With the Crew out of commission, Reynold's quest continues, but what's he to expect on his visits? will it change his perspective on things? or is he doomed to repeat these same mistakes? find out now!
To FeastsofValhalla: Oh trust me, they're making an appearance next chapter, just following the continuation and I'm glad you're enjoying it, there's more to come :)
Chapter 24
Sins of the Fathers
At the Calvinis Residence...
Reynold and Albert sat in an office, formerly his father's, the noble pouring himself a drink, before pouring in another cup...
"Thirsty? you have to be after coming all the way here," Albert offered.
The young knight waved him away, "Thanks but no thanks, I don't drink on the job,"
"Killjoy.." Albert muttered, putting a cork on the bottle, "You've got to learn to live a little Rey, life's short, especially for holy knights..."
Rey narrowed his eyes at him, "Listen, I didn't come here to drink with you, especially after your little display earlier, I'm here to solve what's happening, you were about to tell me how your father got murdered, let's do that,"
"Fine..." The noble spat, "The old man was heading to some big event that takes place near Luckwarden, The holy flower festival, I'm sure you've heard of it..."
"I have...but never gone myself, I was always told to stay away from it...my father was never a fan of it..." The young knight answered, "But I thought that only takes place in Ken?"
Albert slowly nodded, "It normally does, but under supervision, there's another one, a private one with no rules, it's usually by invitation only...and that's where nobles everywhere show off their wealth and or toys..."
"I see...so your father was on his way to that event and met his end before getting there, interesting..." Rey nodded with a frown, "Did he take anyone with him?"
The young noble once again nodded, "Yeah, his favorite elf maid, who seemed dreaded to go...other than that, I got a letter later, stating he was murdered and elf woman disappeared, no one knows..."
Rey thought on that, nodding himself, "Okay, that tells me a bit of what's going on here...a secret party that happens around here, glad to know...is there anyone else you know whose folks may have attended?"
"Aria Remonnet might know a thing or two, you're better off asking her about it, her parents also attended, I don't know the others but maybe she does and can give an insight," Albert sighed, "I wish I could help you more or had the invitation, unfortunately, father took that with him..."
Rey stood up with a smile, "It's okay, thank you, that'll have to do...I'll see myself out, you've been a big help," offering a handshake.
"Please, the pleasure's all mine, and I'm sorry about that earlier," The noble chuckled, turning around, "Come on, I'll walk you out,"
The holy knight nodded and followed him out...
Swain's manor...
Del's room..
When Swain entered with the Musels, they saw Del resting on a bed while having bloodied bandages around her eyes.
"I try not to disturb her." Swain spoke in a low voice, "According to the healer, she needs rest before being able to fully recuperate."
Catherine had a hand over her mouth, while Otto winced at the bandages...Troy had a shocked and appalled expression, not believing his flash bomb did this.
"By the goddess...I was told this was bad, I...didn't know how far it went..." The blonde knight gasped, shaking his head.
"Well, boy, this is what you did." Swain stated with a cold tone, "No matter, try not to disturb her rest." he then sighed, "Escaping an abusive master, earning her freedom, learning how to smile, and this is what happened to her."
Troy sighed, closing his eyes, "I never meant for this to happen, I just wanted to get away...a light bomb of all things..." his eyes going low.
"How long will it take for her to recover...?" His mother asked.
"Two weeks." Swain answered, "Perhaps three."
"I...see..." Troy only responded with, eyes shadowed over, "Do mind if I come back then to do this...? alone?"
His parents looked at him with shocked looks, his father grimacing, "Are you crazy son? you want to come back here alone...you might not come back at all!"
"This is a poor decision son...think this over..." his mother chimed in.
"Maybe...but it's mine to make..." The blond knight shot back, clenching his fist, angry and disgusted with himself.
"As long as you don't show disrespect like last time." Swain pointed, "After all, no one knows what happens to those that disrespect me..."
Troy slowly nodded, "You don't have to worry about that...that part is done with me, you have my word..." in a low tone.
Otto patted his son's back, "You're already making the first step, don't mess this up son, there are limits my protection can offer you...this will be your last chance..."
Catherine turned to Swain with a bow, "Thank you...for showing us this...this is hard to take in, but it makes our visit to the Levantines even more fruitful..." cutting her eye towards her son, "And it'll teach him to think more for the future...we'll leave now and let the poor girl rest,"
"Very well." Swain walked and opened the door.
Back at Ur...
After being escorted back outside, Reynold gave the maid a wave, watching her head back in, before the sounds of glass breaking could be heard...
'Okay, that's better than before...I didn't like any of that, but he did give me a direction,' Glancing east, 'I guess it's time to head to the Remonnet family...it's been a while since I've talked to Aria, I hope she's still herself...' making his way there.
...
The Remonnet manor...
When the young knight arrived, he was treated to an...interesting sight...
"What in the goddess's name...?" Rey asked out loud, scratching the back of his head.
In front of him were buff and shirtless dark-elven men all over the field, as well as women in ragged clothing and scars tending to it, the even stranger part is that the women were the only ones dressed modestly, finding the maids in decent dresses.
'At least the maids seem to be treated better, I better find Aria, figure out what happened, I'm pretty sure these guys...' eyeing a pretty elf boy, in even less clothing, 'Had more clothes than this...'
He reached the main doors, knocking on them, waiting for an answer...
"Yes?" It was a young maid, but... the problem was with the huge bulge apparent in the groin area
Rey was flabbergasted, "Uh...yeah, I'm looking for Aria, it's about her father, is she in?" he asked.
"You want to see the mistress?" the 'maid' asked as 'she' opened the door.
Rey frowned upon that, "' Mistress?' yeah, sure...didn't know she took over, what happened to the last mistress here? her mother?"
"Both the Lady and the Lord were killed." was the response he got while being guided to a room, where two male Dark Elves exited.
'So her mother went to...damn...' frowning at the dark elves leaving in tiny loincloths, before turning around to the young woman in red open robes with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Oh~?" she asked raising a lecherous eyebrow, "And who's this cutie~?"
"A guest." the 'maid' replied with a bow... and a blush.
The young noblewoman got out of bed, sauntering over to Rey, "Hmm...you look familiar...someone I really know,"
"That's because I am someone you know, it's me, Reynold," The knight pointed, getting a wide-eyed response.
"Rey? that's you?" she asked in shock, "Wow~ you've gotten a lot..." eyeing him down, "Bigger~ still lean and you have a backwoods smell about you, but...we'll work with that~"
He frantically shook his head, "Yeah no, I'm not here for...whatever you thought, I mean it's good to see you, but I'm here for an investigation,"
"Aww...you're no fun, even holy knights know when to..." she began, trailing her finger on his armor, "Take a break every now and then~"
This time he backed up, "The answer's No... I told you who I had a crush on and who wished to court, I'm here to learn where your folks went when they were murdered,"
Aria sighed, before waving the elf out of the room, "Fine Reynold, you're a man hard to pull from duty...I like that in man~" clearing her throat, "Yes, my late parents were murdered on their way to the holy festival taken place near Luckwarden, got some invitation for it,"
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere," Rey sighed in relief, "Anything else stood out to you? like did they take someone with them?"
"Of course~ they took their favorite servant with them, cute guy if I say so myself, never like to talk much, not even to me..." she said with hint of sadness, "But as customary, they had to bring him...and now I hear my family's been slaughtered, and him gone completely..."
"I see, so they brought a servant with them before they were attacked, interesting..." He nodded, 'Same as the Calvinis family...his father brought a servant too and was killed soon after, are they connected?'
Aria nodded, "Yes, I wished I would've known if he was okay or not, this has been hard to deal with..."
"I'm sure it has..." He said flatly, 'With how she's got them all around here, makes me wonder why he may have ran off...' clearing his throat, "Is that all? or do you have more?"
"I believe that's all I can tell you, I don't know much since I didn't go, but maybe the Bernardus brothers know more on it, or the Luvenlis shut-in whos only been focused on her "Studies" but either of them should tell you more " she shrugged, "From what I heard about them, they never got along with their family much, so it goes to show you..."
Rey gave her a grin, "Alright, I'll speak to the brothers, hopefully, they're not in a "busy" mood, as well as the Heiress of the Luvenlis family,"
"So soon? but lunch is about to start~" She cooed, clapping her hands...
Two male Dark Elves entered with two dishes of stakes and two empty cups, not too soon after, the femboy elf and an actual maid entered with the maid standing next to Rey while the effeminate elf was next to the mistress of the house.
"Uh...I'm okay, really, I had breakfast this morning," Rey persisted, trying to stand up, until his shoulders were grabbed, forcing him back down, "Hey!"
The young Heiress laughed, "It's okay Rey, really~ it's been too long since we've had lunch together~" turning to the males, "You two, strip, NOW..." more demanding than a request.
When the two Dark Elves did as demanded, there was shock, anger, and jealousy.
Rey had his eyes covered, groaning, "By the goddess reborn, give me strength...!" he sighed, "Alright fine...ONE meal, ONE, and then I'm back to the investigation, deal?"
"Of course, unless you plan on staying for dessert ~" She teased, getting a scowl from not only Rey but the two lying men.
"ARIA!" he shouted.
"Yes yes, of course you can go, must you be a killjoy...?" the noblewoman laughed, turning to the two and pointing at the tables, watching them lay down, as the maids laid the plates, directly on their skin, nevermind how hot the food was...
Rey gave the elves a sympathetic look, mouthing the words, 'I'm so sorry about this...I really am...' while mentally screaming it.
The blonde woman had a happy grin, "Now then~ let's enjoy ourselves," going for one of the sides.
'It's just...a meal...nothing wrong with that...even if it's...on someone else...I'll just eat quickly and effectively, the faster I eat, the less this guy has to lay down here...' gulping loudly, giving the noblewoman a nervous smile, "T-to old friendships...!" shakingly holding up a wine cup.
"To old friendships!" she toasted back, cheering with him.
With Greil...
Greil sighed deeply before looking at the crystal.
"I see..." Greil thought before adding, "Taking one fortress down is a good thing, but we need to figure out where the other inquisitors are."
"According to the commander, there's three inquisitor fortresses left." a male voice said, "With one of them being the High Inquisitor Marpesia's fortress."
"Three more fortresses..." Greil sighed again before asking, "What about the survivors? Are they being taken care of?"
"Yes." the interlocutor responded, "Those who were malnourished began to follow a treatment of low quantity until they'll be able to eat normally... but for the others...? can't say the same..."
"What do you mean?" Greil sounded wary.
"According to Commander Niall, they were directly inflicted with something called Scarlet Rot." there was a strange silence, "We're trying to help them... mentally... but I don't know if it will work."
"What about the captain?" Greil asked.
"They are being cured at the moment." the interlocutor stated, "Since they aren't from this world, and most of them are... unique."
"Are they going to be alright?"
"Yes! Yes! It's just... that the damage they received from their magic needs to be treated alone." the interlocutor pointed.
Greil sighed for a third time before saying, "Make sure that they speak with someone."
"Right away!" and the call was cut off.
Back with Reynold...
When they finished with "Lunch" Reynold felt sick to his stomach as the young noblewoman had a satisfied grin on her face.
"See? told it wasn't that bad~" she cooed, licking her "Plate"
The young knight gagged, "I feel sick, I'm just glad it's over...!" he muttered, sobbing.
"What was that?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing! The food was great, really, I don't think I could eat. any. more..." Rey quickly responded, waving her down.
Aria glanced at his..."Plate" noting the last item, being a desert, "Oooooh~ looks like you forgot something~" motioning to it.
Rey looked at it and paled, "I'm not eating that...it's on his di- you know what?" standing up, "I believe that concludes my time here, I've seen enough..." turning and leaving.
"Oh come on! it's just one more thing!" she coaxed.
"NO! I'm not eating food off of another man's dick!" he snapped, turning around, "I don't know what's happened to you, but you changed and NOT for the better! whatever this is, if it's a moment of grief or just a brief moment of power, I hope you get over it soon, lest this friendship continues...until then...sort yourself out!" and like that, he left, not wanting to talk to the woman or her servant any further...
The noblewoman watched him leave with a bored expression, "Oh well, more for me~" lifting up the desert, confusing the elf, "Oh? You thought I meant that as a desert? Cute~" going down.
...
Once he left the Remonnet household, he made sure he was out of the gate, before he lurched over...
"BLUUUEEERRRGHH!" he vomited, the steak and other sides coming up, 'That was just gross...she really had me eating off of another guy, I mean I wouldn't even do it on a woman, but that there was too much...It'll be a long time until I come back HERE...ugh...' he mentally swore, wiping his lip of spittle, "Okay...I'm okay...lets hope, that the Brenadus brothers are less messed up in the head...!" making his way there...
At the Brenadus residence...
The young knight arrived at a golden gate, frowning and walking up to it, giving it a push, finding it open.
'Well...that's surprising, is anyone even home?' he mused, going past the gates...
When he made it on the lands, he found it to be very flourished with crops and livestock, the workers tending to it in an easygoing manner.
'Hmm, not like the other two, servants seem to love their job, weird...' walking up to the maid, finding her decked out in jewels and gold, "Excuse me? I'm looking for the Bernadus brothers...are they in?"
"Both masters are busy on their own terms." the maid replied, "But I'm sure that they would give you a moment." she then guided him to a room, "If you would please wait."
Rey gave a nod, taking a seat at a marble table, 'Finally, a normal household, or seemingly so...but I've never personally met these guys, Troy has and was furious after...beginning to wonder why...'
The door to the office then opens, and two guys in Roman-style armor with diamonds all over them, one blonde and the other with black hair step in, making him turn around and cover his eyes.
"By the goddess, it's so bright! What is that?" He yelled, trying to see.
The blonde brother laughed, "Ah apologies there, my diamonds have a tendency to be brighter than usual,"
"Mine too, then again I have wine-colored diamonds, paid over 100,000 gold for this work!" the second brother joined in.
Rey had an unamused expression, "Right...Anyway," standing up giving a bow, "I'm Reynold Von Musel, a holy knight investigating what's been happening to the families, I heard your father was also an attendee, correct?"
"Yeah, he was...but look where that got him," The blonde brother snorted, "Even worse, the old man decided not to invite us after the party we had in here a week ago..."
"It was a legendary party, more so than that light festival, I get it's private, but we're his two heirs, why didn't we go?" the Brunnette brother asked.
Rey sighed, "It's probably a good thing you didn't go, that killer would've taken you with your father, and I've met that guy, he damn near cleaved me in two...twice...!"
"That strong huh? well, that remains to be seen, after all, where father had to go, there's no way anyone's that strong," The blonde chuckled.
The young knight gave them a look of disbelief, "Right...until you actually go down there yourself, your dad probably thought the same thing..." shaking his head, "Anyway, did he get an invitation? perhaps leave it behind?"
The two brothers thought on that until the Brunette widened his eyes...
"Come to think of it, we do have something... Father took the invitation himself, but there was also a strange stone he got with it," he paused, clapping his hands, calling in a maid, "Could you fetch the stone that came with the invitation the late lord got...that strange sapphire one..."
"Of course, my lord." the maid bowed before heading to another room.
"Now then, while we wait on her, might as well give you our names," The blonde introduced, "I'm the eldest brother of the family, Tarren Brenadus," shaking his hand.
The second brother offered his, "And I'm Jalen Brenadus, the brains of the two, very nice to meet your Reynold, your brother is an ass by the way,"
"Tell me something I don't know...guess he must've really struck a chord with you two," The young knight sighed.
"More than you know man, he crashed one of our parties once, had to shut it down because he was jealous," Tarren pointed.
Jalen gave the knight a smile, "But you seem more...interesting than he was, Hope you don't bore us,"
'What's that supposed to mean...? as If I'm your source of entertainment...!' he mentally growled, frowning.
At that moment, the maid returned and gave a small box to the eldest brother.
"Thank you, here's a raise," The eldest thanked, handing her a decent gold pouch, "Buy something nice for you and the kids,"
Rey rose an eyebrow, 'Hold on...they ACTUALLY pay their workers? Is this a hot flash or something...? I don't get it,"
"Thank you, master!" the maid bowed before leaving the room.
Rey was flabbergasted, as the younger brother opened the box, "You...you guys pay your workers?"
"Of course! a good attitude means great results," Tarren answered.
"And Great results equals greater profits!" the younger brother added in, making them both laugh jovially.
The young knight smiled, "You know what? I think you guys have a different view compared to most I've met, it's...refreshing, I expected worse,"
"There would be nothing to gain from making our workers suffer, all that we'd gain from it would be bitter resentment and hatred, which we'd lose at the end... the farm would be destroyed, and us, most likely dead...and we can't have that as the next heads of the family," The older brother explained.
Rey nodded, "I can understand that... you want to be different and you're proving it, your workers are happy, you're happy and the farms are ripe with crops...I'd say you're doing the right thing, both of you..." checking out the stone the younger brother handed him, frowning at the sigil on it, "This...is the church's sigil...so they're the ones hosting the event then?"
"Yeah, but if I'm being honest, I've never trusted the church, they seem to have more than one motive, and..." rubbing the back of his neck "there's the rumor of what they do to kids, eh...that's bad for business, especially if we're trying to expand..." Jalen pointed, "Though someday, I hope to be as good of a bard as the top one in Feoh is,"
"Wait...you know Jenelica?" Rey asked with a hard frown.
"Of course, she comes by sometimes to help Jalen with his singing lessons, and he's been better for it," Tarren laughed, slapping his brother's shoulder, "Ain't that right bro?"
"Oh stop it you! I'm not that good yet, I'm still working on it," Jalen said bashfully.
The elder brother laughed, "You're fine, you're fine brother! I keep telling you, you're just shy!"
Reynold chuckled with them, "Well, while I would like to hear what you've got, unfortunately, I have to get back to my investigation and I'm sure you guys are busy,"
They both nodded...
"Yeah, we were leading a project before we met up with you and I'm sure they need direction for it," Tarren pointed, offering a handshake, "It was nice meeting you Reynold, you can keep that stone, we don't need it... maybe when you're off your case you can come by sometime, get a real tour of the household,"
The young knight nodded with a grin, completing the handshake, "I'd like that, I'll definitely take that offer up," letting go and shaking the other brother's hand.
"I'm glad to hear that," The elder brother grinned, "I'll walk you out, Jalen, let them I'll be back in few,"
"Gladly bro, see you around Rey," The younger brother waved, leaving them both as they headed for the exit.
...
Once back outside of the gate, Rey waved to the workers and Tarren who waved back with friendly smiles.
Watching him walk off, the Elder bro sighed, "He was a nice kid, better than what I expected...hope he really comes back, I know that job he's working can be a dead-end one" getting nods from the Elves there.
"Yet, you believe that he survived by luck?" a Dark Elf assassin appeared next to them.
The elder brother nearly jumped, "Whoa...! jumpscare! Please don't do that," regaining his breath, "And judging from the armor and scary aura, I'm going to assume you're a dark blade, heard uh...many stories about you, enough to know I don't want any..." hands up defensively, "What is...the purpose of the visit?"
"The thing you discussed with Regis." the assassin replied before giving them two different letters, "One says if you are in that circle, and the second letter says if the Council accepted the trading with your family."
Tarren nodded, "Ah, I was wondering if we'd get a response from them, thank you, I'll have an answer soon," with a polite bow.
The Dark Blade said nothing and disappeared like she wasn't there.
The older brother sighed, "That was unsettling, could've done without the scare..." turning to the other workers, "Come on, let's get back, and you're all on break, you've earned it,"
"I do hope that you're not scared." Regis appeared out of a mist, "Those assassins are hard to control if you're not the General."
The elder brother gave the man a grin, "Well, if isn't lord Regis himself, it's an honor" giving a bow, " And not really scared, although the way they pop up like that would make anybody nervous," gently waving the elves away, "So I take it, you're here for the answer to what you asked, had the time to think about it...and to be honest, we'd have nothing to lose with joining you," glancing back at the main building, "But I'd like my brother's opinion on it though, and he's in a project at the moment, I can fetch him so we can discuss terms further with you,"
"We can go see him right now." Regis said with a smile, "I did put things in order with my underlings, so I got the time I wasn't planning to have."
Tarren nodded, "Okay, then we make the best of it, let's go," walking with Regis to the main building...
When Rey arrived at the Luvenlis residence, he felt the chill of death and noticed some guards dead.
"What in the name of...?" He gasped, looking around, "What's happened here...?" finding some strange rot on the guards, 'Is this from a disease...? must be, but why die out here...? I don't like this...'
Further into the grounds, he found other guards and some Holy Knights pierced by spear-like arrows.
Rey frowned at that, drawing his sword, 'More dead...what has happened here...? Did the killer do this...?' going up to the main door, and knocking on it, opening it slowly, 'Okay, someone's definitely here...either the mistress herself or the invader...time to find out...' quietly going in.
Upon navigating the blood-soaked halls, he noticed not a single dark elf servant was amongst these corpses, putting a worried expression as he pressed on the ghost mansion...eventually, he hears a clicking and clacking, putting him on alert as it got closer and closer to him.
'What is that...? Sounds like it's getting closer...' he mused, tightening the grip on his sword.
Some sort of knight appeared out of a corner, a longsword soaked in blood.
Rey froze upon seeing him, 'A knight? doesn't look like one I know either...' pointing his sword at him, "Did you do this...? if so, why?!" he demanded, expecting anything.
"A survivor..." a sweet and faint feminine voice was heard from the knight in front of him, "This place needs to be clean for Fia..."
Rey frowned at the voice, "Whoa time out, I'm just getting here, I've been investigating what's been happening to the family patrons, and this is what I find? I pray you haven't killed the owner yet... furthermore, who's this "Fia" you mentioned?"
The knight began to slowly walk toward Rey as a green mist began to appear on the sword.
He readied his own sword, 'Not in a talking mood? fine...' taking a stance, gathering silver light in his sword, "This how you want it? bring it on then!"
"You are a threat to Fia... anyone with that armor is a threat to Fia..." The strange knight walked three more steps before dashing forward, swinging the sword horizontally.
Rey quickly jumped away from the gases, trying not to breathe it in, 'Not a genius, but even I know that's toxic gas...' Before sending a slicing vertical wave at the knight, "I have no idea who that even is!" going in for a hard swing, sending another.
The knight dodged before that the image of a white dragon head appeared above her and took a deep breath.
He saw the head about to spit something until he ran around the corner, and out of the house an explosion of rot gas blasted out when he hid around the corner followed by a dragon's roar...
'Dammit, that's almost like...!' Reynold thought with a wide-eyed expression, thoughts going back to the man in red while holding his nose to the gas, 'Is that what killed the guards?'
Slow steps could be heard going away, meaning that the knight believed that she managed to kill Rey.
Reynold huffed, the gas disappearing, 'Look like she's off of me for now...but I have move to lord of the house quickly, otherwise, this would've been for nothing...' looking around, spotting an open window, 'And I think I just found my way in...' going over to it and climbing in, to what appears to be the dining room, 'No ones around, good...I just need to keep an eye out for the knight and I'll be able to make it...' heading further in.
The young knight wandered the hall quietly, hearing the heavy steps in another part of the hall, 'She's away from here...but where's the lord's office?' looking around the area, until he spotted two large doors up the staircase, 'Found it...' quickly making his way there, finding it locked, 'Smart, looks like that knight hasn't gotten here yet, I wonder...' Gently knocking on the door...
There was silence at the door until small footsteps could be heard, "W-who is it...?" a frail voice came from behind it.
"It's okay, I'm the holy knight investigating what's been happening, I've seen also what happened to your guards, could you let me in?"
The door cracked open slightly, revealing a meek face with dark hair and dark bags under her eyes, "You...you're not with that other knight...come in, quickly...!" opening the door up wide enough for him to squeeze through, before closing it again, locking it...
Reynold gave the heiress a good look over, "Are you...the Luvenlis girl?"
"I am...and the last of the household," She answered, "I'm Stella Luvenlis, and you are?"
"Reynold Von Musel, holy knight," The young man bowed, "I'm here to find out what happened to your family,"
"Ah, that sordid affair..." She answered, "Ever since my parents were murdered on the way there, things have been at all-time low and then we hear about another knight who's been killing the others, I had hoped they would've sent help, but no one came..." leading into the office, "Whatever it is you want to know, I'm willing to share,"
Rey nodded, "Do you have anything, an invitation to the party they were going to? I've already asked the other noble houses about it, it led here,"
"I do, but it's my laboratory," She sighed, walking over to the bookshelves, "But, lucky for us my father was a scientist, this room has a secret passageway to it," pulling a book, making the whole thing open up, revealing staircases that lead further in the dark, "This way...!" ushering him in.
'A secret passageway...? Just what kind of secrets does this family have...?' he thought, going down the stairs.
Once she was the last one in, her bookcase shut on itself, making a noise when it did...
Heavy footsteps approached and opened the door, after some minutes of searching, the footsteps went away.
Hidden laboratory...
Rey followed the meek girl through the halls, grimacing at what looked like people behind large glass containers, as well as body parts, both human and monster in jars, 'This was her father's work? what kind of madness is all of this...?' noting the mutate female elf, as they reached the main chamber.
Stella went up to her desk and Rey a parchment with a golden sigil on the back, "Here, it's the invitation, Father took the stone with him as a passage for that party but left this here, I'm glad too, I know what got him killed..."
"Thank you, and we'll get to the bottom of that, but first," looking around at the test tubes, "Is this your father's work or yours?"
"Mostly his, he was...rather envious of the monster races of our world, to the point he wanted to give humanity an edge going against them," Stella pointed, "You can see... the results there," motioning to the tubes.
Rey nodded, feeling sick to his stomach, "Yeah...horrid mutations...much like these, I pray they never break out of the tubes,"
"Actually...some already have, which is why I hid, they damn-near massacred the guards and almost all the workers, they fled..." She sighed, shaking her head, "That invader, actually picked an awful time to show up...hope either one or two things happen, either the invader dies or they kill the rabid mutants...either way makes no difference to me..."
Heavy footsteps could be heard at the same time as fast steps, when the two footsteps were close, a slashing sound was heard, and a loud thud followed it. Two more fast steps were heard heading there, only for a dragon's roar to be heard.
Rey rose an eyebrow at the sounds, "Sounds like our friend up there has gotten started with cleaning them up, and it sounds like my work is here done, be seeing you," giving her a bow.
"Ah, wait...! Please..." She pleaded, getting his attention, "If you're leaving, take me with you...it won't be long before that killer knight gets to me,"
The young knight gave her a look, "That depends...how much involved were you in these?"
"I...only helped, but I was not responsible for the mutations...please, I'll admit everything, just...don't leave me alone with that..." Stella begged.
He thought about it for a moment, until he sighed in defeat, "Okay, fine...I'll get you out of here, but no funny business, understand? I'm serious, I WILL leave you to your fate here,"
"I promise not to be a nuisance, and I'll guide you out through a shortcut,"
Rey nodded in approval, "Alright then, that's what I like to hear, let's go..." escorting her out of the lab...
Once outside, they saw a woman in black robes walking in the halls.
"Who's that...?" Stella asked in a whisper.
Rey shook his head, "No Idea, I say we stay clear of her, this could be that Fia woman that knight mentioned...is there another way out?" he whispered back.
"Yeah, over here, come on," She directed, being the first to sneak off.
Reynold was about to follow, turning around from the robed woman until...
"You are wearing the same armor as the ones who tried to attack me." it was the woman, "Which means that you are my enemy by nature."
She began to pray and the knight began to walk toward them until she reached the hall they were in.
Rey frowned, drawing his sword, "That may be, but I had no quarrel with you, not until you called that knight back, I was leaving otherwise..."
"The lies that they told us made sure to prepare us to never trust the words from any of them again." the woman said before looking at a dead Dark Elf maid, "The poor dear." she took the dead maid and held her in a hug.
"Fia doesn't want any survivor here..." The knight began to slowly walk toward the two nobles.
Rey quickly turned to Stella, "Go, I'll catch up soon,"
"But they'll-" She started to interject.
"JUST GO!" he snapped, making her run out of the room, before focusing his attention back on the two, "It's amazing, how you can look at one's armor and judge them accordingly, and yet you expect us to be different... the irony is rich..." pulling out a small pot.
The dead maid began to open her eyes and look around.
"W-Where am I?" she asked before looking at the woman holding her.
"You don't have to worry anymore." the maid began to blush as the woman began to pat her head, "I got those that could be saved and promised them to let them live here with nothing to worry about." she then waved her hand and a strange light appeared, "Follow it and it will guide you to the other."
"T-Thank you." the maid got up and began to follow the light.
The knight crouched and covered her blade with a green substance.
"That armor is my target..." The knight then rushed, ready to cut the Holy Knight.
Rey was about to strike, feinting it and throwing the pot into the helmet with a bright splash, swinging the sword low when she staggered.
Before the sword could reach he was struck by a hammer by a spectral soldier.
"I won't let you harm her." the woman walked before adding, "I'm the Deathbed Companion Fia, and that is my dearest champion Hildegard. You will suffer the same fate as those other knights who had the same armor."
At the same moment, the knight Hildegard recovered and drew another blade in her free hand.
Rey backstepped away from both, gritting his teeth, igniting his sword in a holy aura, "Fine, then you shall both fall here...!" rushing at the knight with a barrage of strikes, his anger growing in the process.
Hildegard dodged every last one of them before finding the chance to grab his hand and tossed him to the ground.
"You have no chance of winning." Fia said as the spectral knight walked to protect her, "You should run away while you still can."
Rey growled, kicking the knight away, standing up,, "You had your chance...we didn't have to meet...and still you persisted...you think you're the good guys here? Allow me to prove you wrong..." his sword shining brighter, lightning arcing over it.
"I see... you've chosen to die here," Fia said as some sort of spectral battlemage appeared next to Hildegard.
The battlemage waved a staff, creating five floating swords while Hildegard charged, ready to strike with both weapons.
Rey picked up one of the corpses and tossed it at them, which got cut in two with a spray of blood, using this chance, gave two slashes to the champion's armor, leaving deep grooves, picking up another body to shield him from the swords, dropping it, and discharging a sword wave at the knight.
Hildegard rolled out of the way and unleashed a cloud of poison that was heading for Rey.
He quickly covered his nose, 'Dammit, more of that poison gas...I gotta get out of here...' spotting a window, ducking from the swing of the hostile knight before beelining for the widow, crashing out of it.
Hildegard took a great bow and began to aim at Rey.
The young knight glanced back to find her aiming before the arrow came flying, prompting him to dodge and find cover when it destroyed a small shack.
'Damn...she's using a great bow...not good... I can't fire back and getting close isn't an option,' he thought, looking around the destroyed wreckage, spotting many crossbows and bows, most of them broken until he found one with a square chamber under it, untouched,'is that...? it couldn't be...' rolling over to it, avoiding the line of fire, and picking it up, testing the chamber, checking for ammo, 'Already loaded...good...' pulling back the hammer, causing it to lock in place, 'I hope you're as good as you look...' moving behind a tree, firing three bolts back at the window.
The knight evaded the bolts before aiming at the center of the tree.
Rey quickly moved from the tree when he saw her reload, taking a low crouch and going behind another shed, 'There's got to be a way to turn this around, maybe not win, but just enough to get away...' thinking on it, until he remembered something, reaching into his backpack and pulled out small flash bombs, 'It might be a gamble, but it's worth a shot...' tying them on his next three bolts, loading them in, and firing three normal shots at the window.
The knight dodged but was late in noticing the bombs.
The series of flashes went off, prompting the young knight that his time there has come to an end, making a break towards the grounds gates, barreling through them as he ran down the road.
When he stopped and noticed he was far away from the entire manor, he huffed, out of breath, "By...the...goddess...I can't believe that worked...I actually got away," catching his breath, looking around, "I don't see her following, but I also don't see where the heiress went...oh well, atleast she got away...time I reported back to Regis, I think I've got all the evidence I need..." looking at the invitation.
Back in the manor, Fia looked and noticed that the Holy Knight escaped.
"It matters not, we got what we wanted; a place where no one will come bother us." Fia pointed before noticing the elven servants.
"We... we would like to serve you." a maid said as the others nodded in confirmation, "You gave us back our lives, so it's only fair that we use it to serve you."
"I see." Fia looked distant before adding, "Do as you want."
Back at the Brenadus household...
The brothers were now seated in front of Regis, with the letters opened on the table.
"Thank you for coming lord Regis," the Elder brother said, "Could we get you anything? A drink perhaps?"
"No need to worry." Regis laughed before adding, "You both know what I am, and you know that I don't need to drink anymore."
The younger brother nodded, "That we do, but you've never wronged us, and you had many chances, I know our father wasn't easy to call friend, no?"
"He was... unique to say the least." Regis responded, "But to do what he did to the Dark Elves... I was disappointed. Not in my many years have I seen such a thing."
The brothers nodded...
"We share the sentiment, they were kind to us as kids, even broke bread with them most of the time, it hurt seeing him do that...especially since one of them was our teacher," Tarren said in a somber tone, "I'm not one to wish bad or ill of the dead, but...with all that he was doing, it was bound to come back in some way..."
"We just took what all he had and made the most of it..." The younger brother added, "The workers have been happier for it ever since, in a way that one would've taken offense, but we know how he was...he wasn't even kind to us,"
"You see in the far future; something that you share with Swain." Regis mused, "Although, he saw that you have both the will and the vision of those that know what needs to be done." he then took a moment as a bat flew in, taking the appearance of a soldier.
"My Lord." he bowed, "I've come to report what happened in the house of the Luvenlis."
Regis nodded as the soldier used blood magic to show the three all the events that transpired in the house.
"Well... it seems that the sins of the house came to take what was due..." Regis sighed, "Still... to be able to bring the dead back to life is simply fascinating."
Jalen narrowed his eyes at the familiar holy knight, "We just met him, can't believe he ended up there...was he one of yours?"
"Fortunately, no." Regis sighed, "He was sent by Swain to see if he can join us. He apparently passed the test in Feoh, where he showed that he has initiative. But here, he showed narrowed thinking and behavior that isn't what we're looking for."
Tarren gave it a stare, before sighing, "I see, maybe he didn't have a choice...and if we think about it, his profession is more trouble than he is...I pray he does find himself one day..." turning for the image, "That said, you wished for us join the bird of prey? correct?"
"Yes." Regis nodded, "With my recommendation, as well as the bard's. Swain studied your case closely before agreeing. According to him; the one necessary test that was for you is passed, therefore, you are to be integrated in the Birds of Prey whenever you feel like you're ready."
Both brothers glanced at each other and grinned, turning back to him.
"It is an honor, especially from the illustrious lord himself, after all, we've heard of the work they do from the others here, not a complaint in each tone,"
"We accept, honestly we thought we had to be holy knights first, but if you're all offering, we'd be fools to refuse..." Jalen added with a smile, "There's also the other deal, you want us to open trades with the secret city, yes?"
"It would be more of a gain to both of you." Regis pointed out, "Humans forgot the ways of old, how things were done in rules of the art, making weapons and armor weak. Not to mention that you would get access to the best magic sources to aid you in whatever project you wish to conduct."
Both brothers went into thought upon that, humming on it for a second.
"I see, by opening Trade with the holy army's worst enemies, we'll get more advanced goods and architects for future projects...I like the sounds of that, and we would be able to get our businesses out there too, more than we would with them...and our people here would appreciate that," Tarren concluded, "We accept those terms as well, my brother Jalen is the brainy type, he'll help with those trade lines,"
Jalen nodded with a grin, "It won't take long to scout and establish one, especially away from the eyes of the holy forces...but the problem is security...ever since our father passed, those that used to be here all left, not wanting to listen to "A couple of idiots" and since then, we've been dealing with a group of them that show up to take..."Contributions" for the war, if they're not harassing our people..." sighing, "We want in on this deal, but we also want more security for everyone here, I'm sure you can understand,"
"I can arrange to have a unit of fighters led by four Kletzkrieg, and two Dark Blades that can follow you as your shadows to assure your safety." Regis responded, "Of course, you can choose what you specifically want in those forces and a number of soldiers that doesn't exceed 10,000 men."
The older brother laughed, "Oh don't worry about that, we don't need THAT many, twenty or thirty will do just fine, long as those knights don't come back,"
"But you know they are brother, show up every week..." Jalen sighed, "But as for the trading, we will get the preparations for that, in a week or so, it'll be ready,"
Regis took a Communication Crystal and gave it to the eldest brother, "This will get you in contact with a man named Gronik. Explain everything, and he will give you what you desire concerning military protection. Now, if you excuse me, I need to deal with something." he then turned into mist and went away.
Ulak village, healers camp...
Lucien, sat with one of Niall's men, wearing robes and arms covered in bandages, taking the berries that were offered to him.
"Thank you, you guys are lifesavers," taking a bite of one, frowning, "My word...! Better tasting than they look," eating the other two quickly.
"Easy there." the soldier said as he gave berries to others, "Those are... not from here. The Commanders didn't want to waste them, but he'd have failed his duty if he would have let these people die since they're citizens of both Feoh and Ur."
"I see, must be rare to find even there..." he said, "I take it the others got theirs too?"
"The commander said that there's a recipe for it... but he doesn't know it." the soldier replied before going to someone else.
The imperial nodded, standing up, 'Guess I should check on the others, I know they moved the boss to the temple for his burns, so everyone else should be here...' Looking around, he spotted one of the two guards in at Inigo's tent, going over to it, "Excuse me? is he able to see anyone?"
They looked between themselves before nodding.
They let him to Inigo dressing up in borrowed robes, thanking the gold knight.
"Thank you for the robes my friend, I'm sure no one would've wanted me walking around here naked," he chuckled, eating one of the berries.
"Just be careful not to get infected again." the knight warned, "This is the only time that we'd give away our resources like that to people that aren't citizens of Feoh."
"I will try to keep that in mind, didn't know diseases like this existed," He shuddered, "I hope the others are okay," pocketing the rest.
Lucien cleared his throat, "Hey, is this a bad time?"
"Lucien! I was wondering how you were!" giving him a bro hug, "Good to see you and...you look worse than me,"
"Eh...picked a bad time to use lightning, that's for sure," The imperial sighed, shaking his head, "So what happened to you? you don't seem all that hurt,"
The khajiit laughed, "Not really no, the only thing I had to go against me was my own energy, it was like I couldn't get up...other than that I'm okay, minus the mental scars,"
"Like we need more of those, I was checking on everyone, did you want to tag along?" The imperial asked, getting a nod.
"Sure~ we can both check on them," Inigo grinned, turning to the gold knight, "Am I clear to go out?"
"Do whatever you want." the knight replied before exiting the tent, "I need to check on others."
Inigo nodded, "Alright then," turning to Lucien, "Let us go," being the first one out.
The imperial smiled, following him out...
Once back outside, the khajiit took a deep breath, "It missed this, so how are seeing first?"
"Wanted to check on Recorder, I know she didn't have magic drawbacks, but I'm more worried about how her head is right now...I saw her face before they took her in," Lucien said somberly, "I think she blames herself,"
"Been there and done that, I know how she feels too," Inigo nodding in agreement, "Guess we're going to see her now, yes?"
Lucien sighed, "We can, but I don't know how that's going to go...last I checked, she was a few tents down from mine, so she should be there...come on,"
Recorder's tent...
The young woman sat in her bedroll with a void blank stare, everything that happened, reappearing to her in hot flashes, from the burning hole to the final confrontation there, but the one memory that kept haunting her was what she found in the cellar...more so than the other memories...
"Come now, you need to eat those." a Dark Elf knight said as she handed her the berries, "What would your friend think if you give up?"
She blinked out of her trance, rubbing her eyes, "You're...right, I'm sorry...thank you..." taking the berries, eating one of them.
"You don't need to worry about those." the knight blinked at her, "They're from my personal reserves."
At that moment, Dargo entered with bandages on his hands.
"How're you doing?" he asked her as he took a chair to sit in front of her.
She smiled at him, "Hey Dargo...I'm doing better, these berries are helping with that..." The smile faded, "As for...trying to process everything that went on back there...that's a different story..."
"There's an old saying among Dark Elves 'Ní féidir an chloch bhriste a dheisiú, ach is féidir í a úsáid chun maitheas a dhéanamh.', which means that whatever is broken cannot be repaired, but used to do something good." Dargo sighed before adding, "We used that to get all our negative emotions into anger toward our oppressors. That... was a bad idea, after all, anger can cause you to do unspeakable things. After some retaliations, our queen decided to abandon that saying, having us think more about our people, not our little ego. There was some unhappiness to it, but it changed when we discovered the Earthmother, we had something to guide us after feeling abandoned by the Goddess Reborn. during that time, we saw what kind of atrocities we did with our hatred. Therefore, to make sure that it doesn't happen again, Queen Olga made the Scaoileadh Fola tournament." he sighed before looking at her in the eyes, "What I meant to point is; beating yourself about it, won't make things to be perfect, neither is to let go of everything. What needs to be done, is to look forward and learn from today's mistakes to make sure that our spirit strengthens for any ordeal that might come in any future moment."
She was surprised by that statement, for more than one reason, making her slightly chuckle, "That...is probably the most I've ever heard you speak...but you're not wrong, I've just never thought about it that way..." she sighed, "Thank you...for speaking your mind on it, it's less about letting go or being angry and just more about dealing with the aftershock of it all..." giving a reassuring smile, "I'll be okay, Dargo, I just need a bit of time..." noticing the bandages on his hands, furrowing her brow, "Your hands...are you in any pain?"
"Used to feel Frostbite." Dargo looked at his hands before looking back to Recorder, "When I was training with my element, the elementals used to hit me with Frostbite a lot."
"Ouch...I can see how you got used to it," she slightly chuckled, "Wish I had an element like that myself, unfortunately, I'm not good with magic, wouldn't know how to draw it, but there was this one water staff..." trailing off...
Before she could continue, there were footsteps heard at the entrance of the tent.
"Excuse me, we're here to see our friend, can we go in?" she heard Inigo ask.
"Sure..." the guards sounded nervous.
They were let in, surprising both Dargo and Record, putting a smile on her face.
"Hey guys, you seem to doing well," She said, glancing at Lucien's arms, "And those are from...?"
"Was using a shock spell when it turned against me, gave me a few electrical burns but, they're healing nicely," The imperial smiled.
Inigo gave Dargo a nod, "Hey there, Dargo, you checking up on her~?" in a teasing tone, wriggling his eyebrow, "I'd be careful though, she bites..."
"Only to you, you furry prick..." She growled through her teeth, blushing, "Do we have to do this now?"
"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry," The khajiit laughed waving her down, "But seriously, how are you doing?"
"Better than Zephyr that sure." the Dark Elf sighed before adding, "Her element is air, so I let you imagine what happened to her..."
They winced at that, Inigo rubbing his neck...
"Yeah, we saw that... she was choking...I hope she recovers from it," Inigo sighed, "Speaking of I wonder how Erik's doing, he seemed better than the rest of us..."
"Yeah, from what I got, he was infected too, but we haven't visited him yet, was on my way before going to Yuri," Lucien pointed, "At least she wasn't using fire magic, that would've been awful..." getting nothing but silence, "What?"
Recorder facepalmed, "Lucien...there was somebody that was using fire magic, and we saw how that went..."
"Yeah...the captain..." Inigo deeply sighed, "We were honestly going to visit him last since they moved him to the temple, must've been bad enough,"
"If I recall, I think Keelia had something to do with that, she lead them out with him..." Record said in a hum, "I'll join you guys in a bit, but first..." giving Dargo a saddened look, "We need to talk...and it's not about what happened recently...the other thing...could you give us a moment...?"
Both Inigo and Lucien glanced at each other, before nodding in agreement,
"Sure Record, we'll come back once we made our visits," the imperial agreed, turning to Inigo, "To Erik then?"
"Yeah, we'll see you guys later, good luck," Inigo said, leaving the tent with Lucien...
Once they were gone she sighed, giving a smile, "Before I get there, thank you for being an actual friend to me and not a total creep...you've been nothing but kind to me...and I owe you for that...I really do..." she finished.
He simply shook his head as he said, "It's not a big deal. I... thought that I can... be friendly to you since..." Dargo began to look away as a blush began to appear on his face.
This time she caught that, a slight one appearing on her face, sighing it off, placing her hand on hers, "It's okay, I-I think I get it, which is why I do need to tell you this..." her eyes shadowing over, "I...might know who that "killer" knight is...and you're not going to like it..."
At that, Dargo's expression turned serious as he looked Recorder straight in the eyes.
Meanwhile, at Erik's tent...
The Nord ate two of the berries offered to him, his breathing stabilizing after a moment, taking a deep breath.
"Thank you, I was having a hard time breathing there," He thanked with a friendly grin, "How's...Zephyr doing?"
"She... I don't know." the knight sighed, "Due to the drawback of having the air turned against her, she was poisoned with the air she breaths as well as the Scarlet Rot."
Erik's face went sullen, "I...I see..." looking down, "I would still like to see her, whenever she's available..."
"Whenever she'd be ready to see people, we'd let you know." the knight responded before leaving the tent.
Erik slowly nodded, standing up and popping his neck, 'I should've asked where he was keeping our stuff, guess I will when he comes back,' he mused until he heard footsteps approach the tent.
"Oh hey there," he heard, sounding familiar, "We're looking for Erik, is he in there?"
He frowned at the voice, 'Lucien...? What's he doing here?'
"Yes." the guard stationed outside responded.
In moments the tent opens with both Inigo and Lucien walking in, the former grinning at him.
"Guys! Good to see you!" Erik smiled back, walking up to them, noting Lucien's bandages, "What happened to you?"
"Eh, lightning, was blasting one of the holy knights with a thunderbolt before it turned on me, doesn't hurt so much now," Lucien explained, "What about you? how are you feeling?"
The Nord sighed, "Better now, before I got the medicine though, I was coughing up a storm...was it the same for you guys?"
"Sorta, I ended up eating all of mine," Lucien chuckled, rubbing the back of his head, "What? I didn't want it to get worse,"
Erik shook his head, "You do know that eating one or just two of those are enough right?"
"I realized that after the fact, yeah..." the imperial answered flatly, feeling embarrassed.
Inigo chuckled, handing him one of his, "Here my friend, you shouldn't be without one at least, but do save it,"
"Thank you, Inigo, I'll be sure to," he thanked, taking it.
The Nord chuckled, "So what are guys doing? you seem to be out about,"
"We're checking up on you guys, after you, we were going to see how Yuri's doing, and then..." Lucien trailed off.
"We were going to check on our Captain, see how his injuries turned out..." Inigo finished for him, shrugging at his look.
Erik nodded, "Thought about going myself, since I heard that Zephyr is still in a bad condition, heard the air she was manipulating poisoned her on top of her getting what we had,"
The other two winced at that...
"That's why she was choking, by the nine...is she going to be okay?" Lucien gasped.
The Nord looked unsure, "I...don't know, it sounds serious, but I know I can't go there until they're done..." Turning to them, "That said, do you mind if I tag along? might as well try to take my mind off worrying,"
"Sure Erik, we don't mind at all, we were going to ask ourselves," Inigo nodded, "And plus we might peek at how she's doing, maybe not go in, that should be enough,"
"Sounds good to me, let's go," Erik concurred, following them out...
Yuriana's tent...
The Redhead took one of the berries and ate one, humming at the taste, "Thank you, it wasn't bad tasting either, almost wish I knew how make it myself," with a smile, fixing up her robe.
"Well, the Commander said that he doesn't know how to do it." a female knight replied as she gathered some bandages, "I need to check on something." when she got out, a centaur entered.
"Are you the one they call Yuriana?" he asked.
The Redhead nodded, "I am, what's this about?" with an eyebrow raised.
"I've been asked to give you this." he took a familiar hammer from the bag on his back, "They said that it was easily cleansed."
She took the hammer back with a grin, "Thank you, I didn't think I would see this until later, how's the rest of the gear coming along?" sitting it down.
"Well, it's been damaged badly..." his eyes trailed off to her breasts before that he averted them quickly, "So! I don't know what they're going to do about it!"
Yuri sighed, "I see, well, depending on how damaged they are, we'll be able to repair them," before frowning at him, "You okay? you look flush"
"W-Well... t-there's nothing wrong." the centaur replied while trying to look at anything beside her, 'I can't say that she put me in rut! Damn my instinct!'
She nodded but still had a skeptical expression, "I see, alright then, if that's all, thanks for the hammer," with a gentle smile.
the centaur cleared his throat before exiting the tent.
She watched him leave, smirking and walking over to her hammer, 'He was definitely staring, which I get but...' shaking her head, inspecting the hammer until she noticed three shadows from outside of the tent...
"Hello there~ we're looking for our friend, Yuri, is she in there?" She heard Inigo ask.
"Yes, she's inside." it was the centaur's voice.
Yuriana smiled at that, 'Ah good, I was wondering how they were holding up...'
The tent flap opens with the trio of men walking in, "Hey boys~ you're looking good for all that fighting back there,"
"Yeah, that was a surprise even for me," Lucien said, motioning to his bandages.
Yuriana chuckled, "Indeed, I'm glad you're doing better, all of you, well, most of you, where's Recorder?"
"She said she had something to talk about with Dargo, that's as much as we know, she didn't acquire further," Inigo pointed.
The Redhead nodded, "I see...well, best not to interrupt them then," smirking, "So what else are you guys doing?"
"We were about to go visit the boss next, we thought about checking up on him since he was moved," Erik told her.
"Ah, that...I was actually about to stop there myself, but the priestesses might not let you in, depending on the work they're doing," Yuri sighed, "I want to see him as much as you guys, but again..."
Lucien nodded, "I know...but that's why we're going to see him, to see if they'll let us in...they may be more lenient, thanks to our rescue..."
"So are you game...?" The khajiit asked with an eyebrow raised.
She thought about it for a moment, until she sighed in defeat, "You know what, to oblivion with it, I'll tag along," with a daring grin, "I'm ready whenever you guys are,"
"Splendid, now we've got a party going," the imperial joked, as they left the tent.
Earthmother's temple, healer's room...
From within the healer's room, the Commander was in front of a sleeping man, whose face and arms were covered in bandages...
"It's not going to get back on him, right?" Niall asked.
"This isn't magic, but natural regeneration through alchemy." the priestess pointed, "And we did manage to give him a Preserved Boluse."
"Good." the commander nodded as the priestess exited the room.
Once she was out of the room, the commander was about to leave when he heard a chuckle from behind him.
"So, she left already huh? that's a shame, and I was about to thank her for all the work her and the others put in," red glowing eyes coming out of the bandages, narrowing on the old man, "You're that commander...of the gold knights, I remember you...thank you for helping us out there, not sure how that was going to go..." sitting up.
"Well kid, I am the protector of the citizens of both Feoh and Ur." Niall chuckled before adding, "I had no idea that an Inquisitor was there... and all that he's done..."
"We're in the same boat when it comes to that," The bandaged Redguard agreed, "We didn't know what we were heading into ourselves, only followed the trail there..." pausing for a second, "What that inquisitor did to our magic was surprising...never had a fire spell turn against me like that, nevertheless burned by it...I'll have to come up with a counter for the next time we meet..." not hiding his venom there, sitting up to the side of the bed.
"You need to learn how to fight without magic." Niall stated, "Honestly, I didn't know that I'd find a place worst than that Skinner's Cave..."
Traysek sighed, shaking his head, "It's not that I can't, I have trained a long time ago in combat," he began with, "But I will admit, I have become dependent on it, given who our enemies are back in our world...but here...this world is quite different..." standing up and going to a mirror.
"Well... the same could be said about me." Niall sighed, "I do have some summon abilities... but after fighting that Tarnished, I decided to stop using it until I get a better way to control them."
"Hmm...must've been quite the opponent to make you reconsider summoning," The bandaged man chuckled, "Maybe I'll run into or even face this "Tarnished" one of these days...see what all they've got for myself," placing a hand on his face, "And speaking of face, time to see what these ladies did..." slowly unraveling it until the wrap was completely off, black hair flowing down, same as it was...His lips curved up to a grin, "Oh~ I'm feeling reeeeeal good about my life right now~" he said in a pleased tone, turning around to Niall with his face fully restored, "Name's Traysek, Captain of the Red Dragons, it's nice to actually meet you, commander," with a grin.
To be continued...
Hey everyone, if you've made it this far, you're a champion in my eyes and you deserve the recognition for it...in all seriousness, I appreciate the love you've all given to this and it motivates me to push even more, don't worry, when the shit actually hits the fan, you will all get the death and carnage you deserve, just like the last chapter... until then, my good men, stay tuned, healthy and may the gods watch over your internet history, my friends XDDD