Mangowo
patreon
Prelude 2.3
🕑 Added 2024-12-13 00:30:01 +0000 UTC[Apologies for the delay with yesterday's chapter. Had to rework some things before crafting one final prelude. Tomorrow, weâre diving back into Jadeâs POV properly! Happy reading!]
The roar of the wilds beyond the wall was faint but constant, like a distant growl that never stopped. Viera glanced up at the immense stone wall of Varkaigrad, towering sixty meters into the air and as wide as five men lying head to toe. Even with the sun rising, its imposing shadow loomed over this part of the city. It was a bastion against the chaos outside, a lifeline during the monster waves that poured from the dungeons in surges of claws and teeth.
But for all the chaos just beyond the walls, the city around her carried on as if nothing was wrong. Merchants barked prices, children darted through alleyways, and hawkers shouted over each other to sell their wares. Vieraâs lips pressed into a thin line as she glanced at the crowd. It baffled her how they could be so indifferent. Sure, VraalâKor wasnât the worst hit by the wavesâmost monsters seemed drawn to Lithrindel for reasons she didnât care to guessâbut it didnât mean they were safe.
Her attention shifted to Jade, walking just ahead with that maddening air of confidence, her hood pulled low. âYou still havenât told me what exactly weâre doing down here,â Viera said, trying to keep her voice low as her eyes darted to the milling crowd.
âI told you, I need something,â Jade said, her tone so casual it made Vieraâs teeth itch.
âYouâll need to be a bit more specific than âsomething,ââ Viera snapped, sidestepping a man hauling a cart of sacks leaking something very suspect. âWeâre in the slums, Jade. Half the people here can âget you something,â and the other half will murder you while doing it.â
The lower district was as wild as a drunken bear in a china shop, and just as friendly. Chaos radiated from every corner, which, naturally, someone like Jade would argue was why Viera hated it. Something about her "highborn snobbery." Sure, sheâd grown up Fangâs Ascent, one of the upper districts, cushioned by the perks of a lesser sect under the Ledenyk Family. But that didnât mean she didnât have brains, damn it. She did have a knack for seeing patterns and logic, which made her disdain for this place feel completely justified, thank you very much.
âYou said yesterday someone turned into an abomination here. Broad daylight. Slaughtered a bunch of people,â Jade said, her tone annoyingly nonchalant.
âYeah? And?â
âDo you know what they transformed into?â
Viera frowned. âNot really. I didnât dig too deep. Itâs the lower districtsânothing for us to worry about. The Enforcers probably already cleaned it up. Iâd bet five coins it was some alchemistâs experiment gone sideways.â
âThe one who transformed was a drakarri, like us. Itâs not the transformation itself but what they became.â Jade said, as she sidestepped a careening cart. âScales all over. Serpentine mug. Wings. Claws. Ringing any bells?â
Vieraâs steps faltered. âYouâre saying someone shifted into their beast form? Thatâs hardly news. Anyone above red core can do that.â
âExcept they werenât red core,â Jade said, her voice dropping. âIf they were, the death count wouldnât be just a few dozen.â
That sent a chill prickling down Vieraâs spine. Every beastkin knew the deal: reach red core, and you could tap into your bloodlineâs power to achieve your beast form. But someone below red core pulling it off? That was unchartedâand dangerousâterritory.
âI still think itâs a load of crap,â Viera said, her skepticism creeping back in. âMaybe it was some other kind of transformation?â
âNope.â
âHow can you be so damn sure?â
âI have better resources.â
That earned a scoff. Better resources, her scaled ass. Jade was so buried in her alchemy experiments, she probably wouldnât notice if a mana bomb detonated next to her unless it knocked over her beakers. Wait.
âDonât tell me youâve been sneaking out,â Viera accused, eyes narrowing.
Jade hesitated.
âYOUâVE BEEN SNEAKING OUT!â
âDonât jump to conclusions,â Jade said, voice annoyingly calm. âAnyway, youâre here now, so it doesnât matter.â
âJade, that old hag is going to skin us if she finds out weâre slumming it looking for trouble.â
âBit late for that, donât you think? And you agreed to come along, remember? I need backup in case things go south.â
âYou tricked me! I thought you were looking for some shady ingredient or other!â
âThatâs on you,â Jade said, smirking. âI told you where we were going. If you leapt to conclusions, thatâs your problem. Both plans involved sneaking out; only one of them is apparently bothering you.â
âBecause one doesnât involve chasing down something potentially deadly!â Viera threw up her hands, narrowly avoiding smacking a hawker. The hawker hissed something unrecognizable, but the look on his face told her it wasnât flattering. She muttered an apology under her breath and hurried to catch up with Jade, who was now weaving through the crowd like a damn eel through water.
ââBoth plans involved sneaking out,â she says,â Viera muttered, glaring daggers at the back of Jadeâs hooded head. âLike that makes this fine. One plan involves gathering ingredients and maybe haggling with some shady apothecary. The other? Oh, just poking a possibly homicidal drakarri with a big stick!â
Jade didnât look back. Of course, she didnât.
âWould you slow down?â Viera hissed, dodging a pair of kids chasing a ball down the street. The ball hit a pile of muck, splashing it across her boots. Lovely. Just lovely. She shook her foot, grimacing, and hurried on.
âWhy are you even so calm about this?â she demanded, finally catching up and grabbing Jadeâs arm. âWeâre talking about someone who went full beast-form without hitting red core. You donât find that a bit terrifying?â
Jade turned her head just enough for Viera to catch the faintest glimpse of a smirk under her hood. âTerrifying? Sure. But also fascinating. Donât you want to know how itâs possible?â
âNo!â Viera snapped. âI want to not die in some piss-stained alley because you got curious, Jade. Curiosity kills more than cats, you know.â
âAnd satisfaction brings them back,â Jade quipped, pulling her arm free and continuing forward, unbothered as ever.
Viera groaned, following reluctantly. âSeriously, Jade, whatâs your angle here? Youâre not the ârun toward the chaosâ type. Usually, youâd be holed up with your tinctures and experiments. Whatâs changed?â
Jade paused, just briefly. âInformation,â she said simply, and the word hung there like a challenge.
âWhat information?â Viera pressed, falling into step beside her now.
âI canât tell you yet.â
âOh, of course, you canât tell me yet,â Viera said. âAncestors forbid you give me a straight answer. How do you even expect me to help if youâre keeping me in the dark?â
âYouâre helping by being here,â Jade said with infuriating calm.
âThatâs not how this works!â Viera hissed. She stepped in front of Jade, forcing her to stop. âYou dragged me into this, so spill. What exactly are we dealing with here?â
Jade sighed, glancing around as if to make sure no one was listening. âFine,â she said finally. âI have a lead that this... transformation wasnât a one-off accident. Thereâs a pattern, Viera. And if Iâm right, this could be bigger than just one feral drakarri.â
Vieraâs stomach sank. âA pattern? As in, this has happened before?â
âOr itâs about to happen again,â Jade said, stepping around her. âWhich is why we need to hurry.â
Viera followed, her heart pounding now. âSo, what? You think thereâs some kind of experiment going on down here? Or a curse? Or what?â
âThatâs what weâre here to find out,â Jade said.
Viera wanted to throttle her. Instead, she gritted her teeth and kept walking, her boots squelching in something she didnât want to think about. âIf this gets us killed, Iâm haunting you,â she muttered.
âFair,â Jade said with a shrug.
âAnd another thing,â Viera said, her voice rising despite herself, âif youâre sneaking out for leads like this, what else arenât you telling me? Do you have a death wish I should know about? Is this some kind of secret alchemist vigilante thing?â
Jade gave her a sidelong glance. âYouâve got quite the imagination, donât you?â
âDonât dodge the question,â Viera snapped. âJade, I swear, if youâve been up to something recklessââ
âI havenât. And we already have a lead.â Jade halted abruptly.
Before them stretched a square, as riotous and unruly as any corner of the city, but Jade wasnât gesturing to the chaos. She was pointing at someoneâa Voruun, to be exact. Green-skinned, built like a fortress, with tusks jutting from his lower jaw like a pair of knives. He was hard to miss, though Vieraâs eyes caught something more telling: a tattoo curling up the back of his neck.
The gangs. Of course. This district was practically their playground. Viera knew tattoos like his werenât just for show; they were emblems, markers of allegiance. And judging by the stylized fang inked in black, she could guess which one.
âWhy him?â she asked, though she already had a sinking feeling.
âJust follow.â
The Voruun didnât just stand out; he dominated the space. Even in the chaos, the crowd parted subtly around him, their movements deliberate, wary. His tusks gleamed as he barked orders at a wiry, hooded figure whose hunched posture all but screamed flight risk.
âJade,â Viera hissed, grabbing her cloak before she could take another step. âYou canât be serious. Thatâs Fang Circle. Do you even know what they do to people who get in their way?â
Jade shrugged off her grip. âRelax. Weâre not getting in their way. Weâre just⌠observing.â
âObserving?â Vieraâs voice dripped with sarcasm. âOh, right. Because standing a few meters from a gang enforcer and staring is exactly how you go unnoticed.â
Jade shot her one of those looks. The kind that said, Trust me, Iâve got this. Except Viera knew Jade never âhad this.â Not really.
âJust follow,â Jade repeated, already slipping into the crowd.
Viera bit back a groan, muttering under her breath as she trailed behind. âThis is the worst idea Iâve ever agreed to.â Fifth time this week.
The square opened up as they moved closer, the bustle thinning enough for Viera to get a clearer view. The Voruunâs deep, guttural voice was unmistakable as he argued with the hooded figure. The smaller man shifted uneasily, fidgeting with a tension that practically radiated ready to run.
âWhat exactly are we looking for?â Viera whispered.
Jade didnât answer. Her sharp gaze darted around the square like she was piecing together an invisible puzzle. This wasnât her first trip to this district; of that, Viera was certain. Somehow, Jade had been slipping out unnoticedâand managing it regularly. That was no small feat, especially for someone of their rank.
Viera clenched the amulet in her hand. She was a crafter, not a fighter. Yellow core or not, she was firmly in the âaverageâ category for Varkaigrad.
Jadeâs gaze flicked toward a building, her eyes narrowing as if sheâd just spotted a missing piece of the puzzle. âA signal,â she said, her tone clipped.
âA signal for what?â Viera pressed.
Jade didnât answer. Instead, she grabbed Vieraâs wrist and tugged her toward a nearby alley, weaving through the crowd with practiced precision. Her focus was unshakable, her eyes glued to the ground as they moved, as if avoiding even the faintest misstep.
Viera followed, her pulse quickening, her mind racing. They were too close to the Voruun nowâclose enough to hear his voice clearly now.
ââŚnot my problem if the shipmentâs late,â he growled. âTell them to wait. They know the risks.â
âBut the boss saidââ the wiry man began, only to be silenced by a guttural snarl.
âI donât care what the boss said. You tell them weâre handling it. End of discussion.â
Viera strained to catch the exchange, but Jade held up a hand, signaling her to stay put. The conversation dragged on in tense bursts, the wiry man visibly shrinking under the Voruunâs glare. Eventually, he nodded, darting into the crowd like a frightened hare.
The Voruun lingered, his eyes scanning the square before turning and striding toward an alley on the far side.
âPerfect,â Jade murmured.
âPerfect?â Viera repeated, confused.
Then the scream cameâa piercing, blood-curdling cry that silenced the square for the briefest of moments before chaos erupted.
Viera barely had time to process it before she saw it.
The Voruun was skewered where he stood, a massive, bone-white claw punching clean through his chest. Blood sprayed in violent arcs as the claw retracted, and a serpentine maw, jagged and grotesque, lunged forward to seize him. The creature was a nightmare made flesh, its scaled body coiling and snapping as its claws pinned the Voruun like a childâs toy.
A guttural roar echoed through the square as the beast tore into its prey with a macabre sort of glee, ripping flesh and muscle from bone in a grisly display.
Vieraâs breath hitched as pandemonium swept over the square. The crowd surged like a living tide, people shoving and scrambling to escape the carnage. Her first instinct was to reach for Jade, but her outstretched hand met only air.
âJade!â she shouted. She spun around, her heart hammering as she scanned the throng, but⌠Jade was gone.
Comments
AwesumCoolNinja
I'm not sure, it feels like the story is intentionally making it ambiguous whether it is Jade or not, which I have a feeling it isn't. If she was just gonna transform and attack people why even bring Viera along? I think it's more likely she disappeared because she rushed to investigate/confront the source of the transformation.
Bramble
PPS Eh kinda and also that was the last time we saw her, we have no idea how long it's been since then.
Krzychu0304
Jade is clearly this monster prowling the slums, and now she's decided to eat this gangster.... Just why the hell did she take Viera with her? Is she checking if she can teleport etc. unnoticed by the yellow core or what? PS one small thing; creatures with a jaw like Jade's don't bite the meat off the limb from the bone, they tear it apart and swallow it whole, along with the bone.
Razafarian
So I'm guessing jade's following the hues and has been using her new powers to sneak out. But what in the world is happeninggggg đ
IDK
Jade, I have many questions. Namely, what the $@&% have you done???
