The carriage pulled up to the prison, and Kaiji rose from her position at Nua's feet and reached for both the roll of skin, and the door. The coachman was slightly faster, and so the demon-elf contented herself with being the first to descend and reaching up to take her lady's hand and assist the wood elf in her exit.
A pair of orc guards were on duty at the entrance, wearing half-plate armor, they held long halberds at the ready, and wore at their waist, short steel swords. Nua ascended the stone steps with her servant at her back and approached them both.
"I need to see the prisoners." Nua stated as she looked down at them. As orcs went, they were not more impressive than any others she'd ever seen. Thickly built as most of their race, with sharp white tusks emerging from their lower jaws and forest green skin, with deep recessed yellow eyes. But this pair was no taller than average, and so to the statuesque Nua, they were forced to raise their eyes to meet hers.
Dressed in her military equipment, with her unusual short hair and the accompanying demon-elf at her back, she knew they recognized her immediately.
That made things easy, and the leader of the pair quickly asked, "Of course, My Lady but… which ones?"
"All of them." Nua ordered. "Every single one of them, there is a yard here, isn't there, where they get some exercise?"
"Of course. Give me just a few minutes my lady, and we'll have the prisoners brought out, I will just need enough time to have the guards gathered for your security." He bowed his head in deference and reached for the thick iron handle on the oaken door.
Nua felt the objection rise in her throat, but at her back, Kaiji covertly coughed.
"Right, of course, soldier. Have your security gathered and then assemble the prisoners." Nua managed to keep from rolling her eyes. 'I'm the Prince's consort, or as good as. I'll have to get used to extra security. Whenever I'm here… if I'd just brought Solution I could have said she was security enough… but they would probably have insisted on assembling the guards anyway, and I don't blame them. Who would want to be the one to explain an incident to the Prince?'
So she endured the wait when he vanished within. A hint of guilt gnawed at Nua, she looked over her shoulder. "Kaiji… this might go well, but I won't force you to stay and watch, if it doesn't. I permit you to withdraw to the carriage and wait."
Kaiji's head bowed, "My place is at your back, your side, or your feet, and in service to you, I will bear what I must in order to remain where I can be of help. Thank you for thinking of me, my lady."
"I see." Nua said quietly and suppressed the sigh. 'There may be such a thing as too much devotion, I wonder if anyone else has ever had to deal with a servant so driven? If there have been, I wonder if that was ever a problem.'
Her reverie was interrupted with the return of the orc, who opened the door and held it that way to allow her entry.
She stepped out of the light of the day and into the dimly lit stone passage. It was common enough as functional stone structures went, torches on the walls provided dim light and there were no windows, only 'slits' to the outside to let out the smoke and let in a little extra light. A few sunbeams created vertical lines of light where the sun pierced through. The smell of smoke was constant, and the stones were dry and dusty where dirt had been tracked in but never swept clean.
The guard followed behind and then moved to the front to lead the way, and so the three went down the long hall, passing a few thick wooden doors and descending down a set of stairs. The prison facility was larger than Nua anticipated, and for a few moments she briefly touched the hilt of her dagger.
'Why are we going downstairs, shouldn't we be going out the back way?' She wondered, but the answer became more clear as they began to pass by empty cells. The prison ran deep beneath the ground, with the cells themselves being mostly just earthen alcoves with bars in place.
"Is this prison really secure?" Nua asked tentatively. "Couldn't they just dig their way out?"
The guard chuckled in the gruff way orcs tended to do, the light tapping sound of his halberd on the dust was rhythmic and in time with his steady steps. "They could try. But if that happens, there's a chance that the whole system could cave in on them, killing every single prisoner. Nobody wants to be buried alive, every now and then a few talk of escape, one or two have even tried it. They all get either reported to us, or killed by the other prisoners. Either way, nobody ever succeeds, my lady."
"Everybody stays, or everybody dies. I can't argue with the result." Nua said with a noncommittal voice before he gestured ahead of them to a double lit wooden door.
"That will take us outside, the 'yard' is really just a large deep pit, the walls are the same as here, but outside, with a few feet of stone wall up top and some towers with archers for additional security. Everybody should be gathered outside now." The orc explained, and Nua put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him just as his gloved hand touched the handle.
"Good, but mind you, depending on what happens, you may see some unpleasantness. But I assure you I am acting on the authority of my soon to be husband. I'm cross about what happened to Freyjin, and I will be finding answers if I have to rip them from the tongues of those who have them." Nua stated, and the guard gave a slow nod of understanding.
"As you… ah, say." He grunted, and opened the door, light briefly flooded part of the entry, and the trio stepped out into the light.
True to his description, the yard was really just a massive dirt hole large enough to hold a few hundred people and let them walk around. The walls of earth were over thirty feet tall and then an additional ten feet of stone went around it. Then there were regular small towers, nothing exceptional, just platforms with wooden rails that held two archers each, spaced every twenty or thirty feet.
At the far wall stood lines of prisoners in heavy iron manacles that secured wrists and ankles. They wore simple roughspun gray cloth that stood out in Pas'en simply by its total lack of color. Though their ranks were mostly humans, orcs and goblins were a fairly common sight as well. They were lined up in long, roughly equal rows, and the sound of rattling chains as they fidgeted suggested that they were not accustomed to this kind of gathering.
Nua chose not to waste time.
"Slave." She said over her shoulder.
In full view of guards above and the prisoners in front of her, Kaiji unrolled the still bloody skin of the dead half elf, and draped it over Nua's shoulders like it was a shawl.
She approached the stunned looking assembly, caressing the pale skin as one might a favored pet.
"I see I have your attention. Let me introduce myself. My name is Duchessa Nua Calen Aiwenor. I am commander of the Breakers. I put Yanlim of House Yan on the throne of his city. I defeated Prince Sado of Komestra and Bracer, one of the three great smugglers, in single combat. I killed Timnah in the arena while venturing into the Tlalmok Empire. I am the owner of the largest slave trading company in the great cities. I am about to marry the Prince of this city and become the Prince of a renewed Komestra. I also hold the power of life and death over every one of you, given by the Prince himself. In short…" She looked down her nose at every one of them, "As far as you're concerned, I'm a fucking goddess. You will give me supplication, or you will give me screams."
Muttering went about their ranks as she allowed that to sink in.
"Yesterday," Nua shouted at them and stilled all conversation, "one of my slaves died outside here. I'm wearing the skin of one of those who was 'partially' responsible for her demise. She was… useful to me. Now, you're probably wondering what this has to do with you."
The confused expressions that looked about their ranks was confirmation enough of that.
"There are now 'two' great smugglers left operating on the outskirts of the law. They cut into my business, and I don't like that. In tandem, they work with someone with a fairly unique skill. He can't be remembered."
She searched their faces and saw some lights come on in sets of eyes.
"I see, some of you know what I'm talking about. You did business of some sort with someone, or through someone, probably he used a proxy to deal with you, or maybe you were a proxy. This nameless entity cost me a slave and had a hand in injury to another. I want to know everything. No matter how inconsequential. About the jobs you did for anyone you can't remember, where you met, and anything said by anyone else. Along with that, I want to know everything about the two great smugglers, the 'Vice Lords, as this poor soul called them." She stroked the skin as she mentioned the title, drawing their eyes to the ruined flesh.
"Now…" Nua gave them a polite smirk, "I'm not just offering the avoidance of torment. Anyone who helps me, I will offer a way out of here. Freedom, a pardon, even coin enough to go wherever you wish, far out of reach of the Vice Lords or the nameless one."
Their wary eyes perked up. "Now, does anyone object to giving me what I want, or object to their… comrades here giving me what I want?" She asked with a polite smile.
The tension ratcheted up several notches. There was utter silence except for what her ears caught up above as archers nocked arrows to prepare to respond to a riot.
"Kneel if you're willing to talk. Remain on your feet if I'm going to have to make you." Nua finally said, and among the prisoners, small numbers began to sink down to their knees, followed by a few more, and then a few more. But it was not all of them.
Nua held up her left hand, "Slave, my glove." She ordered, and Kaiji slowly approached, put her fingers to the dark fabric tips that confined the false hand.
She tugged it off, lowered her eyes, and stepped back.
With the glove removed, Nua wiggled the fingers of the white metal, the crystals at the knuckles catching the light and casting it about on the dirt ground. Before they had a proper appreciation for what was taking place, Nua approached, grabbed one unfortunate man at the restraints between his wrists, and dragged him away from the formation.
He stumbled after her, his 'bold' move of staying on his feet proving less than wise. Though he was tall enough that Nua had to look up to him, this was not the case after she cast him into the dirt.
He tried to scramble to his feet, his sandy hair and brown eyes suddenly alight with a desire to reconsider his previous decision.
Nua's foot stomped down at the space where his calf and the back of his knee met, forcing him to kneel in the dirt. Her left hand slammed down on his skull and the metal fingers dug into his scalp. 'Yersin! Drain him, make it slow, and make it hurt!' She ordered her partner, and a black light glowed, peeping out from the gaps between fingers.
He clawed desperately at her hand, his thick, meaty fingers dug at the metal and found them unmoving, even his filth couldn't cling to her, and the screaming began.
His face went tight and drawn, he ran out of air to scream with, and his open mouth soon made no sound but futile squeaks. His hands went limp and fell at his sides as strength was stolen away. However, Nua had no eyes for him. She stared at the prisoners who watched in mute horror as life was ripped out of one of their fellows.
"Anyone whose faces aren't in the dirt ready to talk when he dies… will get the same treatment. I do not make the same offer twice. I will bring down the smugglers and capture the one responsible for what happened to my servants. If you doubt that I can do that, then don't doubt this at least… you have no chance of surviving this day unless I leave happy. And if I leave happy, you leave alive. You won't get a better offer from my prey." Nua said as the black pulsing light faded to nothing. She released her hold on the now deceased man, and let him topple forward, husk of himself as drained as if he were left to dry in the desert.
Before his face thudded into the dirt, the dead man's fellows had planted their faces as well.
"Good. Good." Nua muttered and kicked the corpse out of the way.
"Slave… prepare to take notes." Nua said to Kaiji, who opened up her scribal kit and cast her eyes meekly down at the wooden surface before laying paper there and dabbing her quil into the vial of ink.
'How long has it been… how long how long how long…?' Kaiji wondered as she asked herself when was the last time she'd felt such raw terror over her lady. 'Skinning someone alive, ripping the life out of someone else… is this what enmity leads to in the west… is she a beastman in disguise?' She shuddered at the unpleasant question and tried to focus on the task at hand.
She distracted herself with more affectionate thoughts, the gentle touch of forgiveness over Priceless's capture, the kindness in giving them a room to themselves. Even that was overshadowed by the unbridled viciousness of the present day.
'Just don't think about it… Freyjin died, of course she's going above and beyond… just like she did when Priceless was taken. Yes, that's it… that explains it… she's doing what a goddess does to protect her worshipers… that's how it should be. She must be right… so it's fine. It's fine…' Kaiji swallowed hard and felt the settling of her heart as she drew her conclusion.
Her reflective moment was shattered when Nua threw someone at her feet and took her place again. 'Focus, Kaiji! You didn't even notice she'd walked over there to grab someone!' She blinked her solid red eyes several times, and took her notes as the green skinned orc began to babble about a job for a client he couldn't recall.
It took most of the day to get through every prisoner in the yard, and Kaiji stood by while two more were drained of life and kicked aside as husks of ruined, dried up meat and bones. In the end, her mistress's will was done, and there were no more questions.
Nua clapped her hands together in front of herself, and swept her gaze over the assembled remnants. "So, now for the rewards. This comes with a condition."
Blinking eyes and doubtful looks were all that greeted her statement before she explained.
"When you are released from here, those of you who provided me information… I recommend you spend your lives honestly… but if you don't? If you're caught so much as stealing firewood in any place I control?" Nua took the skin from the half-elf that still hung draped over her body, and cast it at their feet.
Feet shuffled backward in the dirt to avoid touching the thing. 'Thieves, pathetic cowards, the weakest kinds of criminals…' Nua heaped her mental contempt on the lot, "Pray to your stars that we do not meet again."
She turned her back on the prisoners and faced the guard who had led her into the yard. She then pointed to the three unfortunates. "Strip the flesh from those and have their bones delivered to my estate for disposal. They belong to me. The skin can stay where it lies, that can be a 'cautionary example' for the rest to think about when they consider whether or not to seek honest work."
The guard's eyes went from one unpleasant sight to the other, and when he answered her, his voice was hushed with a fair bit of dread. "Yes, Duchessa."
"Kaiji, we're leaving." Nua ordered, and began to withdraw.
"Yes, mistress." Kaiji answered and when Nua passed by, she fell into step behind her.
'What a useless waste of flesh… I'll have to speak to Rasgen… maybe find some better use for their criminals than this. They're just wasting space waiting around to be a tribute to save someone else. If they're going to die anyway, I'm sure I can put them to some more productive use.' Nua mused in silence, all the way back to her carriage with her silent slave on her heels.
AN: I'm having some illustrations done using the sponsorship support. I'm only doing illustrations for the first book for now, but if you can think of a scene from book ONE that you would like to see masterfully illustrated, name it and I might pick it.