[ - Author's Note - ]
Here we are.
I was hoping this one would come out better but I think it came out well enough. It's a lot of stuff and it'll be a stepping stone in the story's progress... I think keeping Act Three under twenty chapters might not happen, but should still be under twenty five.
Least it won't be Act Two... That went on far too long...
Anyway, let's get on with it. There's a few other odds and ends in the chapter but it's mostly a focus on Chloe.
So... let's get into it, shall we?
[ - Act III - Chapter XIV: Old Harms - ]
The Previous Evening
Mooncast City
Nightsong Palace Bath
Chloe stiffed as she felt her hair was brushed, stroke by stroke. The issue wasn't that she was nude and in a tub, nor that she was with another woman sitting behind her with only her feet and shins in the water. That her hair, now loose, was being brushed was an issue as it made her recall all the times she was groomed by the other slaves in Mandeville Manor as it usually signaled she was about to be trained sexually or used for her former master's sick pleasures. What had helped limit her discomfort was two things; that Olga had done such for decades now and she bore a near unlimited trust for her. The second what while Olga wasn't grooming her hair the surprisingly attractive Iryna Syniy was.
She didn't really consider many women attractive in the sexual sense that she'd want to... well she had no desire to engage in sex given her history, but if she could allow that Iryna was on a short list with her queen, Celestine Lucross and... Maia of the Seven Shields (They had fought three times in the past and those damned, bouncing breasts were distracting!), not that she'd admit to any but her queen... and only if she asked.
She was worried her attraction to Iryna was a bit more obvious then most, however.
"You have very nice hair."
" Th-thank you!" Chloe squeaked out to the complement that the Azure gave to her as the woman chuckled.
"You need not be so nervous. I mean no harm." Iryna said in a soothing tone. "But I imagine it is not fear but attraction that intimidates you." Chloe stiffened before her as Iryna giggled. "Do not worry. I get that a lot nor do I mind it; as long as you see the person behind the looks there is nothing wrong with such things."
"Trust me, I don't need to get involved with such." Chloe let off bitterly with a huff.
"Due to your past, yes?" Chloe stiffened under the words as the brush kept working her hair. "I asked James about you and your past and while he didn't know the exact details he said you were enslaved to a man of exceptional cruelty. He shared rumors of what the man does to his slaves; it is beyond the pale. I can only imagine the scars left to your soul by him." Chloe shivered as the brush was set down and the busty dark elf slipped down to the water to sit behind her; stiffening as the woman hugged her around the middle... with those huge tits pressing to her back.
"You do not want to know what he did to me..." Chloe said darkly as she shivered under the other woman. There was so many things he did to her...
She was lashed with whips, cat-o-nine tails, belts and more. Not only that he fed her potions that made them feel both painful and pleasurable, to a point she could still confuse the two. If it wasn't for the elven ability to cleanly heal wounds she would be a mess of physical scars as well. Indeed, for men like him it made any sort of elf more valuable as a slave.
She had arms shoved into her holes to stretch them out; sometimes two in her pussy and one in her ass, even before her body had fully matured. He would even use potions to regress her age for a short time and force her holes apart with the limbs of his and his 'friends'... and at one point even an ogre's arm was used to stretch her out...
On top of that she was put into a ring with men who got off by beating women to a bloody pulp before fucking what was left. She lost count of how often that happened to her; her elven healing abilities being what kept the scars away and why she was never crippled by them.
Left pilloried for public use, being used by man after man who wanted to use any and all of her holes so many times she lost count. Often times left overnight, shivering in the cold.
And then there was the times she was made to fuck dogs, pigs, horses and more. It was considered one of the lesser indignities she was forced to endure... at least until someone brought out the trained grizzly bear...
Of course there was the time she was tied down with magically powered, vibrating toys for half a day and made to cum and cum and cum and cum and cum and cum and cum and cum and cum and cum until she was left unmoving, voice hoarse and cumming for hours after the toys were removed...
The list would go on and on and on and on... She forgot more of what was done to her then she remembered and yet the tome she could write on that would be taller then she was.
"I have heard tales of escaped slaves before." Iryna said as she squeezed the younger female softly. "I do not doubt that... but while you slipped many of the chains he set to you there are some that yet remain..."
"What are you tal-" Her words cut off as one of Iryna's hand dropped down; Chloe snapped her eyes down as two fingers rubbed her mons pubis, a spot just over her sex as she stiffened, starting to pant quicker.
"This. Although you broke many of your chains he has made you fear sex and sexuality, hasn't he?" Iryna said as she withdrew her hand and moved back to simply hugging the woman as Chloe's pants started to slow. "In this way he still has a control over you and your body..."
"He has no more control over me..." Chloe let off, looking over her shoulder with a glare which Iryna didn't respond to.
"Have you touched yourself since you left him?" The Azure asked. "Allowed yourself to feel pleasure by your own touch or another's?" For a moment Chloe's glare softened as she turned her gaze away. "Understand this; I would not violate you in this manner, nor do I spook you over this for no reason. I do this to help you to be free of him and for that, to be truly and fully free, you must reclaim your sexuality from his influence. You must find someone you can entrust yourself to for a night or press yourself into allowing that self-intimate touch. So long as you fear pleasures of the flesh, so long as you fear sex and intimacy... there will always be at least one chain binding you to him."
Chloe frowned and looked away and forwards as she considered the words and found... she could not argue them. Had her own queen moved her hand in such away she would surely panic as well regardless of the trust in her... The things Mandeville had done to her over the course of years... It still made her shudder to think of them. "It's not that easy..."
"Facing your fears is never easy." Iryna said, her voice shifting to something lower and more soothing. "And conquering them less so... I am not unfamiliar with facing such demons, even if mine were of a different nature..." Chloe turned her head back to look at her; something of the tone was... it was understanding, a level of understanding that spoke that she knew what she was talking about; even if she was sure what the busty marquisess went through wasn't a match for her own pains. "But I also know if you never face them you will be forever bound by them... by him. For you to remove this chain you must face and conquer it... How will be up to you to decide; I can merely offer advice. I cannot face these fears for you or break your chains for you. But you need not face them alone; make allies of those you trust to help you face this fear and combine their strength with your own..."
Chloe frowned in thought and allowed herself to lean back into the other woman as she bit her lip. She... was forced to admit the woman was right... But how?
If only she had some guide to lead her...
[-]
Wounds of the heart are the worst and the deepest; the slowest to heal and mend, more so then the body. Once vibrant people turned to broken shells, trusting folk turned to distrusting outsiders, good people turned to monsters or those who nurtured turned to those who abuse. What people can become due to such hidden hurts is horrifying.
But healing can be done. It takes time, effort and a willingness to know you need help. It also takes someone to reach out a hand to offer that help and the one in need to accept it. Healing can be done.
It must be done.
~Former Pope Jacob the Third
[-]
The flight to the manor was rather short, all things considered, and soon it was in sight as we circled it once before I brought us down for a landing. I would halt before the gate before allowing us to slowly drop down and land on the wheels before guiding us closer to the gate; the two guards outside giving a wave as we drove in and up towards the front door where I finally parked.
I would disembark for the moment as did Chloe as Sora stood outside of the open doors of my home, smiling at us; to my passenger's surprise. Then again she likely didn't expect a dark elf servant, let alone a happy looking one. "Welcome home, M'lord. I do wish you were staying longer, but it's still good to see you safe and sound."
"Thanks Sora. Chloe, let me introduce you to Sora Reinclive." I said, turning to look at the Dark Queen's aide. "She's been our Head Maid since the days of my grandfather."
"Indeed. I was what you would call 'chainborne' until I was found by the former Baron, Xander Noxdecus." Chloe's eyes widened at the admittance as her shoulders seemed to slump; a reminder of the issues of Garan for her I imagine. "Since then I've entered the service of his house, his son and now grandson." She said she looked to me. "And yes, she is just finishing preparations to leave."
"Good... Honestly I was expecting an ambush from her-"
"Master!"
Ahhh... that's what I was expecting. I did an eighth of a turn to look besides Sora before I was hit with a diving tackle. I let off an 'oof' but I was still semi-prepared for it even if I was knocked back three steps; wrapping my arms around the bundle of adorable halfling that flew at me as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "You know you don't have to do that for a greeting; I was here just a couple of days ago." I replied with a chuckle as I held her waist with one arm as I moved my other hand to ruffle her hair.
"Mmmmmmm, I prefer this one. And I still missed you!" She let off, blowing a raspberry at me as I rolled my eyes and set her down. She would finally look around me as I noticed her usual luggage trunk. I opted to load it for her but looked over my shoulder to see Chloe had stiffened and was looking to Riri with some surprise but not total shock; I had told her Riri was in my service so she likely put one and one together. "Chloe, it's been awhile."
"It has." The half dark elf let off as I lifted Riri's trunk and moved to the wagon; one of the Templar's took it from me and loaded it once I was close enough and I asked for her to pass me something in turn. "I'm surprised after all you've been through you call anyone 'master'." She said, hands moving to her hips as Riri giggled.
"It's a long story... but he's the only one I'll call that now, and by my own choice." She said before moving up and hugging Chloe happily, even if she stiffened in shock. I think she was caught off guard at how chipper the halfling was. "I'm glad you're all right after everything that happened."
"For a given value of 'all right'." Chloe half grumbled as I coughed politely. Once I had their attention I passed something to Riri; set inside of a sheathe was Chloe's sword with a smaller one strapped to it with her knife set to it.
"While I'm sure you're both eager to catch up; we need to set some ground rules here." I began, keeping a serious tone. "We're not expecting trouble over in Riverport. That being said, we both know how trouble doesn't care if it's expected by you or not. In the event of trouble, or hell, if you suspect trouble rearm Chloe and use this." I said as I passed her a small key; save the end wasn't a set of teeth but a green, small spell stone. "This will pop her cuffs off and let her Armor Weave activate."
"Aren't you worried I'll run?" Chloe let off as Riri pocketed the key and used a strap to set the weapons to her back.
"No. I trust you." I let off as she huffed. I honestly did but it's not like I had other reasons to be sure she wouldn't; she had no where to go and we still had Olga. We wouldn't do anything to her, but we still had her. Riri giggled and hopped up to the pilot's seat as I turned to Sora. "We're off. Say hi to Terra for me."
"I'll be sure she hears it. Take care, M'lord." She let off as Chloe moved back to the pilot's bench. Rather then join her and Riri I clambered into the back with the Templars and nodded and reached out a hand to cast a small spell. "I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about so I'll cast a small silencing spell to give you some privacy."
"Thanks Master." Riri chirped just before I finished my spell as soon noise from the two ended as Riri started to steer us out of the manor's grounds and, once clear, up into the air. Soon she would point us to Riverport as I leaned back onto a side bench and sighed as I relaxed.
"Soooooo..." Next thing I knew one of the Templars, a cute, blonde one with her hair in a ponytail dropped down next to me and leaned into the bench. "How exactly did you crack that Dread Field?" I blinked for a moment and realized my situation.
I was in the back of a wagon with four Dawn Templars, shut off by someone who could help me field them as they all directed their attention to me... and the order, as I had worked out/heard about, was very... forwards about getting sexual conquests.
Wellllllllll fuck me...
[-]
"You seem to doing well." Chloe let off not long after they got into the air. She leaned back and crossed her arms as Riri shrugged. "I'm surprised you can just... bounce back from all that happened to you." Even if it had been five years since they shared a cage they both recalled the stories they swapped; in a way it was a dark and depressing competition of who had the worst, most destructive experience.
Chloe won but acknowledged that Riri proved to be a worthy rival.
"Well 'bounce back' isn't quite right." Riri admitted after a moment chuckling as she smiled; a sad, darkened smile that hinted to her previous trauma. "It's taken years to rise above it and I'd be lying if I said it didn't nip at my heels now and then but finding joy and delight in life has helped. What's the saying... 'living well is the best revenge'."
"Gutting Mandeville would be plenty good." Chloe let off with a huff. "... So... how did you 'rise above it', as you say?"
"Time. Effort. Love and support." Riri let off, smiling to her. "Sora especially; she was a slave before herself and helped guide me to recovery." She said as she let the control stick go; the wagon going straight on it's course.
"I'm still surprised a dark elf is serving in Eostia..." She let off with a snort. "Let alone in such a trusted position. And who is Terra?"
"One of Sora's daughters." Riri said with a smile. "... Oh, and Terra is James' aunt as well."
"Wait, what!?" Chloe let off, turning her body as she gawked to her in shock.
"Yeah; she and her sister Aqua are the daughters of Sora and Xander Noxdecus; James' grandfather." Riri said with a giggle. "She's basically family to them at this point and often manages things when everyone else is away."
"... That's... surprising..." Chloe let off as she blinked before looking ahead. "I mean... I know there's distrust to dark elves in Eostia but I'm still surprised that there are those in higher, respectable positions. I'm the only high ranking halfborne in Garan and that's only due to the queen's favor... But now I've seen a high ranking religious leader, a high ranking servant..."
"Not just that; did you know the County of Pulca boasts elections to choose it's leaders?" Riri began. "A dark elf came in a close second." Chloe looked to her in shock once more. "The Count Elect opted to name her his main advisor as a result."
"That is... I'd have never thought such a thing could happen..."
"There is more then a little racism towards dark elves; although some places it's better then others and worse." Riri said in reply. "Sad as it is to say it happens but the various races and dark elves have, traditionally, had a bad history."
"That's... I suppose."
"So... What have you been up to since you got free?"
[-]
The Unseen Steel Bar & Inn
Riverport City, Duchy of South Point
"So, that's the lay of it." Gwyn let off as he looked to the four men around the table with him. The elderly, six three man sat in a suit of black mythril; a metal created by a mix of two parts zirconium to thirteen parts mythril. The result was a metal that was colored black as tar and bore the same strength as mythril but bore unusual magical properties; it resisted the use of enchantments upon it and spell stones attached to it couldn't maintain any spell yet it bolstered the magic of anyone wearing armor or using weapons made of it.
Aside from that the armor was mostly utilitarian; a breastplate with extra thickness over the chest, rounded pauldrons and plates over the biceps, gauntlets over the hands and forearms with an additional layer to the left side with chain mail under it, covering what plate did not. Likewise was his lower half armored; chain mail pants with plates on the outsides of the thighs and armored boots that reached up to the knees. There was, however, a thick, black toga like cloth over it with it attaching over the left shoulder and ratted bottoms with an additional cloth that fitted over the left shoulder; there to visibly hide that the left pauldron was thicker.
His armor was western styled save for his helm which was set on the table, crafted in an eastern style in the manner of the samurai; slanted plates around the sides and back of the head and a crest of silvered mythril in the center (One part silver, twelve parts mythril, strong as normal mythril) shaped in the manner of three points and crafted to be like flames. White, bleached horsehair attached to the underside of the helm would look not unlike hair once worn and the attachable face plate (Which was currently at his hip) bore a twisted, snarling visage with more white horsehair set to it in the shape of a wild, fearsome beard and mustache that would complete the look; making him seem almost like an aged ghost in armor. Spell stones, turned clear, was set over the eye sockets of the face plate; unable to hold enchantment but still able to provide protection to attacks.
Set to his back was the sheathe for a claymore blade; black mythril like his armor with wraps of black over the handle, a silver toned tri pronged crossguard with the center point going up along the blade's edge; matching the flame like emblem on his helm. The inn they were in was darkened slightly; The Unseen Steel was a common gathering place for those in the slave trade to eat, make contacts and share information; doubly important in a limited state like south point. They were gathered about a well made, sturdy wooden table with a black cloth set over it's surface.
"Hmmm... Such a nuisance." By contrast one of the men, normally standing at a lean five foot seven, seated at the table with him, Gerik Ornstein, wore armor of golden mythril; the plate was thinner then normal to be lighter for the wearer while still offering adequate protection, with the breast plate only covering the chest with a series of plates over the abs and spine; the rest of his torso covered by chain mail. His pauldrons bore long points outwards and plates over the back of his forearms and front of his shins.
His helm was a barbute styled helm with red plumage on the top that turned back behind it and an attached visor with a nose guard and mouth guard; wide eye holes maximizing the vision of the wearer. Both his breastplate and his helm, also sitting on the table, bore red spell stones set to the center of the chest and forehead; the former reinforced the armor to attack and granted him exceptional leaping abilities while the latter projected a small shield over the visor and eye holes as well as allowed him to cast a small series of lightning spells.
Set to his back was a six foot long spear of golden mythril with a foot long, bladed tip boasting a crossguard shaped like a pair of lightning bolts and a red spell stone set to it's center, shaped like a diamond. "I can see why he'd think this a challenge." A handsome, unscarred face frowned in thought; short, blonde hair capping a youthful face, feathered to point backwards as green eyes looked to the elder. He inherited his weapons and armor from his father, now retired and managing a slave plantation in Balanar.
"Mmmm... Kinda wish we could just smash'em..." By contrast the last armored figure stood six foot eight in height and was built wide with a larger gut; the sort of a power lifter, even if he bore the fullest plate at the table. Like Gerik, the man known as Fergus Smough bore golden mythril armor and a mighty weapon that was inherited from his father after he retired; although said father married a noble, Balanar widow. The plates of his armor was thicker then normal with a double thick layer over the chest. The rounded pauldrons bore raised, vertical sections on their insides to further guard the neck of the wearer, full, heavy plates with ridges covering each limb with gaps only allowing for movement, guarded by chain mail. A large, yellow spell stone was set to the center of his chest in the shape of an oval; enchanted to reinforce the armor further, lighten it and allowed the wearer to cast Regenerate Wounds at will.
His helm was a full, covering one with a front that looked like a lion's face with a spiked mane with yellow spell stones over the eye sockets as protection but also bore enchantments to allow the user to see through the helm unimpeded, allowed for night vision and even could see past unenchanted walls with the mouth parted enough to let air in easily. Standing next to him was a war hammer with a six foot long shaft; golden mythril with a steel core and a six inch long axe head as it's back end and a foot long, cylindrical hammerhead at the front that widened out to the front until it was a foot wide. By contrast to his counterpart he bore a thick, strong but ugly face with a wide jaw and beady, brown eyes. His hair was black and neck length and seemed unwashed as he bit into a turkey leg and chewed and swallowed before speaking once more. "But a lot problems would come about if we just tried to smash'em."
The other two men at the table weren't Gwyn's usual partners but one of them was a common ally of his and his friend John Mandeville; Brendon Lightstep. While the mercenary was typically in Mandeville's employ he had opted to freelance in South Point for a time as his main employer had nothing for him to do at current; subcontracting him for the operation would be valuable for Gwyn due to his role as a scout. The man with the spell stone eye would further be useful in getting the lay of the current situation.
The other man was Zaide Ligamen; a local, minor house noble that was known as a respectable investor and economic advisor but rumors pointed to the truth; he yearned for South Point to transition to a classical Traditionalist State like it once had been as well as being a business partner of John Mandeville. Standing five foot nine with black hair tied back into a tight braid that hung to his shoulder blades, a hawkish nose and a long, thin mustache he wore a simple, gray greatcoat over black pants tucked into brown boots with a red Jacob's collar showing over his neck. At each shoulder sat his House Emblem; a simple knight's shield with a rounded bottom with a thick, black outline and a line cutting the shield in two vertically; the left side gray and the right side red. Both bore a simple, yellow spear on it; the left pointing upwards and the right downwards. "Do you have a plan?" The nobleman asked Gwyn.
"That is the real question, isn't it?" Gwyn let off with a huff. "Our best bet is to separate the drow from her escort through a riot or other disturbance by the locals, or some form of manufactured emergency. Something that causes her to run or storm off in a huff or forces her guard to investigate or assist somewhere. Fair chance that one of the guards will still follow and track her even then but if we make the problem large enough the Dawn Templars would be forced to address the situation. The three of us can then take her and any remaining guard left with her on. With luck we can quickly win over who's there and claim her."
"I've already took some initiative and started a rumor that a main aide of the Dark Queen's will be here on tour." Brendon added as he sipped ale from a mug as he looked over to the elderly man. "Spread details of horrific crimes and what-not. Should lay the ground work for you if you want to make a riot happen."
"That's all well and good..." Gerik let off as he moved to pick up his own mug. "But what about Noxdecus? He's a bloody mage with an arsenal of tricks, right?"
"Indeed... and given who his father is there's no telling how deep that arsenal reaches..." Gwyn said with a nod. "He'll need to be dealt with somehow; but killing him is a poor option for us. The Unscorched Hero's death would cause hell and damnation to come down and I'm not sure we'd be able to evade that level of scrutiny."
"So, we gotta distract'em then?" Fergus let off as he finished off her turkey leg, dropping the bone into a bone full of them. "How do we do that?"
"Hmmmm..." Gwyn let off as he tapped his chin. "That's key... That's the key... We need something... some form of bait to lure him away from the drow... Something that's work looking into for him..."
"Hmmm... I can try skulking around him." Brendon let off as he frowned for a moment. "We fought each other before when the boss first tried to get his half runt back. I might be able to make him tail me; or failing that send one of his escort to do it."
"Hmmm... That's a plan and I'd owe you a good bonus for it if that's the case." Gwyn said. "Before anything else, however, we need intel on what they are doing. Brendan; I'll need you to get eyes on them. Zaide; can I count on your and your men to dig up some more information and prepare for the operation?"
"Got it."
"Of course."
"Understand..." Gwyn let off darkly as he looked at the men around the table before slipping something from his armor's pouch, hidden under the dark toga as he turned it over, looking at it; a small, golf ball sized orb colored a dark blue yet swirling with a series of white dots like it was a tiny galaxy in his hand. "There is no guarantee of success. If the risks are too high we shall abandon the task but the rewards are great enough that attempt must be made. So... here's the outline of how things will start..."
[-]
"You have sex with him!?" Chloe let off, almost screaming. Riri, in addition to her belongs, brought sandwiches for everyone's lunches and Chloe nearly choked on hers once Riri brought up, of all things, her sex life. Specifically how good the sex was after they sent her old master, John Mandeville, packing when he tried to retake Riri.
"You sound... kinda shocked." Riri let off, biting into her own sandwich before glancing to the map to make sure they were still on course.
"Of course I am!" Chloe barked out. "After everything that you were put through... All of the... perversions you were forced into, how can you... do anything like... that... willingly...?"
"...It's a little... complicated..." Riri said as she leaned back in the seat. "You really want to hear it?" Seeing Chloe nod she would speak once more, her tone somewhat somber as she tried to explain it. "I don't need to go over what happened to me again so... I'll tell you what happened after I was freed... Well... The thing is, I didn't feel free, just that I could now... choose my master this time."
"I guess I can understand that..." Chloe said softly; after being saved by Olga she couldn't imagine serving another...
"Well... yeah... I chose him as my Master, even if he just treated me as a normal servant; if a favored one. It's why I used to, and in some ways, still call him Master." Riri said as she looked up. "It was mostly Sora who helped me through it along with the other maids... pressing me to make my own choices, making sure I saw and heard as they asked questions or pointed out flaws of those we served, pressed me to learning things on my own, taking initiative... I felt like a slave when I arrived but after some time... I felt like I had... well, reclaimed everything I lost. Stained and cracked and scarred, but reclaimed and mine once more."
"But... well... the idea of sex scared me too... Even if Sora... Well, she has two daughters, but also has her... 'fun' as well." Riri carried on as she set her sandwich onto a cloth by her on the seat. "Lots of fun... And... well, she went through much the same we did, if in Garan instead. And she told me she started to engage in sex once more as a means to reclaim herself and her sexuality from what was done. She coaxed me into a... few minor things but when it was time to do... that for the first time with James I was allowed to pick when, where and how... and... Well... We did it."
"He... wasn't concerned about your... previous use?" Chloe said, unsure of how to say 'sexual slavery' without hinting at the horrors they had endured.
"Ha, ha... When it started I said I was sad I couldn't give him my first time..." Riri said, a smile coming to her even as her eyes watered a hint. "He asked if he was the first one I choose to sleep with and when I said yes... he said that I was a virgin, as far as he cared. It made... it made that a first time for me, in a different way... and it was the best night of my life..."
She opted to not mention Sora was there was well... That would require a different sort of talk.
"That is... That human..." Chloe let off looking behind them seeing the human in question squirm away from a petite, dark skinned girl slightly. "He would..."
"Humans are... ... everything..." Riri began with a smile. "The best and the worst. Sinners and saints. Secluded and outgoing. Builders and destroyers. Healers and abusers. But they can also change, grow, adapt... I think Sora said it best; 'Elves have all the time in the world to learn and change so they are in no rush to do so. Humans don't have that luxury so opt to stop fucking around and just get shit done'." She giggled with the recalled words, profanity included, as she smiled to her dark elven counterpart as Chloe snorted in response... before frowning in thought.
"... The old bastard always seemed to busy himself with learning something or another." Chloe let off, referring to Mandeville. "Reading new books, studying odd bits of history or other places..."
It occurred to Riri that Chloe likely would have a harder time getting over her past then most that suffered as they had; her only dealing with humans before James was likely Mandeville and his ilk or enemies on a battlefield... which was not ideal for making connections with good people. "Even he has his good points, I'm sure, even if they're so buried under all the rotten ones you'd never be able to see them on a good day..." She let off with a huff. "... Honestly I'd just repeat what James' father once said. 'There is no pure good or pure evil. The best of people hold a hint of darkness and the worst a spark of light'. I just wish more went to the light, that's all." Chloe stayed quiet for a moment before Riri carried on. "But back to what I was talking about; as scary as engaging in sex once more was I didn't do it for him, much as Master's support earned it, I did it for me. I had... I had my body, my sexuality stolen from me and used against me... It was as much reclaiming it for myself, taking it back and using it as I saw fit as opposed to someone else."
"And he... respects that?"
"When we visited Classa, with it's... strange, consensual form of slavery he was worried about how I'd take it." Riri began to answer her. "And when the local rulers opted to show us their bondage culture he outright refused to ask if I was willing to be bound; I think he was more scared of it then I was." She said with a soft chuckle. "More over I think he invited me to his bed... I dunno, less the a dozen times? Normally I'm the one starting it." Chloe blinked to her once more in shock.
"Even dark elven men want to get their dicks wet all the time..." She let off as Riri snorted.
"In case you haven't noticed he doesn't need to find the women; they find him." The maid let off. "I... lost count of how many women I saw knocking on his door as we went around Eostia..." That wasn't even getting into what she spied on that pirate ship... "Eostian woman are a different breed, ne?"
"For better and worse..." Chloe let off... and Riri couldn't help but think a hint of Jealousy was in her tone. "I'm still surprised a guy like that could defeat my queen... It feels embarrassing now..."
Riri's giggling didn't help her opinion on the matter.
[-]
Napreryvnyy City Palace, War Room
Southwest Blazecrown
Near the Borders of Blackshard and Onyxcloak
Kingdom of Garan
"What do you mean Highdagger Peaks cannot send more troops!? Do they understand the situation!?" Gavrilla let off as she slammed her fist the table as she glared at the matrons (Plus male stand in) as she hunched over the war map.
"They claim that the harpies are running rampant in the region." Tikhiy replied simply with a sigh. Said male stand in for a matron of House Chaoxis looked back to her with a level stare. "They are hunting our forces but worse they're hunting our cattle and other livestock. They've also taken glee in spilling our grain stores across the ground; we're moving what we can to Blazecrown but if we do not defend it then our food situation will worsen further."
"Bah... Maybe we'd be better off inviting them deeper in to hunt the Legion..." The general let off as everyone in the room frowned. The Legion had, sadly, become a liability now as opposed to a strength; elements were now turning on their people for the purposes of rape and theft of food requiring them to put them down. Elements of the Legion remained loyal... for now. Even then other elements rather then betray them by assaulting the people opted to just desert and head into the wilds; where the general was sure they would become a further problem down the line for them...
They weren't the only deserters however; conscripts and regulars alike had abandoned the army and even elements of the lowborne had done the same with rumors of them traversing to the northern villages by the ocean. Worse the rank and file seemed uncaring about catching them or halting their departure and were, for lack of a better term, going through the motions. They had, perhaps, under seventy thousand people after the Calamity at Mooncast with maybe a third of that number injured and recovering. They lost at least five thousand conscripts to desertion and another two thousand regulars.
A tenth of their number had given up hope and abandoned them. The loss of almost seven thousand Aberrant to betrayal and desertion meant their numbers were dropped by another tenth. A full fifth of their army was lost between battles. A fifth.
"There is... worse news." Bronka let off as she set her left hand to the table... and looked to her right. Although her natural hand was lost and unable to be reattached Stasia Highcraft, leader of what was now known as the Abomination Project, had taken another arm from... somewhere (She didn't know... nor did she want to know) and set it in place, grafting it to her. It felt odd but she could use it; even if odd stitches up and down it's length and over the palm and each finger was uncomfortable; said healing limb was wrapped under white bandages for the time being. The surgery done on the arm before it was attached to her was strange; replacing the bones of a dark elf's arm with those of a human's that were coated and infused with powdered spell stone. All she knew of the purpose was that it was to help her use the Abomination when the time came. "The laborborne are revolting."
"Look..." Tsarina said with a sigh. "We can build more public baths after we fix the-"
"Revolting as in rioting, not that they are unwashed."
"Oh." The young matron let off as Bronka clarified for her.
"What are they doing!?" Rubin let off, slamming a fist to the table; rocking it and all the markers on it.
"They are refusing conscription." Bronka let off with a huff. "Even storming armories and taking weapons to challenge the army over it."
"Are you serious?" Gavrilla hissed out as she clenched her fists, pressing them to the top of the table. "Do they not know their duty?"
"They think we've failed them. They think they are better off without us." Bronka huffed out. "Fools."
"That could be... a sizable problem." Tsarina said with a frown. "If we compel them to fight when they are in revolt then who knows what they would do in the middle of a battle... Even if we could get them there..."
"Gang pressing them to service would strain our manpower as is; which is growing limited as it stands." Rubin let off, unusually soft for a Drakepyre, as she huffed. "And depending on their resolve they may even opt to fight to the death over it... If such is the case we would destroy the resource we wish to cultivate."
"... So... This means we've only one, true hope left to us." Gavrilla let off as she looked to Bronka's new, right arm. Her gaze drew the gazes of the matrons (Plus stand in) as well as Bronka stood tall and pulled her arm into a soft flex; mindful to not pop a stitch. "Bronka... When the history of this war is written you will be remembered either as the greatest hero Garan has ever known... or it's most valiant martyr."
[-]
The girls chatted for sometime as we flew southeast towards Riverport while I tried to, politely, deal with the attentions of four Dawn Templars. That was... not fun. Rather then land and use an inn we opted to just keep the Cloud Rider in the air, lay out bed rolls and went to sleep on it's surface. The Templars opted to have a watch due to the prisoner in tow (Chloe) even if I was sure she wouldn't pull anything. Still I opted to take first watch only for Riri to ask for it instead; wanting to speak with Chloe late into the night. I was fine with that and refreshed the silence spell at the front for them.
Come the morning and after breakfast I took over piloting and it was Riri in the back as Chloe sat with me. I ended up doing what I do which was explain history and such; in this case about South Point and Riverport City, mostly the former. Once we arrived I landed us on the ground and drove up to South Point Castle which sat outside of Riverport City proper.
Sitting next to the river South Point Castle was fairly standard for it's set up; square, dual walls at forty and fifty feet plus a keep with two side towers and a large, central building with the House Silversail banner hanging off both towers, plus the towers on the walls. What was interesting was there was a wall that extended out from the outer wall to the river with a slight, upwards slant before forming a long arch over the water (It was a deep river that was wide enough to let three ships pass side by side comfortably) before connecting to the forty foot walls of Riverport City across the river in question which surrounded a fifty foot set of walls. Both sides of this arcing, bridging defensive walls bore gates with drawbridges to cut the castle or the city off from one another, in case something went wrong and heavy, thick defensive towers right next to the river. It was interesting and even Chloe admired the setup.
Driving into South Point Castle over their draw bridge we were directed to turn to ride down to the other gate set into the inner wall's corner. We rode up to the keep along a road with a soft curve with bright flowers on both sides; mostly blues and whites, before we drove around the brass statue of a sailing ship, parking on the other side of it. As we hopped off I saw a rather well dressed woman walking out; looking almost like a butler. The curves there while not large were pleasant and showcased she was, indeed, a woman. The outfit was black with shades of dark blue to it, golden highlights and trim with matching buttons, a black Jacob's collar, fitted slacks, a white shirt under the jacket and vest and short, black boots. She also looked pretty and professional; five seven, lake blue eyes, neck length, brown hair that sat neatly between groomed and loose. What betrayed the fact she wasn't a butler was that her hands (Ungloved) were in her jacket's pockets as she walked out with a casual gait; too unprofessional to be a high ranking servant. "Lord Noxdecus and Lady Chloe of Garan, I presume?" She let off; her tone was relaxed and casual but not flippant or dismissive.
"You presume correctly, Miss...?"
"Lady Beckett Silversail; youngest daughter of House Silversail and charged with looking after our little duchy while father is at the front." She let off, moving a hand to pat her chest twice with a smile.
(-)
Name: Beckett Silversail
Title: Gentlelady of South Point
Class: Gunner
Level: 28
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 88
Status: Healthy, Relaxed, Casual
Romance Rating: 98
Corruption Rating: 13
Known Traits
[?]
[Quickdraw] You can draw your weapons as fast as lightning. +2 to draw speed. +3 to Dex & Agi
[It's High Noon] When an opponent is drawing a weapon you can draw yours faster. +4 to draw speed. If you draw a weapon in reaction to a threat drawing theirs increase your Dex & Acc by 7% and your damage by +4.
[?]
Youngest child of House Silversail she's taken to more boyish and gentlemanly styles for her dress. Known to be relaxed and casual she enjoys tinkering with halfling based devices as well as some of her own make, in addition to being an able gunsmith and blacksmith in her own right.
(-)
Properly introduced she walked over and shook my hand in a polite manner before offering hers to Chloe. She was left hanging for a moment before the half dark elf finally moved and took her hand for a short, curt shake. "Welcome to my home. I'll have quarters squared away for our guests. If there is any problems then please, come see me and I'll sort things out."
"Thank you Beckett." I replied as I nodded and turned to get my luggage (Just a single box given how short this trip would be) only to sigh as I looked at Riri, carrying mine and hers in smaller trunks on her shoulders. "You know you're supposed to be a guard right now, not a maid, right?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." She said with a smile as one of the Dawn Templars grabbed Chloe's stuff as Beckett giggled at us.
"Lunch will be soon. Let's get you settled in." She let off.
[-]
Lunch was nice and relaxing, as was dinner later on. We opted to not tour the city until the following morning as Beckett wanted to talk for sometime with Chloe. I asked Riri to sit in with them, just in case. I wasn't worried they'd have a go at one another, I just worried that Chloe would say or do something stupid or offensive so I had Riri there to smooth things over. Thankfully my maid would say she didn't need to do more then clarify a few odd points.
I opted to spend some time in my quarters working for awhile, starting with breaking out my books on Hybrid magic and was considering the Shine Cracker spell my father taught me; namely combining it with Shocking Weapon. Yes; I was making a holy/lightning version of Shocking Weapon; after all both Shadowblaze and Holyblaze Weapons turned out to be very useful so I was interested in another possible Hybrid Elemental Weapon spell. I had done this twice before and back then I didn't have the Hybrid Master trait that made it all just... click. It was much easier to adapt this one I found and I imagined it would be ready in a day or two depending on the time I had to spend to work on it.
There was shades of the road trip through Eostia here that made me a little nostalgic; it seems so long ago when I left to install boosters on a stranger adventure then I expected while packing an old heirloom as a weapon and mana cured leather as armor. Then I left for a war with a legendary weapon and clad in the scales of a dragon... I... I've come pretty far, haven't I..? And yet, at most, I can see only the midway point in my duty; the real finish line is much, much further on the horizon.
My thoughts were ended as a knock, a loud one, sounded on the door. I had a guess who it might be. "Come in." And indeed I was right; the door opened and Chloe stormed in, shutting the door, just short of slamming it, behind her as I turned in my seat as she stopped to blink at me. "Chloe, how can I help you?" I asked... as she looked me over. "...What?"
"I haven't seen you out of your armor before." She said as I shrugged; indeed I stripped down to simple, black, cotton slacks and a blue, sleeveless tunic with the House Noxdecus emblem over the left side of the chest.
"Well it's not glued to me. That would be uncomfortable." I said as I smiled and stood, moving to a pitcher of water left in my room and moved to get a glass. I reached for a second and gave her a look and, after a moment, she nodded. I would fill both and hand her one. "Anyway, I imagine you didn't come all this way to drink in the view." I said, semi-teasingly as I smiled to her and took a sip of my own glass. "What can I help you with?"
"...I have a question. One I never had the chance to ask before." She said moving to lean into the desk I was seated at, back to it as she cradled her glass in both hands looking into it. "...Why...?"
"..." I waited for a bit more but finally tilted my head to one side. "Why... what?" I let off to prompt her on.
"Why did you save me? Back in Elddale that night?" She let off as she moved to sip her water. I waited for a moment, letting her collect herself for a moment before carrying on. "I... we were your enemies... Not the halflings, true, but the rest of us were. You didn't need to save us. You didn't need to prepare a raft to ferry us to safety. You didn't need to risk yourself... Why..?" She said, moving to set the glass down as she looked to me; a firm yet sad look to her eyes. "Just why? I don't understand why..?"
"Because it was right..." I replied... before smiling and shrugging at her. "Well; that's most of the reason but there's more to it." I told her as I moved to the window and looked outside; the view was opposite of the city; green fields and a forest in the distance. "Tell me; how much do you know about the state of slavery in Eostia?" I asked as I leaned my arm onto the window sill.
"Some places have it. Others don't." She replied as she picked her glass up with one hand. "Your High Queen isn't in a hurry to get rid of it. For some reason." She huffed as she sipped her drink for a moment as I shook my head at her.
"It's not that she's unwilling; she's unable." I replied as she blinked to me as her sip ended. "To make a long story short; when the Seven Shield Maidens overthrew the Brazen Empire two thousand years ago there was a lot of fighting between the states that emerged in the aftermath. They, along with some allied states, ended the conflicts by force and brought all the leaders to a meeting. Joanna of the White Cloth as opposed to forcing her will on others opted to create the Aegis Alliance Accords which listed a series of rights and responsibilities for the states of Eostia... but also a series of restrictions of the powers of the High Throne and the Seven Kingdoms on their states as a means to both create peace but also unity within the Realm." Chloe's mouth made an 'O' in response.
"Exactly." I said to her visual response. "Celestine wants to end slavery, fully end it, but she can't... at least not by force or decree; the High Throne since Eostia's founding has made it a mission to smother slavery out, slowly and over time and Celestine more so but can't just declare it ended without a unanimous vote in the Council of Lords. As of now there's only eight states left that employ slavery in full with an additional two that only allow for slavery of dark elves out of seventy three. And I should add there's a high chance that number will drop to seven soon."
"... So... we can't force Celestine to free the dark elves, can we?" Chloe said... as I smiled back to her with an honest grin.
"Oh, no, no, nooooo..." I said, wagging a finger at her. "I said the Accords restricted the powers of the High Throne... not removed them. There are situations where she can assert a bit more power over the states; like saaaaay... an important peace treaty with a foreign state that makes a reasonable and honest request that her people be freed." Her eyes went wide as I smiled back a bit more. "I'm sure that Celestine would at least hint at that for Olga to catch onto. But to go back to your question; House Noxdecus is an Abolitionist House; always has been, always will be if I have a say in it. We've always seen slavery as, at best, an institution that's long since outlived it's usefulness but mostly as an evil to be removed. I was in Elddale for my enchanting schooling and... well, Count Blitzhaus and old man Mandeville are good friends. You can guess what I've seen in my stay." She winced but nodded.
"I think I know him... He was very young when he visited, but think I know him." Chloe said.
"That night I freed you and Riri was the last one I was there; I was heading home in the morning." I explained. "It was a... now or never moment of a kid that might have been biting off more then he could chew... Honestly; I got a good talking to for it because of how risky it was if I got caught... worth it, still." I said with a smile. "But I wanted to do something to help people who were enslaved. That much of those saved were dark elves didn't matter; what you would suffer did."
"... It was truly foolish... But I was freed because of it so... ... thank you..." She said with a smile as I reached out and patted her shoulder once; she winced but didn't try to move away.
"I'm sure Beckett either talked your ear off or had you talk as much as you could but why don't you tell me a little about your time in Garan... Something good, maybe?"
"Hmmm..." She let off, crossing her arms as she moved the glass to her lips as she sipped at it. "Well... recently two others fools freed slaves I can talk about..."
[-]
Come the next morning we had breakfast and left for the city; Beckett opted to join us and brought four guards in full plate armor with her. Said guards were clad in mythril with rounded plates, blue tabards over the torso with the House Silversail emblem on them and fully covering plates over their faces with breathing holes and, likely, transparent visors from the inside.
Riri stayed close to Chloe as we walked as we started to visit notable spots in the city; starting with the market district. Chloe left her tunic behind but kept the cloak, hood up. Of course there was a response to our going about the city in the day like this; two responses really. One was the one I was getting; respect that, in some cases, bordered on reverence. It was a bit off putting as I waved to admirers and such as I tried to pay attention to what I was doing.
Chloe by contrast was getting very heated glares... Why I didn't know; she just did. To everyone she should be just some random woman walking with Eostia's hero and I was a bit... confused as to what was going on. This didn't make any sense; it's like they knew something about her that they shouldn't. I had a feeling that someone leaked something that they shouldn't have...
I wasn't the only one to notice; our guard, Riri and Beckett all picked up on it and I was sure Chloe had as well, putting all of them on guard as well. We visited a couple small shops at Chloe's discretion but even the shop keepers seemed wary of her. More over I saw someone in the side of my vision; someone with a spell stone eye in an alley... I felt a hint of recognition but couldn't quite place it, where I saw him before... Still I had other things to worry about; what was going on here?
"There you are! The Dark Queen's Whore!"
Fuck.
I turned my head to look at the man who said that; he was a taller, six-three man with a thick, long beard matching in tone to his black hair that brushed the back of his neck. He wore a tan vest under a laced, brown, leather vest that matched the pants he wore and deeper brown boots. Observe told me his name was Issac Smith, a carpenter and level nine fighter; supposedly a former regular forced to retire due to injury. That said he was built for power with thick limbs and there was tone to them.
"I heard of her, she's-"
"Sir." I let off, holding up a hand as I cut him off. He seemed taken aback as I lowered my hand. "Is there a problem?" I asked politely.
"Yeah!" He let off moving to step right up to Chloe; pausing when I shifted to move between the two. "You brought Olga's lapdog to our town!" He let off... and the people around were starting to mutter as I was sure Chloe was glaring back at him as he did the same to her. "You brought her here! Ain't we at war with the drow!?" Chloe hissed in a breath and looked set to bark back while I did my best to stay calm.
"This isn't the first time a political prisoner from an opposing nation was shown about one of our fair cities." I replied calmly; only raising my voice enough to be heard by the crowd. "The fact she is from Garan is the only difference. Remember; we have her queen in our custody as well and she's being taken to the negotiating table and to end the war in a manner that doesn't kill more of our citizenry or soldiery we need peace and they need to know us. She is Queen Olga's aide, yes... which is why she is on tour; so she can speak of Eostia to her."
"That's-"
"Come now, should we not be putting our best foot forwards here? Showcase the goodness we all believe in?" I let off, a small hint of shaming in my words which caused some of the people in the crowd to mutter to themselves and look away, embarrassed. The man, by contrast was still upset and glaring to Chloe.
"Yeah... But how many of our folk has she killed? Or enslaved, yeah!?" He let off as I sighed.
"Well I lost count of how many of them I've killed, and I'm well aware the Traditionalist took slaves in battles in Elddale and Hol'canna." He grinned when I mentioned the killing but, interestingly, flinched when I mentioned what the slave states were doing. "I'm not asking you to take her hand-" I said, pointing a thumb to Chloe for a moment. "-and dance up and down flower fields singing love songs; just that we all settle down and work to a peace. Like with Balanar or Nyaru." I added as he moved to look at me; as if a glare would make me back down.
It didn't.
"Sir..." I said, stepping in and moving a hand to his shoulder softly. "There's enough hurt from this war. Let's not add more." He looked to me for a moment and I thought he'd simply agree or at least say that he understood or the like... Instead his face twisted to something hateful, shrugged my hand off and turned to walk off towards a bar.
"Whatever..." He let off as he huffed, entering the building... as I saw Mr. Spell Stone Eye in the alley once more; this time I looked at him enough to make Riri take notice and look. She gasped and he seemed to recognize her before turning and leaving.
"That man..." Riri hissed out as I looked to her.
"Yeah, he's familiar but I can't remember from where..." I said softly as she looked up at me.
"He's Mandeville's merc; remember? From the mine fight?" She asked... and realization hit me.
"Right... The one who got away..." I let off; how could I forget? We crossed blades even. "If he's here watching us that's a bad sign..."
"Problem?" Beckett let off as she walked closer to us; the crowd dispersed around us but were still watching.
"Maybe... Is there a place we can talk; semi-privately?" I asked her.
[-]
"I see..." Beckett let off, arms crossed as she tapped her foot. We were now in a local tailor's shop to show local fashion to Chloe... well it's what we let people think as the shop owner, a friend of our hostess, allowed us her backroom to speak in. "I thought it was strange he knew who Chloe was; that's something we didn't expect..." Beckett let off with a frown.
"Chloe's visit wasn't top secret but it was kept quiet." I explained. "I don't think the old bastard himself is in South Point; we're not that unlucky. But if Brandon was here and spying on us that would be one thing; could have been a coincidence, the man is a freelancer... but couple that with leaked information? Mandeville has something planned for us; no question."
"He was surprised to see me though..." Riri let off as I mused over it.
"Why? I'm guarded, aren't I?" Chloe let off with a snort. "Does it matter who's doing it?"
"...It would if they had expectations of who's guarding." I mused. "Local regulars would be expected if the local ruler or acting ruler is with us... If they knew the Templars were guarding us but not Riri that might trip them up..." It also reinforced the idea that our plans were leaked.
"Meh, meh, meh, who cares?" Myna Moonguard, one of our Dawn Templar escorts let off, banging the butt of her pike to the ground. "If they want her they need to go through us first."
"Which would mean trying to isolate Chloe before hand... and he likely was there to try and goad me into investigating or sending someone to do so..." I mused with a frown.
"And thus reducing the guard..."
"Not just that." I said to Beckett's musing. "Drawing me away is one thing but they'd need to reduce the guard around Chloe to try and grab her... Which means pulling some form of stunt. That being said I don't think Brendon is alone; no way he'd risk it himself. No; more then likely the old man has other help ready with a trap... so this begs the question... What do we do?" I said as I thought it over.
"Well, what are our options, M'lord?" One of the Templars let off.
"As I see it we have three options." I began. "We can leave Riverport and tour a different city, we can go on as normal and tour the city expecting nothing to happen or we can spring the trap that may or may not exist. Which has a problem in that we don't know what the trap is presuming there is one." Last time when the old fart came to Mungale we snuck a ring with a modified voxlux enchantment on it on Brendon and was able to overhear everything; knowing their plans as well as they did we were able to beat them at every turn... but by now they likely knew how I did that and would avoid making the same mistake twice.
On top of that we didn't know who we were dealing with; as I said Mandeville himself likely wasn't here so he must of had a few flunkies but who those would be I didn't know. On top of that I didn't have the usual suspects with me outside of Riri. Sure I had Chloe here as well as well as Myna who I had fought and worked with respectfully, but everyone else here I was unfamiliar with. Without knowing who I was up against or their plan I couldn't do much about it beyond prepare for something general.
"Well it's Lady's Chloe's safety on the line." Beckett said as she looked to our guest. "Whichever option we take should be her choice."
"Agreed."
"Aren't I prisoner?" Chloe let off with a huff looking at me with a flat stare as I replied to Beckett. "You can force me to-"
"No, I can't." I replied back as I looked to her as I cut her off. "Sure, I could force you but it wouldn't be right... and it's your life. Unlike Olga I can't claim your loyalty. On top of that as of now you're as much a guest as a captive. And given that what will happen if we mess up could mean a fate worse then death for you I refuse to make the choice. It's yours and yours alone." I said firmly and with finality as she looked back at me with honest surprise, then a hint of a blush before looking away and to the side.
"... Presume I wished to spring the trap?" She began as she looked back at me. "How would you do it?"
[-]
Alley in Riverport City
Duchy of South Point
"The lost half-runt is here?"
"Yeah." Brendon let off into his voxlux as he sat on a ledge in a back alley of the town; keeping his voice low as stayed above the ground to make sure no one was sneaking up or around him. "I'm letting you know so you can keep ahead of the situation if you're still planning on doing this."
"Oh, I am willing to try still..." Gwyn let off from the projection as his face frowned. "But it is something to account for. See what you can do as a distraction... If you can get the lordling away that would be a benefit. Him and his half-runt together would be better."
"Right... Hang on..." He let off as he looked out of the alley to the tailor's shop the lordling entered. "I'll call if I get anything." He let off as he hung up the call and waited, keeping an eye on the building his quarry entered. It was maybe an additional ten minutes before they left the shop, a bag slung over the shoulder of a Dawn Templar. There would be a moment as Noxdecus and some well dressed, boyish woman spoke with one another before waving to one another; the woman and the four regulars escorting her as they walked off opposite of his quarry.
He moved to the roof and quickly scampered to get ahead of them. He saw them move into another shop as he dropped into an alley and found a position that was 'hidden' but not so hidden that he couldn't be spotted. He waited some fifteen minutes before they exited, the drow looking agitated but he noted the lordling noticed him and spoke to the half-runt. He retreated down the alley, turning around the corner and peeking around in a more subtle manner.
It worked; the lordling and his half-runt slut was following him. He would turn and walk away; keeping his pace measured enough that they could keep up before moving to a crowd. Using the enchantment's in his spell stone eye he would look over at the glass of various windows to use their reflections to make sure things were going as it was meant to and they were still following him...
Now if all could keep going as planned...
[-]
Gwyn frowned as he waited in the alley as he mused over things; helm on his head but face plate at his hip. Thanks to Zaine and one of his men inside of the castle they had a rough itinerary of what his friend's old slave and her escort would be doing. Based on their lookouts they were sticking to the plan, if delayed, and would be going by the docks at a, thankfully, slow time of the day. However there was a few worrying things...
One was that Lady Beckett and her escort had left Chloe and her group; that wasn't fully unexpected as the girl was the Acting Duchess of South Point while her father and elder siblings were away and if something came up she would be the one to deal with it... That said he was aware that the plan was for her to stick with them... If that was a sign of warning or a sign of good fortune he couldn't tell; either was possible.
Another was that when Brendon reported in there was an unexpected addition to the security detail; Riri, his friend's lost slave. Thankfully she and her lord were following Brendon as they hoped but it still stated something could be off.
Then there was the reason of the delay; the extended stay at the tailors. It could have been due to the drow finding something interesting... or they were discussing things. That could be an issue.
That begged the question; what did they do now? They had two options; carry on with the plan, hoped that the drow and the lordling were ignorant of what could happen and make a play at the capture with a risk of failure... or they could retreat, cancel the plan and avoid the risk and potential injuries... but also end almost any chance of reuniting Mandeville with his favorite slave...
He explained it all to both Gerik and Fegus before looking to one then the other before speaking. "Those are the options; carry on and risk it all or opt out, play it safe and be sure to live another day and find work then as well."
"Tsk... Isn't it simple?" Fergus let off, snorting as he shoulders his massive hammer with his helm on and visor raised. "We do it. Can't let these fuckin' Abolitionist sissies get the best of us."
"Indeed; no guts, no glory is what they say." Gerik let off with a grin as he crossed his arms; spear set to his back. "That said... we might need to kill anyone who sees us when we do this."
"Hmmm... So, in spite of the risks you both wish to carry on?" Gwyn asked, clarifying once more; both of his old friend's sons nodded to him. "Good. That all said; there is reason to worry. So... if I say we retreat we retreat. I have a teleportation orb set to my home in Jadale; we can use it to quickly get the drow to Balanar and avoid anyone who would give chase. Worse comes to worse we can use it to escape; even without her."
That all being said... he had an odd feeling about it...
[-]
Chloe kept an eye out while doing her best to avoid looking like she was keeping an eye out. She was well guarded and surrounded by Dawn Templars as she took a moment to move a hand to reach to her wrist and rub softly at the skin there. Even so she had reasons to be nervous.
"You shouldn't do that." The shortest of her guard let off softly to her. She gave the guard in question a soft look before did as told, flexing her fingers for a moment as she did her best to relax. She would prefer that there was no trap awaiting her... but in the better then off chance there was based on what they had encountered, she would be ready.
At the moment she was overlooking the various ships, called 'cogs' it seemed, as they were loaded, unloaded, repaired, docking or departing. She even saw that bearded human who yelled at her, the one James had talked down, loading barrels of... something onto a ship from heavily loaded wagons.
She took in a breath, not making much small talk save to the short guard near her. She could hear something creak at the roof nearby as her ear twitched; she was expecting something... What she didn't know, but something...
And then something exploded with a thunderous roar.
She didn't know what the building was, but it exploded outwards in a ball of flame with splinters of wood blowing a hole the size of three men, side by side, through the wall. "Myna, stick with her! Girls let's go!" One of the Templars, a redhead, took charge and ran forwards to both see what the damage was and if anyone was in trouble with two of the Templars...
Only for something to sail over their heads and flash before a shield formed over the three women as a dark mist filled it. Chloe grit her teeth; she knew the girls would be trapped for a long moment...
Too long...
"Called it..." Her remaining guard said as her hands came together to form signs as they heard two somethings land behind them. Turning Chloe grit her teeth and-
-stiffened in shock. "...no..." She let off weakly. She recognized the armor of the two who dropped down; Geir Ornstein and Angus Smough, friends and underlings of Mandeville along with one more who was the worst of the lot. The sight made all of the memories flood back in...
Two arms in her sex and one in her ass...
Force fed a potion to have the body that made her look seven by human standards...
Beaten with a cat-o-nine tails coated in an aphrodisiac that would cut her skin then make her lust go wild...
The same but coated with a potion that caused burning, long, aching pain...
Fucking her over and over as her back was set to a bed of nails that bit and scratched her skin...
Nailing her hands to a crucifix and fucking her against it...
Pinning needles into her eyes and making her guess when she'd be whipped...
Flogging her sex over and over for hours before making her fuck a dog...
Force feeding her their feces and pissing over her face...
Pissing directly into her sex before stomping down hard to force it all out...
The living hell all three and her former 'master' forced her to endure over and over and over and over and over-
"Hey!"
"What the-!?"
As horrible memories filtered through her mind her guard and slammed her hands to the ground and made thick, strong roots rose up from the ground from... somewhere, pushing through the cobblestone of the ground and wrapped about the two, armored men's limbs as they struggled. Chloe shook her head out as she grit her teeth. The voices while familiar was different then what she recalled. "They're Mandeville's men..." She hissed out.
"I guessed as much." Her guard let off after casting the magic favored by ninja as she reached to her neck and pulled something off that was unseen as the figure shifted to that of a foot shorter woman; the Noxdecus Maid Riri. "We can ask them about-"
"Wait..." Chloe let off as she looked around. "Where's Gwyn?"
"Who?" Riri let off... a moving light overhead making both dive for the ground before a Fireball impacted behind them. Caught mostly off guard they landed on their fronts hard; both of them drawing weapons as despite appearances the cuffs around Chloe's arms were now mere Illusions. Both started to rise to their feet and reached a knee before a burning net landed over them; or rather a half spherical, burning cage of fire mana. Chloe knew the spell well as panic started to rise in her once more; the Cage of Cinders. They only had enough room to kneel as a dark armored figure slammed down next to the other two armored men; a blast of flames coming from his blade as he drove it to the ground, alight with flames that spread over all three of them that blew apart the roots Riri formed off the armored men.
"Well, well... The half runt as well." Riri grit her teeth but stayed calm as Chloe felt the panic come back to her full force... The half dark elf knew the man too well and he was easily the worst of the three... Gwyn Dychryntaan. the Storm of Cinders... "That's a bonus... but not the real prize..." He let off slowly walking forwards. "Chloe... it's time to come home..." He let off as the worst of the memories came back, the pains, the forced pleasures, the humiliations, the harms, the violations, the laughter, the desecration, the-
Her panic was cut off as a barrel of water slammed into the top of the cage of flames and broke apart; water spilling out and splashing over the mana fueled fire and putting it out. "What!?" Gywn let off, looking to the side to see-
"Stupid drow! Start runnin'!"
-the black bearded man who yelled at and insulted her earlier now, picking up another barrel from a nearby wagon and, with more strength then she expected threw it at Gwyn! "You!? Why!?"
"Indeed!" Gwyn let off after Chloe cried out in surprise, the man in Smough's armor stepping in and slapping the barrel from the air with his hammer. "Why in the hell are you defending a dirty, stinking drow?" He let off; he was sure he was the same man Brendon mentioned from before.
"Yeah, she's a dirty, stinkin' drow!" The man let off, hefting up another barrel over his head... "But better a dirty, stinkin' drow then a dirty, stinkin', no good, gutless slaver!"
"That's..." Chloe let off taken more off guard by this then the worst ghosts of her past reappearing. A human who hated her and her kind... stepping up to defend her..!?
She... had difficulty comprehending it!
"You son of a bitch!" Gwyn let off as the next barrel was thrown as the man swung his burning blade and sent a wave of flames at her unexpected defender; blowing the barrel apart and sending wisps of steam as the man's eyes widened, burning death coming for him...
Before a shield appeared before him as a mythril handle with a spell stone end impacted the ground by his feet to form it; the defense holding and blocking the flames. As the shield vanished said handle flew away...
And into the hand of James Noxdecus as he landed before Chloe and Riri...
[-]
That Moment
Another Alley in Riverport City
Brendon grinned as he stuck to the shadows; above and in a nook as James Noxdecus and his maid followed him in. If he was right Gwyn and his boys were capturing the drow at the docks and he saw them walk under him he bit back a chuckle. He couldn't believe how easy it was to pull a fast one on them! Honestly, it just proved Noxdecus wasn't as smart as he thought he was! Another win for-
"He's gone?" Noxdecus let off with an... oddly feminine voice.
"Yeah, he is..." Riri let off... did she always sound like that?
"Hmmm... Guess he was right then..." Noxdecus let off, reaching to his neck and pulling off something...
A spell stone on a cord as his form shifted to that of Beckett Silversail!
'Noooooo...' Brendon hissed in his mind as Riri did the same... and grew by a foot as her form shifted to that of a Dawn Templar! 'No, no, no, no, no!'
"Let's hope he's right about being able to handle it too..." Beckett let off as she moved to a dash. "They should be by the docks, let's go!"
"Right!" The Templar let off as she followed, Brendon moving to the roof top as soon as they were gone as he started to rush over the roofs to reach the docks first.
'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!' He let off in his own head.
Thing were turning sideways now.
[-]
"I'll give you credit, whelp..." The old man let off with a sneer. "You're smarter then I expected... And I was not expecting a fool to begin with."
"I suppose I'll take that respect." I let off, taking stock. Chloe, when I glanced back, seemed to be scared stiff; at least her legs were quivering hard enough that I didn't trust her to be in the fight. Given what I overheard Mandeville let him torment her something horrible... I can't say I blame her. I had wanted to jump in sooner, but when the building exploded I saw a man go flying and needed to check on him and apply healing; I trusted Riri to manage until I could get back. I was also taken aback when Issac Smith went full on Donkey Kong on the guy and started throwing barrels at him! Sure, he was an ass to Chloe earlier but that earned points with me.
Anyway, I stayed calm as I used Observe on all three of my opponents.
(-)
Name: Gwyn Dychryntaan
Title: Blade of Cinders
Class: Magic Knight
Level: 41 (-8)
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 71
Status: Healthy - Aged, Annoyed, Worried
Known Traits
[Aging Body] Your body is aging, like it or not. You are treated as 8 Levels lower then your actual level; all of your stats aside from Mag and Mnc are reduced by 7.
[Heart of Fire] You have an affinity with the fire element. +15% damage and effect to all fire spells, Combat Arts and abilities
[Ironclad] You wear any metal armor like you were born in it. +10% bonus to all Resistances for Chain Mail, Scale Mail, Splint Mail and Plate Mail.
[?]
[Intimidate] To anyone weaker then you you are frightening. -5% to all foes stats under level 20 and at least one level lower then you.
A veteran slave hunter he opted to join the profession after a youth spent in the Balanarian military. An able warrior and mage he bears a taste for fire magic, earning him the nicknames 'the Blade of Cinders' and 'the Storm of Cinders'. His black, mythril armor was a gift by his close friend and favored employer, Sir John Mandeville.
(-)
Name: Gerik Ornstein
Title: The Eagle's Claw
Class: Dragoon
Level: 24
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 43
Status: Healthy, Annoyed, Confident
Known Traits
[Heart of Thunder] You have an affinity with the lightning element. +15% damage and effect to all lightning spells, Combat Arts and abilities
[?]
[Up, Up And Away] Your powerful legs lets you leap over some buildings in a single bound. +300% to Jump Height
[?]
Son of a retired, Balanarian slave hunter he inherited his father's armor as he entered the trade. An expert with the spear and with incredible, vertical leaps he's earned the title 'the Eagle's Claw' by the precision and force of his diving strikes. He is under the employ of his father's former partner, Gwyn Dychryntaan.
(-)
Name: Fergus Smough
Title: The Dreaded Executioner
Class: Warrior
Level: 25
Alignment: Hostile
Reputation: 36
Status: Healthy, Annoyed, Upset
Known Traits
[Heart of Earth] You have an affinity with the earth element. +15% damage and effect to all earth spells, Combat Arts and abilities
[Intimidate] To anyone weaker then you you are frightening. -5% to all foes stats under level 20 and at least one level lower then you.
[?]
[Drop the Hammer] You are adept at hammers and maces. +2 Damage to all one handed hammers or maces. +4 Damage to all two handed hammers or maces
Son of a retired, Balanarian slave hunter he inherited his father's armor as he entered the trade. While not known for his intelligence he is known to be a skilled warrior who uses his massive strength to wield a heavy and destructive hammer with uncanny accuracy and power. He is under the employ of his father's former partner, Gwyn Dychryntaan.
(-)
And there you have it; safe bet is the old fart Mandeville hired them like we thought. Go figure.
If I could spare one of them and make them talk, well now that's something I can use against him... There was an issue however; ideally I'd have Riri and Chloe backing me up but with Chloe's fears overtaking her I wasn't sure how well she could help out. That said looking over these three I was willing to bet I could handle them alone as long as I played smart. I recombined the Shining Gemini and reached back to make a 'back up' motion to Riri and Chloe as I looked to my foes. "Okay, what's your gimmicks?" I said as Riri started to pull Chloe back; her legs still shaky. I knew she'd break the Dawn Templars out of the shield they were in so if I needed backup it would be there.
"I... beg your pardon?" Gywn let off, the other two shouldering their weapons to lift their visors with their free hands to share a confused look, frowning as he looked to Riri and Chloe retreating. "Gimmick?"
"Never mind, I'll work it out..." I started, looking to the old man first. "You're the cagey old man who's seen it all and done it all."
"Hurpmh, sounds about right..." Gwyn let off.
"You're the more handsome, fast and arrogant one." I let off, looking to Gerik.
"Well, I am rather able." He let off with a shrug and a grin.
"Annnnd you're the big, tough, stupid one." I said looking to Fergus who blinked then snarled, moving his foot forwards a step as he brought up his free hand and clenched it hard.
"You take that back or I'll kill you!" He let off.
"Okay, okay, I take it back... You're not tough." I replied with a sigh.
"That's better!" He let off... as his two allies slowly turned their head to look at him with Gerik facepalming.
"Uhhh, didn't you just say-" Issac let off as I gently cut him off.
"Give him a minute." For the record I wasn't just doing this to piss them off (That was a side benefit), to be smug or to show off; I was mocking them for Chloe's sake. To showcase these guys as something that didn't need to be feared. Also if they were focused on me they'd, hopefully, ignore Riri and Chloe for the short term. With luck-
"HEY!"
Oh look, his brain caught up!
"Look, I'm feeling generous today." I said, shouldering my Gemini before shifting it behind my neck and draping my arms over it casually. "So I'll tell you what; lay down your arms and surrender and you'll be fairly treated. Fight me and I can't promise you'll survive."
"Ohhh? You and what army?" Gwyn let off as he sneered; I knew Riri, with her Shadowblaze enhanced blades, would free the Templars in short order. Even so...
"How cute; you think I need help to handle you knuckleheads." I let off, moving the Gemini before me and activating blades from both ends of it as I used Shocking weapon to send blue lightning up and down the mana formed weapons; tinting their color as well. Holding the weapon horizontally before me I gave them a firm look as I smirked just a bit. "You guys wanna try me? I laid Olga Discordia low; do you really wanna fight me knowing that?"
I had a feeling the answer was yes... and as the boss music spun up I knew it really was the answer as my view flashed then shifted to the old man first.
"Arrogant whelp!" Gwyn let off, pulling a samurai styled face plate off his hip and slapping it over his face; the thing attaching to his helm as he moved to stand with his burning claymore before him; arm out and blade pointed to his side and angled down some twenty five degrees. The view panned out as his blade's flames started to spread down his right arm to the shoulder in, honestly, a cool effect. "I will teach you why you should fear old men in my profession!"
_Blade of Cinders_
Gwyn Dychryntaan
"Against the three of us you stand no chance!" Gerik let off after my view shifted to him as he shut his visor and spun his spear before him, twisting it over before dropping into a combat stance. "As it turns out you are the arrogant one!" He let off firmly as purple lightning came over his weapon.
_The Eagle's Claw_
Gerik Ornstein
"I'mma smash you good for what you said!" My view then shifted to Fergus as he swung his hammer in a heavy, surprisingly fast arc before lifting it up, slamming the weapon's butt to the ground before shutting his lion shaped visor. "I'm gonna enjoy this..." He said darkly before lifting his hammer up as it glowed with a dark orange with bits of earth and pebbles rising up to coat it before he moved it over his shoulder in a combat stance.
_The Dreaded Executioner_
Fergus Smough
Finally the view panned back to show all three off; Gwyn in the center and the two, golden mythril armored men ahead and flanking him, their weapons coated in elemental weapons before my view flashed and returned to normal.
I expected Gerik to be the first to attack but instead it was Fergus who charged in with a warcry, footsteps loud as he moved faster then many would expect; I've fought enough big, fast guys to guess this could be the case. As he filled my vision I saw a rising blur as Gerik took into the air while Fergus swung his weapon down at me; the dragoon using his large partner as cover to leap skywards. I sidestepped and swung my weapon, knocking the weapon to the side before casting a spell with my off hand into him; Hammer of Smite. The spell impacted with a thunderous blow in the chest and knocked him off his feet and back; still he was agile enough to land on his feet, even if he stumbled back a couple of steps with his armor not even baring a dent.
I was, of course, pulling a Dual Cast and aimed up where Ring of Alarm told me Gerik was diving from as I used a Vortex Tunnel, catching him in the wind spell and pushing him back up into the air; the man flipped upright as he adjusted in mid-air. Gwyn was the last to engage me but more directly; charging in with a thrust that he shifted into a bash with his weapon's guard. I stepped back and to the side before blocking his strike with my weapon's shaft before sliding back and slashing downwards. Gwyn, despite his age, dove forwards, rolled over his shoulder and rose, thrusting his weapon's long blade behind him to catch me off guard as Gerik landed deftly on his feet.
To be fair he would have likely caught me by surprise had I opted to stick in the melee with him; I had instead leapt away with Heroic Leap at Fergus. I used the Physical Burst in my armor as he swung his weapon from the side at me as I brought up my glove's shield to block. It cracked (Hard) but made me slide away from him... as I used the Sonic Wave combat art to send a wave of lightning enhanced energy at him, catching him in the head with enough force to stumble him. I couldn't carry on my attack however as Gerik rushed in from my side and forced me to block before I slammed his helm with a Power Punch.
I had an idea of what they could do now as my Ring of Alarm alerted me to Gwyn rushing me from my rear; I stepped back with a thrust of my weapon behind me that he blocked before transitioning his weapon into a diagonal, downwards slash that I rolled under before coming back up to my feet. He tried to attack me once more but I landed a mule kick to his chest that knocked him back.
Gerik thrust at me with his spear as I deflected it; even so it glanced off my breastplate before I used a Gale Burst to push him back; he would skid back before launching up into the air with another powerful leap. I popped Reflex Boost to rush Fergus before he charged back in and slid between his legs with a baseball slide and sent off another Gale Burst with a Dual Cast at his back and made him stumble towards Gwyn. The other spell I prepped with Dual Cast?
I sent a bolt of silver mana up at Gerik as he started to aim himself downwards at me, adjusting his spear to hit the bolt... and as it impacted it the bolt shattered into shards which, in turn, exploded into bright, flashing, multi colored lights. "Ahhh! My eyes!" He let off as I leaped to the side. For a moment his free hand moved over his face and he pulled his weapon out of position before he crashed into the ground head first... and as his body shifted to fall to it's side after impacting the cobblestone with a deafening crunch I could tell that was not an angle that your neck was supposed to be in.
"GERIK!" Fergus let off in range as he charged me as I prepped another Dual Cast. He charged at me in a rage, his hammer lifted high over his head. "YOU FUCKING BASTAAAAARD! I'LL TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF AND SHIT DOWN YOUR NEEEEEECK!" He bellowed.
"Temper, temper." I chided as I used cast number one, Arctic Orb, at his feet. In his haste and anger he slipped with ease on the ice that formed on the ground, crying out and crashing onto his back hard (Hard enough to break the ice even!); I was moving before he impacted with cast number two, another Arctic Orb... but this time I flipped over him and set my hand over his visor before unleashing it direct to his face. The result? His helm was coated in a few inches of ice... and more then like the inside of his helm was covered in ice as well as he dropped his weapon to clutch his helm to force the visor open, the helm off, something to remove the ice as he started asphyxiating to death inside of his own armor; legs kicking out the whole time.
"How?" Gwyn let off, backing up from me as he pulled his sword up and before him in both hands. He backed up as I walked closer, spinning my weapon before splitting it in two and looking to him. He was clearly not expecting me to kill his buddies to quickly, let alone back to back. "That's... how..?"
"I didn't beat Olga because I was able to punch her in the face harder then anyone else that came before me; I was able to beat her because I was able to apply my head to the problem. But in a different manner then spear-boy did." I said with a shrug. "Now. Drop your sword. Surrender like a good boy..." Fergus' legs stopping kicking so hard now but you could still hear weak struggles from him. "And start speaking like a good boy and you can live... maybe even long enough to see the outside of a prison cell once more after your thrown in."
Given what he pulled it would be 'outside a prison cell and directly to an executioner's block' but I felt I shouldn't verbalize that.
He moved to pull something out of his pouch with his left hand. I didn't know what but I was moving the moment I noticed, ending one blade and throwing a Gemini half and impacting his hand as he pulled it back out and made him drop his item; a shield spell I loaded into it grabbed said item and yanked it back to me as he stiffened and watched it fly back to my hand with a small, dark blue orb inside of it that looked like space with all the white dots in it. "A teleportation orb? Trying to leave so soon?" I said as I flicked my wrist to the side... where Riri waited, catching it as I ended the shield to toss it to her and turned the blade back on. Before he could do anything else I charged in and started to swing with a simple, basic kata with my two blades. I wasn't going all out but staying alert as I forced him on the defensive and pushed him back. Once I had the chance I turned and blocked with one blade as he tried to counter attack then forced his weapon out of position and used a Dragon's Fist to uppercut him in the chin; knocking his helm off his head.
He took the hit well enough; stumbling back and shaking his head out before bringing his weapon back up. Now that I could see his face I smirked more. He showed open fear to me as he back up before turning to run away-
-only to stumble to a stop and back up as he faced down three, unhappy Dawn Templars. "What? N-no, they were..." Riri, of course, bore Shadowblaze Weapon spells in her blades and, as such, could end the shield of the device he used to trap them by slashing through it. They stayed out of the fight but had moved to cut him off from a retreat. "Impossible! This is-gah!"
The 'gah' came from the Hammer of Smite spell that hit his sword; knocking it free of his hand and making it clatter to the ground... beside a Templar. Now disarmed he looked much, much more afraid as I crossed my blades and stalked closer. He spun about to find a means of escape.
Turning one way he found Riri, spinning her long knives and glaring at him.
To the other he found Chloe, ready with her own weapons and all of a sudden she wasn't the scared one. He even backed up from her...
And then a barrel slammed into his back, sending him to the ground and breaking open, drenching him with water. "Gah!" He let off as I ended Shocking Weapon. As he pushed himself up his face met my knee as I knocked him back down to his back before I stomped on his chest before slamming the point of one weapon down into the ground by his head, aimed the other to his face and glared to his face.
"Here's the deal. You're going to surrender and tell me everything I want to know." I let off at him. "Either you do it now and you get to sit in a warm, cozy cell or you tell me eventually and we'll see how many bits of finger the healers can reattach." He gulped and shivered under me. Turns out under all that armor was an old, old bully and the moment he had his back to the wall he crumbled.
As much as I hated Arnold von Blitzhuas I was ninety percent certain if he was in the same position he would fight to the last and either meet death with dignity or at least not beg for mercy.
"M-mercy!"
Yeah, kinda like that.
"You gonna talk old man?" I let off darkly as he nodded. "Good. Now first question, and I'm sure I know the answer." I said as I made sure to look him in the eye. "Who hired you?"
"I..." He let off. For a moment it seemed like he would hesitate... like he would find a modicum of courage to use to deny my demand... "...It was... J-Jo-"
Anything else he had to say was cut off by a crossbow bolt to the head. If that sounds sudden and out of the blue that's because the bolt came from out of the blue all of a sudden as the old man went silent and still, dead under me with a shaft of wood and point of steel slammed past his skull. "Damnit!" I let off as we all turned to where the bolt came from...
Nothing...
Even so I rushed off, taking to the air and the roof of the nearest building to look about... I had a guess as to who fired it...
But he wasn't present...
[Defeated List]
Gywn Dychryntann=7800XP x 1.25 Kill Bonus=9750
Gerik Ornstein=4400XP x 1.25 Kill Bonus=5500XP
Fergus Smough=4400XP x 1.25 Kill Bonus=5500XP
+20% Rising Star of Eostia Bonus
Gain 24900XP Total
[-]
"Nothing..." We had the bodies brought back to South Point Castle into a small storage room as we had them searched for any notes, missives or the like. We even checked for voxluxes in case anything was recorded on them but it seemed like they either didn't have any or left them somewhere. We were able to track down their inn room but it was empty. They had other collaborators, more so then just Brendon, clearly.
"Now what?" Riri let off as Chloe kicked Gwyn's body before spitting on it.
"Fucking assholes..." She let off as she glared to them. "The things he did to me..."
"What about the other two, who are they?" Beckett asked as she looked to the pair of dead, younger men.
"I don't know them but they look like Gwyn's partners from back in the day; their sons maybe?" Chloe offered with a shrug. "They were... I don't want to talk about what happened..."
"Given what Riri went through I don't blame you." I said with a soft smile. It vanished as I looked to them. "We'll strip them of their equipment. We can find other people to use it and I know someone who'll enjoy a shiny new spear. That said... we have an issue." I said with a sigh.
"We have no evidence that this Mandeville was behind this." Beckett let off as Chloe kicked Gwyn's corpse once more. No one cared.
"We might have a way..." I said as I looked to Riri and held out a hand. She pulled out from a her suit the teleportation orb. "This is likely keyed to teleport whoever uses it to Mandeville's home. If we send them back, smuggle a voxlux stone with them and get a verbal reaction from the old man I can track where it goes and we can pin him to the wall."
"Do you think that'll work?" Myna asked... as I shrugged.
"I have no better ideas. Beckett?" I asked, looking to the Acting Duchess.
"Agreed... That's the best idea we have..." She said as she looked to Chloe. "Do you agree?"
"...Let's do it..."
"Great." I said with a grin. "By the way, can I get a sheet of paper and a pen?"
[-]
Kingdom of Balanar
Jadale City
Dychryntaan Manor
"Do you really think they'll be home soon?" The elderly woman asked as she sipped her tea. Said woman was in a simple but elegant red dress with a white apron; her hair was in a covered bun, both white. Her blue eyes set into a wrinkled face looked to her guest as they sat on the porch outside of the manor. Linda Dychyntaan was her name; wife of Gwyn Dychyntaan, mother of three, grandmother of seven.
"Soon to an hour, I'd say." The man across from her let off as he sipped his own tea. Sir John Mandeville smiled back; eager to see his slave once more he has rushed southwest to Jadale and his friend's manor. The reason was simple; his teleportation orb was set there. He bore one for John's manor as well but they both agreed arriving in Jadale was better for one reason; the voxlux.
If Chloe bore one on her person then no doubt Noxdecus would track her and bring the wrath of Eostia down on him in such a way the King of Balanar would be forced to respond via the High Whore Celestine. That said it was that same king whom demanded that the voxlux boosters not be installed in Balanar directly and as they could work out the range all they needed was a voxlux to test it.
Jadale was just outside of that range meaning they could dispose of anything before they could be tracked. It wasn't ideal but it would work.
"We're waiting for grandpa?" Rushing up to them was a young girl; some five years old and dressed in a pink dress. She bore hair down to her shoulder blades and a pink bow set to her hair. Little pink shoes set over white stockings covered her feet as she walked over, blue eyes looking up at them. John grinned and smiled and lifted her up once she was close enough, setting her on his lap.
"Yes indeed; he's trying to get back my old, drow slave." He said cheerfully as the girl sat on his thigh. "You know what drows are good for, little Susie?"
"For men to use!" She chirped, lifting her arms up in a happy, excited manner. She had no understanding of what that meant (And she was at that age that everyone let her think it was just cuddles, tea parties and bedtime stories) but they opted to make sure she understood that there was a place for drow in the world... under a boot.
"There we go; such a good girl." Linda let off with a giggle as she leaned back as Susie clapped happily with a wide smile.
"Indeed she is... She'll be... ohh!" John smiled seeing a light pop up over a sot before the porch; it was a circle that was covered in circled bricks toned a yellow color. It was set aside for the incoming teleportation; it was a normal spot to stand most of the time but now? The enchantments under the bricks would use a modified shield spell to gently push anyone or anything clear of the bricks and maintain it until after the teleportation was done. Soon the shield was in place and held in the form of a topless cylinder as Susie hopped off John's lap and all three stood and moved closer to wait. "Finally... it's been too long..." He let off before the light grew brighter for a long moment and then flashed brightly as the bodies materialized, the shield spell ending and-
"Why is grandpa and my uncles naked?" Susie asked innocently. On the ground was Fergus Smough with Gerik Ornstein and Gwyn Dychryntaan draped over him. "He... doesn't look good... Wait... why is an arrow in his head..?" She let off; her young mind unable to fully comprehend what happened but understanding enough to know it wasn't good.
The reactions of the adults hammered it home when she looked to them as the shock wore off as Linda reacted first; wailing out in a horrified screech as she collapsed to her knees, hands clutching to her chest. She fell with enough force to crack a kneecap but the physical pain was unnoticed under the intense pain of realization that her husband was dead, killed in the line of a duty he loved so much. A staunch Traditionalists he had made his money reuniting people with their lost and wayward property; one she supported even in their old age. She always fear it would be the death of him...
It finally was...
John by contrast stiffened and then shuddered in shock as he gripped his hands into tight fists as he realized what happened. "No... I told you not to die, no matter what..." He hissed out as his jaw clenched hard... That he was dead, along with his friend's sons, caused a pain that he was unable to verbalize. It made a hole in his heart and he did his best to control himself lest anger lead to worse for him... and then...
He saw it...
Clutched in Gwyn's cold, dead hands which was set over his chest was a single, rolled up sheet of paper. He walked over and plucked it from his friend's corpse; it was the size of a handkerchief and as he unrolled it he read the words scribbled to it.
How many times do I
have to teach you this
lesson, Old Man?
JN
"Damn you..." Sir John Mandeville hissed out as he quivered in rage, tearing the sheet asunder in his hands, pulling the fibers apart before fire mana came alight in his hand to burn it all as well. "Noxdecus..." He shivered further in rage as his heart pounded in his chest in hate, rage and anger to a point his doctor would sweat before casting his gaze and voice both to the heavens above him.
"NOOOOOOX-DEEEEEEC-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSS!"
[-]
"By all the gods named and not, what a headache..." Celestine let off from my voxlux as I finished my report on what happened, back in my quarters. And I had just finished with explaining the outcome of the idea I had of sending the bodies to Mandeville and getting him recorded on the voxlux stone I smuggled into Gwyn's eye socket and... it didn't go as I hoped...
I was able to pick up the stone's position but it wasn't in Rexterra like I thought it would be, which was Mandeville's home, rather it was in another city called Jadale that was further away... and because of politics Celestine didn't want Boosters set up in Balanar due to their King's request, even secretly, so I only just registered where it was. Worse while sound came through it was so muted and garbled that we couldn't make it out. Had I had a better stone to use maybe we could have gotten something, anything to pin Mandeville to the wall with... but while someone (Or more then one someone, it was hard to tell) cried out on the other end it sounded less human and more like a wounded bull on the other side of the neighborhood.
"I'm still calling it a victory." I replied with a sigh. "They wanted to steal Chloe away and we prevented it, killed three slave hunters and made sure nothing in regards to the peace process is derailed." On a personal note; Chloe stated the old man was a buddy of Mandeville's and the other two was likely the sons of two more. That had to stick in his craw something fierce; another win for me and loss for him. "That being said there's another thing we don't know; we didn't exactly advertise Chloe's trip to anyone and yet local slave hunters and the local populace knew she would be there."
"Indeed; while we didn't consider this top secret it was kept need to know." Celestine frowned for a moment as she thought it over. "But no one we told should have let off a leak... Or not an intentional one; rumors do happen and the wrong ear might have overheard something..."
"I can say that Arnold von Blitzhaus is good friends with Mandeville." I explained. "I wouldn't put it past him to let his old friend know about what was happening but there's two big issues to that; first is we have no proof beyond the circumstantial that Mandeville was behind this. I know he's behind it but there's nothing hard we can pin to him."
"In turn we have no means to prove Arnold passed the details; we'd need to first figure out how he knew if he did and even if he did if he was indeed the one to let the information leak." She said with a frown. "I would not put it past someone like Bludhorn or some other warhawk to pass the details along in the same manner as well; we cannot be fully sure it was him." Indeed; accusing a foreign merchant as affluent as Mandeville of such a crime with no solid evidence would cause problems. Accusing Blitzhaus of passing the information on with the same lack of evidence would cause worse problems. We couldn't do a damn thing; Beckett was having her people look into things to dig up something but I wasn't hopeful.
"I'll order people to peek into his business dealings in Eostia." Celestine said with a look to me. "I do not know if we'll find a means to punish him for this, even in another means, but we can inconvenience him. For now I'll keep Olga out of the loop until after she holds court; we'll be holding it tomorrow. With luck things will settle down from here."
"Same; I don't think the old fart will make a second go of it but we'll stay alert for the time being." I said with a sigh. "Honestly; it feels like trouble finds me sometimes."
"Thankfully you are well equipped to deal with it." She replied with a soft smile. "Once more Eostia is in your debt. With luck you shall not cause a bankruptcy when you call it in."
"Ha, ha." I let off... before a knock sounded on my door as I looked to it.
"It seems like you have a guest. I'll leave you be for now. Enjoy." She said before hanging up as I chuckled and turned to the door as I set the voxlux away.
"Come in." I let off as Chloe slipped in. "How can I help you?"
"You've done that enough, haven't you?" She huffed out. "Honestly; despite that you're supposed to be my enemy you keep helping me... I guess I'm supposed to say thank you."
"That's the polite thing, yes." I said with a smile. My smile dropped as I went a bit a more serious. "So, that Gwyn guy was a piece of work, huh?"
"In some ways; worse then Mandeville..." She said, shivering as she moved one hand to clutch the opposite arm. "The things he did to me... since I was a child... It's sickening... Honestly, for a moment there I was scared of what I could go back to... I felt like a coward..."
"You knew the risks and opted to be the bait of a trap." I replied as I stood up and walked closer to her. "You're pretty brave, in my opinion."
"I didn't know Gwyn was there..."
"Did you think he wouldn't reappear if you ended up with Mandeville once more?" She looked aside and stayed silent; enough of an answer to me. I stepped in and moved to hug her around the shoulders as she stiffened; I squeezed softly and moved a hand to stroke her upper back gently. "You deserved better."
She didn't respond but didn't pull away and let me hug her until I let go and stepped back. "...So, when do the cuffs come back on?" She asked. We took therm off so she could have her armor active and defend herself if needed with Illusions to make it look like they were still there.
"Are you planning to run?" I asked as she gave me a half lidded glare. "Because I trust you not to."
"I'm armed."
"I still trust you." I said... and found a knife to my neck as I sighed. "Why did I expect you to test that statement?" I let off as she blinked.
"I... I could-"
"Yes. You could. You won't." I replied as she looked to my face for a long moment before lowering her arm and setting it away, blinking at me.
"You... You're not lying..."
"Why would I?" I asked... as she stepped in and sighed, letting her forehead fall and bump into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders once more and this time her arms, slowly, moved around my waist, finally hugging back. "Chloe?"
"... Thank you... I... You've done... You're supposed to be an enemy but... you've treated me with more respect then most in Garan..." She said with a sigh. "I owe more then I repay... Please tell no one I said that..." I chuckled softly at that.
"It's fine." I said, moving to lower my head atop of hers. "And hopefully, soon, we won't be enemies... and I'd rather call you friend."
"... Given what Riri said about how many lovers you have I'm surprised you haven't grabbed my ass yet."
"Do you want me to grab it?"
"No."
"Then I won't." I said with a chuckle, patting her back. "So you know I reported to Celestine about what happened. She hasn't told Olga yet, but she will soon. We have nothing we can directly hit Mandeville with but she's hoping to make life more uncomfortable for him."
"Shit." She let off with a huff.
"Yeah... Still; taking out those three twats will piss him off." I said as I finally broke the hug. "So; do you plan on carrying on your tour tomorrow?"
"I plan on it. If nothing else there's something I want to do." She said as she crossed her eyes as I moved to a teapot in the room. I had the thing set up for later, but setting a finger to the spell stone I started to pot and took a seat.
"Well, care to talk for awhile then?" I said, gesturing to another chair in the room. After a moment she would sit.
Tea was had, a request for snacks made and we'd spend sometime talking. It occurred to me that this was likely the longest conversation she had with a human that wasn't hostile or condescending on either end.
I found it enjoyable over all...
As for her...
Well I hope she enjoyed it as well...
[ - Author's Note - ]
Whew... I think that wasn't up to a standard that I hoped for but it's hopefully good enough... To be honest this is more of a set up for what I have planned next chapter (Yup... That again) and it's a scene I've had planned for awhile. That will be a hard one but not due to any action or set up for that action...
No, it's a plan for a difficult, awkward conversation. Hoooboy... That'll be fun to write.
A lot of things happened; Iryna getting the ball rolling with Chloe, meeting Beckett, Garan issues and so on. The one part I want to touch on was the scene with Mandeville at the end and why I included Gwyn's wife and grandchild in such a manner. There's a couple reasons; one being that even someone like him has loved ones, people who think well of them, care about them and will be harmed if they died. Sure we see him as a monster for all he did. His wife? Just doing something to 'something' less then human to them and a good, hard working man by their standards.
Another was something I've said more then once; good people seeing something evil as something normal. And how do you get such a thing? Start young. Very young.
And yes, Gwyn, Gerik and Fergus are a reference. Some of you picked up on it, I'm sure; I've yet to play the series but I enjoy a Youtuber called Lemon on a channel called 'The Backlogs' where he does multiple, often difficult, challenges in games who's done a number in said series.
Perhaps I too will join the illustrious Firebomb Academy...
As always leave a comment about what you liked, didn't like, enjoyed, want to see and thought. As for next chapter...
Both Olga and Chloe have different kind of difficult conversations...
Until then!
~~Eostian Scribe