Fable - Ask The Canal

[Walter Banick]

Well, nothing worth doing is ever easy.

"A truth revealed time and time again."

Such was it for the Initiates themselves, in their training to become one in the esteemed ranks of the renowned and feared Dreadlords. Walter knew that it was hard and brutal--the advent of the Republic notwithstanding. What Vel Anir asked of its magically gifted children was a great burden indeed, more than it asked of the men and women who served in the Guard. Yet it had to be so. What these children were being prepared for demanded extraordinary preparation and aptitude.

If his Spymaster was correct about Alys Seranine, then all their years spent in the Academy would be put to the test. Especially so the youthful fires of confidence displayed most prominently by Initiate Kalix.

The walk had not taken long. Soon they arrived at the gated Estate, three stories of white brick, tall and narrow windows with arching tops, and red clay roof tiles. A few servants were in the courtyard, tending to the bushes and hedges with meticulous attention.

Walter stood by the open gates. "Tomorrow morning you will be summoned, and we will go to the docks for the crossing to Elyr'Adith. In the meantime, Imoen will show you to your rooms. Enjoy the hospitality of Ostia Anir and of House Banick."

And with that, Walter gave a nod to the bannermen of the entourage that had followed them, and they all started back toward the Canal Tenements construction site. Last minute work to be done, before the Project began on the morrow.

Alistair Krixus Raf Kalix

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Alistair was older than Kristen, had most certainly undertaken more missions in his upper-classmenship than she had in her scant time in the Academy, and was, quite rightly, taking in all of this with appropriate seriousness. She felt that she might lean on him, his experience, should things become overwhelming in their intensity or unfamiliarity.

Raf was...oh, Kristen didn't know. Perturbed? Worried? Anxious? Something seemed to be bothering him, and she couldn't say what. Maybe she should ask him what was wrong once they had a moment. Yes, she should.

And Kalix was Kalix. Even genial, somehow he still kept her on edge. He was so cavalier, so enthusiastic in his pronouncement that he'd "blow any elf straight to the moon." Kristen smiled cordially, if anxiously, in return, a touch unsure that he'd be able to control himself. Worried as well that she might accidentally be struck by a wild punch or kick from him.

Lord Banick showed them to the gates of his Estate and then departed.

Not a moment after, coming up to them from the stone pathway leading from the gates to the Estate's front doors was a young elven woman. Tiny, abnormally so, the elf barely scratching five feet in height. Hands held before her, she bowed to the Dreadlord Initiates.

"Greetings, Master Initiates, my name is Imoen." She looked over them, blinking in fascination, and then couldn't help but to say, "My, you are all so tall!"

Kristen's face immediately went bright red with embarrassment, the novelty of Lord Banick allowing for an elf to serve in his Estate completely eclipsed in the moment. "I...um, thank you?"

Imoen waved them forward energetically, starting to walk toward the Estate.

"We shall be preparing supper soon, and Count Walter has instructed us to spare no expense. Master Alistair, Master Raphael, Master Kalix, Mistress Kristen, please, tell me what you would all like to eat and I will dutifully see it prepared for you!"

Alistair Krixus Raf Kalix

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair watched Walter and his men walk away leaving Alistair with the other dreadlord initiates. He smiled confidently towards them trying to show that they would accomplish this with no problem. Alistair considered most of them friends or associates in their own way.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he still could not escape his father's teachings entirely. He could not help but view each one of them as a tool for his success.

Kristen would be extremely helpful in his opinion, but he had to be careful not to push her too far before she was accustomed to everything. He often forgot that she had not been in this life for as long as the others.

Raf was complicated to Alistair. He came across as a highly flexible teammate that could fit several situations. At the same time, Alistair never completely understood the dreadlord initiation making him a bit of a wild card.

Kalix was by far the simplest and the most dangerous. In short, he could be used as a wrecking ball. The firepower of this team, but if he was swung too wildly then he might hurt his teammates as well.

Overall, Alistair would not call this the most efficient of teams, but it was what he had to work with.

The elven servant came as a surprise, partly because of her height, since he had read on several occasions that most elves were taller than man, but he supposed exceptions always existed. The far more surprising bit was having an elven servant when they were about to go out on such a mission. Would she be angry after they accomplished their goal? Maybe Walter would have to fire her.

"Uh, I'll just have whatever the chef suggests." This was always the safest choice since it seemed to the most polite to the cook.

 

[Raf]

Raf looked down at the elf, smiling. "Thank you, you're not very short."

He had also heard that most Elves were tall, but he also didn't think much of the fact that this one wasn't. The Initiate had met few elves over his lifetime, so for all he knew it wasn't too uncommon for them to be...well normal height.

Plus it seemed rude not to comment on her height if she commented on theirs.

And she wasn't that short.

He smiled for a brief moment, listening to the schedule of what lay ahead and glancing at his fellow Initiates. He noticed Kristen looking at him weirdly, but wrote that off to the fact that his hair was probably out of sorts after his nap. Then glanced at Alistair and Kalix. They were harder to get a read on, but then again that was nothing new.

"TORTELLINI!" Raf burst out as the question of what he wanted for a meal was asked.

The Initiate had long ago learned that it was important to take any and all opportunity to eat actual food outside of the Academy. If it was being offered, he'd damn well choose his favorite. It was the little things. "Please."

He added just a second later, flashing embarrassed smiles at the others.

 

[Kalix]

“YEAH WE ARE TALL!” Kalix said in response to the shortie’s exclamation of their height. “And I’m the tallest!” He was, really, because he was legitimately tall. Kristen lied about her height all the time but that ponytail just made her appear taller than she really was. And Raf… well, Kalix was certain he stuffed his boots. Because there was no way that weakling was taller than him!

“Kristen and Raf here just keep trying to stand on their toes.” Placing a large hand onto Kristen’s and Raf’s shoulder, he activated his magic, centering it around his palms so that they felt thirty pounds heavier. He was attempting to make them bend their knees, while he straightened his back and pointed his chin up as high.

And maybe he did lift his heels a bit off the ground to prove his statement further.

But his antics were soon superseded by the sound of food. And not just academy food but fancy people food! He just hoped they had enough— or that Raf and Alistair and Kristen were ready to share with him because he was always hungry.

“Do ya got any meat here?” Kalix asked, already salivating as he thought of a chunk of meat that was hot and juicy and meaty. But after that thought, another one appeared. “Hey, hey, hey, wait, you got any fish?!” He said with even more excitement than when he thought about the meat.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Imoen looked quite pleased with Raf saying that she wasn't very short, and right there Kristen noticed a funny inversion. Oh, but if Kristen could trade statures with the little elf! She, apparently, wanted to be tall like her fellows of Elvenkind, and Kristen thought it adorable to be as small as her.

Kalix, in his way, tried to help out with that. All it did was make it as though there were two sandbags sitting uncomfortably upon her shoulders, weighing her down. "Kalix," Kristen protested, straining slightly whilst still trying to be polite, "our heights are documented in the Academy records, it's not..."

She trailed off. Partly, because she never got through to him and she was too afraid to press him on the matter in a single occasion. But also because Imoen had asked what they would like to eat. Alistair had been quite flexible, admirably modest Kristen would go so far as to say, with his choice. Raf, however, was quite enthusiastic.

TORTELLINI!

Kristen blinked rapidly, surprised by Raf's un-Raf-like manner of response.

Imoen, though, was unfazed. She pushed open the Estate's front doors and entered with them all, saying to Raf, "As you wish, Master Raphael. It shall be done."

Then to Kalix, as he made his choice. "Indeed we do, Master Kalix. A wide selection."

"Oh! Might you have salmon available tonight?"

Imoen smiled pleasantly. "Yes, Mistress Kristen. Falwood Salmon from the river which flows into the Coast."

The little elf led them upstairs, down to a quieter hall where the voices of Banick House members and sworn men and women to the House were muted. Soft blue carpet seemed to mask their steps. Art and sculptures decorated the walls. The gilded trappings were all vastly familiar to Kristen, but out of her peers only Alistair would likewise feel such a taste of home in these environs.

"Here are your rooms," Imoen said as they came to the end of the hall, gesturing with an open palm to four doors closely grouped with one another. "Dinner will be ready come the evening. Please, Master Initiates, make yourselves comfortable."

Imoen bowed, and then departed.

Kristen, curious, pushed open the guest room door she so happened to be standing nearest to and got a peek inside.

And she gasped with glee, looking to her peers with an elated grin. "They do have fluffed pillows!"

Alistair Krixus Raf Kalix

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Alistair could not help from letting out a small sigh of relief when he heard Kristen's last comment. He swiftly moved over to another one of the guest rooms and opened the door. He smiled at the site inside that reflected the luxury of Vel Anir.

Like all dreadlord initiates, he was no stranger to the rough living that they had been subjected to at the academy. His last memories of such a soft-looking bed were from when he was a child. Still, the expectation of such a glorious night of sleep made him want to immediately fall onto the bed and into a deep slumber.

The only thing keeping him from doing that is the idea of the delicious food tonight when they ate dinner.

"Well, I guess I'll do...some research on the towns we are clearing out. That should help."

 

[Raf]

The Initiate glanced at Kalix. "Toes? Sure Kalix. I mean, you've always been pretty tall."

That might have been a lie, but he did feel the weight settle upon him. His knees did bend slightly, but as Kalix pressed the magic onto him he would feel that same pressure thrown back onto him. It was an unconscious act, but there nonetheless.

Raf glanced at his fellows for a few moments, watching as Kristen peeked into one of the Guest rooms and then spying Alistair as he walked into one of them.

He heard the former call out in delight, and then immediately broke for another one of the doors. Drawing away from Kalix.

A few steps carried him over, a quick jerk of the handle and then a shift of the door revealed the door beyond. He let out a smile as he watched what lay beyond. The comfortable bed, the large blankets, everything that one could find true luxury in. "Nice."

Raf said quietly. "Wonder if Lord Banlick will let us sleep in."

 

[Kalix]

Yeah! He was tall! Kalix wanted to inform everyone that he had grown two inches last year, and his shoulders were really wide as well. And he had enormous hands! He knew he did because everyone told him all the time. Not only that but he wasn’t even done growing yet! He had at least four more years to get a couple more inches on him.

He’d kill for three more inches… of height!

Hopefully fish made people taller. He frowned. Or… was it milk that made you grow tall? Yet the frown soon disappeared at the sight of the rooms they would be staying in. Kalix was quiet, opening one of the available doors and looking inside. While everyone said something, the young man merely looked around at everything, quiet. It was so unlike his room at the academy, and not because it wasn’t a mess like a huge tornado had just blown through it.

“Hey, hey, hey, what does yours look like?” Kalix said, going towards Alistair and stepping right into his room. He had his hands on his hips and he surveyed this room too. There was really nothing differentiating the two rooms, yet Kalix still declared “I want this one, you can have that one.” And jerked his thumb back to the room he had originally entered.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen was about to chastise (read: attempt meekly to chastise) Kalix for abruptly wanting Alistair's claimed room for apparently no reason, but something else came to mind. Yes, with Alistair and Kalix keeping one another company, this was the perfect time to ask what had brought Raf such quiet during their walk with Lord--

Banlick? Kristen had to suppress a dainty snicker.

Anyway.

Kristen pivoted, grabbing for Raf's hand whilst walking into the room he'd opened, building off of his reaction to the pillows. "Oh, if you like those, then you will adore these! Here, let me show you."

She led him into the room, towards the distant wall with the window, far enough from the open door. Still, she kept her voice low when she turned and looked up (up!) to Raf, mild concern in her expression. She had to be...careful with this, so she reckoned. Raf was quite different in temperament from their peers, but still she did not know him very well, and he was yet a product of the old Academy. She didn't want to accidentally insult him or otherwise cause offense.

"Raf, I don't mean to sound like Proctor Fernando...but...are you feeling well? You seemed bothered by something earlier."

Alistair Krixus Raf Kalix

 

[Raf]

Raf blinked, looking down at Kristen as he cocked his head. "Me?"

Disassociated.

Pull away.

Push aside.

The Mantra resounded in his head with a thunderclap. There was no avoiding. It had been set into place over the course of years. The only way that Raf had been able to survive. The only way that he had managed to go through the Academy.

"I'm fine he laughed." A smile pulled over his lips. "More than fine."

He stepped away from Kristen. "Look at this bed!"

Raf exclaimed. "These pillows!"

He pulled one off the bed, fluffing it a few times before tossing it over towards Kristen. Throwing it at her face, though not purposefully striking her there.

"Plus I get tortellini later." He told her. "What could be wrong?"

 

[Alistair Krixus]

The intelligent part of Alistair's brain told him to just give him the room. There was no point in childishly bickering over rooms that were essentially the same in every regard. The actions of Kalix were nothing more than someone looking to bother others. His first instinct was to just give in.

However, the other part of him. The fighter in him that had been trained as a dreadlord told him that if he gave Kalix two inches then he would come back for twenty.

"No, I don't think so. I like this room, so I believe I will keep it."

He pointed back to the room that Kalix had just come from. "I'm sure that one will be suitable too though."

Alistair's tone was not necessarily combative in tone, but it was more simply someone who refused to be bullied or pushed around. This was not children playing in the market. They were dreadlord. Well, dreadlords in the making, so the least they all could do was respect each other.

 

[Kalix]

“I wasn’t asking you, I was telling you that this is my room now.” Kalix growled, yet the gleam in his gold eyes and the vicious smile reflected something more along the lines of excitement. If one were to ask Kalix why he wanted Alistair’s room, he wouldn’t have been able to answer, and more so because it involved introspection which kalix had never been good at. Regardless, the young man began to collect his hair in one hand, beginning to tie his hair up.

“I bet you feel really comfy right now, don’t ya? Feeling right at home.” Kalix said, his loud voice lowering into the closet thing he could manage as a whisper. “So if you like this room, there gotta be a reason why.” As he had spoken, Kalix had pulled his hair into a neat ponytail. “Besides you could have picked any of the rooms and you chose this one first.”

With a very serious look on his face, Kalix spoke the next sentence without even flinching, his eyes never leaving Alistair’s. “It’s because you know this place is haunted, don’t you?”

 

[Kristen Pirian]

"Oh."

He seemed surprised that she even asked. Trying to think back on it, doubt now had a window from which to enter her considerations. Had Raf truly been as perturbed as she had perceived him? Her mind's eye lacked the clarity of being there in the moment again, and it whilst reflecting it was easy to imagine Raf with both a concerned face and one merely neutral.

Gosh, how she must look like a mother hen, fretting her feathers out over nothing, when she was supposed to be a Dreadlord-in-training!

Kristen, caught mostly unawares, made a spectacular show of ineptitude in trying to catch the thrown pillow, arms flailing everywhere and loud fabric smacks against the pillows as her hands scrambled for purchase. Eventually, she got it. Not...her finest moment.

Oh, this is soft. Lovely.

The intrusive thought derailed her only for a second though. She looked over to Raf and said bashfully, "Now I'm..."

And that was about as long as she could look at him. With a free hand she scratched at the back of her neck.

"...terribly embarrassed. My misreading of you was grievous, and I was far too forward about this whole...well...nothing is wrong, you are right, of course."

Her shoulders hiked up. A guilty smile crossed her expression, and her gaze kept flicking back up to Raf and down, Raf, down, Raf.

"Um, could you forget that I mentioned anything?"

Alistair Krixus Raf Kalix

 

[Alistair Krixus]

All signs indicated that a fight was coming, in Alistair's head. He subtly began to balance on the ball of his feet as he shifted his balance back in forth. He wasn't going to pull his sword which would make this much more difficult for him. Still, he would put up a fight.

Alistair took a step forward and was about to explain that he did not like this room more than any of the others, and wanted to keep it more to spite Kalix. His hands balled into fists. Of course, that was before Kalix's final comment.

He stared at the other initiate dreadlord with a deadpanned expression, expecting Kalix to burst out into laughter to show that it was a joke. Was he serious? Oh man, he was. He had to handle this carefully. With a completely straight face, he finally responded.

"Yeah, you got me. What gave it away?"

Kalix

 

[Raf]

"Mention what?" Raf said with a smile.

It was hard tot ell if he was just being nice, or if he'd already actually forgotten about the whole conversation. Half the time the Initiate seemed to be caught up in his own daze of life, so far from where they actually were that it was easy to smack him over the back of the head.

Or strike him with a riding crop.

His smile continued as he motioned towards the bed. "This is pretty great."

He mused.

"Though I guess you're used to it." There was no bite, no cut to his words. Unlike some of he others Raf had absolutely no problem at all with Kristen. In fact she was a rather bright spot when it came to his fellow students. "Maybe we can steal some of these blankets to take with us..."

The Initiate considered, running a hand thoughtfully over his chin.

 

[Kalix]

Kalix fucking knew it. The moment he had stepped into that room, something felt off. What exactly felt off, Kalix couldn’t say other than that he just didn’t like it. So it had to be ghosts. Chasmine was always talking about seeing things that weren’t there and sometimes Kalix swore he could feel them too. Well, only after she mentioned it but still! He felt that jitteriness.

“Yeah, see, I fucking knew it.” Kalix said, smugly. “Ever heard of angry ghosts? They’re called polterguys, and they try to kill you when you’re sleeping to get revenge on their killer who killed them when they were sleeping!” Kalix’s voice had amped up again, and without a second thought, he grabbed the back of Alistair’s neck to drag him over to the “haunted room.”

“Now be honest, tell me what you feel.” A one second paused and then Kalix was speaking again. “You feel funny, right? Like something isn’t right? That’s because of the polterguy.” And then, without a moment’s hesitation, Kalix bolted out of the room and slammed the door shut with Alistair still inside, holding onto the doorknob. Now Alistair had to sleep in that haunted room! That’s just the way it worked.

Alistair Krixus

 

[Alistair Krixus]

The room felt...normal. Completely fucking normal. Alistair would be sure to voice the idea that maybe the dreadlords should have an IQ requirement. Still, he would play along with this for two reasons. One, it was pretty funny. Two, the alternative meant that he was going to have to fight Kalix. He thought that was what was about to happen when Kalix grabbed him by the neck. He was prepared to swing his elbow outwards when Kalix released him just as quickly.

"Polterguys? No, I've never heard of anything like that. So they kill you in their sleep, because they are mad about getting killed in their sleep. What a nasty cycle." He said feigning shock.

Alistair did not have time to react to Kalix locking him in the room, mainly because he did not care. Still, he walked over and knocked against the door a couple of times before calling out with poor theatrics.

"Oh no. Please, you can't do this. They will kill me. Please no."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Mention what?

Confusion squinted her eyes and tilted her head. Kristen took his question initially at complete face value, thinking he had either not understood what she meant or that he'd, somewhat, forgotten what she had only just asked him.

Then, rightly or wrongly, she surmised that he was just being clever. She smiled back, clapped her hands together (dropping the pillow), and said, "Brilliant! And nary a word of it was spoken again!"

Steal some of the blankets, though?

"Heaven forbid!" Kristen said. "Raf, we couldn't do something as base as that. Why, what would we be then? Lowly scoundrels and devious children, when we're supposed to be disciplined, mature Dread--"

Out in the hall, the loud slamming of a door. Alistair's muffled voice calling out.

Kristen shared a bewildered look with Raf. "Um...perhaps we should investigate the goings-on concerning our peers?"

Alistair Krixus Raf Kalix

 

[Raf]

Raf looked about as disappointed as a puppy who was denied a steak. "Bu-"

There was a loud slam of a door, a racket that rang out within the small suite. His head turned with a frown, and then he heard Alistair call out. The voice was just barely enough for him to hear, and all he really understood was 'kill me'.

"Oh shit." The Initiate said.

He didn't have a particular fondness for any of his peers. In his estimation most of them were just...fine, but if someone was getting killed then he wasn't about to let them just die while he was in the other room. Quickly drawing the blade from the small of his back Raf flipped the knife in his palm.

Without a word to Kristen he darted out of the room, slamming the door open. The sight before him simply being Kalix holding the doorknob as hard as he could. Practically leaning back so Alistair couldn't get out. "Uhhh."

Raf intoned in confusion.

 

[Kalix]

Kalix held onto the doorknob with all his strength and winced when Alistair knocked on the door. He knew it! He fucking knew it! Kalix may not have been the brightest, but he knew that if there’s something weird, and it don’t look good, there was only one person to call.

“Where the fuck is Chasmine when you actually need her?!” Kalix yelled mostly to himself, before looking at Raf and Kristen who had just appeared. He looked genuinely frantic, and a part of him was. Why? You can’t touch ghosts— duh. So his gravity was useless against these spectral beings that liked to haunt people. As was his pernach and fists and feet and everything else.

“KP! RAF! I HAD TO SACRIFICE ALISTAIR TO THE POLTERGUY!” And as if that weren’t a good enough explanation, he continued. “It was either me or him, and you guys know without me you’d all suck and fail this mission. Besides, I’m the leader here.” A noble cause, really, Kalix was learning how to delegate as a leader. And if you were the leader you were the most important and therefore couldn’t die. So he delegated death to Alistair. Lucky him! “Besides, now that Alistair is dead, we can eat his food, too.” Win-win situation in the initiate’s mind.

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen followed Raf back out into the hall. She'd not seen him palm the blade. If she had, upon arriving into the hall, she would have been stressed and confused.

So, just confused.

Kalix was...oh, how could Kristen even charitably describe him and these mannerisms of his? Different. Coincidentally, that was the word she often used for Chasmine, and it suited Kalix well enough too. What distinguished Chasmine from Kalix in this regard was that Kristen was never under the impression that she was in a constant danger of being bitten by Chasmine.

Regardless of all that, Kalix was making a scene. Human servants close by peered down the hallway, some poking their curious glances out from behind doors or corners.

Polter...guy? The etymology of that word seemed to suggest that it had something to do with a man who tended to chickens. No, stop. That's ridiculous. This is ridiculous. That's a made-up word. Alistair clearly wasn't dead, why would he even be, and this whole situation was ridiculous. Kalix was likely just frustrated about the room--he'd essentially said as much.

Kristen diplomatically raised her hands. "Kalix, Kalix...why don't you just...let go of the door and, um...perhaps you'd like to have a look at this room with me?"

Kristen gestured toward the room she'd initially opened. If she could get Kalix infatuated with "her" room, then perhaps he'd brush over his flighty obsession with the room Alistair had claimed? Maybe?

Kalix Alistair Krixus Raf

 

[Alistair Krixus]

Eventually, the knocking on the door stopped, and Alistair went silent. He paused for a few moments letting the tension build before casting a minor spell that he used to deepen his voice. This was basic elementary magic.

"Kalix, you have sacrificed your ally to me! Thank you for the vessel. It has been too long since I have had control of a mortal body." Alistair threw in some evil laughs at the end to add to everything.

Satisfied with his performance, he stepped back from the door since he could guess what might be about to happen. He went and laid down on the bed in the room. Oh, what a soft bed. This was like heaven.

 

[Raf]

"OH SHIT!" Raf shouted, either not entirely grasping the joke of the situation or playing along very well.

He offered one look to Kristen, as though wondering if she were going to do anything, then listened to Kalix's spiel. There was a part of him that was tempted by the thought, it was rare that they got extra food...but ultimately he knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

Alistair might not have been his favorite of the others, but he was still one of them. "Move!"

Raf told Kalix as he quickly crossed the point between them, grabbing the other Initiate by the shoulder and shoving him aside.

Then, with nothing but the greatest urgency, and not thinking of the fact that Kalix had been the one to close the door. Raf rammed his boot against the door, smashing the lock and sending the door flying into the room.

 

[Kalix]

“KP you don’t get it!” Kalix said, exasperated. “I’m saving your sorry asses right now.” He was adamant, and even more so the moment he heard a new voice from beyond the door. His entire body froze, gold eyes widening. Oh shit. The polterguy got Alistair. Well, at least he didn’t get the strongest dreadlord initiate— which was Kalix. Kalix opened his mouth to tell Kristen and Raf to run because they were doomed when Raf told him to move. Kalix was about to step away when…

Did Raf just think he could push the tallest/strongest member and the leader of the group AKA Kalix away? Kalix wasn’t used to being touched— no, not touched, pushed. He was never pushed around. A part of him immediately wanted to grab the back of Raf’s neck, digging in his finger nails until they broke skin and then throw him onto the floor. And when the initiate was on the floor, Kalix would slam his foot as hard as he could on his stomach! Over and over until his organs popped and the man was choking on blood and spit and peeing his pants.

Kalix blinked slowly. That stuff wasn’t allowed anymore. Well, at least not were others could see. KP would totally snitch, that goodie-two-shoes. The sound of the door breaking off it’s hinges, the pow of Raf’s kick echoing around the hallway were the sole things that had Kalix reorienting himself.

“Fucking shit, Raf,” Kalix roared, “you dumbass, you’re letting the ghosts out!”