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Carnage.
That was the only word appropriate for the destruction that lay in front of Grappaling Hook.
No one knew exactly what Lost Temple did to evoke Firebrand’s Ire, there were rumours going that it was some form of madness that had took the deity or that he had simply grown tired of tolerating the Inphernals living in Lost Temple. But to Grappling Hook none of those mattered. No one deserved this level of cruelty.
If it was up to them, they would gather up every Imphernal fit enough to stand and hunt down that wretched deity. An eye for an eye, or in this case an Arm for an Arm.
But going on a witch hunt for a murderous deity wouldn’t solve anything. It would only weaken Lost Temple even more.
Firebrand would pay for this, one day, but not today. It was time to return to the task at hand.
Scanning over the remains of the once bustling city, looking for any signs of life. They had found a majority of the survivors during the first initial search…and Scythe as well. Finding Scythe like that felt so…wrong. The once confident Imphernal reduced to a crying mess in Grappaling Hook's arms. It made them sick. But that wasn’t the reason why they were out there.
Even though they had found a majority of the survivors in the initial search, the thought of leaving someone behind to a slow death underneath all the rubble just didn’t sit right with them. And so they were out here again despite the protests of the rest of the wranglers who insisted that they rested and recuperated.
Passing through an area of the faction that Grappaling Hook once recognized as the local saloon, many a night spent with the rest of the wranglers drinking and just shooting the breeze, now just a mess of flaming wreckage. Their heart twisted at what it had become now.
Continuing on they head toward an area in which didn’t get as good enough of a once other as the other parts of the city were. The edges of the city where there were less people and were hit considerably less hard as the parts where most of the Inphernals were found.
While it was hit less hard the outskirts were still noticeably in ruin. Flames still roared from Firebrands' attack and the building there, while still standing, was barely hanging on.
Most Inphernals in the outskirts were able to run away from the attack and out into the desert. They managed to set up a small series of tents and has become the current resting place of all the surviving Inphernals.
Walking through the outskirts all that could be heard was the roar of the flames still burning and Grappaling Hook's own footsteps. It made hearing for anyone incredibly difficult and Grappaling Hook hoped that if there were any survivors they would be able to hear them.
Hope. It was a funny emotion to be feeling considering the circumstances, but it was the only thing keeping everyone going. That and Grappling Hook's own resolve.
A resolve which was about to be rewarded. Amongst the roar of the flames and the crunching of sand underneath Grappling Hook’s boots a third sound was heard. A shrill, high pitched wailing emanating from somewhere among the Outskirts. Picking a direction they thought the sound was coming from, Grappling Hook raced to find the source before it was too late.
Racing through the rubble, tripping on the occasional rubble, until luckily they managed to find the source. Slowing down, they came to a pile of debris where the source of the sound seemed to be coming from. Gently lifting up the slab on concrete, Grappling Hooks’ eye widened at the sight underneath him. A spawnling. Tossing the concrete aside they swiftly, but gently, picked up the spawnling into their arms. The action only made the child cry even harder though. “Shh, Shh, It’s all right, you’re all right.” They began to gently rock the child which seemed to soothe it.
Taking a moment to look over the child, they had red stubbyhorns and they didn’t seem to have any noticeable injuries but the fact they were stranded so long in an area with so much smoke was concerning. They stood up.
The kid nuzzled their head into Grappling Hooks’ upper arm. The motion brought a little smile to Grappling Hooks’ mouth. They suppose that when the two of them returned to the settlement that they should find someone to take care of the kid. The thought made Grappling Hooks’ stomach turn a little. Despite the fact that they had only known the kid for a hot minute, the thought of just leaving them with a random Imphernal didn’t sit well with them. Maybe it was the way that the kid just seemed to relax into their arms or maybe the fact that their crying seemed to remind them of a certain someone, the more they thought it over the more the mere action of just leaving the kid with someone just didn’t sit right with them.
Grappling Hook brought their head closer to the kids, causing the spawnling to reach their hands out and grab at Grappling Hooks’ face. “You’re going to be all right kid” the kid looked at them with their big eyes, not seeming to understand a single thing that they said. Gently touching their forehead to the kids horns they whispered a promise for only the two of them, “I’ve got you”.