With the meeting between Traysek and the Gnoll Queen going well, they are clear to finish their gathering, but with the winds picking up, will they be able to fly home? Find out now!
Chapter 18
Scorching Desert
Mine three...(Final mine)
As Traysek and Erik were mining, the other Gnolls were growling and glaring at them. The latter felt uneasy while regarding a few of them with a furrowed brow.
"Sir...the way they're staring and growling at us, I'm beginning to understand how the other felt a bit," he whispered, getting a nod from the Redguard.
"Pay them no mind, it's to be expected after the way they did things out here, they aren't attacking, I can live with that," Traysek said, swinging his pickax into a rock, "The sooner we finish, the sooner you won't have to worry about it,"
Erik nodded with a worried look, "As you say, Captain, but I won't lie and say that I don't feel uneasy with this,"
"That's natural, I can imagine it's the same for them..." The former pointed, glancing at a few before going back into his rock.
A group of Gnolls entered with raw meat and blood that was given to each working Gnoll.
They watched as they chowed down on their food, making them both raise eyebrows.
"Well, at least it ain't us their eating...still though, all that blood..." Erik gulped, slightly sweating.
Traysek shrugged, "We all have ways to eat Erik, and besides, those look like animal parts, that for one, for example, is an elk's heart," motioning his head towards a Gnoll munching on it, "...I think..."
the largest one entered, Erik glanced up, "By the gods, look at the size of him!" he whispered, quickly turning his head when said Gnoll look in his direction, "Shit...! I think he caught me staring..."
The Redguard gave him an annoyed scowl, "Why would you be staring, you lout?" Before glancing back to find him approaching, "Great...now he's on his way here, godsdamn he's big too...just stay calm, I'll handle this," going back to mining the gold Ore.
"This smell... the same as those slaughters that cursed Razzfang." the tone in his voice wasn't friendly at all, "Now you're here to steal from Gnolls?" all the other Gnolls were looking at the scene.
Traysek sighed, turning around, "No we're not, your Queen gave us permission to gather what we needed here today, in exchange for a blood pact, still don't know what that entails, but I'll figure that out, as for these "Slaughters," your pack leader already informed me what my men did to you all, I do not condone it and I apologize, but we won't be here too much longer, we're nearly done now..."
"This is why Razzfang hates humans... they only kill and steal from other races..." he continued his way, "Razzfang wishes that he could get rid of them all..."
After they watched him leave, the nord shook his head, "Yeesh...never thought that guy would be anti-human..." going back to mining the black ore.
"How would you feel if you were knocked out and had a tracker shoved into you?" Traysek asked with a rose eyebrow.
"Yeah...good point..." Erik concurred, "I've got forty of these, just need ten more, how about you sir?"
"Forty-two, nearly done myself, keep going," Traysek pointed while working.
The Gnolls that were working, were very efficient as they were excavating the ores.
Much later...
Both Adventurers exited the mine with last of their ores, the Redguard dumping it from the haven bag into the cart, counting the gems he also found within.
Erik sighed, "Finally done with this," stomach beginning to rumble, "Can't wait to turn this in and sleep for awhile,"
"You and me both," Traysek chuckled, "At least it didn't take as long as the last job, and made a bit on the side," pocketing a bag of gems, climbing on the Gryphon.
The Nord climbed on as well, "Same here, found more than a few sapphires, emeralds, and a couple of spinels in mine, you?"
"Mostly diamonds, a couple of rubies, amethysts, and jade, not as high as I expected, but it's enough," The Redguard nodded, "Let's go home, maybe after we eat we can get to discussing what our friends did, and-"
As the Gryphon was about to lift off, a large gust of wind picked up, followed by a blinding sandstorm...
"By the nine...how in oblivion do we see out here?" The Nord swore, putting on the goggles.
Traysek still had his face covered, putting the goggles back on, "This is a bit denser than usual, I don't think we can fly in this, see if we can use a stone,"
Erik tried to do just that, it lit up for a second before going out, "No good sir, the crystals are useless with this storm out here, Don't you have a shout for this?"
"Matter of fact, I do," The Redguard took a deep breath, "LOK, VAH KOOR!" blowing away the sand and wind... for a minute, the skies were clear, until the rushing wind and sands came back even stronger.
"As I figured, either someone doesn't want us to leave or this is the work of a beast," The captain said, glancing around, "Guess we're going to have to trek it and find out, if this is our bandit friends, I wouldn't be surprised, they seemed to have a handle on the environment, it could be possible they have mages with them, keep an eye out," clicking on the detect life on his googles.
The Nord nodded, Clicking his on, as the Gryphon carefully moved through the storm...
When they got deeper, Erik's goggles picked up many signals around them, all hostile.
"Sir, there's something around, and it's a lot of it, not friendly signs either, should we engage?" he asked, hand on his ax.
Traysek glanced around, "Not until they show themselves, we don't know if these are monsters or the bandits, stay vigilant,"
"Right, just wait until they show up, can't be that-"
before he could finish a rope came out of nowhere and wrapped around his neck, snatching Erik into the storm.
"Erik? Erik!" He looked around unable to find him, "Where'd the hell did you go?"
"Long time no see." it was a familiar voice, "If you want to see your buddy, you'd better go to the Blood Arena."
Then the storm stopped as there was no one around him.
Traysek quickly took off the goggles, as the Gryphon came to a halt, 'Godsdammit! it was those assholes from before, and now they've got Erik...Great just when things were looking up today...' he sighed, putting his scouter on, clicking a button, "Let's see where they're taking you, apprentice..." watching his signal head further south with the reds, 'I see...they've headed south...I can either cut them off if I can catch them, or...follow them to their where their base, most likely where their boss will be...that other guy said something about a "Blood Arena" guess, I'm looking for a large dome, that would be a good start...' pulling out his compass, giving a whistle to his mount, "That way, south!" he pointed.
The Gryphon gave a sniff, before screeching, breaking off into a run...
In an Arena, a man was counting gold coins while smirking.
'I can already feel the coming back of the Bloodmouth' he then chuckled, 'It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Prisca.'
The door busted open and the Bandit entered with a strange man with him.
"Can I know what's going on?" he asked.
"We found the perfect gold generators!" the bandit said as he put the man down, "We also wanted to get the other two... but we didn't find them."
"I can hardly understand what you're saying."
"C'mon boss, you said that you wanted to have the gold generator." the bandit pointed.
"Yes, as in Prisca, not a random man who can hardly do what she was known for." his boss sighed, "And now we have to pay for your stupidity."
"Well... you can always ask the other one to get her for you." the bandit suggested, "He's quite unique."
Erik slowly roused, finding himself to be dizzy, "Oooh...my head...by the nine," looking around, "Where am I?" scratching his head, before turning around to find the boss and his lackey there, giving them a scowl, "I know you, what the hell is this?"
"I'm so sorry about the actions of my employee." the boss said with a friendly smile, "I think that they misunderstood what I asked them to do."
Erik kept a slight scowl, 'So this is their boss, seems nicer than other bandit chiefs I've met, still...' clearing his throat, "Apology accepted, your guy is impatient, it's not like my boss said no to you guys, we're into arena fights, we were just working another job,"
"Now that's interesting." the man mumbled before taking a knife and freeing Eric's legs, "The name's Eddard, owner of the arena, and this empty-headed idiot is Rob, a Dune hunter who works for me."
"Dune hunter? no wonder you guys had control of the sands out there," Erik nodded, "Nice to meet you too, even if I was tied up earlier..." he chuckled, glancing at the large piles of gold, "So, you run the Arena here, I can you've made some profit from it, nice~ I almost want to watch a fight now, been too long,"
"Those profits are nothing compared to what I used to get when Prisca was here." he then sighed with a sad tone before adding, "She was the greatest fighter this arena ever saw."
The Nord frowned upon the name, "I can't exactly recall who this, "Prisca" is, but we just recently met the Queen of Gnolls, who wasn't in a good mood to see us, other than that, we wouldn't know who that is," he shrugged.
"Half Gnoll I presume." he walked to a table a poured two cups of wine, "After that she ran away with a Gnoll lover, leaving me, her poor father wondering if she'll be alright... and wondering if I'd ever see her again." he then walked back to Eric, offering him a cup, "Maybe that you can reunite a family. Of course, I'm ready to offer you a good reward if you succeed."
Erik thought on that, grabbing the cup and sighing, "Much as I want to, I don't really have that decision to make, the guy I was snatched from, who may or may not already be on his way here, is more inclined to that, but then again, given how our friends messed up, I don't think that's possible at the moment,"
"Well, the job that this empty-headed idiot should have done will always be open." Eddard smiled before adding, "You're free to go. And again, sorry for causing you trouble."
Erik waved him off, taking a sip, "It's fine, seriously, I expected way worse to be fair with you," glancing around, "All that's left now is to wait until my boss gets here, whenever that is..."
Meanwhile in the desert...
Traysek rode on the Gryphon through the scorching heat, the sun beginning to set as he headed further south...Eventually, they arrived on a hill, finding a strange large dome with spikes coming out of it, putting a frown on him.
'Guess that must be it...gotta say, chose one hell of a place to put this, I'm surprised the Gnolls haven't found it...' He mused, clicking a button on his scouter, zooming in on it, finding two guards posted, 'And not unguarded... can't say I'm surprised there...' smirking 'now then, let's see if they're willing to play nice...' turning his gaze down, "Hyaah!" he shouted.
The Creature obeyed and headed there, the metal he was lugging remaining despite his speed...
The two guards narrowed their eyes when they saw something landing, but kept their position.
The larger Gryphon landed near them, the rider of it dismounting it, walking up to them with a slightly annoyed scowl.
"Nice place you guys got, unfortunately, I'm here for the guy your friends took earlier...is your boss around?" Traysek asked with an eyebrow raised.
"D acu ay la yessawal? (What is he talking about?)" one asked the other.
"Ur ẓriɣ ara. (I don't know.)" the second one replied, "Ini-t kan am wiyaḍ akk. (Just guide him like the others.)"
The first one sighed before pointing to his left, "Watch." he then pointed to his right, "Fight."
Traysek nodded, glancing at the left, "Guess I'm watching today," narrowing his eyes, 'And most likely see if they've got him fighting or not,' before following the guard into the left entrance.
When he got through the door he found Eric sitting with wine and food waiting for the match to begin.
The Redguard sighed, walking up to him, "Looking pretty well for a snatched guy," taking a seat next to him, which surprised him.
"Boss! Glad you made it, thought you wouldn't be able to find me in that storm," Erik greeted, offering him something off the plate, that turned out to be ribs.
Traysek took one, "I'm surprised they didn't have you down there, entertaining them instead, they let you off?" He asked, taking a bite of the rib.
"Thought it was strange too, but turns out, they weren't even supposed to be hunting for us...they were looking for someone else," The Nord said, "So to make up for that, I got free food and drink with a show, their boss turned out not to be such a bad guy,"
"Interesting...have yet to meet him, heard he runs the arena here,"
Erik nodded, "Maybe once the show's over I can introduce you guys, if he doesn't make himself known..."
Soon after that, one of the gates of the Arena opened and a man with a mask over half his face walked in.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Today, we have two new fighters that joined our arena!" he pointed to his left, "Here's a scheming cat, someone who isn't afraid to have his honor soiled by the use of blood magic and poison! The vile Kveldor!" a Khajiit like humanoid but more like a lynx and without the tail, "And his opponent, a man, or a beast, or a creature out of your nightmare! Part elf, part spider! The Quick Vugen!"
Due to the small number of spectators, only three or four people applauded.
Traysek glanced down at the participants, nodding impressively at the match-up, "Not bad, the guy with the spider legs on his back seems deadly enough, but his opponent is no slouch either, can't wait to see how this goes,"
"If we were betting, who'd you choose?" Erik asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd probably choose the blood and poison user, don't get me wrong, his mutant opponent seems tough enough, but I think we're in for a surprise here," His captain chuckled.
Both opponents drew their weapons and charged each other.
Village of Luckwarden...
Camillia looked at some notes and entered a room at the inn,"It seems like there was more than meet the eye," she said as she was looking at the notes, "We need to look out for a guy with a huge-" but when she looked up, she only saw a note on the table.
"Calm down... it's surely a prank and he's hiding nearby..." she mumbled with a dangerous tone, "I told him to wait until I get enough information... not TO GO AWAY LIKE THAT!" she then breathed slowly before adding, "I just need to search for him... and punish him later..." she then exited the room to seek the young knight.
Meanwhile, 15 miles West...
Reynold followed the trail further to the stone monument, finding small drops of blood as he passed, taking a deep sigh.
'Calm down, you tried to give it time, here's hoping she got my letter...' glancing back, before hearing shouting from nearby, "What was that...?" before rushing to it.
When he arrived he saw a lot of dead guards and a noble who was trying to fight a muscled man that has a big claymore as a weapon.
"What kind of monster are you!" the noble yelled as he rushed at the man only for him to get the claymore shoved in the neck.
"Enn er verk að vinna! (There's still work to be done!)" the man said as he slowly walked and pulled on the claymore before punching the tip to the ground. As the noble began to slide, he tried to hold on to the guard of the weapon, only to see the man raising his foot as he said "Áfram með ykkur! (Onwards with you!)" and kicked the head down before taking his sword from the corpse.
Rey froze, shocked upon the display of brutality, as well as the others that fell to the man. He gulped, slowly moving back...
'I think this is the guy...he's even got the horns to the helmet...not good, maybe I could've waited, just a bit longer...it's not too late, I could probably head back and meet her halfway...' slowly walking back, until he stepped on a branch, giving off a snap sound. 'Ooooh...goddess why...?'
"Hver er hér?! (Who's here?!)" the horned man turned toward Rey's direction and looked at the young knight in the eyes, "Annar veikur riddari sem vill deyja? Mjög vel. (Another weak knight that wants to die? Very well.)" he then picked a spear before throwing it toward Rey.
Reynold quickly rolled out of the way of the spear, drawing his sword, "Whoa! Hey take it easy, I'm not with them!" ducking a blow and clashing with the second, 'This guy's strong...feels like my arms are about to give out!'
"Ég ætla að skera þig í tvennt! (I'm going to cut you in two!)" the man pushed Rey before going for a diagonal strike.
The young knight swung outwards, barely parrying the blow, as he jumped back, taking a stance, 'Dammit...he's not listening to me...guess I don't have a choice but to fight him,' placing a hand on his sword, muttering a prayer before his sword glowed up in silver light, sparks arcing off of it, "Come On!" discharging a wave at him.
The man dodged right before holding his sword behind his back with a war cry, "Dunmaghlas!" and with one swift motion, he put a hand on Rey's shoulder before tossing him behind him.
As the knight landed, he only had time to see the sword coming his way. But when he closed his eyes, he heard a clash between two swords.
"After this... I'll deal with you personally!" Camillia blocked the sword, using her own.
Rey weakly chuckled, "Heh...you sure took long enough..." before rolling out of there, picking up his own sword.
"Laugh all you want because I'm going to put some discipline in that empty head of yours."
She pushed him back before plunging her sword in the ground, creating spikes of blood between her and the man.
'Get the message and escape!' she looked at him as he narrowed his eyes before escaping deeper in the forest.
Rey watched him flee, sheathing his sword, "Should we have let him go? he matches the murderer's description..."
"You won't do anything." Camillia turned and gave Rey a hard look, "You will return to the inn in Luckwarden and wait until I come back. Meanwhile, I'll go report to Lord Regis so that he can work with Feoh to track and unveil why he's only killing nobles and not merchants. Am I clear?"
"But..." watching her expression darken, "Of course, Ma'am, I'll wait for you at the Inn," and left to it without much argument.
"Good." Camillia took the mini gargoyle and used her magic to get her to her original size before flying toward Ur.
As he headed back, he began to wonder about his companion's strange behavior, wondering why she allowed the murderer to escape, never mind the fact that she took more than forty-five minutes...With many to ponder along the way, he found himself on the path back to Luckwarden...
Ken...
Celestine's room...
Right as her personal guards became Red Spears, both Claudia and the Archbishop were there to... discuss the matter.
"This is way too much! You're giving him too much freedom!" Claudia snapped, "A bit more and the church would have no power!"
Grisholm was visibly sweating, knowing what this meant, "My lady, I do urge you to reconsider this decision, I know the unholy one is putting you up to this...for the longest time, the church has only been in your best interests milady, if we're no longer your guard the alliance will fall," doing his best to keep his composure, all the while... 'Damn that unholy bastard...! he's getting in the way of our plans, if this keeps up, we won't have the edge we need!'
"Die Befehle meiner Dame sind absolut. (My lady's orders are absolute.)" Ophilyana said as her hands went to her longswords, "Wenn Sie sie als Göttin verehren, beschweren Sie sich nicht. (If you revere her as a goddess, don't complain.)"
"See! He even put a barbarian like her at your side!" Claudia added.
Celestine sighed, "After the actions of the church and dawn templars...this move was for the best, you will still be my soldiers, that hasn't changed, but as the guarding detail, that's what they're here for,"
"Actions...?" Grisholm gasped, "My lady, I may have sent somebody to check on things for us, but he was not the one responsible for what the young Musel did!" catching his breath, "All we're saying is that it's funny timing that this is happening, first the fortress invasion fails, then our allies betray us and now? you're replacing the guard, due to the word of Lord Swain, someone who got his own intentions in mind...that's not the least bit strange to you?"
A knock was heard as a Red Spear entered, "My lady, Miss Dihya wishes to speak with you."
The Goddess reborn rose an eyebrow, " 'Dihya...?' name seems to be familiar, send her in!"
'Wait...Dihya...I know the name...could it be...? No that's crazy, Grave said he had that covered...!' Grisholm sweated, as the doors opened.
A dark skin woman wearing bright silver armor and a white fox mask entered.
"It's been quite a while, Lady Celestine." the woman bowed before looking toward Grisholm, "As well as you... the one who comes to the lower districts to have a lot of 'fun' with the children there..." in a venomous tone.
Grisholm scoffed, "I swear, you people and your rumors, we do nothing but aid the children there, as we should," he defended with.
"I don't recall your armor, but your name is familiar to me," Celestine said with a confused expression, "Regardless, is there something you need?"
"Right... last time we saw each other was six years ago... during your birthday. And my armor was... a little darker than what I'm wearing right now" Dihya listed.
"That means..." Claudia went into thought before widening her eyes and pulling her sword, "You're the Fox Reaper!"
Celestine blinked twice, eyes going wide as well, "That's right...I remember you now! It's been a long time hasn't it?" waving Claudia down, "Put that away, you wouldn't be able to handle her anyway, Claudia,"
"She's not wrong, I'm afraid you would lose trying to play this out," Gisholm interjected, "Very nice to see you again, Fox Reaper...you left after that mission to deal with those Centaurs...thought you may have deserted it, like our recent friends..." faux sighing, "Tis a shame, the man in Red would've been beneficial to our church, instead... he chose to live like a vagabond and criminal,"
"Maybe because he was born a free adventurer with no obligation, you pedophile..." her tone was still venomous when talking with Grisholm, "I, on the other hand, was born a soldier to the empire back home. So you'd better choose your words carefully unless you want to feel what it's like to live without limbs."
Grisholm bared his teeth, ready to retort to that until Celestine held up a hand...
"Enough Archbishop, this is not a way to greet a long-time guest," She said, cutting him off, before looking forward at the newcomer, "Once again, it's nice to see you, but why have you come here?"
"Since I'm going to need to face my demons of the past soon, I thought that I should pass to say hi before going to where I'll pass a test to see if I can fight again." Dihya replied before looking toward Ophilyana, "It's been a while isn't it."
"Sie wissen, was es bedeutet, für jemanden wie Meister Swain zu arbeiten. (You know what is it to work for someone like Lord Swain.)" the Half Elf sighed, "Dennoch ist es nicht so, dass ich die Entscheidungen, die Sie treffen mussten, miterlebt habe. (Still, it's not like I lived through the choices that you had to do.)"
Celestine rose an eyebrow, "You two are familiar with each other?"
"Oddly familiar at that...makes me trust our new friend less and less," Grisholm added in.
"I... asked her to do something for me in the last four years..." Dihya stated.
"Von Zeit zu Zeit habe ich auf ihr Kind aufgepasst. (I watched over her child from time to time.)" Ophilyana replied, "Allerdings bin ich mir nicht sicher, ob... wissen Sie... wenn man bedenkt, wer der Vater ist... (Although, I'm not sure that... you know... considering who the father is...)"
"Please, don't go there..." There was a sense of anger and fear in Dihya's voice.
"They can understand each other?" Claudia's eyes widen even more, "My lady! This is more reason to reject everything Lord Swain says!"
Celestine sighed, "It's not important, and you're forgetting I can understand her as well, I'm not rejecting this decision and that's final..." with a slight glare.
All the while Grisholm was going through a cacophony of thoughts, 'That filthy crow has made a mockery of me for the last time...and now the fox has come to play...If I had the light-bringers here, this would be a faded memory...I wonder who I can contact?' humming in thought.
"Right, I almost forgot, Lord Swain will pass tomorrow to discuss something." Dihya said as she looked at Celestine, "He said that's a very important subject that shouldn't be overlooked."
"Oh? Unc- I mean, lord Swain needs to talk about something else? Okay then, thank you for telling me, I'll be expecting him soon," Celestine thanked, with a smile, "Was that all or is there more?"
"Well, it would have been rude of me to not come and say hi considering the history between us-" Dihya didn't have the time to finish her sentence as Claudia snapped at her.
"Don't you dare talk like you're one of us! You abandoned us!" Claudia pointed with anger, "You should be executed!"
Celestine thought on that for a moment, "If I remember correctly, she had a reason for leaving...and if the Black dogs were an indication, I can understand it..."
Grisholm bit down on his lip, 'Wonder If I could get in contact with the Lightbringer in Ansur, or maybe Rad? I'd say Geofu but that fool is only in it for Fiore...hmm...'
"My lady, don't be so naïve as to think that Swain thinks about anything else besides himself!" Claudia pointed, "He never did anything for the interest of the people!"
However, the archbishop's nervousness was noticed by Ophilyana, "Warum zeigt er Anzeichen von Angst? (Why is he showing signs of fear?)"
"No Idea, but it's unsettling," Celestine answered in a low tone to her, "As for you Claudia, he has, more than you think, once again, the decision is final, the Red Spears are to be my private guard and are to be treated as such," turning to Dihya, "Thank you for coming and telling me, perhaps we can catch up sometime, today..." cutting her eye at Grisholm and her paladin, "Today isn't a good day unfortunately..."
The archbishop finally came up with something, a light bulb going off, 'Before he comes here tomorrow, I need to have someone deal with him...maybe two light-bringers would be enough...'
"Well, I need to go to that trial Lord Swain said he'd send me to," she said before exiting the room.
"Meine Dame... Sie brauchen einen besseren Freundeskreis... (My lady... you need a better circle of friends...)" the half elf said as she deadpanned at both Claudia and Grisholm, "Der mit der Drachenkraft ist in Ordnung, aber diese beiden ... Ich mache mir Sorgen um deine Sicherheit, wenn ich nicht da bin. (The one with Dragon Power is fine, but those two... I'm concerned about your safety when I wasn't around.)"
Celestine slowly nodded, "Maybe...but I know the reason behind all this distrust with them, the church has always had rivalries with him, same as Claudia's father...Grave..." turning to them, "Speaking of which, I need time to think for what's ahead, you two are dismissed, should I need you, I'll send for you,"
"But I... we..." Claudia tried to speak but sighed in defeat before heading out while dragging the scheming Archbishop behind her.
"Nun bereite ich dir ein Bad vor, mache das Bett, bereite den Tee zu, auch wenn ich weiß, dass er nicht so gut sein wird wie Dels Tee, male dir das Porträt, das du dir in den letzten zwei Jahren gewünscht hast, und mache das Abendessen , und bereiten Sie den Zeitplan meiner Aufgaben für morgen für Sie vor. (Now then, I'll go prepare you a bath, make the bed, prepare the tea even if I know that it won't be as good as Del's tea, paint you in the portrait you wanted for the last two years, make dinner, and prepare tomorrow's schedule of my taks for you.)" Ophilyana listed before using some sort of magic that turned her armor into a maid uniform, which revealed a lot of scars.
The reborn goddess held her hands up, "Um...it's ok, you really don't have to go that far, thank you though," before noting the scars, 'Oh my...so many...what happened to her? perhaps I'll ask when it's appropriate...'
"Nein, nein, nein, als Ihr persönlicher Wächter, der Ihnen folgen sollte, muss ich sicherstellen, dass Sie nichts brauchen ... nun, das hat Del gesagt, als sie mich darin trainierte, mich um alle Ihre Bedürfnisse zu kümmern. (no no no, as your personal guard that should be following you, I must make sure that you need nothing... well, that's what Del said when she was training me to attend to your every need.)" Ophilyana pointed before turning to begin with her tasks.
"I...see...alright then, I'll leave it to you then," Celestine said, smiling, before standing up.
In the arena...
The fight had gone for hours and hours as the insectoid elf seemed to have an advantage due to his chitin skin that took all the damage. Meanwhile, his opponent was full of cuts and was breathing hard.
Erik whistled at the wounds on them, "They've been going for hours, but from this standpoint, looks like the insectoid is going to win this,"
"Not exactly, for as wounded as the beast man is, he's got to only get through the chitin for a killing blow," Traysek explained, looking at his breathing, "If he can that is, he's been struggling with it, or playing him down, we'll see..."
The beastkin used his knife to make another scratch on the hard skin of the insect elf but got pierced in the stomach with the elf's spear. The beast-man chuckled before a red light could be seen in his hand. The elf screamed as the scratches on the hard skin began to bleed a lot until that he exploded.
"And it's a win for Kveldor!" only a small amount of claps could be heard
The Nord pouted, slightly clapping, "Aww man, I was expecting the bug man to win, glad we weren't betting,"
"He nearly came close, very close in fact, however," Traysek began with, glancing down at the huffing beast-kin, "He waited for that chance, hence why he took his time cutting around him, and when the other finally struck that blow, he ignited every wound he made, wouldn't matter if tried to guard it or not...very clever, and interesting use of blood magic," with a smirk.
The door behind them opened and the owner walked in with the bandit leader, "I hope that you enjoyed the fight."
They both turned around, the Captain with an impressed grin...
"You run a pretty good show here, outstanding one would say, it's just," He began with, looking around, "Not as many people are here to enjoy it...was it always low in crowds?"
"Ever since I lost my champion, the only one who brought a revolution to the world of gladiatorial fights, people were less inclined to come here." the owner replied with a solemn tone.
Traysek had a hand on his chin, "Champion huh? What happened to them? Might know em' If I know what they look like or name,"
"My dear daughter Prisca, that ran away because of love," Eddard replied with the same tone.
The Redguard rose an eyebrow, "Meaning...she eloped and ran off, right? Not the first time I've heard of that happening, popular in some places even," he chuckled, "Well, I'll keep an eye out for you, what does she look like?"
"She's a half Gnoll that ran away with her Gnoll lover." the owner answered.
At that he narrowed his eyes, "Half Gnoll you say...interesting..." Thinking back on recent events, "I just met one recently, didn't see a lover, but she had two very angry guards at the mine...maybe they know each other? Perhaps I'll ask when I get a chance,"
"Thank you." the owner smiled, "Now if you excuse me, I need to go see that this place continues to get good fighters." he then left.
"Take care," Traysek waved, standing up, "Time to get going, get these metals in and our money,"
Erik nodded, sitting down the empty plate and cup, "This was fun, we've got to come back sometime,"
and with that, they both left for the exit...
Outside...
Both Adventurers were back at their Griffon, checking to see if anything has been taken or was dropped.
"So far so good, just as we packed it, sir," Erik sighed with a grin, "Outside of being kidnapped, this has been an interesting job..."
Think so huh?" Traysek smirked, "Trust me, we're just getting started, wait until we actually do get a harder job..." crossing the last two off the list, "And that's the last of them, time to head back" spotting a large piece of cloth near the wall, "Grab that and some rope, we're tying this down,"
Erik looked around until he spotted the large cloth, rushing over to grab it before it blew away, bringing it back.
Once they covered and tied down the ores, Traysek climbed on the mount, looking over...
"Is it tight enough?" He asked, getting a nod.
"Tight as it's going to be, we just need to be careful," Erik said, climbing the Griffon, "Ready when you are, sir,"
Traysek grinned giving the mount a tap, The large creature gave a screech before leaping high in the air, and taking off toward the North...
In Luckwarden...
Rey began to think more about what happened, especially with how Camillia was acting... it was like she wanted him to escape. And given that she disappeared last time and left him to get the information...
'It's highly suspect...the way she laid those thorns down, why not into him instead...? it's like she INTENDED for him to get away...but why? what benefit would there be outside of-' eyes going wide at something, 'There ARE other groups out there willing to take advantage of this guy...and since I don't think she'd be a supporter for the black dogs, that only leaves the dark army... given how odd she looks, it's possible...I'll have to really watch out with her now...no telling what she's got planned or doing at the moment...not that I could take it to anyone...' entering the Inn.
The owner was talking with two Dark Elves; the first appeared to be some sort of merchant and the other was in dark armor, which means that she was of the Kletzkrieg. Luckily for Rey, they didn't notice him as they were more concentrated on the owner.
"With some luck, the roads would be safer once the rifts are closed." the merchant said.
"Yeah, we missed the caravans." the owner laughed as he added, "We will welcome you at any time."
The merchant grinned as he said, "I'll see that the General and the Hero of K-something put me in the one that will go through this village."
The young knight quickly took a seat out of their sight, but close enough to hear them, 'A Kletzkreig and merchant...strange, no one has tried to attack them either, and what does he mean by "Go through" in the form of a caravan? if so, it's not too threatening, but...'
"It will be a nice change of sight, not like we're going to support nobility and the royal family." the bartender pointed.
"General Greil did say that he's working with a group of people to turn things up." the merchant stated, "Although, he's going to use the princess called Prim to do it."
"Poor kid, she still has some support, but I don't know if that plan will work." the bartender said as he gave the two mugs of ale, "On the house for being the best thing that happened to this little town."
Rey rose an eyebrow, 'So they made a deal with Olga's forces for more trade...I see...considering that the holy army hasn't helped them out, I can see why they'd do it...but that gives them a clear shot to Lady Prim...and General Greil...' flashing back to first meeting him, 'I still have THAT to get to, should I see him again...'
"Once we get control of both Feoh and Ur, things will be easier for us to take control over Geofu, especially since the rebels are winning." the merchant said, "Believing in a false goddess that doesn't care about you, I really wish that you woke up earlier."
"All that talk about taking care of us is nothing but wind." the bartender spitted, "I bet that she's enjoying the life that she has in that palace of hers."
The young knight scowled at them, 'Once again with the slander...forgetting the fact that it was YOUR queen that started the war...if this keeps up...' hand on his blade with a dark glare.
"With the guidance of Lady Olga and the General, I'm sure that the princess will be on the right path." the Dark Elf said before turning to leave, "I'll try to come back, either as a merchant of the caravan or as someone who will stay here for the night."
"See ya soon." the bartender waved as the two Dark Elves left.
Rey watched them leave with a narrowed look, 'So, they made a deal for their goods...even though we have a trade established here...nothing good can come of this...'
The bartender shook his head as he chuckled, "Better preparing the meal of the room of Ethan, the guy's going to travel soon to the villages around."
The young knight rose an eyebrow, 'Whose this Ethan guy? seems like a big deal, should I be concerned...?'
Just then the door opens with an annoyed Camillia coming through them, making him sigh.
'Great...and now this is happening...just stay calm Rey...' taking a deep breath.
She walked to the bartender, not seeing Rey.
"Camille, how're you?" the bartender smiled at the woman.
"You know." Camillia sighed before adding, "You grew into a fine man."
"The young boy that you had to keep an eye on is no more." the bartender laughed, "If only I was a little younger."
"You know that it wouldn't have changed a thing." Camillia shook her head, "You do know how I died, right?"
"Who doesn't?" the Bartender replied, "Anyways, who are you looking for."
"A Holy Knight that I was forced to work with." she sighed, "The one I was with last night."
"Oh him, I don't know, I was a little busy talking with some guys from the city." The bartender pointed.
"If you see him, tell him that I'm waiting in my room." with that she went toward the rooms.
Rey sighed and stood up, following her upstairs and watching her go into a room, 'Time to get this over with...even if she's suspect herself, what was that part about her 'dying' though? Would that explain her strange skin?' walking to the door and knocking on it, "It's Reynold, I'm coming in!" opening the door to find her scowling at him, 'As expected...but to be fair, I tried to play it her way...' walking in and closing the door, "I was already here, just further back at the bar...but judging from your face, I doubt that's up for conversation..." taking a deep breath.
"Playing tough guys huh? I bet that you can beat him to a pulp within the next second." a childish voice said.
"Why now..." Camillia sighed.
"C'mon he already knows about you." the voice said.
Rey had an empty stare on his face, "If you won't go first, I will...you can punish me to your liking if wish, I did disobey, but I had my reasons...selfish as they are...I was proving a point to myself when I went after him, to see if I could take the burden of danger without anyone to help me out of it...I've...always done the opposite, leaning on someone during it...to the point it got my comrade killed..." eyes going dark, "As much as I don't like that singing jester...she was right about me and I hated it...I still do and I wanted to do something about that part of myself...but if it helps..." with a sad smile, "I did try to give it some time..."
"That's it! I'm doing it!" her sword got a red aura and flew to pierce Rey, only to get caught by Camillia.
"I said no." The older knight gave her sword a hard stare, "Lord Regis said the orders and you heard him.
"Not fair..." The aura died.
Rey blinked twice at that, unflinching but a bit startled, "I'm...not even going to question what that was...consider that I know a man in command of crows, a talking sword wouldn't surprise me..."
"Anyways, you'll go back to Feoh." Camillia said, "From there, I don't know what's going to happen."
Rey gave her a blink, "Just like that...? Am I not to report to Lord Regis first?, especially after what just happened...?" nodding to himself, "You know, given your weird skin tone, the fact that you use blood magic, I never questioned it...But this? The fact that you're trying to get rid of me after letting this guy go is highly suspect...almost makes me think you let him go, in hopes of him meeting someone...I'm hoping I'm wrong on the hunch about who that is...but I got a feeling I know who..." narrowed his eyes.
Camillia laughed before smirking, "And what're you going to do? Stop me? Cry until I say yes? Face it, kid, you can't prove what you just said. All you do is talk, no action."
"So you are in league with them...I was just listing a worst-case scenario but now I'm more than certain..." Giving her a hard hollow glare, "To answer your question, yes, I want to...I really do, but I also know I don't stand a chance against your magic, or beast for that matter..." shaking his head, "Just one question, why? Aren't you head knight to lord Regis? I don't remember him being an agent for them,"
"I keep forgetting how the holy cans are." Camillia shook her head, "I fight for this, I fight for the honor of that, I'm so in love with light that I can't think straight." Even if her tone was mocking, her face turned serious as she was saying, "This game between the Light and the Dark is nothing more than a chess game for some people. You either know what side you're on, or you just follow brainlessly with your mouth open. There's no right or wrong in this world. You either live, or you die for your beliefs. And my beliefs are saying that siding with Olga is way better than believing that someone who allows the slaughter of other creatures, which I'm sure you took part on, that refuses to follow the church." she then crossed her arms before adding, "I can still smell the blood of Dark Elves, Lycans, Centaurs, and other creatures from you. So don't get all goodie two shoes to me. Me, I'm true to myself."
Rey blink disbelievingly, "I NEVER took pleasure in taking lives, maybe some of my old commanders did, but I never enjoyed the killing, not unless they had it coming, and even then that depends...I will not apologize for doing what I was ordered to do during that point...only that it resulted in the way it did..." sighing, "I'll admit, things aren't too clean from our side of the fence, I don't think it's ever been, there's no denying that... I even wanted to investigate a few of the nobles back in Feoh or Ken, like Grave or Beasley for example...there's no telling what that one gets up to when he's out of sight, but I was ordered to be here...on this investigation, and as such, I have to see it through," glancing back up at her with a serious look,
"So going back to Feoh is not an option, even if that means I have to work with someone like you...at least I know who you're all connected with now, and that might be our biggest blessing at the moment, or a curse..." taking a breath, "If we can figure out why this guy has been targeting specific nobles here, depending on the answer, we can get this guy a pardon...especially if it's something more sinister he's trying prevent...like one of their blasted parties..." clenching his fist at a memory, "I'm not my brother and we're not on the battlefield...I don't care if you have ties with the enemy army or not, people are going missing, many wives and daughters...that matters more, than an eight-hundred-year-old war..." he finished with.
"Right, the 'I'm the perfect guy' thing that you're all known for." the sword said, "You look at your hand and say to yourself that those murders and slaughters were justified? Don't make me laugh, you're like all those knights. I bet that you never did a single good thing besides small actions that make you think that you look like a big strong man."
"Don't waste your breath on that guy." Camillia shook her head, "Someone who never took action will never take any action." she then looked at Rey before saying, "You want him to earn pardon? Right, that makes sense. I still forget that you're a Holy Knight, never something else. And you want to do this investigation, but not those that you had in your head back there?"
"Maybe I was a child when I died at the hand of one of those nobles, but I remember one thing; my family was killed because of guys like you!" the sword pointed, "Walking in, sweet talking, turning to help others, but once you hear that we want to change our religion, you kill every one of us. And then you look at the small child that you made orphan, send him to the orphanage, you play with them like you are their brother only to hide the fact that you caused their misery."
"If you really wanted to do those investigations, you would have done them no matter what." Camillia looked at him with an annoyed look before adding, "Go and do what the other nobles want, while we go to do something good for this world."
Camillia walked past him and exited the room.
Rey stood there and shook his head after the door closed, with only one thing on his mind...
"Dammit..."
To be continued...
Uh-Oh! Looks like somebody screwed up there, don't worry, this ripple between Rey and Carmilla will soothe out...eventually...who knows how that will go?
Also, wanted to point something out...(And it will be the last time I do...) I've been seeing some comments lately about me stealing ideas from the author of Kuroinu - A light shining in the Darkness...and I'm here to let you know, after talking with him, his take on the Earthmother is completely different than how we had her set up...even knew we were the first ones with it, he'll change the name so it's no longer confusing, but I wanted to put that out there for those that don't know...
With that out of the way, keep an eye out for the next chapter, had to split this one into two with how long it was lol but It concludes this Arc...
Stay safe and may the gods watch over your stories, my friends :)