittiwake's Edge. It is Priestess Elysande and Viggo Eshton, examining the ground where Eva Thomsen's body once was. Now, however, there is nothing left but a stagnant pool of blood.

Viggo, disturbed yet visibly angry, speaks. "I say we burn this entire Thalos-forsaken city to the ground."

"We both know that's not possible even if we wanted to." Elysande stands and looks around. "I don't see a single footprint, though. He definitely had help."

Viggo stands as well, fuming. "The people here knew Max. They must know where he would go. If we return to Skyhammer, we can come back in force. And then they're sure to tell us where he went."

Elysande ponders his words. "Maybe. Either way, we have to get back now. We have bigger problems to worry about." She begins walking down the alleyway. Viggo takes one last look at the pool of blood, sighs, then follows after her.

Our view lifts up to show us the entire town of Kittiwake's Edge. We see people of all kinds milling about, making their way between Winters' General Store, the Playhouse, and Himo's Wooden Goods. A family enters into the Snow Goose Inn, starting their long-anticipated vacation. A few children chase each other in front of the Schoolhouse.

And in the distance, beyond the town, we can see the cliffside that leads down to the harbor. As our view continues to rise, sails become visible. First one, then another, but then we see all of them. Dozens, possibly hundreds. They cover the harbor in its entirety, disappearing into the watery horizon. And on each of the sails is an identical sigil, a red dragon roaring toward the sky.