Song of the Piper

::13:: A New Ally (Part 2)

Music is Men Have Become Monsters from the Assassin's Creed: Syndicate OST. Play it!

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A cold chill fell upon the room despite the fact that it was summer. "He's doing what?"

"I help him drain their life force so that he can retain his youth," he replied, voice cracking. "I had no choice. He – he bound me. He binds all of us to his Fountain. I don't understand how you still can resist—"

"Lord Himmel is the one who bound you," I cut in. "But...how? And why can you speak to me of these matters now?"

"That's because you already know of the secret chamber. In turn, you've unlocked some of the bindings on me. Not all, but some."

The Fountain—how was it tied to all of this? "So once you all officially became a citizen of Heidelburg, you all are under the compulsion of Lord Himmel?"

"Yes. Every one of us, from the lowly peasants to the higher-born nobles," he said. Josef sounded relieved that he could finally confide all of this into an outsider. Or at least, the closest person he could come to as an outsider. "He binds us to his will through Saint Bromilde. It's ancient magic. I don't know how or where he managed to obtain it, but it's there, and there's no stopping it."

"Didn't anyone try to stop him?"

"How could we? We can't so much lift a finger against him." He raked his fingers through his hair, making it more dishevelled than before. "I don't even know if you can help us."

I folded my arms, considering, shifting my weight lightly onto my right leg. "That's the problem, isn't it? We're all trapped here and there's not a thing we can do." At his silence, bitter laughter gurgled at the base of my throat, ringing hollowly in the air. "And I just delivered myself into the Pied Piper's hands! Tell me, does he want me because I'm from Hamelin?"

"Not to my knowledge. Likely, he wants you because of your magic. Nothing more, truly. A live Magus would serve him better than a dead one, anyway."

A sudden thought struck my mind, and I raised a question: "So Elise...she's Lord Himmel's mistress, isn't she?"

Josef nodded. It was a solid punch to the gut. I'd expected this, of course. But to hear it actually being confirmed...I felt betrayed. Here I was, a fool of a girl so willing to give mind and soul to Lord Himmel, hoping the best from him. He was a lord, at the end of the day.

I took in a deep breath, forced myself to rein in my emotions, and said, "Lord Himmel is the Pied Piper."

"So you can comprehend why I was so worried when you suddenly walked towards my room that night," he said. "What if you were a Council spy? They would have doomed us all to death for what we've done."

"Not unless you were forced into this."

He shook his head dejectedly. "Lord Himmel protects us—sustains us. If the Council punishes him, saints forbid what will happen to us. We are too connected to Heidelberg—to the Fountain. And indirectly, to him."

I ground my teeth. "Then can you tell me of what he's doing?" If I couldn't get any physical help, I might as well obtain all the information I could.

"What I've told you: he's literally draining the life force of all the children from Hamelin. He says it's an experiment, to grant all Magi immortality to fight the monsters. I don't know if it's true, but...I swear that I had no part in the idea! I wasn't the first person to have aided him in his monthly ritual, apparently. And he was always so kind to me. I never suspected—"