Fixed and bound. That’s the fate of the Criminal and Witch duo.

The fleshy bonds had long since wrung them of conscious thought and the two sit idly.

Fate truly has never failed to disappoint this Brick. Not even once!

Though I would be more contented if they were also whipped and flayed as well…

“Brick friend, thossse are sssome violent thsoughts,” Snek speaks in their typical lisp as they rest their head on my bed, licking their sharp fangs, “Snek is not sso sure what you exsactly want, but Snek will eat them later,”

Just that? No interrogation… No enquiry… No inquisition?

Now I’m sad, not even Ribbon’s gentle nudging is enough to trip me out of it.

“Brick friend, thee never change… No wait, thou hath. When did thou tie a Ribbon to thysself?”

Snek eyes me over. Encircling me with their inky presence and body of alternating white and grey scales.

Scales. Scales similar to Lizards… That was my first impression of Snek, though, unlike Lizards, Snek neither had appendages nor did they bear the same tongue yet they still tote semblance of their visage.

It seemed that divergent to the Lizards that still wear the mark of their sin against Deus proudly, Snek had done away with their limbs and slit their tongue in repentance. Truly clay amongst the sand. A pity that other Lizards are so content to bask in the depths of their evality.

So it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that Snek was a Lizard, but they were a good Lizard.

“Snek doesss not ever remember sssaying that…” As humble as ever, Snek shys away from me.

Unlike the hypocrites that shout aloud their misgivings in a garish display to garner pity, Snek is one to never mention them, even when prompted. The sign of a true repentance. After all, if they didn’t do at least this much, then Snek couldn’t possibly be acquaintances with myself.

Even the moniker of Snek is just so humble. It exudes a humility that could even rival my own, though Brick is still more modest. But compared to the prideful and arrogant Lizard, Snek sounds better by hundreds of folds.

“… Sigh, Snek hads forgotten how long thee could blabber for,”

Oh, I was rambling? Indeed I was, the sun had already retreated from what was originally a high noon setting. Bad habit. Bad habit.

Someone could’ve spoke up sooner, y’know? Ribbon?

Hmm?

It seemed Ribbon didn’t mind the absent minded logorrheic.

Anyway, it seemed I completely bowled over something important…

No matter, Snek’s appearance takes precedence.

Snek, looking chonkier than usual, looks over my way from their coiled hump.

“Ays, when did thou tie thyssself a ribbon?”

It’s Ribbon, pal. But anyway, yes.

“Yess?”

Yes.

“Yesssss,”

“Yus!”

That last one was a bit of a surprise. Neither Snek nor myself said that.

“Have you forgotten me already, Brick?” They blazon familiarly, “It is I, Captain Harwitz of Coldersack…The GHOST!”

Holy cow! Captain!?

“Captain!?”

“Captain…! The Ghost! Well, actually spectre… But GHOST!”

Ghost!

On that note, I guess you abandoned your physical body?

Looking at the Captain, he looks a bit under the weather, a bit translucent than normal and also not bearing his skeletal form. However, he bears his service coat of arms and dignified visage. Captain regained his original configuration! Sorta…

It’s all see through, which is not normal, except his sword. The Falchion is still solid.

“Oh, what is this feel? It’s like I can just understand you without the mind speak… Strange,” Captain observes, his etheric form putting a hand to his chin “Anyway, yus! It probably would’ve taken approximately 5.256e+6 hours for me to revive again, so I thought ‘Fuck it!’ My tardiness is already much too severe…”

Okay, so are the others gonna get up?

Captain kicks one of the scattered bones before tapping on it, “Nup, and I can see why. Bunch of pussies,”

Pussies you say… Why so?

“Mmm, well, being a ghost is a bit risky cause, if I die, I’ll actually die,”

Wait, you’ll die if you die?

“Mhmm, you may not believe it, but in my current state, I die if I will die,”

“What intriguing knowssledge,” Snek hisses, “To think one would die when dying,”

I didn’t know this.

“Yee, so my compatriots would instead, rather wait another 5.256e+6 hours to get up again then take a little gambit and go to the heartlands like a real Imperial M A N,”

Damn, so Ghosts really are susceptible to dying then, Captain? No wait, it’s Ghost Captain now isn’t it?

Guess so, huh?

Ghost Captain.