Let's go back 9 days ago. A certain knight had fallen onto a drunkard, making him the "event of the day" in E-rantel. The nobles wanted to take him and take whatever profit they could, but the water goddess church was quicker. However, the man was also wanted in the underground organizations in the kingdom.
The Eight Fingers have so much influence within the Re-Estize Kingdom's underground that in all criminal activity of any consequence, they are either a part of it or they get a piece of it. While based in the Kingdom, the organization also extends its power into the Baharuth Empire, no doubt profiting from the slave trade that still exists legally as well as the black dust trade that is slowly making its way into the markets there.
The criminal organization is divided into eight departments: slave trafficking, assassinations, smuggling, larceny, drug trade, security, banking, and gambling. While the organization is united by common interest in ruling the Kingdom's underworld, each of the department heads do not look out for their colleagues' interests and welfare but merely use each other as a way to promote their own power within the Eight Fingers and the Kingdom.
On that day, the 8 heads were assembled in a common building in the residential area of E-rantel. The room was dark, and all but one was wearing hoods. One if the figures stood up.
"I assume you heard what happened in the 2nd district today, right?"
A serie of acknowledging grunts was heard. Even a clearer one, probably from a woman.
"If the man has an object to teleport, because I think we all agree it was teleportation, or even better knows how to do it, we mustn't let someone else have him."
The benefits from the ability to teleport were too much to be said. Stealing, killing, blackmailing, all those things could become basically as easy as breathing. Even more, if that knowledge went into the hands of their enemies, the results would be disastrous. The dangers of it were as much as the benefits, if not more.
The only man who was not hooded stood up as well. He was Zero, the head of the security division.
Zero was a giant, bald man with half of his face and body covered with tattoos of various beasts. There was a panther on his legs, a falcon on his back, a rhino on his arms, a buffalo on his chest, and a lion on his head. Everything about him is large. The outlines of his muscular figure could be seen through his clothes, and the cold glint in his eyes belongs to that of a seasoned warrior.
"My division could do it. If it's just raiding a temple, it will be hardly a challenge."
Another voice was heard. It was the voice of a woman, so it belonged to Hilma Cygnaeus, the only woman with a head position in the organization. She rose as well, and the cape moved, revealing a snake-like tatoo on her wrist.
"Zero, while I do not doubt of your and the security division's strength, I think it is a job that requires more precision. The smuggling division is better suited."
Zero looked at her with a bad eye, and sat down. A man's voice was heard.
"If it's just taking a man somewhere without being seen, it will be child's play for my division. I'm all for it. I'll tell my people to send it in one of our hideouts, it will be a less suspicious place."
Hilma, Zero, and the 5 other hooded figures nodded. As further talks would be unnecessary, everybody stood up and went out to their occupations.
"Eight fingers were cut? So what, is it a wound from a fight?"
The priestess looked dumbfounded for a moment.
"Are you maybe a stranger, Miss Eldra? The 8 fingers is the most powerful criminal organization in the Re-estize kingdom, maybe in all the human nations…"
If this organization was this important, doing anything that could influence them was playing with fire.
"Could you redirect me to someone with… Rare information? I have to save him, but I don't know where to start searching…"
Mother Laurentia had a strange expression on her face, then she shrugged her shoulders.
"It's miss's life that will be at risk after all. Search for a man named Velda. I don't know if he has the information, but he knows a lot. You will need a few silver coins to make him talk though. But I think It will not be a problem to you."
There it is. Now, she had all she needed for a little scouting mission.
"Thank you, mother Laurentia. Your information has helped me a lot. Just a quick last question, why did you help me? I don't think I made the largest donation since he was taken from the church…"
Mother Laurentia smiled.
"Indeed, a lot of people have come to look for him. Nobles, adventurers, even normal citizens. However, the goddess of water can see through all lies as in clear water. You are the first person who came being genuinely worried about this man."
Erina blushed a little, and smiled back.
"Thank you for the trust you showed to me, mother Laurentia. I'm deeply grateful for what you told me."
The priestess bowed, and showed the way to the exit.
Once outside, Erina considered her options. She had two of them. Either go spells blazing in their hideout and hope that Willhelm was here, or go to search for help. As the priestess insisted heavily on the 8 finger's power, the first option would be her last resort. For now, she would have to go to that Velda.
When asking about him, not a lot of people knew about the man. Some knew vaguely the name, but the majority didn't knew why they should know of him. Only a mage said that he thought that he was currently staying at an inn.
After two long hours of research, she finally found the establishment. It was some kind of gathering place for all the low-lives of the poor districts. An old tavern, with dirty walls and, ancient would be the right word, furniture.
It was without saying that in this type of place, Erina stood out a lot. When she entered the run-down building, all the conversations stopped and everybody looked at her. Feeling under pressure, she made her way to the bar with much "Sorry", and "Pardon for the intrusion". The conversations slowly came back.
The barman was at the image of the building. Middle-aged, dirty shirt, and had a grumpy personality.
"I'm looking for Velda."
He grunted, before pointing at his left. There was a person seated on a back table, hidden in the shadows from the meagre light of a candle.
Approaching, she could make out somehow the figure of a very old man. He had a grey beard, no hair on top of his head, and was wearing very simple clothing. He was also smoking something from a pipe and there was a tankard on the table. She sat in front of him.
"I heard you could tell me some… Unusual things."
"Unusual you say, young lady? Well, it is true that I know some things that other people don't. The amount of what I remember depends on your generosity to an old man with no work".
She took out a few gold coins and put them on the table.
"I am feeling very generous. Tell me what you know about the knight who appeared ten days ago, and where he could be now."
The man put his pipe on the table, took one coin and bit it. He seemed satisfied, because he took the coins and put them in a pouch at his waist.
"You indeed are very generous. It has been very long since I have seen this much coins. Anyway, I guess you know the general story, so I will focus on other things."
He lowered his voice. Not that it changed much, because nobody was listening to them, but it must have been a habit for him.
"First, some say that he teleported. I asked a contact in the mage's guild, and he said that it was possible, it's just that they don't know how. Also, the man in the temple who was taking care of him was killed, and eig-"
Erina interrupted him abruptly.
"I know that already. I know who took him, and how. Just tell me where he could be right now."
"Well, that will ease my task a lot. The eight owns a lot of shops and buildings in the city. However, the knight the temple was raided, one of my contacts said to me that one of them received a delivery very late. A delivery this late is so unlikely that I'm ready to swear on my name that it was the knight you're looking for. I can only tell you the general direction, because my contact didn't want to endanger his life by following them. It was in the southern district. Here, they own three businesses there. A brothel, a warehouse they use for smuggling, and a gambling place."
He stopped talking, took a sip from his tankard, and put it back.
"Sorry, young lady, my age does not permit me talking for so long without interruption. Now, about the places. The gambling place is visited by a lot of people, and a lot of high-ranking officials, so I doubt he's there. That leaves you with the brothel and the warehouse. The warehouse is owned by a shop with high-class furniture. Both seem as likely as the other, and I don't know more, so now, it's your turn. Go. Come on, shoo, go away! I talked too long with you, I don't want to be discovered by the eight."
He energetically shooed her away. She didn't have much choice, so she thanked him quickly before leaving the inn. Now that she knew this, she would have to investigate this brothel and warehouse. The warehouse would likely have less security, to avoid unwanted attention from the city guards, so it would be her first place to scout.
She walked up to the south district. On her way, she bought a cape with a hood, and a pyromancer's staff. It cost her five gold coins, but for the sake of secrecy it was necessary.
It wasn't a noble district, but a high-ranking one nonetheless. Normally, she would be looked down upon by the inhabitants, but adventurers seemed much more present here than in any other city, making her blending in much easier.
The warehouse was behind a line of luxury shops, in a small back street. One of them was run by the eight, and the corresponding warehouse was behind it. The luxury furniture shop was easy to find, so was its warehouse. It was a smaller building than the shop itself, with slightly dirtier walls.
The cold weather and the fact that this was not the main street made it so that there was nobody here. No guard, no people walking in the street. She also hid her [staff of wisdom] behind a crate near the shop.
Erina hid just behind the counter of the building. An hour passed, and as she was cursing her lack of luck, she was relieved when she heard the sound of the door opening. Looking behind the corner, she could see a plump man with richly decorated clothes. She quickly put on the hood of her cape and just before he closed the door, she ran to him and put the point of her staff right before his head. Small fireballs were floating around it.
"Now now, let's get back in here…"
Instinctively, the man fell backward inside out of fear. She followed him and closed the door. There was a great amount of furniture everywhere. Desks, drawers, bathtubs, and some others covered by a tarp, all placed neatly on top of each other. The only source of light was a small window near the top of the walls, giving weak light.
"Let's play who-will-answer-my-questions-if-he-doesn't-want-to-suffer…"
Karles Ridolfi was a very simple man. He inherited his father's luxury furniture store when he was young. He has a loving wife and children, and is managing his business flawlessly. The only shadow in his life is the deal he made with the eight fingers. No, it would be more accurate to say he was forced to accept. He would have to sell things they got their hands on, and in return he would get a position in the organization. It was a very profitable deal, and he even wondered why he was choosen of all the merchants. Today, he thought about enjoying his wife's cooking with his children, yet his plans were destroyed. Because in front of it, a crazy woman just barged in his shop, closed the door, and was talking in a merry but menacing voice.
"Let's begin, piggy. [Flame touch]"
Her hand burst into fire, yet she didn't seem to mind it.
"You see this? It doesn't burn me. However… Things… Could happen to you if I'm not satisfied with your answers. Do you understand? Oh, and don't bother resisting. I could burn you to cinders any moment."
She approached her hand to his face. The fire flickered, inching closer to his face. He nodded furiously.
"Poor thing… You're very unlucky, but that's life. Now, was the falling knight brought here?"
He nodded left and right.
"Are you sure?"
She approached her hand. The flame was so close he protected his head with his arms.
"Yes, I'm sure, my last delivery was a month ago, please don't hurt me, I have a family!"
Almost regretfully, she put her hand back where it was before. Close to his face, but not close enough to harm him.
"Do you know where he was taken?"
He raised his face from behind his arms. He had absolutely terrified eyes and his voice was wavering.
"I-I don't know, I don- don't know… Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
He cried out of fear when she approached her hand to his face again, and was about to start crying.
"Are. You. Sure. You. Don't. Know?"
Suddenly, she looked very serious. Her eyes were not those of a madman (madwoman?) like before, now she had the eyes of a predator.
"You better think now. Where. Is. He?"
His brain has probably never worked as fast as today in his life.
"S-sometimes the brothel receive cra-crates and nobody knows what's inside. But I think it's the s-slaves they keep for the best c-clients. He's pr-probably in the basement with the others, b-but they sent the crate the day to-tomorrow outside the city, so it ca-can only be in the hideout in th-the forest… It's at le-least a day's walking in the north, in an abandoned qu-quarry…"
She smiled, and the cold glint in her eyes disappeared.
"Now, that's better. I will get out. I will tell my men to watch this place. If in an hour's time, you make a single step out, you better be sure that you're not the only one who will be getting punished… Maybe your friends, maybe your family, who knows. Nobody would want that, right? Oh, and you better not tell anything to the eight. I think I do not need to tell why… Good day!"
The flame on her hand disappeared, and she got out. For the next two hours, Karles Ridolfi didn't even dare to look at the door, he just sat in a corner, and didn't move.
After her little interrogation, Erina got her [staff of wisdom] back and walked up to the adventurer's guild.
She was very satisfied of her action. The use of the pyromancer's staff and the [flame touch] spell made her look like a pyromancer. Moreover, the hood she was wearing during the interrogation hid her facial features in the dim light of the warehouse. Even if the man told the eight about her deed, it was not likely that she would be recognized by them.
The adventure's guild building was all white, except the door being made of wood, and flags hanging on each side of the door, with the adventurer's guild symbol on it. 2 crossed swords over the head of a goblinoid monster.
Inside, there was a loud atmosphere. Not much adventurers went out when it was snowing, so most of them were here, waiting for a quest near the city, drinking at the bar.
Once inside, she didn't know really what to do. Go on the board and write herself the quest, go herself and talk with adventurers, hoping that one would accept the quest?
Noticing her unease, a woman approached her. She was a middle-aged woman, with a pale rose dress, and a white hat.
"May I help you, miss?"
Erina looked visibly relieved, and talked to the woman.
"Yes, I'm here to put a request on the board."
"A request, it is? Follow me, I'll help you fill the administrative papers."
Erina followed the woman to the counter. She took out some papers from behind the counter, and put them on it.
"Here's a pen. Fill your name, content of your request, and the reward you wish to give. After that, we will examine the request and put an appropriate difficulty level."
She scribbled on the page for a moment. While she wrote, the woman asked her a question.
"I'm sorry, are you a mage? If yes, why would you have two staves?"
She stopped writing for an instant, and looked up.
"I'm a magic researcher. Right now, I'm studying how is mana flowing around staves according to their elements, so I need both for my studies."
The woman appeared admirative. Apparently, in this country magic researcher was a rare occupation, and most of the people never met one. Very proud of her lie-telling ability, she handed back the paper once she finished.
"We will now examine the request. Where may we find you if needed?"
Erina looked around. The place was lively, maybe a bit too much, but it was warm, and she would spare herself some time if an adventuring party was looking for her.
"I think I will just stay here. If by tonight nobody has showed up, I am staying at the "coughing poney"."
The woman nodded, said goodbye and went in the back of the building with the sheet. Erina made her way to a table, near a window. She was close enough to the fireplace to be warmed, and far enough to be able to talk without needing to shout.
Ten minutes after, the same woman went to the request board, and pinned a paper on it. Some adventurers came to see it, but they shrugged their shoulders quickly and went back to their seats. Erina guessed that it would take some time. The crackling of the fire, the sweet smell of alcohol and the snowy weather made her drowsy. It took her only a few minutes to fall asleep.
Some time later, she was awoken by an adventurer. The man was wearing plate armor on his torse, simple leather pants, had a sword at his waist and a shield. The rest of the party was composed of a wizard, a crossbowman, a druid and a thief. The druid was muttering in his beard, probably nonsensical things, and they all had gold plates hanging at their necks. The man with the breastplate spoke.
"Are you the one who left the request for the saving of your partner? I'm the leader of the "Steel will" adventurer party, and we're all gold plates."
Still somewhat sleepy, she rubbed her eyes before answering.
"Ah, yes, sorry. I'm Erina Eldra, and indeed I left this request. But before, can you tell me some things? First, what's your name, and second, why are you the only ones who came? I requested at least a gold plate, but the reward is much more than what gold plates earn usually…"
They all had a look of understanding.
"Ma'am, it seems like you're a stranger. If your reward is high, it means that it's very risky. Most of the adventurers are smart enough to avoid those requests. Our situation is a bit different. With the winter coming, our last quest was at least a month ago, so we're running low on coins. And I'm Ekain Leimann"
Erina yawned. Now was the time to explain the content of the request. They all sat around the table.
"Now, here's the story. I'm sure you know about the event of the falling knight, at least ten days ago. Well, this knight is a dear friend of mine. So I went looking for him, unfortunately he was taken by a bandit group, and now they ask for a ransom. A big one, that I can't afford to pay. So I need people to save him."
The leader pondered for a moment. The reward of 30 gold coins was very tempting, but the request would be very hard.
"Some precision, ma'am? I'm willing to accept, but we still don't know where is their hideout, how many, etc… And if they're of the eight fingers. If it has something to do, even thirty gold coins are not enough."
Erina smiled. This question was to be expected, but considering the average strength and equipment of the people in this country, she could probably take them on alone.
"Don't worry about that. I only need you to help me get him out of here. Once it's done, I have a sealing crystal with 6th tier magic to wipe the entire hideout."
The party was baffled. 6th tier magic was something only achieved by Fluder Paradyne, the court wizard of the Baharuth empire, and head of the Arwintar magic academy. Finding something that has equal power to the strongest human magic caster ever must have been an incredible stroke of luck for this woman.
Secretly, Erina was laughing. 6th tier magic was indeed a high tier even for her, but she could cast up to the 7th tier. Wiping out a den of bandits was an easy task for her. The real problem was close combat. She would have to go inside to save Wilhelm, and she was not as confident in her close-combat abilities.
"Yes, I had an incredible stroke of luck with this find. Also, I forgot to add, I will be a part of the assault. Not that I don't trust your abilities, but I want to be sure that we are at the right place. And now, will you accept?"
The leader closed his gaping mouth and rubbed his eyes.
"Sorry, we need a moment to discuss."
They all got up and walked a few meters away from her. While they were whispering, she ordered a tankard of mead and sipped on it. They got back around ten minutes after and sat back, and Ekain spoke again.
"We will accept. Even if the mission is risky, we really need the coins. As I already said, I'm Ekain, a warrior. My companions will present themselves."
The wizard was presented herself first. She was a small cute woman named Persis Trebert, with an overly excited voice. Her robe was yellow, and she had a metal staff with a blue gem embedded at the point.
The crossbowman was named Folke Averrof, and was wearing a mail shirt over red and yellow clothings. He had also a shortsword at his waist. He proclaimed himself to be able to shoot anyone in any situation. However, he was very easy to anger, particularly about his big nose, so the others simply called him "Firecracker".
The thief was different. He was wearing a common leather armor, but his skin was more dark-toned, so he was probably from a southern country. His name was also sounding southern, Jaz'her Alkaleh. He didn't say much more about himself.
If all the previous members were normal adventurers, the same could not be said about the druid. When his turn came, he didn't even raise his head, still muttering in his grey long beard. His robe was probably dark green a first, but it was too old and the colors faded away. Persis hit him lightly on the shoulder. He just raised his head, looked at her and went back to his muttering. She sighed before she spoke.
" Excuse him, Eri. He's an old geezer, with weird magic! He heals, well, normally I'd say, but his spells are sooooo strange…"
The druid looked at her with an indignant face.
"My magic's not weird! It's all you youngsters who don't appreciate me, while I save your lives!"
"I don't call being covered in slime normal magic!"
"It saved you from the fireball the lich was casting!"
"And what about that time you invoked a watermelon?!"
"The orc tripped on it!"
They kept pestering at each other, until the party tried to stop them. Well, tried was more of a term to describe the party trying to talk some sense into them, while the cute girl and the old man were ignoring them and cursing at the other. Ekain made an embarrassed smile and turned to face Erina.
"Well, as you see, Etolmus is a druid. He heals us fine, but it's true that his spells are… unusual, to say the least. He was abandoned when he was young, and a circle of druids took him in, making him what he's today. I guess living alone in the woods with a group of old men took common sense from him, but monsters capable of using magic are always surprised!"
Erina raised her brows.
"As long as he's useful and you trust him, I see no reason to refuse. Meet me tomorrow morning at the northern gate."
As the moon was starting to rise, she told them goodbye and got out of the adventurer's guild building. It was not snowing, so she could only hope that the travel tomorrow wouldn't be too hard.
Back inside the "coughing poney", she paid back her debt to Enri and told her goodbye before going to sleep.
The next morning was cold, but dry. She was waiting at the northern gate for half an hour when the "Steel will" came.
They were wearing all heavy bags on their shoulders with all the tents and food necessary for the journey. Even if it was only a two-day long travel, the weather was still very unstable, so they would have to be ready for at least four or five days of travel.
They started walking as soon as the guard let them pass after seeing the plates on the adventurer's necks. Etolmus cast [Muscle rest] repeatedly on the journey every few hours to keep walking. Even if it cost him mana, it would regenerate between two spells. Nothing noteworthy really happened, they only walked north on the road, snow crackling at each step, while Persis and Etolmus were pestering at each other. Folke, Ekain and Erina were discussing about their adventures, and Jaz'her kept walking silently, watching the surroundings.
They finally arrived at the carry when the sun was already setting down. "Steel will" and Erina put up their tents in an opening in the forest, while Jaz'her went scouting the place. He came back an hour after, freezing and sneezing. Etolmus cast [cold resistance] on everybody when he saw this, and Jaz'her told them about what he found.
The quarry was literally a hole in the forest, with big unnaturally straight grey sides. Big enough to hold a whole big inn inside, and there were a lot of big rocks lying around, and even an abandonned mine cart. The only way in he found was some planks holding on the sides of the hole, forming a passageway, guarded by a wooden gate and guards. Their only possible strategy here would be to advance silently and hope to get as far as possible, then fight when they would get discovered. Luckily, the bandits were living in three caves in the quarry and it was night, so only the sentries were outside. Basically, if they could get rid of the sentries silently, they would be able to get inside undetected. Jaz'her overheard that a "package" was being interrogated in the prison.
Once Jaz'her was rested, and everybody was ready, it was time to begin the operation. They advanced in the direction of the carry under the cover of the trees and the night. Once they were close enough, Folke said in a soft voice [eagle eye]. Seeing Erina eying him with a curious gaze, he simply said: "Martial arts".
He shot one of the sentries of the gate, while Persis cast [silent tongue] on the other. The other sentry tried to call for help, but no voice came out of his throat, only the quarrel of Folke's crossbow once he reloaded it. Only the sound of bodies falling in the snow was heard, so they advanced. The sentry at the top of the little archer tower behind the gate did not hear his comrades dying. He was lazily watching the surroundings, munching on a piece of bread. Folke could not get him in his line of sight without being seen, so Jaz'her went out. He escalated the wall with great agility, escalated the archer tower and ended the archer's life in a single throat slit.
They opened the gate, which luckily was well oiled and got inside. Jaz'her was waiting for them, near an unconscious body.
"We'll need to know how to get to the prison. Miss Erina, it's your job."
Erina cast [flame touch] again. The method worked well last time, so there was no point of changing it. She kept her pyromancer's staff, so even if one of them escaped, she wouldn't be discovered by her main magic used. She slapped the man until he woke up.
"Just call me Erina, I feel awkward with the honorifics. Now, little guy, tell me where is the prison?"
Under Erina's inquisitive gaze, he immediately showed a door on the eastern side of the quarry. When she thought about it later, maybe it was because of her burning hand getting closer to his intimal area that he talked. Not that it was very important anyway. She smiled to the terrified man, and talked to Jaz'her.
"We can get rid of him now."
Jaz'her slit the man's throat before he had the occasion to cry for help.
As Ekain was watching inside the quarry, he said to Etolmus.
"Hey, Etolmus, can you send something to scout a little? We still don't know how it's inside those caves…"
The druid stopped muttering in his beard and looked around him. He seemed to have spotted something, because he looked intensively in the forest on the other side of the quarry.
"Sure thing, youngling. [Animal possession]"
Etolmus closed his eyes, and stopped moving. He was just standing up, one arm holding his wooden staff, the other along his body. As the rest of the team was waiting, Erina guessed that it was normal. Indeed, after a few minutes, a bat came flying and started squeaking around his head. He was nodding, as if everything made sense.
"Most of the caves are just places to stock wooden boxes, I guess some illegal merchandise. The bat couldn't go inside the prison because there's a door. The quarry in itself is abandoned, but there are big rocks lying around and a cart. There are only five sentries outside, but they are far from each other. Theoretically, we should be able to take them out one by one."
The druid opened his eye, and released the control on the bat. While the animal flew back into the night, Ekain talked to the group.
"Folke, you try to take them out from afar. Persis, cast a silence spell if we get detected by only one of them. Jaz'her, do what you can to help Folke and Persis. Etolmus and Erina, follow me, we will follow them once the way is clear."
They all agreed, and went inside the quarry. The first sentry was on the roof of a shack, watching the passageway they were on. It was killed swiftly by a quarrel from Folke. The second one was patrolling with a torch, and when Folke shot him, he happened to be stretching himself, and the change of position made it so the quarrel stuck itself in the sentry's shield. The crossbowman had an alarmed expression on his face, and whispered to the wizard.
"Shit, Persis, your turn!"
"Yeah, [Silent tongue]!"
The sentry looked for a moment at his shield with a dumb expression on his face. He realized he was being attacked and tried to call for help, to no avail. He was just silently opening his mouth and waving his arms, just before Jaz'her took the opportunity that he was not watching around him and slit his throat from behind. He gave a thumbs up to the crossbowman-wizard duo, before coming back behind a rock.
The third sentry and fourth sentry were shot cleanly by Folke, but the fifth one was a real problem. He was guarding the door to the prison, but in front of him there was no rocks, no cover. And for Persis to use her silencing spell, she must be able to see the target. She would get spotted instantly, and this would blow up their cover. They hid behind an old, rusty mine cart, and the rest of the party joined them. Etolmus grabbed his staff and said
"Now, watch my "weird magic", as you call it. Especially you, Persis!"
He stood up, still hidden behind the cart, and focused. He closed his eyes. He opened them back suddenly, and chanted
[Curse of inconvenience]!
He sat back, apparently satisfied of himself. They all looked at the sentry. He was scratching himself. A few seconds after, he sneezed, and some more seconds after he tried to put his hairs back in place. Etolmus giggled quietly.
"Hehe, now he will be much more sensitive to every little inconvenience. Your turn, big nose."
Folke shot a bad glance at the old giggling man, before sending a quarrel between the sentry's eyes while he was mid-sneeze.
They approached the door and tried to open it. As it was locked, Jaz'her searched through the sentry's pockets, before finding a key and unlocking the door. On the other side, there was only a straight slim path, lit by torches. The walls were made of bricks, so this place was probably added by the eight fingers once they took the place. There was place only for a single person at the front, so Ekain entered first, shield raised in front of him. They followed him in the empty hallway, only to end up in what looked like a guard's post.
Four bandits and a lizard-like demi-human were playing cards. Both parties looked at each other stupidly for a second, then the demi-human shouted
"TO ARMS!"
He picked a big two-handed mace, just in time to block Ekain's sword strike. They started to fight, while the four other bandits picked their weapons and charged at the rest of the party. They had confidence because the party was composed of three wizards, and two people not suited for the frontline. They confidence quickly crashed when Erina and Persis killed three of them in two spells. The remaining didn't even have time to register what happened before Folke hit him in the head with his heavy crossbow, before ending him with his shorsword.
The demi-human looked to be on even grounds with Ekain, but he was at disadvantage because he didn't know how to use martial arts, and his mace was blocked by the shield each time he attacked. Persis cast a [magic arrow] on him. It didn't injure him because he had tough scales, but he lost his balance and fell. Ekain took the opportunity and shoved his sword the bandit's stomach. The lizardman was killed quickly after that crippling injury by Erina casting a [Firebolt] right at his head. Panting, Ekain told
"Quickly, we don't have much time. His voice probably echoed in the hallways, and it won't be long until the entire hideout is aware of our presence!"
They nodded and took the key on the table, before running further in the prison. There were some guards, but by chance they were all alone, looks like they didn't expect someone to go this far.
They finally arrived at the cells. The prisoners already heard the combat sounds, they were all asking to be released. Ekain spoke
"What do we do? I believe it's the employer's decision here."
Erina pondered for a moment.
"Release them, we'll be able to escape more easily if they don't focus on us."
Jaz'her took the key and started unlocking the cells. There were at least twenty cells, each packed with five to ten prisoners.
"ERINA!"
One of the prisoners was shouting. Erina turned, and saw Wilhelm. He was covered in bruises, cuts, and was wearing dirty rags.
"WILHELM!"
They ran and hugged each other.
"Wilhelm, I'm really happy to see you, but we don't have time. Where's your equipment?"
"There's a room where they keep the prisoner's stuff. It should be there."
She whispered to him.
"Even if it pains me, we need those prisoners to cause a revolt. Can't you do something about it?"
Wilhelm was someone with a great sense of justice. He sighed. Even if it opposed all his principles, if it was true then escaping from an organization that powerful was an impossible task. Even back in Rida kingdom, there was the Night's Sons. A criminal organization, engraved in the filth of the kingdom, impossible to get rid of.
He prepared himself to speak to them, but was surprised to see that each and everyone of them was already looking for weapons.
Friends, families, business, and all of the things which they hold dear, was destroyed, or taken control of. They could not accept this. They had already lost everything. Given the occasion for vengeance, it was no wonder they wanted to pay back what they suffered at least a hundred time. And they could do it, because they had nothing left to live for.
The few guards not killed by the group were literally beaten to death, stripped of everything that could pierce, slash, or break. When they ran out of weapons, they took the furniture, broke them and used the feet of the chairs as maces. They raided the prison's armory. Every weapon available was taken, and they got out of prison. Here, the alarm had been already rang, and literally a wall of bandits, with some demi-humans mixed between them, was waiting for them. With a furious battle cry, both parties charged at each other. Some of the bandits were fuelled by greed, some by their blood lust, but the former prisoners were attacking like madmen, slashing when they had a spear in their guts, laughing crazily when one of their arms were chopped off, while trying to wield a halberd with a single hand. The bandits, confident at first, started to fear those… Things.
While the prisoners let their frustration rage, the party, now with Wilhelm, went to the armoury. The only chest untouched was one made of steel. From all the marks on it, the prisoners must have tried to open it, and failed. Without a word, Jaz'her took out a lock-picking tool and began his art. A few moments after, he click was heard, and he opened the lid.
Wilhelm took out his armor and started dressing himself in it. Ekain whistled when he saw the quality of the armor, even Etolmus had stopped muttering to look at it. He revised his judgment of Erina and his companion. If he was able to equip himself with it, money musn't have been the problem to pay the ransom. Probably some personal grudge.
When Wilhelm finished, he was not the same in any way. What looked like a dirty prisoner before was now a prideful knight. His armor was shining, and Etolmus and Persis gasped at the same time when they realized.
"Even the armor is enchanted?!"
They could not feel what type of enchantment, but from the mana emitted it wasn't definitely a simple one.
Once outside, the situation wasn't as good as they hoped. The prisoner had the moral advantage, but more and more bandits were coming from the caves on the side.
"Let's fight our way through before there are too much of them!"
After saying that, Ekain activated [Lesser strength] and [Stamina boost], before charging in the direction of the exit. Magic buffs were cast to make them quicker, martial arts activated, and the battle began. It was chaos. Mad laughs were coming from everywhere, blood was being splashed on every surface, and the light of the few bandit mages were illuminating the scene with different colors.
Luckily, there was so much chaos nobody really focused on them, only a few lone bandits or small groups of them. They were close to the ramp going out of the quarry, when an imposing voice was heard over the battlefield.
"ENOUGH!"
A wave of cold air was emitted from one of the caves. A man emerged, he was bald, and he had a bright blue robe, a steel staff with a mana crystal on top of it.
"WHO DARE TO ATTACK THE EIGHT FINGERS?!"
Nobody talked. Even the madmen had stopped laughing, their rage replaced by the cold reality.
He looked over the battlefield and smiled when he saw the group of adventurers.
"It looks like you are the ones responsible for this situation. Mmh, interesting…"
He pointed his staff at the group.
[Ice bolt]!
Erina did nothing. The ice bolt was stopped by her mana shield.
"Ah, you are worthy! I will duel you, magician. I, Helicaon Baratte, the mighty frost magician. Oh, and just to be sure, [Ice wall]!"
A wall of ice was erected between Erina and the rest of the party.
"ERINA!"
Wilhelm shouted from the other side. He wanted to go help her, but now the bandits were on each sides of the wall, keeping him from going around it. With a smile full of contempt, Helicaon said:
"Kill them, but leave the girl to me. She should be able to give me a proper fight".
The tension was palpable. Erina didn't move, silently watching Helicaon walking until he deemed he was far enough from her.
Without a word, she started running in his direction.
"Hoho, this is a mage duel, young girl, step back. [Frost aura]!"
Immediately, she stopped. From the mana emitted, this was a third-tier spell. Nothing she couldn't block, but using too powerful spells would make her too known if this fight was known to the public, or worse, the eight fingers. The air around the ice mage was frozen. Bodies on the ground affected by the spell were now covered in ice, getting hit by that would hinder her greatly.
'I'll have to limit myself to fourth-tier spells. I'm lucky, I only know fire spells up to that tier'
[Heatwave]!
The snow around her instantly melted from the heat. Helicaon looked at her with an annoyed glance. Hiding his spells in the snow was one of his tactics, and she countered it just like that. Not that it bothered him very much. He was said to be as strong as a platinum adventurer, so taking care of some gold plates should be child's play for him.
[Fireball]!
The fireball flew in his direction, but he activated a mana shield.
[Fiery rain]
A great number of fire bolts came on him from above. His mana shield broke just after blocking the last bolt, he was now worried. He thought that he could take on the mage easily, but her casting speed was greater than his, so he didn't have time to go on the offensive.
[Firebolt], [Firebolt], [Fireball]…
She kept casting, not giving him time to defend himself. He had to jump from side to side to avoid most of the spells, while avoiding a firebolt, he found just the time to cast a [Blessing of the ice fairy].
He could now feel that the heat from the spells was greatly reduced. [Blessing of the ice fairy] was a support spell, making him more resistant to fire. Still, it would protect him a little, but at the rate of the spell she was casting, it wouldn't last long. He had no other choice than using his trump card.
He completely stopped avoiding, leaving his defense to the blessing. He focused while the fire bolts were literally raining on him. After a few seconds of suffering, he succeeded and cast [Frost cannonball].
A sphere of ice was thrown out of his hands at great speed. It was his signature spell, that he learned inexplicably when opening an old book in a ruin when he was still an adventurer. If one came from another world, he could have read the title in kanji: "Yggdrasyl magic: Fifth-tier Ice Spell Book".
It cost him a half of his mana, but as he wasn't given the occasion to really use it from the beginning of the fight, he still had a lot of it. The ball of ice broke Erina's mana shield. It's velocity was greatly reduced from the impact with the shield, so it only broke her left arm.
Erina was thrown back a few feets. She shouted out of pain, and grinding her teeth from the pain she cast her final spell
[Magma flare]!
A blob of magma was released from her staff. Like hypnotized, Helicaon watched the magma approaching in a slow but fast enough way so that he didn't have time to avoid it. Turning his eyes for the last time, he saw the grin on the woman's face, and understood. He wasn't even a challenge for her. The magma finally reached him, and the unbearable heat made his skin melt, and then his muscles.
His cry of pain only stopped when the magma burned his vocal cords, and his head.
The bandits looked in horror as the most powerful person in the hideout was literally just a pair of feet, with a black, charred skeleton on top of it. A few seconds passed in absolute silence, before they cried out of terror and ran as fast as they could to the caves.
"NOT SO FAST! [Maximise magic: triple Electric burst]!"
Streaks of lightning hit the entrance of the caves and the rocks crumbled, closing the entrances.
They frantically looked for an exit, but the only one left was just behind the crazy mage. They were already horrified, but if it was even possible, they were even more scared when she started chanting again.
[By the powers of the souls lost here, I command to the elements! Be the instrument of my rage, and slaughter my enemies!]
The few surviving bandit mages didn't understand what she was doing. Using magic only required a quick chant, not a long sentence. What they didn't know, was that what she was doing was not magic. Or, to be more precise, it was a different type of magic. A more… wild… type of magic.
A purple wave was released around the crazy mage. It passed right through every bandit and prisoner, and they fell to the ground, like lifeless puppets. There was no explanation to give, they simply ceased to live.
Behind the ice wall, the purple wave went past the "Steel will" and Wilhelm, but it did nothing. They saw Erina coming back, holding her left arm and grinding her teeth from the pain.
"It's done. We better not stay here, let's go back to the camp. I'll get healed there."
Without waiting for their answer, she walked on the wooden passageway up to the exit. Ekain, Persis, Jaz'her, Folke and Etolmus were looking at the scene with their mouths wide open. What was before a battlefield, filled with blood, frustration and pain, was now as calm as a plain in the cold winter night. No shouts of pain, no cries, only an ethereal silence, and an eerie feeling of being out of place.
That Erina was certainly not someone to trifle with.
Meanwhile, in someone's throne room. A clear, motherly voice was heard.
"Lord Ainz, I believe something happened. One of our spies in a lowlife's hideout was killed."
A resonant, deep voice answered.
"Killed you say? What happened?"
The voice of the woman was now a wavering one, ready to be punished.
"There is this organization, the eight fingers. We planted spies inside. In one of their hideout, one of them reported to me that a fight broke out between a party of adventurers and the lowlives. I told him to keep an eye on the situation because I didn't saw it as important, but I didn't keep contact with him. Moments later, I felt our connection being cut, and he doesn't answer to my calls anymore… PLEASE, punish me, Lord Ainz! I did an unforgivable fault, please…"
She was now kneeling on the groung, head down and crying.
"Stop it, Albedo. Raise your head."
She raised her head. In his magnificence, the supreme being in front of her took a piece of cloth, and dried her eyes.
"You did nothing. It wasn't your fault, rather, it was mine to order them to avoid fighting at all costs."
"But, Lord Ainz-"
"I said enough! It isn't your fault. We just took care if that man, what was his name again? Khajeyt? Khajut? Anyway, maybe it's a retaliation for this. Or maybe the spy was just unfortunate. Mmh… Send information gatherers. I want to know what happened there."
"Yes! Lord Ainz!"
Hoy there, author here
I don't really have much to say, except that please comment what you think about the story this far.
I still have troubles finding the right wording (is that even an existing word?) sometimes, but with the help of google-sensei I think it's better than the previous chapters.
Also, just in case, I do not own Overlord, and do not intend to obtain any revenue from this.
Well well well, what can I say more? I hope you like what I write, and thanks for the support!
Also, exams are coming up, so the next releases won't be immediate.
Have a nice day, and see you next publication!