This hadn't been the worst trip this hunter had ever undergone but Victoria certainly wasn't a happy woman. She was sitting on her bundled up cloak with her legs extended in front of her towards the small fire surrounded by rocks. Her mount was sleeping on her left where she had tied him to a large oak tree. It had been an exhausting four days. She hadn't wasted anytime since she had left Max and Chloe at The Golden Gauntlet all the way back in the City of Draqt. The hunter had ran all the way to the stable next to the tavern that held their horses and taken off in the night towards Beorf with as much speed as the tall black horse could muster. She had stopped only to rest the fatigued horse and catch a few hours of sleep before starting her mad rush once again. Victoria could feel the taxing journey catching up with her body but she tried her best to ignore it. Her legs were shaky and her whole body felt sore, it was taking longer and longer to recover from the constant hours on the horse's back.
She reached over with her left hand to her leather bag for some dried meat and bread and grimaced slightly when she dropped the wrapped up bundle. Her left hand hadn't been the same since she had lost her both her ring finger and little finger in the fight that had followed the trio's escape from Beorf. She had spent the last seven years known around the country as a top tier hunter. Much like the Blue Hunter herself, the amount of stories traveling by word of mouth from travelers and gleemen about Slither's accomplishments were impossible to count. Yet, the injury she had sustained would certainly have a strong impact on her effectiveness as a hunter. Even though she was still far better than even the best swordsmen using only her one hand holding a dagger, she felt like a shell of what she had once been. It had been hard to keep up the positive façade that she had put up in front of her fellow hunter and the witch. Now that she was alone, the dark thoughts were almost overwhelming. "Bloody Raven Knight and his executioners. I'll get my revenge soon enough." The thought fueled her anger and she closed her injured hand in a three-fingered fist. "Burn me! I'm a hunter. We adapt. I haven't been the first to be injured and I certainly won't be the last. Stop wallowing around in pity, focus on the mission at hand."
She knew going into Beorf was as close to a suicide mission as you could find, that had been apparent to both Chloe and herself after the retelling of the man's story of the riots that had sprung up in the city. Kate's family had been killed because of the three of them and she was apparently being held captive under an interrogator's fist in the main castle. The young blonde knew nothing of the plans they had made, Kate herself had chosen to actively avoid hearing anything of the like in order to ensure their protection. "She always thought of everyone else before herself. We should've found a way to get her to come along with us."
Kate was human bait. Despite the fact that her whole family had been killed and that the young woman knew nothing, the lords had declared to everyone that she would be held and questioned. It was clear that they wanted to lure Max, Chloe and herself back to finish what they had started. To ensure that Prescott would have no resistance whatsoever going forward with his plans. The city was filled to the brim with soldiers from one of the High Lord Prescott's trusted lords and Bokeh was most likely prowling the city for signs of their arrival. The hunter had volunteered to be the one to enter the city while the other two women stayed put and concentrated on gathering a team and collecting much needed resources. Hearing the witch's protest after the blue-scarred hunter had suggested she go had only solidified her own decision. Those two had grown closer than she ever thought possible in so short a time. Victoria herself didn't have much to live for, hunting was all she had and her death would not be mourned by many. She had no family or lovers and few she could call friends. If only two of the three were to survive, she would gladly be the one to embrace death like an old friend.
Victoria looked to the dark sky above through bleary eyes as the sound of the crackling fire fed her drowsiness. She had made good time towards Beorf. The hunter was on the edge of the forest west of the city and two hours' slow ride would bring her right to the west gate. She had no idea what to expect. By now the riots would most likely all be extinguished and the lock down on the city had probably been lifted. The hunter hoped so anyways. She certainly didn't look forward to scaling one of the walls in the middle of the night if it came to that. Yawning and blinking her eyes quickly, she decided it was time to finish her meal and sleep. Tomorrow would no doubt be a very long day.
Victoria took her hood down as her black mount plodded along towards the base of the western gate of Beorf. To say she felt refreshed was a huge understatement. Finally grasping more than four hours of sleep and taking her time to ride over had energized the hunter to no end. She felt ready to cut down whatever obstacles would stand in her way. She looked up as the five guards standing on the wall took up their bows and prepared an arrow for quick shooting. The gaping hole that the trio had used to escape Beorf had remarkably already been fixed. The brick used was of a lighter shade however and it would serve as a constant reminder to the city of how much damage two hunters and one witch could cause when pressured.
"Halt!" The shout had come from the man in the middle of the five. Now that she was closer, she could spot the differences among them. Three soldiers were dressed in full silver armor with a brown colored insignia of a bear standing on two feet stamped on their two shoulders. They each had long swords attached in the sheath to their hips and wooden long bows. The contrast between them and the two city guards was astounding. In comparison, the guards looked like children playing dress up with their bronze cuirasses and short bows. "Those must be the visiting lord's soldiers. They look like they know how to use those long swords and the man at The Golden Gauntlet said there were around ten dozen men, fighting my way in or out is going to have to be avoided if possible." The man signaled towards the gate and his two fellow soldiers made their way down. Victoria dismounted and stretched her limbs while feeling up her dagger and bow stealthily. She didn't want to fight but it was a comfort to know that she was prepared for any eventuality. The gate lifted and the two soldiers rounded the corner on either side of the gatekeeper. She recognized him from the night she had escaped Beorf, he was a scrawny fellow. She would peg him at sixty years of age and by the nervous look he gave the soldiers, she had no doubt that this visiting lord had taken the city by pure force.
"Full name, age, occupation, reason for visit and length of stay." Victoria was reminded of how glad she was to not be in the same position as the Blue Hunter. With that blue glowing scar, it would be impossible to stealthily enter a city without being named. Her own face was a mystery to all. She could go anywhere she wanted under any name she could make up.
"Megan Weaver. Twenty three. Traveler. Visiting my sick mother. A week at most." The gatekeeper wrote down all the information given and proceeded to look over her mount and her appearance. He wrote down some more and moved out of the way while gesturing inwards.
"Welcome to Beorf."
A long march across the city and towards her destination followed the welcome. Victoria had no real idea where to go initially and she had wandered around aimlessly while thinking up of a plan. The hunter had stayed inside the church during most of her month in the city but that was clearly out of the question. As far as inns went, she supposed she could've picked any random one to stay the night but she was in need of information that wouldn't be acquired in most places. What she needed would be found in a place for the lowest of folk, the kinds that stayed with an ear low to the ground and away from the law. About an hour into her fruitless stroll, Victoria had smirked at her idiocy and headed to the east side. She stopped to secure her horse next to a muscled black warhorse in the small stable attached to the inn. She opened the door to the Silver Sword and walked in.
She had been here only once before on Chloe's request on the day they had broken out of Beorf and she had taken a liking to the place. It was exactly what she was looking for. Letting the door close behind her, Victoria placed her right hand over her sheathed dagger and glared at the few patrons who hadn't looked away instantly. She made her way past a few tables and took notice of a drunken man sitting down in the corner at a table filled with empty mugs of ale who was staring her down without flinching away. He was a couple inches shy of six feet with a strong muscled build. The man wore hardened gray stained leather armor around his chest, arms and legs but had no visible weapons on his body. Short black hair donned his head, he had a mustache above his lips and his steady brown eyes looked to her in an unspoken challenge. Something about him felt off to the hunter, he looked like a man who had spent a lifetime as a soldier of sorts. He was clearly looking for a fight but he wasn't carrying any weapons. She dismissed the idea to face him quickly, a man who had the confidence to stare down another fighter while unarmed was somebody that had an ace up his sleeve. Arriving at the bar, Victoria looked to the innkeeper who was facing away from her. Like the drunken man, he had a strong posture and carried hard muscles from years of fighting. She had pried into his past the first time she had come into the Silver Sword and hadn't been surprised in the least to hear that he had been a mercenary for years. He looked the type.
"Frank." Victoria got his attention and the tall blond man turned towards her. His eyes widened and he made a show of slowly walking towards her in indifference.
"What the bloody hell are you doing back here? The whole city is filled with soldiers and everyone one of them is looking to cut off any of you three gals' head. Is Chloe with you?" Frank had leaned in and was whispering quickly while looking around to the patrons littering the tables. The hunter brought herself closer and responded in a soft tone.
"No. I told her and the witch to stay put where they are. I came back to save a friend of mine. Once I have her safe, I'm taking off to meet up with them again." Victoria gestured to a mug on a shelf behind his head. Frank took the hint and began fixing her a drink. It wasn't because the hunter was thirsty but rather because it would look less like she had come in simply to talk privately with the innkeeper. Once done, he handed it over and leaned in once again.
"Good. I was worried sick about her, where is she?" Victoria stared him down impassively.
"I'm not saying. Nothing personal Frank, I know how much she trusts you but if they get a hold of you…" Frank nodded. He understood and didn't press the issue.
"That's fine. I don't need to know any details, nobody holds their mouth closed under an interrogator's gaze anyways." That statement brought the hunter back to her mission and she lowered her voice even more.
"Frank, I need information. Very sensitive information concerning what the bloody hell took place after I left. I heard the whole sordid affair from a man who was spouting his mouth off about the whole Marsh debacle but I want confirmation from better sources." Frank ran his hand over his chin and let out a deep breath.
"Well, you know most of what happened but I'll try to fill in some blanks."
"Who is the lord that arrived? I've never seen his insignia before."
"The name's Lord Kessal. He's one of Prescott's lapdogs that hangs around the outskirts of Arcadia. He's got a lot of men backing him I hear. Probably a good three hundred soldiers back at his estates and that's excluding what he brought over here with him in Beorf."
"What about the interrogator? I need anything you got on him."
"He's a bloody shadow. Man's dressed in all black all the time and he's got a thin smooth black metal mask over his face. Nobody knows much about him but I heard from some guys that arrived from Arcadia that he's the High Lord's right hand man. If I have to guess, that's the man who's running this show. The Lord Kessal is smart for sure but Prescott would only trust his best man for taking over the city." The description fit well. The hunter had thought that Bokeh would be in the city and it looked like she'd been right. This mission had just gotten much harder.
"The eldest daughter of Richard Marsh, Kate, I was told she's being held in the main castle where the reigning lord presides." Frank nodded in confirmation. "Has she been seen since? I need to make sure she's alive before I try anything, it'll do me no good if I walk into an ambush and find out she's been dead for a week."
"She's been seen as recently as two days past." He hesitated. "She's not in good health. I think they only paraded her around to make sure word got around that she was still alive. I figure they wanted to lure you all back here and this was their way of proving she wasn't just dead." Victoria's hand shuddered from the force of the grip she was applying to the mug. The hunter's blood ran cold and she felt anger bubbling at the surface.
"What have they done to her?" Her voice came out with venom and Frank looked to her in sympathy.
"It's no secret that they've been interrogating her for days. Anyone who walks by the castle can hear her screaming most of the night. The men I spoke to said she looked like she'd been put through hell itself. She has big bruises and long cuts all over, said her face looked like someone had smashed it in a pile of glass shards." The drop falling on her hand made the hunter look down. She blinked hard to get rid of the stinging in her eyes and she swallowed loudly.
"A… Anything else important that I should know?" It didn't come out as steady as she would've wished.
"They got five executioners too but they're inside the castle with the lords. You need to be very careful around here. I know that nobody has seen your face but all it takes is one soldier to wonder why you're hanging around the castle. They're absolutely ruthless. They killed many and beat even more when the riots picked up and the people rebelled. They put a stop to it with force and most've given up hope. You won't get any help from anyone living in Beorf, most'll just sell you out for favors with the lords. Don't. Trust. Anyone." Frank reached below the bar and grabbed onto a key that he slid towards her. "It's for the same room that Chloe was occupying a while back. You know where it's at. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. I want those bastards to pay for they've done to my city." Victoria grabbed onto the key and got up slowly. Nobody payed her any mind as she made her way towards the staircase leading to the rooms above.