Book Three – Interlude – Part Two – The Mafia’s Raison D’être

Sakdu fell victim to another bout of anger but recovered quickly. Momo happened to look up from cowering in fear and noticed he didn’t have a tail.

“He threw the heads down at his feet and stomped down. Once. Twice. Four times. Ten times. He mashed and kicked, and the blood wouldn’t stop splattering. Soon, the flame engulfing the village reached my house, and the Human said it wasn’t all bad. He said if he could rid the world of a few more Kobolds, he wouldn’t worry about wasting the strength to slaughter us. I had never fought a day in my life, so the proper emotions were foreign to me... Hatred, however, surged through my body as if it was there all along. I grabbed anything I could and charged in. Before I knew it, his blade had sliced through my table leg and collided with my scales. He whispered in my shaking ears that he saw the hatred in my eyes and said that reminded him of the past. He flicked his blade up, and I noticed he used the dull edge of his sword.

“I wanted to die. I yelled at the Human to take my life since he took everything else from me, but he refused to grant me mercy. I fell to my knees and sobbed when the Human reached down and whispered something. He said he had never met a more pathetic Kobold in his life, but he was going to give me a chance. Do you know what he did? He shattered my arms and legs with the dull side of his blade, and he chopped off my tail when I couldn’t support myself.

“He’s the reason I have no tail. I can still feel it sometimes. Roger says it’s a type of phenomenon called phantom pain where someone still feels something attached to them, even though it was cut off. But when he broke my limbs and cut my tail, I was ready to die. The fire invading the village had to be close to engulfing my house, but it never did. I don’t know why it didn’t kill me then, but I wished it had. The Human walked away laughing, and he came back with the headless corpses of my wife and daughter. He tossed them at my head, and he bent down. Do you know what he told me?

“He told me his name. He said this was for revenge for what happened to his village. He said he thought his strength would be wasted, but it wasn’t. He said the injuries he suffered were self-inflicted to lower our guard. He said it was all an act. Then, he left. Oh, I wished the fire had taken me then and there. Tell me, do you know how I survived with no food, no water, and no sense of purpose?”

“I do. I’ll tell you how it happened.” Momo wiped the tears from her eyes as Roger came into view. His white handkerchief, now soaked with liquid, had absorbed more tears than Momo had shed.

Roger continued, “Sakdu had to eat the corpses of his wife and child. For seven days, their skin became his reasoning, their flesh his source of strength, their crimson lifeblood his source of water, and their crunchy bones his source of distraction. He had to turn to cannibalism to survive. And do you know why he did it?”

Momo used the rest of her strength to shake her head.

“Because he wanted revenge, but he's not the only one. My own village was attacked by the very same Human who forced such dark hatred into Sakdu’s heart. I saw the smoke and heard wailing from one of the unburned houses. You see, my God is a God of Medicine. In exchange for having no skills, I was blessed with a vast amount of medicinal knowledge. The herbs to use, the water to mix, what seeds and bits from plants and animals to use... It all comes naturally to my mind. I used that knowledge to save him. Medicine healed his body, but it couldn’t bring back his tail.” Roger looked at Sakdu, who had his eyes closed.

“After saving me, I told him about the Human who attacked me. Then and there, surrounded by the remains of my village, we vowed to do what we could to take revenge. That’s why he left me alive, and that’s why Roger escaped with his life. Together, we joined Warden and completed quest after quest. When we had the chance, we slaughtered thousands of sick families by offering them what they thought was medicine. Do you know poison and medication are often the same things? The only difference is the amount of ingredients. Roger is an expert in masking poison as medicine. Oh, that’s not all. Somewhere along the line, an idea popped into my head.

“I asked Roger if he could produce a pill to bring the world to its knees, and he did after a bit of experimentation. At the time, we stayed at an inn in a small village, and I knew it was the best time to test the drug. I handed it to the village elder, then Roger and I set off for the day. When we came back after the moon had risen, the elder begged me on his hands and feet for another one. Once he did that, I knew we had the perfect chance to start our revenge. Over the years, we slowly created an organization and branched out from that village into the multinational shadow organization you see before you.."

“Then... The Mafia is…” The gears in Momo’s head turned, and she made a startling connection.

“That’s right. ‘Mafi’ is my wife’s name, and ‘Fia’ is my daughter’s name. When combined together, you get Mafia. It’s a constant reminder of what I lost. Every time I hear it said aloud, it sends a jolt of anger surging through my body. It took years, but it was worth the wait. The hardest part was getting someone to take that first pill. But once they did, it became something they couldn’t live without. Politicians, village militias, governors, mayors, nobles, you name it. Our reach is unparalleled! Even the King of Lando's and Emperor of Keywater's information networks doesn’t stack up to the power of the Mafia! That’s how we control cities! That’s why nobody has done anything to stop us! We control those in charge, and they don’t want to erase their only source of Monotonia! We have seen desperate fathers sell their daughters' virginities for the CHANCE of earning half a pill.

“We acquired a great fortune over the years, and we spent it wisely by buying the loyalty of men. Strong men. Powerful men. By getting them addicted to Monotonia, they became our slaves. By my count, we have well over 5,000 men in my personal army. And with how quickly we can manufacture Monotonia via Roger, there’s no chance of any deserters. Tell me, what would you feel if you had to face the strength of an army 5,000 strong, all of who were blessed by Major Gods? That’s not including the men we have stationed in Arcton, which number well over 6,000. That’s an army 11,000 strong.”

It was at that moment Momo realized how powerless she was. She was a tiny fish in a pond filled with apex predators who had the strength and ferociousness to bring entire cities under their control by strong-arming a pill they had come to rely on. She knew she could not and would not escape alive. Yet, a single name posed itself on the tip of her tongue, and she yelled her thoughts before her brain had a chance to stop her mouth.

“SERVY WON’T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!!!!!” Momo shouted a declaration, but she didn’t believe the utterances blurting from her mouth. After what she did and the fight they had, she didn’t know what kind of person would ever want to rescue her.

“Ahh, Servi. Tell me, she had red hair and black eyes, correct?” asked Roger.

Momo weakly nodded.

Roger put a hand to his chin while Sakdu spoke. “What do you expect a single Rank 10 to do against the might of 11,000 men? She’s a Human. Her bones aren’t strong like a Kobold, her skin is weaker than a Koena’s scales, her ears and eyes are dull, and they don’t compare to an Elf, and they are much slower and clumsier than a Singi. Their muscles are spongy and fleshy, and they are nothing like a Dwarf’s. Truly, Humans are the weakest of them all."

“I remember,” Roger exclaimed. “After I kidnapped you and that Elf, I had some men keep an eye on the inn. They reported to me of a girl matching this Servi’s description who entered. When the building suddenly became filled with smoke and forced everyone to evacuate, we did not see her escape. There was no fire, so she didn’t burn to death. We didn’t see her corpse, so she’s not dead. If she was around town, we would’ve received word from our many observers. They’ve been instructed to keep an eye out for her. It is impossible to hide from the Mafia’s eyes. In that case, I see two possibilities. One: this ‘Servi’ escaped and left Arcton with the smoke hiding her tracks. Two: she left the building and tried to hide out, but she was met with a terrible fate. Food is quite rare in some sections of the town, you know. Cannibalism isn’t an uncommon occurrence.”

It was like a spear impaled Momo’s beating heart. Her entire body froze up, and she laughed. It couldn’t be real?! She thought Servi couldn’t be dead.

“Don’t think for a moment that she could be alive or in the city. We have observers on every corner of every street, and no one has reported seeing a girl with black hair and red eyes. Red eyes are one thing, but having both is unusual. If she was alive, we would know about it. Since we don’t, it stands to differ that she’s either dead or left town. Regardless, she’s abandoned you. You’re all alone,” Roger explained.

Sakdu continued after him. “Let me explain to you about the game I said I wanted to play. Roger left her a letter explaining the rules. To summarize, I gave her one week to save you by finding me. If she could do that, then it would be her I kill and not you. Perhaps a part of me wanted to believe in the bonds between Human and Demi-Human, and now I’m even more convinced of the answer than ever before. There cannot be trust between the two, and anyone saying anything else is an ignorant fool who doesn’t know the truth.

“But since she is dead, the game is over, and I have no reason to keep you alive any longer. However, as a fellow Demi-Human who was betrayed by a Human, I will honor the rules I laid out. You must stay here, in this cell with that waste bucket, but you will not starve or thirst. If you refuse to eat food, then we will force it down your gullet.”

Momo didn’t react in any way. Her body stayed entirely still. Sakdu didn’t care, and he continued to speak and explained his plan to the frozen girl.

“Come Saturday, I have ordered my personal army to gather in a spot outside of town. I have also ordered all of my Numbered to gather as well. Do you know what for?”

“I don’t care…” Momo whispered as she cried. The heavy tears felt like cinder blocks as they dripped to her hands. Her one and only friend had ‘died,’ and the very last words she said to her were out of hatred and anger. A part of her hoped she could apologize to her best friend from the afterlife, but Momo believed there wouldn’t be one for a girl like her.

“After I tear the skin from your body and eat your bloody flesh, I will command my army to commence the attack on Canary.”

Sakdu’s words kicked Momo’s heart into overdrive as the bloodied faces of Dineria, Srassa, and Fisher and his family flashed across her eyes. “Why?! What did Canary do to you?!”

“It is easy. That is where that damned devil is. It is where he thinks he can enjoy the privilege of starting a family. How dare he deprive me and others of that opportunity! But don’t worry. Once all of Canary is scorched in my flames of hatred and his wife and children are at home in my gullet, I will be no more. For it is his fault that I have this desire for flesh and not food. It is a curse that can only be broken by forcing him to watch his family become the source of strength for my final act." After taking a subtle breath, Sakdu looked up at the roof and spoke four words. "I will kill myself."

Roger sadly sighed and remorsefully shook his head from side to side while Sakdu continued to speak. "Having accomplished my revenge, I will have nothing to look forward to. I have no aspirations, no love, no joy to be found in farming corn, no desire to accomplish anything. I will have nothing. The Mafia will be disbanded because its ultimate goal had been achieved, but people are free to re-establish it for themselves. If they wish to rain terror across the land using my wife’s and daughter’s namesake, then I am satisfied with that. Should it be disbanded the moment the task is complete, I will accept that as well. The Mafia is only a tool to be used to obtain our revenge. It is nothing more and nothing less.

“Now that I’m thinking of it, if this Servi was a Demi, then you two would probably be in Canary when the attack commences. Perhaps it’s a good thing you two won’t witness the atrocities my men and I plan to commit.” Sakdu looked to Roger. He nodded and spoke.

“I plan to keep living. Before my village was exterminated, I wanted to use my gift to help everyone. And I plan to continue that, yet I refuse to treat Humans. I will happily poison them under the guise of providing medicine, but I will never aid one for as long as I breathe.”

Sakdu crushed the metal in his hands and tossed it at the cell where Nimea sat unmoving and unresponsive. Roger’s elven hearing picked the faint footsteps of a messenger and turned to the door. Sakdu turned as well. Twenty-four seconds later, a young Singi, barely older than ten or eleven, ran in with a piece of paper clutched tightly against his chest.

“Sir! Sir! It’s an urgent message from a 6th, Carmelo,” he reported. He stuck his hand out, and Sakdu grabbed it without a single word. A sharp claw on his scaly index finger ripped through the wax seal like a knife through butter.

“Sakdu?” Roger asked.

“It is nothing. Seems there has been some trouble at Deset. It’s nothing to worry about. Tell a 5th to head there and check things out. And tell the 1st and 2nd base we’re heading out to the advance base in the morning. Make sure they grab everything because we won’t be coming back. I expect them to have the ballistas torn down and ready to move by first light. The men in my army start arriving tomorrow. Make sure to send a message to every base and have them look for the smoke signal on Saturday morning at 6 AM. They should arrive by 9, 10 at the latest, and we can finally begin our conquest. Roger, it’s been a long time coming, but our revenge is nearly here. Take care of any other messages that need to be sent before we leave.”

“Understood. I’ll construct the messages and get the two bases ready to move.” Roger nodded his head and walked out with the messenger. Momo caught a glimpse of his tail.

It had no fur, only skin. Sakdu saw Momo's questioning eyes and explained. “When I found him a few years back, someone had skinned the fur off of his tail and made it into a scarf. I rounded the criminal up and forced the boy to kill him.” Sakdu put a hand to the hole he made with his thick fists and used his other hand to rip his red tie off. “It’s time for me to toss away these ridiculous suits.” Sakdu stopped when he reached the doorway and looked back at Momo. The following words out of Sakdu's mouth launched a second spear of betrayal through Momo's heart.

“The name of the Human I want to kill… If you’re from Canary, then you should know him. He is known within Lando as some ridiculous title that I refuse to call him by. The ‘Justice Captain...’ How asinine. No. To me, he will forever be known as Fisher Jin. That is the name of the man who sent me to Hell all those years ago. I have climbed from the depths of despair over the corpses of countless Humans and Demi-Humans in my quest for revenge, and I will not be stopped when I am so close to tasting his family’s flesh. I will bite off Marissa's head, and I will split Meri and Mari in half and chew the flesh from their legs. That damn curse he inflicted on me prevented me from enjoying anything other than living meat. I refuse to eat those of my own race, but I have no qualms about eating a Dwarf or a Singi.”

Sakdu growled one final time and left through the threshold, walking until Momo couldn’t hear his heavy footsteps.

A few hours later, when the sun had disappeared from the sky, and the moon and stars came out to play, watery snot and hot tears continued to fall from Momo’s nose and eyes. Everything she had experienced in the short time she’d be captured had gone against her common sense. She didn’t want to believe someone like Fisher, who had treated her with such kindness, was capable of doing those horrendous things Sakdu accused him of.

“Wait,” Momo squeaked, “Didn’t Servi say something a while ago when he arrived at Warden and announced the emergency quests? Did she know his true nature and not tell me?! I thought we were best friends… Why didn’t you tell me these things…”

Like an eternal knot with no end, Momo’s mind traced itself in an endless feedback loop powered by self-doubt and pity. Her mind created new scenarios and false evidence in her memories where there wasn’t any as if it was looking for non-existent signs of betrayal to make her feel less foolish.

She was so far trapped in her pointless creations that she didn’t realize Nimea had stirred awake.

Somehow, he was well aware of the conversation shared by Roger, Sakdu, and Momo. He wanted to speak to the one person he had wronged and treated like an object, but he was petrified of what would happen if his mouth opened. Would he beg for forgiveness? Would he berate Momo and blame her for his impending death? Would any kind of coherent words come out at all, or would it be a babbling mess of sounds?

Nimea didn’t know what would happen, and that frightened him.

With nothing else to do, he leaned back against the stone wall and hugged his knees close while listening to the sad whimpers of a girl who had lost everything.