PART 3: E-Rantel
Traveling out of the empire was relatively peaceful, at one point Nimble saw a man he served with long ago begging for coppers with a missing leg. Nimble asked if they may pull over for a second, as Jircniv decided he could do well to relieve himself, he agreed to Nimbles request.
"S...sir?" The wounded veteran remarked with recognition when he saw his old commander approaching him unexpectedly. He even began to get to his "feet" before Nimble quickly stopped him from doing so, instead, he took a knee in front of the man to meet him eye to eye.
"Hello...Fridikson, was it?" Nimble asked patting the man on the shoulder.
"Y...Yes, sir! I'm amazed you remember me!" The old soldier said with a broad smile. Inwardly Nimble frowned and looked at the man's leg.
"I'd never forget..." Nimble said in a lowered voice. Upon giving the man a quick once over he noted some things.
"You... are homeless?" Nimble asked disappointed, this man once had a daughter and wife, the fact that he was removed from them...
"Ah... well no, I mean I know of a nice place to sleep, but I gotta clear out before the farm hands wake up or they charge me a copper.
"He's homeless..."
Nimble gave a quick glance around, The Emperor was still doing his bodily duty.
"Hold on." Nimble got up and walked over to the carriage. Baziwood greeted him. Nimble grabbed his personal sack and filled it to the brim with dried meats and other foods. He handed him the sack. The veterans eyes widened when he saw the amount of food he had just received.
"Sir! This is..." The man asked still jaw hanging open.
"Just to keep you going while you take a carriage back to the capital," Nimble said. By this time Jircniv had finished and caught Nimble talking to the man, he leaned up behind the carriage so as not to disturb the two.
"Ah, I'm afraid there isn't much waiting for me there... you see my wife she..." The man's expression changed drastically.
"There are places in the capital that will take some care of you..." Nimble whispered as to not embarrass the man. The man had a look of rejection in his eyes. Nimble sighed.
"Well, here is some gold for the carriage trip there if you change your mind," Nimble said with an unchanging expression. They exchanged a few more pleasantries then Nimble returned to his group. Jircniv was already sitting back in the carriage with the door opened. Nimble got in and shut the door behind him giving a bow to Jircniv and a nod to Baziwood.
"You, knew that man?" Jircniv asked.
"Ah yes, when I was made commander, that man was under my command. His leg was lost, probably, because of an order I gave... my first order as a commander actually." Nimble said with an almost wistful tone.
"Oh?" Jircniv said with some curiosity attached to that remark. Nimble nodded as he recounted his younger years.
"Bandits were attacking some of our military lines when we would let down our guard. I was tasked with routing the bandit group..." Normally such a task would fall to adventures, or possibly even workers if you were light of coin.
"... because they were only targeting military cargo that was undefended, I suspected they might have a man giving them tips on which carriages were ones to hit, possibly even "on the inside." Jircniv frowned, before he had routed the cancerous elements from his beloved Empire, such corrupt things would happen very often.
"I arranged an undercover operation, I picked a handful of new recruits, I knew they were clean because the new ones always were... greed and slothfulness were the showings of a failed... older soldier." He trailed off a bit before speaking up again.
"Sure enough the fake carriage was hit, but inside were my men, the report I received from the melee stated that three of the soldiers I sent were killed almost instantly, the bandits were just as well armed as the soldiers because of their choice of recent targets. Even though they were being ambushed, the bandits had a fighter on their side that was a cut above the rest." Nimble frowned, the bandit group only numbered thirteen (at most) swords, so to claimed total victory Nimble had sent close to thirty men to crush them, his numbers should have easily been enough to win the day. But this is a world of weakness and strength. The gap between the two can sometimes not even be filled with numbers.
"As I'm told, even after the soldiers were able to cull the bandit team to around four members or so, they ran into a wall, one of the bandits was a monk or something because he would kill our soldiers with a single punch." Jircniv peeked up at that word, monks were pretty rare in The Empire.
"In all, I'm told this monk single-handedly killed over 20 men by himself before my team tried to run, but he hunted them down for sport one by one, as it was Fridikson was the sole man standing, the monk left him alive so that he could "tell The Empire to send more people next time."
"Did this monk give his name?" Jircniv asked.
"No, but Fridikson stated he was bald and had animal tattoos all over his body... so we can guess who it was..." Nimble said with a frown.
"I'd like to get my revenge on Zero someday...But I've heard that he hasn't been seen ever since around the time The Kingdom was attacked by that demon... so he's probably dead." Nimble stated. Baziwood thought for a second.
"If he is still alive, what do you think your chances would be in a fight with him?" The large knight asked his smaller comrade. Nimble squinted as he thought, you can tell he had given this thought in the past.
"In a duel setting... he'd win for sure, no doubt, but, if I could catch him "out in the world" where anything goes, even if it were still one on one, if I had access to a warhorse, I could win," Nimble said nodding the whole time.
"Welp, I heard a rumor he ran into Brain Unglas and was easily beaten," Jircniv stated.
"Easily? Is Brain really that strong?" Baziwood asked shocked.
"Who knows, it's just a rumor, but I heard Brain was protecting some old butler who got captured or something by The Eight Fingers, the rumor says that he didn't even use a sword to kill Zero," Jircniv said laughing.
"Your Majesty must be mistaken! A swordsman could never best a monk without his blade!" Nimble said in disbelief.
"Again, only a rumor, but I heard he baited Zero in with a "sword technique" of some kind, and when Zero charged him, he wound up killing Zero with a single kick to the head!" Jircniv said now laughing at how far fetched that sounded.
"Well, I don't believe that for a second" Nimble growled.
"Stranger things have happened" Baziwood exclaimed with a frown.
"If that is true, however, I really should have tried to make him one of "The Four". Jircniv said clicking his tongue.
"Could we trust a 'once sellsword' with His Majesty's life?" Nimble asked doubtfully.
"About as much as I trusted Leinas, if someone's motives are clear, you can tame them, and with a 'sellsword,' it's always money right? The most trusted of motives." Jircniv explained.
"As it is, it would seem we missed our chance, that Princess now has a nice guard dog to go along with her 'puppy'," Jircniv said.
"About that... You uh, hear the rumors concerning that princess, and her two male bodyguards... who never leave her side..." Baziwood said with a goofy grin on his face. Jircniv frowned, such rumors were always spread about female royalty by their opponents, Jircniv knew the Princess wasn't into such lewd behaviors... in fact, it was entirely possible she was the one propagating those rumors for some, unknown reason, Jircniv had stopped trying to predict that womans moves.
"Well, at any rate, it looks like we'll be reaching The Empires border soon," Jircniv said as he pulled the curtain back a little to peak outside. They all knew what that meant. Things could get very unpredictable from here on out.
"So, will we be traveling through the night? This would be the last chance to set up a "safe" camp."Baziwood stated. Jircniv gave him a slight nod. 'Let's get a good night's sleep before we go into The Sorcerous Kingdoms borders' is what he said with only a look. The two knights set up their camp as 'Biscuit' made sure no harm would come to them in their sleep. With the exception of a passing adventure group (silver ranked) that gave the camp a very wide berth, nothing happened.
By the time Jircniv had woken up and opened the door to the carriage their whole camp had already been torn down and the group was ready to go after a morning breakfast of meats and fruits. Nimble took notice of an out of place smile of his emperors face when they ate.
"Did Your Majesty sleep well?" He asked upon greeting The Emperor. Jircniv gave a "so-so" motion with his hand. Within twenty minutes they were back on the road, about to leave the safety of His Majesty's motherland.
When they were a "good ways" into The Sorcerer Kings territory Jircniv had Biscuit dropped the illusion and they traveled for some time with no events, until at one point they heard from outside the carriage what sounded like a huge battle. the knights peered out the window and saw lots of dust coming from the direction of the racket. they looked at Biscuit but he seemed uninterested in the event going on over the hill.
"Wanna check it out? Baziwood asked. While there was only a slim chance this had anything to do with their mission, the fact that Biscuit wasn't on alarm gave him some comfort.
"Sure, why not?" And with that, they made a slight detour, as they approached the melee there was a knocking on the carriage, not on its door, but on the roof on the carriage, also they could tell someone was standing on top of it.
"HEEEEELLLLOOOO? Who is in there? HEEEELLLLLOOOOOO?" A girls voice yelled out loudly. Jircniv froze and he began to sweat...
"Is that Mare? It sounds like her... no, the voice is too confident and outspoken. Oh, it's "the other one" Mare's sister."
The two knights looked alarmed but Jircniv wove his hand.
"You are addressing Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, ruler of the Baharuth Empire, state your name and intentions!" Nimble yelled, his sidearm was already drawn.
"HUH? Why is THAT guy here?" They heard the voice say before the carriage door was pulled open and with all the acrobatics that her small body afforded her, Aura swung down from up top the carriage did a neat little flip and landed neatly right next to Jircniv. She gave out a little laugh as she produced both her hands making two "V for victory" poses and beaming out a smile that only Mare could hope to match.
"Don't enter without an invitation first!" Nimble said returning his sword to his sheath.
"Huh? Or you'll do what exactly?" She asked puzzled. Nimble clicked his tongue and didn't speak. There was no rudeness to her voice, just curiosity.
"First, allow me to welcome you properly," Jircniv said giving her a respectful head bow. Aura looked at the emperor.
"Sure, but why are you here? " She asked. Giving him a little bow, almost as an afterthought.
"Ah, well we are on a mission given to us directly by His Majesty The Sorcerer King, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown of the Great Tomb of Nazarick," Jircniv explained to her. She seemed rather pleased when hearing him use the full title of her lord.
"OH! Okay then! If you are here with Lord Ainzes permission then is there anything I can do to help?" She said with a smile.
"Perhaps, we are looking for an object that is in possession of a rogue dwarf, he was last seen in the forest controlled by Carne Village.
"Well I'd say it's more accurate to say the forest is controlled by ME, but whatever, those goblins are nice enough." Aura said shrugging.
"Well then, maybe you know of this dwarf I'm looking for?" Jircniv said hopefully. Aura thought for a second then shook her head. It was then that a loud voice filled with distress began calling out.
"Mistress Aura! Mistress Aura!? W...Where are YOU?!" The loud voice called out getting more and more distraught. Aura sighed and rolled her eyes.
"That Hejinmal is such a baby!" She exclaimed before getting out and jumping out the open carriage door.
"HOLD ON! I'm talking to some important guests, use this time to practice your tail strikes!" Aura barked out at the, somewhat overweight, frost dragon.
"B...but I've done over 1000 tail whips today alone!" The voice whined back. Jircniv realized he had heard his friend talk about this particular frost dragon before.
"Is that COMPLAINING I HEAR?" Aura yelled with exaggerated annoyance. She walked over to the dragon, beside the fact that this beast was easily 20 times her size, the way he shrank away from her resembled a mouse trying to escape a cat.
"NO!...NEVER! I was... I was just uh... LETTING YOU KNOW! Yes, I was just telling you that my uh 'daily' 1000 strikes are already finished... so uh..." The dragon said waving his hands back and forth
"Oh YEAH?! Well, let me have it then!" She ordered.
"Mistress Aura?" he asked with a worried tone.
"If you've REALLY been doing 1000 tail strike a day I should feel a difference, so LET ME HAVE IT!" She yelled shaking her fist.
"Um... okay." He got into attack position. Aura shook her head and sighed.
"Take off the collar first dummy, your stats are low enough already without THAT thing on your neck!" At her order, Hejinmal unclamped a large black collar with a broken dangling chain and it fell loudly to the ground.
"R...Ready?" The frost dragon asked timidly.
"JUST DO IT!" She yelled with now encroaching anger in her voice, the dragon yelped from fear looked away while closing his eyes and swung his massive tail at the little girl with such force that the air shot off from the swing was enough to rock the Emperor's carriage. The impact was loud and violent, the sound of a small explosion ringing out caught even the two knights off guard. After the dust settled, where there should have been a smear of blood and a VERY dead elf girl, instead was Aura with her arm up, she had blocked the entire force of the attack with just her outstretched forearm.
"SERIOUSLY?! That's it?! You only did like 300 damage!" She barked at him vigorously shaking her head in a "no no no" fashion.
"B...But last time I did 240 damage so..." He whined fighting back tears. he'd hope he would get praise for the increase in damage but...
"THAT'S ENTIRELY TOO LOW! I DON'T CARE!" She yelled shaking her head the dragon flopped over and curled into a fetal position and began to sob. Aura sighed and shook her head. She looked over at her shoulder at the group just looking in silence, she shook her head in "can you believe this?" expression. Jircniv simply smiled nervously.
"Hejinmal... I'm only hard on you because I need you to be STRONG! like the rest of my pets, you want me to keep you right?" She said softening the tone of her voice as a mother would after scolding her child. The dragon while still sniveling nodded.
"Uh- huh..." He said meekly getting back to his feet and wiping tears from his eyes with his wrist.
"Okay then!" She said smiling and patting his nose gently like a dog, the tip of the frost dragons tail began to wag ever so slightly. Suddenly her expression changed to that of 100% seriousness, her eyes grew wide and she grabbed the dragon's nose and brought it lower so that his monsterly huge head was right up to her face she was looking a creature 20 times her size dead in the eye.
"Then get that collar back on, and go do...two...no 3000 tail whips!" She ordered point blank to his face.
"THREE THOUSAAAAAND?!" He cried out with horror reeling back in surprise.
"MY TAIL WILL FALL OFF!" He wailed with tears streaming down his face more than ever.
"So dragons can cry?" Jircniv thought to himself as he watched this absurd drama play out. His knights were flabbergasted, this was the first time either of them had laid eyes on a dragon, and here one was... crying like a child told to go to its chores.
"THEN I GUESS IM HAVING FROST DRAGON TAIL STEAK FOR DINNER TONIGHT!" Aura yelled as the Dragon scampered away attaching his collar with a sulking demeanor to him as he walked away.
"OH! Sorry about that, I'm just trying to train Hejinmal to get strong... have you ever seen such a weak dragon?" She sighed while shaking her head.
"I know that name...Pe Riyuro mentioned it before, he was his "favorite" of the frost dragon back when they had their old alliance because he was lazy and never tried to eat any of the Quagoa." Thought The Emperor.
"It's no problem, we were just investigating the noise, we really don't have to take up your time." Jircniv proclaimed getting more and more uneasy around this girl.
"Oh okay, well if there's anyth...I SAW THOSE LAST TWO TAIL WHIPS! THEY DON'T COUNT! START OVER AGAIN!" Aura yelled, interrupted herself, a loud 'Ehhhhhhhhh?' could be heard as the dragon lowered his head.
"So you said you were looking for a dwarf?" She asked cocking her head.
"Yes, last seen heading into Carne... into your forest, and carrying something His Majesty has tasked me with retrieving for him," Jircniv explained. Aura thought for a second nodding to herself.
"Hey, Fenrir!" Aura called before a giant black wolf leaped from her shadow. The sudden appearance of this magical beast made the three humans jump back but neither of the two paid their fear any attention.
"Any dwarves in my forest lately?" She asked, the majestic wolf shook its head no. She looked at him for a second nodded once more.
"Well... maybe he's newly arrived, so why not go search for him?" Aura asked in a nice tone that was different than the tone she took with the dragon. The wolf nodded then bounded off after it took four paces it stopped and turned it's head to look at Aura as if to ask her something.
"Oh, do you want Fenrir to kill it and bring back it's stuff?" Aura asked. Jircniv shook his head.
"I want to know where he got the object he has first." Aura nodded at his words.
"No, just bring him back alive, and make sure you have all his stuff, bring anything hidden that you might find too that smells of him, got it?" Aura asked. The wolf nodded once more and was gone so fast that nobody saw him leave.
"Okay, if Fenrir finds your dwarf I'll let you know!" She said giving Jircniv a "thumbs up".
"Thank you...oh!" Jircniv said as he thought of something.
"Um... last time I talked to your sister, Mare, I seemed to have said something that really upset her. If, if you could extend my apologies to Mare and let her know that I'm sorry for whatever I said that offended her." Jircniv said.
"Eh? My sister? I don't have..." A look of mischievousness crossed Aura's face before she spoke back up.
"Oh really? You made my SISTER mad, did you? How?" Aura asked with a giggle.
"We..We were discussing a picture of a 'slime' that was in a gallery of other...creatures when I must have said something..." Jircniv tried to explain when a look of understanding crossed her face.
"You called Lady Bukubukuchagama a slime in front of Mare, didn't you?" Aura asked with a knowing smile.
"I.. I guess I must have... but, oh is that the sl... is that her name?" Jircniv asked with some understanding. Aura nodded then shook her head comically.
"Honestly my broth... Mare can be so emotional sometimes. Okay, Mister Jircniv..."
"Again...mister..."
"...I'll let my SISTER (giggle) know you are sorry and didn't know, I'm sure SHE will forgive you." Aura said giggling.
"Well... thank you, should you find anything, we will be staying in E-Rantel somewhere..." Jircniv started.
"No problem! I'll contact you using [MESSAGE]." Aura explained. It always shocked him how flippantly the ones from Nazarick think of using magic.
"Now if you'll excuse me I have a dragon to train... COME ON! WE'RE NOT STOPPING! I DON'T LIKE MARE HAVING A STRONGER DRAGON THAN I DO!" Aura barked out at the dragon as she loudly clapped her hands over and over. Jircniv shook his head feeling sorry for that dragon, he was a dragon prince once and now made to jump through hoops by a sadistic elf girl, a feeling he could all too well identify with.
With the exception of a few troupes of goblin patrolling the roads, they traveled nothing happened until they came up upon more goblins who were standing around giant moving creatures. One of the goblins was giving orders to the golems while the other where helping carriages and travelers detour the road they were on, it would seem the goblins were in the process of helping the golems lay a brick foundation for the makings of a very large paved road. As they passed Jircniv managed to steal a glance at the road workers, he had recently "rented" a very large amount of working undead to do work much like these golems were in The Empire... Unfortunately a wandering group of silver ranked Adventurers looking for bounty kills came across the skeleton workforce and mistook their shovels and pickaxes for weaponry and besieged the working skeletons, the workforce was quite large (and expensive) but since the skeletons were told only to "build the streets" and not "defend yourselves" they just did their assigned jobs even as hammers, sword, and arrows rained down upon them. "Growing pains" Ainz had called it when Jircniv reported what had happened to his leant out work force.
Soon enough they made their way to the gates of E-Rantel, when the guards saw the carriage they were in, the were immediately forwarded to the front of the line to enter and given access with not a single question or inspection. Such trust was rare these days.
"So what did Your Majesty plan on doing here first?" Baziwood asked as their cart, which blended in just fine with the rest of undead wandering the streets. Jircniv furrowed his brow in silent thought, Pe Riyuro would usually be found in the blacksmithing district looking for high-grade unrefined oar to purchase and feed his young. There or simply drinking wine he'd purchased from alover the human territories. But it was too late in the day to hope to find too many shops open, and Pe Riyuro never had a habit of staying in the same place twice, making it hard to track him down during one of his 'shopping sprees'.
"It's too late in the day to do anything right now, let's get settled at one of the local INNs before we plan our next move," Jircniv ordered. As Biscuit knew this town very well they had to do little more than tell it where to go and it would obediently go to the desired destination, even if the orders were as vague as, "take us to a very good hotel." The Soul Eater would deliver the trio to an establishment fit for an emperor.
"I'll sign us into the hotel under false names," Baziwood said and made for the desk. Surprisingly the very expensive hotel was rather filled up, Baziwood wondered what all the commotion was about. They left all their armor and weaponry inside of the magically sealed carriage and were wearing, high-class noble attire". Baziwood hated it, not being in his suit of armor made him feel as naked as a baby twisting in the wind. There was a bit of a line at the sign in desk so Baziwood silently got in line. He observed the room, not only were there a lot of people here, but their looks ran the gamut, even for E-Rantel standards, what was going on, an event of some kind? Baziwood's thought was interrupted by a loud voice coming from behind him.
"Can you BELIEVE they are making us wait in a line at a place this "high class?" The voice belonged to a young man dressed in a kind of good attire. Baziwood did a double take when he realized that the obnoxiously loud question had been directed at him.
"I'm sorry?" Baziwood asked the stranger.
"This line! Isn't it ridiculous to make someone of my high political standing sit in it and wait?" The rude man asked.
"If you're so important why not just assign one of your servants to wait for you as His Majesty has done?" Baziwood thought, but not wanting to make a scene he said nothing but just shrugged.
"I mean honestly, if you're going to hold a national meeting in E-Rantel for all the 'up and coming' nobles of The Kingdom, you might do well to provide adequate lodging, instead we are expected to find our own places of rest, I'm so insulted... I might just ignore His Majestys The Sorcerer Kings invitation after all!" the idiot scoffed. Baziwood again said nothing, not out of politeness but he was literally dumbfounded.
"Is this guy serious? Why would anyone openly talk this disrespectful of The Sorcerer King, in his own capital?" But instead of giving an answer to Baziwoods mental question the man kept talking.
"You know... I once thought about becoming a king..."
"Oh did you now..."
"...but turns out my plan had a few hinks in it, but I won't let that stop me... you know I've come into a lot of money as of late..." The man leaned over and lowered his voice slightly
"... A LOT of money..." He offered with a slight wink. Baziwood had no idea what this man was saying, why he was talking to him, or who he even was, he just stood there perplexed at the kind of people one could find in The Sorcerer Kingdom.
"Well...um...good, luck to you then...?" It was all Baziwood could fumble out of his mouth, his brain was still trying to process the ludacris things this idiot was babbling on about.
"HA! LUCK? I've never needed luck! My brothers were both killed in unlucky ways, maybe THEY need luck!"
"But you just said..."
"NO! Everything I have I've gabbed with my own cold, powerful hands!" The man made a motion like he was clutching something in his hands.
"God this line is moving so slow... get me away from this moron PLEASE!" Baziwood screamed at the top of his mind's voice.
"Oh and let me tell you..." The man talked on for what seemed like centuries, Baziwood largely just tuned him out instead choosing to think about the time he was shot with an arrow and nearly killed as a young boy, that memory was more pleasant than having to listen to this person talk.
FINALLY, Baziwood managed to check their group in and escape the clutches of that intolerable man.
"As powerful and terrifying The Sorcerer King is, that man rivals in stupidity..." was the last thought Baziwood spared him. Before long Baziwood walked into the room, his face was rather pale.
"Are you okay, you don't look too well." Nimble remarked when he saw his friend.
"Wine...need lots of wine right now..." Was all Baziwood said as he walked into the room. Jircniv nodded, he too could go for some drink he motioned for Nimble to join them as they drank from the 'never-ending' jug of wine.
"Tomorrow we'll head to the blacksmithing district to see if we can locate Pe Riyuro and ask him if he knows anything about this dwarf" Jircniv instructed.
"Your Majesty really thinks this Demihuman will be able to help us?" Jircniv furrowed his brow at the disrespectful tone used to address his friend.
"Even if he cannot, I'm sure he will have some valuable input to give us, plus I would not miss a chance to talk to my good friend." Jircniv puts an emphasis on the last two words. His knights gave him an apologetic look and nodded as they returned their attention to their drink.
Morning came soon enough, the bustle from the night before had all but tapered off and it was no time at all till the three found themselves walking onto the streets. Jircniv wore dark brown pants that were a few notches below in quality that he was used to, but were still nice nonetheless, his shirt was silk and covered in a long black coat that yelled "money". This was the first time he had ever gone out in public without his crown, it was oddly satisfying. Nimble wore a well-made button up the middle town jacket that matched the dark green pants he donned. Finally, Baziwood wore no jacket but just a long sleeved shirt that buttoned high up on his neck, over the shirt he had a black and red vest that went well with his black pants.
"I'm sure I don't need to remind either of you, but don't refer to me in any royal manner when in public too loudly, understand?" They both nodded. As they headed to the district of their choice they saw a small commotion down the streets, an adamantite armor-clad warrior with a flowing red cape behind him was talking to and with some passerby on the streets, Jircniv knew that this was Monon, the 'raven black' Adamantine class adventure, the "Hero of E-Rantel". And he recognized what he was doing, P.R. work. He was making his presence known, and reminding people that "I'm still here for you!" Jircniv routinely engaged in such things himself... though surrounded by undercover anti-assassin bodyguards. He guessed that Monon was by himself, at any rate, he didn't want to get caught up in that so they took a side street. He hurried a turn and came face to face with it...Death Knight
The thing that was mere inches from his face was large, looming and menacing. Jircniv froze he had no idea things like this were just walking around the streets.. he had heard about it, but now he understood it. The evil knight stood there looking down on The Emperor with pure hate in its eyes. It slowly took a step back and made room for them, the three walked past it in dreaded silence... Nimble more than the other two seemed especially on edge by the Death Knight. After they had cleared the alley way they all let out a gasp and remembered to beath.
"What...what the fuck is wrong with this city? How do people just walk about with this thing looming about?" Nimble asked, louder than he should have.
"Nimble, relax, there is no reason to fear it if we don't give it a reason to attack us" Baziwood directed. Nimble swallowed and nodded but still unable to stop his legs from shaking a bit. After not too long they came to the district they wanted, the smell of fire and the sound of a hammer hitting metal filled the air.
"So... uh, where do we start? Split up or..." Baziwood began.
"No, he'll be in only but the highest quality stores." Jircniv said as he saw a female rabbit demihuman walk by.
"You! Rabbit woman!"Jircniv said in an all too "emperor's" tone. The Demihuman stopped and looked around then garnered the rude blonde man was addressing her.
"Um...yes?" The Demihuman said slightly annoyed.
"Know where I can purchase raw adamantine ore?" He asked bluntly. The Rabbitman thought for a second about telling him to screw off, of maybe direct them to the nearest "orc brothel" instead but decide to earn some karma and just answer the man's question honestly.
"That way." She pointed toward a road that leads to the edge of the district.
"Not many 'none blacksmiths' ever want that stuff so there really only one place you'd be looking to go." And with that, the Demihuman directed them to their destination. As soon as they entered the store Jircniv ears perked up when they recognized his friend's voice.
"The last ore you sold me was not as pure as I need, please you MUST have something more suited to my needs, yes?" A Quagoa with white fur and red markings was pleading desperately with a dwarf who was also pleading with the Quagoa.
"Sir Pe Riyuro, please like I told you yesterday...and the day before that... and the day before that...adamantite ore is exceedingly rare, I only get new shipments of the stuff every few months or so... I don't know what else I can tell you!" The dwarf tried to explain.
"This...this is because we used to eat your kind isn't it? You just don't want to sell me any because I'm Quagoa!" Pe Riyuro pounded on his chest.
"Sir Pe Riyuro... we are all members of The Sorcerers Kingdom now, we have learned to let go of such past conflicts in favor of a brand new future... I'm hurt you would say that Pe Riyuro!" The Dwarf cried without a sarcastic bone in his body. Pe Riyuro looked down and lightly kicked the ground accepting the rebuke.
"Y...You're right... It's just I fear if my children don't grow up to meet the expectations of the Sorcerer King... I'll be forced too... once again..." Pe Riyuro pleaded.
"Speaking of which!" Jircniv said in an overly loud voice as he approached the two with his arms open. The two turned to look at who was talking to them so abruptly.
"...How did your young ones enjoy the last batch of ore I sent?" Jircniv said now donning a large smile. Pe Riyuro blinked a few times then his eyes grew wide.
"J...Jircniv! What in the... why are you... Jircniv!" the Quagoa exclaimed in recognition of his best friend. The two approached and shook "hands".
"Well, it just so happens I'm on a "super secret" mission for His Majesty!" Upon hearing those words the dwarf decided he might have some ore shards after all, but he'd have to leave right now to go look... and it might take the rest of the day. Pe Riyuro no longer cared.
"Well... this is a surprise, I never thought I'd see you again so soon!" Pe Riyuro said loudly.
"It has actually been quite a while, you Quagoa just have no sense of time when you're above ground!" Jircniv said teasing his friend.
"HA! You humans live such short lives, I'm surprised you even have a sense of time, to begin with!" Pe Riyuro retorted! The two laughed, as Nimble and Baziwood stood in silence.
"Ah! Pe Riyuro, these are my friends and guards, Nimble, whom I've told you about, and this is Baziwood!" The Emperor exclaimed as his knights walked up to the other two.
"Just the two? Then the one with the..." Pe Riyuro pointed to his right eye a couple of times.
"No, Leinas is not with me," Jircniv explained. He no longer had a use for that woman, other than keeping her in a place he knew she would stay.
"Mmm well, no matter, it is good to meet the ones who've been keeping my friend alive for so long!" Pe Riyuro offered his hand and they both shook it.
"But Pe Riyuro, I gotta know, how are you able to walk around here in the sunlight like this? Do your species not become blind in the light?" Jircniv asked he had actually been wanting to know this for some time.
"HUH? What? WHO SAID THAT?!" Pe Riyuro flailed his hands around like he was unable to see even a foot in front of his face before laughing.
"But no seriously, our Overlord has provided me with these." Pe Riyuro said as he pulled back his fur that covered his face and they saw a pair of dark spectacles strapped rather snugly across the Quagoa's eyes.
"With these, I can see as easily on the surface as I could underground...SURE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE HAD THESE BABIES ALL THOSE YEARS AGO!" The Quagoa raised his voice loud enough so that the dwarf in the back could hear him, to which they just heard a "HUMPH!"
The group left the store together. Pe Riyuro was the first to speak.
"So tell me, what is this mission that our gracious Lord has you on?" The sarcasm was palpable.
"It concerns a dwarf actually." Pe Riyuro's ears perked up.
"Okay, I'm listening..." Jircniv explained their situation and what had happened up to this point, Pe Riyuro frowned.
"Hmm yeah... actually I think I know of this dwarf, I heard, before His Majesty put my nation to heel, a dwarf made off with some kind of metal ingot that Ainz Ooal Gown gave them to make into some kind rune crafted armor or weapon.." Jircniv looked at his guards in an "I KNEW IT!" look.
"I even hear it was harder than adamntite." The Quagoa said licking his lips as you would when thinking about a juicy steak.
"Yes! Without a doubt, this is the dwarf I seek! As expected of my friend, your information has proven to be very helpful." Jircniv boasted. It was at that moment that a voice broke their conversation...
PART FOUR: Shadows
"I knew it! Soon as I saw you... you're The Emperor of the Bahruth Empire ain't cha!" A man, who was escorted by four others approached the group, from their body language and looks it was clear, the situation had escalated immensely when they were busy catching up. Upon realizing these men meant Jircniv harm the three allies of The emperor instinctively backed up to give Jircniv total cover, however...
"Yup, it's him alright... funny how someone so important would casually just walk around like this!" Another voice came from behind the group snickering, this one was also flanked by four strangers.
"W... What is the meaning of this?" Baziwood demanded. The men gave knowing glances... That's when a chill ran down Baziwood's spine... He knew the look these men had on their faces, it was the look of men who knew they were about to die for a better cause... This was the worst possible case scenario, for whatever reason, all ten of these men... Were willing to die, which meant they knew that when they attacked, it would not be long till the death knight began to swarm.
"See here's the thing... All of use got together some time ago... We wanted to"Kill The Sorcerer King" for killing all our sons and brothers during that time. Nimble winced.
"But hey, how dumb do you think we are? Killing that monster, no, that was just something we 'pretend played at'" One of the men said brandishing a dagger.
"However... What if..." One man began.
"... We could get to the man who asked The Sorcerer King to use such a spell?" A different man finished.
"That's right! I bet The Sorcerer King wasn't even going use that strong of a spell, to begin with! To be honest, even though we all hate him...Living under his rule has been great... fantastic even!" the men all nodded.
"So maybe The Sorcerer King does NOT "hate the living" Some of us think he might have even been human once himself! Why else would he care about lowering our taxes so low, and providing so many free services?" Another man said.
"So we began to think another way... maybe "His Majesty" The Emperor Jircniv is the reason The Sorcerer King killed our boys!" Another older would be assassin growled.
"Kill enough of The Kingdoms soldiers so they can never harm The Empire and you will back his reign over E-Rantel... Sounds more like the truth every time one of us said it." A younger man added. Nimble instinctively went for his sword... but found only air. They had become too lax in this town. These men were prepared to die, all they needed to do was rush all at once and at least one might get to Jircniv before any of the death shadows began to move.
"Shit shit shit..." Pe Riyuro muttered, his keen military mind understood how badly they had been flanked. He could easily kill the group of five in front of him, and the two guards would also protect Jircniv from the other group, until he could make his way to the other end to help them out, however it was the two hanging back behind both groups that looked like casters that worried him, a well placed 'area of effect' spell, even a weak one, would be annoying to deal with. And if Pe Riyuro wanted to assault 'his caster' then he wouldn't be able to run over and help Nimble and Baziwood deal with 'their caster' as he killed the easily beatable civilians... which meant... at least one of these casters, and maybe even an assassin would hit Jircniv if they got lucky.
"You... understand all of you will die for this?" Pe Riyuro pleaded one last plea, he knew the answer.
"Okay boys, on three..." They all pulled out daggers and the like, some just broken shards of glass, or a sharp end of a stick, this "assassination" had been thrown together at just the last moment. The troublesome casters began to mutter something.
"One..." The men steeled themselves for their final act of revenge for their families. Red energy began to form from one's hands, as the other caster on the other end of the fight had green energy form around his hands. These men were just going to try and keep Jircnivs guards busy while these castes used ranged attacks, and the fact that they were in a somewhat narrow alleyway meant dodging would be very hard.
"Two..." Pe Riyuro cracked his knuckles as large, deadly claws were brandished, he snarled and started to revert to a 'half-feral' state, 'LIKE HELL I'LL ALLOW YOU TO BRING HARM TO MY FRIEND..." Pe Riyuro yelled out. Baziwood and Nimble simply backed up against their Emperor trying their best to be human shields for the incoming magic attacks hoping none of them had crossbows to boot. Jircniv knew they would die for him, he had to make a run for it to the nearest guard to live, he would not let their bravery go to waste!
"THR..." The man began before something happened. There was a flash of blades all around them the sound of metal slicing flesh rang out all in an instant, arms and bodies hitting the ground soon followed. eleven of the of twelve assassins fell to the ground in unison, only the man left counting was standing.
"..EEee..." He trailed off, he looked around, all his friends were... dead? Even their backup was cut down!
"I heard the kind things you said about His Majesty, so I decided I would let you know this before you die..." A short individual said wiping blood from his long curved blade before returning it to his sheath, he was covered in black cloths that seemed to be made of a very well made fabric, his head and face were covered with a 'ninja' mask, and his eyes were pitch black, he had a red piece of cloth tied around his right arm.
"The ones who perished by His Majesty's spell were able to achieve a greatness that none in their position would ever come close to achieving, for they were able to personally feel the effects His Majesty's power before they served their final purpose of helping this great Kingdom!" The short, dark individual said calmly.
"Imagine their rapturous joy knowing it was THEY who provided the fuel for the dark young so that so many of their friends may also know the joy of being able to experience his majesty's power and magic! Truly, I envy them for they were assigned a purpose by His Majesty, to which they performed flawlessly." The mysterious man said as he nodded his head.
"Vh...Vhat err... wh... WHO ART HOOO!" The man was so stricken with shock that forming words was beyond him.
"Who am I? Why does that matter? If you must know, I am called a 'Hanzo' " He said calmly as he walked closer to the terrified man, the other four members crowded together and just watched in amazement.
"P...please...dister Handzooo! I... I blidn't nean it! I... I..." The man screamed falling to the ground. the steeled resolve to die all but gone when re realized they had failed.
"No, you seem to be mistaken, my name is not 'Hanzo', it's what I am." He finished calmly as he issued a fast strike across the man's neck so fast nobody saw him move. It was fatal. The dark man turned to the terrified quartet.
"I am sorry Emperor Jircniv for you having to deal with these untamed brutes, but it does seem I managed to not get any blood on His Majesty's or his friend's cloths!" The Hanzo said nodding in satisfaction. When the shock had worn off, Pe Riyuro was the first to speak up. Pe Riyuro looked at the distance that all the bodies were from one another, the speed this Hanzo must have had to move to kill both casters at once...
"Um, thank you, Mr. Hanzo, for your help!" He said returning his claws to their sheathed positions. The Hanzo shook his head.
"No, it's not my name... if you must call me by a 'name' call me..." He looked at his arm affectionately to the red cloth given to him by His Majesty.
"Red, you may call me 'Red'." He said with another satisfied nod.
"Well then Red, may I personally thank you for intervening when you did," Jircniv stated, able to regain his composure. Red shook his head.
"I apologize for "waiting till the last second", at least from your perspective it must have seemed that may. But I wanted to make sure I felt 'killing intent' before I acted, spilling blood on E-Rantel soil is not optimal." The ninja said clicking his tongue at the sight of the, now spreading, blood.
"Um. If that's the case... Could you not have simply 'disarmed' them instead of killing them all? And arresting them?" Pe Riyuro asked, it seemed he understood that from the Hanzo's perspective, the twelve men were probably just standing there trapped in sluggish molaas, he could have just grabbed all their weapons with as much ease as striking them down, even if it was the enemy, Pe Riyuro no longer took any kind of pleasure from killing, not after seeing that red armored demon smiling the way she was as she cut down his men, he never wanted to become something like that, something that revealed in killing so much.
"..." Red seemed to be thinking.
"Maybe... But I've yet to kill anyone in the name of His Majesty... this was a rare opportunity for me! And to be honest, taking prisoners is not "in my job description." Red explained.
"It matters not, I just am glad we're all okay!" Jircniv said honestly stepping over the corpses of the men who tried to kill him. Jircniv offered his hand but the Hanzo looked puzzled by this action so, awkwardly, Jircniv returned his hand to his side. At that time four large shadows moved and four death knights appeared around the dead assassins and began to collect them.
"What...What will happen to their bodies?" Nimble asked curiously.
"They will be brought before His Majesty and in death, they will protect the peace of this town that they just shattered, it is their atonement... and reward," Red said with a casual glance at the head of a man he had rendered off its body.
"Every time someone dies he gets stronger." That chilling reality slightly unsettled Jircniv.
"Well then Your Majesty, I shall return to my position of your unseen guard," Red said with a bow.
"Wait... my guard? Are you not stationed in E-Rantel?" Jircniv asked confused. Red shook his head.
"No, as it is, His Majesty The Sorcerer King values you as an ally. And your current personal protection simply was not up to the "Nazarick standard". Both Nimble and Baziwood frowned.
"But His Majesty understood you might not enjoy having "an undead" always around, so he asked me to keep an eye on you from the shadows" Red explained.
"H...how long have you, uh, been serving as my bodyguard?" Jircniv asked stunned.
"About the time Lord Demiurge delivered the Soul Eater you call 'Biscuit'" Red said honestly. Sweat ran down Jircnivs back. Had this death-dealing machine been with him the whole time? Seeing everything he did? The Hanzo seemed to pick up on this discomfort and offered to alleviate it some.
"Ah Your Majesty need not worry too much, I was only around you when in the presence of 'others' when His Majesty was alone I would guard all the exists to wherever you were," Red assured jircniv.
"So then you were around when I was with her and you saw us night after night? Together?" Jircniv asked growing now also annoyed.
"Indeed, when a man is with a woman his guard is down, more than usual, at 'those' times I would station myself even closer than usual to his majesty!" Jircnivs eye twitched.
"H...How close exactly?"The Hanzo thought for a second at Jircnivs question and walked about one foot away from him then stood still.
"About this close..." Jircniv frowned but realized that there was no perversion in Reds 'closeness' what he said was very true. The idea that this man had been but a foot away as he performed with that woman still was unsettling beyond belief.
"So then it's you! You are the reason that I sometimes do not feel alone when I am alone!" Jircniv said feeling so much better that he was not going mad... least not yet.
"Ah no, that's..." Red paused.
"That's right, it is as You Majesty has guessed..." If the Hanzo had pupils they would be darting back and forth nervously.
"Um...Red, in the future, now that I know you are here... will you give me my 'alone time' with that woman?" Jircniv said quietly to him. He heard Pe Riyuro snickering behind him. The Hanzo shook his head.
"I'm sorry but I take my orders, not from you, however, I have been permitted to lie to you, and say that I will leave you alone at such times." Jircniv eye twitched again...
"what's the point of saying that..."
"Ah, although as lying isn't in my 'job description' either, I am not very good at it." The Hanzo said truthfully. All four of them rolled their eyes in unison.
"Well then, um you may return to your position... farthest away you are allowed to be," Jircniv added. Red gave a bow and vanished before everyone's eyes. Jircniv scratched his head and was annoyed to see a few strands of hair fall loose.
"Never a dull moment in The Sorcerer kingdom!" Pe Riyuro exclaimed trying to settle everyone's nerves and slapping Jircniv's back. The four of them moved out of the alleyway they had fallen into in order to speak privately. They began their walk back to the room Jircniv had rented before talking more.
"It would seem you had the best of luck running into Aura, her wolf will find that dwarf if he's in that forest." At the same time, Pe Riyuro said this... two figures cloaked in the shadows of a building watched at them. from across the street.
"Wow... Did you see that?" A short hooded individual said to another hooded figure that was taller than itself.
"Yeah... That sure would have been a nasty surprise when I made MY move on Jircniv..." The female of the two said with a slight giggle.
"Could you handle it?"
"Not a chance." The female said giggling and pulling an exaggerated shrug that revealed dozens upon dozens of "adventure ranks" plates...all of them made of adamantite. The short male figure eyed them suspiciously.
"Where did you even get those from? You could add up all the adamantite adventures that ever existed and not be able to complete that, still ridiculous, outfit of yours. He spat.
Giggling like a person on the edge of ecstasy or madness she swayed her head back and forth over and over and she spoke.
"No... that was my old game... this new one is harder, much harder." She growled before licking her lips. The older man looked up at his crazy new boss.
"No.. Now I only get to take off a "tag" after I have killed an adamantite level adventure...Or anything stronger than one." She proclaimed proudly narrowing her purple-hued eyes at Jircniv, or rather, at the thing that was standing in his shadow. The bald pale figure sighed hopelessly.
"So...Lets say with your new found life you manage to do this... RIDICULOUS game of yours, you what... Fight naked?" He asked, picturing her thus for a second before banishing such thoughts to the realm of the forgotten. She giggled again.
"OF COURSE! That's the WHOLE POINT! Then... Then I would be strong enough to maybe..." She shook her hand in anger and frustration.
"You really intend to get your revenge on HIM, naked? You're even crazier than I thought!" He said flabbergasted. She hummed a little bit while fantasizing in her head killing the evil litch that had once crushed her to a pulp like so much juice from an orange, completely naked, her eyes rolled back in her head as she pictured "violating" the corpse of the litch, that she hated more than anything, after killing him.
"No...No... I'd never be able to kill him... I'm crazy, not stupid." She said licking her lips again but snapping back to reality.
"So then what? What's your big "revenge" plan?" He asked her slightly relieved she knew enough than to try and fight Ainz Ooal Gown a second time.
"Simple... Since I can't kill HIM, I just gotta find the ones he likes... his favorite toys... and BREAK them." She growled now with a furious expression on her otherwise cute face. She pointed at The Emperor.
"And if I can help pay off what I owe to our friends who brought us back for a chance to even cause him grief or pain...all the better." She scoffed.
"So which is it? You were gonna kill The Emperor because he presented an easy chance... or so we thought... are we back to plan A, the village girl with the goblins? That's still a large task... especially with one of those... maids hanging about." She laughed...
"No, I lied to you, I was gonna let you try and kill that village girl, and when the maid showed up to save her, I was gonna use this on her!" The hooded female said showing him a strange bracelet.
"Yeah... I was gonna ask about that... it doesn't match the rest of your gear." He said cocking a dubious eye at the strange, yet immensely powerful object. She brought it up to her eyes and peered at it with fascination...
"When I bought this... the guy said I can only use it on one person but it won't work on any of the really strong ones we've heard rumors about for some reason, he said not to try it with the "very strong," She said frowning.
"Like that...maid", He said shivering at the thought of his once proud image being fried like a tree struck by lightning.
"No... It should work on those maids... It's the ones we were told to never approach..."no matter what"... they are the ones this won't work on... So I wanna target one of those maids he acquired in the Holy Kingdom. I really wanted to use it on the black haired maid that killed you, but I think the one with the braids we've heard about in the village would be a good choice as well..." She said with a sneer.
"Okay fine...But what'll it do to her?" He asked still casting a look at this strange bracelet. The smile on her face became as wicked as it ever could be.
"No fun in telling you now is there? Just wait for the time... ANYWAY, that's down the line still, we haven't seen any of the maids still... I was hoping one would appear when he was attacked just now, but it's not worth using on that dark guy that showed up out of nowhere... I don't think.
"If this thing is so powerful...Why doesn't he just use it? Why sell it to you?" He asked still doubtful this thing was so strong it could beat one of those... THINGS.
"Probably because he never leaves where he is at." She said thinking about the odd location their new benefactor lived and worked called a guildhall.
"And it may make me vanish entirely if the spell goes wrong..." Clementine frowned at the conditions she had to meet to use her item.
"Ah I see, so it will kill you then? That is indeed a steep price to pay..." The older man said nodding. She shook her head still locking her eyes onto her favorite item in the whole world.
"No, you were not listening to me, I'll be gone, not dead, so pay attention because I'll be different after I use it, okay?" She asked growing serious and somber for the first time. She had to make sure the attack this thing could do worked.
"Okay... So if... HEY WAIT! YOU WERE GONNA USE ME AS BAIT?!" He said just now remembering what she had said so casually just a minute ago.
"Don't worry! I need you to be alive, because when I change... You gotta kill the whole lot of em and use that necklace he sold you!" She said pointing at his recently purchased amulet. He looked down admiring the pendant that would allow him to cast a particular spell... Once thought only to be in the realm of the gods or make-believe, once a day... But what a thrill it will be when he gets to unleash its power, a wicked smile crossed his face...even if using it will cost "experience points" Whatever those are...
"I see, so that's the whole plan." He said while smirking.
"No... That's when the real plan will begin!" She said cackling evilly. He once again looked at her with a suspicious look.
"Okay, so you never answered me... We gonna kill this guy or that village girl?" He asked again. Again her head swung back and forth so her short blonde hair poked out from her hood, she seemed to be playing a game of "eeny miny moe".
Finally, her head stopped bobbing and it stopped as she reached her decision. Another evil grin spread across her face... "Hey... Isn't that village girl married to that one boy we snatched up that one time?" He let out an evil cackle as he knew where she was going with this.
"Indeed..." He said with a sneer, he was glad, the goblin village would be an easier target than The Emperor would be, at least now that they know about that thing".
"Mmmhmm... So now the only question is... Do we torture and 'play with' the girl as we make him watch...Or do we break him painfully and listen to her screams..." Her head bobbed back and forth once again.
"Hmmm...We could have our fun with her, as he watches... Then I could bring her back as a zombie after we've finished with her, and let her eat him alive... Of course, she will still have her human mind, but I could make her body do anything I want once I raise her...So we could even have more fun with her after that..." He said nodding devilishly. The girl slapped him on the back in a playful manner.
"I KNEW I KEPT YOU AROUND FOR A REASON!" The look of excitement in her eyes made him even a little excited. Then Just as a flip had been struck she became deadly serious.
"But that's only if we subdue that maid... And get around the goblins..." She said darkly, indeed a quest with such a rich reward would be very hard to make happen.
"Yeah about that... I think I have an idea on how to deal with them... And maybe even that maid, if we are really lucky!" He said patting his pocket. She looked surprised that he had something up his sleeve she didn't know about. He smiled and pulled out a small white object that looked like a horn of some kind.
"Whats it do?" She asked. He admired it lovingly as it had cost him a pretty copper or two.
"If we get in a tight spot, I can use this summon a huge army um, I think..." He said shoving it back into his pocket where it would be safe.
"You think? She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"As I said, when he sold me this, he said certain conditions had to be met... and the worse situation we are in the better it will be, I dunno, I'm saving it for a backup plan as it sounds kinda risky." He thought maybe he'd been ripped off after all.
"Okay then...Let's go make a cute girl cry..." Clementine said as she began thinking of all the fun she would have with that boy's wife. Khajiit smiled as well.
"But I'd hate to lose an opportunity to kill Jircniv as well..." Clementine thought before snapping her fingers.
"Tell you what, follow Jircniv's group and if they leave E-Rantel... Use that," she said pointing to his necklace again.
"Ummm... Didn't you JUST say we need this for your plan?" Khajiit spat. Even still he could back up her plan if the necklace failed still. Having just one plan is why they lost before... well that and because they had bad luck running into "those things".
"It will be fine, I always have a backup plan... Just don't use it inside E-Rantel..." She warned.
"Yes, I can only imagine the commotion it would bring down on us... Plus it's casting range is limited to my sight... If they are in an open field I could hit them at full force... it will probably even kill that Soul Eater and Dark one we just saw... " He shook his bald head at the thought of the power of this thing, or rather what was contained within it.
"Okay then, I'll head to the Goblin Stronghold of Carne... Sneaking in shouldn't be too hard especially if I can get some kind of escort most the way there, I'll lay the groundwork for your... big surprise, should we need it. But mainly I just need to wait for a maid to reveal herself...
"What if you are caught before you can use "it" on the maid?" He asked a very valid question.
"See that's what I've learned since my time as a corpse... I no longer underestimate people, if this "maid with braids" Can't see invisible people it'd be a real pain... I'm assuming she will have some kind of ability to either see, sense, smell, hear me... Something... Point is, I'm sure she won't just kill me when I'm found out. If this maid wants to "toy with me" for a bit... That will be her undoing." A wicked smile crossed her face.
"You seem to be assuming an awful lot about a person you've only heard rumors about..." Khajiit reminded his sadistic boss.
"I know she's strong... And she only 'reveals' herself when a certain two are threatened it would seem from our "villager" that's been giving us unknowingly, tidbits of info... So I doubt she's kind... and I know a thing or two about how people who not kind deal with weaker people." Clementine said clenching her teeth as she remembered her favorite kill of all time, the little caster girl who liked to play dress up, just remembering the way she screamed, cried and pissed herself from the pain, it really was great Clementine thought smiling wistfully.
"So you see... My whole plan depends on her being overwhelmingly stronger than me, and a bit arrogant about that strength, if she falls under these categories." Clem looked up at the sky, the sun now high above them, the lunch bustle would soon start.
"I'll win for sure!" The hooded assassin sang out. Her sudden outburst caught the attention of a Death Knight that was standing guard, He looked over at the two cloaked individuals. Clementine put one finger to her right eye and pulled down while sticking her tongue out at the knight that was glaring death at them.
"Don't push your luck, Clem..." Khajiit said nervously.
"What, can't you control those things now or something like that?" Clem asked puzzled.
"No.. I've...I told you what I was able to do all that time I was training!" Khajiit growled. Clementine just shrugged as they kept tabs on The Emperor's group.
"Fine, I'll tell you again, since I 'hit a wall' on my ability to summon and control undead..."
"You mean hit your limit." Clementine reminded him snarkingly. He shot her an angry glance but just kept speaking.
"...I decided to apply my efforts in other directions once it was revealed how many summoned undead the, now public, Ainz Ooal Gown has. So I learned the art of 'banishing undead' that is to say, send undead away to where they came if they should have not been created from "natural causes". he told her, hoping this would be the last time he'd have to.
"Ah! So, but wait you can just... Send them back, like that?" She asked snapping her fingers. He shook his head, I have to still cast the spell, which takes a while. Even then, I cannot move myself, all my concentration and mana must be maintained on such a powerful entity, furthermore the most I'd be able to banish it is 20 to 30 seconds before I run out of mana."Khajiit explained once more. She snickered but as the crowd was now starting to appear they pulled up their hoods and lowered their voices even more in order to maintain cover until they parted ways.
"Okay, I'll begin to make my way to Carne, you have fun with The Emperor if you get the shot." She said parting and walking toward the exit gate of E-Rantel. There was a cart there with a middle-aged man, woman, and little girl.
"Excuse me, are you fine folks headed in the direction of Carne Fortress?" Clementine asked with a smile on her face.
"Uh...yes, we uh, we're actually headed there, to be honest." The old man said. Clementine clapped her hands in exaggerated joy.
"Well, I just so happen to be an adventure headed there as well! WHAT LUCK! If you let me tag along and ride next to your adorable little girl I'll only charge some food at supper time for 'round the clock protection! I may not look it, but I'm pretty strong! How about it?" She said putting on her most friendly smile and flexing at the little girl, it made khajiit sick.
"Well the roads are safe now that The Sorcerer King has his dea...his knights patrolling them, so I don't really see the need too..." The old man said smiling.
"OH Come on! Ya rweally trwust a bunch gross and stinky undwead?" She directed the juvenile question at the little girl as she pinched her nose making a super exaggerated "I smell something bad" face. The little girl giggled and put her hands over her mouth.
"Come on daddy? Can the nice adventurer come with us?" The young girl asked pleading with her father.
"Yeah, daddy can I?"Clem said batting her eyes at him. The wife frowned a little bit. The father looked at his wife then shrugged in a "you know I can't say no to our little girl!" The wife rolled her eyes and gave a "get on" wave with her hand. Clementine clapped and sat next to the little girl, she giggled as her new friend made a silly face at her. She pulled her hood back up over her head.
"So, what's your name little one?" She asked in a soft voice.
"Belise! Belise Tarnel! She said with a huge smile befitting her innocent age. Clementine pointed at Khajiit.
"Well Belise say "goodbye" to my friend over there!" Clementine said giving the most chilling smile Khajiit had seen her give. Clementine made silent "bye-bye" with her mouth as she looked hungrily at the little girl's cute face.
"BYE BYE, MISTER FRIEND!" The cute girl yelled waving her hand back and forth.
"Byyeeee byyeeee friend!" Clementine said in a tone that had a certain implication attached to it. As the cart shrank away Khajiit shook his head, he hoped their ends would be quick, but he knew all too well the tastes of his, now, boss. He shrugged and took a place where he would see The Emperor leave in the morning.
As the cart she sat upon, was pulled down the road, Clementine patted her lap for the little girl to sit upon it. She giggled and jumped up and sat where instructed. Clementine wrapped her arms around the girl in a far too familiar manner but the little girl paid it no mind.
"So, Belise what kind of games do you like to play?" The little girl thought for a while then smiled.
"I like to play "touch me or your dead", she said giggling. Clementines eyes grew wide with wonder and a smile appeared on her face.
"Oh? And how do you play that game?" She asked in a hushed tone.
"Oh, well one person is an undead and tries to touch them if they can they that person is undead and has to touch someone else!" She said smiling at the game her friend Ridda used to play before she went away. Clementine laughed, back in her day they simply had just called it "tag".
"Well Belise, maybe we can play later tonight when we're alone." Belise did not catch the undertone of that remark and just smiled a big smile, Clementine wondered how wonderful this girl would look crying, she intended to find out. She looked over her shoulder at the middle-aged couple driving the cart, they were paying attention to the road still. She'd probably just make them watch her play with their daughter all night then kill em before dawn. That was Clementine's favorite game.
However back in E-Rantel The Emperor and his party were sitting in a very nice room set with bright red padded furniture, large glass windows and several other rooms for guests. In the center sat a nicely made marble table that a drunk Quogoa was sitting at.
"Pe Riyuro, please! Slow down, the jug may be endless, but your constitution is not..." Jircniv said jokingly to his old friend who had to develop a taste for human wine.
"HA! If YOU only KNEW... What I had to drink for YEARS underneath that blasted rock... You'd not be so quick to judge... Ugh, it was AWFUL, even the dwarves we had wouldn't touch the stuff!" He said loudly as the alcohol began to take over the Quagoa.
"Just pace yourself is all I'm saying." Jircniv went to slap his friend on the back but remembered the last time he did that he's come away with some cuts on his hand so he kept it to a light pat.
"Nonsense! I've not seen you for so long, we MUST drink till there's nothing left in that neverending jug!" Pe Riyuro exclaimed again, very loudly.
"You know Sir Pe Riyuro, I do believe we may also get along quite well!" Baziwood said laughing and pouring their guest another drink, even though he had two in front of him already.
"Oh HO! And aren't you letting your guard down a bit? Drinking when an attempt was made not hours ago on Your Emperors life!" the Quagoa said teasingly.
"NOPE!" Baziwood said drinking the wine he had poured himself.
"Soon as Red appeared, I officially considered myself on vacation!" Baziwood said toasting the thin air.
"Funny, I don't recall you asking for this 'vacation time',"jircniv said half smiling to let his friend know he was only half joking.
"Of course Your Majesty, I will not let my guard down even when drinking... You see, even us drinking is part of my plan!" Baziwood said proudly.
"Oh? And what is this "plan" you have that you never felt the need to run by your Emperor?" Jircniv asked leaning in to hear what kind of story his friend is about to tell.
"Well, I'm guessing it wasn't by accident those guys just all showed up, I bet someone pointed us out to them to round them up faster, or something to that effect, either way, there might be a bigger threat out there that we don't know about... And it could be watching us even now...Or at the very least keeping tabs of our movements." Baziwood said nodding to the windows which he had all pulled open so the activities of the ones on the inside could be seen on the outside. They all looked at the windows then at him suddenly aware that this was not a story.
"And if I were watching us say... Right now, I'd wait for our revelry to take hold, by the way, Your Majesty you should drink a bit more, and try to sneak in from any of the various entrances this room affords it to a skilled assassin or magic caster." He said motioning to an open window that was also unlocked.
"Um okay..." Jircniv stated with doubt.
"AND if someone entered this room without any of our permission they would be..." He pointed again to thin air, but this time a low voice answered him.
"Killed immediately."
"NO! Red! We talked about this!" Baziwood yelling at a corner of the room that Red was not in. They heard a small sigh.
"Take him prisoner so you can find out who he is working for..." The formless voice answered with a hint of disappointment in it.
"SO! There you have it, I'm laying a skilled trap that, it would seem, Your Majesty could not even detect." He said with a wink and a smile. Jircnives eyes looked at him with a bit of shock.
"I'm going to assume that's the wine talking and give that last remark a pass." The Emperor said sternly as the humor drained out of his face and was replaced by a stern and serious look. Baziwood looked alarmed that he had accidently crossed the line of their 'professional friendship'. He quickly went to bow down and apologize, but as soon as he took the loyalty bow and his eyes met the floor he felt a cold fluid pouring over his head and down his well-made shirt. He looked up in surprise as jircniv was clearly suppressing laughter as he poured his drink on top of his knights head.
"Your Majesty is too cruel!" Baziwood remarked, he was half serious, not only would this wine stain his expensive clothes, but also his bright, long blonde hair!
"I am "The Bloody Emperor" after all! What good am I if I don't spill a little blood now and again." He said, flicking some leftover wine in Baziwood's face. The large knight laughed but then looked over at Nimble who was not drinking but sitting in a chair by himself watching them drink and keeping an eye on the street below their room.
"Nimble! Why not drink with us?" Baziwood said offering his friend a cup. Nimble shook his head in polite rejection and turned his gaze back to the window he sat by.
"Well! Can't win them all', that's a phrasing I heard that little elf girl say once!" Pe Riyuro said grabbing the cup Baziwood had just poured for Nimble and gulping it down before anyone could raise an objection. The events of the night played out much like this till they all settled in, but nothing happened in the night that they slept. As morning broke they gathered in the lobby to discuss "what's next" as they just ended up drinking all night.
"I'd like to head toward Carne "Village". Everyone knew people that still called it "village" did so out of ignorance or technical irony as that was still its official title. But It resembled nothing of a village anymore.
"Any particular reason?" Baziwood asked frowning at the pink hue his once golden hair had, he spent all morning trying to get the stain out of his hair but it would not come out.
"Well as my cover was... Well, I never had any cover did I, Red?" Jircniv asked at nothing. There was no response.
I just feel it's the next logical step at this point." Jircniv said.
"Pluss if Aura's dog finds your dwarf we'll just be that much closer to get him," Nimble said joining the group after finishing paying the tab and signing out. Jircniv nodded.
"Alright, it's settled then, let's get some food then find Biscuit and head there immediately! Pe Riyuro, what will you be doing?" Jircniv asked his friend.
"What? You think I would miss a chance to see this "goblin fortress" I've heard so much about?" Pe Riyuro said with his hands up and out. Jircniv smiled and nodded.
"I wanna get there by noon tomorrow, so let's not take too long getting ready"