Mercor pulled the bar out of his pack. "Yes. You better not be lying about the money. I feared for my life in there. Something is definitely strange though. I agree that we will have to go back when it gets darker." They left to their places of residence: Socius with his son in their house, and Mercor to his room in the inn. The vomit was still there. Mercor didn't care— he was worried about the consequences of breaking into Lord Mortan's manor. But the money made it worth the risk. With that kind of money he could retire to a manor of his own.
He met with Socius at the manor a few hours later. The night was an intense blackness. Socius had brought a sword. They quietly opened the door and snuck inside. The guards were sitting across the room, watching the main door, their backs to Mercor and Socius. Together, they snuck down the hall to their right. Socius knew it to lead to his father's room. They reached a door. Socius opened it very quietly. He poked his head in whispering, "Father, it's…"
He gasped. Mercor looked in. Lord Mortan's bloody head lay at the foot of his bed. Socius ran inside and picked up a note on the floor near the head. He looked at it, his eyes watering, but he looked perplexed. He handed the note to Mercor.
"The Heir to the Throne will Repay the Debt"
Socius questioned, voice shaking, "Throne? My father was no king!" He began to get angry. "Who did this! My father was a respected man. What throne?!"
Echoing footsteps started pounding down the hall toward the room. "We have to leave. Now!" Mercor shouted. Socius composed himself. "There is nowhere to run!" Socius said as he drew his sword. "Get under the bed!" Mercor scrambled under the bed just as the door was kicked down by the two guards. Socius stood stunned as it became apparent that the suits of armor only contained the rotting corpses of the guards. They were undead. One of the creatures disarmed Socius in one swift swing and ran his sword through his stomach, knocking him to the floor, dead. It dragged him out of the room.
The door shut behind them. Mercor didn't know what to do. He crawled out from the bed, trembling with adrenaline and fear. He picked up Socius' sword and looked around. There was a large leather-bound book lying open on the table next to the king-sized bed. Mercor approached it. It was open to a page describing a great war:
The War between The Two Races of this world has reached its climax and is falling now. There is no longer hope for winning this battle. The Darkness have released a plague and will not relinquish until the debt is paid. King Mortem will not give in, although his quest for immortality comes at the cost of the mass genocide of the human race. The only way left to save the Humans is to get The Darkness to break of the deal: King Mortem's immortality at the cost of the Humans. This war may be lost, but if all of the world's great leaders come together to stop the race of Darkness, there may yet be hope.