1-3-9

“I still don’t understand,” Gaius the lion said. “Why haven’t you tried attacking the Belford Mansion before?”

They were all gathered at the town hall of Karlaca then. Some were crewmen from the Chenodia, but others were just the common townsfolk. They had all come together to plan their intended attack on Belford Mansion and end its curse for good.

Outside the town hall, it was well past noon and clouds were already obscuring the skies above.

“Is it always like this?” Zane the cobra alchemist said as he looked out a window. “Doesn’t it ever rain?”

“No, good sir,” a nearby male water buffalo said. “It almost never rains in Karlaca anymore. The undead hate running water, you see. At night, Belford Mansion’s dark magic is stronger and covers everything in mist. Whatever evil sorcery Count Belford used in that place; it must have been truly terrible indeed.”

“Necromancy at this level,” Sienna the owl wizard noted. “Enough to control even the weather!”

Mayor Laurio looked at the lion prince with a sad expression.

“We would have, Your Highness,” the lemming mayor said. “But its power was such that it became impossible for us to find later on. When we sent parties to scout out the place many years ago, they went in circles for an entire day or even more. People in those parties have also disappeared and, after our thirteenth attempt to find that place, we decided to stop sending people to find Belford Mansion.”

“What makes it so different now?” Gaius asked. “How do you know we’ll find Belford Mansion this time?”

“Because Your Highness,” answered Steno the hyena and dragged a bat who’d been tied by his wings into the town hall. “We have this guy.”

“Pietro, you knave!” Mayor Laurio said to the bat. “At last you’ve been captured!”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” scowled Pietro the bat. “You have no right to do this to me!”

“First, you led these people to Belford Mansion,” Mayor Laurio said thinly. “A place where they may very well have died. Second, you just left them there, at the mercy of whatever dark powers were inside the mansion. Third, you never admitted to any of the things you’ve done. However, if I have to recount every misdeed you’ve done, almost all have been against the good people of Karlaca. People who have treated you as friend and family!”

“You have no proof!” Pietro said, but with fearful eyes.

“You were the loyal valet of Count Belford!” Mayor Laurio shouted. “You chose him and his money over the lives of all the people in the town you were born and raised in! To this day, I have seen what a far cry you are from your good mother who was a model citizen of Karlaca! You never helped us with our troubles here! Not once did you even reconsider that you were working with a madman, and a very evil one at that! A man who would gladly feed living children to the dead!”

It was right around then that Khayyam saw that the bat had been sawing at his restraints with a folding knife.

“Lookout!” the large crocodile bellowed. “He has a knife!”

But it was too late, Pietro the bat had cut through his restraints and quickly grabbed the mayor. As other people in the town hall tried to move against him, he held the point of the knife at the mayor’s neck. He looked at everyone around him and grinned.

“If any of you come close,” Pietro said. “This old lemming dies, got it?”

There were many who drew weapons of their own. Steno the hyena’s kukri knife and Khayyam the crocodile’s scimitar were at the ready. Beryl very cautiously drew her pistol-sword while Gaius’ own pistol was already pointed at the bat.

The bat very slowly moved towards one of the larger windows of the town hall.

“Not a step further!” Reuben the monkey said. “Do you really think we’re just going to let you escape from us? After everything you’ve done? You really think we’re just going to let you go this time, Pietro?”

“Listen, you old fart,” Pietro spat. “I had nothing to do with all the things you’re yapping about. I just did what the count told me to do. If anyone here’s in the wrong it’s you guys for not knowing any better.”

“How are we the villains here, Pietro?” the old monkey stared at the bat with a hard expression.

“You knew the count was trouble,” Pietro laughed at them. “But you took him in anyway. Me, I just played along. You had every opportunity to rid yourself of him but you never did. When he was still in the mansion with his family, you and the others could’ve done something. But you didn’t, did you?”

“You’re blaming us for what’s happened to Karlaca?” Reuben said, his tobacco-worn voice rising. “But you were there, Pietro. You were there helping that fiend Belford and you did nothing to stop him! You say there we are somehow guilty for all that’s happened here even though you are equally guilty of doing the same or even more so! In fact, being the count’s loyal servant, you probably had plenty of opportunities to put a stop to his plans! But did you? Did you actually do anything? If anyone’s to blame here Pietro, it’s you.”

“Shut up old man!” Pietro said and threw something that was lit onto the floor of the town hall.

“BOMB!” shouted Zane the cobra. “EVERYONE TAKE COVER!”

An explosion of smoke followed, obscuring everything in the building in a dense cloud. The dense smoke caused coughing in a lot of the people inside the town hall and many covered their faces as the chemical stung their eyes. Meanwhile, Pietro dragged the mayor closer to the large window which was now right behind him.

“You aren’t going to get away from us Pietro,” said Mayor Laurio. “One way or another we’ll find you.”

“But you won’t,” the bat said and plunged his knife into the mayor’s side, eliciting a scream from the lemming mayor.

“Mayor Laurio!” shouted Reuben.

“So long!” Pietro laughed and was about to jump out a window when Prince Gaius and Captain Meralco opened fire on him.

There were two loud reports that thundered through the town hall as one bullet struck Pietro in the shoulder and another in his elbow, effectively preventing him from flying away.

The bat screamed in agony in response but he was soon out the window before anyone could do anything.

Sanchez the dog, Zenny the tiger and Vic the lemming quickly followed the bat through the window.

The dog noted the blood on the ground and sniffed the air over it.

“Hmm, he’s bleeding,” Sanchez noted. “Let’s go after him!”

And as the dog pursued the injured bat outside the town hall, the tiger and the lemming quickly followed.

+++

Gaius, Beryl and the other crewmen burst through the front doors to the town hall.

“We have to go after them!” Reuben the monkey said. “If Pietro gets away, we won’t have anyone to guide to Belford Mansion!”

Biggs the elephant came out with the injured Mayor Laurio in his arms and followed by Dr. Josef the centipede and Medina the water buffalo townswoman.

The elephant set the injured lemming mayor on the ground while the centipede doctor quickly tended to him.

“Medina,” Mayor Laurio wheezed. “Go with them. Help them. End the curse.”

The female water buffalo looked confused.

“Go with them Medina,” Reuben told the woman. “You have the best chance out of all of us to rid Karlaca of Belford Mansion’s curse!”

Medina stood up and looked at Prince Gaius and Captain Meralco.

“This way!” a buzzard crewman shouted to the prince and the captain. “We found a trail of the bat’s blood!”

And with that Gaius and Beryl ran with Medina following close behind.