Last time on Red Dragon's roar, Traysek had accepted the job to rescue the daughter of the Guardian orc of Ulak village with the help of the Kletzkreig...now split up, they must find clues on what happened there...will they be able to in time? Also, Reynold's mission has led him to the families of the victims, but what is he to expect there? will it be something that changes his perspective or will he remain the same? find all this out now!
Chapter 22
Tracking the dogs
(Part 2)
At the Von Musel estate...
In his room, Troy was getting ready, dressed up in a purple noble suit, chainmail under it, sighing at himself in the mirror finishing up.
"I'm sorry for burning your eyes out," He said in practice, before shaking his head, "Not good enough, I wouldn't even accept that..."
As he was about to continue...
"Troy! We're leaving now son, get down here!" Count Otto called out, making the young noble sigh.
'I haven't even practiced what I was going to say...this is such a bad idea...good thing I've got a few things in case it goes wrong,' he chuckled to himself, leaving the bedroom.
When he got outside, he found his family's carriage at the front of it, the driver holding the look at the knight ushering him.
Troy nodded and got in the carriage closing the door. Once closed his father and mother were in there waiting, the older man turning to the Driver.
"Take us to the Swain manor in Ken," he ordered.
The carriage soon made its way there, the holy knight sweating on the way...
In front of the estate, a dark brown-haired Dark Elf maid with stern yellow eyes waited.
"The guests that Lord Swain is waiting for are late by three minutes." she mumbled, "No matter, Lord Swain said to be respectful, therefore I will be respectful."
Not too soon after that, a carriage arrived at the gate, slowly dredging to it before stopping in front of the maid.
The Driver turned around, "We're here at the Swain estate Lord Otto, looks like they've been expecting us,"
"Very good," The count said, putting on his hat and grabbing his cane, turning to Troy, "Let's get this over with son, you remember what we talked about?"
"Indeed father..." Troy concurred in a low tone.
"And no attitude with it," His mother chimed in, "If you're trying to appear sincere, it has to look like it too, even if you don't mean it..."
The blond knight nodded, "Alright, no attitude, got it..." Taking a deep breath, "I'm ready..."
The doors to the carriage opened, with the Count stepping out first, then his wife and finally Troy who looked nervous as he did, getting an eye-roll from the driver.
Once out of their ride, the eldest musel lead the other two to the maid, giving her a respectable bow.
"Greetings madam, I apologize for being late, roads were blocked off in certain areas," The count apologized, "We're here to see Lord Swain, is he in?"
"Indeed." the maid replied before bowing, "He's been expecting you, Lord Musel"
The count nodded, "Very well, lead the way, miss,"
As she walked toward the estate, the gates opened.
Ulak village...
(Inigo and Lucien)
Both the Khajiit and imperial scouted the city for anyone to talk to, the former taking a large whiff at something, making the other frown.
"What are you sniffing at Inigo?" The imperial asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It smells like a bakery nearby, so many pies, I can even smell which kind too...apple, pineapple, blueberry and also *Sniff* *sniff* I smell cranberry and almonds too," with drool slowly coming down, wiping it off, "I think I know where to start first,"
Lucien blinked twice disbelievingly, "Inigo...come on, we're literally on a timer here, this is our chance to prove we aren't screw ups and if we get caught by the boss and/or those Kletzkreig, they're going to tan our hides, let's focus,"
Inigo's ears twitched, turning around, "Who says I'm not? that also means there's plenty of people to ask and if my assumption from this smell is right, there's a decent amount,"
"That...somehow makes sense," Lucien said, rubbing the back of his head, "Fine, we'll check there...and maybe...just MAYBE, check out the pies,"
The khajiit smiled, "To the bakery my friend!" with enthusiasm, power walking there.
The imperial sighed with a headshake, "This is going to be a looong day isn't it?" following and catching up.
Town bakery...
When they got there, they found plenty of happy people there, fresh pies steaming on their plates. At this point, even Lucien was falling under the influence of the smells.
"By the nine, it smells divine over here, okay...I can see why you wanted to come," Lucien drooled, now wiping his lip.
Inigo chuckled, "I told you, the nose knows..." pointing at it, "Come on, let's see if we can get some ourselves," heading towards the cashier.
"You mean information right?" The imperial reminded.
"That too!" Inigo called back, continuing there...
Once there he found a dark elf woman, tending to the pies, taking a deep whiff...
"Hello there miss, those are some divine smelling pies, smelt them coming the down road," Inigo complimented, "How much?"
Lucien had caught up to him, narrowing his eyes, "You would ask that first," he sighed, getting waved off by the khajiit.
"650 gold." the Dark Elf smiled.
They both went wide-eyed, glancing at each other and then back at her...
"F-for the whole thing or a slice?" Lucien asked, blinking twice.
"For a slice of course." the Dark elf replied, "Cowgirl milk isn't cheap you know."
'Yeah, you're not wrong about that...' they both thought, remembering the sizes.
Inigo nodded, I see, we'll take some slices for now, me for the cranberry and almonds, and you Lucien?" pulling out his coin purse.
"I'll have the apple pie slice, thank you," The imperial added in, "But if we did want to buy a whole pie, how much does it actually cost?"
"3700 gold." was the answer she gave them.
Both adventurers nodded...
"Okay then, We'll keep that in mind for next time, thank you," Inigo said, with a nod, paying the 650.
Lucien paid for the slice he wanted, handing her the same amount...
The Dark Elf handled their slices to them, "Thank you for your patronage," with a smile.
They nodded with grins, and went to an empty table, taking a seat.
Lucien took a fork and tried his, nodding, "It's much better than how they do it at home, by the nine, we could come back here,"
"See? You were worried for nothing, we do our job and enjoy ourselves at the same time," Inigo chuckled, taking a bite out of this, "oooooh, that's an addicting flavor,"
"So...where are we going to start asking around?" the imperial asked, "As you said, there's plenty of people here,"
Inigo scanned around, "Looking around for the least intimidating person here," spotting two women enjoying their food, "What about them? they seem like they'd be up for a chat,"
Lucien glance where his friend was looking at finding both a human and dark elf woman laughing together, "I don't know, wouldn't want to disturb them, seems to be in conversation already, anyone else?"
"Let see," The khajiit hummed, looking around before spotting an orc with a full pie, eating away, "We could talk to him, he's by himself, he might know something,"
The imperial nodded, "Alright, good start, follow me," grabbing his plate, and heading for the table.
The orc stopped eating when he saw the two approaching him.
Lucien gave him a slight bow, "Excuse us, sorry to interrupt your time, but my friend and I come from the secret city for an investigation on what happened here, may we have a moment? I understand if you don't, "
"What do you want to know?" the orc raised an eyebrow.
After the duo took a seat at his table, Inigo cleared his throat, "We are wondering if you or anybody you know might have seen or heard any strange or suspicious, like groups of people hiding their faces or weird noises, anything,"
"Just got here this morning." the Orc replied.
Both adventurers nodded at that, before Lucien stood, "I see, apologies for wasting your time, have a good day," giving inigo a nod.
The khajiit stood up and followed him back to the table, "Now what? he just got here, he wouldn't know,"
"Possibly, but then again we wouldn't know if he was being honest or not, and we're not we're not enforcers we can't push it..." Lucien sighed, "There's plenty of people here, we'll try the two women next," heading to their table.
Both women laughed before noticing the two coming towards them.
They stopped a few feet, Lucien giving a greeting bow, "Hello Ladies, you seemed to be enjoying yourselves and we didn't want to interrupt it, but my friend and I are on an investigation on behalf of the secret city, apparently something happened here and we want to know if you or anyone you know may have seen anything strange or suspicious last night, we would like a moment of your time, I can understand if you refuse,"
"Geez, that was too long." the human one said.
"Don't tell me that you're a noble." the Dark Elf added.
Inigo stepped past him, "Ahehehe...forgive him, he's just very well spoken, we're not nobles I assure you..." in a smooth tone, "We're adventurers trying to help out around here and hoped you may have known anything about last night, otherwise we'll continue with our day,"
"We know that they come from the north that's for sure." the Human said.
"They must have a way to sneak in... but I think that the others let them in to kill them." the Dark Elf added, "But after what happened to Keelia, I doubt that they're going to let that happen again."
Lucien nodded to that, "I see, so the invaders came from the north, interesting...and this "Keelia" would that also be the guardian's daughter or someone else?"
"Well duh, who else could it be." The Dark Elf rolled her eyes.
"North of here is a former village where slaves are forced to work the lands to produce food." the Human pointed, "The leader of the place is Inquisitor Horak, a vile and sadistic man who's so disfigured that he forces both women and young boys to have sex with him."
"A lot of war prisoners are sent there." the Dark Elf added.
Inigo and Lucien went wide-eyed, turning to each other before back to them, the khajiit cleared his throat...
"Wasn't aware a place like that existed...so it's a prison camp in other words, okay then," he concluded, "If we were going to go there, how far north would we have to go to reach it?"
"I'd say six or seven hours, I think..." The Dark Elf seemed unsure of herself.
"We tried to stay away from it." the Human pointed, "Maybe that the hunters of the village can say with certainty."
They both nodded slowly at that, Inigo give a smile...
"Okay, that'll do, we'll ask the hunters, thank you for you help, you ladies have a good day," Inigo told them, before turning to Lucien, "Come on,"
Lucien gave a bow, before following Inigo back to their table, sitting down, "An inquisitor that's forcing himself on women and boys? that doesn't sound like one of the black dogs, that sounds like a holy knight,"
"Most likely is, this world is messed up as it is, I wouldn't be surprised if that was their neutral zone...that may be where they've taken the girl, or another cave somewhere but regardless, we'll speak to a hunter," sticking a fork in his pie, "After we finish up here,"
"Agreed," the imperial said, "I hope things are going well for the others,"
Guard barracks
(Recorder and Dargo)
The duo arrived at the barracks, finding groups of guards heading in and out of the building...
"You said you had a friend here, right?" She asked him, "Which one is it?" unable to tell them apart.
"I know a couple of people that-" Dargo tried to talk until someone interrupted him.
"The little puppy?" it was an old Minotaur, "Hard to believe that it's you." he laughed as he walked toward them.
Recorder looked at him with a small sweatdrop, "Uh..." little puppy?" pleeease don't tell me you went by that here..."
"I... had some issues back there..." Dargo looked away, ashamed.
"You should have seen how he looked; sad and full of despair." the Minotaur laughed again before adding, "He could hardly speak to someone, and end up killing over what was asked. But still, the look in his eyes was the one of a cute little puppy."
Record now had a hand over her mouth, blushing, "Oh my...that's just precious...I didn't know that, but then again..." thinking back on it, and then comparing it to an actual puppy, "I can see it, it's cute,"
"The attention he got from the others was priceless." the Minotaur laughed again before looking at Recorder, "Where are my manners; the name's Brathur, captain of the guards here."
Recorder offered a handshake and smile, "Nice to meet you, I'm Recorder an adventurer," shaking his hand, "We're here to investigate what happened here last night, we came here hoping you would know, in case you may have seen or heard anything strange,"
"All I know is that whoever came with the idea, knew the place well." Brathur stated, "Knowing my boys, they can't be with them. This means that they got the information using some sort of torture in the garrison north of here. The worst place to go."
"At what hour could they have snuck in?" Dargo asked.
"I'd say at dusk when the round changes." the Minotaur replied.
Record nodded, "I could see that happening, infiltration would be perfect when the shifts change, so maybe not your guards, but has there been someone who you've probably exiled or jailed recently? That might be where they got the info from,"
"I doubt it." the Minotaur shook his head, "They must have captured someone and got the information using torture." he then pointed at the north, "There's a dark place up in the north, once in, you can't get out."
"I see, so there's a prison up north, good to know, might even lead us where we need to go, thank you," She said with a grin, turning to Dargo, "Did you have any other questions for him?"
"No..." Dargo replied.
"C'mon, Little Puppy, aren't you curious about the others who were with you that time?" the Minotaur smirked.
"You just wanted to use that nickname..." Dargo looked annoyed.
"Don't be like that." Brathur laughed before adding with a sad smile, "Most of them are fine, some died in some defensive skirmishes against the Holy Knights."
"And Cehili?" Dargo asked with a serious tone.
"Helped in securing an escape for some civilians against the Holy Knights." Brathur replied, "She was killed by a white-haired Knight."
"I see..." Some sort of pain could be heard in Dargo's voice.
"If it helps you feel better, know that she died protecting the escape route of the civilians back there." the Minotaur pointed.
"It's fine... did you get her body back?" Dargo asked.
"Harpies got her body back to Yamakhroz." Brathur replied, "She received a proper burial."
Dargo only nodded.
"My god that's tragic, I'm so sorry for your loss, Dargo..." Recorder comforted, before remembering something, "You also said this...holy knight was white-haired right? Young?" she asked with a worried look, 'I think I know who that is, but there's no way...'
"He was quite young at the time." Brathur nodded, "Cehili was skilled, too skilled for him... that's why he waited until she was distracted by helping some civilians and struck her in the back to weaken her... and then he killed her."
While Dargo's face was calm, deep anger could be seen in his eyes.
Recorder on the other hand was in shock, slightly shaking her head, "Fucking coward... can't face someone, so he takes them out from behind...my god..." with a slight scowl, "Thank you for your time, if there's anything else, we'll be glad to hear it..."
"Right! I nearly forgot!" Brathur went and grabbed a sword before tossing it to Recorder, "They were well equipped with magical weapons."
The young woman caught the sword, looking it over, "It looks familiar, like one of the weapons we've seen from the Caravan trip..."
"Good quality and a powerful enchantment." the Minotaur said, "Got quite the amount, guess that we're going to see what they can do before using them ourselves."
She chuckled, "Hey you might as well, spoils of war and all," shrugging, "But this, this is good enough, I know someone who can inspect it, we'll head there now, thank you," with a pleasant smile.
"You're welcome." Brathur smiled.
She turned to Dargo, "You ready to go, Dargo...? Dargo!" louder, getting his attention, "Are you ok? you've been making that face for awhile,"
"Yes... I'm fine." the Dark Elf nodded before exiting the barracks.
"Say... can I ask you to keep an eye on him?" Brathur asked with a worried face, "You seem like a good lass, and he seems to care for you."
"Of course, he seems to be going through something right now, I'll do my best," Recorder said, giving the minotaur a bow, 'Not to mention, I know who his friend's killer is...' before following the dark elf out, "I'll see you later,"
"Seems like the puppy turned into a vengeful wolf..." Brathur sighed, "You sure grew up, Dargo..."
At the northern wall
(Erik and Zephyr)
The duo checked around the wall and the area, trying to find anything from a magic circle to a hole, The Nord was looking around, unable to see anything, "Find anything on your side?" he asked her.
"Traces of magic." Zephyr replied as she was looking at a small burned area, "Someone teleported here, but didn't try to hide it."
Erik walked over to where she was inspecting the burn, "Well that explains how they got in, but did they get out? That's the question," squinting his eyes on it.
"They must have a way to teleport back... but what..." Zephyr sighed as she began to think.
Erik rose an eyebrow, "It could be anything, maybe one of them had it on them, we don't know if any even got away, didn't see any holes in the wall going down them..."
"Too risky to do a hole in the wall." Zephyr looked at the wall, "Unlike any human wall, we put detection magic on the walls to know if they're damaged." she then looked at him before saying, "The magic used is the simplest and a low tier magic, which means that they must have a sorcerer with them."
"Or had, they might not have made it out at all, that's possible too," The Nord hummed, going into thought, "If we're only seeing this as a way in, then either they got imprisoned or killed," looking around, until he spots something small and glowing, picking it up, "What kind of rock is this...?" turning to her, "Do you know what this is?" showing the half broken glowing rock, "Looks like a rune of some kind,"
"Someone tried to copy our runic magic... but ended in failure." Zephyr took the rock in her hand and began to study it, "Using Ground Lake Stones and a poor craft... not even an apprentice is that bad... Ground Lake Rocks are highly unstable, that's why we try to stay away from them."
Erik motioned around, "Well, we can see the result of that, I'm surprised they didn't blow themselves up trying it," giving the rock an overall stare, "So we can confirm now, that it WAS one way here, but why?" scratching back of his head, "But if these guys didn't leave, how'd they pull the kidnapping off? it had to be before or..." eyes going wide at a realization, "Or there were two teams at work..."
Zephyr nodded and said, "One team makes the noise while the other takes the girl. Pretty clever... too clever to be from a normal merc."
"Indeed, which is why I think it was the dogs, filthy as they are they had somewhat of a grasp on strategy, either them or some unknown group," Erik concluded, "Either way, I think this is the best we're going to find here if that's the case because if so, that would mean the other team never came here, and are still out there with the girl"
"It would make sense." Zephyr crossed her arms, "Bruk'Daz is too strong to be fought, even head-on, so whoever was sent, knew that they won't get back... or they were tricked into being sent, believing that help will come."
"So that's the orc's name, from what we've seen of him, that couldn't be any more true," Erik nodded, remembering the tavern fight, "Whether they were expecting help or not, is unknown, but we do know these guys were a diversion..." going into thought, looking towards the open gate, "But where would they grab her from? she had to be out of the village to get snatched...is there anything nearby, like a temple or another village?"
"A temple dedicated to the Earthmother." Zephyr pointed out, "Unlike the shrines, these temples are where some priestesses live."
Erik had a hand on his chin, "Interesting...I almost want to check it out, but I do know we have to regroup before that," turning to her, "Anything else out there?"
The Dark Elf went in thought for some seconds before saying, "No... let's go."
"Sounds good to me," The Nord nodded, following her...
At the council building...
(Traysek and Yuriana)
The duo stood in front of two doors, Traysek looking the place over...
"This has to be it, it's the largest building here," He said, knocking on the doors, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
After a moment of no one answering, the Redhead sighed, "I don't think anyone's in right now, did we come at a bad time?"
"I don't think so, it's still daylight they should be open," He frowned.
Fast steps could be heard as a tired young Dark Elf opened the door while panting, "Yes?"
Both of them stared at the tired elf before the Redguard cleared his throat...
"Hello there, we're adventurers from Yamakrohz investigating what happened here last night," Traysek pointed, "Are the chief and guardian here? I need to speak to them,"
"They're... at... the guardian's house..." the Dark Elf replied, "Can... I go now? I have... a lot of work... to do."
"Sure, I wouldn't want to keep you from that," Traysek concurred, "Just one more question, where's the guardian's house?"
"That house..." the Dark Elf pointed at the house next to the building.
They both look over at the house, The captain nods, "Okay, good enough for me, thank you,"
"Sorry for disturbing you, have a good day," Yuri said, as the door closed, "So the other house then?"
"Yeah, let's go," He said, walking over to it...
Once there, he walked up to the double doors and knocked on them, waiting for a few moments...
The door opened and the current chieftain opened the door, "Yes? How can I help you?"
Traysek gave a bow, "Good day to you Chieftain, I'm Captain Traysek of the Red dragons, and this is my bodyguard, Yuriana," motioning to the Redhead, who gave the chieftain a curtseying bow, "We're here on behalf of Yamakhoz to investigate what happened last night, is the guardian in?"
"He's... not ready to meet others." the chieftain got out of the house and closed the door behind her, "What do you want to know?"
"For starters, were you around for what happened? if so, what can you tell us?" Traysek asked.
"Well, yes." the chieftain nodded, "They ambushed us a little after dusk. But this time, they had strange weapons."
Traysek had a hand on his chin, "Strange weapons huh? interesting...I remember seeing some during our trip,"
"How many people ambushed you two? must've been quite a number," Yuriana added in.
"Even if they said that they wanted to kill us both, they brought 40 men and were more focused on Bruk'Daz." the Chieftain stated.
"Okay...so more way more than last time," Traysek nodded in thought, "Were they the same people from last time? or someone else?"
"The same man who escaped last time." the chieftain pointed.
"So it was the same prick, glad to know he finally bit it this time," The Redguard commented.
Yuriana nodded slowly, "Did they say anything that stood out to you, something you'd remember?"
"Mostly that they won and some disgusting facts about the Orc chieftain who wanted to get her." the Dark Elf answered.
"Boasting about winning while dying, sounds like there was another group that pulled off the kidnapping," The redhead pointed, "Had to be if this group was wiped out,"
Traysek nodding while still in thought, "Orc Cheiftan you say...? Did he have a specific name? I might know him..."
"It's Xunaakt." was the reply they got from the Dark Elf in front of them.
At that, he went wide-eyed, "Xunaakt...?" he gasped, "I know that name, I even met that chieftain during a...different career...didn't like him then, don't like him now..." with a scowl, "At least we know who wanted her now...godsdammit..."
"I see...is there a temple or something nearby? They had to snatch her while she was out of the village," Yuriana added in.
"During the day, she works in a temple that assures the connection between the Earthmother and this plane of existence." the chieftain explained, "When Dusk begins to fall, she closes the temple and goes home. According to the priestesses that I asked, they weren't attacked on both of their ways; their way here to take their dinner, and their way back to the temple."
The wench hummed at that, "Because they had an intended target, otherwise, the dogs would've snatched them too...damn, can't even ask them because they hid from them..."
"Priestesses walk in groups because they know that alone, they're weak." the chieftain said, "But again, they might have ignored them because they were targeting Keelia."
Traysek nodded slowly at that, "Or stalked them until they left and then went for her, knowing how they operate, very likely, doesn't mean they haven't marked the others though and that worries me..." with a frown, "So her name's Keelia, okay, we got a name for the victim, where we would find this temple? what gate would we have to leave from?"
"The temple is in the outskirt of the village." the Dark Elf responded, "By heading northeast, you can find it."
Traysek grinned, "Okay then, we'll check there first, see if we can find anything or trail to where she's been taken,"
"Is there something else nearby? like a village or a ruin? we've never been around these lands here, we wouldn't know," Yuriana asked with an eyebrow raised.
The Dark Elf chieftain looked worried as she said, "North of here... there's an old village that was taken by the Holy Army. Most of those that escaped, joined this village while the others scattered around."
The duo glanced at each other with eyebrows rose, before going back to her.
"No doubt they've got slaves up there, along with any other prisoner..." Yuriana said with a slight scowl.
Traysek nodded with a hardened expression, "I doubt that's where they went, but then again...Volt does have connections amongst them, knows Grave pretty well and he's respected by most of the holy army..." frowning at something, "Except this one guy, Reynold... really hated his guts, seemed like a good kid,"
"For me, all Holy Knights are scummy cowards that must be killed... especially the one who killed my sister..." the tone of the Dark Elf's voice was really dark, "If I get my hands on him... I'll shred him to pieces..."
They both frowned upon that, giving each other another quick glance...
"I...I see...I'm sorry for your loss, I can't imagine what it's like losing a sibling..." Traysek said with a somber tone, taking a deep breath, "But, I think we've got enough answers now, thank you for the time, we'll have Bruk'Daz reunited with his daughter by sundown," his smile returning.
Yuriana gave a nod, "Indeed, you've been a great help today...we owe you, if you know what the murderer looks like, we can probably pick him up, and ship him to you in a box," she joked.
"From what was told to me, he's a white-haired individual." the chieftain pointed, "Now if you excuse me." she then headed inside the house, leaving the two out.
Once the door closed, Traysek had a vacant stare, mouth slightly agape, "White...hair...?" he uttered.
"Boss...?" Yuri called, with a worried look.
He shook his head, eyes shadowed over, "It's nothing, don't worry about it..." with a small smile, heading in a direction, "Come on, the others have to be waiting..."
She watched him go for a moment, taking a deep sigh, "Right, to the tavern it is..." following behind him.
At the tavern...
Being the first there, both Zephyr and Eric sat down at a long table with Zephyr looking at the rock.
"How did they get the knowledge to attempt this..." she was deep in her thoughts.
Erik went into thought, "Wait...there was someone in the Kuroinu...a guy by the name of Kin, sneaky bastard of a mage...he's their brains, if anyone was trying to duplicate this, it would have to be him,"
"Sounds like you know him." Zephyr pointed.
The nord slowly nodded, "Yeah, unfortunately, I do...we used to work with them, not for too long, but it was for the fortress assault, it was the least we could do since they pulled us out of the wreckage on our first arrival to this world," a scowl forming, "He was always weird to me, kept oogling up on Recorder and when I told him to back off, the next thing I know, I'm getting jumped by six guys after taking a leak...yeah, he's no friend of mine,"
Zephyr thought for a second before saying, "I doubt that he got the idea of our rune craft like that. If the general wanted to have the Shields using them, he would have given only a weak version to the man in Ken. This means that they found a runic stone, self-defense probably, and thought that they could use runes like that. Only that they don't know how to properly draw runes, nor the right stones to use."
"Right, as you said, the stone they used is highly unstable...if not him, then who?" He said, rubbing his chin.
Before he could think on it further, the doors to the tavern opened with Recorder and Dargo coming through them. The former looked around until she spotted Erik and Zephyr, "There they are," heading over to them, "How'd it go for you guys?"
"We found something... but I don't know what it means." Zephyr showed them the rock.
Recorder took the rock and inspected it, frowning at it, "What is this? Some kind of rune?" handing it to Dargo.
"It's what we're thinking, but according to Zephyr, the rock used for it is unstable, we didn't see a wand or anything attached to it..." Erik answered.
"Wand?" Dargo looked confusingly at Eric.
"It's some sort of faulty fake." Zephyr pointed.
Erik chuckled, "Or a staff, thought it was a part of a magic weapon, but I was wrong,"
"Looks cheaply made, how they didn't explode or something is beyond me," Recorder noted, "We found something too," putting a sword on their table, "Recognize the quality on this? no different than those bandits we ran into,"
"Except that these are enchanted." Dargo pointed, "Never seen this type of enchantment."
Zephyr took the weapon and looked at it, "I did. When I was sent to Feoh to be a member of the special guards under Commander Niall. I was given a spear that could create black flames."
"During your formation days?" Dargo asked, to which Zephyr nodded.
Recorder nodded, "Same quality I bet, but I don't think this commander had anything to do with that, more like they're getting a supply from someone else up there,"
As they continued their conversation, Inigo and Lucien walked in, trying to wipe the crumbs of pie off their faces. Inigo spotted them over at the table in the corner and motioned to them, both heading there.
"Hey my friends, I see you all made it here," Inigo greeted.
Lucien caught up, "And from the look of it, got some evidence too, wish we had that to show, unfortunately, we learned a few things...there's a fort in the north of here owned by an inquisitor, by the name of Horak, does that ring any bells?"
"Never heard of him," Dargo said.
"I did... and nothing good from him." Zephyr sighed before sniffing toward them, "Sweet."
Dargo sniffed too, "Smells like... something sweet."
Recorder frowned, taking a sniff as well, "Wait...*sniff* apple cinnamon *sniff* *sniff* cranberry and almond...*sniff*" before scowling, punching Inigo and Lucien in the arms, "You assholes! That's a pie coming from you! you didn't bring any back for us?!" giving them another sock.
"Ow! I'm sorry, fine, yes! we got our information from a bakery, geez..." Inigo laughed, rubbing his arm.
Lucien was also rubbing his arm, "Ugh...We tried to bring a whole one, it cost over 3700 for that,
"Well, that explains the sweet smell...that'll be something to consider after this," Erik chuckled, "Good luck explaining that to the boss..."
"Hey, long as we got the information, that's all that matters..." Inigo defended.
Dargo looked at them for a moment, "Do they have lemon pies or orange pies?"
"What about banana pies?" Zephyr added.
Inigo thought about it, "Honestly, I do remember seeing those over there, especially the banana with cream, was tempted to get it, but the almond cranberry was calling,"
"Seriously? Can we stop talking about pies? I got a sweet tooth, stop it!" Recorder berated, getting chuckles from most of the guys.
As the laughing and berating continued, Traysek and Yuriana were the last in, the former hearing the loud bickering, shaking his head with a sigh...
"That was easy..." he deadpanned, heading over to them with Yuri following, "You guys seem to be having a heated discussion, hopefully over the mission, right?" with a smirk and eyebrow raise.
The Redhead took a sniff, "And what smells like incense? it smells like a mix of apple, cinnamon, cranberry, *Sniff*, and almonds?"
Both Dargo and Zephyr pointed at Inigo and Lucian.
Traysek looked over at them, going up to them, taking a sniff, "No...not incense...smells like a bakery...pie...you guys had pie time while we were supposed to be gathering info?" with a hard frown, shaking his head, "At least tell me you got something worthwhile out of it, and I don't mean what you ate,"
"Yeah, learned about a nearby fort in the north, houses prisoners and slaves..." Inigo answered.
"Strange...we learned about a place like that too, okay then, you pass," Yuriana frowned, "Anyone else hear about that too?"
Recorder nodded, "Dargo and I did... got in contact with an old friend of his, heard about some old torture Garrison up there,"
"And it's run by a guy known as Inquisitor Horak...assuming he's in the holy army..." Lucien added in, "From what I know of him, he's quite the sick individual...vile and twisted, forces himself on captured women and young boys, and he's disfigured..."
Traysek frowned at that, "I see...a corrupted fort then, while I would say to check that place out first, we learned about the temple she was at before she was taken, it's north-east of here, wanted to see if we could get a trail from there," turning to Inigo, "And since you're the best tracker here, that's where you'll come in,"
"You got it, I'll see if I can pick one up, shouldn't be too hard, given how they smell," Inigo said, cringing.
At the same moment, a man with a dog entered the tavern.
"Tiring to walk all that way." he stretched his arms before walking to the counter, "Mead, please, I'm so thirsty."
The barmaid nodded before giving him a small bottle.
"Maybe we can get his help," Dargo suggested while looking at the dog.
The Redguard glanced at him, hand to his chin, "We could, that hound over there could easily pick up on a trail, not saying your senses aren't any good, Inigo, but it helps to have more than one nose on it..."
Yuriana squinted her eyes, "Besides, I think he might be a warrior...looks the part, want me to get him over here?"
"I'm going to, but yeah, might need your help with that," Traysek nodded, turning to Dargo, "You coming?"
"Why not?" Dargo shrugged before walking to Traysek, "Whenever you're ready,"
"I can do now, let's go" The Redguard grinned, leading them over to the bearded man's table...
The dog growled lowly as the man looked at the trio.
"A man who looks like a bandit accompanied by a hot woman and a Dark Elf soldier... You guys aren't with them, that's for sure." he chuckled before turning to them as the dog stopped growling, "How can this old man help you?"
Traysek grinned with a nod, "Not a bandit, but something close," he chuckled, "Well to start off, I'm Captain Traysek and that's Yuriana, my bodyguard,"
"Charmed~," She said with a bow.
"We're investigating what happened here last night, the guardian's daughter, Keelia, had gotten abducted by the dogs, we were wondering if you could help us with tracking them down from the temple northeast of here, can understand if you don't..." The Redguard concluded.
"Need Baldur's nose, eh?" the man grinned before saying, "Call me Ethan, and sure, I can lend you some help... if you pay for this bottle for me."
The Redguard looked at him for a minute, until he grinned, "Sure, why not? How much does it go for?" going for his coin purse.
"You've got a cute dog by the way," Yuriana commented, as it wagged its tail.
"200 gold pieces." Ethan said before turning to the redhead, "Baldur's a good boy. Not going to attack unless you're a Holy Knight or a Black Dog."
Traysek nodded, "Okay not bad, One second," heading to the bar counter, "Excuse me? Could I put down a payment on his drink?" putting the payment on the counter and his motioning to Ethan.
"Sure." the barwoman nodded before taking the gold.
"Appreciate it," Traysek thanked, before heading back to the table, "Your drink's been paid for, we'll be ready to leave when you're done,"
Yuriana whistled, giving the dog a belly scratch, "Damn, that was quick..."
Ethan laughed before closing the bottle and putting it in his bag, "Lead the way."
Traysek chuckled, "Alright, I'll scrape up my friends and we'll head out," nodding to the other two, heading back to the table.
The others watched the trio coming back.
"So...? what did he say?" Lucien asked, "Did he agree to help?"
Traysek nodded, "Yeah, it only took me buying his drink, we're heading out now, get ready,"
"It'll be nice to have another nose at this in case I can't pick up on it, I'm all for it," Inigo agreed, standing up with the others.
Ethan walked to them with a couple of flasks, "So, why don't you lead me to that temple."
"Of course, just had to bring the others up to speed, let's go," The Redguard grinned, leading the way out with others including Ethan following him...
On their way to the temple, they found Bruk'Daz looking over a burned-up body.
"That's her magic... no doubt about it..." he mumbled under his breath.
Traysek stopped holding his hand up, "Wait...that looks like her old man up there, thought he'd be back home,"
"Yeah, same here...the village chief said he wasn't ready to talk to people though, is it wise approaching him?" Yuri asked with a worried look.
"We're going to have to, especially if we need to pick a scent up from there," The Redguard sighed, "But not as a group, I'll talk to him alone, you guys wait here, he was jumped and I bet he's just as jumpy... If I need anything I'll signal," giving a wave to show them it, "For now, just wait here..." walking ahead and up to the orc who had his back turned,
"Hello? are you Bruk'Daz by any chance?" he asked, remaining a good distance.
"Who in the blood 're you!?" Bruk'Daz took a more aggressive stance with the spear he took from his aggressor, "Are you here to tell me that You killed my daughter!?"
Traysek had his hands up, with a calm expression, "Whoa there...take it easy, we're not here to hurt you or your daughter, we're the help from Yamakhroz. I'm Traysek, Captain of the Red Dragons, working with the Kletzkrieg today to resolve your problem...could we talk without the weapons?"
The berzerk orc narrowed his eyes before lowering the spear.
The Redguard sighed in relief, letting his hands down, "Thank you... now as to why we're here, we came to investigate and pick up a trail as to where she was taken, I brought my tracker and hunter with a hound... one will lead us to her, and the other will tell us who they are..." motioning to them.
Bruk'Daz narrowed his eyes and said, "Fine, I'll trust this group of yours, but you'd better not stab me in the back, human."
"You have my word, we can always shake on it if you like," The Redguard pointed, offering a handshake.
The Orc stared at him for some moment before grabbing his forearm.
Traysek grinned, "Then it's settled," before turning around, beckoning the others over, and letting his arm go.
The rest of the group caught up, looking around...
"What to do now?" Dargo asked.
"Spread out and look around, these guys are known for being sloppy, and since that body, there was burnt up, I doubt it's got anything on it," Traysek started with, "if you find anything, a backpack, a weapon, a note or something strange, bring it to me or Bruk'Daz, he'll be able to identify it..." smiling, "Any questions?"
"Why don't we follow the trace that Baldur found?" Ethan asked as the dog was sniffing around a certain area, "I think that he found something that stands out of the ordinary; a scent different than a lot others around."
Inigo rose an eyebrow, "We're just getting here and he's already picked up something?" going over to the spot Baldur found and placed his hand on the ground, taking a sniff, "Yeah...there is something here, a bunch a foul smells but there's a sweet incense kind of smell too," turning to the Orc, "Does the temple have incense in there? heavy?"
"How should I know? I've never been there." Bruk'Daz replied.
"I think that it's some flowers that give this much scent." Ethan pointed, "Since it's a heretic temple..." The sarcasm in his voice was too strong, "They must be growing these flowers there."
Traysek frowned looking at the spot, "I could see that, considering what I know about the Earthmother, it's possible..." rubbing his chin, before going over to the body and inspecting it, crouching down, giving it touch which easily broke off a piece 'Charred to the bone, that's some powerful fire magic...but how did this body get here? were they surrounding her? sounds very likely, especially when they zone in their prey...She must've fled gotten away from...one way to know for sure...' turning to Inigo, "Could you come over for a second?"
"Sure, what do you need my friend?" Inigo asked.
"See if you can pick up a scent from here, not saying the dog's wrong, but if it would help if we could get where the trail started..." The Redguard pointed.
The khajiit nodded and crouched, taking a large sniff, "Hmm...it's strong over here, as they were around this spot for a good second, guessing this guy got too close and paid for it..." his eyes now a glow, "There's also something else...from here to where Baldur is, there's a strong scent of both and looks like it goes further past the point he is..."
Recorder nodded, "So she ran from these guys, good, but that doesn't tell us that she's gotten away or not,"
"Very true, but it's a lead, we may even find shredded clothing going further down that path," Lucien added in.
Traysek nodded, "Seems like we don't have a choice but to follow it, not seeing anything else here that they may have left around..." Turning to the group, "Ethan we'll follow you from where you are, according to Inigo, the trail started here and leads further from where Baldur is," turning to Inigo, "You'll lead with him, in case there's an ambush nearby,"
"You got it, my friend," The khajiit agreed, going to Ethan.
The old man nodded before turning to the dog, "C'mon boy, tell us where she went."
The dog barked before sniffing the air then began to run in a direction. After going for a good distance, he stopped and began to growl fiercely.
Ethan caught up to him and knelt to check on some traces, "Seems like someone caught her... big and strong from the depth of this bootprint."
Inigo knelt down and took a sniff of the boot, scowling, "Yeah...and I think know who too..."
The rest of the group caught up, Traysek walking up to them, "What'd you find?"
"A familiar scent...Volt's...seems like he's the one who took her, getting a mix of their scents now..." Inigo scowled, until he noticed something in the distance, "What's that...?" going to it and picking it up, finding a strange wand that looks like a dreamcatcher, "Found something here...looks like a dreamcatcher!"
"Let's see it," The Redguard said, getting it passed to him, "Strange, never seen weapon like this..." turning to Bruk'Daz, "Is this your daughters?" handing it to him.
"That's her Spirits' Shelter..." Bruk'Daz's voice was filled with anger and sorrow.
"I see..." Traysek said, turning to Inigo, "Does the trail continue?"
"It does, looks like it goes further north, not to mention the boot prints going there," The khajiit answered.
The Redguard nodded, "Okay, then we continue until it stops or we run into something else, lead the way,"
Up north...
A fortified village...
Volt stood in front of a cage where Keelia was unconscious in.
"So... is that her?" he asked as an Orc walked up to him.
"Yes." the Orc nodded, "Keelia, Daughter of the Cursed Berzerker one."
"Good," Volt smirked, "Once Xunaakt gets here, he will be happy."
"And you still didn't give us the blood of a strong individual." the orc pointed.
"You will have it, just wait." Volt said, "Soon enough, you will get the blood of a hero of Feoh."
"I'll see..." the Orc growled before walking away.
"Talk about problematic." Volt sighed.
"Boss!" a Dog walked to Volt, "Can we get a go on her?"
Volt punched him before roaring, "Watch yourself! this is the key to having the Orcs on our side! If anything is to happen to her, you're dead!"
At house Calvinis
The young knight stood in front of the doors of Calvinis family, sighing to himself, "The same as it's always been here, I haven't been here in years..." looking around at the lush fields and workers, mostly elven tending to them, before knocking on the door, 'Hope someone's home... let's see if Albert is willing to talk...'
"Y-Yes?" it was a Dark Elf maid who answered.
Rey noted her nervousness, giving her a bow, "No need to be afraid of me, Ma'am, I'm here for Lord Calvinis, is he in?"
"M-Master Albert is occupied at the moment." the maid answered, "H-He's very occupied."
Reynold rose an eyebrow, "Master?" so he has already taken over the family as the patriarch, I see," slowly nodding, "I understand ma'am, but this is a matter of urgency and Albert and I go way back, used to play here when we were kids... Could you please take me to him?"
The maid guided him to a room and asked him to wait. while she was gone, yelling and hitting noises could be heard.
Rey winced at the sound of that, getting up with a hand on his blade as it got more violent sounding, 'What is going on in there?' rushing to the sound, when he found a lean blond man in a shirt and vest, standing over his maid giving her hard blow.
"I told you not to disturb me! you didn't learn anything under my father?!" he berated, winding up for another blow.
"Enough!" he heard yelling out, getting his arm caught by the glaring knight, "What are you doing, Albert?! shouldn't you be grieving over your family? why are you doing this?"
The blond man turned around, "And who the devil is-" until he looked him eye to eye, "Oh~ little Reynold, almost didn't recognize you, my...you've gotten bigger," taking his arm down, glaring at the maid, "Stick around we aren't finished by a long shot..."
"Yes you are, you are not going to hit a woman like that in my presence, I don't care what she is," Rey growled, "You were taught better than this, you know you were...your old man would not approve, I bet he's turning in his grave..."
"To hell with the old man! this is my time now..." Albert growled, "I'm in charge and these workers serve me, if I NEED to disciple them, then I'll do it, you don't get the right to question that, Musel, understand? holy knight?"
Rey took a deep breath, "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that, you know, for childhood's sake, let her go so we can talk in private...it's about your old man,"
The noble took a deep sigh, before turning to the maid, "Go on, get out of here,"
"Y-Yes..." The maid slowly and painfully got on her feet and went out.
Once she was out of the room, he turned around with an annoyed scowl, "Now, little Rey...what did you want to talk about?"
Swain's office...
Swain was working until he heard knocking.
"My lord, your guests are here." the maid said.
"Let them in," Swain replied as the maid opened the door.
The Musels walked in, the youngest of the two feeling uneasy from the stares and glares he was getting, gulping as they took a seat at the table.
"Greetings, Lord Swain, thank you for having us," Otto thanked, "From what my son has told me...he's done something over here recently, involving a mission he was coerced into, correct?"
"If you're talking about the disrespectful attitude he had, the fact that he snuck around my home without permission, spying on my maids while they were changing, stealing from me, and melting the eyes of my head maid, then you're correct," Swain replied
Both of his parents turned to him with shocked and angered frowns, the count shaking his head.
"That's not at all what you told us, what's he talking about? Peeking on maids and stealing?"
Troy frowned, "I don't remember peeking at the maids! look, I take responsibility for hurting the head maid, but peeking? I haven't done that since YOU caught me with our maids!"
Catherine deeply sighed, "I remain skeptical, do you have some proof of this perhaps? not that we don't believe you, but as parents, you can understand our skepticism,"
"He took some papers from my storage room. Not that it bothers me since paper can be replaced at any time, but it shows what kind of person he is." he then took the crystal that was presented to Celestine, "And if you ask the Goddess Reborn, she will affirm what's in this crystal."
"Lets us see this crystal, I need to determine that myself because he does have a history, unlike his brother..." Otto said, narrowing a glare at him, "Last chance son, if I see something I don't like, I'm thrashing you myself, were you peeking?"
Troy shook his head feverishly, "No I wasn't! For the love of the goddess, I haven't done that in since then! I swear!"
"Roll the footage, as my husband said, we'll determine that ourselves," His mother said cooly.
Upon activating the crystal, it showed a bunch of Dark Elves maids changing in their uniforms.
At this point, Troy had an affronted look while his father glared holes into him, clenching and unclenching his fist...His mother, on the other hand, had a neutral focused stare on the footage, finger on her chin glancing between Troy and Swain, before seemingly going into thought.
"Interesting angle...almost as if he's right up on them, I see..." his mother hummed, not saying anything else.
"I don't believe this...boy...you really screwed up here..." Otto growled, "When this is over, you and I are going to have a long discussion..."
At that moment, the maid that greeted the Musels entered, "My lord, you need to be ready for your appointment with Lady Celestine."
"I'll see to it once our guests are gone." Swain nodded to the maid.
The count nodded, "Yes, where is the "maid of honor?" I'd like to get this over with, I have a certain Levantine to chew out,"
"This way." Swain got up after putting the crystal back where it was, "She's currently resting in her room." he then guided them out.
To be continued...
Things are beginning to heat up in this trilogy, with the investigation going well, they're able to pick up on the trail...but as they get closer, as does the danger...what will they expect at this fortress of torture? all will be answered next time on Red Dragon's roar!
Also, happy 4th of July everyone! :) hope your enjoying your day and letting loose those fireworks and staying safe, take care everyone and thank you for the continued support...also I noticed no one voted on my poll, that's kinda hurting my feelings XDDDD jk, but seriously have a good day and may the gods watch over-ah, you know the rest ;)