Chapter 08:Journey to the North

Concepita was enjoying her rather late lunch. The hard bread, while tasteless, was better than nothing but it also made the temptation of eating the chocolate even stronger. The water helped with eating the stale bread but if she were to drink it all or too much while eating the bread, she would not be able to clean her teeth properly after eating the chocolate, or be unable to eat the dessert due to being full.

It was a battle that she would not lose, but when your enemy's defenses can be brought down only by sacrificing your allies, then is it even worth it to win? So she decided to start eating the bread with no water, using her own power instead.

She then started hearing the nearing footsteps coming closer and closer to the rotting door. She did not wish to show her face to her mercenary squad so that she could better mask her emotions so she quickly started eating what remained of bread in her mouth and then put on her mask.

She struggled a bit with the strap so when she heard the footsteps stop in front of the door she violently threw her hands down to try and force the mask into place, inadvertently smashing the piece of bread that remained and making it crumble.

The other hand hit the rotting wooden table with enough force to cave it, causing the water jug to fall down and spill into the bread, causing it so soften while giving the black bread the nasty look of mold. The water jug fell down behind her when the door slithered open.

She was busy trying to clean the water with her cloak but all it did was make the mushy pieces of bread stick to it a bit. The silk-like cloak that she got as a present from her mother was now covered in pieces of food that would normally take only a few moments to fall off, but before they could do that, Roberto looked at his squad leader with an unknown face.

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Roberto was reluctant to approach the door, much less touch it. It had a metal door knob but he knew that the sensation of the moist wood slithering on the ground and get pushed down by the force exerted on the door knob would give a horrid sensation.

His concentration was then broken by the sound of a sudden bang along with an irritated groan from behind the door. He immediately opened the door, thinking that The Lady was either being accosted by an unknown enemy or even hurt, so while ignoring the horrid sensation that he anticipated, he opened the door.

In front of him he saw a strange sight. The Lady was moving her cloak, which now looked to be covered in mold due to the poor lighting caused by the clouds above, was moving across the desk, trying to move a slurry of mold away.

It looked as if pieces of mold that were not quite solid nor liquid seeped out of the 'body' of the squad leader. At the current moment, Roberto, someone with medical expertise while also reasonably unsettled by the current sight, was not thinking clearly.

He stayed still for a few moments until he heard the now less coarse but still muffled voice of The Lady, but this time it was more strange than usual, as if she had her mouth full.

-"It is a bit rude to interrupt someone when they are eating. What is it?" The voice of the strange was disturbing to the human ear. The rumors of The Lady actually being a being of mold or fungi now started to make more sense in the mind of Roberto.

The young medic then slowly turned the other way, walked a few steps and then closed the door behind him then thought to himself.

'Nope nope nope nope'

He then recollected himself, and while leaning to the wall next to the rotting door, he said with what could be described as the voice of a teen that just went into a haunted house for the first time.

-"I ap-apologise for disturbing you Miss Concepita. I have spoken with sir Gioconda downstairs and explained the current situation, he did not object and also decided to provide our squad a new member, his daughter, while also providing the necessary equipment and provisions she would need for the journey" He slowly swallowed some saliva that built up in his mouth, hoping that The Lady would not decide to choose him for as her next meal.

Normally, Roberto would not object to being seen as a snack by other women, but The Lady was way above his pay grade. No matter how he much he tried, her form would almost always be covered by the cloak she always dons. The only reason why he even knew that she was a woman was the sound of her voice, the slightly revealed eye from her visor and her saying so.

While the young medic was thinking about these things, a few moments passed in which only the breathing of two beings could be heard. The breathing hidden behind a gas mask that belonged to Roberto, and the breathing that was muffled and changed by the slightly defective gas mask that The Lady wore.

Then the silence was broken by The Lady that now sounded more human. While still muffled and a bit distorted, the coarseness and the 'fullness' of her mouth was gone. It was now the gentle yet firm voice of woman, which sounded a bit pleasing to the ear.

-"The young Sylvana? While her father has been gracious to us, gifting us free room and board, I do not see why we should agree to this. Why am I hearing these news from you and not Gioconda?" she spoke with a hint of irritation and confusion, wanting to hear the explanation of the boy of flesh that hid behind a rotting door.

-"I apologize for not informing you of this before taking action but the lady has access to useful and crucial information about The R- about Switzerland. If she is found to not be useful to us then we would not lose much due to her coming with her own supplies, while if she is then our chances of survival would increase." Roberto now realized that he may have acted too hastily. He assumed that The Lady would not mind the company of Gioconda's daughter because she could be used as bait or as a testing subject for the interior of some unknown Domes, but he decided to not talk about that while she was irritated just in case The Lady fancied the girl.

There was yet another period of silence that followed, this time accompanied by Roberto's heart beating hard against his rib cage. Most people would find the sight quite amusing, a rather well built man cowering behind a concrete wall from a woman, which while impressive in stature and build, could not manage to escape alive after having killed off a mercenary employed by a revolutionary movement.

But if the woman was a well known mercenary, leader of said squad that was employed by the movement, and that now heard how her subordinate undermined her authority, while also probably being a monstrous creature? It started making a bit more sense.

Of course, Roberto was not thinking clearly, he never was one for on the spot thinking. If he had paid more attention, he would have noticed that the 'mold' was just a loaf of bread that was crushed and then moistened by water. He could have also noticed that these pieces were in fact not growing out of the cloak, but instead simply falling off.

Luckily for Concepita's reputation, the young medic did not notice, but instead was slowly wondering if he had his will written.

The lady then sighed and spoke once more, this time with a much more calm tone.

-"Very well, she may come with us. Her knowledge is bound to be useful to you, and her presence could ease some of the tension. Have her informed while we drive to the train station, give her only the essentials. Now go, night is not far away for now but we are going to need sleep."

Roberto then quickly ran downstairs to calm down and try to rest, but he doubts whether he would be able to get any kind of sleep while under the same roof as The Lady.

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By the time Amadeo came back to the dilapidated building, most of the members were still asleep. The only one that still remained awake was Gioconda, looking at a piece of jewelry with an absent minded expression.

When the wooden door closed, the old man slowly looked down, catching sight of the fallen priest. The young man's eyes were serious and devoid of any kind of positivity. His chin had a short beard growing from it that seemed well groomed.

-"Sir Amadeo, it seems that you have returned from your short excursion. I have discussed the matter of Sylvana's joining with young Roberto and he agreed." the old man had a pleased look on his face, as if he won a bet.

Amadeo simply watched, his expression turning even more grim than before. His hands slowly came out of his pockets and stayed close to the knife sheathed at his hip. The faces of Death and War looked at the scenery besides him, acting almost like silent guardsmen, ready to pop out of his gloves to bring about a massacre.

-"It seems like Lady Soul Mold also agreed, considering how sir Roberto did not say anything once he returned. She is quite the Lady don't you think? All the stories told about her, how some of them are akin to the tales of old, where young men would protect the weak, fight against the strong and come back home victorious." Gioconda looked at the wall besides Amadeo for a short while before continuing.

"I do not believe most of them. Do not get me wrong, she still scares me quite a lot, but I still believe she is human, of flesh and blood. What matters is that she is a symbol, a mythical heroine that was born of The Rot, ready to reclaim the lost lands that those in power left behind to rot and fester. She is the scalpel, while we are the hand."

Amadeo simply looked at the elderly man. He did not sense that anyone was awake or near enough to overhear their conversation, but he still did not understand the reason for the man's monologue.

"I sense that you do not understand why I chose to confide in you. Don't get me wrong, I am not afraid that you would reveal all of this, for several reasons of course. I am also not going to act like I can try to control The Lady, all I am doing is employing the services of a mercenary while also acting like a good host. Not the kind the Geber is of course."

The fallen priest did not understand the meaning behind the last words but he decided to still commit them to memory. He slowly took a step while continuing to eye the still talking old man.

"I chose to confide in you because of two reasons. The first, you are still a priest at heart so I doubt you would reveal the confessions of an old man like myself. The second, you are a good man. You have seen with your own eyes the corruption spreading in the hearts of everyone. How innocent people are wronged while those in power keep ignoring their pleas. How this land itself is rotting, festering with disease."

Amadeo stopped for a brief moment before taking the next step, now standing only a few feet from the man.

"I have lost family and I will continue losing people that I care for unless something changes. I believe that the catalyst for such a change is hidden within The Rot. Within Section Alpha. There is no other explanation as to why such an area isn't well documented. Even if it were hell on earth, some information should have been distributed, leaked or somehow exposed about anything deeper than section Gamma, but there is nothing."

The fallen priest stopped yet again and simply watched then he raised the fist that showed the image of War. He pointed at it and then at Death.

"If you are asking if I am going to start a real revolution, then yes, but only if I must. I do not wish for any more deaths to be accredited to my name than necessary priest. If the way to salvation is not found in The Rot, then it would mean that my sacrifices would be for nothing, and that then, either I die, or I would stand upon a mountain of corpses. I am placing all of my eggs in one basket, I do not care whether some of them are rotten or not."

Amadeo then pointed at the room of Sylvana with Death, his gesture and choice of hand clearly asking what was on his mind.

"Sylvana.... Yes I see why I would sound like a hypocrite. She has not been living after her mother died. Neither have I to be honest, but I wish to choose where my grave will be instead of having someone else choose for me. If... If she does not live her exodus to The Rot then I ask of you one simple thing. Please give her a proper burial and pray for her soul. I decided to make her go because if she were to stay here then she would simply be used as a hostage at some point or just killed in action."

The fallen priest clenched his hands tightly, causing the leather to deform and make a slight sound. He then made the cross yet again and did a silent prayer, this time wishing for the safety of the young lady.

Her father is mad and decided that his movement is more important than her life. This brought a bitter taste to Amadeo's mouth, the bitter taste of memories. His reasons did not make sense to the young priest and sounded only like poorly made excuses, but he also knew that even if he were to try and change the old man's mind, it would be for naught.

And so, after the silent prayer was over, the young man walked quickly towards his quarters and slept. Desiring to rest his mind and to go into the sweet embrace of dreams where he could live a different life.

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The streets of Florence were illuminated by the soft and weak light of the lampposts. The moon was covered by the thick clouds above while only the brightest of stars would be visible in the sky if it were less cloudy.

On these streets, a medium sized van slowly headed towards a train station while playing the tunes of the radio. There was a cheery tune playing while the tense mercenaries and lady Sylvana sometimes stole glances towards The Lady. She was currently sleeping peacefully while using her cloak as a makeshift pillow, the mask never having left her face.

Her body was now much more visible. It was still hidden away under clothing and protective armor but it at the very least confirmed that she still possessed the shape of a human under that cloak. Her tall figure, which the other members speculated to be around 6'1 pr 6'2, was intimidating.

The sister's looked at Roberto, who was currently letting Amadeo ride while he just looked at the streets with a surprised expression, they would have expected the medic to ogle at Lady Concepita until his eyes popped out of his skull.

Sylvana was currently still defensive and only glanced at The Lady from time to time, while the rest of the time she eyed the men of the group with suspicion and slight fear.

Giulio and Gasparo were talking between themselves and keeping the large bags of equipment steady, not wanting it to bang against the walls or jump around while the van moved across the uneven ground.

Amadeo was just thankful for being able to listen to the radio while he drove, his eyes being focused on the road while Roberto just lazed around and seemed oddly tense.

Roberto was looking at the streets and at the people moving around before his eyes. He looked at some of the houses that still had their lights on and wondered who in their right minds would still be awake at such an hour. Maybe they were reading something?

Other times he looked at the people on the street, making deals, shivering and trying to find shelter, simply taking walks and ignoring the people begging for money. There were also people that gave money, people that reported shady things and tried to help the best they could.

It was an odd sight for the young medic. He was never comfortable in being in public transportation and due to his crimes, getting a car for himself was not possible, so most of the time he was among the people walking the streets.

He would make deals with desperate people or coax others into a life of addiction through connections. He would sometimes give money to the needy while at other times he would turn a blind eye. He had lived under both concrete and the sky, wood and cardboard.

It was nice knowing that life and compassion still existed in this land of rot and decay. That mother's would still scold their children for staying up late and that sometimes, people without a home found friends, were offered a hot meal and hope for tomorrow.

He wished to continue watching these things. To commit them to memory so that he could have something to come back to, something to wish for. Something to motivate him to escape the clutches of The Rot....

'If I were to be gone... Would people even care? What of The Lady? How did she feel to be treated as an unknowable creature or as a commodity that could be hunted? To be seen as a beast to hunt or chase after...'

He continued having such thoughts while closing his eyes for minutes at a time. He tried overhearing the conversations happening at the back and then finally looked back, looked at lady Sylvana.

She was not wearing her dress anymore and instead wore a much more casual set of clothes. A dark blue shirt covered her torso while some rather odd looking pants covered her legs, they looked like they were a size or two bigger than her and so she had to fasten a belt so that it would fit, with the beige color not being any improvement.

Once she noticed his gaze, the girl shivered and then huddled even further back into the corner and closer to The Lady. She was most certainly scared and trying to go to the nearest source of safety. Someone completely different from her, someone that demanded the loyalty of men probably stronger than her physically.

Roberto sighed a bit and then went back to watching the streets, wanting to punch himself in the face hard for the stupid thing he had just done.

'Way to go there... As if she wasn't scared enough with Giulio and Gasparo, now the man that insisted on her joining looked at her and inspected her clothes. She is rather beautiful though.... It is such a shame that she has to wear such ugly clothes and go to a hellscape instead of being home, probably trying to find a good husband."

He then watched as the road slowly turned to dirt and as the buildings and people got more and more depressing to look at.

The dilapidated building that they were housed in almost looked luxurious when compared to these. There was crumbling concrete and rotting wood visible above the heads of the people sleeping. They were the poorest and the desperate, their hope having either long died or close to it.

It was not like the homeless that the movies showed. They were dirty, with their eyes covered in grime that accumulated while they slept. Most of them were clothed in rags or stitched amalgamations of cloth.

When they looked at the van going past, there was only longing and jealousy. If they were to die then at best, they would be picked up by and then looked at to see who their next of kin was. If they were lucky and had one, then the kin would manage the burial or the cremation process.

If the body was fresh enough and no next of kin was found that could handle the expense, they would instead be taken and used for learning medical students. This practice has been instated so long ago in most states that not many even know when or where it was first introduced.

Food and proper sources of water were rare but enough to prolong their suffering. If someone managed to find money in some way then they would have to first clean themselves and try to look presentable enough before even trying to get help or a job.

Some hospitals would even refuse to operate unless the friends of the ailing friend agreed on letting the hospital take the corpse in case of death, or even at all.

This was the uglier side of humanity, where if one even managed to find work in unsafe factories or other things, they would die if they missed a single day of work. There are charities and generous people that help lessen the burden but even such measures are not enough, and if the economy is going through a recession while most able-bodied young men and women are taken into military service or higher education?

The old parents and young siblings suffer.

That's how the sister's ended up on the streets.

Who Giulio and Gasparo got their money from.

Who Roberto used to sell to.

And who Amadeo used to try and help...

They have all committed evil deeds in order to survive, some they enjoyed at the time and came to regret, some that they see as necessary.

And so, when they saw a way for them to try and make money while also doing a good deed? They jumped at the opportunity. The fact that this 'good deed' only benefited certain people and that most likely they would not return alive was known among all of them besides Sylvana, and they came to terms with it.