Revisting the trauma

We went back to Syrus's hideout and rested for a short time. Afterwards we spoke about Syrus's idea to get the group back together and take down the gangs in Zyniii. I thought it was a good idea and was happy to help him make Zyniii a safer place to live. We also discussed the ultimatum we had with the Black Bone pirates. We thought it best to wait till Lucid had joined us again before we arranged a meeting with them. Syrus suggested that in the meantime we could locate the bodies of Fingers and Toes at the Victri mansion. I was not keen on going back to that mansion but also knew right now this was our best course of action.
 
We started to head towards the Ruby district when suddenly there was a loud bang and dense smoke filled the air. My vision was obscured by the smoke and after i got kicked to the ground i felt a sharp blade on my neck. Someone then demanded that we tell them what happened to Fingers and Toes. Gurval must have avoided being knocked down because he told them to let us go so we could talk. I got to my feet and noticed a familair insinga on thier clothing which confirmed my suspicions they were Black bone pirates. We told them about Fingers and Toes death and that we were now going to retrieve their bodies. One of the pirates introduced herself as Kyra and insisted they accompany us to the mansion. We had no issue with this since we were going to bring the bodies to them anyway, so Kyra and two of her crewmates accompanied us to the Victri mansion.
 
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I was surprised to find that some of the mansion's foundation was still intact after the fire. The front doors had come off their hinges and a majority of the doorway had collapsed. Syrus used magic to blow away the doors and then we squeezed our way through a small opening, Gurval choose to find a different entrance. We made our way into the front lobby and then the front entrance caved in blocking our exit.
 
Once we were inside it felt like a weight was pressing down on me making it hard for me to breathe. There were various doors and also a stairway leading downstairs. We headed downstairs and found cells with rotting corpses, i could not help but retch from the smell. At the end of the cell block was a locked door. Gurval had found a way into the mansion by this stage and we managed to break the lock. We walked into the room and i was shocked by what i saw. There were various naked bodies with collars around their necks that had been strapped down on tables. I could only imagine what had been done to them against their will and shuddered at the thought.
 
We went back to the main lobby and walked through one of the various doors. There was not much light and then Arthom fell into a hole in the floor. I looked into the hole but it was too dark to see anything at the bottom. I called out to Arthom but there was no reply and i was worried he had gotten hurt. Gurval used magic to teleport to the bottom and Syrus also flew to the bottom. I screamed out asking if they needed help but all i got was a response from Gurval saying dont send Talu. I was annoyed with him and believed i could have provided some assistance. Sure i had a couple of close shaves in our previous battles but there were many other times that i had helped to defeat the enemy. They seemed to only focus on my shortcomings. Kyra then suggested that i continue searching the mansion with her and her crewmates.
 
I decided to go with Kyra since the others did not want my help. As we searched Kyra told me that i should not let my companions disrespect me, that she was rooting for me, and that i was welcome to join her crew. I had to admit her offer did intrigue me a bit. We eventually found our way to a large ballroom and i remembered the Victri party was held here. However the room was now littered with multiple mutilated bodies, some even women and children. I hated the Victri but was still horrified at the carnage before me, and knew that they had died by the claws and teeth of Arthom as a warhound. I had some idea of what his rage was like but did not expect it to be this extreme.
 
At the far end of the ballroom were four doors and one door seemed very familiar to me. I went to walk through the door but then froze on the spot. With Kyra's help i was able to convinence myself to walk into what ended up being a large kitchen. As i looked around images of what i had experienced here came to mind. It was then that i noticed the raised table in the middle of the room where Fingers had been carved up, only now all that was left was a skull with a finger shoved into each eye socket. I stared at the skull and then banged my fist on the table in frustration, i was so angry at the Victri for what they did to Fingers and me. Kyra and her crewmate then gave me a hug and i was grateful for their compassion in that moment.
 
We left the kitchen to find only Syrus and Gurval had made their way to the ballroom. I asked if Arthom was alive and Gurval pointed to the spider on his shoulder. Arthom could shift into so many forms that i sometimes lost track of them. We decided to check out another adjoining room and discovered what looked like bodies wrapped in silk. As we started to unwrap the bodies we found Toes and were amazed to discover he was still alive. He was at deaths door however and was missing all his limbs. Syrus used his magic to stabilize Toes and then Arthom and i used magic to cure his wounds.
 
We left the mansion through a window that Gurval had used earlier. All of a sudden red lighting struck the ground and then Gurval's cow appeared. He let Kyra and her crewmates borrow the cow to transport Toes back to their ship along with Fingers skull. They left and then we decided our next stop would be the Amenthyst district to locate Lucid.