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// Chapter 4: City of Misfortune 
// Story: Howling Shadows 
// by 10 Florins 
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	It didn't take long to encounter the first of my trouble. When I reached into my bag, I found that half the food was gone, presumably taken by that guard. Maybe he wasn't even a guard at all. For all I knew, that guy could be a resident of the Barrens.
I decided to take it in on my stride, and not bother trying to reclaim it. After all, he could have taken the book or bedroll, but all he was after was something to eat. He at least had the decency to warn me of the dangers, so he probably wasn't totally evil. Not like it mattered now.
I then closed up my bag and continued along the dirt path which lead to town. It was essentially a straight path, allowing me to see Ferlis from miles away. Still, it in no way meant that I was any closer to it. Ferlis was still half a day away, for I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention by flying. The less the predator knows about its prey, the better chance the prey has of escaping. The Barrens certainly gave one the feel of always being hunted.
Turning my thoughts to the near future, I confronted another problem: Once I was in Ferlis, how was I going to pick a pony to drain? I felt that picking one at random was cruelly justified. It would almost be like an earthquake. It was unbiased in its destruction, but devastating nonetheless. However, it was also evil, to inflict harm upon a pony who had never done me wrong. It was all too heavy for me at the time, so I pushed the thought out of my head. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
Now I stood at the edge of town, staring at the once grand entrance. Centuries past, the Barrens, or perhaps not called that back then, must have been a prosperous country. The gate was crafted of iron and gold, with jewel sockets on each side, now missing their gems. On either side of the gate was a tall granite statue of King Burnhide, the same king who abandoned his throne years past. Where the statues once held crystal orbs, there was now only moss. Since the king was deeply hated, it was strange to see figures displaying his likeness not torn down of badly defaced. Certainly not because anyone still had respect for the stallion.
I attempted to open the gate simply by pushing it, to no avail. It was much heavier than I expected given its age. In a second try, I dug my hooves into the ground and shoved with all my might, which still proved to be lacking. Finally, I decided to wield magic, and gave it a huge haul. Success. 
The gate screeched open, startling me. This was the sort of place where you feel much safer not causing loud noises. After squeezing through the opening I managed to make, I entered the city, not bothering to shut the gate behind me.
Ferlis  was small for a capital city. Or former capital, anyway. Its new reduced size was largely due to the fact that the eastern half of it was now rubble, shelter only for animals and the desperate. On the western side lied two shops: a bar and a weapons dealer. Either one held the only merchandise still profitable in this god forsaken place. Behind the shops were several small houses, each boarded up and featuring their own special "keep out" sign. Nearly all the buildings had faded into the same color: lifeless grey. The next closest thing to paint was dried blood strewn across the stone roads. Lady Luck was one twisted mistress in this instance, for I spotted a ten bit coin next to a corpse.
"Too few bodies about to make all this.." I muttered as I picked up the coin, "Let's just hope that they were cleaned up by a team and buried. That's a slightly cheerier idea than what probably did happen."
With a quick look around, I realized something: even if this was a bad town, there are far too few ponies around. And by few, I mean none. It was devoid of anything resembling life. Hopefully, there was still somepony alive to drain.
I now turned my attention to the bar. Murky Hollow, it was named. Appropriate, as those two adjectives described  Ferlis as a whole. The sign hung only by one chain, and nearly blocked the entrance. Music could be heard, but not the lively kind one would expect. It was more of a mix between band music at funeral proceedings and the sound of gargling nails. Either way, putting you ear up to a live air horn was easier to do than listen to that garbage.
Taking a breath for confidence, I punched down the bar door, with the help of a little magic. Always better to appear dangerous to others in an unknown environment, after all. I now stood atop the door which was once hinged, now re purposed as a door mat. I glared around the room, hoping to make everypony inside shudder in fear. The response, however, was not so optimal.
"Looks like you owe me two bits, Sear. He was a violent one."
"Now, now, Kale, just look at him! He may appear to be tough, but those are definitely the eyes of a softy. You pay up!" The two strange ponies now turned their attention to me.
"You there, lad," started one of them, "Did you knock down the door to be intimidating?" continued the other, "Or do you simply hate entryways?" finished the first one.
Confusing put the situation mildly. First off, that music seemed to vanish upon my entry. There wasn't even a piano in the room. Second, how did these ponies know me?
I decided not to play along and demanded, "Who are you two?! What happened to the citizens here!?"
They stood up simultaneously in theatrical fashion and proclaimed, "Why, boy, didn't you know? We killed them all! None left but you, us, and tiny bone dust!"
The faded orange one moved in front of the other and said, "I'm Sear, the cunning one with a plan in mind!" His partner, the dirty white one now took the stage. "And I'm Kale, the one with a hunger in his heart and a knife in his hand!"
Back in sync, they announced, " And we're the fellas who'll end you too!" With that, I felt a pain run from the back of my head down into my gut. I looked up and saw that only Sear remained on the stage. No longer able to hold on, I blacked out.
.......I awoke to the sound of water dripping in an empty room. I barely opened my eyes when I realized what was going on. I was being held prisoner. Regaining control of my muscles, I tried to stand up, only to find myself in shackles chained to the wall. On one side of the room was an iron door with a barred window. On the other, only a crack in the wall which let an inkling of light inside.
My first thought was to try using magic to remove the shackles. Unfortunately, it seemed that the lock wouldn't budge, no matter how much I willed it to. I spent the next moment pondering my end. This couldn't really be all for me, could it? There was too much I didn't know, too much I had left to do. As I muddled with these thoughts, the door rattled to life.
"Well, hey there lad. Seems you're finally awake. That's good, seeing as we won't have to wake you without your legs. You get to watch it happen." It was Kale, with a crooked smile on his face, like he was actually aroused by the thought of amputating me.  He trotted over to me, looking far too happy, and promptly brought down his hoof on my outstretched left leg. That pain rang throughout my body, resonating from the knee.
"We can't have you running away, now can we?" For somepony who was about to torture me, he had a point, twisted as it was. He then broke the shackles off me by slamming his hoof into them. How long he must have trained to be able to do such a thing, I cannot say. Kale then threw me on his back, and took me to another room where Sear waited. 
"Good of you to join us, Mr...?" Sear welcomed.
"Go to hell." I replied, causing Kale to kick my injured leg. Another surge ran through my leg, though nothing like when he broke it.  At least Sear's question meant that they didn't know my name, meaning they probably weren't targeting me specifically. Then again, if they treat all the ponies they meet like this, they're even worse than I imagined.
Ignoring my suggestion, Sear continued, "Do you know why we have brought you here?"
"You want to kill me, that much is clear."
"Ah, yes, but for a noble cause! You see, we happened to come across you on your way to Ferlis, and you just reek of good opportunity. To toy with, of course. Kale, would you be so kind as to secure him to our fun chair?"
"Sure thing, Sear. So long as I get first bone." Kale replied.
"Of course! After all, one cannot live in this cruel world without manners! As for you, Mr.... Shall we say X? As for you, learning proper etiquette is of the utmost importance. Kale, why don't you show him the correct response to my first query?"
It was then that I began to feel the full weight of what was happening. Kale revealed a large knife with a serrated back, and took one long swing that ended in my right arm. Pain and blood began to flow in equal measure, and Kale licked the knife, only to cram it into to cut and twisted it. The pain was unbearable. Adrenaline kept me conscious for the moment, but that would soon run out.
"Now, Kale." Sear ordered and pointed at me. Kale raised the knife to my arm, and began peeling my skin. It was too much. Something roared from deep inside of me, something primal. With a loud yell, I drained Kale's Essence through the air, a feat I never knew to be possible, In seconds, Sear watched in horror as I transformed Kale into a lifeless husk by stealing away his very life force.
Taking Kale's life gave strength to my own, allowing me to break free of the chair's restraints. As I made my way toward Sear, still suffering shock, I told him, "You've done enough. It's time for you to join Kale."